She's the Breeze to my Cherry Blossoms

🌼𝕃𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 ℕ𝕚𝕟𝕛𝕒|𝕃𝕝𝕠𝕪𝕕

..••°°🍃°°••..

"Lloyd?" (Y/n) asked as a little figured appeared behind her. "It's late. What are you doing off bed?" She asked as she left Zanes side and walked to Lloyd, who had been silent. Once having stepped closer to him, (Y/n) noticed his green lively eyes weren't as lively. He fidgeted an awful lot with his shirt, his lips were dry, and his knees trembled. They were all too common symptoms of something (Y/n) knew too well. She had already tucked in the rest of the kids in their beds, and they were all peacefully awaiting for morning. Jay was a true challenge, and took the longest to put to bed but he was finally asleep. "Bad dream?" (Y/n) asked, just to be sure nothing else was going on. But she wasn't surprise when Lloyd nodded his head and looked down. (Y/n) squatted down to meet his watery gaze, which met her secure eyes like an anchor. "Want me to sleep over with you for a while?" (Y/n) asked. Lloyds answer was a quick nod. "Okay," Agreed, glancing back at Zane then facing Lloyd again, who's gaze remained worried. "Zane just needs some rest; don't worry about him too much Lloyd," She told him as he reached for her hand to hold. The jar of water was half empty, and Zane's fever had diminished.

Lloyd leaned his head back on his pillow, now tucked secure under the blankets. (Y/n) was right by his side, but just in case she want, he opened his sleepy eyes once in a while to check. She had set up a fire lantern to make up for a night light. Since the ninja weren't afraid of the dark there was no reason to have night lights, but on this particular occasion one was needed for sure. The lantern projected printed patterns of flowers and blossoms, all unique in design that gave off the impression of been tucked under a pile of Autumn leaves. "Miss (Y/n).." Lloyd called in the dark. (Y/n) hummed, opening her eyes and searching for his face in the mountain of blankets. She sat at the edge of the bed, knees folded whole her arms mimicked a pillow over the Lloyds bed. "Are you afraid of anything?" He asked, standing up from bed and coming  closer to seat at the edge.

(Y/n) was taken aback by the question, "I'm afraid of a lot of things," but she still answered.

"Like what?" Lloyd asked.

(Y/n) stayed silent, her eyes closing again as she thought of something to say. There were many fears she held close to her heart. There was the fear of losing the ones you love, for example, who were her family. There was the fear of been hated, or not been good enough for your family, which was the ninja team. That one was a tough one, because ninja were expected to always try their best. Which brought another fear, the fear of disappointing those expectations. People had high standards, and as heroes, and students, the ninja had to always perform at their best. "I'm afraid of spiders," (Y/n) babbled, peeking one eye open to catch Lloyd mocking grin. She rolled her eyes; She was thinking back of the Tigers Widow when she had said that, not the regular, little and adorable restroom spiders.

"Me too.." Lloyd admitted, reaching for his blanket and dragging it up to cover himself like a burrito. (Y/n) raised a brow, listening in disbelief. Sure, Lloyd was the leader. A leader shouldn't fear anything, and Lloyd, or at least the teen version of him, was pretty brave. Or at least made it seem like he was confident, sometimes even fooling his own enemies. But then (Y/n) remembered she was talking to baby Lloyd, and babies were normally afraid of everything that came their way. "The bad dream I had..was about a spider. It was big and scary. It had four legs, and everything was dark... It laughed, and it told me that someday it'll come for me....". But Lloyd wasn't normal, none of the kids inside the Destiny's Bounty were. "Miss (Y/n).." Lloyd called, turning to look at her with pink cheeks. "I don't like the dark.." He whispered, gulping down tears as his sobs begun to fill the room. "I don't want to go with it," Lloyd said, covering himself all the way to the head. (Y/n) stayed silent, her own eyes becoming watery as she sat in bed and lifted the covers to find a messy mop of blond hair, that belong to a heartbroken kid. Lloyd tugged the covers back down, the sound of his sobs returning. He had no father, and his mother wasn't with him. This version of Lloyd, (Y/n) remembered, lived in an academy for bad kids. All alone with his nightmares, Lloyd hadn't nobody to tell his worries to. If he told his friends they would laugh; if he told his teachers they'll tell him he made it up and get annoyed. So he had always choked his tears back, his insecurities and his nightmares, behind a bad boy mask. If he was bad, Lloyd figured, nobody would laugh. And if he was bad, he figured too, the shadow which haunted him at night will fear him instead.

"Lloyd," (Y/n) called him, tugging on his fortress of blankets. And when Lloyd refused to lift the blanket, (Y/n) didn't force her way in. "Do you want a hug?". That word, it held some nostalgia in it. The last time he had seen his mother, he remembered, she had giving him a hug. A hug he hadn't returned because he was mad she was leaving him at the academy. Unknowingly, Lloyds mountain of blankets fell, allowing (Y/n) to engulf him in a tight hug. It was warmer than the blankets. "You don't have to listen to the shadow Lloyd," She told him. "I know it's scary, and I can't say when it'll stop, if at all, but I can promise that it will get better," (Y/n) told him, rubbing his back and soothing his crying, until he was peacefully back asleep.