I need help. I've been reading Ao3 a lot and got random inspiration. I honestly don't know how this will go. Good luck! Pre-Lloyd being the Green Ninja!
Jay's P.o.v.
Watching the kid, I realize he and Sensei do look pretty alike. But why didn't he mention his nephew sooner? Or take care of him? Darkley's reputation isn't exactly very good, and he can't fully put weight on one leg without falling over. Where are this kid's parents?
"No! Put me down! I don't want to go with you!" He starts, pulling me from my thoughts.
"Lloyd, you are coming with us whether you like it or not," Sensei says gently. "We just want to help."
"Put me back! I will never go with you! I'll make you regret this!" He half screams. Sensei ignores him and begins walking home. Kai, Zane, and I share a look before scrambling after them. Sensei's holding Lloyd against his chest so that Lloyd can see over Sensei's shoulder. He pouts and looks down. I walk behind them as the others fall into step next to them. Tears leak from Lloyd's eyes as he avoids looking at me. I sped up a bit and give him a weak smile. He turns his head away. I sigh. If only Cole was here. He's really good at comforting people. This kid is gonna be a challenge.
-------Timeskip-------
Kai's P.o.v.
I groan awake to a soft sniffling. Curse me and my light sleeping. I expect it to be Cole, he threw up today after a dizzy spell. Must be a side effect of being hypnotized. The look of confusion on his face was kinda funny when we explained Lloyd would be staying with us. But I'm shocked when it's not. Not Zane or Jay, either. Glancing over to the side, I see Lloyd on the makeshift bed we made for the night. He's curled up in a ball with his back to us, but with the way his shoulders are shaking, I can evaluate the noise is coming from him. I hesitate. Part of me wants to leave him alone, but the other side of me wants to comfort and cuddle him. I glance at my bed. With a sigh, I grab one of my old stuffed animals from my nightstand. I put it there for decoration, and because Nya would be able to have a part of me comfort her if she wanted without waking me up. I creep across the room and kneel on the mattress.
"Lloyd?" I whisper. He stiffens.
"G-Go away."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing!"
"Bull." I pull him onto my lap, where he struggles against me. I shove the stuffed animal in his hands. "Shh, shh. Don't wake the others. They might not like that."
"Doesn't matter. They don't like me anyway." He mumbles into my shirt, voice slightly muffled.
"Why do you think that?" I ask calmly.
"B-Because. Y-You all s-said that I w-was causing p-problems." He whimpers.
"No, honey. We never said that. Are you sure you weren't dreaming?"
"I... don't know anymore."
"Exactly." He's finally stopped struggling and slumped against me. I rock him slightly. He sniffles and hides his face in my pajama top. I rub his back gently as he starts crying again. "Do you want me to stay with you tonight?"
"Mhm," He nods.
"Okay," I whisper. He lets me lie down and places himself next to my arm. I cuddle him gently. He holds my middle as he rests his head against my chest. He slowly falls asleep as I study his face. Huh. Zane was right when he said people look younger when they are asleep. I close my eyes, vowing to take care of this in the morning.
-------Timeskip-------
Jay's P.o.v.
I hear a soft noise and I roll over. I see Kai laying on the makeshift bed, with Lloyd holding onto him, a stuffed animal trapped between them. I smirk. Should have known Kai would end up cuddling him. The kids' had a rough childhood, and Kai has the strongest parental instinct I have ever come across. Must be from raising Nya. I glance over at Cole and see him cuddling his spare pillow. Zane has his back facing me, but he's still asleep. I turn back to Kai and watch how he holds Lloyd.
"You can come over. I know you're watching me, Jay." I jump when Kai speaks. Blushing slightly at being caught, I walk over. Kai rolls onto his side, keeping Lloyd's head on his chest.
"Can you hand me my phone? I wanna see what time it is." I hand him his phone from his nightstand. "Ugh, almost seven. I don't want to have to wake Lloyd so I can train. He couldn't sleep at all last night. Woke up almost every two hours." Kai says, helping pull the blankets off Lloyd when he kicks at them.
