Disclaimer: All Jak and Daxter related characters and concepts belong to Naughty Dog.

JKA: Man, this took way longer than it should have to finish! So, basically our old pal Jakky-boy screwed up big time with Keira, and he's feeling pretty down on himself. Maybe a surprise visitor in the middle of the night is just what he needs to cheer him up. ;) Oh, and parts of this fic came from inspiration caused by an Owl City song. Anyone who can guess which song it is gets a cookie. :)

This fic is dedicated to my fellow authors: darkecomuse, and MikaHaeli8. To DEM, because her writing always make me laugh, she loves JakxKeira as much as me, and she finally finished her multi-chapter story "Stuck". And to Mika, because she is just an amazing writer, she's also a fan of JakxKeira, and I'm totally in love with her stories, so I figured I'd give a little something back. :D

Daxter: Hooray for Mika and DEM!

JKA: *glares* Shut up so they can read the story!

Daxter: *sticks tongue out at JKA*

Midnight Solace

A cool, crisp breeze stirred the calm night air of Haven City. Stars glittered brightly against a black velvet sky that was for once free of smog. The usual bustling ambience of zoomer engines and conversing citizens had long-since quieted for the evening, leaving a peaceful silence in its wake.

In a deserted area of one of the few residential neighborhoods near the New Haven sector, a blonde-haired youth sat alone on his front porch, his cerulean eyes fixed unseeingly on the midnight expanse above him. His slumped form was outlined in the pale light of the full moon, its silver rays dancing in his green-highlighted locks.

Jak heaved a long sigh, closing his eyes and burying his face in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees. Nearly a week had passed since his return from the wasteland, and she still had yet to speak to him.

She'd heard about what had transpired following his defeat of Erol and the Dark Makers — Daxter had made sure of that. The loudmouth ottsel had broadcasted it to the entire city of Spargus, and Jak wouldn't be surprised if all of Haven knew about it by now as well.

Jak Mar, the planet's savior three-times-over and unknown heir to two thrones, had shared a kiss with Haven City's redheaded governess, Ashelin.

Of course, he didn't blame her for not wanting to see him. Torn had looked about ready to break his jaw when he'd found out about the kiss, and Jak could understand why she would have a similar reaction. He didn't doubt that he'd hurt her, and he'd do anything for a chance to make it up to her.

I can't believe I was such an idiot, Jak muttered to himself, digging the heels of his palms into his eyes.

Both he and Ashelin thoroughly regretted their spur-of-the-moment lapse of stupidity, and the latter had already smoothed things over with her hard-headed boyfriend. But Jak hadn't had the chance to explain the situation to Keira as of yet, seeing as how the sapphire-haired she-elf had been avoiding him at all costs.

Shaking his head sadly, Jak glanced up the stars once more, watching them dance across the ebony sky. He let his mind wander; reminiscing about the last time he'd simply sat outside and enjoyed the tranquility of night. Keira had been with him then, leaning comfortably against his side and pointing out constellations in the twinkling specks of white.

That had been shortly after the fall of Metal Kor, when conflicts between Haven and their dark enemies had subsided a bit and the citizens could live out their daily routines without fear of being attacked. During that time, it had seemed as if Jak and Keira's relationship was actually going somewhere. They'd spent more time together than usual, content with each other's company and strengthening the already nearly unbreakable bonds between them.

Unfortunately, just when it had seemed as if the pair had finally crossed the borderline from "childhood friends" to "boyfriend and girlfriend", Jak had been banished, and the war with the Dark Precursors had ensued. The two had rarely spoken or even seen one another over the next few months, and even when Jak had managed to return to Haven City, he'd barely spared Keira a second glance, too wrapped up in the day-to-day life-threatening tasks expected of a hero.

With the fall of Erol had come the hope that Jak could rekindle the connection that had been forming between himself and Keira, but that plan had died and gone to hell the instant Ashelin had kissed him out in the wasteland.

Now, Jak was reduced to spending every night exactly as he was now, wallowing in solitude and wishing he could find some way to win Keira's affections back.

Resting his head in his palm again, Jak let his gaze slide to the cold metal street below him, stifling a yawn. The previous week had offered him very little in the way of rest; not only because Torn had kept him almost ridiculously busy with the city reconstruction efforts, but every time he'd finally managed to turn in for the night, his mind would be consumed in a wave of nostalgia, and he'd end up lying awake for hours, wondering if Keira was ever going to speak to him again. He hadn't actually slept at all the last two days, the exception being a ten-minute doze he'd succeeded in catching between missions.

