Cole climbed as quietly as possible up to the roof. The fresh night air already did wonders to his busy mind. Once he was up, he looked at the dark sky covered with tiny lights. He loved the peace and silence of the night since he was a kid. Some things never change.
His hair which he had in a bun felt heavy on his head, yet Cole decided not to let it down. After all, it was quite windy and the last thing he needed was to trip and fall off the roof because his hair was in his view. Not to mention it wouldn't be very ninja of him.
Tearing his gaze away from the night sky, he finally noticed a sitting silhouette at one of the ends of the roof. The spiky hair gave away that it was Kai who was - like Cole - not asleep in his bed. Cole didn't mind having company and so he decided to come to him. Carefully as to not slip he made his way toward the other ninja.
"What are you doing here?" he asked when he stood next to him. Kai looked up, his face surprised at first but then relaxing again. He gave Cole a tiny smile and looked back forward.
"I could ask you the same," he responded instead.
"Can't sleep?" Cole sat next to Kai, their legs hanging over the edge of the roof. Both of them supported themselves with their arms, although Cole leaned a bit more back. He turned his head to see Kai more clearly. In the dark he could barely see the details of his face, his scars were almost invisible. The unclear sight was almost dreamy - you know how it should look but can't seem to see it properly.
"Mhmm," hummed Kai. Cole looked forward, just like him, and said, "Yeah. Me neither."
Silence took over the pair. The sound of crickets worked as some sort of background music, their repetitive yet harmonic symphony soothing to Cole's ears. This was exactly why he loved the night. It just felt so ethereal, it was like a hug. As if the world was giving you a reward for going through another day.
Cole could see Kai's legs rocking back and forth. A habit he noticed a long time ago. Kai could never sit still. He was always busy, always itching for action, always doing something to keep himself busy.
He looked at him again. Watching his chest rise and fall as he breathed was almost hypnotizing. Not as much as Kai's amber eyes. Sometimes, when the sun shone just right, they almost looked like two tiny balls of fire.
There was also this one time when Cole was taking care of Kai's injuries when he noticed another tiny detail about them. As he was cleaning the blood off of his temple his gaze just shifted to his eyes. He never got this close of a look before. From any other distance, you just perfectly miss the tiny blue circles in the middle of his irises.
He wished he had a chance to see his eyes from up close more often.
Kai sighed, breaking the odd trance Cole got into while staring at him.
"Sometimes I feel like the stars are watching me."
"What?" Kai turned to him and their eyes met. Cole could feel the hypnotic sensation coming back.
"You know, like... It's like there's thousands and thousands of eyes and they just don't stop staring at you," Kai explained. "Star-ing, you hear it?"
Cole absent-mindedly nodded.
"Well, I mean, technically they are, aren't they?" Kai looked up to the sky, his eyes moving quickly as he was looking around as if trying to see every single star that was hanging above them.
"They just stare, so silently... And as much as uncomfortable it sounds, I don't really mind it. It's like I have someone looking after me." Kai turned back to him. There was something in his eyes Cole couldn't put his finger on. He took a deep breath and looked up, just like Kai did before.
"Maybe you've got a point," he told him. "My mum used to say that they are little angels, that take care of the sky. And that they take care of us too, if needed. She told me that shooting stars were those angels jumping to the earth to help those who needed it. But when they didn't jump to help her, I realized it's just a story."
He could feel Kai scoot over closer to him. Their legs touched and it sent an electric shock followed by a tingling sensation through Cole's whole body.
"Maybe it is," the red ninja said. "And maybe it isn't. Maybe she's joined them and now she's looking after you." Cole dryly chuckled.
"Kai, I'm not a kid anymore," he responded and looked back down, just to see Kai turn his head away. Cole softly bumped his shoulder into Kai's.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I know you meant it well, and I thank you for that. But the thing is that I just grew up from this stuff," Cole reassured. Kai shook his head in a slower, almost imperceptible, motion.
"No, I get it." He sighed, then chuckled in a similar way Cole did before. "I guess I'm your exact opposite. As a kid, I didn't believe in stories. But now... I dunno, I just..." He sighed again. Cole watched him patiently as Kai searched for words. It was his turn to move closer. Cole couldn't ignore how their upper arms rubbed against each other.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I allowed myself to be more of a free spirit now that I don't have to constantly worry about Nya's well-being," clarified Kai. He paused for a short moment in thought. "Well... most of the time anyway."
Another wave of silence took over them. As much as busy Cole's mind felt, he couldn't find any thought to focus on. He could feel them flying all over his brain but not a single one made any sense. As if somebody was talking but there was a loud sound over it, making all of the words incomprehensible.
