I was bored, and I felt like writing a Fiction about Jay and Nya. (to my NfaN readers: Post-Shadow Dancer.) It's more of a oneshot, really. But I had fun writing about them, which I've never done, so enjoy.
All This Time
WHAT A LUXURIOUS, harmoniously special day to waste moving through the gentle tufts of air given by none other than the beloved winds climbing over the sea's waves. Was it not the greatest way to spend an Overlord-free few hours, taking your time moving across the surface of the earth, destined to spend forever travelling across the continent for insurance that the whole chunk of land was safe from harm? The swift breeze splashed caressing flickers of sea spray into Nya's face as she peered over the edge of the Bounty, eyes clasped tightly closed while the sun's refreshing rays pounded against her skin. She could feel its gentle warmth replenishing her pores to full health, cheeks appled by her grinning mouth. It was hard for her not to allow herself this one, small affection. Serenity and peace were finally restored to her heart—and for once, Nya didn't feel guilty.
Six weeks ago, Ninjago had been released from the dark clutches of the Overlord thanks to Lloyd Garmadon—of all people!—with a nice upper-handed use of elemental powers. Now, it was their turn to make sure all was restored properly to this part of the world that had suffered too much at the hands of condescending evil. Nya's hands pressed against the thin wooden rail barring her from face-planting it into the turmoil of waves produced by the fully-restored Bounty's trajectory path. She allowed herself to peer through her slit lids into the horizon, echoing with sparkles against the cerulean ocean that promised a better future for Ninjago, one that promised everlasting safety from any darkness threatening to take it over. Land was far off from her line of vision, but Nya knew that beyond them was the beautiful land of trees and green grass and true happiness was her home, beckoning with its newly regained power. She was excited to make a difference. That was the whole point of this journey.
It was her idea, actually. Nya suggested they take the long way around so she could at least pleasure herself with the means of procrastination, but otherwise the plan to travel throughout Ninjago in hopes to help those in need of home rebuilding under the forces of unnatural powers was completely to her credit. She was just glad everyone had been on board with the idea so she could give herself time—time to spend with her friends. She knew that too soon she'd have to say goodbye to all of them when the seconds turned downwards. After all, everyone would soon have to part ways under the surreptitious circumstances that there was no more need to be ninjas anymore. But that was beside the point of this beautiful afternoon. Tranquilized by the beauty of the real, happy earth gloating before her, Nya took inward her thirtieth heavenly sigh for the past two minutes. She just couldn't get enough of this clean, pure air. It was, for once, untainted by the unearthly dark magics created by mankind.
And it was enough to make a girl happy.
"Hey, Nya," said a voice from behind her. It would've startled her—the boys were always being sneaky with their ninja stealth nowadays—but Nya was too busy enjoying the world's privacies to find herself in the scaring mood. She turned a glance over her shoulder to blink wisely into the crystalline blue eyes of Lloyd Garmadon, whom she'd no younger been thinking about in the moments beforehand. Tilting her head to look at him—she had to do that with almost everyone, except Zane—she offered him a happy smile, which he returned with equal cheerfulness. He looked as casual as she'd ever seen him since their first meet: his arms were barren with lack of sleeves to his green T-shirt, fitted across his chest, gently ruffled over his dark jeans, despite the withering heat they presently lived in. It was a well-deserved comfort, she decided, after all he'd been through. Lloyd pulled his shoulders upward closer to his ears as he slipped in his long fingers to his pockets.
"Hi," she chirped. Nya felt in far too good a mood to turn him down—especially with the way he was cluelessly glancing around with lack of idea on some kind of entertaining recreational activity to participate in aboard the sailing ship. Patting the railing invitingly, Nya turned her body sidewards, resting her waist against the bar so she could look at him. Lloyd hesitatingly moved forward to lean on the same barrier discontinuing him from flipping head over heels into the ocean. His forearms rested lazily against the wood as his hands dangled over the side.
"Whatcha doin'?" She asked, just because it looked like he wasn't doing anything. Lloyd's blonde hair fell over his face as he examined and picked at his thumb nail.
