e m e r a l d 💚 e y e s || lloyd x reader oneshots

when cupid runs out of arrows..

((in which reader is a victim of circumstance yet again (in reference to 'accidental bully') and lloyd is once again, collateral damage))

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  Now, you wouldn't go so far as to call yourself a professional athlete, but you'd like to think that you have at least some semblance of physical capabilities. You get by surviving P.E. every week, so you can't be that bad.

  The universe just loves proving people wrong.

  A soccer ball comes flying your direction, and miraculously, you manage to dribble it between your feet. Dare you say you might actually be good at it, even.

  "Pass it here!" a teammate calls to you urgently, from the other end of the field.

  You grit your teeth, swing your leg back. The ball is rolling, and it should be a clean shot straight to your teammate.

  Except your shoe goes flying when you actually attempt the kick. At least the ball reached it's target, albeit shakily so.

  Wait, fuck, where did your shoe go?

  It's soaring through the air like a low budget parody of Superman, and judging by the angle, it's set on a path towards..

  Lloyd Garmadon. Oh, for the love of--of course it had to be your crush. Of course, because why not. No wait that's not the point you're supposed to warn him-

  "WATCH OUT!"

  Lloyd whips his head, and he raises his arms like he's about to catch it. You sag in relief, thank god he noticed in time. The shoe lands perfectly in his palms..

  But he fumbles at the end. He squeezes too hard, and the damn thing goes shooting right into his face. He stumbles backwards, and slips, falling to the floor.

  You're not sure whether to cry, laugh, or panic. Maybe all of the above.

  It's all chaos, between the teacher yelling and the students taunting and Lloyd's friends shouting from the bleachers, and you zoned out for the most of it, but somehow you end up taking Lloyd to the infirmary, on teacher's orders.

  Pro: you are escorting your crush to the infirmary, alone.

  Con: you are the reason he needs to go to the infirmary.

  It's an awkward dilemma.

  "You don't have to walk with me," Lloyd mutters, head turned away. You can't see his face, but you're pretty certain he's mad.

  A very awkward dilemma.

  "I.. just, the teacher asked me to, and I feel bad. Might as well get it done with," you say, because you're selfish and can't even respect his boundaries. You're a horrible person.

  Lloyd is kind and gracious, because he nods wordlessly, letting you tag along anyway.

  You'd have preferred he say something, anything to get a hint at what he was thinking right now, but you suppose that's too greedy of you, so you zip your mouth and walk silently the rest of the way.

•••

  Lloyd is a terrible person. Maybe society was onto something after all. He might even be worse than his dad.

  He's emotionally manipulated someone into caring about him, escorting him to the nurse's office. Nevermind the fact that it's technically that same person's fault (it was an accident, he just can't catch anyway) and said person is his crush, like who does that? Taking advantage of the person you like, that's just sick. He's sick. A sicko who deserves to rot in hell.

  The least he can do is try and amend the situation.

    "You don't have to walk with me," he can feel his face scrunch pathetically as he says it, so he looks the other way.

  Lloyd braces himself for rejection. What he gets instead is 'The teacher asked me to, and I feel bad. Might as well', and he's not sure what he's done to receive that kind of answer.

  He's also selfish, because he nods right away, greedy with the spare moments he is shown generosity. Terrible person, he is.

  They're both quiet the rest of the walk, but maybe it's for the best, Lloyd thinks.

•••

  The room is empty when you arrive. For a moment you're panicking, because if there's noone to check up on Lloyd and his condition gets worse, it would be indirectly your fault, right?

  But Lloyd keeps walking, grabs a first aid kid, and flops back on the bed. Treats his bruises and scrapes like it's routine.

  "Are you.. used to doing this?" you gesture vaguely to the band-aids in his palm.

  He looks startled for a second, but shrugs it off. "Happens a lot, I just picked it up I guess."

  Oh wow, the bullying wasn't that bad, was it? Chen was a twink, no way he could beat up Lloyd that badly. Unless he got someone else to do it. You feel nausea pool at your stomache, how could you sit idly by while he went through all that?

  "I'm sorry."

  "Uh, for the shoe? It's fine, I know I suck at playing catch--"

  "No! I mean yes, that too, but," you huff, "I mean the bullying in general. Like, I never reached out. I didn't think it was, y'know, physical abuse too, but that's not a valid excuse. I should have reached out regardless of how bad it was."

  Lloyd is wide-eyed, staring at you in disbelief. "Um, nobody.. is abusing me physically. I think."

  "Huh?" that was not a response you expected. "You said this happens a lot?"

  "Oh? Oh! Well, um." he coughs, "I'm just.. clumsy?"

  Hm, that.. makes sense. He can't even throw a ball without smacking himself in the face sometimes during gym. You sigh in relief.

  "Oh, thank god. No wait, you should be more careful! And I'm still apologising for not doing anything."

  He's a bit red in the face, probably because of his injury. Is that normal? You should get him an ice pack.

  Lloyd clears his throat, "Thank you."

  "Don't mention it. Seriously, this is basic decency and respect." he looks a bit surprised at that, so you go on. "Don't thank me for doing the bare minimum. You deserve more than that."

  "..you too." he says with a thoughtful nod. "Deserve more, I mean."

  You can't help the smile tugging at your lips, "Thanks. I think we got off on the wrong foot, don't you?"

  He shakes his head, "I think it makes for a memorable.. um, memory."

  "A flying shoe to the face is memorable to you? In a good way?"

  "I'd like to see it as being struck by cupid."

  "There's a lot of things wrong with--wait, struck by cupid? " heat rushes to your cheeks. He's joking. No way does he mean that romantically. He can't be serious.

  But the fond grin on his face says otherwise.