A/N: Well. Hi guys! It's uh, it's been a while! Like a million years in fanfic time!
I'm soooo sorry about the delay between chapters. I never meant for this many months to pass. I finally got a day job and I haven't yet adjusted to working during the day and doing art/writing at night yet. Aside from that, I had writer's block really hard which soon turned into creative block in general.
However, I dislocated my patella last week! By doing the super strenuous activity of taking a step. It's probably the dumbest way I've ever hurt myself. Because of this, well, I've been unable to drive and therefore unable to go to work. After spending a couple days catching up on sleep and cartoons, I dusted off Fly Me Away and got back to writing. I'm feeling a lot better about this story now than I was a few months ago when I was struggling so hard to update.
I also finished the Guardians of Childhood book series since the last time I updated! I'm going to incorporate more book canon for sure, but in order to make it work, I am definitely going to be blatantly making some shit up and tweaking some stuff, so get ready for that!
If you're still reading this, I can't express how grateful I am that you guys have been patient with me and like my story enough to wait this long for an update. I didn't want to force anything and end up with a story I couldn't work with, so I hope this update was worth the wait. As always, thank you so much for leaving your thoughts.
"You have great power that you abuse! Life and death shouldn't be played with like this, but Frost was a special case and I'd do it again."
"Oh, I know Frost was a special case. Near and dear to your heart. You don't think I know just how near and dear?"
Chapter Thirteen: Bad Reputation
Erato balanced a tray above her shoulder, much like a waitress that had been doing it for years. Humming softly to herself, she raised her free hand and tapped her knuckles against the large doors to North's private workshop.
"It is open," came the man's voice from the other side. The Muse pushed open the door and stepped inside. She swiftly closed the door with her heel before any elves could shuffle in after her.
It wasn't that she didn't enjoy the elves or their company. On the contrary, she found them quite endearing. But hell if they didn't devour most of the cookies the moment she stopped paying attention.
She set the cookie tray she had brought on the table beside North's work. "I crossed paths with the Yeti bringing your treats and relieved him of his duties," she explained. "Thought I'd join you. Is that all right?"
"Of course," North said, taking a cookie from the tray. Erato rolled over another chair before settling down. Before she could reach for anything on the tray, the project that North had been working on caught her eye.
A meticulously carved Calliope and Sandy sat on the table before North, the ice glistening in the lights.
"Oh, the cake topper's coming along so nicely," Erato said.
"Thank you!" North said, seeming pleased with the work as well. "Will hopefully have Jack make some larger sculptures for the ceremony. Think a creative project will do him some good."
"That'll be nice, I'm sure he'd do a lovely job. I can't believe how quickly the wedding's coming up," Erato commented, selecting one of the cookies closest to her on the tray.
"Well, the engagement was not announced long ago," North pointed out.
"That's true. I'm still waiting for the backlash from Apollo and Artemis, it's been too quiet," the Muse said. It was only a matter of time before one of them threw a fit, unless they were waiting to do so at the wedding.
Let them try, she thought. Nothing was going to ruin Calliope's wedding day if the other Muses had anything to do with it.
"I feel like I haven't been to a wedding in centuries," Erato continued, not wishing to dwell on the thought of Apollo and Artemis' reactions to the engagement much longer. "Well, not counting the mortal ones I eavesdropped on."
"The last one I went to was my great-grandson's," North said with a slight smile.
"You must miss being invited to family events," Erato said with a small frown. North had so many descendants, it must be hard to keep track by now.
"A bit. I still keep an eye on my family, but it isn't the same as being a father or a grandfather," North said.
"I couldn't imagine," she said, shaking her head as she thought of Cupid. "I know how much you and Yelena adored your children and grandchildren."
"They brought us much joy. Yelena very much loved going to their weddings. She would be thrilled to hear that Sandy and Calliope are getting married," North said, sparing a smile before taking a glass of milk from the tray. Erato laughed slightly.
