ooOoo

"For the love of Mar!" Keira cursed angrily, her wrench clattering to the ground at her feet. Head reeling, pulse quickening the normall calm mechanic leaned against her work bench, allowing a sigh to escape her pale lips. To her right sat the reason for her sudden anger and frustration-a demolished zoomer. The stupid thing did not want to be put back together again. The girl had spent days on it, hadn't slept at all last night. And although it was almost eleven in the morning she could barely move, let alone think.

And she was on a freaking deadline.

"Who the hell drives through an entire pen of yakkows anyway?" Keira mused quietly. "I mean, c'mon. It's common sense."

But to her sudden shock and dismay the totaled zoomer suddenly began to spark and smoke. Keira let out another string of curses. It looked like she wasn't going to get any sleep that night, again. Groaning wearily the tired mechanic dropped her head in her hands; a part of her knew the reason why she was so upset.

Jak.

Yes, she missed her boyfriend. Mar, she missed him.

But life never went the way you planned, and Jak was out in the Wasteland doing whatever it is Wastelanders do in the hottest time of the year.

And Keira was stuck in Haven, counting down the next month and a half until she would see him again. Taking off her goggles and running her fingers through her long blue hair she sighed. She missed him so much it hurt.

ooOoo

Jak took off his googles and ran his hand through his short green hair, sighing. Only another month and a half and he'd be out of the Wasteland and with Keira again.

Keira.

The twenty one year old scratched his chin, ridding his goatee of sand as he did so. If he could have anything in the world right there and then, it would have been his girlfriend. To be able to hold her in his arms again, just to see her smile, but most importantly to feel her soft lips against his.

Shaking away any thoughts that could further distract him from his trek through Spargus Jak let out a quiet breath. His good mood seemed to evaporate with it; the orange ottsel on his shoulder could feel the sudden change in his friend.

Very lightly he tugged on his partner's long ears. Giving a startled "Yah!" Jak spun around to find Daxter staring at him quietly. "What the hell was that for?"

Daxter shrugged, a knowing look on his face. "You just seemed a bit quiet there Jakky." Jak just shook his head and rolled his eyes; he continued his walk. "My guess is you're missing Keira," in response to this his taller friend turned and glared, "But hey, I've only been your friend since we were five. So I can't possibly know that look."

"What look?" Jak asked mildly. Daxter just shook his head.

"You act like I can't tell."

Daxter always could tell.

"I can alway tell."

And he knew it too.

"You get that dreamy look in your eyes; which is creepy by the way. It's quite obvious that the thoughts running through your mind are something along the lines of: I just want to be with Keira so we can f-"

The ottsel was cut off when Jak rather abruptly brought his hand down on his head. Fixing him with a glare of his own Daxter pulled his goggles back over his ears. "What?! Don't lie, you know it's true! I mean, when you guys aren't... You know... You give each other these looks and you can just tell what's on your guys' mind!"

But Jak merely let out another sigh, this time out of irritation and made his was through the markets of Spargus, praying to the Precursors that the Wastelanders didn't have any idea what Daxter was talking about.

"I mean, Tess and I well... That's a whole 'nother story. But you guys-"

Yeah. If he was only that lucky.

ooOoo

Giving up on the zoomer for now (just for now, she'd get back to it later) Keira dropped down in the stool beside the table. Idly she ran her fingers across the smooth surface of the table, humming to herself.

It was impossible to do any work once Jak filled her mind.

And quite frankly it happened way to much to begin with. But with him gone for the past two months...

It was unbearable. And the thought of not being able to see him for another month and a half left Keira quite distracted to be honest. Remembering how it felt to be in his arms she leaned back and sighed. Why was it that his arms always seemed to be so warm? And his lips. Memories of every kiss now that he was gone seemed much sweeter than at the moment. Why was it that you never knew what you had until it was gone?

Angry at herself for letting herself get so distracted Keira quickly tied her hair up in a ponytail and pushed all thoughts of her boyfriend away.

Easier said than done.

Groaning Keira leaned on one arm, a few strands of hair tickling her nose. Why did he have to go to the Wasteland for extended periods of time? Would there ever be a time when Jak wasn't needed to protect something, to save someone, to be the hero? He'd already saved the world three times, wasn't that enough?

No, no it wasn't. In the part of her mind that wasn't constantly stressing and missing him, Keira knew it had to be done. He was of lineage to Mar, it was in his blood to save the world and that's what he would do until the day he died.

Keira winced mentally. No, she wasn't going to think about that. Jak would be fine, he always was. Besides, Daxter was with him-whether or not that was a good thing was beyond her. Usually the ottsel was saved by Jak but that was besides the point.

Sig was there to keep them both out of trouble.

Breathing a little easier Keira attempted to get back to work. Most of it was spent staring out the window and wondering about Jak.

ooOoo

Nearing the King's tower Jak looked up towards Daxter who had finally stopped talking. Raising a long green eyebrow he regarded the ottsel quietly. Daxter humphed under his breath.

"Yes, I'm done. Can we just go in now? I wanna know what in Mar's name Ol' Siggy needs us to blow up now."

Jak snickered, understanding where some of his friends frustration was coming from. It seemed that all they had done was indeed blow up some crap in an attempt to find whatever it was that had attacked the monk's expedition to the catacombs. Slowly his eyebrows furrowed as he thought.

Buried deep near the monk's temple by the base of the mountain another entrance to Mar's secret catacombs had been found. Seem (who now had full power over the monks) had ordered a group of their best explorers to search the entrance. Not one of them had returned. That was when Sig-King of the Wasteland-had called in Jak to help.

So he had (rather grudgingly, it had days of pestering from Keira that it was the "right" thing to do) accepted. He and Daxter grabbed a quick transport over the walls of Haven and into the once feared Wasteland.

But evidence of there even being an entrance had vanished. Jak wished he could have taken a picture of the look on Seem's painted face when she realized that there was no entrance. At least not anymore.

Not that he had said anything. He wasn't suicidal.

So he and Daxter and the others on the team had spent the last two months trying to find the damned thing.

Still no luck. Whatever had taken the monks did not want to be found. And it probably wouldn't. Jak shuddered mentally, wondering what really lurked beneath the sand. He decided he really didn't want to know.

"Well?" Suddenly Jak was aware of the fact that he was standing in front of the door that led to the King's Tower. Sand blew at his feet and it was much to quiet for a normal afternoon in Spargus.

Or maybe he was just paranoid.

"Are we just gonna stand here all day?" Daxter asked impatiently, small toenails clicking against Jak's shoulder plate. The ottsel hating waiting almost as much as Metalheads.

"Fine. I'm going."

He just hoped Sig had found something. Maybe then he could go home to see Keira.

Ugh..... Why the hell did I start this over again???

Oh wait, cause I'm an idiot and do stuff half assed. Tell me if this is better than the first. Please???

And yes, major Jak x Keira, in case you didn't figure out what Daxter was talking about.

I thought it was obvious XD

Read and Review, as always.

~LeiaOrganicSolo