Beatenberg
••• Stamina •••

why do i keep runnin' out of stamina?

why do i keep opening and closing the doors and windows?

what am i supposed to do with this length of silken thread?

why is it so hard to go from one thing into another?

•••••

TW: mentions of slight sexual content

Yn's already meet Borg. Meets Pixal properly.

"Love."

"Loooove."

"Loooooove."

"Okay, Y/n, seriously. I need to pee."

I was rudely awakened with a poke to my side. I groaned, exhaustion still settled heavily on my bones and snuggled in deeper to his warmth in resistance.
"As much as I love waking up to you sprawled all over me," Lloyd hummed, shifting until I slid off from his body with a whine. "Nature's calling."
"Ugh," I cried into the sheets, feeling sleep begin to retake me. "Jus' hurry up and get back."
A chuckle. He kissed the back of my head. "As you wish, princess."
As soon as he left the room I quelled a shout with a pillow. It was too soon in the morning to be feeling this way. This fluttery, warm anxiousness that made my head spin.

I flipped over onto my back with a dry sob. There was no way I was going back to sleep now. Not with my heart racing like this. Emotions had drop kicked my chest and I felt like lurching to my feet with the energy it had slammed into me.
The bed feels empty without Lloyd.
I pulled a face, staring at the wooden panels of the Bounty's roof. Was it too soon to start thinking stuff like that? How long has it been since I met him - two months?
It's not as if I'd been in a relationship before, so I had no idea what was normal or not. It took seven weeks to have our first kiss and now, only a week later, I'm thinking this?
Then again, our relationship was hardly what you would consider normal in the first place. Prophecies coming out our ears, Lloyd's possession, Lloyd in general just being the green ninja and Lord Garmadon's son, my... hardly functional powers.
Oh, this is messy.
I grimaced. Ugh. And school's just around the corner. How the hell does Lloyd manage to balance it all?
I didn't have time to contemplate it because the man of the hour had collapsed back onto the bed, face first. I stared at him apathetically until-
"Wait, are you even breathing-"
Lloyd abruptly lifted his head. "Yes."

He placed his head back down onto the pillow, facing me. He stared at my face and I stared at his, illuminated in a velvety gold from the morning sun. It played in his green eyes. He almost looked like he was glowing.
"G'morning," Lloyd finally murmured, squished pushed up from the pillow. I smiled, heart full.
"Good morning," I replied in an equally mushy voice. "How are you feeling?"
Lloyd pulled an unpleased look. "Everything hurts."
I sympathetically frowned, stroking his face with the back of my fingers. His eyes fluttered closed at the feeling.
"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I wish there was something I could do to help."
Lloyd hummed, shuffling closer. "Jus' keep doing that."
I burst with warmth.
"As you wish, prince," I echoed his words, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead. He snorted but didn't reply, melting into the mattress while I traced little designs over his face with my fingertip.

Lloyd shifted under the duvet, hooking his leg around mine and dropping his arm around my waist. My gut dropped to my toes.
"You're cuddly," I noted in flustered surprise.
"You're nice to cuddle," he sighed. There was a knock on the door.
"Up and at 'em, kiddos!" Garmadon called through the closed door. "Breakfast time!"
Lloyd groaned loudly, dropping his face into my neck with a pout. I giggled, threading my fingers through his hair.
"C'mon, Greenie," I hummed. "You need to eat."
"Uuughh."
"I thought you were good at getting up in the mornings."
"Uuuugghhhhhh."
I snickered at his attitude. "Okay, okay, Mr. Grumpy-pants. You do have to get up, though."
"But I'm soooore," Lloyd whined.
"How are you supposed to recover if you don't eat?" I raised my brow, gently pushing his head back to send him a concerned glare. He scrunched his face in retaliation.

Untangling myself from him, I slipped from the bed and stretched, staring out at of the window at the swaying sea, glittering with the glare of the sun. The room was chilly and my pyjama shorts did little to warm me, but even still, it felt so perfect that I ached.
But I was naive to hope that this peace would remain. As soon as breakfast was finished, we'd be back into action. Morro's still out there - with the realm crystal.
I glanced back at Lloyd, was was watching me with his face half buried in the duvet grumpily.
"You're gonna have to make me," he declared stubbornly. I crossed my arms with narrowed eyes. Two can play this game.
"Oh, NY-" my call to the water ninja was cut short when a pillow was lobbed at my face. I scrambled to catch it, sending Lloyd a wide-eyed, disbelieving look. He froze.
"Did you just throw a pillow at me?"
Lloyd hid under the the duvet.
"No," came his disembodied voice from the lump under the blanket. I rolled my eyes and threw the pillow at him.
"Come on," I insisted. "Or I'll drag you by the ankle myself."

