Okay wow, it's been awhile, huh? Sorry bout that – real life has been super rough lately and I've been battling severe writer's block... But I'm back now with the latest installment of Of Milk and Cookies! I will admit there's a bit of a time skip here, but this is where inspiration finally took me, so I'm happy with it! I may someday go back and cover the final battle from s2 in The Little Things, but for now we're jumping to several days after it occurs.
Ren: Thank you SO much for that super sweet review – I've been having a rough time and it really made my day! My characterization for Lloyd and Nya is something I work on tirelessly, so I'm super glad you like it! Hope you're doing well and enjoy this one, too!
ColdWaterChicken: Ahhh I'm so glad you liked the hug scene! I don't write for Zane very much, so it's wonderful to hear that someone appreciates it : )
And now, sit back, relax, and enjoy this very random family beach day!
"This feels… weird…" Lloyd commented absently, digging his toes into the sand. Kai gave his brother an odd look.
"The sand feels weird?"
"No. This. Being here, at the beach to relax without the threat of an evil warlord bent on world domination looming over us?" he explained, tilting his face toward the sun and enjoying its warmth. Nya slung an arm around his shoulders.
"After everything you've been through, you've earned it, Lloyd. Taking today to chill and have fun is exactly what you need! And just look how happy your dad is." she told him, watching as the former villain helped his wife spread out a picnic blanket not far away. The sound of laughter floated over to them. Lloyd grinned.
"I wasn't sure, at first. If they were gonna figure stuff out. You know?" he admitted hesitantly, "But they've both been really great about it so far."
Kai gave his hair a ruffle and said, "I'm really happy for you, green bean."
"Me too," Nya agreed, "now let's get over there and join the others before Cole completely buries Jay."
"Yeah, that's probably a good idea." Lloyd noted with a laugh. The two ninja in question were throwing sand at each other with gusto. The buckets they had brought for sand castles had been long forgotten. He followed Kai and Nya as they approached them, ignoring his slight limp. The lingering effects of his injuries made it difficult to completely forget the events leading up to this moment, but he was happy to put the memories out of his mind for now.
"Do I even want to know what's happening right now? I thought you were gonna make a scale model of the city." asked Nya as she ducked a wayward clump of wet sand. Jay gave her a look that clearly meant save me.
"We were. But dirt clod over here decided it'd be funny to bury me instead…" he complained.
"So I know this looks bad but-" Cole began to protest before Kai interrupted him.
"Nah, I can definitely see the appeal in torturing Jay."
"Hey!" the master of lightning glared at Kai, "not helping."
"Listen. You know those pictures where people bury their legs in sand and make it look like they have mermaid tails and stuff? I was just thinking it'd be funny to take one of those and send it to Zane." Cole explained, resisting the urge to toss more sand at his best friend. They had all been a bit disappointed that their nindroid brother couldn't wouldn't be joining them til later in the day, but they understood his desire to spend as much time as possible with his father. There was no way of knowing how much longer they had. Lloyd's eyes lit up.
"Oh, that does sound like fun!"
"Okay but I don't see why I have to be the mermaid," Jay said, giving Cole a dirty look, "Nya's like, way prettier."
"Um… thank you?" she replied. Her cheeks flushed slightly at his awkward compliment.
"Well, I mean, your hair could almost pass for red in this light." Cole offered.
"And you did grow up in a junkyard. I'm sure you do have whozits and whatzits galore lying around." Nya added.
"And thingamabobs. He's definitely got at least twenty of those." Lloyd joined in with glee.
"But who cares. No big deal. He wants mooore." Kai began to sing. He wasn't going to pass up this opportunity to mess with Jay.
"Jay wants to be where the people are. Jay wants to see, wants to see them dancing," the others joined in loudly and more than a little off key, "Walkin' around on those, Whad'ya call 'em?"
"Oh, feet!" Nya practically shouted. Jay shook his head in resignation. His family had become far too invested in this for his liking.
"O-okay fine. I'll do it. But only if you stop singing about me like that."
"Thanks for being such a good sport, buddy." Cole told him, slapping his back. He sighed and then plopped himself down on a particularly nice-looking patch of sand.
"Well, might as well get comfortable, I guess. I expect to look fabulous by the time this is over." the master of lightning joked, already scooping up whatever sand was within arm's reach.
"Oh, don't worry. You will." his girlfriend promised. Lloyd nodded enthusiastically.
"We got you covered." he declared before grabbing a bucket and wandering off in search of seashells to decorate with. This beach was much nicer than the one on the island. He hadn't enjoyed that experience very much; it had been gloomy and cold and had quite honestly been full of traumatizing experiences. But here there was sun, and warmth and pretty shells, and sea glass that had washed up with the tide. It was peaceful. Lloyd found himself wishing they'd done this sooner. His parents probably weren't going to appreciate all his newfound treasures, though. Most of the things he'd put in his bucket were not going to be donated to Jay's new look. He smiled with delight, spotting another sand dollar to add to his collection.
"Yo, Lloyd, get your butt over here." the Green Ninja heard Kai shouting in the distance. He pocketed it and trotted back to the others. They had managed to completely bury Jay's legs while he was gone and now Cole was carving a scaly design into the sand-tail.
"Oh, yes. These will work great!" Nya exclaimed, rooting through his Lloyd's bucket. He snatched away some of his more precious finds before she could claim them for Jay.
"Betcha I could help you make a lanyard with one of these pieces of sea glass later, if you want? I saw a tutorial on Ninterest that looked cool." she offered. Lloyd considered this for a moment. It would make a nice gift for his mother – a peace offering to show that he was doing his best to let go of their rocky past.
