Something had been bothering me for a little while.

Ever since Claire said that thing about Lloyd's eyes going red.

Naomi had claimed it was just a rumour, then I saw it for myself - at the amusement park, when he defended me against Chen and he lost his cool.
But then I definitely saw the green ninja with red eyes that time with the gang. I'd shown up in the middle of the thirteen-on-one fight and he'd gotten frustrated then, too.

Part of me was deep in denial.
Lloyd couldn't be the green ninja - that's just too wild. Too ridiculous. He'd have to fight his own father.
But the other part of me was linking things together - their voices did sound eerily similar. Although the green ninja was more of a little bastard and Lloyd was soft-spoken and gentle, I couldn't deny that they spoke the same. And sunshine. Sunshine. Who had called me that first?
And I also can't deny that the green ninja smelt like Lloyd.
I was sure that the green ninja was flirting with me. When I brought up the fact that I was interested in Lloyd, he didn't even look surprised. He stammered, sure, but was that because I was speaking about him to his face?

Nah. No way. No way.
But then the green ninja plush... why would Lloyd tell me to keep it? Wouldn't he want as little to do with the green ninja as possible? Wouldn't that be a reminder of his dad?
Ugh. This was so confusing. My leg was almost completely numb and my head had begun to ache from the way it had swirled with confusion.
I gathered some clothes that would probably fit Greenie - the green hoody and some old fat pants that I had snatched from my dad. Lloyd or not, the boy in the shower needed some clean clothes.

I stumbled to the bathroom, clothes in hand. My leg had to be dragged along the ground.
I made it just as Greenie turned off the shower head and shut the shower door behind him. I handed him the clothes through the gap, then I leant against the door once it was closed again.
The whiff of life escaped from the crack and I stiffened.
Oh, my god. My eyes were staring holes into the ceiling. Oh, my god. That's Lloyd's smell. That's Lloyd. Lloyd is the green ninja.
"Can... can I ask you a weird question?" I asked quietly. He hummed from the other side of the door. "I- god, this sounds crazy. I mean- I don't even know if I'm right but if I don't ask then I'm gonna go insane but if I do and I'm wrong then I'm just going to look like a total id-"
"Y/n," his voice sounded amused. I inhaled sharply.
"Right," I dropped my head against the wood, closing my eyes. "Are... are you Lloyd?"
He fell silent.

Of course he isn't, you dumbie! He's probably thinking what an idiot you are for reading too much into things. There's no way-
The door slowly began to open. I stumbled to the other side of the hallway, standing back against the wall cautiously.
A mop of soaking, blonde hair poked out of the bathroom.

Lloyd.

I fell back against the opposite wall in shock. I wasn't not sure that it was him but actually seeing that it was him was an entirely different thing. His green eyes looked sheepish. I stared back at him in shock.
"How'd you find out?" Lloyd asked softly.
"Y- your eyes," I stammered in alarm. "And the way you call me 'sunshine...' andyoursmell-"
Lloyd went to open his mouth to say something before it closed. He tilted his head in confusion. Water dripped onto his hoody.
"Did... did you say my smell?" he asked with wide eyes.

My face suddenly felt like it was on fire and I had to hide my head in my hands in embarrassment.
"Yup," I squeaked, ear tips red.
There was a beat of silence, me with my hands shielding my face and Lloyd probably staring at me like I was a weirdo. Sigh. There goes any chance of dating him.
Then Lloyd started to chuckle his handsome chuckle. The light amusement contrasted my growing mortification.
"Don't laugh!" I whined from behind my hands, which only made him laugh more.
"I'm- I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Lloyd apologised between gasps, placing a hand on his forehead as he tried to regain his breath. The bathroom door was pushed wide open. "I just- my smell? Jeez, I really should take a shower, huh?"
I giggled a little - mostly hysterically because my embarrassment had reached record levels.
Lloyd huffed, shaking his head and prying my hands from my face with gentle fingers. A warm, crooked smile was on his face. It made my stomach flutter mercilessly.

