Arriving at the monastery via car was much more scenic than being delirious with pain and too sleepy to comprehend anything.

The trees stretched high above the car as we drove on a dirt road, cutting through the forest.
I was squished against the side door by Lloyd and Zane while Nya rode shotgun. The two human ninjas had fallen asleep long ago and I would've joined them, if it weren't for the fact that the summer sun being dappled by the leaves of the trees and had intrigued me so.
The droplets of sun slid over me as we drove and a carnal, monkey-brain part of me wanted to get out of the car and just sit in a circle of sun pieces.

"You are nervous."
I glanced across at Zane. Lloyd sighed in his sleep, dropping his head onto my shoulder with a subtle bounce. My face burnt.
"Huh?" I whispered.
"Nervous," Zane repeated. Misako glanced at us from the rear view mirror. "You are displaying signs of being agitated."
"No, I'm not," I disagreed. Zane sent a pointed look at my hands in my lap, which were anxiously tapping, tugging and strangling each of my fingers. I flattened them out against my thighs, forcing them to be still.

"I'm fine," I insisted before stiffening when Lloyd began to mumble incoherently.
"Do not fret," Zane said in hushed reassurance. "Lloyd is deep in slumber. He will not be waking anytime soon. Are you perhaps feeling anxious about your feelings towards him?"
I spluttered, coughing. Nya groaned from shotgun and scowled in her groggy state.
"Shhjihhuddup," she tossed her head over her shoulder to glare at us with bleary eyes. "Shut up. Shut up."
"Nya, on the other hand, wakes at the sound of anything," Zane whispered. I hummed, wide eyed.
"Am I that obvious?" I murmured, pulling back to send a sheepish look at the nindroid.

"I am observant," he replied with an owlish blink of his ice-blue eyes.
I sighed. Okay. Cool.
"And you make it easy to tell."
I stiffened. Okay. Panik.
Was I that easy to read? I hadn't thought myself to have such a readable face, but there we were, I guess.
Well, Misako and Garmadon knew about my crush, and one of them hadn't even seen me interact with Lloyd.
Jesus.
He snuggled deeper against my shoulder.
I need an intervention.

I planted my forehead against the glass of the window and closed my eyes, trying to ignore the amused look from Misako in the rear view mirror.
This was bullying. I swear.

By the time my eyes had opened again and my mortification had gone down a tiny smidge, we had made past the mile-long driveway to the monastery.
Misako pulled up the car beside the one Garmadon was driving. I stepped out after carefully transferring Lloyd's head from my shoulder to the seat and stretched. Nya woke as soon as I had opened the door and was quick to grab her bags and head inside the monastery, probably hell bent on getting a proper nap.
Couldn't blame her. They looked exhausted.

"Is he still asleep?" Kai asked in a whisper as he glanced inside, where Lloyd was absolutely dead to the world. Zane has already grabbed his stuff and went inside, never one to dawdle, it seemed.
"Yeah," I nodded, replying in a quiet voice. I was about to ask whether we wake or carry him inside when Cole suddenly squeezed past, picked the ragdoll that was Lloyd up and heftily deposited him.

Into the pond.

Lloyd only woke at the height of his drop. His bleary green eyes opened, confused as to why he was falling.
"Huh-hhWwAAAHH!"
Cole and Kai collectively, lost their goddamn minds and Jay joined when he walked in on the scene. I stood at the car, a hand over my mouth in shock (and also amusement).
Was this what it was like to have siblings? Fucking wild, man, oh my god.

Lloyd spluttered, thrashing as he landed in the cold water. He was definitely awake, now. Awake and pissed.
He glared at his teammates, blonde hair scraggled and heavy with water as the locks flopped over his face.
"Yeah, har-har," he grumbled, peeking off a lily pad from his shoulder. "Laugh it up, why dontcha? Jokes on you, I was going to take a shower anyway."

"Oh, gross, Lloyd," I snickered as I grabbed a towel from his bag. "That doesn't count as a shower."
Lloyd threw his hands into the air in disbelief. They smacked against the water when he brought them down, sending another wave crashing into him.
"Everyone is ganging up on me!" Lloyd whined. I giggled, walking to the edge and offering my hand. Turning his head away, he took it with a grumble and I helped hoist himself out of the murky water. He pulled the towel tight around him with a grumpy pout and I would've commented on how adorable he looked if I was sure I wouldn't end up in the pond next myself.

Truly a look to stupefy with ouch.

