The serious expression melted into an eye roll." That over grown rabbit's got nothing on me." Smirking down at Sophie Jack had to agree with her. It wouldn't just be him that would stand between her and Jamie if a threat rose. He was sure Bunny would rip Pitch apart if he threatened the tow of them.North and Sandy right behind him. Tooth...she was just scary when she was mad.It was the reason he never worried about leaving at the end of winter.




" That's great. I'll let my mom know. I think we might be going out for dinner."

"Let me grab a shower and I'll head out then. Love you."

"Love you too."
Hitting the end call button on his phone Jamie rolled of the bed and headed for the door. This was turning out to be an awesome birthday. First a snow war with Jack and his family and now Joyce was going to be able to come down for the night. Apparently she had moved her shift around at work so she could close tomorrow. Walking out the the room he headed towards his little sisters closed door first. He figured he'd let her and Jack know before going to tell his mom and dad.

Opening the door the sight that greeted him sent mixed signals in his brain. what was Jack doing on Sophie's bed....and with her. " Uh what's going on?"

Sophie turned a red that North’s coat would envy and tried to move away from Jack, but just ended up falling on the floor. She awkwardly smiled at her brother. “Oh, um, Jamie. W-we were j-just talking about Pitch a-and…yeah.”

Jack was in the air a second later. Guilt took the place of the tingly feeling in his stomach. He wasn't sure where that feeling came from though. He had just been hugging her, he hugged Jamie all he time. Still a hurried "Nothing!" was out of his mouth before Sophie had a chance to say anything.From his spot at the corner of the ceiling Jack rubbed at the back of his head. " YEah just Pitch and some guardian summit meeting thing I have to go to. "

Jamie gave both his sister and his best friend an unamused looked. They were so just cuddling on her bed. Maybe the two didn't realize that's what they were doing but it was. He wasn't sure he was comfortable with that, in fact he wasn't sure how he felt about it.
" what about Pitch and a summit meeting?" It was better to short out the cuddling thing later.

Sophie pulled herself up to a standing position and glanced at Jack for a second before looking back at her brother. “Jack has to go to a meeting to talk about what’s going to happen to Pitch.” She glanced at Jack again, then down at her feet. “He was just asking me what I thought should happen to Pitch.”

Taking a step out of the door way Jamie looked concerned at the winter spirit as he floated down to the floor." They are deciding what to do with him...why now?" honestly Jamie thought that being tortured by his nightmares was his punishment. He would admit to maybe Jack but mostly no one that he still saw Pitch's face. The hint of fear that he would come back. That he'd hurt Sophie. Every time Joyce had a nightmare he'd freeze before waking her up, scared himself of what was the cause of the bad dream. He had told the Nightmare King that he believed in him but he wasn't afraid of him.

Looking at his younger sister Jamie knew his words were still true to an extent. He wasn't scared of Pitch coming after him, he was scared of him hurting people he cared about.

Once Jack's bare feet touched the hardwood floor he took a step closer to the bed that divided him from the two humans. " Jamie....what do you think should happen to him?" As if that wasn't a loaded question.

"I think...I think you should watch him. Try and reform him. Like have Sandy monitor his nightmares or something. I mean with out him we wouldn't have started to believe in you so I can't hate him. He did unintentionally give me my best friend but..." Light brown eye looked once more at his little sister. She was too young to remember the battle. "He is dangerous." Taking a breath he let a smile light up his face as he changed the subject to something happier. " Oh Soph Joyce called. She's going to be coming down for the night. I was just about to go let mom know she is coming with us to diner."

Sophie smiled the same smile every time her brother mentioned Joyce. The exaggerated smile masking the realization that her brother was growing up. The smile that masked her upset that her big brother had someone else in his life who meant more to him than his baby sister. She supposed that was the downside of being best friends with your siblings. When they grew up and found their significant others you always felt a little cheated. It was bad enough when he went away to school, but at least he was close enough that he came and visited all the time. She thought about her brother marrying this girl often, and each time it carried the slight twinge of losing him. But she would not let her brother in on that secret.

