Five Times Wu Trusted His Team

5. Smile

I had to take some creative liberties with this chapter, so you'll just have to ignore some of the random stuff I mention. This is literally just a conversation between Wu and his mother (who I named Caliah). The background really doesn't matter, so don't sweat it too much. I'm not all that confident about this one, also, so don't judge to harshly.

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"You're growing into quite the fine young warrior, Wu."

It was late, Wu was tired but alive, and his mother was pleased with him. He'd just returned from fighting off a band of serpentine single-handedly, having been forced to get creative and use several unorthodox weapons, including but not limited to a carrot stolen from a nearby vendor, a metal sewer grating, and several heavy roof shingles.

"Thanks." Wu planted a light kiss on Caliah's cheek and sat down beside her on the couch. It was dark, the curtains drawn and the candle burning low. His father and Garmadon were both asleep, and Wu was sort of glad he had the house alone with his mother. It was rare that they got to talk like this, especially since his father has taken to trying to turn Wu into the second him, and Garmadon had enough issues to work out by himself.

"Your father and I are very proud of you," Caliah said, "I always knew you would grow up to do great things."

Wu smiled, leaning back and relaxing. It was so easy and natural to do this with her, even when it felt so hard to do it around anyone else.

"I know." He sighed. "Being a hero isn't all great, though. I'm sure you and father know that, though."

Caliah laughed. "Do we ever— I've told you about the time we saved a village from a raid, and they expected us to pay them for being allowed in?"

Wu nodded. "Talk about ungrateful."

They lapsed into silence for a moment, each sitting and staring, before Caliah cleared her throat, sounding a little uncomfortable. "So," she said, "are there any... women in your life? Or men?"

Wu laughed a little, his heart warming at his mothers interest. She was a hopeless romantic, which made it hard to believe she had ever fallen in love with their father, and she was constantly on his and Garmadon's cases about finding a partner. Garmadon was more likely to do that, although that particular issue was a story for another day.

"Not yet," he said, "and honestly, probably not ever."

"Really?" Caliah asked playfully, nudging her son gently in the ribs, "what about Alex? She's awfully pretty, isn't she?"

Her tone was light, teasing. She knew he wasn't in love with Alex, and she wasn't in love with him. They were just friends— very close and very easy to mistake for a couple, admittedly, but still just friends.

"I don't like redheads," Wu said jokingly, "and besides, she has too many piercings."

"Piercings?" Caliah snickered. "You make her sound like a thug or something."

"Have you met Alex? She kind of is."

They talked into the night about everything to do with Wu's life, and it felt so natural to trust her that he told her everything that popped into his head. He was worried about Garmadon, he said, because he was infected and he might not be able to control himself soon. He wished his father would ease up on his training, it was getting unbearable. He sometimes felt like he was being pushed to age too fast; he was still only nineteen and he was already almost qualified to be a Sensei. Caliah listened to all of this and more, nodding her head and murmuring her agreement and providing thoughtful insight and comfort and advice.

Wu relished in this night, wishing for more when he felt his eyelids drooping and Caliah said sleepily that they should get to bed. He dragged his feet upstairs, his head admittedly very light and his eyes stinking with the effort to keep them open long enough to get to his room. Caliah was behind him, yawning loudly every other second, but she spared him a brief hug once they reached the top of the stairs.

"My brave, brave boy," she said, smoothing down his hair and smiling fondly down at him as she pulled away, "I am so proud of you. I always will be."

Wu watched her go, fading into shadow as she padded down the hallway towards her bedroom. He smiled again, thinking of just how much he loved her, and then pushed his door open and all but collapsed into bed, where sleep did not take long to consume him.

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Kind of short, kind of cheesy... I promise a fair amount of heartbreak and angst in the next chapter, though, so break out the tissues. (Maybe I'm being overconfident, but seriously, it's a loaded gun of emotion.)