Bed of roses
Chapter 16
By shadows/of/flame
Keira and Jak were lost in each others lips, Jak even tentatively wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer.
Jaks training was probably the furtherest from their mind at that very moment - this was the first kiss they had ever shared together.
Neither heard the footsteps clanking outside, nor the smirk that covered a certain ginger haired mans face as he found Torn slumped outside the door.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the almighty Torn! Having a little nap are we? I'll soon take care of that."
He pulled out his gun, and was about to finish Torn off once and for all, but he could hear two voices, and decided to investigate.
He looked into the stadium, and saw Keira and...
"The eco freak." he breathed, his eyes narrowing.
He looked at Torn, who was slowly being surrounded by a pool of blood, and snickered.
"I'll be back to finish you off, oh don't worry. And when I do..."
He gave Torn one final kick before turning on his heel and leaving the arena, not even caring that he had put a man on the edge of death.
Torn coughed as he opened his eyes, a sharp pain connecting with his stomach, and footsteps leading away.
'I guess I fell unconcious here...' he thought wearily, standing up dizzily.
He hadn't forgotten what had happened, and winced as tears ran down his cheeks.
Did he love Keira?
'I suppose love was not something meant for me. After Ashelin left me...'
He got unsteadily to his feet, the pain in his head and stomach almost making him fall over again.
The pool of blood he had just pried himself from made him wince, and he started limping back to the Underground Headquarters.
Keira blushed as the pair pulled apart, and Jak just cupped her face in his cheeks.
"Embarrassed?" he chuckled, and she smiled.
"No, not really. No one saw us. As much as I hate to say it, we should get on with your training..."
Jak sighed, folding his arms.
"What next, Miss Hagai?" he teased, making her laugh.
0o0o0
Tess and Daxter were somewhat happily talking on their way back form the Hip Hog Saloon, talking about what Erol and Krew were planning.
"So, Krews going to bet heaps of money on Erol to win the Class 1 race?" Tess pondered aloud, munching on a stick of chewing gum.
"Yep! Thats right baby, so we needa go back to the hideout and tell the head honcho pronto!"
Tess giggled - even though she had just met Daxter, she was beginning to get along rather well with him.
Daxter was walking along, talking to Tess about underpants of all things, when he stopped dead.
They were by the stadium, and there was a thin trail of blood leading from the stadium, up a flight of stairs, and around a corner to a dead end.
"Got your gun, baby?" Daxter said, but his voice was hardly stable.
"Lets go and check it out." Tess whispered, careful to avoid the blood as she walked up the stairs.
Daxter hopped up on her shoulder as she drew her gun, walking slowly around the corner, and he almost screamed.
Torn was lying, unconcious by one of Jaks wanted posters, and he was very pale.
...so...pale...
"Torn!" Tess exclaimed, hastily holstering her gun and running to his aide.
The bandages on his head were gone, and his shirt was torn, revealing rather nasty bruising on his stomach.
Daxter pulled out a first aid kit and handed it to Tess, as she murmured "He was awake? How did he get out of the hideout without the Shadow noticing? And how did he get that bruising?"
"No idea..." the ottsel breathed as Tess tended to his headwound as best she could, and bound his ribs.
Daxter scuttled to the edge of the steps again, and he saw Jak and Keira, leaving the stadium, hands clasped tightly together.
"Tessie! Its... Jak and Keira are... together?"
A hand flew to Tess' mouth - the trail of blood was leading to the stadium, so... what had Torn seen?
"We have to get Torn out of here before they come." the blonde woman said firmly, lifting the frail guard into her arms.
"Daxter, distract them, anything while I get him out of sight!"
"Sure thing honey." Daxter replied, rushing over to the pair.
"Hey!" Daxter called, and Jak smiled.
"Daxter! How'd the meeting go? What did you find out?"
"Me and Tessie'll tell you when we tell the Shadow. No point in getting ahead of ourselves. And..." he raised an eyebrow at the pairs clasped hands, "I'm not assuming much work was done?"
