I do not make any money from this story nor do I own these characters. All copyrights apply.
FORBIDDEN
Jak jumped from rooftop to rooftop, dust and falling debris filled the air around him. The explosions timing was out by twenty seconds – not good. It put him in a foul mood, while twenty seconds may not seem like a lot, in the heat of the moment, it was a lifetime.
His vision blurred slightly as he ran. Shit, he swore, he must have hit his head harder than he first thought but luckily it was not bleeding. Something caught his foot as he leapt into the air, causing him to falter midair but he managed to catch the lip of the adjacent building. His body hitting the side wall, forcing the air out of his lungs.
"What the hell is this?" demanded a voice in his ear.
Jak tried to glare at Daxter as he hung from the side of the building.
"Easy for you to say," he growled.
"What!" yelled the ottsel, "I hang on for dear life every time we do something."
"I'll keep that in mind," replied Jak sarcastically.
He tried to pull himself up, his first attempt failed. His head hurt form being hit, his body hurt from flying into a wall – what a great day!
Daxter sighed in frustration and run up Jak's arm to the roof.
"I would offer you a hand but..." Daxter didn't finish the sentence.
"Yeah, yeah," muttered Jak as he tried again and this time succeeded.
Jak lay on the roof top for a few minutes, getting his breath back before getting up. The world spun as he got to his feet to quickly, he took a stumbling step forward and fell. Off the roof.
"JAAAAAKKKKK!" yelled Daxter, running to the edge.
The ottsel looked over in time to see Jak hit a protruding pole, he hung there for a few seconds before slowly sliding off and falling to the ground, where he did not move.
As Jak hit the pole, he felt ribs crack and break. He groaned as he felt himself sliding. Again he was falling, only this time the ground suddenly stopped his fall. He landed partially on his side, hitting his shoulder and head. Great, he dimly thought, now he had an head injury on both sides of his head. He lay still, trying to clear his thoughts and ascertain his injuries. All in all, he didn't think they were too bad.
"Jak?"
Jak's vision filled with orange fur.
"Jak, speak to me. I know you can see me – your eyes are open," pointed out the ottsel.
"I can see you," muttered Jak, slowly making an effort to get to his feet. He stood, the world was a little fuzzy but he could deal with it.
"Let's go," he said and started towards HQ.
"Are you okay?" asked Daxter as they set off.
"I'll live," answered Jak.
They kept to the shadows and back allies, just in case they were being followed. The coast was clear as they entered HQ. Jak gave a sigh of relief, he may not necessarily call it home but it was what he had. Looking round he couldn't see Torn anywhere, not that it mattered. All Jak wanted was sleep and painkillers. He started towards the medi lock but noticed a bottle on the table, reaching over he picked it up and sniffed it – some kind of alcohol. That would dull the pain and he could get to his bunk quicker.
"Are you sure you should be drinking that?" chimed Daxter in the background.
"Right now, I just don't care," returned Jak taking a couple of mouthfuls from the bottle.
So what if it was Torn's – he owed them, they were still no closer to meeting the Shadow.
"Whatever. I going to get something real to eat," said the ottsel and slunk out the room. If Jak was in a bad mood, he was going to find something else to do.
Jak took a couple more swings from the bottle before gingerly lying down. He winced as he did so, damn stuff was taking too long but he was feeling slightly light-headed so hopefully he'd pass out soon.
JDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJD
Torn was not having a good day, there was something happening and no one seemed to know what. He stormed into the mess and saw Daxter sitting on the table, chewing something. This meant Jak was back – damn Jak! What was it about that kid that irked him so much?
"Mission status?" he asked the ottsel.
Daxter gave a thumbs up,
"Success," he said with his mouth full of whatever he was eating.
Torn grunted, he expected nothing less. He made his way to the exit.
"You can say thanks anytime," said Daxter to his retreating back.
