A/N : Thanks for all the reviews, guys! :D
North, if he wanted to or not, had to admit his first thought when Jack Frost had been proclaimed to be the next guardian was 'Did Manny have glass of vodka too much?'.
Said winter spirit hadn't exactly been popular for responsibility and reliance so he questioned his aptitude for this title. But the Man in Moon always had his reasons for whatever he did and he had learned to trust him. If the deity was convinced that Jack was worthy then North would believe it as well.
And yet…as soon as the boy had shown up too late on that fateful Easter Sunday and all evidences pointed against him they wasted no moment of doubt and instantly treated him like a traitor. Especially North had been devastated about the betrayal but now he suddenly started to see it from Jack's point of view.
They couldn't use him to their advantage anymore. He had failed and they immediately dumped him. In his eyes, that's all they cared about : his power.
Why did he come back to help them after all of this then? The realization made North's heart convulse in guilt.
Because Jack wanted to belong. Wanted to make them proud or at least make up for what he had done wrong. And because he knew that it was the only right thing to do, no matter how much they hurt him with their lack of trust and the centuries of ignorance.
Tooth's eyes were overflowing with tears since halfway through the aggravated immortal's speech. Her little fairies had told her about the winter boy with the perfect white teeth for centuries. The stories had inflamed her curiousity and still, she never bothered to interrupt her task of directing the fairies for even a few minutes to take a look at this mysterious spirit and maybe even have a word with him.
After he had been chosen to be a guardian and she had finally met him eye to eye, and even more so during the following days, she realized that her job shouldn't have been her number one priority just for once. If only she had taken a small break to talk to Jack she would have
realized how lonely and desperate for contact he had been. And above all, that there was a heart of gold hidden under his cold skin and he was worth every nice word and gesture anyone could muster.
He must have felt ridiculed about her excitement when they were introduced to each other. Someone being so hyper about meeting him was surreal when exactly that person had had 300 years to approach him. And hadn't done it.
'Why now?' he must have thought.
The hummingbird hybrid hid her tear stained face in her delicate hands at the bitter truth.
Just because they were in need of his help and were told by the Man in Moon.
Sandy was staring at the stoney floor in shame. Even though he probably was the one of the guardians who had interacted most with him, 'interacting' being an occasional wave or smile directed at the snow teen when the sandman had been roaming the world on his golden dreamsand cloud and stumbled upon him, his kindness seemed so shallow all of a sudden.
He could have done so much more. A few times he had witnessed the boy being plagued by nightmares and chased them away with his dreamsand, replacing the horrible images with pleasant dreams of dolphins and snowball fights. But, as he realized now, this was like putting a band-aid on a broken leg. It didn't cure the root of the problem and only made the pretended helper feel better.
Bunnymund couldn't believe his big fluffy ears. Never had anyone dared to shout at him like that, not with that much scornful anger. Even Pitch himself couldn't have managed to affect him like the white-haired teen did.
Both Guardian of Hope and Fun had established a more or less healthy rivalry with each other, accompanied by mocking and teasing the other whenever they had the chance to.
But this now, this wasn't a game anymore. The seriousness of the situation and the ice-cold glare he was confronted with caused a shiver to run down his spine. He would have never admitted it, but Jack had hit a nerve. The steely shield of the furry warrior was crumbling, threatening to reveal his caring heart but he was too stubborn to allow it.
After all, he had been the one who was upset and had any right to be in the first place. Now the tables had been turned and he didn't like it one bit.
Not because he was convinced that the bloody show pony had no right to act like the victim. No, in all honesty it was exactly the opposite.
Jack was right about everything.
Bunny had judged him wrong and treated him like dirt beneath his paws since he had met him for the first time. The blizzard of '68 wasn't a very good start for them and inevitably ruined a potential friendship, but that was another story. He was a guardian, countless centuries old, he should have been wiser and not beared grudges against someone so young for so long.
During their battle against the Nightmare King he had wasted no occasion to voice or show his disgruntlement about Jack becoming a part of their team.
He had insulted him, yelled at him, mocked him for his lack of believers and eventually almost hit him in despair about the ruined Easter.
The only reason why he had teeth-gnashingly tolerated him amongst their exclusive group was because MiM told them that they needed his help.
And yet, even after he was outcasted by noone else than Bunny himself, Jack still came back and restored the belief in the last child whose light on the globe was dangerously close to extinguishing forever. Without him they would have crumbled under the force of Pitch's army of nightmares.
The winter spirit could have left them to their demise, after all he was not one of them, but he saved them. He made Jamie believe in the Easter Bunny again, the very Easter Bunny who had chased him away only a few hours earlier.
If Bunny was honest to himself, he wouldn't have done the same for Jack back then. He probably would have seen it as appropriate punishment, as cruel as it might sound.
And for this, he felt ashamed of himself.
Jack had needed them all more badly and for much longer than anyone of them had. 300 years were an incredibly long time to spend with noone but yourself.
The truth always had a tendency to be harsh, but this time the realization was nothing short of painful for the four ancient guardians.
If the Man in Moon hadn't interfered….they would have never bothered to contact Jack.
Everyone of them was too absorbed in their own thoughts and the guilt crawling to the surface that it took them a while to notice the change in their young friend's behaviour.
Tooth was the first who dared to look at him again and the others followed her gaze as a small high-pitched sob escaped her lungs.
Their already strained hearts felt like shattering into pieces when they looked at him.
Blue eyes which had glared with pure hatred previously were now glistening with unshed tears and so much hurt. Clenched teeth had turned into a slightly opened mouth and his staff was pulled against his chest in a death grip.
While he had made the impression of a feisty beast only moments ago, ready to shove any potential apology they might have come up with back down their throats, he now looked like the vulnerable child he was and most likely had always been.
Jack anxiously glanced from one invisible object on the ground to another after he had calmed down from his tantrum and became aware of what he had just done. The shock about his own words and the still impending reaction from the guardians were too much for his fragile soul.
He had to get out of here.
In a heartbeat he had darted towards an open window and jumped into the wind's embrace, urgently pleading it to bring him away. He didn't care whereto, just away.
The last thing he faintly heard was someone shouting his name in the distance.
