"Where is he?" Jay wondered aloud for what Cole thought was the hundredth time. The blue ninja paces the deck of the Destiny's Bounty, which sailed steady through a peaceful day above the clouds. Below, occasional breaks revealed ocean and bits of coastal land. Cole hummed as he watched a small forest fall out of view behind a white puff.
"Cole! Are you listening?" Jay stopped at the bow, a good couple of feet away from the earth elemental, and stomped a foot in an attempt to jerk Cole back to his senses. Lightning clapped as his foot made contact, arcing off Jay. Surprisingly, nothing reacted, accustomed to the antics of the electric-generating man. Sparks had already been following him as he paced, so the build up was expected.
Sighing, Cole looked tiredly at Jay, but Zane responded first, "He's been late before, Jay." Standing, the nindroid moved from the tip of the bow where he'd been meditating. He came to set a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder, but it and his screen glitched for a second before landing their mark.
"You okay, buddy?" Cole finally turned away from the side of the ship, striding toward the pair.
"It appears that a bolt stru-u-u-u-u-" Zane stuttered, Jay stopping him by placing a hand over his mouth.
"Sorry," the smallest said, opening Zane's chest compartment and beginning to fiddle with the wires, making the tall man shudder, "but Kai's been gone three days longer than scheduled! I- I worry about him!" Jay whined, immediately getting tenser as he spoke. He jumped when Cole placed a kiss on top of his head. Zane jumped as well, a little surge of electricity going through his system.
"We all worry, it's Kai. He's a reckless, impulsive, self-centered, and a literal hot-head. But, that's what makes him so good at what he does." Cole comforted, arms wrapping around the blue ninja's chest, under Jay's fiddling hands. As the tinkerer relaxed, Zane made a needy whine, quiet panting gone unnoticed by his boyfriends. Looking up, Zane's digital eyes were glazed over with something akin to pleasure.
"A-As much as I love your exchanges, I believe the st-stimulation on my wires is booting up my sex drive.."
"Oh shit, sorry Zane! Here, just lemme…" A click sounded as Zane, too, relaxed, leaning on Jay to squish him between himself and Cole.
"Aw, now I have both my 'Sparky's!" Cole laughed, before being silenced by Zane with a kiss. Initially needy, Zane slowed down as Cole moved languidly, tracing Zane's lips with his tongue. Jay finished snapping Zane closed, hooking his arms on the droid's sturdy shoulders. Pulling himself up, he gently nuzzled into the crook of his neck, kissing it softly. Cole pulled back to breath, laughing breathily seeing Jay scaling the tallest ninja.
"Zane, I believe Jay wants you to hold him again, man." Zane snorted, replacing Cole's arms around Jay, who was now smiling into Zane's neck.
"As much as he is hold-able, I must pass. I still have meditation to finish before assisting Pixal with Samurai-X software upgrades." Evenly stated the ice elemental before hoisting the clingy blue ninja onto Cole's capable shoulder.
"Ugh, you never hold me when I want you to!" Jay huffed halfheartedly, swinging a leg over Cole's head, carefully crossing his ankles on the earth elemental's broad chest. Zane smiled simply, patting the brunette's hip as he passed him to continue meditation.
An echoing roar rang out across the sky, making the three look around. A reddish speck hurtled in between fluffy cumulus clouds, drawing closer by the second. Jay gasped, vaulting off of Cole's shoulders to nearly lean all the way off the side Kai was coming in on. All three on deck were now against the side rails, leaning forward with beaming with excitement. Shakily, the dragon wobbled occasionally as it drew up and over the Bounty. Landing, it dissipated almost immediately, leaving Kai to fall harshly on the deck. He recovered with a roll and staggered toward the others.
"I'm home!" Kai called in a strained voice, full suit and mask still in place.
"Kai! Oh, we were so worried!"
"Well, Jay was worried. I knew he'd be fine, dude."
"Cole, you were equally as worried as Jay, and you simply, 'played if off cool', as you put it."
"That is not how I put it."
"Shut up, we WERE all worried and we're glad to see you home safe!"
"Yes, I was unable to track y-Kai?" Zane stopped in the middle of the witty banter they usually shared upon arrival home. Kai was leaning heavily on Cole, originally thought as mere affection, but his stance was beginning to weaken.
"You okay, buddy?" Cole asked, taking hold of him by his waist. Kai jerked, and grunted, doubling over when Cole touched him.
"Oh my god, Kai! Are you hurt?" Jay cried as Cole sunk to the ground with the red ninja. Delicately but quickly pulling off his mask, Jay yelped at Kai's face. One eye was nearly swollen shut, purple bruises littered all over the left side. Nicks and cuts fell all over his face, busted lips heaving shallowly. Dried blood was crusted under his nose and along his hairline, but the fire elemental smiled weakly.
"I think I might have gotten some scratches." He tried to joke, but it ended in a cough the speckled blood onto his chin and Jay's horrified face.
Zane took the initiative and ripped open his gi, staring in disbelief at the carnage. Several slashes and shallow stabs were all over his upper chest, some looking like they'd been cauterized and a few still dripping. His stomach was nearly black with bruises, and several fell along his sides.
Sloppy stitches from surgical cuts were burst, showing the cut and raw muscle under his skin, blood dried around it and welling up again. Burn marks and a full fucking knife were still on and in Kai's body. His right arm was hanging limply at his side, wrist at an awkward angle.
"Kai, baby, fucking Christ, what happened?" Jay whispered, hand hovering next to his cheek,
afraid to touch him lest his pain get worse. Kai was unable to answer, his expression looking woozy.
"His internal organs are shutting down slowly, we need to get him inside!" Zane started yelling, irrational anger and justified fear overcoming his features.
