#75
2/5

requested by: @ryndymond25

warnings: friends with benefits and it is implied but never shown in any way.

have a good day!

The weight of his arm crushed me.

In the slightest, I did not care at all. My heart in my chest continued to beat for him and I was only fifty percent sure Cole felt the same way. It had been a night where both of us were stressed and a stress reliever was definitely needed. I let out a heavy sigh, wondering how in the world we even started doing this. We don't even talk to each other that much outside of this. My eyes trailed over from his beefy biceps to the bedside table where a clock was held.

3:38 AM

Of fucking course. Sleep still weighed in my brain heavily and the need to just shut my eyes and go to bed was a strong need. But not in his bed. Usually he was the one to sneak off to his room but change of plans I guess. I didn't care if he rose awake or not, I just needed to not be caught. I picked up his arm and threw it beside him. I sat up in relief, using the blanket to cover my chest.
Wait, why did I care? I dropped the blanket and stepped out of the bed fully naked. I stretched out my muscles to make sure I wouldn't get too sore later.

I headed towards his drawers where a few of my pajamas were being held. If I did get caught, then it wouldn't be my day clothes. He could give it to me later. I slipped my clothes on and put my other clothes in the drawer. I went to go use his bathroom, brushed my teeth with the extra toothbrush that was provided and went back to his room.

"Leaving so soon?" I jumped in fear, the voice coming out of nowhere. My hand to my chest, I regulated my breathing.

"Fuck! Cole, why?" I asked, half out of breath. He chuckled, sitting up, arms crossed against his chest which made his man boobs more prominent. I wasn't sure if I was more attracted or repelled. We weren't dating. Just these visits. That's it. We wanted no strings anyways. I shouldn't be attracted to him anyways.

"Y'know, I usually leave at five."

I raised a confused brow. "Thirty minutes before sunrise excersice? Are you insane? This is prime time."

He snorted, shaking his head. "No, it's not. Jay gets a pudding in about five minutes, Zane checks the monastery's battery because it's a Thursday, Lloyd is going to be up any second now to train for fifteen minutes."

My jaw dropped. "Train?! In the middle of the night!" He held up a finger to his lips, and I knew I was being too loud. I exhaled, annoyed with the circumstances. I did not want people asking me why I was in his room when there wasn't anything happening. I was not about to hold on to the fact that there could be something happening but I dropped it. I walked towards him and sat back into his bed. He lifted the blanket and I slipped in, knowing he was butt naked there. I ignored the thought. "Kai and Nya?"

He made a 'pshh' sound. "Nya doesn't sleep until two so she is dead asleep now. Kai just went back to bed," he paused, looking at the clock, "twenty minutes ago. I would usually avoid all of them and wake up at four thirty if....yeah." This wasn't happening. Yeah, caught that quite quickly. I let his words pass over me, just thinking about the fact I have to wait about thirty minutes before I can leave.
Also, why did they all have shitty sleep schedules? Including the nindroid.

"Whatever." The weight of sleep was still heavy on my brain and I thought about what he said before. Wait, Thursday?
I faced him quickly.
"Today's Thursday?" He nodded. I grabbed my phone from his bedside table, looking at the date. Oh my Ninjago, it was. I ran my fingers through my hair.
"I wanted to go somewhere today, but Pix said my vehicle need repairs. She promised it to be ready today and then she delayed it for Sunday."

"I can do it."

"What?"

"I'll drive you there." I waved him off, shaking my head. "I don't mind." I knew he didn't and that bothered me. I exhaled before putting my lips pulled in a thin line. The fog of fatigue rained heavy on my brain, my eyes fluttered shut as the attempt to open it got weaker by each passing moment. His arm wrapped around my shoulders and I was too tired to tell him off. I leaned against him as I slept.

—————

"Why were you two in each other's beds?" Jay asked us the next morning in the training room when Wu left the room. I felt Kai's odd stare on my temple, questioning if I even did do that. After hearing Jay's confused gasp early in the morning, I realized I had slept in Cole's bed and he had slept in mine. Assuming, I couldn't wake back up and the black ninja thought his brilliant idea would be to sleep in my bed.

He could've just carried me but I believe that all logic left his head. Work smarter not harder they said. The last I checked, this was not working at all and carrying me to my bed would've been ideal.

"It was a bet," I told them without missing a beat. The longer we stalled the more suspicious we looked. Cole sucked at lying to them so I always had to cover up our actions. "He said that he had the most uncomfortable bed and I said that I did, so as a bet, we slept in each other's beds. Needless to say, he won because my back hurts." Now, my back did hurt, but it wasn't for the reason they might think. I was sleeping in an uncomfortable position and I felt like I was bent over backwards. But his mattress was actually uncomfortable too. He liked it tough but he looked like fresh as daisies and I knew he liked the softness of my bed more. He glowed and eh look cute- I uh..good. He looked good.

"Guess we have to order you a new mattress," Lloyd told the earth ninja, who did nothing but nod. A little part of me was waiting for him to say something; it was stupid because he wasn't a morning person at all. He didn't speak until he have had breakfast. He wouldn't say anything concerning me anyways.

"Oh how I would hate being the delivery person," Jay chuckled, stretching out his muscles. I only nodded and went back to punching the weighted bag in front of me. I sensed Cole's presence behind me and I turned around with my arms crossed.

"What?"

"Do you still need that ride?"

"Yeah. Why?" He nodded in understanding, ignoring my question. I scoffed, "Oh, and great help you were with the cover story." My annoyance seeped through my teeth.

