Chapter Text
“I could kiss you, Pix!”
“I don’t think Zane, nor Nora, would approve.”
-
Nora. He’s gotta call her, doesn’t he?
She’ll be worried as soon as she hears the ninja are back in town tomorrow, so she should probably be the first to know. He paces the living room of his apartment…what to say.
“Would it not be best to just…tell her the truth?” Pixel asks, her digital projection on the TV screen. Lloyd sighs and flops on his couch.
“Of course, but how much? I mean, wouldn’t anyone be worried that there's a group of criminals running around in my father’s name? What if, I don’t know, she gets hurt by them and hates me and my entire family for eternity?”
“That’s highly illogical,” Pixal deadpans.
“Ughh,” Lloyd groans, “It’s incredibly illogical.”
“I doubt Nora would blame you for anything, honestly. Isn’t this why she is training under you in the first place? She did not blame you for the kidnapping that led to her training.” Pixal reasons.
Lloyd combs his hand through his hair, “Yeah, I know. I just hate to think that things are finally going well and now I probably won’t get to see her for who knows how long.”
Pixal’s head tilts on the screen, “Why wouldn’t you see her?”
“I mean, I can’t bring her with us on dangerous missions, she’s got a life here too. Plus, we’re always out for so long, I’m not sure she’d even want to wait to hang out again.”
“While all relationships are different, considering Zane and myself, I don’t believe waiting will be her biggest concern.”
“So that’s another thing! Being a ninja is dangerous, what if something happens to me? How would that affect her?”
“I think not being in her life any more would be worse, for her.”
Stubbornly, Lloyd pouts at his TV. He knows Pixal is right. She always is, honestly.
“Lloyd,” she says, almost like when Nya is scolding him. He thinks that's exactly who she got it from. Big sisters teaching each other parenting tricks was not something he’d expected when he first met Pixal.
Lloyd sighs, “I’m calling her.”
“Good, and make sure you tell her you’re okay. She worries.”
Lloyd smiles, “Yeah, I know.”
-
She’s watching the finale of some show she’s binged the entire day. It’s reminiscent of the earlier days in the Serpentine War, and while it has nothing to do with what actually happened, she’s been waiting to see how they’ll resolve the betrayal plot twist for three episodes now.
She can already tell something's about to happen when her phone starts to ring. It’s the one Lloyd gave her. She thinks she has it all figured out by now, but every so often he shows her something entirely new that she was not expecting it to do.
(Her favorite is when he called her from his comms while on patrol, bored out of his mind. Pixal said he can’t do it often, and that she’d revoke Nora’s ability to call back if she ever did so outside of emergencies, but she can live with that.)
She pauses the episode, and then hits answer, immediately seeing the blonde’s hair, but not his face. FSM, his inability to facetime normally.
“Lloyyyyyyd,” she says, intimidatingly.
“Uh, yeah?” He answers, nervously. “What did I do now?”
“Called in the middle of the season finale.” She answers, and sits up in her bed, turning on the lamp so he can see her annoyed face properly.
Instead, he adjusts the camera, and she notices immediately something is off, “Sorry, I can call back when it's over?”
She sighs, but smiles, “No, it’s fine, I answered, didn't I?”
“Awww, you like me more than your show?”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself,” she jokes, “What is it though? It seems important if you’re calling this late.” She doesn’t mention the scrunch in his face, or how he’s still wearing his gi, and the way his face is a little red like he’s been in it for a while. Not about to start patrol.
“Ah, yeah. Sort of? It was…kind of weird.”
“Weird?”
As Lloyd tells her about the fake ninja, and the chase through the city, she wonders. Why was this any different? Not that it wasn’t a bad thing to have happened, but it’s not often Lloyd tells her about a patrol and is this concerned.
That’s when he finally gets to their escape.
“Wait, your father!?”
“Yeah,” he says. She watches as he turns his head away from the phone, distress obvious through the screen.
“Lloyd,” She says, calmly, and waits until he’s looking at her before she continues, “It’s gonna be okay. You’ve got this, whatever they’re up to, I know you can figure it out.”
“Not alone,” he responds, “I’m bringing in the team for this.”
“Obviously,” she snarks, “I’d follow you myself if you didn’t at least bring someone with you!”
He looks terrified at the thought of her attempting to follow him through the city, and she laughs at his face. “Okay, got it. There was something else I wanted your help with, actually.”
“Oh yeah? What is it?”
“The symbol on the parachute, think you can help me draft a sketch or something of it to show the others when they get here?”
“Sure thing, can you come over for it tomorrow?” She asks.
Later, after the call finally ends, and she’s written all the details for a sketch she’ll start bright and early, she calls Pixal.
“Hello, Nora,” the woman says, smugly.
