Jak and Daxter belongs to and is copyright to Naughty Dog – no copyright infringement intended.

Keira straightened her aching back and surveyed her workshop with a sigh. Tools were strewn haphazardly across the floor, and parts from various zoomers littered every surface – the shop looked like a disaster area. She pushed aside one of the many blueprints she'd tacked on the wall through the course of the night, groaning when she saw that the clock read 3 a.m.

After staring at the clock for a moment, Keira realized that she'd been tinkering with her equipment for four straight hours. Even for a natural-born mechanic like herself, that was exhausting. She cracked her knuckles loudly and wiped the sweat off her brow, then let out a sound of frustration when she realized that she'd smeared the grease from her hand all over her forehead. She grouchily twitched aside the curtain that divided the shop and trudged up the narrow stairway that led to her second floor apartment.

When she opened the door, Keira closed her eyes and let out yet another groan, her body sagging with exhaustion. She'd forgotten the party Daxter had decided to throw in her apartment. After "defeating" Kor, he used each and every excuse to celebrate. Granted, it had only been him, Jak, Tess, and a few others, but the ottsel's specialty seemed to be creating spectacularly chaotic messes with very little effort. Keira had to wade through bottles, paper plates, popped balloons, and piles of confetti scattered across the floor.

"When I get my hands on that little hairball…" she muttered, opening the door to her tiny bathroom. She threw all her clothes in a pile and turned on the shower, grateful that the water was still coming out hot. She let the water soothe her aching muscles, but once her physical discomfort faded, she was free to think about what had gotten her upset in the first place.

It certainly wasn't Keira's habit to stay up all night working on her gadgets and zoomers – especially not several at once. Of course, she loved working for hours at a time, but she also liked her sleep. The joy she got from machinery and the exhilaration of the work put her into a different state, one where she could forget all of her problems. Especially Jak.

Just thinking about him made Keira clench her teeth. Strolling up to her garage, not a care in the world, acting as though she should fall on the ground and worship him for saving the city. Of course she was grateful, everyone was, but that didn't give him the right to strut around like he owned it….

That's really not why you're angry. You're not being fair.

Keira grimaced at the rational little voice in her head. That's not the only reason I don't want him around right now. She frowned while scrubbing her hair and tried in vain not to think of the rumors that had been circulating around Haven City as Jak became more and more famous.

It was widely known that the new city Governor Ashelin and the Underground warrior Jak were a great team. They had gone on several missions together in the past, and it was well known how she relied on Jak for support within the new system of government that she was setting up. Gossip swirled in the marketplaces that there was a bit more to their relationship than just business. What a couple they would make, people said. A leader and a warrior, both fierce fighters and dedicated to their causes - quite a handsome pair, the two of them would be.

The idea filled Keira with a painful fury, so sharp and inarticulate that she found herself clutching her bottle of shampoo till the plastic cracked.

"Dammit," she muttered, flinging it to the floor. She whipped a towel off the rack, and roughly dried herself.

After pulling a brush through her hair, Keira stomped into her small bedroom and flicked the switch that brought her bed down from its folded storage in the wall. She put on mismatched pajama shorts and a tank top and flopped onto the bed with her feet at the headboard. She knew she wouldn't be able to sleep, even though it was 4 a.m. and she was freshly showered.

Everything had always come down to Jak. When they were younger, Keira had tried to hide her feelings for him, believing that it was so cliché to fall for the boy she'd grown up with. She'd also been afraid that her overprotective father would be upset if he found out how she felt. Still, she wasn't sure she'd done a very good cover-up job, if Daxter's teasing were anything to go by.

Keira wished she could go back to those carefree days in Sandover, in spite of the awkwardness. She'd mostly hidden her feelings then, but Jak had returned them… hadn't he? He'd rarely spoken, but he was always so sweet, and could always make her laugh. There was that time that they'd almost kissed atop Gol and Maia's citadel… hadn't they? Lately, Keira was starting to think that that incident had been a product of her own wishful thinking. Just like what had happened at the Naughty Ottsel… was that only weeks ago? Things had been going so well then, and she'd been so sure that they were going to kiss that time.