"That's right! She was always getting on their case to tie the knot! I swear part of the reason they didn't get married the past few centuries was just to spite her because she kept bringing it up," Erato said.
"I remember once Sandy actually put her to sleep because she was talking about marriage again," North chuckled.
"She loved her family so much, you and the kids made her so happy that she wanted that for everyone. She tried setting me up so many times," Erato said.
"I think I remember she tried to set you up with Ares?"
"Yes! She didn't know that we had already dated ages before that, it was so awkward," Erato said, cringing slightly at the memory. North laughed again.
"She was no good at matchmaking," he said.
"Not at all," Erato said. "But she picked you, so, she got something right."
"Well, I was great catch," North said matter-of-factly as he brushed cookie crumbs from his beard.
"Aw, you still are," Erato said. "You could still get anyone you wanted, Nicky."
"Ha! I am old," North said, waving her comment away. Beneath his beard, his cheeks could be seen turning slightly red at the nickname. It seemed he would never totally get used to it.
"We're all old," Erato said. She hesitated a moment, turning a cookie about in her gloved hand. "Surely Yelena didn't want you to be alone forever?"
"No, no, she always said I should remarry after she died," North sighed.
"Do you miss being married?" Erato asked.
"Sometimes. But I am in no hurry."
"Well, obviously."
Yelena had been dead for centuries.
"I am very busy, very little time for romance," North smiled.
Erato shrugged. "Romance makes time for itself. You've just got to be open to it."
"And what about you?" North asked, cocking a brow. Erato might be the Muse of Love Poetry, but she had never actually been married herself.
"Oh, you know, I've been engaged a handful of times, things don't always work out. Not to mention, I spent a few centuries raising Cupid. It's never been the right time. But, like I said, romance makes time. If it's meant to happen, it'll happen," she said.
"I suppose so," North said, eyes falling from her gaze and back to the cake topper. His mind was racing, she had spent enough time with him at this point to be able to tell.
They sat in silence, chewing on cookies as Erato thought of Yelena, the lively Mortal Muse that North had married. She had been so proud of North, so protective over him too. If any of the other Muses had even implied something negative about the man, they would be shot down immediately by Yelena.
What would she think of all this?
Erato had kissed North at New Year's Eve. That was as far as things had gotten, and it was easy enough to shrug off as friends fooling around.
The other Muses teased her privately about North and Cupid had simply sighed and given her a few knowing glances whenever she would mention him.
It wasn't hard to tell that Erato had a crush. Crushes on their own were harmless enough.
But if she were to pursue anything…
North had been married to a Mortal Muse. For all intents and purposes, Yelena had been Erato's sister. Erato wasn't sure if Yelena would be okay with this or if she would be furious.
Sure, she hadn't wanted North to be alone, but keeping romantic company with her sister? Was that crossing a line?
Erato watched as North carefully began carving at the ice sculpture of Calliope and Sandy again.
At least someone's relationship was working out.
"Can you tie a bowtie, Bunnymund, or would you like me to fashion you a clip-on?" Arachne said, holding up an untied gold bowtie. The pooka was already wearing the golden waistcoat and white dress shirt that Arachne had called him in to be fitted for.
"I can tie it," Bunny said, taking the tie from her grasp.
Euterpe stood nearby, examining her reflection in the mirror as she turned slightly in the strapless gold dress with studded bet and flared skirt, hands deep in the pockets.
"Have I ever mentioned how much I appreciate that you manage to add pockets to everything, Arachne?" the youngest Muse said.
"Numerous times," Arachne said. "Everything should have pockets."
Bunny swore as his bowtie came undone and began trying to tie it again.
"Are you sure you don't need help? I made North a clip-on, it wasn't any trouble," Arachne said.
"I've got it, I've got it," he said.
"Well, obviously I approve of the pockets and I like the tulle under the skirt and everything but can we add a strap or something? I get paranoid every time I wear something strapless," Euterpe said.