Both blushed.
"Well, you see..." Keira began.
"Save it! I need to go and find Tessie, she needs me." the ottsel replied, glancing behind him to see where Tess was.
She was out of sight.
"Gotta run!"
Before either could comment, Daxter had dashed off towards where Tess had taken Torn.
The pair hadn't noticed the blood, and coincidentally, it started raining heavily.
"We'd better get back before we get soaked." Keira giggled, trying to keep up with Jak as he hurried towards a covered zoomer.
He stopped suddenly, and she stopped too, looking into his eyes.
Droplets of rain flecked his hair and clothing, making his usually wild hair tame a little.
She ran her hands though his locks, a small smile gracing her face.
"Jak! We need to be there for the Shadows meeting..."
He nodded reluctantly, pressing a brief kiss to her lips before getting into the zoomer, hotwiring it.
She watched, amazed. In a mere few days he had learned how to hotwire a vehicle, and it had taken her a few weeks, months even!
'A proper kiss in the rain would have been so romantic...' she thought to herself as she jumped in beside him.
0o0o0
"Shadow! SHADOW!" Tess yelled rather frustratedly, putting Torn on the nearest cot.
She was absolutely furious that the sage had let Torn go out and get more injured.
"Ahh, Tess, you have returned."
The old man looked at her questioningly behind huge glasses, awaiting her to say something.
"YOU let TORN LEAVE the HIDEOUT!" she yelled.
His brow furrowed. "Well, I apologise, and obviously he is in worse shape than before."
"I have the report on the meeting, but Jaks... he was kissing Keira, and I think Torn saw! Its not going to do him any good, what are we going to do?"
"That is indeed troubling. Torn got very attached to Keira, and if shes with Jak..."
Tess noticed that the Shadow seemed very mad, and as soon as he saw Jak step foot in the hideout, he exclaimed "You. I have a mission of much importance that needs doing."
Jak blinked, wondering if he had done anything wrong.
"Go and take this package to Krew. Its an eco shipment, he needs it urgently. NOW GO! You've wasted enough time just standing there!"
Jak flinched, picking up Daxter and heading immediately for the door, forgetting about Keira.
"Wasn't that a bit harsh?" Keira exclaimed, and the Shadow glared at her.
"No. He had been standing there too long, he needed to get off his backside." the sage said through gritted teeth, harnessing some green eco to help Torn heal.
"Aren't you unusually cheerful." Tess grumbled, wrapping some more bandages around Torns head.
"What do you mean?" Keira said sharply.
"You were assaulted by Erol, and now you're acting as happy as a newlywed."
"Oh... I suppose... well, Jak and I... we're..."
"Going out? In love? Goo goo- gaga for each other? Head over heels?" The Shadow offered, and Keira nearly fell off her chair.
"How did you..."
"Oh, we were told." Tess said rather smugly.
"By who?" Keira squeaked.
"Torn."
And just as if he heard his name, the green eco healed his wounds, and Torns eyes cracked open.
The three turned their heads as a groan emitted from the bed he was in.
"You're awake!" Tess squealed, throwing her arms around the brunette.
"Yeah... I'm alive and well." he smirked, hugging her back.
"How long have I been out for?"
The blonde sighed as she poured him a glass of water, handing the glass to him.
"A few days. You somehow found your way to the stadium in that time too."
His brow furrowed as he remembered what he had seen there.
"Shadow, whats my next mission?" he asked.
"Well, since Keiras already got a boyfriend for a bodyguard, I'll have to assign you another mission. Maybe one Sig can help you on."
Keira could almost see Torns heart sink, and his usually vibrant blue eyes darkened.
"Sure thing."
"Just get some rest, kay?" Tess smiled, getting off his bed and going back to her cleaning duties.
He was asleep without a protest, and the mechanic wondered, for the first time in a while, where her heart truly lay.