Chapter Text
"It suits you."
Kai brought his head up at the quiet voice, meeting Pixals bright green eyes in the dark room. They sat on opposite sides of the couch, with the rest of the team scattered between and around them, soundly asleep.
Probably the best sleep they had in weeks.
He hummed, continuing to softly brush Lloyd's hair out of his face, mindful of his new...hand decorations. The kid and Nya were practically using Kai as a big pillow at the moment, Nya occupying his side, and Lloyd practically sprawled over him. He's not complaining. "You think so?" He raised his other, also still gloved hand to run it through his own, black hair.
Pixal nodded, sitting still as to not jostle Cole's or Zane's heads from both her shoulder's. She did turn Jay's head on her lap away as he started drooling on her pants, causing him to kick Kai in the thigh."It makes you look a lot like Nya."
Kai smiled. That was a good thing. "Thanks."
It was certainly a surprise for the others. As they finally (and reculantly) detached themselves from him, allowing everyone to collect themselves and catch a breath. The calm moment was broken when Jay suddenly yelled, 'What happened to your hair?!'
There was chaos after that, and a lot of questions and answers from both parties.
Turns out the the guys found out that the artifact is a prison meant to hold elemental masters. That explains a bunch of things, mainly the fact that he didn't get blasted out of existence by the artifact's activation, back at the museum. He decided to keep that to himself. For now, at least.
And, they figured out that destroying it might be the way out. Kai's very glad they did. Otherwise, he would have been a goner.
...They also thought that he was just trapped in the prison. Like, being barely conscious and just stuck for all this time. He didn't correct them. Hell, he himself told Wu as much earlier.
He didn't feel any remorse as he started his side of the story.
'It honestly all blurs together. One moment I fought some guys trying to steal the artifact, and the next, I'm just...stuck. In a very dark place.'
He told them some of the things that happened. In a slightly more... gentle manner.
'And it's honestly all I can remember. Sometimes it felt longer, sometimes not. It's kinda like... a very confusing dream.'
....more like a nightmare, if you please. But he's not going to go around telling them that.
Not yet, at least.
"Why did you lie?"
Pixals voice broke him out of his trance once again.
Ah. He scratched his neck, trying to decide what to answer. He should have known Pixal would catch his little deception. "It's... better left unsaid. Trust me on that." He sighed, shifting Nya a bit to be able to face Pixal better. "I don't want anyone to know. And really, I don't think anyone would want to know."
He met her searching gaze head on. He knows she won't pry. She knows he won't budge.
She nods, eyes softening. "If you say so." She turned towards the windows. Kai followed her movement.
It's going to be morning soon. The purple and pink sky is already starting to grate on his eyes.
"Just so you know, we'll be here if you need us."
Kai slumps back, resting his head on the couch again. He knows.
He knows.
"I know. Thank you."
His chest burned
As the morning approached (and with it Kai's need to hide away from the light, spare his poor, poor eyes) Kai tried to swiftly move away from the impromptu cuddle pile, detaching the barnacles he calls his siblings from his body. He failed spectacularly, as both of them plus everyone else got jostled into the world of the living.
As everyone around him started to wake up, grumbling unhappily about getting interrupted, Kai squinted his eyes at the harsh morning sunlight streaming in through the window.
He startled as Jay yelped as he got rolled off of Pixals lap, falling on the floor in a heap. Cole snorted at him, rubbing his eyes lazily. "That's what you get for drooling all over us."
Jay grumbled angrily from the floor.
Kai inhaled. He should not be so high strung still. Everything is fine now.
Everything is fine.
Standing up on unsteady legs, Kai stretched, more for show than an actual need for it. It did feel nice however, when his back cracked in multiple places.
Man, he feels old.
Kai cleared his throat, gathering everyone's attention to himself. Not that he needed to try very hard. His every move was very carefully monitored from all sides since they got back. Buncha mother hen's.
He clapped his hands, trying to portray some of his usual energy. It was, mostly working. "Alright, first things first, I need to get away from the sunlight because if have to look at it any longer I will go blind."
He leaves out the fact he can see much better in the dark. Ironic, isn't it.