"Okay, I'm sorry, this is gonna hurt, Kai." With the advanced apology, Cole lifted the broken man, who stifled a yell through clenched teeth. Jay darted forward, holding open the doors and yelling for anybody to come help.
"Cole…I'm scared." Jay whispered, face buried in the aforementioned's chest. A sniffle made him look up and his gaze soften. Cole has been quietly crying for a minute now, trying not to let Jay see.
"I am too. God! What the fuck would we-"
"Don't. Don't say that. He-He'll make it. He can't…" Both ninjas were holding one another sobbing and clutching the other tighter than before. Eventually calming down, they both noted that Kai had returned fifteen hours prior. And he'd been in impromptu surgery for all fifteen. Zane hadn't come out, as he and Pixal operated. Master Wu was in there too, while Lloyd and Misako had tried to cheer everyone up. Nya was on the training deck, and by the sound of it, had smashed her twenty-second dummy.
Black and blue lulled one another to sleep late in the night, Jay piled on top of the other as he stretched across the couch. Around 3AM, Zane came out, awakening the other two with the click of the door. Looking physically tired, as rare as that was, he trudged forward. He made for the kitchen to wash the blood off his exposed metal hands, having pulled off his synthetic skin.
"Zane? What-"
"I've done everything I can, everything should be successful, but it's up to Kai now." Zane looked away from the two as they stood up from the couch. "I-I don't know- I just-I-," the nindroid struggled, sounding close to tears.
"C'mere, it's okay. Hey, you've done more than what we could. He'll make it. He has to. Otherwise, I'll kick his ass so hard in the underworld, he'll come back to life." Cole comforted, rubbing the nindroid's shoulders as Jay shimmied in front of Zane to hug his midsection. The quip made the blond smile, bringing a hand to run through Jay's hair, and resting his head on one of Cole's hands.
"Students," Wu interrupted, accustomed to the intimate positions the four often took in times of emotion, presence not even phasing them, "Kai is very strong. But, he's at the hands of time and nature now, and we may only wait. Training shall continue, but I shall not push you as this passes."
"Yes, Sensei." The three said in sync as they untangled.
"Hey." Kai whispered, nearly lost in the quiet conversation between Lloyd and Nya. They both whipped around, lighting up as the fire elemental blinked blearily.
"Oh my god, Kai don't ever do that again! You can't do that! We were-we were-!" Nya was beginning to get choked up, taking hold of Kai's left - and uninjured - hand.
"We are so glad to see you, man. Thought I'd have to drag your ass out of the afterlife." Lloyd smiled fondly, placing a hand on Nya's shoulder.
"Sorry." He croaked, smile small and tired. They stayed there, Kai looking the others over in comfortable silence.
"Lloyd, I think master…" Cole's thoughts died in his throat, staring at Kai with so much amazement, he may as well have risen from the dead.
"Hey, Muscles." Kai rasped fondly, watching as Cole choked up, pacing toward the bed and kneeling next to it. His hands twitched with the desire to pull the smaller into a classic crushing hug, but he knew it was ill-advised at the moment.
"Don't you ever fucking pull that shit again. We thought we'd lost you. We were so fucking scared." Cole choked, smiling through his benign chastise.
"I'll be back. C'mon Nya, let's go see what uncle Wu needs." Lloyd read the room well, as he always did, dragging the water ninja to leave her older brother.
"I'm glad to see you." Kai said, throat still raw. Cole laughed bitterly.
"I've visited everyday, how could you miss me, man? I love you, but get your head in the game!" Kai hummed, shrugging slightly. Cole gently traced the biggest slice on his face, trailing from jaw to cheekbone. "Zane is so pissed and Jay has cried everyday. We took turns watching you, and fixing wires and shit. I dunno about the other two, but I told you stories of when we were younger? And at the monastery? Do you remember?" Kai nodded, blinking sleepily.
"Kai? Kai? Oh my god, Kai, oh my god, are you alright? Does anything hurt? We were SO worried, baby, don't EVER-" Jay ran in, immediately above Kai's face, looking it over.
"Jay! Please, he has just woken up. Don't bombard our partner." Zane said sternly, before turning with a softer smile and holding a glass of cool water with a straw in it. Kai weakly made grabby hands with his movable hand, sipping the water as Zane held it, doubtful of the fire elemental's strength. He sighed as he finished, clearing his throat.
"I'm just glad I'm home. I wanted to see you all before…" Kai's cheer tapered off as he looked down, a dark and distant look settling in his features, making the room uneasy. Jay broke him out of thought as his fingers threaded through Kai's left.
"We're just glad to have you here." Jay smiled genuinely, tears flowing down his cheeks. Zane placed a cool hand on his forehead and Cole cushioned his own head with his broad arms on the side of the bed. Kai felt a tear slip down his cheek hotly. Sleep was overcoming him again.
"I'm sorry, I love you."
"With a healing factor, your recovery will be four times faster than an average human, but that'll still take weeks for you to regain full strength." Zane lectured, helping Kai to the kitchen. Kai hummed in acceptance and disapproval, sitting finally on the couch. His entire torso was bandaged, left side of his face mostly obscured by more bandages, and a cast was on his right foot and arm.
"Heya, Hot-Head, how we doing today?" Cole carded a hand through the fluff of hair as he passed, catching a few tangles.
"Better, a little, but still," he gasped as he readjusted, "sore." Cole smiled out of pity and ruffled his hair for good measure. Kai blew a raspberry at him, but remained contented for the couch. His gaze drifted to a bow staff, one of many on The Bounty, that sat in the corner. His gaze fell into a dark and faraway slump, orange and blue eyes snapping him out of his trance.
"Good morning Fireball! Nice to see you out and about, baby!" Jay chirped, pressing an exaggerated kiss to Kai's forehead.
