A/N:All I can say is, I'm SO SORRY for the delay! Life has been rough the last months and writer's block is still bothering me.

I hope you enjoy this chapter anyway.

Jack had never felt so great in the entire three centuries of his existence. Full of energy, excitement and an unsuspected level of power which was kind of intimidating and thrilling at the same time. He could have turned the whole planet into a new ice age if he wanted to, what he wouldn't go ahead with, of course. From horrible pain and an exhausting coma to the top of the world, more than ready and fit to resume his duties. He never imagined such a drastic change could happen in such a short while.

As he flew over Canada he noticed that there were only scarce remains of snow left, even though the temperatures were still low. If it looked this way here already then he expected the USA and the other countries to be pretty much green instead of white. A winter without snow, ice, snowball fights and sleigh rides didn't deserve to be called winter. The Guardian of Fun definitely had a lot to catch up with.

Judging by his newly acquired strength Jack assumed it wouldn't take more than one day to spread enough snowfall and maybe a few overdue blizzards to reestablish the winterly scenery. After 12 hours he couldn't believe he had succeeded to do exactly that already without even feeling drained the slightest bit. It felt more like a warm-up than a strenuous task. Usually he would have needed to take a break, since spreading winter worldwide in just one day wasn't common and required a lot of energy and time. But now it would have been no problem for him to continue with the next planet. Maybe Man in Moon wished for some snow as well? Jack had to chuckle about the thought.

Speaking of which, the conversation with the entity came to his mind and he remembered that there was still another problem he had to solve. Fast as lightning he flew to the Antarctic, the perfect place for his plan. Once the winter spirit had reached his destination he circled over a snow field without any glaciers, only a wide and open infinity of white.

„That should do." he thought.

With slightly slower but still impressive speed he traversed the area a few times until he gathered enough courage.

„Okay, wind. We can do this. You have to trust me, this will work." Jack said out loud, but if he was honest it was also directed at himself.

After a deep breath the Guardian of Fun dropped his staff and sent it plummeting towards the ground. Unfortunately he followed doing exactly the same the moment his hand had let go of the ancient piece of wood.

„Oh come on!" he yelled as he dropped down like a rock and eventually crashed into a snowdrift, which cushioned his fall but could in no way be called a graceful and painless landing.

„Alright, this obviously did not work." Jack muttered cynically as he stood up and brushed the snow off his clothes.

His staff was lying only a few feet away from him and waiting for its owner to pick it up. The frost teen had hoped this would be easy, but of course it had to turn out to be a slightly more difficult task. He had to admit he had been sceptical and kind of nervous and the wind must have felt those insecurities. Whatever, he was going to succeed, no matter how long it was going to take. The wind was a stubborn being, but so was he. When he had a firm hold on his shepherd's crook again he stared at the sky with determination shining in his eyes.

„Listen to me, wind! We don't need this staff! You can carry me without it, I know you can! And you know it deep down as well, I'm sure of it. I trust you and you trust me, so let's give this another try, shall we?"

Jack sensed that the wind was still not fully convinced but decided to continue anyway. This time however he didn't fly up too high to make a possible crash at least a little less painful.

„It's not the staff which allows you to carry me. We are not dependent on it!" the young guardian repeated before he dropped it once more.

He thought he had flown on his own for a second, but then noticed the snowy ground coming dangerously close too quickly for his liking again. With a thud the teen landed on his behind and groaned in disappointment.

„Okay, I won't stop until we manage this!" Jack stated and crossed his arms to emphasize his resoluteness.

He wasn't eager for another literal downfall, but he also didn't intend to give up anytime soon. Instead of flying around he stayed where he was, ignoring the shepherd's crook next to him, and jumped up into the air in hopes of the wind catching him as soon as his feet had left the ground.

„Come on, just catch me! It's a piece of cake!" the white haired immortal encouraged his invisible companion.

He jumped up and down, each time praying for the wind to finally get a hang of this. For a short moment he floated longer in the air than the previous times, but only to drop back to the snow and ice benath him like a rock. Obviously the wind was indeed able to carry him without any extra tools, the main problem was its uncertainty. The fact that a weather phenomenon had emotional issues like this was rather strange, but that's the way it was. Maybe it had to be tricked to get the point across. And Jack already had an idea how he could do that.

