Valentines and other holidays
By End of Grace
(All though this is not an official holiday like the others, I just wanted an excuse to write a chapter mainly staring Tooth as I don't give her much spotlight)
National Tooth fairy day- August 22
Now normal the twins would stay in their rooms while their parents were having a meeting with their fellow guardians but not today. They stood in the corridor waiting until their Papa, North said the meeting was ended before running in.
"Auntie Tooth!" They shouted just before Tooth took off.
"Hello little ones" smiled Tooth as she floated back down to kiss their foreheads.
"Dust! Thistle! You know better!" said North angrily "You wait in your rooms until someone comes and gets you"
"Come on now mate" said Bunny as he tried to calm his mate "You said yourself that the meeting was over right? So its not that bigger deal"
North sighed and shook his head "They still broke the rule Aster"
"Oh North don't be so hard on them. I don't get to see them that often and you know I leave as soon as these meetings are over. Now, what do my two favourite little ones need? New toothbrushes?" she asked as she leant down closer to the twins.
"No auntie, look" said Dust as he and his sister open their mouths. Tooth peered in side each and frowned before turning around to glare at Bunny and North.
"You two!" she snapped "Are you not watching your kits oral hygiene? Both have got the onset of cavities!"
"Hey don't look at me Tooth" said Bunny as he pointed to North "He's the one that's been giving them cookies"
"Oh? May I also point out who among us is a chocolatier and uses his kits as taste testers?" smirked North watching his husband look a little sheepish.
"This is not good Bunny" said Tooth firmly "If you don't catch this now, their teeth are going to rot! No more sugary drinks or sweets got it?"
"But auntie! That not what we were showing you" moaned Dust as he pulled on her feathers.
"Oh? Then what sweeties? What are you trying to show me?" Tooth asked as she looked back down at them. Dust and Thistle opened their mouths again, but this time used their tongues to demonstrate what they wanted to show. Dust left central incisor and Thistle's right cuspid were both wobbling lose. Everyone placed their hands over their ears as Tooth squealed with delight.
"Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh!" she cried as she hugged the twins tightly "Your fist tooth, I mean teeth, oh you know what I mean right? Oh! This means I have to hurry and make your tooth boxes!"
"Can't you take them now? It hurts" said Thistle rubbing her cheek. Tooth smiled sadly and kissed the small fairy on her forehead.
"Sorry sweetie, it has to come out on it own, it won't be that much longer"
"But Tooth..." said North looking concerned "Are they not a bit young to be losing their teeth?"
"They might be if they were fully human North" said Tooth "But they have pooka blood that make their bodies age slightly faster, so naturally their teeth grow the same way" Tooth said as she gave the guardian of wonder a hard glare "Although if you don't stop all this chocolate and sugar business they may lose all of their teeth"
"Alright! Ok, we get it Tooth, no more sugar for the twins" said Bunny as he rolled his eyes. He walked over to the twins and gave them a squeeze "My little ankle bitters, how quickly are you growing up"
"I'm going to be taller then you when I do" smiled Dust reaching up on to his tip toes.
"Me too me too" laughed Thistle doing the same.
"Oh really? Might have to start putting bricks on your heads to stop that from happening? Right North?" laughed Bunny as he turned to look at his mate only to find North had left the room. Both he and Tooth shared a concerned look before shrugging their shoulders.
"Well I better get back to my palace and get to work. Now little ones, I know it hurts and its uncomfortable but you have to put up with it for a while and let it happen on it own ok? Then I'll personally come to take them away and reward you for being good alright?"
"Yes auntie Tooth" said the twins with large smiles as Tooth flew off. Bunny rubbed the twins heads gently as he shooed them back to their play room, while he went off in search of North.
-Line Break-
He found his mate in his study, looking over some of the twins earlier pictures, there was also the paper that had their baby hands and feet on it sitting on his desk. There was a somber air, which seemed wrong around a man known for being jolly, his face frowning slightly as he looked though the pictures. Bunny walked up behind him and rested his paws on North's shoulders giving them a light squeeze.
