Author's notes: So this event is set after rain (chapter 4) finally got around to doing it. Thank you very much for the 43 reviews guys and favorites and alerts, it means a lot to me. Further author's notes will be placed below.
Enjoy the family fluff!
Summary: It keeps raining whenever Jack is sad and it takes awhile for the guardians to catch on.
Droplets
by FeastofDeath
Set after Rain
The first time it happened, Baby Tooth was hurt and Jack was panicking and worried and oh-so scared.
He had been riding one of the most vicious winds up in Mount Everest, a dangerous pastime he rarely indulged and only when he was bored, bored, bored.
It was one of those boring days when bothering the guardians was just not worth it or either he just wasn't in the mood to be prodded in the mouth (Tooth), to be bantered with (Bunny), put to sleep (Sandy), and/or given to the elves for entertainment (North).
His snow rounds had been dealt with and he'd the done the whole hail-thing without hurting anyone because it only served as a remainder to the human race to "take better care of nature, people!" as per request by Mother Nature. And so this time, it was just Jack time.
So, here he was, indulging himself in a little made-up dangerous sport, guaranteed to take up an impressive amount of his time, trying to tame the wild winds of the east and never succeeding (not yet, anyway).
The winds were harsh, they push and pulled and often, they blew icicles to his face and Jack always came out of it with scratches and torn and worn clothes (it's what happened to his first set of upper clothes, they were ripped and torn until it barely covered his torso anymore).
(No one really ever saw him like this, so torn and worn down. And those who did see him, never did care, so no one ever really told him to stop or asked or told him to be careful.)
The dangerous activity required majority of his attention and balance and skills, which was why he didn't hear the frantic tweeting directed at him or realize he wasn't alone until something (someone) collided with his face and thus, allowing the wild winds to have the upper hand, throwing him to one of the mountain's rocky ledges.
"Ow…" Jack slid down the rocky edge and manoeuvred himself to safer and flatter ground with a swing of his staff and an impressive spin to the side.
He leaned against the snow bank and carefully removed whatever flew and clung onto his face. It felt like a bird or a bug or…
"Baby Tooth!" Jack exclaimed, eyes wide and frightened when he recognized the small bundle of feathers and cradled the injured fairy in his palms. The tiny version of Toothiana was trembling and making pained coos in his hands.
"No, no, no, no…"Jack muttered, horrified. His own hands were starting to shake and it wasn't because of the cold temperature. He tried to look he rover without hurting her, 'What were you- why were you" He choked, "Baby Tooth…" His eyes burned, "Please be okay."
The water sprite cupped her protectively, staff squeezed under his arm. He got up gently and rushed off the ledge, free falling, careful not to jostle his tiny friend. He let go of his staff and caught it with his legs manoeuvring himself to balance on it as he flew, holding his cupped hands to his chest.
Baby Tooth chirped softly at the sound of his anxious heartbeat while the winter sprite pursed his lips and directed his wind to the direction of the Tooth Palace.
The clouds were dark and heavy, a surprising contrast to the sunny weather not but an hour ago. The queen of fairies pondered the sudden change, wondering if it was caused by one of Mother Nature's seasonal spirits when she was distracted by someone calling her.
"Tooth!" The anxious cry from beneath her nest was enough was enough for the queen of the tooth fairies to fly down to the ground and towards the pale guardian.
The winter sprite was trembling, even paler than usual. His hands were shaking.
"Tooth, Tooth, I'm sorry." Jack gasped, voice thick. "I didn't… Baby Tooth was- she-"
The queen of fairies was anxious because of Jack but tried to remain calm, and gently shushed him, "Jack, calm down. What's wrong with Baby Tooth?"
Jack carefully uncapped his hands, fingers still slightly curled protectively as the baby fairy was revealed.
"Oh!" Toth said, her voice anxious and worried. She reached out and carefully took the whimpering fairy from the cold hands. "W-What happened?"
"I was- I was-" Jack swallowed, "I was by Mount Everest, the winds there are- they're harsh, Tooth. Wild winds." He ran a shaking hand through his hair, "And I didn't hear her, I didn't even know she was there until she was thrown right at me-"
A choked sound came from the winter guardian, "The winds are strong and they can hurt. And I don't know if she- if she broke a wing or her bones or-"
Tooth startled when pitter-patter sounds came from the roof of her palace, bringing with it a downpour of rain.
In front of her, Jack looked young and vulnerable, eyes wide and seeming as though he wanted to cry but couldn't.
