Ayo! I promise I'm still updating Space Crown and Oil on Your Hands. I'm just on a liiiittttle hiatus. But I wanted to get this out before the She-Ra final season comes out tonight? Tomorrow? Tonight! Eh, I won't be pulling an all nighter to watch it. Just gotta wake up earlier and start that baby!
Okay, okay but... super hyped because we might be getting a Catradora AND Harlivy kiss on the same day? Ah!
Alright, anyways, hope you enjoy this little diddy!
Jay was in love with Cole.
Which was precisely why he was running away from him.
He sprinted across the courtyard, running up the walls to master a flip in the air as he skillfully avoided coming into contact with Cole's hammer. Just as he had practiced earlier, he landed firmly on both feet, rubbing his hands together to spark electricity.
A current traveled through his arms, causing his entire body to feel lighter and more agile. As Cole turned around to land another hit, Jay thrust his hands out in front of him, sending a jolt of electricity Cole's way. The master of earth quickly managed to dodge it, spinning into a tornado as he circled Jay.
As quick as he could, Jay shot a small bolt of lightning at both Cole's feet. The ninja jerked, shakily swinging his hammer at Jay and missing him by a beat. Taking this to his advantage, Jay tore the hammer out of Cole's hands, hefting it over a shoulder.
Cole regained his balance, furrowing his brows at Jay. In an instant, Cole's arms had lit up in its signature orange color, travelling up his arms in blotches. His scar glowed as his fists hit the ground and the floor beneath Jay's feet trembled.
The blue ninja flailed his arms in the air, trying to keep himself from falling over. It was no surprise, however, when Jay opened his eyes, only to find Cole looming over him, brown eyes on blue.
He held out a hand, the orange having toned down, Jay graciously accepting it.
"Well, that was slightly better than yesterday," he told Jay, helping the blue ninja upright.
Jay dusted off his suit, grimacing. "Of course, you get to say that. I don't think it's fair that you get to use your hammer and your earth punch."
"Is it my fault I was turned into a ghost and cursed to come out just barely through the rift?" Jay lifted a hand and opened his mouth, ready to scream the obvious at Cole when the black ninja held up a hand.
"Wait. Don't answer that. But are you really that hurt that you could never win against me? You might turn out to be a bigger sore loser than Kai."
After all, it was his idea to tie themselves together back at Yang's temple in the first place.
"Still, doesn't defeat my point that it's not fair."
Cole bent down to pick up his hammer, catching Jay stretching his arms and rolling his wrists from the corner of his eyes. "Yeah, well, don't cut yourself short, Sparkplug. Lightning is just as powerful."
He stopped, glancing over at Cole as an all but familiar smirk found its way across his face. "Powerful?"
Cole squinted, spinning on his heels and making a bolt for the door as he shook his head. "And I immediately take that back."
Though, he didn't. Not entirely at least.
Because while it was true, and he did genuinely mean it, Cole couldn't deny the rush it brought him whenever Jay put himself high on a pedestal. Often, there were times Jay's smugness succeeded to get on his nerves. But being overconfident was just something he learned to live with. Especially with Kai around.
"No, no!" Jay caught up with him, standing between Cole and the doors to the kitchen. "I wanna savor this moment."
"Cocky, much?" Cole quipped, raising a brow.
Jay rolled his eyes as Cole idly walked past him, teasingly rubbing shoulders.
"Hey! You can try to forget you ever said anything, but I can totally use it against you!" The blue ninja snickered, standing in front of the counter as Cole opened the fridge.
He watched as Cole pulled out a pitcher of cold water, helping himself to a glass to chill his throat after their exhausting one-on-one training session. The master of earth remained completely silent, staring at Jay under half lidded eyes, unamused and unphased.
Eventually, Jay and Cole fell into a staring contest. The whole thing was unintentional and just a silly little accident. Jay glared at Cole, and Cole glared back, etcetera.
Neither of them dared to move until Lloyd slid open the doors. "Hey, you two. Nya told me you guys were training. How'd it go?"
Without taking their eyes off of each other, Jay answered. "Not fair. Cole's got super strength and a hammer!"
"Like I said earlier, you're just butthurt that you lost to me three times in a row."
Jay scoffed, breaking eye contact, technically losing their unofficial staring contest, and turning to Lloyd. "Am not. Besides, are we just going to forget that you said that my lighting - I was powerful? That means I could take you on if you had only one of your weapons - the hammer or the earth punch."
"You know that wasn't what I meant."
"But it could."
