Previously on Tiny Troubles...

Once Lou and Cole were alone, Lou looked at the little ninja in his lap. "How're doing, son?" he asked gently.

Cole shrugged. "Okay, I guess," he replied. "I wish that I wasn't a little kid, but I've been managing."

Lou smiled sadly and turned Cole so that he faced him. "That's not what I'm talking about," he said. "And I think you know that."

Cole sniffled and buried his face in his dad's chest. A few tears slid down his cheeks. "I miss her..." he whimpered.

Lou didn't need any clarification on who 'her' was. His own eyes shone with unshed tears and he hugged Cole closer. "I know son," he whispered, rubbing Cole's back soothingly. "I do too."

~~~~~

Part 15

The ninja spent the rest of the evening playing The Hat Game. Kai eventually caught onto how the game was played, but Lloyd couldn't quite figure it out. There was much laughter and even more screams of frustration.

Cole's dad had left after the first game, though not without hugging his son and reminding him to keep in touch. Cole looked a little upset after his dad left, but he quickly shook it off so no one really questioned it.

After dinner, the ninja enjoyed a small Super Smash Bros tournament with Kai and Cole winning most of the matches.

This came to an end, however, when Cole started to get sleepy. Despite his protests, the little ninja was soon escorted to bed by Zane and read a bedtime story.

The only reason that Cole didn't protest the bedtime story was that Zane promised to read him a Percy Jackson book. Zane did amazing voice impressions of the Percy Jackson characters.

"Alright," Zane suddenly announced, placing a bookmark in between the pages of the book. "That's enough for tonight."

"Awww, c'mon Zane!" Cole exclaimed, pouting. "One more chapter! You're at the really good part!"

"Cole, you've read The Lightning Thief over a dozen times. Surely you know what's going to happen next."

"Yeah, but that's not the point!" Cole protested. "You can't just stop right there!"

Zane chuckled and tucked the blankets around his younger teammate. "I will read you more tomorrow night if you wish," he promised.

Cole groaned. "Fiiiiiiine. Just as long as you promise to do the voices."

Zane laughed. "I promise." He gently ruffled Cole's hair and stood up. "Good night, brother."

"Night," Cole murmured as he cuddled underneath the blankets.

It didn't take him long to fall asleep.

~~~~

It was dark all around him. Cold, scary darkness.

Cole shivered and hugged himself, not liking the heavy darkness surrounding him. "H-Hello?" he called out hesitantly. "Is...is anyone there?"

Nobody answered him. Biting his lip, Cole started walking forward, trying to see if he could get out of this darkness.

"Hello?" He called out again as he walked. "Is there anyone else here?"

"....Cole?"

The little ninja looked up sharply when he heard his name being called. "Hello? Who's there? How do you know my name?" he called back.

"Cole!" the voice called out to him. "Over here, sweetie!"

Cole's eyes widened. He looked around and....there. Just ahead, the darkness had receded into a lighter grey. And standing in the grey area was a person....a very familiar person.

But no....it couldn't be...she was gone....and yet....

"....Mom?"

The figure waved. "Cole! C'mon sweetie what are you waiting for?"

Tears started stinging at Cole's eyes. He took a step forward, and then another. Soon, he was sprinting at full tilt towards the figure. "I'm coming Mommy!" he called out. "I'm coming!"

His mom was here....she was here, she didn't break her promise, shewashereshewashereshewashere....

So absorbed in racing towards his mother, Cole never noticed how the darkness had receded to a dark, menacing grey, nor did he notice how clouds had appeared and thunder rumbled.

He noticed that something was wrong when he felt something drip onto his head. The little ninja looked up and gasped at the enormous storm clouds that had appeared above him. Rain started pouring from the heavens, completely soaking Cole.

No....no....nononono....

"Cole!" his mother's voice made the little ninja jump. "Hold on, sweetie, I'll come over there!"

Cole's eyes widened. "No, Mom!" he screamed as he whirled around. "Stay over there!"

It happened too fast. Suddenly, Cole heard the squealing of tires losing traction against the ground. He heard his mother cry out out before there was a sickening thump.