With ease he created an identical replica of his staff, just that this one was made of ice. To make them look the same he applied a layer of ice on the real wooden one as well until both were shining in a transparent and glistening blue.

A smirk appeared on his face, this scheme had to work. Excitedly he grabbed both of the staffs and let the wind carry him high up into the sky. He could have stayed closer to the ground but he had to show his breezy friend that he was absolutely confident about this. After all the failures he decided it would be best to keep flying for a while to cause the wind to calm down a little again. When he had the impression everything was going well Jack assured him that they could do this together and that they should trust each other. Slowly he let go of one of the staffs, but instead of joining the plummet the wind kept him in its safe embrace as if nothing had happened. After all the Guardian of Fun was still holding the second staff in his hand. Jack silently cheered to himself and let the grin on his face widen even more. Full of joy he made loopings and dashed over fields of snow and inbetween icebergs.

"That was awesome! I knew we could do it!" he shouted while he flew back to the spot where he had dropped the other staff.

He could sense the wind's confusion and smiled cheekily as he summoned his powers back and the icy shepherd's crook dissolved into thousands of bright blue particles until nothing was left. Reflexively the wind let go of his master and let him spiral downwards all over again.

"You don't need that staff, you carried me without the real one and didn't even notice! I just proved what you're able to do!" Jack yelled as he crashed towards the freezing ground at breakneck speed.

Cringing he closed his eyes and prepared himself for another painful landing…which never came. To his surprise he was floating only a few feet above the surface of the ice field.

"Oh yeah! You did it! Thanks, wind!" the winter spirit let out in relief and joy.

Finally the wind had realized what was really important, namely him and his master working together and not relying on a piece of wood. With newly discovered confidence Jack was sent flying through the brisk air, quickly getting a hang of doing all the stunts he had previously needed his staff for. Maybe some more training was going to be necessary here and there, but for the most part it was going extremely well.

He couldn't wait to tell the other guardians about his achievement. But maybe he should keep it a secret for just a while longer. After all, it could be quite useful for future pranks. Smiling devishly he imagined people's reactions. He was going to save it for the perfect occasion someday. This would be fun.

In the evening Jack returned to the North Pole. He had promised his friends to come back as soon as he had fulfilled his winter duties. He couldn't blame them for their obvious worry after the events of the last weeks. So it wasn't much of a surprise to see all four guardians waiting for his return in the Globe Room.

"Did you even leave this place for a second?" the winter spirit chuckled as he landed next to his friends.

"Whatcha think, that I seriously choose this fridge over my Warren?" Bunny remarked sarcastically but with a hint of light-heartedness.

"Maybe?" Jack smirked and sat down on a comfy red airmchair next to the couch where Tooth and Sandy were sitting.

Bunny and North were occupying the remaining two armchairs, North's being visibly bigger and more luxurious than the other ones. The teen briefly wondered if the Australian rabbit was miffed about this, after all the rivalry between the two guardians was still a never-ending story. A faint smile crossed his face as he looked from one to the other, but just as Bunny was about to ask what the heck caused his amusement, the Russian Santa's firm but gentle voice rang through the room.

"I tracked you with Guardian Globe. When I noticed you were on your way back I alerted the others."

"Oh, yeah, the surveillance thing." Jack remembered.

Since North had invented that special device to locate each of the guardians Jack kept forgetting about its mere existence. Although he was rather sure his subconsciousness simply didn't like the idea of him being observed and therefore pushed that fact aside. But he had to admit it was kinda handy and after all, it was only used in cases of emergency. At least he hoped so.

"Are you alright?" Tooth suddenly interrupted his train of thought.

"Yes, just random thoughts."

"No, I mean are you alright health-wise? You've left so quickly and have been away all day and I assume you totally overexerted yourself again by catching up with your winter duties in such a short time and-"

"Tooth, calm down, I'm alright, really." Jack smiled and soothed her in an understanding tone.

"Actually I haven't felt this good in a long time. I'm not exhausted in the slightest, so everything is fine."

"You sure?" the fairy probed a little suspicious.

A part of her was worried about him lying just to ease their concern. What if he was still in a much worse condition than he admitted?

"You know that you can tell us everything."

"Crikey, just believe the lad, will ya?" Bunny tossed in out of the blue.

"He wouldn't lie ta us, I'm sure of that." he defended his younger comrade but at the same time sent a death glare in his direction.

