/AN: I told you it would be a fairly quick update! ahh, the amount of positive feedback on this is fantastic! thank you guys so much! nice to know that this bb au is gaining some supporters ;) (it's been very consuming for the past 3 weeks, alright). this should be the second part in a three-chapter-oneshot, but at this point it could stretch to four. I apologize in advance if the next update is a bit slower (papers to write sadly - anyone want to write my canadian art research paper?), but it'll get there! and this long update should help! but hey, let's get to the story, right (or the crack, either or).
disclaimer: well the dvd came out for rotg, but sadly I don't own either (being a student and broke is hard - but at least the first is in my reach!)
Two songs after the phone incident, Tooth had been able pinpoint exactly when her sister had stumbled across her conversation with Jack. The young fan had stumbled back hurriedly towards their seats, and she had watched on with an amused smile until she was abruptly yanked down to stare into wild eyes. There was no escape until Tooth had explained to the best of her ability over the crowd and music, Baby Tooth's expression a comic mixture of envy and wonder.
Now the two of them waited patiently in their seats as the arena cleared out, keeping busy as the time ticked forward. Pretending to play with her phone, Tooth had ignored the curious glances they received; Baby Tooth on the other hand had gladly beamed and bounced up and down, which only received more looks. As a result, it had earned her a teasing smile from her older sister, and a comment on subtly. Tooth herself kept tapping her feet insistently in an incoherent rhythm, a bundle of tightly wound nerves.
Now after countless rewatches of her newly gained footage, Baby Tooth was starting to grow impatient.
"There's no one here." Baby Tooth whined, a pout forming on her small face.
Tooth frowned and glanced down at her watch; it was forty five minutes after the encore. The entire arena was clear of all signs of life, and Jack was late. She shrugged helplessly.
"He said to meet him at the stage,"
"Maybe he meant backstage!"
She cast her sister a look. "I think we've had enough backstage wanderings for the night, Baby Tooth." Also now that the arena and stage was empty, it seemed surprisingly eerie.
A shadow emerged – no shadows – and Tooth held her breath, sitting up in her chair. But instead of the boys she was expecting, a group of stage crew came out from behind the darkness and started their take down. She flushed when she saw two point her out to each other, and awkwardly slunk down deeper into her seat. Baby Tooth ignored her gesture for her to do the same, choosing instead to stand up. As one of the stagehands disappeared back into the depths of backstage, Tooth whispered to her sister hastily.
"Maybe we should wait somewhere –"
"You two, third row back, can you please make your way to the exit." Tooth whipped her head up to see the man with the grumbly voice stride across the stage with a frown. He was incredibly bulky – and hairy – his large hands wrapped fiercely around a familiar blue clipboard. His moustache twitched as he regarded them ruefully.
Embarrassed, Tooth felt her cheeks redden as she scrambled up from her chair, grabbing at her purse with every intention to leave. She was already half convinced Jack had forgotten about her; she was just the stupid girl who had foolishly mistaken his identity, hardly anyone significant when she pictured his glamorous life style. Ridiculous, she chided herself. This wasn't her world of teeth and books.
Baby Tooth made no move to leave, jutting out her jaw purposefully.
"We can't, we're meeting –"
"Let's just go Baby Tooth, it's okay." Tooth mumbled as she moved to take her little sister's hand, not wanting to explain to her that Jack had probably forgotten about them. She didn't want to see her crushed. Not that she was feeling so great herself.
"No but-!" Baby Tooth cried in protest as she was dragged into the aisle, unwilling to give up just yet.
"Crap, sorry I'm late guys!" Tooth froze as Jack's voice cut across the vast space, her shoulders instantly locking. She turned around to see him jogging across the stage looking completely disheveled, and she could see beads of sweat at his temple. With a quick wipe, he made use of the white cotton towel in his hands, flipping it over his shoulder as he turned to address Phil.
"Phil this is Tooth and her sister, the ones I was telling you about earlier?" In response Phil rolled his eyes and grumbled, folding his arms as he regarded the boy in contempt. Obviously Jack hadn't quite relayed the information as soundly as he thought.