"I just... I can't believe it's really..." I breathed, face still burning. Lloyd leant against the side of the door, sending me a meek smile.
"Yeah," he said quietly. "It's me."
"I- I had an idea of who you were but..." I swallowed before continuing. "Seeing it actually be you-"
"I know," he sighed. "It's a little crazy, isn't it?"
My eyes widened more as a second wave of mortification flooded through me.
"It was you this entire time?!"
"Erm..." he furrowed his eyebrows. "Yeah."
"Oh my god. Oh my god." Everything I ever said to the green ninja came rushing back - I asked him for help about the Lloyd situation. He is Lloyd! He had been the entire time! I wilted, sliding down the wall, feeling utterly stupid. "I'm such an idiot."
Lloyd's face crumbled a little.
"You're not-"
"THATS WHY YOU SAID I LOOKED GOOD IN THAT GREEN HOODY YOU BASTARD - you know that I wore your hoody!"
"Uh..." his face pulled into a look of embarrassment. "Yeah."
"Oh, god!" I slapped my face. "I'm such an idiot!"
"Don't worry," he laughed. "It was flattering."

"nO IT'S NoT-" I shrieked, slapping at his arms. "I SAID I WAS gOing to PRETEND IT WAS MY NONEXISTENT BOYFRIEND'S!"
"Oh, yeah," Lloyd perked up as if he'd forgotten that. Maybe he had and I reminded him. Dammit. "That was pretty funny."
"Shut upppp," I moaned into my hands, hiding my face again. "This is so embarrassing..."
A sudden clamber from the hallway made us both look up just as my mother came barreling around the corner, hair messy and wild eyed.
"WHAS HAPPENING?" she slurred, still very obviously asleep. Mum looked at me before glancing at Lloyd. She blinked. She turned back to me and pointed at him. "Am I still dreaming or is there a boy right there."
I wanted to die. Just a little. "Mum, this is Lloyd."

"Lloyd..." she repeated slowly, still trying to wake up. Her eyes widened. "Oh! Lloyd!"
"Hi..." he smiled tightly, awkwardly. Definitely not expecting to meet my mum in the middle of the night. Especially not after revelling in the aftereffects of his reveal.
"I'm M/n," she held out her hand to shake Lloyd's. He didn't move. He couldn't. His arm was paralysed.
"Oh, sorry," Lloyd sheepishly smiled and nodded down at his arm. His wound was covered by the hoody. "My arm's just a little paralysed tonight."
Mum recoiled her hand. "What?"
Lloyd didn't see me frantically shaking my head.
"We got shot by lasers."
"You were WHAT?!"
I slapped my forehead.

Mum turned to me and noticed the blood-soaked impromptu bandage around my thigh. Her shocked face paled.
"Oh, my GOD-"
"Wait, mum-"
"I'm calling your father-"
"Mum, please, I'm fine-"
"I'm going to get him over here and we're going to sort this out right now-"
"The ninja have handled it!" I insisted. "It's just a little cut! It doesn't even hurt!"
"What happened here, then?!" she gestured to my bleeding ear. Lloyd slid behind the bathroom door, a guilty look on his face.
"Nothing!" I pressed. "Mum! Seriously! Let me handle this!"
"Why were you even out this late?! Where were you to get shot by lasers-?!"
"It's not her fault," Lloyd piped up. We both glanced at him. He awkwardly ran a hand through his wet hair. "She was targeted."

"Lloyd!" I shrieked, betrayed.
"She WAS TARGETED?!" Mum yelled in outrage before whirling in on Lloyd. "How do you know this?"
"Th- the green ninja was there," Lloyd stuttered, glancing at me. "I work closely with him."
"Why was Y/n targeted?" Mum asked, grabbing Lloyd's shoulders with the kind of desperate and maddening insistence that only mothers can have. He winced.
"Mum, be careful!"
She promptly released him.
"W- we don't know yet," Lloyd admitted, perking up before mum could lose her mind even more. "But we'll tell you as soon as we know!"

"Can I have a shower now?" I asked tiredly. Lloyd quickly stepped out of the bathroom. "Mum, can you make us some tea or something?"
She nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah. Tea. Sure."
Lloyd set a lingering gaze on me. He wanted to say something but mum was still hovering worriedly and I was already closing the door.

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

I stayed in the shower probably longer than I should've.
The hot water soothed my aching skin. The blood that had turned the water red from my wounds had long gone, as had the dirty grit from the alleyway.
I couldn't be any cleaner.
I was just hovering to think.

Lloyd's the green ninja. It was almost insane but at the same time, fitting? The title suited him. It was ironic. Lloyd Garmadon, protector of Ninjago City. How cruel the world could be.
My fingers had pruned by the time I stepped out. His ninja gi was left in the bathroom so mum wouldn't notice. Picking up the robe, I stared at the green ninja insignia on the back. It was definitely real. Definitely him. The pockets were filled with random emergency products (like the duck tape he used when I ran into him) and his harness was filled with ninja stars and sais and everything else in between.