"Morning Jay, you seem chipper." Watching as the blue ninja flitted over to the other ninja at the table, Kai smiles to himself. They were all wolfing down bowls of cereal, training about to begin soon. As much as Kai felt better, he knew his limitations at the moment. Zane was starting to clean up the dishes when Kai was suddenly leaning on a chair as he stood.
"What're you doing? C'mon, you can't do that, Kai!" Jay was trying to get him to sit down, or support his movements, anything really. Waving away the fuss, Kai took another step toward Zane.
"Can I come to training today?" He asked quietly, giving Zane the big doe eyes he knew he couldn't resist. Jay was making loud and confused noises as Cole nearly choked on his food.
"Kai, that is absolutely not happening!" Sputtered the smallest.
"Please, Jay, I just wanna watch! The couch is boring after a week of just sitting there!"
"No! Absolutely not-"
"Fine, but you're ONLY watching, correct, Kai?" Zane looked deadly serious, stare boring into the fire elemental's eyes.
"Of course."
Cole and Jay sparred a few feet away from where Kai rested next to Zane. Meditating, the nindroid was unaware of any surrounding at the moment, unaware of Kai's gaze on him when the sparring became repetitive.
"Again!" Master Wu ordered, watching the two set up another session. Lloyd and Nya were at the bow, going over various things at a distance that was indeterminable.
"Bring it!" Blue and Black collided, Jay flipping himself over Cole before the larger could land anything. Swiping out with one foot, Earth was unable to stop the avoidance of Lightning. Now Jay was in front of him as he was crouched, delivering a faux blow to his face before Cole could block. But, with proximity, Cole sprung up and kicked the smaller in the side as he landed.
Rolling in recovery, Jay huffed, darting back into the action, blocking mighty punches and kicks as he tried to get closer to Cole. Ducking unexpectedly, he dove forward and delivered several fast blows to Cole's stomach. This is when Kai felt an irrational fear take hold. It squeezed his throat like a serpent, making his innards lead. Jay slid beneath the large man, hitting his legs to throw off his footing. Then he was kicking Cole into the deck, one foot on his back as a hand rested on his neck. The other hand was poised in a mock knockout strike when Kai's body lost control.
"STOP! DON'T HURT HIM!" Screams and followed whimpers made everyone on deck freeze. Kai was heaving in breaths, eyes distant and frightened as tears trailed his cheeks. Zane went to comfort him, but he recoiled violently, "DON'T TOUCH ME!" Hurt blossoming in his heart, Zane looked helplessly at Jay and Cole. Kneeled in front of Kai, he didn't even seem to see them,
wild and scared despite his limitations.
"Kai? It's us, you're on the Bounty, sweetie."
"Can you see us buddy? It's okay, everyone is safe." Jay cupped his cheeks, wiping away tears, as Cole cautiously rested big hands on hip and hair. Zane sat there, feeling hurt radiate from the man in waves, he himself useless and sad.
"Kai? Can you hear me? It's Zane, you are safe, Kai." Slowly, amber eyes trailed to the nindroid.
"Zane…?" He almost asked, as if unsure where he was. He looked back at Cole and Jay, worry on their features as they caressed their broken partner. He smiled in recognition, laughing in a short and scared way, fresh tears flowing down his cheeks. Zane moved to hold the smaller, who leaned into the touch, pulling the other two to his shoulders as best he could. Sobbing hysterically as he clutched anything he found purchase on, the scared looks between his partners were lost behind his head.
As Zane took Kai back inside, Jay and Cole came to budge into the conversation happening at the bow.
"I swear, I've never seen him like that! It's just… not Kai." Nya tried to be frustrated, but she ended up looking scared. Lloyd nodded, having been virtually adopted by the Smith siblings as his own family went from one issue to the next.
"I fear his trauma is deeper than wounds. Something happened while he was away that he hasn't disclosed. If he is to return, he must resolve and come to peace with whatever may have happened." Wu finished, trying to seem unambiguous toward the situation, but ultimately looking toward the two partners of the fire ninja. Jay had been staring at the deck, Cole's own face steely with thought.
"He...he barely responded to us. He looked like he was somewhere else. I just don't-how can we-
" Jay looked tearfully at the group, Cole's grip on his shoulder not as comforting as prior. With sympathy in her smile, Nya stepped forward and embraced the smallest ninja. After dating for a few years, the two had an unspoken closeness.
"Talk to him." Lloyd broke the silence, making eye contact with Cole. "You three are the closest people he has. If he would talk about anything, it'd be with you."
Zane had settled with Kai against him on the couch after training. He'd fallen asleep before Cole and Jay returned. Picking up Zane and Kai, Cole settle against the corner, placing the two entangled ninja in his lap. As Kai came to, Jay wiggled in between three sets of legs to take up the other corner of the couch. He'd have leaned on Kai, but Zane had taken off his bandaging to let his wounds breath.
The rest of the evening was spent cuddled together, Jay shifting every so often to the top of the couch or the floor, and getting food and drink as they watched TV and movies aimlessly. Zane kept his core temperature low as to counteract Kai's low-grade fever from infection. He played with the shorter's hair as he knew he liked, gently untangling it and shaping it into the spikes and quiffs he knew Kai liked. Cole had his arms wrapped around the thin nindroid and the fire ninja, hands finding gentle positions on Kai's hips. Tracing soft circles there, he'd occasionally have Kai's left hand thread through his. Jay would trace and kiss Kai's face as he sat on the back of the
couch, gently ghost over his wounds on his torso as the blue ninja was in between his legs, or let Kai's hand pet his soft hair as he sat on the floor. All in all, Kai relaxed. He forgot what had happened and just melted into the attention he was given. Jay would bring him food, Cole would hum softly every now and then, and Zane would ask if he was alright. He drifted off in the early evening, but was awakened by voices in the darker room after the passage of time.
"No, I-I don't- No!"
