NINJAGO: Amateurs of Adulthood .2

M2

Kai laid by himself in the boy's room, tossing a ball up to the bottom of Jay's bunk and catching it as it came down. The frozen peas pressed against his face could only sooth the pain of his busted lip, but not the pain of the empty pit that slowly grew inside him

Lloyd hates him.

Lloyd hates him?

Lloyd hates him.

Lloyd.

Kai could handle hate from other people, what they think doesn't matter. But Lloyd? The little boy that ended up being like a kid brother to him. Someone he'd fight for, raise hell for, hated him? He was angry and, in the heat of the moment, put his hands on the one he was supposed to protect. Damn, Kai was so...disappointed in himself. He hid away in the room so no one would see him, and because he was too ashamed to go outside with his face looking the way it did. The brunette got the ball in his hand as he heard a soft knock on the door.

"Go away." He sighed before tossing the ball back up.

Instead of standing still, the door pushed open, allowing Zane to walk through the opening and lean against the wall. Kai sat up immediately upon seeing the look in his eye. Zane was pissed. Aw hell, he hated disappointing himself, but he hated disappointing Zane so much more. The nindroid leaned against the walk with his arms crossed over his chest as he stared Kai down.

"Talk." He spoke finally

"Huh?" Kai asked, feeling the pain in his lip

"I want to hear you say your piece before I say anything. So talk."

"I mean, you've already heard everything I've got." Kai gave a sour chuckle

"Have I?" Zane's gaze stayed like stone. Kai swallowed hard.

The brunette walked towards his lover as he spoke. "Zane, Morro is dangerous. I- ...We were all there at Stix. If there were-"

"What am I?" Zane asked

"What happened to letting me talk?" Kai replied with his own question

"What. Am. I. To you?"

"...You're my boyfriend." Kai was getting worried now. Please please please please please don't let him say he wants to break up.

"Really? I am your lover. Are you sure? We've never been enemies at all?" Zane continued slowly

"Zane, what are you trying to say...?" Kai asked. He kept his face hard as stone in an attempt not to cry

"Even when I was the Ice Emperor?"

What?

"W-...Ha, what?" Kai asked. He wanted to laugh out of relief because the conversation wasn't going where he thought it was going at all, but he still had no idea what Zane was talking about

"I want to know...what is the difference between Morro and I?" Zane pressed his hand against his chest where his heart should be, while Kai tried desperately to ignore the look of pain on his face

"The difference? You don't know the difference?" Kai questioned in a rather exaggerated tone

"No! And I'm starting to think you don't either." Zane snapped back, silencing Kai at once

"I have hurt more people. I have committed worse crimes. Kai...I've killed pe-"

"No! That wasn't you! You weren't yourself when you were the Ice Emperor!" Kai yelled as he cupped Zane's cool face in his hands

"But I was. Kai..." The nindroid grasped Kai's hands with his own. "I was. I simply had my memory wiped, I wasn't reprogrammed. Under those circumstances, I did exactly what I would've done."