Lloyd shoved the duvet off with a frustrated pout and I pulled him to his feet with an amused smile. He stumbled, catching me off guard as he dug his face into my shoulder, resting his weight on me.
"Sorry," he murmured. "'M tired."
"Careful," I said in a hushed voice, linking my fingers through his. "You're still weak."
He mumbled something incoherent before clearing his throat and pulling away, eyes dropping to the floor. I snickered at his pink cheeks.
"What, now you're bashful?" I raised a brow. "What happened to the Lloyd from last night?"
We begun walking down the hallway towards the dining room, where the sound of laugher was flooding from. Our linked hands swung between us.
"Last night Lloyd was catching up on lost time," he replied with a coy smile. "I'm not usually that soft."
I scoffed. "Lies."
"I'm not!"
"Lloyd Garmadon, you are the softest boy I know," I snickered, sending him a look out of the corner of my eyes. They lifted to the roof in consideration. "Except in a fight, I suppose."
Lloyd puffed his chest, trying to seem taller. "I'm intimidating all the time."
"Aw, babe," I hummed, patting his shoulder with my free hand. His green eyes jumped to me.
"H- hey. What's that supposed to mean? Y/n?"

But we had already arrived at the dining room and I wasn't going to answer his question. The sensei's and Misako had already finished their breakfast, rushing past us with determined looks on their faces. Lloyd followed them with intrigued eyes.
"They are trying to find if there's something that might be able to counteract the realm crystal," Zane explained, noticing Lloyd's curiosity and being the only one to notice us at all.
"Well hello, lovebirds," Kai grinned as he glanced up, eyes trained on our intwined hands. He looked smug.
Blushing, I went to slip my hand from Lloyd's but his grip tightened. My lips parted in surprise, eyes flicking up to his face but he remained impassive to his unspoken demand. A coy smile played on my lips. Soft boy.
"How are you feeling, Lloyd?" Zane asked as we sat down at the low table. Our hands rested between our pillows. I tried to focus on anything except for how warm and perfect his hand felt in mine.
"My head feels like it's splitting," Lloyd huffed with a dry smile. "Everything is just aching. Should be fine in a week or so."
"Ice bath when you get home," Nya grunted from where she was building a house out of cards. Jay was watching her concentration face with an adoring smile.

Lloyd nodded, pulling a prepared plate of breakfast towards me before grabbing his own. I thanked him softly and he smiled, hand tightening in mine briefly. But then his fingers slipped from mine and I tried not to feel disappointed at the lack of him in my grasp.
I picked up a fork just as a hand inched its way onto my thigh.
I jerked in mighty surprise, knocking the low table with my knee and dropping the utensil with a clatter. The others silenced, staring at me questioningly. Nya's card house collapsed.
"C- COLD it's cold," I stammered, face red. "S- sorry. I- I guess I'm more vulnerable to temperature than I realise."
"Riiiight," Kai drawled, unconvinced. Lloyd was having a hard time controlling his snicker, having had resorted to biting his hand to control himself. His other hand still sat innocently on my thigh. It still caused my entire body to burst aflame like fire on dry grass.

"Exactly," Nya said with a raised brow after scraping the cards up into a neat pile again. "That's why Lloyd's hand is tucked under the table."
Lloyd abruptly stopped laughing. His ears went red.
"I'm not doing anything," he denied with a shake of his head.
"You are a terrible liar, Lloyd," Zane noted with a sly glance to the green ninja. Lloyd lifted his hands to the table with wide eyes.
"See! Nothing!"
Then he dropped them and immediately, his hand found my thigh again. I squeaked, still not expecting it. My elbow hit the table and I dropped my head into my hand in embarrassment.
"If you need, you can go back to your room," Nya offered with an amused smirk. Cole suddenly gasped, sitting upright, before relaxing with a coy grin. I glanced up.
"I think I almost caught them fondueing last night," Cole hummed, raising a brow. "If you catch my drift."