"Jay, all the signs are there. His wounds are numerous and varied. And we don't know the extent."
"Zane! How could you even-that's just disgusti- no! Cole, back me up!"
"I'm afraid I'm with Tin Man on this one, I mean, it makes sense! I just don't want to imagine-"
"No! No one would do that! I-It's so- Ugh, why can't we just ask Kai!?"
"Ask me what?" Kai opened his eyes, staring into the darkness, but knowing Jay was somewhere in front of him.
"Oh baby, I'm sorry, we didn't mean to wake you!" Jay's sympathetic face came into view through the dark, making Kai furrow his brow. The coddling was beginning to become overbearing.
"Go back to sleep buddy. You need your rest." Thick fingers brushed the side of his face, not even irritating the bruises there. Kai craned his head back, eyes adjusted, and seeing the the gentle eyes and matching green scar on Cole's temple.
"I got captured." Kai started, looking away from all three.
"Kai, you don't have to-"
"You deserve to know, I owe you three… something, at least."
"Are you sure, baby? You can wai-"
"I'd defeated the gang that'd been terrorizing the village, and I was making my way out of the building when they overcame me. I thought I'd imprisoned all of them, but the second in command had gotten free. He had some vengestone, and fashioned that into a… a collar." Kai's hand trailed absently to his neck, a thin line of bruises remaining. "He told me he'd humiliate me like I'd humiliated him." Kai's voice warbled, memories resurfacing. He felt Zane press closer.
"And he tortured me. He used everything. It hurt so bad. I-I thought I was gonna die, but the thought of not seeing you and Nya and Lloyd again, well, that was worse. I barely escaped, but once I saw you on the deck of the Bounty, it was okay. Cause even if I died there, I saw you three one last time." Kai was sniffling, and leaned into the crook of Jay's neck as he hugged his front gently.
"Kai… oh baby, I'm so sorry."
"What... did he do?" Cole sounded meek, much quieter than usual. Laughing bitterly in an attempt to break the downtrodden atmosphere, he shook his head.
"What didn't he do? He used all your elements, including my own. Beat and hit me. Cut me, as you saw. He even performed some surgery and then sewed me back up while I was awake." Kai tried to laugh, like he was recalling a joke, but the darkness and morbidity of the statement wasn't
broken.
"Kai, did he… did he try to…?" Zane started, and felt Kai stiffen. He shook his head. And then his body shook with a sob.
"No! No! He wouldn't! I'm still good! It hurt, but he didn't! It didn't happen!" Kai's voice raised, panic rising with it and all three took action. Hands were all over him, hugging his waist, massaging his thighs, the ones on his cheeks prickled with static.
"Hey, Kai, baby, you're okay! It's over, he's not here, it's just us four!" Jay crackled with intense emotion, forehead connecting with Kai's.
"Kai, you are safe and nothing will happen as long as we're around. We promise." Cold lips pressed against his neck as his shoulders relaxed.
"No one would dare touch you other than us, as long as you're alright. It's okay, we have you." Cole slumped down, making Zane and Kai lay on his chest.
"It's time to sleep, love. We'll always be here." Kai sniffled as these words reverberated off of Zane and through his mind.
"I love you all so much." He muttered as sleep took his anxiety addled mind once more.
Another week had passed, making two since Kai's return. It was late at night, and Jay had been especially worrisome today. So, he sat on his nindroid's lap, tinkering with one of the wrist communicators. Zane had his eyes closed and was wrapped around the mechanic. His wrist panel was open and he was plugged into the main computer, most likely fiddling with programs and files. He gasped and opened his eyes, scaring Jay. The smaller male nearly dropped the soldering iron he'd been using, setting it aside with an annoyed grunt.
"Zane, you can't do that! I'm working, I could've-"
"My apologies, but I just found the footage from Kai's suit while he was gone. It was encrypted like the rest of the data on each suit, to prevent hacking, but Pixal just helped me open the surveillance videos." Jay had stilled, he stared ahead stiffly. Suddenly the soldering was unplugged as he stood and stretched briefly.
"I'll get Cole. Put it up on the big screen." Within minutes, the three of them stood in the control room, watching Kai wave goodbye to them. Zane fast forwarded through some epic battles and crime solving to see the camera black out as Kai was wandering a hallway. The shot came back and the microscopic camera on past Kai's chest caught the image of a grizzled man. Bald, but with scraggly facial hair, he was toned and tattooed with gang symbols and slurs. The following footage was fast forwarded, Jay hiding his face in Cole's shoulder.
They watched as Kai was spat at and slapped. Then his gi was ripped off, and they could only hear his smartass retorts before his screams.
They saw him redressed and tortured again. When Kai sagged in his restraints, they could see puddles of blood on concrete floors as his feet struggled on their toes to take weight off his wrists. Then his gi was folded and placed to showcase a battered Kai as he was cut into, shown his organs, and stitched up. Then he was burned and electrocuted. All while strapped to a metal slab, several lankies of the mentioned second laughing and participating.
Zane had a vicious look on his face and Jay felt nauseous. Cole barely contained his desire to see
each of those creatures meet their maker. Then his gi was back on and hung in his dark cell for several more hours, only interrupted by lowlifes coming in and using him as a punching bag.
Then he was hauled out.
They fed him roughly, and made him shower briefly. Then he was sat in an empty room, alone, for another few hours. Zane felt anger in his imagined gut, hoping to some deity that he was wrong. Jay's soft sobs in the background and Cole's silence as he held the smaller only made the nindroid more agitated.
A door slammed, making Kai and the camera whirl around. Then he was being shoved into a wall. The other man yelled as Kai yelled back, but then it stopped and Kai's struggle continued more thoroughly as the other man's chest obscured the camera. Then he was on the ground, being towered over and beat. And then chest to chest again. Kai had stopped yelling and now finally cried, pushing and shoving with little strength.
