Body Language
Ooo, that body's like music to my ear
Ooo, that body's like music to my ear
Ooo, that body's like music to my ear
'Cause what you want is right here
Now, I don't speak Spanish, Japanese or French
But the way that body's talkin' definitely makes sense
It's her, her body, her body, her body language
It's her, her body, her body, her body language
The way she moves around
When she grinds to the beat
Breaking it down articulately
It's her, her body, her body, her body language
It's her, her body, her body, her body language
-Body Language, Jesse McCartney, watch?v=anBHgqlFRnM
Tooth mentally cursed North and his wonderful, horrible ideas. She just knew he suspected she was courting Jack, and he was doing this on purpose. Then again, if the looks Bunny and Sandy had given her after her little outburst at the pole were any indication, they suspected too.
...Okay, scratch that, Sandy definitely knew. For someone who never spoke, he could get across more with a look then some spirits could with speeches.
...the "snowflake heart tooth heart snowflake" and wink also helped get his point across, a bit.
North's plan was fairly simple – find a fairy circle, and they could leave a message for the rulers of the fae courts and leave the rest to them. No more dark spirits, no more fae tempting children, unless they wanted to break the treaty.
They'd split into teams so they could cover for each other while still making good time over the globe. North and Bunny were searching one section, Sandy another (his sand covering for a lack of partner), and the girls were watching the operation, with Baby Tooth (reluctantly – she would rather be helping Jack search) in charge as she and Jack searched for fairy circles across the rest.
It was hard to concentrate on finding fairy circles, and only a lifetime of dedication managed to keep her attention on her task.
But Jack kept giving her courtship signals (and just being unfairly pretty) and he had no idea.
Beside her, Jack arched his back, diving backwards towards the ground. He twisted as he dove to scan the ground, and Tooth was distracted by thoughts of just how...flexible Jack was.
Giving her head a sharp shake, she dove after Jack. Bad, bad timing.
Jack might not have had any idea about the courtship signals he was giving to Tooth, or that she was returning, but she was distracting enough without knowing that.
He was doing his best to stay focused, search for fairy rings, even as Tooth swooped and glided over the air near him, eyes intent on the ground with the ferocity of the hawk she was, not the pretty tame bird other spirits thought she was.
For a minute he was distracted by the play of light over Tooth's feathers before giving himself a mental slap. Focus, Jack, hescolded himself. It just wasn't fair that she could be that fierce and that pretty at the same time.
Jack swooped in close, features focused on the ground below as he forced his mind back to an earlier question. "Hey, Tooth," he said, forcing himself to keep scanning the ground below instead of looking at her, which he'd much rather do, "I was curious – in that treaty, clause 458B sounded like Puck could leave Underhill whenever he wanted, but sub-clause 67C said no member of the Courts could leave without permission, so I was wondering..."
"Jack...did you memorize the treaty?" Tooth asked incredulously, twisting to stare at Jack.
He frosted over, scratching at the back of his head. "Um...maybe? Most of it? It seemed important if we're up against fae...and you guys did give me time..." he trailed off as she continued to stare at him.
She shook her head finally, laughing at them both a little. "I just didn't expect it, that's all."
He turned on his back, making a face at her. "Excuse you. I may be snowballs and fun times, but that doesn't mean I can't be serious if I wanna be."
She rolled her eyes, playing along, "Yes, you're so very serious. How could I ever have doubted it. Why, it's almost like you take things like fighting as seriously as we do, and never do things like, say, throw snowballs at your enemies."
"Why, would I do that?" he protested, pressing a hand to his heart, eyes shimmering with mischief, disrupting his attempted at innocence. She giggled again, hovering over his prone form.
"Yes," she said firmly. Sighing, she remembered the whole point of being out here and fluttered away, scanning over the ground again. "As for your question – Puck counts as Protector of England, and banishing him Underhill would interfere with the magic in England. So he had to be free to come and go, despite the Court's permission clause. So, basically, he has permanent permission. Why?"
Jack shrugged. "I've seen Puck running around a couple times. I think they think I'm funny, so we might be able to ask them to drop a message for the courts if we see them."
She matched his shrug with a grin. It was a good idea – if they found Puck while they were out, and could talk them into it. Puck was...well, Puck.
He grinned back, somersaulting in the air to dart lower and resume the search, and Tooth eyed the sunlight glinting off his hair. One of her feathers would look amazing braided in, just at his temple, letting everyone know he was hers and to keep their hands off.
With a sigh, she followed him down. No time for thoughts like that right now – but she was going to have to tell him what was going on, and soon, or they were going to be stuck in this will-we-won't-we forever.
...possibly literally, considering their lifespans.
They took a detour by the Tooth Palace when they'd finished scanning their area so Tooth could check up on the baby teeth. The girls were grateful to see their mother – they may have had things in check so far, but they weren't used to taking over the whole operation for this long.
Tooth had dithered, but in the end Jack had agreed to go back to the Pole to report for both of them. She'd stay in the Tooth Palace and take over for a few hours, with a group of baby teeth who were going onto their rest swearing to let her know when it was time to go join Jack at the Pole as Baby Tooth snuggled into Jack's hood, more than ready for a break.
Neither of them were happy about going out alone, with the faerie circles out there and the dark spirits definitely out and about, but the girls needed her to take over for awhile.
Jack was pretty sure he made a new speed record for the trip from Punjam Hy Loo to the Pole. On the one hand, the fae hadn't threatened any of them yet, and they weren't even sure if they were the cause of the dark spirits or if they were even out from Underhill again yet.
On the other...Jack had basically taunted them, and made it clear he was a Guardian and possible prize. Suddenly, being alone was even less appealing than it had been during the loneliest of his years alone.
