#yk what this could totally be implied bruiseshipping

[delusional-cryptid]

What The Thunder Said: Chapter 5 Deleted scene

So, since chapter 5 was getting really long and this scene has very little plot significance, i cut it out. I still finished it tho, so here y’all go!

Same warnings as CH5: “concussion” symptoms, negative self talk, and fainting.

Keep yourselves safe, chapter is under the cut!

The next day was Cole’s turn to babysit, and they’d decided to just play videogames because it couldn't hurt, right? Well, not quite. As soon as the level had started, Jay got so dizzy he nearly threw up. So, with a tasteless joke about jumping off the Bounty, Jay was banned from videogames for the time being. And also from being above deck alone, but Cole didn't tell him that part.

Afterwards, Jay had sprawled across the entire length of the couch, havint tossed his legs over Cole’s to achieve this. Other than the surprise symptoms, it was surprisingly easy to keep Jay from hurting himself, considering how Jay seemed to lack any of his usual energy. And although it worried Cole to see Jay nearly despondent, instead of his usual bouncy, chatty self, he knew that the Blue Ninja had every reason to act this way. Especially since, from what Cole understood, he had some mystic brain damage or something.

So suffice to say that it wasn't too odd for him to be staring up at the ceiling from where he lay on the couch. Though he seemed perfectly content, Cole still worried endlessly about him, and this worry prompted Cole to check in with his friend for perhaps the millionth time.

“Are you sure youre alright? We can always do something else, if…” the Black Ninja trailed off, unsure how to continue.

“Yes, Cole,” Jay snickered, “I'm fine. Just tired, and you're fun enough just to listen to anyways,”

“Hey!” Cole scoffed in fake offense as a smile tugged at his lips, “what’s that supposed to mean?!”

“It means that you’re throwing shade to video game characters who can’t hear you, which makes you look deranged. It’s funny though, so keep it up.” Jay waved his hand for emphasis.

Cole shook his head with a laugh and turned back to the screen.

Truth be told, the light and noise was giving Jay a headache. He had thrown an arm over his eyes to block the light, but it only served as a burning reminder of Jay's time in the departed realm. So he settled to remove his arm and just squeeze his eyes closed to try and shut out the horrible flashing light.

Eyes still fixed on the screen, Cole’s voice arose to suggest “hey, after this level we should head to the kitchen, it’s almost lunch!”

Jay distractedly hummed an assent and moved his legs off of Cole's lap and onto the floor before using one arm to push himself up into a standing position. As soon as he moved, so did that now familiar dizziness. All of the blood rushed away from his head and black splotches crowded his vision and Jay reached out for the arm of the couch.

His fingertips brushed the worn fabric, and he pitched forward.

Cole briefly glanced up, eye caught by the motion. His muscles seized with terror as Jay fell, and Cole didn’t have to think before his body moved. The controller clattered to the ground, discarded, as the Earth Ninja practically threw himself off the couch to stop Jay from hitting the ground face first.

The man lunged, half tackling Jay before scooping the Blue Ninja into his arms and righting them both. Cole gingerly laid his partially-conscious friend back on the couch. Even though the Black Ninja was terrified, and way out of his depth, he knew he had to handle this. There was no use shouting for help, the other occupants of the bounty were either out running various errands, or much too far away to hear. So it was all on him… no pressure.

“Jay? Jay! Hey, you okay?” Cole asked, nudging Jay’s shoulder. The Blue Ninja only groaned in response, which did nothing for the buzzing anxiety in Cole’s heart. “Buddy I need you to talk to me, okay? Whats goin’ on?” As much as the Black Ninja tried to force down the panic invading his voice, there remained a small twinge of fear within his otherwise calm words.

“Hnng-” Jay whined incohesively, “Itsuhnubefine…”

Cole couldn't help but laugh at that, Jay was trying so hard to comfort him, even if Cole could barely understand a single word that fell from his friend’s lips.

