Lava | Ninjago

🜂 | sleepless

"Well, not every–" The look in Cole's eyes made him shut up. Point was made. Cole moved his hand and the feeling of his arm draped over Kai's body was so much better than the irritating blanket.

"Well," Cole started after the moment of silence, "do you wanna talk about it?"

"I dunno..." And when he said it, he could see the shift in Cole's eyes. It was barely noticeable, but it was there. He didn't let him in again. "I don't know where to start. I mean – it's like really messy hair, you know? It's– it's a big ball of tangled headphones..." he rambled on and Cole just listened and nodded in understanding. It made Kai stop talking again, just to stare at the – barely visible in the dark – face of the person that meant the world to him. How he managed to keep the best human being in the world near him was a mystery. It made him cry a few times, realising how much Cole matters to him. How wonderful he is, so understanding and patient. So loving and caring, despite how much mess of a person Kai is.

"What?" Cole asked, which put a tiny smile on Kai's lips.

"I love you," he muttered.

The words "I love you" always felt so... not enough to him. How are three stupid words supposed to convey the entire message? I love you just simply isn't enough. It doesn't say how many times Kai spent thinking about Cole and about Cole and him together. It doesn't say how he makes him feel like a living wildfire – and that's not talking about his own powers. It doesn't say what he feels. he can't say what he feels, but he so desperately wants to.

But then Cole's eyes seem to twinkle despite no light being in the room and Kai feels like he got the message. Cole rubs his back and plays with his hair and he hugs him and kisses him and it almost feels like they don't even need words. They don't even need those stupid three words that Kai used to choke on since he was a child. They sit together on a couch, maybe even just doing nothing, and everything just feels right, everything makes perfect sense.

It was Cole's turn to move his head closer. He whispered, "Want me to get your mind off things then?" only to receive a puzzled look from his beloved. Kai snorted unsurely.

"And how exactly are you gonna do–" His words got lost in between their lips. His eyes closed – and maybe he saw nothing, maybe he saw a firework show, maybe he saw a nice vision of a calm future.

But he knew he felt like floating. Suddenly, the discomfort of the mattress, the heaviness of the blanket were gone. He could just feel electric shocks, fire all over his skin and the weird heaviness of his stomach that always appears when you fall. But it felt nice. You could say Kai was almost addicted to the feeling. Not only because it made his mind go radio silent. After long years he felt like he actually deserved something for himself. All his life, all he had done was for Nya. Never stopping for a minute to enjoy something for himself. His life was full of sacrifices. And if not for his sister, then for his brothers. And if not for his brothers, then for the entire world.

But when Cole traced his fingers along his skin and through his hair and when his lips touched Kai's, he felt that it was time for him to enjoy something.

They parted, faces mere inches apart. Kai opened his eyes. It felt like a dream. A beautiful, eternal dream. Cole's long lashes twitch as he also opened his eyes. Those beautiful eyes that always looked at him as if he was the most precious thing in the world. those eyes that made him get all red and jittery. Eyes that made him lose his breath and his senses.

Kai could feel Cole's cold hands on his skin that almost felt as if he was on fire. The touch sent chills down his spine and he shuffled closer, breathing out a barely audible, "You know, that was a dumb question."

Cole smiled, making Kai's attention focus on the lips he just couldn't get enough of.

"So, I'm guessing it worked?"

Instead of an answer, Kai kissed the corner of Cole's mouth, despite his mind begging to go for the centre. He heard the amused huff from his boyfriend and smiled himself.

Kai's hand travelled along Cole's arm until it found its companion. He held it and moved them to the space between them, to stare at their intertwined fingers. Cole's gaze followed. There was barely any light in the room – the only source being the moon shining brightly on the dark blue canvas. It was nearly full moon.

Everything felt so still, as steady as a water surface. Must've been the silence of the entire building that made them both forget about the outer world. Oddly enough, there was not any cricket chirping coming from the opened window. No late owls howling. It was just their breaths and the rustling of the fabrics that could be heard. That and occasional soft chuckles.

Kai's hand wandered all the way around Cole's chest, while the earth ninja was not able to take his eyes off Kai.

As if his touch was making a map, his fingers traced Cole's collarbones and pecs until they stopped where his heart is. He could feel the beat, the oh-so-familiar rhythm. His hand was rising and falling as Cole breathed. He could find some of the scars they had all collected throughout the years.

"I didn't know you had a birthmark here," he said and touched the spot with his fingers. Cole glanced at it before turning his gaze back to Kai's face. He shrugged before cupping Kai's cheek again, his hand then slid to his ear.

"Hm, I didn't know about the scar behind your ear either..."

"How'd you–"

"You keep rubbing it when you're bored."

It was a long night. Almost endless, it felt. The pair couldn't keep their hands off one another. Scars and marks were discovered, stories were told. A small childhood accident, a near–death experience. Some findings were unknown to both Most importantly, through it all, Kai's mess of thoughts got eventually eased down until his mind felt lighter. He totally forgot about it, the same way they both forgot about the main reason for being in bed – getting some sleep. They stole some kisses and shared some giggles like the happy lovers in books do. It was just Cole, Kai, and the Moon watching over them as they shared some calm intimate moments. Moments that will be cherished during a dangerous fight. Moments that will be looked after somewhere in the distant future.

And maybe they stayed up through all of the impossible night. Maybe they fell asleep eventually, exhaustion finally taking over. But it was them. Them against the world. Them against the frustrating tossing and turning.