"Let me see what I can do," I say, hurrying out the door. I find Sensei sipping his tea at the table.
"Hey, Sensei? Can we cancel training today? Cole's not really feeling well. I think he needs more sleep. We all do. Besides, we can't exactly train without our team leader."
He watches me carefully.
"Very well. You may inform your brothers about the change in plans." He says. I beam.
"Thanks!"
I walk back down the hall. When I get back to the room, Zane is awake and quietly making his bed. He just got up then.
"Morning, Zane. Hey, Kai." I say cheerfully. "No training today."
"I thought it was scheduled for today," Zane says.
"It was. But I told Sensei that we all needed more sleep. And that Cole wasn't feeling very good." Zane gives me a curious look.
"Isn't that lying?"
"Not if we all really do need some sleep. Besides, Cole really doesn't feel good. He's usually the first one up, and he did throw up." I say. Cole makes a weird sound as he shifts, accenting my point.
"Whatever," Kai says. "Grab me a pillow, will ya? I wanna sit up."
I grab the pillows off his bed and walk over to him. He holds my arm and pulls himself forward a bit. I place the pillows under his back and he relaxes.
"Thanks," He sighs. "My back hasn't cramped like this since Nya was younger and still scared of thunderstorms."
Lloyd lets out a soft whine and adjusts himself on Kai's chest. He's almost completely on top of Kai, one leg dangling off to the side. I sit next to Kai, leaning on his arm as Zane pulls off his pajama shirt.
"Mmm. I know why Lloyd seems so comfortable. You're so warm." I say, relaxing against him.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He pushes me away. Zane walks over and puts his hand on my shoulder. I glance up and see he's dressed. Lloyd whimpers, starting to cry, but still asleep.
"Hey, hey. It's okay," Kai soothes automatically. "You're fine." Lloyd stops whimpering but wakes up. Kai rubs his back and gives him a gentle smile.
"Kai?"
"Hey, bud. I'm still here. Did you sleep well?"
"Mhm. What time is it?"
"Almost eight. Why?" Lloyd's happy expression turns into a scared one, like the flip of a switch.
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you miss training! Please don't yell at me!" He pleads, scrambling away.
"Wha-? Why would I yell at you? You had a nightmare and I comforted you. It's perfectly normal." Kai says, pulling him back. I move to the other side of them and cuddle them both. Zane strokes Lloyd's hair. He calms down slowly.
"Lloyd?" I ask. He turns and looks at me. "We aren't mad. Trust me. Besides, we don't have training today anymore. Cole's not feeling good, and today would have worked on his ability to give us clear directions, and our ability to follow them with different obstacles. Like we might be blindfolded or something."
Lloyd pulls out of Kai's grip and reaches out for me. I pick him up and he rests his head on my shoulder. I gently stroke his hair and he smiles a little.
"Would you all like pancakes this morning?" Zane asks. We nod in agreement.
"What about you, Lloyd? Do pancakes sound good?"
"Yes, please." He says timidly.
When Zane gets us for breakfast, I carry him out. He's very cuddly. He would get along with Cole just fine. He sits on my lap as we eat. He leans against me, content. Zane tells me to go sit with Cole, and Lloyd comes with me. I carry Lloyd, stopping by the bathroom to help him clean up. When we finally get to Cole, he's awake.
"Hey. How 'ya doing?" I ask.
"Mmm," He groans. I smile and sit next to him.
"Can I cuddle with you?" Lloyd asks timidly. Cole nods. A huge smile forms on Lloyd's face and he scurries to his side. Cole reaches for me and I lay down too. We fall asleep to Lloyd's grinning face, for once not having a nightmare.
Y'all, this felt like polyninja shipping. I don't know anymore. I think it was supposed to be plasma. Oh well. Also! I am starting a new book! Hidden Scars! It's gonna be Jay angst, have a LOT of trigger warnings, and Greenwisp. (No joke, I took actual notes on the trigger warnings. Like, actual pages.) Hopefully it will be up soon! See you on the flip side!