Torn ignored him and continued toward the main room. He saw Jak sleeping on one of the bunks. Torn glanced at him as he passed, it took Torn a second to recognise the bottle in Jak's hand. He frowned, that was his. How had Jak found it? Oh, yeah, he remembered – he had left it on the table. Still, the kid should have realised it was his and left it alone. He reached down and took the bottle – at least he hadn't drunk that much. As Torn straighten, Jak moved in his sleep. His face twisted in pain and his arm wrapped itself protectively around his chest.
What has he done now? thought Torn.
Carefully Torn moved Jak's arm and lifted his top. A deep purple bruise ran down the side of his torso. Judging from the bruising, Torn guessed Jak had a couple of broken ribs – the kid was going to hurt for weeks. Torn gave himself a mental shake, what was wrong with him? Showing concern for some kid he barely knew. He turned and flopped into one of the chairs around the table and glanced down at the map, which was always spread out. Torn found his gaze drifting to Jak more often than he cared for. The kid fascinated him – why?
He heaved a heavy sigh and took a swing from the bottle in his hands. He did this several time. Torn found himself studying Jak's face, the curve of his mouth and wondering what it would taste like.
Torn jerked upright in his seat – had he just thought that? Yes, he had. Taking a calming breath, Torn tried to collect his thoughts.
That was it – that was what bugged him about Jak ever since he first laid eyes on him. And it took him this long to realised it. He drank some more.
Is that why he and Jak always had to argue? Did Jak have the same feelings for him? Did he dare to find out?
Again he knocked back so of the fiery liquid. Yeah, he did dare, he decided and stood up.
Torn sat down on the edge of Jak's bunk. Hesitantly he reached forward and touched Jak's face. Jak didn't even stir, encouraged Torn ran his fingers along Jak's jaw and up to his lips. Jak frowned slightly and moved his head, Torn remained motionless. He couldn't decided whether he wanted Jak to wake or not but he remained asleep. Torn had done more than he would have ever dared had he been sober.
Did he dare kiss Jak?
Almost as if to answer his question, Jak turned his head to face Torn, his mouth slightly open. It was more than Torn could take – he leaned forward and kissed Jak.
A thrill run up Torn's spine as his lips met Jak's. While Jak didn't respond, he didn't move away either. Torn deepened his kiss, running his tongue across Jak's teeth, trying to part them. He paused as he felt Jak suddenly stiffen. Opening his eyes, he met Jak's stare. Jak was awake and as tense as a cat about to jump.
Their faces were centimetres apart.
"Why are you kissing me?" asked Jak quietly.
Torn didn't know what to do so he shrugged and said,
"Why not?"
Jak's face remained blank,
"Get off me," he said. His voice as emotionless as his face.
Torn made a show of thinking about it and shook his head. He moved closer and starting kissing Jak's neck. Jak flinched at his touch,
"Stop it," he said.
"Why?" asked Torn, running his tongue along Jak's ear.
"I don't like it," answered Jak trying to pull away from him.
If Jak had pulled out his gun and shot Torn through the heart, it would not have hurt as much as that sentence did. Suddenly sober, he lifted his head and looked Jak in the eye, he could see Jak told the truth. He could see he hated the fact that Torn was leaning over him, touching him – kissing him while he slept.
But Torn just couldn't get himself to move, he was captivated by Jak's eyes. Even though they didn't show the emotion he wanted.
"You're hurting me," whispered Jak.
Torn cursed himself, he'd been leaning on Jak's chest – crushing his broken ribs. Torn quickly got to his feet and stepped back. Jak followed more slowly but edged toward the door,
"Don't ever do that again," he said his manner deadly serious.
Torn just nodded. There was nothing he could say really. With the timing of an ottsel, Daxter walked in.
"Oooh, the air is tense," he said, "What suicide mission are you sending us on?"
"Nothing for now," answered Torn stiffly. "Get Jak to the medi lock."
"Have I missed an argument? What was it about? Can I put my thoughts in?" asked Daxter.
"Let's go, Dax," said Jak turning to leave.
"Oh, alright," muttered Daxter following Jak out the room.
Torn watched them go and sighed, working together in future was going to be tough.
END
