Author's Note: Surprise! :D Jack's here early! Enjoy!

Jack Frost

A decade after moving into Cloud Nine, I met him. It was the early winter of 1900. That day was like any other. Never did I ever expect to meet a spirit that would change me forever…

Every month, one hundred cherubs were born. One day, when I sat down to talk to some of them, I was told that cherubs were born when humans died when they were in love. But by the number of cherubs a month and the number of people in the world, I knew there should be more cherubs. However, I didn't question it. I was grateful for the babies that I had. I loved them each for all that they were and all that they did for me.

With them, I was never alone. We were all ridiculously busy, but now I had the ability to say "Hey, I'm tired. I think I'll take a break!" The cherubs did all the work for me. 364 days out of the year, they went into the world and made humans fall in love. The only day that every cherub was allowed to take a break was Valentine's Day. Then it was my turn to get out of the house and do what I did best. When it wasn't Valentine's Day, and I was inside, it was my job to go through the last 1,631 years and place everyone's Feelings in their proper place.

The hard part was that the vials kept coming. Thankfully there were plenty of cherubs to go around, and I wasn't alone in the process. They helped me an awful lot with everything I did, no matter what it was. Unfortunately, despite all the help I was getting, I still hadn't made it passed the year 272.

Storing and relaxing wasn't the only thing I did in Cloud Nine. I had another duty to fulfill and that was caring for the unborn cherubs. They were born on the first of every month. Every day, I took the time to hang out with them as they slept. I would tell them stories or play the harp and sing for them or just talk to them. And then, in the end, when they were born, it felt good to be called "mother," and be treated like one.

My friends were just as excited as I was. After the first year of living in Cloud Nine, we had a celebration. Even Leprechaun and the charming April Fool came! It was the only time Hallow was allowed near the Guardians in the last hundred-plus years. Aster brought his chocolates and North brought cookies. The cherubs played whimsical instruments and we all had a grand time, even though it wasn't anything too particularly exciting. Tooth was especially fascinated with the cherubs. Her fairies played with the cherubs like children would. It was funny because to everyone else, the cherubs sounded like bells and the fairies only squeaked.

Out of all of them, you can guess that it was Hallow who stayed with me the most. Though she had her own home, she said that she liked mine better. Sometimes she helped with assorting the Feelings; other times she preferred to lounge around my luxurious hideout. The cherubs tried teaching her to play the harp, but she got fed up with it after a while. Hallow was always restless, so after a year or so of hanging around Cloud Nine, she started leaving regularly again – to take care of her home or have fun amongst humans. She always came back, though.

So did Bunny. In fact, he came to visit me quite often. Of course I went to the Warren every Easter just to stop by and say hello, but that was really the only time I got to see him. One day in September, just two years after I moved into Cloud Nine, I heard the jingling of chattering cherubs. I thought it was Hallow, so I called out my location. The door opened and instead of a quip from Hallow, I received a thickly accented, "Now hold on here, this is where ya've been all these months? Cooped up in a storage room instead of seeing me?"

I spun around to see Bunny's smile. It felt like so long, I ran into his arms. His fur was as soft and warm as ever. I couldn't suppress the grin pulling at my cheeks. "I missed you!" I exhaled, snuggling further into his chest. "I'm so, so sorry I haven't come to visit you, I just-"

The Pooka laughed and patted my head, pulling away. "It's fine, Lovey, you know I was messin' with ya." He took a moment to study me and his smile softened. "Look at ya, sheila. You don't know how happy I am to see that smile again."

Warmth crept up to my cheeks as tears dared to corner my eyes. In all honesty, I was glad to be smiling again too. It seemed that a home and a family was just what I needed to lift my spirits. Well, they do say "Home is where the heart is," or so I hear. William Robinson had only entered my thoughts every so often. I had grown accustomed to thinking of the better days when he was happy and we were together. It hurt, but it was nice to know that it wasn't just pain and sadness whenever I was with him.

When Bunny reminded me of the incident, I think it was the first time I thought of Will that I didn't feel a twinge of hurt. And that was good. I was making progress.

I spent most of the day with Bunny that day. I took a break from sorting to just catch up with him, hanging out in my room. We were just talking about taking a walk around Paris when Hallow's voice interrupted suddenly. "Hey, Lovey! Where are you?" she called.

"In my room, Hallow!" I replied. I did a double-take to see that Bunny's expression fell. Before I could ask, Hallow walked in and her smile, too, slipped. There was tension in the room all of the sudden and I didn't like it. Hallow wasn't supposed to be anywhere near the Guardians, but she had no idea Bunny was even here. It was an honest mistake, but a bad one.

Although at the party, it seemed like no one else harbored a grudge against Hallow, Bunny was the only one to hint that he still disliked her. You can tell she's been trying to ignore it, but with just the three of us, there was no escaping Bunnymund's green-eyed glare. This time, the Halloween spirit didn't shy from his stare. She braced herself, clenching her fists, triggering Bunny to stand from the bed. His six feet was intimidating, no doubt about that, yet Hallow stood her ground. Amazing that in this silence so much more was being said though not spoken.

