Sari: Dayfourdayfourdayfourdayfour!
Moo: …Someone had too much chocolate this morning.
Sari: No, actually, blueberry cake.
(Little) Zelos: GIANT RAINBOW!
Disclaimer: ... Does anybody read these? Don't own it.
Warnings: Implied Gensea.
Kratos was ready for the bouncing little child the next morning. It was Genis, again, talking non-stop about how he, Genis, was to become the greatest chef in the world, and invent a recipe that sounded like "Cooked Onion Alala." Kratos nodded his head as though he was interested, and shoved the little kid into 'Uncle Zelos'' room so he could get dressed in peace. He heard Zelos mutter some rather crude swear words before physically throwing the babbling Genis from his bedroom.
"Well good morning everyone!" Colette said brightly at Breakfast. She was bouncing little Dirk on her knee, who was blowing tiny spit bubbles, "Well, me and Lloyd have sailed past here at least twenty times, and if we are correct, there's a sandbar just up ahead, you know, shallow, knee-deep water. Well, Raine, Sheena and Regal are too young, but I thought that Genis, Presea and Zelos could go out there for some swimming lessons! Doesn't that sound like fun?" She smiled brightly at everyone, who grinned back unconvincingly.
"We'll stay on the boat and watch the other three and Dirk," The older Zelos and Sheena said at once.
"Er, I'm cleaning the kitchen, its filthy," Regal said, dashing off before any one could stop him. Lloyd and Colette were obviously going to teach their kids swimming lessons… Kratos guessed he would too. Genis and Presea, however, had still not turned up for breakfast…
"I… well, you said the water wasn't too deep, right?" Raine said worriedly. Everyone knew how terrified she was of water, even when she was in the boat she never looked over the railing. The younger Kratos patted her sympathetically on the shoulder, something that was very rare for him, seeing that he was normally rude and blunt.
"Hey, Aunt Raine, I'll come with you and show you how to fish, right off the sandbar!" He said consolingly. She looked slightly more relaxed, and it was decided that she would come as well.
"Hey, Dad, help me get these little monsters into their bathing suits," Lloyd called from inside. Raine and Colette were smothering a very disgruntled younger Kratos with sunscreen, who looked like he was about to kick them any second. The older Kratos walked into little Zelos' room to find Lloyd helplessly trying to force some bright yellow swimming trunks onto Zelos, who was screaming and kicking his tiny feet.
"Stop- OUCH!" Lloyd yelled as one of his son's flailing fists made contact with his nose. Kratos looked apprehensive, but went to go help.
"I can put my bathing suit on all by myself. Zelos is being a bad boy," Little Presea said proudly, walking around with her head sticking out of one of the armholes.
"Everyone ready?" Colette asked excitedly. Raine was wearing water wings and one of those cheap plastic tubes with a giraffe head sticking out of it. She was clinging to young Kratos' arm, who looked as though he couldn't feel his fingers anymore.
"Alright, jump!" Lloyd took a flying leap off the boat. They heard a splash (Raine screamed) and saw him surface, a grin spreading across his face.
"The water's great!" He declared, "Hey Zelos, come jump! I'll catch you." Little Zelos took a huge puff of air, held his fingers over his nose, and flung himself off the boat. Lloyd caught him inches before he hit the water. Zelos looked down at the beautiful turquoise water around him.
"What if Bubbles is hiding in the water, Daddy?" He asked Lloyd worriedly.
Well, things went pretty well for Kratos, who was trying to teach Presea how to do the 'Doggie Paddle'. She was a quick learner, but the only problem was she had a habit of eating sand once and a while ("It's like kitty litter!"). Kratos was just happy he wasn't in his grandson's position, who was stuck teaching Raine how to fish. Every time she got a nibble, she'd drop the rod in horror.
"The whole point of casting the line is to get the nibble," Younger Kratos explained exasperatedly. Raine nodded, and dropped the fishing rod again with a shriek.
"Hello, Murray!" Colette said as the big, shaggy dog swam towards her. Genis, who loved Murray, grabbed a fistful of the dog's fur and let himself be towed around for a while, that is, until Murray decided to dive for a rock that Lloyd threw. Genis surfaced, spluttering.
"This is so great! The kids learning how to swim, it's a gorgeous day and even Kratos is acting nicely!" Colette said, going to stand by Lloyd. He smiled at her.
"Yeah," he replied, then pointed at Presea, who was doing the front crawl. She seemed to bring her hands down hard in front of her, making a splash. Colette laughed.
"You used to swim like that," Lloyd said, smiling at her. Colette giggled, remembering the time that Lloyd taught her how to swim. Even when she was younger she had loved him, though she hadn't realized it then.
"It's BUBBLES!" Zelos shrieked, pointing at a small fish swimming by. He looked terrified. Lloyd picked him up and put him on his shoulders.