"Sure, that'd be neat." he agreed.
"Okay, you two. Show me the goods. I get full veto power on anything that isn't mermaidy enough." Jay told them, doing his best to hold still so he wouldn't disturb the sand piled on his legs.
"Is that even a word?" Kai wondered. The master of lightning gave him a look.
"It is now. I'm a mermaid so I would know."
Nya rolled her eyes and held up one of the shells she'd snagged from Lloyd.
"Whaddya think, Ariel, is this one a keeper?" she asked her boyfriend. He examined it carefully.
"Ooh yeah, I like it." he replied.
"What about…" Lloyd took his time choosing another shell, "This one? "
"Nah, that one has a piece chipped off, see? Mermaid princesses don't wear chipped shells."
"More for me, then." Lloyd shrugged, happy to return the shell to his collection. They cycled through more shells and eventually they began to run out of places to put them.
"Please tell me that was the last of them? If we add any more shells, Jay's gonna start looking tacky." said Cole.
"It is. Unless you wanna fight Lloyd to the death for his 'favorites' or something." Nya assured him.
"I just think they're cool, okay?" Lloyd defended, pulling the bucket closer.
"How about we take that picture, now." Kai suggested gently. Jay nodded in agreement. He was starting to lose feeling in his feet.
"Please. As fun as this has been, I can't hold still much longer."
They called Garmadon, who wisely refrained from asking questions, over to take the picture for them on Cole's phone. He waited patiently as they arranged themselves so that everyone was visible, the sight of his son so happy making it all worthwhile. Once everyone was in position (which was an adventure in itself), they smiled brightly while the former warlord snapped several pictures.
"Thank you," Cole said as he took his phone back from Garmadon and flipped through the images, "guys! These are gold!"
The others crowded around so they could see too. Nya turned to Jay, who was still half buried, and offered her hands.
"Want some help up?" she asked.
"Sure," he grinned, wanting to see himself in all his mermaid glory before Cole sent the picture to Zane. The master of lightning grabbed his girlfriend's hands and prepared to be launched from his sandy prison. Unfortunately for both of them, Nya yanked a bit too hard. They both ended up sprawled on the sand, prompting Cole to take even more pictures. Kai and Lloyd snickered as the two struggled to disentangle themselves.
"You better not post those on Chirp." Nya muttered. The master of earth shrugged in a way that made it clear he planned to do exactly that the first chance he got.
"Alright, lemme see." Jay demanded once he was back on his feet. Cole tossed him his phone. He smiled broadly when he saw the results of his mermaidy suffering.
"Oh, yes. I can't wait to see Zane's reaction to this."
"I don't know about the rest of you, but I could do with a bit less sand covering my entire body. I'm gonna go rinse off." Nya declared, heading for the water. Lloyd watched absently as she, Jay, and Cole raced towards the waves after sending Zane a copy of their shenanigans. Kai stood next to him. He didn't seem interested in joining the others.
"You're not gonna go swimming?" Lloyd asked.
"Nah. Water's not really my thing. And besides. You look like you've got something on your mind." Kai told him.
"I'm just… wondering what happens next, that's all." Lloyd explained. Kai regarded him carefully for a moment before responding. There were a lot of unknowns now that the world was beginning to return to normal. But that didn't mean Lloyd should be stressing out about the future. So Kai settled for something simple.
"You get to be a kid, Lloyd. You go home and find a good hiding place for all that stuff you've got in your bucket. You spend time with your parents and stay up way too late reading comic books," his brother cracked a grin at this, "Maybe even get Nya to help you with your multiplication tables so you can stop counting on your fingers – don't think I haven't noticed that. But at the end of the day, whatever you decide, it's your choice. I know eventually Master Wu will have stuff for you to do, but in the meantime? Just be a kid, okay? You deserve that much."
"O-okay. I think I can do that." Lloyd decided. He hadn't exactly gotten to just be a kid lately. It sounded… nice.
"Good." Kai told him, ruffling his hair.
"Thanks." he replied, giving the older boy a hug. Returning it, Kai said, "It's what big brothers do, green bean."
They stood there in silence for a few minutes, just enjoying the peacefulness of the afternoon. The sound of Nya screeching as Jay dunked her could be heard in the distance, bringing them back to reality.
"You sure you don't wanna go in the water?" Lloyd broke the silence.
"Would… would you believe me if I told you I can't swim?" Kai admitted, looking sheepish. Lloyd stared at him for a moment, trying to figure out if he was lying.
"You do realize you were the first to suggest swimming back to ninjago when we got stuck on the island, right?" he said at last.
"I… yes that is true…" the master of fire stated. Lloyd smacked him.
"Dude, you need serious help. You could've died." he exclaimed.
Kai held up his hands in surrender.
"I know, I know. Getting myself killed would've been a dumb move."
"The dumbest," Lloyd agreed, dragging him towards the water, "but you're at least gonna come put your feet in. And we are so revisiting this later."
"Okay, but I take no responsibility for any splashing that might happen as a result of your pestering." joked Kai, giving in to Lloyd's demands with little protest. After all, the sun was bright and the water was cool, and in this moment, the world was at peace. Whatever the future held could wait.
Thank you so much to everyone who has continued to read my stories and support me through everything! I hope you enjoyed the randomness of mermaid-Jay (and the rest of the story of course)! As always, feel free to leave a review if you have feedback or suggestions, or even if you just want to say hi! Please stay safe and have a wonderful spring!
~Gwen