A/N: Wow, this chapter is kinda loooong (in comparison to my usual), but I'm not sure I want to try and clip it down or anything so... enjoy the extra content? Also please review, they're really nice to read and really help brighten my day a little bit.
Review Reply:
xxXTryMeXxx: I'm glad you're excited! Also I, too, love small Lloyd torture... a little too much. Also I wouldn't exactly call Lloyd just a 'punching bag', you'll see what I mean sooner or later (as long as I do this right).
Wu walked Lloyd over to one of the few cars left in the visitor parking lot. His car was an older one, an original Toyota Celia, and Lloyd hesitated as they approached it. When they got close his eyes drifted to the trunk for a split second. Wu opened the door to the backseat and gestured for Lloyd. Lloyd crept forward, still watching Wu, and slowly crawled inside.
Wu walked over to the driver's side and opened his door, sliding inside and buckled up. A few seconds later Lloyd slowly imitated him, having quite a bit of trouble with the buckle.
The drive was short, and Lloyd spent the entire time examining the vehicle. Wu caught glimpses of him reaching out to touch something, only to draw back at the last second as his eyes flickered to Wu.
As he parked, he glanced at the gift bag his brother had asked him to deliver, torn between delivering it immediately and waiting until he thought Lloyd would actually accept it. Eventually he decided he didn't really have anything to lose, if Lloyd rejected it he could just give it to him again later. "Before we go in,"
Wu nearly flinched as Lloyd tensed, terror filling the boy's gaze.
"I have something for you. It's from your father." Wu pulled out the gift bag, setting it on the seat next to Lloyd.
Lloyd started at it dubiously, his eyes occasionally flicking to Wu before returning to the bag. He allowed his fingers to hesitantly brush the edge of the bag - eyeing Wu as they did - before snatching it onto his lap. The first thing he found was the card sticking out the top. "H-a-p-p-y" his scratchy voice was barely audible as Lloyd sounded out the word.
"Happy 10th birthday." Wu half read, half recited the cover of the card. Lloyd glanced at him for a minute before nodding skeptically and opening the card. When he began struggling on the first word inside the card Wu peered over its top and read it aloud.
Once the card had been read Lloyd started at it a long time before finally poking cautiously at the paper on top of the gift. When he slowly pulled the paper from the bag - watching Wu the entire time he did so - he stared at the contents for several minutes. Eventually he reached in and pulled out the contents one at a time, examining it and putting it back in the bag. A lego set, a king-sized candy bar, yet only the teddy bear got lingering attention. It was about 8 inches tall with a big bow around its neck, a tiny shark was held in its paws. Wu had seen a few like it back in the shark craze 9 years ago. Garmadon really had been planning this for years.
Lloyd stroked the tiny shark, letting out a soft, elated gasp before biting his lip and looking at Wu with wide, frightened eyes. He quickly shoved the bear back inside and put the paper back on top, handing it back to Wu and scrambling back. Wu gave him a confused look but pushed the gift back towards Lloyd. "It's yours."
A rapid, firm shake off the head was all he got as a response.
Wu frowned, and pulled out the teddy bear. "What about this? Will you take this?"
He hesitated a bit more, staring at the shark, but still shook his head.
The frown deepened, and Wu glanced between bear and child repeatedly. Garmadon would want to know why Lloyd had rejected his gift, and Wu would rather not openly lie to his brother, especially about things he wasn't entirely certain about himself. Turning away from Lloyd, he pulled out his pocket knife and carefully severed the thread holding the two plushies together. "What about just the shark? Please, Lloyd?"
Lloyd hesitated, for such a long time he waited, before he reached forward and cautiously took the shark, clutching it to his chest. Wu sighed with relief, at least he had something to tell his brother, he could probably avoid mention of the rest of the gift by stretching the truth a little.
"Shall we go in now?" When Wu asked the question Lloyd glanced hard at the building before nodding shakily.
As they walked in Wu could feel his little nephew shifting uncomfortably behind him. The few people inside stared openly at Lloyd, which did not help things. Shelly, a worker at this place, was the one to speak first. "Hey Wu, it's been awhile. Um, it looks like you've been tailed." She gestured to Lloyd, a look of pure disgust flashing across her face as her eyes landed on the boy.
"I would hope so, since I asked him to come with me." He gave a friendly smile.
There was tense silence. "I'm sorry, Wu, but while you have that kid with you I'm going to have to ask you to leave. And to seek counseling with some kind of psychiatrist." Shelly have him a terse smile.
"Why?"
"Well-" she looked quite flustered. "Because he's not allowed."
