Cole was lying down on his bed, thinking. He decided he was screwed, so incredibly screwed.
He hadn't meant for this to happen. After the Hands of Time had vanished, it was suddenly peaceful in Ninjago. He'd felt safe and comfortable, especially around his close friend Zane. He'd let his guard down, and he was facing the consequences.
His heart began to flutter whenever Zane smiled at him, and his face heated up whenever he gave him a compliment. Cole tried to ignore his feelings, but it was difficult. Every part of him wanted to latch onto Zane and never let go. He needed to figure out what to do before he did something stupid.
The Sons of Garmadon and the Oni had forced him to put a pause on sorting out his feelings. But, they'd been dealt with, and now life was back to normal. Well, apart from the fact that Cole was crushing on Zane even harder than before.
They'd shared little moments together that made his heart flutter, such as when they went undercover to spy on the Sons of Garmadon. He was pretty sure he'd almost fainted when he'd seen Zane's disguise. It was incredibly unfair that he looked good in everything.
But Zane had a girlfriend, and he was clearly very happy with her. So, Cole was screwed.
Jay poked his head into Cole’s room. “Hey, lunch is ready!”
Cole rolled out of his bed and walked into the dining room.
Zane grinned and waved at him when he saw him. He awkwardly smiled and waved back. He sat in one of the chairs.
Zane’s face lit up as Pixal entered the room. Cole’s heart felt heavy. Was it jealousy? Loneliness? He wasn't sure. Probably both.
He listened to his friends talk as he ate. He spent the next half an hour trying not to obviously gaze at Zane. Everyone, including Cole, complimented his cooking. He beamed, his sky blue eyes glistening with pride. Cole’s cheeks turned pink.
“Cole, may I talk to you about something?” Pixal asked.
He snapped out of his trance. “Uh, yeah?”
Pixal led him to her bedroom, which made him nervous. Why had she singled him out? Why couldn't she talk to him in front of everyone else?
“So… what did you wanna talk about?” He asked.
She hesitated. “Forgive me for asking this if I’m wrong, I am not the best at social cues. But, do you have romantic feelings for Zane?”
Cole’s face turned bright red. He stuttered over his words. He was unable to say anything comprehensible, so he shut his mouth.
“I believe I have figured out the answer to my question.”
“I-I’m not gonna flirt with him or anything! I wouldn't—I would never get in-between you two!”
“I never said you would. I only wanted to be certain instead of acting based on an assumption.”
He hung his head. “You’re gonna ask me to keep my distance from him.”
Pixal cocked her head to the side. “What? No, I was going to tell you it’s okay to try and pursue him. I do not mind sharing him. I just want him to be happy, and I think you would try as hard as I do to make him happy.”
He reeled. “Oh. I, um, was kind of expecting you to be mad at me.”
She grinned at him. “Even if I did not want to share him, I wouldn’t be upset at you for having feelings for him. You cannot control who you are attracted to.”
He grinned back, feeling incredibly relieved.
There was a knock on Pixal’s door.
“Hey, we’re gonna start the movie without you,” Nya warned.
“It appears as though we have business to attend to,” She said.
Cole chuckled, “I guess we do.”
They moved to the living room. All the other ninja were either sitting comfortably on the couch or had been banished to the floor.
She sat down on the floor next to Zane. Cole hesitantly sat beside him as well. He tried to focus on the movie. But he was flustered from his conversation with Pixal, and now he was sitting next to Zane. It was hard to pay attention to anything other than him.
He could just barely hear Zane ask Pixal what their conversation was about and if Cole was okay. She told Zane to talk to him. His heart began to race. He’s gonna talk to me about it!? What am I supposed to tell him!?
The movie was over sooner than Cole would've liked. Zane instantly pulled him aside, and he still had no idea what to do. He stared down at the floor, his heart beating even faster than it ever had.
“Cole, are you all right?” Zane asked. “You’ve been rather quiet lately.”
“I’m fine,” He answered quickly.
Zane frowned. “I am afraid I do not believe you. Please, tell me what’s wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong, you don’t have to worry about me.”
“I care about you, of course I worry.”
Cole fidgeted with his hands. He gazed into Zane’s shiny blue eyes, and blush spread across his face. The heartache that had lingered in the background of his emotions was fronting. He was going to break.
“You can tell me anything, I promise,” Zane insisted.
Cole sighed, “I just—I really like you in a romantic way. I didn’t wanna get between you and Pixal, but she figured out I liked you and she said she would be fine with some form of polyamory. But I don’t think you like me that way, and I don’t want things to be awkward between us. But I also feel like my heart is gonna explode every time I look at you. I don’t know what to do. I—”
Zane gently placed his hands on Cole’s shoulders. “Deep breaths, I do not want you to have a panic attack.” He chuckled.
Cole took a breath. He focused on Zane’s gentle touch as he slid his hands down to Cole’s.
“I must admit I am... surprised by your confession, I had no idea you had romantic feelings for me. And I must also admit that I’ve been experiencing romantic feelings for you for a few weeks now.”
His eyes lit up. “Really?”
