*Author's note: Hey guys, it's me, Scorch ^-^ I promise, there's a reason as to why I haven't posted in a long time :p I kind of felt this story was progressing too fast. Admittedly, this is the first thing I've ever written that's gotten such good and inspiring feedback. Which I guess intimidated me, because then I started to try and forcefully crank the chapters out of me XD so for this chapter, I took my time, and hopefully it flows better. I won't go back and edit the previous chapters (for now at least), because those chapters still hold importance to the Recalibrate story. But I'm attempting to catch my breath here, so hopefully it'll seem better :) I hope you enjoy! Any feedback, critique, or comments you want to give, please tell me! If there's something you think I can do better, please let me know! Also, there's a very mild suggestion of a sexual theme for only a couple of seconds. It's really mild though, so no worries, you all should be able to handle it ^-^ I hope you guys enjoy :)*
Zane woke up in his leader's arms, for the second time in the past couple of days. It was definitely a new occurrence, falling asleep to Cole's rhythmic breathing at his side.
He wasn't necessarily complaining. Zane was always one for a good cuddle, and Cole was the best cuddler a man could ask for. The act of sleeping with Cole, however, was doing things to his brain that he did not understand. First off, Zane never had realized how warm his leader was, how rough his dark hands were. Only after the sleep they shared did Zane become aware of the alluring, sweet chocolate scent that the man seemed to posses. A smell Zane greatly enjoyed, all though he did not understand why.
As his weakened system slowly awakened with the limited energy he had, he realized the first unsettling fact of that morning; it was seven thirty in the morning. Not only had they napped the whole day (something Zane could never physically do), but he was also waking up at a time other than the one he was programmed to awake at. The first time in his life to wake up at a time other than six o'clock.
However, this concern was petty compared to the other unsettling fact he had awaken to. For one, he and Cole seemed to be in a relatively compromising position. A comfortable position, no argument there. A position Jay and Nya had fell asleep in once, that sent Kai into quite an unreasonable fit. The red ninja had called it something like "spooning".
Honestly, Zane would have been fine with lying like that for hours, if it hadn't been for the rough hand that had snaked itself down to his hip. His mismatched orange shirt had been pushed up slightly in their sleep, revealing his pale and cold skin. The skin on skin certainly sent odd chills up his spine. What made his face feel mentally hot, however, was where Cole's hand was. Somehow, in the depths of his leader's sleep, Cole had managed to get hold of the elastic waistband of his bottoms. Cole's fingers were mindlessly playing with the elasticity. The long, teasing appendages lightly pulled at the elastic band, letting it go with a small snap against Zane's hip, eliciting a small squeak to emit from the nindroid.
Normally, Cole's accidental ministrations wouldn't effect Zane. He would simply wake Cole, or carefully pry Cole's fingers from his waistband. For some reason Zane did not know, he could not do such things. The raw contact and teasing fingers froze him into a mess of confusion. Feelings flew around in his head with a wild abandon, a mixture that seemed too complicated for him to process. He could feel embarrassment, fear, alarm, confusion, and… A new feeling. One of which he had never experienced before.
It felt as if his insides were somersaulting, creating a feeling of excitement. A slight hint of joy, possibly? It felt as though cold chills were running down his spine. Quite enjoyable chills at that. He could only guess at to what new emotion this was: Pleasure.
Cole snapped the elastic band again, making Zane squeak once more in surprise.
The bunk bed above them creaked, causing Zane to furrow his brow for a moment. As far as he knew, no one had been sleeping in Cole's bed.
Jay's head suddenly popped into view, a wave of gratefulness rushing through Zane as his cries of help were heard. However, Zane didn't really want Cole to stop… He shook his head, erasing such an odd desire from his thoughts. Something was very odd with him.
"Are you okay?" Jay asked in a hushed whisper, looking down at his teammate.
Zane shook his head in a solid "no" as violently as he could, without upsetting the wire that was sticking out of his neck. Jay gave him a look of concern, wondering what was wrong with the nindroid.
However, he didn't have to wonder for very long. Cole snapped the elastic band once more, Zane jumping in surprise where he lay. Jay's eyes traveled, following Cole's arm, finally seeing what was causing Zane's discomfort.
The azure ninja couldn't help himself as he started to laugh loudly, finding his friend's predicament humorous.
