Author's Note: Hello everyone and welcome back to "The Winter Child!" =D Sorry for the late update, but I was attending a meeting with my friends for our school newspaper and finishing up some AP Bio homework. =') But I'm here now with Monday's chapter, so I hope guys enjoy it just as much as I did writing it! =D

~ LI ~

What's in a Name

He was a boy of winter

He went by many names

Frostbite

Moy mal'chik

Sweet Tooth

And Snowflake

He was a boy of winter

And he went by many names

But nothing could ever change him

Jack Frost, he would remain

...

Jack Frost had many names. Most of which were given by the Guardians. They were a huge part of Jack's life, his family. And they had been together long enough to learn about the snow sprite's personality, which heavily contributed to the nicknames they bestowed him.

Jack didn't dislike any of the nicknames he received. He was quite fond of them all, though he didn't remember well when and how he had received them. Some were quite obvious but still held meaning. The one he was called most frequently—moy mal'chik by North—meant "my boy" in Russian. Jack remembered being North calling him this from a very young age, but he didn't know what it meant until he was three years old.

"North, what does m-mo…moy mal'chik mean?" he had asked. North was working on a new invention and Jack had been on the floor, playing with Wawa. The ex-Cossack had asked him to pass him a screwdriver that had been sitting on a table near him, referring to the winter child as said name. Jack hadn't asked about it before, but he was curious. He only wanted to know what it meant.

North smiled as Jack passed him the tool. "It means 'my boy' in Russian. Since you are mine, and I care for you very much." North gave the little boy a light pinch on his chubby cheek, and he laughed. The memory was vivid and warm. Jack smiled just thinking about it.

Then there was Frostbite, a nickname given to him by Aster. When he asked where this name had come from while visiting him one day, Aster laughed, leaving Jack bemused.

"Of course, ya won't remember," said Aster. He turned to the young sprite from his canvas, a light smirk on his face. "Ya were just a small kit. When I first came over and met ya, ya ya bit my finger thinkin' it was food. Fast forward a couple of months, and one of yer first words is 'Bun.' And ya know how much I hate that nickname."

"You still respond to it though," said Jack. Aster frowned, though Jack could tell he was sheepish. The snow sprite smiled.

"Anyway," Aster continued, placing a few brushstrokes on his canvas. "Ta get back at ya, I combined yer last name with 'bite.' And voila: ya have Frostbite."

Jack remembered that Aster also used to call him "Snowflake" when he was little, but he didn't do so anymore since he was older. Although when they were having fun and jesting, Aster purposefully let the name slip once or twice, much to Jack's embarrassment.

Sandy couldn't speak, but he had associated Jack with the image of a snowflake since he was a baby. Jack never struggled to grasp what Sandy was trying to say (except for when his images went too fast for him to comprehend). He and the Sandman's conversations were like a game of charades. And being a lover of games, Jack enjoyed these conversations very much.

Tooth's nickname for him wasn't much of a surprise…She called him Sweet Tooth, a nickname that had stuck since he was little. She called Jack this for his snow-white teeth, and because he was the sweetest baby that Tooth had ever met. He also had a bit of a sweet tooth—when he was little, he'd snatch Aster's chocolate when he wasn't looking, and he still did.

Tooth vividly remembered first meeting Jack and how he instantly warmed up to her. "You were so small and adorable," Tooth recalled "Oh! I still remember squishing those chubby cheeks of yours!"

Jack blushed; he didn't remember much from his baby years. The memories were like faint wisps of air. There, but he wasn't quite able to grasp them. He remembered the emotion he felt when he was alone in the snow. He remembered the feeling of warmth when North brought him home. He remembered the joy of saying his first word. The pride when he had taken his first steps.

But out of all his childhood memories, Jack remembered how much the Guardians cared for him. He remembered North rubbing his back when he was scared. Tooth singing him a lullaby when he couldn't sleep. Bunny giving him rides in the Warren, and Sandy sitting with him as he slept, providing him with good dreams.

And the last and final nickname, which wasn't really a nickname at all, was Jack. Jack was short for Jackson, and Jackson was short for Jackson Overland Frost. Jack did wonder quite frequently why North had settled on this particular name. It wasn't like most he had heard. There had to be a story behind it.

When Jack asked for the reason behind his name, North looked up from the mechanical chest he was working on and hummed thoughtfully.

"To frank, I did not know what to name you when I first found you," he admitted. The ex-Cossack smiled with amusement. "Bunny suggested Biter, but I refused."

Jack grinned. "Biter Overland Frost does have an intimidating ring to it."

North chuckled. Then, he paused as he thought of what next to say.

"I don't know why I chose Jackson," said North. "But something in my heart told me it was right. The rest just…came to me. I didn't give it much thought. But I believe it's pretty fitting, da?"

Jack smiled and nodded. He went by many names, but he was the same old Jack. Though a part of himself couldn't help but wonder…

What had his parents called him?

Author's Note: As short as this chapter is, it's definitely one of my favorites. XD I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and I hope to see you in the next one! =D

Until the next chapter!

~BeyondTheMoon1203