A/N: References to chapter 1 of Katdog161's "Heal My Insanity". The reason for these rewrites is that I realized that Daisy and Jason didn't have very unique or realistic characteristics and also I wanted Citra to have more noticeable of an influence on Jason. Also, I didn't that Grant's death felt like it had much of an impact on him in the original version. Also, remember, the chapters that don't have "updated" on the title are in the OLD continuity. So they won't make sense.
Chapter 2: {Making Small Talk} (updated)
/
(A Few Days Later)
Jason pulled his car up into the driveway and parked. The driveway was on the right, adjacent to the house.
He had just gotten off work. The time was around ten minutes after nine in the evening. It was a Saturday. And the doctor's office where Daisy worked was always closed on the weekends. So Daisy had be alone most of the day.
His place of employment was at a mega home improvement and hardware store. Mostly, Jason worked in the storage area in the back of the store, taking inventory and helping unload deliveries.
Working in the backroom was relaxing for Jason. He worked alone for the majority of his work day. Being by himself, and away from the sales floor and the customers, was what Jason enjoyed the most about his job.
His mind was at ease when he was isolated in the backroom.
Daisy's house was small, but she and Jason didn't need very much room. It was a single-story and one-bedroom home. A tall white wooden plank fence enclosed the backyard. There wasn't much space in their backyard, as all the houses in this neighborhood were built within close proximity to each other.
Jason stopped on his way to the front door. He then let himself have a moment to start reminiscing about this house's history.
When Daisy turned nineteen, her father gave her some money to put a down payment on a house. She found this house and thought it was a good fit. Close enough to the metropolis but not far enough away to be considered outside of the urban scene of Santa Monica.
She didn't own her house as it was leased. But it was affordable on the limited budget that she had at the time. And it wasn't in a bad part of town either.
When Daisy moved into this house years ago, the backyard only consisted of a tiny shed in one corner, and one small tree in the other corner. The rest of the yard was grass.
Just two months after she had moved into her house, Daisy began planting flowers and ferns in the backyard. At first, she only had gardened the area around the backdoor.
As months, and then years went by, her garden gradually expanded. Whenever Daisy had free time, she would spent it maintaining her garden. Every now and again, the garden would grow an inch at a time.
The changes to the garden every month or so, were not very noticeable. Like looking at each individual photo in a time-lapse film, most people couldn't see the difference in each still frame.
However, Jason always could spot the little changes to the garden.
When Grant was alive and was dating Daisy, he never gave any interest in Daisy's garden. But Jason did.
In years past, before the Rook Islands, Jason and his group of friends would on a few occasions, have celebrations and parties with their college friends here.
Despite her house and backyard being small, Daisy was the only one in their social circle that lived in a house. Everyone else either lived in an apartment or with their parents. So, the responsibility fell on Daisy to be the one to host any gathering.
Grant always invited Jason and Liza to these parties. The pair of them would usually attend the parties together.
Jason reluctantly accompanied Liza when they went over to Daisy's. The only reason he would come, was because he wanted to make Liza happy. Liza loved the party scene. But Jason wasn't really that fond or comfortable with parties and big gatherings. Although, he occasionally enjoyed them.
Everybody at these parties knew not to get close to Daisy's garden. She didn't want any drunken buffoon accidentally stepping on her flowers. Too much work had gone into that garden. With tooth and nail, Daisy would protect it.
During parties, Jason would catch Daisy whenever she was near to her garden and start chatting with her.
Talking with Daisy was the only thing that Jason looked forward to whenever he came over for a party. Other than Daisy, no one else there mattered to him. Just Daisy, only Daisy.
Even when Liza was still his girlfriend, Jason never enjoyed talking with her as much as he did with Daisy.
Sometimes, Jason would feel slightly ashamed of himself for preferring the company of his brother's girlfriend more than his own girlfriend. He figured that this aspect of his personality, made him a bad boyfriend.
He used to think to himself;
You have your own girlfriend.
Why don't you want to spend more time with Liza instead of Grant's girlfriend?
You can't fall in love with her. She's not yours to love. She can never be yours.
You have to stay away. Cut her loose before you develop feelings for her. Just let her go.
It's Liza that you should want, not Daisy.
Jason would start talking with Daisy about her garden whenever she was standing alone. Whether it was new flowers, or flowers that had just recently blossomed, Jason noticed the changes. She smiled whenever he mentioned the subtle differences that Daisy made to her garden.
Jason loved to see her smile. Coming over to the party would be worth it if he could make Daisy smile.
Just once… just one little smile… that was all he needed.
Jason recalled a particularly fond memory he had from one of Daisy's parties.
Was it that night?
Was it that night when I fell in love Daisy?
/
(Two Half Years Ago)
During one of her parties two and a half years ago, Jason walked over to where Daisy was standing. She was by herself holding a glass of red wine and spectating her garden. She had socialized enough that evening and wanted time to herself.
"I like the new arrangement." Jason said to Daisy.
She turned her head sideways and looked at Jason. She must have not known that he had walked up beside her.
She then responded to his observation. "What do you mean? I haven't planted any new flowers in months."
