A/N: Collection of shorts and drabbles that I have posted everywhere but here.

oOo

Just friends was never an option for them.

There is a bond between them that transcends time, that transcends space. It defies the laws of physics. It defies the laws of magic.

It is a rare occurrence, one that should not be taken lightly. Wu and Garmadon can both see it.

Wu calls it the red string of fate.

Jay and Nya were doomed the moment they laid eyes on each other.

oOo

I never wanted to be a part of your boys club anyway. That was a lie.  A lie to comfort herself as she passed onto the departed realm, because facing the truth that she is afraid of being left behind was infinitely more scary dying in the love of her life's arms.

oOo

His laughter is sharp and bright, cutting through the dimness of the living room like a bolt of lightning on a stormy night.  He stretches and yawns, casually wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulls her into a warm embrace.  He laughs again, gusty and jubilant, the vibrations from his chest josseling her about.  She is not sure how one person can be so happy all the time. 

She's the one who picked the movie, but she has stopped paying attention since long ago. A romantic comedy, and Jay is eating it up.  He reacts at the appropriate cues, trained on a lifetime of standard programming. Basic. Normal. *Reliable.*

He rests his head gently on hers. Nya tries not to purr. Instead, she grabs for the blanket, pulling it up to her chin and making herself small.

Nya hasn't felt this safe since she was a little girl, sitting in her father's lap and playing with the tiny hairs of his beard. 

The scene changes and the main characters finally confess to one another. Jay makes a funny sound, as if he is suppressing a squeal.  Nya finally lets herself giggle.

Her chest feels tight and her throat is dry.  Her heart doesn't flutter. Her heart doesn't skip a beat. It remains strong and steady, pulse loud in her ears. Or maybe that is his. Her ear is squished flush against his side and it is hard to tell the difference.

This isn't love, she tells herself.  Her grip on the blanket loosens as she keeps her eyes on the movie.  Jay's embrace remains warm.

Nya hasn't believed in love since she was three years old.  

oOo

It's a familiar dance.

Her rage boils over. He gives her a quirked eyebrow. She has choice words.  He takes some steps back.  She finds an unfortunate object. He watches her obliterate it.  She pretends it doesn't hurt as drops of blood slide down her fingers and splatter on the ground.  He pretends he is not annoyed when he patches her up.

oOo

Nya licked her lips slowly, eyeing her opponent.  She raised her guard, tightening her grip on her sai.

"Don't hold back, Sparky," she cooed, challenging him to make the first move.  A sly grin greeted her, cutting through the tension between them.

"Now why would you think that?"

"Because I've caught you doing it before."

Jay scoffed, visibly offended by her words.  "I would never do something so stupid as to anger you, my Water Lily," he sassed.

"You are a terrible liar," she bit the inside of her mouth to keep from bursting into laughter.  Jay responded by twirling his nunchucks over his head, readying to attack.

"Are we doing this or are we going to have a tea party? If you wanted to fight me with your tongue I've got a different activity in mind."

Nya puffed her cheeks at him, annoyed he was getting the upper hand with the verbal sparring. "Stop talking and fight me."

"Me? Stop talking? That's a tall order."

Nya briefly saw red before charging at him, weapons raised and ready to strike.  His smile was wide and bright as she approached, causing her to stumble. He blocked her blow effortlessly, spinning around and countering her attack with a hit to her upper arm.  She reeled back, steadying her stance and gripping her now smarting arm.

"Lucky hit," she seethed. Jay shrugged in response, adding insult to injury.  Her nostrils flared as she lunged at him again, only to find herself sailing past him as he jumped high in the air to dodge her attack.  Nya skidded to a stop, preventing herself from tumbling over the railing of the Bounty.  She whipped around, chest heaving and jaw clenched tight.

"Stop evading and fight me!" she demanded.  Jay simultaneously raised his eyebrow and guard at her.

"If that is what you want," he murmured, twirling his nunchucks once more.  Nya rushed him again, this time faster than before.  He dodged her initial attack, then swung wide with his nunchucks, almost clipping her chin.

