Ninjago - One-shots and short Stories

A Ghost of a Chance // Jay x Cole

It's time for a bit of fluffy Bruiseshipping (I'd say it's somewhere between friendship and romance...).
This one-shot is in season 5, between Stiix and Stones and The Temple on Haunted Hill, so before Cole got turned into a ghost.
Warnings: Bit of bad language and boy x boy.
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A Ghost of a Chance
Cole woke up just at the break of dawn. Over the years as a Ninja, he had gotten so used to their normal routine of Sunrise Exercise that he would wake up at the same time every day, no matter what day it was and regardless of how late he had gone to sleep. And it had been very late last night.
The four boys were camping on a clearance in the woods, on their way from Stiix to Sensei Yang's Temple, to pursue their Ghost of a Chance - as Kai had called it - on learning the ancient martial art of Airjitzu. They were all eager to save their brother, and in fact the whole of Ninjago, from Morro, so it had taken Cole quite a lot of convincing to get the others, especially Kai, to rest at all.
But there was no use of arriving early anyway. During the day, the Temple of Haunted Hill was a popular tourist attraction, so the four Elemental Masters would have until dusk, before they could start looking for the secret scroll.
Cole couldn't deny that it felt good to be the team's leader again. Although he would have never wanted anything bad to happen to the Green Ninja, the Master of Earth had kinda missed the feeling of being in charge.
The Master of Earth sat up and looked around. Kai and Zane were still fast asleep. The Nindroid was programmed to wake up at 5:58, so he still had a few minutes left. And, despite his earlier refusal to get to sleep, Kai had been the most exhausted of them all, both physically and mentally. Usually, Jay would be the most difficult to waken up, but to Cole's surprise, his place had already been deserted.
Cole remembered that the usually very talkative Master of Lightning had been very quiet last night. They had all been tired, so the black Ninja hadn't given much attention to it, but now he wondered if something was bothering his best friend
He got up and started looking for clues to the whereabouts of the blue Ninja. He soon spotted a small trail of flat grass and cracked branches and followed its path.
As he walked deeper into the woods, he saw Jay sitting on a fallen log, facing away from him and his face buried into his hands. Cole slowly approached him. He didn't want to sneak upon his best friend, so he had to fight the urge of walking stealthily (as he was trained to do). But there was actually no need to worry about that. Jay was just as good a Ninja as Cole was, so he sensed the other's presence. When he turned around, Cole could see some tear stains on his cute, freckled face.
The Master of Earth sat down next to his friend and gave him a gentle nudge with his elbow. "Hey, Zaptrap. What's wrong?"
"Hi Cole." Jay replied. "N-nothing. I am fine."
If Jay's miserable appearance wasn't sign enough that this was not the case, the fact that Jay addressed Cole with his given name was a dead sure indication that Jay was lying. Even when they had been fighting, Jay had always used one of those multiple nicknames he had for his best friend, even if it was in an insulting way. But now, he had just called him Cole. And this deeply worried the black Ninja.
"Jay, you are a horrible liar." He stated matter-of-factly. "And I am your best friend. Remember, no more secrets. So please, tell me what is wrong."
"I screwed up." Jay finally replied after what felt like an eternity. "Again. I-I wanted to prove that I am just as good a leader as the rest of the team. And now it's my fault that we didn't get that stupid scroll and have to get to that bloody ghost-infested temple. I'm useless. Why can't I do anything right?"
Cole wrapped his arm around the blue Ninja and pulled him into a sideways hug. "This was not just your fault. We are a team. So we screwed up together. Kai messed up, twice. And even Zane did..."
"But you never do."
"We both know that this is not true." Cole reminded his friend of his own massive blunder regarding the female samurai. "I've made the biggest mistake ever, because I've hurt my best friend. That's a lot worse than falling through a roof." He admitted.
"And may I say that I was actually impressed with how you acted last night. Even if it didn't quite work out in the end." The black Ninja continued. "But you took the initiative, when nobody else had any idea on what to do at all. Maybe you just need some practice, becoming a leader doesn't happen overnight. Remember our first ever 'mission', to attack the intruder at the monastery?"
Jay smiled weakly through his tears. "Yes, we were so incredibly uncoordinated, Kai almost defeated us with a toothbrush..."
"Exactly. And then it would take me forever to get him to listen to me. I can teach you, if you want. I really don't mind." No, Cole wouldn't mind at all, it would give them another reason to spend even more time with each other than they already did.