“You always notice when I feel upset and come to comfort me. You make an effort to spend time with me. You compliment me any chance you get… We would obviously need to talk to Pixal about this, but I would love it if we could be partners.”
Cole smiled softly at him. “You have no idea how much I’d love that as well.”
From a discussion with my friend liz on twitter:
What if Shiro loves bubblegum?
I just love the idea of him finding something similar on a planet and the next time they’re doing paperwork or something Pidge is slowly driven nuts by the GODDAMN POPPING WHERE IS IT COMING FROM. (Spoiler: it’s Shiro, Altean manuals are boring and he needed something to stop him grinding his teeth)
This fandom inspires me so much. I might go back and edit this, because Pidge’s reaction feels kinda abrupt, but for now I’m tired and I just wanted to get it written down so I can sleep ;~;
Galaxy Garrison, 3 years earlier
“Shiro, can you please unclench before you grind your way through your skull?” Matt sighed, shooting another paper plane across the dorm room, “I’ve only looked at you for - what, a minute? - and I can feel a sympathy migraine coming on!”
Shiro huffed through his nose, shifting his jaw side-to-side and working the stiff muscles. It made his ears feel odd, the strange motion, but it was the only way he knew to release the tightness that was spreading up his face and down his neck. He jerked back in surprise when a tiny brick, wrapped in yellow paper, bounced off his forehead.
“Gum? Really, Matt?”
Matt shrugged, “Dude at this point I would take you chewing as obnoxiously as possible over watching you grind your teeth to the root. Just try the gum; it’s sugar-free, if that makes you feel any better?”
“Fine, I’ll try it. But if I don’t like it, you owe me three hours of study-”
“Done!”
“…in silence, Matt.”
Either way, Shiro wasn’t getting that peace and quiet.
Of all of the things that changed after the Kerberos mission, the last thing Shiro expected to miss was bubblegum. There was a lot to miss, sure, he missed his home, his favourite places, even some of the people. But when his jaw remained rigid for three days straight, or he had to give up on research because the pounding in his skull bounced between his temples and neck like a gremlin on speed, he really just wanted something to work out the tension.
Trying to explain the nature of bubblegum to Coran had been confusing, embarrassing and downright disturbing; he’d left with something with a texture akin to toffee, but smelled like cheap disinfectant. No bubbles, and he damn near cracked a tooth on it.
Cue Matt: Shiro’s saving grace for the second time. Where he had managed to find candy in the middle of space, while also juggling his rebel duties, was just another miracle to add to the growing list of Holt family achievements.
Over the first few months after Matt returned, he began dropping off little boxes inside Shiro’s room. (How he got in there goes on a separate Holt family list, but Shiro wasn’t exactly complaining.) Slowly, the Black Paladin began to amass a confectionery stash to rival Pidge’s hoard of gadgets in both size and variety. Many went unopened, either because they didn’t look particularly appetising or because Shiro just hadn’t felt brave enough to try them at the time, but of the ones he’d tried; the best by far was a strange pink gum. Apparently it had been suggested by Nyma, and the berries on the box looked similar to the ones Hunk cooked with, so he wasn’t too concerned about trying them.
It tasted awesome, like a hybrid between a strawberry and cherry, with a minty aftertaste. And most importantly, it could blow massive bubbles.
He’d just received a new box from Matt (who had taken to gifting Shiro the ones he requested in wholesale levels of bulk) and Shiro was rather embarrassed to admit he’d gone more than a little overboard. There had been a few near-misses, when he’d left his room while still absent-mindedly chewing away. He’d rounded a corner and had to quickly swallow it so he could stop Lance rigging the air vent above Keith’s door with a bucket of water balloons. (Where had Lance found water balloons in- nope, actually, Shiro didn’t even want to ask that question.)
He really hoped this was the kind of gum you could swallow. He’d had enough awkward conversations with Coran to last him a lifetime, thank you very much.
Pop!
psshhhh…
Pidge’s head perked up, scrutinising the lab around them. Everyone was working on the latest information dump. Lance was sprawled on his back with his feet braced halfway up the wall, Hunk lying beside him, the right way up. Keith was pacing, cutting a complicated path between all the desks and chairs. Every time he passed too close, Lance would reach up and try to bat Keith’s feet out from underneath him, but would find himself neatly sidestepped every time. (Really, Keith’s sense of spacial awareness was impressive sometimes. Hard to believe that this was the same guy who walked into glass panels if he was caught in conversation.) Aside from the sound of Keith’s boots on the floor and the rubbing of Lance’s socks against the wall, they were practically silent.
Pop!
psshhhh…
So where was that noise coming from?
Shiro was curled over a desk, facing away from Pidge. He was showing all the signs of having been working too long; his prosthetic stretched out across the table, his other hand tucked into the back of his neck, playing with his scalp where his undercut turned slightly soft and downy. His other key tell had been going steadily all night; the slow working of his jaw. Matt had always told Pidge that Shiro had bruxism bordering on chronic, which they figured was now a textbook definition, given that his worries had evolved from Garrison drama to life-or-death decisions.
