Legends Live Forever, But Not So Little Boys
A/N: Got my inspiration for this from the song "Puff The Magic Dragon". I used to love this song as a kid, even though it was really sad. I used to think, at the end, that Jackie died, but having listened to it recently and applied it to Rise Of The Guardians, I now see it more as Jackie just loses his belief.
If you put Jack in the place of Puff and Jamie in the place of Jackie, then listen to the last verses of the song, you can see where I'm coming from.
Well anyway I hope you like this.
~~::.::~~
Jack grinned as he swooped through the streets of Burgess. It was finally winter in his hometown again, which meant it was time to make a long overdue visit to Jamie. Over the past 8 years, the boy had grown, and with high school and college came homework in the bucketload. Adding that to Jack having a couple more responsibilities than before now he was an official Guardian meant that it had been a very long while since the two had really been able to spend time together. But Jack was going to change that today; Burgess was long overdue a succession of snow days.
He pulled up at the window to Jamie's bedroom and landed deftly on the windowsill. Inside he could see the teenager pulling on his school uniform and searching for a few items around his room.
"Hey, Jamie, long time no see." He grinned, dropping himself in through the slightly open window. Jamie didn't turn to acknowledge him but Jack didn't notice, instead walking into the room, his staff balancing easily on his shoulder. "I was thinking of setting you up for a couple of snow days, whatcha say?"
Jack turned to look at Jamie, ready for the approval, but Jamie still hadn't responded or even turned to look at Jack, instead rifling through the papers on his desk in search of a particular assignment. Jack simply rolled his eyes.
"Ah come on, I know it's been a while, but that's no reason to give me the cold shoulder." Jack chuckled slightly at his own choice of words, but slowly the happiness fell from his face as Jamie continued to ignore him. "Hey, come on Jamie-"
Jack gave a sharp intake of breath as Jamie grabbed his schoolbag, slung it over his shoulder, and then walked straight through him. He paused for a moment, breathing heavily and rapidly as he tried to comprehend what had just happened. Jamie... had walked through him. He hadn't heard his voice, or seen him, and he'd walked through him like he didn't exist.
So... that meant...
"No..." Jack whispered quietly. "No!"
He raced out of Jamie's room, following him downstairs and shouting after him.
"Jamie! Hey, this isn't funny, come on, talk to me!" he yelled. No acknowledgement. "I swear I will throw a snowball right in your face!"
Jack overtook Jamie in the hallway and stood in front of him, arms spread wide, blocking his way forward.
"At least look at me! Jamie!"
Jamie's eyes never focused on Jack, and he once again walked through him. The realisation hit the Guardian heavily, like a blow to the stomach, almost making him double over.
Jamie didn't believe anymore.
Jack ran back up the stairs and out of the window of Jamie's bedroom. The wind rushed to catch him, and started carrying him to his lake.
~~::.::~~
The Guardians noticed the snowstorm brewing around Burgess with a hint of worry. Jack had set off from their company joyfully, announcing that he was going to see Jamie. But this sort of storm was not for creating snow days; this was the winter weather preparing to make the wind howl and the snow come fast and thick.
"What could possibly have happened? Snowflake's probably just being moody about somethin'." Bunnymund muttered. Toothiana was fluttering around nervously, her fingers twisting around themselves, a worried frown on her face.
"This looks to be a big storm if it keeps going like this." She fretted. "Jack wouldn't kick up such a big storm for not reason – and in Burgess, too? Something's wrong."
"What could be wrong?" North asked her. "Jack went to play with Jamie. Two are fast friends. What would be cause for upset?"
"North's right. Jack was plenty happy to go play with the kid, what would cause him to get so upset that he storms up a blizzard?"
Sandman waved at them all to get their attention, and flashed an image of young Jamie, as he had been when they first met him during their battle with Pitch, then a calendar with the pages rapidly flipping over, and finally Jamie as he was now, a tall teenage boy. It took a moment for the message to really sink in, but when it did Tooth gasped and Bunnymund and North both winced slightly.
"Jamie's growing up..." North nodded.
"So you think...?" Bunnymund asked uncertainly.
Sandman nodded, and showed sand-Jamie walking towards a sand-Jack, and then passing straight through him. Sand-Jack fell to his knees and curled up around himself.
"Oh no." Tooth murmured, reaching out slightly to the sand-Jack on instinct, before looking up at the others. "We've got to go and find him."
Everyone nodded solemnly, even Bunnymund, and Tooth flittered ahead of them on the way to the sleigh.
~~::.::~~
Jack was curled up on his lake, his face buried in his knees, one hand clasping tightly to his staff.
