Disclaimer: Don't assume I own TOL or much of anything at all. My family's poor. Don't sue me.

Notes:

ReveredMage thanks for reviewing! Well, as much as I would like more Moses/Jay moments, I couldn't find the place to put in as much with how the story is going, which is indeed quite slow… So I placed a cute moment between them in this chapter. I was able to read one of your stories and I envy your grasp of English. My vocabulary's not that broad so I can't use much variation, but I'm still trying.

SilentCat & Cheea5 thanks for reviewing again!

IIIIIIIIIIII

Chapter 8

It was well into the afternoon that the reminiscing that Moses started had ended in a relaxed silence, until it was then broken by Norma who announced that it's now time to give Jay his presents. Hearing this made the birthday boy feel excited at the thought. As much as he tried to hide it with his intelligence and seriousness, it couldn't be denied that Jay still has a child-like personality hidden somewhere inside him even during his coming of age at seventeen.

The first to present his gift was Will with his first published book about the rare monsters found only in the Legacy, which Jay found that he appreciated since he was (or they all were) after all had been dragged by Will during most of his obsessive hunts. Having the book felt like it was also the fruit of all his hardships and they were, unfortunately, many.

Senel then gave him a new pair of gloves made of cotton and mythril, which he accepted gratefully since his old pair was too tattered and worn already. As Jay tried it on, it felt a little heavier than his old pair yet it's also soft and comfortable to wear, not to mention more durable and can protect his hands better than his old one.

The little girls then got to give him their gifts which Jay replied to both with "Thank you." Then Norma presented hers that got a muttered, "Gee thanks" from the birthday boy. "You better mean it, JJ!" Norma said with a suspicious look on her face.

"Here's my gift for you Jay, I hope you like it." Chloe said as she took the dagger from the leather holder at her waist and presented it to the younger boy.

At seeing the object, a strange sense of foreboding filled the ninja and Jay felt his body shiver in reaction as a chill went down his spine. He hesitated for a split second before he reached out to touch it and Jay swore he could feel his hands tremble in apprehension as if he expected something bad to happen at the contact. The others were unaware of the information specialist's inner turmoil however, as all their eyes were also drawn to the mysterious dagger as though they were hypnotized.

Jay glanced up to look at Moses, unknowingly seeking the bandit's reassuring gaze, but the bandit was also staring at the dagger. However, the look he saw at the beast tamer's face was not that of awe unlike the others. Jay could have thought that the bandit was also feeling the same measure of anxiety that he does because of the look of trepidation that was reflected in the beast tamer's face. Before he could wonder about the bandit's similar reaction to his, the ninja's hand finally made contact with the mysterious object.

The moment the his fingertips touched the handle of the dagger, Jay saw a jolting surge of black electricity flowed from it into his body. He gasped in shock, expecting pain to course through him with the current that flowed in his veins. For a moment he thought he felt it, but then all his being suddenly became aware of a tinkling sound that resonated in his ears. As swiftly as it came, the dark energy disappeared.

Jay must have grasped the handle in the middle of the spell because he was surprised to see that he was now holding the dagger tightly in his right hand. When he looked up to see the others' reaction to what happened, he was surprised to see expectant looks from them instead of the horrified ones he was sure they'd possess after the incident. Even the bandit, whom he thought must have felt something given his expression earlier, was acting as if nothing alarming actually happened. 'Didn't they see that dark light?' Jay thought to himself. He found his answer when Chloe smiled at him and asked him,

"So what do you think of it, Jay?"

"C's gift is way cooler than mine, that's for sure."

"T-thank you. Its-its really nice." Jay stammered in reply, his mind still perplexed at the thought that his friends didn't see anything at all. 'What was that? And that sound just now? Where did it come from?' A lot of questions began swirling inside his mind as he stared at the dagger in his hand.

Jay was suddenly brought out of his inquiring thoughts however; when he heard a familiar (and annoying) voice whoop and said aloud, "It's my turn now!"

