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“Nyaaa! Are you ready?”
Nya snapped her purse closed, after double-checking that she had compacted her Samurai X gear neatly inside in case there was an emergency.
“One second!” she hollered, grabbing her sneakers before bounding up the stairs to meet Jay at the bridge.
“Let’s take the Storm Glider!” Jay exclaimed eagerly once he saw Nya, barely containing his excitement.
Sure, Nya had met his parents before- but this was the first time that it would be just the four of them at Jay’s house without the other Ninja. Jay felt like the cool kid in the movies, taking somebody special home to “meet the parents”. He couldn’t wait.
Jay was also extremely nervous. Sure, he felt pretty solid with Nya at this point. They’d practically told each other their biggest secrets at the Mega Monster Amusement Park and they’d kissed multiple times. They were basically engaged. Well, not really- but Jay was serious about Nya. He had never liked a girl as much as he liked her…and he still couldn’t believe that she liked him back. This was his first girlfriend and he didn’t want to mess things up. That’s where the nerves came in. Not so much nervous about himself saying something stupid…but his parents.
Jay loved his parents more than anyone in the world. But they could be so…kooky sometimes. Whether it was his Dad’s “Breakfast Shanty” that he always sang whenever he would cook scrambled eggs, bacon, and smiley toast* for the family every morning. Or his Mom’s habit of scrubbing his face with her handkerchief whenever he came in from working outside because her “sweet Jaybird got a little dirt-dirt on him!”. Or how both his parents loved to tell embarrassing stories about Jay as a kid to anyone and everyone who would listen.
Yikes….Jay just hoped that Nya found the inevitably embarrassing baby stories to be cute. Girls loved babies! And Nya was a girl.
“Um Jay?” Nya said, waving her hands, “You good?”
“Oh!” Jay said, snapping out of his thoughts, “Hehe, yeah, I’m great! Just hoping my folks don’t weird you out.”
Nya laughed, “We live with a Nindroid and fight snakes with magic powers. Nothing weirds me out.”
“Cool,” Jay smiled, getting the boost of confidence that Nya always managed to give him whenever he was nervous.
Now that he wasn’t in his head, his eyes drifted to taking in Nya’s outfit. She was wearing a jean jacket over a dark red t-shirt dress with golden dragon decals. She had pinned a small golden clip in her hair to brush back some of her bangs. Then, Jay noticed her sneakers. He grinned. He loved that about Nya….that even when she rocked her most stylish outfits, she still found a way to be comfortable and wear something she could fight in. If Jay were a girl, he would definitely dress like Nya.
“You look really pretty, Nya,” Jay blushed.
“Thanks, you too,” she giggled, “I wanted to look nice for your parents.”
“You do!” Jay exclaimed, “Maybe too nice…my Mom is for sure going to try and pinch your cheeks ... oh...cause you’re cute…and…well that’s what people do when they see something that’s cute.”
Nya laughed, wondering if rambling ran in his family, “I know, Jay.”
“Oh, cool.” Jay chuckled, “Well, let’s go!”
Jay used his Lightning Nunchucks to summon the Storm Glider and they were off!
⋆ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ⛈ ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ
They hadn’t even pulled into the scrapyard before they heard Edna’s shouts of “Oh my golly, Ed! It’s them! It’s our boy! And he’s brought a girl! Oh my goodness gracious”
“Ma! I told you we were coming,” Jay said, as he helped Nya out of the Storm Glider.
“Well…hmm, I don’t think so…” Edna mused, then turned to a pair of legs sticking out of an old, rusty, car, “Ed! Come on out here! Did Jay tell us he was coming today?”
“Check the notebook!” Ed shouted back at his wife from under the car, as a hammer went CLANG! on the underside of the car. Nya couldn’t possibly imagine why Mr. Walker would use a hammer on a car’s underside, but Jay knew exactly what he was doing.
“Dad!” Jay exclaimed, “You can fix the ooblong-conjoiner later!”
“Oh, oh, yes, of course,” Ed exclaimed, sliding out from the car then standing up and brushing off his oily clothes, “Well I’ll be gosh darned… it’s Nya!”
