Fandom: Jak and Daxter
Rating: Err K? T? Blegh.
Pairing: JakxKeira
Genre: Romance, Humor

Snow Angels

Jak was never a fan of snow. Never had been. Never will be.

Sure, being a hero went hand in hand with dealing with a couple of elements. He was no stranger against blistering heat. He’d walked through sand storms so bad, he had practically walked blind through the grains scratching at his toes, as the sun grilled him mercilessly, sucking up every drop of moisture from his body to the point that he didn’t have enough saliva for form proper words.

Then there was the worse of the frigid temperatures, white cleansing every spec of life until it all looked the same to a man who took a wrong turn from the tracks. Winds biting at his long ears until he could barely move and only the shuddering of his engine reminding him that he wasn’t dead yet. And as horrible of an experience each side of the coin was, at least in the Wastelands, it cooled off when the sun went down. It was livable.

The winter however, was cold. Cold all day and worse at night. Just plain, useless cold and the frostbite hurt his fingers.

Jak was fine watching the frost whiten the windows, sticking to the roads outside of the bar and admiring the glittering entity from someplace warm. It was pleasant to look at, and sometimes Jak wondered if his father ever saw snow and what he'd thought of it.

That’s where his problem began. Unfortunately, and may he rest his peace, his father never had the chance to tell him about the snow. Keira on the other hand, had never seen snow back at home and at the first sign of the specks floating from the sky, the mechanic was sold. Sold like a housewife watching a commercial on the shopping network, for a broom installed with artificial intelligence, capable of sweeping your whole floor in two minutes flat.

Once it snowed in Haven, Keira was never the same again…

“Look, Jak! It’s like pieces of cotton are falling!”

Then there were her other metaphors that she stirred up out of awe that always reverted the mechanic to the young fifteen year old girl he had grew up with in the country. She had the same reaction every time- exasperation, looking up at the skies as if the Gods were blessing the dirtied city with a gift that she was appreciating, a natural phenomenon that was beyond Keira’s knowledge of Precursor technology and was like the first time, every time.

Cotton. Vanilla drops. Frosting. Coconut flakes. One time she even ran into the Naughty Ottsel, arms out stretched over her head and causing the entire crew of people to cease their conversations to pause at the woman who’d just run in with her cheeks full of red - only to say, “It’s snowing like the size of potato chips!”

Yes. Potato chips. You name it. Keira has thought of it.

And with each creative metaphor that spurred from her, that caused innocent patrons amidst their drinks to question her giddiness - despite the little known secret that the woman was a genius with a wrench or a textbook and had a heel ready to floor it on any track, any time, anywhere- came her numerous attempts to drag him into the more than unpleasant frozen tundra.

Okay. Maybe this made him look bad. How could he deny her - especially when the green in her eyes practically glowed tenfold at the hope that he would say yes? He walked to a store or two with her, walked her home, you know, did things that were kind of necessary for one who was considered her boyfriend – and because it was also unavoidable. But to sit and play in the wretched white fluff for hours and smile even though he felt like his fingers were about to break off? Mmm, that was when he had to start making excuses.

There was no telling how many times he had flipped open his phone and pretended it was Torn issuing him a new mission, or Daxter, knowing his best friend so well, finding some random endeavor to remind him about before she asked. And this method worked pretty well for a while…

It wasn’t until that night that he found out Keira wasn’t good with a couple of lines of Precursor hieroglyphics and a rusty tool for nothing…

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

“What’s wrong, Jak? Someone got your panties in a bunch?”

The orange Ottsel slurred, leaning an elbow against a bottle and missing it completely. As Jak watched the animal just roll and pretend he’d meant to fall, the bar was beginning to feel more and more like a combat race in the sewers- packed to the brim and unbearable. It was one of those nights again, snowing nonstop and frigid. The Naughty Ottsel was a just a short stop to get the blood flowing back into the legs before the city goers ventured out again.

“She’s still not picking up, Dax. I’m worried.”

“Aww, don’t p-pucker up, p-pal. She’s all right. I bet she’s just got her nose in one of vem tes- textbooks er somethin’.”

The blond huffed, breathing onto his chilled fingers and staring straight ahead. When it was apparent that the solid line of his brows didn’t relax in any way, Daxter did what any man usually did in this situation.

Call a woman.

“Yo, Tessy-baby!”

“Yes, gummy bear?”

