'So?' Delia asked, back to her senses and embraced by an almost intoxicating clarity. 'Where to now?'
'Storge,' Eros said, the earlier smile still playing around the corners of his mouth, 'is, as you'd expect a very homely spirit. Every season they spend in one particular place: Spring, when Easter is celebrated, in Greece, where the joy and family time are most prevalent.' He put one finger up and continued counting. 'From 1st of June they spend their time in Laos, when Children's day is celebrated, and during autumn, for the Día de Muertes, they stay in Mexico, no surprise there; after all, that's when the Mexicans celebrate the family members that have passed.'
'And winter?' Delia asked, practically hanging on Eros' lips for all the suspension that he built.
'Well, think about it, Delia.' Eros smirked, his blue eyes twinkling with mischief. 'What is the single most celebrated family time in winter? And where do people go waaay overboard with their celebrations, hm?'
Realization washed over Delia like a bucketful of water had been emptied over her head. Her face contorted, eyes rolling to the sky and she groaned.
'What?' Jack asked, clearly frustrated not to be included in the revelation. 'What is it?'
Delia turned to him, face blank, and told him the dreadful news. 'He's talking about Christmas time. Christmas time in the United States.' Great.
Eros inclined his head in her direction like the perfect gentleman. 'What the lady said.'
'But we're in Paris,' Delia pointed out, trying to shove away the fact that the place she least wanted to be right now was a Christmas-spirit filled USA. 'How are we supposed to get to the US?'
Eros just shrugged. 'Well, I assumed that whoever slipped you the ticket for the most prestigious winter ball in all of Paris,' he raised an eyebrow, 'would be able to get us a flight to New York, don't you think?'
'It doesn't work like that,' Jack said, mustering Eros grimly. 'We're not super rich or anything.'
Eros shot him a cold sideways glance. 'Whelp, then I can't help you.'
Jack took the bait immediately and opened his mouth to reply, when their little squabble was interrupted by Delia. She had had enough, tension building in her stomach again and again, encountering one problem after the other, falling down, getting up, falling down, getting up. All the frustration had gathered in her throat and she had let it out in a loud, throaty, worldless shout. Now she was rewarded with the boys staring at her, with something akin to fear and that almost made her laugh again. Almost.
'For all that's good in the world!' She exclaimed. 'Can't we be lucky at least once?!'
'Uhm,' Eros cleared his throat, looking at her with superiority and hurt at the same time. 'I guess getting to know me must have used up all your luck for tonight,' he told her.
'Shut up, Eros,' she replied bluntly and he blinked at her. When he still didn't move after 30 seconds, she rolled her eyes. 'I don't need sass right now, that's all. Yes, meeting you was lucky and I'm glad you're helping us, but… New York…' She sighed.
'Delia,' Jack said and she looked up at him. He looked almost surprised himself. 'Actually, I know a way.'
'What?'
'A way to get to New York. I mean, we'd have to stop at the North Pole first, but…' He shrugged.
Delia furrowed her eyebrows. 'Jack, what are you talking about?'
'I, uhm, got this from North.' He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a tiny snow globe, much smaller than the one the elf had given him before.
When Delia still blinked at him, uncomprehending, he quickly explained. 'It's a portal back to the North Pole,' he said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world.
'A portal?' Delia studied the snow globe. Inside, she could actually see Santa's home base in the snow decked mountains. 'Whoa…' She made. The design was so intricate, it almost seemed lifelike.
'And you couldn't have told us that sooner?' Eros' voice interrupted her fascinated gaze and she looked up at him. He looked at Jack as if he was the biggest idiot in the universe.
'I just remembered,' Jack spat through grit teeth.
And there was the tension again. Eros' and Jack's animosity for each other was so thick, Delia was sure that if she extended a hand between the two of them she could actually feel it.
'Jack,' she intervened quickly, drawing his attention back to her, 'how does it work?'
He looked at her, puzzled for a second, then his head snapped up as he came back into his thoughts. 'Oh,' he said and Delia wondered whether she could see a slight flush on his snow white cheeks. 'You smash it.' And with those words he threw the snow globe to the ground. As it hit the concrete a magical portal opened up in the air before them. When Delia had expected to see right into the centre of the Earth Room, she could only see a black nothingness between the confines of a glowing ring of light. It seemed dark, and all-devouring and Delia swallowed hard.
