Title: Revert
Synopsis: Jack Frost has given up his Guardianship. Why? Well, part of the reason is his first believers. But there’s so much more then that. Follow Jack through his life and struggles of adjusting to humanity. Make new friends and discover how awkward life actually is. And… there are some things just can’t stay in the past.
Pairing: Human!Jack x Older!Sophie
Alternate Link: Here

[Chapter One] [Chapter Two] [Chapter Three]

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The kitchen was silent and still once Jack finished his story. He chewed his lip, watching Susan as she sat back thoughtfully. Her children were wary of her movement, waiting for her to say something. Anything. 

“It’s true, Mom.” Jamie said, breaking the silence. “All of it.”

She held up a hand to silence him. Jack could see thoughts churning and her mind reeling. His grip on Sophie’s hand tightened. She twisted herself to face him fully and placed her other hand on her intertwined fingers.

Sketchbooks and photographs were place in front of Susan. Jack’s staff leaned against the wall behind him. There wasn’t much proof of, well, anything. She couldn’t see him in the photos. Sophie’s pictures through the years displayed before the woman.

This was bad. This was awful. This didn’t work, Jack could already tell. 

“You see,” Susan pointed to one of Sophie’s colored sketches of Jack Frost. “This is who I thought my children were talking about when they spoke of Jack Frost as children. They used their imagination and this is the shared image they came up with. As a mother, I was proud. Not many of the other children really had that kind of creativity anymore. We live in a digital age, right? Most children lose interest in playing pretend. Jamie’s friends were in on it, though. And so was one of Sophie’s friends. But even they stopped talking about Jack Frost after a while.”

Susan flipped through the pages carefully. “Jamie and Sophie never did. They just stopped calling him Jack Frost. Left it at Jack. They talked about this boy I’d never met since they were children and I knew they were keeping some sort of secret. They would stop talking sometimes when I walked in. There was sometimes an empty seat somewhere, as if it was actually occupied.

“You two might not realize it, but I did notice the weird things. It first started when you were kids. The one time, I put Sophie down for a nap.” She raised an amused eyebrow at the girl. “You were fighting it so hard. So, I left you in your room, knowing you. And knowing you’d tire yourself out enough to pass out. But… I heard you laughing and playing and talking to someone. No one was there… but I watched you for a while. Then, you were lifted off the ground. By some invisible force. It brought you over to the bed and laid with you. And you passed right out. It was the strangest thing up to that point. You seemed to be floating, as if you were sleeping on an invisible person. And once you were out, you were tucked in, the window opened. And I walked in, trying to make sense of what just happened.”

Jack’s eyes widened. He remembered that. He was playing with Jamie when he heard the struggle from next door. Jamie told him that sometimes Sophie didn’t like going down for naps and his mother had trouble. So, Jack took it upon himself to help settle her down. He quickly tired her out and put her to sleep before going back to his games with Jamie. But… she saw that? He didn’t even notice she was there!

“There were other things. More floating children. Disappearing food or drink. Wondering how you two got onto the roof. I doubted you climbed. Pictures of a friend that never aged or changed and seemed so unreal.” Susan tapped the sketchbook. “Pictures of adventures with Santa and the Easter Bunny. I wanted to believe my children were just creative, but… the stories never went away. Even to this day, I’d hear my children talking about the Sandman and the Tooth Fairy as if they truly believed they were real.”

“Because they are, Mom.” Sophie said quietly. 

Susan didn’t react to the comment. She studied the images in front of her. Jamie stood up and left. Jack wondered where he was going before turning back to the woman.

“I wasn’t sure what it was. Ghosts… magic… I almost wanted to believe my children were a witch and wizard, like the stories I grew up on.” Susan chuckled. “But there always seemed to be ice and snow involved. Even in the summer. I once saw them skating on the frozen pond. In July.” Jack couldn’t help but grin at the fond memory. It was a terrible idea, but they had fun. “They didn’t get their Hogwarts letters when they were eleven, so I had to believe it was something more then that. I just… wasn’t quite sure what.”

Jamie had returned. He placed a crystalline snowglobe in front of his mother. It was empty, void of the water or the “snow” that would fill it. There wasn’t so much as a figure to stand in it. 

“This is a Christmas gift from Jack. I was nine when he gave it to me.” Jamie sat down. “It’s made of ice. Go, on. Hold it.”

Susan carefully lifted the object, her eyes wide. She shifted her grip to prevent her hands from getting too cold. “Strange gift to give a nine year old.” she commented.

“Just shake it.” Jamie insisted.

