Ch 19

The two were let off near the Ninjago City mall, and from the bus stop, Cole and Alex walked towards the cake shop. "So we're just going to eat cake for lunch? Sounds kind of fattening," Alex stated, looking to her friend. He smiled, "Course not. We'll eat a light lunch first, and then cake. There's a really good noodle shop across the street that I want to take you to. Sound good?"

Alex nodded as Cole led her across to the noodle place, which according to the sign was called 'Chen's Noodle House.' The two were soon seated, and began to pick out different selections of sushi, noodles, and other traditional foods.

"I can see why you like this place. The food is delicious," Alex commented as she took a bite of her noodles, "You must be some kind of food critic." Cole chuckled, "Maybe, but I think I prefer being a ninja."

"Do you feel like the same guy who started training with a bunch of strangers all that time ago?" Cole pondered for a bit, and then replied, "Definitely. I'm sure none of us would have even thought of being friends without Sensei Wu. Plus we'd all still be in denial about ourselves, unlike now." Alex nodded, "So you all were basically worse than you are today?" Cole rolled his eyes and smiled, "If you want to put it like that, then yes, we were so much worse, and would have been an even bigger plague on your life." Alex laughed and retorted, "I never said you guys were that annoying!"

"You implied it." Alex rolled her eyes and took a bite of her sushi, "So how bad were you all?"

Cole thought back, "Well Jay was way more annoying, Kai was more of a whiny hot head, Zane was kind of an outcast, and I was a little more grumpy and bossy."

Alex looked to him, "Don't doubt that."

The two ate the rest of their meal in silence, and when the time came to pay the bill, Cole immediately stopped Alex from pulling out her wallet. "No, I'm paying. Put the money away." Alex huffed, "You paid for bus fare and you're paying for cake; only fair that I pay for the meal." Cole shook his head, "Just sit down and let me pay."

Alex started to wrestle the bill away from Cole, but it proved to be tough, since the guy was a serious body builder. The two fought over who was paying to the point where everyone in the restaurant was staring at both ninja in awe and annoyance. Finally, the waiter interrupted the quarrel by stating that they should just both pay before he would have to ban them from the restaurant. Before Alex could whip out her wallet, Cole immediately set down his money with the bill, and like that, she had lost the fight.

"You could have just been less stubborn and let me pay," she told Cole as they exited the noodle house. "No way," Cole replied, "I'm taking you out, so it's my responsibility to pay for you." Alex wanted to object, but decided against it since it wouldn't be good to dwell on the quarrel when they were having such a good time.

As they walked into the mall, the two decided to walk off their lunch before the cake, and set off to go sightsee. Alex had never been in a mall before, so the many shops, kiosks, restaurants, and people were quite a surprise. The people ranged from small toddlers, holding their parent's hands as well as some kind of toy or candy, to old couples sitting by the indoor fountain, tossing in coins for wishes. There were young couples there as well; trying on clothing, heading to the movie theater, and merely sitting at a table holding hands, with the occasional kiss.

The emotions Alex saw on the people's faces in this mall were all different, and it only made her upset and full of longing. These men and women had lived every day with the freedom to choose what they wanted to do, alongside those that they loved and chose to be with. They were free of oppression from evil overlords, and found life to be joyous rather than a burden. The fact that these people would never know what she and those from her world faced everyday, and how different they truly were, drove Alex near to tears.

Cole seemed to notice the girl's mood change and quickly grabbed her hand, leading her over to a nearby bench by the fountain. As the two sat down, the black ninja looked to Alex in concern, "You ok? What's wrong?"

The green ninja looked down before taking a deep breath and replying, "It's just... Their lives are so happy and carefree. They have the right to choose what they want to do, and who they want to be with. In my home, we never even had that. It was always either work or die for as long as I've known." Alex sighed, "I don't know why I could never have this, or at least remember it."

Cole rubbed her back comfortingly. "I know it must have been tough on you and the others to go around like a slave. I don't think any of us could ever understand how it must have felt. But you can't take it out on anyone." Cole lifted her chin up to meet his face, "Believe me, you've gone through this for a reason, and maybe after you fulfill your destiny here, you could help those in your world as well. The time will come, but for now, enjoy what you have now, and look past your oppressions."

Alex sniffled,"Did you learn these wise teachings from Sensei?"

Cole shrugged, "Guess he rubs off on all of us. Now can I see a smile?"

The green ninja laughed and smiled at her friend, "Hope that's good enough for now."

He laughed, "Think that might do the trick. Now let's walk a bit more before we get cake."

As the two walked around the mall, talking and laughing about everyone they knew, Alex brought up a question, "Is this what people call... a date?"

Cole halted for a moment and looked at her, "Depends on your definition of date."

"Well from what I've seen, it's where two people of the opposite gender go out to do something fun with each other, and through that, they develop a stronger bond. Sometimes even a romantic bond." Cole smiled, "Seems like a legit definition."

Alex laughed, "Then what would be the opposite of a date?"

Cole thought for a moment, "The opposite is what Dareth was trying to do to you earlier."

Alex looked back at the awkward moment, "Oh yea. That was really creepy. Trust me when I have the time, I will slap him from that. But I think you were ready to do that no matter what." Cole looked to her, "What do you mean?"

