#”what’s your personality” Cole and Jay. Bruise.

[legosreallyarekissable]

I need you guys to know I’m NOT normal about them. Also awarness erm I use quequed cause this is gonna be a pinned post

INTROOO (outdated)

[kywaslost]

Sleeping With The Ninja

A/N: I guess it’s about time I finally get something posted… I’ve been in this depressive slump for a while, especially because of the way my friends have been treating me, and for some strange reason Ninjago has been my source of comfort, so here’s this. And I made them platonic, idrk why.

Kai: Person A falling asleep in Person B’s shoulder/chest/lap and Person B really needs to get up to go do something but doesn’t want to wake Person A.

Today’s tasks have taken a toll on you. It was a chore day on the Bounty, but around lunch a call came in requesting help from the ninja. You went with Cole to take care of what you thought would be a simple mission, but it ended up taking 5 hours and leaving the both of you bruised and battered. It was a bank robbery, but on a much larger scale than you thought. There were so many ‘villains’ to catch while also protecting civilians. It was a tough task for only two ninja.

You didn’t get back to the Bounty until after dinner and you were exhausted. You barely had enough energy to shower, and it took you twice as long to complete the task and change into something more comfortable. You still had a few chores to do, but Wu dismissed them for you to complete in the morning. You didn’t have enough energy to do anything other than sleep, but it was only almost 7 at night and too early to go to bed.

Stepping into the gaming room to find a way to kill time, you spot your best friend Kai sitting on the floor, sorting through the various video games and stacking them neatly. You quickly walked over to him, sat down beside him, and laid your head down on his lap.

“Oh, hey Y/N,” he greeted with a smile. “How was it?”

You only shook your head, burying your face into Kai’s knee.

“Not well?”

“I’m exhausted,” you muttered, closing your eyes. “ ‘Ma lay here a minute.

Your words blurred together slightly. Kai didn’t say anything as he finished up sorting and stacking the video games.

It didn’t take long for him to finish, and Kai needed to finish a few other chores before he was allowed to turn in for the night. You were still laying on his lap, so Kai said softly, “I’ve got to get up, Y/N. You should go to bed anyway.” Except he didn’t receive a response. Leaning over to look at your face, Kai asked, “Y/N?” Your eyes were closed as Kai noticed you were sound while resting on his lap.

Kai smiled softly, pulling out his phone. He was totally going to tease you for this later. Taking a picture of your sleeping form, Kai set his phone to the side and looked around the room. He had to finish his chores so Wu wouldn’t get on to him, but he didn’t want to move you. You looked so peaceful and you looked really worn down when you first entered the room. Kai didn’t want to disturb you.

There was a basket of laundry not too far away that needed folding. Kai was pretty sure that was Jay’s chore, but surely he’d swap chores around so as not to disturb you. So Kai pulled the basket closer and began folding laundry, careful not to disturb you. He’d carry you to bed later, or wake you up, but for the moment he was going to let you rest.

Cole: Person A falling asleep during the car ride home and Person B carrying them into the house.

The whole team was sent on a long single-day mission, leaving early in the morning and returning late into the night. You were all piled into one of the many vehicles that could carry you and soft music was playing in the background. Lloyd was driving as Kai sat shotgun, talking quietly to keep both Lloyd and himself awake. Nya was passed out on Jay’s shoulder, and Jay leaned over on Zane. The nindroid stared out the window quietly, joining in on Lloyd and Kai’s discussion every now and then.

You sat beside Cole in the back of the vehicle in a peaceful silence. You were curled up with your feet up on the seat between the two of you, drifting in and out of sleep as you watched a movie with Cole on his phone. As time passed, your feet slid off of the seat and your eyes began to droop. Your head now rested against Cole’s shoulder. Sometime later, your eyes closed for good as you slept soundly against your friend.

By the time you’d reached the monastery, you were passed out still, except you had moved to lean against your window.

“We’re here,” Lloyd called softly to those who were still awake or somewhat aware of their surroundings. Nya had just woken up, and Jay was in the process of waking up. As people started getting out of the car, Cole noticed that you were still knocked out beside him.

He contemplated waking you up, but you were hit pretty hard during the mission and he wanted you to rest as much as you could. So, in response, Cole slowly slid one arm under your knees and one behind your back. He pulled you close to his chest and slid out of the vehicle, kicking the door shut behind him.

“Aw, look at Cole being a gentleman,” Jay laughed slightly.

The earth ninja glared at Jay. “I don’t want to wake them.”

Following the others into the monastery, Cole carried you up the stairs and to your bedroom. He pulled back your blanket, gently laid you down, and tucked you in. You began to move in your sleep, and Cole froze. He was afraid he had woken you up, but watched as you rolled onto your side and buried your face into your blanket.

Cole smiled softly, then leaned down to press a gentle kiss to your forehead. He pushed the hair out of your face before leaving you be for the rest of the night.

Jay: Person A and Person B sleeping in the same bed and Person A keeps waking up cold because person B has pulled all the blankets off of them.

Having a movie night with Jay leads to you falling asleep in the same bed as him, his laptop sitting in between the two of you. You lay closest to the wall, back to Jay as you bury yourself in Jay’s blanket. You hadn’t been asleep for long, but you fell asleep before Jay. You’d say your sleep was quite peaceful, or it was until you were exposed to the chilly air abruptly. Opening your eyes, you realized that you no longer had a blanket.

Rolling over, you saw Jay with the blanket you were previously sharing. He was still asleep and didn’t seem to be aware of his actions. You grunted slightly as you pulled the blanket back towards you, enough to cover yourself as you rolled back over and closed your eyes.

It didn’t take long for you to be awoken again by Jay yanking the blankets off of you. It happened several times within the next 15 minutes, and you finally had had enough. Crawling out of Jay’s bed, you stomped over to his closet, pulled out his spare blanket, and made yourself comfortable back on your side of his bed. You closed his computer, tucked it away at the foot of the bed, and layed back down and finally fell asleep for the rest of the night.

When you were awoken by Jay in the morning, he had asked why you had a different blanket. “Where did you even find that?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

You glared at him playfully from where you still lay. “In the closet. You kept taking the blanket we were sharing. I finally had enough so I took your spare.” You lightly kicked him off of the bed. “I’m not sharing a blanket with you anymore.” Your words only made Jay smile with a small laugh, and you couldn’t help but laugh with him.

Zane: Person A can’t sleep so Person B sings them a lullaby.

You weren’t sure what time it was. You remembered leaving your room around 1:45 a.m. but you had been out on the deck of the bounty for a while. You had tried for hours to fall asleep, but you finally called it quits and headed outside to get some fresh air. You hated how you were feeling at the moment. Your body was so exhausted you couldn’t stand, so you resorted to leaning against the railing on the edge of the ship. Yet you couldn’t seem to rest in the slightest.

You were scared out of your mind when a cool hand was placed on your shoulder. Shooting upright and wiping your head around, your fearful gaze met Zane’s blue eyes. The nindroid was kneeling behind you, looking at you worriedly. “Are you alright, Y/N?”

You blinked slowly, then turned your head to look over the edge of the railing. Shrugging, you muttered, “Can’t sleep.”

Zane’s brows furrowed. “You don’t look well. Maybe you should come inside.”

You shook your head. “I like it out here.”

With a sigh, Zane moved to sit beside you, pulling you to lean onto his shoulder. “Then I will stay here with you.”

You hummed contently, nuzzling your cheek into his shoulder. The two of you sat in silence for a moment, enjoying each other’s company. You still couldn’t seem to fall asleep, but you were much more relaxed. “Hey Zane?”

“Yes?”

You hesitated for a moment. “Do- do you think you could do something for me?”

Zane’s voice was gentle as he responded with, “Of course.”

“Could you hum something?” You hoped you weren’t asking too much from your friend, but his voice was so soothing. There would be times when Zane would be driving the team home from a mission, and he’d hum quietly to himself when he thought everyone else was asleep. And if you were sneaky you could catch him humming to himself while making dinner. There was just something about his voice that calmed you.

“I suppose I could.” Zane wrapped an arm around you so you could get more comfortable before he began to hum quietly. You could hear his voice vibrating lowly through his chest, and you closed your eyes to enjoy the peacefulness of it all. For the first time that night, you felt like you could finally close your eyes and get some rest.

After a few minutes, Zane looked down to check on you. You hadn’t said anything in a while, and your breathing had changed. The nindroid smiled softly when he saw you asleep on his shoulder. He thought you looked exhausted when he first found you, enough to make you sick. He was just glad you were finally resting. Zane wanted to carry you back to your room, but he was afraid of waking you, and it was a nice night. He did adjust you, however, so you were more comfortable. Starting to hum again, Zane watched over you for the rest of the night.

Lloyd: Person A can tell that Person B is having a nightmare because they’re making weird noises/motions in their sleep so Person A wakes them up and asks if they’re ok.

Lloyd wasn’t known to be one of the deeper sleepers on the team. In fact, he was probably one of the lightest sleepers out there. It didn’t help that some of his roommates were loud sleepers. Jay talked in his sleep, and Cole snored excessively loud. It drove Lloyd insane on nights when he was exhausted but would be awoken several times due to his brothers, but he touched through it most of the time.

You never really made noise while you slept, and that’s what allowed Lloyd to get a full night’s rest. The two of you were best friends, and the two of you often spent nights together in one of your rooms. Especially during the day, when Lloyd wants to take a nap, he’d settle down in your room for a few hours while you either napped with him, or worked on something quietly.

Afternoon training had finally ended and everyone was either in the process of showering and settling down or getting ready for dinner. It didn’t take long for you to shower, change, and curl up under your blanket while you waited for dinner, and it didn’t take much longer for Lloyd to come knocking on your door.

“Hey Y/N,” the ninja greeted with a gentle smile as he leaned against your doorframe. “Mind if I come in?”

You looked up from your phone and scooted over on your bed, patting the spot next to you. “Not at all!”

Lloyd flopped down beside you with a groan. “Man, am I beat. HIs blonde hair fanned over your pillow, and Lloyd tilted his head up to look at you, still smiling. “Whatcha watching?” He scooted further up the bed, moving to rest his head right above your shoulder to look at your phone. His hair tickled your face slightly, and you could smell his shampoo from the shower he must have just taken.

“Just social media, nothing much,” you answered, turning your phone off and setting it beside you. You adjusted yourself to rest on Lloyd’s shoulder, burying your face on the side of his clothed chest. In response, the green ninja wrapped an arm around you. “I could go for a nap right about now.”

Lloyd’s fell to rest on top of your own. With a contented sigh, he said, “Me too.” The two of you fell into a soft silence as Lloyd pulled your blanket over himself and began to doze off.

It didn’t take long for Lloyd to be woken up by you. He woke up quicker than usual, because you almost never made noise in your sleep, especially soft whimpers and whines. Opening his eyes, Lloyd immediately scans the room for any threats. There seemed to be nothing harmful that he could see. The two of you were the only ones in your room, and you were still asleep beside him. That’s when Lloyd noticed how distressed you were. Your back was to the ninja, but he could still see how quickly you were breathing. Your shoulders shook, and you kept moving slightly.

Lloyd was no stranger to nightmares, and he knew how much it could mean to someone to be awoken and comforted by a close friend. So Lloyd gently wraps his arms around you and turns you around to place your head on his chest again. He keeps one hand around your waist and moves his other to run through your hair. “You’re alright,” he said softly, pressing a soft kiss to the top of your head. “Wake up Y/N, you’re alright. I’ve got you.” It took a lot of gentle caresses and soft words for Lloyd to wake you up, but eventually your eyes opened and you were pulled away from your nightmare.

You weren’t sure where you were at first, but it didn’t take long for you to recognize your best friend beside you, covered by your favorite blanket and watching you with watery eyes. “Are you alright?” Lloyd asked as he placed a hand on your shoulder. “You had a nightmare.”

You took a deep breath, releasing it shakily. You shrugged your shoulders, slowly curling in on yourself against Lloyd. “I think so?”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I don’t remember it.” Part of you was grateful you couldn’t remember the dream, but you felt terrible for waking your friend. “I’m sorry for waking you up. I know that’s why you sleep in here, cause I never --”

“Hey, don’t be sorry,” the green ninja cut you off, hugging you tighter against him. “I’d wake up a thousand times every night if that meant you’d rest peacefully.” He smiled at the thought. “I really don't mind. And, besides, I think dinner is almost ready. We’d be waking up soon anyway.” He was silent for a moment. “You sure you’re ok?”

“Yeah, I’m alright.” You smiled softly, and added, “Thank you Lloyd.”

“Anytime.”

[lloyds1fan]

Ninja habits

This is pretty much a post about habits I think the ninja would have or things that they would do in the show or my au, I might to do other people in the future but no promises :)

KAI: ○I think Kais eyes would get slightly brighter red then usual when he gets super angry or hurt. ○ Kai has slight burn scars on his hands from when he first got his power and weren't used to them (same with his dad Ray). ○ Kai is like a human heater, his body temperature is always warmer than a normal person's so he is always in the middle of the couch or cuddle pile with the ninja.

COLE: ○ I feel like Cole is the best at being intimidating out of all the ninja even though he is a huge cuddle bug.○ From his time being a ghost sometimes he forgets he's human again and tries to walk through a wall or something or and sadly has nightmares of dissappearing. ○ Cole has super good lower body strength as well as upper body strength from when he used to be a dancer and sometimes when he's playing music he starts dancing using some of the moves his dad taught him.

JAY: Jay has little lighting spark scars on his hands,wrists, and arms. (I know they have a proper name but I forgot it, I'm sorry) Nya calls Jay's lightning spark scars lightning kisses :). ○Jay and Cole sometimes curl eachothers hair out of boredom or for practice, and they both have little pins and trinkets they put in eachothers hair (I don't really ship bruise shipping but if you do thats all good :). ○ Jay and Nya often help eachother when they have nightmares because they mainly have nightmares abt Nadakan and the others don't know what happened.

ZANE: ○ Zane is the main healer/nurse/doctor for the team and helps treat their injuries after training or missions. He also gave all the ninja basic training on how to treat simple wounds. ○ When he is especially stressed or upset he accidentally creates thin layers of ice over and liquids nearby. ○ Zane and Lloyd always had a closer connection after Lloyd saved Zane from his ice emporer situation and so Lloyd often helps Zane when he has nightmares because of that (yes I believe Zane has nightmares and sometimes needs sleep (some sort of temporary shut down mode that's needed for whatever reason). ○ After missions Nya or Pixel helps him with his injuries if he can't take care of them himself. ○ Zanes eyes glow in the dark like Christmas lights and so when the other ninja run into him at night they get the scare of their lives because it's like waking up to a freddy fazbear in your house.

LLOYD: ○ Lloyd loves pillow mints and has his own secret stash of candy beneath the floor boards in his room. (He used to have one in the kitchen but then someone found it and kept stealing from it, he has no idea who though.) ○ He purrs when he's happy like a cat, him and garmadon have also hissed at eachother every now and then when angry at eachother. (He's also accidentally hissed at enemy's before and the other ninja find it very amusing) ○ Sometimes due to being part oni he feels the need to eat raw meat, (NOT HUMAN MEAT) so he often eats beef jerky or uncooked lunch meat because he finds it unsanitary and wierd (Zane tried to convince him it was normal and he wouldn't get sick because of it because hes part on but Lloyd didn't care.) ○ Lloyd is a VERY light sleeper during to a couple of reasons 1) When he used to live on the streets he was always alert just incase someone found him and tried to hurt or help him. 2) He is scared of enemy's coming to attack someone on the monastery 3) Because he is part oni his senses are a lot stronger than a normal person so he can hear super well so he wakes up easily when other people get up at night. ○ Lloyd's eyes glow in the dark and scare the life out of the other ninja when they run into him at night.

Thats all for now. (I think you can tell my favorite character from how long these are and my username and ig my entire account lol) Hope you enjoyed these! :)

[rainbow-flavoured-skittles]

Best Friends(?)

I have. finally finished the bruise childhood friends au. the series is finally completed. I can finally write the other stuff I've wanted to now that this is done. I'm kinda in disbelief, especially since the first fic in this series was my very first ninjago fic. and now the story is over that's actually insane to me I am dying

cross posted to ao3

~

“Okay… get rid of one: Twizzlers, or KitKats?” Cole asked. He and Jay lay lazily on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. Jay threw a ping pong ball up and down.

“Twizzlers. They are an abomination that must be erased from the face of Ninjago,” Jay declared. Cole stuck his tongue out at him. Jay jabbed him in the chest.

“You’re a terrible person,” Cole said. “You would get rid of Twizzlers? Twizzlers?”

“They’re like eating rubber!”

“No, they’re not!”

“People who don’t like avocados are not allowed to have opinions on candy.” Jay poked Cole in the cheek.

Cole snorted at the comment. “Oh? You don’t like pickles.”

“And that’s a good thing! Who else would give you extra pickles when we go out?”

“I could always just order extra pickles,” Cole grinned. “Then you wouldn’t have any to worry about.”

“No!” Jay screeched, hitting Cole with a pillow. “You’re evil. Pure evil.”

Cole threw the pillow back. It hit Jay in the face.

“You’re so mean.”

“That’s my talent,” Jay sing-songed. “Who would keep your ego in check if I weren’t around?”

“Zane could,” Cole said. “Because Zane is an incredible person who doesn’t bully me.”

“I do it out of love.” Jay slung an arm around Cole’s shoulder. “Besides, you love me.”

“Uh huh,” Cole said.

“You love me so much.”

“I do.”

“We’re the best of friends. Soulmates. Two halves of a whole idiot. Besties forever.”

“What was that last one?” Cole laughed. Two halves of a whole idiot. Not that wrong of a description, actually. It seemed that Zane was the sole holder of any brain cells.

“Besties forever. We’ve known each other since like the fourth grade, dude,” Jay smiled.

“No, the one before that.”

“Soulmates?”

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

Jay cackled. “Always be specific.”

“And it’s the third grade, not fourth. We’ve known each other since the third grade.”

Jay paused for a second, counting the years on his fingers. “Huh, you’re right,” he said.

“I’m always right.”

“Liar! That one time you said there’d be free candy at the corner store?”

“It was six years ago, give me a break!” Cole groaned.

“Never.”

“You almost drowned me in the pool!”

“One time!” Jay protested, and mimed choking to death.

“That was you, in case it wasn’t clear,” he added.

“Joking about my near-death experience? Wow, I didn’t know you were so cruel, Jay,” Cole gasped in mock horror. He dabbed at the non-existent tears on his cheek. “I’m so hurt.”

“Hurt like me when there was no free candy?”

“Just let it go already!”

“Over my dead body.”

~

Jay collapsed on the sofa next to Cole. “So many sore muscles…”

“I think I’m going to start seeing the First Master soon,” Cole mumbled. The world was swirling around and strangely bright, splotches of colour in his vision, almost as if he were looking through a kaleidoscope. 

“Please don’t die on me, Cole. I can’t do any ninja-ing without you.”

“No promises.”

“Hmph.”

Cole blinked his eyes. It helped, just a little.

“Cole?” Jay waved a hand in front of his face. “You alive?”

“What do you think, Blabbermouth?”

“You’re not allowed to die. How are we to get married if you die?”

Everything came to a halt. Cole’s brain took a few moments to process the words, put them in the right order and figure out their meaning. “Married?”

Jay laughed nervously. “Y’know those marriage pacts? If we’re not married by, for example, age thirty, then we marry each other instead.”

“Oh.”

“Just a joke. Just a silly joke and stuff,” Jay rubbed the back of his neck. “Ignore that I said that, yeah?”

“Okay,” Cole said. The mood had died. No more lighthearted jokes or complaining of sore muscles. They were sprawled across the sofa, leaning against each other, but not speaking.

Ouch, Cole thought. It was fine. Awkward moments happened. They’d be back to normal in a few minutes.

“I overstepped,” Jay apologised. “That was stupid of me. Sorry.”

Why did it bother Cole so much? It was just a joke. Jay was talkative, and awkward things spewed out of his mouth daily. This was nothing out of the ordinary.

Cole shrugged. “It’s fine, Jay. Was just a joke.”

“…yeah.”

The silence was stifling. Cole tried to ignore it. Just a joke, he told himself. Just a joke.

~

Jay was regretting any and all decisions he had made in the last twenty-four hours. 

Stupid, stupid stupid, he scolded himself. He’d let his mouth get ahead of him, had completely forgotten about filtering what he said. He clutched the video game console tighter. On the screen, his character crashed into a wall.

Cole was sitting next him on the couch, chatting to Zane. He appeared to be explaining in great, excruciating depth, the lore of Percy Jackson.

“—so then he has to go on a quest to find the lightning bolt, right? And he has to fight all sorts of monsters, and he can’t just take a plane because that would be dangerous—“

“So he has to go on foot, across the country,” Jay added, video game forgotten. He knew this book. He and Cole had read it together all the time as kids.

“Yeah, exactly!”

Zane frowned, confused. “What is a ‘country’?”

“It’s a made-up sort of area of the world. You know how we have all these different areas, like the Sea of Sand and Shintaro and all that? Like that, but bigger,” Cole explained.

“That… doesn’t make much sense.”

“It’s a story about demigods and a magic lightning bolt. It doesn’t have to make sense,” Jay rolled his eyes.

Zane hummed noncommittally.

“We should read the books together,” Cole said wistfully.

“We should!” Jay nodded. 

“We need to go to the library, don’t we? Neither of us brought our copies.”

“We didn’t.” Jay hadn’t been able to bring much to the Monastery. Cole hadn’t either. A lot of sentimental stuff had been left at their respective former residences, Jay thought bitterly. Not homes. Residences. A cold word that didn’t mean much at all, because neither of them had had a good home before Sensei Wu.

“Library it is, then. You think Sensei will let us take a trip to Ninjago City?”

“Only if you can master spinjitsu within the next twenty-four hours.”

“Dang.”

Zane coughed. “I’m sure Sensei would let us, so long as we’d finished our work for the day,” he said.

“Yeah, hopefully,” Cole said.

Jay handed him the second game console. He was glad that the lingering awkwardness between them was gone. Everything was okay again. “Wanna play Just Dance?”

Cole looked to Zane. “Do you know this one?”

“No,” Zane said. “But I do not want to play anyway. You two should play together.”

Jay watched as he rushed out of the room, not even closing the door. “Wonder what’s up with him.”

“He didn’t want to see your terrible dancing,” Cole teased.

Jay snorted. “Or was it your awful music taste?”

“My music taste is amazing, you heathen.”

“Liar!”

~

Jay tried not to wince as he watched Cole attempt to make dinner. The smell of burnt chicken invaded his nostrils, and he figured the smoke alarm would go off any second.

“Cole, you’re going to give everyone food poisoning,” he complained.

“It’ll be fine. Everything is fully cooked,” Cole said, waving a knife around.

“I don’t want to eat charcoal.”

“It’s perfectly fine!”

“It looks like it was mummified and then chucked into a volcano.”

Cole rolled his eyes and went back to cutting up zucchini.

“Can potatoes be eaten raw?” He asked.

“Please don’t serve raw potatoes,” Jay groaned. He winced just thinking of what the texture would be like.

“I’m just asking,” Cole said indignantly.

“The answer is no,” Zane said from the doorway, eying the kitchen warily. “You can’t — or at least shouldn’t — eat raw potatoes.”

“Got it.”

Jay grumbled and returned his attention to Cole. His cooking skills had not improved in the slightest over the past two-and-a-half years.

“You’re going to burn down the Monastery.”

“False,” Cole said. “You are. Or have we already forgotten the toaster incident?”

“We don’t talk about that.”

“What is the toaster incident?” Zane didn’t look like he particularly wanted the answer, only asking to entertain Cole.

“It was before you got here. So, you see, Jay decided that the toaster didn’t work properly—“

“I’ve been betrayed by my own best friend,” Jay moaned. He refused to let Cole finish that sentence. “Betrayed. Stabbed in the back by my other half. Left to rot in prison for a thousand years.”

Cole ignored him. Jay stuck his tongue out.

“You are a terrible cook,” he said.

“You’re not any better,” Cole snorted.

“I can at least make instant noodles without setting the microwave on fire.”

“But would you ever willingly eat a vegetable?”

Jay thought for a moment. There was no response he could give that let him keep his dignity. “…No.”

“Exactly.” Cole shook his head. “If Sensei left us for even a week, we’d be dead.”

“You survived on your own for years just fine,” Jay said.

“I had several near-death experiences in those years.”

“We’ve all had near-dear experiences. I mean, I jumped off a building trying to fly what was basically a giant kite held together with duct tape and superglue.”

“You did what?”

Cole’s tone told Jay all he needed to know.

“….Did I perhaps not mention that? At all?”

“Jason Edward Gordon,” Cole said, turning around to face him. “What did you do?”

“You were climbing mountains with no safety gear,” Jay defended.

“I had experience climbing. You—“

“It was fine!” Jay yelped.

“Jay!”

Jay began mentally writing his will, already resigned to the hour-long lecture he was about to receive.

~

Sometimes, Jay wondered if it would be best to disappear from the face of Ninjago. Just for everyone’s sanity. And his mental health.

He had a crush on Cole, didn’t he? And not just a small one. The sort that made his heart hurt, and head spin, and stomach twist.

Cole, his best friend. The one he’d known since he was just a little kid. Of all the people in the world, he’d chosen his best friend.

And his moment of realisation hadn’t even been dramatic. It had occurred to him out of nowhere, while they were training. He’d thought about how Cole looked so good in his black training gi, and how his hair was always so silky and fluffy, and how his eyes were so pretty with those little flecks of green, and the next moment—

Ugh. He hated emotions. 

Jay walked into his room, lay down on the floor, and resisted the urge to scream.

~

Cole looked at Jay across from the table and tried not to groan. He liked Jay, and not just a bit. He had a full blown crush on him. Probably had for a while, now that he thought about it. 

Did Jay like him back? He doubted it. But that meant that he’d be overthinking every single moment in their lives, trying to figure out if there was anything between them. And he’d find nothing, because they were best friends and that was it. 

How was he supposed to act normal? What even was normal for them? 

Why had he chosen to fall in love with Jay of all people?

Cole buried his face in his hands. Jason Edward Gordon. His best friend. His only friend. The one who’d been his other half for years. It made sense that he’d love him.

Too bad Jay didn’t love him back.

~

Jay smiled at Cole. His smile was crooked on his face, teeth gleaming white. It was a nice smile, Cole thought. “So, do you by any chance have a crush on someone?” he asked, rushing his words. More than usual. “Anyone at all? Perhaps someone who lives in the Monastery?”

