There's no Such Thing as Darkness //ninjago AU// Morro x Lloyd

In The Pitch Black

Lloyd's feet was starting to hurt from all the walking his was doing today. He's the prince after all, and hadn't experienced this much physical activity for too long. Hours had past since they left Wu and the others. Drowsiness also started to set it, as the place started to get pitch black. He was surprised that Morro even knew where he was going. Well, he was raised here after all. But even so, Lloyd still couldn't wrap it around his mind. He just gently held onto Morro's hand, letting him lead him to whenever he was planning to go.

Even so, Lloyd liked holding Morro's hand, an actual excuse to do so. It was nice and rough against his soft and smooth hands. You could really tell what his hard labors must have been like to have hands like that. Working hard for everything. The blonde boy had no idea why he liked it so much. Nor why he liked being around Morro so much. Every moment he spends with him, he just seemed to feel closer to him. Someone who didn't seem to care what he thought. Someone who he could actually be himself around. Someone who would cut him some slack, something Wu would never do.

Or maybe it was something else growing Lloyd attachment to him. Something deeper. When Morro had stopped in his tracks, Lloyd automatically continued walking without thinking about it, bumping right into Morro's back. "S-sorry." Lloyd was quick to apologize.

Morro chuckled. "We're here."

"And where's here exactly?"

Morro then seemed to continue walking, but this time slowly. It appeared that the walked through a doorway, with Morro shutting a door behind them. A few more walking later, Morro had slowly lowered Lloyd onto something. It was soft, a little dusty, but soft. Lloyd rubbed his palm on whatever it was he was sitting on, and it was fluffy. Then Morro closed another door, sitting besides Lloyd. "Figured it out yet?"

Lloyd shook his head. He was a little unsure if Morro could see him or not, so he gave him a verbal reply. "No."

Lloyd could just feel the smile on Morro's face as a little chuckle came from him once again. "I'll give you a hint. We are in a building."

"I could have figured that," Lloyd turned his head, facing the direction where his hand was, like it was going to somehow make him see it. "It's soft. Is this like a sofa or something?"

"Yeah, something." Morro then pushed Lloyd down, having him lay down, catching the other boy by surprise. "This should be another hint."

Lloyd was thankful that it was dark all around because he could only imagine how red his face would be right now. Sensing Morro's body just looming over him. He wanted to move his arms and reach up to touch Morro's body, but he refrained from that. He just wanted to touch every inch of him, and appreciate the beauty of his body. "Wait, what? What are you even thinking?" Lloyd had thought to himself. "Where did those thoughts come from?"

He felt the weight shift, assume that Morro had sat back up. A sigh came from Morro. "It's my childhood bedroom. I bet it's still messy, just the way I left it. It's not like there would be anyone to clean it up anyways. I haven't been here in forever so sorry for the dustiness. I hope it's not too bad."

"No, not at all." Lloyd then inched up till his head felt, what he assumes was, a pillow. "For a place in an abandoned house like this, I wouldn't expect the bed to be so comfy . . . It is abandoned right?"

Morro went silent. Lloyd felt like he could feel the mood in the room totally shift. After a moment or two, Lloyd spoke. "I-I'm sorry, did I say something-?"

Morro looked in the general direction of Lloyd, remember the blonde boy couldn't see him anyways, then turned his head back in front of him. "No, not at all. It's just . . . It's abandoned for a reason, you know. I . . . It is true that this was my childhood home, but my parents were never around for my childhood," for some reason the darkness made Morro feel like he was more comfortable with opening up to Lloyd. "I shouldn't say 'never'. They couldn't be around. They . . . You know, aren't around anymore. They haven't been around for most of my childhood. I didn't really have anyone as a parent figure to take care of me. That's probably why I got into a bad crowd . . ."

"I'm sorry, Morro."

"Why be sorry for something you had no control over?"

"I feel sympathy for you. I may not have been around, or had any control over it, but I still care about it. I still care about you." Lloyd then panicked, hoping Morro wouldn't take that the wrong way.

Fortunately for Lloyd, he didn't even question it. "It was just me, and me alone. This place was never claimed by any sort of government agent, nor did someone else try to make this place theirs. So I kept it. Kept it to myself, for myself. I know I keep saying this, Lloyd, but I was such a bad child. I stole from people, to get food. Money. Clothing. I wish I knew back then that those people, those 'friends' of mine, I wish I knew that they were fake when they wouldn't even help me with my situation. Them out of all people."

"I know, it could be tough."

"Do you? Do you really? Cause from the looks of it, you were raised in royalty. You wouldn't last a day in my shoes. No offense, but you can't even weld a sword."

Lloyd was taken a back by Morro's sudden mood switch. "I told you, that was a branch. I'm better with a sword . . ."

"That's besides the point. You never had to struggle. You never had to fight for your position. It was just handed to you. Lucky to be born a prince. Here . . . There's no luck. Everyday was a struggle. Sure, it started to go a little up when I was recruited as a soldier, but even that was still horrible. Nothing like the guards you see around your kingdom. They get to have personality. Any ounce of humane you have here, they try to pry it out of your chest and drain every last bit of it, until it runs dry. Until it's nonexistent. Do you have any idea what it's like to be numb, Lloyd?"

Lloyd was silent, feeling a little distant from Morro now. Looks like not every moment makes them closer. Morro sighed once again, rubbing his palms over his face. "S-sorry, Lloyd . . . I just realized what I said, and see how that could have been kind of mean of me. Sometimes when I think of back then, it's just so . . ."

Lloyd spoke up, with his voice cracking up at the start. "Y-you're good. I get it. There's no need to apologize. You're right, I don't know what it's like." How could he really blame Morro? Morro had struggled through his life. Even this place seemed to reflect the struggle.

Now that Lloyd found himself tucked in the soft, cozy blankets, the drowsiness really started to kick in. His eyes started to flutter. He didn't even noticed when Morro had said something to him, and he had tapped Lloyd's shoulder, give him a sudden jolt of energy. "Hm? Huh?"

"Oh, nevermind. You must be very tired now that I think about it. A very active day for you. That's something I didn't consider . . . Go ahead, get some rest."

"What about you? You don't wanna sleep under here with me?" Lloyd had blurted out, without even realizing it.

Morro was speechless for a quick second, taken a back that Lloyd would want to lay down with him in his very own bed. Heat rose in his face for a second, trying to piece together his words. "I'll . . . I'll lay down in a little bit. Just go to sleep, Lloyd."

And go to sleep he did.