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Jak & Daxter: Safety

Chapter 4

By Tempo & Sillyneko

Note: This is set after Jak X.

~ ~ ~

The rhythmic bounce of the mattress under him shook Jak from a dreamless sleep. Groggy and more than a little drunk, he rolled over to see two slinky forms entwined on the bed beside him. Their sinuous bodies, silhouetted against the glow of a city at night, rose and fell together. Thick tails rubbed together, flexing with each thrust. Desperate, delicate ottsel paws clutched at tousled fur.

He closed his eyes, knowing he shouldn't look. Still, by virtue of his ottsel ears, he could hear everything. Gasped pleasure and moaned entreatments stirred the silence of the bedroom. Just an arm's length away, the wet whisper of penetration telegraphed their passion.

Jak shook his head. His inebriated mind decreed that it must be a dream and that he should just go back to sleep. Having no better ideas, he rolled over and watched the shadows dance on his wall. That didn't really count as watching, right?

His erection begged to differ. It begged for something else too, but Jak buried his hands under the pillow. If he could feel them shaking the bed, they'd certainly feel him.

After a few minutes and cries of trembling climax, the room quieted to hurried panting, then to the easy breaths of sleep.

Left with no evidence, Jak consoled himself it must have been his drunken imaginings. Horny drunken imaginings. He almost believed it. Snuggling his face deep into the pillow, he slid back into a hazy slumber.

~ ~ ~

The sounds of a busy bar woke Jak late the next morning. With a yawn and a stretch, he crawled to awareness and wished immediately that he hadn't. There was nothing ottsel-sized about his hangover.

Blearily licking dry lips, he sat up on the pillow he'd passed out on the night before. Though he found himself alone in bed, rumpled indents in the blankets nearby attested to the company he'd had overnight. He rarely slept on his sofa anymore; one or both of his friends usually came to collect him, claiming it wasn't natural for ottsels to sleep alone. Easier to just hop in bed with them in the first place.

Plus, not that he would admit it, he enjoyed being able to share their sleeping space. The bed was warm, soft, and smelled like his friends; what more could he ask for?

Sighing, Jak gave a last stretch for good measure and began the arduous process of squirming his way to the floor, half-consciously rubbing his fur along the Tess-and-Daxter-scented sheets as he did so. There was something very right about smelling like his friends--so right that the hero had decided to stop fighting the strange impulse. At least for as long as he was an ottsel, anyway.

He couldn't help a deep inhale at his own fur. For some reason, the sheets smelled particularly good this morning. Maybe Tess was using new fabric softener.

Once his feet finally found the rug, the upstairs bathroom was the first stop. A long drink and an ottsel-sized dose of aspirin helped jumpstart the process of feeling normal again. He'd have to keep better track of his alcohol consumption with this new body, if the night before was anything to go by.

Finished in the bathroom, Jak shrugged into his dish towel toga and descended the stairs with groggy caution.

The Naughty Ottsel buzzed with activity, as it did every morning that they opened for lunch. He still wasn't used to crowds, but the regular patrons seemed like decent sorts. Since Krew's ousting and the bar's ownership passing into furrier, friendlier hands, the clientele had also changed for the better.

"Ordering! We need a barbeque burger and a basket of onion rings, please!" Tess called back to the small kitchen.

She'd put two of their part-timers in charge of dishing up the menu's modest but tasty assortment of burgers, sandwiches, and deep fried snacks. Others waited tables on the floor area. Except in very special circumstances, the bar itself remained the ottsel couple's domain.

Jak smiled as he hopped gingerly onto a stool at the end of the bar, unobtrusively out of the way.

Tess spied him immediately. "Good morning, Jak," she chirped, trotting over. She had long since instated a 'no paws on the bar during business hours' mandate, so the tops of her ears bounced along at the level of the countertop until she came to the stool closest to where he sat and popped back up again. "How are you feeling? Can I put you in an order for breakfast?" She glanced at the clock. "Ah, lunch?"

His stomach rolled in protest. "No thanks, Tess. I'm still a little green around the gills."

Down the bar, Daxter looked up from the shot he was pouring to laugh. "Green around the everything, ya mean! Lookin' kinda rough today, Jakkie-boy."

"I'm blaming you for this." Jak laid back his ears. "You're the one who kept handing me margaritas without warning me about the body size to liquor ratio."

