CHAPTER 73:

Plans


Jay could have easily been mistaken for an owl. His eyes wide, neck constantly turning one side and to the other, stare switching between both of his parents as they sat together on that log.

His chest heaved as Edna's last words echoed in his mind.

'You should go back to them.'

It had to be a joke, maybe he was dreaming, there was no way Edna could be suggesting that.

Jay's lips opened, but no words were coming out, he couldn't utter any comprehensible sound for the life of him, his lips went dry, his jaw trembled.

"W-What?" He eventually managed to say.

"If you miss them so much, you should go back to them." Edna smiled.

"N-No!" Jay jumped out of the wood, knocking down the tea that lay next to them. "I... I can't leave you! You're my family!" He yelled flabbergasted at such a possibility. Kai had suffered tremendously to bring Jay here, he couldn't just throw that out of the window because he was feeling 'palacesick'.

"And that will never change, sweetheart." Edna stood up, straightening her dress as she walked up to her son and cupped his dusted cheeks. "We'll always love you, and we know you'll love us too."

"But… But you…"

"Son." Ed got up as well. He placed a hand on Jay's back and looked at him with very serious yet gentle eyes. "Family isn't just that of blood. Family can be anyone that supports you and cares for your well-being."

Jay's tears were running down his face again and Edna wiped them with care.

"Dear, do you remember your dad and I's story?"

Jay wanted to nod because he did know it, but his mind was still trying to get a grip and process all the things that were running through it.

"Our parents were against our love, they didn't think neither of us was a good match for the other, so we ran away from our village." Edna paused and looked into her son's eyes, making sure that Jay was paying attention before she continued. "It was the only way for us to create a future together, the only way we had to create our own family, to have you blessing our lives." She caressed his face, pushing away messy bangs and more tears. "We're not going to hold you back if you wish to do the same, my baby boy."

"But..." Jay huffed, his chest felt heavy, filled with a strange sensation he couldn't decipher just yet; it hurt, but somehow… it elevated his spirits at the same time. He turned towards his dad, expecting and fearful.

"As much as it saddens me, your mother is right, son. 'Home' isn't just a physical place, it's wherever you're happy."

"But I am! I am happy here! I… I love you both!" Jay cried out, grabbing at his father's arm.

"But you love them too, for other reasons."

Jay sucked in a breath. That was true.

Painfully true.

His heart couldn't take it anymore and he let his body lean onto his father, sobbing with emotion.

"I'm sorry..."

A part of Jay felt bad, ashamed that he had let strangers so deep into his heart that they now matched the unconditional love he'd always felt for his progenitors.

"Don't apologize, son. We're not offended." Ed reassured him, wrapping his arms around the boy and shushing his cries.

Edna squeezed her small body between the two men, kissing the tears away from Jay's eyes. She swore to the distressed boy they would support him through his decision. Jay though shook his head.

"I can't go back… Even if I wanted to… I just can't."

"Why not, darling?" Edna whispered.

"Because I… I hurt them… A lot. I… I rejected Kai over and over… I… broke his heart…." Jay choked on his own cries. "He… He probably doesn't want to see me ever again."

Jay had lived long enough inside the palace walls and witnessed several ups and downs to grasp at Kai's way to process things. Whenever something pained the monarch, he ran away, it was the only method the boy knew to protect himself and go on with his royal duty. How could the Maharaja still love him after Jay abandoned him and rejected the affection of the whole royal family? Kai had been almost consumed by his traumas once... Could his heart still feel something for Jay other than hurt and betrayal at this point?

"Maybe," Ed declared, rubbing the tips of his fingers over Jay's scalp. "Or maybe not." He pulled away slowly, looking down at his son's teary blues. "You'll never know for sure if you don't ask him."

Jay felt trapped —trapped in a web of love and support that was certainly overwhelming, but warm too. His parents were kin on the idea of sending their son away, in search of those who had stolen his heart.

"How… How can you…?" Jay mumbled, eyelids fluttering, trying to remain open despite the heavy liquid that clung around them.

"I told you, jaybird," Edna said with a soft smile, looking straight into his eyes. "Your happiness is what's most important to us."

