Good Lord, I'm a horrible updater. Please don't hate me ;-;
Thank you for the reviews, you have no idea how much I love you all! (On that note, Happy Valentines Day :D Here is my gift to you because I love you: )
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Penda returned home with a smile plastered on her face. She landed on the roof carefully, making sure not to wake Se- uh.. Hiccup. It was unbelievable really. That Hiccup could really be here.. Hopefully this plan didn't back fire. The group had asked Penda to go home and prepare everything. To make it look like Jack had been working there a while. Like fixing a room for him, getting him actual clothing other than that worn out hoodie, and stocking up the fridge, (heaven knows how much that kid will eat as a human.)
Before she had left, Penda was given the opportunity to watch Jack's transformation. It was absolutely breathtaking. His feet lifted off the ground, eyes closed and face tilted upward. The white drained from his hair and face, almost as if it was melting down his body. Snowy hair faded down to a soft chestnut, pale skin saturated into a slightly more tan, cheeks glowing with a lively pink. As the changes reached his feet, curles of frost drained from his toes and into a small bottle placed on the floor. Jack's eyes shot open, revealing golden brown irises that reflected the light in the room perfectly. The moment the bottle was sealed, Jack collapsed on the ground. Everyone rushed to him at once. Toothiana checked his pulse and smiled. He was alive. The boy had blinked awake minutes later, immediately trying to stand and walk before falling into Penda's arms not two steps later. That's when they had insisted she return home. Terra ensured that Jack would returned home safely as soon as possible.
The rest of Penda's night was spent between home and different stores, furnishing Jack's room and stocking up on food. She flew back over to the fort to get clothing sizes for Jack, then heading to clothing shops where she purchased things she knew for sure he'd like. Man, this kid was going to owe her big time.
It was sunrise by the time Penda had finally finished and was able to rest in the armchair. Not moments after she began to close her eyes, a knock was heard at the door. Groaning, she picked herself up and shuffled towards the entry way. Terra stood with Jack, and together they led him up to his room. "Give him a few hours, and he'll be fine." Terra insisted. She soon left, leaving Jack in Penda's care.
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Jack woke with a bit of a start, having to process everything that had happened. Eventually, he was able to stand up and move around. Finding a mirror attached to the back of his door, he stood and studied himself. His hair style was.. pretty much the same, but instead of bluish white, chocolate swoops erupted in waves across his head. He was no longer pale, and the purplish tint under his eyes from hundreds of years passed had vanished. It made his heart heavy to remember this was what he looked like the day he... Jack shook his head and began to search through the dresser. Penda wasn't too bad at picking out clothes, he thought. He picked out a fashionably faded brown T-shirt, along with a pair of light jeans that had been manufactured to look work out. He looked in the mirror once more, then headed downstairs to find Penda. She was passed out on the couch. arm dangling off the side and mouth gaping. Jack felt bad for waking her up, but mostly because he just barely dodged a punch she threw his way when he tapped her shoulder.
"Oh.. Sorry Jack." She rubbed her eyes, sat up, and yawned.
"You know.." Jack plopped down next to her, "You really don't have to sleep."
Penda looked confused, "Of course I do! How else would I be able to function and put up with all your shit?"
It was Jack's turn to be confused, "I never slept. The only time any of us slept was if Sandy accidentally knocked us out. Or.. If our power was running out."
Penda rolled her eyes. "I'm not like you guys. There are spirits that protect things in children, and there are those of us who represent things for all ages. We've been through this."
".. We have?"
"Oh my f- okay," she took a deep breath, "I'm not a Guardian or a neutral spirit, I am a Keeper. The Keeper of freedom. Like Cupid's the Keeper of love. We're the personalization of those things. That's why in our natural form, people can see us. Everybody believes in some kind of freedom. Everybody has at least something they love. Guardians are different, they protect. Keepers just represent. We only take spiritual form when we bring out our traits, like my wings. Our physical form needs more energy, so we need to sleep and eat. Get it?"
Jack nodded. "Got it." Something in his stomach made a sound and he jumped. Penda heard it and rolled her eyes. Speaking of eating...
Jack ate three large doughnuts, five eggs, two biscuits, over half the package of bacon and about ten breakfast sausages. Not that this surprised Penda, but that was a lot of food. Jack had just finished off the last of his bacon, when they hear movement upstairs. They both froze, Jack in mid-bite. His heart was racing and he forgot how to breath for a few seconds. Penda placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. After a few more minutes of shuffling from upstairs and silence between the two, Penda went to the base of the stair case. "Hey Hic, you up?"
A pause. "Yeah, I'm up."
She smiled. "Alright, cool. Whenever you're ready, come on down stairs. I'll have breakfast for you, and a co-worker you'll have to meet."
"Okay, I'll be down pretty soon.. Thanks!"
Minutes passed, and they felt like hours to Jack. He was about to see Hiccup again. Not from a memory, or a window, but up close. He could hear his voice, see those freckles he didn't know he missed so much. Finally, footsteps could be heard tromping down the stairs. Jack looked at his plate and started eating his eggs mechanically, trying to look natural.
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Hiccup pulled his favorite green sweatshirt over his head and checked the mirror. His hair had decided to actually cooperate with him today, to his amazement. The thought passed through his mind.. What if this co-worker was a guy..? Or even.. A cute guy? Hiccup shook his head, a blush creeping into his cheeks. No way. He wasn't that lucky. It was probably some old guy, like a gardener or something.
Penda hadn't mentioned a co-worker before.. Hiccup thought he's be the only one working here. He guessed that had been a rather stupid assumption, seeing as though just one person couldn't run a park on their own. Hiccup thumped down the stairs and rounded the corner to the kitchen. Penda greeted him as he walked in.
"Morning Hic!" She gave a bright smile, "I'll start on some food. I don't have too much left, but do pancakes sound okay?"
He returned the smile, "Pancakes sound great actually."
She nodded. Her face seemed nervous for about a millisecond, but the expression was cast away as soon as he had noticed it. "Ah.. Hiccup, this is Jackson." She gestured to the figure sitting at the table. "You two will be working together for a while."
The boy turned and flashed a smile. Hiccup's heart stopped. Every last detail was there. It was the boy from his dream.
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Cupid watched the scene from her "love cam," giving a dreamy sigh. This was all so romantic. Though she knew very well how badly all of this could go. Every scenario played through her head, something she couldn't help as the Keeper of Love. She remembered very clearly just how excited she had been the first time she paired those two up. Oh, she knew how much trouble it would be. How far everything could go. She knew, and she loved it. She loved knowing and not knowing at the same time. Some love could be so predictable, but she was determined to make this love story unique and beautiful, as if it hadn't been to start out with.
Cupid really hoped everything would play out. Even if it didn't, it was one hell of a love story either way.
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Dun dun duhhh! Leave a review pretty please, tell me I'm not ruining this as I go XD
Once again, Happy Valentines day! (Accept my love!)
