Transgender Jay : A Ninjago Story

23 - Support

The sweet twittering of two little birds whistled through the gaps in the Bounty's walls, making its way into Jay's sleepy ears.

After what he had been through, a pleasant sound to wake up to was the least the world could give him.

There were a few moments of blessed calm, where the blue ninja sat up, rubbed his eyes and yawned, stretching his arms after a deep and much-needed rest.

But then, the onset of panic came quickly, without warning.

The events of the previous day flashed across his mind like a faulty video, moving far to fast to comprehend but just slow enough to bring back every single stabbing memory.

Everybody knew.

Everybody on the Bounty knew that he was trans. Even Kai.

Even Nya.

Jay's electric blue eyes darted around, realising that his surroundings weren't the familiar set-up of his girlfriend's room - or even the Ninja's shared room - but rather the medical room. He was laying in the small bed there, and it had seemed that someone had already come to see him that morning.

There was a cup of tea and a note on the table next to the bed.

A charming blend of rooibos and vanilla made home in the mug, and the note simply read 'Zane x'.

Jay made a mental note to thank him when he next saw him, focusing very deliberately on other things so not to fall back into yet another exhausting panic attack.

The tea was only lukewarm. It had probably been laying there for a little white, but Jay downed the thing anyway. As a beverage, it was pleasant, but knowing that a friend had gone out of their way to do something nice for him was all the more delicious.

After that, Jay didn't really know what to do. He absolutely did not want to leave that room, because that meant he would walk straight into some very awkward interactions. They needed to happen, he knew that. He needed to tell his friends what he had kept from them for so long.

He just wanted to prolong it. Only a little bit longer.

Enough to calm his mind, and come to terms with the fact that there was no getting out of this.

Jay stretched his arms again, realising that he must have slept a bit funny when a far too familiar ache flared up in his left shoulder.

As if the pain of his binder wasn't enough already.

Rushing thoughts grazed his mind, trying to work their way into the vulnerable parts to cause havoc.

He didn't let them.

The time for panic was over. Now, he needed to stay calm, and controlled, and figure out how he was going to explain himself. Even those who supported him would still like a backstory, he was sure.

Simply just tell the story, he guessed. Why do anything else? The story was all they needed.

The... the basic story of course. They didn't need all the details, especially when he wasn't comfortable revealing a few.

Thinking...

Thinking...

Thinking...

Maybe it would be better to talk to each other individually, alone. Even though it would take longer, repeating the same story again and again, but it would eliminate a lot of possible anxiety around the subject. That plan would work with five sevenths of the Bounty's personnel.