Hey Can U Write An Ikarishipping Headcanon.. Because I Really Liked The Way You Write!

Hey can u write an ikarishipping headcanon.. Because I really liked the way you write!

Most of my pokemon headcannons are on my last post, but here is one short little rambling

breathless

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Sometimes Shinji gets knocked breathless, at the most random moments. It doesn’t matter if he’s training his Pokémon, visiting his brother, or whatever — suddenly he’s knocked breathless, like he’s been punched in the gut.

He knows what it means too — Hikari. He’s been too long without Hikari.

Shinji often loses track of time when he’s busy or caught up training his Pokémon, so he sometimes forgets about the emotional attachments in his life.

This feeling he has — this winded, longing emotion? It reminds him. It’s this need, breathtaking and jarring that surprises him with the force it comes with. He has to see her, no matter if she’s screaming or smiling at him.

When he was younger he used to ignore the feeling, just carry out his day like nothing happened. Like his chest wasn’t feeling empty for no reason. Shinji wasn’t going to usurp his schedule for a girl.

It was strange though.

He gets knocked breathless with longing, and his chest feels hollow and icy; whenever he meets up with Hikari and walks away again, it feels like his heart is walking away with her.

It’s always worse when he walks away from her than when he meets up with her. Ice feels like it’s permanently settled in his lungs and seems like there is a huge gaping hole in his chest.

He gets knocked breathless seeing her, too, at first with shock, then at this feeling in his chest. It punches him in the gut, soft yet forceful; his lungs suddenly breathless and his feet pulling him to her until he’s walking right beside her.

Was she always this pretty when he saw her? Were her eyes and hair really that blue?

Shinji gets knocked breathless, at the most random of moments, and he has no choice but to follow the feeling back to Hikari.

***

It follows him as an adult, too. As the Champion of Sinnoh, Shinji gets called away a lot to attend important meetings and to manage the region.

Sometimes Shinji gets knocked breathless, at the most random moments. It doesn’t matter if he’s in the middle of conference or participating in a battle — he’s suddenly knocked breathless, like he’s been punched in the gut.

Need and longing and heartache mix together into this breathless combination — and he doesn’t ignore it.

Shinji cancels whatever appointment he has going on and flys back home.

He’s been away from Hikari for too long.

Sound the Alarm

Emma just wants to get some sleep, keep her little sister in check, and earn her law degree. Relationships are the last thing on her mind.

Her four mental goals are suddenly cut down to one once she meets her crazy next door neighbors.

And it starts by setting off the fire alarm.

(AKA: The Nemma Neighbor AU that no one asked for

This ship doesn’t get enough appreciation ToT)

Based off fic 2 am by shmulia

It was two am, and Emma is going to murder the person who set off the fire alarm. 

She rips the sheets off her body and opens the door viciously. If this was Kitty trying to cook anything but ramen, then Emma is going to kick her out of the apartment and throw away her key.

Emma slit her eyes, looking at the spotless kitchen that was free of her sister, and turns to see Kitty stumble out of her room, more tired than pissed off. 

It had been a long day for Emma; being a law student was a full-time job, with that on top of her other job— keeping her little sister in check. She had an essay that she spent hours writing on, and when it was finally over she had to finish the chores Kitty had clearly neglected before she had wanted to pass out. 

And now some idiot had set off the fire alarm. 

Emma is going to kill them.

Involuntary actions are free of ill will, Emma reminds herself as she stomps towards the door. Kitty crashes on the couch, trusting her sister to give the guilty resident a piece of her mind. 

Emma grabs the doorknob and yanks it open, the door flying open and slamming against the wall with a nasty bang. Emma is too furious to care — the damage would be morning-Emma’s problem. 

Then she stops. Stares. And stares some more, because she is tired and is pretty sure this was a hallucination. 

He is gorgeous. A couple inches taller than her, lean with brown skin and chocolate eyes that seemed extremely wide the moment she opened the door. His fist is raised, like he was going to knock on the door before she whipped it open.

Maybe she hadn't been that bad in a past life, Emma thinks as she takes in the guy in front of her, because God was clearly apologising for the fire alarm. Really, how often did good-looking guys turn up on her doorstep?

Not since her ex-boyfriend Jake, and Emma refuses to give him an ounce of thought this early in the morning and in the face of a guy easily more attractive than him. 

The two stare at each other and Emma waits for the guy to speak.

"Oh. Um. Hey— hi! I’m Noah. I live next door.” He awkwardly scratches the back of his head. “I don't know if you heard the fire alarm go off just now— " he starts, before Emma cuts him off.

"Oh, I heard alright," she narrows her eyes. If Noah reveals that he was the one who set the alarm off, hotness be damned Emma would make sure his death was swift and painful.

Noah gulps nervously.

"Ah, okay. My roommate is kind of responsible for that, and he sent me over to apologise. So. Yeah. Sorry about that."

Emma folds her arms across her chest. "And he didn't come over to apologise because … ?"

Noah raises his hands defensively. "He's just clearing the air in our apartment. He said he'll come out in a minute, but wanted someone to apologise right away — and then he shoved me out of the door before I was even awake!”

Emma’s eyebrows shot up. “No way. You slept through that alarm?” 

Noah shrugs, a small smirk working its way up on his lips. “I could sleep through the apocalypse if I wanted to.”

