I own nothing but the story.

Once, Lloyd asked Kai how much he missed his parents. Knowing that he'd lived so long without them, Lloyd had the impression that Kai would have a part of his heart that always felt empty, like he'd read about in books.

Upon uttering the question, Kai's smirk had melted into a grimace, and he said, somewhat solemnly, "Sometimes."

"Only that?" asked he, unable to believe his ears.

Kai shrugged, looking away and scratching his neck. "I've lived my whole life without them. I love them, sure, but they've been gone for so long, I can get by without thinking of them."

Nya expressed similar sentiments.

"I was two when they disappeared," said Nya, a sad smile teasing the corners of her lips, "I hardly even remember what they look like."

It was almost inconceivable. Lloyd had stared at her for a few solid seconds before she spoke again:

"I do miss them," she said, "but only sometimes."

Sometimes.

Not long after they had that conversation, Lloyd sent his father into the Cursed Realm. He missed him all the time.

He knew that Garmadon was alive and, by all accounts, well in the Cursed Realm, but the simple idea that Lloyd was going to spend the rest of his life without that figure in his life was daunting, and not a day went by where Lloyd didn't notice his father's absence. He'd spent most of his life without parents, and having to go through such a loss so soon after regaining them was like getting an arrow lodged into his chest.

That is what he thought of his father's banishment: an arrow in his chest. It sat right between his ribs, below his heart. It was a constant, aching presence in his life; some days he could function just fine, because he was used to having an arrow in his chest, but other days he couldn't accomplish a thing, because he had an arrow in his chest.

He hated it. He hated it with every fiber of his being.

It became even more unbelievable that Kai and Nya could only miss their parents "sometimes."

Then he found out about Wu.

Shortly after his father's monastery became his uncle's tea shop, Lloyd asked Wu how often he missed his brother.

"I do miss him sometimes, Lloyd."

He blinked. "Sometimes?"

Wu was rummaging around through several boxes of teabags, trying to sort them into proper categories. At Lloyd's statement, he stilled.

"I think of him everyday," Wu turned, his eyes frozen in distant resignation, "I do."

"But you only miss him sometimes?"

Wu's expression was somber. "Our relationship was rocky, Lloyd. I won't ask you to understand, but please, trust me when I say that I do miss him."

"But only sometimes."

"Those times are unbearable."

Lloyd could believe that. He missed his father all the time.

He didn't ask his mother if she missed him. He wanted to believe that he refrained out of respect, but a distant part of him knew that it was out of fear. Lloyd feared what his mother would say, feared that she would only miss her husband "sometimes."

Lloyd missed his father all the time, and he feared that he was the only one who did.

He didn't blame his brothers for not always missing his father. After all, Garmadon had been their enemy almost from the very beginning. The loss was a sad one, perhaps, but not one they wouldn't mourn more than they had to. Sometimes, the ninja missed him.

Lloyd sat down on a bench along the stone cobbled walkway of the temple grounds. The morning air was cool around him, the bench cold against his rear, forcing him into a shiver. The arrow in his chest shifted, pinching him in a new spot. It hurt.

Months had passed since Garmadon left. Kai once told him that the pain he felt would never quite disappear, but he would be able to make room for it. When Lloyd asked what happened next, Kai gave a joyless smile and said, "You move on."

Lloyd hadn't moved on. The pain had made a home in his mind and body, and he lingered on it, unable to leave it be. It hurt.

It hurt.

It hurt.

It hurt.

Sunlight shone off of the temple's roof as the sky turned from amethyst to a lovely hue of rose. The sun was rising, and the pain resurged with a violent fury. He bent forward as the arrow twisted and turned in his chest.

Garmadon loved watching the sunrise.

Because of Lloyd, the sun wouldn't rise for his dear father again.

Lloyd breathed in and out, slowly.

Sometimes, he wished that he could miss his father a little less.

This chapter is the beginning of a project I've been working on for a while. I hope you enjoy. :)

Thank you for reading! I hope your day is full of sunshine and plenty of wholesome breakfast foods!