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Continuously waking up at five in the morning was going to break me one day.

Moaning in exhaustion, I tugged on my sleek black Under-Armor leggings and black cotton tee-shirt. I tried to be as quiet as possible so I wouldn't wake up the two snoring spirits next door. I have no clue how those two managed to fall asleep, both of them were snoring like grizzly bears.

Pulling on a fleecy, red zip up jacket, I went downstairs to try and chug down some crappy coffee before going to work. My poor car, Duff, was going to be in the shop for a few more days, so I was going to borrow Tara's giant Ford Expedition. I grabbed the keys she had lent me and got out of the house without disturbing the slumbering spirits.

I'm pretty sure I could run over half the town with this massive car before anyone could even try and stop me.

Getting into the seat was a quest in itself.

Careful of my half-awake state, I slowly drove to the firehouse with the music blasting. The screeching sound of Country calmed me and kept my attention, keeping me awake long enough so I wouldn't have two accidents in two days.

I pulled up to the brick firehouse five minutes before six, just like I promised Mace. Parking the massive car, I managed to drag my exhausted ass into the house.

"Aye-Windy!" Shep Hart, our engine's technician greeted me with a nickname as I closed the door behind me. Shep Hart was a good guy, if anything but a little too friendly and eager to please. He was tall, 6'2, with bright blonde hair and soft minty-green eyes. All in all, very handsome.

"Hey Hart, calm here?" I asked softly, sensing the sleepy atmosphere of the house as I grabbed my pair of fire resistant pants. I slipped the light brown and yellow striped pants on over my leggings right there in the kitchen before tugging off my shoes and jamming on my boots.

"Most definitely! Chief is up in the meeting room, and the only other ones here are Chau and Lottie, up in the nest." Shep said, nodding towards the stairs. The nest was the room lined with bed for when we need to sleep off excruciatingly long shifts, and Chau and Lottie were currently on their tenth hour.

"You gonna head up there?" Shep asked, pouring some coffee into a cup for me, already knowing my answer.

"You know if I go up there and sleep, it's gonna be ten times harder to wake up." I said, accepting the coffee with a small grin. The second cup of the day was always the best, since Shep was the one to make it instead of me. I wasn't a fan of the taste of coffee, but nothing else could wake me up.

"Salt, Tink, and Mase will be coming soon." Shep said, adding more coffee grinds to the machine to brew. God knows how much coffee that Noland, also known as Salt, could toss back on an early morning.

"Sounds good, Shep." I said before swallowing down the bitter brew with a slight grimace.

"If you hate that so much-why drink?"

I flinched a little at the new voice, turning my eyes but not my head to stare at the spirit beside me. One glance at Shep told me that he couldn't hear the spirit.

Thank Gods that one of us in the room is normal.

I cocked my brow at the silver haired spirit before nodding in Shep's direction. Frosty must understand that I can't talk to him in front of my housemate, he'd think I'm insane. Well..Shep might be nice enough to pretend to see Frosty too, just to make me happy.

"Ahhh..I see." Jack mused, his cyan eyes landing on Shep's back. Shep was at the sink, rinsing out old coffee cups, trying in vain to scrub the coffee stains out.

"Humans are so strange." Jack said in a bored tone and then floated out of his chair. The winter spirit floated above the table, before hanging upside down, his face inches from mine. The front door opened, and an exhausted looking Tink trudged in.

Tanner, nicknamed Tink, was our station's engineer. Half of the time the poor guy was exhausted, and the other half he was busy being socially awkward. But, he was a nice guy. His short black hair was always brushed smooth, his black eyes were never bloodshot red, and his olive skin was always clean-which is better than what I can say for most of the men in his house. Tink waved at us before lumbering off upstairs for a few more winks of sleep.

"I was expecting a fire house to be more…exciting." Jack said, frowning and furrowing his eyes as Tink marched up the creaky stairs. I gave him a blank stare as I brought my mug to my lips for another drag of bitter coffee.

"That smells so strange." Jack commented, sniffing in my cup's direction. I rolled my eyes, glancing at the clock.

"Shep?" I asked, peering around the spirit to look at the blonde man. Shep turned, his head perked up like a happy puppy. I guess it wasn't too often that I started conversations, and the blonde always perked up whenever I did.

"Do we have any of those cinnamon buns left?" I asked, reaching across the table to grab some fake creamer. Shep nodded, hopping towards the fridge to grab me one.

