Note: God, I'm writing this at like, 4 AM. I got a sudden stroke of genius in a dream. That and I had gastrointestinal distress, i.e. I woke up with really bad gas and the pressure in my stomach woke me up. So I got up, went to the bathroom, came back, turned on my computer, and attempted to type this in the dark. Thank God for spellcheck or I'd've gone crazy. Again, I don't own Jak and Daxter, but I do own a squishy Torn plushie with a voice thingy that says different things when you poke his tummy. "Get yer squirrelly ass outta here!" "My men're gettin' their asses kicked!" and "Because I. Don't. Like. You." seem to be popular choices for the doll. -cough- On with the show! I desperately tried to finish this chapter before I went away for the weekend...but sadly this was not to be. -weeps- So, sorry for the delay, but I didn't have an internet connection out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

CHAPTER EIGHT (Holy crap. Only story I've ever written for this long is my original novel, Where Enigma Turns Sorrow...And I gave that up two years ago.)

Jak woke up coughing an shaking at four AM, waking Torn with him. "Jak? What the hell?" Jak flew up out of bed, and retching sounds echoed from the bathroom. Jak came back looking pale and a little green. "Jak? You alright there?" Jak shook his head. Torn barely made out the motion in the darkness of the hideout. Jak flopped back down, only to fly back up to go puke again. Daxter was woken up by the sudden motion of being tossed in the air lightly by Jak flopping down and back up. "What up with Jak?" He asked sleepily. "Flu or something. He's puking up his lungs in there." Daxter groaned and attempted to go back to sleep. Jak came back in and didn't even bother to climb into his bed. He sat on the floor. Torn knelt down from his bed so he was eye level with Jak. He took Jak's face in his hands. "Torn? What're you-"

"Shush." Torn pressed his lips to Jak's forehead for a few seconds. Jak's eyes went wide, but he made no attempt to get away. Torn took his face away a bit. "Well, you ain't got a fever, least not yet. Still, might be a flu or something." Jak blinked for a second silently, a bit dazed. "Oh, I did that with my lips, didn't I? Sorry. That's how my father always used to check for fevers..." Jak was a bit taken aback. Torn rarely, if ever, talked about his past. Torn coughed uncomfortably. "Well, uh, you oughta get back to sleep. It'll do you good." Torn said nervously, getting back up on his bed and turning away from Jak embarrassedly. Jak slowly climbed back into bed and went back to sleep, only to wake up an hour later with cold sweats. Torn hadn't gone to sleep at all since he'd checked for a fever, and heard Jak shivering and pulling more blankets on. "Don't put any more blankets on you, Jak." Jak jumped at Torn's voice. "It'll make you hot and feverish." Jak obediently put down the blanket. He sneezed. Daxter was knocked off the bed. "Hey!" He said. "Sorry." Jak replied. Torn laughed at Daxter's discomfort. "Well, it's Saturday, so your little vacation is over, but if you're sick, I guess another few days can't hurt." Jak nodded with a grunt. Torn mentally slapped himself. What had he just gotten himself into?

Jak sneezed violently, sending bits of spittle and snot all over poor Daxter, who was merely trying to bring him soup. "Aw, gross! Now I gotta go shower. Again." Jak blew his nose as Daxter jumped away, towards the bathroom. "As much as it amuses me to see Daxter covered in mucus, I have to ask. Are you okay?" Torn said. "Yeah. A-choo! Fine." Jak crumpled up his tissue and grabbed another. Torn walked over and knelt down. He pressed his lips to Jak's forehead again. "You're warm. Not quite feverish, but too warm to be fine." Jak was actually beginning to wonder why Torn took his temperature with this method this often.

Kiera wouldn't leave Jak alone. She burst in after hearing Jak was sick, and wouldn't leave. "Oh, Jak, I'm so sorry. Here, let me make you some soup, it'll make you feel better!"

"No, really, Kiera, I'm fine. Really. No, really. You don't have to--aw, there she goes." Jak said irritatedly. "Don't get me wrong, I love her like a sister, but God, she's so annoying. Her voice grates my brain against my skull like a cheese grater." He said as Kiera left. "I hear you." Torn said. "You ever try goin' out with Ashlein? Girl's voice is so irritating after a while, you feel like jumping off a building. After dating her, I found it a pretty fair assumption I was gay."

"What?"

"Nothing!" Torn quickly answered, his face turning pink and turning his head down quickly towards his work. Jak blinked; did Torn just say he was gay? He didn't get any time to dwell on it, as Kiera burst back in with a tray of soup. She stared at him for a while until he took a spoonful. To be honest, it tasted like ass, but he wasn't about to say that. "Mm..delicious. Um, could you, like, give me some space? I'll be fine!"

"Okay! Call me if you need anything!" Kiera bounded out the door. "Oh, god this tastes like a monkey's ass."

"And you've actually-"

"It's an expression." Jak said. He looked at Torn. "Now, for the question at hand."

"Here we go..."

"Did you or did you not just say you were gay?" Torn coughed uncomfortably. "Hey, man, I don't care either way, in fact, so am I. I was just wondering." Jak finished. Torn nodded. "Now, can I get back to work?" He mumbled embarrassedly. "No."

"Whaddaya mean, no? I have work to do." Jak got up and walked over. "Jak, um...what're you- Mmph!" Jak pressed his lips to Torn's. Torn was surprised, but he didn't resist until he remembered that Jak was down with the flu. He pulled away. The two just stared at each other for a few minutes before Torn cleared his throat.

"Um...You're still running a fever."

END OF CHAPTER EIGHT

Read and review, please! No flames, at least my formatting is getting a little better...isn't it?