Chapter Text
It wasn’t even that hard to notice.
The kid seemed to be getting worse and worse by the day; his shoulders shook, he fell asleep halfway through his textbooks and there was this weird look on his face the entire day. Even Kai, who wasn’t the most observant of them, saw it.
They discussed it sometimes, behind Sensei’s back. No one was brave enough to say it aloud, though; Wu had already granted weekends off, and challenging him further felt like stepping into forbidden territory (god, why was the guy so strict all the time?). So they just watched and brainstormed on solutions as Lloyd’s shoulders slumped lower every day.
“This isn’t healthy,” Nya had said once, when the team had gathered. “He looks like a dead man walking!”
The Ninja all decided to try and help the boy in some way or the other, taking turns to cheer him up.
Jay and Kai tried cracking dumb jokes, bickering playfully with each other. And while that did drag out a few minutes of giggles, Lloyd went back to his usual sulking.
Nya and Zane tried talking to him, suggested meditation and even therapy sessions, but all they got was a dazed Lloyd Garmadon staring longingly at the kids playing games every time they passed over a small village.
Cole noticed everything too. Admittedly, he saw pieces of himself in Lloyd. The earth ninja was all too familiar with dysfunctional families and the feeling of growing up too fast when one had a lot of responsibilities.
He trained daily with the boy, watched as Lloyd moved at his own tired pace, all while trying to figure out some solution.
God, how was he supposed to help this kid?
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Dinner came and Cole skipped it. The others laughed around the table, but he was busy folding shirts into a backpack, sliding in a worn leather notebook with a mountain lily engraved on the front. Someone needs to do something about him, or he’s seriously gonna end up in a bad situation.
He kept a few bills and some snacks that he smuggled out of the kitchen when no one was looking.
Cole looked up when he heard the door to their rooms creak open, and stared as his best friend leaned against the frame, arms crossed.
“What’s with the packing?” Jay asked. The other’s mouth curled into a lazy grin, “You’ll see.” Jay raised a brow, but didn’t argue. Maybe he sensed something that urged him not to ask, maybe he didn't care. Not that it really mattered, anyway.
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Cole padded to Lloyd’s room at around midnight, nudging him awake. The boy blinked in confusion, groaning, “W-what’s going on? Is my dad attacking..?” Cole crouched beside him, all smiley while he stroked the blond’s hair. “We’re going on a trip!” he whispered. “Just you and me, kiddo.C’mon, I’ll help you pack.” Lloyd rubbed his eyes, somehow stumbling around (still half-asleep) while Cole helped him stuff a handful of belongings into a backpack provided by the same.
By half past twelve, they slipped out into the dark, the bounty’s silhouette fading into the darkness behind them.
Lloyd exhaled, rubbing his eyes with one hand and clutching at his backpack with the other. “Sooo, uh, you gonna tell me what we’re doing?”
Cole grinned wide, “I told you! We’re goin’ on a trip!”
“...and just how are we supposed to do that?”
“Lighten up kid, have faith in me!” The earth ninja giggled.
“Okay then, genius,” Lloyd scoffed. He was too sassy for a ten year old. “We don’t have a car. How are we supposed to go anywhere?”
Cole pondered on this. “Uhhh.. what if we took Rocky?”
But no, that would be too loud. Attract too much unwanted attention. Their trip would be over before it’d even start. Hm..
An idea clicked in the older's head. He smiled and patted Lloyd heavily on his shoulder, almost sending him flying forward. “Actually, nah. Don’t worry about it though. I got my own set of wheels.” The younger boy scrunched his face. “You? No way.”
“Yes way! Come on, I’ll show you. It’s parked in Ninjago City’s outer roads.”
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The streets of Ninjago City thinned out as they walked further from the bright lights, the roads got more and more unkept. There were a few flickering and the rest didn’t even work. The atmosphere scared Lloyd, reminded him of when he’d run away from Darkly’s and had to find some way to survive on the streets.
Thankfully, Cole was there to lead them. There was something familiar about the ninja, a certain warmth that felt like the Earth after it rained.
Eventually, they ducked into a wide alleyway lined with dumpsters and walls decorated with crude graffitied words. They were bold and loud; it felt like someone was yelling at Lloyd. He hated it, reminded him of his boarding school and the guys who scribbled insults onto his tables.
At the far end sat a small and dented car, maroon in colour but also slightly rusty-ish? There wasn’t exactly a specific way to describe it. Must’ve been cleaned recently too, because Lloyd could see flecks of dried water drops around the bottom and the roof of the car.. Either way, it definitely wasn’t roadworthy.
“…What is that?”
Cole beamed, walking up to it with a key as he unlocked the car. “Renault 5. It’s a model from the ‘80s. Bought it with money that I earned with my bare hands.”
“It’s ugly. Ew.” It wasn’t even that bad, but Lloyd felt like he should say something, just to prove that he wasn’t weak or compliant to everything. He didn’t know why he felt like that.
“Hey!” Cole’s voice cracked in feigned offense. “She’s a classic! You just don’t have an eye for fine art, unlike me.”
“It looks like it should be in a junkyard.”
“What, too good for a car? Maybe we should just go back to training since my car isn’t up to your standards…” Lloyd fidgeted. No, he really wanted the road trip. He felt like needed it. “Noo, uh, I was just joking. Let's go.. I guess.”
Cole grinned, sitting in the driver’s seat as Lloyd sat shotgun. They both tossed their backpacks in the back seat, where Lloyd could see a cushion and a thick blanket folded neatly.
…Huh.
The inside smelt of old leather and something earthy and suspiciously spicy; Cole’s cologne, Lloyd realized. It was nice, and weirdly comforting.
“The others don't know about this.. car, do they?” The man next to him shook his head.
“..Is ..is it so that they don’t make fun of you, like I did?”
Cole laughed, then hesitated. “Yeah, I suppose. Just- don’t tell them anything either. Please.”
Lloyd rolled his eyes, but he watched curiously when the older ninja leaned forward, popping open the glove compartment. A stack of CDs clattered forward, and Cole plucked one without looking, sliding it into some weird machine on the front of the car. He pressed the brakes and the car coughed to life like a poor smoker who ignored the advice given to him, on his last breath; and soon the speakers filled with the voices of a group or some old band singing about how loving you wasn’t the right thing to do.
Lloyd wrinkled his nose. “What even is this?”
“Fleetwood Mac, Go your own way. One of my favourites.”
“..You’re so old.”
Cole chuckled, a low warm sound that came from his chest. He drummed his fingers against the wheel. “Old? Dude, this is like, a global classic!”
“Whatever..” Lloyd grumbled, but admittedly the music was enjoyable. And going his own way, calling it another day, sounded like a pretty good plan.
Cole always had good taste in music.
The Renault rumbled as they pulled out of the alley, with the sounds of a CD older than the two of the ninja’s combined.
Lloyd slouched in the passenger seat, hugging his backpack and eyeing the world outside as the city began to roll past them.
Cole hummed along with the music, one arm resting lazily on the wheel. He looked weirdly pleased with himself for someone driving a beat-up car in the middle of the night, taking Lloyd on some promised road trip to god-knows-where.