A/N : Wohooo, over 300 reviews! You guys are the bests! *cookies and muffins for everyone*

dbear851 : Thank you, I don't like any kind of pairings in this fandom AT ALL. Some movies really can do without romance and people tend to ignore that there actually different kinds of love ( platonic, paternal, brotherly, etc. ). Liking each other doesn't immediately mean "kiss, smooch, make out". :P

FFX2player : Glad you enjoyed it. ^^

bookmaniac : You're very welcome, I'm happy you like how it turned out! :)

Q-A the Authoress : It's not easier but far more entertaining. I never plan to make him so grumpy but then it just happens. *lol*

AyameKitsune & Doublesims : Thanks!

Moira Colleen : They find out about the nightmaresand sculpture in the "Selfish"-arc.

Xion5 : Thanks a lot!

Hanyoualchemist1 : Yes, yes, art it! Would be great! :D


Woa!"

Jack yelled in surprise as he leisurely walked past North's office and the door suddenly burst open, the big man stomping out of it in pure aggravation and almost crashing into the young winter spirit had he not jumped back a few steps reflexively. Instead of coming to a halt the Guardian of Wonder continued what was disturbingly close to a rampage down the hallway, all the while muttering Russian curses under his breath. He couldn't have been more far away from his popular jolly mood right now and Jack was convinced that there had to be an immensely serious reason for it. A startled yeti stuck his head out of the door and stared after his boss in sheer panic before he left the room as well and nervously went into the opposite direction. Curiosity paired with concern had a silent battle in the snow teen's mind. If he didn't want to irritate his friend even more while still finding out what had happened to drive him this mad he had to be careful. Father Christmas without a doubt had no remaining nerves for dealing with any kind of annoyance right now. A cold breeze coming from one of the open windows downstairs allowed the frost teen to catch up with the older guardian who was heading towards the mahagony coloured wooden elevator. The wind gently put its master down on the floor next to his comrade, who kept on walking as if he hadn't even noticed the younger one's presence. But Jack refused to leave his side anyway.

"Hey, North. I don't want to bother you but...what's wrong?" he asked warily.

The old man merely let out a low groan, blue eyes firmly fixed on the empty space in front of him as if he had an increasingly harder time to keep his temper under control. For a moment Jack was sure he would scream out and smash whatever he could get a hold of in bits. Okay, if this wasn't going to work he had to use the same trick the guardians had used on him so often.

"It's alright if you don't wanna talk about it but you know, I'm kinda worried. I've never seen you angry like this."

In an instant the frown on North's face seemed to ease and he finally stopped in his tracks, a tired sigh escaping his mouth as he massaged his temples with both hands for a second.

"I'm sorry, Jack, there's no need to worry. I'm just running short of patience right now. There was accident which delayed toy production...again."

It was Jack's turn to frown now. Accidents in the workshop weren't exactly unusual but it was rarely anything dramatic, just minor incidents now and then.

"What happened?"

Another deep sigh, though it sounded more like a groan, emitted from the Spirit of Christmas, followed by an tense silence that made Jack wonder if he would get an answer at all.

"Last week one of the yetis slipped on a roller-skate, thanks to the elves who keep letting random things lie around everywhere! Wouldn't have been that bad if yeti didn't crash into table with small sailing ships. Half of them were destroyed and they're very difficult to make."

"Oh, that...sucks a lot." Jack commented lamely, not knowing what else to say in this situation.

"It surely does. For last 3 days I have been working on ice models for new toys, they were finally finished today so I called for yeti to transport them to production section of the workshop. But apparently elves got in the way again and ran between yeti's feet until he stumbled over and trolley-table with ice models made unplanned contact with the wall."

"Did anything survive the impact?"

"Nothing. All broken into hundreds of tiny pieces."

"Damn."

"You say it."

Awkward silence surrounded them again, making the frost teen feel rather uncomfortable while North seemed too resigned and tired to care. Every moment of peace and quiet was a blessing for his strained nerves.

