(Week 5 – 8)
The crying did not stop. Harumi eventually found out that Lumi likes to wake up in the middle of the night just to drink milk. Her ears were starting to ring from all the noise she was making, like an alarm clock that refused to shut up until you're awake.
"How long are we going to be like this, sweetie?" Harumi asked through her yawning as she fed the baby in her arms. She rubbed her eyes and glanced at the clock. "It's 4 in the morning, Lu."
The baby cooed in response but continued drinking her milk, her light green eyes staring back at her mother. Harumi sighed and melted at the sight.
"Alright, alright. I can't resist my adorable baby, now could I?" She spoke with a smile spread across her face, stroking Lumi's cheeks as she did.
Lloyd's sleeping figure started twisting and turning from her left which reminded her of everything that had happened in the last few days. She was starting to wonder how they were still able to sleep in the same room.
With Lumi growing every day, it was hard for the two not to argue about certain things. They would fight at least twice a-day over the simplest things, much to Lumi's dismay, and often ignore each other in the process. There was one time Lloyd woke up the baby—which Harumi spent hours trying to put down—and failed to take responsibility for it.
"What do I do, Lumi?" Harumi sighed and asked her daughter for advice. "I'm tired and I know he is too. But that shouldn't get in the way of us taking care of you properly."
The baby didn't respond—Harumi didn't really expect her to—instead she yawned and brought her mitten covered hands to her eyes.
Harumi smiled and began humming a lullaby she loved when she was a kid. The song brought back memories of her real mother singing in the living room of their small apartment while her father twirled her around.
"Dad, you're making me dizzy!" A little girl exclaimed as her father spun her around, her mother singing a song in the background.
"Princesses need to know how to dance, sweetheart." Her father twirled her around once more.
She sniffed and brought a hand to wipe her eyes as she finished the song. Harumi often wondered what her parents thought of her right now, holding their granddaughter at such a young age, they must be very disappointed. But some part of heart told her that they would be happy to help her out, maybe even teach her a thing or two about being a good parent.
Lumi finally went to sleep and gave her mom the chance to get some rest as well. As far as babies go, they're not always adorable.
🍼🍼🍼🍼🍼🍼
The first time they finally got a day off was when Misako and Wu decided to look after Lumi. For a whole 24 hours, Lloyd and Harumi took advantage of the day by taking a nap for the first half—given that there was a good few feet of space between them while they slept—to regain all the hours of sleep they lost to their daughter's crying.
For the rest of the day, the ninja had decided to help them out.
"You need to relax. Loosen up a bit." Kai said using a persuasive tone, his hands massaging Lloyd's shoulders. "You deserve it."
"But what about—."
"No buts. You will sit and relax."
The ninja had prepared a small picnic outside the walls of the monastery. On the grass was a large blanket and a picnic basket that was filled with everything that they could find inside their kitchen.
"So, are we gonna talk about it?" Cole tested, taking a sip of the soda in his hand, a smirk appearing on his face from behind the bottle.
Lloyd raised an eyebrow, taking in his own drink too. "Talk about what?"
Cole went straight to the point, ignoring all the glares he got from Nya and Pixal.
"How Lumi was made."
The words made Lloyd spit out his drink and Harumi choke on some dumplings she was eating. They turned to each other for a moment, a deep blush on their faces, before looking away to avoid eye contact.
Harumi was the first to speak up. Clearing her throat in the process. "Definitely not." She shook her head and looked down, her voice was giving her away.
"Why would you want to know about that anyways?" Lloyd was starting to fan himself, his eyes wide and his voice shaky as he spoke. Was it getting hot in here?
"It couldn't have happened in the bounty. We were all there, surely we would have heard something." Kai pointed out, shoving a cookie in his mouth once he finished.
Jay dug into the cooler to find a new snack. "And we were stuck in the first realm during Garmadon's reign. Did anything happen during that time?" Jay's question was directed to everyone—much to Lloyd and Harumi's dismay—waiting for an answer as he ate.
"Not that I can recall." Pixal pondered, making the pair nervous, and tried to remember a time which made her suspicious.
"Then when was it?" Cole urged after hearing everyone's inputs, his patience wearing out.
Their eyes met again. With a small nod, and a smirk on their faces, they knew they agreed on one thing.
"Not telling." Lloyd stated.
Groans and complaints echoed throughout the monastery while the pair shared a good laugh, one they haven't had in a while.
🍼🍼🍼🍼🍼🍼
"Where are you going?"
Lloyd stopped in his tracks and turned around to find Misako and Master Wu standing behind him, arms crossed with a stern look on their faces.
He took the time to study their reactions before stating, "Patrol?" with an innocent grin on his face.
"I don't think so, young man." Misako scoffed and narrowed her eyes at him. "Harumi has been taking care of your daughter all night. It's your turn."
"But—the city—."
"The other ninja have it under control. You have different responsibilities now." Master Wu explained, making Lloyd give them both a look of disbelief.
He couldn't believe it. Not once in his life could he recall being held back from patrolling—given how often Ninjago City was in danger—it was quite the shock he was given a break. Knowing better than to protest against his mother and uncle, Lloyd complied and went to his room.
He was greeted by the baby laying in the middle of his bed, kicking her feet and waving her arms around. "Hey, Lumi!" He smiled and sat by her side.