Jason gave her a witty smirk.
"Yes, I know that the flowers are the same." He said, smiling. "But you did switch up the flowers that were here."
Jason pointed his right index finger at the garden.
"You dug up the tulips and replanted them where the white roses were. And the white roses were moved and replanted where the tulips used to be." He said.
Daisy giggled at that.
Smiling, Daisy then said. "Oh Jason, you're the only person who ever spots the changes to my garden."
She then took a sip of wine.
"I appreciate that at least somebody takes some small interest in my garden." She said to Jason.
"Your brother doesn't notice any changes about the garden. He never even asks me about it. Whenever I come home with new flowers or gardening tools, Grant doesn't inquire at all into the work to the garden that I'm planning on doing." Daisy said.
"Yeah, that's Grant for you. He has always been one to play the macho guy." Jason said.
He then gave Daisy a sly grin, and lightly nudged her on the shoulder with his elbow.
"I doubt that he'll ever start discussing flowers with you anytime soon. He doesn't want to shatter his tough guy persona." He said.
That comment made Daisy laugh.
Jason chuckled as well.
/
(Present Time)
The front door squeaked as it opened.
Jason heard the television running in the living room. The front door was on the far right end of the front of the house, so once someone walks through it the half to turn left at as they are greeted with a wall directly in front of them.
"Are you still up? Or did you fall asleep on the couch again?" Jason teased as he walked into the room.
Daisy was sitting on the right end of the couch with her right leg lifted up on her left knee with her right hand holding her head up as her elbow rested on the couch's arm.
"Ha-ha, nice to see you too." She sarcastically responded.
Daisy was watching some show on TV that looked like another typical police show that always end with them catching the bad guy each episode.
Jason laid his keys down on the countertop.
Jason walked up behind Daisy. He put both hands on the side of her face and kissed the top of her head.
"Be right back." Jason told her.
"I know you will." She said in a cute tone.
Jason turned and walked down the hallway to their bedroom.
Jason tossed his work clothes into the hamper and got a plain white t-shirt and flannel pajama pants out of the dresser drawer.
With his new attire on, he made his way back to Daisy.
"Anything good on?" He asked.
Jason sat down close next to her. She repositioned her body to lay her head on Jason's shoulder.
"Not really." She answered.
"What about Netflix, should we try to find something on there?" He suggested.
They had bought a new Apple smart streaming device that they'd hooked up to their television. They would use it whenever all the options on cable were unsatisfying.
"Yeah, this show sucks. Let's try Netflix." Daisy agreed.
Jason leaned forward to pick up the TV remote as well as the remote for the Apple device, causing Daisy to temporarily move her head of Jason's shoulder.
"Alrighty… let's see what's on Netflix." He said.
He leaned back on the couch. And his blonde beauty laid her head back down on his shoulder.
This is nice.
This is perfect.
Jason used the remote to scroll through the multitude of options on Netflix.
But they both conversed and discussed the various movies and shows available for a few minutes.
Their perusing was halted when Jason heard Daisy winch as if she was in pain. He heard the sound of Daisy sucking in air through clenched teeth.
And the idea of his paramour being an any pain whatsoever was enough to make Jason's head spin.
She took her head off his shoulder and sat up straight. Her right hand clutched her abdomen.
"Are you hurting? What's wrong?" Jason asked with an unnerving demeanor.
"Oh yeah… it's nothing. I just… well my period is… was… today. I just had a bad cramp. But it's not a big deal." She said.
That was pointless to say to him. Nothing was "not a big deal" when it came to Jason worrying about Daisy's wellbeing.
He'd go to the ends of the earth if that's what it took to fix even the most minor discomfort that his lover was experiencing.
"Have you been in pain all day?" He asked concerned.
"Oh no. Not really. Just some cramping here and there." She scoffed at the beginning trying to play it off as a minor inconvenience.
She hasn't ever grunted in pain like that before during her period.
No… this time is different.
"Have you taken anything to help with the pain?" Jason asked. Clearly, he wasn't letting this go.
"Yeah… earlier. Some aspirin. That was all we had." She answered.
Jason sat the Apple remote down on the coffee table. He sat back and ran his left hand across his short beard.
"Well… it's clearly not working. What do you need for it? If you give me the name, then I'll go and buy it at the drugstore." Jason was letting this go.
"Jason, it's almost 9:30, don't worry about it." She told him.
"Walgreens is only a couple blocks away. I can be back before then." He insisted.
Daisy sighed.
She clearly wasn't going to achieve victory in this argument
"Okay… okay… just get what I tell you." She said in a defeated voice.
After Daisy told him what she needed, Jason got his shoes on and left the house to hop into his car.
He made it over to the convenient drugstore and purchased the antidote for Daisy's pain. Some over the counter pain relievers made specifically for menstrual pain and cramping.
And he did this all while he still wore his pajamas.
When he got back home, he had given Daisy a glass of white wine to wash down the pills.
After taking her pills, she sat the glass down on the coffee table.
The two of them had sat back down in the same position that they'd been in before Daisy's discomfort upended their quite evening.
