Balance Beam

Review Replies

Finally I get to do one of these! I love it when people review my stuff, but it makes me sad that AFF doesn't have a review reply option. Thank you everyone who commented!

Grimreaperchibi: Haha, that is the perfect way to describe Robin and I. I am so happy that you enjoy my works so much and come back to reread them! I hope this fic lives up to your expectations! And thanks for the well wishes! I think I might actually make it to 50,000 this year!

Skunktail: I'm glad you gave this fic a chance! Don't worry, there will be a bit of ottsel loving later on!

GoodMorningBeautiful2005: I'm glad you're enjoying my fic! I've never actually heard of “Dax or Daxter” but I'll probably go check it out now that you've mentioned it!

Robin: This is totally all your fault! XD I'm glad you're still enjoying it even though you've read it all already.

–

Chapter 2: Monetary and Delicious

Ignoring Sig's order to put on a shirt, their first stop on their way home was getting Daxter a pair of boots and a a couple of shirts to wear (Daxter had been strangely happy that the pants the Precursors gave her transformed when she did). “We're gonna hit Haven for everything else. If we need to get you a gun, I want something Tess made.” The blonde's uncanny knack for weaponry made her the first person Jak turned to more often than not when it came to testing out a new gear, or adapting weird Precursor stuff into new mods for his Morph Gun.

“You want me to go into Haven looking like this?!”

“Dax, we need Tess and we need the gun course, we're going into Haven whether you like it or not.”

Daxter stalked into the curtained off portion of the sundry shop, which sold everything from boots to ammo clips, to change into her newly purchased shirt. Jak's shirt hit him in the face from over the curtain rod. “If anyone laughs at me, you have to shoot them in the knees.”

He sighed, pinching his nose again. “Dax, no one is going to laugh at you.”

“Except Samos. And Torn. And Pecker. And everyone else that we know.”

Jak started working on the straps on his eco ring, leaving it, his holster and his jetboard on the counter as he shook out his shirt. “Sig didn't laugh. Kleiver didn't laugh.”

“Kleiver didn't know who I was and he hit on me! I get first shot at the bathroom when we get home, by the way, I still feel gross.”

Jak paused, about to tug his shirt over his head. “I'm not laughing.”

“Because-”

“If you say it's my fault one more time, Dax, I will tell Tess to paint your gun bright pink!” Jak jerked his shirt on the rest of the way and put on his eco ring holster again.

“I was gonna say because you're you, Jak.” Daxter came out from behind the curtain and sat down to tug her boots on, the red vest she had picked out fitting her much better than Jak's shirt had.

He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not as he looked her over.

Daxter's female body looked a lot like how Jak remembered his friend from his pre-ottsel days, thin and freckled, though there were a few major differences to go with those similarities. While Daxter's waist was still trim, it swelled into slender hips, that led down into familiar skinny legs. The other major difference was something that Jak had been trying to avoid staring at since Daxter transformed: her chest. Granted, it wasn't exactly impressive when compared to Ashelin, Tess and even Keira, but there was something intriguing about the way Daxter's breasts swelled against the fabric of her vest, and Jak wondered how they'd feel against his palms. Jak shook himself. Gah! Stop it! Stop it stop it stop it that's still Daxter! “Right. Because I'm such a great guy.” You are a bastard for thinking about Dax like that at a time like this!

“You are! When you're not turning your best friend into an ottsel or a woman, anyway.” Daxter finished tugging on her boots and looked up at Jak with an all too familiar grin. “Come on, hero boy, let's go home.”

Jak rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Let's go, Dax.”

Daxter elbowed him in the side. “You have nothing to be bummed out about, so what's with that face?”

“What face?”

Daxter poked his cheek. “I'm the one who lost my junk, dude, not you!”

Jak rolled his eyes and got Daxter in a head lock. “Alright, that's it.”

“Ack! Hey, no fair!”

Jak scrubbed his knuckles against Daxter's scalp. “When we get back to Haven, I am telling Tess to make you a pink gun with a bow on it.”

