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Title: Frozen Inside – Why We Don't Have Time For Children
Fandom: DreamWorks; Rise of the Guardians
Disclaimer: All rights concerning the movie reserved to DreamWorks. 'Guardians of Childhood' is property of William Joyce. This fanfiction on the other hand is entirely mine. No money is made with this, though reviews are more than welcomed.
Warnings: m/m, hurt/comfort, angst, major character death (but there's spirits so yeah)
Main Pairing: Jamie/Jack
Rise of the Guardians Characters: Jack Frost, Jamie Bennett, Baby Tooth, Phil
Summary: When the children of Burgess grow older, Jack grows afraid, because he realizes why the Guardians have no time for children – growing attached hurts because the children grow old, stop believing and in the end die. So Jack pulls away. Jamie, however, is very stubborn.
Frozen Inside
Why We Don't Have Time For Children
Jack had made fun of the Guardians, back in the burrow, when the Guardians had realized they didn't have time for children. A few years after the battle with Pitch, Jack came to realize why the Guardians have distanced themselves from the children.
Because the children were growing older. And usually, once children entered their teenage years, they forgot about the Guardians and stopped believing. And then... the children grew up. Became adults, grew old and in the end, they died. The Guardians, while bringing joy to the children, were protecting themselves by not interacting with children too much. By not growing attached.
The children of Burgess were growing up.
Pippa and Cupcake started giggling and talking about boys, Monty had already started looking for a college, Caleb and Claude were team-captains of the hockey team and the football team respectively. They were teenagers now. Their classmates were making fun of them for still believing in Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. It was inevitable that they'd stop believing.
And Jack Frost was terrified of that.
He was terrified to be forgotten, to be walked through again. Not them, not... Jamie. His first believer. Jack had spent so much time in Burgess, nearly all of his time when he wasn't busy with his duties as a Guardian. But for the first time, it became apparent that he was going to lose Jamie. His believe and also him, at one point, when he would be old and gray.
So Jack pulled away from them. He started focusing on his duties again, on working with North, with whom he was living by now. The children would be alright, North had assured him with a sad smile and a heavy hand resting on Jack's shoulder. And North was right, Jack knew North was right.
The kids had each other, they'd live normal human lives. Once they outgrew their childhood, the memories of the Guardians would fade into broken shards of dreams. They'd believe their adventures had all been made up, child's play, dreams. Not real. That Jack Frost was nothing more than an imaginary friend Jamie had made up to cope with life.
/break\
Jamie Bennett was a man on a mission. Having graduated high school, Jamie went on a hiking trip before college. A year abroad. His mother had been enthusiastic about it. Sophie had pouted that he was leaving her behind. In reality, Jamie was in the North Pole searching for the workshop.
He hadn't seen Jack in four years. He had tried to catch Sandy, North or Aster. But the Guardians proved to evade them as good as they had before the Pitch situation. Granted, the other Guardians had barely interact with Jamie and his friend after Pitch – only very occasionally, because they were busy. It figured. But Jack. Jack was always there for Jamie. Until... he wasn't anymore.
And it had hurt. It had made Jamie angry. Confused. Feeling abandoned.
And then, well, then Jamie decided to take actions. He made a plan. And here he was, hiking his way up toward North's workshop. He just hoped North was not going to throw him out again.
/break\
Jack startled when Phil threw open the door to Jack's room. The yeti looked grumpy as ever as he growled beneath his breath, but that was not the interesting part here. Phil was carrying someone, wrapped up in a thick winter-jacket. Glaring at Jack, Phil threw the human onto the floor in front of Jack's bed. Confused, Jack blinked a couple of times.
"Phil, wait, what is going on-?", asked Jack confused.
Phil just grumbled about the security and how North was not a fan of people breaking in. The frown on Jack's face deepened and he turned to exchange a look with Baby Flake. Formerly Baby Tooth, but the little fairy had decided to stick with Jack – and so had some of her sisters. The tiny tooth fairies had joined Jack and had become ice fairies, helping Jack spread snow and fun. Baby shrugged before flying over toward the human on the ground, before squeaking.
"Hello, Baby Flake. It's been a while", greeted the human.
