Senseless

Chances

Jake-

He wanted to hurry and get downstairs to see what Jade had gotten him, but at the same time, he couldn't keep from running back and forth from his bathroom mirror to the bedroom door. You look fine, just go! He urged himself, while at the same time his nerves added. You should have brought something a little nicer than jeans and a navy T-shirt. 

Biting his tongue, he shoved his wallet in his pocket and pulled the door open, darting down the stairs before he could make himself go back and check himself in the mirror again. As he got closer to the last few steps, Jake slowed his pace and tried to even out his breathing. When he set his foot down on the final step, Jade was suddenly there, a faint smirk playing in his eyes as he settled his hand on top of Jake's styled hair, mussing it up in seconds. 

"Excited, hm?" He asked, a smile ghosting across his lips. 

Jake bit back a grimace, knowing that his hair was once again something close to what he woke up with. He did, however, reach up and try to straighten it out just a bit, which earned a chuckle from Jade before the man leaned over and pressed a light kiss to his cheek. Jake's hands paused in his hair from surprise, then he felt a hand on his back that began leading him toward the door. 

"Be on your best behavior, alright?" He told Jake as they stopped in front of the closed door. 

Nodding eagerly, Jake fought himself to not bounce on the balls of his feet, his curiosity nearly getting the better of him. Jade shook his head a bit, but leaned forward to open the door anyways. When Jake turned to face it, his jaw dropped open and he wasn't sure whether to step back quickly or run forward and hug the man in front of him. 

Don't hug him. That wouldn't end well. He reminded himself as he nervously looked up at his big brother who had clearly been waiting on the doorstep. Jana seemed distracted at first, possibly lost in his thoughts, but soon realized that Jake and Jade were there and seemed to do his best to look relaxed. 

It didn't really look like it worked, considering his hands were dug into his cargo pants pockets and he was shifting his weight slightly from foot to foot, both of which were surprisingly clad in a pair of loose, dark blue flip-flops. Not wanting to make him feel any more nervous, Jake offered Jana a soft smile. 

"Hello, Jana. How are you today?" After he'd spoken, he remembered that Jana really wasn't one for small talk and began to feel as awkward as the other man looked. He thought that they'd just silently stare at each other, similarly as their last encounter of the sort, before Jana either left or got frustrated. 

When Jana suddenly took a step back off the doorstep and pursed his lips, a faint smile on them, Jake exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "I'm doing a little better." Jana said. 

The simple sentence was encouraging, drawing a full grin from Jake. "Great! Um," Jake looked back over his shoulder at Jade, expecting him to tell him what they were going to do today, but when the man just raised an eyebrow and gave him a slight smile, Jake realized that just getting Jana there was Jade's surprise, and that it was now up to him to decide what the activity would be. 

Turning back to Jana, Jake cautiously stepped out onto the front stoop and took a calming breath before he spoke. "I'm craving some ice cream, you in?" He asked Jana, hoping that the man liked sweets as much as he'd caught Domino mentioning he did. 

The nervous expression slowly melted from Jana's face as a genuine smile took over for a few moments. "Always." Jake cheered inwardly as he stepped down onto the pavement at the same time Tera looked at him from behind Jana's legs. 

Don't pet her. Don't pet her. 

Forcing his hands to stay at his sides, Jake grinned at the beautiful dog. "Hey there, sweet girl." He cooed happily before glancing back up at his brother as they began to slowly walk down the street toward the small ice cream parlor a few blocks down. He could sense Jade following them, but he was thankfully staying a good ways back.