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beforeitrains · 1 year
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Teenage Sou and Kai
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lloydskywalkers · 6 years
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those left behind (part one)
Read on FFN. 
In the aftermath of Harumi and Garmadon and the loss of Ninjago, Lloyd and Nya try to piece together what's left of their family - and figure out what comes next. It's a slow process.
(Aka Crippling Angst! Post-Finale Edition)
The first light of dawn is just creeping over the horizon when they reach the outskirts of the city, the rising sun painting the morning sky a bloody, brilliant red. Smoke rises from the city behind them, visible even at this distance – the screams and sounds of destruction are mercifully muffled, though. The morning air is unnervingly silent – the usual sounds of wildlife are gone, as if the very earth itself has ran from the destruction. The only sounds are those of their footsteps, weary and stumbling through the dirt.
Nya knows the way like the back of her hand, but this is the first time she’s gone by foot. There’s no other option, though. It was all they could do to get out of the city alive – any vehicle would have been too noticeable, too difficult to retrieve.
No one even mentions trying to spark their dragons. They already know what the result will be.
They reach the junkyard just as the sun rises fully over the horizon, the light it casts painful after the seemingly unending night of darkness. Nya leads the way under the rusted arch, her throat drying up.
The door to the to the trailer swings open with a loud whine, slamming back on its hinges as a figure rushes out, having seen them coming. They make a sorry picture, on the whole – Misako’s cheek is bruised, her hair a tangled mess as she holds her left arm awkwardly. Lloyd is slumped against her right arm, barely able to support himself, his blond hair dark with dirt and blood and his visible skin still a multi-colored collage of cuts and bruises. Pixal isn’t sporting any injuries, but her expression is dead, her right arm sparking slightly. Nya knows she’s not much better, her own injuries making themselves painfully apparent.
Edna Walker gasps in open horror. “Oh, Nya, sweetie-“ she steps forward, her eyes wide and searching as she looks them over. “What happened?”
Nya opens her mouth, then closes it. The door swings open again, and Ed Walker is running toward them, looking as stricken as his wife. He comes to a stop behind his wife, grabbing her hand.
“Nya?”
She shakes her head, her eyes flooding with tears as she chokes back a wracking sob. “I’m so sorry,” she croaks, wetly. “I’m so sorry.”
Lloyd is numb. Which is weird, because he hasn’t stopped shaking since he got here, his fingers trembling incessantly over the mug Mrs. Walker had forced into his hands, his teeth chattering.
“It’ll help,” she’d said to him kindly, her eyes weary with grief but soft as they searched him. “Do you need anything else? Are you alright?”
No, Lloyd had wanted to scream. No, I’m not, but I’m the reason your son isn’t here, so you definitely should not care at all-
Lloyd had simply nodded. Technically, he isn’t hurting right now – and despite the way he’s shaking, he doesn’t even feel cold.
Because he doesn’t feel anything. He’s still back in the city, stuck on a sky tram and watching the Bounty crushed to pieces on repeat.
Misako says something to him, after he lands on the boat, still winded from his exchange with Harumi. He doesn’t hear her – not even when she grabs his arm after he pilots the boat to a street corner, not even when he jumps off, her shouts echoing after him as he runs toward the city center.
Not even when he staggers to the wreckage of the Bounty, abandoned now that he’s moved on.
All Lloyd can hear are the last, desperate cries of the ninja – of his family, right before the colossi crushed the ship. They echo against his skull, replaying again and again, almost as loud as his frantic denial.
No, no, no no nonono please-
“Kai!”
He tears into the wreckage, splintered wood and sharp metal debris slicing into his hands as he yanks it aside. He barely registers the pain, only pulling harder at the remains of the Bounty, looking for any traces of black or white or blue or – or red-
“Cole, Jay, Zane – come on!”
Please, please, please-
“Uncle Wu!”
