#SLASH JAY KAY SLASH JAY KAY

[lil-artist-blog-fandoms-ocs]

i'd let him bite me

Hey now, he doesn't bite, he's not an animal. What would possess someone to say something like that? How disrespectful>:(

-----------

(the teeth 3/21)

(The magic will disappear by itself on December 21)

[lets-all-calm-down-a-bit]

more boblox. someone came up to me and told me they were going to bleach their eyes after seeing this!

[ventismacchiato]

I have a confession to make, and that confession is that I literally lived out many Scara fan's dreams- for just a moment.

I went to a con recently and there was a Scara cosplayer offering free hugs.. and KABEDONS.

I asked for a kabedon with picture, and I thought it was going to be a simple put their arm on the side of my head while I look flustered, but no. I was DEAD wrong.

This Scara cosplayer has rizz. Insane amount of rizz. The Scara cosplayer literally put their face so close to me, our faces were 4cm away from mine and they put a hand on the side and the other carressed my cheek (A tad not gently, it was like "Look at only me." type of thing.)

And as if that didn't make me flustered enough, this cosplayer WINKED at me so finely.

I just had to confess this somewhere because I'm actually dying. (I also asked if they could do a picture with them choking me and oh my god they really did choke me and it wasn't too harsh that I couldn't breathe but I could definitely say it counts as choking and god this was a few days ago and I'm still giddy as ever.)

That is my confession, I lived a y/n moment for real.

happy for you…

[leafuxxtea]

if you were rich you would be the first person i'd try and extort for money

wow somehow you make me glad that I'm poor. except you insult me about that too (the ONE thing I can't defend myself).

if I was rich, you'd be the first person I'd taunt and flex my money to. and then I'd get you arrested for extortion and come visit you in jail everyday.

[ward-leon]

the thaumcraft eldritch dimension is looking like a mighty fine vacation spot rn ngl

[alphadog]

patrick cut his hair. suicide is back on!!!

[skhardwarevers1]

I think my issue is I like numbers too much

[gabi-theladylover]

At Halloween there are gonna be a lot of common costumes and shit;

Fuck it, I AM DIFFERENT.

ME, MY BESTFRIEND AND MY FRIEND WHOM I'M MARRIED TO ARE GOING TO BE WALTER WHITE JESSE AND SAUL GOODMAN. BECAUSE WE ARE THE GASLIGHT GATEKEEP GIRLBOSS, AND THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT.

[quintessential-candles]

Sometimes I breathe and think about Satosugu and I actually for those first few seconds doubt any good on this earth because dear lord they were so in love dear lord they are so doomed dear lord kills my self

[brainrot-yumm]

Okay but after all of this crushposting I do think it's a little hilarious that we're spending so much time together now because we share one single class, which happens to be a figure drawing class

So like. Every other day I become more excited about the concept of becoming a figure drawing model and posing naked in front of a bunch of people (ever since I took those classes at my old college this has been a growing wish, I genuinely love figure drawing so much and want to do something about it myself)

and then afterwards we hang out and I become more excited about the concept of potentially dating her and posing naked in front of One person

[trademarkhubris]

so whats the best music video you’ve ever seen and why is it the one for j cole’s she knows

[phantasmpov]

hiiiiiiiiii

Saw requests are open and silly me is dropping innn

Kai x reader who is a gymnast and wu is like;"lowkey you should teach them how to do flexible maneuvers so they dont get slashed and diced in combat" and so basically fluff of reader laughing and teaching her unflexible bf and co gymasticism? (Not sure if that's a word)

Tumbles (Kai x reader)

Note: Hi! Thank you so much for the request, I had so much fun writing this and I hope I did your idea justice!

Summary: Sensei Wu suggests you teach the Ninja some yoga manoeuvres to help build their flexibility and, as a gymnastics specialist, you thought it would be a piece of cake.

Words: Approx. 1k

Requested: Yes.

Warnings: None

Relationship: Kai, established

Timeline: Before Lloyd grew up (Season 2)

—

You and Kai had planned to go on a date tonight. Currently, he was training at the Dojo and you were on your way to pick him up. You didn’t swing by that often but it was nice to see Dareth and whenever you did stop by, he always managed to improve his trophy collection by an impressive amount which you found hilarious.

