A/N: So, you may not know this, but today is Panic1AtTheHere's birthday! This story is dedicated to him. If y'all read this, go wish him a happy birthday from me and from you. Today is a day for celebration!
Note: When this story comes out, it will be the sixteenth for Panic and everyone east of the International Date Line. It will be the fifteenth for anyone west of the IDL, because I don't know how to do math.
(Secret note: Iris is my headcanon name for Skylor's mother. This may or may not be important.)
Happy Birthday for the First Time Ever!
Skylor slammed the back door of Chen's Noodle House and squeezed her eyes shut, trembling in the back alleyway. Leaning against the brick wall of the building, she slumped down the side and curled into a ball, pulling her legs up to her chest and burying her face in her hands.
Taking a few trembling breaths, Skylor bit her lip and sniffled, then swallowed. This was stupid. It was all stupid. Wanting recognition was stupid. She should've recognized a while ago that today wasn't important. It hadn't been important before, and it wasn't now.
Stupid, stupid. She chastised herself. I should've known no one would remember my birthday. Looking up, she watched a handsome black cat hop on the fence across from her and meow. Skylor sighed. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. And… It's just a day… it shouldn't be important to you, Skylor. The cat came to sniff her hands, and licked some of them, no doubt tasting the chicken she had handled earlier. She frowned. But it is.
Reaching over to stroke the cat, Skylor miserably remembered her birthdays on the Island. Back in Chen's Cult, Chen himself was always the center of attention, no matter what. Trivial things like Skylor's birthday were never recognized, much less celebrated. The only time anything had ever really happened on her birthday was the day that she left the Island for the first time to wait until the beginning of the Tournament. Even then, Chen never acknowledged it was her birthday.
Later, after leaving the cult, Skylor thought nothing of it for the first year or so, until a couple weeks ago when Kai asked when her birthday was. She knew when it was, because Chen had actually kept records of her birth, no doubt to prove her divine heritage as the next master of Amber, but she'd never celebrated it.
Even today, Kai hadn't been answering her texts. She didn't need anything big, just a reply or a phone call. If he came to visit her, she would've been ecstatic. Unfortunately, neither of those things happened, and Skylor was left alone, at 22:00, in the abandoned back alley of her restaurant.
Sighing, Skylor gave the cat one last pat and stood up, going inside to wash her hands. As she was scrubbing oil out from under her nails, her phone buzzed. Surprised, Skylor dried her hands and opened the phone, looking it over. The text was from Kai.
Hey! ;) It said. Didn't see your texts. You want to meet at the docks?
Skylor sighed, then typed a response. Sure. Why not?
Exiting the building, she ignored the buzz her phone decided to give off to tell her Kai had responded and insead climbed into her car, starting up the vehicle and pulling onto the busy city streets. Skylor's apartment building didn't have free parking, but since building codes in Ninjago City were wack, she could park it for free outside of her business. Normally she'd take the transit, but it ran slow at night.
Driving through the city, her phone buzzed a few more times. She rolled her eyes. "No, Kai, I don't want to talk right now." The phone buzzed again, and Skylor rolled her eyes. "Sammy, play my Workout playlist."
"Alright," The mechanical voice responded, and the sounds of fast-paced music filled the car. Settling into the comfortably angry vibe of the song, Skylor hummed along as she drove.
As she was about to pull through an intersection, a pair of gang members on motorbikes shot past, their bikes roaring loudly.
"Jerks," Skylor muttered. Lately in the city, a large motorbike gang had been causing ruckus. Skylor's restaurant hadn't been robbed yet, probably due to the idea of Master Chen as a whole, but she was still suspicious of the gang.
Pulling into the docks, Skylor parked her car and climbed out, checking the area for anything dangerous. Then, locking the car, she checked her phone. Kai had sent her another text.
Cool. See you then!
Skylor rolled her eyes, looking around the docks, and she approached the building blocking the pier cautiously. She didn't see Kai. Maybe he wasn't here. Maybe this was all an elaborate prank and she had fallen for it. Maybe-
Someone reached around Skylor and grabbed her, covering her mouth and grabbing her waist. Trying not to panic, Skylor stomped one of her attacker's feet, then spun around, jabbing him with her elbows. Twisting around, she grabbed him and judo-flipped him onto his back.
Moving into a fighting stance, Skylor looked down at her attacker. "Alright, look- Kai?!"