Lloyd pauses, reaching with all he can for the core that’s always burned inside of him, for the familiar thrum of his power. There’s nothing – just the empty, hollow blankness he’d felt earlier. He squeezes his eyes shut, blinking back the surge of emotion. He’s knee-deep in the remains of his home, now. A part of him realizes that his mother has come to stand behind him, pulling gently at the wreckage along with him. Lloyd doesn’t process this – he’s managed to get deep enough to have hit the interior of the ship, and he’s starting to recognize the shapes and colors of the broken rubble he’s pulling away, the memories of an entire life built with these people-
Please.
Lloyd searches until the sky has started turning, the dark of the night beginning to lighten. By now, he’s missing half his fingernails and his hands are a bloody, torn mess. He clings to that pain like it's a lifeline - adds it to the throbbing pain in his leg, the dull aches that still pulses all over him. If he holds onto that, the physical agony, then maybe he can ignore - he can ignore-
Lloyd finally stops, staring at the wreckage, his hands falling uselessly to his sides.
They would have come up by now. They would have said something – Cole would have lifted the debris from them, or Zane would have found a way out, or Kai would have burned his way through, or-
They wouldn’t just wait there silently. They would be back up already, ready to fight, to get revenge because their home’s been destroyed, again. They wouldn’t still be under. They wouldn’t leave him hanging like this.
The only possible reason they’re not responding is – is –
“Lloyd,” his mother’s voice is hushed, quiet and full of grief. “Lloyd, son, we have to go.”
He shakes his head. He has to keep searching. He has to find them – he will find them, he just needs more time, he – they would never leave him behind, if situations were reversed-
Wild cries echo down the street, the now-familiar voices of the Sons of Garmadon.
“Lloyd,” his mother says, nearly begging him, her hand around his arm now. “Lloyd, please, we need to go-“
Lloyd blinks back the burn of tears, his fists clenching so tightly his nails bite bloody half-moons into his palms.
No, no, no-
He rips himself away from the wreckage, letting his mother pull him down the streets. He turns back as they flee, giving the Bounty one last look-
They’re not there. They’re not coming.
Lloyd staggers, his leg catching, and a hot spike of agony shoots through his ankle and up his calf. He gives a muffled cry of pain, stumbling forward. His mother grabs him in concern, and he swats her off. It’s nothing, he’d injured it earlier, that’s all. It’s always been weak, this is the same leg he’d broken a couple years back, that fateful day he fought the Overlord. It’s the same fiery throbbing he remembers, the same pain he’d pushed back as he’d climbed the tower, clinging desperately to Kai-
Lloyd misses a step, falling to his knees as his leg gives out.
No, no, no, no, no-
The Sons of Garmadon are even closer now, their voices too close for comfort, but Lloyd can’t bring himself to care.
Come on, then, he thinks, savagely. Come at me, I’ll make you pay-
With a sudden lurch, Misako has an arm around his middle and is hoisting him up, dragging him forward until they both stumble onto the boat. She pauses just to make sure he’s seated, then rushes to the wheel, revving the boat to life and taking them downriver, away from the burning city. Lloyd sits crumpled near the edge of the boat, his leg throbbing and his hands leaving little bloody patches where they’re clenched against the fabric of his uniform.
He had stayed like that until they’d gotten out of the city, his eyes glazing over as he’d fallen into a numb sort of haze. He barely remembers his mother talking to Pixal through the radio, telling her where to meet them. He doesn’t register getting out of the boat, Misako half-dragging him as they rushed to where Nya was hiding.
All he remembers is the horrible, stricken look in Nya’s eyes when he tells her. The desperate sort of denial that crosses her face as she shakes her head, telling him no, no, he has to be mistaken, that’s impossible-
Lloyd remembers being glad for the rush of tears that blurs his vision as she crumples against him, because it distorts the look of utter, heartbroken devastation on her face that he’d never, ever dreamed he’d see.