"Uh," he made the throaty noise out of habit, "nothing much. Bored, really. Sensei told me to take a hike when I tried to offer him some kind of entertainment, and the guys are just hanging out downstairs, talking about stuff I don't have a clue about."
Nya smiled. The guys. Even though it was stupid, she liked how Lloyd referred to them that way, after all this growing up he'd fitted through. It was a perk to his teenagerdom that majority didn't reach so quickly after a premature growing-up phase. She stretched out her arms to tug at her muscles. "Oh? Talking about what kind of stuff?"
"Stuff I really wasn't there for," Lloyd admitted, squinting against the hard rays of light peering from the sun's eye. "Like something about skullkins. Inventions. Mountain-climbing. World records. That stuff."
"Ah," Nya nodded in understanding. She made a popping noise after pressing her lips together. "I see. Don't you wish you had some kind of entertainment?"
Lloyd glanced amusedly at her. "Duh."
"I suffered through that a lot." She waved her hands in a half-circle, indicating to the many battles she'd been involuntarily forced to sit out on against her better will. "When everyone was out doing their job, I was stuck sitting around, waiting next to the computer screen in hopes that one time I'd get the chance to come help. That's why I invented the samurai suit, you know," she added, nudging him with her elbow. "So I could help while being undercover."
The horizon was far ahead, but if she stared at it hard enough, Nya could make out the jagged form of their docking at Jamakai Village. Nestling closer into the crook of the railing, Nya sighed contently, letting the sun bear harder to her back, shoulders bare under her pink tank top. Nya tugged at the legs of her shorts nervously.
"So, what's the plan?" Lloyd asked suddenly. She glanced warily at him. "What are you going to do…after all this?"
Nya's heart drooped. Really, it was a concept Nya had avoided to the best of her abilities, veering off course whenever approached with a situation beckoning quite like this one. It was inevitable, however, when questioned of it head on. It was like trying to dodge a bullet when the gun's barrel was pressed coolly to your temple.
"Well—" She began, but the ninja saved the day again. Their laughter echoed up the staircase as each of them emerged from what seemed like the ground at Nya's righteous angle. Kai leaped onto the main deck with a spin, landing him nicely with a soft thud against the boat's worn-out woods. His face was masked with that of laughter, cheeks red after all his verbal amusement. His dark brown eyes expressed his thoughts immediately, even after he turned to walk backwards while facing his transpiring brothers. His red tank lifted to show a sliver of bare skin on his back between his khakis. Nya straightened at the sight of her brother's arrival.
"Cole, your cooking still sucks," He coughed at the rising earth ninja. Cole was laughing, yet his gray eyes seemed completely serious beneath his ebony bangs. He rolled his eyes at the fire ninja with that of an agitated older brother. "You went to a school of dance, not a culinary profession industry. You have to know the Funky Chicken actually has nothing to do with real chickens."
"I have never in my life performed any move called 'the Funky Chicken,'" Cole protested as behind him, Zane and Jay suppressed an unbeatable case of the giggles. "Nor have I done the Jitterbug, Can Opener, or Mash Potato. Can we please stop picking on the guy who didn't really spend more than a month at a dance school?" He poised his fists on his hips while around him formed the half-circle of the other ninja. Jay doubled over in immense fits of laughter, unable to fend off the rising cackles within him. Although Zane's shoulders bobbed with his own, he didn't develop any kind of emotional move as Kai and Jay did, standing still while he took a gentle hand to Cole's shoulder.
"B-brother," Zane took to trying to comfort Cole through his chuckles. Cole frowned sternly at him. "We mean no offense."
"Speak for yourself," Kai straightened, shaking part of his messy hair from his eyes. "I don't think Twinkle Toes is going to do much to us if we continue to pick on him like this."
Nya exchanged a glance with Lloyd. He turned to fully watch the rather interesting scene unfolding before them. She inched closer as Cole's eyes narrowed.
