A/N :
dizappearingirl : Wow, thank you for all the reviews! It makes me so happy when new followers take the time to comment on pretty much everything I've written so far!
TeaGrannymcmlx3 : The idea with the winter fairies is really nice, I agree. But I guess I won't add them to my stories, in my imagination Jack doesn't have any help spreading winter. Sorry.
Thanks to everyone else who commented and is following me! ^_^
The preparations were as good as finished. Yetis as well as elves were busy carrying wrapped up toys and carefully dumping them in the sleigh before hurrying back to get more. Most of the gifts had already been packed in an enormous light brown sack. Despite it appearing to be painfully normal, boring even compared to the luxurious sleigh and the majestic reindeer, there was still magic involved. How else could pretty much all toys for the children of the Earth fit into a simple jute sack?
North walked closer and heartily patted each of his loyal reindeer, which were readily bridled and impatiently waiting for the launch. Obviously they were as excited as he himself. And who could blame them? It was Christmas Eve, the most important day, or rather night, of the whole year.
As usual on this special occasion Santa Clause wore his famous red coat, pants and hat with intricate golden patterns adorning the ancient fabric, thick white fur covering collar, shoulders and the rim of the hat and a black belt with a heavy and precious golden buckle. Even though the costume had accompanied him for many centuries it still looked brandnew. It was part of the yearly tradition and he had grown rather attached to it. Maybe he would get a new one someday. Maybe. Maybe not.
The bulky Russian chuckled to himself. A random thought about his clothes surely wasn't something he would have dwelled on recently. During the last weeks he had been constantly stressed and nervous, worked extra hours and checked on the toy production more often than he could count. It didn't matter how many holidays he had experienced and how many millions of toys he had delivered in his long life, every year was a new challenge. And each time his goal was to top the previous Christmas.
Because of this reason he was grateful to Jack for not spreading any blizzards during this special night and either arranging clear skies or letting various delicate snowflakes softly fall down on the peaceful Earth below. But not only that. Like the previous years, ever since he had become a guardian, he contributed to the toy production and helped wherever he could, especially when things were turning increasingly stressfull in December.
North knew that the immortal teen had a weakness for the sleigh. After several driving lessons he had managed to steer it safely and without causing the reindeer to slam against a glacier. That had been close. However, Jack had learned quickly and kept begging him to go on sleighrides with him regularly.
Because of this, the Guardian of Wonder was convinced that the winter spirit would love the surprise he had in store for him. As if on cue said spirit appeared behind one of the yetis, carrying so many gifts in his arms that his face was barely visible. Cautiously he dropped them on the pile of other wrapped packages and glanced at an elf who was bringing along the last present. It held the green box with dark green tree ornaments and a red bow over its face and desperately tried to get it into the sleigh. Jack reached for the box, but the elf refused to let go. Changing the plan, the frost teen lifted the little helper up instead and held it over the edge of the sleigh, so it could put the gift on top of the others. Back on the ground it walked away with a triumphant grin on its face. The teen chuckled to himself and turned around when he noticed heavy footsteps next to him.
"Hey, North. The sleigh is fully loaded and ready for take-off!" he beamed.
"Great! Is about time to leave!" the tall Russian smiled enthusiastically and climbed into his vehicle.
After routinely checking if everything was alright he reached for the reins and darted a look at the Guardian of Fun.
"You ready to go?"
The question came so casually and naturally that Jack could only stare at his mentor in confusion.
"Uh, excuse me?"
North's grin widened.
"I guessed you might want to join me this year." he said with a wink.
The winter spirit still didn't trust his ears and expected him to shout 'Just kidding! See you later!' any moment. By now he knew how serious the Cossack, as well as all the other guardians, took their jobs. He couldn't recall North ever taking someone else with him during his journey around the world on Christmas. If he honestly wanted Jack to join him, that wasn't just a exceptional act of faith but a huge honour as well.
"I-you, I mean, what?" the immortal teen failed to utter a coherent sentence.
"You don't want to?" the Russian Santa asked with the smile still plastered on his face.
"No! Yes! I mean, of course I do! I-I'll just get my staff, just a second, I'll be right back!" the boy suddenly blurted out, his expression as jolly and excited as the older guardian's, who watched him dashing off with a smirk and patiently waited for him to return.
Jack was bursting with joy as he throned on top of the fully packed sack, surrounded by even more neatly wrapped presents. The sleigh had departed from the workshop only a few seconds ago and he could barely contain his eagerness to arrive at their first destination. He, Jack Frost, was going to help Santa Clause deliver gifts for children all over the planet! Never had he dared to dream about it.
Despite having centuries of experience and increasing the speed in which he left toys at countless houses, North had to admit that it went even smoother and faster with Jack's support. And besides that it also was a lot more fun to have some company. Of course he had always enjoyed this day of the year and taken pleasure in his work, but this time it was different. The more he thought about it the more he realized how it felt more like a father-son-excursion than his yearly duty.
