Love Heart paced around the living room before he finally plopped down on the couch and let out a prolonged groan.
Kero hit pause on the game he and The Jump were playing and turned around, “What’s wrong, Love Heart?”
“I just… I want to go talk to Confidence, sort out our relationship but I don’t know how to do it.” Love Heart leaned back and covered his eyes.
The Jump turned away from its controller, “Why don’t you use The Flower to make her some flowers? I think people like that kinda stuff.”
“That sounds good… but I don’t know what kinda flowers to make for her,” Love Heart sighed.
“Let me see your heartphone,” Kero floated over to Love Heart, who pulled out the device and handed it to him. Kero typed in a website address and showed off a picture to Love Heart before he could see what Kero had searched, “try these flowers.” They were white flowers with a bright yellow center.
Love Heart looked at them for a moment and, stuck for any other suggestions, “Alright, let’s try.” He held the Heart Key in his hand.
"Key of the Heart With Powers Burning Bright Reveal the Staff And Shine Your Light Release!"
Love Heart grabbed the staff and pulled out The Flower Card, throwing it up and spinning the staff around.
"Spring, Summer, Winter, Fall Ancient forces heed my call! Flower Card, discard your former might And draw new power from my light Heart Card!"
As soon as the card changed Love Heart pointed at the image on his heartphone, “Flower Card! Create a real version of these flowers in a bouquet!” The Flower spirit emerged, smiled and spread its arms to produce a bouquet of the flowers in Love Heart’s hands that matched those in the image.
Love Heart took the flowers and smiled, “Thanks, are you feeling alright, Flower?”
The Flower nodded.
“Want to hang out here with Kero and Jump?”
The Flower looked around, then shook its head and flowed back into its card.
“Trust me, it’s tired,” Jump said, “Plus sleeping in a card all day doesn’t bother most of them now.”
“Thanks, well here goes.” Love Heart sealed the staff then headed out the door with the flowers in hand.
“What kinda flowers were those?” The Jump asked as it and Kero returned to their game.
Kero laughed, “Oh he’ll see, they’re…”
OoOoO
The early spring heat was melting the snow enough that one only needed a sweater to go outside but still needed boots because of all the slush. Love Heart shivered more from nerves than from the mild chill. He could have rehearsed something but he wanted it to feel natural and speak from the heart. These thoughts whirled around in his head even as the flowers in his hand began to feel heavier, which he barely registered as he walked up to Confidence Heart’s front door and rang the bell.
Confidence had seen Love Heart walking towards her house and was right by the door when he rang the bell. She opened slowly and saw him with a hand behind his back.
“Hi, Confidence.” Love Heart forced himself to look at Confidence. “I want to say-”
“I’m sorry,” Confidence cut in, “I miss you and…” She smelled the air something.
Love Heart pulled the bouquet out from behind his back, “Oh here, I got you flowers…” his voice faded out as he stared at the flowers, which had turned into strawberries.
Confidence smiled, “Strawberries? My favorite fruit.”
“Really? Sorry I didn’t know. I used The Flower Card and I guess this is what it can do now.” Love Heart chuckled nervously.
“Well come in and let’s share.” Confidence let Love Heart in and shut the door behind them.
The two of them ate the strawberries off the stems as they sat on the couch. They didn’t speak until the fruit was gone and the remains had vanished into a puff of magic.
Love Heart cleared his throat, “Confidence, I’m sorry about what I said, I mean I was angry and tired but… I shouldn’t have gotten so mad.”
Confidence shook her head and put a hand on Love Heart’s shoulder, “No, you’re right I was too excited and I didn’t think about how it was affecting you. I was just afraid our adventures were over and that we’d just… drift apart. I didn’t give you enough credit,” she hung her head.
Love Heart smiled and reached over to lift her gaze back to his, “No, you’re right about me, I delay stuff and kinda just let things happen. Look how long it took me to get my cloud car license. I don’t want us to drift apart but I do want the danger to end.” He let go of her chin, she smiled and leaned in so Love Heart leaned forwards and they kissed. It was a soft kiss at first until Confidence wrapped her arms around him and they leaned into it.
They pulled back, gasping a bit as their emotions overwhelmed them.
“I love you,” Love Heart said.
