|Valentine|
She touched her lips again, thinking back on the night before. Jak had kissed her! She had kissed Jak! She barely suppressed a squeal, content to just think back on what had happened that night. There had been a lot of kissing, that was one. She hadn't thought it could feel so nice, or that it was possible it was never enough.
Jak's hands had been warm and slightly callused, holding hers throughout the entire night. She had put her head on his shoulder, watching the fireworks and talking. He had stroked her face, and told her she looked beautiful. She hid her hands in her face when that memory popped up. Was this what it felt like to be in love with someone, and have them actually like you in return?
"General… hey General!" When she looked up she was met by Koram, who was examining her from up close. He didn't seem too pleased by what he saw.
"What?" she asked, surprised at being disturbed in the middle of her daydreaming. She had the kids do more teamwork with their hatchlings, where they had to make sure to sneak up on some of the older warriors without them noticing. That should have kept them busy for a while.
"Daori has been chewing on your boot for at least five minutes now, and you didn't notice a thing. Are you getting sick or something? You look all flushed." The young boy said, thinking Valentine looked like the two girls he was forced to work with, when they were cooing over the older boys in the city. But Valentine was too old to have cooties, right?
Valentine looked down, seeing that Daori was indeed using her boot as a chew toy. "Gah, and these were my favorites!" she exclaimed, gently prying the offended material from the young Scout. Daori gave an insulted sneeze, walking back to her partner with her tail in the air. Did all Metal Heads have an attitude from the moment they were born, or was it just the contact with their human partners that made them this way?
Meta sat next to her, purring contently. Valentine had been unable to keep a secret from her companion, seeing as how the connection worked both ways. She just hadn't done it on purpose this time, which probably showed just how happy she had been at the time. Euphoric was probably a better word.
When she could hear Daxter's piercing voice hailing over the market place she immediately looked up. She hadn't seen Jak since he had dropped her off at the palace the night before – saying goodbye had taken considerably longer than it used to – and she was rather eager to see him again. It wasn't long before Daxter showed up, followed by Jak who was carrying the old communicator she had made a long time ago, to send word to Haven.
"Valentine, there's my lucky gal!" Daxter said, jumping on her lap without a second thought. "Jak here won't spill the beans, so you have to tell me!" He lowered his voice to half a whisper, pointing at his best friend. "How good of a kisser is he? When we were younger he used to practice on a pillow, so I need to know if that particular training paid off."
"Daxter!" Jak shouted in pure horror at having that detail from his youth brought up in front of his new girlfriend. Valentine couldn't help but let out a giggle, standing up, leaving Daxter to scramble up to her shoulders or drop to the ground. She walked – almost ran, but she managed to keep a hold on herself, if barely – and pressed a slow kiss on Jak's lips, making the frown on his face melt away.
"Let's just say that was one lucky pillow." She told Daxter, her hand entangling in Jak's again. That statement made Jak even more embarrassed as he looked between the two of them.
"Is that how it's going to be from now on?" he asked, trying to sound as if he was insulted.
Valentine ran a finger across his goatee, sending him a smile that was nowhere near modest. "As if you really mind."
"Oh, get a room you two." Daxter jested. "Anyway, Damos said that thing started beeping like crazy a few minutes ago, and he said you knew how it worked. So work your magic on something else than our boy here, so we know what's up."
Valentine took over the metal orb she had constructed all those years ago, wondering why it would have started beeping. It had barely managed to transmit one message from what Jak had told her. She wiggled her nose as she looked at the thing. "Here it comes guys, secret of the trade." She said, not too loudly. She knew one of the wires inside was a bit loose, so she just gave it a few shakes.
"Jak, I'm glad to know you're still alive." Valentine's eyes popped open in surprise. Now that was a voice she hadn't heard in a long time. Seemed like Ashelin had hired someone who knew their way around a transmitter. "I hope you managed to meet up with Valentine like you wanted to. I see Damos still keeps tabs on his old beacons. Listen, I've gotta see you immediately. I'll be waiting by the oasis, but I don't have much time. Please come find me."
The trio looked at each other with a grin. "That sounds like some more adventure." Valentine said. It was probably a good thing, running around like a love-sick teenager was most likely killing her tough girl image.
Jak nodded, taking the orb from her again. He gave it a few shakes, making sure it wasn't keeping anything from them. "I wonder what she wants though. And how she got here. Haven didn't have the resources to get all the way here when they kicked me out."
"Well, let's get a buggy and head out, it's not like Damos is going to mind us going out to kick some more ass, as long as we keep his precious girl safe." Daxter said, batting his eyes at Valentine.
"The day I can't take care of myself anymore is the day I get stuck on that torture device Damos calls a throne." Valentine muttered.
They rolled their shoulders, getting ready for their self-assigned mission. That was until Sig's voice practically roared for Valentine. The woman froze, looking over her shoulder towards the approaching warrior. One bone-crunching hug later – at least Jak wasn't spared one either – he finally said why he had called out for her so desperately.
