.

Chapter 6

Dancing on the verge of awareness, not quite asleep yet far from awake, Jet briefly wondered what it was stirring next to him. The movement stopped before he was conscious enough to think more of it and soon he heard nothing again but the peaceful sound of his own breathing. Oddly enough the sound seemed to originate from somewhere close beside him.

For a brief moment there he had thought he was back in the secret cellar of Gob's Hideout, lying unconscious sprawled out on the floor. But as he slowly began registering the song of birds from outside Jet realized it had been nothing but a dream. A particularly horrible one at that, detailed down to the pungent smell of moldy cheese.

Again he became aware of movement beside him as if someone or something was pressing close against the side of his body. Then something small moved under the sheets brushing past his stomach and finally coming to rest on his chest.

Just as it was finally dawning to him that something strange was afoot someone knocked on the door and the haze of sleep cleared from him in an instant.

Gallows peeked inside.

"I know somebody whose birthday's today…" he sang knowing it would annoy the person in question. He came to an abrupt halt, however, as he laid eyes upon Jet.

What gives? Jet thought. The Baskar was never this easy to shut up. Come to think of it, he hadn't even tried yet.

"Well I'll be damned!" Gallows suddenly exclaimed in honest amazement, "Looks like you've already started celebrating" a wide and very unsettling grin appeared on his face.

"What?" Jet wondered. His eyes followed Gallows line of vision to the place beside him where Virginia's head emerged from underneath the sheets. She yawned and tried to move even closer to him something that was really no longer possible. Her delicate hand upon his chest loosely clutched the fabric of his shirt.

"Congratulations, man. I didn't think you had it in ya." Gallows laughed. Jet couldn't speak even if he wanted to and his eyes were round as dinner plates staring at the sleeping girl beside him and then back at the highly amused Baskar tribesman. "I'm sorry, where are my manners? You two obviously need some time alone." he winked as disappeared behind the closed door.

He could be heard snickering on the other side.

Jet returned to stare at Virginia. Even in her sleep she wore a big smile on her face as if she somehow knew what was going on. Had she been there when he fell asleep yesterday?

"W-What are you doing in my bed?" he finally managed to stutter. When he tried to remove her hand from his chest her grip on his shirt instinctively tightened.

The girl slowly opened her eyes at his voice. She seemed only mildly surprised at the situation and not at all displeased.

"Your bed?" she yawned again, looking around, "I thought it was mine" she smiled sheepishly but couldn't hide the fact she was blushing too.

"And you didn't find it at all strange that I was sleeping there?" Jet wondered. He tried to remember the night before but couldn't really recall much more than entering the room and by that time he had already been half asleep.

Virginia was busy rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. She had finally let go of his shirt, "I don't remember." she claimed. "I was really tired when we got back yesterday. I must've fallen asleep on the spot"

"Apparently" he muttered moving away from her. Glancing discreetly under the sheets he noticed with relief that they were both next to fully clad.

Relieved? Are you sure? an inquisitive voice inside him wondered. Jet shook his head; he would not go there. He was NOT Gallows.

"…Are you mad?" the girl asked tentatively after silently watching him shy away.

"Not mad, just surprised." Jet replied, and way too tired for this shit, he added in his mind.

"Not used to waking up next to a beautiful girl, eh?" she teased.

"What beautiful-" he caught himself. He remembered the large, scarred man lying on the floor crying.

"I kicked him where you're not supposed to kick a guy" she had said.

Jet shuddered. He did NOT want to anger Virginia.

"What's that?" she asked, her blue eyes narrow slits glaring at him from where she sat on the mattress.

"Nothing" he muttered, "…I mean, uh, you're right. I'm not used to it." he went for the door.

"Where do you think you're going?" she demanded before he could escape.

"Uh, breakfast?" he turned to her with what he hoped was an innocent look.

"No you don't." she got up from underneath the sheets, "Today you relax and I'll make you breakfast in bed!" she went on to exclaim happily.

"But I'm already up…" Jet argued, he looked at the doorknob and then back at the girl standing in the middle of the room with her dress all wrinkled from sleeping in it. Sleeping all night right next to him, cuddling against his side, her small hand resting upon his chest clutching the fabric of his shirt as she dreamt…

Jet averted his gaze and stared intensely at the wall left of him. Focus seemed very much out of reach at the moment.

Jeez, I must've hit my head harder than I thought yesterday…

He looked at the doorknob again. If he made a run for it…

"No buts!" Virginia said with great determination, "It's your birthday and you're going to eat breakfast in bed whether you like it or not!" She stomped her foot down and Jet's feet hurt out of habit.

As any successful drifter Jet knew when to wave the white flag. The casualties would have been far too great should he have persisted…

"Well, I guess even you couldn't possibly screw up something as simple as breakfast…" he thought out aloud. Virginia looked scandalized, "What? You know just as well as I do your cooking sucks."

"Yes! But still, it's not a very nice thing to say!" the girl placed her hands on her hips and shot him a very accusatory glare.

"I'm just being honest" the boy shrugged.

