Hello everybody and welcome to my first Rise of the Guardians one-shot. All I want for Christmas are reviews! Please!
This story is set in the universe of my on-going story A Change of Spirit. While this one shot is stand alone there is more to this story that can be found over there. I highly recommend you go read it after this. For anyone interested in learning more about the world of my other story, you are more than welcome to join me for that adventure, but I invite you right now to enjoy the fluffy, funny, and Jack Frosted holiday story that I have written below.
Frost Lilies for Christmas
It was Christmas eve and the North Pole was still a mess.
Elves and Yeti were bustling around, boarding up holes in the roof, repairing windows, replacing burnt remnants of the previous woodwork with fresh-crafted carpentry, but in all of the hustle and bustle of trying to repair the damage, very little progress had actually been made. As Jack Frost looked around, he couldn't see how they were going to make it for the flight this evening.
The Winter spirit shoved his right hand into his hoodie and leaned against his staff with a sigh, "This is hopeless."
"Nothing is hopeless, mate," Bunny hopped up, carrying a stack of mahogany boards which would be used to repair many of the burnt, charred places in the floor of the Globe Room.
"Allow me to rephrase," Jack said sarcastically, "There is no way that this place is going to be ready by tonight. Have they even fixed the sleigh?" North had been working on his favorite method of transportation for the past week, an to Jack's knowledge there was still a lot of work to be done.
"Not yet," Bunny's nose twitched, which was a sign of concern, but he gave Jack a reassuring smile, "But we'll make it!"
"Speak for yourself," Tooth said buzzing by with swarm of her fairies, "I don't know if my wings can take much more of this… take shingles to the roof, bring nails to the Barn. I think they're about to fall off!" The fairy pointed to her wings, which were buzzing and stopping sporadically like a dying engine. As if to accentuate her point, the mini-fairies all made heavy panting sounds and mimed exhaustion.
"You should take a breather, Shelia," Bunny shifted the stack of boards for a better grip, "No one is askin' ya to work yourself to death."
"But there's still so much to be done! And tomorrow's Christmas!" Tooth protested.
"Ha ha! Did someone say Christmas?" North's laughter belted into the room, surprising everyone.
The Jolly Guardian of Wonder looked as if he had just stepped out from a good night's rest. He was bright eyed, vibrant, and exuded energy. Just from looking at him, you would never know that he had been working non-stop this past week to repair his workshop.
"We were talking about how there is no way everything around he is going to be ready in time," Jack sighed again, "At least tell us you have fixed the sleigh."
"No, sleigh is not fixed," North said.
Jack, Bunny, and Toothiana all looked crestfallen. Jack let go of his staff, the wooden branch fallen to lean against one of the work tables, and he shoved both hands as deep into his hoodie as they could go. Tooth stopped fluttering all together, and for the first time that week she perched herself somewhere.
"Well that's it then," Bunny set his stack of boards down, "There's no way we can deliver all those presents in one night without the sleigh."
"Eh, we do not need sleigh," North chuckled.
"Come again, Mate?"
"We do not need sleigh," North grinned, reaching into the pocket of his pants and pulling out the magic snow globe he used to teleport from one place to the other. "We travel by snow globe."
"Correct me if I'm wrong," Jack held up his hand to get everyone's attention, "But that one snow globe isn't going to be enough. We have no way of carrying all those presents, no navigational system, no naughty or nice list…"
"Everything we need is right here!" North pointed to the Workshop floor. "Elves have reprinted Naughty and Nice list, Yeti have repaired Globe, and…" North motioned towards Phil the Yeti who appeared carrying a large sea chest of polished oak and pine, banded together with silver and iron. "We have these!"
The silver furred Yeti opened the chest to reveal four, shining, sparkling snow globes of various size and color. One was about the size of a golf ball, with exquisite diamond filigree; another globe was the size of a softball and covered with two golden plates at the top and bottom; there were a pair of identical snow globes that had little lines of hand-blown glass patterns all over their surface, the only difference being that one was red and the other was green. Taking into account the globe North had, that gave them five total.
One for each Guardian.
"Oh… you've been holding out on us, North," Bunny grinned, picking up the softball sized globe, "Are you suggesting what I'm thinking?"
