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Kai considered that despite the dangers that constantly threatened Ninjago, his current life was doing quite well compared to his childhood. He had his beloved sister, who had grown into a wonderful woman and turned out to be a powerful alpha and a master of water. He had his parents back, and although it was hard to get used to having them in his life again, it was definitely worth the fight. He had gained three wonderful partners who accepted him for who he was and whom he loved with all his heart and in return. He lived in a monastery with modern amenities together with a master who enlightened him about the power he had, being like a grandfather or a father to him. He also had an amazing stepbrother, who was both his joy and his pain.
Just like now, as the clock ticked past three in the morning and Lloyd knocked on the door.
"Cole, go take care of this." Jay groaned, pushing the black-haired man off the bed.
"No." the earth master replied with a yawn, trying to take the blanket from them, still stuck in dreamland.
"I'll go." Zane announced, reluctantly getting up from the bed.
"Kai?" the energy master asked from behind the door in a slightly panicked tone, and the brown-haired groaned painfully, disentangling himself from Jay's embrace and moving towards the door.
"What's up, kid?" the sleepy fire master asked, opening the door.
Lloyd stood there nervously shifting his weight from one leg to the other and tugging a little at his already quite wrinkled green pajamas. His hair was tousled in all directions, and the blond's face remained red as from a burn, which Kai could see thanks to the candles burning in the hallway. However, the red ninja's sleepy brain was drawn to the scent wafting around the younger one. A sweet and intense scent, containing mint, honey and the characteristic softness, if that's how you can describe the scent, of an omega.
"I-I think I'm in heat." The green ninja replied as the tired omega finally connected the dots.
"What?!" Kai shouted in surprise, finally waking up.
“What's going on?” asked a sleepy Jay, and Zane approached his partner, drawing in a sharp breath and sensing what was going on.
“Well Lloyd is indeed an omega.” Kai commented before the aforementioned teenager's legs buckled.
“What? How so?” Jay and Cole jumped out of bed, into which the earth master had just crawled, running to the omega when he caught the falling Lloyd.
“Lloyd, how are you feeling?” asked the fire master, ignoring his partners.
“I'm hot.” the green ninja groaned weakly.
“I know that. Is there anything else? Does anything hurt? Do you need anything?” the brown-haired man asked, quickly thinking of what to do.
“Everything itches. I feel weak. And I want to sleep. Cuddle.” the energy master asked weakly.
“Come on, let me take you to my nest, okay? You'll sleep here tonight, and we'll take care of the rest tomorrow, okay?" Kai suggested gently, pulling his younger brother to bed and all the while trying to control his own scent to release only calming and sleep-inducing pheromones.
"What can we do? How can we help?" Cole asked, looking helplessly at Lloyd.
"First, stop panicking." Kai suggested, putting the teenager to bed, filled with the scent of the other ninjas.
The blond immediately let out a small sigh of relief, burying his head in the red pillow and relaxing a little. The red ninja was instantly moved by the sight, wanting nothing more than to join the pup and make sure he was safe in his arms. At that thought, Kai seemed to snap out of his trance and began to wonder what to do now. Lloyd was in a pre-heat state, which meant that he would be completely defenseless for the next three days. 'I just hope the world doesn't suddenly need a green ninja,' the fire master thought, knowing at the same time that in their case, life often plays against them. He himself had already appeared on the battlefield once or twice, dreaming of rest and returning to a safe nest, and even that wasn't the worst.
"Is it wise to put him here?" Zane asked quietly, combing the hair of the teenager, who had quickly fallen asleep.
"Why?" Jay asked, when Kai covered the blond with a blanket and began to stroke his back soothingly.
“Because only mates, cubs, and in rare cases family members have access to the nest. Kai can react unexpectedly and aggressively in the morning, when he has no contact with the real world yet.” the worried nindroid explained.
“But you all keep saying that Lloyd is our cub.” the omega laughed.
“That's not funny Kai, you know perfectly well that playing with instincts ends badly.” Cole reminded, entering the nest after the others.
“Yes, I understand. But I'm saying there's nothing to worry about.” the red ninja replied.
“Wait! I get that this is a pretty important conversation and all, but can we get back to the topic of the only people allowed in the nest? Because if I remember correctly, we slept in a firefly nest for a while before we got together.” Jay interjected.
