This is specially for all my readers on Valentines Day. You actually don't realise how much I love you all, you're so encouraging and amazing and we're nearly at 130 reviews, and I couldn't have done that without you!
So please help get me to that mark, and also check out my story 'Slave to Darkness', it's about Pitch and it's a bit miserable xD aquodox, love you sweety :)
Enjoy all!
They had both stayed quiet after he broke the kiss, she thought nothing of it, but his mind was all a state. He still held her firm in his arms, still kept her close, because there was that part of him that didn't want to let her go, didn't want to upset her again, and he knew it would... she was curled up in his lap, twisting little bits of fur on his chest then combing the knots out again with her fingers. It was relaxing, it didn't feel awkward, it was actually quite comfortable, but he felt a crushing weight on his chest. He was almost relieved when she shifted a little, got off his lap and stood up in front of him, offering her hand which he took to pull himself up too. She bent again and picked up her staff and looked at him, biting her lip.
"What now?" she asked quietly, and he shrugged a little.
"We just all try to focus on our jobs, what we need to do, how we should do it," the Pooka explained, holding Eleanor's hand and stroking the back of her hand gently. He really didn't want to let her go. He was hating himself with each passing second. "Sometimes it's best to let nature take its course though, give it some slack. You try to control everything and you'll tucker yourself out."
"Reckon so?" she asked, tapping the staff against her foot.
"You can bet your nelly on it," Aster chuckled half heartedly, and he turned away in thought, looking up to the moon before looking back at her. "Do you want to see North, Tooth and Sandy? They were wonderin' what all the fuss was this morning when Mani told them about you."
"They know it's me?" the girl asked, incredulously, as she hadn't expected news to travel so fast. Aster had seemed to know it was her, however tentatively he did approach her. But North, Tooth and Sandy hadn't seen her half as often... unless aster had told them.
"They don't know anything other than the fact that there's a Summer spirit. Honestly, I think they'll be quite surprised," he added with a chuckle, and she shook her head at him slightly, but she smiled too.
"Do they think I'm dead and gone too?" she asked, almost indifferently, and it made Aster squeeze his eyes shut at the thought of it. Of course they did, he had too, and for all intents and purposes she was... which was a grim thought. As she was here, she was just a spirit, like most of their kind were. In the rare case, they'd still inhabit their own body... Tooth was an example of that, since she'd been born to a Goddess, she was in the body she'd had since birth. He was too, being the last Pooka alive. But he was never sure about North, as the old man hadn't gone into his past all that much, and he was almost certain Sandy wasn't what he used to be... but he never talked about anything, and deducing his own special version of sign language sometimes made his head hurt, so he hadn't bothered asking.
However, while he'd been thinking about this whole dilemma, Eleanor had been reading his expression, and the troubled look in his eye told her all she needed to know, so with a gentle touch to his arm she caught his attention and shrugged and gave him that look that told him she knew already from his silence.
"Sorry," he muttered, half apologetically, half comfortingly, but she only smiled at him.
"Don't be, we haven't got time to be sorry," she laughed, and he rolled his eyes because on the contrary they had all the time in the world to do something. "But before we do anything I just need to go and get things sorted properly in America... come with me?" she asked, and the rabbit nodded his head, standing straighter as she passed him the staff and he dropped it again. He hadn't expected it to be so damn hot! It was like there was fire in it, and she stood, shocked.
"Are you okay?" she asked quickly, but stooped and grabbed the staff too, holding it and weighing it in her hands carefully.
"That things bloody roasting!" he cried, rubbing his hands together to try and stop the sting. It was like he'd just put his hand in a fire, it hurt that badly... Eleanor was warm, but not that warm, it was like she channelled her energy into the stick, and he'd be damned if he touched that again. She only laughed at him, her golden eyes twinkling as she did, and then she looked thoughtful.
"I don't suppose you want to travel my way then?" she asked, smiling slyly at him, and he looked at her, aghast.
"Look I'm no chook but I don't fancy burning to a crisp, yeah?" he laughed nervously, and she only shook her head at him, grinning all the while.
"Then where should we meet?" she asked, and he smiled at her, taking a few steps forward and pulling her into another hug, quite reluctant to part with her now after finding her after ten years. He still wasn't sure of himself... he knew he loved the girl, knew she had feelings for him too, but on some subconscious level he couldn't see him having a relationship with her because he'd seen her grow, seen her turn into a beautiful young woman and then lost her when he was coming to terms with how he felt. Something in the back of his mind was scared of losing her again... he'd only just gotten her back.
It was something he needed to talk to North about, as for some reason though there was competition between the two of them over their holidays, they could open up to one another like the old friends they were. It was why he was thankful he had the other Guardians to be honest, before the moon chose him he'd been quite a loner.
"Meet me at the North Pole, okay sunflower?"
"Okay, see you there," she smiled, extracting herself from his arms and grinning. Before him she burst into flame, and off into the air went a phoenix before that too burst into flame and in a shower of sparks and ashes and he felt his heart tug a little. Non-the-less, he tapped a foot on the floor and jumped down, surfacing inside the workshop at the North Pole and leaping right away for the fire, smiling at the warmth of it as the place seemed so bitterly cold. He decided to keep up pretences in front of the other Guardians. There was no need to inform them that the new spirit was Eleanor, although he knew they'd find out pretty soon. Also, grudgingly, he decided against expressing his feelings about her... best doing that in private.
