"Pin-ups?" Lloyd stammered as he practically choked on his noodles.
"Yeah, what's the big deal?" Cole asked.
"The big deal is your girlfriend apparently wants nudes from someone other than you!" Lloyd argued.
"For the last time, it's not for her!" Cole sighed in exasperation. "And they aren't nudes, they're pin-ups! Every year the museum does a charity calendar, but Jasper thought they should kick it up for next year's one – even that stuffy guy who runs the archaeology department thought it was a good idea!"
"My mum works there!" Lloyd shouted. "There's no way she'd be okay with this!"
"She's away on an expedition and hasn't voted yet," Cole shrugged. "Jasper said she'd text me when they get Misako's vote in."
"I'm surprised the old dudes at the museum would allow something that racy." Kai added.
"You should see some of the paintings that are in the restricted collection – Jasper's seen some woodblock prints that would make even you blush." Cole smirked.
"I think it makes a nice change," Nya mentioned. "calendars like that usually only have women in them."
"Well, they are doing a female one too," Cole admitted nervously. "so, if you and Pixal are interested…"
"What about me?" Kiku chirped.
"Sure, if you like," Cole smiled. "I didn't want to assume, since you're new here."
"I can't speak for Pixal, but as long as it's tasteful, I wouldn't mind." Nya calmly nodded.
Jay promptly spit out his drink.
"Babe, you can't be serious!" He gasped.
"It's for charity, honey, and if you guys are gonna do it, so can we," Nya explained. "besides, if it's a pin-up then I don't know what you're worried about – it's nothing you haven't already seen."
"What do you mean by that?" Kai snapped, growling so loudly that he sounded like a bear.
"Do you have a bikini I could borrow?" Kiku grinned at Nya.
"Of course, I've got lots," Nya smiled back, before glaring at Kai. "it's not like we've never been to a beach before."
Kai's growling soon evaporated as Kiku pulled on his sleeve excitedly.
"What do you think?" She asked him as she flicked her high ponytail to one side. "Am I pretty enough to be a pin-up?"
"You'd be perfect for it, Flower," He replied smoothly. "in fact, you're so cute I'd bet they put you on the front."
"It's not just us doing it, right?" Jay wondered, slightly anxiously. "Like, there are other guys doing this?"
"Yeah, Jasper's asked me to contact some of the elemental masters, and Phoenix is gonna do it too." Cole answered.
"Phoenix?" Kiku asked, her interest piqued by the name.
"The dude from the Frenchie café I go to with Jasper; he really wants to be in it, but he's also a bit of a show-off," Cole elaborated, taking out his smartphone and scrolling through, trying to find a photo. "I mean, look at this photo he sent to Jasper to 'prove he's an ideal candidate'."
Cole put his phone in the middle of the table, so they could all see it.
In the photo, was a tall, shirtless young man, with silver hair and a heart melting grin. He had a star-shaped scar on his collarbone, and a line scar crossing over his right eye, and his eyes were different colours; the left being blue and the right being grey. For some reason, he was wearing big prosthetic wings, and he was as finely cut as a 5-carat diamond.
"He looks like he could be Zane's cocky older brother!" Jay commented. "What do you think babe?"
Nya was so astonished that she couldn't even speak, while Kiku choked on her own tongue when she saw it.
"I thought I recognised the name!" She declared. "I know that guy!"
"You know him?" Nya gasped.
"Yeah, I used to train with him when I was first learning to hoop!" Kiku squeaked. "He's a stripper!"
"What?" Cole raised his eyebrows at her. "No, he's a student – he works in a bar in the evenings, and the café on weekends."
"What bar?"
"The one me and Jasper went to last night, it's called Feathers and Fire." Cole replied.
"Cole, I hate to break it to you, but that bar you went to last night, it's a strip club!"
Jay burst out laughing.
"Oh my gods, are you serious?" Jay managed to ask between laughs.
"Cole!" Nya scolded. "How could you do that to Jasper? Fancy taking your girlfriend to a strip club!"
"What do you mean, how could I do that to Jasper?" He argued, his cheeks red from embarrassment. "It was her idea to go there!"
