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Borg tower, place of operations for Borg industries. Famously the tallest building in Ninjago City. That's where Lloyd had requested the ninja to meet, it had been a few months since the whole team was together in one room. Since Master Wu was lost, it had been a struggle for the team to figure out independence, and even more difficult for Lloyd to adjust to leadership.
Although, considering how missions and life had slowly pulled them all apart again, Lloyd really still hadn't adapted to his new role fully. But the team trusted him, believed in his skill and guidance.
So, he was herding them all back in.
"Hey, there he is!" Kai beamed, all the ninja's heads turning to the doorway as Lloyd strode in. Kai was the first to move, ambling over to Lloyd and bumping the younger ninja's fist with his own. "You're late." Kai said, hands meeting his hips.
"Kai was late too," Zane shared, his titanium skin faintly reflecting the sunlight as it beamed through the row of tall windows, "if it is any consolation."
Kai huffed silently at that, shaking his head unamused. Lloyd just smiled, the rest of the team padding closer. "Thanks for meeting me here. It's been a while since we've been under one roof." Lloyd expressed, taking a moment to admire his team, his friends. His family. He had to admit, he'd missed everyone a lot.
The teasing, not so much.
Okay, maybe a little.
Lloyd's smile loosened as Nya giggled behind her hand politely, Cole playfully elbowing Jay in the side as the lightning ninja grinned. Puzzled, Lloyd frowned, "What?"
"Are we gonna talk about it?" Jay asked like it clarified something, wrapping his arms around Cole's and Nya's back and leaning between them. The three sharing a look and silent humour.
"Talk about what?" Lloyd quizzed, surveying his team curiously.
"Your voice." Cole pointed it, again, like it was obvious. Which, in hindsight, it definitely was. "It's…"
"Lower." Zane said, lowering his own robotic tone for emphasis. Lloyd was not impressed. He's had enough teasing about his voice lately-
"Sounds like our little ninja's growing up!" Kai ribbed, ruffling Lloyd's hair. A brotherly gesture, one Lloyd would protest to usually. But he let him this time, just this once.
"Leave him alone." Nya halfheartedly reproved, though her own smile was a transparent betrayal of her own fondness of Lloyd's new voice.
"He's even a whole two inches taller." You added, peeping up from behind Lloyd with your own shit eating grin.
Ah, the very culprit of Lloyd's thinning patience.
"Woah, look at you!" Cole greeted, your palms smacking together in a firm, friendly grip.
"Cole." You greeted back, returning the grasp. "Better get it out of your systems now." You suggested, bracing for the incoming onslaught.
"The last few months have treated you two generously, haven’t they?" Kai quizzed, leaning on Lloyd's shoulder as he observed the youngest pair of ninja. Noting how much they had grown in just a few months.
"Yeah, well, we haven’t had to fuss over you lot so much." You answered, a little smug. "Lloyd started putting that energy into his hair." You taunted.
"Har har." Lloyd laughed sarcastically, punching you lightly in the shoulder. "Don't you ever get tired of being a prick?"
"Nope." You replied curtly. Lloyd just sighed.
"Well, at least your friendship hasn't changed." Nya pulled you both into a hug, refusing to go on her tip toes and instead just pulling the pair of you lower to accommodate her own height.
Oh, how incorrect. Yours and Lloyd’s friendship had changed drastically, upgrading significantly. They didn't get the chance to announce that, however, as Nya quickly shifted the subject.
"Any word from your mother?" Nya asked Lloyd, pulling back with a gentle smile. Lloyd shook his head, strolling through the group.
"Not since she went searching for Master Wu…" Lloyd answered solemnly.
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The cheers of the people and clicks of cameras echoed through the street, the Royal family of Ninjago gracing the public with a rare appearance. They were private monarchs, uninterested in the public eye.
The Emperor was proud to offer his speech nonetheless, the Empress and Princess on his flank, guarded by their right hand Hutchins. For all the grand finesse, they were little more than figureheads.
"I don't like this one bit." Nya announced in a whisper through the comms, blending in with the public mass. Wandering through the sea of people with sharp eyes ready to catch any threat. "If the royal family likes their privacy, why give such a public speech?"
"I think it's nice," Jay supplied, surveying the crowd from above. An eagles eye view, perched on a ledge of the Palace wall, "they're reaching out to the people." Kai and Cole leapt onto the ledge Jay had claimed, having exhausted another lap around the area and declaring it clear.
"Why all the hate, sis?" Kai asked, hand to his comm as he overlooked the street. "They just don't like getting all gussied up." He ribbed.
"All that gold and glitter, it's just for show." Nya said, transparently unimpressed.
"Well, yeah. It's not exactly for practicality." You remarked, jumping from one roof to another, peering into alleys to check for anyone hidden out of sight. "They want to be seen."