As it was, he was at the Pole being plied with hot chocolate while Baby Tooth took her own treat to munch in his hood in record time, though he'd forever deny it was worry that made him rush.
The other Guardians arrived after Jack had finished half his cocoa – he and Tooth being airborne made searching much faster, though Bunny's methods were probably more thorough. Sandy wasn't long after, despite being on his own.
None of them had anything to report, though.
"Is so frustrating!" North burst out, slamming his fist onto the arm of his chair. "We know they are there, have been bothering everyone all year!"
Sandy sent up a flurry of images, too fast for Jack to follow. "Could be, Sandy," Bunny agreed. He took pity on Jack and translated, "Sandy thinks they're hiding until we slow down on the searches, probably figure we'll forget if they lay low long enough. Lesser fae aren't always good with long term planning." Jack made a little oh of understanding and sketched a silent point on an invisible scorecard for Bunny, who grinned.
Then Bunny's face took on sudden, mischievous cast, and immediately Jack was on edge. That look, surprising as it was to see on Bunny, couldn't mean anything good.
"So...you and Tooth, eh mate?" he said teasingly.
Jack silently cursed the frost he could already feel forming across his cheeks. If Bunny had to change the subject, did it have to be to that?
"What are you talking about, kangaroo?" he asked, feigning ignorance and hoping they'd drop it.
No such luck. "Are good team, yes?" North asked, projecting innocence even as his eyes gave him away, twinkling with an unholy amount of mischief.
"We all are," Jack said defensively, and North conceded the point with a wave of his hand, eyes still brimming with teasing.
"Still, is special team between you and Tooth," North said. Jack groaned, slumping further into his special armchair until he resembled a ball. He could feel, more than hear, Baby Tooth trying to stifle her laughter.
"How'd you figure it out?" he groaned, mostly to his knees. "I thought I was hiding it so well!"
"What do you mean, hiding it?" North asked, Bunny's ears pricking forward and Sandy floating closer to hear Jack's answer.
He peeked out from his ball just enough to glare at the others. "Look, I know Tooth's way out of my league, okay? I'll just keep pretending it's nothing and everything'll be fine."
"What're you spouting now, Frostbite? You're a Guardian, and the Spirit of Winter, ain't ya? Nobody's 'out of your league'," Bunny retorted, ears flickering. "An' hadn't ya noticed Toothie courtin' ya?"
Jack went so still that the others weren't sure he was still breathing. Slowly, with little jerks, he turned his head to look at Bunny. "You...what?"
"Tooth. Is. Courting. You," Bunny said, each word slow and distinct. "I thought ya knew, since you've been flirtin' back."
"Well...I...that is..." Jack sputtered, and Bunny seemed torn between laughing and face palming, compromising by doing both.
"You do care for Tooth, Jack, yes? Are not leading her on?" North asked, suddenly serious.
The look that crossed Jack's face at the question – a little nervous, a little dumbfounded, and a lot star struck – answered better than words, and North glanced over at Bunny with soft, laughing eyes. Baby Tooth, meanwhile, cooed and rubbed her tiny head against Jack's cheek, making him laugh and blush harder.
"Perhaps would like to know more about Sisters of Flight courting, so you can reciprocate or deny properly?" North suggested.
If Jack's immediate and enthusiastic response reminded all the older Guardians of a puppy, well, none of them were going to mention it.
Tooth arrived several hours later, as promised.
Jack had already sworn the others to secrecy – he wanted to be the one to let Tooth know how he felt, when he started trying to reciprocate the courting, to let him go slow in case they'd misread everything and she wasn't actually courting but instead trying to show a different kind of affection.
Three hundred years alone could make you a little hesitant about believing someone could be interested in you, especially in that way, so the others had agreed, if a little reluctantly.
Actually, when Tooth arrived, it took her a few minutes to find the boys. In the end, she followed the sound of shouting and laughter to discover them in one of the lower training halls.
When she did finally see them, she had to stop and stare. She had no idea what they were doing, but it certainly looked fun...if confusing.
There were at least three balls, if not more, and it looked almost like some strange combination of tag, soccer, and dodge ball as the foursome slipped, ran, and tackled each other around the room.
She had no idea who was winning, what the purpose was, or what it was called. All she cared about at that moment was that the boys were laughing. Baby Tooth, far enough in the air to be out of the way of stray balls, was dashing about, her bright, chittering laughter a tinkling counterpart to the boys.
North and Sandy were easy to make laugh, though for Sandy to be vocally laughing, a soft sound on the edge of hearing like a chiming of music boxes, was a joy and surprise all in itself.
But...Bunny was laughing. Bunny, who she hadn't heard laugh, properly laugh, since the day she'd met him, was laughing as freely as Jack, who was near glowing with fun and joy.
She perched on the rail around the training area they'd claimed, content to just watch and listen. Besides, it was no great hardship to watch Jack as he darted about the playing field, strong and lithe and putting on a lovely show for her without realizing it, the kind she could watch all day.
She was starting to suspect it was a Pookan game, since Bunny seemed to be the only one who truly knew all the rules.
They had to teach her how to play later. For now, she'd let them have their break. They'd all earned it.
A/N: So, they had to use a cluebat, but Jack got one. Finally. Now to deal with those issues of his...he and Tooth being clueless was so cute, I didn't want it to end – actually, I hadn't planned for it to happen at this point, but in a later scene that's half written. Since it was re-write this chapter or that scene...look, Jack got a clue!
And yes, it's a Pookan game the boys are playing, which is why Bunny is enjoying it so much. Never thought he'd get to play it again, after all.
(Readers on Archive of Our Own get a bonus – I'm still trying to render Sandy's 'dialogue' in (mostly) Wingdings, but it requires images. Which I can't use on here. Sorry.