Chapter Text
The first day in the story of "How Cole's life turned into one giant explosive shitfest" started out like any other. He woke up, washed off, did his routine morning work out and headed to breakfast for some well-deserved nutrition. In the dining-room he found Nya, Jay and Zane already having started their own meals and he gladly joined them. Kai and Lloyd arrive before too long and nothing so far gives any indication of today being anything but a normal, routine day. It's been a slow couple of weeks and the city thrived in their boredom.
They're discussing a standard break-in that had been reported a couple of days prior, a sure sign of how deep they had truly sunk, when Sensei Wu suddenly shows up hugging an oversized scroll tightly to his chest.
"Ninjas! Time has come for you to find your destiny. Bla bla bla. You must find the timeless dewdrop , hidden in the deepest parts of the jungle of Namons Island. Only the strongest, smartest and most handsome of ninjas can find it!"
(His recollection of this event might be slightly unreliable. To his defense, it was like, 8 a.m. on a weekend.)
It leads to a group of him, Jay and Zane eagerly packing their stuff for a chance to go to this remote uninhabited island with almost entirely unique flora and fauna to find a flower which, according to the scroll, can be boiled into an extract that can be used to glimpse into the future. Lloyd, Nya and Kai (suckers) are to stay home just in case something happens that requires immediate attention.
All thing's well so far. They get going using a small sailing boat so as not to ruse any suspicion, which will be a lot slower than just using some of their more advanced techs. But it's not the first time they spend a lot of time at sea and there's not a lot of free time to waste onboard angsting about it.
All day he tries to steer the boat with only the wind (and Jay) to help, and as night approaches Zane keeps everything in check while Cole and Jay sleep in their makeshift bunk, lulled to sleep by long days with hard work under a relentless sun. Zane's ability to both go without enough sleep to make sure they're all fed during the day and then handle everything by himself at night is a godsend for saving time. (And if nothing else because two post-puberty guys is an uncomfortably tight fit in the small cabin they call "bedroom" as it is).
Cole never did feel completely comfortable at sea, lacking the feeling of the earth under his feet. Becoming the earth ninja did nothing but strengthen that sentiment. Normally he can feel the earth like it's an invisible part of his body. It's like a current, sort of magnetic pull that's with him at all times. Out here in the middle of the ocean the feeling is lost. He sometimes wonders if the others always feel this empty, rarely being in contact with their elements and all.
The trip there is none the less completely eventless and almost as boring as it had been to be staying at home. It's almost suspiciously easy if you don't count their less than optimal living space and the fact that his skin starts to feel stretched thin from sunburn already by the second day. Cole starts to suspect early on the three of them were sent more because Wu wanted to split them up and get them out of the house, and less due to any dangerous nature of the mission.
Jay is either clueless or he just genuinely likes the sea.
Finally seeing something other than dark water for the first time in almost two weeks is such a relief he lets out a victorious "whoop!" which Jay and Zane happily join in on.
The island looks like any other seen from the shore, hard gray stone beaches left with soft curves after thousands of years of the water pushing and pulling at what it could reach. From afar nothing about this island looked special apart from its remote location. Up close however the bushery peeking out from any splits in the rock ground is a bright autumn-orange, and the thick forest covering most of the land show signs of a similar tint. The sounds of native animals singing loudly can be heard already, little to no predators giving them no reason to hide or be careful about who may hear them.
Without a proper harbor it's a bit tricky to get ashore. Normally they'd need a smaller boat to get close enough without completely wrecking their ship against the underwater rocks. However, "normally" you don't have elemental ninja masters on board. Cole takes a deep breath and feels the pull of the dirt on his fingertips, finally close enough to have a pulse again. God, he's missed it.
Then he pulls back at the energy and the water gives way to a brand new stone pier, starfish and corals confusedly holding on to the sides or dropping into the water when they realize they've breached. It's the perfect height for Cole to just skip over the railing and walk ashore. Which he does, cockily, ignoring the way the muscles in his arms ache from the big move. The way their elemental powers work is sort of strange and mysterious.