Emma laughs, and finds herself surprised how genuine it was. She leans against the doorway and notices Noah’s eyes flicking down her body before looking away, his cheeks reddening. 

She realizes she is in her pajamas, consisting of her extremely short shorts and her orange oversized sweatshirt that says The Best Lawyer Sister that Kitty gave her. Emma is unable to stop the small grin growing on her face, and he coughs.

Noah cleared his throat in a desperate attempt to distract them both. "Anyway ... Sorry about the fire alarm," he says.

Emma nods and represses a yawn. "It's fine," she says. She rubs her eyes as a wave of exhaustion passes over her, washing away her anger and replacing it with the desire to sleep. "Just try not to do it again, okay?"

Noah nods. "Sure, no prob— " his reply is cut short by the opening of an apartment door. A big blonde boy emerges from the slightly smoky doorway and his eyes light up when he spots Noah. He bounded across the hallway, coming to a stop next to Noah. He must be the roommate, Emma assumes. 

She is a bit surprised, to be honest — the two were quite the contrasting pair to look at, and it wasn’t just physically-wise. The blonde was literally bouncing on his feet and looking incredibly awake while Noah stood still, looking bored and tired. 

Emma stifles another laugh — it is exactly the same expression she wears when Kitty was being too exuberant. 

"Hi! You must be Emma! We're your neighbours!" the blonde says happily, gesturing between Noah and himself. “I’m Owen, and this is my little buddy, Noah!” 

Another contrast. If Noah was like outer space: deep, dark, and endless; then Owen was like the sun — bright, light (metaphorically speaking), and a big ball of energy. Emma wasn't really sure how to deal with someone this energetic at two in the morning. 

"Er, hi," she says. She frowns slightly as a thought occurs to her. "Wait, how do you know my name?"

"We know Kitty," Owen says. “She’s your little sister, right?”

Emma blinks in surprise. “Yeah, but— how do you know her?" Emma racks her brain to remember if Kitty had ever mentioned the two guys standing opposite her.

"We're in the same photography class," Owen smiles, and a glimmer of remembrance filters through Emma’s memory of Kitty mentioning a boy in her class who was ridiculously nice. Emma could see where she was coming from.

She turns to Noah and he answers her unspoken question. “She’s just a friend of a friend to me. I can only deal with one extrovert at a time.” He rolls his eyes and Emma can’t help but giggle. Oh, she can definitely relate. 

Noah’s eyes glint with satisfaction when he hears her laugh and his gaze flicks to something behind her. "Speak of the devil," he says dryly, and Emma turns around to see her little sister walking towards them, rubbing her eyes.

"Did I hear that right? You guys set off the fire alarm?"

Owen beams, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "I was just cooking a late night snack because I missed dinner, and as I was cooking, I realised I hadn't called my Izzy all day! So I thought, hey, the food will take a while, so I'll just call her now! And Izzy’s phone calls usually last hours, and I guess I forgot that I was cooking until the whole kitchen was on fire!”

Noah nudges Owen, somehow still looking deadpan while Kitty and Emma are enraptured by the story. “Go ahead and tell them the worst part, Big Guy.”

Owen's face twists, his mouth turning downward as his eyes turn watery. "And … I … burned the food! It’s gone! Ruined! Never to be eaten again …” Owen sinks to the floor and covers his face, sobbing quietly. 

The sisters stare at the cheerful blonde on his knees, not sure how to comfort him. Emma stares at Noah. This guy has just sent the most enthusiastic person Emma has ever met to tears in a few words, and he still looks unfazed as Kitty begins patting Owen’s shoulder sympathetically.

Clearly, he has a vicious streak when his sleep is interrupted. 

The lack of sleep must be messing with her mind, because Emma finds that extremely attractive.          

"Anyway, we’re sorry the alarm took so long to turn off," Noah tears his eyes away from the scene. "There was a lot of smoke, and we had to fan the air out of the window to try and clear it."

Emma shrugs, holding Noah’s dark gaze. "Like I said — don’t do it again, and we’re all good.”

For some reason, Noah seems to cringe. “Yeah … Well, I think I should warn you ahead of time, but Owen’s girlfriend, Izzy, is kind of …” he taps his finger against his lip thoughtfully, and Emma can’t even tell if the action is sarcastic or if he’s genuinely looking for the right word. “ … eccentric. Like, psycho-hose beast eccentric. We got kicked out of our last apartment we shared with her because of noise complaints, arson, and fire alarms at ungodly hours of the night.”

Emma stares at him, hoping that she conveys the sheer amount of disbelief in her gaze. “Tell me you’re being sarcastic.” She says — no, more like demands. 

Noah looks back, deadpan, but Emma can tell that he is genuinely sorry. She groans, banging her head on the doorway. God, if every other night was going to be like this, Emma might actually murder someone. 

Noah watches her with something not quite bemusement, but something else entirely. “Don’t worry, I keep her in line.”

Emma looks up from her head-banging, and he continues, flushing a little. “I make sure to watch out for Izzy and keep her from going too crazy. Need to make sure the best lawyer gets her beauty sleep.”

Emma ignores the way her heart jumps; that last part was definitely sarcasm, even though it didn’t feel like it. For some reason, Kitty and Owen have stopped whatever they were doing and are staring at Noah like they can’t believe their eyes. 