With a kind chuckle, Tess reached out to comb his hair back into place.

Her nails felt good along his scalp, so Jak let his ears fall and allowed the attention. "If I ever try to have a repeat of last night, you have permission to smack me."

She smiled, patting his head gently. "Duly noted."

The bell over the door chimed, causing all three ottsels looked up in unison.

"Taryn!" Daxter exclaimed with delight, tail thumping the side of the stool he stood on. "What's shakin', toots? It's been too long."

The tall, busty woman rolled her eyes, but she was smiling as she made her way to the bar, purple ponytail swaying behind her. "It's been three weeks, Daxter."

Tess abandoned her stool for one closer to the other woman. "Is it mani-pedi time again already? Not a moment too soon! Can I get you a drink or maybe a snack?"

As Tess and Taryn gravitated together and began a conversation that seemed to include salons and guns in equal measure, Daxter passed out the round of drinks he'd been concocting. Hopping down from his perch, he waddled from behind the bar to join Jak.

"You haven't met Taryn yet, have ya pal?"

The green-tinged ottsel shook his head. Of course he had heard about the friends who had helped Daxter during his quest to find out where Jak was being held prisoner, but their relentless adventures since then had put introductions on the back burner.

He studied the newcomer with a critical eye. "She seems... capable."

Daxter grinned. "That's putting it mildly. When I met her she was pretending to be an exterminator supplier, but what she was really supplying was a ton of weapons for the resistance. She and Tessie can gab about guns for hours. It's great when the ladies in your life get along so well." He reached up to grab Jak's wrist and tug him off his stool. "Come on, I'll introduce ya. She probably thinks you're a figment of my imagination by now."

Jak, still bleary, sighed. "After the week I've had, I'm starting to think that, too."

Taryn glanced down as the two ottsels approached, dodging the occasional pair of legs. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of an as yet unknown mustelid. "And who is this?"

Daxter stood to his full three feet, fluffing proudly. "Taryn, babe, it gives me great pleasure to finally introduce my main man, Jak; best pal in the universe and esteemed sidekick. You may have heard his name mentioned briefly in the grand tales of my adventures." He threw an enthusiastic arm around Jak's shoulders, drawing him closer. "Say hi, Jak-o! Don't be bashful."

"Niff to mee oo," Jak managed, mouth muffled by his friend's fluff. He popped his head above the encircling arm and gasped a breath. "Uh, nice to meet you. Thanks for helping Dax out so much. And for putting up with him."

"Hey!" The shorter ottsel bounced at the impudence. "That's it, impertinent sidekicks get noogies."

Taryn's surprise gleamed brighter than the red lipstick on her face. She watched the resulting tussle with fascination. "You're... you're very welcome. I've heard about you --who hasn't heard about the Jak, really?-- but I suppose I never realized that you're... that you're a... also an ottsel. I could swear I've seen a wanted poster with you on it, minus the fur."

Tess giggled as Jak finally succeeded in pinning Daxter against the side of the bar with an audible thump. "It's a handsome mug shot either way." She shot the hero a playful wink.

Jak flushed under his fur, nose and ears heating. Just like her boyfriend, Tess had long since mastered casual flirting. She loved getting a rise out of him--and it worked. He pulled his toga a little tighter. "Uh, yeah. The, um, fur is a recent development. A friend of ours is working on fixing the problem. Right Dax?"

Nose buried in the juncture of Jak's neck and shoulder, Daxter didn't answer. Instead, he breathed into his thick yellow fur.

"Uh, Dax?" Jak was suddenly worried. He didn't think he had tackled his buddy into the wall so hard, but he was still getting used to his new ottsel body. Maybe he'd been rougher than he'd thought? He elbowed Daxter gently, jostling the arm still clutched around him.

The other ottsel snapped to attention with a blink. "Wha?"

Tess peered down at them, ears perked with curiosity. "Sweetie, is everything okay?"

"Oh, sure, sure! Hunky-dory, no problems here." Daxter gave Jak a hard pat on the back and finally moved away, squirming out from between the greener ottsel and the woodwork. "So, Taryn! What brings you here during the lunch rush? Not that I'm complainin', but toenail talk's usually reserved for after hours."

Jak flicked an ear at the abrupt topic change. That was weird. But, then again, Daxter and odd behavior weren't exactly strangers.