"You know… you didn't need to do that. I would have been fine." Daisy told Jason.
Yes… I did.
I'll always be here to make sure that your safe and sound.
Always.
I'm hoping that somehow…
All the times that I take care of you…
Tell you that I love you…
That it will be enough to make up for what I did to you.
But probably not.
How can anything I do make up for…
"I'd rather be safe than sorry." He responded simply.
Daisy hummed and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"My hero." She said.
Jason didn't respond.
He didn't need to.
Everything was perfect.
Jason continued browsing through Netflix.
"What about that one?" Daisy asked as the movie she referred to was highlighted on the screen.
"Sure thing." He agreed.
"Do you think we'll have time to finish the whole thing tonight? Don't you have to go to work early tomorrow?" She inquired.
"No." He answered. "You're thinking of Monday. I'm off tomorrow."
"Oh… yeah… huh, I got my days mixed up. Thought it was Sunday." She said.
"Maybe you've had a little too much too much to drink Ms. Lee." Jason joked.
"Yeah right. I haven't even finished half a glass of wine." She retorted.
"Come on. We both know you're a lightweight." Jason teased.
"Don't make me prove you wrong. Give me the rest of the bottle. I'll show you how wrong you are. Lightweight? Where do you get off Mr. Brody?" Daisy joked.
Jason chuckled.
"Oh you don't want to do that. I don't want to have to babysit you when you're hungover." He laughed.
/
(Two Years Ago)
Jason had found daisy sitting at the bar that was inside their hotel. Her head laying on her left hand as her elbow rested on the fairly pristine wood bar top.
The bar in this Bangkok hotel was almost deserted at this time of the day. At only ten in the morning, not many tourists will be ordering hard liquor. That was for the night crowd.
The music playing in the bar was upbeat and relaxing. Jason could recognize the Oasis's song 'She's Electric', playing over the speakers in the corners where the walls met the ceiling.
"I didn't think you'd join the land of the living today." Jason said as he walked up to Daisy.
"Uggggh… I'm not sure I even am alive." She said in a drowsy voice.
She was wearing a white top with cutouts on the shoulders and shoulder straps all with short sleeves. She had a pair of blue jeans on. But Jason immediately noticed her large black sunglasses.
He had thought;
Someone had a rough night.
I better make sure she's still alive.
Jason pulled up a chair beside her.
The only ones in the bar were the two of them, the bartender, and an elderly white man who was probably a tourist sitting in the back corner of his very own large but otherwise empty both.
Daisy wasn't drinking any alcoholic beverage at all but some kind of soft drink that looked like Pepsi or Coca-Cola.
"Well that makes sense. You should be out cold after last night." Jason said to her.
Daisy took a sip of her soda from a straw.
"Hey." Jason said waving his had signaling to the bartender. "I'll have a Coca-Cola if you've got it."
The bartender nodded affirmatively.
"You're smart Jason. Don't ever drink any alcohol if you know what's good for you. I don't ever want to see even as much as a can of beer for rest of my life." Daisy said in an extremely hungover voice.
Jason smirked and responded with a giggle.
The bartender handed Jason a glass of Coca-Cola. Jason pulled some money out of his wallet and placed it on the table. The bartender accepted it and went on his way.
Jason started laughing. "Do you even remember anything that happened last night?"
"It's a blur. But if I made a jackass out of myself, please don't tell me. That way I can just assume nothing happened." She said. Then drank some more of her soda.
"You sure? Okay then. My lips are sealed." Jason said in a tantalizing tone.
Jason turned his head to the left to stare at Daisy.
He had thought;
I loved watching you dance up on the stage last night.
You really surprised me when I saw you up there. And man, you were wasted!
But when you slipped and fell off that stage and right into my arms…
As I held you…
I just didn't want to ever let you go.
You're just so beautiful… and perfect.
But I shouldn't think like that.
You're just a friend. My best friend.
And that's all you are. And all you can be.
Right?
Well… maybe…
No! Just a friend Jason!
She's your brother's girlfriend you sicko. Grant's girlfriend, not yours!
"Fine… fine… just let me hear it." Daisy said. Wanting to tear off this metaphorical band-aid.
"Well buddy… I'll just say, you're a natural on the stripper pole." Jason said.
"Please tell me I kept my clothes on." Daisy begged.
"Unfortunately you didn't show off any of your goods." Jason said joking.
"Bet you'd want to see me doing that kind of show, you creep." Daisy joked back at him unserious.
Daisy took another sip from her soda glass. A long sip as Jason could here the audible gulp Daisy made.
"Oh god! How many of our friends saw me acting like an idiot?" Daisy continued.
"Fortunately I was the only one who saw the Daisy Show. Grant saw you in my arms after I had caught you when you fell off the stage. But he didn't she you up there. And I'd just told him that you were talking with me and had tripped." Jason told her.
Daisy turned her head to meet Jason's gaze, then gave him a smile. She then surprised Jason by grabbing his left hand and planting a wet kiss on the top of it.
"Thank you so, so, soooo… much for covering for me." She said genuinely. "I'm too lucky to have you as my best friend."
"No thanks needed." He said.
