The Libra (Eric Derekson + S̀e̡̛͠p͡ţ͠į͜͡c̸̢ Egos G/T) (One-Shots)

Saving the Day

"Marv!? There's no more blackberries in storage!" Jackie complained.

"Then get some more!" Came a tired reply. Jackie huffed and grabbed the empty sack.

"But I'm hungry now! Can't ya just magic some more in?" He hollered. He waited for an answer, but received nothing. With a sassy sigh, Jackie spun around on his heels and marched off toward the entrance. His stomach growled sadly, and he put his arm over it in hopes of soothing its complaints.

"I know we're outta food, but I'll get more. I'm a superhero! And superheroes help no matter what!" He muttered encouragingly to himself, about to step outside when his sharp hearing picked up somebody else's poor tummy growling. He turned his head, and sure enough, his x-ray vision picked up on JJ and Eric in one of the other chambers. He could see JJ gesturing with his free hand now, with the other cupped around their human guest currently residing on his thigh.

"[Don't you worry little chap! You have plenty of years ahead of you before you have yourself a pine overcoat.]"

"Ohh, I-I-I think I'll be fine... I-I just haven't had anything t-to eat in a little while. I-I'm used to it..."

"[Jackie just went out now for some berries. He'll bring back plenty for suppertime.]" Jackie tilted his head and stroked his goatee: he had an idea... If he was hungry, and Eric was hungry... Then why not look for berries together!?

"Hey Eric!!!" Jackie yelled as he came swooping in. JJ flailed in shock as Eric squeaked and toppled over.

"[Gadsbudlikins, Jackie!]" The mute had put his hand over his heart, fanning himself a little to express his surprise. "[What are you doing giving my ol' heart a knock on the ribs for?]" Jackie giggled.

"Sorry JJ, but I thought I'd ask Eric to come along on my... Mission." Eric wasn't sure about that dramatic pause. He didn't like that eyebrow waggle with the pose either.

"[Well potzblitz, I could have sworn you'd already left!]" A silent chuckle jostled the mute as he looked down at Eric. "[Well, there you go then! Sard the wait and find the berries now,]" he agreed. "[Just don't eat too many before dinner, or you'll get crapulous.]" Eric's eyes were wide as he shakily sat up.

"B-but-but I-I can't-I can't l-leave," he reminded anxiously, "M-Marvin s-said--" Jackie waved dismissively.

"Marvin Shmarvin, I'm sure it'll be fine as long as you don't wander too far off! We'll just avoid the trails and head the other way, nobody ever really gets very deep into the forest." Eric wrung his foulard nervously.

"As... As long as it's o-okay, then—" He hardly got a chance to even agree properly before the superhero was whooping and picking him up. Before he knew it, he was swept away from the cave, and the surrounding foliage was nothing more than a blur as the red-clad giant sprinted through the gargantuan woods. Eric had a moment of delay before he finally managed to gasp, but he already had his arms around Jackie's nearest fingers. He could only vaguely feel the usual bob of their gait; how was Jackie so fast!?

The high-speed roller coaster soon slowed, and Jackie let out a sigh between slightly-laboured breaths, coming to a trot before fully halting. "Alrighty! This is where there's usually some berries, unless the animals ate them all." Eric opened his clenched eyes and blinked, taking a look at their surroundings now that the superhero wasn't practically warping to... Yeah, he didn't recognize this place. How far had they gone from the cave?

"Wh-where-where are we?" He dared to ask, in a small voice.

"Berry collecting! I figured since you were hungry you could help me out, and get some o' the first pick too." Jackie plonked down and crossed his legs, ignoring the shudder from the ground beneath him as the trees rustled in greeting. "Unless you wanna keep cuddling with my hand," he chuckled. Eric double-taked and turned almost as red as Jackie's getup, sheepishly letting go of his fingers to now sit in the center of the giant palm. He was quick to freeze up when he felt Jackie move again, but slowly relaxed when he realized the superhero was just lowering his hand to the solid ground. 