Kitty’s gaze in particular flick towards Emma, and she scrupulously avoids her eyes. Her sister knew her like the back of her hand, and Emma didn’t want Kitty to think … certain things. 

Emma is about to respond to Noah, but tiredness suddenly overwhelms her. She attempts to suppress a yawn, but couldn't quite prevent a sigh coming out. She presses her head against the doorframe, blinking rapidly to try and stay awake. 

She doesn’t realise that Noah is still watching her until his voice pulls her away from the slight daze she finds herself in.

"C’mon, Big Guy, it's time for bed. " The smaller boy nudges him with his elbow and nods towards Emma,whose dependency on the doorframe is becoming more obvious by the second.

"Oh, right. Sorry for keeping you two up!" Owen said earnestly. "Is there any way we can make it up to you?"

Emma is about to request "let me go to bed" as her response, but Kitty gets there first.

"Why don’t we hang out?"

Emma straightens up immediately, glancing at Kitty in surprise and warning. She knew she was busy, but Kitty’s eyes flick pointedly to Noah, then back at Emma. She winks slyly. 

The little brat was setting her up!

A blush formed on Noah and Emma’s cheeks, and Owen’s face split into a grin. "That would be awesome! We can go out to eat and hang out — all four of us!" 

Kitty crosses her arms, smiling. "You owe us dinner for waking us up at two in the morning for your dinner. I love a free meal, and Emma needs to get out more."

"Hey!"

"Am I wrong, Miss I’m-married-to-my-law-degree-book?"

" … No."

"Exactly. So, you guys game?" Kitty asks.

Noah’s eyes met Emma’s, and his cheeks reddened further. "Dinner... would be nice," he says, breaking eye contact with her. Owen nodded enthusiastically, grin unwavering.

"Awesome. We'll figure out the details tomorrow. I think Emma’s gonna pass out if she doesn't get in bed asap." Kitty says, pulling her sister out of the doorway and into the room. "See you guys round!"

She shuts the door as the boys say goodbye, and immediately turns around to give Emma the widest smile she’s ever seen.

"So ... you and Noah, huh?" she asks, smirking at the usually unflustered girl.

"Goodnight, Kitty," Emma says, waving as she turns her back on her sister and walks towards her room. 

"You're welcome!” Kitty calls to her retreating back. “And you owe me one!”

"For what?" Emma asks, confused.

Kitty winks. "Trust me when I say that you and Noah are going to get on reeeeally well," the younger girl says, before shutting her door. 

Emma shakes her head and goes into her room to curl up in her bed. As she tucks the duvet around herself, Emma realizes that the smile she wore around Noah hadn’t faded in the slightest as she fell into blissful unconsciousness.

Skylor Chen Headcannons 

LONG POST

🧡🍜🔥 🧡🍜🔥 🧡🍜🔥 🧡🍜🔥 🧡🍜🔥

🧡🍜🔥 🧡🍜🔥 🧡🍜🔥 🧡🍜🔥 🧡🍜🔥

— Skylor has kept in touch with all of the Elemental Masters since Chen’s Island — and she actually gets along with them pretty well. They frequently come over to the restaurant to hang out, hold competitions, and scare customers. Skylor thinks that those days are the best days at the restaurant. She has all their numbers on speed dial.

— Ronin and Dareth come over to the restaurant all the time. Sometimes they help her with business, sometimes for the food. For Dareth, it’s the latter, but Ronin comes because she’s his second-favorite person after Nya. (He would never admit it)

— In a half-angsty half- comedic moment, Skylor and Lloyd created a BAD FAM group chat and added Vania and Benthomarr in the mix. They sincerely hope nobody else joins the chat

— Skylor is 100% able to mop the floor with Kai should she choose. Kai and Zane were on like a recon mission and Sky was training with the rest of the Ninja, kicking butt and taking names.

— It becomes this great secret they’re hiding from Kai (Zane knows through Pixal) and finally the day comes when Kai and Skylor are facing off.

— They’re trash talking flirting and Kai’s all cocky because he knows Sky’s a good fighter, but she’s mostly relied on her powers and it’s been a while since she’s actually fought.

— Kai is on his back in five seconds flat, half turned-on and stunned. The rest of the Ninja are laughing and Cole recorded the whole thing. (Wu’s lips twitch in a smile)

— When Skylor first stepped off the island, the first thing Kai did was take her on a road trip all over Ninjago. Nya got them a rented old car and they spent the whole time traveling the continent and busting crime rings.

— Skylor goes to get her tattoo covered/removed and ends up taking the whole team with her to get tattoos.

— She tells Kai she’s going to get a new tattoo to cover up the Anacondrai Mark (I’m tired of getting pulled over by the cops whenever I wear a tank top, Kai) and of course he goes for support and to get one of his own.

— Lloyd begs to go and get one of his own, and Nya overhears and wants to go to, then Jay and Cole want to join in too.

— So they all go to this tattoo parlor — Zane and Pixal go for support even though they can’t get a tattoo (they’re made of metal) — and get small ones that they can hide from Wu.

— Lloyd gets a green dragon, Cole gets a mountain, Jay and Nya get matching tattoos of lightning hitting waves, and Kai gets a flame.

