Early-June
The meeting had started ten minutes ago. It was a relatively tame meeting, mostly Tooth talking about how much more likely children were to lose teeth in the summer.
"It's because they do such reckless, dangerous things!" she exclaimed, horrified that they would sacrifice their beautiful teeth for such a silly reason. Everyone had hid their smiles and chuckles, not wanting an angry Tooth lecturing them about the importance of teeth falling out naturally so that they would grow back in straight.
There was something missing from this meeting, though, or rather, someone.
Since it was the middle of the summer, Jack wasn't there. He spent most of the summer months with the Winter Court, sleeping and keeping cold during the hottest point of the year. By staying in the Winter Courts, he didn't have to sleep as much and he could get some work done for Mother. All the Guardians could feel his absence. It was a gaping hole in the room; a hole that they had never noticed until Jack had joined their little rag tag family. They could also feel the anxiety behind Jack staying in the court for any amount of time. The image of him melting and fading and dying wasn't an easy one to erase and it was common knowledge that other members of the court had done that to him. They all feared the torment that Jack could be going through while he was there. For the first time in a long time, Bunny couldn't wait for winter. It meant he return of his snow child.
The meeting was winding to an end when there was a heavy knock at the meeting room door. Surprised by this, and expecting the worse since he had expressly told everyone that he wasn't to be interrupted during meetings, North called whoever it was to come in. A female yeti poked her head in and garbled something unintelligible at the large man.
North's sky blue eyes widened in surprised and a broad smile split his face.
"Da! Let them in Helga!" He waved excitedly.
The yeti nodded and opened the door wider. Standing next to her with a bright smile, was Jack. He was wearing a simple short sleeve shirt instead of his hoody, trying to keep as cold as possible. Even in the Pole, it was uncomfortable, after being so accustomed to the freezing cold of the Winter Court. He'd been too excited not to come, though, so he'd bear it for the time being.
However, it wasn't Jack that the Guardians were staring at in surprise. It was the small girl at his side, her hair a soft gray and her eyes a dark blue. She was dressed in a simple green summer dress and a small brown cardigan. Her long hair was loose around her shoulders. She, unlike Jack, wore small brown shoes on her feet. She was clutching Jack's hand tightly, half hiding behind his leg, and staring at the Guardian's shyly.
"S-Sweet Tooth, who is this?" The Guardian of Memories ask, her face breaking into an excited smile as she fluttered closer to the pair. Smiling down at the small child at his side, Jack introduced her.
"Guys, this is Cici, she's the newest member of the Winter Court, a brand new spirit. She's hanging out with me this winter and getting used to the court."
Gently, the snow bringer removed his hand from her small one and laid a gentle hand against her back. "Cici, can you introduce yourself to my friends."
She peered up at Jack with large, trusting eyes and after a moment, nodded a small nod. Jack beamed at her and pushed her carefully forward.
She cleared her throat quietly before starting. "I'm Cici and I like white dogs." Her voice was very matter-of-fact and serious, her eyes pinched in concentration. When she finished, she retreated to Jack's side and held onto his pant leg. Jack grinned at her and ruffled her hair.
"Good job," he muttered before rising to meet the stares of his family. They were still confused, but the joy of seeing a child was overriding that confusion as they stared at her. Bunny was the first to look at him with a raised brow and a questioning grin.
"Well, I used to have a younger sister and I offered to keep an eye on her while I was in the court for the summer. She took to me like a bee to honey, barely left my side since I met her." He smiled down at Cici's head and laughed. "Not that I mind the company."
The Guardian's relaxed at the explanation, also happy that Jack had some company in the court. They all knew of the trouble he had with other court members, so it was good to hear that the boy wouldn't be completely alone while he was there.
"Do you want to sit down, Cici? North's elves can bring cookies and you can tell the other's all about the fun things we do together." Jack stretched out the word "all" for dramatic effect, hoping to entice the little girl to open up and relax.
Cici looked around the room uncertainly, biting her lip softly and thinking for a moment.
"Yeah, we can do that."
Jack smiled and carefully led her over to couch. Sitting down, he pulled the little girl easily into his arms and allowed her to settle herself in his lap. It took a few moments of wiggling and shifting before she finally got comfortable and sat against the Guardian of Fun.
The others settled into their own seats, excited to hear about the fun that Jack had spread into the court.
"Why don't you tell them what your favorite thing to do is?" Jack prompted. Cici's eyes brightened at the question and she turned her excited eyes to the Guardians.
"Egg painting! Jack has so many colors and brushes and he freezes the eggs so that they never go bad. We have hundreds of them!" She spread her arms wide to emphasize just how many eggs they had painted, her bright smile revealing a slightly crooked bottom tooth that Toothiana just silently gushed over.
