Lava | Ninjago

🜂 | everyone adores you (at least i do)

[no idea what this is its the most random thing ive ever written. on the bus while fighting off sleep (and losing terribly)
title comes from a song]

🜃

It always was a second nature to him.
Protectiveness, wariness… That's just how it always was with him. He expected danger to hide behind every corner and he did everything to keep those who mattered to him safe from it.

But maybe, as he surrounded himself with people of the same nature over the years, maybe he got a little rusty in certain fields.

But he was always willing to give up his life for them, that part was so ingrained in his being, it was so natural to him, just how breathing or blinking is.

“Watch out, Cole!”

A lot of the things that happened were distant. As if he was peeking through a curtain, through a milky glass into a room filled with vapour. He knew he was the one springing into action and yet he was the spectator.

At least until the moment he blocked the shot and the weird dark mist or cloud or whatever those things produced surrounded him. At first, he was able to see the particles, he was able to see his surroundings but the cloud grew and grew until there was nothing surrounding him but the neverending dark. Even the sounds from the battle that was just happening all around him drowned out.

Kai felt like falling. No. It was something similar but too vague. He felt like riding an elevator. It was for a short moment but he felt the odd pull, as if there was some hook wanting to lift him up but the person was too afraid to put all of their strength into it.

And then, as if his mind was being flushed, he felt memories and thoughts slip through his figurative fingers. He couldn't do anything, just stare at them disappear right in front of his eyes. Helpless.

But was this really all that bad? a voice whispered. Kai just couldn't say whether or not it was his own.

Why was he here in the first place? He recalls pushing Cole out of the way…

As if on cue, as if he had summoned him, Cole made his way into the darkness. An odd look on his face but there were no signs of any injury. Besides the huge scar across his eye that will forever serve as a reminder of how thin the line between life and death can be. Everyone is just a performer after all and it is so, so easy to lose balance, to misstep, to fall off the rope…

Were those his own thoughts? Kai couldn't say.

He was trying to protect him, was that right? So seeing him safe and sound is great news then! Let's go and hug him, just how you always do!

Kai ran towards Cole, feeling the smile on his face.

That's right. Be happy. He's safe.

However, Cole never hugged him back and Kai's smile was quick to turn into a frown. He pulled away, keeping the earth ninja at an arm's length.

“Is something wrong?” he asked, the expression on Cole's face making him want to go curl up somewhere and hide.

“Something wrong?” Cole echoed. He pushed him away and Kai stumbled, barely managing to stand on his legs. “Look what you've done! Look where you got yourself! Is that not wrong to you?”

“But you're safe…” Kai mumbled, clutching his side as he frowned at Cole. Doubts began to sprout in his heavy mind. Perhaps it wasn't him?

Just take a proper look, what's different? Nothing. Just good old Cole.

But he's…

You know, the one you're in love with? It's him. Why would I lie to you? You don't have to doubt me, I would never lie to you, you know that.