"North...mate..you ok?"
"Yes...yes I am fine Bunny. Just...can not believe our kits are losing their first tooth's. Their growing up"
"Hey now, their not that grown up. This is only their first milestone mate. Wait until they want to learn magic or weapons, wanting to go out on their own, or finding their own mates to settle down with" North groaned loudly and hid his face in his hands while Bunny laughed. "Which most likely won't be for years yet. Kids grow up North, its what they do. Now come on, lets get the kits together and celebrate them losing their first tooth, any ideas?"
"Cookies and ice cream?" smiled North as he got to his feet.
"North! Weren't you listening at all to Tooth about our kits teeth?" sighed Bunny as he hooked his arm around North's as they made their way to the kits rooms.
"I did and I fully agree with her, teeth are important...but you can not celebrate with out cookies and ice cream"
"I'm starting to wonder who the bigger kit is, you or the twins"
-Line Break-
It was a few days later that Jack decided to check up on the twin. They had been out of sorts with toothache and he was just the big brother to cheer them up. He found them watching Tv their faced scrunched up in pain.
"Hey you two, I heard that you got your first lose tooth? Congrates"
"Thanks Jack, but we really wish they come out now. It really hurts" moaned Dust as he wiggled his lose fount tooth.
"Well have you tried pulling them?" Jack asked as he knelt down beside them.
"Auntie Tooth said we need to let them come out on their own" said Thistle.
"Well...I guess that is the best way...but you don't have too. I mean lots of kids have fun trying to find ways of getting their teeth out" said Jack remembering Jamie being hit with a sofa.
"Really? How?" "Do you know how?" asked the twins both jumping to their feet.
"Whoa calm down! We got to do this quietly, cause knowing North and Bunny if they knew they would stop us ok? Now the first thing we need to do is get some thread"
"I'm telling ya mate its the wrong colour, it should be blue" said Bunny as he looked at the odd alien toy that North had created and was in the winter spirits opinion was going to be a big hit. Since becoming mates North and Bunny would help each other with their holidays, but that didn't mean they would always agreed. They were in North's study were they were discussing what to do.
"Silly bunny! Everyone knows it should be red"
"North then it will just look like a jelly bean, blue or maybe even green would be your best bet"
North stroked his bread thinking "Green might be good...but that is the colour of the slime that comes out of it"
Bunny wrinkled his nose "Slime? What kid in their right mind want a toy that pukes slime?"
"Young boys with sisters, they like scaring them with nasty stuff like this, all boys like gross things...they grow out of it eventually" said North as he poured the slimy mixture in to the toy. "Maybe a darker green?"
Bunny rubbed his chin and looked over North's paints. His mate had a fine collection of colours but no where near the colours he had at the warren. Picking up the red and blue and poured them together in to a clear pot and mixed them up.
"How about this? Our favourite colours together..purple"
"That is perfect Aster!" smiled North as he took the paint and picked up his brushes. Then suddenly the door to the study slammed open. Phil growled as he came in carrying the twins in one claw and Jack in the other. The twins looked worried and upset while Jack looked annoyed and put out. North placed the toy down and crossed his arms knowing that his children were in trouble. Bunny sighed and ran his paw over his ears having a nasty feeling what this was about.
"What has happened? What did they do?" North asked as the twins cringed as Phil put them down.
"Phil is over reacting!" snapped Jack as Phil dumped him to the floor."Okay, we shouldn't have used your train set..."
"Train? You were using my train set with out me?" said North looking rather upset "You know the rules, you ask first, now why did you do it?"
"Jack was helping us get out teeth out" said Thistle as she peeked out from behind Phil's leg.
"He tied our teeth up with string and tied it to one of your trains. The train was just getting up to speed when Uncle Phil came in and stop us" said Dust.
