25 Days of Holiday Fluff: 2023

What happens when warm and cold collide?

The fireplace in the Monastery is dim and cold, evidence that no one is home. Until...

BAM

The doors of the Monastery are flung open and five very cold ninja stumble and trip over eachother in the rush to escape the snow and ice of the outside world.

"FSM! It's cold in here too!" Jay exclaims, rubbing his arms to try and warm up.

"Uh, Kai, a little fire please?" Nya asks, pointing to the empty fireplace.

"Sure thing, one super hot fire coming up!" Kai proclaimes, firing up his powers. With a spin he flings a fireball into the fireplace, lighting the logs inside ablaze and casting a warm glow across the room.

Immediately the four other ninja are around the fire, holding their hands out and sighing in relief. Even Zane is cold, the winter weather has been freezing his joints in place and now water is dripping out from the gears and other circuits.

Kai smiles at his friends, but then it fades to a frown as he scans the room again. One of them is missing, a certain green eyed ninja isn't anywhere to be found.

"Hey, guys, has anyone seen Lloyd?" Kai asks, voicing his concerns.

"Didn't he say that he was going to take another lap before it got too dark?" Cole says, turning away from the fire for a half second to answer.

"Yeah, but I thought he would have been done by now." Kai counters, turning to look at the door.

"I'm gonna go look for him."

"What!"

"You're going back out in that weather?!"

"That is an unwise decision."

"Are you trying to freeze?!"

The other ninja all stare at Kai as he starts to walk to the door, saying "He's my boyfriend, I have to make sure he's ok."

But before he can open the door, someone else opens it from the other side.

A gust of cold wind and snow blows into the Monastery as the doors are flung open for a second time that day. The wind is so strong that the fire almost gets blown out, only saved by the four ninja sitting in front of it.

Kai throws his arms up in front of his face to block the onslaught of snow coming from outside. Then it is abruptly cut off as someone closes the doors

"Burr, man is it cold outside. Oh, hey Kai." A snowy figure turns away from the doors and almost runs straight into Kai. They have snow stuck all over their gi, making it almost impossible to see what color it is. But then as Kai lowers his arms, the person flips their hood backwards to reveal emerald green eyes and gold-blond hair.

"Lloyd!" Kai bellows, running and scooping his boyfriend up into a tight hug, spinning them both around as Lloyd laughs, his angelic voice piercing through the still slightly cold air of the Monastery. "I missed you Greenie."

Setting him down, Kai wraps his arms around Lloyd's waist and seals their lips together in a strong, passionate kiss. Their bodies flush together as they part for a quick breath before meeting each other's lips again.

But suddenly Kai feels something cold brush up against the back of his neck, startling him into breaking off the kiss with a shocked gasp. Lloyd opens one eye to shoot Kai a questioning look and asks, "What's wrong?"

"Something really cold just touched my neck." Kai says, shivering slightly.

Opening both eyes, Lloyd thinks for a moment before a grin sowly spreads across his face. Leaning in to whisper into Kai's ear, Lloyd asks, "Did it feel like this?" Kai shivers as the cold feeling returns.

"Yeah, it did. Wait. How did you..." Kai trails off, seeing his boyfriend's mischievous smile. "Lloyd..." He starts slowly, "Can I hold your hands for a moment." Still smiling, Lloyd nods and places his hands in Kai's. The recoil is instant as Lloyd's cold hands come in contact with Kai's warm ones. "Gah! How are your hands so cold?!" Kai exclaims, snatching his hands away from Lloyd and eyeing them with suspicion.

"Maybe because I was just out in a blizzard, genius." Lloyd points out.

"Yeah but-" Kai starts, but then Lloyd pounces on him and slips his still cold hands underneath Kai's gi, causing him to yelp and squirm, trying to get rid of Lloyd's cold touch.

"Gah! Lloyd! That's really cold!" Kai exclaims, jumping up and away from his boyfriend.

Lloyd has a playful glint in his eyes as he approaches Kai. And in response, Kai starts to walk backwards, saying, "Uh, Lloyd, what are you doing?"

Lloyd doesn't respond, instead he rushes toward Kai, reaching out to grab him with cold hands again. But Kai dodges him and runs away. And for the rest of the evening they run around the Monastery, Kai yelping every time Lloyd manages to touch him, and Lloyd laughing gleefully at him. The other ninja just shake their heads at the couple's antics, enjoying the warm fire.