Jay, Kai and Cole were merciless, still snickering and snorting amongst themselves as they grabbed their bags and made their way inside. Lloyd glared after them, poking his tongue out when they looked over their shoulder and fell into another fit.
"Screw them," he mumbled half-heartedly into the towel as he slumped onto the grass. I grinned, following him until we were sitting on the verge of the pond.
"You all look exhausted," I announced unhelpfully. "I can go home if you want to rest up."
"Nah," Lloyd shook his head, falling back against the grass. His green towel flung out around him, flattening daisies. "I'm fine. Definitely awake now."

I chuckled, shrugging as I began picking daisies. "Well, can't deny that." Interweaving them, I clumsily threaded the stalks through one another until I had made a cruddy flower crown. Lloyd sat up to untie his shoes and I took the chance to gingerly place it onto the top of his soaked, blonde hair.
"Nawww," I gushed when Lloyd looked up in surprise, reaching up to touch the crown and then sending me a blank look once he realised what it was. "Pretty as a princess."
A daisy dropped from the crude knots and tangled in his waterlogged blonde hair.
"Thanks," he said dryly. I grinned shamelessly, spinning around to stare at the monastery. It was just too amazing not to look at.

"Your home is so pretty," I murmured, dropping my chin into my hand. "How many generations of your family have lived here?"
Lloyd paused.
"My grandad built the monastery a few thousand years ago."
"Oh, cool," I nodded, staring at the intricately designed columns that held prophecies. I blinked. I turned slowly to face Lloyd. "Wait... did you say your grandad. As in your dad's dad. Built this place... a few thousand years ago?"
Lloyd swallowed. Tense.
"Yes."
"Lloyd, how old are you?"
He sat back a little, eyes flitting to the ground, unable to hold my gaze.
"E- eighteen," he stammered.
"Seriously eighteen?" I stressed, inching closer with a stern look on my face. "You're not pulling some Edward Cullen crap where he looks eighteen but is actually over a hundred years old?"

"N- no," Lloyd shook his head, finally grabbing my gaze. "I'm seriously eighteen. Promise."
"Okay," I breathed, sitting back a little. "Okay."
We sat in silence for a second.
"How old's your dad?"
"He just celebrated his one-thousandth, three-hundred and sixty-second birthday last month," Lloyd murmured in a tense voice.
"Your dad is over a thousand years old?" I squeaked in alarm.
"... yeah."
"Are you going to be over a thousand years old, too?"
Lloyd was staring out at the pond, chewing on his lip. He eventually replied.
"... yes."
I muffled my scream by biting my arm. Lloyd spun around in shock.
"Don't injure yourself!" he pleaded, holding his hands before him unsurely.
"Lloyd, that is insane," I hissed, shock making all common sense fly out the window. My arm throbbed. "You're a god! A literal god!"

"Half-god," Lloyd breathlessly corrected, shaken by my reaction. "Demi-god."
"Same thing!" I cried.
"Not really!" Lloyd squeaked.
"Are the others immortal, too?"
"Yes!" Lloyd nodded, reflecting my panic. "Everyone who's an elemental master has a longer lifespan."
"That's crazy," I huffed, slumping back. "Crazy. B- but what about your mother?"
"She's an elemental master, too," Lloyd nodded. "Master of Empathy. It's not really useful in fights but it lets her do spinjitzu."

"Oh, my god," I fell back onto the grass and dropped my hands over my eyes. "Oh my god."
"I'm sorry," Lloyd apologised. "I didn't know how to tell you."
I exhaled a heavy breath. I sat up and shook my head.
"N- no, don't worry about it," I murmured, waving him off. "It's not your fault... it's just- wow, dude! That's amazing."
Lloyd chuckled softly. And that was that.

We sat in silence for a while and I had to keep taking side-long glances at Lloyd while he stared blankly into the water, either deep in thought or simply vibing with his head in the clouds. Sneaky as I thought I was being (hilariously not), Lloyd caught my gaze and sent me a puzzled look.
"Why do you keep looking at me?"
Because you're the prettiest boy I've ever seen.
"Dunno," I shrugged, turning away. "Maybe it's 'cause you look like a total dork."
He shoved my shoulder with a playful smile. I giggled, being tossed lightly onto my side. The sun had begun to dry his hair, making some strands appear to glimmer golden against his darker blonde locks.

