I'm really sorry for the delay guys, but I had a coursework deadline and it was all a mad-cap dash to get it done, not to mention I had an exam and had to revise for it and another one and- I'm just gonna shut up now or I'll be here all day.
Hope the length of this chapter makes up for it!

Thanks to eclair126 for the fave and the follow, alpha-wolf96, readbooks172 and Sorida for the follows and Frania for the fave!

*Is about to sit back down and chill, when black nightmare sand appears*
Damn it Pitch! You're bothering me even before I start a chapter now? I swear to Moon, I'll… I'll...
*stops and grins, then pulls out two golden dream sand whips, courtesy of Sandy (credit for giving him a call goes to rats xp) before crossing arms and glaring at Pitch*
Now, one warning. Leave, and bother me at the end of the chapter… or, better yet, at the end of the next chapter, because I might have quite a bit to say in this footnote… Go get beat up by Jack again or something…
*Grins as Pitch storms out grumbling about readers and their ridiculously good ideas*
Look out Rats… I think he's mad at you!
Ah well, I'm sure you can enjoy the chapter first!

Jack landed on the snowdrift and rolled his eyes at the air, or, more precisely, at the wind which had taken it upon itself to carry him here.
"Okay, point taken. In future, when I say I'm gonna do something, I'll do it. And in return, you don't kidnap me and ditch me on a mountain. Deal…?"
A small breeze ruffled through his hair, and he grinned as he trekked up the small drift, clambering onto the ridge of snow to see a very familiar spire jutting from the white landscape. Familiar because he had always liked to sit there…
That was all that was visible of the old monastery, and Jack took a deep sigh before he got to work.

Three hours later, and he had most of the snow cleared. Well, enough to make it possible to walk through the old hallways and various rooms. The strong wooden structure seemed to have survived pretty well, with only a few collapsed beams and patches of the ceiling, which were all on the outer edges of the complex anyway. True, some of the beams and walls had threatened to collapse after he had cleared the snow out, but he had reinforced them all with Ice, as well as many of the weaker structured areas, which would mean they would stand without trouble.
He grinned as he peered into a very familiar room, where the previous inhabitants had trained, and the grin stayed on his face as he reacquainted himself with his old home.
He made a catalogue in his head of everything that needed doing, and was surprised to find that it did not amount to much. The ancient place seemed to have been well preserved, and all that was needed was a bit of structural work, the refurbishing of the place-though most of the basic items, such as the shelving, chairs, tables and beds, were not in too bad a condition, Jack decided that he might as well replace it all with things that were better suited and that weren't under constant threat of breaking at a moment's notice- and, Jack grinned, redecorating!
Though he had some ideas that would make the place feel just like it had before.
_

Over the next few days, Jack's attention was almost solely spent on the old place, though he still made sure to carry out his regular snow spreading duties and dropped in on the others.
The other guardians had all wanted to help, but knew that it would be far too cold up there for them for any prolonged amount of time until Jack could get some kind of artificial heating or insulation set up.
It didn't stop North from getting Phil to recruit a few yeti's to lend a hand, and Jack had been happy to see that Phil's brother-whom he had decided to call Jim, that being the only sound he had been able to pick up from his whole name- had volunteered to help, as he had met him several decades ago but only for a short while, and was glad for the chance to know him.
With the help of their muscle, the wind, the various things North had been throwing through portals to the point where Jack had had to have a long talk about a huge chandelier not being necessary, and Jack's own 'quick to make up my mind' attitude, the place was furnished, insulated and ready to decorate within three days. The seven multi-roomed outhouses, that had used to act as small training rooms for individual training and places for visitors back in the monastery's old days, had all been individually insulated and connected to the main complex with small corridors, and furnished into small living areas with a bedroom, living room and small bathroom in each. Jack had had to hand it to North, he really did have everything you could need. Apparently magic really did have its uses…
Jack had decided to keep the large training hall, and the smaller adjoining rooms, as they were, and had simply had the shelving and weapons racks moved back to their original positions.
He had even uncovered some of the older weapons that had been preserved beneath the snow. True, the wooden staffs and some of the other weapons had been shattered, but a few of the swords had survived in their Saya(1), and Jack had planned to have them mounted in the original places of honour on the wall, in remembrance of the men he had learnt from.
He had also placed online orders for specific decorative items, which he was keeping a secret from… well, everyone, and had ordered them to be delivered to Jamie's address on the exact date that they were heading to see the band that Jack had brought him tickets for at Christmas.
Of course, Jamie had only agreed if he got to see what all the fuss was about, and Jack had agreed. The new insulation meant that most of the complex was safe for humans, and he would warn him of the few places he had kept at the sub-zero temperatures, even if they were at the outer section of the compound.

