North knew it was a long shot. He was putting his heart on the line, and his pride, but as a warrior and as a guardian, he had risked more. And should the worst-case scenario come to pass, Jack would at least know that the offer was there.

"It is right this way."

He had spent so long throwing himself into his work as a way to deal with his guilt. And although the children of the world were thrilled with the surplus results, the problem wasn't being solved, just tiptoed around.

"You will love it."

The others didn't know he had done this, just that he had been extra busy as of late. However, as his signature holiday was coming up, that was hardly unusual.

"Here we are." He stopped and announced grandly.

Jack looked up at him excitedly. "Behind the door?" He reached out to the solid oak door, clasped his small hand around the polished doorknob built for the hands of North and the Yetis, and tugged it open.

North, although he himself had designed the room and built most everything in it, couldn't resist gazing around in pride. The far wall was nothing but windows. The boy would have the best view in the North Pole, and all the cold air and escape hatches he could want. North had made a point of deactivating Santoff Clausen's heating system in this room, and had instead installed an air conditioning unit. Before retrieving Jack, he had switched it on and had a little fun setting up some examples as to why he had put it in in the first place.

"Are those… snowmen? Like, real snowmen? Inside?" Jack grinned broadly as he spun around to take it all in. Santa was a master of wonder, of course, but it still warmed his heard to see the disbelieving expression on the face of a boy who was practically the embodiment of fun.

"They most certainly are." He had waterproofed the room so the extended exposure to snow wouldn't damage it, and left the windows open the night before. Now everything was covered in a light dusting of white powder.

"North… wow. This-," Jack paused by the oversized bed and let his joyous expression drop. "I don't know what to say. What is all this?"

"Yours. It is yours." North walked over to the closet and slid the door open. "I had yetis make you some clothes, as well. You can't just keep going around in same clothes all the time."

"I… This is… mine?" North, too, let his smile drop as he watched Jack continue to examine everything. The piles of stuffed dolphins, penguins, bears, puppies, and yetis at the head of the bed, their fur softer than any he had felt before (though he had never felt a brand new stuffed animal before, either), the wide beams hanging just a few feet below the insanely high ceiling (should he desire a perch with a little more altitude), the bowls North had set out for him, each filled with a different snowman accessory (coal buttons and eyes, striped scarves, carrots, perfect twig arms, stovepipe hats, and he had even dug up a few old pipes), books from every era, mainly of fantastical adventures and exciting new creatures, decorating a bookshelf in the corner.

"Jack, you can live here." North wasn't used to being soft, but this child was one he had failed for the past three centuries. One who had had the strength to team up with those who had failed him to take down the Boogeyman himself. He needed to make things right. "This room… is for you."

"I have my own place-,"

"Use this room when you are here, then. Or when Burgess is too warm." North knew he was pleading, but a lake was no place for a guardian. Especially not when the rest of them were living so lavishly.

Jack still seemed hesitant. "I can't just move this far away. Not from the kids-," He broke off with an almost imperceptible widening of his eyes, but then continued on. If North hadn't been studying his face so intently, he would have missed it. Dismissed it for a stutter. "The Burgess kids are expecting snow days now that school's almost out." He grinned airily, pulling on his aloof mask like a security blanket. The offer of a permanent home, of sudden stability, scared him. North could see it as easily as he had seen Bunny's fear of flying, or Tooth's fear of plaque. But there had just arisen another topic that needed addressing, no matter how badly he didn't want to have to be the one to say it.

"Jack, you are immortal. Is not-," he heaved a sigh heavy with many lifetimes' worth of experience and passed a hand over his broad face. "You should not get too attached to individual children. Their time always comes, and it never gets easier to see. Is why we distanced ourselves from them in the first place."

The atmosphere of wonder, joy and excitement was officially gone. Jack clutched his staff tightly, body positioned slightly behind it, as if it were a shield capable of protecting him from North's words. When he finally spoke, his voice was thick and his gaze was glued to the floor. "I know. Trust me, North; I know that better than you think. I just… you wouldn't understand. They need me."

"Jack, you are a guardian. They need the belief. They need what we protect for them: wonder, memories, dreams, hope, and fun. Imagine what Jamie's life will be like when he's a grown man still getting visits from a person nobody else can see."

"I'm not talking about Jamie. I-," Jack seemed to realize he'd said too much and shut his mouth with an audible snap.

"Jack?"

"I… I have a son."

Yyyyy

Well well well! What have we here? Looks to be another remedy for writer's block on another story! This one, though, has been in my head for so long my choices were either write it down now, or forget about it all together. Please let me know how I'm doing on this! Review or Pitch will come down your chimney! :3