Author's Note: Hello, everyone and welcome to another chapter of "That Time of Year!" =D I can't believe that Christmas Eve is tomorrow, and I'm still surprised at how fast December went. X)
I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! There's only one left! =D
Chapter Twenty-Three: Christmas Day
December Twenty-Third
Jack didn't know what to expect when he and the other Guardians arrived at Santoff Claussen. They all tumbled out of Bunny's tunnel in a heap, finding themselves in the Globe Room. Jack brushed himself off of the dirt and grass that was clumped up in his hair and looked around. His eyes landed on the hallway that led to the party room, and Jack felt the oh too familiar feeling of nervousness again. The winter spirit sighed.
You're fine. Besides, you're just going in there so the others can apologize, he thought, and Jack felt a little better. The Guardians and Jack made their way to the party room and stood in front of the large, ornate door. They could hear talking from the other side of the door, and Jack suddenly realized something.
"Wait, I'm not in my formal clothes," the winter spirit exclaimed. "Shouldn't I go back and change or—"
"It's fine, Jack," said Tooth with a smile.
"And it's a little too late fer that now anyway," added Bunny.
Jack nodded and then turned toward the door. "Okay, I'm ready now."
North pushed open the doors and the large crowd of immortals and spirits stood on the other side, whispering to each other and talking. When they saw that the Guardians had returned with Jack, they all glanced awkwardly at each other, wondering who was going to be the first to say sorry.
Jack shifted uncomfortably as well. The whole situation was rather cumbersome, and now that he stood there, facing the large crowd once again, the winter spirit had no idea if the others would even apologize.
The Guardian of Fun wondered if he should say something to break the silence, as it was incredibly tense and almost unbearable. Finally, Bunny rolled his eyes and tapped his foot.
"Well? Who's gonna apologize to Frost first?" he asked, but it sounded more like a light order in Jack's ears. The winter spirit glanced at Bunny and then back toward the large crowd of immortals, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
After what seemed like forever, May and her group of spring spirits stepped forward. The lead spirit's braid swung at her feet as she approached Jack. She gave each of the Guardians a revenant nod and then turned to Jack, and the winter spirit was surprised to find pure remorse in her eyes.
"I may not have said anything," she suddenly stopped as she heard a couple of giggles from behind her. Jack couldn't contain a short snicker either.
May rolled her eyes and turned to the immortals behind her. "No pun intended," she said seriously. Then, she turned back to Jack. "But I do owe an apology for the way I acted earlier. While I'm not happy with some of the…unexpected blizzards and snow days that you cause, I do think that you do deserve your Guardianship, and I'm sure that you're already a great Guardian."
May's Spring spirits behind her nodded in agreement, and each of them said sorry for their previous behavior as well.
"Thanks, May," said Jack with a small smile. He turned to the other Spring spirits. "And I accept your apologies."
May bowed her head and then went off to stand with her Spring spirits. The next group of immortals were all of the fairies, who apologized for their rude outbursts from earlier. Next came some of the smaller spirits, who were mostly animals. Jack didn't know that there were animal immortals out there, but they seemed to be sorry just like the others, so Jack gave each of them a pat on the head.
Next came the Autumn sprites. Autumn stepped forward and shook her head. Jack knew she wasn't as sorry as the others, but he was still a little surprised that she had come up to apologize.
"Look, Frost," the way she said Jack's name sounded as if she couldn't bear to even say it. "I still don't think this is fair, and I still think that this is sort of…sudden, I guess I should say."
The Guardians were about to protest, but Autumn continued. "But I guess I'm sorry for my outburst from earlier, and for accidentally breaking your stuff."
Accidentally? More like on purpose, thought Jack heatedly. But the winter spirit kept his cool and said, "I guess I accept your apology, Autumn." Emphasis on the "I guess" he added mentally.
Bunny leaned in and whispered. "What does she mean about breakin' yer stuff?"
Jack winced slightly and said, "I'll tell you guys later."
The other fall sprites were more remorseful than their leader, which Jack was grateful for. All of the Autumn sprites who were involved in destroying Jack's gifts for the Guardians were extra apologetic.
The Summer sprites soon came up, and they all apologized as well. The head sprite was slightly reluctant with his apology, but Jack accepted it nonetheless. Soon, every immortal had apologized, and Jack was feeling better than he had before now that everyone had said sorry. The winter spirit scratched the back of his head and said, "Thanks, you guys. I know most of you still don't think I should be a Guardian and all, but I'm really trying my best to get used to it, and I hope that soon you all come to accept it."
