Author's Note: Hello anyone who actually reads this! The last show of the Tales of Arcadia series was a roller coaster of emotions. If you haven't watched Wizards: Tales of Arcadia, I reckon you go watch it as this contains spoilers. This story will be set right after the last scene in Wizards. I know we're getting a movie to wrap up the actual series, but that doesn't come out till 2021. I decided to make this to help fill in the void for some fans like myself. I hope you all enjoy this :)
The champions of Arcadia watched Jim pull his girlfriend into a tight embrace as Douxie and Archie flew far away to protect Nari. Jim mysteriously stared at the ancient sword that was partially stuck in the ground.
After several minutes of peaceful quietness, Toby decided to speak up. "So what now?" questioned Toby.
Jim and Claire finally pulled apart as Steve said, "Uh I'd like to go home right about now. Coach texted me earlier that Mom was making her special pasta. I don't wanna be late and come home to sad, cold pasta!" Everyone stared at him in annoyance. He quickly defended himself saying, "What? Can I not be hungry from becoming the greatest knight of all time? Oh and from all that stuff with those Arcane creepers."
Blinky angrily stared at the proud knight. "There could be injured people from the battle who need help, and not to mention the Arcane Order can be who knows where! Instead you're concerned about being late to dinner?"
Toby backed up Steve, "In his defense, he did help defeat an alien god, lose both his girlfriend and creepslaying partner right before he got thrown back in time and all that."
"That reminds me, I should probably go and get my Dad fixed." said Krel as he began to leave.
"Speaking of home, me and Claire are yet to return back to ours. We were traveling for weeks you know?" said the human Trollhunter. "I'm sure my family misses me too, especially Enrique." Claire added on.
Blinky told the kids, "You all should go home now. You guys more than enough deserve it. Night's about to fall anyways, so Aaarrrgghh and I can go scout out some stuff."
Jim questioned, "Are you sure Blink? There could still be serious dangers out there! Me and the others are more than willing to help."
Truth be told, Jim would rather be at home reuniting with his dear mother. He's been gone for weeks and his mom is more than likely worried about him. After all, she hasn't gotten an update from either Claire or him since Claire last called her saying her son got a shard in his chest. The last couple weeks being away from home had felt like years to him. His mom would be extra delighted to see his transformation back to human.
Blink reassuringly replied, "Yes Master Jim. You all had quite the day. I'm sure your mother is worried sick anyways. Now make haste."
Toby gasped, "We can all meet up for breakfast tacos tomorrow! Claire and Jimbo promised!" Jim chuckled, "Don't forget enchiladas too!" Steve groaned, "Can we go now?" Everyone laughed.
Toby exclaimed, "See ya tomorrow Wingman!" Aaarrrgghh greeted back, "Bye Wingman!"
With that, the two trolls parted from the group of teens.
Toby was feeling pretty lazy to walk so he asked Claire, "So are you gonna conjure us up a portal or..." Claire chuckled, "Don't you wanna enjoy a peaceful walk? We have to appreciate it while we can." Toby groaned once again, "I was hoping you wouldn't say that, but I guess you're right. We all have some catching up to do anyways."
Claire reached out to take hold of her boyfriend's arm. Jim looked down and smiled at her. They all started heading towards home.
"Man what a day!" Toby said. Steve joined in, "Talk about it." "Hopefully we get at least one day of peace," exclaimed Claire.
All this was happening while Jim remained silent. He couldn't stop thinking about his amulet or excalibur. Better yet, all the stuff that happened when he was half-troll to a corrupted full-troll beast then back to human. Claire picked up on his quietness. She tightened her grasp on his arm and asked, "Are you okay Jim?" "Yeah I'm fine, just have a lot on my mind from today."
"You know you can tell me anything right?" she assured him. "I know. Same goes for you too." he said in return.
"I'm worried Walt!" Barbara said as she cradled one of the remaining babies from the Darklands. "I'm sure he's fine, Barbara. Jim is more than capable to defend himself. Plus he has Claire and Merlin if anything. I'm sure you're worrying over nothing." the changeling assured. "I hope Young Atlas is okay," he thought.