"Oh Jack," Tooth said, placing a comforting hand on his frosted shoulder. "It's not your fault." She assured, taking note of his torn hoodie, "She'll be fine."
"But she-"
Tooth shushed him. She held Baby Tooth up and whispered a string of foreign words from the long forgotten language of her kind. The baby fairy glowed and her pained chirping became slow, relaxed breathing.
"She's fine now." Tooth assured the wide-eyed guardian with a small smile, "She just has to sleep it off."
Jack's face seemed torn between relief and great worry. He opened his mouth and then closed it, pursing his lips and nodding, shoulders slumped. The rain outside became nothing more than a drizzle.
"You can tuck her in one of the fairies' room if you want." Tooth suggested softly, "The other fairies will show you where."
Jack hesitated when Tooth made to give him Baby Tooth. After a few seconds of hesitation, the young guardian extended his hands and accepted her back gently. He gave an awkward nod at Tooth.
The guardian of memories paused, her attention away from the healing Baby Tooth and finally on Jack himself. His clothes were torn and there were scratches all over him, "And you? Are you okay?" She gestured at him.
Jack looked down on himself and nodded glumly.
"You said…" Tooth hesitated, "You were saying something about being at Mt. Everest and harsh winds… Jack, what were you doing there?"
The guardian of Fun tried not to flinch as he shrugged, "I was… bored." He winced at the expression on Tooth's face, "It's what I do to… pass time, before."
Tooth didn't have to ask him to know what he meant by before. She already knew that he meant his three hundred years of solitude. She clasped her hands tightly together, "Well, you know, after what happened today, you can't do that again."
Jack's shoulders tensed. He knew that because of his carelessness, he'd managed to get Baby Tooth hurt. "I know, I'm sorry. I'll make sure not to get Baby Tooth hurt again."
The hand on his arm, made him jump. He looked up, wide-eyed at the guardian of Memories.
"I didn't mean Baby Tooth. From what I know, it was her choice to seek you out after her tooth deliveries and knowing her, she might have gotten impatient and flew right through the harsh Everest winds…" She shook her head, "I'll have words with her later, but Jack it was her choice and not your fault." She said firmly. "What I was trying to say was that you can't go riding whatever wild wind you want out there anymore… because you're getting hurt."
As though to prove her point, she pinched the sleeve of Jack's hoodie and lifted it to show him his torn clothing and scratches.
"I know it's fun and dangerous and I know you sometimes get that itch under your skin to be reckless but…" Tooth turned wide, sad eyes at him, "What happens if you get hurt? Bunny will throw a fit, you'll scare North, Sandy, and I to death…" She shook her head, "So please, for our sakes, don't do that again. I don't care how bored you get."
Jack looked at her with wide, disbelieving eyes. He blinked a few times and his face seem to crumple upon itself. He breathed in deeply and nodded slowly, eyes looking at the ground.
Tooth inhaled shakily and nodded too. "Good." She said, drawing herself to her full height, "Now, go and make sure Baby Tooth is comfortable."
A small smile slipped into Jack's expression. He looked up and met Tooth's gaze seriously. "I'll take care of her."
Tooth smiled, "I know you will."
The guardian of Fun's smile turned into a wide grin and he turned and allowed himself to be ushered by a few fairies to their rooms, Tooth watching his back with a fond look.
An hour later, when Baby Tooth finally woke up and Tooth heard laughter from her baby fairies' rooms, the rain outside finally stopped.
Sandy didn't like the rain. It disrupted his dream sand and made his job slower and that would be fine if Sandy didn't have a world full of kids to send sweet dreams to, in a limited amount of time. Sometimes the rains are so harsh that the sandman would be forced to leave the children with dreamless sleep for that night. It's why they claim not to remember dreams sometimes, it's actually because they didn't dream.
So when East Asia greeted Sandy with a drizzle of rain, the guardian of dreams grumbled. He created an umbrella made of sand. Better a heavy, wet sand umbrella than a wet Sandy.
The oldest guardian went and sought shelter under a worn down-looking shed. He dissolved the sand umbrella, still grumbling quietly at the wet sand on his feet. He created a sand chair with it and then started creating dreams from under his shelter, sending them off to different areas. His sand was less golden than normal and slower to travel and form. Sandy sighed.
It was going to be a long night.
He sat back and stared at the cloudy night sky.
It was while he was staring at the night sky, trying to guess whether the rain would get worst or not, that he caught glimpse of a certain winter spirit sliding down the wet roof and dangling from the rafters, peering about.
