"As far as I'm concerned, I don't blush," Nya stated matter-of-factly.  Jay's eyebrow shot up in mild curiously.

"Oh really? What about that time when I asked you out on our first date?"

"The one where you turned into a snake?"

Jay surprised himself by not turning into a stuttering mess. He chose to cross his arms instead. "The one where you turned bright red after I asked you out."

Now it was Nya's turn to cross her arms. "Perfume allergies." She cocked her head to the side, challenging him.

"Perfume allergies, eh?" He took two swift steps until he was almost brushing foreheads with her. "And you've never had a reaction since then. Interesting."

Nya held her gaze, but Jay didn't miss the slight tremble in her lips. "Uh huh," she muttered.

"So . . . what if I do this?" He dipped his head down, landing a featherweight kiss on her cheek.

Nya remained perfectly still. "Nope."

Jay smiled, accepting the challenge. He gently turned her head to the side, lightly kissing her other cheek.

"Nada," she shrugged.

Jay straightened up and pulled her into his signature crushing bear hug.

Her shoulders tensed as she stopped herself from giggling.  "Zilch," came her muffled reply from her face buried into his chest.

Jay peeled her away from his embrace, hands still on her shoulders. They thrummed with electricity and sent a shiver down her spine.  He made a show of inspecting her face for any hint of a blush, clucking his tongue as he found nothing.

Nya shrugged unrepentantly. "See? Told ya!"

Jay returned her smug grin as his hands traversed across her shoulders and up her neck, finally coming to a stop to lightly cup her face.  The sensation left a trail of tingles that threatened to betray her no-blush face.

He pulled her in closer and she lowered her eyelids, anticipation itching down her spine. 

His lips ghosted over hers, teasing her to close the gap but she held her ground. He finally made contact, kissing her upper lip, then lower, until she leaned into him and invited him in.

The kiss felt like sunshine. Then rain. Increasing in intensity, reminding her of an onset summer storm in Ignacia, building and building until the thunderous release of lightning rippled through the sky like an elegant, dazzling spiderweb.

Nya wanted to wrap her arms around him, dig her claws in, never let him go, but he pulled back, ending the kiss before she could even register that her knees were growing weak.

She stared at him in stunned silence for a whole two seconds before uttering, "Nothing."

His jaw ticked. Nya was anticipating a full on classic Jay-outburst, but instead he shocked her with, "Well," he sighed heavily, "I guess I got nothing too," then promptly turned on his heel and left the room.

After hearing the click of the door, Nya slid to the floor, boneless. "Nothing my a$$," she muttered to herself, feeling her cheeks burn, knowing she was turning brighter red than her favorite cheongsam. 

Nya smiled to herself. Perhaps she got more than she bargained for, or perhaps she should play this game again.

oOo

Milliseconds felt like hours as she shuffled backwards, heart threatening to leap into her throat. She collided painfully with the cold concrete wall.

His footsteps echoed loudly in her ears. She raised her guard, knowing her actions were futile.

His hands glowed a telling blue, flickering in a rapid staccato, as annoying and ear-drum shattering as a charging taser.  She gulped involuntarily.  Everything about him was aggressive and loud.

His hands connected with the wall behind her head, hot breath fanning out and lapping down her neck, sending a cascade of shivers down her spine.

She was paralyzed, and he wasn't even touching her.

"I light up the sky, but I am not the sun." His words ripped though her like a thousand volts, and she stiffened under his gaze.

He leaned forward, lips a hair's width away from her ear and whispered, "My kiss is deadly, but I am not a snake."

oOo

The first thing Nya became aware of as she woke was the fact that she wasn't alone.

Waking up next to someone was something she was still getting used too; but she couldn't deny she enjoyed the feeling of being enveloped in soft sheets and warm, hard muscles.

Jay wasn't kidding when he sheepishly admitted to her long ago that he was a sleep hugger.  A fact that was relentlessly exploited by the other ninja. At first he tried to play it cool, but then the others discovered that he *slept* with his nunchucks of lightning. Not for safe keeping as he so claimed, but as a substitute for a security blanket. As time dragged on, the ninja slowly lowered their cool-guy guards as privacy increasingly became a hot commodity. Mr. Cuddlywamp became a permanent fixture in the Bounty barracks, and soon a new competition emerged:  who could swap out the blue stuffed animal from Jay's death grip and replace it with the most obscene object imaginable, without stirring awake said ninja.  The game finally ended when Jay decided enough was enough and painfully electrocuted anyone whom dared touch him while he slumbered.

Nya smiled lazily at the memory in her hazy, half asleep state. 

The Blue Ninja was curled around her like a muscle-bound octopus and she was certain if she even dared to fidget, he would pull her in tighter.

Morning sunlight spilled trough a slit in the blinds, slowly creeping down her forehead to blast its harsh light in her eyes.  Nya turned to bury her head into her oversized teddy bear to escape the strong sunlight, and sure enough, his grip on her tightened.

oOo

Nya has a lot in her life to be angry about. Abandoned at age three. Raised herself. Figured everything out on her own.

She realized at a young age that you don't become the hero by playing the victim.

That's why the choice is so hard. She stays up all night grappling with her decision. She knows they will be mad - especially Kai. The others will accept it. Jay will forgive her - eventually.

Jay will recover. Jay is stronger than he lets on.  He sees the world as it really is:  all the hurts and all the hang-ups, all the evils and joys, and jokes the discomfort away. That's what hurts the most: knowing that Jay can carry on without her, but she cannot carry on without him.

Maybe this is the cowardly choice— selling her soul to the sea to avoid a lifetime without Jay.

Jay helped her realize her worth. Maybe she helped him unlock his true potential with sweet words and a kiss on the cheek, but his unrelenting daily commitment to her helped her unlock hers.  Showed her that she is more than the sum of her works.

Sometimes, even in her darkest moments, she doesn't believe she deserves someone so bright.  She sees it in his megawatt smile; a happy childhood with two loving parents.  A part of her envies it, but most of her clings to his perpetual joy. Bluebird of happiness. He really is the heart— the battery that powers the whole team.

Perhaps it is selfish. Jay will be fine. But she will not be fine without Jay.  She has already died in his arms twice. Maybe no do-overs for the third time. It's a risk she is willing to take. She has a lifetime of good deeds to cash in on.

She knows they will come for her.

Nya never signed up to be a damsel in distress, because she knows now that she is a princess worth fighting for.