A/N : *comes crawling out of her cave* Uhm, hello? It's been a while since my last update, but work, lack of time and writer's block are bitches. :(

I heart the Hitachiin twins : Jackrabbit disturbs me, too, and I'm an adult. It's just...nope nope nope. But I agree that angst is delightful, hehe.

Auua Ytjoml : Seems to be a German / European thing then. Last year they started filling the shelves with gingerbread and christmas cookies in the last week of August. Summer and gingerbread just don't go well together.

Alliprince : *lol* That mental image. XD

Miss Lib93 : I didn't expect him to do it either, it was a very spontaneous idea I got at the end of the story. I like it when inspiration strikes randomly.

tani210 : Glad you like them! And thank you for the birthday wishes!

SaiyanPrincess : That's what I was aiming for, hehe.

Hannah H : Same here, I love writing angst / hurt / comfort and think romance stories are very overrated. There's so much more potential than „Who dates who?"

Jazzy-Monster-5955 : Always nice to hear that people like my stories! Revenge is always niiiice when it's done right. :)

Thanks to Nikki Pond, Doublesims, Q-A the Authoress, Natalie Hope D, AyameKitsune, Shamangirl1, AngeGirlmon, Aphrodite433, Camrynrose14 for their reviews and to everyone else who favourited and follows this story!

A bunch of you wanted angst, so you'll get angst.


Of course this had to happen. As usual he was blamed for everything, why should it have been any different. He wasn't even listened to and condemned right away. After the Easter incident during the fight with Pitch he had hoped it was the first and last time this ever occured. The current mess was far from being nearly as dramatic as back then, but still, it was a mess and the person whose respect he treasured most acted like it was all his fault. He should have known better and just stayed away instead of trying to help.


December was fast approaching and the preparations for Christmas ran at full speed. Several incidents had disturbed the otherwise smooth toy production, which happened to be adjustments to not properly working miniature cars and planes, last minute changes of colourings and elves getting in the way and causing minor accidents once in a while. Even though this was nothing out of the ordinary North's patience had reached a rather low level by now. He was a perfectionist and wanted everything to be the best way possible and also set it as his personal goal to surpass children's expectations every year. The recent number of setbacks, no matter how easy to fix they were, annoyed him a great deal and he had repeatedly urged everyone to pay more attention to prevent any more delays.

Jack had sensed the Cossack's aggravation from miles afar and stayed away from him just to make sure he wouldn't unintentionally get on his nerves. He knew his friend had to deal with an enormous amount of work right now and needed to focus on it, without any unnecessary distractions. Maybe it was a little too late for new toy designs, but upon seeing the prototype of a fantasy castle Jack got the sudden idea for a few mystical creatures that could be turned into action figures. All evening and night did he spend with creating the small intricate ice sculptures of a gryphon, pegasus, dragon and unicorn, each one showing as much detail as achievable. Children would love them and Jack dearly hoped that North would be impressed as well. For some reason he had the deep urge to make the Russian guardian proud of him, to acknowledge him of a trustworthy comrade and not just a hyperactive troublemaker.

After he had refined the icy prototypes several times, because he wanted them to be perfect, the teen carefully put them in his arms, what turned out to be kind of tricky since he also planned to somehow take his staff with him. Eventually he decided to leave the ancient shepherd's crook in his room, the risk of accidentally dropping his precious creations by carrying too much was simply too big. He'd have to walk instead of flying but that shouldn't be a problem. Until he had already left his quarters and remembered that the way to North's office led through the production section of the workshop. However, maybe he could get Phil's opinion before showing his small masterpieces to Father Christmas himself.

Noise, which sounded like a mix of muffled, stressed yeti talk and all kinds of tools being used, reached his ears long before the source of it came into view. He had visited this part of Santoff Clausen less than a day ago, but it seemed like the commotion and enthusiasm for their work had even further increased. It wouldn't have been a big surprise if one yeti or the other had landed in the infirmary already and been diagnosed with burnout. Jack had to be fast to not get squeezed inbetween the bulky creatures as he hurried through the narrow corridor which was surrounded by countless tables, heaps of toys and North's helpers feverishly doing their jobs or transporting finished toys from one place to the other. The young guardian had barely evaded a dark furred yeti stomping all over him when another one took a step backwards and bumped against him with full force. A startled yelp left the winter spirit's mouth, followed by a shocked gasp when the momentum of the impact caused him to drop the ice sculptures he had so intensely worked on. With wide eyes he stared at the tiny chumps of ice, the only remnants of his effort, lying on the floor before he turned around and glared at the furry bastard whose fault it had been.

