On request from Everybodydeservesachance, who suggested some Tooth/Jack Fluff XD
On the day of the Guardian Meeting, Toothiana flittered around, noticing that Jack Frost and Bunny were arguing again. She listened and the conversation seemed to be heated on both counts.
"You never have any fun Cottontail!"
"I don't always need fun, you Drongo!"
The two were at each others throats for a while before Bunny suddenly shouted
"At least my presence doesn't kill off the ones we protect!"
Everything was silent, everyone stunned by the outburst. Tooth was furious "Bunny!"
But the damage was done. Jack fled, leaving nothing but a small flurry behind as he tore out the window. Tooth swore she saw tears brimming in the young spirit's eyes as he tore out of the workshop.
"How could you say that to him?!" she demanded of the Pooka, slapping him hard and racing after the winter child.
Her child.
She found him at the very edge of the Pole. He had dug a hole and was curled up inside, sobbing uncontrollably. Gathering him in her arms, Tooth cuddled him against her, shushing him softly.
"Jack honey..."
"Tooth, Bunny was right."
"No Jack!" she shushed him "You have never-"
"I am Winter, Tooth!"
"Yes, yes Sweet Tooth." Her tone depicted her curiosity. "What does that have to do with-"
"I am Death." The words were heartbroken, a whisper of deep dejection and self condemnation.
"Oh honey no. Is that what's bothering you?" Her heart ached for him as she held him closer, "Your season's casualties? But Jack, you have no control over what happens to the mortals during your season! Yes people die, but it's never your fault."
The boy she held curled tightly in the embrace, his tears freezing her feathers as he sobbed. He was Winter. Those others who hated him but had no personal grudge against him hated him because he brought death with his season, with his cold, and like Bunny said, with his mere presence. He drew into himself as 300 years of accusations and hateful jibes finally shoved their way back into his thoughts, ignited by the Pooka's harsh words.
"You are nothing but death, Frost!"
"Snowballs and funtimes huh? Watching the children freeze is Fun, isn't it Jack?"
"Deadly winter this year, boy. But then again, when has a winter passed that WASN'T?"
"Sweet Tooth!"
"You are Winter. How does it feel, shepherding death?"
"Jack! Stop this, honey. You are a Guardian! We trust you, and the children love what you do."
'How can I be a Guardian?" The boy choked, tone depicting his brokenness, "How can I call myself a Guardian when all I do is leave death, destruction, and bloodshed in my wake?"
Tooth sighed, playing with the snow-white locks as she comforted the winter sprite.
"Have you forgotten why Manny chose you? That he had even chosen you in the first place? Manny never chooses unless the chosen is worthy of being so, Jack. You are one of us now, whether you think you deserve it or nor, Sweet Tooth, you are a Guardian."
"But my storms...my cold...those children lost in the forest, frozen because of a blizzard..."
"A blizzard that you had complete control of, unless you left it to go save them. If you had saved them, a nearby city would have felt the fury of that storm .Jack, what you do, it takes hard choices. If you saved half the people affected by your weather and cold, then the world would be a lot less populated. You are not death, Jack Frost. If you tried saving the children from your storms at the risk of letting the blizzard roam free to destroy everything else in its wake, then and only then would you hold the title Bringer of Death."
Ice-blues looked at her.
"You really believe that?"
She smiled, nodding and hol;ding him close, making sure he understood that he was loved. He was wanted, and that he would never be abandoned just for being who he was and was chosen to be.
"I believe that Winter is beautiful. Cold yes, but to understand beauty, sometimes you have to go through a storm."
They sat there like that for hours, until Jack had worn himself out and slumped with his head in her bosom. She smiled as he buried himself in her feathers, needing the contact after three centuries of isolation.
She decided to have a long talk with Aster, and then handing him a few quarters for nearly shattering her Sweet Tooth's spirit. No one would ever acuse Jack Frost of being Death again.
Not as long as she was here to make sure of it.