Sandy tilted his head, happily surprised that the other was there. Though it was a surprise too because this was a tropical country and despite it being nearly Christmas, they got heavy rains instead. He was glad though, to have a companion during this slow night. But just as he was about to send a sand snowflake to Jack, to notify his presence, the guardian of Fun ducked to the other side of the house, towards one of the lit windows.
Curious to where he was going Sandy summoned a cloud and a large umbrella and followed him silently. Jack rounded a corner and Sandy almost walked into his sight but then paused when saw Jack peering through the window, wonder on his face.
Sandy carefully snuck behind Jack to see what he was looking at. The winter spirit had his hood up, probably to shield himself from the rain, so he didn't notice. The sandman narrowed his eyes to see better and managed to make out a family of three in what appeared to be a baby's room.
The parents were holding up a little girl, who was peering into the crib in confusion. Her nose scrunched and she looked at her parents and said something that made them laugh. Sandy couldn't help but smile, his heart warming at the sight. He moved to the side and got a glimpse of the soft smile on the winter sprite's face.
But due to Jack's proximity, the window fogged up almost instantly. It didn't frost like it usually did when Jack was near, because they were near the equator and it lessened Jack's power somewhat.
The expression on the winter guardian's face, when his view was obstructed, was heart breaking. The rain fell a little more heavily.
Sandy floated to the other guardian and placed a hand on his shoulder, startling him.
"Sandy?" Jack's tone was a little hoarse as he blinked at the sandman. He smiled, "Hey, you doing your rounds?"
The sandman nodded, his sand a little slow in making an arrow and a question mark, asking if Jack was okay.
Jack blinked at the less than golden sands, "Your sand seems… kinda dull? Everything okay?"
Huffing at his unanswered question, the sandman rolled his eyes and then pointed at the sky before making a tiny umbrella and sand raindrops.
"Oh? It's because of the rain?" Jack asked and Sandy nodded. The young guardian looked almost ashamed when he said, "I'm sorry."
Sandy formed a question mark, confusion on his face.
Jack forced a small smile, "It's nothing. Do you need some company?"
Realizing that Jack didn't want to talk about it anymore, Sandy conceded and nodded. He pointed at a rundown shed, making signs that he was waiting for the rain to pass while sending out his soggy sand.
"Don't worry," Jack said when he followed Sandy towards the shed. "The rain will stop soon."
And sure enough, only a minute of making golden dolphins and rabbits, the rain's soft drizzle stopped completely and the sky slowly cleared.
Sandy gave Jack a raised eyebrow look and the guardian of Fun merely shrugged and smiled.
"Let's go spread some Dreams and Fun?" Jack asked and Sandy looked at him for a moment before sighing in fond exasperation and nodding.
Maybe he'll ask Jack about it next time.
The third time it happened, they were all in the Warren.
It was true that they often gathered in the North Pole (because North was usually the one who held daily conversations with the Moon and therefore was always the first one to know when there was trouble while Tooth and Sandy were too busy to have conversations with the moon and Bunny lived underground) but things were different now.
Now, they decided to switch it up. They rarely met during the centuries before they met Jack but now they'd usually have a weekly or monthly meeting. Tooth was the one to actually suggest meeting, not only at the North Pole, but their places as well.
This time it was Bunny's turn to host.
When the guardians entered the Warren, (North through a snow globe while the others did a series of complicated thumps on the ground) the lush, open space of the warren greeted them. They looked around the warren, absorbing the details of Bunny's own private space, since last time they were too busy preparing for Easter to have a proper look around and appreciate it.
"Arvo, mates." Bunny greeted his fellow guardians, puffing out his chest in pride when he saw them looking about the Warren. "Hope you've built up an appetite for lunch."
Sandy nodded rapidly, his sand creating different types of food as he rubbed his hands together.
"I brought oats!" Tooth chirped happily, "You know, because cereal grains contain magnesium that plays a crucial role in strengthening the jaw and enamel of the teeth. And I know you have corn and strawberries and tea, which is rich in fluoride and-"
"Blegh!" North interrupted, "We talk no more of strange mouth parts and things." He waved his hands at Tooth's glare at him. He patted his stomach, "I miss afternoon cookies for this. Bunny, lead the way!"
The rabbit huffed and started to lead the way when he noticed Jack wasn't following, "Oi, Frostbite, tucker's this way."
"Yeah-" Jack started to say but was interrupted by a wide yawn. "You know what?" He said instead, shaking his head. "Why don't you guys go ahead? I think I might need a bit of- a bit of-" He yawned again.