'You're sure this works?' She asked, looking up at him. Walking right into a black void was not her preferred way of travel, she decided.
'Absolutely,' Jack announced. 'Only…'
'Only what?' Eros asked sharply. He looked… worried, as if he trusted North's magic even less than Delia did. She was pleasantly surprised to see another expression on him than smugness or aggression; it suited his innocent face much better and Delia's heartbeat sped up. She immediately chided herself for it, seeing as Eros was simply a physical representation of what she found attractive in men. Of course some nice personality traits would make him look even better.
'Only,' Jack repeated, voice sharper this time. 'We're going to have to hold hands. It's a one-jump-only portal.
Delia took a sharp breath in as her eyes slid down to Jack's long, slender fingers. 'Hold… hands?' She asked slowly.
'Yes.'
She looked up at him and found him locking her gaze with his, words unspoken floating in the space between them. Then he extended his hand and Delia carefully, very carefully, reached out to find it. The contact sent tendrils of electricity into her fingertips and up her palms, and she took a deep breath, trying to calm her speeding heart. She didn't dare look Jack in the eyes and so she faced the portal.
'Okay,' she said.
'Remember me?' Eros asked, as he slipped his left hand into her right and intertwined their fingers and now both of Delia's hands were bristling with energy.
She wasn't really used to such intimate physical contact with anyone but her father, and she found that her trip so far had left her emotionally and physically exhausted, so she could do very little to fight the sensation that was heating up her palms and her cheeks. She cursed herself for her weak will and stepped towards the portal.
'Let's go.'
…
Jack's hands had always been cold, even back when he had been a human. It was one of the things he distinctly remembered about himself, even when everything else was blurry. They were cold in summer, cold in winter, cold when the sun shone, cold when the rain fell.
They were not cold right now.
Delia's fingers around his did something to him that he didn't want to explore any further, but his palms were burning up with an inexplicable heat. It made his blood boil and he could feel it flood hot and heavy through his veins. His other hand bristled with icy energy around his staff, probably in an attempt to even out the odd sensation and he very dearly hoped that this did not disturb North's portal magic. He had no desire to be stuck in a black void forever, even if he was holding Delia's hand. No, he corrected himself, especially because he was holding Delia's hand. He wanted to let go of her as soon as possible. Yes, that was exactly what he –
His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden ringing in his ears, then a blinding light and suddenly the three of them were standing in the middle of North's Earth Room. North, Bunny, Tooth and Sandy were looking up from a very intent conversation and their faces lit up when they saw the three newcomers. Even Bunny granted him an appreciative smile.
'Look who's back,' Bunny said, mustering them carefully.
'Delia!' North approached them, arms wide, going in for one of his bone-crushing hugs. Delia squeaked a little when his arms closed around her and Jack couldn't help but find it endearing. 'Jack!'
'No thanks,' Jack said, evading North skilfully. 'I like the state of my ribs as they are.'
'You sure?' Eros asked out of the corner of his mouth, the condescending tone in his voice clearly carrying over.
Jack was ready to retaliate when North turned to Eros.
'And you…' He looked at him in wonder. 'You must be famous Eros.' Quicker than Eros could react he found himself in North's arms and Jack smirked deviously. Served that smug blabbermouth right.
'Jack,' Delia murmured quietly and he looked down at her. Her face was slightly red and she was avoiding eye contact. 'Could you… I mean would you mind…?'
She raised their still interlinked hands and Jack pulled away as quickly as if he'd been burned. Which, he mused, might be entirely plausible, considering the heat that was pulsing through his palm.
'Sorry,' he murmured, without looking at her. Hadn't he told himself to let go of her hand as soon as they'd stepped out of the portal?
'Jack, Delia!' Now Tooth and Sandy were upon them, exited expressions open on their faces.
Sandy created a heart engulfed in flames, then an arrow that pointed towards Eros, then a question mark, and Delia nodded.
'Yes, it's Eros,' she told him. 'We found him.'
