Stuck Chapter 2, a jak and daxter fanfic

A/N: Ah ha! It took me long enough to get this chapter done. I mean really. I'll admit though, it took me a while to actually figure out what to write after I got about half way through this...
Still JakXKeira. Still got Torn playing the matchmaker role. Still stuck in an elevator.

Oh, and Keira admits her feelings for Jak in a roundabout way!

Warning!! Contains minor Jak 3 spoilers! (Even if it is set post-Jak X!) It's only one line, and the ending of the third game is mentioned twice. If you don't want to read about that, I suggest you either turn back now or skip over those parts. Or just read it and not fully understand it?
OR, you can assume I lied about the end, and then be mad at me. Of course, I wouldn't lie about that. No, no, no, no, no.

But have any of you seen the intro to the new Jak and Daxter game? Woo! I mean, really, look at it!(pointpointjab) It's so awesomely amazing...

So, without further adieu, I give you Chapter Two! (Without the intended rhyme!)

"Are you kidding me?" Jak said quizzically, giving Torn a dumbfounded look. "Who put you up to this?"

Torn shrugged nonchalantly at this, as if Jak's question was to be expected. "No one. Just kind of curious about you two. We all are. Kinda worried actually."

Despite appearances, Jak and Keira's relationship was doing just fine, thank-you-very-much, and there was no reason that they needed Torn's unwanted input. Honestly, just because they weren't all that flamboyant about it and all over each other in public didn't mean that they lacked feelings for one another. (They had kissed once in front of the others after their first in Bloody Hook, and Daxter still had yet to shut up about it, even if he only really said anything about it while Samos wasn't around them. Had Samos been there, well, Jak didn't want to think about that. If he could help it.)

Keira had fallen completely silent at Torn's offer. She was blushing like there was no tomorrow –which, you know, there might not be seeing as they had been sitting in an elevator for a solid half-hour or so. She had already been forced to sit through Tess analyzing every single aspect of her private relationship, pointing out everything that could go wrong and what she and Jak had to do before it was too late. Ashelin had been there, but that offered little moral support to Keira, seeing how she even agreed with Tess on a few points.

And no. There was no way Keira was going to call him 'Jakkie-kins', 'butter biscuit', or some other pet name that would be beyond a bit demeaning to Jak's character. She wasn't going to go as low as taking a jab at his ego, inflated as it could be at times.

Granted, there were times that neither were sure if they were actually going anywhere –let alone if they were even going to-, but they had always chosen to ignore that and live in the present. But that got her wondering, would there ever be anything other than a few kisses stolen in secret in an unfamiliar garage, or an occasional glance when no one was watching? What did that say about them?

In reality, that actually hurt Keira. She'd thought that after finally getting their hands on the antidote and no longer having any other prominent threats to their lives, the world, or the universe, Jak would have opened up to her more. But no, instead there were keeping away from their friends and fumbling awkwardly between the borderline of 'just friends' and 'more than friends.' Was it so wrong that she wanted the later?

He'd never say it, but Jak's thoughts were roughly the same thing. To be truthful, he was simply too afraid of hurting Keira and losing her. What if they were alone and one time, just for a moment, he lost control? He could never forgive himself for that. If she had been hurt at his hand or by his words, he couldn't live with that. Yes, he did want, er, something more with Keira, but he was never sure how to go about it. Was he supposed to just act on instinct and grab her, and never let her go? Was he supposed to ask her if she wanted to take their relationship somewhere else?

He had a hard time imagining that. 'Hey Keira, rather than hiding from our friends like a couple of morons, wanna go make out in front of them? Better yet, let's do that when your dad is right there! I really don't need the use one of my kidneys, and I can make a good punching bag for him!'

He liked his kidneys, and wanted to keep them for as long as he could. Inciting Samos' wrath wasn't on his to-do list, either.

Jak and Keira's train of thought was quickly derailed and crashed in a fiery inferno when the third wheel opened his mouth to speak again.