Cole blinked. “If you mean Zane, then no. He’s a cool guy, but I don’t like him. Not in that way.”

“But do you have a crush?”

Yes, he didn’t say. I do. But you don’t want to know who it is.

“No,” Cole lied. He liked to think he was a good liar. But then again, Jay could read his every mood. He hoped that that one singular word didn’t give anything away.

“Oh,” Jay said. Was Cole imagining it, or did he seem disappointed? “Never mind.”

“…do you?” Cole asked.

“No!” Jay laughed nervously. “Nobody at all. Certainly not anyone in the Monastery…”

“If you like Zane, then you could always ask him out,” Cole said. Did Jay like Zane? Was he asking to make sure it wouldn’t affect his friendship with Cole? Selfishly, Cole hoped it wasn’t that.

“No, not Zane,” Jay shook his head.

“Okay.”

~

Maybe Jay should just pull away from Cole. Distance himself, so that his feelings could stay buried and locked up in a little box. It would hurt, and Cole would be hurt, but maybe it was for the best. They could still be friends — just not the same as it was now.

They’d be better off. Jay wouldn’t be ruining a perfectly good friendship with his feelings.

And hey, maybe Cole could end up with Zane or something. Jay had gotten that vibe when he’d tried to find out if Cole liked him back. It had been so tense, and it had really seemed that Cole liked Zane.

So it was the best option. Jay distancing himself would mean his and Cole’s friendship wasn’t completely ruined, and it might even mean him being happy with someone else. Best for everyone, Jay told himself.

It would be painful, but best for everyone. Best for everyone. Best for everyone.

He repeated those words until they lost meaning.

~

Jay was avoiding him. Cole wanted to shake him and ask why, why he was pulling away.

“Was it something I said? Jay, I’m sorry. We said we wouldn’t be awkward anymore. Please talk to me.”

He sighed. Maybe Jay had figured out his crush. Maybe he hated him now.

He’d been so stupid, thinking that he’d had a chance when Jay asked if he had a crush. Maybe Jay didn’t like him, even as just a friend — who knew? Jay was being all secretive and pulling away, probably because of something Cole had said.

And now everything with Jay was awkward again.

Things weren’t supposed to be awkward anymore. They were supposed to be inseparable best friends, so close they may as well be attached at the hip.

Cole pulled his knees to his chest. Maybe, just maybe, everything would work out, but he doubted it.

~

Avoiding Cole was physically painful, Jay thought. He looked so hurt whenever Jay gave him one-word responses and turned down their usual hangouts.

“Do you want to play video games after training?” Cole had asked at breakfast.

Jay had shrugged and pretended like Cole hadn’t said anything. And Cole had looked so confused and hurt, like he didn’t know what he’d done wrong. And he hadn’t done anything wrong, except Jay couldn’t tell him that, because that would merit explanation to why he was ignoring him, and Jay couldn’t let him know that.

Had he lost his best friend yet? Was Cole going to start drifting off to someone else, leaving Jay alone again?

It would be his own fault, of course, but the thought made Jay’s chest hurt. He wanted to run up to Cole and apologise, beg for him to come back. “I’m sorry for ignoring you, it’s just that I have a crush on you and you don’t like me back, so I had to avoid you and pretend you don’t exist so that you don’t hate me. But we’re still besties, right?”

There wouldn’t be any explaining himself, not without going into horrible, excruciating depth about his feelings. And Jay hated talking about feelings, almost as much as Cole did. If Jay ever decided to ruin his life by explaining himself, there was no way the conversation would end well.

A knock at the door. “Come in,” Jay croaked.

“You are… upset,” Zane said from the doorway.

“No,” Jay lied.

“Cole is looking for you,” Zane said quietly. “He wants to talk.”

“I don’t want to talk to him.”

“But he is your friend.”

“I…” Jay peeled himself off the floor. Cole was his friend. But he couldn’t talk, not without spilling his guts and vomiting up all the stupid feelings he had.

“Talk to him,” Zane pleaded. “Even Sensei knows something is wrong.”

“But—“

“Please?”

“No.”

“Okay,” Zane said quietly. “But you should talk. It might solve whatever is happening.”

Zane closed the door behind him. Jay curled into a ball and gritted his teeth. Cole was looking for him, wanted to talk. But Jay wouldn’t talk. He wouldn’t let whatever fragile relationship they had left snap.

~

Cole sat across from Jay at the table, avoiding eye contact. Jay was still ignoring him. He’d tried talking to him a few days ago to no avail, just a muttered “sorry, gotta go.”

Did Jay hate him? He certainly didn’t hate Jay. But was it the same the other way around?

“How is the food?” Zane asked, smile strained. He had picked up on the growing tension, even tried to convince Cole to talk to Jay yesterday. Cole winced at the memory.

“Good,” Jay mumbled. “It’s good.”

Cole nodded his agreement.

“Perhaps you two should cook next time? Do you like cooking?”

“No thanks,” Cole said. Hours in an enclosed space with Jay, when Jay clearly hated him? He shuddered at the thought.

“I can’t cook,” Jay said.

“Well, Cole could teach you?”

“I can’t cook either. You know that.”

“Oh.” Zane had a strange look on his face, as if he’d eaten something unpleasant.

“Great food, Zane.” Jay stood up from the table. “Really. Maybe you can teach me sometime. But I’m feeling tired, might turn in for the night…”

“It’s only eight,” Cole said quietly.

He watched as Jay left the room, footsteps echoing down the hall.

“You should talk to him,” Zane said, eyes looking down at his bowl.

“I tried talking to him. He’s avoiding me. Probably hates me.” Cole tapped his fingers against the table. They made a musical sort of sound, one that reminded him of rain drumming on a roof.

“I don’t think he could ever hate you,” Zane said.

“I couldn’t either. But he’s avoiding me, Zane. I can’t talk to him if he’s avoiding me every time I get within five feet.”

“Just say you want to talk. That it’s nothing confrontational.”

“But it is confrontational,” Cole groaned.

“Just try. Please?” Zane stacked dishes on top of another, clearing away the food. Diluted soy sauce dripped onto the table. Cole wiped it away with a tissue.

“I tried already,” Cole grumbled.

“Try again. It’s going to be impossible to work together if you keep going on like this.”

“One more time,” Cole said. If it would get Zane off his back, he’d try one more time. “If he still doesn’t want to talk after that, then…”

“Alright,” Zane beamed.

“Great. Yippee. Hooray.”

~

“Jay?” Cole shuffled his feet. He was nervous, Jay could see that much. He didn’t like this conversation. That was okay, because Jay didn’t like it either.

“Yeah?”

“Why have you been avoiding me? Did I say something wrong?”

No, he hadn’t. He hadn’t done anything wrong. But Jay couldn’t say that.

“I’m not avoiding you,” Jay said. A blatant lie. Could Cole tell if he was lying? He’d been able to tell when they were kids.

“We haven’t hung out even once in weeks,” Cole said quietly.

“I’ve been busy.”

“Busy with what? Jay, look, I—“

“There’s nothing wrong! You haven’t done anything wrong, Cole. I swear.”

“Then why are you avoiding me?”

“I’m not avoiding you,” Jay said.

“You won’t even talk to me. We’re supposed to be best friends.”

“We are best friends!”

“Then why are you avoiding me? Was it something I said?” Cole had tears in his eyes, now. Jay was struggling to hold back his own tears.

“You didn’t say anything wrong. It’s nothing, I promise—“

“Then why is everything awkward again? We promised that we’d work out anything, that we wouldn’t be like… before. Why won’t you just talk?”

“I’m not avoiding you!” Jay yelled.

“Stop lying!” Cole yelled back. “You know that’s a lie. You’re avoiding me, I must have done something, just tell me! Is it that I like y—“

“You haven’t done anything!” Jay snapped. “It’s me, okay? It’s always me. I’m avoiding you because of me, not you. Because I like you, Cole! More than like, and I can’t ruin everything!”

Words, just spilling out of his mouth. A waterfall that couldn’t be slowed, a broken faucet, a flash flood just rumbling out. “You don’t like me, and I’m not going to ruin whatever friendship we have left. And I like you romantically, not just as a best friend, but since you don’t like me I have to avoid you! I’m sorry everything is awkward, okay? I’m sorry we can’t go back to when we were ten years old and just best friends!”

Cole blinked. “That’s not right,” he said, and Jay’s heart dropped.

“I like you. Not the other way around,” he said. “Aren’t you avoiding me because you figured it out?”

“No?” Jay sputtered. Cole liked him? As more than a friend? Maybe he needed to clean his ears. Or get a brain scan. Maybe both.

“So you’re avoiding me because you like me, and don’t want to ruin our friendship? But…”

“You like me too?” Jay finished weakly.

“Yeah,” Cole said.

“But I… I’ve been avoiding you so that our friendship isn’t over and I won’t make things worse, but if you like me, then—“

“I thought you’d figured it out and that was why you were avoiding me—“

“You like me!” Jay laughed hysterically. “You like me! In the same way I like you, right? I’ve been avoiding you for no reason, and I’ve made things ten times worse, if that was even possible—“

“Jay?” Cole cut him off. “Can I just kiss you? Like, right now?”

Jay was dreaming, wasn’t he? He hoped that he never woke up. “Yeah,” he said giddily.

And then Cole kissed him. Jay had to force himself to stand upright before grabbing his arms and pulling him closer. Cole’s hair smelled like tangerines and basil, he noticed. The shampoo that they all used, since Sensei wouldn’t bother with buying so many products, but it smelled better on him than it did anyone else.

“I think I’m in love,” Cole said when he pulled away.

“I think I’m in love too,” Jay said. Was this what 

love felt like? The kind that he saw in shows and movies, but somehow better?

“We’re still best friends, right?” Cole asked.

“Best friends and more,” Jay smiled. “Can I formally ask you out on a date? To the library, maybe a coffee shop? Hell, maybe a hiking trip?”

“Anything would be amazing,” Cole grinned. He was so pretty when he smiled, Jay thought. Could he print out this moment on a piece of paper, preserve it forever? He really wanted to.

“Maybe a walk through the forest together? You like the outdoors, so—“

“I think I’d go literally anywhere as long as I was with you.”

“Really?”

“I’d fall off a cliff for you,” Cole said.

“Let’s try not to make that a reality,” Jay teased.

“Let’s not,” Cole agreed.

Jay leaned in and kissed him again. No, maybe he couldn’t print this moment out and frame it, but he could sear every detail of it into his mind. That would be enough. Just being with Cole, best friend and now-boyfriend and maybe someday even more, was enough.

[toritilla5]

What are your Jay and Cole headcanons anyways? I’ve been curious for a while but never got around to actually asking.

Love your stuff by the way!

tysm!!! i'm not entirely sure if you mean them singularly or if you mean bruise but im gonna ASSUME you mean their ship/duo ... i fear you've opened a can of worms you will never be able to close with this question. i have TOO MANY hcs.... here we go.. (im channelling my inner demons)

i'm giving both angst and non-angst...

whenever either of them get nightmares, they always go to the other's room - no knock, just climb into bed, no questions - and then they just hug it out. they talk if they need to but they just comfort each other the rest of the night :')

jay was so upset post-seabound and so distant, cole tried everything he could to not get jay to shut himself out from everyone. cole encouraged jay to talk about the alternate timeline with him (or at least most of it) and cole tried his best to stay calm or unphased bc he didn't wanna upset jay further but deep down he was PISSED off abt nadakhan

cole worries about jay an unusual amount (seen in the WotD novel) so he tries his absolute hardest to be gentle with jay if he's upset or in a bad mood or if there's smth really bothering him. he just hates the thought of jay not being happy ig :(

jay and cole dated between the end of s4 and pre-s6 (this hc comes and goes sometimes im like yeah could make sense and then other times im like hmm maybe not. but this is why we have h2h)

this is more abt their powers BUT one of my fave hcs is that since earth and lightning kinda go hand in hand in nature, that if jay is too charged up, cole can use his powers to cool him down a little. just like a simple hand on the shoulder or smth would do the trick

cole tells jay "i love you" all the time but jay thinks he means it in a friendly way so jay says it back but cole never corrects him :(

they're less close in the wildbrain seasons because cole confessed his feelings and distanced himself because he didn't want to make jay feel uncomfortable (jay did not feel uncomfortable)

jay and cole got in a fight sometime after s13 because cole was ditching him a lot/ignoring him/whatever to go off to shintaro and hang out with vania/the upply and jay got upset or jealous so they fought about it.. then cole went to shintaro for a few days to calm down because he thought jay was being unreasonable :( (they talked it out in the end tho) i think about this one. a. lot.

every time there's a new ice cream flavour at the ice cream place in the city, they both go together to try it out (one of them has a secret blog reviewing the flavours)

jay is the only one that knows cole is gay/lgbt because cole feels like he doesn't need to tell anyone BUT he wanted to be able to swoon over guys with someone and ofc that person had to be his best friend

one time jay was supposed to go to a dance lesson with nya but she had to go on a mission last minute SO jay begged cole to go with him :)

sort of similar to the last one.. jay was invited to a wedding (for his extended family who live nowhere near the city and dont really keep up with the news, aka they didnt know abt jaya) and nya was busy SO cole offered to be his 'date' but turns out jay begged cole to pretend to be dating at the wedding just to get jay's awful cousin off his back abt "dating someone" (i did write this once)

they went to a couples game night once as bffs and everyone around them got mad because they won (nothing can compare to bromance)

they would be THE most annoying couple. super chill and secretive in public but literally the most lovesick dudes on the planet when at the monastery or alone. so touchy and affectionate. you would literally want to krill them because theyre so annoying but so cute I HATE THEM i love them sm

jay was the reason cole realised he's lgbt

i have WAYYY too many to include here but these are just the ones i thought of off the top of my head :) thank you for asking !!!

[silkieluv]

Intro post!!

Hellooo, I'm Joppy! I wanted to follow my favorite author's updates, but confessed my desire to rewrite Skybound and now I just puke my thoughts straight into here

I’m writing a Skybound fanfiction that will be Jay-centric. Basically just maturing the themes and like any other ao3 writer, make my favorite character suffer.

Bro_z0ne on AO3! In case you're wondering where you're supposed to read this from.

Keep in mind while I do repeat there will be heavy stuff, I strictly mean I want to challenge myself with the writing and accuracy, and seeing how much I can have Jay suffer

-----

I’ve been writing for 3 years (if you count random mini-stories I wrote in the middle of classes)

Ironically enough, I first started watching Ninjago almost 3 years ago, and it was my first fanfcition fandom

-----

My favorite character is Jay! Straight up because I am naturally drawn to silliness, I love lightning (not the word though, I hate the word lightning), and because we are SO alike. It's actually INSANE.

My favorite ship is bruise (Cole x Jay). They mean more than the world to me and I can scream every time I see content of them. I love them as one sided too (Cole liking Jay, but Jay liking Nya)(Jay liking Cole, Cole uninterested)

Also that way the love triangle would be a REAL one. Nya->Cole->Jay->Nya........ etc

My favorite artist is Bo Burnham (I know, I'm stuck in 2020, but I can't help it). As of now I really like 'Nerds (Studio)', but in the past I was really into 'That Funny Feeling', 'Bezoz II', 'My whole family...' and ofc 'Welcome To The Internet' so what I'm saying it, by the time you read this, my preference might have changed

Seabound is my favorite season! Absolute work of art that I would buy for a bajillion dollars if it was sold in an auction (and if I had that kind of money)

-----

DNI: Is the usual stuff (haters, transphobes, etc...), but also Jay haters... any insult towards this boy feels oddly personal. Don't talk to me about politics or where I'm from (AKA don't ask for personal information).

INTERACT: Any Ninjago fan. Nobody irl knows what that is where I'm from so I would LOVE to talk about it with someone. I don't care who you vote for, I don't care what you believe in, I don't care where you come from, if you're funny/nice (doesn't have to be both), you may chat with me :3

-----

Seriously, feel free to chat with me (don't just say 'hi' though or I'll block you, fearing you're some kind of scambot). Jokes aside, I am worth of your time, I promise (>_<;)

Or, yk, chat box exists

Also know that I'm always open to criticism and opinions (outside point of views) since at the end of the day, I want to publish my work and I want people to like it, and you are people

[emzi-148]

How Do I Say I Love You?

Fandom: Ninjago (AU)

Pairing: Bruise (one-sided)

Word count: 459

Rating: General

A/N: So... semi-vent(?) with the song “If I Could Tell Her” from Dear Evan Hansen. And this is for the @choicesprompts's Song Rewrite Challenge 2024

❈❈❈❈

Jay sighed, recounting the strained relationship with Morro, his cousin, “I swear, Morro acts like I'm his least favorite person on this entire world.”

Cole leaned in, trying to ease Jay's concerns, “You know, Morro just has a peculiar way of showing affection. Deep down, he thinks you're pretty cool. He just keeps it under wraps.”

Jay raised an eyebrow, “Really? Morro, thinking I'm cool? That's hard to believe.”

Cole chuckled nervously, “I'm serious, Bluebell. Want some proof?”

Jay, very intrigued by this, said “Hit me.”

Cole stumbled over his words, his attempt to conceal his true feelings turning into an awkward dance. “I mean, like, the way you light up when you talk about your comics or those train models. Morro might not say it, but he sees it. It's just his own way of acknowledging.”

Jay scratched his head, a puzzled expression on his face, “Morro, into comics and models? That's hard to picture.”

“Yeah, well, people surprise you,” Cole replied, secretly admiring Jay's passion for the things that made him unique.

The conversation shifted to Jay's love for poetry and cooking. “Morro thinks your poems are deep, you know,” Cole said with a sly smile.

Jay scoffed, “Morro, a poetry enthusiast? Now you're pulling my leg.”

Cole chuckled, “Seriously, he does. And those culinary creations of yours? He's probably just too shy to admit he's impressed.”

Jay grinned, seemingly comforted by the notion that his cousin might secretly appreciate his hobbies. “Maybe I've misjudged Morro.”

Unbeknownst to him, Cole stood right there, absorbing every detail, the unsaid words hovering in the air.

As the dialogue between them reached its peak, Cole couldn't shake the weight of his own hidden emotions. “How do you say 'I love you' when you're standing a million worlds apart?” he mused internally.

The great divide between them, an unspoken chasm, echoed with the truth that Cole dared not voice. And so, the conversation continued, each shared interest and comforting word serving as a bittersweet reminder of the love that lingered unspoken in Cole's heart.

Finally, Jay turned to Cole, “You've been quiet. What are you thinking?”

Cole's heart raced as he searched for words, “I just think people are more complex than we give them credit for. Maybe there's more to Morro than meets the eye.”

Jay nodded, “Yeah, you might be right.”

As their conversation peaked, Cole grappled with concealed emotions. The unspoken truth lingered. A silent acknowledgment that Cole admired Jay from a distance.

He noticed, cared, and yearned to reveal everything to Jay. Yet, the vast distance between them felt insurmountable. The fear of shattering their delicate friendship prevented Cole from voicing the feelings on the edge of his thoughts.

If I could tell him, if I could…

[whydoibe]

This is continuation of anthor post this au I dub The Lost Agent AU

So here's the story

Orginal post

It was a normal day in the land of lost things geo said he spotted something yesterday and wanted to retrive it for one of his statues Cole.

"OK geo I will go but we can't bring the kids that place is pretty far"

"Yeah I know but with your rock mech we should be able to stall the hoarder just for the right amount of time"

Cole left making thier way through the tunnles long dug out to avoid the hoarder easier.

"OK we're nearly there geo you sure you know hat Ur looking for?"

"Yes Cole, I know:" Geo replied, reaching his his hand out as it glowed with the elemnt of fussion as Cole made contact the earth, surrounded him as he rose in his stone amour mech. Cole saw Geo run off as he went to distract the hoarder.

"Ahh" a scream what the that wasn't Geo it sounded like no he thought he was hearing things it was so faint it was memory's seeping through there he finally spotted the hoarder and started to charge this thing could be fun sometimes when he just needed to fight something crash this thing kept getting bigger he was fighting till he spotted a small glint of blue near a pile in the distance it was nothing he thought probaly just an old statue of Geos.

"Cole we got it" geo cried finally he thought getting away from the hoarder till he spotted that blue spark again this tim taking notice of it fully there it was a person who seemed to be observing the fight as he got closer he saw blue crackle then yellow and lightning no he thought that was lighting storm just like jay. jay he finally took notice of the figures face jay he ran closing the distance before the figure passed out just as he dismantled his mech he ran over seeing his old friend laying there he couldn't help but cry tears of joy it was jay his old friend his best friend. Then he finally released what he was wearing a suit. Jay hated suits he said they were too stuffy. What had happened he looked sick pailer and he rembdered his face was bruised but it was undinbley jay his oldest friend he new he couldn't leave him here or else he'd be hoarder meat.

"Geo" Cole screamed the hybrid quickly made his way to Cole.

"Yeah Cole" geo paused taking notice of jay "whos that?"

"An old friend, I need help to get him back home. I need a boost," Geo understood, touching him, allowing Cole to summon his mech he picked jay and geo up in his hand cradling hid friends as he made his way quickly home dismantling the golem and dragging jays unconscious body inside the house.

"Whose that?" Bonzle questioned as she took notice of jay.

"Yeah whose the new person" spitz and Fritz said in complete unison.

"His name is - ahh." Cole was cut off as eltricty coursed through his body, and his hair stood on end. Jay stood hands drawn in a fist face clearly showing confusion anger and fear over his face eyes glowing blue with lightning." Jay" Cole muttered as he got back up.

Jays eyes widened and then he spoke " how do you know my name who are u what are u are u here to dragg me back to hell" jays voice volatile and booming as the cabin started to flicker the lights breaking Cole new jay if he was this angry that the lights were flickering than something had happened to him but then why didn't he recognise him

"Jay it's me Cole don't you rember me "

Jays face contorted to one of confusion "how do you know my name awnser me" he cried the thunder crackled and the siren nose started to flicker Cole new if jay continued he was gonna destroy everything here and then all shelter from the hoarder and there only deterint would be no more.

"Jay, it's me, don't you remember me? I am one of your greatest friends the names Cole master of earth don't you rember me please just calm down you can trust me."

"Why should I trust u I have no need to trust u If your one of them I am not going back to the administration"

"OK jay it's OK I am one of your old friends even I'd you don't rember please Ur lighting might rember let it speak to u and see if it rembers me please if you keep this up your gonna destroy my home and kill us"

jays face stared at his hands as if thinking or talking to it his eyes widened as the lighting stopped crackling and the lights stopped getting brighter he fell to his knees hands covering his ears as he rocked back and forth in distress tears streaming.

"Well cry baby much," bonzel stated going back to not caring much.

"Jay" Cole reached his hand out geo caught his hand

"Cole we don't know if he will attack u again" geo tried to plea but those words landed on deaf ears Cole new jay was in distress and even if he didn't rember him he needed him to comfort his friend and ethier way letting a clearly delrouis man with lightning powers with in distress on the floor wasn't realy a good first impression.

"I know, but that's jay, my friend, and if he doesn't remember me, I could care less he needs me he needs comfort." Cole stated casually approaching jay, laying a hand on his shoulder, retrieving a near imdent eltricty shock, but it was light it stung but only a little bit jay head shot up meeting Coles gaze with those blue eyes he just stared at Cole for a solid minute till finally speaking.

"Who are u why do you know my name If your not with the administration" a gut punch Cole felt as the final words hit him.

[im-a-mint]

Hhhhhhhhhhhhhh Ninjago time

During the whole rivalry era bruise had going on, Jay worked really hard to become physically stronger than Cole (even though Cole has super strength) to feel at least a bit better than him. This, though, led to Jay being able to pick Cole up with some trouble yes but he can so everytime he feels like it he just-- picks Cole up

Kai never learned to get nice things for himself. He would always get nice things for Nya growing up to see her feel happy

Cole never understood why people like his singing, he always thinks he's a bad singer

There was a time Zane saw someone give a cheek kiss another person goodbye and he thought of it as a normal way people would tell goodbye to each other, so he ended up giving everyone goodbye cheek kisses

There are multiple reactions to this

Nya is flattered, Kai (internally) gay panics, Lloyd gets embarrassed when it happens, Jay is mostly shocked and then gay panics, Cole freezes on the spot

Cole also ends up faking to leave just to get more cheek kisses for Zane

Lloyd has a surprising talent for cooking. Somehow, anything he cooks always turns out tasting well

Kai owns a concerning amount of booty shorts

Nya found some of Jay's old blueprints he never got to do and she sometimes makes the machines there for fun

Jay can tell when it's gonna rain just by the smell of the area. He's never been wrong once, so if he says it's gonna rain you better get your umbrella out

Kai always tried to learn more academic stuff like languages or just stuff alike. Zane is glad to help him with that

Whenever Lloyd is not doing so well, he always goes to Nya but specially when she's working on something. He knows he can just vent with her about what's bothering him and Nya has always been surprisingly understanding

There was this one time Kai's powers got out of control and he ended up burning a bit of Nya's left arm. It wasn't too much, just a little thing that left a small scar. Kai is STILL apologizing about it

The ninja are basically Lloyd's parental figures at this point

Nya is the nice understanding aunt, Zane is the caring dad that could easily take a motherly role, Kai (and Jay at an extent) are the protective brothers, Cole is the brother Lloyd can always count on, and Wu is the weird grandparent who's somehow still going at life

Lloyd really wishes he could get along with his actual parents he really does, but it's not like he can just forget the abandonment he went through

Kai somehow manages to pull off dresses really well. Like,,,,really well, god knew what he was doing when he designed Kai

Whenever Kai is going through something bad, Zane will most likely go up to him and just give him physical affection, he knows Kai needs it whenever he feels that bad that he doesn't even wanna show it

Jay and Kai sometimes have secret sleepovers where they're really just two goofballs being goofballs and enjoying themselves. Sometimes they get drunk and it just becomes ten times goofier

[sadisthetic]

I love your String Theory Au. It hurts so beautifully.🥺 Personally I have always been drawn to the trope of healing through pain. Like I can imagine that after the pain of severing the bond, Jay's string is constantly hurting when he is near Nya. Like most people instinctively avoid their ex's after a breakup but Jay can't because they are both part of the team. When they decide to retie their strings Jay still feels pain when Nya limits or rejects his attempts to show affection. This would cause some tension as Nya feels rushed or pressure in the relationship and makes her draw away from Jay. Jay's insecurities would spiral as he would wonder if this was the mistake that would cause Nya to cut the bond again. They would rely on others a lot at the beginning to communicate and set boundaries. This is where a lot of the platonic bruise would happen. Cole would help Jay feel comfortable with expressing his need for affection without fearing rejection. Nya would confide in Kai or Lloyd about needing some boundaries. I also feel their relationship would be heavily stunted at the start because Nya is unaware of the affects the original bond had on Jay until they have their first major disagreement. Nya would unintentionally blurt out that rebonding was a mistake and cause Jay to have a panic attack while clutching his string to his chest. Either Lloyd or Cole would pull her aside and reveal the damage caused by the broken bond. The angst just continues while they try to slowly mend themselves and their bond. 😭

well firstly i gotta say. string theory is a very different concept from string of fate sjhgerghsldfjl

secondly. thanks! im glad you like it! you really took off with the idea didnt you lol. though personally i imagine their "working it out" phase a bit different. a lot more awkwardness and like tacit mutual understand and also little communication between the two (bc its so awkward) at the beginning. the angst isnt over but worst of it has passed at this point. they reset. and i dont think their string would be under threat of being cut again. thats bad on nyas end because shes the one to instate the relationship and she would be a total flake if she wanted to break it off again so easily. also. its important to note they arent quite dating. their relationship immediately post skybound is ambiguous. the string isnt a symbol that theyre together. its a symbol that they care about each other. and that theyre going to work through difficulties. theyre friends no matter what feelings the other has for the other. and if/when they do decide to get together for reals they Still would be friends too

i like angst. and im sorry about shutting down your ideas a bit but i think their angst would be a bit more narratively productive. for nya to say retying their string was a mistake even accidentally means she hasnt changed at all. and i think jay would have a better sense of nyas boundaries at this point. they both grown in skybound and i think the shared trauma of it would give them something to bond over also

[dumbfandomdoodles]

This is for the @ninjago-valentine-exchange ! This is Cole/Jay (Bruise) A and very very very late. I am so sorry. 