He turned back to Tooth and Baby Tooth, who were both staring motionless in the aisle. "He wasn't giving you any trouble was he?" He grinned apologetically, but it was enough to make Tooth tighten her grip on Baby Tooth reflexively.
He could be the poster child of Colgate, honestly. And she had seen some pearly whites in her day; he bested them all.
Realizing she was taking too long to respond, she cleared her throat and hoped that her voice was ten times more confident than she felt. In the end it was Baby Tooth that beat her to the punch.
"You're Jack Frost!" All eyes turned to the pigtailed girl who was already bouncing on the balls of her feet. Jack, although taken aback by her outburst, laughed.
"The one and only," His hair fell over into his eyes as he gave her a quick bow. With a step forward, he gestured for her to join him on stage. "You'd be surprised by what I get mistaken for these days." He casually deadpanned before catching Tooth's eye. When he did, his mouth twitched into a smirk.
Flustered, Tooth's goofy smile matched the shake of limbs that was supposed to be a nonchalant what-can-you-do gesture. Its failure prompted her to wrap her arms around her middle in order to prevent any more attempts.
What was wrong with her? The usual graceful Toothiana had been reduced to the behavior of a seven year old with the crush on the boy who had the craziest lunch box. For the third time that night, she mentally slapped herself.
If Jack noticed her show of awkward limbs, he didn't show it. Instead he helped Baby Tooth up on stage with a strong arm, which she was more than content to hold onto him. Unfazed by her reaction, he crouched down next to her and offered her a crooked smile. "Sorry I was late, I didn't mean to keep you and your sister waiting. But now that I'm here," He poked her teasingly, "How about a tour, yeah? One that doesn't involve getting lost backstage."
She giggled. "A tour?"
"Scout's honor, I swear." Uncharacteristically shy, Baby Tooth nodded wordlessly to his promise, her pigtails bouncing. "Plus I have a feeling we'll run into my best mates and they'd love to meet you." His eyes drifted down to her shirt with a mischievous spark.
It all seemed too much for Baby Tooth and her mouth popped open, her eyes wide with excitement. "Really?"
"Really, really, kiddo."
"Tooth did you hear that? We're going to meet the band!" Baby Tooth cried, hugging her arms around her waist and spinning in half circles. Tooth expected Jack to pull away from the eleven year old, but he seemed more than content to entertain her.
"One condition though," He held out a hand to stop her with false seriousness. She frowned, stopping mid twirl. "I can't allow you backstage until you tell me your name, unless you want me to call you "Tooth's sister" the entire time. Or I could just make up a name, hey what do you think about Frosty or-"
"Kshamina!" She interrupted with another giggle - Jack seemed to have that effect on people - and she cast a look over at Tooth. "But most people call me Baby Tooth, because my sister and I look so much a like."
Jack, noticing that Tooth had made it to the stage's edge – hesitantly and with some difficultly given the railing – quickly swooped in to help her up. She had wished he had chosen a better time to notice her, as the railing was high and she wobbled over the top. Phil hadn't seemed concerned in the slightest.
He offered her an outstretched hand, comically identical to a certain Disney movie that included flying carpets and Arabian nights. Something fluttered alarmingly in her chest as they made eye contact, and she slowly placed her small hand within his. With a tug, her feet landed on the worn stage's floorboards and the smell of sweat and soap filled her nostrils. She caught the wink of a tattooed snowflake on his wrist.
"Thanks," Tooth murmured, and quickly pulled the loose pieces of hair behind her ear in habit. He looked at her for a second longer, his mouth twitching up at the corners as if she had just told him a mischievous secret. She blinked up at him before he let go, her brain finally catching up to realize how cold he was. Did he really take his name to heart and dunk his hands in buckets of ice? A shiver passed down her spine - although she couldn't entirely blame it all on his temperature.
He turned his attention back to Baby Tooth. "Not a bad nickname, actually. You could pass for Tooth's mini clone," His tone was nothing but impressed. Baby Tooth regarded this as a compliment, and she beamed up at him, smitten.
"Right, well, Phil, would you do the honors?" He gave a slight bow to the large man who only huffed in response. His shoulders sagged forward as he turned towards the backstage entrance, hidden behind two large set pillars. "After you, Baby Tooth." He gestured for her to follow – which she didn't need to be told twice – and skipped off after Phil.
