Something Blue (Part 2)
Standing behind the table with the wedding cake, Nya took the sharp silver dagger her parents had made for them as wedding present.
"A blacksmiths' daughter and son-in-law won't use an ordinary blunt cake knife to cut their wedding cake." Ray and Maya had told them.
Nya wrapped her right hand around the hilt – shaped like a dragon's head, with a ruby as one eye and a sapphire on the other side – and Jay placed his hand gently over hers.
"I guess I'll let you be on top this time. You'd better make up for it later." Nya whispered before pecking his lips, causing her new husband to blush slightly.
"I'd say we can discuss that thenl." He answered in an equally quiet voice, hoping that no one else had their conversation, before they both turned their attention back to the four-tiered chocolate cake in front on them.
Neither of them liked the overly sweet fondant-covered wedding cakes so, despite having a blue-themed wedding, the couple had chosen a rich chocolate cake, covered in dark chocolate ganache and beautifully decorated with strawberries and raspberries – and, of course, blueberries.
It was no surprise that Cole had been drooling over it – not literally, luckily – for most of the evening. And now, it was finally time to get a taste of the masterpiece.
Together, the newlyweds cut a generous slice from the bottom tier and placed it on a dessert plate. Jay took a small cake fork to feed a little piece to his wife, before she did the same for him.
They then handed the 'tools' over to the hotel staff who would continue to cut and serve the cake to the wedding guests.
"I said you are not getting any cake." Jay was telling the Master of Earth, who was at the very front of the queue.
"And what does your wife say about this?" Cole asked back.
"She says to leave her out of this." Nya replied, more focused on finishing her own piece of cake than on the two quarrelling men. "If you want cake, you'll have to sort it out with Jay."
"And I'd recommend you do sort it out soon before the whole thing is gone; it's delicious." Kai chimed in. "You don't want to miss out on this... mmmh." He teased his cake-loving teammate.
"C'mon, you can't do that to me." Cole pleaded to his best friend. "I've been waiting for this since the two of you got engaged... and it's chocolate!"
"Your husband is playing a dangerous game here, nothing should get between Cole and his cake..." Kai turned to his sister, as the two friends continued to argue. "But I am glad to see that you are able to enjoy your food again."
"Me too. And I was really craving something sweet." Nya happily plucked a chocolate dipped strawberry from the cake. "So, you weren't joking about the Water Ninja cake toppers being sold out..." She remarked, eyeing the two plastic figurines standing on the top tier.
"Nope." Kai shook his head. "Apparently, our fans went crazy about the Ninja-style bride and groom marzipan figures and we just couldn't get any ourselves. Believe me, we've tried everything. But we had to go with these Airjitzu action figures of you and Jay instead... at least, we got the good ones that can actually fly. We may have tried that as well..." He smiled awkwardly. "Hope you still like it."
Nya smilingly put down her empty plate and embraced her brother. "Thanks, Kai. It's great, I love it."
"Everything for my favourite sister." He hugged back.
"Alright, you win. I agree that you do deserve a reward for your persistence. So here you go. Enjoy!" The siblings heard Jay exclaim. They pulled apart and turned around, just in time to see the Master of Lightning smash a piece of chocolate cake into the black Ninja's face.
"Whoohoo, I've got cake." Cole cheered, not bothered at all about the fact that some of it had gotten onto his brand new black jacket and his white shirt. His girlfriend immediately rushed to his aide, offering him some napkins. "I don't need any tissue yet, all I need right now is a spoon and a mirror." Cole insisted. "Not going to let this go to waste. Especially as he probably won't give me any more..."
"You are absolutely right about this." Jay stated, crossing his arms. "But I gave you an extra big slice." He smiled at the other.
"Thanks, man. I appreciate that." Cole replied, grinning widely, before he and Seliel walked back to their table and sat down to enjoy their treat.
After he had finished his 'slice' and cleaned his face and outfit, the black Ninja again asked for everyone's attention.
"Now that we have all had plenty of delicious food and most importantly cake, we should probably do a bit of exercise." He announced. "I would therefore like to ask the happy couple to open the dance floor. And would you please all join me here to watch them – and to count how many times Jay is going to step on Nya's toes."