— Skylor has different types of orange flowers trailing down her back in place of the Anacondrai Mark. Kai and Skylor have their tattoo’s match a little bit, because they’re saps.

— Besides Kai, Cole is the Ninja that most frequently visits Chen’s Noodlehouse. Skylor always gives him free meals, because she’s nice like that.

— Whenever she heads over to the Ninja’s for dinner, she and Zane work together and make the most mouth-watering food. Cole literally hovers in the kitchen watching the food until Zane kicks him out

— Skylor has never seen snow before, and Kai likes watching her when it’s snowing just to see the awe playing in her eyes.

— He frequently bargains with Zane to make it happen, because while the cold isn't his favorite weather, the shine in Skylor's eyes is. 

— They have snow fights and wrestle each other to the ground, and Kai adores winter Skylor because she acts all playful and childish. 

— They have their first kiss in the first snowfall of the season. Kai was so into the moment, surprised and flustered and weak-in-the-knees he slipped into an ice patch and fell over.

— When Nya and Skylor first meet it’s interesting.

— While the guys were on the island, they were spamming her with texts of FSM Kai likes a girl!!

— and, Nvm turns out they r related lol

— and, wait they’re not!!!

— and, FSM SHE’S CHEN’S DAUGHTER AND SHE KNOWS WHERE ZANE IS AND NOW WE’RE CAPTURED HELP NYA

— And the final text: Kai’s girlfriend is a snake.

— So Nya didn’t know exactly what to think of Skylor when she first met her, but she knew exactly what she was going to do.

— When she and Jay first got together Kai made the biggest death threats on what would happen if he broke her heart. Jay was so terrified that he refused to be in the same room as Nya for a week after they started dating.

— Nya waited the second Kai was out of the room before she gave Skylor the deadliest death glare she could manage and the most horrifying “you-break-his-heart-and-I’ll- break-your-neck” speech.

— Nya was surprised when Skylor looked extremely guilty after the speech, which made Nya feel extremely guilty once she got the background on what had happened besides Jay’s extremely vague texts.

— The two girls sat down and talked it out and actually became good friends after their therapy session

— Nya of course told Kai that she had given Skylor “The Talk” — to his extreme horror — but she left out all the sensitive details.

— Now, Nya works with the team to “subtly” drop hints about having Skylor as a sister-in-law

— Skylor and Jay teamed up once and got the group to go rollerblading — just to see Kai wobble on skates.

— The two are the best at skates (Pixal and Zane don’t count, they’re good at everything) and were racing each other on the track and pulling the fanciest tricks.

— Skylor and Jay regularly plan to have rollerblading days with the team. Jay has met his match on the rink, and Skylor is always happy to show him how it’s done.

— (She also likes having Kai cling to her when they skate, and she wants to see if he topples over when they kiss)

— You know when Kai gives Lloyd advice about romance? “You have to act cool, like you don’t even care.” Kai cannot take his own advice.

— Whenever he’s with Skylor he absolutely melts. His face gets all red, and his voice gets all soft and warm, and he has to touch her in some way, shape or form — whether its an arm slung around her shoulder, a hand holding hers, a kiss on the lips. He’s a total goner.

— And the advice for Jay asking Nya to be his Yang? “You have to have confidence.” When Kai finally asks Skylor to be his Yang, he is a nervous wreck.

— She still says yes, though

Onto the angst part of Skylor:

— Chen would often pit Clouse and Skylor against each other, taking glee in watching his second command and his daughter go at each other. It was like Garmadon and Clouse all over again, and Clouse makes sure to take out all his bitterness on her

— Skylor doesn’t really know who she is yet. Children are a combination of their parents, right? Well, Skylor’s dad was a psychopath who turn himself and his employees into mythical snakes at the cost of his daughter’s life.

— Skylor has no idea who her mother was. She has no memory of her. Did she bail early on when she found out who her father was? Or did she actually like her father? Was it some kind of forced marriage? Skylor doesn’t know, but the thought that both of her parents were evil keeps her up at night. 

— Skylor has a phobia of snakes after the fiasco with Chen. It doesn’t matter how big or small, Skylor becomes legitimately afraid of them after she turned into one herself. It frustrates her, because she grew up around the darn things, and also, they are what mainly attack Ninjago.

— (Sometimes, Skylor finds herself panicking for no reason because she feels like she’s slithering. Sometimes, she scratches her skin until it’s raw to get rid of the feeling of scales. Sometimes she dreams of her father and herself as purple snakes, laughing at the fools who tried to save Ninjago.)

— Skylor doesn’t ever want to be in the place where she lets her fear lead her into doing what she doesn’t want. Skylor never liked doing what her dad wanted, but her fear crippled her and she did whatever he wanted despite her own morals.

— Her father didn’t start out insane. He was always obsessed with power, but the insanity grew over time. Skylor watched the Staff of Elements twist every good thing about him, she is terrified that someday that will happen to her.

— The closest that will ever happen to her was when she took Garmadon’s power in season 9.

— She felt the poisoned power in her veins, felt her eyes glow purple, and while wrestling Garmadon for control she felt herself craving the destruction. There was a dark pleasure in the sheer power she possessed with the Colossi at her control.

— Skylor was only poisoned with Garmadon’s power because she wan’t an Oni — but she knew if she was, she would have been corrupted.

