A Ninjago Oneshots Collection

Kai Doesn't Cry (small)TW

TW: (allusion to) DEATH
Includes: movieverse baby Kai angst 🥺😭 platonic baby Greenflame fluff ❤️and the best Mother Koko 💪
(This one lowkey makes no sense ssjskdfh but it's cute, set in the movieverse, and has Kai angst and platonic Greenflame, so in a way, it's perfect 😌 Also they don't have a specific age but let's say they're near the end of primary school 💃)

Kai sat on the edge of Lloyd's bed swinging his legs as he waited for Lloyd, beginning to get used to the surroundings. It was the eighth time he'd been over and it had already started to become the norm. Lloyd came out of the bathroom and he was about to run back to his room when Koko stopped him.

"Lloyd, sweetheart, could you unload the dishwasher?" She asked him quickly. Lloyd stopped in his tracks and drew his breath. He had never refused to help Mum, but he was with Kai this time. His one of two only friends. His Mum knew this.

Lloyd bit his lip and looked down the hallway to the door to his room before looking back at her. "But Kai's over..." he simply said.

Koko smiled wider. "Exactly," was all she said in return.

Lloyd became instantly far more confused than conflicted. What does Mum mean by that? He decided that he would trust her.

"Okay..." He trailed off into the kitchen, past Koko, and opened the dishwasher. He looked back and just barely noticed her disappear into his room, quietly closing the door behind herself. He was deathly curious about what his Mum wanted with Kai, but if he was allowed to know what it was, he knew he would know. He decided to focus on the dishes to quickly get back to Kai.

Behind the closed door, Kai looked up at Koko with confused eyes. She gave him a sweet smile as she walked across the room. She grabbed a stool from the corner and dragged it over in front of Kai.

"Do you need something, Miss Lloyd's Mum?" Kai asked as politely as he knew how to. Koko giggled as she usually did at the name.

"Koko, Kai, it's Koko, or even Mum if you'd like." She continued to give Kai a comforting smile. Kai felt his face heat up from who-knows-what emotion, he definitely didn't know what this emotion was.

He looked away from her. "Sorry... Koko..." Kai said quietly, playing with his fingers. A part of him was panicking. This felt all too similar to the conversations he had back when he and Nya had nowhere to go. He heard Koko draw her breath.

"Kai, sweetheart, how do you feel about talking about your parents?" She simply asked.

Kai held his breath. That terrible lump had suddenly appeared in his throat. He violently shook his head, still not looking up.

Koko let go of her breath and nodded to herself. "Okay, I won't push you then, but when you feel okay talking about them, come to me, alright?" Her voice remained gentle and Kai risked glancing up. Her gaze was comforting and her smile even more so. Kai felt himself struggle to breathe. He nodded shortly and crossed his arms, looking back down, trying to hide his face. But Koko knew that response all too well. "Hey... c'mere," she said quietly, opening her arms.

Kai stiffened. What does that mean? He risked another glance up and held his breath when he saw her open arms. A hug...? From an adult... From someone who... cares. From a... parent.

Kai stared at her open arms for a minute before he realised that everything had gotten blurry. Everything hurt too much. He wanted the lump in his throat to go away. He sniffled before quickly, without a second thought, he jumped off the bed and ran into her arms. She instantly caught Kai in a tight hug as he silently cried, the only sounds he did make muffled by his face being against Koko. She softly hushed Kai and stroked his hair as he shook from the tears that fell.

Behind them, Lloyd peeked in through the crack left in the open door. He'd finished with the dishes and thought it'd be safe to come in by now, but then he heard his Mum hushing. She only ever does that... when I cry. Lloyd's heart sank when he realised that that could only mean one thing: Kai was crying. But Kai doesn't cry... He gets sad, he gets mad, he shouts and he screams, and he trembles and he zones out. But... he doesn't... cry...

Lloyd looked back into the room, and he heard the most tiniest sniffle. Lloyd's heart was overrun by fear and empathy and he quietly stepped into the room, holding his breath.

He slowly walked up to Koko's side and she noticed the movement and looked at him. She gave Lloyd a small smile, trying to tell him that everything would be okay. She could see the glisten in his eyes and the shaking in his shoulders. Lloyd simply looked down at Kai. He was shaking so much. Lloyd felt his bottom lip tremble. He wanted to hug Kai more than anything right now.

Koko noticed that Kai hadn't made a noise in a while and she gently let go of him to get down to his eye level. As soon as Kai let go of her, he quickly hid his face in his hands and wiped at his eyes. Koko softly took his hands and moved them away from his face, but Kai only looked further downward in shame. He hated crying.

"Don't hide your feelings, sweetheart, there's no need to, especially here, okay?" Koko told Kai quietly.

He bit his lip and only shrunk backward more. Of course there's a reason to... if Nya ever saw me like this... Kai would've said exactly that, but Koko gently nudged Kai's head to look upward and meet her eyes, and what was left of the little kid inside him, couldn't help but sniffle back in response to her kind smile as he wiped his eyes again. She kissed his forehead and stood up, picking up the stool she had sat on and moved it back to the corner. Kai watched her until he let go of his breath and looked downward at his feet. That's when he noticed the second pair of small socks. He looked to his side and saw the one and only: Lloyd.

Kai gasped and stepped away from him. Lloyd was the second person who was never ever supposed to see him cry. EVER. Lloyd's bottom lip wobbled and his eyes were brimmed with tears. The sight made Kai's own tears spring up in his eyes once more, but before he got the chance to try and make up some excuse, some story, some sort of lie to pretend that he hadn't just been crying, Lloyd ran at him and hugged him so tightly, Kai almost felt winded.

"Kai!" Lloyd sobbed, his crying shaking Kai too. Lloyd's despair made Kai cry involuntarily as his hands hovered, not hugging Lloyd back quite yet.

"I'm sorry," Kai said with a broken voice. "I'm really sorry." Kai shut his eyes tightly and finally hugged him back, not sure whether it was for his sake or Lloyd's.

Lloyd's crying quietened down and he felt himself almost feel slightly angry. "I didn't know you could cry..." Lloyd sniffled through his hiccoughing.

Kai sniffled back and just hugged Lloyd tighter. "I'm sorry," he repeated uselessly. Lloyd stayed quiet as slowly, a realisation formed in his head: I have to help Kai. In the same way Kai helped me, I need to help Kai. He drew his breath and quickly pushed Kai by his shoulders, keeping his hands there as a confrontation. Kai was breathing deeply, confused and slightly scared of what Lloyd was doing. He had a very concentrated face, but when he opened his mouth to speak, he seemed a little lost. He closed it and they ended up just looking into each other's eyes. Lloyd suddenly felt embarrassed and he looked down between their feet.

"I... I don't know how to help you..." he started quietly, but he quickly gulped down his nerves and met Kai's eyes once more. "But I— I want to. I want to help you." Lloyd teared up again, and so did Kai. But this time, as tears grew in his eyes, so did a small smile on his lips.

He hugged Lloyd tightly again, closing his eyes. "Thanks..." he hiccoughed and squeezed Lloyd. Lloyd hugged back and sniffled, also with a small smile.

Koko watched them from the door with tears of her own. She was so proud of both of them. She smiled to herself and snuck a quick picture of the sweet and sad moment, before leaving them to themselves.