Harumi was asleep beside her, her back facing him, and Lloyd decided to let her get the rest that she deserved. Taking the baby in his arms, he made his way out of the room and into the courtyard to give the baby some sunlight.
"You have green eyes." Lloyd pointed out once he caught sight of the baby's face. She cooed in response, making the boy chuckle. "Yet you look like your mom."
The mention of Harumi brought back the previous arguments they've had the past few days. He knows things haven't been smooth sailing between them like he promised and Lloyd was determined to change that.
"What do you say you and I surprise your mommy when she wakes up." He didn't expect a response, but it seemed better than talking to himself.
For the rest of the afternoon, Lloyd and Lumi—but mostly Lloyd—prepared a little something for Harumi. He knew it wouldn't make up for everything but it was the least he could do. Lumi fell asleep halfway through his preparations, making Lloyd bring her back into their room, which gave him the opportunity to go outside.
After disabling the bracelet on Harumi's ankle, he definitely did not want any mishaps with the police, so he left the monastery and headed for Ninjago City.
It was made clear by his family—and the court—that he must not reveal that he has a child. Respecting their wishes, along with his reputation, Lloyd made a quick trip to a local store in Ninjago city alone.
"Green Ninja! What brings you here?" The shopkeeper asked with enthusiasm upon seeing him enter the door, making a little bell jingle from the top of the frame.
"Do you have these?" He held up his phone to show the person behind the register what he wanted.
The cashier took a good look at the photograph before a smile formed on their face. "I have some in the back."
By the time he arrived at the monastery, Harumi was awake and changing Lumi's diapers. She looked up at him when he entered their room, a pout on her face, and threw a towel at him.
"Where have you been?! I've been looking all over for you." She snapped as Lloyd caught the towel with his free hand. "Your mother and Master Wu told me you weren't allowed to patrol. I hope you didn't sneak out to ignore your responsibilities." Harumi crossed her arms.
Lloyd placed the towel on the edge of the bed as he approached her. "I didn't."
"Then where were you?! I—."
She immediately stopped talking when Lloyd pulled out a bouquet of her favorite flowers. Pink Carnations. Her eyes widened, a gasp escaping her lips, as she brought her hands to cover her mouth.
"How did you—?"
"I know things haven't been going well between us, given how often we've been fighting, so Lumi and I decided to make something for you." He smiled as he placed the flowers in her hands to grab something from under the bed. "Here."
It was a small book with a jade green cover. Harumi set down the flowers on the bed to take a good look at it. On the front page, was the photo they took the day Lloyd won over the case in the court, on the next, was Lumi's information (which also included her hand and footprints).
"It's a baby book. You can keep track of her developments there, pictures, and everything else that you want to put there." Lloyd smiled as he watched her admire the book. What he didn't expect was for her to throw herself at him.
Thank goodness for his fast reflexes, otherwise he wouldn't have caught her. Harumi wrapped her arms around his neck and brought him in for a tight hug.
"Thank you." She muttered against his shoulder, burying her face there to stop the tears from falling out of her eyes.
Lloyd hugged her back, taking advantage of the opportunity. "You're welcome, Rumi." His arms wrapped around her waist and they stayed like that for a good minute. "I got a little something for our girl too."
He pulled away from her hug for just a second to go outside and grab something from a bag he left by the door. When he reentered the room, a small set of colorful, tiny keys were in his hands.
Lloyd shook them over Lumi's eyes and the baby immediately reached out to try and grab them.
He chuckled and set it down on her stomach and turned back to Harumi. "Are you crying?" He opened his arms and engulfed her in another hug.
"No!" Harumi defended but refused to part with him so he wouldn't see the tears in her eyes. "Just, emotional, that's all. Probably a result of my pregnancy."
But Lloyd wasn't buying it. He pulled away and placed his hands on her shoulders to get a good look of her face. Hot tears fell from her eyes and Lloyd immediately caught it with his hand, wiping it away before it fell any further.
"It's okay to cry. There's nothing wrong with that." He chuckled and continued wiping her tears.
"It's just all been too much lately, I don't know what I'd do without you."
It was then he realized that they both never talked about the situation they're in, or at least not properly. It was long overdue and he knew they couldn't always act like everything was alright.
"I need you too. We both do." Lloyd glanced at the baby on the bed—who was rolled on her side and facing them—making Harumi turn her head to check on her too. "We're a team, Rumi. Despite our age, I know we're both capable of doing this."
Harumi nodded and wiped her eyes, sniffing as she did. "Yeah...we are." She smiled and wrapped her arms around him again.
Lumi started crying—making both their heads turn to face her—and Harumi went to pick her up.
"Pixal taught me about the different cries she has. And I think our little girl wants some hugs too." Harumi giggled and brought the baby closer.
Lloyd wrapped his arms around Harumi's waist from behind, his chin resting on her shoulder as he helped support the baby with his hands. A deep blush formed on Harumi's cheeks, making her turn her head the other way.
"Is this better, Lu?" He asked his daughter. He was fully aware of what he was doing to Harumi right now but made no efforts to stop it.
The crying stopped and she eventually went back to sleep. The pair met eyes, a soft smile on both their faces, because they knew things were going to change from here on out.