Warnings: None

Rating: K

Genre: Family/Humor

Character(s): Jack + Tooth (Mainly)

Summary: "Every lonely boy must learn how to dance at some point, Jack."

Jack hated parties.

Absolutely loathed them, in fact.

After all, after three hundred years of solitude, you sort of... got used to your own company.

So naturally, busy, noisy and unbearably warm parties were not a particular favourite of the winter spirit's. He would avoid them at all costs, no matter what it took.

In fact, he was trying to think of an excuse right now, as Tooth stared down at him expectantly, her violet eyes wide, optimism shining on her face, seemingly buzzing with anticipation.

"Pleeeeaase, Jack?" She asked, her eyes full of hope.

Awkwardly, Jack rubbed the back of his neck, his staff in his spare hand. C'mon, he thought, Just say you don't like crowds. She'll understand. It's not that hard. Just... say it!

But as he looked back at her, enthusiasm and excitement practically sparkling out of her every orifice, he felt a huge weight of guilt settle in his chest.

How could he say no?

"Sure," he agreed reluctantly, "Why not?"

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The fairy zoomed forwards, giving him a kiss on the cheek before zooming off in to the night sky, calling out behind her as she left. "See you there, Jack!"

Jack could only look on, giving a wave and hoping his false smile didn't look so false. Ugghh, why did he always have to agree to everything?

The thing Tooth had been asking him about, of course, was if he wanted to attend North's surprise 401st birthday party. It didn't actually matter if he wanted to or not, though - Tooth would've kept on asking him, even if he had said 'No' a thousand times, just waiting for him to say yes.

The boy had known the fairy would be fluttering around Burgess at some point that week, so he'd gone in to hiding, hanging out in London for the start of Autumn to ensure that she didn't find him.

But of course, a part of the European Division had reported back to its boss and she'd tracked him down like a bloodhound.

So now he was stuck in a corner with two ways out. Either he could:

A) Endure the party and all its busy, noisy, warm crowds.

B) Dig himself a nice big comfy hole and hide there for a couple of centuries.

Neither sounded too appealing.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, the thought of that dreaded party swimming through his thoughts as he sat back on his rooftop near Kensington.

Why was it always him?

So today was the day. The dreaded day.

Jack awoke on a rooftop in Burgess, regretting choosing to sleep there the night before - the crook in his neck felt like it would be there for all eternity.

Yawning, he stood, grabbing his staff from beside him, before looking around at Burgess, now covered in a thick blanket of snow. At least he could feel a little happy at the thought that he'd just given Jamie a Snow Day.

His happiness was short lived, however, when he remembered the 'invite' from Tooth given to him no less than three days ago. And to make things worse, she wanted him to get there early.

Early, for MiM's sake!

Digging himself a hole to crawl in to suddenly didn't sound so bad.

With one final stretch, he called for the wind and took off in to the cold morning sky, just wishing for the day to be over.

He'd arrived at Tooth palace at four in the afternoon.

It was two hours later when the guests started to arrive.

Two. Hours.

Why did one party take so long to set up?!

Jack had used this to his advantage, however, and had taken up space at the back on a chair right in the corner, trying to remain as secluded as he possibly could in the giant room where the party was being held.

And that was another bonus - getting to see the decorations while the room was nice and empty, aside from Bunny and Sandy, who'd been recruited to help out by Tooth as well.

The room itself was gargantuan - a huge hall with a vaulted ceiling, much like a cathedral, except it was an all manner of greens and turquoises and blues. It was stunning to look at, and the first time Jack had seen he was pretty sure his jaw had dropped.

On top of the paintwork was the decorations, and Tooth had made absolutely sure that he, Bunny and Sandy had put them in exactly the right place. On the central back wall, an eight foot tall Christmas tree had been put up, with baubles hanging on it that had been painted with the words "Happy 401st, North!" courtesy of Bunny. In front of the tree was a long buffet table that was filled to bursting point with all kinds of food - seafood, sandwiches, chips, roast meats, vegetables, chocolate, marshmallows, sugar free mint-flavored gum and so many other types of foodstuffs that Jack couldn't even attempt to name them all.