Everything after that is a painful, foggy haze – he barely even remembers how he got into the Walker’s house, or who draped the blanket over his shoulders. He’s not sure how long he’s been sitting here, but it has to be late afternoon – the sun is high in the sky, filtering through the blinds. Mr. and Mrs. Walker are outside with Pixal, talking over putting up safety measures. He doesn’t know where Nya is.
Lloyd shivers again, his shoulders seizing as the mug rattles against the table. Misako shoots him a look of concern, rising from where she’d flipping through an old book and crossing over to him.
“Lloyd-“ she hesitates at his tiny flinch as her hand rests on his shoulder. She sighs, weary and sad. “You should get some rest, son.”
Lloyd shakes his head. “I’m fine,” he says, even as a traitorous yawn escapes him. He clamps his jaw shut, slamming the mug down and standing up. “I can’t – we don’t have time, there’s too much to do, he’s – he’s still out there, mom, I have to-“
“Shh, Lloyd, Lloyd, calm down.” Misako’s voice is distressed as she grabs him, forcing him back down, this time onto one of the Walker’s old couches. She grabs his shoulders, forcing him to meet her gaze. “There’s nothing you can do like this,” she says, her voice gentle. “We’re safe for now, alright? You can’t do anything if you’re dead on your feet.”
We’re not safe, Lloyd wants to yell at her. No one is safe, not while Harumi is still out there, not while his father-
Lloyd winces, his heart stuttering as memories from the prison crash back down on him. He hurriedly thinks of something else, fighting back the sudden wave of nausea.  
“Okay,” he whispers, staring down at his hands, the bandages his mother had hastily put on just starting to loosen.
His mother leans over, pressing a kiss to his cheek before she stands. She adjusts the blanket he has around his shoulders, pulling it more firmly around him. “Sleep, alright?” she says, firmly. “I’ll be in the room over if you need me.”
Lloyd nods, watching her leave the room. He sinks back against the couch, his head tipping back as he exhales wearily. He doesn’t want to sleep. He knows what’s waiting for him when he closes his eyes. It’s like after Morro, when he’d mistakenly thought sleep would be an escape from reality – except this time it’s a hundred, a thousand times worse. With Morro, Lloyd could wake up in his room on the Bounty, and Kai would-
Lloyd squeezes his eyes shut tightly, biting down hard on his lip. He can’t think about it, he can’t, he can’t-
The soft sound of footsteps brings him back, his eyes snapping open. Nya is standing in the room’s entrance, wearing a bright blue sweatshirt and baggy sweatpants, her hair loose from her usual ponytail. Her eyes are bloodshot and puffy, and her face is lined in grief.
She clutches the blanket she’s holding tighter. “Hey,” she says, her voice raspy. “I – uh, Mrs. Walker gave me the only spare room, but it’s – it’s-“ she swallows, her jaw working. “It’s Jay’s old room, and I…your mom can have it, if she wants.”
Lloyd nods, his mouth dry. “Thanks,” he whispers.
Nya glances to the space on the couch beside him. “Got any room to share?” she says, offering him the weakest excuse for a smile he’s ever seen.
“Wha – oh, yeah, o-of course.” Lloyd scoots over, giving Nya more room as she climbs onto the couch beside him, tucking her feet up beneath her. She immediately curls up against him, her head pressing against his shoulder. They sit in silence, the only sounds the gentle murmur of conversation from outside, the sound of Misako turning pages in the other room.
He suddenly feels Nya’s hand wrap around his, her fingers squeezing his so tightly he can feel the bones creak. She shudders against him, the vibrations running up his arm. She doesn’t make a sound, but Lloyd feels the hot warmth of tears as they soak into his t-shirt arm. Lloyd bites his lip again, but this time he can’t stop the burn of tears that spills over.
It’s just them, now. They’re all that’s left.
Lloyd grips Nya’s hand even tighter, drops his head on hers, and cries himself to sleep.
