"Bliss" timeline one-shot bit of fluff featuring Lloyd, Colette and Hope. Pointless fluff as usual :)
SPOILER WARNING: BIG spoilers in this one for right up to the end of the game. If you don't want to read any spoilers please don't read this until you've finished the game. Thanks :)
Dedication: For my 'Lloyd', who is wonderful to me and who I love very much. For Urby because she came up with the wrapping wings around the body protectively thing which I expect inspired the Lloyd chibi (along with the Colette and Hope chibis) to give me the mental image of what's described at the end of the fic. And for BBQ Bert who recently told me a nice bit of Symphonia news which was great to hear as a Lloyd/Colette fan and because she likes family fics :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia, it belongs to Namco I believe. I just like writing fanfiction about it as I'm rather obsessed with it and have a collection of persistent chibis (/muses/whatever you want to call them :) ).
Lloyd yawned and rubbed sleep from his eyes as he woke up to a now familiar noise. He paused, listening carefully. That one wasn't 'I'm hungry', that was the noise that meant 'hold me please'.
"OK, OK, shhh now, you'll wake your mum up," Lloyd mumbled sleepily as he crawled over to Colette's side of the bed, pausing to nuzzle her affectionately as he noticed her eyes blink open dozily.
"It's OK, I've got her," he whispered softly as he moved to pick Hope up from her crib beside the bed.
"What are you doing up so early? I don't think the worms are awake yet," he smiled, tipping Hope onto one arm as he shifted his pillows and leant back against them, beginning to rock the small child gently. Colette moved to snuggle up to him and he wrapped an arm around her, smiling as she gave a contented sigh and let her eyelids slip closed again, placing her arm across him in a sleepy hug.
Hope gurgled a nonsense noise and giggled softly, happy now she was being held. Lloyd grinned and rubbed his nose against hers gently.
"We're gonna put you in your own room soon, yes we are, yes we are. Nice room all to yourself because you won't need us during the night any more now will you?" he spoke softly, receiving a babble of noises in reply.
The swordsman smiled happily as he began humming a tune Hope seemed to like and started rocking her once again. She stopped babbling and relaxed, the tune and the gentle swaying motions making her sleepy once more.
"Love you," Colette mumbled, causing Lloyd to turn his gaze from Hope to the blonde.
"I love you too," he murmured quietly, tipping his head slightly to kiss her gently on the top of her head.
"She's a good kid isn't she?" the angel yawned sleepily, still not totally awake yet.
"Mmmhmm," Lloyd agreed.
"Her eyes are like yours," Colette smiled, snuggling closer to him.
He turned back to his daughter. Her eyes, sleepy now, were the same colour as her fathers. He sighed softly. People had said that he looked like his father sometimes, and he wondered how many features would be passed on to the small child he held now. Passed on from a grandfather that she would probably never meet who was now floating around somewhere in space on a desolate planet.
Lloyd sighed as he thought about his father. Finding out that he was still alive and who he was had been a complete shock. Then he'd left before Lloyd had had a chance to talk with him properly about, well, just stuff, life. The past. There were still questions he had that were left unanswered.
He wouldn't have been able to stop the older man leaving though. He was a stubborn person who wanted to do what he thought was the right thing. Lloyd shook his head sadly. It would have been nice to have had a chance to have talked more with Kratos, to have found out more about his mother.
He shifted again and turned his left hand over to look at the gem-like stone placed on it. It was strange to think that his mother had given her life to create it, which in turn had allowed him to achieve what he had in the time that seemed so long ago now. He only had the vaguest memories of his mother, he would have liked to have known more about her and for her to have met Hope.
He smiled softly as his daughter began making gurgly, happy noises again. He liked to know she was happy. She was so small but already was very expressive and knew how to make it clear what she wanted. Such simple things now, but as she grew older she'd want more. To go out and explore, to find her place in the world. A world that seemed so big, especially now as she was so small.
The world was a big place, scary too at times. Despite the fact that the Desians were no longer a threat the world could still be dangerous.
Lloyd moved and tightened his arm around Colette, holding Hope closer to his body. Colette, now more awake, moved to sit up then wrapped both arms around him, tugging the blanket up a bit. She nuzzled his cheek, softly kissing it before resting her head on his shoulder. Then she purred, her expression one of complete contentment and love.
Slowly, gently, Lloyd let his wings form on his back then wrapped them around himself, Colette and Hope in a protective gesture. Soon it would be time to get up and greet another day, to get on with life and face whatever the world had in store for them today. But right now, just for a few minutes, he wanted to enjoy the peace, calm and safety he felt nestled with his family, with even a trace of his mother's presence in the comfort offered by the cocoon his wings had formed.
He closed his eyes and silently sent a thought to his mother. A short, simple one, but sincere and straight from his heart.
'Thank you'.