There was a slight change in Jak’s expression. A cringe.

“Could ya come over here for a sec?”

Tess came skipping down the oak trims of the bar to settle down beside Daxter and snatch the mug of beer before he could drink himself to sleep.

“We have to clean up later, so you can’t have any more of this.”

“Oh, come on, Tessy-”

Pushing the Ottsel’s pleading arms away, Tess diverted her attention to his sullen friend.

“Aww, what’s wrong, Jak? You look pouty?”

Jak rolled his eyes.

“He’s just having a fit over Keira.”

“Shut up,” Jak countered, swiveling his stool to face the exit. Feeling a presence crawl over his shoulder, the man sighed and Tess sat comfortably beside his head.

“Why don’t you go check on her? A woman loves a man who worries.”

“Yeah! They do it on purpose,” muttered an intoxicated commander at the end of the bar before a slap over the head silenced him, courtesy of his red headed companion.

“I’m surprised she’s not running in here and trying to drag you into an igloo, Jak? Maybe there is something wrong,” Ashelin commented, her firm gaze still expressing her offense from Torn’s prior remark.

Jak flipped open his cell.

“Oh, just give it up already,” Daxter slurred again before tumbling behind the bar with a yelp.

Shaking her head, Tess asked, “Who are you calling?”

“Samos.”

It rung a few times before the Sage finally picked up, and when he did, Jak winced, yanking the receiver from his ear.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Jak. Was that loud?”

“What is that? Are you pressing all the buttons?”

“Oh, I just dropped the phone and I was trying to figure out how to turn on the darn contraption, blasted piece of technology…”

That was just like him. Hand him an artifact from over a century ago, and he could probably translate it. Hand him a cell phone, however, and he’ll use the buttons as a musical instrument.

“Oh,” Jak groaned, trying to relieve the sharp ringing in his ears with a finger to his earlobe, “Listen, do you know where Keira is?”

Silence.

“Samos?”

“Keira? How the heck should I know?”

“Uh- well-”

“Because I’m her father, right? Of course! That’s logical but you know what? That doesn’t matter! Ever since we left from Kras she’s been on a rebellious spree, I tell you! Heavens to Mar, I don’t know what’s possessed the girl! I swear, she’s becoming so much like her mother- ‘I don’t need you, daddy, I can do ev-ery-thing myself-’”

The man clapped the phone shut before the Sage could continue ranting on about how he’s lost his daughter and she’s become too big for him now. He’d already heard this a million times. Samos would just think it was the phone’s fault anyway.

“I’m going to check on her. Dax?”

“Y-yeah?”

When he saw the Ottsel unsuccessfully clinging to the edge and staring over at him with red shot eyes, the blond turned toward the exit.

“Never mind. I’ll see you later.”

X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X

Jak hadn’t been able to reach her all day. Now it wasn’t unusual for the mechanic to get so caught up in her work or leisure in her garage and just not get to the phone on time- but she called back. She always called back. The girl had to eat or rest some time, right?

All day though - and Jak was beginning to feel uneasy. The blizzard wasn’t a very friendly one and even the skies and roads were bare of vehicles due to the dangerous winds. It wasn’t one of those “play in the snow” kind of days but knowing Keira, she may have stubbornly flew out there anyway at the first sign of it.

Guilt chewed through him. What if she took shelter somewhere because of the storm and didn’t have her phone with her? What if she was driving and her car got stuck? What if she was just doing something normal and wanted to call him but didn’t because he always acted like an idiot?

“Idiot,” Jak cursed himself as he paced in the direction of her apartment. When the flicker of the neon lights came into view, Jak squinted his eyes, already noticing that the small building down the block had no lights on her floor.

“Is she home?” He asked himself before impulsively checking his phone again to see if he’d missed her call. She didn’t call at all.

With a frown pulling at his features, Jak balled his cold hands into fists and ran toward her door. It was then that he noticed something odd revealing itself from the ground.

Jak sucked in a sharp breath, feeling panic rise in his chest and his adrenaline pick up the moment he realized what it was.

“Keira!”

Jak ran at full speed. The frostbite in his toes only an after thought compared to his dire focus of the familiar figure lying lifeless on the ground.

“Oh my God, Keira!”

Jak crashed onto his knees, snow fanning into the air with his landing before the girl abruptly twitched.

“What? Where? What’s going on?”

“Keira? Are you okay?”

