Hiya folks. This is my first fanfiction. I mostly write on my own original story, but this is the first time I've felt motivated to write a fanfiction. I was hesitant when first beginning this, but I slipped into it so easily and the thing practically wrote itself. The characters from ROTG are just so vibrant and fun to write for. It really says something about the skill of the movie's storytellers when they create characters as vivid as these.

So anyway, I hope you enjoy. Like I said, first time, so be gentle with me haha. I'd love some reviews if you got 'em, and critique is welcome. I might choose to continue this with some more chapters later if I get anymore ideas. Could be tons of fun, I suppose.

EDIT:

This traffic graph thing is really freaking me out. I just noticed someone from Australia read this and I got all nervous. I've never had to write for someone with an Australian accent before, and it's freaking me out that I might have done it completely wrong. If it offends you in anyway, write me a review telling me how to fix it, please.

He glared at the date, trying to place why it felt so important. Jack Frost didn't normally give much import to dates. The only measurements of time he truly cared about was the passage of the seasons. The other guardians had holidays, but all Jack had was months and seasons, and that was exactly how he liked it. Let someone else worry about a mundane thing like the date. Besides, after 300 years, what was a number on a calendar?

But even so, the numbers and month flashing across Burgess's local bank's sign looked important and... familiar, somehow. But he shrugged and let the wind drift him away. He had more important things to do. Like start a snowball fight with the kids. Scratch that, a snowball war. He was in a cheerful mood that day for no particular reason. He felt the snowball battle to end all snowball battles coming on.

Later that night he sailed lazily through the small city's streets. He had grown to love the place. Now that he could remember the little colony it had grown from, seeing the warm, glowing place it had become put a smile on his face. He didn't want to admit it, but he felt the strongest bond to the children of his town. He had been there for the birth of the little settlement, and he promised to be there until whenever his time was up, protecting the kids that filled it's streets.

He spotted the northern lights in the night sky and realized it was meeting night. No one else could see them, otherwise meteorologists across the county would have panicked. But Jack knew they were calling him alone to the North Pole. The others had given up several months ago on having him remember the correct date and time for their meetings. After all, Jack Frost really didn't care about dates. Instead, North arranged for the lights to appear in the sky when he was needed at the pole.

He was drifting by a window that was spilling golden light out onto the snow when he glanced up, his gaze drawn by the sheer number of people crowded into the room beyond. There was a child, a girl he dimly remembered as one of Jamie's friends, sitting at the opposite end of the table. Her cheeks were puffed up round as she blew out the candles on top of a big, pink cake. Once all the candle were out, she grinned with a smile that was missing several teeth as the room applauded.

Jack nearly tumbled out of the air. The number on the bank's electronic sign flashed in his head again. Now he remembered! The date was important! Or at least today it was, because today was his birthday! He stayed there for a moment, his breath puffing out in little white wisps as it froze the water in the air around him. He had an inkling that birthdays were a big deal, but he couldn't quite remember what he was supposed to do on one. Finally, he blew off with the wind towards the north, giving up momentarily on remembering.

xXx

Jack blew through the window in Santoff Clausen that was left open for him, whistling disjointed bits of different songs. He landed gracefully, of course, but still felt like he was hovering over the floor. The others were already gathered around. Bunny and North were arguing over something, while Tooth was preening the feathers of one of her fairies in a motherly fashion. Sandy was fashioning toys out of sand, much to Phil's amusement. Bunny was the first to break away from the argument with a huff and notice Jack.

"Crikey, you look even happier than usual, mate. What've ya destroyed this time?" Bunny smiled, then scowled once he remembered that Jack's smiles usually came with the implication of some sort of trouble.

"Why do you always have to assume that I've done something bad?" Jack asked, trying to make his face look innocent and sad.

"Because ya always have." Bunny grumbled.

"Really, Jack, why do you seem so happy tonight? Not that I mind seeing your smile and all. I mean, any chance to see those teeth. But what's going on?" Tooth let the struggling fairy free, and it flitted towards him to swoon over his teeth.

"Nothing much, just... my birthday!" Jack paused for effect, then held his arms out wide like he was presenting the last part.

" B-birthday?!" North spluttered around a sip of hot cocoa, "Why did you not mention before? We are supposed to have party, and cake, and most important, presents!" North boomed.

"We are?" Jack asked.

"Why yes, of course Jack!" Tooth chirped, "Don't you know that you have to celebrate a birthday?".

"Well, actually, I kinda didn't know that. Birthdays aren't something I normally have." he shrugged.

"Everybody has birthdays, frostbite." Bunny shook his head in amusement.

"Not me. This is the first time in several hundred years I remembered the date." he laughed, but then thought about it for a moment and sat down on the ground, thinking hard. "Wait, I don't know how to have a birthday. I can't remember, and this is the first one I've had in over 300 years! What do I do?!" he glanced around him, looking for anything that might be used for this whole birthday thing. Then he remembered what time it was and gasped, gripping his hair in both hands. "My birthday's almost over, too! What happens if I don't celebrate it? Will I have a bad year, or is it some kind of death omen or something? What do I do, what do I do?!" he asked.

