(me: since I'm way behind on the show and am currently invested in other fandoms, I'm not going to write any more ninjago fic until I've at least watched season 10
me: *gets one (1) well-written comment from a regular reviewer who actually understands how to ask writers for more fic without sounding needy or aggressive*
me: nEVERMIND I GUESS)
"Oh, man, I beat you by a MILE!"
"Says you and what army? I bench-pressed over double what you did!"
"Yeah, but I won the race!"
"It's so hot, I don't even care that I clearly beat both of you in the grand scheme of things."
"Ha-ha, very slick, Kai."
The competitive shouts of five teenage boys (well, mostly the same three) rang through the air as Ninjago's heroes climbed aboard the deck of the Destiny's Bounty after yet another intensive training session. Today's had consisted of elemental practice, speed training, and bodybuilding… all in the glorious outdoor weather in the ninety-nine degree heat.
"Hey look, it hit a hundred!" Cole exclaimed, picking up a thermostat that the boys had brought outside specifically for the purpose of being able to complain.
"I told you it would," Jay huffed, speeding up slightly to pass his brother and get inside first.
"Hey!" Cole yelped, breaking into full speed and turning the aggressive motion into a full-on race.
"Guys, no running in the Bounty!" Lloyd cried, running after them.
"A hundred or a thousand, it all feels the same to me," Kai groaned, not even bothering to chase after them. The white-clad ninja beside him frowned.
"Are you feeling all right?" he asked. "I've never known you to not join in when the others start to compete, even if it is against the rules." He paused, then donned a teasing grin. "Are you growing into a mature adult, perhaps?"
"You wish," Kai said with a smirk. The top half of his own red gi was tied around his waist, and sweat ran heavier down his brow than any of the others. "I think using my powers earlier heated me up even worse than the sun."
"I highly doubt your elemental abilities can surpass that of the star which gives all life to the planet we live on," Zane teased, poking Kai in the shoulder.
The red ninja yelped. "What the— your hands are ice cold!"
"Sorry. I didn't intend to cool them off that much." Zane smiled, and Kai legitimately couldn't tell if the incident had been an accident or not. "But, really, follow me." With a now pleasantly cool touch, he grabbed Kai by the wrist and started heading towards the bedrooms.
"Yo, Zane, Kai!" Jay yelled, having apparently ran into the kitchen area. "Where'r you going?"
To Kai's surprise, Zane held up his wrist and called, "I'm taking Kai to ice him off! I think he overheated himself with his powers!"
Also to Kai's surprise, Jay nodded and shouted back, "Fine, but don't expect us to leave you any popsicles!"
(Less of a surprise was Lloyd's voice in the background, reprimanding Jay, and saying of course they would save them some popsicles.)
Zane then casually turned to the fire ninja, nodding towards the bedrooms. "Come."
Kai sat on the edge of the bed while Zane sat cross-legged behind him, placing his cool hands on the hot boy's shoulders. Kai was expecting it this time, but he still shivered at his brother's touch.
"I-I didn't even know you could do that," he admitted.
"It's a trick I have been practicing. I figured it's good for us to practice using our elements in as many ways as we can," Zane replied in his calm, cheerful manner. Then he pressed his thumbs firmly against Kai's back, sending a shock of cold throughout it. He began rubbing in circles, relieving the tense muscles and pushing out the heat all at once. Kai made a small noise, tensing up.
"Is this all right?" Zane asked, increasing the pressure slightly. Kai nodded silently, his body rigid.
"Try to relax your muscles, if you can," Zane instructed, spreading out his hands to cover as much skin as possible. A barely-visible steam actually began rising up, which the android assumed meant his treatment was working.
He worked in silence for a while, rubbing his hands along various parts of Kai's back and arms and occasionally pausing to hold him steady when he began trembling too much. But while he worked in silence, his mind was running through multiple trains of conversation. A few minutes later, he finally spoke up.
"Cole, Jay, and Lloyd did not seem to mind my explanation of cooling you down as much as you seem to think they would have," he commented.
Kai glanced down at the floor almost guiltily. "M-maybe they didn't know what you meant."
Zane shook his head. "I think," he said in a gentle tone, "it is more probable that they simply do not mind the concept of brothers helping brothers in the way you believe they do."
It took Kai a minute to translate what he was saying, but he bit his lip as he did. "I… don't know."
"Kai—" Zane hesitated. He didn't want to push into a sensitive topic, but he also felt strongly about helping those he cared about. "You don't have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable, but… when exactly did you start to despise your own need for physical touch?"
Kai sucked in a deep breath and took a few moments before responding. "I… haven't really thought about it, but it was definitely a while ago." His hand started to move up, as if to make sure Zane was still holding onto him, before he forced it back down to the bedside. "I… think it was back in the village— or, near it, anyway— when me and Nya worked in the blacksmith's shop."