"Hey." Jay protested. "I am not that bad."
"I am just kidding." Cole chuckled. "Jay is actually a more than capable dancer, and he's had a great teacher. But before we let him and Nya show off their dancing skills, I would like to say a few words about the song they have selected for this occasion. It is an a-cappella song by the Royal Blacksmiths." Cole smiled at Lou, who was among the guests. "And when I told my dad that my teammates and dear friends chose one of his old songs, he was really touched and wanted to prepare a special surprise for them. Unfortunately, the other three Royal Blacksmiths couldn't make it tonight, but they have recorded a new version of 'Only You' for, well, only you two. But you don't have to worry, it's still a slow dance."
"That was a very nice wedding gift from your father." Zane remarked, as the two friends watched the bride and groom dance their first dance as a married couple. "And I find it very impressive how his quartet has managed to sing the song in five voices."
"I, uhm, haven't noticed that..." Cole blushed. "I-I guess they are just this good."
"You are probably right about that." Zane shot him a knowing look. "And you are a really great friend."
"Thanks. So are you. Especially when you don't mention this to the others." The Master of Earth said to Nindroid. "But you must please excuse me now, I am going to burn off some calories as well." He added, noticing that Jay and Nya's parents as well as the bride's brother and his girlfriend had already joined the couple on the dance floor for the next song. He took off his jacket and coolly tossed it over the nearest chair, before he turned to the pink-haired woman on his other side. "May I have this dance, Miss Seliel?" He asked, offering his arm.
"You may, Mr Brookstone. Let's show them how this is done." Seliel took his arm, and off they went.
It was already in the early hours of the morning, when the last guests had finally left the party, and only the nine rather tired friends were sitting (well, more or less so) around one of the tables.
"I'd say we hit the sack, too." Jay had his arm wrapped around his new wife who was leaning against him, resting her head on her husband's shoulders. "It's been a long day. And Nya and I shouldn't get up to late tomorrow – or today – otherwise we won't make it very far from the mainland before nightfall."
"If I were you, I wouldn't complain about how stressful your day of sailing a luxurious yacht is going to be." Cole told his brother-in-arms. "Because the rest of us will have to help clean up this place..."
"And I don't think we can count too much on our parents to join in." Kai remarked. "Even though they may be kind of related now, I don't think I'll ever let mum and dad drink with Jay's parents again."
"But on the other hand, it was nice to see them all get along so well with each other." Lloyd stated. "My mum has been through a lot recently, so I was very happy to see her relax and simply enjoy the evening. Not sure she will enjoy the day tomorrow though..." He mumbled.
"Shall we just agree that we all have a busy day ahead of us and call it a night?" Skylor proposed.
"This is a very reasonable suggestion." Zane nodded.
"Let's forget about being reasonable, this is the first time today that we get to spend some time together, just the team plus our friends and partners, and I would like to enjoy this moment for a bit longer." The Master of Fire said. "Just lemme get something. I'll be back in a sec, okay?" He got up from his seat and walked over to the now deserted bar.
"So, how does it feel to be married?" Cole asked his best friend.
"Great so far. Apart from this." Jay replied, showing his hand with the wedding band. "It feels kinda tight, are you sure they gave us the right ring size?"
"I am. You've just never worn a ring before, I'm sure you'll get used to it." Nya said tiredly.
"It is probably supposed to feel restricting. Ouch." The black Ninja joked, earning a hard nudge from his girlfriend.
"You will never find out if you keep saying stuff like that." Jay retorted.
"I seem to be hearing that a lot today." Cole remarked. "But it's not our turn yet anyway." At this comment, all eyes turned to the nindroid couple, P.I.X.A.L. was still holding Nya's bouquet in her silver hands.
"I am still amazed by how you did that." Seliel commented. "It was an absolutely perfect catch."
"When Nya tossed the bouquet, I calculated its trajectory. And after my analysis revealed that she was not aiming at anyone, I simply took my chance to catch it myself." The female robot explained. "But this is not an obligation, of course." A hint of disappointment could be heard in her voice.