When they arrived in the United States of America North let him deliver the gifts for the Bennett children. It would be quite a surprise for them to have Jack appear at their place instead of him. And he was sure about the young immortal being eager to tell them the news. After all these years he knew him pretty well.
Silently the Guardian of Fun sneaked into the living-room and towards the illuminated six foot seven inches tall christmas tree, which was decorated with baubles and glittering star ornaments in various shades of red, gold and green. Even though he hadn't anticipated that Jamie would be there he was still mildly dissappointed of being right. Since his first believer had hit puberty he hadn't stayed awake all night to wait for Santa on the couch anymore and rather slept in his room. Even though he was still looking forward to the gifts he left the overly childlike excitement to his sister. Jack discovered the little girl lying on the couch, cuddled into a thick beige blanket and sleeping soundly. After draping the neatly wrapped boxes under the tree he walked to her and knelt down to be at eye level. With a soft shake on her shoulder he woke her, causing her expression to light up the moment she saw him.
"Jack!" the blonde child squealed and immediately covered her mouth with her hands as she remembered that the rest of her family was still asleep.
"What are you doing here?" she whispered as quietly as possible.
"Guess what?" Jack started, grinning from ear to ear and making a pause to increase the suspense.
"North let me accompany him tonight!"
Sophie's eyes widened in amazement, even at her age she knew that it wasn't a given that Santa Clause allowed someone else to join him on Christmas Eve.
"Awww, cool! So you bring presents to everyone now?"
"Well, not to everyone, but to some of them."
"Awesome! Will you do that every year from now on?" she asked curiously, secretly wondering if Jack was ever going to wear a similar red costume.
"Uhm, no idea. We'll see I guess." Jack explained and rubbed his neck.
"I would like that!"
"Hehe, me, too. Anyway, I gotta go again. You know, those gifts won't deliver themselves." the winter spirit winked at her, gently ruffled her hair and got up.
"See you soon, Soph!"
"See ya, Jack!"
Several hours had passed and millions of children had been blessed with the most magnificent toys they could ever dream of. The sleigh was flying over Australia when North suddenly turned to Jack and smiled knowingly.
"Do you want to steer sleigh for a while?"
Just like he had foreseen it, the immortal boy was at loss at how to react once more. Again he merely stared at him dumbfoundedly and apparently wasn't convinced of it being an honest question.
"Really? I, heck, sure I do!" he yelled in excitement and jumped forward, right next to his old comrade.
North handed him the reins and moved aside. Proudly he observed the winter spirit guiding the reindeer safely from one destination to another. He trusted his abilities and was sure that he wouldn't dissappoint him. Even though he was the Guardian of Fun and loved to play pranks, he also was smart and empathetic and could be relied on. He definitely knew when it was about time to take responsibility and stop fooling around.
The grin on Jack's face kept widening, he enjoyed every single moment of being at the helm and directing the sleigh all over the continent. Never had he imagine this would happen, especially not before he became a guardian years ago. But even afterwards it had already been an enormous honour that he was allowed to help the famous Santa Clause creating toys. That his opinion was taken seriously. And that his ideas were approved and cherished.
After the last toy was dropped at the house of the last child North laid a strong hand on the slender boy's shoulder. With a bright smile and deep voice he spoke.
"Good job, Jack. Let's go home now."
Back at the workshop the yetis took care of the sleigh and the exhausted reindeer. Jack assumed North was going to change into a more comfortable outfit and relax a bit until the big Christmas party. Since the delivery of the presents had proceeded a lot faster than usual they still had several hours before the other guardians would arrive. But instead of retreating to his chambers the Russian Santa asked Jack to follow him to his office. Whatever it was, he had a feeling it was going to be yet another pleasant surprise. At least he dearly hoped so.
"Come in!" the Cossack shouted out invitingly as he pushed the heavy wooden door open.
The white-haired teenager walked in and curiously watched his comrade heading directly for the bulky mahagony desk on the other side of the room. Something was taken out of one of the drawers and hidden behind the tall man's back. Jack tried to catch a glimpse of the mysterious object, though completely in vain.
"I want to thank you." North spoke ceremoniously.
"You've been big help all these years, not only as guardian but also as helper and creator of new toys. This isn't nearly enough for all the work you did, but I felt the need to give you a little something in return."
The Guardian of Wonder held his hand out towards the younger spirit, who stared at the item in astonishment. It was a snowglobe with a golden base adorned by snowflakes, gift boxes and christmas trees. Inside the glassy sphere there was an exact replica of the sleigh with the six reindeer and North in his Christmas outfit. But instead of steering the sleigh himself he was standing next to a miniature version of Jack, who was holding the reins and showed the same jolly expression. It would forever remind him of being considered as an equal comrade and never let him forget about this wonderful day.
"Thank you, North. Really, I love this! And thanks for letting me drive the sleigh and…well, thank you. For everything." the winter spirit said totally overwhelmed.
North smiled good-naturedly, patted the teen's back and eventually pulled him into a tight bear hug.
"Merry Christmas, Jack."
A/N : Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all of you! ^_^
