Gratitude

Tooth smiled when she saw the young winter spirit out on the balcony. She hovered out the open doors and rested her arms silently on the railing. Her lavender eyes took in the glowing moon, the beautiful black night sky, and the glistening, white snow covering the ground.

A few months ago, Tooth would have shivered at the cold. But, spending time around Jack Frost, she got used the steady cold that seemed to emanate off of his body.

"Hey, Tooth." Jack said quietly. She looked at him and saw that he was smiling at her. Not his mischievous smile, or his fake smile that he used when he was hiding something, but a genuine smile that made her smile back.

"Hi." Tooth looked into his eyes, and she could tell that he was thinking hard about something. "What are you thinking about?"

"Oh, I don't know." Jack looked down, a silly grin still playing at his lips. Tooth could still see his eyes through his hair hanging down in his face. He seemed to be debating something in his mind. He looked back up at her. "You want to know? Alright."

Tooth tilted her head and looked at Jack curiously.

"Well, I was thinking about how a few months ago, I was completely alone. And now, well now I have all of you guys, and Jamie and his friends. It's just so… different. But, it's great." Jack looked down and gently grabbed Tooth's hand and held it in both of his chilled hands. "Sometimes I wonder if I went off the deep-end and that I dreamt all this up in my crazy mind. But it isn't and… and I just feel so… so happy. I mean, I'm the Guardian of Fun, it's not like I've never experienced happiness or joy before, but this is different. It's more like a comforting, content happiness. Does that make sense?" Jack cocked his head at her.

"Yeah, I understand." Tooth nodded.

"Good." Jack didn't say anything for a while. Then he suddenly spoke up, without turning to her, but just kept gazing out at the sky instead. "My whole life being Jack Frost, I had no idea what it was that I was truly supposed to be doing, or what was supposed to happen. A-and now, now I have a family." Jack said in a kind of awed voice. "I-It's just so… amazing and there is…" Jack looked at Tooth. "There is love. I've never felt love. And now so many people care about me, and they actually talk to me and can touch me and see me! I just can't really explain how grateful I am that I finally have that."

Tooth saw a tear slowly slip down Jack's cheek. He quickly wiped it away with one hand and chuckled.

"Sorry." He said.

"No, don't be sorry." Tooth smiled. Jack's eyes met hers and he flashed her a smile, one that made her fascination for teeth gush.

"Did anything I said make sense?" Jack asked.

"Yes." Tooth then frowned. "So, you've never actually been loved by anyone, Jack?"

"No, not as Jack Frost at least." He said. How sad! Tooth thought.

"How did you not go insane?" Tooth asked. Jack shrugged.

"To be honest, I don't know. I almost did, several times. But, I don't want to think about that anymore." Jack said. Tooth nodded.

"The point is this. This new family I have, this foreign feeling of love, physical touch, being seen, heard, and believed in; it's changed me." Jack looked deep into her eyes, and his free hand resting on her shoulder. "I'm a new person, Tooth. And it's all because of the other Guardians, and you."

"Jack, I can't imagine what you've been through. And I am so sorry that we weren't there for you all those years that you spent alone. I wish I could go back in time and fix it. But, I want you to know that, I will do as much as I can to make up for it." Tooth said. She felt awful. Just awful.

"Tooth, you don't understand. I just said that I'm grateful for you excepting me now. It's okay, what happened, happened, and we can't change it. I just want to be happy now." Jack said, moving closer.

Tooth blushed a little at his proximity. "A-are you happy then?"

"Tooth!" Jack said, irritated. "I just said that I am!"

"Oops, sorry." Tooth chuckled a little. Jack sighed. They stood there for several minutes, looking out from the balcony. Once again, Jack looked down into her eyes, and Tooth saw something in his own that made her heart flutter.

"Thank you for caring." He whispered. Then, his eyes seemed to ask, "Can I?" and Tooth made a small smile. Jack slowly leaned his head down closer, and his eye's closed. Tooth stopped breathing for a moment when his shockingly cold, soft lips brushed hers. She hesitated before she leaned into his face, and she closed her eyes as well. She felt him smile against her lips after he tilted his head, causing their faces to get closer. His hair brushed her forehead she supposed her feathers tickled him slightly when he managed to giggle a little.

Jack pulled away and took in a deep breath as he smiled contentedly. "Now I am perfectly happy." He said softly. Tooth wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder. She listened to him breathe, in and out, in and out.

"You don't know what this means to me." Jack said in her ear.

"What do you mean?" Tooth asked.

"You-you love me. And that's all I could ever want, someone to love me. But, you're not just someone, and your love is different, obviously, from the other Guardian's. And that, that means a lot to me." Jack chuckled. "To go from having nothing and no one, to having all this is… is pretty shocking, slightly overwhelming, and greatly appreciated."

Tooth gave him a sad smile. This boy has had an un-believably lonely, awful life. And she was going to change that. Because he loved her, and she loved him. Tooth loved Jack Frost. And that's all, it seemed, that Jack wanted.

"You poor boy. I think you need another hug." Tooth said, hugging him again. "And you'll be getting a lot more in the future."

"Thanks, Tooth. I think I need them too." Jack hugged her back tightly.

…

At that moment for Jack, his long life couldn't possibly get any better.

A/N

This is a one-shot by the way. :) I hope ya'll liked it! :D

I really just love RainbowSnowcone, and I think it's adorable. It took me awhile to figure out the perfect ending for this though. :) I will not be doing a sequel to this one-shot, sorry. But I do have a new RotG one-shot series coming out soon. So, be prepared for some future awesomeness! I will give you this though, the title will be, "Talents of Frost."

TTYL!

~Annanarra