Nightmares and Abolition

Chapter 4

Nothing could help him feel even a teensy bit calm. The sound of birds were chirping, a river moving down the stream, and even the sound of people in the town nearby were reassuring. As he sat down on the ground, hiding under the shade of a tree, he pulled his hoodie over his head, trying to block out the sounds of his surroundings.

Lloyd looked down at the red bandana on his left wrist. Sometime after he started his relationship with his new boyfriend, Lloyd got his own bandana. His boyfriend had been wearing a green one on his right wrist, even before they began dating, as a sign of his loyalty and love for the green ninja. And now, Lloyd had one to show how he was loyal and loved his boyfriend in return.

The green ninja fiddled with the bandana, hoping that it could help him calm down a bit. It was odd, that he wanted to cry, for he was feeling more anxious than sad. But still, what happened wasn't something he expected.

Maybe Kai expected it, considering that he was the one who yelled and not him.

Ever since he and the fire ninja have been dating, Lloyd hadn't been happier. He felt loved and safe in their relationship, and he knew that Kai would never try to hurt him. They had been through hell throughout the years, and after the Sons of Garmadon mess, the pain that Harumi caused to him, the green ninja thought he could never feel real love again. That was, until he and Kai finally confessed their feelings for each other, and began their relationship.

And things couldn't have been better, until today.

Well, even if he wasn't directly involved with what happened, Lloyd couldn't shake it off. It still scared him, seeing his boyfriend yelling at his own parents to defend them and their relationship.

Both Kai and Lloyd were nervous about the trip to stay at Ray and Maya's for a week. While Garmadon and Misako had been accepting of their relationship, Kai's parents were another case. Mainly with Ray, for the blacksmith seemed to be uneasy with how his son was dating a boy. Maya, on the other end, she hadn't been showing any signs of being unhappy with the relationship.

But Jay and Nya's wedding had a set date, and Kai wanted his father to walk his sister down the aisle on her special day. He and Lloyd were nervous about it, but after a suggestion from Master Wu, they called up Ray and Maya, and decided to try to spend a week with the blacksmiths. Hopefully, they can bury the hatchet, or even prevent it from being drawn out in the first place.

And for the first few days, things were running smoothly. But today, things took a big change.

It was lunchtime, and today was Ray and Maya's day off. While the boys had been there to stay, Maya was able to spend time with Kai and Lloyd, but Ray had been busy with running the shop, and he seemed to be making lots of deliveries, something Maya said they hadn't done until recently. It was clear that Ray was trying to avoid Kai and Lloyd, but now that today was his day off, work couldn't excuse him from spending time with them.

Maya was in the kitchen, cooking some ramen noodles for lunch. Lloyd was in the kitchen, chopping up some vegetables and helping her.

"Need me to cut some more carrots, Mrs. Smith?" he asked her.

"That's plenty, Lloyd. Thank you for your help," said Maya.

"You're welcome. I can go make sure that the table's set," said Lloyd.

"I got it, Lloyd. You helped enough," said Kai.

The fire ninja grabbed some napkins and chopsticks and walked over to the dining room. When he stepped inside, he saw that his father was sitting down at one end. Kai stopped walking for a second. He didn't frown, but he didn't say anything to his father. Ray just stayed quiet. Ignoring his father, Kai put the chopsticks and napkins at the seats at the table.