Trouble with Power

Sort of a continuation of Cold vs Hot. Kink meme . ?thread=4806485#cmt4806485

"Forst!"

Jack cringed at Bunny's bellow. Yep, he knew the old Kangaroo would be pissed. That's why he wanted to go into hiding until he calmed down but no, North had to make stay in Santoff Claussen. He glanced toward the skylight above the Globe of Belief. Maybe, if he moved fast enough…nah, he didn't have his staff so flying was out. He had forcibly separated himself from his staff hoping the separation would help him but obviously it wasn't if Bunny's curses were anything to judge by. And they were getting louder by the second.

"Where is he, North?" the Pooka demanded.

Jack pressed his hands to his ears and curled in and himself. It wasn't his fault, he hadn't done anything wrong. He hadn't left the Pole in days. He felt the sting of tears as he heard the padding of large fur feet, too light to be a yeti's.

"Bunny, please, this is not the child's fault," North insisted, his large booted feet clamping against the polished wood floor as he hurried after the angry Easter spirit.

"If it was your holiday screwed up you'd be pissed, too, North," Bunny yelled again. He gave a growl when he spotted Jack curled up in the window seat. "There you are, you blighter!"

Jack pulled his knees tighter to his chest, trying to be as small as possible. He didn't want to get into a fight with Bunny, not today. All he wanted was to sleep. Why couldn't he sleep? Sure his hibernation didn't start for another week but this was ridiculous. He never felt this energetic at this time of year and it was driving him nuts. His hands fisted against his ears as Bunny yelled at him.

"This is worse than the blizzard of '68! How could you do this? Do you even care about the children? Are you listening to me?"

"Bunny…" North said, trying to calm down his friend.

The Pooka would have none of it. He grabbed Jack's shoulder and shook him. "Frostbite!" He gave a startled gasp when he felt the boy's shoulders shake and heard small hiccupped sobs. His eyes widened in surprise. "Jack? Mate, are you crying?" He sat on the edge of the window seat and gently pushed the boy's blue hood off his head. He had never seen Jack Frost cry before, didn't think the snarky brat could to be honest. Sure he's seen the tears well up before only to be blinked away and forgotten but this, this was not what he expected from the youth. He was prepared for smart ass remarks, gloating even but not a river of tears and dark circles under usually bright eyes.

"I didn't do it…not on purpose," Jack said in such a sad voice that all Bunny's anger melted away. "I tried to stop it but…I couldn't. It just happened."

"What happened, Jack? Why all the snow…on Easter of all days?"

North pulled up a chair and sat next to Jack. "That's what we've been trying to figure out."

"It was only supposed to be a little frost," Jack murmured, hugging himself and looking away from his elders.

"Today?" Bunny asked, a touch of anger returned.

Jack shook his head. "Two days ago."

North began rubbing Jack's arm as he had since the sudden and strange power boost, offering his own power to calm Jack's. "It turned into a blizzard," he explained to Bunny. "It would seem that now that Jack has Believers his magic is spiking and is a little uncontrollable. When our boy should be preparing for hibernation he is instead wide awake and buzzing with power."

"That's never happened to any of us before," Bunny noted, his anger seeping away.

"No…but we were not suddenly believed in only a few short years. It took centuries to get where we are now. We feel the loss of power not the increase."

Which made sense but of all the times for Jack to have a sudden power boost. Bunny sighed and patted Jack's knee. "How bad is it?"

"Like Sophie coming down from a sugar rush but refusing to sleep," Jack said. He rested his forehead against the window and closed his eyes. "Except I want to sleep. I've been wanting to sleep for days and can't."

Bunny looked to North then back to Jack with growing concern. An elemental getting a sudden power boost and unable to sleep when their season was done could mean trouble for the other seasons. "Did you try a warm shower or bath?"

Jack nodded. He always took the hottest showers possible when the end of his season neared, especially since becoming friends with Bunny. He didn't want to screw up his holiday again.

"Warm milk?"

Another nod.

Bunny turned to North. "Perhaps we should consult Sandy. If anything he could put Jack under until spring takes hold."

"Sadly, my friend, Sandy has been unable to help. Jack asked him to put him under last night with the intent of being unconscious during your holiday. As you can see it has not worked," North answered, his eyes watching the youth with growing concern.

"I'm so sorry, Bunny," Jack said softly, looking from the window to the Pooka. "Were the kids really disappointed?"

Bunny gave a shrug. "I sent eggs to every house and home. The ankle-bitters'll be fine, Jackie. Let's worry about you."