He smiled brightly and waved at Nya, but then his brow furrowed, “Now, Edna, did these kids tell us they were coming today?”
Edna waved her notebook in the air, “Says here Jay called us last week!”
“Oh, well, see now, Jay, that’s the problem,” Ed stated, “Your mother forgets about these things if it's more than a week. And I count on her to remember anything at all! You know you really should call your poor mother more.”
“Jaybird, you never call!” Edna declared, throwing her hands up in the air, “If I had a nickel for every day you didn’t call your poor mother, we would have enough to move into a mansion!”
“Now, Edna,” Ed warned, “I love you sweetheart, but that is just plumb not true. You know how the housing market is these days! Besides, why would we want to live anywhere else!”
They started bickering back and forth playfully.
“Yeah, Jaybird,” Nya repeated under her breath to Jay, causing him to turn red and break into a smile.
“Oh, enough chattering! Come here you two!” Edna lunged towards Jay and Nya pulling them both into a tight squeeze.
“Looks like a group hug!” Ed yelled, joining the huddle, cautious to only hug his son and wife, while offering Nya an awkward, yet friendly pat on the head.
Nya smiled, she liked Jay’s family. They were a lot….but somehow not too much.
⋆ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ⛈ ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ
Later, once they were inside, Edna had already started grilling Nya on all sorts of questions about what she liked and what her hobbies were. It wasn’t threatening- Nya knew Edna was just extremely curious and chatty- but it was definitely more attention than Nya was used to getting.
“Ma! You’re suffocating her with your questions!” Jay groaned, taking a seat on the beat-up couch next to Nya, opposite from where Edna was sitting on an arm chair, flipping through her knitting basket.
“Oh, am I, dearie?” Edna said, a look of concern spreading across her face, “Oh, I’m sorry, I know I can be a bit talkative.”
“Not at all, Mrs. Walker. I’m used to ‘talkative’,” she responded with a smile, gesturing towards Jay.
“Hey!” Jay exclaimed, crossing his arms and sticking out his tongue.
“Well, ya know, Nya, we have always called Jay our little chatterbox, haven’t we Ed?” Edna asked, looking towards the kitchen. Ed was busy cooking dinner and he didn’t hear.
Edna continued on as if he did, “Yes, right, we have. Oh! Our little Jaybird used to get in so much trouble at his primary school! Always interrupting the teacher, shouting out his ideas without raising his hand. He could never sit still, always bouncing around in his seat. He really had a skosh of something wild in him, some sort of hyper-battery that never ran out. It eventually got so bad that he couldn’t focus in the classroom and I had to homeschool him.”
“You were homeschooled?!” Nya exclaimed.
“Abupbup! Hold on!” Jay exclaimed in protest, “I went to normal school for most of my childhood! It was only after I turned ten that my parents gave in and let me finish out my studies at home. I honestly think I learned a lot better that way…and then I had more time to work on my inventions, which was a plus.”
“Oh we had so much fun homeschooling, didn’t we Jay!” Edna squealed, “Do you remember that time we learned Trigonometry by singing songs together! Or the time you made that posterboard about Cyrus Borg! Oh! I think I still have the pictures!” she stood up abruptly and rushed off to her bedroom.
Edna returned with an armful of scrapbooks, “I got a little distracted looking for the pictures and figured what’s better than a couple pictures? … All the pictures! From diapers to deodorant!”
“Mom!” Jay protested, but he peered curiously at Nya. Would she be interested in looking at his baby pictures?
Nya was extremely interested. She had imagined that Jay was a very cute little kid, and she was not wrong.
One year old Jay smashing into a birthday cake while Edna looked on proudly.
Two year old Jay with wispy strawberry blonde hair, sitting on the porta-potty, squinting fiercely and looking extremely determined.
Three year old Jay, clutching a wrench, sitting on Ed’s lap in the middle of the junkyard.
Four year old Jay with a face full of freckles and a wild shock of curly auburn hair, grinning a toothy grin while holding up a blue kite.
