moral of the story | a ninjago highschool fanfiction

[33] destroying toilets is considered angst, right?

Father beamed. "As you should be Zane. I know I have not exactly been the...best of a father I could be, and it's right about time I start trying. I just wanted to say that I am sorry—so, incredibly sorry that I lied to you for so long. And in no way at all is it your fault. It is entirely mine for keeping what you should rightfully have known from the beginning. I do not know how to regain your trust, Zane, but I am willing to do whatever it takes, my... my boy."

And Zane did not flinch like the last time Christopher Julien had said those words.

"Time." he said, handing his father a warm cookie. "Time heals all wounds."

A tentative smile crossed Dr Julien's face as he tapped his cookie to Zane's in cheers. "I will beat you at chess, someday."

"Oh to be a dreamer," Zane said dryly as his father barked out in laughter, wiping a tear from his crinkled eyes.

"Perhaps I should have let you choose your humour settings a long time ago."

Zane merely chuckled and bid his father goodnight before clearing up the kitchen and heading to bed with a spreading smile of trust, and joy.

o o o

"Evan! We're going to be late for the bus, you must hurry otherwise—" A blur sped past Zane and through the door, barrelling for the yellow bus outside. "Right." He locked up and boarded after Evan, noting where his brother sat with Annabella Han, Zander Loughty and Kade Gorski.

Pixal joined a stop later as she only took the bus on Fridays, sliding into the saved spot next to the window beside Zane as she liked. She was precariously balancing the skeleton of a paper mache volcano on her lap with materials sticking out of her backpack.

Zane's brain raced to figure out why she needed a volcano and his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when he realised he'd forgotten they had the dual class science fair in two days, and he and Pixal were working cross class and he was supposed to bring a hot glue gun.

"Pixal, I'm so sorry I forgot the hot glue gun—"

His girlfriend grinned and dipped her hand into her backpack, surfacing with a hot glue gun which she passed over to him. He sighed in relief and pressed a soft kiss to her cheek.

"Thank you. I am sorry, I have been very busy with Evan and my father lately, the project slipped my mind."

"No worries." Pixal smiled as they passed another stop. "But after school you can come with me to Borg Tower to make up for it. We have received a new shipment of filaments for BorgPhones, and my father wanted your insight on design for a BorgPad, if measurements allow."

His jaw hung open. "Cyrus Borg...wants me to help him with his products? Of course!"

"It's not like you haven't met him before."

"Well, yes, I have met your father before but he sends out millions of Borg products every week or day, and he's Ninjago's largest technology company. To say I have worked with him would work wonders for future resumes. Thank you, thank you, thank you Pixal."

She simply smiled, her eyes flashing several times in pattern.

He decoded the message almost instinctively.

"How?" he gasped, reaching up to brush under his own eyes.

"I'll teach you after school." Pixal offered. "For now, we need to figure out how to make a volcano from nothing."

astra

"Astraaaaa!"

"Bells!" she grinned, and tossed her friend a whole avocado. "You're welcome."