He laughed, too, and even with the falling apart daisy crown and his half-dried hair, he looked like a benevolent angel. It made my chest flutter with warmth and I truly had to stop and stare this time, trying to etch this look of him into my mind. To keep it forever.
"I think I like you," I blurted. Lloyd stopped short, whipping his head to stare at me with wide, green eyes. The crown had fallen a little down his head.
"Wh- what?" he nervously laughed, the sound of it dying out as realisation of what I had accidentally said. His eyes only widened more. "What?"

"I-" why did I say that? GOD, WHY DID I SAY THAT. "W- wait, I uh-" well, I couldn't exactly say that I didn't like him, because that would be a lie. Also probably hurt his feelings. "U-um-" but my dignity! I could never show my face around Lloyd ever again, and that in itself is a horrible punishment for having no self control and-
"You're overthinking," Lloyd said softly, placing a hand on my shoulder. I glanced up at him, unaware that my breathing had grown short and quick in the midst of my emotional crisis. "It's okay. I... I like you, too."

I tensed, rather than relaxing, which surprised us both.
"Y- you do?" I stammered, face burning incredibly hot. He nodded, cheeks pink, as he stared at the surface of the pond. At his confirmation I felt a wave of genuine relief slip through me and I slumped.
"Okay," I whispered. What now?
Lloyd seemed to have an answer, as he leant forward, lifting his hand to cup my cheek. It was cold against my heated skin, chilly from the water, but it sent electric shocks through to my very bones.

"L- Lloyd?" I breathed, gut swirling tighter and deeper. I felt like all the air from my lungs had been sucked out, lifting me from the ground and feeling like I was falling or floating or both.
He inched closer, unsure, watching me for any signs of pulling away. Watching himself for signs that he wasn't ready. There were none.
I leant forward on my hand, ready to meet him halfway. It was a lie to say that I hadn't been imagining this moment, my first kiss, my first kiss with Lloyd. It'd be a lie to say that every time I'd think of it, I'd feel giddy like a schoolgirl.

Lloyd's hand shifted up to thread gently through the soft hair above my ear, eyes half-lidded. It made my chest squeeze. His green irises held the stars. Heaven danced in them, and they were holding out a hand for me to join. Dance with heaven.
I closed my eyes. A breath away.

My hand slipped.

My eyes shot open with a gasp as I felt the ground disappear beneath me, reaching out at thin air to grab a hold of something to stop my ultimately embarrassing fail. The dirt, the air, Lloyd's outstretched hand, anything.
I did manage to grab Lloyd's hand. However, he was too caught off guard and we both went tumbling into the cold water.
I kind of stayed under the surface for a bit, puffed cheeked and clenched eyes as I cursed myself in all the languages and made up some funky new ones of my own. Surely, I am the universe's favourite thing to pull practical jokes on.

Lloyd grasped my shoulders and pulled me to surface. I spluttered, shaking the hair from my face and releasing a heavy, mournful sigh.
"I wanted to drown," I said despondently. Lloyd was silent, so I looked up at him. He was staring at the water in disbelief, shocked at being submerged for the second time in ten minutes.
He caught my gaze. We snickered. We laughed. Because we are dumb, so dumb and what had just transpired was wickedly stupid. And it was funny.
But if I hadn't slipped.
We would have kissed.

That seemed to sober me up a little.

Lloyd was still laughing, snorting and hiccuping and in hysterics. I giggled lightly, blush intensifying with each second. He calmed just enough to place the floating daisy crown onto my head, half of it falling in front of my face.
"My princess," he grinned, eyes bright and cheeks pink. I felt light.
"Clumsy princess," I murmured. He huffed, smiling so wide that it looked like it hurt.
Lloyd clambered out of the pond and pulled me up. He kicked the useless, soaking towel with his foot and hummed displeasingly.

"Sorry," I murmured. "Bad luck just seems to follow me these days."
"You sure you're not doing this to me on purpose?" Lloyd asked with a sly smile and a raised brow.
"I'm not!" I insisted and he just laughed, patting the top of my head. I pouted.
"C'mon, then, my bad luck charm," Lloyd teased, pulling me along with him. "Let's get changed into some dry clothes and then eat ice cream from the tub."
"I like the way you think." I ignored the nickname. He guided me around the back of the monastery and into one of the gardens, swiftly making our way over the paved stone path. Cherry blossoms and bamboo boarded the walkway, making me stare at the aesthetic scene with wide eyes.

"How good are you at climbing through windows?" Lloyd asked, pulling me from my stupor.
"Uhhh depends?" I lifted my shoulder unsurely.
"On?"
"Everything."
Lloyd snickered while we arrived at a window entering the monastery. It was a few feet in the air, not impossible but it would be tricky.
"Ladies first," I swept an arm for Lloyd to go ahead. He pushed my forehead back gently at my remark before gracefully hopping through the window and into the room on the other side.