Alex gave him a look, "You were screaming at him and looked ready to launch him into the next century."

Cole grew a bit red, "Well... he was coming on to you... and well... what kind of guy would I be if I let him touch you without your permission?"

The green ninja did not know what was going on with him, but shrugged and changed the subject. "So should we grab some cake before heading home?"

Cole nodded the red fading quickly as he led Alex back to the cake shop near the entrance of the mall.

As they walked in, Cole immediately walked up to the counter to order some of the dessert, while Alex just chuckled and sat down at a booth in the corner by a window.

She looked back on the events of today, feeling sort of thankful for the day off from training. Having a day with Cole was fun; he seemed to understand how she felt, and even managed to cheer her up. Being with him felt... right.

What confused her, however, was his attitude towards her and the episode with Dareth. He had been immensely angry with the brown ninja for trying to get close to her, and when she had mentioned it... he seemed embarrassed. Alex didn't know a lot about love but... did he... feel that way?

Her thoughts were interrupted as Cole walked over, carrying a small delicious looking cake in each hand. "Here. I got two for us to share. This one's chocolate and the other is strawberry cheesecake."

Alex smiled and thanked Cole as she took a bite of the strawberry cake. Her mouth was immediately filled with a sweet fruity taste, combined with a whipped, milky cream. As she decided to try the other, she was brought into a new sensation of creamy cocoa and fluffy spongy cake. Each one was better with each bite, and soon Alex could see why Cole enjoyed the dessert so much.

"Good isn't it?" Cole commented as he took a bite of the chocolate cake. Alex nodded, "It's really good. Sure it's not something I'd eat every day, but it's delicious."

Cole smiled, "I'd eat it every day. I love cake!"

Alex laughed, "I'm surprised you don't get fat."

Cole chuckled, "It's cuz I work out so much. I mean look at me. Not one inch of flab."

Alex pondered for a minute before reaching over to Cole's stomach and pinching it.

"Ow! What was that for?" Alex giggled, "Just trying to find the existent flab."

Cole shook his head and laughed along with Alex as the two began a pinching war to find each other's flab. The fight went on for a bit before the clerk had to come over and ask if they were done with the cake.

"Yea," Cole said, out of breath, "Just make sure to give me the bill when she's not looking."

"Hey!" Alex pinched Cole in the stomach again, laughing at his reaction.

After taking a while to calm down, Cole paid the bill and the two headed for the bus stop.

"Thanks again for the whole day out. I had a lot of fun." The black ninja smiled, "Anytime. It's good to see you happy like this."

The green ninja smiled back and sat beside Cole at the bench, waiting for the bus.

"Hey, I think you have some chocolate on your face," he pointed out after a bit of silence. Alex immediately put her hands to her face, trying to find the smear.

"No need. I'll help you." Cole reached his hand to her face as he wiped away the chocolate, only noticing afterwards how close his face was to the green ninja's.

The two looked at each other awkwardly, a clear blush appearing on both of their faces. Alex didn't know what to do: would it be right to push him away? Or kiss him? Ugh, relationships are so confusing.

Cole was having the same issue: he knew he had feelings, but were they friendly or something more? He had always admired the green ninja's determination, and felt like he needed to be there to guide her, but would she even accept him? Would it damage anything if he did kiss those soft lips?

As if on instinct, the two ninja's faces were inching closer to one another, to the point where they were almost touching.

"Umm.." That was all Alex could say at the moment, and she cursed herself for it.

Cole seemed to take this as a no, and began to pull back. Alex cursed herself even more, and quickly grabbed the black ninja's hand to hold him back.

Cole seemed even more embarrassed as she held him, and felt even more confused.

After what seemed a lifetime, Cole finally (finally!) leaned in, catching Alex's lips in a small kiss. The girl's face immediately turned a bright red, as she wasn't sure what to do, but soon found the kiss comforting, and kissed back.

Cole was about to wrap his arms around Alex when they heard the familiar sound of the oncoming bus. Quickly, the two pulled away and straightened themselves as the bus screeched to a stop, and they both entered and sat down.

Alex didn't know what to think. She had just kissed Cole! Or had he kissed her? Forget it; she had definitely kissed him in the end. The girl found herself blushing as Cole sat down next to her and the bus lurched off.

Did he have any regrets? Did he... actually care? Alex felt confused, and as she glanced quickly at Cole, she saw her confusion mirrored in his face.

"Well... that was..." Alex stumbled on the words she wanted to say.

"Yea..." Cole hesitated for a moment, before wrapping his arm around the green ninja.

She blushed even more, but soon found herself snuggling into the black ninja's embrace, feeling a bit better in his arms.

"So what now?" she asked Cole.

There was silence for a minute before Cole replied, "Well, do you think you want to try to be more than friends?"

Alex blushed a bit more, but realized that this is what she wanted. She felt safe with Cole, and he seemed to know her and understand her best, acting as a sturdy hold on her stubborn personality.

So as the two exited the bus at their apartment, Alex stopped Cole and gave him a small kiss. "Yes."

Romance. Never my forte, but I think that played out well. Anyway, back to the episode list; next is "Double Trouble"

Thank you all for reading this story. Can't believe 800 people from around the world have read this story Thank you guys so much!

Until next time!