An Overdue Winter

"Eighty degrees in the middle of February? Sounds like we're down under and not in the northern hemisphere. Could it be you're losing your touch, Jacky?"

Normally on good behavior since his induction into the Guardians (or as good of behavior as Jack Frost was capable of), he found himself glaring at the overgrown bunny that squatted near a giggling little girl, flicking her hair and letting her grab at his legs and scream in delight when he backed away at the last second. "You know, I could always send a nice blast of arctic air through the entire country at the end of March..."

"You wouldn't dare," Bunnymund called nonchalantly, his eyes solely on the little girl now darting after him.

"Wanna make that a bet? Easter would be so cold everywhere in the states..."

"Do it and I'll tell North who was really responsible for all those model cars turning rainbow colors."

Jack smirked and leaned his long figure against the streetlight. "Sometimes I'm thankful that only the kiddos can see you. If I was their mother, I'd panic at seeing my daughter playing with a six-foot rabbit." He paused. "Or maybe not. She'd probably just mistake you for a kangaroo and call the local zoo to come pick up their escapee."

Comments like that usually sparked a bit of annoyance with Bunnymund, but other than a slight movement of his ears (which made Jack chuckle), he made no other sign that the remark bothered him. "Keep it up, Ice Boy. I've got tons of eggs that do all sorts of things...and they're ones I don't normally give to these little ones."

The smirk vanishing, Jack opened his mouth to retort, but was brought up short by a call behind him. "Jordan! Mom said dinner's ready!" a teenage boy yelled, running up to the girl.

"JACK!" she screamed and raced towards him, flinging her arms aroung his waist.

That had the winter Guardian coming to a halt in all he was doing. His eyes widened and his hand trembled. The teengaer named Jack picked up his sister, laughing, and carried her off, chastising her for leaving the safety of their yard.

"Hey." Jack felt a hand clap down onto his shoulder. "Ya okay?"

"Mmm." He didn't think his name was still in the same fashion it had been years and years ago, and the most that he did when it got called was turn around expectantly, only to realize that most children still couldn't see him. But her voice...it sounded an awful lot like...but still...

"...you later then, mate. Easter's only a month away, and I'm pretty busy with things..."

The girl had turned around in her brother's arms, smiling a big toothless grin, and then it disappeared. Her eyes locked with Jack's, and suddenly he knew. Somehow...someway...

"...listening to me?"

He raised his hand and a snowflake appeared in his palm. Smiling gently, he blew it towards her, and she snatched it from the air, cooing. When it didn't melt in her hand, she giggled loudly. "Whatcha doing back there, Jo?" her brother asked, curious.

More snowflakes appeared, and her tiny little hands swatted out at them, trying to catch them all. Clouds began to form above their heads, thick ones that didn't quite look like the thunderstorm clouds native to the area. The air grew frigid in a heartbeat, and Jack saw both the boy and girl tense up. "What the..." he heard Bunnymund say behind him.

Flurries fell from the sky, and then--barely minutes later--a more define snowfall came down, big flakes settling and sticking to the ground. It didn't take long for many of the neighbors to come out in confusion, hands stretched out to catch some snowflakes. Several little kids let out delighted shouts and ran forward out of their houses. Their parents could not stop looking at the sky, more puzzled than anything. Still, a few of them looked amazed, and he heard one man say, "But it was just hot! I swear!"

Jack settled against the low garden wall of one house, grinning. It was February still. They hadn't had a white winter in a while, right?

---

Towards the end of the day, Bunnymund came up next to him, shaking his head. "Congratulations. You've just closed down a town that hasn't seen more than a couple flurries here and there for about thirty years."

"North and West Texas get the snow," Jack replied, forming a beautiful snowflake and letting it drift towards a group of girls that had thrown on all their actual winter clothes to come play outside. "Why shouldn't these people enjoy it, too?"

"Fair point." Bunnymund straightened up. "Anyway, best be off, mate. You carry on here with whatever you have in store for these folks, but I've got a busy schedule." A cloud of dust and a few frantic footfalls later,  and the bunny was gone, off to his little paradise to do who knew what.

"Ummm...Mister?"

He started, nearly falling off the wall in the process. The little girl named Jo stood shyly by his legs, her chubby little arms clasped behind her back. "You're...Jack Frost?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"Yeah?" Why did he say it like he wasn't sure? Of course he was Jack Frost!

"My mama told me 'bout you," she whispered in awe, her big brown eyes growing larger. "She said you gave us snow. We don't got snow EVER."

He nodded. "I gave you snow."

She shuffled her feet, still very shy. "How come no one else can see you?"

Rather than giving her a normal answer, he bent down next to her (but still not eye-level) and held out his hand. She stared confusedly at his empty palm before gasping. A small crystal formation began to take shape, and soon she was looking at a tiny crystallized version of herself. "Because you're very special, Jordan. Grown-ups can't see me, okay? So you have to keep it a secret!" he said in a playful hush, pressing one pale finger to his lips.

She nodded vigorously and clamped her own hands over her mouth. "Secret!"

"Yep!"

With that, she giggled shrilly and flung her arms around him, hugging him tightly. That made him stop and stare, his hand hovering above her head. "Thank you, Jack Frost!"

It took him a second, but he relaxed and wrapped his long, thin arms around her, returning the embrace. "You're welcome, Jo."