Confused, she grabbed the hands he stretched out to her.

“Why? What happened? What’s wrong?”

“Why are you on the floor? Did you pass out or something?”

“…”

“Keira?”

There was a pause between them, as Keira held onto his fingers with her gloved ones and narrowed her questioning eyes to his. When the realization settled, her small lips began to stretch, curving into a wide and knowing grin.

“Keira?”

She was laughing. Laughing! Holding her gut and laughing with her chin up in the air. Jak could only stare, baffled as he waited for her to finish. When the woman lowered her head, she caught his blank stare, briefly reminding her of the faces that he used to make when he was mute and they were only kids. He was completely lost and gullible, and he was adorable because of it. The way his nose crinkled upward and his brows creased in the middle with concern, the way his mouth hung agape only a smidgen as he struggled to find words- it was enough to make her want to hug him.

Or kiss him. And she did.

Her lips were cold, but knowing this, she purposely lingered until they warmed against each other. Feeling her lover’s hard stance deflate and hum into her, Keira parted to grin widely at him again.

“Did I- did I miss something?”

Resisting the urge to laugh again, Keira shook her head.

“You’re so silly. Were you worried?”

“Uh, ahem, well-”

There he was again, scratching his head and turning away to hide the red in his cheeks. She couldn’t miss it though.

“I’m okay, Jak. Don’t worry. I was playing in the snow.”

“Playing in the snow? But- but why were you-”

“I was making snow angels.”

“Snow angels…”

Jak buried his face into his palm, which Keira knew was his tactic for hiding his embarrassed face. Tugging his wrist away she giggled coyly and pecked another kiss at the edge of his nose.

“I’m so sorry, Jak. I didn’t mean to worry you. I just woke up this morning and well- well I just-”

“Catapulted outside like there were a herd of metal heads in your apartment?”

“Yeah. Pretty much.”

When Jak huffed, Keira was beginning to feel truly sorry.

“Oh, Keira. What am I gonna do with you?”

The woman shrugged, blowing a strand of aquamarine from her line of vision with her lip.

“Make snow angels with me?”

“…”

“Please?”

“…”

“Oh, come on, Jak. I know you hate the snow, but-”

“Wait. You know that I hate the snow?”

With another knowing look, his shoulder was greeted with a muffled punch.

“Duh. I think I would know a thing or two about the person I’ve known all my life, don’t you think?”

“Oh…”

Now he really felt like an idiot. A big, inconsiderate, idiot who would save the world through sand storms, snow storms - rainfalls of acid even, but wouldn’t pile a couple of balls of snow with the woman he loved.

When he didn’t say anything, Keira laid back in the snow.

“Wha-”

“If you’re not here to make snow angels, then I’ll just lay here by myself. I was having a lot of fun before you showed up anyway.”

“Keira, you’re gonna get sick.”

“I. Don’t. Care.”

“I can just carry you back upstairs.”

“I’ll kick and scream all the way.”

“Keira…”

“Jak…”

"..."

"..."

“Okay, fine. I’ll stay outside, but I’m not making snow angels.”

“How about a snowman? You can make me and I can make you.”

At the first sign of the mechanic beginning to grow hyper, Jak couldn’t restrain the shy grin spreading across his face. He really was helpless, wasn’t he? Seeing her heels practically kick up excitement, in tune with the way her arms huddled with her grin, the man felt a warmth radiate inside him, and it was times like these that he realized that no matter where he went, what kind of predicament he was in, and even when they had their difficulties, Keira was always what felt like home. There was no place like home.

When Jak nodded, Keira practically flung upward, catching the elf by surprise when she yanked him toward a large pile of snow.

“Keira? Are you sure about this? It’s kind of nasty out here.”

“Better for me. Those blasted school kids will be out of my way.”

“Aren’t you cold?”

“Stop coming up with excuses and grab some snow.”

“It’s gonna come out terrible.”

“That’s okay. Just try.”

Once again, she encouraged him with a kiss before returning to grab fistfuls of fluff. Scavenging for enough to get started, Jak was beginning to ponder how she could breath when she finally stopped to look back at him.

“You know what? I kind of lied.”

Arching a brow, he asked, “Lied?”

“I said I was having fun before you came. That was a lie, but I’m really having fun now though- now that you’re with me.”

Hiding the red in his face again, Jak nodded, “Me too, Keira. Me too…”