Kai grinned up at her from the ground, looking awfully pleased with himself. "Hi, Skylor. You made it!"
"Yes.. I did," Skylor answered, reaching down to help him up.
Kai ignored her hand and pulled himself up. He brushed himself off. "Is… anything important happening today?"
"Other than almost getting kidnapped by you?" Skylor asked. She looked away, suddenly angry. "No. There's not. Nothing special is happening."
"You sure?" Kai asked, reaching for her hand.
She jerked it away. No matter how sweet he was trying to be, there was no way she'd just forget about that like it was nothing. "Yes. Today's not special."
"Are you sure you're sure?"
She rolled her eyes. "Yes! Okay?" Skylor looked away from him. "I'm fine, okay. Everything is fine."
"Sky-" Kai took her shoulder.
She swatted him. "It's my birthday, okay? Happy?"
Kai smiled. "There we go. Come on, they're something I want to show you."
Skylor tried to ignore him, but he grabbed her hand and practically dragged her around the beachside building to a dark pier.
"An empty dock?" Skylor asked. She sighed. "Look, Kai, I'm just gonna go home."
Just as she said that, however, suddenly the lights flicked on, and the rest of the Ninja, as well as some of their assorted friends and allies, all jumped out.
"SURPRISE!" Everyone shouted, and Skylor stared in shock as Kai lead her up to the dock.
A bright banner was strung across the front with the words 'Happy Birthday Skylor!' painted across them in Zane's handwriting. Several strings of yellow and orange star-shaped fairy lights lit up the whole dock. Everyone was seated at tables, all of which were covered with tablecloth patterned to look like a koi pond. A music player and dance floor were set up, and the whole place looked ready for a gathering.
Skylor smiled slightly, confused. "Is this… for me?"
Kai grinned, but waved at his friends. "You guys can get started." Before he turned to Skylor. "Of course it's for you. It took us all day to set this up."
"That's why you didn't answer my texts," Skylor realized out loud. "I thought you'd forgotten about my birthday!"
Kai rolled his eyes. "Why would I do that? You deserve to have your birthday celebrated."
Skylor sighed, looking around at the glittering sea off the edge of the docks. "It's just… It's just a day."
Kai rolled his eyes so hard Skylor was surprized they even stayed in his skull. "Well, it's important to you. Besides, this was the greatest excuse to get everyone together."
"I thought…" Skylor looked over at him, confused. "Don't you guys live together?"
It was Kai's turn to sigh. He led her to one of the tables, and they sat down. Dareth was handing out ice cream, and paused to give the two of them some cups. "Well," Kai bit his lip. "After we fought the Time Twins… Master Wu… disappeared. I was talking to Dareth, and he said that he works here, and since everyone was split up, I got them together to celebrate."
Skylor took a bite of the mango ice cream. "That's really sweet of you, Kai." She smiled, laying a hand on his. "Thanks."
Kai blushed, his face turning almost as red as his Gi. "It's nothing, but- oh, there's some people I want you to meet."
"There are?" Skylor asked as Kai stood up and led her to a table where three older adults were sitting. One of them Skylor recognized as Lloyd's mother, Misako. The other two looked vaguely familiar, but she had no idea who they were.
"Mom, Dad?" Kai called, and the two adults looked up. Ah. That's where she's seen them before. Family resemblence.
"Do you need something, Kai?" Kai's father asked warmly.
Kai nodded. "This is my gir- um- friend, Skylor Chen." He squeezed her hand. "Skylor, these are my parents, Ray and Maya Smith."
Ray looked over her, slightly suspicious of the last name, but evidently, he trusted his son. Maya went white, then smiled. "You're Iris' daughter!"
It was Skylor's turn to be surprised. "You knew my mother?"
"She was a good friend of mine," Maya answered, shaking Skylor's hand formally. "But after she disappeared looking for the dark island…" Maya shook her head. "Anyway, It's lovely meeting you."
"It's nice to meet you too," Skylor answered, smiling. Right behind her, however, there was a sudden commotion.
"WE HAVE CAKE!?" Cole screamed as Zane walked out holding a caramel cake far away from him. Jay burst out laughing, and Nya joined in with Lloyd trying to hold Cole back.
Skylor smiled. Yup. This birthday was going to be the best one ever.
A/N: Happy Birthday, Panic1AtTheHere!