Zane repressed his urge to correct him to "Nya and I" and simply nodded for him to go on.
"After our parents passed away, we mostly only saw each other and adult clients, but there were a few other kids who would occasionally come up from the village to play with us or to buy things for their parents who sent them on errands. They had kites, games, and a lot of people, and we had shields and cool-looking armor, so, you know, we were the fun place to hang out. We pretended to be soldiers a lot."
"You didn't play with the weapons, I hope?" Zane asked.
"No, until Nya was older, I made all the sharp stuff and kept it in the back for purchases only. At the time I was just worried about Nya getting hurt, although thinking back on it her presence probably kept the rest of us safe." He laughed a little.
"So, after your parents were gone…"
Kai's face fell again. "Yeah. I guess I hugged Nya a lot— I mean, I still had to rock her to sleep and stuff for a year or two— and I…" he frowned, evidently trying to think back to a time that was either blurry from simply being such a young age or repressed from the memories linked to his parents. "I think I hugged the other kids a lot, too, actually? I don't remember. I'm pretty sure I kissed a girl who wasn't Nya on the cheek at least once, because I was mimicking something I saw on TV, but for some reason I don't remember her reacting strongly. I think she might've even been playing along, reciting lines or something? Whatever it was, it wasn't a big enough deal that I remembered it. But then…"
The brown-haired boy swallowed, and Zane softened his grip, scooting himself a little closer to comfort him.
"Then stuff changed. The group changed a little because some families moved, but even the kids who were part of the original group were different as they got older. The boys sometimes said stuff like… well, they made it sound childish when I tried to hug them, and… the girls started getting uncomfortable, although to be completely honest, I didn't actually know why for a really long time." He laughed nervously. "I sincerely didn't understand why they didn't want me touching them anymore, although I did stop of course, and then it got worse with the boys and so eventually I stopped hugging them too…"
"Did anyone explicitly tell you what you were doing was wrong?" Zane asked, calmly on the outside but internally upset at the boy's recollection of events.
"I don't think so, but everyone always acted weird if I was affectionate with anyone except for Nya. And once, I even overheard an adult talking to her and asking if it was hard that I was 'so needy' since the loss of our parents and mentioning how I was always clinging to her, 'figuratively and literally,' and, well, that messed me up pretty good for a while, even though of course Nya defended me…" He stopped talking, his throat sounding tight.
Zane let out a tiny growl of frustration, which was extremely rare for him. But he had personal ties to the issue at hand. He took a few deep breaths before speaking.
"Did you know," he asked, "that when I was little, my father had a quote for people like that?"
Kai turned around just enough to look at his brother out of the corner of his eye. "You mentioned he was… tactile, but I don't think you told me a quote."
Zane nodded. "He told me several times that if affection should be reserved for family only, that we should try to see everyone in the world as our brothers and sisters."
Kai gave a tight smile. "Poetic."
Zane smiled back, old memories resurfacing. "He always has been. Even though he loves to invent, he loves people even more."
"Then why did he live alone in the middle of the woods for most of his life?" Kai asked— then quickly backtracked, "I mean, if that's an okay question to ask."
Zane paused. A thought seemed to occur to him. "I myself do not entirely know the reason. He never spoke much about his past. Perhaps when he gets back from his trip in Ninjago City, we could ask him…" he shook himself out of his thoughts. "However, what I do know is that as a child he had a friend he was very affectionate with, and at some point when he lost that affection it upset him greatly. He took great care when creating me, knowing I would be his main and possibly only source of human contact." The ninja of ice pulled his hands away for a moment to look at them. "He is truly an amazing inventor… he took years crafting me so that I would not only be able to take care of myself, but fulfill the needs of others as well."
"He did a good job," Kai commented without thinking, then quickly looked away. Zane paused and smiled.
"…thank you." He turned his attention towards the ceiling for a few moments, then back to his brother. "My point in telling you this is that you shouldn't be ashamed of who you are. We are all created differently, and while it's perfectly fine to be uncomfortable with human contact, it is also perfectly fine to crave and even need it to a certain degree. Neither set of needs should be treated above the other, and people who require skinship should be able to give and receive it with anyone else who is comfortable."
The room fell into silence once more as Kai processed what Zane was saying.
"It sounds so logical when you say it," he sighed quietly.
"I was created to help those who cannot help themselves. I am actively analyzing the behavioral patterns of others and attempting to find problems I can help solve." He smiled slightly. "But right now, my analysis is that I'm hungry. If it's all right with you, I'd like to go see if Lloyd managed to save us some popsicles."
Kai grinned. "Absolutely." He hopped off the bed, then paused. A look of uncertainty washed over him, but he kept the grin up as he held out a hand nervously. Warmth rose up in Zane's heart and a smile spread across his face as he reached out and took it gently, interlocking his pale fingers with the other boy's.
And the two walked out of the room hand-in-hand.