"Is something of great minds and similar thinking, eh, Bunny?" North bumped the rabbit with his shoulder, "This way we can teleport to and from Workshop. Problem is solved yes?"
"Ok, ok…" Jack grinned, "This could work!"
Tooth and her fairies all fluttled into the air in excitement, "Oh! this will be just like last time!"
Sandy appeared in one of the windows; he had dressed himself in a painter's uniform made of dream sand, and he had a golden paintbrush in his hand. The dream keeper hadn't heard anything the other Guardians had been speaking about, so naturally he produced a question mark above his head.
"You hear that, Sandman?" Jack chuckled, "North just challenged us to a rematch."
"Did I now?" North smirked, crossing his arms so that he towered over the white-haired boy. The Naughty and Nice tattooed into his forearms were perfectly visible from Jack's position. "I am having… what is phrase? Home field advantage."
"That may be, Buccko!" Bunny hopped up, "But without your sleigh, you're left delivering things on foot… and that is my turf!" The Easter Bunny put a thumb to his chest proudly.
Sandman hopped into the room, a series of pictures appearing over his head as he changed into his pilot's uniform.
"Sandy's right!" Tooth giggled excitedly, "The two of you can't fly! That gives the three of us…" she pointed to herself, Sandy, and Jack, "The obvious advantage."
"Is race then!" North grinned, ready for the challenge.
"First person to finish a continent?" Bunny offered up with a raised eyebrow.
"Someone has to take Europe and Australia," Tooth raised a finger as she brought up the fact that there were actually six populated continents and only five Guardians. "It's only fair."
"Those two are mine, Tooth," Bunny smirked, "Gotta get that home field advantage, aye, Mate?" He shot North a wink.
"I'll take North America," Jack picked up the golf ball sized globe out of Phil's chest, "I want to drop in on Jamie and make certain everything's okay."
Sandman picked up one of the last remaining globes, the hand-blown one with red glass, and he produced a picture of the African continent. The more desert meant more sand, and the more sand… well surely Sandy would have an advantage.
"Which leaves Asia and South America," North tossed the green globe to Toothiana, "Lady's choice."
"Asia for me," Tooth grinned, thinking of all the children she had visited there personally in the past year. How lovely it would be to deliver them Christmas?
"It is settled then! I will have Elves and Yeti separate toys accordingly. It is T-minus one hour till deliveries start," the robust man pulled on his hat and his fur overcoat, walking over to the fireplace where his swords were resting. Grasping the golden hilt of a cutlass he turned and pointed it at his fellow Guardians, "May the best one win!"
"Is everybody ready?" North called out over the clamor of noise. Elves and Yeti were bustling about with packages and presents, ribbons and bows, all trying to tie up the last minute preparations. "Places! Everyone to their places! Is time for Christmas!"
"Oh! This is going to be exciting!" Toothiana giggled, holding her teleporting snow globe eagerly. She had a squadron of her mini fairies with her, who were all carrying a present, sometimes three or four of them were required to carry the larger ones, but they all looked eager to begin. "Ready over here!" Tooth called.
Sandy waved a hand, giving North a thumbs up. The dream maker had fashioned a Santa hat out of golden dreamsand, and his cloud was shaped like a sleigh being pulled by eight, golden manta rays. He looked the closest thing to Santa Clause in the Workshop that night, and the little Dream Guardian seemed to be excite as well.
"Hey, North!" Bunny called out, "You mind lending me a sack for these gifts? It'll look a little odd for me to carry them around in an Easter basket."
"Of course, Bunny!" the large man picked up a red, velvet sack from a hook on the wall and tossed it to the large rabbit.
Bunnymund hopped up and caught it, "Alright, then I'm ready and rarin' t'go!"
"Excellent!" North let out a chuckle that echoed around the room. "What about, Jack Frost?" The old man cast a curious eye at the Winter spirit.
Jack was standing by a work table, looking intently at the diamond covered snow globe he would be using for travel. The white haired boy looked a bit aloof, like his mind was elsewhere.
"Jack!" Bunny called out.
"Huh? What?" Jack spun around like he'd been caught doing something wrong.
"Are you ready, Jack Frost?" North grinned.
"Um… actually," Jack looked around, "I don't really have anything to carry gifts with."