"It worked out fine. I got a new mattress out of it," he smirked. "Seriously, I can give you a ride. It's not a problem." I flipped him off. He took that as his queue, he lifted his arms in surrender before walking away. Sometimes he was just ugh. I turned back around to the punching bag and took out my anger on it. There were always other ways to relieve stress.

—————

I went down to where all the vehicles were, just the big ones anyways. I held down my surprise when I saw Cole there talking to Pixal. Not my circus, not my monkeys. I found my ride quite quickly and it was sadly still broken. I knew Pix had a lot to do which was why I tried not to rush her, but I badly wanted to go where I needed to. Maybe going on Sunday would be better.

I felt his gaze on me once more but I already began to walk away. His grip on my shoulder was a bit form as he turned me around. "Y/n, I'm serious, I can give you a ride. I won't mind."

"Why do you want to give me a ride so bad?"

"To be nice."

"Bullshit. I am fine, Brookstone. I'll wait on Pixal."

—————

"You wanted to go to a karaoke diner?"

So...I didn't end up waiting on Pixal.

Hear me out: I have no idea how it ended up like this. I remembered giving him a slight nod of approval, or was it annoyance? Then I ended up in his car, gave him the location and now we were here.

I ignored him like he has me multiple times, giving him yet another nod, but this time it was gratitude. I stepped out of his truck and that is when I hear the engine turn off. I whipped my head around in confusion and saw him come around. Now, I thought he was just going to check on the tire (a lie I told myself) but it ended up being him beside me. I slit my eyes as I furrowed my brows.

"What the fuck do you think that you are doing?"

He looked at me with the same amount of confusion but I could tell he was entertained. He spun his keys around his finger. "You didn't think that I was going to let you go by yourself. I wanna see."

"I can take care of myself."

He huffed amusedly. "Never said that. You're the ninja of the obsidian crystal. Believe me when I say that no one wants to mess with you." He then walked in the direction of the doors. I tried calming myself down but the irritation ran cold in my blood. I gave up and I dragged my legs and followed him in suit.

Weirdly enough, I had a good time. We sang on the top of our lungs and sang some songs I loved. The crowd cheered us on. I always knew I had a decent singing voice and I also knew that Cole had an amazing voice. We were kind of a hit at that place. The owner gave us his card if we ever wanted a gig there. Being honest, I am not sure when we would ever have the time but it was a thoughtful gesture.

Also, it was the first time that I ever felt comfortable with Cole. Like, ever. It was crazy but at the same time, it was such a nice feeling.

We found ourselves strolling in the park, night had fallen on the sky and we were taking mindful steps in silence. This was the first time we were out by ourselves and I had a lot to say but yet none at all. I didn't know what was going through his head but I didn't want to disturb the peace.

However, one girl came running towards us with wide hopeful eyes. They widened in joy as she looked at us back and fourth. A small gasped escaped her mouth and I saw some of the teeth she was missing. "You are the ninja." We both nodded as we waved happily. She turned around with her hand beside her mouth. "Guys! The ninja of earth and obsidian crystal are here!"

Then a wave of children came towards us. Luckily the parents were too tired to care because believe it or not, adults are more scarier than kids. I rather for a rampage of tiny humans than adults. No hate, just my fears.

They all asked for photos and photos we did. They had plushies for us to sign or even the toys they currently had. The first person who gave us their permanent marker was not getting that back. The older pre-teens asked for more selfies and continuously asked to see us perform our powers. Mine was more for mind control and darker side of things, I was asked by Wu to never use them for entertainment reasons. I stuck by that because he was right. However, Cole made a slide out of rocks for everyone to use. Even when directed to not use my powers, I made the grass at the end of the slide more soft so they wouldn't have a harsh landing.

Wu wouldn't know. Would he?

I genuinely didn't care because they looked like they were having fun. I was glad my powers don't wear out when I'm away or for a certain period of time.

The kids screamed for joy in their high pitched voices, laughing is fear. I smiled gently and nodded towards Cole, telling him it was time to go. He waved to the group of kids and they yelled their goodbyes as some cried.
It was a bittersweet moment for us all. I actually didn't want to go at all and be warped in the kids immense joy and happiness. The naivety that they had that I want once more.
But I knew Cole had already started walking and I trailed behind.

We sat near a fountain.

No significance, it was just there. The kids were smaller than they were but I couldn't say the same for their screams.
The silence filled the air between us, but the earth ninja decided to break that.

"Why did you do all of this?" I let a moment pass, letting his question really sink in.

I had my answer. The obvious one. In reality, I wasn't sure why I had really done it. Although the question was in fact simple, it left me wondering in my thoughts.
I didn't want to make it anymore awkward so I answered him

I lightly chuckled, "it's my birthday."

"Huh? What?"

"Karaoke is one of my favourite things to do."

"I would've have expected that from someone who's goth."

Funny. Hilarious even.

"You're acting as if you're any less goth than I am. I know it's in your heart." I poked his chest and I felt his heartbeat go a bit faster. I didn't comment and he took slight offence to that but we both know that it was true. I only looked the part.
Well he did too but he would've admit it.

The silence fell on us again but it wasn't long.

"Do you wanna go out on a date sometime?"

I whipped my head towards him with wide eyes. "Wait, no! No I mean yes. Fuck! I wanted to ask you first!"

He laughed wholeheartedly, his smile wide as his eyes creased. "Too late sweet cheeks. What's it going to be?"

I shrugged, "sure. Fuck it."