“I love you,” Confidence Heart said.
Then they kissed again.
They eventually pulled apart then sat back and snuggled up against each other. It was a few minutes before Love Heart spoke, “Want to go away for vacation during spring break?”
“Just the two of us?” Confidence turned so she could look at him.
“Yeah, just the two of us. I mean my 18th birthday’s next week and yours is before then so…” Love Heart looked away slightly.
“So it’s our call then,” she gave Love Heart a kiss on the cheek, “So where to then? Florida?”
Love Heart shook his head as best he could while still leaning back against the couch, “No, probably too crowded with college kids. I was thinking maybe Jamaiica. I just need to find a seaside hotel, get plane tickets…”
“Plane tickets, really?” Confidence sat forwards sounding incredulous as she gave Love Heart a questioning look.
“Yeah, I mean how else do we get there?” Love Heart sat up too.
Confidence laughed, “Cloud car? I mean why spend money on those tickets if we can just fly there for free. Remind me: which one of us grew up as a Care Bear?”
Love Heart blushed slightly, “Right right, guess the human stuff is rubbing off on me.”
“Besides if I keep my practise up I’ll have my cloud car license by then so I can drive us,” Confidence jumped up, “I’m getting excited now, gotta plan stuff and…” A thought crossed her mind as she looked down at herself.
“What?” Love Heart stood up.
Confidence put on a forced smile, “Oh nothing much, but I do want to look at what to pack,” she gave Love Heart a quick kiss, “See you next week, birthday boy, I want to get started now!” she almost shouted the last line then darted upstairs leaving her bewildered boyfriend just standing there for a full minute before he shrugged then left for home.
Confidence watched him leave, then undressed and stood in front of the mirror built into her dresser. Even those who claim not to care how they look have times when they get self-conscious about their appearance. Confidence examined herself from the tips of her long ears down to her toes and her tail, all covered in sandy colored fur, and even traced the outline of her tummy symbol: a blue ribbon with a heart shaped button.
Confidence ran a hand through her long hair, did it look good on her? Did she look good enough? Yes! Love Heart had said he thought she was hot before, he had blurted it out by accident but that did mean he was being honest, but even so… This trip was going to be the first time they got to be truly alone together, without any family or friends within arm’s reach. She felt like she had to do something more…
She redressed then picked up her heartphone.
“Cheer? Can we meet for lunch? No, not the Hall of Hearts, my treat downtown. Thanks, see you there.” She dialed another number, “Proud Heart, want to meet me and Cheer for lunch?”
OoOoO
Loyal Heart took a deep breath as he stepped into the Care-a-Lot school gym where he found Champ just finishing a set on the bench press.
“Hey, Loyal Heart,” Champ sat up and wiped his forehead.
“Hey,” Loyal Heart waved half-heartedly.
“Never see you here, what’s the deal?” Champ wiped down the bench press as Loyal Heart.
Loyal Heart mulled over things for a moment before he answered, “I want to get stronger.”
“Stronger?” Champ sounded confused.
“Yes, stronger,” Loyal Heart walked over to a treadmill, “I don’t want to have Yue take over my body whenever Love Heart’s in trouble. Confidence helps and she doesn’t have any magic and…” He paused as he was about to stop on the treadmill, “and I need to figure out who I am.”
“And exercise will help with that?” Champ was legitimately confused.
“I don’t know!” Loyal Heart’s shout made Champ jump, “I just need to try something other than burying and digging up bones like when I was a puppy.”
Champ walked over to Loyal Heart and put a hand on his shoulder, “I don’t quite get it, but want some help?”
“What kind of help?” Loyal Heart looked his back at Champ.
“Showing you the best way to build muscle and stamina, here let me set the treadmill for you,” Champ stepped up the set the stats on the machine. “OK try that.”
Loyal Heart smiled as he turned the machine on, “Thanks, Champ,” then started jogging.
OoOoO
Love Heart was looking at hotel booking’s online when he heard a knock on his door.
“Come in.”
Sweet Heart entered and tried to look at the screen, “Doing homework?”
“No, looking for hotels in Jamaiica,” Love Heart didn’t bother turning around.
“Mom said supper’s ready.” Sweet Heart left without waiting for an answer.
