Kiku spent a couple more hours with Nya after Kai dropped in on them. Once Kiku had chosen some items of clothing – with some advice from Nya about mixing colours and patterns – Nya decided to play with Kiku's hair some more. It was quite nostalgic for Nya, as she had gone through the same experience with Pixal the year before. Kiku sat patiently while Nya brushed and styled her hair several different ways, as the water ninja regaled Kiku with stories of her sister and the adventures they'd all had together.

As a thank you, Kiku helped with tidying Nya's room. It didn't take long with the two of them working as a team, much to Kiku's sadness, as she was hoping to avoid any awkwardness with Kai for as long as humanly possible. But alas, the time was ticking on, and she would need to go to bed soon.

She stood in front of the door, holding the tote bag of clothing that Nya had given her, and knocked.

"'Sup?" Kai shouted from the other side.

"Are you decent?" Kiku asked quietly.

She heard the sound of footsteps, and Kai opened the door.

"Hey Flower," He smiled as she walked in, and he shut the door behind her. "I was starting to think you were having a sleepover with my sister."

"We were having so much fun, I didn't notice the time," Kiku replied. "sorry if I worried you."

"Nah, I knew you were safe, but I'm glad you're back though," Kai laughed as he sat on the bed. "listen, I had a word with Lloyd – I told him he was being a jerk and to take a chill pill."

"Thank you for defending me," She placed the tote bag down and sat beside him. "I'm sorry I'm disrupting the team."

"Come on, it's not your fault, Lloyd's just got some stuff to work out and he needs to stop taking it out on you." Kai assured her.

Kiku gave a small smile, though it faded as quickly as it had arrived.

"I've had some time to work stuff out too," He began. "and I'm just wondering if you're okay staying with me."

"Of course, I am!" She quickly replied. "You're the one friend I've had since I got here, if it hadn't been for you, I'd have turned tail and gone home like, yesterday."

"Well, the reason I'm wondering is because I kinda like you, and I don't wanna make you uncomfortable."

"I like you too, why would it make me uncomfortable?" She tilted her head.

Kai leaned over and kissed her cheek. Shocked, Kiku's face immediately burned red.

"Because it's that kind of like." He said, flashing his own half smile at her.

Kiku could feel her heart pulsing uncontrollably, as she tried to think of something – anything – to say to him. She could barely string her thoughts together let alone a cohesive sentence, but she could sense that her hesitation was making him question himself. In the end, she figured the best way to handle this was to put her arms around him. Somehow, his body was even hotter than usual, and when he put his arms around her too, she almost imploded from heat exposure.

"So, does this mean we're good?" He asked. "You still wanna be here?"

Kiku still couldn't talk.

"Like, we don't have to share the bed if you need time to think about stuff," He mentioned. "I don't mind being on the futon."

Still no verbal answer from the droid, the best she could manage was an approving squeak.

"Flower? Are you alright?" He wondered. "You're scaring me a little bit; you want me to let go?"

"Please…" She eventually choked out, holding onto him tighter. "Don't let go…"

"Want me to hold you closer?"

"Yes…"

He curled his arms round her waist and placed his head on her shoulder, gently nuzzling into her neck. This was nice. A warm, cosy hug that gave him all kinds of weird butterfly feelings as she pressed herself against him. There was something massively comforting about Kiku's hugs, though he couldn't pinpoint why. But did the 'why' really matter? Did he need to have a reason to enjoy holding her?

"It's getting late," Kai casually noted. "and you have training tomorrow."

Kiku accepted that this was Kai's polite way of saying that she had to let go. Just for now, at least.

As both of them lessened their grip, and they slowly pulled away from each other, Kai realised why Kiku was so quiet – she'd been crying.

"My hugs aren't that bad, are they?" He joked, earning a chuckle from her.

"I'm sorry, I just don't know what to say; I'm stunned," Kiku mumbled. "I mean, I'm just a droid."

"You're not just a droid," He shook his head. "you're cute and fun and ambitious and you give awesome hugs; I know it's only been 3 days, but I can't ignore this."

"Well, I like you too Kai," She beamed. "you know, 'like that'."

"Wow, that went better than I thought it would," He stated. "I'm glad we're able to be open about this stuff."

"It's better than dancing around it for weeks and being awkward with each other." She confirmed.

He smiled and picked up his sleepwear.

"I'm gonna go change in the bathroom."

Kai stood up, but Kiku grabbed his hand before he could take a single step. He looked at her face, still glowing red, as she let go of his hand and turned away in embarrassment.

"You don't have to go," She muttered. "I wouldn't mind if you changed in here…"

"You wanna see my scars again, huh?" He smirked.

