Hey, guys!
This idea came into my brain and wouldn't leave. Luckily it was a good idea this time and the thought of Garmadon taking care of Lloyd was just too good to pass up on.
I hope you enjoy!
When Lloyd's voice had come through over the coms, Garmadon had never felt more relief in his life.
He had never heard of the remote village that Lloyd had found, but as soon as he got the coordinates he and the ninja were in Destiny's Bounty and on their way to get him.
Garmadon tried not to pace, but he couldn't help himself. The last time he had seen his son, he had been in the hands of The Overlord. There was no way that The Overlord would have been gentle with his arch enemy. Plus Lloyd had been drained of his elemental power.
He had to see his son. He had to make sure that he was okay. If anything had happened to Lloyd…
"Lloyd is strong, Brother," Wu tried to reassure, but it only helped so much. Garmadon knew that Lloyd was strong, but was he strong enough to endure everything that The Overlord had put him through?
Garmadon stayed quiet. He wasn't angry with Wu for helping The Overlord. It would be wrong of him to blame this on Wu when he had done nothing. He had been brainwashed and forced onto the side of evil. If nothing else, it would be hypocritical of Garmadon to blame Wu for what happened because Garmadon had caused the problem in the first place by giving The Overlord a body.
As soon as the Bounty landed, Garmadon jumped off the side of it and onto the hard ground below. His legs protested with a sharp jolt of pain, but he ignored it as he ran up to the closest person.
"Excuse me," he began as he stopped her. "A boy came into this village recently, do you know where I can find him? He's my son."
The girl smiled. "The large house in the middle of the village," she told him, but then her bright smile faded. "He came in looking pretty beat up. He basically washed up on the shore…"
Garmadon's heart thudded in his ears. Lloyd had been hurt. It was all his fault…
"Thank you," he said, then quickly made his way to the house. He almost burst in without knocking, but he stopped himself at the last second. He had to see Lloyd. He needed to see Lloyd.
"You must be Master Garmadon," the man who opened the door said, earning little more than a nod from Garmadon. He didn't care about the pleasantries right now. What he cared about was his son. "Lloyd speaks highly of you."
"I need to see him," Garmadon said. "I need to take him home."
The man nodded. He was young. Not much older than many of the ninja. "Of course," he said. "Follow me."
The house was beautiful with its wooden walls and stone floors. Every wall had some sort of art or family portrait. There was a fireplace against the far wall in the living room where the man's family sat, and a large enough dining hall for the entire village. But Garmadon cared very little about any of this. He only had one thing on his mind.
Finally, they arrived at a back room. Small and hidden away from the rest of the house.
"He's right through here, Master Garmadon," he said, then opened the door.
The room looked like every other room in the house. The mahogany walls, stone floors… There were even pictures of what Garmadon assumed were the man's family members hanging on the walls.
In the middle of the room, there was a bed. And in that bed was Lloyd.
Garmadon rushed up to his son. "Lloyd?" He said softly. The boy was sleeping, drained from everything The Overlord had done to him.
He gently combed his fingers through Lloyd's golden hair. It was soft and tangled and every once in a while Garmadon's fingers would accidentally catch one of the knots.
"Lloyd," he said again. "Lloyd, wake up, son."
Lloyd let out a soft whine, then rubbed at his eyes. After a moment, he opened his big green eyes. They were dull with exhaustion and pain, something that made Garmadon's chest feel crushed. "Dad?"
Garmadon smiled at him. "It's me, Lloyd," he said as he helped Lloyd sit up. "I'm here."
Lloyd looked up at Garmadon. They sat there in silence for just a couple of seconds, then he burst into tears.
"Dad, I'm so sorry," he sobbed as he clung onto Garmadon.
Garmadon froze for a second before he wrapped his arms tightly around Lloyd. The boy was burning with fever and it was clear to Garmadon that his son didn't feel well at all.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, my son," he said as he pulled Lloyd onto his lap.
"I… I should've listened to you," Lloyd told him, stuttering the words out between the uncontrollable sobs. "I-if I had just… Just trusted in the balance."
Garmadon pulled Lloyd closer and began to stroke his son's hair again. It had been so long since he had last soothed Lloyd. In fact, the last time might have been when the boy was still a baby. He still couldn't believe how big Lloyd was. Of course, there had been Tomorrow's Tea at play, but it felt like only yesterday he was still feeding Lloyd bottles and changing his diapers.
"Shhh," Garmadon soothed. "None of this was your fault, Little One."
Lloyd buried his face in the nape of Garmadon's neck, his hot tears wetting his father's robes. "My… 'sponsibility," he mumbled.
Garmadon swallowed as his stomach twisted painfully. For the past few weeks he had been telling Lloyd that his powers came with great responsibility. Of course Lloyd would feel like it was his fault when his powers had been stolen from him. It wasn't Lloyd's fault though, it was his.
"Shhhh," Garmadon soothed again as he picked up his son and stood up. There was no way that Lloyd would be able to walk to the Bounty when he needed help just standing up, and it wasn't like Garmadon wanted to let go of his son any time soon.
