|Valentine|
Just who was the genius that had designed this dress in the first place? She could feel how it tightened in places every time she drew a breath and she didn't like it at all. Not to mention it was impossible to fight in something like this! She had settled down a little bit after Jak's compliment – who would have thought she'd live to see the day that happened? – but she was still very aware of not only her body, but his too. The warmth of his knee reminded her constantly that they were sitting quite close.
The door opened, and with a plaintive cry Meta rushed in, followed by the three hatchlings. It would seem that Macie had gotten her hands on her friend as well, since Meta was sporting a collar set with sapphires. Before long Meta had settled between her and Damos, placing her head on Valentine's shoulder. "Poor Meta." Valentine said. "They got you too, didn't they?"
Meta let out a whine, sending Valentine images of her taking off the collar so she'd be comfortable again. The three hatchlings had run over to Ma'al, who was busy giving them his undivided attention. Valentine reached around Meta's long neck, trying to find the clasp that closed the collar. "At least I can make sure you don't have to suffer tonight." Valentine cooed to her friend, getting rid of the collar.
"What'd you do that for?" Sig's deep voice sounded from the doorway. It would seem he had made an attempt at dressing up before being caught in a whirlwind of sorts. Disheveled didn't even come close to describe the usually stoic warrior. "That Metal Head was not pleased at being dressed up, and now you undid all of my hard work, Cherry."
Damos seemed to be surprised as well to see Sig arrive only now. "I do not recall giving you orders to capture my daughter's pet." He said out loud, tugging once again on his collar. It was painfully clear Damos would be happy getting run over by a Metal Head so he would have an excuse to change back into his normal attire.
"It was that Macie woman. She knows where to hit people so it hurts." Sig said, walking over to the table. He plopped down opposite Damos and Valentine, grabbing the nearest piece of food he could get his hands on. "Next time we have a Marauder attack or something, I say we send her out to deal with them. She'll have them scrubbing the city walls before they know what hit them."
This elicited laughter from everyone on the table, except Ma'al who seemed to have one of his children stuck in his robes for the moment. When they caught on, more laughter sounded. For the first time in forever, Valentine felt relaxed and cheerful. She couldn't even remember laughing out loud with Damos so happy, or actually feeling excited for the party that night. She popped a date in her mouth, nodding as Damos started to set out some battle tactic he'd read about in an ancient book. When she set her hand down she accidentally brushed by Jak's hand, causing her to pull it back as if they'd exchanged a Dark Eco shot.
She gave him an apologizing smile for startling him, quickly reaching for her milk tea. Maybe they were sitting too close together to be comfortable. But she didn't want to move, and he hadn't moved either. She allowed herself to daydream for a moment that he also liked their current situation.
Daxter jumped on her shoulder, looking at her face with a whistle. "Girl, you're about as red as your dress. Did you have too much to drink already?"
She gave Daxter an annoyed look. "Daxter, I'm drinking tea. It's not intoxicating."
"You'd be surprised." Daxter told her, leaning an elbow against her as he talked. "When me and Sig were out earlier, I had all kinds of stuff to drink that I wasn't expecting to have an impact. What were you two up to this morning anyway?"
Next to her Jak nearly choked on his beer, coughing as he looked away. Valentine patted him on the back, not seeing what his problem was all of a sudden. "I had a shower, and Jak watched as Macie got a hold of me. For a bodyguard he gave me up pretty quickly to the opposition."
"Don't blame me for not going up against Macie." Jak joked, having recovered from the mishap. "If she can bully Sig in obeying neither of us stood a chance."
Valentine chuckled as Meta demanded to be stroked. "For a pair of heroes, we're actually pretty big pushovers." She added with a grin on her face. "Whoa!" She dodged back as Meta grabbed Daxter from her shoulder, setting down the Ottsel and starting to groom him.
"Valentine, make her stop!" He shouted helplessly.
"What can we do, Daxter?" Jak asked with a grin on his face. "Valentine just said it, we're pushovers, bullied by old women."
Valentine took pity – after chuckling a bit first – releasing Daxter from his unsolicited bath. The Ottsel quickly retreated to Jak, finding safety there. Valentine ignored the two men, exchanging cooing sounds with the Metal Head. Thanks to the bond she had with Meta she knew exactly how much the Metal Head cared about her, and Meta knew she was cared for in return. She hadn't established that kind of bond with Ma'al yet, and only slightly with the three hatchlings in the city. But as she grew stronger, she would get better at it.
