Chapter Text
Kai felt as if his body were about to erupt into an angry ball of fire.
He threw open the door as he let out a fury filled scream, throwing a fireball into the stone wall behind his desk which left a nasty burn mark on the cream colored brick. The impact of the blast threw his various trinkets and books he had decorated the table with to the floor, causing one to almost hit him in the face. He collapsed onto the wooden beam that sat in the center of his room as he felt the venomous flame of red hot anger coursing through his veins. He felt as if he were burning alive, the flames of his fury engulfing his body, charring his flesh until there was nothing left. Angry tears let loose upon his cheeks, and he couldn't help but pull at his own hair.
He had always been the jealous type, but he was self aware enough by this point to know that his jealousy was only a projection of his own insecurity. If he wanted this relationship to work, he had to keep his feelings at bay. Which meant that no matter how much he hated seeing Cole being friendly with Jay, who oh-so-clearly had a thing for him, he had to keep his feelings to himself.
He was breathing heavily, trying to get a grip on his own psyche, but he felt more helpless than a chained animal, helpless to the cruelty inflicted by his master. He felt tears coming, but he swallowed those back down quickly. He couldn't throw tantrums like a child just because his boyfriend has friends. What kind of a partner would that make him?
But he just couldn't stop thinking about the look in Jay's eyes as he talked to Cole on the training floor, climbing up his thick thighs, and oh so carefully grazing along his rock hard chest. He was looking at Cole as if he were the more beautiful than any ruby, or glittering diamond, and the sight made Kai sick to his stomach. What hurt worse, was that Cole either didn't see it, or was actually enjoying it. Either way, he didn't even bother to glance at Kai's direction, even though they were supposed to be training together! He'd spent practically that entire training session talking with Jay about some dumb cartoon they both happened to enjoy, but Kai knew next to nothing about it. He tried desperately to get their attention, but most he'd get was a distracted glance at best.
His knees hit the ground as his anger burned in his chest. Another cry of both pain and rage escaped from his mouth. He mentally kicked himself in the throat, wanting nothing more than to shut up and take it like a good boyfriend should, but he just couldn't. Today's incident lay fresh in his mind, and years worth of trauma and abandonment were suddenly catching up to him, all starting with his parents who suddenly vanished once he turned six. They had just left, out of the blue, no explanation as to why, and with a baby to feed no less. What had he done? Was there something wrong? Was there something wrong with him?
If even his own parents won't stay, then why should Cole? Why would Cole of all people want to spend his time with somebody the likes of him? Kai tried to breathe, but he found himself gasping for air. His hands left the beam he was sinking his fingernails into, and began travelling to his hair as he curled up into a ball, a guttural cry crawling its way out of his mouth and into the formerly quiet space. The tatami mat underneath him was beginning to catch fire and the wooden beam he'd been clutching onto had burn marks where his hands had been.
Jay was such a better partner for Cole. No wonder he had begun to get so close with him lately. No wonder he was always grabbing Cole's attention when it should have been Kai. Now that he thought about it, Zane hadn't really been talking to him much either. He spent so much time with Cole and Jay, hell, even his own sister, but the time he spent with Kai seemed to be dwindling. First Master, were they all starting their own little group without him? Had they finally grown tired of him just as his parents did all those years ago? Just as his village friends had when he found himself spending all his time taking care of Nya? He knew they would see through his "Confident, Cool Guy" persona eventually. They'd finally seen him for what he truly was; An insecure, broken man with little grasp on his own identity.
The tears wouldn't stop coming. He tried to take a deep breath to keep them at bay, but he was choking on his own broken sobs. The flames had risen past the belt of his gi, with the smell of burnt foam and wood assaulting his nose. He knew he had to move, to go tell somebody that he was burning the monastery down because he couldn't keep his own emotions in check, but he just couldn't move no matter how hard he tried.
The door behind him suddenly burst open, hitting the door with a thud so loud it reminded Kai of the thunderstorms he'd hide from as a kid. He jumped, looking behind him only to see Cole rushing into the room, bolting through the flames to scoop Kai up into his arms. Zane quickly scooted past them, and doused the burning floor with his ice powers. Cole held Kai with such a protective grasp, almost as if he were a father shielding his child from a stove fire. He could hear Cole's racing heart through the black fabric of his gi, it was oddly comforting. The next few seconds went by in a flash, with Zane putting out the rest of the flames, and Cole loosening his grip on Kai.
"Is he okay?" Zane asked, peering over Cole's large forearm to try and get a good look at him. Cole simply rolled his eyes, and sat down on Kai's bed.
"He's flame resistant Zane, he's physically fine. What worries me is what caused the fire in the first place."
Kai's breathing began to stabilize, but each breath still came out shaky and uneven. He felt oddly cold now that the fire had been put out. He buried his face deeper into Cole's chest for comfort.
Loud, fast paced footsteps thundered down the hallway, becoming louder and louder as they approached his room. "Wow! Thanks a lot Kai! You know, a burnt monastery is exactly what was on everyone's wish list this year-"
"Jay!" Cole quickly cut the lightning master off, giving him a look that could kill ten men. "Not what he needs right now, get out."
"But I was just-"
"Get! Out!"
Jay looked at Zane, who only shook his head in response. Jay confusedly looked over at Kai, only for the sudden realization of what just happened to hit him like a speeding train. He immediately showed a look of immense guilt, and began to apologize.
"Oh...shit. Look I didn't know-"
Zane put a hand to his shoulder. "I think its best if we leave them be for now."
Cole watched as Zane ushered Jay out of the room, closing the door behind the two of them. Now that they were completely alone, Cole lay Kai down on the bed, allowing him some room to catch his breath. Kai hated being so...weak, and cold. First master was he cold. He felt as if his fire had been sucked out of him somehow. He was shivering, subconsciously inching closer to Cole for comfort.
"Hey, hey its okay," Cole reassured as he grabbed a blanket, pulling it over the both of them as they laid down together. He wrapped Kai up into an embrace, keeping him buried in his chest so he could stabilize back to his regular body temperature. Cole, having been through these outbursts enough times, knew that a sudden explosion of elemental power like this would cause side effects like these, and in Kai's case, could lead to life threatening conditions like hypothermia. He sunk his fingers into his spiky hair, and began softly massaging his scalp, something he knew Kai loved.
"That's it, just relax. You can tell me all about it in the morning."