Chapter Text
It was a rough first two weeks. Jade handled a decent workload when she was an apprentice builder back in Highwind, but this was something else. More like Yan, he was something else. To receive such a major project on her first day was already a lot to take in, but the sheer number of commissions that were dumped on both her and Mi-an was astonishing. Luckily, she proved she can take the heat… figuratively, of course. She is still not sure if she can withstand the actual heat of Sandrock. It has only been two weeks and she has already woken up in Fang’s clinic three times after passing out from heat exhaustion. But none-the-less, Jade and Mi-an finished the lift for Rocky in record timing while still managing to take on various other commissions.
Jade laid down in bed excited for Mason’s going away party in the morning, solely because it meant she had her first morning off from commissions in two weeks, and half of her wanted to skip the party for the old drunk and just stay in bed. She set her alarm clock for 7am just in case she decided to go anyways.
Unfortunately, her alarm clock was not needed. Jade jumped out of her sleep after hearing a loud crash outside. Her roof rattling and she felt a decent breeze blowing through her room for being inside her house. Jade quickly twisted around to turn her lamp on, but it didn’t work. She rolled to the other side of the bed to find her other lamp didn’t work either. “f*ck the power is out. What the f*ck is going on outside? I didn’t know deserts get storms!” she shouted, and she slowly crept across her bedroom floor with her outstretched arms trying to find her dresser where she kept candles and an oil lamp for emergencies.
She managed to find her supplies, only stubbing 3 toes and screaming 47 profanities in the process. She lit her lamp and inspected her small house. The breeze she was feeling was wind and sand seeping through her windows. Jade cursed herself for not taking the time to permanently seal her windows, the temporary fix she made her first night in Sandrock didn’t stand a chance against this wind. “Maybe if I run outside really fast, I can grab my tools from the chest right next wo my water tank and fix this.” She said to herself.
Jade didn’t even bother to change out of her pajamas, she put her boots on and quickly opened the door only to be blasted in the face with sand. She flinched and fell backwards while her door swung open. The gusts of wind blasted right into her house and her body felt like it was being rubbed with rough sandpaper. “Are you crazy?!” she heard a voice call from the distance. Jade couldn’t see anything; the wind blew out all her candles in the house and she was too far from her oil lamp to see who was calling out to her. It wasn’t until she heard and felt the heavy footsteps stomping on her wooden floors as they approached her, and her front door finally clicking shut did she hear “Damn’t Skinny, what were you thinking going out in this weather?... Skinny? Where are you?”
“Down here…” Jade said with a horse voice, trying to catch her breath and cough out the sand she just inhaled. Pen grabbed the oil lamp from the other side of the house and brought it back over to where he entered to find Jade sitting on the floor in just a long baggy t-shirt that went down to her thighs, her beat up combat boots, and her hair up in a messy bun with a coating of sand across her body. Pen couldn’t help but let out a small laugh when he saw her. Well Skinny, contrary to what you said to me on your first day here, I do believe you are now in fact, a damsel in distress.” He grinned as he walked over to Jade with an outstretched hand to help her up.
“Oh, f*ck you.” She growled as she swatted his hand away and got up herself. “Ha! I mean sure, but you would have to buy me dinner first! And maybe clean the sand off you, it tends to get into all the wrong places.” Jade froze at that comment, thank light the room was dark enough that even with the oil lamp, Pen could not see the shade of bright red that spread across Jade’s cheeks. “You really are a moron.” She managed to get out, trying to play it cool. “Why are you here anyway?”
“Well Skinny, I figured no one told you what to expect out of sandstorms so I, being the great protector, graciously fought through the storm to come check on you. And also, to bring you some protective gear if you ever needed to come out in a storm like this.” Pen handed Jade a strange looking hat with goggles. “This will help cover your face and eyes, so you can breathe and see in the storm. But do try to stay inside as much as possible. People have been taken by these winds before, and monsters and the local wildlife tend to become enraged and act out in the storms. I had to fight two wild alpha yakmels just to get to your front door. Of course, they were no match for me, but you might have a struggle.”