A few fun flakes on the delivery day meant that the delivery guy was perfectly fine with letting Cupcake sign for the items, and Jack promised she could visit as well, before she head off and he used a portal to get a few Yeti's through to help him carry the various boxes.
He spent the next day or so unpacking and sorting the various items, before Jack finally let them know what they were, and they all set about hanging up the authentic Japanese hangings, scripts and folding shades.
By the time Jack was done with the final touches and the painting, the entire place was a perfect blend of the unique culture, and the living spaces, bedrooms, training rooms, even the kitchens, were like something out of an 18th century, traditional monastery. Most of the furniture had his own designs hand carved into them, and it had taken him nearly two days to make all of the finishing touches.
But he was finally happy, and found himself grinning as he looked around the training room, where he had just finished mounting up the last Katana. The room had a similar colour scheme to the rest of the complex, with an Akebono-iro-or Dawn-colour- undercoat, phrases in Kanji and Katakana as well as traditional symbols and drawings painted over the top in Karakurenai- or foreign crimson-, Hajizome- or Sumac-dyed, which was one of his favourite shades of yellowish gold- and a few other shades that made up the minority.
Just the simple touches of having everything as original and traditional as he could made it feel just like the home he had used to know, and his keen eye for detail meant it didn't clash with the more modern kinds of objects, such as the ones in the kitchens or some of the furniture.
Though there were a couple of rooms- like the music room, where North had insisted he have a variety of instruments, or the art room, which, again thanks to North's insistent nature, was stocked with various art materials- which Jack had left unpainted aside from an undercoat of the pale Akebono-Iro, and he had discovered that when he played music, the sound travelled through nearly the entire compound. It was actually kinda cool…
Then there were a few of the walls, which had ice designs trailing up them, which, surprisingly in his opinion, just seemed to blend smoothly with the mix of modern and traditional…
Like in his room. He had chosen one of the rooms on the outer edges of the monastery, and it was a combination of ice patterns, traditional Japanese furniture, artwork and colour schemes, which blended into something that he had to admit he was proud of.
Jack grinned. Now he just had to see what the other guardians thought…
Phil had left to tell them that Jack was finally, as he had put it 'finished with the finishing of the finished finishing' and he was sure that they would be arriving before too long.
_

He outright laughed when Tooth was the first to flit through, and simply hovered, staring, at the huge training room. Then she flitted to the walls, only taking the time to roll her eyes at the fact that Jack was-as usual, even though this place was completely different- sitting on the beams above her head, and started running her hands over the intricate markings.
The other three soon followed, and as North struck up quick conversation with the Yeti's, Sandy started rapidly signing to Jack that there was another old place he had had his eyes on for a while, and Jack really could make a business out of the whole redecorating thing.
Jack had rolled his eyes as the golden guardian took off to explore, and grinned at Bunny, who was likewise rolling his eyes.
"Nice job, Frostbite."
"Ooh, a compliment. I feel honoured!"
"Yeah yeah, quit bein' sarcastic."
"Sorry, it's an art form."
"Sarcasm?"
"Well, either an art form or a finely honed skill."
"… Whatever ya say. Ya know, I can tell this place is gonna be a tricky one to travel to with tunnels… All uphill and all that-"
"Nah, I've tried it. No problem with it."
Bunny blinked, raising an eyebrow, and tapped his foot.
"I'll be the judge of that."
He leapt down, and Jack counted to fourteen before the Pooka appeared again.
"The judge is impressed."
"Wow, two compliments. In the same amount of minutes! Must be some kind of record…"
"… You can be really irritating when ya wanna be."
"… And you're only just discovering this now?"
Bunny opened his mouth to reply, then closed it again, shaking his head.
"I'm not even going there. So… Changing the subject. Is this what ya had delivered ta Jamie's?"
Jack grinned.
"Yup. Authentic and traditional Japanese hangings, paintings… Pretty much everything I could think of."
"Well, I gotta say, I am impressed. Im assuming ya're gonna get some of the weapons out of the reach of the elves now then, eh?"
"Might be a much safer arrangement… I think the fact that the swords are so shiny may have overshadowed he fact that they're also very sharp."
"Tel me about it. I had ta topple another pyramid of them this morning. They were trying to get to the cupboard we stashed them all in."
Jack rolled his eyes.
"Man, they must be getting desperate…"
"Tell me about it- Hey! Tooth? What're ya doin?"
The Fairy span, grinning.
"Looking at the pictures. It's like a huge canvas across the entire wall!"
They had to laugh at how enthusiastic she was, and Jack leapt down, landing in a crouch before straightening up and getting a blast of wind ruffling through his hair.
"Alright, alright… Jeez…" He shrugged at the other two. "The wind likes to be overprotective!"
Another blast of air in his face, and Bunny snorted.
"Mate, ya can't beat the wind. Let it go."
"That's what you think…" Jack muttered, before grinning. "Anyway, if you like that, Tooth, I think you'll like what I did with your room…" He rolled his eyes at the raised eyebrows.
"Of course I made you rooms. For Moon's sake…"
He strode to the doorway, then turned back.
"Well? Are you coming or not?"

