Work Text:
"Wu! Your son is being mean!"
Letting out a deep sigh through his nose, Wu lifted his head to see Lloyd pouting in his doorway. His fists were clenched and shaking, not unlike the rage-shake he'd had as a child. For a moment, Wu allowed himself to be amused by the memory, before catching a glimpse of Morro standing behind Lloyd with a smug grin plastered to his face.
Putting aside the warmth that filled his chest at Morro being referred to as his son, he began to speak. "And what has he done that is so mean?" he asked, setting down his tea.
Lloyd pointed an accusatory finger at Morro, his face going red. "He won't talk to me!" His lower lip quivered pathetically, and Wu had to bite back a snicker.
Morro, on the other hand, held no such reservations. He let his head fall back as he let out a loud laugh, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorway. Wu gave him a glance before giving his attention back to Lloyd, whose cheeks were now puffing out with indignation.
"If Morro isn't talking to you, then perhaps he is having a tantrum," Wu suggested, fighting a smirk at the sudden indignant expression that took over Morro's face. "Let him stew and start the conversation himself."
"What?! I was not throwing a tantrum!" Morro squawked, uncrossing his arms and entering the room.
Wu lifted a brow. "All evidence to the contrary, little one."
Lloyd snickered at that. "Ha. Little one."
"Shut up!" It was Morro's turn to go bright red, his gaze fixed firmly on Lloyd as his fists clenched. "You're the child here!"
"I am sixteen!" Lloyd shouted back as the two of them turned to face each other. Wu let out another exhale, shaking his head as he watched the scene unfold before him. The two boys became incredibly animated as they bickered back and forth, waving their hands around, pointing their fingers, stepping closer and further apart from each other. Despite the raised voices, Wu knew they weren't truly angry with each other.
In fact, they hadn't been truly angry with each other for quite some time now, when he thought about it. Lloyd had of course advocated for Morro to join them, but he hadn't forgiven the past immediately. Those first few weeks had been awkward and tense, and Wu had begun to fear that the two of them would never see eye-to-eye. Until the day he saw Lloyd helping Morro unlock his phone, the two boys playfully fighting back and forth about the device.
Since then, Wu had seen Morro come out of his shell more around the others as well. The rowdy and excitable boy he'd known in his youth had slowly - as in, incredibly slowly - but surely returned to him as last. In fact, his playfulness with Lloyd seemed to have opened up entirely new possibilities for him. As proud as Wu was, he was also grateful; Grateful to have back the son he once thought he'd lost.
Over time, their own relationship had improved, with Morro coming to see Wu for one-on-one training sessions in the beginning, to the time they took out of their day to check in to see how Morro was adjusting. He'd been quiet and withdrawn at first, just as he had been when Wu first met him, but soon those walls came down again just as they had the first time, and Wu could proudly say that Morro was now a permanent presence in his heart once more.
The thought brought a smile to Wu's face as he continued to observe the bickering cousins. He allowed the fighting to stretch out for a minute before clearing his throat to speak.
Both boys instantly turned their attention to him, the argument all but forgotten. "I think there may be a better way to resolve this than with shouts and horseplay. Morro? Why do you ignore Lloyd?"
Morro shrugged, blowing a strand of hair from his face before answering. "Because it's funny," he answered simply. Lloyd scowled at that, but didn't say anything.
Turning his attention to the younger, Wu gestured to him. "And what were you trying to talk to Morro about before he decided to ignore you?"
"I was trying to talk to him about the sparring move he used earlier on Jay," Lloyd said as his expression evened out again. "He barely even touched him, and he managed to knock him out."
"Well I hope Jay is alright," Wu frowned, giving Morro a look.
He scoffed, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms again. "He's fine, I didn't even knock him unconscious," he huffed. "I paralyzed him for a minute, that's all."
"Yeah, but how?"
"Wouldn't you like to know, weather boy."
"Enough." Once again, both boys went silent as they directed their attention back to Wu. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he fixed them both with a stern look. "Lloyd? Go and check on Jay. Morro, may I have a word with you?"
"Yes, Master," the two sighed, parting ways with a final glare. Wu watched closely as Morro's eyes followed Lloyd of the room, before clearing his throat and stepping closer to him. Morro immediately jerked his head back to attention.
"Now, why exactly did you see the need to paralyze Jay?" he asked him gently. "I believe I only taught you to do that in dire situations."
Morro shrugged his arms as he crossed them. "I don't know, I guess I thought it would just make the fight easier. I didn't think he'd collapse like that." Again, he blew at the strand of his hair in his face, prompting Wu to step closer.
He carefully tucked the piece of hair behind Morro's ear, ignoring the eye roll as the latter allowed it to happen. "You do remember what I told you could happen if you did that move incorrectly, yes?" He was only asking as a formality. Of course Morro remembered.
"Yeah, I know. That's a sensitive area and hitting it wrong could result in a serious injury," Morro sighed before gently pulling back from Wu. "But I didn't hurt him that bad. Lloyd kept bugging me about it so I decided to ignore him."
Wu gave him a small smile, shaking his head fondly before leading him out the door. "If all you do is cause trouble," he said with a warning tone, placing a hand at Morro's back while they walked, "then all you'll receive is trouble."
Morro grinned at him with a smug smile. "Trouble is what I'm good at."
"That it is," Wu chuckled, shaking his head fondly. He gently pushed Morro towards the hallway where the other ninja could be heard. "Now go make your peace. I have a meditation to get back to."
"Yes, master," Morro bowed to him respectfully, before running off after the rest of the ninja. Wu watched him go with a smile on his face, before re-entering his study.