You can also read it here if you prefer AO3 :) 

Reblogs appreciated! 

Groceries

Jay stood outside of Cole’s room, his hand raised in a shaky fist, mere millimeters from the wood. He pulled it down with a sigh, his knees going weak as he lowered himself down to the ground. He could just.. Knock. Open the door. See his friend. That would be enough to get him past the day. 

He wanted to tell him all about this idea he’d had, for this game show based on their old training circuit in the monastery. Wanted to check that he was okay, that he was coping. Nya was so busy at the moment, working on her own projects, she was off in her own world or talking over him. Cole would never do that, but… 

Nya was meant to like Jay. Not Cole. And clearly, something had gone wrong. It was a betrayal of the highest order. 

Footsteps echoed down the corridor, so he pulled himself up and slipped into his own room, breathing a sigh of relief at the sight of his tacked-up blueprints and scattered tools.

He was so scared he'd come in to find someone there, laughing, or tearing it down. Nya was the inventor, not him, and she was territorial. Maybe they'd bonded over it once, but… 

The door slowly creaked open. 

"Jay?" He turned with a start to see Cole awkwardly half in and half out of the room. 

He was wearing a dark hoodie and light gray tracksuit pants that were stained with dirt and food and what Jay suspected to be tears, all things he was sure the colour of the hoodie was hiding more of. His hair was pushed out of his face with some of Nya's hair clips, but they were old and rusty and Jay knew exactly which corner of the shared bathroom they had come from, the one she never set foot in, so they weren't a gift. Just a necessity, he supposed, eyeing Cole's grown-out mop. 

With a start, he realised he hadn't actually seen another person in days. He'd been holed up in his room, and no one wanted to cook for them all because no one could ever top Zane and that hurt, gosh it hurt, so he'd been surviving on muesli bars and toasted cheese sandwiches whenever he was feeling alive enough to leave his room. It was such a big place, too, sometimes it felt like no one else was even home, even though Lloyd and Nya seemed to be the only ones leaving the house, based on what he’d deduced from footsteps. 

"We're out of food so I was going to go to the shops and I was just checking if you needed anything but I can see you're busy so I'll just-" Jay stopped him with the foreign sound of laughter. Cole, rambling! He knew they were all broken beyond repair but this! This was… But he sobered quickly, regarding Cole with raised eyebrows and a frown.

"You should put on some clean clothes." It was something Zane would say with a complete lack of care that it was meant to be a caring statement. He'd say it point-blank, like it was a fact. Perhaps it was. 

"Yeeeah. I know." Cole stretched the front of his hoodie out to examine it. "It's just so cold, and I think this is the last one I have left clean." 

"I can do a load of washing later, your darks are fine with my blues." It was so domestic, so normal, and yet it felt like a betrayal. Jay remembered that it wasn't the only betrayal he was facing, with this girlfriend-stealer in his room. 

"We need food now." Cole offered weakly, dropping his hands to his sides as if he too had remembered that they were meant to be fighting. There just wasn't much fight left. "I didn't know you were inventing again." He said after a moment. Jay’s eyes lit up despite himself and he turned around to look at his own work, and then back to Cole.

“Do you like it?” He didn’t really know what he was asking, but the question hung in the air, strung up between them like fairy lights. Cole stepped forward, hand outstretched to gently bring the blue grid paper closer to him. They were so close together now - Jay just wanted to collapse into him, to sink against the warmth of his best friend, his favourite person. 

“It looks just like our old course - padded, though.” He said finally. Jay nodded, sifting through a pile of paper to find the sheet he wanted. Cole wandered around the room carefully, stepping over piles and ducking under what Jay had hung up, a crazy mess of ideas scrawled across every piece of paper Jay had been able to get his hands on. 

“It’s… it’s for him. I think he would want everyone to feel like a ninja, sometimes.” Cole nodded silently, tugging at his sleeves. 

“Look, I should get to the shops…” 

“At least wear some of my clothes.” Jay tried not to be disappointed, but he just wanted someone to listen. Was it that hard? Cole nodded again, and Jay took that as a cue to find him something to wear. Zane’s clothes would fit him better, but that was out of the question. Standing on his tip-toes, he reached into the back of the cupboard, reaching for a soft, well-loved bundle he’d hidden there. “You gave this to me when I first moved in and it was the dead of winter and I had nothing warm and it was too big but I kept it anyway and-” Cole took it from him, unfolding the dark grey garment. It didn’t have a hood, or pockets, but it was enough. He wanted to say thank you, or express surprise that Jay had kept the old thing, but all he could do was nod. Jay smiled half-heartedly anyway and threw him a faded blue t-shirt. “None of my pants will fit you though.” Cole shrugged, and then looked down at his own and grimaced. 

“I’ll dig out some jeans. Thanks, Jay.” 

Jay shrugged, as if to say “no problem”, and then watched as Cole left the room. His heart sunk further, and he reached to close his cupboard doors, just so that he was at least pretending to be put together. His eyes caught on a thin piece of cardboard resting at the front of the top shelf. Bringing it down, he felt his vision cloud with salt water. Blue hair clips, the exact colour of his gi. They had been a present for Nya. Not anymore, he supposed. 

Bouncing on his toes, he decided against his better judgement and ran straight into Cole leaving his room. 

“Can I do your hair?” It was such a stupid question, Jay barely registered Cole nodding. He did though, and then it was as if his brain was on auto-pilot, grabbing Cole’s hand from the folds of his jumper and pulling him into the bathroom, Nya’s bathroom, which was far too small and Cole nearly hit his head on a shelf but there they were. “Sit.” Jay gestured to a small stool in the corner, and Cole laughed at him, his eyes lighting up as he suggested that Jay stand on the edge of the bathtub instead. Jay rolled his eyes, but begrudgingly hopped up, the small tub a luxury only given to Nya. Holding on to Cole’s shoulders to steady himself, he glanced around the room. There was mold dotting the ceiling, bathmat soggy in the tub, and the sink stained with cheap hair dye, courtesy of both of the Smith siblings.

“They really went at it with the bleach this week. You wouldn’t believe that they’d been teachers.” Cole ran a hand down his face in mock embarrassment. “If I wasn’t looking for a job I might’ve joined them, though. It looked nice.” 

“Hm, yeah.” Jay replied, lifting a piece of Cole’s hair up tentatively. “When was the last time you washed this?” 

“Dunno. Does it matter?”

“Yes, Cole, of course it matters!” Cole smirked, choking back a chuckle and failing. “What!? What’s so funny?” Jay crossed his arms, wobbling slightly as he moved to lean against the wall. 

“I just haven’t seen you so riled up since, well…” Nya. Neither of them wanted to finish that sentence. (It is a bittersweet moment of joy and unimaginable pain, to remember that you haven’t laughed in weeks but that you’re meant to hate each other.)

“Pass me that can over there?” Jay broke the silence. Cole picked up the can and flipped it over, scanning the label on the back. He passed it over his head to Jay, sighing. 

“All nonsense to me. What’s it for?” 

“Dry shampoo. It’ll make your hair fluffy again.” He tilted Cole’s head forward gently, his fingertips against his temples. “Cover your eyes.” The aerosol hissed, and Cole hurriedly raised his hands to shield his face from the spray. “Ugh.” Jay coughed, waving away the remains of the fumes once he was done, “I hate hair spray.” He reached to Nya’s collection of shower products hanging in a rack next to him and pulled out a neglected hair brush. He shook it off and pulled out some loose strands of hair, nose wrinkling. 

Cole turned to look at what he was doing and he guided him back around and began to run the brush through his hair, his other hand teasing out knots and fluffing it up once he’d brushed it. They sat in a peaceful quiet, the only noise the soft swish of the brush and Cole’s occasional yelps and Jay’s subsequent apologies when he came across a problem area. That was enough. 

“Okay, help me down.” He replaced the hair brush, flexing his feet which were achingly straining to balance him. Cole offered him a hand, rolling his eyes affectionately. 

“You stopped wearing concealer.” Jay wobbled, hand in Cole’s, still balancing. Cole pulled his other hand from his pocket to trace the space between Jay’s many freckles. 

“Well, it’s not like anyone’s seen me in days, just a waste of make-up.” Jay shrugged. “Are you going to help me down?” He repeated impatiently, trying to quell the warm colour spreading out underneath the offending freckles. 

“Oh, yup.” Cole moved out of the way for Jay to step down. 

Jay looked up at him, eyebrows furrowed as he searched his pocket for the hair clips. Detaching one from the cardboard, he reached up to brush Cole’s hair from his face. Cole flinched backwards, knocking against the cabinet. 

“Ah! Sorry, sorry, I just…”

“No, no, it’s fine, just let me know first-” Cole smiled sheepishly, “Been a bit jumpy lately.” 

“Yeah, guess that makes sense.” Jay replied, sticking his tongue out in concentration as he tried again, clipping the first, and then second, clips into Cole’s silky black hair. A stray wisp eluded him, but he decided that it was the last shred of Cole’s tough guy appearance remaining and left it. “Have a look.” He gestured to the mirror, “Better, right?” Cole nodded, swishing his hair back and forth and watching it in the mirror. 

“I didn’t realise it was that long.” 

"Yeah, well, uh, it grows quickly." Jay rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks a soft pink suddenly. Cole's eyes met his and they both looked away, uncertain at this sudden shyness. "I guess you’re all ready, then.” Cole nodded, brushing the loose strand away from his eyes. He turned to exit, his feet dragging softly, the fresh clothes and cleaner hair not diminishing the overhanging cloud of gloom. 

“Oh.” He stopped, “Thanks. For the clothes. And the hair clips.” 

“Yeah. Yeah, no worries.” Jay tugged at his sleeves, suddenly feeling small and empty. As Cole left, he looked around the cramped bathroom, noting every soap stain and mould patch and broken tile, and gazed towards the heavy curtains that looked brand new - and perhaps they were, he hadn’t been in this room since before the trip to Borg Tower. He yanked them apart, sunlight spilling into the room, illuminating all of its broken parts and filthy nooks. His own room was lit 24/7 by fluorescent lights, he’d forgotten that he even had windows. Big, wide windows plastered over with butchers paper, now, ideas lining his walls and trapping him in. 

“Cole?” He yelled out, suddenly. 

“I’m about to leave, is it important?” Came the distant reply. Jay bounced on the balls of his feet for a moment and then pulled himself from the bathroom, dragging his body to the front door, an energy inside of him so unpracticed that it was an effort to feel.  

“Yeah. Can I come with you?” 

***

Jay had forgotten the sounds of shopping - automatic doors sliding open, people moving in and out, the snap of shopping baskets as they were dropped back into a pile. He moved away from Cole a bit, fingers sparking, but quickly moved back to him, the anxiety pulling on his heart more with the separation. 

“You alright, sparky?” Cole asked after a brush of hands zapped him. 

“Yeah, yeah, fine, just a lot of people.”

“I know, right?” The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, but it didn’t last long. “We should probably get a cart, I guess.” Jay wondered if it was his first time out of the house since the funeral, too. He nodded. Cole did the weird half-smile thing again and set off towards the trolleys. Jay felt rooted to the spot. It had seemed like a good idea to come when they’d been in the house, but now… Why was the world normal? Didn’t they know that Zane was gone? How could the world possibly be exactly the same?

“Jay.” Cole had returned with a trolley, “If you’re just going to stand there, can you get in the trolley so that I don’t lose you? I can push you around really fast…?” Jay blinked rapidly, shaking himself out of his fog of grief. He felt his spirit reignite and die again, remembering that all the things that were reckless, the things that were going to make him feel alive, weren’t safe. 

“I thought that was against the rules.” 

“Come on, jump in.” Cole gestured to the shopping cart, “We’re grieving ninja - no one here is going to stop us from doing anything.” Jay closed his fingers over the side of the metal frame hesitantly. Cole was right, and he’d wanted to do this for years… Ed and Edna had gotten all their groceries by mail, and while there were old dusty shopping trolleys in the junkyard, nothing compared to the sleek supermarket floors, or the bright, shiny metal of the carts not yet abandoned, wheels still fully intact. 

He took a deep breath and swung himself into the trolley with the ease only a ninja would have. 

“Ready.” He looked back at Cole and attempted a grin, something so lopsided and forlorn that it made them both laugh at the horror of it all. 

And then they were running through the aisles, Jay clutching the front of the cart with all of the glee he’d buried in the piles of paper, and shrieking as Cole pulled them around the tight corners. There were other people in the shop, of course, but they just looked on with smiles. Their first public appearance in who knows how long, and they were running around like they’d won a lottery. Jay heard a whoop and looked to his side to see two teenagers running parallel with them, and another pair bringing up the rear. Utter chaos, and it was all his fault. 

He yelled as Cole brought them to a stop right before they slammed into a display of mud cakes. 

“Again! Again!” He swivelled around to see Cole out of breath and puffing, cheeks raspberry red, and his black hair slipping messily from the blue hair clips. He felt his own breath catch and leant forward, slowly, gently, as if he was always meant to. Cole moved back - a quick jutter that reminded Jay of exactly how many people Cole had kissed (zero) - but then his eyes closed, and there was no space between them. The teenagers, who had been neck in neck with them, screaming just as loud, stopped short and quiet at the sight, Jay on his knees, pulling Cole down to him, tangling his fingers in his hair as softly as he could. The bakery section was empty faster than it had ever been before. Cole had been right. No one was going to stop them. 

“Oh.” Was all Jay could say when they separated to breathe, noses still touching, eyes soft. Cole nodded, still catching his breath. “That …. was more fun than shopping.” 

“Right. The shopping.” Cole’s grin faded and he pulled away. It was like snow had started falling on his heart, all warmth gone. Perhaps, Jay mused, that might have been the best way to explain what Cole had remembered. “You just wanted muesli bars, didn’t you?” Jay felt his own heart tighten, and he found himself silenced by his brain as he simply nodded. But Cole took his hand as he climbed back out of the trolley, and the soft silence that continued was not one of rejection. It was a heavy grief, a tired love, and it was everything. Cole pushed the trolley along in front of them slowly, and Jay’s legs grew heavy much faster than he thought they would. 

He basically knocked as many boxes of whatever looked good into the cart. Cole picked more carefully, reading ingredients and sometimes staring at the wall of options for minutes before Jay pulled him away. 

They were just about to leave before Cole stopped suddenly, Jay jerking forwards as they stepped out of time. 

“Cole? You okay?” 

“We need vegetables.” His eyes were shiny, and Jay had to tug on his sleeve to get him to move again, and he leaned down to kiss him softly before asking, “What would Zane make, after a tough mission?” 

“Home-made pizza.” 

*** 

While Jay had expected a fight over who would wear Zane’s apron, he was not expecting Zane to own more than one. He had pushed open the dusty door, into the cob-webbed room, and he had opened the wardrobe. Cole had stood awkwardly by the door, anxiously watching as Jay made new footprints on the carpet that had been untouched for months. The wardrobe had been just as neat as Jay remembered it - spare gis on one side, then work shirts, then jumpers and jackets, and finally some shelves. Three perfectly folded aprons sat on the middle shelf, hidden behind a pair of shoes that Jay was pretty sure Zane had stolen from Lloyd when he’d grown up, battered tiny kids shoes, a memento to conceal Zane’s greatest embarrassment. He’d picked up two of the aprons, the least used ones, because even though they seemed identical, the one on top looked a lot more well-loved. Zane’s favourite, and not his to wear. 

Now, they stood in the kitchen, aprons tied with shaky hands and a metal mixing bowl placed in the centre of all of their ingredients, boxes of take-out from Chen’s Noodles swept to one side, as if filling the bin was too much effort. 

“What now?” Jay looked up from his phone where he was scrolling through the recipe they had chosen. 

“We preheat the oven, and then we make the dough, I think.” 

***

The call of “dinner!” was not one that had been heard in the house for a long time. It was met with creaking doors, opened hesitantly and then faster, as everyone made their ways to the dining room. Kai’s hair was bleach-blonde, wearing a red long-sleeve shirt with the right sleeve missing, while Nya’s was dip-dyed pink, wrapped in her fluffy dressing gown. Lloyd looked normal, of course, and Wu’s face was more aged than Jay could remember, but he dismissed it as a trick of the light. They could not lose anyone else. 

They ate silently, and every time Jay felt tears well up, Cole’s hand was there, under the table, and he would smile instead, just a little bit. Everyone left slowly, one by one, with a silted “thank you” and from Lloyd a “we eat together more”. 

And then it was just them again, alone. 

“I got a job.” Cole said finally, “I’m leaving next week.” It’s a punch to the guts, but not one Jay didn’t expect. He exhaled slowly. 

“Where?” 

“Lumberjacking. They haven’t told me where yet, but there’ll be lodgings. Only place that would take me without an interview.” Jay nodded, standing up to gather their plates. “We’re going to get through this, you know, Jay. That obstacle course you designed? That could go places. We’re free now. He freed us.” 

Jay paused, hand outstretched for the final plate, and straightened up. 

“We’ll never be free.”

“I know.”

“That has to be enough.”

“It is.” 

“When will you come back?”

“When I’m ready. When will you leave?”

“When you’re gone.”

“But we’ll come back.”

“We’ll come back.” They kissed, and it was enough. There was no need for an “I love you”, or a promise that they belonged only to each other, because they knew they did not. They could not possibly pretend that it was easy to find love in their grief, but they held on until they could not anymore, and it was enough. 

It was enough.

[inagetawaycarxo]

Beneath The Surface [COMPLETE SERIES]

Pairings: Adam Cole x Reader, Kyle O’Reilly x Reader, Bobby Fish x Reader, Roderick Strong x Reader, Jay Halstead x Reader [Sibling], Will Halstead x Reader [Sibling], Connor Rhodes x Reader [LI], Austin Smith x Reader, Mob!Boss!Roman Reigns x Reader

Featuring: Y/n, Connor Rhodes, Jay Halstead, Will Halstead, Hank Voight, Kim Burgess,  Kyle O’Reilly, Bobby Fish, Rhys, Carson, Mr Williams, Norah Williams, Kevin Atwater, Austin Smith [OC], Roman Reigns, Jey Uso, Antonio Dawson, Adam Ruzek.

Summary: A small town is rocked by a case of a woman with amnesia, who is she? what happened to her? What is she hiding?

Warnings: involves abuse, violence, blood, whumps, firefighting stuff I got wrong, police stuff I got wrong, medical things I got wrong, medical stuff, light angst, Adam being douche, secrets, errors I missed, PTSD, nightmares, flashbacks, angst, blood, violence, drama, mentions of kidnapping, character death, death, car crash.

w/c; 17523

The tree branches scraped against your skin as you ran through the woods. All battered and bruised. Finding it difficult to see out of your left eye it was swollen. You found it hard to breathe as well. Your lungs felt like they were on fire, but you kept pushing yourself to run. You couldn’t stop now, you had to run.

Hope sparked inside of you as you saw a barn. Quickly running over to the barn as best as you could.

Slipping under the wooden fence. Sucking in a deep breath, pain rippled through your body. but you pushed through. Walking up to the door of the barn. Your hand resting on the door, sliding it open.

You quickly entered the barn. Closing the door behind you. The barn smelled like manure, animals, feed, silage, and wood all mixed together. You made your way over to a hay bale, sitting down on it. You carefully laid down. The barn wasn’t occupied by animals. Your eyes slowly closed, as you winced in pain. Your head was killing you. Every limp in your body felt like it was on fire. Your vision slowly fading into black…

“Dad, I’m sure the animals will be fine,” The daughter of the elderly man huffed out.

“Just want to check on them, they are a new herd of cattle I want to see how they are settling in,” He spoke. Getting up. Walking over to the front door. Taking his coat off the hook near the door. He slipped it on. Slipping into his gumboots. He grabbed the lantern. Grabbing his matches out of his pocket and lighting the lantern. He put the match out. Putting it down on the hallway table. Grabbing his rifle that was in the corner. Slinging the armband that was attached to the rifle over his shoulder.

“They were fine ten minutes ago when you checked on them again,” His daughter sighed. As her father opened the door. Exiting the farmhouse. Ignoring his daughter.

He held the lantern up in front of him. The fire lightening his path. Eyebrows furrowing as he heard his animals make sounds of distress.

“It’s okay,” He reassured them. Not that it worked. He then proceeds to locate what got them so spooked.

Eyes widening in slight fear, as he saw a coyote stalking outside of his barn. He put the lantern down, so he could fire his rifle.

He aimed at the coyote. Pulling the trigger. The sound of the gun breaking through the air. This seemed to cause his daughter to panic rushing out of the house. While her father picked up the lantern. Running over to the coyote to see if he got it. The coyote quickly ran away, fleeing the scene without a trace of a bullet wound.

The elderly man let out a sigh. Looking at the barn.

His eyes widen as he saw a bloody handprint smudged on the door. Taking slow steps he walked to the door. Hand pressing against the door, he slides it open. Heart pounding faster.

The moonlight lit up the barn. What he saw next made his heart speed up. He clutched his chest with his hand, dropping the lantern in the process. Causing it to fall on the floor. Breaking the glass. The fire spread across the hay scatted on the ground, as the elderly man fell to his knees, holding his chest tightly as he had a heart attack. The image of a bloody, beaten-up woman laying on his hay bale was too much for him.

“DAD,” His daughter screamed as she saw the barn light up with fire. She quickly sprinted back to the house. Tearing the front door open. Rushing over to the landline. She picked the cordless phone up. Quickly dialing 9-1-1. Holding the phone up to her ear, rushing back outside.

“9-1-1, what’s your emergency?” The emergency operator spoke.

“HELP ME! My father, he is in the barn and it’s on fire,” She gasped out. Her voice was full of panic.

“What’s your address?” the emergency operator asked. Typing away on a keyboard.

“I… Oh my god,” The women gasped out, as the fire grew larger. She was too shocked to speak. The emergency operator quickly tracked the women’s location. Informing the fire department and the ambulance department.

“Ma’am, help is on the way,” The emergency operator spoke. Only to hear the sound of the phone dropping and a loud cry…

The smell of smoke invaded your nostrils, waking you up. Your eyes widen in panic as you saw fire. You quickly got off the hay bale, rushing to find a way out of this barn, unfortunately, you inhaled too much smoke, making you collapse to the ground…

The sound of the fire siren, as well as an ambulance siren, got louder as they drove up the driveway. The fire rig stopping near the barn. While the ambulance stopped a bit behind the fire truck.

The daughter of the elderly man rushed over to them.

Kyle and Bobby rushed out of the rig. Putting their oxygen mask on and tanks on their backs, before rushing into the building. While the other firefighters rolled the hose out, turning the nozzle on. releasing water.

Bobby and Kyle saw an elderly man laying on the ground. Bobby checked his pulse. Kyle looked around the barn, seeing another figure.

“Bobby there’s another one in here,” Kyle spoke. Pointing at a figure.

“I’ll get him out, and you go get her,” Bobby ordered. Kyle nodded. Carefully walking over to the figure. While Bobby picked the guy up, pulling him out of the building.

Kyle gasped as he took in the figure. It was a woman. Her face was littered with scratches. Not only was her face littered with scratches but there was blood on her face. he put two and two together, they were keeping this woman hostage.

He quickly picked her up carefully, walking out of the building. Glaring at the woman and the guy in the stretcher. Bobby looked up.

“Oh my god,” Bobby gasped out.

The woman looked up from her father. The other paramedic saw Kyle take another victim out. Rushing over to the back of the ambulance van, taking out another stretcher.

“Where you holding her captive?” Kyle spat out. As the other paramedic bought the stretcher over to Kyle. Kyle placed the woman delicately down on the stretcher. While the other paramedic checked the women.

“What?” The daughter of the elderly guy gasped out.

“She’s going to have to go to the hospital, she has a collapsed lung, among other things,” The paramedic spoke. The other paramedic nodded.

Both of them taking you and the elderly man to the back of the ambulance van. Kyle following.

“I’ve never seen that woman in my life, let alone knew she was in the barn,” The women gasped out. Holding her father’s hand,

“Well, then your father knew, maybe tried to hide the evidence of his crime,” Kyle spat out. as they loaded you in then the elderly man. The women hopping in a well.

“I’m not leaving you alone with her,” Kyle growled out. hopping into the back of the ambulance van as well. One of the paramedics hopped in, while the other one shut the doors. Going over to the driver’s side. Opening the door and getting in. they closed the door. Starting the ambulance van, then switching the siren on as they speed off to the hospital. Pressing their foot hard on the pedal. All the while Kyle glared at the women. Praying the woman he thought that they abused was okay…

Kyle felt relief wash over him as the ambulance stopped in the emergency parking space.

The other paramedic rushing out of the driver’s side, opening the doors. Both of them taking out the stretchers.

“You are going to pay for this,” Kyle growled out before he exited the back of the ambulance van…

 • ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••   

Kyle could hear his heart beating as every second went by. His chest felt heavy with anxiety, as he waited for a doctor or nurse to tell him the condition of the woman he saved. Or at least give him some sort of update. He had been waiting in the waiting room for hours.

