Here we are to the next chapter! I hope you enjoy. I really can't say it enough: I am so glad you're enjoying this story.
"Hothothothothot-!"
Jack floundered his way up to the steps of the beach house. He had almost accepted Tooth's offer to fly him up, but he declined in exchange for giving Julius an exaggerated sad face, complete with whining. Julius rolled his eyes at this display, but also cast a worried glance at everyone else. It wasn't really characteristic of him, Jack thought. He looked his friend over; physically, he was the same as he'd ever been. He was only a little taller than Jack, though he wasn't as skinny and had a stronger build. His hair was still in dreadlocks, mostly tied back with two - no, three - hanging down freely. He wore an orange ombre tank top and dark blue swim trunks like always, and his eyes were warm brown. His deep brown skin was even darker than usual, thanks to all of the sun he'd surely been getting from bringing summer to part of the world recently.
"What brings you all here?" he asked. "Uh, I mean, welcome. Come in! Do you want to come in? You should come in, it's hot out." Julius held the door open wide, beckoning everyone in out of the island sunshine. Everyone filed in, though North and Bunny had to duck slightly to enter through the door.
The inside of Julius's home was nothing like the opulent Tooth Palace or the busy North Pole workshop. Instead, it was simple and cozy, just like a human's home. Jack welcomed the breeze from the electric fan by the far wall, plus the cool, polished hardwood beneath his feet. The main room had a couch, coffee table, armchair, and beanbags of nautical blues and oranges, plus a pile of pillows. A dining table with two chairs was pushed against the wall of the kitchen. More pots of tropical flowers hung from the ceiling near the window or rested on the windowsill. There was even a flat-screen TV leaning on the wall, just next to the window, situated on top of a wooden stand.
"Where do you find this stuff, man?" Jack asked, eyeing the ladder bookshelf next to the beanbag in the corner. Julius smiled, a bit more relaxed.
"Night market. They sell tons of stuff."
"You've been this year?" Tooth gasped, startling Julius by flying up to his face. He backed away, cautiously nodding.
"What's the night market?" Jack asked.
"Ohh, I forgot you don't know about that." Tooth landed again. "It's a spirit-run event that happens on a few random nights every year." Jack frowned at this.
"I think I've seen that around before. Is that the one that happens in forests and ship docks and stuff?"
"Yes. It just pops up, so you can't really tell where or when it'll be without an invitation." Tooth's shoulders sagged. "I guess that means none of us got one."
All eyes turned to Julius.
"How'd you get one?" Jack asked. Julius shrugged, fiddling with one of his dreadlocks.
"Hallow gave me one. He's been setting up his own booth there for the past few years."
Sandy made a pumpkin shape alongside a question mark. Jack shook his head.
"Not the Jack-o'-Lantern spirit, the actual Halloween spirit."
"Since when was there a difference?" Bunny asked, folding his arms. "The gourd-head's been working that time o' year for ages."
"We don't know the specifics," Jack traded a skeptical look with Julius. "But Hallow's been in charge of the modern-"
"Meaning, like, the commercial-"
"-holiday for at least the last few decades."
The group was silent for a few seconds. Jack wanted to laugh; it had been years since they'd managed to speak together so flawlessly.
"Hhhow did you do that?" North tilted his head bemusedly. Jack and Julius glanced at each other, smirking at the exact same time.
"Habit."
"..."
"Anyway," Jack strode over to the pile of pillows and sat down. "We came here to introduce the Guardians to you, Jay. I was sure we'd all make great pals." he smiled far too innocently at the summer spirit.
"Is that what this is…?" Julius looked over his visitors. "I thought I was in trouble with the moon or something."
"Why would you be in trouble with the Moon?"
"I dunno!" Julius sat down in the beanbag next to Jack's newly-claimed pillow nest. "I don't know how the moon works."
"That's exactly why we're here!" Jack kicked his foot into the air. "Kind of."
"Oh! Feel free to sit down," Julius said, getting back up again. "Sorry, did you all want something to drink? Or eat? I'll go get something…"
Before anyone could object or agree, Julius rounded the corner and went into the kitchen.
"Was expecting just as much a larrikin as you, Frostbite," Bunny said, sitting down on the couch. North and Tooth took the other spots, while Sandy made himself comfortable on the beanbag by the bookshelf. "But he's a bit nervous, eh?"
"Not normally. But he doesn't know you guys yet." Jack replied. Then he gave that same too-innocent smile, though it quickly morphed into a devilish grin. "Give him time. I'm a bad influence."
"I picked the right colors," North said cheerfully, rifling through his sack. He pulled out a large box wrapped in orange paper. "He is going to love it!"
"What'd you get him?"
"Is a surprise!" North shook his finger at Jack.
"Okay, I've got juice and water and soda," Julius came back in the room, carrying a big tray with fruit, glasses, cups, and a pitcher, all of which he set down on the coffee table in front of the sofa. "Plus some fresh fruit if that's alright."
"What about the chips?" Jack asked, having sank further down into the pillows. Julius sucked his teeth disapprovingly, and Jack laughed softly.
"You were gonna save 'em for yourself, weren't you?"
"Was not! I forgot them."
"Uh-huh," Jack watched him hurry back into the kitchen. "He's so fun to mess with."
"D'you treat all your friends like that?" Bunny asked.
"Like what?"
"Here, a big bowl of them. Happy?" Julius came back, cradling a large bowl full of browned, crispy-looking chips in one arm and using the other hand to hold a stack of smaller bowls. "These are my Nana's recipe."
"Are those plantains?" Tooth asked, already holding a glass of coconut water. Sandy watched Julius set up the bowls, munching on a mango himself.
"Yep, plantain chips." Julius finally got himself situated with a cup of pineapple soda and a portion of the chips. He sat back on his beanbag while the others helped themselves to the snacks. Jack plopped back down with chips and a papaya, leaning to rest his head in Julius's lap with his feet on the arm of the sofa (to Bunny's displeasure.) Julius did nothing to stop this, but he did frown and look over at his guests.
"What are we doing, again?"
"Who are you, Julius St. Ange?" Jack asked, earning a good-natured huff from North for his imitation. "We're having friend time. Learning about each other. You go first."
"Um. Well…" Julius took a sip of his drink. "You said my name. Julius St. Ange. I'm the Keeper of Summer. That means I urge the weather into the pattern it's supposed to go during the summertime. It's a bit harder these days than before, but I try to keep the weather ideal for all the good and fun parts of summer."
"So how did you meet Jack?" Bunny seemed to have perked up in anticipation. Julius smirked and glanced down at Jack's pouting face.
"I was bringing Summer to the Americas. I think we startled each other? And we had the worst language barrier. Jack didn't seem to know what he was doing, and I guess I felt bad for pointing that out and making him feel bad. I invited him to the islands, and this fool made it snow PLUS nearly passed out from the heat. We fought for a while after that, but we made up eventually. Somehow, we're still friends." Julius smiled fondly down at Jack, who stuck his tongue out at him.
"Is your power anything like Jack's?" Tooth asked, setting down her glass and picking up a mango from the tray. "Can you make summer storms?" she gazed at Julius curiously.
"Something like that," Julius swatted Jack's hand away from playing with his hair. "I can work with the Southern Wind to travel, and I can call up thunderstorms or get the clouds to make way for sunlight. All of us Seasonals have weather tied to our emotions somewhat, too, but none of us have full control over nature. I'm sure you know who's job that is."
"So you have met Mother Nature?" North asked, refilling his cup with more juice from the pitcher.
"Yeah. She's the one who gave me my job."
Sandy made a clock and a calendar, followed by a question mark.
"It was a few hundred years ago. I had...well, it's a long story." Julius frowned. "I guess I don't mind, but...it's been a long time since I've talked about it."
"You up for telling it?" Jack asked before dropping his voice to a whisper. "Give 'em a reality check like you did me?" For a moment, Julius looked like he wanted to, but then he shook his head.
"...not now. Not right now."
There was quiet after that. The other Guardians looked at Jack, expecting him to try and cajole Julius into talking, but the winter spirit shrugged at them and munched on the papaya.
Jack was quite proud of his own past, but in the past year, he'd learned from Bunny - the hard way - that memories had many different weights. You couldn't just make someone share.
"We're going around to meet the seasons, Jay. You wanna come with?" Jack asked, reaching up to squeeze his friend's face.
"Ew, your hands are sticky!" Julius squirmed away as Jack laughed. "Where are you going now?"
"Probably Clover's. You wanna get your comics back, right?"
"Clover..." Jack heard Bunny mutter to himself. He saw the pooka's eyes widen. "So you're friends with that ankle-biter?!"
"What? Clover's not a kid," Jack replied. "She di- uh, became a spirit when she was 15."
"So she's a kid." Bunny deadpanned. "Just like you, just like him." he pointed to both Jack and Julius. Both seemed to disapprove, but they didn't object further.
"Clo's gonna be easy to find. She stays at home a lot, especially when it's not her season." Jack finally sat up, allowing Julius to shift around more comfortably. "And her home is actually with another good friend of mine."
Here was the return of that devilish grin. Everyone present could swear the temperature dropped 10 degrees.
FOR REFERENCE: To me, Jack resembles a 16 year-old who already hit part of puberty - got his final voice (b/c Chris Pine omg,) maybe hasn't hit his final height. Julius, as mentioned, looks the same age but a little taller and stronger. Jack is always a little so-and-so, and it's bound to rub off on his friends :^)
Relaxing in Julius's home~ I'm sure it would be a great way to spend a summer afternoon. Fair warning, Julius's past has sad and heavy themes. It's not coming soon, but you will get it before the fic is over.
Please leave a review if you enjoyed. I always like reading reviews because they're so encouraging 3