"It's Ma'al." Sig said, looking as if he had run out of options. "He refuses to come out of his room, claiming me an' Daxter poisoned him last night."
"You got him drunk?" Valentine moaned, rubbing her fingers across her temples. "But I was just heading out." She looked at Jak, clearly indicating she would rather go with him.
He draped an arm around her shoulder for a moment, letting her lean against him. "Don't worry. I'll go see what Ashelin wants and come back here." He grinned. "You won't have to miss your bodyguard for too long." He stole a kiss from her as she let out a gasp, before sauntering off like a man who had just won one of the greatest battles of all time.
Valentine clasped her hands in front of her face. "Sig, I thought this would get better when I knew how he felt about me. At this rate I'll be turned into a blubbering mass of emotion." She gave Meta a nod, indicating she would appreciate it if the Metal Head could lend Jak a paw while he was out.
Sig looked taken aback at that confession. "Riiight. Listen kiddo, does Damos know about you and Jak already? 'Cuz he might have something to say, and I can't guarantee all of it is going to be sunshine and kitten whiskers."
Valentine felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. How was Damos going to react to the news? Was he going to turn into the stereotypical father, ready to take out his Precursor staff to chase Jak through the town? The vision made her laugh more than she could have anticipated. "First let's go check on Ma'al. Who knows what he's going through."
Sig grunted his agreement with that. "That King is one tough cherry to pop."
They arrived at the guest rooms soon enough, Valentine asking Sig about the news from Haven. It hadn't looked too great when he had left, and it had been on its way to become even worse. Veger was a madman, and the majority of the council had been stupid enough to let him have his way. And no, there wasn't any sign of the Kid, and he had checked. It had looked like Samos knew something, the old Samos, his younger version having disappeared to Mar knew where.
Valentine knocked on the door, gently so as not to startle the King. "Ma'al? Are you in there?"
There was some stumbling on the other side of the door, before it opened to a small creak. One of Ma'als golden eyes peered out, blood-shot. Valentine got a very royal whiff of stale alcohol. She didn't remember ever seeing the man so disheveled. "King Valentine? Thank the old Kings you are here. And you brought the poisoner, how splendid."
Valentine pushed the door open, ignoring the fact that Ma'al had seemed to have gotten rid of his robe somewhere in the night. Sig caught her looking around for it, because he provided an explanation of it, not entirely succeeding in hiding his glee. "If you're looking for his dress, he threw it in the ocean last night while yelling some gibberish. I ended up chasing him, which wasn't too hard since he couldn't walk in a straight line."
"I demand this miscreant be executed at once." Ma'al mumbled, looking as if speaking alone was a form of torture. "And that an antidote be found for this wretched pain." He brought his hands to his stomach, looking like the definition of miserable.
"I told you not to get him drunk." Valentine moaned, leading the naked King to the bed where he immediately hid his head under the pillows. "Now look what you've done."
"Hey, it ain't my fault this kitten here can't hold his liquor." Sig said. If he had known Metal Heads were so weak to alcohol he would have taken a six-pack with him when he went hunting. Ma'al was a King and he had been stumbling left and right the night before.
Ma'al let out some more moans, clearly not caring that Valentine saw him in this state. "If there is no cure for this, King Valentine, I wish you to be the one to end it. Make my death swift and painless, as a last favor in our comradery."
Valentine rolled her eyes when she heard that. For a tough guy Ma'al could be a pretty big drama queen. "I'm not killing anyone here." she made perfectly clear, walking to one of the jugs standing on a side table that had been miraculously unharmed in the war zone. "More importantly, I'm missing out on a date of sorts here, so the least I can do is clean you up." She filled up a cup of water, looking at Sig for help in this particular case. She didn't exactly have a lot of experience with hangovers.
"I shall obtain an entire plate of dates for you if you provide a cure." Ma'al promised her, bringing the water to his mouth as she told him to.
Sig shrugged, having gotten pretty resistant to his favorite poison quite a while ago. "Best thing you can do is keep him in bed and give him lots to drink and protein." Valentine made a gagging sound when she thought about what Ma'al preferred to eat. "And maybe pop the cherry in a shower. That should get him somewhat refreshed."
Valentine tried to ignore Sig's particular choice of words, opting to pat Ma'al on the head as he drank his water. When her communicator on her wrist started ringing she retreated to the far side of the room, away from the source of the liquor smell. "Hello, the one and only Valentine speaking."
"Valentine, hey." Jak's voice sounded static through the communicator, but that didn't matter. "Listen, if you don't have anything to do today, Damos hasn't given me anything to do. Fancy going for a drive?"
"Well…" she looked up, towards the two men in the room. Sig caught her look and gave her a thumbs-up, indicating that she could go if she really wanted to. "Sure. Do you have any specific location in mind?"