“Hello, Pixal,” Nora replies, smirking, with the same tone of voice. “I assume he could’ve just asked you for a copy of the symbol?”
“Indeed.”
“And he definitely doesn’t have time to be coming to my apartment tomorrow?”
“Based on his habits, no, it's likely he will not have time.”
Nora laughs at the thought. Of course he doesn’t. “Keep me updated?” She asks.
“Of course, though I did tell him to ease your worries himself.”
“You know how he is,” Nora sighs, laying back in her bed, before reaching towards her lamp.
“Unfortunately.”
“Night, Pix.” The lamp clicks off.
“Sleep well, Nora,” and so does her phone.
-
Lloyd knocks on her apartment door sometime before noon.
“Didn’t you say you were meeting your siblings at 12:30?” She asks as she opens her door, “So you could use lunch as an excuse to get off early, I assume?”
He rolls his eyes at her, and walks in when she steps aside.
“I brought you a peace offering as thanks, and instead I’m insulted.”
In his hand is a bag of chips. “You bought those last minute, and grabbed candy while you were at the convenience store,” she pinpoints, but takes the bag anyway. The silence is enough answer for her. She stops by her bedroom to grab her tablet, she’d just finished the drawing an hour or so ago. She probably could’ve done it sooner, but she’d slept in longer than she’d meant to. ‘Forget bright and early,’ she’d thought when she finally got out of bed. She sets the table on her kitchen island, and sits in a stool.
Moving next to her, and leaning on the counter, Lloyd sees the drawing, he smiles, “This is practically identical.”
“Of course it is, I’ve studied this kind of thing.” She takes a chip as he sends the image to his own tablet, then seems to make sure Pixal has a copy as well. “Excited to see the others again?”
He looks up at her, and finally opens a piece of his candy he’d had hidden in a pocket, “Of course, just wish it could’ve been in better circumstances.”
She nods, “You talk about them a lot, so I’m sure they’ll be happy to see you no matter what. When was the last time you called them anyway?”
Lloyd sighs, “They’ve all been on a bunch of different missions lately. It’s been months, honestly, I can’t really remember the last call I had with any of them. Pix has been our middle man for most of it.”
“Hmm,” she thinks about his words, what to say next, “Wait, does that mean they last spoke to you when you had that squeaky voice?”
“Squeaky?”
“Answer me Lloyd.”
“Yeah?”
“As soon as you’re done today, you have to call me with what they say about it.”
“Why? What’s wrong with it now?”
“Absolutely nothing. Except that you’re late.”
“What?” He looks at the time on her stove, eyes widening, “Sorra Nora, gotta go!”
“Don’t let them know you ran the whole way there!” She jokes as he waves through the door.
She’s in love with an idiot.
-
Lloyd books it to the tall building. His heart is racing at the thought of finally finally getting to see the rest of his family. Pixal is good company, and he’s so glad she was around, but it still felt like something was missing without the other five ninja. He and Pixal could only be one part of a whole.
Finally, he lands on the flat roof of Borg Tower, opens the maintenance door, and casually walks his way down a few flights of stairs.
“All that, and you’re still barely on time,” Pixal comments in his comms.
Lloyd had been in the building not too much earlier, speaking with security and the like, so he switches to move with purpose. Confident in his directions.
Lloyd laughs at her, “Don’t let Nora know.”
“I don’t need to, I’m sure she’s plenty aware.
He’s glad he can’t see the nindroid’s face right now, because he’s sure her green eyes would be unyielding in that look he knows is reserved for her and Nya. He stops at the door he knows his family should be behind.
“They’re all here?” He asks Pixal, breathing in deeply.
“Affirmative,” she says, but it comes off softer than her usual responses.
He’s wanted this all year. To see his family again, to be able to hug them and talk to them whenever. To think that the first time they’re seeing each other, speaking to each other in a while has something to do with his dead father has put a damper on his mood since he’d called them in.
‘Just one day of peace,’ he asks, ‘Just one.’
He pushes the doors open.
“Hey, there he is! You’re late,” Kai comments as he steps into the room.
“Kai was late too, if it is any consolation,” Zane reassures. Not one to let the others get off easily.
Lloyd wants to laugh, to sit down and just talk about the year he’s had with them, he smiles, “Thanks for meeting me here. It’s been a while since we’ve all been under one roof.” But he can’t. Something always comes before his time with his family these days. He’s pulled from his thoughts by Nya's laughter, and sees Jay and Cole nudging each other, all staring at him. “What?”
“Are we gonna talk about it?” Jay says.
“Talk about what?” He asks.
“Your voice, it’s-” Cole’s sentence is cut off by Zane. Voice modulated to a deeper pitch.
“Lower.”