"Shhhhhh!" Zane hissed furiously, afraid Jay's hearty laughter would awaken Cole. Zane may not have been able to talk, but he could still shush the ninja of motor mouths.
The hushing did not quiet Jay's contagious laughter, unfortunately. Zane sighed as Cole's warm arm and long fingers disappeared quickly, the leader waking up in a sudden jerk of surprise.
"W-What's going on? Did I… Miss something?" Cole managed, before yawning and stretching in his sleepy state. The only response he received was from the wheezing laughter of Jay, who was desperately gasping for air.
As Cole slowly awoke, he realized he was in the monastery, and had been sleeping with Zane Julien, whose back was still facing him.
Cole's face turned a bright crimson red, as he recalled the dream he had been in the middle of experiencing before awakening. His dream was in a different location, but Zane and the bed… Now that was the same.
His mind screamed in horror as he sat up quickly. Mortification seemed to coat every part of his expression. Zane seemed as though he could not make eye contact with him… Jay's laughter scared Cole to the bone. Oh god, did he say something?! What sounds had emitted from his throat in the heat of his dream? Oh god… Did he physically do anything?!
Cole threw off the covers and clumsily stumbled out of the bed as quickly as he could, running to his dresser to get an outfit for the day.
"I'mgonnatakeashower!" Cole exclaimed rapidly, dashing into the bathroom, his red face disappearing behind the bathroom door as he slammed it. He could still hear Jay's taunting laughter back in the room, as Cole turned on the rushing shower water, in an attempt to calm himself.
For Cole, the bathroom was a safe haven, where he could collect himself. The warm water on his back always calmed him, and the mirror was always there to gladly help him boost his confidence. The bathroom was also the place where one could take a satisfying dump, without the self-consciousness that came with public bathrooms. Bathrooms were simply heaven in it's most beautiful form.
Zane was still internally blushing, the ghost of Cole's hand still teasing at his emotions, toying with them in such a sly and confident way.
He was so absorbed in what he was feeling, that he did not notice Jay finally reign control on his fit of laughter, or that his teammate had descended down the ladder, now examining the vitals that were displayed in a small hatch on his forearm.
"Looking good. Your systems are warning me of low power level, but we already knew that." Jay said, bringing Zane back to the present.
Zane nodded a little, a small grimace on his face in distaste.
"I know buddy. It sucks, We'll get you up and talking in no time," Jay reassured his friend as he locked the hatch back in place, "Do you know at all why you malfunctioned? Or how your core power works for that matter?"
Zane shook his head at both questions, not knowing the answers to any of them. Jay frowned slightly, seeing as how difficult figuring out Zane's problem would be.
"Everything will be oka-" Jay began, before they were both surprised by loud, off-pitch singing emitting from the shower.
"-First century ninja! I'M THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY! HEY-OH, OH-OH! I got the elemental power for the future! BUT I WAS STUCK IN THE TWENTY FIRST CENT-" Cole sang at the top of his lungs in the shower, causing Zane to frantically cover his ears.
"Hey, twenty first century idiot! Shut up!" Jay yelled back at Cole, who stopped singing instantly, barking in a hearty laugh.
Zane chuckled, enjoying the antics of Jay and Cole. Jay looked down at the ninja, and gave him an odd smile, as if he knew something the nindroid did not.
Jay found it hard to believe that the first laugh of Zane's that he had heard, and the fact that it had been because of Cole, was a coincidence.
Now that Jay thought about it, he could recall seeing a glint of something in Zane's eyes, contrary to his squeaks of help. A glint of something that conveyed… Contentedness?
Jay furrowed his brows to himself as he walked over to the balcony, and opened it's double sliding doors. Could Zane… No, he couldn't possibly be crushing on Cole. Zane never displayed romantic feelings, especially not towards his fellow teammates. Jay probably had just been seeing things. There was no way there had been such a glint of desire in his friend's eyes.
The water in the shower shut off, signaling the end of Cole's shower. Their leader started singing again as he dried himself off. However, he sung in a quieter tone, so as not to disturb Zane and Jay.
There was a knock on the door, and Jay rushed over to open the door, seeing as Zane couldn't get up.
Misako was revealed as Jay opened the bedroom door, holding a bowl of something hot and steaming.
"I heard you boys were up and around. Breakfast is ready for you and Cole, but since Zane can't move from his bed, I brought him up some soup." Misako said, showing Jay the noodle soup. Jay nodded, taking the warm bowl from the kind woman.
