The Killers
••• When You Were Young •••

can we climb this mountain? i don't know

higher now than ever before

i know we can make it if we take it slow

•••••

I had never felt so drained before in my life.

Not even the morning after I found out about Lloyd being the green ninja and had a paralysed leg over night didn't make me this exhausted.
"How you holding up, angel?" Jonesy asked, arms void of pupper. I shrugged lethargically.
"Fine," I croaked, while the lady slathered the wound on my chest with antiseptic cream. I couldn't even feel the sting. "... tired."
Jonesy and Jamie shared a concerned look.
The dark, heavy clouds had begun to roll away, revealing the blue sky above. I felt cheated - how could the weather be so happy while I felt so depressed? How dare the world move along merrily when Lloyd wasn't even here.

Wu's dragon approached before disappearing in a puff of gold. My tired gaze landed on him as Misako and Garm ran out to meet the sensei.
"Well, you know," Dad began awkwardly, patting my knee as he crouched before me. "Sometimes in life, these things happen-"
"How often does something like-"
"Jonesy," dad snapped under his breath before continuing, but his words washed over me as my eyes slowly widened. Realm crystal- Wu has the realm crystal.
My heart began to beat double time in hope and panic, frozen in shock as he lifted the realm crystal to the sky. A vortex suddenly ripped through the air above and I stood, eyeing it with a desperate gaze.
Nothing. Nothing. I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream.
But then Lloyd, oh my god, Lloyd, crashed through and landed on the shoreline with unsteady legs, resting his weight on the sword of sanctuary. He looked pale. Clammy. On the verge of passing out but by god, he was still the best thing I'd seen all day.

My feet took me forward before my brain told them too, and I was suddenly darting away from dad and Jonesy mid-consolation as I shoved through the peering crowd of militiamen and civilians toward him. Lloyd's exhausted green eyes caught mine and he went to take a step forward but buckled. It's okay, though, because I caught him in a tight, sobbing hug before he could fall.
"Lloyd!" I cried, digging my face into his hair as he slumped his weight against me. The sword clattered onto the stones of the shore as he returned the hug, holding me as tight as he could with what little energy he had left.
"I- I thought you-!" I wept, holding his face in my hands. His eyes were half-lidded in intense fatigue. "I- I was so scared! I thought you were gone forever and- and- Lloyd, I'm-"

He cut off my sobbing rambles by pressing a gentle, droopy kiss to my lips. My feverish words immediately ceased as I closed my eyes and allowed myself to be swept away in a wave of relief. Relief was such a nice feeling. All the worries, all the fears were simply washed off.
Lloyd pulled back. A tired smile played on his lips.
"Don't do that to me again," I whispered.
"I love you, too," he murmured, forehead pressed against mine. I hid my stupidly big grin in the folds of his hoody and shook my head in disbelief.
"So much," I agreed in a muffled voice, pacified tears being soaked up by the material. "So, so much. You make me crazy, Lloyd Garmadon."
His eyes squinted a little in adoration and I felt my heart swell. Then his gaze flickered above my head and his smile fell a little.
"Your dad's glaring at me," he whispered. "Like. Really glaring."
I closed my eyes and sighed. "Yeah, I'm not surprised."

"Lloyd!"
We were attacked in a group hug by the rest of the team and if it weren't for Cole, we all would've toppled over and into the surf.
"Knew you'd pull through, you little squirt!" Nya yelled ecstatically as she noogied his hair. Lloyd chuckled tiredly.
"Yeah!" Cole laughed, still warily glancing down at the surf brushing against our little group. "Tell us all about the realms you saw!"
Lloyd sighed slowly through his nose.
"Maybe in the morning," he said, sounding like he'd totally emptied his energy reserves as he dropped his chin atop my head. "I feel like I've been shot."
"Pew, pew," Nya weakly mumbled as she held up finger guns. I snorted as we shared a glance. "Sorry. Inside joke."
Lloyd seemed confused. Amused, but confused.
"... sure."