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inkjackets · 8 years
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A Matter of Ace-ceptance Ch3
I apologise for breaking my promise to get this story out before March, life kinda took over. I’m super excited about writing the final chapter though and I hope you’ll also enjoy where I take it! :)
Read on AO3 here
Ch1 Ch2 Ch4 Ch5 Epilogue
Marinette trudged glumly along the Seine River. The day hadn’t gone as well as planned and there was a heaviness in her heart. Apart from the encounter that morning, Marinette hadn’t spoken to Adrien all day, but that hadn’t prevented thoughts of him from taking over her mind. In an attempt to forget all about their embarrassing exchange, Marinette had decided to treat herself to some shopping after school. She had spent a good two hours wandering around craft stores and boutique shops in Paris, buying all sorts of materials, textiles, art supplies and clothes. For a while, it had worked and her head had cleared a little, but now her thoughts were once more taking over her mind. Not to mention she felt sore from the amount walking she had done and the weight of her bags.
Marinette sighed. It was a beautiful afternoon, the water glistened, people chatted, and the bright sun shined down on them all. Inside, however, Marinette was tightly wound up. Usually after an embarrassing encounter with Adrien, she would rant and unleash her anxieties on Alya, but today Marinette had been so upset that she had barely been able to get a word out. She took a deep breath in an attempt to calm her frenzied heart. She slowed her steps and forced herself to take deep breaths. Eventually, the relaxed afternoon atmosphere and the walk along the river calm her down once more.
She shifted her bags and somehow managed to pull out her mobile. She clicked the most recent contact. 
“Hey, girl,” Alya said when the line connected, “What’s up?”
“I just, I can’t stop thinking about Adrien,” Marinette sighed.
Alya laughed, “You have got it way too bad!”
“But Alya,” Marinette bit her lip as she voiced the main concern that had been circling her head throughout the day, “he called me a friend, what do you think that means?”
“Oh, Mari,” said Alya tenderly, “I love you girl, but let’s be honest, how many coherent sentences have you said to him?”
Marinette was silent. “I’m trying,” she finally said with a whimper.
“I know you are,” said Alya empathetically, “But… am I right or am I right?”
Marinette grumbled.
Alya laughed, “You just need to give him time, keep giving gifts like that and he’s bound to fall for you.” Marinette couldn’t help but smile at that. “I personally reckon he’s falling for you already,” Alya said with a smug tone, “but don’t forget he’s designed to be closed off by nature, so you can’t blame him really for being so hesitant.”
Marinette frowned, “What do you mean?”
“You know, seeing how famous he is, one step outside the norm, one teensy line crossed and his face would be plastered all over celebrity magazines. Not to mention being raised the way he has, having a crazy strict father and a tragic backstory of a disappearing mother, it would be enough to keep anyone on edge.”
“Huh,” Marinette honestly hadn’t really noticed. He just always seemed like an outgoing, bright ray of sunshine to her.
“I’ll say this though, he’s definitely become a lot more confident since he started school.”
Marinette cocked her head to the side, “Isn’t he already pretty confident in himself?”
“Hah!” Alya laughed louder than she had meant, causing Marinette to momentarily pull the phone away from her ear. “Confident in himself? No, I meant he’s gotten more confident with others.” Alya paused, “Maybe confident is the wrong word… more genuine.”
“Genuine? What do you mean? Why don’t you think he’s confident?”
“Girl, I thought you would have been the first to notice it. Every time he interacts with someone outside our little friendship group, he slaps on that model smile and slips into a routine that’s obviously been drilled into him since before he could walk.” Marinette didn’t say anything. “However, recently he’s gotten more relaxed, more real, in his interactions with others. His smile is softer, his posture more natural. He’s by no means open, but he’s definitely loads better than when we first met him.”
Marinette continued her slow walk down the Seine in silence.
She heard Alya typing away on the other side of the line.
“Just keep being you, girl,” Alya said eventually, “maybe without all the stammering,” she joked. 
“Hey! I’m trying my best,”
“Haha! I know you are girl, and I have no doubt that one day Adrien will be head over heels for you.”
