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Kai groaned as he curled up against Zane, the Nindroid running his fingers through his hair in an attempt to comfort him. Jay had brought home the groceries and grabbed a new fruit that was on display, and Kai ate it, but now he wasn't feeling good. He said it tasted okay, but it took a bit for him to get to this point. Curled up with his head in Zane's lap.
Since Kai ate the whole thing, Zane couldn't get a read on it, and since Nya, PIXAL, and Skylor were on a trip, it was up to him and the others to make him feel better. Jay and Cole left to go back to the store to see what that fruit was, while Lloyd was fixing soup. Kai eventually crawled into Zane’s lap, his head resting on the Ice Ninja's shoulder as his breathing evened. Zane held him close as he rested his own eyes for the time being.
Later
"Zane! Zane!"
The Nindroid's eyes snapped open. Jay was in front of his face; he looked concerned.
He could no longer feel Kai's weight on him. "What's wrong? Where is Kai?" The freckled ninja bit his lip before motioning to follow. Zane frowned but got up from the bed to see what it was. He was led to the living room where he saw Kai, on all fours, with a pair of cat ears nestled in his hair, and a matching tail swaying as he was rubbing his head against Lloyd's arm. "What happened?" Zane asked in disbelief.
Kai's head perked at his voice, making Lloyd and Cole look over at the Nindroid, and the now-cat hybrid pounced. Zane was able to catch him without losing grip, and Kai was now rubbing his face against his neck; he was purring. "Okay, so turns out the fruit Kai ate was super experimental, and can cause this," he motioned towards Kai. "Guy said it'd wear off in a few days and that he'd take all the fruit back for more testing. We already called the food safety people, and they'll handle the rest."
"I'm going there in a few days to check if they actually did their job," Lloyd added, watching Kai.
"So, we just need to ensure Kai recovers safely?" Zane questioned.
"As far as we can tell," Jay answered, "We called Wu, and he said if he's not better in a few days, then he'll ask Mysake if she has anything that could help."
Zane gave a nod, ignoring how Kai was now digging his nails into his shoulder; it didn't hurt, but it was noticeable.
Day 1
Turns out Cat-Kai was a night owl, Zane stayed up with him to make sure he wouldn't try to hurt himself, Jay found a ball of yarn in the sewing kit they had and tossed it to the side, where Kai launched himself at it, and chased it around. That started hours ago, and the other three ninjas left for bed.
Zane was thinking that he was going to need to rewind the ball as there was now string everywhere, and Kai was increasingly getting more and more tangled, but continued to play.
Zane was recording everything, seeing his boyfriend like this, although unusual, was quite adorable. He would be so embarrassed to see these later.
He got up with a chuckle as he heard a pitiful whine in the kitchen, where he saw Kai under the kitchen table, arms and legs tangled with a small ball that was left of the yarn. He knelt and started to untangle what he could from Kai's limbs. He could already tell he was going to need to cut it from the furniture. He'd still ensure Kai would have yarn to play with.
Once he was finished, there were now 3 balls of yarn, each varying in size. He went to sit back on the couch, and Kai nearly surprised him by running into his lap and curling his legs up, his head resting on the Nindroid's chest. Zane smiled, running his fingers through Kai's hair again, earning purrs. "Goodnight, love."
"Night, Snowflake."
His eyes shot open, and he looked at Kai, who already looked asleep. Can Kai talk in this state? He hadn't said a word before. He shook his head; he could look more into it in the morning.
The sun had risen when he opened his eyes. Kai was still in his lap and looked so peaceful.
He remembered reading that it was rude to disrupt a cat when it has chosen you as its perch, so often people refuse to move until the cat moves on its own. He smiled as he scratched around the new ears. They twitched slightly, and a new purr rumbled in Kai's chest as he rubbed his head against the fingers. When Zane pulled his hand away, Kia's amber-red eyes opened, his pupils wide, as he let out a small 'Mew'.
So cute!
The Nindroid wrapped his arms around Kai and rubbed his face in the brunet's hair. Kai pawed at his arms, his tail smacking against Zane's leg. Only for the two to be interrupted by Cole, "Hey, uh, Zane?"
He pulled away and looked at the Earth Ninja, "Don't you have that meeting today with Cyrus and his board?"
Zane paused. Oh.
Zane couldn't go out the door without Kai clawing at him, chasing, or hissing. He didn't want him to leave, even when they had Lloyd trying to hold him back. Zane sighed, he did not want to leave his partner in distress and have the others deal with him, if he was one of the few that can keep him calm. He can request that it be an online meeting.
Zane set up a seat in the lab with a blanket on the floor and was able to connect. Thankfully, many agreed that it would be better to meet online. He tried to keep the camera on his face while Kai chased one of the yarn balls around the room, tossing and kicking it off on occasion when Kai brought it close to him. Kai just had to be near him or at least in eyesight. Lloyd asked if he wanted him to join to help keep Kai more in line, but he declined.
He could handle it.
Now he wished he had taken it, trying to show he was paying attention while also keeping an eye on Kai, was more work than he thought. He never knew cats could be so rambunctious, with how Kai was running and jumping all over the place. "Kai, please," he whispered as he muted his side of the call. The Fire Master stopped and stared at him before walking over and sitting next to his legs, looking up at him with doe eyes.
