Disclaimer: If it was my choice, Tales of Symphonia would never, ever, ever, ever end.

Authors' Note: So, here's another Kratos and Lloyd father-son bonding scene for you all. I haven't written enough of these, and I need to. This is based off the conversation Kratos and Lloyd they had just after Lloyd received the Material Blades. It has a tad of Kranna, too, at the beginning, if you consider it to be like that. It really is, but it's nothing overly fluffy or anything.

Please read and review!

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Starlight

Silence fell over the campground, save for the crackling of the fire in the center of the trio. It had been about a month since they had slept in a proper inn, stopping in towns only to bathe (which they mostly did in the streams and lakes anyway) and obtain supplies. No one complained, save for the occasional whining of the youngest member, and the grumbles and wishes of the lone female. However, it didn't mean that the wish for settling down in a small town wasn't shared by them all; each member wished they could have a normal life (though to the youngest, this was normal), though each (save for the youngest again), knew it was impossible.

An auburn-haired man sat by the campfire, matching eyes staring deep into the dancing flames. The months had turned to years, and though it had been such a long time since he kept track of it, the man could count every single day that he spent by the woman who lay only a foot away from him. Though he would never say as much, Kratos Aurion could count every hour he had spent in her company, and how he had enjoyed every (or at least, nearly every) moment.

He looked up at the night sky, watching the stars glimmer as they had four thousand years prior. Their presence was the only thing that lingered; even Mithos hadn't lingered, and instead had morphed into someone that Kratos was ashamed to have taught.

Well, he mused, looking back to the fire in front of him, at least I can say I didn't teach him to do what he is doing now.

"Kratos?"

Kratos glanced to his right to see a pair of large brown eyes staring up at him, a slight frown tugging at the corners of the woman's lips as she reached up to brush a strand of hair from her face. He kept his face passive, his eyes only softening a touch.

"Yes?"

"Where are we? I mean, I know we're in Tethe'alla, but . . ."

". . . We're near Altamira, I believe," Kratos answered, looking back to the flames. From the corner of his eye, he noticed her nod and lay back down.

"The sky here reminds me of the sky near Palmacosta . . . I used to always sit on the roof of my mother's shop at night, and just gaze up at the sky . . . I could pick out every constellation." He could hear the smile in her voice. "Sometimes I used to race Cacao to see who could find the most."

Kratos was silent. He knew his wife missed her hometown constantly, yet he had to train himself to ignore it; there was, after all, nothing they could do about it. If they went back to Palmacosta, it would be destroyed, she would be taken back to a human ranch, their son would most likely be killed . . .

"I just wish I could see it again . . ."

"Anna, you know we can't go back. It's too dangerous," Kratos told her, looking at her once more. Anna sat up and hugged her knees, nodding and setting her jaw, though it was clear she didn't feel as sure about it as she wanted to appear. Kratos – for a moment – moved as though to put a hand on her shoulder, but couldn't bring himself to finish the action. Instead, the rather stoic man cleared his throat a bit and resumed his previous flame-gazing. Until he felt a soft tug on his tunic top, at least. Glancing down, he found himself staring into another set of large brown eyes, yet, as the person wielding them was younger, a smaller pair.

"Daddy?" The little boy asked, looking up with such a large pair of puppy eyes Kratos could have sworn he stole them from Noishe.

"Yes, Lloyd?"

"Can I sit on you—" Lloyd tapped on Kratos' shoulder, indicating what he meant, "and look at the sky?"

Kratos glanced to Anna, who nodded once to indicate that she would be fine. Kratos lowered his voice so the three-year-old boy wouldn't pick up on what he was saying, and whispered, "If you need me, just call."

"Go on," Anna whispered, giving Kratos a little nudge and a playful smile, "and show our son the stars before I slap you." Kratos raised an eyebrow at her threat, yet nevertheless turned and picked up Lloyd, standing to his full height and setting the toddler on his shoulders. He walked away from the campfire, holding on to his son's feet to prevent him falling (Anna had nearly had a heart attack when Lloyd had tripped and fallen into Lake Umacy, and then proceeded to yell at Kratos when he didn't panic as she had), and when they finally got far enough away he stopped, allowing his son to marvel at the sparkling wonders above.