North joined the other two as they left the room, and started asking Jack why he called the other Yeti Jim.
Jack shrugged.
"Well, first, his name is so long, you really can't say it. And second, just like you always need a Phil, you always need a Jim. Or a Jimmy. And he didn't look like a Jimmy."
North blinked, then cocked his head, thoughtfully.
"Is fair point."
They turned around another corridor, and Jack motioned to one of the rooms.
"Tooth? Yours is the first. Bunny, yours is on the left, North's is next to it, then Sandy's-Oh, hey Sandy. Where did you get to?"
Jack blinked as Sandy started signing, and the other guardians went to explore their allocated rooms.
Jack grinned.
"Oh, you saw the small indoor pond? Yeah, it's a replica of one I saw a hundred years or so ago in Japan. Down to the blossoms and everything…"
Aren't they more Chinese?
"Depends-"
And the music room? You did not decorate it?
"Nah. I thought it looked okay as it is…"
It does. Perfect, though I am not surprised.
Jack laughed.
"Thanks Sandy… Oh, and when you use the Piano? It echoes throughout the entire place."
Sandy looked about to fly off and test that, when Jack jumped in front of him.
"Not the best idea… You know what Tooth can be like…"
They both grinned at that, and Jack gestured to the room on their left.
"That room's yours. I know you guys aren't likely gonna spend a lot-well, if any-time here, but I figured what the heck and made them anyway."
Thank you.
Jack shrugged.
"Don't thank me till you've seen it."
Then he blinked as he realised that he had heard nothing from Tooth, and span to see the other two guardians peering in the door.
Jack was about to head over when Bunny motioned for him to stop.
"No…" he whispered. "She's in over delighted mode… Move it!"
He blinked then, as North nudged him, and dropped the whisper.
"She's coming! Fly Frostbite!"
"You kiddin? The wind is still trying to prove a point!"
"It cannot be harsh enough to leave you to such fate?" North asked, but before Jack could reply that the wind could be very stubborn, Tooth had shoved past North and flew straight at Jack.
Jack blinked, then turned and ran, Tooth right behind him.
"Wind! I'm being serious now… Come on! You know what she's like!"
He received only a small ruffling of his hair in return, and he groaned, grabbing a corner and spinning himself around it, heading for somewhere he hoped he could evade the ridiculously enthusiastic fairy.
"Oh, come on… Please?"
Another slight ruffling, and he glared at the air, spinning around another corner.
"Great. Thanks a lot!"
He grabbed his staff, and managed to just avoid Tooth's grasp as he flung himself headfirst through the doorway at the end of the passage.
The yelp changed into a laugh as he landed on the ice slide that span down two levels, from the top that they had been on, to the lower floor that was a bit lower down the mountain-the monastery having been built on support structures at different levels down a short stretch of the mountain rock, though not on the outer mountain face.
Tooth flew after him, but seemed unwilling to follow the ice slide down, instead choosing to fly back the way she came and demand that Sandy show her how to get lower down.