"Best friend?" Jason asked intrigued.
"Don't let it go to your head, buddy." Daisy said and added a sarcastic remark.
Jason responded seriously. "I think of you as my best friend too Daisy."
"So I'm glad our feelings are reciprocated." He continued.
"Please, reciprocated, really? I'm to hungover to try and process such fancy words." Daisy said.
"What are you doing here anyway?" She asked. "Shouldn't you be off gallivanting with Liza and the boys?"
"Gallivanting? I thought you were too hungover for such fancy words." Jason joked.
"Oh, you're a riot, screw you." Daisy said with playful banter.
Jason explained. "Well Grant and Keith want to go play pool billiards room, so all the other guys followed along. And Liza wanted to prove to the boys that she could beat all of them in a game of pool. She said something about proving to them that they could get beaten by a girl and that she was going to be the one to do it."
"Of course she did." Daisy chuckled.
Jason hadn't noticed, but Daisy hadn't stopped holding his hand ever since she'd kissed it. And he was sure that Daisy was aware of it either due to her brain-fog.
But Jason decided then and there that he didn't want to spoil this tender and cute moment between the two of them. And the longer she held his hand, the better for him.
Daisy turned her head away from Jason and stared blankly at the various liquor bottles on the shelves behind the bar.
She sighed.
Jason had thought;
She's still holding onto my hand.
Does she have more than friendly feelings for me?
Do I have more than friendly feelings for her?
I keep telling myself to stop spending so much time with my brother's girlfriend. Because all my efforts to keep myself from falling for her don't seem to be working.
Is any of it real? Or am I just imagining my attraction to her?
Goddammit…
Why couldn't we have met each other first before you meet Grant and I'd met Liza? I could have avoided all these awkward emotions about you.
Jason never stopped staring at Daisy.
Her blonde hair hung down over her shoulders. Unsupported and not being held together in bun which she liked to wear, or even so much as a hairband or ponytail.
With her head still laying in the palm of her left hand, Daisy rotated her head back towards Jason. That's when she'd noticed that she was still holding onto his hand.
But she shocked Jason by continuing to hold his hand. The place on the cold wooden bar where their hands laid was now pleasantly warm due to the heat coming of their combined hands.
With her left hand she raised her sunglasses from her face up onto her head. And Jason got to see her sapphire eyes.
"But you decided to check up on me instead of hanging out with them? What a gentleman." She said clearly joking. But her words had more meaning behind them.
She curled her lips up in to one of the cutest smiles that Jason had ever seen.
Her smile gave Jason butterflies in his stomach.
He had thought;
It's like finding out that the schoolgirl that you have a crush on, has one for you too.
But does she really like me back, or is that just wishful thinking?
"Well I was going to go play pool with the others but when I saw that you weren't with them I asked Grant where you were. And he said that you decided to go to the bar because ironically you thought it would be the quietest place in the entire hotel at this time a day, since you needed the peace and quiet during your hangover." Jason explained.
"Yeah. My headache got worse from listening to the sound of the cars and other noises going on in this big city. So I figured that no one goes to a bar at this time a day." She told him.
"Well, you guessed right." Jason said as he twisted and turned his torso around to look at the empty bar.
Daisy didn't respond, only looking back at the liquor shelves.
A minute passed by while they sat there in pleasant silence.
Daisy was the one to break the silence. "This is nice isn't it? Just sitting here, not having anything to, no where we need to be?
"Yeah… I guess it pretty much is." Jason agreed.
Jason had the stupid idea to tell Daisy that he loved her. But knocked that irresponsible confession out of his head before he was stupid enough to actually say it out loud.
"I had a crazy dream last night." Daisy said.
After she said that, she finally let go of his hand.
She then used both of her hands to rub her eyes. Probably because they were irritated from a combination of the bright lights and the fact that she was hungover. And also, she was probably preparing herself to say something ridiculous.
"Why was it crazy?" Jason asked.
"Promise me you won't laugh. Or tell Grant." She requested.
This caught his attention. He simply had to know what it was about.
But he also still needed to play it cool. After all, he had to keep pretending that he wasn't obsessed with her. For everyone's sake.
"Well… I promise I won't tell Grant. But I can't promise that I won't laugh." He said casually with a witty sense of humor.
Daisy turned to look at him sharply.
"I'm serious. I'm trusting you as my best friend. Don't tell grant." Daisy stressed those last three words.
"Okay… okay… you got the serious version of Jason listening. I won't tell him or anyone else. Promise." Jason told her.
Daisy groaned. "Ugh oh my god, this is going to sound so creepy. So I don't remember much about the dream. But I can remember some of it. Gosh, how can I even say?"
Jason gently rubbed Daisy's back. "Hey now… it's me. You can tell me whatever is on your mind."
He stopped stroking her back after only a few seconds. Jason didn't want her to think that he was trying to feel her up in an erotic sort of way.
"Yeah, okay, what ever… screw it." She said. "Okay so this is weird, but I had a dream that you and me were uh… well… kissing."
Jason had thought;
Does she like me more than a friend?
How is it possible that I want that to be true but also not true?
