A/N
Hi guys! I haven't posted anything in a while, but here we go. Took me a week to write and edit. 10 pages! Woohoo! So, I may or may not have thrown in a little something that some of you DC Arrow fans will like. ;) Also, I really hope that Jack doesn't seem totally OC. I tried really hard to make this story a perfect balance of multiple genres. This is also probably has the most heavy romance scene that I have ever written. Sooooooo, yeah. Be prepared for RainbowSnowcone, and the feels. I hope that the drama in this fic isn't too cheesy. Thanks ya'll!
~Annanarra
"Jack Overland Frost!"
His head snapped up, and Jack saw an irritated, almost mad, North glaring at him.
"What?" Jack said through a yawn.
"Jack, you need to pay attention." North said in his thick, Russian accent.
"Pay attention? To what? It's pointless; you might as well be saying, 'blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.' Oh wait, that is what I'm hearing." Jack said dully, fully hating this monthly meeting.
North muttered something under his breath in Russian.
"You don't even know what we're talking about, do you?" North asked.
"Nope!" Jack smiled, closing his eyes, and put his feet up on the table. North sighed.
"We were talking about our yearly fighting test." North said flatly.
Jack opened one eye, suddenly intrigued.
"Go on." Jack said, opening his other eye.
"Well, once every year, all Guardians get together to train. Then we each have test; to make sure we are all in shape, and ready to protect the children of the world." North smirked. "But of course, you aren't interested in any form of meeting we have."
"Wait! No." Jack bolted upright, "I mean, I'm interested in this particular meeting."
"Oh, will see about that, after I beat the cold out of ya'." Bunny remarked.
Jack gasped, pretending to be offended. "Is that a challenge cotton tail?" Jack asked, faking a menacing look by frowning and pointing his staff in Bunny's face.
Bunny shoved the staff away, and just smiled mischievously. "You bet, Snowball."
"Oh, it's on!" Jack chuckled darkly.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Tooth said, flitting between the two. "Hold up! Let's save the smack-talk for the real deal, okay? Besides, we all know that I can beat both of your butts." Tooth smirked. Bunny and Jack smiled in Tooth's direction before facing each other again.
"Alright, but I will take you down, Frost." Bunny said.
"Is that so?"
"Good!" North clapped his hands together loudly, grabbing everyone's attention. "When should we start training? Any ideas? Sandy?"
The golden, little man made a picture of a calendar and zoomed in on a particular day.
"Tomorrow you say? Very well. There is no sense in you all going home then. That is why we built you all special rooms, just in case." North smiled.
They all agreed except Tooth.
"I can't leave my fairies to do all that work by themselves! At least not without telling them I'll be gone." She protested.
Jack just smiled, You work too hard Tooth. He thought.
"Then go tell them then come back. Tooth Palace is not far from here." North suggested. Tooth continued to frown as she thought about it. She sighed, and sunk from the air to stand on her feet.
"Fine." She said, through gritted teeth.
"Great! See you all in the morning." North began walking away, but he stopped next to Jack. He leaned down to Jack's height and whispered, "Follow her. Make sure she comes back, or she'll just work all night." Jack nodded, then North left.
Tooth shivered slightly at the weather around her.
"I'll go home, make sure things are going okay, tell the fairies what's going on, help them a little, and then hurry back here. Everyone will think I came right back, no biggie." Tooth said aloud.
"Aha!"
Tooth nearly jumped out of her feathers, when she heard someone shout from above her. She squinted, trying to see who was there in the dark sky. Then a familiar figure flew out of the cover of a cloud.
"Jack?"
"Hello, Tooth. North said you probably wouldn't come back. I guess he was right. He always seems to be, doesn't he?" Jack said, fully emerging into the moonlight. It seemed to make his snow white hair glow, and his smile sparkle. Tooth struggled to keep the frown tight on her lips.
"Yes, he does. But you don't have to follow me." Tooth said.
"Really Tooth?" Jack smirked.