"Yes, that's easy enough, I'll whip something up and pin them on now if you've got time," Arachne said, taking some measuring tape, a clipboard, and a pen in her numerous hands.
"I don't have anywhere else to be," Euterpe said.
"Not going to check in on Jack today?" Bunny asked, looking triumphant as his bowtie stayed in place after his second attempt.
"Erato said you were spending an awful lot of time with him," Arachne said suggestively, lying measuring tape along Euterpe's shoulder.
"Oh, come on. It isn't like that," Euterpe said, cheeks turning pink.
"Ah, right. Erato is so often wrong about these things," Arachne chuckled.
"Don't tell me you've got a crush on him, too. You've all met him, haven't you?" Bunny said with a slight cringe.
"He's tall, he's got nice bone structure, good skin, pretty eyes, a nice smile, it's no wonder he has admirers," Arachne said. "Observation, not a compliment. He's not my type."
"Still, all these otherwise intelligent girls making eyes at a kid that probably doesn't even know how to tie his shoes," Bunny said.
"Is that why he doesn't wear shoes?" Arachne asked. Bunny shrugged.
"Don't be ridiculous, I'm sure he knows how to tie his shoes, he's three centuries old," Euterpe said with a heavy sigh. "Anyway, Jack's cute and all, but nothing like that's happening with him and I. Even if I wanted to pursue something, which I don't—"
"You never pursue anyone. Ever," Arachne said.
Euterpe glanced away from Arachne's many eyes, wondering how much Thalia might have relayed to her about just why her love life was basically nonexistent.
Hopefully it was just another observation.
"He's still so hung up on Rowan. No one has to worry about him pursuing anyone romantically, and it would be shitty for anyone to pursue him right now," Euterpe said.
"This wedding is going to be such fun for him," Arachne said sarcastically.
"I hadn't even considered that, how he would do at a wedding," Bunny said with a frown. "Has he mentioned anything about it? He won't really talk to most of us about her."
"Well, didn't you actively disapprove of their relationship?" Arachne asked.
"Yes, well, for some reason I thought that getting attached to a mortal might end badly," Bunny said dryly.
"I mean Rowan came up a little when Calliope and Sandy announced the engagement in the first place but he didn't get much into it," Euterpe shrugged.
"Is he going to come in for a fitting, by the way, or am I going to have to go off his old measurements for the ball and hope for the best? I've tried contacting him with no luck," Arachne said as she carefully marked some gold fabric on the nearby table after measuring it.
"He seems a bit gaunt, he might have gotten thinner, I'll get him in here," Bunny said. "Anyway, maybe the kid will buck up a bit when winter hits North America, he loves those kids in Burgess."
"Really?" Euterpe said. "Because every time I've seen him in Burgess and he sees the kids there, he seems really sad if anything. But then, he's sad in Burgess in general, I guess."
"Hmm," Bunny said, brow furrowed. "I don't like the sound of that."
The interior of the Moon Clipper gave away its age to anyone familiar with such ships. There were furniture and artifacts from a time so long ago, the exact number wouldn't quite make sense to anyone that heard it. Such numbers were so great that they were more concepts rather than real, tangible things that could be counted.
There were navigational systems that had at one point been sophisticated for the time, dials and compasses and gears that hadn't been functional in thousands of years. They remained in place only for nostalgic and decorative purposes now.
Portraits of family members long since passed hung on the walls, as well as portraits of the guardians on the far end of the room. The newest was of Jack, while three spots were quite noticeably empty.
Apollo took no time to admire the antiques, nor the portraits. He had barely spared a moment to knock on the entrance before loudly demanding to be let in. Manny was settled in an armchair near a globe with shimmering lights, not unlike the one in North's workshop, though it was far smaller.
"To what do I owe the pleasure?" Manny asked, spinning the globe with a lazy flick of the wrist.
"Have you heard yet?" Apollo said.
"Heard what?" Manny said, watching as the globe slowed to a stop with North America closest to him.
"Calliope and Morpheus are getting married," Apollo spat.