“Blue- come on, I’m not the one who’s barely conscious. Just-” Cole let out a relieved sigh, “yeah, you'll be okay…”

You have to be.

The last bit went unsaid, leaving an empty space hanging in the air. Cole doubted that Jay noticed, hell, he kind of hoped Jay hadn’t. The Lightning Elemental showed no sign that he had understood, instead taking Cole’s silence as an opportunity. It only took another short moment before Jay was trying, not for the first time and certainly not the last, to get up.

Cole, on the other hand, was having absolutely none of that. As soon as Jay moved to prop himself up on one arm, Cole shoved him back down onto the couch. He didn't do it roughly, he hadn't needed to, all it really took was a light push to the shoulder to knock Jay back down.

By then, the Master of Earth could barely think through the heavy fog of worry that clouded his mind.

“Yeah. no.” was all Cole could think to say, it seemed to suffice, though, because Jay stayed down.

He didn't stay quiet though.

“But Cole! Im fine!” Jay whined, batting away his friend’s hand as it appeared by his wrist, seeking a pulse.

“No, you’re not! What's your deal, man? You need- no- Jay!” Cole finished with a frustrated groan.

This time, through pure stupid luck, Jay did manage to push himself up, just enough so that he could lean against the arm of the couch.

“No worries!” Jay grinned, tone laced with misplaced calmness, “see? I’m okay!”

Cole deadpanned, “bullshit. I'm gonna call Zane-”

Waving his hands around, Jay laughed tersely “No! No, no, no, theres no need for that! Like I said, totally fine!”

“Jay.” Cole scolded. His tone was firm, but not unkind. Not even anger could twist his cold fear into anything more than increasingly-potent distress, born purely of care.

Jay broke, then. At the audible anguish in his friend’s voice, he couldn't stand to dismiss this anymore. It was his fault that Cole was so upset, so worried, so sad sounding.

“Okay… its- It really isn't a big deal, it's not like I haven’t passed out before-”

“WHAT?” Cole shouted desperately.

Jay winced at the volume, “I said it's no big deal!”

He tried his best to placate the Earth Ninja, and failed miserably. There was a long silence where Cole refused to meet his eyes, and with every passing second that they sat there in a horribly tense silence, the dreadful sense that Jay had royally fucked up grew more and more.

Cole broke the silence, “How many times?”

Jays mind stuttered, “only… well, three, now.”

“Jay, its only been three days.”

He laughed awkwardly and averted his gaze, “yeah, I- yeah…”

Cole sighed and placed his head in his hands.

Ohh boy, I am soo screwed… Jay thought grimly. Someone, maybe not Cole, but someone, was gonna kill him for this.

When Cole spoke next, Jay could hardly stop himself from curling in on himself and hiding away from the world.

The man had sounded so heartbroken, and completely helpless when he asked; “Why didn't you tell us?”

With one breath, Jay considered lying again.

With the next, he let go and allowed the truth to all but rush out from his lips.

“I… I’ve already been so… useless, lately, and I didn’t want you guys to worry any more than you already have to, cause I know needing to take care of me sucks and I’m trying to get better so you guys don't have to keep babying me, cause, like, I know I’m the weakest of everyone but its not fair for you all to need to pull that extra weight, especially now that i'm even more useless than before and I just hate burdening you all so much and I just figured that if you didn't know about it then it would all turn out okay!”

Upon seeing Cole’s crestfallen expression, Jay tried to fix it. “Uh... or, something like that…”

This one moment of true honesty was never going to unfurl years and years of subtle white lies that have only spun a thin cocoon to protect Jay, his true feelings and fears, and keep them far away from anyone he could hurt. Jay knew that well, but at least he could do this. Even if it seemed like a mistake, even if it seemed like it had only hurt the ones he loved most.

