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Room and Board	By : sillyneko345 Category: +G through L > Jak & Daxter Views: 25355 -:- Recommendations : 2 -:- Currently Reading : 7
Disclaimer: I do not own the game this story is based on (Jak & Daxter) nor do I make any money from writing it.

Chapter List
- 1-Ch. 1
- 2-Ch. 2
- 3-Ch. 3
- 4-Ch. 4
- 5-Ch. 5
- 6-Ch. 6
- 7-Ch. 7
- 8-Ch. 8
- 9-Ch. 9
- 10-Ch. 10
- 11-Ch. 11
- 12-Ch. 12
- 13-Ch. 13
- 14-Ch. 14
- 15-Ch. 15
- 16-Ch. 16
- 17-Ch. 17
- 18-Ch. 18
- 19-Ch. 19
- 20-Ch. 20
- 21-Ch. 21
- 22-Ch. 22
- 23-Ch. 23
- 24-Ch. 24
- 25-Ch. 25
- 26-Ch. 26
- 27-Ch. 27
- 28-Ch. 28
- 29-Ch. 29
- 30-Ch. 30
- 31-Ch. 31
- 32-Ch. 32
- 33-Ch. 33
- 34-Ch. 34
- 35-Ch. 35
- 36-ch. 36
- 37-ch. 37
- 19
- 20
- 21
Characters: Belong to Naughty Dog, Inc.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
The worst thing about breaks from class, Jak reflected, was that they all eventually ended. And when class was back in session again the workload usually doubled.
He and Daxter had spent an excellent vacation testing the waters of their newfound arrangement. Jak had learned that the redhead wasn’t quite ready to be rendered entirely clothes-less when they played, but would melt contentedly into an embrace during the afterglow. Daxter had learned that the quarterback wasn’t quite ready to return blowjobs, but loved it when fingers were carded through his hair. And they had both learned that the warm, dim, fabric softener-scented basement laundry room was all but deserted during breaks, becoming the perfect place to pin your roommate to a rumbling dryer for an illicit interlude while the socks were on spin cycle.
In between all that, the two had managed to enjoy their leisure time to the fullest. Jak racked up an eighty-seven dollar phone bill talking to Keira, who had gone home for the holiday, and Uncle, who was still in Belize but swore he would be home by the time Jak’s winter break rolled around in mid-December. The nearly deserted campus meant less business coming in, so Daxter was allowed to skip shifts at Pizza Haven, much to his delight. Both boys had lain around, watched TV, eaten snacks, and taken well-deserved naps, both alone and piled together in Jak’s bunk.
On Thanksgiving Day they had met up with Phoenix and Razer at the Student Center banquet hall for a formal holiday dinner that had been arranged for all the students still on campus. Razer had been in a remarkably good mood, as had Phoenix, and the foursome had passed a very companionable evening. The next day they had all gone to a movie together.
It had been an amazing break.
And then, of course, it had ended. Professors hit the ground running on Monday morning, dumping metric tons of homework on their classes in preparation for the looming final exams that were right around the corner.
It was that homework that Jak and Daxter were currently languishing over.
Jak felt that he was doing pretty well powering through his pile. Three bottles of sports drink and half a pizza sat at his elbow. Killer lay snoozing in his lap. His sociology was finished, as were English and math. He was almost through with the chem. lab review packet Jinx had handed out. A pretty good place to be, considering it was only Thursday night.
Daxter, however, didn’t seem to be doing quite as well.
The redhead kept shifting positions in his chair. Papers rustled as he dug through the pile of that sprawled across his desk. He was popping some kind of hard candy like a drug, crunching loudly every thirty seconds or so. Calculator keys clicked madly against a backdrop of muttered cursing.
Jak had to hide a smile. “Doing okay over there Dax?”
“As a matter of fact, no. No, I am not! This is bullshit!” Daxter threw his hands up in frustration, pencil clacking as it landed on his open book. “There’s no way I’m gonna get all this crap done in time! I might as well face it, I’m gonna fail everything. It’s over. End of story.”