Love Heart sighed and turned to see the pile of books sitting nearby, he did have to do his homework, but after supper.
Love Heart was lost in thought at supper, only noting that Sweet Heart was much more open now. As he looked at the faint distorted reflection in his soup bowl an idea struck Love Heart.
“Hey, everyone, I have something I need your help with.”
“Oh, what is it?” Sage Heart looked up from his supper.
“I want to make a magic mirror for Loyal Heart, so he can talk to Yue anytime, even when I’m not around.” Love Heart looked at the rest of his family and smiled when he saw he had their attention.
“That sounds like a great idea,” Sweet Heart grinned, “So what do we do?”
“Finish supper then we’ll find out,” Life Heart went back to her supper. Love Heart smiled then went back to his food.
Love Heart later regretted bringing it up so late when he had to stay up till midnight to finish his homework.
OoOoO
Confidence sat in the mall’s food court with Proud Heart Cat and Cheer Bear, both of whom had just finished their lunch.
Proud Heart was the first to speak, “So why did want to meet us, Confidence.”
“Yeah, I mean we’re not exactly in your clique,” Cheer leaned sideways, propping up her head on her arm.
Confidence took a deep breath, “I need, help with something personal…” She saw both girls lean in, waiting for her to specify, “I want to look… pretty… I mean look better…”
“Whoa, what brough this on?” Cheer asked.
“Love Heart’s taking me on vacation for spring break and… I guess I just feel a bit self-conscious since I’m kinda rough looking, I mean I know Love Heart likes that and he wouldn’t want me to stop being me but sometimes I feel…”
“Like you want to treat yourself but you’re worried about looking like a shallow airhead if you care at all about your appearance,” Proud Heart folded her arms and nodded, “I get it, it takes a lot of time and effort to the point that it can become an obsession.”
“Don’t be so worried about it, I mean you do care enough for your hair,” Cheer pointed to where Confidence was playing with one of her long strands of hair.
“What?” Confidence almost jumped.
“Long hair’s hard to take care of, believe me I should know,” Cheer ran her hand back up through her hair and ponytail, “and I admit I’ve always been kinda jealous of how your hair’s longer than mine and how you keep it so clean and healthy hanging loose like that.”
Confidence smiled, “Well I always liked seeing people with long hair, especially Sailor Moon, so I just told the hair stylist mom and dad took me to not to cut it short anymore and mom showed me how to look after it.” Confidence looked forlorn at the memories for a moment then shook her head, “I admit I spend a lot of time on it in the morning, but not an excessive amount and I like how it feels hanging loose.”
“Yeah, I can’t get it any longer before split ends start being a problem,” Cheer sighed, “but you want to look nice for Love Heart?”
Confidence nodded, “Yeah.”
“Well then let’s get going,” Proud Heart stood up, “Follow me.”
A few minutes later they stood in front of a pet store.
“A pet store?” Confidence stared up at the sign.
“Yes,” Proud Heart nodded, “trust me grooming brushes here are much better than hair combs or brushes.”
“Yeah,” Cheer smirked, “I mean I know hair and fur are technically the same thing but the way they grow you gotta use something different for brushing them.”
Confidence took a deep breath, “Alright, let’s do this. But not too crazy.”
“Oh, we won’t,” Proud Heart led Confidence through the store until they found the grooming supplies. “Let’s see,” she examined the rows of brushes with the eye of experience then looked back at Confidence, “I think something soft bristled will work for your fur, not too much,” she selected a brush with a wooden handle and handed it to Confidence, who just stared for a moment until a nudge from Cheer prompted her to try it.
Confidence pulled her sleeve back and brushed her arm. “That does feel good.”
“Alright, then on to the oil!” and Confidence allowed Cheer to drag her away.
“Oil?” Confidence was confused.
“Yeah, coconut oil. Not too much but it’s great for when you want your fur to shine, also helps with any itching you might have.” Cheer grabbed a bottle off the shelf, “not too much or too often though.”
Confidence took the bottle then looked at the price, “Thanks, but it’s a bit much.”
“Then let’s make it an early birthday present,” Proud Heart said as she headed off towards the store’s cash register.
Confidence left feeling better with her new grooming supplies in a small bag. “Thanks, I feel better about this now.”