“Oh, Joyce is coming! That’s great. It’s been too long.” She did mean this. She really did like Joyce. She thought she was funny, caring, and everything that her big brother could want. Well. Almost.

Jamie and Sophie had said about the same thing, reform him. Or babysit him. They sounded like good options. Maybe the others would agree because unless Pitch actually hurt a child Jack wasn't sure he could decided that he should die. How would one kill the nightmare king...or any of them for that matter. They were immortal, even Sandy had come back.There was a lot he didn't know about this summit thing.

" Wha..Joyce. That girl you live with. Is coming here?" Looking out Sophie's bedroom window he could see the left over snow from earlier today as the sun hung low in the sky. The temperature should get low enough that he could leave a special surprise for her when she came.Too bad he probably wouldn't be here to see her face.


The smile on Sophie's face at the mention of his girlfriend made Jamie smile as well. It was important to him that his parents liked her but more then them it was Sophie he really worried about. She was not only his little sister but one of his closets friends.
" Yeah Jack you remember Joyce. " And hated the cold more then any one I've ever met.He didn't like to bring that up around Jack too much.
"So when do you have to go...when will you be back?"
Taking a look back out the window Jack figured he should probably get back up to the north pole soon.As much as he was sure Sophie would like to see Bunny again he didn't want to be shoved in that smelly shack. " I should probably leave before nightfall. I'm not sure how long these things last. I'll swing by your place if it takes too long though so don't worry buddy. You haven't seen the last of me."

Sophie tried not to look upset that Jack hadn’t mentioned coming back here. Not that it was too surprising. He couldn’t be bringing winter that early. Besides, it wasn’t like he hadn’t spent forever with her this afternoon. Besides, he’d visit her again eventually. He always did.

She put on a smile. “Hey, Jack, how are Tooth and North? I haven’t seen them in the longest.”

"Well you know how North gets this close to Christmas. Not sure how he's going to handle having a bunch of us at the Pole this close to D Day. Tooth 's actually started going back into the field more again." She had started going back out after pitch but as the years passed she had started to lock herself back in the Tooth Palace. It had taken a sort of intervention on the guardians part to get her to start going back out.

" North's still planning on swinging by and picking you guys up the day after Christmas for our own little party." Last year he and Jamie had teamed up against Sophie and the kangaroo in a snowball fight that he may or may not have started. Really that snow drift could have come from anywhere Bunny had no right to blame him.

Sophie bounced on her toes a little. Last year’s was great. The guardians certainly knew how to throw a party. “That’s great! Everyone loves the sleigh,” she joked, lamely. She was really overcompensating for the awkwardness she felt. Thankfully, a buzzing from her bedside table was a perfect distraction. She lunged for her phone and saw a text from Olivia. Thank God. ‘So much for texting me later.’ She shot off the response of ‘I’m so grateful to have you as a friend’ before even thinking about the explanation that Olivia would no doubt want for why.


Toothiana arrived at North’s workshop rather early. Eight different of her fairies flitted about her, one for each continent and Baby Tooth, who never left her side. She was listing off different teeth and where to collect them from with proficiency that only centuries of experience could possibly attain. It didn’t matter that she was going over some of the same teeth over and over. Just the repetition was calming. Like maybe she could get over the anxiety of this summit by talking. Not to mention that she wanted her fairies out before Pitch was brought.

The sound from the phone pulled the attention of the two boys as well. Jack chuckled at the girls behavior but looking up at Jamie the feeling of guilt gnawed at his stomach again. The boy didn't look mad but light brown eyes had shot up to Jack when he chuckled. There was something behind those eyes. Something that Jack had never seen pointed at him. " I should...I should uh...I need to head out. I'll be back." He took a step towards the window Jamie shooting him a confused look.

' I know you are.so what socially awkward situation did I just save you from' Olivia text back tossing her self on to her bed.

