To JustRandom: I see all your reviews and I hate that I cannot reply to them, so please know that your reviews bring me so much joy, and your kind words mean the world. :D
And to the other Guest, who I cannot thank privately: Thank you as well for your wonderful review! :D I wrote the last story to tap into a specific type of grief that comes from losing someone you've known your whole life, and I'm glad to know that came across in the writing. Thank you for reading! :)
Now, on with the second chapter, inspired by the word 'floor.'
It was a stupid joke, but Jay never regrets a stupid joke.
During battle, Jay jumped from a building and landed wrong, spraining his ankle, and splitting a cut down his chin from faceplanting into the sidewalk. While the rest of the ninja deal with the immediate aftermath of their victory, Zane carries Jay back to the Bounty for quick medical attention.
It is a quiet journey, since Jay never has much to say when he's embarrassed. He could have at least gotten injured during combat, rather than his own ineptitude. Jay rubs at his forehead every time the memory of his mistake crosses his mind.
He's thankful, quietly, that it is only Zane bringing him back—better than a doctor or literally any other ninja. Zane at least waits until Jay is feeling marginally better to start making fun of him.
The thought prompts him to say, "Sorry you have to do this."
Zane hitches Jay higher. "I don't mind, but I do wonder why you thought you could make such a jump. Even Kai isn't that stupid."
Jay takes back his earlier presumption. That statement was somehow worse than anything the other ninja could have said. Jay reddens and goes back to picking the dirt out of his chin with his free hand. The other is looped around Zane's neck, as Zane carries Jay in his arms.
It doesn't occur to Jay to make a joke until they've reached the Bounty, partly due to Zane's horrible, awful, terrible statement, and partly due to Jay's own brain fog.
He did hit his head, after all.
He decides to blame that for the thought that crosses his mind as Zane carries him into the Bounty's cabin, turning them sideways so they can fit through the little opening.
He snickers and says, "Look at us."
Zane looks down, eyebrows raised. "Pardon?"
"Oh," says Jay, "You know."
"What?"
"We're like a couple, you and me," says Jay.
"We…are a pair," says Zane, brow furrowed.
"We're more than that, Zane," says Jay, "You carried me across the threshold. You know what that means."
"I don't follow," says Zane.
By this point, they've reached the room used as a makeshift infirmary, and Zane gently sets Jay to rest against the bedding. Despite Zane treating Jay with all the gentleness in the world, Jay sucks his breath through his teeth as his ankle throbs with pain.
"Let me get something for you," says Zane, running for some pills.
"Yeah," says Jay, rubbing at his leg, then at his chin.
Feeling worse for wear, he lies flat and wishes for a nice bowl of soup. Maybe he could swing some out of Zane. Though Jay's injuries are a mess of his own making, he can still milk it for all an injury is worth.
When Zane returns, he carries a bottle of painkillers and a glass of water.
"Take one now, then another a few hours from now," says Zane, "I can fix you up with some ice, but I think we'll need to take you to the doctor."
Jay wrinkles his nose. "And here I thought you were treating me."
"We can only do so much," says Zane, with a shrug, "I'm surprised your chin doesn't need stitches, frankly."
That had worried Jay, too, when the blood wouldn't stop. He isn't sure he's in the clear, either. He delicately touches the bandages on his chin and swallows the pills. Ever attentive, Zane watches, and Jay makes sure to drink the rest of the water.
"Refreshing," Jay says when he's finished, setting the cup down with a hearty slam, "Just what I needed. You're the best, Zane."
Zane gives him a small smile before standing. "I'll fix you a bag of ice, then I will see where the rest of the team is at. With luck, we can get you seen by the end of the day."
"Terrific," Jay deadpans, settling down.
Forget soup, he needs a nap.
He doesn't realize that Zane is still in the room until he hears his voice by the door.
"Jay?"
Jay turns.
Zane's brow is furrowed, expression perplexed. Jay almost sits up in concern when Zane speaks again.
"What is the significance of carrying someone across a threshold?"