An indescribable feeling flowed through Jay's veins, a tornado of emotions that sought to make him all jittery like a few nights ago when he'd come clean to his parents. His legs shook and he clung tighter to his father while Edna kept them all locked into the collective embrace.

He was free for the third time in his life, but this freedom went a step further than the last one. There were no more chains around Jay's heart now, nothing that could keep him away from pursuing the love of his life, except for a long journey.

••••••••••••

The breeze caressed Cole's face like the hands of a loving mother tracing gentle fingers around her child's cheeks, nose, lips… He sagged comfortably against the tree with a deep breath, gaze flying up to the sky, observing the fluffy clouds tinted by the warm sunset light. Cole followed their path, studying the subtle traces the golden and purple puffs let go on their march over the immense garden walls.

"Are you sure you'd not rather train?" Lloyd asked from a few feet away. His emerald eyes looking up from the drawing board that rested on his lap.

"Nah, I'm lazy today."

The younger boy snorted at Cole's reply then his hand resumed the short moves over the paper. His gaze rising and studying Cole's features before trying to express them through every stroke.

"How's it going?" Cole asked, slightly tensing and relaxing his back muscles. After posing for Lloyd for a while completely static, his body was starting to feel the side effects of the constant posture.

Lloyd sighed, dropping the charcoal into the box with the rest. "Not very well. I think I should stick to flowers."

"You're exaggerating." Cole smirked and when Lloyd shook his head with embarrassment he couldn't help but add, "Come on, let me see."

He curled an arm, urging Lloyd to get closer and show him the drawings he'd been working on. The boy did as he was told, crawling on his knees towards Cole and handing him the board with several papers.

Black lines contrasted against the pale color of the sheet, some of them were slightly smudged but Cole recognized them as human figures. There was an assortment of studies from different body parts, then a couple of faces with a dark mass at the top. Cole smiled with delight.

"I know nothing about art, but I think these are pretty good."

"You're just saying that so I won't feel down."

"I'm not! You should be more confident in your skills." Lloyd pouted, cheeks going redder as he didn't seem to be of Cole's opinion. "Come here, greenie!"

The noiret set the board aside carefully then snatched his friend by the wrist. Lloyd yelped with surprise but let Cole drag him down into his lap. Cole nuzzled his neck and laid a shower of little kisses on his skin, making Lloyd giggle and squirm with mirth.

Those sounds were like music to the former warrior's ears, they filled his chest with fireflies, lighting it up with warmth as the little bugs danced around. But the glow was short-lived. Cole's merriness soon faded and he let his head rest on Lloyd's shoulder with an exhale.

"Are you okay?" Lloyd asked, brushing a hand up and down Cole's strong biceps.

"Yeah… Yeah, I am…"

Cole wasn't even sure he was successfully fooling his family at that point. Going through every day was becoming a harder task when it should have been the opposite. But the more days they went by without Jay, the stronger Cole felt the boy's absence. Rather than slowly having his memory fading, Cole found himself yearning to squeeze the freckled boy in his arms again. And Kai's obvious avoidance of the topic only strengthened the feeling.

Lloyd twisted around in his arms and looked up at Cole's eyes, he traced his strong jaw delicately as if he was a piece of art —after staring at him for so long while doing his art studies, Lloyd probably thought he was. The boy sat up on Cole's lap, fully facing him.

"I love you," Lloyd murmured, gaze shyly moving away after a few seconds.

Cole blinked with surprise but also thankfulness. His friend was definitely becoming more and more aware of the people around him and their sentiments, and he doing his best to help.

Cole smiled, heart melting for the boy in front of him. "Love you too, greenie."

Lloyd dipped his head and Cole welcomed his lips. Their kiss was slow and tender, Cole could sense the underlying sorrow in Lloyd's affectionate actions. The boy, too, missed their friend.

As they finished, Cole quickly pushed his face into the crook of Lloyd's neck, hugging the boy tighter and taking a deep breath of his sweet scent, hoping to find a distraction from the pain that reigned free in his heart.