The camera caught the man moving down, then the angle shifted as Kai's gi rode up his chest, hips having been pulled up. The three ninja saw his pleading face, asking and screaming for seis, but then he screeched and sobbed quietly as the camera jerked with each thrust. That's when a stool hit the screen, shattering the image of their boyfriend being raped by another man.
Zane was panting and looked murderous, watching the stool clatter to the ground before storming out. His metal stomping could be followed up to the training deck where they heard him wildly tearing apart training equipment.
"I thought he- he said-" Jay stuttered, looking up at the earth ninja who was close to tears. "He lied Jay. He...he lied and said he wasn't- that they didn't-"
"Oh my god, Kai…" Jay hiccuped, Cole picking him up and they went out to the deck of the Bounty. Zane had broken several weapons, heaving in breaths as his hands twitched. He felt enraged at the calm night as they sailed through clear skies, furious that it didn't even seem to acknowledge the horrendous atrocities that had beset Kai.
"Zane…?"
"What!?" He whipped around, nearly chucking half a sword at Jay as he timidly stood in front of Cole. "Why did it have to be him!? They could have chosen anyone! How DARE they do that to our Kai! I can't- THEY RAPED HIM, JAY!" Zane screeched, snapping a blade in half and then chucking it off the side of the boat. He saw Jay flinch at the word out of the corner of his vision, but he only felt rage. How dare they? Kai was his! His and Jay's and Cole's! No one else. And that filthy gangster stuffed his disease-addled dick in him. While he screamed and cried for his three boyfriends. And they had done nothing. Kai has been taken by someone else and not only mauled nearly beyond life, but scarred emotionally to the point of uncharacteristic timidness. Zane felt his anger taper, and he was left to collapse on the deck in grief. Cole picked him up as he sobbed.
"We weren't there. He got hurt, and how will he ever trust us with his body? He isn't even Kai anymore. What happened to our boyfriend?" Zane had too much data and emotion running through his head, and before he knew it, Jay was cuddled into his chest as Cole spooned him from behind. The muscled ninja must have taken them to their shared bed. Zane felt his internal computer slowly powering down, and tried accept that this had happened, and he couldn't change it now.
The rest of the week, Kai was left unattended. Waking up late, everyone was already out. They left a note on the table about going shopping, and the ship was now rocking in New Ninjago City harbor. He found the control room screen smashed and a blurry image of red and skin frozen, flickering from some time ago.
Almost as if he'd swallowed a rock, a heavy feeling settled as he hopes they hadn't found what he thought they had. He spent the rest of the day wandering the ship, sitting in his room, and eventually falling asleep on the large bed he shared with three other men.
It was light when he woke, feeling gross and sticky from sweat. The covers had been pulled over him but he was alone. Hobbling into the kitchen, he found everyone cheerfully greeting him. Relaxing at recognition, he went to go eat. But, it felt like they were avoiding him the rest of the day. Cole and Jay flinched at touches, like he was covered in acid. And even then, when they did hold his hand or kiss him, it was like he was made of already shattered glass. Zane was just cold, his interactions as mechanical as an average robot, not his complex elemental boyfriend. It wasn't until the end of the week when he sat on a workbench and Zane took off his casts.
"It's remarkable, seeing as you had a fractured foot, broken wrist, and a dislocated shoulder. Plus all of the internal damage, but that's besides the point. Your shoulder is healed while you'll only need a wrist braces and some bandaging for your foot. Granted, everything will be sore, but that's it." Zane commentated as Kai sat there, playing patient as he was fitted for new braces. His wounds were cleaned and medicated and he sat there quietly, not moving or responding to much.
Kai has been the last to join their current quartet, team and relationship-wise. He often felt like he was intruding on something built away from him, that he didn't fit the equation from time to time. Often he was easily consoled, but this time it felt closer to betrayal. He'd had sex with another man.
"Zane, I… I'm sorry." He saw the nindroid, who'd been turned away freeze.
"You seem to be sorry for a lot, recently." Humor laced his tone, but it was forced as Zane looked over his shoulder as casually as he could.
"I lied to you. You and Cole and Jay. I said," he gulped, fear making him nauseous at the memory, "I said he hadn't raped me, but… he did. I know you know. I saw the files decoded." Zane wasn't moving.
"I know I'm filthy, I'll… I'll leave if you want me to. You don't have to look at something tainted." Kai felt his throat closing up with sadness, then the medical tray Zane had been working on was flung across the room. It hit the window with a crash, cracking the glass. Zane was now in front of Kai, grip on the bench bending the metal with the shape of his fingers.
"Don't you ever say that again! Do you hear me, Kai Smith? You are worthy of so much love, and nothing will ever change the way we feel about you, do you understand!?" Trying to keep anger from slipping into his grief, Zane tugged Kai into a sharp hug as the man in red was sat there, stunned.
"What happened, we heard a crash!?" Cole rushes into the room, blocking the doorway as he often did by accident, and Jay sliding in under his legs.
"It's okay, Zane just got upset." Kai said evenly, stroking the soft, short hair along the base of the nindroid's head. Zane trembled in his fury as he clung to Kai.
"Upset? UPSET!? Kai that-that thing violated you! He-he-" Becoming erratic, water dropped from where ice patches melted near eternal heat. Zane was tugged up and off Kai, Cole pulling
him up, and sitting next to the fiery man on the bench.
"Calm down, big guy. You're overloading your EPU." Cole lays him on his lap for Jay to tinker with, much to the dismay of the worked up ninja.
"I guess you all know what happened, huh? That I lied and… y'know.." Kai trailed off, laughter nervous. His thighs pressed together as he hugged himself, looking away from the others. Cole seemed to catch this and hooked a hand around his waist. Kai squeaked as he met the side of the broad chest, feeling a kiss placed on his temple.