A small bell rang above your head as you entered the Dojo and you gave Dareth a small wave as you pushed past the beaded doorway and into the training room. The sounds of the grunts and “heeyaws” that echoed through the small Dojo brought a smile to your face.

You put down your bag by the door and stood by Sensei Wu to watch the rest of the sparring match, giving the Sensei a small nod as you entered. Kai was in the middle of his match with Cole when he spotted you. You gave him a cheeky wave and blew him a kiss and just as he was about to respond Cole decked him in the face.

“Oh crap! Sorry dude.” Cole apologised immediately, kneeling down to help him up. Your eyes widened and you rushed over to Kai. Trying to comfort him, you put your hand on his back and gave him a gentle pat, although it didn’t exactly seem genuine as you stifled a laugh.

“Babe- are you– hah- okay?” A small red splotch started to form on his cheek but he played it off as if he didn’t seem phased. He pat Cole on the shoulder and brushed it off. Despite his best efforts, you could tell he was trying to suppress his pain and you knew it was to try and look tough in front of you. You’ve told him many times before that stuff like that didn’t matter to you, but it still made you feel special knowing he wanted to look his best.

“Perhaps a lesson in evasion will do you good?” Sensei Wu suggested with a small hint of amusement etched into his words. You laughed and helped Kai over to a bench. He playfully rolled his eyes as he sat down and leant back against the wall.

“I was just distracted.” Kai mumbled, gently elbowing you as you sat beside him, your arm sitting nicely around his waist. Cole chuckled and began to pack his equipment into his bag.

“I don’t know… maybe you should stop by my gymnastics class once in a while.” You teased as you playfully nudged him back. “You might be able to learn a thing or two”.

Kai groaned and leant his head against your shoulder, rubbing his cheek with the back of his hand as he gave you a playful glare.

“Gymnastics?” Cole asked as he looked up from his bag. You glanced over to him and nodded with a smile. “Y’know… maybe we could learn a thing or two from you.” Cole suggested and looked over to Sensei Wu. The Sensei only tilted his head towards you in a way that silently asked: ‘are you up for it?’

—

A few weeks later you found yourself back in Dareth’s Dojo, however, this time you weren’t just picking up Kai. In fact, you were teaching him and his friends. You had agreed to help the Ninja improve their flexibility and reflexes by guiding them through some yoga poses and stretches. You had originally thought it wouldn’t be too difficult, I mean, they’re Ninja, they couldn't be too terrible… right?

Wrong.

“Is this it?” Jay asks as his neck cranes to look at you over his shoulder. His arms are all over the place and he tripped over his feet a good few times trying to get there but he managed a pretty decent Humble Flamingo pose. (https://www.pocketyoga.com/pose/FlamingoHumble)

You nod hesitantly as you approach him, watching as his eyes follow you when you tilt your head in an unsure manner. “Yeah… uhm the only thing is..” You trail off and carefully move one of his feet off of the ground.

“Wait-what?” Jay exclaims before unceremoniously falling over and onto his back, hitting the mat with a harsh thud. You wince and scrunch up your nose at the unpleasant sound as Jay groans, rubbing his sore head. You laugh softly and offer him a hand to which he swats away with a frustrated groan, laying back down on the floor with a huff.

Lloyd, who is sitting beside Sensei Wu on the sidelines, cackles. He had been lucky enough to get out of the gymnastics training today and was finding the whole thing hilarious. Throughout the whole session so far, his wheezing and muffled laughs echoed in the background as the ninja fell over again and again. After the first few falls he had stopped trying to hide his laughter and openly joked about their lack of coordination to his uncle.

Cole groans as he falls over after snickering at Jay. He lays flat on his stomach, grumbling with his face mushed into the mat. You smile and shake your head at him. You had to admit, it was amusing. 

Kai laughed too, but he wasn’t doing much better. He was probably the least flexible out of all of them, barely making it this far into the lesson without receiving a fair few bruises. And despite your extra help he still managed to be the first to drop. He never complained though, which was surprising. Although, every now and then, you did see moments of frustration flash through his eyes. You snorted every time.

“I don’t understand your struggle, Jay. It isn’t a hard manoeuvre.” Zane comments, his metallic limbs allowing him to quite easily copy the poses you had shown the group. It wasn’t a surprise he was the best, still, a few particular moves had caused his joints to squeak.

