A/N:

Hi there! I hope everyone's doing well. My name is Azure129, and this is my first time posting any (non-collab) work in this fandom. I'm a longtime TNBC fan, a longtime JackXSally fan, and a longtime fan fiction writer in general : ) I hope anyone who reads my stories will enjoy them and will please review if you can! Mostly I'll be posting oneshots like this one (though I do have a full-length story that I'm also starting to post right now along with this). I really do love JackXSally, so my oneshots will pretty much be romantic K to T rated moments between them. I hope you like this one, and thank you for reading!

This fic is set during the middle of Christmas preparations during the movie : )

Missed a Stitch

"Sally…may I ask you something?"

Sally paused in the middle of sewing a small hem in Jack's Sandy Claws suit, which she was currently fixing up for his impending flight. She smiled and turned her head to look at him. He was just patiently sitting on a table set a few yards behind her in this large tent he'd had set up in the town square for their work on his costume. For the last several minutes while Sally had sewed, he had just been sitting there quietly reading his copy of Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer, but now he was looking to her, an eyebrow raised and his book put off to the side.

Sally nodded to him. "Of course, Jack. What is it?"

"Are you having a good Christmas?" he asked, his voice sounding tender and sincere.

Sally blinked in surprise. 'Did he actually maybe listen to me for a moment when I tried to tell him about the smoke and fire and how this would be a disaster?' She cleared her throat and tried to keep her smile casual enough, or at least she tried to keep it from bursting with hope. "Oh, I…I guess I'm having a good Christmas, Jack. It's just, all of this is so new, and it's all happening so quickly. I'm worried that it might be too much for us…and for you. That's all," she answered, doing her best to respond both as honestly and yet as optimistically as possible. She didn't want to burst Jack's whole happy Christmas bubble after all, she just wanted him to calm down and think things through more and to figure out why he was doing this new holiday in the first place and if it really was what was best for the town and for himself.

Jack blinked at her reply. "Oh…I see. Yes, that makes sense." He glanced around their makeshift tent—a temporary place put up for only a few day's work, yet even this small space he had made as forcefully Christmassy as possible: from top to bottom there were wreaths, (dead) Christmas trees, blinking lights, tinsel, garland—it was all so lively! Meanwhile, during a normal year, right now the whole town would just be relaxing in the winter gloom and making plans for next Halloween. Sally had a point: it all was a big change. "At the very least I could have cut down on the decorations, I suppose." Jack laughed softly, his gaze traveling upward. "And I should probably get some of mistletoe around town down before people feel awkward or get any ideas." He shook his head at the sight.

"Oh!" Sally winced. 'Something' had just made her inexplicably miss a stitch with the sewing machine, causing her to graze a seam of her finger with the bobbin.

"Sally, are you alright?" Jack instantly asked, hopping down from the table and stepping forward toward her in concern.

Sally nodded and instantly went back to stitching up Jack's suit with the sewing machine. Turning away from Jack to do so conveniently hid a blush in her features. "Uh…yes, I'm fine. Don't worry, it was just a wrong stitch." She took a breath and then addressed some of what he had just been saying. "Um…the decorations…well, yes, there are a lot of them. But I don't think that's the problem, Jack. I just…don't have a very good feeling about Christmas. I know you mean well but…I just don't know. And then kidnapping Santa…." Sally frowned slightly, appearing deep in thought as she slowly stitched. She really, really didn't like that part of things—the 'kidnapping' part of things. She trusted Jack's judgment, but she also knew that one of his flaws (and it had to be a real one for her to admit it to herself) was that he was prone to passions and to getting carried away and to not thinking of all potential consequences before he acted. No, this was all going too far, this wasn't right at all. Sally sighed softly. "Are you sure you're doing the right thing, Jack?"

Jack looked after her curiously, leaning back against the table upon which he had been sitting. He considered and then smiled a little again. "Don't worry, Sally. You'll see, this'll all be okay. It's going to be a splendid night for all of us, a splendid new break from the old way of doing things. There can't be anything bad when it comes to Christmas." His face was full of genuine optimism.

Sally paused in her stitching now, making like she had to reposition the fabric but actually doing her best to secretly glance over her shoulder at him to observe him again. He seemed so happy. She hated to challenge that happiness. Perhaps everything really would be all right. She bit her lip—if things wouldn't be all right though, she would have to take some precautions.

