Hi and welcome to my first One-shot!
A little Aurion-family fluff dedicated to my sister, LeaStar.
Perhaps you heard from her. She is a hard-working reviewer and a passionate fan-fic reader. Just that you get an idea how attentive and careful she reads a story: She noticed in one story the difference between "Lloyd" and "LIoyd". (And yes there is a difference in case you don't see any)
And since she is quite a Kratos-Lloyd-father-son-relationship-fangirl (in a totally non-crazy way ;) I wrote this.
To be honest I had so much fun, while writing it! It's just…sooo cute writing a story about the Aurion-family.
Oh and just one more thing. My first language isn't English and that's why I have absolutely no idea how a small English child talks. I mean I don't know what's hard to spell for them or where they make mistakes. So I only wrote for Lloyd simple sentences, which are (hopefully) grammatically correct.
So please enjoy!
I do not own the characters of Tales of Symphonia.
„Seriously!" Anna said frustrated, while she was walking through the high grass "Next time I pick the camping place. He should have known that this would happen! I told him this would happen. But no! The four thousand year old angel knows it better!" The sun was about to disappear behind the horizon. The sky was already violet with a hint of pink in the west. The air was quite warm even for a summer evening. Some crickets were chirping. It was getting darker and darker, making it for Anna even harder to see something in the high grass.
But suddenly her face lightened up and she reached for something between the long blades of grass. "There you are!" the woman said smiling and lifted a small child up "Lloyd! I told you not to run off alone. It's dangerous! Some monster could eat you!" Her little son didn't seem to share her concern. He giggled. "You found me!" he said smiling and tried to get down again. Obviously he thought that they were playing "Hide and Seek".
"Lloyd!" Anna said a bit stricter "You know you are not allowed to run off alone. You could get hurt!" Finally the boy seemed to pay attention, but only because he was afraid that he could get in trouble. "Are you mad at me, mommy?" Lloyd asked. She sighed. Usually she was the strict parent, but this time she couldn't resist his cute face.
"No, I'm not mad at you. But you have to promise me that you don't do that again. Okay?" she said and looked at her son. "Okay, mommy!" he answered smiling. "Good!" she kissed his forehead "Now let's go back." While she was carrying him, the woman brushed some of his strands out of his face. His chocolate brown hair had gotten quite messy and there were blades of grass in it. But at least he wasn't as dirty as yesterday, when he had decided that playing with Noishe in the rain was a good idea. It was a miracle that he hadn't caught a cold.
She started to move the grass out of his hair. "Mommy! Stop that!" he said and tried to move her hand away. She didn't stop, however, and he started to shake his head quite energetic. "Lloyd, hold still. I have to get the grass out of your hair" the woman said. But her son didn't stop shaking his head. "Lloyd, if you don't stop you'll feel dizzy" she warned him. He stopped eventually, but Anna could see that for him everything was spinning. Her son found it quite funny. He started giggling again.
Smiling she kissed his forehead again. When Lloyd was laughing, he looked so much like his father. Well, he looked even more like Kratos than usual. It was amazing how much he resembled his father. The only thing that proved that he was her son was his hazelnut eyes and his brown hair. But apart from that…
"Mommy, put me down!" the boy demanded. She rolled her eyes. "Put me down what?" Anna asked. "Put me down please" he said. "But don't run away again!" the woman answered and put her son down. As soon as he touched the ground he ran to the camping place. She ran after him. Even though he knew that fire was dangerous, it wouldn't be surprising if he would fall in by accident. But Lloyd simply sat down and curled up in his blanket.
She sat down next to him. "You don't need the blanket, Lloyd. It's warm enough" Anna said softly.
"But you said that I need it!" he answered confused.
"That was yesterday. Now it's warm."
"Why?"
"Because it isn't raining."
"Why?"
"…Because…it just doesn't" Anna answered a bit unsure.
"Why?" her son asked. She sighed. He loved asking her things till she wasn't able to answer anymore.
"Because the summon spirit of water decided that it won't rain today" the woman said eventually.
"What is a sum…summom spir..it?" Lloyd asked, obviously having some problems to spell the word properly.
"Well, that is a very powerful creature that protects nature. And the summon spirit of water watches over every bodies of water" she explained.
"Watch they over us too?" he asked.
"Hm…" Anna tilted her head "I don't know. I've never heard of a summon spirit, who watches over humans…or beings in general."
Lloyd seemed to be slightly disappointed that she wasn't able to answer him. Then he asked "Does daddy know?" She smiled and answered "Well, I'm not quite sure, but when he comes back you can ask him."
"When does he come back?"
The woman sighed. "I don't know." I never know. The Seraph had left one or two hours ago, because there had been some obvious signs that some Cruxis angels were nearby. Anna knew that he was probably fine, but that didn't keep her worrying about him.
"Don't be sad, mommy!" her little son said and took her hand.
"I'm not sad…Just a little bit worried. Like always when he's gone" she answered smiling weakly.
"Daddy comes back soon! I'm sure!" the boy said, trying to cheer her up. It worked a little bit.
"I know" the woman said smiling "But now you look a bit said." Her smile changed slightly. Lloyd, who knew that kind of smile, said "No, mommy! Stop! Don't!" But it was far too late. A second later the three-year-old boy was lying on the ground completely helpless against his mother, who was tickling him. He was barely able to breathe while laughing.
After some moments Anna let go of him. It took him a while to catch his breath. But right after that he demanded "Again!"
"Are you sure, Lloyd?" she asked grinning.
He nodded energetic.
"Okay, here we go again." His laughter was unquestionably the best way to cheer her up. Yeah, only looking at him made her happy. Extremely happy.
