Title: Fear
Pairing(s): Hints of JackxTooth
Genre: Humor
Summary: In which the Guardians learn Jack is not quite as fearless as he pretends to be.
Disclaimer: I own none of the characters, only the story itself.
A/N: This chapter was, quite frankly, a bitch to write. I wanted so badly to write a one-shot about Jack's fear of fire (a personal headcannon of mine) but I wasn't quite sure how. Hopefully I pulled it off!
There were not many things Jack Frost was afraid of.
Jack was notorious for his recklessness and irresponsibility. More often than naught, he had to get himself out of the stickiest situations. North's personal favorite story was the time Jack, by pure accident, got drunk on Christmas. No Guardian will ever forget the uproarious chaos that took place that year, except for Jack who has no memory of the night. He sure remembers the hangover, though.
However, there were times when Jack made sure to be cautious, for he was not entirely fearless. There were a few things he very much liked to avoid as best as he could. Being the Spirit of Winter, fires of any sort happened to be one of them.
The other Guardians had always sort of known without really realizing it. Jack always stood the farthest away from fireplaces. He never really seemed too fond of candles. He was never caught hanging around a bonfire on a chilly night, despite the laughter and games that usually drew the guardian of fun in.
It was only natural that flames drove him away. He was anything but warmth. Jack was the frost that covered your window in the early morning hours. Jack was the cold, biting wind that forced you to hug your jacket a little bit tighter. Jack was the first snowfall of the year, and the last just before spring. Jack was the nip at your nose and the chill in your bones. Jack Frost was the very contradiction of fire.
It was a cold Christmas morning. Jack was on his way north, while also making sure to give every town he could on the way their Christmas miracle...snow. He couldn't make it snow everywhere like he would have wanted to, with the need for balance and all, but he liked to bring as much snow on Christmas as he could.
Jack returned to his feet just outside of Santoff Clausen. He smirked and gave a nod to Phil, who grunted and returned his gesture with a glare. Just because Frost was allowed to be in Santoff Clausen now, didn't mean Phil had to like it. Jack had caused (and continues to cause) way too much trouble for Phil to have any sort of friendly feelings towards the winter spirit.
Jack made his way past the yeti and into the main entrance. Ignoring the unpleasant blast of heat that greeted him, he made his way through the workshop until he found the rather large sitting room where the rest of the Guardians had already gathered.
It had become a sort of tradition that the spirits met on major holidays and feasted together. Sure, none of them really needed to eat, being immortal and all, but they could still enjoy the flavors and tastes and textures of their favorite meals. With that being said, every year on Christmas and Easter, after North or Bunnymund had finished their annual duties, they could all be found at the Pole enjoying dinner together in North's huge dining hall.
"Jack!" Tooth exclaimed, noticing his quiet entrance. "The yetis are almost done with dinner. Come sit by the fire." She patted the spot next to her on the small couch she was curled up on with a cup of hot chocolate, smiling sweetly at him. North was passed out in a rocking chair next to her, snoring loudly, while Bunnymund and Sandy were absorbed in their rather competitive game of chess. Sometimes it startled Jack just how normal these figures of legend could act when they were off duty.
Jack's gaze shifted to the enormous fireplace mere feet away from the couch Tooth was lounging on, sourly noticing how the flames reached as high as his staff. Pulling his hood down, he shook his head. "It's a little too hot over there for me, Tooth." He replied with a shrug, leaning up against the wall next to a window, which frosted over beautifully the second he was near it. Tooth frowned.
"It's not like you're gonna melt, Frosty." Bunnymund commented before groaning as Sandy danced in place. Jack guessed he had been the victor of the two. This theory was confirmed when he grabbed Bunny's king and threw it to the ground as though he had just scored a touchdown.
Jack laughed, surprised by how competitive Sandy apparently was. Bunnymund shot him a glare. "Don't encourage him, mate!" He snapped, grabbing his king off the ground and setting the board back up for another round.
Still chuckling, Jack glanced over at Toothina, surprised to see her staring at him. She had her arms crossed over the back of the couch and she leaned against it, her knees digging into the cushions. He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Do I have something on my face?" He asked playfully with a slight smirk. Tooth smiled and shook her head.
"No, I was just thinking…" she answered quietly, tilting her head to the side. "You really don't like fire, do you Jack?"
Jack rolled his eyes, continuing to smirk at her. "It's not that I don't like fire, I just think that being cold beats being warm any day."
It was Tooth's turn to roll her eyes. "Whateeeeever you say, Jack." She giggled, still eyeing him suspiciously.
They were interrupted by an irritated shout from Bunnymund, and looked over just in time to see a laughing Sandy dodge a blow from the sore loser as Bunny swung his large paw at him. This scream startled North, whose snores stuttered and he shot up into an upright position, mumbling about being under attack. Jack and Tooth snickered to themselves, and North shot them a groggy glare once he realized there wasn't a threat.
Just then, Phil threw the door open to the dining hall and yelled some very loud gibberish. "Ah!" North exclaimed, pulling himself to his feet. "Is time for eating!"
He led the way through the door; Sandy and Bunny following close behind. With a wink, Jack held the door open for Tooth, giving her a quiet "after you", causing the flustered fairy to blush as she hurried into the dining hall. Chuckling, Jack followed and sat down next to her.
"Wow…" she breathed, taking everything in as she gazed around the long table. It was covered in all sorts of food that ran the gamut from turkey to ham, mashed potatoes and gravy to cranberry sauce, rolls to corn on the cob, salads to green beans, stuffing to cobbler. It was, quite simply, a feast fit for kings.
"All looks good Phil!" North beamed, rubbing his hands together as he licked his lips. The other Guardians murmured their agreements and wasted no time in reaching in every direction for food to add to their plates.
Laughter and stories and jokes filled the room, and if you didn't pay attention to who was eating (a large Russian, a white-haired teenager, a fairy, a little man made of sand, and an over-sized rabbit) you easily could have mistaken the scene for a very normal Christmas dinner.
It wasn't long before Phil and a few other yetis began to carry out the desserts. The empty plates were removed and replaced with every kind of pie you could imagine, along with ice cream, cakes, fudge and chocolate covered strawberries.
Finally there was only one clear spot left on the table, and that spot happened to be in front of Jack. Phil came out of the kitchen one last time, carrying what looked like a large white cake. The Guardians 'ooed' and 'awwed' as they marveled at the scrumptious looking dessert covered in meringue, and Jack licked his lips as it was set down inches from his face.
Bunnymund eyed the cake excitedly. "Mmm Baked Alaska, my favorite!"
"Baked Alaska?" Jack asked, glancing up at Bunny, clearly never hearing of the dessert before. Momentarily distracted, he failed to notice Phil pulling a lighter out and holding it up to the cake. Startled by the sudden heat in front of him, he glanced back down just in time to see the dessert ignite into flames.
In reaction to the fire so very close to his face, Jack let out a scream that resembled that of a young girls'. He flipped the entire table out of panic, sending its contents all over those gathered in the dining hall, and flew out of the window before anyone had even realized what had happened.
He left behind the remaining food-covered Guardians who were laughing harder than they ever had before, along with an infuriated Phil.
From that day on, Jack's irrational fear of fire was no longer a secret.
A/N: Tell me what you think! Hopefully the next installment won't take quite as long.
Also, while I might not be able to get to all of them, please let me know if you have any requests or ideas!
Thanks for reading!