Title: Natural

Rating: Uh… *blushes*

Summary: It should have been awkward, but somehow it wasn't.

Disclaimer: We'd already have a sequel by now if I had any say in it.

Dedication: To believeitornotamom, who pestered and pestered until I got my lazy ass into gear.

The first time they held hands wasn't after a battle or a near-death situation. It was, in fact, the day Jamie was too busy with homework to play.

Jack pretended that it didn't matter – that he didn't feel abandoned, that he wasn't freaking out that Jamie was going to forget about him and stop believing – but somehow Tooth had known anyway.

Without saying a word she took his hand, her skin warm underneath his and almost as soft as her feathers, and intertwined their fingers. Despite the fact that his hands were huge compared to hers, he felt as if he were the small one in that moment.

They kept their hands clasped together all through the flight home, and throughout the rest of the day their fingers would brush when they passed one another. It sent a little shot of heat up his arm, and he could feel the warmth of her fingers long after they had slipped from him.

They held hands a lot after that, casually, as friends would. And if any of the others noticed… well, they were smart enough not to say anything.

Their first kiss was after that Valentine's Day debacle. It involved elves, a vengeful spirit of nature, and spray paint, and Jack would be happy to never talk about it or even think about it again.

But in the midst of the saving the day aspect, he learned something – something that, honestly, shocked him.

Tooth didn't think she was beautiful.

At first, he'd been tempted to say something along the lines of look in the mirror, but at hearing the tremble in her voice he didn't dare. Even though it had been hundreds of years since her childhood, the derisive chants of bird girl and feathers still rang in Tooth's ears, echoes of pain that never quite receded.

Jack found himself filled with an intense desire to show Tooth how she truly looked. She was magnificent, with her feathers of every color and her smile that lit up a room like the sun, her energy and her buzzing iridescent wings.

Problem was he had never been good with words. Living for four hundred years without having a single conversation can do that to you. As Jack stared at her, wondering what he could do to take that vulnerable look off her face, he realized how close they were standing.

In fact, all he had to do was lean forward and…

Her lips were soft and tasted sweet, like some kind of exotic fruit, and she was incredibly warm. His arms ended up around her waist to anchor them together, and he was surrounded by the smell and feel of soft feathers.

Then their tongues got involved, and holy shit…

He had no idea where she'd learned it but Tooth was a damned good kisser.

When they pulled apart, the look in her eyes made his knees tremble. They were so warm and overwhelmed and trusting, shining up at him like he was the only thing in the world. She looked breathtaking.

He kind of lost the ability to talk.

Fortunately she understood – she always, somehow, understood – and she giggled, telling him he "wasn't so bad himself" as she pecked him on the cheek.

They did a lot of kissing after that.

Their first date, technically, wasn't their first. If you're defining date as an outing designed for fun and intimacy between two people, that is. They'd done plenty of things with just each other, from going to see (okay, sneaking in to see) a movie to snowball fights to stargazing.

But – and call him a coward if you like – it was different once you acknowledged that you actually had a crush on the person. It was a week after their first kiss and he wanted it to be special.

North, Bunnymund and Sandy were of no help whatsoever. North had come up with all of these grand, sweepingly romantic ideas that made Jack's head spin, Bunnymund merely threatened him with all manner of bodily harm if he messed it up, and Sandy's enthusiastic signs were nigh indecipherable.

He was on his own with this one.

In the end, Jack decided that it was best to stick with what you knew. The movies and snowball fights and tooth-gathering sessions had worked so far, so he went with that.

It was surprisingly easy to convince the employees of the theater in Burgess that the place was haunted. Jack needed help from Baby Tooth and the others to convince Tooth that there was a bicuspid lost on the floor of the theater, but they pulled it off nicely. Jack set up the reel and they had a marathon. It was nerve-wracking and freeing all at once, to know that he could put his arm around her shoulders if he wanted to, pull her close so that she could snuggle into his side.

Maybe, when he thought about it, it should have been awkward. But strangely it wasn't. They were already so comfortable with one another, so used to handholding and gestures of affection that taking the next step and acknowledging their attraction seemed, well, natural.

The first time he said I love you… well, he doesn't like to admit it but it was kind of an accident.

They were planning to face off with Pitch (again), and the plan presented involved Tooth acting as bait. This was not okay with Jack in more ways than he had time to explain, and the situation descended into a shouting match between him and Bunnymund before Tooth herself intervened.

"It's sweet Jack, really it is, but I've done it before when we fought Pitch for the first time, before you came along." She explained, her hand on his shoulder warm and soothing. "It will be fine."

"But it won't." He repeated, hating how his voice caught. "Too much could go wrong and–"

"It won't go wrong." Bunnymund snapped. "Because–"

"For fuck's sake, Bunny, I'm not letting her do this!"

"Why? So you can do it, be the hero and–"

"Because I love her damn it and I'm not going to just stand there–"

"Wait – what?" Bunnymund's jaw dropped.