“You aren’t going to fail anything. Give yourself some credit.”
“It’s just not gonna happen, fake jock! Just look at all this!” He gestured at the piles of books and binders on his desk. “I’m not even half done with this math yet an’ I still got two chapters of Spanish I haven’t even touched—two chapters! How the heck am I supposed ta memorize two chapters worth’a vocab plus sentence structure before Monday? I gotta work all weekend!” Daxter jabbed at the calendar hanging next to his desk. “I literally cannot believe finals are next week. Where did the semester go, Jak?! It’s just not possible. They gave us five whole days off with nothin’ ta do, then all of a sudden we’re back in class fer a week, review fer one measly day, then bam! Exam hell! An’ I can’t even friggin’ concentrate—!”
“Why can’t you concentrate?” Jak asked, jumping in to cut off the tirade before his excitable roommate had some kind of episode.
Daxter suddenly seemed to deflate, letting out a startled breath. “Uh. I… I just can’t right now.” He looked at Jak sidelong, the beginnings of a blush showing on his cheeks in the lamplight. “How about you? How’re you doin’?”
“Oh, I’m doing alright,” Jak said casually. A spark of mischief made him bite his lip against the teasing grin that wanted to emerge. In his lap Killer yawned, stretched, and slithered to the floor. “Why don’t you take a break, Dax?” he suggested innocently. “It might help you concentrate if you focus on something else for a while.”
“Yeah, maybe…”
Silence reigned after that, but the redhead didn’t seem to be heeding Jak’s advice—not unless his idea of taking a break consisted of stealing glances at Jak and then pretending he wasn’t doing so.
Of course Jak wasn’t oblivious to the sideways glances being darted at him from across the room. Far from it. He was fully aware of his roommate’s blossoming interest and returned it wholeheartedly. But where would the fun be in divulging that information too soon? It was much better to make Daxter squirm a little and see what he would do.
After ten more minutes of squirmy redhead, Jak began to return the covert peeks. Soon enough, Daxter’s gaze lingered a little too long. Their eyes met through the shadowed forest of bunk bed posts and Daxter jumped almost guiltily. Jak arched a green brow and grinned. What? He couldn’t help but laugh when Dax blushed brightly and snapped his attention back to the book in front of him.
“What’s so funny?” Daxter mumbled, ears laid back in embarrassment as he slouched lower in his chair.
“You.” No one could ever accuse Jak of being a liar. “Was there something you needed?”
“N-no.”
Jak stretched languidly, tipping back in his chair as he raised his arms over his head and felt the bottom of his shirt slide up over the waist of his pants. “Are you suuure?”
“Uh…” Daxter stared, wide-eyed.
“Because you know that if you need something, all you have to do is ask, right?”
The redhead nodded mutely as Jak leisurely got up from his chair and switched off the desk lamp. He stretched again and moved the few short steps to the bed, dropping down to sit on the edge of his bunk with his knees wide apart. He looked back to Daxter, then meaningfully dropped his gaze to the bare patch of blanket next to him. The invitation was more than obvious. “So. About that break…”
Slowly, very slowly, Daxter closed his book and stood up from his desk. He crossed the few steps between them so hesitantly it was almost as if the week since they had taken that big first step had been a lifetime. Monday through Friday of classes, studies, divertissements and normalcy seemed to have wiped away what little boldness Dax had scraped up during the long weekend prior. When he came to a stop in front of Jak his ears were low and his hands were twitching absently.
Jak looked up at him and smiled. “Hi.”
Daxter just stood there silently, looking a little helpless, that imaginative vocabulary scattered to the winds like a flock of birds at harvest time.
On impulse, Jak reached out and slid his fingers through his fidgeting friend’s belt loops. Daxter sucked in a soft gasp as he was reeled in to stand between the quarterback’s legs. His hands fell awkwardly to strong shoulders, almost as if he was waiting for a negative response to the touch.
Jak sighed fondly. “Yes, it’s still all right.”
