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Chapter Text

Christmas lights illuminated her half of the dorm room. The warmth it brought to her desk was better than the tik-tok lights she often saw in the windows of the freshman buildings. Or at least that was her personal opinion, something that was agreed upon by her roommate before she decided to string them up a week after the holiday. The girl in question was out at the moment. Somewhere downtown watching the drop in the town square of the small city. Outside, bouts of winter weather dropped randomly. Sleet and ice spraying across the sidewalks her and her friends attempted to safely navigate, giddy, and a bit tipsy. It wouldn’t be a while before they meandered back to their respective residencies. 

Her window emitted a faint glow from the outside, past her cracked blinds. Curious eyes did a double take as they flew by. A short scoff flitted past their lips. Now this is what they liked. All the creativity is systematically drained from those teetering on adulthood, teen years behind them, and their childhoods nearly forgotten. These lights were a tiny glimmer of the inner child. Frost bloomed across the window frame, jubilant swirls blanketed the glass as they stepped through. Oh, Jack Frost that is. 

He glimpsed posters, paints, card games and the such on a shelf in the room. A smirk played at his lips as he did a quick 360. Maybe some people really did keep a bit of that fun in their souls. North was going to love this. 

He giggled as he flew through a wall and back out onto the frosty streets. 

She woke up the next day with a sinus infection. Perhaps it was drinking and then being out in the cold. She was sure that she bundled up enough. She was suspicious at the temperature of the dorm when she wrapped the towel tighter around her body after her hot shower. She shivered when she finally put the heated blanket on the end of the bed.  She blamed having washed off her night out before hitting the pillow and clocking out, hard. 

Jokingly, she muttered something about Jack Frost nipping on her nose. 

An itch tickled a certain someone’s ear as he flew to the Pole. Wind ripped faster at his hoodie as a ripple of laughter sprung out of him. 

Whatever the case, the next morning she took Sudafed and cracked down on her research. Just how did the planets align and influence the Earth? The moon, the sun, their dance across the sky. She knew all about it, per what her Astronomy and Physics double-major required of her. Her real passion however, was the unknown. The births of superstitions, cultural beliefs and myths and the sort. So, when her little cousin told her stories of having seen deity-like beings in a battle against evil, she took it with a little more than the typical grain of salt. 

Matter of fact, she was amazed at the spike in belief of mythical beings. The seemingly connected string of mysterious mishaps and miracles. From the Tooth Fairy to Old Saint Nick himself. In between senior projects and her job, and the gym, and visiting family, there wasn’t much time to venture into the world looking for evidence of any direction. Whether they were real, demigods, myths, or a hoax. Yet, her intuition had never led her astray, so as she approached her graduation date, she kept an ear to the ground. 

There had been instances where she just teetered on the edge of being sure of herself. The time she meditated before bed, and saw the glowing, child sized ball of golden dust. It had disappeared before she blinked the sleep from her eyes. Another time she had thought she witnessed a long, beautiful face in the clouds through a canopy of leaves during a downpour. Other times, memories from childhood engulfed her. Or dreams, they showed her fantastic realities. 

Needless to say, witnessing a shadowy figure over the shoulder of her little cousins as she observed their snowball fight was the last place she expected this proof. Especially not months after she had pushed the curiosity to the back burner. 

She stared straight at the head of it, the slouch, and the stick it carried. She scanned it, eyes widening as her little cousin decked a kid in the back of a head with a snowball. His twin quickly formed another snowball in his hands as they ducked behind a powerbox on the front porch. The figure swerved, dodging the retaliation of the neighborhood ringleader, Jamie. 

It rounded the corner of the powerbox and flew to Jamies’ side. A few snowballs seemed to roll up from nowhere to rest by his ankles. A shiver ran through her as she watched, a gasp slipping from her lips. 

The posture shifted in the figure, landing on the ground from its hovering position. It took a step towards her, and she blinked once, twice more as its aura turned from that deep navy to a crisp blue. Its stick touched the ground, a shockwave lifted up the snow like a small tsunami. 

She sneezed into her elbow, and squinted back up at the aura that seemed to hunch towards her. She opened her mouth to say something, but the words lodged in her throat. A deep voice just nearly pierced her ears. Like her head was underwater, swimming with the many thoughts of lore and possible entities that could be standing before her. “Snow, fun… Frost?” 

The aura rippled into a brilliant blue, exploding into a blast of wind that blew her scarf into the snow. 

“That’s Jack to you,”

Chapter Text

A man stood to his full height, he looked to be around her age, maybe younger, or older. Clad in a blue hoodie and some tan jeans that had probably seen better days, he puffed his chest out slightly. A mischievous smirk plastered on his face, crinkling the corners of his crystal eyes. 

She was speechless as the kids continued to play in the snow. One of the twins threw a cursory glance her way, grinning and waving his hands at Jack before getting back to the snowball fight. The sloppy introduction was brief, as if he was just another neighborhood kid. She squinted at him again, just to be sure that this was a mythical being she was seeing, and that she didn’t just have too much espresso that morning.

“Oh, can’t you see me?” His face dropped as he reached a hand out, tentatively making a snowflake dance in his palm. 

“Jack…” She rubbed her eyes with her wind chilled hands, “Yes, yes I can.” 

He sighed in relief and brought her scarf back with a flick of his fingers. Albeit it was on a cold wind that did kick up snow unto her. 

“Good, that’s… interesting. I don’t think I can remember someone your age believing in us,” He squatted towards the ground, examining her with curious eyes. 

“Yeah, me either,” She stood with purpose as she remembered her research, “About that!” She whipped out her phone only to observe nothing but a flurry on the screen. She clicked her tongue. 

 She reached down with shocking speed, expecting her hand to go right through him, only to end up ruffling his admittedly soft hair. 

“Friendly, are we?” He winked up at her as he came to hover once more. 

“Wait,” She called in a panic, only for him to expectedly look down at her. 

“Who’s we?” 

That single question was how she found herself in her current predicament. In a park, at midnight, meeting a mythical man on a sled. 

She had asked him as many questions as he would take. Which was oddly a lot. Like, you’d think the guy would be busy and stuff bringing snow and cheer or whatever. But here he was, telling her he was going to throw this magic snowglobe and they were going to warp to the North Pole or something. She sweated in her thermals, scarf, boots, gloves, and beanie. For a frighteningly mundane moment, she wondered if she was going crazy. 

“C’mon, it’ll be really easy, won’t even have to fly,” He grinned, taking a seat on the sled borrowed from her little cousins. It was small, shabby, and also old. Yet, there he was, excitedly sitting on the back of it and expectedly patting the little room left in the front. 

She reluctantly sat down on the front like she had with her cousins many times before. He laughed giddily and grabbed a gigantic snowglobe from his small hoodie pocket. She tensed her shoulders, holding her breath for a moment as she realized he picked the biggest hill in the park. 

She jumped as his hand descended onto her shoulder. “Hey, I’ve got you so you’re safe, alright?” His voice was softer than the cheeky banter he had given her earlier. 

She swallowed nervously, “I’m not gonna fall off the sled,” refusing to look back at what she already knew would be a smirk. 

“‘Course not,” He chuckled and brought an arm around her midsection, causing her to freeze for reasons other than the cold. She was pressed back against his chest, a whole bundle of nerves. “Let’s go,” 

She nodded once, afraid she might squeak as he tightened his hold around her for a moment. 

