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skierisa · 1 month ago

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Runaway - Lloyd x Valerie (oc) chapter 1

disclaimer: this is inspired by my 90s au, which does have a main story line, however I decided to tell it in a non linear way as I make things up (yeah not a smart move, I know). if you wish to know more about my ninjago 90s au before reading this, you can check the tag #n90sau in my blog! I may or may not come back here to correct spelling mistakes!

Valerie is an oc I shipp with Lloyd, you can check her character sheet for the og universe here! the only things that change in this au is that she isn't an assassin or a gang member and neither a werewolf, just a regular punk teen in the 90s.

also, i think it's my first time writing in english (not counting any translation i did), so i'm sorry for the spelling and gramatical errors! i also tend to mix british and american spelling. sorry again.

special thanks to @prii-arts for helping me with some of the writing!

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summary: Lloyd and Valerie are running away after having arguments with their parents, both arguments somewhat related to their partner. However, they discover living like adults isn't easy, and Lloyd has been having a ton of nightmares lately...

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It had been a while none of them said something, either asking each other if they were fine or asking something about the fights. Some music played on his car's radio, it was a random Sex Pistol's song Lloyd didn't know the name of. Or maybe he did, but he was too busy focusing on the road ahead swollen by the dark of the night to think about it. Besides the car lights, the only thing illuminating their way to –what they have been calling– “whatever” was the silver shine of the full moon above them.

He was afraid of looking at the passenger's seat for a few moments now. Not because he might crash into something, no, they were in the middle of the desert, afterall. The thing is, Valerie was sitting there, quiet. Too quiet. As someone who always had something to say about anything, even when she shouldn't, she was too quiet, just hugging her legs under a ball gown, gazing at the shining stars in the dark sky. A quiet Valerie was never a good thing. Whenever she was like this, there would be a cold and heavy thing in the air.

It was understandable if she still was angry, though. Lloyd was waiting for her inside his car when the yelling started. It was muffled and he could only see them through the living room's window. They always gestured as they spoke, but this time, both of their movements were quick, stiff and violent. He had to hold himself back from going in there whenever the mother's hands came too close to hitting his girlfriend –by accident or not. When it was over, Valerie stomped out the front door with a bag full of clothes in one hand and a guitar case in the other, turning back to yell as if she was holding back tears that she wouldn't be back. Once in the car, she gave a brief explanation of the obvious: “we fought”. It was over something stupid again, but she refused to elaborate more than that, saying she would rather talk about it later, when she would be less exasperated.

So he didn't ask anything about it for the past hour until that moment, even if bothered by her poorly filled silence. Lloyd finally realized he had been so distracted with all the thoughts about that night that he didn't notice the song had changed long ago.

“What?” Valerie finally asked, not moving her head from the window view.

Quickly, he turned his head to the road again.

“Nothing”.

“You're starring".

“No, I'm not. I'm driving, how could I?”

“Because you are. Well… were” She turned her face to him, finally, staring at him with her sky blue eyes and bored expression.

Valerie crossed her legs and raised her head, now staring at the ceiling of the car. She let her arms lazily fall on her lap; on her wrist, along with some bracelets, there was a corsage of blue and yellow flowers he gave her earlier that night. “Do you wanna talk about it?”

"... I mean, I don't want to force you, or anything.” He shrugged. “But it's okay if you don't, really.”

“Thanks…” She sighed, looking back to the window, frowning a bit. However, she quickly looked at him, one brow raised. “Do you… wanna talk about yours, then?"

Lloyd breathed deeply, holding it as he pondered the idea.

While her fight was a mystery to him, his… could be perceived as worse, somehow. Thinking about it made Lloyd feel some anger flourish in his chest; just thinking about how they could be so wrong on so many levels about her would make his blood boil in his veins. Sure, his parents were right about one thing amongst all the annoying assumptions, but he was completely sure Valerie would never do what his ex did… She wouldn't, right?

“No” he finally answered, letting out his breath. "Not now, at least".

Valerie stayed quiet for a few seconds.

“Alrighty, then…" she mumbled.