She slammed into his chest and smiled as he grunted from the blow. Nya pivoted, placing her back flush against his, ready to throw him over her shoulder, but he zapped her off of him, putting distance between.

"Eerreaahhh," she yelled, charging him once more, no longer mindful of the chaotic movements of his nunchucks. He spun around with a crouch, sweeping her legs and watched as she landed on her butt with a grunt.  She snapped her head up, anger oozing out of her pores.

He flicked his wrist lazily, the nunchuck spinning around next to his shoulder as he stepped towards her. 

"Had enough?" he leered.  Nya bit down on her tongue and glared at him.

"Just getting warmed up," she spat, darting up and Jay jumped back in surprise. He evaded her initial strike, then snapped his arm around wildly, nunchuck trailing behind, hitting her squarely in the head.

Nya dropped to the deck like a sack of potatoes.

Crap.

Jay exclaimed some choice words as he threw his chucks to the ground and fell to his knees, pulling Nya into his arms, eyes growing wide and heart dropping into the pit of his stomach. He looked over her for any visible trauma, finding nothing.   He pulled her into a tight hug.

"Ack, I'm sorry Nya, I didn't mean to TKO you."  He picked her up bridal style, careful to keep her head from rolling back and ran towards the med bay, Kai's wrath the furthest thing from his mind.

Nya's eyes slowly fluttered open, greeted by harsh sunlight peeking through the windows of the med bay on the Bounty.  She felt like she had drowned and been resurrected ten times in a row.  Her body trembled slightly as she sat up, arm reaching to message her aching head. 

"I'm sorry!"

Ooofff. Too loud.

Nya turned, seeing Jay sitting at her bedside, eyes glassy, and worry plastered all over his face.

"I accidentally hit you with my nunchucks and then you hit the deck. Hard. You passed out and now you have a minor concussion," his words rushed out of his mouth in a panicked fury. "Sorry," he added again.

"Sssss okay," she slurred, realizing she was loopy from the pain killers.  "I was asking for it."

"But I hurt you."

"It's fine Jay, comes with the territory of being a ninja."

His shoulders slumped, worry slowly evaporating away.  "Now maybe you will finally accept what I've been telling you all this time."

She titled her head to the side, unimpressed, instantly regretting the action as her head throbbed and stomach lurched.  "And what is that?"

"That you are a total knockout."

Nya pulled in a deep breath, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "You owe me one Sparky. It's not nice to TKO your significant other."

"The whole week, anything you want."

She smiled, sizing him up. "I think I'd like to fight with your tongue now."

His grin was as bright as his element.

oOo

Jay crouched in the dark, stifling his breathing as his pulse pounded in his ears. Distant screams and laughter punched through the aggressively loud dance music. He gripped his gun tighter as he edged around the corner, looking for moving bits of clothing lit up by the obnoxious black lights.

"Hey Sparky."

He whipped around, ready to blast into oblivion the unknown assailant, but his trigger finger hesitated.  She towered over him, her dark dress blending into her slender frame, accented by the glowing lights of the point-counter receiver harness and cheeky grin. Her smile was glowing white from the black lights, cutting through the darkness and piercing his thundering heart.

He moved to shoot, but she moved faster, blocking his gun and shoving him into the dark corner.

"What are you doin— mmmmppghhh."

She pressed flush against him, finding his lips with hers. His eyes went wide then fluttered close, matching his elemental power dancing across his skin.  The kiss was fast and heady, removing what faculties he had remaining in the loud, dark room. Everything faded away until only her scorching touch and soft mewls were dominating his senses. 

She pulled away, admiring her handiwork. His eyes were unfocused and blown, chest heaving and stunned stupid, gun almost falling out of his grasp.

She smiled, her glowing grin appearing slowly in the dark like a Cheshire Cat. Jay felt a chill walk down his spine as she raised her weapon.

"Wait—,"

One, two, three gentle pulls of her trigger were accentuated by the annoying announcement of his transponder harness, informing him in perfect rhythm that he had been shot, multiple times.

"Player four eliminated," was announced over the loudspeakers.

That . . . was an understatement.