Bunny raised an eyebrow while North and Tooth exchanged looks. Sandy had a look of understanding on his face. "What? Tuckered out already, Frost?" Bunny asked, unimpressed. Did the winter spirit find his home boring or something?
Jack blinked slowly, "Sort of?" His slow response made Bunny worry instead of mad. "It's well, really warm in Australia during this time of year and I…" Jack began bobbing on the air, softly landing on his feet, "And I think I just need to nap a bit, if you guys don't mind?"
Oh, well, now that Jack mentioned it, Australia's warm months were December, January, February and March with average temperatures of around 21°C. The Warren reflected the country above and because of that, it was warmer than most other countries at this time of month.
"No, Jack, of course we don't. You should go get some rest." Tooth said immediately, a comforting smile on her face.
Jack nodded slowly, blinking to keep awake, "Right I'll just head to Burgess and come back before-"
"Oi, oi, who said yer getting away from here? This is mandated guardian time." Bunny said crossing his arms, " 'Sides, ya can nap here as well as there right? At least there's soft grass to lie on or hell, Frost, ya can stay in mah burrow or something."
Jack blinked before he slowly smiled, "Aw, 'Roo, didn't know you'd miss me that much." He teased, "Of course I'll nap here instead if it's make you feel better, mate." He made gross, kissing faces at the Easter Bunny.
The guardian of Hope gave him a disgusted look, "'Shut it, ya dill." He was already regretting his offer and getting a headache. Still, no take backs. The guardians watched on, amused. "Mah burrow's that way." He pointed to the East, "But I take it yer the type that prefers the open space. The Warren's cooler in the northeast, lots of shade and there's a pond to cool off on."
"I'll take northeast." Jack stretched and nodded, "Thanks." He flew towards the direction Bunny pointed at.
The Easter guardian shook his head and turned to the rest of his companions, "So, what're we waitin' for? Let's get us some grub."
The guardians were seated around a picnic table grown right from the ground. On the table were: tea, strawberries, sesame seeds (all three as per request of Tooth), spinach cobbler with chopped carrots and potatoes on the side, zucchini sandwich cookies, oatmeal cookies, eggplant brownies (desserts for North of course), sweet corn bacon ice cream with cacao nibs, corn ice cream shortcakes with blueberry compote, iced tea (a courtesy of Jack's cool taste), fine grape wine, spiced honeyed apricots, vanilla roasted peach pie (for Sandy's sweet taste), and of course the ever permanent fixture of salad and plain chopped fruits.
The four guardians were talking about upcoming Christmas plans and who'd be available during the week before Christmas, when, suddenly, it started to rain.
True, the light in Bunny's warren had started dimming but no one worried about it because the internal weather controls of the Warren fell solely on the Easter Bunny.
"Strewth!" Bunny jumped when rains suddenly fell upon them.
Tooth cried out in exclamation and North began curing in Russian when his coat got wet. Sandy quickly threw and armful of sand to the air, expanding over them into a wide, wide umbrella.
Tooth's feathers and wings were wet and North was wiping the rain from his face and beard. Sandy was frowning up at his wet sand and he shot Bunny a question mark.
"Bunny, what is happening?" North huffed, "Why you surprise us with rain? You are not a good host, wetting your guests like mokryy osla (1)."
"Hey," Bunny said, hurt by the accusation, "This ain't my fault, mate. The Warren's weekly shower ain't due 'til tomorrow."
"Bah! But who else could bring down rain like this?" North asked, "If not you, the master of the Warren, then an elemental. But only elemental here is you and Jack. Jack is of snow and winter, and you of spring."
"I don't know, North." Bunny gritted his teeth. He turned to the nearest sentinel, "Oi you, has anyone come into the Warren lately aside from us?"
The stone egg's face shifted into a frown, which was a no.
"No one aside from us then, and I'm pretty sure I didn't call the rain." Bunny grumbled. He turned to the guardian of Dreams, "Sandy, can we move this umbrella of yours to a cave a few meters up ahead? I think I kept some hand-weaved towels there."
Sandy nodded, raising his hands higher to control his sand. North made a wounded sound.
"But the food!"
Tooth rolled her eyes while Bunny let out an amused huff. He kneeled down and placed his paws on the ground. The ground rumbled and a large, clump-forming herbaceous perennial punched out of the ground beside the picnic table, growing at eight feet and shielding the table and food with huge, green leaves.
"Gunnera manicata," Bunny said proudly as his fellow guardians looked at the giant-leaved plant. "Giant rhubarb, native ta South America from Colombia ta Brazil. Leaves're usually a spread of ten by ten feet. Enough ta protect the food. She'll be apples."