Ten minutes passed from when Steve left the trio. They reached the midway street from Claire's house to theirs.
"I'll see you tomorrow TP!" Claire said as she leaned down to hug him good night. "Night Claire! Let your parents know I said hi, after all I'm their favorite!" Toby exclaimed as a joke. All three friends cracked up.
"You coming Jimbo?" Toby questioned his best friend. "Um actually I was gonna walk Claire home, but come over to my place in an hour or whatever. We gotta catch up."
Not even surprised, Toby just shrugged. He walked up to Jim and elbowed him. "Trying to look good in front of your future parents in law eh?"
Jim gave his best friend a mad glare. Claire started to joke around, "You know I could just open up a portal to home right?" "What happened to "peaceful walk"? Guess you don't want to spend a little more time with yours truly." Jim said as he shrugged. She gave him a gentle push. "Be quiet you!" He reached down to take grasp of her hand, interlocking their fingers.
"I'll see you in a bit Tobes!" he waved with his other hand. "See ya Jimbo! See ya tomorrow Claire!"
"I missed having moments like these," Claire said as she tucked a piece of hair behind. "You mean you didn't like running and fighting for our lives?" he sarcastically commented. Claire stood still. "Jim..." He let go of her hand to cup her cheek. "Hey, you know I'm just joking right? We came out fine like always right?"
Claire still felt a little reluctant. "Don't you ever worry if there's gonna be a time where we don't make it out okay?" she said facing the ground. He grabbed both her hands while focusing on her face. "Hey, where is this coming from?" he asked nonchalantly.
"Are you kidding me? Do you know how much it hurts to see the one you love on the verge of death constantly?" she said as she tightened her grip on his hands.
"Uh been there done that. Remember that time when you risked your life to open that portal for all the trolls? Or that time Morgana possessed you? I thought I had lost you. I could never live with myself if I had lost you right then and there." He let go of one of her hands to grab her chin, bringing her eyes to his. "We're always here for each other, and nothing is ever gonna change that. We're like Romeo and Juliet-" "What a happy ending they had..." Claire said, cutting him off. "Okay maybe that wasn't the best example, but point is, we'll always be together."
That gave her a little bit of closure. They shared a loving hug, which seemed like their 10th one of the day. "Come on, we're almost at your house." he said, holding her hand once again.
They reached the Nuñez household, after weeks of traveling and battles.
He faced her, "I'll see you tomorrow okay? Enjoy catching up with your family." She gave him a small smile, not wanting to leave his side. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. He'd still feel the same excitement anytime she kissed him. Even though they've been dating for months now, she could still easily give him butterflies.
She turned to head to her entrance door. "Wait Claire!" She quickly turned around, a bit puzzled. He walked up to her and tucked a bit of hair behind her ear. "You think I was gonna leave without a proper good night kiss?" She smiled and looped her arms around his neck. "Thought you'd never ask, Lake."
They both leaned in, bringing their lips to each others. It was much easier for them to kiss when a certain someone was human. They both leaned their heads, deepening the kiss. "Javier, can you go check if someone's at the front?"
Little did they know that someone was coming to open the door. "Hello? Oh my. Claire!"
Jim and Claire quickly pulled apart. Claire quickly ran up to hug her father. "Aye Papa." Even after everything he'd been through, Jim looked like he had seen a ghost.
"Javier, what's all the racket? Enrique is trying to sleep right now!" Ophelia angrily said as she headed towards the door. He moved aside so a certain someone could come into view. She gasped, "Claire." Although she was not the most affectionate, she brought her daughter in for a hug. "Are you alright? How was the trip?" she asked her.
As Ophelia was drowning Claire with tons of questions, Javier turned to Jim. "You better have protected her with your life or we're gonna have problems!" Claire's father threatened. Jim eyes shot open and he started breathing quickly.
