Chapter Text
Nya didn’t hate the kid. Sure, he had released the serpentine tribes, almost basically killed Jay’s parents, and was an overall nuisance but he really was not the evil maniacal villain he portrayed himself as. It didn’t really matter to Nya that he was the son of Garmadon – the dark lord that kidnapped her and wanted to rule the world – but if they were judging by bloodline then he was also Sensei Wu’s nephew. If Sensei Wu was so insistent on keeping the stray, then maybe he wasn’t that bad.
FSM, he still made it hard for Nya to hold onto that hope. The immediate day after they rescued Lloyd from Darkley’s rooftop he decided to make it everyone’s problem. How, you might ask? With relentless pranks.
Buckets filled with water or mud on top of doorways (How did he reach up there anyway? Where did he get mud?), salt and sugar switched, a singular red sock conveniently placed in a load of whites, rubber snakes waiting to pop out of anywhere, bits of fabric in beds that looked like bugs. All of it would be followed by exaggerated ‘evil’ laughter and scampering steps.
The only person unaffected by Lloyd’s rampages was Sensei Wu, he was afraid his uncle would deem the kid a lost cause and throw him to the wayside. Everyone else was fair game. If it was just the ninja facing his wrath, Nya would laugh and go about her day. It suddenly became less funny when she was on the receiving end.
He primarily did his set up either in the dead of night or while the ninja were out on missions, so Nya wasn’t too worried about encountering pranks or the pipsqueak during her Samurai X planning time. He stayed out of her way and she stayed out of his.
That was until today.
She was carrying a box of supplies back to her makeshift lab in the underbelly of the Destiny’s Bounty. Scraps she’d claimed were for ship repairs but were actually for her secret project.
Everything was going as usual until she took one step down the stairs and slipped. Nya screamed as the box flew out of her hands, the contents spilling all over the place as she tumbled down the stairs. Her crash landing was less than graceful. Aside from a cut on her hand from her failed attempt to grab the railing and a lot of bruises, she was fine. Upon landing, she got to feel exactly what caused her fall. Soapy water poured onto the steps.
Oh yeah, she knew exactly who to blame for this. After all, the culprit was standing just barely around the corner.
To her surprise, instead of glee or maliciousness, the little blond boy looked mortified. His guilty expression didn’t do anything to warm the cold glare she aimed at the brat. She did note that this was the first time he’d ever looked remorseful about one of his pranks. Was it because she’d gotten hurt? She followed his line of sight to her cut hand, dripping blood onto the floor.
She sighed, standing up. Lloyd took that as his opportunity to make a run for it, his thumping footsteps disappearing down the hall followed by the slap of a door. The brat had run to his makeshift room to hide from Nya’s impending rage.
Luckily for him, she was too focused on the equipment. Most of it was intact with a few bits of scrap shattering during the tumble. She gathered up the remains and placed them back in the box.
She’d need to clean up the floor before the others got back.
She expected Lloyd to show his face again at some point, at least during dinner or when Sensei Wu came back from whatever errand he had going on that day. However, the little demon child refused to leave his room. Any attempt to reason with him led to screams to go away and leave him alone.
“I swear to the First Spinjitsu Master, I’m gonna break that door down.” Kai ranted as he sat down at the table. Sensei Wu had thanked Zane for the meal and taken it to eat in his room while he re-read scrolls about the serpentine. It was just Nya and the ninja at the dinner table that night.
“You know why we can’t do that, Kai.” Cole crossed his arms, “Sensei Wu would probably train us until we couldn’t move. Kids need privacy.”
Jay scoffed, “Yeah, right. We all sleep in the same room, minus Nya, and he already trains us like that anyway.”
“Still, breaking any possibility of privacy would most definitely cause Lloyd emotional distress.” Zane said, which Cole added on to.
“Which he’d then take out on us.”
That seemed to shut everyone up. They were already victims of his pranks, who knows how much worse they’d get if they actively aggravated him.
