(Aaaand I return for the time being. Uhh, first off, I would like to thank my bud (whose name I forgot at the moment...) for beta-reading this fanficcy.

This takes place after the game, assuming Zelos was your buddy and all. Of course.

If I owned Symphonia, Colette wouldn't have so many scenes and Raine-sensei would hug Lloyd. Therefore, I don't own it. :P

Have fun-age.)

It was perhaps the only thing the brunette could do for a long period of time.

As the stars floated billions of miles away in the sky, two swordsmen stared at them. One, with long hair, was lying on the ground, his head resting in his hands. The other was sitting up, fascinated by the many dots that sparkled above.

Zelos didn't quite understand why Lloyd was acting like this. On a normal night, when they set up camp, they'd immediately go to sleep. They might discuss a thing or two, or make a joke about the day's events, but day or night, neither of them would sit still for very long like this without getting... bored.

Speaking of events, that day had been somewhat of a hassle...

They had stopped around Luin, just to see how the people of the city were doing. It was still small, considering the limited space, though it was more crowded than it used to be.

Because of this, it only made sense that a little boy would be lost there. As Lloyd and Zelos were walking the streets, he came up to the former, recognizing him as the "hero" displayed by the fountain. He shyly asked if they could help find his parents, not knowing who else to talk to. Lloyd decided he would and Zelos simply agreed.

After a few hours of searching and listening to the child's whining, they found his parents, who were obviously looking for him, too. They thanked the swordsmen and walked off, as the boy begged to ride on his father's back. Their smiles were heartwarming, though also a little depressing if the two heroes thought about it too much...

They were quiet for a little while afterward, though it was nothing a few lighthearted comments from Zelos couldn't fix. At least, for the moment.

As night approached, they were heading in the direction of Hima, and were basically in the middle of nowhere, leaving them no choice but to rest outside.

Lloyd threw together some wood for the fire. Zelos helped and then cast a brief spell to light it.

"Man, I hate sleeping outside like this," he commented.

"All this time and you still haven't gotten used to it, huh?" Lloyd said, laughing at him.

"Come on, there's nothing fun about trying to sleep on some dirt and grass. It's a pain." He sighed. "But you do what you have to do, I guess."

Lloyd shook his head. He looked up at the night sky, only intending to gaze for a few seconds, yet wound up staring for what seemed like a minute or so.

"What are you doing?" Zelos asked, peering at him curiously.

Lloyd snapped back into reality. "Er... nothing." He quietly walked away to another area, leaving Zelos alone to rest. He didn't want to admit he was so interested in something as simple as the stars. He'd probably tell him such a hobby was something boring that poor people got into.

Though he was wrong.

"Where are you going?"

Lloyd wasn't really in the mood to discuss what he was thinking, and decided to try and avoid it. "I'm just gonna get a better look... at the stars. There's a bunch of trees here, so..." He resumed walking a little.

"Well, if you want, I'll go with you."

Lloyd was surprised. "Huh? I didn't think you'd be into this kinda thing..."

He shrugged. "I've never really stopped and tried staring at a bunch of stars before. Who knows, it could be interesting."

"All right... if you want to..."

Which brings us back to the beginning. Zelos wasn't as intrigued by the sky as Lloyd, but he had to admit it was relaxing. Though it took a great amount of willpower to stay awake until one of them assembled a picture out of the dots or until Lloyd decided he was ready to sleep. Zelos was beginning to wonder if the latter would ever come to be...

After a few minutes of silence, Zelos turned his head over to Lloyd. He looked like he was in a different world. One could assume he was just tired, but others would suppose his mind was simply onto something.

"Hey, man... whatcha thinking about?" he murmured.

Lloyd's eyes widened as he once again gained focus. "Ah, I'm just kinda... well... thinking and stuff."

"Oh no," Zelos began, "you're not getting off that easily." He grinned at him. After all he's told Lloyd, he'd expect something out of him in return. Also, it was a matter of paying Lloyd back for all the times he helped him.

"Er... well... I don't know if you really wanna hear it."

"Why not?"

"It's about D... Kratos."

Zelos's smile faded. Still, he was willing to let his hate go for a moment. "But there IS something, then, right? So... just say it."

Lloyd fidgeted with his hands a little. "Well, I was thinking... sometimes I get this dream. Or maybe it's something that happened a long time ago. I kinda remember... that when there were a ton of stars out, my dad would carry me on his shoulders. And... I'm pretty sure it was Kratos... 'cause... my mom was around, too..."

They both knew where Kratos was at the time: entirely out of reach, far into space. It was yet another reason for Zelos to dislike the angel. Lloyd missed him... especially since he barely found out he was his biological father. Zelos was well aware of this, but he was never sure what he could do about it.

"So that's why you're into watching these..." was all he could think of saying.

"Yeah... pretty much."

The older man thought of an idea. "Well, you're almost off the hook."

"Almost?" Lloyd looked at him. "What are you doing?" he asked suspiciously as Zelos started walking toward him. Not another hug, he hoped...

"GYAH!"

Before he knew it, his legs were pulled from under him and he was left with no choice but to grab onto something, which happened to be Zelos's neck buried somewhere under a load of red hair. And then he was riding on his back.

"Zelos!" he yelled at him.

"Haha, see? Just like old times, now!" He walked a little higher up, onto a hill.

"Hey, put me down!" he shouted, not really trusting Zelos to hold him up for very long.

Zelos chuckled. "Nope, not until you get a kick out of it." He started running, making Lloyd hold on tighter, though the brunette tried not to choke him.

He slowed down when he arrived at the top of the hill. By this point, no trees stood in their way, and they could see billions of stars of different sizes. Even Zelos stared in awe.

"You know... this is actually pretty cool..." he told Lloyd.

He shifted a little to see higher. "Wow..."

For a moment, it felt like déjà vu. He really felt like he was a kid again, with no responsibility or fear... all he cared about was his family. As if he really was only a few years old, on his father's back...

"H-hey bud, that kinda hurts..."

Lloyd blinked and realized he'd unconsciously gripped Zelos's neck a little tighter, and released him a little. "Ah! Sorry," he apologized. 'How many times am I gonna do that tonight?' he asked himself. "All right... now I'm really getting tired."

"Phew," Zelos sighed. "All right, back to camp then."

"Uh, Zelos?"

"Huh? Oh, right." He bent down and let Lloyd get off. At that point, Lloyd really didn't mind the ride, but he felt it would've been nice to give him a break. The two then walked back down the hill.

"Heh, this was pretty interesting," the taller man said. "And uh... you know... maybe this whole camping thing isn't so bad."

Lloyd smiled. He was glad Zelos tried to cheer him up a bit. Now another memory would be tied with the stars... one he would gladly return to.

(There ya have it, my shot at a sad Lloyd ficcy. Cause... ya don't see 'em as much. And I had to do something about the Kratos-flashback thing. Like... had to, dudes. Part cause I planned like two linked Zelos-angst fics that I may or may not end up doing... heheh... anyway, reviews are dandy. Like Regal, yosh.)