Zane once again woke up to an agonizing headache, like a painful Deja vu.

He stared up at the ceiling for a moment as he recalled what had happened the last time he woke up with a headache.

Once again, his internal vision began steaming up with erotic images.

He sat up and held his head. They would definitely need to upgrade some of the circuitry there – he couldn't be dealing with this sort of pain every time he and Pixal indulged each other in this manner. But when he looked to his left, he discovered he was alone. Perhaps the imagery in his mind was just that – nothing more than an erotic dream. He flopped onto his back and put his hand over his face. If it was just a dream, then damn... what a dream it was.

Suddenly there was an enthusiastic knocking on his door, and he soon heard Jay's voice from the other side.

"C'mon sleepy droid, get up already!" Jay sang excitedly. "You're missing all the fun!"

"I will be right there!" Zane replied as he got out of bed and started getting dressed.

Christmas Day was usually a relaxing day of fun in the snow, followed by hot chocolate and chilling by the fireplace; a nice, wholesome contrast to their rowdy Christmas Eve party.

Zane, however, was still reeling from his incredibly vivid dream and wondered if it had actually happened or not. It was so strikingly realistic that he couldn't be sure – more so because he didn't think his mind was imaginative enough to conjure such stimulating images without real life inspiration.

He got up and decided to get dressed so he could join his teammates, no doubt having a snowball fight as they usually did. Being the Master of ice, and a nindroid, he did not feel the cold as others did, and as such gave little thought to whether he was wearing enough layers.

My silver gi and hakama will be sufficient enough. He thought as he selected the garments and started putting them on.

Now ready to go outside, he turned to open the door.

Taking a cursory glance around his room, his eyes were drawn to the haori jacket that Pixal had been wearing not even two days ago. She has given it back to him after she had gotten dressed, following their… physical compatibility test, and he'd left it draped over a chair. He moved towards it, gently lifting it in his hands as the memories of their exquisite rendezvous flooded to the front of his mind. With a warm smile, he put the jacket on and left his room.

As he approached the back door and stepped outside, he was greeted by the abundant laughter of his friends as they frolicked in the snow, throwing snowballs and building snowmen. He noted that the snow was a lot deeper than usual, and even now the snowflakes were still lightly falling.

"Zane!"

Pixal ran over to him excitedly.

"You must see the sculpture that Nya has been helping me build!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him over to where she and Nya had been making things out of snow, one such thing being Zane's dragon, Shard.

"It looks just like him," Zane smiled. "this must have taken some time to make."

"Pixal was determined to have it finished before you got up." Nya grinned at him.

"I am sorry to have kept you waiting." Zane apologised, putting his arm around Pixal comfortingly.

"You look so peaceful when you are sleeping," Pixal sheepishly mentioned. "I did not want to wake you."

Before he had a chance to speak, Zane detected an incoming snowball and cleverly guarded Pixal from the round projectile. In one swift motion, he pulled her close and shielded her with his body. As the snowball hit his shoulder, his finely tuned robotic mind calculated where the snowball had come from, and Jay – who threw the ill-fated ball – found himself the target of Zane's retaliation. Shuffling Pixal behind him, Zane stretched out his arms and held out his hands. Using his ice powers, his open palms summoned a score of snowballs from the snow beneath his feet; a devilish smirk appeared on his face.

"Jay, you might wanna run!" Kai yelled out.

Taking the wise advice, Jay promptly bolted as Zane chased after him. It was an interesting, if slightly one-sided, battle as Zane used his elemental advantage to defend the honour of his lady; Pixal was not Jay's intended target, but his misfire made it seem that way – if not for Zane's swift reflexes, Jay would be in it even deeper than he already was.

The others watched with amusement as Zane stalked Jay like a wild animal, bombarding him with snowballs and conjuring more from their icy surroundings when his first round had run out. Jay didn't go down without a fight however, and while he landed a couple of snowballs on Zane, it was like apples and oranges – there was just no comparison.

"Okay, okay!" Jay said as he sat unarmed at the base of a tree. "I surrender!"