She even haunts my dreams… he mused wearily, his heavy eyelids slipping closed for a brief moment.

Frowning dejectedly, Jak replayed the image of his last peaceful night with the emerald-eyed she-elf once more.

He pictured the way the two of them had sat on the very porch on which Jak currently resided, whispering quietly to one another as they gazed upon the natural beauty of the nighttime. They'd reminisced about their long-lost days in Sandover, and how they'd used to stargaze with one another all the time as children. Keira's melodic voice had added a touch of familiarity and comfort to the serene air, soothing all the worries and fears Jak had been harboring at the time.

It's so silent now, the Eco-infused elf thought sorrowfully, realizing for the first time how empty the tranquil atmosphere around him seemed. Perhaps, under normal circumstances, the absence of noise would be relieving, a nice break from the never-ending stress of his day-to-day life. But tonight, the calm offered him nothing apart from less sources of distraction from his broken heart.

Exhaling in another lengthy sigh, Jak glanced absentmindedly down at the hand he wasn't currently leaning on. Another pang of misery washed over him, and he straightened out of his hunched-over position, resting both of his hands in his lap.

Her fingers used to fit between mine so perfectly… he reflected morosely, twisting his fingers together and imagining Keira's small, delicate hand twined with his. He could almost feel her arms wound around him, holding him in a loving embrace while she snuggled into his chest.

As he pictured spending the night with Keira rather than trapped in his solitary remorse, Jak gradually began to notice the loneliness weighing down his heart was waning. Just the thought of being with Keira again, talking and enjoying the calm repose with her, soothed the ache of the despair searing his veins.

It's just not the same without her…

"I miss you, Keira," Jak murmured aloud, his cerulean eyes flickering to the deepest black as the force of his grief all but consumed him. "I wish you were here."

"So you've decided you want me around, then, have you?"

Jak's head snapped upwards, his jaw falling slack and disbelief jumbling his wistful thoughts. He'd recognize that voice anywhere; it was a voice he'd grown up with, and the only music that had the power to soothe even his inner demon.

"Keira?" he gasped, his midnight gaze lightening to its usual ocean-blue as he spotted a familiar teal-haired woman approaching him. Her endless green eyes were guarded, her full lips set in a firm line as she paused a few feet away from him.

"Jak," she acknowledged him stiffly, folding her arms over her chest, her expression unreadable.

"W-what are you doing here?" Jak stammered, the shock of her appearance plain on his every feature. He had never been one to believe in magic, and yet here she was, standing before him as if some higher power had overheard his sorrowful wish and decided to grant it.

"I was in the neighborhood," Keira replied levelly, her eyes as cold and hard as solid emerald.

Jak flinched at her obvious aggravation towards him, feeling her icy gaze pierce him like a blow from a Metal Head's claw. Guilt twisted uncomfortably in his stomach, knowing she had good reason to be upset with him.

But at that moment, she could have been screaming at him and he wouldn't have cared less. Just the fact that she had decided to visit him — no matter her intentions, or the odd hour — had his previous depression evaporating like fog in the sunshine.

However, he knew he'd have to be pretty damn lucky for her to forgive him for his little stunt in the wasteland easily — if at all. And, above all else, she deserved an apology.

"Keira…" Jak began hesitantly, inhaling deeply to steady himself. "I —"

"Don't say it," Keira snapped, cutting him off. Her eyes narrowed to glowing green slits, her mouth twisting downwards in a scowl. "Let me guess, you're about to say how sorry you are for kissing oh-so-perfect Ashelin, and how much you want me back. And then you'll expect me to just fall into your arms and say you're forgiven and we'll just go back to how we were before you decided to throw away everything we had for some sluttish redhead!"

"You don't understand!" Jak exclaimed, his tone pleading rather than angry. How could he feel any sort of rage towards her, when he was the one who'd broken her heart in the first place?

"Oh, I don't, do I?" the sapphire-haired she-elf demanded scathingly, gritting her teeth as if she were trying to refrain from yelling. "Fine, then. Enlighten me."

Meeting her burning gaze sadly, Jak heaved a sigh, wishing more than anything that he could just take away the hurt and betrayal glimmering behind the fury in her eyes.