Five year old Jay in blue flannel pajamas hugging a blue stuffed animal.
“Aw that’s so cute!” Nya said, pointing at the picture.
“Mister Cuddlywomp!” Edna exclaimed, “Oh that precious little lovie! Jay would sleep with it every night! Don’t you still sleep with it Jay?”
“Ma!” Jay screeched, “Not in front of Nya!”
“I think it's cute, Jay. I still have a stuffed tiger plushy that I keep on my nightstand. Kai bought it for me with his tooth fairy money when we were little. Her name is Dulce and Kai would tell me stories about how Dulce protected little sisters. She helped a lot when I’d have nightmares.”
[Nightmares after her parents were kidnapped, but she didn't add that part.]
Jay sighed of relief, feeling acceptance where he expected judgement and teasing. They went back to flipping through the scrapbooks that Edna had carefully and lovingly pieced together.
Six year old Jay being pushed on a bright blue shiny bicycle by Ed, who was hunched over and red in the face, implying that he had been pushing Jay on the bike for a long time already that day.
Seven year old Jay proudly standing next to a little spaceship that he had made out of scrap metal. It had a green 1st place ribbon stuck to it.
Eight year old Jay handing Edna a wilted flower with a card that read “Happee Mommee Day!” in scribbly crayon.
Nine year old Jay in a gymnastics leotard standing atop a balance beam.
Ten year old Jay with wild, curly, auburn hair stuffed beneath a baseball cap, behind the wheel of the Junkyard crane. Ed was in the passenger seat, looking nervous.
Eleven year old Jay with a blue cast around his arm, a party hat on his head, and a pair of goofy glasses on his face, sticking out his tongue with a group of boys similar in age.
Twelve year old Jay wearing a striped sock as a tie, standing next to a very detailed “Cyrus Borg: The Life of My Hero” posterboard.
Thirteen year old Jay with a buzzcut and a face marked with acne looking mildly annoyed as he posed for a picture with his mother by the front of the Junkyard.
Fourteen year old Jay posing next to his mechanical wings.
Fifteen year old Jay in his Ninja gi, standing proudly in between his parents, with an arm around each of their shoulders.
Nya felt a pang in her chest. Jay had such a normal, happy childhood. Birthday parties, school projects, extracurriculars. An actual adult present to teach him life skills like riding a bike or fixing a car. Parents that loved him and were there for him.
Nya knew it was stupid to compare her childhood to Jay’s. Her parents had disappeared when she and Kai were little. Kai told her that bad guys took them away…but to be honest, Nya was never really sure if that was true because five year olds weren’t always the most reliable narrators. Either way, she knew that her parents- [the little that she could remember about them]- loved her and Kai and would probably never abandon them on purpose. Still, it hurt.
Kai had done his best. Taking over the blacksmith shop as a five-year old was no easy feat and Nya knew that Kai still had burn scars from trying to figure out how to operate all the machinery as a little kid. Nya was eternally grateful for her big brother- he made sure that the two of them had food to eat, clothes to wear, and warm beds to sleep in at night.
Where Nya felt like she barely had a childhood compared to Jay’s…Kai didn’t really have one at all. He had never gone to school past Kindergarten. When Nya was old enough, Kai would walk her to the school in the village every morning and stare longingly at the front entrance before dropping her off. Nya always begged Kai to come to school with her, promising him he would have so much fun. Besides the fact that little Kai had hated busy work in Kindergarten, he knew that he was needed at the Blacksmith shop, practicing his trade skills so that he could forge weapons, helmets, tools, and whatever else people would buy.
Nya would come home and Kai would demand that Nya show him everything she learned that day. He said it was to make sure that Nya remembered all the lessons she learned so that she could get good grades- which was true- but it was also secretly so that Kai could catch up a bit on everything he had missed out. Nya taught Kai long division, Ninjago history, and Ninjargon, since their parents had mostly spoken Spanish and Tagalog at home with their kids.
