Dareth stretched out as he started to wake up from his slumber. Looking this way and that, his eyes reached the alarm clock. It was oddly turned off, not getting him up after all. Disappointed, he realized he couldn't make a nice breakfast for his newly returned lover. Getting out of the plush bed, the brunet realized the light blond was nowhere to be seen. A mystery he'd soon figure out, after he got lazy brown kimono on.
Making his way down the hall, and looking down every so often to get a kick out of the billowy fabric, Dareth made way for the kitchen. Maybe he wouldn't be too late to- but there was Garmadon already. The man still looked like he was early into his forties, rather than the early eighties of his younger brother, and actually gained facial hair. Fine, it was his eyebrows and eyelashes, but it still worked. The ex-dark lord spun around and smiled, "Good morning, Dear."
It still surprised the dojo owner how all this went, figuring his fiancé would have met his ultimate demise at the final battle… He was glad the male survived, but something felt off, maybe in the subconscious of the blonde's mind. Being overly sweet was unusual, even when the ninjas were around he was in a nonstop smiles. Dareth caught whiff of the delicious scent, "Are those… cinnamon rolls?"
"With caramel, yes," hummed the older and grasped a plate from beside the stove and turned it off. Then he put a couple on the surface and held it out to the other. "If you'd like more, I can make more for you." Garmadon got a couple for himself, then moved to sit and the kitchen table, a cute little two-chaired wooden piece.
Dareth then took a chance to sit down on the other side, touched at how nice the man was being. 'I'm so lucky, why should I care if he's being way too nice?'
They realized there wasn't much to talk about, but Garmadon took an opportunity to speak something on his own mind, "Are you okay?"
The shorter picked up the fork on the side of the plate and began poking at the cinnamon sweet, "Huh?" His head tilted as he finally looked fully at his love.
There was a deep sighing sound, "You aren't saying much… Did I do something?"
"No, I'm perfectly fine," tried Dareth as he gutted the cinnamon roll without realizing it. Maybe his hunger was postponed from the tension filling up the room awkwardly.
Garmadon gave up after trying to gain back the attention from the other. He peered down at his untouched breakfast, and then over towards Dareth. The male had stabbed and pulled apart the innocent roll, but seemed calm enough. "Am I overstaying my welcome?" It came out before he meant it to, but too late to take that back…
"What do you mean?" The brunet practically cried out, putting down the utensil, "You can stay here as long as you want!" The wedding ring upon his lightly tanned finger twinkled as his waving hands moved different ways. Then it grew solemn, "Unless… you don't want to…"
Moving his own hand that had his version of the ring on it, the man held out a hand to the other, "Come with me, and we can take this walk together..."
Not getting it, Dareth nodded and smiled softly. He took the hand in his, and allowed his body to get slightly led. A mewing stopped them, and Hinder, licking his lips from the cat food he got from Garmadon earlier, strolled over. The taller stared over at the feline's owner. The dojo owner chuckled, "You want to come, Hinder?" To Garmadon, "It's okay, he likes taking walks with me every so often."
Excited it seemed, the tortoiseshell cat rushed off in front of them and out the back door. Not caring that they were merely in full kimonos and simple sandals, the couple walked after the older kitten. Their fingers connected eagerly and they allowed the hands to swing back and forth. Dareth wanted to question where they were going, but instead realized something else, "Oh no, my hair!" It had yet to get into its usual hairstyle.
Ignoring that with a soft grin, the older insisted they keep going through the city. It was eerie since not many people had the audacity to leave their homes as of late, due to all the happenings that continued up until the end of yesterday. Even Hinder seemed to know where they were headed, and went a bit slower to allow them to go alongside him. Finally Dareth allowed his eyes to look forward and found the one place he knew he would always fear on some level. It was where the tallest tower in the area was, but was now ruins except for where it had proudly stood, which was oddly bare.
Gasping gently, the brown ninja subconsciously squeezed the hand he had in his own, "Why are we here?"
The question floated through the air, until it got its long-awaited answer, "Because I can't keep moving forward unless I get a good idea of what anyone thinks of me." His voice sounded fairly tired despite how clean and put-together he looked, "I will try to fit in among you all, but I can't feel complete without acceptance." He stared out among them, "I was the cause of so much pain and destruction, but why should anyone even think for a second that it would end there? Maybe the power is dormant in me!" His hands bunched the dark purple fabric of his kimono's sleeves.
A consoling hand was now on his sharp shoulder, "Hey, you're okay now, and I'll always love you, Garmadon. Lloyd and Wu too, but in different ways. The ninjas are getting used to you I bet." This got the attention of the purple ninja, "No matter if you look like an evil overlord or a movie star that ages like wine."
"Really? I look like a movie star?" Joking put the older, earning a look until Dareth broke and went in for a sweet kiss. After a few minutes, they felt softness around their ankles. Looking down, Hinder was purring and going around his owners, happy that they were in a good mood now. "Hm, we never did plan our wedding, did we?"
"I guess not," agreed Dareth quietly, not wiling to break their closeness.
They knew the ninjas would be coming over to Dareth's soon, so they took the opportunity to just stand there in silence. The forever-speaking dojo owner even liked it too, because they didn't need to talk to know what they liked anymore. It all right there, even though the rubble could be saying something else about the city's future completely…