Jay laughed even harder, struggling to breathe from the sheer hilarity of it.
"I can't believe Zane's missing out on this!" Jay exhaled as he slapped the table with his hand.
"Are you sure it's the same guy?" Cole said to Kiku.
"How many guys do you know with that name and those exact scars?" Kiku gestured to the photo.
"What's wrong, Cole?" Lloyd sneered. "Feeling outmatched?"
"Don't be stupid, I'm just in shock, he's such an innocent-looking dude," Cole countered. "but it does explain why he got us a private booth that wasn't facing the stage, and why it got so rowdy later on."
"Don't mind Lloyd, he's probably just jealous that Phoenix will beat him to being on the front cover of the calendar," Nya teased. "I mean, look at this guy!"
Nya picked up the phone and pointed at Phoenix's intricately sculpted torso.
"It's like he was carved out of marble…" She mused.
"I wonder how he even finds time to be a student, if he's working and going to the gym every day," Kiku pondered. "like, he's obviously still going to the gym, he's more muscular than the last time I saw him."
"So how did he get the scars?" Jay asked, taking the phone from Nya, and glancing at the photo disdainfully.
"He told me that the scar on his face was from being attacked by a giant venomous snake," Kiku stated. "and the one on his collarbone was where he got shot by a wooden-tipped arrow."
"A wooden-tipped arrow? How old is he again?" Lloyd snorted derisively.
"Big deal" Jay slid the phone across the table towards Cole. "I've got a couple of cool scars too"
"So does Kai," Kiku agreed. "the one on his back is stunning."
"Oh, so you did see that one…" Kai teased.
"That's the first time I've heard someone call a scar 'stunning'." Jay chuckled.
"I think scars are incredibly sexy!" Kiku exclaimed with stars in her eyes. "It's physical proof that you were stronger than the thing that hurt you, that your body is powerful enough to repair itself, and it's like kintsugi; the collagen of a scar adds a layer of beauty to the damaged area!"
She bounced excitedly in her seat, until she noticed the strange looks the others were giving her. Suddenly she felt very silly for getting so riled up, and she looked down timidly.
"Do you really think that?" Kai probed. "You know, about scars?"
Kiku cautiously glanced at him, as he smiled back at her sincerely.
"Well yeah, I mean, some people don't like their scars because they think it's an imperfection," Kiku attempted to explain. "but I think scars are beautiful, and a good indicator of a person's endurance – I don't see a flaw, I see that person's fighting spirit."
"Wow, I never thought about it like that before," Kai ruffled her hair. "look at you, being all philosophical and stuff!"
Kiku giggled and put one hand on her face to hide the blush that she could feel coming on.
"It's a mature perspective." Cole nodded.
"I gotta admit, I sometimes feel insecure about mine," Jay confessed. "it sounds stupid but, yeah."
"Aww honey, I didn't know that!" Nya purred. "I like your scars, especially the one on your shoulder."
"Pretty and intelligent; you're full of surprises, Flower." Kai flashed a demure half-smile at Kiku, which caused her to blush harder.
"Can we get back to the matter at hand?" Lloyd abruptly asked.
"You mean Cole's girlfriend taking him to a strip club?" Jay taunted.
"I mean this pin-up thing!" Lloyd irately corrected. "It could tarnish our reputation as Ninjago's protectors!"
"That depends," Sensei Wu said as he walked in mid-sentence. "what are we talking about?"
"Jasper is in charge of the museum's charity calendar for next year," Cole explained. "she wants to do a couple of pin-up calendars – and the other heads of department agree – but Lloyd is pretty adamant that we shouldn't do it."
"I'm surprised your mother said okay to that."
Lloyd stared at Cole in aggravation and gestured to Sensei as if to say 'see? I'm not alone'.
"She hasn't yet, they're waiting for her to send her vote back." Cole mentioned.
"But even if she agrees – which she won't – there's the matter of should we even be involved in such a project," Lloyd argued. "considering there are other elemental masters who could do it."
"Yeah, but are they gonna pull in the numbers that we would?" Kai boasted. "The male one alone will sell way better if we're involved."