White on blue on dazzling crystal, she glimpsed what seemed to be towers of ice. Mountains stood on the other end of a portal that broke the reality of the park scenery. A scream ripped from her throat as they rocketed towards it from the top of the hill. Her eyes wrenched shut, flying open as she felt the sled fall away from her. She nearly clawed at the arm around her torso, uselessly holding her as the wind whipped up at her. 

In pure terror, she gasped, blinding white scenery reflected the sun as she thought about how she left the microwave stovetop light on. 

“Gotcha,” A cheery voice sounded through the whipping wind.

She felt her knees bend, back supported by a frosty hand as she blinked back the wind chap from her eyes. They were not tears, she told herself, even as she clung to his hoodie for dear life. 

He pulled her to his chest when he felt a shiver wrack through her frame, only a split second after realizing that it was an empty gesture. 

“You said we weren’t gonna have to fly,” She groaned into his hoodie, head tucked into the blue as she calmed her heart from a near death experience. A chuckle reverberated through his chest. 

“I meant to the North Pole, darling,” She sniffed and looked up at him from her cradle. Her entire face frowned. He blinked at the pout, taken off guard as she squinted up at him. He bit back a grin and cleared his throat, pointing with his chin at the towering mountains they were approaching. 

With wide eyes she soaked in the beauty of it all. Blue sky rumbled with passing storm clouds, and sloping mountains reached up as if to greet them. Now that her fear had died down she appreciated just how amazing it was that Jack was flying. At the North pole, and apparently Santa was real too because there was no way in Hell that these were man made.  She wondered if they were demigods for a split second. 

Icicles lined the cavern entrances, deftly dodged by Jack as he pulled her a fraction closer as he twisted and turned. She couldn’t help but tense every turn, and he laughed as he noticed this. A personal rollercoaster, or death trap, she thought to herself. 

They flew out of a circular entrance to an enormous office space. A red railing blocked the loft from the hollowed off center of the building. What seemed to be many abominable snowmen worked on various gifts on innumerable levels. A gigantic globe with lights dotting it stood at the center of it all. 

A deep breath ran through her as she watched the only still object in the building, the globe itself. 

“Speciaaaal delivery!” Jack beamed as he floated to the ground. She flinched and looked up at him, to which he mouthed an apology. 

“What is it?  For the toys? Then put over there,” A large arm waved from on the other side of the globe, sleeve rimmed with fur and decked out in red. 

Santa, she couldn’t believe it. Well she was seeing him, so she couldn’t believe it figuratively of course. 

“North,” Jack huffed in annoyance, earning a whip around of his head. Furrowed brow and grimace fully prepared to rip Jack a new one for getting snappy with him. It all melted into shock as he locked eyes with her. His eyes went wide and eyebrows lifted as he turned to fully face them. 

“What do we have here?” 

“Um,” She began to speak before realizing she was being cradled still, hard to project her voice when she couldn’t even sit up. She gave his sleeve a tug, blushing lightly at how childish she must have looked. She was set on the floor immediately, at which Jack gave an impish smile and bowed.

“Are they, alright?” North gave her a once over, from her tousled hair to her worn eyes, and shaky legs.

“Yes, yes I am at the moment at least,” She sighed and a small smile broke over her lips. Years of feeling like a crazy person were being validated. All her research had culminated to this very moment. From what Jack had explained, North was the ringleader of the “guardians”. She was going to take advantage of it. “So, where to start? North, erm sir. Where are the other-” 

She remembered someone catching her head as she flopped to the side. Golden dust blanketing her eyelids as she begrudgingly fought back sleep for a mere moment before succumbing.

Chapter Text

“Not, cool Sandy,” Jack eyed the small sandman as he carried her to a nearby sofa. Sandman shrugged, an easter egg flashing, an arrow, and a banned sign. “That was at Easter’s headquarters, and that girl was a kid,”

Sandman huffed and threw his arms up.

“Now Jack, just what’s happening here?” North eyed him suspiciously. He usually pulled pranks and such, but this was too much. A human, adult, at headquarters.

“So basically, she could see me!” He jumped up excitedly.

“And me, I know this.”

“But, why? Right, and then I got to thinking and realized that it’s never happened before and so I brought her here to see what we could figure out. Yeah, I know, that was quick thinking of me,” He grinned and stamped his staff against the ground.

“We don’t know the nature of her, Jack. Do you even know her name?” North demanded, looking like he could strangle the man.

Jack squinted back at her, pausing for a moment before looking back to North.
“Actually, no,”

Within minutes, E. Aster, Toothina, and even Sandy had come back to the Globe room to discuss their “special delivery”.

Toothina poked her cheek, wings fluttering as she hovered over her frame. Excitedly, she moved to take a peek at the good teeth she could sense. She just knew she flossed regularly.

“Tooth,” North called, and she reluctantly rejoined them near the globe.

“She’s past the age of a child, a teenager even,” E commented as he glanced at her.

“Exactly, isn’t that amazing?” Jack countered.

“Indeed, tell us how she recognized you Jack,” Toothina threw in, still glancing back at her in hopes of seeing those pearly whites.

As he recounted the whole experience, or even debacle as E called it, the other guardians had begun to furiously speculate.

“A helper, Santa’s helper,” North grinned as he suggested it.
“Or a records keeper, Jack said she was looking for us after all,” Tooth threw into the chorus of voices as Sandy pointed at her and jumped up and down in agreement.
“Or she could be sent by Pitch,” E commented cooly, more of a murmur than an actual suggestion. The room went silent.

“No way,” Jack huffed and leaned on his staff. As if a storm cloud passed over his brow, his bright smile was eclipsed by a grimace forming at the outlandish suspicion.

North gestured to Sandy who rolled his eyes in compliance as he walked over to where she lay.

She shifted in her sleep, stomach growling loudly. Sandy reached over her eyes to wake her. Familiar sand shifted into unfamiliar scenes, and made him pause. Beautiful golden waterfalls, turned into a river and exploded into a star. The star spun into spools of yarn, which then draped over knitting needles. The needles turned and tucked until they became chopsticks, a bowl of ramen forming below them before it tipped, becoming a waterfall once more. This time, as if sifted out, their murky forms stood reflected back at them, a globe in the center, which spun into a large eye. It blinked once as Sandy woke her. The other guardians continued to bicker as Sandy quickly waved his hand, erasing the forms.

“Oh wow,” She squinted at the golden light, connecting the dots as it had awoken her. “Sandman?”

He grinned down at her and a checkmark appeared above his head as he took form in her eyes. He pointed back at the murky figures behind him and Jack and North. An egg appeared above his head as he pointed at another tall gray figure shrouded in murky glimmer. She thought to herself he must be kidding, but at this point anything was possible. With all her focus, she took a deep breath and pushed down her defenses. As if a filter were taken off her eyes she gasped as a large bunny-man came into focus, much less scarier than that sounded. He tapped a large foot, paw? “Easter Bunny,”

“Kid, you telling me you couldn’t even see-”

The Sandman quickly animated the checkmark once more before pointing to the other side of North. E scoffed at being cut-off. Teeth had begun floating around Sandy’s head, causing North to quirk a brow. The green shimmer soon formed into a beautiful fairy-like woman. “Tooth Fairy,”

She grinned, rubbed the sleep away from her eyes and stood, suddenly towering over the cute Sandman. “I see, are you the Guardians Jack mentioned?” She stared at them in wonder, trying to tie their existence into the many theories she had already constructed.