I want her, but I can't hurt Grant and Liza like that.
"Oh… well that's… uh… well that is kind of weird." Jason tried to maintain his cool.
"Okay… I shouldn't have led with that. I meant to say that we were dancing but we didn't kiss until the end of my dream." She said trying desperately to backtrack.
"Dancing? We were… dancing?" Jason asked.
He had thought;
What in the hell is going on?
"Yeah, dancing. We were dancing on the floor of the same nightclub that we were at last night. But it was empty of people. Well… except for the two of us." Daisy continued her explanation of her dream.
Daisy stopped momentarily, Jason assumed she was trying to gather her thoughts.
"Okay, getting weirder, but by all means continue." Jason had said, trying to break the awkward silence.
"Music was playing I think. Maybe? Yes I do remember music. But it wasn't club crawl horny dancing music. But almost like jazz or something classical. And here comes the weird part. We were dancing, but not like crazy club dancing. We were holding each other while we held one of each others hands to point in the direction that the dance would lead." Daisy said.
She stopped to take another sip of soda. All the while Jason remained speechless.
Daisy returned to staring at the liquor bottles on the shelves. Clearly too embarrassed to look at Jason.
"Ugh! Told you. It was absolutely nuts!" Daisy sat her glass down on the bar.
"So… uh… we were like dancing, like fancy men and women do in a rich guy's house or in a ballroom?" Jason asked, providing clarification.
"Yeah, yeah, I guess it was like ballroom dancing." Daisy realized.
But Jason still hadn't heard the most scrumptious and provoking piece of the dream yet.
He want to know when they had kissed.
"Well I guess dancing sounds nice. While I imagine you're pretty nimble on your feet, you're a swimmer after all. I've been cursed with two left feet." He said jokingly.
Jason had to tell a joke. He couldn't let Daisy know that anything was up or that he had more than friendly feelings for her.
"Swimming is a lot different than dancing you big dummy." Daisy scoffed and Jason's comment, but she clearly meant to be joking.
Jason took that in good strides.
"You sure you're not an amazing dancer? You could have fooled me after I saw the Daisy Show up on that stage last night." He laughed.
"Well I hoped you enjoyed it, because you aren't ever getting another show. I'm never ever, ever, ever… drinking again." Daisy said.
"Hmm." Jason responded.
An basic, guttural, and simple caveman expression that could have meant a number of things. He decided to leave it up to Daisy's interpretation.
"Aren't you forgetting something? Something else that you've been avoiding telling me?" Jason asked.
"Fine. You're right, let's just get this over with." She said with reluctance.
"So in my dream, music was playing while we danced. But when it stopped, we stopped dancing too. And that's when we uh, both… leaned into a kiss. And we then put each other's arms over our shoulders and continued kissing. But I woke up soon after this. Weird… right?" Daisy sounded embarrassed.
"Oh yeah. Totally!" Jason disguised his excitement under a casual voice.
That's when Daisy turned to look back at Jason.
"I have no idea why I had a dream about me kissing you." She said.
"Wait did you kiss me? Did I kiss you? Or did with both just kiss each other at the same time?" Jason asked.
Daisy looked down at the floor embarrassed.
"Well… If I remember right, I think that… never mind. Nope, it doesn't matter. It was just a dream." She said.
And Jason never got to find out which of the three versions turned out to be true.
A wide eyed Jason then took a sip of his Coca-Cola. He stared at the same liquor bottles that Daisy had been looking at. Unable to find the right words to respond.
But after he sat his beverage back down, he turned back to look at Daisy. And at the same moment, she looked back up at him.
"Promise me that this won't ruin things between us. I don't want to lose your friendship. Please? Will you promise me?" She had a desperate look in her eyes.
Jason rotated his barstool to square up with Daisy.
"Hey now." Jason put his left hand on her right shoulder. "I promise. Nothing has changed. You were crazy drunk. You could have had any type of crazy, wild dream last night. Don't think anything of it. Your secret's safe with me. We're all good. We're still besties." Jason reassured his best friend.
Without any warning, and in an instant, Daisy pounced forward and gave Jason a bear hug. Her hair brushing across Jason's face as she laid her head on his right shoulder.
"Thank you. Thank you so much. Thanks for understanding." Daisy tenderly told him.
"Sure thing. Hey? What are friends for?" Jason could smell the same cheap hotel shampoo's fragrance in Daisy's hair that he had used this morning.
She continued holding onto Jason for what seemed like a minute to him. Her slender body feeling more than perfect in his arms.
If the world ended right then and there, Jason probably wouldn't have even noticed.
"Best friends forever right?" Jason savored this moment for however long it might last.
"You bet buddy!" Daisy responded gleefully.
"Forgot about it. It's like it never happened." Jason said.
"Like what never happened?" Daisy kidded.
"That's the spirit!" Jason exclaimed.
Jason heard the familiar voices of his friends walking into the bar.
"Can't believe you fucked that up Ollie!" Keith said.
"Hey don't put that on me man. Bro, you lost faster than I did!" Oliver said.
Daisy let go of Jason and turned to look at their friends making their grand entrance into the bar.
