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Things were going great for Kai. Absolutely fantastic. He was as still as a statue, as calm as a steady flame, as focused as Cole was when picking out a flavor of cake…
“Another!” He called, not bothering to open his eyes. They were the only two people on the entire Bounty, so Jay obviously knew Kai was talking to him.
Jay didn’t say anything in response, odd for such a vibrant and talkative man. What was even more odd was that they had a bet going, like they always did, and if Kai failed, he’d have to do Jay’s chores for a month. Jay could do any number of things to distract him from his task; and Kai knew he was fully capable of it after the calming tea incident, but he just…didn’t. Kai only knew he was still there, watching, because he heard the clink of porcelain as another soup bowl was added to the stack on top of his head.
Kai had actually been the one to propose the bet this time. It wasn’t infrequent that they stacked stuff on each other’s heads while they were meditating. Wu even did it sometimes to make sure they were actually focused and not falling asleep. But between Jay and Kai…it had quickly become a challenge. Jay was usually an asshole about it, pulling out all the stops to try and stop Kai succeeding. But this time…? Nothing.
Jay had been acting…weird the past two weeks. It was almost like he was avoiding Kai. Anytime they were left alone, Jay seemed to keep finding opportunities to get away from him. Hell, anytime Kai entered a room, Jay left altogether. The only times Kai actually saw Jay were when they were all training together, which hardly counted. He’d even started eating at weird times, seemingly just to avoid Kai in the kitchen!
And, though Kai was loath to admit it, he missed Jay. He missed everything about the man, from the deep blue of his eyes, to the emerging freckles on his cheeks, to the sound of his laugh, to the stupid fucking jokes he came up with…the way he made Kai all warm and fuzzy inside just with his attention…
...
Kai missed his friend.
So when everyone left the Bounty to search for the weapon of the week in a dense jungle, and Jay and Kai were volunteered to stay back to watch the ship, Kai knew he had a chance to find out why Jay had been avoiding him. But he had to do it slyly. Despite how much flack they gave him, Jay wasn’t stupid. And if he was acting like a scared rabbit around Kai…Kai was going to have to trap him.
He hadn’t expected Jay to take the bait of their usual challenge, but he supposed free time was becoming a rare commodity, and Jay really hated bathroom duty. So much so that the hatred was apparently stronger than whatever he was feeling towards Kai so…here they were.
Jay was quiet while he stacked more and more dinnerware on top of Kai’s head, never sabotaging it, never goading Kai into movement that could topple the precarious tower of dishes and bowls. Unlike their usual pattern when it came to doing this, the air felt stiff and awkward, almost like Jay was being held hostage and forced to do this weird ritual…and maybe he was.
Yet Jay kept stacking, and Kai tried to find some level of inner peace while wondering what exactly he could say to Jay to make him feel better. Apologize, maybe? But apologize for what? Had Kai offended him? Had his teasing gone a little too far? Had he accidentally stolen something of Jay’s? Did someone spread a mean rumor about him? Kai was at a loss.
But Kai needed to get this cleared up. He didn’t think he could go another day without Jay smiling at him let alone being in the same room as him.
There was another soft clink as Jay set down yet another dish, and then a beat of silence before Kai heard a soft whoompf and shifting next to him. Kai’s eyes were still closed, focusing, but he assumed Jay had sat down right next to him.
It was a start.
“Well, you’ve gone a lot further than last time,” Jay remarked softly, almost in awe, which made Kai’s chest swell with vain pride. “I’ve used up all the clean ones.”
Kai smirked. “I’m really in the zone right now. I can’t even feel the boat swaying.” This was actually true. Kai was so deep in his own thoughts that he had apparently blocked out every other stimuli that wasn’t Jay. His whole world at the moment narrowed down to just himself, Jay, and the dishes Jay had stacked on his head.
He chuckled, trying to give off an air of overconfidence. After all, this was still a bet and he still had his reputation. “I don’t think anything could break my concentration. Not even Lord Garmadon could faze me.”
“Oh, really?” Jay asked softly, but there was something behind his voice; a kind of undercurrent that Kai couldn’t fully get a read on.
“Yeah!” He said, his smirk widening. “Why? You think you got something that will distr-”
It was gentle; more like the touch of a butterfly’s wings than anything else. But it was unmistakable. The soft feeling of breath against his lips, the brush of mouths, exploratory and uncertain…
Jay was kissing him.
Kai’s eyes shot open and he jerked away instinctually, the dishes on his head falling to the floor of the Bounty. Judging by the sound, some of them shattered on impact, but he was more concerned with the way Jay also pulled back quickly, and the deep blush spreading over his friend’s face and down his neck.
