Jay was sitting down of the beach.  It was close to midnight, but he didn't care.  He didn't care about how cold it was or the weird sounds around him.  All he could think about was Nya.  They had just gotten her back after she merged with the sea and defeated the Crystal King.  He knows he should be wanting to spend every moment with Nya, but right now, he couldn't sleep and he thought that the sound of the waves might be able to help.

He listened to the sound of waves a lot when Nya was gone.  Every morning he'd go outside of the lighthouse and washed to waves crash upon the shore.  Every night he'd listen when he was having trouble falling asleep.  He guessed it was therapeutic in a way.  Listening to waves helped him feel closer to Nya.  It's her element after all.

Right before Nya went to sleep that night, her and Jay had been considering stepping back from ninja business.  Currently, neither of them are sure if they want to continue.  They fight all the time to protect Ninjago and so many of their battles have ended in tragedy.  Granted, a lot of times when one of their teammates goes missing or is "dead," they find a way to bring them back, but it doesn't erase the hurt and pain they feel when it happens.  Nya merged with the sea to save Jay's life.  It was one or the other to make it out of that battle with Kalmaar.  Nya made the choice and Jay is so glad they were able to bring her back.  If Jay had died during that battle, he doesn't think they would have been able to bring him back like that.  Drowning isn't something that can be magically fixed.

Still, during all that time without Nya, Jay thought it should've been him.  Nya shouldn't have sacrificed herself just to save him.  If it ever came down to another battle where only one of them would make it out alive, Jay would do whatever it took to make sure Nya made it out.

But, neither of them want to make that choice again.  Neither of them wants to have to make that sacrifice again.

That's why they're talking about possibly hanging up their gis.  They haven't made an official decision yet and they don't want to blindside the others, but they don't know if they can keep doing this.  They don't know if they keep dealing with the pain and hurt that comes every time they think they've lost one of their teammates forever or each other.  It's a decision they have to really think through, but Jay is leaning more towards just wanting a normal life with Nya.  They would still be a phone call away if there was a big emergency that the others couldn't handle on their own.  They're not so heartless that they'd never help protect Ninjago again, but they'd be more like on call.

Jay thinks the others will be alright with it. It will come as a shock at first, but they'll manage. He's sure that the others have considered hanging up their gis at some point too. It's a stressful job. Always waiting for the next threat. Always looking over your shoulder. Always wondering who might be the next person to somehow cheat death. Their luck with that is going to run out at some point and Jay and Nya don't really want to be there when it does. They don't want to watch someone they care about get seriously hurt or die again. It's happened too many times.

He wondered what it would be like to start a family with Nya. It's something he's wanted for a while now, but it hasn't been able to happen due to their crazy ninja life. He knows their kids will, most likely, inherit their powers. It might skip a generation, but Jay doubts it with their luck. He doesn't want his kids to become ninja. He doesn't want them in constant danger. He doesn't want them constantly preparing to face their next threat. He doesn't want them to need to worry about out what happens if one of them doesn't make it out of a battle. That's the life of a ninja. That's the life he doesn't want his future children to have.

He supposes there has been a lot of good though that's come out of them being ninja. If he didn't become a ninja, he never would've met Nya. Or the others. He's also helped a lot of people. The smiles on the faces of the people he's saved over the years is something he'll never forget. He loves the feeling of being able to reunite families after Ninjago almost gets destroyed. Although, you would think people would want to move far away from any place that's been attacked by now. You'd think they'd want to move to a different realm at this point.

"Hey," Jay whipped his head around to face the person who said that and was met with Nya. She gave him a small smile and sat down beside him. "Why are you at the beach so late?"

"Couldn't sleep," Jay answered. "I thought listening to the waves would help."

"I'm guessing you've been doing that a lot recently."

Jay nodded. Nya could read him like an open book. He can't hide anything from her. "It made me feel closer to you after you merged with the sea."

Nya grabbed one of Jay's hands and squeezed it.  "I know it must've been hard for you.  I wouldn't have done it if there was another way to save you."

"I know, but I wish you didn't have to."

"Unfortunately, our job requires us to make those decisions."

"Were you serious earlier about wanting to leave?"

"Yes, were you?"

"Yes."

"How will we break it to the others?"

"I don't know, but we'll tell them that we'll come back if they need us."

"Of course." Nya leaned her head on Jay's shoulder and they looked back at the waves together. Right now, they were together and that's what really mattered.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed!