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Kai slid, literally slid, over to Morro at the sink and leaned on the counter beside him. The wind ninja had been cleaning up after breakfast and only gave him a sparing glance. However, both of them knew that the other three in the room were definitely watching them. Kai knew why. However, Morro did not.
“Alright, Morro,” the fire ninja began. Gaining his attention, Kai put on the best smug-but-hot-fairytale-prince-who-likes-a-girl-with-magic-long-hair smile. “I’m thinking-”
“That’s dangerous,” Morro mumbled under his breath.
Kai elected to ignore the comment. “You. Me. Dinner at Buddy’s Pizza and I’ll even win you something good at the arcade.” He topped off the offer with a flirtatious wink.
Morro looked at him for a moment before a smile creeped onto his face. However, it wasn’t exactly clear what this smile was trying to say. Instead, Morro gave a chuckle and said, “As tempting as an oversized stuffed raccoon sounds, I have plans.” He then looked back to Lloyd, Cole, and Jay, who had been listening in the whole time.
The three quickly turned away, Jay even giving out a whistle of nonchalance.
“But I’m sure one of you three would be happy to go with him.”
Lloyd looked up. “I mean, if I get free pizza and tokens, I’m down for a road trip.”
Jay perked up at that and nodded in agreement. Only for Cole to give them both a light whack on the back of the head.
“W-well, I mean,” Kai began again. He straightened his position more. His nervousness, that he was clearly attempting to hide, was seeping through the cracks. “I was kinda thinking of, like, a date?” This came out much meeker than the first attempt. It almost made Morro laugh.
It was kinda cute. He picked up a towel to wipe off his hands. “Alright,” he said.
Kai (and the snoopers) perked up at the word. “Alright?”
“We can go on a date.”
“Wait really?!” Kai’s shout of surprise was echoed by the shocked voices of the other three.
Morro didn’t pay them any mind, but Kai shot the three a hard glare. “Great!” He finally said, snapping back to Morro. “Perfect. Uh, what time should I-”
“I still have plans tonight,” Morro corrected. “I’ll agree to go on a date with you, but not tonight. How about tomorrow?” He offered instead. “I’ll grab you around eight and take you down to Stiix. They have good sushi bars there. Much better than Chen’s.”
“Stiix? Uh, yeah! That sounds cool.”
“Perfect,” Morro nodded, throwing the dish rag back up on the hanger. He then placed his hand on Kai’s cheek and said, “I’ll see you tomorrow at eight then,” before walking out of the kitchen.
Kai, however, was left standing in the kitchen. Frozen to the spot as his face exploded in a hot fluster.
He was broken out of whatever trance the wind ninja had put him in by snickering from his side. He snapped his head over to the three on-lookers.
“Dude,” Jay snickered out. “He totally out flirted you.”
Morro wasn’t sure what he was going to do. He had never actually been on a date before. He didn’t even know how most people dressed or acted on them. In fact, the main reason he suggested a sushi place in Stiix instead of that pizza shop was just to stay away from crowds. He was never big on people, especially large masses of them.
He knew Buddy’s Pizza was popular with children and Ninjago City was a bustling place 24/7. If he was going to spend time with someone he liked, he didn’t want to be there. Stiix, however, was much smaller and quieter of a town and the sushi places, where good, were also never very busy.
Someone he liked… the thought gave him pause. He obviously wouldn’t have said yes unless he actually wanted to go out with Kai. Morro was pretty blunt when it came to, well, everything. But actually thinking about it, he wasn’t even sure when he realized he did want to go on a date with Kai.
The two of them had been back and forth for what felt like ages now. When Kai first joined after the others, all he and Morro seemed to do was butt heads. However, as time went by, they got along much better. They still went at each other, but there was a much different emotion backing it up. Instead of actual anger or even hatred, it was much more affectionate. Maybe…that had turned into something deeper before Morro had even realized?
Unfortunately, he was knocked out of his thoughts by a tree branch ramming into his gut before he could give it more mind. He fell to his rear with a hard “oof!”
“Distracted?” Nya asked as she jumped down to him.
He pulled himself back up to his feet with a sigh. “Something like that,” he admitted.
She picked up the branch and turned it over in her hand. “Heard you asked my bother out?”
Morro only scoffed. “He gave an attempt.” He dusted the dirt off his back and shot her a look. “You’re not about to give me the shovel talk, are you?”