"Male one?" Wu posited. "Does that mean there'll be a female one as well?"
"Well, yes but-"
"And how do you and Pixal feel about that?" He asked Nya.
"If it's tasteful, I'm happy to do it." Nya responded.
"And Pixal?"
"We don't know, she's resting at the moment because she's got a concussion," Cole said, throwing a dirty look at Lloyd. "we're gonna wait until she's better before we ask."
"Oh dear, she's not having a very good week, is she?" Wu noted, stroking his beard. "For what it's worth, I'm inclined to agree with Nya; if it's tastefully done then I don't see why not."
"I don't know why we're even discussing this," Lloyd insisted. "because there's no way-"
"Misako said yes," Cole grinned, looking at a message that had flashed up on his phone. "Jasper just text me."
"Quit messing around!" Lloyd demanded as his own phone began beeping.
"What's it say, Lloyd?" Cole jeered, recognising the sound as a text alert.
"It's from my mum: 'Just a heads-up Lloyd, the museum is doing a charity pin-up calendar featuring the elemental masters, whether you do it or not is up to you, but if it's not in good taste I've been given veto power'," Lloyd read aloud before sighing in relief. "hah! The ball's still in my court, Cole."
"It's fine if you don't think you can compete with the rest of us," Cole declared with a smirk, as he pulled his shirt off and boastfully flexed his muscles. "just know that you do have time to catch up – the photoshoot won't be for a few more months."
Cole laughed as he walked out of the room.
"Braggart." Lloyd fumed.
"Hey Kiku, you can open your eyes now." Nya giggled, having noticed that the droid was covering her face with her hands.
"Are you sure it's safe?" She squeaked as she peered through the gaps in her fingers. "Thank goodness! For a minute I thought he was going to strip off completely!"
"Seeing Kai naked was bad enough huh?" Jay teased.
Kiku's cheeks burned bright red, while Lloyd glared at her with a face like thunder.
"Jay! You promised you wouldn't say anything!" Nya scolded.
"It just slipped out; I swear!" He insisted defensively.
"You've seen him naked?" Lloyd demanded.
"Hey, leave her alone!" Kai barked at Lloyd. "She forgot to knock before coming in, but I should've locked the door, it was a simple mistake!"
"It does sound completely innocuous," Wu agreed. "and I'm sure Kiku has now learned to always knock first."
"Yes, sir!" Kiku replied, nodding fervently.
"Fine." Lloyd huffed as he left the room.
"I feel like someone's always gonna be mad at me, no matter what I do," Kiku sighed dejectedly. "I'm starting to think I should just go home…"
"Hey now, don't blame yourself – it's not your fault Lloyd's got his undies in a bunch," Kai said, curling his arm around her shoulder and pulling her close. "he probably woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."
"Kai's right," Jay added. "I think the whole pin-up thing has rubbed him up the wrong way."
"I know what might cheer you up," Nya began. "you could come to my room and try on some clothes."
"I don't know…"
"Come on, let's go do some girl bonding, it'll be fun!" Nya walked around the table and took Kiku's hand, gently tugging on it. "I did this with your sister last year, and we had a blast!"
"Well… okay!" Kiku decided.
"Have fun." Kai smiled as the two of them headed upstairs.
"I'm glad you have bonded with your new roommate," Wu said to Kai. "she seems to feel better having someone 'on her side', so to speak."
"Thanks Sensei."
"I think I'll go see how Pixal is, no doubt Zane is with her, and he should be informed of this 'pin-up' development." Wu promptly walked out, leaving just Jay and Kai at the table.
"What's with Lloyd?" Jay queried once Wu was out of earshot. "He's so grumpy!"
"I dunno," Kai shrugged. "but he's got something up his butt, that's for sure."
"Maybe he's in a bad mood because he's the only single one left." Jay laughed.
"Uh, I'm single too," Kai corrected. "or did you forget?"
"Are you sure about that?" Jay baited. "The way you are around Kiku, it's easy to think-"
"Dude, she's been here for 3 days," Kai interrupted. "calm down."