Oh. Jay relaxes again, eyes closing as drowsiness threatens to put him to sleep before he can finish his next sentence. "I was just joking, Zane."
"About what?"
"Carrying someone across a threshold is a silly little tradition thing people do to people they love."
Zane remains still, and Jay can practically hear the gears turning in his mind. He almost snickers, pleased with the image that creates.
"Carrying someone through doorways is a sign of love?"
"Sure," says Jay, "but that's all I can tell you about it."
It's not like Jay knows these things, and he doesn't think any more about it as Zane leaves, and he falls asleep.
A week later, peace has mostly returned to Ninjago, and Jay now hobbles around the Bounty, only mildly in pain. He's spent most of the last few days in bed, insisting on injury to keep from training, but he will always be well enough to wander to the kitchen for snacks.
He holds three cookies in his mouth as he treks back to the bedroom, and on his way there, he passes the living area to see Kai laying against the couch inside, looking troubled.
Jay hovers by the door, observing the scene. Though Kai lies in a relaxing position, his expression and posture indicate a level of tension unusual for Kai at this time of day. His gaze is trained on the ceiling, and his cheeks are flushed.
Curious, Jay releases a questioning hum.
Kai glances over, and Jay raises his hand into a thumbs up.
You good? is what Jay intends to ask.
Kai merely returns his gaze to the ceiling.
That's not good. Jay steps into the room, reluctantly removing the cookies.
"What's up?" Jay asks.
"I've had an experience."
"A good one?" Jay asks, hoping so.
He doesn't like the seriousness in Kai's tone.
Kai turns to him, gaze intense.
"I think Zane is in love with me."
Jay bursts into a laugh so consuming that his chin twitches in pain. He doesn't mean to, but the surprise and hilarity of the idea catch Jay off guard.
"I'm serious," Kai says, "I think he's in love with me."
"Please," Jay says, wiping tears—tears—from his eyes, "I think you've gotten too obsessed with yourself, buddy. Why would Zane fall in love with you?"
"You laugh," says Kai, sitting up, "but wait 'til you hear what happened today."
Jay quiets down, curious after all.
Kai explains, "I was coming in from the deck when Zane ran out to meet me. I thought he had something to say, so I stopped, but when he reached me, he swept me off my feet and carried me inside—"
The smile falls from Jay's face as bewilderment blooms instead.
"—once we got in, he set me down and just—" Kai shakes his head, "—gave me this huge grin. Like he'd accomplished something important. Of course, I asked him what the heck he did that for, and he said, 'You know,' like that's supposed to mean anything to me."
Jay listens with apt attention, now.
Kai sighs, looking away. "But I've never felt more out of the loop on something. The only conclusion I could come up with is that he's in love with me, but why didn't he say anything sooner?"
Jay shakes his head, speechless with bewilderment. Several thoughts run through his head. Had Zane taken Jay's joke that seriously? He didn't think that he had to carry everyone he loved over the Bounty's doorway, did he?
As Jay's mind spins around in his skull, Kai looks back to him.
"I don't know. Maybe I'm overthinking it," says Kai, "Do you know why he did that?"
Jay snaps his eyes to Kai's. The wise thing to do is to explain the whole thing: that he had been carried by Zane; that Jay made a joke, explained it poorly when Zane asked, and Zane had wildly misinterpreted Jay's explanation.
But—
Seeing where this goes seems much more entertaining. Will Zane attempt to carry other teammates across the threshold of the Bounty's cabin? Will Kai work himself into a frenzy about what to do over this supposed crush? Will he say something to Zane about it?
Excitement sends shivers up and down Jay's spine. A smile nearly twitches over his face, and Jay struggles to keep the contemplative look he'd donned earlier when Kai explained the situation.
He says, "Beats me!"
Lloyd is the next victim, and Jay only knows this because he sees it happen.
He's on the deck, stretching his sore but nearly healed ankle as Lloyd trains. He doesn't realize that Zane is even out there with them, but evidently Zane is up near the bow.