"MOMMY!!!!"

~~~~

Cole gasped as he shot straight up in his bed. Sweat dripped down his forehead and his whole body shook.

"...it was a dream," he whispered. "I was dreaming."

A sudden clap of thunder made the little ninja jump and almost made him scream. Looking out the window in the bedroom, Cole saw that the sky outside was dark and cloudy. He heard raindrops beat a pattern while thunder rumbled in the distance.

The little ninja shivered and hugged the blankets close to him. He hated thunderstorms.

For the next few minutes, Cole desperately tried to calm himself down enough so that he could fall back asleep. But the nightmare had left him shaken and the storm outside just made matters worse.

"It's just a stupid dream," he told himself, trying to ignore the thunderstorm. "It's just a dream, it's okay, it's just a dream..."

Cole squeaked when the thunder rumbled once again. He clutched his blankets tighter, but it didn't really help much. For a brief, childish moment, he considered waking up one of his teammates and asking them if they could help calm him down, but quickly shook it off. He was a big boy, he wasn't actually five! If he asked one of his teammates, he would have to endure even more teasing, and he couldn't allow that.

Eventually, Cole decided that he would just have to handle the situation by himself. He wrapped his blankets around him tight and even searched for that silly panda plush that he had strangely grown attached to. But when he looked for it, he couldn't find.

Cole facepalmed. "Right, I left it on the couch," he muttered. He tried to make do without it, but his pillow unfortunately turned out to be a poor substitute for the little stuffed animal.

Sighing, Cole wiggled out of his bed and slowly made his way out of the bedroom, checking behind him to make sure that none of his teammates had awakened before he left. He crept down the dark hallway, jumping every time he saw a flash of lightning or heard the deep rumble of thunder.

Eventually, he made to the game room. He immediately spotted his panda plushie and quickly snatched it, hugging it close.

"Okay," he muttered to himself. "Now to get back to the bedroom..."

CRACK!

Cole screamed as an extremely loud clap of thunder sounded. Not thinking, he dove for the closest cover--Kai's favorite red blanket that he had haphazardly thrown onto the couch. The little ninja threw the blanket over him and huddled underneath it, hugging the panda plush to his chest.

"It's just thunder, Cole," he chanted to himself. "It's just thunder, it won't hurt you, it's not like that night, it's just thunder--!"

Another loud clap thunder sounded and Cole screamed again.

~~~~

Lloyd was startled awake by the sound of thunder.

The green ninja had no idea why that had woken him up. He was normally a pretty deep sleeper, but for some reason the thunderstorm raging outside had jolted him out of a deep slumber.

Lloyd groaned as he stared the ceiling. "Might as well get some water," he mumbled, slowly getting out of his bed.

To be honest, thunderstorms made Lloyd uneasy. They didn't scare him per se, but they reminded him too much of the final battle between him and the Overlord. All the darkness and the lightning...

Lloyd jumped when he heard a loud crack of thunder. He jumped again when he heard someone scream.

His instincts screamed 'intruder' and Lloyd quickly Spinjitzued into his ninja suit. He used his Golden Power to lit up his surroundings and quickly but quietly walked in the direction that he'd heard the scream.

Lloyd walked into the game room and blinked when he didn't see anyone in the room. "What the..." he muttered.

Another clap of thunder sounded and Lloyd jumped when he heard the scream again. Narrowing his eyes, the green ninja noticed movement coming from the couch, a small lump underneath Kai's red blanket. Cautiously, Lloyd crept up to the couch, making sure to be silent. Quickly, he grabbed a corner of the blanket and lifted it up.

Lloyd's eyes widened as he saw who was under the blanket. "Cole?!"

Cole squeaked when Lloyd took the blanket off of him. "O-oh!" he exclaimed. "Uh, h-hi Lloyd."

A flash of irritation coursed through the green ninja. "What are you doing?" he demanded. "Aren't you supposed to be in bed?"

Cole fidgeted. "Couldn't sleep," he muttered.

Lloyd groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright, come on," he grumbled. "Let's get you back into bed--!"

CRACK!

Cole screamed when another thunderclap sounded and threw the blanket back over himself.

Lloyd looked at him, stunned. "Cole," he said slowly. "Are...you you afraid of the--!"

