BRONCHO
••• Class Historian •••

Nothing like skipping school on a Friday for a trip to your god-esque boyfriend's grandfather's shrine.

Lloyd shifted the spare mask he gave me, making sure that it was tightened just enough around my head. Misako, Garm and Wu were at the museum exhibit dedicated to the shrine while the rest of the team attended school.
Hehe. Losers.
Cole had joined us, having already ventured forth and to scout out the surrounding terrain, searching for things that may have been overlooked. The excavation team still milled around, staring at the green ninja in awe.

"I still don't understand why my parents insisted you come with," Lloyd confessed, stepping back. His dragon nudged my arm, asking for pats. I absentmindedly stroked his face and he rumbled in delight. I shrugged at Lloyd.
"Maybe it's got something to do with the prophecy?" I suggested, not willing to admit that the visit to the shrine wasn't about the prophecy but, truly, about his very nature. "It's a day off from school, though, so I'm not complaining."
"Of course you're not," Lloyd grinned, going to reach out for me before stopping himself and clearing his throat. I raised my brows amusedly while his dragon disappeared in a burst of green. No intimacy allowed while on the job, less people find out about the green ninja supposedly having a girlfriend (as then, consequently, all hell would break loose).
It seemed that Lloyd was struggling.

We made our way over to the group of excavators who dug up the shrine. They were hovering to the side, eyeing us with ogling stares as they had a morning tea break.
"Green ninja," said the lady in charge, stepping forward with a composed grin that barely covered her excitement. "It's such an honour to have you here."
"Thanks for agreeing to let us have a look," Lloyd replied, crossing his arms as he took on a serious aura that I hadn't seen him use before. The lady turned her gaze to me. Her smile tightened.
"And you are..?"
"My colleague," Lloyd answered for me, so she returned her attention back to him. Eagerly. The way my stomach did a jealous twist was almost amusing. "She's here to help me and Earth to investigate. When did you first discover the shrine?"
"A few weeks back," the lady, whose name was Cassandra, answered. "It was by total luck we stumbled upon it."
"What were you doing here originally?" Lloyd asked, green eyes narrowed as he took in the scene - bush cradling against the mountain side. I would've considered it tranquil had it not been for the bunch of people milling around, the trucks and the caution tape.

"Somebody was going for a hike when they reported rumbling sounds coming from within the mountain," Cassandra explained. "First on the scene were volcanologists but when they discovered the shrine, we were called in."
Lloyd nodded slowly, taking in her words as he turned back to look at the boss.
"Do you mind if we take a private look?" he asked.
"Of course," she said with a nod, eyes shifting to me briefly before jumping back to Lloyd with a glint in her gaze. "If you need anything, just ask."
I bristled, wanting to laugh in shock. Wow. Props to Cassandra. That had some balls to be so blatantly open about wanting to bed the green ninja.
Lloyd was unphased, though his green eyes did flicker to me quickly before returning.
"We'll let you know," he nodded, and her smile fell, before he placed a hand on the small of my back to lead me towards the shrine.
It quickly dropped. An almost fatal slip up.

"Do people usually do that?" I asked as we stopped outside the entrance of the shrine, all columns and carved rock. I would've admired it in awe if I wasn't still strung up about Cassandra hitting on my boyfriend (even if she didn't know that he was taken).
"Do what?" Lloyd asked, only giving me a percentage of his attention as he slowly walked around the entrance, looking for anything out of the ordinary. I followed, arms crossed.
"Hit on you," I huffed while we played investigator. "She was practically spreading her legs."
Lloyd barked a laugh, turning fully to me as he sent an amused look.
"Yeah," he chuckled. "A lot of people have a crush on the green ninja."
My brow furrowed in frustration as he moved inside the shrine. It was a circular room, gorgeous depictions of dragons taking up the ceiling and walls. Lloyd noticed my expression and snorted.
"Are you jealous?"
"Of course I'm not," I scoffed. "Why would I be jealous? There's nothing to be jealous of."
"She's twice my age."
"She doesn't know that," I pointed out in a snarl and Lloyd laughed.
"You're adorable," he hummed amusedly as he pulled me in by my shoulders, shaking his head.