“Um.” Daxter’s face was getting noticeably redder in the dim light. “Yeah. Okay. Just didn’t wanna… y’know.” He looked quickly away, focusing on a shadowed spot in the corner. “If ya changed yer mind or somethin’.”
“If I’d changed my mind since Sunday I would have let you know.”
“So… ya still don’t think it’s weird, right, if we keep doin’ this kinda stuff—?”
“Dax, sit down.” Jak gave a hard tug at the belt loops he still held and suddenly there was a flustered redhead straddling his lap. He grinned smugly, looking into wide blue eyes now that they were nose to nose. “There. That’s better.”
Daxter shifted uncertainly on his thighs. “I’m not too heavy fer this?”
“No, you’re fine.” He hardly weighed anything, more like, but Jak wasn’t going to tell him that. “Relax. Enjoy your study break.”
Relaxing seemed to be easier suggested than done. Daxter’s back remained stiff, his body tense. He was still blushing. “Sorry,” he muttered. “Just feels like I’m doin’ it wrong. Like, hey, I’m in the mood, let’s be a total idiot ‘til Jak notices.” He managed a small grin. “Not much of a mood breaker, huh?”
“Not at all.” With that, Jak leaned in to nuzzle a pale throat. There was a surprised huff for his efforts, and after a moment Daxter tipped his head back to give the green-blonde room. It was a surprisingly trusting gesture. Jak smiled, applying his lips to soft skin without a thought.
His hands wandered from belt loops to explore slim hips. Daxter’s body structure still fascinated him. Dax was small, all wiry muscle and bony angles, almost feminine if not for the complete lack of girlish padding. It was an intriguing departure from what Jak was used to, and he couldn’t help but grip and paw and feel. When he slid his hands under the hem of Daxter’s shirt to run curious fingers over the small of his back the redhead shuddered.
“Jak, stop it,” he whined, back arching as he tried to evade the ticklish touches. This had the effect of pushing him against Jak’s chest and groin, which made him squeak and squirm as he uncertainly tried to decide which way to position himself.
Too cute. Jak smiled and reached up to thread his fingers through the fine red hair at the base of his friend’s neck, while his other hand continued to rub and massage over the small of Daxter’s back. He was leaning in again, eyes drifting closed in contentment, when he caught himself. Jak blinked. This was where he would have kissed Keira.
While he was still trying not to kiss Daxter, lest he spook the redhead away from this kind of thing altogether, the compulsion to slip him a little tongue was undeniably there. Jak enjoyed kissing, and Daxter was more than deserving of kisses—if he didn’t have such an aversion to them. Maybe this time they could give it a shot.
“Hey.” He dragged his lips up the side of Daxter’s neck and enjoyed the resulting shiver until they were eye to eye again. “Wanna make out?”
For the dumbfounded look on Daxter’s face, he might as well have asked the question in another language. “Huh?”
“Do you want to kiss?” Jak clarified with a grin. “It feels weird to be doing this and not kissing at all. Are you alright with it?”
“Wha…? Jak, I… I already told ya I dunno how ta…” His ears were flushed so badly they almost seemed to blend with his hair.
“It’s okay. I’ll show you. I mean, I will if you don’t mind your first real kiss being with me.”
Daxter’s hands crept up his biceps to rest lightly on his shoulder blades. “W-well, uh—why the hell not? I guess it’s better fer yer first kiss ta be with yer best pal than some drunk floozy out’a the sorority houses, huh?”
Jak wholeheartedly agreed; his first kiss had in fact been with his best friend, too, back in the dim mists of time that enshrouded his junior high experience. Without a second thought he cupped the back of Daxter’s head and pulled him in. On cue Dax stiffened, his ears shooting vertical as every muscle in his body locked up in surprise. Undeterred, Jak pressed their lips firmly together. There was no fancy head tilting, nothing deep and slobbery, just the simple press of lips. Said lips were dry and a little chapped, no taste of lip gloss, and that was okay with Jak.