The sun is low in the sky, but they are all full of pent up energy and excitement from weeks without action so they decide to split up and try to cover as much ground as possible before it gets too dark to see. They will rendezvous back at the ship after two hours to go over their results. Since it's already late afternoon by the time they arrived they will make camp until tomorrow regardless if they find what they came for or not tonight. The quicker they find it, the quicker they can get home and take a really long shower though.
"Be careful out there. Reports mention the creatures of this island being aggressively territorial." Zane warns, putting on a pair of thick gloves and zipping up a leather jacket that would look cool if it wasn't so clearly used as a protective suit.
Cole snorts, wearing nothing but a t-shirt and a pair of knee-length shorts with no intention of changing. The night is hot and the high humidity makes their clothes stick to their skin.
"I think we'll be fine. I doubt they've ever fought anyone with ninja-sharp reflexes before!" He responds filled with well-earned confidence, flexing his arms jokingly to get his point across.
Zane just shrugs and continues to put on a suit that should be way too hot for someone to even think of putting on in tropical climate. Jay chuckles in agreement though and makes a similar gesture to his, and it makes him feel a little lighter.
Zane goes north, Jay goes south, and Cole heads into the jungle straight ahead. He is feeling confident. He is back with dirt under his feet and with renewed energy at the prospect of reaching their goal. Finding the flower will be a piece of cake.
Approximately an hour and a half later have Cole limping angrily back towards the beach with no flowers and an angry, overgrown squirrel having taken a good bite out of his leg. (Thanks to Zane foreseeing exactly this and packing a first aid kit his leg will be fine. His pride? Not so much.)
Jay comes walking down the beach mere minutes after he's done cleaning out the wound. Every step has his shoes sinking into the sand. There is a layer of sweat on his face and his expression is one of deep frustration, but there are no flowers in sight. Cole calls out to him as he approaches.
"No luck?"
"All I found was a swarm of very angry mosquitoes." Jay groans, pointing to a bright red bump on his forehead that wasn't there before. It's vaguely heart-shaped.
"Yeah, I got nothing either." Cole agrees, avoiding to mention getting his ass handed to him by a squirrel.
Jay just grimaces and sighs, throwing himself down next to Cole on the beached log they had figured would make a good waiting spot. He wobbles slightly, and Cole steadies him by grabbing his arm.
"Hey man, are you okay? We weren't out there for that long."
"Y-yeah, I just feel a little feverish I think. I probably just need some water."
"What? You might have an allergic reaction to that bite dude! We have to get you properly checked out!"
Cole puts his hand against Jay's forehead, covering the bitemark with his palm to feel the temperature. His heart plummets. Fuck.
"Shit man, you're burning up! Why didn't you say?"
Cole lowers his now shaky hand, looking back into Jay's eyes just to see his irises glow in pink before the color fades away so quickly Cole wonder if he just imagined it. He looks a little breathless as he stares back and Cole's heart rate is picking up now out of fear. He doesn't know shit about medical stuff. Anything he does might as well get Jay killed!
Jay hasn't responded yet, instead of opening and closing his mouth over and over like he's trying to find the right words. Then his tongue darts out and he wets his lips slowly. Cole's traitorous, badly timed heart stumbles over itself as he subconsciously follows the action with his eyes. Instead of acknowledging Cole's obvious stare Jay's face settles into an easy smile.
"Did I ever tell you that you have a beautiful laugh?"
His heart pause. His mind blanks.
Okay. So he didn't expect that .
Perfectly timed, Zane calls out for them right at that moment and Cole turns to see the robot using his shirt as a makeshift basket to carry an armload of flowers. Bless Zane.
Cole gratefully takes the offered distraction and pretends he can't feel Jay's stare at the back of his neck as he runs up to help Zane with the flowers and allow them to switch places. Things just got too strange for him to deal with.
