"Oh, Jack, what's wrong?" Maddie asked Jack, who was moping in the basement.
"Nothing."
"Jack…"
"You'll think it's stupid." Maddie gave him a look. "Okay, fine. I don't want my baby girl to grow up so quickly."
"But Jack, you're fine with Danny and Sam."
"It's not the same!"
"Then tell me why."
Jazz and Rae were now feeding each other. The phone rang, and Danny, who was slightly nauseated, went to get it. After, he came back over, and announced to nobody in particular that Sam was coming over. Jazz and Rae nodded, then went back to feeding one another. Danny noticed that their food supply, which had been beefed up by to abandoned plates, was not going to end soon. He said to the room at large "Excuse me, I've got to go throw up."
"Okay Danny," Jazz said, baseline ignoring him.
"Make sure you clean up the food chunks," Rae advised, showing that he could multitask. His and Jazz's lips were now very close, and Danny did not want to see what would come next. He walked out of the room, then ran back in when he heard a crash. To his great surprise and amusement, he saw a very irritated Jazz pouting and glaring at Rae, who had fallen asleep in the mashed potatoes. Apparently, he had hit them with enough force to splatter it all over Jazz.
"Just get him into bed. NOW!" She ordered. "I have to take a shower."
She walked off in a huff. Danny began dragging Rae out of the kitchen and up the stairs. He had to make sure Rae stayed asleep. He had no intention of letting Rae see Jazz in the shower. When he had dropped Rae onto the bed, he turned around to leave. The door slammed shut.
"Not so fast," the now conscious Rae said darkly. "You and I are going to have a little talk." Danny, choosing to ignore him, went to go ghost. To his great surprise, he could not!
"You'll find that my empathic powers extend to influencing parts of the brain. I might not be able to stop you from using your ghost powers while you are in ghost form, but I can keep you from going ghost. Now sit down." It was a request, not a command. Danny sat down in the chair farthest from Rae, who (with his shaggy hair and unshaven face) looked like a very mad ex-criminal.
"What, not going to bind me here?" Danny taunted, which in retrospect was not a very promising idea.
"No. I am not. You are here simply to talk. You can get up and leave at any time. Your ghost powers are shut off so you won't do me any lasting damage." Rae smiled once, then it fell. "Now tell me, why do you despise me so?"
Not a question Danny had been expecting. He opened his mouth once, then closed it.
"Have I done anything to harm you? Apart from the training?" Danny shook his head. "Have I done anything to discredit your family?" Shake. "To hurt Jazz?" Shake. "To bring pain, be it emotional or physical in any way?" Shake. "Then why do you hate me?"
"I… I don't know… I just, I guess, want to protect my sister…" Danny stammered, looking at the ground.
"Admirable. But I think you can stop worrying. Nothing will harm Jazz while I live." He said these words with a ringing power, as if binding a contract. "Let's make a deal Danny. We'll both do our very best to protect Jazz, alright?"
"Deal."
Aaaaah, Jazz thought, Now that was nice. There's nothing like a warm shower to take your mind off of the looming threat of that shadow creature. Jazz stopped, and frowned. She had completely forgotten about the shadow monster since Rae had woken up, but now she had some questions for him to answer.
A knock came at the door. "May I come in?" A voice, Rae's, asked.
"Mmm-hmm." Jazz replied, now wondering what Rae's reaction would be to her, in nothing but a towel.
"Thanks," Rae said, opening the door. "I really have to… Whoa!"
Whatever reaction Jazz was expecting, she wasn't disappointed. Rae's eyes bulged, and his mouth fell open. Jazz sauntered over to him, and ran a finger along his chest. She looked up at him.
"Oh, Rae," she said, "you're blushing!" It was true, Rae was a scarlet reminiscent of a rose. "I don't look that good, do I?" Rae gulped.
"Uh… Excuse me, but I need to take a shower." Jazz smiled. "Be aware, all the hot water is gone. It'll be a cold shower. Oh, and don't shave, I like you with facial hair." She laughed, and went to her room to change.
Oh, what a sweetie. I'm sure that I've made the right choice with him. He likes my family, can stand my brother, and will keep me safe. And, he's cute. Jazz thought, pulling on some comfy clothes, and slipping into the hall to go to Danny's room to wait for Rae.
Five minutes later, the door swung quietly open. Danny was downstairs talking to Sam, and Jack and Maddie were talking somewhere else. Rae padded in softly, wearing nothing but a towel around his midsection, held up by his hand. Jazz's eyebrows raised slightly. As Rae turned the lights on, Jazz said "Hello," while lying on the bed. Rae almost dropped the towel in shock. His eyes flashed green (a visible contrast to his red cheeks), and an earthen wall appeared around him. A few minutes later, when it fell, he was fully clothed. He walked over to the bed, and laid down next to Jazz. He put his hands behind his back, and looked up at the ceiling, which folded back to reveal the stars.
Rae sighed, and put one of his arms around Jazz.
"Lie down," he asked. "Watch the stars with me." Jazz lied down, and snuggled up to Rae.
"Rae," she asked quietly, hoping he wouldn't get mad, "who was that shadow creature? Why did he attack you? And, where did you get those powers?"
Rae moved closer, pulling the blanket over them. "Jazz, what I'm about to tell you may seem far-fetched, weird or terrifying. Are you prepared to listen?"
"Yes."
Oh, that was evil. But my faithful readers will have to wait. BTW, Rae's eyes change colour in accordance to the power he's using (or anger/distaste).
Red: Fire or anger/distaste
Blue: Water or healing
Green: Earth
White (like Storm from X2): Air