"I may have solution for that." North held up a finger and then walked into his office. He returned a moment later carrying a black leather sack in one hand and something red and furry in his other hand. "Try this!" North shoved the sack into the Jack's hands and stuck the furry thing on Jack's head, turning the boy to look at himself in a mirror that two elves just happened to be carrying by.
Jack looked… odd. He had his staff in one hand and a black sack in the other, and on his head sat a red fur hat, shaped like a coonskin hat with a white tail that hung over his left ear. "None of this matches…"
"Then try this as well," North pulled out a package from behind his back. It was something wrapped in blue tissue paper with a white bow.
"What's this?" Jack looked at it oddly.
"Is Christmas present!" North beamed, "From all of us!" the old man gestured to Bunny, Sandy, Tooth, and then the whole workshop.
"For me?" Jack looked at he friends with wide eyes wanting to tear up.
"Of course, Jack," Tooth smiled at the boy, coming to give him a hug.
"We care about ya, Frostbite," Bunny winked, "Even if you do annoy us sometimes."
Sandman nodded his consent.
Not certain what to say, Jack set down the things he was carrying and took the package from North. He tore into the present delicately, pulling the tissue paper off to reveal a brand new hoodie. This one was white and had hand-embroidered frost trails over the shoulders in shining blue thread. It was just like his current hoodie, except inverted.
Looking up from the present, Jack smiled from ear-to-ear, "Thank you!"
The other Guardians all breathed a sigh of relief and returned Jack's smile.
"Try it on!" Tooth encouraged.
Jack pulled off his blue hoodie, revealing with some surprise to Bunny and the others that he didn't wear a shirt underneath it, and then he pulled on his new, white one. He then picked up the red fur hat and put it back on his head, took up the black sack and his staff, and then turned to look in the mirror. He looked festive.
"You look like me," North grinned, "When I was younger."
"A thousand years, younger," Bunny chuckled.
"Quiet, Bunny," Tooth shushed the loudmouth Easter spirit.
"That bag," North continued, pointing to the black leather sack he had given to the Winter spirit. "Was bag I used on very first Christmas! It is very special bag."
"And you're letting me use it?" Jack looked at the old man incredulously.
"Is only fair," North chuckled, "After all you are only spirit who does not deliver something to all the children of the world in single day."
"Good point…" Jack muttered. All of a sudden he realized how much of a disadvantage he had against the other spirits.
"I know is good point!" North held up a finger, "I made it!" With a deep laugh the Guardian of Wonder picked up his own red velvet sack and walked over to the center of the Globe Room, "Now! We begin count down!"
Phil the Yeti came forward, holding a brass gong and a mallet, and began counting, "Tunt! Nunt! Ent! Suv! Seth!"
The elves all started jittering excitedly, milling around in large groups that either watched Phil like he was the most fascinating creature in the world, or they watched the Guardians prepare to deliver Christmas.
Toothiana picked up a package and revved her wings, making them sound like she was throttling an engine. Bunny grabbed up an armful of toys and tossed them into his bag. Sandy was organizing the pile of toys that the Yeti had piled into his sand sleigh, and North was busy looking up at the World Globe, counting all of the dazzling, golden lights that represented the children who would be getting presents tonight.
"Fig! Fon! Twi! Toog!" Phil slammed the mallet into the gong on the final beat of the countdown, and the Guardians were off! Christmas Eve deliveries had begun!
Almost simultaneously, the five guardians threw their snow globes in front of them, opening up glittering, spiral vortexes that would transport them to the first towns on their delivery routes.
Bunny was the first through his portal, leaping through at breakneck pace. He landed in London, catching the snow globe as I reformed in front of him and placing it in a pouch on the belt he always had slung over his shoulders. He had never delivered Christmas presents before, but how hard could it be? The first house was right there, and Bunny wasn't about to go down the chimney when he could use a tunnel to get in.
With a double thump of his foot, the Easter spirit opened up his tunnels and hopped in, opening the tunnel again once he was underneath the house. The moment the tunnel opened, a Christmas tree fell right on top of Bunnymund, knocking him to the floor of the tunnel with an "Oof!".
"Okay," Bunny grumbled, "So not that simple."
It took him a few minutes to push the tree back up into the house, and he vowed to be more careful next time. He set out the presents, then thumped open his tunnels and headed to the next house on the lane.
