Hello! It's officially ten days into December! I hope everyone (who lives in places that get cold this time of year) are keeping warm. I know I'm trying my hardest. Either way, I want to thank orangepotato for reviewing! As always, read, enjoy and review!

Chapter Ten: Mistletoe

In the forest that surrounds the city of lakes sat a tiny cottage which sat unnoticed through the foliage. As the tall evergreen trees reached skyward, the small home tired to do the same, the lazy smoke that exited its chimney passing the treetops, going higher and higher before finally disappearing.

The family that lived inside the house was busily getting ready for the day for they had somewhere important to go. This somewhere excited the child to no end, some untold adventure surely waiting around the bend.

Running to his parent's bedroom, the boy didn't even bother knocking as he pushed his way inside, "Mommy, daddy, are you ready yet?"

His mother, who was busy brushing out her hair, grinned at him, "Almost, honey." She was nearly done recovering from her injury, the bandages apparent on her leg. The father said nothing as he strapped on his belt, hooking his sword to his hip. Not even bothering to look at himself in the mirror, he started towards the door, smiling at his son.

"Let's leave mommy, Lloyd." The child nodded, taking hold of his mother's hand.

From behind, Anna's voice came to be heard, "Mr. Kratos Aurion, where do you think you're going?"

Lloyd looked towards his father with huge eyes, "Uh oh, she used your full name. That means you're in trouble."

The auburn chuckled at his son, turning his head to look at his rather impatient looking wife. She sat in front of her mirror, her reflection looking equally as annoyed. An eyebrow rose up, questioning her without even speaking.

She gave a frustrated sigh, "Why is it you always look like you rolled out of bed?" She signaled to his hair, which, per usual, was a mop on his head. He hadn't been aware it bothered her that much.

"That's just the way it looks."

"Can't you comb it or something?" She stood up, walking over to him and staring at him straight in the eye, "Why don't you pull it back?"

He couldn't help but smile, a small ounce of deviance starting to form inside of him. Biting back his tongue, he tugged on Lloyd's arm and started walking away. Anna huffed at him, rolling her eyes at his childish behavior. In the years she'd known Kratos, she'd only seen him act that way occasionally. And it was usually when he was feeling pretty confident no one could stop him.

After that, it didn't take long before they were outside, Kratos and Anna both holding Lloyd hands as they walked. The small child kept looking around as their feet reached the dirt, his eyes full of concern.

"Mommy, where's all of the snow?"

With a grin, she said, "It'll be back, don't worry."

Tears nearly formed in the boy's eyes, the red kid missing the heaps of white that he'd run through so eagerly only days before. Regardless, it was gone but if his mommy said it would be back, he'd just have to believe her.

When they finally reached the city of Luin, Anna was exhausted from the walk. Although she tried not to show it, even the young boy could see it. That didn't keep her from being the first to walk into the mall, arms stretching out as if she was showing a display. "We're here! I just have a few things I need to pick up." A wink at Kratos told him what types of things and he pressed a palm to his face.

"Don't forget the other things as well."

She grinned, "Why would I forget those? Now," she bent down, leveling her eyes with Lloyd, "Will you be ok with daddy for a while?" When a nod came as his response, she got to her feet and kissed her husband on the cheek. As she turned to leave, she shouted over her shoulder, "Meet me at the fountain in about three hours." With that, she was gone, the massive crowd taking her whole.

Kratos could feel his stomach turn on its side. It was a common reaction, happening every time she left his sight. Fear always plagued him as he waited for her to return. To the husband, it was almost as if Anna was sure she'd be fine, like she didn't understand the consequences of everything that was going on in their lives.

"Daddy?"

Snapping back, Kratos looked down at his son, "What is it?"

"You look worried."

He shook his head, "Not really. I always get a little nervous when mommy wanders off." Tugging gently at the child's arm, they started walking. As they passed by the place with Santa, the two saw St. Nick give a huge wave to them. Of course the boy wiggled his arm about, extremely happy the fat man had recognized him. Kratos, however, wanted to hide his face in shame. The events of talking with Santa still fresh in his mind.

Passing him, though, they reached several stores in the back of the place. These were the ones Anna had specifically told Kratos the night before to take the child too. It was all so everything would go smoothly, the boy never becoming the wiser of what his mother was actually up too.

Without asking the boy, Kratos headed into a store filled with all kinds of different toys. While Anna was busy shopping for his gifts from Santa, Kratos would be getting him the gifts they'd be buying him.

Rust colored orbs grew huge as he soaked up his surroundings. With so many toys on the shelves and so many different kinds of things sitting about the big room, he couldn't help but feel over stimulated.

"What is this place?"

"This," Kratos spoke, kneeling down to his son, "Is called a toy store." It occurred to Kratos that they'd never actually been in one before, the two parent's never wanting to bother with lugging around toys along with a young child. Now that they'd settled down, however, that had changed. It was ok for them to buy him some things.

Still in shock, Kratos tugged the boy along, each aisle creating more excitement in the young child's features. The father searched the stacked items, picking up boxes and looking at them with mild interest. He was simply waiting for Lloyd to catch up to everything around him and as the father predicted, it didn't take him long.

"Daddy! There are so many toys!" Wiggling his hand from his father's, the kid darted through the store, barely hearing his father call after him. There'd been something he'd seen in another aisle they'd passed through. When he reached it, he grabbed the box and started looking it over.

The massive box was filled with different action figures, each dressed in a snazzy costume and wielding a different weapon. He personally liked the one with the sword. The guy was also dressed in red, which made him cooler.

"Lloyd, please don't run off," his eyes caught what the boy was eagerly handling, the rust colored orbs looking towards his father. With a smile, Kratos bent down, "We're here to buy you some Christmas presents. Whatever you want, I'll buy for you but you'll have to wait until Christmas to get it."

After glancing between the box and his father, he grinned, "Ok. I'll put this back and we can keep looking!" Placing the box on the shelf, he started walking again, this time a little slower so his father could keep up. The red boy would stop every so often, critically examining the toys to see if they were worthy of being owned by him. They reached the giant crate of stuffed animals, each a different color and creature.

It was a good starting place, the child thought. He could always use more friends and, if the situation called for it, more allies in his fight against the candy cane army. He peaked over the edge of the bends, searching for his next stuffed animal friend.

Kratos yanked one out of the pile, examining it before showing it to Lloyd, "How about this one?" It was a purple teddy bear, a white ribbon tied around its neck, "Teddy needs a girlfriend, doesn't he?"

A huge grin crossed the child's face, "You're right!" He snatched it, hugging it close. There was an instant love between him and the bear, its blue button eyes staring back at him with the utmost happiness.

One toy down, Kratos thought. Taking his son to another aisle, it didn't take the boy long to find everything he wanted, his arms, as well as Kratos', becoming over burdened with things. When they reached the check out, they sat everything down, the cashier's eyes growing wide at the extent of stuff. To top off everything, Lloyd placed his new teddy bear on the top.

Without regarding the man, Kratos spoke as he dug out his wallet, "Also, there's a large bean bag in the back that we reserved. They said we need to pay for it upfront."

The guy nodded slowly, walking to the back to retrieve the item in question. Over all, they'd spent an hour and a half in the store and it took them a good thirty minutes to purchase everything. Now, with arms full of bags, the two exited the store, a gigantic smile consuming both of their faces.

They reached the fountain, deciding to spend the remaining hour waiting for Anna to show up. Kratos observed his child, who was staring longingly into one of the bags. Clearing his throat, he spoke, "You know, you can have one of the toys now, if you wish."

"Really?" Lloyd asked, eyes growing wide with joy. At his father's nod, the boy reached into the bag he'd been staring at and pulled out the teddy bear. He smiled at his new friend, adjusting her bow so she looked nice. "I can't wait for mommy to meet her."

"What's her name?" the curious father asked, turning his head towards his son. As the child pondered, he couldn't help but notice how much of a resemblance he had to his mother. The chocolate brown hair, the kindness in his eyes and the way his chin was shaped all mirrored Anna. The father honestly couldn't see that much of a similarity between his son and himself, save the eye color. Both had intense brownish red eyes.

"Kratos."

He raised an eyebrow at his name being said. At first, he thought Lloyd was addressing him but when the child hadn't looked away from the teddy bear, it was clear he was talking to the purple animal.

"Kratos?"

"Yup. Her name is Kratos."

That was completely unexpected, "Lloyd, Kratos is a boy's name."

"Well," the child scoffed, pulling his new teddy close, "It's a girl's name now. She wears purple and so do you." Lloyd pointed a finger towards his father who was, in all actuality, wearing purple that day. He felt a flush of embarrassment wash over him but swallowed it down.

"I suppose you can name her 'Kratos'."

That ended that conversation, the two sitting in silence as Lloyd fiddled with Ms. Kratos. With every passing second, Kratos felt like his insides were being ripped out. There wasn't anything he could do to appease his anxiety. Right when the clock struck three hours past, he began to panic.

Anna hadn't shown up yet, she wasn't there. Logic tried to barrage his mind but he wouldn't let it prevail. With every calm thought came a swarm of unpleasant ones, each ending worse than the last. He couldn't allow himself to get so worked up, to completely lose his focus. If he didn't stay calm, he could miss the obvious and that would be dangerous for all three of them.