Daxter made a little humming noise and tightened his hands in Jak’s shirt. His lips twitched against the green-blonde’s, as if he didn’t know whether or not to open his mouth. Jak pulled back the smallest bit to look at his friend’s face. Daxter’s eyes were closed, and a dreamy expression tugged at the parted lips so recently occupied elsewhere. Abruptly Jak wanted to run his tongue over the front teeth he could just barely see. So he did.
“Mmmph!” Daxter jumped in surprise at the unexpected invasion, but went limp within seconds. His hands began to knead in Jak’s shirt in counterpoint to his suddenly squirmy hips.
Daxter tasted like orange tic-tacs. So that was what he had been nervously crunching on since they had sat down to study soon after dinner. Inexplicably, that fake orange flavor was the greatest damn thing Jak’s taste buds had encountered in recent memory. His hands fell automatically to the seat of Daxter’s pants and pressed their hips together as he greedily delved deeper, exploring new territory.
“Ah!” Dax let out a breathy gasp as his ass was unceremoniously groped, but almost immediately his tongue made a shy pass of its own.
Slowly, stealthily, Jak began to lean backwards across the bunk. Daxter unwittingly followed, trying to keep up the mouth-to-mouth he seemed to be growing rapidly accustomed to, until with a soft plop Jak landed on his back with a warm, hard redhead stretched over him.
Dazed blue eyes cracked open as Daxter blinked down at him. “Wha…?”
“Hi.” Jak smirked. He quickly slid his hands under the waist of Daxter’s pants and boxers, repeating the grope without barriers between his fingers and those deliciously firm cheeks. His opinion on one thing hadn’t changed in the slightest—his roommate had a damn fine ass.
“Hey!” Dax squirmed, presumably to dislodge the hands, then moaned in surprise when Jak bucked up to meet him. He panted down at Jak, a wry smile fighting to break free even as he tried to glare disapprovingly. “Perv.”
Rather than answer, Jak simply flashed a wolfish grin and flipped them. Daxter yelped as he went rolling onto his back, the green-blonde’s bigger form settling on top of his. But then, rather than the playful kicks and struggles Jak was expecting, Daxter pressed closer with a little laugh. His head tucked under Jak’s chin as thin arms snaked around the quarterback’s neck and hugged him tightly. He rolled his hips up into Jak’s own, cooing softly, as if completely content to let Jak lead.
He trusts me. The thought burst unbidden in Jak’s mind, and it made him so glad he dove back down for another deep kiss, stroking his tongue sensually against the other’s.
Daxter whimpered quietly. The tension was building in his body again, made obvious by the stilted rocking motion of his lower half. He clutched at Jak’s hair as a kiss landed on the underside of his jaw, breathing ragged. “Jak?”
“Hmm?” The green-blonde licked at the faint mark he had made.
“C-can we…?”
“Can we what? Can we, this?” Jak shifted to the side far enough to ease the friction burn between the fronts of their pants and casually trailed his knuckles over the hard, hot ridge of Daxter’s trapped erection.
The redhead moaned through his teeth, obviously trying to be quiet, and nodded frantically. “Yeah, yeah, that!”
“No, I don’t think so.” And Jak rolled back on top.
Daxter gaped up at him, suddenly confused and nervous. “Huh? Why? Did I do somethin’—?”
“Shh, shh. It’s all part of the make-out experience, Dax.” Jak kissed him almost sweetly, laughing on the inside for the torment he was about to enact. “I think we should just keep doing this. This right here.”
“But… but…” Daxter gave a halting whine, looking imploringly up at Jak.
“Yeah, just this. For another hour or so, at least. We’re not even really necking yet.”
Another, more desperate moan escaped Daxter as Jak laved the pulse point of his neck, grinding his hips firmly as he did so. The redhead panted and shook, bandy legs twitching on either side of Jak’s thighs, hands kneading the back of his tee-shirt. “Jaaak…”
Slowly Jak leaned closer, until his lips barely brushed a flushed, trembling ear. “First one to come in their pants loses.”
Daxter’s stifled wail was lost in Jak’s mouth as he went back to his “caring” instruction. It promised to be a long, painful, exquisite night.
