Disclaimer: Tales of Symphonia does not belong to me.

Rating: K

Spoilers: Kratos/Lloyd relationship.

AN: This just had to be written. I'm planning a sequel to this, so watch out for that in the near future! Also, if anyone has details of Zelos' past – since I picked Kratos' path in my only ToS playthrough – please PM me with them, so I can get started on his one shot. (: If anyone has any ideas for Lloyd/Kratos moments, also feel free to drop me a line. xD Enjoy.

Rheiard

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Lloyd has never been good with things that fly, Kratos thinks.

It all started with Yuan, as usual, seeing as things tended to go awry whenever the half-elf was around. The blue-haired man was sitting with a young Lloyd on his lap at the piloting seat of his Rheiard prototype, proudly explaining what each and every button and knob did. Growing a bit bored of the strange 'engines' his Uncle Yuan was going on about, the boy's attention was soon diverted to a big, fat red button sitting right at his eye-level.

"Wha's this?" He asked, interrupting his Uncle's tirade, before reaching for it one with tiny hand. He pouted as the man's hand closed over his fingers, his eyes widening in adorable assault as he looked up at the chuckling face of his uncle.

"That's the start button, Lloyd," Yuan explained, smiling in amusement as the boy's eyes lit up with realization. Before he could open his mouth, the half-elf shook his head in answer. "No, Lloyd, you can't press it."

Lloyd's pout increased as he stared at the man. "But you let me touch all the others!" He protested, crossing his arms over his chest stubbornly.

Spotting a motion out of the corner of his eyes where no doubt Kratos was observing from behind the tree, Yuan let out a small, nervous laugh before turning his attention back to his 'nephew'.

"Now, Lloyd," he tried to explain, twitching when the boy looked up with wide, hopeful eyes. "You're still too young to be flying. We don't want you getting hurt, now do we?"

"But Uncle Yuaaan!"

A call from Anna for him from inside the house came to Yuan's rescue from being sentenced to the receiving end of her son's puppy-dog charms and he all but leapt off the seat – after taking Lloyd off his lap and setting him down in his place of course – and leaned down to Lloyd's level to look him in the eye.

"Don't touch anything, alright Lloyd?" The boy nodded sullenly, still sulking, and Yuan set off, trusting Kratos to look after his son well enough on his own. A few minutes passed in silence with Lloyd glaring at the button in his seat, and Kratos was just about to turn around to berate Noishe behind him for something or the other when the silence was interrupted by a low hum. Confused, the man glanced back at where his son was situated.

Lloyd giggled in delight as he took his finger off the red start button, enjoying the feel of the air stirring around him as the Rheiard slowly rose into the air, before pressing another large button beside the previous one.

Kratos could only watch in horror as the high-speed option kicked in and his son whizzed by him with a scream.

Instincts kicking in, Kratos' wings were already out as he chased after his wayward son, thanking every deity and being he could think of that the trees were few and spaced far apart from each other. Another scream from Lloyd however sent him out of his prayers as the Rheiard angled towards the ground, running out of fuel quickly. Diving forward, Kratos managed to capture his out in his arms just before the machine crashed into the ground in a pile of metal and smoke.

A few moments of silence passed between father and son as they landed, Kratos' heart slowing down to its regular rhythm. Setting his jaw, the auburn haired man glanced down at the shaking boy held in his arms in worry.

"Lloyd?"

"Daddy…" Lloyd's voice shook as he looked up into his father's eyes, his face and blank and devoid of all emotion.

Kratos' panic rose again. "Lloyd!?"

Abruptly the boy's face broke into a humongous grin.

"I WANNA DO THAT AGAIN!"

Kratos was going to murder Yuan, if his wife didn't get to him first.

"Say…" The seraphim was brought out of his memories at his son's voice, who was currently examining the Rheiard panel in front of him in curiosity.

"What's this button do?"

Nobody in the party quite understood as to why the usually stoic and controlled man was shaking with rumbling laughter as the startled Lloyd jumped off his Rheiard with a yelp seconds before it crashed into a nearby hill, doing a barrel roll and landing in a pile of flailing limbs.

Lloyd just pouted, shook off the odd sense of déjà vu, and sincerely hoped that Yuan had a spare stashed somewhere in his Renegade base.

Yes, Kratos thought with a well-hidden smile as he cast First Aid on his scraped up son.

Lloyd certainly was never going to be good with anything that involved flying.

…