This is a bonus chapter of sorts for this story. I had this idea, but didn't know how to work it into the timeline because it would pretty much have to happen post-canon but I already had the other chapters planned out so nicely and, well, it pretty much got cut. But I liked the story (enough to post it still on AO3) so I figured I'd add it in. Takes place in an AU, more or less, where Krux and Acronix are both just living their lives somewhere in Ninjago City. Enjoy.

"Hey, bro, check it out!" exclaimed Acronix as he walked into the apartment one day. Krux sighed from where he was reading a book on the couch, knowing that those words from his brother were never a promising sign. Regardless, he looked up from his book and set his reading glasses aside, only to be met with a sight that made him immediately regret ignoring his better instincts.

"I cannot believe you've actually acquired one of those nuisances, brother," he groaned when he saw his twin spinning a three-pronged wheeled toy on his index finger (and even worse, looking very amused by it.) He had encountered too many reckless children playing with those things rather than paying attention to his history lectures. The fact that his brother now had one pained him. "You are twenty eight, brother, you'd think you would have learned to act like it, instead of playing with children's toys."

Acronix had the very mature response of sticking his tongue out, and continuing to play with his trinket. Sighing and rolling his eyes, Krux ignored him and went back to his book.

To the master of the past's distaste, the fidget spinner became a recurring circumstance around the house. Acronix would absently spin it regularly while he did household chores, or listened to music, or any other of mundane activities.

And he would leave it sitting around constantly, on countertops, tables, dressers.

One such time, it was sitting on a side table next to the couch when Krux had sat down to read over a historical text. Sitting within arms reach of the toy, Krux raised a condescending gray brow at the object. He then did his best to ignore it, while he scanned through the diary entry from the age of pirates. But he was finding it very difficult to focus on the text, and soon found that he was biting at his nails. Realizing what he was doing, he sighed to himself in frustration at the bad habit, and looked around for something else to do with his hands. And that's when he found himself looking at the spinner. It was a ridiculous idea. He knew how foolish he would appear - a sixty year old doctor playing with a toy meant for six year olds - but he had seen his brother using it and it looked...interesting. Yes. Just interesting. He just wanted to see what the fuss was all about, that was it.

Apprehensive, but admittedly curious, he picked the toy up and absently spun it, his aged hands easily falling into the repetitious movement of whirling the wheels around and around with his thumb. With forced dignity, he looked back at the text, reading through it while his fingers kept up the steady twirling movement.

Hours later, when he heard the door opening with the sound of Acronix returning from his work, Krux returned to himself and hurriedly tossed the item away from him (he knew Acronix wouldn't notice the toy being in a new spot, he never remembered where he put anything).

"I'm home!" shouted his brother.

"I can tell," he dryly returned, looking up from the old scroll draped over his knees.

Acronix ignored the sarcasm with the pracised grace acquired by nearly all siblings, and threw his things onto the couch right beside Krux. As he did, he spotted the fidget toy where Krux had thrown it. Krux forcefully avoided looking at it. "Hey, there that is!" exclaimed Acronix happily, picking the spinner back up and giving it a whirl, "I was missing this while I was at work."

"I can't believe you are playing with toys at work," sassed Krux, pointedly ignoring the fact that he had been doing the same thing during his own day. Staring at Krux dead in the eyes, a meaningful twirl of the spinner toy was his twin's wordless response.

Despite how much he hated it, borrowing the spinner became something of a regular occurrence for the time elemental over the next few months. Krux often found himself picking it up when it was sitting in a nondescript place, finding comfort in busying his hands while he did other things. It got to the point where he realized he was actively seeking it out when he found his fingernails making their way towards his mouth.

Every time he took the toy in his hands, he grew more and more ashamed, and would constantly look over his shoulder to make sure that neither his brother nor anyone else had noticed. He had decided that it would just have to be his shameful secret. (But he had maintained a secret identity for 40 years. He was sure he could manage to hide this one small thing.)

