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Kai had been up for an hour pacing on the deck of the bounty,pondering on how he should go about asking the most imporant question of his life.
“Cole—I—you are—agh…” He groaned as he looked down at the yin and yang necklaces in his hand. One was black with orange accents while the other was white with red. Their colors.
Nya smirked as he watched her brother actually think for once in his life. She took a breath of fresh morning air before jumping down.
“Whatcha doing bro?” She asked slyly.
“N-nothing!” The Fire Ninja imediately jumped back, shoving the pendants behind his back.
Nya raised an eyebrow, her cocky smirk shining through. “Really, Kai?”
“Okay it’s something, but you can’t tell anyone.” Nya nodded her head and jokingly gave him a salute. He leaned forward as he looked around nervously. He slowly pulled the pendnts back and opened his hand.
“I’m gonna ask Cole to be my yang-” Nya squealed and jumped on top of her big brother. She jumped up and down as she eyed the yin and yang symbols in his hand.
“Did you get these custom made?! Kai, that's adorable!!”
“Yeah,” He chuckled and elbowed her in the shoulder. “I just don’t know how to do this at all.”
The Water Ninja raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”
“Well,” Kai looked up into the dawn sky as his face began to match the shade of his hoodie. “Cole is the most amazing person I’ve ever met and I want to be with him forever. But I don’t know how to tell him that and I want this to be perfect and–”
“Woah woah woah!” A familiar annoying voice appeared behind the siblings. Of course he had to appear right at this moment.
Nya ran up to her Yin and hugged him tightly, their matching necklaces lining up in perfect synch for just a moment. Yin and Yang. The perfect pair. Kai rolled his eyes, pretending to be annoyed, but deep down, he wanted the same thing for him and Cole.
“I-Is what I think is happening really gonna happen?!” He swore that literal stars lit up in Jay’s eyes. “Awww.” Jay had his signatur smug smirk on his face as he leaned on Kai’s shoulder.
Kai sighed as he accepted his resignation. “I’m just scared. What if it’s not enough? He can still say no.”
Jay laughed loudly. “Not enough? Cole is the most basic person on earth. Remember that year I gave him socks for his birthday?”
Kai snorted at the memory. That stupid, adorable smile on Cole’s face when he unwrapped the cow printed socks Jay got him for four dollars (including shipping). Cole still wears them to this day.
“My point being that, and I mean this, he’s dense! He’s the human embodiment of a rock! It doesn’t matter he’s going to say yes.”
The Fire Ninja leaned against a wooden pillar and looked up into the clouds. “Jay, how did you figure out the right thing to say?”
“Well,” Jay took his Yang’s hand and joined Kai at his side. “Even though most of your advice didn’t help at all. I did take one thing: to speak from the heart. I already knew all the things I wanted to say, I just needed the courage to say it.”
“Don’t stress about it Kai.” Nya gave her big brother a reassuring smile. “It was one of the happiest moments of my life, I wouldn’t expect anything different for him.”
Before he could respond, a warm, velvety voice rang out from the deck above. “Hey guys!!” Cole jumped onto the floor below with a thud.
Kai was in awe of the man in front of him. His warm brown skin glistened in the shine of the rising sun. Cole approached him with pep in his step, his body swaying at the beat of an unknown rhythm. His eyes crinkled with his smile, a smile reserved for Kai.
“..Kai?”
His fierce green eyes shined as they looked up deeply into Kai’s amber ones. His off centered grin showed off the black snake bite piercings below his lip. His black, curly hair that rested just above his shoulders blew gently in the morning breeze. FSM, Kai loved him.
“Kai!!” The second time he was jumped scared out of his thoughts in a span of 10 minutes.
“S-sorry what did you say?”
“Gee, was my dance that bad?” He laughed. “I said I was making dosas for breakfast. Do you want some or are you going to keep admiring how handsome I am?” Cole jokingly showed off his muscles before Kai ran up and lifted him off of his feet. The Earth Ninja let out a loud laugh as he was spun in the air, looking down at the love of his life.