North looked at the plant, nodding, "Impressive."
Bunny puffed out his chest proudly. Tooth sighed while Sandy supressed an eye roll, poking Bunny's furry side.
Bunny startled, "Oh, right, sorry mate. It's this way."
The four of them came to a cave covered in vines and asters. The four of them ducked inside as Sandy finally collapsed his sand umbrella. Wet sand was slower to absorb than his regular one.
Bunny hopped towards a boulder and tapped the front ground. A hole formed and there was a ten feet wide chest in it. He opened it and took out his hidden cotton towels.
Tooth made a pleased noise, grabbing one to dry her wings. "It's so soft."
"Weaved from a cotton plant myself." Bunny said absently as he gave one to North and Sandy.
North took off his wet jacket and immediately began drying his beard. Sandy looked at the towel and then at his wet sand on the ground. He kneeled down and began scrubbing at the wet sand on the ground.
"Hey," Tooth suddenly said, looking outside, "Do you think Jack's okay out there? I mean, it's raining pretty hard and uh, are winter spirits okay with rain?" She said with a frown, "I think we should go get him."
North startled as he remembered about the other guardian, "Dah, Tooth is right! Jack is napping and we don't know what is currently out there causing freaky weather."
Bunny sat on his legs and shook his body, drying his fur and getting North, who was the closest, wet again. The Russian Santa let out a startled curse. Bunny smirked but threw a second towel at the guardian of Wonder's way.
"If Jackie's smart, he'd have found one of the egg's hobbit holes and gone to sleep there. The Warren's safe." Bunny said, but he was already taking out five oil-paper umbrellas. They were layered with special cherry blossom oil to protect them from rain and magic, a gift from one of the nature deities Bunny helped long ago.
North raised an eyebrow at the umbrellas being given to them while Tooth eyed the Japanese designs with delight. Sandy was giving Bunny an amused look.
"What?" Bunny grumbled, "These were gifts from a friend. Konohanasakuya-hime was grateful that I managed to save her blossom garden."He defended, "I don't see you helping any Japanese deities and getting rewarded."
"We said nothing." North said, raising his hands in defence. "Now, we go out and check on Jack, yes? Then we can continue picnic under guini moca-"
"Gunnera manicata." Bunny corrected.
"That." North said with a nod, "We continue picnic under huge plant."
Tooth giggled while Bunny let out an annoyed sigh while muttering, 'no respect for plants, ya gumby'.
Sandy happily took the umbrella, opening it and closing it, eyes twinkling.
The rain continued to pour heavily and the guardians braced themselves to the heavy onslaught as they made their way northeast of Bunny's Warren.
The sight that greeted them was not what they were expecting.
Sure enough, just like Bunny said, Jack had found a tiny hobbit hole to sleep in. The inside was covered in Frost and a few of the eggs were even outside, the plants sheltering them from the rain.
What the guardians didn't expect to see was a Nightmare standing right outside Jack's sleeping place, eyes glowing red as the sand from it twisted Jack's dreams.
How the hell did that get in?
"Sandy!" Bunny yelled. The sandman reacted immediately, sending his sand to the nightmare, though his sand was too slow to react, and although the Nightmare was also slowed by the rain, it had managed to gain a lot of power from Jack's dreams and easily got out of the way. Neighing in victory as it dragged its hooves on the ground.
North yelled a battle cry, closing his umbrella and using it like a sword. (His own swords had been left at the entrance since Bunny refused weapons in his Warren because his eggs- or that crazy Easter Elf- might get a hold of it.) The Nightmare backed up then reared, trying to his North with his hooves. Thankfully, Tooth managed to throw herself behind the dark sand creature and closed her own umbrella, to stab the Nightmare by its tip.
The protection blossom-oil lathered on the umbrella made the Nightmare shriek and it dissolved into a small hill of dark sand. Sandy frowned and mixed his own sand into the dark one, reverting it back to its original golden form.
While the fight had been going on, Bunny had gone to Jack's side. He ran a paw down the shivering spirit's back, before gently pulling him out of the hobbit hole and under his umbrella.
Tooth and North were drenched but they still trudged towards Jack, umbrellas open to help shield him from the rain. Sandy followed, a frown on his face.
"Is he okay?" Tooth asked, shivering from her wet feathers. Jack was paler than usual, trembling in his sleep, head shaking from side to side as he let out hurt noises. He was trying to claw at his own arms but Bunny held the cold hands back.
"He's still having nightmares." Bunny's eyebrows were scrunched in anger and worry. His paws were clenched.