- // - // - // - // -
Of course, whether Daxter liked it or not, the chaos of finals week crashed in like a tsunami and went by in a blur. Reviews were turned in. Cramming sessions were had. Energy drinks and junk food were consumed like sweet, life-sustaining manna.
And then it was all over. The last exam had been taken. Suddenly it was Friday afternoon, and three solid weeks of free time loomed ahead of him. Once again the campus of Haven U was up in arms as a mass exodus from the dorms occurred.
Free time couldn’t begin just yet, though. First Daxter had to help Jak clean their room.
“I still don’t see why Tattooed Wonder’s gotta sign off on our room before you can go home,” the redhead grumbled, swiping the mop across the floor. “It’s none’a his damn business how messy it is in here. Which ain’t very messy at all, might I add.”
Jak chuckled as he shoved his desk back into place. He was in charge of manhandling the furniture around while Daxter mopped behind it. “I guess it’s their way of making sure nobody’s going to go home for break and leave something in their mini-fridge that might grow into a new ecosystem while they’re gone. Pretty much everyone’s leaving.”
“Yeah, I noticed.” Daxter laid his ears back.
Not having a family to go home to hadn’t bothered him over the Thanksgiving recess, when Jak had stayed and their neighboring friends had been there to hang out with. But now that Jak was leaving, too… Three weeks seemed like an awfully long time. He already felt lonely.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay on your own?” Jak asked suddenly, as if he had read the redhead’s mind.
Daxter shook himself out of the momentary slump. “Pfff. Whadda ya mean, will I be okay? What’s not ta be okay about, fake jock? I don’t need a babysitter. I’ll be fine. I’ll probably just work a bunch of extra shifts an’ bug the crap out’a Taryn or somethin’.”
He very carefully avoided mentioning just how much he was going to miss the green-blonde. They were roommates, sure. They were friends, sure. But it wasn’t like they were dating or anything, the sheer amount of time they’d spent attached at the lips over the past few days notwithstanding. He could survive without Jak and his smiles and his voice and his touches for a few measly weeks.
“Move the drawers, would ya? Torn’s gonna be here soon an’ we still gotta get yer weasel out’a here before he shows up.”
Jak grinned. He had already dismantled Killer’s cage and smuggled it down piecemeal to where his car waited in the parking garage, filled that morning with everything he was taking home. The room looked almost barren. “You know you’ll miss Killer while we’re gone.” He grabbed the chest of drawers and pulled it away from the wall.
A cascade of fuzzy white balls tumbled out from behind it to roll across the floor tiles.
Daxter blinked dumbly. “… are those my socks?”
Jak unabashedly burst out laughing.
“They freakin’ are! Those are my goddamn socks!” Daxter shrieked, throwing down the mop in his outrage. “Every freakin’ pair of socks I’ve lost this semester—yer friggin’ ferret’s been stealin’ my socks an’ hidin’ ‘em behind the freakin’ dresser!” He grabbed one of the sock balls and threw it at Jak’s head.
Jak continued to laugh helplessly as it bounced off his ear. “Dax, I’m sorry! I didn’t know!”
Phoenix chose that moment to stroll in, decked out in a heavy winter coat. “Alright then, where’s the little fugitive from the law I’m supposed to smuggle out?” He glanced down at the pile on the floor. “That’s a lot of socks, mate.”
Daxter mopped mutinously behind the dresser as Jak pulled the ferret out from under the bunks, both neatly made for the impending inspection. Friggin’ ferret.
“Here you go. Thanks for helping me out, Phoenix.” Jak fondly handed his pet to his teammate. “Are you and Razer all packed up?”
“Packed and reporting to the Student Center hotel for check in as soon as Torn checks off on our room. I have to say, I’m quite looking forward to the change of scenery. It’ll be the next best thing to being home.” The ponytailed man scratched under Killer’s chin, earning a pleased grumble.
“Wait a sec, you guys are stayin’ at the hotel?” Daxter asked as he rung out the mop. “I thought that was just fer prospective students ta stay at while they’re scopin’ the campus. What gives?”