I immediately picked up on the reference and my face cycled through a million emotions before finally settling on mortified. Lloyd, none the wiser, just tilted his head in confusion.
"Huh?"
"COLE!" I hissed, slamming my hands on the table in embarrassed horror. "We did not!"
"What?" Lloyd's head switched amongst the group, eyes growing more bewildered. His hand suddenly felt like it was acidic-level hot against my bare skin. "What does it mean?"
Nya fell with a snort, almost collapsing into her brother's side with a wildly amused expression.
"REALLY?!" she laughed loudly. Jay was stunned and Zane was calmly surveying the scene. I couldn't tell if he understood it or not.
I dryly sobbed, dropping my head into my hands.
"NO!" Kai stood abruptly, sharing my horror - though for a slightly different reason. "YOU'RE TOO YOUNG! Say it ain't so, lil bro!"
Lloyd stiffened. Kai's face fell. I was too caught up in wallowing in my own horrified despair to notice the pin-drop silence.
"Y/n?" Lloyd quickly spoke my name, squeezing my thigh gently at the same time. I felt my stomach lurch. "What does it mean?"

"Uhhh," I choked on my breath, looking up at his team for help. They stared at me expectantly. "It's, uh..."
"The no pants dance," Jay piped up. Nya did a whole spit take, water spat out of her nose.
"OH, MY GOD," she cackled, throwing her head back and clutching her stomach.
"I still don't know what you're talking about!" Lloyd yelled, befuddled and almost looking desperate for the answer. Garmadon reentered at that moment, probably concerned by the amount of shouting. Lloyd turned to his father with a frown.
"Dad, what does fondue mean?"
"Isn't it melted cheese?" Garmadon tilted his head.
"N- no. Fondue, as in a verb," Lloyd corrected. Garmadon perfectly replicated Lloyd's bewildered expression before lifting his hands and shaking his head, backing out of the room.
"I don't understand your gen z slang."

"Ugh," Lloyd dropped his head onto the table.
"The no pants dance," Kai snickered, having calmed down. "Classic."
Zane took a sip of water, taking pity on the blond.
"It means sexual intercourse."
Lloyd yanked his body back from the table, scrambling onto the floor with eyes wide in horror. The others were sniggering while Lloyd's embarrassed blush crawled down his neck, glancing amongst the team.
"We- we weren't-!" he stammered in alarm, mortified gaze jumping to me. I continued to cradle my forehead, not willing to meet his eyes.
"It sure looked like it," Cole pointed out. I sunk my head into my arms, slumped over the table. My skin felt cold without his contact, even when my blood was boiling from embarrassment.
"WE DIDN'T!" Lloyd screeched, throwing his zabuton at Cole. It sailed through him and crashed into the wall behind the ghost. Cole's smug smirk widened.
"I think Y/n broke," Jay noted.
"I should've stayed in bed," I whined.
"Oh-HO," Nya chortled. "We get it, Y/n."
"Not like that!" I cried, sending her a whiny look.
"Zane," Lloyd said in a cracked, tired voice. "Can you please get me an aspirin? This headache just got worse."

The table immediately silenced. Zane left the table in search of painkiller.
"Sorry, buddy," Cole said, voice twisting into one of concern. "Were we being too loud?"
"It probably doesn't help that you guys were fooling around last night," Kai muttered, crossing his arms as a serious look crossed his face. "You should be resting, Lloyd. The fight isn't over and you spent a week possessed. Your body needs this time to recover."
Lloyd smiled dryly as he got passed back his zabuton and settled at the table once more.
"The nightmares didn't help," he murmured.
"You're going to crash when we get home," Jay inputted worriedly. "When you wake up it'll be time for school!"
Lloyd wilted. A hundred different emotions played on his face, all negative.
"Right," he sighed, rubbing his exhausted eyes. "School. Great."
"It'll ve good this year!" Nya insisted.
"Yeah, we've got Y/n!" Kai nodded with a grin.

