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fandomsareforlife · 5 months ago

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I Didn't Have It In Myself To Go With Grace

Summary: Kai hoped that at least one person would be able to handle the craziness that came with him being a ninja and not have a bucketload of emotional trauma. Of course, that proved more difficult than anticipated, with each relationship fizzling out quicker than Kai could ever predict.

But this time Kai had high hopes for the new guy he was scooping out. The master of shadows, Shade.

Kai has a crush on Shade. So does Nya. This causes issues.

AN: For @/aeroargonic, who wanted this fic. Gonna be honest, not my cup of tea, but it was an interesting writing experiment.

Anyway, no real trigger warnings, but Kai has kind of shitty self esteem and he does mention soem past relationships with his exes, so proceed with caution and yell at me if I need to warn for something. Oh, the omake does have blackscreen (Shade/Lloyd) if that's not your thing. All characters are adults, don't worry, and this takes place some time post season 4, you decide when.

Also, this is for @badthingshappenbingo, the prompt "betrayal" because I have been working on that card for three years, I should probably start actually finishing the squares. Card at the end of the fic, sorry.

And yes, the title is a Taylor Swift, I don't have any ideas, so might change it if I figure something better.

READ ON AO3

Kai knew that he wasn’t the shining example of a guy who wanted stable relationships, okay? He knew that if you just went by the amount of relationships he had and the length of time he was in them, you would have thought he was a huge Casanova, who couldn’t stay in a relationship for more than a few months.

But…it wasn’t like he didn’t want to be in a relationship long term. Kai just seemed to have terrible luck with them, especially recently.

First, there was Skylor, with whom Kai had tried numerous times getting with. Everytime, they would break it off because of Kai’s ninja duties, Skylor’s restaurant growing even more popular, their inability to actually process their collective childhood and adult trauma, or all of those factors, plus a bunch of stuff Kai probably wasn’t even remembering.

But that was fine, Kai had thought. He had been trying too hard to get with the wrong girl, really. He just needed to try someone different, and then it would stick.

So Kai had tried to get something to stick with Griffin Turner. Was it kind of mean to make the guy a rebound? Probably, but Kai was pretty sure Griffin was also rebounding from his relationship with Neuro, if the moments where Griffin went quiet were any sort of indication.

Griffin seemed like someone who Kai could get along with. He was seemingly bright and bubbly, silly and yet down to earth enough that he could handle Kai’s moods, when the stress of being a ninja grew too great on the red ninja’s shoulders. But…Griffin was also shattered. Shattered in a different way than Kai, but still cracked like glass.

It was present in how he would get angry with Kai for small things, like his food not being the way he wanted or Kai being too loud. It was in the way he hated sex, and how clearly he was only indulging Kai cause he thought he had to. It was evident in how he would flinch away from Kai before he raised his fists against Kai’s flames.

That relationship was destroying Kai and Griffin, and would have probably ended up with one or both of them killed, so Kai forced Griffin away and broke it off for forever.

…not like it was hard, with how relieved Griffin seemed to be as he walked out of the coffee shop they met up in for the last time.

After that, Kai kept trying and trying and trying again and again. He hoped that at least one person would be able to handle the craziness that came with him being a ninja and not have a bucketload of emotional trauma. Of course, that proved more difficult than anticipated, with each relationship fizzling out quicker than Kai could ever predict.

But this time Kai had high hopes for the new guy he was scooping out. The master of shadows, Shade. He was a calm guy, even under pressure, and sure he could be a bit of a hothead, but he was significantly better than Kai was in terms of his temper. According to what Kai heard about him, Shade was great with dealing with high stress situations and he was good with people, being Griffin’s best friend.

With all of those qualities in mind, Kai hoped that if Shade agreed to date him, it would end up in an long term that was actually beneficial for both of them. All Kai had to do was figure out how to ask him out…

Which was easier said than done, with Kai’s previous attempts being called, at best, “a very sweet gesture, even if it fell apart at the last minute.” Kai needed to have a foolproof plan, and for that, he had the perfect person in mind.