Jack saw that Bunny and North glaring at him as he raised his hands up "Hey I was only trying to help"
"Damn it Jack! Tooth is already mad at us for the twins teeth and your trying to pull them out before their time? Do you have any idea how scary that fairy can get when you interfere with her work?" growled Bunny before looking down at the twins "And you two were told about this!"
"But it hurts" cried Thistle as she clung to Phil's leg as the old yeti sighed and patted her on the head.
"Yeah and its been ages since Auntie Tooth said they would come out on their own" added Dust who quickly ducked back down when his fathers gave him that look.
"I know its hard my you could cause more damage to your teeth if you force them to come out and besides your auntie hasn't finished making your tooth boxes yet, she is a very busy fairy you know and she wants to personally come and take your teeth, it is such a big honour" said North trying to smooth the upset twins.
"And you Jack should know better. Tooth went easy on you last time because you were new to the guardians but she was not impressed about Jamie losing his tooth by being hit by a flying sofa. I mean seriously, using North's train set, what were you thinking?"
"Yes Jack, what were thinking using train...your meant to use a door" said North, making Jack and the twins laugh as Bunny gasped and punched North's shoulder.
"North! We're not encouraging this!"
"Bunny, its normal for children to be impatient as its even more normal for Jack to get them in to trouble"
"Hey!"
Everyone laughed and North suggested that they go and have some lunch, as he threw his arm around Jack's shoulder and led the way as the twins took Bunny's paws. The family sat around the small kitchen table while North and Phil bought over plates of fruits, vegetables and sandwiches.
"What made you think of using trains anyway Jack?" asked North as he helped himself to one of the sandwiches.
"Well, we didn't really want anyone knowing what we were doing, and the elves and the yetis would have come running if they kept hearing doors slamming, so I thought the train would have been a better idea" said Jack half of his mouth full "I was going to try hitting them with something hard next...not a sofa of course but some..."
"OUCH!"
Everyone's heads turned to Thistle as she looked down at her apple where her tooth was embedded.
"No fair! I wanted my tooth to come out first" Dust said sulkily as he crossed his paws against his chest.
"Hey if Thistle tooth has come out then yours isn't that far behind" said Jack as Bunny picked up Thistle and took her over to the sink to gurgle some water to get the blood out of her mouth. "I'll go and tell Tooth the good news and see if she needs any help with their boxes"
"She'll know anyway Jack and it isn't a good idea to go and disturb her either. Remember last time? Half her fairies fainted because you smiled at them making Tooth late on picking up the teeth" said Bunny as he checked inside Thistle's mouth to make sure the whole tooth had come out.
"But still it would not hurt for him to go and help Tooth. I'm sure she would love the visit" said North as he patted Jack's shoulder "She does not get many visitors"
"Fine he can go but just stay out of trouble and DUST! Stop pulling on that tooth!" Bunny snapped as he caught Dust trying to yank his tooth out.
"I want it out!" Dust shouted his paws hitting the table in frustration. North went around the table and picked his son up and sat in his seat, placing Dust in his lap. Dust tried to fidget and get away from him but North held him firmly as he stroked his fur, trying to smooth the upset kit.
"Shh Dust, it won't be much longer, I know it hurts" he muttered as he hugged Dust tightly "Do you want to try an apple as well?"
Dust shook his head not wanting to be the same as his sister "Don't like apples"
"How about this instead?" suggested Jack as he made a small ice apple and handed it out to Dust "It will make your tooth numb to stop the pain but once it's melted a bit you can try biting it to see if your tooth will come out"
Dust nodded his thanks and started to suck on the ice apple nosily. Jack went to fly off but Bunny grabbed him and handed him a small bag which he had quickly filled with sandwiches. North hid his smile behind his hand at the awkward but cute moment between Jack and his mate. They had not been the closest of friends not even when Jack became a guardian but over the last few years Jack had come to see Bunny as another parent while Bunny realised that despite Jack being over 300 years old he was still a child in many ways. Jack thanked him and quickly said good bye again before taken off. Bunny shook his head as he checked Thistle to make sure the bleeding had stopped.