Lloyd throws his hands in the air then claps them down to his sides, his favorite show of exhaustion.
"I'm hungry," he says, "Want a sandwich?"
"Will you be making it?"
"Yeah?"
"No thanks," says Jay, "I don't want my teeth sticking together."
"I don't put that much peanut butter on it," Lloyd mutters as he walks away.
Jay is watching a cloud float below their ship's path when he hears a furious pattering as someone sprints across the deck. He turns in time to see Zane leap down the stairs from the bow as he runs to meet Lloyd.
Lloyd turns halfway around in question, but Zane doesn't stop. He reaches and proceeds to lift Lloyd off the ground, holding him around his middle.
"HEY—" says Lloyd.
Zane remains silent, carrying a struggling Lloyd to the door.
"What are you doing—Zane!" Lloyd says.
He turns a look towards Jay that's so helplessly confused that Jay almost falls off his seat laughing. It shouldn't be this funny, but sometimes it's nice to be the only one in on the joke.
Lloyd eventually stops his struggling when Zane's hold doesn't give, and his limbs straighten downwards like a cat's as Zane carries him through the Bounty's door. Though Jay can't see them now, he hears their interaction as Zane sets Lloyd to the ground again.
"What was that for?"
"Come on, you know!"
Zane walks back onto the deck and grins at Jay, who gives a thumbs up. Amazing. Jay is never going to tell Zane the truth. Not for as long as this type of situation remains funny.
Jay shovels down a plate of eggs when Kai storms into the room, distraught.
He glances up, egg half hanging out of his mouth as Kai plants himself at the end of the dining table, chin propped moodily on his hand.
"I just heard," says Kai, "that Zane carried Nya into the Bounty's door today, just like he did with me."
"Oh?" says Jay, chewing the rest of his egg.
"I don't understand," says Kai, "Why would Zane do that? What's he playing at?"
"You know, I didn't want to tell you this," says Jay, gazing sadly at his plate of eggs, "but Zane also swept me off my feet and carried me into the Bounty the other day. I'm afraid that he's been toying with all our hearts."
When he looks back at Kai, he's met with the most exasperated frown he's seen in a while. He sets his fork down, curious.
"I'm not broken-hearted that Zane isn't in love with me," says Kai.
"Really?" says Jay, "'Cause I thought—"
"I thought about it a bit more," says Kai, shaking his head, "and I realize that I may have jumped the gun initially. I thought Zane was just being Zane, but now I'm wondering if he's been…mislead."
Jay purses his lips and returns to his eggs. Kai squints at him.
"Jay—"
"I couldn't tell you why he's doing all this!"
"Really?" says Kai, "You didn't say anything to him that made him think to start this?"
"Not a thing," Jay lies, "What makes you think I said anything, anyway?"
"Lloyd told me that Zane also picked him up one day," says Kai, "and that you sat there laughing the whole time. You also laughed when I told you about my experience."
That puts a small dent in Jay's deniability, but he insists, "I have no idea what you're talking about. Besides, it is kind of funny."
He looks back at Kai and still gets that awful I-don't-believe-you expression, and with a sigh over the fact that he can't maintain the charade, he says, "Alright, fine. I may have mislead Zane, but what's the harm?"
"When?"
"When, what?"
"When did you mislead him?" says Kai.
"When I sprained my ankle!" says Jay, "Come on, use your brain! He carried me into the Bounty, I made a joke about couples or something, then when he asked, I said that it's something people do when they love each other."
Something flickers in Kai's expression. "You said it like that?"
"Not in those words, but yeah," says Jay, "Look, it's not like I know why people do it, but I told him that people do it."
"Did you tell him that it's more of a romantic gesture?" says Kai.
"Well—no," says Jay, "just that people do it when they love each other."
Kai doesn't say anything right away, processing Jay's explanation. "He's doing this…because he loves us?"
"Sure," says Jay, watching Kai before adding, "No need to be weird about it."
Kai blinks, and the seriousness is back. "We should tell him what it means."