Taryn glided into the conversation. "Well, since you ask, Ximon would like for you to get in touch with him about a job. This afternoon, if you could manage it. It sounds rather urgent."

Jak looked at his friend, ears periscoping in interest. "A job?"

Daxter cocked a hip smugly. "Yeah, Jakkie-boy, a job. I, unlike some people, have a couple steady ones. I only go bug bustin' for people I like, though." He rubbed the fur of his chin contemplatively. "Urgent, huh? Creepy-crawlies harshin' his mellow?"

"Yes. He was adamant that you be contacted about it." The human frowned thoughtfully. "And from what he told me, the problem might not be simply bugs."

Tess paused in the act of loading a tray with glasses, an empty mug in each hand. "What do you mean, not just bugs?"

Taryn leaned closer over the bar, expression growing serious. "That's what I'm still in the process of finding out. I don't want to alarm anyone, but..." Surreptitiously, she glanced around to make sure no eaves were being dropped. "There are rumors in the slums that the metal heads are making a resurgence. If that's true, metal bugs may just be the first wave."

Jak's screech of anger and disbelief echoed around the bar, surprising everyone including himself. A waitress walking by behind them fumbled and dropped a plate in shock. Over the tinkle of broken glass, he forced down chattering rage to articulate properly.

"That's impossible!" His whole body tensed, hackles up and ears back. "We crushed the metal heads after we reclaimed the city. Even they're not stupid enough to come back." His tail lashed in agitation, frizzed huge as each hair stood on end. "Nothing like that would get past Ashelin and Torn anyway--they'd have to know that something's up. They would have told me!"

Daxter gingerly patted him on the shoulder, looking more apprehensive at his friend's anger than the threat of their enemies' possible return. "Of course they woulda, pal. You know the Tattooed Wonder, though. He'd make sure everything stayed under wraps until they knew for sure if somethin' was even wrong."

"That's right." Quickly climbing down the bar, Tess set a paw on his other shoulder, her tone one of reassurance. "News like that would cause a citywide panic. Of course they wouldn't want to worry anyone without cause. Especially you, Jak. You have enough on your plate right now; I'm sure our friends wouldn't want to burden you with something else to stress about."

Apparently satisfied that no one had picked up on the conversation going on around her knees, Taryn stopped glaring people out of hearing range. "I suppose that could be true. No need to have the local hero up in arms until there's concrete evidence." She looked Jak up and down somewhat skeptically. "But then again, I suppose they could have passed you off as being unable to do anything about a threat like that now."

Despite himself, Jak wilted. That was exactly what he'd been afraid of.

"Not that it's true!" Taryn rushed to amend at Tess's scathing frown. "I'll admit I didn't think much of Daxter's capabilities when we first met, and look at what he was able to accomplish."

"Yeah, what she said! And remember, you're my sidekick. Any sidekick of mine has to be amazing!" Looking marginally less afraid of being bitten, Daxter slipped his arm back around his friend's shoulders. "So ease up, buddy. No need to go on a fluffin' rampage. We'll figure this out."

Though his tail still twitched angrily without his conscious permission, Jak's hackles began to settle. Unfortunately the same could not be said of the pounding in his head; high blood pressure had a time and place, something his hangover took the opportunity to rudely remind him of. He whined under his breath, palms rubbing ineffectually at his eyes. Just when he thought life couldn't get any more complicated. "Oww..."

Tess and Daxter exchanged a pointed look.

"Shall I tell Ximon you'll take the job, then?" Taryn asked.

Daxter nodded decisively. "I'll be ready in ten." He leaned forward to land a quick peck on Tess's fluffy cheek. "Hold down the fort for me, sweet-cheeks?"

She returned the kiss with a smile. "You know I will. Be careful."

Jak straightened up and rolled his shoulders, putting on his Hero Face. "We will be, don't worry."

The couple swapped another look. Tess subtly shook her head.

"Oh boy." Daxter scratched awkwardly at the back of his neck. "Um. I don't know how to break this to ya, Jakkie-boy, but... I think this oughta be a solo mission, if you know what I mean."

The greener ottsel blinked at him, uncomprehending.

"I'm headin' out to spray flammable poison, pal." He made a flamethrower gesture. "Let's just say you look like you've got enough poison in your system for one day."

