Oh god, I've gotten crap at updating. This needs to be fixed. Damn school. Damn life getting in the way. Damn summer homework *burns homework*. In fact, just damn everything that stops me from writing.
So, now that I'm finally back from the dead, let's get started.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this fanfic. And it's a good job, too, because when it comes to updating, I've become as bad as Steven Moffat is with Sherlock
For the first time since all of this chaos started, Jack and Frosty had an argument.
The two could probably be heard on the opposite side of the workshop, they were being so loud. The guardians supposed they should have seen it coming, you could only have two Jack Frosts in the same place for so long before one of them blew up. That didn't make it any easier to handle.
Unfortunately for the guardians, North had planned the meeting for the exact day that Jack and Frosty had their argument. It wasn't intentional, but it did make things slightly more difficult for everyone who didn't really want a headache, since the winter spirits were quite a few hallways away when they could first be heard. No one even knew why they were walking around during their argument, but no one dared to question it. Questioning it would mean getting frozen.
Jack and Frosty burst into the meeting room, glaring at each other and practically yelling at the top of their lungs. Bunny winced and attempted to cover his ears and block out the noise. His attempts failed, because he could still hear the two teenagers.
"For Manny's sake, Jack!" Frosty snapped. "I don't need you trailing after me everywhere I go. I swear, I can't even go to the bathroom without you hovering by the door!"
"That's not fair, I haven't done that for weeks!" Jack retaliated immediately, not caring that it was information that the guardians could have gone without. "And I'm just trying to make sure you're alright! Frosty, I don't want you getting hurt. I'm concerned about you."
"Well I don't want your concern! I'm fine, Jack, so cut it out! It's boring! Are you really gonna try and keep another version of yourself cooped up inside a workshop and keeping them bored?"
"How could you possibly be bored? This is North's workshop! It literally has every single toy on the planet! In fact, it has toys that the human world haven't even managed to make yet! And allow me to remind you that just last week when I tried to take you outside the wind was so harsh that it nearly knocked you over."
"That's because it hasn't seen you for ages because you've been too busy fussing over me! The wind was excited, it wanted to play. You can't keep denying it that just because you want to chain yourself to me all day every day. Seriously Jack, give me a break! For five minutes, if nothing else! I'm not some piece of fragile glass just because Pitch managed to get his hands on me. You can give me ten minutes of privacy."
"You say all of this as if I watch you when you sleep."
"I wouldn't be surprised if you do! You're practically stalking me!"
"I'm just trying to protect you!" Jack hissed, clenching his fists. "Don't you understand? I don't want you getting hurt!
"Well I don't want you're protection!" Frosty snapped, his grip on his staff tightening. "In fact, this doesn't even count as protection! Stop acting like you're my mother, Jack, you're not smart enough for that. Instead, why don't you just take two minutes to sit down and think? Seriously, what is there in this world that is going to harm me? You've already frightened the life out of Pitch, and it's not exactly like the snow is going to attack me, now is it?"
"You're still injured! One misplaced foot, and you could fall incorrectly and break your leg!"
"Newsflash, Jackie boy, I'm a winter spirit too. I'm not exactly gonna go around slipping on ice, now, am I? And in what ways am I still injured?"
"You're still limping, and until that limp goes away, you can't say that you're better. And you could still trip on trees or something, if the wind carries you somewhere. Or the wind could drop you."
"Oh for the love of – the limp is barely there! It's almost non-existent! In fact, you're the only one who would be able to tell that it was still there. The wind wouldn't drop me, she's too used to carrying you around, and since I'm practically you, it means that she shouldn't have a problem. And I'm not that clumsy just because I've been hurt. I still have some grace and agility, thank you very much."
"Why bother to risk it? It's not worth getting hurt over. And while you're supposed to be me, the wind will still realize that you're not me. She'll know something is off. And if I need to go somewhere, she might get confused and drop you on a tree. In one of the oceans, if you're unlucky!"
"Oh, of course, because you don't risk things at all." Frosty tugged at his hair in frustration. "Jack, I'm going mental stuck in here! It's doing me more harm than good to be cooped up in one place for so long, especially with you practically clinging to my back so that it's difficult to have fun."
"I don't cling to your back!"
