Chapter 7

His father stood up from his chair and looked at Sportacus. Then he looked at Stephanie. She smiled and looked him straight in eyes. The more she looked at him; she began to realize that he hadn't changed much. Somewhere inside he was still Number Nine looking out for his son. It was then that he spoke.

Not in English mind you but in very rapid Icelandic. Sportacus shot back at him just as fast. Stephanie tried to translate but she didn't know all the words. The parts she thought she understood didn't seem to fit with the feeling of the conversation.

Finally, both men stopped talking. Stephanie saw that Sportacus' arm muscles had tightened up. He only did that when he was angry. She decided to step in and see if there was something she could do.

"Both of you stop what you're doing this instant!" She told them in English. "I may not understand everything you said but I do understand a few things. Sportacus and I love each other. We're going to get married. It was my idea to involve you in our plans." She said pointing at Sportacus' father. "Your son was very concerned on how you would react. I know you haven't talked for a while but you need to patch things up. Sportacus faced his fears and came here to see you. The least you could do is be civil to one another." The two men stared at her, both surprised by her outburst. Sportacus was the first to speak.

"Dad, I need to talk to Stephanie alone for a moment." His father responded in Icelandic and left the room.

"Stephanie, my father is concerned about us. He doesn't want what happened to him to happen to us. If I ever lost you, I would be a mess. I would never be able to forgive myself. He just doesn't want us to go through that." Sportacus explained.

"Did you tell him it won't happen? The worst enemy we've come up against is Robbie Rotten. He is still in jail and even when he gets out, we can take him. We're a team and nothing is going to change that." She told him.

"You're right, as usual, my SportaStephanie." Sportacus smiled. Stephanie blushed and playfully poked him. Then he pulled her close and kissed her. Letting go of her he walked into the other room to get his father.

In a few minutes, Sportacus was back with his father. He apologized to Stephanie for his behavior and he hoped he hadn't offended her. Stephanie said that he didn't offend her and that she just wanted everything to work out.

"We were never properly introduced." Sportacus' father said.

"Well I already know that you were Number Nine but beyond that..." Stephanie smiled.

"Yes well, I haven't been called Number Nine in a long time. My name is Þórir Scheving." He answered. Stephanie stuck out her hand to shake with him but instead he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a hug. This surprised her but she hugged him back. Once out of the hug, Þórir asked his son what their plans were.

"Well, we were hoping to take you back to LazyTown and you could meet Stephanie's parents and the five of us could discuss our plans. My airship is docked at the airport until seven tonight so we have time if you want to pack some things." Sportacus explained.

"Sounds good. I haven't been in LazyTown for a long time." Looking at his watch he said, "Why don't I take about fifteen minutes to pack and then the three of us can have some lunch. After lunch we can go to the airport. Is that ok?" The former super hero asked.

"Excellent idea." Sportacus acknowledged. With that Þórir excused himself and went upstairs. Sportacus started to pace in the living room. He hated to wait. Stephanie shook her head and grabbed his hand.

"You know, one of these days I have to find your off switch." She joked.

"Oh, and how would I do this?" Sportacus asked her as he picked her up and he kissed her. Stephanie wrapped her legs around his waist. When they separated, she wrinkled her nose.

"I hate it when you do that."

"Do what?" He smiled knowing full well what she meant.

"Because it makes me want to agree to almost anything." She replied.

"Almost anything?" He asked. She didn't answer instead she kissed him. After the kiss she replied,

"Yup, almost anything."

To Be Continued...