Flame

Author's Notes: Sorry I haven't been posting much here lately, everyone - I've been displaced by Hurricane Sandy, so everything is really hectic and crazy for me right now. But I wrote this tonight and I thought you all might like it, so.... tada! Enjoy!



~~~~



He dreams, at night, of flames surrounding him.



They do not hurt, they do not destroy - these are the flames of warmth and comfort, heart and home, joy and spirit.



He is alone in the black, cold to his soul and too bone weary and hollow to move as the first lick of flames wrap around his shoulder, curling over it to slither to his chest and rest there, blazing brightly above his heart. They light up the dark and heat him through from the inside out. He feels, for the first time his dream self can remember, warm and whole.



The flames surround him, keeping back the dark, and he wraps his arms around them, holding them close.



—



He wakes to a heavy warmth on his chest, right above his heart, and Jak settles his hand on Daxter’s back as the ottsel sleeps.



“Nnh - Jak? You sleep a’ight?”



Jak chuckles. “Yeah Dax. Good dreams, this time.”



“Oh?” It’s a drawl, longer than decency calls for, but wasn’t that just Daxter all over as well? Daxter’s grinning at him as his tail swishes lazily over Jak’s hip and curls there. “What’d’ya dream about?”



“You.”



Daxter blinks at him before he sits up, and even though he’s not human, Jak remembers the bright red blush lighting up Daxter’s face and ears, all the way down his neck, and reads that into Daxter’s too casual stretch as he turns away from Jak. “I had no idea you were such a damn sap, Jakkie boy. Here I thought I was the closet romantic between the two of us.”



Jak just smiles as he watches Daxter, a tongue of flame dancing in the dark.