Well, I've been quiet, haven't I? Sorry, work, making a Cat Noir cosplay (you can see it on my DA page) and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild have eaten up a lot of my time and energy. On the plus side, new one shot! With the kids!
Winter was back, which meant that Jack was on his way. It was something of a tradition now for him to land on the garden fence on the second day of winter, first thing in the morning, in case the kids were going to school.
J was now eleven and just started middle school that school year, while the twins were still in elementary. They were still fighting about it.
J smirked smugly as he pulled on his coat to go outside. "I wonder what Jack will think now that I'm grown up," he said.
He'd probably actually be a little sad. Jackie thought, but decided not to say out loud. There was a high chance that they'd still be able to see him, since none of them had declared that none of the Guardians existed.
Yet.
"You're not all grown up!" shot Penny, "You're still only a year older than us," she added, poking her older brother in the chest.
"Yes, but I'm in middle school now."
"And so will we next year, so there!" Dan stuck his tongue at his older brother.
"You know, if you three keep arguing, you might just scare Jack off," Jackie said, to try and get them to stop barbing each other. She also dragged Penny back to make sure she actually put on a coat.
"Pft! Jack, scared off by us? As if, he loves us!" Dan said proudly, puffing out his chest.
"Dan, you look stupid," Penny said, already sulky by the warm clothes being forced on her, and Dan's face dropped into a scowl.
"Well, well, so does your face!" Dan didn't give himself much time to get a comeback ready.
"Alright, out!" Jackie chivvied them out the door, just to get them to shut up. Dan grabbed his ski hat on the way out and rammed it on his head before rushing outside.
Jackie followed them, and saw that snow was already starting to fall, sprinkling the ground like icing sugar. Taboo was rolling on the ground in glee at the cold while the kids looked around for Jack, who hadn't arrived yet.
"Why don't we have a snowball fight while we wait?" Jackie suggested.
"But then Uncle Jack will think we started without him!" protested Penny. It was a cute thing they liked to say when they were feeling especially childish. They all knew that Jack wasn't really their uncle.
"Snow angel's then. Jack can judge," Jackie proposed.
"Bet mine will win!" Dan dove down immediately on his front and swung his arms and legs back and forth in the settling snow.
"You're doing it wrong," J rolled his eyes, "You're supposed to be on your back!"
"We'll see who's right when I win!" Dan goaded, voice muffled slightly from being on the ground.
"Sure you'll win!" J shot back before lying down on his back and making a snow angel himself. Penny meanwhile was rolling up some snowballs, white flakes dotting her loose brown hair. She had also actually put on a pair of gloves, to Jackie's relief.
"Not doing a snow angel?" Jackie asked.
"Done," she pointed to one that was further away from the boys. "If it's not so close, then Jack won't be able to compare."
Jackie decided to not mention that Jack could fly and therefore compare from the air. "Fair point."
The fence suddenly juddered as Jack landed on it, hair askew from the wind as always and grinning broadly. The kids all sprang to their feet to look, and Jack's grin managed to get even bigger.
"So, how've you guys been?" he asked, staff over one shoulder. None of the kids responded at first, and Jack's expression faltered. "Guys?"
"Er, mom? What happened?" J asked.
"What do you mean?" Jackie asked in return, looking between the two Jacks.
"The fence moved, on its own..."
Jack blinked and looked up at Jackie, face falling.
"Yeah, that's weird. It usually does that when Jack lands on it," Penny mused, "but he's not there!"
"Where is he?" Dan turned to Jackie, "is he running late?"
Jack could no longer take it and disappeared in a flurry of snowflakes, flying towards the forest. Meanwhile, Jackie wasn't sure how to respond. They hadn't seen him, but clearly still thought he was coming, so believed in him, right?
"Quick question, who do you think Jack is?" Jackie threw out, suspicion forming.
"That's an odd question," J noted, pushing his glasses back up his nose.
"Just answer it."
"Well, he's like you, isn't he?" Penny asked, and it was clear all three siblings were in agreement.
Of course...
"So you don't think he's the actual Jack Frost?"
"No, that's just kid's stuff," J waved off dismissively, "it can still be someone's name though, right?"
"Yeah..." Jackie was distracted, continually glancing in the direction of the lake, where Jack had no doubt gone. "You guys stay here and play. I've got to go check something."
Taboo, watch them for me.
"Sure," Taboo rolled over and assumed an alert lying down position while her tail flicked worriedly. The exchange hadn't gone unnoticed by her.
"Be back in a bit," Jackie walked towards the gate and down the road. Once she was certain that she was out of sight of the house she broke into a flat out sprint, not stopping until she was in danger of tripping over tree roots.
"Jack!" she called out as she got closer to the frozen lake, "Jack are you there?!"
There was no instant response, although she was pretty sure the rustling she heard was not the wind going through the bare tree limbs.
"Jack?" she called again. "If you don't answer, then I'm coming up to find you."
"...Up here."
Jackie followed the voice up one of the larger trees, to see that Jack perched himself dizzily high, probably so not to be disturbed. Jackie was not perturbed however, and quickly scaled the tree to reach him.
She had to stop a few branches below, as the one Jack was on was not going to support the weight of both of them.
"Do you want to talk?"
Jack shrugged, his knees tucked into his chest and hood over his head.
Jackie sighed and said. "It was going to happen eventually."
"I didn't think it would happen so soon," Jack admitted, "and, I had hoped, that, it would never happen."
"I can see why you'd think that," Jackie shook her head. "I'm sorry, I never told them."
"Never told them, what?" Jack lifted his head out of his knees to look at her.
"I never told them about HOG," Jackie admitted, "so, they don't know I'm your Descendant."