I stood as well, placing a hand on Bunny's bicep. Donning a jolly smile, I turned to Hallow. "Hey, you!" I exclaimed. "I missed you. It's been a while."

Hallow seemed to relax slightly. "Yeah, uh, you too," she said uneasily.

Hesitantly, Bunny turned from Hallow to turn to me. "I'll see ya later, Lovey," he said, patting my head. Then crouching on all fours, he hurried out of Cloud Nine. (Since we were aboveground, there was no way he could open a tunnel.)

After he left, Hallow let out a deep breath that she'd been apparently holding. I giggled a bit, and she ran her fingers through her hair. "That was a close one," she muttered.

I went over to her and patted her back. "Indeed," I agreed, "but I told you, you have nothing to worry about. Bunny would never try anything in front of me."

Hallow chuckled. "Oh, yes, he would never want to defile his image in the mind of his precious angel," she said dramatically, using her broom to lift her into the air and drop herself on my bed. She laughed at my expense as she bounced on the bed. My cheeks warmed and I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, please, you know how I feel about that." To distract myself, I went over to my shelf and checked my always-perfect hair in North's mirror. Unfortunately that was the same mirror that showed you who you were thinking of, and my image rippled to show me that Bunny was back in his Warren. I quickly placed the mirror on the shelf face-down. Thankfully Hallow didn't see.

My best friend continued to tease me about being the source of a Pooka's affection for a while until we bored of that. After that, things calmed down and we didn't have much to talk about. I suggested that we take a look at a relationship I was interested in, but Hallow was more a girl of doing than seeing. She wanted me to go out into the world and have fun, but I knew that I had a duty to perform. Even talking with her was taking time out of sorting through Feelings. It wasn't just the cherubs' burden to carry.

Hallow didn't understand that. She figured that since I had this place and the boys at my whim that I should be able to go out and have fun. That was not the case. I wanted to have fun every once in a while, but there is a time and place for that. I could take days off every so often, but most of the time I preferred to be tied to my home and family. I felt that I had to. MiM never instructed me to stay home and never go out, but that was the cycle I fell into. That just had to be understood by everyone sooner or later.

I suppose it was harder for the Guardians, considering I'd spent the last 900-plus years doing my own thing outside in the open air. However it seemed that Hallow was the one who couldn't accept it the most. Over the years, she came around more and more often, and then her visits gradually became less and less. After a decade of living at Cloud Nine, I saw her often, but not as often as the early days.

So one random day in the magical year of 1900 when Hallow came to visit, I understood why we were growing apart.

I was taking a little break in my room, lying on my stomach on my bed. North's mirror in hand, I watched raptly as my absolute favorite relationship took a turn for the worse. It was taking place right here in Paris, but I was content with watching from afar. The woman was a prostitute who fell in love with an English writer. Currently, her manager discovered their secret love. I audibly gasped as he told her that she could not be with the boy. The cherubs beside me jingled (or screamed) in horror.

We leaned closer in anticipation, but just as the poor woman fainted, a group of cherubs flew into the room, bells jingling in garbled speech. I sat up and the mirror's reflection returned. They informed me that a box of Feelings had been dropped in 272 of Africa. Reluctantly setting the mirror down, I hurried off to the storage room to help pick up the mess. As I ran passed the foyer, Hallow jumped off her broom.

"Hey, Cue!" she greeted, catching her balance. "What's the rush?"

"Oh, hi, Hallow, the cherubs dropped some Feelings now there's a big mess."

She followed me into the rooms. "Oh, man, that's bad. Did they break?"

I explained to her briefly that the vials are indestructible, but the box held a lot of various Feelings, so they need to be set in order again. The cherubs and I went picked up the vials, pairing up those that went together. Hallow picked up a few lazily, all the while telling me about how snow should be coming here soon and it was a cold one. She babbled on about where she just was and the kids she had played with. I listened, but also exchanged a few words with the cherubs as they looked around for matches to their vials.

Finally, Hallow scoffed. "Are you listening to me?" she asked, pouting. She sat on her broomstick, keeping her feet just a few inches above the ground.

I read the names of two vials, handing one to a cherub and collecting the other in my hand. "Of course I am, Hallow. You stole their candy."

Hallow paused a moment, studying me with those odd orange eyes. A cherub fluttered over to her and gathered the vials she held. She was quiet a while and then she looked down to her hands folded in her lap. "You're so different, Cue," she muttered. A bit shocked, I blinked and looked up at her. She briefly glanced up and then went on. "I mean, ever since you got Cloud Nine, you've been so busy and all up-tight. Not as busy as you were before this place, but…now it kind of hurts 'cause you can go anywhere and do anything, but you always want to stay here instead."

I frowned. "I just want to get this work done," I said feebly.