"The meeting is almost over, okay? Then we can do-"
"Don't you agree, Zane?"
He shot up, looking at the camera, quickly rewinding the info just discussed in the background before smiling and unmuting the call, "Yes, I believe that would be a compromise on both sides of the situation. PIXAL will need to run her own calculations, but we can give you the numbers within a week."
The board all nodded before logging off. Zane let out a sigh, "Thank you again for helping with this while PIXAL is on break, Zane." Cyrus said.
"It was nothing, Sir."
The man smiled before wishing him well and logging off. Zane slumped back in the seat, giving Kai room to sit in his lap. He didn't fight it as Kai leaned his head against his chest. He rested his eyes; the weight on him with the purrs was nice.
Later
The Nindroid watched as Kai held Lloyd in his lap. The blond had tried to leave, only to receive a growl. The Green Ninja would huff and pout as Kai purred and played with Lloyd's hair. Thankfully, like this, Zane can make dinner for everyone.
Day 2
"Kai, don't you DARE-!" was followed by a crash. Zane sighed as he left the kitchen to see what the commotion was about, especially since Kai was involved.
Jay was glaring hard, Kai glaring back with his tail swishing in agitation, while sitting on a table, there on the floor was a shattered vase. "What is going on here?"
Jay turned his head to look, "Kai is being a shit! He-"
There was another crash, both jerked and saw that Kai had knocked over another vase, his eyes still glaring at Jay, "Would you stop that!"
At least they weren't Wu's expensive or ancient ones, just some cheap ones they'd find when they went out on occasion for decor. Still a mess to clean up.
"Blackmailer!" Kai hissed.
"So, you can speak like this," Zane asked, remembering the first night.
"Wait, you've heard him talk too?"
Zane nodded, "Yes, I just had not had the time to check."
"I just wanted evidence that I wasn't crazy since he kept talking around me, one-word stuff, but still!"
"So, you were not planning on blackmailing Kai?"
Jay's face turned pink. "Okay, maybe a little, but he'd do the same to me if the roles were reversed!"
Zane placed his hands on his hips as he watched Jay squirm under his gaze, “Whatever, fine!” he shoved his phone into Zane’s chest. “Just delete them so Kai will believe me,” he pouted.
Zane knew Kai would do the same if the roles were reversed, and he was recording much of Kai’s cat-like behaviors, so he compromised, not that Kai needed to know. Zane deleted a few, mostly the 1-second videos that would hold nothing of substance, and blurry pictures before giving the phone back to Jay, who just shoved it in his pocket and sulked off.
Kai jumped off the table and rubbed against Zane’s leg. The blond looked down, “So you can talk then?” Kai just shrugged.
So they now knew that Kai could communicate and understand them. That helps a lot, honestly, but Zane didn’t think that would make things easier.
He was right.
Of course, he was right!
When Kai went outside for a nap in the sun, he ended up covered in dust and leaves, and no amount of dusting was going to get it off. Despite learning what he did earlier and explaining to Kai what needed to be done, he was having none of it. Hissing, growling, all of it!
Zane was able to grab Kai before he could attempt to hide or run back outside, and was carrying him to the bathroom over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
He made sure the door was locked and turned on the water. He wasn’t going to trust Kai to take a shower, so it would have to be a bath; it wouldn’t be the first time.
It was a fight just to get his clothes off, and another just to grab hold of him again to put him in the water, “Kai, you love baths!”
“Water bad! Water bad!”
“I won’t let anything happen, I promise!”
Kai let out a whine, but stopped fighting. Zane sighed and started, using a cup to pour small bits of water over Kai’s head to start, before gently rubbing shampoo into his hair and around his ears and tail. He continued to praise him for being brave and working with him, even though Kai was still clearly upset. Kai was able to clean the rest of his body without issue before leaping out of the tub after the last rinse. He shook his body like, trying to get rid of the water that clung to his skin and hair, before a towel was draped over him. Before he could look up, he was scooped up into Zane’s arms with the Nindroid smiling at him, “Let’s get you dressed and warmed up, Firefly.”
The nickname made the Fire Master purr and rub his face against Zane’s neck as they headed towards Kai’s room for a change of clothes. Maybe a nap after too.
Day 3
Zane woke up with Kai on his chest, dressed in his red hoodie and black shorts that they put on him last night. However, he no longer had ears nestled in his hair or a tail wrapped around Zane’s leg. Looks like it wore off.
He didn't bother to try to get up; he thought it would be best for his boyfriend to sleep in. It had been a long few days. So he just rested his eyes closed until Kai moved.
Kai groaned as he pushed himself to sit up before rubbing at his eyes and saw where he was, on his bed between Zane’s legs. His face turned red, and he could only open his mouth, but no words would come out. “Do you remember the last few days?” Zane asked, thinking that answering would give him the words he needed.
The brunt nodded.
Zane just smiled, “I’m glad you’re back to yourself, Kai.”
The other smiled back before leaning against the other’s chest again. “Then you won’t mind staying here awhile longer?”
“None at all, Firefly,” he hummed as Kai placed his head in the crook of Zane’s neck. The Nindroid reached his hand up and started to pet Kai’s soft, non-gelled hair. If he heard a rumbling purr from the other, he didn’t say it; that can stay between them.