Oooooh, you guys are in for a treat this chapter! This one was one of my favorite ones to write so far! Why? Well, remember that special guest that I mentioned last time??? 

~~~~~

Previously on Tiny Troubles...

Kai chuckled again, gently patting Cole's shoulder. "Of course, pal. Sleep tight."

"Don' let the bedbugs bite..." Cole slurred as his eyelids closed. A few seconds later and the little ninja had drifted off to sleep.

"Awwwww," Jay cooed. "I love having a little brother. He's just so cute!"

"Indeed," Zane agreed, smiling. "I'd even go so far as to say that turning into a kid has had a good effect on Cole. He is eating more, and, while at times he is frustrated with his situation, he seems happier than he had a few weeks ago."

"Shhh!" Kai shushed them. "Let's continue this conversation elsewhere, before we accidentally wake Cole up." Then, casting the sleeping ninja a smile, Kai added, "Though, you guys are right. It's nice seeing him happy."

There was a murmur of consensus among the ninja as they exited the bedroom, leaving their adoptive brother alone to sleep.

Though Jay did manage to sneak in a picture of a sleeping Cole cuddling the stuffed panda, a tiny smile on his face.

~~~~

Part 14

It was a beautiful afternoon, almost evening, and Lou Brookstone was worried.

Now, as the father of a certain Ninja of Earth, whose line of work usually entailed him to run head-first into danger, Lou felt that he was allowed to worry from time to time. It wasn't easy for him to cope with the fact that his son wasn't off at one of the most prestigious dance schools in Ninjago, safely learning how to be a better dancer. But he managed to cope with it, and seeing as how most of the danger was over with that Overlord guy defeated, Lou allowed himself to worry a little less about his son.

But then, a few days ago, on the day when he usually received Cole's weekly call, his son never called. Lou had patiently waited to see if maybe Cole had forgotten and would call him the next day. But Cole never called. Instead, Lou had received a call from his son's sensei. He had reassured Lou that Cole was alright, but had a run-in with a criminal that had left him unharmed, but...changed. Wu had then gone on to say that Lou was free to visit his son and his friends, but to be prepared for a bit of a shock. The old sensei had also warned Lou against saying anything about his and Cole's private life. Apparently there were a few things that his son had kept hidden from his friends and wasn't entirely eager to share. Lou had a good idea what exactly his son was hiding, but decided that he shouldn't interfere.

It was his son's way of coping, after all.

Which brought him to his current situation: on the deck of the Destiny's Bounty, knocking at the door and praying that someone could tell him what had happened to Cole.

Lou waited for a few moments after the first knock. When the door didn't open, he knocked again, worry growing.

A muffled, "Coming!" sounded through the wooden door. Seconds later, a young lad wearing green opened the door and looked at him with surprise. "O-oh. Hey there, Mr. Brookstone."

"Hello there, Lloyd," Lou greeted, smiling. "And please, none of that 'Mr. Brookstone' stuff. It makes me feel old. Just Lou is fine."

"O-oh. Okay then. C-can I help you, Mr. Brook--er, Lou?" Lloyd asked.

He looked nervous, Lou observed. Though as to why, the mustachioed-man had no idea.

"Actually, yes," Lou said. "Cole hasn't called me for his usual update and I was wondering if he was home. And," he added. "If he's okay."

"Ooooh. Yeaaaaaah, he's fine," Lloyd mumbled, looking even more nervous.

Lou took notice. "Are you certain?" he asked, narrowing his eyes some.

"Uhhh, yeah, sure! Totally. He's fine," Lloyd replied, an obviously fake grin plastered onto his face. "Completely 100% fine. Okay, well, maybe 99.9% fine, but he's not hurt or anything!"

"Young man," Lou said sternly in his 'no-nonsense' tone. "Where. Is. My son?"

Lloyd quailed underneath his gaze. "Uh, one sec," he mumbled before closing the door slightly and shouting, "KAI! I NEED SOME HELP HERE!"

Lou raised an eyebrow. That eyebrow got raised even higher when Kai's voice shouted back, "If it's a rabid fangirl again, you're on your own, man!"

