Zane frowned, not liking the way he wanted to follow the hand that had merely patted his shoulder. It unsettled him when his developing human tendencies pulled for things so hard. Shaking it off, he pulled his uniform off, changing into their casual wear.
"C'mon, Z! We gon' go shoppin'!" Jay pumped a fist in the air, excitedly linking his arm with Cole who just enjoyed the peppiness of the younger man. Zane couldn't fight the little smile his mannerisms created, and finishing up to see Kai strolling out after the other couple.
"Zane! Let's goooo!" Jay called. Rolling his eyes, he let his settings flicker into his human hologram, making him much less noticeable. Jay was bouncing around the deck, somersaulting off the boat when Zane got to the edge.
"Showoff!" Kai called playfully, taking the ramp down with the others. So they began their walk into the city. Jay bounced ahead of them a few steps, jabbering about where he was taking them and things they needed. Kai and Cole walked side by side, wearing the leather jackets Nya had gotten all four of them, laughing at Jay when he narrowly avoided tripping on things and responding to questions. And Zane tailed them, staring at the ground half the time. He was dressed in nice pants, a collared shirt and a sweater vest, which Jay told him looked adorable on him, by the way. The lightning wonder himself had on an oversized hoodie and jeans, a soft orange scarf from his parents covering his face from the winds of fall.
"Zane!" The nindroid looked up, seeing them all staring at him warmly. Kai flashed his brilliant and sharp teeth, which still got a flutter in Zane's processor.
"C'mon, beanpole." Cole chided, getting Zane to smile a bit. They turned away once Zane was closer, continuing on their route. Zane glanced up at the tall, slender city trees. The decaying leaves reminded him of Kai, with their auburn colors. If he was being completely honest, the natural flamboyance made him think of the two men directly ahead, dynamic very macho, but calming and tender. He watched the leaves themselves with negative connotations, feeling like he was the breeze that danced between them, important and forgotten.
His logic algorithm could pull up numerous accounts of tender moments and confession of love between two, three, and all of them. But his emotions worried. Humans changed, androids just learned. What if…? Zane sighed dejectedly, knowing a rabbit hole when he saw one. His boyfriends needed space from time to time, and sometimes that meant Zane didn't get everything he wanted out of their relationship. Keeping up with the others as they began to come across more crowded sidewalks, Zane distracted himself as his autopilot followed them. He checked over recent inventory on the ship and kitchen, whether any of them had needed anything, bathroom utilities, and extras for upcoming occasions, so on and so forth. Mindless data revision and numbers, it occupied, didn't make ya' think.
"Zane? Zaaane!" Cole tapped on his optical visor, switching the screen from standby to his eye simulation.
"Oh! Sorry, I spaced out.." He apologized, smiling accordingly as Cole shook his head in amusement.
"Ya' goofy robot. C'mere." Cole led him by the hand to a section of the store Zane didn't know
they were in. He looked around, seeing power tools and Cole was trying to gauge them
for...something. Zane stood next to him, nonchalantly setting out several bots to collect info and
compare each of the tool they were looking at.
"Where are Kai and Jay?" The ice elemental looked around, looking at Cole with concern. His boyfriend didn't take his eyes off the tools, shrugging.
"They were lookin' for somethin' for a project, I dunno. I figured we'd go find somethin' more interesting since you'd checked out."
"Oh." Zane stood there for a moment. "What exactly are you looking for?"
"I dunno. I think I broke one of the dummies again, and Nya told me I'd have to fix it myself if I did." Cole smiled sheepishly, side glancing the blond. Zane chuckled at that; Cole still didn't know his own strength.
"Well, you can probably pilfer most of the better tools from Jay, but you may need some support beams later, according to most construction plans. Of course, I believe they're optional and a holiday sale upcoming in twenty -two days is predicted to highly reduce the cost of wooden beams, so you're best bet would be to purchase them then." He finished spouting the amassed data, looking to see Cole staring at him with a grin.
"What?"
