*kicks door*
Hi! Not dead!
I'm not really going to give an excuse for how late this chapter has come.
Just... life happened, and this fic suffered for it. But I'm better and most importantly, back!
Chapter 2
"We're walking the tightrope
Never sure, never know how far we could fall"
Tightrope, Michelle Williams
"How is it possible that I'm taller than you and yet I get to be the little spoon?"
Lloyd's little indignant question, delivered with more humor and sleepiness than offence, sent Chen on a laughing stroke that quickly ended once he nearly choked on the blond locks. Lloyd turned his head slightly to face him, concern and amusement clear on his face.
"Because what I lack in tallness I make for in cuddles?" Chen managed to say, giving his boyfriend a lopsided grin as the other huffed.
"Okay, first" Lloyd said as he turned to face the brunet properly, their noses barely touching, "You're taller than Jay-"
"For what I've gathered, everyone is taller than Jay" Chen deadpanned.
"Not going to argue with that" the blond admitted with a chuckle, "But back to what I was saying, we're both average heights and you're only shorter than me by like, an inch" he continued on with a small eye roll.
"Well, maybe I just enjoy being the big spoon" Chen challenged, smirking, "Plus, you go to sleep way easy, so it's a piece of cake to scoop you up, Sleeping Beauty"
Lloyd opened his mouth to argue, but closed it almost immediately.
"Fair enough" he grumbled in acceptance as Chen smirked in victory.
"Yeah, yeah, savor your win" his partner mumbled with fake grumpiness, "How long did we slept anyway?" he asked.
"Hmm, about an hour? Maybe two actually" Chen guessed. He could check his phone, but he was really comfortable at the moment. Who knew that Lloyd's small bed in the Bounty was this soft?
Well… Lloyd laying on the bed with him was also a big reason not to move. Don't judge.
"Master Lloyd?" Pixal's voice sounded throughout the ship, effectively and unfortunately breaking the lazy atmosphere that had been settled.
"Yeah, Pix?" the blond lifted his head slightly, a frown quickly forming on his delicate features. Sometimes, Chen wondered how it was possible that Lloyd didn't have stress lines on his face.
"There is… something in the news that might be of concern to you and Chen" Pixal sounded apologetic and yet there was a slight tone of concern on her mechanical voice.
Both teens shared a look between them before quickly getting out of their comfortable positions, worry and some anxiety settling on Chen's stomach as he followed Lloyd towards the living room to turn on the TV.
And they froze on their spots.
"You got to be kidding me" Lloyd whispered once the news anchors revealed a photograph that contained the latest hot topic of gossip in Ninjago.
"-Despite the blurriness of the picture, it can be noticed that one of the two young men looks remarkably a lot like Lloyd Garmadon, the Green Ninja. The identity of his apparent savior, on the other hand, remains unknown, but it is also noticeable that said unknown individual wears a jacket that most say that it belongs to a sports team on Ninjago High-"
"Well…" Chen mumbled as he shared a panicked look with his boyfriend before going back to the TV, "Shit"
"Pix-"
"I've already activated the techno-brain field" Pixal announced, Lloyd letting out a breath of relief.
"Techno- what?" Chen asked, confused over what the ex-nindroid was talking about.
"It's like a force field that will prevent people from bursting into the marina looking for answers" Lloyd explained, "Gives out a redirection" he added as he sat on the couch with a sigh.
"So if someone came here with the intention of an interview, that person would get, like, an urge to go to the supermarket to buy milk?" Chen mused. The blond nodded, a small smile forming on his lips before quickly frowning.
"It won't hold them forever though" he warned while the brunet sat beside him, "We need to come up with something and fast, we can't just go out there and admit our relationship just like that"
"It still surprises me that no one has caught on" Chen admitted with some bafflement as he stared at the damn picture for a second before turning back to Lloyd, "I mean, we haven't been subtle, not even when we were just getting to know each other"
His boyfriend gave him a look. He simply rolled his eyes.
"Yeah, yeah, I know people can be pretty oblivious that you're not wearing your gi, but come on!" he gestured to the TV, "This is like, 'Superman is not Clark Kent' levels of ridiculous"
"Can't disagree" Lloyd said with a smirk, "But we really need to come up with something" he added, absentmindedly playing with his long shirt sleeves, "If they figure out it's you, they will come after you and Skylor like bugs to a light"
"Ehh" Chen made a face, "Skylor will definitely scare them away with her Femme Fatale Glare™. Trust me on that one"
"Or a slap" Lloyd muttered.
"That too"
They fell into a silence, with both of leaning on each other for comfort as they thought over the situation. Chen's eyes would occasionally flicker towards the T.V, where the anchors would still be discussing the damn picture of him and Lloyd, to his own phone, where the still intact group chat of the cheer-team was also shooting up with theories.
Everything is awesome!
Lizz
-OMG THE GREEN NINJA GOT SAVED BY ONE OF OUR OWN
Brad
-Theres like
-3 more cheer teams in NC
-How do you know its one of ours
-?
Ishida
-He kinda has a point Lizzie
Lizz
-DON'T RAIN ON MY PARADE
Touka
-Aren't we over reacting a bit?