"Kai, I'm not the best with words out of all of us, but I do know that it wasn't your fault. It doesn't change how we feel and we're here to help you overcome this. We love you very much, and… just being here with us, that's enough." Cole smiles warmly, sturdy hand remaining with Kai.
"Yes, we all love you, as Cole said, and this merely gives us an opportunity to convince you again." Much more even toned now, Zane looked at him from the noiret's lap. A click indicated Jay was done, and arms wrapped around Kai's waist.
"We…love you Kai. I don't know what would have happened if we'd lost you." Kai simply basked in the loving adoration of his boyfriends, feeling nothing but satisfied and happy that he was wanted.
Three months had passed since Kai's torture. He'd recovered physically and was back in line with all his peers, but he'd wake up in a cold sweat, sobbing from time to time. All his boyfriends worried, but after a particularly heated outburst, they realized he didn't need the coddling.
Slowly, he fell back into his confidence, becoming his old self again. All his training and reflexes were still there, he simply over-worried or had panic attacks. But he got back into the swing, wounds and bruises scarred and healed. His banter became more witty and provoking and he'd rib the others playfully like he did before. He'd have bad days and good, much like anyone, but got better.
But, he'd been absent from their collective sex life. He'd find two or three of them mussed and happy looking in the morning or roughly pulling one another into a room to hear grunts and groans. Kai just felt wrong. Like his endless libido from forever ago was just gone. Jay getting dressed in the morning wasn't doing anything, Zane getting clingy at night, Cole's adrenaline after a workout, he felt something stir, but then it got squashed by the memory of being taken against his will. And all three of them had been so… patient. They'd kiss and touch, but always pull away and ask, never advancing further.
It'd just hit him out of the blue, about six months after the incident. His thoughts drifted to perverse as he stared at Zane and Cole spar, Jay stretching in the background. His renowned smirk pulled at his lips, and he pulled his mask up to hide it. Kai watched Zane cook shirtless in the summer heat, then distracted as Jay started helping. Cole was then coming in from a workout, panting, and only in skintight shorts. Oh, this was sinful, it was practically torture, and Kai knew it.
Excusing himself to their bedroom, he stripped, already hard just seeing but not touching. He bit his lip, debating whether to just pull one out or, well, go the whole nine yards. Sitting modestly on the bed, he gently touched himself, and found that the ache for his boys merely got stronger. After a few strokes, he was barely holding his moans, missing any kind of contact. If he was doing this after six months, well, then he was doing it right. He stood up, rifling into the back drawer of their closet. Pulling out the blue and black thigh high, with white trimming, he slipped them on. He
picked up the collar with his name on it, but it didn't feel right yet. He set it down and crawled on the bed. Spreading his legs lewdly directly at the door, he sat on his heels, already erect.
"Hey, uh, Jay? Could you come here?" He called, nervousness sounding normal with his recent demeanor. Small feet padded down the hallway.
"You okay, Kai? You s-" He stopped, words dying as he looked at Kai, legs open and hard, with the shyest look ever to grace the man's features. Jay's mouth opened and closed a few times like a fish, and then he dashed from the room. Kai felt his heart sink, he'd even worn their favorite tights. He brought a hand up to cover his face before the footsteps came back and Jay looked at him dead serious around the door frame.
"Don't. Move. You are perfect." He punctuated with his hand making the stay command several times over. Kai smiled sheepishly, of course, Jay always liked to share.
"But I'm hungry!"
"COLE! Dinner can wait! Come HERE!" Jay bickered with the other two for a minute, before all eyes were on Kai, laid out like a present for them.
"Okay, yeah," swallowing, the earth elemental felt his mouth go dry, "dinner can wait." Cole said, eyes wide as he drank in the tanned brunette. Zane nodded in agreement, nudging them forward so he could shut the door. Then Jay's lips were surging Kai's, pressing him back on the bed.
"Oh baby, you don't know how long we've waited for this, and we didn't even have to ask!" Jay murmured in between crackling kisses. His hands were already straying to fondle and grope at the other's ass.
"Already spread and pretty for us, so good." Cole whispered from one side.
"Ready to be marked up by those who love you. Really are a treat, sometimes, Kai." Zane purred finding the juncture of his neck and sucking hard. Arching into Jay, who hover hairs away from him, he moaned quietly.
"Oh, he liked that. And I love the idea of making sure everyone knows he's ours." Cole delved into his jawline nipping and sucking, welcome bruises already forming.
"Oh god, please, mARK ME!" Kai tried to whimper, but it turned into a scream of pleasure as Jay started seating himself on Kai dick. Jay shivered, up to the hilt, drooling a little.
"Kaaai, I forgot how warm you are! God I missed this! You're so beautiful." Jay rocked his hips as Zane kept marking the man, and Cole was starting to move down his chest.
"Cooole, I need you! Please.." Shaky fingers gripped jet hair, as the earth elemental pulled back. "Kai, I dunno…"
"Baby, he can take it. I can tell. Just look at that face." Jay panted, leaning on a broad shoulder as he fucked himself into oblivion. Sure enough, upon Cole and Zane's check, Kai looked absolutely delighted. Wide and crooked smile had his tongue lolling out. His eyes were glazed over but hungry. Hair was mussed and sticky, but he was starting to rock back into Jay.
"Please, I need to be full…" he pleaded, eyes locking with Cole's, sending blood straight to the south. That was just simply a request he couldn't refuse.
"Okay, uhm, hold on." Cole moved Kai and Jay in tandem, keeping Jay rocking onto Kai's cock
as Cole got him upright enough to prep. Zane silently moved back to stretch the taller brunette, Cole's thick fingers often reserved for when they were more prepared.