The red ninja soon came into sight. "Alright, Lloyd. What did you need help with--...oh. Crud."

Lou wasn't paying any attention to Kai.

He was paying attention to the little boy sitting atop the red ninja's shoulder. Said little boy was staring right back at him, warm grey eyes wide with surprise.

"Cole?!"

"DAD?!"

~~~~~

After finishing their game of Go Fish(Zane won, to the surprise of absolutely no one), the ninja decided to retire to the rec room. Jay, Kai, and Lloyd started up a game of Smash Bros while Zane read a book.

Two hours later, Cole walked into the room, rubbing at his eye tiredly. His hair was all messed-up and, to everyone's amusement, he was carrying the panda plushie underneath his arm.

"Hey Cole," Kai greeted, looking away from the game for a second. "How was your nap?"

Cole yawned before replying. "It was nice," he said, smiling sheepishly. "You were right, I do feel better."

"That's good. See? Told you," Kai said smugly, grinning.

"Yeah, yeah," Cole rolled his eyes as he made his way to the couch, squeezing in-between Zane and Kai. "Who's winning?" he asked, turning towards the TV.

"At the moment? I've got three lives left, Lloyd has two--"

"Make that one," the green ninja muttered, scowling.

"Lloyd has one," Kai amended. "And Jay still has two."

"Pikachu is the best!" Jay declared.

"Psssh, please. If anyone's the best, it's Link," Lloyd argued.

"You're both wrong, Ike and Charizard are clearly the best," Kai chimed in.

"Guys, stop arguing," Cole groaned. Then, grinning cheekily, he added, "But you're all wrong. Marth is the best!"

Jay and Lloyd both groaned while Kai cried out, "Objection! Ike is obviously better than Marth in Smash Bros! Heck, I'm better than Marth!"

"But Marth's moves are better than Ike's," Cole argued. "Plus, he's probably a better swordsman than you."

Kai gasped. "Take that back."

"Hmmmmm...nope!"

"Oh, that's it," Kai declared, pausing the game. "C'mere, you!"

Cole squeaked and tried to hide behind Zane. "Zane, protect me!"

Zane rolled his eyes and stood up. "Please leave me out of this," he asked, not looking up from his book.

"Traitor!" Cole cried, only to yelp and roll off the couch when Kai made a grab at him.

"I'm gonna getcha, Cole!" Kai singsonged, chasing after the little ninja.

"Never!" Cole declared, childishly sticking his tongue out at the red ninja.

Everyone paused when they heard the sound of someone knocking on the door. "I'll get it," Lloyd said, standing up and making his way towards the door.

Kai took advantage of the situation and grabbed Cole while he was distracted. "Gotcha!"

Cole shrieked and flailed. "Kai lemme go!"

Kai adjusted his grip on the little ninja so that he could give Cole a noogie. "Not until you take it back!"

"Nyahahahaha! Kai, quit it!"

"Take it back~!"

"Never!"

Jay laughed as Kai continued to give Cole a noogie. Zane rolled his eyes again, but hid a smile behind his book.

The shenanigans ended when Lloyd shouted, "KAI! I NEED SOME HELP HERE!"

"Oh boy," Kai muttered as he swung Cole up onto his shoulders and made his way towards the front door. "If it's a rabid fangirl again," he yelled to Lloyd. "you're on your own, man!"

It didn't take long for Kai and Cole to make it to the front door. Lloyd was holding the door halfway open and looked positively terrified.

Concerned, Kai walked up to the front door and said, "Alright, Lloyd. What did you need help with--...oh," he trailed off when he saw who, exactly, was at the front door. "Crud."

Lou Brookstone stared at Kai in shock...or, more accurately, the little person sitting on Kai's shoulders.

"Cole?!"

"DAD?!"

~~~~

Cole desperately wanted this to be a dream.

He wanted this to be one big, terrible dream. He wasn't actually a little kid, and his dad wasn't currently standing at the front door, and his dad wasn't actually seeing him as a little kid again...

But a discreet pinch to his arm revealed the horrifying truth: Cole was completely awake.

