Work Text:
Cole didn't know what woke him, maybe it was a small noise and his mind and body, that had been sharpened and hardened from years of training, reacted automatically too by forcing him awake. Maybe it was the fact that his pillow was on the floor and his head felt as though it was stuffed full of cotton. Or maybe it was because Kai was not in the bunk next to his, being a human space heater as he normally was.
Kai’s bunk was on the very end of one side of the room. The ninja had LONG discussions on where Kai would sleep every time they got a new place, as well as Zane but less so as Kai’s heat usually overpowered their chill by a long shot. And Zane didn't radiate cold the same way Kai radiated heat.
Zane did not like the heat. They try to play it off. And do quite well the majority of the time, like when they are in public, or on a mission they keep most reactions to the heat barely noticeable. But alone with their siblings. Zane has told them how much they hate the heat. It made sense logically, their element is ice, cold, chill, frozen and so on an’ so forth. Of course the cold wouldn't like the heat. So Zane’s bunk was the furthest from Kai’s bunk on the opposite side of the room.
Lloyd didn't mind the heat Kai radiated when he was awake. They had even called it comforting on many occasions. However when Lloyd was too warm they couldn't sleep. And when Kai slept he put out more heat then he normally did when in wake full hours. Because of this Lloyd's bunk was across from Kai’s, close enough to be warm but not too close to not be able to sleep.
Nya was in a similar boat with Zane, but a bit different, she never liked the heat much. Probably had something to do with her element as well but either way Nya disliked Kai’s never ending supply of heat so she was on the opposite side of Kai in the middle between Zane and Lloyd.
Jay didn't particularly like or dislike Kai’s heat so he was on the same side as Kai but on the end. Xe never had a place she would prefer to have Xer bunk so it was always up to the other ninja to choose where his bunk was.
Cole understood their reasoning as to why they did not like Kai’s heat, but Cole had to say he LOVED the heat. He was always so cold, probably had something to do with his element but he didn't care too much to find and/or research it. So Cole was always placed right next to Kai any time they were sleeping anywhere close together.
But Kai is on nightwatch tonight, Zane and Pixal do it most nights, but every so often one of them needs to reboot and/or let their sistems cool down by “sleeping”, pretty sure the Nindroid/Samurai equivalent of sleep is charging. But when one of them was not on watch the other ninja would take their spots watching over the others past dark.
Tonight is Kai’s and Zane’s night.
It was hard for Cole to fall asleep but he managed to before Kai left the cabin last night(?) Did it count as last night if the day wasn't completely over yet? From how he felt it was likely about 4 maybe 5 hours before daybreak. So it was close to the next day. Oh who cares, Cole thinks sluggishly trying to get into a more comfortable position to fall back asleep. He knows he isn't getting back to sleep any time soon, no matter how many times he changs position or willed himself to pass out. He could not fall back into the sweet embrace of slumber without a comforting steady flow of heat.
So he found himself sitting up and quietly making his way out of the ninja’s cabin. Being a ninja helped a lot with not waking the other ninja from their own slumber as he went out.
He almost stumbles trying to get to the deck because of how dark the hallway is in the blanket of night.
Eventually he makes his way up the stairs looking out onto the main deck. It was blissfully quiet with only the sounds of the wind in the sail’s and the engine working away into the night filling his ears. Cole found himself breathing in deeply, taking in the chill of the night, a small shiver of goosebumps spreading across his arms and down his spine.
He walks further onto the deck and closes his eyes.
He takes another deep breath in and slowly lets it out. He focuses on his element, calling out to the earth. He can barely feel the ground underneath the ship. They are further up than he expected. It makes him feel detached from a piece of himself being this far up away from the Earth but he has had years to get used to this feeling so he quickly shrugs it off and opens his eyes.
“Hey”
Cole turns slowly at the sound of such a soft voice. He looks up at the quarter deck where Kai is sitting on the railing looking down at him with a soft expression. He’s almost glowing in the dim moonlight. He has his gi on but not his hood thankfully. His hair looks much softer than normal, not gelled up like he normally has it and it frames his face perfectly. His amber eyes are most definitely glowing, a soft orange that illuminates the small smile on his face as he looks into Cole's eyes.
Kai looks beautiful
Cole feels his face warm.
“Cole?” Kai asks still in the same soft almost whisper voice but now with a bit of concern swirling in it as he tilts his head a bit.
Cole quickly shakes his head trying to rid himself of the mental image of Kai’s beauty that he knows won't leave him likely for the rest of his life.
“Sorry, got a bit, distracted” He keeps his voice at a similar level to Kai’s trying not to ruin soft atmosphere surrounding them. He climbs the stairs to the quarter deck to be closer to kai. He's warm, radiating heat as he normally does but somehow it makes Cole feel so much more soft, and comfortable like he could lay down and fall asleep right then and there.
“You're red” Kai says in a questioning tone but it's clear he is amused by it.
Cole instantly buries his face in his hands which only makes Kai chuckle quietly. Cole quickly looks up when he hears Kai's laugh. He is rewarded by the sight of Kai leaning back smiling wide as he chuckles.
Cole barely remembers to breathe
After a moment Kai’s chuckles drift off and he smiles at Cole softly before he looks up to the sky. Cole would look to the sky if he isn't stuck looking at the most beautiful boy he has ever seen.
It takes a long moment of comfortable silence for Cole to get his mind back on track to coherent thought enough for him to look away from Kai. He looks to the sky where Kai is staring. The stars are bright, brighter than normal.
Cole steps close to Kai and almost melts into the warmth he is giving off, he catches himself just in time before he could wrap his arms around kai. He is about to step back but Kai looking down at him, and he is froze him in place.
“Zane is charging and powered down, I'm bored and don't really wanna be alone, do you mind staying up with me tonight?”
Cole shakes his head automatically, Kai smiles again and Cole truly loses his breath.
How Kai managed to keep light conversion for most of the night with Cole barely able to comprehend words is a miracle. But they managed.