"Thanks Misako. I'll let Cole know breakfast is ready." Jay replied, giving the woman a kind smile. She poked her head in through the doorway, looking at the bedridden nindroid.
"Hopefully, my special recipe chicken noodle soup makes you feel better. Lloyd always swears to me it has healing powers." Misako said, giving the white-haired teen a caring smile and a joking wink. He nodded slightly, returning her sweet smile before she shut the door behind her.
"It sure does smell good." Jay commented, smelling the soup as he carried it over to the man laying in bed. For some, strange reason, it smelled exactly like his mom's homemade black bean soup. His mouth watered, wanting to be eating his mother's cooking at that moment.
Suddenly, the smell changed, It went from his mother's cooking, to the smell of a familiar tortellini soup. Jay immediately recognized the tortellini-smelling goodness as Nya's cooking, something he had always enjoyed immensely.
Jay could have been wrong, but he was sure normal soup didn't completely change it's mouth watering smell to another equally appetizing smell. Lloyd was definitely on to something, saying his mother's soup had healing powers.
"Do you have enough wire to sit up?" Jay asked Zane as he set the soup down on top of a dresser, making sure to situate Zane first before giving it to him, so he could eat his soup comfortably.
Zane shrugged his shoulders, not knowing how much wire was at his dispense. He tried to strain his neck, looking for the outlet to see the wire situation. However, he could not get a good view, and relaxed his neck once more, letting his head fall back onto the pillow.
"Here, why don't I hold the wire in place while you try and see if you can sit up. That way it won't fall out. How does that sound?" Jay suggested. Zane nodded in agreement, watching his brother as he walked over to help him.
Carefully, Jay held the wire in place, holding Zane's neck gingerly, making sure the cord did not slip out of the USB port in his neck.
"Alright Zane. I'm ready whenever you are." Jay announced. Very slowly, Zane sat up in bed, using all of the strength he could to sit up in bed. Seeing as how he had to use a decent amount of energy to even so much as lift one arm, sitting up used all of the energy he possessed.
Eventually, Zane was fully upright, his back leaning up against the headboard of the bottom bunk for support. Jay was setting up a tiny, fold-able table in Zane's lap when Cole came out of the bathroom.
Zane couldn't help but take note of the tight, dark navy blue jeans the man was wearing, the way they hugged his form so perfectly… He quickly blinked. What had gotten into him? He was noticing details about Cole that he had never cared about before. Yes, he had always known Cole had a toned, muscular body. He had always known that Cole was considered to be good looking, that his emerald eyes were mesmerizing. But now, all this meant more that just facts to him. Now, it was alluring. As if he couldn't keep his eyes off of the attractive man, whose wet black hair was swept across his face.
What was this new attention to detail? Was this what humans called… Attraction? Zane couldn't get a handle on what was going on with him. He had never felt something like attraction before. It wasn't anywhere in his data base, nor was it supposed to be there. Attraction of the sexual kind was not something of which he ever thought would happen to him. Sure, he could have a family love towards anyone. To be attracted to someone in another way, however, was simply preposterous. There was no way this was happening to him, especially with his brother, his leader. It was simply is short-circuited brain, acting hazy and sporadically.
However, when he looked into Cole's emerald eyes, he felt fluttering butterflies at the pit of his gut. These weren't the actual insects, either. Zane's cheeks felt hot, as Cole looked back into his icy blue eyes with an intense concern.
"Why is Pinky sitting up? Is he alright?" Cole questioned, watching as Jay grabbed the still steaming bowl off the dresser, placing it on Zane's lap table.
"Yeah, he's fine. Just eating his breakfast." Jay said, setting a spoon in the bowl for the nindroid. However, all Zane could do was frown and stare down at his meal. It seemed as though, in the act of sitting up, he had used all of his energy and could no longer lift his arms.
"Can you eat?" Cole asked Zane, sitting down on the edge of Zane's bed. Zane responded in a troubling shake of his head, not enjoying the sensation of being completely useless. Jay grimaced, feeling bad for their fellow teammate.
"Cole, I can help Zane eat. Breakfast is ready downstairs, if you want to-" Jay was saying, when he was suddenly interrupted by their leader.