Jack was very aware of what this meant and gulped.

'If ye're actually lyin' right now ye're SO gonna regret it.'

"Right, mate?" the furry guardian asked with a slightly challenging undertone.

"Huh? Oh yeah, totally! There's no reason for concern, really. I promise."

"Well then, now that this is clarified, there is something I wanted to ask you, Jack." North spoke after a second of general silence.

The winter spirit gave the big Russian a curious look and hoped whatever this was about would be a less serious topic. Maybe even something fun.

"Christmas is in few days and since it has been a while I wondered if you would like to join me for the sleigh ride around the globe again?"

A hearty smile was directed at the youth, who simply stared back dumbfoundedly. Several years ago North had allowed him for the first and only time to accompany him and help him distributing the gifts for children worldwide. It had been such a big honor for him and a kind of reward for his extraordinary support in the form of toy designs and prototypes. He had enjoyed that night so much and was a little disappointed when he wasn't asked to join the following years. So it was pretty clear how he was going to react to this offer.

"Are you kidding me? Of course I do!" he blurted out in excitement and anticipation, grinning from one ear to the other.

"Hah! Great! That is going to be epic once more!" Father Christmas laughed with the same display of emotions.

Jack was too distracted by his own joy to notice the other guardians exchanging amused and conspirational looks with each other.

Christmas Eve. After all the catastrophes, battles, fear and drama of the last weeks it was finally time for the, whether Bunny wanted to admit it or not, most important holiday of the year.

Jack had waited more or less patiently at the workshop and helped the yetis loading the sleigh with the sheer neverending mass of presents. As usual on this special day North appeared in his awe-inspiring red clothes which were trimmed with white fur and adorned by intricate golden ornaments. A fitting hat, belt and boots completed the trademark outfit.

When Jack had jumped into the sleigh and taken his seat next to the Russian Santa, ready for take-off, he was suddenly faced with a blue and white fabric which was held directly in front of him. Questioningly he looked at his older comrade for a moment before he took it out of his hands.

"Special night, special clothes." North explained matter-of-factly but with a wide grin and winked at the frost teen.

It was a brandnew jacket in various shades of blue with a light blue fur collar and a detailed silver snowflake symbol sewed into the breast pockets. Jack immediately loved it. With joy radiating from him he put it on and stood proudly next to his mentor.

"It's awesome, thanks a lot!"

"Haha, looking good, Jack! Now let's deliver those presents!" the Guardian of Wonder bellowed and gave his reindeer the command to go.

The night was clear and chilly, like a perfect winter night was supposed to be. Millions of stars shone from the midnight blue sky as the Spirits of Christmas and Winter traveled all around the globe to bring gifts to every child who had been nice during the year. It was hard to tell whose motivation and excitement was bigger since both guardians had immense fun and felt as if they were doing this for the very first time. Jack insisted on delivering the presents for his believers on his own and while this would have been a no-go 10 years ago, North merely chuckled now and shouted in amusement :

"Well, then go ahead!"

As he looked after the eager young man the sudden thought that they had almost lost him forever crossed his mind. He quickly shook it off. He couldn't and didn't want to imagine a world without Jack Frost. The world needed him. The children needed him. And the guardians needed him.

He would be eternally grateful to Man in Moon for helping their youngest and guiding him back to them.

After a possibly record-breaking present delivery North and Jack arrived back at Santoff Clausen. The reindeer were taken to their stables and given their well-deserved food before the two guardians decided it was the perfect time to get something to eat themselves. Jack assumed the others would show up soon. Every Christmas they gathered at the workshop for a big party and while he hadn't explicitly asked about it he was sure it was going to take place like every year.

But he hadn't expected this.

Darkness filled the entire Globe Room except for the illuminated Christmas tree in its center. The usual gigantic conifer, which had always been decorated with all imaginable kinds of colourful festive ornaments, was now replaced by a blue fir tree. Much paler than the lush dark green of its relative, but beautiful in its own special way. What caught Jack's attention even more were the hundreds of snowflake and icicle ornaments, all in unique shapes, different sizes and shimmering in shades of white, silver and blue. Some were sparkling, others had more a metallic shine, several were made from glass, a few others carved from wood and half of them were lightened to give the whole tree a magical appearance. At the top of it throned an elaborate crystal snowfalke which reflected the light and sent dancing sparks all over the place.