Jack's ragged breaths caught in his throat as he realized what he'd let loose. He turned to gauge Tooth's reaction. The fairy was staring at him, her eyes wide with glittering shock.

Well, since he'd said it, he might as well go all the way.

"I love you." He repeated softly.

Tooth jumped up and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him so fiercely he nearly fell over. His arms caught her hips instinctively, his nose burying itself in her feathers. They smelled of rain and tropics and spring air.

"I love you too, you impossible snowflake." She whispered in his ear, trying to sound teasing but failing. He tightened his hold on her.

"You're going to do this, aren't you?" He asked, sounding broken and not caring because only she could hear him.

"It'll be okay." She promised.

When she said it, he believed her.

Later on, after they'd defeated Pitch and patched up Tooth's broken wing, he said it again, chanting it in her ear as he whirled her around, safe in his arms.

I love you, I love you, I love you…

And Tooth laughed, letting him spin her until they were dizzy, hiding his tears of relief in her feathers.

The first time they made love was about a month after that. It was, all things considered, an ordinary day up until that point. They'd played with Jamie and his friends, explored Yellowstone National Park because that was where Tooth's finger hand landed when they'd spun the globe, and Jack had played a prank on Bunnymund while Tooth had gone to do some teeth collecting.

He'd finished up before she had, and decided that her bed was rather fluffy and comfortable (even with the fact that it was shaped like a patchwork nest) and had taken a nap in it. Despite the fact that he'd been alone when he'd gone to sleep, when he woke up there was a warm, soft something in his arms and curled up against his side.

It took him a minute to wake up and realize that the 'something' was Tooth, snuggled into him and using his chest as a pillow. He grinned down at her.

"Tooth?" He said gently, nudging her awake.

The fairy hummed and stretched, smiling sleepily as she saw Jack. "Good morning." She yawned, her feathers ruffling.

She looked so adorable that he really couldn't be judged for pulling her in and kissing her. Maybe it was the fact that he was a spirit of winter but Tooth always felt so soft and warm, so opposite of what he was, that it drew him in and captivated him.

It also, it appeared, made him lose track of his surroundings. Lately when they kissed he found himself in a position they hadn't started in, having become completely lost in the sounds and smells and feel of Tooth.

Take that moment, for instance. Somehow they had ended up with Tooth underneath him, her legs splayed on either side of him, their arms tangled around each other while they kissed as if they had another four hundred years ahead of them.

It simply shocked him how natural it all was, how they ended up at these places together without awkward conversations or an overabundance of stumbling and backtracking. Jack pulled back, gazing down at Tooth.

"Uh…" His voice appeared to have up and died on him. "Are you…?"

He wasn't even sure what he was asking, but Tooth smiled warmly at him as if she'd been waiting for this. And, he thought, maybe she had. Maybe she'd just been patiently waiting for him to catch up to her, letting him fumble his way through relearning touch and conversation and what it was like to have another person in your life. It was a humbling and overwhelming thought – the idea that someone was willing to hold back as you went through what they already knew, not forcing or pushing but lovingly holding back and letting you figure it out on your own.

He smiled back at her, not realizing why his vision was blurry until he saw a tear splash onto her face. He laughed, embarrassed, and Tooth rolled them over so she was on top, straddling him to kiss his cheek.

Why? He wanted to ask. Why him? Out of all the people she could have chosen, guardians or otherwise, she had picked the lonely, rebellious hellion.

"You underestimate yourself, Jack Frost." Tooth said, her voice the softest thing he had ever heard.

He wanted to protest, to ask what made him so valuable, so worthy of her praise and affection, but she started kissing him again and he wasn't about to interrupt that.

It definitely wasn't the first time he'd started to have an issue in his pants, so to speak, while they were kissing but it was the first time – as far as he knew – that Tooth was aware of it. It was definitely the first time she did something about it, anyway. She started… well; rocking was the only word he could come up with, moving her hips to grind slowly against him, turning an uncomfortable situation into a near-painful one.

He moved his hands, trying to reach her hips and get her to stop because if she didn't things were going to get a lot more embarrassing, but his hands started wandering of their own accord, burying their fingers into her feathers, trailing tips over the soft skin underneath, squeezing her curves. Tooth made the most delectable sounds in response to whatever he did, little mewls and sighs of happiness fed into his mouth, heating his blood to a boiling point. He hadn't felt heat like this since he was human, and maybe not even then. It was foreign, to feel warmth inside of him instead of simply on another being, but now that he felt it he craved it with every fiber of his body.

He started kissing along Tooth's neck, nudging her feathers out of the way, enjoying the sound she made when he nipped lightly at the pale, sensitive skin. He moved his hands down, too, but Tooth gently took them in hers and placed them on either side of his body.

"Let me…" She whispered, her voice soothing him as always.

