(A/N: Ninjago Secret Santa for Sam at Ninjaghoes on tumblr. It's pretty short but I hope you still like it! Merry Christmas ^^)
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"Hand me that string of lights, will you, Lloyd?" Garmadon asked his son from the top of a rather tall stepladder.
"Of course, Dad," Lloyd responded with a warm grin on his face. He then closed his eyes and concentrated intensely, making the strung-together Christmas lights on the ground next to him glow bright green and begin to float. It was a new trick he'd been working on, and he was rather proud of it.
"Ah, show-off," Garmadon teased, snatching the lights once they were within his reach. He then hung them over a nail that was sticking out of the Temple of Airjitzu. "How does this look so far?"
The green ninja backed up a good distance from the temple so he could see the whole thing at once. A strand of lights was hung evenly around the bottom floor, although they hadn't been plugged in yet. The other floors were each decked out in other kinds of holiday decor: the second floor boasted a large amount of green holly and some small plastic Christmas trees, while the third floor was wrapped in glistening gold tinsel that gleamed in the morning sun.
"It looks perfect," Lloyd said to his father, rubbing his arms together to ward off the slight chill in the air. "Now we just need to finish up and plug them in so we can go inside."
"You cold?" Garmadon laughed, moving on to the next nail in the wall. "You'll have to learn to endure all the elements, you know."
"Cold isn't an element," the ninja responded, sticking his tongue out teasingly. He may have grown up quite a bit, but inside he still had a childlike streak that was often brought out by his father.
"Yes, but ice is… and it looks like we might get some snow on top of all this frost." Garmadon looked up at the sky, which was still bathed in the purple and orange of the sunrise. Snow-filled clouds floated overhead, still deciding whether or not to release their flurries down to cover the ground.
"Alright, fair enough," Lloyd responded, shivering a little. "But I still want to get inside as soon as possible. Zane makes the best hot chocolate." A dreamy grin came onto his face at the thought of the creamy, sweet liquid that awaited him inside the house.
"I'll stick to my tea," Gamadon said as his son handed him another section of the lights, "but I might not be opposed to trying out one of Kai's sugar cookies, if he doesn't burn them."
"Don't hold your breath," Lloyd laughed.
The sensei shrugged and climbed down to plug in the lights. He smiled proudly to himself as the bright colors shone through their plastic bulbs, lighting up the area with a merry glow.
"Well, how'd I do, son? Festive enough for you?" the sensei asked, admiring the multicolored lights.
"Hmm… needs more green. I think we should start over," Lloyd teased cheerfully.
"Why you—" Garmadon started, but he laughed as he chased his son around the temple. "Get back here and show your old man some respect, ya little rebel!"
"Maybe if you had four arms, starting over wouldn't be such a tiring idea!" was the snarky response.
The two ran in circles around the large temple for several minutes until finally Garmadon cried, "All right, I'm tired. Let's head inside and tell the others the decorations are finished."
"Sounds good to me," Lloyd replied, panting for air. His breath was slightly visible in the cold. His father walked over and put a hand on his shoulder, and the two walked inside to warm up, smiling as they went.