"You're twisting my words."
"Awh. How adorable. I'm not-"
Lloyd chuckled softly, raiding the cupboards for any snacks to eat. "Okay, you two. Cut it with the squabbling and go play some games or something." He pulled out a granola bar, tearing open the packaging with hungry eyes.
Cole groaned in frustration, eyeing Lloyd with suspicion. "We're not squabbling, we're-"
"Squabbling. You're bickering over something that's really petty. Now, can the two pining idiots leave me be?"
Within seconds, both Jay and Cole's cheeks were hot and pink, and they looked away from each other. Jay hid his face behind his hands, staring at the floor. "Pining?!" Jay whisper-shouted. "Ha, ha, Lloyd, very funny."
The green ninja looked up with his mouth full. "Seriously, Jay? Remember when we visited Mystaké's? You couldn't keep your hands off of him. I-"
Jay babbled, cutting Lloyd off there. He sought to defend himself in a hurry. "I was scared! Spooked out! Geez, Lloyd."
"Right. And physical touch is the perfect way to know you're safe. Especially when it's from your best friend you've been pining for for years. Right, Cole?"
Cole's cheeks reddened and he too hid his face in his hands. Jay noticed this. He couldn't help but note how cute Cole looked whenever he felt embarrassed. That being said, he had just learned that Cole quite possibly, most likely, liked him too.
His heart did a somersault in his chest. Whooping with glee.
Lloyd baffled. "Oh, come on? You guys are-"
"Get out!" Jay and Cole shouted in unison.
Ever so quietly, Lloyd began to slip out of the kitchen, the taste of instant regret lingering on his tongue. It wasn't long, however, until Jay unfortunately yelled out: "Jinx! You owe me a kiss on the lips!"
Everyone froze. Cole and Lloyd rooted to the spot, and Jay, having thrown his hands over his mouth. His eyes darted back and forth between Lloyd and Cole.
"Oh… shoot…" He slowly turned to Lloyd, at which the green ninja voluntarily scampered out of the kitchen, leaving them alone.
A heavy silence fell between them. What to do now? Jay wondered.
Cole opened his mouth to speak but was quickly interrupted by Jay.
"Ah! You gotta play by the rules. You can't talk unless I or someone else says your name three times, or you give me what I said you owe me."
The master of earth gritted his teeth, gulping down the rest of his water furiously and storming out of the kitchen.
Jay winced when Cole slammed the doors. "Okay… that was not ideal."
"Jay!"
Caught in a half asleep state, Jay sat up straight on his bed, wide eyed and alert as Nya barged into the room.
It had only been a couple of hours since he had jinxed Cole. Which also meant it had only been a couple of hours since Cole hadn't made a move. And for a while there, Jay had felt a little remorseful for putting Cole on the spot. But if what Lloyd had said earlier was true, and Cole felt the same way… he needed to see if for himself.
"What did you say to Cole?"
"What did I say to Cole?" He repeated, mostly in an effort to process Nya's question.
She rolled her eyes, hands on her hips as Kai wandered in next to her. He looked over her shoulder, eyes drifting to Jay.
"He won't talk to us. What did you do to him?"
Jay hopped out of bed, moving towards the two siblings with ease. "I didn't do anything!"
"He's lying. I can see it in his eyes." Kai squinted at Jay as the blue ninja hurried past him innocently. "You jinxed Cole."
Jay's legs stopped moving and his head whipped over his shoulder, eyes boring into Kai. "How did you know?"
"Telekinesis- ow!" Kai rubbed the spot on his arm where Nya had elbowed him. "Alright, Lloyd told me."
Nya and Kai followed Jay outside. The blue ninja flopped onto the couch, picking up a game controller and switching on the television. Nya and Kai stood quietly behind the couch, looking down on him. At the home menu, Jay put his feet up on the table.
"Jay, you seriously haven't unjinxed him?" Nya pressed him. "It's been two hours. Don't you think you're taking this a little too far?"
Jay's brows ruffled and he mashed the buttons on his controllers out of frustration. "No. I think we both need this."
The water ninja blinked, sharing a look with Kai. A lightbulb went off in her head then and she stood between Jay and the TV, forcing his legs off the table. "What does he owe you, Jay?"
"S'no big deal," he muttered, looking off to the side.
"Jay."
"At least let me finish my game!"
Nya clenched her jaw, folding her arms across her chest as she stood her ground.
In a split second, however, Kai held his phone up in the air, the cheekiest grin on his face. "I got it! Lloyd just texted me. He said: Cole owes Jay a kiss."