Once the shop was doing well and they were a bit older, Kai had started to regain a bit of his childhood back, making friends with people in the village, dating around, and going to parties. He and Nya were able to afford a small television, which Kai listened to as he worked all day to help him become fluent in Ninjargon. They were able to start affording small luxuries like hair gel and cooling fans.
Nya was really lucky, honestly. Kai always made sure that Nya had toys, clean clothes, and a nice, sharp bob haircut- so that she didn’t get teased. Kai helped Nya bandage her scrapes that she’d get on the playground. Kai was the one telling her bedtime stories, and washing the throw up out of her clothes when she got sick. No it wasn’t perfect- like the time Kai sent mayonnaise in Nya’s backpack instead of sunscreen….. or when he accidentally cut her bangs way too short… or when he thought Nya was dying when she got her first period. But Nya could always count on Kai to be there to make her laugh and hug her when she cried.
Still…. looking around at Jay’s home and seeing all those pictures had made Nya feel like she was missing something she never knew she lost.
“Edna!” Ed interrupted Nya’s thoughts, “Can you help me in the kitchen, dear?”
“Coming, sweetie!” Edna called back, “Oh now you kids have fun. We are just so happy to have you here. We love you, son.”
“Do you wanna see my room?” Jay quickly asked, once Edna had abandoned the scrapbooks to go help Ed with dinner.
Nya did in fact want to see Jay’s room. She had made a bet with Cole that Jay had a racecar bed. Cole thought Jay had a bunkbed.
Jay led Nya down a small hallway adorned with more family photos. They took a sharp left turn into Jay’s bedroom. The room was painted blue, but you could barely tell from the sea of posters, photos, awards, and blueprints pasted all over the walls. Fritz Donagan, Cyrus Borg, The Fold, Milton Dyer- all of Jay’s favorites were on the wall. The floor was covered in dirty clothes and light peaked through a small window. And-
“A spaceship bed!” Nya exclaimed.
“Hehe, yeah,” Jay smiled, blushing cutely, “My dad made that for me when I was little.”
“I love it!” Nya said, flopping onto the starry blue comforter.
“My dad also made this desk,” Jay said gesturing to the wooden desk in the corner, “This used to be my parents bedroom actually. But they switched with me a few years ago because I needed more space to do my homework and plan my inventions. Hence, the desk.”
Nya smiled. Jay's room was so… Jay.
“Jayyyyy!! Nyaaaa!!” Edna called from the kitchen, “Does Nya like pickles on her sandwiches?”
“Yes!” Nya shouted.
“Okay, Jay, do you still want me to cut off the crusts off your sandwich?"
“Yes Ma!”
“Okay Jaybird! I love you!”
“Love you too!” Jay yelled back, then turned to Nya sighing, “Sorry they’re so weird.”
Nya smiled, "It's really cute that your parents say "I love you" so much.”
"It's embarrassing," Jay laughed, then paused, "Wait, did your parents not do that?"
"What parents?" Nya said, trying to make it sound like a joke. By the horrified look on Jay’s face, she knew she had failed.
“Oh, shoot!” Jay slapped his forehead, “Gosh, I’m sorry, Nya. I didn’t mean it like that.”
“You’re fine,” Nya shrugged, “I really don’t remember my parents that much since I was only three when they disappeared."
“Um,” Jay said awkwardly, “Well, I’m sure they loved you very much!”
“Jay, chill, it’s fine,” Nya said, nudging his shoulder and smiling, “I’m not upset. Honestly, I don’t really miss them….I just sometimes miss the alternate reality where I got to know them and they were actually there. Does that make sense?”
Jay slowly nodded, “I think so….it’s like when I had a dream that a Special Edition StarFarer comic came out…and when I woke up, I was so sad because I realized it didn’t exist… and I wished that it did.”
Nya laughed, “Exactly.”
Jay felt like he should say something more…but what to say? Jay had parents that loved him…and Nya just didn’t have parents present in her life. Instead of potentially ruining the moment with more rambles, Jay just sat down next to Nya, putting his arm around her comfortingly.
“Supper’s ready!!!”
⋆ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ⛈ ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ
“Now are you two officially courting?” Ed asked, as he passed Jay the peas.