Sophie looked at Jack, her face fallen into a frown. “What? But I—”

A buzz from her phone stopped her midsentence. She sent a distressed look between the two boys in her room. She was hoping that Jack would at least be able to stay a little bit longer. And maybe help make her brother forget what he had witnessed when he walked in…whatever it was that he witnessed. Plus she really wasn’t looking forward to the time period where she would have to wait with Jamie until Joyce arrived, which would probably be filled with Jamie singing her praises.

Again, she liked Joyce. But there was only so much she could like her. She knew Jamie was struggling with when to tell Joyce about the Guardians. But she liked the secret. The feeling that she and Jamie had a secret no other people their age did. But she couldn’t very well tell Jack that she wanted him to stay. “Will you let us know what happens to Pitch?”

She scarcely looked at her phone sending out the message, instead staring at the winter spirit who looked like he would rather spend all winter at the Warren than be in her room right now. ‘Hopefully from an awkward conversation with my brother,’

He had edged just a little closer to the window but stopped at Sophie's voice. It did feel a little like he was running away but he couldn't be in the room with Jamie and Sophie at the moment. Smiling over at the blond Jack shock his head. " Of course I will. As soon as it's over I'll come right back.Promise!" With that he opened her window and jumped out. The North wind wrapping around him and carrying him off in the direction of the workshop.

Back in the bedroom Jamie watched as Jack all but ran away. he knew that that was what his best friend did when things got confusing for him. Jack wasn't the main concern right now. Or well maybe he was. " So want to tell me what that was all about?" Crossing his arms over his chest he gave her his best big brother look.


The wood floors of North's workshop sunk in to create a tunnel.Bunnymund jumped out into the warm peppermint scented work shop the tunnel closing under him with a soft pink flower sprouting out of the floorboards. It looked as if the place was pretty much empty. No matter the place would be crawling with spirit in a few hours." Okay let's get this over with...wait where is that Frost brat?"

Sophie stared intensely at her phone for a few moments, pretending not to hear her brother while reading Olivia’s latest text of ‘Your brother and you don’t have awkward conversations. What happened?’ She hoped she looked like she was really considering her thoughts as she typed in the text of ‘You don’t even want to know. It’s a weird and confusing story but involves snow and mythical beings.’ She knew Olivia wouldn’t take her seriously. Sometimes she even told her the absolute truth about what she did with her brother and Jack. A laugh at the end always made it seem like she was just telling a story and Olivia didn’t really ask more questions after that.

She finally thought she had been staring down at her phone for long enough, (it had probably not been more than thirty seconds, but had stretched on forever in Sophie’s mind.) and looked up at her brother with what she hoped was a blank expression. “I’m sorry, Jamie, what are you talking about?”


Sanderson ManSnoozie descended into North’s workshop, actually feeling and looking a bit anxious. Summits weren’t usually a thing that made him nervous, but this one was different. It was Jack’s first, for one, and it was also the first since the blunder of his own disappearance and the missing Easter. Of course, Sandy didn’t think that Manny was ever upset about that, but he hadn’t spoken to him in quite some time. Sandy glided over to Bunny, and formed a question mark out of dreamsand to answer his question.

Tooth flitted over to join the two, pausing her remarks of “a bicuspid in Hoboken” and the like to respond to her fellow Guardians. “It’s Jamie’s birthday.”

So much had been on his mind with the summit and his failed Easter and if that was going to be brought up. Plus he was in the planning stages of this years Easter. it had slipped his mind that that scrawny little ankle biter was now a man. As it always did thinking about the boy brought up memories of his favorite ankle biter.She was no longer little any more, though she did still enjoy her times at the warren ridding on his back.He would have to do something big for her birthday this year." Yeah.. how could I have forgotten. They sure did get big fast huh?" but they still remembered and that was what mattered. Bunny didn't know how he would handle it if his little Sophie ever walked though him.