Bunny turned surprised eyes to Jack, not knowing that the boy had taken art supplies with him, let alone that he was spending his time painting eggs. Jack smiled at him with a small wink. Bunny grinned back, offering a wink of his own, to which Jack quietly laughed at. Cici turned her dark blue eyes up to the Guardian of Fun.
"What's your favorite thing to do?" she asked seriously, her eyebrows pinched. The other guardians looked up to their youngest in interest, wondering what the boy enjoyed doing while he stayed in the courts.
Jack rolled his eyes toward the ceiling and put a finger to his chin, thinking about what he did while he stayed at the court.
"Well, I like playing with you, of course." Cici giggled at that. "Other than that, I don't do much there. I read a little bit, but that's about it."
Cici frowned deeply at that, crossing her arms over her chest unhappily. "Why don't you get to do fun things? When you have to leave, the other spirits have fun with me. Why don't they have fun with you?"
An awkward silence fell over the room, all eyes settling on Jack. The looks were full of concern, wondering how the boy would explain the concept of hate and jealousy to such a young girl. Jack swallowed past the small ball in his throat and offered a weak smile.
"It's okay, Cici. The other spirits and I aren't friends like me and you are. So we don't like playing with each other as much. I see them at the meetings though, in the evenings, and we talk to each other there."
Cici thought about this, her angry expression turning sad. "Don't you get lonely?"
Bunny had to bite the inside of his cheek to hold back the distressed whine that rose in his throat. He wasn't sure any of them would ever get over how they had treated Jack for so many years and having it brought up stung. The guardians waited, expecting the same small smile and a dodgy excuse.
They received a wide smile and bright eyes from their youngest.
"Sometimes, yeah I get lonely. Not so much anymore though. I have friends that I can spend time with and I have you," Jack tickled her sides gently, enjoying the sound of her laughter, "So, no, I don't get too lonely."
The young spirit smiled and wrapped her arms around Jack's middle and squeezed tight. "I'm glad."
Jack hugged her back and laughed.
An hour later, both Jack and Cici were feeling sleepy. Not only was the whole Pole warmer, but North kept the Workshop especially warm. It made the pair of winter spirits feel groggy and sick.
"Alright, time for winter spirits to leave. Too hot, make you both sick," North announced, brushing the cookie crumbles out of his beard. Both spirits mumbled in agreement. North let out a booming laugh at the sight of the sleepy spirits. Pulling out a snow globe, he handed it to Jack. The boy grinned in appreciation, his eyelids drooped.
"Thanks, North."
The large Russian man smiled and pulled the smaller spirit in for a hug. "Is no problem, Jack. Come visit whenever you need. When is it safe for you to leave the court for the year?"
Jack counted the days in his head. "A month and a half. I'll be at the first meeting of September, depending on the weather."
North smiled and nodded, happy to hear that the boy wouldn't be gone for too long.
Tooth was next to hug him, whispering to him that they missed him and couldn't wait for him to come back. Jack hugged back tightly, assuring her that he would be back soon.
Sandy offered a small golden fist. Jack smiled happily and bumped his first eagerly against the sand weaver's. The two had realized that hugs weren't a good idea for them, too much ice touching too much sand. It froze Sandy and made Jack instantly sleepy. The two had agreed on a simple fist bump, Sandy suggesting it after seeing two brother's do it one night. Jack liked it.
Bunny was last, standing back with his arms crossed over his chest and a gentle smile on his face. Jack walked toward him slowly, his own smile bright. Bunny snorted and rolled his eyes before reaching out to pull the boy to his chest and hug him tightly. Aster immediately chinned the snow spirit's head. He breathed in the smell of crisp mornings and fresh snow and sighed into the white locks.
Jack hugged back equally tightly, enjoying the feeling of soft fur against his cheek as he took in the smell of fresh grass and paint. It smelled like home.
Leaning back, Aster pressed his nose to Jack's forehead and sighed. "I wish ya didn't have ta stay there."
Jack just nodded.
Another sigh and Bunny stepped away from the hug. He offered a smile and kissed the boy chastely, aware of the others in the room.
"I'll see you at the beginning of September?"
"You know it."
"Good, the Warren is lonely without ya," the Guardian of Hope whispered, smiling tenderly. Jack laughed softly and shook his head.
"Don't worry, I'll be back to spread some fun in no time."
Bunny nodded with a smile, looking forward to the return of his snow child.
Cici watched all of this from the couch, watching her best friend's interactions with the Guardians. Jack talked about them often, referring to them as his family. She decided that she approved of the group to take care of her friend. She might be young, but she was far from stupid. She had observed how the others in the court treated Jack and heard the way that they talked about him. She had worried that Jack had no one, until he told her about the Guardians. She was excited to meet them, when Jack had purposed it yesterday. The young spirit could tell that he was also excited to see them.