"Nothing." He hummed, picking up a soldering iron, one of the few things he knew Jay used frequently. Zane clenched his jaw to keep himself from telling Cole about it's online 2.3 rating. The nindroid was beginning to suspect his informational tirades were becoming annoying. He felt awkward standing there without a purpose, but the patter of feet running up to him and a weight grabbing him around the waist brought him a little more coherency.
"Zaney!" Jay cooed, looking up at him. "Cole, put that down! You ready t' go?" The blue ninja cocked his head, still firmly attached to his waist. Distantly, Zane heard Kai trying to smack the bad soldering iron out of Cole's hands.
"Nooo, I just wanna see if it'll explode!" Kai snickered evilly, destructive as always.
"I am not paying for your pyromania!" Cole shot back, putting the thing away and picking Kai up like a child would a cat: under his arms and hanging in the air. Zane looked over in time to see the fire elemental frowning with his tongue out, feet a little too high for his toes and arms sticking out awkwardly in front. Snorting at the sight, he put a hand in Jay's hair unconsciously.
"Yeah. Where to?"
Jay proceeded to drag them around to different shops. Stopping by ones he knew peaked the other's interest. Funny enough, Zane actually liked the book store more than any technical shop, the novelty of imaging a story as you read it, lived it, was fascinating to him. But Kai and Cole were delighted when they walked into a fitness shop, both of them jumping from aisle to aisle and showing the other two powders and fake diets and gimmick exercise equipment. The nindroid was amazed at how well they were versed in the majority of health fraudulations, actually picking up bottles and reading the ingredients or claiming knowledge prior. It was early afternoon, and Jay charted a cafe close by, sitting down for a late lunch.
-"it's all part of the sales tactic. They just want your money, which is understandable, but still. I'd have more fun if I actually just burned the cash instead." Kai concluded, Cole nodded in agreeance. He had snagged a crayon from the front counter, now drawing on a napkin. Jay was sitting with his knees tucked against his chest in the booth, playing on his phone. Kai swirled the straw of his drink around boredly, staring at some sign on the wall.
"Jay," when Zane spoke, he caught all of them look directly at him, "where did you want to go next?"
"Well, I wanted to stop by this herbal essence shop, but after that I thought we'd go home. I wanted to finish the project I got pieces for." Jay smiled at him, all toothy and freckled, an absolute little sunburst.
"Good, I mean that's probably the best, as crime rates in this area are at a 0.008% increase, and with such a high density, likelihood of civilian injury rise. That is, if we encountered a problem, which considering only the four of us are out- ….I'm rambling again, aren't I?" Zane asked a bit
bashfully, stopping mid data stream. Kai was leaning on his elbows and staring at him, lopsided smile goofy and similar to the one Jay sported.
"Yeah." Hummed the wild brunet, but couldn't let Zane apologize as he whipped around at the sound of their waitress approaching. Zane shrunk on himself a little.
"Okay, but what if I burned this aaaand… this!" Kai held up a new vial of dried herbs, smiling at Zane who rolled his eyes affectionately.
"It'd still just burn." He responded.
"Really? Nothing?"
"Neither of them have any known reactive chemicals." Zane quirked his face in mock dismay.
"Ah -hah! No known ones! So that's a maybe!" Zane sighed with a smile, knowing Kai's logic was the opposite of that and infallible to him. Plus, with his violent optimism and persistence, arguments were hard with him. Zane glanced across the small shop, all open room, seeing Jay and Cole standing at another table. Curiously enough, Jay's scarf was tied around Cole's eyes, the smaller holding up little vial of liquid to be what looked like sniffed.
"H-Hey! What if I set these oils on fire!?" Kai boisterously yelled, getting Zane to refocus, seeing the fire elemental holding a relatively large container.
"Kai!" He scolded, picking up the jar out his hands. Setting it down carefully, he turned back to his feisty boyfriend in tired patience.
"If you really want, I can show you which common chemicals explode with fire." Kai's eyes lit up, fists clenching in excitement in front of him.
"Really!? You mean that!? Not just trying to get me to shut up?" Zane nodded, and got a rough hug around his middle. "Thanks man, you're the best!" The red ninja skidded over to the other two excitedly, now in the middle of purchasing a few vials. Zane felt his smile turn sad, recognizing the fine line between Kai's displays of affection. That was definitely, what they seemed to call, a 'friend zone'. From his boyfriend. Zane didn't think he really could actually be tired, but he certainly felt it. He was very much ready to go home.
