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Jack looked down into the hole that opened up under his staff. Being the savior of a species had its perks, and being able to get direct access to the main spirit of Valentines was one of them. With a wide grin he dived into the hole.
There was a strange feeling to it; he was so used to dropping down into Pitch's lair. Part of him expected to see grey and white and blue as he slid to a stop at the end of the tunnel. It wasn't as windy and fun as Bunny's tunnels could be, which was another minor disappointment, but with a shrug the wind billowed under him and he bound forward through the caverns to find who he needed.
It was quite strange to Jack, the first time he'd been in a Pooka's warren outside of Bunny's. He'd expected them all to be like Bunny's, large and endless and so very green. But they weren't, that endlessness was a product of Bunny's hope and that green was a product of Bunny's magic.
The warren Jack found himself in now was compact and homey. Wooden beams created the illusion of solid structure and artfully twisted roots decorated the walls. Soft warm lights guided him and lulled him with their sense of safety and comfort. The rich scent of dirt and flowers was similar to Bunny's but this warren also had an undercut of spices and something intoxicating Jack could never quite place.
He reached out and ran his fingers lightly along a root as he walked. He wasn't in too much of a rush, he knew the spirit would be busy and needed time to wrap up and see Jack anyway, so Jack was not hurried as he strolled through the tunnels into the main cavern of the warren. The main cavern exploded into colors, glass decoration twirled in a static dance around it, lines of it winding and reaching up until they all collided in beautiful iridescent nets of color above where true sunlight filtered down between them. It was a cavern of joy and Jack never tired of seeing it.
He found himself so content just to look around and see everything that he didn't even notice he had company until his name was spoken. Turning toward the spirit, he grinned widely.
"Amoure." Jack greeted warmly, leaning against his staff.
Amoure nodded his head in greeting with his own wide grin, "What can I do for you on such a day Jack? Please don't ask me to make someone fall in love with you, I'm going to gently lower the next person who does into a ditch and leave them there for at least five hours."
"Oo," Jack fained a wince, "Harsh."
"Yes yes, now really, what do you want?"
Jack shifts, standing straighter, "I wanted to talk to you about the threads between Pitch and the guardians." He shook his head, "There's still so much, much bad blood between them. I'm sick of it. I don't," he looked to the side as he tried to figure out how to put it, "don't want Pitch feeling like a villain every time we meet with them. I don't think they mean to, but they still treat him like he's some kind of, of bomb just waiting to go off. He, deserves better, don't you think." Jack gestured to Amoure with his staff, hoping he wasn't showing how awkward he was feeling. This, friends thing, really wasn't his forte.
Amoure tilted his head slightly as he considered Jack's words, "Surprisingly sweet." Jack very carefully did not awkwardly shift his weight, "Of course. As long as everyone agrees, I'll help."
Jack grinned brightly, "They have, I've already talked to them. Well, everyone but Pitch but I'll talk to him before I bring him here."
Amoure raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, "Proof first. I like you Jack, I'll always be grateful, but I will not accept your word as proof they agreed."
Jack waved him off before pulling a folded paper from his pocket, "Yeah I got it right here. Signed by all of them." He handed the magic laced parchment over. The signatures on it charmed in ways that could only be done by the guardians themselves.
After looking over it, the Pooka nodded. "Alright, well, go get your love. I think this will honestly be one of my favorite projects today. Everyone else is so focused on forced romance, I'm being driven to insanity."
Jack grinned, "Oh I'm sure." He laughed as he started to turn and leave with a curt wave, "See you as soon as I convince Pitch to make friends."
Amoure barked out a laugh, "Yeah, good luck with that one."
With that, Jack bounded back out of the warren, letting the winds throw him back up into the sky and toward home. Pulling a small container of black sand from his pocket and sticking his staff between his arms and ribs, he popped the cork out and poured a pinch of the sand into the wind. It immediately came to life and started swirling and dancing on the winds before it honed in on Pitch and dashed off. Jack barely had time to close the container back up before he shot off, chasing after the sand.
