From the very beginning I was one of the small group of people saying this means nothing. I believed it was just a shadow of one from the team or whatever. Or just a weird ass normal shadow.
The Confrontation. Jake finding out you're working on the Moonvale case.
A/n: Hello. I come to post a part two. To the last drabble I wrote. Here check it out. You need to read it to understand this part. Anyway. I was surprised how many or you loved it. And I was asked to do a part two. And I tried. I really hope this does justice to part 1. But this one was kinda harder. Anyway. Yeah. Jake x MC, kinda chat style, I guess. Yada Yada. Uhho hope you like it. 💚
Jake’s contact had a different signal tone than any other of your contacts. At first, during Duskwood, the reason was that you would immediately know it was urgent. But 90% of that was a lie. A different ringtone for your lover… cheesy, embarrassing—you loved knowing it was him already before seeing his name.
So when you heard the sound, an involuntary smile crept onto your face. He was back. For three days now. Thank God. You reached for your phone without hiding the anticipation.
But the second you read his message, the smile was gone again.
“Fuck…”
—
Jake hadn’t moved in seconds. No—he was counting down the seconds it usually took you to answer.
“15… 14… 13…”
Then—
Ping.
“You’re still awake?”
He almost smiled at that. Almost.
He shook his head, not answering your question.
“How long were you planning to keep this from me?”
A pause.
“…Keep what from you?”
His eyes flicked once more over the file. Your name. The timestamps. The locations.
“Moonvale.”
Silence.
He watched you type, pause, write.
“…You looked into it.”
Not a question. You knew.
His wording was sharper than he wanted to. But he send before he could change his mind.
“I don’t need to look into it. You made it very accessible.”
A huff of disbelief escaped you, “That’s not fair.”
His brow furrowed.
“It’s accurate.”
The typing indicator appeared. Disappeared. Came back.
“I was going to tell you.”
“When?”, he shot back.
The message stayed unanswered for several seconds.
“I don’t know. Soon.”
Jake leaned back slightly, gaze fixed on the screen, back straight, head held high. An attempt to make himself feel like he was still in control—and not getting lost in a sudden flood of unwelcome, unnecessary emotions.
“You’ve been working on it for weeks.”
“…Yes,” you answered.
“Consistently.”
“Also yes…”
“Even at night.”
A few seconds passed.
“Yeah… sometimes.”
Jake’s tongue pressed against his teeth, his right hand forming into a first.
“In person?”
“…Jake—”
He ignored it. Your answer was too important for him.
“Have you been in Redlog Pines?”
This time, your answer came sharper. Even he, who struggled to read emotions through text, understood it immediately.
“No, Jake. I’ve not been in Redlog. I’m once again having to watch it from afar.”
His fingers stilled again. By now he was fighting to keep his composure. In the corner of his eye, he could see several pictures. Adam. Charlie and MC laughing. Eric… The picture of this man, shirtless, on the phone of the person he lov—
“Damnit,” he muttered under his breath, forcing his attention back to the conversation. His fingers briefly drummed against the edge of the laptop.
Then he answered.
Calm. Controlled. He was neither of these things.
“You’re repeating the same pattern.”
“No, I’m not.”
“You are.”
“I’m handling it differently this time.”
His jaw tightened again.
“With unsecured contacts?”
A pause on your side.
“…What?”
“Eric.”
No answer.
He kept going.
“Ash. Charlie.”
Another pause. Longer now.
“You went through everything.”
“I didn’t have to go far.”
“That’s still—”
Before you could finish, he had already sent another.
“Careless.”
The word sat there. Harsh. Final.
A beat passed.
“You’re one to talk about being careful.”
He imagined you sitting on your couch, scoffing into the silence. He didn’t respond to that.
Instead—and it almost hurt him to write it out—
“You trust them.”
Quiet. Direct.
“…I work with them.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
The silence in the hotel room felt louder than before.
And maybe it was just his imagination, but your next message sounded softer.
“I don’t really have a choice.”
It sounded softer. Nonetheless, it didn't help his tight shoulders to ease.
“You always have a choice.”
“Not if I want to help.”
That—
That again.
He stopped. Took a breath. Enough time for him to register the shift in his chest.
“You’re getting involved too quickly.”
“I’m not.”
“You are.”
“You don’t even know everything yet!”
The typing indicator flickered rapidly now as his fingers moved faster.
“I know enough.”
A second message added:
“You’re doing it again.”
“So are you.”
His fingers stopped. He felt something colder settle inside of him. He didn’t like it.
“…Explain.”
“You disappear. You come back. And suddenly you’re everywhere again. In my messages, in my files—”
“I was already there.”
“That’s not the point.”
“It is for me.”
Another message came right after. The tone shifting again.
“You don’t get to control this, Jake.”
The words lingered.
In the chat. In his mind.
In his chest.
For a moment, he didn’t type. Didn’t move. He looked down at his hands, fingers stretched over the keyboard. A part of him felt guilty.
Controlling. He knew he was. And he always told himself it was necessary. And caught in his worry for you, he still thought it now.
When he finally typed again, the response was slower.
More measured again. More himself.
“I’m not trying to control it.”
“…Really?”
“You’re exposing yourself to unnecessary risk.”