“You know, I am not as helpless as you keep thinking I am, I know how to fight, and I train almost every day… and thanks for the hat…” Jade said as she took the sandgear and inspected it from the lamplight. Pen raised an eyebrow “You train everyday Skinny?” Jade chuckled “Yeah, I do, plus swinging a pickhammer into rocks all day is a hefty workout too. See? Not so Skinny after all, huh?” Jade lifted her arm and flexed her muscles, Pen reached out to grab her bicep and gave it a good squeeze, and to his surprise, she indeed was not so skinny after all. “I am impressed, but there is much room for improvement.” Jade just rolled her eyes. “That wasn’t entirely supposed to be insulting. All I’m saying is, there is always room for improvement… I mean except for me of course. I am already perfect, I just need to maintain my perfection.” Jade scoffed. “…what I’m saying is, I’m in need of a strong training partner.”
“Me? Why me?”
“Well Justice can’t always keep up, Owen is too scared to leave the Blue Moon ever since that lousy fry cook set the kitchen on fire… again… and that other strange Corps. member hasn’t spoken to me ever since I made the joke that I could crush his pet rock with one finger. I think you would be a worthy sparring opponent.”
Jade looked at him with a smirk. “Fine, on one condition.”
“Hmm?” Pen folded his arms waiting to hear her proposition.
“Can you help this “damsel in distress” get her tools outside so I can seal up these windows before my entire house fills with sand?”
“Haha, sure thing Skinny. What do you need me to get?”
“Well… I have a few different things scattered among my storage chests out there. It would be easier if I went out there to grab my things, I guess if you can come with me just to make sure I don’t blow away? Jade said with a small chuckle.
The corner of Pen’s mouth lifted as he laughed to himself. He picked up the sandgear Jade left on her kitchen table next to them and handed it to her. “Still need this though. Make sure you always have it on you in case a sandstorm hits.” He said in a much more serios tone.
“Got it, let’s go.” Jade said as she put on the sandgear and headed towards the door with Pen in tow. As soon as she opened the door, a gust of wind pushed her back into Pen. She was barely able to keep herself standing let alone walk. “This is one of the strongest storms I’ve seen in a few years Skinny.” Pen yelled out to Jade loud enough for her to hear him over the wind gusts. “I have a better idea!” he yelled again as he scooped Jade up in his arms to carry her over to her storage chests. Jade yelped as she felt Pen’s arms snake around her to lift her off the ground. “Just keep your head tucked in!” he shouted, and Jade turned her face into his chest to further shield herself from the storm. They made it over to the chests, got the supplies she needed, and he ran her back inside the house, kicking the door shut behind them.
“You alright Skinny?” Pen said as he looks down to the woman still being cradled in his arms. “Yeah, I’m good…” Jade said as she looked up at Pen while she was still leaning against her chest. By chance, they both caught each other’s eyes and held each other’s gaze for a few moments before they both quickly jerked their heads away to hide their blushing cheeks. Pen cleared his throat and then gently put Jade back down slowly releasing her from his grip. They both stood there in silence secretly mad at themselves for missing each other’s warmth. “Seriously? This guy?” Jade thought to herself. The first time she felt anything in almost two years, and it came from… Pen?
“Right ummm, is there anything else you need Skinny, or can I go take down some more enraged yakmels?” Pen said trying to shake how flustered he was.
“Nah, I’m ok. Just going to work on these windows and stay in bed today I guess.”
“Ok great, um, I’ll catch up with you tomorrow then to see when we can start training.” Pen said before letting himself out.
Jade spent the next few hours sealing up her windows. It wasn’t until 4pm did the wind gusts finally calm enough to let the sunlight peak through, just enough to see inside the house, and all the piled of sand through it. Jade sighed at the mess “Well, I guess I have nothing better to do.” She said as she picked up a broom and feather duster and cleaned her entire house. “I really hate sand…”
Jade laid in bed that night staring blankly at the ceiling. Her visit from Pen today kept replaying in her head. Why did she feel like this? Is her body just that desperate for affection, or was this some kind of sick joke from the universe that she actually liked his arrogant ass? I mean was he attractive? Yes. But does he have a sh*t personality? Also, yes. All Jade knew was that she fell asleep that night longing to feel his touch again.
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Morning came and Jade was relieved to be woken up by the sunlight and not a storm crashing sand against her house. It was quiet and peaceful, but a storm like that had to cause some damage to the town. Jade quickly hopped out of bed to shower and threw some clothes on before heading out to see what’s going on.
The first thing she noticed was her own yard wasn’t too bad. None of her machines took damage but there were piles of sand covering everything. The second thing she noticed was the small crowd gathered around the Blue Moon. “Well, that can’t be good.” She said to herself while running over to see what the commotion was all about.