A master of fire who prefers darkness.
Nya sat up so fast Kai himself got whiplash, throwing Lloyd off balance and into a pile of cushions. "Okay! We'll need to get the windows covered asap, and-"
Jay cut her off, waving his arm, "-Oh! We can get you some sick sunglasses, so you won't stay huddled inside all the time!"
Zane nodded, already climbing off the couch, Cole right behind him."We will take care of the windows in the living room and the kitchen." Pixal was already starting on the blinds.
Lloyd crawled out of his cushion prison. "Kai and I can do windows in his room!" He exclaimed loudly, ignoring Nya quietly claiming he's hogging Kai already.
Kai couldn't stop the smile stretching out on his face.
With all the windows covered nicely and securely, Kai felt a little bit more at ease. The inside of the monastery was dark, but not enough to be a complete tripping hazard for all the people with normal-person level of eyesight.
He still put on the glasses Jay and Nya made fro him. It was mostly his old sunglasses but with some sort of material put on them as extra protection. He definitely didn't get misty eyed at the thoughtfulness of that.
Not at all.
Kai's attention got yanked back to the present as a pair of small hands shot forward across the kitchen table, capturing his own, peeling off the glove suddenly.
Kai made a noise of protest, moving to stop Lloyd, but the boy ignored him completely, tugging the black glove down and away, exposing Kai's new... manicure.
They looked even sharper than before.
Lloyd hummed. "I knew it felt different when you ruffled my hair earlier." He gently turned Kai's bigger hand around, inspecting the sharp addictions to his fingers.
Even Lloyd's own sharp nails looked small and dull compared to the absolute nightmare that were Kai's hands.
The red ninja stayed silent. He didn't think he ever felt as vulnerable as he did in the moment, seated on the kitchen chairs with Lloyd opposite of him, still gently holding his hand, looking it over.
Kai swallowed thickly, afraid to disturb the delicate silence between them.
Spirits, what happened to the confident and flamboyant master of fire?
(...he knows what.)
Lloyd huffed, cracking a grin. "Well that's not fair, your's are so much cooler than mine!" He played around with Kai's hand, unashamedly comparing the size of the claws to his own, before intertwining their fingers to just hold on to him. "You're like a dragon now too!"
Seeing Lloyd be so at ease to just casually play around with his hands made something very raw explode in his heart. Leave it to the kid to wreck Kai's walls immediately after he finished putting them up.
Damn brat.
-'and hey! Your hands are so much cooler than any of ours!' Kai grasped the tiny hand adored with even smaller claws. The kid smiled hesitantly, big red eyes glassy as Kai put their hands together,
"You're like a real dragon!"
Kai smiled fondly, tightening the hand still around Lloyd's own. "Thanks, kid."
The smile he got it return blinded him more than the sun ever could.
Kai worked at the kitchen stove, trying to keep the soup from burning.
He heard someone approach from behind.
He didn't flinch this time. But it'll take a long time for his heart to stop picking up speed from the sound.
Nya wacked him on the head unapologetically. Kai cursed, ungloved hand flying up to rub at the sore spot. "What was that for?!" He pouted, turning around to face her.
His sister leveled him with a glare. "You haven't been sleeping."
Yeah. He knows.
He sighed, turning off the stove. The soup was done anyway.
Nya did not move from her spot, stubbornly trying to light him on fire with her eyes alone. If she was a master of fire, she probably could do so with no problem.
Kai wanted nothing more than to avoid her eyes, but he knew that would only confirm whatever concerns Nya had with him. So he met her expecting gaze, and held it.
Seconds ticked off. Neither of the siblings moved from the staring contest.
Finally, Nya blinked. Kai grinned. "I win."
Groaning, she walked over to the table, grabbing one of the chairs. For a second Kai thought she might fling it at his head. She did that once.
Instead, she turned it around so she could sit on it with the back of the chair facing her. "I'm serious, idiot. Pixal told me you haven't slept at all yesterday with the rest of us."
Kai's eye twitched. He could already picture Pixals innocent face smiling at him.
...Traitor.
