A/N: Sorry for the wait. Aha, you should all be used to my apologizing by now! But hey, the next chapter is here so maybe you can all let it go this time. But let me WARN YOU PEOPLE before you can start flaming me, kay? (nervous chuckle) Uh, I never was too great at making characters interact, it's something I plan to work with. Your reviews so far had made me feel pretty good about it up to this point, but this chapter, I think totally kills it. It's so hard to turn Jak into a softy, even if it IS for his best friend, so I guess I should give you all a semi-warning that this chapter might contain slightly OOC.. uhm... characters, where speaking is concerned.
Just... work with me, people.
And, sorry action seekers. This ones another dull chapter, but try to read through it and review and make me happy. I'll love you forever if you do.
One more thing, spellcheck and fanfiction still suck! Spell-check makes me mess up, and fanfiction sticks words and punctuations together as one and its so ANNOYING.. Whew, ok, had to vent that.
ChronoClockXVII Whoa now. Yea, Daxter ish back. But dang you sure are fast about the whole kissing thing, eh? Muawhaha, I seriously can't blame you though, for wanting it so soon. But we'll see what happens. :9 Oh, your favorite chapter? I'm glad you enjoyed it so.
Jak and Dax Freak: Happyful feelings can ONLY be obtained through the updatedness of a story. So I'm here to serve!
Demyrie: Bwee! I'm so bad at dialog! You have no idea! But hopefully I made up for it with da crabbywalk! Bah, this chapters no better, but I'll just pretend it's good. Ya!
Jira: The zoomer ride... HAD to be my favorite part to write. You shoulda seen the grin on my face. and ya, even though its kinda rare, Jak CAN be sweet. But its so hard to write about him GETTING to the 'being sweet' role.
Manicalpha: Well (shuffles feet) I guess I owed Daxter that much; giving him something to make it not all seem so bad. And uh... I think Jak is like, immune to crashes... But that's just my brain pumping there, pretending that it knows whats it babbling about.
n30n: Don't worry, I don't plan on stopping any time soon. I'm glad you found it sweet, and DON'T DIE cuz its here!
Goldbryn Callow LyteWhew! I get nervous that people will find Daxter OOC, kinda like I felt I did in that chapter so thanks! Um... don't expect anyone to jump on anyone else soon, lol, but I'll think of something! Muwahahaha!
Mewlon: Ahh, Mewlon, my dear, keep crossing those fingers, I've heard doing so can do wonders! AND AH! Favorite! I feel so lerved right now you have no idea, thank you! Thank you so much!
FuaiyaaNoRyuDaw, there are a lot of decent JD stories out there, if you look, but I feel honored that you would say that about mine. And if your reviewing, there is no such thing as rambling!
Amme Atena: I feel so bad breaking this to you, and I would feel so good if it were true, but the 'crimsonvixen' at DeviantART is not me. (Oh how I wish I was decent at that stuff) I have ONE drawing on my account but I DO plan on getting my ass in gear for that site. I'll let ya know when that happens.
joeanne: Twists and turns are always fun in stories, so I'm glad you liked the ones I threw in there. Uhm... JAKDAXTER RULEZZ?
that filthy animal: ;dlfajsl;dfj ITS HERE! yay! Rejoice! I can't have any dead readers. Can't live with the guilt!
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Waking up and stretching never felt so good before! Probably because when I was doing it this time, I knew without a doubt that I wouldn't be falling off of anyone's chest or anything like that. When my limbs were refreshed and morning-worthy, I rolled over on the bed, extending my arm to rest on Jak's broad form.
Only… he wasn't there. My eyes opened alertly, scanning the area, and finding out that I had somehow managed to flip myself entirely around on the bed. My feet twitched and stretched, toes brushing the soft, feathery pillow on the other side. My head raised, eyes locking onto the fact that yeah, I was all mixed up and upside down.
Jak has a tendency to do that to a guy.