"I thought you didn't take issue with their relationship," Manny said, taking an elaborately decorated magnifying glass from the nearby table. He used his sleeve to wipe the lens before holding it above the globe to take a closer took.
"I care little about who the Muses take to bed but why now? Why after all these years? Why the sudden hurry?"
"I'm sure you'll tell me," Manny mumbled, watching a light that was periodically going dim and then lighting up again through the magnifying glass.
"I'll tell you why the sudden hurry, it's a power play! Artemis must have told Calliope to cut ties with the Guardians, she hates you."
"I'm aware."
"So this is their response, to show her she can't play that card."
"Shouldn't you be thrilled that they're going against her wishes?" Manny asked, still eying the light on the globe.
It was hard to react to Apollo's rivalry with his sister with anything outside of boredom anymore. They were always at each other's throats; it was hardly anything new.
"I would be, but this wedding is clearly supposed to send a message to us as well," Apollo said, sitting down in the armchair opposite Manny. He glanced between the smaller man and the globe, and with an irritated huff, spun the globe.
Manny sighed, setting the magnifying glass down and giving Apollo his full attention that he so clearly wanted.
"Why do you suppose that?" Manny said.
"Come on!" Apollo said, as though it were obvious. "They decide to get married without letting us know? Without our blessing? With everything else going on? They're going rogue, Lunar! They want it known that Artemis can't tell them what to do and we can't either! It's disrespectful at best and rebellious at worst."
"Oh," Manny said, clearing his throat nervously. "I see. You, uh, you think the Muses may still wish to rid you of your leadership position."
"And if I were you, I'd worry about the Guardians hoping to do the same, they're in on this too. The Muses have been talking to them, putting ideas in their heads as they do," Apollo said.
"Well, about that," Manny said.
"What?"
"I actually spoke to Sanderson and Calliope shortly after they announced their engagement," Manny said, his tone as gentle as he could manage. "I congratulated them, gave them my blessing, and they, well, they asked me to officiate."
Apollo stood so suddenly that he nearly knocked the globe over. Manny grabbed it quickly to steady it. "You're officiating the damn thing!?"
"Yes," Manny said.
"So it's just Artemis and I that were left in the dark, is that it?"
"Well, I imagine they didn't want your rivalry to get in the way of the ceremony," Manny shrugged.
"Our 'rivalry' is the whole reason this marriage is even happening in the first place! This isn't about love, it's about sticking it to Artemis and to me. And now you are going right along with it. What's your angle, Lunar? Are you after them too?"
"What?" Manny said, eyes wide.
"That's it, isn't it? Your childhood legends aren't enough for you anymore, you want the Muses, too," Apollo said.
"That's not what's going on at all," Manny said with a heavy sigh. "My good friend asked me to officiate his wedding and I said yes, it's as simple as that."
"I'm sure the fact that with them married, you could do just about whatever you want without worrying about the alliance has nothing to do with it, hm?"
"Do whatever I please without worrying about offending anyone you mean? What's your excuse then?" Manny asked, arms crossed as he cocked a brow.
"You already crossed a line when you brought Frost back from the dead. Don't act like I don't know what you did there, that was a power move if I ever saw one," Apollo hissed.
"You've brought nine different women back from the dead an you think me doing it once is a power move?" Manny scoffed.
"Of course it was! It was you saying, 'look, Apollo, you aren't the only one with these powers,' after going on and on about how we should leave well enough alone with the mortals in cases like this, how we shouldn't interfere with life and death! Hypocrite."
"You use your powers to manipulate others, you dangle the possibility of a loved one's return in front of them and you love that you have all the power to take that hope away. You go around playing god!"
"I am a god!"
"You have great power that you abuse! Life and death shouldn't be played with like this, but Frost was a special case and I'd do it again."
"Oh, I know Frost was a special case. Near and dear to your heart. You don't think I know just how near and dear?"
"He had great potential. He still does. You've seen what he can do."
