Month 3 (Pt.2)

A pair entered one of the busiest restaurants in Ninjago City–one wearing a brown fedora on their head, while the other wore a cap and sunglasses–carrying different bags on each of their hands as they walked.

"Couldn't we have left this in the car?"

"You try walking that far hungry!"

They picked a booth that was far from the people, wanting a little privacy after Harumi's evil deeds and to hide all the baby stuff they bought.

"Hey, Lloyd!" A familiar red-head greeted them from the edge of their table, holding a pen and paper to take their order. "Harumi? What are you doing here?"

"I told you our disguises were horrible!" Harumi whispered and removed her sunglasses.

"I don't wanna hear it." Lloyd narrowed his eyes at her and turned his attention back to the girl. "Hello, Skylor." Lloyd returned with a smile and motioned her closer. "Please don't say her name out loud."

Skylor immediately understood what he meant. "Don't worry, Kai sent me a photo of him holding the baby earlier." She rolled her eyes at the memory. "Trying to convince me that he'd make a good dad."

Harumi stifled a laugh as she drank a glass of water. Perhaps Lumi's cousin would come from them first.

"Anyways, I take you two are on date night?" Skylor clicked her pen with a smirk on her face, very much aware that she triggered something.

"What? No!"

"Of course not!"

The two were quick to dismiss her accusation–proving Skylor's point–as they waved their hands and shook their heads.

"Okay then, I'll take your word for it." Skylor handed them some menus. "What's it for tonight?"

Harumi looked over the red menu in her hands before setting it down on the table. "Do you have those meals where you grill your own meat and have an unlimited serving of side dishes?"

Lloyd's eyes widened at her question. "Um–." He raised his hand to voice his concerns but was beaten by Skylor.

"You mean where you cook beef and pork and eat it with lettuce?"

"Yes!"

"Coming right up!" Skylor wrote it down. "Anything for you Lloyd?"

"I–I think that's enough for us, thanks."

Skylor left and Lloyd took the time to interrogate the girl who sat innocently across from him. "You're that hungry?!" He was in disbelief. At the monastery, she would only eat small portions of food and said she was full.

Harumi smiled and looked down. "Sorry, is that okay?"

"No, no, it's fine. I'm just...not used to seeing you eat that much, are you okay?"

Harumi appreciated his concern, for a moment it felt nice that he paid attention to her, but she didn't want to admit that.

"Yes. Just hungry." She rested her chin in her hand. "Besides, it's not every day you get to eat the food you've been craving for, for almost a year."

As she said that, Skylor walked in with a portable grill in one hand and a can to get the flame started. Behind her, a waiter came in with a tray of pork, beef, lettuce, and a bowl of rice.

"Eat up you two, you look like you've had a long day." Skylor giggled as she started the grill. "And don't worry about the bill, some time with my niece is enough to cover it."

"Oh no, we can't do that! Won't you lose business?" Lloyd waved his hands in the air to try and get her to dismiss the idea.

"Lloyd, it will be fine."

"But–."

"Not another word or I will expose your identity."

That managed to shut Lloyd up, turning his focus back to the food. Harumi was already stuffing her face with some fish cakes as she waited for the stove to get hot.

"Thank you, Skylor." She smiled, swallowing the food in her mouth first.

"You're welcome."

The girl left the two on their own, both staring at the empty grill in front of them.

"Can you cook?" Harumi asked as she placed more food in her mouth.

Lloyd only laughed and nodded, grabbing the tongs and placing the first batch of food on the grill. "Of course."

It was quiet for a while, just the sounds of the oil cracking on the grill flowing into their ears as they ate in silence, occasionally glancing at each other before turning back to their meals.

"Did...did they never feed you properly at the prison when you were pregnant?" The question had been lingering in Lloyd's mind ever since she ordered a lot of food, he just waited for the right time to ask.

"They did but never the things I wanted." Harumi shrugged, proceeding to stuff more food in her mouth.

Lloyd had never realized how much he's missed before he even knew about his daughter. He had missed out on the beginning and entered into their life in the middle.

"Why did you never tell me?" He shoved some lettuce into his mouth, making Harumi raise her eyebrow at him. "That you were pregnant?"

Harumi stayed quiet for a bit, tilting her head at his sudden interview. "I didn't think you'd care. Besides, I don't deserve it after everything I did."

Before his mind could comprehend his actions, he reached out and placed a hand on top of hers.

"Don't say that. I would have taken much better care of you than they did." He rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."

Using her other hand, Harumi set down her chopsticks and wiped her eyes as unpleasant memories came flooding into her mind.

"Don't be, I brought it upon myself." At this point she couldn't stop the tears and broke out into a quiet sob. Lloyd immediately got up from his seat and moved to the space beside her to wrap her in a hug.

"It's okay, Rumi. You're not alone anymore." He rubbed her back, resting his chin on top of her head, as she cried into his chest. "I'm here and I'm ready to help you out with anything you need."

"Lumi's lucky to have you." Harumi smiled through her tears to look up at him with a smile.

"And I'm lucky to have you."

Lloyd stared into her crystal blue eyes, this time it brought up feelings he thought he'd buried a long time ago, and caressed her cheek.

"Lloyd?" She whispered, staring back into those emerald green eyes.

"Yes?" The boy smiled, his words coming out as a whisper.

"May I?"

She didn't need an answer when he pressed his lips against her for the first time in a long while. But this time, it was filled with love and passion and not lust.

The last time they did this, it was in secret and full of other desires, but Lloyd preferred it this way.

🍼🍼🍼🍼🍼🍼

"Lumi? We're home!" Harumi called, her voice echoing through the quiet monastery as they entered with the same bags in their hands.

"It's quiet." Lloyd pointed out, raising an eyebrow as he did. "The monastery is never quiet."

There was panic in his eyes when he dropped the bags he was carrying and ran to the living room. He pushed the sliding doors open and was greeted by a chorus of "shh!" from the ninja.

"We just got her to sleep." Pixal informed them when she caught sight of the couple standing by the doors.

Lloyd narrowed his eyes as he took in the scene, something wasn't right. "Why are you all wearing my clothes?" He crossed his arms and demanded an explanation.

"Right! About that," Nya had a sheepish smile on her face, realizing that they were all indeed still wearing Lloyd's shirt. "Lumi didn't want to go with any of us unless we smelled like you. But don't worry, Jay and Kai volunteered to do the laundry."

"I did not!"

"No we didn't!"

Nya shot them a glare. "Well someone has to wash these now, don't they?"

Harumi only giggled at the sight of Lloyd's entire wardrobe on the floor. The ninja were in big trouble now.