Oh, to Be Young | Ninjago Fanfic

1 | Waking Up Someone Different

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"Sleep in our eyes, her and me at the breakfast table
Barely awake, I let precious time go by
Then when she's gone, there's that odd melancholy feeling
And a sense of guilt I can't deny"

- ABBA

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      As always, Zane awoke first. The rest of the ninja were hardly morning birds, much better suited for staying up late than waking up early, but Zane has always been an early riser. Even when he had lived with his father he'd get up chop wood, making sure there was a fire going to keep the house warm when his creator awoke. It continued into his time as a ninja, though he no longer had to spend his time cutting at birch trees. Instead he spent the early hours of the morning preparing a hearty breakfast to keep the group going throughout the day.

      The nindroid blinked as his systems whirred back on, the lights of his eyes flickering for a moment before settling. He looked over to see the pile of his family, draped over each other on the couch, and smiled softly. He enjoyed the moment of quiet for a moment, then quietly shifted so he could stand. Pixal was still asleep so he gently laid her back down, propping her against some pillows, then started to step through the tangles of his teammates. Cole was sprawled on the ground, snoring so loudly the walls rattled. Every so often he'd stop for a moment to twitch before resuming again. Zane had to carefully stepped over him, trying to avoid his fingers as he crept over the earth ninja's body. Then, Zane was forced to duck Nya's flailing limbs as she mumbled in her sleep. Kai grunted a bit as he was jostled by his sister but years of living with her has adapted his sleep to her restlessness. Zane only paused a moment at Lloyd's blanket pile. It still exactly where it had been before, pressed up against the couch with a candy bag beside it. The green ninja was no where to be seen, the blanket Zane had tucked around him now caved in and flopped on top of itself. The nindroid dismissed it as the other ninja leaving to get started on work or emails.

      Originally the ninja had only taken letters but when a bedraggled mailman complained they set up an email. It was mostly used for fans to send messages and for them to communicate and exchange reports with the police chief. If they were unlucky, Gayle would spam them with messages to try to get interviews. If they were really unlucky, idiot crooks would attempt to send them anonymous threats. It was a poor choice on their part, given that Pixal was able to track them down within the hour. Zane was able to reply to a few and Jay enjoyed interacting with fans but Nya thought it was stupid, Kai had no care for it, and Cole rarely checked himself. Lloyd had also been one to ignore their emails, but after Sensei Wu had disappeared from the incident with Krux and Ancronix Lloyd had taken it upon himself to start doing all of the more "boring" work that Wu would do. Not without a little bit of complaining though.

      Zane simply shook his head and moved on into the kitchen. He began to take out the ingredients he needed as quietly as possible. The team usually slept for a while so he figured he could make something heavier as a brunch. With a smile, Zane washed his hands and started to cook. He pulled out ingredients and wrestled pots from where they were crammed into the cupboards. Frozen dumplings were steamed in a pan, rice began to cook, and bao was beginning to be prepared. Zane had gotten decently far into making his meal, starting to roll the dough around the meat filling while the dumplings sizzled on the stove, when the rest of the ninja wandered into the kitchen. Well, all sans Lloyd. It seemed he was still working. But that wasn't out of the ordinary, so the team continued on without him, expecting the ninja to show up once he smelled food.