“My stage… my beautiful stage… what am I going to do?” Owen said softly while staring blankly at the pile of rubble where his stage once was. “The main thing is no one was hurt. Things are replaceable, people are not.” Matilda said, placing her hand on Owen’s shoulder in comfort. Jade didn’t even have to ask questions, she knew exactly what was going on as soon as she approached the group.
Jade walked past the crowd and knelt down to analyze the rubble, gently scouring through some of the broken pieces while Matilda, Owen, and a few other townsfolk were looking on questioningly. “Hey Mi-an, come here for a moment.” Jade said, waving to her coworker to come closer. The two of them whispered amongst themselves while the crowd just looked around at each other trying to figure out what was happening.
Jade finally stood up and walked back towards Owen. “Well as Matilda said, things are replaceable. Including your stage. I’d say Mi-an and I can have the rebuilt in just a few days.”
“Rebuilt better than ever!” Mi-an chimed in. Owen’s demeanor suddenly changed as a huge smile spread across his face and a glimmer of hope shined in his eyes. “Really?! Just a few days?! This is amazing! If you can do this for me, I will be forever in your debt!” Owen cheered.
“We’ll get started right away!” Mi-an said, and the two builders took out their pickhammers and began to salvage what they could of the stage.
Jade was starting to lug her materials back to her workshop when she felt a hand on her shoulder that gave her goosebumps. “Need a hand with that Skinny?”
“Didn’t I tell you I could handle myself?” Jade said with a smirk as she turned around to face Pen.
“Yes, at least five times. But I figured I’d offer to help you before giving you more work to do.”
“Oh joy, lay it on me.” She sighed. Pen hands her a list of various things around town that need to be fixed. A few windows, a couple of roofs, some streetlights, nothing too crazy. “I thought this list would have been a lot worse actually.” Jade said while continuing to review the list.
“Well, the town is pretty well prepared for these, considering how frequent they have been happening lately.” Pen says as he scoops up a heaping pile of wood and metal piping to carry back to Jade’s workshop. “So, when does our training start?”
“I really don’t know, today is going to suck major balls with all the repairs I have to do.” Jade said while sorting out the materials that Pen just dumped in the middle of her yard.
Pen laughed “Well let me know whenever your done sucking balls so we can start then.”
Jade rolled her eyes, waved Pen off, and buried herself in her work.
It was about 8:00pm. Jade worked non-stop on Owen’s stage and worked on the various tasks around town in between, but she somehow got it done. She hammered the last nail into the stage piece just before her stomach growled so loud it could probably be heard across the Eufaula. “sh*t, I forgot to eat today!” she said as the adrenaline wore off and she became very away of the fact that she might pass out.
“Might as well go tell Owen the good news and grab a bite to eat while I’m there.” Jade heads inside her house to wash her face and then walks down to the Blue Moon. It wasn’t too busy, but a bit more packed than it usually is on a Thursday night. Jade walks in a takes a seat at the bar, right in front of Owen who was too distracted by his own thoughts to notice a new customer walk in. “Ahem!”
“Oh, hey Jade, heh sorry about that. It’s been a long day… what can I get ya?” Owen said with a weak smile.
“First things first… who’s your favorite builder?” Jade says with a grin.
“I uhh… I don’t like choosing between friends… why?”
“Well, it better be me, because I’m already installing your new stage first thing tomorrow morning!”
“Light you better not be joking with me!” Owen shouted with a big smile.
“Not joking at all, just finished assembling the last section before I came in here. I luckily had most of the materials on hand, and what I was able to salvage from the rubble was enough to finish the job. Mi-an said she should have the backdrop completed by the morning as well!”
Owen jumped up and down not being able to contain his excitement. “A round of yakmel milk for everyone, on me! Cheers to our great builders! Owen toasted as the rest of the townsfolk at the bar chugged back their yakmel milk.
“What, starting the party without me? A familiar voice asked while wrapping his arms around Jade from behind the barstool and leaning his chin on Jade’s shoulder. Jade froze from his touch and her heart began to race.
“So, how did the major ball sucking go today?” Pen laughed. Jade chuckled at his comment which helped her loosen up a bit… or maybe it was just the alcohol kicking in. “It was just fine… and what are you doing?”