That only made Lloyd's face grow darker in depression.
"Uh, yeah..." Lloyd breathed, dropping his gaze to the table and avoiding my eyes. "I've been thinking about that... I don't think Y/n should be seen with us."
"What?" Cole spluttered.
"Excuse me?" I asked, almost offended. "Why?"
Zane had returned at that moment, handing Lloyd a pill and a glass of water. He quickly downed them.
"Because you're going to be outcasted as soon as you step foot in that school," Lloyd reasoned in a pathetic voice, staring at his fork with razer eyes. "You deserve to be able to make some new friends without my reputation holding you back."
"No way," I shook my head.
"Y/n-"
"Lloyd," I lifted his chin with a stern frown. "Remember what I said? We're a team. I'm not abandoning you just because some people have predetermined and false ideals of you just because of your heritage."
Lloyd's green eyes jumped to mine, pleading.
"It's not just some people, Y/n," he said, leaning into my hand. "It's the whole student body - it's the whole city."

"I don't care," I insisted, squeezing his chin affectionately. "If the payoff means I get to stay beside you, then I'll gladly do it."
Lloyd looked like he wanted to argue but his face fell into a look of adoration instead.
"Wow," Kai said, wide eyed. "I've never seen him look that head over heels before. You've got him right where you want him, Y/n."
Lloyd's face twisted into a scowl but it couldn't erase the look in his eyes as he stared at me.
"Shut up, Kai," he muttered, not dropping my gaze. My smile was fond.
"Aw," Jay said, sniffling. His eyes were watery. "When's the wedding?"
I was hit with the cave vision again, the rings on our fingers. Blush exploded across my face and I dropped my hand to the table, looking away in embarrassment. Lloyd's grin grew wider.
"Aha," my short laugh was strained, ears burning. "Very fu-"
Lloyd turned my head and swiftly captured my lip between his. Bliss burst behind my rib cage and my eyes widened in shock before they fluttered closed, melting into his warmth.
Lloyd pulled away too soon, eyes bright and smug at my stunned expression. My head was beginning to swim with all the blood that had rushed to my face.

"HAHA! OH!" Cole laughed in pure shock, eyes wide. "They kissed! They- they actually kissed!"
Jay was crying. Kai looked like a proud father.
"History has been made," Zane said in a pleasant voice.
"We've kissed before," Lloyd snorted, pupils wide and blush adorning his cheeks. He was trying to play it off cool but his excited smile was fooling nobody. He turned to his team with a nonchalant shrug. "This is just the first time you've seen us."
"How many times?" Nya grinned as she dropped her chin onto her hand, dopey with affection.
"Three," Lloyd had to reply, because I was still staring at his face in shock. He just kissed me in front of his team. My stomach was doing flips and it lurched when his mischievous green eyes found mine. "Technically four."
There are too many emotions to deal with this early.

"AWW," Jay cried, wiping away his tears. "I'm so happy!"
"Okay, calm down," Nya snickered, patting Jay's shoulder affectionately.
"There's just so much love!" Jay sobbed, dropping his head onto Nya. "I love you, Nya!"
"I love you, too, Jay," Nya grinned with an amused roll of her eyes.
Kai's phone beeped. He pulled it out and his eyes brightened.
"Ah, speaking of love," he grinned. "Skylor got back to me about Axon."
My head snapped to him. The blush immediately slipped away and the vibe had taken such a sudden shift, I almost got whiplash.
"What'd she say?" Lloyd asked, leaning forward with a furrow of his brow. Kai deflated.
"She's got nothing so far," he said in defeat. "He's slippery, I'll give him that."
"As long as he's out there, he's got a way to bring back Morro," Cole said with a growl to his tone. "We have to find him."

"She's in contact with Nero," Kai announced, still reading the text. "He hasn't heard from his brother in decades but hopefully he'll be able to locate him with his own powers."
"If they're brothers, how can we trust him?" I spoke up worriedly. "He might turn on us." Just like Ronin, I wanted to add, but the ugly twist in my chest kept me silent.
"Nero's been Wu's friend for centuries," Lloyd murmured, taking my hand in his hand squeezing it reassuringly. "He's the one that set up the barrier around the monastery. He might want to meet you about that."
Because I got through. I swallowed nervously, not really wanting to meet another master of the mind.
"Alright," I replied, gut feeling hollow.

"Well, there's not much we can do about that now, is there?" Nya said, turning to Lloyd and I with narrowed eyes. "You two, eat. We've got a big battle ahead of us."

🍃🍂🍁🍂🍃

Click.