She slipped her hands to his waist and undid the drawstring of his pants and okay, yeah, his body was really onboard with this but he was honestly a little embarrassed as well, and what if he messed this up and–

And she was kissing him again, hot and wet and deep, and his brain short-circuited enough that he didn't notice anything else until holy shit tight hot shit shit shit…

It took everything in him not to explode. He was inside of her, and the sensation was completely overwhelming, unlike anything he'd felt before, and while he couldn't lie, he'd thought about this, his imagination just didn't measure up. He was bombarded with sensations, feeling as though his body was actually alive for the first time, and he had to dig his nails into the sheets and grit his teeth to stay still.

Tooth brushed a light kiss to his lips and he realized that his eyes were closed. He opened them, gazing a little wildly at her serene face.

"You can move, you know." She informed him, giggling.

He blushed bright blue, he was certain of it. "I don't want to hurt you." He admitted. He'd heard stories.

"That's why I'm like this. I can control it better." Tooth explained, ever patient. She used one hand to brace herself on the bed and slid the other down to grip his shoulder, her thumb rubbing circles into his skin. She tipped her head back, a smile flitting briefly across her face as she started to move, up and down with a circular roll of her hips.

His eyes practically crossed at the feeling. It was like… it was like… he didn't know. He couldn't compare it to anything. It just was, and it was fantastic.

He brought his hands up to grip her hips, keeping them together and anchoring him as he started to move with her, unsure but gaining more confidence as they continued to rock together. He tried reaching up but he couldn't quite get at Tooth's breasts from this angle, so he stroked the feathers in his grasp and hoped that it was enough for her.

Judging by the sounds she was making, he was doing all right.

At first he wasn't sure what the pressure building in his gut was, the light pulsing behind his eyes, but then he felt his body instinctively move faster and he knew. He tried to warn her but all that came out were mixed-up words and garbled sounds. Tooth, thankfully, seemed to get the message and nodded, biting her lip as she slid a hand down between her legs, and okay, that was hot. He was going to have to learn how to do that.

She ended up coming first, a melodious cry – not entirely un-birdlike – pouring from her throat as her hips worked double-time to ride out her high. He could feel her gushing around him and that seemed to be enough for his body because he followed her, a shout that didn't sound like him at all shooting from his mouth as he tossed his head back against the pillows.

He really hoped he didn't bruise her hips.

It was like being filled and surrounded by fire; a light, golden kind of fire, one that seemed to sing without making a sound as it shuddered through his body, leaving him gasping and mindless with sensation.

When it subsided, he found himself in a similar situation to when he'd woken up – with an armful of Tooth Fairy, snuggled onto his chest. Only this time she was awake and smiling at him, her face blissful and body utterly relaxed in a catlike manner. Her eyes were as clear and bright as ever, their magenta-amethyst color blazing like torches.

"That…" He couldn't find the words and simply nodded enthusiastically to convey his thoughts.

Tooth bumped their noses together, her grin stretching across her face. "I was hoping you'd get with the program soon. I was getting worried."

"You could've just said something." Jack mumbled, blushing again.

Tooth merely gave him a peck on the lips. "I wanted it to be natural." She informed him. Her sentence ended in a yawn.

"Tired?" He asked.

Tooth nodded, lowering her head to rest it on his shoulder. "Clean up and then…" She yawned again. "Another nap."

"And then?" He teased, poking her playfully.

"I've created a monster." Tooth groaned exaggeratedly.

But first they did nap, with Tooth tucked safely in his arms like she'd always been there, and always would be, like it was, well, natural.

Their first public display of affection was… well, a bit of an event. Not that they'd intended it to be.

It was the first snowfall of winter and Burgess had been hit hard, the streets icy and the park simply covered in snowdrifts. Jack had, of course, been there for it, and was now dragging Tooth along to join Jamie and the others in an epic snowball fight/capture the flag tournament.

Jamie and the others had – or so he assumed – gotten used to seeing Jack and Tooth holding hands, especially when they were flying, but apparently giving each other a close-lipped kiss on the lips was the biggest thing to happen since defeating Pitch.

So Tooth had a snowflake land on her lips. What? He was supposed to just let it lie there instead of kissing it away, tasting how the fresh clean snow mingled with the juicy sweet taste of Tooth? It wasn't as if they'd used tongue or anything.

Jamie, on the other hand, gagged and mimed vomiting with the rest of his friends like they'd been half naked or something.

"You think that's gross?" Jack taunted, never able to resist upping the ante. He snagged Tooth with an arm around her waist, pulling her in before dipping her and kissing the very life out of her.

Tooth responded very, very enthusiastically.

When they parted – Tooth with a delightfully dazed look on her face and Jack with a shit-eating grin – it was to see Jamie and the others shrieking with their hands over their eyes, shouting accusingly of how they were scarred for life and to get a room and that was absolutely disgusting!

Jack just tightened his hold on Tooth and laughed until Jamie smacked him in the face with a snowball.

But then, the kid was ten. It was only natural.

I know, I know, first times do not go this well. But isn't that one of the reasons we write fiction – to make things how we want them to be?

Also – is Jamie eight or ten? There seems to be some dispute about his exact age…

Reviews won't get us a sequel, but it'll make me almost as happy!