"I'm not scared!" Cole interrupted, poking his head out from under the blanket in order to glare at Lloyd.

Lloyd rolled his eyes. "Riiiight, because hiding underneath a blanket and screaming every time there's thunder is totally what someone does when they're not scared."

Cole glared even more at him. "If you're just going to be a jerk, then just leave already!"

Lloyd's eyes narrowed. "I'm not being a jerk," he growled. "If anything, you're being a brat!"

"Well, now you know how we felt when you were first here!" Cole shot back.

"At least I didn't steal everyone's attention!"

"You sound like you're jealous!"

"I'm not jealous!"

"Selfish jerk!"

"Spoiled brat!"

CRACK!

"AHHH!" Cole shrieked and ducked underneath the blanket again.

Lloyd stared at the quivering form for a while, cooling down from his annoyance and feeling slightly bad. Sighing, he reached out and gently touched the small lump in the red blanket. "Cole..."

"Go away!"

"Cole, look, I-I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called you a brat." Lloyd huffed and sat down on the couch on the opposite side of Cole. "Guess I am slightly jealous...."

He heard Cole shift underneath the blanket. "Why?" the little ninja asked.

Lloyd snorted. "I dunno. I guess...everyone is bending over backwards for you after you got turned into a little kid. You've gotten toys and new clothes and everyone wants to pick you up and carry you around..." Lloyd sighed and hugged his knees to his chest. "I never got that when I was your age."

"Oh," Cole said quietly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, there's nothing you can do about it," Lloyd replied.

Another crack of thunder sounded, making both of them jump, though Cole didn't scream this time. "I hate thunderstorms..." the little ninja whined from underneath the blanket.

"Honestly, same," Lloyd replied, shivering. "They remind me too much of the Final Battle..."

"Really?" Cole asked.

"Heh, yeah," Lloyd replied.

There was a beat of silence before Cole quietly said, "I...I lost someone important during a thunderstorm..."

Lloyd's head snapped to the little ninja, who had come out slightly from the blanket. "Cole..."

Cole sniffled and rubbed at his eyes. "There was a drunk driver coming from around the corner. The...the rain made his car slip out of control. My--the person important to me was crossing the street when that happened." The little ninja curled up into a ball. "They died later in the hospital."

"Oh Cole..." Lloyd reached over and hugged him. "I...I know that it doesn't really help but....I'm sorry."

Cole sniffled and hugged Lloyd back. "It's okay," he said shakily. "It happened years ago. I'm okay."

"Are you?"

Cole took a moment to respond. "I-I had a nightmare about it tonight," he mumbled. "That's why I came here."

Lloyd bit his bottom lip. "W-well, if you want to talk about it...."

Cole shook his head, but hugged Lloyd tighter. "Can...can we just stay like this for a little longer?"

A small smile tugged at Lloyd's lips. "Of course," he replied, hugging the little ninja closer.

They stayed like that for a few minutes before Cole pulled away. "Thank you," he whispered, rubbing at his eyes.

"What are brothers for?" Lloyd replied, ruffling Cole's hair. "Heh, feels kinda weird being the older brother though."

Cole laughed. "I'm not that much older than you, Lloyd."

"Well, you're what, Kai's age? And Kai's seventeen so..."

Cole's brow furrowed. "I'm not seventeen..."

"You're not?" Lloyd blinked. "Oh, are you eighteen then?"

Cole's mouth twitched. "No."

"Nineteen?"

Cole shook his head, smiling. "Nope."

"Twenty? Oh gosh, please don't say you're actually twenty-one," Lloyd gasped. "Because dang, then you'd be an adult and much older than everyone else and---!"

Cole burst out laughing, clutching at his stomach. "I-I'm definitely not twenty-one, Lloyd!" he said in between laughs.

"Then...how old are you?"

Cole stopped laughing and suddenly looked nervous. "I...."

"Come on, Cole! We don't even know when your birthday is! At least tell me how old you are!" Lloyd implored.

Cole chewed his lip. "...promise not to tell anyone else?" he finally asked.

Lloyd crossed his heart. "Promise."