The golden guardian looked, understandably, terrified, and directed her back to the training hall, and to a staircase he had found that led to the lower levels.
They all followed Tooth down, and blinked as they came across a… well. It looked like a mid-air assault course that stretched the entire length of a hall the same size as the training hall. Beams, ropes, nets, bridges, climbing walls and climbing frames, made from wood, all filled the room.
Looked like Jack had been busier than they had thought…
Bunny blinked as a paper plane hit his arm, and he opened it to find Jack's handwriting.
Is she calm yet?
He rolled his eyes.
"Hey, Tooth, ya feelin a bit calmer?"
She glared at him.
"I was only going to give him a hug…"
"And half squeeze the life outta him as ya never let go."
"… Maybe. But fine. I'm better now…"
Bunny gave her a suspicious look, then nodded.
"Alright Frostbite, she's good."
"Oh, Thank Moon."
Jack leapt down from a beam he had been hiding behind, and used a hanging rope to swing himself to the balcony they were standing on.
He rolled his eyes and sighed as Tooth pulled him into a hug, but it was not as tight as it could have been.
North gestured to the assault course.
"You built this?"
"Well, I designed it. The Yeti's did most of the building. I used some of the older wood from the parts of the monastery that I didn't rebuild. It's large enough as it is. The other rooms on this level I've just left empty. It's only really the ones on the top floor and the outer rooms I've used for anything."
"What about bottom floor?"
Jack tried to shrug, but Tooth was still squeezing him, so he resorted to an eye roll.
"It's quite a small floor. There are only a few rooms, as most of it is the rock that the other two floors is built on. There are a few tunnels hewn into it, but the ones who built the place didn't want to risk making the rock unstable, so just left it and built above it. I just kinda left those rooms until I need them for anything, or for the Yeti's if they need them."
"Is good planning." North said, then asked about the small outhouses the Yeti's mentioned in passing. "And there are outer houses here?"
Jack nodded, taking a deep breath as Tooth finally let go.
"Yeah… Just furnished them into living spaces. Also built insulated corridors to connect them to the main complex."
Bunny suddenly laughed, mainly at the modest way Jack was speaking about something that most other people would be bragging about.
"Ya know what, Frostbite? I think I could come ta like it here."
Tooth agreed with him.
"Definitely. How long did it take to paint the walls in my room?" she asked, thinking back to the Japanese designs that somehow incorporated teeth and fairies and yet still looked continental.
Jack shrugged.
"I kind did the painting in layers… But only a few hours."
Tooth shook her head.
"Jack? Do me a favour?"
"… Yeah?"
"Redecorate the entire Tooth Palace? I'm bored of green…"
_

Jack spent the rest of the day flitting backwards and forwards as he answered questions for all of the guardians, who were exploring the place.
Yes, he figured that he might as well furnish a few more rooms, seeing as Jamie and Cupcake, to name only two, were insisting on coming.
Yes, the miniature beds were for the fairies, at Baby Tooth's insistence.
Yes, one of the other rooms on the second floor, that you could get to from a staircase from the end of the corridor where there room were, was the kitchen (this one was North, who, though he tried to hide it, was clearly wondering if that was where Jack stashed the rest of his recipes)
Yup, there was two living rooms, but he hadn't had the heart to throw out the older furniture.
Sure, they could stay at the small indoor pond as long as they liked (This was Tooth, who had found the small indoor pond, with the blossoms, trees, statues, benches and everything else and who had fallen in love.) And sure, he'd make her one in the Palace… And no, he was sure the temperature wouldn't be a problem.
Yeah… yeah… yeah… Yes, for Moon's sake, they could do whatever they liked as long as they didn't get themselves frozen.
No. No, he was not going to reveal the location of the safe where he kept all of his recipes. No way on Moon North…
Then, after about half an hour of wheedling and eye rolling, Jack played a quick song on the Piano, and showed them how the sound echoed around the place, the notes overlapping and, thanks to his song choice, harmonising.
As it got late, Jack eventually asked Bunny why he wasn't obsessing over painting eggs, and the Pooka shrugged.
"A quick day off here and there never hurt no one, Frostbite."
"Also known as 'I'm gonna drag you down to help so I can take it easy for now…' Right?"
"… Pretty much, yeah."
"Ya know, if ya had told me that a couple of decades ago…"
Bunny blinked, then laughed.
"Wow, times change quick."
"Tell me about it."

