#ic.cole

Head turning, growing grin quickly reshapes into one of concern, unable to so much as offer a greeting as @diisccvery begins to flee the scene. Brows furrow, a confused exchange of looks between himself and Geo, before he pulls away to follow after. Cole jogs at a steady pace to quickly catch up to Kai, unsure what brought on the sudden retreat. " Kai, slow down ! " Cole calls out to him, only stopping when his hand could reach his shoulder & hold on. Pulling themselves just to stand, he gently tugs at him to face one another.

" You're always welcome to drop in unannounced, Kai. I mean if you were planning to stay for dinner, maybe a heads up would be nice so we can plan ahead but... what's with this ? You're acting weird. "

Ah, the traitorous fiend that took a perfectly good meal right from under his nose! While more disappointed than upset, he was rather curious if the pet was merely a stray or someone's, leading him to the very scene laid out before him. Hands rested on his hips, wondering if that dog had any lick of a guilty conscious in there… to which he deduces that is probably… not the case. An animal will always enjoy food when presented before them.

"Woah, hey! Flag on the play here ! You're the one holding those things and telling me that's what he said ! I even told you that was weird ! " Though that didn't excuse anything for why they were there in the first place, nor completely wipe the earth ninja of any fault in this.

Lloyd rolls his eyes at the both of them.

The table was set with porridge, pancakes, eggs and all their fixings. Bowls of rice, and even a small carving ham waiting for the group to wake up.

"Hey there sleepy head. Uh, hope you don't mind? I wanted to make breakfast for the finders. I thought it was a good way to thank them for letting me sleep over." - Kai for Cole

The clatter of noise stirred the sleeping earth master awake, stuck between urgently trying to assess the noise & the comfort of his bed calling him back to sleep. Yet, as more commotion is picked up by his half-conscious self, eventually he's pulling himself out of bed to check out the noise.

Faster than what his eyes could tell him, the pleasant scent of food was present. Exiting out of the hallway into the kitchen, he finds the culprot behind all the tasty-smelling food now cooling at the table where they all normally ate together. A lovely mixture of sweet and savory, making his mouth water as he approaches Kai with an all-too-eager smile.

" Well, don't tell Geo, but this is probably the best thing I've smelled in a while. Probably tastes even better. " A thank you to the finders ? An awfully sweet gesture, but not the most needed. Not in his eyes. Cole leans in to give Kai a peck on the lips as a good morning to him. " You realize this is also your home too, right ? " Declared quite some time now ( especially when Fritz & Spitz asked where Kai was, Bonzle too ), even if the nights he stayed were few & far between at the moment. The world needed saving, the lands needed exploring, plenty to do than just sit around here when that role was already cared for two by two dedicated caretakers. Hands find their place at the other's waist, pulling him close.

" They'll love this. Maybe even forgive you for waking them up so early with all the noise you made in here, " Cole jokes. They slept like logs most of the nights. Seems like at least only he was the one who woke up to the noise & investigated for the time being. Surely the others would be up soon.

There's a wariness to the other's kind gesture, shifting gaze between the Master of Fire himself and the cake slice neatly waiting for him within the takeout box held in the other's hands. One too many jokes had been said of his love for sweets & the occasional hypocrisy of maintaining a "pure temple" of a body, despite these temptations getting the better of him. He hadn't meant to snap at him harshly back then, but it wasn't totally out of nowhere. The onslaught had simply... gotten to much, Instead of being able to laugh it away, it built & festered into something unpleasant.

He had been meaning to talk to him about it too.

" You... didn't have to do that, " Cole says, accepting the peace offering. Though in his hands, ( oh how he can already taste the perfect combination of cake & frosting on his tongue by the sweet aroma wafting up his nose ), he sets it aside to focus more on them. Even if it was a bit painful for someone who loves sweets like him.

" I mean, of course thank you for doing that. I dunno what came over me back then. That shouldn't have happened and I wanted to at least apologize about that. I know you were joking, but I guess... that one either got to me in a way I didn't expect it too or... " Cole sighs. " Either way, I appreciate your way of apologizing. Just... go a little bit easier on the joking around ? Or at least give me more of a break in between them. "

"Lloyd's not going to accept "They started it" for a valid reason, is he?" - PIXAL for Cole

" Probably for reasons like this ? " Gesturing to the fact that they awkwardly sat in the back, awaiting for the policeman to arrive at their destination. " Not like it was really our fault. I'm just pretty sure the guy that broke us all up wasn't having it with anyone. " He's not looking forward to the future jokes of how two of Ninjago's heroes ended up in the back of a cop car because of a stupid fight that escalated far faster than either of them expected. Cole lets out a long sigh, leaning back into the seat as far as he could. Oh how he wished that ended far differently than it actually did.

" Not our best moment here. There's definitely no way that we're gonna hear the end of it. ...Do you really think they called the monastery about it...? Cause if so, Lloyd's definitely not gonna be happy. I think... I'm a little more afraid of what Wu's going to say. "

" Sure. It's not like you're basically yanking my arm out my socket or anything. " Though tone dripped with sarcasm, there is effort to try to comply with her request. ( He knows he's being the slightest bit dramatic, but it does, in fact, still hurt. ) He knows she means well, but to fight against the aches of a battle-beaten body that amplifies the feeling of every bending of his joints or flexing of muscles. " I appreciate the thorough checking here but I don't think there's any fractures in me. I'm a lot sturdier than I look. "