Jamie kept his arms crossed and raised an eye brow at his sisters lame cover up. " Don't play dumb with me." It wasn't that he was mad so much as confused by what he saw. Now if it had been some other guy well that would be a different story. No boy with only one thing on his mind was going to be all cuddled up to his sister in her room alone. This was Jack though so there had to be some reason behind it."You and Jack. You were...cuddling."

Cuddling. Jamie had said they were cuddling. Well, she guessed that was what it was. Jack had probably only meant for it to be a quick hug, but ended up comforting her about a few other things. “I was upset about Pitch.” She tried to keep her explanation simple. That would be easiest.


Tooth nodded, looking down sadly, remembering collecting both siblings’ last baby teeth. She had collected all of Sophie’s teeth herself, and a majority of Jamie’s (she would have gladly collected all of his herself, but he had already lost several by the time the Guardians met them.). Neither of them ever needed to be reminded of anything from their childhood yet either. It was a good thing, in some ways, she supposed, but it gave her fewer excuses to visit. She did have plans of leaving something under Jamie’s pillow tonight though.

“They really do…it’s not fair.” She didn’t mean to sound like she was whining, but all of her fairies converged and started chirping in attempts to cheer her up. Even Sandy patted her on the arm.

The stern big brother expression- Jamie liked to tell himself that he pulled it off- melted into sympathy and concern. It had never crossed his mind that the whole Pitch thing might have effected Sophie. She had been so young and when he or Jack told her stories about it they always made sure to tell it like any other story. Where the good guys thwart the bad guys. Saving the day. Moving closer to her Jamie reached out and wrapped her in his arms. Like he use to do when she would crawl into his bed at night complaining about not being able to sleep or a bad dream.
"You know you don't have to worry about him right?"
He would thank Jack when the spirit came back.he could always count on his friend to watch after his favorite blonde.


(( Jack will be entering the workshop in my next post but I need to head off to bed.we'll be getting the Summit tomorrow.))

Sophie adored her brother’s hugs, and ever since he went off to go to college, she never seemed to get enough of them. So while on one hand she wanted to not move and just let her big brother protect her from everything, she felt horrible. Like she was lying. “I’m not scared of him,” she said quietly. “Well, that’s not true. I am a little scared of him. I just…I don’t want him to die. If immortals can even die. He was just lonely.”

If it was possible Jamie hugged his sister even tighter. She just had such a big 'heart. It wasn't that he wanted Pitch to die either but he couldn't say he wouldn't sleep better at night if the nightmare king was gone.But Sophie sympathized with him something not even he could do.He didn't hate him hate him but he couldn't feel sorry for a man that had looked him in the eye and threatened t o kill him.He had been ten.Who says that to a child. " Jack and the others won't do anything he doesn't deserve. Remember Jack was alone for three hundred years I'm sure he won't let them kill Pitch." not that he fully understood how that would happen anyway.

(( SO I lied about Jack being in this post.))

Of course he brought up Jack being alone for that long. Sophie knew about it, in theory. Jack didn’t talk about it with her. Honestly, she heard more about it from the other Guardians. There were definitely some things about him that were clearly leftovers from him being alone for that long. Social norms that he didn’t seem to get. But that was normal, too. All of the Guardians had things that they just did not get (after the sixth time of Tooth accidentally shoving her hands into Sophie’s mouth to check her teeth, Sophie just gave her free permission, as long as she told her she was about to). She supposed it came from how disconnected they were from everyone else for most of the time.

“I know Jack was alone. And I know the Guardians will do what they think is best. I just hope that what they think is best won’t have Pitch plotting for revenge again.”

In the next two hours spirits of all kinds had flooded the Workshop. Mother earth was crouched down cooing at the flower that had been left over from one of bunnies tunnels. Cupid flew around mingling being the spirit of loves normally bubbly self. And many other, much to Bunny's dismay the groundhog was in attendance as well.The only one missing was Jack. Well Jack and the three spirits that had everyone a little on edge.



