Month 6 (pt. 2)

Lloyd hadn't realized how much Lumi had grown until he had some alone time with her. After she woke up, Lumi Garmadon immediately demanded for some milk and cuddles–which Lloyd was happy to give–and didn't stop crying until she got what she wanted.

"Calm down, Lu." Lloyd tapped her thigh, holding the bottle for her as he wrapped her in a hug.

Lumi ignored him and continued crying, pushing away the bottle as she did, and kicked her legs. Lloyd sat her up, trying to figure out what to do.

"What's wrong?"

Lloyd tried giving her toys, rocking her back and forth, and even gave her the bottle again but none of them worked.

"Are you uncomfortable? Sleepy? What?" He started growing desperate for an answer to stop her crying.

It wasn't until after 5 minutes did he figure out that her diaper was full. After a quick change, Lumi stopped crying and finally cooperated with her dad. She finished her milk and rested her head against his chest.

Lloyd huffed, blowing a strand of Lumi's hair away from his face as he rested on his arm."This is gonna be a long day."

For the rest of the afternoon, Lloyd failed to feed Lumi her food, he chased her around the monastery–given how fast she crawled–and had to carry her around everywhere he went.

Lumi Garmadon was starting to grow clingy, not that Lloyd was complaining, and it brought up some problems.

"I'll be right back, Lu." Lloyd said, slowly lowering her inside her crib. "Daddy needs to pee."

The second her foot touched the mattress of the crib she burst into tears, forcing Lloyd to pick her back up. Once she felt her dad's arm around her, she stopped and buried her face in his shoulder.

Lloyd sighed. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

Lumi cooed, her hand gripping his shirt. Lloyd knew he wasn't going to get that time in the bathroom.

"Nya! Nya!"

The girl turned around to find Lloyd running in her direction at full speed, a happy Lumi in his arms. She opened hers just in time when he passed the baby to her.

"I'll be right back!" He called back as he darted towards the bathroom.

Lumi wasn't happy anymore. Once she realized her dad wasn't with her anymore, the baby let out a loud cry. Wailing in Nya's arms and trying to break free from her hold.

"Woah. Calm down, Lumi." Nya had to keep up with her squirming to make sure she wouldn't fall.

"I'm here. I'm here."

She turned around to find Lloyd running again, his arms open and he scooped Lumi in his arms faster than she could comprehend. Lumi paused her crying, taking a good look at the person carrying her, before breaking out into a smile. Lloyd returned it and wiped the tears from her eyes.

He engulfed her in a hug and patted her back. "It's okay. Daddy's here."

Lloyd couldn't help the heavy feeling in his chest after hearing his own words. He took a vow, a promise he made to himself, the day he won over the case, to never be like his father.

He promised Lumi a healthy and amazing childhood, something he never got himself. Lloyd wasn't going to put her through the same stuff he had to endure at such a young age. And if she does end up having powers, he decided to help her through it.

For a long time, he never realized that Lumi wasn't a consequence of his mistake. That she wasn't there to bring back the memories of the one time he messed up.

She was a blessing. A gift.

Their gift.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, making his head to turn to face Nya who looked at him with concern. "Are you okay?" She asked, having watched the whole interaction.

Lloyd lifted his head from Lumi's shoulder and took a quick look at his daughter. "Yeah," He responded, a smile forming on his face. "Never better."

"Bah!" Lumi giggled and tapped his cheek with her small hands.

Lloyd pressed his forehead against hers and smiled.

"I love you, Lumi."

The baby blinked, her emerald green eyes reflecting his own, and smiled at him. Lloyd didn't need a translation to know that she understood. They turned their heads at the sound of sniffling beside them. Nya quickly wiped her eyes with her hands and pressed a smile on her face.

"Are you okay?" Lloyd returned her question.

"Yeah. It's just," She sniffled and continued wiping her eyes. "It's the first time I've realized how much you've grown."

She didn't need to say anything more before Lloyd trapped her in a hug. Nya didn't hesitate to hug back–finding this gesture common between them–and wrapped her arms around both of them.

"You're going to be the best dad Lumi could ever have, Lloyd."

"Thanks, Nya."

"Ah!" Lumi cooed, joining in, making the two laugh.

🍼🍼🍼🍼🍼🍼

Master Chen's noodle house has never been as busy as it was today. Harumi was walking around the restaurant, moving left and right to tend to customers, picking up plates, and serving orders.

