Too Late
A yelp of fear sent Jack barreling through the Warren, leaving sparks of energized frost in his wake.
"Woah!" Jamie stumbled back into a bright patch of grass.
A gust of air separated rising pollen as the winter spirited landed in front of Jamie, staff aimed directly at the enemy. Only it wasn't an intruder, but one of the main sentinel eggs.
"Wait," Jamie realized. "Doesn't that thing belong to Bunny?"
Out of the very few times Jack chose to ignore Jamie, now would be one of them. It didn't matter to him. Friend or foe, anything that posed a threat to the boy was something Jack had zero patience for. The sentinel stepped nearer causing Jack's staff to turn an angry azure.
"Hey!" A voice shouted as Bunny hopped to halt at the edge of the glade. "Easy, big fella," Bunny raised his paws to reason with the sentinel. He pointed at Jack and Jamie. "They're friends...One of 'em is, at least." The rabbit smiled teasingly, winking at Jamie.
"Why, Bunny," Jack gasped, dramatically gripping his heart. "Not a friend? Shame on you. You might give this kid self-esteem issues." The Guardian poked his weapon in Jamie's direction. Bunny rolled his eyes while Jamie just chuckled, happy that his friend was loosening up.
Just like that, the sentinel's face spun from angry to happy-go-lucky before lumbering off to continue its watch.
"What happened?" Tooth asked as she and Sandman drifted to them, North not far behind.
"Sorry about that, mates," Bunny scratched his neck as Jack helped Jamie to his feet. "My sentinels aren't used to children in the Warren. Even after Sophie found her way here last Easter they're still not quite sure what to make of youngsters."
Said little ankle biter appeared and happily ran over to her favorite bunny. Sophie excitedly held up a dandelion wrapped in dirt and mangled weeds.
"Just…don't let this happen again." Jack said. Bunnymund nodded before returning full attention to Sophie, commenting on the beautiful flower.
"Ooh," Sophie marveled at a pristine feather none too gently plucked from Tooth. "Pretty."
From a distance, North and the crew curiously watched Jack and Jamie race and romp in one of the meadows. All was silent for a moment, everyone forming similar thoughts. Sandy and Bunny exchanged questioning gazes.
"Still thinking about it, mate?"
North scratched his beard. "He technically knows already."
"But not of the potential," Tooth added, rubbing the plucked spot on her elbow. "Or the possible danger."
With all the chaos Pitch Black had created, when nearly all the lights went out, it was during that fateful Easter did the Guardians notice it right off the bat.
North recalled how Jack immediately acted around his first believer, playfully nudging him as if he had known the kid all his immortal life. North also remembered snooping in on the various visits and play sessions that followed.
Their snowball battles were good-natured, but sometimes rough. The children of Burgess often threw snowballs with enough force to be playfully shoved to the ground. Mind you, Jack was the cause behind a majority of these lobs. The winter spirit was fast and agile, never giving anyone a chance to peg him, except for Jamie.
Grinning even with the expectation of vengeance, Jamie would clumsily sprint away as the Guardian hurled the lumps of snow at him with direct hits. Yet, he would never knock him over, North noted every time, before returning back to the Pole. The Guardian hardly thought much of it until Jack took Jamie to the North Pole for one of their regular visits.
At the beginning of every year, the yetis were more relaxed in their work. They were not as energized and didn't mind being careless here and there. Knowing their stubbornness issues at that time North didn't have to correct them.
A yeti had just finished melting and hardening an elegant green vase a little girl in Texas had requested the previous year for her mother. The piece was simple enough and could easily be remade if necessary.
Failing to look down, the yeti tripped over a box of children's books and smashed the vase against a handrail, but it didn't stop there. Large wedges of glass sailed through the wooden bars and plummeted down to the lower deck. Whatever the reason this time, Jamie paused to gawk at something, stopping directly in the glass' trajectory, too distracted to look up.
The child let out a sharp gasp as Jack snagged his small waist and flew him out of the way. They both looked as the glass showered and scuffed exactly where Jamie had been standing. Keeping him in his embrace, Jack needlessly checked his friend over.
Then, his jaw set.
Jack glanced up at the main deck where a guilty yeti leaned over the rail.
"What…" Jack began before his voice rose to an unexpectedly loud volume. "the heck were you thinking!" Jamie shielded his ears. This outburst had brought North from his main workshop.
"He was standing right there," The winter spirit continued to scold. North even flinched at the tone. "He could've been hurt because of you!"
The next morning, the kiln for melting the glass was covered in a layer of ice about seven centimeters thick.
That particular incident made North's mind race ever since. True, anyone would've had the same reaction, but Jack rarely yelled at such a volume. Also, in an effort to keep him as far from the workstations as possible, he didn't allow the boy to see the Globe of Belief, one of Jamie's favorite wonders in the factory. Jack never liked denying those big brown eyes.
"Hmm," North muttered, capturing the other Guardians' attentions.
Jack and Jamie were engaged in a game of tag with one racing to get away from the other. Just as Jamie started to breath heavily, the Guardian snatched him up, hovering just a foot above the ground.
"You're it!" Jack announced as Tooth laughed endearingly. "Easy, kiddo," Jack chuckled a bit uneasily when Jamie tried to jump from his arms to the ground. "Let me put you down first." Jack didn't take his hands off the kid until his feet were firmly planted. The game continued.
Jack acted as playful and mischievous as ever around his fellow Guardians as well as his group of believers in Burgess. His personality changed aside from one exception. Over the course of several months, when Jamie was around, the winter spirit gradually became more alert and careful. Wherever his friend was, he was there too, as much as he could outside the winter months. If Jamie ever stopped or tripped during a play session, Jack was right there, only seldom making a sarcastic comment and, on some occasions, fussing over the child like a worried parent. Jack also found himself unable to resist his adorable charm, making snow days, flying, and covering windows with frost whenever Jamie pleaded.
"You're right, Sandman," North glanced back at the golden images above the little man's head.
"We warned him," Bunnymund agreed, hopping over with Sophie clinging to a back leg.
"Uh, Bunny," Tooth scoffed. "Speak for yourself."
"Jack Frost should not be picking favorites among children, but 'is too late, now." North wiped imaginary sweat from his eyebrows.
"I think," North continued. "It's time to tell him."