“Yeah? Well, you’re a nindroid, Zane- Not all of us can just have robotic joints!” Jay huffs and sat up, looking to you for defence. You gave him a playful grin in return before wandering over to Kai.

You clasp your hands together, deciding it was time to move on. “Alright… maybe we should try something easier.” You mumble, tapping your chin. You look at Kai who smiles at you, giving you a reassuring nod.

“Finally!” Jay dramatically threw his hands in the air before standing up, cracking his back slightly as he stretched. “Ow..” He mumbles as he rubs his bruised hip.

Kai’s head whips around to Jay. He playfully elbows him, starting a minor squabble between the two. “You’re just mad you suck”

“You’re worse than me!” Jay pokes out his tongue, tackling Kai onto the sparring mat.

“Am not”

“Am too!

Sensei Wu sighs and a small, amused smile plays on his lips. Lloyd continues to laugh, his stomach starting to hurt at this point. He was practically rolling on the ground gasping for air. His laughing soon stopped however, as Cole stood, arms crossed, in front of him, casting a looming shadow across the kid.

Lloyd gulps and scrambles to his feet as quickly as he could and bolts to the door. Unfortunately for him Nya had just walked in with a plate full of fruit, blocking his escape. Lloyd groans. Nya gave him an odd look but still let him hide behind her as Cole approached, now very distracted by the food. “Why don’t you take a break?” She suggests, catching everyone’s attention and offering them her much appreciated fruit platter.

You nod and wave your hand, dismissing the session for now and smiling proudly as you watch them all scramble to get a bite to eat. Your smile grew as you felt a warm set of hands curl around your waist as Kai rests his head on your shoulder. His natural body heat never ceased to calm your nerves.

“You’re doing great.” He whispers, pressing a gentle kiss to your cheek. You lean back into his embrace and sigh softly, closing your eyes for a moment.

“Are you sure? Jay seems pretty annoyed…” Your eyes flit to the blue Ninja who, now, seems to be enjoying himself as he talks to Nya. You watch as he fumbles and drops his watermelon slice onto the floor and rubs his neck sheepishly.

“He’s having fun, I promise.” Kai reassures you, giving you another tight squeeze before letting you go, though one of his hands stays wrapped around your waist as he encourages you to talk with the others.

[ventismacchiato]

Kai will not stop talking about Pride month,,🔥

uh…during pride month? 🤕

[amour393]

@kraniumverse HAS COME UP WITH A CONCEPT AND I AM SCREAMING

consider: cole being a ghost is able to see jay and nya’s skybound scars when no one else can

haunted

***

Three weeks after Jay and Nya start dating again, Cole notices something...strange.

Well, another strange thing, he supposes. Jay and Nya have been acting off for weeks- calling out of training early, sneaking up to the roof at unholy hours to whisper, sharing looks no one else understands that seem to mean more than words ever could.

Everyone has noticed their behavior, but has had little success in understanding it. Zane had done his scans and both seemed to be in perfect health, no different from before, but no matter how much Kai asked Nya or Cole asked Jay, the two vehemently claimed that nothing was wrong.

The first time Cole notices something off, it’s a training-free day. Jay comes out of his room in a long sleeve shirt (which in itself was out of the ordinary- Jay grew up in the desert; Cole’s pretty sure he hadn’t owned a long sleeve shirt before Wu had recruited him) and jeans instead of his gi, and Cole has to do a double take as his heart stutters and he takes in a sharp gasp of breath.

The faint green imprint of a large hand wraps around Jay's throat, bright enough that Cole can easily tell what it was, yet dim enough he can't tell if it’s actually there or not. Cole freezes, his spoon halfway to his mouth as he stares. Kai raises an eyebrow at his look, and makes some remark that Cole doesn’t hear.

Then Jay looks over, panic running across his face, and he promptly leaves the kitchen two seconds later, claiming he had promised to help Nya with something.

During sparring the next day, Jay swears that he’s fine and had just suddenly remembered his commitment as he feigns left and jabs right, not meeting Cole's eyes. Nya confirms the story later, swiping a nonexistent lock of hair behind her left ear.

Cole knows they’re lying.

He’s pretty sure they know he knows.

***

Four days later, the team has finally trained enough to earn themselves a day trip, so they all pack up and head out to the west coast.

Jay wears long sleeves again, swearing he just doesn’t want to get sunburned. He runs his hands up and down his arms, shivering despite the warm sun.