— When she had the power, something in her head said make the city hurt like you hurt. you lost so much and what has this city ever done for you?

— She was barely able to curb the destruction and aim it at Garmadon and his goons, but it was enough to make her skin crawl looking back.

— And that scares Skylor, because she doesn’t want to think that she’s capable of that amount of evil. Deep down, though, she knows she is.

— And with all of this, her first thought, her greatest fear, is hurting Kai and the Ninja.

— Before, when the Ninja were just getting to know Skylor, she was just … hard to read.

— She's spent her entire life putting up a front, playing a role, hiding her feelings. If she doesn't want to share something, she’ll put up this shield with such practiced ease it’s like breathing for her. It’s scary. The only person who’s really seen through it is … Kai.

— It goes the same for Kai as well. Whenever he get frustrated, reaches his boiling point, feels like he could light something on fire with just a careless lack of control … he heads for Skylor.

— She immediately senses something is wrong. Drops what she’s doing, and just … gives his this look. It isn’t prying like his family would do, it’s you can tell me what’s wrong, I’m here, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to.

— It’s like magic because it makes his jaw unhinge and suddenly he’s talking to her. And after they dish out the big feelings, then Kai helps out around the restaurant to take his mind off things.

— Skylor never likes to talk about her life on the island before the Ninja came, because she doesn’t want them to look at her differently, to realize how many bad things she’s done.

— She was there when Zane and Pixal were dragged to the island. She watched them tear into Pixal like she wasn’t even alive, she stole Zane’s power when he was chained in a cramped little dungeon. She watched the sand stain red with blood and she watched Chen and Clouse punish followers with a snake beneath the island. She watched men get eaten whole for their disobedience, all without leaving her father’s side.

— Skylor has been hurt by people, and has hurt them in return. Over and over again. Somewhere along the way she gained a conscious. She’s betrayed even herself, when she allowed her dad to steal the Ninja’s powers. And she’s reminded of that every day because the guilt still lingers beneath her skin

Ninjago Aesthetics

Lifeguard Kailor AU

All Skylor Chen wanted was to relax at the pool so that she could catch a break from babysitting eleven children and to work on her tan. Unfortunately, the hot lifeguard and the meddling sister can’t give her that, can they?

Tags: Oblivious Skylor, Embarrassed/Flustered/Horny Kai, Sassy & Sadistic Little Sister Nya, Elemental Master kiddies, Sexual Tension, Minor Swearing.

Chapter inspired by Here I Go Again, by HeckinaHandbasket

So maybe this wasn’t exactly where Skylor Chen saw her life at the age of twenty.

Driving a minivan full of children all day, wrangling snacks and sunscreen and a first aid kit whenever the little kids managed to scrape their knees on the playground.

Skylor was supposed to be rich right now. The owner of the most successful restaurant in Ninjago by now. After she turned in her jerk of a father to the police at the age eighteen, she was supposed to take over his business as an heiress to a noodle empire. Which, as it were, a cover up for his criminal empire. 

So that, of course, meant that there was a total amount of zero customers willing to walk into Chen’s Noodlehouse, despite having the most delicious noodles in all of Ninjago. And being sold by his daughter of all things. 

It sucked , because Skylor had found herself broke, almost homeless, and with no one to turn to. It was a shame too, because Skylor thought she was a pretty good cook herself. 

But back then, Skylor was fresh out of options on what to do and was beginning to see the appeal of becoming a criminal just like her pitiful excuse of a father. 

But, before she could do something stupid, she posted a flyer. Skylor Chen’s nanny service was supposed to have been a temporary gig. Something quick and easy to do for cash while she tried to figure out what to do after her dad and the fall of her noodle empire.

She hadn’t expected it to have taken off like this. To turn into a career .

Now, Skylor spent sunup to sundown chasing around eleven eight year olds.

And the worst part was, she actually kind of liked it.

“Alright, brats, time to load up,” Skylor announced as she pulled up to the public pool. She parked the car and immediately the children poured out, Ash, Shade, Chamile, and Tox all shoving each other. They were more rowdy ones amongst the kids, always arguing and wrestling with each other. Gravis, Bolobo and Neuro exited more calmly, thankfully not banging the other cars with the doors. 

Skylor popped open the trunk, and the children each grabbed their respective bags and high-tailed it to the pool, Griffin Turner in the lead. “Look both ways!” She cried helplessly as Griffin did no such thing and raced inside. 

Skylor sighed and grabbed her own pack filled with snacks and sunscreen. She turned to the remaining three kids, Pale, Karloff and Jacob Pevsner. “You guys aren’t going inside?” She asked sweetly. 

“We wanted to wait for you,” Jacob turned his blind eyes upon her, and Skylor’s stupid, soft heart melted. 

“Really?” She asked. “That’s so sweet, thank you.” She slung her bag on her shoulders and took Jacob and Karloff’s hands, walking towards the pool as Pale trotted behind them. 

They joined the rest of the children inside, where they were impatiently waiting as Skylor signed them in.  

She paid for their pool membership out of her nannying fees. She didn’t make a spectacular amount — just enough to scrape by, and a little more for fun — but it was worth it, because...

The gates leading to the sparkling blue pool opened, and with a fierce cry of triumph, Skylor’s kids charged out onto the pool deck like a small army.