"So? Zane was in love with Pixal at first sight…"
"And how long did it take them to get together?" Kai bantered back.
"For all we know, they've been together since that day he gave her half of his heart, which doesn't change the fact that you and Kiku are acting mighty close for two people who aren't in a relationship," Jay theorised. "you know you can tell me if there's something going on."
Kai hesitated.
"There's nothing 'going on', she's just a cool girl who happens to be sleeping in my room," Kai responded. "she's also in a temple full of relative strangers and needs someone she can lean on."
"Someone to lean on, sure, although that doesn't explain your overprotectiveness."
"What do you mean?"
"Just now when you practically bit Lloyd's face off? And the way you held her afterwards?" Jay noted. "Don't wanna set you off, but I'd have the exact same reaction if someone acted like that toward Nya."
"To be fair, you'd do anything to impress Nya, even squaring up to Golden Boy." Kai said dismissively.
"So, you're telling me there's nothing behind the fact that you immediately jumped to her defence?" Jay quizzed. "There's no real reason for why you called her 'perfect'? Or that she describes your scars as 'stunning'?"
"Now you're twisting my words," Kai refuted. "I said she'd be perfect as a pin-up, and Kiku's love of scars extends beyond just me you know."
"Yeah, but it was only after talking about your scars that she used the word sexy, and the fact that she's comfortable saying that in front of everyone says a lot." Jay clarified.
"Okay, I get that it looks deeper than it is, but Kiku's a droid and she's only here temporarily," Kai denied further. "and again, she's only been here for 3 days! Do you know how insane it would be if we were in a relationship?"
"But you have had serious attractions to ladies you don't know well; Skylor, for example, I mean, you didn't even know her name when you started crushing on her - I remember how panicked you got when you thought she was related to you," Jay argued. "and by the way, for someone you had such a sudden attraction to, you haven't even mentioned her for literal months."
Kai went silent for a few moments, poking at the remainder of his now cold bowl of noodles with his chopsticks. He knew it wouldn't work out with Skylor; they lived two very different lives, and he gave up on any potential they had shortly after last cherry blossom season, when they couldn't even find a mutual date to meet up for the ninja's flower viewing party.
It had occurred to him, more than once, that maybe he was transferring those feelings onto Kiku, and he didn't want that because he didn't want to have to deal with rebound stuff.
But the more he thought about it, the more he realised that he hadn't even thought about Skylor until other people had mentioned her – right up to Kiku assuming he had a girlfriend. Ultimately, Kiku would be going back to New Ninjago once her training was over, and saying goodbye was already gonna be harder than he wanted to admit. Why was he always falling for girls that would be long-distance?
Complicating things further, there was also a lingering flicker of a flame burning for Lloyd, which, now that he acknowledged it, made all the more sense why Lloyd didn't seem to like Kiku at all. Sure, he was fine with her when she first arrived, but when she started getting close to Kai, Lloyd seemed to turn on her. He recalled that night in the hotel, when he and Lloyd crossed a line, and how Lloyd had told him that maybe he needed to learn how to make a long-distance relationship work.
At the time, he wasn't ready for the effort it would've taken to maintain a relationship with Skylor. Why was he considering it for Kiku? A droid, out of all the human girls he'd been interested in.
He looked over at Jay, who was looking back at him with a somewhat expectant half-smile.
"I don't know what you want me to say." Kai stated.
"I guess I just wanna know what's going on in your head right now," Jay shrugged. "I know it's hard to talk about emotions, but if there's anyone who understands having them – and not being good at hiding them – it's me."
"Hypothetically, even if I liked Kiku, she'll be going back to New Ninjago in a few months, so what would be the point?"
"What's the point of any relationship?" Jay openly asked. "Like, really? I don't mean rhetorically or anything, I'm actually asking you – what do you think is the point of being in a relationship with someone?"
"If I had to guess I'd say it's because they make you happy, and you make them happy, it's companionship and feeling like you belong with them; like they complete you," Kai tried to explain his thoughts. "or something."
"Do you feel those things with Kiku? Would she make a long-distance relationship worthwhile?" Jay inquired. "If it's the distance you're worried about, you should speak to Cole, he seems to manage alright."