"Oh, right!" Jay suddenly said, leaping onto a washed-up crate, puppy in arm.
"What are you doing?" Zane asked dryly.
"Excuse me, citizens!" Jay announced, ignoring Zane, before holding the puppy into the sky - totally the lion king style. "Is this anyone's dog?"
Nobody answered. Jay sighed in relief before bringing the puppy back down into his chest.
"Perfect," he said before turning to Lloyd. "This puppy is now yours."
"Wh- what?" Lloyd blinked. "Why?"
"Because you need a therapy dog," Jay announced as he jumped back down onto the ground. Clearly, his word is still law.
"It's not even trained," Nya pointed out.
"All puppies are comforting," Jay argued in a calm voice as he closed his eyes and held a finger to the sky. "Thus, this puppy qualifies."
"Your logic is so flawed but if it means we get to have a puppy, well," Kai shrugged. "I agree. What do you think, Y/n?"
"I think we should start brainstorming ideas for names," I grinned as Jay jumped down. The little puppy was staring at us with his big, brown eyes and I coed. "He's definitely a keeper for sure."
"Kinda looks like Lloyd, too," Cole piped up. "You know. Puppy-face."
"Thanks," Lloyd replied dryly.
"Parents incoming," Zane chimed just as Misako and Garmadon came rushing towards their son. It seemed they'd gotten impatient waiting for their reunion.

I stepped back just as Misako furiously embraced Lloyd before pulling away and checking him over for injuries.
I picked up the forgotten sword of sanctuary, twirling the blade in my grasp. The golden metal glinted prettily under the sun but it had nothing to show me in its reflection. I felt any last bits of weight lift from my shoulders.
It was really over. We'd won.
Lloyd collapsed into his father's arms and he briefly struggled under the sudden weight of his son.

... let the healing begin.

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

I woke to the sun hitting my eyes.

It was flickering, making me pull an irritated look and for a disgruntled whine to build at the back of my throat. The leaves of trees were the cause of the incessant meteoric brightness. Those trees looked familiar.
I sat up a little straighter in the car seat, sleep still heavy in my head. It clung to me stubbornly - it seemed the long, long week had finally caught up to me.
I peered around the shotgun seat and saw the monastery approaching. Finally. It was good to be home. Or at least, a semblance of home. To me.

After Lloyd returned from whichever realm he was in, everything was a crazed blur. The military had begun helping clean up the town (which was pretty much decimated) and set up temporary housing for the displaced citizens. While that happened, Skylor and some old dude arrived. I'd fallen asleep in one of the noodle trucks we'd used to get to Stiix before I could find out what they were there for.
At some point, we transferred vehicles and I sluggishly got changed back into my own clothes at Steep Wisdom.
I couldn't even remember much of that.

What did wake me up, however, was the sight of my mother leaning against her car, arms crossed, outside of the monastery. I felt my heart sink as the phone in my pocket grew in weight. I couldn't bring myself to see how many missed calls and texts I had.
I sunk deeper into the seat as the car pulled to a stop, feet resting on the sword that lay along the bottom of the backseat. Lloyd was dead asleep, unaware of my growing fear. Zane was staring at me with an amused look and Nya, in the front, whistled lowly in sympathy.
"We're home!" Garmadon cheered, cutting the ignition. "How much trouble are you in with your mother, Y/n?"
I whimpered at the stormy look on mum's face as she waited for the reign of terror upon me to begin.
"You don't want to know, Mr. Garmadon," I replied in a meek voice.
"I'll see if I can talk to her," he offered before stepping out. He shut the door behind him.
"Wait, noooo," I whispered with a grimace. "You're totally going to die, oh no."
Nya snickered as she slid from the front seat and Zane went about waking up Lloyd. The blond mumbled something incoherently before his green eyes peeled open slowly. He looked like death itself.