A monster had risen from the pits of Cole's gut, roaring in displeasure. He wanted to take care of Zane. He wanted to be there for Zane through anything. It was his job to take care of Zane, not Jay's. He tried to calm the inner rage monster, not wanting to be obvious when it came to the boy he had been so enthralled with in the last few days. Probably longer than simply two days. Cole suspected he'd been falling for the man much longer than a simple two days.
"You go and eat breakfast. I'll take care of Zane." Cole said, patting Zane's leg. Jay gave his leader an odd look, not accustomed to him passing up an opportunity to eat food. However, Zane WAS Cole's responsibility, seeing as he was the leader of them all, so he simply brushed it off, thinking nothing more of it.
Cole watched Jay as he walked out of the bedroom, leaving the door open behind him. As Zane watched Jay leave the room as well, he got a sudden, strong whiff of the heavenly-looking soup.
The first thought that came to mind was his father's miso ramen soup. Dr. Julien had always made the best miso ramen soup. He was always able to bring out the best flavors in that soup, creating a balance of herbs and ingredients that made one's taste buds sing in happiness.
Zane felt tears welling up in his eyes, as he realized yet another thing that he would never get to experience again, now that his father was gone.
His pressing tears suddenly vanished, however, when he got a second whiff of the soup's smell. For some odd reason, the smell had drastically changed, something normal soups did not not have the ability to do.
Zane didn't complain, however. The second smell was just as good as the first. It was a rich, creamy smell, that made the nindroid's mouth water. He could almost taste the tantalizing broth, the dark tang of the violet berry soup. He could almost eat the tender bay scallops that had been so well prepared in the meal.
He immediately knew whose soup he was smelling. It was Cole's violet berry soup. That had been the first time Zane was introduced to such a delectable meal. It had also been the first time Cole's cooking was a success; something they could all actually eat. Zane had always found it humorous that the one meal Cole nailed happened to be the one meal that some of Ninjago's best chefs could not perfect. It displayed Cole's "go big or go home" mentality perfectly.
Zane didn't notice he was smiling to himself, until Cole looked back at him and smiled right back, those emerald eyes twinkling as his smile reached them.
"There's a smile," Cole said, swiveling to face him, "Everything is going to get better."
Zane nodded, his smile slightly fading away. He didn't really agree with his leader. Things honestly seemed as if they couldn't get any worse. Too much wrong was going on to make anything feel right. There was too much sadness to be happy.
"Alright, let's get some food in you, shall we?" Cole said, scooting closer up to Zane, until he was sitting right in front of him, picking up the spoon to feed him.
Zane watched curiously as Cole got a spoonful of the noodle soup. The man looked up at him, a tiny tinge of pink peppering his cheeks as he looked into those icy blue eyes. Zane opened his mouth eagerly, and taking a nervous breath, Cole carefully put the spoon full of soup in Zane's mouth.
Those baby-pink lips softly closed around the utensil. Cole watched as his eyes fluttered close, in obvious bliss at the taste of Misako's soup. A low, content groan sounded from the back of the nindroid's throat, the sound causing Cole to blush in a deeper red than before. That groan sparked specific memories, memories of a dream he had just had the night before, as he slept with Zane in his arms. A dream of love, whispers, kisses and blankets…
Cole's mind screamed at him, as he felt his heart pump rapidly in the thought of such things. Such things he knew were never going to happen, regardless how much he dreamt about it.
But those smiles made him so happy. He would have such urges to lean in and peck Zane on the cheeks. Cole would find himself losing all sense of what was going on around them, as he became lost in those pools of icy blue. He couldn't imagine holding anyone else in his arms.
Zane watched in mild curiosity, as Cole stared past his head, looking at the space behind him. The man still had the spoon in Zane's mouth, even though he had clearly finished the spoonful. If the nindroid didn't know any better, he would have said Cole was doing a horrible job at feeding him.
Trying to politely bring Cole back to the present, he cleared his throat quietly. Cole immediately looked at Zane, his eyes widening slightly as he realized his neglect to the person he was thinking about.
"Oh, sorry Zane." Cole said quickly, pulling the spoon out of Zane's mouth. He simply shrugged in response, accepting the distant man's apology.