"That's what all mean people say…" she claimed walking past him over to the door. Jet followed her with his gaze. She stopped once before leaving, looking back at him with an evil grin, "Maybe I should do something really special? How about a breakfast omelet? There's egg in that, right? And since it's breakfast I guess you could add some Cornflakes and… hey, do you think porridge would burn if you cook it in a frying pan?"

She watched Jet grow pale in the face.

"Please, no trouble for my sake." he suddenly sounded very humble. Virginia could be heard laughing all the way down to the kitchen.

As soon as the door closed the young drifter fell back down onto his mattress. If the rest of the day continued in the same direction it was going to be a trying day indeed.

"'That's what friends and family do.'" he muttered to himself, repeating Virginia's words from the day before. "'I'm only doing it 'cause of you.'" he went on repeating words of his own. Where the hell had that come from? Doing it… for Virginia?

For a moment there he had thought she had been shot. That she had died or was dying, bleeding on the floor because he hadn't been there to help her. What was it Virginia had said when she laid eyes upon his wounded cheek?

"If you died……I…I'd cry. I would be so sad I…I don't know what I'd do."

Was that how he had felt? How he would have felt? Opening his eyes to stare at the ceiling Jet couldn't help but feel lost. What was it like to cry? He couldn't really remember ever doing it nor feeling the need for it.

The idea of someone else crying over him was also a completely new one.

Moving to a sitting position to keep from falling asleep again his eyes suddenly focused on something shiny on Virginia's bed, sticking out from underneath her pillow and a small pile of clothing that covered it.

Moving over he carefully removed the clothes one item at a time and lifted the pillow. Underneath was a very colorful package of some kind. It was the golden bow on the side that had caught his attention. There was a small note stuck to it that read "Happy Birthday Jet" in Virginia's handwriting.

Jet stared down at the strange package.

Happy…?

.

xxxxx

.

Preparing breakfast went well, mainly because it was something she did almost every morning anyway and of course because it required very little actual cooking.

Still, she managed to spill some milk on her dress when Gallows came by and asked how she had done to finally get inside Jet's pants. Without being asked he then went on to speculate for himself. Most of his guesses involved some kind of alcohol, mild sedative or personality altering drug.

He left again when Virginia asked why he was so interested. Perhaps he was after the contents of Jet's pants as well?

Giving the tray one last look over Virginia lit the candle she had placed beside the plate of toast.

Juice, coffee, bowl of cereals, toast, apple…

It would have to do. Nothing too grand but it was just breakfast for crying out loud. It wasn't like he was used to anything better. And besides he still had the cake to look forward to. Except maybe "look forward to" weren't the right words here… more like "await with dread".

Virginia exhaled a sigh of despair. What was it with Jet that completely shattered her confidence?

She scaled the stairs slowly careful not to tip the tray. Then there was the whole birthday present problem. Still very much unsolved after finding only an unconscious Jet and several boxes of cheese at Gob's Hideout. Well, there was always the backup-present in her room even though it wasn't exactly what she had had in mind.

But on the bright side, Virginia thought as she reached the door, I got to sleep next to him! He didn't even seem all that annoyed. Too bad I was really asleep all the time, though…

She pushed the door open with her foot.

Standing by the edge of her bed Jet snapped into attention as she entered the room. She wasn't entirely sure but she thought she had seen the pillow move as if it had just been dropped into place. Virginia narrowed her eyes; incidentally that was right where she had hid her present. Jet looked very guilty. Then her gaze shifted slightly to the side as she caught glimpse of something else.

"…What's that in your hand?" she wondered after a brief moment of heavy silence.

"Huh?" Jet followed her gaze to his right hand that was gripping some random item of clothing. His eyes widened in horror as he realized what the silky fabric between his fingers really was. Beads of nervous sweat began forming on his brow. "It…" he felt choked, "it's a bra."

Virginia stared at him for a moment and Jet's blush darkened by the second.

"Does my underwear interest you, Jet?" she finally asked putting the tray down onto a chair beside the door.

"I was-" he began explaining with a panicky expression, "I was just checking it to see if the…uh, hook-thingy was made out of gold. Turns out it wasn't… must've just been the light playing tricks on my eyes."

It was an excuse of questionable believability.

Again she felt the need to simply stare at him for a moment before she spoke again. Jet didn't very much care for this.

"…That was the best excuse you could come up with?" she sounded very unconvinced.

"Well, you didn't give me much time." he complained, "And besides it wasn't that bad. I can see myself doing that." Jet managed to shrug away some of his embarrassment.

"You'd look for gold on a girl's underwear?" the moment she asked this she realized it was a stupid question. She could also very well picture him doing just that.

"It's a good reason to look."

"No. It's weird, sad reason."

"Whatever…" the boy looked away for a moment. Then he realized he was still holding the piece of clothing in his hand. He looked at it for a moment with a thoughtful expression before he spoke again, "Do you really need one of these anyway?" he wondered looking over at his female friend.

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" the girl sent him an indignant glare.

Jet grinned evilly. Virginia wasn't the only one who could strike below the belt.

He casually tossed the piece of clothing back onto the pile, pretending he hadn't just been caught with her bra in his hand.