"Jay!" Nya's pupils had dilated. She glared at the ninja in blue with disbelief. She had known about Jay's feelings for Cole for years now and dared to say nothing about it. But at a time like this, it was hard not to. Especially when she also knew that Cole returned the feelings as well.
"You didn't! That's not fair to him."
Jay's mind reeled, trying to point figures at where Nya was right. "Ah? What? How?"
Taking a deep breath, she sat down on the couch beside him, playing it off as coolly as possible. "Jay, Cole likes you too."
To her surprise, Jay didn't seem the slightest bit unphased. He nodded, eyes wandering. "Yeah. I know."
"You know?"
"I may have… picked up on it earlier after training when Lloyd brought something up."
Nya glared at him.
With a heavy sigh, Jay fell back into the couch, covering his face with his hands. "Okay! I'm sorry, the whole jinx thing? It just slipped out! I was caught up in the moment- I… I just wanted to know what it would be like to kiss Cole. And someone has to make the first move, right?"
He created a gap between his fingers, peeking a glance at Nya, who sat with a sorrowful and remorseful expression.
"You're not wrong about that last bit. But you're really giving him no other option." He felt her shift amongst the couch. "Let me put it this way: do you really want your first kiss to be because you forced him to?"
Jay held his breath.
Force. That was the last thing Jay wanted to do to Cole.
Something squeezed Jay's heart at that moment. It felt tight in his chest and he wanted to cry. Nya was right. His impulsiveness and hopeless romanticism was just getting in the way of it all. Blurring the lines between being practical and being funny.
"I'll… apologize to him before dinner."
Which was a total lie.
Jay had swung by Cole's room earlier. Though, the master of earth wasn't there.
He checked outside. But it was getting dark, and thankfully, Cole wasn't out there either.
"I thought you said you'd apologize to Cole before dinner," Kai confronted Jay as he took a seat at the table across from him. "He's not even here."
Kai gestured to the empty seat next to him where Cole normally sat.
At that moment, Zane wandered into the kitchen, putting down a hot plate of lasagna in the middle before sitting down beside Jay at the table. Nya followed shortly after with a plate of veggies.
Tonight was lasagna night. Which was the one night a week when the ninja all sat down together to have a quality dinner. It meant Zane was cooking. It meant Cole would never miss it.
Yet, here they sat with still no sign of the master of earth.
"I'm sure he'll be here soon." Jay assured them all. Though he couldn't shake off the feeling that no matter how long they waited, Cole wouldn't show up.
So they waited.
But the seconds quickly turned into minutes. And it was clear everyone was beginning to grow uncomfortable waiting. Jay could feel their eyes boring into him. Waiting for him to say something. Do something.
He was about to stand up and suggest they all start eating first until Pixal stepped in. "Jay, may I speak with you privately? Outside?" She added, waiting for him by the door.
Jay stood up, avoiding looking at any of the ninja as he wandered out of the kitchen, closing the doors. He turned to Pixal, curious.
"What's up?" He tried to sound sincere. "Are you here to tell me that Cole's mad at me or something?"
The nindroid knitted her brows together, confused by Jay's question.
"No? Is Cole mad at you?"
"I… thought he was." Jay blinked. "Wait, does this mean he isn't? Were the guys just tryna make me feel bad? If so, I-"
Pixal took him by the wrist, leading Jay into the living room. She tossed several darts onto the dartboard, causing the walls to split, revealing the entrance to the new Samurai X Base. Jay whistled, still in awe over how much spare time Pixal had to build all of it.
"Um, ha, ha, what are we going down for?"
"I'm not going down." She pushed Jay into the elevator and placed her hand on the scanner before quickly hopping off. "Cole only requested to see you."
At first, Jay laughed. Alright, the joke was funny, he guessed. That was until what Pixal had told him finally hit. He bounced on his toes, running to the doors as they were mere inches from closing. "Wait. What?!"
The doors closed and Jay stepped back, leaning against the interior of the elevator as it took him down.
He was completely oblivious to anything that was waiting for him once the doors opened again. He felt like a nervous wreck. His legs were shaking. His chest tightened. He hadn't even realized he had been holding his breath the whole ride down until he had to gasp for air like he was struggling to breath.
Suddenly, the elevator came to an abrupt stop and Jay lurched, holding onto the rail for support as the doors slowly moved apart.
Jay peeped, holding his head up to find himself at the edge of the base. He stepped outside, his first instinct to look for Cole.
