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Zane hummed as he placed his books in alphabetical order along his bookshelf. The repetition and familiarity was relaxing to him, topped off by the neat appearance his sleeping quarters had once he was done.
He enjoyed his moment of peace, as it was unusual in his family’s household. Nya and Jay were out on a date, Cole, Lloyd, and Kai were out patrolling, and Pixal was visiting Cyrus Borg. He had the house to himself (aside from Master Wu, who was meditating in his room and had asked not to be disturbed), and he was savoring the quiet. He need not worry for his friends out patrolling, as with the three of them, they could surely handle themselves, and would call in if they required--
Zane’s thoughts were interrupted by a notification for an incoming call popping up in his field of view.
“Zane! Zane, come in.”
And there it was.
Zane held back a sigh as he answered the call. “I do hope this is important, Lloyd, and you’re not asking me if you can buy more candy--”
Zane recognized Kai’s voice next. He sounded irritable and impatient, as he often did when he was worried. “Yes it's important! We need you to get your medical-- doctory-- stuff ready as soon as you can! Cole’s hurt!”
It was as if all of Zane's processors froze at that moment, making it feel like the world around him had come to a stop.
Cole’s communicator was the last to link into the conversation, and the sound of his uneven breathing put Zane on an even sharper edge than he was before. “You-- You guys are overreacting. I’m… just a little scratched up.”
“Just a little my ass, you’re practically bleeding out!”
“S…stop it, Kai. You're going to worry Zane, making it seem-- w-worse than it is.”
“He should be worried!”
“Kai, you need to stay calm, freaking out isn’t going to get Cole help any--”
“Maybe I don’t feel like calming down, Lloyd!”
“Well, that much is obvious.”
Zane tuned his friend’s anxious argument out as he ran down the hall to the spare bedroom, where they also kept all their health care supplies. It had been segregated as a medical bay of sorts, but they had been lucky enough not to have the need for it much, as the more they trained, the less they became injured out in the field. But surprises or accidents were still a possibility.
Tonight confirmed that to be a true statement.
Zane quickly gathered the things he surmised he would need based on the little information he had gathered from his friends’ conversation. Cole had mentioned being ‘scratched up’ and Kai had said he was bleeding, so bandages, gauze, and antiseptic were most likely going to be needed.
Lloyd broke the tense silence over the comms. “We're almost back at the Monastery, Zane, are you--”
Zane anticipated what Lloyd was going to ask him, speaking before the Green Ninja could finish. “I am nearly ready and standing by, come directly to the spare room when you arrive.”
“Got it.”
“At least someone is taking this seriously…”
“Now is not the time to be petty, Kai.”
Not long after he had collected a few other objects and washed his hands, he heard Kai and Lloyd bickering as they entered through the front doors, which meant Cole must be with them. As hurried footsteps drew nearer, his three friends burst into the spare room.
Kai was in the lead as Cole leaned against him, Lloyd trailing behind. All of their gis were ripped and torn in places, but Cole's was the most severely damaged. Zane's eyes were first drawn to a large cut down the earth elemental's arm, and then to a tear in Cole's black robes on his side, and he was dismayed to see red seeping out from underneath the hand Cole had placed over it.
No one said anything as Kai led Cole over to the bed, helping him sit down on it. Cole let out a small gasp at his shift in position, but he just waved his hand nonchalantly at the other three's concerned looks.
The Master of Earth managed a tight smile towards them. “Guys, really, I'm gonna--gonna be fine! I've got Zane here to help, and it-- it barely hurts at all.”
Zane didn't miss the way Cole's hand contracted over the wound during his broken speech. He needed to begin care immediately.
He turned to Kai and Lloyd, who were both frowning at Cole's attempt to brush off the severity of his injury. “Kai, Lloyd, I need you both to leave the room while I work.”
Kai clenched his jaw, a sign that he was going to put up a fight to leave Cole’s side. “But--!”
Lloyd put a hand on Kai’s shoulder, giving him a stern look. “Come on, Kai, let’s give him the space he needs.”
Even though Kai obviously wanted to argue, he let Lloyd lead him out of the room, and the younger of the two closed the door on Kai's incoherent mumbling.
Zane wasted no time as he went over to the side table he had placed the medical supplies. He turned to Cole to check his condition, but it was useless to try and observe his wound while he was covering it.
“Cole, I need you to remove your shirt so I may properly inspect and assess your injuries. But first,” Zane paused as he handed him a painkiller and some fresh water, “take this.”
