Okay, sorry about the wait, everyone. I was having a bit of a writers block, but I'm back!

So, this idea was given to me by a guest reviewer (thank you, by the way! I had fun working with it) and it has some Sandy-Jack fluff.

Enjoy!


It was right about now that Jack wished that he never said anything at all.

Of course, Jack wasn't the type of spirit to have a filter. Usually, he said what was on his mind, and sometimes it worked out for him. Usually it didn't, but Jack pretended he didn't care. (He did). For instance, Jack had to watch what he said around Tooth, because if you bring up a topic she's remotely interested in, she will never stop talking.

There was this one time when North brought up the topic of brushing at one of the monthly meetings (how they got to the point in a conversation where Santa Claus brought teeth brushing, Jack will never understand). Tooth lectured them for hours. At least, that's what Bunny reported after it was over. Both Jack and Sandy passed out, heads on the table, before the first hour mark.

Jack had a bad habit of falling asleep during meetings, but he couldn't blame himself. Those meetings were the most boring thing the Earth had to offer, what with North giving Christmas reports, despite the fact Christmas wasn't even close, or when Tooth rambled on about the rise in children getting teeth knocked out of their mouths. Seriously, it was coming to the point where Jack was rivaling Sandy, the spirit of sleeping, at being able to fall asleep.

However, with Bunny, his main goal was to antagonize him, so when he spewed brainless insults at the already fuming Pooka is worked out well. It was pretty easy. Bunny was already grumpy and had a short fuse, and Jack was the perfect example of "annoying little brother". Filters didn't matter with this type of situation because the uncensored words were exactly what he needed.

Offending Bunny to hell and back was one thing. Asking a personal question to someone who he didn't regularly tease was another thing.

"Sandy, why don't you talk?"

Jack's favorite guardian was Sandy (Bunny came next in line, but Jack would never admit it), and it was mostly because Sandy had always been the friendliest. During his three hundred years of solitude, Sandy had been one of the only spirits to approach him with a smile. When Jack was just starting out as a winter spirit, he honestly wasn't the best at his jobs, so he got yelled at a lot. Now, Jack was a master at being able to mask his emotions, but it really damaged his spirit, and he would sometimes have nightmares.

Whenever Jack had a nightmare, Sandy would always be there to cancel them out with pleasant dreams.

Other times, Sandy would just plain talk to him, (kind of) and for a lonely spirit who loved to talk, Sandy simply starting a conversation with Jack meant the world to Jack. So, inevitably, Sandy was the first that Jack went to, if only to chit chat, and this was one of those moments.

The question really intrigued Jack, and he'd been pondering it for quite some time, but whenever he asked, they would just wave it off.

"Oh, he just doesn't want to wake anyone up," they would say, but that was a crap answer to Jack. Surely there had to be a better reason than that, but Sandy was almost as old as MIM himself, so nobody knew if Sandy could talk.

It was the middle of the night, and it was Jack's off-season, so he decided to join Sandy on his nightly dream delivering trip. He sat perched on the gold cloud of sand, twirling strands of dream sand through his fingers. Jack's blue hoodie was covered in sand that stuck to him like glitter. (Yes, he knew what glitter was. Hanging out with a five-year-old Sophie usually leaves him in a glittery mess).

As soon as Jack asked the question he realized what his brain had just made him do, and his eyes widened in horror. Jack dropped the strand of dream sand and quickly tried to backtrack.

"Oh, sorry, that was a stupid question. I don't need to know why you don't talk- that's none of my business. Wait, can you talk? Wait, that's a stupid question too. I just don't get how you wouldn't if you could. I can't survive an hour without talking. But um…" Jack trailed off, when, instead of Sandy getting mad, he simply smiled.

"Are you mad?" Jack asked, watching Sandy's face carefully. Sandy shook his head, the smile not disappearing, and Jack relaxed. Thank goodness- Jack didn't feel like losing his best friend at the moment. Jack nodded and sat back, deeming the conversation over.

The conversation wasn't over, to Jack's surprise. After a few minutes, Sandy stopped what he was doing and turned to Jack, forming sand pictures above his head.

I cannot talk, Sandy signed, and Jack nodded, feeling a bit guilty.

"Oh. Sorry. I was just curious," Jack said apologetically. A few moments went by before Sandy started to sign again.

I don't wish to speak, anyways, Sandy said. I don't need to. Truthfully, I'm surprised that you're the first to ask me that question.

"Yeah, well, unlike others, I have no existing filter," Jack grinned. "I don't think before I speak."

Sometimes that kind of trait can be negative, Sandy said, and Jack nodded in agreement. But I'll bet it can be useful in some occasions.

"Eh," Jack shrugged. "It's only useful when I wanna annoy Bunny. Speaking of Bunny, I haven't been to his Warren in weeks. I should put that on my to-do list that doesn't exist."

Sandy gave a silent snicker, and he carried on with his job. Jack smiled in content, watching as the strands of sand spread all over the night sky, lighting up the sky more than the stars ever could.

"Sandy…?" Jack decided to test his limits. "Why doesn't it bother you? Not talking, I mean. I can't even imagine not being able to talk… I'm sure Bunny would enjoy it, but I wouldn't."

Believe it or not, deep down Bunny cares for you, Sandy sent Jack an amused look. I know it's hard for you to grasp.

"Was that… was that an insult?"

No. It was a statement. You have a hard time trusting others, which is understandable.

"Oh. Yeah, you're probably right," Jack nodded. Did he have trust issues? If he did, he wasn't aware of them. Were other people? Or was this one of those times where Sandy saw more than others?

You are not an annoyance to Bunny, Sandy signed. Sure, you annoy him at times, but there is a difference.

"If you say so," Jack shrugged. "Hey, Sandy, I'm gonna head back to the Pole. North wanted my opinion on his newest toy car model."

Sandy nodded with a smile, but before Jack could fly off, Sandy signed one last thing.

I don't mind not speaking, because I'd rather listen, Sandy smiled. Everyone wants to talk. Who will listen?

Jack slowly nodded, the sand pictures hitting him deep. Man, that put everything into a new perspective. Jack never thought that maybe, Sandy didn't want to talk. Understanding Sandy's words of advice, he gave one last wave and flew off into the sky towards the workshop.

Jack had a lot to think about, but that was okay, because he had all eternity to do so.

And maybe, just maybe, Jack would start listening instead of speaking.

Maybe. It certainly was a thought.


So, that's that. I hope you liked it! Leave a review telling me what you think, and leave some prompts as well. Seriously, I'm running out of ideas.

Until next time! Have a great day!