“Come on, Jak, Keira wants to show us the cave!!” a very young Daxter shouted over his shoulder to a young Jak. Jak had been inspecting a rock with intricate patterns on it.

Okay, so they weren’t that young. Infact, they were 13 years old. And what’s more, Jak hadn’t gone to see the Oracle that made him pure yet. He could still talk, and for the record, I don’t think he ever wanted to stop.

“Coming, Dax!” and he rushed off across the yellow-golden power as it sprayed behind his clothed feet.

He made it to a small cove in the cliff on the beach. Keira stared at him as he slowed his run to a walk. She was amazed by the fact that he had run so far, but wasn’t even panting, nor sweating.

When Jak felt her eyes on him, he turned his head to her. Before she could embarrassingly turn her eyes to the ground, he flashed a smile. She returned it without hesitation and then she proceeded to show them the cave.

“I found this last night. Come on!” she beckoned to Daxter, whose ears twitched. He had obviously heard something they hadn’t.

“Darn,” he murmured, “Mom’s calling, got to go.” He sprinted off across the sand.

Jak sighed, “Looks like it’s just you and me, Keira.” She smiled and guided him inside the cove.

Gems reflected on the water. The glistening water shined with beauty as they walked in. The water was surprisingly warm. It was a perfect temperature.

“Whoa,” was Jak’s intelligent response to the amazingly stunning place.

“Yeah, I thought you’d like it,” Keira smirked.

Jak walked around, marveling the gems, “Hey, Keira?” he asked suddenly.

“Yeah?” she answered.

“It’s your birthday tomorrow, right?” he ran his fingers across a certain stone.

“Yep,” she replied, “I’ll be 14. Why?” she heard a loud crack, but she couldn’t see what he was doing because of the mist coming from the small waterfall to the right.

“Here,” He said as he waded over to her surprisingly small figure, “Early birthday present...From me,”

She confusedly took the stone from his hands. It was a milky clear, almost like a transparent diamond, “Jak...”

“Do you like it?” he asked.

“It’s beautiful. I don’t see another one like it.” Keira looked around the cove.

“So,” Jak started. He needed to make this good, “You’re relating yourself to a rock? I have to admit, I’ve never seen that one before.”

Keira rolled her eyes, but her insides were melting, “Nice one.”

“Took me all but three seconds to think up,” He smiled.

Keira walked towards him, “I’d like to see what you can come up with in a week.”

Jak didn’t realize how close he was to her until he was able to reach out to her, “You don’t want to know.”

It all seemed so fast. Jak put his arms around her waist and she closed her eyes. His lips were maybe half a centimeter from hers when she realized what was going on and pulled away.

Jak looked at her, confused. She looked at the water, then his eyes, then the water again. Without a second thought, she dashed out of the cove and across the beach.

“KEIRA!” he called after her. It was no use now, she was already too far from him. Arms dangling at his side, he started walking across the sand, trudging up to the village.

THE NEXT DAY

“Blow out the candles, wimp!” Daxter nudged Keira in the shoulders.

Keira giggled, “I was going to, Dax, stop being so impatient!” she blew out all 14 candles.

Jak smiled. He’d be 15 within a few days time now. It was all working out perfectly.

“Hey, let’s go play some football, guys!” Daxter said a led the rest of the village kid out to the sands. Jak played for a while, but he soon grew bored. He wasn’t really a sporty guy. He told Daxter he was going exploring and he made his way up a random sentinel.

Jak was surprised to see Keira, hair billowing beautifully in the wind, standing at the top. She was looking onto the sunset.

Jak hadn’t talked to her since the incident in the cove. He decided it was now he would finally kiss her.

“Hey,” he said quietly walking up to her and standing next to her on the balcony, “Did you have a good birthday?”

She smiled at him, “It was great. I hope yours is awesome.”

Jak sighed nervously, “Well, if you would give me the chance to kiss you that would be all I need.”

The smile faded from her face and she looked out to the ocean once more.

“Come on,” Jak laughed, “Like you don’t want to.”

Without looking at him, she mumbled, “Why would I?”

“Because,” Jak said being impatient, “You’re the only girl in the entire village and all the other guys are immature losers.”

Keira giggled, “Yeah, I guess.”

Suddenly, Jak’s communicator popped up in between them, “Jak, its Samos. I need you to go talk to a Precursor Oracle. I got a vision it was important for you to see it.”

“Sure, I’ll be right there,” Jak responded and tucked the little device back into his pocket.

“Guess you got to go,” Keira sighed.

“Keira,” he said and very suddenly took her in his arms and looked into her emerald eyes, “I’m not trying to be a pervert or anything with trying to kiss you. I know we’re young but...” he took her closer and whispered in her ear, “I think I really do like you like that.”

Keira pulled her head back and looked at him. She expected him to be smiling... to just push her away and say, “Ha, you fell for it!” but he didn’t. He looked back at her with love, trust, and seriousness.

“Just believe me.”

Keira smiled and he smiled back. They did exactly what they did in the cove, but this time, Jak went all the way and touched her lips to his own. It was one of the most electrifying moments of his life.

When they parted, they looked at each other with a gleam in their eyes.

Keira cleared her throat and spoke, “I think you should go do that thing Daddy told you to do,”

He nodded and said, “Yeah,” with total awkwardness.

“Well,” she said, “See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah,” he said again and rushed off. She watched him go.

Keira never knew she’d never hear her friend say, “I love you” for a long time.

---

Aww, so cute! Yeah, that last line meant that was when Jak lost his voice and was purified. I know, I’m so clever I thought that up.

This is what I think Jak and Daxter should’ve started with. Agree with me? Great, let’s sue!

And just so I don’t get sued: I DON’T OWN ANYTHING.

Toodles!!