Okay so this is a bit of a weird one, it takes place in OTTWCD verse, in movie ninjago, a couple years in the future. inspired by a prompt on the blog seasonal-brotp-prompts on tumblr. not proofread because i really need to go to bed but i wanted to post this so. whatever

"Wait, mom, wait-"

"No more! I've had enough of your lack of respect for school!"

"Mom I swear, I am trying, I'm even getting tutoring, I just-"

"Get out of my house!" Hands shoved against his shoulders, and he tripped over the first step, crashing down onto the pavement outside. His head cracked against the concrete as the door slammed shut, and he let out a pained cry. An instant later, the cold hit him.

Groaning, Morro lifted his head an inch to be greeted by the sight of a locked door. Snowflakes fell lazily around him, coating the street with a fine layer too thin to break his fall. He reaches back to rub his head, and is met with a large, painful bump. No blood, though. Not that that meant he was okay.

Shivering, he carefully picked himself off, trying to dust the snow off his bare arms. His teeth are already chattering, rattling his skull, as he hugs his arms to his chest. Frostbite occurs when the cells in the dermis contract in an effort to conserve warmth for too long, right? If he stays in this cold for too long, he's definitely going to suffer.

Blinking away the faint stars in his eyes, he looks around, up and down the street. It's still and silent, lit only by two parallel rows of street lamps on either side. All the lights in the houses are off, except for a few in the dorm buildings across the street, but a bunch of drunk, sleep deprived, or both college students would barely be able to help him even if they cared.

Giving a final shudder, he starts to make his way down to the apartment building next door. Maybe one of them would let him stay in there tonight, even in the lobby would be better than out here.

He knocked at the doors, and yelled, but no one came. The night was silent. He tried the next building, but came up with the same result. The next building was a house, and he tried that door as well, only to be scared off by a man with a shotgun who wouldn't even let him stay long enough to ask for help.

Fingers and toes totally numb, Morro huddled up against a wall that ran along the dorms, blowing into his hands to keep blood circulating. If nothing else, at least the wall would protect him from the wind.

He sat there, back pressed up against the rough stone through the thin protection of his tank top, for at least half an hour before he heard a sound - a door squeaking from the dorms. Shivering, he pulled his knees up to his chest and buried his face in the fleece of his pajama pants. He wished he could go to sleep.

He heard the sound of a dumpster being opened, and lifted his head, but the fabric tickled his nose and he sneezed. Resting his head on his knee again, he stared off down the street, wondering if he could try to get a driver to help him if a car ever came.

"Hey." A voice above his head startled him, and he gasped, jerking his head back and hitting it against the wall. Hissing in pain, he squinted up at the silhouette above him. "You okay?"

"N-no." He stammered out through his chattering teeth. "G-got l-locked out, d-don't have a w-warm place to g-go." He normally wouldn't talk to strangers at all, much less ask for help, especially after the ones he had already tried, but he was so cold...

"Oh my- okay, c'mon, get up. Let's get you inside." The figure vaulted over the short wall, then offered him a hand. Morro accepted it, letting him pull him to his feet, and marveled at how warm the man's hands are. The man didn't let go, apparently coming to the same conclusion, and sandwiched Morro's hand between his own to warm it as he lead him towards the buildings. "I'm Kai, by the way." The man introduced himself, and Morro blinked up at him in the dark.

"K-Kai Smith?" Kai glanced down at him, and in the faint light shining from the dorm windows Morro could make out his features. He still had his signature spiky hair and warm brown eyes, with the small addition of a goatee and a prominent scar on his cheek.

"I kn-knew you in high school." Morro elaborated, shaking his head a bit. "B-before it came out you were a n-ninja." Kai frowned at him for a moment, then recognition dawned on his face.

"Morro?" Morro gave him a small nod. "Oh my g-I haven't seen you in years! Where've you been?" Kai lifted one hand to rumple his hair, and Morro managed to disguise his grimace as a smile.

"J-just across the s-street, I guess." This apparently reminded Kai of the cold, and he quickened his pace, leading him up to the building and pushing the door open. Morro shuddered at the rush of warmth that hit him as Kai lead him to a flight of stairs.

"We're on the top floor." He tells him.

"W-we?" His teeth hadn't stopped chattering.

"Jay, Cole and I bunk together. Lloyd gets a free dorm right on campus, the little stinker, and Zane doesn't need to go to college."

"A-and Nya?"

"Going to a university on the other side of the continent. We'd just finished calling her when I went out and found you." Morro made his way up the last few steps, and Kai let go of him to fish a key out of his pocket and let himself into one of the rooms. "C'mon," he prompted, and Morro followed him inside.

The dorm was fairly lavish, with a living space, a bedroom, and a separate kitchen and dining room. Two young men were sprawled on the couch in front of a TV, loudly trash-talking each other as they button-mashed on their controllers. Cole and Jay. They looked about the same, both clean-shaven, though Jay's hair was shorter now.

Cole's eyes flickered over to them as they entered the room, and immediately he sat up straight, pausing the game. Jay spun to yell at him, but caught a glimpse of him and stopped.

"Hey guys, look what the cat dragged in." Kai joked, grabbing Morro's cold hand again and leading him into the room.

"Morro?" Jay exclaimed. "What're you doing here? I mean, not that I mind, but..."

"I found him outside in the cold. I'm not sure what happened yet, but he says he got locked out. Can you guys grab some blankets and heat up some rice? He'll need something warm." The two sprung up off the couch, scrambling to oblige. Kai lead Morro over to the couch and sat down, prompting him to sit beside him, and Morro curled his feet underneath him as he sat on the corner cushion. He was already feeling much better than he had been outside, but his body was still shaking like a leaf.