Jack held his breath. He knew the voice. The boy pushed the hood of his jacket down and got his snow goggles off. Jamie Bennett. Older than the last time Jack had seen him, but most definitely Jamie. Jack's heart was racing at that, because it seemed so incredibly surreal.
"J... Jamie...", whispered Jack.
"You can see me", drawled Jamie sarcastically. "And here I was starting to think that you couldn't."
"What are you doing here?", asked Jack stunned. "Why... Why..."
"You stopped visiting!", exclaimed Jamie, angry and upset as he gathered himself off the floor. "You stopped coming over. You... You abandoned us! Me!"
"Jamie-", started Jack surprised.
"No. No, you... you left and that's not okay", whispered Jamie, shaking his head.
Jack gritted his teeth and averted his eyes. "I was..."
"Yeah?", asked Jamie, standing in front of Jack. "What?"
"I was afraid", admitted Jack in a small voice.
"What?", asked Jamie confused, blinking slowly.
"You all grew older and children forget the Guardians when they're adults and I... I was afraid of ever having you... walk through me again, like I was air", admitted Jack, biting his lower lip.
"Jack...", sighed Jamie and walked over to Jack to pull him into a tight hug. "Jack, I will never forget you and I will never stop believing in you. I... just wish you hadn't stopped believing in me."
Jack stiffened in his arms and stared in surprise before he clung onto Jamie, returning the hug vigorously until he was a sobbing mess. All the barricades breaking. This fear that had loomed over him for years, suddenly dissolving as he found himself in the warm embrace of Jamie.
/break\
The children of Burgess stopped telling people that they believed in the Guardians anymore. They were just stories, stories that made money – because Jamie had written them down. Not just their own battle against Pitch, also the stories of how the Guardians had become Guardians. He had started writing them as a teenager and by the time Jamie was twenty-one, his best-selling book-series had brought him enough money so he could quit college and wouldn't have to worry about money. Especially not since there was now that the final book had been released – Jack Frost – talks about a movie adaptation. Jamie was living in New York by now, though he still regularly visited his mother and sister in Burgess, he still regularly met up with his childhood friends.
But the one person he was the closest to was always around. Jack kept visiting Jamie, at least once a week, if not more often. They shared everything again, laughed with each other. And with time, Jamie's feelings for Jack grew. They had been there for a while, maybe even the reason why he had gone to the North Pole three years ago, but what had been a mere crush back then was full-blown love by now. Jamie was in love with Jack. Which, he didn't quite know what to do with.
If Jack had already been so afraid of being abandoned by Jamie's death when they had been friends, Jamie didn't know if he could do this to Jack. But a selfish part of Jamie wanted to be with Jack, in every sense of the way. And if he could make Jack happy, even just for a few years...
"What's on your mind, Jamie?"
Jack was sitting on the window-sill, head tilted as he looked at Jamie on the couch. Sighing softly, Jamie shook his head. Keeping things from Jack wouldn't do. It wasn't Jamie's choice. Whether or not Jack wanted to invest romantic feelings and time into a relationship was Jack's decision.
"Jack? Can we... talk?", asked Jamie softly.
Blinking surprised, Jack flew over to sit down opposite Jamie. Jamie hoped he wasn't misinterpreting things. He had a feeling that Jack might actually like him back, because Jack was spending an insane amount of time with Jamie of all people. They'd watch movies together and they would cuddle on the couch together, Jack tucked under Jamie's arms, snuggled up to the human. Jack was still catching up on 300 years without physical contact and he soaked up every hug and cuddle that Jamie was willing to give. And Jamie was very willing.
"I love you, Jack", started Jamie slowly. "And not a... best friend kind of way. I am in love with you, Jack. I've been... for a while. And I figured, I should tell you..."
"...In... love?", echoed Jack, looking a bit like a rabbit in the face of a hunter.
"It's okay if you don't return my feelings, Jack", assured Jamie with a small, sad smile.
"I... can... can I think about it?", asked Jack with a confused frown.
"Of course", nodded Jamie. "I don't want to push you or anything."