"Thanks, Shep." I said, as he handed me the warmed up pastry on a paper towel.

"No problem, Windy, thanks for making them for us." Shep sighed, a huge grin on his face.

"S'not a problem." I said, pouring a handful of the small creamers into my coffee before I could ravage my cinnamon bun.

"Huh, never imagined you as a baker." Frosty taunted, lounging in the air like he was an emperor: laying on his side, facing me, legs crossed and extended, his arms crossed behind his head, and his wooden crook leaning up against the back of my chair.

"Too..rough and tumble." Jack laughed, making me narrow my eyes in dislike. "I wasn't so sure that you were a girl before I saw your hair. And what's with the nickname, "Windy", sounds stupid to me."

I told myself not to listen to his taunting, pretending like he wasn't even there as I started to eat and drink. Frosty seemed to sigh in exasperation and begin to float slowly around the room.

"Gut' mornink." Lottie's distinct German accent wafted from the bottom of the stairs. Shep pepped up, happily greeting the German native before offering her a cup of coffee.

"Tank you, Sheep." Lottie said, accepting the steaming cup and sitting down beside me.

"Woah, and I was calling you manly! Look'it this lady-she must drink straight steroids." Jack taunted, eyeing the six-foot-one German from his spot floating beside my shoulder.

"Good morning, Lottie. Sleep good?" I asked, still ignoring the winter lunatic. Lottie scoffed, pulling her knotted blonde hair into a bun and rolling her periwinkle blue eyes.

"Zat Chau, he shleeps like zee animal." Lottie scowled, chugging half of her whole mug in one pull.

"At least he probably doesn't look like one." Frosty said, watching the blond. That comment made my blood boil, even though Lottie couldn't hear it. Despite being strong, Lottie was motherly, kind, and very sensitive. She knew that she's taller and beefier than the average woman, and when someone taunts her, she laughs it off, but deep inside it hurts her feelings.

I was going to pop him one in the throat later.

"Well, I got my beauty sleep, after all, animals need their hibernation." Chau said playfully, wrapping his arm around Lottie's shoulders and giving her a rough noogie.

"Chau! Shtap zis khildz play! I ahsk you to shtap every day und it never does!" Lottie barked, waving the smaller Asian man away from her. Chau laughed, stealing himself a cup of coffee and sat down.

"So is this is what it's like here all day? You lot sitting around drinking coffee and fighting? Borin-" Jack started to complain, just as the alarm sounded. Leaping to full force, the four of us (five if you count the Snowy Wonder) dashed out to the garage, pulling on all our gear as we went.

"I god zee 'veel." Lottie said, being the first to get her gear on and jumping into the driver seat of our fire truck. Just in time, Chief came dashing into the garage, gear on and prepared for action.

"Mase isn't here!" Chau yelped, counting heads as the firefighters piled into the truck.

"We'll have to go without him." Tink said softly, gingerly climbing into his beloved truck. No other words were spoken as we assembled quickly and entered the truck. I was the last one in, and was about to close the door behind me.

"Wait! Save me a seat!" I heard Frosty shout as he flew towards the truck. Snorting, I slammed the door shut. Apparently the Albino Wonder couldn't stop himself in time and ended crashing into the truck, making a small bang, which luckily couldn't be heard over the alarm.

Peering out of the window as we pulled away, I wiggled my fingers goodbye at the pouting spirit.


Jack Frost pouted, sitting on the cold side walk as he watched the bright red fire truck drive away down the street. Huffing, he pulled himself up and picked up his crook. How dare that little rat close the door on him! And to think he was willing to follow her to work and try to show her a good time.

Thinking back on when the alarm hit, Jack never thought someone so small could move to quick. In the blink of an eye, Era and all her co-workers had sprung from the kitchen, pulling on strange, heavy looking clothes and equipment. What really made Jack's jaw drop was when he saw Era swing and strap a rather heavy looking air tank onto her back.

Forget her, if she wants to go off and have fun without him, he didn't care.

Choosing to walk instead of fly, Jack stomped down the street, cars, mailboxes, and even some unfortunate people becoming covered in a dusting of frost as he passed. He had been woken up by the sound of Era leaving early this morning, and unable to fall back asleep, he decided to start working a bit earlier than usual.

Hours were spent creating frost patterns that delicately danced across a multitude of surfaces. Cold breezes and snow were created, turning the small city into a picture on a Christmas card. By the time the early afternoon rolled around, Jack was gliding through the wind towards Era's home.

