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Kai kissed his teeth. No, no, this was too much, wasn’t it. Knowing Jay, he would probably arrive in a smiley face t-shirt and jorts. And here Kai was, stressing over whether to button up his polo or not.
“Oh, who am I kidding,” he muttered, pulling the polo shirt off. What had even possessed him to wear that? His best bet was just his normal, signature red and a leather jacket thrown on top. And cargoes. He had the perfect ones. Hell, Jay had practically drooled when he first saw them.
Great. He would have to redo his entire outfit. But it was better than showing up in something that looked like it was stolen from Zane’s closet.
I’m never taking advice from Nya again, he promised himself. She hadn’t even let him go and see what Jay was wearing!
“Nuh uh, it’s bad luck to see the bride before the wedding,” Nya had said.
Kai had sputtered, his face redder than his gi. What wedding!? It was just a date! But Nya was immovable and stubborn and her logic made sense to nobody. Nobody except Nya herself. And Jay.
He reached for his chain clipons, his hand hesitating. He opened and closed his first a few times, almost like a spasm, before he finally grabbed it, clipping it onto belt loops. He’d completely given up on subtlety. Besides, Jay liked it when he got all dressed up. He would always come over and pat Kai’s chest, smooth non-existent wrinkles over his shoulder, and straighten his jacket collar.
And then he would kiss the corner of Kai’s jaw.
It was like some ritual. As if Jay had to see if he was actually there. But you would never find Kai complaining about it. He adored it.
And the thought of Jay doing his little ritual again was what fuelled Kai to put on his rings too. Jay still had the one shaped like a ring of flames. Kai twisted a simple metal band. Jay would like this one too.
Just as he was putting on his boots, he heard heavy banging on his door.
“Are you done grooming yourself?” Nya yelled through the door. “Jay’s waiting for you!”
That got Kai to straighten up. He frowned at his hair, until he settled for just messing it up slightly. Jay said his natural, ungelled hair was fluffy and better than when he styled it.
Kai opened his door, smirking when Nya almost fell through it. She straightened up, brushing off her shirt. She poked his chest. “Chop, chop, Prince Charming,” she said. “Your damsel is waiting.”
Jay tapped his foot on the floor, refusing to look up, examining the colourful laces on his shoes instead. Kai had told him to be normal, but what did he mean by normal? Had he meant normal as in around-the-monastery-normal? But no, Kai wouldn’t be very thrilled if Jay showed up in sweatpants and an oil-stained t-shirt.
So Jay decided that normal meant his white t-shirt with blue sleeves and a big, yellow smiley face slapped on top of it. He’d wrapped a jacket around his waist and worn his baggy jeans, but he was second guessing now.
Why was Kai taking so long? Was Jay underdressed? He’d even put on bracelets and his necklace! The one with the lightning charm that Kai had bought for him. And he was wearing Kai’s ring, too.
Why was Jay so nervous, too? They’d gone on hundreds of dates before, so why was Jay stressing out so bad on this one?
No, but they hadn’t gone on a date in so long, too. At least not a formal one. Formal as in one where Kai asked him to go out. Usually they just . . . found each other in the Monastery. Or stuck to each other during group outings. And because of all the ninja-stuff they had to do, even those were few and far between.
When was the last time they actually went on a date-date?
“Stop looking so sad,” Nya said, coming down the hallway. “He’ll think he did something wrong.”
Jay groaned, covering his face as he tilted against the sofa. He’d meant to put his head back to look at Nya, but instead he was met with Kai’s stomach. Instantly, he scrambled up, twisting properly to look at Kai, right-side up.
His mouth dried.
He wanted to bite Kai’s necklace. There was no pretty way to say it. He wanted to climb on top of the sofa and pull Kai on top of him.
FSM, why hadn’t they gone on a date, again? How had he let himself forget how much he actually wanted Kai? How had he let himself forget why he loved Kai in the first place?
He cleared his throat, getting off the sofa. Kai had a look of soft amusement on his face, but the second Jay stood up, his expression became soft, period.
“Hey, pretty,” Kai said, sliding his arms around Jay’s waist. Jay’s hands rested lightly on Kai’s forearms.
“Hi, baby.”
