AN: Who would have ever thought my first semi-romantic attempt would be about a game? I'm a sucky gamer, I'll be the first to admit it… anyway. I saw a cute angle and ran with it.
So you'll know, this fic is dedicated one hundred percent to enolianslave, Demyrie, Keysha-chan (even though she doesn't really do yaoi…) and all the other awesome Jak and Daxter artists on deviantART. What a great chance that I inadvertently stumbled across their work! I hope this trifle can measure up in any way to the talent and devotion those guys show in their art. Thanks for the inspiration, ladies!
Disclaimer: Obviously I make no profit from writing this. It be just for fun. Jak, Dax and the crew belong to Naughty Dog, which I guess is a good thing. They're really much safer over there where the fangirls can't get to them any more than necessary.
The Obligatory Heads-UP: No likie yaoi? Don't know what yaoi is? Then scoot, peeps. This fic isn't for yous.
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He's got hair like a sunset.
All golden at the roots, blends to vibrant orange as it flows up in a wild, untamable plume, finally trailing off to fiery red at the ends. He's got deep blue eyes like the circle around a full moon before the sky fades to black, and the freckles scattered across his full cheeks and pert nose remind me of the beach, small bits of sand clinging even after the sun sets and it's time to go home.
And those teeth… those big, silly buckteeth that are the first to show when he grins, which is a lot and that makes me happy since I've been enthralled by those teeth since I was about five years old…
Huh.
See, it all comes out fine when I say it to myself. I think it's almost like poetry, in a way, if I knew anything about poetry. Unfortunately, finally gaining the ability to speak did not guarantee my ability to speak well. I couldn't say that out loud if I had a gun to my head set on Vulcan Fury.
What kills me is that he's still here. He's got no reason to be. I let him down; I never kept my promise to turn him back into his old self. He finally did, figured it out on his own, but still. He was orange and furry for YEARS. Still is, most of the time. I don't know how he stands it. But he's never talked about leaving.
For some reason he's still here. Playing the pet, riding around on my shoulder, crawling around in the dirt and grease and oil under the Javelin X instead of trying to figure out just what kind of random mystic powers the Precursors threw at him…
He never left me. Through thick and thin, we're still us, the Demolition Duo. It was in his hands to break that, but he didn't. Never gave it a thought. I'm still his best friend. He still goes out of his way to make me smile, make me laugh, make me feel wanted, needed.
And I guess that's why.
That's why I love you, Daxter.
O.O.O.O.O
"Is everybody almost ready?"
Jak jumped at the sound of Tess's voice, an arm instinctively jerking up to cover the sheet of paper he'd been concentrating upon so intensely. He relaxed a moment later; it was alright, he was still alone at his little table. Everyone else remained likewise seated apart from the others, busy with their own paper.
"Remember," Tess said from the bar, absently licking the stub of her pencil, "it has to be a big secret. A secret you've never told anyone. Something you'd never want anyone else to know." She shot a suspicious look at the others. "And keep your eyes on your own paper! No peeking!"
"Yes, teacher." Keira grinned, trading a playfully stuck out tongue with the blonde girl before bending over her paper once more.
A harsh wind howled outside the Naughty Ottsel. Occasionally the already dim lights gave a staccato flicker, threatening but never going out completely. No one noticed, preoccupied in their own silent work. Jak shook his head, glancing back down at what he had almost unconsciously written.
He didn't know what had prompted Tess to suggest such a game. She called it simply "I've Got a Secret," and all it involved was everyone writing one down in private and then all together getting rid of the evidence. It could be any secret, silly or serious, as long as it was a real secret; no one else knew, and you had no plans of telling. You could write as much or as little about it as you wanted, as long as you clearly stated what your secret was.
According to Tess, it was supposed to clear your conscience.
Jak didn't know about that, but he was willing to give it a try. As long as the paper would be destroyed in a few minutes and no one saw it in the meantime, what was the harm?
Running a hand through his green-blonde hair that was once again beginning to lengthen, Jak tapped the pencil's eraser against the paper. He himself was pretty much finished, unless he wanted to go into graphic detail. The thought made him flush slightly, bending low over the paper and jabbing it rapidly with the eraser as blood rushed to his face and long ears.