'You caught his interest?' Tooth babbled. 'Oh, of course you caught his interest, look at you, with that hairdo and your beautiful face and,' she sighed, 'in this dress!'
Delia laughed, her cheeks flushed with red and she reached for the end of her usual braid which, of course, wasn't there, but her fingers still rubbed along her collarbone. 'I was lucky,' she said, smiling bashfully.
'You most certainly were,' Eros interrupted, joining their conversation with a flourish and the hairs on Jack's neck bristled immediately.
Tooth giggled near-hysterically when Eros grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on it. Sandy studied them with a blank expression, then he caught Jack's eye, gestured to Eros, and raised his eyebrows. Jack snorted quietly and nodded. I know.
'So, why did ya come back, fellas?' Bunny asked. 'And what's with that clown?'
'Hey!' Eros turned to Bunny, looking deeply insulted. 'The red hair's her fault.' He pointed at Delia and she rolled her eyes.
'It's really not that bad, Eros!' She told him.
Jack doubted that Bunny's comment had anything to do with Eros' hair and so he stifled some laughter, happy to have found some appreciated company in Sandy and Bunny as they let their critical gazes wander over the spirit of romantic love.
'We had to stop by here,' Jack explained, 'because, apparently, Storge is in New York and we need a portal there.'
'Storge?' North asked, looking confused. 'Who is Storge?'
'The spirit of family love,' Eros told him nonchalantly. 'And since I have no idea where Agape is, I told Delia to go find her best bud, Storge. And they are in NY city.'
'Oh, Delia, I'm so sorry.' Tooth was at Delia's side immediately, cupping her face in her feathered hands, her big eyes filled with concern. 'But I'm sure we'll find her. We'll just have to –'
'It's okay, Tooth, I'm alright.' Delia was smiling up at Tooth, as good as she could with her cheeks smushed by the fairy. 'I was a little down earlier, but Eros picked me back up.'
Jack's stomach soured as Delia gestured affectionately to the flamboyant spirit. Eros picked up her gaze and winked at her, to which Delia returned another rolling of her eyes.
'You need to go to… New York?' Santa asked, scanning their faces as they nodded or, in Jack's case, shrugged.
'That's what he says,' Jack said, pointing his thumb at Eros.
Eros shot him a dark look. 'I'm not lying, if you're implying that.'
'All I'm saying is that meeting you has gotten us nowhere so far.' Jack crossed his arms and returned Eros' angry gaze.
'Ugh, not again!' Delia complained and stepped between them. 'I thought we'd settled this?' She stared both of them down, and soon Jack found himself looking up to the ceiling, pretending to not even see Eros.
He clicked his tongue and brooded darkly.
'Anyway, North,' he said, still staring at the ceiling, 'can you get us to New York?'
'Ah, yes, that should not be problem.' Jack could feel North's eyes on him, but he was glad that Santa Clause didn't say anything further.
'Like, right now?' Delia asked and when Jack looked at her from the corner of his eyes, he could practically see her glow from hope.
'Ah, yes, but –'
'Great, let's do it then!'
'Delia!' Tooth intervened in her enthusiastic ramble. 'Don't you want to change your clothes first.
Oh no.
Delia's shoulders stiffened and her gaze drifted to the ground.
'Tooth,' she said very quietly. 'My backpack… it got stolen.'
'What do you mean?' Tooth fluttered closer to the ground, lowering to Delia's eye level as the girl looked up slowly.
'I lost the teeth. I'm sorry.' Delia's voice was barely a whisper and Jack clenched his fists as a big, burning ball of guilt formed in his stomach.
'You… lost your teeth?' Tooth was also very quiet and the air around them seemed to stand still. Not even Eros dared intervene.
'I'm sorry.'
Seeing Delia so heartbroken made Jack feel queasy, like he wanted to throw up and scream at the same time and he cursed himself for being unable to do anything.
'But.' Delia's gaze strengthened, her eyes reigniting. 'I don't want to give up. I'm sure… I'm sure that they'll come back to me eventually! They are a part of me, are they not?' She looked up at Tooth with big, expectant eyes, and suddenly Tooth was smiling warmly.