“Sounds like our little ninja’s growing up,” Kai laughs as he attacks Lloyd’s head.
So this is what Nora meant. He should’ve known by the look on her face, and the way Pixal hadn’t even said anything. Now he actually will have something to say on the phone when he calls her tonight. Not to mention, Pixal has been hopping between him and Zane all of today, but she’s primarily been in Zane’s head, so she’s also seeing through his eyes. There’s no telling what she might show Nora later.
Whatever, at least his siblings are here.
-
That night, Lloyd is on his way to the residency the other ninja are staying in. Provided by the royal family, as they had been all around recently, and the monastery was a bit away for a singular night of rest. As he drives, he asks Pixal to call Nora.
“Lloyd! How was it today?” she asks, immediately answering the phone. Her voice is clearer than if he’d used comms, and he can see her face on the small screen by his wheel.
“The same way it always does with them,” he laughs, “Not even one sentence and they were already making fun of me.”
“The voice! I told you!”
“So you were right,” he admits.
“I was right!” She cheers, “Well, were you guys able to find anything about the gang?”
Lloyd sighs, “A lead, of sorts, we know what they’re after. We’re gonna start closing in on them, tomorrow.”
Nora nods, distractedly, “That’s good, hopefully you’ll be able to get this done quickly.”
“When do we ever,” he says, and Nora laughs good naturedly, but doesn’t comment. Lloyd looks down, his GPS says he’s close, and notices Nora is doing something. “What’s got you busy?”
“A painting. I think you’ll like this one, hopefully it doesn’t take too long.”
“Really? You’re a great artist, so I’m sure I’ll like it no matter what, but what's different about this one to make you say that?” he asks.
“That, my dear ninja, is a surprise,” she beams at him.
“Come on, a hint won’t hurt.”
“Acutally, it might, and don’t try asking Pixal! She won’t tell either.”
“Why does Pixal get to know?”
“You’ll find out when it’s done. Patience.”
“You sound like my uncle.”
“Isn’t he supposed to be a great teacher? Maybe that just means I'm wise.”
-
The next day, Nora is working again. The shop, for all its glamour and aesthetic, isn’t usually quite busy on a Monday. So, she’s unsurprised to find herself not busy at the register and instead stares at the news playing softly on the TV. The royal family stands together, announcement on their lips, something about the rising crime, from the subtitles. Suddenly, the emperor is pushed to the ground by one guy who’d often be seen with him, and the empress and princess go down with a familiar green gi.
‘A lead to the royal palace,’ she thinks to herself, ‘He really does just get to meet everyone, doesn’t he?’
She watches closely, it doesn’t seem like any active threat appears but the man and Lloyd speak for a short moment before separating. She sighs a breath of relief, ‘FSM, doesn’t he give me enough heart attacks in a week? It’s only Monday.’
She shakes her head, but laughs to herself before going back to work.
-
Lloyd stands hidden, watching the area for possible threat as the emperor gives his speech, when he turns, he notices the princess.
“Looks like he’s got an eye for the princess.” Kai comments in his ear.
“I guess green is her favorite color.” Jay joins.
Lloyd rolls his eyes, sure, the princess is pretty, and maybe his type, but he’s not feeding into it. “You do know I can hear you, right?”
He watches the emperor as he speaks again, “The emperor is almost finished. Let’s just do our job. Be on the lookout.”
When the firecrackers go off, he’s glad that this mission, at least, ends peacefully.
-
Lloyd walks down Ninjago’s streets, not much later. They’re due at the palace that night, so he can’t do much more than walk around in his gi and be on the look out until then. The others had no reason to bring more than two sets of civvies, and it would be pointless to switch and waste them now. So he doesn’t switch either when he stops at home to grab his bag for the night.
Still, it’s odd to go without talking to Nora. Somewhere along the line, it became sort of a routine. Not every single night, sometimes he was out too late, or she got sidetracked staying up to finish a painting, ending up in her sleeping most of the day. But it’s common enough that he misses it, even with his siblings there to fill the loneliness.
So, as Nya walks with him, they stop by the shop she works in. They immediately make eye contact from across the store, where she’s sitting at a register, colored pencils in hand. He knows by now that it means she’s finished a sketch and she wants to try some colors before moving to a canvas. Whatever she was working on last night must be going well.
“What are we doing here?” Nya asks from his side. He shrugs. Ordinarily, he would tell her he just wanted to visit Nora, but as long as he’s the Green Ninja and in public, he hates the idea of someone connecting him and her again. So he plans to tell her later.
“I thought it looked nice, and we’re not doing anything else.”
Nya agrees, “Is this where you got those paintings in your apartment? The one behind your couch from that picture a few months ago?”