Meanwhile Tooth was in her element. She had come out of her portal in the middle of Tokyo, and she had her list ready and waiting. She began directing her fairies just as she would have if they were collecting teeth, "Those presents go to apartment 14, and that one goes to number 17. Those go to the fourth house over there, and that bicycle goes to the little boy in the penthouse! Oh! I wanna take that!"
Toohiana picked up the bike and fluttered up to the top of the apartment building. She looked through the wall of plate glass windows at the wonderful Christmas tree that was decorated and already covered with presents. She was also shocked to see a brand new, high-speed bicycle sitting under the tree. It was much shinier and sleeker than the "vintage" bicycle North had kept stored in the Workshop's vault, but something about this sleeker, shiner bicycle lacked the vibrant life that was expected from a Christmas present.
Without hesitation, Toothiana used her magic to phase through the windows and she set the bike down in front of the newer and shinier version. Hopefully the child would see the love and care that had gone into making something to be special, rather than the mass produced glitz and glamour of new age toys.
Sandman was on a roll. He was delivering presents the same way he delivered dreams. As his newly fashioned dreamsand sleigh flew over the town, he sent down dreams and presents. Each dream he sent out to the children also carried a perfectly wrapped, brilliantly colored packed. The golden animals set the presents next to the child's bedside and then took up their vigil of giving the child a night of golden, happy dreams.
At this pace, Sandy was certain he would not only finish first, but finish soon enough that he could still have time for a glass of eggnog and some gloating. The other Guardians had completely steamrolled him when they had the race for collecting Teeth, but not tonight! No, tonight would be a victory for the Guardian of Dreams.
Sandy smiled happily as he sent down a herd of golden dolphins to deliver the next round of gifts.
North popped out of a chimney with a puff of smoke, having emptied yet another bag of gifts. He took of his hat and looked up at the full moon with a smile, "What a night, eh, Manny?"
The moon smiled down at him and agreement.
"Who would have thought it?" North chuckled. "Your Guardians have become more cooperative since Jack Frost arrived." The bearded Guardian chuckled and wagged a finger up at the celestial home of the Moon Spirit, "You are crafty, Man in Moon. I give you that."
There was a flicker of moonlight and shadows, two which North raised his eyesbrows in surprise, "I am falling behind am I? Well! Can't be having that, can we!?" He shouldered his pack, and threw the snow globe, jumping through and landing in the workshop to pick up more toys.
"What is status update?"
A Yeti came up with a clipboard, "Furnabba!"
"What is this? North America, twenty percent complete, Asia, thirty percent complete! Ack! I am behind!" He threw his bag down and began tossing handfuls of presents into its confines, "Am I or am I not Santa Claus?" North thumped his chest, "I will show them how it is done!"
With a loud "Ho Ho Ho!" He jumped through the snow portal again, enjoying himself more on this night than he had in years of delivering Christmas.
Jack had just finished commanding the Great Snowman invasion of Quebec, and he couldn't be prouder of himself!
Hundreds of snow men marching down streets and lanes and alleys, carrying presents of all shapes and sizes and delivering their score in record pace! When he had first started off, Jack had felt that he was at a disadvantage to the other Guardians. The all had knowledge of how to do something like this, getting in and out of houses and delivering things to children. Jack didn't know the first thing about it, but he had been experimenting. Houses with dog doors Jack could send a frozen puppy through to deliver the presents, if he had to use a chimney, well Jack would have the wind let him gently down it, but this? This had been his masterpiece.
He had made an army of snowmen, and using the wind and other smaller snow creatures he had created, Jack could open doors and windows and the snow men could just waltz on in and deliver the presents, and then walk back out and sit down in the front yards, or on sidewalks. No one would be any wiser that someone had been there… they would believe in Santa.
Smiling to himself for being clever, Jack had forgotten one tiny little detail about modern day houses: Alarm systems.
One of his snowmen had triggered the alarm, waking up nearly the entire block he was working on. People where stumbling and shouting inside the house, lights came on, and Jack was freaking out.
He grabbed his staff and willed the snowmen to freeze, halting in their positions. It wasn't the way Jack wanted to do things, considering dozens of snowmen scattering lawns and streets would look a little conspicuous… but what could he do?
