Forever (Jack Frost x Twin!Reader)
Hey so it's been like a milennia since I've updated this.
TW: existential crisis, I guess. Bunny bullying Jack.
The North Pole was more than Y/N could have ever imagined it to be. Massive icicles that glistened in the sun like diamonds hung from the entrance to North's workshop. She let out a breath that fogged out in front of her, thankful for the fleecelined jacket North had sent for her before her journey. Y/N couldn't withstand cold temperatures in the way that many other spirits could. Her first encounter with Jack Frost taught her that pretty quickly. Their work tended to overlap, though, so the two of them had to figure out how to coexist without another incident.
She smiled fondly, thinking of the winter sprite. Throughout all the time she'd known him, though, she couldn't escape the mystery that the boy posed to her. She couldn't figure out why he'd seemed so familiar.
As she entered North's workshop, she forgot all about the curiosity that he left her with. How could she not when the Guardians of Childhood were all gathered before her? Well, the Guardians minus Bunnymund. She couldn't help but wonder where her fuzzy friend happened to be.
"Welcome, Y/N! It is good to see you, my friend." North's voice was as booming as ever. He scooped her off of the ground, hugging her so tightly that she thought she'd lose consciousness.
"Hello", she giggled when he'd finally put her down. "Sandy says you have something important to tell me."
For just a moment, North's jolly expression turns dark, almost solemn. "Soon, Y/N. We must wait for our other guest to arrive."
Other guest? That certainly piqued her interest. Sandy hadn't mentioned the Guardians summoning anyone else. A hole in the ground opened beside her, and she tried not to jump for joy as Bunny appeared from inside it.
"Hey! How's it going?" Bunny threw an arm over her shoulder, side hugging her. Before she had a chance to answer, several yetis appeared from one of North's globe portals.
They haphazardly tossed a brown burlap sack to the floor. The familiar friend she'd been thinking about moments ago struggled out of it. He stopped struggling as he quickly realized that he was face to face with every one of the Guardians of Childhood.
"Wow. You've gotta be kidding me." It was an apalling response. The Guardians were considered the best of the best by just about every other spirit out there. They worked tirelessly to keep the children safe from evil and darkness. They were 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥 in. Y/N wanted to be just like them. She didn't understand why Jack seemed so... 𝘣𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘥.
North started to introduce everyone as if the entire world wouldn't recognize them with their backs turned and an eye shut.
"This is Y/N. Y/N, this is Jack. I believe you two have met."
Y/N nodded, that tug of familiarity coming back to her. She knew she was staring, but it felt like she would burst if she looked away from him for even a moment. 250 years of knowing one another, and she still couldn't figure him out.
She snapped out of it when Jack turned away.
"Anyone wanna tell me why I'm here?"
Sandy was quick to try and explain himself, but Jack couldn't keep up with his dream sand symbols. Neither could Y/N, honestly.
"I must've done something bad to bring you four together. Am I on the naughty list?" He peered over at her, his face saying he was sure that that's not what it was about. Not if she was there, too.
"On naughty list? You hold record. But, no matter. We will overlook. Now we are wiping clean the slate."
Interesting. Very interesting.
"How come?" Jack wasn't buying it. There was no way they'd just forget about his tricks. Not unless something big was going on.
"Good question," Bunny sneered. Y/N tried not to giggle. She knew Bunny was a little less than patient with Jack. He'd dealt with his fair share of snowy Easters. He liked Y/N. Jack? Not so much.
"How come? I tell you how come. Because now, you", North turned to her as well, "are Guardian!" Trumpet fanfare blared through the workshop. A Guardian? She was going to be a Guardian? That was all she'd ever wanted. Or, at least all she can remember wanting.
Tooth's fairies flew down with a string of paper flowers between them, draping them over her neck. Jack stepped away from the paper snowflakes, putting a defensive hand up. A yeti stood behind him, trying to keep him in place.
"This is the best part!" North exclaimed with childlike glee. Y/N wasn't sure how anything could have been better than hearing their news.
The yetis twirled fiery batons as the elves danced around her and Jack. He seemed agitated, but she was so thrilled. A pair of elves came up to her with a pair of green shoes, a big embroidered "G" seemingly staring back at her. Shoes weren't really her thing, but she didn't get a chance to decline before Jack raised his staff and slammed it to the ground.
An icy blast of wind burst through the room. The yetis flames were out in an instant. The ground beneath her was so cold that it almost burned. She stumbled, immediately feeling weak. Bunny was at her side in an instant, pulling her away from the boy. He held her close, using his fur to warm her.
She noticed Jack falter, likely full of shame at bringing her any sort of harm, but he still had things to say.
"What makes you think I want to be a Guardian?"
What was he doing? Was he really rejecting their offer? She'd hoped they didn't think he was speaking on both of their behalf. She was actually a little disappointed that he'd interrupted the ceremony.
North suddenly let out a full belly laugh. "Of course you do. Music!"
The fanfare started again, but Jack was quick to cut it off.
"This is all very flattering, but you don't want me. You're all hard work and deadlines, and I'm snowballs and fun times. She's probably more your speed."