Kai gasped and dove for Jay, already smaller and holding himself on hands and feet, belly up, to keep himself seated. Flush with the scalding fire elemental as he ravaged the smallest, Jay's fingers danced electricity down Kai's skin. Used to the sparks, Kai bucked into Jay, causing a pleasant surge to run down his body. The electricity almost knew him, only running atoms away from his skin, searching for the metallic partner that absorbed the energy. As the jolt connected with circuits, digits inside Kai curled. He whined loudly against Jay's collar bone, which had a dark hickey sucked on it. Electricity was an incoherent mess as always, already teetering on his edge. Zane pulled back, panting from the burst, letting Cole shift to get behind the fiery man.
"J-a-ay, can you, oh god, hold on a little longe-r?" Kai whispered, laying his chest down on the blue ninja. A shaky thumbs-up made him smile before he adjusted their position to relieve some of the strain on Jay. Pushing him so he laid flat, only to have legs wrap around his waist to follow his groin as his hips were pulled to meet the tip of a blunt cock.
"Kai, you ready?" Cole's voice was right next to his ear again, husky and deep with arousal. That sly grin spread itself across the red ninja as he nodded. Then he was gripping for purchase on Jay, lost in the sensation of being filled by the earth elemental.
"Oh yes," he hissed, forehead against Jay's shoulder, "so good!" Moaning like he was being paid, he started to rock with the thrusts, in turn pleasuring Jay. As he turned to suck on his neck again, he caught Zane's eye. The nindroid was panting slightly, slowly stroking himself as the other three fucked. Kai smirked and held his desperate but interested stare.
"So much better, be-etter than what he did. So fu-ull of you c-cause I'm yours," he purred, feeling not only the pulse beneath him quicken and the thrusting falter, but he saw Zane melt into a look of pure bliss, "and only yours. Fi-i-ill me up and mark me, make sure no one but y-ou takes me ever again!"
Cole's speed doubled, Jay now latched onto Kai's skin, and that did it. Kai was spilling into Jay, squeezing around Cole, losing sight of Zane as his vision whited-out. Jay splattered himself against their abdomen, but Cole held back his desire to keep fucking Kai's perky ass to chase his own orgasm. The brunet collapsed on Jay, face in the blankets, and lungs heaving.
"K-Kai? You good, buddy?" Cole asked, trying to elicit a response with gentle strokes on his lower back. Jay was coming out of his own haze and was beginning to worriedly eye the man above his shoulder.
"Kai? Are you alright?" Zane pet the back of his head, gently carding through his hair. Both he and Cole were still painfully hard, but Kai's well-being was beginning to kill that.
"Oh my god, he's still hard." Jay murmured with a little smile. Kai then pushed himself up on his hands, signature cocky smile being turned behind him to look at Cole, who was staring in awe.
"Well, big guy? Go on, I'm waiting." He hummed, giving his best bedroom eyes and then feeling everyone spring into action.
"Oh! There's my Kai! My big, hot, non-stop boy!" Jay cooed in between soft kisses. Kai couldn't respond properly as he could merely moan as he was pistoned. Zane remained petting his hair, only to feel a weak hand trail down his hip clumsily to brush his dick. Kai popped off of Jay's face, opening his mouth lewdly with his tongue out in a slight pant.
"Kai, I'm not sure. You're already under-"
"Zane, do what he wants, please.." Jay sighed, yelping from a particularly deep thrust that jostled Kai inside Jay's ass still. Exasperated, the blond moved to the kiss-swollen lips, letting his tip rest on Kai's bottom lip. Immediately he suckled on the head, moaning and yelping with Cole's endless tirade from the other end. Zane lost himself, letting Kai suck in as much as he desired, bobbing slowly. A smaller hand rubbed the thighs of the nindroid, before moving between and toying with his ass and taint.
Either way, it was a symphonic reverberation of sound of one partner to the next, solid words being lost as sound and action spoke louder. Cole and Zane began to falter, one's voice wavering as the other had static and white noise cutting into his generated sound.
"I'm gonna- Kai-!"
"Oh, yes, K-K-!" Both Ice and Earth released, leaving dark, handprint-shaped bruises in Kai's hips and causing a momentary overload in Zane's system. Kai yelped at the foreign sensations berading him, feeling Jay tense, Cole's thick load, and tasting Zane's artificial cum. As the two came down, Kai looked between all of them. His eyes had gone big and shiny, losing the confidence that had spurred them on early. Cole nor Zane pulled out, Jay still connected and adoringly petting his scarred chest.
"So good for us, baby, first round in months, and you took all of us. So ready to be used by your lovers." Jay hummed watching the nervous expression dip back down into arousal, still-hard cock twitching inside him. Cole and Zane seemed to catch on, beginning to mimic the smallest's gentle caressing.
"Yes, you took everything we had to give without hesitation. Letting us show you off. Mark you as ours'. Such a good boy, Kai." Zane hummed, getting the glowing orange eyes to connect with his pale blue.
"So soft inside, taking every inch like a champ. Never taking a fucking breather. So good and loyal. Always ours' and ours' alone. No one could take you; but us." Cole's tone dipped into a deep and possessive sound, sultry dragging a small whine from Kai as he wiggles a little.
"Oh, baby, always so hot and heavy whenever you're inside me!"
"Pretty mouth always so skilled and soft."
"Such a good boy, we love you so much."
"Only ours'."
"Hot and beautiful."
"Perfect."
"So so good."
"We love you."
Kai was now twitching, torn between whether to rock back or forward or rut, entirely overwhelmed and quickly running short on his second orgasm. His whines and moans were desperate, sometimes sounding vaguely like muffled speech between the praise. Then his back arch like a bow, all three feeling the effects of his second wind.
"Kai- oH MY-!" Zane was the only able to vocalize, as Cole was caught clenching his jaw, and Jay scrabbling at Kai's slick skin as he was filled to the brim. As Kai began to relax, Zane pulled
his softening cock off of his tongue. He fell back on his haunches, watching as Cole's chest heaved and began to gently pull out.