Nodding slowly, Jack flew out of the window – or rather, nearly fled. But that was okay. Jack had been isolated for so long and he had most likely never really thought about Jamie in that way, because he had never thought about romance at all. He had only gotten into contact with other people ten years ago – after three hundred years without anyone. He was still getting used to things, to humans. Jamie could wait, as long as Jack needed to figure things out.
/break\
Jack heaved a shaky breath as he stood in front of Jamie's window. He had been thinking on this long and hard. On what he felt for Jamie. He had even gone and consulted Cupid about it! The woman was way too nosy and pushy though (and nothing like how humans imagined Cupid). But she had helped, in a way. Jamie smiling at him made his heart flutter and out of everyone he knew, Jack loved laying in Jamie's arms the most. Jamie was the one who would have hurt the most if he had forgotten Jack. It was the hardest, to imagine living without Jamie.
That was the thing though, wasn't it? It was the hardest to imagine living without Jamie – and how much harder would it be, once Jack got to know what it was like to kiss Jamie, to sleep in his arms, to be with him. Was being afraid reason enough not to try though...? No. No, it wasn't.
"He—ey", greeted Jack awkwardly as he flew into the room.
He came to hover over Jamie, who was laying on his bed, sprawled out and apparently reading. Jamie put his book aside and stared up at Jack in surprise, before he smiled softly.
"Jack. Hey. I... missed you", offered Jamie gently. "How... are you?"
Jamie paused when Jack lowered himself more and more until their noses were nearly touching. "I wanna kiss you. Can I kiss you, Jamie?"
Wide-eyed, Jamie nodded hastily. He hadn't expected that. He had contemplated the option of Jack returning his feelings, but he had somehow still anticipated an awkward conversation – not soft lips that inexplicably tasted like marshmallows to press against his. Closing his eyes, Jamie reached out to rest a hand in the nape of Jack's neck and pull him closer. By the end of the kiss, Jack was sitting straddling Jamie's waist. Panting softly, Jack stared down at Jamie.
"Okay, yes. I liked that", whispered Jack, cheeks pink. "I'd like to do that again. A lot."
"Good", nodded Jamie with a smile, arms around Jack's waist.
"I missed you", sighed Jack and nuzzled into Jamie's chest, closing his eyes.
Jamie's smile brightened at that and he buried his nose in Jack's hair.
/break\
The following months were the happiest of Jack's life – well, as far as he remembered. They went on dates that were only slightly awkward, because no one aside from Jamie could see Jack – but they made it work. They went on picnics together and North even provided a couple snow globes so Jack and Jamie could go and see the world together. They spent weekends in Paris or Rome or wherever they wanted to go. Which was nice for Jamie, considering he was still writing books. He had moved on to YA books after his children's books had been such a huge hit. The traveling was very inspiring for Jamie and he loved learning about the different cultures and their myths. Jack helped him get into it, learn the truth behind them. It inspired a whole new book-series.
"I love you", hummed Jack with a gentle smile. "Here. Happy anniversary."
Jamie blinked a couple times and then he laughed softly. It was a bouquet of candy-canes.
"Really, Jack?", asked Jamie amused.
"Ye—ep", replied Jack with a cheeky grin and stole a kiss. "I also set up a picnic for us on the rooftop, so come before it gets cold."
Smiling, Jamie followed Jack up onto the roof, where everything was decked out with candles and flowers, food set out at the center. Grabbing his boyfriend around the waist, Jamie pulled Jack down and into a kiss, whirling him around a couple of times. Jack gently ran his fingers through Jamie's hair. He had a bit of a three-day-stubble and he looked... really hot.
"I got you something too, Snowflake", replied Jamie with a mischievous smile.
Jack blinked and then he blushed when he saw the black little box Jamie was carrying. Opening it, Jack saw a crystal pendant in the shape of a snowflake. Carefully, Jamie took the necklace out of the box and laid it around Jack's neck. Biting his lips, Jack grasped the pendant.
"Thank you, Jamie. It's beautiful", whispered Jack.
"You're beautiful", countered Jamie, effectively making Jack blush.
"You're such a dork", sighed Jack and leaned in to kiss Jamie.
"So, tell me. How are the others doing?", asked Jamie eagerly when they sat down together.
