Hello and welcome to another story of mine! I swear I'll finish every single one on my profile one day, but I couldn't ignore the plot that had jumped in front of me. This is a fill for a RoTG kink meme and you can find the link of the original prompt on my profile. This story isn't betaed and English isn't my first language so please let me know if you find lots of mispelled words or mistakes! For now, I hope you'll enjoy it!

"At the end of the day, it isn't where I came from. Maybe home is somewhere I'm going and never have been before."
― Warsan Shire

Chapter I.

An entire year had passed since Pitch's downfall, yet the Guardians of Childhood still had absolutely no idea of how to deal with a child on their hands. That had been terribly obvious since the very first day they decided to kidnap Jack Frost and make him part of their weird little group, and he knew he shouldn't be surprised. They claimed to be protectors of the children when they didn't even have enough time for children, for they were too busy dealing with briberies and holidays to care about what was really important. They had simply forgotten that gifts and quarters and colored eggs could be ignored or overlooked - special and unique moments, however, could never be replaced. They had forgotten that the smile of a child was more important than painting eggs, than slipping coins under pillows. They had forgotten that a hug was more important than a toy. It had made Jack wonder, more times than he cared to count, if he would ever belong. And twice more times they had proved he would never be part of them.

It hadn't been just those three hundred years of loneliness, of being invisible and ignored by every human and almost every spirit in the world. It hadn't been just the whole Easter fiasco - that still stung deep inside him, like a wound that refused to heal properly even if he forced himself not to think about it, about the disappointment he had caused and felt.

It was the fact that they always refused to see him as more than a trickster. Jack Frost was no fool. To them he was just an irresponsible troublemaker, and he had noticed it only a few days after taking his place as 'Guardian of Fun'. He had noticed how different he was, in too many ways. He visited children and played with them instead of being locked up in some hideout. He loved being seen, touched, talked to- and even if his believers were only a few children here and there, it didn't make things less wonderful. Children enjoyed his presence, his tricks and games. His fellow Guardians, however... they simply seemed not to know what to do with him whenever he passed by their homes in an attempt to visit and maybe know a bit more about his new 'friends'. Often Jack stood quietly during a meeting, playing with his snowflakes instead of really participating because his opinion would be as useful as snow falling during summer. He was the youngest of the group, therefore he knew nothing about being a Guardian yet. Why would they listen to him when they were older and wiser than a winter spirit?

And even if he wanted to retort, to show them he did know more than they'd ever understand, deep inside he knew it was just pointless.

Why do I even bother to come here, he thought, watching as a fresh snowflake danced on the tip of his fingers. It's not like they need me now... and something inside him insisted on burn painfully everytime he wondered if they wouldn't need him anymore now that Pitch was no longer a threath, a bad dream that had been brushed off without a second thought. And Jack knew he shouldn't feel so used, he knew it was just a childish feeling trying to cloud his mind - but he was a child, fated to be forever a boy no matter what he did or felt. Pale fingers curled around the ancient staff in a tight grip as he forced himself to think about something, anything else. He shouldn't dwell on the fact that he, a child for all that matters, had been abandoned by the Guardians of Childhood for three centuries. If Man in Moon himself, the one that pulled him out of the frozen lake and gave him a new life, had cared nothing for all that time, why would anyone else care?

"-not even listenin', again!" Bunnymund's harsh tone echoed loudly, suddenly close enough not to be ignored. Jack blinked a few times, confusion showering on his young features, and somehow it seemed to anger the Pooka even more. "Will ya never stop bein' an irresponsible brat?!"

What?

"What?" The snow spirit furrowed his brows, searching in his mind what he had done in the past hour to make himself a target of so much unnecessary rage, yet there was nothing to recall. He did what he always did during another guardian meeting - sit quietly by the open window and wait for someone to acknowledge his presence sooner or later, listening to Wind's gentle words while the others argued over another stupid argument about toys or eggs. "What are you even talking about, kangaroo?"

