"I wonder if Mr Borg is having another New Year's party." Jay mused.

"Probably," Lloyd replied. "why?"

"I dunno, I guess I was hoping we would be invited again, like last year."

"Maybe he thinks we're too busy to go," Lloyd noted. "that's what happened in previous years anyway."

"It was so much fun..." Jay sighed.

"Stop daydreaming and just sweep the floor already!" Lloyd barked as he finished washing the windows.

Jay sighed again and listlessly guided the broom along the wooden floor, wondering why he got stuck with Lloyd instead of being able to work with Nya. They were doing the annual winter clean in preparation for their usual Christmas Eve party, and Pixal was the one delegating the tasks this time round. Nya said that the assistance droid was feeling a little under-utilised, so she'd handed over the reins to give Pixal a sense of direction. In her electronic wisdom, Pixal had put Nya with Zane to handle the living area, Cole and herself in the kitchen, Kai was in the bathroom (presumably because he had done such a good job on his own last time) and Jay and Lloyd were doing the stairs and corridors. He was surprised that she didn't put herself with Zane – if he was in charge he'd be working with Nya, no question – but he figured that she had done things that way for a reason.

"Cole said he'd added a ton of new music for tonight," Lloyd mentioned, as Jay's melancholy hung in the air like an invisible fog. "and I'm sure I heard Sensei tell Zane that we could have alcohol this year."

"Is that a good idea?" Jay smirked wickedly. "You got pretty trashed at the New Year's Eve gala."

"So did you, cheese ball," Lloyd countered. "which reminds me, you and Nya seemed pretty awkward when we saw you at the restaurant the next day… did something happen?"

Jay all but answered the question with his silence and reddening cheeks.

"Come on, you can tell me," Lloyd baited, putting his arm around Jay's shoulder and jostling him a little. "I promise not to tell Kai."

"Pfft! As if!" Jay declared with a laugh. "I can't trust you as far as I can throw you - you and Kai are in each other's pockets!"

"That hurt me, Jay," Lloyd said, feigning sadness. "brothers are supposed to trust brothers."

"I trust you in battle, and I trust your decision making as our leader, but I don't trust you to keep a secret when it involves Kai or Nya."

"Why do relationships make everything so much more complicated?" Lloyd sighed.

"You'll find out as soon as you get into one." Jay chuckled to himself.

Lloyd was just about to say something witty and cutting, only to interrupted by Cole's sing-song tone of voice.

"Hey guyyyys…" He taunted as he ran up to them. "Guess what the mail guy just dropped off?"

Cole beamed widely as he held up a white, pearlescent envelope with a familiar wax seal…

"YES!" Jay yelled.

"Just wait until you read it!" Cole shoved the opened envelope at his excited companion.

"Mr Cyrus Borg of Borg Industries humbly requests the honour of your presence at the New Year's Eve Grand Ball, in honour of his daughter and son-in-law's first wedding anniversary, December 31st from 8pm to 1am at the Borg Industries Tower," Jay read aloud. "dress code: white tie… what's 'white tie' mean?"

"It means another trip to Ninjago 109," Lloyd grinned knowingly at Cole. "that's why you're so happy about it, right?"

"I'm saying nothin'," Cole refuted, his expression turning soft and pink. "but yeah, it means even fancier outfits than last time."

"Who cares? We get two parties again!" Jay excitedly bounced away to tell the others.

"I hope you haven't left Pixal to do everything on her own." Lloyd said to Cole sternly.

"Nah, we were pretty much done when the mail guy arrived," Cole corrected him. "she was really quiet though."

"I'm sure she's fine," Lloyd waved his hand dismissively. "probably still swooning over that necklace she got from Zane."

"I've warned him, he's gonna spoil her." Cole shook his head.

"Oh please, you're telling me you don't spoil Jasper?" Lloyd raised an eyebrow.

"...Point taken."

"Besides, is it even possible to 'spoil' someone as logical as a droid?" Lloyd wondered as he gathered the cleaning supplies he was using.

"I mean, Pixal and Zane are definitely more emotive than regular droids," Cole thought out loud. "but Pixal's still not used to the finer points of relationship stuff, and Nya wasn't explaining it very well."

"Do you mean like, Nya was using the wrong words or...?"

"Not really, it was more like, Pixal agreed with me that gift giving shouldn't be dependent on it being a specific date."

"No wonder you get on with her so well," Lloyd chuckled, following Cole downstairs. "maybe you should try explaining it to her, she might get it then."

"That's a good idea actually," Cole noted as he began to formulate a plan. "after all, I do understand the 'norms' of romance, I'm just counter-culture about it."

"Speaking of which, is Jasper coming to the party tonight?" Lloyd wondered.