Zane does a full scan of Jay's vitals but apart from a slightly higher than usual pulse nothing seems to be off. His fever seems to have gone down suddenly. Cole swears he didn't imagine it though, even if the other two just shrug at him and doesn't seem fazed with Jay's rapidly changing temperatures. It makes Cole feel a bit dismissed, so he goes back to the ship's bedroom (well, only room) to sulk about it for the rest of the night. He didn't hallucinate it. Either the island was playing with his head or Jay was fucking with him, and either way he didn't like it. It made him feel like a fool and a coward when he's the only one to think something's wrong.
The get-away at least gave him opportunity to discreetly cool down from the roller coaster of feelings he had been subjected to the last couple of hours.
See, Cole never bothered much with labels. He knew that for some they were important, building a sense of self and belonging. Maybe it came from growing up so close to show business and meeting all kinds of non-conforming people at a young age, but not everyone was as laid back as him about this subject. Even his friends, though they mean well, slip up every now and then. But he never felt the need to make a big deal out of it - he liked who he liked, and that was that. (Or at least it had been, until lately.)
Throughout his life, it hadn't been that many people. Most had just been childish crushes - the ones that made his hands sweaty and butterflies to nest in his stomach, but nonetheless let him move on without any heartache - but even so, it's been a long time now since he had the time to focus on something other than saving the world or another.
So the thing is, he couldn't tell you how long these feelings have existed even if he wanted to. He could tell you that suddenly one day as they're just sitting down to eat his knuckles run along the back of Jay's hand accidentally, and he loses his breath for a second.
And he could tell you one day Jay looked back at him from across the gym (he hadn't even realized he'd been watching him to start with) and smiles, and Cole's heart seemed to trip over itself.
Then about how Jay hugs him after one of their simpler missions, and suddenly his skin burns where they made contact and it's all he can think about as he tries to go to sleep.
So when he finally realizes what's going on isn't just some strange effect of stress and one too many all-nighters, it hits him like a punch in the dick.
And he had no plan on telling Jay about these feelings. Ever. To be fair, not because he thinks Jay would mind or anything, it's just that it was sure to make things... Awkward. No matter how you looked at it, it was sure to change their relationship and Cole really really didn't want that. He cherished their friendship and how close they'd gotten. And he knew Jay didn't feel the same so why risk it?
It's just that, knowing what is the most rational decision is one thing and getting his heart to agree to let it go is another entirely. Which is why he now hides in bed instead of joining his friends for dinner.
That, and his weird experience earlier had made him hesitant to stay on the island more than necessary. What had seemed like an adventure at first sight had quickly become frightening when things started going wrong. He's not a scaredy-cat. He just needs a moment to breathe before going back to the beach. For a moment out there he could have sworn he saw-
Then Jay slides into the room, indiscreet in his heavy boots. Cole immediately closes his eyes and tries to even out his breathing in an attempt to appear asleep. He can hear Jay rustling around behind him and Cole assumes he is going to sleep when Jay suddenly decides after more than a week at sea and in sweaty, tropical humidity and heat that cuddling is now the optimal arrangement for sleeping.
They've always slept close together as a group on missions like these, even Nya - it helped to keep heat in normally. The size of the room itself doesn't leave them with much of a choice. This night however Jay takes it to a whole new level when he not only push their futons together but then gets right up in Cole's space to the point where they're more or less sharing a pillow. Cole, who can feel every one of Jay's breaths against his neck, isn't sure what to say about this sudden development.
And the actual absurdity of the situation aside, it makes it really hard to pretend to be asleep. Because his feelings are all in his face now. Literally and figuratively.
So naturally, he says nothing. He just waits until Jay's breathing evens out and he starts quietly snoring. Then he finally turns around, looking at Jay's relaxed face - too close and too dark to really make out his features, but his warm breaths are touching his skin in an even rhythm. The tempo feels a little bit like a lullaby. It's been a long day. Having Jay so close feels a little too hot and kinda weird, but not necessarily bad. The sleep finally takes over.