Takes place immediately following the events in S7 ep 3 A Time of Traitors. Just a quick idea that came to me while on my bus ride home. Some fluff because I was in the mood for it. Enjoy!

"Hurray Jay, get out of there!"

"Just...don't hurt me."

Cole sat in silence, elbows on his knees and hands slightly extended out. He analyzed them closely, eyes narrowed in deep concentration, scrutinizing every inch of his open palms. Jay's words echoed in the back of his mind. He hadn't the time to really register it then, not with the Vermillion Warriors kidnapping the people of Ninjago, but now that he was alone...

Well, moderately alone. Nya and Jay were overseeing Zane's reboot and Kai was...off in his own world. Cole, on the other hand, was exhausted. Using...whatever this new power is...it drained him. Using it felt entirely new. There was so much raw, untapped power behind his fists. It was like the weight of the Earth condensed into his hands and the molten orange glow was drawn from the unfathomable density of the planet's core itself.

But it was dangerous. He couldn't control it.

His hands balled into fists and he squeezed. "Why can't I do this?" He asked, sitting back against the wall, eyes roaming up to the ceiling. "I almost...hurt Jay." The ebony haired ninja sighed defeatedly. The last thing he would ever want to do is hurt his best friend. He wanted so badly to use this new power, to harness it, to be a better combatant with a fearsome right and left hook...but not if it meant risking someone he cared about.

"Maybe I should...wait," He said tiredly. "Not use it...not until I know what it is..." His fists clenched tighter and his knuckles blanched from the strain. The more he thought about what damage he could have done, the worse he felt. The very idea danced around in his mind tormentingly, and his stomach twisted and grew heavy with guilt.

"He was...afraid of me," Cole said shakily. Jay was quick to stand at his side in battle...but that was the heat of the moment, that was what was necessary to protect the denizens of their city, the fear was still there.

"Who was afraid of you?" Jay inquired as he walked to Cole, wiping something that looked to be oil off his hands with a cloth. Maybe he and Nya had tried a few other things to help Zane, so far as Cole could guess. After their brother had awoken and sputtered nonsense, he'd powered down again, leaving everyone scratching their heads.

"4721."

That's what Zane had said. A meaningless jumble of numbers, to the Master of Earth, anyway. Cole wasn't the type to know much at all about tech, so he'd opted to sit off to the side, alone with his thoughts while Nya and Jay worked on Zane. With the blue ninja now approaching him, it seemed like they were either taking a break or had given up.

"Huh?" Cole mumbled, eyes quickly turning away from Jay to glue to the floor. Jay walked up beside his seated companion, following the black ninja's gaze to the floor, his own blue eyes scanning it curiously.

"I asked who was afraid of you," The brunette answered, "although now I'm wondering what you're doing over here...and what you're looking at."

"Nothing." Cole said quickly. Jay looked back to him and nodded.

"Sure, man," The blue ninja plopped himself down unceremoniously and groaned. "Zane's still offline...but Nya thinks that if we let him rest overnight he should be better in the morning. She'd know better than me, so I say we just stick around the Samurai X Cave and wait." Cole simply nodded and kept his dark eyes trained down on the floor in front of his feet. Jay quirked a brow at him. "Uh, Earth to Cole? You there?"

"Yeah," The black ninja replied shortly.

"Oh good," Jay snorted, "I was worried you'd wandered off on me. What's gotten into you?"

"Nothing..." Cole responded, turning his head slightly away from Jay, looking at another patch of ground. The Master of Lightning wasn't having any of that, so he inched closer and reached out to lay a hand on his friend's forearm.

Cole flinched instantly at the touch, practically flinging the smaller teen back, and Jay quickly withdrew his hand.

"Woah, hey," Jay sputtered as he reared, "Cole, jeez, take it easy!"

"S-Sorry!" Cole said, his voice an octave higher than normal, and laced with a mixture of concern and guilt. Jay took notice.

"It's fine," He relaxed, "but what's going on? You don't normally spazz when I touch you..." Cole blushed a bit, mostly from embarrassment.

"I wasn't expecting it."

"Not good enough," Jay frowned, "try again."

"I..." Cole trailed off without continuing. Blue gave black a moment to respond, but when nothing came of it, Cole received a tiny shock to his ribs. "Ahh!" He cried out and shifted a few inches away, quickly rubbing his side while glaring, his thick brows knitting into a scowl. "That hurt."

"Yeah, well," Jay crossed his arms over his chest, "so does ignoring me. Or, like, whatever it is you're doing."

"I wasn't ignoring you," Cole said evenly, his expression quickly softening. "I just...I'm sorry..." The blue ninja stared back at his sullen friend, a very confused expression on his face.

"Sorry for...ignoring me? Or something else I didn't know you did?" Jay ventured, pursing his lips as he tried to think of what Cole could be referring to. "Wait...—WAIT! Did you break something? Oh, you broke my controller again, didn't you!?" The brunette shouted. Cole gawked.

"What? No—no, I didn't break your controller!" The blue ninja calmed remarkable quick.

"Oh, well, then I guess I forgive you or whatever."

"Jay," Cole sighed exasperatedly, "I meant for earlier."

"Earlier what?" Jay asked, still very confused. Cole groaned loudly and threw his head back, the shaggy mop of black hair moving with his motions.

"For...ugh! For almost crushing you with a car, for causing you to fly into that dumpster—" Jay stared, entirely caught off guard as Cole continued, "—for...for scaring you..." The dark-haired ninja's voice grew softer as he practically whispered the last part.

There was a pause and Cole closed his eyes, a prickling sensation starting behind his eyes as he fought off tears. He refused to cry in front of Jay. Even when he felt Jay's hand on his shoulder, he didn't open his eyes, and instead turned his head slightly away.

"Hey, Cole," Jay said softly, his voice almost cooing, "it's okay...I wasn't, I mean, you didn't really scare me or anything. I know you wouldn't hurt me." The blue ninja rubbed comforting circles into his friend's shoulder. "I shouldn't have said that, I'm the one who needs to say sorry. Will you look at me, you dope?"

Reluctantly, Cole turned his head in Jay's direction and hesitantly opened his eyes, worried that seeing Jay's face would release unshed tears. Thankfully, it didn't. Instead he just saw his friend's shimmering blue eyes and winning smile.

"Thank you," Jay grinned, "I'd never be afraid of you, Cole, you're a big softie." Cole nodded slowly.

"But, my hands—"

"Are just hands, dummy," Jay said as he reached down with both his hands to take hold of both of Cole's. "Yeah, your new power is...sort of unpredictable...but you're still you." Jay laced their fingers, pressing their palms together, and giving a firm reassuring squeeze. "You'd never hurt me, or anyone who didn't deserve it, because you're just a big ol' teddy bear."

Cole laughed a bit. "Teddy bear?"

"Yes, teddy bear," Jay confirmed with a nod. "Now don't be sorry anymore...and don't mope."

"Thanks Jay," Cole smiled. "I'll try not to."

"No problem." The blue ninja replied. "I'll always trust you, and you can always trust me, so don't go thinking you need to keep secrets either."

"No secrets." The black ninja agreed.

"Good," Jay quickly leaned over and pecked his friend on the cheek. The kiss was quick, but it was more than enough to make every inch of the Master of Earth feel like the Master of Lightning had struck him with some of his trademark element. "Then, since we're in agreement, I'll just throw that out there."

"Jay, can you help me with this?" Nya called from Zane's bedside elsewhere in the cave.

"Sure Nya, hold on," Jay turned back to a still very stunned Cole and smiled. "We can continue this later?" He said, hopeful.

Cole simply nodded, red as Kai's gi.