Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sensei Wu hits his staff on the concrete stairs where he was observing two of his six ninja spar. “The fifth has concluded. Kai, Cole has pinned you, in the event of an actual fight your laziness would've cost your life. It’s time you start taking training seriously again.” Cole stands up, brushing sweat off his brow with one hand and offering the other to Kai. The fire ninja slaps the hand away and picks himself up. “Clean up and gather the other ninja in the dining room.” Wu requests as he picks up his teapot and cup and disappears into the monastery.

Kai stares at the ground in defeat and storms off. He doesn’t take losses very well. Cole follows loosely behind him. The remaining four ninja were doing their own thing around their home. Lloyd was studying Oni history, Nya and Pixal were working on mechs in the workshop below,  Zane was doing maintenance on himself and Jay was probably tinkering on whatever his new invention is. 

Cole discards his dirty training GI and showers before changing into clean GI before knocking on Jay’s door opposite his. No response. He knocks a few more times before Jay answers. “Yeah?” He calls out, too busy to actually open the door. Cole slides the door open and lets himself in. He peers around Jay’s room as if he was revisiting his childhood room even though he was in his room only yesterday.

Jay was a geek, a nerd even. His walls were plastered with posters of his variety of interests from Starefarer to a portrait of Cyrus Borg. A small bookshelf terribly organised of books Cole has never seen Jay touch but he swears he’s read them all. His floor, covered in boxes full of spare parts none of which Cole could name. His wooden desk that’s full of scratches, stains, burn marks and everything you wouldn’t expect. On the wall behind his desk, Jay had hung up a cork board that was organised just as messy as the rest of his room. Pinned on it were blueprints for inventions, receipts for items he probably doesn’t know the location of, notes with the worst handwriting ever known. However, in front of all the mess, Jay had carefully pinned up photos. One of Ed and Edna, one of him and Nya, one of the whole team and then one of him and Cole.

“Cole.” Jay speaks up, snapping Cole out of his trance. Cole blinked and took a breath before remembering what he had come to say, “Sorry, Wu wants us to meet in the dining room.”

Cole looks away from the blue ninja and at his desk before looking back up, “What in the name of the First Spinjitzu Master is that” 

Jay looks down at his invention. It was a round metal thing that seemed to have legs. “You’ll see” Was all Jay answered before standing up and ushering the taller ninja out of his room.

Everyone was already gathered where Wu had asked before the two boys turned up. “Okay, now that you’re all here now, today’s tasks have come in and I have allocated them. Zane and Pixal, Born asks for your assistance with some mechanical repairs. Nya and Lloyd, you two have the usual city patrol.”

Jay sighs knowing the last two people he could be partnered with, one would be pure bliss, the other hell on Ninjago. “Cole, a farmer out in the rice fields, needs help moving stock. Jay and Kai,” Jay’s heart sinks as Kai’s jaw clenches, “ There’s a cat stuck in a tree.”

“Is that it?!” Kai exclaims frustrated,

“Either you go save the cat with Jay, or you stay here and clean the entire monastery.” WU abruptly responds. Kai lowers his head and apologises.

Wu finishes talking and Jay speeds off to change into his GI. Kai was ready after sparring and started out the door and down the stairs not waiting for his allocated partner.

“Wish me luck.” Jay says unenthusiastically as he jogs past Nya on his way out of the monastery. She gives him a sympathetic smile. 

It doesn’t take them long to navigate through the city and find the cat. An old woman with grey hair looks frantically up at a tree as the two ninja approach. “Oh thank heavens you’re finally here. Whiskers has gotten himself stuck in the tree. Please get him down safely.” The lady practically begs.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get him down. Kai sighs, frustrated by the unchallenging task, “Jay you climb the tree and I’ll catch Whiskers.”

“Why do I have to climb the tree?” Jay questions annoyed,

“I don’t want to climb the tree.” Kai answers flat out. Jay bites his tongue and starts his way up the tree. “Here kitty, kitty, kitty!” Jay crawls along a branch holding a hand out and tutting at the cat. Whiskers hisses and claws at Jay’s face. “Whiskers doesn’t like being called kitty and being tutted at!” The lady shouts up from below.

“That would’ve been nice to know before I did those exact things!!” Jay shouts whilst wrestling with Whiskers but also trying to save the skin on his body. A snapping sound comes from in front of Jay’s body. His head whips forward to notice the branch he was clinging onto was breaking. “Oh no.” He muttered to himself as he desperately tried to grab onto another branch. Not quick enough, the brand slips through his hands and Jay plummets to the floor landing on his back. Whiskers landing on all four, his nails digging into Jay’s chest before walking off to his owner innocently. He peers to Kai hoping he would be offering a hand to help but instead notices him holding back a laugh. Jay signs and picks himself up.

“Oh Whiskers you poor thing, you fell from very high up on that tree. You ninja need to be more careful.” The lady complains before walking away. Jay turns to Kai and notices a smirk appearing on his face, “Thanks for all the help back there, that was an amazing catch.

“You’re welcome!” Kai walks off around the corner. Jay sighs again, it was going to be a long day.

Jay runs to catch up with Kai who had begun to patrol. Kai’s senses were heightened when he was wearing his GI. He yearned for a battle or challenge, just not one to share with Jay. However, Ninjago city is very quiet today except for a handful of his fangirls. Every corner the brown haired ninjas turn there’s at least two girls who run full speed towards Kai. Why couldn’t Jay have been paired with Cole to move stock? Sure Jay isn't as strong as Cole but surely it isn’t that hard to keep cows in line when moving them from one field to another. He even would’ve been useful with Borg, Pixal and Zane. But no, he got lumped in with Kai. And now his cheek is bleeding and both his chest and back hurts.

The chest pain is all too familiar to Jay. The “Good Old Days” of binding all day, every day. 

Jay does his best to regulate his breathing and ignoring the stinging pain on his face and now on his chest. “Kai, I’m your biggest fan! Can I get a photo with you? A girl with blonde hair pushes Jay out the way, almost knocking him off his feet. The small mentions of Kai’s name attracts a growing group of fans. Jay pushes his way through them and out of the gaggle. 

“What’s going on over here?” Lloyd asks as he and Nya turn the corner next to Jay who jumps all of a sudden. “You scared the shit out of me!” Jay clings onto his chest, the scare knocked any air he had managed to inhale straight out of his lungs.

“Where’s Kai?” Lloyd asks as Nya moves to Jay’s side and puts an arm around his shoulder. 

“In there somewhere.” Jay responds pointing to the group of fans. Nya gently grabs the other blue ninja’s face and lifts it to face hers. “Oh Jay you’re bleeding!” She carefully assesses the cut.

“The cat Kai and I were supposed to save scratched me,” He starts as Lloyd passes her a tissue to clean the cut, “I also fell out the tree. Your brother stood and offered no help and then walked off. I’ve lost count of how many times I get injured when I get sent somewhere with him.” Jay begins to ramble.

“I’m gonna go try to pull Kai out of that.” Lloyd says with a chuckle before disappearing off into a mess of long hair and giggles. Jay drops his head onto Nya’s shoulder, “Why does Kai hate me?

“He doesn’t hate you Jay. He’s just weird I guess.” Her argument didn’t convince Jay in the slightest. 

“I wonder how Cole’s doing. He gets to spend the day by the rice fields where everyone’s polite and considerate of other, herding animals. While I'm stuck with Kai. A cat clawed my face and made me fall out of a tree. Kai’s fangirls barged me out of the way.” Jay sighs deeply. Being a ninja isn’t easy. More so if you’re not attractive and witty like Kai, or strong like Cole, or intelligent like Zane and Pixal, or as independent as Nya is.

“The city’s really slow today apart from that gang, I could ask Wu if we could help Cole instead of wasting our time?” Nya offers. Jay picks his head up and muffles a “Sure.”

The blue ninjas arrive at the rice fields after a while. They didn’t mind the time it takes to get there on foot, it was a walk they did often. The villages were relaxing and peaceful. A complete opposite of the city. 

As the two visit frequently they’re recognized immediately. “Nya, Jay! It’s so wonderful to see you again!” The oldest lady in the village greets them as they walk past where she sits in her rocking chair and watches over the workers.

“It’s lovely to see you too!” Nya responds with her warm smile and Jay smiles beside her.

“Need another break from the city? I’ll start brewing some tea.” She leans forward in her chair to get up,

“Thank you for the offer but not today, we’re actually here to see Cole. He’s moving some stock.” Nya informs as the lady settles back down in her chair,

“Oh yeah, the big strong lad right? SHe questions. Jay laughs but both him and Nya nod. “He should be around the corner with the sheep.” They thank her and walk off.

As the lady had described, Cole was in the field. He’d been asked to herd the sheep into the next field as the farmer’s dog was equally as old as his owner. Cole had taken the shirt of his GI off and was left with his trousers and a black vest. His locks were tied half up, half down. Jay felt his heart flutter and the world around him slow down. 

Nya elbows Jay amused at the blush forming on his cheeks. “Hey Cole! Need some help?!” Nya shouts out as they approach the gate. Cole turns around and a big bright smile spreads across his face at the sight of the two ninja.

Even though he’s too far away to see exactly who he’s looking at, fear rises within Jay. Was he looking and smiling at Nya? He’s allowed to look and smile at Nya. Jay’s chest tightens and he notices the pain returning. 

The water and lightning ninja hop over the gate as the earth ninja jogs over. “Ouch, looks like the cat wasn’t very friendly.” Cole immediately directs his attention to Jay’s injuries. He holds his face in his large hands and gently rubs his thumb over the small blisters that had begun to form. “Yeah Whiskers wasn’t too fond of me. And apparently Kai isn’t either.” Jay shrugged.

“He fell out of the tree.” Nya added as she tries her best not to giggle. If Nya was with Jay instead of Kai, she would’ve also laughed at him falling but the difference is she would still help. She wouldn’t have left him like her brother did. She probably would’ve ended up on the floor next to him. Jay smiles at Nya’s giggles but Cole doesn't gain even the slightest smirk. He actually looked pretty concerned. 

“Are you okay? Your back doesn’t hurt does it? You can open the gates for us, I can’t have you running after sheep if you’re injured.” Cole fusses. The slight injury is nothing compared to near 24/7 in a binder. Jay can handle a chest injury.

“I’m okay Cole, honestly. You sound like my mother.” Jay laughs trying to contain the fact he’s slightly flustered. Cole nods and gives Jay some space. 

“I’ve got half the flock through the gate already. They refused to move as a group and instead split up. Jay if you stick by the fence on the left and Nya on the right fence; I’ll go down the middle and grab some. You’re free to try and catch one but try not to pull on their wool. The farmer would kill me if we bruised the meat.” Cole starts dishing out orders and Jay and Nya share a look after the meat comment.

They do as he allocated and stick towards the fence line and watch carefully as Cole inches closer to the sheep. Cole glances over to each blue ninja on the outside and signals for them to move slower. The sheep become disturbed and try to disperse. As they run past, Cole tackles two to the ground. He hoists them up onto each of his shoulders. Just behind him Nya pins a ewe to the ground. “I got one!” She announces trying to hold it in a way so that she won’t hurt or lose hold of it. “Jay, can you get the gate for me?”

Cole’s muscles flexed as the sheep struggled in his arms. Sweat dripped down his face and onto his chest soaking his vest that hugged his body.

“Jay? Are you okay?” Cole’s hoarse voice brings Jay back to the present. He jogs off as Nya snorts and opens the gate ensuring no sheep get back through. As Cole drops them into the next field, Jay stands close still holding onto the gate. Despite all the sweat, Cole still smells like Cole.

He thanks Jay for getting the gate before jogging off to Nya and helping her with the ewe. They carry her together and put her in the field with Jay still by the gate.  “Okay, one, two, three, four, five,” Cole counts under his breath, “Five more to go.”

The ninja assume the same positions as before, this time the remaining sheep had ran into the far corner of the field. As they become disturbed, they don’t disperse by trying to run through gaps, but instead 3 of the remnants run straight for Jay. “Hey back up ladies,” Jay slowly walks backwards and bends down to check, “Definitely ladies.” A dip in the ground suddenly appears and Jay stumbles backwards spooking the sheep to run straight for him, “Shit!” He screams and turns around sprinting away. 

“What do they want from me!!” He shouts as the ewes chase him around the field and Nya doubles over laughing.

“Oh for the love of the first master!” Cole exclaims watching his close friend being chased by sheep. “Nya open the gate for me, I think if we get Jay to run through they’ll follow him through.” Nya straightens up and follows Cole to the gate and into the other field.

“Jay, run this way!” Cole puts his hands around his mouth and shouts

“You want me to run into the rest of the sheep?!”

“Just do it!”

Jay does as he’s told and turns and sprint directly towards the gate with the ewes still hot at his heels. As he reaches the gate Nya opens it fully and Cole backs up into the other field. As soon as he reaches the gate, Jay screams and leaps into Cole who just manages to catch him. He wraps his arms and legs around Cole’s large torso as he struggles to regain his breath. Jay refuses to release his grip from the brown ninja and Cole doesn’t force him to. He walks the blue ninja out of the field and through the gate. 

He slowly lowers Jay to the ground, “Are you okay?” Nya chuckles as she rubs Jay’s back. 

“Perfectly fine.” He says between breaths,

“Okay buddy, why don’t you stay here and catch your breath? Nya and I can get the last two.” Cole offers as he and Nya start to walk towards the sheep. 

Jay hops up on the gate. He felt a little humiliated and betrayed by animals. They were not on his side today. 

By the time he looked up, his friends had closed in on the two ewes and had them cornered. Like the other attempts, the sheep became spooked. The two ninja jumped forward trying to catch the ewes but instead fell flat on their faces. Jay laughed until he saw Cole quickly pick himself up to help Nya up. He watched as they laughed. Cole’s hands on either side of her shoulders. So he was looking at her earlier. They stood in front of each other for a few more moments until the sheep turned and headed straight for Jay. 

His jaw clenched as he hopped off the fence and got ready to open it. The other ninja jogged up behind the sheep to ensure they get through the gate. Jay swiftly opens and closes the gate catching the last of the sheep.

“Good work Jay!” Cole says enthusiastically, Jay nods and walks off.

“Is he okay?” Cole turns to Nya,

“I think he’s just having one of those days, you know how he and Kai don’t get along.” Nya responds quietly as they catch up to the lightning ninja.

“I’ll go let the farmer know we’re done. You two go on, I’ll catch up.” Cole says before closing the gate behind them and jogging in the opposite direction through the village.

All except the two nindroids had made it back to the monastery. Jay headed straight to his room. He immediately took his GI off and assessed his chest and cheek in the dirty mirror hidden in the corner of his room. Thankfully, he wasn't bruised. Only a few scratches from the cat’s claws. After changing into lounge clothes he grabs his headphones and gets straight back to tinkering. His emotions were too conflicting to think about. He needed something to distract him and tinkering to loud music was always his saviour. He needed a distraction very badly today.