Other people who were waiting as well, came and left.

He should have been at work, but he couldn't. He had to know the condition of the woman he saved, or at least her name.

Kyle heard footsteps approaching. Relief washed over him. thinking it was a doctor coming to inform him of the condition of the woman he saved, when he looked up it was his friend Adam, who happened to be a detective. Coming over to him.  

“Hey,” Kyle spoke, sitting up straighter. As Adam stood in front of him.

“Heard you made quite a scene,” Adam spoke. Arching an eyebrow.

“Well, you would to if you found a battered and bruised woman in a barn, that was set ablaze, for all I know he was trying to cover his crime up,” Kyle grumbled out. Adam sat beside him.

“You don’t know that Mr. William isn’t that type of person,” Adam Sighed.

“People surprise you, Adam, you should know that,” Kyle grumbled. Adam just raised his eyebrow.

“Look Kyle I get you want to be a hero but you can't accuse someone especially a burn victim of abusing a woman, we haven’t heard the entire story yet,” Adam sighed.

“Like I said before people surprise you,” Kyle grumbled. Adam let out a long sigh. Resting his hand on Kyle's shoulder and squeezing it.

“Let the evidenced do the talking. Just stay out of it,” Adam warned. Letting go of Kyle’s shoulder and getting up. Leaving Kyle to glare at his back as he walked to the nurse's station. Asking the nurse where the room of the woman Kyle found was located in. The nurse quickly gave Adam the number for the room. Giving him a flirty smile. Adam smirked at her. Sending a wink her way as he walked off. walking to the room.

Adam pushed the door open. Smirking as he saw Doctor Rhodes.

“Connor,” Adam smirked. as he took a step forward. His eyes looking at the woman in the bed. She looked awful. There was a bandage wrapped around her head. A scatter of scratches on her face. her lip was busted, her left arm was in a sling, and her left eye was swollen.

“Cole,” Connor responded not looking up from the tablet. It was no secret Adam and Connor butted heads. Connor wasn’t Adam’s biggest fan, and Adam wasn’t Connor’s biggest fan either.

“So, how’s the patient? Is she going to wake up soon, hopefully sometime soon?” Adam asked. Making Connor’s jaw tighten. “She’s been through a lot, I put her induced coma, she’s lucky she’s even alive, she has a collapsed lung, broken arm, head trauma, not to mention…” Connor listed off only to get cut off by an impatient Adam.

“Yeah, yeah, just give her something to wake her up, so I can get answers out of her, then you can put her back in an induce comma,” Adam grumbled. Looking at Connor intensely. Connor’s jaw ticked.

Connor let out an annoyed huff. Putting the tablet down. giving Adam his full attention. His eyes were lit with fury. Blood boiling.

“Get out,” Connor shouted. Making Adam smirk.

“She’s a suspect,” Adam smirked. riling Connor up.

“She’s a victim, and she’s my patient, I’m not waking her up so you can grill her, come back when she actually wakes up,” Connor shouted. Nostrils flaring.

“Well, are you going to give me a set date on when you are going to take her out of the comma?” Adam asked.

“I’ll get one of the nurses to inform you when she wakes up on her own accord, till now leave,” Connor growled. Making  Adam smirk. He turned around walking out of the room.

Connor let out a sigh. Walking over to you. His face edged with worry. He took a hold of your hand. His thumb caressing the back of your hand. His other hand went to your wrist, tracing the tattoo on your wrist. he knew that tattoo, he was there when you got it. Connor sat down on your bed beside you. Eyes filling with worry.

“Oh, y/n, what happened to you?” He sighed.

“I should have never left Chicago,” He spoke again, with so much sadness in his voice….

 • ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••   

Connor starred at you intently. He had a feeling your ex might have caused this. Connor quickly let go of your hand when he heard the door to your room open. He quickly stood up. Pretending to look t the tablet. As a male nurse named Rhys walked in. Rhys smiled at him.

“How’s the patient?” Rhys asked. Going over to you.

Connor let out a small sigh. Looking at Rhys.

“Pretty much the same,” Connor replied.

“If it’s any consolation, I think you made the right choice putting her in an induced coma,”  Rhys spoke. Checking the wires that were connected to you.

“Let me guess Adam was complaining about it when he walked out?” Connor questioned. Making Rhys chuckle.

“Yep,” Rhys chuckled.

“Oh, Kyle is still in the waiting room, did you want me to inform him?” Rhys asked. Looking at Connor.

“No, it’s okay I will do it,” Connor responded. Making Rhys smile. Connor smiled at Rhys. Giving you one last longing glance. Before walking out of your room, and over to the waiting room.

Connor spotted Kyle. Making him let out a small sigh.

Connor smiled at Kyle as he made his way over to him.

“Kyle,” Connor greeted. Standing in front of Kyle.

“Is she okay? Is she awake?” Kyle asked frantically.

“She suffered a lot of brain trauma and I had to put her in an induced coma,” Connor replied.

Kyle looked down in defeat. Feeling like the whole world was closing around him.

“She’s in good hands,” Connor spoke. Giving Kyle a reassuring smile.

“Did you at least find out her name?” Kyle asked. Making Connor suck in a deep breath.

He knew who you were, but he just didn’t know if he should tell Kyle your name. The problem was Kyle was friends with Adam, who he hated, and who was a cop. Connor had a gut feeling your ex-boyfriend, who happened to be a cop did this to you.

“We don’t know, whoever hurt her removed her fingertips, and tried to make her unrecognizable,” Connor spoke. Making Kyle frown.

“You can see her if you want,” Connor spoke again. Seeing Kyle look deflated.

Kyle lifted his head. Eyes brightening with happiness. He got up.

“Thank you,” Kyle beamed. Connor gave Kyle a small smile.

Connor guided Kyle to your room. Opening the door for Kyle.

Kyle rushed in. Connor followed behind Kyle. Closing the door. Watching Kyle closely.

Kyle looked at you with a pained expression. Walking over to you. Taking in your appearance. It was all too overwhelming. Tears collected in his eyes.

He took a huge gulp before speaking.

“Don’t worry, my friend is a cop, and he will find out who hurt you,” Kyle promised you.

“Or side with her ex,” Connor thought to himself.

Kyle was about to sit down when his phone let out a ping. He quickly fished it out of his pocket. Looking at the phone screen. He had to go back to work. He looked at you then at the screen. Letting out a defeated sigh.

“Can I visit her again after my shift ends?” Kyle asked as he got up.

“Sure,” Connor replied. Smiling at Kyle. Kyle gave you one last final glance before walking out of the room reluctantly….

Adam parked his car next to Roddy’s car. Turning the car off and putting it in park. He put the hand brake up. Taking the car keys out of the ignition. Adam opened the door, stepping out of his car.

Roddy quickly walked up to him. Handing him some disposable gloves.

“Any evidence bagged yet?” Adam asked. As the two of them walked over to the burnt-down barn.

“No, everything is burnt,” Roddy spoke. Adam let out a grunt of annoyance.

He was about to speak, but the sound of a car engine coming towards them. Made him turn his attention towards the noise.

Adam saw Kyle get out of a taxi. Giving the taxi driver a couple of notes through the window.

Bobby quickly walked up to Kyle. Greeting Kyle.

“Hey man, how is she?” Bobby asked. Giving Kyle a big hug.

“In a coma,” Kyle responded. As Bobby pulled away.

“I’m sure she will pull through,” Bobby spoke. Putting his hand on Kyle’s shoulder.

Whatever Kyle was about to say was interrupted by the sound of someone talking.

“I found something,” Another cop spoke. Near the wooden fence.

Roddy, Adam, Bobby, and Kyle quickly rushed over.

The cop pointed at the fence. Adam smirked as he saw blood on the wooden fence. He felt confident it was the mystery woman that was lying in the hospital and that Mr. William didn’t hold the woman captive as Kyle claimed.

Adam turned to Kyle with a smug look. Making Kyle narrow his eyes slightly. Bobby and Roddy looked back and forth between Adam and Kyle.

“There's your evidence that Mr. William didn’t hold the woman hostage,” Adam spoke smugly. Making Kyle’s jaw clench slightly.

Adam turned his attention back to the cop.

“Bag it,” He spoke before walking off. Kyle glared at the back of Adam’s head.

It could be the blood of the woman he rescued or an injured animal, he thought to himself…

Chapter Text

 • ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••   

It’s been two weeks since they found a bloody and bruised woman in Mr. William's barn.

Adam exhausted all leads. The blood they found wasn’t human, it was animal blood.

Adam tapped his fingers impatiently on his desk. Looking at the results from the blood they found two weeks ago. He put the piece of paper down. Letting out a frustrated groan.

“How about we get a warrant or something so we can get her blood?” Roddy suggested. Looking up from the PC screen.

“I have a better idea, we wake her up, grill her till she breaks,” Adam suggested. Making Roddy look at him with concern.

“Are you sure?” Roddy asked. Voice laced with concern.

“Unless you want an innocent man wrongly accused, we have no other choice, plus I think it’s time for her to wake up, I’m sure she would remember now, she’s been in a coma for two weeks,”

“How do you know she will remain; they say she has had brain trauma,” Roddy spoke.

“Because it is our only option,” Adam grumbled. Getting up and grabbing his coat. Roddy let out a sigh. Getting up and following Adam…

__________________________________________

 Kyle smiled at the barista as she handed him a water bottle and a sandwich he ordered. He turned around, only to bump into a woman.

“Sorry,” Kyle apologized. Giving her a small smile. His smile dropped as he realized who it was. It was Mr. Williams, daughter.

“You should be, because of you everyone in this town thinks my father hurt that woman, that he held her hostage, that he tortured her,” She growled out. Tears collecting in her eyes. She looked like she hadn’t slept in weeks. Or if she, did it must have been a few hours. She had dark circles underneath her eyes.

“Well, what else was I supposed to think, she was injured,”  Kyle snapped.

“Are you just being petty because I broke up with you?” She growled out. Through clenched teeth.

“That has nothing to do with it,” Kyle snapped. Glaring at her.

“Well, I hope you are proud of yourself, my father literally had a heart attack,” She snapped. Spinning on her heel and walking away…

__________________________________________

 Adam walked into the hospital. Looking around the hospital in search of Connor. Adam walked over to the nurse's station. Smirking as he saw it was the nurse that always flirts with him. Roddy followed behind him.

“Where’s Doctor Rhodes?” Adam asked her.

“In surgery why?” She asked. Batting her eyelashes.

“No reason,” Adam smirked. Giving her a charming smile before turning around and walking to the unknown woman’s room.

Adam looked around before entering the room. Seeing if the coast was clear. Roddy followed behind him feeling slightly unsure if they should do this. He tried to talk Adam out of it on the way to the hospital, but Adam didn’t listen.

Adam took out a needle, with a liquid substance.

“Where did you get that from?” Roddy asked. Eyes widen in shock.

“A friend,” Adam responded. Walking over to you. He took the cap off the needle. Putting the needle into your cannula.

Adam smirked as he put the liquid substance into you. Roddy felt his heart rate quicken. Gulping as he felt like this was all a bad idea.

Your eyes opened wide. Looking around the room to see two male figures looking at you. You saw two figures standing there. Eyes widen in fear as you saw a police badge on their uniforms. Your mind quickly flashed to the nightmares you were having. The guy who beat you up had a badge. The sound of the machine monitor beeped loudly and rapidly. Roddy felt worried thinking it was the liquid substance that was affecting you. Maybe you were having an allergic reaction…

 • ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••   

 Adam got up in your face. Making you gulp hard.

“Do you remember what happened to you?” Adam demanded. Making you move your head to the side. Adam’s eyes sparkled dangerously. He grabbed your chin hard. Roughly pulling your head to face him. The sound of the machine beeped faster making Roddy panic.

“Dude, just leave her alone,” Roddy sighed. Grabbing Adam’s shoulder and trying to pull him away. But Adam fought against him. Shrugging him off.

You tried to reach out to the button. But Adam grabbed your hand tightly. Making you whimper. Tears gathered in your eyes. As your heart rate speed up the machine beeped frantically.

Was he going to hurt you like that other cop was doing in those dreams you had?

“Tell me,” Adam demanded.

“I don’t remember,” You weakly gasped out. voice trembling with fear.

“Adam,” Roddy warned. Feeling worried about your safety. Yes, they needed answers. But scaring you to answer wasn’t the right solution.

“What the hell do you think you are doing?” Connor shouted. Looking at Adam and Roddy with fury in his eyes, but mainly Adam.

“Just getting answers, I mean it’s been two weeks since she came here, I want to know who our mystery woman is, don’t you?” Adam smugly spoke. Making Connor’s blood boil. While Roddy just shook his head disapprovingly.

“Are you insane, she has had a traumatic brain injury, she needs rest,” Connor growled out. Taking a step closer to you. Adam let go of you. making your heart rate decrease. You cast your gaze down.

“She woke up on her own,” Adam spoke. Connor gave Adam a sarcastic smile. Not believing a word he just spoke. Roddy shook his head no.

“I’m sure she did. Get out,” Connor spat out. Making Adam smirk smugly.

“I’ll find answers, and if you get in the way again I won’t hesitate in charging you,” Adam threatened. Glaring at Connor. Connor glared back at him.

Adam broke eye contact smirking.

“Come on, Roddy, see you later sweetheart,” Adam spoke sweetly. Patting your hair. Making you flinch.

Adam smirked at Connor as Roddy and he walked out of the door.

A whimper caught Connor’s attention.

“Are you okay?” He asked. Eyes full of worry. He quickly checked on you.

You looked at him intensely. Studying his features. He was gorgeous. You felt your breath hitch as he leaned closer. Shining his torch in your eyes.

He was about to speak but you cut him. Something about him made you want to tell him the reoccurring dream you kept having while sleeping. Well, it was more like a nightmare. Like he would keep you safe. that you could trust him. Heck, you would tell him your darkest secrets if you could remember them.

“I think I know who hurt me… when I was asleep, I kept having these vivid images of this guy attacking me. He hurt me so cruelly. And I saw a police badge,” You confessed. Your voice was above a whisper.

Connor looked at you with a heartbroken expression. Making your forehead crease with confusion. Why was he looking at you like that?

He grabbed your hand. Sitting down on the bed. His eyes gathering with tears.

“I don’t want to freak you out too much, but…” Connor spoke. Taking a deep breath before he spoke again.

“I know you; I know who did this to you,” He confessed. Making your breath hitch. Your mouth opening in shock. Eyes locked onto his.

“What’s my name?” You barely gasped out but he heard you somehow.

“Y/n l/n,” He responded.

“I’ll tell you anything, whatever you want to know I will tell you,” Connor spoke, looking at you with concern in his eyes…

 • ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••   

You looked at Connor in shock. Your brain processing the words Connor spoke. Connor looked at you with a worried expression. While you looked down at the sheets.

You looked up at him. Parting your lips.

“Tell me more,” You gasped out. Heart beating faster.

Connor let out a sigh. Inching closer to you.

“You are from Chicago,” Connor started to say. Smiling slightly.

“You have two brothers, Will and Jay. Jay is actually your twin,” Connor told you.

“Twin? I’m a twin,” You gasped out in disbelief. Making Connor smile.

“Not identical though,” Connor chuckled. As a small smile graced your lips.

“You did have a boyfriend, but you dumped him, then got together with another man, which no one knows what he looks like, other than his name, which is Roman,” Connor spoke again.

“Oh, do you think he did this to me?” You asked. Heart plummeting as you waited for his response.

Connor let out a sigh. Casting his eyes down. his thumb absently caressing his thumb across the tattoo on your wrist. your eyes traveled down to where his thumb was. Sparks igniting in your body at his touch.

“ I think he did, I wouldn’t put it past him,” Connor finally spoke. Looking up at you. making your breath hitch.

“But the guy I saw in my dreams had a badge,” You gasped out.

“Yeah, your ex was a cop, wait you had dreams about what happened to you?” Connor spoke.

“Yeah,” You spoke quietly. Connor looked at you with concerned eyes.

“Your brother is a detective, didn’t like your ex-boyfriend, thought he was a corrupt cop,” Connor told you.

“Will or Jay?” You asked.

“Jay, Will is a doctor, and well you are a nurse, Will also hated your ex as well,” Connor replied. As you looked at him. Hanging on his every word.

You didn’t want to hear more about your abusive ex, so you changed the subject.

“What about us? How do we know each other?” You asked. This question seemed to throw Connor off guard. He looked at you with wide eyes. A shocked expression on his face. You raised your eyebrow at him.  Wanting to know why he had that reaction.

It made you want to know the answer even more. Obliviously something went down between the two of you. Since he got nervous under your gaze. He looked away, delaying his response.

“I didn’t ask how you are feeling?” Connor asked. Avoiding your question by asking a question of his own.

This made you want to know even more.

“I’m fine, but you didn’t answer my question,” You spoke.

Connor ignored the last word you spoke. Taking his stethoscope from around his neck. He put the earplugs in his ear. Grabbing hold of the bell. Bringing it towards your chest. You grabbed his wrist, stopping him. Connor’s breath hitched at the contact of your skin on his.

He took a deep breath before speaking. Avoiding eye contact.

“We were friends… best friends,” Connor spoke. You gave him a confused look at how he was reacting. And how long it took him to reply.

You opened your mouth to speak, but Connor beat you to it.

“It’s complicated, we are best friends, but we had a friend with benefits kind of relationship as well, then it went downhill, then I left,” Connor spoke. Still avoiding your gaze. He looked sad.

“Because of me?” You asked. Voice-breaking. This made Connor finally look at you.

“No,” He responded.

“It wasn’t your fault, I didn’t leave because of you,” Connor spoke again. Grabbing a hold of your hand. Both of you gazing into each other’s eyes.

Just as you were about to speak the door opened. Making Connor get up. He stood up. Looking professional, as the nurse made her way into your room.

She arched her eyebrow at Connor.

“Just checking on our mystery patient,” Connor spoke.

“Your up,” She spoke. Directing her gaze at you, then back at Connor when he spoke.

“No thanks to Cole,” Connor grumbled. The nurse gave a forced smile. You could tell it didn’t reach her eyes.

“Doctor Cooper wants you for a consultant on one of his cases,” She spoke. Giving Connor a fake smile. Connor looked annoyed. He gave her a fake smile too. Before looking at you. Giving you a genuine smile.  You could sense the tension between them.

“I’ll see you later,” He spoke. Giving you a sincere smile, before walking out of the room.

“So… what were Doctor Rhodes and you talking about?” She asked.

‘Not much, just asked if I could remember what my name was as well as if I could remember what happened to me?” You spoke. Lying to her. As she checked in on you.

“He seemed pretty close,” She spoke.

“He was just checking in on me,” You spoke. Making her give you a fake smile.

“Okay, I’ll check in on you later,” She responded. Giving you another fake smile, as she exited the room.

She quickly walked over to the nurse's station. Taking out her phone. Unlocking her phone. She quickly went into the messaging app. Pressing the conversation she had with Adam.

No budge. Though Connor and she seem pretty close She sent to him…

 Adam gripped his phone tighter as he reread the message over again. He let out a grunt of annoyance. He was about to reply when the door to his office opened. Mr. Williams Daughter storming in. Roddy trailing behind her. Adam gave her a forced smile. Adam placed his phone on his desk.

“How can I help you?” Adam asked.

“Of course you are just sitting there doing nothing, you should be grilling that woman,” She snapped. Fists clenched.

“The truth will come out, we are doing everything we can, ” Roddy reassured her. But she just turned around to face him. giving him a deadly glare.

“My dad isn’t a kidnapper or abuser,” She snapped. Storming out of the office.

Adam picked up his phone. Typing a message furiously.

Spy on them. Listen in on their conversations, report back to me.

Adam smirked as he sent the message. He would find out who that woman was…

 • ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••   

Kyle felt anxious as he walked into the hospital. Fidgeting with his fingers. He heard through the grapevine, well Adam, the woman he saved was awake. Kyle wanted to visit her, to see how she was.

He walked over to the nurse’s station. He smiled nervously at the nurse. Who happened to be the nurse Adam flirted with.

She gave him a fake smile, which didn’t ease his nerves.

“Let me guess, you are here to see the woman you saved,” She spoke. Giving him a teasing smile.

“Yeah, I heard she was awake,” Kyle spoke.

“You can go see her,” The nurse spoke Kyle gave her a small smile, before turning around and walking to your room.

The sound of the door creaking made you snap your head away from the TV screen to look at the person who entered your room. You hoped it was Dr. Rhodes. But it turned out to be a stranger. You gave him an anxious look as you took in his features. He had brown eyes, a red beard, or maybe it was auburn and brown hair.

Kyle took notice of you looking at him cautiously.

“I’m Kyle, I saved you from the burning barn,” He spoke gently.

“Oh, well, I would tell you my name, if I could remember it,” You lied. You did know your name, you just didn’t know who you could trust other than Doctor Rhodes, which he is yet to tell you his first name.

Kyle let out a chuckle. Grabbing the chair and bringing it to the side of your bed. He sat down. Grimacing at the discomfort. Making you arch an eyebrow.

“You look better than when I first saw you,” Kyle spoke softly.

“Mmm, I don’t feel it, my head is pounding, I look like I’ve been through hell,” You whined. Pouting at him. Kyle smiled.

“But you are alive, that’s the most important thing,” Kyle spoke.

“I suppose, but my head is killing me,” You whined.

“Do you want me to go get a nurse? Maybe they can give you something?” Kyle spoke in a worried tone.

“Nah, pretty sure she hates me, I’ll be fine,” You gasped out. Bringing your uninjured hand up to your forehead.

Kyle felt his heart hurt as he watched you wince in pain.

“Do you remember anything?” He asked. His tone was sweet and caring.

“Just running through bushes and trees, then seeing the barn,” You reply. Eyes widening as you realized you might have revealed too much. Maybe it was how he asked you. Maybe it was those brown eyes staring intently into your soul.

Before Kyle or you could utter a single word the door to the room opened.

“Hey, y/n we’ve…” Connor started to say but stopped when he saw Kyle sitting next to your bed. Jealousy spiked inside of him. His jaw slightly clenching. The reaction didn’t go unnoticed by you. Maybe Kyle but not you.

“Oh, I didn’t know you had visitors,” Connor spoke.

“I just heard she was up, and I wanted to check in on her,” Kyle nervously replied. It was cute. Connor gave Kyle a forced smile.

Kyle seemed nervous.

“Um, I’ll see you soon,” Kyle spoke. Looking at you with a nervous smile, as he got up. You gave him a small smile in return. Watching him walk out of the room.

Your gaze returned to Connor. Giving him a pointed look.

“You seem jealous,” You pointed out.

“I’m not, I’m just worried,” Connor spoke defensively.

“Mmmhm…” You responded. Letting out a gasp of pain as your head throbbed.

Connor rushed over to you. Panic evident on his face.

“Are you okay?” Connor asked.

“Other than feeling pain in my head and body, yeah, I’m peachy,” You grunted.

“Carson is supposed to be giving you pain meds, damn it,” Connor grumbled at the nurse’s failure.

You gave him a quizzical look. Who was Carson?

‘Who’s Carson?” You asked. Voice sounding harsher than it was meant to be.

“The nurse that comes and checks in on you,” Connor responded.

“Oh,” You mumbled.

“I was going to clear you, but…” Connor started to say but you cut him off.

“I’m fine, it’s just pain,” You cut Connor off.

“You have had a traumatic experience,” Connor explained.

“I’m fine,” You huffed out. You would cross your arms if you could. So instead, you just pouted like a toddler who didn’t get their way.

Connor was about to speak but you cut him off.

“Please, clear me, I can’t take the taste of hospital food anymore, I mean the ice cream is great, don’t get me wrong, it’s the only highlight, but I’m bored sitting here,” You whined. Making your headache even worse.

“Ouch, and here I thought I was great company,” Connor fake sighed.

“You are…It’s just this hospital is driving me insane,” You huffed out.

“You’ve only had hospital four times,” Connor chuckled. While you just intensified your gaze. Pouting at him.

“Okay, fine, I’ll run a few tests before I give you the all-clear,” Connor spoke.

“Can’t we skip the tests?” You begged. Giving him a puppy dog look.

“Tests or hospital food for another week,” Connor spoke sternly. Making you let out a whine.

“Fine,” You sighed.

“And you are staying with me when I discharge you,” Connor spoke. Making your heart skip a beat.

Neither Connor nor you noticing Carson outside the door. She took her phone out of her pocket. Unlocking it. She quickly went into the messaging app. Clicking on the messages she had with Adam.

She’s being discharged. Staying with Connor. Kyle visited her btw, maybe you can use him as a pawn to find more about her.

 • ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••   

After hours of CAT scans, MRI scans, CT scans, an echo, blood testes among other tests, among other tests, you were grateful that you didn’t have to take anymore. All you had to do was wait for the results.

Connor walked into the room with a huge smile on his face. Holding a bunch of clothes in his hands. you quirked an eyebrow.

“I got the results back, and you are in the clear, there were a few things that were a bit concerning but as long as you get psychotherapy to gain some of your memory back,” Connor spoke. As you smiled brightly at him. You sat up.

“Finally,” You beamed.

“I got a nurse to get you some clothes to change into, I got Rhys to buy some for you,” Connor spoke.

“Oh,” You spoke. Having no idea who Rhys was.

“He is one of the nurses who work here, and my friend,” Connor spoke. Connor placed the clothes on the bed. As you pushed the blanket back.

Connor’s hand rested on your lower back as you tried to get up. Connor assisted you.

He felt panic rise inside of him as you wobbled a bit. Your hand grabbed his arm for balance.

“Are you going to help me change?” You joked. Making Connor’s face turn red. He awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.

“Do you need help? Because I can get a nurse to help you,” Connor spoke.

“I’ll be fine,” You responded. Giving him a small smile.

Connor arched his eyebrow at you. Looking at where your hand was holding his arm for support.

You quickly took your hand away from his arm. Feeling slightly embarrassed.

“Alright, I will go get my stuff, then come back,” Connor spoke. Giving you one last longing glance, before walking out of your room.

You slowly took small steps towards the clothes. Slowly undoing the hospital gown. You cautiously put the clothes on that Connor gave you.

Just as you put the sweater on there was a knock at the door. Making you turn around.

“Come in,” You called out. Connor walked into the room. An amused smile gracing his lips as he held onto the strap. Keeping it from slipping. He was dressed in dark jeans, a top, and a black leather jacket. You quickly adverted your eyes back to his.