So this was actually happening.

"S-son?!" his dad gasped, chocolate-brown eyes still wide with shock. "Is...is that actually you?"

Feeling his cheeks heat up in embarrassment, Cole looked away and mumbled, "Yes..."

He waited for the huge blowout, in which his dad would shout and yell and panic...

But none of those things happened.

The corner of his dad's lips twitched and he brought up his hand to cover his mouth.

Cole saw it, and instantly felt a pit form in his stomach. "Dad~," he pleaded. "Don't do it."

That turned out to be the last straw for his dad.

Lou threw his head back, and burst out laughing.

Cole groaned as his dad laughed long and hard. "Kai," he whined. "Please kill me..."

"Sorry, Cole," Kai laughed, not sounding very sorry at all. "No can do."

"Meanie," Cole told him before turning towards his dad. "Dad, it's not that funny! Stop laughing!"

His dad seemed to calm down some, his laughter dying down and turning into small chuckles. "I-I'm sorry, son," he gasped. "I-I just wasn't expecting...this. Your sensei called and told me that you had a run-in with a crook that left you 'changed', but...I wasn't expecting this."

Cole blushed even more and he hid his face in Kai's hair.

Kai chuckled. "Yeah, none of us were expecting this," he said, smiling. "But it hasn't been all bad." He opened the door a little bit more. "Wanna come in and hear all about it?"

"Kai!" Cole protested.

"Why thank you, young man," Lou said, walking into the ship. "I would love to hear about the situation that my son has gotten into."

"It wasn't my fault!" Cole exclaimed. "I didn't ask to be turned into a kid! This crook had this bomb-thingy that did this," he gestured to his tiny body. "To me! I don't even know why he had something like that!"

"Perhaps he knew how cute you were when you were this age," his dad suggested, ruffling Cole's hair. "Ah, I remember those days. I think you got your first pair of dance shoes when you were this age."

"Daaaaad~"

"Awww, what kind of dance shoes were they?" Kai asked.

"Tap shoes," Cole answered, wiggling his foot. "I got my first pair when I was five."

"He kept trying to dance in mine," Lou added, smiling fondly. "So I decided to get him a pair that actually fit his feet. The look of joy when he unboxed them, ah, that's something I'll never forget."

"I didn't know that you liked dancing Cole," Lloyd said.

Cole blushed slightly. "I-I don't," he mumbled. "I mean, it's fun sometimes and I like tap dancing occasionally, it's just not something that I want to do everyday."

He fiddled nervously with his fingers, wondering what his dad would say to that. While he was on good terms with his father ever since he had reached his True Potential, there were still a few rocky parts in their relationship.

But his dad merely smiled and ruffled his hair playfully. "I wanted a dancer, but got a ninja instead," he said. "And I couldn't be prouder."

Cole blushed even more but smiled. "Thanks Dad," he said. Then, acting on an impulse, he reached out towards his dad. Lou smiled even more, and gently plucked him from Kai's shoulders, hugging him close.

Cole wrapped his arms around his dad's neck and sighed happily, feeling warm and safe in his dad's arms. Inhaling the sweet, clean, familiar scent of his dad's favorite cologne was like taking a trip down memory lane, when he was actually five years old and his dad would pick him up and swing him around, pretending to dance with him.

The sound of a camera shutter going off made Cole jump and twist his head to the side. At some point, Jay and Zane had walked into the room and Jay was holding up his phone, taking pictures. "This is so cute!" He cooed as he snapped more pictures.

Cole blushed and hid his face in his dad's chest. "Jay, I hate you so much," he hissed.

Lou chuckled, carefully adjusting his hold on Cole. "Relax son. There is nothing wrong with a few pictures."

"There is if Jay's taking them!" Cole protested. "He'll use them as blackmail!"

"Do not fret Cole," Zane told him. "I will make sure that Jay does not use the pictures as blackmail."

"Awww, c'mon Zane!" Jay complained, pouting. "You're no fun!"

"Thank you Zane," Cole said, smiling at the white ninja.

Zane smiled back. "You are very welcome, Cole."