“You wouldn't dare-GAH!” Daxter flailed, trying to get out of the headlock as Jak knocked her goggles askew.

“And I'm going to tell her to make it so the bow cannot be removed. I'm also going to tell her that you have the burning desire to know the complex intricacies of applying makeup. Then I will inform her that you want to go shoe shopping-”

“AUGH! I GET IT I GET IT! HAVE MERCY, JAK!”

Jak lifted his fist from Daxter's hair and peered down at her. “So you're going to stop?”

“Yes, I'll stop!” Daxter looked up at him big, sad eyes. “You really wouldn't tell Tessy all that, would you?”

Jak arched an eyebrow. “You wanna try me?”

Daxter pouted and smoothed her hair back. “You should be nicer to me, Jak. I am traumatized here.”

“I'll just bet you are. Come on, Dax.”

“You owe me a sandwich.”

Jak stared at her. “What? No.”

Daxter poked Jak in the chest. “You totally owe me a sandwich.”

“I'm buying you a gun!” Jak crossed his arms, frowning down at Daxter. “Isn't that enough?!”

“Tess isn't going to charge you for that! I need monetary compensation for my pain!”

“A sandwich isn't monetary!”

“But it's delicious! I require monetary and delicious compensation.”

“....I'm going home.” Jak turned and stalked toward their apartment, leaving Daxter to follow behind him. Make her a sandwich, yeah right.

“Hey, Jak! Wait for me! What about my sandwich? Jak!”

–

Daxter was happily biting into her sandwich as Jak rubbed his temples. They had passed through the farmer's market on the way back to their apartment, and Daxter had turned on the pout full force, leaving Jak torn between the urge to kiss her and the option of doing what she wanted to avoid ruining the best thing in his life. In the end, he ended up buying a fresh loaf of bread, a yakow steak (a real one, even, as opposed to the vat grown ones that Haven was more known for), and vegetables that he made Daxter carry. Daxter's friendship was far more important than some weird urge Jak could easily take care of with his hand.

“You make the best sandwiches, have I told you that?”

“Six times, Dax. Just eat the damn thing.” Jak grumbled. “And you get to wash the dishes!”

“Mmmfhmmfmmmm,” Daxter replied, which Jak took to mean 'Yeah sure whatever man this is good'.

Jak sighed and bit into his own sandwich. “I hope you know you are spoiled rotten, and I'm not doing anything else for you to help you with your 'trauma' or whatever. Got it?”

“You have totally earned your forgiveness, Jak.” Daxter took another bite of her sandwich happily. “Besides, I was never really mad at you, anyway. I mean, you didn't mean to turn me into a woman, just like you didn't mean to turn me into an ottsel. And both times you were trying to protect me, so I really can't be mad at you.”

Jak narrowed his eyes at Daxter, sandwich paused half way to his mouth. “...you just wanted to see how much stuff you could guilt me into doing for you.”

“Well, yeah.” Daxter grinned at him and took another large bite of her sandwich.

Jak sighed heavily. “Just eat your sandwich, okay Dax?”

“With pleasure.”

“Don't talk with your mouth full, Dax.” Daxter stuck out her tongue at Jak, revealing a wad of chewed up sandwich and Jak rolled his eyes. “Classy. Really.” Daxter grinned at him again and Jak sighed. Yup. Still the same old Daxter, no matter what form he takes.

Funny how the thought didn't make being attracted to Daxter any easier.

--

There was, however, one tiny little problem that night: their apartment only had one bed. One kind of small bed.

“Jak, what the hell are you doing?” Daxter frowned at him, her hip cocked.

“You can take the bed, I'll sleep on the floor.”

Daxter blinked at him. “The bed's big enough to share, you know.”

Jak shook his head, and continued to drag down their only set of spare bedding from the closet. “Not really, Dax.”

“Jak, seriously, it's the same size as my bed back in Sandover, and we shared that before!”