North turned to the guardian of dreams. "Sandy?"
The sandman nodded, determination on his face as he ran his hand through the gathered dark sand over the winter sprite's head. The dark sand formed chaotic images of Jack drowning and struggling and being rejected and alone. Sandy grabbed hold of the sand and blew on them. The sand turned into the brightest gold and their chaotic formation slowed into something more gentle and soft.
The dream above Jack's head changed from rejection, loneliness, and hurt to acceptance. Sand-Jack, with his hood up and lying on the ground abandoned on the floor, was approached by a sand-North who helped him sit up. Then a sand-Tooth flew in to give Jack a hug, followed by sand-Bunny who ruffled sand-Jack's hair. Sand-Sandy came last, and he enveloped them all in a sandy embrace.
Jack's pinched and terrified expression relaxed, his eyelashes were glittering from the ice and the droplets of rain that got to him in his sleep. A raindrop slid from his eyelashes down his cheek. A soft smile graced the winter guardian's face and almost immediately, the rain stopped.
The four guardians startled and looked up.
"Well, I'll be…" Bunny said, looking back down at Jack who was smiling in his dreams.
"Is it a coincidence or…?" North asked, rubbing at his beard.
Tooth and Sandy exchanged looks. "Well, this happened before, I think." Tooth began to say as she watched Bunny gather Jack in a more comfortable position to sleep. "Remember when I told you about Jack's pastime in Mt. Everest?"
All guardians frowned at that. True, they had already talked it out with the winter guardian about having some self-preservation at least, but Jack was an immortal elemental spirit and they couldn't really stop him if he wanted to do something.
"Well, when baby Tooth was hurt, it suddenly started raining in the palace, even though I was pretty sure that the weather was to be sunny the whole day." Tooth explained, "And it stopped when Baby Tooth woke up. Jack was with her."
Sandy nodded and then he replayed his own experience. His sand slowly formed the countries of East Asia then showed a rainy night, where he found Jack by the window looking at a happy family from the outside.
"But Jack is winter spirit." North said, crossing his arms. "When Jack is sad, there is light snow, we know this. We saw this."
"Right, mate, but all those times Hughie(2) came a-knockin' Frost was in a warmer part of the world." Bunny said, " 'Sides I think all those times it rained, he'd been doing it unconsciously, ya know? And his powers prolly didn't have enough strength to form snow since he was in a warmer country and it would upset the weather balance."
The guardians quieted, looking down at their oblivious fellow guardian.
Jack woke up from a good dream feeling warm but comfortable. He turned to his side, blinking when his sight met pillows and grass and what looks to be fur. He sat up and realized he was somehow inside a huge nest, filled to the brim with different-colour, fluffy pillows.
There was a jingling to his right and he turned to see the Easter elf jumping up and down, holding an egg. Jack raised an eyebrow at his strange actions before realizing that the elf was probably signalling the guardians he was awake with the noise, because several seconds later, the guardians piled in.
"Hey- why are you guys wet?" Jack asked, blinking at the slightly drenched and ruffled looking forms of the Big Four. They all had towels with them.
"I don't know, mate." Bunny drawled, "Shouldn't I be asking you that? Since, after all, the Warren's weekly shower was set for tomorrow morning."
Jack startled at the implication and he realized that Bunny (and probably the others) knew. His cheeks frosted, "I- uh, sorry about that. I don't know what set me off-"
"Nightmare." North provided, "We are unsure if it is Pitch's work or a lone, starving nightmare desperate enough to go through cracks and feed on sleeping guardian."
"Oh." Jack said, his heart skipping in slight fear at the thought of Pitch coming back. Realizing his fear, Tooth placed a warm hand on his shoulder.
"We won't let him get to you or the children." She assured him.
Jack glanced at her and nodded, "Thanks."
"Now," North grunted as he made to sit at the edge of Bunny's nest. "Should we talk about how ice powers of yours has been reduced to rain?"
Jack's cheeks frosted again, "Uh, no, definitely no need." He laughed, "It just gets like that sometimes, in warm weather or in continents where it isn't supposed to snow. But sometimes I can make hail too, but only because the weather's been so out of whack lately."
"Damn global warming." Bunny grunted.
"Okay, if not that, then how about if you're alright?" Tooth said softly, hovering beside the winter guardian. "That must have been some dream to set off a torrential downpour like that."
Jack tried not to flinch and laughed forcefully, "Nah, it's fine. It wasn't real." But he said as if he was reassuring himself more than them. Sandy gave Jack a sad look before floating up to him. His sand formed a heart and then formed into the guardians hugging Jack patting him on the back.
