tushanshu | 11 ❄ ( VIDEO )

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11 ❄ ( VIDEO )

[ Jack looks better than he has in months and the combination of his newly cooled 3-A treehouse and the wearable unit Jack kept under his hoodie for when he went out meant he was back to his usual good (ahem) spirits. He was busy during the Yard Sale and may have borrowed some of his "allowance" from his shares of SI to fund a few of the things, but he thinks they'll be well worth it. All gifts are delivered overnight with no excess fanfare, just his initials in the corner of each simple folded card. ]

So, someone should catch me up on what kind of summer holiday things should be happening around here. Not that they'll be nearly as good as winter activities, but I'm gonna be gracious and give them a chance.

[ private to Tony Stark (MCU) / basic encryption; ]

[ There's no evident trace of Jack's consternation from a few days ago in Jack's voice -- nor his expression, though he doubts the man has acquired the ability to see him yet. ]

So I wanted to apologize for the mix-up when you arrived and introduce myself properly. My name's Jack, it's nice to meet you. Don't worry about the whole not-seeing thing, that'll probably wear off, it's kind of part of the spirit thing. Also, please don't mind the bed that's in the Stark Building freezer if you go in there, kind of a long story. Anyway, it sounds like Pepper and Bruce have got you settled in, so maybe we'll run into each other at SI some time! Catch you later, Tony.

---

((OOC: Since we have lots of new people, don't forget to check out Jack's permissions post for whether your character can see/hear him or whether they will view an empty feed/audio only/etc. ))

Bean: A small study book of beginner's Greek and a box of assorted sweet treats.
Bruce B: A little fountain for meditating that moves fire as a liquid, similar to the ones in Fire Sector.
Clark: An audio file sent to his console with approximately 30 min of basic sentences first by the Wind, then translated by Jack.
Costigan: A pair of baseball gloves and a ball.
Damian: A fill in the blanks book for creating your own story and a box of assorted sweet treats.
Finnick: Rent in full on the fishing shop paid for a month and dinner at Finnick's favourite place to get food.
Henry: An (according to the kedan, at least!) endless-ink pen.
Ivy: A simple music box shaped like a bird.
Kara: Tickets to a local kedanese play.
Korra: A note for a prepaid outfit of her choice from a seamstress in the Earth Sector willing to match Water Tribe style and a coupon book for "10 free bedtime stories".
Leonardo (2012): Directions to a restaurant where he can get damn-near-accurate-pizza free for a month.
Midii: A book on string games and a box of assorted sweet treats.
Pepper: A large coffee mug with cute sayings like "remember that you make someone smile!" painted in rings on the inside, so the more coffee drank the more of them are revealed.
Percy: Reservations for him and Annabeth at a high-end kedan restaurant where tables are impossible to get and a note marking their dinner paid for in advance.
Renly: Another bottle of the wine he purchased during their conversation at the Yard Sale.
Rose: A paid visit to a local spa.
Santo: A series of hyper-buoyant belts and rings made from a special kedan "foam" that can keep even Santo's weight afloat so he can go swimming if he wants.
Traci: A paid visit to a local spa.
Vanessa: One of the recipe books she had been eyeing at the Yard Sale when they spoke.
Victor: A crate of every sports ball and accessory Jack could think of.
Victoria: A jenga tower and a box of assorted sweet treats.
Zatanna: A new tin of her favourite tea and tickets to (basically) kedanese opera, complete with formal wear required.

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[ His grin widened as she listed off all of that. ]

Hey, I've got nowhere better to be! So-- the twins, how'd they find out? And did the best friend know even when they didn't? 'Cause that would be a total twist, if they did.

They ran into each other in a shoe department store. Of course.

[Of course]

And the best friend fell into a coma before the baby was born. She'll wake up around the nine and a half month with a newborn. Extra surprise twist.

Not on the heels of one another, I hope! That would just fall flat.

[ dramatic gasp ]

And then what?

