[ like a love song ] - ninja x reader

zane x nb!reader - angst

lol sorry

***

"Let's talk this over," I pleaded with the white-haired boy - robot - Nindroid - whatever! He had his back to me, facing the lake. He was staring at himself with his icy blue eyes. I'd always known there was something unnatural about those eyes, but I'd never had pinned them down to Zane being a robot.
But he wasn't just a robot. He was a Nindroid. He had a human body, just cogs and gears instead of organs. Everything about him was as real and valid as I was. I knew that, it was just the question of trying to get him to listen. We were finally settling in. I don't know what we were, but it was a peaceful spell for Ninjago. Zane was finally dating me.
"It's not like we're dead." I spoke again, hoping he would turn to me. He didn't. Instead, Zane stood stock still, insistent on staring at his reflection in the water as if that would change this. As if that would change everything.

He'd known he was a robot for a very long time, of course. But I'd only just found out when he broke during a battle, and fully just malfunctioned. You can imagine my surprise spectating that happen to my boyfriend.
"Don't leave me hanging so high on such a breakable thread," I pleaded again. Finally, Zane turned to me, and I felt my heart leap into my throat. But his expression crushed it right backs to the pits of my stomach.
"You were all the things I thought I knew," he croaked, voice almost unintelligible due to the volume. I stepped closer, desperate to hear him speak. "I thought we could be-" He stopped himself, dragging his gaze away from mine. No. Please.

"You are everything that I want!" I cried out, my emotions getting the better of me when he broke my gaze. I couldn't stand it. He wouldn't even look at me. "We're meant to be- supposed to be!"
"But we lost it."
When Zane turned back to me, his eyes had lost that emotion. They were cold, stony - robotic. I sucked in a cold breath of air. He wasn't just a robot. He used to look at me with such care, such affection, such-
Love.
It had only been seven months of us talking or dating or whatever the hell we were, but Zane looked at me with such love. I held back a sob. Ever since I tried to convince my parents that not being a boy or a girl was normal, I'd lost that look of love. That's why I felt so safe and happy around Zane. Because I could be myself, and he loved it.
But he wasn't looking at me like that right now. It's like he had an emotions switch and he just...
Flipped it.

"All of the memories just fade away." Zane's deadpan voice hurt, and a cold feeling of fear washed over me.
What if he is just a robot?
I hated thinking that. When people looked at me and presumed I was A(F/M)AB, they thought 'they're just a girl/boy.' I knew I was doing the exact same thing now, but I couldn't help it. He was, technically, a machine.
"All this time, you were pretending?" I choked it out like a question. I saw Zane's expression falter, for only a minute, before he nodded.

"Yes. You and I were never going to be. It is too dangerous, and I am not compatible with you." I wanted to cry. I wanted to scream. His voice was monotone, the voice he used on missions with his team. I'd finally managed to wear him down to speaking to me like a human being, and here I was. Back to square one.
He's only proving me right.

"It's nice to know that you were there," I started uncertainly. How do you go about a breakup with a robot who is confusing the ever loving fuck out of you? Did he really have feelings for me? Did he turn some kind of emotions switch off? Was he faking the whole time? Was he more than a robot or not?
I finally let out a sob, and finally watched as Zane's face crashed into an expression of absolute agony. But I was convinced.
"Thanks for acting like you cared and making me think I'm your only one," I chattered out between sobs that grew in longevity and volume.
"Y/n-"
"It's nice to know we had it all; thank you for watching me take this fall!" I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks out of anger, and I knew I was borderline yelling. But I couldn't help it.
He lied to me. Or he didn't.
Either way, he's not being straight and I can't take it.

"I'm hurting too," Zane whispered quietly, and he watched as I tried desperately to control my gasping breaths and sobs. Finally, he took three strides forward and engulfed me in a hug. One last deep breath, and my sobs disappeared. Everything was easy again. I sank into his warmth, pressing my face against his chest and letting the familiar smell of snow, a winter's day and snowdrops flood through my nose.
"You are everything that I want," I murmured softly into his white ninja gi.

He pulled away. No. No, this isn't happening.
"We were supposed to be, but we've lost it," he replied quietly. "I'm sorry, Y/n. You will not be able to live a happy life with me as a robot. On top of all your own discoveries..."
The reference to my gender was not appreciated, but I let it slide.
"It's just too much. You will be safer and happier if you let me go."

Zane lingered for a few moments, as if hoping I'd say something. When I didn't, his shoulders slumped and he trudged away through the woods surrounding the lake. I was too stunned to move, clutching my own arms, clinging on to any modicum of warmth he'd left.

"So much for my happy ending," I whispered sadly to myself, tears slowly beginning to slide down my face again.