Ninjago Fluffy Stories

The right tree (Lava)

"Aaah!"

The scream echoed all over the forest, when Cole turned around just a fraction later, he found Kai splattered on the ground, bits of snow all over him and a reddish line across his cheeks. The red ninja quickly sat up and brought his hands up to his face.

"Ouch! Cole!"

"Sorry, I thought you were a bit further behind, I didn't expect that branch to hit you."

Kai grunted, rubbing his nose vehemently, but it seemed like the more he touched it the worse the aching got. The boy heard giggles on top of him. Once he looked up he found Cole grinning childishly.

"What are you laughing at?"

The other needed yet another moment to contain his amusement. "You look like a gingerbread man with all that snow on top of you."

Kai flushed deeper, this time not from a sudden smack of a branch, but from embarrassment and the sudden need to strangle his boyfriend.

Cole stretched out a hand and helped him up. "Why don't you walk next to me?"

Kai didn't give a proper reply, just another annoyed noise as he moved to Cole's side. The master of Earth grabbed his hand and they resumed their march.

It was Christmas Eve. The ninja team had decided to split tasks that year to prepare the celebrations; they would all take care of something to save them all from extra stress and, hopefully, have a nice holiday and rest peacefully —they really needed a break after fighting so many bad guys every day.

Everyone had agreed to leave the cooking to Zane. Nya, Jay, and Lloyd had gone out for some last-minute shopping, and Cole and Kai were in charge of the tree.

The couple could have perfectly joined the others in their visit to the mall, but... a certain black-haired ninja had had another idea.

'We're not getting a fake tree. Those things stink of cheap plastic. That's not how Christmas is supposed to smell.'

Kai had tried to convince Cole, but the boy didn't budge, which led them to a quick walk through the nearby forest to get a real pine. Well, 'quick' was a form of speech at this point. Not only the ground was covered with a thick layer of snow that turned their steps slower than usual, but Cole was also such a nitpicker and nothing seemed to please him.

Kai shivered lightly and let go of Cole's hand to put the limb inside the pockets of his red jacket.

"Are you cold?"

"I'm the master of fire, I physically cannot be cold." Kai spat. "I just don't like this weather. It makes me feel weird," he said hiding his chin deeper into his clothes.

"We'll be done soon," Cole reassured him.

"You've already said that and, look, we're still here. Why don't we just grab one and go back? It's just a damn tree!"

"Nah, it has to be the right one." Cole chuckled, to which his boyfriend arched a brow.

"They're all the same, Cole; brown trunk, green spiky leaves... They're just-"

"Wait," Cole shushed him all of a sudden.

The black ninja took a few strides forward then two more to the left, standing in front of a specific pine. He took out one of his gloves and placed it on the log, feeling the wood underneath his palm.

"That's the one," Cole declared after a few moments.

His boyfriend cocked an incredulous brow at him. "Are you kidding? What, the tree talked to you or something?"