“Really?”
“You two were made for each other,” Alya said. Marinette cheeks flushed and a bashful smile crept onto her face. “Anywho, I’ve really gotta finish this article for the Ladyblog, catch you later, ‘kay?”
“Okay,” Marinette hung up and exhaled.
She stared at her feet as she meandered along the path. She let the gentle lapping of the river flow through her head as the sun warmed her back.
She stared at the bright sunlight on the ground and her black shadow that cut right through it. 
Thoughts of the Adrien she thought she knew swirled around her head. The things Alya had just said painted a completely different picture of him. Marinette stopped in her tracks.
The things Alya had said painted a completely real picture of him.
Marinette shook her head in an attempt to digest this sudden realisation, but it was then that she saw him, in the periphery of her vision, Adrien, just sitting there on a bench along the river, all by himself.
Marinette’s eyes darted around. She was at a loss of what to do.
Adrien was leant forward, arms resting on his knees and hands clasped, staring intently over the water. He hadn’t seen her yet.
Usually, Marinette would’ve hidden and avoided him, unless Alya was with her, in which case a petrified Marinette would’ve been dragged over.
Marinette shifted the bags in her arms. She should leave him alone, he didn’t look like he wanted to be disturbed anyway. She turned to take the nearest staircase up to the main road but glanced at Adrien one more time before she did.
She froze mid step. Adrien had changed his position so his face was in his hands. Marinette sucked in her breath. For the first time in her life Marinette looked, really looked at him and caught a glimpse of the Adrien that Alya had spoken about, the Adrien that wasn’t simply sitting there alone… but was sitting there lonely.
This subtle difference caused Marinette’s heart to thump as a quiet sort of determination hummed through her body.
She was going to go over to Adrien and help him.
Her breathing quickened and hands grew clammy as she walked up to him.
“Adrien?” she asked cautiously as she drew near.
Adrien jumped and quickly wiped his face with his sleeve.
“H-Hey Marinette,” he said when he saw who it was but he didn’t quite meet her eyes.
“Adrien?” Her eyes widened with surprise as she moved to stand right next to him. His eyes were red. He’d been crying. “Are you all right?”
Adrien bit his lip and turned his head away from her. His fists clenched on his knees.
He took a deep breath in, “Yes,” he said sitting up straight and facing forward. He closed his eyes and exhaled, releasing some of the tension from his body. He opened his eyes, “I am fine,” he said more to himself than Marinette. He wiped his eyes once more before turning to her, still not quite meeting her eyes, “Sorry you have to see me like this, you caught me at a bad time,” he gave an apologetic smile.
Marinette’s eyes widened, “Don’t say sorry!” she exclaimed. Alya’s words about Adrien’s pressures rolled round her head, “You have nothing to be ashamed of,” she added tenderly.
Adrien’s eyes finally sound her’s.
“Thank you,” he said softly. He gave a small smile, heavy with emotional exhaustion, but also with relief. It pierced Marinette’s, heart.
Adrien shuffled along the bench and patted the space next to him. Marinette put her bags down and accepted his offer.
They sat in silence. Adrien leant forward once more, staring blankly ahead. Marinette fidgeted, trying to think up something to say to dispel the silence but, when she caught Adrien’s expression in the corner of her eye, she realised what Adrien needed wasn’t someone to help solve his problems or talk through them with him. No, what Adrien needed was someone who was happy to just be there with him, someone to sit there and get lost in their own respective minds, together.
Marinette closed her eyes and relaxed into the bench. She let the usual sounds of Parisian life wash over her; the rushing of cars overhead, the gushing of the river, people’s babbling voices. A tranquil serenity flowed through her as she felt the sunlight dance on her eyelids and warm her skin.
It was a while before either of them spoke.
“I just…,” Adrien started a hesitant sentence.