There were long, thick rows of tinsel flowing across the ceiling in blue and red streams, like shimmering rivers, and all the way around the walls there were tables for the guests to sit at - they themselves had been decorated completely, even with the funny little folded napkins in shapes of different Christmas objects.

It was magnificent.

Jack had just been trying to pry open the window behind him when he saw the first guests beginning to wander through the huge doors, eyes widening as they took in the wondrous decorations that filled the huge room.

The first guest was a woman - and a beautiful one at that.

A long, dappled green dress flowed about her person with an easy grace, long sleeves draping off of her arms as though they were made of liquid silk. Her hair was long and thick, a rich hazelnut brown in color, and braided all the way down her back, decorated with all sorts of flowers

She moved with such elegance that it was hard to believe her feet actually touched the floor.

"Mother Nature," Tooth's welcoming voice echoed through the empty hall, and Jack couldn't help but notice the slight bitter tone underlying the words. The thought of the Tooth fairy being envious of someone was just absurd - but nonetheless, Jack had to suppress a laugh.

Next to Mother Nature was a man known as Father Time - Jack heard Tooth greet him as well. And the name couldn't have been more appropriate, he decided. Old was definitely one way of describing him, that was for sure.

He was tall, dressed in a long robe that brushed the floor and he adorned a beard that could rival North's easily. He had a cruel air about him - a seemingly permanent scowl on his old face, and immediately, the spirit took a disliking to him.

Father Time held an arm out for Mother Nature, and took the lead out in to the hall to find a table, and quickly, the others followed - Cupid, a short man dressed entirely in white with a smile that could charm any woman from fifty yards; Lady Luck, the woman in such a short skirt that Jack had to avert his gaze as well as everyone else in the room; the Groundhog, much to Bunny's disappointment; Mother Goose, a kindly looking elderly woman in her late fifties, and then of course, the many different nymphs and sprites that giggled their way in through the huge doors. A couple of water nymphs even pointed at Jack in the corner, and giggled ferociously afterwards.

Girls are weird, he decided.

But his thoughts began to melt away as his brain finally started to absorb how big the crowd was - it was absolutely huge. So very ginormous that Jack shrank away from it as much as he could, barely seen beneath his hood, clutching his staff tightly as he glared out at the party from underneath his mop of white hair.

And then of course, North had arrived.

A smile lit up the jolly man's face as he entered, and he was greeted with a loud yell of "Surprise!" which made Jack flinch. Somewhere, music had struck up and loud chatter started to fill the huge room, and even though he tried his hardest, the spirit of winter couldn't block out any of the noise whatsoever.

Busy? Check. Noisy? Check.

Now all he had to do was wait for it to get lovely and warm, and he'd officially be the most uncomfortable person in this room.

He let out and agitated sigh as he leant on his hand, staring out at the party-goers as they began to dance.

This was gonna be a long night.

Aside from being unbearably bored and out of his comfort zone for the majority of the night, Jack was fine.

As he stared out at the dancing guests, he couldn't help but notice how colorful all of their clothes were. They were bright and loud, but in a good way. His hoodie paled in comparison, and his pants looked ridiculous compared with the grandeur of the suits and cloaks.

Then again, he was happy with what he had. Comfy and appropriate - that was all he needed.

The boy had began to think that he'd gotten out of doing anything particularly strenuous until Tooth seemingly popped up out of nowhere. He nearly fell out of his chair.

"You look bored Jack," she said, smiling at him before beckoning with her head towards the dance floor, "Why don't you come and dance with us?"

Instantly, red alert signals were going inside his head.

"Uh - no thanks Tooth," he stuttered quickly, "I don't dance-"

"Oh, come on!" Tooth laughed, grabbing his hands and pulling him out on to the dance floor, her feet gently brushing the ground, her wings fluttering so fast behind her that they were just a blur of colour.

"No seriously," Jack protested, trying to squirm out of the fairy's grasp - for the Tooth fairy, she had a pretty strong grip, "I really, really don't dance-"

"Everyone dances from time to time," Tooth said, finally stopping her movements. Jack noticed with increasing panic that they were in the very heart of the other dancers, amongst the beautiful billowing dresses and cloaks Jack had so admired before - but now they were like some sort of death sentence.