Though, Nya thought back to his expression when he saw she got hurt. She doubted he’d do anything that he knew would cause actual physical harm to them. Everyone had a limit, she supposed.
“Nya, I forgot to ask.” Zane moved on, “You have a cut on your hand, are you alright?”
Everyone’s attention turned on Nya, Kai’s eyebrow raising while Jay looked horrified.
“I swear, if that little brat–” Kai started before Nya quickly shut him down.
“No!” She said a little too quickly, “I just slipped and fell down the stairs. I was carrying some stuff so I couldn’t see where I was placing my feet.”
“Holy crap, Nya are you sure you’re ok?” Cole asked. He was always so caring when it came to the others’ well beings.
“Yes, I promise, I’m fine. It’s just a little cut.”
That seemed to reassure Jay, Cole, and Zane, but Kai looked unconvinced. She shot him a glare to try anything and he backed down. He may be her older brother, but she could probably beat him in a physical fight.
Scampering footsteps didn’t escape her as the others talked about today’s mission.
When Nya went to put her dishes away, she couldn’t help but notice the plate they’d reserved was missing from the counter.
Sneaky She thought to herself.
As was the case with many nights, Nya couldn’t sleep. Even as a kid, she’d always had trouble falling asleep. Poor Kai spent so many nights trying every method he could think of to get her to fall asleep, only to give up and leave her be. When Sensei Wu had learned of her problem, he recommended tea. They did help soothe her, but it never seemed to be enough to sleep soundly.
It absolutely didn’t help that just a few rooms down she could hear Cole’s obnoxious snoring.
She sighed, getting up and leaving her room. Even though it wouldn’t do all the work, some tea sounded nice. Looking at a nearby clock, she could see it was nearly midnight, meaning everyone would be asleep.
Well, almost everyone.
When she stepped outside of her room, she was met with an odd sight. A rock? A rock over a note written in the poor handwriting of a child.
Sorry for your hand.
There was no extra detail and no direct way to see who it was from. Judging from the handwriting alone however, she knew who it was from. Was this why Lloyd didn’t come to dinner? Because he felt bad and didn’t know how to apologize? Even though this apology was very bare bones, it was still something. She didn’t even know sorry was a part of his vocabulary. The rock was also very pretty.
It was jagged like it had just been picked up off the ground. It was a pale white with a little shine under the moonlight. She didn’t have much knowledge on rocks, but it seemed like a piece of quartz. If she showed it to Zane, he could probably tell her every detail about it. He seemed to just have an encyclopedic knowledge of almost everything, like his brain was connected to the internet or something.
“Oof–!” Her train of thought was interrupted by the sound of socks against wood flooring and the thud of something falling. Nya ran around the corner to see a small figure in a black hoodie and pants laying on the floor like he had just tripped. Correction; he did trip. His head shot towards Nya, his wide eyes literally glowing in the dark.
Despite being overall as threatening as an overactive puppy, Lloyd sometimes had an uncanny quality. It was mostly his eyes. They were a seemingly indescribable colour that changed in different lighting. Sometimes they’d look bright red like Lord Garmadon’s, other times they’d be a deep, natural hazel colour, and other – extremely rare – times they’d be as green as a vibrant spring forest.
Nya looked at the note and the rock, then back at the runt in front of her. His gaze fell on the rock, then back to Nya as if trying to gauge her reaction.
She sighed and held out her free hand. He took a second and for a moment she thought he might take it, before he swatted it away and got up on his own.
“Can’t sleep?” She asked.
Lloyd crossed his arms and turned his head with a scowl, choosing silence.
It was too late in the night to deal with his bullcrap. Honestly, she didn’t know why she said what she said next.
“Well, neither can I. I’m going to the kitchen to make some tea, if you want some.” She walked away, expecting him to stick his tongue out and run back to his room to sulk or whatever he did. Instead, to her surprise, after some hesitation he followed her.
