Okay, I'm on my mother's computer and since she doesn't have Word or any writing programs (she only uses it for games and has nothing I need on it which royally sucks) I'm typing directly to . I'm going to try to catch all my mistakes but I'm used to a small keyboard and screen directly before me so I'm not looing up and down every few seconds. Please bear with me. I would wait for the new charger but too much cuteness is dancing in my head and I want to start typing my Eggnog (young North and Bunny) fic in a few days.
Child's Play 5
Bunny was in utter shock and his mind simply could not process what he clearly saw before him. Jack, his Jack, was a toddler? Okay he could deal with kids, he'd been a father for several decades now and while his kits were grown and working on their own families and trying to repopulate their species, he had grown accustomed to having the Warren to himself and Jack - the teenage Jack. He wasn't ready for more kits let alone a miniature Jack. He felt a rush of anger fill him. Jack, the fool, must have been searching for another spell to ensure they had kits just like he did last time only this time rather than getting pregnant and Bunny having to have the kits moved into his body Jack had somehow turned himself into this...this...baby. Well toddler but that was besides the point.
The child was still clinging to him, babbling about bad words and how his daddy was be upset and how it was not nice to say such things. For a three year old he sure did talk a lot. Bunny wrapped his arms around the small bundle and got to his feet. Everyone was watching them with fond smiles but Bunny only frowned and deposited the boy in North's arms.
"Watch him," he said angrily before brushing past Pitch and into the hall as he tried to hold his anger in check.
"Bunny?" Tooth asked in confusion as he opened a hole back to the Warren.
The Pooka didn't look at any of them. "I can't deal with this...not right now," he grumbled before jumping down the hole. The last thing he heard was Jack's childish anguished cry. The sound of a child's who's heart was just broken as if his new favorite toy was just taken from him. Bunny's ears pressed firmly to his head as he tried to block out the horrible sound and sealed the tunnel shut.
"Bunny!" Jack cried, reaching for the oversized rabbit. "BBBUUUNNNYYY!"
Tears streamed down the boy's face and North hugged him tightly to his chest. "Shh...little one. Bunny will be back, he's just confused. It's alright," he told Jack as he rubbed soothing circles over his small back. "Everything will be fine."
Sandy held up a handful of dreamsand but North shook his head. The child wouldn't be able to fall back asleep for awhile and forcing him to while so upset wouldn't be any good for him. Tooth began fussy over Jack, offering to tell him a story while Baby Tooth rubbed against his cheek.
Pitch glared at the spot where the rabbit hole had been only moments ago. "That fool," he snarled. "I understand his fear but not his anger." He moved toward the shadows, ready to slip into one and go to the Warren to give the fur ball a piece of his mind but the moment he even thought of having the shadows teleport him to the Warren he was hit by a powerful ward and sent tumbling back a few steps.
Sandy looked up in alarm and caught the taller man before he fell. A question mark appeared above his head at the look of shock on Pitch's normally passive face.
"He warded off all access to the Warren," Pitch explained was the wave of magic subsided. "I can't get to him."
Everyone stared at him in shock now. The only time Bunny ever cut off access to the Warren from the other Guardians was during mating season.
Jack was all out bawling now and North was doing all in his power to comfort the small boy. "It's alright, my little one," he whispered moving away from the child's room and heading to the kitchen. "You said you were thirsty, how about we get you some warm milk and find you some nice toys to play with? How about a train set, dah? Every boy needs a train set. I even have one that looks just like Bunny's eggomotive. That's a lovely toy, no? No sharp edges or small parts. It'll keep that silly boogeyman off our backs, too."
The child sniffled and nodded, wiping his runny nose on North's shoulder. The Guardian of Wonder grimaced but said nothing against it.
"Hey!" Pitch yelled after them.
Tooth giggled as she caught up with North and Jack. "He is a silly boogeyman. You should see him dance."
"What? Wait a minute...when did you ever see me dance?" Pitch asked trailing behind them in confusion.
"Security footage," North stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. The Russian gave a chuckle. "When trying to take over world best not to do boogie on the globe with yetis watching. Security cameras caught it all. Jack not tell you?"
It was rare to see Pitch blush but his face went from pale grey to beet red. "No...I want all copies destroyed, North. Immediately!"
"No possible, my friend. It was posted on YouTube some time back. I'm surprised you never noticed."
"I don't use computers! How would I know?" The shade caught up with North and Jack and pointed one long finger at the boy. "You are so grounded when you're back to normal. Things like that are on the list of things you're supposed to tell me."
Jack just looked at him in confusion before tucking his head under North's chin and sniffled as if knowing he was in trouble but not sure why. His large blue eyes shimmered with more tears.
"Fine," Pitch conceded. "You're not in trouble. I'll make a note to destroy all security cameras the next time I try to take over Santoff Claussen."
North raised a brow and tried - but failed - to hide a smirk. "Very lovely singing voice by the way."