'Yes,' she said gently, reaching out to Delia to softly stroke her cheek. 'Yes they are. And you're right. Me too, I am sure they will be returned to you, one way or the other…'
Now Delia was smiling, too, and the churning sensation in Jack's stomach was slowly dissipating. Yes, he thought, they would find Delia's teeth and they would rescue Jamie, and then the Delia and her father could live happily ever after.
'Now,' Tooth said, voice cracking ever so slightly. 'You still do need new clothes, some rest and, maybe, a snack?' Just as she finished that sentence, Delia's stomach rumbled loudly and Jack wondered at the strange noise. Spirits were never hungry, they lived off laughter and joy and of the beliefs of children. Food was never in Jack's agenda, but he guessed he would have to remember it, now that Delia and he were a team. And Eros, the nasty part of Jack's brain insisted. Eros is part of the team, too. He brushed away that thought and turned to North.
'While Delia's eating we can start preparing for the trip,' he said. 'We'll need anther bag, provisions for her, and maybe some kind of device for communication…?'
'Ah, yes, of course…' North mused, stroking his long white beard. 'You can come with me. Jack, Eros.' He beckoned them to follow them.
'Wait, me?' Eros looked disgruntled. 'I'm just a guest here.' He crossed his arms and pouted and Jack could feel another ball of heat building in his chest, though this sensation was very different from the one Delia gave him.
'Why do you have to be so uncooperative?' He demanded angrily.
Eros stared at him, eyes cold and unwavering. 'I am not yours to command,' he said. 'I am a free spirit, and my own man. Or woman. Depends.' He shrugged. 'Anyway, the only one who can request anything of me is Delia.' A small smile played along his lips as he turned his face to her. 'Princess.' Eros raised his eyebrows expectantly.
Jack grumbled in the back of his throat and had to hold back with every inch of his being to not smack Eros across the face. They didn't have time for his shenanigans.
Delia sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. 'Eros, please, you're being a bit ridiculous right now. Go, help them, do as North tells you.'
Jack felt concern rise in his stomach as he watched her, worn-out and tired, clearly hungry and overall in a somewhat miserable state, despite the illusion the dress and her get-up might weave over her. His hand reached out to stroke her cheek, but he caught it in the act, clenched his fingers, and brought it back to his side.
'Delia, you should sleep,' he said instead.
'There's no time for sleeping,' she told him simply, looking at him with a sad smile on her face. 'My dad's in danger.'
Jack frowned. 'We're not going to be able to save him with you all worn-out like this. You need to eat, sleep…' He implored.
'And you prolly should take a nice hot shower, kiddo,' Bunny added helpfully. 'You ain't an immortal spirit, pal.'
Delia sighed with content. 'A hot shower…' She looked like she was about to melt into the ground.
Eros stepped forward and lightly pushed her in Tooth's direction. 'Go, Delia, rest. Me and Frosty here will take care of the rest.' He gestured towards Jack.
'Who're you calling Frosty?!' Jack's grip was hard against his staff and he could feel his powers crackling underneath his fingers.
Sandy stepped in almost immediately, looking at him, eyebrows raised. Jack groaned and rolled his eyes.
'Yeah, yeah, alright…' He looked at Eros and his stomach contracted as he suggested: 'Truce? For now.' It took all of his willpower to offer his hand to the other spirit.
Eros looked down at it, probably looking as disgusted as Jack felt, then his eyes flickered to Delia, who was watching them with an expression torn between surprise and hope and he reached out to shake Jack's hand, gripping it very hard in the process.
'Truce,' he agreed and when Jack saw Delia smile he knew it had been worth it.
'Alright,' she murmured, 'I guess if you guys insist I'll rest up a little. Only a little,' she added when Jack was about to congratulate her with joy. 'There's a place we need to go.'
'I know,' Tooth said, fluttering beside Delia, and gently steering her away by the elbow. 'But for now we'll get you some food.'
Jack could only hear Delia mutter 'Food,' with a tone of absolute bliss as they both disappeared through the door.
'Now we,' North said, catching everyone else's attention. 'We'll have to do preparation for your travel, no?'
Jack stood up straight, determination glinting in his eyes.
'Let's go!'