-I mean
-Cool
-But is the sudden media attention necessary
Chen let out a small breath of relief.
"At least someone has some common sense in this city" he mumbled as he showed Lloyd the text.
"I know I haven't meet your friends but I think I like this one already" he said with a little smile. Chen laughed, sharing the opinion.
Me
I agree-
Bret
-Oh come on
-Don't tell me its intriguing to you guys
-No one even knows if it's a girl
-Or a guy
Ishida
-How about a bystander?
-Who got really lucky
-I mean to catch the Green Ninja
-Just like he was a princess
-And you get to be the hero
"like a princess'?" Lloyd's indignant yelp nearly made the brunet lose the phone, "Really?"
"Lloyd, babe, you were close to fainting in my arms" Chen couldn't help but deadpan. The hero of Ninjago childishly suck out his tongue in response as the phone rang with another notification, and Chen flinched slightly.
Skylor herself had left a message.
Bond Girl
-CHEN TRENTAMIN CHEN
-WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK
-Trentamin?
-Seriously Sy?
-AUTOCORRECT
-STILL
-WHAT THE HELL?
-YOU'RE IN THE NEWS
-They don't know its me
-For now anyway
-Because that makes me relax
-Sooooo much
-Lloyd and I are freaked out too!
-We trying to come up with something
-Like what?
-… still in progress
-Fsm
-You're lucky it was dark
-And that you can barely be seen
"Huh" Chen mumbled, staring at Skylor's comment and briefly going back to the cheer group chat, a small smirk slowly forming on his lips.
"Hmm?" Lloyd peaked over his shoulder, the brunet simply showing the two chats.
"We can play with this to our advantage" he said, his eyes flickering towards his cheer jacket, which currently laid on the floor with Meowthra happily sleeping on it.
His boyfriend stared at the phone and then followed his line of sight, a mischievous smile forming on his face.
"Are you suggesting-?"
Chen smirked.
"Yep"
Lloyd threw himself backwards, laughing.
"This is going to be hilarious"
Channel 7: Your Daily Ninjago Network, reports:
'Green Ninja seen wearing cheer team jacket'
Hello Ninjago! Speculates:
'Is the Green Ninja wearing a token of appreciation from mysterious savior?'
Rise & Shine with Gale Gossip:
'Is Lloyd Garmadon now part of a cheer squad?'
''Maybe I'm a cheerleader now' says Mr. Garmadon in rare given interview with Late Show Host Arlin Knot'
'Ex-member of cheer squad claims the Green Ninja as an honorary member' The Ninjago Post reports
Central Ninjago Network nightly reports that 'Ninjago's Cheer Squads are in a state of confusion'
CNN nightly reports now announce that 'Ninjago's Cheer Squads in state of appreciation as more members have signed in,-'
"-still in state of confusion though'" Skylor read out loud a week later with a raised eyebrow, momentarily looking up, "You two are a menace to society" she declared before returning to scrolling through her phone, but the mirth in her eyes betrayed her true emotions on the subject.
"This has been the most fun I've had with the media in years" Lloyd giggled as Chen served him a bowl of rice, its contents nearly shaking out as the brunet tried to keep his own laughter in check to avoid a spillage.
"I actually had to put the group chat in silent mode for a while, did you know?" Chen laughed as he finally took a seat next to his boyfriend, "I'm pretty sure some fainted when the picture of you wearing my jacket came out"
"As if you weren't one of them" Skylor muttered with a sly smile. Chen felt his face flush while Lloyd smirked.
"Oh, as if you didn't enjoy wearing it" the brunet quickly said to the blond, whose smirk faded into a soft smile and his own cheeks went pink, much to the teen's pleasure.
"You know I did" Lloyd mumbled, green eyes meeting his shyly.
"Get a room" Skylor muttered with a roll of her eyes. Chen and Lloyd shared a look between them before the brunet grabbed the blond's face and proceeded to kiss him senseless.
"Really? Right in front of my salad?!" Skylor's shrieked.
Chen can't help it, he stops giving Lloyd sloppy kisses and proceeds to nearly choke on his laughter. His boyfriend is no better, if the way that he's clutching his sides and the tears rolling from his eyes are any indication.
"By the FSM" his sister is now just simply looking utterly done, "That was mortifying, please don't do that ever again"
"The publicity stunt or the make out session?" Lloyd bats his eyelashes innocently at her and Chen falls a bit more in love with him right there-
-And holy shit that right there brings the train of thought to a loud crash. His eyes widened slightly before he shakes that same thought and shoves it into the back of his head for the time being- Chen was sooo not having a deep thinking of feelings at the moment, the last one had barely been a month ago when he realized he liked Lloyd as more than a friend. It was too early for him to have another one of these freak-outs damn it-
So for now, the brunet proceeds to steal one of Lloyd's fried porks while he continues to tease Skylor, who looks one step ahead from murdering him in the spot, and somehow also manages to steal back from Chen's plate as well.
(He'll think about how more deeply he cared about the dork leaning comfortably beside him later, when Lloyd was fast asleep and spooned in his arms again)
AN: Sooo thoughts? I would be glad to hear them!
Special thanks to 'TheTrickiestOne' for coming out with most of the news casts names!