"When Ashelin and I kissed…" he muttered, wracking his brains for the appropriate way to phrase his words, "it surprised the both of us, really. We'd never meant for it to happen; it was more like an adrenaline-fueled impulse. I'd just saved the world, and I was so ecstatic I probably would have kissed the first woman I saw. The fact that it was Ashelin was just pure chance."

"Gee, thanks, Jak," Keira growled bitingly, preventing him from continuing. "It's nice to know that I mean so much to you that you would just kiss some random woman that happened to walk by you! That makes me feel loads better!"

"No, I didn't mean it like that!" Jak protested, mentally kicking himself for his stupidity. He had never been good with words to begin with, and most of the time when he spoke it was to make either a sarcastic remark or a death threat. Trying to come up with an apology was way beyond his comfort zone.

"Of course you mean more to me than that, Keira," he continued softly, gazing seriously into her ice-cold emerald eyes. "That kiss with Ashelin was a complete accident, and both of us have regretted it ever since. It didn't mean anything."

Keira opened her mouth to interrupt once more, and Jak held up a finger to stop her.

"Let me finish," he requested, and she nodded once, placing her hands on her hips. "After the battle with Erol, I looked for you, Keira. In that moment, I was so freaking happy that we were still alive that all I wanted to do was kiss you then and there. I'd expected you to be waiting for me… but Ashelin was there instead."

"That's just it, though," Keira sighed, shaking her head slowly as her anger abruptly faded, to be replaced by a level of pain that tore Jak's heart in two. "I can't keep waiting for you all the time. When you were banished to the wasteland, I waited months for you to come back to Haven. And then when I finally did see you again, we were stranded on opposite sides of the city. And when you managed to lower the force fields separating us, I was still waiting for you. You never even stopped to talk to me, not once. All I got out of you was an occasional glance or a 'hi' now and again.

"I'm tired of waiting around, Jak. I'm not just the mechanic friend who will fix your cars or your Jet-Board when they're broken and expect nothing in return. I'm not a machine; I have feelings, too, and I'm not going to sit around hoping you'll decide you need me again once you're done playing the hero."

Jak blinked in astonishment as moisture began to brim beneath Keira's emerald eyes, revealing just how much agony she was really in over his betrayal.

"Keira, I…" he murmured, struggling to find the words to explain how much she meant to him.

"I thought we were best friends, Jak," Keira whispered, cutting him off once again. Her voice hitched with the effort of suppressing her tears, and Jak nearly broke down himself. "I thought you wanted more than that — that you were more. But I guess I was wrong."

She glanced away from him, biting her lower lip as she lost her fight with her emotions, and the tears rolled down her pale cheeks.

Pure, heart-wrenching anguish crashed over Jak at the sight of the beautiful she-elf in such torment. Without a second thought, he hauled himself to his feet and cautiously approached her, winding his strong arms around her and holding her to his chest in a tight embrace.

Keira gasped the instant she realized what he was doing and struggled vainly push him away, unwilling to submit to him. After a moment, however, she simply gave in and buried her face in the fabric of his shirt, her thin frame trembling with the force of the sobs wracking her body.

"Shh," Jak breathed soothingly in her ear, stroking her soft blue/green hair with one hand. "Please don't cry, Keira."

"D-don't pretend you c-care how I feel," Keira sniffled, a hard edge managing to seep into her voice through the undeniable hurt. "You just w-want me to leave you alone so you c-can go make-out with Ashelin some m-more."

"Keira," the Eco-infused elf sighed, pulling away a few inches so he could gaze into her glistening eyes. "There is nothing between me and Ashelin. If you would just let me explain, I could prove it to you."

A beat of tense silence passed between them, with both of them attempting to read one another's thoughts through their locked gazes.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Keira sniffed quietly and nodded, her eyes never straying from Jak's.

"Keir…" the latter muttered, reaching up and brushing the moisture sparkling on her beautiful face gently away with his thumb. "You are my best friend. You have been since the day you first said hi to me back when we were five, living in Sandover. Back then, none of the other villagers would speak to me. They felt awkward trying to talk to someone who was mute, and so everyone gave me a wide berth.

"And then you showed up one day." Jak smiled warmly down at her, his cerulean eyes exceedingly tender. "You didn't care that I couldn't answer you if you asked me a question, or that I could only smile or frown at you to show you how I was feeling. Nobody else had ever stuck by me the way you had — the way you always have. You saw the real me underneath the shy, mute boy I once was, and I'll always be grateful that you had the compassion to do so."

