Masks - Transgender Multi-Fandom Oneshots

Lloyd (Ninjago) - "Tomorrow's Tea"

Took this out of one of my other books cuz I thought it would serve well as a one-shot. In The Enchanted DVD Player, most of the scenes from this chapter occur between Lloyd and y/n, but I changed y/n to Kai so it can be more of a brotherly thing. 

-------Lloyd's POV-------

After getting hit with the Tomorrow's Tea, I'm greeted with a rush of adrenaline. I feel myself grow taller, and... curvier. I fight back the nausea and close my eyes, not wanting to acknowledge my new body. 

"Heh, we're all back to normal," Jay says. 

"But what about Lloyd?" Sensei asks, concerned.

I stand up cautiously, hugging myself as tightly as I can. I finally look down at myself, fear and disgust bubbling up. 

"I'm..." I start, and am disappointed to hear the same high-pitched voice I had just minutes ago. I clear my throat and lower my voice as much as I can. "...older."

"You okay, bud?" Cole asks, putting a hand on my shoulder. 

"Mm, hmm," I choke out, my lips pulled into a thin line.

"The final battle is closer now," Sensei says, referring to my new age. Now that I'm older, I'm stronger, and I will be able to face my father sooner than we expected.

"Welcome to your teens," Kai congratulates, walking up beside me as we leave the comic shop. He frowns when he notices my expression. "Something wrong?"

"N-no, it's just... different."

"Well, duh. You went through puberty in point-two seconds. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You haven't stopped hugging yourself since after the tea. Are you hurt?"

I shake my head. "I'm fine."

He twists his lip.

I don't think he believes me.

"Hey!" Jay says suddenly. "Now that Lloyd's older, he can join us in our room!"

Oh, f*ck. That's a terrible idea.

"Yeah, Lloyd, you're a man now," Cole agrees. "Ready to move in?"

"Sure," I reply, hiding my fear. I want to move in with them, but I know that it's a bad idea. Despite my worries, I turn around and head to my old room that I used to share with Nya and Sensei. I start gathering my things, and hardly notice as Kai walks in.

"Need a hand?" he asks.

"No, that's okay, I've got it."

"Really? 'Cause, uh, you missed something," he says jokingly, holding my collection of comic books.

"Oh, right."

I take the stack, and shove it onto the pile of my other belongings. I'm a little embarrassed, because I'm a teenager who still likes comic books. I know I just transformed today, but still.

"What's going on with you?" Kai asks. "You've been acting really strange."

"Me? No," I say sarcastically. I was planning to keep my thoughts to myself, but I should know better than to hide things from my teammate. Especially Kai; he had always been very protective of me.

I turn my back to my bed and slump down against it with a sigh. "I never asked for this."

His expression softens, and he kneels down beside me.

"I know you didn't. It sucks that everything's changing so fast, but we're gonna be here for you every step of the way. We'll always have your back."

I stare miserably at the floor in front of me. 

"You ready to join the others?" he asks.

"I... I don't think so."

"Oh. Well, you can probably just stay in here until you're ready..."

I hiccup and fight back tears. No, I can't cry in front of Kai! I can't... I...

My head falls into my hands as I try to control my breathing. He's going to find out. Everyone will. What are they going to do once they know?

"Hey, hey! What's wrong?" Kai asks gently, putting a hand on my shoulder.

"I... I have to tell you something... but... you're going to see me differently."

He shakes his head. "Whatever it is, I promise I won't judge."

How am I supposed to say this? Should I just show him? No, that's a dumb idea--but how do I find the words? I don't know what to do.

"You don't have to tell me right now if you don't want to," he says.

I nod, wiping my eyes. I guess now isn't the time.

-------Later, Kai's POV-------

I can't sleep. I'm worried about Lloyd; there's something bothering him, and although he doesn't have to tell me what it is, I want to be able to help him. He's my brother, and I hate knowing he's going through a rough patch. 

After a few more minutes of tossing and turning, I slip out of bed. I head for the bathroom, rubbing my eyes as I walk down the hall. When I push open the door, the light's already on, and Lloyd's standing in front of the mirror wrapping bandages across his chest.

"You said you weren't hurt!" I whisper-shout, rushing over to him.

He gasps and turns away from me. "I'm not!"

"Then what are you doing?"

He doesn't move. As he keeps his back turned to me, I get the feeling that he's still not ready to talk, so I start to back away.

"Wait, Kai—"

His tense posture shows his discomfort, and he's trembling more than I've ever seen. Slowly, he removes his shaking hands from his tightly-bound torso. His behaviour after the Grundle incident suddenly makes sense.

Lloyd sighs. "I knew I'd face puberty eventually, but I thought I'd have more time. I'm sorry, I didn't tell you, I just—"

"Don't apologize," I whisper with a shake of my head. I walk over to him and wrap him in a hug. "I'm sorry I walked in on you; you should be able to come out on your own terms."

"It's okay," he says once I pull away. "What were you doing up, anyway?"

"Couldn't sleep. Wait—is this why you didn't want to move in with the other boys?"

"Yeah. Only my family knows. They're okay with it, but I'm not sure what the ninja will think."

"Don't worry," I said, hitting my fist against my palm aggressively. "If they're transphobic, they'll be answering to me."