"You put up a good fight," Zane replied, offering Jay his hand in a show of good faith. "but may I suggest you work on your aim?"

"Of course," Jay smiled as Zane helped him up. "by the way, nice to see you finally join us."

"I know it is not usual for me to sleep in so late," Zane admitted. "but sometimes a dream is too good to leave."

"I know that feeling..." Jay agreed, making a subtle glance in Nya's direction.

Suddenly Jay was hit by yet another snowball. He turned around to see Cole heartily laughing, and immediately he began making some snowballs to throw back. Zane chuckled as Jay went chasing after Cole, brandishing an armful of icy ammo.

Zane calmly strolled around in the soft, whiteness. The blanket of snow reminded him of how he discovered his origins, as his father's home was hidden in the middle of a snow forest. It was there he learned the truth of his existence, where he reached his true potential, and where Pixal discovered another power source along with his blueprints. One day he would go back there – it was, after all, the place he felt closest to his father, especially after his dad passed away for a second time. For now, though, he was enjoying his surroundings – the chunky snowflakes falling all around him, the way the snow made a crunch sound under his feet, and the peaceful feeling of being enveloped by the element he controlled.

He eventually found himself back at the snow dragon that Pixal and Nya had built, only the ladies were no longer there. He ventured into the Temple and discovered a most delicious smell. Following the wonderful aroma led him to the kitchen, where a pan of freshly made hot chocolate was simmering on the stove.

"I was just about to call everyone in," Nya smiled. "I hope that's okay, I know you weren't out in the snow very long..."

"There's plenty of time for me to enjoy the snow," Zane said. "the low temperature does not affect me the way it does them."

"True," She agreed. "and they've been out there for 2 hours, at least – one of them must be getting cold by now."

Nya walked away towards the back door as Pixal started ladling the hot chocolate into mugs. Zane approached her from behind, wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned his head on her shoulder. Pixal couldn't help but giggle at this; she loved the subtle affections he gave her.

"Thank you." She said to him.

"What for?" He asked.

"For protecting me," She replied, looking him in the eye. "I know it was just a snowball, but I appreciate the sentiment."

Zane waited for her to put down the ladle she held before he spun her round in his arms and hugged her to him firmly.

"I would give my life for you, Pixal." He spoke seriously.

After everything that happened to them, she could well believe it. She returned his enthusiastic embrace, gripping onto him as hard as she could. No one had ever made her feel so loved, so wanted, so treasured... though Mr Borg often treated her like his own daughter, it was clearly a different kind of love from what she felt for Zane.

As she opened her eyes and looked to her left, it was apparent they once again had an audience.

"Hello," She said as Zane slowly pulled away from her. "please help yourselves to some hot chocolate."

"Thanks Pix," Kai grinned, playfully nudging Zane as he walked past. "do we have any marshmallows?"

"Kai, we were the ones who went grocery shopping, remember?" Lloyd chuckled.

"Yeah, but that was two days ago!" Kai sighed. "Even if I remember getting marshmallows it doesn't mean they're still here."

"Yes, we have marshmallows!" Cole groaned, walking over to the cupboard, pulling out a giant bag of soft, squishy mallows and throwing them at Kai's head.

Cole selected a drink and walked toward the living room, shaking his head.

"And that's how you know Cole's been out in the cold too long." Jay laughed as he too chose a mug and walked away.

"I forgot how grumpy he could get in this weather." Nya mentioned, raising her eyebrow.

"C'mon, let's go relax for a while." Lloyd suggested.

As everyone picked up a mug of hot chocolate, they headed into the living room, where the fire was already roaring, and the light projector was still shining strong on the tree. It was a most relaxing scene, as the whole team sat quietly, enjoying the comforts of being warm and cosy on such a cold day.

Pixal could not resist leaning against Zane and rubbing her face on his arm, something that did not go unnoticed; Kai, who sat on the other side of Zane, roughly jabbed him in the ribs and wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Zane's face became hot, and he looked away.

In doing so, he had inadvertently caught Nya's attention, who made silent hand signals at him. Zane had no idea what Nya was getting at, until she briefly put down her drink and touched her left shoulder with her right hand then gestured to the left with her head. Zane then put his arm around Pixal and squeezed her shoulder. Pixal shuffled closer and snuggled into him.