Tooth offered Jack a shy smile as he easily fell into step beside her, Baby Tooth scuttling ahead and already launched into conversation with Phil. It looked like it was going to be a fairly one-sided conversation. As they crossed the stage, Tooth hopelessly thought of what to say to him.
"Thanks for –"
"Sorry I-"
There was a beat of silence as they paused for the each other, before exploding into short – albeit awkward - laughter.
"You go first," Tooth politely urged.
He shook his head, a trace of a smile still on his lips. "I just wanted to apologize again for making you two wait. Sometimes I forget how long certain events take, and after the signing we were pulled aside for a press photo…" He trailed off with a sigh.
"It's really alright, Jack." She assured him, unable to help herself from trying out his name. Of course he would have been greeting fans after a show (and not forgetting about her as he lounged with a model in his dressing room – where did that thought come from?). Awkwardly, she looked away before continuing. "I did want to say thank you, though. This is really incredible for Baby Tooth and myself. I promise you she won't stop talking about this night for days, months even. But uh," She made sure she wasn't making eye contact. "I don't usually, um, do these sorts of things."
He turned his head to look at her, startled. She cleared her throat under his gaze. They had officially entered backstage, and there was a mess of props to the side that Tooth locked onto. She felt her cheeks burning up. How did she make it clear she wasn't – although attractive Jack was – not particularly looking to become a groupie for the night? What exactly was he hoping to gain out of this?
Jack thankfully caught on.
A slight blush graced his cheeks and he held up an outstretched hand as if to reassure her. "Oh, no, no. I wasn't trying to insinuate- " He dropped off abruptly. He cleared his throat, "Please know that wasn't my intention in the slightest. I just wanted to see you again, that's all."
Tooth looked at him sharply and she could have sworn she misheard him. "You wanted to see me again? Why?"
At that he gave a lopsided smile. "You made an impression."
It wasn't fair she was on the receiving end of all these grins and smiles, it was such a disadvantage; she could hardly think straight. Tooth looked away.
"Right," She couldn't help but sound dejected. "The only girl who mistakes Jack Frost as a stagehand at his own gig."
"You have to admit it does make an impression." He raised an eyebrow at her teasingly, the goofy expression lightening his words.
"You could have told me, you know."
"Nah, I was having fun being the nameless stagehand. Rather exciting actually. If the band goes south, I believe I have a career in acting."
She choked back on her laughter and peered up at him. "I wouldn't inflate your ego too much, you were a horrible stagehand need I remind you."
"Says the girl who claimed that I was her favourite."
Tooth let out a humiliated groan and covered her face with her hands. Her words came out muffled, "I was hoping you'd have a poor memory."
Even though she didn't dare look at his face, his voice carried enough amusement to know he was smirking. "You're forgetting I memorize lyrics for a living, Tooth."
Defeated, the petite brunette pushed back her hair and sighed. Up ahead Baby Tooth had stopped and was waiting for them, Phil standing next to her with the same stoic expression on his face. Did he ever smile?
"Aha, I see you've found our first stop!" Jack broke away from Tooth to wave at the wall covered in signatures.
"What is it?" Baby Tooth inquired, squinting at the curving names that littered the entire façade.
"It's officially called, well, I don't actually know what it's officially called. I wasn't paying attention when they were telling us earlier. But –" He said excitedly, turning to face all three with a glint in his eyes. "This is where all us performers sign after a show."
Baby Tooth's eyes lit up as she regarded the wall with new meaning, although barely knowing the names of most of them. "Cool!" She pointed to the top, where a large picture of a moon overlooked the signatures protectively. "Is that a doodle of the moon?"
Jack looked up at it thoughtfully, "Signed by 'Man in Moon', huh, would you look at that."
After some searching, Jack pointed to the bottom left where three familiar names were written. "They all signed before the gig opened, while I was with your sister. Those bastards couldn't even wait for me." Although he said it with conviction, there was a fond look in his eyes. He produced a sharpie from his pocket – silver – and smiled mischievously at Baby Tooth. Phil rolled his eyes. "Considering I think it would be pretty lonesome to do this momentous event all by myself, care to join?" He pulled out another sharpie from his pocket.
