(Present)

Time was no friend to an immortal. There was no welcoming end, only a sneering constant.

Living in the darkness was new. Crystal was used to her bright hovel, filled with shimmering crystals. She liked that better. The darkness was just empty. Nothing interesting about it. Nothing to hold your attention for years. It was boring. And a bored immortal was better off dead in Crystal's book.

Pitch had left Jack and Crystal ages ago. They had exchanged a few words, mostly asking about how they were doing and the general concerned things and then they fell silent. Crystal had fallen asleep several times already, only to be woken by the nagging pain. In her waking moments, she was only reassured of Jack's presence when he shuffled or caused the chains to creak. The silence was killing her. And a bored imortal...

"Jack?" Her voice was unsteady as she leaned up against the bars. The movement sent new waves of pain up her arms and it took her a moment to open her eyes and stare at the cage next to her. Her vision adjusted enough that she could make out the boys hoodie and white hair.

He stirred at the sound of her voice and managed a "Hm?" He must have been asleep.

"I...I'm sorry, Jack." Her voice never raised higher than a whisper - afraid to wake the darkness.

Jack twisted to his side, grunting when he moved his aching body. "Why are you sorry?" Blue eyes seemed to shine in the darkness as they latched onto hers. That calmed all her nerves.

"I sorry for the past...for the time I spent just laboring while you were left all alone..."

"That wasn't your fault." He whispered in response, shuffling his arm to cradle his side. His rib must be painful.

"No...but I wanted to be there for you..." Her whispered voice seemed stronger now, "I wanted to help because...you always ended up helping me. I must have gotten depressed a hundred times...the artistic melancholy I assume." She dryly chuckled and frowned at the silence as her gaze fell from his eyes.

After a stretch of time, Jack spoke, "You did help me, you know...you were the only one I could call a true friend. Without you teaching me about the world or how to trust...I'd probably still be lost. Heck, Pitch would have even beaten the Guardians a year ago."

Crystal finally met his glowing blue eyes again and smiled. "I'm really glad the Man in the Moon chose you to become a Guardian. You know...I asked him to help you. I told him he needed to clarify things for you..."

"I guess asking the moon isn't a bad idea afterall." Jack seemed to try and chuckled but instead writhed on the metal in pain.

"Jack?" Crystal asked worriedly when the boy wouldn't stop moving and it sounded like he was having trouble breathing. "Jack try and lie on your injured side." He rotated and slowed his breathing. "Take deep breaths..." Crystal cooed, wishing she could be closer to him to help. She looked down at her mangled fingers. Well...maybe she wouldn't be much help.

"I'm OK..." Jack gasped out between clenched teeth. "You wouldn't happen to have one of those healing snowflakes would you?" His tone was joking as pained eyes opened again.

"Technically, they don't heal. They are more like a pain reliever and to answer you question, I ca-" Crystal opened her mouth to say 'can't' but suddenly the thought struck her. "I...I can..." Hope filled her eyes and seemed to reflect into Jack's, "It'll require a lot more concentration than usual if I wasn't..." She gulped down the words as she looked at her hands and closed her eyes to get to work.

It seemed like an hour passed as she slowly and carefully visualized the snowflake design in her head. She wasn't trying to be creative, just the necessary ingredients for two doses of an advil-flake. Then, barely parting her eyes, the visualization in her head became a reality over Jack's face and then hers. The snow crystal touched her lips in a kiss and then burst into a spray of light that settled onto her frame and seeped into her skin. A cold chill set into her bones and a satisfying sigh slipped through her lips as the pain eased.

Crystal murmured softly, "I guess it's more like an instant ice pack."

"Whatever it is..." Jack murmured contently, "...it feels amazing."

There was a length of stillness as both enjoyed the relief in their pain. "Hey Jack?" Crystal muttered, her eyes bright as she met his, "I can also create a message-flake..."

(100 years ago)

"There he is!" Jack stated triumphantly, pointing at an aged man bundled in a thick brown coat and staring at some box on a tripod.

Crystal raised an eyebrow and landed next to Jack on the branch. "You brought me to Vermont..." Her eyes swept the small, poor-looking farm community, "To see an old man?"

"Yup!" Jack stated cheerfully, grabbing her arm and pulling her next to the man.

"I...don't get it..." She questioned, trying to look the man over again for something special about him. He only seemed very interested in his big box contraption and would sometimes murrer in awe.

"Just watch." Jack gave a big grin and leaned against the side of the farmhouse they were near. He certainly gave an air of confidence.

Crystal rolled her eyes but waited a moment. In time, the man pulled a little clear disk out of his box and then held it in the air. Crystal thought the man was crazy as he just seemed to stare blankly at the sky. In time, his gaze suddenly latched onto one of her snowflakes drifting down. He cooed a little as he guided the snow crystal to land on the disk in his hand and then swiftly put it into his box.

There was a loud 'click!' and a flash before the man muttered, "Excellent! Beautiful!"

Crystal looked over at Frost again, her expression baffled. "I still don't get it." Jack waved her towards the window and motioned for her to look inside. She did and was shocked to find pictures of her snowflakes from a wire. "But that's...how is he...?" A look of bewilderment crossed her face as she looked at Jack.

Jack's eyes lit up excitedly and he floated over to the man's contraption. "You see this thing here, it's a microscope, It makes small things look larger." He gestured to the part the man had put in the snow crystal on the disk. "And this big box is a camera. It takes a picture of what it sees in the microscope. This man is recording your designs! The whole world is going to see your art!"

Crystal blink. It seemed impossible. For centuries she had been creating her designs with no hope of them surviving. She was creating just for creation sake, because that was what she was made to do. Now this old man was admiring her work and recording it for others to see. At the moment, all she could do was watch the man in amazement.

In time, Crystal managed to speak, "Jack?" The boy, who had been sitting on his staff to watch the man work from a better angle, looked over at the girl. "Thank you..." Crystal's blue eyes met his as tears started to form.

Jack grinned awkwardly, "We're friends aren't we?" He rubbed the back of his head and his cheeks almost seemed...flushed. "And friend's are supposed to help each other right?"

The snowflake girl sigh with a big smile on her lips. "You seem to do all the helping..." She mumbled, floating over to examine the snowflakes the man was picking from the air. Carefully, guiding a more intricate snow crystal to his disk.

"You help in your own way." Jack chuckled and Crystal shot him a crooked smile.

"I guess I do..."

Sorry for the late update peeps. School has gotten a bit busy so I forget I need to update sometimes :P But you can help with that! Keep reviewing and I'll keep updating! I'm still taking suggestions for a longer name for Crystal.