"Yeah, Sensei Wu said it was okay, and she's staying over in Nya's room so she can be here tomorrow as well." Cole grinned widely.

"Oh yes…?" Lloyd smirked knowingly.

"Shut up, you're just jealous." Cole gave Lloyd a firm shove into the wall as they approached the kitchen…

…and walked straight into a private moment between Zane and Pixal. The two droids were wrapped in a gentle hug, leaning forehead to forehead and muttering sweet nothings to each other. Before either of the two ninja could silently back out of the room, they were noticed, and Pixal quickly withdrew from her close proximity to Zane.

"Please excuse me." She muttered as she quickly walked out, her face almost completely purple.

"Sorry to interrupt," Cole offered. "and we didn't mean to frighten Pixal."

"It's okay," Zane smiled. "she's a little shy sometimes."

"Why? It's not like we haven't seen you be affectionate before."

"We agreed to be as inconspicuous as possible, to prevent making everyone else uncomfortable," Zane elaborated. "as a result, she has become hypersensitive to being unexpectedly observed."

"You don't need to go that far, we're hardly gonna freak out if we see you guys kiss every now and then." Cole assured him.

"Yeah, I mean, you shouldn't feel like you've gotta hide it," Lloyd nodded in agreement. "Sensei Wu trusts you two to share a bedroom, so we know you won't go overboard with the PDA."

"While we are still in the temple, we intend to be responsible."

This gave Lloyd reason to pause.

"What do you mean 'still in the temple'?" He said, as it finally clicked in his mind. "Are you two thinking of leaving?"

Zane hesitated. He scanned the temple to determine Pixal's location before he felt safe to speak.

"I received a letter from Mr Borg this morning," Zane admitted. "I haven't told Pixal because I do not want to cause her undue concern, nor taint her enjoyment of this evening."

He reached under his shirt and gave Lloyd a folded piece of paper. Cole looked over Lloyd's shoulder as he opened it.

[Dear Pixal and Zane,

How is everything at the temple? Hopefully, you are all doing well. After such an unpredictable year, I have, on several occasions, found myself thinking things over. To this end, I'm writing to inform you that I intend on retiring sometime in the new year, and it is my deepest wish to see you take over New Ninjago City in my place.

I realize that this is a big step, and a difficult decision for you to make, but it would be most advantageous to have both of you overseeing the city in my stead.

Bear in mind that I do not require an answer straight away, but I am telling you now so that you may discuss it among yourselves and make the right decision for you.

I look forward to seeing everyone at the Grand Ball on your wedding anniversary.

Yours sincerely,

Cyrus Borg]

Lloyd and Cole looked over at Zane with shock on their faces.

"He wants you and Pixal to run New Ninjago?" Cole stammered.

Zane merely nodded.

"Wow, that's a big responsibility," Lloyd noted. "do you think you're up for it?"

"As long as we are together, Pixal and I can handle anything," Zane said confidently. "what concerns me is breaking up the team."

"I get what you mean, but we won't all be in the temple forever." Lloyd stated.

"We won't?" Cole asked, slightly confused.

"When we first became ninja, we were all single and – to be frank – pretty wet behind the ears," Lloyd explained. "we're growing up and branching out now, developing relationships outside the team; at some point we'll all go our separate ways."

"When expressed that way, it may even make us a more efficient team." Zane mentioned.

"How so?"

"Taken literally, going separate ways enables us to cover more ground and collaborate from a distance to preserve the peace in Ninjago." Zane theorised.

"I'm not sure I like the idea of the team breaking apart." Cole spoke sadly.

"No matter our geographical location, we will always be a team," Zane smiled, retrieving the letter from Lloyd and placing it back under his shirt. "as for now, we should look no further forward than this evening's celebration – for which I need to complete the food preparation."

"Okay, well, we'll leave you to it." Lloyd said as he shooed Cole back out of the kitchen.


"Sorry I'm late!" Jasper apologised as Nya welcomed her into the temple. "We had so much tidying to do after the store was closed!"

"No problem," Nya smiled warmly. "we're just glad you could make it."

Jasper removed her jacket and hung it up on one of the hooks by the door. Nya offered to take the overnight bag at Jasper's feet.

"I'll take this up to my room in a minute," She said. "but first I'll show you into the party."

Nya escorted the red-headed young lady into the heart of the excitement, the living room. There was joyful music playing and colourful lights flashing, and everyone was having a great time. Cole, from his vantage point of the DJ decks, immediately noticed Jasper and eagerly waved her over. She responded and happily tottered over to him in her red cocktail dress and kitten heels.

"Hey babe," He pulled his headphones down and gave her a quick kiss. "you look gorgeous!"

"Thank you," She blushed. "I'm sorry I'm late."

"You're here, that's what matters." He insisted.

"I'm gonna go say hi to the others, I won't be long." She grinned.