Jack was in awe. Even he as the Spirit of Winter himself couldn't have created such a masterpiece, he thought. Just as he wanted to compliment North and the yetis for it the old Russian beat him to the punch.

"This year Christmas tree is in your honor." he spoke solemnly.

Puzzled cerulean eyes stared at him, then at the breathtakingly beautiful tree and back to him.

"You did this…for me?" Jack asked flabbergasted.

"Yes!" North let out a hearty laugh and quickly reminded himself to applaud the yetis for their amazing creation later.

"But that is not all!" he continued just as his young friend had comprehended this was really done for him.

"What?" the frost teen inquired and right after the words had left his mouth a firework of golden sand ligthtened up the remaining darkness.

Millions of glittering grains of dreamsand exploded in the air all around the Globe of Belief, their magical glow turning the hall into a fantastic place of wonder. As the last glowing particles slowly vanished the lights were switched on and Jack was greeted with a loud collective "Surprise!".

In front of a group of yetis Bunny, Tooth and Sandy were standing at the other side of the room and smiling brightly at their dumbfounded comrade.

Only now he noticed that the magnificent Christmas tree wasn't the only decoration that had obviously been inspired by his element. Garlands resembling snowflakes and icicles were hanging from the ceiling, articifial snowballs had been piled up in several corners, small conifers which looked like they were covered with freshly fallen snow including the fitting decoration were placed on the fireplace and the large table in the center of the room. Said table almost seemed to crash under the sheer amount of food on it, so much that the pale blue tablecloth with glittering white snowflakes was barely visible. Upon further inspection Jack realized that every one of his favourite snacks, meals, desserts and drinks had been lovingly prepared and placed there. Sandwiches, cookies, muffins, cakes, pizza, hot chocolate, eggnog, grilled chicken, fish, there was seriously nothing left to be desired. Even the cupcakes had been designed in a winterly theme with white cream and silver snowflakes on top.

The Guardian of Fun was so overwhelmed that it took him a moment to see the 4 tiered cake in the middle of the table. Each part was painted in detail with a different scenery. The lowest one resembled a winter forest, the next one showed children having a snowball fight, followed by snowy mountains and the upper piece was decorated with snowflakes in various shapes. On top of the cake a stack of snowflakes made of white chocolate with a pearly metallic shine completed the culinaric and artistic masterpiece.

Jack was pretty sure the Easter Bunny himself was responsible for the perfect painting job on it. Still completely dumbfounded and at a loss at what to say he stared at his friends with a half opened mouth, then at the piles of food, the giant Christmas tree and back at them again.

North broke out in laughter and patted the youth's back heartily, causing him to stumble one step forward and snap out of his daze.

"I hope this means you like it?" the bigger man chuckled.

"You bet! T-this is awesome!" Jack grinned full of joy.

After some further gazing at the wonderfully detailed decoration everywhere, the frost teen and the Russian Santa walked to the other guardians, who were eagerly waiting for the duo to join them.

"Glad ya two finally decided ta show up!" Bunny greeted them in a tone which made it obvious that what he really wanted to say was "I'm so happy to see you, my dear friends!"

Tooth snorted and crossed her arms as she looked at the anthropmorphic rabbit with a raised eyebrow. Then she diverted her attention back to the winter and Christmas spirit.

"Finally, he says! You were so fast at delivering the gifts that we almost didn't manage to finish all this in time. We couldn't even talk to Bunny while he was painting the cake because he was so concentrated and kept looking at the clock to make sure he would get it done early enough."

"Ya had ta mention that now, didn't ya?" the Australian asked calmer than the others had expected.

"Well, yes." Tooth smirked and continued.

"He kept repeating how the cake had to look perfect and insisted on no one bothering him because he had to give his best, just for Jack."

"Tooth?" came a grumble from Bunnymund.

"Yes?"

"Ya wanna eat a cupcake so ya'll finally stop talkin'?"

"`Maybe later."

"Crikey, my nerves, I tell ya!" he threw his arms up in the air, what earned him a loud chuckle from Jack and North and a silent one from Sandy.

"Yeah, yeah, laugh, ye're not a big help here either." Bunny snorted as he glared at the Sandman, but everyone knew it was meant in a lighthearted way.

The little golden man merely shrugged while still grinning broadly.

"Awww, I missed your grumpiness." Jack teased his furry friend with a smile.

