Chapter Text
Kai slept fitfully in his bed. He thrashed and turned, shaking the whole bunk. He was in one of his childhood homes. It reeked of alcohol and cigarettes the way he’d always known it to. Every room was exactly the same, every detail burned into his brain. He felt sick as he walked through the house, his breath hitching at every turn. A pit formed in his stomach when he saw him. He sat slouched in a chair facing the TV watching his football game. A beer in his hand and countless empty on the floor.
“Boy,” the man spoke, “Why’re you lurking?” His speech was slurred. “You answer me when I’m talking to you.” Kai wanted to speak. He knew what happened if he didn’t and yet no words came out. He could only bring up bile, leaving a foul taste in his mouth. The beer bottle was tossed to the floor, leaking the alcohol onto the floor, seeping into the carpet as the man stood. He began to unbuckle his belt as he walked towards Kai. He wanted to run. He wanted to scream. All he did was freeze, feeling like his feet were sinking into the ground and holding him there. The man grabbed firmly at Kai’s wrist, digging in his nails hard enough to draw blood, and began to drag him over to the table. Kai’s head spun as it made contact with the wood, but he hardly had time to react to the dizziness as his shirt was lifted. He flinched in terror, anticipating what was to come, but no amount of experience ever prepared him for the searing pain of the belt whipping against his back spreading a searing pain through his body. The man continued to hit Kai over and over in the same place until he bled. Kai cried out in pain as the man hit him again and again, with seemingly no intent to stop. And then Kai’s shoulder began to shake. First it was light, then it slowly became rougher and the scene around him began to fade to black.
Abruptly, Kai woke up to the Earth ninja at his side, eyes barely open, movements sluggish. Kai stared at the man, unable to look away. Even half asleep Kai noticed how his pretty his eyes were, the smooth curves of his face, the way his hair fell in front of his eyes, messy from sleeping. His heart raced looking at him.
“Are you alright?” Cole asked in a deep, gruff voice. This caused Kai to break out of his trance, shaking his head briefly to shake it fully off. Cole’s lips turned down into a slight frown and his brows furrowed in concern.
“Yeah. Yeah, I’m alright.” Kai answered breathily, trying to quell his racing heart. Cole’s brows furrowed further at his response, clearly not believing him. “It was just a dream.”
“You almost broke the bed thrashing.” Cole murmured, suddenly conscious of his volume. “The fact Jay didn’t wake up being above you is actually a bit alarming.” Kai didn’t respond. He averted his gaze from Cole in an attempt to hide his shame. He’d not had a nightmare like this in a long time. Not since he joined the team, over 5 years ago at his point. His cheeks were flushed and he felt hot with his embarrassment. Consumed in his own thoughts, he failed to notice Cole sitting down on his bunk until his hand brushed his shoulder. “You don’t have to talk about it. I understand if you don’t, but I’m not here to judge.” His comforting words made it so tempting. He wanted to tell Cole everything, but he was afraid. Afraid of Cole looking at him differently, treating him with pity, that constant worried look in his eyes like Kai would break and shatter if he looked away. Most of all he was afraid that if he talked to Cole, all of his emotions would slip out, opening the floodgate to all he had been hiding in for so long.
“I know you wouldn’t judge me,” Kai said still looking away, “But I don’t think I can talk about it right now.” With a silent nod, Cole began to stand up when Kai grabbed his hand. “Stay.” One word. A simple request. Kai watched as Cole’s eyes widened, the most awake he’d been all night and he swears he saw a faint blush appear in his cheeks, but maybe his mind was playing tricks on him, showing him what he wanted to see. Instead of sitting back down Cole yanked the fire ninja up out of the bed, dragging him out into the living room.
“I assume you won’t be going back to sleep for the night, so let’s not wake everyone up.” Cole said with a warm smile on his lips.
“I might not sleep but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. This was stupid, I shouldn’t have asked you to stay, that’s not fair.” Kai choked as a lump formed in his throat. He didn’t even know why he was upset. He wanted to spend time with Cole. He knew it would be nice to have his company when he couldn’t sleep. He knew it would be nice to not be alone. And yet he felt like he was taking advantage of Cole’s kindness. Almost as if guessing Kai’s thoughts, Cole cupped Kai’s face in his hands, causing him to blush.
“I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be ok. Wu has made us survive on much less sleep. You are not a burden to me. I want to be there for you and help you.” Cole paused for a second before he continued, dropping his hands. “If you don’t want me to stay out here with you, I will go. This is not about what you think is best for me. This is about you. What do you want. If you can honestly tell me, you want me to go away because that is what you want, I will honour that request.” When Kai looked at his feet, not answering him, Cole perked up and jumped onto the couch. “Alright Fire Boy, what are we watching?” Kai let the faintest smile tug at his lips before walking over to the couch joining Cole. The two of them were watching the TV in silence as Kai began to drift off, his head falling onto Cole’s shoulder. Cole didn’t dare move until he knew the fire ninja was soundly asleep. When he was, Cole began to shuffle Kai off him and carried him back to his bed and lifted the blanket up. He walked back out of the room, pausing in the doorway to look at Kai once more. When Jay rolled over on the top bunk he quickly left the room. First Spinjitsu Master knows what Jay would do to tease him if he found him staring longingly at Kai Smith.