Hours pass easily when Jay has detached himself from reality and before he knows it, Nya is by his side shaking his shoulder. “Jay!” she takes his headphones off, “I figured it would be best to give you some space after today but I got worried when you didn’t appear to eat with us.” She sets a plate of cold food down on his desk. He moves his invention to the side and tucks in. 

“I’m always here if you need to talk Jay, even if it’s about my brother. As much as i love him, I’m also willing to admit he can be an idiot sometimes”
She watches as he wolfs down his food as if he had been starved. Rice sticks to the side of his mouth. Nya smiles as he catches her gaze and fails to lick it off. She wipes the grain off his face and gets up to leave.

“Wait,” Jay finishes his last mouthful and grabs her hand, “I um, I don’t know how to.” He stumbles over his words struggling to form a coherent sentence. 

“Take your time.” She reassures him as they take a seat on his chaotic bed. Jay inhaled deeply and collected his thoughts before starting, “I know it’s silly and old, but the way Cole looked at you today when he saw us and how he held you after you both fell over, I can’t help but feel jealous. I know we resolved the triangle and you’re with Pixal now but I can’t help it.”
The corner of Nya’s mouth turn down and she rests a hand on Jay’s leg, “Cobalt,” she drags the word out for emphasis, ”You have nothing to be jealous about. When we got to the sheep field today, Cole saw both of us. In all honesty, I thought he was looking at you. Have you forgotten that he was immediately concerned about your cuts?” 

Jay averts his gaze growing slightly embarrassed, “You know what Cole’s like. He helped me up and asked me if I was okay because he’s a gentleman. He literally held you in his arms after those ewes chased you. And carried you out the field. And showed more concern for your health.” She picks up Jay’s hands and holds them in hers, gently rubbing her thumbs over his freckles.

“You’re right, I’m sorry.” Jay finally speaks up.

“You don’t need to apologise. I know how hard the whole love triangle thing was for you and I will never not be sorry about it. But as you said, I’m with Pixa now and Cole and I would never end up together.” She reassures him again before a smile grows on her face, “I thought the goal was for you and Cole to be together.”
Jay’s head whips up, “Shhh someone might hear you.” He puts his hands gently over Nya’s mouth as she giggles. A smile creeps onto Jay’s face. “There you go!” Nya beams.

“I hadn’t realised you were scared of sheep. I don’t think I've ever seen you run that fast or jump that far.” Nya giggles once again.

“If you had seen the way they stared directly at me with their beady eyes before running straight for me, you would’ve sprinted away as well.” Jay defends himself,

“You really clung to Cole, I thought you were gonna accidentally strangle him,”

“One of them glared her weird teeth at me, I thought she was gonna bite me. I needed to be out of range of those gnashers.” 

Nya slaps her hand laughing and falls back onto the bed. “You are one very silly person, Jay walker.” She says in between giggles.

“Thank you very much!” Jay enthusiastically responds.

A familiar voice calling out for Nya interrupts her laughter. Pixal slides the door open and pokes her head through, “Oh you’re in here. Hello Jay!” She says with a warm smile. Nya jumps up from Jay’s bed and hugs her robotic partner before running back over to Jay and whispering in his ear, “Why don’t you go see what Cole’s doing?” She winks at him before leaving. 

With sore ears from wearing headphones for hours and paint stained hands, Jay picks up his plate and makes his way to the kitchen hoping to bump into Cole on the way. 

Flashing lights beam out of the rec room followed by video game sound effects. The brown haired ninja peers in and finds the brown and red ninja playing Fist to Face 2. He sighs knowing Kai wouldn’t let him join and instead heads into the kitchen to wash his plate. It didn't take long as he had practically cleaned the plate while devouring every crumb of his meal. 

He bumps into a certain red ninja on the way back. “Oh sorry,” Jay stumbles back slightly. Kai looks down at Jay’s right arm before turning around without saying anything and waking off. “Yeah you run away loser!” Cole banters walking out the room before noticing Jay, “Oh hey Jay.”

“He doesn’t look happy.” Jay states the obvious,

“He just lost a tournament of Fist to Face 2 to the champ!” Cole flexes his muscles jokingly, “Although the loser had to do everyone’s washing but he refused to touch anyones underwear.”

“I can help, I think I have some washing to do.” Jay offers,

“You sure?” Cole raises an eyebrow following him down the corridor to their rooms. Jay nods before disappearing into his room and reemerging with a small amount of clothes. 

They go room to room gathering everyone’s dirty clothes before meeting up again and separating them out by colours and fabrics.

“Ugh there’s still wet clothes in here.” Cole complains as he takes the clothes out and puts them in a basket.

“That's where my hoodie went!” Jay realises picking up an old Starefarer hoodie. 

They load up the washing machine with GIs as they take priority in being clean and leave the piles of clothes neatly on top. Cole picks up the basket of wet clothes and Jay grabs the pegs.

He follows the taller nina outside onto the courtyard. Cole finds the washing line and drags it over the training yard to the other side. “I didn’t realise it was dark already.” Jay announces as the boys begin to pin up the clothes, occasionally glancing at the sky.

“The moons beautiful isn’t it?” Cole asks watching the lightning ninja out of the corner of his eye,

“I mean yeah, but I prefer the stars. Did you know some of the stars we can see actually don’t exist anymore?” Jay rambles and Cole chuckles deeply,

“I did not know that,”

“Yeah, they’re so far away from us that by the time their light reaches us they don’t exist anymore.”

They finish hanging up the clothes and sit on the stairs of their shared home. Luckily, the monastery was situated on a high mountain just outside of and above Ninjago City so that the light pollution didn’t affect their night sky.

They sit in silence for a while stargazing until Jay asks, “How was your day? Can’t be any worse than mine.”

Cole looks away from the stars and instead at Jay, “My day was good. The cows were significantly easier to move than the sheep. I was actually really glad to see you and Nya. Without you both it would’ve taken me far longer to move them. You were a huge help even though you got chased by some ewes and had to be rescued.” Cole chuckles again and watches as an embarrassed smile grows on Jay’s face.

“I was terrified of them and didn’t know what else to do.” Jay giggles lightly, catching Cole’s attention.

“And what happened after that? You lost all your energy and stopped talking to us and then went straight to bed. Nya said you were having an ‘off day’ but I know you Jay. What’s up?” Cole’s face and demeanour shifts.

“Are you implying that Nya doesn’t know me?” Jay attempts to shift the conversation,

“I’m not gonna force you to talk about it if you don’t want to, but if you ever do I'm all ears,”
“I do want to talk, I just don’t know how to say it.” Jay breathes out,

“That’s okay, take as much time as you need.” Cole smiles looking over at Jay who doesn’t look away from the stars, “You really do like the stars don’t you?”

Jay nods and peers at Cole when he wasn’t looking. The moon lit his face perfectly; It highlighted all his flawless features and made his eyes shine like the stars. Cole thought exactly the same about Jay.

“Living at the junkyard, I would watch the stars with my parents every night. They would point out any constellation they could see until I beat them to it. Then I found out, you know, that I was adopted by them and my biological father was the man I had idolised my whole life even after he passed.” Jay stops speaking and fiddles with his fingers,

“He has kept up with me and everything I have accomplished. He was a star during his living life, and now I like to think he’s one of those stars up there, still keeping an eye on me.” Jay fixates on a bright star, “You see that one there?” He shifts closer to Cole and points towards the star, “I like to think that’s him.”
Cole gazes down Jay’s arm towards the star and nods, “It’s a very bright and proud star.”

He turns to his blue best friend and smiles at the wide smile on his freckled face. “They look a lot like stars.” Cole pokes at the freckles on Jay’s arm, careful to not touch the large scar on his arm but lightly presses every freckle around it.

Jay’s cheeks blush as he tries to contain himself. Cole looks up and meets Jay’s gaze. 

“Cole? Are you out-” Zane starts before realising he has interrupted something. The boys quickly sit apart and Jay looks away. 

“I apologise for interrupting, I just wanted to know where you were.” Zane apologises before going back inside. Cole looks away from the door and back at Jay. His cheeks were a bright pink. 

They sit in a slightly awkward silence feeling like they’d been caught doing something. “I think I’m gonna head back in, you coming?” Cole asks whilst standing up. Jay shakes his head in response. “Okay, goodnight.” Cole pulls the door closed behind him.

The earth ninja quickly changes out of his lounge clothes and peers out of his window with his hands together, “Thank you!” He says to the stars, to every single one of them- whether it was alive or not.

Chapter Text

“Sooo, what did you and Cole get up to last night?” Nya smirks at Jay as they dish up a meal for their team, 

“Nothing. I just went to see what he was doing and asked about his day: like you told me to.” Jay adds the ending with a slight eye roll,

“That’s not what Zane said.” The water ninja chirps in Jay’s ear. He shook his head and chose to ignore her teasing. Instead, he finishes plating up the food and sticks two bowls of rice in Nya’s hands, “Here, make yourself useful. Take these through for me please.” She huffs but obliges and puts them on the dining table.

Tonight was Jay’s turn to cook. He wasn’t the best chef out of all the ninja. Thankfully he has a few recipes up his sleeve from helping his mom. Overall, the ninja aren’t picky eaters and will eat anything offered to them, as long as it wasn’t cooked by Cole.

Jay carries the remaining food to the large table and takes a seat next to Nya. Everyone had been busy with their allocated tasks and missions. Luckily, Jay wasn’t stuck with Kai unlike yesterday.

“Patrol has been so boring recently. All the criminals have vanished into thin air. It’s just kids playing tricks.” Lloyd complains,

“Look who’s speaking!” Cole jokes and gains a few laughs from around the table- including Wu,” Do you not remember how we first met you?” Cole smirks whilst raising an eyebrow. Jay’s heart flutters.

“Yeah, we had reports of ‘Lord Garmadon’ in Jamanakai Village. Turned out to just be little Lloyd Garmadon causing a fuss.” Nya teases gaining more laughs. Lloyd’s cheeks flush and he hangs his head low. “Shut up.” He muffled as the ninja laughed.

Wu clears his throat, “Lloyd is correct however, “The crime rate has dropped significantly.” His few words change the atmosphere.

“Do you think it is something we should worry about Sensei?” Zane questions,

“For now, no. But just because the city is safer, doesn’t mean you should let your guard down.”

“Yes Sensei!” All ninja respond. They sit in silence eating until Wu pardons himself.

“I know sensei just told us to not slack off, but it’s been so long since we’ve had some free time. How about we go into the city tonight? We could get some food from Chen’s noodle house and live like normal teenagers for a few hours?” Kai suggests.

“Yeah, there was a place i wanted to show Pixal!” Nya smiles brightly looking at her robotic partner. Everyone else agrees and leaves the table to get ready. Jay begins to stack dirty dishes and gather the cutlery. Your night to cook is also your night to clean. He sighs and carries the dishes to the kitchen. He turns the tap on and watches as the water reacts with the dish soap and forms bubbles. Behind the sink was a window with the best view of the sunset in the whole city. A voice from behind startles the blue ninja, “Here let me help.” Cole was standing in the doorway with the rest of the plates.

“First Spinjitzu Master, you scared me.” Jay said with an elevated heart rate.

“Sorry, sorry.” He says with a smile on his face. He gently places the dishes on the rack next to the sinks as Jay turns the tap off. “Your cooking was delicious by the way!”

Jay turns to the brown ninja beside him. They smile at each other for a second, “Thank you!”

Fortunately, the sink was big enough for two people to wash plates at once. Jay grabs two pairs of rubber gloves from the cleaning supplies cupboard under the sink. He offers a pair to Cole as he pulls one onto his hands. “Oh, no thank you!” Cole turns them down and shoves his hands straight into the water and starts scrubbing a plate. Jay shudders and pulls the other glove on and starts on his pile of dishes. 

The two boys stood close scrubbing and residue of the meal Jay had prepared. His shoulder rubbed on Cole’s arm and Cole brazed his side occasionally.

The sun meets the horizon perfectly outside the kitchen window and casts a warm orange light across their faces. Jay finds himself peering at Cole out the corner of his eye like the night before. The sunlight lights up Cole’s dark skin elegantly. Jay’s eyes meet Cole’s politely. His dark eyes sink into Jay’s blue eyes. The glow of the sun highlights every small tint and speckle within their iris’. Jay’s cheeks flush as Cole’s hair falls in front of his eyes, “Jay, could you tie my hair up for me, my hands are wet and gross.

“I did offer you a pair of gloves,” Jay says matter of factly as he pulls his gloves off and sets them aside. He avoided further eye contact with the boy next to him knowing his cheeks had to be burning red by now. “Is there something I can tie it up with?” 

“Oh yeah, sorry. There should be a hair tie in my pocket.” Cole describes tilting his head to the where he had jutted his right hip out. Jay nodded and retrieved the black hair tie. Previously, he had never understood the popularity around guys wearing grey joggers but understood the first time he saw Cole wear them.

“How do you want it?” Jay asks, his cheeks still hot,

“I don’t mind as long as it’s out of my eyes.” Cole requests whilst squatting down slightly so the lightning ninja could reach easier. Jay quickly ties the top half of the earth ninjas locs up before putting his gloves back on and continuing to wash up. 

The sun was now barely visible and the orange glow had disappeared. The natural light filling the kitchen was dimming as day turned to dusk. Dusk was Jay’s favourite time of day; When  it’s not pitch black outside but not bright. When there’s still an ombre in the sky from the sunset, but the moon and stars are becoming visible. The change between night and day.

“I’ll get this last plate and wash the sink. You go get ready.” Cole says pushing Jay out the way with the same hip as before. He smiles looking at the smaller ninja. 

“Thank you!” Jay mentions as he discards his gloves,

“Of course buddy!” Cole responds smiling. Momentarily, their eyes find each other again.

Jay looks away and rubs the back of his neck, “I should go get ready.”

Cole clears his throat, “Oh yeah, I’ll finish this.”

All but the red ninja had gathered in the rec room. Kai was very proud of his appearance. Out of all the ninja, he’s always the last to be ready. He would’ve had his entire wardrobe laid out on the floor to curate the perfect outfit. He would’ve spent hours perfecting his hair to comb every fly away into place. Lastly, he would’ve doused himself in his tacky cologne.

A smell floats down the hall and attacks the ninja’s lungs. “Kai’s ready.” Nya announces between coughs.

“Come on then! Can’t keep the ladies waiting!” Kai walks past his team and out of the door in a hurry.

“He’s the gayest straight man I have ever seen.” Jay leans towards Nya and says quiet enough so Kai would’t hear. Nya giggles and Cole smiles behind them.