Pitch simply growled at him but relaxed. He'd been a Guardian nearly fifty years and this was the first time they ever teased him about that night so long ago. The night when he nearly destroyed the Guardians and brought complete fear to the children of the world. The night of his greatest triumph and utter defeat. Yeah, that was not a day he was particularly fond of remembering. But it was the day Jack proved he wasn't simply another elemental but a powerful spirit and Guardian.
Sandy patted his shoulder and smiled brightly at him. "Don't you start, too, Sanderson," he snapped but the golden man's grin grew wider and music symbols began dancing above his head. "Keep it up, funny man, and I tell North all about you and your little mermaids. Oops." His grin widened as both North and Tooth turned toward Sandy with questioning looks. "Oh, I wasn't supposed to mention them, was I?"
Sandy's mouth fell open and for a moment he couldn't form any images as he stared at his friends. North opened his mouth to ask a question when Sandy's mind caught up with itself and images began appearing in rapid succession, the message clear. Grown up conversation. Tooth squeaked as Pitch laughed at them.
"Oh, it's better than me dancing or singing," he said, taking Jack from North. "Jack's not the only one who likes to be babied, hmm? But in you case it's completely expected, isn't it?"
Jack smiled and gave a tiny laugh. "Silly boogie."
Shaking his head, Pitch couldn't help but laugh at that. "So I am."
The others just stared at each other for a moment or two before Sandy blew sand out of his ears and pointed toward Pitch as if to tell North and Tooth that Pitch was making away with their Jack and they better hurry after him, as if he were the bad guy again. It took a moment but the message got through and North was the first to take off after Pitch and Jack while Tooth shook her head.
"You and Pitch really are a good pair," she said in amusement. "Good thing you're both on our side."
Sandy rolled his eyes and shook his head. Sometimes he wondered how they ever functioned as a group. It was too easy to distract North and Tooth with such insignificant pieces of information. They all knew he had his own island and that there were mermaids and yes he did have the old tryst with them. The way Pitch made it sound was far worse than the things they did together.
. . .
Bunny didn't return right away, he had buried himself in research to try and figure out how Jack got into this situation. He was angry and sad and blaming himself for Jack doing whatever it was he did. The North tried to help find whatever spell Jack had used - for surely Jack must have been messing around with some sort of magic to have this happen - but the child had attached himself to North, refusing to leave him unless Pitch or Bunny was there. He'd go to Tooth but since she and Sandy worked almost 24/7 - as did Pitch but his minions did a lot of the work scaring kids and Pitch usually was only on hand when needed to bring about a particular fear or help someone conquer an unnecessary fear - Jack preferred the other three's company best. He often played with the elves but if someone wasn't there to keep an eye on them they usually got Jack into some sort of trouble that angered the yetis. On more than one occasion Phil had carried Jack back to North and shoved the boy into the man's arms grumbling about how the workshop was not a place for little kids. That was around the time the yetis stopped making toys and Jack proofed the whole place as they had so many ears ago when Jack first moved into Santoff Claussen. So North was no longer able to help find whatever spell Jack had used. That left only Bunny and Pitch which meant Bunny had to come back to the workshop for his search. Since Jack's change had occurred there the spell had to be there as well.
Not that North would ever complain about having to take can of a toddler Jack. In fact he loved it.
Jack loved the toys. He played with everything. He pushed around cars and trains on the floor, usually asking North to come down and play with him. They stayed primarily in the sitting room or entertainment room where there was more space to play. North usually sat on the floor or laid on his belly next to Jack and pushed around cars and racing them on tracks. Sometimes he'd color with the boy or tell him stories but what he found Jack loved most was playing dress up and acting like each of his fellow Guardians.
This little discovery had been completely by accident. North had brought out two sketching pads, one for Jack to color in and one for himself so that he could create a few new designs while the child entertained himself. He had placed Jack's on a tiny table the yetis had made the child and looked about. Jack was hiding again. He loved hide-and-seek. North smiled, all ready to search for the boy - he was forbidden to leave the room without North - when he noticed his heavy red coat being dragged behind the sofa. He looked over the sofa and there was Jack, his small arms in the huge sleeves - the coat was even too big for the teenage Jack - and the fur hat on his little head. He gave a small chuckle, startling the child but when Jack looked up it was with such an adoring smile that North felt his heart race with pride. Then Jack did the one thing that made North utter putty in his hands.
"HO HO HO!" Jack yelled, holding his little belly and pushing it out. A small sack was held in one hand filled with all the toys he'd been given. By the looks of it he had been handing them out to all his stuffies as Christmas presents.
"Are you pretending to be me?" North asked, lifting the child up and sitting him on his lap.
"HO HO HO!" Jack said again before hugging North. "I'm Santa."
"So you are," North agreed. An idea struck him, one he knew from stories the teenage Jack had told him of young Sophie years ago that would appeal to his young charge. "Do you like playing dress up?"
Jack nodded. "Yeah."
"Would you like me to make you a bunch of costumes to play in?"
The boy's eyes grew bright. "Yeah! Please, please, please, please?"
Chuckling North nodded. This was going to be fun.