Now, they had something to do that wasn’t nagging Skylor, were guaranteed to be tired afterward, and Skylor got to work on her tan. So …

It was worth the money.

So, so worth it. 

Nya, the girl working at the desk today, seemed unusually alert, perking up and dropping her phone the moment Skylor walked in. Now, she leaned on the counter right in front of her, chin propped on her hand, lowering her sunglasses to look her up and down.

Skylor froze, thrown off by the attention. Usually, Nya or Jay would work the counter and made it a point to ignore her when she signed in. They had a good thing going, of pretending the other didn’t exist. It was nice. She liked it.

But lately, the two seemed to actually be looking at her, with the same smug grin whenever she walking in with her usual bikini and sarong. Like they knew something she didn’t. Like a cat dangling a mouse by the tail, slow, savoring, and with entirely evil intentions. 

This was unprecedented and unnerving.

She shifted under her gaze, giving her a cautious glance.

“Yes?”

Nya took this as her cue to jump into conversation like it was something they did every day. She pulled off her sunglasses and began to twirl a lock of black hair thoughtfully, still examining Skylor like a bug under a glass.

“I mean, I get it. With the kids and the face, and all the, you know,” she gestured at Skylor’s entire person dismissively, “You’re pretty. Sweet, funny, motherly. You got the perfect combo going on. It’s not my thing, but I can see why some guys might go gaga over it.”

Skylor stared at her blankly, completely lost. Was Nya trying to compliment, or criticize her? Out loud, for once, since she got the impression that she was always kind of criticizing her and everyone else around her?

She looked back up at her, eyebrows lifted in question. “What?”

It was almost like she wasn’t there, because Nya kept on talking. She would have assumed that she was talking to herself if she hadn’t been studying Skylor like a particularly fascinating slide under a microscope.

“But, I mean, the level of obsession is baffling . I’ve never seen anyone become a goner so quickly. It’s like you cast a freaking spell on him or something. What did you do? Is it just, like, magic or is there a trick to it? Because, let me tell you, if you could bottle and sell what you did to him, you’d be rich as hell.”

Skylor shook her head, trying to edge her way to the gate where the kids were waiting. She had absolutely no idea what Nya was talking about. Skylor would know for a fact if she had enchanted some guy, seeing as she had been seriously lacking in that department ever since it had been revealed that she was the daughter of a criminal.

Skylor wondered if the sun had somehow fried Nya’s brains even though she was indoors. Sure, some smoking hot guy was following her around with his eyes as she was run ragged by a group of little kids and drove them around in her mom van.  

Skylor snorted at the thought and Nya speared her with a direct gaze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

The younger girl slanted a significant look at her.

“Oh, don’t you, though?”

“No? I don’t?”

Nya stared at her for a solid five second, before something like realization dawned on her. She gasped, hand to her chest as a delighted — slightly worrying — smile crept across her lips.

“Oh. Oh, my god. You really don’t know? Oh, that’s hysterical. Oh my god, thank you! Just wait till the guys hear about this! You’ve just made my day. My whole week. This is amazing, thank you. I’m going to use this against him forever.”

Skylor cocked her head at her, shifting uneasily as Nya began cackling.

“Are you okay?”

Nya rounded the counter to guide Skylor into the pool, following her through. She had a freakishly giddy grin on her face, and as Skylor tried to make her way to the kids faster, she shot a shark grin at the person sitting in the lifeguard chair, watching them with no small amount of horror.

“I’m great! Listen, Skylor, right?”

“Yeah … ”

Nya was practically bouncing alongside her, effervescent with delight. “Well, Skylor, I’m leading a calisthenics class here at the pool, just two mornings a week. I really think you should join.”

Oh. Well, that explained it. 

It was a sales pitch.

Skylor sighed, giving a gentle refusal with a shrug. 

“Oh, I can’t, my kids.” She nodded to the children, who had set up camp in the shade right next to the lifeguard chair. Neuro, bless his little soul, was trying to be responsible and spray sunscreen on Ash. Ash said something that was too far for Skylor to hear, but whatever it was made Neuro spray the little boy in the face indignantly. 

Nya gave a dismissive wave of her hand, like Skylor having to do her job was a minor inconvenience.

“That’s okay. Here, come with me.”

Taking her hand like they were best friends, Nya practically skipped to the concession stand and took out a handful of popsicles. She made her way back to the kids, rousing cheers from them. 

She held them aloft like she was trying to keep a litter of puppies from jumping for a treat, which was … not inaccurate .

“Alright, listen up, kids. Sit here and behave for ten minutes, and I’ll get you another round of popsicles, okay? I need to borrow your nanny for a bit. Very important.”

All eleven kids, who Skylor could barely control on a good day, sat down in unison, wide eyes fixed on the popsicles as they agreed. 

It was eerie, actually. Like a hive mind. 

Nya distributed the popsicles, but before she could say anything to Skylor, a shrill whistle pierced the air. The two girls turned to look as a tall, tan male began climbing down the lifeguard chair and made his way to them.

Skylor’s gut clenched hotly. 

Oh. Oh crap. It was Kai Smith. 

He was the one thing at this pool that she both despised and loved, and for some stupid reason, she kept coming back. 

He wasn’t a new lifeguard to the pool, he was the lifeguard supervisor . Because of course he was, that prick. And for some reason, he seemed to have it out for Skylor and her kids. 