„Damn, Phil, mind what you're doing!" he yelled in aggravation and sent all his anger towards the yeti, who only now noticed what had happened and looked at him with an apologetic expression.

„Ugh, great, all for nothing..." Jack grumbled and knelt down to pick the broken pieces up.

Just then a single elf with a chocolate chip cookie rushed past him and soon later a group of elves appeared and chased him. One of them had a stroke of genius and grabbed a skateboard to catch the pointy-hatted thief. What happened then appeared like in slow motion. A yeti accidentally stepped on the skateboard and darted straight in direction of a table where another one was currently busy with painting little spaceships. If those elaborate to produce toys were damaged North would probably get a mental breakdown. Within the blink of an eye Jack stomped his foot on the ground and created a path of ice which lead away from the spaceships and let the furry creature slide into a pile of teddy bears instead. They all collapsed on top of him, but at least it was a soft landing and no toys were harmed. Jack didn't even have time for a sigh of relief when he turned around and stared in horror at the elves holding a string of lights and using it as a lasso. Indeed did they manage to get a hold of their prey but by doing so one more yeti, who was carrying a load of miniature sailing ships and barely able to see beyond them, stumbled over the thin cable and all of the toys were sent flying through the air. If he had had his staff he would have saved them with the help of the wind but now all he could do was take a leap and try to catch as many as possible. He actually managed to prevent three of them from a fatal crash on the stoney floor, but the rest landed there with damaged masts and broken off parts.

Half of the yetis had interrupted their work when the almost-catastrophe had threatened to destroy a significant amount of toys and watched how the Guardian of Fun averted the danger, at least the biggest part of it. Amidst this chaos North had decided this was the perfect moment to show up for a random check of the production.

„What's going on here?! Why aren't you working?" he bellowed at his furry helpers before he let his gaze wander around.

Then he noticed it. A path of ice on the ground, leading to a collapsed heap of plush toys where a yeti had finally managed to dig his way back out, another yeti who obviously had had an encounter with the stoney floor as well and was standing up the moment his master appeared, broken sailing ships and kneeling inbetween, Jack Frost. The bulky Russian processed the sight and soon came to the only rational conclusion. A definitely not amused glare was shot at the teenager, who was still holding a few fortunately not damaged miniature ships in his arms.

„JACK! What did you do!?"

Cerulean eyes widened in shock at the déjà vu. Just that North didn't seem so disappointed this time, maybe a little, but mainly plain angry. In fact Jack had never seen the big guy so displeased because of something he did, or rather something he thought he had done. It scared as well as upset him.

„Me? No, I swear this isn't my fault, I just-" he tried to explain the situation but the older guardian's patience had apparently prefered to stay in his office.

„Is this your doing?!" North grunted and pointed at the thin layer of ice on the ground.

„Well, yes, but-"

Another groan left the Cossack's throat when he discovered a small pile of icy shards several feet away from them.

„You broke prototypes as well!?"

„What? NO, that was an accident and-"

„ENOUGH!"

That one word in all its intensity made everyone flinch and stop in their tracks. It was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop and all eyes were drawn to the two guardians in the middle of the production hall.

„Seriously, can't you stop bothering yetis at least once in a while? There's enough work already, even without you causing trouble! You are guardian, it's your job to help, not destroy!"

All Jack could do was stare at his mentor in disbelief for a while to let the words sink in. Slowly and carefully he set the ship toys down on the floor, until then he hadn't even noticed that he was still clinging to them.

„But...I..."

„No 'but'! Go back to your room or somewhere else, I really don't care, just stay away from production section, you hear me?" North shouted with blatant annoyance in his voice.

Something inside of him got crushed to pieces. He had only wanted to make the Russian Santa proud of him, to help with the christmas preparations and now he was blamed for something he hadn't even done. Why didn't someone help him, they had all seen what had happened, hadn't they? His glance jumped from yeti to yeti but they were all still dumbfounded and intimidated about their master's outburst of rage. It was a rare event and usually didn't last long, but they knew he wasn't easy to talk to when being in that particular mood. And yet, one single yeti dared to step forward, opened his mouth to say something and was immediately hushed by a raised hand from Father Christmas.