Cole silently fed Zane for a few moments, finding peace in taking care of his team member. The poor boy still had that uncomfortable wire sticking out of his neck, inhibiting the majority of his moves. The horrible thing was, they had no idea how to fix Zane. The situation would have been different, if they had any inkling of how to solve the problem. They, as in Jay and Cyrus Borg, had spent their hours late into the night fishing through Zane's blueprints. They read every single note in Dr. Julien's hurried handwriting, traced every single wire and cog to their functions, marked every screw and bolt they could find. They had found nothing to indicate the cause of Zane's sudden loss of power. They had no leads to go off of, still completely in the dark as to how they were going to heal their fellow nindroid.
Cole, more times than not, would start to panic, worrying there was not a cure for Zane. That they wouldn't be able to help him. He would brush those horrible thoughts away, as fast as he could, trying not to let them infect his mind. But with every minute that passed by, in which they didn't know how to help Zane, the more doubtful Cole became.
He had to stay strong for Zane. He had to be the one the nindroid could lean on, the one he could count on to stay by his side, when all the rest of the world felt as though it was crashing down around them.
The clink of the silver spoon in the empty bowl surprised him, bringing him back from his aimless thinking. The soup was gone, Cole having fed it all to him.
Zane raised his eyebrow at Cole, cocking his head slightly to the side as he did so. His leader was acting very oddly. Distant and unresponsive. Maybe it was about what Cole had dreamt about, while sleeping with him. Zane knew Cole talked and moved in his sleep sometimes. He had learned this from years of them all sleeping in the same room. Those teasing fingers hadn't just been playing with his pajama bottoms for no reason. The black haired boy had been dreaming of someone with him.
There was a sudden, nasty pang in Zane's chest, and for a second Zane was scared that he was shutting down once more. The pang felt close to anger, maybe even frustration, with a pinch of gut-wrenching sadness. A feeling he wasn't used to, but a feeling none the less.
For some reason, he did not like the thought of Cole dreaming of someone else. Yes, Zane knew this was an odd feeling to have. Zane had always been aware when Cole was dating someone new. He sometimes even went out of his way to introduce himself to said girls. Never did he feel jealous of them, like he did now. Something very odd was going on in Zane's emotions. It could have been his new sensitivity to emotions, and his emotional instability. Whatever it was, he did not enjoy it nor understand it.
Ignoring the pang in his chest, he attempted to give his leader a small smile. Cole grimaced slightly, setting the spoon in the bowl and looking down at his hands.
"I'm sorry about this morning, Zane. Whatever I said or did, I didn't mean to, and I feel bad." Cole apologized, looking up from his hands to peek up at the nindroid.
Zane smiled and shook his head, dismissing Cole's worry. Cole was only human, he couldn't control who he dreamt about at night. There was no reason to apologize.
"Did I… Say something?" Cole whispered, concern gracing his face, pulling his bushy eyebrows down.
He shook his head once more, trying to ignore yet another stabbing pang of jealousy.
Cole could not see the conflict in the icy blue eyes, however, and sighed in relief. If Zane had heard what was being said in that enjoyable dream of his, all covers would be blown. Zane would never be able to look at him again, that much he knew.
"Did I… Do something?" The green-eyed man asked. His stomach immediately dropped as Zane broke eye contact, looking away.
"What did I do…" Muttered Cole, looking down at his hands. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself, if he had done something compromising. What if he had kissed Zane in his sleep? God forbid touching the teen in places a friend should not. If he was to ever have a first kiss with Zane, he certainly didn't want a dream-induced one to be their first. That was not how he wanted anything between them to go, if there was to ever be anything in between them.
Zane shook his head once again, dismissing worry. Honestly, he no longer wanted to talk about Cole's dream, much less what Cole had done while in the heat of a dream with someone else.
Cole frowned slightly, but let the subject go. He got up off the bed, taking the empty bowl and bed tray off with him. Zane watched him as he folded the table and stuffed it under the bed for later use. As Cole started to get back off the ground, he looked away, not wanting to be caught staring at him. Or be caught in the fact that his eyes had stayed glued to Cole, observing his body with a gaze that even bothered himself.
"I'm going to go eat breakfast," Cole said, holding the empty bowl in his hands, "Will you be alright?"
Zane gave Cola a reassuring nod, urging him to go eat. Cole gave the man an awkward nod back, more akin to a head jerk, and stalked out of the room.
There was an air of tension between the two of them, and he cursed himself for ever having that dreaded dream. Leave it up to his subconscious to mess up their comfortable relationship.