"I mean, have you two actually done it yet?"

Holy Precursors and all their furry glory, this man didn't know where to draw the line did he?

They would have expected this from Daxter –understandable, as that was just the way he was. He had even asked Jak that. But Jak had just turned red and walked away. (He went down to the garage to visit Keira. Needless to say, Sig's car wasn't worked on much that night. Jak was too busy ranting about Daxter and Keira kept agreeing with him. (Not what you were thinking, huh?))- but Torn?! Come on!

Keira was attempting to figure out if her face fit behind both of her hands, and Jak's mind had taken a coffee break, unable to come up with a retort.

"Duh…I, er…duh heem…" He stuttered unable to form articulate words, his own cheeks taking on a shade of pink.

"Well have you?" The Tattooed Wonder asked nonchalantly, as if they were discussing the weather or a new gun upgrade. Either one Jak would have preferred. Luckily for Jak Keira piped up, meaning that Jak wouldn't have to answer and could hold off on strangling Torn.

"Well, I!" She seemed to be at a loss for words, so apparently Jak had figuratively spoken too soon. "You don't need to…" She took a breath, obviously looking for a sufficient remark. "Even if we had, why would you need to know? What's it to you?"

Jak nodded. That was a good question.

"…I take it that's a 'no'?" Torn said hesitantly, almost with a mocking tone. He wasn't trying to be mean, really. It was supposed to have been a simple question, but it didn't quite come out right. Well, of course it didn't. The question he had asked was beyond personal and way past the list of 'Questions to never ever ever even think about asking ever.'

Especially to Jak, who just so happened to have a small store of Dark Eco. All he had to do was morph quickly and scare the crap out of Torn. That would get him to stop asking about, er, unnecessary, um, that. Or just scar him for life. Jak was feeling fairly opened minded about that.

"No. We haven't." Jak finally supplied Torn with the answer he had been looking for. "There, happy? You really don't need to know about that."

"…Well, no. I-" Torn began, but as usual, someone else found it necessary to cut him off.

"Then why did you ask?" The way Keira had asked it was enough to make Torn rethink his plan. He was a tactician after all, but as of now all he seemed to be planning was his demise in a cramped elevator. Talk about a lousy way to go.

Jak seemed to be waiting for an answer as well.

"Look," Torn was now using a rather commanding voice that was enough to shut up the other two. He hadn't been a Commander in the Krimzon Guard for no reason, you know. Mentally he smirked, free of interruptions due to his tone. "Let's just say that we're all kind of worried about you two. Well, no, let me re-phrase that. Tess and Daxter are. I'm not so sure about that big guy with the gun, but Ashelin and I, well, we do care." He paused. He held his index finger and thumb an inch apart. "About that much."

Neither of the teenagers said anything.

"Tess is worried that-" He pointed at Keira. "-Your biological clock is ticking." Keira's face was red again. Torn's held a look of contempt. Jak had gone pale. "And you're too cowardly to make a move." Jak's ego was all but punched in the gut at that. "Tess also thinks that you-" He pointed at Keira again, whose face had gone from maroon to dark pink. "-May or may not move on if in fact Jak does nothing. Which, you know, wouldn't surprise anybody, because we're all pretty sure that you're not going to wait another three years to get somewhere with Blondie."

He jabbed his thumb in Jak's general direction, taking on one of Jinx's many nicknames for the hero. This one way one of the few that were appropriate and could be said in front of kids. When Jinx had had a few too many, well, let's just say while they were true, there was a chance that Jak wasn't that much of a prude. (Turned out that Jinx would ask the same question as Torn and Daxter, only to Keira while he was drunk. And then he hit on her. The response was Jak hitting him, but that's irrelevant and a story for another time.)

The Tattooed Wonder turned his attention back to 'Blondie'. He swept his hand through the air between him and the door, gesturing toward Keira. "So, Jak, are you going to make her wait a few more years, or are you going to make a move?"

