Of Milk and Cookies

Mall Visit

So, I just realized I never published this chapter here, even though it's been out on ffnet for weeks... Sorry! Here yall go now! It takes place the day after Growing Up. Please enjoy.

"Lloyd?" The youth heard someone call softly, interrupting the rather pleasant dream he'd been having. He snuggled deeper into his blankets, not quite ready to be awake yet. Gah! What time was it? Sleep wasn't a magical cure all, but it definitely did help relieve the trauma of a long, emotional, day, and he wanted to keep taking advantage of that. And his bed was so comfy, too...

"Time to get up sleepy head! It's already 10:30, and we have a busy day ahead of us, remember?" Oh. Right. Shopping. And whatever else Nya had planned...

"Mkay... Fine. I'm awake. What's for breakfast?" Lloyd asked, sitting up. His older sister lurked by the side of his bed; everyone else must already be up and about. He was eternally grateful that his brothers had moved said bed somewhere free of overhanging objects to hit his head on. This was already shaping up to be a less sucky day than yesterday – though, pretty much anything would be better than that. It was so much more enjoyable to wake up without being in severe pain.

"Good morning! Looks like someone got their appetite back! That's an encouraging sign – you must be feeling better this morning, huh?" Nya said brightly. He yawned, a slight smile on his face.

"Morning. I guess so. Or, at least, I don't feel like the Ultra Dragon used me as a chew toy today. So that's good."

"Super good. I prefer my best friend when he's not being all angsty and stuff. I'll leave you to raid the guys' drawers in peace. Zane made pancakes. And bacon, so you better hurry, or there won't be any left." She told him, patting his head as she left. Hopefully, removing the pressure of ninja training for the day would help Lloyd recover from the Tomorrow's Tea incident that had occurred a few days ago. He had not handled it well – and rightfully so. Adjusting to suddenly being several years older? Not something that most people would be able to cope with without several mental breakdowns. It had been a cause of great concern for all of them, especially with how much effort it took to get him to talk about it. But, today was a new day, which meant there would be plenty of opportunities to work on getting him back to his usual upbeat self (probably a clumsier version). Nya couldn't magically make his center of balance return. That would take time, and a fair amount of hard work and focus, more than likely. She entered the kitchen, thankful to find that there was still food to be found on the table.

"So, did you successfully manage to wake our resident puppy dog, or are you here to tell us we can have more bacon?" Cole inquired, looking longingly at the platter before him.

"I should never have told you guys about that. And yes, he's awake, so you can wait until he gets in here to have seconds." She replied, snagging herself some food before making her way to her usual spot between Kai and Jay.

"How is he? Any better than yesterday?" Her brother asked.

"Well, he actually seemed interested in food, and he said he wasn't as sore today, so that's promising."

"That is promising. And I'm sure redirecting his focus to non-Green Ninja related activities for the day will also be beneficial." Zane smiled encouragingly from across the table.

"You're right, as usual. That's the power of positive thinking for you!" The master of lightning enthusiastically agreed. His parents went on and on about these kinds of things, but hey, a little optimism could go a long way.

"Not sure what we're talking about, but it's nice to see that you guys can exercise self restraint. On occasion. This stuff looks great, Zane." Lloyd wandered into the kitchen, still looking a little sleepy. The trip from the bedroom had been full of mishaps, but he miraculously managed to avoid ending up on the floor as he approached his seat. He heaped an assortment of pancakes (with so much whipping cream that Nya would have scolded him under different circumstances) and bacon onto a spare plate, incredibly relieved to find that the sight of food no longer made him want to puke. The blond was starving as a result of skipping virtually every meal the previous day.