Author's Note: Hello, hello, my readers! You are all in for a very special treat! I decided to participate in the 2018 ROTG Secret Santa on Tumblr, and this is my gift to the lovely sprinkles888! She had requested for family fanart or fanfiction with our favorite characters, so this is the final product! Family fluff and Jack's birthday based on the recent post William Joyce put out on social media with the release of the fifth book regarding Jack's birthday! Merry Christmas, Sprinkles! I hope you like it!
Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything related to Rise of the Guardians.
Happy Birthday, Jack!
Two years have passed since the Battle on Easter Sunday, and Christmas was once again fast approaching once again, which meant that the Guardian of Wonder was working harder to make sure all the toys were ready for the children of the world. Ever since Jack had come to live at the Pole with North two years ago, the Guardian of Fun had tried to help as much as possible, and for North, that made the preparations all the more joyful. The adoptive father and son would work together in the workshop constructing ice sculptures and testing toys before the designs were to be sent to Phil and the rest of the yetis.
However, today was slightly different. It was Jaime's birthday today, so, of course, Jack was determined to be part of the celebration while promising to come back later that day to help North. In fact, that was where Jack was heading to right now. The party had ended a while ago, and now, as he flew over the snowy tundra of the Artic, he was able to see his home on the horizon.
The Guardian of Fun smiled to himself seeing his new home. Ever since Easter Sunday and the incident with Pitch two years ago, Jack had been growing closer to his believers and his new family. North was his adoptive father, and he had come to see Tooth as his mother figure and Bunny and Sandy as his older brothers. Once Pitch was finally kept at bay in their last battle with him, the Guardians were able to put themselves at ease and work to become a real family…a strange family of five immortals…but a family.
Jack chuckled to himself at that thought as he flew through an open window finding himself in the busy workshop, and he wasted no time in running through the workshop to find his adoptive father. He quickly exited the workshop and found himself in the hallway leading to North office, and as soon as he got to the double doors, he knocked waiting for North's permission to enter.
As soon as he heard it, he opened the door to find the Guardian of Wonder at his work desk chipping away at an ice sculpture as usual.
"Guess who!" Jack said as he opened the door.
North turned around and smiled. "Welcome back, son!" he said laughing. "How was Jaime's birthday party?"
"It was a lot of fun!" Jack replied walking into the office. "Jaime had the other kids over at the park, and his mom had some treats for them. I even took the kids on some sleigh rides while she wasn't looking."
"Well, it sounds like you had a great time," North said as he moved to continue working on his ice sculpture.
"Sure did," Jack replied as he seated himself on the crook of his staff. "So, what are you working on?"
"A dollhouse," North replied.
Jack looked again, and he could easily see a big dollhouse forming from the huge block of ice on North's desk. "Looking good so far. Any chance your adoptive son can help out?"
The Guardian of Wonder laughed. "Of course, you can, my boy," he replied. "Grab your tools."
Laughter could be heard from the office, and it did not phase the yetis or the elves one bit as they walked by. This was a natural occurrence ever since the Guardian of Fun came to live at the Pole, and it was quite enjoyable for the yetis to see their boss enjoying time with the boy, who he considered as his son.
"Alright, North, ready?" Jack asked as he placed the ice sculpture car on top of a large racetrack.
"All set, my boy!" North replied as he put the finishing touches on the racetrack and stepped back.
"Okay, ready, set, go!" As soon as Jack said that, he released the racecar and watched it roll forward on the track.
Both the Guardians of Fun and Wonder watched in suspense as the car rode the loop-de-loops, twisted, turned, and suddenly flew off the track as wings emerged suspending the toy in mid-air.
"YES!" Jack and North said in unison.
The car flew around the office for a few minutes before landing back on the starting point…safely and without breaking.
North couldn't help but let out a boisterous laugh and threw his hands up in the air. "It is a success!" he shouted.
"Whoever gets this gift is going to be very lucky," Jack added as he helped North place the toy on a tray to be rolled into the workshop for the yetis.
North laughed in reply. "Thank you, my boy," he replied motioning for one of the nearest yetis to come take the newest sculpture to the workshop. "I believe the child who wanted this is also planning to ask for another one on his birthday. That's going to be quite a task for his mother."
Jack chuckled shaking his head. "It's amazing what kids ask for their birthdays nowadays," he said as they watched the yeti roll the toy away. "You should've seen the gifts that Jaime got today. Toy cars, a model rocket, a new sleigh…" he chuckled again. "Man…I don't remember much about my past life, but I can't imagine asking for all these gifts. These kids are lucky to have their parents and us."
North nodded. "They are," he said putting an arm around Jack holding him close.
Sometime later, the Guardian of Wonder looked up from the book he was reading and found his adoptive son sleeping soundly with his book on his chest. North couldn't help but think about what Jack was talking about earlier today. Jack had told him and the other Guardians that he did not remember his past life after he saved his sister, and he mentally kicked himself for not thinking of this before. Jack had no memories of his past life, specifically his family…and his birthday. His heart ached over the thought of his adoptive son wandering around the world with no memory of those who loved him and a special event in a child's life.
Perhaps, there was a way to remedy that. After all, Christmas was a couple weeks away. He still had some time to create that perfect gift for his adoptive son. With that thought, North put his book down on the table and stood up walking over to the sleeping Jack. He slowly but surely removed the book from Jack's grip making sure to leave the bookmark in its place, and then he took Jack into his arms carrying his sleeping form to his room.
As soon as North closed the door while saying good night to Jack, he knew what he had to do to make sure that Jack had this gift in time for Christmas. Unfortunately, starting his task so late at night would not do him any good, so he promised himself to start tomorrow once he had had a good night's rest.