“Hmm?” Marinette opened her eyes and sat up, Adrien was still leaning forward, eyes glazed over. “Do you ever feel like, even though you’re surrounded by family and friends…and fans,” he added as an afterthought, a wry smile tugged at his lips, “that…,” his expression fell back into emptiness and his voice dropped to a whisper, “that nobody could ever love you?”
The world faded around Marinette. The daily noises from cars and people overhead grew faint, the lapping of the river melted away, and the colours dimmed. 
All that was left was a wide-eyed girl gazing at an exhausted boy. 
Marinette suddenly saw Adrien clear as crystal.
She noticed the bags under his glassy eyes, the dullness in his hair, and the underlying tension in his body eating away at him both physically and mentally. It was as if the sticker of perfection she had placed over him was slowly peeling away. She saw the weight of pressure from his high-strung lifestyle hanging over his shoulders, the expectations from his father in his faintly creased brow and his anxiety about being judged by everyone, home and media alike,  ingrained into his very being. His expression was unnervingly deep.
Marinette froze like a deer caught in headlights. She felt as if Adrien was voicing a part of himself that wasn’t meant for her ears; a part of himself he had never meant anyone to see.
But then Adrien turned his head and bore his green eyes into her blue one’s, unveiling the true distress behind them. It was like a fog had been lifted and Marinette finally saw Adrien for who he was and who he wanted to be.
A cool breeze ruffled his dull hair and caused a sharp shiver to run up her body.
“I love you,” she blurted out.
The world slammed back into focus. The sounds of the river gushed in her ears, the noise from traffic and pedestrians was overwhelmed her, and the colours of the world blinded her for a split second.
Adrien’s tense expression turned into mortification.
“Oh man, you gave me the chocolates earlier, Mari, I’m so sorry! It was really sweet of you, but I-" 
Marinette heart dropped to her stomach but she hid it and silenced him with a sharp wave of her hand, "You don’t have to say anything,” she said quickly, “Just…,” she hesitated, “just don’t ever say that again.” She looked at the ground and locked her knees together nervously. “Don’t ever say nobody loves you,” she murmured.
Her words hung delicately between them. Adrien didn’t dare risk moving in case he broke them. 
Eventually, Marinette stood up, “I should be getting home,” she avoided his pained gaze.
“You’re a great friend,” Adrien said softly, “you do know that right?”
Marinette tensed. She slowly drew her eyes towards his whilst shoving her shredded emotions deep down. She gave him a smile full of warmth and understanding. 
She hoped it was convincing.
Bonus Scene:
“Hey, let me walk you home.”
“Oh no, really you don’t-
But Adrien had already stepped around her and scooped up her bags.
He strained slightly under the weight of them, "Jesus, Marinette! How have you carried these all this way?”
Marinette brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear and shrugged.
Side by side they walked along the river. Adrien refused to hand her even one of the bags. Even when she pulled at one, threatening to spill its contents, Adrien remained stubborn.
“Stop it, Mari, I’m not giving you one,” he gave a cheeky grin, the sparkle she knew so well was once more shining in his eyes.
Marinette exasperatedly threw her hands in the air, Adrien laughed. Marinette giggled.
They walked along a bit further in silence.
Marinette was once more her shy self after that abrupt show of confidence.
“Hey, Adrien,” she said carefully, “how come you were down by the river? I heard from Nino that your father rarely lets you out by yourself…”
“Oh,” Adrien’s eyes flicked down to his jacket and went shifty, “I, uh, snuck out.”
“Oh,” Marinette was silent a moment. “Shouldn’t you be getting back soon then?”
Adrien sighed, “Yeah, probably,” he gave another brash smile, “but a princess like you is-” Adrien’s eyes widened, “um, is, er, is more important than my father,” he finished quickly, his voice losing all its former confidence. His cheeks flushed.
Marinette failed to notice Adrien’s sudden change in demeanour, she was too busy feeling warm and fuzzy on the inside. He had called her princess! Only one other guy had called her princess before and she much preferred it when it came from Adrien’s mouth than his…
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