"Hey, hey, hey calm down! You don't have to do anything. We're the ones who need to get to work. We have to get a party going." Tooth beamed and her wings twitched happily, the iridescent colors in them dancing in the firelight. Then she shot across the room to North. "I assume your elves can make a cake, yes?" she asked in her most businesslike voice.

"Elves can make cake, yes, but if you do not want food poisoning, best ask Yetis." North assured. Jack hoped they asked the Yetis.

"Uh, guys, aren't birthdays sapposed to be a saprise?" Bunny glanced over at Jack, who was watching from the floor with more than a little fascination.

Sandy, who had, of course, been silent through the whole discussion nodded vigorously, golden presents and cakes and pointy hats suspended above his head.

"Well, okay then! We'll go get your party ready why you wait here and... do something, Jack!" Tooth chased Phil out of the room, listing off things they would need.

"Presents! There must be lots of presents!" North called to the Yetis through the door, "Jack is still child. Well, like child. Is not often we celebrate child's birthday at Santoff Clausen!". He turned before he left the room completely, "Jack, make self at home, but do not bother desk." North was comically serious, raising one eyebrow.

"Sure, sure. Never dream of it." Jack smirked. North pointed at him, then pointed at his own eyes with two fingers, then slid out of the room. Jack snickered, but only a little. One took the phrase 'I'm watching you' seriously when it was Santa Claus saying it.

Sandy tiptoed out of the room after North, forming different visions of toys and wrapped boxes from golden sand, probably trying to figure out exactly what to give Jack. Bunny strode after him, already painting some paper he had found in the office to use to wrap Jack's gift. Before he left, he turned back to face Jack, who was now alone in the room.

"No worries, frostbite, we'll make this birthday worth waiting 300 years." he nodded, resolute. Jack smiled, but was still wondering why not celebrating was such a bad thing. "Oh, and ya don't die from not celebrating ya birthday, ya drongo." he turned and left, and Jack could hear him snickering all the way down the hall. He briefly considered running after him and freezing his stupid fluffy tail solid.

xXx

Jack had to wait in North's office for two whole hours. He couldn't remember the last time he had had to sit still in one place for two hours. That, combined with excitement over this whole birthday thing, had him feeling like he was going to explode. He found different ways to amuse himself. One of the first things he did was climb into North's big swivel chair and spin around in circles. He called the wind in through the open window and let it spin him faster and faster and faster until he shot out of the chair and landed in a Christmas tree across the room. Several ornaments smashed on the floor. He laughed uncontrollably as the room spun around him.

Next, he beckoned the wind into the room again and let it pick up all of the papers strewn across North's desk. He made it snow paperwork. At this point the elves came in to check on him, and he iced the floor in front of them. They slid along the ice all the way into the wall on the other side of the room. Jack laughed so hard he almost fell off of his perch on the back of North's chair.

By the time North poked his head around the door the office looked like it had been hit by hurricane Frost. There were even a few elf-cicles suspended in various states of panic. Jack turned sheepishly, having just frozen the last one.

"Um... I'll clean it up later? Promise?" he gave North his best pleading look, making sure his eyes were extra sorrowful. North turned bright red for a moment, then closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose.

"Is okay. Just unfreeze elves, then come to party. He crossed his arms and drummed his fingers against them as Jack walked from elf to elf, cracking the ice with his staff. They each squealed, then huddled together in a clump in front of the fire, trembling in unison.

When Jack and North arrived in the observatory that North used to talk to MiM Jack gave a low, astonished whistle. There were paper snowflakes everywhere. Tooth and Sandy had apparently helped with this bit, because there were even tons of them hanging from the high ceiling. Many of the elves had also taken the chance to decorate themselves with paper snowflakes, gluing them to themselves with what Jack hoped had not been superglue.

He had always had a special fondness for paper snowflakes. He loved to watch kids cut them out. It was like they were saying how much they appreciated his work, their chubby little fingers fashioning endearing replicas of his snowflakes. Seeing a room coated in paper snowflakes made his heart leap in a way he had not expected it to.

Sandy had also brightened the room with golden icicles, glittering and delicate. Jack had to touch one, it was too shiny to resist. It dissipated under his fingers, then reformed back into the perfection it had been before.

"What are you doing, Jack? Come here, quick!" Tooth fluttered over and ushered him over to a table they had brought into the room, her hands pressed into his back. The table contained a round, multitiered blue cake. It was covered in snowflakes and ice that must have been made of spun sugar, based on the way they caught the light from the stars and moon that shone in through the gap in the observatory's ceiling. Jack almost didn't want to eat it, too in awe of the craftsmanship.

Bunny thumped over and lit the candle, a snowflake itself, and everyone else crowded around. The sugar ice that adorned the cake shone in oranges and yellows under the flickering candle, and Jack felt like his own smile must be glowing as bright as the cake. He had never had such a beautiful thing made just for him.

"Okay! Now we sing!" North commanded, and he and the other three launched into a song, the first lyric simply being 'happy birthday'. Jack joined them, trying his best singing voice out. They all stopped singing, leaving Jack singing the last bit of 'birthday' alone.