"Kai… honey… ? Off, please… ?" Jay whimpered, having his larger two partners haul Red and Blue apart. Cole pulled Kai back against his chest, the fire elemental hardly conscious enough to move his hips to relieve Jay. The mentioned ninja was still panting heavily, cum now leaking from his hole, head turned to the side and cradled in Zane's hands.
"That was… fantastic…" Murmured the fieriest, head still spinning.
"I think it's time for a bath.." Hummed an essentially disembodied chest behind Kai. He stared at the blissed out and nude body of the lightning ninja, everything too fast and too slow in his high. He watched as Jay was shifted from gorgeously on his back and then he was leading Kai down a rocking hallway. His small and young -looking face stretched in smiles, freckles like inverted stars smattered on his skin. His mouth kept moving and words and noises happened, but none of them graced Kai. He just grinned stupidly when that face blurred into only lips against his cheek. Then Jay was gone and the world was twirling like a top, all lights and time, Kai's genuine concerns only falling on the whereabouts of the prettyboy that'd been near him. It was amazing how everything fell away as a rush blood and adrenaline and endorphins pumped through his brain, until awareness washed over him.
"Huh?" He slurred, his stupor dying, as his eyes focused on the blonde who was relaxed completely against the side of the tub.
"Pfft, welcome back, bud." Cole's rumbling voice came from behind him still. A broad hand flashed in his vision, going down, and then there was water up to his neck. He wasn't in between Cole's legs sitting on the seat of their large tub, but now kneeling in the deep part, in the middle of all three of his other partners. Looking around he saw all eyes on him, green, pale blue, and dichromatic blue-amber. He felt his long hair wet, uncomfortable, and down, sticking to his face. As much as he enjoyed playing the confident eccentric, it was a hard to always play a part in front of those who knew him. He sunk down in the thin layer of bubbles, fret hopefully hidden.
"Nooo, Kai, don't do that…" Jay whined, seated next to Cole. They watched as he sunk, self confidence plummeting. It was always adorable to a point, and it'd hit that peak just short of five months ago.
"Kai, hey, Kai, c'mere." Cole gestured back gently, but the taller brunet remained pouting.
"Kai…" Zane's tone held hints of warning, but his lack of movement made it clear his energy for intervention was limited. Kai continued to favor sulking to acknowledge his boyfriends, which their resident drama queen would have none of.
"Pay attention to meeee!" Jay feigned neediness to seat himself on the fire user's folded legs. Immediately, Kai's head popped up level with Jay's now, looking rather guilty. With a heavy sigh, Cole slid down, arms now propped up on the seat level with his shoulders.
"Hey Sparky, get down here." Cole nudged the tired ice elemental's knee, spurring him to slide down and then promptly nuzzle into the crook of Kai's neck.
"So…are we gonna talk? Or…?" Jay prompted, looking at his partner inconspicuously.
"So, uh, yeah, best sex. Ten outta ten. Would bang again." Kai chuckled nervously, making the others snort.
"Yes, best we've had in a long time, but how do you feel?" Cole continued.
"Uh, well, uhm, better, I guess. I was pretty out of it afterwards, huh?" Kai tried to veer off topic.
"You kept staring at us like a dope." A giggle accompanied the comment from Jay.
"It was extremely amusing. I'm glad I have it saved to my memory bank." Kai noted that Zane's voice still vibrated where his vocal cords should be against his skin, momentarily delaying his embarrassment.
"Zaaaaaaane, nooooooo, you're killin' meeee! I'm the cool one!" Kai mocked bashfulness, looking away from the now-sly nindroid.
"Oh, contraire, love." With a wink and a slender finger freezing a droplet on his nose, Kai grinned.
"Fair enough."
"Seriously, though, Kai, why are you being so…" Zane redirected, looking to the others hopefully.
"Dodgy?" Offered the noiret.
"Yes, that!" Jay confirmed, then giving Kai and intent stare, waiting for response.
"I dunno, guys, okay? I just-ugh, I just have this memory loop of things they said and what they predicted you'd say and-" Kai began, already beginning to panic with explaining the details before an interruption.
"What? Can they predict the future? You never-" The blue ninja's brain jumped to an entirely different topic.
"Jay! Hush." Zane chastised, knowing full well of the electric's ability to distract himself.
"But they told me you wouldn't want me, and I know that's not true because you tell me, like, every day, but I still worry, and I just don't feel the same, like physically and personally, and if I change would you still love me?" Kai's words became quicker as he spoke, nervousness making him try to sink back down into the bubbles. Silence engulfed them for a moment, before Zane was hugging him.
"Of course, Kai. Change is the only permanent thing in this world, and we love and value whoever you may evolve into because we believe they will only be better than the Kai before them. Destruction and trauma is what gave me my new body, grief and anger brought Jay and Cole together, and what happened to you, Kai, has only made you stronger. You carry beautiful scars of valiant battles that only you could have won. It shows you lived, and that you're stronger now, even if it takes time to heal completely." Zane articulated carefully all of the affirmations Kai needed, along with his logical explanation. The nindroid was enviable in his communication skills, uninhibited by years of social concepts pounded into him. His head remained in the crook of Kai's neck, arms wrapped around his middle.
"He's right, man. I'm not good at this either, but I want you to know that all the touchy-feely stuff we do? Yeah, that's, at least, my way of showing I really try and care. I'm not gonna let go anytime soon!" Cole already had a hand somewhere on each of them, so Kai knew he was physically and emotionally there.
"Oh my god," Jay fanned at his eyes, "if I say anything that sappy, I might cry, so just c'mere ya' big dork!" And yet again the fire ninja was smooshed in between his lovers.