No, definitely not. Better to leave his little statement as it was, where it might still be considered a somewhat sappy declaration of brotherly love if it were read. Admitting that he loved his best friend was one thing, but going so far as to say he'd maybe… possibly… perhaps… like to kiss Daxter…
Well, that was another matter entirely.
Daxter. Habit compelled Jak to look around for his friend. A moment's scan of the room found the redhead nearly hidden in a corner booth, scribbling industriously. Long ears flicked unconsciously as he wrote, tongue clenched slightly in his teeth.
Jak grinned. He could imagine ottsel Dax in the same position, only with an agitated tail flipping from side to side as he tackled the paper. Dax always flipped his tail when he was concentrating. It was often the only bit of ottsel seen peeking from beneath a busted vehicle in the garage, and as a consequence had once or twice almost been stepped on.
Shaking his head, Jak looked back down at his contribution to the game. Yep, he'd consider it done. Idly he began to doodle in the margin as he waited for the others to finish. He couldn't help but wonder, though, what secret Daxter was writing about…
O.O.O.O.O
I guess since everybody in this room right now knows I can switch from ottsel ta human and back again it doesn't really count as a secret, huh? Even though they're the only ones that know, but still. Man, that blew my best ammo right there!
In a way it's kinda nice, though. I can be my sexy ol' self whenever I want and still have the "honor" of struttin' it as a holy beast in front of the ignorant masses. Was a snap ta do, too, once I had the idea.
One day it just came ta me an' I thought to myself, Dax, if Jakky-boy can go dark n' light n' growly n' glowy, why wouldn't you be able ta get lookin' human again? The first time wasn't much fun, but after that it got easier. Nowadays it's smooth like I been doin' it forever! Brag, brag, I like ta brag… okay, sure, maybe there was that one time I sneezed in the middle and walked around human with an ottsel tail an' ears for a couple'a hours, but we won't mention that…
Tessy picked it up right away too. I think it was a relief ta her in a way, knowin' she wouldn't be furry forever. Women, a little extra hair anywhere on 'em an' they go nuts, I tell ya… She's mostly human still, doesn't like goin' back an' forth much, but that's good since that's the Tess people are used to. We try ta keep it on the down-low, you know, play it cool. It's our secret; me an' Jak an' Tessy an' Keira, Ashe, Torn (blegh!), Vin, an' Sig. Oh, an' Samos an' the Precursors, but log-head counts fer nothin' an' the Precursors don't really give a damn anyway.
So Orange Lightning's not gone, not by a long shot. In fact, he went down Tessy-poo's shirt just yesterday. Long live the ottsel king, I say, until the timing's right. But when that time comes… Heh, one day I'll snap, drop the fur an' have Pecker by the neck before the bird brain knows what hit him. But until then it's still a secret I can't even use! Grrr!
Lemme see, what've I done lately I don't want anybody to know about… Come on, Dax, runnin' outa time, here… Okay, I got it. I collected a pair of undies from each of the girls last week. Orange Lightning can negotiate a dark dresser drawer like nobody's business, that's fer sure. They're my trophies an' I love 'em.
Haven't told Jak, he'd just make me put 'em back.
Heh, Jak. Ya gotta love him, too.
O.O.O.O.O
"Okay, half hour's up! Hand 'em in, everybody."
It came as no surprise that no one moved to hand their papers to anyone.
Tess sighed. "Or just hold onto them yourself and bring them up here while I light the fire…"
With what seemed a collective sigh of relief, chairs shrieked and floorboards groaned in protest all across the room as the other seven participants made to gather at the bar, already folding or crinkling their papers into small, non-readable shapes. Tess had come well prepared, clattering about behind the bar for a moment before placing a small portable grill on top of the worn wood.
"For some reason I'm craving marshmallows," Keira said absently as her friend removed the top and tipped in some coals. "So Tess, why the sudden urge to play a game? I know we don't all get to hang out a lot, but…"
"No offense, but it's kind of a weird game, too." Amazingly (or not), Ashelin didn't seem all that concerned that she might have offended.
Daxter grinned hugely, watching his friends shift uncomfortably and mash their papers into smaller and smaller balls. "Well, obviously Tessy's got her own dirty little secret. Just wanted an opportunity ta get somethin' off yer chest, huh Tessy-kins?"