"Thanks dude," Kai grinned as he stood up and put his bowl in the sink. "you actually helped."
"No problem." Jay smiled.
Kai left the room and went in search of Cole, who had strolled away with his shirt in his hand to some unknown destination. It didn't take long to find him, as he was sitting in the weights room (still shirtless) and talking on the phone. Presumably to Jasper, owing to the flirtatious tone of voice he was using.
Kai leaned in the doorway and wondered how long it would take Cole to notice he was standing right behind him.
"You should've seen Lloyd's face, he was furious!" Cole chuckled. "He was so sure Misako was gonna flatten the idea."
"She was ambivalent about it at first," Jasper said, seemingly unaware that she was on loudspeaker. "as soon I mentioned that each pin-up was gonna be themed around a different historical art style, she was on-board."
"Nya's cool with being in the female one – Jay wasn't so thrilled about that though – and Pixal's sister is interested too." Cole added.
"I suppose you haven't had a chance to ask Pixal yet."
"Nah, she's still recovering, but man that droid can pack a punch!" He whistled. "I mean, the base lifted right off the floor! I'm surprised her fist didn't go right through the thing!"
"She seems so even-tempered; I can't imagine her needing to get any anger out." Jasper noted.
"Lloyd's got a lot to answer for," Cole said bluntly. "I know he's frustrated about Kai and Kiku, but why take it out on Pixal? Especially since he knows what her temper is like!"
"Pixal's such a little cutie, it's difficult to picture her with a temper, but it sounds like Lloyd was fortunate that you were there to calm her down."
"That's what Zane said when he got back, and he had some choice words for Lloyd when he saw him next," Cole smirked. "speaking of which, Zane said he was gonna make me a special cake to say thanks, so I'll save it until I see you on Friday so you can have some too."
"You, sharing cake?" Kai exclaimed, as Cole nearly jumped out of his skin for the second time that day. "That's as good as a marriage proposal!"
"What the hell, man?" Cole snarled.
"Hi Jasper, it's Kai, how's it going?" He asked. "I heard about your new job, congrats!"
"Thank you," Jasper happily replied. "it was great putting in my notice at the department store; I'll miss my co-workers, but I couldn't pass up this opportunity!"
"Do you mind if I steal Cole?" Kai joked. "Guy talk, you know?"
"Of course, I understand," Jasper giggled. "I'll see you Friday, sugar, love you!"
"Love you too babe!" Cole smiled as he hung up, then turned to Kai with a dissatisfied grimace. "What's the big deal? Listening in on private conversations like a weirdo!"
"It can't have been that private, you had her on speaker!"
"Well, you have my attention now," Cole frowned. "what d'ya want?"
"I need some advice, and you're the only one with experience that I can draw on." Kai explained.
Cole's expression softened into mild interest.
"Sure, what's up?"
"How do you make the whole long-distance thing work?" Kai tentatively asked as he sat next to Cole.
"Why?" Cole asked back.
"What does it matter why?" Kai said, somewhat defensively. "I know it's not easy, and I've never been in a relationship so, I'm just curious."
"Well, we call and text a lot," Cole began. "we get to see each other twice a week, and when we do see each other, we bang."
"Ugh, Cole!" Kai pulled a disgusted face. "I didn't need to know that!"
"You asked!" Cole yelled. "What else am I supposed to say?"
"I'm not talking about the times when you do see her, I'm talking about when you don't see her," Kai elaborated, the exasperation clear in his voice. "with you being here and her being there, like how do you cope?"
Cole's face momentarily dropped. He paused to really think about it, because frankly, it was a very good question.
He thought about how much it hurt to be away from her, how he needed something with her perfume on it so he could sleep properly, and how the days when he didn't see her seemed to drag on way longer than the days when he did. Jasper was only a couple of hours away (just over an hour if he went by dragon) but there were times when it felt like they were an ocean away from each other.