"Valentine, if you're done confessing your love to your pet?" Damos asked, looking down on her. Looking around her she noticed all the men had gotten up from their seats. Hurriedly she got up as well, smoothing down her dress. Damos gave her an encouraging look, turning up one corner of his mouth. She nodded back at him, suddenly very aware of how much her relation to him had changed. From stranger to guardian to daughter. It filled her with a glow of pride.
|Jak|
Jak resisted the urge to yawn, standing behind Valentine. Over her bare shoulder he could see the residents of Spargus listening to Pecker, who was giving one of his endless speeches. Valentine rolled her shoulders, indicating that she too just wanted to get it over with. For the second time that night Jak wondered exactly what kept that dress up. Without any shoulder straps and the back cut out insanely low he couldn't help but let his thoughts digress on the subject.
Next to him, on the other side of the throne, Sig was standing, with Ma'al next to him, who had long given up the attempts at looking as if he understood what was going on. When Jak considered the man was a Metal King he flexed his hands a little. He didn't like it that Valentine was so cordial with a Metal King. Especially one that looked like that.
Finally they were at the last part of the ceremony, where Valentine and Damos shared a cup of red wine together. Daxter repressed a snigger when he saw Valentine's face contort at the taste of the wine. She'd never been much of a drinker. In a sudden display of affection Damos threw his arms around the young woman, pulling her in a hug. She replied in kind, hugging the older warrior back, careful not to hurt him. Their bodies still packed a punch quite different from that of normal people.
Everyone cheered, and then the crowd started to disperse, out of the Arena and into Spargus lit by the light of the full moon. Only the royal group paused for a moment, because some of the members seemed unsure about what they were supposed to do.
"You're sure you won't join us?" Valentine asked Damos, looking as if she was a bit worried.
The man looked away, still a bit embarrassed by his hugging his official daughter. "You kids go have fun. I need to go listen to the other old men, who are going to give me a hard time about having a beautiful young daughter now."
"What is it that I am supposed to do now?" Ma'al asked. He seemed to be beyond confused as to his exact purpose in the proceedings. "Am I supposed to mingle with your Nest?"
"Well…" Valentine started, hesitatingly. Sig stepped up, patting Ma'al on the shoulder, actually sending the King staggering a bit.
"I think we go see how much this guy can drink." Sig said, thereby revealing his plans for the evening. Not that they could blame him, he was only just back and already had had a tongue-lashing from his own king.
"I am a bit parched, yes." Ma'al replied, clearly innocent as to what Sig was planning.
Jak watched Valentine as she scrunched her face a little bit. Before she could object too loudly, he interjected. "I think Ma'al is old enough to take care of himself, no?" She had to admit he was right, though she didn't sound too sure about it.
Daxter looked between Jak and Valentine, pensive. "Just a moment, please." He said, gesturing Jak to step away from the group for a moment. Behind them they could hear Valentine warning Sig about getting certain individuals drunk. "Okay buddy, pleaaaaase tell me you're going to make a move tonight." Before Jak could say anything Daxter continued. "I'm getting all hot by the looks you're throwing Valentine, and if you don't get it out of your system her new daddy is going to notice."
Jak had a sudden vision of Damos finding out and sending him into another Nest, on foot. He shuddered. "Exactly." Daxter said. "So what you're going to do is just come straight with her. Tonight." Jak tried to argue again, but he couldn't get a word in between. "It's perfect. You're both feeling better, there's a party, starlight. And if you don't do it, I'mma tell her."
"You wouldn't." Jak gasped, looking back nervously. Daxter gave him the 'watch me' look, turning around to the others as if he was going to yell something. Jak quickly placed a hand in front of his best friend's mouth. "Okay, fine, fine. What are you going to do?"
Daxter grinned. "I've never seen a drunk Metal Head before. So I think I'm going to watch that."
So it was that five minutes later Jak found himself alone with Valentine, him under strict orders that nothing was allowed to happen to the new heir to Spargus. The faint 'or else' still hung in the air as Valentine shuffled her feet around a little bit.
"You don't have to stay with me." she said eventually, biting her bottom lip. "If you'd rather, you could go with Daxter and the others."
Jak pulled his eyes away from her lips, feeling extremely nervous. He had fought countless monsters, been through spooky crypts and the thing that scared him the most was being alone with Valentine? "No!" he said, rapidly. When she blinked in surprise he could slap himself in the face. Too eager, dammit. "I mean, if you want me to go, I'll go but…"
"Oh, no, no. I mean, you can stay." She answered him, holding her hands out in an attempt to seem as convincing as possible. "I'd like it if you stayed." She said. Before he had too much time to analyze every part of that sentence she took his wrist, pulling him along with her. "There's going to be fireworks later." She confided in him. "They'll be best over the ocean."
The way she pulled him along reminded him of the early days back in Haven. She had been the one that kept their spirits high. In those long nights when neither had been able to sleep she'd come to check up on him, and they'd share hot chocolate and just talk. She knew about his time in Sandover village, and how he'd grown up. He knew something about her parents and other relatives, even if she hadn't seemed comfortable discussing it at the time.