"Honest, I'll come back." Tooth said, a sweet smile on her lips.
"Hmmmm. Yah, not buying it. Sorry, looks like you're stuck with me!" Jack grinned. Tooth groaned and continued flying in the direction of Tooth Palace as Jack stubbornly followed her all the way. But, when he wasn't looking she smiled.
Jack sighed contentedly as he watched Tooth talk to her fairies. Her feathers gleamed in the steady moonlight, making the colors even brighter. Her large, pretty, purple eyes seemed to glow in the dark like a cat's. Jack snapped out of his daze when he realized that Tooth had shifted from talking, to giving orders.
"Alright, Tooth. That enough. Time to go back to the North Pole." Jack flew over to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention. And boy it did. Tooth glanced down at Jack's hand and blushed. Jack saw this and bit his lip to try not to laugh, but he didn't take his hand away. That made Tooth blush a bit more before she shrugged his hand off.
"Not yet. Just a little longer." Tooth turned the opposite direction.
"No Tooth, we're going back now." Jack said with a chuckle, grabbing her hand before she could fly away. He turned her around and grabbed her other hand; Jack smiled, knowing what her reaction would be. Jack looked into Tooth's eyes. "You need a break. You work too hard, Tooth."
Jack could feel her pulse growing faster through the palms of her hands. He smiled and tapped her nose with his finger. A sparkle appeared before her eyes and the corners of her mouth turned upward. A small, suppressed giggle escaped her lips. Jack's heart warmed at her happiness, and his stomach flipped at the sight of her smile.
Tooth then gave him and accusing glare, but she still smiled, unable to fully shake off his affect on her.
"Did you really just try to use that trick on me?" She asked.
"Yes," He said proudly. "And I think it worked."
Jack winked at her before pulling her high into the air.
The cool wind blew Jack's hair around as he breathed in deeply. The sensation of winter's air, the refreshing wind, flying, and holding Tooth's warm hand in his own washed over him.
Wait…. Holding Tooth's hand? He suddenly lost memory of when he had made such a bold move. His feelings were clouding his judgement. How had he procured the audacity to do that in the first place? Yes, he wasn't afraid to do something scary for a bit of fun, but what he had just done was in an entirely different category. One he had never thought that he would ever explore. Then Jack remembered he'd touched her shoulder, and he grabbed both her hands. Jack was inwardly banging his head against a wall. What was he thinking?! Jack groaned.
"Is something wrong, Jack?" Tooth asked. Jack looked at her and then down to their hands.
"No, nothing's wrong." Jack took his hand back. He drifted away a little, and stuffed his hands in his hoodie's pocket. Jack tensed when he felt Tooth dig in his pocket for his hand. He allowed her to grab it, and he intertwined his fingers with hers. His breath hitched in his throat before he gazed down at her and smiled, relaxing. Tooth smiled back, and gave his hand a squeeze.
North smiled once he saw Jack and Tooth come into view. He saw that they were holding hands, and their shoulders were touching. He chuckled. He had sent Jack out to follow Tooth, because she was most likely going work the night away, instead of coming back to the North Pole like she was supposed to. She had good intentions, but sometimes, she just needed to take a break. But North had another reason that he sent specifically Jack. Actually two reasons. One being that he knew Jack had feelings for the feathered fairy, and that Tooth felt the same way. And two being that Jack was probably the only one that would actually be able to convince her to come back, mainly because of reason number one.
"Hand over the money, Aster." North said smugly.
"What?!" The giant rabbit jumped up from his sitting spot to look out the window. "Blimey! How did you know?"
North smiled, and laughed, "I could feel it, in my belly!"
"Alright everyone! Pick a weapon."
Jack quickly found his way to the cabinet with glass doors. He opened it and pulled out the recurve bow. Sleek black arrows rested against the side of the case, but he left them inside.
"Are you sure you want to use that?" North asked.
"Trust me, you'll wish I didn't pick it." Jack said, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.