Cole nodded approvingly and Jasper wandered over to where Lloyd was pouring a drink for Pixal.

"Hey, Jasper!" Lloyd beamed. "What'll it be?"

"I can wholeheartedly recommend the gin," Pixal stated, holding up a glass of shimmering pink liquid. "it is a new flavour for this brand."

"I'd never say no to a gin, especially if it's a double measure." Jasper giggled.

Lloyd began to pour a drink for Jasper, while she watched Kai, Zane and Jay dancing nearby. The furniture had been pushed to the side of the room to create an open space, and the Christmas tree had been moved to prevent it from being damaged.

"I adore your dress." Pixal smiled.

"Thanks," Jasper replied, glancing at the droid's outfit. "your kimono is stunning; I'd love to know where you got it from!"

"Thank you, Nya helped me choose it for the party," Pixal took a sip from her glass. "we went to your department and hoped to see you, but they said it was your day off."

"Well, it was my day off from work, I was doing my internship at the museum."

"How's that going anyway?" Lloyd wondered.

"Pending my final evaluation, I could be getting a full-time job there," Jasper replied hopefully. "the rumour is that the head of fine art is retiring soon."

"That is exciting news!" Pixal declared. "We will keep our fingers crossed for you!"

"Thanks," Jasper smiled as Lloyd handed her a glass of gin and mixer. "aren't you having one?"

"Sensei Wu allowed us to have alcohol on the condition that one of us stayed sober to make sure it didn't get out of hand," Lloyd clarified. "I'm not much of a drinker, so I volunteered."

"That's a lie for a start!" Kai interjected. "Jasper, if you had seen how much he drank at the New Year's gala last year, you'd be shocked."

"I believe everyone overindulged a little," Pixal added. "owing to the celebratory atmosphere, even Zane and I had enjoyed more than we otherwise might have."

"Oh, trust me, we definitely noticed a difference," Kai smirked. "you two are usually pretty private with your affection, but when you've been drinking? Not so much."

Pixal's face glowed and she sheepishly looked at her drink.

"They weren't that bad." Lloyd countered.

"Are you kidding? They couldn't keep their hands off each other!" Kai laughed.

"Are you embarrassing my wife?"

Kai turned to see Zane standing behind him with a dark expression on his face – an expression Kai had not seen since the incident on the island at the beginning of the year. He chuckled awkwardly.

"No, no, honestly, I'm just telling Jasper how openly loving you two are when you've had alcohol." Kai deflected.

"Well, it is true that we tend to keep a lowkey public relationship," Zane grinned at him, then bowed to Pixal. "darling, will you dance with me?"

"Of course!" She replied sweetly.

As Zane escorted Pixal to the dancefloor, Cole phased the current upbeat pop song into a smooth piano and violin Christmas song that played like a waltz. They whirled around together in perfect synchronization, and Jasper noticed with great intrigue how everyone else paused to watch the two droids. Certainly, Jasper had never seen anyone with so much style or grace, and it was hypnotic seeing them time their movements to the male vocals on the track. Every step was deliberate, every motion was purposeful, and not once did they look at anything or anyone but each other. It was just like at the wedding; their dancing was tender and doting and playful, and the world at large was blocked out.

Pixal gazed at Zane, her eyes overflowing with adoration. This was her new favourite winter song, and she specifically requested that Cole acquire it for the party. She leaned her head on his chest and savoured the sound of his heart.

"Like music, like magic, somehow it just happens," Zane quietly whispered, singing along to the lyrics of the song. "I could stay here forever…"

"…Nothing can compare," Pixal murmured back to him. "to this moment with you, and winter in the air."

They drifted across the open floor, and he gently spun her in place, observing how the silver strands of her hair glittered under the colourful lights. Her bright green eyes sparkled at him in such a way that he thought he would melt on the spot, and he had to resist the urge to lavish her with affection right then and there.

As the closing violin strings played, Cole prepared another slushy slow dance Christmas song, and Kai took his place at the decks so he could have a dance with Jasper. She put down her drink and hurried over, practically leaping into his waiting arms. Kai bopped his head to the relaxing, romantic tune, rolling his eyes at Jay, who was dancing with his sister. He had to admit that Jay had learned a lot since the gala. As much as it pained him, he was also accepting that Jay and Nya were serious in their amorous intentions, and he had witnessed their relationship develop into something more serious over the past year.

There were no current plans for them to get married – as far as he knew, anyway – and while he was still mildly frustrated by their intimate connection, he also recognized that it was here to stay. Kai glanced over at Lloyd wistfully. He'd be lying if he said he didn't still have feelings for the green ninja, but he had learned to acknowledge that they would likely never have the kind of relationship that his teammates had with their respective love interests.

Dammit… He thought to himself.