Eventually, they all decided that they might as well stay the night.
Of course, Sandy left after a few hours, having to catch up with his dreams, and Tooth left early the following morning to check everything was okay at the palace.
North spent another few hours looking round and chatting with various yeti's that were taking a few days break after the mad dash to get the place built over the last week, before he head back to the Pole.
Jack managed to rope Bunny into helping him carry most of the weapons from the Pole to his new place, and they spent the day sorting them all out and 'testing out' the assault courses and climbing frames. Jack also stashed orbs at various places around the place, in case he needed a portal for any reason. Bunny head back to the warren that evening, to get back to work, and Jack finally let himself relax in the small pool area. After a while, he felt himself grinning.
It felt good to have a place of his own…
_

The following day, Jack was passing through Burgess to say hi to the kids, when he got accosted. He sighed, rolling his eyes, but agreed to take them to see his new home. It was normal for them to spend the entire day out, or at each other's houses, so their parents would not really worry until it got late in the evening.
One portal jump later and they were all stood in the training hall.
Jack gave them a quick tour, letting them know the places that they couldn't go because of the cold, and the places that he recommended they went, such as the room with the smaller climbing frames and the small pool area, and let them explore for themselves.
Of course, it wasn't long before they found the ice slide.
Jack simply rolled his eyes and filled the bottom of the room with snow so they would have a soft landing, and built up snow railings at the side of it to make it safer.
A few snowball fight filled hours later, and Jack realised it was getting late. He went to pick up Sophie, who had fallen asleep a couple of hours ago in one of the rooms, and carried her back before opening a portal to Burgess.
Then he made sure they all got home okay, promising that they could visit again soon, and stayed with Jamie and Sophie for half an hour before taking off to do his snow rounds. Then he blinked as the wind started carrying him towards the Pole.
"Err… Wind? I was going to go tomorrow anyway…"
It seemed to give a sigh, and carried him to his own home.
But Jack had meant what he said. He might have his own home now, but that didn't mean he was going to be at the Pole any less. Or the Warren or the Palace for that matter, though it did feel good to have somewhere of his own.
And he really needed to talk to Tooth about that pool she wanted…

Jack could tell that the Yeti's were going to be constant companions at his place, seeing as there were so many spare room on the lower level, and some actually lived quite near. He actually got on really well with them, and had told them to come and go as they liked if they needed to stay somewhere or whatever. Sure enough, as he flew in, he found a couple strolling here and there, grunting greetings at him, and he grinned.
At least things weren't going to be too quiet…

(1)Saya-The name of the sheaths in which Katana are stored. I would go into more detail, but I would probably bore you, as those kinds of weapons are a passion of mine.
Of course, if you do want to know a little more, I'd be happy to tell you, so just leave me a note in a review!
The same goes for the colours of the paints. They are traditional Japanese shades of colours, and for more info, please ask and I'll gladly tell you what I know :D

So… Jack now has his own home… What do you think of it?
And hopefully the descriptions of the monastery were okay? If not, please review and I will send you a PM with more detail so you can properly get a picture…

Oh, and does Jack build Tooth a small Japanese pool area in the palace?
Do his other spirit friends visit? (I have some plans already regarding them, but I'm sure I could do another chapter…)

*starts jumping with inspiration overload and squealing*
Wow! There is so much I can do with this!
*stops jumping as small trickle of nightmare sand appears and glares at the shadows*
I'm happy Pitch, so shoo.
*sighs as I get surrounded by nightmares, and my army of fairies, elves and yeti's arrives armed with cookie blasters… Pulls out own blaster, and grins maniacally, giving everyone a snappy salute*

So… please review and let me know what you thought, (hoping all the Japanese referencing wasn't off-putting?) and hopefully I will be able to update much faster this time…
If I can get rid of Pitch that is…

Raven xx

*clicks safety off of cookie blaster and runs into the battle…*
Oh, hey Carwa111! Here, have a cream pie!