The remains of daytime had gone and the sky was as dark as it can get outside a high rise city like Ninjago City. “I’ll race you down the stairs!” Nya nudges Jay and Lloyd before giving herself a head start,

“That’s cheating!” Jay shouts running quickly but also cautiously. Lloyd and Jay push and shove each other trying to catch up to the water ninja. Lloyd accidentally shoves Jay too hard and nearly knocks him off the staircase. “Enough of that!” Cole raises his voice as he barely grabs Jay’s hood and pulls him back onto land.

Jay leaps down steps at a time trying to catch up to his teammates. He leaps down the last 5 steps but still manages to lose.

“Losers!” Nya teases whilst sticking her tongue out,

“You’re such a cheater!” Jay walks over and sticks his tongue out,

“Nuh uh, you’re just such a slow coach!” She claps back,

Jay mumbles trying to find a comeback but instead just crosses his arms and scowls at Nya.

Nya scowls back and sticks her tongue out again before turning around and jogging to where Pixal was waiting for her.

“Come on Mr Grumpy Pants.” Cole encourages Jay forward by resting his hands on the smaller ninja’s shoulders. 

Ninjago City was bustling with people as usual at night. People going to and from different clubs and bars. Large groups flock into various restaurants. Lloyd intervenes with a few drunkards trying to fight. Nya and Pixal walk past them in their own world talking about every small detail of their plans. Kai winks and smirks at every girl who gives him the slightest ounce of attention. Jay walks cautiously between Cole and Zane. He’d never liked being near people who drink. Thankfully, Wu didn’t allow the ninja to drink anything alcoholic.

Both Cole and Jay notice a shift in Jay’s demeanour as soon as they enter the city centre and stay close to his side. The group arrives at Chen’s noodle house and pause.

“Nya and I are eating elsewhere.” Pixal announces as Nya waves and they walk off together.

“I’m going to look for any Starefarer comics I don’t own. I need you to navigate please.” Lloyd states before dragging the remaining nindroid away with him.

“Well I'm gonna eat here.” Kai states bluntly before opening the door and searching for a table. Cole followed loosely behind. Jay stood alone and watched his friends walk off in pairs leaving him behind. He sighs and peers up at the few stars visible from the city sky.

“Wait a second Kai,” Cole requests before backing up out the door, “Jay, are you not coming with us?”

“No, I’m not hungry. I’d rather walk around and find somewhere to sit.” Jay shrugs as he turns around and starts up the road. The blue ninja peers over his shoulder and watches as Cole disappears into the ever popular noodle house.

“No, she she said that. It was not a, a lie.” Slurred words approach Jay, “Wait, wait. Is that the um blue ninja?”

A hand sneaks around Jay’s waist, “What the fuck?” Before he could pull away a familiar face came into view.

“Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” Cole said with an apologetic smile before glancing at the two drunken men behind them, “Anyways, did you have a place in mind to sit?”

Jay leans into Cole slightly as the voices behind them rise, “It’s not far from here.”

“Lead the way Walker!”

“Considering he has a girlfriend, he pays way too much attention to any girl who looks his way.” Cole mentions as the two boys turn into a quiet road with vacant shops,

“I will never understand how he’s still with Skylor. Did anyone tell you about the large group of fangirls?” Jay adds and Cole shakes his head, “After I got the cat out of the tree, Kai decided to start patrolling the city and as soon as we got into the centre fangirls appeared in bundles. It was awful.” 

“She must be really busy with the noodle house to not notice.” Cole shakes his head.

Jay stops abruptly, “Woah woah woah! Who is that?” Cole looks up and notices a poster for the newest Starefarer movie.

“I wondered if you had seen this yet,” Cole says hesitantly,

“I have not. I know he’s dead but come on. Replacing Cliff is gonna ruin the franchise completely. He’s The Fritz Donnegan.” Jay comes across as annoyed and irritated.

“It was gonna happen one day. The franchise has gotten too popular for them to not make new movies.” Cole notes. Jay mumbles something under his breath before walking away from the poster.

The black and blue ninja leave the busy clubbing streets of Ninjago City behind and find themselves in a quiet residential area. As they walk past, Jay points out every building apartment he takes interest in. “You check those selling pages a lot huh?” Cole chuckles slightly,

“That one’s my favourite!” The shorter ninja points to a shabby and worn down looking building.

“Really?! It looks awful.” Cole exclaims,

“I know it’s not the most appealing building but trust me; it is so cosy inside. The apartments are relatively small. There hasn’t been one on the market for a while, but if i remember correctly, they’re studios so it’s all one big room. The kitchen is about the size of our bathroom. There’s not much room for a bed. The listings I’ve seen in the past had those sofa beds.” Jay boasts about the apartment with a big smile on his face.

“Okay.” Cole was unsure how to respond; It sounded like his version of hell.

“They remind me of when my parents would let me sleep in the trailer.” Jay smiles as Cole nods at him. He spins around and faces towards some large gates, “It’s also directly opposite this park. I know it’s not much but in the spring it’s teaming with bluebells and other flowers.”

Jay grabs the larger ninja’s hand and drags him into the park. Autumn had begun to roll around so any remaining flowers had wilted and were now covered with brown and orange leaves. 

“How often do you come here?” Cole asks with a freckled hand still around his wrist,

“Every week in the spring. Once the bluebells have finished their bloom I tend to come less often; Once a month maybe? Just whenever I find the time.” Jay explains looking at a flower bed next to where they had stopped. His eyes wander to Cole’s to see if he was looking. He was indeed looking, but not at the flower bed.

“I find it so fascinating that someone like you has a thing like this.” Cole thinks out loud. He didn’t expect Jay’s face to drop.

“Someone like me?” Jay asks letting go of Cole’s wrist,

“Ah shit. I didn’t mean it like that. You’re just so busy cause we’re ninja and you’re always tinkering? I’m sorry.” Cole tries to recover but doesn’t seem overly successful. Jay walks over to a nearby bench and takes a seat. His eyes immediately find the stars.

“I wonder how Nya and Pixal’s date is going. Nya was so nervous about it.” Jay mentions not looking away from the stars.

“I thought Nya looked a little on edge when Kai was getting ready.” Cole watches Jay’s eyes flicker around the night sky.

“Yeah, she managed to get a reservation last minute.” Jay opens his mouth to say something else but sighs and closes it.

“Go on.” Cole encourages him,

“I sometimes wish I had a partner to go on dates to fancy restaurants with.”

“Have you ever had a partner before?” Cole questions ambiguously, his eyes still fixed on the boy next to him,

“I had this kind of girlfriend before my parents pulled me out of school. We hugged once but that was it,” Jay laughed at the memory, “What about you?”

“I also had a girlfriend in school. We were quite steady for kids. I didn’t have any experience of love or relationships. I remember she was very patient, waited ‘till I was comfortable to do anything. We broke up like a week before Wu showed up and asked me to be his student. I think she lost the patience I needed and she got with some popular guy.” Cole half lies. Whilst he felt very open and vulnerable, he was also still scared. However, something about being taken to someone’s special place that eased the fear. It was something about Jay.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. That sucks.” Jay responds as his thoughts begin to race. They sit in silence for a while.

“Can I-”

“How are-”

They speak at the same time. “Go on,” Cole encourages once again. His question can wait.

Jay hesitates, his face blushing just enough for the other to notice, “Can I ask you an odd question?” Cole nods, showing confusion on his face,

“Nevermind,” Jay changes his mind and turns away from the earth ninja,

“Nooo ask the question,” Cole whines in anticipation.

Jay shakes his head, “What were you gonna say?”

“I was going to ask: how you’re so open, about… everything.”  Cole’s eyes fixate on Jay’s as he turns to face him,

“In what way?” Jay asks taking on the role of confusion,

“You’re always willing to talk about anything and everything. I mean you were so open to me about being trans almost as soon as we met. And you were so eager to talk about how you felt when you found out about being adopted.” Cole looks away and stops. Jay waits a few moments to see if the brown ninja would continue.

“I mean, I was raised in a poor family, on a junkyard, homeschooled. That kind of upbringing makes you a bit different, “ Jay laughs slightly trying to lighten the mood, “But we were a close poor family. We spent a lot of time together and talked a lot. Whilst it’s not everyone's cup of tea, I found it to be a comfortable environment. But I'm not open about everything, there’s a lot of things I try to keep to myself. I know you struggle to open up but I can assure you I would never judge you for anything you say. Unless you’re about to confess to me that you’re planning to elope with Fugi-dove.” Jay laughs, once again mimicking Nya’s habit.

“I can promise I’m not thinking of marrying Fugi-dove. Or any time soon at least.” Cole jokes back. His smile soon drops. 

“I’m not gonna pressure you to talk, but-”

“I’m gay.” 

Cole turns his body away from Jay and looks to the stars. Jay’s words sound like mumbles to Cole’s busy mind but his last four words come through clear as day:

“I’m proud of you.”

“What?” Cole turns around, surprised at the words,

“Coming out is hard, I should know. And I’m proud of you for it.” Jay’s words were heartfelt; Full of more love than Cole ever remembers feeling. He shakes his head before putting it in his hands.

“It’s not good, it’s not okay.” He blurted,

“What?”

“It’s not okay.”

“What isn’t?” Cole’s words were confusing and concerning the blue ninja,

“My father would disown me if he ever found out.”

“Why does it matter what your dad thinks?” Jay asks naively,

“Excuse me?” Cole turns to look at the other ninja with slight shock on his face, “I get it. You grew up with two loving parents in a comfortable and loving home. Well I didn’t. My mum died and my father gained these huge expectations of me and tried to control my life. He would disown me if he ever found out I was-” 

He couldn’t bring himself to say the word. Jay couldn’t bring himself to say anything. 

“Sorry.” He eventually mumbled.

A ringtone interrupts their awkward silence. “Hello?” Cole stands up as he answers, “Yeah, we’ll be there soon.” He hangs up and turns to the small ninja.

“Zane said that everyone’s done for the night and ready to head home.” His voice lacks emotion. Jay nods but doesn’t move.

“Are you coming?” Cole asks a little urgently, as if he was desperate to leave. Jay shakes his head. “You can go, I want to stay here a bit longer.”

Cole sighs and returns to his seat. “I said you can go?” Jay questions looking at him. He wanted nothing more than to be alone. Cole simply shakes his head and stares at the stars. 

“Let's go.” Jay stands up slowly. Cole jumps up and immediately races towards the gate.

Jay falls behind and watches as distance grows between him and the brown ninja,

“I’ll wait for you under the bluebells, I'll be there always.”

Chapter Text

“I’ll wait for you under the bluebells, I’ll be there always.” Those words lingered in the back of Cole’s mind every waking moment for the next month. They were words he had barely managed to hear. They were words he didn’t really understand. What exactly did Jay mean?

Whatever Jay meant it didn’t matter; Cole wasn’t going to find out anytime soon.

After the night at the park, the brown ninja watched his best friend slowly distance himself. It started with partnering up with others to spar and sitting with someone else to eat but quickly turned into rejecting movie nights and refusing to talk to him longer than a few minutes. 

Whilst it hurt, Cole wanted to give Jay his space.

During the month, crime in Ninjago City had gotten worryingly quiet. Wu had become suspicious after hearing gossip of serpentine splitting from their tribes. After the battle with The Great Devourer, the serpentine had either been apprehended or moved to live in the sewers. Word of them separating was concerning and spread like wildfire. The ninja were forced to work overtime to look for clues or reasons for a split. 

Nya and Jay stumble through the front door of the monastery after patrolling the inactive city. The gossip had pushed everyone to stay indoors. “See anything?” Cole meets the two blue ninja at the door.

“Nope, just Dareth as usual.” Nya responded, watching Jay move politely past them and to his room, “He’s still so quiet and unenergetic. Barely said a word to Dareth.” Cole averts Nya’s gaze and looks to the floor.

“Talk to him, Cole. I don’t know what happened that night but you need to talk to him.” Nya pleads,

“I will, I will. I still don’t know what I did wrong.” Cole comments,

“You won’t know if you don’t ask.” She looks at him like a disappointed mother.

Lloyd appears from the dining room, “Anything new?” Nya shakes her head in response and the blonde sighs, “I’m starting to think it’s just some old women’s gossip that’s been exaggerated. I’ve not seen Pixal or Zane for days. They’re still searching for evidence but haven't found anything. It feels like Wu’s making us do all this work for nothing.”     

“I think we’re all getting fed up. But it’s Wu, he’s usually right about these things.” Nya pats the green ninja’s head.

“Do you remember what happened last time someone went through a rebellious stage involving serpentine?” Cole smiles, raising an eyebrow.

“You guys don’t need to keep bringing that up.” Lloyd lowers his head.

“Guys! Guys! I think I found something! Where’s Sensei Wu?” Pixal runs down the corridor with a laptop in her arms. Nya’s face lights up at the sight of her girlfriend until she realises what she said.

“I think he’s meditating!” Nya shouts as she runs after Pixal. Cole and Lloyd hot on their tracks.

Pixal knocks carefully on the sliding door. Wu beckons for her to enter. “Sensei, I found something.” She takes a seat next to him and the three ninja crowd around them. Zane and Kai emerge in time for Pixal’s explanation. 

“Zane and I were checking maps, everywhere the serpentine had hid before and anywhere we thought they may hide. Zane’s falcon flew out to the locations and we found them camping at The Lost City of Ouroboros. Although it’s not a group of teenagers like we thought; It’s a group of adult serpentine.”

“Well I suggest you investigate sooner rather than later. Chop chop, get moving.” Wu stands up and begins to usher his ninja out the room.

“You want us to go right now?” Kai questions,

Yes, sooner rather than later. Like I said.” Wu answers quickly before sliding the door closed.

“I’ll go get Jay.” Cole sighs and catches Nya briefly smiling at him. Everyone else scrambles to get into their Gi and gather their weapons. Cole sticks to one side of the corridor to avoid being swept off his feet. He knocks gently on Jay’s door but doesn’t get an answer.

“Jay?” He questions in a soft voice as he slides the door open. After his eye’s adjust to the dim lighting, he spots the blue ninja fast asleep tucked under his duvet. Jay’s head was barely visible. Cole could just make out a slight blush on his freckled cheeks. Cole wanted nothing more than to just leave the smaller ninja fast asleep, or maybe even join him. 

He shakes his head to remove the thought.

“Jay, wake up.” He knelt down next to the boy’s bed and shook, what he thought was, his shoulder weakly. The lightning ninja did not stir in the slightest. “Jay, come on. We need to investigate Ouroboros.”

Cole places his large hand on the smaller ninja’s head and brushes the brown strands of hair from his face. 

“You know, he might wake up if you kissed him right now.” Nya appears at the door.

Cole stands up quickly and scowls at her, “Wake him up for me. Evidently, I’ve not been successful.” Nya exhales and sprints towards the bed and launches herself on top of her best friend.

“I will electrocute you.” Jay wakes up immediately with a scowl on his brow. His blue eyes glance around the room and spot Cole. His gaze softens for a second, as if his memory of the last month was still waking up.