She would be in a better mood after work, he assured himself that was the truth. The blonde wouldn't be grumpy or ignore him like she had to in front of her co-workers. Jack understood that Era couldn't speak to him in public, especially with "non-believers" around, she'd look insane.

"Ah..there's a little Firebug." Jack laughed as his feet touched the snow covered drive way. Era was crawling out of her cousin's massive truck, almost stumbling to the ground.

"Frosty, I told you to scram." Era scoffed, jingling the keys as she unlocked the front door. The aged wood had swollen due to absorbing water, making opening and shutting the door quite the annoyance.

"True, true." Jack tittered, floating into the house behind Era. The blond didn't slam the door in his face again, so Jack followed her in. Jack liked Era's house, which was strange. He didn't really have a taste for homes, he preferred a nomadic life.

Era's home was small, but colorful and warm. It smelt like soft citrus fruits and drier sheets, a strange combination that made Jack's nose tingling with warmth. The walls were painted white, pale green, and some a popping light teal. Knickknacks, glass containers filled with myriads of things, flowers, and books littered the rooms. Everything was messy, yet organized at the same time.

"Why do you fly everywhere?" Era asked, facing away from Jack as she made her way into the kitchen. The blonde hefted herself onto the kitchen bar, her feet swinging.

"It's not so much flying, it's more..gliding on air and wind currents." Jack hummed, taking a seat in the tall chair-stool next to her.

"Why are you barefoot?" She asked, her elbow on the counter top and her cheek smushed up against her raised fist. Jack began to slowly tap his fingers against the smooth, green faux-marble counter top.

He didn't understand why Era was asking seemingly random question, but he'd humor her-it wasn't like he had anyone to talk to. Jamie was off at school, North was working on the slowly coming Christmas, Bunny was pre-planning Easter, Sandy was busy off wherever it was nighttime (Japan, Jack supposed), and Tooth was almost constantly busy with her teeth (especially now, so soon after Halloween).

"Have you seen the shoes that North wants me to wear?" Jack laughed, but slightly slivering at the thought of those ridiculous looking blue-elf slippers North wanted him to wear. Era let out a strange giggle, grinning awkwardly. She clearly had no clue what he was talking about, but she was attempting to humor him.

"There you two are, I was wondering where you were." Max said, rushing down the stairs. His gruesome appearance had been washed away, all the blood had been flushed away from his pale skin.

"Hey! Looks like a shower can work miracles." Era laughed, the tension slipping from her shoulders. Jack furrowed his brows in curiosity as Era relaxed-when had she become nervous? Max's red hair was now fresh, his dark brown eyes didn't have the same redness as before.

"Ah yes, and a lot of beauty sleep." Max joked, pretending to flick some hair over his shoulder. "Where were you guys?"

"I was at work, my Frosty pain in the ass happened to follow me." Era muttered, shooting Jack a slightly annoyed look.

"Ahhh, so you're staying, Slush?" Max asked, turning his attention to the youngest Guardian. Jack cocked his head in silent question, was Max leaving? Jack hadn't really put too much thought into sticking around. Sure, he owed Era-he almost killed her. He'd be fine with popping in and out, but there was no way that he could 'stick around'. He had winter to bring, snowball fights to start, snow days to create.

"Are you leaving?" Era asked, furrowing her brows.

"I'll be in and out. I have to go up there for a bit." Max said, raising his eyebrows and nodding to the ceiling. "My parents, grandparents, and everyone are waitin' on me. I'll be back though."

"You're leaving, but not for long." Era asked, hopping down from the bar stool and holding her arms out.

"Yes ma'me! More of a 'see you later' than a 'goodbye'." Max laughed, wrapping the smaller girl in a tight hug.

"Thank you, for everything you've done for me." Max said softly, smiling down at Era. Era sniffled, her arms tight around Max's torso.

"I didn't do anything for you, all I did was crash us." She laughed, her voice muffled by Max's chest.

"But you found me, and you meant to help me with everything you've got-before Slushie over here came in." Max laughed, winking at Jack.

"Remember what I said, 'bout your chi. Even though I've only known you a short time, I know the real you." Max said, ruffling the blonde's hair before turning to Jack.

"And you-you don't let her out of your sight, Slushie." Max laughed, slugging Jack on the shoulder playfully.

"Hey, I'll try." Jack laughed, turning to smile at Era. Era blushed, her mismatched eyes lighting up and a small smile lighting her face.