I hooked my hands over the edge and pulled myself up, using my feet to scramble my body forward.
It was not as fluid as Lloyd's entrance. I landed on my face.
But I got in (at the price of my pride).
"Why did we come through the window again?" I asked, holding my throbbing nose.
"Because the others would tease us until we died from embarrassment," Lloyd shrugged and yeah, I'd have to agree with that.

"This is my room," Lloyd said with a careless, gesturing wave of his hand, changing the subject.
I slowly turned, glancing around and taking everything in. His bed was pushed into the furthest corner from me, the duvet nonchalantly pulled up where his pillows laid haphazardly, the under sheet spilling down the side. The wooden bed frame itself also acted as a chest of drawers, as one of the four was open and revealing his shirts, a large chunk of them missing.
Above his bed were more windows, overlooking the beautiful cultural garden that we had just snuck through.

My gaze shifted to Lloyd's bedside table, which was actually a small bookshelf filled to the brim with a few action/adventure novels, Fritz Donegan comics and the rest on Ninjitzu and other martial arts. At the end of his bed was a green beanbag with an unfinished Donegan comic. Next to his beanbag was his study desk, piled high with his text books, a laptop, a cup holding a bunch of pens and pencils, and a file holder housing a bunch of various sized papers.

Across from his bed was an open closet, the inside of the doors plastered with Fritz Donegan posters. Hanging on the racks was his various different gis.
And- "YOU HAVE A BATMAN SUIT?"
Lloyd slipped in front of me and slammed the closet doors shut, cheeks pink.
"No," he denied.
"Shut up," I squeaked. "That looked amazing, too! Was it hand made?"
Lloyd sighed, relenting as he stepped aside and pulled out the suit. "Jay made it."
"Oh, my god," I gushed, gingerly grabbing the material and carefully playing with some the extra armour and weapons. "It's fully functional!"
"Y- yeah," he smiled awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head. "We did a thing for Halloween last year but I didn't want to get rid of it."

"Why would you?" I said in awe as I placed it back on the rack. "Can I have a look at your gis?"
"Go ahead."
Lloyd leant on the doorway as I carefully observed each and every one of them, gently pulling some out to get a better look.
"That one's from Cyrus Borg," Lloyd commented nonchalantly as I pulled out a specific gi. "It's got a facial recognition scrambling software. It came in handy when we had to sneak in to Ninjago City last year."
"I bet," I murmured. That didn't sound fun.
"You can wear one, if you want," Lloyd said, nodding his head to the gis. "It'd be cute."

"Are you kidding?" I asked in disbelief as I pulled a random gi from the rack and held it against myself. With the jaki-tabis on the ground, I held the shoulders an almost arm's reach above my head. "You wouldn't be able to find me."
Lloyd snorted.
"Jeez," he said in amusement. "You are short."
I dropped the top of the gi, revealing my angry pout.
"Don't call me short," I snapped. Lloyd's smile didn't drop but he raised his palms in defence all the same.

"Okay, okay," he said, walking backwards to his drawers under his mattress. "I'll get you some clothes that might fit you."
I placed the gi back on the rack, making sure it was as tidy as I found it. I smoothed them out before wiping back a few locks of my damp hair that had decided to make itself extra known.
"I request a hoody that I may or may not return," I said as I turned around to face him. "Most likely the latter."
Lloyd grinned, gave a shrug, before throwing a familiar green hoody at me. It landed on my face because my reflexes were terrible.
"Great!" I said with a grin as I held it close, mostly for warmth. "Expect this back never."

"I'll go grab a shower, too," he said. I raised my eyebrows.
"Good," I said. "You smell like death. And sweat. And gross pond water."
Lloyd sent me a pout, tilting his head and making me curse him for being so goddamn adorable.
"I thought I smelt like life?" he asked innocently. My eyes twitched at the memory.
"When you don't have three weeks worth of sweat clinging to you like mould, ask me again."

Lloyd scowled teasingly as he began walking backwards to the closest bathroom.
"Uh-uh," he denied with a shake of his head. "That's a little far fetched. Try three days."
I gagged.
"That's so gross," I said with a scrunched nose.

Lloyd laughed, unfazed at my jab as any other teenage boy would be. "Please, you love it."
I only rolled my eyes in response, stepping into the bathroom and closing the door behind me.