“Kai! Let me go! I can’t make breakfast if you don’t let me go!”
The Fire Ninja looked up and gave his boyfriend a small pout before setting him gently on the floor. Cole offered his hand.
“Come on, juganoo, you can help me in the kitchen.” They walked together, hand in hand, not a care in the world.
***
The pair ended up making a dozen, nearly perfectly cooked dosas. They plopped down on the last unoccupied chairs at the table and devoured the delicious breakfast in front of them.
“This is so good!” Lloyd exclaimed with a mouthful of food. His green eyes grew large as he devoured one dosa after another. Kai nudged Cole on the shoulder. “See? I told you the weird rice thing was a good idea!”
The Earth Ninja rolled his eyes. “You mean poha? Well, I’m glad you guys like it. It’s practically the only edible thing I can make.”
“I must agree that it’s nice to get a break from cooking every now and then.” Zane spoke up with a wide grin on his face.
Cole put the collar of his Metallica shirt to his nose and scrunched his nose. “I smell like urad dal. I’m gonna change real quick.”
As soon as the Earth Ninja left, Jay and Nya exchanged a mischievous look. Kai knew there was nothing he could do in all of Ninjago that could stop them.
“So….” Jay squealed excitedly. “Kai has something he’d like to share.”
Kai silently flipped him off before looking at the Ice and Green ninja.
“ImgonnaproposetoColeandIwouldreallylikeyourhelp.” Forks clattered onto plates as Zane and Lloyd’s mouths gaped open.
“That’s amazing!!” Lloyd jumped up and gave the Fire Ninja a tight hug from behind.
“I had calculated that this would occur soon. I am overjoyed for both of you.” Zane grinned brightly as he grabbed another dosa.
“Wait,” The blonde asked, “What do you need help with?”
“It’s just, what am I supposed to do? How do I do this? I don’t know what I’m even doing.” Kai buried his face into his hands.
“I just want it to be perfect, you know? To show him how amazing he is and how much he means to me.”
“Well,” Lloyd said as he stuffed another dosa into his mouth. “The way my dad proposed to my mom was by taking her to a place that meant a lot to both of them. Maybe you could do that.”
“I had always envisioned my proposal to PIXAL as something simple. A straightforward declaration of my love to her.”
Zane scanned Kai as he began to speak. “According to my databases, no matter how you propose, Cole is nearly guaranteed to say yes.”
Jay piped in quietly, “Told ya so!”
Important, simple, memorable, straight from the heart.
“I know exactly what to do.”
***
“Kaiiiii. When can I take off this blindfold?”
The Fire Ninja stifled a snort as he guided Cole down the tunnel.
“Almost there”
“Kai..what are you-“ Kai unraveled the blind fold and Cole gasped as he saw the scene in front of him.
It looked like a scene out of a fairy tale. Leaves blew gently as the sun glistened through the tree branches. White lilies that Kai planted weeks prior were now fully bloomed. The view allowed sight of ninjago city from afar, a lush forest acting as a barrier between their world and everyone else’s.
“Kai—Is this—Are you—“
Kai laughed and grabbed his hand. The best part was seeing the wide, perfect smile on his boyfriend’s face.
“Come on!”
The two boys ran in the field, the wind tossing their hair. They chased each other, as if they had nothing to lose.
“I knew it!”
Cole sprinted towards the largest tree on the hill.
“This is the hill where we had our first kiss, isn’t it?” The Earth Ninja pointed towards writing on the tree bark. ‘C+K’ was engraved messily by a sharp rock when they were a year into dating.
“Uh huh!” Kai joins him at his side, discreetly praising himself for choosing the perfect spot. He couldn’t help but feel Cole’s contagious smile grow on his face. Together, the boys laid under the tree and watched the world unfold around them.
The silence was broken by a small chuckle that Kai couldn’t help to keep in.