It was a little trickier to get to the North Pole then any where else in the world. For good reason of course. But he was jack frost and he had been trying to break into the work shop for decades and now he was an always welcomed guest. Not that he would normally be any where near this place this time of year. Guiding the wind to dropping onto eh balcony was what was short of his room. A gift from North his own room in the workshop. Opening the door he could hear that the workshop was as busy as ever. However the noises coming from below were different. No yetish being yelled for the sound on manic elves giggling. Not even the booming Russian accented voice of North. May be he was a little late.

Moving out of his room the winter spirit peered over the stairs railing. Some of the spirits gathered he knew, or at least had run into at some point. Other he had never even seen before. In the front of the room opposite the Glob the four other guardians gathered.Jumping over the railing he dropped down next to North. " So what I miss?"


" I'm sure that what ever they decided will be in Pitch's, and the world's children- best interest." Letting her go he raised a hand to ruffle her still damp blond hair. ' Now come on I'm going to go tell mom Joyce is coming over. And you are going to tell me how school had been going." Turning around Jamie headed back out of her door waiting at hte top of the stairs for her to catch up.

“Jack!” North said, smiling and patting the boy on the back. Sandy, who had fallen asleep floating next to North, started at the Russian’s booming voice. “You have not missed much. Many friends are here.”

Tooth flitted to him and hugged him briefly. Seven of her fairies flew to him and began pulling on him in different directions, as Baby Tooth attempted to shove them all away. “Girls!” Tooth said to the seven, who all moved away at her sharp word, looking around embarrassed. Baby Tooth smiled smugly and landed on Jack’s shoulder. “Sorry about that, Jack. You would think they would have gotten used to you by now.” Tooth giggled awkwardly before continuing. “So how are they?”


Sophie followed after her brother, catching up to him and linking her arm through his. “You went to that school too. You know what it’s like. I’d much rather hear about your books.”

Reaching up he rubbed the top of Baby tooth's head with his finger while he glanced around the room.Calling the spirits friends may be pushing it. He was even sure some of them was giving him dirty looks. Oh well. Turning his attention to Tooth he smiled. it was the smile that he always had when talking about the two humans. " They're great. Jamie has gotten so big but not boring or anything. He still can throw a mean snowball.And Sophie," At the sound of her name Bunny perked up and turned to fully face the conversation. " She's the same adorable goof ball as always.But not always."
He thought about what she had said about Pitch and being alone and all the sympathy she had for him."Sophie's sweet too and smart. That girl thinks about things differently. She just cares."

North definitely knew he was too old when he heard this. North had apparently not been paying too much attention, for if he had he would have known about the apparent crush that Jack had on Sophie. This was not good. The last spirit who developed feelings for a human…it did not end well. But this Jack was different. He would get over it. Sandy apparently had the same thought process, because he gave North with a knowing look.

Tooth smiled. She distantly thought about visiting them more often. It wasn’t like her fairies couldn’t handle it all themselves, if she was being honest. Especially with Baby Tooth. She could probably sit back and never worry about work again…no, just the thought was getting to her. Definitely couldn’t do that. “What do you mean, Jack?”

He thought over Sophie's words fightign back the feeling in his stomach at the memory of holding her after the, "I told her about the summit.Jamie too. They...I felt they should know." Really he just didn't like leaving on Jamie's birthday with out telling him why.And Sophie well he had just wanted her to know."We talked about it. well more like she ranted and I listened." His eyes fell to the floor a wishful smile on his lips as he replayed her words. They had just tumbled out of her mouth. She had a way of saying things that stuck with you in the middle of one of her 'word vomits' as she called them. " She said she felt bad for him. That he did it cause he was lonely and had been driven crazy by no one believing in him." He didn't get that one. He had been alone too, no one had ever believed in him and he hadn't gone crazy. He hadn't turned out like Pitch." She thought we should try...therapy i think was her suggestion."