NORTH TO SOUTH, EAST TO WEST
Chapter: This Simple Phrase
Prompt: Formal (Day 7)
Characters: Jack/Tooth, featuring the Guardians
a/n: OK, Nightmre13, this one's for you! ("Hmmm I had an idea why don't you make a chapter where they celebrate christmas but jack feels uncomfortable because his been alone for so long"), let's see how this goes, shall we? Thanks for reading!
THIS SIMPLE PHRASE
Jack's never really been one for dinner parties.
"Oi, wake up mate."
Night of Christmas Eve, Jack rubs his eyes to see Bunnymund standing over him, his huge feet thumping at the ground in exasperation.
"Whu—"
"Get ready, we're going on a little trip."
"Where?"
"Up and out."
"Again, where?"
"Tooth's palace, ya dingbat. She hosts a Christmas dinner party every year."
Jack's face scrunches up a bit. Bunnymund raises an eyebrow.
"Problem, mate?"
"No, it's just…a real dinner party?"
"Nah, not really. But you know Tooth…"
"What?"
"It's Tooth." The pooka says it plainly, and upon seeing Jack's indifferent expression, he shakes his head, "mate, she orders her capsules and makes wedding cakes and cleans the workshops from head to toe when she's bored. When she's bored."
"So?"
"So, Tooth is a very formal person. She likes being elegant and classy. Bloody hell, frostbite, have ya learned nothing?"
"So you still haven't answered my question yet."
"She's a lady. She expects us all to act like gentlemen."
"It's just dinner parties. It doesn't mean she's all hoity-toity in real life."
"Come on now, frostbite. She calls me Aster."
Upon realizing that he's right, a wave of anxiety washes over him. He hasn't celebrated Christmas with anyone in three centuries.
The four male guardians make their way to the sky palace where Tooth makes her home. It's huge, and it's beautiful, and Jack feels like he's about to fall through the clouds. The fairy is there to greet them at the golden gates, looking appropriately prim and proper. Her wings beat neatly and the feathers on her head are combed back.
"Welcome, gentlemen. Please have a seat."
North leads everyone into the palace with Jack trailing behind a little hesitantly. Tooth catches his arm gently.
"Hey, Jack – I know you're not used to all this formality, but I really want you to join in, okay?"
Jack nods with a smile, "sure, Tooth."
She claps him on the shoulder and goes back inside, beckoning him to follow her.
The inside of the palace is like a fairy tale dream; from the cream marble floor and gold pillars that reach the ceiling, right down to the gold detailing of the cutlery set at the dinner table. Elegant orchestra music begins to play Christmas carols in the background. Jack flinches a little when Baby Tooth flamboyantly thrusts a silk napkin over his lap. Bunnymund stares.
"Oi, mate. Just relax, try to enjoy it. Tooth spends a lot of the year organizing this dinner, okay?" he mutters under his breath.
Jack nods slowly.
"Does everyone want to say a few words of thanks before we eat?" North suggests. Sandy gives him a thumbs up, and Tooth elevates herself to hover in the air.
"Well, thank you for coming. I know these kinds of things may be difficult, and different for some people—"she gives Jack a reassuring look, "—I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and I love spending time everyone every year. I hope we can do this for years to come, I love you all very much."
Everyone nods in agreement. Bunny then stands up, then Sandy, then North. They all say (or not say) similar things – they want everyone to be happy in the holidays, having a safe new year. How they love and care for everyone so much.
Jack doesn't say much.
"—I'd like to thank Tooth for organizing the dinner, it looks fantastic. I love you all, have a wonderful holiday season." North finishes, sitting back down.
All eyes turn to Jack. He glances quickly at Tooth who motions for him to stand up. He does, eventually.
"Uh, well—"
No one says a word. They all sit, smiling, waiting for him to say something.
"I, uh…"
Nothing.
"Merry Christmas, everyone."
He sits back down, not looking up. He can't hear it, but he knows what everyone is thinking. Of course Tooth eventually asks everyone to dig into the entrees, but Jack doesn't contribute much to conversation as the night goes on.