"Ok Sweetheart, its stopped bleeding, now go and put your tooth under your pillow so it will be safe until your aunt Tooth comes to pick it up"
"Do you know what Auntie Tooth is going to leave me?" Thistle asked looking up at Bunny.
"No idea Thistle, since its your first tooth and all, you'll just have to wait and see"
-Line Break-
Jack flew over Tooth's palace,waving at all the smaller fairies as he past by, some fainting because of his smile. He found Tooth on her balcony shouting out orders left and right as the fairies carrying teeth went to the vaults while others flew to one of the many address that Tooth was yelling out.
"Hey Tooth! Busy as usual" said Jack as he landed next to her.
"Jack! Its so good to see you, how are your teeth?" Tooth asked as she gave him a hug.
"Oh there fine tha..." Jack's words were lost as Tooth stuck he fingers in to his mouth examining his teeth.
"Ah, still like fallen snow, you should give the twins lessons on teeth care Jack. Bunny and North give them too many sweets"
"That's kinda why I'm here. I was wondering if you needed any help with their tooth boxes, North said you've been really busy of late and hadn't really had time to work on them"
"Oh? Well no, I mean yes I have been busy, but that wasn't the reason I haven't finished their boxes yet" said Tooth as she quickly order a few fairies to retrieve teeth in Europe. "I had to do some research"
"Huh? Why would you nee to do that for?" asked Jack looking confused "Their kids they lose their baby teeth what's so different about that?"
"Well Jack, for one Thistle and Dust along with JJ and Memphis will be the first lot of immortal's baby teeth I have. When I first got started I many stuck to India but even back then there were many gods, spirits and fairies that had lived hundreds of years. So naturally I don't have any of their teeth nor do I have North, Bunny's or Sandy's. So these boxes have to be the extra bit special as well as guarded a lot more. And the second reason is because of Bunny" Tooth explained as she flew deeper in to her palace with Jack following her. They reached the very centre of the palace where the statue of Haroom was working on a vault that rose from the floor. Beside him was a work table covered in jewels or all shapes and sizes and three gold tooth boxes.
"Wow, your really keeping these ones safe" smiled Jack when he saw the pictures of Thistle and Dust on their cases "But I notice Dust's case is a little bit bigger then everyone else's"
"Like I told you Jack its because of Bunny"
"You lost me Tooth"
"Its because Bunny is a pooka. They tend to lose a few more teeth then humans do. They lose their fount ones twice before getting their adult ones. I had to borrow many of North's books and had a long talk with Bunny about it to make sure I had made Dust's box just right. I wasn't to concerned with Thistle, she takes too much after North, but should she lose more I can make her box bigger later"
"So that's why their not quite finished, with all that reading and such plus your usual job you've been rushed off your feet...er wings"
"I will have them finished by tonight!" said Tooth firmly "I can't wait to collect them"
"Er...only Thistle has had her tooth come out Tooth" said Jack as he looked over JJ's box that was complete.
"Oh Dust's will be out before the night is over trust me on that"
"Good because he was in a right snit over the fact that Thistle lost her tooth first. Has JJ already lost his first tooth?"
"He has and his second one" said Tooth sadly "Don't look inside Jack, seeing them makes me quite ill"
"Rotten are they?"
"Completely black but of course he's from Halloween town so naturally his teeth are meant to be bad but still..."
"So do you need any help? I can look after the fairies for you if you want?"
"No thank you Jack, but if you want to help you can pick out the jewels you think would be best to go on their cases and then help Haroom with the vault. I should get a spare few minutes to finish their cases before the twins bed time"
-Line Break-
"And Cinderella married her prince and lived happily ever after. The End. Now it is time to go to sleep my treasures. Thistle you have tooth under pillow?" North asked as he placed their fairy tale book on the shelf.