"I have been programmed to respect both the law and our country's traditions." Zane replied, taking one of his girlfriend's hands into his. "And this will be by far the most enjoyable rule I have ever dealt with. If you agree, that is."
"There is absolutely no reason to disagree." P.I.X.A.L. smiled at him. "You are the only one I will ever be compatible with."
"Awww." The other three woman cooed, just as Kai returned to the table. He was carrying a tray with a bottle as well as nine shot glasses.
"What's going on here? Did I miss anything?" He wondered.
"Yeah, sorta. Congratulations, tin can." Cole gave his friend a pat on the back.
"Dangit, how can those two make this sound so easy?" Jay complained. "Congrats, you two."
"Wait, you mean we have even more reason to celebrate now?" Kai raised an eyebrow.
"Oh no, it would be wrong to make any announcement of this kind on somebody else's wedding day." P.I.X.A.L. stated. "I would not want to steal the bride and groom's thunder, as people say."
"Oh, please, don't worry about us. We've had more than enough of that..." Nya insisted.
"Maybe you could arrange a private meeting with Mr Borg on one of the next days for me, my dear?" Zane requested.
"I will be very happy to do that."
"And I will be very happy to share this final drink with you tonight." Kai announced, filling the glasses with the clear liquid and passing them on to his friends. "C'mon, let's end this night in style. To the two happy couples – if you want it or not." He grinned at Zane and P.I.X.A.L.
The pregnant bride gave a pleading look at Skylor and Seliel. All day, she had managed to avoid drinking alcohol without raising any suspicions (or at least she hoped), thanks to some help from her husband and her close friends.
"Uhm, I think we've had more than enough." The red-haired Master of Amber stated, faking a yawn. "I don't think I could possibly drink anymore tonight."
"Well, I agree with Kai." Lloyd piped up, raising his glass.
"You shouldn't be drinking at all, pipsqueak." Jay said to the Green Ninja. "What's your chronological age again?"
"My chronological age doesn't prevent me from being your Sensei or stop me from having some drinks with you yesterday evening." Lloyd retorted. "Although it might have had something to do with me sleeping on the couch last night, because I didn't make it upstairs to my room."
"Well, I would prefer if we all made it to our rooms tonight. By the way, I am not that tired yet..." Seliel winked seductively at her boyfriend.
Cole was obviously torn between the two options ahead of him. "C'mon, it's not gonna take very long anyway. The drink, I mean." To prove a point, he quickly emptied his own glass.
"So, what do you say, Nya?" Kai looked at her. "This is your day, so it's your decision. To drink or not to drink, that is the question."
"I'd rather not."
"And why not?" Kai kept his gaze fixed at his younger sister. "Is there anything you would like to tell us?"
"Wh-why would you think that?" Nya blushed.
"No idea." He smirked. "But unless you give me a good reason not to, I will insist on sharing this moment and this drink with my little sister and my brother-in-law."
"You can drink whatever you want, but I'm not going to, because..." Nya sighed. "I am pregnant." She admitted.
"See, it wasn't so hard to say." He smiled at her. "Congratulations, sis."
"Why are you not mad?" Nya wondered. "Wait, you knew, didn't you?"
"I swear I didn't say anything to him." Skylor chimed in.
"Why should I be mad?" Kai asked back. "I may sometimes be an overprotective, hot-headed idiot, but I am always your brother who wants you to be happy. And I've know for quite a while now that and Jay wanted to start your own family. So I've had more than enough time to get used to the idea that it would happen sooner or later." He explained.
"And yes, I kinda knew. I have taken care of you since you were three, so I would recognise the sound of you throwing up anywhere, which means I know that you've been sick every morning for the last week and a half. Sure, first I thought it was just from the stress. Same for your mood swings. But then I got suspicious when you didn't take any of your favourite sushi this afternoon – and then later, you had that massive piece of chocolate cake. So, I kept a bit of an eye on you and saw you swapping glasses with Sky and Sel all evening."
"Yeah, about that..." The Phantom Ninja threw in. "Cole caught me finishing your drink, so I had to tell him... I'm sorry."
"Don't be, I wouldn't want your boyfriend to think that you have a drinking problem because of me... I do appreciate your help."