I rustled a bit, turning myself around and getting myself situated, sticking an arm out to rest on Jak, and was able to do so this time. Sighing in relaxed satisfaction, I closed my eyes and concentrated on the warmth of Jak's skin through his clothing, and the rise and fall of his chest.
Jak muttered something in his sleep, jerking in his wake, and he rolled over until his face was mere inches from my own. He cleared his throat before his lids fluttered open, and before I could move away. It was a strange first two seconds as his head registered the situation at hand. But you can't blame the guy; it was morning, after all. His irises flickered to surprised, to confused, to shocked in time so short, I don't think there's even a word for it, and he screamed, tossing the sheets offa him and over me, scrambling off of the bed as fast as his limbs would carry him.
In reflex to his shout, I yelped myself, flailing and trying to scuttle off the other side, but getting tangled in the sheets that now covered me and blocked my vision. The only thing I succeeding in… was falling off the bed, twisted in cheap cloth, and landing harshly on my sore end. The sudden and unexpected turn of events, as well as the throb that was starting to make itself known in the general direction of… everything that was behind me, and the annoying fact that all was black and I couldn't seem to find the exit of that damn sheet, left me winded and I lay flat on my back as I yielded to the whole stinkin' thing.
Not exactly the way I had fantasized the whole… waking up next to Jak as a normal person for the first time…. thing...
The morning aura finally beginning to disintegrate, Jak realized his mistake and knelt down next to me, grabbing at the sheets and pulling at them to uncover me. The friction of the cloth against my bare (and apparently sensitive) skin burned, and I arched, thrusting my self into the air, only to flush bright cherry red when I pictured how ridiculous it must've looked with the action.
His hand failed to hide his laughter, although he wasn't doing a very good job of hiding it in the first place.
I scowled and helped myself up before he had a chance to say anything else. And even though standing stark naked in front of blondie was something I wanted him to get used to, it was starting to get a little bit chilly. My towel had been lost in our little episode, unless I lost it while tossing and turning last night, (I really don't know) and I didn't want to risk having pleasant thoughts right then and there that would result in a certain part of my body bobbing up as a little notification to Jak that I was one sick, sick little red headed bastard.
"What was that all about?"
But that suddenly didn't seem important.
He didn't… sound angry, but it was hard to tell with all the ringing that was going on in my ears.
"W-what?"
"God, you scared the shit outta me, Dax," he ran a restless hand through his messy hair. "What were you doing in the same bed?"
My eyes fluttered around the room, brain stumbling over itself and mouth refusing to form complete, or intelligent words. My tongue rolled out to lick my fumbling lips and I looked at Jak powerlessly. Words came falling out of my chattering chops before I could even think. I probably would have been better off just becoming a mute, because the words that I did say didn't make too much sense.
"I was just… I was…" Enter a sad attempt at a chuckle here. "I just thought that, that I… you…"
My shoulders sagged lower than I knew they could, and I sucked in a heap of air.
"I'm just so used to it, y-y'know?" gulp. "S'just that… I wasn't thinking and I just…thought that it would… be… okay…" I left it at that, slamming my lips together with a slight popping sound, sewing them shut so I didn't rant like the lunatic I'm beginning to think I am, because the more I talked, the stupider it all sounded, even though for the most part, it was all true. Jak just stared at me as I swallowed my words, with much difficulty, brows arched in fear that he was pissed at me.
But he laughed at me.
Inwardly almost fainting at the relief that swept over me, outwardly, I stiffened my stance and gave him a dirty look.
"What's so funny, tough guy?" I puffed out my chest, ignoring that it did nothing to improve my image. "If I remember correctly, you were the one jettin' off the bed at the site of my beautiful face."
"Relax, Dax," his hand came down to rest on my shoulder. It was surprisingly heavy and caused me to slightly tilt to the side. "You're making it out to be a big deal when it's not. We're mature enough, right?" His left eyebrow rose to question me, and I gave a terse nod, eyes wide and glued to his smiling face. He was just… so happy. And he was right, dang it! It was natural for people as close as us to do things closely. Maybe I was just so scared of him finding out my secret, that it seemed too risky, and that led me to panic.
