Alright, new chapter. And some Oyako fluff. Sorry, it's kinda short but that's 'cuz the next one will be pretty long. Oh, and sorry if that last chapter didn't make sense or was boring, but I had to kind of set everything up. There are going to be a few chapters like that I suppose, but it please bear with me - .

Any way, enjoy!

Disclaimer- I own nuthin'.

CHAPTER 5

AS LONG AS I HAVE YOU

"Alright! Now we can travel together!" Lloyd practically jumped for joy when he heard he and his father had the same destination.

The pair was now shopping around Mizuho for supplies for their journey. Neither had much left because Lloyd used his in the trip to Mizuho, and Kratos had just dropped out from the sky.

Kratos was still trying to take everything in and think. Things had happened very quickly. After Raine had made her announcement and waited a few moments to bask in the glory of such a supposedly important job, she demanded Kratos come to Palmacosta. While he traveled there, Raine would look up more information about the Tear and share it with him when he arrived. Then Genis was jumping up and down in happiness, because Lloyd would come along to get the Exe-terminal. The Sage siblings started conversing to themselves, and with a quick farewell, had closed the line. Then Sheena began ordering about the workers, and Lloyd was dragging Kratos outside. All this had happened in the span of less than a minute.

Hmm…maybe I am getting old. Things weren't so fast-paced when I was younger, Kratos thought in dismay. He chuckled as he realized he really was talking like an old man.

"Hey, dad? What do think- should we get some Mizuho Potion?" Lloyd brought Kratos out of his thoughts and held a bottle of red liquid before him.

Kratos stared blankly for a moment, then shook his head and said, "No, I think we'll be fine."

"'Kay!" he put down the bottle and walked merrily to the next store.

Kratos stood there, looking after his son, still slightly unused to anyone calling him 'dad'.

"Dad! Come one! Don't tell me you're getting tired and old," Lloyd called.

"I may be old, but I can still keep up with you," Kratos smirked and sped right past his son.

"Whoa, hey, wait up!" Lloyd laughed.

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"Aaaah, now that was some good food," Lloyd plopped down onto the grassy hill, and lay there, arms folded behind his head, and stared up at the ethereal night sky.

"Yes, Mizuho dishes are very unique and flavorful," Kratos sat next to Lloyd and also looked up to the stars.

Kratos smiled as he watched the luminescent sparks light up the black, velvety roof of sky. Now these were the stars that had comforted him all his life. Even as a child, Kratos had always star gazed- from when he was a young boy with his father, to now when he sat with his own son.

"Dad? We used to look at the stars when I was young, right?" Lloyd said quietly, still facing upwards.

"….yes, after dinner we would go out like this, and usually stayed until you fell asleep," Kratos closed his eyes and thought back to many memories, "Of course we would only stay out for a little bit in the winter. Your mother would have killed me if I let you get sick; of course I wouldn't have been too pleased with myself either if that happened."

There was a long silence. Then Lloyd spoke up, very softly, "Thank you for that…"

"…?" Kratos cocked his head to the side questioningly.

"Well…sometimes…it got kinda lonely. I lived outside the village, and, don't get me wrong, Dirk's a great dad, but….well, he just wasn't the same as having real parents…"

Kratos looked up again casually, but he was hiding the deep wells of sadness in his eyes. Ever since he had discovered Lloyd was alive, he had regretted leaving him alone with every fiber of his being. Not a day went by when he was in Cruxis that he didn't miss his family.

Kratos opened his mouth to attempt an apology, but Lloyd waved a hand as if he knew what his dad was about to say, "But it wasn't so bad, I guess. I had Genis and Collette and the Professor, and Noishe. And whenever it got tough, I could look up at the stars. For some reason they always helped…I think it was because they reminded me of you; without me ever really knowing that, though. So, I suppose that you were really supporting me all my life, in a way."

"…" Kratos couldn't manage to say anything; no wise statement, or words of comfort. Finally, he whispered something at last, "…thank you…Lloyd."

It was Lloyd's turn to be puzzled. He propped himself up on his elbows and watched his father continue to look upwards, "…Dad…?"

"Before…I-I never thought…after I believed you to be dead I didn't want to remember. I was so empty and it hurt to think about the two of you. I never expected to be called 'dad' again, nor did I want anything to do with it anymore."

Lloyd sat up now and stared at his father, concerned at his strained voice. He also was secretly rethinking if Kratos actually wanted him to call him that..

"That is…until now," Kratos finally faced Lloyd and for the first time since Lloyd had met him he gave a wide, genuine smile, "It…It made me so happy when you called me 'dad' both in the Tower of Salvation and when I came back from Derris-Kharlan, and all day even. You've given me joy that I thought I could never feel again by treating me as your father. I hope to become a better one than I have been."

Lloyd moved over and leaned his back against Kratos' arm, "And I hope that you smile like that much more often."