She was thinking quickly by releasing her grip on Jason just before everyone entered the room. That would have raised a few eyebrows.
Jason continued looking at Daisy for a few seconds longer even after she'd stopped facing him.
"Let me guess. Liza won didn't she?" Daisy asked.
Jason had thought;
It's almost like these last few moments never happened.
Like it was just a dream of my own.
Why did our moment have to end?
"Oh you know it!" Liza said triumphantly.
Then Jason followed suit and turned around to meet his friends.
As Daisy and Jason sat down, their friends made their way up to them.
"So Liza, tell me and Jason about this glorious ass-kicking you gave the boys." Daisy said
"Oh… here we go." Grant said.
"Hey, don't be a sore loser big guy!" Daisy said to Grant.
"Yeah okay so here's what happened. And Grant keep you trap shut while I tell the story." Liza was in such good spirits.
Jason loved seeing her like that.
Though, he didn't know if he still loved her.
Grant raised his arms in defeat and said nothing.
"So here's what happened. Grant challenged me first thinking he could beat me easily. But he lost faster than all of them!" She laughed.
Jason grinned at Liza. "Finally, someone humbled Grant."
"Yeah, yeah whatever bro." Grant scoffed.
Liza continued. "Okay, so then Riley wanted to avenge his brother, and tried his hand at pool. He actually did the best out of rest of them. It came down to just the 8-ball left on the table, but I managed to knock it down the hole first!"
"Hey! Don't rub it in. You should be impressed with how good I did. It was only my third time I've ever played." Riley said.
"I thought you kicked ass." Oliver said to Riley as the pair high fived.
"So next it was Keith's turn, but he went down almost as fast as Grant." Liza said.
"I'm just out of practice. And you got lucky." Keith said trying to shrug it off.
"So finally it was Ollie's turn, and he-" Liza was cut off by an interrupting Oliver.
"Yo dude, we get it, I lost man." Oliver said.
"That's my girl!" Jason hollered.
Liza ran up to Jason on his barstool and gave him a quick kiss on the lips then an enthusiastic hug. Jason of course hugged her back.
With his head on Liza's shoulder he couldn't help but look at Daisy. She had also turned to look back at him.
She gave him a quick smile. But then returned her gaze to the rest of the group. Probably trying to not make anyone suspicious about the sweet moment that the two them had both shared.
Jason had thought;
Does she feel something too?
I have to know.
I have to know truth
Is it just a silly crush?
Or do I have real feelings for Daisy?
"Hey Jason, we were all talking about going back to the club again tonight, you in?" Grant asked.
"Uh, yeah sure." He said.
"Well you all can count me out. I've had enough drinking for an entire lifetime." Daisy said as she got up off her chair.
"Oh come on babe! You sure?" Grant took a hold of Daisy as she walked up to him. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips.
That made Jason's stomach curl. He wished that he could be the one to kiss Daisy. But he still had to play it cool.
"Oh hell yes I'm sure." She said.
"Well are you feeling up enough to go to the beach with the rest of us right now?" Grant asked.
Jason had been so fixated on Daisy that he hadn't noticed the beach bags that everyone had with them. Filled with swimsuit, swim trunks, and beach towels.
"That sounds like a great time, but I'm still too hungover over. But hearing all you obnoxious and loud losers has shown me that I'm not irritated by loud noises anymore. So if it's alright with you all, I'm going back up to our room and taking a nap." Daisy said to everyone.
"That bums me out, but you should take care of yourself baby. I guess I'll see you later today then?" Grant asked.
"You know it." Daisy gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"I'll catch you with you all soon. I'm just going to make sure Daisy makes it to her room safe and sound. You don't want your hungover girlfriend stumbling throughout the hotel do you?" Jason looked at Grant.
Jason got up from his seat to meet his older brother as he walked up to him.
"Thanks a million bro." Grant said as he and Jason bumped fists.
"Don't sweat it man." Jason said.
Jason looked around at Liza, his brothers, and friends.
"So go on, get out of here. I just need to drop off sleeping beauty and gather my stuff and I'll be right there." He said in a lively tone.
"Hah-hah, sleeping beauty! Nice one bro." The stoner Oliver said as he and Jason gave sideways high five which led to a chest bump.
Jason thought that he was doing well in not portraying the fact that he had just had the most intimate moment with Daisy that he'd ever had at this point.
The group exchanged their goodbyes and see-you-laters.
Liza was the last to leave.
"Don't take too long." She told Jason as she gave him a passionate kiss on the lips before departing.
After everyone had left, Jason and Daisy engaged in various small talk and pleasantries on their way to the elevator.
The two stood side by side as the elevator rode up.
Jason was relieved that the elevator miraculously didn't stop on any other floors before it got to floor number 16, Daisy and Grant's floor. He didn't want anyone else in the elevator with them. Wanting to enjoy his time with Daisy and Daisy only.
"Thank you Jason." Daisy said, and then interlocked her right hand with Jason's right hand.
Jason's heart fluttered. "For what?"
"For being… you." Daisy answered.
Jason became an inanimate object as Daisy grabbed his other hand and pulled him around to face her.
