At the request of A fan, here is a sort of 'aftermath' to the previous chapter (and omg thank you for giving me the opportunity to use one of the ideas on my non-request list!)

Disclaimed.

...

Spring Thaw Part II (Aftermath)

...

"Hey," Jack greeted the washroom yetis. He was about to ask if they'd be willing to add his hoodie to the pile of washing but their collective gasp of horror as they caught sight of him gave him pause. They looked like he'd just insulted their entire existence.

One of them broke away from its place by a large basin, stalked towards him, and ignoring Jack's protests, practically tore his mud-coated hoodie right off his body. The way it was carrying on anyone would think Jack had personally offended it. He relented to tolerating the manhandling considering getting his clothes washed had been his original intention, but when the yeti made a grab for him again – no doubt for his equally grubby pants – he had to draw the line.

"Uh-uh, no way," he cried, flying up out of the yeti's reach. "The pants are staying on."

The yeti grumbled something that went over Jack's head.

"You do know I don't speak yetish right?"

The yeti rolled its eyes, stalking over to a cupboard in the corner and grabbing out a brush that looked suspiciously like it was intended for scrubbing floors. It made a few stroking motions to get its point across before placing the brush in Jack's free hand when the boy in question descended back to the ground.

Jack heaved a sigh as he sat down against the wall. Placing the oilskin bag he'd been carrying down in front of him, he pulled out his old clothes (which had survived their cold-storage rather well) and slipped them on in place of his hoodie before setting to work on brushing the dried mud off his pants. The yeti, apparently satisfied, took the hoodie back over to the washtub and returned to work.

...

...

"Ah, welcome Sandy," North beamed at his old friend as he walked into the Globe Room. He'd invited the other Guardians over for an informal get-together – strictly no work talk – and the Sandman had been the first to arrive. He was proven right in his prediction of the order of the others when Bunny showed up next, and Tooth not long after, a small swarm of fairies in tow. Jack would be last, and late, but this was nothing unusual. The boy's lifestyle was as unpredictable as he was.

"Let me guess," Bunny grouched, glancing around the room. "Frostbite's not here yet."

Unfortunately not everybody (*cough*Bunnymund*cough*) was as understanding of this.

"Oh relax, Bunny, he'll be here soon," Tooth chided.

"You'd think one of these days he'd be on time."

And one of these days you won't complain about it, North thought to himself in amusement.

A yeti that had been passing by paused when it heard the topic of their conversation.

"What?" North raised a brow as he listened to its input. "Jack is already here?"

The yeti replied in the affirmative.

"Where is he, then?" Bunny asked.

"In washroom," North repeated the yeti's reply flatly, scarcely able to believe it.

Sandy expressed their collective confusion with a question mark. Why?

North shrugged. "Is only one way to find out. Come, we go see for ourselves."

Jack was, indeed, in the washroom. And if that hadn't been weird enough, he was not wearing his trademark hoodie and was scrubbing at his hair as he stuck the top half of his head into a large bucket of water.

"Oh, hey guys," he smiled, catching sight of them. He pulled his head up and shook out all the excess water that had already frozen into little beads of ice. "Did I get it all?" he asked one of the yetis. The yeti nodded proudly. "Good."

Jack stood up, allowing them to get a good look at what he was wearing.

The pants were still the same (and was it just North or did they look cleaner than normal?), and he was still barefoot, but in place of his usual blue hoodie was a white long-sleeved tunic, a vest, and a dark brown cloak. All of it looked hand-sewn.

Several of Tooth's fairies swooned. Baby Tooth (one of the few who hadn't) fluttered over to him.

"Haven't seen that get-up in a while," Bunny commented.

Sandy tilted his head, a sand hoodie and a question mark appearing above him.

"It's getting washed," Jack pointed to where a yeti had hung it up to dry with a bunch of other clothes. It was probably due for a good clean anyway, but North had the feeling there was a little more to it than that; an opinion he gave voice to.

"I got caught up in a mudslide," Jack shrugged like it was no big deal or was something that occurred regularly. "It was going to take more than a little ice to get all the mud off."

"Are you okay?" Tooth asked worriedly, flying over to him.

"I'm fine, Tooth," Jack grinned. "The other seasonals helped me out."

She only looked half-convinced before she distracted herself by examining his new (or, rather, old) attire. "It looks good on you."

"Don't get used to it; as soon as my hoodie's dry I'm getting changed again." Tooth made to ask something further but he pre-empted the question and elaborated, "It's a little old fashioned for the twenty-first century, don't you think?"

"To be honest I'm surprised ya even still have 'em," Bunny said.

"If I didn't I wouldn't have anything to wear in situations like this."

North silently added 'put clothes in Jack's wardrobe' to his mental to-do list. Although technically, Jack didn't have his own room per se (or that's just what North let the boy believe – and if Jack noticed that the 'guest room' he used whenever he stayed was always the same one he didn't say anything about it).

"Oh hey we had a thing today didn't we?" Jack realised.

"Yes," North confirmed. "We must decide what we want to do!"

Guest Review Responses:

City1997: Are you aware that you have PMs disabled? Thank you so much! (I'm blushing like a loon omg) I'll do my best!

Guest: :O You have no name! I must name you! Uuuum Basilguest! (as in the giant snake, not the herb) Thank you for your kind words!

A fan: I hope this satisfies :P Thank you!

Guest: Are you the same guest as above? Either way, thanks!

wololf: Thank you so much! I'm really glad you don't hate them XD Yeah, I figured summer's usually the time people go on holidays and enjoy themselves, so shouldn't the spirit of it be laid back and chill, too? Shall do!