However, one day Krux was just sitting at his desk, absently tapping a pencil against the paper he was writing on with one hand while biting at the nails of the other, when his brother spontaneously swung into his room and tossed an object at his face. His hands floundered up, just barely catching the trinket. He stared down at the piece of plastic while his brother stated, "Here, so you can stop stealing mine."

He ran the object over in his hands, frowning as it appeared to be some kind of toy. The sides were covered in numerous buttons and switches, and he looked over at his brother with insulted confusion.

From his place leaning against the doorframe, Acronix explained brightly, "It's a fidget cube. Like my spinner but more sophisticated ," he said this with a haughty faux-posh voice. More normally, he ended with his hands on his hips, "You're welcome."

Krux sputtered at that, yet still held the cube with his thumb hovering over one of the sides, "I have no interest in something so infantile!" he dismissed immediately, forcing himself to set the cube down onto his desk. Glaring at his brother he spat, "You look like enough of a fool with that spinner of yours." Even as said this, he flexed his creased skinned fingers anxiously, instantly needing something to do with his hands. He started tapping them against the desk again, but forced them to still when he realized brother was staring at the fidget intensely. "What?" he snapped, annoyed that his (now very) younger brother was giving him an incredibly wise and sympathetic look. (Distantly he was reminded of one too many times in the past when he had been on the receiving end of a lecture about paying attention, being respectful, and goodness stop fidgeting , which just served to put him in a worse mood.)

Sauntering over to his desk, his younger twin pointedly picked the fidget cube up, and shoved it back into his hands. "Brother, what are you doing?" Krux exasperated, but his fist closed around the toy all the same, his thumb twitching with yet-unacted desire to flick the switch on the cube's side.

"It's not being childish, Krux," his brother sassed at him, but with a kind smile. Straightening up, and holding his index finger up in what was clearly meant to be a scholarly position (one that gave the older man a distinct impression of who he was meant to be mimicking), Acronix "lectured" (though it was hard to take him seriously while he wore that same smirk), "It's called self-stimulating behavior. It helps one focus and calm down. I read that in an article online recently," he added, winking confidently.

The master of the past was still giving him a flat look, and Acronix finally lost his smirk and offered his brother a more sympathetic smile instead. "It's nothing wrong with you, brother. I know how everyone always acted about it, but that was forty years in the past." Acronix leaned against the desk, getting closer to his curmudgeonly older twin's eye level, gesturing broadly as he spoke, "The world has come to understand things a lot better, these days. I know you usually hate the way everything has changed, but just this time, give it a chance."

Without thinking about it, the aged man had already started playing with the cube in his hand, thumb flicking at the switch on the side. He stopped, looking down at his hands with a torn expression, and then giving his brother a lost look. Suddenly it was like all of the years separating them had disappeared, and Krux was once again an anxious child seeking his twin's support. It had been so many years that he had had to just hide his fidgets, many of those years without his brother there to tell him "you're not weird" or "screw them" to the people that judged him. But here they were, forty long years later and now Acronix was there meeting his lost stare with a steady supportive, yet somewhat sad, smile, and it was just like how it used to be.

Bolstered by his brother's support, by him telling him that he wasn't wrong or strange, Krux decided he would at least consider accepting modern findings. Shaking his head while he continued to fiddle with the switch in his hand, he finally responded straight-forwadly, "Thank you, brother."

Acronix shot him a cheery thumbs-up, the cheeky self-satisfied grin returning to his face. "Not a problem, brother. Hopefully now this will help you stop biting your nails like you do."

He blushed, the embarrassed red standing out in stark contrast to the green across his eyes. He had really hoped that his brother hadn't noticed that unfortunate habit.

Acronix's eyes sparkled mischievously, and he said knowingly, "You cannot hide things from your twin brother, Krux. And if you had forgotten that, I will just have to continue to remind you."

BEHOLD AS I MAKE FIDGET SPINNERS SAD. LOOK UPON MY ANGST POWERS AND WEEP FOOLISH MORTALS

Haha. :)

Anyway, hope you liked it! R&R, etc, Thanks for reading my stuff.