The ninja immediately placed the dagger along with the others in his pouch and looked up as the taller boy approached him. The information specialist searched the other's eyes for any sign that would tell him that the beast tamer indeed saw something. However, Jay was disappointed when the bandit just grinned at him, produced a bundle of something gift wrapped out of nowhere and shoved it in his arms. Jay staggered for a moment, expecting the large object to be heavy, but straightened up immediately when he realized that it was actually quite the contrary.

The large (for Jay because he's smaller than Moses) object in his hands felt soft and seemed to weigh nothing at all. After what seemed like forever, the ninja deducted it to be something quite harmless, but that didn't prevent him from holding the gift at arms length and looking at it as if it's something that would bite.

"Come on now, Jay. Open it!" Moses said encouragingly with an eager look in his face, which caused the ninja to throw him a suspicious look in return.

"Come on. I swear it ain't something that's dangerous." Moses said imploringly this time.

Jay knew that that look would be followed by something he hated seeing in the stupid bandit's face if he didn't grant the request. So, with an exasperated huff, he tore at the gift wrap before the bandit could turn to look at him like a kicked puppy.

What he saw as his "gift" however, made him want to kick the stupid idiot himself.

All the ninja could do was gape at the pink stuffed monkey he held in his hands. As his bout of incredulity faded, he was able to notice that the fluffy monkey possessed a body ornament made of small red beads that hung from its right shoulder to its left hip and a small silver bead that marked its belly button. The pink monkey could be described as cute, what with all the gushing noises that the girls were making about it. But what took the bite out of it all was what he noticed the monkey was lacking or what it has in its place. The fluffy stuffed toy's wearing a black eye patch in place of a left eye with a red bead at its center, which leaves no doubt in Jay's mind as to who it was supposed to remind him of.

"Why thank you Moses. I never thought you'd give me a complete likeness of yourself." Jay said bemusedly, with sarcasm lacing his voice.

The bandit missed the sarcasm however as he grinned and replied, "No prob!" The beast tamer's honest words did nothing other than annoy the ninja more; and the said ninja found his control of his temper already slipping at the edge of an invisible precipice, until it fell completely.

"I meant that as an insult you big oaf!"

"Callin' me 'cute' is an insult?" Moses asked, confusion written all over his face. This made the ninja want to tear his hair out in frustration.

"I never called you 'cute!' I meant you look like the stuffed monkey you stupid bandit!"

"But the ladies said that it's cute!" Moses defended, and he added "so you must've thought it too!"

This cause Jay to stand up in indignation as he shouted, "I did not!" The bandit who was sitting beside him stood up as well to shout back, "Did too!"

"DID NOT!"

"DID TOO!"

"DID NOT!!"

"DID TOO!!"

The ninja and the bandit found themselves glaring each other down, with Moses looking down at the younger boy and Jay unconsciously clutching "Monkey Moses" to his chest as he growled at the stupid bandit.

(Clonk! Clonk!)

The two found themselves clutching their heads in pain a moment later as Will bonked them in the head. "Stop it you two! And sit down!" he reprimanded. Will then returned to his seat after the two reluctantly complied.

"Honestly, when will you two ever stop fighting?" asked Chloe as she let out an exasperated sigh.

"I don't know about that, C. If G-girl was here though she's said something like," and Norma made a perfect imitation of Grune as she clasped her hands together and in a soft voice added "'Those two are really good friends!'" Hearing this made the others laugh humorously, leaving the bandit and the ninja blushing in embarrassment.

'Friend? I guess we are friends even if he and I always end up bickering with each other...' Jay thought to himself as he looked at Moses.

Feeling the other's eyes on him, Moses turned to ninja with a smile so full of warmth that made Jay blush even more. The ninja felt relieved that his face was still flushed red from embarrassment for the bandit to notice anything else. Sometimes, it's these warm pleasant feelings that the bandit evokes in his heart that made the ninja think of the bandit as something more.

Finally the laughter died down and it was Shirley's turn to present her gift with her colorful cake, now bedecked with seventeen white candles at the top. She placed it in front of him at the living room table, and they all sang the Happy Birthday song for the ninja. When it ended, they urged him to make a wish before he blew out his candles.

The ninja, feeling shy again at their attention, smiled at each of them as he unknowingly hugged the stuffed monkey in his arms for comfort, which made him look like a ten year old kid in his birthday instead of seventeen.

