This idea came to me while watching spongebob, incidentally…
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
BECAUSE WE ALL WANTED KRATOS IN A SWIMSUIT!
"What? Why is the beach closed?"
Lloyd was obviously disappointed at the development, having his towel under one arm and his flippers under the other as the snorkel and mask sat on his head. Truthfully told, their ignoble leader did look a bit dorky, but they were more focused on the distraught expression on his face as he looked at the roped off entry way.
"Hm, I'm not sure," Regal frowned, "I wasn't aware of anything that could close it today…pardon, you there."
"Yes?" an employee who was just leaving looked up.
"Why is the beach closed?" he asked.
"The life-guard came down with the Ozette Cold," she explained, "We tried to get a replacement, but no luck…"
"Well that sucks!" Zelos scoffed, lifting his sunglasses up on his head. "And here I was hoping to sweep a couple of hunnies off their feet…"
"I guess we're going to have to go back…" Colette sighed.
"But this was going to be our break day!" Lloyd cried, frowning. "No fair! The one day we manage to get the Professor to let us take a break and the beach is closed!"
"O- Oh, well then, I guess we'll just have to stay away from the wa- beach," Raine stammered with a forced smile, "Let's go in-"
"But it was so hard to convince D- Kratos, to come!" the brunette whined. "I mean, he didn't even get changed with all that begging! I'm never going to get him to come again!"
"…" the Seraph eyed his son, looking away.
"There's nothing we can do, Lloyd, unless they find another life-guard," Genis told his friend.
"I'll see what I can arrange," Regal told them, "Let's go back and get changed and I'll consult with George."
So, with disheartened looks all around (except from Raine and Kratos) they headed back into the inn and changed back into their normal clothing. Lloyd pouted in the most childish fashion as Colette tried to cheer him up, Regal leaving to go to the company headquarters. Raine was quite content to simply curl up with a book as Zelos whined about his 'poor hunnies'. Lloyd slumped on the balcony, glaring down at the beach below. After a minute he sighed and stood up, just barely noticing as Kratos slipped out the door.
"Huh? Where is he going?" Lloyd blinked.
"I don't know," Sheena shrugged, "He just said he was going somewhere…"
"Wh-!? Oh, fine!" Lloyd huffed, glaring at the door. "Sure, it's not like he hasn't just left m- us before anyway!"
Lloyd slumped back into a grouchy slouch and his friends merely exchanged glances. Sure, it was their leader's tendency to be a little immature, but he was rarely this bad, though they suspected it had something to do with just discovering his relation to the spiky-haired man.
It was a few minutes later when Regal entered, smiling slightly.
"Well, I have good news," he said, "We have managed to hire a lifeguard."
"You did?!" Lloyd said, grinning. "Awesome!"
"So we can go to the beach?" Colette chirped, enthralled as well.
"Ugh…" Raine shuddered.
"Yes, we can all go," he nodded, "Get changed again, it'll be open by the time we get back down there."
They did so, though Lloyd made a last scan of the group and frowned upon seeing that his f- that Kratos- had still not yet returned. This disheartened him for a moment before he huffed and went into the changing rooms; fine, if he didn't want to spend time with him, he didn't care. Let the bastard be like that. He didn't give a crap…
As they made their way to the beach he was still a little grouchy, but that all changed the second he saw who exactly it was sitting in the lifeguard chair.
"D-? Kratos?!" he stared.
The group gaped up at the auburn haired male whom merely let out a 'hmph' and sat back in the chair, the whistle around his neck glinting in the sunlight and the bright-red swim-trucks blaring their intense color.
"Yes," Regal smiled, "Kratos is a certified lifeguard, did you know? He offered to help soon after I went to ask George for his assistance."
"He is?" the group stared.
"I'm certified in a lot of things," Kratos reported coolly, "When you live as long as I have, you find things to keep yourself occupied."
Kratos gained the title: 'Certified Lifeguard'! He'll guard your life as a mercenary, and as your local beach hunk! A man of many talents!
"You actually offered to help?" Lloyd stared up at his father. "I thought you didn't want to go to the beach!"
"…I don't," he stated, "But… Swimming is good exercise, it'll help you build muscle mass. You need a bit more power behind your swings."
"W-? You seriously mean you did this just so you could turn it into training?!" Lloyd scoffed.
"Hmph," he looked away, "If you don't want to swim, I'll gladly go back inside-"
"N- No! That's okay, really!"
So the kids hit the beach and Raine and Regal were left looking at Kratos, Raine with an eyebrow raised.
"Somehow I doubt that was the reason, Kratos," she stated.
"Then what do you assume my reason was?" he replied coldly.
