Chapter Text
Chapter 1
The scents of noodles and cake flood my senses. As I stand alone on the streets of Ninjago on the day of the Dragon Day festival, one of Ninjago’s major events of the year, I wonder just how I got here. I originally planned to attend the celebration with a boy who asked me out at a coffee shop last weekend, but here I am, ghosted. It seems like at this moment my love life just can’t get any worse. Tonight is the THIRD time I’ve been ghosted this month. I stand motionless on the side of this street. Without warning, a masked man on a bike turns in the middle of the road, causing multiple accidents to domino around us. The masked person sees the same green blur that I do driving toward him.
“Hand over the mask, right now!” the notorious green ninja shouts.
The masked person looks back and forth between me- a lonely blonde girl they just saw on the street- and the famous Lloyd Garmadon. He pauses, realizing that the green ninja is approaching him, and abruptly flings the mask my way. Time slows down to where it feels like slow motion as the mask glides through the air over to me. It’s what could only be described as a scene from a movie or TV show, never something I thought I would ever experience in my lifetime. I instinctively extend my arms in an attempt to catch the mysterious mask as it falls down from the air and into my hands.
Lloyd looks between me and the masked figure, clear concern in his eyes.
“Please give me that mask,” he pants.
“What?” I ask, confused by his desperation. I still want to know what this thing does before I just hand it over. If he’s so desperate for it back, it has to be at least a little important.
“The mask. I need it. Please, just give me the mask. I can’t afford to lose it right now.”
“Please.” He repeats, his voice breaking and an increasing sense of urgency in his tone.
“Why should I?” I question while turning the mask over in my hand.
“We’re all doomed unless you give me that mask. I’m begging you.”
I pause, looking between him and the masked figure, and contemplate my next move. I could hand over this “so powerful” mask to the so-called amazing and well-intentioned green ninja, or I could give it to this mysterious masked being.
“Trust me.” Lloyd lingers a little too much on the word trust.
I look up to see the masked figure creeping my way, about to make a lunge to grab the mask. Apparently Lloyd sees this too, because he quickly shoves his hands out in front of himself, signaling me to throw him the mask. Impulsively, I heave the mask in his direction and dive out of the reach of the masked person. Lloyd stumbles backward and catches the mask before attaching it to his back. The figure still thinks that I have the mask behind my back- I really didn’t think this through. They suddenly lunge forward at me, attempting to take me down. I dive onto the ground out of the way and scrape my shoulder on the impact of hitting the rough pavement.
The figure stumbles and falls over onto their stomach and gets up. They look at me, but when they realize I don’t have the mask,they instantly direct their attention over to Lloyd. Since the mask is on his back, they don’t see it right away. I turn my attention to myself and attempt to push myself up onto my knees, but it’s no use. My arm is in terrible pain and is pretty scratched up. Although it’s decently bad, I’m sure I’ll be fine in a few days. I look up again and see Lloyd getting out of his vehicle. He has his sword out, and he is trying to deter the masked person away. Why isn’t he getting out of here? He knocks the person down and starts walking in my direction.
Wait, what? Why is he walking over here? No, he should get out of here with that mask! Didn’t he literally JUST say that it was so important and that we would all be doomed if it got into the hands of this mystery person? He reaches my side and kneels down and picks me up, then sets me on my feet. He grabs onto my shoulders and looks me in the eye. His glittering green eyes stare into mine and I try not to get lost in them and remember the severity of this situation. Maybe my love life won't be so bad…
I continue to stare into the eyes of the legendary green ninja. His eyes are just as green, if not more, than his outfit. I look back at the masked figure, who looks confused as ever.
“Are you coming with me or not?” Lloyd asks without hesitation.
I look between him and the masked person who is now lying on the ground with a hurt leg, unable to stand back up. This goes on for about thirty seconds before Lloyd continues.
“Now or never hun.” He looks at me with those damn green eyes.
I quickly nod at him, and he brings me over to the passenger side of his vehicle. He helps me into the vehicle; every time he touches my clothed skin I have this wanting for more. His touch lingers on my back for longer than it should while he guides me up into my seat. It’s like he feels it too. He then sprints over to the other side and jumps into the driver's seat. He checks the spot under his seat where he hid the mask to make sure it’s still there and then he starts the engine.
The masked figure attempts one final time to return to a standing position. Lloyd looks down at my lap and points to a seatbelt for me to use. With my good arm, I pull it across my lap and secure it in the buckle on my left side.
