Worth a Shot

[solarOrigins]

Jake grunted as he carried the last box inside. He hadn't expected his grandfather to be so nice to him, nor had he expected the man to insist that he move in with him since he had no where else to go. It was lucky he didn't have much stuff and that Kayla had been able to put it in a storage unit for the duration of his deployment. His grandfather was nearly the same as he remembered him, maybe a little more grey and white around the temples, but easily recognizable all the same.

Jade was a different story. She looked nothing like the tiny little girl he had last laid eyes on. For one thing she wasn't crying because he was taken to live with his real father. And another was she was nearly a grown woman, and a pretty one at that. She looked extraordinarily like their mother.

Jake put the box with the others in his new room before leaving the room to hunt down his fatigue jacket. It had a tendency to vanish as soon as he laid it down, or soon after, especially if Jade noticed he wasn't wearing it.

"Jade?" Jake called tentatively. He went to her door and knocked. "Jade? I Wanted to go out for a bit, would you like to come?"

[midnightVigilante]

Jade had been absolutely estatic when Grandpa had told her Jake would be living with them again not that long ago. She had had told all of her friends (anyone who would listen to her actually) as she prepared for her brother's arrival. Rose and Dave were surprised to learn she had any siblings. John had vaguely remember Jake, but asked his Dad about him anyway.

Mr. English taking Jake away was one of Jade's worst memories from her early childhood. He had really been her only friend. This was back when the other kids her age were constantly picking on her for her appearance, mannerisms, etc. But her big brother always stood up for her and made the bullies go away.

The first thing Jade did was pull him into a tight hug as soon as Jake got there. Her big brother was finally back! Right now she was in her room with the boy's jacket. Grandpa had insisted he have some time to himself, to get accomadated and other boring things. She had pouted the whole walk up to her room.

Jade grinned, spinning her chair around to face the door as Jake called for her. "You can come in. And I'd love to go out!"

[solarOrigins]

Jake opened the door, leaning on the jam with a smile. He was still in the habit of wearing his fatigues around, though it wasn't like he had many other options. Having been overseas for so long, his only other clothes were shorts and light t-shirts, unsuitable for the current chill of the winter months of Washington. "There's where my jacket went." he chuckled.

"Anyway, I was thinking about going out to get some jeans and a proper coat. Maybe something to eat. Still want to join me? If we're lucky, I can find an army surplus store and get another fatigue jacket, since you're so keen on keeping that one"

[midnightVigilante]

Jade giggled and smiled at him as she wrapped her arms around herself. "I can't believe you're actually here! I thought I was never going to see you again." She stood up and stretched before cracking her neck.

"I was going to meet up with my three closest friends tonight for dinner. You should join us! We can do your shopping then go have dinner with them."

[solarOrigins]

"Alright" Jake nodded. "If you think I'm ready to meet your friends, then all I can do if hope I'm not too embarrassing" He grinned at her. "What I'm wearing will be alright won't it? Or are we headed someplace with a dress code?"

[midnightVigilante]

Jade clapped her hands and bounced on the balls of her feet. "You are totally ready to meet them! I've told them so much about you already. They really want to meet you." She practically bounced over to her bed and grabbed her shoes from the floor.

"We're just going to Red Robin."

[solarOrigins]

"Yum" Jake chuckled. "I am rather glad I get to be with you again. Growing up, I had often wished that Grandpa would have gotten custody of me like he did you." he admitted "It wasn't the same without you"

[midnightVigilante]

Jade was quiet as she put her shoes on. She had been absolutely miserable for a least year after Jake was first taken away. Grandpa told her that she had cried every night the first month after it happened.

After awhile it was just a sad reminder that the family was falling apart. The bullies all lost interest and moved on, or were easy to ignore now. But Jade was always lonely without Jake. "I missed you a lot."

[solarOrigins]

"I missed you too" Jake smiled, pushing himself up off the frame. "I used to keep a picture of us in my helmet, from when we were little. All my platoon kept asking me if they were my kids and I had to keep explaining that it was you and me, and that it was the only picture I had of you"

[midnightVigilante]

jade hurriedly wiped at her eyes. She didn't want to start crying in front of Jake. "Let's get going. We don't want any of th stores to close on this."

[solarOrigins]

"We have plenty of time" Jake smiled. "Why don't you come hold my hand while we walk and catch up? Maybe I'll let you drive my jeep to the store"

[midnightVigilante]

Jade wiped her eyes again. She quickly shuffled over to her brother and grabbed his hand as she nodded at him. "Alright. Where are we going first?"

[solarOrigins]

"I don't know, you tell me" Jake smiled. "I'm not familiar with the area around here, remember?"

[midnightVigilante]

Jade started to lead him out of the house. "Name some stores. I'll tell you if we have one nearby or not. Sound good?"

[solarOrigins]

"Normally I just shop at walmart, Target, or kmart" Jake admitted "Though I have found some nice shirts at Khols or the mall"

[midnightVigilante]

Jade gave his hand a squeeze as they stepped outside. "Why don't we go to the mall? There's plenty of stores in there, I'm sure you'll find something you like. Plus, Red Robin is in the mall as well! That will give us more time to shop."

[solarOrigins]

"That sounds good to me" Jake replied, giving her hand a squeeze.

[midnightVigilante]

Jade turned to face him. She was smiling as she stood slightly on her toes to kiss his cheek. She started to hum and threw her arms around him. "I'm just so happy that you're back."

[solarOrigins]

Jake wrapped his arms around her in return. "So am I"

[midnightVigilante]

Jade kissed his cheek again before wiggling out of his arms. "My friends are excited to meet you."

[solarOrigins]

"I'm excited to meet them as well" Jake grinned. "What time are we meeting up?"

[midnightVigilante]

"Dave wants to meet at 5. He's pretty hungry already."

[solarOrigins]

"What time is it now?" Jake asked

[midnightVigilante]

Jade rolled her sleave up to check her watch. "It is 2:30 right now. And it will take half an hour to get to the mall."

[solarOrigins]

"So that'll give us about two hours to shop, right?" Jake grinned.

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