"So...you'll have to make all those ice models again?" Jack asked cautiously which caused the bigger guardian to heave a sigh.

"Yes, but not today. I worked on those prototypes almost nonstop for last few days and my concentration isn't the best right now. I need break before I can start all over again. Going to check the accounting records about toy production to make sure at least the rest of it is going according to schedule and then I guess it would be nice to take a nap. To calm down, you know?"

"Yeah, sounds like a plan. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Without intending to be ungrateful or prejudiced North immediately shook his head and declined the offer, secretly already seeing one more huge disaster taking place in his home. He didn't want to think that way, but after what happened with the yetis and elves and Jack's history of pranks and catastrophes he prefered to stay on the safe side.

"Nah, is not necessary, it's my job and I'll finish it later. Now if you excuse me, there's a pile of documents waiting for me. Can't wait do examine them." the Russian guardian remarked sarcastically, like a student would do about a heap of homework.

Jack sensed the hint of dissapproval but brushed it off, there were more important issues at hand than feeling offended. He followed him and stopped in front of the elevator in which the bigger man had just stepped, asking once more.

"You sure? It wouldn't be a big deal and you know I'm kinda good with ice." the teen smirked, eliciting a weak chuckle from the Guardian of Wonder.

"I know, Jack. But really, I can handle this myself. Just stay out of trouble, that's all I want." North requested and pushed a small button to put the wooden elevator in motion.

Again, he hadn't intended to insult the young immortal. But the statement left a sour taste in Jack's mind. "Stay out of trouble", that wasn't exactly a sign of appreciation for someone who had just offered their help. North was tired, annoyed and literally fed up with everything but Jack still felt offended. Suddenly all he wanted was to make the older guardian proud of him. No matter what he had been told, he would show him what he was capable of, that he was indeed able to help with the christmas preparations, just like the yetis and elves. Okay, rather not like the elves.

Determination shone through him as he flew back to North's office, sneaked in and quietly closed the door behind him. Better make sure he didn't attract anyone's attention, he was pretty sure he would be thrown out in a heartbeat once a yeti spotted him roaming in there.

"Sooo, where to start..." he muttered to himself as he walked around the room, looking for something that would give him a hint about what exactly he was supposed to do.

Fortunately he didn't have to search for long. Roughly a dozen sheets of paper with sketches of the toy prototypes lay scattered on the big desk and almost covered its complete surface. Most likely North had been too upset to tidy up after he had heard the bad news and stomped out. Jack examined the detailed drawings to get an overview of the upcoming task. This would be a little trickier than he had expected, most of the toys consisted of many intricate components which should also work mechanically, meaning they had to be constructed in a way they could actually move.

"Okay, that's gonna be a challenge." Jack admitted, put his staff aside and pulled his sleeves up.

He shortly pondered if he should use one of the many ice blocks in the room and carve the models out of it but then settled for another technique, something that suited him better : Creating it all from scratch himself. After another glance at one of the concept sketches a bright blue light flashed between his hands and out of it a piece of ice appeared from which he formed the rough basic shape of the toy, a pegasus with adjustable wings. Thanks to his magic he could sculpt the ice like someone would sculpt clay. It was surely easier than having to use saws and chisels. Furthermore he had the advantage of being able to alter, add and remove single parts as often as he pleased, unlike North who had to start all over again when he made a mistake or accidentally broke off a piece. And yet it took everything of his skills and concentration to achieve the right shape, put the different parts together and refine it all so the ice model turned out as detailed and functional as the final toy was going to be.