Cole had been dating Karlof for a while now, and they seemed to have a pretty stable relationship, with Cole coming back from all their dates all glowy and shit. Kai had overheard him telling the others about how amazing Karlof was, and how they had some pretty awesome dates, so clearly Karlof was a decent guy. While Kai had no interest in taking Cole’s boyfriend from him, he figured that it couldn’t hurt to ask him for advice and make sure Kai had his sights on the right guy.

Squaring his shoulders, Kai made his way to Cole’s room, sagging in relief at the sight of the open door. Good, he probably wouldn’t get too annoyed at Kai for just walking in. However, before Kai walked in, he heard Cole’s voice talking to someone. He paused for a moment, deciding to listen in to make sure Cole wasn’t talking to someone important.

“Yeah, he sounds like a great guy, Nya,” Cole’s soft voice filtered out of the door, making Kai pause. Nya was looking into other guys? Good for her, Kai guessed. She deserved a lot better than Jay, and he supposed Cole wouldn’t lead his baby sister down a path where she ended up with a jerk as a boyfriend...intentionally at least.

Creeping closer, Kai positioned himself closer to the door so he could hear their conversation better. While he did trust Cole’s judgment, it never hurt to be cautious and make sure his baby sister got the best boyfriend possible.

There was shuffling, presumably from one of them moving on the bed, and then “Yeah, he really is kind of sweet. I can’t really get why Jay hates him so much.” Nya’s voice was tinged with easy laughter, making Kai relaxed just a bit. She never really laughed a lot when talking about Jay, or if she did, it was with a twinge of fond exasperation in it. This guy hopefully was more sane than Jay was.

Cole snorted, and there was a crunch, probably one of Zane’s cookies that Cole had stolen earlier, after suspiciously offering to do the dishes. “Well, Jay did get his leg broken because Lloyd was trying to hit Shade and accidentally hit the painting, apparently, so I guess he does have a right to be bitter.”

Kai’s blood went cold. No, no it couldn’t be. Nya couldn’t be talking about him, could she?

“Yeah, I guess that would be a valid reason for Jay to be pissed at Shade,” Nya hummed. “Doesn’t mean that he is any less sweet, or hot.” More laughter from them both.

Fuck no, this can not be happening. Kai can not be hearing those words from Nya, and be forced to deal with the fact that his sister liked the exact same guy as he did.

Taking a deep breath to try and reign in some of the burning hot anger in his blood, Kai pushed open the door and gave Cole and Nya a shaky smile. “Hey guys, am I interrupting something?”

Cole, master blessed his soul, shook his head and scooted back on his bed to make Kai a place to sit. “Not really. What’s up?”

It was hard to keep his smile on his face, but Kai managed it, turning to face the wall, taking a moment to gather his thoughts. “Well, I was wondering if you could, uh, give me some relationship advice?”

Nya, his sister who was planning to steal his crush, choked on her water and stared at Kai with fucking concern, as if she had any right to do so. “Kai, you have been on what, 10, dates with different girls in 6 weeks? Are you sure you’re ready-”

“It isn’t a girl, first of all,” Kai interrupted Nya. “And second of all, that’s why I’m here to ask Cole for advice.” Turning to the master of Earth, Kai gave him a wide eyed look as he propped his chin on his hand. “Do you think I have a chance with Shade? He was the master of’ shadow at the tournament.”

The look on Nya's face would be one that Kai would remember for a long time, all shocked and hurt. Poor Cole just looked so confused, Kai felt bad for him.

However, Kai pretended to not know what the issue was, so he kept going. “He is really nice, once you get past the whole emo thing, and I think I might have with him, but I don’t wanna fuck this up, so some advice, please?”

Before Cole could even form a response, Nya blurted out, “I like Shade too!” Despite knowing that already, it still hurts, hearing his baby sister, the one person he shouldn’t steal from, admit she wanted the first person Kai thought he had a chance with.

Maybe it was petty, but Kai wanted Shade to himself. Nya had a million other guys who wanted her, surely. No one wanted Kai, except Shade, maybe, so he had to go chase after Shade. It wasn’t healthy, for sure, but he had to go chasing for relationships because people don’t love Kai unless they were obligated to do so, or if Kai made them love him.

