Jack was all but vibrating as he left the training grounds. The things he'd heard made his blood boil, which was impressive considering his element left his overall body temperature cooler than normal. He'd been so close to freezing the balls of those two perverts to the stands. It was only Esther's presence that kept him in check. If he'd lost control, he'd have to explain what provoked him, and repeating what they said about Esther to her face was something he couldn't bring himself to do. It would overshadow how well her class had gone, and Jack really didn't want that. If gossip was going to go around headquarters, he would rather it be about her work than a couple of testosterone-fueled guardians that got a rise out of him.

He needed to get out of headquarters for a while, that's all there was to it.

At North's workshop, Bernard was organizing his office. Between the recent developments within his family and the added meetings, his office space was overcluttered and long overdue to be cleaned. Not that the head elf was particularly messy, but he had his moments of "organized chaos" as his sisters called it. Right now, containers were scattered around the room, some with lids open that he was tossing items into to sort through later, others were already filled and closed. These were stacked in a column in front of the window, out of the way for the time being. Except that Bernard was starting to get hot, and they were proving to be a nuisance sitting there.

It was simple, move the bins over a few feet and crack the window a few inches to let in some fresh air.

Bernard set down the box in his hands, readjusted his rolled-up sleeves and moved over to slide the stack of bins away from the window. He wasn't expecting to see Jack on the other side of said window, scratching at the glass like a cat. No one could blame Bernard for the string of unChristmaslike and far-from-kid-friendly curses that followed.

"What in the hell is wrong with you?!" he hissed, throwing open the window.

"You know that's not language becoming of a head elf," Jack grinned, climbing through the window. Now he was glad he didn't use the door. "and you're starting to sound southern."

"I'm not in the mood for jokes, Jack. Why were you hanging outside my window?"

Jack looked around the workroom, taking note of the labeled bins, bags of garbage, and just general mess. "This place looks like what I feel like…"

"What?"

"It…I was hoping I could talk with you. I didn't know you were turning your workroom on its head…"

Bernard waved him off, gesturing around the room. "Have a seat wherever. I could do with a break anyway." The elf shoved some loose paper off the closest chair and sat down.

Jack toed his way through the maze of boxes, bins, and stacks as he began talking. "How do you approach girls?"

"You were scratching on my window to ask me that?"

The guardian dropped down into the empty seat he found. "I meant – you don't talk about girls like they're toys."

"I'm afraid to ask what you mean by that."

This time Jack shot Bernard a look. "You've been around Delia and Deren too much."

"Not by choice, I can assure you. What's wrong, Jack?"

"Alright, but don't laugh." He didn't think Bernard would laugh at him but talking about what he'd been thinking about was more than a little embarrassing. Jack proceeded to tell Bernard everything, starting from the days when he was mortal. He talked about the gaps in his memory coming back, and how Esther was connected to it all. He disclosed the argument they had had because of what he had overheard, and the aftermath of being forgiven. He told the elf about Esther's class that he has sat in on earlier, and the commentary that had followed.

It didn't miss Bernard's notice the way Jack's voice darkened towards the end of his story. When Jack had finished, the elf sat back in his chair and thought. "You know," he said slowly, "it sounds to me like you might be developing a crush on Esther."

"How'd you figure that?" Was that what this feeling was called?

"Jack, you told me you nearly froze two guardians' family jewels to their seats for what they said about her. That goes beyond what 'just a friend' would do."

"Then what do I do? I don't know how to handle this!"

The elf sighed. "That's just it, Jack. Love's a hard thing to understand. It doesn't line up with logic all the time, which is why people do stupid things when they're in love."

"You ever been in love, Bernard?" Jack looked up at the elf to see that he had gone eerily silent. There was a look in his eyes, a faraway look that spoke volumes. The only problem was Jack couldn't make sense of it. It was once again another reminder that he knew next to nothing about Bernard. He wasn't even sure if North knew that much about his head elf. "Bernard?"

He started, looking alarmed before he recognized where he was. Bernard rubbed his hand across his eyes, mumbling something that Jack couldn't understand. Jack did catch the soft "I thought I was, once" that followed.

Somehow, Jack knew not to press his luck in asking what that meant. Bernard had his reasons for not talking about his past, and that one question had inadvertently gone down a rabbit hole he didn't want to revisit. "You don't have to explain…" Jack started to tell him.

Bernard nodded. "Sometimes…I think I'm past those days…and then the littlest thing can set off some of the worst memories of my life."

Jack's eyes widened at this bit of news. 'Shit, did I mess up?' he wondered. "Is that the reason why Delia and Deren always try to corner you at the meetings?"

"Oh god, no. No, no. those two just get their jollies in teasing me. They don't know anything about…those days." Bernard stretched his leg out and pushed his foot against a storage bin. "Before you ask Jack, the only one that knows everything is Mom."

'So North really doesn't know everything. Guess that answers that question.' If Bernard's only ever confided in Morwen, then that meant that he never felt comfortable enough with anyone else to tell them his whole past. "Okay…well…ignoring my last question…what do you think I should do?"

"You ever thought about just approaching Esther and asking her out. You know, like a normal person?"

Jack groaned. "But how exactly do I do that?" He felt flustered just thinking about the idea. Hastily he added, "If I wanted to, that is. I still don't even know if that's what the problem is."

"Oh, that's definitely the problem. You ain't been right since she kissed you for that mirror you made her."

Jack's face went slightly pink. "Y-yeah well your southern's coming out again."

Bernard couldn't hide his grin. Jack may not want to admit that his feelings were changing, but it was obvious. He felt slightly justified in making the guardian squirm now, after the near heart attack he had gotten at the window. "All you have to do is ask Esther if she'd like to go see a movie with you. Or go to dinner. Hell, you could start with a coffee date. Think of something to do, then ask her. Chances are good shed say yes, then you just need to think of a day and time." The elf's expression turned serious as he stared pointedly at Jack. "You need to figure out what you want and what you plan to do about it. Esther's not the kind of girl who will stay single."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"There's bound to be guys that are interested in her. If they beat you to the punch, she could say yes."

"She wouldn't do that!"

"Are you sure about that?"

Jack stared down at his hands. He wouldn't blame her if she did, but would she? Hell, her parents had forced her to move on after his death. So how could he expect her to wait on him while he sorted his feelings out?

"What is it that you want, Jack?"

"I…I want…" Jack was at a loss for words. What did he want? Esther's friendship, obviously. He wanted to be able to talk to her whenever he needed her wisdom. He wanted to make her laugh like when they were kids. He wanted her to look at him like she did before she kissed him.

He wouldn't mind the kiss again, for that matter. And that's what gave him pause. Bernard was right. He was hung up on that kiss.

Jack looked back up at Bernard. "Do girls expect to be kissed on a date?"

Bernard shrugged. "Depends on the girl. You could do a kiss on the cheek, or on the back of the hand. Those are acceptable. So, is asking right out, 'May I kiss you?' Girls eat that up, and it puts you in their favor for being considerate enough to ask first." He watched as the guardian stood up and stretched. He followed suit, feeling his back pop in a few places. "So, you decide what you're going to do, Jack?"

Truthfully, his mind was still going in a million directions, but at least there was a point that they were all heading towards now. "Yeah, I think I know what to do. Thanks for your help, Bernard."

"Not a problem. Glad you're figuring it out." He watched Jack exit through the window, leaving little frost patterns across the glass from where he touched it. Bernard walked over to the window and latched it closed. The room felt chilly now, he mused. When he turned back to assess the state of his workroom, he cringed. 'And procrastination sets in, dammit.'

A snap of his fingers, and the containers began to move across the room to their designated place.

It was a lazy move, to use magic from the old days to finish cleaning the room, but Bernard was feeling extremely lazy suddenly. It also reminded him that the old days weren't completely lost, nor as dark as his thoughts from earlier.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

A/N: A few things need to be addressed, in case you haven't read Call Me Again. Delia and Deren are the Guardians of Lust, a subdivision of Cupid, like Esther is the Guardian of Pure Love. Lust can mean many things, not just what you typically think of, though those two spend more time handling matters concerning adults.

Chapter 26 is the first chapter in which Esther attempts to contact the Valar, 27 is when Jack creates the scrying mirror for Esther. Chapter 45 is when Esther talks about her past and the fallout when Jack overhears and confronts her. Chapter 53 is when Jack and Esther sit down and talk it out. Between these two points is a lot of wheels-spinning from both of them. That's what Jack's referring to when he's talking with Bernard. Bernard's past..well, that hasn't been discussed yet. ;)