There's No Treat Only Trick!

The Takizakis

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There's a low rumble near Jacque's ear, a little sneeze. Jacque groans and feels the pressure on her chest lift for only a heartbeat before it settles back down on top of her. Jacque spends a long moment trying to remember how to use at least one arm, but when she does, she lugs it up and lets it fall over the thick fur pressed to her mouth.

"Can't... breathe," Jacque manages out, and the snoring stilts. The weight shifts, and Jacque pries her eyes open and finds James hovering over her.

"Hey there, kiddo," James grins, all teeth and dimples and squinty, adorable eyes. His hair is sticking up. "How're you feeling?"

Jacque hums low, sighing despite herself when fingers card through the hair around her ear. "I think... I'm dead."

James barks out a laugh. "Trust me when I say you're not."

Encouraged by the petting, Jacque rolls forward to plant her head against James' chest, which is covered in a soft cotton that smells like Christmas and a little bit of sweat. Jacque feels like she just dipped her face into the surface of the sun. She feels dry and shriveled and wrung-out, but there's something so inviting about being in James' hold, something soft and safe that draws Jacque in, so Jacque burrows in closer and sighs when James' arm trails over her waist to pull her in tight.

"Jacque," James says lowly, his breath hot against Jacque's cheek. "Can I tell you something?" Jacque's head is throbbing, but she nods a little. "The six of us," James starts, his fingers tracing figure eights against Jacque's lower back, "we've been together a very, very long time, and it's been a while since we've purposefully sought out someone else's company the way we've been seeking out yours. Minato was the last."

"You seem to all get along really well," Jacque mumbles, feeling like she could fall asleep at any moment. "What do you need me for?"

"I'm honestly not sure," James says, honest in that open way of his that Jacque is learning to admire. "But I thought the same thing when it was just me and Elias , and now I can't imagine what would have happened if I hadn't opened up my heart to Ich and the others."

"This is a very serious conversation for a Sunday morning with a near stranger who has thrown up twice in your house."

James chuckles and the sound rumbles from deep in his chest. The world seems to move a few paces slower after that. Jacque drifts off while James tugs and plays with her hair, shyly at first, and then a bit more fearless the more Jacque melts into his hold. "If I tell you something fantastical," James says in a quiet voice an unknown amount of time later, "will you promise to believe me?"

Jacque shifts, pulling away just enough to take in some fresh air. "I don't know if I can make a promise like that," she says.

"Don't run out on me, how about that?" Jacque nods, and James must feel it because he says right after, "That fox you rescued? That was Inasan."

Jacque pulls back more. James lets her go, giving her space, but Jacque doesn't need much. Just enough to look into James eyes, which are a smoky brown, like there's something burning deeper within them, waiting to step out.

Jacque takes in those eyes, James' soft, open face. Says, "Okay."

"You saved her life that night," James continues, voice steady, "which means our family owes you a life debt. Do you understand, Jacque?"

"In theory," Jacque nods, because she promised she wouldn't run out and because she's getting answers to questions she hadn't realized were drifting about her head all this time. A shapeshifting fox doesn't explain much, but it explains some, and that's all Jacque's looking for right now.