"Stupid Daxter," muttered Keira, turning over onto her back. But then she sighed, realizing that it probably wasn't the ottsel's fault… just another product of her imagination. Maybe.

Whether Jak had ever returned her feelings or not, it didn't seem to matter anymore. Lately, he became brusque or awkward at best, and surly at worst when he was around Keira. She couldn't get him to talk in those rare moments when they got to be alone, and he always left quickly. Even at the party last night, he'd sat quietly on the couch, nursing his drink in silence. He refused to join in Daxter's bantering, and as the ottsel got more and more drunk, Jak didn't laugh or even smile as he usually would. He'd seemed off in his own world, but more than once, Keira had caught him watching her. When she offered him a cautious smile, Jak quickly averted his eyes and went back to staring at the floor.

There was more than just the frostiness that had suddenly sprung up between them, though. The very first time Keira had laid eyes on Jak after coming to Haven City, she was shocked, to say the least. Not only did he look different… he felt different. It wasn't just that he talked, or had an attitude problem the size of a lurker's appetite – it was his eyes. They burned with some kind of thirst, and she had later heard rumors of darkness in his very veins – circulating just under the talk about his heroism, and of course, about Ashelin.

Keira clenched her fingers against the sheets in frustration. She didn't want to think about those stories. She just wished Jak would at least have the decency to tell her that he was done with her, instead of all the confusing behavior - showing up to her garage at the most ridiculous times, trying to make small talk, and then stalking off just as suddenly.

The next time Keira rolled over to face the clock, she saw that it was 5:30 in the morning. "This is ridiculous," she said, sitting up and resting her head in her hands. Realizing that trying to sleep was useless for the moment, she ambled into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. She scooted a pile of balloons off the couch and plopped herself down.

The apartment had no windows on one side, because it faced the stadium, but the other side had one long windowpane that looked down onto the square. It was still dark outside, but she knew the sunrise would be peeking over the city walls soon. It was at once a comforting and unsettling thought. Keira loved to watch the sunrise, but she couldn't believe she hadn't slept all night.

She was about to get lost in her thoughts again when she heard something… something like careful footsteps on the stairs up to her apartment. Keira suddenly remembered that she hadn't closed the bay doors or locked her apartment when she'd come up from the garage. She raced over to her spare tool kit, grabbed the largest wrench she could find, then took a position right beside the door, ready to strike.

I bet it's some creep who knows that I live alone, she thought grimly. Probably cleaned my garage out and is coming up for some fun. She raised the wrench higher, ready to make the intruder regret coming near her apartment.

As the door eased open, Keira took a deep, slow breath, gritted her teeth, and jumped forward, swinging the wrench over her head. She heard a satisfying whack as it connected with something, followed by a loud grunt and a string of swearing. Whoever she'd hit fell to the floor, and Keira wasted no time delivering a good kick to the body. A hand shot out to grab her ankle, but she managed to jump backwards, making good use of her kicked-up adrenaline. Her hand hit the light switch, and hard white light suddenly flooded the room.

"Keira, what the hell is wrong with you?" shouted a very familiar, and very angry, voice.

The wrench fell out of her hand. "Jak?" she gasped, completely dumbfounded. "What are you doing here?"

"Trying not to get killed by you," he growled, getting up off the floor and gingerly rubbing around the lump that was forming on his forehead. For a moment, a burning rage seemed to smolder in his eyes, but he blinked a few times, and then they just looked tired. More than that, though, she could see the haunted look on his face that she'd noticed before, but never to such an extent.

Keira tried to get her mind back to the present. "But… but what are you doing here? I thought you were a burglar!" The situation suddenly struck her as much stranger than before. She narrowed her eyes. "What are you doing here?" Her tone grew sharper. "Why are you sneaking into my apartment at this hour?"

Jak leaned against the wall and wouldn't meet her eyes. "I left my comm unit here. I didn't want to wake you." He gestured his head towards the coffee table, and sure enough, the small black box sat overlooked between several bottles and a few scattered streamers.