They walked home a little calmer than how they'd entered the city, Jay opting to walk backwards as he idly chattered while Cole carried all the bags from their shopping endeavor. Zane kept closer to the middle two, absently turning on autopilot so he could just observe. He watched the world bob as he walked, soggy leaves sticking to car tires. Squirrels ran on telephone wires and old apartment building stairs were piled with leaf litter. This time his mind strayed to how Jay managed to fit into the dynamic. He was as wild as Kai, but clever like Zane, and as trustworthy as Cole. But he was so much more than the drawn comparisons between him and his lovers. Zane had to manually write algorithms so he could even initiate in a relationship with all of them, as
initially his emotional parameters couldn't compensate for his logical sequences running into the feelings. It was a mess sometimes, but it was one he didn't think he'd ever like to live without.
"Zane? C'mon, come out of cyberspace for a sec!" Kai waved his hand around in his face, seeing the screen switch back to the conscious state. "Here's your books!" Kai held out his bag, letting him take it before dashing inside the Bounty with a mad smile. Zane just.. Kinda stood there, letting his projected self flicker back to its actual titanium. He held the bag right where he'd accepted it from Kai. Walking inside, he decided he'd actually change into something comfy, for a start. Before he could make it down the hallway, Jay stumbled out of the control room stairs.
"Zane! Are you still synced to the computer on board? So that all your surveillance is on the server?"
"Y-yeah, I should be, do you want me to-"
"Nope! I just needed to know! Thanks!"
"Oh.." Zane felt the heaviness in his core return, moving lethargically to change his clothes. He went through the motions, but by the end, he was stuck in a dull kind of feeling. Looking at the bed, where he'd placed his bag of books, he decided he'd stash himself away and read. But, standing in front of the study, he didn't feel right reading there today. Maybe outside, but still, it wasn't quite to his taste, then he looked up. The crow's nest on the Bounty was redundant at this point, as they hardly sailed like a classic ship, but it sat squarely in a cool thermal going along the harbor. Zane curled up in the cramped space, wooden sides keeping the wind from ruining his pages. Context and time got lost, Zane slipping into merely living the story as he read, occasionally letting out little verbal responses to events.
"Zane!" His own name brought him back to reality, seeing the sky darker now, time overtaking the light of the sun. "Zane, I know you're up there!" Jay called from the deck, but Zane compressed himself further into his little space. He wasn't feeling like dealing with anymore brushoffs, he just wanted to lose some time. "Don't make me come up there!" Jay threatened, but Zane heard the door close soon after. A few minutes later someone was climbing up the pole, and Kai flopped over the side of the crow's nest and hung there.
"Hey, Jay made me come up here. He told me to tell you dinner is ready." Kai smiled softly, but frowned when Zane didn't respond, deliberately staring at his book. Frowning at being ignored, Kai prompted again.
"Are you comin' down?"
"I'm not hungry." Zane monotoned at him, and Kai groaned, recognizing the mood.
"Yoink!" He grabbed the book out of the nindroid's hands, airjitzu-ing his way way back down to the deck.
"Hey! Kai, give- ugh." The fire elemental was already gone, much to his exasperation. Climbing down, Zane found him in the kitchen with the others. Kai saw Zane and cheekily held up the book, cheeks puffed with food he was in the middle of chewing. Snatching the book, Zane returned it to their room, sinking quietly into his seat back at the dinner table.
"You okay, Zane?" Nya prompted, getting Zane to feel a little guilty for his cold affect.
"Yeah, sorry, I'm just… a little tired is all, I guess." He tried to explain, which was good enough for Nya and Lloyd. Zane didn't eat, but he did offer to do the dishes. He stood at the sink, Nya and Lloyd having gone to the garage with Jay. Kai and Cole lazed on the couch, presumably
talking, but it was closer to whispers. Either way, Zane just wanted to power off for the day, not deal with his emotions for a couple hours.