“It’s a program set up for students who are here on visas,” Phoenix explained. “It would cost more than most can afford to fly home for the holidays, and the dorms are all closing down, so the university puts us up in the Student Center gratis. Quite sporting of them, actually.”
“Yeah, I guess it is,” Daxter agreed, but a sudden sharp pang of unease lanced through him. “Whadda ya mean they’re closin’ the dorms, though? They won’t really do that will they?”
The running back nodded. “So many people go home between semesters that it’s just not worth the money for them to keep the dorms heated and staffed. That’s why they turn off the power and lock up until January.”
Daxter’s ears and stomach sank like the Titanic; in record time into icy waters.
Jak looked up, face unreadable.
Phoenix glanced between them. A heavy silence descended. “… Daxter, where are you staying over break?” he asked, eyes narrowing as the truth finally dawned.
“Oh, shit. Oh, shit! This is bad! I didn’t know they were gonna lock the dorms up! How can they do that? What about the people who don’t have anywhere else ta go? This is like, literally my home right now! Where do they expect me ta live fer three weeks if they throw me out?!”
A loud knock echoed through the room in answer. “Okay, ladies, open up. I want to be on the road in an hour, so let’s get this over with.”
“Bugger!” Phoenix hissed. He ripped down the zipper of his coat and popped Killer inside, then zipped it up over the startled ferret. “You should really consider investing in a carrier. Meet you at your car, Jak.” Then he opened the door and strolled out, calm as could be, with a smile and nod to their RA.
Torn offered a distracted nod in return, barely looking at the running back as he walked in and raised his clipboard. “Alright, let’s make this as quick and painless as possible. Beds, dresser, wardrobes, mirror, desks, chairs…” He pointed at each piece of furniture with his pen as he listed them off. “Furniture accounted for and undamaged. Good.” He opened the fridge, then the microwave that sat atop it. “Heat-n-keep is clean, empty, and unplugged. Excellent.” He gave one last visual sweep of the room. “Walls unmarked, floor clean… you might want to pick up the sock collection, though. Other than that, it looks like you boys are ready to go.”
“Go where?” Daxter muttered bitterly, grabbing double handfuls of sock balls.
Well, there went all the money he had managed to save for the semester, if all of it put together would even cover three whole weeks in a hotel. He didn’t own a car he could sleep in. He was pretty sure health codes forbade people living, even temporarily, in the broom closet at Pizza Haven. Maybe Ximon had a couch he could crash on for a while if he helped pay December’s utility bills—?
The redhead’s own ratty duffle bag hit him in the chest, curtailing his franticly racing thoughts. Jak’s hand was attached to it.
“Pack,” the quarterback ordered in the voice he used when calling plays on the football field. “I’m calling my uncle. Be ready in ten minutes.” He turned to the RA. “Thanks, Torn. Have a good break.”
“Enjoy your vacation, Jak. See you in January.” Then Torn was gone.
Jak ducked out of the room, already dialing.
Daxter was left in a daze, clutching his bag and wondering what had just happened.
Oh boy, what should I take? Uh, pants, shirts, boxers… He began to pull clothing from his wardrobe at random. But where am I gonna sleep? Should I bring my blankets an’ pillows? One pillow made its way off the top bunk before he panicked again. Damn it, where’s my phone?! I can’t forget the charger—! Then he stopped cold, his haphazardly stuffed bag dropping to the rug with a thump.
“Oh shit! I gotta call Taryn!”
Pizza Haven’s number was one of two on speed dial. Daxter groaned as he selected it. On the bright side, he might not need a place to stay after all, if Taryn killed him for missing three weeks of work on less than an hour’s notice.
- - - - - -
Fifteen minutes later, the occupants of room 317 bid their temporary home an even more temporary farewell. Firmly buckled into the passenger seat of Jak’s car, Daxter felt exceptionally uprooted and unsettled. And also very stupid.
“Come on, Dax, cheer up. Taryn understands. She’s not mad at you.”