"But why?" asks Jay, voice rising into a whine, "It's so much funnier this way!"
"To those in the know," says Kai, "I don't want him to feel like a fool if one of us tells him not to do it."
Jay opens his mouth to protest but stops halfway. Kai has a point. Jay would hate to see Zane embarrassed over the misunderstanding, and he would especially hate if Zane thought that Jay has been laughing at him the whole time.
And Jay has been, but not out of malice—though now that Jay is thinking about it, the act does seem that way.
"I'll talk to him about it," says Jay.
Zane walks into the Bounty with Cole over his shoulders in a fireman's carry, and that's where Jay meets him to explain this whole thing.
"Zane, we gotta talk," Jay proclaims, then he glances over Zane's shoulder, "Hey, Cole."
"Hey," says Cole.
"What a coincidence, because I need to speak with you, too," says Zane, and he bends to let Cole off, "There you are, Cole."
"Thanks," says Cole, and he walks away, no questions asked.
Jay raises an eyebrow after him before turning back to Zane. "Listen, about this whole 'carrying people across the threshold,' thing."
"That's just what I wanted to speak with you about," says Zane, and he gives Jay this strange look.
It's somewhat sad, somewhat accusing, and it surprises Jay into holding his tongue.
Then he speaks, and Jay feels like sinking through the floor.
"Why haven't any of you carried me across the threshold, yet?" asks Zane, "I thought I was doing it right, and that you'd return the gesture in time, but it's been so long that I'm starting to wonder…"
He follows this with the saddest puppy dog eyes, and a pit drops into Jay's stomach as what's left of his good conscience screams at him.
He starts blubbering, desperate to fix the grave mistake that made Zane think he wasn't loved.
"We love you, Zane! We love you! I'm so sorry, that's what I came here to clear up—the threshold thing is usually done between romantically involved people," says Jay, "I didn't realize when I told you how seriously you took it, then I didn't say anything because I thought it was funny—it was a mistake. I'm so sorry. We love you; I promise. I will carry you across myself if it—"
Zane's face twitches, and he snorts.
Jay pauses, mouth hanging open, and Zane starts laughing.
"Huh?" says Jay.
"I know what it means, Jay," says Zane, "I looked up the tradition's history shortly after you told me about it. You wouldn't believe the variety of origins I found. Everything from protecting your lover from the floor to captured marriages."
Jay blinks, still inclined to blubber but losing the urge as the reality of Zane's words sink in. He puts his hands on his hips. "You knew this whole time and did it anyway? What was the point?"
Zane smiles at him, not the least bit guilty. "I thought it would be fun to mess with you for a while."
Jay glares at Zane. How dare he—to be toying with their emotions like this!
"I thought you were doing all that because you loved us!"
"I love you!" Zane insists, "and I was also messing with you. Don't look so aghast; you were doing the same thing."
He starts to walk off, looking all too pleased with himself as he says, "I was just the one in the know."
Jay remains where he was, flabbergasted. Zane had been messing with him the whole time. And he has the nerve to be cocky about it!
He sniffs, turning away. He'll find a way to get Zane back. He will.
It takes two weeks for Zane to drop the whole thing, and life goes back to normal without much said. It is another week before Jay gets his revenge.
The ninja return to the Bounty from a mission, but before they enter, the rest of the ninja jump Zane.
It's a coordinated attack that Jay organized soon after Zane's confession. It was best to do it when Zane wasn't expecting anything, and when Zane would be too exhausted to fight back.
There's a cry of surprise, but it quickly turns to delight as Zane realizes what's happening. With every ninja holding a different part of Zane up, they cross the Bounty's doorway in a unit. It is a clumsy journey that results in several bumps and shouts as everyone tries to maintain their hold without getting squished into the walls or door, but it's worth it to hear Zane's unbridled laughter filling the air.
It feels less like revenge by the time they drop Zane on the ground, since everyone is laughing and smiling, but Jay is satisfied, nonetheless.
Thank you for reading!