She crossed her arms and laughed. “Nah, you never gave me one for Jay, so let’s just keep it as an unspoken understanding.”
Morro was fine with that. Not that he wasn’t sure that she hadn’t already noticed how the two of them behaved around one another. Nya was emotionally aware, just like her brother, if he was honest. It was odd to think of Kai as any type of intelligent, but he seemed to have his moments.
“Is that what’s got you all distracted?”
He nodded. “Sort of… I didn’t really give this whole ‘date’ thing much thought before accepting.”
“You don’t want to go out with him?” Nya asked, almost as if she knew it was a bullshit excuse.
“No,” he clarified. “Not that. I do want to go. I just don’t really know how.”
“How what? How to go on a date?”
He gave a soft nod.
“Oh my god, you’re such a dork.”
Kai forgot he had even had ‘nice’ clothes. He could hardly remember the last time he’d dressed up for anything, really. Even the important stuff he went to was almost always ninja business. But he was able to find a nice button down and dark jeans. He also stole a tie from his dad to help the look.
He was working on his hair, trying to get each strand perfect, when there was a knock at his door. His heart jumped. It was a little before eight, but maybe Morro was the kinda guy that came earlier? He let out a breath and opened the door.
“Hey, I was just finishing up- Jay?”
Instead of the wind ninja, his younger brother in blue stood before the doorway.
“Getting ready for your date,” Jay chuckled.
Kai gave him an unimpressed frown. “What do you want?”
“I came with some friendly advice.”
“Advice?”
Jay gave a condescending chuckle. “Of course! When’s the last time you went out on a date, Kai? You’re bound to blow this! Besides, who else to help you than a married man?”
Kai gave him an annoyed look. “I’ll have you know I’ve been on plenty of dates recently!” He crossed his arms. “I’ll have you know I’m pretty popular with the ladies and guys.”
“I’m talking about dates that matter, Kai. How many of those people did you actually go on dates with cause you liked them?”
Kai opened his mouth, but Jay interrupted him. “I mean really like-liked them.”
A part of the red ninja wanted to point out that said ‘Married Man’ just used the term ‘like-like’ in the same way an elementary schooler would. Instead, he gave a sigh.
“I want this to go well,” he admitted sheepishly. “I do really like him and I think he likes me, too.”
“He has a weird way of showing stuff,” Jay said with a nod. “But, yeah, he definitely likes you.” He then came up beside kay and slung his arm over the other’s shoulder. “Look, man, just be honest with him. Be yourself and all that crap. He likes you the way you are, or else he wouldn’t have even given you the time of day when you went up to him.”
“Is this the “wise wisdom” you wanted to give me?”
Jay gave a shrug and a nod. “More or less. I just wanted to remind you that Morro isn’t another one-night-fan you’re going out with, dude.”
“I know that,” Kai hissed.
Jay pulled his arm off and held his hands up. “I’m just making sure. Dude, you have no idea how annoying it’s been watching the two of you flirt around each other. I just wanna make sure you’re not about to screw it up by doing something stupid.”
Kai wanted to bite back at that, but he knew the other was right. He also knew it came from a place of affection. He looked back over to his mirror. His hair wasn’t perfect, like he was trying so hard to get. But it was his usual style, and it looked good.
“I’m just gonna be myself,” he nodded.
Morro had come to get him soon after Jay had walked off. The other was dressed in a simple long black dress. He was pretty sure he recognized it from his sister’s wardrobe. He looked incredible. However, it made Kai feel out of place in his jeans.
“Man,” he mumbled out. “You make me feel underdressed.”
Morro’s face fell. “Oh. Is this too much?”
“Huh?” He’d meant it as a joke, but instantly threw up his hands. “No, no! I meant like- good. Good way. You, uh, you look good. Really good.”
The nerves on the wind ninja’s face lightened, and he gave a small, but easy, smile. “As do you,” he replied. He lifted his hand and with a wave of the wind his elemental dragon appeared.
The wind dragon was always one of the more menacing looking ones. The way it always looked as if it had just emerged from a furious battle. It was huge, dark, and intimidating. Somehow, it fit Morro perfectly.
“I thought we could both take my dragon,” he said, grabbing back Kai’s attention. “It’s faster after all.”
