There must be something wrong with me. I've gotten into the habit of posting like three new chapters and then going on hiatus for months. I really do have to cut that out. Anyway, sorry about that! I hope that this super fluffy chapter will make up for it somewhat! By the way, thank you to everyone who has reviewed! It's because of you guys that I always come back and continue this story!

Disclaimer: FireRanger101 does not own Ranger's Apprentice or Avengers. However, she does own Jack so if you *PUNCH* N-never mind. She does technically own him but *Arrow shot at head but missed by a hair* CLINT, CUT IT OUT! Yeesh, overprotective much...

When they entered the cabin, there was a large pot of beef stew waiting for them at the table. After both had given the wondrous chef Charity many thanks, half being virtually non-existent in Jack's case, they sat down to the hearty meal.

There was some conversation, mostly of Charity and Gilan discussing some of the happenings of the fief. Some being of the training of the new apprentices in its military, which had gotten Jack's interest and attention, but then the conversation drifted to the year's produce production, which had then lost the boy's interest in their shared words.

Sure, it was still very welcoming to be able to simply hear the sound of other people's voices, ones that were talking to each other in a very friendly way with no yelling involved whatsoever, but the topic of fruits and vegetables was quite boring to listen to. So instead, he merely paid attention to the sounds of their voices instead for their company.

Gilan had tried a few times to get him to join in, such as bringing up the topic of how well he was able to distinguish animal prints, but after a couple of enthusiastic minutes he later went back to completely focusing on his food.

Jack was very bewildered about all of the emotions that were going through him that it was to the point where he couldn't even continue to talk to Gilan about all that they had done in the forest so that he could focus on identifying them. Such as, he was first feeling all nice inside since Charity had made them such a delicious dinner. He was also happy because of all of the events of the day, especially with Gilan and finding a name for the old mare. And now, because he was sitting at a table eating with two other people who had some types of feelings for him, even if he hadn't exactly figured out what they were yet.

But, there was a part of him that was also very sad. The reason for this being, of course, because of the fact that he wasn't able to share any of these experiences that he was having with his uncle. Who was now, probably, very far away.

Both Gilan and Charity stopped talking when they heard a quiet, dismal sigh from the youngest of the trio at the table. They had a pretty good assumption of what he was thinking about that had him becoming all gloomy compared to his previous quiet-animated demeanor.

"Hey um, Jack, how about you go start getting ready for bed while Charity and I clean up from dinner?"

Jack was instantly brought out of his sulking when he heard his name called. "But, don't you want me to help too?"

Because Charity hadn't seen his odd behavior towards always helping with what needed to be done from earlier in the day, she quickly became surprised at what he said while Gilan simply expected it.

"I think we'll be able to handle it, you just go get ready. However, thank you."

"Oh, well, okay…" Jack slowly got out of his chair and after putting his bowl and spoon in the sink, walked to his room befuddled.

They said they didn't need him to help them clean! He didn't know how to feel about that. He was a bit alleviated that he hadn't needed to do anything, but at the same time cleaning was one of the only things he did back home. It felt weird to not have to do it, even if it was only for this one night not doing it.

He got changed into a nightshirt that he had found in the chest and then proceeded to figure out what to do next. He would usually brush his teeth right now, but he didn't see anything that even remotely looks like a toothbrush. So to improvise, he swished some of the water in the basin around his mouth for a couple of minutes and then spat it out of the window. Even though they probably weren't nearly as clean as they should have been, he could still tell that what he had done cleaned them up enough so that it wouldn't bother him; compared to if he had just completely done nothing about it.

There wasn't anything else that he needed to do to get ready, so he decided to go back out into the larger area. However, it did take a minute of his usual hesitation until he finally did go out.

Charity was by the door, holding her now empty wicker basket. This morning, when she had entered the house she had put the flowers that she had with her into glass vases and put one in each of the two bedrooms on the small tables against the wall and then one large vase of them in the center of the dining table, saying how it helped to brighten the broody place up a bit.

She said farewell to the ranger, and then noticed the boy slowly making his way over behind him. She couldn't help but croon a little over how adorable he looked in the oversized shirt that he had put on. It looked as if it was swallowing him, the sleeves going to just above his elbows and the bottom going right below his knees. It was making him look even smaller then before, instantly making him an even cuter sight.