Lloyd starts driving onto the highway at a medium speed. He says something I don’t hear into an intercom in his ear. I’m assuming it goes to all the other ninjas or at least one of them. As he continues driving, he pulls the mask out from under his seat and sets it securely in his lap. When he looks over at me next, he sees me cradling my hurt arm in my lap.
“I can help you with that as soon as I get this mask somewhere safe.”
I nod softly at him before looking back down at my feet. What a night this has been so far. First, I get ghosted and now I’m in the green ninja’s vehicle with a mask that is apparently very dangerous. Just the cherry on top, I think I’m developing feelings for this glorified hero. The only thing I can do now is just hope that he feels these things too.
I hear a whooshing above my head and look over at Lloyd to make sure nothing is wrong. He’s holding the mask up in the air- what the heck? Ok, yeah, this is the green ninja, but how does he not know that it’s not sensible to hold a powerful artifact in the air for a jet above the vehicle to retrieve? Not to mention that both vehifcles are moving, one airborne and one on a public highway! Can’t he even have enough sense to toss the mask to the person in the jet? Or maybe even stop on the side of the road to initiate this transfer of important items? Suddenly, he collects enough sense to toss this dumb mask to whoever is in the jet.
If they had tried to do that for any longer, I think they would’ve gotten so close I would be decapitated. That would be a pretty scene on the road for sure.
Lloyd looks over at me with those glistening eyes again. I exchange glances and decide I can’t keep my mouth shut for any longer.
“First of all, what on earth about that mask can be so important? Second, why the hell are you looking at me like that, and what made you even decide you wanted to save me, anyway? Third, what were you thinking trying to do that exchange by HANDING the mask to whoever was in that jet? You could have decapitated us BOTH.”
“Calm down, that’s a lot of questions.”
“Well, I’m expecting some answers, Lloyd.” I send him an annoyed glare.
“How do you know my name?” he asks, wide-eyed.
“You're the goddamn green ninja, everybody knows your name. Now, I expect some answers.”
“Ok, ok. I’m not supposed to be telling you this, but the mask was stolen by a group called ‘the Sons of Garmadon’. It’s the Mask of Vengeance, usually held in Borg Tower. There are two more masks, the Mask of Deception and the Mask of Hatred. If the three masks are united in the Temple of Resurrection, they can bring someone with Oni blood back from the Departed Realm back to Ninjago. I was not looking at you in any certain way, and if I was, it was completely unintentional. I saved you because I would have done that for anyone in that situation. My duty as a ninja is to protect the citizens of Ninjago, therefore I would never leave someone on the street with a villain trying to harm them. Also, my friend Zane, the ice ninja who flew that jet, was attempting to convince me it would work for me to hand it to him. He was soon proved wrong when he almost crushed us. I am sorry about that.”
“Ok, green ninja. Where are you taking me?” a smile tugs at the corners of my mouth.
“Wherever you want me to take you.” Lloyd looks away from the road and at me to see my smile and softly smiles back.
“Well, I don’t really have anywhere to go right now.” I look down at my feet again.
“Why were you even standing there on the street while everyone else was celebrating Dragon Day?”
“It’s a long story,” I mumble.
“Well, we have nothing but time.”
“So, last week, a guy asked me out on a date for the Dragon Day celebration. I don’t know what happened, but he didn’t show up and blocked my number. Now I’ve been ghosted by three different people just this month.” I look down at the floor of the vehicle.
Lloyd stays silent and continues driving. When I look up again, we’re parked near the Dragon Day celebration. I give him a confused look, and he just grins.
“Well I won’t ghost you.” he softly smiles.
I attempt to hide the smile on my face, but he sees right through me.
“Do you want to go or not?” he smiles back at me with his hand on the key, waiting to turn off the vehicle before he gets my answer.
I nod at him in reply.
“I never got your name...” Lloyd says as he turns the key and pulls it out of the ignition, then shoves it in his pocket.
“Y/n,” I smile.
“That’s a beautiful name.”
Lloyd gets out and closes the door. He walks around to my side and opens my door. With my good arm, I unbuckle the seatbelt going across my lap and hold my injured arm to my stomach. Lloyd sees this and reaches into the vehicle and picks me up, setting me down on my feet next to him. After doing this, he reaches into the center console and pulls out a bandage and a sling. He walks over to me with them and looks at me for permission. I nod. He takes the bandage and wraps it around my arm, starting at my wrist and ending at my shoulder; then he lightly sets my arm in the sling that is now attached to my other shoulder.
When he’s finished, he looks up at me, our faces uncomfortably close.
