The night he came home was perfect, just like all the nights he came home.
It was dark when Jak arrived home; at least three a.m. No lights were on in the house. If it were anywhere but home, this would have worried him; he joked to himself that it was unlike Keira to not work until three in the morning. She was as headstrong as he was when it came to working on a project of hers.
Their house was flooded in silver moonlight, a backdrop of a velvet sky with glittering stars perfecting all that was contained within his field of vision. Peace fell over his whole body, along with a sudden wave of exhaustion. He unlocked the door and gently pushed it open, letting some of the moonlight into the house briefly. It quietly creaked open, then creaked shut, gently clicking in its frame.
"Keira?" he called softly as he untied his steel-toe capped boots, unsure as to whether she was awake or not. His ears twitched, searching for sound. When he didn't hear any, he slipped his feet out of his boots, slung the Morph Gun quietly into the corner and padded upstairs quicker and quieter than a man of his reputation would lead to believe. Balancing on the balls of his feet, he felt for the door handle of their room – the one place where the moonlight did not reach – and felt it resist under his hand as he pushed it until it let him into the pitch-black room.
"Jak?" a very sleepy, croaky voice croaked, perhaps a reaction to the door opening. The young man's eyes screamed as warm light suddenly flooded them. "Jak, is that you?"
"It's me, Keir," he said, relief flooding his voice and his body. He watched the bed as his heavily pregnant girlfriend sat up, rubbing her eyes. She tilted her head and fixed him with a soft, green-eyed stare that weakened his knees.
"Get over here, Jak Mar," she whispered throatily. He obeyed without hesitation, sliding under the covers, lips locking with hers as she drew him into a time-stopping, breathtakingly fiery kiss. He held her as tight as he could in his arms, wishing he could stop time completely. When they broke apart – which took a long time, because that was how much they'd missed eachother – she put her hands on his face, smiling.
"You've missed me, then?" Jak grinned cockily, running his hands down her legs – or what was exposed below the nightdress hemline – to her feet. He picked them up and placed them in his lap, gently massaging one at a time.
Keira groaned with relief. "I did. But then I always do when you go away, especially with a little one on the way." She kept her gaze on him, resting her hands over her prominent bump.
"I know, honey." Jak moved on to her other foot, his gaze falling onto her bump. "I'm doing this for our baby as well as...us. As well as the city."
"The world," Keira added softly. "By the way, why is Daxter not here wrecking the place as normal?"
"The world," Jak agreed, a hint of a smile. "Daxter decided to wreck his bed with Tess the second we set foot inside Haven,"
Keira flopped back dramatically, head hitting the pillow with a "puff". "Oh, thank the Precursors. Don't think I could handle him today."
Jak chuckled, putting her feet down and crawling up the bed until he was directly over her stomach. "Now, son, have you been good for your mother?"
"Yes, my little girl has been good," Keira grinned. "Daddy, you've got it wrong,"
"No, I got it right. Didn't I, son?" The baby chose to conveniently kick in response to it's father's voice. Jak saw this kick and was overjoyed. "See? A little boy. I was right!" He kissed Keira quickly before she could respond. The truth was, neither of them knew, and they wouldn't know for another two months. Jak lay down next to his girlfriend, aching muscles sighing in relief as they hit the mattress. Keira snuggled down into his arms, which he closed around her reflexively. He kissed her neck as she settled down, stretching and uttering a little moan as she did. He let her scent fill his nostrils as he drifted off, the baby – their baby – stirring inside her.
"I love you, Jak," she murmured just as he was on the brink of dropping off.
"I love you too, Keira," he murmured back, finally drifting off to sleep in very little time at all. Their breathing slowed and evened into a conjoined rhythm, sounding like it came from one person rather than two.
All Keira could think as she dropped off was how wonderful this night was; how perfect.
Just like all the nights that Jak came home in one piece.