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A ToS Christmas

When they arrived, Lloyd was immediately forced into bed. With a cough and a grin, he tried to reason with them that he was fine, but he threatened that if he left the bed, he'd have to deal with Raine's wrath.

And who would be crazy enough to face her wrath?!

Against his will, the teenage boy fell asleep. Raine and her brother were looking through old books on the origin of Christmas, while Presea and Regal talked among themselves. Sheena was writing something in a small book, and Colette stared out the window. (1)

"It's all my fault..." she said softly. "I'm such a klutz." Setting her chin on the windowsill, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She turned to face (well, after looking down) Genis.

"It's not your fault! Lloyd always gets himself into trouble." Genis laughed at his friend's stupidity, then moved on. "It's nobody's fault. Besides, he'll be fine."

"Yeah... you're right." Hugging him, Genis gasped for air. "Can't... breathe..."

After observing them, the redheaded Chosen turned his gaze outside his own window. "My...friends..." His eyes blinking a few times, he stopped on the thought. Can I go through with this? After all we've been through? I-- "Whoa! What the..."

"Zelos, are you all right? You're never this quiet," the summoner asked, somewhat worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine..."

"Liar! You didn't even come up with some stupid... flirty name! What's wrong?"

"Ah, you wanna get close to me, hunny?" Laughing in his ignorance, Sheena stopped him with a slap across the face and stormed off.

Later that night...

It seemed so peaceful. All that could be heard was the wind howling every once in a while outside, and Genis' snoring. Except... now there was a soft sound of feet landing on the floor and careful, rolling footsteps across the room, slowly reaching for the door.

With a gulp, Lloyd turned the doorknob slowly and opened the door. He hadn't expected a creak, and his heart jumped, waiting for someone to yell at him. For seconds, nothing came, so he walked out and closed the door, holding the knob at a twist and setting it back into place once the door met the wall. (2)

Now safe, he walked outside. He hadn't grabbed his shoes, and the bottom of his socks started to soak from the light sheet of snow leftover on the ground. He was about to look over the balcony.

"Shouldn't you be in bed, resting?"

In response, his feet stopped moving. He already knew from whose throat the calling had jutted from, but he turned to face the man behind him. "Kratos... What are you doing here?"

"I came to check up on you."

"Have you been watching us the whole time?"

"Enough. But you haven't answered my question."

"Resting? Right, right... I'm fine now."

"You may be fine now, but you need to rest up for tomorrow. Who knows what will happen tomorrow?"

"Kratos, nobody would launch an attack on Christmas."

"Is that so? What about a monster? They have no interest in Christmas."

"Well..." He had no response. "I guess you wouldn't have an interest in Christmas, either."

"Is that so? I used to love Christmas, actually."

The son looked at his father with sudden curiosity. "Really?"

"It was Anna and my favorite holiday. No matter where we happened to be, we still celebrated Christmas somehow... either by slightly pricey or no cost measures. But after her death... Christmas just isn't worth celebrating anymore."

"Cause you've been alone for so long! Of course it's not worth it if you can't share the joy with anyone else."

"Wow, you've gotten something through your thick skull for once."

". . ." Biting his tongue to avoid yelling back, Lloyd stared into the empty streets. "Would you like Christmas again if you could celebrate with us?"

"I'm afraid I'll have to decline the offer."

"But why?"

"I have other businesses to attend to. Besides, it would seem quite odd. Me, the enemy celebrating with you."

"But, you're..."

"I am still supposedly your enemy. Now, get some rest for tomorrow." With those last words, Kratos spread his sapphire wings and flew into the sky.

Silent, Lloyd stared into the dark where his own kin had flown, and then he headed back into the inn to heed his advice.

A/N: MEEP! Such wind outside... n.n;; Yes, it's still the same night as I wrote Author Notes to the previous chapter. e.e But I have some explanations:

(1) I couldn't decide on an origin of Christmas, so I just said that Raine and Genis were looking it up. I had thought of some person's birth (like Mithos, Martel, etc.) but it really didn't seem to matter to the plot anyway.

(2) I'm not sure if the description was good enough... u.u; I do that all the time when sneaking around late at night. The reason? If you twist the knob before holding the door against the wall, there's no "click" sound when setting the door in place. But you haveta be careful, or the door will bang against the wall, making an even louder noise than a click. n.n; Then you retwist the knob back in place because you kinda have to. o.o Oh, and you should always roll your feet when sneaking around, because if you tiptoe, you're risking losing your balance and falling. (And what noise that would be!) There you go, some sneaky tips from somebody who sucks at sneaking around. n.n;

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