"Mate, you're not sapposed ta sing!" Bunnymund put a paw over his face. Jack closed his mouth and shrugged. "We sing to you. That's how this birthday thing works." Bunny said.

"Oh. Well okay, then. That sounds... nice." Jack replied, confused as to why they thought singing to him was better than singing with him.

They launched into the Happy Birthday chorus again. When they finished, they all stood around, staring at him, as though expecting him to compliment their singing or something.

"Um... very good, guys! Great singing." he tried cheering for them a little.

"Jaaaaack, you're supposed to blow out your candle! Hurry and do it before the whole cake melts!" Tooth's feathers rose a bit in excitement.

"Oh, right!" he remembered the girl from earlier, with her rosy cheeks all puffed out from the effort of blowing out all nine candles on her cake. He blew as hard as he could on the one dainty candle. The flame was extinguished immediately, and a thin sheet of real ice was deposited across the top off the cake. He opened his eyes, glanced down, and mumbled "Oops.".

"Is no problem. Is ice cream cake now!" North laughed.

"What'd you wish for?" Tooth asked.

"What? I was supposed to wish for something? What happens if I didn't?" Jack felt a little freaked out. This stuff was far too complicated.

"Don't worry about it. It's just some wonky tradition." Bunny thumped him on the head. "Happy three hundred and... wait, how old are ya?" he asked. Jack shrugged. "Alright, happy three hundred and something birthday, frostbite." he chuckled.

"Okay, everyone grab a slice! You can have sugar this once, Jack. Besides, part of your gift from me is a toothbrush, so you can scrub those teeth extra good tonight." Tooth said, throwing him a plate frisbee style.

Once they had all eaten, Sandy tugged at Jack's hoody, golden presents floating over his head. Then he placed a present wrapped in golden sand in his lap. As soon as Jack placed a finger on it, the golden bow untied itself and the sand forming the lid of the box melted away. Jack pulled something small from the box, and the rest of the golden sand dissolved as well.

He dangled the little gold chain over his hand. It was made out of glass that looked like it had been made from some of Sanderson's sand. It was hard and slightly translucent, but glowed golden. Hanging in the palm of his hand from the chain was a tiny replica of his staff, made from the same golden glass.

"Wow... it's... Sandy, how did you..." he couldn't find the right words. It was the best present he had ever received. He was sure of it. He slipped it on over his head and let it fall down under his hoody, where it was hidden and safe. He grinned at Sandy, knowing it was better than words for communicating with the little guy. Sandy smiled back.

Tooth insisted he open her gift next. It was a large and soft blanket embroidered with snowflakes and a tooth brush also covered in snowflakes. He laughed, realizing that her practical nature had played a hand in her gift selection.

"I know you don't get cold, but you sleep outside so much, and I couldn't bear the idea of you out there on those nights with nothing to wrap up in. All alone and... oh, you really ought to consider sleeping in a bed sometimes. It can't be good for you." she fussed over him then, wrapping the blanket around him. He really did love it. It wasn't like blankets made him too hot, anyway. He didn't have enough body heat for that.

"Thank you, Tooth. I'll use both every night, promise." he said. Tooth looked at him hard. "Oh, and I'll use the toothbrush every morning, too." he assured her. She smiled back then.

North's gift was next, and it was a sled. A sled! His fingers itched to grab the thing and run outside and try it out immediately. He loved sledding, but he had never had one of his very own. This one was incredible, the nicest looking he had seen. He wanted to use it right then, but there was one last gift from Bunnymund to open.

Bunny's gift was a huge box of chocolates, each shaped into a completely unique snowflake. The paper it was wrapped in was hand painted, as well as the box itself, with designs inspired by Jack's very own frost patterns. And after sampling one of the chocolates, Jack was even more overjoyed. It was the best chocolate he had ever tried. He almost wanted to eat the whole box right then.

"Now, don't you go eating the whole box at once. We'll be scraping ya off tha ceiling." Bunny gave him a small scowl to let him know how serious he was.

"Guys, I don't really know what to say. You're amazing. Thank you so much." he said, looking around at the gifts spread all around him and the beautiful room covered in paper snowflakes. He paused for a moment, then grew worried again. "Wait, was I supposed to get you guys something, too?" he asked, panicking a bit.

"No, that's not how this works, Jack." Tooth laughed.

"We're not just celebrating your birthday, mate, we're celebrating you." Bunny shook his head, also laughing.

"That's why we do not need present. On your birthday, you are our present." North said, poking him gently in the chest.

Jack was shocked, not having understood it up until that moment. The word birthday. He hadn't thought about it very hard before. Birthday. They were celebrating the fact that he had been born, the fact that he was alive and around. No one had ever thanked him for just being alive. He glanced around at all of them, finally looking to Sandy, who nodded in agreement to everything the others had said.

He swallowed the lump in his throat and grinned. "I gotta do this birthday thing more often." he chuckled.

Well, you can probably tell I was inspired by that one Folger's Christmas commercial in the last bit. A lot of people on tumblr were joking about it and I had to, okay?

Thanks for reading!