“Don’t laugh, It’s not my fault I have a sling,” You spoke in a pouty tone. Pouting at him. Connor let out a laugh. Walking closer to you.

“I’m not, I just think you look adorable, I discharged you while I was waiting for you to get changed,” Connor spoke.

“What would I do without you,” You jokingly spoke.

Not get beaten up by your toxic abusive ex-boyfriend, Connor thought to himself. He wanted to say that, but instead, he said something else.

“You ready to go?” Connor asked. Making you nod enthusiastically.  He quickly walked to the door opening it for you.

You quickly walked towards him.

“Thank you,”  You spoke. As you walked past him and out the door. Connor followed behind you. Catching up with you. you followed him out of the hospital and towards a car park. Which you assumed it must have been staff parking.

Connor took out his car keys. Stopping at his car.  He quickly unlocked the car.

“Fancy car,” You commented on his car. Connor let out a chuckle. 

“Well, it’s nowhere near as cool as what your car is,” Connor spoke.

“Shame I can’t remember it,” You sighed. Pouting at him.

“It was a Jeep Wrangler, the newer version,” He responded. Opening the car door for you.

“And he is a gentleman too,” You praised him. Making his cheeks blush. You may not remember the history he and you shared, but he did.

You quickly got in. Connor shut the door. Rushing over to the driver's side. Getting in and putting his bag in the back. Connor put the keys in the ignition. Turning the car on. Putting his seat belt on. Connor put the handbrake down, then put the car into reverse. Backing out of the car park. He put the car into gear then speed off.

Connor glanced at you now and then seeing you take in the surroundings. Connor smiled slightly. His heart hurting at what you have been through. He wishes he stayed in Chicago, he wished you at least called him and told him what your ex did to you.

Connor drove into a driveway of an apartment complex. Stopping in front of a garage.

“You live in here,” You gasped out. Mouth a gap.

“Yep,” Connor chuckled. Grabbing a remote from the center console. He pressed a button making the garage door roll up. Connor drove in. Pressing the closed button on the remote button. The roller door closed.

Connor chuckled at your reaction. Finding a parking spot. He quickly parked in the spot. Putting the car into park. He pulled the handbrake up. Turning the car off. Connor turned his body. Reaching in the back to grab his bag. While you exited the car. Connor took the keys out of the ignition. Getting out of the car. He quickly got out. locking the car.

“Come on, I will make you a nice dinner,” Connor spoke softly. You quickly followed Connor. Stopping behind him as he pressed the elevator button. The elevator chimed, as the doors opened.

Both of you walking in. Connor pressed the button to the top floor.

“So, is anyone living with you like a significant other?” You questioned.

Connor shook his head no.

“I haven’t been in the dating scene or been with anyone since Chicago,” Connor spoke awkwardly. The air in the elevator getting thicker.

“Really,  because your hot and a doctor, plus you seem nice, least with me,” You spoke. Connor gave you a small smile.

The elevator dinged as it reached the top floor. Connor quickly exited the elevator. You quickly followed him. walking down the hallway in silence.

You felt slightly worried you may have stepped over a line.

“I’m sorry about that, I just…” You apologized only for Connor to cut you off. As he stopped in front of a door at the end of the hallway. Taking out keys. He put them into the keyhole. Turning it.

“It’s okay,” Connor spoke. As he grabbed the doorknob, twisting the doorknob. Opening the door.

“I…Wow,” You gasped out as you saw the city lights out of the window.

“So pretty,” You gawked out. Rushing over to the window. Connor let out an amused chuckle. Shutting the door and locking it.

You looked around the apartment in amazement. Connor let out a laugh.

“I’ll show you the room you will be staying in, it has a bathroom,” Connor spoke, as he walked over to a room. Opening a door.

“A bathroom, wow,” You beamed. Rushing over to the room.

Connor smiled at your reaction. He quickly looked away.

“Why don’t you have a shower, I still have clothes of yours that you can change into,” Connor spoke.

“You kept my clothes?” You asked. Arching an eyebrow.

“Yeah, from when you left them at my old place,” Connor mumbled. Cheeks flushing a light shade of pink. Why was he embarrassed he knew you.

“Thank you,” You spoke softly. Smiling at him softly.

“I’m going to make us dinner, clean towels are in the cupboard, Oh, and your clothes are in the tallboy,” He spoke, quickly turning around and walking out the room. Your heart beating wildly.

You couldn’t remember what you had with him, or any previous relationship, but for some reason Connor made you feel something. You felt a spark there.

“He is a doctor and can cook, damn, I missed the mark on that one,” You spoke in a dreamy tone.

You let out a heavy sigh walking into the bathroom. Closing the door. Stripping your clothes off.

Your eyes widen as you realized you have a sling on you. A curse slipped from your lips

“Ah, Connor I have a sling, could you get me a plastic bag,” You yelled out. Waiting for him to respond. But he didn’t.

You looked around the bathroom. Noticing a bathtub.

“I suppose having a bath will do,” You huffed out. struggling to take the rest of your clothes up. But eventually, you got there.

You walked over to the bathtub. Turning both taps on. Checking the temperature. Letting out a satisfied hum when it was the right temperature You put the plugin. Grabbing the shower gel. You squirted a bit in the water. Putting the bottle of shower gel down. You waited for the water to get a certain height; you turned the taps off. Carefully getting into the bathtub…

Connor tried to distract himself with making Spaghetti Carbonara, chopping up mushrooms, and bacon into little bits but failed miserably. You were invading his thoughts. It was killing him how he couldn’t just kiss you, but you didn’t have your memories of what he and you shared, and he didn’t want to scare you, let alone start something knowing you still had a boyfriend.

The spaghetti was already strained. All he had to do was put the sauce in. He poured the sauce into the pot. Putting the mushrooms into the sauce as well as the bacon.

Connor stirred the carbonara sauce around in the pot. Warming the sauce up. His mind wandering back to a memory he had with you.

A giggle escaped your lips as Connor’s beard scratched your neck, as he trailed kisses down your neck.

“We should just call in sick and do this all day,” You suggested. Making Connor look up at you tilting his head. He raised one of his eyebrows. Smirking at you.

“That’s a good idea,” Connor smirked. Pressing his lips against yours. The kiss turning feverish…

“I’m finished,” You spoke, in a sing-song voice. Making Connor jump. He quickly composed himself.

“Oh, smells nice,” You commented.

“Um…” Connor stuttered. He quickly checked if the sauce was warm. Thankful that it was.

“You okay?” You asked. Curious and worried.

“Yeah, you surprised me,” He spoke. Pouring the sauce into the pot that was filled with spaghetti. Connor quickly stirred the sauce around in the pot. Mixing the Carbonaro sauce with the spaghetti.

“Dinners ready,” Connor announced. Walking over to a cupboard. He opened it up, grabbing out two bowls. Connor went over to a draw. Pulling it open. He grabbed two forks. Connor turned around. Walking back to you. he quickly picked the spoon he was using. Putting the food into the bowl, before handing it to you.

“Thank you,” You spoke softly. walking over to the table. Connor joined you a second later.

“So, you said I have brothers what do they look like?” You asked. Breaking the silence.

“Well,” Connor spoke. Kind of getting caught off guard. He put his fork down, grabbing his phone.

Connor unlocked his phone, going into the photo app. He quickly pressed the see all option, scrolling until he found the album titled y/n with a red heart emoji. He quickly pressed that album. Scrolling until he found the picture of Jay, Will and you. While you ate more food.

“You were closer with Jay,” Connor spoke. Showing you the picture. You leaned in closer taking in the features of your brothers. One had brown hair and blue eyes while the other one had red hair with brown eyes.

“Because we were twins?” You asked.

“Probably, he and you had a weird co-dependent type of relationship, which surprises me, that he didn’t know who your mystery boyfriend Roman was,” Connor spoke. Making your eyes squint slightly. Trying to remember what Roman looked like, as well as memories with your brothers but nothing came up. You just made yourself get a headache.

“That’s Jay…” Connor spoke, pointing to the guy with brown hair and blue eyes.

“My twin,” You mumbled. But Connor heard you.

“Yep… And that’s Will,” Connor spoke again. Pointing to the guy with the red hair and brown eyes.

Connor noticed you grimace a bit. Your hand coming up to your forehead. Rubbing it.

“You okay?” Connor asked.

“Yeah, just tried to remember who they were, plus Roman,” You spoke. Rubbing your forehead.

“Leave that to psychotherapy,” Connor spoke. Giving you a small smile. Which you returned it by also giving him a slight smile.

The both of you ate in silence again. After dinner, Connor grabbed the plates, cutlery and pots, putting them in the dishwasher. He went over to the cupboard again. Grabbing a glass. Walking over to the sink. He turned the tap on. Pouring some water into the glass. He walked over to you handing you the glass of water.

“Thanks,” You mumbled. As he walked back to the kitchen island, grabbing a pack of tablets. He opened the box up. Popping two tablets into the palm of his hand, then spinning around. He walked back to you. Handing you the tablets.

“Oh, I’m fine,” You spoke.

“It’s your pain meds,” He spoke.

“Oh,” You spoke. Taking them off of him. you put them in your mouth. Taking a huge gulp of water. As you swallowed them. Grimacing at the aftertaste.

Connor let out a small chuckle.

“You’ve never been good with taking medicine or tablets,” Connor chuckled. His blue eyes staring intensely into your eyes. The intensity causes your lower belly to stir. Breath hitching. You may not remember whatever happened between him and you, but your body sure does.

“So, are you going to tell me more about your scandalous friendship?” You asked. Taking Connor off guard. He turned pale. Beads of sweat forming on his hairline. He scratched the back of his nervously.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” He asked changing the subject.

“Let’s watch a movie,” He spoke. Rushing over to the joint living room. He turned the TV on. Going into Netflix. He quickly picked a movie.

“Okay…” You responded. Getting up and walking over to him cautiously. Sitting down on the same couch he was sitting in. wondering if you may have asked a touchy subject by he reacted. Maybe he just didn’t want to talk about it, maybe it hurt him to bring up the past. But the more you thought about the more you wanted to know more about what happened between him and you.

So you decided to try something. Connor didn’t notice you move closer to him. till he felt your body heat.

Connor turned to look at you. Your hands cupped his jawline. Eyes looking at his intensely. Closing the distance between him and you. Connor was hypnotized. Maybe it was because it has been too long since he felt his lips against yours. But he let you kiss him.

Lips moving together in perfect sync. Both of you feeling the spark. Warmth feeling the both of you. butterflies

Connor quickly realized what you were doing. What he was doing too. He pulled away. A look of pain came across his features. Your face dropped into a look of sadness.

“I can’t go down that road not when you are with another man, and not when you can’t remember the history between us,” Connor quaked out. tears pooling in his eyes.

“How am I supposed to remember someone I have no recognition of, let alone a relationship? I feel something with you it seems familiar,” You gasped out. Tears gathering in your eyes. It broke his heart to see you cry. But he needed you to remember him. it wasn’t fair on him nor you.

“I can’t,” He gasped out. turning around and feeling to a room. He shut the door. Sliding down it. While you sat on the couch. Falling back on the cushions. Bringing your knees up to your chest, and hugging them for reassurance….

  • ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••   

You let out a heavy sigh as you heard the front door of his apartment close softly.

Carefully pulling the blanket and sheet off your body. Getting up. You walked to the bathroom. Stripping your clothes off. Turning the bathroom taps on. Putting the plug in. filling the bathtub up with warm water, as well as putting shower gel in the water.

You grabbed a washcloth. Stepping inside the water. Cleaning yourself off. Once you finished cleaning yourself, you got out. Pulling the plug out. The water going down the drain. You wrapped the towel around you. Drying yourself off. Then wrapped the towel around you again. You quickly went over to the basin. Brushing your teeth, then cleaning your tongue.

Once you finished cleaning your teeth, you walked out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. Walking over to the tallboy. Opening the draw, that seemed to have your clothes. It hurt your heart that he kept your clothes, yet he doesn’t want to kiss you. You grabbed a pair of panties. Dropping the towel. You put them on with great difficulty. As well as the rest of the clothes. The jeans were the worst.

You let out a sigh of relief. Walking out of the guest bedroom. You saw a note on the kitchen island counter. Walking over to the counter. Reading the words on the note.  Your psychotherapy appointment is tomorrow at 11 am.

You let out a sigh, dropping the piece of paper. He could have just told you that in person and not left it on a note. You needed air. But you didn’t have the keys to the place. You thought about it for a second before deciding to leave. It was the last unit on the top floor, and you could just wait by the door anyways.

You left his apartment. Closing the door. Walking towards the elevator. You pressed a button. Making the elevator make a noise as it went up to the top floor. Doors opening. You quickly rushed into the elevator. You pressed the lobby button. The doors slide closed. The elevator descended, till it reached the lobby. Making a chiming sound. The doors sliding open. You quickly exited. Sidestepping a woman, as she got into the elevator. You felt a little self-conscious as some people in the lobby stared at you. You felt a little relieved as you exited the apartment complex. You looked back at the building to see a name, but it had no name.

“Great,” You muttered to yourself. You hoped you didn’t get lost.

A cool hitting your face. You slowly walked down the sidewalk. Taking in the buildings and stores.

You weren’t really watching where you were going. Running into a woman and a stand of flowers. The flowers cluttering to the floor. The woman cursed.

You got up. Helping her out. The best you could.

“I’m sorry,” You apologized profusely. The woman took a good look at you before letting out an annoyed huff. Making you grumble.

“Course it’s you. Haven’t you done enough?” She snapped. You looked at her confused. Feeling slightly hurt by her words.

You were about to speak when you heard a familiar voice.

“Seriously, Norah, you don’t have to be a bitch, it’s not like she purposely set out to wreck your flowers,” Kyle snapped. Making Norah look at him. Clenching her jaw. Eyes narrowing into slits. You could tell something happened between the two of them.

“Of course, you would defend her, my father isn’t an abuser, he didn’t do this to her,” She growled out. Storming into the flower shop.

“She hates me,” You sighed. Kyle moved to stand in front of you.

“Don’t worry about her, do you want to go get coffee?” Kyle asked. Rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

“On a date?” You asked. Arching an eyebrow. This simple gesture made Kyle’s heart race,

“Just as a get-to-know basis?” Kyle responded. Making you give him a small smile.

“Aren’t you working?” You asked.

“My shift isn’t until later on,” He spoke. Making you smile.

“Okay,” You agreed. Kyle flashed you a smile.

Both of you walked towards a small coffee shop. Taking a seat on one of the outdoor chairs.

“Say if it was a date would you say yes?” Kyle asked. Making you look at him in surprise.

“Well….I mean….I could be in a relationship or married,” You gasped out.

Kyle looked at your left hand. Seeing no ring occupied it.

“I don’t see a ring on your finger,” He replied cheekily. Making you let out a tiny chuckle.

“True… could have slipped off,” You spoke. Making Kyle frown. Before he smiled again. He was about to speak when a waitress came up to the table. Handing Kyle and you a menu each. Kyle and you smiled at her.

“Thank you,” Kyle and you both spoke at the same time.

Both of you looked at the menu, then ordered. The waitress wrote down Kyle’s order as well as yours. Taking the menus from Kyle and you. Telling the two of you that the coffees should be out soon. Then left to go inside the coffee shop

“So… what’s up WITH Norah and you? I mean I get she hates me because of that whole thing with her father, but I feel like there was something more, I felt tension?” You asked. Kyle let out a heavy sigh.

‘She is my ex, long story short, it was a horrible relationship,” Kyle explained. You gave him a sympathetic smile.

“I’m sorry,” You spoke.

“It’s not your fault, we were young and stupid,” Kyle sighed.

The waitress came back with two cups of coffee. Placing them down on the table in front of Kyle and you.

Kyle and you thanked her. Taking a sip of coffee.

“Y/n,” Connor gasped out frantically. Making you turn around. You gave him a slight smile. He looked frantic. Eyes full of worry. Hair was disheveled.

“I’ve been looking for you,” Connor gasped out. While Kyle raised his eyebrow. What has Connor your keeper?

Connor felt intense amounts of jealousy when he saw Kyle and you sipping coffee.

He knew he had no right to get jealous since he rejected your advances last night. But it was only because he wanted you to remember him. Remember what the two of you shared before he goes down that road again or tries something.

You quickly finished your coffee. Giving Kyle an apologetic smile. You got up.

“I’ll see you around,” You spoke. Giving him a soft smile. You turned around. Walking over to Connor.

Connor and you walked away. Leaving jealousy to boil in Kyle’s veins. He felt so crushed as he watched you walk off with Connor….

 • ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••  

Adam bought the tip of the beer bottle up to his lips. Wrapping his lips around the tip. Tipping of the bottle up. He chugged on the beer. Giving Roddy a nod, as he sat down on the couch next to him

“Well, today was exhausting,” Roddy sighed. Taking a sip of the beer.

“Yeah, still haven’t made progress with that case,” Adam grumbled.

Roddy grabbed Adam’s knee in a comforting gesture.

“We will find out who she is,” Roddy reassured Adam.

“Hopefully soon,” Adam grumbled. Taking another sip.

Roddy and Adam’s attention turned to the door, as Bobby and Kyle came through the door.

“How was work?” Roddy asked as they dumped the duffle bags they took to work near the hallway

“Eventful,” Kyle sighed.

“You’d think people would learn to turn the heater off by now,” Bobby sighed. As he sat down on one of the chairs. While Kyle walked towards the kitchen to grab beers for him and Bobby.

Kyle came back into the living room. Handing Bobby a beer. Sitting down on the couch. He looking dejected. Kyle twisted the cap off the beer bottle. Adam took notice of his friend's mood.

“Why do you look so down?” Adam asked.

“That woman we found in that barn fire on Mr. Williams farm, I had a coffee date with her, but then Connor came, and swooped her away. She must be staying with him, it’s not like I stand a chance against him,” Kyle huffed out. Feeling slightly better he got that off his chest,

Adam had to stop himself from smiling as he thought of an idea. He could finally find out the identity of that woman.

“You should ask her out again, woo her until she falls for you,” Adam encouraged. Kyle furrowed his eyebrows.

“I suppose,” Kyle sighed. Still not convinced. For one he didn’t have your number. He knew where Connor lived. But he didn’t want to seem desperate.

“Come on man, you’re a catch, don’t put yourself down,” Bobby reassured Kyle.

“I’m sure she sees nothing in Connor, isn’t he, her doctor? Bit unprofessional if he is still her doctor,” Roddy spoke.

“I don’t know they seemed pretty close,” Kyle sighed. Taking a sip.

“Firefighters are way better than doctors,” Adam stated. Arching an eyebrow. Kyle rolled his eyes.

“Look dude, if you like her go for it, you haven’t dated anyone since Norah, I want you to be happy, you deserve to be happy,” Adam sighed.

Kyle let out a sigh. Maybe he should ask you out again, try to get out of the friendzone.

“I’ll see if she is free on the weekend. I’m sure she has some sort of therapy, considering what she’s been through,” Kyle spoke.

“That’s my boy,” Adam boasted. As all four of them took sips of their beers.

Adam couldn’t wait to find out the information Kyle would feed him about this unidentified woman….

 • ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••  

Jay glared at Austin as Austin took the stand. He had a suspicious feeling Austin knew more than he was letting on. He had a feeling that Austin had something to do with his sister's disappearance, possibly murder. He hoped this inquest unravelled Austin’s lies.

Jay clenched his jaw as Austin started to answer the question. Will spared a glance at his brother seeing Jay fuming.

“I love her, I just wish Roman would tell us where he put her body,” Austin responded to a question Jay wasn’t listening to. Jay had enough. He stood up in a fit of rage.

“We all that’s a lie, I wouldn’t be surprised if you were the one that killed her, you have abused her before. Which is why I think you kidnapped her and murdered her, then pinned it on some mafia boss she was dating,” Jay snapped. Making everyone in the courtroom turned to look at Jay.

“Mr. Halstead, sit down,” The judge spoke. Making Jay let out a grumble.

“No, he is the reason why my sister is missing. Possibly dead, if he claims he loved her so much, then why did he put bruises on her body. Laid his grimy hands on her. He abused her,” Jay snapped.

“Mr. Halstead,” The judge warned him.

“I did hurt her but that was my PTSD, I felt so bad after I hurt her. You should know that since you were in the military,” Austin spoke. Looking sad. Jay knew it was fake.

“Don’t use that as an excuse,” Jay shouted. Fury in his eyes.

The judge ordered the security guards to escort Jay out.

“I’m going to prove it was you, your lies will unravel, and the truth will come out,” Jay shouted as the guards escorted him out of the room.

Jay walked back to his truck. Fishing the keys out of his pockets. Jay unlocked the truck. Opening the door, and getting in. Putting the key in the ignition.

He wished he could have done more. His mind flashed back to when he last had an encounter with you before you disappeared.

“Y/n, open up,” Jay demanded. Banging on the door. You squeezed your eyes shut. Praying he would go away. You didn’t want him to see you with a black eye and busted lip.

Unfortunately for you, Jay didn’t go away. He pulled out the spare key you gave him. Putting it into the lock and unlocking the door. You cursed under your breath. Taking a step back from the door, as he opened it.

Jay’s eyes landed on you. He looked at you with a worried expression

“What happened? Who did this to you?” Jay asked. Looking at you with concerned eyes.

“Was it that new boyfriend of yours, because I swear if he turns out to be another Austin,” Jay grumbled. Concern turning into fury.

“No, it wasn’t Roman,” You sighed. Looking away from Jay. Glancing at the floor instead of Jay.

“It was Austin wasn’t,” Jay assumed.

“Course it was,” Jay grumbled.

“Jay, please, I’m handling it, he must have heard I was dating and he got jealous,” You sighed out. Giving him a pleading look.

“You are not safe from him y/n, let me handle this,” Jay spoke.

“I’m dealing with it,” You sighed.

“How are you dealing with it?” Jay snapped. Making you flinch. His eyes softened. His hands gently resting on your shoulder. Eyes looking into yours.

“I’m just worried one day you are going to end up in a body bag,” Jay sighed. You gave him a small smile.

“I’m going to get through this Jay,” You spoke softly voice cracking.

Jay went back to reality. He wished he did something that day. But he didn’t. But he was going to do something now. He was going to prove Austin killed you.

Jay turned the key in the ignition. Starting the truck. He quickly put his seatbelt on. Putting the handbrake down. then putting the transmission into gear. Jay pressed his foot on the accelerator leaving the courthouse to go to the 21st district.

Once he got there. He parked his truck. Storming into the 21st district. Not saying hello to Trudy as he walked past the front desk. He ran up the stairs. Punching the code word in. jay rushed up the stairs. Going into the bullpen. Hailey, Kevin, Adam, and Kim looked at Jay as he rushed into Hank's office. They all shared glances at each other. Feeling worried for their colleague and friend. Jay’s been on edge ever since your disappearance.

“I need your help, I’m hundred percent certain, that Austin Smith, murdered my twin sister, I saw her the night she disappeared he hurt her, she had a black eye and a busted lip,” Jay spoke.

Hank let out a grunt. Looking at Jay. He could tell this was wearing Jay down. he also had a feeling Austin wasn’t being truthful.

“I believe you, but if we are going to do this, we have to make sure we get hard evidence, bug his phones, keep this operation hush-hush, he is also a cop,” Hank spoke. Making Jay feel slightly better.

“We’re going to get this bastard, he is going to pay for what he did to my sister,” Jay spoke. Hank got up. Gesturing for Jay to follow him. Jay followed him.

“Alright, for now on we have one case and one case only, do not tell anyone else about the details of this case, you will not utter a single word about this case other than to the people in this team,” Hank spoke.

Hank looked at Jay. Jay nodded. Going to the whiteboard and writing y/n Halstead.

“Y/n Halstead, has been missing for a month, presumed dead, Austin blames Roman Reigns a mob boss in Chicago, for the disappearance of Y/n Halstead, Jay last saw her on the night she disappeared, a black eye and a busted lip, now we can assume Roman did it, but Austin has a history of hurting y/n, maybe he took it to far,” Hank spoke.

“We are going to bug his place, all his devices, till he confesses, gear up,” Hank spoke again. Walking out of the bullpen.

The rest of the team followed Hank. Getting ready to plant a bug in Austin Smith's house. The air was tense…

Hailey and Kim rode with Jay, while Adam and Kevin rode together and Hank drove alone.

“We will find her, Jay,” Hailey reassured Jay. Giving him a reassuring look. Jay tightened his grip on the steering wheel. Pressing his foot on the gas more.

“I just want her back,” Jay mumbled.

Kim and Hailey shared a look.

“How did the inquest go?” Kim asked.

“Horrible, he’s trying to play the victim,” Jay grumbled. Feeling slightly better as they all reached Austin’s house. He parked the truck.

Hailey was about to open her mouth when Jay got out of the car.

“He just wants to find her,” Kim sighed. As they both got out.

All of them slowly and tacitly walked to Austin’s house. Hailey, Adam, and Jay going behind the house, while Kim, Kevin, and Hank were out the front. Checking to see if Austin was home. When they found out he wasn’t. Adam picked the lock. Letting out a laugh of victory. Hailey, Jay, and Adam walked into the house, checking the area. Adam quickly went to the front. Opening the front door. Letting Kevin, Hank, and Kim in.

“Let's get in and get out,” Hank commanded. All of them nodded. Going off and placing bugs discreetly.

Once they finished placing the bug they all exited the house, Jay, Hailey, and Kevin going into the surveillance van while Kim, Adam, and Hank got into the vehicles. All they had to do was wait till Austin exposed himself…

 • ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ •• 

 You stared at the painting that was hanging in the psychotherapy waiting room. Waiting for your appointment. Technically it was CBT- Cognitive behavioral therapy, at least that’s what Connor told you last night. You were surprised he told you that. He has been acting weird and distant ever since you kissed him.

A woman who looked like she was in her late forties came out of the room. Then another middle-aged woman came out of the room as well. She gave you a warm welcoming smile.

“Come in, my name is Aurella,” She spoke.

You quickly got up. Walking into the room and sitting on the chair. Aurella shut the door. Walking over to the chair in front of you. She sat down.

“So, you’ve been through a lot, and since you suffered a brain injury and a head trauma. Your brain had repressed your memory. I’m here to help you regain some of those memories, like your name, life before coming here, and only if you want to what happened to you that lead you to have such this massive trauma,”  She spoke in a comforting voice. You nodded your head. Giving her a small smile.

“First we are going to start small, we are going to start with your name,” She spoke.

“Lay down, and close your eyes,” She told you. You did as she told you to do.

“Now relax,” She spoke again. You heard paper moving.