She flicked on the light and saw a dirty dish in the sink. That definitely wasn’t there before. Nya couldn’t help but smirk to herself as she turned on the heat. She glanced down at the rock, putting it in her pocket for safe keeping and reaching to the higher shelf to get some chamomile and honey.
“What’s that?” Lloyd asked. His voice was a little too loud for how late it was, but whatever. He was a kid, of course he’d have some poor volume control.
“Chamomile. It’s supposed to help you sleep, but it doesn’t really work for me.”
“Then why do you drink it?”
Nya shrugged, “It still helps cool my nerves.”
He seemed to ponder that. Nya had to stifle a laugh when she saw his face of deep concentration, like he was trying to sort out a puzzle.
“Girls are so weird.”
“Maybe to you.” She snickered, “Boys are gross.”
“No–!” He argued loud enough for Nya to shush him. He quickly deflated and returned to deep thought.
Their awkward silence was saved by the tea boiling. Nya filled two tea cups, then put about one spoonful of honey in both. She thought back to the brat’s affinity to sweets and decided to add another spoonful.
She wordlessly passed it across the counter to Lloyd, who now had his hood up as if trying to hide his face. She took the quartz out of her pocket and played with it a bit in her fingers. Lloyd seemed to have forgotten all about his tea as he was intently watching her fingers dance around the rock.
“I have to ask, why a rock?”
He shriveled into himself, sinking deeper into his already oversized hoodie. He couldn’t meet her eyes as he loudly spoke.
“I know it’s stupid! If you don’t want it, give it back.”
“Woah, woah.” She shushed him again, “I never said it was stupid.”
“No, but you think it’s stupid.” Despite trying to hide his face, she could see his bottom lip quivering as if he was holding back tears. His hands gripping and picking at seams of his sweater
She had to admit, her heart shattered a bit. She may not like the kid much, but most people would crumple at a sad child. Not a tantrum like the few times the ninja had enough of his nonsense and would scold or manhandle him, not his angry scowl that would emerge anytime things didn’t go his way, but actual sadness and fear of rejection.
“I don’t think it’s stupid, I promise. It’s a very pretty rock.” She explained. He sniffled, still not meeting her gaze, “I’m just a bit… confused.”
She was relieved to see Lloyd relax, waiting for her to continue.
“Why?” He seemed to think for a bit, shrugging. That wasn’t a very good answer so after a stretch of silence he answered.
“Well, if I got hurt because of someone, I’d want them to apologize. But you guys hate me, so I thought about how to make it more genuine and remembered that people get happy when they get gifts so…” His words fell apart as he tried to explain his reasoning.
Was that… Was Lloyd Garmadon expressing empathy? Sure, it was a very roundabout and matter of fact way of explaining it, but that was empathy.
“I told you, it’s stupid.”
“Hey.” Nya reached over and put a firm, yet kind hand on his shoulder. He looked up, their eyes finally meeting, “I just said it’s not stupid.”
She paused for a moment, Lloyd still looking unconvinced, “I forgive you.”
“Really?” His eyes lit up, his usually slit pupils dilating and expanding. He probably wasn’t expecting her to forgive him, he probably thought she was going to yell or get more angry. It made her realize how little positive reinforcement they had given the kid.
Granted, up until this point he hadn’t done a lot to earn positive reinforcement, but she thought back to what he said.
But you guys hate me.
Was that a fact? Yes, Nya had to admit it. Hate was a strong word, but it perfectly described how they had been acting towards him up to that point. The only person fond of the rascal was Sensei Wu and he was his uncle. It just wasn’t the same. Still, for a kid to not only recognize but seem so casual about being surrounded by people who didn’t like him made Nya upset. He stated it like a fact of life, not the soul crushing existence it was.
“Really.” She nodded, “And, for what it’s worth, I don’t hate you.”
Lloyd looked down, thinking with deep concentration. Nya couldn’t help the feeling of bubbling fondness when she saw his face scrunch up. It was, dare she say, incredibly endearing.
