lava shipping oneshots

bad hair day

SMASH!

 Cole practically flew down the hallway towards the noise, towards Kai's room. Over the many years, there had been break-ins, explosions, elements going haywire... Any loud noise was sure to bring everyone over. As Cole reached Kai's door, he remembered no one else was in the Monastery but he didn't hesitate to burst through the door, barely breaking a sweat. 

"Hi, you caught me at a bad time," Kai's grin was sheepish.

All around the fire ninja were clothes, empty bottles of flavoured water and protein bar wrappers. No panicking ninja, no evil villain taking him hostage. Cole exhaled carefully then noticed two things: Kai's hair was unusually messy and frizzy and there was even a hairbrush tangled in it, and there was a chunk of glass sticking out of his hand, slowly staining red with blood.

"Fuck, Kai! What happened?" He wasted no time, gathering Kai's hands in his and picking up a sweater he could bandage it with.

"I had a bad hair day!" Kai complained, ignoring the seeping blood and instead looking at the sweater in Cole's free hand. "Hey, is it okay if you use another sweater?"

"This isn't the time to be making beauty requests, Kai," 

Blush was spreading across Kai's face, reaching the tips of his ears. It was weird to see how anxious he looked about it - he wasn't even affected by his pain. 

"Tell me what happened?" He walked them over to sit on the bed which was shockingly neat - then Cole was embarrassed about perceiving Kai as a slob. He felt his cheeks warm and even when he willed it away, looking at Kai's pout brought it back, for some odd reason. 

The fire ninja went to bury his face in his hands and forgot that one was bleeding and in Cole's, so he paused awkwardly then explained. "I told you: bad hair day. It's naturally a frizzy mess and this morning I couldn't get my brush through the knots," 

Cole stared blankly, mouth ajar. Then, his cheeks ballooned and suddenly he was roaring with laughter, shocking Kai into silence. It didn't take long for him to start laughing alongside him, his hand still clutched by Cole's bigger one.

"You are such a hot mess,"

Kai wriggled his eyebrows, "Hot, you say?"

"No! Not like that! I meant because of your fire!" Cole's face and neck were burning red, like all of the blood in his body had gone to them.

"I'm just joking around," Kai let his chuckles trail out then looked at Cole's hand. "I've bled all over you," He said bluntly.

"Right, stop distracting me, let me finish wrapping this around," Holding up the sweater to pull it tighter, Cole noticed a familiar marking on the sleeve. "Hey, do you wear this a lot? I recognise it,"

In front of him, Kai's face was redder than his gi. He struggled to form a sentence, so Cole unfolded it and stared.

"This is mine," He stated.

"Yeah..."

The boys stared at each other, not sure what to say. Kai was flustered, trying to tug his hand away. Cole stared back, dumbfounded and also flustered, but began to tie the sweater around the wound.

"Hey! You're getting your stuff all bloody," Kai protested, but Cole continued without a word, checking that the pressure was right. Once he was done, he straightened up and smiled his most heart-warming smile at Kai. 

"Full disclosure, this is very cute and my heart is beating," 

Kai stammered, his eyes shining.

"I'm so sorry- I can explain," 

"It's okay-"

"No! I'll feel gross if I don't explain,"

Cole let him talk with a reassuring nod. His hand was still firmly under Kai's, but he rested his over hand on top. 

"For like, maybe a year now, I've.. had this huge crush," He paused, his eyes shifting around the room and not meeting Cole's.

"On who?"

"Isn't it a bit obvious?"

Cole shrugged. Kai poked his finger out from under the sweater and tapped the other boy's wrist, and Cole looked down at the piece of clothing.

"Oh,"

"Oh," Kai agreed, letting his head fall onto his chest.

Once again, they sat in silence while both flushing furiously. 

"I'm not really good with words but..." Cole pulled his sweatshirt over his head and tenderly put it on Kai, letting his snuggle up in the oversized shirt. He made sure to stretch it over Kai's bandaged hand, and Kai inhaled sharply as he passed over, but he seemed to trust him enough. When he looked back into the fire ninja's eyes, they were glittering with tears. "Did I hurt you? I'm sorry-"

"No, no. I just- does this mean...?"

"I guess it does," Though he sounded uncertain, Cole only paused for permission to kiss him - he was sure he wanted to that. There was as little hesitation as when he first exploded into his room when he thought he was in trouble. Kai hummed in reply, so Cole slowly pressed forwards. He hadn't realised he wanted to do this until now, but the signs had been there for so long (from both him and Kai) that it made Cole smile into the kiss. 

He didn't know how long they kissed for but when they separated, Cole picked up one of Kai's scrunchies and slid it over his wrist like Kai often did. It made the red ninja smile and curl his legs up. Cole decided to give him another small peck on the forehead. Then on the nose, and his defined cheeks and sharp jawline. He looked up and realised the hair brush was still tangled in Kai's hair and stifled a snort. 

"Can I brush your hair?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Kai grinned cheekily and Cole knew he had gotten the best boyfriend he could possibly ask for. Even if his bad hair days ended up in severe injuries.