“Ed, it’s not called that! It’s called dating now!” Edna lectured him, swatting her fork at him.
Jay grinned, “Yeah, Nya’s my official girlfriend now.”
“Oh my goodness,” Edna gasped, “Oh my golly! Oh my gracious!”
“Well, I’ll be! I’m proud of you son!” Ed smiled, “Welcome to the family, Nya!”
Jay reached over to Nya and took her hand. Nya hoped this feeling would never get old.
Edna’s eyes were welling up with tears, she pulled a polka-dotted handkerchief out of her pocket and honked into it like a tissue, “Excuse me,” she sniffled, “Our little baby boy is all grown up.”
Nya felt another pang in her chest.
⋆ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ⛈ ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ
Later, as they were getting ready to leave, Ed pulled Jay aside.
“Ah, Jay, hold on a second,” Ed whispered, trying to be quiet and half-failing, “Do you have- oh a whatchamacallit…..hm….oh yes! rubber slippers?”
Jay squinted, “Dad, what?!”
“Oh, ya know…. a snakeskin? A toot scoot? A johnny bag? A love glove?”
Jay’s eyes widened, his face reddening, “First Master, Dad, I swear. I am not talking about this!”
“Now son!” Ed said, sounding exasperated, “You need to practice safe lovemaking! You don’t want to get that girl pregnant.”
“Oh my FSM, Dad! We aren’t doing that!” Jay hissed, his face the color of tomatoes.
“Well!” Ed replied, “It’s important if one day in the future you two decide to do the tango-schmango together! Do you know how all that works? How to put on the safety sheath?”
“Yes, Dad!” Jay exclaimed, covering his face “Mom gave me that book, remember?”
Ed grinned and gave Jay a wink, “I’d only remember if it’s written down, you know that, my boy.”
⋆ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ⛈ ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ
Meanwhile, Edna was fussing over Nya, making sure she had enough leftovers to take back to the Bounty.
“Now, Nya,” Edna said, holding Nya’s hands in hers, “Promise that when you get home you will tell Jay to send us your measurements so that I can begin knitting you a sweater! I would have measured you today, but I seem to have lost my gosh darn measuring tape somewhere in the junkyard.”
“I promise, Mrs. Walker,” Nya smiled, “Thank you.”
“Oh, thank you, dearie!” Mrs. Walker grinned, her wrinkles creasing up even more as she smiled, “I’m so happy that our Jay has found such a sweet, adorable, and intelligent young lady!”
Nya smiled back in response. No one could ever completely fill the mother-shaped gap that Nya was left with. Not Kai. Not Misako. Not Mrs. Walker. Not anyone.
But she really liked how she felt when she was with Mrs. Walker. How she gave Nya hugs and asked her questions about her hobbies and offered to knit her sweaters. Nya even really liked Mr. Walker, even though he still seemed a bit awkward talking to anyone that wasn’t his wife and son.
Jay walked up beside Nya, face red as a beet, and asked, “Ready to go?”
Nya nodded and gave a thumbs up, but then playfully squinted at him, “Why is your face so red?”
Jay sighed, shaking his head, “Just my dad being goofy.”
Jay left it at that. He and Nya had only kissed and that felt totally right for now and the near future. He didn’t want to scare Nya off with any talk about sex. Maybe in a billion jillion years, when they were married and had a bunch of little Jays and Nyas running around…maybe then they would think about sex.
Jay blushed. Not that he had thought about one day marrying Nya or whatever.
⋆ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ⛈ ﾟ ⋆ ﾟ
“Bye Mr. and Mrs. Walker!” Nya waved from the back of the Storm Glider.
“Bye kiddos!” Ed and Edna waved.
“Bye Mom and Dad!” Jay hollered….and then they were off- zooming back to the Bounty through the sunset over the sand.
“So,” Jay said, careful to keep his eyes on where he was steering, “Whaddya think?”
“I think we should go visit more often.” Nya smiled, and playfully tussled Jay’s hair.
Jay sighed happily, “I take it they didn’t scare you off too bad then?”
“Not one bit.”