Valentine had always been the one who pulled him with her, making sure he wouldn't stumble along the way. If he had to choose between her and the Light Eco, he wouldn't even need a second to think. There was only one answer possible. She had evolved from a girl that struggled to seem cheery to a confident woman, ready to take on anything. He would never make the mistake of abandoning her again. That had cost them precious years that they could have had together. He realized he didn't want to waste that much time again. When had just looking become insufficient?
Just as they reached the middle of the main drag, music started to play out of the speakers all around the city. The glow from the Eco lights mixing with the fire's smoke all around of Spargus. Giving a new feeling to the celebration and an ethereal glow to the surrounding areas.
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
And I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
Can you feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord
They were stopped on their way by a multitude of people who wanted to congratulate her. Even Kleiver stopped by, seemingly pleased to see Jak hurrying to keep track of where Valentine was going in that throng of people. She kept smiling and waving, nodding as she agreed with what people were telling her.
Well if you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand
I've seen your face before my friend, but I don't know if you know who I am
Well I was there and I saw what you did, I saw it with my own two eyes
So you can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been
It's all been a pack of lies
He'd only taken his eyes off of her for a second, and when his gaze flickered back to where she had been standing he couldn't see anyone in a deep red dress anymore. It was as if someone had grabbed his heart, squeezing it tight in his chest. He looked around him, trying to keep his head cool. Reasonably speaking he knew nothing bad could happen to her here.
And I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
Well I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
Well I've been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord, oh Lord
And yet this crowd pushing around him was making his heart beat erratically. In his younger years he had never seen many people, and his time in the Baron's ward had done little to make him more trusting about people. He felt nervous, the Dark Eco bubbling around in his blood as if he had never been cured by its counterpart.
Well I remember, I remember, don't worry, how could I ever forget
It's the first time, the last time we ever met
But I know the reason why you keep your silence up, oh no you don't fool me
Well the hurt doesn't show, but the pain still grows
It's no stranger to you and me
"Jak." Valentine's voice was clear, carrying over the crowd. She was standing only a bit further away, on a small ledge so he'd be able to see better. She smiled at him, waving. "What are you waiting for? If we don't hurry we won't be able to see anything." he was glad to have found her again, he started to actually listen to the music and found he was swaying a little to the beat. Listening intently as he made his way for her, he heard a sick drum solo sound before the chorus started.
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
Well been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
He nodded, even if at that distance it wasn't necessary. Keeping his eyes trained on her he made his way through the crowd of partying Wastelanders, every one of them singing or shouting, making the entire event chaotic at least. When he reached her he was slightly out of breath. She knelt down slightly, reaching out a hand as she noted his distress. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
Well been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
He took her hand in his, holding it tightly. She was still here. Thank the Precursors she was still here. This fear of losing her was irrational, and so improbably even Valentine couldn't calculate the odds. "I'm fine." He managed to say, his voice a bit hoarse.
She bumped her forehead against his for a moment, her eyes closed in a smile. She smelled like jasmine and lavender, the bump completely clearing his previous fear. "How did you manage without me?" she asked him with a smile, before presenting him with ice cream. "I have cherry and peach. Which one do you like best?"
When he choose peach she looked as if she had been expecting it. He still hadn't let go of her other hand, keeping it firmly in his grasp. She wiggled her fingers, not to escape but merely to draw his attention to it. "You sure you're okay?" she asked him.
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
Well been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
"Just… don't let go of my hand." He answered, lacing his fingers in hers. She seemed to be attempting to hide in her ice cream when he said that.
"… okay." Valentine replied him, allowing him to lead the way. He weaved his way around the crowd, trying to avoid the thicker pockets of people. He hadn't realized there were so many people in Spargus. Children ran around screaming, playing tag or other games while the adults spent their time socializing.
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
Well been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
Her hand was smaller than his, frailer. Yet he often had felt she was the strongest out of the two of them. Subconsciously he let his thumb rub the side of her wrist, not seeing the way her face flushed behind him. In response she held on to his hand tighter, butterflies in her stomach.
I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord
Well been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord
He had to help her get up to a higher point, her dress not made for very adventurous exploits. The gemstones in her hair flickered in the moonlight. They had a great view, despite not having gone up much. More importantly, they had privacy. He bit his tongue, attempting not to seem too nervous. He couldn't remember ever being his tense. He tried to imagine how other people went about this sort of thing. Was there a protocol or manual he had missed somewhere? Why wasn't this as simple as fighting Metal Heads.
He cleared his throat. "Valentine." He started, making her turn her head towards him. Good, he had her attention. Which meant now he actually had to continue with what he wanted to say. Fuck.
"Yes, Jak?" Oh dear Precursors, she was actually waiting for him to go on.
He took a deep breath, once again taking her hand, this time enclosing it in both his hands. Her mouth formed a small 'o' as she looked into his eyes. "I… just wanted to say…" Was he going mute again? That would be almost a blessing, he didn't think he could go through with this. His heart was pounding so fervently he found it hard to think straight.
