Disclaimer: I do not own rise of the guardian or guardians of childhood

Friendship

The party was winding down, majority of Santoff Clausen denizens had left. The Santoff Claussen children had started dropping like flies in the middle of the globe room, so the parents had decided to take their kids home.

("Easiest time I've ever won bedtime." One parent joked; their, child resting in their arms.)

The only kids that were still awake, were Sarah, Jonathan, Jackie and Will.

"Interesting Christmas," Will said taking a sip from a cup of chocolate milk that the yetis had brought out.

Everyone stared at Will as though he'd gone insane.

"I didn't say it was a good Christmas," Will said quickly backtracking raising his hands; palms outward., "Only that it was certainly different from other Christmases I've celebrated."

Jackie snorted, "It was that." Will said with a nod. "Still, glad it was resolved without anyone we know dying."

Sarah stared at Jane who was catching up with Jack. Jack said something and Jane threw her head back and laughed. Then she stared at Jackie and remembered what Jane had said about the possibility of Krampus having eaten children. Sarah looked at Jackie and wondered and given the look in her eyes, she was remembering what Jane had said too.

Both decided not to say anything.

"What do you think?" Will asked Sarah.

Sarah turned to Will and smiled, she took out her pad and started writing. It was a good day. She wrote with a grin she forced onto her face. Then she frowned and wrote something else quickly before showing it to her friends. Or… in the sense that we all survived a traumatic experience.

Will smiled and held her hand. "Surviving is always good."

"I still can't believe you've spent more time with my aunt. Then I have!" Jackie groaned tossing her head back, "Talk about unfair."

I didn't know Sarah argued. Not until after Jane took me to the Reaper House.

"Would you have told me?" Jackie argued.

Sarah looked down, for a long moment she didn't write anything, then she took her pen, thought about it and carefully wrote out: I don't know. You would have wanted to meet her, and the Grims have rules against meeting family.

Jackie pointed behind her while Jane was laughing at something Jack said. "What about that?"

You're ignoring the 300+ years where that wasn't a choice. We don't even know if this will be a kindness that will be continued in the new year. Sarah wrote. It will depend on the council.

Jackie shook her head. "I'm not mad." Sarah raised an eyebrow and gestured to Jackie's clenched fist. Jackie looked down and noticed a layer of frost surrounding her fist. She shook her hand to dispel the frost and rolled her eyes. "Okay fine, I'm mad. But I have a reason to be."

I thought we settled this in the tunnels. Sarah wrote down her expression annoyed.

"We did, feelings are convoluted." Jackie sighed. "I promise we'll work through them, but Sarah… you know my aunt better than I do. That's going to be hard to swallow."

I know. Sarahwrote her expression understanding. Just like your father growing close with Jonathan and mine's grandmother is going to take getting used to.

Jackie groaned. "Why do you have to remind me?"

Sarah laughed quietly. Jackie, Jonathan and Will stared at her.

Sarah stared at them all confused she left her hands in a 'what?' gesture.

"I'd forgotten how nice your laugh is," Will said, with a smile. "It's nice to see. Can't wait till we can hear it again"

Sarah blushed and looked down. I'm not good. I suffered a lot in Pitch's lair and I'm not really ready to talk about it yet… She wrote down as carefully as she could. But as ironic, as this might seem, I'm feeling better."

"I'm glad," Jonathan said, then he froze and stared at her suspiciously. "Does this mean you're going to start stealing my things again?"

Sarah smiled and wrote something down on her pad before showing it to Jonathan grinning cheekily. What on earth makes you think I stopped?

Jonathan stared at her in surprise. "Stealing my teleporter doesn't count. I let you take that."

Sarah laughed and stepped away from him. She wrote something else on her pad and showed it to him. "Who said I was talking about that?" Sarah pulled out the gift Santa had given her that year: a large piece of coal as if to say 'Why do you think I'm still on the naughty list?'

"Oh, you…!"

Sarah stepped away slowly that grin still stretching on her face. When it looked as though Jonathan was going to start chasing her, she turned and ran with Jonathan hot on her heels. Jackie and Will followed close behind him.

Sarah weaved around the Guardians who had been kind enough to help clean up.

"You won't get off the Naughty list like that."

I've been on it since I was five. Sarah signed to North quickly though she was unsure if he understood. What makes you think I care now?

Clearly, he did because North blinked before he threw his head back and laughed, slowly and surely the rest of the guardians followed suit.

It hadn't been the greatest Christmas, but they were alive and well and happy.

And that was all that mattered.

A/N Originally, I had plans to end this with Jane's journey being allowed to cross through the gate, but I decided not to include it as it would have made the ending too long. And given that Amelia was still a reaper ending jane's journey didn't make sense to me.

Jane's journey ends a certain way and needs quite a bit of time to end. So, I don't know when I'll write one. But hopefully… one day you'll get to see the day she earns to enter the Gate.

Not completely happy with this ending. But this story needed to end, or it would go on forever. I hope that while reading you were entertained even a little.

If you can please review and tell me what your favourite moment was. Reviews like that make my day.