"You might as well, since you try to follow me everywhere. Once I was taking a little nap in a chair and slid off of it only to wake up to find you trying to put me in the recovery position!"
"What was I supposed to think? I found you lying on the floor with your eyes closed. I thought you'd passed out! Of course I'm going to try and put you in the recovery position, I thought you were going to choke on your own tongue!"
"How stupid do you think I am?!"
"Your intelligence would have no say in the matter if you had passed out, because you would be unconscious! And I don't think choking on your own tongue would be a fun way to go, Frosty."
"Well if you're so concerned, then why don't you just let me out of the workshop when you know that I need it?"
"You know what? Fine! The next time I find you lying around somewhere, I'll just turn around and walk away and leave you to die. I'm sure your guardians will understand since you're not willing to let me help!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
With that the two winter spirits turned in opposite directions and left, leaving the guardians to just sit there staring at the spot where the argument had taken place. It was at least a minute until Tooth spoke. "Someone should go talk to them."
Bunny shook his head. "Don't look at me, mate. I don't want to be caught in the middle of an argument between two Jacks. It might be better if we just let them blow off some steam."
"We can't just let them blow off steam!" Tooth huffed. "We need to talk to them!"
"They're old enough to look after themselves, Tooth, they ain't gonna need our help. They'll sort it out on their own, but they don't need us to tell them what to do."
"In a normal situation, maybe, but this isn't exactly normal. Jack's brotherly instincts are trying to take over him, and all he wants to do is keep Frosty safe, which I can relate to. I'd probably act the same way if Jack was kidnapped and tortured by Pitch. And Frosty's recovering from abuse. Although I have no doubt that he appreciates the knowledge that someone cares, he also wants some independence. He's a teenager, he won't want to appear weak. They have to deal with each other feeling and wanting different things. They're practically like twins fighting over who protects who. They need to sort it out, but they're both too proud to do that themselves. So someone needs to talk to them."
North and Sandy exchanged a glance before carefully slipping out of the room, neither of them wanting to deal with the situation. If asked, North would say that he had to check the process of toys and Sandy would say that he had to go and spread dreams. Which left Bunny to be the one to deal with it.
"Fine, fine, point taken. But you can't speak to them both at once."
"I know that. That's why you are going to talk to Jack while I talk to Frosty."
"Wha- Tooth! No fair! Why do I have to talk to Frostbite? What about North or Sandy?"
"They've both gone. And you're his brother, so get going."
"But-"
"Bunny. Jack. Talk. Now."
Bunny stared at her for a moment before sighing and going off in the direction that Jack went. Had it been anyone else, he might not have done it, but Tooth was scary when she wanted to be. It would be easier to just do as she said.
Tooth nodded in satisfaction before going off in search of Frosty. It didn't take her long to find him, since he normally went straight to his room if he got stressed or upset. He was sat on his bed, tossing a snowball up and down in his hand. Tooth cautiously entered the room and sat down next to him. "Frosty?"
The winter spirit huffed and turned away in an obvious hint to leave him alone. Tooth sighed. "Frosty, I know you're not in the mood, but we do need to talk."
"Talk about what?" Frosty snapped. "Talk about the fact that I'm being kept here against my will? Talk about the fact that I feel like a caged animal being held captive in some top secret facility? I can't keep doing this, Tooth! I need to get out. I need to feel the wind's currents carry me somewhere I want to go. I need to go somewhere, anywhere, that I can have a bit of fun! And all Jack is doing is stopping me! I'll go insane!"
Tooth looked at him in a way that could only be described as a mother looking at a child who'd had a fight with their sibling. Which, in a way, was exactly how the situation was. "I know, Frosty, but you must understand. Jack's just trying to protect you."
"I don't want his protection." Frosty huffed, scowling at the floor. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself in this world. What's going to hurt me? Pitch is already hiding in him lair, Jack scared him off. Who else is out to get me?"
Tooth could think of a few spirits who were still angry that Jack had become a guardian and not them, but she decided to keep quiet about it. Jack would be able to hold his own against them, and he wouldn't let Frosty go out on his own unless he thought it was absolutely necessary. "He's trying to protect you because you're already like a brother to him."
"Oh, so now just because I was kidnapped, that suddenly makes me some kid that needs his big brother to protect him?" Frosty hissed.