“I want you to picture something that makes you feel calm,” She spoke. Looking at your body language.

You tried to relax, but your vision just showed black.

“Some people picture the beach or lying in a field of flowers looking up at the sky,” Aurella spoke.

Your vision slowly picturing the field of flowers. Strolling through the field of flowers, you hear someone call out your name.

“What name do you hear?” She asked.

Your mind pictured you wandering in a field of flowers. A voice saying y/n. you turned around to see a guy with an evil smirk. Your heart racing. You looked down to see blood. You could smell the metallic smell of blood.

Your eyes shot open. Breathing heavily.

“Are you okay?” Aurella asked you. Looking at you with a concerned look.

“Y/n, that’s what I heard,” You told her. Leaving out the part of the guy you saw and the blood.

“Okay,” She spoke. Writing notes down in the book she was holding. She looked back up at you. Giving you a warm smile. As she noticed you looked uncomfortable.

“I’ll see you next week,” She spoke. Standing up.

“It was lovely meeting you,” Aurella spoke. As you got up. She assisted you to the door. Opening the door for you.

“You two,” You responded.

“Take care,” She spoke. As you walked out the door. Giving her a small smile. You walked over to the receptionist. She looked up.

“I have you booked for the same time and day next week. No need to pay Connor, I mean Dr. Rhodes paid for it,” She spoke.

“Thanks,” You spoke. You turned around to walk out of the room, as well as the hospital. Walking through the town.

You saw the flower shop. Your eyes darted around, as you thought whether to talk to Norah. You decided to talk. After that image, you saw you had to tell her. Maybe she would hate you less.

You took a deep breath. Walking over to the flower shop. As you entered the flower shop. The door chimed. Anxiety bubbled up inside of you.

Norah looked up. Her warm welcoming smile disappeared as she realized it was you. She looked angry.

“Norah…” You started to say. But she cut you off.

“How do you know my name?” She snapped out. Your heart quickened.

‘From yesterday,” You gulped out.

“Oh, right, why are you here? What do you want?” She snapped out. Fury in her eyes.

“I’m sorry, for what you are going through, people accusing your father of hurting me, I know he didn’t do it,” You spoke in a soft voice.

“Then tell the cops,” She growled out.

“It’s complicated,” You sighed. She let out an annoyed huff.

Neither Norah nor you noticing someone was listening. Hiding behind the back room. That person happened to be Jey Uso.

Jey’s eyes widened in shock. Mouth a gap. You were alive. He felt a small bit of relief. He had to tell Roman.

‘You know what you can do, go away, everything was fine till you showed up,” Norah snapped.

“I’m sorry,” You gasped out. Feeling tears prick your eyes.

“Why don’t you do everyone in this town a favor and disappear again, this time show up in a town not covered in blood,” She snapped. Storming off.

You let out a heavy sigh. Turning around and walking out the door.

Feeling deflated. You walked down the streets. looking down at your feet.

“Hey,” You heard a familiar voice call out to you. You looked up to see Kyle coming towards you.

“Hey Kyle,” You greeted him.

“How are you doing?” Kyle asked.

“Alright, how about you?” You replied.

“Same, I was wondering if you wanted to hang out again, on Saturday, have some coffee and lunch, at the same coffee shop, only if you want to,” Kyle suggested in a nervous tone.

“Sure,” You replied. Making Kyle smile brightly. You smiled at him.

He took out a piece of paper. Handing it to you. You arched an eyebrow. Seeing numbers on it.

“It’s my phone number,” He spoke.

“Oh, thank you, I don’t have a phone, but I will definitely see you on Saturday, what time?” You asked.

“A bit after eleven,” Kyle responded.

Another voice called out Kyle’s name. Making Kyle turn his attention towards the person who called his name.

Kyle looked back at you. Giving you a warm smile.

“I have to go, I’ll see you on Saturday, take care,” Kyle spoke. Giving you a warm smile.

He took off running towards his friend and co-worker Bobby. Leaving you to stare at the piece of paper that had his phone number on it…

• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

Jey was beyond thrilled his shift at the flower shop was over. He was staying in a cabin with Roman at Norah Williams farm. She told him she needed help at the flower shop. So, he helped her, mainly to get on her good books.

He listened for hours on days while she ranted about this unidentified woman who ended up in her barn that burnt down. Jey thought it was interesting that there was an unidentified woman in the town. Maybe it was y/n since they didn’t find her body. Roman thought Austin killed her given he was the one that saved her from Austin. But Jey believed you were still alive, and he was right.

Jey stopped the car at the cabin Roman and he was staying in. putting the handbrake up. Putting the car in park, he turned the car off. Pulling out the keys. He quickly got out. Rushing out of the car. Slamming the door. He quickly ran to the cabin. Opening the door and slamming it.

Roman looked up from the TV giving Jey an annoyed look.

“How was the flower shop?” Roman asked.

“Interesting,” Jey responded. Walking towards Roman. Till he was standing in front of him.

‘I don’t think anything about a flower shop would be interesting unless you met a woman, who is she? You know we can’t stay long here,” Roman spoke.

“I found her,” Jey spoke. Eyes gleaming. Finally feeling happy he got that off his chest. Unfortunately, Roman thought he meant something different.

Roman rolled his eyes. Letting out a drawn-out sigh.

“Jey, this was a temporary thing, we can’t stay here, break up with her,” Roman demanded.

“I don’t think you understand, I found her,” Jey spoke again. Looking desperately at Roman.

“Well, I’m sure you will find another woman at the next town,” Roman grumbled.

“I found y/n,” Jey slightly shouted. Making Roman’s eyes widened. Mouth a gap.

He stood up.

“But he…” Roman gasped out in shock.

“She’s alive, though I think she was amnesia,” Jey spoke.

“Do you know what this means,” Roman spoke.

“Your innocent,” Jay responded. Roman grabbed Jey’s shoulders. Looking into his eyes.

“We can kidnap her and get out of this town,” Roman spoke. Making Jey look at Roman with confusion.

“But she doesn’t remember anything let alone her name,” Jey spoke.

“Doesn’t matter, I can’t lose her again,” Roman gasped out. Jey gulped before speaking.

“Then when do we do it?” Jey asked.

“We keep tabs on her, and when she is alone, we take her,” Roman spoke. Smiling at Jey. Bringing his hand up to Jey’s face and patting it out…

 • ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

Carson trailed behind Connor at a safe distance. Making sure she didn't get caught. She saw him go into a room.

She quickly pressed her ear to the door. Listening in on the quiet talking.

"Connor, I can't tell you how she went?' Aurella sighed.

"Please," Connor begged. Aurella let out a sigh.

"Her name is y/n, but I have a feeling she saw something else, just by how she woke up in a fright, I didn't persist because that wouldn't help her, given her current situation," Aurella spoke. Connor felt defeated you didn't remember him yet.

Carson smiled to herself as she found out this unidentified woman's name. She sneaked away, going into a supply closet. Taking out her phone. Unlocking the phone. She went into the messaging app. Going into the convo she had with Adam.

Her name is Y/n, didn't get the last name, but I hope that helps. She typed, then pressed sent.

A few minutes later her phone vibrated. She smiled as she saw his reply.

Thank you, it helps a lot. Adam responded.

She quickly replied with a kiss emoji before locking her phone. Putting it back in her pocket. She composed herself before walking out of the supply closet, getting back to work...

❛ ━━━━━━･❪ ❁ ❫ ･━━━━━━ ❜

Adam smirked as he reread the text Carson sent him. He finally had her name.

He looked at the screen of the PC.

"I got a lead, found out her name," Adam spoke, as he noticed Roddy walking into his office, holding a paper bag and a box with two coffees in it.

"Really, did she tell you?" Roddy asked. Eyes sparkling with delight. He placed the box that held the coffees on the desk. Putting the paper bag on the desk as well.

"Nah, a CI told me," Adam spoke, as he took one of the coffees, Roddy stopped opening the paper bag. Looking at Adam curiously.

"Right, is this CI Carson?" He asked as he grabbed his food.

Adam shrugged his shoulders.

"Be careful, I know you want to solve this case..." Roddy started to say only for Adam to cut him off.

"And I have, all I have to do is run her first name through the database, filter it to missing cases, and I have her identity," Adam spoke.

"Right, well I'll leave you to it, I'm on my lunch break," Roddy spoke. Picking up the box that only held one coffee cup now, as well as picking up the brown paper bag.

"Call me if you need me," Roddy spoke, as he walked away. Adam moved his hand in a dismissive gesture.

Adam typed y/n in the database, filtering it to missing, a few names popped up. He looked at every single one of them, feeling deflated. Adam pressed on another one. A smile gracing his lips as he saw the woman had the same similar facial features as you.

"Bingo, Y/n Halstead," Adam cheered.

Adam opened another tab, going into google. He typed in Y/n Halstead. Smiling proudly as he saw results. He went into an article. Reading the words that were written, he scrolled down, till he reached a video. Adam pressed play on the video.

A police officer looked up at the camera with sad eyes. Letting out a sigh before speaking.

"My name is officer Smith," Austin spoke voice full of pain. He looked down at the ground, letting out a sigh. He looked back up with glassy eyes.

"Y/n Halstead has been missing for months, her brother Jay was the last one to see her, y/n might be my ex, but I still care deeply for her. Y/n has been involved with Roman Reigns a notorious mob boss, I believe he may have caused her harm or killed her. Unfortunately, we haven't found y/n yet, but we are hoping if we find Roman and his accomplish Jey, we will hopefully get information on where he is holding her or buried her. If you have any information or potential leads please don't hesitate to call this number on the screen, as well as my number which is flashing across the screen. We just want y/n back Roman; we won't charge you if you cooperate," Officer Smith spoke.

Adam quickly paused the video. Grabbing a sticky note and a pen. He saw a picture of a woman showing on the screen as well as the numbers, it looked a lot like the unidentified woman.

He wrote both numbers down on the sticky note. Adam picked up the phone in his office. Calling Officer Smith's phone number.

Adam heard the phone ringing. Officer Smith picked up on the third ring.

"Hello, officer Smith speaking," Austin spoke.

Adam smirked leaning back on his chair, as he looked out the window. He noticed it was night time.

"Hello, officer Smith, this is officer Cole, I think I have some information on your ex-girlfriend, Y/n Halstead, an unidentified woman who came into our town, and after doing a little digging I believe she is Y/n Halstead," Adam spoke.

"Send me the details of your county and I will come," Austin spoke. As Adam smirked not knowing the danger that was laying ahead....

• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

Connor heard muffled crying coming from the guest room as he locked his front door. He quickly rushed into the guest room. Pulse racing.

Connor opened the door rushing inside the bedroom to see you hugging your legs with your uninjured arm. Rocking back and forth. Tears falling from your eyes. Your body was shaking.

"Y/n," Connor called out softly. His voice full of worry, as he cautiously came over to you.

You flinched as he neared you. Letting out a soft whimper. It broke his heart.

"It's just me, Connor," He spoke with a soft reassuring voice. You looked up at him with teary eyes. Lips trembling. It broke his heart even more.

"I remember what he did, what he did to me, how he abused me, how he hit me till I passed out, or maybe he believed I was dead," You sobbed out. Connor looked so heartbroken.

He quickly sat beside you. Wrapping his arms around you. You immediately fall into him. Holding onto him for dear life, as your body trembled.

"I'm here," He reassured you. His hand rubbing up and down your back. Rubbing soothing circles.

Whispering comforting and reassuring words to you. Eventually, your sobs subsided, your eyes growing heavily, slowly drifting back to sleep in Connor's arms.

Connor looked down at you with a sad expression. He was worried about you. Having you in his arms was too painful, especially when you didn't remember him or the history he and you shared. Connor delicately placed you down on the bed. Pulling the sheet over your body. Gazing at you for a second, before he turned around. Quietly walking out the door. He closed the door ever so softly.

Letting out a small sigh, he took out his phone. Unlocking it and going into the contacts. Scrolling down his contacts till he found Jay's contact. Connor pressed on it. Pressing the call icon. Bringing the phone up to his ear.

Connor waited till Jay picked up. When he did, he didn't wait till Jay said anything.

"Hey jay, it's your sister, she came to Florida, all banged up with no memory loss, and I'm worried about her," Connor spoke softly.

Connor heard heavy breathing.

"She's alive..." Jay gasped out.

"Yeah," Connor responded.

"Don't go anywhere I'm coming to get her," Jay spoke. Connor heard rustling on the other end, then a vehicle starting before he heard the phone cut off...

• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

Hailey exited the coffee shop. Holding the cardboard cup holder and a takeout bag. She had to beg Jay to take a break with her. Though he told the rest of the team to keep him informed. Hailey smiled politely at a woman as the woman passed her. Hailey heard a vehicle starting up, as well as tires screeching on the road. Hailey saw Jay drive off in a hurry without her. She quickly went over to a table. Putting the cardboard cup holder and bag on the table. She grabbed her walkie-talkie.

"Jay, what the hell?" She spoke into the walkie-talkie.

"I'm sorry, but I found news about y/n," Jay spoke. Cutting the walkie-talkie off.

Hailey was about to talk again when Kim's voice came through the walkie talkie

"Jay, Hailey, Austin got a call from a Florida police officer that y/n is in Florida,"

Hailey let out a relieved sigh, then felt a wave of anxiety wash over her at the thought of your ex finding you first. Possibly killing you.

"Can you pick me up, Jay must have found out first and left me here at a small coffee shop," Hailey spoke.

"Yeah, sure," Kim spoke, through the walkie-talkie...

• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

You woke up with a gasp. Drenched in sweat. You looked around to realize you were alone. The house was quiet. He either left or was avoiding you or he was working. A frown formed on your lips. You slowly got up. Your temple throbbing as you did so.

You glanced at the alarm clock on the bed. Eyes widening as you realized it was 11:59 am. You quickly got up. Rushing to the bathroom stripping off your clothes. Turning the taps on to the bathtub.

You quickly did your morning routine, then got dressed. Rushing out of the door. You rushed to the café shop. Seeing Kyle sitting at a table. Looking slightly sad. He heard footsteps approaching him. He looked up to see you approaching him. His face lighting up with happiness.

"I am so sorry, I had a rough night, and I overslept," You spoke. Smiling at him.

"It's okay, are you okay?" Kyle asked as he got up. He was going to pull your chair out for you, but you already sat down. Kyle sat back down awkwardly. Ear burning red with embarrassment.

"Yeah," You responded.

"I have some news, Adam found out your name, it is Y/n Halstead, also, your ex-Austin Smith is coming," Kyle spoke. Kyle noticed your whole demeanor changed to a look of pure fear.

Your heart was beating faster. As flashbacks flashed of Austin hurting you. As well as beating you until you passed out. He probably thought you were dead, and now he found you, he was going to kill you.

"I have to go," You gasped out. Standing up abruptly. The chair clattered to the ground. Not that you cared. You rushed off leaving Kyle to look at you with a worried expression. You were not okay...

You ran as fast as your legs could take you. Passing people. Some of them looked at you like you were on drugs.

You felt a hand clamp around your mouth, then an arm wrap around your body. Pulling you closer to their body. You kicked wildly. Trying to free yourself. But they were stronger. They dragged you down the alleyway. You screamed for help. But their hand clamped down hard on your mouth. Muffling your cries for help. You saw Kyle in the distance, but he couldn't see you. Tears fell from your eyes, as they dragged you to the car. What if this person was Austin or someone he paid. Austin lived in Chicago. Surely, he wouldn't have come to Florida that quick.

They opened the back door. Pushing you into the car. They slammed the door shut. Walking to the front driver's side getting in.

You saw two guys turn to look at you. You shivered in fear.

"You're really alive," Roman gasped out. While you just whimpered, tears falling from your eyes rapidly. He reached out to wipe your tears away, but you flinched, moving back. Roman's facial expression turned into a look of sadness.

"Who are you? Are you going to kill me?" You gasped out. Roman looked at Jey. Before looking back at you. Making you even more anxious.

"I'm Roman, we were dating till your ex kidnapped you and tortured you, but your alive now and that's all that matters, this is Jey, my cousin" Roman spoke. Pointing at Jey who was in the driver's side. Roman glanced at Jey. Jey started the car up, the doors locked making you panic. Driving away. You passed Kyle, along the way. Your pulse racing. You didn't have many options, the doors were locked, the windows were tinted dark. Even if you did pound on the window, it's not like Kyle could see you. Your only option was to wait till they stopped at a petrol station and flee...

• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

Austin stepped off the helicopter that landed on a field. He smiled as he saw Officer Cole leaning against a car. He walked over to him with confidence.

Once he reached officer Cole. He stuck out his hand. Shaking hands with him.

"She's living with Connor Rhodes," Adam spoke. Making Austin's jaw clenched tight. Austin smiled at Adam.

"Then we should check there first," Austin spoke. Making Adam smile.

Adam walked towards the driver's side, while Austin walked towards the passenger side. Adam and Austin got into the car. Adam started the car, driving off. Adam sped towards Connor's apartment. Silence settling in.

Adam parked the car in front of the apartment complex. Austin got out before Adam could even utter a word. Adam got out as well. Catching up to Austin. Both took the elevator.

Adam pressed the top floor. Austin and him waiting for the elevator to reach the top floor. Adam could sense Austin was in no mood to chat.

The elevator reached the top floor. The doors slide open. Austin and Adam walked out of the elevator.

"His room is the one at the end," Adam spoke. As they both walked to the last room.

Austin roughly smashed his shoulder into the door. Breaking it. Adam looked surprised at the action.

Austin quickly walked into the apartment. Looking for you. Calling out your name but no answer.

He let out a frustrated grunt. Looking out the window. Clenching his fists. He Saw a few cameras scattered around.

He turned wildly around to face Adam.

"Do those security cameras work?" Austin asked.

"Yeah, I can get the tech to send me the feed if you want," Adam replied.

"That would be great," Austin grumbled.

Adam quickly did what Austin requested. Coming over to Austin once he got the feed.

"The tech guy sent me this," Adam spoke. Showing him the video. It was you running, then a hand grabbed your mouth. Pulling you into the alleyway. A few minutes later a car went out of the alleyway.

"Track the car's plates, put a bolo on that car, it's Roman, we have to save her," Austin ordered. As he exited the apartment. Adam hot on his trail. Doing what Austin asked...

• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••

Nerves ran through your body, as you made yourself look small.

Roman and Jey were talking amongst themselves. Roman turned around to look at you. He was about to speak when a car crashed into the driver's side, causing such force the car flipped over.

Glass shattered everywhere; the car rolled a couple of times till it stopped on the roof. Roman, Jey, and you all knocked unconscious.

Memories came flooding back to you. Your relationship with Austin, Roman, and you, when he first saved you from Austin, Connor and you having a friend with benefits relationship. Letting him leave Chicago without telling him about your feelings for him, Austin hurting you, walking to this town, your two brothers Jay and Will, everything came back to you in a rush.

Your eyes fluttered open, as you let out a gasp of pain. Everything hurt. Blood crusted on the top of your head. Nose bleeding. You were sure you dislocated your shoulder. Lucky it was the one with the sling.

You looked around your surroundings to realize you were upside down. Your hand reached down to your seatbelt. Undoing it. Suppressing a yelp of pain. If your shoulder wasn't dislocated before it definitely was now that you fell shoulder first onto the roof.

You crawled out of the car. Glass scraping your skin. You staggered to Roman's side. Pressing your index and middle finger against his windpipe. It was faint. Blood was running down his forehead. You looked past him to see how Jey was. Only to see the steering wheel embedded into his stomach. You reached over to check his pulse. But felt nothing. Your stomach turned. You quickly unbuckled Roman. Pulling him out of the car with great difficulty.

Roman's eyes fluttered open. He looked up at you with glazed eyes.

"Roman," You gasped out. Your hand stroking his cheek. Looking down at him with worried eyes.

"Y/n..." Roman grumbled out.

"I remember you," You gasped out. Tears pricking your eyes.

Roman smiled. Before coughing. You quickly accessed his body for wounds. Finding a large piece of glass sticking out of his leg. Before you could treat it, Roman grabbed your hand. Looking at you.

"Is Jey okay?" Roman asked. Making your pulse quicken. You shook your head no.

Roman's eyes watered. He opened his mouth to say something, but a sound of a gunshot rang out. Your eyes widen as you saw a bullet wound in the side of Roman's temple. You let out a scream. Shuffling away from Roman. Breathing getting heavier. You looked up to see your ex- Austin stalking towards you. You quickly got up. Running into the woods. Austin following you.

"You can run but you can't hide," He shouted. As you ran faster. Tree branches scratching your skin, you looked back now and then.

"Come on. y/n, let's finish what we started," Austin shouted. He sounded close. You quickly looked behind you, not noticing a root of a tree sticking out, your foot got caught and you tripped over.

You heard footsteps coming towards you. Looking around. Seeing a thick brunch on the ground. Wrapping your fingers around the brunch. You turned around to see Austin looming above you. You quickly got up. Swinging the brunch hard against his temple. It stunned him. You tried to run away but Austin wrapped his arms around you. Tackling you to the ground with such force it knocked the wind out of you. He turned you around to face him. Sitting on you, so you didn't escape. You tried to escape but you couldn't escape.

Austin looked at you with wild eyes.

"Do it," You growled. Glaring at him.

"I don't want to, but I have to, I love you so much, y/n know that but sometimes you make me angry," Austin spoke. Pressing the muzzle of the gun to your forehead.

Before he could pull the trigger another sound of a gun firing cut through the air. Austin's eyes glazed over as he slumped down on top of you. You quickly pushing him off you.

"Y/n," Jay gasped out. Rushing over to you.

Jay helped you up.

"Jay," You gasped out. As you wrapped your arms around him. Hugging each other.

"I remember..." You sobbed out. As Jay hugged you tighter.

"It's okay, I've got you, he can't hurt you anymore," Jay spoke. Pulling away from you. You nodded. Feeling slightly dizzy.

Jay looked at you with concern. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head as you fainted. Jay quickly caught you picking you up and rushing out of the woods. He didn't stop running till he reached his truck. Opening the back door, place you gently down on the back seat. He closed the door. Quickly going to the driver's side. Opening the door and getting in. shutting the door. Jay turned the keys, putting the handbrake down, he started the truck, pressing his foot down hard on the accelerator. Speeding off towards the nearest hospital. Speeding through every red light.

Jay stopped at the emergency entrance, hopping out and opening the back door. Grabbing hold of you. He rushed into the hospital.

"Help my sister, she fainted," Jay shouted. Nurses rushed over to Jay, taking you out of his arms and onto a gurney. Wheeling you off, leaving Jay to look at the doors they took you through...

Jay sat on the uncomfortable chair, in the waiting room. Waiting for news on how you were. He looked up as he heard footsteps making their way over to him. Jay glared at Connor.

"Jay..." Connor started to say but Jay cut him off.

"You could have called me early when she came into this town," Jay grunted. Standing up.

"Jay..." Connor tried to speak again but Jay cut him off.

"Is she okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, just a concussion, and a dislocated shoulder," Connor spoke. Making Jay sigh.

"You can see her if you want," Connor spoke. Jay nodded his head. As he silently followed Connor to your room. Biting his tongue.

Jay quickly walked into your room. Feeling slightly relieved.

"Hey Jay," You spoke softly. Noticing Connor at the door. Your gaze turned back to your twin brother.

Jay quickly wrapped his arms around you. Making you let out a tiny groan as he bumped your shoulder. Jay loosened his grip. Pulling away and sitting on the side of the bed. Looking at you through tear-filled eyes.

"Come back to Chicago with me," Jay spoke. Your eyes glanced to the door to see Connor wasn't there. Your heart plummeting to the pit of your stomach. You nodded your head. Jay smiled brightly. Glad you were coming home with him.

"I'm going to go get something to eat, do you want something?" Jay asked. You nodded your head no, Jay hugged you again, before leaving to the vending machine.

Jay took out some spare change, putting it into the slot. Pressing the number on the vending machine. Jay's eyes wandered off. Seeing an officer get treated. He quickly grabbed his food, walking slowly. He listened to the conversation. Hearing your ex's name being bought up.

"He crashed into that car," Adam spoke. Jay put two and two together. Anger rising within him.

"I'm so glad you are okay," A nurse spoke.

"You teamed up with my sister's ex, what is wrong with you," Jay snapped. Glaring at Adam, as he stood in the door frame.

"I didn't know," Adam gasped out looking at Jay with a guilty expression.

"I hope you have a bad time sleeping at night," Jay bitterly spoke. Turning around and walking back to your room. Seeing a guy with brown hair holding flowers stand in the middle of the hallway looking into your room, a deflated look on his face. Jay arched an eyebrow. Walking up to him. He looked at what he was looking at, seeing Connor and you talking. Connor was holding your hand.

"Who are you?" Jay asked. Making Kyle jump in fright. Kyle turned to look at the person who spoke to him.

'Kyle, I saved, y/n when she first came here," Kyle responded. Making Jay nod thoughtfully.

"Thanks, but y/n is fine now, she's going back to Chicago," Jay spoke. Making Kyle's heart sink.

"Um, can you give these to her," Kyle spoke, handing Jay a boutique of flowers. Kyle turned around and left, looking dejected.

Jay listened in on what Connor and you were talking about.

"Jay wants me to go back to Chicago though, but to want to give us another try," You spoke. Making Connor smile.

"Me too, I will come back to Chicago with you," Connor spoke. Making you smile.

Jay quickly walked into the room just as Connor and you were about to kiss. Connor and you glanced at him. You arched your eyebrows at him. He shrugged putting the flowers on the side table. He wasn't sure where Kyle and you stood, and he didn't want to jeopardize the relationship that Connor and you had.

"I got you flowers, and also none of that PDA stuff, I just got you back I don't need Connor to hog you," Jay joked. Making Connor and you smile. Letting out a small laugh...

A/N: FEEDBACK IS APPRECIATED! You can also find this series on wattpad & ao3 links in the reblog I reblogged of this.

[timbertumbr]

Average (Ninjago Zane X Reader)

No spoilers. Just something I wrote. :)

Believe it or not, you’re the only average person aboard the bounty. No elemental powers, no crazy super intelligence, you’re just a normal human being that happens to know the Ninja. How you met is also pretty normal, you just came across the dojo in search of directions and now you live on the bounty. Sensei Wu was intrigued by you, even if you were normal and kept insisting as such. 

“Normal comes in different shapes and sizes, but it’s always based on interpretation. You may find yourself to be normal, but others may think differently,” That’s what he said which convinced you to join, that and the fact he muttered under his breath that the Ninja need more social interactions besides their own tight knit group.