"Bunny!" he heard a cry from behind him, and he turned his head, still planted with his bottom on the floor and his large feet in front of the fire. North was beaming at him, striding over with a spring in his step and he took the large armchair beside the Pooka and settled himself in. "So you find the new spirit, yes?"
"Yeah mate, I found her," Aster nodded, rubbing his feet, trying to keep the warmth there and keep his circulation going.
"Is interesting having new spirit now..." the older man mused, and Aster nodded his head, smiling to himself. "What is she like then?" he asked, and at that Aster stopped rubbing his feet and turned to smile at North.
"You'll find out, she'll be here soon," he chuckled, and North looked astounded before he jumped up, looking ready to bounce around. It amazed the rabbit at how youthful North could be, when he looked so old. But being blessed with eternal life could do that to you, there were some days he had to sprint around the Warren before he felt less twitchy.
"Dingle!" the great man bellowed, and about ten of his stupid elves ran in, each grinning like fools as they tried to figure out which one he was actually talking to. North simply bent and picked one up by the point of his hat, looked at him sternly, scrutinising him, before he nodded and decided he would do, and sent the others packing.
"You go get cookies, don't eat any, we have guests coming."
The elf nodded, and North dropped him to the ground, watched him bounce once, then scurry away in a daze. The rabbit laughed loudly, because as cruel as North could be with them sometimes, the elves just never seemed to care. They'd bounce away and run into things and act more stupid than anything he'd ever seen before, but they were funny little guys.
"When will she get here?" North asked, turning back to Aster with his tattooed arms folded, but there was a twinkle in his eye that changed what could be a menacing look into a cheerful one. The Russian would only ever come off as menacing if he needed to be. The guy was like that.
"Whenever she turns up, why?" the rabbit asked, leaning back on his elbows and relaxing.
"Just asking... you know, I think this new girl must be very nice," the bearded man mused, and he walked slowly to his armchair and sat down in it heavily. This time Aster heard the chair groan under North's weight, and he shook his head slightly... if the guy didn't enjoy his cookies so much he might be a bit less rotund.
"What makes you say that?" he asked, taking a cookie from the tray the elf had just run in with and biting into it.
"You're smiling now, so she must be really special."
Aster nearly choked on his cookie, sitting up and spluttering on it before he felt a huge hand collide with his back and he nearly went head over heels into the fire. Luckily he didn't though, and his coughing subsided but now his back hurt like hell.
"Crikey North, try not to break my spine next time," he gasped, clutching his throat and coughing a little, clearing the crumbs left there that still scratched at his neck and made him feel ill.
"But you are not choking now, so it is okay," the older man chuckled, and though Aster seethed a little, but couldn't argue with the logic.
Not another word was said then, because the door burst open and both boys looked around expecting the new keeper, but Tooth was there instead, breathless.
"My- my fairies," she started, but she was too out of breath and immediately North was on his feet and guiding the woman to the chair, while Aster took her hand and patted it comfortingly.
"Calm down Sheila, you're in a state," he chuckled, and she shot him an exasperated look before taking a very deep breath in, before breathing out again slowly. She repeated the action a few times, closed her eyes as if meditating, then she opened them again and smiled broadly.
"Right, now talk," North said, smiling warmly at the woman, blue eyes twinkling.
"My fairies told me they saw a phoenix heading up here, so I came right away! Are they here already?"
"No, not that we know of," North said quietly, and he looked at Aster with excitement in his eyes. "Bunny said she is very nice, didn't you?"
"Oh! She must be special then, normally you're so critical of people," Tooth said gently, and it was almost like a backhanded compliment. He didn't know weather or not to agree or to get upset by it. The more he thought about it, getting upset would only prove her point, so he stayed quiet.
"You'll like her Tooth, and I know she'll like you," he smiled, and Tooth looked at him with curiosity in her eyes, her mouth dropping into a small 'o' shape to show she was wondering how he could possibly know that. But then there was a sound at the door and in swooped Sandy, looking ever so excited as a golden red bird flew in after him. Aster watched as she did a circle around the room before taking perch on the back of the armchair. Tooth was staring in awe, her eyes looking the bird over, taking in the shimmering plumage and her feathered ruffled a bit, and the Pooka sensed a little jealousy, though she remained outwardly curious and her body language was relaxed. It was probably something subconscious she wasn't aware of.
North looked as if he were about to burst with glee. The older man was holding his breath, bright blue eyes darting to each of their faces and then back to the bird perched on the chair, who hummed at them all, and North chortled as he took a tentative step forward, reaching out and touching the soft feathers on the back of her neck with the back of his hand, and he whistled, impressed.
"They're very warm! Almost like fire!" he exclaimed, and Sandy nodded his head in agreement, obviously as they were travelling in together he must have tried the same. It wasn't often you saw a bird so exotic, and they all seemed entranced, all seemed to be waiting on baited breath, and while Tooth wrung her hands, Sandy floated in the air on his tiptoes, and North stroked his beard in thought and anticipation, Aster merely grinned, turning to Eleanor and nodding his head.
"Go on then."