"Oh, come on! It's not like we don't have eternity to get it done!" she exclaimed, leaning back precariously on the broomstick.

I shrugged. "I like being here," I admitted. "I'm sorry if I'm upsetting you, but this is my home. I-I haven't had a place to call 'home' in over a thousand years, Hallow." My voice took on a tone of desperation. I loved Hallow and I never wanted to hurt anyone. I didn't know how else I could tell her to let her understand.

But apparently being upfront about it wasn't enough. The pain in her eyes pierced me. Hallow sighed deeply and hopped off her broom. "Yeah, yeah…" she mumbled deplorably. Being cautious of the vials scattered on the floor, she sulked out of the room. I stood and started to go after her, but once she made it to the parlor, she took the back way out, through the garden and was gone.

After that, my mind was deeply distracted. I finished cleaning up the mess with the cherubs and then I went to my room to lie down. Spreading my wings, I lay on my back, hands behind my head, staring at the ceiling. I wondered for a while what I could do to make Hallow feel better before I finally reprimanded myself. I should listen to her and go out more often. The cherubs would understand if I wanted to go out more.

But I wouldn't go after her. I would wait until she calmed down and came back. Then I would show her we could go back to how we used to be, and then some! With that decision, I allowed myself to relax and go back to watching my various romances on North's mirror.

For about an hour, all was normal in Cloud Nine. The cherubs went on about their business, chatting in their odd voices as they went along with their duties. They flew in an out of the domain, carting arrows and vials. That day, I didn't expect anything amazing his to happen. But that's normally when fate gets you.

I set down the mirror and stood from bed, stretching, when all of the sudden the cherub's excited jingles filled the air. I blinked at hearing the unnatural amount of bells and hurried out the door to the foyer. I thought it was Hallow, back from venting, but instead I was caught off guard by the boy the cherubs crowded around.

His hair was as white as snow; his skin a hypothermic pale. In his hand, he carried a hooked staff, caked with snow and frost. He wore a white long sleeve under a brown vest and cloak. His brown trousers were bound with strap-like material starting from the knee down to the rather tattered and frayed bottom. That's when I noticed that he was barefoot and I furrowed my brow. Shifting my eyes back up to his face, our eyes met and I felt frozen.

His icy blue eyes stared into mine and my heart skipped a beat. His lips parted slightly as if he was going to say something that was suddenly lost in his throat. To stare into his eyes was like staring into a frozen lake. And I was afraid of falling through the ice.

The cherubs looked from me to the boy then back and forth again. Slowly each of them smiled. Shaking my head and snapping out of whatever trance I had been struck into, I approached the boy who looked to be younger than me – maybe about seventeen or eighteen.

"Hello," I said cheerfully, studying his scrawny body, "who are you? Can I assist you with anything?" I extended my hand to him, holding the other behind my back.

The pale boy studied me a moment before a playful smirk found his face and he accepted my hand. His cold touch contradicted my warmth. "I'm Jack Frost. Sorry for intruding; I just found this place. Don't know how I missed it before."

Jack Frost? I vaguely recalled hearing that name once upon a time ago. You don't want Jack Frost nipping at your nose, mothers would say. I never expected him to be real like the rest of the spirits. Yet here he was in front of me, in the flesh. And, wow. I couldn't take my eyes off of him.

While I was thinking of something intelligent to say, he spoke again: "So who are you? And what exactly is this place?" To my dismay, he released my hand and wandered about the room, resting his staff on his shoulder.

"O-oh, right! How rude of me!" I stuttered, blushing. "I'm Cupid and this is my domain, Cloud Nine."

Jack Frost stopped walking and turned to me. "I'm sorry – Cupid?" he asked incredulously.

I nodded, folding my hands behind my back. "That's right. Keeper of Valentine's Day, bringer of love."

He blinked a few times and then laughed a bit, strutting around once more. I carefully watched the way he walked, so graceful and light on his feet. "Sorry. I just always pictured Cupid as a guy."

I nodded, pursing my lips, restraining a growl. "Yes…I get that a lot," I said simply.

Jack Frost hopped up onto the brim of the well and peered inside the foggy water. His nimble movements startled me a bit, but I kept my mouth shut. "What's this thing do?" he asked, tilting his head. The unintentional innocence behind this gesture sent butterflies through me. I smiled softly and went over to him, instructing him to think of any place. Though he was confused, he did. When I tapped the surface, he nearly jumped in surprise. The image in the water rippled, revealing a still lake in a forest. I smiled at his reaction.

The attractive boy breathed a laugh and ran his fingers through his hair. I betted it was as soft as a snow rabbit's. "Well, that's fairly interesting," he said, turning to me. "What other crazy stuff do you have here?"

My heart fluttered, though I didn't let it show. Jack Frost – the handsome, mysterious Old Man Winter – was interested in what I did. Though I almost expected it, it did take me by pleasant surprise.

So, without hesitation, I replied, "Let me show you."