There you are, Jay thought as he bent down to kiss Kai’s jaw. Mine. His hands patted down Kai’s shoulders, swiping his thumb lightly, feeling the smooth leather. He ran his fingers over Kai’s collarbones and dipped down to kiss Kai properly. He fiddled with Kai’s chain, before bringing one of Kai’s hands up and examining his rings. He smiled softly when he found a simple metal band.
“I like this one,” Jay mumbled, kissing it.
“Yeah?” Kai asked. Jay nodded.
“Okay, lovebirds!” Nya abruptly said, herding them out of the door. “Get lost!”
The look on Jay’s face made everything worth it. The nervousness, the pickiness. It all payed off to look up and see Jay laugh breathlessly.
“You idiot,” Jay said. “This is—”
“Where we had our first date, I know, baby.”
Jay beamed at him. “Are we going—”
“Duh,” Kai said, grabbing the crook of Jay’s elbow and leading him to the corner of the floor they were on, towards the ice cream pop-up. The second Kai had seen the news that the pop-up was back in the mall, he knew that he needed to bring Jay back here.
Jay laughed once again, bright and musical and something that made Kai fall in love all over again every time he heard it.
“Oh my FSM,” Jay said. “Oh, you idiot.” He didn’t seem to be able to say any more than that.
“Cotton candy?” Kai asked, even though he already had it memorised, the way he had everything about Jay memorised, from the sound of his laugh to the placements of his freckles to the way he liked to be held.
“Yes,” Jay said, still looking around in wonder. Kai smiled fondly and pulled Jay further so that he could actually place their orders.
Jay was so going to jump Kai the second they got home. He was so spoiling Kai. No wonder Jay kept feeling like it was their first date again. No wonder he’d been so nervous. It was like his mind had subconciously known, before he’d even gotten in the car, where Kai was taking him.
He sat down on the bench next to the pop-up and just . . . watched as Kai went to the counter to place their orders. He just stared at Kai, like it was the first time he had ever seen him. The dimples that showed even when Kai was just talking, the way he always ran his hands through his hair, pushing it back, the way he fiddled with the chain on his belt loops.
The way he was wearing Jay’s favourite cargoes, the way he was wearing Jay’s favourite rings, the way he was wearing his hair the way Jay liked it.
But then again, Jay was no better. Hadn’t he worn the necklace that Kai gifted him? The ring that Kai bought him? The earrings Kai loved playing with? Hadn’t he put on eyeliner because Kai liked it?
No wonder the others were always so sick of them.
“There we go,” Kai said, handing Jay his ice cream. Jay beamed. Kai had remembered. He remembered that Jay hated cones because the ice cream could always drip down his hands, he remembered that Jay liked the cup to be filled all the way and then flattened with a knife. He remembered the toppings, the sprinkles.
“Have I ever told you I adore you?” Jay said.
“I wouldn’t mind a reminder,” Kai said smoothly, breaking off a piece of his cone to give to Jay. He remembered that too.
Jay swatted Kai’s arm away, but not before biting the cone. “Well, now I’m not gonna tell you,” he said haughtily.
Kai rolled his eyes and just smacked a chocolate flavoured kiss onto Jay’s mouth, causing Jay to giggle again.
“Okay, okay, fine!” Jay conceded. “I love you.”
“I remember you saying ‘adore,’ not ‘love,’” Kai said, looking away from Jay.
“Is my love not enough for you?” Jay asked, finally tasting his ice cream.
“I wouldn’t mind a little more,” Kai said. “I took you for ice cream, didn’t I?”
Jay refused to answer, instead, eating his ice cream, trying to get a spoonful of sprinkles as well as the cotton candy flavour. Kai was practically radiating with expectence.
“But do you adore me?” Jay finally said.
“Yes,” Kai answered, so quickly it was almost funny.
“Well, then I adore you too,” Jay said, leaning over to kiss Kai’s cheek, but Kai turned his head at the last moment and caught Jay’s mouth with his.
Jay scowled. “Now my mouth tastes like chocolate cotton candy,” he said. Kai laughed and any guards Jay had melted. What he wouldn’t give to live in this moment forever . . .
“No,” Kai said, his voice ringing with amusement. “Now your mouth tastes like me.”