I'm so. SO. so very sorry about leaving you hanging like that. I just LOST this story completely, all my motivation drained and I just bleh, I couldn't come up with anything new. This might not be all that good, but I will be damned if don't at the very least try my best to finish this.
"Hey." A voice next to her ear had Cupcake squeak and drop her keys onto the sidewalk.
"Jack?!" She whipped around and found herself barely an inch from the cold boy's face. Flustered she leaned back to put some space in between them and bumped the back of her head against the bakery shop door.
"Owowow .. Hi Jack."
"Sorry, I didn't mean for you to hit your head.." Jack smiled and picked up her keys, handing them back to her.
"But scaring me was fully intentional, huh?" Cupcake rolled her eyes and turned back to the door, unlocking it and stepping inside.
"Yep." Jack grinned and floated in behind her.
"Woow, so this is were you work?"
"Yeah.." Cupcake freed herself from hat, scarf, jacket, mittens and sweater before retrieving her apron and putting her bangs up with a pink pin.
It was 5 am and she was already running late with her Christmas specialties. She rummaged trough the fridge for the frozen topping for her Gingerbread Snowbombs, watching Jack float around in and out of the kitchen and shop area from the corner of her eye.
Ever since that night when she gave him tea and had him over pretty much the whole night, marvelling over the stories he shared and the strange situation of having an ancient teen Guardian perched on her windowsill, he'd been around her pretty much whenever he had the time.
He would make the tea in her cup freeze and start dancing in the shape of an unicorn, he'd play tricks on Charlie whenever his mother was in the hospital and Cupcake found herself in charge of him, he'd pore over her cell phone for HOURS while she worked on some recipe and "help" her try out every single thing she cooked. (Really, he was like a dog, whenever she stepped into the kitchen she'd feel a drop in temperature and hear a knock on the window, it was amazing how he always seemed to know whenever she was about to cook.)
The situation was crazy, unbelievable and yet so very natural.
Jack didn't have many friends beside the other Guardians, and they were all very, very busy beings, having Easter, Christmas, teeth and dreams on their hands.
Jack dealt with the snow and cold, of course, but it was something he did mostly because it was fun and not because he had to. Besides, if he didn't feel up for it he could just blow trough his fingers and send a cloud racing to where snow was to be delivered. Cupcake had long realized that if not lonely, at least he was bored out of his skull with the life he lead, and he desperately wanted new things to happen around him. Cupcake had become his portal into a world where he was always present but never seen, and around her he could ask, engage and talk as much as he wanted to without being let down – because she would always reply.
She could hear and notice him, notice when his blue eyes were troubled or curious. She could see him. And she wasn't a child that needed reassurance or saving.
She was just Cupcake. She was just there. So bizarre as the situation was, she understood how it came to be.
"That's weird…"
"What's weird?" Jack popped his head trough the door that lead into the kitchen.
"The frozen frosting, Emma said she would make it and…" Her eyes fell on a huge, covered mixing bowl under the counter and she groaned. "Just MAKING it isn't enough Emma, it's supposed to be FROZEN, you can't just ..!" She threw her hands up, cursing over her scatterbrain boss wouldn't help now, she wasn't even here to listen.
"Now what do I do, it's never going to freeze over in time for the customers to arrive, and it's two days to Christmas, they WILL be wanting them and .." Her eyes fell on Jack, sailing out into the shop area again, and she almost laughed out loud.
"Jack. I could use some ice over here."
"Did I hear you say ice?" Jack landed next to her, leaning against the counter, a flirty look on his face.
"Yes, ice, Casanova. She pointed to the huge bowl. I need this to freeze over."
"Leave it to me." Jack blew at the tip of his finger and a trail of ice blew trough the air towards smooth surface of the sweet, white goo.
"Thanks." She retrieved a scope and a ginger bread muffin ball, cut it in half, made a hole in the middle and filled it with a frosty, creamy lump of heavenly sweetness before putting the other half back on and dipping the overflowing frosting in cinnamon sugar before handing it to Jack.
"You're welcome. I should help you out here more often." He accepted it with big eyes and a childishly happy smile, so out of place in combination with his deep voice and yet so utterly and entirely him.
Cupcake dropped her frosting scope with a loud clatter and dove under the counter to retrieve it and cool her warm cheeks.
Come on, magical creature, friend and out of reach as he was, he was so cute.
Still on all fours, she looked up, only to find him floating with his head ever so close to hers.
"SHI-.. Would you stop that?!"
Jack grinned and floated up on his back, hanging his head back and looking at an upside down, laughing Cupcake.
"Nah." He took a big bite out of his treat and winked and her before floating out of sight again.
"Oh you ..You.. !" Cupcake poked her tongue out at him, despite knowing he couldn't see her before turning to the stacks of Gingerbread bombs waiting to be prepped.
"Hey… Need help with that?" He looked at her trough the open window behind the counter, tilting his head.
She looked up, frosting already smeared on her face. "I .. Sure."
Somewhere on the other side of the world, a large, Russian man frowned, fingering on his beard. A buzzing sound behind him announced the Tooth Fairy as she approached, landed and placed a hand on his "NICE" arm.
"Is this .. Is this going to be allright Frost?"
"I don't know Tooth. I don't know."
The echo of a laughter shared in a small town bakery shop sounded trough the warm hall.
