*Weeps* Lloyd I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry your chapter is mostly angst, I swear this is heading toward fluff, there's just. There's a lot to deal with, if he's gonna get there.
(As always, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! Gives me the strength to edit this mess.)
Lloyd hates hospitals.
It's not even because he's scared of needles (which he isn't, Kai, thanks a lot), or because he dislikes doctors, or whatever. It's not even because hospitals mean Lloyd really screwed up this time, 'cause if it's enough to land him there instead of in the medical wing of the Bounty, it's bad.
(Not that there's even a Bounty for him to end up in anymore, but…yeah.)
Lloyd hates hospitals because hospitals are lonely. They're cold and sterile and quiet and boring, and he hates them.
This has…a little bit to do with previous hospital experiences.
Not anything that recently, though this time is setting a record. But he has enough memories - scattered things from when the kids at Darkley's played a bit too rough, long nights spent pacing down the hallways and worrying over his teammates. But the only other time he's really needed to be in the hospital, he cheated and got by with tea and…some sort of magical power-sharing cure, which was really effective, to be honest, and he doesn't get why he can't just drink more tea now and be done with it.
He also despises sitting still in bed, 'cause then all he's left to do is think about stuff, and even with everyone going back and forth between him and Jay all the time, the doctors still think it's a great idea to isolate Lloyd occasionally because he needs "actual, proper sleep" or something.
Ha. Like Lloyd even knows what that is, these days. He can take another nap on Kai's shoulder later, that's been keeping him going for now.
So really, it's not Lloyd's fault that the second he's left alone, he powers off the monitor they've stuck to him and silently slips out of the room for the second time. (Okay, it's more like the sixth, but they still can't prove that he snuck out the fourth time, since Uncle Wu was the one to drag him back in.)
Lloyd adjusts the sleeves of Kai's hoodie, careful to cover his hospital bracelet. His feet are painfully bare, since he hasn't managed to swipe any shoes yet, but Lloyd can improvise for now. Peering out the doorway, Lloyd braces himself, tensing up.
Then he tears from the room like a flash, sprinting straight past the nurse on duty at the desk.
"Oh for - no, stop, not again!"
It's too late - Lloyd has already slid into the elevator, and he cackles victoriously at the nurse as the doors slide closed before she can even make a move. Punching one of the buttons, Lloyd gives a breathless laugh of triumph-
Before immediately hissing in pain, doubling over against the wall and clutching at his side.
Oh, he shouldn't have sprinted that hard, Lloyd curses himself. His side flares in agony, and Lloyd squeezes his eyes shut, willing it to stop. He's so close — he can't tear the stitches now, then he'll be stuck here forever and he'll actually die.
(He makes a quick mental reminder not to make that kind of joke in front of Kai and the others, though.)
After a few more moments of sharp pain, Lloyd gives a sigh of relief as it finally starts to ebb a bit, leaving him with an uncomfortable but bearable ache in his side. The painkillers he's supposed to be on would probably help with that, he thinks, dully. He straightens, perking up as he reminds himself — he's free! Granted, he probably can't (shouldn't) ditch the hospital entirely, or anything, but at least he isn't trapped in that stupid little room.
The elevator dings, and Lloyd grins. This is the farthest he's made it yet. Taking the elevator was a way better idea than taking the stairs.
Lloyd blinks as the doors slide open, momentarily blinded by the brightness of the room. The hospital lobby is drastically less crowded than when he'd been brought in, but he supposes that's a good thing. The windows have been un-boarded as well, light streaming in through the cold-fogged panes, illuminating the cheerful Christmas decorations put up for the kids and other visitors. Lloyd seems to be the only straggler in the lobby today, though - the only other people in the room are a bored-looking security guard and the receptionist, typing away at his computer.
Who hopefully won't bother him, Lloyd prays-
"Hey, can I help you?"
Rats. Why couldn't he have been one of those lazy receptionists, who doesn't do their job?
"Um, no - no thanks, I'm just…I'm good," Lloyd says, lamely, immediately flushing.
