Requested by: LucyBrick123, corpselover1426

Request: Zane x Kai

Warnings: Yaoi

Kai remembered when he first met Zane. He remembered how weird he thought the blond was, and how he made an effort to avoid him whenever he could. He remembered how unusual his sense of humour was, how he couldn't make a joke around Zane without him asking whether he was supposed to find it funny or not. Kai always found him to be matching his element of ice in this sense, believing him to be just as cold.

But that was before that one day. It had been the morning after he found Zane sitting in the refrigerator, having eaten most of its contents, the morning he, Jay, and Cole told Sensei Wu about how strange Zane was. It was the morning Zane revealed to them he had no home, no parents, and was basically an orphan all his life.

Kai could understand him at that point. He realized most of Zane's cold behaviour was likely from being around others who had their family close to them. He wondered if Zane felt jealous because of this, if he desired what they all had.

Then, the following day, when the monastery burned down, Kai blamed it on Zane. He still felt guilty because of his actions, believing that, despite Zane saying he saw the bird and followed it, that it was because of what he said to him that caused him to leave.

Even now, as Kai lied in his new bed in their new home, dubbed the Destiny's Bounty, he felt the guilt eating away at him, threatening to devour him unless he did something about it. He quietly groaned and sat up, looking around at the others. They were all sound asleep. He climbed down from his bunk and tiptoed out of the room.

He wandered aimlessly through the halls, listening to the muffled snores of the others echoing off the walls. He soon found himself standing outside on the deck, and he walked over to lean on the railing, peering down at the desert below. Kai shivered, realizing it was a horrible idea to be outside this late, but he didn't know where else to go.

"Kai?"

He jumped at the sound of his name and whirled around, letting out a shaky sigh when he saw it was only Zane. "Hey."

"What are you doing awake at this hour?" the blond asked, coming over to stand beside him. "We have training early tomorrow morning, and Sensei will be most upset if you are unable to train at your best."

"I know, I just couldn't sleep," he muttered, resting his chin on the freezing railing, wincing as the cold hit met with his skin. "I have too much on my mind right now. I'll work it out, though. You don't have to worry about me."

Zane watched the brunet for a long while, noticing how his eyelids drooped, then blinked rapidly to stay awake, then drooped again. Not knowing what to do, he placed his hand gingerly on Kai's shoulder, rubbing it in a comforting manner. He felt Kai's shoulder twitch, but he didn't shrug Zane away.

"I would like to know what is wrong," he murmured. "I do not want you to lose any more sleep than you already have over this."

"I..." Kai searched for the right words. He didn't want to hurt Zane again, and he had to know exactly what it was he wanted to say. "I'm sorry, Zane. For earlier. When I said the monastery burning down was all your fault, I didn't mean... I didn't want to hurt you, I was just upset, and..."

Zane drew him closer. "I already said that I forgive you. I know that you did not mean to make me feel upset. It's all right."

"No, no it isn't," Kai protested. "I was horrible to you, and I can't be forgiven for that. Especially after you told me how you've never had a home, and you can't remember your parents, because..." He trailed off, letting Zane take in his words. "... I know how it feels. To feel like you don't have a family."

"But you have Nya," he reminded him. "Isn't she also your family?"

"Yeah, but I mean not having parents. Mine were...well, they were murdered. And Nya and I have been orphans ever since it happened. We took care of each other, but you..." He shook his head, hoping he wouldn't come off as too blunt. "You didn't have anyone like that, did you?"

The blond looked down, a sad look in his normally blank eyes, and shook his head. "I did not have a sibling figure, or a parental figure, like you did. I just had villagers who took me in and helped me."

"That's exactly it, though," Kai said. "You've had it much worse than I have, and you didn't deserve the things I said to you, or about you, or anything. But I want you to know that I'm here if you ever want to talk or something. So..." He sighed deeply. "I'm sorry, Zane. I'm sorry for being so insensitive."

The rubbing on Kai's shoulder stopped, and he wondered if what he said offended Zane somehow. He felt the worry building up inside him again when Zane suddenly pulled him close, hugging him tightly. Kai's face was pressed up against the ice ninja's collarbone.

"Thank you, Kai," Zane whispered, his voice shaking slightly. "Perhaps our pasts are not exactly the same...but you understand me. Even if only by a small amount, you understand how I feel." Kai's face lit up in a heated blush when he felt Zane's lips connect to his forehead. "Thank you. And I forgive you. Please remember that."

Kai nodded, smiling shakily before he leaned into the hug, shutting his eyes. He wondered if Zane knew how significant kissing him was, but he brushed away the thought. He would've been happy enough even if he did know.

"Are you feeling better now?" asked Zane, pulling away.

Kai looked up, still smiling. "Definitely." It was as if the guilt eating his heart had been completely destroyed, leaving nothing but a sense of peace, and affection for Zane.

Oppositeshipping is very important. Don't forget that.

Eh, I feel a bit iffy about this one, but I'm not sure why. Oh well.

Thank you to LucyBrick123 and corpselover1426 for requesting this pairing! Stay tuned!