“He tried to wake you up but he was being too soft. I had to help!” Nya smiles and kicks her feet in the air, still lying on Jay. He stares daggers into her eyes and curses under his breath. 

“Pixal found what looks like the rogue serpentine camped out at Ouroboros. Wu wants us to investigate.” Cole mentions as he awkwardly stands looking at the blue ninjas.

“Oh, okay.” Jay responds and pulls himself out from under the water ninja. He looks down and realises he’s still wearing his Gi, “I guess I’m ready to go then.”

Nya pulls him from his warm bed and out the door. He yawns frequently as she drags him to the courtyard where everyone else had gathered. 

“Are you sure we can’t just take the bounty or mechs?” Kai complains. 

“Positive, they still need many repairs from the damage we caused the last time we used them.” Zane informs. Kai glances over to the door and visibly scowls when he notices the lightning ninja.

“Where are we going again?” The blue ninja questions,

“Ouroboros.” Lloyd responds,

“So you’re telling me.. You want us.. To walk.. All the way.. To Ouroboros!” Jay perks up and shouts his displeasure. Lloyd flinches.

“We can take a bus, calm down.” He scowls even more.

“With what money?” Cole raises his voice at Kai, to which he shuts up.

“We better get going then!” Nya announces trying to lift the mood. The others follow behind begrudgingly. 

As soon as he reaches the first step of the stairs, Jay’s eyelids become heavy once again. He sighs as he takes the step. He was tired; exhausted even. Wu had kept him very busy. If he wasn’t patrolling like usual, he was helping Nya repair the mech’s and the bounty, or searching for the serpentine with Zane and Pixal or even cooking and cleaning. He’d had very little rest within the past months.

Cole’s words from that night refused to leave his mind. He may not have intended to hurt Jay with them but they dug deep into the lightning ninja’s skin. As much as Jay hated the thought of it, distancing himself from Cole was the best thing to do. Yet he missed Cole every single day. He often found his eyes wandering to the brown ninja more than usual; yearning for what he can’t have. Any chance he got, his eyes were fixated; during training, on patrolls and even when eating in the same room. Though he did well to hide it.

“Jay are you coming?” Nya shouts up before he realises he has only descended three out of the hundreds of steps. Kai, Zane and Lloyd were nowhere to be seen.”Yeah, I’m just tired. Go ahead, I’ll catch up.” He shows a weak smile.

Cole walks back up the stairs, “Come here Bluebell.”

“Bluebell?” Jay wasn’t sure if he liked the nickname or not.

“You said it’s your favourite flower.” Cole lifts the smaller ninja up and gives him a piggyback ride, “I can carry you the whole way if you’d like.”

Jay opens his mouth to reject the offer but Nya beats him to speech, “I’d prefer if you did, I think he’d stop for a rest and fall asleep.” Nya laughs,

“Whatever.” Jay responds not liking the idea of being close to Cole for so long. He rests his head on Cole’s head and quickly falls back asleep.

“What do you mean there’s nothing here?!” Cole raises his voice, abruptly waking up the sleepy ninja on his back.
“It was all here earlier, the falcon showed us.” Zane answered scanning the area,

“Yes I saw that it was all here earlier. Where is it now?!” Cole’s voice is stern.

“They must have moved on.” Zane observes.

“No fucking shit. It took us hours to get here, we were already tired. All the effort-” Cole’s cold voice gets cut off.

“What’s happening?” Jay asks yawning,

“We got tricked. Go back to sleep.” Jay returns his head to his temporary pillow.

“Well we’re here now. Why don’t we look around for any remains. Maybe they knew about the 

Falcon and moved their stuff?” Lloyd mentions.

“Put me down, I’ll look too.” Jay commands and Cole follows.

Jay wanders out of the slither pit. He pays as much attention to the environment around him as he possibly can. He yawns and scans the sand for any footprints and the buildings for any markings. 

The lightning ninja begins to mutter, “Stupid serpentine. They signed the peace treaty and were given homes. We gave them everything they needed.”

“We want more.” A voice states,

“You idiot, be quiet.” Another voice shushes the first. Jay pulls his mask down and steadies himself, holding his fists out.

“You imbeciles. Now he knows we're here.” Another voice complains as sand tosses up behind the ninja. Before he can turn to look, a clothed hand covers his mouth and another holds his body against a scaled chest. Jay struggles and attempts to shout for help but instead further inhaled the fumes of the cloth. His eyes droop but this time it’s different. His consciousness slips.

“I didn’t find anything.” Zane reports as the ninja regather in the slither pit.

“Yeah, not a single thing.” Nya responds,

“Me neither.” Kai agrees and Lloyd nods. Everyone turned to Cole whose attention seemed to be elsewhere. “Cole, did you find anything?” Lloyd questions him.

“Has anyone seen Jay?” He answers by looking around.

“Now that you mention it.” Nya starts before anxiously glancing around them.

“Let’s split up again. He can’t have gone far.” Lloyd instructs.

Cole walks away from his teammates. He leaves the pit and winds through the buildings hoping to find the smaller ninja asleep against one. The wind wasn’t strong enough tonight to cover Jay’s footsteps.  Cole eventually happens upon them and begins to follow. He finds himself at the outer buildings before the steps trail off. 

Out of the corner of his eye he notices another set of prints. However, they’re not Jays. These prints are much larger.

“Oh Bluebell, where are you?” Cole feels his stomach sink. What did he do wrong? He finally opened up to Jay and he pushed him away. 

His eyes rapidly dart from building to building. Desperation takes over and he begins to run/ Sprinting around every corner, searching for the one he yearns for without realising. “Jay! Jay!” He shouts as loud as his lungs will let him. His eyes catch a glimpse of blue clothing. His heart pounds out of his chest as he turns to sprint to the colour.

“Cole, I can’t find him anywhere.” Nya said upon noticing the brown ninja. Cole feels his chest tighten and breaths shorten. “I thought you were him.” His voice is weak. 

“What if we don’t find him?” Nya fights back tears.

“We will. I’m not leaving without him.” Cole pulls the water ninja into a tight hug,” I refuse to leave him behind.”

The two ninja make their way back to the slither pit. “Any luck?” Cole asks.

“We were hoping you two had found him.” Zane states. Lloyd avoids eye contact and Kai stares off into the distance with an unimpressed look on his face.

“There’s nothing here. He probably just got lost or something. This whole thing was a waste of time. Let’s just head back and search for him tomorrow in the daylight.” Kai mentions.

Cole hadn’t even realised that the sun had set.

“We can’t leave without him. You know how cold it gets at night.” Nya stands tall and refuses to move.

“I’ll send the falcon to constantly observe the area. We will find him Nya. As you said, the temperature shifts to the opposite extreme in the night. We are better off going back and getting some rest and continuing the search tomorrow.” Zane states. 

Cole gently holds onto Nya’s shoulder, “I don’t want to leave him either but they’re right. We can come back as soon as the sun rises again tomorrow.” He attempts to convince himself and Nya at the same time. She doesn’t respond but walks away alongside Cole.

He glances around one last time, “I’m sorry Jay.”

Jay’s eyes sting as a bright light engulfed him. His eyes anxiously scour the room that appeared in front of him. He could faintly make out some figures in the shadows. “Who are you?” He attempts to interrogate but a bandana tied against his mouth muffles the sound.

A tall figure steps into the light, “Hello Jay walker.”
Jay’s eyes study the figure; Serpentine, green scales, very taller, taller than Nya and maybe even Cole.

Jay attempts to launch himself at the snake but comes to the sudden realisation that he’s been tied to a large pipe. “Yess, we’re not sstupid. Did you really think we’d capture a ninja and jusst let him move freely.” The snake laughs a mocking laugh, a few other snakes snicker with him.

Jay feels his heart rate and anxiety spike. He observes the room and takes a mental note on the layout and number of serpentine. If he manages to get out of here alive, the information would be important.

“I’m beyond joyousss, we managed to capture you. Now Ninjago will listen to our wishesss. We’re sssick of the swewersss. Ussss serpentine were once feared creatures. We ruled over villages and fought in warsss. That was until your pathetic little human race took away our ssstrength and pushed usss into the stink underneath your home. But we won’t deal with it anymore.” The supposed leading serpentine starts a speech.

“No we won’t!” The other snakes respond.

“Soooo, if the mayor of Ninjago City doesn’t respond to our wishesss, we may just have to kill one of their precious ninja.” He continues with a wide smile on his face.

“Wait bosss, you never sssaid anything about killing him. I thought we were jussst gonna punch him a few timesss.” One of the snakes attempts to whisper. The leader rubs the bridge of his nose in annoyance.

Jay attempts to talk back but his voice is muffled once again. The leader ushers for one of his goons to release the bandana. “It looks like your plan is weak and your team is even weaker.” Jay mocks them in return.

The leader shakes his head and smiles, “Pretty ironic wordsss to be coming out of the weakessst ninja’sss mouth. When have you done something to help? It seemsss as though everyone hasss sacrificed themselvesss but you Jay walker.” He moves one of his hands and the other snakes move in closer to Jay.

“I’ll try to remember to tell your parentsss you love them.” The leader smiles as two of his goons pin Jay to the pipe and another winds their arm back. Jay’s vision blackens before he can react.

Chapter Text

"Have you found him?" Cole appears next to Pixal and Zane. He hovers directly over her impeding on her personal space.

"Cole, i can promise you we haven't found Jay since you asked five minutes ago." Pixal replies irritated. Cole paces up and down behind them waiting for Nya and Lloyd back from searching on foot. Kai appears at the door, "I made some food. You're not helping by distracting these two. Come and eat something. Lloyd and my sis will be back soon." 

Cole dops his hands to his side and follows the red ninja out of the room and into the dining room. The brunette passes a bowl of dumplings to Cole as he takes a seat on the wooden bench. He tucks into the food taking slow small bites to begin and begins to devour the food not knowing how hungry he was previously. 

Aside from the sounds of the brown ninja eating, the monastery was eerily quiet. The lightning ninja would almost always have someone caught in a conversation with him. Other times he would be playing video games and shouting at the tv. The monastery felt uncomfortable without him. 

"Look," Kai starts with a sigh, "I don't understand why, but you really like Jay and pacing around the monastery or spending your time searching Ouroboros is a waste of time. If we all occupy ourselves in the search crime is going to rise. We need to get back to patrolling the city." 

Cole feels anger build up like a flame within his chest. He clenches his jaw and watches Kai open his mouth to speak once again. "It's been days anyways. He's probably dead." Kai casually states as he picks dirt from under his nails.

Cole pushes his food from the table in front of him before slamming his fists into it and standing up. His thoughts collect and the anger rises in his throat. However before he can say anything, the thoughts disperse as Lloyd and Nya burst through the front door of their home. 

Cole runs from the dining room to them. Cole feels his heart drop and his chest tighten as he notices a blue mask in Nya's hand. She takes a note from inside it, "The serpentine are going to kill him unless the mayor approves their needs." 

Her voice was weak and Lloyd wouldn't speak and instead walks away. They stand in silence. Cole feels his heartrate peak and his mind wanders. Unwillingly, he imagines Jay tied up and injured. His breath shaky and heavy from the pain, his body shaky and weak. Tears leak from the ducts in Cole's eyes. 

"I'm need to tell Sensei. I think you need this more than I do." Nya walks past Cole handing him Jay's mask. The fabric was soft in Cole's calloused hands. He rubs his fingers over the stained and torn fabric. He feels the urge to smell it and glances around checking every inch of the monastery around him. Once he knows no one can see him, he brings the mask to his face and inhales. 

It still smells like him but with a weak chemical and musty smell. He ignores the other smells and focuses on the lighting ninja's scent. He inhales deeply. It was as if the blue ninja was right infront of him, his freckles arms wrapped around Cole's large torso. Tears appear back in Cole's eyes. 

A hand taps his shoulder and he quicky wipes his eyes dry and shows a cold look on his face. Only to ease up once he spins around and notices Nya. 

"I showed Sensei the note and he's going to inform the mayor. We can't form a plan right now as we don't actually know what it is the serpentine want." Nya informs and rubs the larger ninja's shoulder.

"Well why can't we just find Jay, take him back and throw the serpentine in Kryptarium?" Cole asks bluntly.

"Because we don't know exactly where they are, if we just go to Ouroboros without a plan more of us could get hurt. But if once we learn about what they want, we could trick them into thinking the mayor is going to appeal to those demands and they may release Jay." Nya mentions. 

"How long will it take to make and carry out the plan? I can't imagine that they've been feeding him at all." Cole questions a worried expression plastered on his face. 

"I don't know Cole. But we will save him as soon as we can." The water ninja pulls him into a hug. He rests his head on hers.

Jay blinks, his eyes swollen from punches that he could barely see. "They're not.. going to accept.. your offer if you kill me" Jay stutters struggling to breath. One of the serpetine's fists meets with his ribs and his body jerks forward in response.

"Shut up or we'll gag you again. The leader holds up the bandana that used to be pulled tightly around his mouth. 

Jay's head hangs low and his breaths become even more shallow. He winces at every breath feeling the damage on his ribcage. 

Jay had lost count of how long he had been stuck in this dingy room for. All he knew was that if he didn't get out soon he was going to die one of many ways; he would either die of starvation, from the mold he had barely noticed growing in the corners of the room, from loss of blood or from being beat up. However he was no longer terrified. Jay had been hit over the head so many time's that it hurt to think. His brain had never been so quiet. The only thing that occupied his mind was his friends. Nya and Cole specifically. 

I'll wait for you under the bluebells, i'll always be there. How ironic that's going to be when i die. That's if they even plant bluebells at my grave. I'm waiting for you to die Cole, under these bluebells. How romantic?

"Hey ninja, open up." One of the serpentine says before pouring old water over Jay's head. He barely has enough time to react and only manages to collect one mouthful of water. His body yearns for more but his mind knows there wouldn't be any for a long time.

A snake enters the dingy room through the heavy, metal door with what Jay thinks is a camera. It's hard to make out anything through his swollen eyes. They make some noise in front of him before stopping. "Shall we get sstarted then. It'sss about time we let the mayor know our demandsss." The leader steps in front of the captured ninja. 

"Hello Mayor Trussstable, i do hope you live up to your name. For yearsss now usss serpentine have been condemned to the sewersss of your city. We were forced to collectively retreat to said sssewersss or you would throw usss in Kryptarium. Well we won't live under these conditions anymore. The Ssserpentine used to be feared rulersss and fought for what they wanted. We want that power and control back." The leader recites his speech  accompanied with a few roars from his goons.

"And i'm guesssing that right now you're asking the quessstion, 'Well what will they even do if we don't meet those demandsss?'. I imagine you haven't noticed, but we have one of your preciousss ninja." The leader steps out and one of his goons runs to Jay and lifts his swollen and bruised face up. 