“By the way, Val, um… do you perhaps know where we're going?”

She blinked her eyes slowly, raising her thin eyebrows in shock.

“I thought you did".

“Why did you think that?”

“‘Cause you simply started driving!” She exclaimed, waving her hands to the road.

“I thought you would come up with something!” He started laughing, nervously and loudly.

Valerie puffed, grabbing a piece of her bangs and squeezing it in frustration. But she couldn't help but also laugh at the situation, cracking in mere seconds of hearing his laugh.

“Shit, we can't even run away properly…” she tried speaking amidst the laugh.

“It's… It's okay” he breathed, containing his laugh but still smiling. “But we can't keep on going like this".

“Do you have a map, or anything?”

“No, sorry”.

She sighed melancholically.

“... Okay, we might need to spend the night in your car, then" She crossed her arms.

“We could also ask for directions to some motel, y'know…”

She turned her head to him.

“To whom, Lloyd?” She pointed outside with her hand.

Oh. That's true. We're in a desert. “I don't know".

“Now I'm thinking that staying over with my brother wouldn't be a bad idea…"

“I'm not turning back” He stated, giving her a quick look before turning to the dark road again.

“Didn't ask you to! Just really regretting not doing it". Valerie looked away. “Sorry, it's just that we've been here for an hour now, I bet you're tired too… Anyway, it was my idea running away, so let me come up with something…”

Finding a motel was their main option, especially because they had no idea where to go, and Ignacia or Ninjago City weren't an option, since they were trying to leave those places behind forever. They needed somewhere to restart, but where? Not Stix, definitely not Stix. She had heard good things about the Kingdom of Shintaro by that time, maybe that could be an option. The idea of living in Jamanakai Village didn't sound like the end of the world, but they might still need to go back to the city to find jobs and to buy some things.

But she was thinking too much ahead. She had time to think about this later, but it wouldn't be so long until it was the time to actually think about it. Okay, okay, okay, think, Val! She reminded herself. It was the highway, probably wouldn't take long before they found something like a convenience store or a diner to ask for directions. Not exactly directions, more like a recommendation of where they could sleep that night, be it a camping spot or a straight up motel. She was hoping for a diner, because her stomach had been growling for the past hours since the dance ended.

“Do you think it'll take long before we find a diner?” She finally asked as she played with the flowers on her corsage.

“Did you forget to eat again?” Lloyd raised an eyebrow.

"... Maybe" She crossed her arms again, looking to the side.

“Dunno” he sighed. “Probably not long. I mean, how long have we been…”

“Oh, look over there!” She bent onward, pointing to the colourful billboard of a dinner.

He parked the car, and if she wasn't on hills, he was sure Valerie would've probably run inside the place. However, she quickly made her way towards him, taking his warm hand with a sweet smile on her face while he adjusted his suit. On the lapel, there was a green rose made of sattin she gave him earlier.

“So, did you come up with anything?” Lloyd asked as he chewed a piece of his burger.

They decided to eat inside the car while listening to some songs in a cassette they found lost in there. His car was a secondhand from the 80s, so who knows to whom it belonged to. It had mostly city pop songs, and each time it changed Valerie would sing along while jamming to it. Whoever it belonged to, the playlist wasn't bad.

“Nope”. She covered her mouth as she chewed, looking away squinting her eyes. “I mean– Yeah, I did come up with a few ideas, but none are good".

“Tell me anyway, they can't all be bad. I can give you some ideas too".

Valerie took a long sip of her soda cup.

“Okay, so, I heard good stuff about Shintaro. We could go there, maybe?” She raised an eyebrow, gesturing with the hand holding the cup.

“Kinda too far away from here… Maybe someday, but not now.”

“Hm, suppose you're right… I thought about Stix, but…”

“The only job there is fishing” Both said at the same time, nodding.

Lloyd sighed.

"There's also Jamanakai Village" Valerie mentioned.

“Not a bad idea. But we might need to go to the city to buy… Well, anything".

“That's why I wasn't considering it that much…” Valerie hugged her knees again.

