Archive of Our Own ^beta

“Hey, Cole, did you see-” Kai trailed off when he saw the occupants of their couch. There was Cole - which he, obviously expected to see - and basically lying on top of him was Plundar, dead asleep. Or so Kai figured by his face that seemed calmer than usual.

“Heyy, when did Plundar come back?” He forgot what he even came for. Well, that wasn’t his problem anymore. “Couldn’t even say hi?”

“He fell asleep the moment he sat on the couch, to be fair,” said Cole in defence with a tiny shrug. Kai stepped closer to the two and carefully raked through Plundar’s hair.

“What’s he always up to?” he asked in a soft voice so as not to wake up their boyfriend. Cole watched his actions with steady eyes.

“I keep wondering that too. Sometimes he goes on these… missions for Vania, maybe they are a bit more tiring than I thought…”

“Jeez, that woman needs to lay off him, what’s her deal?”

“Come on, Kai,” replied Cole while fighting back a smile. There was always something endearing about Kai’s fiery defensiveness. “You know that’s not her intention, right? Taking care of a huge place like that must be exhausting for everyone.”

Kai sighed. “I know.” He walked to the other side of the couch and plopped down onto the free spot left next to Cole. “It’s just that… we didn’t get much time together.”

“I feel you,” agreed Cole. Then his tone shifted into a happier one. “But he’s staying here for two weeks now. Plenty of time to make up for it.” He turned to the red ninja and smiled fondly at him. Kai smiled back and Cole kissed him on his forehead. The brunette groaned.

“You need to stop that,” he complained. Of course, the soft pinkish tint on his cheeks gave him away.

“You love me,” cooed Cole in response.

“Mhm.” But their nice quiet moment was cut short by a sleepy groan coming from the other side of the couch. They both turned their heads towards Plundar who offered them a nice, “The two of you need to shut up.” Kai leaned closer over Cole to Plundar.

“It’s lovely to see you too, Plundar,” poked Kai with a smirk. From this up close Cole could clearly see the dark circles under each of his boyfriend’s eyes and their lowered eyelids.

“Fuck off, Smith.” Kai chuckled and leaned back, fighting back a yawn that didn’t go unnoticed by Cole.

“You too, Kai? Why are my only two boyfriends so tired all the time?”

“What? No,” he dragged the word until it got lost in a yawn he wasn’t able to stop. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

And there it was. The famous sceptical expression, written clearly all over Cole’s face. That usually made Kai give up and today wasn’t an exception.

“Fine,” he sighed. “I may… be a little tired. Maybe. Cole rolled his eyes when Kai lied down and put his head on Cole’s lap. That brought his attention back. 

Yes, of course he would be used as a pillow again. How else. That’s how it always had been. And their excuse? 

“You’re just… a very good pillow.”

Every. Damn. Time.

Well, what can you do, right?

“Kai?”

Nothing. The second out of his two partners has just fallen asleep, leaving him alone in the awake world. He sighed in defeat and leaned his head against Plundar’s. Closing his eyes, he let himself get surrounded by their quiet breathing, trailing himself into sleep.

Well, it was definitely an interesting sight for the rest of the team when they came from the training. Interesting, but not unusual.