"Don't listen to them... they're too much of a... wus to kill me." Jay stutters before the one of them kicks him in the stomach and drops his head back down.

"Oh but we're ssstronger than any of you realize. We will kill him and if you ssstill don't meet our demandsss; we'll capture ninja after ninja, killing them all until you can't ssstop us from taking over. With every sssingle last ninja defeated we will be invincible." The leader cackles and his followers join in, "You have 48 hours to respond and allow us the freedom, or the ninja gets it." 

The camera switches off, and the snakes speak words of amusement. "You should've been a tv presenter sir, you'd have so many fans." The one behind the camera gushes.

"Really? You think so?" The leader changes his posture to look taller and stronger. Jay closes his eyes and relaxes as much as possible. He had lost feeling in his hands and legs from being tied to the pole. He was so hungry that his stomach ached more than any pain he had ever felt before. It felt thousands of times worse than when Kai torched his arm. The pipe he was tied to ,which freezes from the cold temperature at night, left cold burns on his back. 

It had taken a while but Jay had half guessed and half figured out where he was. Years ago, The Overlord had sent Pythor and some nindroids to space to retrieve the mass of their golden weapons. They had built a base under Ouroboros to construct a spaceship. Jay was in an old storage room or something. There was very little in the room, nothing important. The most notable thing in the room was the pipe he was tied to. He had used every percentage of his his brain to find a way to get his location to his team but he failed. 

He hadn't seen outside in days. It felt like searching for clues was years ago. 

"Don't die on us tonight, or your capture won't have been worth anything. What a pathetic death it would be." The leader cackles as Jay is left alone. The darkness suffocates him as the door slams shut.

"Yes, of course Mayor Trustable. We won't let you down sir." Lloyd responds.

"Before the video gets sent over, just warning you the serpentine have captured Jay. And he is not in good shape." The Mayor ends the call. Cole and Nya cling to their arms between them, the serpentine had Jay. Cole looks to the blue mask in his free hand and his jaw clenches. 

The Ninja had gathered in Pixal and Nya's workshop below the monastery after retrieving a letter from the Mayor. Trustable still wasn't fond of the ninja didn't want them in his office so instead offered a video call to explain he had received the video and needed the situation to be dealt with. 

A computer makes a pinging noise drawing everyone's attention back to it. "Are you sure you want to watch this?" Lloyd turns to Nya and Cole who looked as if their parents had been killed in front of them. 

"It's fine, we need to know what they want. We need all eyes to figure out where they are." Nya answers for Cole who held a cold look on his face. Lloyd turns back round to the screen and Pixal presses play.

They listen and watch closely as the Serpentine made his speech. Pixal whispers something to Zane who moves to the right and begins to type on a keyboard connected to a small monitor. 

"And i'm guesssing that right now you're asking the quessstion, 'Well what will they even do if we don't meet those demandsss?'. I imagine you haven't noticed, but we have one of your preciousss ninja." The snake says before gasps fill the workplace and Jay is revealed. 

Jay was almost unrecognizable. His face was so swollen and bruised that he looked like a different person. His usually pale skin was painted with dry blood and strong bruises. His hair was disheveled and stuck to the blood on his forehead. His Gi was tattered, also stained with blood. He was so thin, he looked fragile. Cole felt the pit in his stomach drop even further. Nya's grip on his arm strengthened. He glanced to her for a moment noticing tears forming in her eyes.

Cole's hands curl into fists hard enough for his nails to draw blood. His jaw clenches again and he looks away as Jay struggles to speak. His eyes snap back to the screen hearing a snake punch him. 

The video quicky finishes and the room falls silent. 

Nya sniffles before wiping her tears with her free hand, “What are we going to do?” she asks quietly.

“We’re going back to Ouroboros. From the room in the video I have found his location. The blueprints for Pythor's construction sight below the city shows many storage rooms, one of which has a very large ventilation pipe that runs from the floor to ceiling. Exactly like in the video” Zane announces eventually. 

"Well, do we have a plan?" Cole questions his tone very commanding. 

"No, give us some time to process the video Cole." Lloyd looks to the brown ninja.

"We don't have time!" Cole raises his voice, gripping the blue mask in his hand, "You heard them, we have 48 hours or he's gone." 

Cole's bottom lip quivers and he clenches his jaw. He needs to be strong, for the team, for Nya and more importantly: for Jay. 

"It wouldn't be wise to just barge into Ouroboros without a plan. It will be dangerous and they could kidnap anyone of you next." Wu finally speaks up.

Cole takes a deep inhale and licks his teeth. Pixal and Zane look at each other making hand gestures but not saying a word before they turn to the ninja.

"The serpentine are expecting the mayor to grant them the freedom they technically already have. The mayor needs to pretend to grant them that freedom before we can do anything about the hostage situation. Maybe we can get Trustable to make a video to send back to the serpentine, trick them into coming out of hiding so we can get Jay." Pixal thinks out loud as she moves to Nya's side. 

"Mayor Trustable doesn't like us, remember? He built a whole other team to replace us. We're lucky that he even shared the video." Lloyd mentions.

"It's worth a try." Nya adds in a weak voice.

"I'll get in contact with the Mayor and ask him about sending a video in return" Zane returns to the computers. 

"Let's try to polish the plan whilst we wait." Nya mentions as she lets go of Cole's arm and grabs onto Pixal instead. Cole follows slowly behind them and notices Kai walking silently just in front of him. Kai had said very few words since they had left Ouroboros. The fire ninja wasn't usually this quiet. Though the whole monastery was quieter than usual. 

The elevator ride up was tough. Pixal had Nya wrapped tightly her arms, Kai stared at the floor and Cole still had his firm grip of Jay's mask. He hadn't let it go once. Apart from the mechanical noises and Nya's sniffles it was uncomfortably quiet. 

Everyone immediately disperses. The water ninja and nindroid leave to the former's room, Kai just disappears. Cole leads himself to his room before stopping in the doorway. He looks at the mask in his hand yet again and slowly turns around. 

Jay's door was still open. His room remained dark like it was before they left. The tinkering mess on his desk was barely visible, clothes dotted on the matted floor. Cole's eyes flicker to the bed and recall how Jay looked so soft and warm sleeping. The duvet covering all but his face and the very top of his head. His face was so gentle and his cheeks had a soft blush. The muscles in his face were so relaxed, slight wrinkles next to his eyes from the amount of time the boy spends laughing. His auburn hair messy but perfect, how it fell on his face without covering any of his ethereal features. 

Cole moved to sit on Jay's bed. He had spent less time with the freckled boy than he had realized. If he could go back and rephrase the things he said that night at the park he would. He noticed Jay avoiding him. He understood the caring intent but it did the opposite. Cole needed Jay. He needed him much more than he realized. 

A gentle knock on the door interrupted the brown ninja from his thoughts. Nya walked in and sat down gently next to him. She leant her head on his arm, "I thought you'd want this." 

She handed him a polaroid. It was taken back when they had first captured the Sons of Garmadon. They were at Dareth's karaoke bar and spent all day celebrating until they heard of Harumi's escape. It showed the ninja stood on the small stage singing their favorite song. Zane stood on the far right, then Pixal and Nya to his right. Kai was on the far left and Jay and Cole were on his left. Cole noticed how all but one were signing; all but Jay. Jay instead was looking at Cole, a wide goofy smile on his face. 

"He really loved you, you know. It's been years since he first confessed it to me." Nya says in a soft tired voice. Cole holds a hand over his mouth. His eyes unable to move past Jay's face. 

"I think," Cole starts before his voice breaks, Nya sits up and turns to face the taller ninja," I think I loved him too." 

He takes a break and Nya doesn't say anything. She places a hand on his arm to reassure him that she's there. "But my father, I can't loose my father. I wouldn't know what to do if he viewed me any less than he already does." His head hangs low and Nya moves closer to him. 

"Would you like a hug?" She asks holding her arms out. He doesn't respond and instead buries himself in her arms. He holds tightly around her back and she gently places her arms on his shoulders.

"He loves you so much that he will wait for you Cole. Even if it takes 30 years, he will always be there." She mentions. Cole sniffles burying his head into her shoulder. 

"I can't get the way he looked in the video out my head. Nya if we can't get him in the next few days he's going to die." Cole states terrified with tears falling from his eyes.

"We will get him Cole. I promise you we will. I have never broken a single promise." Nya responds rubbing Cole's back, tears streaming down her own face. 

Comfortably, the two ninja sit sharing each other's warmth on this dark and cold day. Pixal appears at the door, "I apologize, i'll come back later." 

"No it's okay." Cole sits up and out of the hug wiping the tears from his eyes, "I should give you some time here." He stands up and starts towards the door.

"Can I keep this?" He asks holding the polaroid up. 

"Of course you can." Nya smiles. He walks out and Pixal walks in behind him. 

Cole pulls the door to, leaving it open slightly but still giving them their privacy. 

He pulls his door tightly shut behind him. Exhausted he lowers himself onto his bed and carefully leans the polaroid against his alarm clock. He shifts taking his Gi shirt off and lies down. He stares at the ceiling, thoughts raising around his brain. He rolls over and his eyes find their way to him. Jay's warm smile clears the thoughts and eases the tension in his body. 

"I'm so sorry Jay. It's my fault, you were so tired and I didn't think to keep an eye on you even though Nya and I were worried about you already. If i had just stayed with you, you would be here with me." Cole sighs knowing the last part isn't true. If Jay hadn't been kidnapped they would've gotten back to the monastery, told Wu about their misfortune in finding the snakes. They would've sat down to eat and made eye contact occasionally and yearn to hold it for longer than those fleeting seconds. He would've noticed the slight blush on Jay's face any time their socked feet brushed against each other. He could feel the smile that would've been on his face when Jay spoke or laughed. Then the pain when they go their separate ways when all Cole wants is to spend the night watching Jay's favourite shows and hear him talk about it over them. When all he wants is to feel the warmth of the smaller ninja's body in the same bed as him. When all he wants is to make Jay feel safe wrapped in his arms al night. When all he wants is to wake up with Jay's body pressed against him the next morning. When all he wants is Jay.

A tear falls onto his nose and he rolls over and away from the photo. His heavy eyelids finally give way and close. He drifts to sleep faster than he ever has before, and image of the lightning ninja occupying his mind.

Chapter Text

"I have informed the Mayor of our plan. But he isn't too fond of us, what will we do if he doesn't respond in time?" Zane questions Wu. The workshop below the monastery was empty. Only Wu and Zane remained. Wu had stood staring into space since the others had left, Zane had been curating an email to the mayor. Despite being a nindroid, Zane's anxiety levels were high. Their time was running out. 

"It would be wasteful for us to wait on his response. Zane, can you write a letter reply to the video? We need a back up for if the Mayor is too late." Wu instructs, "Our best chance at getting Jay back is like Pixal said; we need to convince the Serpentine that they are being granted freedom. Once they show themselves from Ouroboros you ninja can apprehend them and secure them in Kryptarium. We can then locate the storage room and save Jay." 

"We need to be able to convince them first. Additionally, that is a lot of tasks to be taken out in such a small window of time. It could take us hours to even record and send the video response to the serpentine. Then even longer to get there and capture the snakes. At least we have a strong idea of where Jay is being held." Zane responds. Wu turns away from the ice ninja and walks towards the elevator.

"I will go inform the others of the plan. If you get any response from Trustable, find me immediately." Wu disappears as the door closes.

He quickly finds Nya and Pixal in Jay's room, "Can you both gather the rest of the team for me and ask them to meet me in the dining room. We have a plan." The two nod and split up.

Nya politely slides Cole's bedroom door open. She receives a sense of déjà vu seeing Cole softly sleeping in his bed. The water ninja's eyes notice the polaroid leaned up against his clock. Exhaling, she smiles at the though of the large ninja carefully placing it there. Nya moves to the side of his bed and shakes Cole. Unlike Jay, it doesn't take much to wake him up. Cole stirs promptly and his eyes snap open. Panicked, they quickly dart around before finding Jay's mask on his pillow next to where his head had been. 

"How long have i been asleep for?" He sits up suddenly and completes his Gi," I haven't missed anything have I?"

Nya watches him scramble out of bed, "You're fine Cole. Wu askes that we meet him in the dining room." 

Cole eases and nods. Pixal appears at his door with the green ninja, "I've got Lloyd. I can't locate Kai though." 

Nya and Cole exchange glances and walk with the other two down the corridor. They round the corner and spot Sensei Wu waiting patiently for them. "I'll go find Kai." Nya informs and leaves her teammates and master. 

Days drifted by so quickly. Being a ninja was so much more time consuming than any single one of them could've guessed. The sun was already starting to set but Nya could've sworn she'd only woken up 2 hours ago. 

She climbs up onto the roof of the monastery and notices a dark red amongst the tangerine hues of the sky. She sits down next to him without saying a word and neither does he. The sky lit up a burning orange before them. The warm tones comforting to the siblings. Kai lights a flame in his hand and holds it up to the sky. Effortlessly, the flame dances, it's colours blending into the painting-like background. Nya leans her head on her older brother's shoulder and he leans his atop. They watch as the flame swirls and flickers and becomes brighter as the painting begins to wash away. 

A familiar caw sounds behind the two and pulls them from the art piece. Zane's falcon had returned from its repetitive searches. Nya and Kai jump down from the roof and allow it through the door and follow closely behind. They quickly join their teammates.

"We don't have much time. But we do have a plan, and a back up incase that one fails." Wu introduces the plan. Coloured Gi surrounds the opposite side of the table to where he was standing. "Zane is briefing Mayor Trustable. If he turns down our request for a responding video then we shall have to trick the serpentine." 

"How are we supposed to trick them?" Lloyd questions seriously.

"Zane is forging a letter from Trustable, convincing them that he'll meet them at Ouroboros to discuss their needs." Wu notifies. His students nod.

"Do we know how much longer we have left?" Nya requests worriedly. Wu shakes his head and looks away, "Unfortunately, we do not know. Mayor Trustable did not mention exactly when he received the video." Nya sighs and glances to Cole. His expression was cold and his body was stiff.

"When do we act on the plan?" Cole queries. Wu's eyes wander to the brown ninja, "As soon as Zane hears from Trustable, we can decide which plan we will be carrying out."

"But how are we actually going to get Jay back?" Nya questions further. She had never felt so anxious. The separation from the lightning ninja reminded her of growing up without her parents. The one she loves was missing and could possibly dead. 

"If Trustable agrees to the video, maybe the Serpentine will gain confidence and leave Ouroboros to try and cause chaos leaving Jay behind?" Lloyd offers holding his hands out. 

"We would have to ensure Police join us at Ouroboros so we can get the Snakes straight to Kryptairum then." Cole commands folding his arms. 

"Cole's right. If the Serpentine are apprehended we can get underneath the city and find Jay." Lloyd adds to the plan. 

