Searching for Master Wu was neither easy nor pleasant. The team was seperated, there was no way to know if Wu was even alive… At the very least, Jay and Cole were together.
Although the two friends didn't look like they'd get along at first sight, they completed one another. They were each other's hope throughout their struggle, and their only reassurance.
It was because of that they were able to loosen up a bit in-between their duties. The loss of their sensei was a hard-to-swallow pill, but the elemental masters of lightning and earth would be lying if they said they didn't enjoy being on their own for such a long period of time.
Jay didn't possibly think he could learn more about Cole than he already did - he was his best friend, after all - but he did. Right when he thought he could write a full novel on Cole's life, the master of earth popped up with another story, making it a trilogy.
It was safe to say that no one knew Cole better than Jay, and no one knew Jay better than Cole.
The two friends weren't always lucky with their journey. Sometimes they'd have to camp outside at night, and others they'd be close to a village and book a room. Thankfully, it was the second one's turn.
There was some sort of festival happening. It was a local thing, celebrating the day the village was created. There was music, food stands, lanterns… It seemed like a nice place to stop and relax for a bit.
Jay and Cole didn't stay at the festival for too long - after all, they had a long day ahead of them - but they enjoyed seeing the simplicity of the people again.
They were more than lucky to find a spare room on the day of the celebration. Thankfully there was a spare small house right outside the village, which they were able to rent thanks to a kind old lady at the food stand who overheard them talking.
There was nothing Jay enjoyed more than a warm bed to sleep in. He had gotten used to the sleeping bag at that point, but it could never replace the bed.
Jay took out his shoes and let his body fall behind, and bounce on the bed's mattress. He couldn't help but smile.
"I'm guessing you already called dibs on that bed?" Cole asked, locking the door.
"I think it might even be better than the one back home!" Jay said, sitting up. "This is such a cozy house. I wish we could just stay here."
"You know we can't," Cole said, leaning against the wall, "but I'd like that too."
Jay sighed. He already knew that they couldn't stay, but the thought of going out there, looking for Master Wu… It exhausted him.
The master of lightning stood on his feet, walking over to the window to let some air in. His thoughts disappeared when his ear caught the sound of the distant music from the village.
"Looks like we're going to have some entertainment." Cole smiled.
Jay turned around, grinning mischievously. "Too bad there's not a professional dancer here to add up to it."
Cole shook his head. "Hey, I'm nothing close to a professional!"
"You went to dancing school, that makes you a professional," Jay winked at him. "And did you forget all about that 'triple tiger sashay' move? You were the first one to do it!"
"As if you couldn't do it. It's just acrobatics!" Cole said. "Very precise acrobatics… But still acrobatics!"
"Only a professional dancer would use the word 'acrobatics'," Jay joked, making Cole groan. "Come on, you can't just listen to all this music and do nothing!"
"Isn't that what you're doing right now?" Cole raised an eyebrow.
Almost instantly, Jay made a very silly pose which could be described with anything but dancing. "How's this for an epic dance move?"
"This looks like some training exercise Wu would want us to do," Cole chuckled.
"Sorry, my friend was too embarassed of me to show me how to dance," Jay smirked, crossing his arms.
It was then that Cole broke into some of his favourite dance moves, following the rhythm and moving all around the room.
Jay couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't that Cole was bad; it was that he was amazing.
Without a second thought, Jay joined Cole in their limited dance floor. Jay knew he wasn't a great dancer, but he didn't care. Jumping around the room and trying to copy his friend's moves made him happy, and he knew that it made Cole happy too.
It had only been a few minutes, but it felt like an eternity. Dancing, laughing, yelling… Never in his life would Jay have imagined he would be enjoying his time doing all that as much as his did.
An eternity with Cole didn't sound half bad.
It seemed like the festival had been close to its end, because the music died out after a while. Suddenly it was just Jay and Cole in that isolated cabin, looking at each other from across the room.
"I guess there's no more music for tonight," Cole said.
Jay let out a nervous chuckle. "Too bad there's no professional singer-"
"I am not singing, Jay."
"I know, I know," Jay looked down, breaking eye contact. For some reason he couldn't move, so he tried to focus on the wrinkles of the wooden floor instead.
The sound of footsteps caught Jay by surprise, and the sight of Cole right in front of him when he looked up was even more surprising.
Jay gazed into Cole's eyes, his body completely still and shaky at the same time. His heart beat fast, his thoughts ran fast, his-
"Move over so I can close the window?" Cole said, pointing behind Jay.
A new feeling filled Jay's body. Was it relief? Was it disappointment? He didn't know.
"Oh," Jay took a step to the side. "Right."
He couldn't help but glance at Cole as he pulled down the shutters. He couldn't understand his feelings. He couldn't understand why a simple action, like an everyday thing, made him feel so intrigued.
Ever since that journey started, Jay had been feeling this way around Cole, and the fact that he knew exactly what it was scared him. It was the exact same feeling he had once felt for Nya before they broke up, and now he was feeling it for his best friend.
Jay tried so hard to make it stop. To do the opposite of what he did with Nya, to stay quiet and not flirt, to hide the feelings inside of him.
He was doing fine before when they were dancing, why did closing a godamn shutter make him feel so-
"I don't know where we should go."
The music had long stopped, but Cole was only starting. Jay blinked, the sight of Cole facing the now closed window becoming clear.
"Just feeling farther from our goal."
Jay felt every hair on his body rise, and every beat of his heart slow down. Cole's voice wasn't perfect nor trained, but there was something special about hearing the one you love sing.
"I don't know what path we will be shown."
The one you love.
"But I know that when I'm with you I'm at home"
He was in love with Cole.
"Yes, I know that when I'm with you I'm at-" Cole cut himself off as his voice cracked. "Okay, that's all I'm singing."
Jay was biting on the inside of his cheek as hard as he could, but not hard enough to make it bleed. His eyes were wide open, locking on Cole's with what looked like curiosity, admiration.
Not even the warmth of Cole's body could make Jay's frozen one move.
"Jay…?"
"I liked that," Jay finally spoke up, biting half his words. "The way you say my name- I, I mean, the way you sing! My name is fine too though, but I meant to say song… Sing? Song? I, I like both."
"Thanks," Cole said with a tint of nervousness that Jay was unable to notice, "I think?"
"I just," Jay took a sudden step forward, "I really wanna kiss you right now."
Jay couldn't believe he said that.
He absolutely couldn't believe he had just said that.
There was nothing he could do though. He just waited, for either a miracle to happen, or his friendship with the person that was closest to him to be ruined. Either way it was a slap in the face, which Jay needed right now.
There was a moment of silence, but Jay's beating heart blocked out any feeling of awkwardness in the air. He had no idea how Cole felt, because he couldn't think. He couldn't focus on anything, he couldn't breathe-
"Then do it."
Cole's voice came out as music to Jay's ears, even more melodic than the one playing before. It took him a moment to realise what Cole had just said, and even more to think of how to do it.
Before he knew it, he was trapped between the wall and Cole, their faces drawing closer every second that passed.
Jay loved everytime their eyes locked, but nothing could describe the feeling of their lips locking. It was sweet, warm, soft… It was perfect.
They pulled away, eyes locking once more.
Jay could see the slight blush on Cole's cheeks, and the shine in his green eyes… He could even see himself through them, and his condition wasn't much different.
He wanted to say something, anything, but no words came out. "That was-"
"Damn Jay," Cole interrupted him, trying to hold back a smile. "You didn't tell me you were a professional kisser."