He needed to get him back to his monastery. It was out of the way, especially when there was still danger in New Ninjago City, but Lloyd was too weak to fight and the monastery was the only place that would have the supplies to help him.
When Garmadon walked out of the house, Lloyd let out a small mew and curled closer to him. The air was cold and the sea breeze was blowing directly at the two of them.
"You're okay," Garmadon told him as he adjusted his hold on his son. Lloyd's fever was definitely getting higher, and he assumed that the cold air was only making him feel worse. The poor boy... "I've got you."
"C-cold," Lloyd shivered, his voice weak and pitiful as he wrapped his arms around his father's neck. It reminded Garmadon of the time before he had been banished, when Lloyd was little more than a baby. "I… I wanna go home…"
Garmadon pressed a gentle kiss to the side of Lloyd's head. "I know, I know," he said. "But we're back on the Bounty now. We'll be home soon, Little One."
Lloyd looked up, then scanned the area with his fever-glazed green eyes. After a moment, Garmadon could feel his son relax against him.
It was at that moment though, that Garmadon realized why. Lloyd had been away from his home and family for so long. Even before they found out about The Digital Overlord, he had been away doing things away from the team.
"Are they here?" Lloyd asked, his voice soft under the sounds of the waves and wind.
"The ninja?" Garmadon said as he carried Lloyd into his room. He was hesitant to tell Lloyd the truth. How could he tell him that the ninja weren't around when Lloyd wanted to see them so badly?
He placed Lloyd in the bed and put the covers over him. "They were needed in New Ninjago City, Lloyd," he said, keeping his voice as gentle as possible. "The Overlord is still out there somewhere."
Lloyd sniffed, and Garmadon knew that the tears were only a few moments away.
"O-oh…" He said.
Garmadon swallowed. He didn't know what to do. He knew that Lloyd was close to the ninja, but he hadn't realized that they were that close. Now that he understood how close they were, he wished that he had brought them along, but New Ninjago City needed them. The ninja were their only hope.
Garmadon reached over and brushed a few loose hairs away from Lloyd's watery green eyes, then wiped away the tears. Oh, how he hated seeing his baby boy cry. It was like his heart was being ripped from his chest and crushed. He wanted to shelter his child from ever having any pain or heartbreak, but he was already far too late for that.
"You should rest," he said. "We'll be at the monastery in a few hours."
Lloyd nodded, then curled further into the bed. He didn't say a word, and Garmadon wondered if he didn't speak because he was that tired or if he didn't want to cry again.
"Sweet dreams, son," he said softly, then watched as Lloyd fell into a restless and fitful sleep.
Garmadon watched Lloyd for three hours, ready to jump up the moment something happened.
He watched as Lloyd would wake up from a fever dream and scream at the top of his lungs before bursting into broken wails and sobbing his little heart out.
He watched as Lloyd would reach out blindly and desperately towards an invisible entity, or throw punches and kick out like he was trying to defend himself from an enemy.
He watched as Lloyd would mumble an unintelligible string of words before falling back into the torturous prison of sleep.
He watched while his heart broke because there was nothing he could do for his poor son. Nothing that would soothe him or break his fever. There was nothing that he could do, and it killed him.
Garmadon leaned forward as Lloyd shifted. "Lloyd?" He asked softly, scared that any loud sound would send the poor boy into a panic. "Are you awake, son?"
Lloyd turned his head toward him, his eyes glassy and unfocused from the fever and filled with spilling tears.
Garmadon kneeled beside the bed so he was eye to eye with his son. He was so pale… What if it had been too much for Lloyd? What if Lloyd never returned to the boy Garmadon knew? What if…
No. Garmadon couldn't think that way. He wouldn't allow himself to. Lloyd was strong. Stronger than anyone gave the poor boy credit for. He would be fine. He just needed time to heal.
"What's wrong?" Garmadon asked as he reached out and brushed his hand through his son's sweat-damp hair. "Tell me what's wrong, Little One."
Lloyd looked at Garmadon, then held out his arms as the tears began to spill again.
Garmadon held Lloyd as he sobbed, the hot tears and dripping sweat wetting his own clothes. "Shhhh…" He soothed as he rocked the boy. It did little to help, but he wasn't sure what else to do.
He tried to remind himself that they were close to the monastery, that they would be home soon and he could get the medicine and treatment that he needed, but it was hard. It was hard to think of the reassuring thoughts when his son sobbed in his arms and burned with fever. It was hard when Garmadon couldn't help but think that his son was on the brink of death.
Lloyd reached out and grabbed a fist-full of Garmadon's hair. He didn't pull, and his grip was gentle. Garmadon wondered if his hair was an anchor for the boy, something that kept him grounded amidst all of the feverish hallucinations.
"I'm here, Lloyd," he said. "I'm right here."
Lloyd shook his head. It was a small, barely noticeable movement, but Garmadon caught it. "N-no… No." He mumbled. "Not real…"
Garmadon gently stroked the back of Lloyd's hair. "It's true," he said. "I'm not going to leave you."
