Keira moaned and clutched at her sides. A jagged, piercing pain, worse than a lurker shark bite, was digging deep into her hips. A dull ache arose in her back, and her head was pounding.

Gingerly, she placed her fore and middle finger to her temple in an attempt to soothe them with rhythmic strokes. After minutes of doing this and no pain subsiding, a tear rolled down her cheek out of frustration.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Keira quickly wiped her cheek and peered up from her bunk.

"Hey…" Jak said quietly. He shouldered the door open and cast a silhouette across the dim room.

The light was blinding, and only made the pounding worse. Keira shifted her body and dragged a blanket across her face. It made her body hot, but it felt cool on her face and offered some relief to the throbbing in her forehead.

Keira only grunted in response.

Jak sympathetically winced, "That bad, huh?"

"No." Keira said stubbornly. She let an arm go from her sides and made an attempt to sit up, but only weakly flopped back over. Apparently her show of strength was not as impressive as she thought it would be. She sighed in defeat.

"Okay, yes…" She mumbled.

Jak smirked and walked over, revealing a tray in his hands.

Keira rolled the blanket back agonizingly; the pain was disorienting her and she wasn't sure how to respond to Jak. She'd much rather just lay there… Plus, she was unsure on how to deal with these sudden hot-and-cold flashes. But Jak had brought along with him the perfect solution,

"Here," he said gently. Jak placed a warm hot water bottle on Keira's hips.

"And, here." He pulled a cloth out from behind him and placed it on her forehead. Keira shivered from the unexpected impact of the chilled cotton, but she had to admit that it felt nice.

Jak cautiously rubbed her shoulder affectionately, unsure if his touch would be enough to upset the delicate balance of temperatures that he had just created. A moment later, Keira's body became less tense, and he sighed in relief.

Jak sighed. "Keira, you work too hard…"

He spoke fondly of her in this way, but Keira only muttered in defense, "I do not!"

Jak chuckled and crossed his arms. "You're more stubborn than I am! And THAT'S saying something."

His expression became more serious, "You need rest Keira. Promise me that you'll stop working on your projects for just one day."

Keira growled at him.

"Haven City can wait for their hover boards and hover crafts to be fixed – there's more than just one mechanic in this city!" Jak argued boldly.

"They're not as good as me though." She grumbled.

"Definitely not!" Jak laughed softly. Keira lay there unmoving.

He knew she was upset. He put a hand to his chin thoughtfully, thinking of how he could get her out of this funk and cheer her up. Suddenly his eyes lit up, and he teasingly started poking her very ticklish sides.

"Keiraaa…" he pouted at her playfully.

Keira couldn't help but smirk as she retorted, "Jak, what are you…"

"Keiraaaa!" He said again as he gleefully crawled closer towards her.

"Nooo! Jak stop it!" Keira was now laughing uncontrollably. She lifted her blanket and peered at Jak through her gorgeous jade-green eyes. Keira blushed and looked away bashfully as she squealed from Jak's mischief.

Jak grinned and snickered along with her, then stopped, and could only sigh as he looked down at her.

His cheeks lifted to his eyes, and his bright baby blue eyes drifted to the girl underneath him. He couldn't believe after everything that happened - growing up alongside each other, travelling through time, and overthrowing Haven City resistances all while her having to put up with his dark eco episodes – and they were somehow still together. It was unbelievable. And yet, here she was. Here they were.

A weird feeling passed over Jak, and he breathed, "Keira, I love you…"

Keira giggled and tenderly kissed his nose. "I love you too…"

She grazed his face with her soft hands. He gripped them in his own hands, hardened from work. They were so different, but they fit so perfectly together. He cupped her small fingers in between his and stared into her eyes for a moment.

The moment passed abruptly when Keira's eyes suddenly widened and her eyes brows contorted. She yelped loudly and startled Jak. Jak, shocked and confused, flew back and stuttered, "Wh- what happened? Did I do something?"

"Ahh, no," Keira grimaced. She grit her teeth together. "It's… you know…"

Another wave of pain coursed through Keira's midsection and flung her backwards onto her pillow.

She sighed deeply, "…my period…"

No more words were said. Jak looked to her eyes for permission, and a tear rolling down her cheek and a small nod gave him all he needed to know. He set the tray aside, but not before grabbing a small bag from it. He opened it to reveal some chocolate, and hesitantly offered it to Keira. She took it graciously, and slowly nibbled on it, letting it melt in her mouth.

Jak smiled, and reached his arm around her. She tightly gripped onto it, her fingers pulsing harshly along his forearm whenever she felt pain again. But Jak didn't mind. Because he was holding her, close to him, and that was enough.

He breathed in the scent of her, a soft, floral smell, and dug his nose into her bright turquoise-green hair to nuzzle her neck. Their heartbeats quickened and their breathing synced.

He delicately kissed her rosy cheeks, and started to slowly rub her back. The motion and comfort that Jak offered slowly put Keira into a deep sleep, and her pain subsided.

A few minutes later, Keira slowly turned towards him in her sleep and plunged herself into his chest, casting her arms loosely around his waist. He moved his blue tunic aside and wrapped a thigh around hers, enjoying their combined warmth.

Jak sleepily grabbed a small piece of chocolate from the bag and let it sit on his tongue. He breathed in content. And he began drifting into a deep sleep, beside his best friend, and his soon to be fiancé if she accepted his proposal hidden at the bottom of the chocolate bag…

They fell asleep with the chocolate still in their hands.