The sand led him to a moderate city, well within the land that was still only really populated by humans, and the winds lightened letting him gently fall onto a rooftop. He walked over to a rooftop exit and found the darkest shadow, knocking on it with his staff, "Hey Pitch. Come here a second." He spoke into the empty air and before long, the shadows morphed as a tall figure slid out of them, features clearing into what Jack loved.
"Hey, do you want to make friends?"
Pitch narrowed his eyes at Jack with suspicion before giving a curt, "No." And stepping backward to go back into the shadow.
"Wait wait wait," Jack held the hand not holding the staff out placating, a bit of laughter in his voice, "I-" he really had not at all planned how he was going to get this across to Pitch well, "Right, uh, how do I put this."
"I'm becoming more and more convinced. I don't want to be a part of this. Whatever scheme you've crafted this time."
Jack groaned. Why did relationships have to be so hard. Looking to the side and down, he scratched at the back of his neck, "Okay, long story short, I talked to Amoure and the guardians and I want you to go to him to help sooth the threads between you and them."
Pitch scowled, "I'm good. I've no need to make nice with those weirdos."
"Right, they're the weirdos." That only earned Jack a glare so he changed tactics. "Please?" Jack tilted his head and looked up at Pitch sincerely, holding his staff close to his head as he leaned against it.
A flash of anger went across Pitch's face as he immediately recognized what Jack was doing and his scowl deepened, "No, I won't, Jack, don't,"
"There's no harm in it, and I really want this." Jack barely refrained from batting his eyelashes.
He could actively see the usual struggle on Pitch's face as his determination broke down before he blew out a defeated breath. "Very well," he waved Jack off insouciantly, "I suppose it's worth a shot if it'll make you happy."
Jack beamed up at him, "It really will, now let's go." He tapped his staff against the ground and another hole opened up.
Pitch just raised a brow before he actually stepped back into the shadow and disappeared. With an amused huff, Jack once again dropped down into the warren.
When he found his way back into the main cavern, Pitch was already there and Jack could tell he'd come in the middle of their conversation. Both immediately quieted as he entered though, and Jack couldn't tell what it was they'd been talking about.
"Welcome back, Jack." Amoure greeted as Jack walked up to them.
"Thanks, it's been a while."
Amoure grinned before he clapped his hands together, the sound dulled by fur and pads, "Alright, nothing to it then." And with that he reached out in front of him and started pulling at a thread only he could see.
Both Jack and Pitch watched him silently as he worked, neither able to see what he was doing, and not sure if talking would disrupt him. It was a little fascinating, watching any of the love triplets work. Their fingers moved deftly in the air, delicate as they handled something small and intricate. Expressions of concentration came along with their fur raising due to the energy they used to do, whatever it was they did.
They were efficient too. Far sooner than Jack had expected, Amoure petted presumably the thread before declaring it done.
"Already?" Both Jack and Pitch asked at the same time, eyeing each other after the accidental sync.
Amoure nodded, brushing his hands together and looking quite pleased with himself.
"And that's it, it's done?" Jack asked. It felt, anticlimactic. Like there should have been some show or some obvious feeling that something had been changed but, judging by the look on Pitch's face, neither of them had any such feeling.
"Yep!" Amoure responded perkily, "That's it! It helps that you've already been working on it. Of course, I have to give you the usual disclaimer, it doesn't work if you don't let it. You can't turn around and start stewing on all the things they've ever done wrong, and you can still make more bad memories, but, my job here is done! You're welcome." He made a little bow like a stage performer at the end of his show.
"Well then-"
"Wonderful!" Pitch interrupted Jack before turning to him, "Now that that's done, I actually have somewhere to take you now. Join me?" Pitch held out his arm for Jack to take, and it was Jack's turn for suspicion.
With a bit of hesitation, he switched hands holding the staff and took Pitch's arm to let him drag Jack into the shadows with him. When they stepped out Jack immediately froze.
It wasn't the usual. There was a significant lack of red and pink, mostly blues, whites, and golds. There were no hearts or garish flowers, no paper chains or ribbons. There were candles though, made of the black wax Pitch favored that had that otherworldly scent Jack loved from Pitch's home moon.