I dropped the gi in shock. I hit his head with a skateboard and ran into him with a car on the same day. That was my first impression on him.
I'm such a goddamn joke.

I turned to stare at my waterlogged reflection with tired eyes. It had been just over a month since I began living in Ninjago City again and so much had happened. I was exhausted. But Lloyd was waiting outside and I needed to talk to him more about this. And about us - what we were.

Mum had dropped off clean pyjamas for me and after drying myself, I slipped into them. It felt nice to be clean. My hair was piled high and tied on top of my head to keep my shirt from getting damp.
Lloyd and mum were talking quietly in the living room by the time I limped on in. They both glanced up at my entrance.
"Alright, sit down," Mum ordered, pulling the first aid kit towards me. "Lloyd told me about the side effects. You should be fine by morning. Until then, let's deal with these wounds."

Lloyd had already been patched up, courtesy of mum. Steaming mugs had been set out and he was sipping his slowly, clearly tired.
I rolled my pyjamas up so mum could tend to it, dabbing it with antibacterial pads that made me wince. She slapped a nice big bandage over the top and that was that. A little plaster was put over the cut on my ear.
"Alright," Mum sighed as she sat back, feeling the effects of being tired as well. "I'm going to quickly call your mother and then drop you home."
I glanced up at Lloyd. Didn't he live in that huge monastery? That's going to raise some questions. Lloyd looked like he was trying not to panic.
"Oh, thank you!" he squeaked, waving his hands in denial. "But that's alright. I've already bothered you this much - I can get one of my brothers to pick me up!"

Mum looked like she wanted to argue but relented.
"Well, alright," she caved, standing up. "I'll be in the kitchen. I'll be making sure that someone comes to pick you up, alright? I don't want you walking home in the middle of the night with those injuries."
"Stress baking," I whispered to Lloyd as she left the room. "She's terrible any other time but as soon as she starts stress baking, everything she makes is amazing."
Amusement crossed over his face.
"I'll have to try it sometime," he grinned. "We'll have to see who's better - your mum's stress baking or Zane's."
"Zane?" I tilted my head. "Is he one of your brothers?"
Lloyd nodded. "You've already met him. He's Ice."

Apprehension made my face crunch into a look of displeasure. "Should you really be telling me their identities?"
Lloyd shrugged. "You may as well know them by now," he said nonchalantly. "You figured me out."
"You made it easy," I drawled. Lloyd winced with an awkward smile.
"I may have wanted you to find out," he rubbed the back of his neck. "You would not believe how hard it is to be close friends with the same person as different identities."
I snorted a little. "I can imagine." Close friends? That kinda stung, ngl.

"It makes sense now," I murmured, changing the subject and cradling my hot chocolate close. "That tugging thing? I felt it the first time I saw you. As Lloyd. I brushed it off back then. And then it happened when you were the green ninja. And at the amusement park, I felt it again."
He hummed, staring down at his tea and swirling it with the tip of his finger. Mum dropped a pan in the kitchen and cursed loudly.
"Let's go back to my room," I whispered after downing the rest of my hot chocolate. "We don't want her finding out about you, too."
Lloyd cracked a half smile, following me as I limped back to my room. I collapsed onto my bed with a sigh.

"Hah," Lloyd laughed in a dry voice. "I can only imagine how much the other's would freak out if they saw me in your room this late."
I rolled my eyes. Sure, he's the Green Ninja (a concept I was still wrapping my head around), but he's still very much a boy - and a teenage one at that.
"Lloyd," I whispered sternly as I struggled to sit upright, dragging my leg. "Don't make this weird."
He glanced around my room, taking in the area. The book case, the cork board of photos. The skateboard sat proudly on the beanbag.
Lloyd shrugged, smiling.
"Sorry, was that a weird thing to say?" he asked, picking up a book and reading the blurb. "I don't get to talk to girls very often. You're pretty much the first girl I've properly spoken to."

I faltered, staring at him. His tongue was slightly poking out from his mouth as he began to slowly flick through the book.
"Because of your dad?" I asked softly. Lloyd's eyes glanced up at me, surprised, before slowly nodding.
"I won't run away," I promised in a whisper. Lloyd still heard me loud and clear. I could tell by the way his breathing hitched. He swallowed before hastily changing the subject, cheeks tinted pink as he focused on bringing out his phone.
"I better tell one of the others to pick me up if your mum's keeping me under house arrest until someone else shows up," Lloyd said, breaking the silence that had begun to build. "My family really want to meet you. Y'know. Properly."