Tess flipped her hair haughtily, then gave an impish wink as she struck a match and dropped it into the metal basin of the grill. "Maybe."
A thin trickle of smoke drifted upwards, spiraling and quickly dissipating as it was caught by one of the many drafts that remained constant in the old saloon. The entrance door rattled in the background, rocked by the increasing wind. Vin jumped, looking around almost guiltily. Dax grinned wider.
He hadn't thought it would be this hard to refrain from clamoring to see the papers, but his friends were practically advertising how much fun could be had by whoever discovered what they'd written. Vin behind his ever-present goggles looked like he might faint at the slightest provocation, Ashelin appeared ready to slug whomever looked oddly in her direction, and even Jak was giving his immediate surrounding a shifty-eyed glare.
Oh Precursors. Jak!
If there was one paper that Daxter wanted to read, it would be Jak's. A secret so deep, so dark, so… secret that Jak hadn't told it to Daxter, his best-est best friend since forever, his number one confidant, his most loyal and wonderful and trustworthy sidekick… Now that was a secret!
And slowly an idea began to form in the redhead's mind.
The Precursors knew a lot. They had to, being Precursors. But how did they get their information? They had to obtain their vast knowledge somehow. And, if Daxter was now technically almost sorta kinda a Precursor himself… there had to be some way he could find out what was written on those papers without the others finding out about his finding out.
Long ears slicked back as a slightly wicked smile exposed prominent front teeth. He had no idea how he would pull it off, but where there was a will -- and the slightest influence of Precursor powers -- there was a way.
"Okay…" Tess announced. "Ready and waiting." The small flames were now flickering merrily, casting dim shadows despite the wane lights of the room. "Who's first?"
No one moved.
Sig coughed. Keira shuffled her feet. Torn awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.
Dax' gaze bounced furtively around the room. Somehow, somehow, he needed an idea! Then the barest breath of a draft wafted a stinging hot plume of smoke into his eyes.
With a muffled curse Daxter reached up to wipe away the tears that had immediately welled… and had his answer.
He struggled to keep a straight face, casually collecting as much of the moisture as he could onto an index finger. If this wasn't a sign from the little furry deities, he didn't know a metalhead from a whumpbee.
"Daxxie, you okay?" Tess asked concernedly, waving a hand briskly to dissipate the smoke.
The redhead pretended to blot at his face with a sleeve. "Don't sweat it, Tessy, I'm good. An' I'll be happy ta go first." The plan was a definite go.
No one, not even Jak, noticed the small crackle of eco as Daxter sauntered up to the bar, paper wad in hand. Flashing what he hoped was a dashing smile at Tess, he placed the very tip of the finger to the rim of the grill, quickly tracing a complete circle around its edge. The saltwater and eco mixture instantly sizzled into vapor as it touched the hot metal, evaporating almost immediately.
Tess quirked a golden brow questioningly.
"Nice an' hot!" Happily flipping his slightly scorched hand, Dax ceremoniously tossed his paper into the fire. "Burn, baby, burn."
With everyone intently watching his secret go up in flames, he had no trouble not being noticed as he stepped back from the bar once more and unobtrusively rubbed the small bit of soot his finger had collected back into his eyes. Unsurprisingly, it burned. A lot.
Damn, there had to be an easier way to do this, he thought crankily… until the next upward-drifting pillar of smoke confirmed his success. Hazy letters swirled and eddied in the air currents, but were nonetheless entirely readable: undies from each of the girls. No one else noticed a thing.
"Score one for the Dax-man," he murmured to himself as the smoky message floated towards the ceiling.
As if his paper's demise had been the signal everyone was waiting for, the minor tension present before suddenly vanished. Keira laughed at something Ashelin whispered to her. Jak and Torn began to push good-naturedly to be the next in line, but Sig beat them to it.
"Right, cherries, I gotta be goin' soon so here goes."
Daxter watched Sig's little ball of paper closely as it slowly uncurled and began to burn. It had been mashed up quite small and so took a while to catch, but when it did the tell-tale words began to form.
"I still can't sleep without the monkaw stuffie Mama made me when I was little."