"Hmpf." Virginia wasn't going to let him off that easily, "So, do you want to check the one I'm wearing too? I have to change dress anyway…"

"W-What!?" Jet looked positively shocked. He took a step back and nearly stumbled stepping off his mattress.

"Who knows, you might just strike gold." the girl could no longer stifle the laughter bubbling up from her stomach. His eyes were darting across the room looking for a way to escape.

"I…I'll be out on the balcony." he finally muttered in defeat.

"Oh, you'll watch from there?" Virginia couldn't stop giggling. She felt slightly bad for teasing him in such a shameless manner. He could be so innocent and naive at times.

Jet gave her a cross look and then fled out through the balcony door, silently cursing himself for letting her get to him.

He winced as the door closed behind him with an unintended loud thud. What was her problem anyway, teasing him like that?

Leaning onto the wooden railing in the morning sun Jet couldn't help but blush at certain images his mind conjured. It would seem Gallows had rubbed off on him more than he was willing to accept.

And what about the birthday present? Why had he felt so strange looking at the colorful package with his name carefully written on it? So a girl had bought him a present. Big deal. It's not like it meant anything. If he understood the concept of birthdays correctly you pretty much had to buy presents. It was an obligation, nothing else.

And what the hell was he doing getting all jittery for, anyway?

Jet bowed his head and closed his eyes. The small symphony of birds played on and merged with the sounds of the awakening town as he struggled with his confusing thoughts and feelings.

"…Do I like her?" he whispered after a while, "Is that it?"

No one answered.

.

xxxxx

.

The rest of the morning and early afternoon passed relatively smoothly without any larger mishaps. When Virginia was done changing Jet finally had his breakfast. In bed as promised.

Leaving the bedroom and entering the living room downstairs, he soon found himself the unwanted center of attention and on the receiving end of a number of loud congratulations from his teammates as well as uncle Tesla and aunt Shalte.

At one point during the day Virginia came up to him with one of her aunt's larger sun hats, claiming it was a ceremonial birthday hat and that Jet should wear it. None too surprisingly he politely declined.

Gallows had been unusually calm and pleasant most of the time despite the first-rate teasing material he had stumbled upon earlier that morning. Perhaps it was out of respect for the occasion or more likely: because he was busy planning something.

However he couldn't help but ask if the Band-Aid on Jet's cheek was the result of some kind of kinky game the two roommates had engaged in. Virginia was tempted to say yes just to witness the reaction. Jet told him it was a cheese-related accident.

The party, if one could really call it that, officially started after Tesla and Shalte had left their house some time around dinner with the explanation that the youngsters should party on their own. Jet received his first birthday presents ever and went on to open them with a strange feeling of anxiety. He didn't very much care for the fact he had no idea of what to expect. Just look happy, was the advice Virginia had given him. And he would try, as he had said earlier, for her even though the concept still seemed kind of foreign to him.

From Clive he received a neatly wrapped, rectangular package that contained a newly released book on the geography of Filgaia. Judging by the excited voice of the sniper as he explained the contents of the book and the groundbreaking way in which the author had gathered the facts, it was a great piece of literature. Jet somehow doubted he was the right person for it, however.

The gift from Gallows wasn't nearly as neatly packed as Clive's and turned out to be some deodorant, a round bottle of some obscure and very strong liquor and a rather risqué picture of a woman.

Later that evening Virginia "accidentally" set fire to this photo. While she wanted Jet to learn how to appreciate the female body it did not necessarily mean the bodies of other women. She also asked Gallows where he had purchased the deodorant. As it turned out it was the kind he himself used and he always carried an extra couple of bottles around with him.

As for the picture, she didn't want to know where it had come from.

When it was time for Virginia's present she had a hard time building up the nerve to hand it to him. When she finally did Jet took a moment to examine the colorful package, the largest one of the three, and reading the short note again. Clueless as he might have been, he had still somehow managed to pick up on the fact that she was nervous.

He carefully removed the wrapping and opened the cardboard box underneath. He silently studied the holster for a while with an expressionless face that had Virginia biting her bottom lip. When he looked at her again she was nervously toying with her hair. He smiled but the expression looked more out of place than truly grateful.

Virginia looked uncertain.

"Thanks, Virginia" he said earnestly but not without a certain awkwardness that came due to his inexperience in the field of thankfulness, "I like the uh… golden flowers." he moved his finger over the embroidery.

Now Virginia smiled back. She wasn't certain if she completely believed his gratitude. But the fact he tried was enough to make her want to kiss him. Then again, these days it took very little to make her want to do that…

In retrospect she felt silly for worrying so much. Sure, Jet wasn't always nice but he was also rarely consciously mean. At least not when you got to know him.

And besides, if things worked out the way she hoped this wouldn't be the last birthday they spent together. Next time she would make sure to start planning way ahead.

With the presents opened Gallows declared it was time to drink and opened up the first bottle of wine. Many were to follow before the end of that day.

.


The plot feels kind of unfocused. It sort of turned out like a "day in the life of…" kind of story…

Except of course it covers two days.