“What else?” He asked, taking some of their shared fries.

“Stay around here until we think of something better”.

He stayed quiet for a few seconds, looking around. With another sigh, he said:

“I don't think we have any other option. But hey, it isn't bad. As long as we find a place to stay, we might be able to keep our jobs in the city…”

“Yes, it's easier… But I really didn't want to stay" She took another sip. "Especially because they are part time. We need cash if we're living on our own now".

“We don't have the option to go so far away, y'know… Nor have the experience for full time jobs. I mean, would you hire a seventeen year old full time?”.

“No, but it doesn't make it less disappointing, though”. Valerie frowned, putting her cup down. Seconds ago there seemed to be many doors for many different futures, but now all of those have closed.

He furrowed his eyebrows in worry, looking at her eyes; they were more shiny. Was she really holding back tears again? Of course she is, he thought to himself. Her gaze met his and it was like the shine disappeared in a second, giving up space for a grin.

“But it's okay, seriously” she bent over towards him. “I'm happy to be with you at least". She whispered.

Slowly, he leaned over closing his eyes and kissed her, not caring if her dark red lipstick would get on his lips.

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criticism is welcomed! I really want to better my writing in english, specially because I know I can write better than this. This was also the first time I wrote Valerie in a super long time, so I really hope you liked her!

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skierisa · 5 days ago

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Runaway - Lloyd x Valerie (oc) chapter 2

this time im covering the b plot, which is Nessa, Valerie's sister, and Harumi (they're dating). and i apologise for mixing british and american spelling.

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The waitress' instructions were clear, so they didn't have any problem finding the motel less than half an hour from there. It had such a generic appearance; two floors, the walls covered with light blue paint that desperately needed a new layer, each room seemed to have one long window covered by thick curtains. There were two women sitting on the ground floor, not much older than them, smoking while chatting and laughing loudly as each holded a bottle of beer. At the same annoying volume, there was an older seemingly man on the second floor yelling angrily on his cellphone, swearing at the person on the other side of the line as he gestured quickly.

Valerie got out of the car, getting her backpack and electric guitar case on the back seats. Lloyd came right after. Unlike her, he didn't try to pack all his stuff in one beg, bringing only the necessary–some clothing changes, his cellphone's charger, wallet and his favourite Starfarer volumes. Not even his own guitar was with him.

There was only one door fully open on the ground floor, with a plastic plaque on it with the words “reception" written in it. The worker there was nice, seemed tired but was still smiling while helping them out. They decided to rent it for the rest of the week, which would be 14 bucks each night. It was located on the second floor, so, slowly, they walked up on the metal stairs. It was impossible to sound quiet while doing so, especially in heels. Valerie could feel her heart beating quickly the more she thought about accidentally waking someone up.

When unlocking the door, Lloyd frowned, smelling the strong scent of cigarettes in the air, rather disappointed. However, he was surprised to see that the room wasn't just a bed and a barely functional ceiling fan. Facing the bed, over an old wooden drawer, there was a TV and a VHS player on top. There was a small complete cooking area, with cabinets over the stove and a microwave. The decoration was almost all brown except for the baby blue bed sheets and painting of a farm over the bed.

Excited, Valeire threw herself on the bed, the springs squeaking with the impact. She had a tired expression but a smile on her face, her dimples heavily marked on her cheeks. Lloyd couldn't help but also smile too, seeing her happy. That weird heavy and cold feeling from hours before was completely gone, replaced with warm and calmness.

He kicked the door closed, dropping his baggage on the floor. He then threw himself on the bed with her, wrapping her in a tired and warm hug as she gently caressed his soft blond wavy hair.

Mrs. Yuhara was still exasperated, walking around quickly, one hand on her waist and the other holding her head. Nessa had told her to ignore the scene, but she couldn't. It's normal, she had said as she took her heels off. Harumi did the same, still paying attention to the voices. The girls were in the entrance hall, just a few steps away from the door to the living room, where a shadow could be seen on the floor, going left and right rapidly.