The winter spirit smiled, "Yeah, I know you guys are there for me but I-" He sighed, "I don't feel like talking about it right now." As he said that, rain began to pour outside again. He flinched when everyone turned to the windows. "Sorry."
"Don't apologize for it, mate." Bunny waved him off, "The plants are getting nourishment at least."
Jack laughed lightly at that, shaking his head. Then he quieted and said, "It's sort of ironic I guess. A winter spirit making it rain."
The guardians waited patiently for him to explain.
"I mean, winter elementals are cold and unfeeling, to the point that everyone thinks we've got a heart of ice."
"Oh, Jack." Tooth said, "We don't think that at all."
"You have the biggest and warmest heart of us all." North assured with a kind smile.
The guardian of Fun gave them a look of thanks, "Yeah, but you do know that we winter beings can't cry, right?"
"What?" Bunny seemed surprised, "First time I've heard of it."
"Yeah," Jack nodded, "It makes sense, since we freeze everything we touch. We're not warm enough to be able to cry. Not human enough."
Jack was surprised when he was suddenly tackled into a hug by the tooth fairy. "Don't say that." She said, her eyes closed and trying to make him understand, "Whoever told you that, whoever made you believe that- it's not true."
North had a sad look on his face as he pulled himself into the nest and placed a warm arm around the youngest guardian.
Jack closed his eyes at the comfort, "It's sort of ironic really… since I can't cry I make the sky do it for me instead." He laughed humourlessly, "The rain elemental must be pissed at me for all those unscheduled rainfalls."
Sandy lowered himself into the nest, patting Jack's hand. Bunny looked at the guardians, ears twitching before he sighed. "Yeah, well, we all have different ways in letting our feelings out. The rain elemental can't begrudge ya that." And the he added, "And we won't either, Frostbite."
Jack looked up, blinking, "Bunny?"
The Pooka smiled and hopped closer, leaning forward to ruffle his hair, "You can come to us for anythin'."
"If you feel sad or want to talk, we'll always be here, Jack." Tooth said quietly into his shoulder.
"Yes, you have friends- no, you have a family in us. We care and we know you are more than just any elemental spirit." North said "You are not cold or unfeeling or have ice for heart. You are Jack Frost, you are guardian of the children and a family to the guardians."
Sandy nodded and once again made the sand form of all of them hugging. Jack smiled slightly. "Looks like we're missing one Kangaroo though."
The rest of the glared at Bunny pointedly.
The Easter guardian rolled his eyes and was about to climb in, but then he got an idea.
Before he climbed into the bed, he hopped towards one of his hand-carved bookshelves and took out a book given to him personally by Mother Goose.
"Well since it's raining outside, what'd ya gumbies think in a bit of change of plan?" Bunny asked.
"What do you have in mind, Bunny?" Tooth said, finally releasing Jack from her embrace, and turning to the guardian of Hope.
"How 'bout some hot chocolate, blankets, and a good book to read, eh?"
Sandy nodded happily as eggs marched in carrying blankets and a tray of hot chocolate.
All the guardians settled in the bed, surrounded by soft, think blankets, cotton pillows and a few eggs. The nest was cold from Jack's temperature but it was fine, because everybody else was comfortably warm. Bunny was in between, and he was holding a story book.
"Now, everyone settled in?" The guardians nodded, a few eggs hopped on Jack and nuzzled against him, "Good. Now, there was an old woman, who lived in a shoe…"
The rain outside slowed into a stop, not even a minute into the story. The guardians remained in the nest despite the change in weather and Bunnymund tapped the edge of his nest to instruct the Warren to start its weekly rain shower early, because none of them really minded not finishing the picnic now.
No one really noticed the rain much, aside from the comforting sound of it hitting against the windows. They were all too busy laughing and listening to Bunny's stories, sipping into warm chocolate and leaning against each other. The mood inside was happier and lighter than it was before because this time, the rain was not caused by sadness or fear or vulnerability…
This time the rain was made from comfort and love and family.
(1) wet donkey
(2) Rain God (aussie slang)
Author's notes: My next idea is either about overheated Jack or caretaker!Jack caring for injured guardians. Another announcement, Open Window's ending will be edited because I would like Hibernation to be its own story (you know Jack hasn't been gone into meetings for weeks and the guardians panic and look for him, etc).
I've set up a poll in my profile for everyone to vote on which story they would like next. If you have time, you guys can head over there to vote.