And he knew it'd just infuriate the Easter Bunny even more but he couldn't resist the chance- his nerves had woken up all at once due the sudden verbal attack, and he wouldn't let the Pooka get out of that unharmed, even if he didn't want a fight now. It worked better than he had expected, for it had taken only a mere second for Bunny's fur bristle wildly. Really, what was wrong with those people...? Jack didn't even think before slipping off the windowsill, standing as tall as his young body could manage, staff resting lazily against his shoulder - ready to flee at any moment, to let the Wind take him home before enough harm had been caused. Why did every meeting need to end up in another useless fight? They were comrades, they should take care and look out for each other! Jack could understand why Bunny was so distressed - with Easter just around the corner, the Pooka wanted to make sure everything would be perfect but it didn't mean he could relieve his stress on anyone on his way.

"All we're saying, Jack..." Tooth said softly, fluttering in front of the giant bunny to prevent him from saying more right now. Maybe Jack could thank her about it later... "You have responsibilities and... you're not doing them. You should spend less time with the children. We know you like to be around Jamie and the others, but... you're a Guardian, not a child."

The noise that almost escaped his throat could be named as 'pathetic' yet he swallowed it back before it even had enough time to reach his lips. They really... were blaming him for staying away during meetings? They were blaming him for not participating when they were the ones that never listened to whatever he had to say, for wanting to spend time with those that wanted him around? That was... he didn't even know what to say. For a moment he dared to look at North and Sandy, he dared to hope one of them would offer him some support but... there was none. Not even the Guardian of Dreams, the one that had always been closer to him than the others, was looking at him! It almost felt like Easter fiasco again. The grip around his staff faltered for a second before he took a harsh breath, the lump on his throat making it hard to think and concentrate. The Wind howled dangerously outside the Globe Room, shaking windows and wrapping his body in her gentle, invisible hands, willing to take him away in that very moment. He couldn't stay there anymore, and she knew it.

At least someone cared for him...

With a soft nod that meant nothing at all he allowed the Wind to carry him outside the window and into the cold weather of the Pole. How couldn't they understand him? It wasn't so difficult! He had been alone for three centuries, and the children of Burgess had spoiled him with so much attention - and somehow he had believed his new 'family' would give him as much affection as anyone else. But old habits die hard, and the Guardians still worried more about their 'responsibilities' than about each other... The Wind brushed his hair gently, as a mother would do to her distressed son, trying to lift his spirits and push those saddening thoughts away from his mind. He was a free spirit, after all. He didn't belong in a place full of hard work and deadlines, she said softly, he didn't need holidays or briberies to make children happy. He just needed his snow and his fun, and that was what children really cherished. Don't be sad frost boy, she said. We'll play and play until you smile again.

And she was so determined in making him feel better that neither the Wind nor Jack noticed the strange blizzard that had formed out of nowhere - a powerful blizzard that didn't come from his stress, and he noticed it a bit too late, when there was no way to get out of its way. Before he could stop himself, he was already lost in the storm of snow that felt wrong, painful against his skin, and no matter what he did the blizzard didn't subdue under his powers- no, it only seemed to get stronger by the second. Pure fear ebbed and flowed freely through his body as Wind's grip faltered and then disappeared completely even if he was still clinging at his staff tightly, as he felt himself falling from the skies with no one to hold nor help him. Why was he so scared of falling, though? It had happened so many times before, and he had survived every one of them. But it felt different, as if he was being... sucked into something - and the realization made him panic and struggle even more, but the blizzard refused to let go of him.

The ground was getting closer and closer now. Never before the snow looked so terrifying, and for the first time in his life Jack Frost wanted to avoid it at all costs. In his blind agitation he closed his eyes, not wanting to see nor feel the pain that soon would explode through all his body-

And then he felt the Wind around him once more, placing him gently on something warm and soft. His hands ran through the ground, feeling the fresh grass against his pale fingers. Confusion invaded his mind, replacing fear and distress in a matter of second. To where did go all that snow from before? There was no grass on the Pole and the snow couldn't have melted that quickly, so... maybe he wasn't on the Pole anymore. Yes, that made some sense but... Could a blizzard have taken him that far? And his head chose that exact moment to hurt painfully, not allowing him to think past that point. When he tried to move and stand up, his body also seemed not to respond anymore, his strength suddenly vanished. Well he couldn't care less. Sleeping sounded rather pleasant right now... And before Jack couldn't do much but simply accept it, consciousness slipped from him and darkness surrounded him once more, as safe and relaxing as a mother's embrace.

And for the first time in a long time, he felt at home.

To be continued...

Reviews, criticisms, etc will be more than appreciated!
Thank you so much for reading and see you on next chapter~!