Nya wraps her arms around his waist, muttering something in his ear. His shoulders ease, tension dissolving as a small smile grows on his face.

“Hey Lloyd,” he says, starting to grin. “Race you to the water!” He sprints away.

“Hey!” Lloyd calls, scrambling up and dashing to the tide. “No fair! You had a head start!”

Nya grins too. “Wait for me!”

She tears off the hoodie she wears over her swimsuit, throwing it at her brother as she runs to the water to join the others.

Cole stumbles back, trying to blink the image of ugly green acid marring her collarbone away from his swimming vision.

“Are you alright, Cole?” Zane asks, peering up at him, concerned.

Cole doesn’t have the heart to reply.

***

Cole knows Jay. He knows Nya. He knows them almost as well as he knows himself. He knows their favorite foods, the name of their childhood best friend, their love languages and their favorite candies.

He knows how they lie.

Sure, he wasn’t always totally sure when they were lying, but there was always a subtle sign from either of them that they were. He was almost always right.

But Cole has never been more sure they were lying than in this moment.

If Cole had a dime for every time he's barged into Jay's room, he'd have enough money to last a whole month's worth of city repairs. In all that time, in all the years, Cole had never once seen anything he shouldn't have.

Until today.

It's not like he's never seen Jay shirtless before.

It is, however, the first time he's seen it since Jay started acting strange, and now Cole things he knows why.

Ghostly green marks litter his best friend's back, his shoulders, his arms. Slash marks that look like they were from a katana slide from the top of his left shoulder blade to his right hip, though other lines and marks glow softly across his skin. A vivid green line rips across his side, torn like a knife was taken to his ribs and missed. Faint patches of skin glow a dim green, reminiscent of the marks on his neck, sickly bruises haunting his arms and back. Curved gashes press into his left shoulder, almost in the shape of a hook, and the same mark wraps around his head. Vibrant ghost green loops around his wrists, almost as bright as the neon coil around his right ankle.

The teacup Cole holds shatters as it slips from his grip.

Jay whips around with all the speed of the lightning ninja, freezing when he sees Cole.

For a moment, they stand there, horrified ghostly eyes meeting startled bright blue.

Cole can pinpoint the moment panic seizes Jay.

He pulls the rest of his shirt on remarkably quick, forcing a miserably fake laugh. His gaze darts to the shattered teacup, then back up to Cole.

"First Master, Cole, you scared the living daylights outta me." He forces another laugh, carefully walking over the teacup and hurrying past Cole and out of his room. “I-I was just on my way out, Nya asked me to help her figure out this glitch in the Roto Jet, so we should-”

He pauses when he sees that Cole hasn’t moved an inch.

In fact, Cole’s feet may as well be glued to the floor, for all he would even be able to move. No, he can’t- not with that image seared in his head, the cuts and the bruises and the wounds and the scars and the-

“Cole?”

Jay lays a hand on his shoulder, forcing Cole out of his frozen state.

Cole flinches, spinning around to face his best friend.

Jay’s eyes shine with concern, gazing up at him. He retracts his hand, hovering next to him. 

“Cole, are you okay?”

It takes Cole three tries to form coherent words.

“I...I’m...” He stares at Jay, ghostly handprint still rippling across his neck. 

Jay blinks patiently.

“Jay, what happened to you?”

Jay inhales sharply, rubbing his hands around his wrists nervously.

“I-”

“Don’t.”

Jay swallows. “Don’t what?”

“Don’t say that you’re fine.”

“But-”

“Jay.”

“I’m-”

“Jay.”

Jay shuts his mouth firmly, eyeing the floor.

“Don’t think you can lie to me. I know you too well.”

Jay’s gaze shoots up at him, eyes wide. He inhales again, biting his lip. Then e glances around, and shuffles back into his room, and closing the door behind him.

Cole’s heart starts to beat faster, the gravity of the situation weighing in his gut. “Jay?”

Jay slides down against the wall, pulling his knees up to his chest. “It’s-” His voice shakes. He bites his quivering lip, furrowing his brows. “It-” he tries again, shuddering to a stop all the same.

Cole slides down next to him.

“Jay,” he says gently, “you don’t have to tell me.”

Taking a measured breath, Jay speaks again. “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you,” he voices slowly. “I just- I-” 

Tears shine in the young ninja’s eyes, and Cole’s heart breaks in two.