Jak's ears fell. "But I'm fine. I've gone on plenty of missions in a lot worse shape than this."

"Don't remind me!" His friend cocked a hip and raised a finger. "One: you look like you got decked by a prize-fighting lurker. You're very obviously not fine, so don't even try the line." A second orange finger flicked up. "Two: just because you're able to push yourself into extreme situations when you feel like a sack of crap, doesn't mean you have to. Things aren't that serious yet."

"But--"

"No buts, pal. Stay here with Tessie and recoup. Remember, this is just recon. I'll be back in a couple hours with more intel. If Ximon's just dealing with some really ugly roaches, great. If there's more to it than that, then... well, then the Daxternator an' his trusty sidekick can work out a battle plan together."

Taryn glanced down at Jak and let slip a small, teasing smirk. "And perhaps in the meantime you can find something a bit more intimidating than a toga for your sidekick costume." Before he could protest, she was off her stool and back to business. "I'll call Ximon and let him know we're on our way. Daxter, meet me outside in ten minutes or find your own ride."

Orange Lightning offered a smart salute. "You got it, toots!"

Tess likewise sprang into action. "Let me grab you a bite for the road, Taryn. I know you forget to eat when you're fixated." She grabbed an order pad and began to scribble. "While you two are gone I'll get in touch with the girls at Freedom League headquarters--they might have some useful information to leak to a gal pal in need."

"Great idea, Tessie-kins. Use those networking skills." With double pistols and a wink to his girl, Daxter turned tail and scampered for the storage closet that held his exterminator gear. "Hang tight, Jak-o! I'll be back before ya know it."

All at once, Jak found himself alone at the bar, pounding head bouncing back and forth as he tried in vain to watch three people go in three separate directions.

For the first time in memory an important mission was underway, and the hero had been left behind.

~ ~ ~

The door closed. Jak cradled his head. "I thought ottsels didn't get hangovers."

Tess wiped down the bar as the last few patrons left, the lunch rush over. "Daxter doesn't get hangovers. I didn't get sloshed in the tub last night. You, on the other paw..."

"Don't remind me." He sunk lower and lower, until his nose pressed to the cool of the countertop. "Glad someone can be a hero, because it sure isn't me right now."

She patted his shoulder. "Don't be so hard on yourself."

His hand unrolled onto the bar. "Daxter's out fighting metal bugs alone."

"He's fought them before."

"Yeah, he got pretty capable when I wasn't looking."

She shrugged. "So let him be the hero."

"He is a hero. Without him, I'd have gone crazy years ago. And still be in prison. And dead." Eyes closed, he sighed and deflated a little more. "I'm the one who's been freeloading."

"Since the world stopped ending?" Leaning over the bar, she wrapped him up in a hug. "I think that's understandable."

He patted her arm and smiled a little. Finally some progress; at least he didn't look like an abandoned pet crocadog anymore, complete with big, sad eyes.

A shrug rippled from her shoulders down her body. "And really, how full of himself do you think Daxter is?"

His ears rose a few degrees. "Pretty full."

"Well, yes. It comes naturally to him." She crossed her arms. "I think it's his way of lightening the mood. He's a teeny-weeny little fuzzball bragging about saving the world. Something about it makes you laugh, so he doesn't care who else it annoys."

His eyebrows rose.

"I've had lots of time to think on it." She waved the topic off with a flick of her bar towel. "Let's keep this between us. Dax's ego will quintuple in size when he realizes that you see him as a hero too."

He chuckled in spite of himself. "You're probably right."

"Come help me clean up the kitchen." With a tilt of her head, she drew him from the barstool. "We'll figure out something for you to eat too; can't have our hunky new sofa-surfer wasting away."

~ ~ ~

An hour later, Jak stared out the window. Where the heck was Daxter?

Tess sidled over to rest a paw on his shoulder. "My famous hash browns didn't recharge you?"

"Huh? Oh." He glanced down at the few shreds of fried rutato on his plate. "Guess I'm still not at one hundred percent."

"In that case..." Hopping up onto the sofa, she patted the cushion next to her. "Let me introduce you to the wonder of grooming."

~ ~ ~

Jak leaned into Tess without thinking, looking up at the curvy female through lidded eyes. He lay on his back, the front half of his body in her lap. He'd resisted at first, but after the first few minutes let her undo the top of his toga for easier grooming.

