Kranna DES timeline fluff… I like the dynamics of these four way to much. A one shot fic.

Nightmare

"Daddy, Daddy!"

Anna moaned her hands wrapped around his waist, kept him from standing. Her nails dug in as he tried to squirm free, she held him to her.

"Is' said we're supposed to wait this out. I know it's hard but I trust Is' on this, they've had to do it, some three times already, so stay here."

"Daaaaadddy!"

Kratos shivered, his expression obviously torn.

"Kratos, lay back down, just tone it out and…"

"Daddy!"

"I… I can't. I can not not answer him like this." Kratos began to fumble in the dark for his clothes.

"That's the problem; you have to harden your heart about this beloved. He has to be able to be by himself for the night."

"He's screaming for me!" Kratos protested.

"Kratos, I you keep doing this he's not going to learn..." She sighed. "Fine, go… I can't win against you anyways. You'll figure it out, hopefully before he turns ten."

Anna got no answer; Kratos was already out the door.

Xxx

"What's wrong Lloyden?" Kratos murmured, he was little more then a talking shadow in the dark, as he had forgotten to bring a candle, but Lloyd turned to him instinctively He gulped, tears still running down his face, the physical manifestation of the terrors seem from a nightmare no doubt.

"A monsta' und' the bed!"

Lloyd pointed at the bed.

Kratos sighed, wasn't it always a monster? This had been the third time in so many nights sine Lloyd had recovered from Kvar's tortures, but instead of talking of what had happened he would always point to the bed and claim there was a monster. Kratos got down on his hands and knees, and looked as he always did. His search uncovered the usual sinister evil dust bunnies of doom. Or rather they would be Syt's doom if Issia ever figured that he swept everything under the bed and rugs.

"Son, there is nothing under the bed."

"You don't believe me!" Lloyd pouted. "Daddy there is a monsta' there really is!"

Kratos sat cross legged on the floor, looked up at his boy that was staring at him in a mix of pain and hope.

"What does the monster look like Lloyd?" Kratos asked at last.

"It's really big, bigger then you and it is made of shiny blue sharp stuff, and has funny wings and claws and teeth and…."

This wasn't the shadowy monster under the bed he was used to hearing about. He frowned and spared the under side of the bed another glance. The dust bunnies stared back, as much as they could. Lloyd had seen no creatures to resemble the enigma beast he was describing, there were no monsters Kratos had even heard of that fit the disruption Lloyd was giving him.

"Was this a head monster or a monster someone told you about?"

Because if Syt was again spreading tales it would be the last time he did so in a very long time once the seraphim was done with him.

"It wasn't a dream!" Lloyd paused. "kinda was and wasn't…"

"Tell me about it." Kratos beckoned and Lloyd hesitantly came down from his perch of the bed to crawl into his father's lap. "Tell me about the dream part."

"There was this huge huge monster…" Lloyd stretched his arms out wide to show how huge it was. "and a lot of other people I didn't know and we were fighting it! But it hurt me really bad with it's claws and teeth and it was so scary I work up."

"Lloyd," Kratos held his son to his chest, savored the sounds of his toddler drawing breath. "I will not ever ask you to fight, ever, I will fight for you. You know that."

"I had to it was impurtotrants! And you were fighting too with a pretty red sword!" Lloyd chirped, fear forgotten. "That was really neat, cuz there were these sparkly things…" Lloyd lifted Kratos' cloak. "You don't have spark-a-lies now, but they were right here!" Lloyd poked his back.

Kratos stared at his son, worried, for those could only be his wings he was describing.

While part of him wondered where Lloyd had gotten this idea of a monster from another part worried how his boy had seen his wings. Kratos was cautious almost to the level of paranoia about keeping his wings hidden from his son.

"Lloyden," Kratos smoothed his boy's hair down, a small frown curling the edges of his lips down. "I promise that you'll never have to fight that monster or any monster, ever. So if that dream ever comes back you tell it I said that alright."

Lloyd giggled . "You can't tell a dream something Daddy..."

Kratos bit his lip, restrained himself on starting on a lecture that with enough discipline and will you could suppress, banish, or alter dreams.

"Just try it next time, you might be surprised."

"You're silly Daddy!" Lloyd giggled, and Kratos chuckled in response. His boy's good humor seemed to banish his most somber of moods.

"Perhaps..." Lloyd squeaked when Kratos easily lifted him and put him on the bed. "Or perhaps I am right."

Lloyd only stuck out his tongue and the seraphim chuckled, lightly rapped his son on the head with his knuckle.

"Tongue in mouth young man, you are not a dog."

"Noshy does it!"

"Well Noshy- er Noishe currently is a dog, when he is in his next evolution perhaps I will have to scold him for sticking his tongue out."

Lloyd laughed at that and Kratos picked himself off of the floor. It was safe to go now, well it would be in a moment. He crossed his arms and gave Lloyd a long look, with a sigh the child slipped under the covers. Kratos tucked his son in and then ruffled the spikey mess of chestnut hair that was so much like Anna's.

"Good night Lloyden."

"But I'm not..." There was a yawn. "I'm not slee-"

"Indeed." Kratos rose an eyebrow and chuckled softly as his boy with a muttered 'naw sleepmmm' fell asleep.