Kai was still silent. He didn't show any emotion on his face, nor did it look like he was paying as much attention to the plan as he should be. He had shown a lot of dislike to the smaller ninja in recent times, but not enough so that he didn't care about saving him. Jay was still his teammate and brother despite past events.

Pixal, who had Nya clinging to her like a koala in a tree, shifted her focus from the conversation to the opening into the hallway. Nya catches her gaze as Zane sprints around the corner. 

"Trustable has accepted the offer. I have contacted Dareth to help with the video. We need to make our way over there immediately." Zane's tone lacked any softness and instead sounded incredibly urgent. 

The students turned to their teacher and with a nod of his head they all scatter. They collect their things and assemble on the bounty.

Nya takes her position steering with Pixal at her side contacting the police and Zane behind her using the high-tech computers to set a course. He checks for any possible obstacles and other aircrafts and plans the course to avoid. Lloyd, Cole and Wu polish the plan whilst Kai sits silently in his own world.

"Zane said Dareth is going to meet us there. He's bringing all the equipment needed." Lloyd mentions.

"So let me just get it right, Kai, Nya and i meet with the police in Ouroboros and surround it in advance whilst the rest go to meet the Mayor and film the video. Then wait for Dareth to edit it and so Zane can get it sent off. And when it's sent they make there way to join us. Wait patiently for the Serpentine to come out of hiding. Apprehend the Snakes and turn them over to the police. And finally find and save Jay?" Cole goes though the plan.

"Correct." Wu nods his head. He pours himself and the ninja gathered around him a warm cup of tea. Lloyd picks it up carefully, Cole looks at it but leaves it on the crate they were huddled around and Kai doesn't pay any attention to it.

"So we're relying on the Snakes confidence to save Jay?" Kai finally pipes up. 

"I guess so. Although, i think Zane and Pixal found an entrance. So if the Serpentine stay hidden we'll just have to force them out." Lloyd responds before taking a cautious sip of his hot tea.

"Cole, Kai, our stop is nearing. Get ready." Nya asks and leaves the wheel to Pixal.

Pixal kisses her cheek, "Stay safe waterlily." A warm smile spreads across Nya's face. 

The three ninja gather at one side of the destiny's bounty ready to leap off. The Ninjago Police station comes into view below them and they hop off. They use Airjitzu to ensure a safe landing. 

They reach the ground and are greeted by two policemen on their way out of the building. "The ninja? What are you doing here?"

"We need to speak to the commissioner." Cole says his voice still as cold as Zane's ice.

"Right this way." The police turn around and lead the three ninja into the large building.

The station was packed. Most officers were sat at their desks talking or playing solitaire on their outdated computers. They pass a break room full of officers eating donuts and drinking coffee. The media's representation of the police force is very accurate. They turn down a corridor and stop outside the commissioner's door.

One of the accompanying officers knock on the door. "Sir, the ninja are here to see you." He opens the door and ushers the ninja in before closing it gently and leaving.

The commissioner stood from where he was previously sat behind his desk. "What can i do for you?" He asks walking around to the front of the desk and leaning on it pushing his name plate back. 

"The gossip of serpentine splitting from the sewers was true. And they have taken Jay. They had a list of demands that they wanted the mayor to approve. The other ninja are with Trustable currently putting together a response to the snakes. We ask if you could gather together a team for back up so we can detain the snakes." Nya interrogates. 

"Where?" The commissioner simply asks. 

"Ouroboros." Cole responds. 

"Ah, the Lost City. I will see who is free and round up enough officers as i can." The commissioner walks past the ninja and out the door. He walks down the corridor and into the large open room filled with desks that the ninja had walked though previously.

"Listen up!" He shouts gaining the attention of all the lounging officers, "Backup has been requested. I need as many officer's in vehicles as possible. Ouroboros needs to be surrounded. GET MOVING." 

The officers scramble like a flock of pigeons when a human approaches. They run grabbing their coats and a few grab keys. The commissioner grabs his own keys and leads the three ninja out a side door and to his vehicle. "You three can ride with me."

They climb into a surprisingly clean car. Cole sits passenger whilst Nya and Kai sit in the back. The car turns on and they pull out of the car park. 

The communication device in the front of the vehicle whirrs on. "Sir, is this an urgent task? We're trying to calculate the fastest route to Ouroboros." 

Cole's eyes were fixed on the road ahead until he noticed the driver looking at him. "Well ninja, is it urgent?" 

"I don't know how long it will take the others to make the video so, i'd say yes. It is urgent." The earth ninja responds blandly. His mind was elsewhere. His eyes drift over Ninjago City in front of him. Memories flash by as they pass familiar shops and streets. He pictures a warm smile, freckled cheeks contorted by the wide smile, blue eyes thin from joy. 

The memories soon fade as they leave the tourist part of the City and enter the residential zones. Cole's eyes flick to the mirrors within the car to check on the siblings behind him as if they were criminals. Nya stared out of the window much like Cole had been. However, Kai looked down at his feet. His eyes did not move in the slightest. 

"We'll get him back safe Kai." Cole responded worried about the fire elemental. Kai's eyes shot up to meet the earth elemental's. "Oh, uh yeah." He said with fake enthusiasm. He moved to look out the window unintentionally mirroring his sister. 

"We should arrive in 30 minutes." The driver mentions.

"We don't have very long. Are you set up yet Dareth?" Lloyd asks as Dareth fiddles with the camera settings. Zane was stood next to Trustable at his desk going over the script even though it was only  a few lines long. Pixal was stood on the other side of him touching up his makeup and hair. Wu stood back observing his Ninja at work.

"You ready to start Zane?" Dareth asks positioning himself behind the camera. Zane and Pixal clear out and stand behind the camera also. 

Mayor Trustable moves some papers on his desk as Dareth begins his countdown. A click indicates that the camera had turned on.

"Hello serpentine. I have gone over your demands and i am willing to grant you the freedom that you seek. You are free to go wherever you please. I just ask one thing in return, keep those pesky ninja busy so they stay out of my hair." Trustable performs almost perfectly. The script was so obviously written by Zane. 

Dareth turns the camera off and hands the memory card to Zane. Pixal boots up the laptop they brought and begins to download the file. 

"That should be all! Thank you Mayor Trustable." Lloyd formally thanks before ushering his team, master and Dareth out of his office. 

"Thanks for your help Dareth." Lloyd says as they speed towards the stairs.

"Anytime green ninja." Dareth responded before stopping, "I'll take the lift. Hope you catch those snakes."

Lloyd waves goodbye and disappears down the stairwell, the others already ahead of him. 

They sprint out of the building and clamber there way back onto the bounty. Zane rushes off to start their journey to Ouroboros and Pixal edits the footage. She simply needed to cut it down and send it off. 

"The video is sending now." She shouts out and Lloyd nods in response. He turns to Wu who seemed to be contained with his own thoughts. 

The commissioner commands the officers to stop, "I think it's best that we go on foot from here. Vehicles would create too much sound and could alert the Snakes." 

Nya shakes Kai awake and they get out of the car. 

"So lad, what's the plan?" He turns to Cole.

"We need Ouroboros surrounded. We have enough officers here to have a group surround the outside and a stronger group on the inside. Lloyd said that Zane found and entrance into the facility beneath but we dont know where that is." Cole instructs and the Commissioner repeats it over the radio. The officers begin to move forward and take their positions around the Lost city. Cole, Nya, Kai and a group of more experienced officers move to the inner part of the city. They wait cautiously but patiently for anything. For any sound. For any movement. For any news. 

Eventually, Lloyd contacts the three ninja through the comms built into their masks to tell them the response has reached the snakes. The officers stand sturdier. 

An odd stone scraping sound ripples through the air. The ninja whip their heads towards the sound and carefully sneak towards it. As Lloyd had stated, there was a secret door hidden in one of the walls.

"He will be fine if we just leave him, right sssir?" A snakes voice enters the atmosphere. Cole holds his hand up and balls it into a fist up signaling the team to wait. The officers behind stop suddenly and wince at the sound of their feet kicking up sand. 

"Sshhhhhh, be quiet. He can die down there for all i care." The leader whispers, unfortunately for him Cole was close enough to hear.

He opens his large hand and the officers spring into action. It takes two officers to pin down each one of the three snakes. The snakes get pushed to the ground, their faces imprinting the sand. 

"We got 'em sir." One announces into a walkie talkie on his vest. The spare officers grab their handcuffs and wrap them tightly around the snake's scaley wrists. 

Uneasily, Cole looks to the apprehended snakes and to Nya. "The leader isn't here." A loud crash sounds out coincidentally as Cole mentions. He looks to his left to see a large snake scurrying through the sand desperate to escape imprisonment. He readies to chase after it before a hand lands on his shoulder. 

"Don't worry we've got this covered, you and Nya need to find Jay." Lloyd tells and Cole notices Kai and Zane run past in pursuit of the escapee. He nods and watches as the green ninja sprints off. 

Upon hearing his loved one's name, Cole's heart began to beat so loud he could've sworn Nya could hear it. He takes a deep breath and tries to keep his composure. 

The two ninja race through the hidden door and are confronted by a flight of stairs. "First Spinjitzu Master its dark." Cole complains as he wearily descends. He holds his arm backwards to aid Nya ensuring she doesn't fall. They reach the bottom of the stairs and Cole's foot kicks something across the floor. He bends down and picks up a flashlight. He turns it on to find the glass had broken, which refracted the light awkwardly. 

"It'll do. Let's split up." Cole instructs and starts to walks off. A hand grabs his shoulder and pulls him back.

"That is the stupidest thing you have ever said." Nya responds stopping, "First off, we only have one flashlight; were you expecting me to just find my way around in the dark? Second of all what if we run into more of those snakes, we'd be stronger together rather than apart." 

"You're right. I'm sorry." Cole apologizes and notices his hands shaking. 

"We will find him. I'm not leaving without him this time, remember." She holds onto his hand steadying it. He nods and they start down the hall.

The facility was almost completely different to how they saw it last. There obviously wasn't a large spaceship in the centre. The walls were damp and moldy. The whole facility was oddly wet for being underneath a desert climate. There was a cold air that whipped throughout. Nya shivered next to Cole as it tore through them. There was a very dull light that snuck in through the gaps of the opening where the spaceship once left through. Barely enough light to illuminate the building. The windows into rooms were smashed and shattered. Sand poured in lightly and pooled below. 

If it weren't for the circumstances, Jay would enjoy exploring a place like this. It would remind him of the different games he plays sometimes. The environment was perfect for it. But the circumstances stuck and Cole wanted nothing more than to get Jay out. 

"Zane said it was one of the rooms without any windows right?" Nya confirms, her voice shaky. Cole couldn't tell if it was a result of adrenaline, anxiety or the freezing temperature that engulfed them.

"Yeah, he couldn't figure out exactly where though. It may take us a while. Keep an eye out for any large pipes." Cole answered. 

As they neared a darker corner, the air got thicker and hard to breathe. Nya coughed, "My mask isn't doing anything to help. Does that door look open to you." She covers her mouth and squints her eyes whilst pointing it out to the other ninja. Their pupils finally adjust and they find the door that was slightly ajar. 

They rush over to the door not caring to avoid any puddles. Nya tries her best but struggles to open it. "It looked heavy. Let me get it." Cole offered and flexed his arms as Nya moved out the way. He breathed in deeply and pulled the steel door wide enough for the two ninja too fit through comfortably.

The dim light poured into the room. Their eyes widen as they fixate on a blue figure hunched over in the back of the moldy room. 

Nya's heart jumps, "JAY." Was all she manages to say before the adrenaline kicks in and she runs to the boy. 

She sinks to the cold floor next to him. "Oh, cobalt." Her joy and relief vanishes. Jay's skin was the palest she's ever seen it. His body was skinny and fragile. She takes his face into her hands and runs her thumb across his prominent cheekbones. Jay's features were always soft and squishy. It broke her heart to see him like this. 

"Cole get something sharp so i can untie him." She demands, checking over the lightning ninja, "Cole?"

She turns to look at the earth ninja. Cole stood, frozen at the door. Nya could just barely see the terror in his eyes. His body looked tense but loose at the same time. She doesn't force him to move and inside pulls herself away from the lighting ninja's side and squeezes back through the door to find some glass.

Cole's heart takes over and he sinks down in front of Jay. He takes the pale boy's face into his hands alike Nya. Tears force their way through his ducts and down his cheeks. "Jay." Cole said quietly hoping the boy would hear him and wake up, "Please Jay." Cole began to plead now rubbing his thumbs on Jay's cheeks. 

"I know you're usually hard to wake up, but Jay please, you're scaring me." Cole admits moving closer to the body before him. He holds Jay's head up and wipes and gently kisses his slightly freckled forehead. He leans his own against Jay's and lets his hand move to the back of Jay's head playing with the small curls like he's always dreamt of. His free hand pulls Jay's mask from where it was safely inside his Gi and once again holds it up to his nose. "Bluebell, you better wake up," Tears begin to fall from hi eyes again landing softly on the blue mask. "I need you" His voice lowers to a whisper.

Nya pushes back through the gap, a glass shard in her hand. "If we want to get him out of here, that door needs to be open so m..." Her words trail of when her eyes readjust to the darkness and she finds Cole holding Jay. He startles and turns around. "He's going to be okay Cole." She tries to reassure the earth ninja. 

"We don't know that." Cole bluntly says watching Nya kneel down behind the blue ninja.

"I'm gonna cut you free, okay Jay?" She tries her best to communicate her actions clearly as if he could hear her but Jay did not respond or even show any signs of consciousness. She grunts angrily as she struggles with the thick ropes. Her hand slips and the glass barely misses Jay's arms and juts into the large pipe making a startling noise. A small shard snaps off hers upon contact and flies across the room. Her breathing quickens realizing how close the glass was to his arms.

"Here, let me." Cole says quietly taking the glass out of her shaky hands and into his equally shaky hands. She stands back controlling her breathing before talking Cole's place and monitoring Jay for any signs that he is alive. Cole rocks the shard back and forth, fraying the rope.

"Jay, can you hear me?" Nya desperately asks. She holds onto his shoulders pushing him upright. He doesn't respond. She quicky grabs the other piece of glass and holds it under his nose hoping to see some condensation. The glass fogs the slightest bit. She throws it to her side and puts two fingers against his neck searching for a pulse. It takes a while, but she finds it, slow and faint. 

Cole cuts the last thread of rope and frees Jay. Nya pulls him forward desperately. She wraps her arms tightly around his shoulders. He falls limp against her chest. She moves an arm to support his back and slips another underneath his knees. Cole drops the glass and runs to the door and pushes it as far open as he can.

"Nya?" Jay manages to whisper. His eyes were swollen shut but his other senses had heightened. Familiar smells had forced his brain to work harder and wake him back up.

"Oh thank First Spinjitzu master." Tears well up in Nya's eyes and she picks Jay up bridal style.

"We need to get him back to the monastery, now." Cole demands stood at the heavy door. 

