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

of cake and party hats ((for sunny))

((sunny_town happy birthday you delightful human <3))((this is what i meant by literature purposes that one time. i went for russian roulette pronouns bc why not. enjoy mwah mwah))

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Lloyd rubs his arms up and down, breathes into his palms. The evening isn't necessarily cold, he's just really anxious. There's a small paper bag tucked under his arm, in it a duckling plushie his mom helped pick out, and a cheesy card he wrote himself.

He's a bit late, but his friends won't mind. They know he has a horrible sleep schedule, and despises social events in general. They know he tries his best regardless.

His dad had offered him a ride, but Sunny is gonna be there--being the guest of honour and all--and those two cannot cross paths until after Lloyd wins her heart.

He slips into the back alley of Chen's Noodle House, raps his knuckles on the employee entrance. They're having the party upstairs, so he texted them earlier he was on the way. Kai probably got bullied into standby duty-

The door swings open. It's the person of the hour themselves, Sunny. Holy shit.

Lloyd feels his face burn. He's 99% sure his eyes just flickered red too.

"Finally!" she grins wide, punching his shoulder. "My legs were dying. Let's go."

Their hands interlock, and Lloyd just lets his brain melt, he doesn't register his surroundings at all. It's just hand-holding, get a grip. No wait but why is it so soft and warm. It fits perfectly in mine and this should be proof enough that we're meant to be. Oh no is that creepy-

"Blondie! You made it!" Skylor cheers loudly, shattering his train of thought.

The living room is covered with streamers, and an overwhelming amount of fairy lights. A messy banner with crudely drawn stick figures hangs from above. Happy Birthday, it says with a smiley face.

"A masterpiece, am I right?" Nya laughs from where she's sprawled on the couch. "Cole did it."

"You said you wouldn't tell!"

Lloyd ignores the bickering, and carefully arranges his gift bag to sit by the other presents for Sunny. Wait, where was Sunny anyway?

He rounds the corner towards the kitchen, and there they stood, Sunny, hunched over the sink, cradling a bowl of leftover frosting, eating it with a spatula.

"What the hell," he snorts, because there's buttercream on her face.

"What? Jealous I'm not sharing?"

"No thanks, I actually value my health."

Sunny lives up to her name when she laughs. "This doesn't count. My birthday cake, my rules."

"Sure, sure."

Kai walks in, balancing an overwhelmingly large cake in his hands, and Lloyd does a double take at the amount of candles on it.

"Dude, how old do you think Sunny is?"

"Shush, young one, they just deserve the extra candles. Sunny is special like that."

"I'm pretty sure that's not how it works."

"No, no, it's definitely how it works."

Lloyd squints. "You lost count, didn't you?"

Kai laughs, and it confirms his suspicions. Lloyd helps with carrying the platter to the small coffee table in the living room, mahogany with an old physics textbook propped under one of the legs.