Wracking his brain, Jack suddenly wished that Sandman could be here to put everyone asleep… but that wasn't an option, considering the Dreamkeeper was in Africa at the moment. "Come on!" Jack smacked his hand to his forehead in frustration, "Think!"
Then he had an idea. He went up to the window where the little girl who lived in the house was sleeping and tapped on the window. The girl looked at him with wide eyes like she was going to scream, but Jack held up his finger to his lips, and she understood. The little blonde girl in blue and purple tie-dyed pajamas walked over to her window and opened it.
"Are you Santa?" she breathed in awe.
"Sort of," Jack grinned, "I'm like his helper… but right now I need your help."
"Really!?" the girl giggled.
"Yep," Jack nodded, reaching into his bag and pulling out a doll, "My magic set off your house alarm. Think you can help me?"
The girl nodded eagerly, taking her doll and running downstairs. Jack breathed a sigh of relief and floated up to the roof, waiting. He heard the little girl talking to her parents, explaining that she set the alarm off when she went downstairs to peak at what Santa had brought her. The girls parents quickly got on the phone to the alarm company, and, after a few embarrassed apologies to the neighbors, the street returned to a quiet little cove. Thankfully no one had thought twice about the unusual amount of snowmen present in their yards.
Jack picked up his staff, and with a new caution, continued about his rounds.
"Ok! That one goes to Mongolia, and that one goes to Tibet," Tooth was directing her fairies from inside the Workshop now, trying her best to keep up with the sheer volume of children in Asia. How North managed to do this alone, she couldn't believe it! "Oh no! Sorry, that one goes to the Philippines! That one goes to Tibet!" the Tooth Fairy flustered, double checking the list to make certain she got it correct, "Yes! Go! Go! Go!" She shooed the fairies through the portal, just as another wave came up to her with their gifts.
"You're looking a bit tuckered out there, Sheila," Bunny commented. His portal had opened up a few moments ago, and the rabbit had been quietly refilling his bag and watching the Guardian of Memories.
"There are just so many!" Toothiana exclaimed, "I wanted to be out there doing each and every one, but… there's not enough time!"
"Tell me about it," Bunny grinned, "I just finished Europe, or so I thought! Completely forgot Bolivia!"
"What about Australia?"
"Still have to get there," Bunny saluted, throwing his snow globe and vanishing through the portal with a hop.
"How are we doing?" Tooth questioned her number one helper: Baby Tooth.
The little fairy held up her own copy of the list and jittered excitedly.
"Fifty percent? Well then the hard part is over," Toothiana's wings beat with renewed vigor, "It's a downhill contest from here!"
Dogs… why did people have to own dogs?! Bunny thought as he charged towards the chimney, leaping up it to escape the barking and snapping of a miniature Chihuahua army. The eight little "darlings", as their collars read in rhinestones, had chased him from the living room, through the kitchen, and back until Bunny had decided to pull a Santa. The Easter spirit was now stuck halfway up, inching his way up as the noisy little devils below him threatened to wake up the entire house. Thankfully he had managed to lay out all of the presents, so the only issue that mattered now was escaping.
"It's bad enough that Jamie owns a greyhound," Bunny grumbled, "They at least know what to do when they chase a rabbit. But you lot!?" he growled down at them, managing to scare two of the minute terrors away, "You just like to bark doncha?"
As if to affirm his question, they picked up barking in a crescendo. The noise traveling up the chimney in a raucous echo, which forced Bunny to pin his ears back and pray that he could climb out of this situation faster. "Memo to self," he moaned, "Never ask a dog a rhetorical question."
Sandman was finished. His portal warped into the Workshop, and he road in on a triumphant golden sleigh, raising his arms above his head in victory. A little golden trophy appeared above his head as he smiled.
"Not quite so, my friend," North said, looking up from the globe console. He raised his glass of hot chocolate in salute of Sandy's accomplishment, "You are coming in second place."
The Dreamkeeper's mouth opened in shock. A series of images floating across his head in a jumble. The basic meaning of it was: How in the world?
"Was simple really," North shrugged, "One continent in one night? Is like cake cut into pieces! Get it? I only had one piece… so it was piece of cake!" The white haired man chuckled at his own cleverness, going back to the readouts on his console.
Sand sprayed out of Sandman's ears like steam and he floated over to the place where Toothiana was directing her fairies.