"Not really. Daxter says anything is fine, as long as we steer clear of the Marauders. Just had a run-in with them, and they singed his tail." She could hear Daxter swearing in the background, before Jak replied something back to him.
She scratched the back of her head for a moment, thinking things over. "Well, would you be up for a trip back to the temple? I haven't seen Seem since her meeting with Veger there, and I was hoping to ask her some questions about it." Not to mention she would have to tell Seem to warm up to Jak. And that she could stop making the potion, since Valentine had no more need for it. She still had a full flask attached to her belt, though it served no real purpose anymore.
"Sounds good. Who knows, we might discover another one of those talking statues. So… see you at the garage in a few?" he asked her, suddenly sounding almost bashful.
She smiled, even though he couldn't see it through the communicator. "Yep. See you there!" she looked up, seeing Ma'al rubbing his temples as he sat up. Sig was pouring him another glass of water. "Sure you can take care of our big boy here?" Valentine asked, looking at the two men.
"Sure I can. Wouldn't be the first time I'm layin' down the law for a Metal." Sig answered her. "You go out and roll around with the peppers out there." He didn't add that if he stayed inside with the King Macie wouldn't enroll him for another near-suicide mission.
Valentine waved a hand to the two men, ignoring Ma'al pleas not to be left around with the man who was out to murder him. "Then I'll see you two as soon as I'm back. Ma'al, don't worry too much. Sig is only trying to help you, so show some gratitude."
She ran out of the guest rooms, followed by the sound of a sputtering Ma'al who was, as far as the sounds told her, was being dragged to the shower by a merciless Sig. She reached the garage in record time, but was already beaten to it by Jak who was waiting for her in the Dune Hopper. In the passenger seat?
She skidded to a halt in front of the vehicle, not knowing what he was planning. "What's going on here? What's happening?"
Meta gave her a bump against her back, letting Valentine scratch her behind the ears as Jak answered. "I thought it was about high time you learn how to drive. Who knows when there'll be an emergency that requires you to be able to do it, right?"
Panic rose in her throat. For all her smarts, there was something about cars that made her brain short-circuit. "But I have Meta… and you. I don't think it's necessary to actually… you know…" she wasn't able to come up with a good excuse, because there was none other than her not wanting to learn.
Jak leant back in his seat, Daxter perched on top of the driver's seat. "Well, if you want us to go to the temple together, you're going to have to drive part of the way." He said with a sly grin. How low, using her desire for a date to force her to drive a car!
Before she was forced to think up a reply Meta inquired where they were planning to go. When Valentine replied with an image of the temple the Metal head made a gagging sound, expressing her disgust for the place. Her friend then replied with an image of her hanging around Damos, keeping an eye on the nest leader for her.
"Meta's not coming?" Jak asked as the Scout flew towards the city.
"She doesn't like the temple. Can you blame her though? There's no place for her to fly decently in there, and she feels awkward having to walk for long distances." She explained, realizing that no matter what happened, she would have to get behind the wheel of a buggy. She hoped her position as new princess also covered her ass when she managed to wreck the Hopper.
She got in, immediately getting the queasy feeling she was going to mess up in her stomach. Kleiver noticed her sitting there and wobbled up to them. "What's the big idea here then? You guppies have a death wish?"
"Keep out of it, Kleiver." Valentine growled as a warning. Jak and Daxter were safe for her wrath, but that didn't mean anyone else was.
Jak grinned, so far looking very relaxed. "Nothing wrong here, just giving her some driving lessons. Don't worry, I'm there in case things go wrong." Jak's grin was wiped clean of his face when Valentine stepped on the gas for a second, making the car bounce forward. Suddenly he looked a bit worried, grabbing the side of the buggy like Valentine had done on their way back a good while ago.
"Jak, you sure this is a good idea? I left my life insurance back in Haven." Daxter muttered darkly, looking as if he fervently wished for some seat belts.
"We'll be fine." Jak said, once again moving around in his seat when Valentine accidently slammed the breaks. "Though we'll steer clear of the jump button for now."
|Moon's Notes : For this chapter I gave them a reason to actually go to the temple, since the game kind of ships you off there without so much as a reason why they would decide to go back there once Jak gets Mar's amulet back.
Also, Sage praised me for this chapter! When a proofreader tells you it's okay to post it just like that, it's a nice feeling.
Dear Guest : gah, I forgot to acknowledge you in the last chapter! I'm so sorry, please forgive me! T.T
Actic Wolf105 : Thanks for the advice! Though stuff like emotions also tends to get my heart in overdrive... I really need to fall in love for real one of these days, maybe that will help me xD
LadyAmazon : Hahhah, I think Ma'al had plenty to drink! Though I'm happy to hear you enjoyed the previous chapter! The confession moment is always so important in a romance fic after all. |