Cole returned with a couple blankets, and Morro accepted them from his waiting hands, wrapping them tight around himself and burying his nose in the flannel. Kai placed a hand on his shoulder, and he was startled by the warmth flowing into his body. He's the fire ninja, isn't he? Is this his powers?

Jay soon returned with a bowl of rice and a spoon, and Morro set it on his lap, crossing his legs under the blankets as the others crowded around him. He took a small bite, but decided it was too hot and returned the spoon to the bowl. Looking up at the expectant faces surrounding him, he opens his mouth and managed a,

"Th-thank you."

"Just tell us what happened." Jay knelt on the floor next to the couch, looking up at him with bright blue eyes. "How'd you get caught out there?"

"M-my mom kicked me out." He answered in a small voice. "My grades were down again."

"Down?" Cole echoed. "Morro, you were two grades ahead when we knew you! What happened?"

"I… had some issues." He pushed the rice in his bowl in a circle. "I came down with clinical depression. It was so bad I could barely focus on my studies. I had to repeat a year twice, then dropped down a grade, I was showing up to school as little as only a day a week and almost never did my homework. I just didn't care." It felt… really good to tell them all this, swaddled in blankets with food and warmth and no immediate danger. "My parents… didn't like that.

"My mom was really really proud of me when I could skip up through the grades, she was prompting me to go to college early and become a doctor. When I stopped being so successful, she was… not very nice to me. My dad didn't help. I really just wanted…" his voice dwindled to a whisper. "For a long time, I just wanted to die.

"But I lived through it, and I'm getting better. I'm really trying hard to get my grades back up, but apparently a counselor called my mom to talk about my grades again, and tonight she kicked me out." He took another bite of rice, feeling small under their the pressure of their gaze. "I tried to find a warm place to spend the night, but I couldn't. Thank you for letting me in."

"Oh, of course. **** your mom." Kai sounded stunned. "Listen, if you ever need something, we're here, okay? If you need a place to sleep, someone to listen, money, clothes, you name it, we'll help. Stay here as long as you need to, and if your mom comes knocking we'll give her a knocking she won't forget."

"D-don't beat up my mom, please." Morro stammered, but he smiles. "Th-thank you, though."

"Don't mention it." Kai ruffled his hair again, and this time he couldn't stop a whimper from escaping him as the bump on his head was agitated. "Hey- are you hurt?" He gave a tense nod, and leaned his head forward, lifting a hand from beneath the blankets to brush the knot on his skull.

"M-my mom pushed me and I fell and hit my head." Kai's face morphed into a scowl.

"Cole, get some ice and ibuprofen." Cole hopped to his feet and ran off. "Can I see?" Morro nodded, and Kai brushed his hair aside to take a better look. Morro bit his lip at the pain, but was distracted by Jay's voice.

"You ditched the green." He gestured to his hair, and Morro gave him a pained smile.

"Too much work for me to deal with during that time."

"Ever thought about putting it back? I always thought it gave you a really cool vibe."

"Kinda. But I still don't have the time or money to."

"Well…" Jay's eyes sparkled. "If I got the equipment, would you be down to let me dye it for you?" Morro blinked.

"I-I'd really like that."

"Then it's a date. Come back here after school tomorrow, okay?"

"It's Friday, Jay, there's no school tomorrow." Kai reminded him. Jay blinked.

"Oh! I forgot. College life." He let out an exaggerated sigh. "Do you wanna stay here tomorrow? After what your mom did… I wouldn't think you'd wanna go home quite yet."

"I-I can't just live here, not for long." He protested, flinching as Kai prodded at his head. "Th-there's rules about-"

"Hey, we're practically celebrities." Cole's voice interrupted him, and Morro looked up to see him returning with a bag of ice, a towel, and a glass of water. "Minor rules usually don't apply to us. Stay here as long as you want."

"But-"

"You got a phone?" Kai interrupted again.

"Y-yeah, at home."

"Here." Removing his hands from his head, Kai stood, and Cole took his place to gently press the ice to the back of his head. Morro watched as Kai grabbed a slip of paper, scribbling on it before hurrying back to the couch. "My number." He explained as he pushed it into his hand. "If you ever need help, call me, got it?" Morro gave him a speechless nod. Kai touched his arm again before walking away, and Morro closed his eyes for a moment at the rush of warmth.

"You tired?" Cole's voice came from behind him, and he mumbled a 'yeah'. "Take these." A hand with two pink pills appeared in front of his face, and he picked them up, feeling Cole pull his hand away as he swallowed them with a glass of water. The earth ninja replaced the ice on his head as he took another bite of rice, which was getting cool, but he didn't mind. He hadn't eaten in a few hours.

The throbbing in his head began to subside as he shoved Kai's number in his pocket, and he heard soft voices in the background as he ate the rest of the rice. Eventually, Cole removed the ice and left, and he was alone on the couch.

When he was done eating, he paused, staring down at his dirty dishes and wondering if he should get up and put them in the kitchen. Before he could decide, a hand pulled them from his grip, and he looked up to find himself staring into Kai's warm eyes.

"Here, scoot over for me." Morro obliged, and Kai set down a fluffy pillow against the arm of the couch. "You can lie down if you want, okay? Me and the boys are goin' to bed."

"Okay." Kai started to walk away, and Morro quickly spoke up again. "Thank you."

"No problem." The fire ninja flashed him a smile before disappearing into the bedroom, and Morro curled up on the couch, resting his aching head on the pillow. He felt safe, wrapped up in the warmth and the dark instead of the cold and the glaring light of the streetlamps. He felt a tiny flame of hope ignite in his heart, warming his chest.

Maybe life didn't have to hurt after all.

breaking news: he is good

~FFF