“How could she say those things?” The mum would mutter to herself. Mrs.Yuhara turned to her husband, who walked right behind her. “Can you believe that girl? It's not my fault if she doesn't take things seriously! She's probably going to fail this grade and somehow I'm wrong for being mad at her?”

Nessa gently took Harumi's hand, pulling her closer as she guided her to the stairs. As they passed through the living room, the girl managed to get a glimpse of the scene. Mr. Akagawa was sitting on the couche's arm, his glasses on his head as he looked at his wife walking in circles. He tried speaking calmly through her yelling, her voice already hoarse and cracking as words tried to leave her lips –probably because she teaches singing all day long and then came back home to yell at her child. The woman's hands were trembling with stress– either that or the nicotine abstinence kicking in.

As Mrs. Yuhara passed by him again, completely immersed in her thoughts and bashful words towards her ingrateful daughter, he got up and held her shoulders, tucking her salt and pepper hair behind her ears as he pulled her into a hug. Harumi felt a bitter feeling when looking at them that way. She might not have known the Yuhara-Akagawa family for long, but knew that if Valerie had run away, she had her reasons. It still didn't make it easier to look at her distressed mother, though.

Harumi was about to look forward again as she bumped into Nessa.

“What are you doing awake?” The girl whispered to the dark.

Harumi squinted her eyes towards the stairs, finally noticing the silhouettes of two small children sitting curled up on the steps. She could see a shine in their eyes, caused by some tears running down their chubby cheeks. They seemed scared, probably because of the yelling.

Nessa hurried towards them, letting go of her girlfriend's hand as she picked Shiho, the little girl, up. The older sister passed her fingers through the little girl's face, trying to get her long black hair out of her face. Shiho sniffed.

“They are fighting, they never fight” She whispered with a weak voice. “My friend says that's why her parents aren't living together anymore".

“Oh, no, choupinette, they aren't fighting, mum is just… angry at Valerie again, that's all” Nessa said as she caressed Shiho's hair. She rested her head on the older girl's shoulder in return.

“But where's Val?” Shunsuke cried, louder. “I'm scared. I hate yelling!”

“She… um…” Nessas sky blue eyes went to Harumi, looking for some assistance. That's not her problem, she reminded herself. "Shun, Val's just at Lloyd's house, y'know! Like always…".

“Liar.” He accused.

“I'm not lying, Shun!”

“Yes, Shun, she isn't!” Harumi tried, getting near the boy and sitting on the lower steps, so her eyes and his were on the same level.

“Liar number two” He muttered, digging his face in his knees.

Harumi had to hold herself. How were things done there? No clue on that, since she would always avoid staying in the house for too long. She was there this time so Nessa could gather pajamas for them so they'd have a sleep over at Nya's house on the other side of the street. If I knew I'd have to calm down the children's tantrums, I'd have brought my clothes and waited for Nessa outside…

She remembered how smart that little boy was, so it wasn't surprising he didn't fall for the half lie. Sure, Valerie had just run away with Lloyd, but he didn't have to know she'd never come back. Right? But was it fair with him?

“Rumi, can you help me with them?” Nessa asked, slowly going up the stairs as Shiho stared at her from the sister's shoulders.

There wasn't a discussion on that, so she tried picking Shun by his hand, which he pulled back.

“Shun, please…”

“Liar! I'm not going back to bed! Where's Valerie?” He asked again, even louder, clenching his teeth.

“Shunsuke!” Nessa called upstairs in a reprimanding tone, making Shun flinch a bit.

“Let's go back to your room, okay?” Harumi whispered to him, trying to get his hand again.

They weren't asleep, Nessa was sure about that, but they had closed their eyes, so, at least, they were trying (to some extent). She told them good night, while Harumi awaited her, leaning back on the corridor's walls. Nessa breathed out a tired sigh the moment the door finally closed, her eyes closed. She had a more traditional goth look that night, except for lacking the white paint on her skin. Nessa had worn a home made dress as well, made with black and wine coloured satin in an imperial cut, with veils mimicking spider webs around it, while Harumi wore a fully black one with bell sleeves and a bodice that mimicked medieval aesthetic. On her eyelids, there was a bit of red eyeshadow among the black.