"The royal family are figureheads," Nya continued, "they don't have any real power. What purpose do they have?"
"Their purpose is to be protected, as do all our traditions." Zane informed, scanning the crowd thoroughly. His gaze skimming over the people and towards the stage, focussing in on Lloyd where he stood just off the to side of the podium. "I believe Master Lloyd has spotted something of interest."
That caught everyone's attention, eyes turning to their leader, alert and ready.
Only to find his gaze on the Princess.
"Looks like he's got an eye for the Princess." Kai teased, nudging Cole beside him who just smirked knowingly. Lloyd snapped his view away from the Princess, unsure how to reply to that accusation.
"I guess green really is her favourite colour." Jay whispered indiscreetly, the oncoming chuckle audible in the back of his throat.
"You do know I can hear you, right?" Lloyd expressed, unamused by their joking.
Your soft laugh bled through the comms, "Should I be worried, grasshopper?" You inquired, crouching down on the edge of a sign.
Lloyd sighed, a subtle smile appearing beneath his mask. "You're fine." He answered, almost sounding blunt if you didn't recognise Lloyd's tones.
"She's pretty. The Princess." You pointed out factually. Lloyd hummed in acknowledgement, a polite agreement because denial would be rude to the Princess. "Prettier than me?" You teased, tone low and playful.
"Shut up." Lloyd huffed back, his only annoyance half present and half considered. "The Emperor's almost finished, let's just do our jobs." Lloyd redirected smoothly.
Meanwhile, the rest of the ninja were puzzled by the interaction. Unsure how to approach the odd conversation they had just overheard and quickly chocking it up to banter between boys. Because why else would two guys talk to each other like that if not for a joke?
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"So… want to tell us what happened last night?" Kai asked, jogging up beside Lloyd as the ninja surveyed the palace's training court. Despite the extravagance of the rest of the palace, the training court was rather dismal. A large sparring yard with minimal equipment, but it would work for some simple one on one practice.
"Yeah, you've got some explaining to do mister." Jay taunted lightheartedly, his curiosity piqued.
Where had Lloyd gone with the Princess?
Lloyd sighed, his sword slicing through the air as he unsheathed it. There was a strange tension among his teammates, like they were all thinking the same thing that he wasn't privy to. All except you, who just raised an expectant eyebrow at him.
"Sorry, I should have communicated with you all better." Lloyd started, feeling guilty for neglecting to inform his team of his decisions. It had been reckless and thoughtless to run off without telling anyone, a mistake he wouldn't repeat.
"Indeed, if you had encountered trouble we would have been unaware." Zane nodded, although a kind smile shared that he accepted Lloyd's apology without much fuss.
"Oh, right that, yeah." Cole waved it off, knowing it was a lesson to learn from. There was something far more interesting to them, however. "But we meant what happened, like you know, details." He wiggled his eyebrows knowingly. Knowing what, Lloyd wasn't sure.
"Uh…" Lloyd trailed off, figuring out where to start. Subconsciously, the team prepped for sparring. Doing some quick stretches and drawing their respective weapons of choice and partnering up: Kai and Zane, Nya and Jay, you and Cole, and Lloyd remained offside as he began explaining. "Last night, I had heard a noise from the Princess's room, and when I investigated the room was… messy." Lloyd shared, saving the 'ransacked looking' detail for Princess Harumi's sake.
"And there was a hooded figure on the balcony." Lloyd observed as the other's started sparring, taking the chance to re-familiarise himself with his teams fighting styles. "With a large sack thrown over their shoulder. I… I thought the Princess was being kidnapped." He admitted a little sheepishly.
"So you just-" Kai narrowly dodged a kick from Zane, one of his katana's blocking a swing of the Nindroids compact bow. "Ran off after this 'kidnapper'?"
"And they say chivalry is dead." Jay snickered, nun-chucks whipping around him skilfully.
"I couldn't let the Princess be kidnapped on our first day!" Lloyd defended, "Anyway, yes, I chased after them. Only to catch up and find the Princess beneath the hood." He explained, again, leaving out the less than savoury details of him almost falling off the edge of a building.
"Wait, so what was in the sack?" You quizzed, avoiding a heavy thrust of Cole's hammer. The impact the hammer made with the ground caused a minor quake, dirt and dust rising in a thin cloud at your feet.
"Food from the palace." Lloyd answered, twirling his own sword in his grasp to keep his hands occupied. "To give to the poor."
"That's generous." Nya chimed, interested in the Princess's personality beneath the mantle. Jabbing her spear towards Jay, she missed by an inch.
"It is." Lloyd agreed, smiling at the memory of last night. An expression that didn't go unnoticed by his team. "After that, we walked along the canals and handed out the food. Harumi is nice, I think me and her have a lot more in common than I'd assumed."