"M/n!" Garmadon greeted. "How are you?"
Mum smiled at him, but it was tight and unpleasant. I may have gotten Dad on our side, but mum? She was another story. On a fence originally but after this fiasco? I'll be lucky to see Lloyd again before I'm thirty.
"Are we home?" Lloyd asked, voice cracky and raspy. I nodded.
"Yeah," I replied. "We're home."
"Good," Lloyd sighed as he began to clamber out of the car before helping me out. "I could sleep for a week."
"I think I'm grounded for a week," I grumbled, catching my mother's furious eye. I flinched. Lloyd sympathetically smiled, rubbing my shoulder before we began to make our way over to our parents.
"... she was wonderful to have around," Garmadon nodded, trying to not dirty my name with my mother. Good luck. "An absolute delight. She was very helpful."
"That's very good to hear," mum replied in a pleasant voice.

Then she turned to me and I felt the world itself shiver in fear.

"Thirty-two missed phone calls, Y/n," Mum hissed. "We agreed to communicate! A- and then I got a call from your father saying that you were caught up in the middle of the fight?! You promised me that you'd stay out of trouble and you were in the middle of it?!"
I swallowed. "Uh-"
"You are grounded indefinitely," she snapped while the others watched on awkwardly. I wanted to wilt into the ground. Cole, buddy, help a gal out??? PLEASE???? "For the rest of the summer!"
Summer's only another two weeks, so. That's alright, I guess.
"And then a month! Two months!" mum exclaimed. "And for the summer after!"
She pinched the bridge of her nose and huffed, shoulders tense. I shifted on my feet, uncomfortable as I swallowed, eyes dropping to the ground.
"Okay," I said quietly.

"How are you, Lloyd?" Mum suddenly said, turning her eagle eyes on him. He flinched a little under her steeled glare.
"U- uh, alright..?" he replied, as if worried his answer was the wrong one according to my mother. She sighed heavily.
"That's good," she said before grabbing my arm and dragging me towards the car. I yelped in surprise, sending Lloyd a desperate look, but he could only watch on in dismay before being guided inside by his father.
"W- wait," I pleaded, tugging on her arm. "Can I say goodbye real quick? Please!"
Mum stared hard at me and I gave her my best pleading expression. She relented with a sigh.
"Fine."
"Thank you!" I squeaked, racing after Lloyd's stumbling figure. He turned at my call, just in time to catch me fall into his chest for a hug. He held back tightly, not wanting to let me go as much as I, him. He kissed the top of my head and I dug my face into his chest.
"Bye," I whispered, pulling away.
"Bye," he replied, voice bone-tired.
I trudged back to mum dejectedly, face betraying nothing. I grabbed my bag on the way, shoving it over my shoulder with a sad frown.
"Ugh, fine," mum groaned. "You're killing me here, Y/n. I'll pick you up tomorrow and then you're grounded."
I brightened, half in excitement and half in disbelief. I beamed.
"THANK YOU!" I gushed, squeezing her in a tight hug before sprinting after Lloyd again. I caught up to him, taking his bag from his shoulder. He sent me a smile as he kissed my nose. I grinned giddily back, hand intwined with his.

Inside the monastery, the monks were awaiting our return. They immediately began fussing over Lloyd, having obviously suffered the most. It was a wonder he was still conscious. We dropped our bags in the entrance way and felt nothing but exhaustion. Even Zane, usually so composed, looked absolutely fatigued.
But what greeted us was absolutely wonderful.
FOOD. Oh, my god, so much food. Fighting a cursed realm really makes a person hungry. At the sight of the long dining table landed with dishes galore, a second wind of energy managed to hit us and we dug in. The puppy was more confident, limping around on his three legs and eagerly taking offered treats while the younger monks fussed over the little guy.
"If I don't get to bed, I'm going to fall face-first into this tokoyaki," Lloyd whispered to me. I nodded, placing my chop sticks down and helping him to his feet. He grunted a thanks as he stumbled upright.

"I'm going to take him to bed," I said to Misako, who had noticed us over the chaos of the table. She nodded.
"Thanks, Y/n."
I smiled in response as we slowly began to make our way out of the boisterous dining room. The others called out good night to Lloyd, despite it only being five in the afternoon.
"How are you feeling?" I asked once the noise of the others died down to a background hum. I placed a hand over his forehead but he didn't show signs of a fever. He sighed.
"Sore," Lloyd mumbled as we hobbled down the long hallway into the quarters wing. The afternoon sun filtered through the cherry blossoms of the garden outside, glinting prettily on the surface of the pond. 