She couldn’t deny, her kids were total hellions and ate brattiness and attitude for breakfast, but that was no reason to be singling them out when there was an entire pool filled with brats. Skylor had once watched one kid sprint into the pool to do a dive while Kai had blown his whistle at Pale for some invisible offense. All while never taking his eyes off Skylor’s. 

It was infuriating. 

It was bullying. 

Skylor had bought the pool membership so that she could relax and the kids could have fun . 

But Kai?

Kai murdered fun. 

With. His. Whistle. 

God, what she wouldn’t give to see him choke on it. 

“Oh, hey, bro,” Nya called cheerfully. 

Right. And he was also Nya’s older brother. 

Kai came to a stop in front of them, arms crossed over his tanned chest, muscles bunching. Skylor swallowed. Nya smirked. 

“ What are you doing?” He growled out. “Get back to your station.” 

“Sorry, dude, I’m on break,” Nya responded easily. “I was just catching up with my friend Skylor, here.” Nya patted her on the back with a challenging look at Kai while Skylor jerked. 

Friend? 

“I saw you take the popsicles and give it to the demon squad,” Kai glanced at said demons before fixing his eyes on Skylor. “Are you paying for them?”

Skylor felt her skin heat and flush as Kai ran his shaded eyes down every inch of her body. Oh god. She couldn’t even see his eyes and they were already doing things to her. 

“No, I’m paying for them.” Nya’s voice broke her out of her thoughts, and Kai and Skylor both snapped their eyes away from each other. Nya watched the two, amusement dancing in her eyes. 

Skylor shook her head, recalling what Nya said. “What? You can’t pay for them,” she frowned. “It’s one dollar per popcicle, and I have eleven kids. And you promised you’d give them another round when they’re done. That’s twenty-two dollars.” 

Normally, Skylor would be happy to freeload off another human being, but being in front of Kai made her feel funny. Like she wanted to try and be an actively good person, not brush it off or act indifferent whenever someone brought up how much she was like her father. 

Plus, this was Kai’s sister here. 

Nya waved her off. “It’s okay, I’d be happy to,” she said. Then she stared at Kai and that shark grin made a reappearance. “In fact, I’d be happy to get you one too. How do you feel about red?” 

Kai made a strangled noise in the back of his throat. 

“I like red,” Skylor said. 

“Great,” Nya grinned. “It’s Kai’s favorite color.” 

Skylor felt heat rise to her cheeks. She had noticed. Kai looked good in red. Red bottoms to be exact. Red bottoms without a shirt and water droplets trailing down his abs if she wanted to be really specific. 

Kai’s face was turning red, Skylor absently noted. His face was all flushed, and she might have written it off as the heat if it hadn’t been for the absolutely murderous look he was throwing his sister. 

Nya kept beaming, tossing Kai a wink and a smile. “I would get back to your lifeguard duties, bro. Don’t want any brats drowning on your watch, do you?” 

Kai grumbled something under is breath as he turned and stomped his way back to the chair. Nya shook her head fondly. “God, he’s like a toddler,” she sighed. “I love poking fun at him; especially when it’s with things he cares about.” 

Before Skylor could wrap her head around that particular statement, Nya turned and beamed. “Now, don’t think I forgot about you! We still have our lesson!” 

“Lesson?” Skylor repeated dumbly. When had she ever agreed to a lesson?

“First, sunscreen. Don’t want you getting burned.” Nya grabbed the spray bottle and spun her around, spritzing her with the stuff so she was practically glistening against the sun. 

“Good,” Nya smiled and grabbed her hand, dragging her to the other side of the pool so they were directly across from Kai’s chair. Skylor stole a glance over her shoulder to see Kai’s attention focused on another family. 

Nya tossed a look at her brother as well, a pleased smile on her lips that glinted ominously in the sun. “Yeah, here is perfect.”

She grabbed Skylor unceremoniously by the hips, putting her back to the pool. “Okay, so you stand here.”

Skylor pried her hands off her hips, already regretting going along with whatever this was. 

“Uh, Nya, I don’t think — ”

Nya’s hands moved to snag the hem of her sarong, untying it and tossing it to the side. 

“And you need to lose the skirt for sure.”

Skylor sputtered and Nya grinned, assessing her stance. “Perfect! Now, we need to see how flexible you are.”

Skylor shrugged. She’d never tried calisthenics before, but she used to do yoga back when she had more free time. Those were the days, weren’t they? Before she started hauling around little hellions and did their every bidding.  

“I’m pretty flexible, I guess. I like to do yoga, sometimes.”

Nya beamed, clapping excitedly and bouncing on her feet. “Great idea! That’s perfect. We can use that.”

Use that? 

“What?”

With a snap of her fingers, Nya pointed imperiously to the ground.

“Okay, first, touch your toes.”

Even though she was confused Skylor bent over, folding in half with effortless grace. Nya’s eyes widened with surprise before she grinned. It wasn’t at Skylor, exactly, but only indirectly at her — like she was grinning at someone right over her shoulder.

“Oh, cool, you’re actually flexible. That’s great! Okay, now spread your legs apart and grab your ankles. Really push into the stretch.”