"Well, let's get going then." North said, leading them to the training room.
"Quick question, how come I was never shown this room?" Jack asked, scanning the walls. It was a very large room. The walls were tall, and painted black. A rope hung from the rafters in one corner. Each wall had one large, narrow window in the center spanning from floor to roof. The floor was hard, except some sections that had thick mats on it for sparring. Target dummies lined the west wall, some looked like they had seen better days. To his right, in the corner was a new looking punching bag. The other remaining corner was filled with exercise and other training equipment.
"Because, I didn't think that you would care." North said.
"Well, you obviously don't know me. Another thing to being alone and having centuries of extra time on your hands is that you develop many hobbies. And I mean many. One of them being working out and training. This place is awesome."
Ok, let's begin, shall we? We already know how we all fight and what stage in training were at, except for you, Jack. So how about you go first. Don't worry about being perfect, we just need to know where to start with you."
"Uh, huh. Ok, I'll do my best, but I can't promise anything spectacular." Jack said, smiling to himself once he turned around.
"And…Go!"
Ice began to sprout from Jack's hand to form and arrow. He swiftly notched it and shot it into the dead center of one of the practice dummies. In under ten seconds flat, all twenty of them were downed with rapid fire, all identical to the one before it, an icy arrow to the heart. Jack turned around, to find all four of his comrades staring at him in disbelief. He started and was finished in lightning speed.
"Anything else?" He asked, a serious mask on his face. It was true that he loved fun, but when it came to combat one was required to utilize control, restraint, and a serious attitude, or someone could get killed. He'd learned the hard way, that fun, the thrilling rush of adrenaline pumping through his veins, never outweighed safety. And someone else's demise was never fun either.
"H-h-how did you do that?" Tooth asked, breaking the silence.
"Lots and lots of practice." Jack said, a smile peeking from under his controlled face.
"But, where did you learn to shoot like that?" She asked, still shocked.
"It's a long story, Tooth. Maybe another time." He said, pushing aside the uncomfortable feeling growing in the back of his mind.
"Um, Jack, how about you take the strength and endurance test. Then will take a break before we move on. Tomorrow, we will start everyone's training." North suggested.
Jack nodded, then made his way over to the weights.
Tooth was shocked beyond words. She stood with the rest of her friends as they watched Jack bench press like crazy, and climb the rope five times in two minutes. He probably would have beaten the punching bag to a pulp if they hadn't stopped him. He also did many pull ups, sit ups, pushups, and the list goes on and on. This is insane!
Jack came up to them. He was sweaty, but it was quickly turning to frost, which fell off like snow. "How was that?" He said, slightly breathless.
"Th-that was great!" North said.
"Great? That was bloody crazy!" Bunny said, handing Jack a bottle of water.
"Uh, thanks I guess." Jack said. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I am absolutely starving. Let's eat!"
"Of course." North said, but his expression showed that he was suspicious of Jack. Tooth was also wondering how on earth Jack was so…so…whatever you want to call it. But Jack either didn't notice everyone's skepticism, or he really didn't care. Either way, he didn't seem to be bothered by it, at least Tooth thought he wasn't. But earlier, when he was shooting the bow, he had become so serious, which wasn't like him at all. And when she had asked him about it, he had gotten this look in his eyes like he was hiding something. And that something was probably more significant than anybody thought.
Jack kept a smile plastered on his face, but on the inside he was slightly panicking. Maybe this whole training thing was a bad idea. Maybe he should fake being sick or injured to get out of it or something. It's not like he could hide his skills now that he showed off. Why did he do that? I'm so stupid! Jack mentally face palmed. He could tell that everyone was wondering what the heck was going on, but they were all trying to be polite about it, for now. Eventually they were going to ask questions, and that was bad. He would have to tell them eventually. Well, he didn't have to, but lying seemed like a really bad idea.