“Yeah, and who are you, mate?” The bunny-man cocked his head at her, eyes a threatening squint. She was almost intimidated, but the thump of his foot drew her attention away from the glare.

“Oh, right,” She told them her name and age and how she was a college student. She even told them of her close encounters with presumably, them. Sandman, through many flashing exclamations and check marks confirmed her suspicions.

“But, how?” Tooth tapped her jaw in thought. “You haven’t been a light for years, a decade, even.” A small blush appeared on her face at Tooth’s comment, she wasn’t old.

“Still isn’t,” E peered over the globe and back towards her, “You know about Pitch too?” Toothina nudged him and shot him a look as she fluttered anxiously.

She stared blankly back at him, “Like music? Or the movie?”

North hummed for a moment before nodding, “You’ll stay here until we figure out what exactly is going on here,” His large arms waved dramatically, his eyes held a gleam in them she would remember to watch out for.

Chapter Text

She stood at a window outlooking the sloping mountain range beneath the workshop. Glad to have finally had the chance to peel off a few layers, she put her hands in the sleeves of her sweater. One by one, she debunked her previous theories as she watched the snow fall. New ones bubbling up like hot cocoa and marshmallows. A little elf had followed her into the room, and now gnawed on a bundle of Christmas lights at her feet. They tipped over, rolling across her converse and landed stuck on their back. She giggled as she bent down to untangle the lights for them.

“You know I have lights just like this back at my dorm?” She grinned and set the elf back on their feet.

“Really? Good choice,” North appeared in the doorway, and watched with a chuckle as she jumped. “Sorry for the fright, little one, er medium one,” She laughed lightly at his choice of words in return. “I see that the elf has befriended you, unusual for them,”

“Really?” She glanced down as the elf in question shyly ate a lightbulb off a string. “They’re delightful,”

North quirked an eyebrow but said nothing more on the matter, “I am actually here to ask you a few questions while the other guardians… converse,”

She nodded and sat down on the sofa to the left of them, North coming to sit across from her, another elf setting two mugs of winter delights on the coffee table in between.

“As I collect my thoughts, I realize it must be odd for an adult to be here, and kinda stalking you guys for years,” North merely nodded, “I just remember giving up on the idea of you guys as a child before it morphed into something else,”

North paused, about to say something as he raised his hand before waving it.

“I began to wonder if there were other mythical beings, benevolent forces out there for children, adults, the world. And of course there were bad ones I looked into but that was a phase in middle school,” She laughed as if she never wanted to go back to that particular era.

“And these evil forces, did you ever discover them?” North leaned forward, eager to hear her answer.

“Simply put, no, just obtained lots of nightmare fuel,” She sighed before noticing his eyebrows shooting up and nearly off his forehead.

“Fuel from nightmare?” He sat up straighter as if about to call a war assembly.

She frantically waved her hands, the realization that the feat may actually be possible in the world of guardians hit her like a truck. “No, no, no, just a figure of speech. Sorry.” North slumped back into the sofa, breathing a sigh of relief.

“I meant to say it just really scared me, so I stopped digging. Have you ever heard of the Mothman?” She leaned forward, a wild fear in her eyes.

“No, no talk of a moth that is man,” He furrowed his brow.

“Whew, that’s good to hear,” She sighed and spread her hands, “But yeah, just scary stories from the internet is what I found, so I began looking into protectors, and the legends and lore around ‘em. A small part of me always knew that there was a possibility that you guys, or a variation of you could exist, removed from holiday capitalism, in a purer, mythical form,” She sucked in a breath after speaking so long.

“I see,” North stood and crossed his arms. “Then… there is someone you must know about,” He breathed a heavy sigh, his large hands rung themselves together.

“I told you so,” Jack called from the doorway, leaning against it with a smug smile that annoyed even her.

“Jack, I told you I need private meeting,” North gestured towards her in a huff, “But you are here,”

“Would it help my case if I said I just got here?” He blinked puppy dog eyes at North. A small hummingbird, no- fairy, sat on his shoulder, huffing right along with North. “Assembly was getting nowhere so I snuck away,”

North turned back to her, “We will discuss over dinner,” He gave a small smile, almost mischievous, one might add.

“Is it already time for dinner?” Her eyes widened, and she pulled out her phone, which surprisingly had service. Must be due to all the gadgets they made here, she dully wondered how many kids were wishing for a drone. To her amazement, the time was still stuck at about when she met with Jack at the park.

“Ah, that is there is no time here, you will learn more in a bit,” North cracked a wide smile, eyes crinkling at the corners. She nodded, and for the first time she saw the jolly santa like they made the Hershey bars resemble during christmas season.

“Oh, okay,” She nodded once, mostly still amazed.

“Jack, make yourself useful, show her around,” He shook his head on the way out, muttering something about presents to create.

“Aaaaand, the real fun starts, now,” He grinned, gliding over to her where she stood from the couch. “Now I know, I know, how ever will you be fun enough to hang out with me? Don’t worry, I have enough fun for the both of us,”

With a grin he took her by the wrist and eagerly walked her from the room. In no time she found herself among the yetis, as Jack referred to them. Small apologies leaving her as Jack struck a toy here, and snuck a gear off the table there. More than anything though, she stared awestruck at the breathing machine that was the workshop. Every hand moving, legs transporting parts, elves, doing elf things. For a brief moment she wondered why they were taking all the credit before settling on their role as emotional support.

“Jack!” She pulled on his hoodie sleeve, anchoring them to the ledge of a loft before he took her hurtling over it.

“Ah, sorry about that, got a bit carried away,” He winked at her and her grip on his chilly hoodie was suddenly more than that.

“Ah ha, yes, a man of comedy,” The smile pulling at the corners of her lips betrayed her. “But before you send me to a second near death experience via heights, I’ve got a question for you,”

He opened his mouth to argue before squinting at her and sitting on the red and garland covered railing. “Okay, shoot,”

“So, why doesn’t it snow in the desert?” She peered at him.

“Oh, um, not my territory… I guess? Never really thought of it if I’m being honest,” He pursed his lips with a shrug, looking like a confused bird from up on his perch.

“Okay, then, where do-” She blinked at the frosty finger that had plopped down onto her nose.

“That, my dear, is more than one question,” He smirked as a slow chuckle left him. Looking down at her with plans and trickery no doubt. “The second one will cost you,”

She swatted his finger away, warming her nose for a second with the back of her hand. “Wow. Is this what they meant by Jack Frost nipping at your nose,” She wondered aloud, voice dripping with sarcastic awe.

“Oh, that’s a bit different,” His eyes dropped once as he gave her a grin dripping with mirth.

She refused to blush and instead gave a light chuckle, “And what are your conditions, sir Frost?”

“I’ll let you off easy this time,” He tilted his head just so, “You’ve got to help me with something the other guardians are going to love,” He stood and tapped his staff on the railing in excitement. That is, before grimacing at the shiver that ran through her. “Ah, sorry ‘bout that,”

She rolled her eyes and rubbed her hands together. “Are we flying again?”

“Of course, darling,” He winked and held out a hand.

In a dizzying movement, he swept her up to him, rolling her into his chest in a dance. Her hands found his chest, stronger than she remembered, it rose and fell in excitement as they lifted into the air. Her waist tucked into his, arm steady as it shifted from scooping her up to holding her securely. If he noticed her shiver he gave a mere chuckle before turning into one of the off-shoots.