"He merely wanted Lloyd to be happy," Regal smiled pleasantly, "It's not something to blame him for."
Kratos tensed slightly but then replied merely with his characteristic 'hmph'.
"Wonderful, well then, I'll just…" Raine eyed the water, "…Go read over there."
With that she retreated to the far side of the beach, almost huddling under an umbrella that was set up in that area. Regal sighed and shook his head, beginning to walk away himself.
"Thank you for your assistance anyway, Kratos," he said, "My guests would have been very…irked."
Kratos replied only with a curt nod.
It wasn't very long until Lloyd wandered over, looking up at his father with a slight frown.
"What is it?" he looked down.
"Huh-? Er…I um…" Lloyd fidgeted, "What else can you do?"
"Pardon?"
"I asked the Professor what 'certified' meant and all- so what else are you 'certified' for?"
"…"
"Well?"
"…" Kratos sighed, "I am a certified chiropractor, architect, lawyer, mechanic, magi-economic advisor and…massage therapist…"
"Wow, that's a lot," Lloyd stared, "I-…Massage therapist?"
"Your mother liked it," he said with a slight flush, glancing away.
"Uh…okay…" Lloyd trailed, raising an eyebrow, "Right, so um…"
"Yooo hooo! Oh lifeguard! Over here!"
They both turned to see a group of giggly, bikini-clad women, one of which was being pushed forward by her friends. The swordsmen slowly raised an eyebrow as the lead woman giggled and finally spoke.
"Isn't alcohol prohibited on the beach?" she grinned goofily.
"…It was to my understanding, yes-"
"Then what are you doing carrying around that six-pack?" she giggled more violently.
"…"
"What?" Lloyd blinked.
"Do you get tired blowing on that whistle?" another asked. "We can blow on you if you want!"
"Huh?!" Lloyd stared, though they didn't seem to notice him.
"Ladies, if you have no real questions than please go back to your business-" Kratos huffed, slightly irritated.
"Can you give me CPR? You took my breath away!" another grinned.
"Oooh, that's a good one!" Zelos said, jotting it down in a small notebook he slipped from seemingly nowhere. "I'll try that on the chick over there, eheheheheh…."
"Oh, hey! He's cute too!"
"Yeah! But he's not a lifeguard…"
"Wha-?! My hunnies, being a lifeguard means nothing," Zelos scoffed, "I am the epitome of sexiness without such status! Besides, I'd much prefer to guard your hearts instead…"
"Lame!"
"Yeah, let's go back to oogling- hey, where'd he go?"
They looked around briefly and found Kratos in heated discussion with Regal, who simply sighed and shook his head. Kratos gave a heavy sigh himself before turning and heading back to the chair, though Regal did come to talk to the women.
"I'm sorry, ladies, but could you not distract the lifeguard? It is a health-hazard, you know…"
"What the hell was that all about?" Lloyd stared.
Kratos merely sighed as Zelos currently curled in a corner mourning the fact he had been called 'lame'. Lloyd still didn't get it. So it was at the end of the day that the beach closed and everyone headed home. However, Lloyd seemed a bit reluctant to leave, and it ended up with him being the sole person on the beach as Kratos watched from shore. True, he had been fine with it for a while- had even told Regal and the others to go on ahead, that he didn't mind- but it was getting dark.
"Lloyd, it's getting late, you need to get out now," he called.
"Aw, come on! Just five more minutes?" he shouted back.
"All your friends have already gone inside," he said, "Let's go."
With a sigh, Lloyd reluctantly complied, swimming back to shore and pulling himself out of the water. Before he could say anything, Kratos was all over him, glowering down at the boy.
"Look at you, your lips are blue," he scoffed, "And you have goosebumps..you stayed in there far too long, you could get sick, you should know better than to-"
"Wh-?! H- Hey!" Lloyd backed up. "Geez! How come you only act like my dad when I do something wrong?!"
"…"
"I…Kratos, I didn't meant that-"
"No, it's all right, I understand," the man stated simply, looking away.
"I…I was only in that long because I was hoping that…"
Kratos turned to look at him again, an eyebrow raised.
"I was hoping that you'd come swim with me," the boy finished lamely, flushing a bit.
"…"
"Kratos-?"
"That's out of the question, you can't go back into the water now or you'll risk getting ill," he stated, Lloyd slumping, "…However…I suppose if you dry yourself off-"
"We could split watermelons and make a sandcastle?" Lloyd blurted, his eyes lighting up.
"…" Kratos sighed, smiling weakly, "All right then….but only for a little while."
Lloyd grinned.
Well, that was fun n.n I wish they did something like this in the game…
Hope you liked : D
