7 Days Till Christmas (Ninjago Jaya AU)

5 Days Till Christmas

A/N: This is where we realize I know absolutely nothing about cars, and googling it isn't enough. So if you do know about cars, I'm sorry, I'm kinda making things up. Obviously this car is very different than most, so that's kinda my explanation for why it doesn't work like normal ones. 

On a different note, I might be leaving on a road trip later today, so I may have to post some chapters early or late as I mentioned. I know it kind of spoils the Christmas countdown, but I started writing this before I knew about the trip so I didn't plan for it. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this one!

I wake early on December 20th, excited to get back to work. I started work on Jay's father's car yesterday after finishing up the other, less glamorous jobs Ronin left for me, which included some rather unnecessary cleaning. By the time I was finished with that, I only had a few hours left, which I spent studying the car's systems. They're unlike any other, and I kind of understand now why Jay was so interested in tinkering with them. But at the same time, the car certainly isn't normal, and I don't know how long it'll take me to get it running again.

I eat quickly, get on my coveralls, and go down to the shop. I've only been there for about an hour when someone comes up behind me.

"Hi. How's it going?" Jay asks.

I turn around, fast enough that he can probably tell I wasn't expecting him. "Sorry. I didn't know you were here, and there's no one manning the front."

"It's okay." He says. "Are you here all by yourself?"

"Yeah." I turn to face him. He looks a little more disheveled today, with his button-down shirt rumpled and half-untucked, and his curls messy and full of snow. "My boss, Ronin, is on vacation, and the other guys have the flu really bad."

"Your boss isn't the nicest, I'm guessing?" He asks. I'm surprised at his observantness–I guess I probably was scowling, though.

"Not really. I really shouldn't be working on this–he said no big jobs, but that's only 'cause he doesn't think I can be a real mechanic, since I'm only eighteen and I'm a girl. Besides, if I do manage to fix it I'll give you a discount so he'll think it was a junk job like most of the cars we get around here."

"Why do you work for him, if he treats you so horribly?" Jay asks.

"Well, I want to open my own shop someday, and I get to work here and live upstairs for experience. Ronin owes my aunt, 'cause he has shares in her tea company and they gave him the money to open this place in the first place." I explain. "But don't worry. I've been studying cars all my life, and my parents used to do that sort of stuff too. I'll be able to fix this one yet, I think."

"I wish my parents had taught me about cars." Jay said. "My father only taught me how to dress nicely, and what to say to the paparazzi, and how to mind my own business. So I've had to learn by taking apart his cars, which he'd hate even more if he knew about it."

"I expect this outfit isn't up to his standards?" I ask.

He looks down and blushes. "N-not really. But I thought–"

"It's fine." I laugh to show I'm teasing. "I mean, I'm wearing this getup. Not exactly pretty." I gesture to the worn, too-large coveralls that have become my daily attire.

"You're still pretty." He says, then blushes even redder. "I'm sorry, I don't know if I'm supposed to say that."

"It's not true, but I don't mind." I look away, busying myself with the engine again and hoping I'm not blushing as obviously as he is.

He's silent for an awkward moment. "It is true," He mumbles finally, then walks over to my side. "Have you figured out what's wrong?"

"Major wiring issues." I explain. "I'm gonna have to remove the whole engine, rewire it, and reinstall it. I can't just get a new one, because it's so unique. Your dad would notice the car acting differently, and we don't have time to test it anyways. So we're just gonna have to hope I can get it back into working order."

"Do you think you can?" He asks.

I nod slowly. "I think so. That is, if no one else comes in with an urgent job."

"If they do, I can help you." He says. "I know that doesn't sound good, seeing as I was the one who broke this car, but I promise I can work on normal cars. I just sort of learned by taking things apart, so . . ."

"I'll be fine. Wouldn't want you to get your clothes dirty."

"Oh, come on!" He makes his blue eyes big. "Please?"

"Maybe." I give him a smirk, looking away so as not to lose myself in those eyes, which are admittedly a pretty color.

He crosses his arms and pretends to sulk. "You're no fun."

"Hey! Just be grateful I'm even doing this." I remind him. "Besides, who says you're any fun either, pretty boy."

He stalks to the corner as I continue to unscrew the engine and disconnect its wires and pipes. It's really quite different from anything I've ever seen before. Oh, how I would love to work with Mr. Borg, and see firsthand how he invents this sort of thing. But instead, my boss is stupid Ronin. Leaving unexpectedly has been the first good thing he's done for me.

I go off into my head as I work, focusing solely on what I'm doing, carefully thinking through the process. I work quickly and efficiently, almost forgetting I'm not alone.

"Hey, Nya?" Someone says behind me. I actually jump, what feels like a foot in the air.

"Sorry," I feel my face getting hot again, despite how cold it is. "What is it?" I now realize that it's Jay again, and I can't bear to look at him.

"I brought you some lunch, if you'd like." He says.

I slowly turn and take it from him. "Where did you get this?" I ask, peering into the bag.

"Well, since you won't let me help you with the cars, I decided I should at least be helpful somehow." He grins. "So I took a little trip, in my normally functioning car."

"How long have I been working?" I ask, wondering how I neglected to notice his leaving and returning.

"Almost three hours." He says.

"Really? I'm sorry. It's just, I'm not used to customers, um, sticking around."

He looks down. "Yeah, about that. I don't have to if you'd rather I didn't, but I'm just really interested in cars, and I don't have anything else to do."

"You don't? Aren't you, like, a celebrity?"

He shakes his head fervently. "Not really. And it's not much fun, anyway. I'm not the famous one, really. I've been raised in my dad's shadow, and the press is always theorizing about me. My parents are almost never home; they hardly see each other any more, and my dad's always off on movie shoots. But for Christmas, we're supposed to have this family dinner. So that's why it's really important that the car is fixed–I don't want anything to ruin it. I don't want my dad to be disappointed in me, just this once."

Even though I hardly know him, my heart breaks. At first, I thought of him as this privileged brat, but now I find myself actually sympathizing with him. Imagine that.

"Don't worry." I hear myself saying. "I'll finish the job. It'll all be perfect."

I know I shouldn't promise him that, but I can't stop myself. It seems like this Christmas dinner really means a lot to him. And, okay, maybe I want for Jay what I can't have for myself this year–a perfect holiday with a perfect, whole family.