Right in the moment where Lloyd was recovering again, Noishe appeared out of nowhere. He trotted to them and licked gently across Anna's cheek. "Where have you been all day?" the young woman asked smiling the Protozoa.
"NOISHE!" her son almost screamed and wanted to hug the huge creature. But Anna caught her son and said strict "You do remember what I told you yesterday?"
"…No…" he answered innocently.
She narrowed her eyes. "You remember, Lloyd. Don't lie to me. You are not allowed to play with Noishe until the day after tomorrow."
"But mommy…!" the boy protested. Noishe whined behind them.
"You know why I said that, right?"
"No!" he answered and pouted.
"Well, I don't mind saying it again. You are not allowed to play with him, because you were bad and played with him in the rain even though I told you not to."
Her son didn't answer, but he looked like he was close to burst in crying. Anna didn't fall for that. She knew when her son was acting.
"And you do what I tell you to, right Lloyd?"
"But…!"
"Or do you want me to tell your daddy that you didn't listen to me? You know what happens if I do." She looked at him. She could watch how her son's resistance was crumbling down.
"Please, don't tell daddy! I'll be good! I promise!" he pleaded eventually. She smiled and nodded.
"Okay, I won't tell him, But only if you behave. You don't want to go to sleep without a bed time story, right?"
He shook his head. The threat of telling Kratos so he wouldn't tell Lloyd a bed time story worked every single time. To be honest her husband didn't quite know that she used him as a threat and she wanted to keep it that way. He would probably just tell Lloyd that he would always tell him a story. He really sucked at being strict.
Lloyd, still a bit upset, sat down next to her trying to prove what a good boy he was. Anna turned her head now to Noishe. "And you are not allowed to play with him either. You encouraged him to play in the rain. He could have caught a cold!" she scolded the Protozoa. Noishe whined loudly. He liked to play with the child just as much as the boy wanted to play with him. Both of them would be angry at her for a while. Why am I always the bad guy?
Suddenly Noishe's ear twitched. Anna immediately knew what this meant and smiled relieved. "About time…" she sighed.
"What is it, mommy?" Lloyd asked curious.
"That's a surprise" the woman answered smirking.
"Please, tell me!" he said and looked like he would burst out of curiosity.
"If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore."
"Pleases! Please! Please! Please! Please!"
She shook her head insistent. "No way. I'm not going to tell you. You have to wait."
"Awww…Pleeeeeaaaaaaaaase!"
Anna was about to answer, when she noticed something. Her smile got brighter. She leaned forward and whispered into Lloyd's ear "You have to turn around. Then you'll see the surprise."
Without wasting a second her son around and faster than she had expected him to be he ran to his father. "Daddy!" he shouted excited. Then he tripped over his own feet, but the Seraph caught him lifting him up with ease. "You're back!" the little boy said cheerfully. "Yes, I am" his father answered smiling at Lloyd.
Anna looked at the two. They were so cute together and seeing them made her happier than everything else. "What took you so long?" she asked smiling. "I was only a gone for about two hours" the Seraph answered, while carrying Lloyd to her.
"Kratos, for me that's like eternity" the woman replied "Especially since I'm so worried about you." He sat down next to her. The boy said "Mommy was really, really worried about you, daddy!" The Seraph rose on eyebrow and answered "Even though I told her not to?" Anna rolled her eyes. Lloyd nodded. "She's always worried" the child said.
The woman chuckled. Then she kissed Kratos. "Isn't it ironic that I'm the worried one now?" she asked smiling "Never thought that would happen." The Seraph answered "I'm surprised too." "What? Why are you surprised, daddy?" the boy asked a bit confused.
"It's nothing, Lloyd" he answered.
Anna rolled her eyes and said "That's not an answer, Kratos" she turned her head to their son "You have to know, that usually your daddy is the one who is always worried."
"Really?" the boy asked surprised. The woman giggled. Their son had no idea how serious his father could be. He basically never showed this side of him around Lloyd.
"Oh yeah. Really. Even more worried than me" she said smiling "But lately he is quite happy." With "lately" she basically meant the past three to four years.
"Why?" the child asked.
"There are too many reasons to name them" the Seraph answered.
"Couldn't agree more" the woman answered smiling, while looking at her husband "But…" she was looking at Lloyd now "I have the feeling that you are a very important reason."
Their son smiled in the cutest way a three year old could. Then he asked "Daddy, can we look at the stars again?"
The Seraph nodded and said "Of course we can."
"Please carry me on your shoulders!"
Anna just smiled while she watched them walking a bit further away. Kratos carried Lloyd on his shoulders, just like the boy wanted. There was nothing he enjoyed more than talking with his father about the stars.
She caressed Noishe's forehead. "Aren't they absolutely adorable?" she said more to herself than to the Protozoa. He barked silently. He seemed to agree.
"Mommy!" Lloyd suddenly shouted "Mommy, look!" She stood up and walked to them. "What is it, honey?" the woman asked and looked at her excited son. "Look!" he said and pointed in the sky.
"Oh…How beautiful!" she whispered and saw why the boy was so excited. She hadn't noticed it before, but the Milky Way was unbelievably bright tonight. Almost like a sparkling cloud spread across the sky.
She snuggled up to her husband while Lloyd was asking if every star in the sky had a name and if his father knew them. Anna closed her eyes, while listening to Kratos' explanation that there were too many stars to know their names, followed by Lloyd's question how many stars were in the sky.
She had the feeling that this would be a longer conversation, but she didn't mind at all. Smiling Anna listened how her husband and her son were talking about the stars, enjoying the feeling of perfect happiness.
So I hope you liked it and I hope it was cute enough (or not too cute).
About the Milky Way…I just assume that it exists in the Tales-universe. Besides I couldn't think of anything else and some falling stars were too…mainstream, I guess.
And if you have the time I would love to get some reviews!