Kai started to blow his whistle as completely and obnoxiously as Kai could, before it abruptly stopped. The shrill, extended whistling died a sudden and complete death as Skylor pushed into the stretch. Just, cut off completely the second her fingers wrapped around her ankles.

Skylor peered out between her legs to see Kai half-standing from his seat, whistle falling from his lips and gazing across the pool at them rather than the running kid.

He looked like someone had just hit him over the head, opened-mouthed and dazed as he gawked over at them.

Weird.

Nya let out an amused snort and began leading Skylor through more exercises, making her stretch her body to the fullest. The sun beating down on her was making her skin gleam with sweat, and Skylor was happy that Nya remembered the sunscreen. For some reason, Nya kept on giggling uncontrollably, letting out snorts and full-on cackles which seemed to coincide with her glancing over Skylor’s shoulder every couple minutes.

Skylor followed Nya’s instructions to the letter, actually enjoying the stretch. She didn’t get a lot of time for yoga anymore. Maybe she should sign up for the class. 

They had barely finished in time before the popsicles ran out, the kids starting to protest loudly. Skylor stopped her stretches, grabbed her sarong and hurried over to them, hoping to shush them before Kai used his cursed whistle. Nya walked away and returned with more popcicles, this time with one for Skylor. 

“So, what do you think? Want to to join the class?”

Skylor eyed Nya while handing out the popcicles to the kids. “You’re really insistent on this, huh?”

Nya smiled sunnily. “Yeah! I think it’s good for you, and you can use it as some down time from the kids. Your’re pretty flexible already, so it would be nice to see what else you can do.” 

“I’ll see if I can fit it into my schedule,” Skylor promised. It wasn’t an exact yes, but it wasn’t a firm no either, so Nya took it as it was and nodded. 

“Awesome, I hope to see you there. Popcicle?” Nya held out the frozen treat, and who was Skylor to deny a free offering? Skylor unwrapped the popcicle to see it was, indeed, cherry red. She ran her tongue along the bottom, placing it in her mouth and sucking delicately, before she heard a choking sound. 

She turned, concerned to see if it was one of her kids, but found they were all looking up at the lifeguard chair. She followed their gazes, watching Nya’s smile turn full-on maniacal, to see Kai. 

His face was flaming , more red than his swim trunks, and he was practically hacking up a lung as he hit his chest. He was holding something in his fist, and looking closer, Skylor could see it was his —

“Oh my God,” Nya sounded impressed and entirely too gleeful. “Did you just choke on your whistle?”  

Kai wheezed, coughing and looking furious at himself as he tried to catch his breath. Nya burst into laughter, and Skylor couldn’t help but feel a little bit amused. She had been fantasizing about Kai choking on his whistle since the day they met.

And other things, too, to be honest — but that was irrelevant. 

Kai cleared his throat, managing to regain his breath while somehow managing to look like a sexy tomato. Skylor was low-key jealous on how he — and the Smith siblings in general — managed to keep this air of unaffected coolness even when they were in this ninety-degree weather and Skylor was sweating bullets. 

The whistle fell between Kai’s perfect pecs, and Kai ran a hand through his stupidly sexy — or was it sexily stupid? — hair. He had taken off his sunglasses, so Skylor got to see his gorgeous eyes meet her own without the interruption of tinted plastic. 

So maybe Skylor had a tiny crush on him. Sue her. Despite him being smoking hot, Kai had literally seen her being run ragged by the kids and her mom van whenever she pulled up to the lot. 

No way Kai would notice her like that when there plenty of other women who came by the pool to ogle at the hot lifeguard. 

Plus, Kai could be a real ass when he wanted to be. And with Skylor and the kids? The annoyance was enough to overwhelm her unfortunate attraction to him. Most days, anyway. 

“Are you okay?” Skylor asked, because unfortunately, around Kai she actually became a concerned human to people who weren’t her kids. 

“Yeah, I’m — I’m fine,” Kai’s voice was a little breathy, a little raspy from inhaling his whistle. He was still blushing red from all the coughing. He shook his head, smouldering eyes wandering over every inch of Skylor until she tingled . 

His eyes focused on the dripping popcicle in her hand and he swallowed. 

“Uh, Nya, I’m gonna have to go — to the bathroom. Right now. Cover for me?”

Nya’s eyes looked innocent, but her smile was anything but. “How long will you be? Break’s almost up, I gotta get back to my station, remember?” 

Kai growled, looking murderous as he met his sister’s cool, amused gaze with his blazing one. They seemed to have an almost telepathic conversation, before Nya nodded with sly smirk. Kai practically jumped off the chair, still holding his red life raft as he stormed to the bathrooms. 

Skylor shifted awkwardly, not knowing what to do with that . The kids seemed to have enough common sense to keep their mouths shut, watching the whole exchange with wide eyes. 

“ … Thanks for the lessons?” Skylor offered hesitantly. 

Nya smirked.  “No, thank you . Just keep doing what you’re doing, Sky, and I promise you that the rewards with be great for all three of us.” She winked, pointed finger guns at her, and paired that with a smirk.

What.

“That was amazing. Good luck with him — you’re gonna need it.”

Then she just climbed up the chair and blew her whistle at a kid on the other side of the pool.

Skylor turned in a full circle and faced the kids, sheer confusion on her face.

What the hell just happened?

Ninjago Pokémon 

I have no idea where this came from but let’s just go with it, okay?