Pop!
psshhhh…
“Alright!” Pidge snapped, slamming down the pad. “What in this room has sprung a leak because I’m about to go crazy with the duct tape!”
…
Pop!
“SHIRO!?”
…
psshhhh…
“Sorry, Pidge.” Shiro turned, licking pink gum from his lips, but at least he had the decency to look guilty about it.
“Wait, you have gum? You’d better be planning to share that, Shirogane!”
Summary: Nya doesn't want to search for her soulmate. The goose chasing her doesn't care.
Focus: Nya
Relationship: Nya/Pixal
Content Warning: Goose
Word Count: 1,004
~~~
Nya didn't want to look for her soulmate, not after being accepted into such a prestigious college. She was excited to study engineering and work on vehicles of all kinds—she couldn't split her attention between school and a relationship! She hoped her soulmate would understand.
It was her nineteenth birthday, the special day when her life got much more annoying. Any moment now, a goose was going to appear and start chasing her in the direction of her soulmate. It'd been hilarious when her brother had gotten his goose; but now that it was her turn, she was not amused.
She had no idea what to do if her soulmate was far away. Her parents had given her money if that was the case, but it was time she was worried about. She just needed to talk to this person, and the goose would go away. Then, she could go straight back home and start taking courses. She was tired of doing nothing.
She didn't blame colleges for only allowing people who'd found their soulmate, though. No one got a high grade in any class when there was a goose biting them the entire time.
She jumped as she heard the dreaded honk and spotted it charging at her. She immediately took off on her bicycle, geese were much scarier now that one was after her. She barely heard her family wish her good luck over its ruckus.
She cycled through the heart of Ignacia. People laughed lightheartedly and ducked out of her way.
When she reached the edge of the village, she stopped to see which way the creature wanted her to go. It moved to the left of her with its wings stretched out in an effort to block her.
"Right it is," She muttered aloud.
She started peddling again. She lit up when she realized which way she was going.
She turned her head around to the goose. "Are we going to Ninjago City? That's where I'm going to college!"
It honked at her repeatedly, but it'd been doing that the whole time, so she couldn't consider that confirmation. She hoped she was right. Behind the city was ocean, so either her soulmate was in the city, or they were on the other side of the continent. She'd lose her mind if she was forced to take a plane or boat.
She trekked through the desert. The sun was beating down on her face, but it was manageable. She was used to hot temperatures anyway from growing up in Ignacia.
She stopped at the side of a mountain and pulled out a bottle of water from her backpack. She chugged all of it within a few seconds. The goose squawked at her.
"Give me a minute!" She shouted, "Don't you need a break too!?"
It tried to nip her ankles. She groaned as she put the bottle back.
She continued riding in the direction of the city. The desert was mostly sand and open sky, but a few cacti were scattered around. The emptiness would've been eerie if it weren't for the creature chasing after her.
When she finally reached her destination, she was exhausted. She stuck her bike in a bicycle rack and darted into a store. She slammed the door behind her. The goose honked angrily, but she ignored it.
She let the air conditioning clear her head for a minute, and she chugged half of her other water bottle. An employee began approaching her, but she waved them off. "Don't worry, I'm going."
She threw her empty bottles away, then pulled the door open. The goose dashed behind her. She got back on her bike.
She peddled slowly, and it waddled at the same pace. It guided her farther into the crowded city. She laughed as she spotted someone else running from their own goose. The two of them waved at each other in a moment of solidarity.
Nya soon found herself in front Borg Tower. "Wow, that... is dangerously tall."
She tried to go around the tower, but the goose blocked her path. It nudged her back tire. She took the hint.
There wasn't a place to put her bike, so she leaned it against the wall. She stepped inside awkwardly, hating the amount of people turning to stare at her and her squawking goose.
It flapped its wings, threatening to hit her. She let it lead her to the elevator and called it down to her.
"I don't have to search every floor, do I?" She asked miserably, "Surely you know which button to—"
The door opened, and the creature instantly pushed her into someone. She almost toppled over the person in a wheelchair. She backed away, profusely apologizing.
The person she'd bumped into was some kind of android with bright green eyes. The man in the wheelchair she recognized as Cyrus Borg himself.
He chuckled, "No need to apologize, these geese have minds of their own. Feel free to explore the tower."
He rolled out of the elevator, and the android trailed behind him. The goose honked wildly, spreading its wings and pushing Nya out of the elevator.
The android noticed what was happening and approached her. "Perhaps your soulmate is about to come down the other elevator?"
The goose circled the two of them. Borg beamed. "Pixal... I think you have a soulmate."
"...That is not possible. I am not human."
"Look at it!"
The goose nudged Nya a bit closer to Pixal. Then, it let out a final honk and ran out of the building.
Nya gazed at the woman in front of her. She would've never guessed that her soulmate wouldn't be human.
"Hi," She said softly, "I'm Nya."
"I am P.I.X.A.L., the Primary Interactive X-ternal Assistant Life-form here at Borg Tower. I excel at creating technology and enjoy learning new things, but I am also blunt to the point where I am often considered rude. Are we compatible?"
