Love Bites

Jae: Eight

 Jack. Still taking up for him. Jae looked away, went up to the line to get more food, and didn't meet the big man's eyes. Bo stayed close to him, the cane making for an odd gait for them both, and the same guy who'd been ripped a new one by Jack walked up to him.
Jae just shook his head and held a hand out, Bo giving a low growl, and the guy walked off.

The lady serving the crepes handed Jae a plate, and this time his crepes had chocolate chips, and Jae grinned.

"Thanks."

She smiled bright, nodding. "I saw what you did out there. That was really brave."

He leaned against the cane, chuckling a bit. "Some would say it was quite stupid."

"No." She shook her head, leaning out, making her ample cleavage even more pronounced as she bit her lip before speaking. "It was the bravest thing I've ever seen anyone do. Honest."

Jae shook his head, feeling mildly sorry for the girl, but not enough to correct her. "Well, I'm just glad everyone got back to the boat safely."

Her heart eyes were unmistakable, and Michele walked up behind Jae, reached around and took his plate, and leaned over to get right in the girl's face. "He's gay. Nice tits."

She smiled sweetly, turned around, and took Jae's food back to the table. He had to laugh as he hobbled along behind the fierce brunette, but when she stopped at Jack's table and set his plate down, he reached out to pick it up.

But she was quicker. She pulled it out of his reach, shaking her head. "Nope. You're gonna sit here and talk to him. And he's going to talk to you. I swear to all that's holy I'll spit in your precious crepes if you don't sit your ass down."

"You wouldn't...," Jae narrowed his eyes at Michele, but she just stared right back.

"Try me."

Jae didn't even dare. He knew her too well. Instead, he just sat down, pulled the plate from her hands, and started to eat.

"You are incredibly rude, and incredibly too fit for as much as you eat, Jae. Seriously. It's disgusting." Michele leaned her elbow on the table and set her chin in her hand, staring between Jack and Jae. "So, Jack, how do you feel about that lunch lady flirting with Jae?"

Jae didn't even look up from his food. "We're not playing therapists."

Michele stole his food again, right out from under his fork. "We'll play whatever the hell I want to play. You got it? Now, you want your food back?"

Jae snatched the plate, grumbling something about women and being gay.

Michele flicked him on the ear. "And just for that, the question swings to you. Jae, why did you really dive into the freezing ocean full of sharks to save one dumbass camera man?"

Jae shrugged, his smirk well-hidden...sort of. "Because in my spare time, I'm Superman."

Michele slapped Jae upside the back of the head, and the man almost spit out his food. In turn, Jae shoved her hard, and she almost fell off of her chair, but Jack's arm darted out and caught her. Michele grinned smugly at Jae, then looked up at Jack.

"Why thank you, Gigantor." She turned back to Jae. "Answer the question."

Jae side-eyed the rest of the table, trying to see if anyone was taking her game seriously, and to his surprise, everyone, including Santos, had their eyes trained on Jae. Except Santos' gaze was a little more serious than most, like Jae's answer was more important than he realized.

A shove to his shoulder knocked him out of his thoughts, and Jae narrowed his eyes at Michele, then turned to look at Jack.

"Because, one, I could. I'm a certified lifeguard, rescue swimmer, and I was the closest person to the side. Two, had I waited for the boat to be deployed, that man would have died by drowning or being bitten by a curious great white. Three, this is my expedition, and no one's going to die under my watch if I can help it, idiot or not. Is that enough for you, Freud?"

Jae tore his eyes from Jack and met Michele's.

"Not by a long shot." She curled her legs up into the chair and thought for a moment. "All three of those reasons are true and valid, and they factored into your decision, I'm sure, but those aren't the reasons you did what you did, and we both know it."

Jae finished the last bite of his crepes, losing his reason to stay in this weird alternate reality conversation of sorts, more like an interrogation really. "I'm done with this. Why don't you talk to Jack, Michele? He's a great conversationalist. He can talk about anything except how he really feels. He has a hundred jokes, all kinds of stories, and talking about anything other than the important things is his specialty, isn't it, Jack?"

Jae stood, but when he put weight on his leg, it gave, and he fell, knocking over the chair and landing on the ground.

"God damnit!" A few hands tried to reach for him, but he knocked them away, instead reaching for the table and pushing himself up. Bo came up beside him and pushed a little at his side, helping him balance, and then Jae snatched the cane from the floor and hobbled off.

When he finally closed the door to his room behind him, he wanted to throw something, beat the cane up against the wall, or trash everything in his room. But...that would scare Bo, so instead, Jae sat down on the small bed and laid out, patting the space beside him.

Bo jumped up and sprawled out beside him, and Jae lay an arm over his body and relaxed, softly stroking Bo's side.

"Why can't I be like you, boy. Why can't it be that simple?"

Bo licked at his cheek, and Jae smiled, ducking his head so Bo's tongue ended up running through his hair. The dog made a growling sound, pushing at Jae with his paws, and Jae chuckled. This was their game. It was like advanced snuggling. Jae liked to snuggle a certain way. Bo liked to lick his face. Both were stubborn and neither of them wanted to give. If he kept this up, they'd end up in an all out tangle of fur and human.

"No...," Jae laughed, scratching Bo's head. "I just...why can't he be...I don't know. Normal. Maybe then I could trust that we could build a life. What if I put in ten years and he does something stupid and gets himself eaten? Loses a limb? What if I suffer in one of his stunts? I...I couldn't bear losing him. I just couldn't. He was right. A world without him doesn't work."

Jae listened to what he'd said, and a more rational part of himself answered himself. No one was promised tomorrow, anything could happen at a moment's notice. Just because Jack had a dangerous career didn't make him...off limits, did it? To someone like Jae, someone who had plans and plans happened as he said and when he said, Jack didn't fit. He wasn't a controllable variable.

But Jae couldn't quite manage to control his heart.

He only took an hour or so to get his head on straight, then he and Bo got up and made their way to the bridge. They'd be coming up on the islands soon, and then the real fun would begin. Jae turned to the captain.

"Make an announcement. Tell all personnel to report to their duty stations. Give an ETA to Guadalupe Island. Tell them if they don't report to their station and check in with their superiors, they'll be in violation of their contract and subject to being dropped off at the next port to find their way home."

The captain just nodded and Jae turned, heading toward the bow of the boat. He didn't feel much like people today. He wanted sharks, and that meant, eventually, dealing with Jack Keller.