Dax quickly covered his mouth to block the snort of laughter. Sig and a plush monkaw toy… wasn't that just the sweetest picture? Now every time he saw the big man while in ottsel guise he'd be tempted to offer up a hug, being a cute little fluffy animal and all. Dax was sure that would fly over well.
"Come on, Vin, you go next," Jak offered, giving the ivory-haired scientist a nudge toward the bar.
Vin shrugged, stepping forward with a nervous smile. Pulling a pair of laboratory tongs out of his long white coat, he used them to carefully deliver his paper (folded in a perfectly angled dodecahedron) to the precise center of the fire.
"When no one else is in the lab I like to dance and sing really loud," Dax read as the twelve-sided mathematical shape began to cave in on itself inside the flames. He had to turn away to hide his merriment. Orange Lightning's next undercover operation: infiltrate the lab and see Vin in action!
Keira stepped up next, stirring the accumulating ashes a bit with a screwdriver pulled from… seemingly nowhere, as she wasn't in current possession of her tool belt. Dax shrugged it off. After all, it was always pleasant to think about girls with hard objects in their pants.
In went the paper. Up spiraled: "I killed Daxter's pet lizard when we were eleven. I promise I didn't MEAN to smash it with the wrench…"
The redhead barely smothered a squeal of indignation, ears shooting almost vertical in his outrage. Back then she'd told him Jak's crocadog had eaten Stripes! Oh, wow, and then he'd poured hot peppers into the thing's food and hidden the water bowl… Well, how was he to know the crocadog was innocent?
Still stewing over the lizard, Dax almost missed Torn's secret going into the pyre.
"I fantasize about Commander Ashelin using her position to order me into doing dirty things with her. In my favorite dream she ties me up and whips me wearing just her combat boots."
"Dax, are you alright?" Concerned, Jak patted his friend on the back as Daxter bent double in what appeared to be a spasm of coughing and shaking.
"Fine, fine," he gasped, trying to force the laughter down and cover it with a few faux coughs. "Just the smoke's gettin' ta me, y'know?"
Boy was that the truth! He'd almost hate to see the rest of what had been on that paper, if indeed Torn had expanded the view of his "happy place." Dax was sure he couldn't have been the only one to write more than a couple of sentences in the half hour they were given.
Almost before he had recovered, Ashelin marched up wearing her no-nonsense look. Giving Torn a quick sidelong glance she added her paper. "One day I will pull rank and abduct Torn to be my pleasure slave. No one will suspect when I say that he's disappeared on a mission, when in reality he'll be upstairs shackled to my bed. …Bet that soldier rides like a wild leaper."
"He's h-having an asthma attack!" Vin announced, shoving an open circle around Daxter as the redhead nearly crumpled to the floor, hacking and choking and fighting for air. "S-stand back, give him some r-room, guys!"
Dax clutched his ribs, biting the inside of his cheek as hard as he could to hold back the hysterical laughter building inside. He tried to breathe deeply and momentarily put the knowledge from his mind. Who knew their friends were so perverse? He absolutely could not wait to tell Jak!
"Dax, seriously, are you okay?" The green-blonde in question worriedly helped Daxter up off the floor, allowing his weak-kneed friend to lean fully against him. "Maybe we should get you out away from the smoke, huh?"
Tess let an unsure hand waver near the handle of a water jug she'd made ready. "Really, we can put the fire out right now if you… I mean, there's other ways of playing the game!"
"Sissy," Torn grumbled, not quite under his breath.
Dax waved a wobbly hand, heaving several more deep breaths to kill the laughter. Oh, if only Torn knew the horrible fate that awaited him, then they'd see who cried like a sissy! He and Ashe deserved each other. "No, no, I'm fine, really! Go ahead an' keep goin', there's only you an' Jak left anyway."
"Okay, if you're sure…" Giving Daxter a last slightly suspicious look, Tess ripped her secret-bearing sheet out of the notebook she'd been using and quickly began to fold it up tight.
"While we're waitin'… go ahead, big guy. It's all you."
Jak stirred at the nudge to his ribs, hand reflexively clenching around his paper wad. However, he did concede to remove the arm he'd been holding carefully around Daxter, ready in the event of his friend passing out after all and falling on his head. "Right. Interesting game this turned out to be."
