Tsukasa: Don't on Jak and Daxter or anything
Inspired by Breath (2AM) by Anna Nalick

Breathe

Tess was closing up the Hip-Hog whenever her communicator went off.
"Tess here?" she asked.
"Tess? It's Keira, I need you to come get me." the voice of the mechanic, who was also in deep cover for the Underground like Tess was. Tess considered herself to be the strange girl's best friend. She glanced at the Chronometer to see it was past 2-AM.
"Where are you Keir?" Tess asked. She wrote down the address and finished up everything quickly (Not that Krew would notice or care anyway-He'd paid off the Health Inspector). Tess pulled up to see a sobbing Keira on the front steps on a nice looking apartment building and immediately knew what had happened.
"Did you finally let him talk you into it?" Tess asked.
"Yes. I was just so lonely and now I've made a huge mistake." Keira said sobbing, "The latest of many."
"Come on, let's get you home." Tess said helping the blue-green haired girl up off the steps into her zoomer (it was a two seater) before she accelerated out of there like a bat out of Hell. Upon arrival at Tess's apartment building in the slums Tess hid her zoomer (thieves were rampant in this part of Haven) and hurried Keira inside. She drew the mechanic a bath as she made some hot chocolate. Keira came out in some of her clothes that she kept there and took the glass gratefully.

"I know how you feel, everyone's looking at you giving you looks for what you did as if they have any room to talk. All you can really do is sit down and take a few deep breaths to center yourself. After all you can't undo the past." Tess said as Keira silently sipped her drink.
"Does the feeling of wrongness ever go away?" Keira asked.
"Sort of, especially if you never ever sleep with that particular guy again." Tess said which made Keira sputter, "Even if flirting with that scumbag is part of your cover, just don't do it."
"Errol's too powerful to resist." Keira said blandly.
"He ever tries that I'll just have to geld him." Tess said nonchalantly. This, once again, had Keira choking on her hot chocolate. Tess wants to ask why of all nights she felt particularly lonely, but knows better than to press. If Keira wanted to talk about it, she would.
"Thanks Tess." Keira said after she finished her drink and headed for the door, as her apartment was the one next door to Tess's.
"Any time!" Tess said smiling.

Tess was working at the Hip-Hog a few weeks later whenever she notices a blond and green head sitting at the bar with a very strong drink in hand, Daxter was already passed out on the counter next to him, a small purple bottle in hand. Tess smiled as she pried the bottle from her Daxie's hand and said,
"Long day, Jak?" the elf in question only looked up at her briefly before continuing to drink. Tess knew Jak was actually too young to even be in the bar but since he worked for Krew, the Underground, and was a wanted fugitive she figured he, of anyone, had a right to drink himself silly if he so chose.
'I'll bet he'd look amazing if he smiled,' the thought came suddenly to the blond elf before she banished that thought from her head. Tess would be willing to bet that Jak hadn't gone to sleep without drinking himself into a stupor since he broke out of prison.
'A terrible way to live. How long was he in prison for?' Tess wondered. Daxter had let it slip that Jak had been arrested for no reason at all and experimented on while being held prisoner. And at fifteen at that! If it wouldn't compromise her cover Tess would have done something to Errol, and what he implied to her friend a few weeks ago was really pushing it so she had to make do with giving him the worst stuff in the Hip-Hog she could find. And considering who owned the place it was a pretty hard feat to continually repeat. Though, one time she placed a laxative in his drink and the look on Errol's face was priceless.

Tess wondered how Jak managed to keep going. How he found the motivation to keep breathing, because revenge isn't what was really driving him, no matter how much he talked about killing Praxis and Errol (Not that she could blame him for wanting that). There was something else driving him that he didn't even seem aware of. If he found that then maybe he'd be able to get a grip on his past and no longer have to drink himself to sleep. Daxter would be able to take care of him until then. She saw Jak had passed out at the bar and shrugged before gently tugging the glass free. Tess heard him mutter something in his sleep that sounded like 'Jeer-ah.' She waved Sig over for some help.
"I need you to take Jak to the back room, I've got Daxter." she said as she held the still snoozing ottsel in her arms.
"Fine." Sig said before he slung the teen over one of his armored shoulders. Tess unlocked the door where a cot was kept in case she or Sig would have to stay. Sig placed the unconscious youth on the cot while Tess set Daxter at the foot of the cot before covering both with a well worn blanket.
"Thanks Sig." Tess said. The burly Wastelander nodded to the smaller elf,
"I'll be headed home now Tess." he said.

Tess saw it was close to 2AM whenever she finally could close the bar. Where had time gone? She could hear some song playing on the jukebox and kept it on as she continued to clean. On her way out she remembered Jak and Daxter so she left a note for the pair. With that Tess walked out into the night, humming a song that wouldn't get out of her head.

-fin