Hard Work and Deadlines

Jack yawned as he lazily waved his staff to create a light snowfall over New York City. It wasn't his best work, he knew that, but it was the first winter season since he had become a Guardian, meaning that he had deadlines to meet and couldn't spread wintertide at his freewill.

Since Jack had become a Guardian, things had changed for the teenage winter spirit. He found that he didn't always have time to hang out with Jamie and his friends, or even visit the Guardians as frequently as he would like. Jack knew that transitioning from a regular spirit to a Guardian would take some time, and he knew that he would eventually get better at managing his time spreading winter and spending time with his friends, but so far, things had been just work, work, and more work.

Jack flew over New York and towards Burgess. He rubbed at his eyes knowing that he needed to get some rest but couldn't bring himself to. He found himself remembering when he had said the Guardians were all hard work and deadlines. Jack sighed. He knew that being a Guardian wasn't just hard work, but at the moment, that's exactly how things have been for him the past few months. Just hard work and deadlines, no snowballs and fun times.

Jack landed on his lake and slipped on the ice. He yelped when he crashed into a thorn bush. He grumbled as he slowly stood up, thorns scratched at his unprotected skin.

"Great. Just what I needed," grumbled Jack. He brushed himself off and rubbed at his eyes again.

I must be more tired than I thought if I'm slipping on my own ice, thought Jack. He didn't have much time in Burgess. He had to go and make a blizzard somewhere in Canada and Alaska was due for another snowfall. Jack sighed again, this one being more weary than the last.

Jack decided to take a quick break and visit North before leaving to spread his winter. It had been a while since he had seen the other Guardians, and even longer since he had spent time with them. He knew the other Guardians were probably just as busy as him, but he also knew that they had been at their jobs for years and were able to divide up their time much better than he could.

"Hey, Wind! Take me to Santoff Claussen!" Jack shouted, although it wasn't filled with his usual vigor. The Wind swirled around him, picked him up, and Jack flew toward the direction of North Pole.

…

North was having a good day. Toys were being produced quickly and the Workshop was bustling with action. Yetis were constructing toys and elves were "testing" them as usual. They weren't getting in the way of toy production—much to the yetis relief—and things were moving along smoothly. North decided to have everyone get off work early since things were going so well.

"Worktime iz over everybody!" North bellowed. Several yetis dropped what they were doing and went to go do their own thing and the elves dropped the ornaments they were holding and ran for the kitchen to steal some cookies. North smiled to himself. Things were going very, very well.

A loud bang from above interrupted his thoughts. He turned to the window where the noise had come from and saw Jack floating outside, rubbing his head. North guessed that he must have flown into the window. Jack waved, a light purple blush creeping on his face. North laughed silently and went over to open the window for Jack.

"Hello, Jack!" North greeted him happily. He picked up the winter spirit and crushed him into a hug. "It has been long time!"

"N-North...I kinda need oxygen to stay alive…" came Jack's muffled voice. North let him go and Jack gasped for air. North laughed and patted the boy on the back.

"Vhat brings you here?" asked North. Although Jack didn't need a reason to come to the North Pole. North welcomed him even if it was just for a quick hello.

"Just wanted to visit," said Jack. North noticed how he leaned on his staff. Now that he thought about it, Jack looked exhausted.

"Jack, you look tired," said North.

Jack shrugged. "Aw, y'know. Comes with all of the hard work and deadlines." Jack stifled a yawn. "I actually have a blizzard to make in Canada soon…"

Jack had started to nod off but he quickly opened his eyes. "Yeah...I guess I'm a little tired. But I'm fine."

Jack had a habit of saying he was fine when he really wasn't. So when Jack said that he was fine, North knew that he wasn't okay.

"Jack, you don't look fine," said North. "Don't you take breaks?"

Breaks? Jack hadn't taken any breaks at all. He used to get a good amount of sleep during the spring, summer, and fall months, but now that winter had taken over, Jack hardly got any sleep at all. He usually went with just ten minutes of sleep, maybe even fifteen if he was lucky.

"Um...sometimes?" he lied. Jack subconsciously rubbed at his eyes and sighed. "I mean...I guess not really…I've been busy spreading winter. I think I took on too much. I was gonna take a break, but…" Jack trailed off and bowed his head.

"But vhat?" North asked.

"I didn't...I didn't wanna…" Jack sighed. "I didn't wanna disappoint you guys. I just became a Guardian and all and you guys never seem to get tired at your jobs. I just didn't want to slack off…"

Spreading snow and keeping unwanted weather under control and making sure the kids have fun? That was a lot for one plate. North knew that Jack—even though he never admitted it—looked up to him and the other Guardians, so it would make sense why he would take on so many things at once. Yes, it did seem that the veteran Guardians never took a break, but that was not true. Every once in a while, Tooth would put one of her fairies in charge and take a break or stretch her wings outside for a bit. Sandy and Bunny would take naps and North relaxed himself by creating ice sculptures in his study or reading a book. Taking naps was very rare for the old man.

Jack taking on more than he could handle also explained why North and the other Guardians hadn't seen him in so long. North suddenly felt bad for not realizing sooner.

"Jack, there iz nothing vrong vith taking a break. In fact, ve all take breaks vhen ve need to. Ve're not going to get upset vith you if you take one. It iz not slacking off, it just means your tired and need to rest for a vhile," said North.

North placed a hand on his shoulder. "You just became a Guardian, ve all understand that, so taking a break after a few months iz completely understandable. You von't disappoint us."

Jack looked up and smiled softly. "Thanks, North. And, I guess I'll take a break. Maybe after I make that blizzar—"

"Oh no," said North. "You rest. Now."

Jack sighed, knowing he wouldn't win the argument. "Okay, fine."

North walked Jack to his bedroom at the Pole and Jack climbed into bed and yawned. His eyes immediately began to flutter closed when his head hit the pillow. North gave him a fatherly pat on the head.

"Rest vell, Jack," he said.

Jack gave him a light smile in response. He let out a sleepy sigh and then fell asleep.