Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

kai and cole had always been significantly close to each other, and the other ninja had always noticed it. but neither one of the two of them seemed to pick up on it. they realized they were close, of course, but either they didn't want to admit it for whatever reason, or they didn't quite pick up on just how close they were.

from the time cole first saw kai, something drew him in- maybe it was how he was so independent. maybe it was his firey personality. whatever it was, something just was drawing cole in with every word that slipped out of kai's mouth.

but the more cole grew to know kai, the more difficult it became not to pry more or to let himself stare. that was when nya noticed, of course.

it was one day after training that she brought it up. cole was sitting off to the side, next to kai, who was rambling about how training was getting redundant. or maybe it was about skylor? honestly, cole had lost track. sure, he wanted to listen, more than anything, but it was difficult when cole couldn't help but find himself shooting quick glances over at the other boy every few seconds, face lightly flushing every time he thought about it. so he was trying not to think about it (a lot easier said than done).

nya approached them as kai was mid-sentence, so she gave kai a look that obviously meant something along the lines of "move", though cole couldn't quite put his finger on the intentions.

nya cleared her throat, and kai finally looked up at her from where he was staring off into the horizon. his eyes showed a look of clear confusion, and nya cleared her throat once more before finally speaking. "kai."

"hey, sis, what's up?" kai said finally, expression evolving from a look of confusion to one of curiosity. cole was now the confused one.

"oh, nothing. just wondering if i could talk to cole," nya said with a blank expression, one of her hands placed on her hip. kai nodded, pointing next to cole offering her a place to sit, before nya continued, "alone. is that alright, kai?"

what? why did she want to talk to him alone? did she still like him? or, somehow even worse, did she see the way that he would look at kai?

"oh, yeah, sure. sorry," kai replied, standing before looking back at cole, clearly confused. all cole could do was shrug his shoulders back at him, as to signal he was just as confused as kai was.

finally, kai was out of earshot and the silence felt unbearable to cole. what was nya going to say? the possibilities honestly scared him. probably more than they should've, but it was whatever.

"so. before i say anything else, i want you to know that id never judge you for what im about to say. okay?"

that confused cole, and honestly scared him a bit more. now he was almost certain she'd seen the way he looked at her brother. even if now he knew she was at least supportive, that, for whatever reason, didn't make him any less nervous about her having realized.

"i see the way you look at my brother. at least i think i do."

there it was. yet it somehow still caught cole just as off guard as it would've if he hadn't guessed what it would be before she said anything.

"you do?" was all he could seem to get out.

"cole, im sorry, but as kai's little sister, i can't help but notice you don't exactly look at him the way friends look at friends. and im not going to tell him or anyone else. i just wanted to let you know that i would definitely approve of you two, alright? you seem good for him," nya said gently, avoiding eye contact so cole wasn't too uncomfortable in the situation.

"oh."

again, cole's lack of words was his worst enemy. he wanted to say something meaningful, practically anything but just 'oh' of all things.

"yeah. just wanted to let you know, i guess."

"uhh.. thanks?"

"you're welcome."

an awkward silence hung in the air between the two of them. what was there to say next? what could they say? the both of them were attempting to pluck words from the air between them, but the attempt proved trivial as no words seemed fitting in the slightest.

"well, uh.. ill just get back to training and stuff, yeah. be safe, cole. oh, and i won't tell you anything that kai wouldn't want me to tell you, but.. i think you may have a chance." a pause. a pause that made the air feel 10x colder and warmer, at the exact same time. "now, bye!" nya finished her rambling, and cole was left with a sort of dumbfounded look on his face.

what was that supposed to mean?