He carried the empty bowl downstairs with him, passing by the dining table. Jay, Mr. Borg, and Misako seemed to be in the process of finishing their breakfast, passing small talk between each other. Cole took a mild note, as he realized that Garmadon was not eating with them. Misako broke out of the conversation, standing up when she saw the ninja leader coming down the stairs.
"Good morning, Cole darling," Misako said softly, bringing Cole into a gentle hug. He smiled as he hugged her back, bowl still in hand, "Did he like it?" She asked, releasing him from the hug and gesturing towards the bowl.
"Yeah, he loved it." Cole said smiling. He tried to proceed towards the kitchen, but Misako stopped him.
"I can take care of that," The woman said, taking the empty bowl from his hands, "Sit down and enjoy some breakfast."
Cole thanked her and did as she said, sitting down at the table as she disappeared into the kitchen. He picked a hard-boiled egg out of the spread on the table, and began peeling it, the pieces of shell falling to the plate.
"How is the boy doing?" Cyrus Borg asked Cole, positioned across from him at the table.
"He's doing alright. Still can't talk or move a lot." Cole said, successfully peeling off the last piece of shell.
"Which is expected, seeing how he is being sustained on a lesser power source. We have to find the fix soon. I plan on pulling another all-nighter tonight." Cyrus said as Cole ate his egg.
"I can hewlp fu." Cole tried to say through a mouth full of food. Cyrus gave the man a funny look, but agreed to his help none the less.
Breakfast was quickly finished, and the small talk migrated to the kitchen, the two adults leaving the two men alone at the dining table. Cole looked over at Jay, a question heavy on his tongue. However, Jay beat him to it.
"Do you know what you were doing to Zane? Did he tell you?" Jay questioned, looking at his leader. To his surprise, the man started to blush, and quickly looked down at his plate in an attempt to hide it.
"Was it bad?" Cole muttered to his plate, grimacing slightly. He was almost afraid to hear what Jay would say.
"It wasn't too bad… But for Zane, someone who probably has never even heard of dating… Well, he definitely seemed bothered." Jay said, smirking in the remembrance of Zane's mortified face. Cole put his head in his hands, trying to hide in horror.
"What was I do-" He began, before Jay interrupted him.
"You were playing with the waistband on his bottoms. Again, nothing that bad," Jay said, trying to comfort Cole as he groaned in humiliation, "Anyways, Zane doesn't feel that way towards people, so you really have nothing to worry about. He's our friend, it's not like you scared away a date or something."
For a few seconds, Cole wanted to correct Jay Walker. He had, for one, freaked Zane out, bringing about a tension they were better without. Secondly, it was exactly like that. He had scared away a date. The only date he had his eyes set on. The only date he would ever enjoy again, that much he knew. He wouldn't be able to be with anyone else without thinking of Zane, the way he made him smile…
Cole was brought back to the present as Jay clapped him on the back. The brown haired boy then leaned down towards Cole, his hand still resting on the man's back.
"If I didn't know any better," Jay whispered, a smirk laced into his voice, dripping with enjoyment, "It looked like Zane was enjoying it."
Jay walked away with a grin on his face as he walked away from Cole, heading upstairs, most likely going to check on the nindroid in the bottom bunk.
"W-Wait, what?! W-What does that mean! Wait up Jay!" Cole stuttered, jumping out of his chair and running after Jay, taking two steps at a time, determined to hear what Jay meant. Had he been hinting that Zane liked such things as Cole…? He had to know.
He was running down the hall when he heard a throat clear from a room to the left. Cole stopped running, turning his attention to the person asking for his attention.
Garmadon was standing in the doorway, storm grey eyes clashing with emerald greens. The old man wore a purple and grey kimono, a new outfit Cole had never seen him wear before. The man's hair was in a grey disarray, as if he could not tame it; Just like his son's blonde hair.
"Cole, could I speak with you for a second or two?" Garmadon asked quietly, folding his arms behind his back. Cole was a little skeptical of the man. However, his Sensei trusted him, and so he knew it was wise to follow in his teacher's footsteps.
"Uh, yeah, sure." Cole said, nodding slightly. Garmadon smiled slightly, and walked farther into the room, a signal for Cole to follow him. The black haired teen did just that, following the man with a slight limp into the room.
The room was much like the one that Zane and him shared together. Except, instead of bunk beds, there was singular bed, large enough to hold two people if need be. The bed was not made, the blankets stuffed at the end of the bed in a large heap. Cole laughed internally slightly, seeing this as matching their characters perfectly. He never pegged Garmadon, or Misako for that matter, to be people who felt the need to make their bed neat.