Baby Tooth stared at him for a moment, her eyes wide. "But I'm not in the band. You are!" He laughed, pulling down on her pigtail as if he had known her for years.
"Hey, if anyone asks, I'll swear to the moon and back you are a fundamental part of The Guardians."
After another pause of hesitation, Baby Tooth eagerly reached for the offered sharpie and contemplated her signature. While she worked, Jack turned to face Tooth, offering her very own purple sharpie.
"Your turn, Miss Toothiana."
She regarded his playful expression, biting down on her lip when she failed to remain deadpan. He looked so much like a little kid offering her his favourite piece of gum, she felt inclined to reach out and pluck it from his hand. He smiled even wider when she did.
"This feels like cheating." She murmured, uncapping the lid. "Won't we get in trouble?"
He waved a hand dismissively.
"As the moon is my witness, you are hereby part of the band. Redeemable for the next twelve hours."
Tooth's hand hovered hesitantly over the wall, searching for a place conspicuous enough to hold her signature. She was worried that her name was too far out there and be questioned, but Jack's easy attitude convinced her enough to go with it, quite unusual from her usual rule-abiding-citizen behavior.
Jack brushed Tooth's shoulder as he leaned in, snagging a blank space next to Aster's signature. With a little doodle of what appeared to be a snowflake, he stepped back pleased. His expression soon turned sour and he made a noise, watching as Tooth finished her own signature with a flourish.
"Now that's just not fair," He remarked, crossing his arms over his chest with a scowl. Tooth looked over her shoulder at him, her sharpie still poised over the wall. She frowned, confused at his reaction.
"What is?"
"You're putting my hand writing to shame! I thought I had mastered all there is with my signature, but look at your T's!" He made a whistling sound. "That's some fancy penmanship, if I say so myself. I vote that you start signing my autographs from now on, how about that?"
Autographs. It seemed too surreal to think about. Tooth pulled back and began to modestly protest, when Baby Tooth tapped Jack on the shoulder. She seemed eager to regain his attention. "Look Jack, I added a doodle too!"
"Oh would you look at that!" Jack smiled, ducking down to see the little drawing of a hummingbird that was close to his own signature. "But why the little fella, Baby Tooth?" She grinned up at him, for either calling her by her nickname or for being interested in her doodle.
"To protect your snowflake!" She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Jack tilted his head, turning to Tooth for clarification. She shook her head and shrugged, unable to stop from smiling.
"She believes that hummingbirds are fairies, and that they protect the things people hold most dear, like memories and tokens." Tooth looked around Jack to catch Baby Tooth's eye with a raised eyebrow. Her little sister nodded vigorously, oblivious to the shared look between Jack and Tooth. In a hushed voice meant only for Jack, she whispered, "As you can see, she's pretty adamant about it."
Jack's eyes flickered back to Baby Tooth with a genuine expression of thoughtfulness. "You know what? I like it." He then grinned, as though struck with a brilliant idea, and brushed past Tooth again to get close to the wall. Sticking out his tongue in concentration, he doodled a defined shape in between his snowflake and Baby Tooth's doodle. When he stepped back Tooth's eyes widened.
"Did you just draw a tooth?"
"Well if hummingbirds are fairies, why not the tooth fairy?" He turned to Tooth with an and-I-remember-what-you-said-about-teeth expression. "Plus we need a doodle from you too - I thought a tooth fit nicely, don't you agree Baby Tooth?" His expression challenged her to contradict him.
She looked pointedly at him. "I think we'll turn this into a doodle board if we continue like this." However, in the end she reached over Jack to add the finishing touches on his tooth anyways. "But if we're going to do this right, I'm making this a proper representation of a premolar. It looks like a squid."
He made a show of rolling his eyes, but they were all laughing. "That is the second time you have criticized me tonight. Now are you sure you don't want to take a look for artistic purposes?" He used a slender finger to pull at the corner of his mouth, giving Tooth an exceptional view of his incredibly white smile.
Tooth's mind short circuited, her sharpie almost dropping from her hand - she had been doing so well! From Jack's expression, he seemed all too aware of her reaction, and was enjoying himself immensely. She composed herself – rather terribly – and forced her eyes away from his mouth, distracting herself with the doodle.