This explanation only made Keira feel angrier. "So you were just going to sneak in here without saying anything to me, get your communicator, and sneak back out again? Is it really that horrible to talk to me?" As she spoke, her voice got louder until she was shouting. Jak winced, but wouldn't look back at her. A defiant, closed look came over his face.

"I'll just go. I'll come back and get it later."

Once he turned around, Keira's anger subsided a little. "Wait," she said tiredly. He stopped with one foot on the stairs, but didn't turn around. "At least let me get you some ice for your head. It's the least I can do." There was a long pause as Jak stood silently on the stairs, and Keira thought he'd refuse. But at last he turned around, keeping his eyes on the floor.

"Ok," he said quietly, and with an air of awkwardness that caught Keira off guard. He didn't seem to know where to go, and nearly bumped into her when she turned to walk towards the kitchen. She saw him tighten his fists and clench his jaw when he touched her, and heard him suck in a quick breath through his teeth. He slipped past her and dropped down onto the couch, tipping back his head and closing his eyes.

Is it really that awful for him to be around me? Keira thought testily. She stood in the kitchen, trying to master her hurt feelings, then pulled an ice pack out of the freezer. She started to crush it on the counter, but glanced over the counter and saw that Jak was sound asleep. Her anger drained away completely, and she studied him without worrying about the embarrassment of being caught staring.

Jak looked younger while he was sleeping, with the lines of tension smoothed from his face. His mouth was slightly open as he breathed quietly. Keira walked towards the couch, ice pack in hand, and looked closer at his face. There were dark circles under his eyes, and fine golden stubble dotted his cheeks. He looked exhausted. Her eyes flicked up to his forehead, where she'd smacked him with the wrench. The lump had swollen and bruised around the edges, and part of it was raised under his goggles.

Keira bent down and gently unclipped his goggles, then slipped them carefully off his head. Jak didn't wake, even when some of his hair fell forward onto his face. But when she smoothed it back again and gently pressed the ice pack to his bruise, his eyes flew open. Quicker than thought, his hand clamped around her wrist in a brutal grip, forcing it upwards.

Jak's eyes cleared when he heard Keira's pained gasp, and he immediately let her go. His cheeks reddened, and he leaned forward to put his face in his hands. "I'm sorry," he said in a low voice.

"It's ok," she answered shakily. She picked up the ice pack where it had fallen and set it on Jak's knee. Keira heard him pick up the ice pack and press it to his forehead, but she kept her gaze trained on the coffee table. The silence stretched uncomfortably, until she was sure she'd lose her mind.

It had never been this way between them, this uncomfortable silence and determinedly downturned gazes. Not until Haven. It had been driving Keira crazy for months, and she wished she could be brave enough to break down the that had been built between them. She had no idea how to start, but she was starting to worry that Jak wouldn't even want to try.

Finally, she dared to look at him. He was leaning back on the couch again, the ice pack resting precariously on his forehead. She thought he had fallen asleep again, so she stood to turn the light off. When she turned back toward the couch, though, Jak's eyes were open, and she could practically feel him looking at her in the dark.

Before he could look away, Keira took a deep breath and sat beside him. "Why do we keep doing this, Jak?" she asked softly. For the first time in a while, he didn't look away from her. "We're stuck in some kind of stupid limbo, and I'm really tired of it." She stood up suddenly and began pacing. "You barely talk to me when you're around me, and you… you just… you are driving me crazy! Do you know what I've been doing all night? I've been making a mess of my shop and switching from one project to another just trying to get my mind off you because – "

Her outburst was stopped short when Jak reached out and grasped her wrist, gently this time, but still firmly enough to pull her back down on the couch. "I never told you what happened to me after the rift rider broke apart."

Keira blinked in surprise – that was the last thing she'd expected him to say. It was true - when he'd shown up out of the blue after more than two years, she could hardly believe he was there, then things had happened so quickly and awkwardly that they hadn't had time to talk about anything at all.