He looked as though he was about to say more on the subject, but his other hand came down on my other shoulder, so he had a good grip on me and he looked directly into my eyes. He tried not to smile when he spoke but failed miserably.
"…We need to get you some clothes."
Blink.
Blink, blink.
It was hard, but I broke to eye contact and looked down at my feet, which were shuffling uncomfortably with themselves. I gave a wry expression, forcing an exaggerated nod, eyes closing with my huge grin.
I was confused as he made his way over to the drawer by the bed. It always had a lock on it, and I never would've imagined that Jak was the one who knew the combination. Never gave it a second thought. So now I was overwhelmed with an eager stupefaction of what was inside that he had kept locked away for what seems like… well, forever, now that I think about it. The drawer now open, his hand reached inside and pulled out something that looked… very familiar.
I was completely taken aback at the sudden flash of white and red. Still a little unsure of what was going on, I took an item from the pile that was now in Jak's grasp and held it up with both hands, holding it out in front of me to see it all. It was a tunic of my very own, red and white… And I threw that down next to me to hold up the other parts, which – sure enough – where more clothes. (Who'da thunk it?) And the weird thing was… they were so much like the ones I used to own, with a few cool new modifications here and there, of course. I now had cool boots like Jak had, which I always thought were kind've snazzy, pants that covered the whole length of my legs, and boxers ta' boot! And damn I WAS GONNA LOOK COOL! The material was more thick and durable, it felt like, which is always a plus. I tossed my new threads aside and leaped forward to embrace Jak in a longing hug, setting aside the weird tingly feeling it gave to my back, not really intending anything other than expressing my gratitude. Jak was startled, but soon his arms were returning the favor and we were hugging.
That's right. We were hugging.
Shut yer yap. Don't even go there.
I grabbed my articles the second we broke away from each other, and I was rapidly flopping about, trying to shove everything on at once. Laying on my back, I arched upwards to put on my boxers and pants, taking note I still ached, securing them around my thin waist, and looking at Jak for his approval as I grabbed the white undershirt that was sitting there. I tucked it into my pants and then reached for my red and white tunic and pulled it over my head, loving the feeling I got that I HAD CLOTHES and they were AWESOME when I slid my arms and head through their proper holes. I stood up tall, grabbing at the top bunk for support for him to get a gander at. It was kinda nice having Jak tell me to 'turn around' so he could see my backside and all around. Amazingly, it all fit rather well, (If you disregard slightly overhanging sleeves) and that brought up the question that came tumbling out of my mouth the instant I thought about it.
"Why did you—"
"I told you I would bring you back, Dax," he said as he twirled his finger in the air, indicating he wanted me to spin another time. I did so, tugging and rolling up my sleeves to just below my elbow as he went on. "I just wanted to be prepared for when it happened."
I ceased my spinning and almost fell at the action. He had this prepared already? He… never had even the slightest doubt that we would actually do it? He really cared that much that he would chase it for years? He had these STASHED AWAY in a drawer for a rainy day alias when I got CHANGED BACK?
I don't give the guy enough credit.
I took a step forward, ready to say something, though what it was I'm not so sure, but stumbled in that first step, hitting the floor and sitting there without the slightest clue as to what had just happened. My hand rose to my head and rubbed it blindly, stubbornly wondering how I had managed to hit the floor two times that morning in such a short period of time, as Jak slid his hands under my pits and stood me up again with a single heave.
"Looks like you haven't gotten your legs down just yet," he mused.
I wanted to hit him. I wanted to jerk my head side to side and lift the left side of my upper lip in a mocking tease. I wanted to blame it on all the spinning he made me do but instead I nodded my head that he was right. True, I hadn't really walked around at all that morning… just sat on the floor, stood in one spot, and clung to the bed post while I was spinning. Though as an ottsel, I still had a tendency to walk on two limbs instead of four, there was something about ottsel feet and human feet that felt extremely different. And uh... I say that out of REALLY recent experience. Suddenly noticing how unstable I was, I wobbled closer to Jak and clung to his shoulder to stay standing.
