Kai sighed as he sat himself down on the deck of the boat, one knee having been pulled comfortably against his chest so he could rest his chin on it, arms wrapped loosely around himself with a blanket pulled close. The slight breeze was chilling out here on his lonesome, and that would be saying something for someone who was as warm blooded as they came with the natural ability to wield flames at his will. He reached up to comb his fingers through his spiked hair, eyes drifting shut.

"I miss you, Dad." He breathes softly, lips twisting into a small frown as he bows his head.

Back when he'd been younger, and his father had been alive, they'd have a father-son moment and go out on the roof with a sleeping bag for cushion and a few blankets for warmth. They'd talk about things, though they usually didn't seem to hold much value at the time. Those little conversations he'd had with his father stayed plastered into his memory as though they'd meant the world to him then.

Sometimes they'd look up to the sky after the sun had set, and would make some sort of bet on whoever could point out the most constellations. Kai's eyes flutter open again and turn upwards as he loses himself in his train of thought, gaze flickering over the dark, seemingly endless blue of the sky. Silently he murmured the names of constellations he'd spotted under his breath, and with a dry laugh he declared that he won this round.

Before he knew it, tears were leaking from his eyes and dripping down his cheeks as he ducked his head again to silently weep into both knees, having tugged the other leg to his chest absentmindedly. This was ridiculous, he felt like a god damn child out here, all alone and crying. Who does that? Certainly not a hero, not a ninja. The thoughts of how weak he really was caused the flame headed idiot to curl into himself more and growl out a few quiet curses of what a failure he was. He shouldn't be a hero, he was too emotional and weak for people's lives to constantly rest on his shoulders.

"Kai." The red ninja jerks into a defensive position, quickly getting to his feet with his hands fisted, ready to throw a punch at whoever had successfully snuck up on him.

However, the defensive show drops almost immediately once he realizes it was his companion, the eldest of their group. Cole frowns at him, his sage green gaze softening at seeing the state his team member was in. Kai however turns away from him and roughly rubs at his eyes and tear stained cheeks. Cole shakes his head at the other, silently walking up to him from behind to slip his arms around the fire ninja's torso, burying his face between his shoulder blades.

"It's okay to be weak, Kai." He murmurs softly, "Crying doesn't make you a bad hero. It shows that you're a human being with proper emotions."

Kai flinches, amber eyes flicking over his shoulder in an attempt to look at the black ninja, without success due to him being nuzzled against his back. With those words, he begins to tremble as he tries to hold back more tears, but with a final reassuring squeeze from Cole he breaks down into more silent sobs.

"We're here for you, I'm here for you." Cole whispers, keeping his voice level and comforting as the taller male breaks down in his arms.

It was odd to see Kai like this considering he was always the hot headed asshole of the bunch, constantly charging into battle without much thought, determined to save his sister and whomever else may be held captive. It hurt, really, to see the seemingly strongest of their group, crack. Cole stayed silent as he helped Kai lower onto his knees, twisting around in his arms so he could bury his face in turn into Cole's neck and soak it with tears. The earth ninja sighed and leaned his head against Kai's while he rubbed his back, hesitantly speaking softly to the other to remind him that it'd be okay, that he wasn't alone. Typical comforting words.

They seemed to help him recover at least, and soon enough the two were sitting together curled up on the deck, Kai keeping his face pressed to Cole's shoulder so he wouldn't have to yet look anyone in the eye yet after that. Cole reaches around the other to drag a blanket around them, pressing his lips to Kai's temple.

"You okay?" He asks, shifting his weight around a bit so he could sit more comfortably with Kai leaning into him like this.

"Yeah I…think so. Sorry about that. I uh. I don't know what hit me all of the sudden." Kai apologizes softly, turning his head just slightly to peek up at the elder boy.

Cole shrugs the opposite shoulder, "Nah, no need to say sorry for emotions. You can't control those." He says, rolling his eyes as though this was obvious. "I'm just glad you finally allowed yourself to let go, if only for a bit. It's not healthy to hold onto your emotions with an iron grip, you know."

Kai's lips twitch up at the corners into a small smile, "I wasn't aware you came out here to give me a rant on emotions, Cole."

"I didn't, I actually came out here originally planning to kick your ass for tripping over me on your way out." He says, "But thing's change I guess." He says.

"Obviously." Kai responds, pulling back finally to hastily wipe his eyes and cheeks free of any tears. "Thanks for that, I think I really needed it as much as I'd hate to admit."