Nessa passed through her, signing for Harumi to follow. In the end of the corridor, she opened the door to her room, which had hers and her sister's name on it and a plaque saying “do not come in” right below it. It was a small bedroom for two teens, but they made it work; somehow they were able to fit two double beds in there, each on a different side of the room reflecting its owner's personality. Val's was organized; he had both her closet and the shared messy dressing table. Her bed was done and had some of her old plushies decorating it, and a bunch of posters were all over the place on her walls, while Nessa's bed barely had space for her hundreds of decorative pillows scattered all over it. Hers was chaotic, undone and had thousands of clothes over it. On top of it all, she had some empty cans or energy drinks on the floor, plus a lot of pairs of shoes scattered all over it. Harumi couldn't judge her, God knows her room wasn't the most impeccable place in the world.

She sat on her girlfriend's bed, assuming Nessa would go to her messed up wardrobe to pick some pajamas so they could finally leave, but no. Nessa walked over Valerie's side of the room, going directly to the dressing table. She quickly grabbed the telephone, throwing herself on her sister's bed.

“Come here” She signed to Harumi with one hand, while dialing with the other.

Harumi raised an eyebrow, confused.

“What are you doing?” She asked, walking hesitantly towards her.

“Gossiping, darling!” Nessa grinned from ear to ear. “And it's the juicy kind!”

“You're seriously gonna gossip about your sister and mom's fight?”

“Oh, you speak like you'd be better".

Harumi bit her under lip, looking away. Nessa dialed someone's phone number quickly, pulling Harumi closer.

“Hey, Smith's residence, who is it?” Nya asked on the other side of the line.

“It's me, pet. Could you hold on a bit?” Nessa said.

“Um, sure---”.

She dialed another phone number, so quickly it was like her life depended on calling everyone she knew. Cole took some time to pick up, and Zane and Pixal even more. Nessa was biting her fake nails at that point, her leg shaking with the anxiety running through her slim body.

“Why isn't Skylor picking up?” Nessa asked, not expecting anyone to answer.

“Well, Kai isn't here…” Nya said.

“And I'm pretty sure they went to Skylor's house after the party…” Cole added.

“They are not picking up, that's for sure” Jay laughed through Nya's side of the line.

"Their situationship isn't the subject right now! Val and Lloyd just ran away!”

Harumi heard a collective surprised “what” on the line. There was no need to be close to it to be able to listen.

“What do you mean with ‘just ran away'?” Cole asked.

“Weren't they planning to spend the night after the school dance together though?” Zane reminded them.

“Oooh, yeah, I remember Valerie mentioning this!” Nya said.

"I doubt that his parents allowed that. Wait, did they run away because of this?” Said Jay, probably to his girlfriend on the other side of the line.

“No, Valerie told me that she can sleep there as long they sleep in the living room, so I don't think that's why…”.

“Yeah, pal. Harumi and I just came back here and we saw Valerie was getting out of the house with her backpack and guitar!” Nessa told them, crossing her legs, still shaking it. “Mum was yelling and trembling when we came in".

“Trembling? Is your mother okay?” Pixal asked.

“Yeah, it's probably the nicotine abstinence kicking in. She's very stressed, of course, I mean, her kid just ran away!”

“And yet you don't seem to care at all… Ouch!” Jay said. The muffled sound of a slap could be heard.

"Actually, I do. But it's Valerie we're talking about" her voice got weaker, the leg shaking stopping completely, but her hand gripped the bed's sheets strongly. “She always comes back. I mean… When she didn't, right?".

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sorry for taking so long, i kinda forgot about this...

#ninjago #lego ninjago #ninjago fanfiction #fanifction #lloyd x oc #ninjago lloyd x oc #ninjago harumi #ninjago oc #ninjago oc vanessa akagawa #ninjago 90s au #ninjago oc vanessa #ninjago fafiction #canon x oc #ninjago canon x oc #n90sau #robin writes stuff

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