It'd been several days since they had started the training, and everyone was doing quite well. Jack however excelled at everything that was thrown at him. Next week, one-on-one sparring was coming, and everyone was a little nervous to face Jack. So far nobody had asked any more questions along the lines of Jack's advanced skills, out loud any ways. He knew that every time he did something, they were asking questions in their head. And a part of him longed to explain everything to them. But it just didn't seem like the right time, nor did it seem all that important in the grand scheme of things. It was apparent to him, however, that they did not know everything about him like they had originally assumed.
Tooth stirred from her sleep. She listened carefully, trying to figure out what had woken her. She heard footsteps in the hall. They would soon pass by her door, if her hearing was correct. Tooth got up quietly and made her way over to the door. She cracked it open, just a sliver, and saw Jack, with his hood over his head, looking down. His staff was slung over his shoulders. She watched him before he disappeared around the corner.
Carefully and slowly, Tooth followed quite a ways behind him until he stopped and entered the training room. Why would he be going in there? And at this time of night? It's not like he needs extra practice or anything!
Tooth carefully situated herself in the shadows, concealing her bright, colorful feathers. She felt a little guilty, spying on him and all, but he was acting strange. In fact all week, he had been acting strange. Of course he was still his normal self, but not during training. And even out of training, he seemed to be guarding something. Hiding behind his usual fun-loving self.
By now, he had taken his hoodie off, his pale skin glowing in the moonlight streaming in from the windows. She watched as he wrapped his hands to protect them from punching the large, leather bag. He placed his feet a shoulder width apart and, like a gun going off, he let out a flurry of punches. Side-jabs, upper-cuts. He didn't stop nor did he slow down. She swallowed hard as she saw his muscles move under his skin, trying hard to ignore the feeling she felt fluttering in her stomach. It was odd really, of course he had muscles, but he wasn't as muscled as one would think considering all of the things he was capable of. It wasn't human, so it must be the magic part of him, or something else that allowed him such strength without the appearance of such. His lithe body moved so quickly about the punching bag.
But just as quickly as he had started, he stopped. Silence and stillness followed, and Tooth was tempted to reveal herself. But before she could, he screamed suddenly. Shouted really. He sounded angry. And he sounded… distraught. Concern and sadness griped her heart at the sight of him. He fell to his knees, and began pounding his fists into the ground, all the while shouting something. They were words, but she couldn't tell what. He stopped pounding, and just leaned his head against the punching bag, his arms limp at his sides. He took a deep, shuddering breath. Suddenly he spoke, and Tooth could hear him clearly.
"Why? Why can't anything be simple? I mean, really, it is. I should just tell them. It's not all that big of a deal. But why does it feel like it is? You did what you had to, right? No, you idiot, it is a big deal! Why am I trying to downplay it like it's nothing? But they would have killed you or worse if you hadn't. But what right did I have? Sure, I'm immortal and gifted by the man in the moon, but what right do I have to take a life? What right?!" He said, shouting his last sentence angrily.
Tooth felt tears forming in her eyes. Had Jack killed someone? Had someone tried to kill him? What had happened? To think that something like this was unknown to her and her fellow guardians. That Jack, although he wasn't alone, was still fighting this battle with himself alone. Why hadn't he told them? Tooth's breath hitched in her throat.
Jack's head snapped towards the door. He had heard something like a hiccup coming from that direction. He cleared his throat and said, "Who's there?"
Slowly, Tooth emerged from the shadows by the door, her face cast downward.
"How much of that did you hear?" He asked, although he knew that if she had heard any of it, she'd heard enough.
"All of it." She mumbled.
Jack ran his hands over his face, trying to think of how he was going to explain this to her. Tooth came over to him, and placed a hand on his forearm.
"I need to know what happened. And I need you to know, that whatever did happen, I am not going to judge you. I- I will always be here for you."
Jack nodded his head without making eye contact. Tooth grabbed his hand and lead him over to one of the benches nearby. Jack cleared his throat, and finally looked at her.