Cole nodded and slowly released his hand from clutching at his side, his face contorting in pain as he did so. He took the pill and the drink, quickly downing them both, before he moved to undo the orange sash around his waist holding the upper half of his gi on. His hands shook as he did, so Zane was quick to intervene. The nindroid felt bad for asking him to do it himself in the first place, he should have offered already.
“Please, allow me.” Zane said as he moved closer, taking Cole’s stained hand away from the belt so he could loosen it himself.
“Uh-- Y-yeah, thanks…” Cole mumbled, looking away towards the wall beside them.
Zane noticed a red tint to the Master of Earth’s cheeks in his peripheral vision despite his pale appearance. While he wasn’t sure why the colour of Cole’s face had darkened slightly, he had no time to contemplate it as he worked on taking off the torn and stained garment from his upper body (being very mindful of his injuries). The Master of Ice frowned as he revealed more cuts, scrapes, and bruises on his friend’s body when his shirt was completely removed.
He started by washing the largest wound on Cole’s side out with a salt solution to clean out any bacteria or foreign objects that had become trapped within it. It made his chest ache whenever Cole let out a noise of pain, but this process was necessary. Once he was finished with the initial clean, he moved on to a stronger antiseptic, noting that the gash was going to need to be stitched closed.
Zane applied pressure to the wound with a piece of gauze. “Hold that here, and use as much pressure as you can without it hurting too much.”
Cole nodded, replacing his hand over the gash. Zane returned to the side table, selecting a topical pain killer and a needle and thread. As he turned back to Cole, he noticed him tense at the sight of the tools. A mixture of guilt and sympathy ran through him, making his chest feel tight.
“I am sorry, Cole, I know you do not enjoy this part of the procedure, but it is necessary--”
Cole shook his head to interrupt the white ninja. “It’s fine, Zane,” he let out a forced, breathy laugh, “no one likes getting stitches, let’s just-- get it over with.”
Zane frowned, but gave him a curt nod. “As you wish.”
Cole looked away and closed his eyes as Zane began the procedure. The nindroid made sure to be as precise and efficient as possible --not that he wouldn’t have done that already, but he wanted to be extra careful with Cole.
“What happened to cause you to become this injured?” Zane questioned as he worked. He was confident enough in his abilities that he could split his attention, and it was better to keep Cole distracted.
“It-- It was a bank robbery. There were five, I dunno, t-ten guys? One of them had an explosive, we didn’t realize until it was practically going off.” A hiss of pain escaped Cole and interrupted his recollection, even though it was obvious he was trying to hide how much it hurt. The painkiller should come into full effect soon. “It destroyed a support, I stayed in the building to hold it up as Kai and Lloyd got people out. But there-- There was a kid stuck in the debris, I went back for her, and managed to throw her to Lloyd before the building came down, but uh, it kinda… kinda landed on top of me.”
Zane felt his frown deepening with every word. He should have been there, he could have prevented this from happening. The building had collapsed onto Cole. If not for his sturdy constitution and super strength that came with his elemental powers, Cole could’ve-- He might not have--
Zane shook off those dark thoughts as he returned his full attention to complete caring for the wound on Cole’s side. Once he was finished, he decided to look up at Cole before moving on to his other injuries. He was sure his concern and confusion was visible on his face. “Why did you not call for assistance sooner? Jay and Nya are in the city, and I could have been there within minutes if you would have contacted me.”
“We thought we could handle it, it didn’t become such a big deal until the bomb went off. Jay and Nya are on a date, I don't want to ruin that for them, and… Uhm…” Cole didn’t make eye contact, instead he stared at his left hand, which was restlessly fiddling with the bedsheets he was sitting atop. “…I didn’t want to bother you.”
At that, Zane stood up properly and gently placed his hands on Cole’s cheeks, guiding his face to meet his bright blue eyes. “Cole. Asking for help never does, and never will bother me.” His stern yet caring look fell, the unpleasant cold of sadness running through him at his friend’s assumption. “…I feel more disturbed at the thought that you believe it would.”
Cole’s deep brown eyes went wide and he placed his larger, calloused hands over Zane’s metallic ones. “N-no! No, no, it’s not like that at all. It’s the fact that I knew you wouldn’t mind and you would drop everything to come right away. I really did think we had it under control, and… I know you like alone time and you don’t get a lot of it, so it felt…” Cole broke eye contact and trailed off. “…I felt selfish to take you away from it.”