"Zelos, exactly who is Bubbles?" He asked, frowning slightly. Zelos' eyes grew wide, and he began a very long and complicated story about how Bubbles was the king of something that sounded like 'Foo-wee' and was trying to take over the world by sending giant rainbows after everyone. Lloyd nodded his head trying to look serious, then burst out laughing, much to little Zelos' confusion.
Meanwhile, back at the boat, the older Regal was watching helplessly as his charges tore around the boat at top speed, screaming and crying because Regal wouldn't let them eat the chocolate chip cookies that Colette had baked the day before. Regal had tried reasoning with the kids, but either they couldn't hear him over the ruckus that they were making, or they were making the ruckus so they purposely couldn't hear him, Regal couldn't tell.
"Now listen here kids-" Regal began sternly, but to his shock and surprise, a large, red tomato made contact with the side of his face. Little Sheena was standing there holding another; apparently she had broken into Regal's vegetable supply.
Regal narrowed his eyes. This means war! He thought savagely, seizing some baby carrots and aiming them at Sheena like she was a dartboard.
"Well, it looks like its time to head back to the boat," Kratos said, thoroughly worn out. Presea had turned out to be a nightmare when he tried to teach her the back crawl. He was feeling as though he'd had a dosage of little, obnoxious kids that would last him a lifetime (and that's saying something, seeing that Kratos was over 4,000 years old).
"True," Lloyd said, glancing at his watch, which read 12:30, "Come on." They all trudged back to the boat through the knee-deep water. With not much difficulty, seeing that the children were all tired out, they all got onto the boat and sat down to eat lunch, which they guessed was going to be some good stew that Regal cooked for them, or something.
But the sad truth was that Regal had not made them hot stew, or anything for lunch at that. Instead, the swimmers watched, half exasperated half amused, as big Regal and little Sheena had a full fledged food fight on the deck.
"Take this!" Little Sheena roared, holding a slingshot like a machine gun and fitting an apple in it. Regal dove behind a beach chair just as the apple exploded.
"RETREAT!" Regal yelled to no one in particular. Then he got up and began to run at top speed towards the kitchen, probably to get more 'ammo.' He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Lloyd, Colette, Kratos, Raine and younger Kratos laughing, fit to burst, pointing at him.
"Re…treat!" Lloyd gasped with laughter, imitating Regal running towards the kitchen. Kratos actually found himself wiping tears from his eyes.
"I haven't laughed that much in years," he said, still laughing. His son punched his shoulder jokingly.
"You seriously have to get out more," He said.
Lunch was a meager bologna and cheese sandwich for Kratos, who was exhausted from watching tiny Presea all morning. He then settled down on the deck with a thick book called Origin of the Elves: The secrets of Derris Kharlan. He fell asleep halfway through the third chapter, however, most likely from exhaustion, but it just might have been because the book was boring.
"Dinner!" Genis shouted from the round, folding table, which had been brought out. Kratos woke up and slumped over to the table where he took his usual seat between Colette and little Genis, who had a habit of sticking whatever food he didn't like into Kratos' napkin.
"…And we thank the Goddess for wonderful food and wonderful family," Colette said, finishing the prayer. With that said everyone dove into the large, roasted chicken, which Genis and Regal had cooked to make up for the sad little lunch they had.
Kratos was looking forward to sleeping in his bed (he'd gotten used to the fact that there were plaid curtains surrounding him on all sides) and was very sleepy when he entered his room. However, he jumped when he saw Simon the cat curled up on his pillow, his ginger tail twitching slightly. Kratos sighed, knowing that there was no getting rid of the cat.
"Fine, you can sleep on my bed, but you can't sleep on my pillow, Kratos said, getting into the bed and pulling the covers over his shoulder. Simon hissed slightly when Kratos put his head on the pillow, but did not attack. Instead he stood up and walked to the foot of the bed, where he curled up on Kratos' feet. Though he didn't like to think of the sneezing that he'd be addled with all night, Kratos did like the warmth on his toes.
"Night, Simon," He muttered quietly.
Sari: So, it's me doing reveiw replies, even though I didn't write this chapter. So, I come back from ONE DAY away, and I was swamped in reveiws! Which made me very happy, of course. Thank you. You all get a cookie each. And a hug, if you're so inclined.
Suzu Fujibayashi- On the internet, everyone should get a cookie! Teletubbies? Yikes... That's a scary thought. They aren't married... Yet... –evil laugh-
Lugiamania- Yes... They do... Heh.
Sakura Irving- Mm, yes, they are lacking in the creativity, hmm? It's also for the chaos...
Mez10000- TEN TIMES? –huge eyes- and I just beat it my first time... Yes, I go mental with just my little cousins. I don't work with little kids well.
Aldia- It's fun to read? Cool! I had no idea! Um, sorry. Thanks!
Sari: So, take your cookies, and have a nice time until the next update! Which should be soon... We usually manage around... two a day? Not today, though, thunder and lightening. Thanks for favorites/alerts/whatever. Chao-for-now!