“Anytime,” Cheer clapped Confidence on her back, “so now what?”
Confidence looked around and stopped when they passed the fabric store, “Actually I need to get some fabric and sewing supplies,” she marched into the store without waiting for the others. Cheer and Proud Heart shared a look then followed her, curious to see what she was getting.
“I’ve been meaning to do this for ages,” Confidence had grabbed a basket and scanned the aisles, “need some fabric.”
“What are you getting?” Proud Heart asked as Confidence added a small bolt of blue fabric and some blue thread to her basket.
“I have some projects I need to get done,” Confidence found her way to every item she needed, “Like fixing Love Heart’s battle costume.”
“And something for your vacation?” Cheer smirked.
“Yes,” Confidence didn’t miss a beat, “I’ll be a while.”
“Let’s help,” Proud Heart moved to follow Confidence, “I want to see what you have in mind.”
OoOoO
“Happy Birthday!”
Ever since they were cubs, birthdays in the Care Bear Family were never small affairs, especially thanks to Birthday Bear who threw the maximum effort into every party for every Care Bear and Cousin.
Love Heart blew out the 18 candles on his birthday cake, always big enough for everyone to share, and sat between Confidence and Brave Heart to eat. Loyal Heart arrived late and sat down across from Love Heart, panting slightly.
“What took ya, Loyal?” Harmony asked from next to Brave Heart as the dog sat down.
“Was at the gym, lost track of time.” He took a deep breath to stop his panting.
“I can see that,” Confidence noticed that Loyal was starting to put on muscle, “you must be hungry.”
“So that’s where you’ve been,” Love Heart took a bite of cake, “Supper should be ready soon, just after presents.”
“Presents? Oh right sorry, Happy birthday Love Heart,” Loyal Heart sounded embarrassed, “I mean I didn’t get you anything.”
“You being here’s enough,” Love Heart smiled at Loyal then went back to his slice of cake. Loyal Heart didn’t say more but all but inhaled his slice of cake.
Love Heart watched him eat, then remembered something, “Here, Loyal, I know its my birthday but I have a gift for you.” He pulled a small box out of his pocket and passed it to the dog.
“Hmm?” Loyal Heart swallowed and took the box then opened it to find a flat hand-sized amulet shaped like his tummy symbol on a thin chain, “What’s this?”
“Open it.”
Loyal Heart gave Love Heart an odd look and opened it, the amulet swinging open from the bottom of the heart shape to reveal a mirror on the top in the upside-down heart with a blank space in the bottom. Loyal Heart peered in curiously and almost jumped when he saw Yue reflected back at him. “Yue?”
“Yes, it appears Love Heart had made a more permanent solution to our communication problem,” Yue nodded.
“My family helped me make this, so you can try to sort out stuff without needing me around.
Loyal Heart smiled and wiped some tears from his eyes, “Thank you, Love Heart. Sorry Yue, we can talk later.” He closed the amulet then hung it around his neck before he went to get more food.
“That was sweet of you,” Confidence smiled and leaned sideways to look admiringly at Love Heart.
Love Heart blushed, “Well I wanted to help him somehow, I think being able to talk to Yue will help.”
Confidence leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, “You’re a good friend. Here,” she reached down next to her and pulled out a large present, “I wanted to give this to you.”
“You could have just put it in the pile, but thanks,” Love Heart took the box and carefully unwrapped it. Inside was his battle costume repaired with a hat on top, “My battle costume. What’s this?” he pulled the hat out and tried it on: it was the same blue as the rest of his costume with a gold trim around the bottom, small wings on the sides and a patch on the front that featured their tummy symbols side-by-side.
“I was thinking the headpiece was a bit awkward after looking at it, mostly the rest is the same though,” Confidence chuckled slightly.
“It looks great, thank you,” Love Heart leaned over and gave Confidence a kiss on the cheek, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” Confidence reached over and pulled him into a full kiss on the lips.
“Looks like you two made up,” Brave Heart let out a sigh of relief.
“Told you it was just a little spat, congratulations!” Harmony’s shout made a few others cheer for the couple mending fences.
Love Heart pulled back but kept the hat on, “We can do more later, let’s enjoy the party.”