Lloyd honestly was still buzzing from the night, even if it ended abruptly and a little suspiciously. Something about Hutchins unnerved him, and it wasn't Lloyd being bitter about the right hands blatant disapproval of their budding friendship. More so the boundaries the title of Princess placed upon Harumi, all in the name of her safety, but what about her happiness? Lloyd had struggled himself with finding joy among duty, but he was lucky to have his team with him. Harumi was alone, she couldn't even leave the Palace for a walk.
Among the slashing and thudding of the ninja's sparring, looks were shared between the majority. Following along with Lloyd's story and connecting dots upon assumptions.
"Moonlight walks on the canal." Cole said, slamming his hammer down again. You skipped a step as you dodged, rolling down and trying to kick out Cole's leg. The earth ninja flipping back to avoid the trip, landing and righting himself with his hammer. "Sharing food." He glanced over at Lloyd. "Sounds a lot like a date."
"What?" Both Lloyd and you startled in unison at the accusation.
"A date: a social or romantic engagement." Zane clarified logically, shooting a dud arrow at Kai, hitting him in the foot. "Often involving a meal or an intimate setting."
"Ha, ha, you can't argue with a Nindroid." Jay claimed confidently, all of them sure Lloyd had been on a date.
"But it wasn't-" Lloyd tried to argue, cut off as Kai sheathed his katanas on his back. A smug grin on his face.
"You're gonna have to step up your game." Kai expressed, spinning into a flaming tornado of Spinjitzu. Circling Zane as Lloyd gaped at him, bewildered as he could only brace for what was coming next since he was speechless.
"His game?" You snapped your head towards Kai, a lot sharper of a response any of them expected from Lloyd's best friend. They expected you to be the one teasing Lloyd the most, the most supportive. But teenagers are weird, confused kids growing up. Right? Figuring out the ropes.
"One's ability to charm." Zane offered. "Lloyd needs to convince her he is the logical mate." Kai ceased his Spinjitzu, unsheathing his katanas again and blocking another one of Zane's dud arrows.
"Excuse me-" you huffed, a vein popping in your neck.
"You wanna impress her, you gotta act tough." Cole flexed an arm, looking over to Lloyd like he was delivering top-notch dating advice. "Like, flex your muscles and stuff. Break things!" Cole punched his fists together, arms blemishing with his power. Smashing his fists into the ground and twisting into his own Spinjitzu, ramming into one of the wooden train posts and splintering it to pieces.
"No way!" Jay argued, he and Nya not faulting in their spar. "You gotta make her laugh, just ask Nya. She couldn't resist my sense of humour." He chuckled, hooking his nun-chucks on Nya's spear to block her blow. Regretting it a moment later as she easily flipped him onto his back in one motion.
"It's… an acquired taste." Nya sighed with mock exasperation. Or maybe it was real, Jay could be exhausting sometimes. In a lovable way.
"Don't listen to them." Kai dismissed the others, spinning his katanas radiating cocky. "You gotta act cool," he drawled out 'coolly', "like you don't even care." Kai shrugged, a display of faux indifference.
"That makes no sense." Lloyd addressed, deadpan as he looked around his teammates wondering where they got any of these dating idea's from.
"Yeah, all of you are really not helping him." Nya shook her head, placing a hand on her hip as she shot Lloyd a gentle look. "Just be yourself. It's so much easier than trying to be someone you're not."
"Uh… yeah, thanks for the actual advice Nya." Lloyd sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, a small, still puzzled smile on his lips. "But I don't need it."
"Ah, there you go!" Kai bellowed, wiggling his eyebrows at Lloyd like everything just fell perfectly into place. Nya rolled her eyes, a little disappointed that Lloyd had seemingly favoured Kai's macho way. "Confidence, that's the key."
"No," Lloyd frowned, "I mean I actually don't need it. Rumi's nice, but-" Lloyd tried again, and was cut off again.
"Rumi?" Jay echoed, grinning like the cat who got the cream. "That's cute."
"Not just first name basis, nickname basis." Cole teased. "Did she ask you to call her that? Because if so that's a good sign."
"Well, uh, she did but-" Lloyd made another attempt, raising his hands slightly in defence. Feeling his cheeks flush faintly from the onslaught of teases.
"You are experiencing an increase of heart rate, which indicates you are flustered." Zane supplied, egging on the amusement of the rest of the team.
The rest of the team minus you.
Who was fuming.
Lloyd had no time to argue against Zane, to correct him that it wasn't fluster but nerves, as you purposely pounced on him.
You were kissing him.
You were kissing Lloyd.
And Lloyd had no quarrels kissing back.
Safe to say, the rest of the ninja were stunned.