"Maybe you should've exposed your neck," I grumbled, crossing my arms with a pout as I referred to the almost fading love bite. "Then she'd know."
"Might have to give it a renewal if you want to do that," Lloyd snickered. "We can always show it off on the way out."
"I'm not giving you a hickey in your grandfather's shrine."
"Why not?" Lloyd smirked, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards him until I crashed against his chest. "I don't see a problem with it."
I untangled myself from his arms with a flustered frown, turning away to pretend to scout the surroundings before I could cave. I may have little pride but at least I had dignity.
"He's probably so disappointed in you for even suggesting that," I grumbled and he laughed, catching up to me and giving my waist a squeeze.
"On the contrary," Lloyd grinned, his mask brushing against my ear. "I think he's rooting for me."
I snorted. "In your dreams, horny green boy."
He barked a laugh before settling, an amused, adoring look in his red eyes.

"You don't need to be jealous," Lloyd reassured, stepping back as his gloved finger gently hooked around the necklace that was hidden behind my shirt. He tugged it out until the ring balanced deftly on his hand. "I didn't give you a promise ring for the hell of it, y'know. The green ninja may have a lot of adoring fans, but he adores only one in return."
"Did you just call me an adoring fan?" I laughed shortly, amused. He shrugged with a chuckle before he paused, pulling his head away from me as he stared over my shoulder.
"Hey... is that wall glowing?" Lloyd asked quietly and I followed his gaze, turning as my eyes landed on a slab of rock wall that seemed to be a barrier that lead deeper into the shrine. The edges of it were spilling a white glow, as if something behind the rock was beckoning us closer.
We shared a look, all joking aside. Glowing usually meant something important and something important usually meant prophecy. Or at least, a prophecy.

"Let's take a looksie," Lloyd suggested. "Stay back."
I stepped back a few paces as he urged the rock wall to slide across with his powers, grunting in effort. Once a gap big enough for us to just slip through was made, he held out a hand. I bounded up to him and slid my fingers through his.
The glowing has subsided as we entered the dark corridor and the little light from the shrine quickly gave way to pitch black. Lloyd created a ball of green fire and it hovered before us, illuminating the place in emerald.
"Remind me why my parents wanted you to come?" Lloyd pressed, his quiet voice bouncing in the large, cavernous walkway. It seemed to stretch for miles.
"I- I'm not sure," I stammered, staring ahead at the fire. Lloyd turned to glance at me and noticed my steeled expression. His eyes squinted.
"Tell me," he ordered. I sent him a look.
"T- tell you what?" I squeaked, feigning ignorance. He abruptly halted so I did, too.
"Tell me what you know," he said, voice shifting back to what he used against Cassandra and my mother when she told us she knew about the prophecy. His green ninja interrogation tone.
"I d- I don't know anything!"

Lloyd stepped forward and I backed up in the dark room, the green fire following us. I hit the wall and he leant in close.
"Spill it," he commanded. I shook my head. "Y/n."
"I'm- no-!"
"Please?" Lloyd pleaded, using his puppy eyes. I shook my head and his gaze darkened. "Sunshine."
His tone sent a shiver through me but I remained stoic, or as stoic as I could while have a crisis. Lloyd stepped in closer, body pressing against mine. His heat was unbearable.
"St- stop it-" I stammered, trying to dig myself deeper against the wall when he caged his forearms on either side of my head. "I'm n- I'm not telling!"
Lloyd raised on arm to slip back his mask and then mine. I should've used to opportunity to escape, but I was caught in his red eyes like a snake. The green fire flickered, making the shadows dance on Lloyd's face. He leant his arm back in and I was caught again, as if he knew that I wouldn't go anywhere.

"I'm going to ask you one more time," he said in a low voice.
"A- are you seriously trying to seduce me?" I asked breathlessly as his teeth slid against the skin of my neck, hot breath tumbling and making my nerves jolt with electricity.
"Is it working?" he asked, using the same tempting growl of a voice. I went to answer, to blatantly lie so I could have a pretence of dignity, when he paused over the week-old love bite and my knees buckled.
Lloyd caught me with an amused, sultry chuckle as my weight leant against him. He inclined down again, tongue tracing the shell of my ear and I had to rip myself away, heart thundering and breath almost nonexistent as I slipped over and landed on my backside.
"I- I said no kisses in your grandfather's shrine," I stammered as I tried in vain to regain my breath, face alarmingly red.
"And I said tell me what you know," Lloyd crouched before me, fire still following his shoulder. He licked his bottom lip before tugging on it with his teeth and I felt my very essence being dropkicked into the stratosphere. "So are you gonna tell me? I have no qualms to kick it up a notch. This interrogation tactic is reserved for you only, and I, for one, am happy to proceed."
I swallowed sharply. Stubbornly.
"I'm not telling."
"Alright," Lloyd airily shrugged before crawling forward with a predatory smirk. I inhaled sharply, biting my tongue to keep myself in check as he towered over me, hand whispering down my waist-

