For the new year, I promised I'd be a little more ambitious. In hindsight, I've found that's not really my style, so I thought I'd try my hand at writing something more ambitious than my usual tastes.

And oooh boy, I have disasters lined up for this concept. It probably won't be a long fic; just a short story. Definitely nothing too complicated by any means (something I'm not proud of, but I'm more than sure this won't be the worst thing I've ever written)

So, let's see how this goes!

Being highly skilled kick-butt warriors had its perks every now and then; whether that was being offered free food- though Zane always insisted they pay, gaining fame by the minute or being able to catch a breakfast thief before they caught on to the fact that they were being watched. Every skill certainly helped the ninja to the best of their ability.

It was around the time of day where the morning went from hollow to ridiculous at an alarming rate, which everyone had grown accustomed to. Really, there was no concern hovering around the bloodcurdling scream that echoed in places that shouldn't even have been possible. Just your normal Tuesday on the floating temple.

"It was YOU!"

The culprit had yet to respond, having had a near heart attack. The recovery, however, was quite quick.

"Jay, it's a freaking BAGEL!"

"MY blueberry bagels! That you have eaten EVERY DAY for the past WEEK!"

With the usual argument over food, no one paid too much attention to the noise, except for the deemed peace-maker of the group. Having experienced the scare of his life a few weeks prior, Lloyd wearily trudged into the kitchen, anxious about the shouting.

"You guys okay?"

"No!" Jay huffed, snatching the bagel out of Kai's hands. "This little thief has been devouring my precious bagels without permission."

"So if I ask, then I can have one?"

"NO!"

Lloyd blinked away his tiredness, accepting that sleep would most likely be impossible for the day. Had he known that getting his teammates back only for the endless arguments to continue, it was possible he would have tried to appreciate the quiet their absence brought.

But deep down, he was faintly amused, a feeling he missed.

"You're going to wake everyone up over a bagel, Jay?" the Green Ninja asked.

"Absolutely. Look at this savage!" Jay said, glaring at Kai and hugging his bagel close. "He didn't even put cream cheese on it."

"Whatever," Kai grumbled, with a classic roll of his eyes. "Good morning to you too."

Before the annoyed fire master could walk away, Lloyd hastily gripped his arm, greeting him with a friendly smile.

"Next time, just don't touch them, kay?"

Kai shrugged, pulling free, leaving Lloyd with Jay.

"Can we have, like, a peaceful morning?"

Jay snorted, patting Lloyd on the shoulder before he too left.

Not even seconds later, Cole walked into the kitchen, ignoring Lloyd's glance, and opened the fridge, pulling out a blueberry bagel.

"Kai was right. These are good."

Lloyd was too tired to care. He watched on, resting his head on his hand as he sat, while the rest of the temple began to wake up.

The days since their recent victory over the Sons of Garmadon, including Garmadon himself, were long since becoming dry and bare. Truly, he was happy his family remained safe and well enough to fight on, but it was growing to be quite tiring, having to keep Ninjago from collapsing again. While his teammates would often bicker and occupy themselves with harmless jokes or games, Lloyd was the one that would have to make frequent trips to the city, in order to maintain a level of peace for the citizens.

Not that he minded going while his friends stayed. It was mainly his process of coping with the events that had taken place. Stopping petty crimes gave him a sense of control that he longed for, and also allowed him to release some built-up anxiety. Tired as he may be, Lloyd still wanted to be responsible, even though his friends were choosing to be far from that.

It was nearing eight o'clock by the time Lloyd decided to get ready to leave. Zane had just strolled into the kitchen, getting ready to prepare a meal, and even though Lloyd had his heart set on escaping for a bit, he knew it was likely possible that the Nindroid could get him to stay longer than necessary. Especially on this specific day.

"Good morning, Lloyd," Zane greeted his friend, already beginning to dig around the pantries for ingredients.

"Hey, Zane," Lloyd smiled, standing to leave.

"Departing so soon?"

"Heh, yeah. Probably should get to it as soon as possible, don't you think?"

"Without proper nutrition?"

Lloyd grinned, turning back around to grab an orange out of the fridge. He held it up, raising his eyebrows. "Better?"

Zane cocked his head, curiously. "I... suppose. When will you return?"

"Hopefully before dinner..." Lloyd said, feeling guilty at Zane's disappointed tone. Least to say that he did want to have fun every once in a while, but his mood after fighting his father tended to ruin silly moments. One time Cole was jokingly holding him in a headlock and Lloyd responded by flipping Cole over his shoulder and slamming him into the ground. Another instance involved Kai creeping up on the Green Ninja only to get punched in the face.

Not that all of his fun-busting involved physical contact. His friends could be joking around during training and he'd bitterly remind them to focus. He didn't mean to do it, honestly. It just sometimes frustrated him that they were so... carefree and... happy, ever since defeating Garmadon.

"Then perhaps you'd like to stay for breakfast," Zane inquired, knowingly, "I'm sure the others would like to see more of you before you set out for the day."