“Yeah, it's pretty surprising to me right now too.” Zane admitted, and Kai suddenly turned the color of his gi, definitely not wanting to reveal now that these were cautious and pretty unsuccessful attempts at flirting with the rest of them.
“Can we focus on the pup though?” the omega snapped, avoiding the eyes of either man.
“Of course. Why are you so sure your instincts won't react to Lloyd?” the white-haired one asked, and Kai groaned.
“I take it back, don't ask me anything anymore. It's best if you go to sleep on the couch.” the brown-haired one ordered.
“Hey, it's not like that. Who do I cuddle up to at night? Tell me what's going on, please?” Jay pleaded, grabbing the omega by the hands and giving the omega the best puppy eyes he could, which almost always won him the omega's favor.
“IreallytreatLloydasmypup.” Kai confessed indistinctly.
“Can you repeat that?” Cole asked, who felt what the time is, after his partner’s incomprehensible statement.
“I really do treat Lloyd as my pup.” the embarrassed fire master repeated.
“And what’s wrong with that? You’re a much better parent to him than Garmadon. And I won’t even mention Misako.” Jay snorted at the mention of the woman.
“That’s not the point. I mean, taking over someone else’s pup was never on my to-do list either, but… I don’t know, taking care of Nya was one thing since she’s my sister. But taking care of another kid? No matter how close we are, I just don’t want my omega side to suddenly come out and decide I need more pups because this one’s growing up. I really like our current life and there’s no room for a real pup in it, and I don’t want to give up on this situation. Besides, I’m not crazy about the possibility of a pregnancy, but I don’t want to burden you with my selfishness either.” Kai confessed incoherently, petting his deeply sleeping friend.
“Kai, baby. None of us would think less of you if you wanted a child.” Jay said immediately.
“We would never try to force you into having one, though,” Zane added. “Especially since we live a pretty dangerous lifestyle that’s not conducive to having and raising a child.”
“Your body would have to take care of it, so the decision would be entirely yours. It's not selfishness, but a healthy approach to a serious decision. Would you be a good parent in my opinion? Yes. Is that why I think you should have kid? No. It will always be your decision first and foremost.” Cole spoke up, hugging his partner and kissing him gently, being completely honest, although he wouldn't mind having a child.
“Besides, I doubt Lloyd is ready for a sibling.” The redhead joked, lightening the mood and making the group laugh.
“So, what are we supposed to do to help?” the earth master asked, pointing to the sleeping teen.
“The first heat should pass mostly in this state, tiredness, need for attention from his parents, some cuddling, and a lot of instinctive behavior, if I understand correctly.” the ice master mentioned.
“Exactly. It shouldn't be longer than three days and then the next ones could last up to a week and include, well, sexual needs.” Kai added.
“Need for attention from his parents? You know Kai, I think Lloyd is responding to your perception of him as a pup and seeing you as his parent.” Jay said, to which the omega just smiled.
“That still doesn’t answer my question.” Cole groaned.
“Just be. That’s the best we can do right now. Be, provide comfort, snacks, water, and lots of attention.” the fire master assured.
At these words, everyone finally lay down to get some more sleep. Kai wrapped his arms around his pup, placing a short kiss on his forehead. Cole lay down behind him, still holding him in his arms, on the other side of the blond, while Zane and Jay cuddled up to each other. The fire master still lacked his sister to be fully satisfied, but she was already too big to be pushed into the nest and definitely preferred to sleep alone, not feeling as great as her older brother at the thought of sharing a bed with more than one person. She understood his need, respected his relationship and loved him unconditionally, not sharing all of his values and needs.
Yes, there were days when Nya needed a little tenderness and then she appeared on the threshold of her brother's room, immediately receiving what she needed. It happened rarely, but Kai was always happy to be able to help his little sister.
And so, the calm omega immersed himself in the embrace of sleep, knowing that both he and his pup were safe in the arms of his beloved ones.
~~~~~~
In the morning, Lloyd woke up still cuddled up to the master of fire, not worrying for a moment where he was or why, inhaling the sweet scent that reminded him only of Kai, who, like the other ninja, was still sleeping. The blond, seeing the peace on the face of the omega and the others, decided to follow their example and return to the land of dreams. Feeling Kai's pleasant, although unusual for an omega, scent, consisting of the scent of bonfire, chocolate, caramel and ginger, he smiled, snuggling even closer and letting out a quiet whisper with satisfaction, prompted by a quiet voice in the back of his head, unheard by anyone.
"Mom."