Without another word, Lloyd finished his tea, hopping off the stool and running out of the kitchen. No thank you. What did she expect?
“Goodnight.” She called out. The kid stopped dead in his tracks, fumbling with his sweater’s seams.
“Goodnight.” He echoed, still refusing to look at Nya. He seemed to notice his mistake and quickly added, “Thanks for the tea.”
She couldn’t help but smile as he ran down the halls and into his room.
Progress.
If she didn’t know the context, Nya would be pissed off at a rock appearing in her tea. Sensei Wu didn’t keep coffee in the Bounty, so matcha would have to do. She took a sip and almost immediately realized something was wrong. She couldn’t quite pinpoint what exactly, but something felt off.
When the others weren’t looking, she dumped out the tea in the sink only to hear a thunk and see a rock fall out. She picked it up, quickly rinsing it before turning to Lloyd.
Lloyd’s attention was on his breakfast, picking at it while making sheepish glances towards Nya. When his eyes caught the glint of the new rock he bit his cheek, waiting for Nya’s response. She sighed, shaking her head, but still unable to erase the fond smile.
No one else had noticed.
And so, rocks became a frequent find around Nya. They were all different shapes and sizes, some were shiny while others were dull and worn, most were shades of brown, gray, or silver. Some were rough and jagged while others were so smooth, Nya thought they’d make excellent skipping stones. Not that she’d ever do that, not with these ones.
Every time, she’d see a pair of hopeful eyes watching to gauge her reaction.
“Nya.” Jay glanced over her shoulder as she was looking at the newest rock in her growing collection, “I didn’t know you collected rocks.”
Nya shook her head, “I don’t.”
That seemed to puzzle the lightning ninja. He looked between her and the rock, trying to form the question likely plaguing his mind. Why keep them then? Honestly, Nya didn’t really know herself. She’d thought about dumping them, getting rid of them in secret before they started to clutter her space, but then she’d remember that night. She’d remember sitting at the counter with the annoying, bratty, demon child that was Lloyd Garmadon, who – just for a moment – seemed like any other normal kid.
Plus, she’d rather get rocks than pranks.
Her first test drive as Samurai X was a huge success! Not only had everything worked as planned, she managed to beat away the serpentine and save the ninja. That gitty feeling followed her into the evening. For the first time, it wasn’t the ninja saving her, but Nya saving them.
She did feel bad about having to leave Lloyd, after that fateful night, they had started getting more comfortable around each other. Whenever he wasn’t forming his next ‘evil’ scheme, Lloyd would shadow her, following her around like a duckling. Granted, his presence made it hard for her to work on Samurai X, but she began appreciating his company.
At first, they’d just do their own thing in silence. Nya working on blueprints while Lloyd drew on some scrap paper, Nya talking to the ninja over the comms while Lloyd read Jay’s comics (which Nya was ninety percent sure he stole without asking permission), and Nya doing some tech building or upgrading while Lloyd quietly watched.
“What does that do?” He’d ask. His tone was blunt but she could see him brimming with genuine curiosity out of the corner of her eye. Nya explained what each part did. Was that a bad idea considering he was the son of the enemy and had a history of pranks? Maybe, but something in her told her he wouldn’t do anything malicious.
He even gave ideas. Most were a bit outlandish and clearly thought up in the mind of a child, like missiles all over the place that would spawn out of nowhere, but other ideas actually inspired Nya.
He didn’t need to know he was partially responsible for some of Samurai X’s designs.
After Nya had saved the boys, she paused, looking out over the environment. A toxic swamp, now here’s somewhere Lloyd’s probably never been, which means rocks he’s probably never seen.
She did a quick scan before finding a small cut of olivine. The bright green color reminded her of his eyes in the sunlight (though, the rock was a bit dull compared to his eyes.)
Satisfied, she flew back to the Bounty.