Jak blinked. He didn't even pretend to not notice that Keira was looking up at him.

"Well, I- I mean," He didn't know what to say. Did Torn expect to talk about his feelings? Was he supposed to offer his heart to Keira on a silver platter and that was it?

Yes, he did care about Keira. No, he didn't want to lose her. Kiss her? Uh, duh. Hold her? Of course! He wasn't that stupid! He could go as far as saying he loved her, but he wasn't entirely sure. It wasn't that he didn't care about her that much, it was just that… He didn't know what love was like. For all he knew it was some crazy teenage hormones driving him insane. Maybe it was lust.

No. It was more than that. Jak just didn't know how to say it.

He wondered how Keira felt.

Truthfully, she'd been all but head-over-heels for the boy since he'd been a mute. Some could call it lust, others could call it wishful thinking, but she knew better. There was a chance she could love him, but Keira couldn't bring herself to admit it. She wasn't sure if that was the right word…

"At the rate you're going, I'm going to grow a third head and she'll have a beard before you even say anything by the looks of it." Torn said a few minutes later, as all Jak had really done was stare at Keira and go I really, really, don't know what to say. I do care about you, I swear, I just don't know what to say.

Torn had turned his attention back to the mechanic.

"I'm sure you're not going to be too forward yourself, are you?" He added, as if hinting that he was expecting her to jump Jak's bones. Maybe she and Jak would have gotten somewhere if Torn wasn't there! Didn't he see that?

"I don't…" She started, figuring that the only way to get Torn to leave the both of them alone was to play along with him. She sighed and closed her eyes. "…I don't know. I've never been good with that kind of stuff."

Tools and mechanical stuff she could handle. Ask her to make a move on Jak? Well yeah, she'd tried, but that'd mostly failed. And were they trying to kill her? Her heart and brain would explode! Keira and him in private however, would have been a different story.

Torn shook his head.

"Honestly? Your relationship is like a slowly dying yakkow. You just want to take it away from the pasture and put it out of its misery."

"I'd like to put you out of your misery." Jak muttered, leaning back against his wall of the elevator and folding his arms. Seriously, why was Torn doing this? And why now? A year or two ago it would have been understandable. Now all he wanted to do was slug Torn. Keira was agreeing to his statement at the moment, if the heated glare she was giving was any hint.

"Hey, do what you want. At least I have a girlfriend and have actually gotten somewhere with her. It's sad that I can't say the same with you two." Torn held up his hands in front of him, shrugging. So Torn wanted them to do something, did he now?

Unseen by the two men Keira smirked. Maybe it wasn't the most brilliant idea she'd ever had, but she didn't mind it. So she gotten up on her knees, reached over and grabbed Jak's collar. He was more than surprised; his eyebrows shooting up the met his goggles for a short reunion as his eyes decided to nearly take up half of his face. The only time Keira had ever been this forward was at the Bloody Hook, but that was because they were both annoyed with Daxter.

"Fine then," Keira smirked again, bringing Jak's face closer to hers. The victory dance in Jak's mind was quickly squashed when Torn placed a hand on each of their shoulders and pried them apart. The victory dance turned into a desire to once more punch Torn. "Hey-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold it." Torn said quickly, not wanting to see the couple make-out barely a foot away from him. Keira slumped against the wall, a pout-type look on her face.

"But you said-" Jak began.

"I know what I said!" Torn spat, shaking his head and waving his hands in front of him as if fending off some unwanted image or presence. "But that doesn't mean I want to actually see you two go at it. Please, spare me that much."

"Hypocrite." Keira muttered from her side of the elevator. Jak looked up at the ceiling, as if expecting some answer to suddenly fall and give him an epiphany on how to proceed. Or just watching for some panel to fall and knock Torn unconscious.

Not only would it be karma, but it'd be pretty damn hilarious if that happened.

"Please excuse the technical difficulties. It appears as though the lift you are currently riding has halted. Please do not worry, as repairs have begun and you will be on your way in a matter of minutes. We apologize for the inconvenience. Please have a nice day."