Chapter Text

Now, it is so interesting how much can go right before it simply all goes wrong. She knew that. Yet, here she was being literally carried along with Jack's crazy idea.

She glanced up at him. As soon as he could, her knees were tucked and she was cradled once more. She glanced down a winding path that she did not expect to be whisked away to. Perhaps, she thought to herself, a sledding competition or even a room where it snows inside. The dark and rather dismal tunnel was not what she had in mind. Vines wrapped around the entrance to it, nearly concealing it from the rest of the overgrown brush. Yet, a distinct worn path presented itself in the dirt, as if beckoning her further in. 

She was annoyed to be in his arms for a prolonged period of time once again. They were simply thicker than she imagined, and frustratingly secure, distracting even.  He seemed to be made of thin icicles so it gave her a start to feel the muscles of them through the absence of her snow coat. He was not the rebellious teen from the tales, but a man around her age. A man with an immaculate sense of how to hold a woman as he whisked her away in his arms. They chilled her slightly through her sweater, and she could feel those palms of his hands press against her. He droned on about something that simply couldn’t pull her attention away from her position. 

His eyes pinned her with that undeniable intensity that managed to drag her along to nefarious schemes. This time, she saw them differently. They were attentive, eager, and most certainly not for the faint of heart. She watched them shift over her face as his head tilted to the side, and felt herself in his grasp more so as her awareness increased.

She blinked at the mischievous grin she finally registered. “Don’t tell me cat got your tongue,” 

She went to speak, pausing only to watch his eyebrows raise as his fingers ghosted the space between her shoulder blades. It wasn’t fair. The shiver that ran down her spine was completely involuntary, as was the faint blush he seemed to watch bloom over her cheeks. 

His smirk faltered for a moment while he placed her down onto the beaten path. His hand lingered on her shoulder to make sure she was steady. 

“Just now, when you were spacing out, I was explaining my master plan,” He spread his hands at the tunnel in front of them, deciding to spare her the teasing of what he just witnessed. 

He didn’t know how to unpack how that had affected him at the moment. Something about it reminded him of when he was actually alive, or whatever that meant. He settled on immediately shoving it to the back of his mind for lolz.

“Frosty, I don’t know if we should be here,” She murmured under her breath as a soft wind pulled her towards the tunnel. 

“Is there anywhere that I shouldn’t spread cheer?” A soft laughter rang from him, he held a hand to his chest, voice striking over the gentle rustling of the leaves. 

His cocky grin did little to reassure her. 

With a start, she noticed a figure emerging through the tunnel shadows. She grabbed Jack, pushing him back into the foliage to the side of the entrance, a warm hand covering his chilled lips. She watched as a Yeti scratched at their head, their hands a multicolored mess. With a huff they turned around, seemingly sliding down the tunnel from the sound of it. 

A quiet sigh left her, tension draining from her posture. She glanced back at Jack to catch him staring at her, eyes wide. Her hand was wrapped around the crook of his elbow, holding him in place. Their legs were nearly tangled, his footing odd as he used one arm to hold himself up against the plants. 

She blinked and released him from her grip on his elbow, her hand popping off of his mouth in urgency. His eyes narrowed and for a moment she clenched her teeth in anxiety, remembering he was like a thousand years old or something. She breathed out in relief as a smirk spread across his lips. 

“Enthusiastic, aren’t we?” He tilted her chin upwards, nearly closing the distance again before pulling back, “won’t get that nip on your nose so easily from me,” 

“Jack, what if they had seen us,” She whispered in a bit of a state, her eyes avoiding his, which he seemed to soak up with glee.

“They know not to get in between me and my schemes, plus,” He leaned forward cheekily, “I doubt they would get too angry after seeing your guilty expression,”

She felt her blush deepen, unsure how to respond, “I-” 

“Oh, did that get to you?” He smirked, looking her up and down. 

She breathed in and out, “I’m not your scapegoat. Now tell me your plan,” 

“Again,” He reminded her, leaning back against the wall he was just pressed against. 

“Again,” She relented. 

After his rather simple plan of making it up as he went was explained, he scooped her into his arms, to her disdain. Her stomach rebelled as he threw in spins as they quickly descended. The dim lighting grew brighter as she quite literally saw the light at the end of the tunnel. 

He placed her on her feet, pulling her towards him carefully as she steadied herself. With little effort, he attempted not to look down at the cute death glare pout she was making from his chest. He had her wrapped in by the arm on her shoulders, to vampire her warmth support her. If he was being honest, it was hard not to pull her close when she was so warm. 

His eyes went wide as she threw his arm off, taking a couple steps back. He felt a cold sweat run through him, imagining she saw right through him, imagining she thought the worst of him. 

A dry heave met his ears.

He paused, his fearful eyes narrowing into a grimace. “Uh, there there,” 

He placed his cold ass hand on her back, patting gently. When she shrugged him off, stepping away again to cough, he restrained a laugh. He didn’t intend for her to be so sick, but he had to admit it was pretty funny. Still, he resolved to do less spins the next time. 

She stood back up, clutching her stomach and sighing. She gestured wildly to the honestly beautiful landscape around them. Giant stone monoliths in the shape of easter eggs dotted rolling hills of lush grass, giant cherry blossom trees and even glowing flowers adorned the scenery. The light that filtered into the crater was golden, afternoon sun, the kind she would take naps in as a child. 

He shrugged, a self indulgent smirk on his face as he ran a rand through his hair, apparently proud of himself. He pivoted on his foot towards one of the winding paths, and promptly flew off. 

Within seconds, rumbling shook the landscape. A horde of white eggs came running around the corner, yetis chasing after them, and Jack at the front of the pack. He cheered on the rebellious dairy with gusto as he twirled in the air, snowflakes melting in his wake. 

While the sight would have been amusing in another scenario, she just so happened to be in their path. With more than a little anger rising just like the way she almost puked earlier, she tried to duck out of the way. To her dismay, the stampede was too wide, and her legs too slow. She braced for impact, a short scream leaving her as she felt herself be thrown off her feet. 

Or rather, lifted off her feet. She opened her screwed up eyes to see Jack’s shit-eating grin hovering over her. He flew with her to the top of a monolith-egg, giggles still slipping from him. 

“You should’ve seen your face,” He laughed out, kneeling to place her on the egg, “oh and that little squeal was-” 

He yelped as he was tugged down. Her hand wound his hood up in a death grip, noses almost touching as she brought him close to hear her whisper. 

“Jack, I know you’re like a demigod or whatever, but if you make me throw up I am going to wreck your shit,” she growled, pushing him down onto the grass on the small perch. 

He looked up at her from underneath the pin she had him under. His legs intertwined with hers, back cold against the grass, her hot hands seemingly traveling through his hoodie where they pressed against his neck and chest. 

“Won’t happen again,” He breathed, eyes caught underneath her own, “promise,” 

He brought a hand up, gently wrapping around where hers splayed over his hoodie. A guilty smile stretched across his lips. 

“I mean it, don't wound me just yet,” He chuckled, chest rising and falling beneath her grip. 

His hair was messily strewn around his face and in the grass, his tongue running over his teeth once. He ran his eyes over her once-steely and quickly melting complexion, mischievous and impure thoughts in his mind as he shifted his legs to a more comfortable position. 

“What’s that face for darling,” He squinted at her with a grin. 