"Yes papa"
"Now you must go to sleep otherwise she will not come and uncle Sandy will not give you any nice dreams"
"I'm staying awake so that she can't come! Then she come later and get mine and Thistle's together!" said Dust as he waved his touch about, turning it on and off to make sure it worked.
"Dust, don't be mean to your sister" said Bunny as he took the touch off of him "You wouldn't want her to do that too you would you?"
"No" Dust said quietly as he sunk moodily in to his pillow. Bunny kissed his forehead and swooped with North to place a kiss on Thistle.
"Goodnight Son" said North "Try and sleep, tomorrow is another day and your tooth might come out"
"But I want it to come out now..." Dust moaned as he yawned.
"I know, maybe if daddy is not around we could try the string and the door trick dah?"
"Dah!" smiled Dust as he returned North's kiss and curled up under his sheet.
North took Bunny's paw and led him to the study which now doubled as their living room.
"The kits really love it when you tell them their bed time story Nick" smiled Bunny as he sat on the sofa as North got a small fire going.
"I love tell them stories. I have a good knack for it"
"Though I don't seem to recall Cinderella fighting her step mother in a duel to the death. Nor the handsome prince having the ugly step sister arrested for trying to trick him" Bunny smirked as North joined him on the sofa.
"It made much more sense to me. I don't want our daughter to think she must wait around for a prince to rescue her or one to make her happy"
"She's knows that North, no doubt when she is old enough you and I will teach her self defence and such. Though the way you are with the kits their going to be very spoiled"
"I don't know what you mean!" said North haughty "I am very firm and fair on our children. If they ever did anything wrong they would be straight on to naughty list"
"Yeah right. You may act all tough mate but I can see right though you. Underneath the gruff exterior your as soft as a marshmallow"
"What! What did you just call me?"
Bunny smirked and poked North's belly "Your a marshmallow"
North grabbed the pillow behind him and went to smack Bunny with it, but the pooka was quick and jumped out of the way. A friendly chase around the study insured with North swinging the pillow left and right while Bunny dodged. Bunny was enjoying himself so much that he did not hear the sound of small feet against the floor outside the study or the sound of the door opening.
"Your getting slow in your old age mate" Bunny laughed as he poked his tongue out.
North swung his arm back and spun it quickly as he threw it with all his might, Bunny dodged easily but it smacked Dust hard in the face sending the small pooka to the floor.
"DUST! North you gumbie, what were you thinking" snapped Bunny as he ran to his son's side.
"Me? You moved! It was your fault" said North as he joined Bunny next to Dust "Son, speak to us, are you alright?"
Dust groaned as he looked up at his parents "That hurt my head"
"Your lucky it was just your head little one. Now what are you doing up?" North asked as he sat Dust up but kept his hand on his son's back incase the hit made him dizzy.
"I was really thirsty and wanted a drink" said Dust but his words came out slurred as he and his parents noticed something was missing.
"Dust! Your tooth!" smiled Bunny "Where did it go?"
Three eyes quickly scanned the floor until two looked down at the other pair with worry in their eyes.
"Dust...you didn't..." started North but the tear filled eyes of Dust answered his question.
"I SWALLOWED IT!" Dust cried as he threw his head back and began to sob. Bunny picked up Dust up and hugged him tightly as he cooed and rubbed his back.
"Its alright son, Tooth handles this kind of thing all the time, your not the first kid that swallowed their tooth"
"But...but...but Auntie Tooth said my Tooth had to be under my pillow otherwise I won't get anything" Dust wept in to Bunny's shoulder.
"Now Dust, Tooth has done this a long time dah? She will know you have lost your tooth and will leave you something anyway" said North as he started to lead Bunny and Dust back to his bedroom.
"But what if she gets mad? Or she can't find my tooth in my tummy?"