“Tch, sure she ain’t. And her exact words weren’t ‘you idiot, what kind of college student doesn’t know they close the dorms for the holidays?!’ either.” Daxter sank lower in his seat, vainly hoping the soft vinyl might swallow him whole. How did he ever manage to get himself into these messes?
Jak sighed and kept his eyes on the road. “For the record, I don’t think this is your fault. I mean, come on. Every one of the flyers and notices posted in the hall and on the bulletin board in the lobby just said that today was the last day to move out. None of them explicitly said that moving out was mandatory this time. They didn’t make us go home over Thanksgiving. How were you supposed to know they’d make us this time? This is totally on the administrators. They shouldn’t take it for granted that every student is able to go somewhere else.”
The redhead heaved a deep sigh and said nothing, hands fluttering over the ferret in his lap. Killer was engrossed with a new rawhide, specifically acquired for the purpose of keeping him occupied during the trip. It looked like Jak would be returning to his uncle’s home with two freeloading strays this time.
Jak took one hand off the wheel to lightly punch his friend in the upper arm. “Hey. It’s gonna be alright, okay? Uncle is totally cool with you staying with us.”
“If I had five bucks fer every time somebody told me that after I got thrown in a car with a suitcase an’ shipped off ta some family I never met before…”
“This is different,” the quarterback said firmly. “This is my family. They’re gonna love you. And we’re going to have a great time.”
While Daxter had more than enough misgivings, he buttoned his yap. Any more moping and he would seem ungrateful that Jak and his uncle were giving him a free place to stay, and that was the last thing he wanted them to think. “If you say so, fake jock.”
“I do say so.” Jak’s ears flipped up in a positive, moving-on sort of way. “Now, what do you want for dinner? Obviously we can’t go in anywhere for ferret reasons—” he glanced down at Killer, who was still happily gnawing his rawhide, “—but I’m willing to hit up any drive through between here and home. What sounds good?”
Daxter shrugged. “I dunno. It’s whatever. Burgers?”
“Oh, yeah. And onion rings. I’m—”
“Starving! I know, I know.”
As it turned out, it wasn’t a drive through that they eventually found off an obscure interstate exit when Jak stopped for gas a while later. It was a drive-in.
The experience was novel for the redhead. It also seemed to be a novel experience for Killer, who took up a perch on Jak’s shoulder as soon as the window was rolled down and stared with fascination through the entire ordering process. The waitress who eventually brought their food out had an immediate cute-gasm over him.
Dax snagged a chicken nugget out of the box on the console between them and allowed himself a grin. Just sitting in the warm car with Jak as the idling engine purred, the hot air that blew across his sneakers circulating the aroma of deep-fried goodness around them, was luring him into a false sense of security. He could almost imagine they were just on a mini road trip with nothing awkward or uncomfortable waiting for him at the end of it.
“Y’know, Jak, fer a guy who ain’t too keen on attention from the ladies, yer pet sure is a chick magnet.”
“Ferrets are everybody magnets. And sock magnets. And food magnets.” Jak tore a small chunk of beef off his burger and indulgently offered it to the furry muff across his shoulders. “Keira’s probably going to try to steal him.”
“Good. Maybe he’ll steal her socks next time.” Dax stole an onion ring. Maybe now would be a good time to bring up what he’d been thinking about for the last fifty miles or so. “Hey, Jak? About Keira…”
“Yeah?”
“Yer gonna want to… uh…” Oh, boy. This was kinda awkward. The redhead took a long slurp of his drink and tried again. It probably needed to be said. “Yer gonna wanna spend some alone time with her over the break, right? ‘Cause you an’ her fool around?”
Jak’s eyes bugged behind the bite he was taking of his burger. His hands clenched on the bun so hard that ketchup and mustard shot out the back and splattered the steering wheel. “Oh my god,” he sputtered, grabbing in the paper sack next to him for napkins. “I didn’t even think about that!”
Daxter waved his hands placatingly. “It’s okay, it’s okay! No big deal. I just wanted ta say that I’m cool with it, y’know? Since she was the recipient of yer buddy benefits before me. Seniority an’ all that.”