The Ninja were a little wary at first, which is understandable after all they’ve been through. But they came around eventually. You help them out whenever and however you can. Usually it’s small things like doing a chore or making sure the equipment was cleaned and safe for the Ninja. 

And it hasn’t gone unnoticed, after you’re done with a chore or whatever you’re doing to help out, one of the Ninja comes up to you and asks if you want to watch them train or want to play video games with them. Ah, bonding experiences.

While you were reminiscing on how close you’ve gotten to the Ninja, you walked to the kitchen to see if you could find something to eat when you noticed the fridge and cabinets were practically bare. 

Taking out your phone, you begin writing a list of things you need before texting Jay that you’ll be going to the store. He sends you a thumbs up emoji in response. You pocket your phone and walk out onto the deck, hop over the side and tumble onto the top of a building. Just because you live with the ninja, doesn’t mean you are one. 

You get up, dust yourself off, open the roof top and walk down the stairs until you’re on the busy streets of Ninjago city. You open Google Maps and begin walking to the closest store. 

________

After around an hour and a half, you walked out of the store with a cartful of bags. You pull out your phone and begin texting Jay to come pick you up with the groceries when someone grabs you from behind, a hand covering your mouth. 

Fear flooded your system and you grabbed a hold of the assailants finger before pulling back on it HARD. A male scream rang through the parking lot as you slipped from his grasp and started running. You didn’t make it far before another person jumped out from the corner and swiftly punched you in the face. You stagger for a bit before your body hits the pavement and you soon lose consciousness. 

_________

You groan when you open your eyes and realize your body is stiff. You try to stretch but realize you're tied up. Great. And on top of that, a stinging pain is erupting from where you got punched. 

You look around and see that there’s a lot of people around. They’re all looking at you, so you can’t exactly try and figure out how to escape even if you wanted to. But you’re too terrified and shocked to be even thinking about escaping. 

In a matter of moments, a person emerges from the shadows of the dark room and approaches you with a grin. You could only stare in fear.

“Comfortable? I’d hope so since you’re our money bargain,” He taunted, so clearly he's the leader. Or maybe the right hand man? Again, you couldn’t tell. You swallow as best as you can and open your mouth to speak.

“Wh-What do you want?” You curse under your breath, stuttering and showing fear is what they want… But you can’t exactly help it. The people in the room begin cackling. 

“Sounds like someone’s not paying attention, ey gang? You’re a money ticket, and you’re also going to help us prove that we’re the only thing the ninja should care about,” He sneers while poking your forehead. Oh. OH. They’re THOSE kinds of bad guys, the overconfident ones. He backs away from you and looks to the others in the room. 

“Be on your guard, they ARE Ninja after all,” And with that he takes his leave. Okay, so this is good. It’s only a matter of time before the ninja find you. Either before or after the ransom call, it wouldn’t matter anyway. But… a small part of you worried they wouldn’t notice. 

You shake your head gently to get rid of those thoughts. They’d come. They always do. Your shaking slightly irritated your now bruising cheek which made you inhale sharply. A chorus of quiet chuckles scattered throughout the room.

Seconds pass, them minutes. You waited and waited… until you heard a wonderful sound. Something hitting one of the many gang members and them groaning in pain. You look around in hope.

“It’s the Ni- AGH!” They got kicked into the wall and got knocked out instantly. The entire room was filled with the sounds of fighting while you watched blurs fly around the room. In a matter of minutes, everyone was on the ground either groaning in pain or just flat out unconscious. 

“Y/N! Are you alright?!” Cole asks, taking off his hood and coming around to untie you while Zane looks around the room scanning their vitals to ensure no one was faking. 

“I’m alright, just glad you’re here,” You stretched after being released from your bonds. You meant what you said, you just wish you could’ve done more. 

“It seems everyone is down for the count. I have contacted the authorities to deal with them and their leader,” Zane approaches you two as he speaks and stares at you.

“You are injured,” Cole furrows his brows in slight confusion before checking and gasps.

“What the- You said you were alright!” Cole panicked a little (a lot), you smile sheepishly.

“I am, it just stings a bit is all,” Zane silently looks between you and Cole before speaking.

“We should return to the bounty. The others are worried for your safety,” He turns on his heel and begins to walk out despite Cole trying to protest. You awkwardly follow the two back to the bounty.

___________

When you return to the bounty, you receive a lot of worried yelling from mostly everyone on the ship. Wu and Zane were able to quiet them before things got out of hand. 

“Zane, can you take care of Y/N’s injuries?” Wu asks, Zane opens his mouth to answer.

“Y/N WAS INJURED?!” Jay screeched.

“Who was it?! Let me at ‘em!” Nya yelled afterwards.

“Hey, at least leave some for me sis,” Kai adds. Zane sighs and gently takes your hand. He starts to slightly drag you away from the worried chaos that was the Ninja. You walk past the kitchen to see Lloyd was making dinner. He sees you both and waves before returning back to his task.

“How-” 

“It was the cart that led us to your location. I asked Jay, Kai and Lloyd to put away the groceries while Cole and I searched for you,” Zane explains as you enter the bathroom. He asks you to sit on the toilet and you do. Zane takes out the first aid kit and grabs the necessary supplies. He pours some hydrogen peroxide onto some cotton pads, turns to you and kneels. 

“This may sting,” He mutters before gently patting your bruised cheek, causing you to inhale sharply until the stinging stops. 

“Apologies,” He gets up and throws away the cotton pad, returning to the first aid kit and fishing out the appropriate bandaid and ointment. He applies the ointment on the bandaid before gently putting it on your cheek.

“Thank you Zane,” He nods as he puts away the first aid kit. 

“In the future, when you’re running errands please take one of us with you,” Zane comments politely.

“Oh. Yeah, I can understand why but…” You trail off, Zane raises a brow in confusion.

“But…?” 

“It feels like I’m wasting your time. I’m not like any of you and was only able to live on the ship because Wu thought it would be for the best. You all have big responsibilities to shoulder and I don’t want to make things more difficult for you,” Zane stares at you unsure of how to respond. You start to get uncomfortable and get up.

“S-Sorry, forget I said anything, yeah?” 

“No,” 

“Huh?” You look at Zane confused.

“No, I will not be simply forgetting something that you’ve seemed to be harboring for quite some time now. I do not believe you are wasting anyone’s time, in fact, time spent with you always makes the others and myself quite happy. You’re always making sure we’re alright and do what you think are the simplest of chores that we simply do not have time for. You brighten our world, Y/N. You always have and always will,” 

Zane smiles at you while you stare at him shocked but also happy. He opens his arms offering a hug and you take it, wrapping your arms around the robo boi. 

“Thank you Zane,” You mutter. He gently pats your head.

“It is no problem, Y/N,” You both separate and FINALLY exit the bathroom. The scent of Lloyd’s cooking enters your nose as soon as you leave the room.

“Looks like Lloyd’s done! Let’s go before Cole and Kai eat it all,” You joke, speed walking to the dining room. Zane follows with a confused smile, but a smile nonetheless.

Want to Request? Please Read this before you do so.

[goldenavenger02]

Pillow Fights and Long Nights

5 Times Kai was in the hospital for Lloyd, 1 time Lloyd should have been in the hospital, and 1 time Lloyd was in the hospital for Kai.

Dedicated to @rosiehunterwolf

•••

1.

'I should've been watching him.' Kai thought to himself as they all stood in the waiting room of Ninjago City hospital. Since there were multiple doctors in Ignacia, he and Nya had never needed to be here.

However, hearing Jay's horror stories about multiple failed inventions landing him in here for days at a time, or hearing about Cole's failed dancing resulting in at least two different injuries, not to mention the Triple Tiger Sashay incident, was definitely not calming his nerves.

He shouldn't have left Lloyd alone with the training equipment he didn't know how to use, when there had been multiple other people who could've been checking where they were while waiting on a Serpentine sighting.

When he had been forced out of the Bridge because of Jay screaming, saying that Lloyd was bleeding on the deck, Kai had only ever felt that sinking feeling in his stomach twice before.

When Nya was taken by Garmadon, and when Lloyd nearly sank into the lava inside of the Fire Temple.

Which led to where they were now. The hailed "protectors of Ninjago" leaning against chairs and the wall of the hospital, staring at the door that Sensei, Lord Garmadon and Lloyd had disappeared behind, and pretending that they were not there at all in order to keep their heart rates from getting out of control.

"-which is why I stopped trying to climb the piles of junk." Jay's voice rang back in his head, snapping him out of his thoughts and he could feel fire against his hand.

"Kai, calm down," Nya's voice perked up, gently setting her hand on his arm, and Kai allowed himself to take a deep breath, the fire extinguishing from his hand, "I know you're upset, but if you burn down the hospital, you're going to be in a lot of trouble. This is probably a place we don't need to get banned from."

"Yeah, I'm just worried. He's been in there for over an hour and we haven't heard anything," Kai explained, letting his eyes flutter closed with worry, "I shouldn't have left him alone."

"You didn't know he would get hurt," Cole explained, putting his hand on his other shoulder, "you can't put that on yourself."

"But I knew that he was still getting the hang of the training equipment, and I knew that you guys were standing by and waiting for the Serpentine sighting." Kai argued, but Zane just shook his head before speaking up.

"We've gotten hurt multiple times using that equipment, and it wasn't this bad. You were probably just expecting a bump or bruise at the most, even if it was more so an instinct than an actual thought."

"Yeah, no one blames you, dude." Jay added, putting his hand against Kai's back when finally, the door opened and Sensei came out.

"He's going to be alright," he assured before any of them could say a word, and Kai couldn't keep his sigh of relief in, "He has a concussion, and he has to stay overnight so he can be monitored, but he's going to be just fine."

"Can we see him?" Kai asked, and had to swallow when Sensei shook his head "no", because while he knew Garmadon wouldn't hurt Lloyd after they just got him back, he still felt uneasy with him being around Lloyd by himself.

"He's sleeping now, and his father is with him. We'll come back in a few hours, but we still have to stay vigilant and make sure that Pythor doesn't get the last Fangblade."

"Yes, Sensei." All six of them groaned and made their way back to the Bounty, and Kai had to force his feet to go and avoid disrespecting Sensei yet again, no matter how tempting it was.

2.

"Well, the good news is that Cole's going to throw out expired spices now." Kai joked, sitting on the edge of Lloyd's hospital bed, phone in hand as he updated Nya on Lloyd's condition.

Due to a flu going around, only one person was allowed to visit at a time, and Sensei had decided that Kai should stay with him while he went to stock up on healing teas for this exact scenario in the future.

"Not funny, dude," Lloyd groaned, curling up on his side, "my stomach still feels like it's going to explode."

"I think it already did." Kai chuckled, immediately regretting it when he saw the look of pure misery on Lloyd's face, which had him shoving his phone in his pocket before looking right at him, "sorry, I'll stop. Can I get you another ginger ale?"

"I'm just going to throw it up," Lloyd sighed, rubbing a hand over his face before turning on the TV.

Unfortunately, they were immediately greeted by Gayle Gossip talking about how Garmadon had seemingly gone missing, which Kai reached over and turned off, seeing Lloyd put his head in his hands, "on second thought, I'd rather throw up."

Kai couldn't help but smile sympathetically at him, gently squeezing his hand. "You've got us, Lloyd," that's when an idea popped into his head, "let me text Zane, see if we can figure out a way to smuggle some of his chicken noodle soup in here."

"Don't let him use the expired spices," Lloyd groaned as Kai pulled out his phone again.

"It'd probably taste better than the food in here." Kai teased with a smile, receiving a glare from Lloyd; and in hindsight, the pillow he received to the face from Lloyd was most likely well deserved.

3.

"Just a sprained wrist, Kai," the doctor smiled softly as they wrapped bandages around the cut that covered his left arm, "you're very lucky."

Kai nodded, although he wasn't focused on the pain in his wrist, and more so on the fact that they maybe had two minutes of peace before Lloyd had passed out against him due to the absolute exhaustion from the final battle.

And while he knew that he had his uncle and parents, he couldn't stop the worry from clawing at his heart as the moment replayed in his head.

•••

"There's no way of knowing what's around the corner, but as long as there's something worth fighting for, there's always a need for a ninja. And we'll be ready." Kai insisted to Sensei, watching as his team approached him.

He couldn't keep the grin off his face as they looked to the brightness, one hand on Sensei's back and the other on Lloyd's shoulder. 'Little Lloyd Garmadon saved the day.'

However, just when they looked away from the sun, and the others started to spread out, that's when Kai noticed just how pale Lloyd was, even with a smile on his face. "Lloyd? You okay?" He asked softly, nudging his shoulder.

"My leg hurts…" Lloyd mumbled, his words slurring slightly, but before Kai could alert the others, Lloyd was already unconscious and slumped against his chest.

"Sensei!" He called out, gently maneuvering Lloyd so he was on his back, watching as the others ran back towards him, "Sensei, a little help!"

•••

Kai made his way to the waiting room with instructions to avoid using his left wrist, and kept back the disappointment when he didn't see Lloyd, but he couldn't hold back his relief to see Nya and immediately engulfed her in a hug which she returned just as tightly. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"I'm glad you're okay," she smiled before pulling away, glancing down at his arm before looking back at him, "well, mostly."

Kai couldn't ignore the bandage against her cheek, and when he looked back at his other teammates, it seemed as though Zane and his father were the only ones unscathed.

Cole was absolutely littered in bruises nearly everywhere that there was bare skin, both of Nya's eyes had bruises around them along with scratches that covered both of her arms, and he could tell that Jay's ribs were at least bruised by the way he was breathing, not to mention the stitches that were peeking out from the neckline of his gi.

"How's Lloyd?" Kai asked softly, unable to stop holding onto his sister, watching as her face switched from a smile to a soft frown. 'That was never good.'

"He's absolutely drained, not to mention his ankle was nearly shattered. The doctors think that it was the adrenaline that kept him from feeling it. They're not letting anyone who isn't family see him until after they do surgery on it."

"They don't have the right to call us anything other than his family." Kai scowled, pushing past Nya as his chest burned, determined to find Lloyd even if he burned the whole hospital down around them.

Luckily for the staff, Lloyd's room was easy to find and Kai immediately walked in, resulting in the turn of Sensei, Misako and Garmadon's heads.

"Kai, calm down." Sensei insisted firmly, holding a hand out towards Kai but he couldn't stop him from going to Lloyd, which forced him to swallow.

His skin was the palest he had ever seen, even compared to when he had gotten food poisoning a few months back, his ankle was wrapped up, but Kai could still see the bruises stretch up his leg, and his under eyes were dark, like he hadn't slept in weeks.

"Kai, it might be best for you to wait with the others." Sensei suggested softly, putting his hands on his shoulders, but he shook him off and grabbed Lloyd's hand instead.

"I made a promise to protect the green ninja, to fight beside him; with all due respect, Sensei, I can't do that in a waiting room. And if any of you try to make the argument that I'm not family, I'm going to fight you tooth and nail," Kai stopped for a moment to look at Lloyd's sunken face before turning back to his three parental figures, "Lloyd's my brother, just as much as Nya is my sister. I'm not leaving him."

To Kai's surprise, Garmadon was actually the one who approached him and set his hand on his shoulder before he spoke, "no one is going to kick you out, Kai. And if they try, they'll have to go through me."

Kai nodded, and despite the fact he was no longer evil, he was still a little shocked that he was agreeing with Garmadon.

But at the same time, as he held Lloyd's hand in his, he had never been happier to have him on his side.

4.

"I can't believe how awesome your powers are, Nya." Jay admired, resulting in a smile from Nya, which Kai watched from afar.

He knew that Nya viewed them as friends, but with the way Jay looked at her, he had a flicker of something telling him that they would get together again someday

"I can't believe that I'm still being put on the pediatric ward," Lloyd mumbled, throwing a crumpled up piece of paper at the trash can, "I'm one of Ninjago's protectors and I'm still being treated like a kid."

That brought Kai back to the present as all five of them had crammed themselves into Lloyd's hospital room after the events of what had happened in Stiix.

After all, nearly losing Lloyd to Morro was nerve wracking for all of them, and after the events of the battle against the preeminent, Lloyd had all but passed out on the way back to Ninjago City due to being sleep deprived and malnourished.

"In their defense, Lloyd, you are under the age of eighteen, which means unless there were special circumstances, you are required to be put with other minors." Zane supplied, which only received a sarcastic response from Lloyd.

"Thanks, Zane. Real helpful." And with that, he threw another piece of paper at the trash can.

Kai shot a glance towards Cole, silently telling him that he needed to talk to Lloyd alone and hoped that he got the newly turned ghost's attention, even though they were all still coming to terms with the change.

Luckily, Cole was still Cole, and got the message loud and clear before turning to the others; "Hey, let's go check out the cafeteria, see if we can find anything worth smuggling up here to Lloyd."

After Zane, Jay, Nya and Cole left, and Kai could no longer hear Jay's questions about if Cole even needed to eat anymore, he turned to Lloyd and sat next to him on the bed, taking in Lloyd's condition.

His under eyes were very dark, his skin was way too pale and Kai could see just how much muscle mass Lloyd had lost, and how he seemed like a shell of the lively kid who loved candy and pranking his brothers.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kai asked softly, gently squeezing Lloyd's right shoulder since his hand had an IV in it that was currently pumping him full of fluids and electrolytes.

"My dad...is really gone," Lloyd stopped to wipe the tears that started running down with his left arm, even though more followed immediately after, "I-I don't know what to do anymore."

Kai didn't stop himself from pulling him into a hug, feeling the warm tears leak through his gi as Lloyd gripped onto him tighter. "I've got you, Lloyd," he felt the tears against his cheek while squeezing his brother tighter, "You've still got me."

5.

Kai couldn't keep his foot from tapping on the ground as he waited for Lloyd and Misako to get to the waiting room.

After Cole had become human once again, and Morro had disappeared, the majority of the group got to work on emptying out the Airjitzu temple, except for Kai, Misako and Lloyd.

When he saw the fact that Lloyd had a massive cut running from his left cheek to his jawline, and heard that Misako was taking Lloyd to the hospital despite his protests that "he'd have the coolest battle scar", Kai had offered to drive them to the hospital.

The only thing he knew about their Day of the Departed was from the hushed whispers that they had shared on the drive, which had the key words like "Pythor" and "my father", so he knew it was just as bad as what he and Nya had gone through with Chen, if not way worse.

The hospital was nearly empty, so his foot was tapping on the floor and he had his phone open to social media, trying to keep himself from losing his mind.

"Mom, I'm fine." He heard Lloyd insist as two sets of footsteps approached him, and he put his phone in his pocket, smiling when he saw the two of them, the younger of the two sporting a giant bandage against the left side of his face, which Lloyd seemed to take offense to as he snapped, "don't even start making jokes, Kai."

"Hey, hey, relax, Green Machine, I'm smiling cause you're okay," Kai insisted, wrapping his arm around Lloyd's shoulder as they made their way to the car before whispering, "if you need to talk to someone besides your mom, I'm here for you, okay?"

"I don't need to talk, but…" Lloyd trailed off, glancing at his mom before returning eye contact with Kai, "it'd be nice if I wasn't alone tonight."

"We'll figure it out, kid," Kai smiled, shuddering as they were met with the freezing air, feeling Lloyd get closer to him, "I swear."

5.5

"How could Lloyd be so...so stupid?!" Kai shouted, his hands going to his hair in anger, "he should've waited for us to come up with a plan!"

"You know that you did this once too, right Kai?" Cole piped up, and Kai couldn't respond with anything but a glare, because he was right.

Kai himself had fought Garmadon without a plan and even locked his team out of the room, but he thought that the golden weapons were being stolen, as for Lloyd…

Well, now that he thought about it, Lloyd had good reasoning as well; he wanted to bring his father, all of his father, back, and with how many nights he had fallen asleep in his arms, eyes full of grief, Kai couldn't even blame him.

He let out a frustrated sigh, the worry striking his heart like a loaded cannon that had just gotten new ammunition. 'I can't lose Lloyd, not now. Not after everything.'

Kai felt a cool, soft hand against his shoulder, and he didn't stop himself from clinging onto Zane while starting to chew on his lip, feeling his teeth start to make small indents against his skin.

"That's him!" PIXAL's voice rang in Kai's head as the Bounty slowed to a stop, Jay, Cole and Nya immediately rushing out, but Zane continued to hold onto Kai.

"Let me go!," Kai shouted, his vision going red as anger burned in his chest as he started to fight against Zane's hold, "I need to see Lloyd!"

"It would be unwise for you to see Lloyd until he's back on the Bounty, as we are trying to get out of here as soon as possible," Zane explained, the tight hold still feeling gentle against his shoulder, "they'll bring him aboard soon."

"Nya, how is he?" PIXAL asked over the comms, bringing Kai's attention to them as he focused in on his little sister's voice.

"We need the gurney, he's… He's in really bad shape," she explained, a sniffle cutting her off before she continued, "Kai, Zane, be ready to take him to control; it's still set up from where we fixed Zane."

"We're on it." Kai insisted, his heart beating so loud that he could hear it as he and Zane sprinted outside as the gurney was lifted on deck while the others climbed the ropes; Kai couldn't keep his gasp in when Lloyd's face hit the light.

His nose was definitely broken, both of his eyes were black, and the rest of his face was covered in scratches and bruises; he didn't even want to know what was under Lloyd's gi.

As he and Zane lifted Lloyd, the hot skin against their hands, he let out a groan that made Kai wince. 'Lloyd is the level headed one, he doesn't do this. He doesn't run off into danger.'

But as the two of them laid Lloyd down, Kai swallowed harshly, because Lloyd had in fact run into danger before...for his family.

As the others ran into the room, minus Nya who was calling Misako, and started to patch up Lloyd's injuries as best as they could, Kai couldn't help from speaking up. "He needs to be in the hospital. He's way too hot, and way too injured."

"Where would we even go? Harumi and the Sons of Garmadon are patrolling the city like crazy, we'll be lucky to even make it in, let alone get him inside of the hospital." Cole explained, gently wiping the sand off of Lloyd's face.

Kai relented; he knew Cole was right, there was no way to get him professional medical treatment, and he just had to hope that Misako had some idea of where to take him, cause he also knew that there was no way that Lloyd was going to live if they only used their limited medical knowledge and supplies.

Lloyd's wheeze was what brought Kai out of his thoughts and he instantly wrapped both of his hands around his left one before whispering in Lloyd's ear.

"It's going to be okay, we're going to save you. Just focusing on staying alive."

6.

He had pushed himself too far.

As Kai sat in his room in the burn unit, looking at his fully bandaged arms and wrists, he knew that. He also knew that he was extremely grateful for the pain medication that kept him from feeling both the burns and the frost bite.

"So this is what the normal ward looks like." Lloyd remarked as he got up from the chair and sat on the end of Kai's bed with a smile.

"Yeah, not as many fun decorations, squirt," Kai joked before going serious, "I don't wanna see you in here unless you're visiting someone else, you got that?"

"Unfortunately for me, being the "prophesied green ninja" doesn't give me that luxury," Lloyd lamented before glaring at Kai, "and don't call me squirt, I'm finally gaining up on you."

"You could be six four and I'd still call you squirt, it's my job as an older brother, ask Nya. As for staying out of the hospital, you're supposed to humor me, chosen one," Kai snorted, receiving a pillow to the face, "hey, I can't retaliate!"

"I'd prefer being a kid over being the chosen one and you know it." Lloyd explained, glaring daggers at Kai, to which he raised his hands in surrender before asking.

"Alright, I'll stop. Where are the others? They usually don't let you walk around unsupervised."

"PIXAL and Zane are on a date, Nya insisted that they hang out together after we got back from the Never Realm; Jay and Nya are working on some upgrades to the Bounty, and Cole and my uncle went shopping, something about chicken feed," Lloyd explained before smiling at Kai, "besides, I'm not unsupervised, I'm hanging out with you."

Kai couldn't keep the smile from spreading across his face as he managed to sit up and ruffle up Lloyd's hair, even though it was immediately followed by a rush of searing hot pain from the movement.

"Alright, hot head," Lloyd laughed, gently pushing Kai back against the pillows, "leave my hair alone and get some rest; for once, let me take care of you."

"Pretty sure that's illegal." Kai retorted, immediately being smacked with another pillow, although not as hard as the first one, "can you stop doing that?"

'You better think of a creative threat against him.' He thought to himself.

"What're you going to do about it?" Lloyd challenged, picking up a third pillow, which led Kai to smirk before putting on his best pouting face.

"I'm going to tell Nya that you were being really mean to me when I'm injured and weak, and have her deal with you accordingly."

Whatever punishment Lloyd had thought of Nya giving him was enough for him to drop the pillow immediately with a look of terror on his face, and Kai couldn't even blame him; Nya was never a force to be reckoned with, whether you were an enemy or family.

The room went silent for a few minutes after that, until Lloyd sniffled, which made Kai's ears perk up as he sat up again, wrapping his upper arm around Lloyd's shoulder so his wrist and hand wasn't touching anything, "hey, hey, what's wrong? If it's about throwing pillows, I-"

"No, not that…," Lloyd's voice shook before he turned slightly and hugged Kai around the stomach tightly, nearly knocking the wind out of him, "I can't lose anyone else. Not anymore. I almost lost you and Zane, and I… Not again."

Kai pulled Lloyd towards him closer so he could cry against his shoulder, despite the fact that it sent the same searing pain through his body again, "I've got you, Lloyd. You're going to have a really tough time getting rid of me, you know that."

After a few moments, Lloyd emerged from his shoulder, now glaring at him again, and Kai knew exactly why this time; might not be best to joke about loss to the kid who had been abandoned by his mom and lost his dad twice now.

"Yeah, throw the pillow at my head, I deserve that this time."

Kai didn't expect the hit to be so hard that his head almost spun all the way around, but seeing the smirk on Lloyd's face made all the neck and jaw pain worth it.

[overflowing-with-words]

Aftermath | jay w., lloyd g.