"Now that we have that settled," Lou chimed in. "Why don't we all find a place to sit and you can all tell me what you have been up to."

"De we have to?" Cole whined.

"Don't worry, Cole," Kai told him, ruffling his hair. "We won't embarrass you...too much."

"Gee, thanks Kai," Cole grumbled, sticking out his tongue at the red ninja.

~~~~~

After everyone had moved to the big table in the dining room(with Cole sitting in his dad's lap), the ninja proceeded to tell Lou all of the events that had transpired. There was much teasing, but it was all in good fun and Cole managed to keep his embarrassment to a minimum. In turn, Lou shared about how he and the other Royal Blacksmiths had gotten together a few times in the past week to practice for a concert that they were doing next month. He dropped hints that Cole was more than welcome to join them onstage, but Cole politely declined the offer.

Hours passed, and eventually, Lou announced that it was time for him to head back to his house. He declined the offer to stay for dinner, stating that he had another rehearsal later that night.

"Before I go," Lou said before the good-byes could be said. "Cole, can I talk you? Privately?"

Suddenly nervous, Cole nevertheless nodded his head. "Sure, Dad." He glanced at his teammates and thankfully Zane caught the subtle hint.

"Jay," The white ninja suddenly spoke up. "Would you like to assist me in teaching the others how to play the Hat Game?"

Jay's eyes lit up. "Yeah! C'mon guys, this'll be fun!" he exclaimed, racing out the dining room towards the game room.

"Somehow, I feel like I'm going to be very frustrated by the end of this game," Kai grumbled as he and Lloyd followed the blue ninja, Zane right behind them.

Once Lou and Cole were alone, Lou looked at the little ninja in his lap. "How're doing, son?" he asked gently.

Cole shrugged. "Okay, I guess," he replied. "I wish that I wasn't a little kid, but I've been managing."

Lou smiled sadly and turned Cole so that he faced him. "That's not what I'm talking about," he said. "And I think you know that."

Cole's eyes widened and his expression fell. "Oh," he said softly, turning away slightly from his dad. "I...I'm okay."

"Are you?" Lou asked, gently cupping Cole's face and lifting it up so that he could look his son in the eye. "Are you really okay?"

Cole bit his lip and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to will away the tears that threatened to come out. "I'm fine," he replied, calmly, firmly. "I'll be okay."

Lou could see the strong face that his son was desperately trying to maintain. Had he'd been his normal, teenager self, he might have succeeded in appearing normal. But his now-child body couldn't quite hide the signs that he was faking it. His tiny shoulders shook slightly and the blank mask that he had on his face would crack every so often.

"You know son," Lou said slowly. "It might be better if you talk to someone about this--"

Cole's eyes hardened. "I'm not going to a shrink," he hissed.

Lou frowned. "I wasn't talking about going to a therapist," he said sternly, stressing the word 'therapist'. "Though that might not be a bad idea. I was talking about someone you feel close to. Maybe your friends?" he suggested.

Cole frowned and shook his head. "They wouldn't understand..."

"How would you know that?"

"Because I do!" the little ninja exclaimed. "If they found out...if I told them..."

Seeing that his son was on the verge of tears, Lou decided that he had pushed too hard. "I'm sorry, Cole," he whispered, gently hugging his son close. "I shouldn't have pushed. It's just....I know how you get around this time of year. I just want to make sure that you're okay."

Cole sniffled and buried his face in his dad's chest. A few tears slid down his cheeks. "I miss her..." he whimpered.

Lou didn't need any clarification on who 'her' was. His own eyes shone with unshed tears and he hugged Cole closer. "I know son," he whispered, rubbing Cole's back soothingly. "I do too."

"Even though you two fought a lot?" Cole hiccuped, fists tightening around his dad's clothes as he remembered those arguments, those loud, mean, constant arguments....

His thoughts stuttered some when he felt Lou gently kiss the top of his head. "Even then," his dad whispered.