The receptionist narrows his eyes at him. "O-kay," he says, suspiciously, and Lloyd starts sweating. "Mind if I ask what you're doing here, then?"
"I'm, uh, visiting my friend," Lloyd says, not even sure why he's bothering to lie anymore - why's he gotta have this habit of slowly digging his own grave that much deeper? "He's uh, Jay Walker, the lightning ninja?" And here he keeps going, why- "I'm the Green Ninja, so I know him, I swear I'm not here for anything bad-"
"Woah, woah, hold on-" the receptionist is doing a violent double take, studying Lloyd for real now. "You're Lloyd Garmadon?"
"Uh….yes?" Lloyd says, awkwardly. His hair hasn't grown that much, has it? Maybe it's the eyes, they've been acting up on him lately…
Whatever. He just hopes the receptionist fixates on the fact that he's Lloyd Garmadon, local Green Ninja and son of evil incarnate, instead of Lloyd Garmadon, recently escaped patient from Room 405.
"Dude, no way," the receptionist grins. "The staff's gonna freak. So am I, actually, you guys are like - heroes, you know?"
"Um," Lloyd says, flustered. "I wouldn't call myself a-"
"I'm Jin, by the way," the receptionist says, steamrolling over Lloyd's weak protests. "Sorry for all this, but you're like - especially after you went on TV and stuff, I had chills-"
"Um, t-thanks," Lloyd says, wishing the earth would swallow him whole. It's…nice that he can inspire people like this, and he loves the people of Ninjago, but…
He just doesn't deserve it, and he doesn't get why he's the only one who seems to realize that.
(Except for Harumi, maybe, and his fath-)
That thought dies a violent death as Lloyd squashes it.
"Jin!"
A voice calls out from where Lloyd just was, saving him from answering. The receptionist straightens, abruptly shutting off his tirade as a tall, dark-haired woman in hospital scrubs strides out of the elevator. "Stop harassing people and get back to work," she frowns.
"I'm not harassing people, it's called being friendly, Tamara," Jin snarks, twirling his pencil. "Which you could stand to learn something about, by the way."
Lloyd freezes. Wait, isn't Tamara the name of the head nurse on-
"You!"
Lloyd yelps as the woman corners him, grabbing his arm before he can escape, a truly terrifying look in her eyes. "You're the one giving us so much trouble, sneaking little-"
"Bedside manner, Tamara, bedside manner."
The woman - Tamara scoffs, though her hold around his arm loosens. "You try hearing seven consecutive complaints that he's made a run for it," she says. She turns her glare on Lloyd. "Do you want to rip your stitches open and start gushing blood all over the floor?"
Jin buries his head in his hands, muttering about "sensitivity" and "stop talking so much about blood." Lloyd scowls, looking down. "No," he grumbles, trying not to sound like a petulant child.
Tamara runs a hand through her hair, looking exasperated. "Then stay in your room," she says, as she starts leading them back to the elevator. Lloyd feels uncannily like he's a bratty eight-year-old the guys are about to hang off a roof again, and he really doesn't like it.
The receptionist gives him a sympathetic look as he goes. "I'll try and score a shift on your floor," Jin whispers to him, as they pass. "I'm way chiller than Tam, I can get you into the break room and everything-"
Tamara swats Jin on the head, tugging Lloyd along. Once they're in the elevator, Lloyd tugs himself free, crossing his arms and glaring. Tamara glares back. Lloyd glares harder.
He might catch a flicker of amusement across her face, but then they get to his floor, and Lloyd suddenly has a lot more to worry about. He freezes, swallowing nervously. Nya stands in the hallway, her expression mildly murderous as she glares at him.
"Here," Tamara says, depositing Lloyd next to her. "Make sure he stays. I'll be back to check on him in a couple of hours."
"Thanks," Nya says, smiling at Tamara as she leaves. She then turns, her glare returning. "Seriously?" she says, sharply. "Again? You're better than this, Lloyd."
