Jaya Week 2023

Gift

The pillow was soft, warm and honestly felt like it was made of clouds. Nothing felt more right than to lie right here, right now, in blissful peace.
Hardly a noise was to be heard, except for gentle bird songs outside the window, the occasional draft coming through and the loud bangs from the hallway.
Wait.
Loud bangs?
Jay groaned as he forced his eye open, glaring at his bedroom door. Who dares to be this noisy this early. It was only 10am, clearly the primetime for sleep on one of their rare days off.
With another loud groan he sat up, too agitated to go back to sleep, so he decided he might as well start the day, even if it was on a sour note.
As soon as the thought crossed his mind, the door flung open, nearly flying off it's hinges.
"Happy birthday!" He was greeted by a smile so bright Jay could almost swear it had to be an angel. And perhaps, it was.
"Did you sleep well?" Nya softly asked, carrying a small, wrapped box, which she attempted to half-heartedly hide behind her back.
"Mhm.." Jay nodded sleepily, stretching his arms as a yawn escaped his mouth. "Just fine."
He sat further up, propping himself against one of his many pillows and pointed at the object behind her back.
"What's that?" He asked intrigued, trying to hide his smile, knowing full well what it was.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" The water ninja grinned, plopping down on his bed, leaning slightly against his outstretched legs.
"Is it for me?" Jay asked, a tender smile resting on his lips as he gently took her hand, giving it a small squeeze.
"Maybe." She smiled back, squeezing his hand, before looking off to the side, a dejected look washing over her.
"I know we don't have a lot of money, so I did the best I could. I hope you still like it though."
A small smile returned to her lips as she handed over the box.
Jay took it, turning it curiously in his hands. The wrapping was far from perfect, it was crumbed and even slightly ripped at the corners. Clearly not done by someone who had perfected the art of wrapping gifts, so he could only assume it was wrapped by her, just for him.
Curiously, he shook the gift, surprised when hardly a noise came from it. He could feel something knocking around in there, but no noise was produced. Dear First Master, he hoped it wasn't socks.
The ninja looked over at Nya, who was clearly nervous and unsure of how good whatever she had gotten him was. To Jay, that just seemed silly, there was nothing she could give him that he wouldn't like. Even socks. He's sure that those socks would then be his favourite pair.
With a careful touch, he began peeling the torn paper, revealing a brown box, telling nothing of it's origin.
"It's a box! Just what I've wanted!" Jay chortled as he was hit with a playful shove from his girlfriend.
"Shut up and open it." She grinned, seemingly more at ease at his banter.
Jay did just that, lifting the lid off of the box, peering into the space.
A small gasp left his lips before he could stop it, as his hands gently reached into the box.
With a gentle touch, he lifted the gift out to get a better look at it.
"Mister Cuddlywomp..." Jay uttered, slowly inspecting his old toy. He ran a thumb along the stitches that now covered his belly and arms. The thread was nearly the same tone as the plush itself, blending in nicely and giving a slightly rugged look, which Jay couldn't say he didn't like.
"You... You repaired him." The blue ninja looked up, tears unwillingly forming in the corners of his eyes as he cradled the plushy.
He threw himself at Nya as he pulled her into a tight embrace, causing the now empty box to fall to the ground.
"He's so perfect." He mumbled into her hair, squeezing her as tight as he could.
Nya smiled, wrapped her arms around her boyfriend, squeezing back.
"I'm glad you like it. I had to learn how to sew, it wasn't easy." She smiled to herself, carting her fingers through his hair as she listened to his quiet sobs.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you." He mumbled, pulling away. "It's the best gift I could ever have gotten."
Nya beamed, her hand caressing his cheek, sliding over a stray tear.
Gently, she leaned over and pressed a kiss to the tip of his nose, earning a blush from her boyfriend.
"You deserve only the very best, Jay."
"I already had."