The crowd murmured in agreement, and Jack allowed a smile to crawl onto his face. Everyone spent the next half an hour talking to each other, and Jack was a little surprised to find immortals wanting to talk with him. Most of the questions were about how things were going as the Guardian of Fun, if he had any snow days planned, and what his role was during the Battle of the Nightmare King. Jack answered every single question but left out the touchy details of the battle like when Pitch lured him into his lair and messed with his head, when the Boogeyman appeared in Antarctica and took his staff, and he tried to placate the moment when the Guardians turned their backs on him. Jack thought that he did a pretty good job, and the other immortals and spirits seemed satisfied with the answers that they had received from him.
There were still some guests who didn't make an effort to talk with Jack, but the Guardian of Fun didn't mind. He was glad that some people had talked with him, and it was much better than what he had dealt with at the beginning of the party.
Soon, the Christmas party came to an end and all of the guests had to leave. Jack stood with the Guardians as they waved to everyone who exited the party room. Some left through the exit while others disappeared with a snap of their fingers. Mother Nature left in a swirl of wind, and the party room was now empty with just Jack and the Guardians standing in the middle of it.
"Well, I have to say," said Jack. "That went a little better than I expected it to go."
"I'm glad you feel that way, Jack," smiled Tooth. Then, she looked around at the large room. It wasn't messy, but it wasn't clean either. "Looks like we have some cleaning up to do," she remarked.
Jack grinned impishly. "How about we make it into a competition? First one to clean up the most stuff wins!"
And just like that, cleaning up the party room became fun. Jack scrambled to clean up every nook and cranny. He brought all of the dirty dishes to the kitchen, and even managed to sweep the floor in record time. The other Guardians managed to get a lot of stuff done as well but tried not to help each other too much as the competition was still going, and each of them wanted to win it.
Jack folded the last tablecloth and placed it inside of a box and announced, "I'm done!"
"I'm done too!" said Tooth as she fluttered back into the room. "I just threw out the leftovers!"
"I'm finished over here too!" called Bunny from the other side of the room.
"Me too!" said North. Sandy came flying down from above and nodded, silently saying that he finished cleaning up too.
Jack looked around the party room and it looked just like it had before the party started, minus the table being full of food and guests. The winter spirit whistled.
"Wow, this room looks spit and pan," Jack suddenly realized what he just said and quickly corrected himself. "I'm mean spick and span! I said spick and span!"
Bunny laughed. "Yeah, mate. I'm pretty sure ya just said 'spit and pan'." The Pooka laughed even harder. "I'm guessin' we have ta blame North fer that!"
"I don't get expressions," said North bluntly. "Is there not more than one way to say them?"
Tooth shook her head. "I'm afraid not," she said. "But don't worry, with just a little correction here and there, you'll get better at them."
Sandy produced the image of a clock with its hands spiraling extremely fast. "That's going to take a while."
"A long, long while," added Jack with a small laugh.
The Guardians finished tidying things up in the party room and then headed off to change out of their formal attire. Jack waited in the Globe Room for the others, and when they arrived, the winter spirit asked, "So, what do we do now?"
"Vell," said North. "It iz Christmas as of right now."
Jack blinked. "Wait, really?" Jack turned to a clock and found that it was past midnight. Almost three in the morning actually. The winter spirit was surprised. "I still thought it was the eve."
"Nope," said Bunny. "But it's still three in the morning, and I think we all deserve some rest."
Tooth nodded. "We can come back here tomorrow…er…when the sun comes up and come up with something to do together then."
So, the Guardians each bid each other farewell for the time being and headed for their homes. Jack stayed with North in Santoff Claussen, and the winter spirit hung around with North for a while until heading for his bedroom. North offered to walk the winter teen to his bedroom, and Jack accepted. The two walked through the quiet hallways of Santoff Claussen. Now that Jack thought about it, the place did seem a lot calmer than usual. The only thing that echoed through the halls were the faint sounds of the yetis and elves snoring in their bedrooms.
"Things are pretty slow after Christmas, huh?" remarked Jack.
North nodded. "Da. But soon, things vill go back to being busy."
"When do you plan to get the Workshop up and running again?" asked Jack.
North thought for a moment. "Probably sometime next veek."
"Next week?" repeated Jack in slight surprise. "But that's not very far away. Don't you want to take a break?"