Kratos smiled even wider and ran his hand through Lloyd's hair as the teen drifted off to sleep.

"As long as I have you, I will."

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"Thank you for the hospitality," Kratos gave a small bow to Obaa-chan and thanked the other villagers as well.

"Our pleasure, after all we are all friends are we not?" she smiled wryly and bowed in return.

Lloyd looked around and said to her, "Where's Sheena? Isn't she coming to see us off?"

"No she won't be- she said she has other matters to attend to. She's preparing for them right now as a matter of fact."

"Right, I understand. She must be pretty busy now. Please tell her I'll catch her later," Lloyd smiled and began to walk off with his father.

The entryway was suddenly barred off by guards, and the pair was surrounded.

"What?!" Lloyd cried out.

"Hey, who said anything about good-bye?!" the two turned to the direction of the voice and saw Sheena in her traveling outfit with a pack on a shoulder, "You guys almost left me behind!"

"Didn't you have manners to attend to?" Kratos said calmly, but he knew how this was going to end up.

"Yeah- making sure you guys don't get into any trouble," she waved her finger and winked, "Didn't Obaa-chan tell you I was getting ready?"

"Ah, yes…young people these days are in such a hurry," Obaa-chan sighed.

You just love leaving out the details, don't you? The father son pair thought to themselves.

"What about Mizuho?" Lloyd asked.

"Hey, don't you dare underestimate my village," Sheena smirked, "They can take care of themselves if need be. Besides, if this Tear has dissipated then Mizuho will get caught up in the blast, and it is certainly my responsibility to keep it safe."

"According to Raine, dramatic effects won't occur for another few weeks, so that gives you guys plenty of time to get to Palma Costa and figure something out," Orochi reassured the group, "Keep our Chief safe, will you?"

Lloyd shrugged and Kratos said, "It can't be helped. I suppose we could use the assistance."

"Don't worry, the three of us can handle things," Lloyd smiled and gave them the thumbs up.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" Sheena exclaimed, "Please bring them here Orochi."

Orochi quickly bowed and ran off through the crowd. He soon returned with a wing pack in his hand. Setting it on the ground, he activated the device and four Rheiards materialized before them.

"We've modified the wing packs to store Rheiards," Orochi explained, "This should make travel much easier."

Lloyd looked ecstatic to be flying again, but then he suddenly cried out and slapped his forehead with his hand.

"What is it?" Kratos asked, alarmed.

"Noishe! I completely forgot about him! I had expected to stay in Mizuho a bit longer, so I thought there would be plenty of time for him to get to Regal at the Ozette restoration site and back again."

Kratos was about to say something along the lines of 'He can take care of himself', but Orochi cut in, "Ah! Forgive me, I had forgotten as well. A message from Regal came in this morning from Altamira."

"Altamira? Wasn't he in Ozette?"

"Yes, he was, but he had finished his work there for the time being. Not before meeting Noishe, though. Noishe had successfully delivered his message, but right after, he got into the food storage and accidentally ate some spoiled food. He became ill-" Orochi saw Kratos' and Lloyd's alarmed looks, "Ah! But not fatally, just a stomach ache." The pair relaxed. "Anyway, Regal took Noishe to Altamira with him for rest and treatment. He said that he'll take care of Noishe until he sees you again at your 'rendezvous point'."

The father son pair sighed in exasperation and muttered something about obedience school.

Then Kratos turned to his son, "What's this about a rendezvous?"

"Like I said, you'll see soon enough," Lloyd said cryptically.

Kratos wanted to inquire more, but Sheena interrupted hastily, "So! Now that everything has been taken care of, let us be on our way!"

Sheena picked up the wing pack and stored away the extra Rheiard. The three companions each boarded a Rheiard and took off into the sky.

There was a commotion in the crowd, and a small figure came bursting out. The three recognized the shape of the child Shinta.

"Wait! Onee-san, I wanna come!" Shinta jumped and waved frantically to the group.

Sheena hovered above Mizuho and called, "Be good okay? I'm leaving you to help Orochi take care of the village!"

Shinta was sorely disappointed, but put up a brave face and saluted as the other villagers waved and cheered their chief until the aircrafts were no longer visible.

Kratos looked back to the young boy, and was reminded of Chesa, to whom he left in charge as well. I hope she's doing alright.

"Well, this is much more efficient," Kratos said after a while, "Flying saves a lot of time, but I wouldn't have been able to before, since Lloyd doesn't have wings."

"Uuuuhh…"

Kratos slowly turned to face his son, "'Uuuuhh?'"

"Well the thing is…"

Kratos' expression was that of 'You'd better tell me, or you will be in big trouble young man'.

He's already getting good at the parental glares, Sheena thought nervously.

"Remember how I had wings when I helped replant the Great Seed?"

Kratos nodded numbly with grim horror as he realized what was coming next.

"They…uh…they never really went away exactly."