"Cole?" The name slipped out without any time to think, given Cole couldn't respond due to the jinx he was under. "Pixal told me you wanted to see me. But I'm sorry! I put you on the spot. I really shouldn't have done that… Can I just unjinx you first and we can… I dunno, talk this out?"
His eyes flickered past every mech and vehicle, in search of Cole.
Squaring his shoulders, he began to march. "Cole!" That was one.
"Cole!"
Two.
"Co-"
Something beneath his foot rustled and he looked down, moving his shoe out of the way to find a regular sized piece of printer paper on the ground. On it was the word: JAY.
He furrowed his brows, bending over to pick up the sheet just when he noticed another one three feet away from the last. And another, and some more… In fact, there was a whole trail of paper leading to the center platform of the underground base.
Jay picked up the next paper.
I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE OTHERS TOLD YOU…
And the next,
BUT I'M NOT MAD AT YOU.
A smile crept across his face as he felt a rush of relief wash over him. Thank FSM, Cole wasn't mad at him.
He followed the trail.
BUT WHAT YOU DID WAS KIND OF STUPID.
He couldn't help but wonder why Cole had to write everything in capital letters.
AND IMPULSIVE.
"NOT FAIR."
BUT KINDA CUTE.
Jay bit his lip, grinning awkwardly at the way Cole wrote the word "cute".
First, he had to acknowledge how it wasn't in black ink like the rest of the words. The word "cute" was written in the brightest blue marker Cole could have found. There were several lines beneath the word for emphasis. And a small heart just between the ends of the U.
AND YEAH…
I *heart* YOU TOO.
The words on that paper were big and bold. More prominent than the rest.
I'D LIST EVERYTHING
ABOUT YOU, BUT I'M
RUNNING OUT OF PAPER
AND ROOM HERE.
Jay laughed. He was almost at the end of the trail now. Almost to the center of the other side.
BUT I GUESS YOU COULD SAY,
SOMEONE NEEDED TO
MAKE THE FIRST MOVE.
LOOK UP.
Jay tilted his head upwards.
He was still holding onto the first sheet of paper that had his name scribbled on it when Cole pulled him into a kiss.
Several small bolts of lightning sprang out from where he stood as he felt his legs turn into putty. They bounced off the floor and hit Jay's legs. He had no clue whether or not the bolts had struck Cole as well, but if they did, he seemed mighty unphased by it.
The kiss was long, warm, genuine, and incredible.
And he wanted to experience it again once Cole pulled away, the taste still lingering.
"I-" Jay's face flushed. He dropped the paper in his hands, his eyes moving side to side as he searched for the words that remained caught in his throat. "Cole?"
"I owed you a kiss, didn't I?."
Jay felt himself nodding.
"And to be honest, I've been looking for an excuse to kiss you."
Jay let out a short snicker. He had said the same thing earlier.
"Are you… okay?" Cole waved a hand in front of Jay, concern scrawled all over his face.
"Yeah… Yeah!" Jay leapt, clutching the sides of Cole's face with his hands. He stared deeply into Cole's eyes, taking a moment to lose himself in them.
Until something that had stuck with him earlier intruded his thoughts. "Wait… but our first kiss- it wasn't ruined?"
Cole wrinkled his nose, unsure by what Jay meant. "Ruined? How so?"
"Agh, Nya said, and I quote "do you really want your first kiss to be because you forced him to?""
"Really?" Cole rolled his eyes, taking Jay's hands off of his face. He held onto them tightly, as if he were afraid if he let go, that Jay would slip away. "If anything, a kiss by jinx? That's definitely us. And if it makes you feel any better, you didn't force me to do anything. You practically gave me a window of opportunity, Walker."
"Oh, thank FSM," Jay breathed, feeling all his worries slip away at once. "But can we do it again? This time I get to initiate it?"
Cole opened his mouth, ready to agree when the computer from far away switched on, displaying Kai and Pixal's impatient faces. Nya stood off to the side, hands over her chest with a smile on her face when she saw Jay and Cole.
Hey, lovebirds. Would you quit making out for just one second and get up here? I'm- Nya jabbed Kai in the shoulder. We're starving.
And the food is getting cold. Pixal added.
"You guys can start without us," Cole went ahead and told them.
Kai's expression faltered. But-
"Go!" The two ninja in the underground base shouted. Laughter attached to the end of it.
Cole wiped a fake tear from his eye once the screen switched off. He turned to Jay, a sly look on his face when he said to him:
"Jinx. You owe me a soda."