Setting down the final pot to dry, Zane nearly jumped when Jay was standing right there behind him. He was all sorts of giggly, grabbing Zane by the hand and went sprinting to the bedroom. Distantly Kai yelled, and the thump of him falling off the couch registered in Zane's head, but he was a little too dazed by Jay's sudden bounciness. The room was dimly lit with candles, Jay's laptop set up on the foot of the bed. A pile of pillows and blankets had been arranged in a nest behind the screen.
"Wha'd'ya think!?" Jay asked, squeezing his hand and beaming at him expectantly. "I-I don't-"
"Oh my god, he's speechless, that is perfect!" Kai squealed, Zane seeing the taller brunet girlishly pressing his hands to his face to fail to conceal his smile. Cole was grinning next to him, leaning to close the door with a soft click. Jay was then pulling him onto the floor at the foot of the bed, his other two boyfriends settling around him.
"...Did I forget something?" Zane asked with uncertainty, getting a chorus of giggles, Jay immediately shaking his head.
"No, actually, kinda the opposite." Kai responded sweetly, taking the hand Jay didn't have possession of.
"Since you remember every birthday and anniversary and surprise us-" Jay elaborated with a growing smile, if possible.
"-We thought we'd surprise you for once." Cole's hand rested on his thigh, Zane in awe looking between them. He sat on the plush carpet, legs to the side and all three of his boyfriends looking at him for any reaction.
"I-I-" Zane could only stammer, not sure how to process this.
"Here, we got you gifts!" Jay reached around under the bed, pulling out two boxes. Cole took one and Jay pushed the other to Zane.
"Wha-I-I can't-" Zane tried to push it back, but Jay met his force.
"No, it's for you!" Jay insisted, looking at Zane with his big hopeful eyes. The initial shock was beginning to settle, a warm gooey feeling replacing it, and Zane felt like he could cry. He softened, smiling shyly.
"Fine, but only cause it's from you three." He said teasingly, getting Jay to giggle again in anticipation.
"Actually, that one's Jay's. Cole and I kind of worked together to get you somethin' else." Kai interjected, leaning in just as much as Jay to watch Zane open the box. He slid off the rectangular lid, and found a pair of his own opticals carefully placed inside. They were his physical version, with 3D features that matched his original face. But Jay had made this and a few more years ago after he'd become titanium, unhappy with the screen replacement.
"My optics?" He quirked an eyebrow, confused, but Jay was even more excited.
"I upgraded them! Can I-" Jay was already fishing them out of the box, gingerly holding it up.
"Uh, yeah, s-sure.." Zane disconnected his screen, momentarily going blind. He heard the piece disconnect, Jay plugging and placing the new sensor. His eyes came online, and he gave them a few test blinks before seeing the clearer resolution.
"You upgraded the graphics." He stated, a little underwhelmed. Jay nodded, Cole and Kai both staring at him as if waiting for something.
"I thought I'd touch it up while I was reworking it." Jay said tearfully, biting his lip to contain his smile.
"I see, I-" Zane stopped mid sentence, looking like he'd choked on something. His mouth moved a bit like he wanted to say something, but he couldn't. Right now his system was screaming at the new sensation coming from the optics. His hand went up to under his eye, and he had to pull it back to see the liquid on his fingers to actually believe what his head was detecting.
He was crying.
He was an android, and he was crying. His bright blue eyes were wide when he finally looked up and saw how all three of his boyfriends were crying with him. But it was the bizarre human reaction of 'happy tears', which was initially baffling to Zane. Then the sensation zinged his sensors again, making him twitch and gasp as new tears flowed down his face.
"Zane..?" Jay gently touched his shoulder, worried that he might be having an adverse reaction.
Instead he let out a surprised sound when Zane pulled him into a crushing hug.
"Thank you…" He whispered, grinning stupidly, uncaring. Jay hugged him return, and he managed to open his eyes and catch Kai cuddling into Cole in success. He laughed, unable to hold in his appreciation, smiling at them through the new tears clouding his vision. Finally he pulled back, seeing his own expression reflected in his partner's faces.
"I… I don't-"
"It's okay, snowflake." Cole soothed. Zane nodded, using his palm to wipe away the tracks of moisture.