"So blackberries tend ta grow in really sunny spots," the superhero continued as Eric timidly climbed off his hand. "Animals love eating them though, especially deer and birds— and bears, but those rarely ever come around here." Eric backed up and wrung his foulard as he watched Jackie lean past to squint at the bushes surrounding them.

"B-b-bears?" He meeped.

"Yeah, sweet stuff is really popular with all kinds of wildlife— including us," Jackie chuckled, shaking his head to avoid some branches as he shifted his weight. "Man, what I wouldn't give fer Marv to be able to bake a pie or somethin', mmm...— Oh, here we go!" He leaned closer to the ground and tilted his head toward Eric, giving a big old grin. "See this bush here? There's some berries that look ripe for picking. They're not exactly blackberries though— but they're not the poisonous kind either!"

"Oh?" Eric stumbled over to peek at the plant Jackie was talking about. "H-how-how can you t-c-can you tell?"

"Well for one, clustered berries are usually good to eat, especially if they're not white, yellow, or green. Red ones can be 50/50, but as long as yer careful— or have a magician and doctor that can heal ya— then it should be fine!" The giant carefully lifted one cluster up using the tip of his finger. "I've already had these ones before. They're pretty good! Not as punchy as blackberries, but still tart." Eric took a moment to wipe at his glasses before fumbling to put them back on, and then he studied the berries as he processed Jackie's words. They did admittedly look yummy... 

"How m-how many do we need to get?" 

"Hmm, well, enough to fill this sack up... But we don't hafta wait!" With ease, the giant pinched to snap the held cluster free from its vine, still holding the berries themselves with careful precision as he turned his hand to offer the sweet snack. "Here, you can have the first ones." Eric's breath hitched, and he stared at the extended treat with wide disbelieving eyes. But even if he'd had the breath to respond, his stomach let out a loud growl that dashed any hopes of politely declining; and the superhero chuckled as the human's cheeks flushed red with embarrassment.

"Go ahead," he assured. "I'll need a lot more than this ta satiate me anyway." Eric shyly reached out and collected the branch of vibrant berries. He plucked a small handful up, looked at Jackie again, then tentatively nibbled on one.

Oh.

They tasted amazing.

His tastebuds were practically singing from the harmonious, juicy flavour. Eric's eyes widened as he processed the sweetness, then finally let out a wondrous gasp. "I-it's so s-sw-sweet!"

"Aren't they?" Jackie beamed as he collected his own handful. An entire bush-worth barely even filled his palm, but the giant still seemed to melt after popping them into his mouth. "Mmmm. Oh yeah, those are still good," he mumbled around his mouthful. Eric couldn't help but let out a small giggle at the comedically pleased expression, and to his relief the giant simply grinned. "Look, there's another bush right over here!"

They repeated this process quite a few times; foraging, snacking, and relaxing. By the time the sack was finally decently bulky, the sun was starting to get low through the tree leaves. Eric was content to let Jackie pick him back up, and he nestled comfortably on the giant's shoulder as the superhero walked back to the cave, chattering away like the morning birds about whatever came to his mind. He was weird and silly— but in a good way, Eric decided. Nothing like Derek; rather, he had no filter, no ulterior motive for the conversation, just... Simply talking because he wanted to. 

Eric yawned and snuggled Jackie's neck as they finally made it back— but when he saw a figure waiting for them at the entrance, his heart skipped a beat.

"I thought I made it clear he was not to leave the cave." Marvin raised his brow questioningly at Jackie, arms crossed like a disappointed parent.

"Did he?" Jackie smirked. "Caves go pretty far, man."

"Jackie—"

"Marv, relax. It's not like he was unsupervised, and we were nowhere near human territory." 

Marvin narrowed his eyes, but instead of arguing the matter further he simply sighed and stepped aside. Eric, cheeks red with guilt, could only muster up an apologetic glance in the magician's direction as Jackie trotted past.

"Okay!" The superhero resumed merrily, "Let's see if we can bully him into makin' that pie fer us now."

"B-but he-he's right th-th-there?"

"And well within hearing range," Marvin added tartly— but he followed them inside to help prepare a tasty dessert to go with that night's supper.