“Hey, Lloyd.” She stopped him after dinner. Zane and Jay were washing dishes in the kitchen, still laughing about the snake prank Lloyd pulled on Cole. Meanwhile, Cole took the honors of helping a very high Kai back to their room so he could sleep off the venomari venom.
It was a slow process, but she could tell the ninja were finally starting to warm up to the kid.
He turned around, tilting his head, “Yeah?”
Nya dug into her pocket and held out the olivine, “I noticed this while we were in the swamp and thought you might like it.”
Like it he did. His eyes lit up at the sight of the stone, grabbing it from her hands before holding it with incredible delicacy. She swore she saw his slit pupils expand like a cat’s. Adorable. Nya crossed her arms and smiled.
After examining the stone, he smiled up at Nya. It was a sight she’d gotten to see a few times at this point, but FSM did it hit every time. Not the devious, mildly sadistic grin when his pranks went perfectly according to plan, nor his usual smug smirk. It was a shy, warm smile that rounded his face and lit up a room.
Nya felt honored that she got to experience it before the ninja.
“Thanks, Nya.” He said, running off to his room. He then stopped and turned to her with wide eyes, “Do you wanna see my rock collection?”
The question seemed to surprise both of them. Lloyd fidgeted anxiously, awaiting inevitable rejection. Nya followed him, ruffling his hair.
“Sure.”
Nya didn’t usually go to the storage closet turned bedroom. It was like Cole said all that time ago, kids need privacy. He didn’t barge into her space, so she wouldn’t barge into his.
It was pretty bare bones as far as rooms went. There was a futon on the ground, a window, and a box to store stuff. Not that he had much to store, in fact, Nya only just now realized she’d only ever seen Lloyd wear his one outfit. Sensei Wu definitely made sure to wash it, but while it was being washed Lloyd would always hide away in his room.
Note to self, go shopping to get Lloyd new clothes.
She expected him to go to the box, but instead he lifted his futon, pushing it aside and then prying off one of the ship’s floorboards. Underneath was a whole treasure trove of goodies. Snacks that had gone missing that everyone assumed Cole ate, Jay’s missing comics, a bunch of random nicknacks with no rhyme or reason, and a pile of rocks. Nya was honestly impressed, this kid was full of surprises and secrets.
Just like her.
Nya knelt down next to Lloyd, examining all the stuff in his – for lack of a better term – hoard. He gingerly placed the olivine away from the rest of the rock pile. When he noticed Nya’s raised eyebrow he explained.
“It’s the first rock I’ve gotten as a gift. It’s special.”
She nodded, picking up one of the comics. Despite being trapped under a floorboard and in the grubby hands of a kid, the pages were well maintained. No stains or creases. It was as if they were brand new.
“That one’s my favourite.” He sat crisscrossed.
Nya put the comic back in its place, then turned to Lloyd resolutely.
“Hey, why don’t we go shopping, just the two of us.”
Lloyd shrunk in on himself, clearly unsure. She needed to sweeten the deal.
“We could go to the comic book store and get you some of your own comics so you don’t have to steal from Jay, we could also buy you some new clothes to wear while your current ones are in the wash.” She explained, trying not to overwhelm the kid, “And, while we’re out, we could also get ice cream and check out a crystal shop.”
“People sell rocks?” He tilted his head, utterly baffled by the idea. Nya laughed.
“Mhm, some people think they have magic powers, others just think they look nice.”
“Huh.” Lloyd seemed to genuinely be considering it. He thought in deep concentration, as he always did, before nodding. “Ok!”
He then looked back at his hoard, “Please don’t tell uncle Wu or the ninja.”
She looked at the pile, then nodded resolutely. She mimed zipping her lips shut and throwing away the key.
“I promise, I won’t tell.”
He smiled wide, “Ok, then I promise not to tell them you’re Samurai X.”
Her eyes widened. He knew? How long had he known? Instead of giving her an answer, he just copied her mime with a cheeky grin.
Sneaky.