"Cole?" Jay whispers as Nya carries him towards the taller ninja. Cole ignores Jay's weak voice and instead starts out the door and towards the staircase. 

"Hang in there Jay. We'll get you home." Nya picks up her pace.

It hurts, but i open my eyes as much as i can. I feel Nya's strong arms holding me in a warm embrace. A warmth that i missed so much. A warmth that i thought i'd never feel again. But Nya was the only source of warmth in the room. In the darkness i could only just make out Cole's large figure by the door. 

i felt myself being picked up. i call out to Cole. my voice was weak and quiet. Cole turned away. Why did Cole turn away? 

I want nothing more than to reach out to the taller ninja, to touch his dark skin, maybe even hold his hand.

i let my eyes close but when i reopened them the Master of Earth was gone. 

"COLE DID YOU FI-" Lloyd runs over to the two ninja and stops when he notices a third. A hand moves to cover his mouth. Cole pushes past them and climbs his way onto the bounty. 

"He's alive." Was all Nya managed to say. Tears fall from her eyes when she sees Pixal running to her. 

"Oh Waterlily." The nindroid says placing one of her arms around her partners shoulder. 

"GET HIM ON THE SHIP NOW. STOP MESSING AROUND!" Cole shouts leaning over the side of the ship. Kai and Zane had already joined him. 

Zane sensed the urgency in Cole's voice and moved to start the bounty's engines and set their course back home. 

With the help of Pixal, Nya got the injured ninja onto the bounty. Lloyd ran inside to grab him an emergency blanket. He took his Gi shirt off to serve as a pillow. 

The three kneeled beside the lighting ninja. Nya rested her head on Pixal's shoulders. Her dark eyes could not move from the boy before her; terrified that if she looked away for a second, he would be gone again. She reaches out and strokes his dirty hair. 

Her eyes widen as he struggles to open his own.

A warm hand runs through my hair and snags on something stuck in it. I manage to open my eyes just enough to see Nya still at my side. Only this time, she's joined by Pixal and Lloyd. The hard floor below me was different this time. It felt familiar. 

I look away from the three and to my surroundings. I can breathe. I take in a long deep breath. I'm on the bounty. 

Cole. Where's Cole.

"Where is he?" Jay whispers, panic showing in his eyes. 

"Where's who?" Lloyd responds looking to Jay and then to Nya who had turned to look at the Earth elemental. Cole had isolated himself to the front of the ship. He watched the stars in the sky desperately waiting for a skyscraper to protrude through the clouds. He searched for any sign that they were almost home. That Jay was almost home. 

"He's at the bow." Nya responds looking back at her injured soulmate. Jay doesn't have the energy to speak but instead lifts his hand. 

Lloyd and Pixal stand up and join Zane and Kai. Nya leans against the wood next to Cole. 

"He's asking for you." She passes on. He glances at her and then turns to look at Jay. 

His body laid on the deck, wrapped in shiny blanket, Lloyds Gi beneath his head. Cole nods, "Thank you." 

"I know i've said this a lot, but i promise you that he's going to be okay Cole." She places her hand on his shoulder once again as he turns around to leave. 

"I know. I'm sorry." He responds as Nya pulls him in for a quick hug. She smiles at him before leaving the bow and meeting with the others. Cole hangs back taking one last look at the clouds. 

He kneels next to the blue ninja like the others were previously. He leans down slightly and ruffles his hand through Jay's tangled hair. Jay startles awake and grips Cole's wrist hard. If he had enough water in his system his swollen eyes would be filling with tears. "Cole." Jay's voice shook full of emotion. 

"You're nearly home Jay." He puts on a warm smile. 

I already am home, Cole. I pull his hand out of my hair and onto my face. His palm was warm and soft despite the built up callouses. Anything is soft compared to that room. 

I push my face into his hand, needing to be closer to him. I watch as he pulls his Gi shirt off, revealing his usual vest underneath. He lifts my head and places it underneath adding extra padding to my makeshift pillow. I'm immediately engulfed by his smell.  A smell i was terrified to forget. 

I peer up at him, holding his wrist tightly. I notice the sky. My eyes search the sky. The brightest star shines down on me. Thank you.

Cole opens his mouth and says something that i don't register. He doesn't get up and leave. Instead his thumb brushes against my cheek. 

My tired eyes finally give way.

"He's asleep." Cole had moved Jay from the deck into a room under where the other ninja were. It was warmer inside.  

"We are not far from the monastery now." Zane reports. 

Nya and Pixal sat on the floor. The water ninja asleep against the nindroids shoulder. Kai stood in the corner staring at the floor and Lloyd kept an eye on the monitor. 

"Where's Wu?" Cole asks noticing a lack,

"He went back with the commissioner. The leader of the Serpentine got away." Zane responds without processing. 

"Zane!" Lloyd raises his voice at the nindroid. 

"Excuse me?" Cole's jaw clenches. Lloyd sighs and walks over placing a hand on Cole's shoulder, "We ran after the leader when you and Nya went to save Jay, but he just disappeared." 

"What do you mean he 'just disappeared'" Cole almost mocks the words his leader had said.

"I know it sounds crazy, but we didn't let him out of our sight. He genuinely disappeared?" Lloyd attempts to explain. Cole lets his mouth hang open before closing it knowing it's better he doesn't speak. 

"I'm going to sit with Jay." He says simply before leaving.

Chapter Text

The bounty lands on a cliffside just below the monastery. "Pixal, prep the medical room." Lloyd takes charge and instructs his ninja. Pixal and Zane rush off up the stairs. 

Cole appears from the room where Jay was resting, with the injured boy comfortably and safely in his arms. Nya shut the door behind him and assisted him whilst climbing out the bounty as he refused to let the lightning ninja away from his embrace. "Watch that stone." Nya grabs Cole's arm suddenly and points out a rather large and sharp stone centimeters from his feet. 

He walks at a comfortable yet urgent pace up the winding stairs and into the courtyard. He wants to take a deep breath, to know Jay is safe but he can't. His lungs hold the carbon dioxide and he can't let it go. Jay isn't safe until he's back to normal. 

Nya pushes the monastery doors open and runs down the left corridor. Cole stood in the doorway watching his friends speed past him. The world sped up but his body slowed down. He peered down at the brunette in his arms. Jay's small freckled face painted with harsh bright colours. His eyebrow slit no longer a choice, but forced upon him, blood stained around it. Jay had had some odd haircuts in the past but they were nothing compared to the mess atop his head now. 

Cole's chest loosened and he let out a long exhale. Pixal appeared at his side. Though now the world had slowed. Her speech was slurred and awkwardly slow. She pulls him towards the medic room at what felt like the pace of a snail. The room was larger than their bedrooms. It contained multiple glass cabinets full of various medicines and equipment. There was a hospital bed that took centre stage. It was nothing special though every single ninja had at least one memory lying in it glad to be back home. Tonight it was Jay's turn.

"You... Need... To... Put... Him... Down... Cole..." Pixal's words came out gradually. Cole's grip on his boy tightened and he turned his body away from the nindroid and the bed. A familiar warm hand found took place on Cole's dirty shoulder. 

"Cole... He's... Safe... Here... Pixal... Needs... To... Look... Over... His... Injuries..." Nya's voice was slightly quicker than Pixal's. Cole clenched his jaw feeling tears well in his eyes. He couldn't let anyone see him cry. The room filed with brightly coloured uniforms. 

"Cole.... Lay.... Him.... On.... The.... Table..." Lloyd piped up. 

"Just... Put... Him.... Down.... Dude...." Kai spoke. 

"I'll be okay Cole. I'm not going anywhere." Cole's eyes shot down and focused on Jay's. At the sight of his boy's blue eyes, any background noise was silenced. All he could hear was his own deep breaths and Jay short and sharp ones. 

"Promise?" Cole said with a shaky breath. 

"I promise, you Dirtclod." 

Cole gently lays Jay down on the table, his hand moves off the boys back straight into his hand. He firmly grasps the smaller hand in his. Jay's flinches slightly and Cole loosens his grasp and was rewarded by small fingers wrapping round his hand. 

Jay's hand squeezes Cole's as Pixal inserts and IV into his other arm. Jay turns and notices a drip hung up beside his head.

"Cole, i think it's best we give Pixal some space." Nya appears warmly at his side, "I'm sure Jay would appreciate if you took a shower." She laughs and walks the brown ninja out of the room.

Jay doesn't dare to move his hand. He leaves it open, hoping Cole's will return to it soon. 

"Well Jay Walker, let's evaluate the damage. It's obvious to the eye, you have various wounds that need cleaning and bandaged, your eyes don't seem to be damaged; i shall give you a cooling eye mask and hope that eases the swelling. Do you mind if i take your Gi shirt off, those punches seemed to land right on your ribs."

Jay nods, "It hurts when i breathe sometimes." 

Pixal carefully removes Jay's shirt, watching his body language for any specific signs of pain or discomfort. She lifts his arms gently and pulls it over his head swiftly noticing him tensing up. She folds it and lays it on the stool next to her. 

"Would you prefer if i warmed my hands?" She questions with a warm smile.

"Yes please, it was cold in the room." Jay shivers at the thought. He glances around the medical room taking in all the details. A small heater had been turned on beside the bed, it whirred quietly as it admitted heat. A harsh overhead light glared into his eyes. Pixal noticed him squint and quicky turns it off. Instead she turns on the warm lamps situated around the room. Jay's eyes ease up. He peers at the corners off the room reminding him that they're clean and aren't painted in mold. He reminds himself that he's home. And safe. And that Cole is only paces away. 

It takes a few minutes for Pixal's hands to warm to a comfortable temperature but those minutes were important to Jay. 

"I'm going to feel around your chest, if anything hurts let me know. Okay?" She informs Jay and he nods.

Her warm hands search Jay's chest. It was a comfortable feeling, Jay felt at home. Though it made him miss his mother, it reminds him to call Edna when he can.

He winces as she lightly presses on skin towards the bottom of his ribcage. "It seems that you have multiple bruised ribs. The bruises on your skin are perfectly in place with your ribcage." She determines, "You'll need to rest for a while. At least a month." 

She leaves Jay's side and grabs handfuls of items and lays them neatly on the table beside the bed. She then fills a bedpan with some soapy warm water and grabs a soft flannel. "I'm going to wash your face. The water is warm and it may cause any cuts to sting. I'll try my best to avoid them though." She informs whilst dipping the flannel in the pan and then ringing out and excess water. She carefully wipes the dirt and dried blood from Jay's face. Some patches take more effort and a little scrubbing. Jay manages to only wince once when a drop of water ends up to close to his eyebrow. 

Pixal empties the water and puts the flannel in a basket to be washed and then return back at the lightning ninja's side.

"Would you prefer to have the cooling eye mask now, or have it once i've treated your wounds so you can see what i'm doing?" Pixal questions prioritizing Jay's comfortability. 

"I'll have the mask now please, i can barely see what you're doing with the swelling." He admits taking the mask and pulling it over his eyes.

"Feel free to fall asleep if you can. It shouldn't take me long to treat these." Pixal mentions, her warm voice a comfort for the boy. 

She picks up some alcohol swabs and carefully cleans any open wounds. She starts with the one on his eyebrow. The cut wasn't deep enough for stitches but maybe just needed to be held together by butterfly strips. She cleans it and watches as it moves with Jay's expression when reacting to the sting and giggles slightly. The sound fills Jay's body with warm electricity. He actually was home.

She applies the strips of tape and moves from Jay's face to his body. Thankfully he had more bruises than open wounds. It doesn't take Pixal long to patch the injured boy up. 

"You're al cleaned and bandaged. I suggest you keep the mask on for a few more hours to minimize the swelling as much as possible. I'm just going to apply some cream to the bruises on your ribs. I also recommend you moisturize because you're skin feels dry." Pixal adds before grabbing a grey tub and screwing the lid off as the door slides open.

"How's he doing?" Cole asks sliding the door closed behind him.

Why don't you ask him?" Pixal asks as Jay quickly pulls the mask down.

"You're swelling has gone down a lot." Cole mentions standing beside the bed looking down at Jay.

"I'm all done, I'll give you two some privacy but Jay should rest soon. His body needs as much sleep as it can get." Pixal cleaned up the supplies she had been using. "I'll find Nya and ask her to pick some clean clothes for you to wear. I'll be back later" 

Pixal leaves the two boys alone. Jay's gaze moves from the door to the taller ninja stood beside him. Unsurprisingly, Cole's dark eyes were waiting for Jay's bright ones. Their eyes flicker over the specks of orange shared between their eyes. The orange specks in Cole's dark eyes remind Jay pf the stars in the night's sky that he loves so much.  

Cole felt any lingering anxiety exit his body upon seeing the lack of swelling and blood on Jay's perfect face. "Are you still waiting for me by the bluebells?" Cole eventually broke the comfortable silence. 

"Under the bluebells," Jay corrected the brown ninja with a growing smile," I'll always be there." Cole laughs at the correction and a smile grows on his face.

Cole pulled the stool towards the bed and sat on it before taking Jay's hand in his own. "Maybe my dad doesn't have to find out." Cole glances to Jay with a warm smile on his face. 

The lightning ninja's heart flips and his body warms. "I can't risk losing you again, especially if i don't get to love you the way i want to first." He squeezes the smaller hand in his. Jay moves his other hand to support him as he attempts to sit up but quickly falls back down clutching his ribs.

"Woah, careful Bluebell. Let me help." Cole pushes the top of the bed up at an angle so Jay can comfortably sit upright, "Is that comfortable?" 

Jay nods, "Thank you. Pixal said my ribs may take a month or two to heal. I'm going to be out of action for a while." Cole's eyes wander to the blue ninja's bare chest. Thankfully, Cole's dark skin conceals the shade of red that would be spreading across his cheeks. Cole has seen the boy without a shirt countless times but never up close like this. 

Cole's warm cheeks soon cooled. He opened his mouth before his brain could form his thoughts into words. Jay begins to rub his thumb over Cole's hand, "You can speak to me Cole."

"I know, it's just." Cole felt tears swarm his eyes, he began to swim through them. He fought his best but the tears fought harder, "I really thought we were going to lose you, i thought i was going to lose you." The brown ninja dropped his head and gripped the injured ninjas hand even tighter. 

"I'm sorry, i'm right here Cole." Jay tugged his drip closer and placed his spare hand on the back of the brown ninja's sunken head. 

"It's my fault. I knew you were tired." Cole lifted his head back up, tears flowing and staining his cheeks. "Me and Nya had joked about you trailing off and getting lost but it actually happened." The lightning ninja moved his hands to cup Cole's sad face.

"It is not your fault,"

"But-" Cole attempted to interrupt,

"It's not your fault. Cole, it isnt your fault." Jay reassures the crying boy, "Cole, look at me." Their eyes met, Cole's gaze softened slightly. "It is not your fault. Nothing is your fault. Things happen." 

