...only to be above the brig, reaching in his hand...shirtless. Seeing his muscular bod, uncovered and tanned, flustered me greatly. I took his hand anyway.
"Let's make a deal not to make this any weirder," I said as we got to the top.
"No more deals with slime people?" he asked.
"No more deals with slime people." I handed him his hoodie and stood. "I'm just glad I didn't lose one of the best people in my life."
Cole smiled tenderly at me. I blushed. "What is it?" he asked.
"Oh, just...just..." I shoved his hoodie in his face. "Put this on, please!"
Cole nodded, and I looked down, incredibly embarrassed.
"Jay, I'll pray with all my might that the next trouble we face won't be so weird." Cole looked off to the side and bit. "That came out awkward."
I chuckled. "Well, let's hope so."
We were greeted by Nya as soon as we had picked ourselves up. She looked from me to Cole, then back to me. "So...how'd your little meeting go?"
"Oh, well, the Nyx is gone," I said, though I was feeling awkward, especially since I had practically kissed my best friend in desperation.
"Oh. So, um... Zane's made breakfast, thought you might want to, you know...come and get it."
I studied her face. Though she was putting on a smile, I could tell she was bothered by the way Cole and I looked at each other. Almost...jealous.
"Okay. Love ya, Nya," I replied, before standing. "I have to convince her I love her again," I told Cole. "Did you see the look on her face?"
I looked at Nya as I sat by her, bringing my plate. "Nya...I...I know you saw everything but...Cole and I are still just friends."
Nya looked up. Her beautiful face was wet with tears. "Really? There was nothing about that?"
"No," I replied. "I was...attempting CPR, that's all. And Cole happened to have left his sweatshirt in the brig. It was completely accidental."
"Things have been weird lately," Nya said as she finally touched her food. I watched her, ignoring mine in favor of seeing her get better. "Who knew you'd be defeating water monsters, then stranded in another dimension, and then fighting aliens with weird magical powers?"
"Heh, yeah," Jay replied. "And before that, I was, uh...tied up in an alleyway, and before that...abducted by an evil Skylor clone. What has this plot come to?"
"I'm glad it's over now," Nya replied. "But even though we're safe I'm still worried."
"This isn't about me and Cole, is it?" Concerned, I placed a hand on her shoulder.
"What? No, of course not, it's just...okay, maybe. I just...saw him look at you in a certain way and..."
"I saw it too," I admitted. "But...he's always been my buddy, my pal, my unrelated big brother. I never really thought of him as anything more than a really good friend, and I want to keep up a good relationship with you." I lightly touched Nya's cheek. Her skin was cold and clammy from crying, but soft nonetheless. I gently rubbed her beauty mark, causing her to blush a little.
"Jay, can I sit by you?"
I jumped at the gravelly voice that broke me out of my state. "Cole! Oh my gosh, you nearly gave my a heart attack and I'm the Master of Lightning!"
"Sorry," the raven-haired boy said as he sat by me.
I turned to him. "What's up, buttercup?" Nya shot me a look and I mouthed, "It rhymes!"
"I want to tell you something alone."
"It'll have to wait." I sighed. "Nya needs me right now and I haven't even started on dinner yet."
Cole wolfed down his food, downed his iced tea and got up, clearing his place immediately. I tilted my head. Cole's been acting weird lately. Could it be he's in on this?
I waited eagerly for Jay to finish his dinner, then grabbed him and pulled him away, just to notice Nya's broken face blur as I pulled him into my room.
"Cole?" Jay whispered. "What are you doing? You know this is all a huge misunderstanding!"
I blinked, then stared at him. His scrawny, teenage figure, topped by such a soft, youthful face, and the softest hair in all of Ninjago...though Jay had been my friend, I had never really thought of how cute he really was.
"Cole," Jay said, his blue eyes fixed on my face. "You're acting weird. If something's up, spill it. We're best friends and I'm concerned. I mean, usually it's you who worries about me but this time it's the opposite. I mean, you're just..." His voice and expression both softened. "...Not yourself today, alright?"
I sighed. "Well...maybe I've known you too long, because I think you're precious and I would protect you with my life."
Jay looked up at me for a second, then looked away. "I...I guess we haven't really come to terms in a while. We're always arguing and teasing each other. It seems like it's only been recently we've had...moments together, you know?" He looked back at me. "This doesn't mean we're much more than friends, but..."
I sighed. "Well, Jay...I just want you to know that I'm sorry for every time I made you doubt me. From my negative comments when we first met to almost stealing your girlfriend."
"Hey, I'm over that. Well, I'm over everything," Jay replied. "I mean...well, if you're holding anything back, just...spill the beans. I'm right here, buddy."
I took his hand and held it in front of me. It was soft, but somewhat scarred, probably from doing so much building and fixing in the past. I watched his face turn a little pink, and cleared my throat. "I want to be the one who protects you for the rest of your life."
"Cole, you know we're gonna be a team for a long time. What do you mean?"
"I mean...I want you to be my favorite person for as long as I live."
"You're making no sense." Jay looked at me, his expression puzzled and torn. "What do you really want?"
"I've been hiding something for as long as I've known you."
"What? What is it?" Jay looked concerned. "It's not about earlier?"
I heard it from behind the door of Cole's sleeping quarters.
"Cole, I just want you to know that whatever situation you're in, however you see the world...or me...I'm here for you, I've got your back." That was Jay's voice. He was speaking softly, almost emotionally.
"Jay, I'm really glad I have you in my life." The raspy tone belonged to Cole. I held my breath. "You're the one who made me realize life doesn't have to be full of darkness. You sort of...turned on a light in my heart."
"What the heck? That sounds weird coming out of you!" Jay shouted. I chuckled.
"What? You're pretty much the face of optimism, smiling even though it's hard." I heard Cole chuckle. "Everyone here knows it."
"Heh heh...right. We should go out, shouldn't we?" My boyfriend did not just say that. I bit my lip, a tear coming to my eye.
"Yeah." I shivered in my boots. Were my ears playing a nasty prank?
"Let's not make this any more awkward," Jay told his best friend in a rushed tone. "We should leave."
This can't be...but Jay...
The door opened and smacked me in the face, and my Yelp gave me away. I quickly wiped away the tears and plastered on a smile. "Oh, hey guys! Just, uh...passing by. So, I heard you're going out together? Sounds fun!"
"What? No!" Jay blushed, shaking his head quickly. "Where did you hear that? We said nothing about going out! Going out of the room, maybe, but..."
"Ah, denial," I choked. "Not just a big river, is it?"
"I'm not in denial!" Jay yelled, before clearing his throat. "We're still just friends. Cole was just having an off-day and turned to me for support."
"No," I replied, my voice shaking, and I felt it, shaking like my heart. "I heard everything."
"I have to show support to my best friend. We made a vow to have each other's backs, and when one of us is having eternal conflict, the other helps them through it. It's that simple. We don't have to start a fight over it."
"I thought I was the Yin to your Yang," I whispered, stepping back and gazing into Jay's agonizingly adorable, pitiful mug. "I guess I was wrong."