Everyone tells their favourite Christmas stories. He hears North talk about this crazy family who one left a whole years worth of carrot ends for the reindeer under the tree. Bunny mentions something about Easter and Christmas being swapped, and Tooth and Sandy giggle along and make their favourite Christmas jokes – all terrible of course, but it makes everyone smile.
Except Jack.
Nobody mentions it out loud, but they know something is wrong. Especially when he polishes off dessert quickly as he can and asks to use the restroom. Tooth sighs and follows him, "…he doesn't know where the restroom is…"
And sure enough, she finds him sitting on the stairs looking conflicted. She takes a seat next to him.
"Jack—if you didn't like the party, next year we can make it a Christmas movie night instead."
Jack chuckles softly, but shakes his head, "that's not it. It was a great dinner party."
"Then why so serious?" Tooth asks gently. Jack hangs his head a little lower.
"You guys do this every year?" he murmurs softly.
Tooth nods, "every year."
Jack hesitates.
"I…I guess I'm a little—"
"—conflicted?"
"Heh. You always know what to say, Tooth?"
"Mostly. There are a lot of fairies with a lot of teenage angst in there. Much like you."
"I'm not angsty!"
"Then what are you?"
Jack clasps his hands together and plays with his fingers absentmindedly.
"You guys seem so happy together and you love spending time together and you laugh and talk and that kind of thing."
Tooth nods and smiles, "because we love to spend time with each other. When things get busy we don't do a lot of that, you know."
"Yeah, must be nice though, right?"
"What?"
"Spending time together every year."
"It's one of my favorite times of year." Tooth says wistfully, then notices the expression on his face hasn't changed, "what's this about, Jack?"
He holds his hands out and exhales softly.
"I've never had anyone to celebrate Christmas with before. It's always just been me. And I think I've forgotten how to celebrate it with people. You guys were so grateful and happy and joyful. I felt like I was ruining everything."
Tooth is silent for a moment, then she turns to him and shakes her head with a chuckle.
"Jack, we love you. You're part of our family now. And that means that you'll be part of our traditions year after year after year as well."
"I feel like I'm sucking the light out of your Christmas lights and blowing out the candle flames whenever I'm in the room—"he murmurs.
"—so we'll light them again." Tooth reassures him.
"I don't know any Christmas carols—"
"—we'll sing them together."
"And I don't have any Christmas memories to share with everyone—"
"—we'll make them together."
"I've been alone for too long, Tooth—"
"—you're not alone anymore."
And she's right.
She gives his shoulder a little squeeze and returns to the dinner hall, leaving the door open for him to come back in. He hears the male voices whispering to each other and Tooth reassuring them, all silence.
Jack waits.
"Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…"
It's Tooth's voice, singing sweet and soft.
"…Jack Frost nipping at your nose…"
The door opens a little more so he can see into the dinner hall – Tooth stands at the head of the table, holding out her arms.
"…yuletide carols being sung by a choir…"
Her sweet voice is joined by North's low, Russian-accented baritone.
"…and folks dressed up like Eskimos…"
He hears Bunny chime in reluctantly, and so does Sandy, a rapid succession of Christmas images flashing over his head.
"…everybody knows a turkey and some mistletoe help make the season bright…"
Jack stands to appear in the doorway.
"…tiny tots with their eyes all aglow…"
A chorus of little fairies join in with a harmony.
"…you'll find it hard to sleep tonight…"
Tooth flutters over to take his hand and sit him down at the head of the table. And eventually, she gets him to join in.
Their harmony is off pitch, they stumble over some of the words, and the entire thing sounds completely strange and unusual, but they make it all the way to the end with smiles that could illuminate the whole world if they wanted them to.
"So I'm offering this simple phrase…."
Jack stands up.
"Excuse me everyone, I'd like to…say something that I should've said at the beginning of dinner."
The four guardians' voices fade away, leaving the little fairies to continue singing softly in the background.
"…to kids from one to ninety-two…"
"I know I'm not the easiest to deal with, and sometimes I act out of hands and out of control—"
"…although it's been said, many times, many ways…"
"But I just want to take this opportunity while we're all together, to tell you something I probably won't ever get to express in my lifetime—"
"…happy holidays, to you."
"—I love you guys, a lot. Merry Christmas."
A/N: suggestions? put them down here somewhere... -please-