Her usual green tracksuit was covered by a brown apron with a pocket that contained a notebook and a pen, while her white-blonde hair was tied up in a neat bun with chopsticks. Skylor worked alongside her, easily gliding through the floors for she was already familiar with the routine.

For the past few months she had been working here, Harumi was able to save up more than she expected and felt her worries about money slowly go away.

"Harumi, can you take table 5?" Skylor asked with a smile on her face, walking towards her with a tray full of empty plates.

"Of course!"

The blonde made her way to the table, grabbing her pen and notepad. and stopping in front of the table.

"What would it be today–Lloyd?!" She looked up from her notepad to see her boyfriend wearing a disguise and her daughter playing inside a highchair.

"Shh!" He shushed her and motioned her to sit down.

"What are you doing here?! And you brought Lumi with you?"

At the mention of her name, Lumi looked up from her toys and smiled at her mommy. She was wearing a thick jacket and a pair of brown boots. She raised her hands, wanting to be picked up, and Harumi was happy to comply.

"She missed you." Lloyd stated, earning an eyebrow raise from Harumi. "Fine I missed you. But it was pretty boring at the monastery."

"So you brought her to Ninjago City?!"

"Now that you said it out loud, I'm not sure if this was a good idea." He scratched the back of his neck and brought his hat lower to cover his face as a group of people passed by.

"Your disguise is horrible." Harumi shook her head and smiled at his antics. "Did you at least bring her stuff?"

Lloyd patted the baby bag beside him. "Right here!"

"How did you get here anyways?"

"Did you know that Pixal has a car seat? She leant it to me as long as I didn't ask too many questions."

The door of the restaurant opened once more, this time catching Harumi's attention. She placed Lumi back in her highchair–despite her daughter's obvious protests–and got up from her seat.

"Let me guess, dumpling soup for you." She pointed towards Lloyd who nodded as she wrote down their orders. "And for my baby, how about you try out some rice gruel?"

"Ah!" Lumi cooed, shaking her rattle as she did.

Harumi smiled and placed a kiss on her cheek. "Coming right up." She went to do the same with Lloyd before heading to the kitchen.

By the time Harumi finished her shift, Lloyd and Lumi had just gotten back from their little trip through Ninjago City.

"Come on, Rumi! We need to get there before it gets crowded." Lloyd was waiting by the entrance of the now empty restaurant, Lumi resting on his shoulder.

"Calm down, Greenie." Harumi giggled, walking out of the backroom with her hair flowing down her shoulders.

Lloyd was taken aback. His eyes widened at the sight and a certain memory flashed through his mind.

"You know, I always love seeing you with your hair down." Lloyd smirked, taking a moment to stop kissing her and reached out to remove the chopsticks that held her hair together.

Harumi swatted his hand away. "Want something? Ask for it."

Clearing his throat, Lloyd shook his head and turned his attention somewhere else. It didn't stop the blush forming around his cheeks.

"Did she fall asleep in the car?" Harumi asked when she caught sight of their daughter. "Why are you blushing?"

Lloyd's eyes widened. "Wh-what? No! It's just," he could hear his voice start cracking. "Really hot in here." He fanned himself with his hand.

"It's the middle of October, Greenie."

"Right! It–it's cold too then."

Harumi lightly pinched his cheek before grabbing his hand to drag him out the door. They walked towards the green car that was parked right outside the restaurant.

"Do you mind if I drive?"

Lloyd unlocked the car, the top lifting itself to let them in, and looked at her like she was crazy.

"Can you drive?" He raised his eyebrow at her, studying the way she smirked at his words.

Harumi placed a hand on her waist, leaning to the side. "Lloyd, you don't lead a motorcycle gang if you can't drive. That's just embarrassing." She laughed and placed her bag inside before holding her hand out to ask for the key. "Besides, Lumi looks comfortable sleeping on you."

"Alright." He smiled. "I trust you."

"Wise decision."

They arrived in a grass covered park, a few miles away from the center of the city, where the place was surrounded by trees and the cold air of the night was fresh.

"What are we doing here?" The car came to a stop, parked a few feet away.

Lloyd smiled from the backseat, covering Lumi's head with a blanket but made sure she was still able to breathe. "Stargazing."