"It's not that, well, it is that but, I mean," She stammered. "this is your room; you shouldn't have to-"

"Our room, Flower; this is your room too now," He corrected. "so, if you're okay with me changing clothes around you, I'll stay."

Kiku nodded in agreement, only for her red face to somehow get even redder when he took off his shirt. Just as he was about to put on his pyjama shirt, she quickly stopped him. She held up a very shaky hand with intent, but hesitated. Kai seemed to recognise what she wanted, so he sat back down, and he guided her hand until it touched his torso. He flinched a bit, as her hand was colder than he expected, but he soon adjusted to it.

She was staring raptly at the contrast of his lightly tanned skin compared to the pale silver of hers, and she slowly spread out her fingers to feel the sensation of his body heat. Kiku loudly drew a sudden breath as the tip of her index finger stroked the edge of a scar on his side.

"You have such a strong body," She breathed as her hand curved around his torso, stroking the smooth skin until she reached the scar on his back. "and an even stronger spirit."

Kai sat still, as Kiku repositioned herself so she was sitting cross-legged behind him. She placed both hands at the base of his spine and stroked them upwards, exploring the diagonal scar with slow, deliberate attention as her palms passed over it. He bit his lip, trying to prevent himself from groaning in response to her soothing strokes. She appeared to be gaining confidence, as she reached his shoulders and gently clawed at him with her nails, dragging her hands downward and subsequently being startled by the exotic growl that escaped his throat.

"Sorry!" She hurriedly apologised as she quickly withdrew her hands. "I didn't hurt you, did I? Do you want me to stop?"

"Actually, it felt really good," He insisted, rolling his shoulders. "I've been kinda sore lately."

"I know, I could feel it through the sensors in my palms," She mentioned. "that's why I thought I might've hurt you."

"Well, like I said, it didn't hurt – in fact, it was helping," He looked over his shoulder at her and smiled. "would you mind doing it again?"

"Um, sure, but you might be more comfortable laying down than sitting up," She mumbled as she shuffled to the foot of the bed. "lying flat is better for getting to the deeper tissue."

Kai did as he was told and laid down on his stomach. He stretched out, and then let his body relax on top of the bedcovers. Kiku straddled the small of his back, and he was surprised by how light she was, considering her body was primarily metal. Once again, she placed her hands flat at the lowest part of his back, then smoothly yet firmly pushed them up to his shoulders, and lightly grazed her nails downward as she returned her hands to their starting position.

Her hands were no longer cold, in fact, they appeared to be heating up as she rubbed his skin, and the subtle sharpness of her nails caused an involuntary twitching sensation in his legs. Kai had to bite his lip again, as he struggled to contain the sounds he was making while she caressed him.

Kiku had done this sort of thing before, back when she was first built and was training with Phoenix to improve her agility. Phoenix's work as a male stripper meant that he was often sore the day after his performances, and one day – when she walked in during a post-work massage he was getting – she found herself fascinated by the ability to relax the body using just one's hands. She asked to observe the next massage session; Phoenix gave the okay, and the lady performing this service was only too happy to impart some of her wisdom to the ever-curious Kiku. She showed Kiku how to stimulate and relax the muscles, and as Kiku watched the lady work, she became entranced by these skills. With Phoenix's consent, the lady allowed Kiku to try out what she'd learned on Phoenix, but she discovered that she was too light-handed for someone with his particular bodily stresses.

Now, however, she was finally able to put her ability to some use, and Kai seemed to be enjoying himself. At least, it sounded like he was. Kiku curled her fingers around the sides of his torso and pressed her thumbs onto his back. She slid her hands upward – as she had been doing so far – but with her thumbs firmly pushed into the muscle. Kai made another loud growling noise, briefly raising his head up from the pillows as he snarled. Concerned, Kiku leaned over him and whispered in his ear.

"Are you sure you're okay?" She asked quietly. "I'm not hurting you, right?"

Kai suddenly turned around and took her mouth with his, placing his hand behind her neck and kissing her with great intensity. Kiku was stunned at first, but quickly wilted. She leaned towards him and dropped onto his body. His mouth was somehow even hotter than his skin, and his desperate, impious breathing was causing a strange pressure to build inside her. She could feel her excitement rising, and she licked his lips as she kissed him, silently asking for permission that he was only too happy to give. He returned the favour, briefly licking at her as she opened her mouth and moaned loudly. They stayed locked in a heated kiss, with their tongues grappling like eager snakes, until Kai found himself running out of air and reluctantly broke contact.

"I'm sorry…" He panted heavily. "…I couldn't hold back anymore…"

"It's okay," She breathed as a smile came upon her face. "I was enjoying it."