"Hey, next time we could play cards!" Keira suggested as Jak casually flicked his paper at the fire. "Or Truth-or-Dare. That's a fun one, too."
"Anyone know how to play ch-chess?" Vin asked.
"Oh, I know!" Sig suddenly caught Daxter from behind, affectionately burying a set of knuckles in his red hair. "How 'bout we play pin the tail on the ottsel, huh? That'll be fun, won't it, Daxxie?"
"Gyaah! Leggo, lurker-breath, gerroff me!" Dax squalled, putting up a prompt struggle. By the time he'd managed to weasel free of the bigger man's grasp, the last of the paper Jak had thrown had crumbled to ash.
Damn it! he pouted silently as Sig laughed, one hand rubbing his bruised head. Sig, ya jerk, ya made me miss it! Jeez, an' the only one I really wanted ta know, too! Well… maybe I can talk him inta tellin' me later if I tell him mine first, or somethin'…
Distracted as he was, the redhead almost didn't notice the vague words hanging on the edge of his vision until he turned his head slightly and they all but hit him in the face. Snorting a bit to get the smoke out of his airspace, he shook his head and brought the message into focus.
"I love you, Daxter."
His mouth dropped open.
No way. No way that could be Jak's secret.
Dax glanced quickly around, the smoky words seeming to follow his movements. He hadn't noticed before, but the other secrets that had earlier drifted toward the rafters had begun to come back down. "Rides like a wild leaper" was draped across Torn's head like a bandana, while "in just her combat boots" trailed happily at Ashelin's heels. Looking down, Dax noticed "killed Daxter's lizard" slinking almost contritely about his feet.
So they went to the people they were directed at, huh? It seemed true, as Vin and Sig's, the ones having no specific target, were floating happily about the room. Still, no one else seemed the wiser.
The troublesome phrase was circling his chest.
Uncertainly, Daxter held out a hand and let "love" drift across his palm. Yeah, that was what Jak had written. There was no other explanation; Tess hadn't burned hers yet, and even if she had it was no secret that the two of them flirted constantly. But… why had Jak written something like that?
Unless…
He shot a look at his oh-so-stoic friend, currently and rather calmly being ragged by Torn and Sig about how Razor only came in second so he could stay behind Jak and feast his eyes for most of the race.
Oh, but of course! That had to be it!
Jak was embarrassed about admitting that he loved his little buddy.
It made perfect sense, now that Dax thought about it. Sure Jak the tough guy, Jak the hero, Jak the champion racer wouldn't want something like that to be known. It was a manly thing. But still… he had admitted it, if indirectly.
Damn. When was the last time someone had told him they loved him? Daxter couldn't be sure. Heck, now that he thought about it he couldn't quite recall if anyone, not even Tessy-kins, had ever said that to him.
A warm fuzzy began to grow. Dax smiled, swirling the letters about with an index finger. Aww. Jak was just a big ol' softie after all. He'd have to remember to be extra chummy to Jak for a while. Extra ottsel cuddles all around. Maybe even a cheek nuzzle or two.
All in private, of course.
Heaving a happy sigh of contentment, Dax crossed his arms and insolently leaned up against Jak once more, casually resting most of his slight weight on his friend. Jak didn't budge, other than to drape the arm across Daxter's shoulders again with a curious glance. It was like leaning against a wall, Dax reflected, just a wall that would reach out to support you. And was slightly softer than average.
"Here it goes, guys. End of the game, so somebody be thinking up the next one!"
Enjoying the warm weight of Jak's strongly muscled arm he turned his attention back to Tess, who had neatly folded her paper into the shape of a swan and was preparing to send it soaring into the fire. She flicked long, graceful fingers and the bird took flight, alighting in the center of the ashes.
Daxter sighed again as he watched Tess's secret go up in flames. He had his humanity. He had good liquor, good friends, and most importantly, his best pal. They were all warm and relaxed and there was no immediate threat of death or dismemberment.
He smiled lazily as the first swirling smoke letters of Tess's began to curl out of the basin. Life was pretty good.
"I gave Jinx a free blowjob yesterday."
It was a full ten seconds before Daxter responded.
"GAAAWD NOOOOOOOOO--!!"
O.O.O.O.O
"Why…? Ah mean, re'ly, Jak, why? Why'd she havta go an' do som'thin' like dat for? So wrong, s' jus' so… wrong!"
