POV: Ash

Setting: Just after Zane finds out he's a nindroid and Sensei leaves to find Garmadon

This is just a cute little piece between Zane and Ash that I wanted in the original story but never happened, so here it is :) Hopefully more stuff will be coming your way soon.

-Fell_and_Fallen -

I put my head on my arms and struggle to watch the box in front of me. My vision blurs and wavers, and I blink it away, my eyelids fighting me to stay closed.

"How much longer?" I ask in a drunken voice as I let out a monolithic yawn.

Zane looks up at the clock hanging from the wall. "Just another few minutes, I believe."

I rub at my eyes. "I'm going to be asleep in another few minutes."

"I promise, you will not be sorry," his clear eyes focus back on the box filled with loamy black earth. "This flower blooms only once every hundred years. This may be our only chance to see it."

"Right," I yawn. "Gotta stay up… for the experience."

His cold hand presses against my arm, and I jolt awake. "Sorry, sorry."

He frowns slightly. "Perhaps this wasn't the best idea. If you're really so tired-"

"No, no you invited me to watch with you, and I'm going to keep my promise," I sit up straighter and blink another dozen times.

Zane's cool gaze lingers on mine. "I do appreciate you being here, but I don't want you to force yourself-"

"Force myself, ha!" my exaggerated laugh turns into another yawn, and I struggle to swallow it. "Let's just- uh- keep talking, alright? It'll give me something to think about."

I work my fingers into my palms, using the sensation to keep me from being lulled back into drowsiness. "So why did you invite me in the first place? Did the others say no?"

"Well," the white ninja's jaw shifts slightly. "I felt you would be the one to understand my excitement. Sensei offered to watch it with me after I found it, but after he left I was fully prepared to watch it bloom myself. But I feel this is an experience that must be shared."

I watch his clouded eyes carefully. "There's something else though, isn't there?"

He lets out a breath. "I also thought the others might find it strange. Given your own… abilities, I felt you would be more accepting. Ever since we discovered my origins, I have become more… aware of my differences," he sighs. "I understand they are my brothers and fully accept me as I am, but-"

"There's nothing wrong with you, Zane," I shake my head. "Watching nearly extinct flowers that bloom only every hundred years is just another of your quirks. It's what makes you human."

He grimaces. "But I am not human-"

"Leave the physical part out of it, alright? You feel empathy, you're unsure of yourself, you screw up- hell, you're as human as anyone on this ship. Besides, you're our friend above anything else. You could be a dolphin for all I care, you're still my friend. And friends stay up until three in the morning together to watch flowers bloom."

Zane chuckles. "It's only midnight."

"Sure feels like three in the morning," I grumble as I turn my attention back to the box of dirt. "Seriously, how long does this flower take?"

He glances at the clock again. "Should be any moment now."