Fidgeting slightly, Cole quietly murmured, "I'm turning sixteen this spring..."

Lloyd nodded...then gaped when Cole's words registered. "You're only fifteen?!"

"Shhhh, keep your voice down!" Cole shushed him.

Lloyd stared at him in disbelief. Here he thought that Cole was so much older than him when he was actually the same age as he was(physically anyways)!

"...wow," the green ninja breathed. "I-I can't believe that you're only fifteen."

Cole huffed and rolled his eyes. "I can't believe that you almost thought that I was twenty-one."

Lloyd blushed. "Eh, touché." He blinked. "Wait a minute, does that mean Jay is older than you?!"

"You can't tell him!" Cole told him. "I'll never hear the end of it if he finds out."

Lloyd laughed as he held up his hands in surrender. "Don't worry, man. My lips are sealed."

"Good."

"So....when's your birthday?"

"Nope."

"Aw c'mon man!"

"I already told you how old I am!"

"Well, I'm technically also fifteen and my birthday is also in spring. So unless I know when your birthday is, I could possibly be older than you~"

Cole groaned. "You suck, Lloyd."

Lloyd grinned. "Sooooo..."

"...April 22."

"...seriously?"

"Don't laugh."

"But you're born—"

"I know."

"And you're the—"

"I know."

"And your name—"

"Don't laugh!"

Lloyd tried to hold it in, but a few snickers escaped.

"Lloyd!" Cole complained, blushing.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Lloyd wheezed as he tried to hold in his laughter. "But dude, you're born on freaking Earth Day. I think I'm perfectly justified in finding that highly amusing."

Cole groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Aaaaand that's why I never told anyone. They always make fun of me."

"Hey, I'm not trying to mean," Lloyd gently elbowed Cole. "I think it's kinda cool to have your birthday on a holiday." His lips twitched. "Even if it's Earth Day."

Cole groaned again. "You can't tell anyone about this. I'll never live it down."

Lloyd pretended to zip his lips shut. "I won't say anything. I promise."

"Good," Cole grinned before suddenly letting out a huge yawn.

Lloyd chuckled even as he yawned as well. "Welp, it's late, and I'm tired," he announced, standing up and offering his hand to Cole. "You ready?"

Cole nodded and took Lloyd's hand, his panda plushie in his other. "Ready."

The duo walked back to the bedroom. Outside, the thunderstorm had calmed down though there was the occasional rumble of thunder. Neither Lloyd or Cole paid attention to it, though.

Once inside the bedroom, Cole walked over to his bottom bunk, but didn't get in it. While he didn't feel scared of the thunderstorm anymore, he still remembered his dream vividly and even the mere thought of it made his hands start to shake some.

He heard Lloyd sigh and assumed that the green ninja had gotten into his bed. So imagine Cole's surprise when he heard Lloyd say, "Alright, c'mere," and felt arms gently lift him up and carry him to Lloyd's bed.

Lloyd gently placed Cole on the right side of his bed before crawling into the left side of it. "Just don't hog the blankets," he muttered through a yawn.

Cole blinked, confused, before it finally hit him. Feeling slightly embarrassed, Cole nonetheless crawled underneath the blankets and got comfortable.

It was quiet for a few minutes, save for a few rumbles of thunder. "Lloyd?" Cole's quiet voice suddenly piped.

"Yeah?" Lloyd asked sleepily.

"...Thank you."

Lloyd grinned before resting his head on his pillow. "Night Cole," he muttered as he shut his eyes.

Cole smiled and also closed his eyes. "Night Lloyd."

Feeling safe and secure thanks to his brother-in-all-but-blood, Cole spent the rest of the night in a dreamless sleep.

~~~~~

Hope you guys like that chapter! I tried to balance it out with a good dose of angst along with some fluff. And would you look at that! Cole finally told someone when his birthday is and how old he actually is! And Lloyd finally get over his jealousy! :D

Unfortunately, I have some sad news: there's only a couple more parts left in Tiny Troubles . I'm thinking maybe 4-5 more official parts and then an epilogue, but all the same, this story is nearing its end. :( 

But don't be too sad! It's not the end quite yet! There's still a lot more story left!