Keira had ceased crying by this point, listening to Jak's speech with rapt attention. She remembered their time growing up in Sandover well, and could easily picture the hurt that would gleam in Jak's ocean-blue gaze whenever one of the other residents would avoid him, simply because he was different. She'd always assumed Jak was thankful for her support, but he'd never actually said so until this moment.

Her reverie was interrupted when she realized the soft smile tugging at Jak's lips had faded, and his irises were slowly darkening to the deepest black.

"What is it?" she whispered hoarsely, managing to feel a twinge of concern for the blonde-haired elf despite her current negative attitude towards him.

"Nothing," Jak replied quietly, averting his eyes from the worry shimmering in her emerald ones. "It's just…"

An encouraging hand on his cheek captured his attention, and he returned his gaze to hers once more, his expression somber. "I'm going to tell you something I've never told anyone else before."

Intrigued, Keira stared expectantly at him; awaiting whatever revelation he was about to share with her.

Jak inhaled deeply, bracing himself for what he wanted to say.

"When I was thrown in the Baron's prison…" he began almost inaudibly, and Keira gasped involuntarily. The Eco-infused elf had never spoken to her about his time in prison before, apart from vague explanations of how he'd received his infamous dark alter ego.

"I was tortured every day for two unbearable years," Jak continued as if he had not noticed Keira's reaction. "Not just the Dark Eco experiments, either. The Krimzon Guards treated the inmates like animals. We were beaten constantly, and most of the time for no damn reason, apart from the fact that they found some sick entertainment in hearing our screams."

The teal-haired she-elf in his arms shuddered, wincing at the image of the red-armored forces of Baron Praxis tormenting her childhood friend.

"That was the darkest time of my life," Jak whispered, his midnight eyes unfocused as he relived the horrors of his memories. "I made my first kill about a year after I was locked into that Precursor-forsaken place. Two of the guards arrived at my cell to take me for my daily Dark Eco injection. When they tried to grab me, I… I snapped. Something in my head just clicked, and I… became a monster.

"After that… I didn't know who I was anymore. My mind was controlled by my most primal instincts, and I was slowly driven into near-insanity. More guards were assigned to stand outside my cell, to make sure I didn't make an escape attempt, or commit suicide."

"Wait!" Keira interrupted, her jaw falling open with shock. "Did you say 'commit suicide'?"

"Yes," Jak admitted under his breath, closing his still-ebony eyes so she wouldn't see the shame burning in them. "When you've been trapped in a metal fortress for what feels like decades and pumped full of Dark Eco almost every waking moment, death starts sounding like a pretty good option."

"I… you were suicidal?" Keira's heart twisted painfully as the concept of Jak wanting to take his own life gradually registered in her horrified mind. The idea of her closest friend ceasing to exist was so agonizing it took her breath away.

"I thought about it once or twice," Jak confessed reluctantly, his eyelids still closed. "So many times, I'd lie awake at night in that hell-hole and beg for some sort of relief from the torture. Death seemed a promising route, but I never would have managed it with the guards constantly watching me, even if I had worked up the nerve.

"But do you want to know the one thing that really saved my life, and probably my sanity as well?"

Blinking rapidly at him, Keira nodded hesitantly, still trying to recover from the terrifying thought of Jak killing himself.

"You," Jak told her simply, opening his eyes once more to reveal his lightening irises. He gazed tenderly down at her, a small smile tugging at the edges of his mouth.

"Me?" the young mechanic repeated, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

Jak tucked a stray lock of sapphire hair gently behind her ear, his smile more noticeable now. "Yes, you. If it weren't for my memories of you, and all the years we spent growing up together, I wouldn't have been able to retain my humanity in that damn prison. I would have lost everything that I was, everything that I'd ever held dear. The man I am today wouldn't exist, only a Dark Eco demon that haunted everyone's worst nightmares.

"It was the image of you… your voice, your smile, your eyes… You kept me going, Keira. You're the reason I survived until Dax rescued me, the reason why I never truly gave up hope. Praxis thought he could break me, like he'd broken so many others. But he couldn't, not with you keeping me company in my memories.

"I made it through each day, enduring hours of Dark Eco torture and the grueling treatment of the KG, knowing that when I finally fell asleep that night, you would come visit me in my dreams."

