The workshop was quieter than Jack had ever seen it. North left a moment ago to deliver gifts to nice children everywhere and nothing needed to be done here that could not wait a few days. After the rush of last minute preparations, everyone was more than happy to retire to their bed and leave the cleaning for another day.

He came here a week ago to give North a hand. The mood had been frantic. It was certainly exciting, but he was glad it was over. He curled up in a large armchair by the gigantic Christmas tree, looking lazily into the flames burning into the hearth. More stocking then he could count hung from the mantel, one for every elf and yeti. They were still empty. North would only fill them when he returned.

Jack yawned, but he did not have the will to get up and walk back to his room. The heat from the fire sapped his strength, making him drowsy. He knew the other Guardians would come in the morning for their traditional Christmas breakfast and he was eager to see them. The last time they all gathered together was when they defeated Pitch.

This would be the first Christmas he celebrated with others. The first Christmas he would celebrated in a very long time, actually. He did not know how he felt about that. As much as he liked the other Guardians, as much as he was grateful to them for accepting him in their little family, he could not merely forget that they had left him alone for three hundred years.

Jack turned these thoughts in his head for a long time before finally falling asleep.


He woke up to the sound of bells. He peeked from under the large fur coat that had been thrown over him. The inside of North's coat was covered in frost and it did a good job of keeping him isolated from the heat in the room. Jack rubbed his eyes and took a look around.

The elves where running around, the bells on their hats ringing as they tried to jump to reach the stockings.

"Wait your turn, I said. Why are you always so impatient?"

Jack smiled at the scene. North picked stockings on the mantel and handed them out to eager elves, who then proceeded to empty them on the ground and stuff treats into their mouth. A few choked as they forgot to chew. The yeti seemed content to wait on the edges of the room for the elves to be done.

"Ah! Jack. Merry Christmas! The others will be here soon." North said in his booming voice, spreading his arms.

Jack's smile grew a little hesitant but did not fade. Despite his mixed feeling about North's invitation to spend Christmas here with the other Guardians, he could not deny that he enjoyed the company. Even if he had spent the better part of the past three centuries telling himself that it did not matter, he was glad to not be alone for Christmas this year. He briefly remembered a family made of snow. He chased the memory away.

"Here, this is yours."

North walked up to him, elves still trailing after him hoping for their stocking full of sweets, and handed him a pale blue Christmas stocking trimmed with white fur and decorated with delicate silver snowflakes. Jack pushed the half-frozen coat away to pick it up, staring at it as emotions battled inside his heart. He had not noticed the lone blue stocking last night, but it was unsurprising seeing how many had been hung in the relatively small space.

He could see candy canes poking out and smell the fresh sent of mint emanating from it. Jack could not forget the previous times he had looked inside his stocking on Christmas morning, only to find it empty. North must have guessed at what occupied his thoughts, for he placed a large hand on his shoulder.

"I know that it's too little too late, Jack. We can't simply make up for the past three hundred years. But what we can do is make sure that from now on, you are not alone anymore. Will you give us the chance to do that?"

Jack looked up into North's big, earnest eyes. His vision grew a little blurry with tears. He did not trust himself to speak, so he nodded instead. North enveloped him into a hug. He allowed the tears to fall as he hugged him back.


I wish I could have phrased the ending better, but I could not think of anything that was not horribly cheesy. So this will have to do.