Jak sighed in frustration, shifting Daxter in his arms as he fumbled for the door lock. "Dax, for the last time, I have no idea what you're talking about! And for some strange reason I don't think I'd understand you any better if you weren't drunk off your furry ass."
Jak was getting worried.
Daxter had had the strangest fit at the Naughty Ottsel, suddenly keeling over with a bloodcurdling shriek. Before anyone could stop him or even find out what was wrong, he had staggered to his feet and launched himself behind the bar. A flash of eco and he'd emerged in ottsel form, clutching a liquor bottle nearly as big as himself. Ignoring all questions and exclamations, he had leaped into Jak's arms, cracked open the bottle, and demanded to be carried home.
By the time they arrived at their shabby "home" on the outskirts of the city half the alcohol was gone. Jak was left juggling the bottle, Daxter's human clothes that had immediately become too large upon his transformation, and a very drunk ottsel who had begun to babble incomprehensively midway through the walk and hadn't stopped slurring since. He wished he had even the faintest idea what had happened to upset Daxter so much.
Kicking the door shut behind them, Jak made a beeline through the dark living area to the small kitchen, placing the bottle firmly inside a high cabinet. "And here's where I cut you off for the night, buddy," he said softly to the limp orange creature draped in his grasp.
Daxter whined minutely but let it go. He was plenty groggy already, but still had the sense to not try forcing it down to the point where he was sick. If that happened, Jak wouldn't let him sleep in the bed, and that was bad 'cause their dilapidated old sofa was cold and lumpy and the little warm crevice between Jak's curled arm and the pillow was not.
"'Kay Jak, fine, you win. I'm tru… fin'shed… 'm done, promise."
Jak wondered at the unexpected lack of protest, but was grateful enough to not wonder too much. Finding his way to the single bedroom by feel, he gently set Daxter on the edge of the bed and began to undress in the dark. Dax promptly rolled off.
"Jak, I fell on'a floor," he whimpered pitifully from his upside down position on the rug next to the low bed.
"Oh, for the love of…" Jak growled in exasperation as his tight shirt caught around his ears. "Hang on, I'll be right there."
Dax, however, was disinclined to wait. Wriggling his way upright, he took stock of the bed and frowned. The room was slanting, he was sure, leaving him at an unfair leaping disadvantage. If he jumped for it he'd fall again and he didn't want that. Instead, he balanced unsteadily with the help of his tail and concentrated as best he could.
Jak spun at the eco flash, nearly blinding in the dark room, and was in time to see his best friend collapse in a sprawling heap on top of the rickety bed as its springs shrieked in annoyance. Human once more, Dax now took up most of it.
"Hey, no!" Snapping his fingers as he used to at his misbehaving crocadog, Jak kicked his boots into the corner and stalked over. "Dax, come on, get up and change back."
As Dax still spent most of his time ottsel and thus was able to sleep quite comfortably alongside him, they'd never bothered to get a second bed that would only take up more space in their small living quarters. Jak was afraid he might be about to regret that decision.
Daxter rolled over, already nearly asleep, clutching Jak's pillow with a muffled growl. "Later. 'M too tired. An' I'm emo… 'moshun'lly distraught."
"I'll put you on the couch, Dax," Jak warned halfheartedly, wondering for the twentieth time what exactly his friend was 'emotionally distraught' about. "There's barely enough room for both of us on there under normal circumstances."
"But dis ish me normal," Dax managed to grumble.
Jak winced at that. The redhead had a point. It was proof that he had begun to see ottsel Dax as the natural one. Silently he thanked the Precursors that Dax had found a way back to his original self before Jak forgot what he really looked like sans tail and fur.
"Alright, fine," he whispered finally. "So you're drunk, you're tired, and you're sick of being Orange Lightning for now. That's great. But I'm not sleeping on that damn couch either, so at least get up and put some clothes on!"
A soft snore met the demand.
Jak crossed his arms and glared, then ran twitching fingers through his tangled hair. He refused to sleep on the all-but-broken sofa, and the floor was hard as the stone it was. However, despite his annoyance, he didn't want to kick Daxter out of the bed either. Truth be told, he probably wouldn't even be able to sleep without his friend curled up beside him in either form. That left him with but one rather awkward choice.