"I-I have a pretty good idea of what a premolar looks like, Jack, thank you." She cleared her throat, glad that her hair was covering most of her face.
What a little –
"Is that the dressing rooms down there?" Baby Tooth's voice interrupted Tooth's thoughts. She stood back from the wall, now finished, and turned to look where Baby Tooth was pointing.
"Why yes that is!" Jack cast an amused look at Tooth, tugging the sharpie from her grasp with nimble fingers while her attention was diverted. "Ready for the next stop on the tour?"
When they arrived at the first room, Baby Tooth froze in the doorway; Aster, Nic and Sandy were all inside conversing. No, not conversing, arguing. Sandy seemed excluded from the brunt of it, sitting off to the side and rolling his eyes. Jack stopped behind Baby Tooth taking in the scene with wide eyes before realization dawned on him. Instinctively he sought the eyes closest to him to share a look – which usually was Sandy in most cases – this time however, was Tooth. He seemed started to find her there, but was quick to cover with a look of fond contempt for his band mates.
"Guys, we have guests, please." At the sound of Jack's voice, both Nic and Aster's heads swiveled towards the doorway. They stared, taking in the sight before them, before they straightened and awkwardly offering embarrassed smiles. Sandy waved ecstatically from his place on the couch, sending Nic and Aster a smirk.
"Oh Jack! Did not see you there, friend!" Nic took a stride forward to greet them, holding out a hand to Tooth. "You are the friends Jack was talking about earlier, yes?" From up close Tooth could see the black stumble on his handsome face, and thick black waves of hair curling at the base of his neck. And geez, he was so much taller in person; he towered over her at over six feet.
She nodded, feeling a bit overwhelmed and admittedly star struck. It was one thing to see Jack –afterall she had seen him before his performance– but seeing the whole gang? Tooth subtly straightened herself, remembering the crowd of girls chanting Nic's name an hour before. It seemed strange now to be shaking his hand, wait he was using their handshake as leverage to – Tooth's eyes went wide as Nic engulfed her into a bear hug, Jack remained unhelpful as he grinned at her reaction.
"Good to meet you Toothie!"After the initial shock, Tooth could only laugh, warmed rather than annoyed by the new nickname. Nic's attention locked onto Baby Tooth who was standing beside Jack, shuffling her feet expectantly. "And look what we have here! You liked my filming skills, no?" He puffed out his chest with a wide grin before bending down to muss Baby Tooth's hair. Baby Tooth didn't mind in the least, stepping forward and boldly wrapping Nic in a hug, which he gladly returned.
Who would have guessed that Nic had such a way with kids? He sure had the skills to make a person feel incredibly welcome; he was genuinely charming.
While Baby Tooth chattered with North, Aster walked over to introduce himself. He slung a tanned arm over Jack, giving his friend a smile before offering a hand to Tooth. "Aster. Nice too meet you, Tooth was it? Jack was telling me about his run in with you earlier."
Tooth's smile froze, feeling a blush creep over her cheeks. "He did?" She looked over at him, but he just shrugged in response.
"Don't feel embarrassed - did he ever tell you about the time in London we had to post pone the opening number because Frostbite here got himself lost?"
Jack groaned as Aster launched into his story, cringing back from the Aussie. "So this bugger goes off with Sandy for his ritual walk around before the show – for good luck you know – fifteen minutes after we were supposed to be on stage, Sandy is back with no idea where Jack got to. Then here comes Frost stumbling out with a story about wandering into some sort of secret passageway from war times underneath the city. Complete with ghost like shadows moving down the corridor!"
"That was a hundred percent true, I'll have you know." Jack protested, but there was a slight blush to his cheeks. "Okay maybe more like ninety-five, but I stand by the fact that those shadows were creepy as hell."
"Should have asked them for directions." Aster joked. "And don't even get me started when we were in Spain and you decided to drunkenly serenade the moon."
Tooth watched the exchange with an amused expression; it was satisfying to see Jack as the embarrassed one for once. "You serenaded the moon?" She muffled a laugh.
Jack untangled Aster's arm from him, pointing a finger at him accusingly. "Oh no, we're not going into that." He waved Sandy over who was talking with Nic and Baby Tooth; it looked like Nic was teaching her how to sword fight.