“You just?”

Jay rubs his wrists. Rubs the green rings on his wrists. “I...I don’t know if you’ll believe me. It sounds so ridiculous, and I-”

“Jay,” Cole interrupts softly. “You know you can tell me anything, right? You’re my best friend, I’ll always believe you. If you want to tell me, you can tell me.”

Jay sniffles. “You mean it?”

“Every word.”

“It might...it might take a while. It’s kind of...” He blows out a long breath. “It’s kind of hard to talk about.”

Cole keeps his gaze locked on Jay, who glances up from the floor with shining eyes.

“It’s okay,” he says gently. “I’m here to stay.”

Jay bites his lip again, and then he tells.

Cole listens.

[dark-twist-fairytales]

Is it 2 am? Yes, absolutely. Angsty headcanon time:

Everyone processes trauma and everything differently, right? Some better than others. We've seen mental states be better than others, so I propose:

Kai bottles his trauma in a very tight jar, unhealthy and ignoring it for so long, eventually that jar will have to break.

It's been a non-stop go for all that we've seen of him.

Whenever that jar finally cracks and breaks, Kai goes completely numb. He's suddenly so much calmer in his actions, his voice doesn't raise in octaves anymore when he's wildly inconvenienced or even joking annoyances, and he's completely mellowed out. Not in the same way as Jay, where he bounces back within 3 to 5 business days (jab to season 9), but in a very different way.

Kai's feisty attitude is completely gone. For weeks. His mind trying to process the sheer amount of shit he's seen, all that he's lost and gained over the years, and so so much more. The anger, the happiness, the sadness, the act he displayed. Events replaying over and over, the amount of damage done to his body.

Kai's barely a human being at that point, falling into a mild depression while his mind practically recalibrates itself. He's watched the other's heal and grow and become more and better... Now? Maybe.. Maybe it's his turn.

Until one of the other's gets injured in battle and suddenly Kai is sobbing in the medical bay from the sheer fucking worry over them. It could be as small as a slash to as large as broken bones/metals, he's going to sob because now everything is out. That jar got destroyed. It's long been destroyed. The only thing standing between himself and healing is constant worry and fretting over the other's.

An eventual agreement comes around: Lloyd takes himself to therapy, if Kai just talks with/to them.

Yes, they both hold up to their end of the deal. No, Kai doesn't tell everything, but what he does say is enough.

[finn-m-corvex]

Whumptober Day 27: Scars

First it was Pixal and now it's Zane! We love our favorite nindroid, and I like this one a lot. I feel like it maybe could've been a little better but oh well, if it works it works.

Taglist: @splinnters @abigailxoxo @tornoleander @mondothebombo @ghostwalloper @toastingpencils37 @lightning-chicken

Words: 2.1k

There were so many.

Jay’s hands kept tracing up and down his arms, following the lines as they went up and up and up all the way to his shoulders. Angry and red, his arms were throbbing in pain as he tried to flex his hands. He had already applied as much cream as he could safely put on, and it was doing jackshit to numb any of the pain. Pain that was worse than almost anything that he had ever felt, and he was pretty sure that it would be less painful if he cut his arms off.

He was supposed to be doing his exercises to try and strengthen his hands, but instead he had spent the past half hour sitting on the bench and trying to keep his arms as still as possible. Sweating, Jay bit his tongue to try and distract from the fire racing through his nerves, flinching when his hands twitched against his will. Need to breathe and breathe and breathe and breathe—

“Brother?”

Zane was standing in the doorway to the medbay, looking at Jay rocking back and forth with thinly veiled concern. He was holding a plate of food, setting in down on the nearest table and making his way over to Jay’s bench. Jay was suddenly very aware of how naked he was with his shirt off and his torso exposed, all of the scars from over the years on full display.

The whips and the burns and the slashes and the claws and the—

Sitting down, the ice ninja bit his lip. “The others were getting worried when you didn’t show up for dinner. Is everything alright?”

“I…” Jay looked away, feeling the shame bubble up from deep inside. “I can’t finish my stretches.”

“You can’t?” Zane asked. “Why? Is something wrong?”

There was nothing he could say that would make Jay feel any less embarrassed of himself, even though Jay knew that Zane would be the absolute last person to make fun of him for anything. “It hurts.”