"OKAY! OKAY!" I yelled, face red as I turned away and hid behind my hands. "Stop it! You win!"
Lloyd sat back with an easy snicker, proudly and smugly smirking as he helped me stand and brushed off the dust that had stuck to my back.
"What is it?"
My eyes dropped to the floor, reluctantly chewing on the inside of my cheek. His eyes narrowed at my silence.
"Y/n-"
"It's about you," I murmured and he paused. "About your genetics."
"My... genetics?" Lloyd asked, tilting his head, smug amusement dropping into confusion. "What do you mean?"
"Lloyd, you've gotten... clingy," I began tentatively.
"Clingy?" he echoed, looking hurt. "I just want to be close to you-"
"It's not just that, though," I continued, stepping closer and sending him a concerned look. His eyes dropped. "You're purring, possessive. You bit Axon's shoulder off for threatening me. You growled when I tried to move you away from me. You have a fascination with my neck - you marked me because I smelt like Chen. Lloyd, this isn't normal."

"You think I'm a freak," he muttered.
"I do not," I denied sharply. "You're just special and I want to know how."
"Yeah, a special type of freak."
"You're Lloyd. Beast genetics or no, you're still my favourite person in the world," I reassured, holding his cheek as he glowered at the ground. "I'm just worried about you and I want my questions answered. I have to know what's going on with you."
Lloyd deflated, green eyes dull. It hurt him to hear this and I was kicking myself for not holding out. This was why I didn't want to tell him.
"I'll stop being clingy," he murmured, eyes downcast as he moved away and my hand held nothing but empty air. My chest felt kicked in.
"H- hey, no," I began as Lloyd stalked deeper into the cavern, fire following his shoulder. "Lloyd. Lloyd."
I scrambled to catch up before my foot caught on something and I fell back to the ground with a yelp. Rolling over, I went to shoot an irritated glare at the object before I tensed.
"L... Lloyd?"

He turned at my shaking voice as I sat, deadly still on the ground.
"I- it's a..." I breathed, staring wide-eyed.
"A dragon skull," Lloyd finished in astonishment, walking back towards me. "B- but that's... how..?"
I shook my head, stunned and baffled.
"Didn't you use to have dragons?" I asked quietly as I stood to my feet again. "Is this...?"
Lloyd shook his head. "Ultra moved back to his own realm."
"Ultra?" I tilted my head as Lloyd crouched before the skull.
"My old dragon," he murmured, placing a hand against the cranium of the beast. A sadness passed over his eyes as he stared at the deceased. "But he was the only dragon in Ninjago, so why is there..? This is so weird. It's only a baby."
My heart sunk.
"It was only a baby dragon?" I murmured sadly, kneeling beside Lloyd. "What do you think happened?"
"I'm not sure," he said quietly. "Let's keep going. Maybe we'll find something."
I nodded, following Lloyd as we continued down the large cavern. The darkness was eerie, the green fire flickering a dance with the black shadows. I wondered how many more skeletons sat on the ground.
The silence was worse.

"Lloyd..."
He hummed. My eyes jumped up to the side of his face and I bit my lip guiltily at the blankness in his gaze.
"I..." I sunk my teeth further down into my lip, brow pulled unbearably tight as I tried to think of a remedy. What could I say? How could I make him feel better?
"If I was being clingy, why didn't you just tell me?" Lloyd bit in a harsh voice, green eyes filled with annoyance.
"Because I didn't think it was a big deal!" I replied, matching his passion. I closed my eyes and calmed myself when he shot me an irritated glare. "Lloyd, do you honestly think that I don't like your affection? Seriously."
He directed his glare back to our destination.
"Hey!" I exclaimed, voice bouncing in the cave. I grabbed his hand and pulled him to face me. "Don't ignore me!"
"Let's just forget about it," he grunted, pulling his hand back but I refused to let it go.
"No! We're talking about this," I snapped, pissed. "You've been avoiding talking about Axon and Morro but I'm not letting you avoid this!"
Lloyd set his jaw, eyes growing angrier.
"Look, you bastard," I spat, pointing a finger into his chest. "I am madly in love with you, so if you think that I hate how clingy you are, then hoo buddy, you are sorely frickin' mistaken."