Sandy bobbed over with a smile, giving a slight bow to Tooth. He sure was quiet given he was an international pop star. "Do you know anything about this moon escapade, Sandy?" She asked innocently, sending Jack a look. The rewarding horrified look he gave to both her and Sandy was enough to make her smug.
"That's it, next stop on the tour - the ah, luxurious bathrooms." He grabbed hold of Tooth's hand and steered her clear of the other boys, right towards the tiny little bathroom adjoining the dressing room. She cast a glance over her shoulder and shared an amused look with Aster and Sandy, who in turn hollered snippets of what she guessed was the serenade.
"Oh when the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, it's-"
Jack talked loudly over his friends, his breath stirring the hair next to her ear as he leaned in close. "What do we have here - not much at first, but you'll notice that the floor tiles have nice patterns of, uh, swirling lines – Sandy stop miming, don't think I can't see what you're doing. And for your information, I did not try to lasso the moon." More laughter. "No don't look Tooth, just look at those wonderful lines - Aster, can't you tell I'm trying to save my remaining dignity?" He tugged Tooth's hand again to stop her from turning around, his solid grasp sending a burst of cold up her arm.
At the realization of where her hand was, Tooth stared dumbly down at their interlocked fingers. He had done it so instinctively she hadn't even noticed at first, but now the coldness pulsed up her arm in goose bumps.
Noticing her stare, Jack glanced down at their hands as if he had just noticed what he had done. There was a pause as they both looked up at each other with identical startled expressions, before they broke away with a nervous laugh. He didn't apologize, thankfully. That would have been another layer of awkward.
Aster stole a look at Sandy with a raised eyebrow.
Pivoting away from Tooth before he she could see the slight blush along his cheeks, he clapped his hands together to get Nic's attention. "What were you two arguing about earlier anyways?" He said distractedly.
Nic looked up from his conversation with Baby Tooth, as both had been engaged in some sort of talk of what she wanted for Christmas.
"Oh!" He turned an accusing stare at Aster. "Bunny was making fun because I want to have sleigh tattoo next." Aster snorted at this. Tooth scrunched up her nose in confusion at Aster's nickname – Bunny? Oh, from Bunnymund, his last name. Hey, at least she remembered that!
"You've got enough Christmas tattoos to last a life time, mate. Why not something else? Like, say, a rabbit or something. Fast and lucky."
"A rabbit? Pssh, Aster. I have no interest in getting tiny rabbit."
"This is what you two were arguing about?" Jack laughed, all traces of earlier embarrassment gone. "He's got a point though, Nic. People are going to think you've got CCO - compulsive Christmas obsession." He paused, considering it. "Doesn't have the same ring as Christmas bumpkin, though."
Nic crossed his arms and shot Jack a dark look. "Says boy obsessed with winter."
Tooth's eyes trailed back to Jack in surprise; so she wasn't the only one with an ironic name after all.
"Winter?" Tooth asked curiously.
He gave her a careless shrug, an easy smile slipping onto his face. He didn't even argue it. "Alas I don't have a tattoo of a reindeer on my right bicep." Jack held up his hands in defense, his snowflake tattoo obvious in the bright light.
"You do?" Baby Tooth looked up at Nic in awe. "I didn't know that!"
"Last week." Nic said proudly, rolling up his sleeve to show off his newly acquired tattoo. It was indeed a reindeer with a fire bolt on its back. Of course.
"It's so cool!" Baby Tooth exclaimed with delight, and Nic beamed smugly at Aster over her head.
"Funny, Jamie said the same thing." Aster shook his head as if he couldn't believe it.
"Who's Jamie?" Baby Tooth scrunched up her nose with a frown. "He's not part of the band."
"No he isn't," Jack shook his head and gave Baby Tooth a playful grin. "But he's very special, let me tell you." His eyes alighted. "I think I have an idea of what comes next on our tour."
"You're just improvising now aren't you," Tooth raised an eyebrow at him, but couldn't say she wasn't curious to meet this Jamie fellow that all the guys seemed so keen on.
Jack's eyes found hers. "Best way to live, you never know who you run into."