"No, I would say you two are more like twins." Tooth carefully ran a hand through Frosty's hair, waiting for his reaction to it. He didn't push her away, so she continued to stroke his hair. "You had a little sister, Frosty, you know what it's like to feel protective over a sibling. So does Jack. That's why you're butting heads. You're both used to being the protective, older sibling, and neither of you want to be the one who needs protecting."
"But Jack should know that I can't stay cooped up in one place. He should know that I need to be active. Otherwise the boredom will kill me!"
Tooth remained patient. "Jack also needs some time to convince himself that you're alright. It's not like he can simply ignore his older brother instincts, Frosty. He wants to make sure that you're alright and are ready for it when you go outside. He doesn't want you to be pushed too much."
Frosty appeared to be calming down slightly, because he looked uneasy. He still wanted to be angry at Jack for trying to keep him contained, but a part of his mind was urging him to listen to reason and then apologize to the other winter spirit. He had done his best to help Frosty recover, after all. "I just don't want him to think I'm helpless."
"He doesn't think that at all, Frosty. It's just Jack being Jack."
Frosty sighed. "Yeah, you might be right. But what am I supposed to say to him when I see him?"
"And apology would be nice."
Frosty gave Tooth a look. "An apology? Really? Apologizing to him when he won't apologize to me would be telling him that he's right. Which he's not."
If Tooth was honest, she didn't think either of them were as in the right as they'd like to believe, but she chose to keep quiet about this fact. "Oh, he'll be apologizing, trust me. Why don't we go find him?"
Frosty looked at Tooth again before sighing and getting up to follow her, not wanting to anger her. She was a really nice person, after all, and she was trying her best to help him patch things up with Jack after their argument. Even though he didn't think it would be a good idea, he could at least try and help her out by not being too difficult. Manny knew she and the other guardians couldn't be overly thrilled at the fact that there were now two Jack's in the workshop, especially Bunny. And since he was going to be staying with them for Manny knows how long, he might as well try and stay out of their bad books.
Tooth smiled kindly at him before leading him into the globe room, where she knew Bunny would bring Jack. She then gestured for Frosty to sit down, knowing that they might have a long wait. Knowing Bunny, he would probably end up having some kind of argument with Jack before he actually managed to convince the boy to calm down an apologize to the other winter spirit. The two really were like brothers. It was like they had created some kind of law between themselves that they had to fight at least once a month, even though they knew that if either of them got hurt, the other one would fuss and worry, due to that strange 'no one can hurt my brother/sister but me' rule that siblings invented.
Finally Bunny and Jack appeared, with Jack refusing to look at the holiday spirit. Frosty nervously got to his feet and took a few steps forward at Tooth's encouraging push. The two winter spirits stared at each other for a moment, and Frosty was about to speak when Bunny nudged Jack with his arm. Jack sent a small glare in Bunny's direction before he spoke. "Listen, Frosty, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so overprotective, and I should have known that you would want to be up and about, having fun and being active. I shouldn't of tried to keep you in the workshop and bore you to death. I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too, Jack. I know that you were just trying to keep me safe, and that you were just concerned for my well-being, and I shouldn't of yelled at you like that. It would certainly mean we wouldn't have to be awkwardly apologizing to each other with Tooth and Bunny breathing down our necks."
Jack snickered at the joke. "You have a point. Hey, I know what we can do! If you want to, I mean. North has a gaming room on the fourth floor. Not a clue why, since no one ever uses it, but he does. There are some pretty good multi-player games up there, we could go play them if you want."
"When you say games, you mean video games, right?"
"Well, there are a few board games, but yeah, I mean video games."
Frosty grinned slightly. "I challenge you to a race. First one there is the winner, but we're not allowed to use the wind to help us. Frost, snow, ice and freezing elves is okay, though. Winner gets to pick the first game we play."
"Deal."
With that the two winter spirits raced off, laughing slightly. Tooth smiled after them before turning to Bunny. "You and Jack had an argument, didn't you?"
I know, I know, crappy ending but I wanted to get it uploaded! I'm already lacking in that field, and I need to get it up before I drive myself insane.
So, as usual, leave a review telling me which Jack you would like to see after Frosty has gone home. Or you can just leave a review anyway. That would work, too.
