Zane looked at the clock on his phone. 7:02. He tapped his foot, trying to rid himself of the anxiety that was making metaphorical butterflies flutter around in his guts. It was only two minutes, nothing major, nothing to get worried about...
Even thinking about that, he couldn't shake the nerves as he checked his phone clock for what felt like the millionth time, even though only two minutes had passed. 7:04. He rolled his straw wrapper between his fingers, the paper wet from when he stuck it against the side of his glass of water. Just as his clock hit 7:07, he saw a familiar fireball greet the hostess, who pointed him towards his seat. Kai grinned as he sat down across from the Ice Ninja, who was trying to hide how nervous he had been.
"Hey Frosty, how's it going? I haven't seen you all day," Kai took a sip of the water Zane had ordered for him.
"Fine," His boyfriend answered almost uncharacteristically curtly, which made Kai squint. He was confused for a moment, but the way he could see Zane's fingers shaking slightly tipped him off. He abandoned the idea that the Ice Ninja was angry at him immediately, eyes softening in concern.
"Is this about me being late? Sorry, traffic was bad on the way here. I don't know sidewalks could even get that congested," Kai tried to crack a joke to clear Zane's mind, but he still looked troubled. "Hey. I'm sorry, I should've left earlier."
As much as he wanted to reach across the table and hold his beau's hand, he knew they were risking a lot by even eating together, much less showing any PDA.
"It's fine, really. Don't apologize. I'm just being irrational," Zane waved his hand, dismissing Kai's concerns, and the Fire Ninja shook his head vehemently.
"C'mon, I know you get anxious when I'm late. You don't have to be embarrassed," The brunette tried to reassure his partner, but decided to drop the topic when Zane shrugged noncommittedly, deciding to talk later instead of ruining their anniversary dinner. They had been together for six months now, stealing kisses and quick hand squeezes when their teammates weren't looking.
"Okay, I'll drop it. What're you thinking of getting?" Kai picked up the menu, scanning the menu. Zane had insisted they splurge so he could try some gourmet cuisine without having to learn to cook it himself. Kai would have been just as happy with a burger, but he figured the Ice Ninja deserved a treat that he didn't have to cook every once in a while.
"The roasted duck with the orange honey sauce and the side of roasted vegetables," He hummed, pointing to the middle of his own menu, and when Kai followed his instructions, he found a steak section.
"Thanks," Kai smiled sheepishly, knowing Zane was well aware of his picky eating habits. He found a filet mignon with bacon cream sauce, deciding that was the best dish to order and not sound like a three year old. After they had ordered, Zane glanced back at his date to see Kai making heart eyes at him, and stifled a laugh.
"What did I do?" The Ice Ninja asked teasingly, and Kai hummed in response, resting his chin on his hand.
"Nothin'. You're just being pretty like usual," Kai took a sip of his water, and Zane covered his mouth with his hand out of embarrassment, although his boyfriend could see the shy smile behind his fingers; his nails were filed into neat ovals and paint with clear polish to give them a shine.
"Kai, we're in public," Zane weakly defended his reaction, even though he knew trying deterring the Fire Ninja's affection was futile.
"So? Nobody's paying attention to us. Relax Snowflake, this is our night. We've been doing this for half a year now. We're allowed to do something most couples do every week. Just sit back, enjoy your roast duck, and afterwards we'll go take a walk in the park or something. Good?" Kai asked tenderly, and Zane nodded, fingers now folded in front of him.
"Thank you," Zane exhaled deeply. "I'm sorry, I suppose I want the same thing. To be normal, I mean. To be able to go on dates in nice restaurants and hold hands at the movies and sit together on boardwalks without it being... wrong."
"I know, I know," Kai sighed, and he made a note to find the quietest park he could just to let Zane fulfill his small, domestic dreams of gentle hand touches and leaning his head on his boyfriend's shoulder. "One day you'll have all that and more. I promise."
They continued to make idle chat until their food arrived, and when it did, Kai was pleasantly surprised. He expected to be dragging his feet and have to grin and bear the stuffy, expensive food, but he found he actually liked the sauce covering his steak, and Zane seemed to be equally as happy, dividing his duck into smaller sections as to eat the poultry as neatly as possible.
They paid and left after they were done, careful not to even brush hands as they left for fear of an overeager fan snapping a picture. As soon as they hit a darker part of Ninjago City Park, however, you would have to get a crowbar to pry their fingers apart.
They sat on a bench, gazing up at the moon and stars to the best of their ability thanks to heavy light pollution, but Kai couldn't stop glancing at his beau, almost ethereal under the cool moonlight. Much like Kai's brown eyes exploded under the sunlight, Zane's cool blue seemed to sparkle in the soft glow. Soon enough, he found his boyfriend nestled into the crook of his neck, tucked under his arm with a content smile etched onto his lips.
"Hey babe?" Kai turned to the mass of white hair beside him, which shifted a little so he could see ocean eyes staring back at him. "I love you."
Zane didn't respond for a moment, wrapping his arms tighter around Kai's middle. The Fire Ninja was scared for a second that Zane wouldn't reciprocate the affection and that he had done something wrong, but he felt Zane smile against him with a sleepy exhale.
"I love you too."
As Kai looked between the night sky and his boyfriend that might as well be a star with how breathtaking he was, he couldn't imagine himself anywhere else.