Kai joined her at the table. If he continues to have all the emotional talks here, he's going to riot. "I know. But I promise it's not a big deal. It's just...-"
-hard to close his eyes and let the darkness claim him again, to see his family's hateful faces, to see them staring at him with their dead eyes-
"-... it's hard to fall asleep, after, you know, everything."
Nya hummed noncommittally. She knew it wasn't the whole truth. But she probably knew it was all he's going to admin to her. For now anyway. "Alright. But tonight, we're all doing a cuddle pile again, and we won't fall asleep unless you do." She paused to point at him threateningly. "We'll be watching you."
Well, that's unfair. He can't deprive them of sleep they so desperately need.
Kai narrowed his eyes. "I hate that."
Nya smiled. "Too bad."
He snorted. Kai really wanted to keep this conversation lighthearted, but. He needs someone to know the danger if him falling asleep and, waking up near people.
...Not only because he's afraid he's going to wake up screaming and possibly lash out at the nearest person (yay, trauma).
... He's also afraid that all off this is just a delusion.
And it's stupid. Because, duh, of course he knows this is the real world. He knows he isn't trapped anymore. He's safe and free and surrounded by his family.
That doesn't change the utter fear in his heart at the thought of waking up in that cursed place again.
Nya must have noticed his lack of, well, anything. Her face sombered, "Hey, if you really don't want us to do that, that's ok, we just-"
"-No, it's. It's fine," Kai waved his hand around, interrupting her. Because as much as he didn't trust himself not to attack them out of sheer paranoia in his half conscious state, he can't bear the thought of falling asleep alone.
In the dark.
He crossed his arms over his chest, avoiding her curious eyes. "It's just. I-" He cut himself off, hesitating.
Nya didn't rush him, just waited patiently for him to find the words. He was grateful.
"...I'm just -I'm scared of falling asleep, and waking up back there," He rushed out, not stopping for a breath, "-and I know it's dumb, because logically I know that won't happen, but it's still-"
He sighed, putting his head in his hands. He felt the claws against his forehead. They didn't bother him as much anymore.
Kai heard Nya get up and around the table, sitting down on the chair next to his own. He felt her slump against his side, gently hitting him in the shoulder with her forehead. "Yeah. But it'll still scary. I get it."
And Kai knew she did. She told him many times after a particularly bad nightmare about turning into the sea again, and what if she's going to forget everyone again the next time she wakes up.
She gets it. Kai wished she didn't have to.
Kai sniffed. "If I wake up disoriented and violent feel free to beat the shit out of me. I won't take it personally."
Nya laughed."Tempting, but no. We'll hug you instead."
He fake gagged. "Bleh, affection."
"We know you love it you big softie."
"Blasphemy. Lies."
"Whatever you say, softie."
Overall, this was not that bad.
The couches were pushed aside, making room for everyone to comfortably sprawl out on the floor in the living room, softened with multiple blankets and pillows. Kai got a nice spot right in the center.
It would only get better if Kai didn't have several pairs of eyes watching him like a pack of hawks. He could feel their eyes on him, even with his own eyes closed.
But he agreed to this. So he's gotta live with it. "You guys don't have to stare at me for the whole time, you know that right?" He murmured, eyes still closed. The exhaustion weighted heavily over him.
He felt Cole shrug against his legs. "Yeah no, we do. Gotta make sure you actually go to sleep." Kai grumbled halfheartedly to that.
Something pushed against his left arm, as Jay's voice suddenly sounded much closer. "Just pretend we aren't around."
Kai snorts. "With you here? That's impossible." He ignored Jay's offended gasp and his attempt to smack him.
Zane ceased Jay's attempted murder. "We will stop if it bothers you."
He addressed the others. "Everyone, please stop staring at Kai."
Kai smiled. He knew he could count on Zane.
"I'll keep doing it for you all." His voice turned too sweet to be anything but teasing.
Kai frowned. Nevermind.
But it was a bit more bearable without the stares boring into his skull. Kai drifted off to the sound of wishpered conversations, and someone's running their hand through his hair.
Yeah, not bad at all.