“It’s about time someone handed his ass to him,” A familiar gruff voice called from a perch. “Was just about to,”

They turned to face the man of the hour himself. With a tap the Pooka reappeared on the ground next to them. Much to her dismay, she found herself wrapped up around Jack in the presence of someone who she wanted to gain the trust of. Perhaps she did just earn a few points though.

“I would hope your impression of me had only improved… uh, can I call you E?” 
She dusted her hands off as she stood to full height.

“For now,” The Pooka gave her a once over, “the results of your internship will determine the rest,” He shrugged, absentmindedly picking up a stray egg and cradling it. 

Jack sprung up, leaning back on his hands to peek around her, “We’d like your help preparing a special treat for tonight’s get together,” He smirked, “since you are the master of baking,” 

Somehow, someway, E dragged them to an area they couldn’t fuck up too much before tapping his foot to the ground and disappearing. At a small meadow, paths darted out in every direction to more tunnels like the one they came through. A gentle breeze pushed fresh air into her lungs as she plopped down next to Jack, who was already making himself at home in a patch of grass. She figured this would be as good a time as any to get information out of the chilly sprite. 

“Why would you take me here? I know you two were arguing about me when I left,” She cut straight to the wick, catching his eyes. 

A rather heavy sigh left the fun-lover, his eyes drifting down to the grass before meeting hers again. They reflected blue and grey as if someone had caught a stray storm and put them in there. He flopped onto his back, troubled eyes landing on the few clouds passing the blue sky above them. 

“I know that with Bunny he needs to be around a person to develop trust,” He found her eyes again, “like when I first arrived at North’s doorstep,” 

She felt her eyebrows raise in surprise as she watched his moody features contort with memories. She instinctively leaned closer to hear his story, the melancholy tone a striking difference to his usual bravado. Her fingers found the grass that pressed against her palm, fingers digging gently into the ground. 

As if a conduit, the air around him seemed to drop in temperature as he touched on memories from that time. Her fingers became little icicles as he explained the gist of it, from not having a clue as to his purpose, to finding his center. Yet, his eyes betrayed him and she knew it. He was tip-toeing around something. Just like when he was leaving frost on the windows of children’s homes, or stirring fall leaves. Those careful, meticulous sentences in between the pouring of passion were glaringly out of place.

She nodded patiently, leaning over him to force his eyes from dancing away from her own. She would have smiled at the hitch of his chest when he looked up at her in shock, if he wasn’t being caught in a half-truth. 

“Anything you’d like to add?” She gazed down at him cooly.

For the first time in a long time, Jack froze. He found himself, as if on the outside looking in, entranced by the way her eyes flickered over his face. He felt an odd warmth trail along, as if her gaze left fingerprints of the sun over the layer of frost that coated his skin. 

“Uh, what?” He blinked at the sudden movement of her tilting her head at him, gentle features scrunching up. 

“What aren’t you telling me Jack,” She reached forward to gently poke his chest, “tell me now and I might be gracefully forgiving,”

With all his might, he scrambled to push his last two brain cells together and give her a response. Although it would be for naught. The moment he met her eyes again he felt some odd sensation of warmth again. Those two brain cells might as well have been on a leave of absence. He took a deep breath, eyes closing to prevent himself from being lost again, in that foreign warmth he couldn’t even comprehend at the moment.

 They flew open as he felt the thud of her laying next to him. His head whipped to the side to find her looking up at the sky. He wished that it would always be blue skies for this woman he just barely met. It was like he would be taking an innocence from her, the last shred of contentment she could hold onto in this strange world. He knew he had to tell her, for her own safety at least. She deserved that much.

“It’s something I should have told you sooner,” He began, hands coming to fold over his chest, staff to the side of him. 

Just like that, the mischievous sprite known for trickery and mystery told her everything. From Pitch and their battle to save innocence, to Manny and even Nightlight and that little Moonbeam that catapulted his reincarnation. 

The clouds passed lazily overhead, strolling slowly as if to watch their faces as he recounted his tale. It was odd, in a way, that they lay there. Him telling her everything, and her listening well, reacting when she could not hold it in. It was not common for the snowman to say more than his name to those he met in this life. Yet, he found himself turning towards her at the bookmark of his story, which led to them lying there together. 

She instinctively turned towards him, feeling his eyes on her profile. She found them less cloudy than before, almost brighter than earlier, she was sure. Although it was cold, she felt a sense of ease pass between them as she reached over to grab his hand. Tentatively, she threaded their fingers together, and in silence she brought their clasped hands to her chest. His fingers twitched in her hold, as if thawing for the first time at her touch.

“I’m glad the universe led me here, Jack Frost,” Her brow furrowed as she leaned closer, breathing out a single sentence like a secret, “I won’t let you be alone like that ever again,” 

If eyes were truly the window to one’s soul, he reckoned that he had found a one of a kind. No, he knew, he had come to the conclusion on the spot. 

With a soft sigh, she slipped her hand from his and sat up. Little did she know it was a grave she left it on, the absence of her warmth was suddenly a death sentence. 

He closed his hand to hold onto the dregs of her glow, and briefly brought it to his chest, mentally tucking it away. He scrambled to his hands as well, not sure when it started, but noticing the thudding in his chest was more jubilant than usual. He swallowed briefly, feeling that if he talked now he would bite off his tongue, but pushing out words anyway. If he missed this moment he would regret not saying in reply a simple promise. 

“I won’t forget that,” He smiled at the surprise that took over her features. 

“Of course, no one deserves that, and especially not you,” She crossed her arms and legs criss-crossed in anger, “I can tell that and I’ve only known you for like, a day,” 

He couldn’t stop the grin that overtook his face, “So I’ve got your seal of approval then?” 

“I have a few words for this Man in the Moon,” She frowned and rolled up her sweater sleeves with gusto. 

His eyes shot open wide as he gestured for her to hush with his hands, glancing almost paranoidly up at the sky. He let a soft oof leave him as his shoulder was pushed back. He looked up at her in guffaw only to catch her cheeky grin. 

“You dare to strike the snowball wizard! I’m gonna-” He broke into a chuckle as he was pushed back into the grass, her legs quicker than he remembered as she sprinted back the way they came. 

Her form continued to shrink as she ran up the hill, weaving around the stone eggs along the path. He ran a hand through his hair, counting to ten before rising into the air, waving his staff as he flew after her with snowballs in tow.

Chapter Text

She was surprising herself with the weightless glee she embodied. Her deftly dodging of the literal king of snow’s attacks, the poor eggs being avalanched with the soft snowballs meant for her. She had even managed to hit him a couple times, which she argued counted for every 5 of his due to the disadvantage and all. At some point, she had gotten cocky, drunk on success if you will. 

She had just landed a hit with a snowball and ducked behind one of the giant eggs that conveniently dotted the landscape. Her loud laughter taunting him on the gentle breeze. She was celebrating her small victory as she dug her hands into the snow that had begun to stick to the lush grass. She had a master plan to lure in Jack, and quickly turn the tables once he was close enough. Yet, all good plans are just that, plans. Only perfect in the mind. 

A familiar twinkling of snowflakes filled her ears, and without a moment to breathe she was face to face with the snow goon himself. She jumped, dropping the snowball she had just prepared, feeling it break against her shoe. Her heart jumped as she watched him grin, closing the distance rather quickly, hardly allowing for the previous theatrics in her humble opinion. He pressed closer, staff trapping her in while he held the snowball in his hand.

