Author's Note: This is an idea I came up with a while ago. I thought it would be pretty cool if Jack met the Guardians in his human life. =D So, this is a little collection of one-shots in which Jack meets each of the Guardians while he's still human! =D I already got all of the one-shots written, so this will be finished today. =)

I hope you enjoy this first one-shot! =D

Nicholas St. North

"Mama, please! You won't even know I'm awake!" begged Jack as he tugged his mother's brown dress. Irina Overland stirred the pot of porridge and then turned to her eight-year-old son, who was on his knees and clutching her clothes.

"Jack, I've already told you three times. The answer is no," said Irina. She continued stirring the porridge. "You're too young to stay up by yourself all alone, and you need your rest. You don't want to be tired on Christmas morning, do you? Besides, Santa won't come if you're awake."

"That's not true!" said Jack as he stood up. "Fog said that he saw Santa when he stayed up late. He even saw the reindeer fly away!"

"You heard your mother, Jack," said Jack's father, Victor. The man was currently swaddling baby Mary Overland in his arms. The baby giggled and tugged on her father's shirt. "You're not staying up trying to see Santa Claus."

Jack blew his brunette bangs out of his eyes and said, "But I'll be fine! I won't make any mischefoteft."

"It's mischief dear," said Irina. She pulled out a ladle and bowl and scooped some porridge. "And the answer is still no."

"But—"

"No buts, Jack," Irina said firmly. She turned to her son. "You're not staying up past your bedtime and that's final. End of discussion. Now, come and get your food."

Jack crossed his and huffed petulantly. It was Christmas Eve and Jack was dying to get at least a glimpse of Santa and his sleigh. But every year when he asked to stay up late, his parents said no. And every year on Christmas day, the children of the village would claim to see Santa flying through the air with his reindeer or—if they were lucky enough—leave the brightly wrapped presents under the Christmas tree. Jack walked over to the table and sat down in his chair and his mother placed his bowl of porridge in front of him, placing a kiss on his forehead afterward.

"Maybe when you get a little older, Jack, you can stay up," said Irina.

"But that's forever!" exclaimed Jack. "And the other kids stay up! So why can't I?"

"You don't want to get put on the naughty list at the last second, Jack," Victor said as he placed Mary into her high chair.

Jack shoved a spoonful of porridge into his mouth. He was going to stay up to see Santa, no matter what his parents said. Besides, it was too late to get put on the naughty list. Jack had been trying his best to be extra good that year, and he just knew he was on the nice list. Jack smiled to himself. His parents won't even catch him!

"Jack...what are you thinking about?" asked Irina. She knew her son well and whenever a mischievous smile crept onto Jack's face, she knew that he was planning something.

Jack looked up at his mother, innocence in his chocolate eyes. "Nothing."

Irina glanced at her husband and Victor shrugged. Jack nearly laughed to himself. His parents didn't suspect a thing. After dinner was eaten, Jack went to put on his pajamas and crawled into bed, waiting for his parents to finish tending to Mary and tuck him in. Irina and Victor walked to Jack's side of the room and Jack's mother placed a kiss on his forehead.

"Don't do anything naughty tonight, Jack," Irina said in a warning tone. "I will know."

Victor laughed and then placed a kiss on Jack's cheek. "I'm sure he won't do anything, Irina." The two said goodnight to Jack and Mary and then left the bedroom. Jack waited until he heard their bedroom door close, and Jack sat up in bed to look out his window, wide awake. He was going to stay up and see Santa.

...

Jack had no idea how long he was up but his body began to beg to go to sleep. His eyes kept on constantly drooping, and Jack had to slap himself to stay awake. But no matter how hard he tried, his eyes would begin to close again. He was getting tired.

Jack yawned and rubbed at his eyes. He wasn't going to fall asleep. He knew that Santa would come soon. He just knew it! Jack suddenly heard a thump come from the roof. Jack's brown eyes widened. Could it be?

Jack slowly opened his bedroom door and walked into the main room which served as both the living room and kitchen. Jack looked to where the fireplace sat and gasped when he saw dust and ash come from it. Suddenly, a large figure fell through and landed on his feet. There, standing just a few feet away from Jack was none other than Nicholas St. North, holding a bag of presents over his shoulder.

Jack wanted to scream. He wanted to shout. He wanted to wake up his parents and sister and tell them that Santa Claus was standing in their house! Jack watched as the man in red gently placed gifts under the small Christmas tree that sat in the corner of the room, and the brunette couldn't keep back a squeal.

North stopped what he was doing and looked around. Jack quickly ducked behind a chair and clamped a hand over his mouth, shutting his eyes and praying that Santa didn't hear him. He was definitely going to be on the naughty list for this.

But to his surprise, nothing happened. At least, that's what he thought. Jack looked up and saw North's figure standing above him, a soft smile on his face that almost reminded him of his father's.

"H-hi," said Jack in a small voice.

"Well, hello there," said North. He helped Jack stand up. "Vhat are you doing up? You should be asleep, Jack."

Jack was about to say something but then stopped. "W-wait...how do you know my name?"

"I am Santa, I know every child," said North knowingly. "And you are on Nice List too."

Jack smiled at the fact that he was on the Nice List and then answered North's question. "Well, the other kids said that they saw you delivering presents or flying through the sky on your reindeer, so I wanted to see you too."

"Your parents let you stay up?" asked North.

Jack's cheeks reddened. "Um…"

North chuckled lightly. This wasn't the first time he had been seen by a child who disobeyed his or her parents' orders to go to bed and stayed up to see him. And North knew that Jack was a very mischievous child. He had been told many things about Jack, and the young Overland was unlike any child North had ever seen. North watched as Jack stared at the large presents that sat under the tree, but then the brown-haired boy turned back to him.

"I'm not going on the naughty list for this...right?" asked Jack. "I tried really, really hard to be good this year, and it's probably past midnight already, meaning that it is technically Christmas right now. And you just delivered the presents too!"

North laughed softly and patted Jack's shoulder. "You are not on naughty list. You were just curious, which iz understandable."

Jack smiled. His eyes then widened and he asked, "Can I see your sleigh?"

"It iz parked way off in forest, " North said. He noticed how tired Jack looked and added, "And you should be in bed right now."

Jack rubbed his eyes. "I'm not even that tired," he said, but his voice betrayed him. North only smiled and picked Jack up and placed him in a nearby chair, draping a red blanket over him. Jack yawned and his eyes began to close.

"In morning, you can open presents," said North. "It was nice meeting you, Jack."

Jack mumbled a quick "goodbye" and the last thing he saw before falling asleep was the bright shimmer of a snow globe and North walking through it. Jack finally succumbed to slumber with a light smile on his face, knowing that this Christmas was one that he would never forget.