Lloyd shook his head again, his eyes bloodshot as more tears cascaded from them. "Saw you… Saw you die."
Garmadon closed his eyes as he willed himself not to cry. In just a few minutes, they would be back at the monastery and everything would be fine. Lloyd would be okay. He had to be.
He just hoped that the minutes passed before Lloyd did…
"Misako! Make some Healing Tea!" Garmadon called as he ran inside with Lloyd pressed tightly to his chest.
Misako ran in, then gasped. In her hands was a pot of steaming tea and tea cups. "Lloyd!" She cried. "What happened?"
Garmadon placed Lloyd on his bed. "The Overlord drained him of his power," he said, then turned to Misako. "I fear that it might have been too much for his body to handle…"
She shook her head in disbelief. "No…" She said.
"We need the Healing Tea," he said. "It might be his only chance."
"Mom..?"
Garmadon looked down at Lloyd, then gently stroked his hair. His fever didn't feel as high, and he didn't seem to be sweating as much either. This was a good sign. It was a sign that Lloyd could pull through this. "Shhh…" He soothed. "You're okay."
Misako kneeled beside him. "Lloyd," she said, and Garmadon watched as she reached out and grabbed their son's hand. "How are you feeling?"
Lloyd reached out to Misako. "I missed you," he said.
Misako smiled, then pulled him into her arms. "I missed you too, sweetheart," she said.
Lloyd curled closer and placed his hand on her long, gray braid, something that Garmadon knew he had been doing for comfort since he was a baby. "Story?"
Garmadon smiled as Misako's grin widened and she began to tell Lloyd the story of how they met.
After a moment, he stood up and poured a cup of the Healing Tea. In the background, he could hear his wife telling Lloyd the story, and he could hear the way that Lloyd was eating up every word. Every once in a while, Lloyd would ask a question of his own, then Misako would gladly answer.
It made Garmadon's heart swell. All of his life, he had wished for this moment. Of course, he wished the circumstances were different, and he wished that Lloyd wasn't sick, but having his family back together? It made him so happy.
His nose wrinkled at the bitter smell of the tea as he put a few cubes of sugar into it. Lloyd sounded better than he had during the trip to the monastery, but he still needed the tea. He just hoped that he could actually get Lloyd to drink it…
"Well, I saved him from an Anacondrai warrior," Misako said as Garmadon walked back over. "He wasn't paying attention and it snuck up on him. Your father had been separated from his group and it was the perfect moment to strike."
Garmadon smiled, then cleared his throat. "Mind if I interrupt?" He asked. "I brought the tea."
Misako nodded. "Yeah," she said before whispering. "Good luck getting him to drink that."
Garmadon sat on the bed beside Misako and Lloyd. "Lloyd, I brought you something that will help you feel better," he said.
Lloyd sat up with Misako's help. It pained Garmadon to see his son so weak that he couldn't even sit up on his own. "Smells bad," he whined.
Garmadon chuckled at his son's whining. He wondered if his father had been through this with him and Wu. Surely he had been awful to deal with after he had been bitten by the snake…
"I know it smells," Garmadon said. "But you must drink it if you want to feel better."
Oh, he prayed to The First Spinjitzu Master that he would be able to convince his little one to drink it before he got worse…
Garmadon held the tea cup to Lloyd's lips and gently tilted the cup.
At first, Lloyd sputtered and choked on the nasty, bitter tea, but to Garmadon's relief, Lloyd managed to actually drink most of it.
Lloyd looked up at Garmadon, then held out his arms. His sleepy green eyes made Garmadon smile. Even though Lloyd's body had aged, his eyes had kept their innocent and childlike glow.
Garmadon pulled Lloyd to his chest. "Sleep, Little One," he said. "I'll be here when you wake up."
Lloyd's fever broke in the middle of the night. The hallucinations left with the fever too, as well as the nightmares.
But Garmadon stayed by his side.
He stayed by his side all night.
He stayed by his side the next morning, ready to get his son anything and everything he needed.
He stayed by his side as Lloyd took his first wobbly steps since his fever had broken.
He stayed by his side as Lloyd's powers came back, and he warned him against using them until they had returned completely.
He stayed by his side as they flew back to New Ninjago City. The Overlord was still there and the presence of the golden ninja was needing, even though Garmadon had every intention of keeping Lloyd hidden in the monastery until The Overlord was gone forever.
He turned to Lloyd. The color had returned to the boy's skin, so had the strength to his body. He was so proud of the man his son had become. His chest swelled with pride every time he looked at his son.
Garmadon placed his hand on Lloyd's back. "I'm right here, Little One," he told him. "I'm not going to let that monster hurt you again."
Lloyd looked up at his father and smiled, his eyes filled with determination and strength. "I know."
So, there you go! Some shameless Garmadon family hurt/comfort. I hope you enjoyed! Please fave and review! I would love to know what you thought!
Thanks for reading! Love y'all!