Lloyd smiles, doesn’t look at her, or at Nora who’s definitely staring, and says “Sort of.”
Nya lifts a brow at the answer, but turns to look towards Nora, who’s still staring. “Hi.”
Nora jumps, “Sorry! Hi!” And then says nothing else. Lloyd feels bad that he hadn’t messaged her a warning. Nora had mentioned she'd been a big fan of Samurai X a few years back.
“Those paintings are amazing,” he says, pointing to a shelf he knows well.
“Ah, those? Thank you! They’re some of mine!” Her eyes light up at the mention of them.
Nya turns to look at them, “Really? You’ve got some real skill. I really like the Samurai X one,” she smirks.
Nora’s face flushes, “Ah- thanks- I- I’m a fan.” She fumbles through her words, and makes a face that Lloyd knows means she’s annoyed at herself.
“What are you working on now?” He asks as he walks up to the counter. Quickly, Nora swipes her sketchbook away from his eyes, closing it shut in the process.
“No one's allowed to look before it’s finished,” she says defiantly. “Especially not you,” she mutters under her breath.
“Do you think we could come back for the Sam X painting? Later, when we’re not stuck on a long mission?”
“We do holds, but it depends on how long you’re going to take…”
Lloyd smirks, “We’ll be back.”
He watches Nora roll her eyes, but pull up something on the desk’s computer. “Alright Lloyd, you’ve got 3 days before it falls through.”
“Perfect.” He says, then turns to Nya, “Lets head out.”
Nya nods, but narrows her eyes at him, he smiles innocently in return.
When they step out of the store, and slightly down the street, she stops him.
“Okay, what was that?”
“What was what?” He asks.
“You know what Lloyd. You were acting weirdly back there.”
“Was not.”
“Were to-. Don’t start that! Anyway, who was she?”
Pixal chimes in on their still on comms. “She would like to kiss Lloyd.”
Nya laughs, but presses a finger to her ear, “I’m sure a lot of girls would, but that doesn’t explain what he was doing. Be honest Lloyd, do you want to kiss her back?”
“What!?”
“You do!”
“Don’t listen to Pixal, she’s a total liar!”
“You and I both know I refrain from lying, Master Lloyd.”
“Holy FSM, I leave you alone for a year and you go and get a girlfriend!?” Nya shouts.
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Lloyd defends.
“Yet,” Nya mutters, “That’s why you were annoyed with the boys earlier!”
“It was not, that's just normal behavior.”
“Okay, sure, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be related!”
Lloyd rolls his eyes.
Nya sighs, but continues moving down the street. They get a ping on their watches, time to meet back up with the others and move out.
“Okay, but is she nice or what?”
“She’s the best,” is all Lloyd says as they jump onto the nearest roof.
He hears an ‘awwww’ as they continue to run.
-
The palace glitters as he and his siblings walk in. He ensures he uses proper etiquette when he can, what little he knows, and leads his team through the grandiose halls to the throne room. They boy at the attention of the royals, and listen as the princess regails them with compliments.
The mention of his parents is…odd. While his father did pass, he saw his mother not long before this. Whatever history they had has been discussed and forgiven. Working for the better. Still, he is polite, he sees no harm in it.
“Thank you for inviting us to your home.”
Kai, in predictable Kai fashion, tears books upon books out of place on shelves, but it doesn’t stop them for long before they reach the Mask of Deception.
“Why would anyone want that?” Kai questions.
“That’s up to us to figure out.”
“Just being in the same room with it gives me the heeby jeebies,” Jay complains, yanking on Lloyd’s arm.
Lloyd tries to listen intently to his siblings and Hutchins, but he already knows this. He’d sat and done his research with the man already, and had Pixal’s input when he didn’t. A room catches his attention, all of the previous have had their doors closed shut. Dissuading anyone from wandering off from their group, but this one was different. Light filtering from the small crack, and a patterned divider.
He gets closer, intrigued, he can sort of make out the room through the small holes. Moving closer and closer until he’s eventually right in front of the door’s opening. Inside is the princess, removing her makeup.
‘I’m…probably not supposed to see that,’ he reminds himself as she quickly turns away, noticing him in the mirror. He feels a little bad, he hadn’t thought she’d be this close to the mask they were protecting, or even that her room would be open. He smiles to himself, sheepishly, ‘Curiosity killed the cat, like Nora says.’
He steps back in line with the others.
They split up, given their assigned areas for the night. Lloyd stationed by the Mask of Deception. There’s a crash from the direction of the princess’s room.
“Princess?” He asks, getting closer, trying not to intrude like earlier. “Princess Harumi?” The lack of response worries him so he slides open the door, “Are you there?”
Upon looking in, the room is a mess, and the princess is nowhere to be seen.