Chapter 5: Collection
The scent of freshly dug up earth filled Jay's nose. He decided that Zane might want the roots of the plants they were procuring as well as the leaves and flower buds. The plants themselves were green leaved, but in the shade Jay could see that the bright blue buds glowed. In the bright sunlight, he wondered how much light they would give off at night.
He clipped the specimen test tubes on his weapon holster, then stood up straight and looked to the sky. It had gotten a lot cloudier than when they had set out, but the sun still shone through. Jay looked to the point where he and Suzanne were supposed to meet. He looked at the position of the sun, and it was about noon, so he decided to start heading out. He rubbed his hands together to get rid of the dirt, then jogged out into the desert.
It was calming, the quiet stillness of the air. And the loss of breeze and change in the air's scent promised rain. He could hear his footsteps crunching the sand, and the chains on his back clinked as he moved.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Suzanne walking the same way he was going. Judging by her position, they had set out at the same time. He gave a short exhale with a smirk. Still balanced. She waved, and he waved back. They sped up their pace and met up immediately.
"I see you're not dead," Suzanne said with a smile.
"Oh, nearly. Those plants put of a real fight," Jay replied. She laughed, and she snorted when she laughed really hard.
"I'm just - snort - picturing these harmless plants just turning into monsters all of a sudden! Your face is priceless!"
"Oh, come on, I wouldn't be that scared!" he crossed his arms, but laughed all the same.
"You'd be mortified!" She still kept laughing, because you couldn't stop her once she'd started, even if she tried. Every time she would snort, he'd laugh too, and he could feel his cheeks warming at the sight of her, she was tearing up, but finally calming down.
"Oh... Man, it's crazy what sets me off," she breathed heavily. "Sorry, here... let's just eat then set out for these trees I saw over by the plants I collected from." Jay was surprised to find that she'd brought muffins. Well, they were her specialty.
"Thanks!" he said before they both sat down. Suzanne still looked so excited. She smiled as she ate, and Jay swore he could see her freckles smiling too. She was simply a human expression of happy, all the time.
He caught himself staring, but couldn't look away, because she'd looked back at him.
"What's up?" she asked, and he didn't know how to answer.
Why am I staring? he thought. Because you're adorable. Because it's a miracle and a curse that we're the only people on this mission except for Zane and Moi. Because...
"Nothing, sorry," he mumbled, putting on a sad smile. Whoever had cursed him to be so bad in these situations, he didn't want to face them, because he'd tear them apart.
She shrugged and scrunched up her face in a grin. Because she was his best friend, and he was afraid to say anything in fear of being rejected, or worse. He could be lead on just to be rejected later, and that was just hell.
"You should just say something," Zane sighed. "It'll just destroy you from the inside out."
"Stop saying that!" Jay huffed and sat down. Apart from the new test tubes of plants and Moi's fur samples, the only thing that was haphazardly strewn across the room were a few books on plant and animal life.
"Mistuh Jaee laiks Soozan!" Moi laughed, stepping off the table in the center of the room.
"Not you too, Moi."
"You told me everything already, so you can't deny it now," Zane remarked, taking off his protective goggles and gloves.
"Sooooooo~ it iiiis~ troo!" Moi was prancing around the room like a child who had just gained entrance into the teacher's lounge at school.
"It's not that I'm denying it, I just... don't wanna talk about it that much."
"Which is why you should say something. You really believe that Suzanne of all people will turn you down?"
"Soozan iz vewy noice!"
"I know, she's an angel, but..." There was nothing else to say, so he shrugged and walked to his room. He sat on the edge of his bed and looked up through the skylight. The rain had started, and luminescent yellow rain began to tap at the window. It wasn't toxic, Zane had checked, but they didn't want to deal with whatever stains it would leave. He watched the clouds churn in a motion like clockwork, all circling in tandem.
He couldn't tell Suzanne. Not yet at least. He just wasn't sure if she'd only think of him as a best friend or... God, he didn't know what she'd think. She wasn't extremely ignorant, just hard to read. Her emotions were everywhere, especially around her friends.
It was like he didn't know her at all sometimes...
It hit him. He didn't know where she'd come from, and he'd never really asked. They were best friends after all, yet he never learned. Another reason why he could never tell her. He was oblivious to her basic early background, or how she even became a kunoichi in the first place. That was the mistake he'd made with Nya. He'd never really gotten to know her. He was already closer to Suzanne than he ever had been with Nya, but he'd at least known where she came from through Kai.
Dear Lord, I'll never be able to talk to her again, he thought. However, something told him that Suzanne would be able to easily coax the happiest conversations right out of him. She was just that amazing.
"Good morning!" Suzanne smiled wearily from the kitchen entrance. Jay couldn't help but smile in spite of himself. Her hair was even frizzier and crazier than usual, but her eyes were still as bright aqua as ever, despite her tired appearance.
"Hey!" Jay beamed. He had no idea why he was so happy. Perhaps it was just the morning air, or the fact that Suzanne was making him smile, but he really didn't know why she'd sat down right next to him. "Did you sleep alright?"
"I slept super great last night!" she said. "I just woke up really abruptly, that's all. Dunno why, it just sort've happened."
He nodded to her, and she stretched out, yawning. She put her palm to her head, then immediately started messing with her hair.
"Oh, darn it. Why does this happen?" she grumbled. "Ridiculous." Jay laughed a bit. And it seemed like he'd caught Suzanne's infectious sudden laughter.
"It looks fine to me," Jay remarked, taking a sip of his coffee. Normally he wouldn't need it, but after yesterday's run and restless sleep, he felt like he needed a little something extra. Suzanne ruffled his hair back, making it a messier version of what he'd come out with.
"Aww, thanks! I really wish it didn't get in the way, though. Otherwise I might keep it like this all the time."
"Really? I'd like that. It suits you. You're a very optimistic and wild person, after all." He didn't understand where that all had come from. Suzanne was definitely rubbing off on him all of a sudden. It was even more of a shock when she hugged him.
"You're real chipper this morning," she murmured, still not letting go. He reddened, unable to move. He set down his mug and sighed, giving her a squeeze back. He then realized that she had fallen asleep, just like that. Jay decided that he should take her back to her room. She was clearly too tired to do anything.
Without giving it a second thought, because he didn't want to leave her in the kitchen, he kept his right arm around her back, but swept her up with his left, and carried her back to her room. She didn't stir, and was clearly in a deep sleep when he laid her down on her sheets. They were twisted up. Maybe she didn't have the best night's sleep after all.
He called this a friendly gesture for the time being. Despite what he'd said last night, maybe she needed someone to lean on, and he possibly could tell her. After a long time of consideration.
Jay straightened up to leave, but Suzanne had a hand holding his sleeve. She was definitely dreaming. He brushed her hand away from his upper arm.
"I've gotta go," he said to no one, and she let go, curling up against her pillow.
He sighed, turned away, and walked out the door. He closed it behind him, running a hand through his newly tangled hair. Jay tried to get rid of his clearly red face.
"You certainly had an eventful night," Zane remarked, brushing past.
"Shut up," he said in a quiet, higher pitched tone. "It's not what it looks like."
"Datz wut dey all saee," Moi said, bounding around him and making him jump.