Sari: There, there Moo, I know I made you do it… but it's all for the best you know!
Sheena: You sickos.
Moo: -sob-
Disclaimer: ... Nope, I don't own Namco.
Warnings: Sheelos – It's not just implied anymore! A teeny Kratos spoiler if you haven't gone to the Tower of Salvation on dragon-back yet.
The whole boat was silent, even the children refrained from speaking. Instead, everyone was crowded around younger Kratos' bed, waiting for him to wake up. Balanced in Colette's hands was a huge, three-layer cake, iced clumsily by the little ones. On the top it said 'Happy Birthday Kratos!' in bright pink icing, something that didn't seem very Kratos-ish at all.
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Everyone shouted as Kratos feebly opened one eye. He jumped half a foot in the air (as did Simon, who was also dosing on his bed) and jumped to his feet. Seeing that he always slept in his clothes (cargo pants, some famous band's t-shirt) no one saw anything that they shouldn't have been seeing.
"…Wow," He said, staring at everyone crammed into his bedroom. He hadn't expected anyone to care that much about his birthday… even he had not gone as far as hoping for a cake. Tiny Regal crawled onto Kratos' bed and happily placed a lurid green party hat on his head. Normally placing any kind of hat on Kratos' head was taboo, but he was feeling uncharacteristically happy today, so instead of pouting, he grinned at everyone.
"Thanks! Well, I know you've probably been waiting to eat that for some time…" He looked ardently at the cake. Little Zelos, who seemed to have been containing himself beyond his normal measures squealed with glee and without further ado plunged his head into the cake. Colette sighed exasperatedly as pink frosting splattered her face.
"Zelos, your mom doesn't like it when you do that," his older namesake said, prying the child off of the cake. He then took his finger a wiped it across the child's cheek and sucked on it thoughtfully.
"This is good cake," He said, grinning. Older Sheena sighed and shook her head.
"Hypocrite," She muttered under her breath.
For breakfast they all ate large portions of the squished cake. It nearly turned into another food fight fiasco, but they ran out of cake before the throwing became serious.
Kratos, to his displeasure, was stuck doing the dishes with Zelos, who had a habit of humming old romance songs under his breath. Well, they'd never really taken to each other, but Kratos guessed they could have a normal conversation…
"So, how're things going with you? Still got you're –er– mansion in Meltokio?" Kratos asked, scraping some candle-wax off of a plate. Zelos picked some scum out of his fingernails before answering.
"Yeah, but I kind of got sick of whole damn city, you know, some people just won't accept half-elves, and my neighbors are some of them," Zelos said, annoyed, "I just needed to get away from it all for a while. Well, floating around on a boat seemed like the perfect get away." Kratos stood in silence for a moment, thinking. Zelos really was a thoughtful person, once you got him speaking with his heart, instead of his fake cover-up.
"I know what you mean, people being stereotypical, I saw a lot of it back in the war…" Kratos said, coaxing Zelos further. He pretended to be scrubbing some frosting off of a coffee mug (though he had not the slightest inkling on how it got there.)
"Well, it doesn't take a genius to figure it out, but me and Sheena have been thinking about getting married for some time, so we decided to just go on the boat together, you know, see our old friends for a bit," Zelos said, staring at a floating piece of broccoli as it bobbed around in the sink.
"Mmm," Kratos said, letting Zelos know that he was still listening. Zelos smiled, lost in thought and then said congenially:
"I was thinking about asking her tonight." Kratos hid his surprise quickly, not wanting Zelos to feel like he was making fun of him. Kratos waited for Zelos to say something, but his silence was in vain. Zelos turned back towards the dishes and was now scrubbing at a stubborn piece of hardened cheese.
Sometimes it was difficult for Kratos (or people in general) to tell whether Zelos was pretending or not, seeing that he was an impeccable actor. After all, he had succeeded in fooling his friends for many months until they figured out his 'true' motive for helping them.
"Well, I think I hear little Genis calling me," Kratos said, knowing it sounded awkward. He walked over to Genis, who was, in truth, looking around for someone anxiously.
"What's the matter?" Kratos asked, trying to sound kindly. Little Genis' face changed from worried to joyous in a matter of half a second. He seized Kratos' arm (which was about level with Genis' head) and dragged him over to the bow of the boat, where the smaller versions of Zelos, Presea, Raine and Sheena were all gathered, looking excited. Kratos tried not to look worried.
"We're playing red-light-green-light," Raine explained rapidly, "You see, we were one person short, so we were looking around for our older brother when we saw you! You'll do just fine, Gampy. Do you know how to play?" Kratos was quiet for what seemed to be about one minute. He was simply stunned about how advanced this two-year-old's talking abilities were. They might even surpass an unintelligent adult's… maybe Lloyd's.
"Er, I'm familiar with the rules," Kratos said, trying to sound smart even though he had no idea what red-light-green-light was, "But, er, could you, perhaps, refresh my memory?" Raine looked at him with a look that matched the professor's nearly to perfection, then quickly explained the rules. Once they had elected the Trafficker (Zelos) he turned around and began to hum a song that sounded unnervingly like the tune Martel used to play on her mouth organ.