Once the first prototype was finished Jack glimpsed at the clock to check how long it had taken him to build it. It was still midmorning. If he wanted to produce a decent amount of those ice sculptures before North came back, and he estimated he wouldn't return for several more hours or maybe even half a day, then he had to keep his mind focused on the task at hand. No interruptions, no fooling around. As hard as that was going to be, since he already realized he wasn't used to being that concentrated on something and seriously following instructions. But the suprise in North's face would be worth it. He couldn't wait to see the big man's reaction. With that mental image the winter teen moved to the next prototype, highly motivated to create the best possible results. The longer he worked the faster he became as he got the hang of it. Despite having to admit that it was more difficult than he had thought it would he also enjoyed it, especially the feeling of success when he had finished one more sculpture. He didn't even notice how many hours passed while he sculpted one ice toy after the other.

North was still drowsy when his eyes fluttered open and he stretched his limbs. Originally he had planned to take a nap in his quarters, not to fall asleep in the heavy red armchair in the library, but that didn't matter now anymore. A loud yawn escaped his mouth as he sat upright and glanced at the pile of documents on the table next to him. Fortunately he had managed to check them all before succumbing to the temptation of sweet slumber. Still, he wasn't pleased when he looked out of the window and noticed the sun was already setting. He had almost slept the whole day away. It was about time to go back to the office so he could remake at least one of the destroyed prototypes. The rest could wait until tomorrow, it wasn't like the yetis weren't occupied with enough work at the moment.

With a good part of his motivation restored Santa headed for his office, pondering which of the toys he would work on first. He arrived soon later, opened the door calmly and couldn't do anything but stand there, eyes wide open and mouth agape.

The mahagony desk was covered with most of the ice sculptures that had been broken earlier that day. Some of them stood on the floor since there wasn't enough space for all of them on the desk, where Jack was busy applying the finishing touches on an ice speed boat. He was too absorbed in his work to notice he had an audience so he almost suffered a heart-attack by the abrupt bang of the door after North had accidentally slammed it a shut little too heavily.

"Ghee, North, don't you always tell everyone to knock before they enter?" the young guardian asked and brushed some ice dust off the table and himself.

"Yes, that's right, but this is my office and I didn't expect anyone to be here." the Cossack explained good-naturedly.

Curiously he walked towards the collection of sculptures and examined them in amazement. The level of detail was amazing, he thought he had perfected his technique in all those centuries but Jack had even managed to put the tiniest bits of details and intricate ornaments into the ice, adding and improving several parts which weren't in the original concept sketches. Being the Spirit of Winter was without a doubt a clear advantage for working with ice but North still had to admit he was deeply impressed. Jack observed the old Russian who was still staring at the results of his efforts in wonder.

"I know you told me to keep out of this but I really wanted to help. I hope it's alright?" the teen asked insecurely.

"Alright? Jack, this is amazing! You produced all this in one day only and more detailed than I could ever do. I might have to hire you!" North laughed in joy and patted the boy's back.

"Really, I am impressed. You have quite a talent for this."

Jack chuckled and rubbed his neck awkwardly as his cheeks turned into a pale shade of purple.

"Uhm, thanks. I'm glad you're pleased with it, did my best."

"It shows. I'm very grateful for this, Jack. Couldn't have done it better myself."

The white-haired teen returned the warm smile which was directed at him and silently breathed in relief. A compliment from Santa Clause himself concerning his own task field surely was something you could pride yourself on. And Jack couldn't put into words how happy he was that he had been able to help and that his work was rewarded with such honest appreciation.

"Well, if you need me again, just let me know." the Guardian of Fun smirked and grabbed his staff which had been leaning against the wall next to the desk.

North took another close look at the ice sculptures, he just wasn't able to tear his eyes from the sheer perfection of Jack's work.

"I will. And Jack?"

The addressed spirit turned around, hand already on the handle of the door and ready to leave.

"Thank you. Thank you very much."

"You're welcome, North." he smiled and exited the office.

Again blue eyes darted towards the icy masterpieces, a proud smile forming on the old man's features.

"That boy really is something."


A/N : After all the angst and failures I thought it's about time for more chapters showing off Jack's powers and how he's made of pure awesomness. ;)
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