"I- what?" Lloyd's expression dropped into a look of bafflement.
"I am an attention whore and a touched starved baby, aight? So you showering me in affection is the best thing that's ever happened to me and if you weren't an affectionate boyfriend then I'd be really hella sad."
"What?"
"Kiss me, you dumby."
Lloyd's eyes narrowed.
"I thought you said-"
"Kiss me, you dumby."
He huffed, shaking his head in amusement.
"You are so weird," he muttered before doing as told and pressing a kiss to my lips. I giggled into it, the firelight flickering as he held me close and I held him even closer.
"But seriously," I whispered as I pulled back, lips brushing against his as I spoke. "Please don't mark me again at school. I was terrified that we'd get caught."
Lloyd shook his head, eyes still closed as he revelled in the ecstasy of the kiss. His nose bumped mine.
"I can't promise that," he growled. "Not if you don't smell like mine."
"See? See?" I said, pressing my hand against his gi and curling the material in my hand. "That's what I want to understand."
"Okay," he said quickly, pulling back and petting my cheek with his thumb. "Alright. Stop distracting me. We're on a mission."
I scoffed as Lloyd turned, leading me deeper into the cave. Our hands swung between us, comfortably intertwined.
"I'm distracting?" I echoed incredulously. "I'm not the one who pinned you to the wall and tried to seduce you."

"We can continue that at a later date, if you'd like," he hummed amusedly and I muttered a warning. He laughed.
The long hallway finally came to a stop at a cavern even larger than the first room in the shrine. Lloyd made his fire bigger and lifted it to the roof, illuminating the room. It was blank.
"Well," I said blandly, unimpressed. "I got all excited for nothing."
"This can't be it," Lloyd shook his head. "That glow wasn't for nothing. Spread out, leave no stone unturned."
"Yippee," I groaned, turning to scour one side while he took the other. Ten minutes later, and I still came up with nothing. I kicked the dirt in frustration.
"You find anything useful?" Lloyd asked. I shook my head before my eyes caught something between clumps of dirt. A little engraving on the stone, dipping deeper into the ground. I bent down, scraping aside the ground. It continued deeper.
"Hey, honeydew," I called, nodding Lloyd over. "Can you move the dirt here?"
Lloyd appeared at my side, following my gaze. He pulled away the dirt, the ground crumbling away little by little like magic. The engraved line widened. We shared a look before Lloyd pulled more of the dirt away. The engraving kept growing until it became the head of a dragon, half a meter down.
Lloyd stared at it with scrutinising eyes.
"Go wait in the hallway," he murmured. I did as told, standing at the edge of the cave.

The ground began rumbling as Lloyd pulled away the dirt, exposing more and more of the mural. Another ten minutes and he called for me.
"Oh, wow," I breathed as I stood at the top of what had become a small cliff. Lloyd stood at the bottom, panting from effort, while we stared at the mural that took up the rock wall. It was fifteen meters in height and double that in width. It was a piece of the first spinjitsu master, looking about ready for a fight with his staff pulled back.
Twirled around him was a dragon.
Between them stood an oni.
"Jump down," Lloyd said and I sent him an incredulous look.
"I'll break my legs!"
"I'll catch you."
"I'll BREAK YOU-"
Lloyd groaned at my faithlessness before making two platforms of dirt to pull out of the side.
"I can work with that," I nodded, slipping over the side and dropping to the first. I steadied myself and fell to the next but it crumbled upon impact. A short cry burst from my throat.
"I gotcha," Lloyd reassured as he caught me before I could hit the ground. "You seriously need to trust me more."

"Thank you," I gasped, catching my breath. He set me to my feet and steadied me until I had regained all motor functionality. Clearing my throat, I turned my head up to take in the mural. From below, it only looked all the more impressive. "Do you know what this is about?"
Lloyd shook his head, looking absolutely lost.
"No clue."
Walking forward, I brushed my fingers across the engraved line of the dragon's tail, almost smooth with age. The line behind my touch suddenly glowed a faint peach, spreading to the rest of the mural. I leapt back in shock, stumbling into Lloyd.
He stepped forward, hand sliding from my hip as he stared at the lines in curiosity as they faded back to normal. He placed his hand against the rock and it illuminated green.

