We all know Kratos almost kills Lloyd at the Tower of Salvation. This is my take on what might have happened if he'd dropped his sword and just given in to the parental instinct! This is also my best attempt at an oyako and a "revealing the father" sort of fic.

I ask of you my readers, to be kind in your reviews. Let not your critique be too harsh.

And please forgive my funky way of talking, I read too much.

He had raised a sword against his child, and that was bad enough. Now the newly-revealed angel stood above the worn-out teenager, holding his blade aloft. His whole arm trembled, but for the life of him, the betrayer could not force himself to bring it down.

But then…that wasn't really so surprising. What parent could harm his own child? Kratos let the sword drop, and fell to his knees with a *thump*.

"I'm sorry" he told Lloyd, reaching two purple-clad hands out to grasp the boy's shoulders. "I'm sorry, I can't do it."

Poor Lloyd was nonplussed. The mercenary's pulling him forward into an awkward embrace didn't help much.

"I knew you couldn't bring yourself to fight such an opponent" a new voice said scathingly; "but I admit I did not expect this." Lloyd looked up to see a man dressed in white and gold spandex with long blond hair cascading down his back. A pair of rainbow segmented wings protruded from said back. Kratos turned to look at the man with bitterness in his gaze.

"Yggdrasil" he said by way of greeting. The man scowled at him.

"That's Lord Yggdrasil" he spat. The auburn-haired angel snorted.

"I can no longer leave him alone" he said. (Lloyd wondered briefly who "he" was. Perhaps it was another angel? ) The mercenary pulled Lloyd to his feet and pushed him towards his friends. His eyes were apologetic and Lloyd knew from experience that if Kratos had tears to shed; they'd probably be pooling at the corner of his eyes right now.

The group made it successfully out of the tower with their former companion's help, little angel in tow. Colette hadn't done so much as blink (not even that) since releasing the final seal. She stared out at the landscape with a blank gaze; perhaps even going as far to say that it was a sad look she was surveying the world with. But one could never tell with soulless people.

A great explosion sounded from the Tower; and they swore the structure shook. A figure came out of the door shakily and promptly collapsed on the nearest patch of grass.

Now Lloyd knew the man had just betrayed them; and there were some increasingly conflicting emotions stirring in his chest. But the honest to goodness, dare he say loving embrace was on the forefront of his mind today and was thus the driving force behind his actions.

"KRATOS!" The brunette bolted forward before anyone could think to stop him and had a gauntleted arm slung over his, noticeably smaller, shoulders.

"What are you doing?" Raine asked urgently. "He betrayed us, just leave him!" Sheena was much inclined to agree. Genis however, was busy thinking on their encounter with the kunoichi in Luin. Lloyd had seen good intentions in a woman previously out of for his blood and advocated for her healing. It was impossible for his friend to leave anyone behind, especially those who proved to have kind hearts under a most unpleasant façade.

"Let's just take him" the little mage said with a sort of resigned sigh. "You know Lloyd won't leave him behind. Besides, when he wakes up, you can interrogate him about being a member of Cruxis." Lloyd smiled thankfully at his friend before turning to stare at his professor defiantly. His gaze seemed to dare her to challenge this most infallible logic.

Something she seemed unable to do. The half-elf merely sighed and charged Lloyd with the task of carrying their unconscious enemy. The brunette did so willingly. There was a House of Salvation nearby and there the group stopped to rest. Lloyd dumped Kratos in the nearest bed with a sigh and stood up to stretch his aching back. Several bones popped audibly back into place, Sheena winced.

"So what do we do?" he asked, rolling his shoulders to get rid of excess pain. The black-haired ninja jabbed a thumb at the unconscious mercenary.

"That's kind of up to you" she replied. The brunette blanched. Raine was busy examining their captive's wounds. They didn't look fatal by any means, probably because he's an angel she mused, but they were likely to keep him down for a while. Lloyd decided his first course of action was, again, to advocate for an enemy's healing.

"Professor…?" The half-elf sighed.

"I will never understand your reasoning" she said, holding her staff out in front. "Healing Stream!" The blemishes marring Kratos' face vanished within the glowing mana and his visible eye squinted. A muffled grunt issued from his mouth before the angel began to wake. Lloyd was at his side almost instantly.

"Kratos?" The mercenary opened a bleary russet eye.

"Where am I?"

"At a House of Salvation reasonably close to the Tower" Raine informed him. "Lloyd carried you here." The man's brow furrowed.

"Why?"