"Besides," Jack went on, still looking and sounding as enthusiastic as ever, "Sandy's fine—he's getting a vacation. He must be thrilled! You know, I would have given anything for a vacation from being Pumpkin King for a year…and now I've kind of got that by being Sandy for a night. Everyone's happy." He clapped his hands together, standing up completely.

Sally sighed softly to herself and looked back to her sewing. 'I'm not happy, Jack. I'm so very worried…' she thought to herself quietly, letting the sewing machine recommence operation again.

There were a few moments of silence from Jack, and then he suddenly continued speaking, sounding like he was thinking out loud a little. "Still though, there was a warmth and affection in Christmas Town that I almost can't capture here." He spoke more directly to Sally now. "I'd like to show everyone the way things are there—people embracing all the time, and snuggling by warm toasty fires, and kissing beneath mistletoe. Of course, if I push things much further here, the rest of the citizens might start saying I've gone out of my mind…and not in a good way." He laughed softly, though there was some hesitation there that Sally picked up on. It was rare that Jack shared an intimate feeling or doubt or insecurity with another creature (Zero being the exception), but he had just inexplicably done so now…with her.

Sally sighed and smiled. 'At least he means well,' she reminded herself for comfort. 'Now I just wish he could realize that no matter how well he means, it doesn't change the fact that all of this is still wrong.' Sally swallowed, playing with the fabric and sort of running the machine just as something to do. "Jack, you've already done and changed so much, I don't think you really need to change anything else." And then she took a breath and added, carefully considering her words but saying them as casually as possible, "Besides, even as the Pumpkin King you embraced people …mostly Zero, but still, he counts. And we all have toasty fireplaces, and you even set yourself on fire for us last Halloween. And as for the mistletoe and k-kissing…" It was the only word she faltered at, and she jarred the machine a tiny bit to use that as an excuse. "…No one expects that from you, Jack," Sally finished simply.

Jack took in all of her points. Yes, they sort of made sense…. Okay, fine, they were completely valid and very excellently and cleverly put, but still, it was just so…so very Halloween-ish doing those things in that way. Embracing ghosts and igniting scarecrows and…

Jack blinked suddenly. "Sally, what was that last thing you said?"

Sally, still working away 'diligently' on Jack's suit, just swallowed and replied as safely as could be, "I said you've already changed so much, and that you already embrace your close friends like Zero, and we all spend plenty of time admiring fires and—"

"No, no…" Jack sounded positively intrigued right now. She could hear it in his voice. "I agree with you about those points. I meant…I'm confused about the thing you said about mistletoe and kissing. Why doesn't anyone 'expect that' from me?"

Sally's eyes went a bit wide as the sewing machine worked away. Part of her wished she could take back some of what she had said so far in their little meeting together. More of her wanted to see how Jack would respond to her comment should she choose to attempt to explain it. Sally swallowed and replied, letting the sewing machine die for the moment and holding up the fabric to give it a taught pull before glancing back to him momentarily, "Oh. Well, what I meant was no one expects anything like that because none of us ever see you do those kinds of things, Jack." The fabric went back under the bobbin, and she started up the machine again and went back to work.

"What kinds of things?" Jack couldn't help but ask, still sounding completely sincere.

Sally sighed again, though she couldn't help smiling. Sometimes his curious, sort of clueless tendencies could be frustrating and sometimes they could be very, very cute, but most of the time she found them to be both at once. "Oh…you know…" she shrugged, going on, " 'Kissing' kinds of thing." Sally finally now moved on to the last hem in the suit to be stitched up. She smiled to herself more and sighed and added, still focused on her work as the machine lightly whirred away, "But I suppose no one around here does those kinds of things much anyway."

From behind her, Jack blinked a few times. And then he made the rest of her initial point in their conversation without even trying and without even realizing it. "Well, I suppose, but…everyone around here does show affection in other ways. More Halloween-ish ways, but still, it's affection." But then of course Jack's Christmas-obsessed spirit had to add, that optimistic little smile returning to his lips and that optimistic tone returning to his voice, "But I think people around here could show affection by kissing too. They just need an example. A Halloween person is perfectly capable of kissing, after all, and perfectly capable of wanting to."