"So… have you guys done it yet or what?" Cole loudly asked.

The rest of the team slowly turned and looked at him with a mixture of disbelief and embarrassment on their faces.

"What?" He said, totally unfazed by the shocked response.

"Cole!" Nya reprimanded. "You can't just ask questions like that!"

"But you're all thinking it!" Cole insisted, pointing at them accusingly.

"That doesn't mean you should just ask out loud!" Lloyd scolded, as he slapped a hand to his own forehead.

"I do not understand this expression 'done it'," Pixal stated. "what exactly is he asking?"

At that point, everyone froze. Pixal didn't know what Cole meant, but was anyone going to step up and explain to her what his meaning was? Soon, all eyes were on Zane, whose face was getting hotter with every passing second. Pixal looked up at him innocently, her eyes now asking the same question that Cole had asked.

"Pixal, do you remember what happened two days ago?" Zane asked her, his face still hot as a wildfire.

"Do you mean when we were drafting circuits…?"

"No, before that."

"Oh, do you mean when you were teaching me to dance?"

"No, even before that," Zane said nervously. "when you first went into my room."

"Ohhh," She mused innocently. "do you mean when we connected?"

Suddenly, the snickering began. Jay was tittering away, trying so hard not to be obvious with his amusement as Nya slapped his arm. However, Jay's giggling was infectious, as Kai, Lloyd, Nya and even Cole succumbed to the corrupting laughter.

"I did not know that our bonding experience was meant to be amusing." Pixal mentioned, feeling a little confused.

"Please understand Pixal, it is only amusing to my teammates because they have not experienced it themselves." Zane explained to the best of his ability.

"Does this mean our physical bonding is the first among your peers?" She wondered as she tilted her head.

"It seems that way." Zane said calmly, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek.

And just like that, the laughter came to a halt, only to be replaced with big smiles and not-so-subtle gasps of excitement. Nya immediately shuffled over to Pixal and held her hand, bearing a thrilled expression.

"So, it's true!?" Nya asked excitedly.

"Yes, Zane and I have been intimate." Pixal confirmed.

Nya let go of Pixal's hand and did a little victory dance, before pointing at Zane with a smirk on her face.

"Then you didn't just talk with her the other day, did you?" Nya grinned wickedly.

"Technically speaking... No..." He admitted, sheepishly looking away.

"Dude, I can't believe you kept this a secret!" Kai said, slapping Zane's shoulder.

"I'm telling ya, it's always the quiet ones," Jay insinuated as he prodded Lloyd with his elbow. "how long were you gonna hide this from us?"

"He wouldn't have been able to keep this kind of secret for long," Cole smugly interrupted. "it would only be a matter of time before one of us caught them doing something..."

"Cole, you have a filthy mind." Lloyd deduced, giving Cole a playful shove.

"I guess this means you'll be sharing a room from now on," Nya mentioned with a sigh. "I really liked having a roommate too."

"We will need Sensei Wu's permission first, and Pixal is not a ninja," Zane corrected. "even though she has many talents which can be useful, Wu may not allow her to stay at the temple long-term."

"No offense, but what good will you be to the team if he separates you two?" Nya pointed out.

"Dying of a broken heart is a thing, my friend." Kai explained.

"At the very least you're looking at severe separation anxiety." Lloyd said, with Jay nodding in agreement.

Zane and Pixal looked at each other. They'd had this discussion before, back at Borg Industries when she was rebuilding his body. Back then, Zane seemed so sure that there wouldn't be any problem – the skills that Pixal could contribute to the team would ensure she would be able to stay – but the doubt was setting in now.

They did not want to be separated, and if there was a chance of that actually happening, then there was only one option. It was not an ideal solution, but at least they would still be together.

"Perhaps... Perhaps it would be for the best if I just..." Pixal whimpered sadly as her hands reached up to the back of her head.

"No..." Zane said, grabbing her hands and holding them to his chest, his voice full of determination. "We must not relinquish all hope, there is always a chance he will say yes."