"That's what we'd like to know" she grumped, turning to inspect Genis for injuries. (The younger mage did indeed have a collection of bruises decorating his lower back.) The elder half-elf cast First Aid and turned to Lloyd.

"Care to explain?" The brunette was busy fishing a mélange gel from his pack. He tossed the medicine from hand to hand, as though debating whether pain was better than explaining his actions.

"It was a feeling" he said finally, and would not elaborate. Raine gave it up as a bad job and went on to healing Sheena. Night would fall soon and the six of them could not all fit in that room. Kratos was still too weak to move from his bed, so he was out. Genis much preferred staying with his sister, so they moved downstairs. After a bit of consideration, Sheena joined them, tugging the unresponsive Colette with her.

These arrangements worked in Lloyd's favor, as nervous as staying in the same room as Kratos made him. The mercenary courteously looked in another direction while his son undressed. The brunette cleared his throat when he was done, sitting cross-legged in a loose muscle shirt and boxers. His father shifted again to look at him.

"Why did you save me?" Lloyd looked to the side unhappily, a faint blush staining his cheeks.

"I don't know… It's just; you looked like you really regretted betraying us. And, you didn't kill me." You hugged me instead.

"I'm your enemy" Kratos pointed out blatantly. Lloyd snorted.

"Do enemies usually hug the people they're supposed to kill and then apologize? No. You saved our necks Kratos, don't give me that bull." The angel glared, his son wasn't fazed.

"Why don't you explain why you didn't kill me?" the boy retorted. Kratos clamped down and refused to answer. "I can keep this up all night" the brunette needled. "And you've got nothing to do but listen."

"You ought to be asleep" the auburn head growled. Lloyd shrugged.

"A sleepless night won't kill me. I've pulled all-nighters for less." The mercenary heaved a defeated sigh.

"I have my reasons."

"Kratos…if you think that's supposed to satisfy me; you are sadly mistaken." The man growled again.

"You won't like what you hear; you won't like it at all."

"You don't know that."

I do, actually Kratos thought with a wry grin. Lloyd raised an eyebrow.

"What's so funny?"

"You" the other answered, and let out a deep chuckle. The brunette mussed his hair with a sigh.

"I don't get you sometimes." He walked to a nearby mirror (conveniently propped against the wall), intent on getting some necessary before-bed tasks done. He stepped back a moment later and staggered to his bed. Kratos gave him a concerned look.

"Lloyd?" The brunette turned to face him.

His messed-up hairdo (all over the place, with some falling in his eyes) was freakishly similar to Kratos'. The man swallowed.

"Why?" The mercenary found he had no answer.

"Lloyd, I-"

"Why do I look like you?"

"I'm sorry. You…weren't supposed to find out." Lloyd slumped on his bed, grasping his mussed hair tightly. This is so messed up.

"Kratos, you're not really 28 are you?" The angel shook his slightly. "Why didn't you tell me?"

The man heaved a sigh.

"Because I knew you were going to hate me, thus there was little point. I didn't want you caught up in this in the first place; knowing who I was would only make it harder." The teenager sitting across from him shook his head exasperatedly.

"If you'd told me, it would've been easier. If I found out after…this, which was bound to happen eventually, accepting it would be that much harder. Martel knows how my resentment may have grown." Kratos chuckled dryly.

"Where did this wisdom come from?" Lloyd stuck an impish tongue out.

They sat in silence for a few moments.

"So, you really are…aren't you?" The teen asked with some trepidation. "You're my D-"

Of course, the mercenary could not deny it. The brunette contemplated the man he now knew to be his parent. After several such minutes of this, during which the angel feared Lloyd was angry and denying their relationship…the son moved from his bed to sit next to his father's.

"So" he began. "You didn't really think I was going to be a burden on the journey…did you?" Kratos laughed slightly and moved a hand to ruffle his son's hair. The boy was thrown on a nostalgia rush by the simple gesture; the most prominent memory being their training session near the Triet ruins. So that's why it felt so familiar…

"Of course not" his father was saying, running bare fingers through the nest of brown hair. "I wanted you to be safe, and the best way was for you to stay home. Or…so I thought." The teenager winced.

"Even if I truly thought such things" the angel continued, "you proved clearly that you were no hindrance. Lloyd, I-…I'm proud of you." The boy leaned into his father's touch, smiling softly.

"Thanks Dad." I love you too.

Me loveth the semicolon. Such a useful tool it is.

Freaky, if you're reading this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. You have been my inspiration for ToS fics since the day I first found the archives. And so, I dedicate this oneshot to you.

Review?