North chuckled. "One veek is enough time for me to rest. Besides, I like working in Vorkshop. And I don't know how long yetis and elves vill handle nothing to do without getting into argument."
Jack nodded. "I guess that's understandable."
North and Jack eventually reached the extra bedrooms and Jack pushed open his bedroom door, the wreath hanging on the front swinging lightly. The winter spirit paused in the doorway and said, "Hey, North?"
"Yes, Jack?" replied North.
"I just wanted to say…thanks," he said. The winter spirit turned to North. "I've never been to a Christmas party before, and I know things didn't really go according to plan, but I had fun spending time with you guys."
North smiled and patted Jack's shoulder. "You are velcome, Jack. And know that ve are here for you vhenever you need help."
Jack nodded, a soft smile appearing onto his face. Then, he walked into his room, shutting the door behind him.
…
The next morning, Jack woke up earlier than he thought he would. The winter spirit yawned, long and loud and slipped out of bed. He glanced at the mirror and ran a hand through his messy hair, then left his bedroom. Jack swung his staff onto his shoulder and slipped his hand into his hoodie pocket, walking through Santoff Claussen with no destination. Jack enjoyed walking through the large building; it gave him time to think about things and walks usually did well for the Guardian of Fun. Walking was also how Jack discovered new things about Santoff Claussen. Last month, he had discovered a room where the elves keep a secret stash of Christmas cookies, which explained why there were less cookies in the kitchen than usual. Jack had not told the elves that he had found their little stashing place for the scrumptious dessert, and he wasn't planning on telling them either. Maybe he could snatch a few cookies from it when the North Pole ran low on the ones he wanted.
Jack walked through the empty Workshop, which was as calm as ever compared to Christmas Eve. Jack could still see the yetis and elves running around, trying to complete last minute toys and add the finishing touches to some. He could see North bellowing orders from the balcony above and Phil and a group of yetis arguing with a group of elves who had stolen a couple of toy robot parts. Jack smiled to himself. Soon, the Workshop would look just like that in just a week, and the winter spirit was looking forward to helping North out again sometime soon.
The Guardian of Fun decided to head to the Globe Room, and he called on the Wind and flew the way there. Jack wasn't surprised to find the Guardians inside, talking about what they should do for the rest of the day. They turned around when Jack entered and greeted him with smiles.
"Hello, Jack!" Tooth said cheerfully. "Merry Christmas!"
Jack smiled back. He had almost forgotten that it was Christmas day. It was probably about noon, but the Guardians had woken up earlier than he thought they would as well. "Merry Christmas to you guys too," said Jack. He twirled his staff at his side and asked, "So, what's the plan for today?"
"That's what we're tryin' ta figure out," said Bunny. "Something that doesn't involve flying in North's sleigh and—"
"Vhat iz wrong with sleigh?" asked North. "Besides, I don't have to drive it now that Jack can. Maybe he can take us on sleigh ride."
Jack was thrilled about doing just so. "Oh, yeah! North taught me how to fly the sleigh earlier. We could all go for a ride on it if you guys want—"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up," Bunny said. He shook his ears and then asked. "Did ya just say that Jack can fly the sleigh?"
North patted Jack proudly and the winter spirit nodded enthusiastically. "Da, that iz correct."
Bunny's ears flattened against his head. "Frostbite…can fly the bloody sleigh?"
Jack nodded again, his grin widening. "Yeah!"
Bunny ran a paw over his ears. "Oh my moon, my worst nightmare has come true…"
Jack laughed. "Come on, Bunny. I won't go so fast. I'll go faster."
"No and no!" protested Bunny. "Jack flyin' the sleigh is much worse than North. We're doin' somethin' on the ground."
Jack pouted. "Fine. I guess we can find something to do that doesn't involve North's sleigh."
The Guardians continued to throw out ideas but none of them seemed right. Jack still thought that they should go on a sleigh ride, but Bunny insisted that they should come up with something else. The Guardians had many different ideas, but it was Jack who came up with the one that they all agreed on.
Jack smiled and said, "Hey, I think I have an idea on what we can do."
"It doesn't involve North's sleigh, does it?" asked Bunny.
Jack shook his head, chuckling lightly. "No, sadly, it doesn't, but I think you guys will like it if you're up for it."
The Guardians looked at each other and smiled. "Okay, Jack," said Tooth. "What did you have in mind."
"Meet me at my lake in half an hour," said Jack. "And bring ice skates," he added with a smile.