"Wow . . ." He heard Lloyd murmur, "Daddy, there's a lot of 'em . . ."

"Yes, there are," Kratos answered, and raised his arm to point above him. "Do you see that shape in the stars, Lloyd? The one shaped like—"

"A boat!" Lloyd exclaimed, and hit Kratos' head a few times as if he was trying to get his father's attention. Kratos took a deep breath, remembering what Anna had told him about having patience with a small child. "Daddy, lookit! It looks like a boat! I wan' a boat! Can I have a boat Daddy? Pleeeease?"

"Perhaps, when you're older."

"But Daddy, I want one now . . ."

"Not now, Lloyd."

"But—"

"I thought you had wanted to look at the stars?"

Rolling his eyes to the top of his head, Kratos just managed to catch Lloyd pout for a few seconds before the child's large brown eyes returned to the star-lit sky above. After a few moments, Lloyd asked,

"Daddy, can I have a star?"

Kratos chuckled, though it was too low for his son to hear. Often times, he wondered how Lloyd posed questions such as the one he had just asked; wasn't it obvious that the stars were too high for him – a child – to reach?

"No, Lloyd. It would be impossible to obtain one."

"But why? There's so many . . ." Lloyd craned his head up to try and look at all of them, the light reflecting in his eyes. "Who owns the stars?"

"Some say Martel does," Kratos answered, thoughts of a young blonde-half elf and a cocky blue-haired half-elf flashing briefly through his mind. Lloyd scrunched up his face in thought, trying to remember the name Kratos mentioned.

"Isn't Martel a dog?"

Kratos nearly choked on the air he was breathing in, imagining Mithos and Yuan's faces had they heard his son more-or-less refer to Martel as a bitch. Kratos shook his head, deciding not to enlighten the toddler on the weight of his mistake.

"No, Noishe is a dog. Martel is known as a god—"

"I like Noishe. He makes funny noises when you pull his tail." Lloyd giggled, tugging on Kratos' hair. "And your hair is a nice color. It reminds me of the sun."

". . . Mm." As usual when he didn't know what to say, Kratos merely grunted a bit and shifted his shoulders, deciding that silence was best at times when there wasn't much else to say. Lloyd played with Kratos' hair, also staying silent until he decided to ask,

"So, why can't I have a star, Daddy?"

"It would be impossible to obtain one for you," Kratos explained patiently, forgetting about using the 'simple language' Anna had instructed him to. Lloyd sighed, flopping forward to rest his chin on Kratos' head.

"But I want one . . ."

"Sometimes, Lloyd, you can't have everything you want," Kratos told him, reaching up to place his hands on Lloyd's. "Even if it's something you want from the bottom of your heart, you cannot have it, no matter the beauty." Kratos looked up at the sky himself, unknowingly resting his eyes on the same spot Lloyd was gazing at. Quite like his son, he was thinking of the woman who sat back by the campfire. "Even if you would give your own life to have that one wish, even if it's a wish that wouldn't bother the rest of the world – one that might even make the world better – you cannot have it. Fate is just unwilling to bend your way."

Lloyd stared off into the heavens and gave a yawn, feeling comforted by his father's hands and words, and the continuing glimmer of the stars. "Okay," he finally whispered, closing his eyes. "I won't have a star. I like them up there anyways. They're like Mommy's sparkly rings."

". . . Heh." Kratos gave a tiny smile, pleased that his son understood even when he himself thought his explanation quite vague. Lloyd's next comment, however, made the older man sigh and shake his head in dismay:

"But I still want a boat."

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Authors' Note: That's it! I had considered adding in a line break and putting in that Z-Skit, but I couldn't remember the lines exactly (which would bug me) and I figured ending on one of Lloyd's lines worked well. At least, it did for me. I hope you all liked it!

If Lloyd's language wasn't young enough, I apologize. My reasoning for this is that my nephew (once he wanted to talk) could talk pretty well, and so can my niece, when she wants. Besides, Lloyd may not be the brightest one when it comes to math and such, but he never seemed to have much of a problem when it came to running his mouth.

At any rate, please review!