"Odd," Lloyd said. I tentatively placed my hand against the rock, too, and the glowing became a intricate pairing of colours.
"Pretty," I mused quietly. He made a soft sound in agreement.
The rock suddenly rumbled and Lloyd quickly pulled me back behind him, wary. The rock slid open, revealing a cave. We shared a look.
"This just got much more interesting," he said breathlessly, grabbing my hand and pulling me in. The ball of green fire returned, illuminating the room once more.
"It seems like some sort of... bunker," Lloyd said as he surveyed the surroundings, holding absolutely nothing aside from a large chest that sat in the middle. Like an RPG fantasy game.
"This is so strange," I shook my head, carefully and slowly stepping forward towards the chest. I played enough Legend of Zelda to be weary of chests in empty rooms.
"Your powers," Lloyd said, making me pause. "They're playing up again."
"What?" I tilted my head and felt my hair shift slightly. "Why now?"

A loud rumble made us freeze.
"Maybe because of that," Lloyd squeaked, pointing behind me just as the sound of footsteps of something large and heavy made the hair of my neck stand on end. I slowly turned, face full of fear.
A dragon - a whole ass dragon - clambered out of the darkness and I stiffened in shock. This was no elemental dragon, this was a real life dragon. One that lives and breathes. One that eats.
I was suddenly hoping that I wasn't on the menu.
"No sudden moves," Lloyd whispered.
"No kidding," I hissed, swallowing sharply as the dragon stepped forward and breathed on me. The force of it sent my hair tumbling back.
"Walk back towards me," Lloyd murmured under his breath. "Slowly."
I went to take a subtle step but grimaced in fear when the dragon's throat grumbled.
"Lloooyd."
"Okay, it's okay," Lloyd whispered, reassuring me as my body began to tremble out of anxiety. "It's alright. I'll get you out of here, sunshine. I promise."
I gulped, nodding as the dragon took another step closer. It was completely towering over me at that point, and I felt like a lowly little mouse on a face off against a lion.

"Dammit, Cole's good with dragons," Lloyd hissed under his breath. "Why couldn't he be here?"
The dragon snarled, raising its head as its cat-like eyes slitted paper thin and fixated on me.
Oh, damn, I'm definitely on the menu.
A burst of green light and Lloyd's dragon appeared, launching onto the other with resounding growl just as Lloyd himself tackled against me. We tumbled out of the firing range, rolling painfully against the ground. He scrambled to his feet and hauled me up with him, tugging me back to the entrance.
The rock slowly slid back into place and we turned just as Lloyd's dragon ripped into the shoulder of the other with a terrifying snarl. Glancing up, Lloyd's own face resembled the expression. I gulped.
"Let's go," Lloyd said in a soft growl, tugging me along. I went to follow but tensed when a long, mournful howl flooded from the cave. I turned my head back to the mural. A second broken cry had my heart shattering.

"Lloyd-"
"No."
"But it's in pain!" I cried, turning back to him with a desperate expression. "What if that baby was hers?"
Lloyd's resolve broke and he sighed, letting me drag him back to the wall. It glowed peach when I put my palm against and I looked at him, waiting.
"You sure?"
I nodded.
"We're going to die," he muttered, placing his hand beside mine and the rock slid away again.
The dragon was slumped, a pitiful look on her face as she curled her tail around her body. The bite on her shoulder was leaking blood.
"Y/n, don't walk up to it-"
But I was already closing the distance, slowly making my way towards her head. Her eyes opened, catching sight of me. She gave a rumble but didn't move.
"Are you lonely?" I whispered as I eased into her space warily. "How long have you been trapped in here, huh?"
She gave a whine and my shattered heart collapsed into dust.
"I'm sorry," I murmured, cautiously placing my hand on her snout. I eyed her, looking for a sign that she was going to attack but found none. When I gently rubbed her muzzle, she sighed. "You didn't deserve to get hurt. It was just a misunderstanding, wasn't it?"

I peeked up at Lloyd. He was watching the dragon like a hawk, ready to jump into action if the need arose. I didn't think it would, though, as she began purring in my hands.
"I don't get it," Lloyd murmured, stepping close. "The dragons we had were connected to one of the four elements of the others and when they matured, they merged to become Ultra, but what..."
He paused.
"I think she's yours," Lloyd said in disbelief.
"Mine?!" I squeaked. "I don't have the room for a pet dragon, Lloyd!"
"Don't get attached," he agreed. "I'm pretty sure she wants to leave. The only reason she's still here is probably because of what's in the chest."
"Should we open it?" I asked and my question was answered by the dragon pushing it closer to Lloyd with her tail.
"I think she wants us to," he murmured, crouching before the chest. Both the dragon and I were watching as he broke the lock with a hard yank and opened it up. Lloyd reached in with a confused frown and pulled out a single object.

