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“And that's how the Ultimate Spinjitzu Master defeated the Overlord and saved alllll of Ninjago.”
The Finders let out twin awe-filled sighs.
“Uncle Lloyd was awesssome when he was a kid, wasssn't he?” prompted Spitz. Cole pretended to think about it.
“We-ell, yeah, he was pretty awesome,” he conceded. “But his friends were undeniably awesome too, you know!”
Cole brushed imaginary dust off his gi and struck a heroic pose. The boys giggled; the back and forth teasing was part of the story by now.
“Okay, bedtime,” Geo cut in, from his position by the door. The room erupted in a chorus of groans and protestations of “Pleeease!” and “One more ssstory!”
Geo looked at Cole, who shrugged and nodded.
“One more, then,” Geo agreed. “And straight to sleep afterwards.”
“Promissse,” answered Spitz, eyes spiralling at his dads.
“Which story do you want?” asked Cole.
“The Serpentine Queen!” Fritz replied immediately.
“Yesss, yesss, Assspheera!” added Spitz, bouncing in the bed with anticipation.
“That's a long one,” Geo said, before Cole could answer. His dubious look let them know he suspected trickery, though their faces radiated innocence.
“I can make it shorter,” Cole assured him. “Five minutes.”
“Sure,” Geo replied, with a half shrug and a knowing smile.
It was longer than five minutes – five-minute stories always were – but Geo didn’t really mind. It wasn't as if he bothered keeping track of time much, anyway. Cole loved telling the stories, and the kids loved it when he did, and if that's what it took to get them into bed of an evening, well, Geo wasn't about to complain.
Cole acted out the tales as if he was on a stage; for all his insistence that he could never follow in his dad's footsteps, Geo knew he was a natural performer. There was a time when he’d thought some of the stories were a little too exciting for bedtime, but over the years, as he told and re-told them, Cole had moderated the worst of the jumpscares, and by now the kids knew how all the cliffhangers played out – even if they usually remembered to react as if they were hearing them for the first time.
Yes, Cole loved telling bedtime stories, and Geo loved to watch him. He leaned against the doorframe as Cole told how the serpentine queen Aspheera had invaded Ninjago City looking for the Treacherous Deceiver, and how the ninja had reluctantly used the Scroll of Forbidden Spinjitzu to defeat and capture her. The master of earth lowered his voice to give a dramatic flourish to the finale.
“But Aspheera had one last trick. She raised her staff, and aimed it straight at Master Wu. And Zane the Ice Ninja saw what she was doing, and, faster than anyone else could react, he stepped in front of the blast to protect his master. And disappeared – without – trace.”
He paused. The two boys were motionless bundles in their beds.
“And that's a story for another time,” Cole finished.
The silence that followed was broken by a soft rustling. Fritz rolled over and struggled to blink his eyes open.
“One… more…kiss?” he mumbled.
Cole smiled leniently and leaned over, pecking his lips to the boy's forehead. He did the same for Spitz, who didn't even twitch. Satisfied, Fritz sighed, turned over again, and was gone.
Cole padded to the door; Geo backed out and let him close it behind him before slipping his arms around the man.
“You're so good at that,” Geo complimented him.
Cole gave a self-deprecating chuckle, though he knew it was true.
“It's tiring, though,” he admitted, and even though he smiled, Geo could see from his weary eyes that this was true, too.
“Your turn?” the munce asked.
Cole's smile warmed, and he nodded.
Geo took Cole's unresisting hand and led him to their bedroom. He selected a book from the small shelf, pulled up a chair, and seated himself. Somewhat to his surprise, Cole didn't lie on the bed as usual. He sank to the floor next to Geo and sat, knees pulled up, waiting patiently. Geo didn't comment; he merely opened the book and began to read.
Geo's style was quite different from Cole's; his deep rasp lent itself to a more measured approach, and he didn't even try to do the voices. But Cole didn't care. The lulling rhythm was just what he needed at the end of a long day.
Geo had chosen the story of the knight with a magic shield that gave him the power to protect the ones he loved, a familiar tale, and one that had always been a favourite of Cole's. As Geo read, Cole was transported back to his childhood, to evenings snuggled up against his mother as she read the same story from the same book. (Though not the same copy; Cole had been almost afraid to check inside the cover, not knowing how he would cope if he found his own name printed inside in Lilly's handwriting, and he'd just about convinced himself he was relieved and not at all disappointed to find that this one was a library discard.) Geo's voice was nothing like his mother’s, of course, but something about it was so soothing to him that it triggered the childlike relaxation he craved, all the same.
Cole stretched out a leg, threading it under Geo's and out between his feet. He leaned in towards him, and rested his cheek against the munce's muscular thigh. As the story flowed without pause, Cole felt fingertips stroking his scalp, a slow combing motion that smoothed his hair and gentled his mind. Cole exhaled deeply. His neck and shoulders untensed under the persistent, caressing hand, while his fingers crept around Geo's ankle, instinctively seeking out another place of contact and connection and calm.
Cole closed his eyes as the story neared its conclusion and the knight discovered that, in the end, the real power had always been inside himself. His mother had read this story again and again, every time emphasizing the moral, though he hadn't known why back then. He'd learned it the hard way, during the years when she (and the story) had been lost to him. Now that he was truly happy again, it seemed only right that the tale had returned; now that he could understand how she had been preparing him for what was to come; now that he could hear it and remember her with love and joy, not only loss and pain…
The realization that Geo's voice had ceased brought him back to the present. Cole nuzzled against him, unwilling to open his eyes or move away from his source of comfort.
“Bedtime,” he heard Geo say gently.
Cole turned his large, dark eyes to gaze up at him.
“One more kiss?” he murmured.
Geo set the closed book on the nightstand, and lifted Cole up into his arms. He placed a soft, tender kiss on his forehead, lips lingering as Cole's eyelids fluttered. The moment stretched, as it always did when they were together. Then Cole yawned, and the spell was broken. Geo chuckled.
“You should get some sleep,” he said, holding Cole a little away from himself. “I'll finish tidying out there and join you soon.”
Cole nodded, eyes heavier than ever as he began to pull off his top layer. Geo made no move to leave. Cole stopped at his undershirt, eyebrows raising.
“Goodnight, my love.”
Geo grinned. He could take a hint.
“Goodnight, darling. Sleep well.” And he closed the door on his way out.
~~~