Jay looked at each of their expectant faces and with a meaningful glance at Moses, he knew that he finally got what he wished for whether he wanted to admit it or not. He now has his friends to call his family in the Legacy, and thinking that it's the best moment to be honest with himself, Jay finally accepted that he has Moses too, who is closer to his heart than anyone else. He had always wanted a family and, older brother or not, he finally has someone he can call his own... With that last thought, Jay closed his eyes as he made a new wish and smiled when he finally blew out the candles.

'I wish all of us would stay together, forever.'

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Feeling full after eating all the food that Moses fed him and the cake that followed made Jay feel incredibly sleepy, especially since the bandit had woken him up really early that day when he only had a few hours of sleep because he had stayed up late the night before. The buzz of conversations around him wasn't helping any as it only served to lull him to sleep. The ninja's eyes started flickering shut as he yawned silently, covering his mouth so that the others won't notice.

It failed however because Shirley, who wasn't joining in at the discussion at the moment, saw the ninja recline in his seat with his eyes half lidded in drowsiness. Shirley then caught their attention and pointed to the younger boy, who now seemed to have finally lost the battle to stay awake.

"Aww, JJ looks so cute!" Norma gushed out in a whisper.

"Well, I guess we should call it a night." Will told the others in a low voice so as not to disturb the sleeping ninja. The little girls had already fallen asleep long before the ninja did and Senel went to take Elsa home while Harriet slept in the room upstairs. "I guess kids can't really hold out long from sleep when they're tired and once they have been fed." he added. The ninja would have bristled like an angry cat if he had heard this since he's very defensive at being called and treated like a child, but his current situation doesn't let him separate from that category.

As the others stood to fix the mess in the living room as silently as possible, Moses turned to whisper to the Oresoren brothers.

"You guys can go straight to the camp now. Tell Csaba I gave my permission for you to meet Aden. I'll be taking Jay home."

"Ors!" they replied in unison, and they shuffled out of Will's house after saying good bye to the others who bade them to take care in return.

Turning to Jay, Moses felt a fierce wave of tenderness wash through him at seeing such an endearing sight. The ninja was now curled up in the sofa fast asleep, with "Monkey Moses" clutched to his chest like a teddy. Moses had never seen the ninja look so vulnerable like this and something tugged at his heart at the sight.

"I'm going to take you home now, Jay." Moses whispered for the ninja to hear, as he bent down to gently hook his left hand under the ninja's knees and carefully slip his right under younger boy's shoulders. Jay's eyes opened a little at the movement.

"Moses?" he asked, half asleep.

"Yeah?" Moses whispered in reply as he slowly lifted the younger boy to his chest. Hearing Moses' voice caused a sleepy smile to appear in Jay's lips, and Moses almost gasped in surprise at the sight of it. The bandit had never seen the ninja smile. Jay seemed to have a permanent frown or scowl in his face especially when Moses is around, and the bandit's voice seemed to always grate on the ninja's nerves. To witness such a smile form at the ninja's lips was so rare to behold, and especially one caused by hearing his voice, which made it all the more precious to the bandit. Moses knew that the memory of it was something that will be with him for the rest of his life.

Carefully, so as not to jostle the treasure he held in his hands, Moses stood up and went to bid the others good bye as well.

"Thanks guys. I owe you one." Moses said to them.

"Take care of him Moses." said Will.

"Sure do!" he replied in a whispered shout.

"I'll collect the debt someday, Red" Norma said.

"Put it on my tab, Bubbles." Moses replied with a wink.

"Make sure you tuck him in, Moses." said Shirley.

"I will." he said, glancing at the bundle in his arms with a tender look in his eyes.

"Be careful on your way back." said Chloe.

"Yeah… Please tell the others I said good bye." Moses said, not quite meeting their eyes. For a second there, the others thought they saw a melancholy look pass over the bandits face as he said the last words, but if it ever existed, it was swiftly covered up with the usual grin the bandit wore when he looked at them.

"G'nyt!" Moses said as he turned to walk out the door and out of their lives, for what will seem to be forever.

A/N: 2700+ words! It's a record for me! Please read and review!