Jay shook his head. "No, I'm good, thanks. I could never be as good as you. I'll just stay the joker of the team, rather than becoming the joke of the day again..."
Cole firmly grabbed Jay's shoulder and slowly turned him towards him, until the two friends were directly facing each other and their eyes locked. "Jay, you are so much more than just the comic relief. You are very smart, I mean you have managed to fix Zane's voice on the spot without any tools other than a pocketknife."
"Good morning, my brothers!" At that moment, the Nindroid's loud voice could be heard all across the wood.
Cole grinned. "Well, kinda. But at least, he's not talking backwards anymore. And you were the one who designed and built the rocket boosters for the first Destiny's Bounty all by himself." He swallowed, losing himself in those beautiful deep blue orbs that were still sparkling with tears. "And never ever underestimate the power of your positive thinking. It has helped us get through many desperate situations. Jay, you motivate us. You-you motivate me."
A deep blush was visible on Jay's cheeks, "Uhm, th-thanks?" He muttered, before he suddenly wrapped his arms around his best friend and buried his face deep into Cole's chest.
Tightly embracing the blue Ninja, Cole couldn't resist the temptation and fondly nuzzled the other's silky auburn locks, detecting a faint scent of milk and honey.
"How do you do that?" Cole mumbled into Jay's hair.
Jay pulled back and gave his friend a startled look. "How do I do what?"
"Uh." Now it was Cole's turn to blush. And even more so when he realised that he already missed the feeling of holding Jay so close to him. "We haven't showered in two days, how can you still smell that nice?"
"Are-are you flirting with me?"
"Would it be alright if I was?" Cole asked back, nervously.
Jay contemplated for a brief moment, and Cole could feel his heart pounding in his chest.
"Yeah, I-I guess it would..." Jay finally replied.
"That's good." Relieved and elated, Cole pulled his friend back into a firm embrace. "Because, I was..." He whispered into the blue Ninja's bright red ear.
They remained in this position for a couple of minutes, without saying a word and just enjoying their new level of closeness.
"I think we should probably go back now." Jay eventually said, pulling away from Cole, much to the latter's disappointment. "The others must be wondering where we are. And..." He gave the black Ninja a bright smile. "I am feeling a lot better now."
"Yeah, me too." The other agreed. "Listen, after we got the scroll and saved Lloyd and all that, do you maybe want to hang out together?"
"Cole, we hang out together all the time."
"Yeah, but I was thinking, we could do something special, just the two of us. Like dinner, or a movie?"
"You mean like best friends, or... like a date?"
Cole shrugged his shoulders. "I honestly don't know." He admitted, taking Jay's hands into his. "Maybe... a bit of both?"
If Cole had thought earlier that the blush of Jay's face couldn't get any deeper, he was now proven wrong. Jay's cheeks and ears were glowing just as bright as the colourful illuminations at his parents's junkyard. "I'd like that." He said in a low voice.
"I hate to interrupt you two lovebirds, but breakfast is ready." All of a sudden, Kai was standing next to them, wearing his signature smirk on his face. "We need to get going."
He then turned on the spot and immediately headed back towards their campsite, while his teammates stayed back for another moment.
"Kai is just as hotheaded and impatient as he was when we met him..." Jay laughed, breaking the obvious tension between the two friends.
"Yes, he was acting the same when Nya was kidnapped by Lord Garmadon." Cole agreed.
"Must be his big brother mode..." Jay suggested, a cute smile on his lips.
"It's important to have someone to fight for." Cole stated, again gazing into those stunning blue eyes in his friend/crush's face. "But I guess he is right, and we should focus on our mission now if we want to save Lloyd and defeat Morro. Even if it's just a ghost of a chance..."
Jay shivered. "P-please don't say that..." He complained. "Do we really have to go there?"
"You really don't like ghosts, huh?" The Master of Earth smiled at him.
Jay shook his head. "They just creep me out. Same with attics..."
Cole took his hand and gave it a little squeeze. "Don't worry, no ghost will ever harm you. I promise I won't let that happen."
"Alright." Jay replied, his optimism returning. "Let's just find that scroll and get our little brother back. And then we can focus on us... " He smiled fondly at his friend.
"That's the positive thinking I want to hear from you." Cole returned the smile. "I mean, what's the worst that could happen..."
Their hands entwined, the two friends walked back to join their teammates, excited for their next adventure, unaware of what it would bring.