"You could always get married." Jay suggested.

Another wave of silence spread over them. This particular silence was not as tense as the last one, but there was still a heavy feeling in the room. Jay looked at his friends, who were all having mixed reactions to his unusual solution.

"Marriage is a human tradition, it does not apply to droids," Pixal sadly noted.

She stood up, bowed to all in the room and then swiftly, silently, walked out. Nya hit Jay with a cushion, so hard that he actually cried out in pain. Zane went to get up and chase after her, only to be stopped by Kai.

"Give her some space," Kai recommended. "she probably just needs some time to think."

"I cannot just leave her like that." Zane insisted, breaking free of Kai's grip on his arm and heading off in the direction he saw her go.

"Unfortunately, Pixal is right," Nya said. "they're the first of their kind – the only significantly advanced droids in existence to even understand the complexities of love – so a legitimate droid union won't be on the cards for society for a while..."

"Even if droids could get married, it's a big step for anyone." Lloyd stated.

"I'm not saying they can't get married, I'm just saying that it might not be recognised as being legal." Nya explained.

"Regardless, it wouldn't have any bearing on Sensei's decision." Lloyd responded with certainty.

"That's what you think," Jay argued. "you see it all the time on TV, and most of that is based on real life."

"It's hardly a great reason to get married though, is it?" Cole mentioned.

"I should go and apologise," Jay sighed defeatedly. "it was only a suggestion, but I feel like maybe I crossed a line."

"Not to mention bringing the mood down." Kai snarked as Jay followed in Zane's footsteps.

"On second thoughts, a wedding could be fun," Nya commented, offering an alternate viewpoint. "after all, it's not like any of you are gonna get married anytime soon."

"I thought you said it wouldn't be a legitimate marriage," Kai pointed out. "and if that's the case, what's the point?"

"The point is that it clearly means a lot to Zane and Pixal, judging by their reactions they know that the usual rules won't apply to them because they aren't human," Lloyd interrupted as he started to understand Nya's logic. "let's be honest, who cares what society thinks as long as it's legit to them, and to us?"

"Aren't we getting ahead of ourselves? Isn't this all kind of sudden?" Cole asked. "They've only been going steady for like 5 days!"

"Who was it that said they've been together this whole time?" Lloyd pointedly mentioned, repeating what Cole had said a couple days earlier. "We don't know what their relationship was before all this happened – I mean, it sounds like even when he was being rebuilt in Borg Industries that things were getting serious between them; he told us all about it once his memory had fully returned."

"Do you think this was his plan all along?" Kai wondered.

"What do you mean?" Lloyd answered with another question.

"You said it yourself, we don't know the depth of their connection – not back then and certainly not now – is it possible that all that time together made him realise that he wanted to marry her, that he wants to show his devotion, and that's why he asked Mr Borg to rebuild her?"

No one was sure what to say exactly, but Kai was making a lot of sense.

"Right, that's it," Nya stood up with a fierce determination burning in her eyes. "we're going to plan a wedding!"

Having scoured the whole temple and found nothing, Jay eventually went outside into the snow and that's where he found Zane.

Surrounded by his element, Zane sat by the large dragon ice sculpture that Nya and Pixal had built and heaved a weighty sigh. He didn't care what Ninjago thought of him, or his love for Pixal, all that mattered was what they felt for each other. Marriage was considered a major life change for humans, but what, if anything, did it mean for droids? Given that they were the first droids with AI complex enough to handle the abstract concept of love, there were no previous studies or precedent to fall back on.

Regardless, he did not want to marry her just for the sake of making them inseparable – they were already inseparable without the formality of wedlock – he did, however, want to spend the rest of his life with her. They were real, their love was real, that was all he needed people to see. If getting married was how humans demonstrated their lifelong commitment to each other, who was to argue with two droids wanting to do the same?

He sat in the snow a little longer, thoroughly enjoying the chill of winter, when he suddenly became aware that he was not alone. He looked over his shoulder and saw Jay standing there with a guilty expression.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have talked so loosely about something so personal," Jay said. "I gotta learn to keep my mouth shut."