"Déjà vu," Jak mumbled, slumping against his wall and closing his eyes, either out of annoyance or boredom.

"You vile woman!" Torn half-whispered at the robotic voice that had promised them refuge an hour ago.

Torn, at the moment, had no desire to be killed by Jak or Keira. He also had no desire to be sitting there on the floor anymore. His butt was numb, and believe me, that was beyond uncomfortable.

Keira and Jak chose to ignore this small outburst. The tattooed dude rolled his eyes, his gaze once more returning to Keira in strange hopes of continuing their earlier conversation.

"So…" He pointed at the blue-green haired girl before he paused. Oh crap, he hadn't forgotten her name, had he? What was it again, Karen? Karol? Kiki? Kara? Joan? Ok, where did Joan come from? "…You." He continued, praying that they'd taken his momentary lapse of chatter as thinking of how to word what he wanted to say.

They weren't stupid though, but if they'd noticed, they didn't say anything.

"What…You?" She replied, looking at him while stifling a yawn with her hand. She hadn't gotten much sleep last night due to Daxter's muttering from where he slept in the nightstand drawer between her bed and Jak's, and the late night conversation she'd been having with him hadn't exactly caused her to doze off either.

Jak had his eyes closed, not wanting to be part of this. What he really wanted to do was go all 'Dark Jak' and claw his way out. Small enclosed spaces had never really been his cup of tea. At least he could take Keira with him and leave Torn alone. Ha.

Torn assumed that Jak had fallen asleep, despite the fact that he had not. In fact, he was wide awake, but starting to let his mind wander beyond the confines of the cramped lift. Deciding to take advantage of Jak being out of it –which he wasn't- the older man figured he might as well attempt to get somewhere with (…Oh yeah, her name was) Keira. Even if she had a pocketknife that she could stab him with. At least she'd put it away.

"Do you actually have feelings for him?" Torn asked casually, once more as if they were discussing the weather. (Kinda balmy outside really, looked like it was going to rain. The sky was a bit gray, looked overcast.) He was expecting an answer, and she knew that. Jak shifted slightly in his 'sleep', one of his long ears twitching, as if hoping to hear her answer as well.

Oh please don't make me do this. Not here, not now.

Why was it that luck and fate hated her most of the time? What had she ever done? Was this for rejecting Daxter's many obnoxious flirts back in Sandover? For the way she had reacted when she was first reunited with Jak? Sure, she had apologized profusely and he had smiled and accepted it, but still.

Of course, Tattooed Wonder was persistent, and it was obvious she had to answer if she ever wanted him to leave her alone. And maybe it could help her relationship with Jak if she'd admitted how she felt. She'd just thought it'd be in private, not some stopped elevator.

Ah well. All's fair in love and war.

She just hoped she wasn't losing this one.

No matter where she looked or what she did, Torn was still staring at her, his eyebrows raised casually as he held out a hand to her, as if expecting her to start spewing out words and then set them all in his palm in a delicate manner. Ah sweet Precursors, what was she supposed to do now?

Then again, it might be less painful in the long run if she admitted her feelings now, even if she could very well be sealing her fate for some unknown reason. Maybe her chest wouldn't hurt so much and her heart would stop pounding so loudly.

J-Jak, he- he wasn't listening right now, was he? Did she…Did she want him to hear what she had to say?

Well, duh. Of course she did.

Jak looked like he was asleep still, even if she thought she knew better. Torn was still waiting.

"Well?"

Might as well get this over with.

"Yes, yes I do. Okay?" She really wished that right now she could stop talking and Torn could go back to ranting about the robotic voice that was condemning them, Jak could doze off, and she could simply sitting there daydreaming about her relationship with the later. But no, of course not.