"So was I," He rumbled. "your hands were pushing buttons I didn't know were there."

"I wasn't even finished either; I had some other tricks up my sleeve you know." She smiled...

"So, how are you feeling today?" Nya asked, handing a hot drink to Pixal as she sat in the living room.

"Tired and a little light-headed..." Pixal replied. "I imagine that is why you are skipping training today, yes? To keep an eye on me?"

"I know you're a droid, but from what Cole said, you took one hell of a rebound wallop from that punching bag, I wanted to make sure you're alright," Nya mentioned. "...I also wanted to be available in case I need to run interference between you and Lloyd."

"It must seem like I am avoiding him…" Pixal sheepishly noted.

"I don't think you're avoiding him, but if Zane finds out you were unattended the next time Lloyd came near you, he'd probably bite Lloyd's head off again." Nya joked, giggling a little.

"Again?"

"That's right, you didn't see what happened yesterday, did you?" Nya realized. "Zane was absolutely fuming that Lloyd had gone off on you because of Kiku; while you were resting, Zane confronted him and got so angry that we thought he was gonna implode – Lloyd looked like a deer in the headlights!"

"Goodness... If that is true, then I doubt he would come near me." Pixal theorized.

"Oh, he will, eventually," Nya smirked knowingly. "Lloyd swore blind that he would apologize to you, but given how angry Zane got, he's probably working up the courage to do it."

"What trouble I have brought to the temple..."

"Speaking of trouble, I had fun playing dress up with Kiku yesterday, it was just like when you first came here!" Nya chirped. "And you should've seen how embarrassed she got when Kai saw her in that little red dress, it was just precious! I think the excitement of it kept her awake, because when she eventually went back to their room, I heard-"

"Their room?" Pixal interrupted, her interest piqued.

"That's what Kai said when he came to see how we were getting on; 'I'll be in our room if you need me, Flower' were his exact words," Nya grinned. "now I know there's something going on between them, no matter how much he denies it."

"Hmm..."

Pixal suddenly looked troubled, as if she were trying to sift through some intrusive thoughts.

"What's up?" Nya wondered.

"How did Kiku seem this morning?" Pixal questioned.

"Her usual, bouncy, clinging-to-Kai self," Nya responded. "although, she was very giggly too; like, remember how I was the day after Jay asked me to be his girlfriend?"

Nya froze as she realised the implications of what she'd just said. Pixal quickly caught on, and the two of them exchanged a curious glance.

"Surely not..."

"Nah, can't be," Nya swiftly dismissed. "that would be insane, I mean, she only got here on Monday – and it isn't even the weekend yet!"

"I will corner Kiku when she returns," Pixal declared. "it is probably nothing."

"Yeah, definitely," Nya paused, then opted to change the subject. "so, what do you make of the whole pin-up thing?"

"I am not sure; Zane may participate if he wishes, but I am uncertain about myself."

"Aww c'mon, you'd be great at it!" Nya said encouragingly. "You may be a droid, but you've got a perfect body and the most gorgeous eyes!"

"Oh, um, thank you," Pixal blushed; she had never heard anyone besides Zane praise her looks that way. "but I thought it was only for elemental masters."

"That may be the case for the men's version, but apart from me, there are only 3 other female elemental masters, so I think the rules will be different for the women's one," Nya elaborated. "and besides, I only found out about my elemental powers semi recently so who knows? You might have a hidden power…"

"An interesting thought, but incredibly unlikely," Pixal shook her head. "I am a droid, and have no biological, social or historical connection to any previous elemental masters."

"Ever think maybe your dad is secretly an elemental master? And that's why you don't have powers?" Nya mused. "Because he hasn't passed them onto you yet?"

Pixal couldn't help but giggle.

"I am aware that Zane has his powers as the result of an encounter with the previous Master of Ice, and that being a droid is not an obstacle to having elemental powers, but my father does not possess any such abilities," She smiled. "he is a good man, and he is a good father, but if he had any elemental skills, I would have figured that out by now."

"It's obvious that I can't convince you, but I do think there are elemental masters out there that we haven't discovered yet – 'elemental' as we know it is not as simple as the natural elements that exist around us." Nya posited, channelling the wise energy of Sensei Wu.

"I do believe it is too early to be this philosophical." Pixal joked as she rubbed her forehead.

The two promptly burst into a fit of giggles, merrily chuckling at how far Pixal's sense of humour had come since she'd been living in the temple. Their exuberant sounds were interrupted by the sound of a door opening and closing. Both ladies looked in the direction that the sound came from, and soon saw Lloyd entering the room.