She moved closer to him, leaning towards him. "Yes?"
He could do this. He was a hero and he could certainly make his feelings clear to a woman. "I wanted to say that I have no intention to make you wait another three years for me." he announced, hoping that was a good start. "That is, I… like you, a lot. I feel more for you than I've ever felt for anyone else."
There it was, that was it. He had doomed himself and this friendship beyond all hope. Any moment now she would start laughing at him.
"I like you too. A lot." She replied, sounding as if she didn't believe her ears.
"You do?" he asked, unsure if things could actually go like this. "Th-that's great!" he exclaimed. He felt elated, as if a huge weight had just dropped from his chest. Looking back at her, straight into her dark blue eyes, he realized he had one last question to ask her. "Does this mean I can kiss you?"
She chuckled, seemingly as nervous as him. "Yes. I think it does mean you can kiss me."
He reached out towards her, brushing back some hair behind her ear as he did so. As he closed in her breath smelled of cherries, sweet and promising. And then… fireworks.
|Bar|
"Pftttthahahahahahahahahahha!" Daxter bust out laughing as the Metal King once again tried to stand and failed. Sig was sitting next to Ma'al trying to convince him to stay put until one of them could help him back to his seat, which he declined with drunk dignity, stating he was a King and needed no help walking.
"I'm sorry Ma'al, but, what did you say?" Sig asked as he once again tried to utter something remotely language related.
"Taflefbnl Medi LIFhaledme" Ma'al repeated for the tenth time that night. Still confused as the why his mind was fine but his body would not obey. Trying once more to stand and knocking over a table, two chairs, and someone stupid enough to be in the way.
"Whoa there pretty man! Just take it easy, you can't go no where like that." Daxter said as he stood on the bar counter in front the Metal King, hands on his hips like he'd seen Tess do countless times as he laid drunk on a table top. "Trust me man, I've been like this many a time! Just eat some food, and keep your ass in your seat. Time will fly! Just let loose a little."
"Yeah, you sure have cherry!" Sig stated laughing as he downed another drink, whipping his mouth with the back of his hand. "I remember this one time you got so drunk you confessed your unbridled love for everyone's favorite hero, Jak!" as rowdy laughter and merriment filled the bar. "Get this King some food over here! As greasy and rare as you can!" as Sig tried to calm the Metal down, Daxter sat there, contemplating if he should dish to Sig or not.
"What's a matter Cherry? Gonna wet your sitting so close to Ma'al?" Sig teased at the look on the little Ottsels face. The rat looked from side to side, twiddling with his hands, ears going back before he finally hopped over to him, landing on his shoulder.
"Hey, big guy. You think you can keep a secret?" Sig narrowed his eyes as he ordered another drink, lifting one brow as he looked at the little thing on his shoulder.
"Yeah Fur ball, as long as it doesn't put any lives in danger, I can keep a secret." he answered lifting his drink to his lips, taking a long gulp enjoying the rum and coke he kept ordering. Daxter looked around the bar again and leaned in closer, if that was even possible.
"Okay, so you know how hard Jak has fallen for Valentine, right?" after Sigs nod of approval he continued, dropping his voice even lower "Well, he's confessing to her tonight." Daxter gave him a minute to let it sink in. Jak, the great hero, with Damos' new adopted daughter, princess of Spargus.
Sig sputtered out the drink he had been taking, getting it everywhere in the direct vicinity of the front of his face. What did he just hear?! "Would you repeat that?"
"Yeah that's right big guy. Jak finally grew a pair of balls. How great is that? I really hope it works out for him. He needs to be happy."
"Well thank the Precursors! It's about damn time." Sig stated with excitement as they both fist bumped to the news, ordering a new round for everyone.
"Hello King Valentine's nest mates!" Ma'al was back and leaning in between them both, a silly grin on his face as he smelled of liquor. "Are we ready to continue the festivities?"
|Moon thanking people again :
First of all, big applause to Sage, who helped me pick the song and gave you guys the opportunity of seeing a drunk Ma'al. Can't wait until he gets his hangover. So yeah, they're doing a great job, if only because now you guys don't just get to see the first rough draft anymore.
LadyAmazon : I think even more congrats are in order now, hehehe ^^
M-Angel 05 : As you can see, Sig had dress-up duty. Actually Macie is the real force in Spargus, the way she bullies everyone in her bidding.
Actic Wolf105 : Well, I hope you still think it went cute. I was this close to a heart attack writing the chapter, since I'm not good with lovey stuff, in fics or in real life. I don't know how some people can write a fic that consists out of lemons. I don't think I'd survive.
Also, poll regarding Damos' fate is up. Give it a look if you want a pretty big say in how it's going to end for him.|