Claire spotted her boyfriend freaking out as her mom kept pestering her. "Y-yes s-sir I-I..."
"Papa! Give him a break! I can protect myself, but you should know he saved me multiple times. He even got a piece of this ancient sword in his chest because of me!"
Jim faced his girlfriend. He saw what kind of face she was making. Let's just say he doesn't like seeing her like this. "Claire that wasn't your fault. Nobody could've prevented what happened with me and the Green Knight. She was fidgeting with her arms. "I know, but I still feel guilty like I could've done something."
Not even caring that her parents were there, he went up and tightened his arms around her. "You saved me in the end didn't you?" Suddenly she was crying a bit into their hug. "I know. And I'll always be there to save you."
Her parents looked down at the young couple. "She sure found her chorizo," Claire's father had said. "They're perfect for each other, don't you think?" Ophelia told her husband. "Almost makes up for all the furniture we lost," Javier said in a not so happy tone.
"I should get going Claire. My Mom is gonna want to see me. Have fun with your family. I'll see you tomorrow first thing," Jim said giving her a kiss on the cheek. She smiled, a little more satisfied than earlier. Jim realized her parents were still there watching them. "Uh it was nice to see you both, Mr. and Mrs. Nuñez!" he nervously spat out. Ophelia responded, "Likewise Jim. But try not to steal our daughter for so long again."
He laughed, awkwardly laughed. With that, he was on his way home.
A baby was crying in the Lake household. "Oh I think I left his bottle downstairs," Barbara whispered. "On it!" Strickler replied. He quickly walked downstairs. He expected it to be at the dining table, but to his surprise, it was no where to be found. "Oh man, where is it?" he said to himself. He walked over to the couch and spotted it laying against a pillow. Just as he was about to grab it, he heard a knock at the door. He walked over to open it. "Who in their rightful mind would come here this late? Nobody here has ordered anything..."
He opened his door to see the familiar looking boy. "Who are you?" Strickler quickly shot out. "Has it been that long? It's me, Jim!"
"You think I'm gonna fall for that? I know very well you aren't Jim. Young Atlas isn't even-"
"What's taking so long?" Barbara yelled out as she walked down the stairs with a crying baby in her arms.
"Mom! It's me!" Both adults were confused out of their mind. "Jim, honey? Why-How?" Barbara passed Walter the baby so he could feed it the bottle.
"It's a long story Mom. I promise I'll explain later, but I had one heck of a day and-" As soon as he knew it, he was enveloped in a tight hug from his mother. "I more than understand kiddo. I-we've missed you. You had me worried to death."
"Wow I thought Claire gave the tightest hugs, but I know who's won that award!" Jim joked.
"Speaking of Claire, how is she and the rest of the trolls?" his mother asked. She continued, "I hope you protected them, especially Claire. I expect grandchildren from you and my future daughter-in-law..."
"I- uh- she-" Jim was on the brink of passing out. Luckily someone knocked on the door. "Who else could this be?" Strickler wondered.
Jim opened the door to see his best friend. "It's been an hour already?"
"Sure has Jimbo. How long does it take to walk Claire home then go to yours? Oh uh hello Dr.L, Strickler."
Although she wanted to keep talking with her son, she had babies to tend to. "Jim, take Toby and hang out in your room. I'm sure you guys wanna catch up. Just be quiet because the babies are asleep.
"Okay good night mom, I love you"
With that, the two best friends ran upstairs. "Been awhile since we've both been here, right Tobes?"
"Yeah. Even if we weren't apart for long, just being here with you feels pretty nostalgic."
Jim shifted on his bed. His bed. Weeks gone by of just laying on the ground with metal armor. "I get what you mean."
"Seems like you and Claire just came back from a big adventure, and now we have one right ahead of us."
"Never ends, does it?" Jim joked. "Today was surely crazy."
"Crazy? That's an understatement Jimbo. How was it? I mean like being transformed from half-troll to that beast back to human?"
"I can't even describe it. Remember that time when Claire was possessed and stuck in the shadow realm?"