[She has to stop and think for a moment. Carefully collecting her thoughts. This was serious business, after all.]

No, just the one. Except the hospital accidentally mixes them up, so it turns out, it's not even her baby.

[Or...you know...not.]

[Though there is a very subtle shift in tone as she goes back to side-eying him for the next part.]

But then, the love triangle? Well, it turns out the girl's old boyfriend came home from war, so she ended up going back to him. Fortunately for her, she never actually told the other guy how she felt, so there were no real hard feelings....

That's why all babies should come with name tags and hats. Cute little hats.

[ Jack leans forward, cupping his chin in one hand as he listened to the "story". ]

Bet they were from the same hometown too, huh? You don't ever lose connections like that so it makes sense that she would.

The girl and her boyfriend? Yeah. The other guy was from out of town, and had only met her after the boyfriend left for a time. I can only imagine what something like that would be like, though.

You said the other guy didn't know though.

But if he did know... I'd hope that he'd be happy for her. If he can't be happy seeing two people who want to be together get to be together, he's probably not the sort of person anyone should be in a relationship with anyway.

[That was an oddly specific way of phrasing it. Did he know after all?]

Is that what you'd do if you were in the same position?

Probably.

[Well. That only left one thing to do: put that to the test]

Have you heard from Korra lately?

[A seeming abrupt change of topic. If he didn't suspect, then he might not catch on. If he did....]

Not since before the yard sale; she's been pretty occupied lately with some things lately.

[ Or more specifically, with some one. ]

Do you know what?

[ But rather than answer her, Jack nodded down at her fingers with a smile. ]

You should really magic up some gloves; blue is definitely more my colour than yours.

[She followed his gaze, taking note of their clasped hands. Her fingers' complexion nearly matched his.]

I think so too. [Slipping out of his hold, she wiggled her fingers for a moment and murmured 'sevolg', summoning a pair of relatively thin, but still warm, black gloves. The snow had only just barely begun to glisten by the time she reestablished the connection.] We should probably figure out a better way to do this sometime. Fun as it is to sit in the cold with you, it'd be nice if we could actually have some real fun. Like during your snow day.

[Because, unlike some, that was actually a good memory for her.]

[ His smile doesn't change; quiet, but not strained. ]

That was a really great day, wasn't it? Everything considered... I don't regret it. I'd do it again.

[She didn't mean to cause any unpleasant memories for him. In fact, the point was to highlight how much fun she--and some other people--actually had.]

I wouldn't mind.

[Her eyes jerk upward, smiling at the personalized snow clouds still blanketing them in a soft, white powder. Her hair glistened whenever she moved with partially melted crystals.]

I wonder why your snow never had an affect on me.

Probably because you didn't need it, if I had to guess.

What do you mean?

Well, the aim of it is to help people have fun. If you're already having fun, you don't need the help.

...yeah, I guess that's true.

[It seemed almost too easy, considering what a hard time Kyle had given the both of them over the whole incident.]

[Her smile softens, and she shifts a little in her seat. Shoulder just barely brushing against Jack's.]

Hey, you know, I just realized I never got to tell you how the story ends.

[ And yet it really was that easy, making the whole thing... kind of anticlimactic. ]

Oh?

Well, it turns out that the guy who thought he got left behind eventually found somebody of his own. Somebody who he really deserved, and who deserved him.

[ He squeezes her hand through the gloves. There isn't any sadness visible in him, but there is a quiet sort of acceptance. ]

You tell good stories, Zatanna.

It's not just a story, Jack. It'll happen.

[By now, she was fairly certain he knew she knew, and they both knew it was more than just a joke any longer.]

The good guys always get the girl in the end. Sometimes, it just takes a little longer to find the right one.

[ That was how all the stories with happy endings went, wasn't it? But the spirit doesn't break "character", even though she says it's not a story, even though they both know, even though the ruse is transparent. ]

I have all the time in the world to see how it plays out.

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