Several minutes passed, the child not even the slightest bit aware of the inner chaos his father was going through. The boy asked, "Where's mommy?"

Kratos shook his head, not trusting his voice. He could feel his hands shaking. Why was he shaking? He needed to calm down. She was just running late, most likely caught up in a check-out line or grabbing some last minute item.

It was as his thoughts reached their peak of frustration, a familiar voice came to his ears, causing his head to snap to the side.

Standing beside them with a smile on his face was none other than Santa Clause. He was grinning at the two and Kratos could feel his insides relax. Letting out a breath he hadn't been aware he was holding, he gave a nod to St. Nick, "What brings you here?"

The jolly man looked at Kratos as he spoke, "Your wife is the woman with short brown hair, correct?"

"Yes. That's Anna."

"She collapsed not too far from my North Pole stand so I went over to help her up. When I recognized her, I decided to come and find you."

Collapsed?

Imagines of Anna's injured leg came back into view. He knew she shouldn't have let her walk by herself. Although she'd claimed to be well enough to venture out, the husband should have been responsible and told her no. Instead, he'd allowed her to come along, feeling guilty in having her stay by herself at the house.

Standing up, Kratos motioned for Lloyd to stand as well. "Can you take me to her?" Santa nodded, helping them carry their bags towards the North Pole stand they'd only been at days earlier. Upon reaching it, the father's eyes searched for his wife. Spotting her, he nearly rushed over there, dropping everything to hold her in his arms but he didn't. Keeping himself calm, the three men reached Anna, who was sitting on a bench near the wall.

She gave a weak smile to them, her injured leg propped upon the bench. Some of the holiday elves were tending to her, placing an ice pack on the wrapped leg.

Kratos reached her, dropping the bags and kneeling next to her. Santa and Lloyd stood in the background, both watching the two.

Anna smirked at him, "I see you got a lot of toys for Lloyd. Was he excited?"

Kratos nodded, eyes darting to her leg, "I was worried about you, Anna. When you didn't show up I thought…"

With a delicate hand, Anna placed her finger tips on Kratos' cheek, "I'm fine. Thanks for worrying, though." Kratos took her hand into his, savoring the touch that he always found himself craving. Whenever she wasn't near, he could feel the need to touch her arise, the need to feel her next to him, for him to know she was there and always would be.

After a moment, Anna looked up at the wall that sat behind the bench. "Kratos."

"Yes?" He looked at her and her grinning face, "What?" As the husband's eyes followed her gaze, they fell on the object of her interest.

She gave a cute smile, "its mistletoe."

Sure enough, the green and red mess of foliage was none other than mistletoe, a ball of it hanging over every bench in the area. She smiled to herself and then to her husband. He carried a small smirk as well before leaning in and claiming her lips as his own. For long seconds, all he could feel was her. Everything inside of him light up, creating that sensation he desired. Using one of his hands, he pulled her into the kiss even more, deepening it.

The precious moment shattered when there was a chorus of clapping came around them, Kratos immediately backing away from Anna to look. The entire event had gathered a rather large audience, each person watching with misty eyes as Kratos and Anna shared their love for each other.

A rash of heat came over the father's face and Anna started giggling.

Everyone else started to laugh as well, his embarrassment obviously a comical thing. A recognizable voice came to the father's ears, "That's gross, mommy and daddy. You're embarrassing me."'

The child walked over to his parents, giving them his best 'you're so grounded' look before reaching to hug his mother. She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tightly. Strong arms came around them both, Kratos encircling the two as well. Another wave came from the audience, this time in the form of cooing and awing.

The two parent's kissed their sons head, the boy grinning proudly. More clapping and Kratos finally turned towards them, "Ok, you can go now."

The people stood for a second, each looking at the other. Finally, they started disbanding, the shoppers going back to what they were doing. The heat didn't leave the auburn's face as he waited to make sure the only person that was watching them was Santa. The jolly man had been grinning the entire time, happy he could bring them all together again.

Taking his wife into his arms, he kissed her once more. Lloyd rolled his eyes but suddenly remembered something very important. As they scooped up their bags, the red boy spoke, "Mommy, you have to meet someone."

She gave an inquisitive look before the boy brought his new teddy bear into view, "Daddy said I could have one present early so I chose her. Her name is Kratos and she's going to be Teddy's girl friend!" Busting out laughing, the mother wrapped her arms tightly around her husband to make sure she didn't fall. It was just too funny but she stopped her fit to pull on a very serious face.

"She can't be named Kratos."

"Why not?"

"Because" she smirked, eyes darting to Kratos, "Her hair isn't messy enough." This earned the mischievous Anna another kiss before they all exited the store, all of them happy to be together.