Jack still saw their friends from Burgess at least every other week and Jamie was talking to them all online. When possible, they met. But with everyone at college or already working, it was hard. They lived in different corners of the world by now – Pippa had actually moved to London, while Monty was living in Canada now. Jack smiled as he sat down crosslegged.
"Oh, they're doing great. Met Pippa's fiance. Well, saw him. Didn't really meet him since he doesn't see me, but oh well", laughed Jack. "And Monty is in over his head, of course. He's always working too hard. Cupcake complained that you don't call enough."
"She always does", drawled Jamie unimpressed.
"Caleb and Claude are doing good. They asked if we want to come over to watch their next game."
Caleb and Claude were playing hockey on a college level, but they were really good and with any luck, they might be signed on by a professional team after graduation. Jamie smiled as he leaned back and listened to his boyfriend talking so animatedly about their friends. That was all Jamie wanted, to just be with Jack, forever. He grew a little sad at that. He would never get to...
/break\
Jack had waited until everyone else had left. Slowly, he lowered himself until he was hovering right in front of the granite stone. He still couldn't believe it. It had happened a few days ago. An accident. Not even anything special. Just, a car, a driver losing control, and then, the next moment... Jamie was gone. And Jack was alone and confused. He went and told Sophie, he held her as she broke down crying. He went and told the others. After that, he went to the South Pole to be alone, to mourn, to digest. When he returned, he watched the funeral from above. He didn't feel like interacting with the others. All he wanted was Jamie. Closing his eyes tightly, he wrapped his arms around his torso and sank down onto the ground, tears streaming down his cheeks. Baby squeaked softly and nuzzled against his cheek, trying to comfort him.
"Hello, Snowflake."
Jack surged forward in surprise and then he whirled around to face... His eyes widened. Jamie. Jamie was wearing orange and there was a certain kind of glow to him as he smiled at Jack, everything about him somehow... brighter. And then he pushed off the ground, floating.
"You didn't return to the North Pole. I couldn't find you anywhere, but I figured you wouldn't miss my funeral", stated Jamie gently as he reached out to lay his arms around Jack.
"W—What...", started Jack unsure, throat tight.
"North. Tooth. Sandy. Bunny. They all... put a good word in for me", explained Jamie. "With the Man in the Moon. They all know how much you... love me and how much it would hurt you to... lose me. Turns out there used to be another Guardian, long ago. Mother Goose. Her name was Katherine and she... apparently, I'm related to her. She used to write down the stories. And I... did the same. A Guardian of Stories. Someone to keep the children believing. That's... my job now, apparently. The point is, I get to... I get to stay at your side."
Jack rubbed at his wet cheeks, staring at Jamie. "I don't... I..."
"It's okay, Snowflake", whispered Jamie gently and kissed Jack's forehead.
He pulled Jack even closer, hugging him tightly as Jack tried to control his sobbing. He had thought he had lost Jamie forever. That he would never get to see Jamie again. That the other Guardians, that the Man in the Moon, that they would... that they would let him have his Jamie, that they wouldn't allow for Jamie to be taken away from him. Taking a shaky breath, Jack clung tightly onto Jamie, listening to his boyfriend's soothing voice. They had been dating for three years and Jack genuinely couldn't imagine a life without Jamie – even though he had been reminded on a daily basis that Jamie was a fragile human. But to lose him so abruptly, without a warning, it had... it had crushed Jack. Jamie was his anchor, the first human who had believed in him and still, he was the one who believed in Jack every step of the way. Whenever Jack was feeling down or lonely, Jamie was there for him and Jamie was supporting him.
"I love you. I love you so much. I thought I lost you", mumbled Jack, face buried in Jamie's chest.
"I know", whispered Jamie softly, holding him close. "But you never will. You'll never lose me again, Snowflake. I promise. I'll always be there for you."
~*~ The End ~*~
Author's note: This is part of the Fake Fic Titles I took over on tumblr, where others gave me titles and I in return gave fandom/pairing/pitch to what that fic would. A bunch of those were, after the game ended, chosen to be written. This is one of those chosen ones. ;D If you wanna partake in future games like this, or just listen to me fangirl and post headcanons, come over and visit me at takaraphoenix!