ColexKai = Lava = Perfect♥️

III

Downtown Ninjago City the air was electric with the echo of clashing swords and the vibrant lights of neon signs painting the streets in a kaleidoscope of colors.

Cole and Kai stood amidst the chaos, battling a band of unruly bandits, determined to bring peace back to the bustling metropolis, and especially to the poor man, whose store had just been robbed.

But destiny, it seems, had other plans.

With a swift but poorly timed maneuver, Cole was taken by surprise, his arm slashed by the sharp edge of a dagger.

With a hiss he went to the ground, holding his arm close to his chest, while with the other he sent an earthquake towards the bandit.

Kai, who had watched the scene gasped and his fire, now brighter than ever, finally shooed away the bandits.

The store owner rushed outside, taking his belongings back in, thanking the two ninja, but Kai only had eyes for his teammates, who was still sitting on the ground, face pale and eyes clouded.

He knew that Cole was not good with blood or injuries in general.

And he bet the slash hurt like hell as well.

He patted Cole's shoulder, which startled him.

"Come on, pebble. Let's get you stitched up", he said, carefully helping Cole back up on his feet and leading him to his red fire car.

Cole was quiet the whole ride, and the little improvised bandage made of his gi's hood did little to stop the bleeding.

Kai noticed how worn Cole looked, but he also saw the looks he shot Kai every now and then.

He looked thankful, but vulnerable. "My little damsel in distress", Kai mumbled with a shy grin and finally there was a little chuckle from Cole and the earth master seemed to ease down a little.

Back at the monastery, amid serene surroundings starkly contrasting the turmoil both felt inside, Kai led Cole into the dim embrace of the infirmary's soft, reassuring light, where Zane had already waited for them, as Kai had sent him a message on their way home.

Zane eyed Cole with a worried look. Cole just shrugged and showed him the wound. It was still stinging and bleeding.

"It's quite deep," Zane explained, his voice calm as a tranquil river. "It needs stitching, Cole"

Cole groaned. He hated everything that had to do with wounds, and blood and medicine.

But of course he had to endure it. The bill for not paying enough attention in the fight. He could bite his own ass for being so stupid. And the reason?? He had been looking at Kai, and a move he had made. Which looked fantastic...

Zane offered to sedate him a bit and Cole agreed.

What felt like 50 painkillers and 6 sedative injections later, the procedure passed in a haze, Zane's deft hands working their magic.

The sedative clouded Cole’s consciousness, but the pain was still a distant whisper. No, no. Not the pain of his wounded arm.

But his heart. Recently he had discovered he had feelings for the hothead. But he knew, that Kai had a thing with Skylor.

That's what he was thinking about as Zane finished his work, leaving Cole to rest. He laid back at the bench, his head a little dizzy and light.

With a view, that was a little blurry at it's edges he noticed Kai coming him.

"Hey there, tough guy. How are you holding up?", Kai's grin was as infectious as ever, a burst of sunshine echoing through the infirmary.

The way Kai was standing there over him, the light of the lamp reflecting in his eyes and also encircling his head... he looked angelic.

Cole blinked through the fog of his medication, his tongue loosened by the ether, letting words dance without restriction or restraint.

"Hmm., Kai... you're... you're so handsome", Cole muttered, his usual reserve lost in the narcotic veil.

Kai chuckled, not just amused but genuinely endeared by Cole's sudden openness, assuming it was mere jest.

"I’m sure your girlfriend wouldn’t appreciate me saying that tho... Let's keep it a secret between me and you, okay?", Cole whispered with a drowsy smirk.

With the sincerity only a drug-induced haze could afford, he added, more quiet, more to himself: "...she's so lucky.."

Kai chuckled again, surprised and charmed, like discovering a rare flower blooming unexpectedly in winter. "I don’t have a girlfriend, Cole! You know that!", he laughed leaning closer.

Did he know that? What about Skylor?

Cole's eyelids drooped further, but his heart raced against the medication’s lethargic pull.

His head hurt a bit, and deep within he knew he would regret this, but the strong sedative made him fearless and stupid.

"Then let me be your girlfriend", he blurted, his honesty unwound and laid bare like a parchment revealing a hidden text.

Kai’s laughter softened into contemplation, a moment’s clarity amidst the whimsy. "Deal", he said, still unsure if the bond of frivolity made with Cole was something more profound.

For a second Cole felt only happiness rushing through him.

Then within seconds the heaviness of his head and the haze of the anästhesia took over, and he suddenly slipped into sleep, his breathing steady and deep, each rise and fall of his chest a gentle rhythm, even though his heart was still pounding.

Kai stayed, intrigued and entranced, his gaze lingering over the once-hidden depths of Cole's heart he had inadvertently glimpsed.

As Cole didn't show any signs of waking up soon, Kai carefully lifted him off the bench and decided to carry him into his room.

In the hallway he met Jay, who gave him a weird look.

Kai grinned. "Cole is my girlfriend now", he said, and added: "I am practicing for our wedding", as he noticed the irony of him holding him bridal-style.

Jay just shrugged, and with another weird look he disappeared into his room, which laid next to Cole's.

As he had tugged Cole in, he stayed with him for a while.

He had noticed his eyes on him during the battle, so he could only assume, that that was the reason Cole had been distracted.

So... was it true what he had said about him being handsome? Did he really want to be his... well... boyfriend made more sense...?

Or was it just the sedative?

He really needed to ask Zane what he had injected.

Because as Cole shifted in his sleep Kai figured that it might be both and the sedative was just helping Cole to admit it.

And Kai couldn't deny it: His heart made a little happy jump at this thought.

So it seemed like Zane was playing cupid.