"I'm not grumpy, mate."

"Yeaaaaah, I can totally see that."

"Oh, shut up, Frosty!" Bunny smirked and playfully punched the teen's shoulder.

"Enough now! I bet you are all hungry, so let's enjoy our meal!" North's voice suddenly echoed through the Globe Room.

Everyone nodded in agreement and sat down around the large wooden table as yetis and elves joined them to keep them company and celebrate the successful Christmas as well as the Guardian of Fun's heroic deeds and his recovery.

Laughter and cheerful voices filled the room. The smell of delicious pastries, dishes and hot drinks was hanging in the air. Soon a few yetis started playing music, mainly classic Christmas songs, which immediately caused North to sing along with a lot of fervor. In times like these Bunny cursed his large ears and sensitive sense of hearing. Tooth and Jack found the large man's sudden vocal outburst rather amusing while Sandy joyfully clapped his hands in the rhythm of the songs.

After several hours Jack decided to go and get some fresh air. He had been enjoying the feast, the music and everything, but he wasn't made for staying inside a loud, stifling room with a crowd of people for too long. North and Tooth were busy discussing the pros and cons of sugary snacks and Sandy had just ordered his 14th mug of eggnog from one of the yetis. Bunnymund was the only one to notice the young immortal leaving the party set. Even though he assumed the winter spirit most likely just needed a moment for himself he couldn't ignore his own overprotectiveness and paranoia. Maybe he wasn't feeling well and sneaked away to not worry them again? If that was the case it would be wise to follow him, just to make sure he was alright.

Jack had walked to one of the side rooms and sat down on the windowsill after opening the large window to allow the chilly breeze from outside to come in. He had just leaned back on the mahagony wooden frame when a soft sigh left his lips.

"You've got to practice creeping up on people a little more, you know?" he grinned as the Easter Bunny entered the room through the door which had previously been left ajar.

Curse those old hinges for creaking at the slightest touch and giving away his presence that way. Coughing slightly out of embarassment of being caught the Guardian of Hope approached his comrade and sat down next to him.

"Sorry, mate. Just wanted ta check ye're okay...are ya?"

"Yes, I'm fine. You worry too much." Jack smiled to calm him down.

"After what happened I fear I ain't gonna be able ta stop worryin' for quite a while." the Australian confessed.

Both males stared at the empty floor in front of their feet in awkward silence. Bunnymund just couldn't get rid of the image of the teen lying on the ground, screaming and convulsing in pain. It haunted his mind, as well as the constant guilt of not having been able to protect him from Pitch. He was the older spirit, he should have been stronger and yet he had failed. Jack sensed his uneasiness and put a reassuring hand on his furry shoulder.

"Listen, if anything is bothering me in the future, I will come to you first. I promise."

Bunny appreciated the trust and the offer, but couldn't hold himself back from letting out a snort. For some reason he couldn't imagine the Guardian of Fun running to him if he had a problem. The boy was too stubborn, proud and independent for that, he thought.

"I'm gonna be sure ta remind ya of yer promise. But thanks, really. If I wanna admit it or not, I've grown quite accustomed to ya, mate. And I won't ever allow something bad happenin' ta ya again. That's my promise."

Jack had no idea what to say or how to react. For Bunny's standards this had been a full-blown display of emotions, care and brotherly love. And the winter spirit hadn't been prepared for it. So all he managed to do was keep smiling gratefully until he decided it was time to lighten up the mood.

"Thank you. I kinda like you as well." he grinned.

A light chuckle from the 6'1 rabbit proved that he had fully comprehended what the white-haired youth meant with his casual remark.

"Oh, 'kinda'? Don't ya go breakin' my heart, Frostbite!" he laughed so wholeheartedly that it made Jack briefly wonder if the pooka might have drunk a mug of eggnog too much earlier.

"Don't tell me you are going to sing a song now." he chuckled.

"Crikey, no way! North's awful singin' is enough torture for tonite!" the Australian blurted out.

"Well, we better go back before they send a search party after us. Don't ya believe Tooth, she's been the most paranoid one of all of us!" Bunny spoke and gently ruffled the winter spirit's hair before he stood up and headed for the door.

Jack shook his head in amusement as the Guardian of Hope turned around again.

"Whatcha waitin' for? That cake ain't gonna eat itself!"