"And when I woke up this morning, I heard you and Zane talking in the kitchen." Lloyd told the groom. "Who do you think helped him put you on the sofa after you'd passed out?"
"You did what?" Nya gasped. "Weren't you the one who kept telling me to stay calm and not to worry?"
"But I was still a bit overwhelmed by the news..." Jay sheepishly rubbed his neck.
"A bit?" Lloyd chuckled.
"Speaking of being overwhelmed... we don't want to tell our parents until after the honeymoon. Let them come down from the wedding first." Nya said.
"No problem, I understand. But even if you had told them tonight, I don't think they would remember it tomorrow anyway." Kai laughed. "But now that we've got that out of the way, can we finally have our drink?"
"Uhm, what part of I am pregnant did you not understand? You seemed to be fairly well informed about the symptoms earlier on."
"Just try it." He smirked.
Nya smelled at the glass before taking a small sip. "It's water."
"I was surprised that you didn't recognise your own element. Sis, I just wanted to get you to tell us about the baby, but I would have never put the health of my niece or nephew at risk."
"Niece." Jay insisted.
"10 on a boy." Seliel retorted.
"20 on a girl." Lloyd presented the note he had earlier received from Cole.
"I am with Sel." As Skylor also joined in, Nya briefly flicked her wrist, using her elemental powers to make the content of Kai's glass splash in his face. "Love ya, uncle Kai." She flashed him a gorgeous smile.
"Love ya too, little sis." He smiled back. "You're going to be a great mum, Nya."
After the friends had finished placing their bets and their 'shots' of water, they finally agreed to retire.
"Do I have to carry you up all the way the stairs, or can we take the lift?" Jay asked worriedly as he picked up his wife bridal style.
"Lift is fine I guess." His wife agreed. After all, their suite was on the top floor. "Good night, everyone."
"Yeah, you better preserve some of your energy, Jay. You surely want to find out where Nya has hidden her other something blue..." The black Ninja called after them, his arm wrapped around his girlfriend's waist.
"Cole, do you have to keep saying that kind of stuff?" Kai whined.
"C'mon, they are married. And having a baby... I thought you were happy for them."
"Yes, but I still don't need to know the details."
As Kai turned away from his smirking friend, he noticed that their youngest team member had stayed behind and was still sitting at the table on his own.
"If you want to go ahead, I'll be upstairs with you in a minute, okay?" Kai planted a kiss on Skylor's lips. "I love you, babe."
"I love you too, hot stuff."
Kai walked back into the room and placed a hand on the Green Ninja's shoulder.
"Are you okay?" He asked his honorary little brother.
"Yeah, it's just... I was never interested in a relationship before, but now that I see all you couples so happy together, I cannot help but feel a bit lonely. And I am wondering if I am ever going to find someone special myself." Lloyd admitted, his eyes fixed at the blue flowers in the centre of the table.
"I am absolutely sure about that." Kai gave him an encouraging smile. "Zane and P.I.X.A.L. may make it look easy, but remember how long it took Jay and Nya to sort their things out. And it took even longer for me and Cole to just find the right women for us. And believe me, they all were definitely worth the wait."
Phew, I finally managed to finish the wedding storyline that I started over three months ago with the Weekend for Four story - and I need to thank LGOE for contributing some of the ideas.
Also, the bit with the cake fight was suggested by Rainbowaly03. I didn't want Nya to get chocolate cake on her dress, and Jay and Lloyd had already 'suffered' in TGNBO, so Cole was the logical choice. And he enjoyed it ;).
A few more remarks:
Lloyd is rumoured to get a girlfriend in season 8, which is why I chose this ending.
In this storyline, the Ninja and their girlfriends are around 20 (apparently, they were 'in their late teens' during the latest season); I am from Germany where you can legally drink from the age of 16.
The song I used for the couple's first dance, Only You', is an a-capella song by The Flying Pickets (it is sooo much better than the original, which is proper 80's pop...). I chose this song, because I like a-cappella music and this is one of my favourites (but it is incredibly difficult to stay in then right key!), and I find it very fitting for them. And it is a very popular wedding song (although some people also interpret it as a sad breakup song)! But I just love it.
Thanks again for reading xx