“When you were a guy, Dax.” Never mind that they had both been smaller back then, and Jak had always woken up with Daxter sprawled across his chest and a face full of red-gold hair. Not that he had minded back then, just like he wouldn't mind now. It was the not-minding that was gonna get him in trouble.

Daxter scowled at him. “And why would me being a chick be any different, Jak?”

“Because it's not-”

“Are you seriously about to tell me that it's not 'proper' or 'right' or whatever? Seriously Jak? That is the biggest load of yakow shit I've ever heard in my life! Put that stuff back and get on the damn bed!”

“Daxter,” Jak stared at his friend, blinking. “Are you sure?”

“Listen Jak,” Daxter said quietly, leaning in close. “You and I both know you don't sleep well when I'm not there. I seriously doubt our neighbors will appreciate being woken up by your screaming, never mind me, or you for that matter.”

Jak looked away, clutching the bedding tighter. “Yeah, but that's with you as an ottsel, Dax. I don't know-”

“So we'll figure it out,” Daxter put her hands on her hips. “Now put that stuff back! You're not sleeping on the floor and that's final, you hear me, Hero?”

Jak shook his head, but he put away the spare bedding. “Yes ma'am.”

“Good. Now get on the bed and don't bitch!” Daxter pointed to the bed. “And I suppose you can get into something to sleep in.”

Jak rolled his eyes and started taking off his eco ring harness. “How kind of you.” Daxter shrugged and snagged one of Jak's other shirts before dropping her pants. “Whoa, Dax! Change in the bathroom!”

“What? Oh come off it, Jak, stop being such a damn prude! It's just a little skin! You see more when you look at Ashelin!”

Jak turned his back. “Jeez, Dax, have a little modesty!”

“It's just you. Why should I care about you seeing me half naked?”

Jak took a deep breath. This was going to be hell, he just knew it.

When he turned around after changing into his own sleeping clothes, Daxter was turning down the blankets, his blue shirt sliding down off her shoulder, revealing freckled skin and the sweeping wing of her collar bone. Jak forced himself to drag his eyes away from the exposed skin and sighed. He had always been attracted to Daxter back in Sandover, the desire to pin his friend to warm sand and cover his skin in kisses and nips grew stronger and stronger until Jak couldn't take it anymore and was about to confess to his best friend until a stupid idea, the desire to show off and more than a little bad luck turned Daxter into an ottsel and rendered the whole idea moot. He was still attracted to his friend as an ottsel, but the idea of trying anything while Daxter was furry – never mind that it was entirely Jak's fault Daxter was furry in the first place – just made Jak feel like a giant pervert and kind of like an asshole.

But now Daxter was human again – human and female – and his sex drive had taken it as a sign to kick into overdrive and torture Jak with mental images of pinning Daxter to the bed and burying himself inside her and making her scream his name. She probably would, too; Dax was so loud everywhere else, and she looked like a screamer. Oh God STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT! Jak sank down on the edge of the bed and rubbed at his temples, willing the mental images to go away before they got him in trouble.

Which was when Daxter's arms wrapped around him from behind and dragged him down to the bed. “GAH! Dax!” Jak stared down at his friend as Daxter shoved him into position before settling against him, and a distant part of Jak's mind noted just how soft Daxter was like this, and how they still fit perfectly together, the way they had when they were kids, and the way they had when Daxter was an ottsel. It was like no matter what the form was, Daxter was perfectly Jak-shaped. Or Jak was Daxter-shaped, and he should probably stop thinking about it before he got himself into trouble.

“I want to sleep, you are being uncooperative. I figured I'd lend you a hand, since you are obviously having trouble with the concept of sleeping.” She poked him between the eyes. “First, you lie down. Then you get into a comfy position, then you close your eyes, and then you sleep. It's really very simple process.”

“...right.” Jak closed his eyes and tried not to think of how warm Daxter was against his side, or how her breasts squished against his chest, or how the fact that she smelled like his soap made something inside him purr with satisfaction.

This was hell alright. The special level of hell reserved for assholes who were in love with their best friends but had a bad habit of turning them into ottsels, or women.