"I'm so glad to be home," I murmured, staring out at the garden as we slowly stumbled to his room. Lloyd paused walking and I glanced up at him worriedly.
Instead of finding an expression of pain, he just had a euphoric smile. The look in his green eyes looked overwhelmed with joy.
"You think of the monastery as home?" he breathed, hope pinching his tone. My face flushed in embarrassment.
"D- did I say that aloud?" I stammered, cheeks burning as my eyes dropped to the side in shock. "I- um... I think..?"
That was an answer enough for Lloyd as he pulled me into a hug with a shaky laugh, threading his hand through the hair at the back of my head. He slumped against me, pressing an emotional kiss to my temple.
"You are the best thing that's ever happened to me," he whispered against my skin and I felt my heart burst.
"You'll make me cry if you keep that up," I warned quietly. "C'mon, or else you're going to collapse on me and I don't want to have to haul your ass to bed."
He breathlessly chuckled before letting me guide him to his room.

Lloyd all but dropped himself onto his bed with a satisfied groan, letting out a long sigh as he sunk into the mattress. He caught my wrist before I could leave.
"Wh- where are you going?" he asked, voice growing smaller. I smiled reassuringly, patting the back of his hand.
"I'm just grabbing our bags," I said softly. "I'll be back before you know it."
He didn't look pleased about me stepping away but sunk more into the bed, anyway. He watched me leave his room.
I huffed, running a hand through my hair as I made my way back towards where we had dropped our bags off at the entrance. There was no doubt that Lloyd was feeling a little fragile after the week and I didn't exactly know how to help him. He didn't want to talk and I feared that the more space I gave him to dart around the topic of said possession, the more he'll struggle on it on his own.

I stopped abruptly as a thought struck.
Or maybe he just didn't want to tell me.
I swallowed nervously, thinking about the connotations that may mean. A thousand different scenarios played in my head as I resumed blankly, grabbing my bag and his and slinging them over my shoulders.
The sound of something padding across the floor made me glance up.
"Oh, hello," I said, bending down to let the puppy sniff my hand. "What are you doing out here?"
Then only answer I got was a nip to the fingers from its milky, baby teeth.
"Hey," I said tiredly. "That's not very nice."
The puppy licked my thumb.
"Apology accepted," I smiled before standing, making my way back to Lloyd's room. I heard shuffling and turned to find the puppy following me, eyes fixated and yelping at me for attention.
"Alright, alright," I sighed in amusement, picking up the little guy and setting him onto of my duffel bag. "You can come, mr. No-name."

The puppy seemed content to lie down on top of my bag as I carefully walked back to Lloyd's room. He was still awake when I entered, but his eyelids look painfully heavy.
"We have a stowaway," I joked as the puppy launched itself from the bag and fell face-first onto the duvet. It rightened before scrambling up to Lloyd, slobbering all over his face. He grinned weakly at the attention.
"You look exhausted," I noted with a concerned frown. "You should sleep."
"I don't want to," he said, holding the puppy to his chest. It seemed more than happy to cuddle.
"Why?" I asked, but the look Lloyd gave me was answer enough and I felt myself wither a little in sympathy. "Well, it's a little earlier than seven, but how about that Peter Pan date?"
Lloyd nodded, sending me a grateful smile. I grabbed his laptop and shuffled onto the bed beside him.
"What's your password?" I asked.
"Kai's a poopy head," Lloyd murmured as he shuffled closer, resting his head against my shoulder. "No caps."

I almost thought he was joking, but I typed it in and the laptop unlocked. I rolled my eyes in amusement.
I pulled up the movie, curling closer into Lloyd, the puppy asleep between us. The bed was warm and the movie was the perfect volume of quiet but not too quiet.

It was about five minutes into the intro when we both fell asleep, too.

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

I woke late morning and it felt like the universe was personally against me.