„Not now, Phil!" the Cossack ordered in a strict no-nonsense tone and diverted his attention back to the youth in front of him.

„Go to your room. Now!"

Right then and there, Jack had enough. In a swift motion he got back on his feet and stood tall and defiant, facing the bulky Russian who was still head and shoulders above him. He was hurt to his very core but stubbornly held back the tears which threatened to force their way out of his eyes.

„You can't order me around like this! You're not my father!" he yelled back and narrowed his brows in anger.

The moment he had uttered it he turned around and pushed his way through the crowd of yetis. Quite suddenly he was eager to indeed get back to his room, but solely to get his staff and leave Santoff Clausen for an indefinite period of time.

North was taken aback by the teen's reaction and watched him storm away. Whether he was more upset about the words that had been said or the incident which had preceded, he honestly couldn't determine. Jack had deserved the telling-off, but he had that ominous feeling in his belly that something wasn't right. Whatever, he had other worries right now.

„Clean up this mess and get back to work." he commanded matter-of-factly and headed back to his office.


A gust of wind blew into the room and gently pushed the ajar window completely open. Jamie Bennett immediately looked up from the math book on his desk and smiled at his best friend who had just landed on the colourful carpet in front of him.

"Hi, Jack!" the 12-year-old smiled and stood up to give him a quick hug.

"Hey kid. What are you up to?" the winter spirit asked casually, trying to hide his dismay about what had happened at the workshop.

Jamie's face fell at the question and he sent an annoyed glare at the pile of books and papers on his desk as he sat down on his chair again.

"School stuff...more than I can deal with."

"Doesn't sound like fun."

"Not at all."

"Well, guess it's time for a break then. What do you think about a nice epic snowball fight?" Jack grinned and created a perfect snowball in his right hand.

The brunette boy glanced at it for a moment before he heaved a frustrated sigh and sent an apologetic look in the guardian's direction.

"I'm sorry, but I have to finish homework and study for a really important test...it's in 2 days and I still have to read several dozen pages."

"Oh..." Jack muttered lamely, his excited expression vanishing in a heartbeat. "Sorry, didn't want to bother you during work..."

"No, no, you're not bothering me at all. I'm sick of this and would really like to play with you but if I don't finish this and fail the test then I'll get into big trouble."

It didn't do much to ease the frost teen's worries. Maybe he wouldn't have taken this so serious if the day had proceeded normally and without the fight with North. But considering the circumstances he was quite sensitive and had hoped for some distraction, namely quality time with his first believer. That he was at the wrong place at the wrong time once again made him feel both guilty and saddened. For the second time that day, no matter how different the situations were, he felt like he was utterly getting on people's nerves while only trying to help or bless them with a bit of fun. And again he had the urge to fly away as quickly as possible. It was probably better to be alone for the time being instead of lingering around where he wasn't needed...or wanted.

The crestfallen look on the white-haired teen's face didn't escape Jamie's notice. It didn't seem to be just disappointment but an issue that appeared to be a lot more grievous for him.

"Jack, are you okay?"

"Hhm? Yeah, everything fine. I gotta go now, good luck with that test." the young immortal assured and waved him goodbye.

That he decided to leave so quickly made Jamie even more worried about his friend's sudden change of mood. Something was wrong, but he knew him pretty well by now and was also aware of him not wanting to dwell on it. Maybe he would tell him later.

"Alright...we can have a snowball fight at the weekend, if you want." the 12-year-old suggested to soothe him.

"We'll see." Jack said with a weak smile before jumping out of the window and into the wind's embrace.


There was so much to be finished off, faulty toys to be fixed, presents to be wrapped up, routes to be planned. North had to tend to various matters and keep the more or less smooth working schedule up, had to make sure everything was organized well and no further interruptions foiled the Christmas preparations. His mind should have been fully occupied with these issues and his attention focused on nothing else. Then why couldn't he shake off the thoughts about the incident with Jack earlier that day? Especially what he had yelled before running away.

"You're not my father!"