"Oh, I've seen it. I also saw it years before he was even born in someone else. I always thought it was strange you chose him simply because he had potential and died early saving his little sister. Surely there are dozens, even hundreds of young people that had potential and died saving a child," Apollo said, never breaking eye contact. "Oh, but then the hair, the eyes, the staff that he just so happened to find. It's so obvious what you did."
Manny focused on his globe. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"It's crossed North's mind too, you know, it must have. And Toothiana, Bunnymund, the Sandman, they aren't that dull, they just don't want to bring it up," Apollo said.
"There's nothing to bring up," Manny said.
Apollo laughed, walking over to the portraits on the wall, taking Jack's by the frame before pulling it off. "Why don't you put his picture in his old place, Manny?"
Apollo stuck the portrait in one of the blank places on the wall.
"Stop it," Manny said, walking over and shooing Apollo away from the portraits. He pulled over a nearby stepladder, much too short to reach the portraits on his own, and took Jack's image down as Apollo pulled open the nearby storage closet and started tossing various items out of his way.
"Or, better yet, put the old one back up! It's got to be around here somewhere, right? You wouldn't just throw it out. Aha!" Apollo said, pulling out three cloth-covered paintings from within the closet.
"Leave it!" Manny demanded, but Apollo had already pulled the cloth off one of the paintings and held it before him.
It was a portrait of a young boy with white hair and a friendly face.
"Isn't it just convenient that you can bring back any of your fallen minions?" Apollo said. It was as though Jack and the other boy were watching each other, innocent bystanders as Apollo and Manny bickered, each holding a portrait in their hands.
"It's not that simple," Manny said.
"True, true, reincarnation isn't a simple thing," Apollo said. "But you noticed him, and he seemed familiar. Then the way he was always looking out for his sister started striking chords with you. Then he started playing with a stick he found and oh, you were sure it was him; it was like seeing a ghost. You couldn't just let opportunity pass when he slipped through the ice."
Manny said nothing.
"Curious, though, because Jack's not stupid. He was eighteen and while that's not old by any means, it's certainly old enough to have learned a few things like how to check if ice is thick enough to skate on or how to get off of it without falling through," Apollo said.
"Stop it."
"I saw it, I was there, it was in the middle of broad daylight, Manny," Apollo spat. "In a display of sheer stupidity, the boy slid right onto the thin ice. It wasn't his first winter, not by a long shot, so how the hell did it happen?"
"Stop."
"It wasn't an accident, was it, Manny?"
"Stop it!"
"You killed Jack Overland because you are a sad little boy that missed his Nightlight," Apollo said, pointing to the portrait in his hand as though Manny might have forgotten who Nightlight was.
As though that was possible.
"That isn't true!" Manny said immediately.
"But you didn't want people to get suspicious, so you named him Jack Frost. And to keep from showing him too much affection and giving yourself away, you showed him none. For three hundred years. To cover what you did."
"I didn't kill him, it was an accident!"
"You know what? You tell yourself whatever you need to so that you can keep on believing that you're the good guy and I'm just the asshole you put up with because it's better to be on my good side. We're not all that different, you and I, and if the Guardians knew that you killed a kid instead of letting him live his life the way he wanted because you wanted something out of him—"
"I did not kill anyone!"
"They'd probably hate you as much as they hate me, wouldn't they?"
Manny simply glared at the man.
Apollo handed Manny the portrait of Nightlight. "The Muses are starting to think I'm unfit to lead, and if this gets out the Guardians will think the same about you. You and I both have a lot to lose, Lunar, remember that."
When Bunny emerged from a tunnel in the middle of Jack's small cabin, he expected a sarcastic comment, a jab at him letting himself in without asking. When that didn't happen, for a moment he was sure that Jack just wasn't home and he would have to try again later.
Something shifted beneath the covers on the nearby bed, and a tuft of white hair sticking out near the top told him quickly that Jack was, in fact, home.
"Well at least he's been sleeping. Oi, Frost!" Bunny said, lightly shoving the boy.