"What, you don't think I couldn't punch your lights out with one blow?" Cole countered confidently. "I'll have you know I am the strongest one here."
Jay wiped his hands on his knees, but not before giving himself a couple of seconds to regain his control over his unconquerable case of giggles. He pressed his lips tightly together to kill the smile peeking out his lips. He tried to speak unsuccessfully without laughter. "Look, Cole, it's not that we don't know of your holy supremacy"—Kai snorted—"it's just that you're not good at everything."
"I never said I was!" Cole gasped incredulously. "You were the ones who started picking apart my chili! There's nothing like good old home-style cooking, in my opinion."
Kai rolled his eyes. "Cole, you know something's wrong if we could've fed your chili to the Stone Army and taken them out that way. Trust me, it would've taken a lot less time if we'd just—"
Slam. Pausing, Nya's hands flew to her mouth with a startled gasp. In a matter of four seconds, Cole had managed to knock Kai unknowingly to his back, pinned him, and pulled out his cell phone to check his missed calls, acting as though he wasn't sitting on top of Nya's older brother. Kai struggled like a bug beneath Cole's weight.
"Get—off—me!" Kai wailed, shoving against the earth ninja's shoulder, but not a miniscule amount of budging resulted in her brother's petty pushes. "God, you weigh, like, four-hundred-sixty pounds! What's wrong with that picture?"
"Oh, so now you're calling me fat?" Cole flipped shut his phone, but Nya could've sworn from her edged-closer position she'd glimpsed the name Seiko under six missed calls. She raised her brows in small bewilderment. A girl? Deciding she could think about it later, Nya cocked her head to the side to view Kai at a better angle, watching him with replaced amusement. "I am the ninja of earth, you know."
"I—know!" Kai gasped. "And I'm saying you're as heavy as a rock—oh."
Jay burst into laughter again, though all the proof provided that Kai's dim thought process had charmed Zane's small sense of humor was a slight smile. Cole gave Nya a triumphant wink before glancing back down towards Kai's pathetic, seething expression. "You done throwing a tantrum, hothead?"
Kai grumbled under his breath as Cole released him, finding his footing rather quickly. She was surprised at his swiftness.
Nya watched Lloyd reach out a respectful hand for Kai to take when she felt his arms wrap around her from behind, felt his warm lips against the back of her head. Nya gave a blissful sigh while returning back to her original peak of serenity above the very zenith of her inner peace's head. She placed her hands over Jay's, wrapped tightly around her, while he slowly rocked her back and forth. His chin nestled into the crown of her head. He gave a content sigh, ruffling her hair gently.
"Look at them," he murmured. Nya leaned into the curve of his shoulders, pressed warmly to her back. Heart pounding, she tilted her head slightly sideways, letting her blood pour through her veins at intense speeds while Jay's lips grazed her temple. In moments he'd gone from laughing and joking with his male friends to calmly loving, a rapid transformation that took some skill to master. Their gazes fell over their brawling friends. Cole had pulled Kai into a headlock upon the fire ninja's hasty challenge, forcing him to say uncle on demand, though of course, in a very Kai-like manner, he refused, clutching Cole's arm with his hand in the useless attempt to break free. Zane and Lloyd stood by idly while Kai wrestled with the unbeatable foe of Cole's hand.
"Five bucks says Kai will break free," Lloyd offered, determined that his best friend and role model could tough out something as lame as a headlock. Though Nya respected that Lloyd admired her brother, she knew there was no beating Cole, even if under the small circumstances Kai suffered.
No one expected Zane to take up the wager, but he was becoming more and more human by the days they spent together. "My senses tell me ten dollars will announce Cole's victory."
Lloyd grinned. "You're on!"
Nya and Jay shared a quiet laugh as Lloyd hopelessly cheered for Kai, though it was obvious there was no return from the defeat he was about to experience. Nya felt her cheeks flush at the immediate realization that Jay was still holding her.
She had to admit, he was becoming less hesitant as the days went by. It was something she loved and appreciated in its entirety. She settled for watching Kai spit out impractical comments—his tongue was his only weapon now—at the same moment she felt Jay let her go. She almost shivered with the absence when he whispered into her ear, "Come here."