"A long time ago, before I really knew much about my powers, I ran into a couple of spirits who didn't particularly like me. They would beat me up from time to time, physically and mentally. I was always so afraid of running into them. I would delay bringing winter because I knew they would be able to track me down just by following the trail of snow and blizzards. I would hide myself in an ice cave for such long periods of time that my pent up powers would make me sick. Eventually, I had to go and deliver winter. Sure enough, every time they found me and beat me."
"One day though, I decided that I had had enough, and I tried to fight back. I had no idea what I was doing, and I only made it worse. I had made them angry, and I was to regret my retaliation. They beat me till I bled, they broke my bones; tortured me. They said all the things that they knew I was thinking. That I was worthless, that all I did was bring death and destruction. I deserved to be tortured; I was a murderer."
"They hid me, and tortured me for weeks, until one day they brought me out to a pond. The pond from which I came. They knew, somehow they knew just how to destroy me from the inside. They taunted me, colored the ice with my blood, and then held me under the ice and water. They tried to drown me. When I passed out, they pulled me up and left me on the ice to die."
"When I woke up, I certainly thought I was going to die. But the Wind picked me up and brought me to my ice cave, my 'home' you could call it I guess. I was able to slowly heal, surrounded my element. Once I was well, I became filled with hatred and rage. I swore that I would never feel that helpless again, and that those spirits would pay for what they'd done. I went in search of someplace where I could learn to defend myself. I found plenty of things that would be great for any human to defend themselves against another human, but nothing that could help me. Until I discovered Nanda Parbat, a hidden city on the mountain Tibet, a part of the Hindu Kush mountain range."
"It was the home of the League of Assassins. These people are the most dangerous group on the earth. I could not undergo all of the training, because to them I wasn't even there. However, I watched closely, for years, and practiced until I could mirror their every move. These people, however strange and dangerous, taught me how to defend myself. I learned how to fight, how to handle any weapon, and how to escape any confinement. After decades of training, I was finally ready to face my enemies. I created the biggest storm I'd ever made. The infamous Blizzard of '68 that Aster is constantly griping about. Just as I had thought, the spirits showed up, ready to put the beating on me. I hadn't meant to do any permanent damage. All I wanted to do was show them that I was not to be messed with again. But once they realized what I was capable of, they came at me with full force, all of them at once. In order to defend myself, I combined my powers with my skills, something I had only tampered with. I was in a fit of rage, adrenaline, the strength of my powers pushing my body and mind into overdrive; the will to survive, and my instinct to fight to the finish. "
"When it was all over, there was blood all over me. Their blood. Their bodies lay limp and lifeless on the cold, freezing ground. I had proven their words true, I was murderer." Jack looked away from Tooth to his hands, his voice came as a whisper. "I killed them. I killed all of them. And they weren't just men spirits, but women too. I didn't want to kill anybody."
"Jack…" Tooth reached out for his hands, but he jerked them away, separating himself from her.
"Don't touch me." He said, his words laced with disgust for himself. He held his clenched hands to his chest. "You shouldn't be near me."
With that, Jack stood up and walked out, leaving Tooth alone, his name ready on her lips, but somehow she couldn't say it.
Tooth didn't sleep the rest of the night. She tossed and turned, processing the story that Jack had told her. It was horrible. Why would anyone hurt him like those spirits had? It was awful that Jack was basically forced to become a killer. He was only defending himself right? Could he have prevented their deaths and still lived? Had he become uncontrollable? The Blizzard of '68. No wonder every time Bunny mentions it, a spark of pain comes to Jack's eyes.
When morning came, she got ready and headed for the training room. Everyone was there. She looked at Jack, but he kept his eyes away from hers. The entire day, he did not say a word to her. Really, he didn't say a word to anyone unless it was necessary. He kept a neutral face the whole time. This continued for the rest of the week. When the final day came for the competition, he still showed no emotion. By then, everyone knew that something had happened. It was apparent that Tooth was connected as well. It didn't matter how many times somebody asked, Jack would always shrug, say that he was fine, and move on. He was like a robot.