"And why is that?"
"Because he's the son of Garmadon!"
"And?"
She gave him a bewildered look. "... And what?"
"What has Lloyd ever done to get banned?"
"His father-"
"I'm not asking about his father, I'm inquiring as to what my nephew has done." He held Lloyd close, a form of solidarity.
Her mouth dropped open, and it wasn't the only one.
"Now, if Lloyd here has done nothing wrong, may we place our order?"
Slowly, Shelly nodded.
"What is it you want?" Wu asked gently. Lloyd only shrugged, closing his mouth and looking at the ground. "Do you like chocolate?" When the response came as another shrug, Wu ordered two chocolate cones and a small fry for them to share.
The two picked a table and sat down. Wu quickly became acutely aware of the stares and nervous glances directed their way. Their food arrived abnormally quickly.
Wu picked up one cone, pushing the other towards Lloyd when the kid hesitated. He watched Lloyd mimic his movements, eyes going wide as he cautiously tasted the treat. After a quick glance around, Lloyd curled up protectively and swiftly devoured his ice cream.
The rest of their 'meal' went rather similarly. Lloyd remained curled in his defensive pose; having discovered fries were delectable as well, he occasionally uncurled just enough to snatch a few at a time. If Wu happened to be reaching at the same time the boy would always draw back sharply. For the hundredth time since meeting Lloyd, Wu wondered just how much this city had put him through.
As they left Lloyd gave Wu a soft, genuine smile and gently grabbed the tips of Wu's fingers. He drew back the second Wu moved them the tiniest bit, but Wu simply smiled right back at him.
Once back in the car Wu debated whether or not to try something else with Lloyd. Eventually he decided "We should probably get you home, I'm sure you and your mother have plans for today."
Lloyd nodded, glancing away again and having to be reminded to put on his seatbelt (as well as how to put the device on.)
They walked into the apartment complex, and Lloyd grabbed Wu's hand again. This time Wu made certain he held it still so Lloyd's soft grip would linger. The boy's other hand was clutching the minuscule shark close to his chest. Once they made it to his hallway Lloyd stopped for a moment, letting go of Wu to remove one of his shoes...
... And place the shark inside, putting the shoe back on afterwards. Before Wu had a chance to question it Lloyd was back at his side, holding his hand with both his own tiny ones.
Wu felt Lloyd push away as Harumi opened the door and glanced between the two of them for a moment. "Wu! It's good to see you again. Please, come in!" Wu hesitated, but obliged. He didn't have any other plans, and it would be good to see some of Lloyd's home life.
The apartment began with a short hallway that led straight into the kitchen, a few doors indicated there was a little more to the tiny space. Despite the size, it was rather sparsely furnished, boxes were stacked in the corner instead of anything else. "Move here recently?"
She grabbed Lloyd's shoulder and pulled him in close, giving Wu a smile that contradicted Lloyd's tense look of poorly suppressed terror. "Oh, no. We're going to be moving out soon. My team's most recent find did rather well, so we can finally move to the suburbs like we've been wanting to."
"I see, may I ask what are your plans for your son's birthday?"
"Well, we can't go out too much, so we'll be having a nice night together, right here at home. Just like we've done in the past."
Wu nodded. "That sounds nice, I'll leave you two to that."
Harumi waved him goodbye with her free hand, using it to lock the door once Wu had left. He leaned gently against the door, not quite ready to leave as he recalled Lloyd's terror. Was it just him, or had his nephew been even more scared to be home?
After almost a minute, he finally got his answer. He heard a soft thud, and then a muffled cry of pain; all followed by a barely audible, blood-curdling scream. He tried the doorknob, but it wouldn't budge. He considered the windows, recalling the view from outside the building. This apartment had one window, was on the fifth floor, and was nowhere near any fire escape. Adding in the tiny size of the window, it would be nearly impossible for Wu to get in through there. He sat there, leaning against the door, listening helplessly; becoming more and more certain what was going on opposite the door.
When he finally drew back, he had the basics of his plan for how to deal with this. He couldn't leave Lloyd in that situation, the city was bad enough but the poor kid's own mother? How was Lloyd alive?
Wu realized exactly what the kid had been doing when he'd first meet him.
Yeah... for those of you who may have not picked it up yet Lloyd kinda was trying to jump off the building in the first chapter. Sorry for no kind of trigger warning or anything there, but it was kinda cloaked in 'small child obviously doesn't know what he's doing' so I'd hoped it would be fine (and I haven't gotten complaints yet so...)
Sorry to be annoying and repetitive, but please please review! :)