She couldn't stop herself from going over and not only saying goodbye, but kneeling down and giving him a hug.

Right away Jack had seized up at the contact, being how abrupt it was. However, after he had gotten over the shock of it he realized that it was actually, well, nice. It still felt weird, but the hug was a lot softer and more comfortable compared to his uncle's. While nothing could truly compare to his uncle Clint's hugs, especially considering how warm and reassuring they always were, this one didn't involve any crushing of Jack's bones or the blockage of his air supply.

Charity then released him, standing back up and making her way back to the door. "Are you sure that you don't want me to go with you back to the inn? This is the time when crooks are usually out and about. And seeing as how you are a beautiful young maiden, you may be quite a target." Gilan said, ever trying to be the knight in shining armor to damsels.

"No, thank you. I'm a capable girl; I think that I'll be able to handle myself if I come across anything while going down the path." And with one more wave of her delicate hand farewell, she left and Gilan closed the door behind her.

The ranger turned to the boy, also finding him to look quite adorable in his nightclothes. "Well then, I do believe that it is now your bedtime."

The boy didn't usually go to bed this early; judging by how dusk had just only ended it was probably around 9 or 10 at night. However, he was never one to argue so instead he just gave a meager nod and started to make his way back to the bedroom that he had only come out of a minute or two previously.

Gilan then remembered what Clint had said of the boy's sleeping schedule. Even if it was a good idea for him to try to get Jack to get some more sleep than he was used to, it might not be that good of one for him to make him go to sleep earlier than usual immediately. Besides, he had basically slept the entire day away yesterday so it wouldn't be surprising if he was actually pretty wide awake right now.

Quickly he took a step towards the boy before he got any further to the bedroom door and said "Hey, actually how about we both stay up a little longer." Hmp, what was something that they could do to keep them up for some time? Oh, now he had an idea! "I could make up some drinks and we could answer some questions about each other, does that sound good?"

Jack had turned towards him rather promptly when he heard Gilan take a step towards him. He was a bit apprehensive to do what the ranger wanted, but he had to admit that he was wide awake and it would be better than just laying in bed for hours bored out of his mind. So, he agreed with a quiet "ok."

He hesitantly made his way over to the armchairs, sitting in one of them while Gilan went into the kitchen.

When the ranger came back, he was holding two steaming mugs. Once again Jack couldn't believe the man and of how, what was the word he was looking for? He heard it before on a movie once… Oh, generous! Yes, Gilan seemed very generous, with everything that he had done for him today.

Gilan carefully gave the boy one of the mugs, making sure to tell him that it was hot and to hold on to it by the handle. He had of course made himself a cup of coffee with a lavish amount of honey, but thought that it wouldn't be the best of ideas to give someone as young as Jack such a drink. So instead, he had decided to make him something that would probably be much appreciated. Well, hopefully.

"I hope you like hot chocolate Jack! Just remember that you might want to blow on it before you take a sip."

Hot chocolate? I've always wanted to try hot chocolate! I wonder if it tastes as good as I imagined it would! Jack thought with glee. His uncle had promised that he would make sure to let him try it before, but it would always slip both of their minds so he had never been able too.

Cautiously, he gave it a small blow and then took a sip. Instantly, his taste buds were met with one of the most amazing flavors that they had ever experienced! It was very rich and had tons of taste to it, sweet yet not too much that it overpowered his tongue and took away from the overall relish that the beverage gave him.

He couldn't help but give an audible "mmmm," making the ranger chuckle in both amusement and satisfaction.

"From what I can tell, you seem to be enjoying it." He was responded to with a rapid nod and another sip of the hot chocolate.

The next minute was spent with the pair savoring their respective beverages, with nothing but the sounds of their "ahs" and "mmmms" along with the critters of the night being heard from outside, especially the chirping of the crickets and grasshoppers mixing together in harmony.

"So, Jack. Yesterday I heard of some of the things that you were good at, now if you don't mind I'd like to here some things that you like. You know, like foods, games, things like that." To try to make it easier for him, he added "I can start. Then we can just go back and forth between each other."

Jack carefully put the now half-empty mug on the side table, and gave a nod in response.