"I know how much you like to be as human as possible, and, well, you've never been able to cry, which," Jay laughed as he scrubbed away his own tears, "is one of the most human things there is!"
"Don't worry about it interfering with anything. You can turn them off, in the program? Right, Jay?" Kai tried, looking to the lightning elemental for confirmation.
Nodding, he sniffled. "Yeah, it's a nontoxic low-freezing point compound. Plus, I thought we'd make your tears as special as you." Cole leaned over in that moment, pecking Zane's cheek, getting him to startle.
"Vanilla ice cream and mint." Cole smiled, watching Zane's face like a moving work of art. Another wave of emotions had Zane hiccup, overwhelmed with this new capacity to express himself. Throwing his arms around Cole's neck, he hid his face in his shoulder.
"Hey! Oh, buddy.." Cole held him, letting him cry into his shirt. Kai leaned over and rubbed his back in, what he hoped was, a soothing manner. This was, in fact, the first time Zane had ever cried. Cole shushed him, Kai making nonsense patterns with his hands. Jay simply watched, knowing that, despite how it might look, Zane was truly thankful for the gift.
When the nindroid managed to get his breath back, tears subsiding he sat back on his own, still
looking stunned and thrilled.
"This...is the kindest thing you've ever done for me.." He managed to get out, smiling as a couple more tears trickled out.
"Aw, Z…"
"We just wanted to give you something thoughtful." Kai smiled lopsidedly, looking humbled by the praise. Zane shook his head, taking a few breaths.
"No, you three have already given me so much, and this," He smiled wider more to himself, than anything, unconsciously touching the edge of the optics, "means so much to me. I-I.." He trailed off, just settling with looking between them. Kai was beginning to fidget though, casually leaning back and grabbing the other box. As Zane exchanged a loving kiss with Cole, he carefully placed the box at the ice master's knees. Pulling back from touch of their foreheads, Zane looked curiously down at the new box, glancing Kai to snort in laughter. The fire elemental looked like Lloyd on their first Christmas together, all excitement and wide eyes.
"I presume you want me to open it?" Zane mischievously met Kai's playfulness, seeing the brunet roll his eyes.
"Please?" He asked, nudging it forward. Chuckling, he picked it up and began to undo the ribbon. Jay leaned in on his side, trying to get a good look. Zane gave him a quizzical look, as he'd been the one to create the first gift.
"They wouldn't let me see it when it was finished!" He pouted, braced on Zane's arm.
"Couldn't let 'ya spoil it motormouth." Cole winked at him with a charming smile, continually glancing at the box. Shaking his head in humor, Zane finally opened the box.
A small copper and titanium cylindrical box sat inside. Patterns curled intricately, made of the metals and etched with even more details. Zane had stopped breathing, staring at the object in awe as he held it up. Ever so carefully, he opened the slightly domed lid, and found the box began to sing. The tune was vaguely familiar, but the tiny golden gears inside operating the device were even more intriguing to Zane. They looked old, but buffed and shined to seem newer. He happened to glance at the lid and saw a picture stuck to the inside of it. It was of all four of them, packed together and smiling to get a picture in some forgotten moment. But it fit perfectly, and Zane watched it blur as tears began again.
"You...you made this..?" He whispered, looking between the earth and fire elemental in disbelief.
"Well, we got the gears from stored leftovers of your dad's labs. Echo assembled all that for us." Cole said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. Kai lightly smacked his chest.
"And you wrote the song! And helped me with the case. I might be able to play with hot metal, but no one is as strong or artistic as Muscles." Kai said in a proud manner, on behalf of the earth elemental.
"Y-you wrote it?" Zane asked, absolutely taken with the little music box. It still continued to tinkle in his hands, little gears protected with a thin bit of glass.
"Yeah, well, you know literally every song in existence. It wouldn't really be as special if you had already heard it." Cole shrugged, seeing Zane flounder for a moment. He concluded to just shut his mouth, smiling down at the tiny box. Slowly closing it, he flipped it on it's side to see replications of ice patterns, etched and molded along the bronze in silver. All the way down to the little feet the round box had, it was intricate, and sometimes Zane could even still see leftover
fingerprints from where Kai had molded it with his hands. But he barely caught the words written on the bottom, doubling back over to see if he'd read them right.