Keira stared silently up at him, part of her stunned into silence by his confession, the other touched beyond the point of words. Never before had he opened up to her like this, and just the knowledge that he trusted her enough to do so now made her heart feel lighter than air. She had never really put much thought into how Jak had managed to live through the agony he must have suffered at the Baron's hand, and to hear that she was the one who had saved him…

A fresh wave of tears brimmed in Keira's emerald eyes and spilled over, dripping down her pale cheeks and glittering in the silver light of the moon.

"Keira?" Jak inquired, concern evident on his handsome features. He brushed the wetness trailing along her pale skin away with his thumb, only to have it replaced by more tears. "What's wrong?"

Wordlessly, Keira wound her arms tightly around his waist and simply held him, pressing a quick kiss to his neck.

Jak returned her fierce embrace hesitantly, utterly bewildered. She'd gone from furious, to heartbroken, to horrified, and now she was crying again, yet she was hugging him as if the world would end should she let go. Her mood swings were leaving him thoroughly dazed.

"What is it?" Jak asked again, leaning his cheek against the top of her head, feeling her warm tears soak through the fabric of his shirt.

"Thank you," Keira replied quietly, her voice cracked due to the sobs threatening to burst from her chest.

"For what?" Jak demanded, his words coming out sharper than he'd intended thanks to his rapidly mounting confusion. He was already having a difficult time keeping up with her change in attitude as it was, and now she was thanking him? It just didn't make any sense.

"For what you said," Keira explained under her breath, pulling away a few inches so she could meet his puzzled gaze. "For opening up to me. It… it means so much to know that you're willing to share what you have with me. You… really do care about me, don't you?"

"Of course," Jak murmured, smiling warmly down at her. "More than anything."

Keira's heart fluttered; she hadn't seen such a gentle expression on her best friend's face since before his banishment.

Without another word, Jak tilted Keira's chin upwards with his index finger, bending his face closer to hers as he did so. He brushed his lips against hers in a soft, chaste kiss, and Keira sighed against his mouth, her eyelids sliding closed as her hands trailed up the back of his neck, knotting in his blonde/green hair.

Even during the time after Kor's defeat, when their relationship seemed to be changing for the better, Jak and Keira still had not managed to share their first kiss. Something had always gotten in the way, whether it be an ever-present, obnoxious ottsel, or a short, over-protective old Sage, or anything else the Precursors had decided to throw at them.

But now, as the two were enveloped in each other's warmth beneath the moon's silver glow, Jak decided that it had been well worth the wait.

An eternity seemed to have passed when the pair finally broke apart, only to gaze deeply into one another's eyes.

"I love you, Keira," Jak whispered, kissing her forehead tenderly.

"I love you, too," Keira breathed, resting her head against his chest, a wave of contentment washing over her. "And… I forgive you."

A cool breeze swirled around Jak as he sat on his front porch once more, his tranquil smile illuminated by the glittering stars above him. Keira had long-since fallen asleep, her head resting on his shoulder and his arm wrapped affectionately around her. The quiet of the night was a welcome serenity to the Eco-infused elf, now that the woman he loved was beside him again.

For the first time since the planet's war with the Dark Makers had ended, Jak felt truly alive. It was as if the past week of remorse and Keira's purposeful absence had left him shattered, and now that she had returned to him, he was finally whole.

Gradually, Jak began to realize that the ebony expanse overhead was beginning to fade, a subtle glow just visible over the distant horizon. He watched in content silence as the black sky lightened to the pale blue of early morning, its warm rays sparkling in Keira's hair and outlining her beautiful face.

I love you so much, Keira, Jak thought, pressing his lips to the top of her head. I promise, I'll never hurt you again.

JKA: Aww, don't you just love happy endings? :D

Jak: I'm not happy about it.

JKA: And may I ask why you wouldn't be happy about having Keira say she loves you, not to mention FINALLY kissing her?

Jak: I didn't get laid.

JKA: *facepalm*

Keira: *shakes head sadly* What am I going to do with you?

JKA: Alright, I'm gonna step in here before anyone starts overreacting *cough Jak cough*. I can't have my favorite couple getting into a litte lover's spat, now can I?

Anyways, to you readers, thanks so much for reading this in the first place! I hope you enjoyed it, and please review! I'll take any kind of feedback to have to offer, whether it be praise or otherwise.

And to Mika and DEM, I hope you liked my little way of saying THANK YOU for all the work you put into your stories. And, I hope you haven't had enough JakxKeira-ness, because you're getting at least two more stories to indulge in. :D