Timeout for Jack

Jack was in North's office, gazing at all the wonders that filled the space. He gently lifts himself into the air to get a better look at the top shelves. There were toys of every size and shape, waiting to be delivered to children all around the world. He floats lazily, not bothering to look where he was going. That meant he didn't notice the giant ice sculpture that was sitting on the desk. North had been working on it for months. Next thing he knew, Jack found himself running into said sculpture, causing it to crash to the floor. The sound of breaking ice was deafening. The young spirit fell backwards and landed on top of it. He quickly sits up and surveys the damage. "Oh no…."

Jack looks around the room frantically, trying to figure out how he could fix it. His eyes widened when he hears footsteps getting closer and closer. He grabs his head still trying to figure out what he should do. His mind told him to hide yet his heart told him not to. Instead or hiding or staying put, he decided to run. He opens the window and right as he puts his foot onto the window sill, he hears the door open. His whole body froze. He tried as hard as he could to move but his body wouldn't allow his wishes.

North opened the door and what he saw was one of the things he feared. His ice sculpture he had taken months of planning and working on was shattered all over the floor. He looked up from his ruined masterpiece to see the one he had hoped not to see… Jack Frost. He felt his heart flare with anger. Uncontrollably he yelled, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

Jack turned around to face the consequences and tried to explain himself, "North, I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-"

"It took me forever to make this! How could you do this to me?!"

Jack flinches away from the angry tone. He has never been yelled at by the older guardian. "N-North, please…just let me explain..!" North towers over Jack, his expression growing angrier. "You've been able to get away with a lot, Jack Frost…. this is the last straw!" Jack cowers and backs away from the towering form, eyes glistening with tears. North grabs the boy by the back of his hoodie, keeping him in place. "I think it's about time you learned some discipline!" He drags Jack to the door as the boy struggles to escape. "I'm sorry!" North shoves him out the door, making Jack fall to the floor. "Get out of my sight. I'll deal with you later." He slams the door on the young guardian.

Jack felt the hot tears slip down his cheeks. At this point he couldn't control them anymore. Sadness almost consumed him until he felt the anger well up inside him. He stood up and walked over to the gift North had given him a while back. He stared at it for a moment. It was a picture of all the guardians, North stood behind Jack and had a hand on his shoulder and the other guardians stood around them. The photo was encased in an elegantly designed frame made by North himself. Jack picked up the picture and threw it against the wall on the other side of the room. The frame was like glass as it shattered against the wall and fell to the floor.

Jack slid to the floor and covered his face with his hands and the tears flowed faster. He heard a knock at the door and quickly ran to the darkest corner of his room, afraid that it was North coming to deal his punishment. The door opened and the light cast from the hallway showed that it wasn't North but in fact Bunny! "You alright, mate?" Bunny walked further into the dark room and looked around. He saw the shattered frame and the picture with shards piercing through it. Bunny continued to look around the room for Jack and flinched when the boy ran to him and threw his arms around him. Bunny heard Jack's heavy breathing and felt his tears starting to wet his fur. He patted Jack's back, "It's going to be alright mate."

Jack's shoulders shake with every sob and he buries face deeper into Bunny's fur. "I-I didn't mean to break it, Bunny! I was j-just looking around and I-I accidently ran into it! N-North didn't give me t-time to explain!" Jack pulls away and looks up at Bunny, his face covered in tears and snot. Bunny couldn't help but see him as a child instead of an immortal 18 year old. He leads Jack over to a chair and sits him down. Jack looks up at him with wide eyes. "A-Are you disappointed in me too?..."

Bunny squats down to Jack's level, "Nah, I ain't disappointed. It was just an honest mistake." "S-S-So you understand?" "Yeah. North just needs some time to cool off." "B-But North's g-gonna punish me." "In the end he probably won't. I just don't see him having the heart to do that. He's just upset." "Upset?! He hates me!" Jack put his hands over his face again. Bunny smiled, "He doesn't hate you. He couldn't hate anyone even if he wanted to."

Bunny gently pries Jack's hands away from his face. Jack looks at him with the most heartbroken expression. "Oh, mate…Don't give me that look. I promise ya, North doesn't hate you and he never will, okay?" He gently wipes away Jack's tears with his paw. "Now, cheer up. This look doesn't suit you." Jack snorts and cracks a small smile.

The fury inside of North caused him to overturn his desk and even slam a bookcase onto the floor. Once he had finally been able to calm himself down he noticed what he had done and looked back to all the things he had said and done to Jack. He suddenly felt as if somebody had knocked the wind out of him and he fell to the ground. North's head dropped into his hands, "What have I done?" He thought back to when he was yelling at Jack and felt the tears arouse in his eyes.

Sandy and Tooth had heard about what happened and went to go check up on North. When they saw North on the ground, they quickly flew over to him, "Are you alright?!" "I've done something so… Terrible… How could I be such a monster?"

Tooth puts a gentle hand on North's shoulder. "You're not a monster, North…but I do think you were a bit harsh on him…" She kneels beside the broken man. "He may be a teenager, but he's still a child in many ways. I understand that what happened angered you, but like all children, Jack needs to be dealt with gently…after all, we've never really disciplined him for things he's done before." Sandy stands in front of North and nods silently. He makes a sand figure of North with a Jack figure, both of them hugging. Tooth nods in agreement. "Sandy's right, North…You need to fix things with Jack."

North sighs, "He probably doesn't want me to be anywhere near him, after all the things I said." "He's probably just afraid of you at the moment. We all heard the loud tone you gave him." "I guess all I can do now, is try not to hurt him or scare him even more than I already have." North stood up and slowly walked to Jack's door. He stood at the doorway afraid himself to walk in. He took in a deep breath and took a step in.

When Jack saw North, his eyes widened and he tried to scoot further back in his chair even though it didn't get him anywhere. Bunny grabbed Jack's shoulders and looked him in the eyes, "It's going to be alright, mate. Just calm down." Jack slowly loosened his death grip on the chair and his eyes went back to normal size. As North got closer to them, Jack would slowly tense up more and more. North stopped about a foot away from them and saw how afraid Jack was. His eyes looked sad and he pulled all his strength to tell Jack, "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to overreact… I didn't mean to scare you… I just thought I could try to make things right."

Jack eyes him wearily. He slowly relaxes and sits up straight, shifting his gaze to look at his bare feet. "You're….not mad at me anymore?.." Jack looks up at him expectantly. Bunny moves off to the other side of the room. Tooth and Sandy join him. They didn't want to get in the way. Jack stands up shakily and latches himself onto North. "I'm sorry, North! I didn't mean to break your ice sculpture!"

"It's alright. It was all an accident. I should've listened to you, not get angry and take it out on you. I let my anger get the best of me." North puts his arms around Jack, "Will you forgive me?" Tears came back to Jack's eyes, except these were tears of joy not sadness. Jack nodded and smiled up at North, who smiled back at him. Jack frowns again, "Are you still going to punish me?" "Only if you think helping me redesign and build my sculpture is punishment." Jack's face grew brighter than ever and North laughed with him once again.