“What?” Cole returned the laugh. Nothing was particularly funny at the moment, but it was incredible how nothing had come to ruin their moment. No villains seeking revenge, no bad weather, no nosy Jay or Lloyd to spy on them.
“Isn’t it crazy how this all started? The two of us?”
Cole blushed and shoved Kai playfully as he slammed his head into the palm of his hand.
“Don’t remind me asshole! Definitely one of the most embarrassing moments of my life.”
“Yeah,” Kai snorted, “But one of the best moments of mine. How did you even get Nya and I’s contacts mixed up?”
Cole rolled his eyes. “Okay, you have the same surname and I guess I misclicked…?” He crinkled his face in self-disgust.
“Oh, Kai is so cute…I can’t handle being in the same room as him anymore.” Kai gave him the puppy eyes he knew were absolutely undeniabl as he recited the text message in a mocking tone.
“And for the record, I love your boulder brain.”
Their laughter died down to a peaceful silence, laying under a tree with Cole's head in his chest. Kai dragged his fingers through the thick strands of hair, twirling them into loose waves. They looked up at the white clouds that decorated the perfectly blue sky.
This was it. The moment he’d been dreaming about for months on end. He was finally going to do it. He held his breath as he collected his thoughts.
“Cole,”
“Kai,”
Cole lifted his head slightly to get a better look at his boyfriend.
“Kai…What is it?”
Kai slowly sat up, offering his hand to his lover in the process. Cole gladly accepted and followed the Fire Ninja to the top of the hill. The Fire Ninja bent down and plucked a lily from its stem. Finally, he turned around, face-to-face with Cole.
All those all nighters he pulled, rehearsing the lines over and over again. But then agan Jay was right. He always knew what he was going to say.
“I’ve thought so hard about how I should say this, but now that i think about it, I don’t need to think, I know how I feel. I’ve known how I’ve felt for the longest time. It’s like every time I’m with you, everything feels right. You make me better. You balance me. I don’t care about what happens next; but I want you to be with me the whole time. I want to be with you forever.”
He got down on one knee and grabbed the black and orange pendant from his pocket.
His voice shook dangerously, but he went on anyway. “Kung ako ang yin, apayag ka bang maging yang ko?”
There was silence for a moment. Shit, did he say it wrong? Was this all wrong? He hesitantly looked up to see Cole…Cole in tears. Kai would never forget the glow in Cole’s eyes when he saw the necklace; the gentle tears that streamed down his face; the wide grin that formed before he opened his mouth.
“Yes! Yes!” Cole laughed loudly through the tears and hugged Kai so hard he fell over.
From a distance, their chaotic, dysfunctional family watched them. Jay sniffled as he watched from afar with binoculars, lurking in the bushes. “That’s so beautiful.” Nya hugged him from behind and nudged Lloyd on the shoulder.
“That’s our big brother right there.”
The Green Ninja couldn’t help but smile at the laughter that rang from the hill, their silhouettes dulled in the light of the sun.
“They really do complete each other.”
Zane held Pixal’s hand as they looked at the couple, then themselves. Deep down, they wanted the same thing for themselves. Maybe soon.
“Kai! Put me down! You’ve gotta stop doing this!” Cole laughed as Kai lifted him up onto his shoulders.
“I love my Yang!” Kai yelled in the direction of Ninjago City. “We’ll kick everyone’s asses and nobody can stop us!”
Zane uploaded the camera he installed into his software a few days ago and snapped photos of the yin-yang couple. There were a few that he particularly liked, including the actual proposal and the two of them laughing. He gave himself a reminder to print them and give them to the pair later.
They didn’t have time for a proper wedding, ceremony, or any legal registration papers. No rings either. Just two necklaces dangling on their necks to signify a promise. A promise that meant forever. They had to cherish moments like this, because peace was never guarenteed. Danger was looming over them in every corner, but that could wait. For now, things were good.