How could Jamie stop believing? Jamie Bennett, the Guardians' last believer, the boy who helped to save the world from Pitch's rule, the boy who believed in everything and refused to give that belief up – how could that same sweet, imaginative, cheerful boy forget his belief in one year? He'd talked to Jamie at the end of last winter, promising snow-days and time to spend together the following year. And when he'd come to fulfil that promise – Jamie was gone.
Jack had thought – hoped beyond hope – that Jamie would keep believing forever. That he'd still be laughing and playing at snowball fights with him for many years to come. He'd refused to think that Jamie would be like other children and grown out of his belief. It hadn't seemed possible.
But it was. Jamie hadn't seen him, or heard him; he'd walked straight through him.
Jamie walking through him had hurt more than all the times children had walked through him during his 300 years of solitude. It had always tugged at his heart, making it drop into his stomach and making his breath catch, but this time had been different – his heart had stopped, ceased to beat for a moment that seemed to stretch forever, the air that he tried to take in choking him like ice water.
Jamie was his first believer and Jack had loved him – the little boy had become like a younger brother to him. He'd loved him like he'd loved his sister. To suddenly be invisible to him was possibly the worst feeling Jack had ever experienced.
He was so lost in his thoughts and sorrows that he didn't hear the sleigh as it approached the lake and landed beside it. Tooth was the first out, looking around in worry to find the youngest Guardian, followed by Bunny, North and Sandman. Sandman pointed them over to the snowdrift Jack had half-buried himself in, and they all approached cautiously.
"Jack?" Tooth called out quietly, concern ringing in her tone. Jack blinked and looked up at them with clear blue eyes that didn't at all mask the pain and grief he felt. For a moment he just looked at them, before turning away to look at the snow in front of him.
"Jamie... he..." His voice was thick with emotion and for a moment he choked on a sob, before managing to whisper, softly "He doesn't believe in me anymore."
"Oh Jack." Tooth murmured, quickly flying over to him and pulling him to her chest. His cold fingers buried themselves in her feathers and he pushed his face against her shoulder, and as she wrapped her arms around him she could feel his chest heaving as he started to cry.
"We're sorry mate." Bunnymund muttered gruffly, reaching over to awkwardly pat his shoulder before shuffling backwards again.
"Losing first believer is hard." North nodded. Sandy nodded sadly, a broken heart appearing over his head although Jack couldn't see it. Tooth continued to hold onto Jack, stroking her fingers through his snow-white hair, not letting go even as the feathers on her shoulder were soaked with tears that slowly froze.
"It means you did a good job." She told him gently as he finally started to calm down, pulling him away slightly to look him in the eye. "He doesn't need us to protect him anymore. You did a good job, Jack."
"It still hurts." He choked, rubbing away the frosted tears on his cheeks. Tooth took him into her arms again, running her hands over his hair.
"We know Jack. We know."
~~::.::~~
Jack drifted down onto the familiar windowsill. Inside, the house was cozy and warm, all decorated for Christmas with bright lights and tree covered in ornaments and tinsel in the middle of the lounge. Inside, a family sat near the fire; a young, handsome man with brunette hair that fell slightly in his face and warm brown eyes that shone with kindness, opposite him a sweet woman with long auburn hair and a fond smile, and in his lap a small child of about two, who giggled in glee every time her father tickled her stomach.
Jamie Bennett looked out of the window and saw the snow falling softly, and smiled down at his daughter.
"Look Jackie, we're gonna have a white Christmas." He told the gurgling toddler, pointing out the window at the white flakes. The little girl blinked her big brown eyes and giggled.
"Snow!" she chirped happily.
"Yep! And you know who brings the snow?"
"Jack Fwost!" Jacqueline laughed, clapping her hands together. Jamie laughed with her and hoisted her up into his arms, making her squeal with delight.
"That's right!"
Jack chuckled fondly as he watched Jamie play with his daughter for a while longer before he took off to ice over his lake for the winter.
Tooth was right. He'd done a good job.
~~::.::~~
A/N: Hahaha I'm a cruel person I'm sorry.
I see a lot of stuff where Jamie still believes even into his 20s and stuff and as sweet as that is, you have to think realistically; Jamie's a kid, and kids grow up. Maybe he'd keep believing longer, but eventually he'd stop. And hey, that's a good thing. Kids believe in the Guardians because they need to be protected by them, and when they don't need them anymore, they stop believing. I think I actually saw that idea somewhere in a comic with Winnie the Pooh and that-tiger-I-don't-know-the-name-of-oops, and I really liked it and wanted to include that sort of message here.
Weeeeeellllllll I hope you likes it, read and review, yadda yadda, ciao-ciao.
*EDIT* I now know that the tiger is from Calvin and Hobbes, and here is the comic: post/35433554398/you-know-you-did-great-when-they- dont-need-you
Also, thank you to all the reviewers!