Senseless

Chances

"Is she allowed to have a bit?" Jake asked as he stole another glance at the dog now walking between them, her service dog vest secure around her body, though she had no leash on. It was as if she knew exactly where she needed to be, because Jana wasn't even paying any attention to her. She had just put herself between them and was determined to stay there. 

The question brought Jana's eyes down to the dog briefly, before they lifted back up to meet his. "Yes, I suppose she can have some of yours." 

Oh ho. 

"Some of mine, eh?" 

Jake's smirk matched the one Jana was trying to hide as they crossed a street, having stopped for a moment to wait for the indicator to flash. "You mean I have to sacrifice some of my treat for your dog?" Jake asked, a hint of sarcasm in his tone of voice. 

Jana waited until they had gotten across the street before he replied with a shrug. "You asked if she could get a treat, not if she could have mine." 

A pout formed on Jake's lips, but Jana seemed completely unfazed by it, mainly because he was focusing more on where they were walking than Jake's expressions. That was, perhaps, why he easily walked around the large man in front of them, when Jake nearly ran right into him. Jana's hand jerked out and grabbed his right arm, yanking him out of the way just in time. 

Jana moved them out of the way of the pedestrian traffic and over to stand beside a large sidewalk trashcan, but didn't drop his hand from Jake's shoulder. In fact, his grip strengthened, and Jake knew that he was having trouble controlling himself. Instead of freaking out, he kept his eyes down, focusing on Tera, who was, in turn, focusing on Jana intently. The upper portion of her lips were twitching upward, but she wasn't growling. 

She's wondering if she needs to bite him again to get him to let me go. 

He hoped not. Jana didn't need the added attention that would cause. I don't want this to end badly. Jake tried to wrack his brain for a way to calm the situation down. He knew that Jade was watching, but was glad that he hadn't acted yet. He didn't want to have to rely on someone to break them up every time Jana struggled. 

After a few moments of thought, Jake took a calming breath and slowly let his body sink down to the hard sidewalk. He sat still, relieved that Jana followed him down to the concrete instead of forcing him to stay standing or hang by where he was gripping his arm. Jana's dark blue eyes narrowed on Jake's arm as Tera settled between them. She lied down so that Jake's arm wouldn't be strained, but also so that she could react quickly in either direction if needed. 

"Jana?" Jake finally said, trying to see if he could get the man's attention. 

There was no response, but Jake could tell that his eyes weren't dilated and his breathing wasn't becoming uneven. He isn't out of it yet... Jana's eyes widened as Jake tried to run through possibilities in his head. His brother's head turned after another tense second, then his hand slipped from Jake's sore upper arm. 

He kept himself from rubbing at the spot that would likely bruise and whispered a quiet "Thank you." 

Jana ran his fingers through his dark red hair, making it stick up similarly to what Jade had already done to Jake's earlier. 

I  bet we look even more alike with our messy hair, now. 

"Come on, I want my ice cream." 

Blinking, Jake looked up at Jana's proffered hand.  

I didn't even realize he'd gotten up so fast. 

Jake hesitated to take Jana's hand for fear of triggering him again, but when his brother gave him an inpatient look and wiggled his fingers, Jake swallowed his hesitance and clasped his brother's rough hand. He was quickly pulled up with no other reaction from Jana except for being pulled down the sidewalk at a slightly faster pace than they had been walking before. 

Wait, he's still holding my hand. 

Once they were through one of the bigger rushes of people on the sidewalk, Jake spared a glance back over his shoulder, meeting Jade's curious eyes. He's surprised that there's no reaction, too.

Wanting nothing more than to savor the contact with his big brother, Jake hurried to stay by his side. The man was taller so it took some effort to match his pace, but Jake managed it just long enough to get to the ice cream shop without panting too badly. 

I think I'm a bit out of shape. He thought as Jana dropped his hand to step inside. Jake stayed back for a moment, holding the door open for Jade, before returning to Jana's side. 

His brother had already ordered, his triple scoop cone being made up as Jake approached. Chocolate on the bottom. Cookies and cream in the middle, and... He waited, watching as the worker behind the counter dipped her scoop into the last choice. butter peacan. 

The amount of options was a bit mind boggling when it was actually Jake's turn to order. He didn't know what to get, but he also knew that it had to be dog friendly, because he had gotten permission to spoil Tera a bit. 

"Vanilla, please. Just one scoop." 

The woman smiled, then rung up the total. It was a bit high for one scoop, but then he realized that Jana hadn't even bothered paying for his. My brother's a bit of a brat. Jake grumbled to himself as he handed over the money and told her to keep the change as a tip. 

As he settled himself in a chair next to the one Jana had chosen, Jake wanted to elbow him and tell him that big brothers were supposed to pay for things for their younger siblings, but he bit back the comment. They were doing well and he didn't want to slip up with some type of trigger. Talking about their relationship might cause something. Instead of speaking, he swiped his finger across his ice cream and then offered it down to Tera. She sniffed his finger for a moment, pinned her ears back, and turned her head away as if it wasn't good enough for her. 

"Spoiled dog." Jake muttered as he lifted his finger so that he could lick off the ice cream. 

Jana's hand suddenly grabbed his wrist right before he could press his tongue to his finger. Jake wasn't sure what he'd done to cause a reaction that time, but when Jana slowly lowered his hand back toward Tera, he blinked, surprised. 

I didn't trigger him? 

The dog was suddenly much more interested in the little bit of ice cream, too, and when his finger got close enough, she gladly cleaned it of the delicious treat. 

"Huh?" 

Jana released his hand, allowing Jake to wipe off the dog's little bit of saliva. Once his hand was clean, having used his pants instead of a napkin, Jake took a few licks of his melting ice cream before sneaking a glance up at his brother. He seemed distracted all of a sudden, but before Jake could try to figure out what he was looking at, or if he was lost in his own mind thinking of something, Jana stood. He finished up his cone quickly, shockingly, with no hints of a brain-freeze. 

He then looked down at Jake. Oh. His eyes... While Jana was forcing a smile, his pupils had begun to widen. Jake felt his heartbeat quicken, worried that he or Tera might have to react, or Jade might have to step in. Instead of an attack, however, Jana closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them as he took a step away. 

"Thank you, Jacob." 

He then turned and hurriedly walked out the door, disappearing around the corner seconds later. Jake sighed as he relaxed into the chair. He ate his melting ice cream slowly as he tried to calm himself. 

When Jade appeared and took the seat Jana had vacated, Jake eagerly leaned against his side when Jade wrapped an arm around his shoulder as he finished off his cone. They both got up when he needed to throw away his paper trash wrapper, and silently exited the shop to head back toward Jade's house. 

"I think he was about to lose control." Jake finally said after they'd walked nearly a block. 

A gentle hand against his back soothed his remaining nerves and drew his attention to Jade's face. "He did very well, especially without Domino. We'll let him have some time to himself now, and try again in a week or so." After he'd finished speaking, Jade handed a small cup of chocolate chunk ice cream to Jake. "I only wanted a few bites, would you mind finishing it for me?" 

Of course! 

"I wouldn't mind at all, sir. Thank you." Jake said with a reassured smile as he took the spoon and dug into the ice cream that seemed to not have even been touched.