Yes, this story has already been posted under 'Season's Change', but more than one person asked for it to become its own little story. So, here we are! I'm going to be adding more chapters as well, so this is going to be longer than the origonal 3 chapters. Happy Reading! Don't forget to leave a comment, they fuel my creativity!

It had taken more years and coercing than North would like to admit to get Jack to celebrate Christmas at the pole with the rest of the guardians. It seemed like every year, Jack would have one excuse or another to either politely decline, say he had other plans or outright disappear when it came to the holiday. North couldn't say that he was able to try too hard either, seeing how busy it was in the lead up to his annual trip around the world. But whenever he would bring up the subject, it almost seemed like a light would go out behind Jack's crystalline blue eyes. They would dull with one look or another before he would turn away with a smirk and a practiced excuse. "Thanks North, but I promised Jamie that I'd pop in and see what he got." Or "Maybe next time, North. There's a storm blowing over the Rockies and if I don't watch it, one side's going to get six feet and the other won't get anything. Christmas isn't fun if people can't get home, y'know?"

"Just one hour." North spoke, one hand on Jack's shoulder so the sprite couldn't fly off before his proposal was for naught. "Then you can leave." The boy's eyes scanned the surrounding forest, somewhere in Germany, he believed, for any excuse to say no. North had managed to cover all his bases before tracking Jack across Europe. "Yeti will keep track of weather like during Christmas Eve and Jamie says hello and that you were planning on spending New Years with him. Christmas is for family, Jack. Please. Just one hour." North had crouched to be Jack's height, keeping eye contact even while the boy fought his fight or flight reflex.

One hour wasn't too bad. He wouldn't be able to ruin too many of their celebrations if it was only an hour. He would even borrow a watch from Jamie and set the timer so that he wouldn't overstay his welcome. "One hour. That's it. I'm still going to leave if something comes up though. Weather doesn't stop just because I'm not there." Jack worried his lip for a moment. "Do I need to bring anything?"

North gave Jack the widest grin he had seen since his induction into the guardians several years ago. "No, just you. There will be small gift exchange, but you don't have to bring anything." North dismissed, "You finally joining us for celebration is gift enough, yes?"

Not looking at the fatherly figure, Jack nodded. His fringe hid the guilty look that crossed his face and churned his stomach. Jack usually stayed well away from any holidays since that Easter where he practically helped Pitch nearly destroy Belief. Bunny wasn't the only holiday spirit that tended to growl if Jack darkened their doorstep. O'Lantern tended to leave Jack with scratches if he went to frost the carved pumpkins and even Valentino had waved a lead arrow in his direction more than once. Jack assumed that North would have the same protective streak and so it was easier to avoid messes altogether than to attempt to beg forgiveness at the end of those razor-sharp sabers. "Yeah, I'll be there."

North accepted that answer with a smile and a nod. "Good. Do not be late, or I will send Bunny again, da?" The words were friendly enough, but Jack couldn't tell if there was a threat or if he was just imagining things. "We will see you in four days!" Jack nodded absently, glad that his skin was naturally pale, so his face paling further wasn't noticed by the ex-Cossack. He watched North disappear though the portal and collapsed, his head between his knees. Four days. Which meant that the winter solstice was the next day. He had lost track of the days once again and drew his nails across his scalp in a minor punishment. Mother would be furious if he didn't attend his duties on time. Hopefully he would be able to get everything done that he needed to before he was expected at the pole.

"Ok, no big deal, right? Just show up, smile and stay in the corner." Jack murmured to himself, allowing Wind to take him where he was needed. "Just don't touch anything and I won't get in trouble, right?" Its not like he meant to ruin everything he touched. And he had been meaning to give the gifts he had been making to the others eventually, so why not now? North did say that there was going to be a small gift exchange after all. Maybe he could sneak the presents under the main tree without getting caught. They couldn't yell at him if they didn't know who they were from, right? In, out, be invisible. He was used to playing the invisible card. Maybe he could even show up a little earlier and harass Phil to get the presents wrapped properly so that they would look like the others? Yeah, that's what he would do.

Nodding to himself, Jack let his thoughts about the first Christmas he had attended in over three hundred years slip from his mind for more important matters.

Three and a half days later, Jack snuck into the pole, his hands around a ratty blue rucksack that had been stitched up more than once and had certainly seen better days. Grinning to himself, Jack found just the yeti that he was looking for. "Hey, Phil, think you can do me a favor?" The yeti looked Jack up and down before raising an eyebrow in question. "Yeah, I know. Not about that." Jack dismissed the Yeti's look. "Its about this," he held up the rucksack. "You think I can get some help wrapping presents for the others without letting the Big Guy know?"