“Well now I have to prove myself,” His whisper dropped to a baritone from just beneath her ear. His blue tipped fingers danced with mischief as he cornered her against the wall of the egg. Not that she noticed, she could barely listen to what he was saying, when he breathed just beneath her ear. “Sorry darling,”

She shivered, from the chill of his body being this close of course and from nothing else. 

She felt her whole body writhe in shock, fully having expected the snow to hit her shoulder, even the top of her head. There she was, gasping loudly, a bit belatedly and embarrassingly defenseless. Still processing the turn of events. He had lifted her hair with his staff, and promptly dropped a snowball onto the nape of her neck. His shit-eating grin hit her ears through his chest-heaving laughter before he pulled back to observe his work.

His grin fades, the edges twitching down before the smile is completely wiped from his face. He watches a shiver run through her, and fingers like icicles brush against  her neck. She writhes as he manages to scoop most of the snow off, pulling her hood further back double check. She grits her teeth against stinging sensations growing along her skin, daring to turn to look at him as he stiffens beside her. 

She gasps at the stabbing pain breaking out across the nape of her neck from the action. Her eyes squinted as she catches a glimpse of Jack, and nearly stops breathing where she stands. 

Pale as the moon, as the beams that break the night. His demeanor is somber, like the layers that put the earth to sleep, dull and muted. His aura shifts, as if his whole being is draped in moonlight, and endless slumber. The once light circles under his eyes are wreathed into pools, tinting darker within a single breath before her eyes. His lips dust with a faint blue as his face becomes more gaunt. And his eyes glisten that same blue she had grown to know, but torn asunder. A whirlwind of emotion as cold and distant as a tundra, or water once rapid now frozen over and still. 

She feels his shaking hands release their hold on the hood of her sweater. A fine mist dusts up from them, trembling like his blue lips as he tries to hold strong. “Your neck, there’s ice across your skin, I can’t get it off, I-” He gasps in a breath of air, glancing around before looking back towards her. He thinks better of something, and holds his tongue before continuing. “I’m only making it worse. We need to go back right now,” 

“Oh,” Instinctively, her hand reaches back before it jerks away from the spot. A high hiss leaves her lips, looking down to see her fingertips glazing over with frost. She looks up at him now, brow furrowed, cheeks and nose dusted red. Her teeth chatter as puffs of air tumble out, empty speech bubbles in the sudden cold enveloping the two of them. Her eyes wide not at the obvious pain but at his transformation. 

“I’m going to get help,” He breathes out, the words tripping over his watercolor lips. Already darting back from her, eyes darting around at the mist gathering, at the frost glazing over the easter egg behind her like an infection. 

“Are you okay? Jack?” She steps towards him, watching as he takes two steps back in turn. 

Tears spill over and onto his cheeks, eyes widening as he lifts himself off the ground. He looks over the hill, gasping in puffs of air before yelling for Bunnymund. Guilt laces his cracked voice. 

A familiar swooping noise echoed the landscape as he hopped out of the ground, boomerang at the ready. His fur stood on end at the base of his neck as his eyes landed on them, his eyes shot open wide at the sight of Jack. A small hiss left his lips as he quickly closed the distance. 

“E, is Jack okay?” She huffed through chattering teeth, feeling faint like that time she stood up too fast. “I’m fine, but-“

He cut her off, quickly picking her up and onto her back in one motion. Her eyes drift from his back to the quickly approaching ground before they are swallowed up in momentary darkness. It’s then that her eyes grew heavy, the falling sensation jolting her into her dreams, as often as it typically jolts her awake. 

Chapter Text

Nimble fingers stroked her arm as she turned over onto her side more. Warm light filtered through her bleary eyes. The sleep falling heavy from her lids as if weary to let go. A slight stinging sensation had her rubbing away what remnants of her dreams remained. The warm arm that wrapped around her waist loosened, adjusting to give her more moving space.

As if just entering the 3rd dimension, she registered the warmth pressed against her side was in fact not a lumpy blanket. Blinking rapidly, she turned to face the soothing weight, the warmth, the comfort. 

“Hello, love,”  Tooth grinned down at her, all soothing tones and patience. 

She found herself in the embrace of a hummingbird, Tooth, it was Tooth. She was more so ensnared in a nest-like array of pillows and fuzzy blankets with a rather ambient color pallet. The earthy tones made her feel grounded, and calm enough to simply reply rather than freak the fuck out like she was inclined towards. 

She glanced back up at Tooth, eyelashes fluttering as heat rose to her face. How could she face her when she was leaning into her chest, head tilted back to see her? Her soft feathers slipped against her cheek like clouds, rustling ever so slightly in time with her chest rising and falling. The golds and greens were strikingly contrasted against her tan skin and violet irises. 

“Speechless? I am quite the nester,” She giggled softly, tilting her head curiously after a pause. 

Now let’s hear her out. Rationally speaking, she knew she had nothing to overthink with Tooth, but it was rather distracting to be this close to her, entangled in her lap. So, calmly and within whatever realm of casual-esque she could muster, she lifted herself up and out of her lap to fully face Tooth. 

“So, sleepover?” She cursed herself, and the dishonor she brought on her cow, her family. This was the least casual thing she could have said. The awkwardness oozed from her and she could feel the ever present heat across her cheeks. 

“Oh, you don’t remember?” Tooth pressed the back of her hand to her forehead, soft feathers brushing against her skin in the process, “It seems you’re still running a fever,” 

“Still…” With a feeling akin to taking a nap mid-day and waking up at 2 in the fucking morning, her eyes scanned the room. A small noise of confusion slips past her lips as she brushes over bandages wrapped around her neck.

“That snowball truly did some damage,” She gestured to the back of her own neck, going on to explain the rather mad search for answers the guardians were currently engaging in. Then there was her, nesting. She was rather restless, waiting for the other to recover. The way her eyes continued to scan over her form, different natural remedies strewn about a side table there, a reading nook unorganized here. “I’ve been flitting in and out of my room to check on you outside of my guardian duties, but worry not, you’ve only been out for little less than a day, my dear. Just 16 hours,” 

Tooth winced as she watched the blood run from her cheeks, as drained as a drought. 

“Was that not the rousing speech you needed, sweetheart?” She took her hand, wings nervously fluttering now, violet eyes tracing over her face in concern, “Let’s let that all settle in over a spot of tea,”

“Wait. Are we in your personal dimension, thingy?” She let her eyes take in the very normal four walls and ceiling of the room. She had expected, like, cavern rock drippy thingies from the roof of a cavern… she really couldn’t remember the word for the life of her. “I thought it was like cliffs and little areas over endless abyss type beat,” 

“Oh, this room is in North’s palace,” She stood up with an infectious grin, excitedly looking back at her from the doorway, “But I can always take you there, if you want,” 

“Noted,” She lifted her chin at her with a returning grin, wincing against the dull throb of a headache. 
Within minutes Tooth fluttered back into the room,  a tray with sugar, milk and tea in her hands. They settled comfortably back into the nest of pillows and blankets. Each of them holding their own respective mugs. She glanced at Tooth occasionally, letting the gentle warmth of the tea soothe her cold fingers. She watched her calm facial expressions through the quiet, finding herself relieved of tension. 

She sighed, as if finally coming out of a maze. “So you nursed me back to health?”

“Of course, it’s the least I could do,” Tooth murmured over the rim of her mug, glancing up at her. 

