Requested by: IceFreak101, corpselover1426

Request: Cole/Kai

Warnings: Yaoi

Cole remembered the odd feeling he got when Kai nuzzled his side yesterday after winning the talent competition. Onstage, no less. It was such an odd feeling of both embarrassment, and a strange urge to return the unexpected affection from the red ninja. He remembered how furiously he blushed beneath his hood when it happened. He wondered if anyone noticed it. Did Jay and Zane see it?

Probably, Cole thought. Really hope they didn't, though... He'd had a crush on Kai for a while now, and the hug - no, the cuddle - Kai gave to him had made his thoughts about the brunet much more...intense.

He shook his head, feeling another thought about Kai coming quickly, and picked up his scythe again. He spun the weapon easily in his hands, swinging it down to cause a tremor, weak enough so not to disturb the others in the Bounty.

"Hey!" a voice called, making Cole freeze. He turned, gulping when he saw it was Kai, a cheeky smile upon his face. "I heard you were training out here. Mind if I join? Who knows, maybe it'll help me find my True Potential."

The black ninja smirked. "And then you'll become the Green Ninja, I'm guessing?" he joked. "Fine, but don't worry; I'll try to go easy on you."

Kai glared at him, but Cole saw a playful gleam in his eyes. "I'll show you how well I can fight!" He unsheathed his sword, twirling it before pointing the tip at Cole's chin. "Come at me!"

"Gladly!"

He brought his scythe up to throw Kai's sword out of the way, before kicking the red ninja in the stomach. Kai winced, but recovered quickly and brought his sword down again, letting loose a fireball. Cole jumped out of the way, blocking another blow from Kai's sword with his scythe.

"I gotta admit," Cole panted while shoving Kai away. "You're still pretty strong, even if you haven't gotten your True Potential yet."

"Well, what can I say..." Kai gave his sword a sharp thrust forward, knocking Cole backwards and causing him to drop his scythe. "...you shouldn't play with fire!" He threw his own sword aside and sprang at Cole, tackling him just as he was about to stand up. He held him down on his stomach, feeling Cole go limp before he reared and flung Kai off, sending him skidding across the deck.

Kai brought his hands up to block a punch, then swung his leg out to trip Cole. The black-haired teen landed with a thud, and Kai chuckled triumphantly. Just as the brunet thought he had won, Cole immediately sprang back up, grabbed Kai's shoulders, and forced him onto the ground, pinning him on his back.

"I win," Cole said, not budging even as Kai struggled against his hold.

Kai gave a sigh of defeat. "Fine, but don't think we're done yet. Once I reach my True Potential, and become the destined Green Ninja, we'll have another rematch, and then we'll see who's laughing!"

"Oh, I think it'll still be me laughing," he replied with a grin. He didn't move from off of Kai, getting distracted by his dark brown eyes, realizing now just how warm of a brown they really were. It was such a comforting shade, and he felt like he could stare into his eyes forever.

Kai, on the other hand, felt a bit disturbed by how intently Cole was looking at him. Not only that, but the position they were currently in did not help matters; Cole had his arms pinned above his head, while he straddled his hips. He had to admit, though he had a bit of a crush on Cole, and though he hugged him yesterday, he certainly did not feel comfortable being like this.

"Uh, are you gonna move, or...?" Kai trailed off, a heavy blush spreading across his face. Cole raised a bushy eyebrow and looked down at where he was seated.

"Oh! Right, sorry." He quickly got up, taking Kai's hand in his to help him up off the ground. He looked away in slight embarrassment as Kai gave an awkward-sounding cough.

"So, uh, thanks for letting me train with you today," Kai finally said, going over to pick up his sword.

Cole nodded briskly, picking up his scythe. "Yeah, no problem." He watched as Kai turned to leave and, after a moment's hesitation, called, "Wait! I want to talk to you about something first."

The shorter ninja came back, stopping to stand half a foot away from him and raising a scarred eyebrow in confusion. "Yeah?"

Cole took a deep breath before speaking, hoping everything he wanted to say would come out right. "So, yesterday... When all of us danced together and won the competition... You hugged me. And it wasn't just in a, 'you're my friend' way, either. It was more in like a, 'we should totally hook up' kinda way. Why was that?"

"Oh, that? That, um... I was just caught in the moment, you know? I was just really glad that we won and everything, so I just did...that." The brunet fought for the right words that wouldn't hint at his true feelings for the earth ninja. But one look at Cole's face told him he didn't buy it. He felt his heart sink to the pit of his stomach.

"Kai, if you like me in that way, you can come out and say it," he said calmly. Cole's heart was beating a mile a minute, hoping that he wasn't just misinterpreting Kai's behaviour for an inability to tell him how he felt.

"You won't be mad? Or weirded out?"

Hearing Kai say that made relief wash over him, and his thudding heart slowed down considerably. He smiled and shook his head. "No. Because I...I think I like you, too."

Kai came closer, a nervous smile growing on his face. "Really?"

Cole reached out to hold Kai against him, mirroring the brunet's shaky grin. "Yep." To confirm his feelings, he kissed Kai's forehead gently, feeling his own face grow hot from the contact.

Kai rested his head against Cole's broad chest, nuzzling him again just as he did the day before. "That's... That's the best news I've heard all day. I never knew if you liked me back, so I just kept it all in and now..." He didn't speak after that. Instead, Kai brought his arms up around Cole's neck to return the hug, smiling all the while.

Cole didn't remember the last time he felt so happy, except perhaps when he finally gained his father's respect the previous day. He tightened his hold on Kai, happy that his secret crush wasn't a secret anymore.

They didn't separate for another five minutes.

Ah, Lavashipping. You don't see much of it anymore. Pity.

Okay, now I know that episode 35 has been leaked, and it looks like Kai/Skylor (or Skylar, I'm almost certain it's with an 'O', though) is going to be canon. But I still won't be accepting any requests relating to the newer characters, since we know very little about them.

As for requests themselves, don't worry if I don't get to yours right away. I'm taking on at least 13 of them at the moment, and they will be posted as soon as they're finished. Bear with me please :)

Thanks to IceFreak101 and corpselover1426 for the request! Stay tuned!