"It's... a clock."
"A clock?" I asked, wondering if I didn't hear him right. "Just a clock?"
"Just a clock," he nodded with raised eyebrows, expression tired.
"I'm going to have a mental breakdown~" I sing songed and Lloyd coughed a barking laugh, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Why is she guarding a clock?" he asked, baffled as he turned it over in his hands. "It's super ancient, too. All the cogs and everything look handmade. The time isn't even right."
Lloyd reached up to fiddle with the hands and when he put it to the right time, a bright flash erupted from the top of it and shot out to the wall of the cave. A swirling portal.
"OH," I chirped in shock. "That's why!"
Lloyd quickly tugged one of the hands to the side and the portal faded away. He sent a spooked look back at me, not expecting that.
"Let's... let's just get it back to my uncle," he laughed nervously. I agreed with a nod.
The dragon gave a relieved huff, exhaling slowly through its nose before rising to its feet and scampering out of the cave.

We could almost hear the screams of the excavators.

"Let's get out of here," Lloyd suggested, holding out a hand for me to take. I grabbed it with a smile.

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

By the time we rendezvoused back at the monastery, it was already dinnertime.

"Show us your purr," Garmadon ordered as soon as his son stepped inside, taking the chance since I told him and Misako that Lloyd knew about us investigating his genetics. Lloyd looked appalled.
"I can't just-!"
I reached up and scratched behind his ear. A purr slipped from his chest before he ripped himself away with a yell of my name.
"Incredible," Garmadon said with a shake of his head. "What went wrong with you?"
"WOW, thanks, DAD," Lloyd stressed before shoving the clock into his father's chest. "Here. It makes portals or something, you're welcome."
"Did you guys pick up anything interesting?" I asked with an amused grin as Lloyd began weakly tugging on my arm, wanting to escape.
"Can't say that we found anything as interesting as this," Garmadon admitted, holding the clock with gentle hands. It was pretty fragile-looking. "It was mainly about that dates it traced back to and the engravings on the walls. I heard there was a dragon?"

I nodded.
"Y/n made friends with it," Lloyd announced, finally pulling me off balance and into his chest. I oof'd.
"First Chen and now a dragon?" Garmadon raised his eyebrows. "I'd have a theory that her elemental power was friendship if I didn't already know what it was."
We sent him a disgruntled look.
"Salt on the wound," Lloyd sighed. "You're just plain rude tonight."
"Thank you," Garm said dryly. "It's a side effect of having to deal with you everyday."
Lloyd gasped. I coughed a loud laugh.
"Did Cole find anything?" Garmadon asked while I cackled against Lloyd's chest, who still looked highly offended.
"No," Lloyd grunted. "Nothing. Now, if you'll excuse us, we're going to go get some dinner."

Dinner was burritos, which is tasted fantastic so it was obviously Zane's night to cook. Lloyd went over the events of the day while we ate, carefully avoiding the whole wall-pin thing while the others listened intently.
After dinner, we went to brush our teeth.
"You know, I think I'm getting used to this," I hummed, toothbrush in hand. "You. Prophecy. This whole hot mess."
Lloyd sent me an amused look out of the corner of his eyes, toothpaste dripping into the sink attractively (not).
"Of course, as crazy as it is, there are a few perks."
Lloyd's brows raised.
"Like Zane's cooking. And Kai and Cole are like the brothers I never knew I needed. Jay and Nya pretty much adopted me which is awesome," I hummed before catching sight of Lloyd's pathetic expression. "Oh, and I guess there's a Lloyd in there somewhere."
He snorted, almost choking on the toothpaste.
"So mean to me," he whined, voice muffled by paste. "And the day before my birthday, too!"
I paused.
"It's your birthday tomorrow?" I asked, sending him a frantic look. "Why didn't you tell me!"

Lloyd shrugged after spitting out his mouthful of toothpaste.
"It's not that important."
"YES, it is!" I stressed, placing my tooth brush back in its holder. "I should've gotten you something!"
"You don't need to get me anything," Lloyd shook his head, sending me a grin. "I don't need anything else when I have everything I want. Which is you, by the way."
He poked my nose and I rolled my eyes, blushing.
"Alright, mr romance," I said. "I guess I'll just have to give you a late present, then."
"You're not going to let it go, are you?"
"Nope."
Lloyd sighed, cupping my cheek.
"Will you stay tomorrow?" he asked in a voice that made me melt.
"Am I allowed?" I tilted my head deeper into his hold.

"Of course you are," he smiled softly, endearingly. "You're family."