“Thank you for that,” She hummed, turning over how best to return the favor as soon as she was well.  “So, what happened after I passed out?”

Tooth explained the fainting spell at E’s base, and her return to the North Pole as Bunnymund carried her through his tunnels. Jack had been distraught, flying back to the pole as quickly as he could. Sandman had his turn at looking her over, only to watch her dreamless sleep. They ended up shuffling her over to Tooth to watch over her as Jack and North continued to look through writings on what to do. 

She lay against the cushions, sipping her tea as she listened intently to Tooth. Her gaze drifted just a bit, imagining the words she weaved together. How much more hectic and worrisome it must have been to have actually been present. The ice flashed in her mind. The pain and the chill, the pull on her body, and how tired she was. It was as if magic- Well, what wasn’t nowadays? 

She sat up, putting a brave face on as she turned to Tooth, “We’ll figure things out as we go, seeing as I’m a special case to begin with,” 

“Yes but-” She shooed Tooth’s fretting as she fluttered over. 

“What you can do now is have brunch with me, let’s go tell everyone that I’m awake,” She placed her hand over where Tooth’s had landed on her shoulder. 

She glanced up into her violet eyes, steely in the face of Tooth’s concern. She nodded once, a strong smile spread across her lips as she pushed Jack’s face to the back of her mind. That was a conversation for another time, with someone else. For now, she'd have to heal, pour over a tome or two before arriving at useful information. She was too invested to back out now. 

Chapter Text

While brunch was quickly dashed to pieces, as the others were busy, it was a cozy meal in Tooth’s room. The small corner of the building quickly became a revolving door of greetings and gifts. 

All the guardians seemed to be busy being -well- guardians . That left little room for fuck all besides updates and best wishes. All except Jack, who she hadn’t seen or heard of his whereabouts. Tooth herself had scurried off to do her duties which suited her just fine at the moment. His eyes, the pallor of his skin, she couldn’t keep them from her mind any longer. 

Somewhere between ruminating on what happened and feeling restless, she found herself drifting down a hallway. The usual bright cheeriness of North’s abode was nearly jarring in its oversaturation. A smear of color against her eyelids before they began to adjust to her surroundings. Regardless, the pay off would be worth it. 

With a deep breath in and a more shallow, well-meaning breath out, she huffed before stepping into the center of North’s workshop. The giant globe winked at her, each dot a spark of hope in a child’s heart. From behind it, the familiar burly stature of the man in question peeked around it. His eyes widening once before squinting into a self-assured smile. 

“Knew I heard you, shuffling in hallway,” He grinned as he turned, setting down a dusty tome to wave her over. 

As she made her way around the wooden railing, tracing her fingers over it to root herself in reality, she glanced at the globe. Its lights waved at her, spinning slowly as if dancing to show off its many adornments of wonder. The silent movement contrasted against the sound of pen against parchment, and shuffling papers.

She trailed away from the railing, a chaotic workstation coming into view. Rather decrepit, sensitive, and possibly-deteriorating books leaned in their jenga-like towers about the desk and floor. Pen and paper strewn about with impossibly dense and ornate cursive streaking the pages winked up at her from beneath his dense forearms. 

“North,” She hummed, pulling up a nearby stool to watch him carefully thumb through a book before giving him her undivided attention, “I’ve got some questions, comments… concerns,” She gave a lopsided smile, watching his face crinkle with worry at the edges. 

“Yes, yes I expected,” He gestured to the impressive spread of paper and ink before him. “Been researching, about you , about little Jack,” 

“I wanted to let you know that he told me about his past, and how everyone’s tied into it.” She carefully looked over an open tome with beautiful inked drawings, careful not to let her hands get carried away into touching the ancient-looking paper. 

“I see. Then Jack is braver than I give him credit for,” He pauses his scrawlings to look at her. “It has been too long since our Frost opened up to someone new,” 

She blinked back at him, eyebrow quirking up just a tad at the thought of that chatterbox being less than forthcoming. But, she had to acknowledge the walls she experienced first hand. Not that she wasn’t appreciative of her access, and his trust. It was just… 

She looked down to the wood beneath her feet, taking in her bunny slippers that had found their way to her with all of the other things the guardians had given her. Fuzzy socks, an oversized sweatshirt, pajama pants, what she wore now. These were all physical things she could focus on and see. But what really stuck with her were the intangible gifts. The freedom and wonder in her life now. The never ending curiosity and the ability to go after it. 

“It’s just that,” She found her voice quivering now, alien to what she thought was her calm and collected mindset, “It’s all happening so fast, now. What I had dreamt of for all these years. But, it’s-“ 

“Now you get cookies but must eat too many at once,” North held her chin, tilting her view upwards to look him in the eye. His hand smelling of ink and mint. “Now you must bite off more than you can chew,” He hummed quietly, the soothing baritone melting away whatever was holding her firm. 

She breathed out a sigh, the wetness of her tears a surprise against her skin. The tremble in her voice had slipped into a constricting tightness that forced the salty lines down her cheeks.

North’s brow furrowed softly at the sight of her tears, of the bandage around her neck. He slipped his hand from her chin to her shoulder to pull her closer into a somewhat uncomfortable side-hug. The message was there, and she released tension she didn’t know she was holding onto his shoulder. Small wet stains from her tears muddled the fur lined coat he wore. 

She cried quietly, and only for a spell as she balled her fists into the hem of her sweatshirt. The large hand pressed firmly to her shoulder to tuck her into the hold was a reminder that she wasn’t alone. She lifted her head from the cloth to steady her breathing, counting out numbers in her mind to breathe in regular intervals again. 

“I should have checked on you sooner,” North mumbled, holding her shoulder as she sat on the bench next to him. 

She reached up, gently placing her hand over his for a moment before moving it off her shoulder. She turned to face him, holding his hand in hers. “Thank you, for now… and the next time,” Her watery smile was small and hopeful. 

“No question,” He grinned across from her. 

They fell into an easy conversation. About their search for answers as to what she was, and about how to better ease her into the world of the guardians. Her family, her cats, when she could go back to see them. Pitch’s consciousness lurking somewhere in the depths of shadows. And certainly, what they would have for dinner that night. 

Finally, it landed on what she found herself dancing around. Similar to a snow sprite she happened to know, she revolves around it like a small dust devil, or falling leaf. Yes, it was obvious. But North would wait until she was comfortable.

“About… Jack. Has E told you how he reacted, before?” She gestured to the back of her neck. 

He hummed quietly in thought, pushing forwards a few drawings for her to see. They depicted her , startling enough. Or more specifically the damage she had suffered to her neck. It showed the pattern of ice across her neck, similar to that left on windows by Jack. Except a dull purple bruised around and beneath them. Tiny dots of red smattering the area. Notes lined the side of the drawing. Mentions of moderate frost-bite, frozen blood, and questions on pain tolerance and more.

Another depicted jack’s state, mist wreathing his form, and frost forming on his clothes. Dull, blue fingertips and giant features. “ Distress ”, was scrawled along the top, tall letters written thicker and bolder than the rest. Others more delicately lined the sides of the paper with questions, all tinted in concern.

Lastly, the moon and the earth were shown. Light print scrawled breath with one word, and one question. Moon?

She looked back up at him, smiling for a moment and commenting on how nicely drawn they were. North chuckled, looking like he was about to v8 her forehead. With a small huff she stood. “This just got more complicated,” 

North nodded, a bit solemn,” Your wound is healed, with salve that E, and tooth made. But, not so sure… will it happen again?”  