I nodded awkwardly, picking at my nails. Lloyd picked up his gi and balled it into an unrecognisable mess of material, hovering awkwardly while he texted someone on his phone.
I won't run away? He must think I'm a psycho. What if he thinks I'm one of his obsessed fans? I glanced over at the green ninja plush he'd given me. But that was given to me by him. Of course I was going to keep it.
"I'd love to meet them," I replied quietly, trying to get rid of that depressive train of thought. I thought back to the ground Lloyd was with at the park. Ah. No wonder why Ice - I mean Zane - was there. "I'm guessing they're the rest of your team..?"

Lloyd nodded in confirmation as he shoved his phone back into the pocket of his hoody. I was sad to see it go.
"Yeah, they are," he replied. "Also a bunch of pains in the asses."
That made me snort. "Aren't friends always?"
He grinned. "Yep."
"Oh wait-" I perked up, the awkwardness between us temporarily forgotten. "The other week, when I walked in on you and that gang?"
Lloyd stiffened. He seemed to know what I was already going to ask.
"... yeah ?"
"Your... your eyes went red. As well as at the amusement park."

Lloyd stared.
"Yeah..." he began awkwardly, apprehensively. He didn't seem to want to talk about it. "It's a side affect from my dad's side of the family."
"Oh." I quickly backed off.
He smiled sadly.
"I'll tell you about it some time."
I nodded quietly. His phone beeped and he glanced down at it.
"Kai's leaving now."
Kai?
Lloyd suddenly stood to attention as a thought struck him. I looked at him expectantly.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," he said. "What do I smell like?"

"I- what?" I stared at him.

"What do I smell like?" he repeated his question, entirely amused. It clicked and then I wanted to groan.
"You're going to think I'm a loser."
"I already do."
I scoffed, insulted but amused.
"Rude. I guess, you kind of remind me of spring, in a way. You smell like fields and streams and stuff."
Lloyd chuckled, eyes wide in curiosity.
"Really? That's pretty, uh..."
"Shut up," I groaned, hiding my head in my legs. "I'm tired."

Lloyd smiled sympathetically, nodding his head in agreement.
"Yeah, you look exhausted," he stated, making me squint my eyes at him. The doorbell rang.
"Good, Kai's here. Now leave," I ordered, shuffling off of the bed. Lloyd held his palms up in defence, letting me hobble past.
"Hey, we should hang out again soon," he suggested as he followed. "Perhaps a..." he nudged me, making me halt while he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Date..?"
I huffed through my nose, shaking my head in amusement at the blonde ninja.
"You're an idiot, Lloyd Garmadon," I commented affectionately. "Also, you're stalling. Let's go. Your brother's waiting."

Lloyd sent me a sheepish grin.
"Drat, you caught me," he said before raising his palms in defence as I sent him a look. "Okay, okay. I'm going."
A boy our age with brown hair and a scar chipping one of his eyebrows was in the kitchen, introducing himself to Mum. I recognised him as one of the boys who were making kissy kissy faces at Lloyd and I from the time in the park.
Kai glanced over and smiled at us.
"Hey, Y/n," he greeted. "There you are, Lloyd!"
Mum mumbled something about going to bed before stumbling out of the kitchen. Fresh cookies sat on top of the stove. When she had left, Kai quickly grabbed one and ate it.

"Wait, those are hot-!"
"I'm great with heat," Kai said with a smirk and a two-fingered salut. Oh! He's the fire ninja! He did the same salut when I first met him.
I fell silent. Lloyd sent him a displeased look.
"You should've asked," he said disapprovingly. Kai loftily shrugged before bounding out of the house. We followed him to the entrance way.
"Goodnight, Lloyd," I bid him farewell with a tired smile. "It was good to see you again. Fighting those drones with you was fun."
His green eyes squinted in annoyance.
"I'm never letting you do something that crazy ever again," he muttered. I chuckled.
"Over my dead body, Greenie," I flicked his forehead gently. He rolled his eyes.

"Night, Princess," Lloyd said before reaching forward and delicately pecking my forehead. He disappeared after Kai before I could do anything, leaving me speechless and blushing furiously.

Lloyd, you tease. I cursed to myself before shutting the door and limping back to bed to sleep off the paralysis.