And nothing had ever surprised him more than what Daisy did in that moment.
With her blue eyes closed, she leaned up close to Jason's face, and gave him a quick kiss… on the lips.
Dumbstruck, his eyes bugged out of his head.
The kiss had only lasted one second, but Jason savored the whole entire second.
Daisy broke off her kiss.
"Daisy uhh… I… what's… uhh…" Jason was a stumble tongue. Unable to form a single coherent sentence.
"Just shut up Jason, I was only curious to see what kissing you for real fells like." Daisy said in the most casual voice Jason had ever heard her speak.
Jason only stared at her pretty blue eyes silently.
Daisy gave him a quick laugh and looked down at the floor smiling.
"You alright Jason? Hello! Earth to Jason!" Daisy said in a sweet voice.
Jason had thought;
What the fuck is going on?
"Huh? Oh yeah. What's up?" He managed to say in the tone of a bumbling buffoon.
Daisy tipped her head back and giggled.
She turned her head back to him. "You alright? You look like you've seen a ghost. It was just a quick one time kiss. Don't read into it. It didn't mean anything."
"Yeah right, it's you know… it's whatever. I'm good." Jason said, having lost his guise of being mister cool that he had been only minutes earlier.
Daisy let go of Jason's hands and crossed her arms. She stared up at the illuminated numbers above the elevator doors .
Jason continued staring at her. But she didn't look back at him until the elevator doors opened.
The elevator dinged as the doors opened on the 16th floor.
Before Daisy left, she looked back at Jason.
"You sure you're good? I don't want my best friend losing his mind." She smirked.
"Nope. It's all good. But hey, can I at least walk you down to your room?" Jason asked. If he could only spend thirty more seconds with her, then that would mean everything.
"Not necessary, but that's fine." She said.
The two walked out of the elevator just as an Australian family had come rushing in.
"Pardon the kids mate." The Australian man said as his little boy and girl ran into the elevator. Followed by himself and his wife.
"Sure thing." Jason said smiling with his left arm out stretched guiding the way into the elevator.
Jason heard the elevator doors close in the background along with the signature ding of the elevator.
They didn't say anything as they walked down the long hallway accented by decorative a red carpet floor with intricate patterns woven in, and pale white walls. Every door to each hotel suite had a beige door entrance encased in a wooden frame with fancy ridges.
Jason walked the whole way with his hands in his pockets. Only keeping his eyes down at the floor.
"We're here." Daisy said.
"Oh, okay then." Jason said
He watched daisy pull her keycard out of her pocket and slide it into the electronic key slot. Thus opening the door.
Daisy sighed. "Well… I guess we'll see each other later."
"Sounds good." Jason shrugged.
Jason turned his eyes back to the floor. But he then saw the Daisy's shadow move up to meet his feet.
He looked up at her when she put her hand on his shoulder.
"Everything alright?" She asked as a friend.
"Yeah… yeah… just tired I guess. But I'll leave you to it." Jason said. And then Daisy took her hand off of his shoulder.
"See ya later." He said as he began to leave the vicinity.
He only took one step before Daisy grabbed his left wrist.
"Wait Jason." She said.
She then stepped out of her doorway and gave Jason a hug.
"Thanks for being there for me. You're a good friend." She said softly into his ear.
"Anytime." He returned.
Daisy let go of him and resumed her journey back into her room.
Jason walked away but turned back to give her a little wave. She returned the wave and then closed the door.
Jason continued the rest of the way down the hall with a big dumb-guy smile on his face.
He had thought;
Maybe she does like me back.
More than a friend.
But we can't… we can't be together.
It's wrong.
But it feels right.
/
(Present Time)
As the television played, Daisy and Jason both laid down with their legs outstretched across the couch cushions.
The cheesy action flick played in the background. With the lights of in the room, their TV was the only form of illumination that shone on their faces.
Unmoved by the sounds of car chases and the hero shooting his gun at the endless hordes of idiotic henchmen pursuing the protagonist, Jason stared blankly at the television. Too deep into thought to pay attention.
It wasn't because all the violence being portrayed on the screen reminded him of all the killing he'd done in his self righteous crusade to save his loved ones.
No.
Surprisingly, Jason wasn't ever affected by the violence he saw in movies or TV, even after all the absolutely brutal killing and fighting that he'd engaged in. He was numb to it. And he wasn't ever reminded by any horrendous memories of killing pirates or privateers.
No amygdala fight or flight response, no PTSD, just apathy.
Occasionally, he did think about the people he'd murdered. Not in a regretful way. But in a way that he was proud of.
Why should I feel bad?
Each one I killed was another favor I gave the world.
They didn't deserve to live.
I don't know if good and evil really exist.
But I'm not anything like a serial killer. I never hurt anyone innocent, well, only once. And that look on the face of that teenage boy as he died, that still haunts me to this day, and it probably always will. But that was an accident, that ended in tragedy.
I only brought reckoning to those that deserved it. Pirates, Hoyt's mercenaries, they all deserved it.
But… would I kill them all again? Even if my life or my friends lives didn't require me to do kill them?