She hummed as she stroked the brush through his fur, her face a picture of tender concentration as she smoothed away the tension that had been winding his shoulders. His eyes drifted shut listening to her croon a soft, wordless tune, and he mused how Daxter was one lucky guy. It would be real, real easy to fall in love with a girl like Tess.

He did his best to relax like she'd told him to, though still fighting the alien rumble of a purr that tried to rise in his throat. Tess caressed the tines of the brush through his fur with expert ease, hitting all sorts of little hidden places that made him shiver. This was really something else. No wonder Dax liked being petted. He inhaled deeply, narrow chest expanding against the brush. Somehow she smelled as good as she looked. Had she always smelled this good? For all the times she'd ridden on his shoulder, he couldn't recall feeling so content, so titillated.

"Well, I see someone's enjoying himself."

Jak blinked out of his torpor, trying to parse what Tess had said. He got his answer when he made to roll to his side and felt the drag of rough cloth against the bare flesh of his erection. Eyes shooting open, tension flooding back in an instant, he flailed to stand only to be stopped by a dainty paw on his breastbone.

"Sweetie, calm down. Relax. It's perfectly natural." She caressed his chest for a little bit, feeling his heartbeat hammer. "I take it as a compliment, really. Heck, that kind of reaction is half the reason I do this for Daxxie." She favored him with a wink.

He stared down at his tented toga in mortification, willing it to vanish as he tried not to read too much into her comment.

"Here, you can do me." With a quick shrug, she ducked out of her top.

His scruff fluffed in panic. "What?!"

"What?" She laid down. "I just want you to return the favor." One orange paw rose to offer him the brush. "It's only fair, right?"

He should really say no. He should make a polite, reasonable point about her being his best friend's girlfriend. He stood up to brush her.

The front door swung open, admitting a singed and ruffled Daxter.

Jak froze where he stood. His gaze shot to the half-naked female at his feet, then back to Dax. "I swear it's not what it looks like!"

His toga fell to his ankles.

Daxter cocked an eyebrow, then extinguished a smoldering whisker. "Whatever it looks like, I'll take some of it." He shrugged exhaustedly out of his sprayer pack and padded over.

The green-tinged ottsel snatched the fallen napkin back around himself, nose and ear tips flushing furiously.

Daxter eeled up onto the couch beside his girlfriend. "First off: we're gonna need more sprayer guns."

Tess turned her head his way, eyes darkening in concern at his rumpled and smokey state. "Bugs?"

"Bugs." He flopped flat on his back, paws spread wide above him. "Lots of 'em. Big, big bugs."

Again suitable for mixed company, Jak cleared his throat and secured the treacherous garment.

"So there I was, tail-deep in insect goo and down to my last swatter battery." The orange ottsel's voice swelled to match his ego. "Metal bugs to my left, metal bugs to my right--I blasted 'em as fast as they came at me. Dozens, no, hundreds of the creepy crawlies."

"Then what?" Normally, Jak knew better than to encourage the short ottsel's tall tales, but the more his friend bragged and generally behaved as normal, the more he could be sure that Daxter had avoided serious injury on his solo mission. Besides, he wanted to ensure the conversation didn't drift to his sudden and recent nudity

"Then I melted more carapaces." He made little shooting gestures with his hands. "Blast-blast here, blast-blast there, here a splat, there a splat, everywhere a splat-splat--"

Tess had apparently come to the same conclusion that Daxter was more or less unharmed. Looking much less worried, she propped her chin up with one arm, taking the brush from Jak and putting it to use with the other. "So they're all dead?"

"You kidding? I used the last of my sprayer juice to rocket outta there." He aimed the imaginary gun down and pulled the trigger. "I barely scratched the surface."

A serious threat. Mounting danger. Potential of messy death. Despite himself, Jak's ears perked. "So, does that mean...?"

His friend grinned up at him. "Yep. Looks like I'm gonna need my sidekick after all!"

~ ~ ~

We hope you enjoyed another episode of Ottsel Cuddle Theatre. Tune in next time for more fuzzy orange action.

Lines: Zetht

Colors/Cleanup: Tempo321

Edits: Slate & Kohaku_Nightfang

Words: Tempo321 & sillyneko345

I'm actually super proud of cleaning up that art. ^_^

~Tempo