'No! It has to be perfect, like Zane!' -Kai
'I want him to feel as human as possible, even if he already is more than most people.' -Jay
'He's unique and the smartest guy I know; it's hard to give him something as unique as him, but I'll be damned if I don't try.' -Cole
"When-I-" Zane had to reread it, looking at them, these words so touching but foreign.
"We each said these while we were makin' these." Cole smiled, glancing at Kai who couldn't hold back a little laugh.
"We couldn't pick something to put on it, and these seemed like the best ideas. It's kinda cheesy, now that I see it.." Jay sighed, still looking at the box from Zane's side. Zane was quick to vigorously deny the statement.
"No! This is- God, this is the sweetest- Have I told you I love you?" Zane fumbled, laughing at his own flusteredness. In turn the rest of them chuckled, Jay leaning on him a little more than before, Cole reaching over to thumb away real tears. Zane leaned into the touch, smile blinding as he cradled the tiny creation in his hands.
Fuck, he loved them. They were massive, stupid dorks, and he'd die a million times over for them.
"We just wanna see you happy, snowflake." Kai smiled up at him, leaning his head to kind of awkwardly rest against his shoulder.
"Kai! You made him start crying again!" Cole chortled, hefting himself up. Jay perked up, bouncing up onto the bed. He wrapped himself gleefully in a blanket, fingers peeking out as he booted up the laptop. Cole scooped up Zane bridal style, subsequently getting Kai to cling to his bicep like a needy gremlin. He even cackled when he was successfully shaken on the bed. Cole settled in the middle, wiggling his way back into the mountain of pillows with a sigh. He held the nindroid gently in his lap, Jay scooting back from the screen to throw the blankets around them. Kai's hand brushed his, still clinging to the little music box.
"Can I- I promise I'll just put it up on the nightstand!" Kai soothed, holding his hand out to take the device. Carefully, he handed the precious memory over, Kai quick to return and push his soft, fluffy hair into Zane's hands. Jay huddled into Cole's side, a hand straying to hold Zane's thigh.
"Okay, we kinda whipped this up last minute, but it turned out pretty cute. So, here's whatever this is." Jay leaned over and clicked the trackpad, and the screen began with an ameteur title screen from a premade library.
'Zane being all around adorable'
Clips from training and moments they'd shared played, all from Zane's optical cameras.
A clip of Cole panting over him with a tired smile, shirtless and sweaty.
Jay laughing as Zane helped him off the floor, dusted in ash from a little explosion, goggles leaving patterns around his eyes. Then Zane stumbled as Jay leapt on him in a giggly hug.
Kai stared at him dopily from across the dinner table, interrupted when Lloyd flicked a glob of potatoes onto his cheek. Cut to him wiping dinner off his face in the bathroom, Kai suddenly
surging forward to catch him in a passionate kiss.
Zane deflected fast blows from a thug, whipping around when someone cried over his shoulder. A new group of them had Kai and Jay pinned to a wall, Cole struggling as they swarmed on him. Zane moved with such incredible accuracy that it was a bit of a scary blur. Cole stumbled as all the guys on him were blasted off by sharp ice. Jay limped when Zane helped him, smiling behind his mask. Kai shook himself off, patting the ice elemental's shoulder.
Earlier that day, a glimpse of himself shifting to his human tones to the mirror. Watching the three of them walk down the sidewalk, then his gaze at the autumn leaves. The way Cole looked at him in the hardware store. How Jay smiled like a loon all day. Kai's look in the cafe.
Cole yawned in his ear. Head lolling back into the cushions.
Kai snored in Zane's lap, smiling in his sleep as Zane continued to pet his hair.
Jay was trying to stay awake, managing to lean forward and turn off the video as it looped a fourth time.
"G'nigh' Zane.. Love you.." Zane didn't need to respond, as Jay wouldn't hear. Leaning his head back, he let his sleep parameters take him. The music of the tiny box tinkled in his head, a tear gently slid down his cheek.