He wasn’t stupid enough to think that Jak should have to abstain from enjoying the company of someone he cared about—and who also had boobs, there was another good point—just because he’d been unlucky enough to get saddled with his roommate over break. The redhead harbored no illusions about where he ranked on that particular totem pole. But it was cool. He’d gone his whole life hitherto without fooling around with the quarterback, so three weeks of relinquishing Jak’s attention to someone who had rightfully been there first would be no problem. It wouldn’t kill him to lie on the couch and fake obliviousness about whatever Jak and his girl friend who wasn’t a girlfriend were doing in the other room.
So why did the thought make his stomach clench unpleasantly? Daxter dropped the remainder of his fries back in the bag. Obviously he’d been eating too much junk food. Obviously.
Jak, meanwhile, had finished wiping the condiments off his steering column. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much, Dax. I mean, yeah, I didn’t expect to be bringing you home with me and having you two in the same place at the same time, but I don’t think Keira will mind if we fool around.”
“Yeah? How do you know that?”
“Because I told her we were fooling around.”
“Oh. Well, that’s—wait, what?! You told her?” Daxter shrieked, wedging himself up against the door reflexively as if an offended, wrench-wielding fake girlfriend might pop up out of the back seat. “Why would you do that?!”
“Because she’s my other best friend and deciding to experiment with gay sex with your roommate is kind of a big deal that you talk to your best friends about?”
Okay, so maybe it did make sense if Jak put it like that. Keira was probably trustworthy if Jak had known her so long and spoke so highly of her. Plus, Dax couldn’t deny that he would have been tempted to tell his own best friend about the successful sex—if his own best friend hadn’t already been the one he’d had the sex with.
“Yeah, well… fine. But you better be careful who ya tell about our little arrangement, y’know. I know we didn’t really talk about keepin’ it a secret, but I thought that kinda went without sayin’. Nobody wants ta think their college’s quarterback is goin’ gay, and personally, getting beat up for it doesn’t sound like much fun.”
Jak was quick to reassure. “Don’t worry. No one but Keira will know, I promise. She won’t say anything to anybody else.” He offered the redhead an onion ring. “Come on, it’s okay. Anybody picks on you for something as stupid as that and I’ll break their nose. Figuring out which way you swing isn’t a bad thing. We’re not doing anything wrong.”
Daxter took the offering and nibbled at it halfheartedly. “… you don’t think I’m gay, do ya Jak?”
“Why would I think that?”
“Uh, well, let’s see—I’ve touched yer dick, I’ve sucked yer dick, you’ve touched my dick, I enjoyed all of the above, and let’s not forget that my first and only legit kiss was with you, a guy. The case of my straightness is not lookin’ too good.”
The green-blonde rolled his eyes. “I don’t think you’re gay. I don’t think you’re anything at this point. People are allowed to not be sure, Dax. You’re allowed to take your time and figure out whether or not you even have a preference. The first person you make out or fool around with doesn’t dictate your entire sexuality for the rest of forever.” He glanced at Daxter sidelong and smirked. “Buuut, if you really want to make sure that you like women as much as you think you will, I’m sure we can arrange another experiment.”
Daxter stared blankly.
“Here, let me give Keira a call and tell her to pick up some condoms. I’m sure she’ll think a threesome is a great idea.”
“Don’t you fucking dare!” Daxter screeched, lunging across the car as Jak pulled out his phone. “I swear ta god, fake jock, if you breathe just one word ta her I’ll—!”
In the resulting tussle, Daxter kicked over his fries. Jak dropped his onion rings on the floor and the phone in his lap. Three separate hands grabbed the quarterback’s crotch as they fought for possession. Killer took refuge in the back floorboard. He also took a chicken nugget.
Later, when they were back on the road with cold twilight falling across the endless fields and bare woods, Daxter relaxed into the seat and held the sleeping ferret close.
Maybe the coming weeks wouldn’t be as bad as he feared. After all, Jak would be with him for the whole thing. And Jak had a knack for making things turn out right.
- // - // - // - // -
To be continued.
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