The woman regarded him before shaking it. Inside, images appeared. Tiny people—no, tiny Guardians appeared. Jack had given this to Jamie as a reward for his unwavering faith in them. He told Jamie that if he ever felt himself losing that faith, he should shake the snowglobe. Jack had worked really hard to make this. North helped him. It was his best accomplishment at the time. Jack was so proud of himself and he was so happy Jamie loved it. 

The snowglobe showed North, instructing the yetis on how to properly built a toy. Then Sandman, riding on an amazing aircraft as he spread his sand to the sleeping children of the world. Toothiana, giving directions to her mini-selves and becoming excited when brought a tooth. Bunnymund, painting an Easter Egg with other bipedal eggs tottering around him. And finally, Jack Frost throwing a magic snowball at a group of kids and joining in their resulting snowball war. 

Susan set the globe down and turned to Jack. He still could not make out anything. Was she scared? Was she angry? 

“So, all of this is real?” she motioned to the proof in front of her.

“Yes.” Jack replied firmly.

“And… my children are heavily involved in all of this?” she pressed on.

“Well, they were,” Jack frowned. “I don’t think I’m able to bring them back into it. Unless one of the Guardians decides to come for regular visits… No, I don’t think they’ll be involved in it much anymore”

“Well, then.” Susan stood up, taking empty plates. “I suppose I’ve got a lot of stories to hear about, hmm?” She eyed Jamie and Sophie who’s faces lit up. “I would have liked to have known about all of this before. Then I wouldn’t have worried so much.”

Jack laughed. “They were in good hands, I promise.”

Susan took the plates to the sink and looked back at him. “And… we don’t have to worry about that Pitch Black, do we?” 

Jack shook his head. “No way. He’s done. Besides, these two aren’t afraid of him. He wouldn’t be able to hurt them.”

“What about you?”

Jack laughed. “I’m not afraid of him, either.”

“Good.” Susan sat back in her seat and took up a photograph. She looked from Jack to the picture. Her eyes were calculating and slightly puzzled. It was an image of Jack and Jamie that Sophie quickly snapped without either realizing it. Jack sat upon his staff, raining snow down on the  thirteen year old boy that was moving to swiftly kick the staff. Jack remember the pain of falling to the ground, not pulling away fast enough. But they both laughed and fooled around. 

“Hm. This suits you better.” Susan laid the photography down and motioned to Jack. 

“E-Excuse me?” he stammered. 

“This… humanity, I guess. Looks better on you.” The woman got back to her feet and turned to make herself coffee.

“You can see me?”

“I guess I can.” she shrugged.

Jack took up the photograph and turned to the siblings. They wore the widest grins and he was left completely stunned. It ended… much better then he expected. He had the help of Jamie and Sophie, so he supposed he didn’t sound like a lunatic. He released a heavy breath of air and almost laughed with relief. 

“So, you don’t have any papers, I’m guessing, huh?”

“Papers?” Jack questioned, looking to her. What was she talking about?

“Birth certificate, drivers licence, social security card.”

“Oh.” Yeah, that was a big no. But did he really need that stuff? How important was it? Susan only hummed as a response. Uh… Jack suddenly felt quite unprepared for this life. This was going to be a pain, wasn’t it? 

During dessert, Jamie and Sophie told their mother of the fantastic adventures Jack Frost took them on. They told her of the fun games and the best times they shared. The two were so excited to be able to talk about it with someone other than themselves. 

Jack was just left in wonder at how well this was turning out to be. Way too well. He knew better then to get ahead of himself and say the rest of his life would be this easy. 

The boy ruffled his spiked hair and laughed a bit. This family… he made the right choice in joining this family and being with these two. Their single mother was so accepting of everything they’ve done. He was reminded of when Jamie introduced his girlfriend to him. She was open and believed in him. 

But Susan did require more work then Laura did. Laura, he froze a few things, made some icicles, made it snow and there! It was done! 

Susan deserved the truth, though. All of it. And she was finally receiving it, After all those years and after all those strange occurrences that raised questions, she was being given answers. 

It was late when Susan retired to bed, promising to help Jack adjust to this life as best she could. Jack, Jamie, and Sophie stayed in the living room, still too excited for sleep. They talked until their voices were hoarse and gathered some pillows and blankets to keep comfortable. Perhaps it was a bit too comfortable for Jamie. He fell asleep before Jack and Sophie.

Sophie was used to staying up late. She didn’t have a normal sleep schedule like her brother. Jack had no sleep schedule. His first night of sleep was the night before. He was still uncertain about the whole sleeping thing.

