"Good! You got him!" North boomed as Sandy and Jack flew in.
"Great," Bunny said sarcastically, not looking up from his eggs.
Tooth was busy talking to her fairies, directing them and receiving news. She did, however, glance at Jack and wave.
"So. Now we're all here. Let's talk," North said cheerfully.
No one paid him any attention.
"Bunny, no eggs."
"Preparations will fall behind, mate!"
"Tooth, hands out of mouth."
"But they're so pretty!"
"Jack, stop freezing the yeti's fur. They complain nonstop."
"..."
"Jack…"
"What? I only froze them a little!"
North sighed. His fellow Guardians were not listening. And Sandy… Sandy was sleeping, so he supposed that was alright.
Wait. They were supposed to be bonding, not just not making trouble.
"Sandy, get up!"
"Alright," North said finally, when everyone was settled. "Let's talk."
To his dismay, Bunny spoke up. "What's that on your face, frostbite? Fancy yourself a pirate or something?"
Jack rolled his eyes. "Haha, very funny kangaroo. No, Jaimie gave it to me last Halloween."
Bunny scoffed. "That was months ago. What're you doing wearing it now?"
The boy pressed a hand to his heart, looking hurt. "Looking cool never goes outta style, Bunny. Being cute and fluffy on the other hand…"
"DID YOU JUST CALL ME CUTE?!"
North sighed as they started going at each other.
To his surprise, it is Sandy who breaks them up.
As per usual, with an elf.
The unusual thing about it was that the elf was not shaken, but rather thrown.
Into Bunny's face.
Jack instantly started laughing. "He got you, cottontail!"
"What was that for?" Bunny said incredulously.
Sandy formed an image of a clock ticking.
"I am not wasting time!" Bunny said indignantly. "I am…"
"We are trying to conduct meeting, Bunny," North said, choosing to cut in before things go downhill once more. "But since we make no progress, let's have dinner, then cookies. Sound good?"
Tooth looked up from her fairies. "Don't forget to floss!" she blurted out.
When they all stared at her, she smiled sheepishly. "Sorry - all I heard was cookies. What?"
Soon they were all seated at a large table, a feast spread out before them. North, Bunny, Santa, and Sandy are all enjoying the food.
"Why do you not eat?" North asked when he noticed Jack hasn't touched anything.
Jack blinked, then grinned. "Not hungry."
North held out a cookie. "Eat."
Jack's grin wavered slightly, but he replied, "Not hungry."
Bunny glanced up, chewing on a rabbit. "Sure you aren't, mate. Just eat already, will you?"
"No."
This solemn statement caught all of their attention, something Jack clearly hadn't intended to happen.
"I mean… I ate. With… Jaimie. He'd slipped me food. So… I'm full."
The lie was so obvious none of them acknowledged it. If anything, North grabbed another cookie and was now holding two towards the young Guardian.
"If you make me eat more than I can handle, I'll throw up."
North put one cookie back. "Just eat one, Jack. To save us the worry."
Sandy nodded vigorously.
They all saw Jack's eyes twitch - he'd removed the eyepatch earlier, so they saw both reactions - but the boy took it and nibbled on it slightly.
"Swallow, mate," Bunny said, smirking. It was plain to see he was enjoying the young Guardian's discomfort. Jack shot a scowl before he took a large bite.
Instantly he gagged, barely managing to swallow.
"What's wrong?" Tooth cried.
Jack laughed weakly. "Your… cookies are terrible, North. Which yeti made them?"
"Phil," North said, eyeing the boy. "And he is good cook. What is wrong?"
Jack shrugged, then protested as the half-eaten cookie was snatched from his hand. "Hey!"
Bunny was the culprit, breaking off the unbitten part of the cookie and tasting it.
Slowly he turned to Jack, one eyebrow raised. "This tastes just fine, mate. What, do you just not like cookies or something?"
Jack was still for a moment.
"Yeah. I don't like sweet things."
"Then why did you not tell me?" North demanded, now holding out a leg of chicken.
"I thought I only had to eat the cookie!" Jack protested.
North laughed. "You did not finish, Bunny here did. Means you have to eat more."
"Oh, so just because cottontail here took my cookie, now I have to eat chicken? Come on, him eating half the cookie is just as irrelevant as Easter!"
"Hey! Easter is one of the most important holidays of the year!"
"I thought Christmas was the most important. Right, North?"
"Christmas is most important!"
"North! Don't agree with frostbite here!"
"Why not? Is true!"
Tooth and Sandy watched as the three got caught up in their own world.