Without warning, Kai leaned his head on Cole's shoulder, making him tense up in surprise. Sure, Kai has always been intimate with him, although this was certainly new. It took just a few seconds for him to relax again and then he fell in love with the feeling. He fell in love with the weight of Kai's head on his shoulder. He fell in love with his hair tingling on his neck. He fell in love with the closeness and intimacy and the fact that Kai was this comfortable with him. It was his secret pride - that Kai Smith, the one who didn't like physical touch that much was this comfortable with him, Cole. That he could hug him and tug his hand and hold his face and Kai didn't mind and actually did the same.
Cole put his head on top of Kai's and closed his eyes. He could stay like this forever. Just him and Kai crammed together on the roof of the monastery in the middle of the night with no one around to interrupt.
The warmth coming off of Kai contrasted with the chill breeze on his skin, sending tiny shivers down his spine. The air hitting his face softly was the only thing holding him to reality, the only thing reminding him this was (most likely) real.
Just when he thought no one could destroy it for him, he was proven wrong.
"I wanna lie down," said Kai, disrupting the calm moment. Cole raised his head, allowing Kai to raise his own and he laid on his back, placing both his hands on his stomach, his fingers intertwined with each other. Cole watched him get comfortable and then followed his lead, also lying the same way, just his fingers were left loose.
On one hand, he really wanted to punch Kai for breaking the magic.
Kai stared up at the sky, still rocking his legs back and forth. Cole watched his profile. His so perfectly shaped profile.
And then the master of fire spoke up again, "You're a great company to stargaze, Cole."
And suddenly they were staring into each other's eyes again and Cole thought he might actually be dreaming with how light and breathless he felt.
Kai raised one of his eyebrows.
"Cole?"
"Kiss me," he breathed. He wasn't even sure if the words were audible. If he even spoke or if it was just in his mind.
"What?"
"I said kiss me," repeated Cole. He had no idea if time was even passing as he was looking into the eyes that were so bright even in the dark night. The eyes that he just failed to stop thinking about.
Kai moved his head a bit, in an unsure way. As if he was considering whether or not to do as Cole said. He cleared his throat.
"You- you sure?" he questioned.
"Why else would I say it?" Kai moved his head a bit closer again, staring at Cole's lips, and at the moment Cole thought he might actually lose all of his breath, he felt Kai's warm hand on his face. Before he knew it, his eyes were closed and his lips were on Kai's and he himself was on cloud nine because Kai Smith and he were just kissing and he felt like on fire.
Kissing Kai was like kissing a warm summer evening, when the sun is spreading gold all over everyone and everything and the weather is warm just enough and not too hot and the birds are chirping and their silhouettes are up in the sky and cold drinks are sitting on a table and people are laughing, sitting in garden seats while the kids are playing football next to them.
Kissing Kai was like listening to a song that has this specific vibe and it rubs your ears and brain in a nice yet indescribable way.
Kissing Kai was like when you lie down in your soft bed after a long day of adventures and you reminiscence about all of the new lovely memories you made and your body relaxes and for a little while you feel like life is the best thing in the world and you want more of it.
Kissing Kai was everything and nothing he imagined whenever his eyes landed on his lips.
And when Kai's lips parted from his felt like jumping into cold water.
Cole's eyes fluttered open only to see the amber irises of the red ninja. The amber irises that had those little blue circles in them that you could see only from up close. And there it was again - the twinkle he couldn't understand yet this time he felt like he knew exactly what it meant.
"Why'd you stop?" the master of earth whispered.
"I wanted to see if this was real. It feels too much like a dream," explained Kai, his voice quiet just enough for Cole to hear.
"Funny. That's why I wanted you to kiss me," answered Cole.
"You want to do it again?"
"Would it be weird if I said I want to do this for the rest of my life?"
"Not at all, I have this kind of effect on others," Kai smirked. It was the second time that night Cole wanted to punch him. Although this time he wasn't really sure for what reason.
"Then shut it and affect me more," suggested Cole. Kai's smirk deepened. Cole brought his hand up to Kai's head, running his fingers through his hair until he got to the back of his head. He pulled him closer and stole another kiss because he was pretty sure Kai would tease him more if he didn't act.
The moment his eyes closed again it was like being transported into another realm. He could feel Kai's hand in his hair and then it was free as if he got from heavy chains - even if it was just a hair tie holding his black locks in a slightly messy bun.
This time it was slightly different. The summer evening feeling was replaced with thunderstorms and wild waves crashing onto a cliff. It felt like the wind picking up when a storm is about to come.
Whenever his and Kai's skin met a fire was ignited and thousands of electric sparks shot all over his body. He felt like he was charged with static electricity. And it just felt so good and Cole just couldn't get enough.
He was a wandering man in a desert and Kai's lips were his water oasis. And oh boy was he glad to find out it was no fata morgana.
He was a thirsty flower after a drought and Kai was the rain coming just in time.
If only he could get him as close as possible. He needed to feel every bit of him. Because who knows when will the next drought come.