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Jay woke up to the sun shining onto his face softly through the gaps the thin, orange curtain fabric created. His eyes flinched a bit as he turned to the side, followed by the instinct to block the light that was still persistent by holding his arms into the air. Usually he would try to drift off into whatever videogame dream he was having again despite knowing that he can't but would then just end up being too lazy to get up and adjust the curtains which brought about even more annoyance... But this morning felt different in a way. Peaceful. No one, not even a particular spiky-haired guy in red clothing, barging into his room at ungodly hours just because he needed him as a portable battery to charge a mech out of fear of causing yet another blackout in the city, no one frantically informing him about yet another menace that was about to destroy the city once again, no one surprising him with another random training..
Jay's eyes sprung open upon the realization that today was the first day off they've had in months. With all these ideas about how they could spend this day without a care in the world, the master of lighting was incapable of sitting - or laying - still any longer. The excitement that rushed through his body as he practically jumped out of bed and raced through the corridors of the dojo all the way to the dining room could easily be compared to that of a child at Christmas.
"CAMPING TRIP, WHO'S IN?!"
Truth is, he's been waiting for such an opportunity for quite a while now, as did the rest of his ninja family. However, the usually earliest bird in the team who ironically got up last today was met by 6.. well, 4 pairs of tired, almost half-closed eyes since neither Zane nor Pixal actually needed sleep. Cole was stirring his cereal around mindlessly while listening to some imaginary tune and drumming his fork against the wood in the beat, Kai was trying not to burn Lloyd's toast again; Lloyd, who had already given up hope after the third burnt toast, was burying his head in his crossed arms on the table while Nya was practicing forming some water creatures which she definitely didn't do just in case the fire got out of control. Meanwhile, Zane and Pixal were chatting about how they could best restore his beloved robotic falcon and didn't even notice the chaos ensuing behind them.
"..What kind of bed bug bit you?"
Cole replied with a half-yawn and an amused grin, unable to fathom how someone could be that awake at 10am. The master of earth looked over to the almost bouncing Jay and was about to respond to the pleasant suggestion, though his gaze stopped halfway at Kai.
"Wait.. you're still trying to toast that bread?"
"Just- one more try, I know I can do it. It's just a piece of bread, how difficult can it be?"
Lloyd, rolling his eyes, replied in a muffled voice.
"We need to get a new toaster. Fast."
Jay snorted and couldn't hold back a small chuckle before making his way over to the fridge to grab his favorite joghurt. Everyone seemed way more relaxed than usual, a pleasant but unfortunately rare sight lately.
With his breakfast in hand, the blue ninja took a seat opposite to Cole who appeared to be just as thrilled about a family trip as he was.
"A camping trip sounds pretty good! We haven't had time to do stuff together that doesn't involve fighting the bad guys in a while. Not that I don't enjoy that.. it just doesn't leave a lot of room for conversation."
"Agreed."
Lloyd finally raised his head again and wasn't surprised to see another burnt and soaked toast in a raging Kai's hand that Nya had to extinguish. After quietly smiling to himself while he enjoyed a little 'I told you so' moment, the green ninja redirected his attention to Jay's suggestion.
"I mean, when was the last time we actually did something fun together?"
"Define fun. I thought the time when we accidentally ordered the most spicy pizza from the menu and only realized when we were in the middle of a videogame tournament was pretty funny."
"I've never drunken that much milk in my entire life.."
Kai chimed in, now finally giving up to accidentally set the kitchen on fire, much to Nya's relief.
Zane turned around with a proud smile, knowing fully well that he had beaten everyone's high scores while they were all fighting over the milk carton.
"It was quite enjoyable to watch."
"Too bad that milk is a liquid I can bend."
The fond memories of secretly directing half of the milk out of the carton and into her mouth entered Nya's mind again.
"Wait- you actually-"
At this point, everyone was laughing and waging in pleasant, shared memories, egging each other on in good spirit and discussing where the best places for camping were and what they should bring along. However, Zane couldn't help but to notice Pixal quietly leaving the room from the corner of his eyes. The ice ninja wasted no time and excused himself from the table to follow her, worry fuelling him. By the time he reached her, Pixal was already walking down the corridor.
"Pixal? Is everything alright?"
She slowed down, hesitant to face her love interest.
"Yes. I just.. forgot about something I have to do."
Pixal knew that Zane could spot her lie in seconds. When she finally turned around, the nindroid reached for her hands and gently held them, his concerned gaze solely focused on her.
"Please.. tell me what's wrong. I just want to help."
"I know.."
Pixal sighed. It was a ridiculous reason in her eyes, an embarrassing one she initially intended to keep to herself.
"..When I hear you talk about all of these great stories you have experienced together, I can feel a very strong bond between all of you. A deep connection that defines a family. However.. I don't think I am a part of that family. I feel.. out of place."
Zane's expression gradually became more pained as he listened to the other talk, his grip on her hands subconsciously tightening by the second. How did he never notice that she was feeling left out all this time? The nindroid was filled with guilt as he answered with a heavy heart, one hand brushing Pixal's cheek lightly.
"I'm sorry, I.. wasn't aware that you're feeling this way. I should have realized sooner."
Pixal hesitantly replied while avoiding eye contact occasionally.
"It's not your fault, Zane. I didn't want you to feel bad about such irrational thoughts. I am aware that you and the other ninjas have a long history together and I am happy that you have found each other."
Zane instantly suggested an idea, simply because he wouldn't just let this get swept under the rug after not noticing the whole time and then watch his love interest continue to suffer in silence.
"Would you.. perhaps want to come along on our camping trip? This would be a great opportunity to connect with the others more."
"..I'm not certain if they would even want me to join you-"
Zane, already having expected such an answer, gently tugged at her hand and lead her back to the dining room to provide all the proof she needed.
"Hey everyone, Pixal would like to join us on our camping trip."
Much to her surprise, all of the ninjas reacted with enthusiasm and excitement which ended up putting a smile on her face. Zane, now sharing that same smile of content as well, didn't let go of her hand as they joined the others to discuss further details about their trip.