"I care about him a lot actually. Maybe more so than I should, or more than humanly possible. Maybe even more than, than what's considered natural. I just do, okay? I've cared about him for years, and it took nearly four for me to finally kiss him, so what does that say Torn? Hmm? Do you really think that I'm willing to repeat trying to actually get somewhere with him –and that includes trying to ignore Daxter's 'interruptions' and his comments? Oh, and that fact that I've barely seen him over the past two years? Not to mention the fact that the way I reacted to him when I first saw him in Haven after two years was with a stupid 'You look different'?"

Torn was silent. He'd assumed he'd get some mushy 'Oh yes! I luuurve him!'from Keira. Not some heartfelt speech that looked like it was tearing her apart inside.

"Honestly, Torn? You asked me if I had feelings for him. And I do. And sometimes it hurts because I have no idea what to do about it. Am I scared? Hell, I'm terrified! I'm always over thinking everything, like 'Well if I do this, will it scare him off?', or 'If I say this, will that sound stupid?' And don't forget how I've practically hit on him in the garage during the races. Might as well of thrown myself at him, for what it's worth." Her tone had died down, she was losing her steam. Tears had formed in the corner of her eyes.

Her chest hurt worse than it had before, and she just wanted to cry. But she was too stubborn too.

Keira pulled her knees to her chest and folded her arms over them. She couldn't bring herself to look at Jak yet, who'd opened his eyes, his gaze burning a hole into her forehead. The stain on the carpeting had much more appeal to her at the moment.

It just doesn't matter anymore, does it? I'll never get anywhere with him. I'd give up now, but that would hurt too much, wouldn't it?

"Is that answer sufficient enough Torn?" She whispered, mentally flinching at how her voice cracked. "Are you happy now?"

She closed her eyes, hiding her face behind the small shield of her arms and protective leather gauntlets. The tattooed Commander couldn't bring himself to say anything. In all honesty, he and Jak had both expected her to also bring up how cold and bitter Jak had been during the war on Praxis –and his banishment the following year-, not to mention the kiss that had also occurred between the blonde and Ashelin.

The later was a sensitive subject, which would never willingly be spoken of. Unless a drunk Daxter said something. Beyond the point.

Unsure of how to go about his response, Jak stood up gingerly and inched his way over to his aqua-haired girlfriend who had just admitted how much it hurt that he cared about him so much, and had now wedged herself against the wall and the corner. Torn had taken Jak's spot opposite her as the racer and two-time world hero/savior sat down beside her.

Gently, a clothed arm was draped across her thin shoulders, pulling her closer to him. She didn't pull away or reject his movement, but she wasn't overly compliant either.

"Hey…Keira?" He started, his arm barely jostling her. His thumb was absentmindedly rubbing her arm. What he supposed to do now? What was he supposed to say? Jak hated this feeling of helplessness and the lack of hope he felt coming off of Keira. Was there some way he could make it up to her? Er, um… How could he show her how much he truly cared about her?

Women. Why were they so hard to understand? Seriously.

But still, he did want her to know he had feelings for her, but he was still uncertain of how to go about it. He would/could say 'I love you,' into her ear, but… Well, it wasn't that he didn't, but was that too much to say?

So Jak settled for an "I'm sorry" in a very timid and quiet manner. The inner turmoil wasn't exactly his fault –well yeah, in a way it sort of was-, but he was trying to offer her something, at least.

She obviously accepted his unneeded apology, what with her leaning into him and pulling her face away from her arms slightly. Jak kissed the top her head in a very un-like-typical-Jak fashion. This seemed to both sooth her frazzled nerves and took some weight off of her boyfriend's shoulders. He'd begun to break his way through the brittle shell she'd started forming around herself.

Quietly Torn turned his communicator back on, having watched the couple skeptically with the sudden feeling that he'd been way out of line with prying into their relationship. He'd having to tell the others about this, and how they'd assumed to worst too quickly. Slowly he had the communicator call Ashelin, chancing glances at the mute duo every so often as they listened through the dial tone.

