In light of the upcoming Ninjago finale, I needed a Jaya wedding in my life. While talking about it with a few fellow Ninjago nerds, the user Sneaky Shados came up with the idea for a Jaya wedding that played out like Will and Elizabeth's wedding in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. So, I can't take credit for coming up with the idea, but I couldn't help but put words to paper in, what I hope, is an adequate Jaya wedding. Enjoy!
This was the end. Somehow, she just knew it.
She knew what the end felt like, that heavy weight of no way out; that odd peace and resigned sense of duty. She had felt it once before—it was a tingling sensation she'd never forget.
The first time, she had felt at peace with her decision. She would've made the same choice a hundred times over if it meant saving Jay's life.
This time, they fought together, almost hand-in-hand. Crystal warriors came at them from every direction, yet Jay never left her side.
When she had merged with the ocean, she'd felt at peace.
This time, everything felt unfinished.
This was the end, she knew it. And still, it couldn't be the end. Not yet. They couldn't lose; couldn't die.
Not until she found the loose ends and figured out how to properly tie them up.
It couldn't be the end until it felt right.
A flash of blue shot through her water whips, lighting up the dark war zone as they took down an oncoming warrior together.
"Anyone seen Lloyd?" Kai's voice pierced the chaotic buzz of battle. Nya could barely make him out through the shroud of night. Blazing blasts of orange cast shadows on her brother's face just long enough to reveal his concentration—and that tinge of worry for their youngest teammate.
Cole came flying in with his reply, landing at the edge of Jay and Nya's jurisdiction. "Lloyd can take care of himself. I'm sure he and Master Wu are just fine. The two of them are, like, unstoppable together."
She expected Jay to chime in with an opinion of his own, or at least an anxious comeback. Whenever she glanced his way, however, she met a wall of silent concentration.
In fact, she noticed he'd been silent for much of this portion of the battle. A highly unusual occurrence for all of them, but especially Jay.
"I hope you're right!" Kai called back.
The Master of Earth shook the ground, taking down a line of villains. "I know I am."
From his position several feet away, Garmadon added his two cents, arms flinging bursts of purple energy into more oncoming targets than Nya could ever hope to take down all at once.
"My son could beat all of you with his eyes closed!"
"Told ya!" Cole shouted to Kai.
The banter continued, a back and forth between Kai and Cole that Jay should've been fully invested in, despite the way his brows furrowed.
Honestly, it was a bit concerning, but with the rapid fire of their crystalized enemies, she didn't have much time to dwell on it.
Until he latched into her arm and pulled her close. Gazing into his dazzling blue eyes made the world slow, an imagined lull in the fighting.
When he said it, those words she had secretly been longing to hear for years now, she almost couldn't believe her ears.
"Will you marry me?" Blunt and breathless, hesitant and anxious, those four little words settled like magic over her mind.
Beneath her gi, Nya's Yang pendant pressed cool and familiar against her skin.
An absolute, without a doubt, one hundred percent yes burned on the tip of her tongue. What came out, however, sounded a little more shocked and cynical. A typical Nya retort.
"I don't think now's the best time!"
Jay ducked as Nya swung her spear at his neck, successfully putting an end to the villain approaching from behind.
It took a few more maneuvers—a stab here, a slash here—before she found her hand clutched in his once more.
"Now might be the only time!" Lighting flashed above her head, nearly singeing her dark locks. Jay's gaze never wavered.
Even as the battle raged around them, she felt as if she were the only thing that mattered to him. It was a warm, fluttery feeling she was loath to let go.
"I love you, Nya."
How many times had he told her this? And how many times have you returned the sentiment?
She could count the times on zero fingers. Okay, maybe one. Expressing feelings has always been… difficult for her. A challenge she found hard to take on.
But if this was the end, she couldn't die without making sure he knew—
They were torn apart again before she could open her mouth. Kai's fight had brought him closer now, and a blast of flame seared the back of her most recent opponent.
Her mind couldn't even fathom thanking him. It couldn't concentrate on anything but—
Jay had her back in his arms within seconds, his expression tight with fierce anticipation.
"I already know my answer," he said, trying to catch his breath. "What's yours?"
Heart thumping in her throat, Nya sucked in a breath. Loath as she was to tear her gaze from Jay's, she turned to Garmadon, scraping her throat raw in an effort to be heard over the battle.
"Garmadon! Marry us!"
"What?" That was Kai, his shock radiating through the thick air in waves. "Now?"
Cole split the air with a whoop. "Aw, yeah! Finally!"
"In case you haven't noticed," Garmadon began, barely glancing in Nya's direction, "I'm a little busy at the moment!"
"Come on!" Cole shot back. "Don't tell me you're gonna let a little battle get in the way of true love!"
Despite being the one to spark the idea in the first place, Jay looked beyond shocked, almost as if he hadn't truly believed she'd say yes.
Nya wasn't above begging—if she really had to—but in the end, Kai's commanding voice filled the air.
"Garmadon!" He cried in a bellowing voice strong enough to rattle the rafters of even the sturdiest of buildings. "Do it now!"
It was Nya's turn to feel the sharp needles of shock prick her skin. Kai had been protective of her for as long as she could remember—sometimes, a little overprotective—and he'd made no small show of dramatics whenever romance bloomed between her and Jay.
Once, she broached the subject of marriage with her brother in a vague, underhanded, "I know you don't really want to talk about this but here we are" sort of way.
"Don't you think that'll be, I dunno, weird?" he'd asked through a mouthful of chips. "I mean, has he even asked you yet?"
"I'm his Yang," she'd replied, rolling her eyes. "So, yeah, in a way, he did."