Before the sun rose that day, the Guardian of Wonder went to work. Thankfully, right from the moment he had accepted his role as Santa Claus and the Guardian of Wonder, he compiled a list of the nice and naughty children of the world as parents have told their children over the years. What was even more fortunate was that he thought to save all the lists from his years as a Guardian…just in case, and that…was the perfect place to start making Jack's gift.
Thankfully, this was a room that Jack himself had not seen yet. The winter teen might have been his adoptive son, but no child or teen was to ever see Santa Claus' list. While Jack was out spending the day with Tooth and Baby Tooth, North was able to put Phil in charge of the workshop for the day and began his task. Jack was resurrected by Manny 300 years ago, and from what he, Jack, and the other Guardians saw in his memories, he lived in the colonial times with his mother and sister. If he did the math right, then he should pinpoint the year Jack died and became Jack Frost and take it from there.
A few weeks passed, and Christmas had finally arrived! With Christmas came new traditions! Since North delivered gifts on Christmas Eve, the Guardians all agreed to come to the Pole to see North off before he went to deliver the toys on Christmas Eve night, and then have their own celebration on Christmas Day. So, with an envelope with Jack's name written on it tucked away in his pocket, North said his good-byes to his adoptive son and fellow Guardians before he flicked the reigns sending him and the reindeer done the ice tunnel.
The toy delivery of course went off without a hitch, and North was able to return to the Pole and get some much-needed sleep. When the next morning—Christmas morning—came around, North practically jumped out of bed and prepared for the special day.
His first stop was Jack's room to wake the boy up. He quickly made his way down the hall to the room that he had given to the Guardian of Fun two years ago as a way to invite him to live at the Pole and opened the door. Sure enough, he found the winter teen sound asleep in his bed, and North couldn't help but chuckle at the thought of the children of the world waking up early this morning and running to drag their parents out of bed to go see what Santa brought.
"Jack?" North said as he gently shook the boy's shoulder to wake him up. "Wake up, my boy. Is Christmas…"
After a few seconds, Jack slowly opened his eyes and looked up at North rubbing his eyes and smiling. "Morning, North," he said groggily. "Merry Christmas…"
"Merry Christmas, son," North replied. "You need to get ready. We'll have some breakfast in the kitchen, and then wait for the others, yes?"
Jack nodded. "Okay," he said sitting up, "I'll meet you in the kitchen in a few minutes."
North nodded and left the room to give Jack privacy.
As soon as Jack was awake and alert, he got dressed in his usual blue hoodie and brushed his teeth before running down to the kitchen to meet North for breakfast. Adoptive father and son enjoyed a nice breakfast together before heading to the workshop to commence the Christmas celebration with the other Guardians. Within minutes of activating the lights, Tooth, Bunny, and Sandy arrived in the workshop and exchanged greetings with North and Jack.
After some catching up, the five Guardians enjoyed an early dinner together in the workshop, and then once everything was cleaned up…it was time to exchange gifts. It had been one of their newest traditions after Jack came into the picture to exchange gifts on Christmas morning, and it easily became a favorite for all five of them. After all, they were a makeshift family, so it was only natural to want to show your family how much you cared about them on Christmas Day.
Each of the Guardians took turns opening the gifts that were given to them by the others, and finally it was Jack's turn. Sandy had given him a small bag of dream sand. Tooth gave him some books for his room, and Bunny gave him painting supplies. Finally, there was one last present from a certain Guardian of Wonder.
"This is from me, my boy," North said as he handed Jack a folded slip of paper.
Not wanting to insult North, Jack only raised an eyebrow as he took the paper and opened it. Thinking it was a Christmas card or something, Jack was surprised to see that there was only one thing written on it in North's handwriting.
November 20, 1695
He read the date aloud and then looked at North with confusion. There was a part of him that felt like this date had some sort of significance, but he wasn't sure what it was. "I-I don't get it," he finally said.
North chuckled clearly expecting this as he stood up and walked over to Jack wrapping an arm around his boy. "Well, Jack, after you came back from Jaime's birthday party a few weeks ago, it made me realize that there is one thing you had been missing in those 300 years you had been alone."
Jack widened his blue eyes as soon as North said that, and then he looked back at the date and then back up at North. "Then…i-is this…what I think it is?" he asked in shock.
"Yes, Jack," North replied. "This—November 20—is your birthday…the very day that you were born into your past life."
Jack stared at the paper with the date written on it in complete shock. He had always wanted to find out when his birthday was, especially after he saw his memories of his mortal family, but he was never able to figure out when it was or how to find that information. Now, he finally had the date in front of him, as tears formed in his eyes.
"North, that's amazing!" Tooth said enthusiastically. "How did you find it?"
"All it took was looking my list archives around the time Jack became Jack Frost," North began simply, "and then I worked backwards from there. Whenever a child is born, they are immediately added to the list on that date, so I looked through the list of babies who were born in those years. Then I finally found the date Jack was born."
Jack sniffled as he quickly rubbed his eyes. "You didn't have to do that," he said.
"I know," North said rubbing his shoulder, "but I wanted to. Besides, the whole reason Christmas exists is to celebrate a birthday, and every child deserves a birthday, no?"
Jack sniffled again and suddenly threw his arms around North's neck hugging him. "Thank you, North," he said as tears flowed down his cheeks. "Thank you so much."
"You're welcome, Jack," North replied. "Merry Christmas."
Author's Note: Annnnnd that's all for now, boys and girls! I really hope you liked it, Sprinkles! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
