Shooting Stars

So, well, it's November! How crazy is that?

Enjoy a Christmas chapter, 'cause Christmas time is next month!

Chapter Three

"And...that's the last one," Lloyd said. He climbed down the ladder and backed away, looking up in approval at his decorating skills. He turned to his friends. "What do you think?"

Kai stared at the fully decorated Christmas tree. "Wow, Lloyd," he breathed. "You really are great at decorating!"

"Thanks!" The blonde replied. "I've always loved decorating, and Christmas is my favorite holiday."

Zane nodded. "I can tell."

"The tree looks amazing," Cole added.

"Okay, what's next?" Jay asked the green ninja.

Lloyd pulled a list out of his pocket. "Uh...Cole, can you move all the boxes of decorations up here?"

"Sure. I'll go get them." He turned and walked down the stairs to where the decorations were stored.

"Cool," Lloyd said. "And Zane, you're the ice ninja. Can you put up all of the fake snowflakes? We have a lot of them." He smiled. "You can even make some real ones if you'd like."

"Of course," the taller blonde replied.

"Jay, Kai, and Nya," he continued, "you're going to put up all the rest of the decorations, if that's okay?"

Kai jumped to his feet. "Sure is!" He pulled the other two into a huddle, where they discussed the layout of all the Christmas decorations for that year.

Lloyd folded up the list and put it back in the pocket of his jeans. "And I'll handle the lights," he said quietly to himself.

Cole returned with more of the decorations and asked Nya, Jay, and Zane to help him sort through the rest downstairs, while Kai and Lloyd handled the ones already on the deck. When they agreed, the four went down to the storage area while Kai started searching through the contents of the nearest box. Lloyd pulled a string of lights out of one of the boxes. He dragged the ladder over to the highest point on the Bounty's deck, then started climbing up with the lights wrapped around his shoulders.

Kai glanced up from the box he was going through, immediately noticing Lloyd standing on the top rung of the ladder. "Lloyd!" He exclaimed. "Get down from there! That's dangerous."

The energy ninja didn't move. "I want to put up the lights," he argued. He began stringing them along the ridge, using tape to hold them down.

"Lloyd, please come down," Kai pleaded. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"It's okay," he countered. "I'm a ninja. I'll be fine."

Kai sighed. He knew it was somewhat pointless to argue with the stubborn teen. At the same time, he couldn't bear the thought of the kid falling and possibly breaking something. He shook his head and continued to watch Lloyd like a hawk.

It wasn't long before the green ninja could no longer reach along the edge without tumbling off his perch. I should probably get down to move the ladder, he thought. Maybe I can just get one more section…

As he pulled the strand of lights further over the ridge, the ladder started to slip out from underneath him. He lost his balance and fell off, as the ladder crashed down next to him.

Lloyd was expecting to hit the hard ground below. He closed his eyes and braced for the impact. However, his landing was much softer than he had expected. The blonde opened his eyes to see that the red ninja had caught him.

"Thanks, Kai," he breathed, relieved.

Kai held the smaller boy tightly, refusing to let go. "Are you okay?" He asked, concerned.

Lloyd nodded. "Yeah, thanks to you."

Kai carefully set him down. "Promise me you won't ever do that again, okay?" He begged. "Promise you'll be more careful."

Lloyd pulled Kai into a hug, still trembling a little. "I promise," he whispered.

The four others ran up onto the deck, each carrying a box of decorations.

"Everything alright up here?" Cole asked.

"We heard a crash," the blue ninja added.

Kai and Lloyd turned to face their friends.

"Yeah," Kai answered. "Everything's fine."

Lloyd gave them a reassuring smile. After that, they all returned to their decorating.

After about an hour, the upper deck of the Bounty was practically covered with decorations. It seemed as though Lloyd had an endless supply of the stuff. Regardless, it looked amazing.

"Wow!" The energy ninja breathed. "This is so cool!"

"Quite literally," Zane agreed. "Seriously, it's forty-five degrees out here."

Cole raised an eyebrow. "I thought nindroids didn't get cold. Especially the master of ice."

"That's true," he replied. "But I'm more concerned about the five of you."

"That makes more sense," Jay remarked. "It is really chilly."

"And that, my friends," Zane said, "is why I made us all hot chocolate!" He pulled a tray with six mugs out of a corner and handed one to each of his teammates.

"Aww, thanks, Zane!"

"You're the best!"

"This is so good!"

"What would we do without you?"

"I love you, man!"

Zane smiled. "I'm glad you like it." He glanced upward, and a green and red cluster of leaves caught his eye. He looked from the decoration to the two ninja standing below it.

"What is it, Zane?" Cole asked.

He followed the white ninja's gaze, noticing the mistletoe as well as its two 'victims'. "Well, would you look at that," he said.

Everyone else looked up at his words. Kai and Lloyd blushed furiously.

"That wasn't there before," Kai muttered.

Nya giggled, earning her a glare from her older brother. "Rules are rules, Kai," she told him.

Kai turned back to Lloyd. The latter was clearly embarrassed, but he didn't look away.

"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!" The others chanted.

Kai shook his head. "Aww, what the heck?"

He ran one hand through Lloyd's blonde hair and brought the other to the boy's waist. He leaned down and kissed the green ninja. Lloyd, pleasantly surprised and unsure of what to do, wrapped his arms around Kai's neck and pulled him closer. After a few seconds, they pulled away. The red and green ninja stared into each other's eyes, neither wanting to look away.

. . .

I hope you all enjoyed that. There's lots more where that came from ;)

I wanted to ask this earlier, but I forgot...what were you for Halloween? I was Lloyd, and it was awesome!

Please review!