Lloyd looks down, shifting his feet. "Maybe I'm not," he mutters.
Nya inhales sharply in frustration. "Don't give me that — come on, Lloyd, you know you shouldn't be out, you know it's just causing trouble. Why do you keep doing this? Even Jay's not this bad, what's your problem?"
Lloyd feels his cheeks heat, his emotions walking the fine line between snapping in anger or coiling up in hurt and shutting down. But this is Nya, and she..she deserves better than that.
"I just...I can't..."
Lloyd bites his lip, eyes squeezing shut. How is he supposed to explain the awful, nervous anxiety, the itching feeling from battle that never really left? The constant, nagging need to be with his family all the time, and the warring reminder that he doesn't want to annoy them with it?
How is he…how is he supposed to explain that the hospital room five doors down from him is the most terrifying thing in the world right now?
Nya suddenly gives a soft exhale, and Lloyd feels her arm come to rest on his shoulder. "Okay," she says, quietly. "Okay. I get it. I do, really. Just…try and think about us, okay? You…you really scared us, you know."
Lloyd nods, feeling a vicious stab of guilt. He really doesn't mean to keep worrying them, and he hates himself for having caused them enough pain already. He just…he can't think straight, sometimes, and he….
He just hates hospitals.
"Hey," Nya says, her grip on his shoulder tightening. "You're not gonna be in here forever, you know? Sensei Wu said that dragon side of yours oughtta kick in soon, too." She smiles at him, and Lloyd weakly returns it.
"In the meantime," Nya continues. "I talked to the orderly, and they're gonna make you guys a joint hospital room."
"Huh?" Lloyd blinks.
Nya grins. "You and Jay are gonna be roommates until you're healed up. And the best part? We get twenty-four hour access now. So kiss your escape heists goodbye, green machine, you're never gonna be alone now."
Lloyd stares at her, registering what she's said. He and Jay are gonna share a room. They can be there all the time now, and he's got an excuse for them to be. And he won't have to worry as much about what's a couple rooms down, because he won't be alone anymore-
Unbidden, a smile edges its way up his face.
Nya's eyebrows raise. "Huh, I thought I would've gotten at least one crack about Jay being a motormouth," she muses. She squints at him. "You're good with this?"
"Oh! Um - well, yeah, Jay's gonna be - he's gonna be…talking…" Lloyd's sputtering trails off weakly. Realization sparks in Nya's eyes, and her expression softens.
"Lloyd," she says, gently. "You know we'd happily break every rule in the hospital not to leave you alone. I just thought you might want…"
Lloyd shakes his head, looking down. "Didn't wanna be annoying," he murmurs.
Nya makes a pained sound, and she slings her arm around him. "Oh, you're annoying, alright," she says, but she's got that fond look on her face, the one she uses when she's telling him sappy stuff. "But we love you. Like a barnacle you're stuck with for life."
"I'm a barnacle?" Lloyd says, trying to sound offended even as a giggle escapes him.
"The best of barnacles," Nya says. She tilts her head, looking at him again, in that way Kai and Nya have that makes Lloyd feel a little like they're x-raying him.
"You know," she says, her voice soft. "I don't - I'm not gonna force you to do anything. I'm not even gonna pretend like I think it's a great idea, or even a decent one, because I saw what he did to you, and what happened because of-"
Nya cuts off, swallowing, and her arm squeezes a little tighter around him. "But your uncle mentioned it might…it might help. Going to see Garmadon, while he's still asleep."
Lloyd stiffens, his heart rate picking up. Which is — which is ridiculous. He's past this. He made his peace with everything that happened in the past, Harumi and Kryptarium and the tower and — all that. He's over it. He isn't traumatized by it, or anything some people like to suggest.
Lloyd loves his father, just like before. Just like back before everything, when his dad was still Sensei and Lloyd could tell him anything. So he'll just…bounce back to how he was then, that's all. Easy.
"Yeah," he says, slightly angry at himself and not entirely understanding why his voice trembles. "Yeah. I'll visit him."