Even though Zane was still slightly upset, he felt touched by Cole’s concern for his happiness, and he smiled softly despite himself.
“While I admire your thoughtfulness, please, alert me, or at the very least one of the others when you are in need of help in the future.” He said. He suddenly had the urge to press his forehead against Cole’s consolingly, which puzzled him. He thought better of following through with the action, so he dismissed the thought and continued. “I do not want to see you hurt like this, and I would do anything to prevent it. Less time to myself is a nonexistent price to pay for your safety.”
Cole’s cheeks gained the same red color from before as he stared back into the nindroid’s glowing blue eyes, seeming at a loss for words.
They both held the gaze for several more moments, but then Zane remembered he needed to tend to Cole’s other wounds.
“O-oh, your arm. I must clean and bandage it immediately.”
Cole dropped his gaze and his hands, flinching as he moved too quickly. He cleared his throat. “Y-yeah! Yeah, um, right.” He somewhat awkwardly held out his right arm. “Here you go.”
Zane continued to patch Cole up in silence, and after he cleaned the rest of his injuries, he wrapped off-white bandages snugly around his arm, chest, and abdominal area. Zane knelt down on the floor for the best place to secure the medical dressing on Cole's torso, and once he was satisfied with his work, he tilted his head up to tell Cole he was finished. He was surprised to be met by Cole giving him a look that could only be described as… tender. The gentle expression was only there for a moment, changing so fast into a casual look that Zane wondered if he had simulated it. So he brushed it off, continuing with what he was going to say.
“I have finished tending to your injuries, Cole. But I suggest you stay in this bed rather than moving to your room so you do not risk tearing any stitches."
"No argument here." Cole grimaced as he shifted in bed, preparing to lay down.
Zane was quick to help, gathering two more pillows for Cole to prop himself up against. He took out a spare bed sheet from its storage place from under the bed and unfolded it, laying it over Cole so he could be more relaxed.
With a pained smile and a thanks, Cole closed his eyes and settled into the bed comfortably --or at least, as comfortably as he could.
Zane hovered over the Master of Earth. The rise and fall of his chest was a soothing motion and went on in a repetitive beat, only thrown off by the occasional flinch Cole would give.
He stood there for what felt like minutes, but in reality, it was only thirty seconds (as his internal clock told him). He then remembered Kai and Lloyd, as they were surely waiting anxiously to see Cole as soon as possible. He turned towards the door to update them on Cole’s condition, only to stop as he detected a warm hand around his wrist.
“Zane, w-wait,”
Curious to what Cole wanted and ready to help him if he needed anything, Zane turned back.
Cole was half sitting up in the bed, which Zane would have chided him for, if the look on Cole’s face hadn’t distracted him. The earth elemental was looking down at the floor, but his head was not tipped far down enough that Zane could not see his expression. He had an awkward smile across his face (though it seemed sincere nonetheless) and his cheeks were stained pink. Zane was curious to know what Cole could have to say to have him this embarrassed.
Cole cleared his throat before speaking. “Listen, Zane, I uh… I wanted to thank you.”
Zane softened at Cole’s bashful gratitude. A small smile made its way to his lips. “It is not a problem, Cole. I'm here to help you all when you are injured or--”
“No, no. Not just for fixing me up.” Cole interrupted. “I mean, yes, that’s part of it, but I want to make it clear that I… I really appreciate you being here for me, for all of us. You’re always so kind and ready to help us in any way we could possibly need, and I… I don’t know what we would do without you. I don't… I don't know what I would do without you.” He finally looked up, connecting their gazes. His smile had changed from bashful to genuine, yet it was just as soft. “I guess what I’m trying to say is… Thanks for being you, Zane.”
Zane stared at Cole for several seconds, at a complete loss for words. His honest speech touched him somewhere deep inside his chest, causing what could be described as an electrical surge to travel through his system, emanating from his heart. It was an unusual feeling but… not unpleasant. Not in the slightest.
A large, unfiltered smile expanded across Zane’s face. “You're welcome, Cole. And…” He hesitated, but it was not out of uncertainty. “Thank you.”
The two men exchanged smiles, before Cole released Zane’s hand and laid back into the bedding. Zane moved to the door to resume his path to inform Kai and Lloyd, unable to wipe the smile from his face as that strange feeling still penetrated his chest.
He didn’t quite understand the feeling…it was confusing and enjoyable and exciting all at the same time…but he was sure he could get used to it.