Archive of Our Own ^beta

A long, sharp inhale of air, left his lungs burning. He sat bolt-upright in his bed, huffing, and looking aimlessly around the room. Searching for some kind of evidence, that what he just experienced, was definitely not from reality. When his gaze finally landed on a broken frame that sat on his nearby nightstand, he felt his eyes begin to burn at the memory. Him and his father, standing side-by-side, smiling at each other.

Suddenly feeling sick at the memory, he shakily slid off his bed, slowly marching towards the door. He walked down the halls, quietly, to avoid waking any of the others, and made his way towards the front door. He stretched his back as he yawned, opening the door and stepping out onto the wooden porch, which creaked slightly under his weight. The early morning brought a soft chill in the air, as the twinkling stars in the sky above, stared down at him with sparkling dances as they flickered. The distant, lower sky began to give a very faint glow of a pale blue, signaling the sunrise that was on its way.

With a heavy sigh, he stepped down the porch, reaching the cold concrete that sent shivers down his spine. Taking a couple steps forward, with his head hanging low, he was stopped by the heavy creaking and squeaking of the front gate, which startled him into a fighting stance. When the gate opened a bit, he was surprised to see the dark-ghosted face of his father staring back. They stood silently, watching the other in wonder for about 10 seconds before someone decided to speak.

“Lloyd?” His father questioned, raising a brow in confusion.

“Uh.. Dad? - Er.. Eh, what are you doing?” Lloyd stuttered, lowering his arms to either side of him. Raising a brow of his own.

“I went to water Christofern before sunrise.” Garmadon stated, setting a watering can beside him as he shut the gate behind him. “What are you doing awake?”

Lloyd blinked out of pure amazement that his father was still taking care of Christofern, even with the long walk. “Uh-I was just… I Wanted to see the paintings.” Lloyd said, slightly uncertain of himself. Even if that was one of the reasons he came out here, it wasn’t why he was awake.

“Mhmm…” Garmadon hummed, squinting at Lloyd with suspicion, which caused Lloyd to roll his eyes a bit, before walking over towards the wall, already eyeing some of the art. Garmadon watched Lloyd make his way towards the paintings, still questioning why he was awake to begin with. When he noticed Lloyd’s trail along the wall, stop in front of one of the paintings, he followed him, curious as to what caught his attention like that. Just as he stood off to the side, not far from Lloyd, his gaze followed Lloyd’s line of sight, landing right on a small painted man, with gray hair, and looked strikingly familiar. He looked like the man that was in that picture he saw on the Bounty a while back. The one with Lloyd.

Suddenly understanding why Lloyd stopped on that specific picture, he looked to the boy, waiting for him to say or do something, but he didn’t. Lloyd watched the picture carefully, then lifted his hand, gently touching it, like that’d make it come into reality, or feel real.

“What was he like?” Garmadon found himself asking, not sure if it was a good idea or not, especially after the flinched reaction he got from Lloyd. There was silence for a bit, and just when Garmadon thought he wasn’t going to answer, he spoke.

“He was… awesome.” Garmadon could hear the slight shake to his voice. “He was wise. Could’ve given Wu a run for his money.” Lloyd chuckled sadly. “He-” Lloyd choked, trying to calm down a little, his hand falling from the picture. “No matter which side he was on.. Or how much he struggled to be who he wanted over who he was, he always fought to protect me. He showed me that I have the freedom to be who I wanted. Be who I should be…” Lloyd stopped a moment, the shake in his hands becoming more noticeable. “The day he- When he left.. It was to protect everyone… The last- last time I saw him… He was chained, stuck in the cursed realm… He told me that he was proud and- that he’d always be with me…” Lloyd’s voice grew shakier, the waver in it, impossible to hide now. He lowered his head, turning away a bit. “If he’s always with me.. How come I feel like this is the farthest I’ve been from him?” Lloyd cried. The sudden shift in his tone from soft to rigid and broken, struck Garmadon in a way he didn’t expect.

He stepped forward, laying a hand on Lloyd’s shoulder, only to be slammed by the kid wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug. Garmadon hugged him back. “He sounded like a great man.”

Lloyd gave a subtle nod, still hugging him. “He was..” His voice broke again.

“You know… It doesn’t take an expert to know… he really cared about you.” Garmadon explained, feeling Lloyd squeeze him tighter. “And I know.. No matter what, he always will.” Garmadon squeezed back.

Time rolled by, slowly shifting to sunrise, but they didn’t care to acknowledge it. Staying where they were, for a while, not wanting the moment to end just yet.

From the sidelines, they were being watched, unknowingly. A brother, and uncle, who smiled softly at the sight before him.