For a while, the two sat there, hugging each other close and sharing a small moment of grief. Eventually, Cole broke away and sat up in his dad's lap, rubbing at his eyes. Lou watched sadly as the stone mask from before slipped over his son's face, making Cole's expression stoic. The only crack in the mask was deep within his eyes, where a small hint of sadness still lurked within the warm grey.

Lou didn't comment on it. Instead, he smiled fondly and ruffled his son's hair. "You know, maybe I should find the crook that did this to you and ask him how he did it," he said teasingly. "I can't remember the last time that I was able to hold you like this."

"Daaaaaaad~" Cole complained, but a smile started tugging at his lips. The little ninja reached out and hugged his dad one last time, which Lou gladly returned. "Love you," Cole murmured.

Lou smiled widely and he hugged Cole a little tighter. "I love you too, son," he replied.

Cole gave his dad one last squeeze before he let go. "Wanna go say good-bye to the others before you go?" he asked.

Lou smiled and nodded. "Lead the way, son."

Cole grinned and slid out of his dad's lap. "C'mon," he said, grabbing his dad's hand and pulling him towards the game room. "They're this way."

Lou laughed and followed his eager son. Two minutes later, the duo entered the game room and saw that the ninja were in the middle of a heated argument.

"THAT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE!" Kai screeched. "How can Jay have the hat if Lloyd gave the hat to me?!"

Zane shrugged. "I cannot tell you how the game works, Kai," the nindroid responded. "That would be cheating."

"Gah! This game is frustrating!" Lloyd complained.

"Try again!" Jay encouraged before clearing his throat. "Now, I bought a hat and gave it to Nya, who put it on but the wind blew it away. Kai picked up the hat and gave it to Cole, who put it on his bed. Who has the hat?"

Lou laughed. "I remember this game," he said, startling the players. "I used to always struggle with it before I figured it out."

"Can you tell us how this game works then?!" Lloyd asked hopefully.

Lou smiled and shook his head. "Now where's the fun in that?" he asked, his eyes twinkling.

"Dang it!" Lloyd shouted.

"Guess!" Jay said, grinning.

"Does Cole have the hat?" Kai asked.

"Nope!"

"Does the bed have the hat?" Lloyd guessed.

"Nope!" Jay giggled.

"Does Zane have the hat?" Kai asked.

"Engh, wrong!"

Cole giggled. "My dad has the hat," he laughed.

"Cole is right!" Zane said.

"WHAT?!" Kai and Lloyd exclaimed.

"He wasn't even in the story!" Lloyd protested. "How could he have the hat?!"

Cole shrugged. "I dunno," he replied. "I just guessed."

Kai's eyes narrowed. "Alright, wise guy. Let's see if you can guess the right answer again."

"You're on!"

Lou cleared his throat, gaining everyone's attention. "While I would love to join in, I really must be going."

"Awwww, c'mon Dad!" Cole whined. "Just one game? Pleeeeeeeease?"

Lou at his son, who was giving him his best impression of a puppy dog, and sighed. "Alright, one game," he conceded.

"Yay!" Cole exclaimed. "Can I do the story?"

"Go right ahead," Zane said.

"Awesome! So, Zane had a hat but his falcon took it and gave it to Sensei, but Jay's robot accidentally took it and put it on Lloyd's bed. Lloyd grabbed the hat and gave it to Kai. Who has the hat?"

"Kai does!" Lloyd answered.

"Nope!"

"GOSH DANG IT!!!!"

----

Hehehehehe. Writing for Lou was surprisingly easy. I actually kinda liked it. I hoped I kept him in character though....

Also, yes, I believe that Cole's first pair of dance shoes were tap shoes and that he used to dance in his dad's when he was little. I will fight you on that. :P

*stares at a notebook and pencil sadly* WHY CAN'T I DRAW?!?!?! I JUST WANT A PICTURE OF TINY COLE AND HIS DAD, IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK FOR?!?!?! T-T (any artists out there willing to help a poor author out? I will pay you back with a oneshot about whatever you want).

So, hope you've enjoyed this dose of fluff with a dash of angst. Next chapter will have a little more angst(but don't worry, there's still some fluff!). 

Thanks for reading! Hope you guys have a great day! :D