Jay stared intently as he nodded. His hands left Cole's wet cheeks and instead found them around his neck. The earth elemental melted into the lightning elemental's embrace. His large arms clung around Jay's torso, scared that if he didn't hold him tight enough he'd disappear. Jay began to rub the back of his boy's neck. 

Cole eventually sat up, his face inches away from Jay's face. His hands moved to the blue ninja's waist. Their eyes explored the galaxies in the other's. Jay watched as Cole's galaxy flicked from his eyes to different parts of his face before settling on his lips. He let his own wander to Cole's perfect lips. 

"You're flawless." Cole says, his breath warming Jay's face. A warm smile spreads across the injured boy's face. Cole's breath deepens as Jay's body becomes warm. Their noses brush against each other as Cole moves a hand from the lightning ninja's waist to hold the side of his head. Jay stares longing into Cole's eyes starstruck. 

"Jay, i've got your clothes for you." Nya announces sliding the door open," Oh um, my bad. I'll leave these here." She places Jay's clothes down before quicky leaving. 

Cole had moved his hand from Jay's face but his arms hadn't moved from around the brown ninja's neck. Jay let out a laugh, a laugh that reminded Cole that he's alive. And home. 

Cole watched the smile on Jay's face and how his shoulders rise and drop with every laugh. His large hand soon returns to its place on the right side of Jay's head. 

The lightning ninja's hand rubs against the back of Cole's neck as their noses meet again. Only this time, Cole tilts his head to the left and connects their lips in a longing kiss. Jay's eyes comfortably flutter closed. Cole's lips felt warmer and softer than anything the boy had ever felt before. The kiss quickly becomes more than a subtle exchange. 

Jay's arms cling to his boy's shoulders and his hand tugging at loose hairs at the bottom of his neck. The kisses quicken before lengthening. Their breathing quickens as their bodies cope with the realization of their desperation for each other. 

Jay pulls away almost gasping for air; Cole chases his lips. His head follows his boy's pulling back. Jay laughs again, Cole studies every single thing.

"My dad doesn't have to know everything about my life." The brown ninja says under his breath but loud enough for the blue ninja to hear. Jay smiles a large goofy smile.

"I love you." Cole confess' before pulling his lover in for another kiss.

A nock on the door interrupts them, "I don't want to walk in on you two again but Pixal told me to tell you that Jay needs to rest. And also that there isn't any condoms in there so don't get ahead of yourselves." 

Jay laughs a tremendous laugh whilst gripping at his ribs, they hurt- but not enough to stop laughing. Cole looked away from Jay trying to maintain his composure and rid of his thoughts. 

"I'll leave you be now. Please get some sleep Jay. I'm so glad to have you back. Goodnight." Nya says and Jay could hear her smile. He turns his attention from the door back to his boy.

"I should get changed." The lightning elemental attempts to stand up his his drip snags on the side of the bed. 

"Here," Cole quicky unplugs it from the needle in Jay's arm, "I'll let you have some-"

"No!" Jay reached out and grabbed Cole's arm stopping him from walking out the door," I mean, you don't need to." He clears his throat. Jay grabs his spare clothes.

Nya had picked out his favourite pajama trousers, an oversized Starefarer shirt and some clean underwear. He stands on the opposite side of the bed to where Cole had sat back down on the stool. 

Jay struggles at first, but manages to pull off his Gi trousers, "Could you maybe turn around so i can?" He asks and Cole's eyes widen and he nods before turning around on the stool.

Jay slips off his old boxers and puts his clean ones on. "You can turn back around now." He instructs and watches as Cole turns around. He pulls on his pj trousers and socks. He attempts to pull on his shirt, but between the bruises on his ribs and the stiffness of his arms he struggles.

"Would you like some help with that?" Cole walks around the bed and aids his boyfriend, "Lift your arms, i'll pull it over and down for you." Jay does as instructed and lifts his arms ready for Cole to pull his shirt over them and then down to cover his bruises torso. 

"Thank you." The freckled boy smiled up at the brown ninja.

"I'll leave you to rest." Cole mentions before gathering Jay's Gi so he could drop it off in the washing basket before going to his own room.

"I don't want you to go," Jay holds onto his larger hand," Can I sleep with you?" He questions shyly. 

"There is no way we're fitting into that bed comfortably." Cole jokes. The hospital bed was comfortable, but it was only fitting for a single ninja at a time. 

"Could we sleep in your.. bed?" The lightning ninja questioned. The thought of sleeping in the same bed as Jay set off fireworks in Cole's stomach. 

"Does Pixal not want you to stay here with the drip? What happens if she comes to check up on you and you're not here?" Cole asks worried.

"I don't want to be alone. The drip is practically done, it'll be fine Cole." He reassures whilst switching the lamps and heater off. Jay follows closely behind Cole as he slides the door open. The lightning ninja holds a hand against his stomach as it rumbles as load as thunder.

The brown ninja turns around quickly and raises an eyebrow at the boy, "I'm sure there's some leftovers in the fridge. Come on." He quickly clutches a small and hand and leads the bruised body attached down the hall and towards kitchen and dining room. 

Cole pulls out the bench and gently pushes the smaller ninja towards and down onto it, "I will be right back." He quickly walks around the long table and into the kitchen. 

The kitchen was no larger than any bedrooms. It featured a small island in the middle, a sink before the window directly in front of the door, a blue oven (to match the blue tiling) on the right with a large red fridge beside it.

It was much messier than usual; plates and bowls were stacked up next to the sink, the bin was overflowing and empty packets were strewn right across the room. Though they hadn't had much spare time to keep the monastery clean with Jay's kidnapping. 

Cole promises himself he'll help clean it before opening the fridge door and scanning it's contents for leftovers. He spots a clingfilmed bowl and picks it up. It must be from Zane's meal the other day as there's a note with instructions on the top. Cole follows them and takes the clingfilm off and puts the bowl in the microwave for a minute to heat it up. In the meantime he hunts around for a clean pair of chopsticks.

He pulls some from underneath a small stack of plates before checking the cutlery drawer like a normal person. He sets the dirty chopsticks down beside the sink and grabs the clean pair from the drawer. The microwave beeps and Cole carefully removes the hot bowl. He quickly carries the bowl and chopsticks through to the dining room and sets them on the table. 

"Today we have rice with um. I think that's.. Zane made it so it's full of everything." Cole pauses studying the bowl trying his best to identify a single ingredient," and that is all coated with, soy sauce i think? I hope you enjoy your food Sir! I will be right back with your water." 

"I'm so hungry that i could even tolerate your cooking." Jay laughs at his boyfriend's false hurt expression. He picks up the chopsticks with his shaky hands and made some attempts to pick up his food. The rice dropped before he could get the utensils to his mouth. 

"Would you prefer a spoon Sir?" Cole asks fixing his posture to look like a waiter at a fancy restaurant.

"Yes please." Jay giggles as he watches Cole walk into the kitchen and hunt around for a clean spoon and cup. 

"I'll be with you in just one second Sir!" Cole raises his voice turning his head slightly but concentrating on cleaning a glass cup to his best ability. He fills up the glass and grabs the spoon he found in the drawer and walks back out to the table. 

"Here you go kind Sir!" He sets them down gently and smiles at the already smiling freckled boy.

Jay chuckles lightly picking up the spoon and tucks in immediately. Cole laughs shocked as Jay wolfs down his food, "I guess neither of us will know what's in it then"

The spoons clinks as the lightning ninja sets it back down. "Do you want anything else? I'm sure there's more food in there somewhere" Cole points behind him at the pig stye of a kitchen. The brunette takes a long drink of water and shakes his head. 

"That hit the spot. I will never complain about bad food or gross tasting water ever again" He sighs and wipes any remaining food from around his mouth. 

"I'll just add this to the pile." Cole takes the bowl and attentively placed it on top of a small stack before quickly returning to his ninja's side, "Ready to go to bed?"

"I feel like I could sleep for years." Jay mentions standing up then putting his shaky hand in Cole's large steady one and leaning his head on his shoulder. 

"Well unfortunately human's don't hibernate and I'm no scientist but I'm pretty sure animals who do, don't hibernate for years at a time." Cole grins widely at the blue ninja.

As they walk past the infirmary, Cole remembers to grab the dirty Gi. 

"You can use the bathroom to wash up or do your business. I'm gonna get changed." Cole throws the dirty Gi in his washing basket before stripping to his underwear and picking a random shirt off the floor and pulling it over his head.

Jay felt his cheeks burn as he studies Cole. "I usually sleep in my only my boxers but i'll put a shirt on just for you." Cole announces completely oblivious to the blushing boy's gaze. 

The earth elemental clears anything on his bed that shouldn't be there, onto the floor and climbs under his dark brown covers. He pats the bed beside him when he notices the lightning ninja stood awkwardly by the door. 

"Are you sure this is alright?" Jay asks walking round to the left side of the bed, he glances at the open window as he does.

"Of course it is." Cole responds catching Jay's gaze, "Oh i can shut the window if you'd like." Cole sat up eager to make his boy comfortable. Jay pushes the covers down and sits on Cole's bed, "No! Please leave it open. I like the fresh air." 

Cole nods and rests his head on his hand as equally awkwardly as Jay before, "So um, how are we supposed to?" 

Jay lays on his back pulling the covers over his body whilst laughing. "Do you find this funny Bluebell? Is my lack of experience funny to you?" Cole pokes with a smirk on his face.

Calming down, Jay turns his head to the side and observes the smirk, "Nya and I have slept in the same bed many times, however i have bruised ribs so this may be more difficult. I'd usually be what's called the little spoon, which is-"

"I know what a little spoon is Jay." Cole raises his eyebrow and Jay raises his arms up in defense,

"Hey, you admitted to being inexperienced so i assumed you wouldn't know this stuff." He laughs.

"So if you can only sleep on your back how are we gonna do this?" Cole asks pushing a lock out of his face,

"Do you mean cuddle?" Jay teases, Cole turns his head away in response, "Well I find that i almost always cuddle into someone but that won't work for now." 

Cole turns his head back around, "I think the best option we have is for you to cuddle into me. Are you okay with that big muscle man?" Jay teases even further.

"Injured or not i will hit you." Cole jests.

"Here, lay your head on my shoulder." Jay pats his left shoulder and the earth elemental shifts closer and gently leans his head on his boyfriends shoulder,

"Like this?" He asks cautiously. 

"You're not going to break me." Jay states and puts a hand on Cole's head pushing him onto his shoulder, "If you want you can wrap an arm around me, just not on my ribs maybe." 

Cole follows the instructions and lets himself put the weight of his head on Jay's shoulder and loosely wrapped his arm around his stomach. 

"Are you comfortable?" Jay questions shifting ever so slightly and resting his head on the pillow beneath it. Instead of replying with words, Cole muffled a sound that equaled a yes and shut his eyes. The lightning ninja copied. 

Cole's body radiates warmth as cold air flows through the open window causing the curtains to dance in the moonlight. Birds chirped their last songs for the night. The stars watched over Ninjago. The ninja all asleep soundly

Jay was home. 

Chapter Text

The walls drip, dark water pooling below. Pipes shake and scream all around. The large metal door creaks open and a large familiar figure emerges. "Sssso Jay Walker, it ssseemss those you refer to as your friendssss, don't care for you like you do them. My request was sssimple yet the time issss up, and I have nothing. How pathetic? I kidnapped Ninjago's not sssso beloved blue ninja, and not a single perssson came to hisss resscue. I do pity you Walker."

"I don't want your pity." Words finally rise up my throat," They'll get here eventually and when they do, you'll regret every laying a single scaly finger on me." 

Water splashes up as a snake slithers towards me. A cold harsh finger lifts my chin up and it's piercing red eyes burn through mine. A sharp fist slices through my cheek knocking body to the side.

"You jusssst don't get it do you. No oness coming for you. This is it Jay Walker. Say hi to your mother for me." 

Jay launches forward, hunching over struggling to calm his breathing. Thank god it was just a dream. He reaches his arm to bed beside him. It was emtpy. 

"Where?" Was all he managed to stutter. He was sure Cole had slept with him last night but there was no trace. The blue ninja's chest rises and falls at a rapid speed as his thoughts begin to race. He stumbles out of bed clutching his chest as a result of forgetting about his injuries. He struggles to the door and leans against the frame. Frantically looking up and down the hallway, his blue eyes spot a warm light coming from a slightly ajar door. 

"Cole, Cole, please." He whispers pushing himself towards the door. Upon hearing breathing creep up, Nya launches out the door arms up ready for combat with her toothbrush still in mouth. She drops her arms and toothbrush whilst rushing to the panicked boy. 

"Oh Cobalt, what's wrong?" She wraps her arms around him pulling his shaking body against hers. 

"Snakes, no one helped, they wanted to, Cole was gone." His sentences were short and fast mimicking his breathing.

"Woah Jay, we saved you remember. The snakes can't get to you." Nya begins to soothe Jay. Rubbing his back she urges the boy to look around, "Look, we're in the monastery! Right outside my bathroom."

She slowly walks him into the mentioned bathroom and begins to pick up stuff in an attempt to ground him. "Do you remember that night when you begged me to teach you how to braid my hair. It was the first year we had met and we had bonded like glue, Kai was so skeptical of you." Nya giggles as she helps Jay to sit on the floor next to her and hands him a hair tie to fiddle with, "You were so gentle and terrified of pulling my hair too hard. It was so cute. You quicky got the hang of it, and despite being a first attempt my hair looked so good." 

Jay shuffled closer to his best friend and gently put his head on her shoulder, "It was so comforting for me, i was in this completely new place and all of a sudden people has super powers. But i spoke to you and you treat me like an equal and helped. When you braid my hair, it reminds me of when i was younger and my mother and I would do each other's hair. She always did mine super cute and added flowers into my hair and i always made her a mess but she would refuse to change it until she absolutely had to. And then she disappeared and you started doing my hair." 

The water ninja gently brushed through and untangled the lightning's brown hair, "I would never leave you behind, ever. I came to get you back as soon as i could. You're alive and you're safe Jay. I promise." She puts the brush down and gently kisses his forehead avoiding any cuts before wrapping her arms around him. 

As if on time, his stomach growls loudly. "How about we go get some breakfast? The other boys are doing morning training outside. We can have a quiet meal and I can run you a bath if you'd like?" 

"I'd really like that." The freckled ninja finally says. He's met with a warm smile on Nya's face. She stands up and offers a hand that he quickly accepts.

As Nya had said, the monastery was quiet. The others must have gone out for training as there was no grunts or machine whirrs from the courtyard. Jay slides onto the wooden bench and attempts to sit up straight to not further cause any pain from his ribs.

"You'll need to eat something before you can have any meds." Nya opens a box of Starfarer cereal before being interrupted,

"Do we have any other cereal in?" Jay questions, the snakes request about his mother still lingered in his mind.