He looked…really pretty when he was flustered like that…
Wait a minute.
Wait a fucking minute.
Did…Did he have a CRUSH on JAY?
The two of them just looked at each other for a moment, their faces growing steadily more and more red as the time ticked by without either of them saying a word.
Eventually, Jay seemingly couldn’t take it any more. He laughed, loudly and awkwardly, breaking his eyes away from Kai’s, obviously nervous. “Haha! I guess I’m worse than Garmadon! I got you there! Jay the jokester strikes again!” He then let out a peal of laughter that didn’t for one second sound genuine.
Kai brought his fingers up to his lips, brushing where Jay’s lips had been only a moment before. They tingled, as if shocked by static electricity.
“Yeah! So uh! I guess you still win! Darn! I’m gonna go get started on my chores then and you can uh…maybe I should sweep this mess up first? Don’t want anyone getting stabbed amiright?! That would be really bad because we don’t have any more of the cool bandaids that Lloyd likes and that kid attracts more danger than a flashing neon sign so I’m just going to-” Jay went to stand up.
Kai acted on instinct again. He had a feeling that if Jay left right now, this thing, whatever it was between them, would be buried and they would never get a chance to talk about it. And if Kai was right…he very much had feelings for Jay. If Jay left, the shorter man would probably clam up and maybe think Kai was being insincere…
And Kai couldn’t go another second without Jay talking to him.
“Jay, wait,” Kai reached out and grabbed Jay by the wrist before he could get to his feet.
Jay froze, his whole body tensing like he was expecting to be yelled at.
Kai decided to be direct. There was no room for error with how skittish Jay was acting. “Jay, why did you just kiss me?”
Jay flushed darker, which Kai didn’t even think was possible.
“Kiss?!” Jay screeched, his eyes avoiding Kai’s face. “It wasn’t a kiss! No, no it was uh, I was checking your temperature! Making sure you weren’t overheating! They say the lips are the most sensitive part of the body so I thought-”
“Jay.”
“Ok, fine, I was distracting you! It was a joke! Isn’t it funny?! Hahaha!”
“Jay.”
Jay finally, mercifully, shut up and stopped digging a hole for himself. He still wouldn’t look Kai in the eyes, chewing on the inside of his lip.
Kai squeezed the other man’s hand and tried to speak as gently as possible, but his voice shook. “Jay…Tell me the truth. Why did you kiss me?”
Jay cringed, seemingly realizing he wasn’t getting out of this, but then he glanced over at Kai for the briefest of seconds. “Why do you kiss anyone...?” He mumbled, but that wasn’t an answer.
“Jay…” Kai took a deep breath in an attempt to control his racing heart. “I want to hear you say it.”
The words sounded forceful, but he hoped Jay was able to read into the borderline-tender way he said them. He needed to hear Jay say it…because Kai couldn’t say it himself.
He saw Jay’s eyes widen as he looked over at him, blue meeting black again as Jay’s gaze searched for an understanding. He must have found it because the next sentence he said was:
“I kissed you because I like you, Kai. I like you a lot. Not as friends. Romantically.”
That was all Kai needed.
He lunged forward, pulling Jay towards him at the same time, and slammed their lips together.
Jay tensed for a moment, clearly shocked, but then he sank into the kiss. And fuck did the kiss feel good once Jay started returning it. Kai didn’t know why he’d never realized he had a crush on Jay, but this just confirmed it. It was like fireworks going off in his chest, lighting him up from the inside out. All those past weeks, worrying that Jay didn’t like him or was mad at him…now to have the other man whining as Kai deepened the kiss…
Kai kept advancing on Jay, forcing the other man to lean back and eventually lay on the floor as Kai climbed on top of him, desperate for more. Their lips moved together, breaths shared as Jay wrapped his arms around Kai’s neck, pulling him closer. They were in full make-out territory now, and Kai didn’t want to ever stop.
He didn’t know when he’d developed these feelings for Jay. Probably a while ago now that he was looking at his internal thoughts about the other man. But…
“How long…” he asked, pulling back to kiss down Jay’s neck.
“A while,” Jay murmured back, stretching to give Kai more room to work with; his pale skin a canvas for any marks Kai might want to leave. “You…you too?” Jay sighed, sounding the slightest bit nervous.
Kai just hummed in agreement before running his tongue over the taut muscles in Jay’s neck. Jay’s fingers shifted to clutch at his back, the nails digging into Kai’s gi.
“I’m….I’m sorry I distracted you,” Jay choked out.
Kai huffed a laugh. “No you’re not.”
And, truth be told, Kai wasn’t that sorry either. It was hard to be bitter about doing a month of chores when Jay was groaning his name like he was.
Bathroom duty was so worth it.