Cole scoffs lightly, "You apologize for crying but don't for tripping over me and waking me up?"

Kai grins toothily at him, "You know it. If I hadn't tripped over you, I wouldn't have had a literal shoulder to cry on tonight, right? So what's there to say sorry for if I regret jack shit?"

"Hm. Point taken." Cole says, waving it off this time around. "Just don't do it again. Next time you need someone to comfort you just ask, alright? You don't need to hesitate about something like that.

Kai nods his understanding, leaning forward to nudge their noses together teasingly, arms slipping tighter around the earth ninja so he can give him a proper hug.

"So. Kisses on the forehead, huh?"

"That wasn't your forehead, stupid, it was your temple. Your bangs are crazy long and if you think I'd kiss that product-greased head of hair of yours, you need some serious help from a therapist." He defends, rolling his eyes. "But yeah, I kissed you no less."

Kai snickers, "Well…I suppose you deserve a kiss in return, yeah? As a thank you gift of sorts."

"You don't have to, I know you're really into your women and all." Cole responds, voice just barely more than monotone.

"Maybe. But I'm also really into men who care about me." Kai says, playfully wiggling his eyebrows at the raven haired ninja.

"You're an awful flirt, I hope you realize this." Cole replies, shaking his head slightly as if he couldn't believe what Kai was saying. It was ridiculous.

Kai raises an eyebrow, "Is that why the ladies faint when laying their eyes on me, then?"

Cole scoffs, slipping a hand up under Kai's chin to tilt his head up some, so he can lean down to press their lips together in a gentle kiss. The red ninja grunts as his lips press against the smaller male's own, but he's quick to forgive not getting a proper response to his question and return the kiss. It's quick, and the two pull away to share a grin and a small smile.

"Sooo…look at the stars with me?" Kai tries hopefully.

Cole pretends to think about it a moment, "fine, I don't see why not. I heard you murmuring constellations to yourself so you must know them pretty well. I studied them myself for a while, so we can play a game. Name as many star signs as you possibly can in a minute."

Kai nods, "I'm game." He says, "On the count of three…one, two, three!"

The two ninja's break into a long list of constellations all at once, doing their best not to copy one another and to stuck to their own unique star signs. Both determined to win, they find themselves talking over one another until their eyes begin to feel heavy with sleep. Before they know it, they find themselves asleep on the deck of the boat, curled up in each other's embrace.

The other ninja gathered around the two strongest of their group, all of which are shocked to find them cuddling like so. Who would have thought they'd end up like that? Nya is taking her chance to take as many photos as possible, insisting that they were great scrap book material. Jay laughed and made faces in some of the pictures, though he generally followed his girlfriend around like a lost puppy. Not that Nya really minded much, that is. Zane stayed back, away from the two, kicked back and relaxed with Sensei Wu at his side. The two wiser of the team observed as Jay and Nya finally gave in and did their best to wake the two.

They had succeeded, and Cole had nearly lept off the side of the boat in an attempt to get away from Kai. He still has problems with showing any sort of real emotion himself, in front of his team, especially as their leader. Of course, he only manages to get up onto his feet and tug away just a foot or two, before he's forced to collapse with a yelp onto the floorboards of the ship, feet tangled up in the blanket as well as Kai's legs. Kai had yelled a curse as he was jerked awake with a heel digging into the sensitive skin of his thigh. Zane and Sensei share a warm smile as they watch the two boy's scramble to untangle themselves while Nya effortlessly continues to snap photos. Jay is crying from how hard he's laughing at the two, gripping his stomach while he writhed on the ground. This was golden!

Cole would pounce on Jay as soon as he was loose and insist he shut up, his face burning from a blush that was so dark it could rival that of Kai's suit. Kai had left the deck to go nurse his wounded ego in private, well, until Lloyd finally woke up and tried getting him to talk about it. Nya shared her beloved photos with the ice ninja. With that, the day started in total good hearted chaos that brought smiles to all the team members faces.

Well here it is, seemingly years later haha! I finally got off my ass and pushed forward to re-write the original "Blanket of Stars" Ninjago oneshot. So I added a little more thought into this, as well as emotion. I hope it turned out better than the original, although the first one doesn't make me cringe as much as most of my older fanfiction.

Anyways, please leave reviews, and I hope you forgive me for my lack of update to this fandom! Enjoy :D

Sincerely,

KhaoticVex (Previously SilverShadowJynx for those who don't recognize my new username)