"Don't worry about it Dust, really, your auntie won't get mad at you, I promise" said Bunny as he opened the bedroom door. As their entered, Bunny noticed that Thistle had rolled out of bed and was laying like a spread eagle on the floor. North muttered under his breath as he picked up his sleeping daughter and put her back in to bed. Bunny tucked Dust back into bed and saw that his son was still greatly upset over his tooth. He looked over at North and an idea stuck him.
"Hey North, do you have a bit of paper and pen on you?" he asked
"Er...usually have some in pocket in case I think of idea" said North as he fished out a crumpled piece of paper and a small pen. "Why?"
"I think if we leave a note to Tooth explaining what happened and say we're sorry. She won't be too mad and still leave Dust his gift" explained Bunny as he quickly penned the note and shoved it under Dust's pillow. "There, now, do you think you can sleep now?"
"Yep" smiled Dust looking slightly odd with the one tooth showing.
"Good, the get to sleep and no more getting up for silly things alright?" said Bunny as he pulled the quilt up to Dust chin and tucked him in, before kissing his forehead. "Night kiddo"
Bunny and North joined hands as they walked out of the room, looking back before closing the door to see Dust had already fallen asleep.
-Line Break-
It was well past midnight when Tooth appeared at the North Pole. The guards had been informed of her arrival earlier so did not bother to stop her from going in. She quietly slipped in to the twins room and smiled brightly at their sleeping forms. It was a time she loved most, seeing the children, watching them dream happily. She went to Thistle bed first and swapped her tooth with her gift. It was a bit tricky as the gift was bigger then her tooth, but Tooth was sure that the twins would love them. She went over to Dust's pillow and was surprised when she pulled out a note instead of a tooth. After reading it, she rolled her eyes and muttered "males" under her breath. Tooth placed her hand just over Dust's belly as it started to glow. Slowly the tooth appeared above Dust's fur and Tooth took it in to her hand. Like Thistle she picked Dust's pillow up slightly and placed his gift there to find. She looked down at the two small teeth in her hand, enjoying the warmth of the happy memories they contained, before looking back at the twins. She was so happy that Bunny and North were kind enough to share their happiness with her and everyone else. She, like many other spirits, was jealous of what they had together and of the twins. One day she hoped to meet someone who would fill her with the same joy and gift as North had done for Bunny. Someone with teeth as pure as snow...at least if she had any say in the matter. Till then she would love an guard the twins as if they were her own. She loved holding them in her arms when they were younger and how they always hugged her and called her auntie. Those few days teaching Thistle how to fly were amazing and she always had time to listen to Dust who loved to tell her stories about what Jack and his parents got up too. With a soft sigh she wished them both sweet dreams and hoped that when they woke they would love her gift to them.
-Line Break-
Bunny was sitting in the kitchen drinking a hot chocolate while North was busy cooking breakfast. He had had to stop North from waking the twins up all because he was impatient to find out what Tooth had left them.
"I'm sure what ever Tooth has left them will be fine" said Bunny as he sipped from his cup.
"I have no doubt about it" said North as he flipped the pancakes "But you and I "know" what children like as gifts...Tooth does not. Sure, children like having money, they can use it to buy sweets. But Twins do not need money...so leaves question what has she given them?"
"Your going to have to wait a few more minutes until the kits decided to come to breakfast. I know their up and about, I heard them, but they probably wanted to play with what ever they got before coming to show us"
"Fine...but I don't like to wait!" moaned North as he continued to cook. It was only a few minutes later that the twins appeared both carrying a small clear bag.
"Daddy...Auntie Tooth got us the wrong present" said Thistle as she ran up to Bunny.
"Yeah, she said she would give us a reward, I don't think this is it" said Dust sounding confused. Bunny took the clear bags and looked at what was inside of them, rolled his eyes and tried to suppressed a groan.
"North you better look at this" he said as he held the bags up for his mate to take. North turned the hob off and wiped his hands clean as he took the two bags. Inside was a cup, toothbrush, floss, mouthwash and toothpaste. All personalised to each of the kits in their favourite colour.
"Well...they do say it is the thought that counts" he said with a small smile.
The End.