.:06:.
Sophie knew when Jack Frost was back in town when a crisp arctic breeze tousled her hair and tiny wisps of snow began drifting silently around her. She was sitting on the steps of the back porch, enjoying what had minutes ago been a clear winter day. A smile quirked the corner of her lips, but she didn't look up from her cell phone when the soft sound of his footsteps reached her ears. Her fingers tapped the buttons of her phone with impressive speed, and Jack approached her slowly, as if he was afraid of interrupting something. A few moments later she stopped typing, gazed at the screen thoughtfully, then slid the phone into her pocket.
"I hope you're happy, I just ditched my friends to hang out with you." Sophie said cheerfully as she got to her feet. Jack snorted and leaned heavily on his staff.
"Whatever, I ditched my Guardian stuff to come hang out with you." He shot back with a playful smirk.
He hadn't meant anything by it, but Sophie frowned slightly and a troubled look crossed her soft features.
"How does that work, anyway? I mean, it seems like you spend an awful lot of time here. There must be like, a million things you could be doing all over the planet…" She mumbled quietly and worried a lock of hair between her fingers.
"Actually, I don't spend much time here. I've been on the west coast for the past week, and before that I was in Maine. Anytime I'm in Burgess I stop to see you guys, but once you go home I go back to work. It might seem like I spend all day with you, but I don't usually sleep so I've actually got twice as much time on my hands as you guys." He said thoughtfully. Sophie's lips turned up slightly and she narrowed her eyes suspiciously.
"You've been thinking of ways to justify your favoritism, haven't you?" She asked, her voice low and teasing.
Jack leaned forward, his eyes wide and lips parted as if he wasn't sure he'd heard her right.
"What's that, Soph? You want me to shove snow down the back of your shirt as you scream for help?" He brought his hand up to show her a snowball.
Sophie choked out a startled gasp of laughter and brought her hands up placatingly.
"Please don't make me hate you." She murmured softly.
Jack sighed and cast a somewhat loving look at the snowball before turning slightly and looking out towards the street. He drew his hand back, took careful aim, then chucked the snowball in a high arc over the street. A few moments later a startled shriek reached their ears.
"So, where's Jamie?" Jack asked casually.
"Upstairs with his friends, being nerdy." Sophie smiled sweetly and gestured toward the house. "Did you have some big plans?"
"Not really, just kind of lonely." Jack said softly.
Sophie shifted a little and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. She looked back toward the house, and Jack started to wonder if maybe he should just go.
"I got some of those photos we took printed, wanna come up and see 'em?" She finally asked.
Jack smiled and nodded, and Sophie led the way up the steps. It felt strange for him to actually use the door, though it wasn't the first time he'd been inside their house. There had been a few occasions when he had followed Jamie inside to watch him get lunch. Sophie guided him through the kitchen to the stairs, and as they passed Jamie's room they could hear voices inside talking excitedly.
"Being nerdy, huh?" Jack asked in a near whisper as Sophie closed the door behind them.
"Yea, he's got this idea that ghosts are real, so he's looking for places to investigate. He bought a video camera and got his friends in on it, too." Sophie snorted in amusement at the idea of her big brother running around in the dark with a camera.
"Ah, right. The whole Bigfoot, Loch Ness, paranormal thing." Jack gave her a knowing look and she stifled a giggle.
"So, are ghosts real?" Sophie asked curiously as she shrugged her jacket off and unwound her scarf.
Jack sighed and leaned his staff against the wall slowly, his fingers trailing delicately over the wood.
"Soph, sometimes I wonder if I'm a ghost." He said with a hint of exasperation.
"You're not a ghost, Jack." Sophie stated.
"Well, how do you know?" He asked. Sophie started toward him with her mouth set in determination.
"Because I can do this." She punched him in the arm and he bounced back several steps defensively, gripping his left bicep and staring at her with disbelief.
"No need to get violent…" He muttered, but a smile pulled at his mouth and he had to turn away from her to keep his composure.
Sophie's soft voice giggled behind him, and he heard her shuffle some papers on her desk as he busied himself with examining some of the pictures on her wall.
"Come over here." She said sweetly, and Jack's gaze snapped over to her.
She was waving a stack of photos towards him with an odd look in her eye. His eyes narrowed slightly as he tried to place what it was, but it was gone quickly and he shook the thought from his mind. She tilted her head slightly at his odd behavior, but he took the photos from her hand. He didn't miss the slight curve of her lips, and he moved over to sit on the edge of her bed as he examined the pictures.
The one on top was a close up of some iced branches. He admired it for a moment, then moved it to the bottom of the pile and found a picture of the little stream Sophie had asked him to freeze. The water was trickling over a frozen cascade of water and snow. The next picture made his heart skip a beat, and for a few long moments he stared at it in surprise. She had taken a picture of his hand as he'd dipped his fingers into the water. He quickly checked the next few pictures and realized she'd snapped a progression of him freezing the water.
"Those are the one's I didn't want to show anyone." Sophie said softly, and Jack almost jumped as her weight settled gently on the bed beside him.
"They're amazing." He breathed, glancing at a few more before coming across a picture of Sophie.
He recognized it as one of the ones he'd taken from the tree, and in the frame she was smiling with a hint of playful irritation, her hair drifting out behind her with her movement as she stared up at the camera. She rested her head against his shoulder as he gazed at the photo. He found her touch comforting, and found himself smiling more from the contact than from the pictures. Jack moved the photo aside, but his hand stopped in midair as the next one caught his eye.
It was a picture of him, his bright blue eyes shining and his features softened in a smile. White hair feathered down around his face, almost melting into the snow in the background. His hand was still extended from handing Sophie the camera. His eyes drifted over the picture of himself, and he wondered when the last time he'd seen his own face was. A chuckle rumbled in his chest and Sophie smiled and curled her fingers into the cold fabric of his hoodie.
"Look at that handsome devil." Jack mused. "You know, I wasn't even sure you could take my picture."
Sophie leaned back and gave him an odd look, and he shrugged defensively.
"Well, you know! Like vampires with mirrors and stuff." He was half serious, and Sophie glanced from his face to the photo.
"Maybe the person holding the camera just has to believe in you." Her voice was soft and gentle, and he wondered how they might be able to test that theory.