Unintentional

Chapter 5: Overprotective, But It's Cute

Cole and Vania took their time with their first kiss. Their lips fit together perfectly, like two puzzle pieces refusing to part after being connected. Cole's hands were wrapped around Vania's waist as she pressed her hands against his chest. A minute later, the two lovers broke apart and gasped for air. They immediately blushed and looked down at the polished marble floor. Vania was the first to speak.

"Um, can we, uh, do it again?" Cole stared at his crush in surprise, his eyes full of love and desire.

"Do you want to?" he asked shyly.

"Do you?"

"Only if you do."

"Then let's do it." Cole and Vania leaned towards each other again, eyes closed, and gave each other a passionate kiss.

"Misako's got a-" Jay began, suddenly bursting into the room. The entire crew followed behind him and stopped dead in their tracks. It took the master of earth and the queen a moment to realize what the ninja had just seen. They pulled away from each other as fast as they could, their faces pink with embarrassment. Everyone stared at Cole, then Vania, then shifted their gaze  back to Cole. 

"Did I interrupt something?" Jay asked, shocked that his best friend had finally kissed a girl. 

"Um, yeah," Cole said, annoyed. He looked pleadingly at Misako, who smiled and nodded. 

"As Jay was saying, I've come up with a strategy," Misako said, pretending that nothing had happened. "We'll be exploring Shintaro for a bit, to see what might've happened to the environment. The ninja won't use their powers, and we'll be walking, instead of taking the Bounty, to get a closer look of Shintaro." 

Cole sighed in relief, and thanked the First Spinjitzu Master that Misako had come along. He hoped that nobody would bring up his kiss with Vania, except for Vania. He was aching to kiss her again, even though their lips had touched only a minute ago. Cole looked to his friends, sure that they were going to make fun of him, but surprisingly, none of them were laughing. Kai, Jay, and Zane gave him encouraging "go get her" winks. Misako, Nya, and Lloyd had proud smiles on their faces, happy that Cole had made a move. The black ninja smiled back at them and reached for Vania's hand. She slipped hers into his, and they grasped each other tightly. 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Akita!" Zane shouted as a white wolf jumped out from a smoky pink portal. 

"Zane!" The wolf did a backflip and landed on two legs. Two human legs. Akita ran to Zane and gave him a hug. Lloyd smiled as his crush embraced the master of ice. Now that Zane was no longer the Ice Emperor, the Never-Realm had become easier to reach with traveler's tea. There was no longer a time difference between Ninjago and the Never-Realm, and Lloyd was very thankful for that. If he hadn't brought Zane back, Akita would've no longer be alive when he tried to visit her again. 

The green ninja had been the one to suggest that Akita come along on the journey Misako had planned. He had told everyone that she would be able to use her Formling abilities to help them without causing harm to anyone. This of course, wasn't the only reason. Lloyd was dying to see Akita again, and this was the perfect opportunity for a reunion. 

Misako smiled at Akita and bowed her head in respect. 

"I'm Lloyd's mother, Misako," she introduced. "It's wonderful to meet you. I hope to get to know you better during this mission. Lloyd has told me that you are a very kind and sweet young lady." 

"Did he?" Akita blushed and looked to Lloyd. He took her hand, and Akita gave him a kiss on the cheek. "I think that he is the sweet one." Everyone laughed, and Lloyd glared at them.

"I'm sweet," he said through clenched teeth. "Sometimes."

"Sure," Kai said jokingly. "You're the sweetest of us all." 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Jay!" Cole said sharply. The lightning ninja obediently fell behind in the line, making sure to keep as far away from Vania as possible. The group was climbing the mountains around Shintaro, and as far as Cole was concerned, it was too dangerous for Vania to be tagging along. She had insisted, even pulling out the "I'm a queen" card, and Cole simply couldn't say no. Now, he was regretting it. He snapped at anyone who came too close Vania, worried that their elemental powers would blast out of control and hurt her. 

Though he tried to hide it, Cole was mostly scared of himself. As the master of earth, he had quite a bit of control over the mountains. One wrong move could send everyone flying to Ninjago City. Vania was to stay at least 6 feet away from everyone, which would've been easy to work out if everyone had stayed behind her. But Cole, being the overly protective lover he was,  demanded that Vania had a few people both in front and behind her. Cole was at the front, with Zane, Kai, and Misako on his heels. After that came six feet of empty space, then Vania, and then another awkward gap in the line.  Lloyd, Akita, Nya and Jay brought up the rear, carefully watching Vania as Cole had instructed. 

Cole was unhappy that he'd decided to put the two couples in the back. He had wanted to split them apart so that they'd focus better, but Misako had disagreed.

"They'll be fine. Let them spend some time together. They deserve it," she had said. This left Cole quite anxious, and he kept stopping ever so often to check on Vania. He refused to go near her; the closest he allowed himself to get was 3 feet. Of course, this was difficult for the master of earth. What he really wanted was to hold her hand, kiss her again, and tell her that he loved her. Even with his super strength, it was difficult for Cole to resist his temptations, but he managed. 

"Zane! Get a little closer to Kai, please," Cole said, trying to be polite. 

"But I am 6.2 feet away from Vania," Zane protested. 

"It- it doesn't matter. Just come to the front." Cole turned around to face the front again, and a moment later, he felt a tap on his shoulder. Spinning around, Cole saw that the person who had tapped him was Vania.

"Vania!" he cried, horrified. "What are you doing here! I  could hurt you!"  

"Cole, sweetie, calm down," Vania hushed, stroking Cole's hair. "You're not going to hurt me. Nobody is."

"We don't know that! Go back, please. I don't want you to come too close to me." Cole begged.

"No. I'm staying right here, next to you. I know that if something happens, I'll protect myself, and if I can't, you will." Vania smiled and rested her head on Cole's shoulder. He instantly relaxed and began to calm down. 

"Okay, but if one of us causes a disaster, we're sending you back to your palace," he said, half-jokingly. 

"You're so overprotective," Vania giggled. "It's kinda cute."

*A/N I hope you guys like this chapter!