"Oh, Pixal, I'm glad I caught you before everyone else gets back," Lloyd stammered, somewhat bashfully. "and I'm glad you're not alone this time."

Nya nudged Pixal gently and raised her eyebrows knowingly, to which Pixal nodded.

"Hello Lloyd," Pixal stated blankly. "you are looking much less frustrated today."

"Uh, thanks," Lloyd replied. "yeah, I've uh, had some time to cool off and think about my behaviour yesterday."

Nya leaned over to whisper in Pixal's ear.

"Not to mention getting torn a new one by Zane." She muttered.

"Lloyd," Pixal interjected. "I am sorry for snapping at you the way I did; it was unseemly to take out my frustrations with Kiku on you."

"I also took my Kiku-related frustration out on you, when it wasn't fair – or my place – to do that, so I've come to give you a proper apology," Lloyd declared as he got down on his knees and bowed to her. "I'm sorry for how I acted, I'm sorry if it felt like I was blaming you for Kiku's behaviour, and I'm sorry that I caused so much distress that you lashed out in response; I know it takes a lot to push someone with your calm demeanour into reacting that way, and I'm sorry that I pushed you too far."

Pixal looked at Lloyd, as he was doubled over into a dogeza bow, and felt a brief resurgence of the anger she felt during that confrontation. There was an uncomfortable silence as she continued to stare at him; the rage inside her was building like pressure in a boiling kettle. But as the events of yesterday continued to unfold in her mind, and the memory of Cole diffusing the situation and talking her through her emotions also returned, the pressure quickly dispersed.

"I suppose you have only come at the request of my husband," Pixal eventually said in a mildly dismissive tone. "no doubt he put the fear of gods into you when he found out what happened."

"I can't lie and say that wasn't a motivating factor – I've never seen that kind of rage aimed in my direction and it was damn scary," Lloyd admitted. "but I realised I'd messed up the second you started yelling, and I knew I'd owe you a serious apology."

"So, you would have apologised even if Zane had not gotten involved?" Pixal baited.

"Yes, of course!" He responded with certainty. "Cole told me off, Kai told me off – Zane practically ripped my throat out – but it was your initial reaction that tipped me off to how unreasonable I was being."

"Have you addressed your problem?" Pixal asked.

Lloyd gave a cursory glance at Nya, wondering how much she knew – if she knew anything at all.

"No, I haven't." Lloyd sighed defeatedly.

"Then I do not accept your apology, and I will not accept it until you accept your culpability in this situation," Pixal turned her head away from him. "if you cannot address the personal problems that led to our… disagreement… then it is liable to happen again, if not with me but with others who have a connection to it."

Nya's jaw dropped. She had never heard Pixal speak like this, ever. Lloyd was equally shocked, as he sat up from his position of deference and stared at her in disbelief.

"I am warning you now, Lloyd, I do not intend on being trapped in a psychological loop with you, Kiku and Kai, so you must fix the disharmony that your own emotional ineptitude has created," Pixal insisted. "that being said, I will return to treating you as I normally would and will act as if I have forgiven you so as not to prolong any disruption to the team – how you behave until you have the metaphorical guts to confront your own issues is no concern of mine, but I refuse to be drawn into your drama anymore."

Lloyd was stunned into silence. This was not what he expected at all. Pixal was such a pleasant and amicable individual, he expected that if he apologised sincerely enough, she would wave her hand forgivingly and happily accept if it meant the looming disagreement would swiftly go away. Either the concussion was still affecting her, and he should try again when she was less disoriented, or she was deadly serious and no number of repeated displays of remorse would make any difference if he didn't fix the underlying issue.

"I understand," He mumbled. "in that case, I'm sorry that my confrontational attitude ultimately resulted in you getting a concussion."

"Now that apology I will accept." Pixal smiled at him.

Lloyd stood up and left the living room in a daze, going up the stairs to meditate in his bedroom so he could figure out what the hell just happened.

"Pixal, you're an absolute savage!" Nya squeaked in admiration. "I didn't expect that from you!'

"Neither did he; I suspect he thinks that I am such a pushover that I would accept whatever he said at face value, but I am no longer willing to perform emotional labour for anyone but my husband." Pixal factually mentioned.

"I've got it!" Nya suddenly said, clicking her fingers.

"Got what?" Pixal asked.

"Your powers, I know what they are!" Nya giggled. "You're the elemental master of surprise!"

After a few moments of silent contemplation, they both fell about laughing once again. Nya took a sip of her own drink and recoiled slightly.

"Ugh, I forgot to put honey in this," She lamented. "I'll be back in a sec."

Nya stood up and headed back into the kitchen, only to be met with a sight she didn't expect…