He had never danced before. Even in his own memories, he couldn't recall the slightest twirl or prance. Not even dancing with his own mother, or even his sister - not a single foot tap.

Oh sure, he loved music. Some bands he'd really liked through the long years ( he'd once even gotten to see The Who live. Invisibility is a bonus sometimes) but he didn't dance to it. Sure, he might have slightly mimed an air guitar once or twice... but proper, waltz-y, fox trotting dance moves?

Yeah - not once.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a couple of the guests glare at him like he was some sort of rodent, and he found himself glaring back, earning a few affronted scoffs. Like he cared - all he cared about right now was getting off this wretched dance floor.

"Really Tooth," he whispered at the fairy, his voice nervous. That caught her attention, "I don't dance. I've never danced - ever. And I don't want to start today in front of all these people-"

The fairy looked at him through unfocused violet eyes, as if she were seeing him for the first time all over again, but not as Jack Frost, but as a boy. Just a simple boy who'd never learnt to dance.

The pair's lack of movement had caused the majority of the guests to stare now, some stopping their own dances to see what was going on.

Tooth, completely oblivious, stared at the boy before her.

"You mean...you've never once danced?" She asked incredulously, her hands still gripping Jack's, "In your entire life, you've never danced?"

The boy shifted uncomfortably, trying to shrug like he didn't really care about the way everyone was staring at him like he was some sort of alien. Even Mother Nature had halted her waltz with Father Time in order to look at him with a quizzical gaze.

"...No..." He mumbled, staring at his feet. He felt his cheeks go colder, probably going the deepest shade of blue they'd ever gone.

"It's basic etiquette to know how to dance with a lady, boy," Father Time interjected scornfully, looking the boy up and down with a scowl, "Where are your manners?"

Jack sent a glare at the old man. "Where are yours?"

That shut him up.

Thankfully, the other party-goers seemed to lose interest after Father Time had began dancing again, leaving Tooth and Jack in the heart of the crowd.

The fairy bit her lip a little, as Jack sighed, looking at the floor.

"Can I just go sit back down now?"

"Jack," she said, ignoring the question. He didn't look at her, "Jack - Jack, look at me."

Reluctantly, the spirit tore his eyes away from the floor and stared Tooth right in the eyes, violet clashing with icy blue.

She hovered a little closer and her voice became so quiet that it was barely above a whisper.

"I don't know why you've never danced," she began in a soft tone, placing one of Jack's hands on her shoulder, hovering lower so the she was eye level with him, "And I don't whether or not you want to. But what I do know-"

Jack looked at her with confused eyes, silently willing her to carry on talking. The fairy continued.

"Is that, at least once, every lonely boy must learn how to dance."

And with that, a night of laughter, tripping and spinning began.

And for the first time in his entire existence, Jack Frost had actually enjoyed a party.

So yeah... I may or may not have only written that to get Tooth to say that one line.

I REGRET NOTHING.

Meanwhile, HOLEH BARNACLES. Thanks to you all for the reviews! :D necause I'm starting to get more for each chapter, I think I'll take a leaf out of Hatsu Yukiya's book and reply to some, and thank others ^_^

E: I really would like to! I want Jack to show off a bit (if I'm honest) so I'm going to try and fit it in somewhere. And thank you for the compliment! ^_^

Lovepuppy316: I came from outer space :) And if I were in one of the Guardian's positions, I'd probably be asking the same question xD And nuuuuuu, don't take away the cookies! D:

Alyss-8D: Arwh, thank you for the compliment :3

RizReviewer: I know wht you mean about the whole "so many directions" thing - its awesome isn't it? I'm already basing a bunch of other oneshots of that idea alone :D And I'm glad you liked that line xD

Nanu Kitty: Well if you can't find them, don't worrry about it ^_^ And I create tension? :O

Thanks to:

SparklyWaffles

Sirens in the water

silverheartlugia2000

snowflake1814

bla

angel grayson