Hello! So I realized I haven't been updating Let's Get Turbo as often - deep apologies for that. I'm not abandoning any stories, you can all breathe now. But while that's on a little hiatus, I will start my Ninjago Secret Santa lil story I've been thinking about! It'll be eight chapters long. I have not officially set a date for when the updates will be, they will just come on their own. The story should be finished the day before Christmas Eve, or on the day of Christmas Eve.

Anyways, I hope you all enjoy! And I hope you all are having a lovely day/night!


It was that time of year again in Ninjago City.

That time of year when all houses, shops, and offices would put up lights from one end of the building to another.

That time of year when everyone was all bundled up in layers of sweaters and jackets.

That time of year when all that was on anyone's mind was hot chocolate by a warm fire with the important people in your lives.

That time of year when everyone wished for snow.

And most importantly, that time of year when the Ninja finally decided to rent apartments in downtown Ninjago City to spend the holidays with everyone else, instead of isolated on the Bounty.

Sure enough, however, the Bounty was decorated as well.

So, the six ninja checked into their rooms. Kai with Nya, Cole with Jay, and Zane with Lloyd. After everyone was settled in, they all met together in Lloyd's room, dressed from head to toe in Christmas gear.

Jay and Nya both wore headbands with antlers sticking out of them.

Cole wore a sweater with small holiday lights that lit up.

Kai threw on a santa hat and very ugly holiday sweater.

Lloyd stuck a bright red, light up, rubber nose over his own.

And Zane only made himself comfortable in a sky blue turtleneck.

Jay was bouncing on his toes, too excited to even touch his eggnog that sat on the coffee table. Meanwhile, Cole was making conversation with Kai on the couch, each with a warm cup of cider.

Across the room, Nya was showing Zane how she liked to set up the lights when she was little. Everything would first be organized and grouped by color. Then, Nya would pick one light or ornament from each color batch and create a pattern, repeating it over and over until she ran out of supplies.

Lloyd, on the other hand, was sitting in the kitchen, thinking a little too hard.

He wanted to get gifts for all of his friends. And ever since they came back from the First Realm, Lloyd just couldn't let go of this feeling that they were actually gone. He was relieved to have them all back, and he was relieved to see that his Uncle was doing just fine as well. But Lloyd wanted to give them something this year that counted. Something more than just a card, or another bottle of hair gel, or cake. Something meaningful. To show just how much he missed them and how much they meant to him.

Though as the seconds ticked by, which soon turned into minutes, Lloyd found himself lost in an endless cycle of thoughts. After what felt like a cramp in his own head, he groaned, rubbing soothing circles on his forehead and opting to take a break from thinking.

He just wasn't sure what to get each and every single person. After all, each ninja was now expected to buy six different gifts. Each one uniquely tied in with the ninja of whom they were gifting their present to.

Why did holiday gift giving have to be so difficult?

Maybe there was an easier way to do things…

"Has anyone bought gifts yet?" Nya asked, leaning against the couch.

Cole tore his head away from Kai, looking to Nya. "Surprisingly, no."

Jay snickered, seating himself on the table and raising his eggnog in the air. "Wow, really, Cole? You know, I thought you were better than that." He tsked.

As Jay took a long, slow sip from his mug, Cole scoffed. "And how much shopping have you done, Jay?"

The blue ninja nearly choked on his eggnog and he shot Cole a sharp glare.

A smirk crossed Nya's face. "Hey, you two being nice to each other this year? Or shall both your stockings be filled with coal?"

Jay laughed cheekily. "I can't tell if you're saying Cole or coal. But it's hilarious." Cole scoffed, turning his head away from Jay.

Kai responded to Jay's comment with a snort and he set his apple cider down on the table. "To be honest, I don't think any of us have bought gifts yet. Amiright?" He looked around the room and zero hands were counted for.

Jay gasped. "Zane, really?"

Cole's eye shifted from Jay to their nindroid friend by the tree. "Yeah, Zane. You're like, the definition of responsible on this team, and you haven't bought anything?"

Zane tipped his head down shyly, truly astonished himself. "I have not decided on gifts yet. If I were to be honest with you all, it feels like the pressure to gift something special only increases every year."

"We don't need anything special, Zane. Heck, you don't even need to get us anything," Nya assured him. But they all knew she was lying.

Just then, Lloyd stumbled into the living room, holding a santa hat between his thumbs. "Hey, does anyone want to try a Secret Santa gift giving this year?"

Almost instantly did Jay's head pop up from behind the couch with a cheeky grin on his freckled cheeks. "Secret Santa?"

"Yeah. You know, try something new this year. Especially since having to go out and find five gifts sounds exhausting already." Lloyd stepped into the middle and tossed the hat onto the table, holding up six slips of folded up paper. "Does everyone like the idea?"

The vote was unanimous.

With a grin that stretched across his face, from cheek to cheek, Lloyd tossed some markers in the middle. "Great! Now, everyone write your names and drop them in the hat!"

At his request, they all complied and slipped their names into the santa hat.

While it was Secret Santa, there were still certain members of the team that each ninja was hoping to get.

Kai was hoping to get Lloyd, and Lloyd was slightly hoping to give something to Cole.

And Cole, he hoped to be able to give something to Nya. Although, even if he did happen to draw her name out from the hat, he wouldn't be completely set on one idea for a gift.

While Nya put her chances on Zane, Zane put his on Jay, finding that searching for a gift for the blue ninja shouldn't be too hard.

Lastly, Jay, praying that the universe was on his side, practically begged to get Cole. One reason because he had the perfect prank to play, and two, being that he had the best gift idea since a very, very, long time.

"Alright, everyone draw a name!"

First, Lloyd drew out a name and kept it to himself, leaving on five names left in the hat. He then held the hat out in front of Kai, urging him to reach in and pull.

When Kai's hand came back out, he quickly read the paper and almost instantly did a look of confusion flash across his face.

Lloyd bit his lip, not sure what to make out of Kai's reaction.

"Is something wrong, Kai?"

Kai shook his head quickly, reassuring his friend. "No, no. Just, never really thought about how much time I put into what to get my person for the last several Christmas'."

With a smile, Lloyd continued and moved the hat in between Jay and Zane.

At first, Jay looked slightly upset, but it was quickly replaced with a grin which so happily indicated to Lloyd that Jay was satisfied with his pick. Zane's reaction, on the other hand, was just as puzzled as Kai's was. Lloyd didn't know what to make of that, so he moved along to Nya.

Nya's reaction was quite similar to Jay's. A lopsided grin before a huge smile.

"This is great! Second person I had in mind, you know?"

Finally, there was Cole.

Cole wasn't sure who to expect at this point. A part of him dared not to read whoever's name was on that paper. A part of him longed to know, because the mystery was consuming him.

All eyes turned to Cole as they waited for him to pick the last name.

With a forced smile, Cole's hand dove in and felt around for the paper. At first he thought it wasn't even in there. Lloyd was starting to grow worried as well when Cole hadn't pulled his arm back out after a couple of seconds. However, once Cole finally found it, he drew back slowly, keeping the paper folded so that the name wouldn't be the first thing he saw.

Everyone leaned closer as they waited for him to read the paper.

Cole, turning around, held the paper close to his chest and unfolded it, reading over the name at least a good five times.

Jay

Cole nodded. Then lied. "Yeah. This won't be hard."

Of course, it just had to be him. The universe was never on his side when he asked for it, anyways.

"Well... " Lloyd inquired, setting the hat back on his head.

"Anyone about to start some shopping?"