ninjago oneshots

endearments i

zane sat at the dinner table, trying to pay attention to the conversation. although he gave his best effort, he always tuned the ninja's chatter out as he sunk into his thoughts.

"zane." someone was calling his name, trying to get his attention.

the nindroid blinked, focusing. cole was waving his hand around. 

"yes?"

"where's pixal?" cole's voice was innocently curious, and the rest of the ninjas' eyes watched him from around the table. 

"she's busy." zane and pixal had no need for food, so they had the choice of not showing up to meals. 

master wu liked the team to spend at least some time together. recently, though, pixal had become more and more absorbed in her work. zane spent most of his time with her  now, their inner computers taking delight in "technological problems."

it was ironic, of course, that they themselves had been "technological problems" at a time, but the couple enjoyed each others' company. no one ever bothered them, lest they wanted to be bored to death.

"she's working on something," zane elaborated, his blue eyes unfazed. seemingly satisfied, the team returned to their individual conversations.

"i heard it's going to rain tomorrow."

"harumi and i are going to go visit the gardens."

"i'll go too. i need to get some more tea. life is too crazy."

"yeah, it's been pretty chaotic."

"hey, honey, could you pass the ketchup?"

"you call nya honey?"

"kai, we're literally yin and yang. leave jay alone."

a fluttering thought occurred to zane, and he filed it away. after everyone had finished and dispersed, the plates clattering loudly, he approached jay with it.

"jay," zane said. the blue ninja looked up from his video game.

"yeah?"

"i have a question about you and nya," zane informed him. "or rather, an aspect of your relationship. why did you call her 'honey' if her name is really nya?"

jay stared up at zane, not comprehending. then his jaw dropped, and he jumped up to face zane. "you mean you don't know what endearments are?"

zane thought for a minute. "endearments. noun. a-" he closed his mouth at the look on jay's face.

"but you HAVE to know!" jay screeched. "it's like a second name for someone! but MORE EVEN special! EVERYONE KNOWS THAT."

zane furrowed his eyebrows, not picking up on jay's distress. "so nya's new name is honey? why would we call her that?"

"no, only i use it, because i'm her YIN."

"but," zane reasoned. "i have heard kai call skylor that. and many other things," he added as an afterthought.

"it's kind of like 'mom,'" jay explained. "you only use it for certain people, your mom, for example, but most everyone uses it. just for different people."

"some people say 'mother,'" zane pointed out, earning himself an eyeroll.

"this is unacceptable," said jay. "i'm going to call a team meeting to teach you and pixal. not because i want to hear about everyone's relationships, of course." he coughed, changing the subject. "are you sure you don't understand endearments? what about pixal?"

"well, i call her 'darling pixal' sometimes," zane offered, his robotic gaze meeting jay's.

jay sighed dramatically, turning to exit the room. "living room, ten minutes. bring pixal!" he called over his shoulder.

the nindroid shrugged, striding through the monastery to where pixal was. the metal doors opened for him, revealing the huge, cavernous space.

pixal turned around at the noise, her tired eyes lighting up ( literally ). she ran down the walkway to meet him, jumping into his arms.

zane stumbled back a few steps, catching his balance. he swung her around a few times, laughing, then put her down.

"hello, pixal. i'm here because we have been called to a meeting due to - "

" - your lack of understanding concerning pet names," she finished. "i know."

and off they went.

originally written feb 12 2023

stay tuned for part two!!