"Fine," Jak hissed, shoving Daxter over and climbing into bed. "But all be damned if I'll put your pants on for you, so if you've got any problems with this in the morning you'll have no one to bitch at but yourself."
There was no response from the former ottsel. Jak set about trying to wrestle the blankets from under his friend, grumbling all the while. Dax was all limp gangly limbs and dead weight, so it was no mean feat.
"Quit movin' 'round, Jak!"
"Oh, shut up." Jak resisted the impulse to thump Daxter in his drunken red head and finally dubbed them as situated as they were likely to get, back to back on the narrow bed. He sighed irritably. By all rights he should be sitting pretty on a feather-stuffed mattress in the grandest suite in the palace. Then there'd be plenty of space for the two of them.
No, wait, that's not right, he thought absently.
If he ever got a permanent place in the palace that would mean things had calmed down enough for Daxter to no longer have to keep up his ottsel ruse. In that case, Dax would have his own room. There'd be no sense in them sleeping together then, right?
Right, Jak told himself firmly, and shut his eyes.
Speaking of the palace... Ashelin had requested him there tomorrow morning. Dax would surely want to stop by the bar to see Tess before they went, so they'd have to be up pretty early… if Dax was able. He'd probably be hung over as hell. Grinning, the green-blonde shifted into a more comfortable position and settled down to the task of falling asleep despite Daxter squirming at his back.
"Quit movin' 'round, Dax," he teased, lightly nudging with an elbow. "Thought you were tired and distraught."
"Dis'raught… yeah," came the distant reply.
Daxter wriggled, kicking at the blankets. He wasn't comfortable inside or out. The sting of Tess's revelation had yet to subside, and he was crunched up and unable to even find a decent position to sleep in. Was there no justice in the world? Finally, heaving a melodramatic sigh, he rolled over and snuggled up to Jak.
Jak jumped when Daxter's head unexpectedly landed on his shoulder, one of the redhead's arms snaking around his waist. The hero blushed hotly, trying not to move a muscle as Dax settled flush against him.
He'd been doing good with the situation thus far, keeping himself distanced from the reality of it, but now that Daxter was pressed snugly against him it had become too obvious… he could deny it no longer… Jak in pants, Dax in nothing. He was being cuddled by his naked best friend.
Best friend, Jak reminded himself with gritted teeth as Dax's hand fell on his bicep and began to absently trace the musculature. Best friend. We do NOT think bad thoughts about our best friend, you freak. That dark eco must've messed you up more than we thought…
Unaware of the distress he was causing, Daxter sighed again, this time in near contentment. "Now 'at's more like it. Yer a pretty comfer'ble pillow, big guy. Nice n' warm, too."
"Glad to hear it," Jak deadpanned.
Daxter was plenty warm as well, draped over Jak's bare torso, taking up much more space than when he was ottsel. His wild pouf of thick red hair tickled at the underside of Jak's chin, making him bite off a laugh. It really was rather comfortable, now that he thought about it, with Dax's warm breath (whistling just slightly past his front teeth) brushing over his chest and Dax's legs tangled with his own…
Snapping back to his senses, Jak tried desperately to think the situation through. So he had established that he was attracted to Daxter. He couldn't really explain it, but there it was. Now, the question became why? Why Daxter instead of, oh say, Keira?
He'd known Keira a long time. She was beautiful and sexy. She was sweet and polite, giggly and girly and a bitchin' mechanic. Most of his happy memories included her. Keira in her cute little sun dresses back in Sandover, trying out her first baking experiments on him and Dax, trailing along with them on their childish adventures and explores. She was… simply Keira.
He'd known Daxter… as long as he could remember. Daxter was… well, maybe not beautiful. He was loud and obnoxious and unrepentant about it. Most of his memories period involved Daxter. All the best ones did. Getting into trouble and getting out of it again, racing the waves on Sentinel Beach, doing nothing for hours on end then taking a break for a nap before going back to cloud gazing and whispered secrets…
Alright, so his attraction was logical.
He'd fallen hard for the person he was closest to, the person he hadn't been separated from for even a day from the time they first met until Jak's kidnapping and imprisonment, and hadn't been apart from for more than a few hours since his rescue.