"It's hard, I'm not gonna lie… when we're apart, I try to stay busy, and focus on training; if I think about it for too long – you know, that she's there and I'm here – I lose motivation to do stuff," Cole started to say, rubbing the back of his neck. "on Sundays, she'll call me after dinner and we'll talk for a few hours, then she stays on the call until I fall asleep; when either of us is out doing something, we text each other to say when we've gotten home safe, and we have a special system of making sure that we're both doing okay."
"Special system?"
"So, like, if I'm on the phone and she sounds a bit down, I'll ask if she's alright, and if she says yes, I'll ask 'do you promise?' – if she can say 'I promise', then I know she's okay, but if not, then something's wrong and she has to tell me what it is," Cole looked at the floor as he played with his wristbands. "she uses it on me too; it's a trust thing – you either promise you're okay or you say what's up – you don't lie, because that breaks the trust, and without trust, why are we even together?"
"It sounds awful, if I'm honest," Kai admitted. "I don't know why you do it."
"Because when we're together, she makes me feel amazing, like I'm the most important person in the world – I feel loved and safe and complete – and I want to be with her all the time," Cole smiled to himself. "just looking at her makes my heart soar, and when she hugs me, I get this cold rush of happiness in my chest and a wave of joy swallows me whole."
"Wow," Kai eventually said. "who knew you were this deep?"
"One day we'll live together, and the pain of separation will be a distant memory," Cole sighed wistfully. "…well, I don't know why you asked but hopefully all that stuff was helpful."
"Yeah, it was," Kai grinned. "thanks man."
Kai stood up and walked away, just as Cole was putting his shirt back on and reaching for one of the dumbbells. When Jay told him to ask Cole for advice, Kai was mildly dubious – there was no way Cole could give him any decent answers – but it turned out that Jay was right for once. Kai mulled over his teammate's words, as he wandered up the stairs with the intention of just going to his room for a bit of quiet time.
"Oh Kiku, you look lovely!" Nya cooed. "Red really suits you!"
Kai stopped outside the mostly closed door of his sister's bedroom.
"Do you think so?" Kiku nervously replied. "I don't normally wear this colour; I just hope he likes it…"
"He should, it matches his element!" Nya chuckled.
He tapped on the door.
"Come in!" Nya said.
Kai pushed on the door handle and walked straight into a clothing explosion. He'd never seen Nya's room this messy before – ever – so he figured she and Kiku might have gotten a bit overexcited. He saw Nya sitting on the bed, surrounded by random garments, but there was no sign of Kiku anywhere.
"Oh, hey bro, you gotta see-" Nya paused as she realised that Kiku was hiding behind the closet door. "Kiku, come out from there, Kai wants to see how awesome you look!"
"You haven't gone shy on me, have you?" Kai teased.
Kiku hesitated, then slowly emerged from her hiding place, wearing a bright red, strappy skater dress and knee-high white socks. Her silver hair was flowing loosely past her shoulders, and her blue circuits were starting to turn purple.
"Doesn't she just look so cute with her hair down?" Nya stood up and brushed Kiku's hair.
"Totally adorable," He smiled. "have you been having fun?"
"Yeah, I'm not used to trying on clothes," Kiku replied, rubbing her arm sheepishly. "I tend to wear like, the same things all the time."
"And I spend so much time training that half of my closet is made up of clothes I've bought but haven't worn," Nya laughed, holding up a price tag still attached to the dress Kiku was wearing. "see?"
"Why am I not surprised?" Kai noted.
"I said she can pick out some things she likes and keep them," Nya smiled at Kiku. "took a bit of persuading, but she finally agreed to it."
"I don't want to be a nuisance." Kiku insisted.
"Trust me, you're not," Nya assured her. "if anything, you'd be doing me a favour."
"Well, I'll leave you two to have fun; I'll be in our room if you need me, Flower." Kai grinned as he walked out the door.
Kiku and Nya exchanged a curious glance.
"Did he just say… our room?" Kiku whispered, her face burning as it had when she accidentally saw him naked.
"He did." Nya pulled a cheesy smirk.
"Any idea what that's about?"
"Not a clue, maybe my brother wants you to feel more at home," Nya posited. "I guess you'll have to ask him to find out…"