Swallowing down the lump, Kai shook his head, dropping his head. “S-sorry, but…I really like him, Nya. So…maybe you could just let him go? I-I really think I have a chance this time.” He forced a shaky smile on his face, hoping that would be enough to convince Nya.

However, Nya was as stubborn as him sometimes, and sniffled. “You always think you have a chance, and then you go blow it, and make whoever you date hate us.” That…wasn’t entirely inaccurate. Skylor was still hesitant to talk to the ninja after her and Kai properly called off any attempts to have a relationship. “I just…he seems so much better than Jay.” Nya sobbed, making Kai’s heart clench a bit. “Why can’t I have him?”

Before Kai could form a rebuttal to that, Cole piped up. “Don’t you guys think it’s kind of a jerk move making him a rebound? Like…if you both really liked him, you shouldn’t just be using him to make yourselves feel better since you both broke up with your exes.”

Kai growled. “He is not a rebound-”

“Just like how Griffin wasn’t a rebound?” Nya snarled, swiping at Kai, clearly angry now and not just hurt.

Kai dodged. “That was completely different!”

“How? Cause you weren’t sleeping around-”

“I’m not sleeping around!”

“Could have fooled me!”

Before Kai could respond to that, he felt cold arms pick him up, pulling him away from Nya. Looking down at the white sleeves, Kai kicked his foot back, clenching his teeth at the pain of kicking titanium.

“I would advise you not to do that, Kai,” Zane’s robotic (too robotic, too mechanical, it’s like he was dead somehow) voice mumbled, the nindroid carrying Kai out of Cole’s room, as Jay did the same to Nya.

Sniffing the air, Kai frowned at the smell of smoke. What was burning?

“You burned Cole’s sheets during your argument with Nya. He then called me and Jay to come help separate you two.” Oh, he must have said that aloud, cause he was pretty sure Zane didn’t have mind reading powers. “You did say it aloud, and I don’t have mind reading powers yet.”

Grumbling, Kai squirmed in Zane’s arms until Zane placed him on Kai’s bed. Silently, Zane left the room, leaving Kai to his thoughts.

Or, maybe he didn’t have to be.

Pulling out his phone, he pulled up a certain master’s contact.

Hey, Shade, are you free to meet up soon? For a date with me?

—--

OMAKE

Lloyd groaned as Shade’s phone buzzed, making Shade pull his hand away to look at it. “Babe, are you sure you have to answer it?”

Shade nodded. “It’s the tone I have for the other masters, and they don’t text unless it’s an emer- What the fuck?!”

“What is it?” Lloyd cried, trying to look over Shade’s shoulder, cursing the sun for the glare it created on the screen. “Is something wrong?”

Shade grumbled as he put his phone away and turned to face Lloyd, a frown on his face. “Lloyd, do your siblings know about us?”

“...” Admittedly, Lloyd probably should have told his siblings about Shade and his relationship, considering the fact they have been dating for about 6 months, but in his defense they have been busy! There wasn’t a good time.

Lloyd was pulled out by Shade’s cough, making the blonde blush. “You can’t be mad, but-”

“You haven’t told them,” Shade finished.

Wincing, Lloyd nodded. “Yeah…Sorry.”

Shade sighed and wrapped an arm around Lloyd, taking a deep breath. “...Kai and Nya have both asked me out on a date. What do?”

That started a shaky laugh out of Lloyd, both at the idea his older siblings had a crush on his boyfriend (even if they didn’t know about that fact) and Shade’s attempt at using slang, which always made them laugh.

“Lloyd? Any ideas?” Shade’s voice was so grumpy, it was so cute.

Shrugging, Lloyd nuzzled Shade’s head. “Tell them you’re taken? And don’t answer any questions?”

“If I do that, will you actually tell them about us?”

“...fine.” Lloyd really didn’t want to, cause it would totally be awkward, but they guess they could do it for Shade.

Shade hummed happily, and hugged Lloyd tightly. “Good. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Lloyd petted his hair, glad he got such an awesome boyfriend.

Shade was Lloyd’s boyfriend, and only Lloyd’s.

#art's silly (or not so silly) things #ninjago #ninjago shade #ninjago kai #ninjago nya #ninjago lloyd #ninjago blackscreen #blackscreenshipping #ask to tag #betrayal

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