"Do not apologise," Zane insisted with a sigh. "you were only voicing your opinion."

"I just know how much you and Pixal want to stay together, and it seemed like a good idea," Jay admitted as he sat beside him. "but I guess the real question is, do you want to marry her?"

"Of course I do; I want to be with her forever," Zane stated. "not so we can stay together here, not to prove that our relationship is real, but because I love her."

"Maybe you should tell her that." Jay mentioned.

"I will when I find her." Zane sighed.

"You mean, she's not out here with you?"

Zane shook his head.

"When she left the room, I could not tell which way she had gone, but a scan of the temple revealed nothing," He said sadly. "I can only assume she came out here, so I decided to wait for her to come back."

"You should probably call Cyrus Borg too." Jay casually mentioned.

"What? Oh, yes, of course," Zane agreed. "that is the tradition after all, to get the blessing of her father."

"But there's nothing that says you have to go along with human traditions," Jay countered. "you could create your own traditions."

"Besides which, I think I already have it."

"Eh? What do you mean?" Jay queried.

"When we were rebuilding Pixal's body, he referred to her as his daughter and I told him how heart-warming that was," Zane reminisced on the conversation he had with Cyrus. "then he turned to me and said, 'perhaps one day you will be my son-in-law'."

"It's just like a movie!" Jay squealed excitedly.

"Even so, I should probably run the idea by him," Zane said. "but I need to find Pixal first…"

"Zane…"

They looked up to see a bashful Pixal standing in front of them. Zane leapt to his feet and pulled her into a warm hug. Jay, sensing he was surplus at this point, got up and walked back toward the temple.

"Pixal, where did you go?" He fretted, pulling away to look her over. "You're not hurt, are you?"

"No, no, I'm fine," She replied. "I just needed some air, some space to sort through my own thoughts."

"You do not need to explain anything to me, I am just glad you're back." He grinned.

"It's funny though, that we did not previously consider it as an option," She said, modestly glancing at her feet. "you know, getting married."

"You and I, we're not human, we do not think the same way as them," He held her hands and smiled. "but it says a lot that they see our relationship and imagine it progressing to the stage that theirs often do."

"So… What do you think?" She asked.

"I think that I do not want to marry you as a means to an end, or for the sake of someone else, or to prove anything to the world at large," He spoke seriously. "I think that if we are to get married, it should be because it is something we both want to do, because we love each other and want to be together."

"Agreed." She smiled warmly at him and chuckled.

"This is awkward," He said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I do not have a ring, or any other shiny object with which to pledge my love for you."

"Actually, you do, but you have already given it to me." She softly spoke, tapping on her chest.

"Then all that's left to do is ask," Zane dropped onto one knee and smiled up at her. "Pixal, will you marry me?"

"Yes." She responded, tears forming in her eyes.

Suddenly there was a round of applause and a few elated whistles. Zane and Pixal turned to see the other ninja, cheering and clapping for the two of them. They approached their enthusiastic audience and joined them for a big group hug.

"Come on Pixal, we need to call your dad!" Nya excitedly said, grabbing the droid's hand and practically dragging her into the temple.

"Congrats bro!" Kai grinned.

"Thank you," Zane smiled back. "I'm very excited."

"We still gotta tell Sensei Wu what's happening, how are you gonna react if he says Pixal can't stay here?" Lloyd asked.

"If we have to part ways for now, then so be it, our relationship will have to be long distance," Zane answered calmly. "but we aren't doing this to be able to stay together, we are doing this because we love each other."

"Wow, talk about a change of heart," Kai chuckled. "not 20 minutes ago you and Pixal were in a panic at the idea of being separated, now you seem so much more accepting of it."

"Perhaps now we realise that nothing can truly separate us; we share a heart, she rebuilt me, and I rebuilt her," Zane attempted to explain. "maybe a brief panic is what we needed to finally see that."

"Oh the cuteness!" Jay howled, leaning on Cole as he started sobbing with happiness.

"Alright, alright," Cole rolled his eyes. "get a hold of yourself, you're making my shirt wet!"