Sophie and Jack laid close to each other on the floor, talking in hushed whispers with goofy smiles. Blankets wrapped around them, tangling in Jack’s long legs. They stifled giggles as Jack tried to kick them apart, failing.

The little nest they made on the living room floor was warm. The air was cool, but just enough to keep comfortable. Jack didn’t know how he felt about the warmth yet. But he knew he liked the warmth Sophie provided.

The girl ended up clinging to him. Arms wrapped around his middle, her head laid on his chest. She was quiet and listened to his beating heart as he stroked her blonde hair. He wondered if she was comfortable like this. He knew she was familiar with a bed, something he was much less familiar with. Was she going to sleep on he floor? Jack knew he could. He could probably sleep anywhere. 

“You’re warm.” she mumbled. 

“Yeah.” Jack chuckled. 

“Jack?” she turned up to him. Her big green eyes were curious and searching. He hummed to signal for her to go on. “Do you think you’ll regret this?”

He shook his head. “Nah. Though, I might miss it. No, I will miss it. I can’t regret this.” He lifted his head to see her better. “How can I regret a chance to stay with you two?”

“You love us that much?” Sophie’s voice was barely above a breath. 

“I guess I do.” he nodded. He still wasn’t sure about the whole “love” thing, but he was sure he was talking about a different kind of love. The kind of love Jamie had for Sophie and vice versa. He was certain he cared about them like that. He knew he wanted to protect and defend them and while he didn’t have any magic, he knew he wasn’t defenseless. He didn’t know what he would do if anything happened to Jamie or Sophie.

He brushed hair out of her eyes and held her cheek. She moved herself so that she settled in the crook of his neck. Her breath ghosted over his skin and it causes him to shiver a bit. Weird. Shivers… he didn’t get them often. 

“We love you, too, Jack.” Sophie linked her fingers with his that splayed across her face. Jack pulled away, untangling and retangling in a more comfortable position and waved their joined hands idly. 

Why did they do this? It just felt so natural and so comfortable. He hadn’t done this with anyone before. He had seen people act this way, sometimes it seemed forced and sometimes it looked strained. Some were trying too hard to do this while others fell into it with ease. 

Most of the people he’d seen like this claimed they were in love.

Jack wasn’t really sure. He still didn’t understand what love was. And… from what he’d seen, some people that did this weren’t in love. At least, he didn’t think they were… Over the years he watched the humans join and separate. Most of the time, they separated. 

He never wanted to be apart from Jamie and Sophie. Never. The very idea that he would lose them in any way, even if they didn’t die, terrified him. What if they broke apart like he’d seen so many friendships play out? 

Sophie had brought his fingers to her lips and kissed each one of them before turning his hand and placing butterfly kisses on his knuckles. Suddenly, all his fears went away. No, never. He knew he’d never lose them in such a way.

Jack rolled over, causing Sophie to squeak and a smirk played on his lips as he loomed over her. She giggled until he secured her hands beside her head, trapping her down. Her doe eyes met his own. Pink spread across her cheeks. 

“Oh, no, the bad guy caught me,” she played in whispers. “Don’t hurt me, mister!”

His heart was pounding in his chest. What was he even doing? He didn’t think he was playing. She thought he was. Maybe he should just keep going with her game. But he wanted to finish what he started.

Jack leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. He was timid at first. He wanted to test out of humanity made the experience different. What if the effects weren’t as strong? 

A shy kiss became a gentle one. Her taste was sugary from the ice cream she had. Her soft lips formed perfectly against his own. He pulls back and his heart wants to leap from his throat and his face feels so hot he can’t stand it. He’s suddenly wide awake and wanting to bring their lips back together for more. 

The usual soaring feeling had intensified. His lips tingled as if hers had been electrified. His head was spinning and the girl beneath him was breathless. He felt high and remembered he needed to breathe. 

“Can you kiss me again?” 

Jack chuckled and glanced up to the man sleeping on the couch. One more quick kiss wouldn’t hurt anyone.

He pressed his lips upon hers once more, savoring the taste, breathing her in, their bodies being brought together as Sophie broke free of his grip and pushed herself into him. 

Sophie Sophie Sophie Sophie. His mind was full of her. 

They settled back. He made himself comfortable next to her. She stared, dazed at where he had been. 

“Jack… I…” her brows furrowed. Words tried to escape her pink lips and she bit them back. There was a struggle, but Jack was patient. Let her say what she needed to.

“I’m tired.” she sighed.

So, they closed together into comfortable snuggles. His arms wrapped around her securely. They bid each other good night and for the first time, he was able to stay while she slept. 

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