"Right," Jack sighed, "but, they still talked like I was going to show up."
"I think what happened is that, they didn't think you were Jack Frost."
Now Jackie had his attention, his was sitting fully upright while staring at her. "What?"
"Well, they knew your name was Jack Frost, but I think they thought you were like me, someone with ice powers, and not the actual Jack Frost."
Jack blinked. "Oh."
"Yeah, I didn't see that coming either," Jackie leaned against the tree, hands in her hoodie pockets as she looked up at him.
"So, now what? They're going to think I left without explanation?!" Jack threw his arms up in frustration.
"I'll cook up something. I'm sorry Jack."
"It's okay," Jack forced a smile. "Like you said, it was going to happen anyway."
Jackie didn't believe that smile for a second. "Doesn't make it easier, does it?"
"...No."
Jackie stepped off the branch and onto some ice, rising up to Jack's level.
"Those memories aren't going to go away," Jackie smiled softly, "I'll make them remember, and just because they can't see you anymore, doesn't mean you can't be there."
Jack didn't respond, and Jackie tried a different tack.
"Jack, I'm still your friend, so is Jamie, and so are all the kids who can still see you. This hurts, I get it, but I doubt it's the first time, and it won't be the last," Jackie crouched a little to make she was looking him in the eye, even as Jack tried to hide his face by looking away. "So buck up, and get on with it."
"Was that supposed to make me feel better?"
"It was supposed to motivate you," Jackie sighed, "But, alright, you want to be left alone to brood. Fine, I get it," Jackie made to leave before Jack said.
"I'm not brooding."
"Sure you're not," Jackie looked back up with a slightly mocking smile. "You're just sitting a tree with your hood up and trying to avoid all forms of communication."
Jack let out a grumbling noise from the back of his throat in irritation.
"You know I'm right."
"I hate you sometimes."
"Sure you do Snowman," Jackie stood on her platform of ice, still looking up at him. "So, are you going to get out of the tree and have a snowball fight with some kids, or what? It is a Saturday after all."
Jack didn't immediately move, and Jackie wondered whether any of what she just said got through, until something white appeared in the corner of her vision.
On instinct she ducked and dived to the other side of the tree trunk, ice following in time with her steps as the snowball slammed into the trunk where she had been a second earlier.
Jack laughed and swung upside down as Jackie came back around the tree. A grin was plastered on his face and his hood fell back.
"Oh, it's on," Jackie smirked, forming her own snowball behind Jack's head. His grin broadened and he flipped upwards to avoid it, and the snowball skidded to halt in mid air to avoid hitting Jackie, before changing trajectory and launching itself at Jack's face.
He let out a surprised cry and fell out of the tree, using the crook of his staff to catch a branch and swing him away. The Wind caught him before he hit the ground and he spun in the air to face Jackie, grin having never wavered.
Jackie also grinned, and ducked behind the tree again before summoning snowballs from below Jack, sending him spinning upwards as they hit him.
Jack laughed as this happened. "We're doing it like this are we Icicle?"
The two ducked and dived among the trees was snowy ammunition was flung at each other through the trees. Jackie had dropped the path for her wings, granting her quicker movement allowing her to practice with them.
Sadly, halfway through the fight, an alert on her phone went off, reminding her of the time. She ducked behind a tree to check on it in relative safety and sighed before slapping her hand to her forehead. The kids!
She peeked around the tree cautiously before ducking back to avoid a snowball, which splatted on the tree behind her.
"Jack, I have to go!" she called out, and Jack immediately appeared in the tree above her, dangling from a branch with one hand and his staff gripped loosely in the other.
"Already? We just got started!"
"I know, but I left the kids. Taboo's watching them, but I need to get back," Jackie stood up and put the phone back in her pocket. "I'll see you later Snowman. I'll be practicing the same time as always."
Jack's face fell slightly as he dropped to the ground. "Okay, I'll go see if there's anyone else up for some winter fun!" the grin was back on his face, but it was a little forced as Jackie's wings disappeared.
"See you later," they both said, before Jackie walked away and Jack leapt into the sky.
Later, much later at night, Jack was still in Burgess, specifically at Jackie's house. He had been there all evening since Jackie had finished practice, making sure that no one had spotted him. Although, he wasn't sure about Taboo, as was usually the case with her.
Now, he was crouched on the window sill to the twin's bedroom, watching as they had talked, bickered and eventually fallen asleep. He had darted between their room and J's, although the elder child had fallen asleep earlier.
He was going to miss these kids. Their combination of Jackie's snark and Jamie's childhood wonder and excitement had been infectious. His finger trailed on the window pane, leaving frost, and giving Jack and idea.
On the windows to both bedrooms, Jack left drawings in the frost, to be discovered when the kids woke up. They might not believe in him anymore, but they still thought their 'Uncle' Jack was around, even if they never saw him. Might as well leave them a little something.
Okay, the age thing, I'm not too familiar with the American school system. I know in the UK that you start secondary school at 11, and some maths and Wikipedia tells me that it can happen in America as well, so that's what I'm going off of.
The reason it's not the 1st day of winter is that's the Solstice, which is meeting day.
Also, Penny doesn't like wearing thick, heavy, winter clothing. She feels she can't move as well in it, and would prefer to be in shorts, t-shirts and trainers all the time. If it's cold, she'll just move a lot to keep warm! Unfortunately for her, she does not have her mother's immunity to the cold, and Jackie isn't having any of it!
Finally, a note on Mimverse. In that universe Mim also comes around to see Jackie's kids (and calls J 'Baby Jack' which I need to write at some point, it's too cute!) So, there would be a similar scene with her not long after this, or Jack would just tell her. I'll specifics up in the air for now.