“Hurts? What hurts?”

“Everything,” and Jay finally turned around to face Zane, paranoid about the nindroid looking at his back for too long. He didn’t want to answer any questions. “Everything hurts. My skin and my nerves and my—”

“Scars,” Zane finished, a sympathetic look on his face. Jay hated how weak it made him feel. “I may not have this problem, but I think I can still help. Would you want my help?”

No. “Sure, if you think there’s anything you can do about it.”

At least it wasn’t Cole. Jay didn’t know how he would’ve felt if it was Cole, but he knew that he would’ve just waved his best friend away and continued to suffer on his own. Kai would’ve been an instant no, and honestly? Nya and Lloyd probably would’ve been too. Zane wouldn’t go snitching on him, and Zane knew a lot about how to take care of them from past experiences and plenty of research. None of that logical thinking made him feel any better.

“How long have you been hurting?” Zane asked, taking Jay’s hands in his own and stroking across the top with his thumbs. The motion felt nice, his metal skin cool against the burning scars.

It was a tough question. Jay technically hadn’t been sitting here and hurting for very long, but his scars? His scars were hurting weeks before, almost like he overused them or overextended something. But the pulsing and the throbbing and the tingling were easy to suppress, easy to wave away. And of course, Jay made no effort to take care of himself when they started flaring up.

Humming, Jay just decided to give Zane the short version. “Since this morning.”

Zane raised an eyebrow, and Jay realized that the nindroid had a finger over his pulse point to measure out his heartbeat. “You’re lying. Tell me the truth.”

Biting his lip, Jay looked away. “...why should I? It won’t make a difference.”

“It makes a difference to me,” Zane said, “but I will not push if you do not want me to. I merely wanted to know so that I may help you in a more effective manner.”

Silence settled over the two of them, and it made Jay antsy, feeling like something was crawling under his skin. Guilt wormed its way into his bones; he couldn’t remember the last time he snapped at Zane or talked back to him. Something about it made him feel afraid, like the nindroid might punish him for stepping out of line.

Jay hated how often he felt like he had to walk on eggshells around his family.

All because of him.

Pain exploded across his body in response to his brief thought about Nadakhan, and Jay folded in half as stars swam through his vision. Gasping, he clutched at Zane’s hands, using his lightning and willing some of his nerve endings to shut off so he wouldn’t feel all of the pain. He knew that Zane knew what he was doing,

“Brother, do not,” Zane insisted, activating his power and letting the soothing cold envelop Jay’s hands. “You will only make it worse.”

“I know, Zane,” Jay was biting his tongue to keep from crying out.

Pins and needles stabbed into his legs from sitting down for too long, and Jay stood up without thinking about what might happen. His ankle gave out almost instantly, and Zane’s grip on his arm was the only thing keeping him from crashing into the ground. Squeezing his eyes shut, Jay couldn’t hold back the sobs anymore as the feeling left his leg, and it felt far too familiar to the numbness of the vengestone. He shouldn’t have switched the nerves off. He needed it back he needed it back he needed it back—

His back was pressed against a wall, and Jay choked on his next inhale. Shoulder screaming in pain, he threw his hand onto the wall, trying to feel what material it was made out of and praying to the First Master that it was wood—

It was stone.

He was up against a stone wall and he couldn’t feel his legs.

No. No. No. No no no no no no—

“--calm down,” Zane was saying, but Jay wasn’t listening. Using every bit of strength that he had left he tried to toss his entire body weight onto the thing keeping him down, crying out when it felt like his skin was splitting in two again. The thing barely moved an inch, and Jay sobbed, fighting harder and scrabbling against the metal skin as if he were a caged animal fighting for freedom.

Finally understanding what was making Jay so distressed, Zane carefully took ahold of the blue ninja’s shoulders and lay him down on his back on top of the room’s small carpet. Jay felt the carpet, clinging onto it until his knuckles turned white as he tried to get his bearings. Zane let a very small layer of frost coat his hand, carefully setting it on his brother’s neck and rubbing his jaw with his thumb.

Cold. It was cold. It wasn’t Nadakhan.

“Is this better?” Zane asked softly, and Jay was aware of the tears that escaped from his eyes from his mini-meltdown. He was embarrassed, and he was ashamed, and yet he couldn’t stop himself from leaning into his brother’s touch.

“Y-Yeah. Better.”