Gilan contemplated something simple to start of with. "Well, as you can probably tell I like coffee. What about you?"

That's an easy question! "Hot chocolate," Jack said with a small smile.

Gilan gave a small laugh. "I never would have guessed. I'll have to make sure to keep that in mind for next time Charity gets me supplies in the market, I have a feeling that we might run out of it rather quickly."

Well, so far this is going rather nicely. What's something else? "Hmm… Oh, my favorite food is probably my friend's somewhat famous stews."

Jack picked up on the pattern, and knew that he was expected to respond with what his favorite food was. Only problem was that he really didn't have one. He was thankful for whenever he got food, and didn't really ever have a preference for what kind he got.

There was one thing however and that whenever he got it he was always very happy about it. So he said "W-well, I like cheese br-bread a lot."

Gilan had to admit, he loved that stuff A LOT too. He usually got it as a treat whenever he saw it down in the markets, so it wasn't very often that he had it. He bet that the lad had never tried Norgate cheese bread before, so he was going to be in for a treat when he got some. "Good choice, now I'm kinda in the mood for some. I better get some of it next time I see it for us to have."

Jack's eyes widened and his mouth couldn't help but start to water in anticipation of such a meal.

"Alright, let's move on before my stomach starts growling from all this talk of food. My favorite game is definitely hide & go seek, forest style." Of course it was mostly because of how fun it was, but it was also partly due to how he seemed to never lose at the game whenever he used to play it when he was younger. Mind you, he did still play it time to time with other rangers, but he was the only one who would see it as being a game while the others viewed it as pranks and such.

This one was a bit tougher to answer back to. Jack had never really played any games before, not even with his uncle. And the ones he did were usually ones that he had made up to play with himself, like how quick could he clean up the house until the clock showed a certain time or things like that. And Jack had a feeling that those weren't what others would usually view as being a game.

"A-actually, I've n-never really pl-played any games b-before…"

What!? A kid his age should be playing games like everyday! What does he do if he hasn't ever played any games before?

"You haven't played any games before?" A shake of a head was his answer. Quickly, he came to a decision. "Well, that's about to change. I may be considered to be an adult, but I promise you that I'm going to teach you tons of games that I knew as a child. Mind you, they may not be ones that children would usually be found playing but they will certainly be fun nonetheless."

He's going to play games with me? He's an adult but he is still willing to teach me games and not only that, but do them with me!?

"Y-you really don't h-have to-

"Nonsense. I am going to make absolutely certain that you have the best time of your life while you are here in my care." Gilan had came to a decision that he would make sure that Jack would find out what it truly was like to be a child, and nothing was going to stop him from doing so.

He took a glimpse at the window, and looked through the slight crack between the drapes. It was now pitch black outside, signaling that it was probably time for them to really get some shut-eye.

"I think that it really is time for us to be getting off to bed now. That was a really nice talk however, I'm glad that we had it." He got up and brought his now long empty mug to the sink, promising himself that he would wash it in the morning. Jack had quickly followed suit, but took a moment to drain his mug completely of the chocolaty goodness before depositing it along the other in the sink.

Gilan had gone back over to the sitting area, picking up the candle that he had lit to provide light for the entirety of their talk. He watched as Jack sluggishly made his way to his bedroom, now completely worn out from the day's activities and from staying up. He gave a yawn and was about to go into his own bedroom, when he heard a quiet 'goodnight.'

Jack didn't know what made him do it, but for some reason before he went into his room he almost subconsciously said goodnight to Gilan. He was about to quicken his pace, mostly from embarrassment from what he had done when much to his surprise, he heard "Goodnight Jack, see you in the morning."

He turned around and saw Gilan, and how the light of the candle that he was holding was giving his face an eerie glow and making shadows contort around him. He had a small smile, as if he could never not have one present. Silently, he continued to make his way back to his own room but not before blowing the candle out first, leaving a slightly confused and befuddled boy in the dark.

Jack made his way under the soft covers of his bed, clutching his appaloosa to his chest. And that night, instead of a fitful sleep with nightmares of farewells, he dreamed of games of hide & seek behind trees along with a green-cloaked figure, which seemed to always have a smile on his face.

Hope you liked it!