lavashipping oneshots!!

Lazy day

hey guys! I have a couple of chapters planned out, but they're quite long and I have no energy to start them just yet lmao - in the meantime, enjoy this short one inspired by the storm currently in the UK

2087 words

-

The ninja hadn't had any missions for a couple of days now, meaning they could all finally take a well-deserved break. Aboard Destiny's Bounty, Jay, Zane, Cole, and Kai were sitting on the sofa, playing Prime Empire. Cups of soda were scattered across the table as the once-neat cushions were now flung into all corners of the room as the only focus was winning the game. Meanwhile, Nya and Lloyd sat on the kitchen counters, catching up on missed conversations they hadn't had the time for: the storm outside caused raindrops to patter against the glass, each one creating a beautiful melody that surrounded the room. Occasionally, they would stop their conversation, sometimes listening to the boys' screams of rage after they died in-game, or Nya would use her elemental power of water to morph the raindrops into little pictures while Lloyd tried to guess what they were. First, a puppy, then a snake, then a donut - the list went on.

COLE'S POV

When did the others get so good at Prime Empire? Actually, Jay's improvement was expected, the guy literally plays video games all day long. Zane was always good, he just hadn't played in a while, and I'd forgotten how hard he was to beat - he's literally a nindroid! How am I supposed to beat someone that can calculate how to get out of every single one of my attacks? That's two people I can somewhat stand losing to: but Kai? Kai usually was the easiest to beat, because he didn't actually think of what he was doing and just started spam attacking whoever's character was closest. As long as you hid behind a bush or even sacrificed someone else, (if it was Jay, you could always hear the complaining before Kai's cheers erupted seconds later), you could stay alive. Okay, so I might be rusty, but I still have a few tricks up my sleeve.

"HEY! Cole, t-that's not fair! You can't just tickle me to win," Jay squealed, trying to focus on the game while also squirming around and clutching his stomach tight. It may not be fair, but tickling people always works. Utilising my opportunity, I snatched Jay's controller and moved his character right in front of Zane's attack.

"Sucks to suck, Jay. Get better next time." I snorted, throwing his controller back to him before trying to keep myself alive in the game. Once Kai realises what I'm doing, there's no hope - he knows my one weakness, and he's willing to die in-game for it. 

Speaking of Kai, our relationship recently has been... something. There's some boundaries of friendship that we cross far too often, but neither one of us is willing to acknowledge the conversation that needs to happen soon - what are we? I used to see him as a brother, but I soon realised that deep connection wasn't the same one I had with the rest of the ninja, as something else lurked beneath the surface. At first, there was stolen glances between us where we would catch the other staring for a bit longer than necessary; then it became a tradition after hard training sessions or missions to help each other with patching up. As the weeks went by, the larger bandages were no longer needed; instead, the time spent in the bathroom taking care of each other was for the smallest thing, such as holding the other one's hand while running a papercut under the tap water. I've somewhat come to the conclusion that I, Cole Brookstone, am in love with Kai Smith.

"Kai, according to my calculations, you are not making it out of this alive." Zane laughed, pretending to have Kai cornered, where in reality, Zane was actually the one about to die. 

"Hey, that's not fair! We said no technology from that head of yours while playing," Kai protested, his brown eyes slowly turning more amber, a flame flickering in them. His face began to heat up as a blush tinted his cheeks, his body not hiding any of his emotions, particularly the rage he felt while getting a bit too competitive during Prime Empire.