And here's another Jaya one shot 😂.
I initially wrote a part of this story for the reunion scene in TOTGA, but then I thought that it didn't really fit there, so I removed it from the final version and made it into a separate story set in the canon universe 😉.
So it now takes place after season 9 (wich I still haven't seen entirely 😂).
Without You // Jay x Nya
"Hey." Hearing the sweet voice of his girlfriend, the Lightning Ninja looked up from his work. Nya was standing in the doorway, watching him through the open door. "May I come in?"
"H-hey, Nya." He blushed, quickly kicking the pile of laundry he had been sorting under his bed. "Sure, come in." He flashed her a smile.
"Thanks." The Water Ninja smiled back as she entered his room, closing the door behind her.
She sat down on his bed next to her boyfriend. "Whatcha doing?" She wanted to know.
"Oh, nothing exciting." He replied, "Just tidying up, and such. This place is a mess. How long has it been that we've been here?"
"Way too long." Nya replied. And it had been a while - first the search for Master Wu, then their mission to protect the princess and the Oni mask, and then Garmadon's so-called reign over Ninjago while some members of the team had been stuck in the First Realm.
"I'm already done with my room. It just needed a bit of dusting and some fresh sheets on the bed." She leaned towards him. "Let me tell you a secret." She whispered in his ear. "No matter how long we've been away, this place may get dusty but it does not un-tidy up itself."
Jay blushed. "I wouldn't be so sure about that. After all, we are living in an ex-haunted temple." He protested. "And Cole can say whatever he wants, I still believe that we have some ghosts left here. But yes, I might have left my room in a bit of a mess when we left to search for Master Wu..."
"But now he's back." She remarked, scooting closer. "And he has given us the whole day off tomorrow, so I thought maybe we could go on a date? As you've said it yourself, it's been way too long."
A pair of deep blue eyes lit up.
"Oh, that would be great." Jay exclaimed. "But-" His face fell. "I've already promised my parents I'd visit them as soon as I can. They were very upset after all that has happened, so I really should go see them. Kai has mentioned he was going to see your mum and dad as well, so I assumed you were going to Ignacia with him. But if you are not, would you like to come to the junkyard with me? My parents would be delighted, you know they love you."
"Yeah, we could do that..." Nya said hesitantly. "But I was hoping to spend some time with you, just the two of us. We haven't seen each other for so long. I-I've missed you."
"I've missed you too." Jay took her hand. "And I promise that, next time we have some time off, we'll go on a date, just you and me."
"Okay." Nya gave him a weak smile. Her eyes fell on the picture he had on his nightstand. It was a photo of their second, more successful, date at the Mega Monster Amusement Park. She took it into her hands to take a closer look at it. "Can you believe how long this has been?" She asked. "We looked so... different back then."
Jay smiled. "Yeah, we were so much younger."
"And I was so stupid..." Nya remarked. "I-I was so scared when you were gone." She suddenly blurted out.
"Yeah, me too." Jay agreed. "This really was a close thing - way too close."
"No, not that." Nya shook her head, her eyes glistening with tears. "Well, not only that. I mean, we are Ninja, facing these difficult situations is part of the job description. But when we - Lloyd, Skylor, PIXAL, and me - didn't know that you guys had escaped, I was so scared of that moment that I'd have to face your parents and tell them that their son is dead, and I was scared of going back here and taking care of all your stuff myself. And most of all, I was scared of having to live on without you."
"Shh." He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. "I was scared, too. Scared that we wouldn't find a way to make it back and that I'd never get to see you again. I even started to pretend everything was alright, just because I didn't want to think of that possibility."
"I had to think of it all the time." Nya buried her face in the crook of his neck, inhaling his comforting scent of vanilla and honey. "You have no idea how I felt..." She mumbled.
"I am so sorry I-we've put you through this." He said, his own face in her raven hair. "But... I do know exactly how you've felt.
Nya pulled away, looking at him, her eyes wide open and tears running down her face.
"In the other timeline, whe-when you were dying in my arms, I had no idea how I was supposed to keep living my life without you. Because you are my life. And at the same time, I had so many regrets about all those mistakes I'd made that had driven us apart."
"I know..." Nya nodded. "It was my stupidness that have cost us all these years together."
"But looking back, I believe that a break wasn't the worst idea, because our relationship now is so much different to what it was like before our breakup." Jay tried to comfort her.
"You're just saying that to make me feel better." His girlfriend gave him a weak smile. "But it works. As it always does.
"I'm glad to hear that. But I really mean it." Jay insisted. "We've got a second chance to make things better, and we've taken it."
"But when you were gone, I thought I had missed my last chance to tell you how much I love you."
"I love you too." Jay hugged her. "And I also wished we hadn't been in such a hurry when we left Mystake's teashop."
"It made me realise how precious every short moment is." Nya said. "We live such a dangerous life, we just can't afford to waste a single one, because it could be our last. And I want to spend every single one of it with you."
"So do I." Jay jumped to his feet, pulling Nya up with him. "So let's not waste this one with cleaning up - especially as it will soon become a mess again anyway - let's go on a date right now."
"Let's do that!" Nya laughed. "But what about Sensei Wu?"
Jay shrugged. "Ah, I'm sure he'll understand. After all, he's the one who's taught us never to put off until tomorrow what can be done today." He smiled. "And even if he doesn't, I'm never gonna risk losing another chance of spending precious time with you again."