Daxter snickered in his sleep. Ashelin looked over at him with a raised eyebrow, but obviously couldn't be bothered in her pacing. She'd been waiting for the other three for nearly an hour and twenty minutes! What was taking them so long? All that they had to do was grab their few bags and come back done to the lobby. Simple as that!

No my, dear, you have no idea. At all.

The receptionist wanted to say something to her, to tell her that it was no use waiting for an elevator –seeing as it had stopped and had been so for a while- but was too afraid of what she would do to him.

There was a short pause in her footsteps before she continued. Then again, in the first week Keira had convinced them to stay, she and Torn had caught the two of them taking a brief break from making repairs. They had been otherwise occupied, and therefore hadn't noticed the two quickly hightailing it out of there.

Ashelin smirked before turning on her heel and stomping passed the elevators again. She was actually proud of Keira for finally making a move on Jak. She still felt guilty about having kissed Jak out in the desert, but Keira had merely shrugged at her when she'd been told by the red-head acting as it it didn't bother her. Ashelin could see the hurt in her eyes though.

Daxter snickered again.

"The hell is your problem?" She muttered at him, folding her arms. She looked over at the doors to the street outside, still waiting for Rayn to show up right then. She shook her head and folded her arms tensely, set on planning out her revenge on Rayn and what was left of Mizo's thugs.

He knew this couch was pretty comfortable, but had there also been some massaging mechanism installed in it? His back was vibrating. That was funny. Daxter stretched lazily and opened his eyes a bit, looking at the ornately decorated ceiling above him.

And then promptly fell back to sleep.

His back vibrated again.

Daxter may not have understood it, but it made his back muscles feel pretty darn good. Hanging onto the edge of Jak's rear fender as he sped at top speeds around hairpin corners and over gaps in the road can make your muscles pretty sore, you know. (Or well, not. But still.)

Why was his bac- No wait. It'd stopped. Huh. Oh well, now he could nap peacefully.

"Hey, you've reached Ashelin. I'm obviously not –Torn! Stop that, come on!" (there was sniggering in the background, then a noise that sounded as if Torn had fallen over something) "Anyway, I can't answer at the moment, so leave a message and I'll get back to you. Bye."

Torn stared incredulously at the small blue screen in front of him, and then over at the other two as it beeped. Keira had fully removed her head from their little shield of arms to gape at him, wide eyed. Jak's arm had yet to leave his shoulders, but his expression mimicked that of the mechanic's.

The Tattooed Wonder was the first the break the shocked silence, and while what he said was the truth, none of them wanted to really admit it.

"It's official. We're going to die in here."

A/N: Ah, that loveable robot voice lady that these three have come to hate...
And Keira admitted her feelings! Sort of...

As for Keira's heartfelt speech, if you can tell, I was kind of winging it. Ha. I also wasn't sure how to continue it after that, which is probably kind of obvious. Um, sorry? I was having issues with it. Rah.
But... you had fun reading it, right? What with all the drama, angsty, and hormone-y teenage feelings that people seem to forget. Because hey, Jak and Keira are still teenagers. Including Daxter. I think people tend to forget that.

And if you didn't get it at the end, Daxter had fallen asleep on Ashelin's communicator, which was on 'vibrate'. How fun.

I could also go on to rant about anti-anti-Keira thoughts and stuff, but I don't feel like that right now. As you can probably tell, I'm rambling again, so I'll stop that.

But yeah, the whole 'Jinx asking that question to Keira' will happen. Maybe in an extra chapter of this story, or in a one-shot of its own. Maybe I should start working on that first...

I will update when I can... If can think of how to continue this...Hmmm...

Ideers for other questions Torn may ask? How Jak and Keira should handle Keira's confession? What Ashelin and Daxter should do when they find out that their friends are trapped in an elevator, and Daxter was sleeping on Ashelin's communicator, so they had no idea Torn called? (And left 27 consecutive messages?)
Include 'em in a review, and they may be used!

-Orange0Lightning :D