Review replies:
To all: I would like to say thank you very much for your very kind words. Seeing everyone's responses and reviews and support really surprised me because I didn't expect that after two years, anyone would still take interest in this story. When I reread the whole thing after my update, I didn't, I'm ashamed to say, recognize it anymore. I mean sure, I still knew how the story would go but the writing style was foreign to me. (I wished I continued Cold Comforts before the storm because I really wanted to know what happened next D:)
I'm not sure if I'm a better writer now or just jaded but I still love writing a lot. And I'll do my best not to disappoint anyone.
I'd like to thank everyone who worried about me and the old readers who came back when they got a notification of an update. Sorry too for the short update after two years. And sorry to those who I promised to write a fic for because I don't remember what they were supposed to be, all my old notes are gone, all of my possession from two years before the storm. So, I'm sorry about that.
I honestly don't know what else to say XD Haha, I've spent the past few days rereading my favourite stories and reading new ones. And honestly, I'm just really grateful for you guys.
And I know it's two years late but I noticed there had been writers who wrote for the Haiyan storm to raise donations and I thank all of you who wrote and read those stories. Thank you for your countries who supported us and sent us food and water, for the foreigners who saw me by my mom's grave and gave me money despite not knowing me and my grandparents (my grandfather who was the love my grandma's life and recently passed away) and my whole family who helped, and just generally everyone basically. The period after the storm was the most horrible thing I could have ever imagined, it was like the apocalypse, nowhere to sleep or nothing to eat or drink and so many people dead on the streets, a lot of bodies still not found and everyone buried together because there was no space, the ones people didn't recognize piled together and buried. It was plain horrible.
And I'm glad that it's finally over.
So thank you again.
To the reviewers, thank you again: moviemaniac217, xxkelsey39, AyameKitsune, GunsAndMagic, Zyenna, silverheartlugia2000, monkeybaby, Mystiquota, cloudsnchaos, queenlaur, Fantasy Forger, Nikki Pond, Profilore, lilalove88, Identicality, Lucky Gun, xxkelsey39, ButterCat, Scruff the Rat, godsdaughter77, Autobot StormBreaker, dizappearingirl, Reiken, dalilah, Funderburker, SisterOfScarletDevil, Book girl fan, Jojosweet01, Melan B.D, Mysteryfan17, TheGhostSeeker, Sticks and Steam, Merlinlover, MAGORY26, lilyblaney, GreenSpringMorning, Awehrman, Moonumb, and guests.
Thank you too, to those who favorited the story and put it on alert.
To archie-thecookiemonster: thank you for sending me a pm in my tumblr, I really appreciate it. And hopefully I have replied and posted it by now. I tagged it to your username.
Mystiquota: Hi, yeah, sorry if I hadn't message din awhile. I'm happy to be back. I wanted to post an author's note two years ago but I never really liked it when an author posted a chapter which was a whole author note. So I knew that if I had to post again it should be with a story so no one would be disappointed. I took two years before I was able to write one though.
Fantasy Forger: I'm glad that my story is as you say, I remember really loving writing for this fandom. I updated weekly and it was so long ago. I hope the stories I write now would still appeal to you like the ones before. I'm really excited to have you read my stories and I hope you enjoy.
Prolifore: I'm sorry about your mom. Eh, I'm not that strong, I am actually quote a coward and I really had no idea what to do after the storm, it was everyone else who helped us that were strong. Thank you for reading my story.
Melan B. D.: I'm sorry about your friend, I know we sometimes like to think of things we could have done differently if we were there and maybe we could have saved the people we lost or maybe not, we will never know. But I think it's better if we don't dwell on it, let's just mourn instead of torturing ourselves into thinking of things that we should have done. The people we love would want that for us.
TheGhostSeeker: Salamat. The irony of that situation was, when the storm was announced, everyone I my class cheered while I felt uncomfortable. It was a supertyphoon and everyone was cheering for the cancelled classes, it should have been a big deal. Our school even posted that classes would resume on Monday, but the truth was it didn't resume until nearly three months later. The day before the storm, I went to church at six or seven, there were only a few people for Mass there. I sat on the pews and I looked up at Jesus cross and I prayed for everyone to be okay, that no one dies or suffers, that he protect us, please. After the storm, I haven't gone to church for a long time.
GreenSpringMorning: I'm really happy to hear that you like the story :D I amazed you read the whole story haha, and wow Italian. I had that for my foreign language once. The only thing I learned was singing in Italian D;
Book Girl Fan: Hey, it's been awhile. Thank you and I'm sorry I haven't posted your birthday fic D:
See you guys next chapter! :D