Sally paused, one stitch away from being done. She was still turned away from him…and she was smiling and her eyes were big. "I know." Her eyes barely looked over her shoulder to find him again.

Jack was still just standing near the table and smiling normally. He glanced around for a few moments as the silence between them grew again, then he leaned back against the table behind him and went to grab up his book once more. However, he paused just before opening the book, and then a puzzled look came to his face. He glanced forward again. "Sally?"

She turned her head entirely to look at him. "Yes, Jack?"

"How do you know I don't do those kinds of things—kissing kinds of things?" he asked, once again with complete sincerity.

Sally paused for a moment but then bit her lip and replied, turning away from him again to place the last stitch, "Oh it just doesn't seem like you do. I mean, you always seem to shy away from those kinds of things. That's all." She now picked up the fabric she had just finished and gave it a good tug again to assure herself the seam was firm. "But maybe it was just 'The Pumpkin King' who didn't do those things. Maybe as 'Sandy Claws' you'll have better luck."

Jack just continued to look toward her more and more curiously. He felt like he wanted to say something, though he didn't know exactly what. And suddenly he realized he felt embarrassed, though he didn't know exactly why. "Well, I hope so…" he settled on, "though there can be many sides to being the Pumpkin King." He blinked at those words. He hadn't understood them as they had left his mouth, but now he had a feeling that he had just solved a small piece of the problem—the emptiness—which he had felt growing inside of himself for some time now. He shook his head and went on. "I suppose I'm just hoping that Christmas will be give everyone something new to love." He sighed softly and looked down a little. That was it, he realized—he wanted something new to love. And Christmas was so warm and pretty and sparkling and refreshing, and he could finally express so much more of himself, and it felt so good….

It felt so good in fact that he hadn't really been thinking much about how he might feel and what he might do with himself once Christmas was over…very, very, very, very soon.

"I think everyone just loves celebrating and being together, Jack," came Sally's soft voice suddenly in reply. "It's not the holiday that matters to them—it's being citizens, your citizens, and being part of something together."

Jack blinked at Sally's words and looked up to her curiously. However, her attention was on the red suit in her hands.

"Done!" she suddenly announced proudly to herself, standing up and holding the garment high to admire her work for a moment. Then she turned and approached him, holding out red costume. "Here, Jack. All the alterations are done. It should fit perfectly now." She smiled.

Jack blinked a few times and then put aside his book again and reached out, taking the suit from her. "I…Oh, um, thank you, Sally." He looked down at the new, jolly outfit and smiled and then looked back up to her again. "It looks splendid. Thank you again for making my suit, Sally…even though you don't like Christmas as much as me." He gave her a grateful though understanding look.

And Sally, rather than looking very doubtful about Christmas once again, just smiled at him in return. "Oh Jack, don't be silly. I like Christmas, and I like Sandy Claws too…." She glanced up for a moment and reached high to touch one of the small pieces of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling. "I just like Halloween and the Pumpkin King a little more." She turned her attention back to Jack and then came forward and gave him a small, sweet, slightly lingering kiss upon the cheek.

Sally pulled back, looking into Jack's eyes now with a smile that secretly disguised a world of concern. "Be careful, Jack…please. I'll be waiting for you."

And then with a wave and a final smile she departed from him and the tent, already mentally trying to think of ways she could help fix this mess on her own if anything really did start to get out of hand.

Meanwhile, left alone now, Jack just stood there in the tent, eye sockets wide. Then a small but distinct came to his bony lips, and he touched the side of his face for a moment. "Merry Christmas to you too, Sally…" he finally said softly, almost with a chuckle.

Jack sighed, looking down at the lovely red suit in his arms that Sally had stitched all for him. Then with a bright, determined grin he departed the tent now as well, ready to dawn his new outfit and begin his ride shortly, a new, hopeful and happy thought suddenly on his mind and keeping him going: he would show Sally—just like how she would be waiting for him without fail, he would be waiting during his entire ride tonight to return to her and to wish her the Merry Christmas that his caring, understanding, and dear friend so deserved.

A/N:

That's all for now! I really hope you enjoyed this oneshot, and thank you again for checking out my work! Please review if you'd like, and thank you in advance for doing so!

Happy Reading!

~Azure129 aka Jenna