Waiting for no verbal reply, Jay grabbed her hand, silently whisking her away down the staircase. Nya threw a glance back at their squabbling friends before the cave of the stairs pulled her under, exposing her to the dim candlelit hallway of the Bounty's lower deck. With a sudden sheepishness, Nya felt her heart thunder as he led her towards their bedroom—the separate bedroom they'd fought time and time again with Kai to finally win a month ago—perched at the end of the hallway. The door opened with a soft click, as it similarly did when Jay shut it behind her.
The simplicity of the two twin beds shoved side-by-side and laced together by a tan wraparound sheet still made her roll her eyes at their makeshift queen sized mattress. It was neatly made, huddled securely in the center of the room beneath the window; Jay's trunk of random belongings still settled at the foot of their bed. Far off to the upper right hand corner from where she stood was the microscopic closet they were forced to share. The lamp at her bedside table overshadowed the framed picture of her and Kai hugging (a day she'd never thought he'd return to) that Zane had given her for her seventeenth birthday last year, one he'd processed from his own database.
Nya established her rightful place onto the springy bed as comfortably she could manage. It squeaked in protest under her under-one-ten weight. Jay gave a small laugh at his place leaning against the closed door. The way he looked at her was filled with such emotion, so much love, that Nya could feel it radiate out his pores and seep into her own skin. She drank in every wave, feeling it in every nerve of her body, humming to life. A faint smile spread across his lips.
Patiently, Nya twirled her thumbs around each other, placing her clasped hands on her stomach. "You have something to say," she observed.
"Yeah," Jay said after a moment. His voice was slightly uneven. Nya tried not to notice, though it made her heart scream. "I do."
His pace was measured as he sank down beside her, never taking his eyes away from hers, something he would've done a year ago. Jay's confidence had grown past its original capacity. He pushed himself onto his side, resting his head against the gentle curve of his palm, propping himself up on his elbow. He had that dreamy, half-lidded look to his eyes. Nya's cheeks flamed. He reached a free hand forward to stop her thumbs from twiddling around each other, finding his own way to curl his fingers around hers from there, giving them a soft squeeze. Nya swallowed the hard, heavy stone in her throat while Jay's hand slid closer to her waist, then pulling her closer with the simple hook of his hand. She protested none, not even when she was miles closer than the restricting limit Kai had put on them like a curse. Nya couldn't help but glance to his lips with anticipation.
"Oh, Nya…" Jay murmured. The back of his hand gradually stroked her cheek. A shiver rippled down her spine at the feathery kiss of his fingertips to her brow. "I love you."
"I love you, too," she answered.
"We deserve some time alone," he whispered quietly, fingers drawing gently across the curve of her jawline, tracing upwards her chin to her lips, defining her cupid's bow with a soft fingertip. Nya wrapped her hands around the arc of his neck, placing her thumbs in the tender spot just beneath his ears. It allowed her to play with his earlobe. It also let her know that despite the immense heat, her hands were cold, under the way Jay's shoulder rose slightly at her touch. She gave him a reassuring smile.
"I agree. I think we're under way too much surveillance."
"Tell me about it. You're the one who has a Rottweiler for a brother."
Nya laughed, tilting her head back to let the sound flow soothingly from her mouth. Jay ducked his head to press his warm, soft lips against the chilly skin of her throat, turning her amused sounds to noises of heavenly pleasure. Her fingers curled around the soft locks of his auburn hair, using her placid grip to steer his face upwards so she could kiss him properly. And as she did every time she kissed him, Nya felt her heart begin quickly like someone had shot off a bullet to announce the race had initiated. She couldn't slow the contesting of her mind trying to catch up with her emotions.
