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Between patrols and titans, there was plenty to do on the island, but Sherry was finding herself rather fond of the downtime. It was a time for talking, cleaning, and in general being happy and not dying.

It was during some such downtime (although on a particular day) that Sherry made the familiar trek from her room to Jake's. She'd left her coat in her room, but donned her scarf, not wanting to feel too exposed. She could always take that off, though, and she kind of planned to. Beyond that, she'd dressed up a little. Just enough that she knew it, even if no one else noticed. It was too hot for her fancy sweater, so she'd settled on a simple brown shirt with long sleeves, and slightly ruffled brown skirt, and black tights. Feminine, classy, cute...she liked it. And they were her good clothes. Not field attire, at all. Of course, she had her pendant, too, though she wore none of her usual trinkets besides that. Her hand ran a little anxiously over her still damp hair, almost missing the jewelry she usually wore there.

In her other hand she held a simple brown gift bag, nothing large and certainly not fancy. It had a simple white ribbon tied into a bow around the handles. With a deep breath, she knocked on his door.

It wasn't like she was super fancied up, but way more fancy than he'd seen so far... that he knew. But a little, which was why she was anxious about that door opening, even if she didn't want to be.

Armagnac did not like this whole endeavor.

Sherry rolled her eyes. This is happening. I know how you feel, but it doesn't change how I feel. Calm down and think a bit, we'll get everything sorted and then--

The tone was just about as flat as Sherry had ever heard her weapon be.

Maybe. Maybe not. Won't know unless we try. Sherry knocked on the door again, and then tried the handle. Just in case. A soft click told her it was unlocked, as usual. So she stuck her head in, as usual.

She found one sleepy Jake, pillow conveniently blocking out what light there was in the room. Sherry almost laughed through her smile and let herself the rest of the way into the room. Always sleeping, that was Jake.

"Wake up, sleepy head," she said in a sing-song whisper as she stepped over clothes and made her way to the bed. The bag was placed next to the bed as she sat down on the edge of it. Her hand was then lifting the pillow before she could think better of it. "No napping without me."

She laughed. "Yes. But we've already slept together so--" The blush came with the realization of what she'd said. "Err. Um. You know what I mean." Darn English language with its double meanings. Or not darn. Sherry was too happy right then to curse anything, and her flustering lasted only for the briefest of moments. She decided to give the answer a second go. "Yes," she said, kissing him softly, "but not right now."

Her fingers were poking playfully at his side, even while she put on a slightly more serious tone. "I was wondering if we could chat for a bit?"

Sherry had her own look of satisfaction at his fluster. She knew exactly what she'd said.

She tried no to look disappointed by his sitting up, and moved to follow him, though she stayed close. Her smile faded a little bit, her expression softening. "Two things. That are completely different."

She took a deep breath. "The first one...might not be the most pleasant of topics." She reached out and grabbed his hand, squeezing it tight. "But I don't want you to get upset."

Sherry nodded, and she didn't bother to hide the sadness on her face. At the same time, she leaned in to hug Jake, squeezing him tight and nearly climbing into his lap.

"Armagnac wants nothing more than to gut you, she's been reminding me of it nearly every moment since... things went bad." It was tiring, really, all the anger. "I don't think you'd hurt me, but I won't let you anyway." She pressed her lips to his temple.

"Can you tell me what happened, though? You'd mentioned a memory... and..." she paused for a moment, shifting subjects slightly. "The things you said... I..." She sighed. "What happened?"

Sherry cuddled up right close to him. "You weren't in your right mind. It was clear enough then." Sherry really didn't want to have it happen again though. It hadn't been fun.

She kissed the bit of his head she could reach, hugging him a little tighter. "I don't think you did either, from what you've said before. But," she sighed again. She didn't really know what to say. "Things are different now. You don't have to worry about those things."

She returned that stern look, trying to look very stern. "You have me. And you have friends here. People you can trust. So...when things do come back to haunt you, don't worry. You're not alone." A squeeze from he hands tried to emphasize the point.

She flashed a wicked smile, but the look in her eyes was still serious. "Besides, I won't let you abandon me, especially not on accident. Or did you miss the part about me being selfish?" With a sigh, her smile softened. "I'll fight for you, I mean. For the right to be here, with you." She shifted her weight a tiny bit, nestling into him.

Sherry smiled and wrapped her arms around him again, hugging him to let him know how she felt. She was even willing to let the 'crazy' remark slide, probably because Armagnac was agreeing with it. So she sighed happily, and just stay there for a moment, perfectly content. Some time after her fingers had begun trailing along the top edge of his tank top did she remember the second reason she'd arrived.

"Now that's been settled," she sounded satisfied, "I have one more thing to discuss with you." She kissed his cheek then turned, pausing in his lap long enough to unbutton her boots and slide them off. Next, she nearly rolled out of his lap and leaned over to trade her boots for the bag next to the bed.

"Happy Birthday, Jake." She smiled and held the bag out to him.