"They're so cute."
"Shhh. You'll wake them."
My eyes squinted open and the shadows blocking the sun leapt back, giggling. I blinked, eyes bleary from sleep.

Garmadon and Misako were grinning like fools, the former crudely hiding a camera behind his back.
"Good nap?" Misako asked, eyes squinting in mirth. I furrowed my brow in confusion. All I remember was that Lloyd and I had ventured out onto the deck of the bounty while we were flying back to Steep Wisdom to 'meet up with an old friend,' according to Wu. It appeared that Wu had many old friends.
Lloyd shifted, legs caging mine as he lifted his head from my shoulder and slowly woke.
"Oh," he murmured, arms loosely wrapped around my waist. "We must've fallen asleep. Are we back already?"
"We are," Garmadon nodded, suddenly turning serious. "Let's go. Time is of the essence."
Lloyd helped me to my feet and he shot his father a confused look.
"Why do you have a camera?"
"No reason."

"This is a waste of time," Kai complained as we filed from the Bounty and gathered on the courtyard. "Shouldn't we be going to Stiix? The longer we wait, the worse it'll get."
"We need to stock up," Wu simply said, stopping in the middle of the courtyard. I glanced around. Are we just doing this now? We all standing around? Bunch o' assholes, standing in a line.
"On what?" Jay asked excitedly, bouncing on his feet. "Magic tea that'll make us invincible? Give us special powers?! Is it going to give us four arms?!"
Garmadon sent Jay an unimpressed look.
"I am within hearing range, Jay," Garmadon reminded, frowning. Jay's gaze widened in fear.
"Sorry," he squeaked.

"Sadly, no magical tea today," Wu declined as we approached the closed shop. "I had to sell the rest of the merchandise along with everything else."
"What?" Zane asked in disbelief, sending Wu a baffled look. I frowned sadly. "You sold your business? But that was for your retirement!"
Before Wu could console us, the front doors suddenly burst open and out wheeled none other than the ingenious technician that kickstarted Ninjago into the future, Cyrus Borg himself. Beside him walked a robot girl with silver hair tied back and green eyes. They immediately latched onto Zane and she gave him a small smile. Zane gave a bashful one in return. I watched the interaction with wide eyes in astonishment.
Oh my god, Zane has a crush!

"Ah! Hello again, ninja," Borg greeted with a bright smiled. I glanced to the others, who all had their hoods removed. Oh. So he knows who they are. Huh.
"While we were away, I had Borg use the money from the tea farm to create us some new toys to balance the scales," Wu explained as he and Lloyd's parents stood behind Borg while he wheeled his wheelchair closer. "They are expensive, you know."
"It's been so long, I hardly recognise any of you!" Borg said with a grin, glancing at the group before he stopped his gaze at Lloyd's hand caught in mine. "Lloyd... has a girlfriend?"
Lloyd proudly smiled before it fell.
"Wh- why do you sound so surprised?" he accused, sounding insulted. I hid a snort with my free hand.
Borg continued, ignoring Lloyd's pout. He turned his gaze to Nya.
"Nya, looking as strong as ever. Zane, Pixal has missed you dearly."

Zane nervously laughed before his voice glitched out. Borg's gaze jumped to Cole, ignoring the way Pixal had dropped her head into her hands in embarrassment. I feel you, sis.
"Cole's a- a ghost!" Borg blinked with a confused smile. Cole's brows dropped over his eyes. "Jay looks shorter and... and then there's Kai."
Jay stepped forward, frowning.
"Hey... w- what do you mean I look shorter?"
I blinked, not expecting Cyrus Borg to be so... chaotic neutral.
Ever the impatient, Kai approached Borg, ignoring Jay's complaint.
"I'm sorry, Dr. Borg, but cut to the chase?" he requested earnestly. "We don't have much time."
"Always the impatient one," Borg chuckled, unfazed at Kai's demanding tone as he wheeled back into the shop and reached out with his arm to punch a button that was around the corner. "Come, let me show you."
Just as the button was pushed, the ground beneath our feet began to rumble before lowering. We scrambled to safety, turning to watch as the sandstone circular courtyard slid away and split, being replaced with an ascending platform that held various different vehicles and weapons.

"Oh, yeah," Cole grinned, crossing his arms at the array before us. "Now we're talking."