“We are going to stay like this for a couple minutes until you catch your breath.”

And that’s exactly what they did. Zane let his processor whirr a little louder than it normally did, and Jay was grateful for the peace that washed over him when it was all he could hear other than the sounds of them breathing. The carpet was rough and scratchy underneath him, but that was good. Anything other than the smooth and slick feeling of stone against his skin.

“Jay,” Zane said, and Jay opened his eyes again. He didn’t even know that he closed them in the first place, “would you be comfortable laying on your stomach?”

Dread filled him from the bottom up, and Jay had to swallow the fear back. This was Zane, his brother, and he wouldn’t do anything that could hurt him. “I-I guess so. Just be careful with whatever you’re going to do, alright?”

“Always. You know you can trust me,” Zane said, and he waited patiently for Jay to roll over onto his stomach. Jay took his time, feeling the pain come back twofold now that the pressure on his skin was being relieved. His scars stung as he exposed them to air again and Jay grimaced, keeping the small whimpers from escaping his mouth as he stretched his arms out.

Zane straddled him, and it took all of Jay’s self-control not to buck him off out of pure instinct. Apparently, the nindroid must’ve sensed Jay’s hips tense and prepare to move, and he was quick to get back off and sit down next to Jay. Jay felt a hand slide between his face and the carpet, lifting his head up and setting it down so that Jay’s head was cushioned against Zane’s thigh. He liked this better, nuzzling into Zane and feeling his brother’s hands start to work through his hair.

Jay liked that Zane’s powers were still active. The cold was a nice difference from the burning pain that he was feeling before.

Zane sighed. “You are going to be the death of me one day.”

“I thought that would be Kai,” Jay joked, and winced when Zane tugged a little too hard at one of the knots in his hair. Probably out of retaliation.

“Kai can be trusted to tell someone about his wounds, and I know that he can’t hide anything from me. You, however, have been successfully hiding this for weeks without me noticing, and that scares me.”

“Why?”

Zane paused in his movements. “I am your brother, and I have lived with you for years. I should be able to tell when you are in pain.”

Jay let his eyes close again as one of Zane’s hands smoothed across the back of his neck. “Zane, buddy, that’s because I didn’t want you to see it.”

Both of Zane’s hands left his hair, and Jay would’ve whined in protest if two cold spots didn’t settle on his shoulder blades, Zane’s wide hands spreading themselves flat before starting to go up and down his back. Jay felt his jaw go slack, finally able to take a breath without feeling like his skin was going to snap right off of his body. “Why would you not want someone to know that you were hurting?” Zane asked.

First Master, he was too tired for this. “Not worth the effort, Zane. It wouldn’t have made any difference.”

“The effort? Of helping you to feel better?”

“Yup,” Jay said, popping the ‘p’ on the end, “not worth it. The others and you have better things to do with your time than help me.”

At least, that’s what Nadakhan and the rest of the pirates told him.

“I can think of no better use of my time than helping those that I care about,” Zane said softly, kneading into Jay’s lower back. Jay squirmed for a second and settled down again. “I do this for Cole, and for Kai, and Lloyd, and even Nya once or twice. I would be more than happy to do it for you as well.”

“Damn, I’m the last one?” Jay hummed as Zane moved over the grooves in his spine.

“Yes, and yet somehow I think you’re the one who has needed it the most,” Zane was almost grumbling, and the tone of voice would’ve made Jay giggle if he didn’t feel like he was going to fall asleep at any second. The nindroid’s ice made a world of difference; for the first time in weeks, he felt almost normal. Like he might be able to sleep without fearing for his life when he would spring awake an hour later.

“Thanks, Zane.”

“You’re welcome, but if you wish to truly thank me, please do not hide something like this from us again. Any one of us would be more than happy to sit with you and help massage until you feel better.”

“You know how dirty that sounds, right?”

Zane very lightly whacked his shoulder, and Jay snickered in response. “Hush, you need your rest.”

“What about that food that you brought me?” Jay asked, remembering that it was there and sitting on the table near the door. Zane wasn’t that worried about it, still sitting on the ground and starting to trace along the myriad of lines criss-crossing Jay’s back.

“I will call Cole to come and get it after you fall asleep. And then he can help carry you to bed.”

“Can it be with you? Cause you’re cold and it feels nice.”

“Yes, Jay. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”