Her thoughts were interrupted by Jack. "Alright Cici, ready to return to the court? Mother will have my head if I'm late to the meeting tonight."
Cici nodded solemnly, casting one last look at the Guardians before turning to Jack and smiling. Jack returned the smile, and Cici could see the difference that seeing them had made. His smile was more natural, gentler and brighter.
"Ready to see something really cool?"
The girl nodded in excitement.
Lifting the snow globe, Jack whispered 'Winter Courts' into it before tossing it to the ground. A portal opened in the room, showing the bright white or the winter court on the other side. Jack offered his hand. Cici took it eagerly.
"Ready?"
The young girl nodded and turned one last time to look at the Guardians. She was surprised at their looks of longing. Looks of longing and sadness and, almost, loneliness. She could see how much they missed Jack written all over their faces. It erased and eased the last bit of the reservations she had about them. They loved Jack very much, it was obvious, and she knew that when he needed to leave the courts for the fall, winter, and spring, he would be well taken care of with them.
A moment later and they were gone, a pillar of the winter court's entry way standing tall and proud where they had been. Cici blinked and looked up at Jack. The same look of sadness shone in his eyes, but it was dampened by the look of content happiness at having seen his family.
"Alright munchkin, you go off and have fun. I have a meeting to get to."
Jack had just turned around when Cici grabbed his shirt and tugged. Looking back in surprised, he took in the image of her analyzing him. He had noticed, very soon after meeting her, that while Cici was incredibly quiet, she had amazing observation skills. She knew things about people that they didn't know about themselves. She could look at you and know exactly what you were thinking in that moment, as well as your entire life story. It was incredibly unsettling to most, but for Jack, it was a relief. Without having to tell her, she knew what things triggered Jack and knew what subjects to avoid. And while she knew a lot, she never asked questions or assumed anything. She just took in all the information around her for herself and kept it there.
So, Jack let her look for whatever she was looking for in him patiently, a lazy smile curving his lips. After a moment, she let go of his shirt.
"They care very much about you."
Jack's smile widened and he nodded. "Yeah, I think so."
Cici shook her head, her eyes flashing with frustration for a moment. "No, it is the truth. There is no thinking about it. They love you very much."
Jack blinked at her in surprise, wondering why she was arguing this so forcefully. Little did he know that Cici had seen the uncertainty in his eyes, the hesitation in his words, the way that he doubt himself and doubted that others could care for him. Desperately, she wanted to get the message across that people did care about him, did love him. Because she knew, without a doubt, that no one deserved to be loved and appreciated more than Jack Frost.
Jack smiled softly at her and knelt down to her level, the same way he did with Sandy. "You think s—"
"I know so," she said firmly, her hands curled into fists around the light green dress she was wearing. Jack had asked her once why she wore earth tones so often, when she was a winter spirit. She said that the whites and blues made her sad, she didn't know why, so she asked Mother for brighter clothes. Jack had smiled at the explanation and always made sure to compliment her on whatever outfit she was wearing.
Jack chuckled at the correction and nodded. "Alright, you know so? How?"
Cici's expression changed from determination to surprise before settling into disbelief. "You can't see it?"
Jack's smile fell and his eyebrows scrunched together. "See what?"
"The way that they look at you! The way that they talk softer when they speak to you because you don't like yelling. The way that they hesitate to hug you until you're moving into the hug because then they know that you're okay with it. The way that they looked when we left!" She huffed for a breath, her cheeks a rosy pink from the rant. "It's all right in front of you!"
Jack blinked once, twice, three times in surprise at her words. She had seen all that in the hour that they had been there? Making a mental note to pay more attention when he returned to the Workshop, Jack put a hand on Cici's small shoulder and smiled gently.
"Okay, okay, ice cube. Calm down, no need to work into a knot."
Cici huffed, annoyed, before she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Calmed down, and only slightly embarrassed by the outburst, she looked at Jack with bright, burning eyes.
"You believe me, right?"
Jack nodded without any hesitation. Cici and he would sit in the courtyard sometimes and people watch, all the while Cici would make observations and Jack would confirm or deny them. She's only been wrong a handful of times. Why would she be wrong about this?
"Yeah, munchkin, I believe you."
Her stiff posture wilted and she slouched. Abruptly, Jack remembered how tired she must be from the heat of the Workshop.
"Go take a nap, Cici. I'll come wake you up when the meeting is out. We can eat dinner and paint eggs?"
Just as Jack predicted, the young girl smiled in excitement and bobbed her head in agreement.
"Bye Jack, have fun at the meeting!" She called after turning and running toward the corridor that led to their rooms. Jack waved after her with a smile. Turning, he walked toward the meeting room and thought about what Cici had said. Silently, he swore to himself that he would pay for attention when he was around his family. If what Cici said was true, he didn't want to miss a minute of it.