To that anon who asked <33 I forgot I was supposed to reply with a fic not reply an answer- *facepalms* I loved writing this (Lloyd angst be my favorite and their friendship is definitely underrated). Sorry it's kinda short this time! And turned out more fluffy than I expected, but I can live with that--

Word count: 707 words

~~~

Jay kicked a fallen brick on the road, wincing as he felt a pull in his leg. His whole body ached from the earlier fight, cuts and bruises peppered all over him.

Kai and Nya walked ahead of him, chattering excitedly to each other. Jay noted how they were holding hands, tempted to forward and join them in whatever conversation they were having. But he knew the siblings needed some time together, after the- well, the few life threatening they'd gone through.

Cole was nowhere to be seen, but then again he'd heard something about 'bringing sensei to the noodle shop' before they disappeared.

Welp. Glancing across the rubble filled road they were making their way across, his eyes caught on another person. A certain green ninja stumbling over the rocks, gi stained with dirt and shoulders slumped in defeat.

Hold up. They'd just won, so why-?

Hopping over a overturned bench -ouch his leg - he landed next to the teen, poking his shoulder.

"Hey, you okay?" he chirped brightly, poking him on the shoulder. His head shot up in surprise, and relaxed when he spotted Jay.

"Yeah, I'm good." Lloyd replied, a small sigh escaping his lips.

Jay studied him unbelievingly. He didn't have the feeling of fulfillment they had after big missions and the pride of escaping death once again, and the confidence he usually held constantly was gone, exchanging itself for a sense of dejection.

"Really, are you good?" he tried again, and Lloyd nodded stubbornly, eyes downcast.

"I'm good, Jay." He bit out, bringing his hands together from his sides to fidget nervously. Eyes sharp, the lighting ninja realized they were trembling, a green light still fading from his pale skin.

"Lloyd..." he trailed off, unsure what to say. He definitely did not seem okay. Not at all, no.

"I'm fine, okay?!" Lloyd snapped at him sharply, and Jay recoiled back in surprise. They walked along the road for a few seconds in silence, and he could feel the inner turmoil brewing in the boy next to him.

"Sorry." He said quietly, fingers digging into his palm with stress. "I'm sorry, I just-"

"It's fine, Lloyd," Jay reassured him, putting a arm around his shoulders. "What's really going on?"

"I-I," Lloyd stuttered, face twisting in despair. "What if he hates me now?" he whispered softly.

"Oh, Lloyd." Jay breathed, instantly understanding. "That isn't your father. You know that, right?"

"But what if he turns good again?" Lloyd asked, eyes wet with unshed tears.

"I thought- I think they only summoned the ev-vemon part of him back?" Jay asked hesitantly, not wanting to say the wrong thing by accident.

"I mean, yes, but-" The teen wilted, tears finally escaping to streak down his cheek.

"But, if he actually does, he's not going to hate you for defeating him, is he? And saving Ninjago again!" Jay added in hastily, seeing the look on his face. He pulled Lloyd closer to him, ignoring the burn of a scrape on his side.

"But I miss him," came the quiet response.

"What's wrong with that?" Jay asked.

"I'm shouldn't miss him." Lloyd sniffed. "He tried to take over Ninjago."

"He's your dad, Lloyd. You can't change that. And no one will blame you for missing him, either." Jay said earnestly, turning to face him an shifting his hands onto the teen's shoulders. "And you're always have us."

A small smile crept onto his face, and Jay's heartstrings suddenly tugged at him when he realized just how much he'd missed seeing Lloyd.

"I missed you, bud." He said lightly, suddenly pulling him into a tight hug.

"Missed you guys too." Lloyd admitted, voice muffled against his shoulder. "I thought you died."

"Us? No, you can't get rid of us so easily." Jay joked, pulling away. "We should really catch up with the others now-" He realized, looking at down the path. Kai and the rest were already somehow the size of ants in the distance, moonlight casting their dark shadows long down the road.

"Wait, we should-" Lloyd gasped, starting to sprint towards them. "I'llraceyouone-two-three-go!"

Jay stared at him for a second, confused for a second. "Hey, you cheated!" He yelled accusingly, running towards him. The only response was the sound of laughter echoing, and he smiled to himself.

~~~

Hope you guys liked it ❤︎ ❤︎

[rosiehunterwolf]

oh take me back to the start

Prompts: Comfort and 3am

Word Count: 4,612

Characters: Jay and Cole

Timeline: After season 6

Trigger Warnings: Nightmares, Blood, Mild Gore, Panic Attack, PTSD

Summary: The past should be left in the past. Or, at least, that’s what Jay keeps telling himself. Nadakhan is gone. It’s not logical to still be afraid. But he is, and now everything that he left behind suddenly feels like it’s never going to be the same again.

Cole isn’t so convinced.

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Jay couldn’t move.

Heavy shackles weighed down his feet, and his arms felt like they were made of concrete, even though they appeared to be completely normal otherwise.

What’s happening? Where am I?

Everything around him was dark, so, so dark. Powerful gusts of wind whooshed past, threatening to knock him over, and he tried to lift his hands to shield his face. They still felt so heavy, so wrong, but slowly, slowly, he was able to move them.

He glanced up, but there was no moon, no stars. The night was utterly black.

“Hello?” he called, his voice sounding odd and detached. “Is anyone there?”

The wind whipped away his words, and he gritted his teeth. How did I get here? I don’t remember leaving the Bounty.

“Jay!”

Jay’s head whipped up at the shrill cry. He would know that voice anywhere.

Nya.

No, Nya, no, Nya, no-

Jay tried to jerk towards the sound, but he still couldn’t move. The chains were still there, only curling around his ankles tighter each time he tried to yank away. “Nya! Nya, I’m coming, Nya!”

With a gasp, he suddenly broke free, almost falling to the ground from the sudden release of tension. Not wasting a second, he darted off towards Nya’s voice, stumbling blindly through the dark but desperate to get to her. The wind wrapped around him, pushing in on him and making it hard to breathe.

“Nya!” he screamed, stopping to look around. “Where are you?”

Suddenly, a small orange light appeared in the distance. Jay gasped and started running towards it. He had to go there. She was there, he could feel it.

As he got closer, things began to get lighter- he could make out shadows forming in the corners of his vision, reaching, curling towards him. He forced his gaze forward and ran faster.

He could see something now, two shadowy figures. Green tinted the corners of his vision, slowly spreading forward until his whole world was a shade of sickly lime. He shook his head, but it did nothing to help.

Suddenly, he was there, the figures mere feet from him. One was lying on the ground, a bloodcurdling scream coming from her mouth.

“Nya!” he yelped, but suddenly the other figure was in front of him. A tall, orange-skinned man stood in front of him, long dark hair unfurling from his topknot, a malicious sneer on his face, a dark amber mist curling where his legs should’ve been.

Jay’s heart stopped.

Nadakhan.

Jay screamed, stumbling backward, and the djinn laughed, turning back towards Nya. Grabbing her hair, he roughly yanked her towards him.

“Jay!” Nya shrieked. Jay lurched towards them, but there was suddenly a stabbing pain in his left eye and he stumbled to the ground, watching helplessly as Nadakhan raised the Djinn Blade over her head.

“Leave her alone!” Jay cried, but his voice was dry and cracked. Suddenly, the blade was plunging towards her. Jay didn’t know if his scream or Nya’s was louder as the weapon cut through her chest, and suddenly blood was spewing everywhere, seeping across her dress, into his clothes, dripping through his fingers-

Jay screamed, lurching forward and grabbing her hand. He didn’t know where Nadakhan had gone- the djinn had seemed to vanish into thin air- but he didn’t care. His mind was only on Nya.

A gaping wound stretched across her chest, her delicate, soft flesh torn and soaked in red. He screamed again, pressing his hands over it, but only more blood came, and more, and more-

His hands were dripping red, and he pulled back, sobbing. It was his fault; it was all his fault; he had done this-

“Jay,” Nya whispered hoarsely, and he stopped immediately, bending close to hear her.

“Why… why would you do this… to me… to us… how could you let this happen? How could… how could you fail the one person who always believed in you?”

“I’m so sorry, Nya,” he wailed. “I let you down, because of me- because of me, you’re-”

Nya coughed, blood gurgling at her lips, and suddenly the oozing blood was shifting from red to a bright, nauseating green.

Jay jerked back. Tiger Widow venom.

Oh no, oh no, it was all over him, he was going to die, just like Nya.

He stood up sharply, but his legs were shaky, and suddenly he was falling, falling into nothingness, Nya’s rasping breaths echoing into his ears, each one further and further apart until there was nothing.

---

Jay jerked upright in his bed, stuffing his blanket in his mouth so fiercely he almost choked, muffling his screams as he buried his face in his legs, gulping back sobs and begging himself to be quiet, before he woke the others.

One, two, three, four-

It wasn’t working. Jay’s brain felt like it was going to explode. Every time he closed his eyes, all he could see was Nya, soaked in blood, her lifeless eyes staring up at him, and it was all his fault-

Jay practically launched himself from the bed, just barely managing to avoid falling down the ladder as he stumbled out the door of their shared bedroom.

He just barely made it to the bathroom in time, lurching over to the toilet and throwing up. Woozy, he pulled back, panting, and curled into a ball, rocking himself gently.

It was fine; it was fine; it was just a dream. Nadakhan wasn’t here anymore- he hadn’t- Jay had erased the timeline, that hadn’t even happened anymore-

But the memories were still there. It had happened to him; it was still very real to him, why couldn’t he have forgotten everything like the others?

He was trembling now, trembling hard, why were his fingers red, Nya’s blood was still on his hands, why was that still there, it had just been a dream-

Hallucinating. He was hallucinating, the blood wasn’t there. That… that wasn’t good. He had never had an attack this bad before.

He knew he should go get Nya. Ever since everything had happened with Nadakhan, she had been the only other one to remember, the only other one he could talk to, who knew what he was feeling and could comfort him on the hard nights.

But he had come to her late almost every night for the last couple of weeks since he had defeated Nadakhan. He knew Nya was struggling, too- heck, she had it worse; she had been the one who was actually dying, and the dark circles under her eyes hadn’t gone unnoticed by Jay. He knew she had been sleeping horribly. She deserved one night without him pestering her.

He hugged himself tighter, trying to imagine his own hands as Nya’s, trying to slow his breathing.

Just stop, just stop, just stop, just work- Jay, you idiot, you can’t do anything right, you’re so pathetic, this is all your fault-

“Jay?”

A voice cut through his panic, and he jerked his head up, hitting it against the bathroom cabinet and groaning.

A gentle hand on his arm. “C’mon, let’s get you outta here.”

No. Jay’s brain plunged into protest, tugging away from the unfamiliar contact. No, no, no- “Get away from me!”

The blood was back now, (had it ever really gone?), but it wasn’t Nya’s, it was his, his wrists slit and blood streaming out, concealing the dark, purpling bruises. Nadakhan had beat him again, and now his eye was hurting again, why did it hurt so bad, why couldn’t he see-

“Jay! Jay, breathe, it’s just me. You’re okay. You’re safe. Everyone’s safe. It’s going to be okay.”

His brain faintly registered Cole, and as he reached for his hand, it went right through it. Cole grimaced, gritting his teeth, and Jay tried again. This time, his hand felt warm and firm. Cole pulled him to his feet, and Jay leaned against him, trying to focus on his solid presence, to steady himself.

“Did you skip your meds again, Jay?” Cole asked, reaching into the medicine cabinet and pulling a few bottles out.

Jay blinked, trying to clear the fug from his brain. “I… what? I don’t…”

“Take a deep breath, Jay. Jay- Jay, look at me.”

Jay forced himself to meet his gaze. Cole’s deep brown eyes were soft, comforting, strong. Jay felt himself exhale, slow and long, the first proper breath in minutes. It felt good.

“No,” he murmured, “I didn’t take them. I forgot.”

“Okay, I’ll get them for you on the way there. Right now, you need to get out.”

Jay blinked, letting Cole lead him out of the bathroom. His mind still felt slow. “On the way where?”

“I dunno. But we’re just going out, taking a little car ride. The fresh air will help you.”

“O-okay,” Jay murmured, and suddenly they were outside, cool air gracing his too-warm skin. He let out a shaky breath. Cole was right, already he was feeling a little better.

The Bounty had been stationed near one of their smaller bases that night, but luckily this one housed one of the few normal vehicles they owned- riding around on the Earth Driller or Cole’s elemental dragon didn’t seem like the best option if they wanted to avoid attention.

The two of them climbed into the car, Cole in the driver’s side and Jay in the passenger’s. Cole distributed Jay some of his pills, which he took, and they set off.

Jay leaned his face against the window, the cool glass feeling good on his skin. Cole had the windows cracked too, so a fresh breeze filled the car. He watched the dark shapes flick past the window, mostly trees, but the occasional house as well, which got more frequent as they neared the city. He caught a flash of Nya’s lifeless body in the reflection of the window, and he bit his lip, deciding to count the houses as a distraction.

“So,” Cole said after a while, breaking the long silence. “What do you want to eat?”

Jay turned away from the window, blinking at him. “What?”

“A little food in my stomach always helps me when I’ve had a… rough night.”

Despite himself, Jay felt a mischievous grin spread across his lips. “You’re always thinking about food.”

Cole grunted, taking a hand off the steering wheel to shove him gently in the shoulder. “Shut up.”

After a moment, Jay asked, “Can we go to that little shack on the corner of the city that sells those really good hand-spun milkshakes?”

“I don’t think they’re open right now, bud.”

“Oh.” There was silence, then, “What time is it?”

Cole pressed his lips together. “3 am.”

Jay was quiet. It’s that late? Ugh, I am such a horrible friend. Why would I bother him with all my issues at this time of night? He should be in bed sleeping, like everyone else.

“What about McDonald’s?” Cole’s suggestion interrupted his thoughts. “They’re open all night.”

Jay scoffed. “McDonald’s? The milkshakes there are laughable at best.”

“Yeah, but at this time of night they’re really our only option.”

He sighed. “McDonald’s it is, then.”

Less than ten minutes later, they were pulling into the parking lot, the big ‘M’ sign, which was glowing a harsh yellow color, flickering slightly, giving off an almost eerie vibe. At this time of night, the parking lot was barren except for two cars, likely owned by the employees, which didn’t exactly help that feeling.

“You comin’?” Cole asked, and Jay blinked, realizing Cole was already out of the car, holding open the door for him. Cole extended a hand out and helped him up- Jay was still a little woozy from the meds- and they headed inside.

The little bell that rang as they pushed open the door sounded louder than usual in the emptiness of the building. The only person in sight was an exhausted-looking cashier who glanced up at them with a skeptical expression. Her gaze lingered a little longer on Cole’s ghostly form, but either she recognized him or was too tired to care, because she didn’t question them.

“Welcome to McDonald’s, how may I help you,” she mumbled in the driest, most monotone voice Jay had ever heard.

They ordered, waited for their food, then took a seat near the corner. Jay nibbled on a couple of fries. Cole was trying to look busy with some chicken nuggets, but Jay could feel the earth ninja’s gaze on him. He swallowed, the food suddenly seeming to stick in his throat.

“Man, I haven’t eaten these things in ages,” Cole said suddenly, glancing down at his nuggets. “I must’ve been like, nine, the last time I got a Happy Meal.”

Jay bristled. “I didn’t order a Happy Meal! This is just a regular fries and nuggets meal.”

“But it’s the exact same thing that’s in the Happy Meal, minus the toy. They just don’t call it that because it’s embarrassing if you’re not a little kid. It’s basically just a big boy Happy Meal. Hey, look at that, Jay, you graduated. We should celebrate. Maybe with this big kid Happy Meal?”

“I’ll have you know I haven’t ordered a Happy Meal since I was ten.”

Cole crossed his arms, gesturing up with his fingers.

“Okay, so maybe twelve. But no later than that! Stop making assumptions about me!”

Cole snorted. “Whatever makes you happy, dude.”

“Hey, before you continue to joke about my weird habits, can we discuss the fact that you’re a ghost and you still eat McDonald’s?”

“Hey, just because I don’t need food doesn’t mean it doesn’t taste good. And I’m also doing it as moral support for you.”

“Har har.”

“Jay, I’m serious!” Cole’s teasing expression suddenly grew somber. “What happened to you back there? I haven’t seen you like that since- well, ever. You really scared me, Jay.”

Jay ducked his head. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize, that just makes this worse! I’m not reprimanding you for anything, I’m just worried and want to help you. I’m your best friend, Jay. You can tell me anything.”

Jay wrung his hands together. “I’m not so sure I can, Cole.” His friend opened his mouth to protest, but Jay held up his hand, stopping him. “Oh, I know you want me to. But it’s not that simple.” Softer, he added, “It’s more complicated than you will ever know.”

“Maybe, but sometimes sharing your burdens with someone helps a lot more than you think it will.”

Jay bit his lip. He couldn’t tell Cole about Nadakhan. He couldn’t. Part of him wanted to, but… he didn’t want to relive those memories again. He wanted to leave them as far in the past as they could possibly get.

Besides, there was no way he could know. His memories of the event, like everyone else’s, had been stripped when Jay had made his last wish. Jay could recount the story to him, but it would always be just that- a story. He didn’t doubt that Cole would believe him, but it wouldn’t be the same. Cole still wouldn’t have actually experienced Nadakhan- felt the creeping dread when the accursed djinn caught you alone, the aching in his bones from the long hours aboard the Misfortune’s Keep, or the numbing horror of watching Nya die in his arms.

But Cole was right. This time had been bad. And even though Nya was the only one who truly understood, it wasn’t fair to burden her with all that. He needed help, and Cole was offering it.

“I had a nightmare,” he sighed.

“Again?” Cole frowned, concern flashing in his eyes. “That seems to be happening a lot recently.”

“You knew it happened before?”

“I’m a ghost, not exactly a heavy sleeper. There’s a reason I found you tonight, y’know. I didn’t just decide to wander into the bathroom in the middle of the night because I felt like it.”

“Oh. You didn’t… you didn’t say anything? You didn’t tell the others?”

Cole shook his head. “I thought it wasn’t a big deal. I mean, nightmares aren’t exactly a rare occurrence with our group, and it wasn’t exactly that long ago since Morro. Kai was having nightmares for months afterwards, and if I’m being honest, I think he still is. I myself have been having some… interesting dreams. It didn’t seem that improbable for you to be having them, too. But this…” Cole’s eyes flashed. “I hardly recognized you, Jay. I know you said you didn’t take your meds, but that was no ordinary nightmare.”

“No,” Jay shifted. “I just… I was alone,” he blurted. “It was so dark, and none of you guys were there, and Nya- Nya was…” He stopped, choking on a sob. His heart was racing. “It was all my fault-���

“Hey,” Cole murmured, getting up and sliding in behind him, wrapping a hand around his shoulders. “We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I’m sorry for bringing it up.”

“It’s fine.” Jay wiped at his eyes. “I’ve already caused you so much trouble, bringing you out all this way so early in the morning-”

“Hey, I won’t have any of that.” Cole turned Jay’s shoulder so that they were looking each other in the eyes. “I’m your best friend, Jay. That’s what I’m here for. You’ve always been there for me, no matter how inconvenient. I’m just returning the favor.”

But I lied to you. I let my own selfish desires get in the way of everyone’s safety, and I was a disloyal friend. Jay bit back the response. Cole didn’t know about any of that. In his mind, it had never happened.

But for Jay, it had, and he wasn’t about to forget it.

He wasn’t good enough for Cole.

“Ugh, what are these, they’re all crispy.”

It took Jay a moment to register that Cole had spoken, and he swiveled his head towards his friend. “What?”

“Your fries.” Cole held up a fry. “They’re overcooked.”

“That’s the best way to have them,” Jay insisted, grabbing one and crunching it loudly between his teeth. “What, you like yours all soft and mushy?”

“They’re not mushy, they’re rich and fluffy. You’re just eating burnt potato skin.”

“The crunch is part of the experience! It gives them the extra little flair they need.”

“If you want crunchy, why don’t you get chips instead?”

“Are you kidding? This is completely different!”

“Okay, then what about these?” Cole leaned forward, tilting up the carton so that the last handful of fries slid out onto the napkin. They were a dark, brownish-black color, with only hints of gold peeking through. “Tell me how delicious those are.”

Jay winced. “Okay, well, there’s a fine line between a good, crispy fry and a burnt one. What did they do, set them on fire?”

Cole shook his head, grinning. “Did you see how dead-on-her-feet that cashier looked? It wouldn’t surprise me if the kitchen staff looked similar.”

Jay snorted. “I hope not, or this place will be burnt down before the end of the week.”

“We should’ve gone deeper into the city. The night shift workers there would’ve been more capable.”

“We should get a refund on these.”

“Well, you’ll be the one asking.”

“Why?”

“I’m a ghost, moron- did you see the way she looked at me earlier?”

“Yeah, well, we’re also famous ninja. How do you know that wasn’t why she was staring at you?”

“Trust me, it’s always the ghost thing. It’s way more noticeable. Besides, they didn’t look at you, and you’re just as much one of the ninja as I am.”

Jay shrugged, glancing down at himself- he was wearing his worn blue pajamas with the lightning bolts on them, with only an old sweatshirt pulled over his shoulders. He could feel how messy his auburn curls were and knew that the dark circles he had seen under his eyes every time he looked in the mirror over the last few days hadn’t gone away. “I don’t exactly look like myself.”

Cole’s smile faltered slightly, and he squeezed his shoulder tighter. “Jay-”

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Pushing away from Cole, he stood up. “Can we go home now?”

Cole gazed at him sadly. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m not mad, I’m just tired. I don’t want to be here anymore. Besides,” he added in a whisper, “we’re starting to get some weird looks from the staff.”

Cole subtly glanced over his shoulder, smirking as he caught sight of the cashier and another staff member who had come out front, murmuring to each other as they stared at Cole and Jay.

“Okay,” Cole breathed, “Let’s go. I suppose we’ve been here a while, anyway.”

The car ride back was quiet, with no other cars on the road to be seen. Even with the slight uneasiness between him and Cole, Jay was feeling a lot better than he had before they had left the Bounty. He still swore he could catch glimpses of red when he glanced down at his hands, but at least he had been able to rid the image of Nya’s lifeless eyes from his mind.

Cole always knew what to do to make things better.

Suddenly, his friend pulled over into a small, empty parking lot. Jay glanced at him questioningly. They were nowhere near the Bounty. “What are you doing?”

“Wait here.” Cole got out of the car and darted towards the small building that the parking lot belonged to. Upon a closer look, Jay realized it was the milkshake shack he had been asking Cole about earlier. A few minutes later, Cole emerged again, jogging towards the car with two cups in hand.

Jay cocked his head at him. “I thought you said they would be closed.”

“They are. But I was able to negotiate.” The earth ninja shot him a wink, and Jay didn’t even want to begin to think about what that meant.

“Did you get-”

Cole shoved a cup into his hands. “Strawberry, yeah. You psychopath.”

“It’s the best kind!”

Cole scoffed, holding up his drink. “Beats chocolate? Yeah, I don’t think so.”

Jay laughed- a real, genuine laugh. It felt good. He couldn’t remember the last time he had done that- probably not since before Nadakhan.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Cole smiling. Jay realized that this had been part of his plan, to get them bickering again so that Jay would be distracted from his nightmare. Deep down, he knew Cole wanted him to talk about it, but when he had decided against that, Cole had accepted it and adapted accordingly.

As they pulled out of the parking lot, Jay felt like he wanted to cry. What did I do to deserve a friend like Cole?

Jay’s life may have had its struggles, but one thing he had gotten really lucky in was the friend department.

The rest of the car ride was much less quiet, instead filled with teasing banter between him and Cole, and Jay felt better than he had in weeks.

By the time they made it back to the Bounty, it was a little past five in the morning. Jay rubbed at his eyes. He was tired, but he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to go back to sleep. Cole’s distractions had helped a lot, and he was scared of closing his eyes again and finding the memories flooding back.

Cole seemed to pick up on his train of thought. “Are you gonna be okay? Do you want to try going back to bed, or do you want to do something else?”

Jay eyed him uneasily. “But you-”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I’ll have all the time in the world to sleep later. This is about you. Wanna play Fist to Face?”

Jay shook his head. “I don’t have the energy for video games right now. Should I try going to sleep?”

“If you’re comfortable with it, yeah.” Cole shot him a sympathetic glance. “You look exhausted.”

“Yeah, okay.” Jay fiddled with his thumbs. “I’m scared to sleep, though.”

Cole smiled sadly at him. “Let me make you some hot chocolate, and then I’ll stay with you for tonight. Would that help?”

“Cole, you don’t have to do this.”

“No, but I want to. That’s what friends are for, sparky. You’d do the same for me in a heartbeat.”

“Thanks, Cole.”

A shuffling of footsteps interrupted them. “You guys okay?”

Jay turned, sucking in his breath.

She was here. She was safe and sound and alive. Although she looked drowsy and was sporting similar eye bags as Jay, there was the familiar spark in her eye and the gracefulness of her movements that was such a stark contrast to the limp body he had seen in his dream that he wanted to cry.

Cole started. “Nya! Sorry, did we wake you?”

She shook her head. “I was already awake. Couldn’t sleep. I didn’t know you left.”

“We just took a little outing,” Cole said. “We couldn’t get to sleep, either.”

Nya’s gaze melted as it turned on Jay. Her eyes showed everything words couldn’t- all the pain, the exhaustion, the sympathy, and the understanding. It was all a little too much for Jay, and suddenly, he was launching himself into her arms. She returned his embrace just as fiercely, clenching and unclenching the fabric of his shirt in her fists.

“I’ll be back,” Cole murmured, leaving them alone.

For a while, they just stood there, holding each other. Jay took a deep breath, inhaling the faint scent of cinnamon and grease that always seemed to linger in her clothes.

“How bad was it this time?”

Jay was silent for a moment. “Bad. Really bad. But Cole helped me. I’m better now.”

“Did you tell him? About… what happened?”

“No, but he knows something’s up. He’s not prying, but I think he’s getting pretty worried about me.”

“I’m getting worried about you, too. You can always come and talk to me, y’know.”

“I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“I wouldn’t have minded.” She reached her hand up to his face and tucked his hair behind his ear. Jay bit his lip as tears started streaming silently down his face. Nya’s deep brown eyes softened, and she leaned forward on her toes, pressing her lips against his. They leaned together, and Jay felt his tears mingling with hers.

Jay didn’t know how long they stood there, but eventually they were interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Jay pulled back from Nya, turning to see Cole, two mugs of hot chocolate in hand. His cheeks were flushed at having caught them kissing, but his expression quickly faded to a frown when he caught sight of their tear-stained cheeks.

“Guys, what’s going on? Is there something you two aren’t telling me?”

Jay and Nya exchanged a glance.

“Cole…” Nya walked up to him and took the mug from his hand, placing her other hand over his. “Jay and I are still trying to work some things out right now. I promise you’ll be the first one we tell, when we’re ready. But until then, you have to be patient with us.”

Jay took the other mug from him, taking a long sip from it, and Cole watched him carefully. “Okay, I can do that. I just want to help you, though. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Jay and Nya looked at each other. Nya gave him a small smile, and they intertwined their fingers.

“We will be.”