Jason pondered that philosophical question for minute or two.
But he came to a conclusion.
Yes.
I'd do it all again if I could.
It just felt so…
Good.
He then thought about Citra.
And he thought about how things could be if he'd decided to slit Liza's throat and kill the rest of his friends when Citra gave him the choice.
Citra had picked the wrong woman for Jason to kill. It wasn't Liza that he was in love with, but Daisy.
Jason had some inclinations that Citra was planning something sinister with Jason's friends.
After Jason had killed Citra's brother and his arch enemy Vaas, he had returned to Citra to tell her.
Even though she was grief-stricken hearing about her brother's death, she must have buried those feelings down inside her. As that same night, she seduced Jason for the second time in his life, and the two of them fucked like crazy for the rest of the night.
She had inquired to Jason that night by asking him about his friends. Being a tribal leader, she had her fingers in everything, so information must have made its way to her. And she knew that there were two women in Jason's group.
But she wasn't sure which one Jason was in love with.
Jason had sensed that she had bad intentions for them.
But in a decision that Jason deeply regrets today, he told Citra that the brunette Liza, was the one that he was in love with. He made that decision so that if Citra was planning on hurting the woman that he loved, it wouldn't be daisy.
I wasn't thinking right.
Citra just had such a power over me that I was helpless to repel.
It was wrong for me to throw Liza to the wolves like that.
I may have not be in love with Liza, but I still loved her.
I cared about her so much that even Citra's power over me couldn't compel me to slit Liza's throat.
And even though Jason was already deeply in love with Daisy back then, he was completely unable to resist Citra's sexual advances. He always felt like a puppet and Citra had been the one pulling the strings.
Either being mind control, magic, or who the fuck knows what else, Jason was a complete slave to Citra.
Was she really any better than her brother?
Or was she just a tyrant in disguise?
Did she really fight for the good of her people, or for the good of herself?
Jason stopped thinking these treacherous thoughts and scratched his beard with his right hand.
But he couldn't stop himself from thinking.
No.
Daisy was the right choice.
She doesn't have any grand dictatorial plans, no schemes, no plans for mayhem and control.
She just wants me.
And I just want her.
Daisy's head was laying on Jason's chest. Her body heat was all that Jason needed in this world.
You were the right choice.
Choosing you pulled me away from the endless violence that my life would have been.
Daisy, I love you.
"I love you too." Daisy said as she looked up at him
Her blue eyes somehow with clear as day in the darkness.
"What? I didn't say anything." Jason met her eyes.
Daisy turned back to watch the television. "Uh… yeah you did. You said you loved me."
That was weird. He hadn't said it out loud.
"How did you hear that?" He asked perplexed.
"Because you said it, duh." She giggled at his seeming stupidity.
But I didn't say it out loud.
Did she… read my mind or something?
Maybe he did say it. But he was sure that he hadn't.
"Hey you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost." Daisy said those exact same words that she did two years ago.
That spooked Jason. But he decided to not think anything of it. It was getting too late to have his head spinning about such things. Instead, he stopped reminiscing and just started watching the movie.
Jason stroked Daisy's arm as the big screen hero continued his one man killing spree. Occasionally kissing the top of her head, as he just couldn't resist keeping his lips off the goddess in his arms.
Eventually the movie ended. As the credits rolled across the screen, Daisy lifted herself up and stretched out her arms.
"Want to watch another?" Jason asked.
Daisy yawned as she stretched. "I guess so. But I can't promise that I will stay awake until the end. I might fall asleep on you."
"Me too. But if we fall asleep then that's fine. We can even sleep in. Neither one of us have anything to do tomorrow." Jason said.
He looked over at her. Watching her elongated swimmer's physique gracefully stretch out. She crossed her arms and looked at Jason.
"Aren't those the best days?" Daisy asked.
"They are when there with you." Jason responded.
"Good answer." Daisy said.
She then laid herself across Jason's chest, her boney elbows pleasantly digging into his chest. Then she crawled her way up to Jason's face and kissed him passionately. For what felt like a whole minute to Jason.
After she stopped kissing him she laid her head back down on Jason's chest, her arms wrapped around him. Jason then picked up the Apple remote and began scrolling through the options that Netflix offered the couch dwelling lovebirds.
As Daisy laid in his arms, Jason realized that everything that had happened to him in the past didn't matter. All that mattered was his life with Daisy going forward.
This is all I need.
No more pain and suffering. That's all in the past.
I will have to come clean and tell you the truth about that day.
But not tonight.
And I'm hoping you'll forgive me.
Tonight's the night. Tonight's the night where everything is percent.
"I love Daisy." Jason said.
"Yeah… I know." Daisy responded.
/
(To Be Continued)
A/N: Thanks for reading and review if you like. And thanks to the loyal readers/followers who've stuck with me for since 2019. Sorry for the three year hiatus, but that hiatus is over as I've got the "urge to write" again, and I'm back to make this one of the most detailed Far Cry 3 fanfic of all time. Katdog161 wrote the best fanfic for Far Cry 3 ever. And I wanted to expand on it.
Thanks and see you soon.