Heh, funny how even now, I'm still leaning onto that damn shoulder guard of his.
His hand landed on top of mine and he lifted my fingers from his guard. He then scooted further away and watched me as I stood pidgin-toed and clueless, but in a cool way 'coz I had my awesome threads on, (that's my attempt at defending my posture, ahem), and gnawing at my lip in attentiveness. Jak took a look around and sat down on the bed, leaning forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"Walk around the room once and then come here." His finger traced the length of the room and ended by pointing to his feet.
Suddenly, the room seemed a hell'uva lot bigger.
I gulped noticeably, wondering why it was so much harder to get my feet moving properly than it was the night before, but knowing that even if I had the answer to that, it wasn't gonna help me now, and I took a step forward. I could feel a small but noticeable dizziness sweep across me really fast, but it was gone just as soon as it had arrived, and I took another steady step. My arms flew out to my sides for balance, but slowly started to lower the more I moved. By the time I was halfway around the room, my hands were hanging and swaying with my steps, and my feet were working properly, however slowly.
Ha! Just like riding a bike. Even though… I've never ridden one before.
As I saw Jak sitting on the bed waiting for me to reach him, I suddenly got the funny feeling that I was a young child first learning how to walk, trying to waddle across the room to get to Daddy.
I licked my lips.
Come to Papa!
My steps grew faster and faster the closer I got, until I was walking what I assume to be a normal walking speed. Sadly, my foot caught onto something and I fell forward, but was saved by Jak, who stood me up once again before I had the chance to fully collapse. I gave a sheepish laugh and a sardonic grin as I straightened out my clothes.
My cool clothes.
"One more time."
I raised a finger to protest but he gave me a small shove and I was walking around the room again, this time without a problem and I was back with Jak before I even knew I was gone! I guess that learning to walk again wasn't as hard as I had first thought it to be; it was just something I had to remind myself how to do really quick.
He gave a mocking clap as I reached up and adjusted my goggles. It amazes me that my goggles survived the transformation, remaining the size I needed them to be for them to still fit nicely around my head should I decide to use them for something. Same thing happened when I first turned vertically challenged and fluffy; they shrunk down with me. No idea why, exactly. But looking down at my wrapped up hands, I wondered why the gloves didn't survive the trip this time around. Mebbe it was because my hands stretched them and ripped them off? Haha, nah, they were getting really worn, anyway. It was only a matter of time before they fell apart. I actually wouldn't of been surprised if they ripped apart and fell to the ground while I was wearing them.
I'm gonna assume Jak saw me starin' at my hands and the perfect digits that extended out of them, because his fist snuck into them, and when it left, something else was occupying my hands. Something that made me wonder if Jak could read frikken minds!
I slid on the new pair of gloves, discovering that I liked the way red looked instead of brown. Ya, sure, I'll miss the old brown ones, but these ones were… well… COOL! And they were just for me!
From Jak!
I clenched and unclenched my fist, trying to stretch the fabric, looking forward to wearing it in. The fingerless article looked pretty neat, even against my pale skin, and I punched a right fist into my left palm to get a good feel for it.
"Where were you able to find all this?"
I could only imagine Jak wandering through the bazaar, checking out all sorts of cheap clothing he could buy from street bums and con-masters with what little money we owned. With that thought, I raised an arm to sniff at the clothing; surprised (and glad) that it didn't contain that musty old used smell that only came from the streets.
Jak seemed hit by my question, though I couldn't even begin to tell you why. His head bowed, almost unnoticeably, and his eyes reflected a momentary flashback. I promptly decided that I didn't like the way this was going, and held out a hand to console Jak. But he started speaking before my hand could reach its destination.