Even though it was the truth he couldn't get the bitterness of that sentence out of his head. Back then he had been too angry about the chaos and the ruined toys to care about the winter spirit's tantrum. But the more he calmed down the more the words sank in.

Indeed, he wasn't his father, and yet he had started to see the boy as his son. Since he had gotten his room at Santoff Clausen he spent a lot more time around North and the Cossack had to admit he enjoyed the younger man's presence. He had managed to make the workshop even livelier and his cheerful attitude brightened everyone's day. Well, as long as he didn't prank the yetis...or freeze the elves. Deep inside he had hoped that the teen accepted him as a surrogate father as well. He knew how much Jack longed for a family and was willing to do everything to make him feel welcome. This scheme had obviously failed and while he was still convinced that the white-haired guardian had to be told off after causing a mess he also felt bad about it. He didn't like to lose his temper and get loud, but the circumstances had been fatal and what was done couldn't be undone.

Just when he continued to further ponder about this he heard heavy knocking on the door. Mentally he clapped his hands about his loyal helpers finally remembering to knock instead of bursting into his office.

"Come in!"

The solid wooden door opened and revealed a yeti who was holding something indefinable in his massive hand.

"Phil, what is matter?" North asked, curiously eyeing the furry creature as it walked towards him.

With a grumble he carefully dropped he contents of his palm on the desk his master was was sitting at. The Russian Santa glanced at the tiny pieces of ice for a moment before turning back to Phil quizzically, who gestured for him to take a closer look.

"Is prototype that was broken, why-"

Just then he noticed something. Although most of the ice was broken beyond repair he recognized a few chunks which vaguely indicated their original form. He detected a hoof, the part of a wing, the half of a beak...all hinting at toys he hadn't created recently. Slowly it dawned on him.

"Did Jack make them?"

A grunt and a nod from the giant yeti was all he needed as confirmation. So it hadn't been his work the boy had destroyed. But why should he drop his own creations? As if Phil could read the questions running wild in his mind he stared the Guardian of Wonder straight into the eyes and finally started telling him what had really happened that morning. When he had finished his explanation North was at a loss what to say. It had all been an accident, an unfortunate series of events leading to a massive misunderstanding. But the worst part about all this was that he had forejudged Jack yet again without even bothering to hear his side of the story. No wonder the teen had been upset, the reoccurrence of being unjustly blamed must have been horrible for him. The Russian guardian made up his mind, he knew exactly what he was supposed to do now. Phil sent an inquiring look towards the big man as he stood up and patted his furry shoulder.

"Thank you. Please keep an eye on toy production while I'm gone. I need to talk to Jack."


Snowball after snowball was thrown at the trees around him as he stood on a thick branch high above the ground. He had to vent his frustration about everything and this was the only way he could think of spontaneously. Causing a blizzard would have worked as well, but he honestly didn't want to drag innocent people into it. Everyone already saw him as incurable nuisance, even without him causing a mess once more. No, hitting innocent trunks with harmless snowballs had to suffice. About fifty missiles later he started to get fed up with it and defeatedly sank down, his back leaned against the rough bark and gaze fixed on the moon above him. Should he try talking to Man in Moon? On further reflection he came to the conclusion that it had no use, the deity wouldn't answer him anyway.

He had enough of this day, hopefully the next one would be better. If no one yelled at him, that would be an improvement. He hated being yelled at, blamed and insulted. Memories from the past invaded his mind, of the Easter incident, of the unpleasant encounters with Pitch, Flann MacHarvest and Sam Hain, of his fights with Bunny.

It was frustrating that he apparently couldn't do anything to change people's perception of him, no matter how hard he tried. He had been alone for 300 years and not gotten any kind of positive attention whatsoever, so all he wanted was to change that now. The guardians being proud of him and his believers liking him was one of his main goals. For some reason he treasured North's opinion of him most of all. Not because he didn't intend to land on top of the Naughty List again, but because he looked up to the big man. To be completely honest Jack saw him as the closest to a father figure he would ever be able to get.

Just as that realization crossed his mind he was reminded of his father in his past life. A mournful sigh left his lips as he rested the back of his head against the tree and gazed at the millions of stars in the night sky. He couldn't remember his real father ever treating him unfairly. At least his toothbox didn't show him anything like that. Memories of his family haunted him all of a sudden, as if they had waited for the right occasion to strike, evoking a longing for home he hadn't experienced for quite a while. He missed them, his sister, his mother...his father.