Kratos and the kids crept up behind Zelos, who spun around suddenly. Kratos was caught mid-step, and was sent back to the beginning. The children looked simply overjoyed that they were beating their famous grandfather at something, and continued to play it rough.
Eventually, little Sheena snuck up on Zelos and took his place. They played a few more rounds of the game, during which Kratos (though he refused to admit it to the giggling grandchildren) was slaughtered.
After refusing another game of red-light-green-light, Kratos settled down in his day glow pink beach chair with half a peanut butter sandwich to satisfy his hunger until the soup was ready for dinner –he hadn't eaten a proper lunch, after all. Half way through chapter five of Origin of the Elves: The secrets of Derris Kharlan, little Raine wormed her way into Kratos' lap, belittling his rather thick book with an even thicker book titled Mythril: A Metal of Many Mysteries and Uses. Kratos gave an audible 'humph' as she settled imperiously on his chest.
"Do you understand all the information in that book?" Kratos asked, not quite sure if he wanted the answer. Raine didn't take her eyes from the page.
"Of course I do, or I wouldn't be pursuing its pages now, would I? But if you do not understand it, then I can certainly try and explain," She said to Kratos with a small hint of pride. Kratos smiled slyly at the child: it was all clear to him now. She just carried these books around to look smart; she couldn't really understand what it meant. He quickly slipped it away from her.
"Here, before you go and teach anyone else, you should make sure you have your stuff down," Kratos said, flipping idly through the pages. Raine made a snatch at it, but he pulled away.
"Lemme test you," he said, keeping his voice even. He wanted to see how she would answer the questions.
"Mythril is known as the most metal." Kratos recited the line from the book, leaving the word out. Little Raine sighed, and as though dealing with an obnoxious student, she swiftly hopped out of her grandfather's lap, seized the book and snapped it shut.
"For your information, Mythril is the most magical metal, often crafted into armor and weaponry because of its fabled strength. Mythril was most popular during the ancient Karlan war –you, of all people, should know this Gampy, honestly– because it is not only light, but also strong. However, due to the intense decline in mana, Mythril was difficult to find, and most people that formerly mined it gave up and began looking for more plentiful minerals to dig up. That is why today Mythril armor is prized and sold at a high price. Good day to you too, Gampy," Raine said, and gracefully toddled away, leaving Kratos gasping for air. He seriously needed to talk to Lloyd about sending that kid to a University when she came of age; no, not to learn there, but to teach there. Even he, who was over 2000 times her age, could probably learn a thing or two.
Dinner was uneventful (except for the fact that tiny Raine kept on reciting random facts about Mythril, just to prove she was smart) so afterward Kratos lay contented on his beach chair on the deck with all the other adults, watching as the pinkish-orange sky changed purple. Kratos had abandoned Origin of the Elves: The secrets of Derris Kharlan after the sixth chapter and had instead decided to hang with his old friend, Noishe, who was perfectly happy to have his ears scratched.
"You smell good," Lloyd said as Colette came to share his beach chair with him. She smiled happily.
"Well I shouldn't, because I just changed Simon's kitty litter," She told him. Lloyd groaned.
"Hey Sheena, can I talk to you for a second?" Zelos was standing a little while off at the back of the boat, leaning over the railing. Everyone raised their eyebrows at a blushing Sheena as she whisked past them. However, they all averted their eyes when she reached Zelos, knowing that it was something that they would regret interrupting. Only Kratos knew the true seriousness of what Zelos was going to do though, and briskly walked inside to the privacy of his bedroom. Surprisingly, the others followed his lead. Zelos and Sheena had the deck all to themselves, for the better or the worse.
"Come here, Sheena, there are some dolphins," Zelos called from the bow, pointing down at the water. Sure enough, there were some leaping porpoises squeaking and splashing around. Sheena laughed as one jumped high right in front of the boat. It was almost close enough to touch.
"They're so… beautiful," Sheena said, admiring the way their sleek bodies shone in the moonlight. Suddenly she spun around, feeling Zelos' hand on her waist.
"Not as beautiful as you," He said quietly, bringing her closer. She leaned forward and kissed him, her fingers sliding slowly through his hair.
They broke apart, and quietly Zelos said, "Will you marry me?" Sheena merely smiled, nodded her head, and kissed him again.
But during the time all this romance was going on above him, Kratos was serenely sleeping, having strange dreams about cats, birthdays and red lights.
Sari: ...
Moo: She made me do
it!
Sari: I just asked WHEN he would? But whatever.
Reveiw replies! Which there is curenntly... one of.
Sakura Irving – Mm, I hope there isn't any bubbles wherever you're swimming... This chappie is nice alongish for you. You can guess all the odd chapters are short and the even ones are long. It's me and Moo's writing styles. She writes long and I write all short... which is why I double space and she never does... hmm, well, whatever.