"Well…"
His head raised and his lips curled into a smug line, as if stuck right on top of the thin line between amusement and regret; two things that I never thought could work together until now.
"I guess it started when I went to Keira."
My ears twitched up at the sound of her name, and I was pulled deeper into this story, feeling a personal motive to listen to his words intently, and I sat down on the bed next to him, hands folded neatly on my lap, head lowered and eyes locking onto his profile. I wasn't sure if this was going to be something I thoroughly enjoyed, or something that would run through my mind again and again until I was ready to pull the plug on my sanity, letting it cause havoc whichever way it chose. But, it really goes without saying that I needed to listen to him to know which one it was.
"After collecting the money from the agent, and after he said something about eco, I got to thinking. And for a long while, it was all I could think about."
"Ya, you uh… tend to obsess over things."
"I can't explain it, but something inside of me told me what to expect. Some sort've sense."
He looked at me, a very rare look on his face. For being so infrequently open, he was doing a great job at keeping his words in check, something I took mental notes on. I could tell it was a subject he would never willingly bring up again, but either way, I was there to listen.
"What does that have to do with this?" I pinched at my tunic with two fingers, pulling at it and letting it snap back into place. Jak gave me the smallest of grins and went on.
"That feeling kept getting stronger and stronger until I was sure that this whole mess would be beneficial to us. When I decided to take the chances, I asked Keira for a favor." Blue eyes pinned on me. "I asked her to help me make those for you."
Well...
Looking down, I was vaguely disappointed to know that my awesome new attire was created by the one and only Keira, and thinking about Keira, you'd never imagine that a gear-head such as herself was decent with a thread and needle. I was also just a little bit down that the clothes that was wearing weren't being held in that drawer for as long as I had first thought, and I was just plain wrong about a few things concerning the clothes in the drawer, but that doesn't change the fact that they were there in the first place. And even if Keira did make these threads, they were still cool, and she only did it because Jak asked her to.
My fingers flexed, and I stared at the gloves that were covering the bandages over my hand, lids drooped.
"Those are from me."
A grin possessed my lips and I flexed the slender fingers one last time before lifting my head and returning us to the subject.
"So… What's the problem, then?"
Jak sighed. Deep. Long. Preparing himself.
"She went on asking me why and how I expected her to drop everything and make something that there was going to be no need for. She said it jokingly at first, as though I was being impractical. But when I told her I was serious, she kinda got defensive on me."
"How's that?"
"Ah, well, she just didn't believe it would happen. For you to turn back, I mean. Told me to stop dreaming. Then I… Well, it just turned into an argument after that. A stupid one, and she ended up running off."
I kept my eyes locked on him, absorbing every bit of information and logging it away.
"Long story short, I eventually convinced her to do it, and she got it done right away."
I put a few bits and pieces together, and though most of it made sense, I couldn't help but get the feeling that he was leaving parts out. In fact, I'm sure of it. But I didn't wanna hear about it now, of all times, making Jak talk about something he clearly didn't want to. But don't get me wrong, I don't plan on just leaving it at that. I intend to find out sometime soon, the stuff that Jak had purposely left out of the picture.
After all, a girl doesn't run off 'coz someone asked you to knit for them.
Shaking his head and heading for the door, he turned around and waited. His face was cleared of any evidence of the conversation that just took place and I just stared.
"You coming?"
"Wh-where?"
"You can't get anymore free rides." He rolled his shoulder with the metal plate, indicating that he was still a little unused to not having a weight there, one that constantly tugged at his ears and hair when panicked. "Unless you wanna piggyback ride all time, I'm not gonna be able to watch your back as easily."
I blinked, stood up and joined him at the door, where he was leaning against the wall with his hand reached out and palm resting on the frame. He flashed a toothy grin and tugged me after him as he left the building, dragging us to the nearest two-seater and taking off, making me dizzy with all the prompt proceedings. I gulped when I saw Jak giving me that 'this is gonna be fun' look. Cause let's face it. As close as we are, we don't exactly have the same idea of fun.