"Do you want to do something else?" Lloyd asked at some point, pulling away from him and smiling softly. "Maybe we could check what Kai and Zane are up to. They should be done with work by now," Lloyd suggested giving a quick look up to the warm sky.

Without many expectations that that would lift his mood, Cole nodded. At least he wanted Lloyd to know that he appreciated his efforts.

The two lovers worked together on picking up the drawing tools that lay on the grass, then Lloyd took Cole's hand and they walked into the palace, making their way up to the bedroom to drop everything before moving down again to find their husbands. After asking a couple of guards, they got directed to the specific studio in which the monarch had spent the last hours.

The door was slightly open, Lloyd and Cole peeped through the gap. Inside the room, Kai was talking to Nya, Zane, and counselor Wu. He didn't seem to be in any sort of official meeting, so Cole rapped his knuckles on the wood to announce themselves. All conversation was cut and Kai's eyes lit up with curiosity.

"Did we come in at a bad moment?" Cole asked.

"No, not at all." Kai waved for them to come closer to the desk. Cole and Lloyd remained a bit behind though as Zane recapitulated the conversation, Wu and Nya added their bits to the discussion. "Okay, then we shall wait for a reply before making any final decisions," Kai determined, calling it a day.

The counselor nodded in agreement, gathered a few papers from the table then announced his leaving in favor of allowing the Maharaja to enjoy his family. Zane and Nya helped Kai organizing the rest. The monarch smirked at the two lovers waiting by the side, Lloyd immediately bounced in his direction, sitting on his lap. Kai didn't waste a moment to smother him with kisses.

"How are my babies doing? Were you two bored without me?" Kai boasted with a cocky sneer.

Lloyd giggled but Cole was quick to strike back. "Actually no, Lloyd has been doing some amazing arts today, he even drew me."

"Uhm… He better have fixed your crooked nose at least."

Cole flinched as blood rushed to his cheeks, his family laughing at the sovereign's comment and Cole's failed attempt at a comeback. He groaned, sometimes even their usual playful banter exhausted him. Zane walked up to him and placed a peck on his cheek.

"I personally like your nose, it has a unique beauty."

Cole snorted with mild fluster.

"Hey, I never said I didn't like it either!" Kai instantly refuted, being met with Cole's incredulous eyebrow arching high up in his forehead. "Come on, big boy, come here!"

Cole took a step forward, bending over the desk and meeting Kai's lips in a chaste and childish kiss. Low 'ooh's coming from the other family members echoed around.

"Is this a map of Ninjago?" Lloyd asked out of the blue.

Pulling back, Cole became aware of the large sheet resting on the desk before Kai.

The Maharaja tittered. "Yeah, we've had them redrawn. The old ones were way outdated and falling apart." Kai directed Lloyd's attention to the tiny drawings and lines that represented their nation and surroundings. "Here's our city, and over there is the Valley of Tranquility, and here…"

Lloyd's face brightened with every familiar name that came out of Kai's lips, finding it funny how close everything looked when put down into a map.

Cole's eyes followed his husband's finger's as he pointed at each location and they made little comments about it. Eventually, his gaze deviated on his own accord, carefully traveling from one name to the next, retracing the lines that connected them. His chest hurt upon recognizing that one city and Cole's mind started to wander.

"Babe." Kai's voice suddenly rose over his thoughts and Cole locked eyes with his husband, who, apparently, had been trying to talk to him for the past minutes.

"W-What?"

"I said, how about we all take a bath?"

Cole blinked. He'd spaced out long enough for the conversation to take a completely different turn.

He nodded, still trying to fight his confusion. Kai and Lloyd got up from the chair, the Maharaja stretching his limbs and leaning onto his lover at the same time he whined about the imminent need of a relaxing hot bath —and his sister commented how she doubted it would be 'relaxing' at all if the guys went in all together.

Cole's attention returned to the map for a second time. The letters, even upside down, biting his soul like distressed animals.

"Pebble." Zane's hand grabbed his arm softly. "Are you alright?"

Zane's eyes radiated concern for his beloved. Cole's mind was somewhat troubled, but he pushed everything aside to not raise any red flags on his perceptive friend.

"Yeah. Everything's cool."