The only one who'd actually had the tenacity to doggedly hunt down clues to his whereabouts, then follow through to find him and break him out of that hellish place mostly intact…
Jak unconsciously relaxed, winding an arm of his own around Dax's ribs. Never mind. Best not to think about that. He was safe now, Dax was there, and the happy memories would be more than enough to keep his brain occupied. He could always puzzle out his odd romantic tendencies later; he'd been drifting off topic anyway.
He was almost asleep when Daxter shifted again, suddenly gripping Jak's green goatee and giving an insistent tug.
"Hey!"
"Jak, got a quesh'un for ya."
"Dax, would you just go to sleep?"
"Jus' tell me an' I'll sleep, 'kay?" Dax pressed.
Jak sighed in annoyance at the redheaded, bucktoothed, buck-naked wonder who was doing such a good job of confusing him lately. "Alright. I'll answer one question, and after that you'll pass out and be a good little sleeping drunk 'til morning, agreed?"
"'Greed." Daxter propped himself up on his elbows and nodded, flyaway hair going every which way. Willing himself not to go cross eyed, he fixed Jak with a serious stare. "So, Jak… ya love me, right?"
Jak's heart skipped a beat.
He looked up at Dax in a panic, ready to deny everything for the split second before reason prevailed. Why was Dax asking him something like that, and at a time like this? But no, that wasn't at issue right now. Right now, he had to tell Dax something. Warily, Jak debated his answer.
He couldn't remember ever having lied to Dax before, and he didn't particularly want to start now. Besides, his friend was very, very drunk. Odds were he wouldn't even remember this strange conversation in the morning.
Jak took a quick breath, swallowed. Tried to re-ignore the fact that his hand was resting on Dax's bare waist, mere inches from...
"Yes."
In the dark, he could just make out Dax's face as it split into a wide, warm smile, his friend looking down at him with that lopsided, bucktoothed grin that had become one of Jak's favorite sights in the world. The look robbed Jak of breath, gave him butterflies, made his heart shoot to his throat, and all because it was Daxter and he'd made him happy.
"Yeah, Dax," he whispered. "I love you."
"Good." Daxter continued to smile, fondly patting Jak's hair as if to tell him he'd been a good boy. "So 'at means ya won' ever give Jinx head."
Jak's eye twitched.
"Hell no I would not!" he exploded, a disgusted grimace in place as he shoved Dax off his chest. "That is nasty! As if I'd want my mouth anywhere near his dirty… That's just sick! Go to sleep and don't think about shit like that, for Precursors' sake!"
Jak collapsed back onto the bed in a full blown huff, facing pointedly away from his bemused friend. Heart still pounding, he was remotely glad that the darkness hid his raging blush.
Here he'd been getting all knotted up about some stupid sappy look Dax was giving him and the little idiot went and said something like that. So much for their little "moment."
Dax rustled with the blankets briefly before attempting to cozy up to Jak once more. Jak wanted none of it.
"I said sleep, you drunk ass!"
"'M sleepin', 'm sleepin' right now," the redhead assured, snugly curling himself up against Jak's back whether the hero wanted it or not. "Hey, Jak?"
Jak could almost feel Daxter smiling against his back. He gritted his teeth and fought the urge to beat the clingy little shit with a pillow. "What."
"Love you too."
Yawning, Dax gave his motionless buddy a final squeeze and soon after drifted off. Jak, however, lay awake for quite some time, absently drumming his fingers to refrain from playing with Daxter's hair. He sighed. Life could be so weird sometimes.
Shrugging it off, Jak finally closed his eyes. For now he could only rest, and imagine what Daxter's response would be in the morning…
O.O.O.O.O
To Be Continued! (hopefully…)
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AN: Hmmm… I think Jak talked too much. And a little something about Dax was slightly off. (pokes fic) But other than that…not too shabby for an entirely unplanned fic that got mostly written in less than a week. Hope y'all enjoyed it. Reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated.
Odds are eight to two this'll be updated, but it might take a while as finals are swiftly approaching. (Who says the horrors of college are preferable to a career working at Arby's? Not me…)
The rating may also possibly be subject to change in the future, and if that happens the… ahem… more risqué bits will be transferred over to my AFF account.