This one-shot is set shortly after Skybound, and it is not related to any other of my works. And it is not related to the song (by Dido) either, although I took the title from it.
I wrote this story quite a while ago already, but I was hesitant to post it here, because (WARNING!) it's NOT a light and fluffy story, and I wasn't sure whether or not it would affect the rating of this one-shot collection. (If anyone thinks I should change it to M, please tell me and I will.)
But now I have decided to end this book anyway. I am kinda worried that people might have started to become fed up with my (too) many Jaya stories, so it's better to stop. Probably should have done it already after the wedding (as originally planned) but I way too much enjoy writing for this pairing.
Here with me
Lying in Jay's arms, Nya smiled weakly at the love of her life.
"I never wanted to be part of your boys club anyway." The dying Water Ninja stated, as her small hand caressed his stubbled cheek.
But unsurprisingly, her feeble attempt to cheer him up didn't work, for she could see those stunning blue eyes of his welling with tears.
"No, Nya." Jay choked out. "Don't say that."
The blue Ninja's voiced was laced with fear, fear of losing her yet again.
Nya, however, was not scared. She couldn't afford to waste whatever strength she had left on something like that. She needed all her energy to make these final moments last for as long as she could.
The black-haired girl dropped her arm, it had become too heavy to hold it up any longer. Her eyes felt heavy too, but she fought to keep them open. She wanted to see his handsome face for as long as she could. Hear his cheerful voice. Feel him him hold her tight. Smell his familiar, comforting scent of milk and honey (although it was undeniable that he hadn't showered for a couple of days, but who would complain about that right now).
Nya was sad though that she would not be able to taste his kiss again, she simply did not have enough time left. With every breath she took, it became more and more difficult to fill her burning lungs with oxygen.
But... she couldn't just leave like this. She had to tell him how she felt.
"I guess it's true, the greatest love stories do always end in tragedy." She barely managed to bring out these words, before her body fell limb and everything turned black...
Clutching the front of her sea blue nightgown and gasping for air, Nya shot up in her bed.
It was just a dream. She told herself. Everything is alright. This never actually happened.
But at least the last part wasn't true. It did happen, even though nobody except her and her boyfriend remembered it. Why else would it hurt this much?
Struggling to breath, the female Ninja jumped out of her bed, and rushed to the window at the far end of the room. Unable to turn the handle with her shaking hands, Nya desperately shot a strong gust of water at the glass. From the impact, the window shattered into what looked like millions of pieces, and a fresh breeze of cold air streamed into the bedroom.
Only wearing a short silk nightgown, the girl started to shiver. Looking down at herself in the light of the moon, Nya was relieved not to find any green splashes of venom on her outfit. Yet that burning feeling on her chest still remained. And she had to get rid of that.
The trained Shinobi quietly sneaked to the bathroom and, dropping her nightgown on the floor, stepped into the shower. Feeling the cold water on her skin helped soothe the pain, but this wasn't enough.
The female Master grabbed her bottle of a mild body scrub and a soft sponge and began cleaning herself. When her nightmares had started after Jay's wish had reset the timeline, she had gathered an impressive collection of more efficient exfoliants, including different body scrubs, nail brushes and even surface cleaners and scouring pads from the kitchen, claiming that the red, raw skin on her chest was an allergic reaction to the synthetic material of her new Airjitzu gi.
But Jay had soon discovered the true reason behind her condition. Threatening to reveal the truth to her brother, he had made Nya throw everything away. And, most importantly, she had promised him not to do it again. And she intended to keep her promise, no matter how difficult it was.
So, this more gentle solution had to do for now.
About half an hour and almost a full bottle of body scrub later, the pain had not gone away but it had at least become somehow bearable.
Nya stepped out the shower and wrapped herself in a clean white bath towel, before she made her way back to her room.
As she passed by her teammates' rooms, she couldn't resist but to stop in front of her boyfriend's door.
Jay was just too cute when he was asleep – not that he was in any way less attractive when he was awake. But watching him sleeping, peaceful and hugging whatever was in his reach – like his pillow, his stuffed bear, or Nya herself whenever they managed to secretly spend the night together – always calmed her down.
But the Master of Lightning didn't sound calm and peaceful at all right now, even through the closed door Nya could hear him cry.
She quietly opened the door and slipped into his room, finding her boyfriend tossing and turning in his bed.
"Stop it." He pleaded, tears streaming down his pale face. "Please. No-not the eye."
In the dim light, Nya could see his knuckles turn white as he firmly clenched his pillow. "I-I can't give up. I n-need to stay strong. For her. B-but I j-just want to wish it all away."
The mattress dipped slightly, as the Water Ninja carefully sat down at the edge of the bed. Knowing not to wake a sleeping person from a nightmare, she gently ran her hand through his silky auburn locks and down his back.
"Shh, it's okay." She soothed him in a soft voice. "You are safe. I am here, and nobody will harm you."
As she could feel him gradually relax under her touch, Nya herself started feeling less tense as well. When she could finally hear a regular, calm breathing coming from her boyfriend, Nya bent down to place a gentle kiss on his sweaty forehead. "I love you." She whispered.
Not wanting to go back to her own cold and lonely room, she was contemplating whether she could just sneak under his warm covers, when she suddenly found a pair of wide open deep blue eyes staring at her.
"Wh-what are you doing here?" Jay asked sleepily.
"You had another nightmare, I could hear you from outside the room." Nya explained. "Scrap'N'Tap again?"
Jay swallowed hard. "Y-yes." He admitted. "Wh-why were you up?"
"Couldn't sleep." Nya shrugged.
Only then did Jay noticed the damp black hair and the towel wrapped around his girlfriend's small frame. "You as well?" He concluded, his eyes fixed on the light red skin visible just above the rim of her towel.
Nya nodded, feeling some tears prickling in her eyes.
"We always seem to have those nightmares at the same time." Jay remarked. "Do you think our dreams are... connected?"
"It could be." The raven-haired girl agreed. "After all, we are the only two people in Ninjago who remember what really happened... and we don't seem to get them as much when we are together."
Jay understood. "You wanna stay?" He offered.
Nya nodded again, smiling. "I do."
The Lightning Wielder smirked. "You might want to put some clothes on though. Not that I don't like you like this. But I don't want your brother to kill me if he finds you naked in my bed tomorrow morning."
The Water Ninja chuckled. "No, we wouldn't want that to happen, would we?"
She got up and demonstratively dropped her towel before she walked over to the drawer chest on the other wall, a delicate sway on her slender hips.
Nya smiled as she could feel his gaze on her bare back. No, in her current state, sex was pretty much the last thing on the young woman's mind right now. But the way Jay looked at – admired – her simply made her feel good. It made her feel beautiful. And most importantly, it made her feel alive.
The raven-haired girl opened the drawers and took a simple blue shirt and a pair of boxers from them. She slipped them on, before she turned around again.
"You look good in my stuff." Jay winked at her. "Almost as good as without them."
"I like wearing your clothes. They are blue, comfortable, and they smell like you." She stated as she climbed into the bed.
"Like grease and junk?" Jay enquired, wrapping his arms around her.
"No. Just nice." Nya snuggled into his chest. "Good night."
"Good night, Nya." He kissed her nose. "I love you."
"I love you too."
Safe in each other's embrace, the couple finally drifted off into a deep and dreamless sleep.