"But wouldn't you guys have to get, like, your own house? We never had a married couple in the monastery, and my room is literally right next to yours. I don't wanna have to listen to you guys do whatever you do through the walls. I'd never get any sleep. And what about kids?"
"Oh my gosh, Kai! I just asked for your thoughts! I didn't ask you to plan the next ten years of my life!"
Needless to say, it hadn't ended very well.
Marriage would be a new step. A new chapter of her life that wouldn't include Kai. He had every right to be skeptical about it.
Still…
She should've known he'd been cheering in her corner all along, though his cheers had been very silent.
Garmadon let out a groan that rivals a few of Kai's in dramatics. "Fine, then!"
"Wait," Jay gasped, "really?"
"Don't jinx it, Jay!" came Cole's oh-so-helpful advice. "He might change his mind!"
"Dearly beloved!" The familiar words sounded odd coming out of Garmadon's mouth, but he obviously wasn't about to change his mind. "We're gathered here today…"
She couldn't breathe, and not just because of the adrenaline pulsing through her veins.
Because it was happening. It was finally happening. Wrapped in Jay's tight embrace, nothing could harm her. For a moment, she felt invincible at his side.
"... To send your crystalized hide back into the frozen hell from whence it came!" With that, Garmadon sent a crystal head careening off its body.
Nya found herself wishing for Sensei Garmadon right about now.
Not that Lord Garmadon wasn't trying his best…
A ghost of pain whipped past her arm, threatening to sever it from her body and thrusting her back into warrior mode.
She should've known even her wedding would be infused with combat somehow.
Nya hadn't wanted a wedding dress. Not after Nadakhan. That monster had taken a little girl's beautiful dream and twisted it into a hellish nightmare.
So, maybe this works out better after all…
Sparing a glance at Garmadon in the middle of an attack was risky, yet she couldn't stop herself any more than she could stop the incessant hammering of her heart.
The dark lord had engaged a handful of warriors, fending them all off with relative ease.
Maybe he had changed his mind.
Lightning crackled, outlining her opponent in blue and white agony. When he slumped to the ground, Jay's desperate eyes commanded the attention of her own.
"Nya Smith." And, oh, those words. She hadn't thought her name could ever sound so beautiful. But when he said it, it just… For the first time, the butterflies in her stomach had nothing to do with the battle at hand. "Do you take me to be your husband?"
A smile danced across her face as the answer slipped out in a rush. "I do!"
Elation wasn't quite the word to describe Jay's expression, and joy would've been a severe understatement, yet she could clearly see the relief that radiated over him in shockwaves. "Great!"
A battle cry shook her eardrums and Nya whirled around in time to plunge her spear into the nearest villain. When she turned back, Jay was several feet away, knocking out his own adversary.
Time seemed to drain with every beat of her heart. This was the end. She could feel it rattle her bones with that hauntingly familiar finality.
At this rate, we'll never—
"Great?" Kai repeated from somewhere off the side. "Come on, you guys! You're only halfway done! Let's get this show on the road!"
"It's already on the road!" Jay shot back, but Nya could see he was doing his best to fight his way over to her.
With a lunge and a half-flip, she latched onto his hand with a grip only Death himself could part. "Jay Walker! Do you take me—"
Crystal creeps flew at them from all sides, but this time, Nya held on for dear life.
"—To be your wife—" She continued at the very next available break in the fighting.
With practiced ease, he pulled her into a twirl, and for the briefest of seconds, she was on the dance floor in the studio. They were perfecting a routine and everything was calm. Hand in hand, they glided across the polished wood, the essence of peace and—
Jay's arm clutched at her waist as she slashed at another warrior.
She pressed on, determined to finish this, despite having very little air left in her lungs. "—In sickness and in health—"
Something cried out behind her, but she trusted Jay had her covered.
"—With health being the less likely?"
Spinning her around with a gentleness that had no place in any sort of battle, Jay's eyes were a galaxy of emotion. "I do."
Those words nearly shattered her. They were so soft, so real.
So binding.
She was his.
And he, mine.
When Garmadon finally chimed in again, he sounded just about done with everyone and everything. "As a former sensei and the most powerful being in this general vicinity, I now pronounce you—" Momentarily cut off by a now decapitated warrior, Garmadon finished the ceremony, though Nya didn't miss the fact that he'd skipped a few words… "You may kiss!"
Jay pulled her close, and now she really couldn't breathe.
So close…
They were so…
Her spear moved on instinct, jabbing at the crystal warrior hovering behind Jay.
Kai's voice split the air, his irritation laced with a touch of desperation. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"
"You may kiss!" Garmadon reiterated without even glancing their way.
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Time dwindled, draining faster than her strength to fight.
"Just kiss!" This time, Cole took up the mantle of preacher.
Nya felt the earth move under her feet, sliding her back into Jay's arms.
"Come on, you two! I now pronounce you, husband and wife!"
Time, which had been flying by fast enough to give Nya whiplash, slowed as Jay leaned in close.
Their lips touched and her world exploded in a furious silence. She couldn't hear, couldn't breathe.
Couldn't think about anything but Jay.
At last…
The kiss felt right. It held an air of finality, that fabled "sealed with a kiss" that made her his—and him, hers. It felt unlike any kids he'd ever given her. Passionate, warm, loving, magical.
Because they were one now. They were married.
Mrs. Walker. It had a classic ring to it, a name she'd tested on her tongue in those quiet moments, when she thought no one could hear.
This was the end. She just knew it.
Because this is what the end was supposed to feel like. Wrapped in the arms of the one you can't live without.
The kiss…
It felt like the end. Nya could've died like that, right there in Jay's arms.
And it would've been fine.
She could have lived forever with a blessed death like this.