Kai wanted to playfully argue, but he really couldn’t. He suspected that the other’s element being wind probably helped a lot with flying speed, but he really was one of the fastest of the bunch. Maybe Morro had just had a much longer time training than any of the rest of them.
Once the two were on the dragon, they started their way towards Stiix. For someone who liked water just as little as Kai, it was always weird to him how Morro seemed to love Stiix. Though, he supposed Morro was always pretty weird.
Kai kept his arms around Morro’s waist. He was a lot shorter than the other, and being so close reminded him of that. It added to the intimidation. A word that Kai would always use to describe Morro. His stoic nature and being just as quick to anger as Kai himself doubled all by the power that he held. Morro always had enough bite to back up anything he barked.
Kai had even been on the other end of it enough to confirm it himself, as well. But here was something about that weird, intimidating nature that Kai really liked about him. Morro was haunting. Kai would like him to a vengeful ghost at times. But somehow, on Morro, Kai could only describe it as beautiful.
It reminded him of an old movie from when he was a kid. Where she held a knife to his throat and the only thing he could think to say was tell her she was beautiful.
Maybe it was why he made Kai so nervous. Kai was not a nervous person. His confidence was often dubbed as egotistical and he couldn’t honestly disagree. He wasn’t mean or cruel, but it was no lie he thought very highly of himself, and any anxieties he held were more situational. Morro, however, made him understand the term ‘butterflies in the stomach’ more than anything he had ever felt or known before.
He pulled himself out of his thoughts as he saw the town come into view. Once they landed, Kai followed Morro to a small sushi restaurant near the docks. They even had outside seating, which Morro easily floated to.
When they were settled with their food, they actually fell into comfortable conversation. Kai was worried they might not have anything to talk about, but it felt easy with Morro. Just as easy as hanging out with any of the others.
After a while, Morro surprised Kai by admitting, “I’ve never actually been on a date before.”
Kai looked up from his soda, surprised. “Really?”
He gave a nod.
The red ninja looked at him for a moment before asking, “I mean, was it a good first date then?”
Morro smiled at that and nodded again. “I’ve had fun so far.”
“I’m kinda surprised though.”
“Surprised?”
Kai nodded, shoving another bite into his mouth. “I mean, you’re stupid hot. A little strange, but that’s not that much of a deterrent. I mean, shit look at Jay. he’s a weirdo, and he’s somehow married.” Realizing what all he had said after it was already too late, Kai looked up at Morro to gauge his reaction.
He was pleasantly surprised to see the flush on the other’s face. Not soon after, Morro laughed. It wasn’t a small chuckle, but a full-bodied laugh. It wasn’t huge or incredibly loud, but it was for Morro. And it was amazing.
“I suppose,” he said, calming down from his laughter. “There is a point there. I’m glad that being strange doesn’t deter you, either.”
Kai leaned back in his seat, an easier smile falling to his face. “I mean, I’m a little weird too, I guess.”
“You definitely are,” Morro agreed. “But I like it.”
That made Kai feel sick. Not like actually sick. But sick was the only word he could think to describe it. “I, uh, I’ve been on a ton of dates honestly, but I, well, I didn’t want you to think you were just one of those flings.” Kai met his eyes again. He felt like he was ripping open his chest for the other. “I really like you. I was kinda hoping if this went well that we could.. keep doing it?” Smooth Kai. Very smooth.
He didn’t have time to berate himself for it as Morro reached over and took his hand. Morro’s hands were cool to the touch against the fire that Kai’s skin seemed to always be on. “I would like that.”
“Oh… cool.”
Morro chuckled at Kai's reaction. It was cute.
They fell back into their easy conversation soon after that. Their talk keeping the whole way back home and even to their doors. Kai wasn’t sure what to do. Most dates that went well ended in a bedroom, but he didn’t feel like that was right here. Instead, he pulled himself up and kissed Morro’s cheek.
“I had fun,” he said.
Morro seemed surprised by the kiss, but smiled. “Me too. I’ll see you at training tomorrow morning then? Maybe we can plan another outing soon.”
“Yeah! Definitely!” Kai nodded enthusiastically. More so than he had really intended. He moved to turn to his door, only for Morro to bring his face back by his chin. Leaning down to press their lips together in a chaste moment.
“Goodnight,” he said before disappearing down the hall like a long shadow.
Kai stood there for a moment. He wanted to curse himself. How Morro always got one up on him, he would never understand. However… he kinda liked it.