(Disclaimer: I do not own LEGO Ninjago or any of the characters provided in this one-shot, apart from the gang of crooks and Eric.)

(Extra Note: I HAVE NOT WATCHED ANYTHING PAST THE FIRST FEW EPISODES OF SEASON 6. PLEASE DO NOT SPOIL ANYTHING FOR ME.)

Hi! This is Airlet, a technically new user (though I've had this account for probably over a year), swooping in for a story that will hopefully contain one hundred or more shipping one-shots. See, I'm ship-obsessed, and LEGO Ninjago has been my interest target lately.

My OTPs are Greenflame (Kai x Lloyd) and Bruiseshipping (Cole x Jay), but I suppose Morro x Lloyd has been getting to me. I've been reading too many one-shots, I suppose . . .

Clearly, I can't do all these one-shots on my own, so feel free to send in ideas. Try and keep in mind that I want the age range of the audience to spread as far as it can go. I'm sorry if I decline some offers, as I have a strong disliking for some ships (such as Nya x Jay) -- but please don't take it personally! Ship whatever you want to ship.

Anyways! I'm getting distracted. Onto our first one-shot of the series!

o-O-o-O-o

Hats

MAIN SHIP: Kai x Lloyd

OTHER SHIPS: Jay x Cole (background ship); Kai x Jay (hinted)

Kai stopped in front of what appeared to be a boutique of some sort, studying the rather stunning hats on display. Lloyd paused beside him, and gave the Master of Fire a bewildered expression as Jay skidded to a halt right behind him in order to avoid crashing right into the Green Ninja.

"Kai, we're not here to admire hats," Lloyd said, the look on his face quickly turning to impatient frustration. "We're supposed to be making sure that gang of crooks doesn't try to steal from the bank again -- and, if they do, we have to make sure we don't end up scaring them off until we leave if we just march around as ninja; which is why we're supposed to be acting like average bystanders until we're sure these guys aren't coming back." He pointed to the bank across the street. "Yet, although we may be undercover, you can't waste time staring at --"

"That fedora would look really good on you, Lloyd," Kai noted softly, clearly not listening to a single word the blond had said. He was looking right at a black fedora, which was lined with green at the base of the rims, while the opposing color spread out to the edges and every other part of the hat. It look the slightest bit too big for Lloyd, but not so much that it would obscure his vision.

"Um, w-what?" Lloyd stammered, unable to stop the blush from creeping up his face. He was so focused on trying to understand what he just heard that he failed to notice the fact that Jay was now filming the scene on his phone, stepping back a little to get a bigger picture.

Kai, on the other hand, wasn't really paying attention to most of his surroundings otherwise. "That black-and-green fedora," he said faintly, smiling as he most likely pictured Lloyd wearing the hat. "It would fit you better than anyone else in the whole world. I mean, you're already really hot, but that hat would make you a hundred times more gorgeous. If I only I could afford it . . ." As he froze, realizing what he just said, Jay glanced at the price tag and winced.

Two hundred ninety-seven dollars? He shook his head in disbelief. Jeez, that hat is crap in comparison to its price!

"Oh, god," Kai breathed, "please tell me I did not just say all that out loud."

Snapping back to reality, Jay grinned, not even bothering to stop filming -- Kai's expression was absolutely priceless! "Oh, yes, you did," the lightning ninja chirped, waving his phone the slightest bit, "and I'm still not done! Dude, I dunno who looks more shocked-slash-flat-out bewildered -- Lloyd or you!" He couldn't prevent the fountain of giggles erupting from his mouth and nose.

Meanwhile, another part of his mind was devising a plan on how to get that hat for Kai to give Lloyd . . .

o-O-o-O-o

After their plan had resumed, the ninja had successfully taken down the batch of criminals, who were sent off to where they belonged. Now? A meeting between four of the ninja was taking place in Jay's room on the Destiny's Bounty.

"Cole, Zane, Nya, I need your attention," Jay said loudly, then cleared his throat and lowered his voice for the sake of keeping any unwanted attention at bay. "Um, it's super-duper important. Specifically to a certain lovebird -- well, soon to be pair of lovebirds, if this all works out."

"I assume you are speaking of Kai and Lloyd?" asked Zane, gaze curious. The Nindroid then frowned after a moment and added, "PIXAL insists that they are only 76% compatible --"

"NOBODY CARES ABOUT COMPATIBILITY, ZANE!" Jay practically screeched, then slapped a hand over his mouth. Luckily, no one outside the room seemed to have been in earshot, so he went on. "Last I checked, PIXAL also said Cole and I were only 37% compatible, and, now look -- we're DATING, for the love of god! Numbers don't make relationships! Actions and love do! Okay?!"

"He has a fair point," the lone ghost in the room said. "Kai clearly has a different attachment to Lloyd than he has ever had to anyone else -- and he certainly shares a relationship with him that we can't compare to. Hardly any of us have ever gotten a chance to save Lloyd from something big, but, heck, Kai discovered his true potential in rescuing him. And do you know who reached through to Lloyd every single time when he was under Morro's possession? Not any of us, that's for sure -- but the one who did do it was Kai." He sighed, shaking his head. "Kai deserves something from Lloyd in return -- but he has to do something bigger for it to actually hit Lloyd that Kai loves him more than anything in all of Ninjago and even beyond!"

Zane had no words, and simply nodded in understanding.

"Clearly, the little mini-speech he made about how beautiful Lloyd looks and all wasn't enough," Jay said, taking the lead again. "I think Kai should get him exactly what even caused him to go off on that ramble of his to show that he really meant what he said. Except he can't afford it -- not on his own, at least."

"Are you asking us to . . . ?" Nya trailed off, unsure of how to finish her sentence.