Despite the lack of the usual, it was still clearly a valentines set up. It held the same cozy air of the warren they'd just come from, with the flickering of the candle lights and the warm smell. The air was at the kind of crisp cold Jack liked and there were blankets draped over two chairs before a table. The table was decorated lovingly and on top of it sat games, favorites of both Jack's and Pitch's as well as one that Jack didn't recognize and was very intrigued by. Chocolates were also present along with other candies and simple fruit.
It was so far from what Jack expected from a romantic setting yet it was still hands down the most romantic setting Jack had ever seen, obviously tailored to Jack's tastes. He, after spending a few baffled moments taking in the scene, he looked over to Pitch in shocked confusion, "But," he stalled, looking for words, "But I thought you didn't like valentines! You've never celebrated it before! You never even talked about it!" Jack had, without thinking, unhooked his arm from Pitch's to gesture and only realized when Pitch dodged a wild swing from Jack's staff. "Ah, sorry." He said sheepishly, straightening his staff.
Pitch, eyeing Jack's staff warily, waved him off, "It's alright. And yes, I've no particular fondness of this, insipid holiday. No real fear to be had beyond fear of rejection. It's a rather bland day for me."
Jack just looked at him with more confusion before gesturing aggressively at the table for Pitch to explain.
"Jack, I have no place in this holiday. You obviously do. You've been practically buzzing about this. For days! It took me far too long, but I finally put it together. Valentines is a day of fun and joy." Pitch looked to the side pensively, one hand coming up to his chin, "If you like it," he shrugged, "we should celebrate. This seemed appropriate celebration." He gestured to the table, the first grin of the day finally on him as he looked very proud of his own efforts.
Not that that pride was misplaced, Jack was also proud, if he could process what had just happened. "But," he started, bafflement still in his voice, "but I didn't do anything valentinesy." As soon as he said it he wrinkled his nose in distaste. "I mean. I- totally unprepared for this. My idea of Valentine's celebration was to make you make friends." He laughed, "I'm, not very good at this."
Pitch stared down at Jack in disappointed disagreement, which Jack did not deserve, before he sighed and headed toward the table to sit down. "Oh yes. Your only idea, for the day to show love, was to find a way to make my life easier." He sat down and braced his chin on his fist, looking down at the games. "How thoughtless of you." He turned back to Jack with a face that dared Jack to disagree.
Jack tried to find a way to disagree for the principle of it but was finding thoughts a little difficult at the moment. Instead he just shot a look at Pitch to make sure he knew he hadn't won, before leaning his staff against the wall. He walked over to sit down as well, immediately popping a grape into his mouth. "You know what I meant." Is what Jack settled on as he eyed the games.
Pitch's mouth turned into a self-satisfied grin that bordered on malice and made Jack melt in an entirely unfair way. Rather than focus on Pitch's face, Jack pulled out the game he didn't recognize and set it between them, "This is from the golden age?" He guessed.
Pitch allowed the shift and nodded, "Allow me." With that, he pulled the game toward him and began setting it up, explaining the gist of the rules to Jack as he went.
The two spent the rest of the day and well into the next day in that room. They cycled between the table and floor for playing spaces as one grew boring, and Jack got to enjoy the comfort of the cozy blankets in the brisk air. They ate through the fruits and candies far faster then Pitch had predicted and had to take a break to rob a grocery store, which had been its own game. The candles had completely burned down by the time they had worked through the games and Jack's restlessness started to make itself very clear.
After helping Pitch clear up, which mostly involved throwing things into shadow portals which was the most convenient thing Jack had ever known, Jack bounded out of the lair, heart and feet light in a way he hadn't at all expected. He'd always enjoyed valentines and the air of it. He liked cheering up those who were down for it and even occasionally played match maker himself, but he realized, as he left, that he'd never truly gotten to celebrate it, to be a part of it instead of looking in, and he found he could absolutely understand why people enjoyed it so much.
It wasn't something Jack was well acquainted with, but as he tossed in the wind, he was absolutely giddy with the amount of love that he could only attribute to Pitch.