“Does that feel okay?” Lloyd breaks the silence that seems to drag on forever.
“Yes, thank you,” I reply quietly.
“So, do you want to go out? Because I think that’s something we both really need right now.”
“I’d love to.” a smile plays on my lips.
“Great. Do you want to go into that noodle shop over there?” the green ninja points at a little noodle shop across the street.
“Sure.” There are crowds of people on the sidewalk next to it, but only a handful of people can be seen inside through the glass. Lloyd grabs my hand and leads me through the sidewalk.
As we weave in and out of the crowd, I can feel how soft his hands are. I’m awkwardly sensitive to his warm and gentle touch. We enter the noodle shop, and it's a good deal quieter than on the street. He chooses a table and we sit down across from each other. A server almost immediately comes up to the table, placing two menus on the table in front of us.
“It’s kind of late. I’m not very hungry,” I say.
“Yeah me neither. Do you just want tea?” Lloyd replies.
“Sure. That sounds nice.” I smile gently over at him. While setting my menu down, my hand brushes against his, and I feel electricity that I can’t deny. I look up at him and see the blush on his face, and he’s looking down at our hands. He realizes I’m staring and we make eye contact. Both of us immediately look away in different directions. There’s no denying the tension and obvious attraction we have to each other. The question is… who will make the first move?
The server comes back to the table with a notepad and an expecting look. “What will it be?” she looks between both of us.
“Ummm… two teas, I guess,” Lloyd stutters.
“That’s it? Are you sure?” the server replies.
“Yes, just that.”
“Okay well let me know if you change your mind.” the server winks at me.
When she’s gone, I look at Lloyd. “What the hell was that?” I laugh.
“I have no idea,” he wheezes. His laugh is actually adorable, it just makes me want to make him smile like that all day.
It goes silent again and my eyes wander around the room. Lloyd interrupts the silence, continuing the conversation.
“What’s your family like?”
“Well, I live with my mom, and my dad left my mom when they found out she was pregnant with me. My mom isn’t very fond of me and she blames me for my father’s leaving.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
“It’s fine. I’ve gotten used to it at this point.”
“That doesn’t make it any better. You don’t deserve that.”
I look down at my hands. Why is he saying this to me? From what I’ve heard about his parents, he had it much worse. If anything, I should be the one telling him this kind of stuff. Lloyd notices the look on my face.
“Hey, it’s okay. We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”
“No, Lloyd, it’s not that. It’s just that… I’ve heard quite a bit about your parents, and it doesn’t really feel fair for me to not be happy or to be talking like this since you’ve been through worse.”
“Don’t say that, y/n. I didn’t really have it that bad, and if I did, it still doesn’t invalidate your feelings. Whatever you feel is still valid, and you’re allowed to have those feelings.”
I again look down at the table in silence. I know he’s just saying all of this stuff because he feels bad for me. But why should he? I’m just an ordinary girl, and he’s the green ninja. I was dumb for ever thinking he would like me. He could literally have any girl, like another ninja, or even the Jade Princess. Somehow, Lloyd senses my doubt from his spot across the table. He suddenly slides out of the booth and stands up in the middle of the restaurant. I send him a confused look as he looks around before sitting down right next to me. I scoot over a little so there’s enough room for him to sit on my side of the booth.
He looks over at me, his face with a soft expression. His emerald eyes are pools of green that I just can’t help getting lost in. There’s a comforting silence, and the moment seems to drag on for hours. We’re interrupted by the server coming back and setting two cups of warm tea in front of us. Both Lloyd and I nod and thank her for the tea. When she leaves, we again turn to face each other. He reaches down and slowly grabs my hand. His hands are clammy, way more than they were earlier.
“You okay? You’re sweating a lot.” I laugh.
“Umm, yeah uh, sorry. I’m just nervous,” he stutters.
“Hey, it’s okay Lloyd. It’s just me. I know technically you just met me, but I’m never going to judge you. I’m just an ordinary girl, and you’re the green ninja. You have saved the world so many times and that makes you an amazing person. There is nothing wrong with you. At 16, you’ve already done more good in your life than most people will ever.”
“Thanks y/n, but I’m really not that special. The rest of the ninjas always helped me with these things. The world would be over if it weren’t for them.”
“But see, the world would also be over if it weren’t for you. You led them, and sure, you might have needed their help, but they couldn’t have done it without you. Lloyd, you have led them through almost everything. You might have needed them, but they needed you.” I rub my thumb lightly against his hand.
“Thanks y/n.”
“Of course, Lloyd.”