For one; sleeping from five in the afternoon to ten in the morning is not good for the autonomy of the body.
Two; literally everything that was mildly sore over the past week have evolved into very annoying, pounding injuries.
If this was how I felt, I didn't want know how Lloyd did.
I stumbled upright, pulling myself from Lloyd's slumbering embrace and grimaced at the aches my pain gave in response. First order of business was to locate some painkillers. Second, breakfast.
(Third, locate the puppy, who had gone missing and I had a suspicion that Jay was behind it).

The monastery was quiet (or more so than usual) as I stumbled my way into the med bay to scout for some ibuprofen or Panadol or something to relieve the pain of my absolutely everything. After finding what I needed, I began the long trek back to Lloyd's room when I heard voices coming from Sensei Wu's scroll room.
I poked my head in and I almost dropped the packet of Panadol.
"Dad?" I asked in disbelief as he, Misako, Garm and Wu turned at my entrance. "What are you doing here? Are you guys like... good?"
"Yes," dad sighed. "We've talked long and hard about these prophecies that you and Lloyd are in."
"Oh," I blinked, stepping inside more. The room was filled with shelves upon shelves of rolled up scrolls. It felt weird to know that I was in more than a few of them. My gaze landed back onto the adults around the little table and my face twisted into a look of sheepish hope. "So... so you're okay with us dating..?"
"There's not much I can do about that," he mumbled, running a hand down his face.
"We've been discussing trainings," Garmadon spoke up. "Jonesy and a few other lieutenants will teach the ninja some military basics and the ninja will teach the troops ninjitsu."
"And being allies would be easier," dad relented.

"Oh, thank god," I groaned in relief. "I did NOT want this to end up like some stupid Romeo and Juliet situation-" my chest spiked with pain and I winced. "- eugh, bad timing."
"Sit down, you crackhead," dad snorted, so I did, plopping down across the other side of the table from him.
"How are you feeling?" Misako asked as she poured me a cup of tea.
"Fine," I shrugged as I popped open two Panadol pills and popped them in my mouth. "Sore, but nobody's surprised."
"And how did you sleep?" Wh asked, tilting his head. I drink a sip of tea slowly.
"I didn't get any nightmares," I said slowly, thinking back to the number of times I'd woken up by him shouting in his sleep. "But Lloyd did."
Dad's face contorted into a look of rage.
"You slept in the same bed-?!"

"Y/n?" Lloyd's tired voice called, catching us all off guard. He stumbled into the room and his eyes brightened when they landed on me.
"Hey, sleepy," I smiled softly. He dragged his feet to the spot beside me and collapsed down, dropping his head on my shoulder. Dad clenched his jaw.
"How long have you known him again?" Dad asked.
"Two months," I murmured. Lloyd had fallen right back asleep.
"Have you had sex?" Dad growled. I stiffened, face red while Wu raised his eyebrows and Misako stifled a laugh.
"No!" I exclaimed. Lloyd jerked a little in response before relaxing back into slumber. I made an effort to keep my stressed voice down. "Dad! Why would you ask that!"
"Because you two are very affectionate for people who've only known each other for two months," he elaborated, holding up his palms in defence. "I just wanted to make sure."
"Oh, what difference would it make?" I whispered harshly, not wanting to wake Lloyd. "You and mum were seventeen when you two had me!"
Garmadon choked a little on his tea.

Dad glared at me and I glared right back, neither wanting to backdown.
"I just think you two are too close considering how long you've known each other!" Dad hissed.
"We're aware of this!" I whispered back angrily. "And we've already discussed this!"
"You are?" Wu asked. "You have?"
I sent a look to him, and then to Lloyd's parents. The guilt on their faces made me scowl.
"Is this another thing you guys are aware of that we don't know?" I asked, crossing my arms, though it was hard to do so with Lloyd slumbering against my side.

"Yes," Misako said bluntly, ripping off the band-aid.
"Ugh," I cried, dropping my forehead onto the table. Lloyd fell with me and he woke upon impact, straightening and sending the table a confused, sleepy look.

"What year is it?" he asked lethargically.

therapy puppy said: