Much, much later, Skyla was, finally, back at the hotel. She stood in front of the door to her room and thought about what she would tell Jack. It had been morning when she left him, and by the time she and Gavin had finished cleaning, he was already late for dinner with his girlfriend. It had taken longer than either of them had expected, and they both figured it was probably because of the heart to hearts. She blamed Gavin's relentless whining while she tried to teach him how to clean certain things, and he blamed her for being so fun to annoy.
Skyla sighed and stared down at the small bag of takeout she'd picked up. There were perks to having a hotel right across the street from a chinese restaurant. She guessed, by the small crowd that had been gathered there, that it was a great chinese restaurant. Her keycard slipped into the reader and the light flashed a moment before she opened the door.
"Sky!" Jack yelled, "Where were you?"
She stared at him as he stood in the middle of the room. Closing the door behind her, she locked it and hoped her temporary neighbors didn't mind the noise too much. "I was securing an apartment for us. How long have you been back?" She slipped the coat off her shoulders and kicked her shoes away.
"I got back a while ago. What took you so long? Did you have to negotiate terms or something?" he joked, following her to sit on the bed, against the headboard. She gave him a look and he got up to grab the remote, "Or was there just a really cute guy."
"Hey, don't start that. And he wasn't cute. He was handsome. As in tall, dark, and. Yes, we've agreed to some terms. And most of them have been filled. Don't freak! I made him help me clean, that's what took so long." She reached into the take out bag and pulled out the little box of chicken chow mein. "Well, that and, we kind of talked for a while."
"About what?" Jack questioned, trying to seem uninterested by flipping through channels. He glanced at her and frowned at the meal, "Is that all you're eating?"
"Yes, and it's all I think I can stomach right now. Gavin and I- Oh, I like that show! Anyway, we talked about stuff. Relationship stuff." Jack tensed beside her and she took a bite of her food before taking his hand, "He has a girlfriend. And I'm not really as... Erm, friendly, as the Guardians think I am. So please don't think-"
"I don't. What relationship stuff did you talk to him about? Something I should know? Something we should talk about?"
"Maybe?" Skyla let go of his hand and took another bite, staring at the small television in front of them. She mulled words around in her mind as she ate until she finally figured that she would screw it up no matter what. She took a deep breath and asked, "I can leave whenever I want to, right?"
Jack turned the TV off. Before Sky could protest he jumped off the bed and stalked over to the window, staring out at the cold Burgess night. Turning back to the bed he waved the remote around, "Is that what you want? To leave? Is Burgess- Am I that bad?"
Skyla put her food down on the bedside table and stood up. She sighed and crossed the short distance over to him, ignoring the way he tensed up. "You're not going to lose me, Jack. You can stop thinking that every small thing is going to tear us apart." She leaned in to kiss him and he immediately returned it. "I really shouldn't have phrased it that way. You know words hate me."
"I know." he smiled for a moment, "What did you mean to say?"
"I meant... Well, I'm not really sure. Burgess is great. Everyone is so kind and relaxed -if a bit talkative- and I love that you have friends here. You're in your element and- and you're just so happy! It will take me a while to get used to it, you know that. But you're here. I'm not alone this time. I can start over with you and I know I'll be happy. Has anything made sense yet?"
He kissed her, "No. I could never make sense of you. I want to make you happy, Sky. But your happiness can't rely on mine. You don't have to stay in Burgess the rest of your life so thank you for giving it a try. I love you."
Skyla put her hands on his shoulders and smiled at him, "I love you" her hands travelled back to play with his hair as he pressed his forehead against hers. "I'm never leaving you. I'm sorry, but even when I'm an old lady you'll have to deal with my awful language skills. I just won't have it any other way."
"Neither will I" his hands glided from her waist to her back and up until he could feel her hair tangle around his fingers. She shivered and he hesitated, "Is it too cold?"
"Hell no" she answered and kissed his cheek, "When you touch me -anywhere- there's this jolt of electricity. I felt it when you gave me your heart and- Is that weird? I don't know if that's weird, I mean, I've never felt it before but in books there's always that firework feeling when you're in love, right?"
"I don't know. I've never read those books." he chuckled, "Does it hurt?"
"No. I like it."
"Good. Then how about that apartment you got us?" he asked, leading her back to the bed. He turned the television on again as they settled back in their spots.
Skyla grabbed her food again and took a bite before explaining, "When I went to get a coffee the barista, Amani, told me about this buddy of hers, Gavin, who was desperate to get rid of his apartment so he could move in with his girlfriend!" She took a deep breath, "So I got the address and went to his apartment and we cleaned and talked and he agreed to let me take the apartment. I mean, the rent's not that bad. It's two bedroom, actually has a lot of space, and has a porch! It overlooks the back parking lot but beyond that and some residential zoning, it's actually a great view! And after it was cleaned up a bit, it actually doesn't look too bad plain-"
"Wait. That's a lot to take in." he thought for a moment. "You went to a strangers apartment... on your own? You have to be more careful."
"Yeah, I did that. He's actually really sweet in like a cute way despite his almost intimidatingly handsome appearance- And he actually looks great in a bright pink sweatshirt. I thought there was no way when he picked it up but wow. That guy rocks pink-"
"He was shirtless?" Jack asked, and she looked away from the screen to see him staring at her.
She took a bite, "Mm. Yeah. I've seen plenty of shirtless guys before, Jack. It wasn't a big deal. Oh, I guess it's more of a Summer thing... But that's not even the whole story. Amani, the barista, she is a more talkative, more girly version of Brandon! She has blonde hair and everything! It's a bit more curly-"
"Maybe we should leave Burgess"
"Don't be like that. You should be happier that I like it here. And besides, she has more negative qualities than Brandon does. Okay, that's probably not true. She's just more demon than he is. In the bad way. She guessed that I moved here because I was dumped and she freakin smiled! Who does that!"
"Brandon." Jack nodded, "He would do that. If it was you. I'm glad you made friends today. I know you miss him, Sky. As soon as we're settled in that apartment you can call him. Or e-mail him. Whatever."
"I'll e-mail him. I don't want to hear his voice so soon. And it will be easier to update him with a long, well thought through, mass of typed letters."
"You said you're used to shirtless guys. Even Brandon?"
"Umm, yes. Twice. Does that matter?"
"No." he answered and after a quiet minute they went back to watching the screen.
A while later, all settled in to go to sleep, Skyla cuddled close to Jack. "Gavin said we can move in tomorrow, by the way. In the afternoon. I'm starting to think he was too desperate to move out- the apartment might be haunted."
"It will be. Once I move in" he laughed, sending a cold breeze over her hair. "We're going to have a home, Sky."
She smiled happily and tipped her head to catch his lips with her own, "Yeah. We are. The heating sucks so we'll have to do something about that- or I'll just wear thick wool sweaters all the time-"
"No" his fingers brushed against her bare arms, "If I have to wear a t-shirt so do you. Not all the time, I don't want you to get sick or anything. I liked that view I saw on the beach-"
"Pervert." she scolded half heartedly. "Next time we'll put you in the dress-"
"Technically it's not a dress-"
"Shh. You know nothing about Summer clothes." she giggled. "And you don't remember what you saw on the beach- it didn't happen-"
"It did and your legs are amazing. Go to sleep" his arms tightened around her and she fought the urge to argue. "Love you"
"Love you" she replied. Thinking for a moment she asked, "What do you do all night? Just lay there? I mean, you don't really need sleep, do you?"
"No... And what's wrong with laying beside you all night? I like watching you sleep, Sky."
She was glad it was dark enough in the room to hide her blush, "I just wonder if you ever get bored. You have responsibilities around the world and you need to be constantly entertained- I want you to know that if you want to, or need to, you can leave during the night. Cause I know you'll be back in the morning- or as soon as possible. Leave me a note if you think you might be late getting back though alright?"
"Are you kicking me out?" he asked, humor in his voice.
"N-no. Never. I just don't-"
"I know. Are you really okay with that?"
"Yeah. I am. Like I said, I know you'll come back. And the children of the world need you. Also, the ice caps. Global warming has probably become a thing again in your absence."
Jack laughed, "Yeah, I should go re-solidify all the icebergs of the world. Not like thats boring. But don't worry, Sky. I won't let Earth melt."
"My hero" she joked, and found his lips again.
"Tell me something."
"Hmm? What?"
"Anything. I want to learn something about you. Right now." his arms tightened around her again for a moment, "Anything"
"I don't know! I'm not good under pressure-"
"Yes you are" he assured her confidently.
"Oh. I never noticed." she thought for a few minutes. Then a few more. Really, what could she tell him? There was too much to tell and at the same time she couldn't think of a single thing. "Umm. I have a half-sister? On my fathers side..."
"You have a sister?" he startled, half-sitting up to hover over her. "I don't care about purple or raspberries, why didn't you tell me you have a sister?!"
Sky stared at him, his grin obvious even in the dark. She shrugged slightly and told him, "I've never actually met her, Jack. She's around, I guess, but I don't... Want to meet her. I was happy with my small family, with it just being me and my mother. My father, my sister were never really- They weren't there. He showed up occasionally, but it wasn't the most fun I've ever had. I remember my parents fighting whenever they thought I'd gone to bed. I know he knew I was awake, but he never cared and he never told her- Ugh, I really don't want to talk about him right now. Or ever."
Jack's grin fell away from his face, "Sorry. I guess your dad made things really complicated for you."
"Yeah, he did. Still does, even though he's not around. He's the reason I left home. I ran away after one of his visits... And he was not my dad. Dads are there for you and they care for you. No, he was simply my father and we have no familiar bonds." She sighed and made herself calm down, "I miss my mom, but she would have supported my decision. And I love my life now. I wouldn't change anything."
"Is your mom-" he hesitated, staring down at her. His lips grazed her forehead, "Nevermind. I love you, Skyla. I'm your family now, and you have others. Lauren, Brandon. Daniel. And the Guardians. They're my family, and now they're yours."
She thought about making a joke that that would mean Brandon was his family then, but abruptly decided against it. "I love you. And our family is a mess" Well, she tried not to make a joke. "I blame your half."
"Hey, that-" he got cut off when she pulled him on top of her, their lips pressing together. After a few minutes he pulled away to let her breathe, "Okay, I agree with you. On whatever you said." he told her, his face red. He settled carefully back on her left side and lifted his hand up, swirling it around and creating a snowflake. It seemed to be something to distract himself with.
"That's really cool" she smirked.
"Isn't it kind of chilly?" he returned her smirk.
"Really, it's quite frosty." she laughed, and he joined her, a more relieved tinge to his voice. In a moment, he moved his hand around more and the snowflake floated up above them, shining off what little light flitted through the curtained window. It hovered for a moment and Jack leaned over her slightly, planting a sweet kiss to the corner of her mouth as the little flake exploded into thousands. "Jack! You made it snow! In the hotel room!" She felt a little panic nipping at her and she sat up quickly, eyes quickly scanning the room.
"Don't worry, Sky! I wouldn't have done it if I thought it would cause a problem. It's not like when I froze your chair; there isn't enough for the room to flood." He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back onto the bed, her head resting on his chest.
"Oh. Well, in that case, it's beautiful."
"Kind of like you. But nothing -no one- is anything like you." He watched her as she relaxed against him. He knew she was blushing, and he knew she didn't want to mess up the moment with words. He could argue that she already had but there was no point. When she was nearly asleep he whispered to her, "Goodnight, my love" and even he blushed.
NOTES:
Look,
It's fine if you agree with CrystalSecrets' review
Hell, I do
It's my first long fic and I can't even write a good short story. I love writing, and I'm trying to get better. I only started writing this after watching Rise of the Guardians because it sparked motivation/inspiration inside me. For a long time I couldn't write anything. At all. It was awful, and being able to write again has been very freeing. If you follow my twitter you might know that I've called this fic my happy place. It is. Even when it sucks. I'm happy that I'm writing. And I will try harder, keeping that review (and others' comments on that review) in mind. I wouldn't say that it was harsh. It was honest. Okay, I just reread that part about wasting readers' time and yeah it's a little harsh, but oh well. It was still helpful. I do appreciate all the positive reviews, but I'm glad I got some criticism. Better to know what y'all want, and what I can fix. I'm not going to say it's CrystalSecrets' loss for not wanting to read on. I'm happy to have readers at all. Apparently I waste everyones time. I'm trying to do better. I'm taking the advice that was given to me (No, I did not go to that link. That would be taking it too far, in my opinion. I'm not THAT happy or accepting) and changing slightly. I've been unsure the entire time writing this. I had no idea what to do with my writing, and now I have a direction. The fic does, too. And if it seems I'm rushing a little now; I guess I am. I'm back to having 1-2 chapters in store to post whenever I feel like it. So expect more frequent chapters. Some are a bit shorter than usual, but then I already have a long chapter written (35) so I've become very uncaring for my usual 3k goal. If there are other things you want me to change, even just little things you've been itching to pick at, then let me know! Okay, I could probably keep going but it's lunch time and I'm watching HSM3... Which means I'm busy. GOsh, now I remember why I wasn't going to do this. Erm, yeah. I'm done now. Sort of. Sorry. Love Y'all