"Wait- wha- huh?" Kai stammered, shaking his head to try shake of the shock.
Jay was rubbing his eyes like he was seeing things that weren't real. Cole was just staring, mouth agape. Nya had a hand over her mouth from the surprise, unsure whether to gasp or laugh as the truth burst out in front of them. Zane, lastly, was wide eyed as he skimmed through all of his memory from the past twenty four hours, slotting together the evidence that led up to this reveal.
You finally pulled back, the kiss having only lasted a couple seconds, but in the ninja's shock it was like the scene had frozen in front of them for several minutes. Lloyd's hand was on your shoulder, comfortable and almost intimate.
He was smiling, a big, embarrassed, smile stretching across bright pink cheeks. You both were, sort of smug too, like you just proved a point the ninja didn't even anticipate was in question.
"What does his heart rate indicate now?" You challenged, leaning on Lloyd's shoulder. Raising an eyebrow at the rest of the flabbergasted team.
"You two…" Jay lazily pointed between them both, deflating slightly as he realised how wrong they had all been about Lloyd's feelings. They weren't even in the right ballpark they were so wrong.
"Since when?" Cole questioned, looking to the others like they had any better of an idea than he did.
"Since… three months ago?" Lloyd smiled, not making direct eye contact with anyone. His heart was pounding in his chest, a common symptom of his feelings for you now doubled by the embarrassment of being kissed in front of them all shamelessly.
"Almost four." You chimed, holding up four fingers proudly for emphasis.
"You're gay?" Kai practically yelled out, katanas limp in his grasp.
"Kai!" Nya hissed through clenched teeth, punching her brother in the shoulder.
"What? It's just a question!" Kai retaliated, standing his ground.
"You can't just-" Nya bristled, ready to defend the two boys even though she knew Kai meant no harm.
"It's fine, we are." You reassured without a flinch. "Sorta." He added with a tilt of his head.
"Sorta?" Jay repeated, only falling further into his pit of puzzlement.
"I'm bi." Lloyd confessed, no point trying to deny or hide it. He wasn't scared or ashamed. Not anymore, you had helped with that a lot. You both knew the ninja would be supportive, and it's not like you meant to neglect to tell them you were dating, you just never got the chance.
"And I'm queer." You shrugged, casual as ever.
"You are not strange. Homosexuality is common among many species, and although Humanity has not always been accepting of the preference it is generally accepted in modern society." Zane expressed, fully supportive but off by a penny.
"No, not strange queer, Zane." You shook your head, chuckling softly at the mix up. "The sexuality, queer."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Nya asked, readdressing the topic on their minds.
"Well… uh…" Lloyd exhaled, trying to put together the words to explain that very query. "We wanted to tell you in person, but we haven't all been together in a while. Then we just got kind of… distracted." Lloyd started.
"Distracted?" Cole raised an eyebrow.
"With each other." Kai clarified, a small smile curling onto his lips as the shock faded.
Lloyd rolled his eyes but didn't deny it and you just grinned. "We weren't trying to hide it." You excused, fixing yourself on your feet as Lloyd tapped your hip. "But you all just assumed Lloyd had a thing for the Princess, between that and our job we didn't find a moment before now to actually say something."
"Yeah." Lloyd nodded in agreement, watching the weight of realisation drop on their friends. They saw a hero and a princess and assumed that they'd fall in love, they saw two kids, a boy and a girl, and just expected it.
"Oh." Jay breathed out, offering a wonky, apologetic smile.
"I'm not interested in Rumi like that." Lloyd voiced surely. "I was just… curious about her. If you haven't noticed, we don't exactly have a lot of friends our age."
"Oh." Kai frowned, the reality becoming clear to them all.
“We are sorry for jumping to conclusions.” Zane spoke up after a moment of recollection.
“Yeah Buddy, all that matters is that you’re happy.” Jay reassured, nodding his head enthusiastically. Earning several overlapping voices of agreement and support.
“Exactly.” Cole perched his hands on his hips, looking between you and Lloyd with a hint of scrutiny. “To be honest, this makes a lot of sense.” He claimed, smiling as he really thought on the relationship Lloyd and yourself had always shared.
“It actually does.” Nya agreed in a heartbeat. “And it makes sense to want to expand your social circle, don’t let us get in the way of that.” She added, genuine and understanding.
Lloyd’s cheeks were starting to ache from smiling, catching your hand in his with a grounding squeeze. You both knew your team, nay, your family, would be proud and supportive. But knowledge and experience are two different things that, while going hand in hand, are respectively individual and impactful.
“Thanks, guys.” Lloyd expressed, pointedly ignoring the amusement among the audience of ninja at the interlocked hands.
You, however, squeezed his hand back beaming. Looking over your friends with a warm heart and warm cheeks.