"Oh, hey! Sandy! You're finished?"
Sandman nodded, offering her a question mark in return.
"Almost! I broke down and went out on a few deliveries myself, otherwise I would have finished sooner I think."
The Guardian of Dreams face palmed. If Toothiana hadn't been a dingbat, then he would have lost to her too! Well, he would take small victories where he could. It was understandable to lose the competition to North; after all, the Guardian of Wonder was Master of Christmas. Losing to Tooth and the others though? Sandy would have felt inferior. After all, he was the only other Guardian who managed to visit all the children of the world in a single night, though his job was easier than North's because Sandy could send his dream sand from miles away.
Sandman gave Toothiana several more pictures: A question mark, a bunny, and then Jack Frost.
"Bunny had some trouble in Bolivia. Chihauhau's trapped him in a chimney!" Tooth giggled and Sandy held his stomach as he silently chuckled. "As for Jack, you just missed him. He's almost finished too."
The Eastern Seaboard was almost finished. Jack only had one more stop to make, and he had saved the best for last: Burgess. It had been almost a week since he had seen Jamie or Rustle, and he wanted to check in on the two of them almost as much as he wanted them to see his new outfit. Jamie would probably be asleep, but there was nothing in the rules against waking a kid up… was there?"
As Jack entered the airspace above the little cove town of Burgess, he summoned a flock of snow doves. They were the least conspicuous of his spectral animals, seeing as how doves naturally came in white, and he could send dozens of them to deliver presents at once; they also had an easier time finding entrances to houses than his snowmen, with a less chance of accidentally melting too. Once the presents were on their way to being delivered, Jack had the wind steer him towards Jamie's house, but something on the ground caught his eye.
It was Bunnymund. The Easter spirit was standing on the sidewalk, waving his paws in the air to get Jack's attention.
Doing his best to repress a laugh at the peculiar image of the Easter Bunny waving his arms like a lunatic, Jack steered himself to the ground. He landed with a feather's step, twirling his staff once before letting it come to rest on his shoulder, "To what to I owe the pleasure? Aren't you supposed to be home visiting family? I'm sure the other kangaroo's have missed you."
"Ha ha," Bunny crossed his arms, "Really funny, Snowflake."
"I do fancy myself a comedian," Jack smirked. "So, what are you doing here?"
"Well," Bunny paused for a second, his ears flattening against his head. Jack had come to learn that this was a sign of nervousness. "I've come t'give you your Christmas present."
Jack looked down at his new hoodie and then looked up in confusion, "I thought that this was my Christmas present?"
"Yes, well… that was something North and Toothiana came up with." The Easter spirit looked down at the snow covered sidewalk, kicking one of his feet nervously and displacing some snow, "I wanted to give you something with a more personal touch."
"Okay…" Jack looked around, "Where it is?"
"Well, you're gonna have t'follow me, Mate." Without a warning, Bunny took off at full run towards the woods. He knew without even looking back that Jack would follow him. The Winter spirit couldn't resist a competition, especially if it was one posed by Bunnymund, and so the race was off.
Jack caught up to Bunny in a split second. With the wind at his back, Jack Frost could be as fast as required, but it was obvious that the other Guardian wasn't going all out. With a burst of speed, Jack flew past Bunnymund, sticking his tongue out, "If you're gonna show me where it is, you're going to have to pick up the pace."
"Thought you'd never ask," Bunny grinned, kicking it into overdrive. He shot forward like a gray blur, kicking up snow in his wake. Jack had to fly higher to avoid getting hit by the spray being launched into the air by Bunnymund's sudden surge.
The two of them hit the forest in seconds, and the race changed paces. Bunny wove in and out of trees, ducking under branches and bouncing off tree trunks like a furry pinball. All the while, Jack launched himself into the boughs, jumping from branch to branch gracefully as he soared through the winter wonderland. Jack knew where they were headed; this was the way he always came when he went to the pond. Why was Bunny leading him there? They burst through the tree line at precisely the same moment, and Jack had to throw on his breaks he was so utterly shocked.