“That sounds exactly like control.”
“It’s assessment.”
“No, it's worry.”
That—
A muscle ticked in his cheek.
“You shouldn’t be doing this alone.”
“I’m not alone.”
His eyes flicked back to the names.
Eric.
Ash.
Charlie.
And this time, he let himself feel it.
Pain.
“Not alone” hit him like a physical blow.
“No. You are not alone,” he muttered. “You have me.”
His next message was the most emotional one so far.
“They’re not enough.”
The weight of it settled between them.
Longer this time.
When you replied, it was slower.
“…Why does this bother you so much?”
He stared at the question longer than necessary.
The cursor blinked.
Once.
Twice.
“It’s reckless.”
It wasn't the truth. Both knew.
“That’s not what I asked.”
His jaw tightened.
“You’re inserting yourself into an active investigation without proper protection.”
“That’s still not an answer.”
He stilled once again. Heat crawled up his neck.
Then—
“You didn’t tell me.”
The message sat there. Short. Plain.
But heavier than the rest.
“…I didn’t think I had to.”
That—
His expression shifted, just barely.
“You did.”
“Why?”
The air seemed to thicken between them. Even through screens.
“You know why.”
“No. I don’t.”
His fingers hovered over the keyboard. Stilled. Moved again.
“You’re doing the same thing again.”
“And you’re reacting the same way.”
“That’s because the situation hasn’t changed.”
“It has.”
“How.”
One word. Flat.
“I’m not depending on you this time.”
The words landed clean.
Too clean.
Jake didn’t respond immediately.
Didn’t move.
The cursor blinked in the empty field as something tightened in his chest— unfamiliar in how direct it was.
When he finally typed, the precision was still there.
But thinner now.
“…That was never the point.”
“Wasn’t it?”
“No.”
“Then what was?”
His gaze dropped briefly to your name on the screen again. To the logs. The timestamps. The pattern.
To the absence of himself in all of it.
He took a deep breath. When he exhaled, it was uneven. Shaky. Less controlled than before.
“You weren’t supposed… to need to handle it alone.”
He hit send.
Then added two more messages.
“I should have been with you.”
“This was... ours.”
The reply didn’t come instantly, making him more aware of the tension building in his chest.
When it did, it was careful.
“I didn’t have a choice, Jake. Not if you’re not there.”
That—
That one did it.
His composure fractured. Not visibly. Not fully.
But enough.
Enough for his next message to come without the usual distance or control. Without the usual thinking before.
dan: what’s up with mc? she's been laying on the floor for like… an hour now?
jessy: she's just a little overwhelmed.
dan: why?
jessy: jake sent her an audio message with his real voice.
English isn't my first language, if there are any errors let me know ;)
I was scanning some files to send to my work while sipping a cup of cold coffee. The moment I snuggle into my warm sweatshirt I see my phone vibrate with a notification.
I smile when I pick up my cell phone and see a single message from Jake calling my name.
"yes?🤭"
He sees it immediately. I wait for the next message while refilling my cup, soon hearing another notification.
"What did that conversation with Eric mean?"
I frown and respond.
"what do you mean?"
"I told you"
"Eric got my number from his friend Adam and now I'm helping him find to find Adam"
After a few seconds of the message being viewed, I sip the new coffee as I watch the "typing" symbol appear and disappear several times.
"I understood this part."
My fingers run quickly across the cell phone keyboard.
"so...?😶"
"Was Eric flirting with you?"
I let out a low laugh as I look at my phone.
Of course. Jake being Jake.
"oh, I got it 😆"
He responds quickly.
"This is not funny."
I spin around in my swivel chair as I laugh, then go back to typing.
"he was just joking, Jake"
"Oh, yes, I understand."
"you don't seem very convinced to me 🤭"
It takes him a while to type again, and I can almost see him sulking.
"You were clearly flirting back."
"I was just being polite, Jake!"
"I was tense, he was in the forest, he just wanted to relax"
I see that he views it and doesn't respond. After a few minutes, I decide to add:
"and besides, he's not even my type 😗"
The answer comes quickly, almost making me laugh.
"Oh, really?"
"And what is your type?"
I take the last sip of my coffee, typing calmly.
"let me think... 🤔"
I purposely take my time typing, wanting to make him curious.
"a polite and intelligent man"
"technology professional"
"Maybe with dark hair and blue eyes..."
"And very, veeeery jealous"
"Do you qualify for any of these requirements?" 😙"
I relax casually in my chair as I wait for the answer with a slight smile on my face.
I feel as if I’m lost while searching for my heart. I don’t even know where you are, yet my phone is always with me. I think every notification might be from you. I imagine that the man who escaped from the world will come to me, that he will be protected within my heart.
In my dreams, you are close to me. I recognize you by your eyes. We are in an open space, surrounded by tall grass. The sky is cloudy, rain is about to begin. Between the silence of the abandoned land and the blowing wind, I hear your voice. You are smiling. You were wearing a black trench coat, your eyes narrowing as they smile deeply.
I wanted to get closer and embrace you, to listen to your heart and at least be able to hold you. I woke up. You are not beside me again. You are still far away, searching for some truths.
As the days repeat one another, I wish you knew how much I miss you, even though I have never known you.
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