Jack lightly groaned in response. He mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "Rowan," before turning over and pulling the blanket over his head.
Bunny frowned, having assumed that Jack's claims that he dreamed about her all the time were a mere exaggeration. People didn't often remember all their dreams, after all, and it had been several months.
He glanced at the wall opposite the bed, at all the pictures of the girl lovingly pinned there, at the drawing she had done of him. Near the skilled colored pencil portrait were drawings from children, a few with Jamie Bennett's name in the corner.
Bunny had never really taken note of drawings before, never realized just how many were from that boy in particular. Jack was truly more sentimental than the Pooka had realized.
He thought back to Euterpe' earlier comments about Jack seeming sad whenever he had seen the children around Burgess. Jamie had been his first believer and Jack had clearly grown attached, considering he kept some of the boy's drawings still.
Oh, this was bad. Bunny had warned him about getting attached to mortals, and while the main focus had been on Rowan, mortal children were dangerous to grow attached too as well. Eventually, most of them lost faith in the Guardians and fairy tales.
It was an unfortunate part of growing up.
The other Guardians were used to kids outgrowing them, but Jamie no longer seeing Jack had obviously hit him hard. Maybe all of this wasn't just about that mortal girl's death.
Bunny sighed, nudging the boy again. "Frost. Come on, you have to see Arachne at some point before the wedding. If the rest of us have to wear those silly golden bowties, you do too."
Maybe getting him away from the photos and drawings would help the boy, if nothing else.
"I can't tie a tie," Jack mumbled from beneath the covers. "Rowan, can you tie a bowtie or just a necktie?"
Was he still sleeping?
"I'm not Rowan, mate, come on, wake up," Bunny said, shoving the boy again. He pulled down the covers, finding Jack's eyes still closed. He yawned.
"Jamie tied my shoes last time," he said, sounding sad. He groaned. "I'm gonna show up to Sandy's wedding with no tie and no shoes, they're gonna kick me out."
"Are you still dreaming? Wake up, come on," Bunny said, shaking the boy's shoulder slightly. Jack shoved his paw away, finally opening his eyes, wincing at the light.
"Rowan," he said again, rubbing his eyes before he sat upright. He blinked a bit, seeming to finally realize where he was and what was actually happening. His face fell a bit, but he was quick to try and play it off. "Bunny, when did you get here?"
"A few minutes ago, Arachne needs to take your measurements, she says she hasn't been able to contact you, come on," Bunny said.
Jack yawned again. "Is she going to measure everything again? Because that was… uncomfortable."
"Hey, if I could deal with her measuring the circumference of my tail you can deal with her measuring whatever it is she measures on you," Bunny said, gesturing for Jack to get out of bed. He did his best to keep his expression neutral, or at least vaguely annoyed.
He didn't want to seem too worried or sympathetic based on what Jack had said while still half-asleep. He didn't need to embarrass the boy or condescend him with more vague promises of things getting better with time.
It wasn't what Jack needed now. He needed things to go as normally as possible despite Rowan and Jamie's absence, to show that "normal" was actually possible without them. Rowan may very well be gone forever and Jack needed to get used to that.
As far as Jamie went…
Bunny glanced back at the drawings again with a frown, thinking back to the ones the boy had sent along for him. He had been drawn both as his full-grown self and as the small creature he had been reduced to when running short on believers.
Bunny's heart sank as he remembered that it was because of Jack that Jamie had continued to believe in him.
He swore under his breath.
"You say something?" Jack asked, stretching a bit to crack his back before he grabbed his staff.
"Just that I can't believe I've got to drag you to your fitting like I'm your mother or something," Bunny teased.
"I don't understand why I need a new suit anyway, what's wrong with the one she already made me?" Jack sighed.
"Do not say that to her," Bunny laughed. "Besides, we're all wearing gold."
"Better than the bright orange she almost dressed me in for the ball, I guess," Jack said. "Okay, Peter Cottontail, let's go."