“Are your eyes closed?” Daxter asked, face tucked against Jak's throat.

“Yes Dax.”

“Good. Goodnight, Jak.”

Jak let his hand settle awkwardly at the small of Daxter's back and he sighed. “Goodnight, Dax.” Asshole asshole asshole, his mind hissed at him and Jak sighed again.

This was going to suck.

–

When Jak woke, he was curled around something warm and soft. He cracked his eye open, just enough to get a eyeful of red hair before he let it drift shut again. That's right, Daxter's human again... He yawned and tucked his nose behind Daxter's ear, pressing closer to Daxter's back with a sleepy, pleased noise. This was the way it was supposed to be, Daxter soft and warm in Jak's bed, Jak pressed against Daxter's back, Jak hard with his hand under Daxter's shirt, cradling her breast- wait.

What?

Jak's eyes snapped open as he hissed in a sharp breath. Oh. Oh shit. This was bad. This was so so bad. The boner could easily be explained away – Dax was still a guy mentally, he knew all about morning wood - but the groping? Jak held his breath and slowly, carefully, removed his hand from under Daxter's borrowed shirt. Daxter might normally sleep like a rock, but he had a bad habit of waking up at the worst moments. Or at least the most embarrassing ones. His hand was by Daxter's stomach when she shifted closer to Jak sleepily, pressing her pert bottom against his crotch and making him hiss again. “Fuck-!” Jak hissed, his eyes squeezing shut as his jaw clenched. That felt way too good, and all he wanted to do was grab Daxter's hips and grind against her until he came. When was the last time he had a warm, non-ottsel body in his bed? Oh, that's right, not since Daxter was turned into said ottsel. Funny how it had never bothered him before now.

“Nnn...” Daxter hummed sleepily and rolled over, throwing an arm and a leg over Jak and wrapping around him as she tucked her face into Jak's throat.

Jak let out a strangled whimper. This? Was not fair. In the slightest. “Dax...”

“Mmmm?”

“You need to let me go.”

“Mmmm.” Daxter snuggled closer to Jak.

“I have to use the bathroom, Dax,” Jak lied, grateful his friend was not awake enough to see through it. Daxter always told him he was a bad liar. Something about having honest eyes.

Daxter let out a sleepy grumble, but rolled away from Jak just enough to let him slide out of the bed before Daxter rolled into the warm spot Jak left behind. Jak watched his friend with a fond look for a few moments before he dashed into the bathroom. Time for a shower. A nice, cold, shower.

–

Daxter was still asleep when Jak got out of the shower and he shook his head as he got dressed. His morning problem taken care of, Jak was feeling slightly better as he stepped out. Might as well let Daxter sleep in while he stepped out to get them something to eat for breakfast.

“G'mornin' Jak!” A rough voice called him to him, and Jak started, nearly reaching for his Morph Gun before relaxing in the face of his neighbor.

“Morning.”

“Where's yer new lady friend?”

Jak blinked. Oh. He means Daxter. “She's still sleeping.”

“Wore her out last night, eh? She's certainly a bossy thing.”

Jak stared at his neighbor, his face going red as the man laughed. “I-uh-”

“She's the perfect Spargan woman, Jak! No wilting flowers out here in the desert, and it's about time ye settled down with a strong girl.”

Oh God. Jak could feel his face getting hotter and hotter. It was too early for this. “Errr....”

“Though what happened to yer little orange friend?”

“Um... Well, remember when we said Dax used to be human?”

His neighbor's eyebrows shot up. “So Daxter's yer cute little redhead?”

Jak's face was going to burst into flame. “Yeah.”

“Well, she'll fit right in. When's her first test?”

“In a week.” Jak looked out over the city, already bustling with activity from the early risers.

“She'll be fine, lad,” his neighbor said, clapping him on the shoulder. “I'll let ye get on yer way then, and enjoy yer honeymoon with yer cute bossy redhead.” The man walked away, laughing, and Jak groaned.

Oh yes, this day was starting out beautifully.