Taking a peek inside the bag, Phil nodded and gestured for Jack to follow. In short order, they entered the wrapping room, where ribbons and bows were literally flying across the room as they were tossed from table to table by the elves. Along one wall was a display of at least a thousand designs of wrapping paper, ranging from solid colors to complicated designs and even a few textured papers. On pegs were almost as many ribbons and various present accessories, from simple twine to… was that silk and velvet ribbon? There was even what looked like small drawers containing everything from small ornaments to feathers and pine needles. Muttering something about finding a workstation, Phil gestured for Jack to find what he wanted to use and find him. "Uh… right."

It took a good fifteen minutes for Jack to scan the wide selection and decide on what he wanted to use for each of the presents. It wasn't enough just to use paper, and since the opportunity presented itself, he wanted to go all-out in a way that he never got the chance to. He found an empty basket and filled it with odds and ends to accompany the four large rolls of paper he thought were perfect. Phil managed to secure an entire table for their little project in a corner and Jack gladly offloaded his materials onto the empty side, displaying them for the Yeti's perusal. After a quick look, Phil nodded and gestured to the bag, which sat abandoned on the opposite corner.

"Yeah, I guess its kinda hard to wrap presents if they're still in the bag, aren't they?" Jack smirked, which ended up earning a light cuff upside the head. "Ok, ok, geez, can't take a joke, can you?" Reaching into the sack, Jack brought out the first item, which was a coil of matte polished black leather. "Do you think North will like it? I didn't know what to make him so…" Jack made a helpless gesture and offered Phil to inspect the object. The Yeti ran his hands over the object, twisting it this way and that before nodding and coiling it up once again and finding the appropriate sized box before shaking his head and pulling out a miniaturized hat box instead, just big enough for the leather coil to fit inside comfortably. Phil explained that North would keep it in the hat box when he wasn't using it, so it was good to give him one to go with it, instead of a box that would be thrown away. Wrapping it was the tricky part and Phil didn't mind showing Jack several ways to measure the correct amount of paper and almost as many ways to wrap the box. He could wrap the top separate from the bottom, so that the paper wouldn't get torn, or he could wrap it all together. In the end, Phil was the one that did the actual wrapping, choosing to keep the lid and box separate so that North wouldn't have to ruin the decorations.

The 'tag' was where Jack truly got creative. While the paper was a red and black square pattern reminiscent of North's tattoos, Jack chose a bright green silk ribbon with two stripes of gold running its length to tie the top on, secured by what amounted to a confection of pine needles, silk leaves and a pinecone frosted silver on the edges. The tag only said 'North' in Jack's most elegant calligraphy. Phil pointed out that Jack needed to sign the 'from' also and Jack shook his head in response. "I don't want them to know its from me… Just in case." It was hard to see Phil's frown in concern, but Jack could see it. He had a feeling that he'd be talking to the Yeti some time soon. When they weren't both busy with their duties. For now, Phil let it go with only a brief half hug and a pat on the head before gesturing for the next present.

Pulling out a carved box next, he passed it across the table. Phil quickly found out it was a lid that was slotted into place instead of using a hinge, which for the recipient would be a good thing. As if the beautifully carved box wasn't enough, inside were four brushes that matched the box's motif. Sliding the lid back into place, Phil asked one word.

"Yeah. Bunny's always painting, so I figured they must wear out eventually, right?" Jack shrugged, pulling the wrapping paper that he had picked for the Pooka closer. While Phil fitted the box into a slightly larger one, he joked that he knew another Yeti that would appreciate some new brushes as well. It seemed that she was always repainting the toys and maybe some new tools would change her luck. Jack shrugged and filed it away to think about later. This one Jack carefully wrapped himself, with Phil's close guidance. The paper was actually a blue-gray printed with silver swirls that honestly reminded Jack of some of his frost patterns. It wasn't exactly Easter themed, but sometimes a little variety was nice. Instead of ribbon, Jack used a rainbow of embroidery flosses, tying a simple, but colorful, series of twists and knots that would force Bunny to either cut through the entire thing or untie the main knot, which was hidden under a giant pink silk flower that Jack thought was a hibiscus.