“What? I can’t greet my good friend Skinny-Arms with a hug?” he said squeezing his arms around her tighter for a moment before releasing her and sliding into the barstool next to her, still having one arm wrapped around her shoulder. “Gotta hand it to you Skinny, you did a heck of a job fixing the whole town in one day… of course there wouldn’t be a town if it wasn’t for me fighting off all of those enraged monsters throughout the night… but still, you get some credit for saving the town.”
“Wow thanks, I worked nearly 13 hours straight and I only get “some” credit for saving the town. That’s so nice of you to say that.” She says with a sarcastic smirk while she glares at him. Pen grins back at her but catches her gaze again, he couldn’t help but get lost in those bright blue eyes of hers. He began to caress her shoulder and gently pulled him in closer to him. He was never going to admit it, but he longed for her touch again. Thoughts of her kept him up all night as well. There was just something about her.
Jade didn’t know if it was the alcohol or not, but she let Pen pull her closer, and she snuggled into his chest. Jade melted into the warmth of his embrace and Pen’s heart started to race as well.
“Everything alright here?” Owen looked at Jade questioningly.
“Yeah, I think she just had a long day and too much to drink.” Pen laughed. “I’ll take her back home. C’mon Skinny, let’s go.” Pen huffed as he lifted Jade up and carried her back home bridal style. Jade snaked her arms around his neck as he carried her, pulling their faces closer together. He turns his face to look at her, his lips accidentally grazing against hers sent chills down his spine. “What are you doing to me, Skinny?” he whispered softly, but Jade was sound asleep resting on his shoulder.
Pen carried her through the door and gently placed her down on the couch, ducking his head out from under her arms in an attempt to not wake her. He grabbed a blanket that was on the side of the couch and draped it across her. She looked so peaceful sleeping there. “Goodnight, Skinny.” he whispered to her, and quietly left.
The next morning, Jade woke to a pounding on her door. She couldn’t tell if it was someone actually pounding on her door, or the pounding headache she had from her hangover. The light shining through her windows was just too much to make her even want to get off the couch. The pounding on her door continued. “Oh for f*ck’s sake, come in!” she shouted, and instantly regretted it as it made her head hurt worse.
“Well, look who is the damsel in distress again?” Pen laughed.
“Light, Pen what are you doing here so early, and why are you yelling?” she groaned.
“I’m not yelling Skinny. I figured after last night you might need these.” He handed her a jug of water, two cups of coffee, a hot omelet from the Blue Moon, and some weird green goo. “Drink that first, it will help the hangover. It’s something that mute doctor concocted, and Owen keeps it on hand for emergencies at the Blue Moon now.”
Jade grabbed the cup from his hand – “Fair warning…”- she began to chug it – …it tastes like dead yakmel ass though.”- he said just as Jade’s eyes went wide and she spit it right out, gagging and coughing from the bitter taste of it. “Can’t say I didn’t warn ya!” Pen said with a hearty laugh and passed her a few napkins.
“Thanks for the heads up.” She groans as she glares at him with a side eye. “I haven’t been this hungover since college. I can’t believe my stupid ass drank that much on a completely empty stomach. Ughhhh.” She whined as she fell back onto the couch. “How did I get back here?”
“Well, you fell asleep on me at the bar so I carried you home.”
“You did?! … nothing happened between us… right?” Jade said, holding her breath.
Pen thought about that moment when their lips just barely touched last night as he stared at her soft lips longingly before quickly moving his gaze back up to Jade’s eyes “No haha, nothing happened. You were out cold asleep; I just threw you on the couch and left.”
“Oh, thank light.” Anyways, thanks for all of this. I gotta go put that stage together.”
“Anytime, Skinny. I’ll give you a pass today, but tomorrow we start training! I’ll see you around.” Pen gives her a gentle pat on the shoulder and leaves.
Jade was slow to get up and shower, but that disgusting green medicine really did the trick. Her headache thankfully cleared up just in time to assemble the stage. Jade and Mi-an worked together for a few hours and the stage was finally done.
“Light this is the grandest stage I have ever seen! I can’t thank you both enough!” Owen exclaimed. I’m going to make a special dinner for you two. Come back tonight, and bring your appetite!” he said pulling both Jade and Mi-an in for a big group hug. “We really have been blessed with two of the best builders!” Matilda said. “I think we can reschedule Mason’s party for tomorrow morning! I know he is just about tired waiting around to leave. I’ll have a post sent out to everyone to let them know. Thank you both again!”
“No problem at all, just doing our jobs!” Jade said with a smile.