Right as Jay was about to laugh it off, make some joke, completely invalidate everything he just admitted to, he was hit by a wall of warmth and smothered in a crushing embrace. After a moment of stunned hesitation, Jay returned the hug. He buried his face into Cole’s shoulder to try and force back the tears that burned behind his eyes. He didnt know why he was crying. He shouldn’t be. Neither man moved for a long moment, the stillness only broken by Cole’s soft words.

“Youre not useless, or weak, or a burden. You never were. We- I would take care of you for as long as you need, so long as you're here. Alive.”

The genuine worry-laced compassion in his friend’s voice tore Jay's heart and his careful facade finally shattered.

Before he could stop it, tears were falling from Jay's eyes like rain in a thunderstorm and soaking invisibly into the black fabric of Cole’s shirt. The same fabric that Jay twisted in his tight grasp as silent, stuttering sobs shook his newly fragile body.

Jay couldn't do it, couldnt do this. How was he meant to live with all his friends telling him how worried they were, how happy they were that he was alive, and how much they cared for him, only to leave them so soon. And leave them without any idea why, too. Maybe it’d make it easier for them if they knew the stakes. If they knew Jay had chosen this. Something told him that they'd suffer all the same. There was no good option, and it wasn't fair.

Jay curled further into the embrace as a fresh wave of tears fell.

Cole kindly indulged him until Jay was ready to let go. It took a while, even after Jay's tears dried and his breathing steadied, he couldn't make himself move away from the warm heartbeat that calmed his mind.

But once Jay finally did pull away, Cole didn’t fully let him go. He held the Blue Ninja at arms length and even though Jay refused to meet his eyes, he knew Cole was basically studying him.

Cautiously, the other man started, “when everyone gets back, I’m gonna tell Lloyd and Zane-“

“Cole-“

“No one else has to know unless you want them to. But Lloyd and Zane need to know.” The Black Ninja elaborated firmly, “Lloyd’s our leader, and whether you like it or not, it’s on him if you get hurt. Zane’s our acting medic now that you’re out of commission, so he needs to know too. Sound good?”

“No. But fine, tell them.”

“I will. Now, are you okay?”

“Everyone keeps asking that. Yes, Cole, I’m fine.”

“I still don’t believe you, but okay. Wanna put on something stupid and take a nap?”

Jay nodded, so Cole retook his spot on the couch and found some old movie for them to watch.

—

When the other three ninja returned from their weekly grocery run, Zane broke away for a moment to check in with the two who had stayed home. only to find Cole in the living room pinned beneath a sleeping Jay with a hand buried in the his friend’s hair. Zane softly laughed at the glare Cole shot him at the click of his camera.

The look didn't stick, because Cole waved him over and whispered for him to get Lloyd, which Zane did. Once they’d both returned, Cole launched into his hushed explanation of the day's events. He told them that Jay had passed out trying to stand up, and that it wasn’t the first time.

“I’m really worried about him, he kept talking about not wanting to be useless and weak and… I didn’t know what to do.” Cole frowned at his sleeping friend, “I can't believe he didn’t tell us…”

“It’s not too unexpected for Jay to have fainting spells, however, I agree. It’s quite worrying that he didn’t say anything about it.”

Lloyd just nodded along, worry etched into lines on his face as he tried to come up with some way to help Jay.

He drew a blank, “I really don’t know what to do if he won’t let us help him…”

“Oh! That’s another thing, he doesn’t want anyone else to know. He- he said he feels guilty about burdening us, but he didn't really listen when I tried to tell him otherwise…”

“And if he managed to hide this, it’s possible that there are other things that he’s not telling us.” Zane added thoughtfully, he didn’t mean for it to cause any more anxiety in the other two (waking) ninja, but they exchanged a mirrored look of cold fear at the possibility of some devastating unknown.

“I think we just need to keep a close eye on him for now.” Zane amended.

Lloyd and Cole both assented, already fixing their minds on ways to help their loved one. It’d be difficult to take care of him, especially when he fought them every step of the way, but they could all be just as stubborn when they wanted to be.

Maybe everything would turn out fine. Besides, once he was healed, everything could finally go back to normal!