The balcony sliding doors were wide open, allowing a nice breeze of a beautiful summer day float by. Garmadon walked out onto the balcony, and breathed in the fresh air, closing his eyes for a couple of seconds in contentment.
He looked back at Cole, who was standing behind, still in the room, cautious as to whether he should join the man.
"Come. Join me." Garmadon beckoned with a smile, turning back to the beautiful view and resting his arms on the balcony railing. Cole walked out onto the balcony, standing next to the old man, refusing to look at the ex-evil lord.
The day was a beautiful day, full of the sun's rays and the birds' laughter. The two stood there silently, enjoying the nature before them in peace. It was only a few minutes of this, before The old man finally talked.
"I am… Sorry, Cole, for what I have done… I know the pain that I brought on your colleagues, I know all the pain that I have brought on you… I plan to apologizing to each and every one of you… But know I am so very sorry for everything I have done. There will never be an amount where saying sorry has been enough. I hope, though, that you make take my apology into consideration? You stood up against me, and you trained my son to become the amazing man that he is today… I couldn't be less honored to get to know you and your teammates more…" Garmadon said. He was staring down at his hands as he said this, is old frail hands seeming to shake slightly as he said these things. He could tell Garmadon was slightly nervous in saying such things, when he could be easily rejected.
Cole blinked a couple of times in surprise, taking in the words he was hearing. Garmadon, apologizing for everything he had done? Never would Cole have thought this day would come to pass. The man was right, there would never be enough apologies to make up for what he did to the world of Ninjago. No amount of apologies could make up for the amount of deaths that this man caused.
Garmadon took a peak up to look at Cole, to see the leader of ninja staring off into the woods before them, a pensive look on his face.
"I… appreciate your apology, Garmad-" Cole began, before Garmadon interrupted him.
"Sensei, please… Sensei Garmadon." Sensei Garmadon requested, wincing and grimacing as he heard his informal title on Cole's lips, like an old reminder of the person he no longer wanted to be.
"Sensei Garmadon," Cole said, giving the old man an acknowledging nod, "But as you know, it will be hard for these wounds to heal. We have all been through a lot over these past years, and there are many wounds that have yet to even begin to heal. But Sensei," Cole said, the word sounding odd on his tongue as he called someone he used to hate, such a highly respectable title, "For now, I accept your apology."
Sensei Garmadon nodded, a small smile on his face at Cole's response. Cole began to walk away, leaving Sensei Garmadon on the balcony, when Garmadon called to the black haired teen once more.
"Cole? I'm not done with you yet." Garmadon said, smiling slightly.
"Sir?" Cole said, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Garmadon beckoned Cole to him with a hand wave, and Cole once more joined the old man on the balcony.
"There is a conflict in your eyes… You have been working day and night with Zane, and it takes a lot of work to help heal a hurting person. But I have a feeling there's something more to it than that." Garmadon pointed out. Cole's eye twitched. Garmadon couldn't be closer to the truth.
"Garma... I mean, Sensei, I-" Cole began, before he was interrupted.
"I know I have no place in saying anything, and I am most likely stepping over boundaries at this moment, but I can see it in your eyes; it is a conflict of the heart. I know, from years and years of youth, that you must follow your heart." Sensei Garmadon said.
"But I-" Cole tried again, before he was interrupted once again.
"No. No matter what it is, you must follow your heart. Even if you feel it's wrong. Follow it. If your heart feels it, then it is not wrong. So many opportunities were lost in my youth because i decided to ignore my heart, thinking it was wrong. Follow your heart, Cole." Sensei Garmadon finished, smiling up at the leader of the ninja. Cole gave him a smile back, and bowed.
"Thank you Sensei. Am I…?" Cole asked, straightening up out of his bow.
"Yes," Garmadon replied with a warm chuckle, "You may go."
Cole smiled, and left the Garmadon room, heading back to Zane and his room. He appreciated the old man's advice, he did. But it was easier said than done, Garmadon's advice was.
Especially when it came to falling head over heels for his best friend.
FYI, credit goes to The Fold and their song "Twenty-First Century Ninja. Gotta love them ^-^
And holy cow that was a big chapter o.o Hope you guys enjoyed! :D