“From what I saw, he may have been having an anxiety attack, North.” She paused, rolling her sleeves up to look through the papers on his desk. From other drawings to notes taken from multiple sources. “If anything we have to know what Jack can recollect, and support him,” 

North paused, sitting back more to look at her with a grin. It was almost as if he was waiting for her to ask. “Jack is in study,” he jabs a thumb across the way. 

With that he stood, gesturing with a theatrical hand wave to his messy workstation. “I continue to dig, you talk to frosty,” 

“Thank you, North,” She nodded, a small smile stretching her lips as she turned on her heel.

Chapter Text

Her legs carried her past the awning and further into the gigantic workshop. She paused, taking a deep breath before knocking softly on the door. 

“Jack, is this a good time?” She called through the door, listening intently to the shuffling behind it. A pause passed, then another. 

“Yeah, come in,” His voice faintly trailed through the ornately crafted wood.

She slowly entered, closing the door behind her quietly as she observed him. He sat on the ground near a tall window, books strewn about his sides, a tome open between his hands. He doggy-eared the ridiculously-old page before looking up at her. 

His gaze was cloud covered, overcast if you will. Unease wreathed his typically cheerful features. She couldn’t help but release the breath she had been holding. He was looking worse for wear, but not nearly as torn apart as last time. 

“Come here,” He patted the windowsill next to him, careful to not brush against her as she sat down. “I wanted to apologize…” He paused fidgeting fingers, fumbling a tight grip on his hands as he held her gaze. “For everything,” 

His jaw clenched as his eyes ran over her neck, to the bandages there. She held a hand up to them reflexively, nodding along with him.

 “Jack,” She smiled softly, shifting into a crisscross on the ground across from him. “I’m already nearly at 100 percent. But thank you for everything, for caring.” 

He moved to make a retort, his face pulled into high eyebrows before dropping into a scrunch of searching eyes.

“This was an accident, right? A magical one at that. I knew the risks of staying in this world. We can work together to find out how to… understand what happened, and be safer next time something else arises.” She smiled fully, “Because you care,” Her hands gestured to him eating himself alive with guilt. 

“Because I care,” He murmured the words back, confusion on his brow, wrinkling his forehead. “But you still got hurt,” 

“That’s true, but when you decide to be friends with someone, you make room for them in your life. Time, energy, patience and forgiveness. Sometimes, you get hurt by that very same person. But… I knew that walking into this there could be a chance of that. It’s important to look at the circumstances.” She watched his hands delve into his hoodie pocket, searching for one another as his eyes flitted over her face, in and out of a thousand-pace-stare. 

She nudged her knee against his own, pausing to catch his eyes. It was going to take a while for her words to sink in, for him to believe them. But she was willing to wait, today, tomorrow, and then on. 

“And to make things even, you can help me out till I’m better.” She pointed at the bookshelf at the back of the study, “Like searching for clues with me, or handing me books… making me breakfast?” She wiggled her eyebrows as if to cast the suggestion on him. 

“Okay, I can work with that. Deal,” He let a weak smile overtake his lips, the crows nest around his eyes twinkling briefly. 

He went to shake her hand before retracting it as if he were about to touch fire. “Not sure about touching, just yet.” He gestured vaguely to her bandages, “Not until we find answers.”

She sighed somewhat despondently, having been conditioned to expect his kind touches up until this point. He felt his chin dip down into a curious tilt for but a moment before collecting himself. She could be spared the teasing while she recovered, at the very least. For now. 

“About that, are you in a good headspace to talk about what happened?” 

The question hit him like ice water, dragging him out of his somewhat cheerful and deluded moment of peace. “I’m up for it, yeah.” 

“No need to push yourself, snowman,” Her eyes scanned his face thoughtfully, “I would never want to force you too soon,” 

Her kind eyes found his own. Warmth like hot chocolate seeping through what layers of ice-walls he’d been crafting since the incident. His own began tearing up slightly as they began to recount the accident. A soft sigh slipped from his chilled lips. From both perspectives, they created a complete picture.

“I felt like a little kid again, pinned beneath a dagger, trapped within that… obsidian ocean. I was drowning, suffocated by my inability to help, to do anything,” He took a shaky breath in, huffing it out as he racked a hand up into his messy hair, fingers curling into the white strands as his eyes clamped shut for a moment, “It felt like I was just little Nightlight again, looking for a way out without ruining everything,” 

She nodded, quietly humming. 

“But then, I couldn’t undo the damage. I realized I had already messed up. I forgot to breathe, to think. When E. came over, I could hardly see in front of me, so I followed, able to count my breaths again when I saw the guardians gather around you.” His lips pressed together in thought, the blood draining from them before he sighed out. 

“I’m sorry to have scared you, hurt you,” He murmured, head bowed at the weight of the day wrapped around his shoulders, retelling, reliving it all. 

“Let me make it clear that I forgive you, if there is anything to forgive. I was scared for you… No matter what happened then, you’re still the Frost I know.” She thought back to drifting snowflakes, the fogging of her breath, and the ice glazed grass of upcoming winter. Chilled fingers, and warm drinks to ease the passing of time. The smell of fresh snow. “Thank you for talking with me.” She found his eyes once more, easing into the striking familiarity there. 

His arms jolted, fingers splayed lightly at the feeling of her gentle touch. He glanced down to see her hands awkwardly clutching his, nestled deep in the oversized sweatshirt sleeves she wore for coverage. Some small college insignia was nestled on the breast of it. The thickness of it hardly allowed for any sort of holding motion. Nonetheless, the warmth radiated into his hands. 

He let a watery smile crack through the layers of swirling thoughts. “It was nothing at all,”

“Remember Jack, I'm here. Before, and now, and after,” Her words drew his eyes wide, and cheeks flushed. 

He looked back up into her eyes, a spark reignited somewhere deep behind them. He relaxed into the layers of her hands on top of his, their knees bumping each other.

“If I don’t get up now, my hips are going to lock and I will turn into a statue,” She grinned, wiggling in her criss-crossed seat. 

She ate up the small chuckle he gave her, content as she shuffled to her knee to stand. The snowman himself offered her a helping hand, layered beneath his hoodie. There was a humble press of his lips and search to his eyes as he cautiously held it out. She made to grab for his hand before he quickly retracted it, a belated laughter bubbling out of him as she nearly fell down.

“How dare you,” She frowned at him menacingly.
 
“Wait, wait. I know it looks like it was on purpose,” He dissolved into laughter for a moment, “But I wouldn’t grab my hand just yet, could slip. Let me hold your arm or elbow,” 

She grumbled, begrudgingly holding her arm out as she fought back a smile, and failed. His arm clasped around hers as he dragged her somewhere warmer.

He smiled innocently, for once actually devoid of ulterior motives. All except one, in the back of his mind. Something he wished he could have said. 

‘And me, with you.’ 

He grinned down at her, watching her eyes land on his and skitter away to something shiny at the drop of a hat before she rounded upon him again to excitedly point it out. Or something she had heard, to tell him about a theory or make an inappropriate joke. All of it carried him through their walk to the kitchen. 

‘And me, with you.’ 

That night, having tossed the kitchen and gotten into small prankery with Frost, she found herself drifting away easily. Her friend would recover, she had clues, and a team to work with. With startling speed, she seemed to sink into a deep slumber. 

That night she dreamt of nothing at all.