Chapter Text
"Now that we have some downtime in between end-of-the-world scenarios, you know what we should do?" Kai asked, eyes still glued to the screen. He and Cole were on the couch, taking turns playing a new single player game centered around surviving as long as possible against endless waves of enemies. The others found it hit a little too close to home, but these two were addicted.
"We need to get girlfriends!" Kai nudged into Cole playfully and grinned. "I mean, we're single, but Jay's not? What's that about?"
"Eh, I'm good, thanks." Cole gave a nervous smile and kept his focus on the screen.
"Look, the only girls here are taken. Unless you wanna date Misako, you gotta get yourself out there, dude," Kai said, button mashing the controller. "Wait, is she still married to Garmadon if he's just an oni husk of his former self? Probably not, right?"
"I don't know, but if you want a girlfriend, she'd better be some kind of trained warrior, otherwise she won't last long around here." Cole crossed his arms and leaned back against the couch cushions. "I'd rather not bring any normal girls into the never-ending danger that is our lives."
"Hmm.." Kai narrowed his eyes in thought. Suddenly, he was struck with an idea. He let himself die in the game and faked a groan. "Aw, man! Hey, I got pretty far that time, bet you can't beat that score!" He teased.
"You're on!" Cole bumped him with a hip check and stole the controller, settling in and pressing start. Kai had never seen him so focused. Perfect.
He snuck off with a half-baked excuse and scoured the monastery until he found Jay and Lloyd, pulling them aside into his room and closing the door. He knew Nya would try to talk him out of it, and Pixal and Zane would have a bunch of robotic, logical and moral reasons against it. Wu wasn't even a consideration here.
"What's this about?" Jay seemed irritated he had been pulled from the comics he was reading.
"Yeah, why so secretive?" Lloyd asked, tilting his head curiously as Kai made sure they weren't followed.
"Do you guys remember Princess Vania?" Kai asked excitedly.
"No, I forgot all about the mines, slaves, talking skull and princess whose father was evil and in kahoots with said talking skull. Must have slipped my mind." Jay scoffed.
"Shut up, Jay. It was rhetorical. Anyway, I have an idea." Kai said, leaning in closer and lowering his voice. "I was just talking to Cole about how we're still single, and he said if we want girlfriends, they'd better be able to handle themselves, 'cause our lives are dangerous or whatever..."
Lloyd shuddered as his mind flashed with images of the horrors they experienced on a daily basis. "That's actually a valid concern..."
"Well, you know who can handle herself and is totally into Cole?" Kai put his hands on his hips and smirked.
"Vania!" Jay exclaimed. "You're right, she was kind of obsessed with him for some reason."
"I don't know..." Lloyd scratched the back of his head nervously. "I had a talk with Cole after we met her. He said he didn't like her that way."
"He probably just said that to get you off his back." Kai waved his hand dismissively. "I think we should set them up on a date. I bet she'd be totally into it."
"She would probably love all the crazy adventures we have," Jay agreed. "She was practically begging to get in that deadly mine. She'd fit right in."
"Wait, she's not a princess anymore, she's the queen now. I think she has responsibilities more important than dating at the moment," Lloyd pointed out.
"He's not asking her to be his yang! Relax. It'll just be a fun date, something to help Cole out of his shell. Maybe it'll be something more, who knows!" Kai said, shrugging.
"Cole never seems to take the initiative with girls. It would be like...giving him a push in the right direction." Jay nodded, already fully convinced.
"Exactly, you get it! Lloyd?" Kai turned to him with a hopeful expression.
"I don't know, guys," Lloyd hesitated, clicking his hands together anxiously.
"I know princesses are hard to trust, but she's a queen now. So it's fine, right?" Jay patted Lloyd's shoulder. "Don't worry, we can trust her."
"That's not-! Ugh, fine. Do whatever you want, but you should ask Cole first and make sure he's okay with it," Lloyd warned.
"Don't worry!" Kai reassured him. "I will!"
He did not.
—
Kai got assistance from Jay for the rest of the plan after Lloyd's apprehension. They fleshed everything out later that night. Together on the floor of Kai's room, they wrote a letter to Vania in their best Cole impression, asking her on a date. They were on their stomachs, surrounded by the several drafts they had attempted so far, giggling. The letter said it would be a secret date, so she shouldn't reply, but simply come to the monastery at a certain date and time. They even managed to forge Cole's signature after a few tries, somewhat pointlessly as Vania probably didn't know what it looked like.
"He's gonna be so surprised!" Jay exclaimed, kicking his legs, unable to contain his excitement. "Do you really think she'll come?"
Kai shushed him, as it was getting quite late and everyone else had gone to bed.
"Duh, otherwise we wouldn't be doing this. We'll send this out tomorrow. Thanks for the help."
Kai put the final letter in an envelope and burned the remaining drafts to destroy the evidence. Jay snuck back to his room undetected. Luckily, this was an easy task, him being a ninja and all.