Jay's gentle kiss was softly urgent, his hands finding their way to her hips, curling around her bare skin. With every disconnection of her lips came the sweet sucking sound Nya adored more than the sound of working engines. She cupped his face between her palms, dragging him closer, unable to stop herself from trembling. Never before had she been granted the satisfaction of being able to kiss Jay this way, without any boundaries. Dimly she was aware that it was from her reluctance to disappoint Kai. But now, with his presence otherwise occupied, there was nothing to tell Nya it was wrong of her to love Jay this way.
He raised her to sit up with him. She giggled against his mouth, hooking her arm completely around his neck while using her free hand to tuck a short lock of hair behind her ear, though it kept stubbornly falling into her face again. Jay pulled away long enough for him to glance at her hair eclipsing her eyes, haloing her face, completely shielding him in a haze of dark brown. His cheeks were flushed with excitement. His lips pulled from his teeth in a grin. "Look," he said, using both hands to gently tuck her unruly hair behind her ears before using his hands to clamp them down, cupping her cheeks in his palms. Nya's hands came to curl around his wrists. "I'm kissing a Yeti!"
Nya laughed and gasped simultaneously at the mention of Jay's favorite mythical creature. "Excuse you!" She giggled, gently pushing his shoulders. "I am no Yeti."
"You're right," Jay agreed, pulling her to him again. "You're way better."
She didn't know how many opportunities she'd had to spend what felt like a couple hours but turned out to be the rest of the afternoon with Jay like this, being with him, holding him, talking to him privately during the daylight, and even kissing him a little more. She spent until the sun began setting and the boat slowly drifted to the dock of Jamakai Village's docks laying at his side, sitting up beside him, holding his hand, touching the beautiful, smooth contours of his face. Nya's fingertips grazed the delicate spot on his right eyebrow where the middle had been scorched away, dividing his brow into two pieces, a quirk about him that made her love him even more. It wasn't until they heard the quiet rap of Zane's calm knuckles against the wood of their door. Even then there was a lack of enthusiasm to go answer, though eventually Jay did shuffle towards it. Nya remained sprawled across the bed on her stomach while the soft clicking of the opening door responded.
"Sorry to interrupt," said Zane honestly, with a chivalrous nod in her general direction, refusing to let his eyes actually settle on Nya. It made her cheeks flame. "But your assistance is needed above deck while we prepare for landing."
"Sure," Jay said enthusiastically. He turned to Nya. "I'm gonna—"
"Abandon me, I know, I know," Nya waved her hand as she stood, drawing her red borrowed sweatshirt closer to her small body. Kai was so much bigger than she was, it could've fit as an overcoat rather than a pullover. Her bare feet slipped into the fuzzy socks she grabbed from the drawer of her bedside table cozily.
Jay looked momentarily flustered and apologetic. "I didn't mean—"
But his quick reaction made her laugh again. "I'm kidding," Nya said upon arrival to his side. Zane had a pleasant, expectant smile on his face as he met her eyes. "Yeesh. Now who doesn't have their funny switch on?" She winked at Zane before pulling Jay down for a kiss. A satisfied noise came from the back of his throat, deep and seductive. She smiled unconditionally against his mouth. Pulling away, she swatted his arm. "Now go deal with all your manly boat issues. I'm going to check on Sensei."
Jay relaxed, following Zane down the hallway as Nya shut the door behind herself. She glanced to her watch, dangling from her wrist, before giving a quick gasp at the time. The little hand on the small screen pointed towards the precise time of 6:49. Nya's head snapped up to find Jay just rounding the corner to the staircase when she called after him, "Jay!"
Expectantly, he paused, catching his hand on the corner of the wall to push himself backwards into the hallway just before he disappeared. His eyebrows raised, he stood here, one hand still braced against the worn wood, fingers tapping into it the quiet, familiar melody of Sensei's flute. Nya gave him a secret, loving smile, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. Around her wrist, her automatic watch beeped at the announcement that it was now exactly 6:50. Jay's eyebrow raised. And to this Nya knew she had the upper hand, which gave her the freedom to show her teeth in a real grin.
"Happy birthday."
I don't expect this to go very many places, considering I've got a particular Book 3 to write,.but we'll see. Please review, and thanks for reading! –Kairi