Tooth's heart ached. It ached for herself, because she longed to be close to him, and to comfort him. And it ached for him because she knew that he couldn't handle being so alone again. And that is exactly what he was doing. He was shutting people out, because being alone is what he is used to.
Just as everyone expected, Jack won the competition. But it still did not change his demeanor. That night, they had a special feast to celebrate the end of training and to honor the winner, Jack. Tooth stared at him from the opposite side of the table as she watched him pick at his food. He hadn't eaten any of it. That is it! I can't handle this anymore. I'm done!
Tooth stood up abruptly, and slammed her hand on the table, causing everyone to jump.
"JACK FROST! I have had just about enough! Are you going to go on like this forever? You need to get over yourself, and come back to us! Do you think, that just because you were alone all those years, and had deal with your problems by yourself, it means that you always have to fight alone? Well, you're wrong. You had better quit shutting us out, shutting me out, or I'm gonna pry my way in there myself!"
Silence followed. They could hear the wind pick up until it howled outside and caused the windows to rattle. Everyone glanced back and forth between her and Jack, eyes wide. Finally, Jack broke the silence.
"I don't think you understand. I can't handle being around you, knowing that you know who I really am." Jack said, his words escaping through his clenched teeth. But Tooth could see that he was close to his breaking point. His eyes glistened with tears, and his face was tight. By this time, the rest of the guardians were making their way out the door. Tooth marched over to Jack.
"Who you really are? You think that you are a monster, right? That no one should get close to you because you don't deserve anything but suffering. Well, once again you are wrong! You are the spirit of fun! You make people laugh, you brighten everyone's day. You have been through many bad situations, but they shaped you into you. You make everyone happy, so that they don't ever feel what you have. You don't care that you hurt; only that you make everyone else's pain disappear. You're selfless, and that is what I love about you." Tooth said, her voice now gentle. She placed her hand on his shoulder. His mouth was pressed into a thin line. Tears spilled down his pale cheeks. She could have nearly cheered when he looked her straight in the eyes. He nodded his head, accepting her words.
Tooth flung her arms around him. At first he was stiff, unsure of what to do, until at last he encircled his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, burying his head into her neck. His body shook with silent sobs, and as they clung to each other, they sank to the ground together. She let him cry his heart out. Tears streaming down his face. He had finally looked at her, allowing her to see his eyes. They say that the eyes were the window to the soul. His soul was a mess. He was filled with so much pain, doubt, and longing. The longing; it was the worst. The longing to be held, to be comforted, to feel loved, to not be alone, to confide in somebody, and to share the weight of his ever growing burdens.
But now, he didn't have to long anymore. All of the feelings that he had pent up, all of the reservations that he had had; he let them go for the first time in his entire life. Never had he felt so exposed, allowing his wounds to be opened and viewed, but he had also never felt so relieved. He had never felt so alive either. For once, he didn't feel the need to hide, cover up, and attempt to numb himself.
After he had stopped crying, Jack pulled his face up and looked at Tooth. Her eyes held compassion, and a different kind of longing. He saw the growing love.
"Tooth?" He said, his voice hoarse. "Why would-"
He was immediately cut off by her lips pressing against his. It was just a quick kiss. Jack looked at her, a rush of emotions flooded his brain. His stomach flip-flopped inside. She blushed and looked away.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that." She said.
Jack grabbed her face and pulled it close to his. "Don't ever be sorry for that." He said, his heart thumping in his chest. He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers. Electricity pulsed through his body, and he longed for more. Tooth reacted and kissed him back. Not too fiercely, and not too gentle. His mouth fit perfectly against hers. He could taste their salty tears. She ran her fingers through his hair as he put his hands on the small of her back. He pulled her body against his. It was like they couldn't get close enough to each other. They finally broke their lips apart, drawing in sharp, deep gasps of air.
"Thank you." Jack said, their lips touching as he spoke. Tooth rested her hands against his chest.
"What for?"
"For saving me from the other me."