"Yup."
"It was something like that, but different. I was like possessed, but corrupt in a way. I just don't wanna go through that again."
"No one does. I don't know what we'd do without you, Jimbo. We were all broken when you distracted the Green Knight and turned into stone. I would've never forgiven myself if you didn't come back. Thank goodness for Claire."
"Claire." Jim just stated.
"What about her?" his best friend asked.
"I wonder how she's doing with her family."
"You guys are really made for each other. She proclaimed her love to you so many times when you were that beast."
"That reminds me. She probably doesn't think I feel the same way cause I've never said it back. I wanna tell her, but whenever I try, it never comes out. I couldn't even ask her to the dance awhile back..."
"I'm sure she understands, Jimbo. She'd go to the ends of the Earth for you. After all, she did leave her family to go with you to find the new heart stone..." Toby reminded his best friend.
"I guess you're right... I sure got lucky eh? Since we're kinda on the dating topic, how have you and Darci been?"
"We're as good as you can get. Did you hear about Steve and Aja?"
"Yeah I picked up a thing or two from Steve when we were in old Camelot," he explained. "What else did I miss out on when I was gone?"
"Not too much. Only the fact that a bunch of aliens-I mean akiridions came, and then there was this huge alien god, and then Aja and Krel's parents..."
Back at the Nuñez household
The family of four were eating enchiladas to celebrate Claire's return. A certain someone kept zoning out.
"Claire?" Ophelia kept repeating. "Huh-what?" Claire finally answered. "Are you okay?" her mother asked. Claire responded, "Yeah... just got a lot on my mind."
Her parents looked at each other. They knew exactly what she was thinking. More like who she was thinking about. "I'm sure Jim's okay..." Javier said.
"I know... I'm just worried about anything bad happening to him, especially after all that happened." Claire said, feeling pretty distraught.
Her parents had high expectations for her. They were strict no doubt. But the next thing to come out of their mouth's surprised not only Claire, but themselves as well.
"I know you've been traveling with Jim for pretty much a month, so it's gonna be odd not spending the night with him. If you're worried about him so much, then you should go spend the night with him..." her mom suggested.
"Wait really? You're serious?" she questioned.
"Of course Claire. We trust you, and Jim's a good boy, despite what happened in the past..." her mom said.
"Just no funny business!" her dad said in a serious tone.
"Wouldn't dream of it! I'll see you tomorrow Mom, Papa!" she said while hugging them.
"You should probably shower before you leave," her mom suggested. "We can drive you later, if you'd like."
"No need! I can just open a portal to his place." Claire confidently said.
Both her parents had a surprised look on their face. Most of her life, she's been into acting, but now their not so little girl is a sorcerer.
"She grew up so quick..." Javier said as his daughter ran up the stairs.
Claire decided to shoot Toby a text before she got into the shower. "You're at Jim's right now right? Do you think he'd be okay if I came over? I wanna surprise him!"
Just as Toby heard his phone buzz, Jim got up and said, "I'm gonna go take a shower Tobes, for the first time in awhile!"
"Oh uh enjoy?" Toby said proceeding to check his phone. He read her text and replied, "Are you kidding me? Me and Jimbo would be thrilled if you came. He was actually talking about you 10 minutes ago... I'm sure Dr.L would be happy to see you as well! Take your time coming here cause he's getting in the shower right now."
She replied as soon as she read his reply. "Okay see you in 10 TP :)"
Best night ever! he thought. His two best friends came back, and he couldn't be more thrilled.
"This feels amazing! How did I go so long without showering!" he heard his best friend yell out from the shower.
A/N: Congrats to those who made it to the end haha! Wizards left me wanting more... there's barely any post wizard fanfics to satisfy my Jlaire needs. I hope this story helps anyone out who's going through the same! Please feel free to comment any suggestions or constructive criticism. I don't have much writing experience, and I'm pretty young, so hopefully this didn't hurt too much to read. Stay tuned for the next chapter!