The Master of Lightning grinned. "Yep," he said. "Crack open your wallets, everybody, because we're about to buy a two hundred ninety-seven dollar black fedora with green lining at the base -- and don't forget extra cash for the tax fee!"

o-O-o-O-o

Jay rushed to the store where he, Lloyd, and Kai had all seen the fedora in the window display, dragging a certain red-suited ninja with him. He sighed with relief when he saw that the hat was still there, and quickly entered the shop, Kai trailing behind. The sun was setting, meaning it would be closing soon -- they had to hurry. He payed no mind to the fact that the full place was selling only hats upon hats upon hats as he pulled Kai through the whole store.

Rushing up to the counter, he said to the man tending to the currently nonexistent customers, "Excuse me, but you still have those black fedoras with the green stripe, right?"

"Yes, of course," the man replied with a smile. "Apart from the one on display, there's only one other fedora left." He then frowned. "But are you sure you kids can afford something like that? You don't look quite the age to have that much money on you."

"To be honest, n --" Kai started to say, but Jay slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Actually, we're pretty positive that we can," the Master of Lightning responded hurriedly. "Remind us of the price, plus tax, just to be sure, though."

"Three hundred twenty-one dollars and fifty cents," the man -- "Eric," as his nametag, which Jay only just now noticed, read -- replied, smiling again.

There was a long silence.

Then Jay yelled, "CRAP!"

"Is there a problem, young man?" The frown reappeared.

"I miscalculated!" the panicking teen cried. "I was off by one dollar! And I mean LESS! CRAP, CRAP, CRAP! KAI, PLEASE DON'T KILL ME --"

Too late.

The Ninja of Fire grabbed the now hyperventilating Jay by the shirt collar, drawing him so close that their noses would have been touching if the other ninja wasn't trying (and failing) to pull himself out of Kai's grip.

"Y-you're telling me," he snarled, and Jay failed to take note of the stutter in his tone, "that y-you pulled t-together some huge load of cash from everyone else to b-buy that hat for me to g-give to Lloyd . . . and you messed up the tax fee by ONE. GOD. DAMN. DOLLAR?!" Fire danced around his fingers, and a small bit of Jay's shirt caught ablaze, causing him to scream -- except it came out as a terrified squeak.

Jay awaited his impending demise, eyes now closed as he tried to calm himself, but found himself suddenly being dropped back to the floor.

Yet, what shocked him more was the sound he heard.

Crying.

Warily opening one eye, the Master of Lightning saw Kai, crouched on the ground, sobbing into his hands. His other eye almost immediately flickered open as well, and Jay felt guilt stab through his heart as Kai spoke through sobs.

"N-now," he sniffled, "L-Lloyd will n-never see that I love him. . . . E-even if I t-told him that I r-really did, he w-won't ever b-believe me. . . ."

"Oh, Kai." Both teens were shocked to hear the voice of Lloyd Garmadon. "Do you really think you have to go out and buy me some super-expensive hat just to prove you love me?" The blond came walking over, a gentle smile shining on his face. "To be honest, I knew in my gut how you felt about me -- I just kept denying it until the incident from this morning." Very carefully and quietly, Jay withdrew his phone from his pocket as the Green Ninja knelt down beside Kai. "And I want you to know this one thing: I love you, too, Kai."

Aaand . . . click. Quickly turning the flash off, the Blue Ninja snapped a picture just as Lloyd leaned in to kiss Kai. Although said kiss was short, he got it just on time and screamed, with zero self-control, "O. T. P!"

The two other ninja gave him a questioning look, which he responded to with a sheepish grin. "Um . . . whoops?" he laughed nervously, and was shocked -- no pun intended -- when Kai suddenly pulled him into a hug.

"And what is this for?" Jay queried in bewilderment.

"For putting us into this situation," Kai breathed softly, "because I have no idea what might have happened if you didn't drag me here."

Suddenly, Eric cried, "Oh, the emotion is too great for me to bear! Here! You can have the fedora for free -- I have never experienced such a genuine display of love and friendship."

As the hat was taken from the shelf and thrown down to them, Jay shook his head. "No," he responded. "Brotherhood. Love and brotherhood are what push us ninja forth."

o-O-o-O-o

Kai: *gasps* *false amazement* Jay says something wise for once! INCREDIBLE! AND TOTALLY NOT CLICHÉ!

Cole: HEY! THIS IS MY BOYFRIEND (non-canonically, of course) YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!

Me: All right, you guys, shove off. I need to perform my exit.

I thank all of you who have taken your time to read this (very long and very hard to write) one-shot, and hope you will contribute ideas or at least read whatever may come next! (My shipping senses are asking for a Jay x Cole, or even a Morro x Lloyd, but we'll have to see about that.)

Bye, n --

Jay: Wait a second; I feel like we forgot someth --

Nya: JAY!

Cole: WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!

Zane: WE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE OUR MONEY RETURNED TO ITS RIGHTFUL OWNER, ALSO KNOWN AS US! OTHERWISE WE MAY BECOME EXTREMELY DISSATISFIED IN A MOST HARSH AND VIOLENT MANNER!

Jay: Oh.

*reflexes kick in* *sHRIEKS* CRAP -- *speeds off*

Me: . . . He does realize he's only going to get himself into more trouble by keeping the money and running, right?

Lloyd: It'll click soon.

Kai: *at the same time as Lloyd* Most definitely not.

Lloyd: . . . Kai's words matched what the blunt side of me wanted to say.

Me: Okay, it's about time we wrap this up. . . . *poofs offstage with author powers*

Lloyd 'n' Kai: HEY! WHAT ABOUT US?!