Y/N didn't know whether to be offended that he thought she wasn't fun or flattered that he thought she was a hard worker.
Bunny chuckled. "Yeah, that's exactly what I said."
"Jack, I don't think you understand what it is we do." Y/N knew exactly what it is they did, but she still clung to Tooth's every word. The massive globe in the center of the room was lit up by little specks of warm white light. "Each of those lights is a child."
"A child who believes," North interjected. "Good or bad, naughty or nice, we protect them."
Y/N felt called to protect the children. The Man in the Moon had never told her anything besides her name, but she could guess that if he had anything else to say to her, it'd be about aiding the Guardians in their mission to protect the world's children.
Caught in her own thoughts, yet again. She was pulled out of them by North telling Tooth to take her fingers out of Jack's mouth.
"Okay, no more wishy-washy. Pitch is out there doing who knows what!"
Pitch? Woah. Y/N knew that if the Guardians wanted her, something had to be wrong. She didn't expect to be talking about the Boogeyman, though. Apparently, neither did Jack.
"When Pitch threatens us, he threatens them as well."
"All the more reason to pick someone more qualified." Another one of those looks that said he thought she was it.
"Pick? You think we pick? No, you were chosen like we were all chosen: by Man in Moon."
A chill ran down her spine. The Man in the Moon talked to them? The Man in the Moon chose her?
"Last night, Jack. He chose you and Y/N."
It hit her like a ton of bricks. She really was meant to aid them. She was meant to be one of them. A Guardian.
"You cannot say no. It is destiny."
"Why wouldn't he tell me that himself? After three hundred years? This is his answer? To spend eternity like you guys, cooped up in some hideout, thinking of new ways to bribe kids? No. That's not for me!"
Jack was shouting at the sky now, like the Man in the Moon would change his mind if all he did was yell. The angrier he got, the colder the room felt. At least to Y/N. None of the others seemed too bothered. She felt a bit defective in that way. Like when the Man in the Moon created her, he forgot some special function to make her strong and resilient like them.
"You know what I think?" Bunny asked, pulling away from Y/N's side and strutting towards Jack. "I think we just dodged a bullet. What does this clown know about bringing joy to children anyway?"
"You ever hear of a snow day? I know it's no hard boiled egg, but kids like what I do."
"But none of them believe in you, do they? See, you're invisible mate. It's like you don't even exist."
Y/N felt like she'd been stabbed. Repeatedly. One of the few people she'd gotten to know in her time as a spirit of spring, and he used the thing that wounded her the most as a weapon. He may not have been speaking to her, but he may as well have been spitting the words right at her.
She could be a Guardian. She could be a hero and protect the children. She'd never be seen, though. Nobody believed in her.
Y/N could tell Bunny was trying not to look at her. If he did, he'd probably back down. He doesn't like backing down from a fight. He'd probably apologize later. Still, she tried to take her mind elsewhere. If she pretended that the conversation wasn't happen, it couldn't hurt her any more than it already had.
"People believe in me." People believe in... People don't believe in her. She wasn't even sure if she could believe in herself. Maybe Jack was right. Maybe the unseen weren't meant to be Guardians.
He just tried not to seem affected as he followed North. Bunny avoided eye contact. He knew. They probably all did. They probably all knew what a phony she was, too.
She decided to wander. Her mind did, too. She wandered through the last two hundred and fifty years. She wanted nothing more than to understand. So many fragments of her being were missing. She wasn't sure what they were. One day, she woke up. They weren't with her. They were somewhere seemingly unreachable.
"You know, Bunny didn't mean to hurt you." Tooth's bell-like voice rang through the air. She was so sure. She probably never had to question who she was or where she'd come from.
"I know. It's just that... Jack and I.... we're the same. People can't see us. People don't use our names as anything but a passing phrase. Children believe in you. I can't even believe in myself. I don't know what there is to believe in."
Tooth was silent. She knew better than to try to comfort Y/N. She'd never been able to say that she related to that. Not really. She decided to distract, instead.
"North is probably giving Jack the same speech that he gave all of us about 'finding our centers'."
"First lesson in being a Guardian: learning how to find your center. Who are you, Y/N? What matters to you? What's the value that you hold above any other?"
Y/N was silent. She didn't really know. She wanted to keep the kids safe, but didn't they all?
"Just something to think about. What mattered most to you before you were chosen?"
Y/N wished she knew how to answer that question.
"I don't think I was anything before I was chosen. How can anything matter to me if I wasn't anything?"
"Y/N, what do you mean? We were all somebody before we were chosen. Do you not remember?"
Y/N just shook her head. She didn't think there was anything before darkness and the Moon.
"Teeth hold memories. I'll have to remind you of yours. We'd have to go to-"
A little fairy started chirping loudly in her ear. Tooth's face shifted instantaneously. The motherly tenderness from before was replaced with fear and dread.
"We have to go! My palace is under attack. They're taking the teeth!"
Y/N stood, realizing that she could be just moments away from coming face to face with Pitch Black, the darkest and nastiest of all the evil the Guardians had encountered.
He was about to stand between her and whoever she was before she'd become a Guardian. That was a big mistake.
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