And there was more inevitable guilt. Zane knew what everyone else didn't, and that would be that Lloyd was sort of avoiding his friends. Sure, he loved the whole bunch and was overjoyed that they were alive. For the most part, he could handle their antics, save for a few incidents. But it happened often or not where he'd remember how bad it had felt to lose them -something that he thought was his fault- or his father's evil grin throughout the whole thing. He even tended to think of Mystake from time to time... along with a white-haired girl. It was too soon to forget the trauma, and when it came back to haunt him, Lloyd preferred to be away from his mended family.

"I think I'm good," the boy said, though he was already roped into staying from the start.

Zane curiously looked up from his stack of ingredients, sensing this.

Lloyd sighed.

"I guess I can leave afterward."

"Delightful," Zane smiled, victoriously. "I will prepare your favorite."

Apparently, Lloyd's favorite breakfast was chocolate chip pancakes, golden all throughout and perfectly shaped; a fact Lloyd hadn't even known until he tasted it.

"These are better than the blueberry, Zane," Nya commented, reading Lloyd's thoughts.

"Considering Lloyd's always had an eye for sweet foods, I assumed these would be proper."

"You assumed right," Lloyd confirmed, with a half-grin plastered on his face. He reached for the milk, looking to pour a glass.

"Then I certainly hope that this has made your birthday significantly better, my friend."

The reactions around the table varied, starting with Cole choking on his food and Jay spitting out a concerning amount of milk. Surprised, Lloyd accidently dropped the milk, biting his lip as he watched it run everywhere, while Kai threw his head back, cackling.

"FIRST SPINJITZU MASTER, IT'S HIS BIRTHDAY!" Jay screamed, coming to the realization himself.

"Napkins," Lloyd said nervously, ignoring Jay's words. "Does anyone have any-"

"I'll get them," Nya said sympathetically. "It's just a spill, Lloyd. It'll be fine."

Still, Lloyd shot Zane an apologetic look. Considering that businesses were still recovering from Garmadon's rule, it was rather difficult to get groceries. They had to make their food last. And that was the last of the milk.

"As Nya said," Zane assured him, "it will be fine."

"Still..." Lloyd muttered.

"Zane," Cole hissed, recovering from his coughing fit. "Why didn't you tell us sooner?"

"There was no need. Lloyd was not born until 8:38, according to Misako. It is 8:39. Now it is his day of birth."

Cole facepalmed, whilst Jay stood energetically.

"I had a good feeling about today!" He exclaimed. "This is great! Now we can celebrate!"

Here came the fun-busting. Lloyd rubbed his neck nervously, brushing a few stray blond hairs out of his eyes.

"Actually, Jay, I'm going down to the city for the day. Just to check up on things."

"Again?" Kai asked.

Nya rushed back in with the napkins, handing a few to Lloyd. He immediately pushed all the plates away from the spill, wiping up as much as he could.

"I've been going every day."

"Yeah, but... on your birthday?" Cole added. "That's kinda depressing, Lloyd."

"Listen, guys," Lloyd sighed. "It's a nice thought that you all want to do something, but lately, I haven't been in the mood to do the whole birthday thing. So... just... treat it like any normal day."

Having used up the last of his napkins, Lloyd looked up from the mess, only to be met with five pairs of serious eyes.

"Guys, c'mon," He chuckled at their sincerity. "It's fine."

"What kind of friends would we be if we didn't celebrate your birthday, Lloyd!" Jay said. "Remember what we did for Cole's? We practically bought Skylor's whole restaurant!"

"I'm not that hungry," Lloyd deadpanned.

"We'll do something that you want to do, Lloyd," Nya offered, kindly.

"I don't really want to do anything..."

"And what about cake!" Cole exclaimed.

"We had pancakes!"

The ninja team wasn't having it. For as prickly as Lloyd was, his friends proved to be more determined. Not to say Lloyd wasn't going to give up a calm, somewhat normal day just yet. But, knowing his friends, they were going to make things very difficult.

"Look, people, I have a job. I can't put it on hold just so we can slack off. That's final."

And with that in mind, Lloyd left the table, aiming to go back to his room to prepare for the day. He was certain that wasn't the end of the issue by any means, but at least he had stood his ground. Now to make it out without them stopping him.

The ninja stared after their brother, realizing, not for the first time, that Lloyd Garmadon had done much more than mature. No, lately he hadn't just hit a level of maturity. He hit maturity and then threw it off a cliff. None of them had expected their baby brother to be so uncool after returning to Ninjago, but it was clear that such a fight had taken a toll on him.

"And you called me the party pooper?" Cole tried to joke. Jay scoffed.

"Screw what he says. I say we don't just celebrate but celebrate the right way." Jay claimed, crossing his arms stubbornly.

"And what's the right way?" Nya asked.

"Obviously, he's been having a hard time coping. So, to help him forget all the bad stuff, we're going to make this the best day ever."

It was best not to mess with Jay when he had a plan, even though all of them knew for a fact that Jay's plans were usually dysfunctional in some way. Dealing with their semi-depressed little brother by treating him to a day off seemed innocent enough, however.

"There's just one problem, Jay..." Cole said, ruining Jay's triumphant mood. "What does Lloyd like to do?"