Humming, Phil studied the flower for a moment before going over to the wall and pulling down a book with a shrug. Knowing that the gift was for Bunny, Phil wondered if Jack wanted to attempt the Flower Language since he was going to put a giant flower on the gift anyway. After a quick flip-through, where certain flowers caught his attention and he read the paragraph about them, Jack decided to switch out the obnoxious flower to one that was still bright but had a clearer meaning. Wishing for 'new beginnings' sounded about right. Every time Jack thought of the Pooka, he thought of '68 and how things could have been better, and even before what happened. Digging through the silk flowers, Jack managed to find a Daffodil and wove the stem through the network of floss so that it wouldn't fall off. Attached to the stem was the egg-shaped tag (the only thing actually Easter themed on the whole thing) with 'Bunny' written on one side.

'Who next?' Phil seemed to say with only a flick of a wrist, to which Jack pulled out a small gold-on-gold embroidered velvet bag. In response, Phil pulled every gold item that Jack had brought to the table, including textured gold foil, gold-painted leaves and a small circular tag edged in gold. Jack pulled an item from the velvet bag and held it up for inspection. After pulling out a soft stopper, Jack shook it lightly and the golden bell rang out clearly. Phil couldn't help but to laugh. That's just what the small man needed so he wouldn't have to accost elves to get the others' attention. Why has no one else thought of it before? And It had a stopper so that it would never ring by accident. "Do you think Sandy will like it?" Phil nodded with a grin before asking if Jack was sure he wanted to put this one in a box. He could just tie on a ribbon and call it good. Sandy wouldn't mind. "No, I want to wrap it. And its foil instead of the paper, so it's a little quieter to unwrap." Phil nodded, understanding what Jack was thinking. As they wrapped Sandy's, Phil showed Jack how to curl the ribbons and ended up with a pile of curls in five different shades of gold that was almost larger than the box itself and spilled over all four sides. It even completely obscured the little golden tag reading 'Sandy' tied to the base. Nobody would dare speak against Phil's new ponytail decoration, which consisted of white, blue and green curls. And he would proudly wear it for the rest of the season, citing that he just 'forgot' to take it out.

Last was an item which Phil thought was what holding a cloud would be like. The only weight to the thing was the embroidery, which was very dense around every delicately sewn edge and almost nonexistent in the middle, except for a simple repeating pattern of molars in gold thread. Phil was a lost cause when it came to the fabric-based gifts, but even he could see the amount of time and effort put into the design. He warbled in pain, asking Jack why this was on the bottom of a dirty sack under all those heavy objects, getting crushed while it should have already been carefully stored in a box, with tissue paper! Shrugging, Jack took the thing and laid it out so that Phil could see the entire design before starting to fold it up. Slapping Jack's hands away, Phil packed it in a large, flat box himself, with tissue paper between the folds so that nothing would happen to snag or wrinkle. (Honestly, it was a miracle it didn't wrinkle already, balled up and shoved in the sack as it was) He had already finished wrapping the box with paper printed with gold and silver mandala with a purple background before Jack was able to get in a word. "You know, I'm still not happy with it. What if Tooth doesn't like it? She already has her feathers, so what would she do with it anyway? Maybe I should just give her a pouch for teeth and coins or a new belt like North. Or an ice sculpture." Phil cut off Jack with a snort. If Queen Toothiana doesn't like something that obviously had a lot of thought and love put into it, then Phil would take it and display it down in the sewing room for people who would appreciate it better. And if the whole 'Guardian of Fun' thing didn't work out, the sewing Yeti would be more than happy to give Jack a job.

"I'm not that great Phil. I just did that because I was bored." At that, Phil's look was drier than a desert wasteland. If this was boredom, what would it look like if Jack were to put in actual effort? Sliding the present across the table, Jack set to decorating it. First, he used a green 3-inch ribbon with a paisley print, then a one inch ribbon in the middle that was a swirled blue and gold. The name tag was attached to what turned out to be a broach made of pearls, rhinestones and a peacock feather.

Looking at the four gifts, Phil nodded in satisfaction. Even if the boxes were empty, the wrapping was gift enough for royalty. Phil only wished that Jack would be brave enough to claim their ownership eventually. Taking the four presents and handing Jack back his bag, Phil gestured for the boy to follow. "Nah, I'm ok. Thanks anyway." Jack gently brushed off, stuffing his spare hand into his pocket. "I've got stuff to do before the party and I'm sure that I can trust you to make sure those get where they need to. See ya next time Phil!" And with that, Jack disappeared, ready to find the nearest unlocked window to escape from. He may have been welcomed, even encouraged to stay, at the pole, but he always felt better as he was leaving. And he would need every ounce of courage and peace that he could find to not outright skip Christmas once again.