Chapter Text

after nya's confrontation, it's safe to say cole was... paranoid. very paranoid. especially whenever he so much as saw nya, let alone kai himself. when kai so much as looked at jay when jay happened to be next to him, cole's face heated up, making cole curse the fact that kai happened to be the fire ninja under his breath. of course, that had to be why his face was always so warm- right?

cole also thought things- nervous things- ranging from 'nya so told him and now he hates me', to 'what if he's gay too and likes me back but dies at the last moment so i live out that permanently unrequited love trope?' regardless, these thoughts were enough to scare cole entirely out of being as close to kai as he normally was.

he basically knew he felt a certain way around kai since the day he met him, of course. but for whatever reason, after being confronted about it, he no longer felt like it was right to be doing. kai was playing with his feelings, and even if he wasn't, it still felt so wrong- especially since kai saw him as nothing more than a best friend. as a result, cole started unintentionally avoiding kai.

where they would normally sit shoulder-to-shoulder watching some cheesy movie on the couch and laughing at how stupid the lines were, cole now found a reason to go to bed early (extra training, long day, etc.) cole stopped asking kai to join him in baking things. they no longer sat as close to each other when eating.

of course, this caused kai to be confused- very confused, but cole tried not to pay it any mind. whenever kai would ask him about why he was suddenly so cold towards him and closed off, cole would only shrug and walk away. it felt cruel, and he knew it was probably a little much (especially considering how kai did nothing wrong in the first place), but it was the only way he really knew how to distance himself from someone, having seen his father do it to him a few times recently.

snapping back into reality, there was a knock on cole's bedroom door. why was he in his bedroom again? he had definitely zoned out just sitting there and thinking about kai and the many cons of liking him- yet again.

"come in!" cole mustered up, slightly straightening his posture and silently praying for anyone but the smith siblings. the last thing he needed right now was another revelation that entirely rocked his world. 'friends don't look at friends that way' was ringing through his brain on a daily basis. it had only been less than a week since that day, but the words still stung slightly whenever he remembered them again.

it happened to be jay. at least it wasn't nya or kai, but there were still so many possibilities where anything could go to shit with jay of all people. he was notorious for having a mouth as fast as lightning and practically no thought process before he would say whatever came to mind, so telling him anything you wanted to keep on the down low was rather dangerous.

"hey, cole," jay said with a toothy grin, leaning ever so slightly on the doorframe. his smile looked genuine, more or less, but it was difficult to take chances with him. so cole had to act as normal as possible. though something in his gut told him he wasn't just here to be jay. he had been asked a favor, and with being jay, how could he say no?

"uh.. hi," cole said, avoiding eye contact. judging from the way jay was looking at him, he could tell something was pretty off about cole.

"dude, are you okay? you've been acting off for the past few days, and like... i don't know. i guess i'm worried. it's been, like, ever since nya mentioned that she had checked in on you on thursday." jay's face showed a look of puzzlement, as he tilted his head slightly. "did something happen?"

to lie or not to lie?

"it's nothing. nya just brought up.. a difficult topic, i guess?" finally, he had said a complete sentence without a single moment of hesitation. it felt good to talk about- almost as though there was a huge weight off of his chest. but something was still looming over him- probably the guilt from how he felt towards his best friend. "just something that didn't make me feel.. the best, yknow?"

"oh, yeah. nya is good at having those conversations with everyone. it's always super uncomfy, but it helps in the long run. also, kai asked me to ask if you're alright, that's why im here." there it was. the reason he was truly there, just as he was thinking earlier. "he also wanted me to ask if you're mad at him- he feels like you're mad or something, but won't let him apologize or anything," jay rambled on. kai had definitely not intended for him to say that much, so he tried his best to put it mentally into the words that kai would use.

"tell him im not mad at him, just.. having a difficult time as of lately. and that i need a bit of space. okay?" cole says, the corners of his mouth curving into a small smile. he felt good about being able to apologize and explain to kai without having to face him directly and look into those deep brown eyes, with an amber tint in the inner ring. he could feel his face warming ever so slightly at the thought, but he did his best to brush the feeling off. he definitely felt as though a decent amount of the worry was off of his shoulders.

"okay, ill go tell him now. cya, cole!" jay said as he bolted out of the room, smiling and waving. cole did the same back to him, now deep in thought. he wished he had the courage to apologize and explain to kai himself, but given the current circumstances, he just.. didn't. it was whatever.

maybe someday he'd find the right words and the proper courage. someday.