With a weak sniffle Jack pulled his hood up and hugged his knees to his chest, desperately trying to push the melancholic feelings aside. To no avail. How much he craved for someone to comfort him, to listen, to understand or simply be there to distract him from his painful memories. But he would have to deal with them on his own, he always did. Hours passed without his mood changing for the better.

"Jack! Jack, are you there?"

The young immortal cringed at the Russian-accented voice calling for him in the distance. What did North want from him now, especially after having told him to clear off only hours ago? He wasn't sure whether to be nervous, relieved or angry about the Guardian of Wonder showing up in 'his' forest. Knowing him he wouldn't give up until he had found him, so Jack decided it might be best to get it over and done with as quickly as possible. After wiping his watery eyes with his sleeve he took a moment to take a deep breath and regain his composure. The voice became louder as its owner approached the frost teen's current whereabouts.

"Jack! Are you-"

North abruptly turned around when he sensed the familiar cold breeze and was faced with the hooded figure of the Spirit of Winter. Before he could utter a word the young man spoke with bitterness radiating from his voice, even though he tried to keep any emotion out of it.

"What are you doing here?"

Now he would without a doubt tell him how immature it had been to freak out and stomp away, that this behaviour was inadequate for a guardian or that he should keep a safe distance from Santoff Clausen until Christmas was over. As if the lecture he had already gotten hadn't been enough to give his self-esteem a blow to the guts. The Cossack let out a shallow sigh and made an attempt to step closer towards him, but the reflexive flinching of the boy was a clear sign to just stay where he was. It was bothering him that he couldn't see his counterpart into the eyes because his hood was still up and he had lowered his stare to the ground.

"I came here to apologize."

Out of everything Jack had expected, this surely was the least possible option. Back at the Pole North had directed more displeasure at him than he had ever experienced from the bulky man. He hadn't even cared to listen to him. Why should he have changed his mind all of a sudden? Finally he raised his head and met the Russian's gaze, if only shortly.

"You...why?" the white-haired teen muttered in confusion and disbelief.

"Phil told me what really happened."

"Oh..."

"Yeah...Jack, I'm sorry for putting blame on you. After past events I should have known better...I'm quite stressed lately and let out my frustration on you and that was not fair at all. Can you forgive me?"

Jack was taken aback. He wasn't prepared for an outcome like this. Not that he wasn't happy about it, but he struggled how to react or rather how to keep his emotions in check. A part of him still felt offended about the rash accusations but he didn't want to hold grudges against someone who meant so much to him. He was relieved about the apology and already wondered how he would ever manage to thank Phil enough for taking his side. After all the times he had pranked the yeti it was a miracle he actually helped him.

"It's alright...I just wanted to help, you know?"

"I know. And you did. Who knows how many toys would have been broken without you interfering." the Guardian of Wonder added with a warm smile.

There was a short silence in which Jack eventually pulled his hood back. He wasn't aware of his eyes still having a reddish tint from giving in to his raging as well as sorrowful emotions while he had been alone. The moonlight shining down on his face didn't help to hide what he didn't want anyone to see. As North noticed it the realization of how much he had hurt the teen hit him full force. Maybe he had subconsciously ignored the full extent of his outburst or assumed it didn't have such a serious effect on the boy's psyche. Deep inside he knew that Jack was still unsure if he was worthy of being a guardian and that he craved for acceptance. He wanted them, the guardians, to be proud of him because they and the few believers from Burgess were all he had. More thoughts entered his mind but a soft and mildly worried voice called his attention.

"North? You okay?"

The bulky Russian glanced at the winter spirit who was looking at him with a questioning expression.

"I'm sorry..."

"You apologized already, really, it's alright." Jack assured him and was bewildered when two strong but gentle hands were placed on his shoulders.

„No, is not alright. I didn't want to hurt you, but I did. I'm really sorry." North spoke slowly and earnestly and pulled the lean youth into a hug.

A faint sniffle was the only audible sound in the otherwise silent and peaceful forest as Jack wrapped his arms around the older guardian. His mentor. His surrogate father.


A/N : Hope you liked it! Please don't forget to read and review! :)