The sight before him was completely different from when he left it. Yes, the surface of the lake was still frozen, and frost patterns intricately covered its surface, but the normally snow covered banks were completely changed. Rather than snow and the occasional patch of grass that was visible, the shores of Jack's pond were covered in luminescent, white lilies. The newly grown flowers were so close together that they could have been mistaken for snow, except for the fact that their petals seemed to pulse with the pearlescent light of the moon. Hundreds and hundreds of the flowers swayed in the cool Winter's breeze. The sight was so overwhelming that Jack had to come down to earth, landing on the pond's frozen surface as he walked to get a closer look at the flowers.
"So?" Bunny asked gingerly, walking up to the white haired boy, "What do you think?"
"You did this?" Jack asked incredulously. "For me?"
Bunny nodded, his ears twitching anxiously.
"Why?" Jack still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that Bunnymund, the Guardian who seemed to like him the least, had done so much for him.
"Well," the Easter Guardian found himself tongue-tied, 'I… well, y'see?" With a sigh, Aster drooped a bit. He couldn't say what he really wanted to, so he settled for a partial truth, "You seemed down a few days back, asking me if I was angry at ya. So I wanted to do something nice, to show you that I… actually care about you, Frostbite." Bunny smiled softly, "Even if you do ruffle my fur sometimes."
In a sudden jolt of motion, Jack launched himself at the Easter Bunny, throwing his arms around the rabbit in a hug. The gesture completely caught Aster off guard, and he felt himself flush in embarrassment.
"Thank you," Jack said, letting go. "It means a lot. I mean, this must have taken you a long time… and you still have to do the presents."
"Nonsense," Bunny grinned, "I finished an hour ago… came straight here afterwards, because I wanted to see the look on your face when you saw 'em." He pointed to the flowers, "I made them myself. Their a new breed." Bunnymund gave Jack a sideways glance, "I call them Frost Lilies."
The white haired Winter spirit raised an eyebrow at his companion, "Oh, really?"
"Yep," Bunny chuckled, "They'll only grow when it's below freezing, so they'll be around as long as you are."
Jack thought that was the nicest gesture anyone had ever made, even if he didn't say so out loud. Truly, Jack didn't quite have the words to put his feelings into a proper expression, so all he could do was to look at Bunnymund and smile. It was the warmest and most honest smile that Jack Frost had ever given, and it sent a flush of warmth through the Easter Bunny's face.
Aster was grateful once again that his fur kept his emotions hidden, because tonight he really didn't feel in control around the Winter Guardian. Everything about Jack just set his fur on edge, like there was an electrical current in the air between them. Every fiber of the Easter spirit's being was telling him to kiss Jack Frost, to confess his feelings… but nothing about Jack's posture, demeanor, or attitude showed any similar feelings or inclinations. Jack Frost just looked serene as he stood there, surrounded by the beauty of his element.
Bunnymund was at a loss for what to do, and, for the first time in their relationship, the two Guardians just stood there in silence without anything to say. It was a perfectly peaceful moment, two lone figures standing on a frozen lake, bathed in the soft pale glow of the moon and the luminescent light of the pale flowers that surrounded them.
"Well, as much as I would like to stand here all night," Jack grinned, "I still have one more delivery to make."
And just like that the moment was gone. Bunny let out a defeated sigh, disappointed with himself for not acting on his feelings. "Alright, Mate!" he gave a mock salute, "See ya back at the workshop! Now that Christmas is over we've got even more pressing work to do, and I'm sure North will need more help getting the place back in order."
"Of course," Jack grinned, launching into the air, "Later, Cottontail!"
Bunny looked wistfully up at the fading Winter spirit. "Ah, well! There's always New Year's," Aster comforted himself before tapping his foot on the ground to open up his tunnels, hopping into the hole and vanishing into the night.
A/N - And that is it!
Hopefully you enjoyed it? I know I enjoyed writing it. For those of you wondering "where's Jamie?" and for my regular readers who wonder "where the heck is Rustle?!" do not fret! I told you that you all had special goodies waiting for you. A Change of Spirit has a special Christmas update, and Jamie and Rustle both have their own special moments with our favorite Winter spirit. (seriously, this update almost beat me to death... but I feel that I finally nailed it and got the perfect mood that I was looking for)
As always, I ask that you Read/Review/Recommend me to your friends. Take people out to the movie theaters and share with them the wonderful holiday spirit that is infused inside of Rise of the Guardians... and I will see you all around New Year's Eve, when I return from my vacation!