"I didn't mean to ruin your holiday," the boy insisted, his eyes closing and looking as if he would fall asleep but then his eyes shot open again and he was once again wide awake.

"It's okay," Bunny said, moving a little closer and pulling the boy into his arms. "One holiday isn't so bad. Come here."

At first Jack resisted, still unused to being touched and held no matter how much he liked it but after a little encouragement and assurances that the oversized rabbit wasn't mad at him he relaxed into Bunny's arms. Unfortunately, sleep would not come to him. He dozed in and out, always waking within minutes with a start. The other Guardians came, each with their own suggestions on how to help Jack. Sandy doused him with enough dreamsand to knock out a full grown elephant and while it would put the boy out for an hour or two tops it was not enough to help Jack go into hibernation. Tooth sung lullabies, as he rested his head on her lap. Bunny tried giving him a back massage. He and Tooth teamed up for that. He had Jack strip down to his undies and lay his head on Tooth's lap while Bunny gave him a deep tissue massage. That seemed to work, for a while at least. Jack's breathing eased and he slowly began to fall asleep but he never took on that deathly still quality he took when in hibernation. By morning he was wide awake with four very sleepy Guardians watching over him. North pulled out large novels and read to him for hours on end with the same results as the others. After three weeks everyone was at their wits end but none more so than Jack.

Everyone was tired of winter and for a winter sprite like Jack that was heartbreaking. He sat on his bed, rocking back and forth feeling drunk or high, he wasn't sure. He was wired, that was all he knew for sure, and it was driving him nuts. If he had known having Believers would cause this much trouble he would never have fought so hard to get them. He laughed mirthlessly to himself. Here he was after 300 years alone a Guardian with Believers and people who loved him now unable to control his powers or sleep. He pulled at his hair. This was crazy!

"Ah hah!" North cried, banging open Jack's bedroom door. "Idea!"

Jack jumped, his power lashing out unexpectedly but North, who had been dealing with Jack's boost in magic the longest, easily side stepped the blast of winter magic and headed toward the boy as if nothing had happened. Bunny and the others hesitated a moment longer.

"Jack, go have warm shower while I start fire. Scoot," North continued, pointing toward the boy's private bathroom as he set down on old record player on his dresser.

"But we tried warming me up already," Jack objected, only to have his adoptive father push him toward the bathroom.

"Very warm, like usual spring routine," North insisted. "I have warm pajamas for you and toasty warm room. Yetis will bring plenty of warm milk. We have big family camp out in your room. Now off with you."

Flabbergasted, Jack did as he was told. He showered, keeping the water extremely warm, nearly too hot to be comfortable. He did this every spring since moving to Santoff Claussen and usually it was all he needed to fall asleep. So he showered and waited until he body became toasty warm which was so nice compared to his usual cold. Soon he was relaxed and stepping out of the shower, happy to find a pair of blue fleece polar bear pjs folded on the toilet seat and North leaning against the wall waiting for him. Just like the first time Jack showered in his new home, North towel dried him, making sure not a drip of water froze to Jack's usually ice cold skin. Then he helped Jack dress in the warm clothing and ensured each button was done up properly. Jack was almost giddy. Yes, he preferred to care for himself but sometimes it was nice to have someone else take care of him, especially North who was so much like a dad and so big that Jack could forget he was over three centuries old and pretend he was just a little boy being fused over by his father.

When he was dried and dressed, North ushered him back to his room where the windows were closed and room pleasantly warm and music played softly from the record player. Tooth was sitting on the edge of his bed while Sandy floated in one corner, already off in his own dreamland. Bunny knelt before the stone fireplace, stoking the fire, mumbling about how Jack usually kept the room too cold for anyone to handle and the warmth was so much better. In this situation Jack had to agree with him.

The strangest thing happened when North tucked Jack into bed; the other three Guardians joined him. North kicked off his boots and sat to Jack's left, a large book in hand. Bunny got behind Jack and began giving him another back rub. Tooth curled into him on his right side, asking if he brushed his teeth and flossed. Sandy sat at his feet, holding out a tray with five glasses of warm milk and cookies that Tooth instantly complained were bad for Jack's teeth.

"Hush now," North reprimanded as he opened the book. He sipped from his warm milk as he read to them all.

Jack never felt so cozy or loved. He drank his milk and chew on a few cookies, only discovering later that they'd been dusted with dreamsand – thanks Sandy. Bunny left the back rub to restock the fire, intent on keeping the room warmer than usual. When he left Jack leaned into North, adjusting so his head resting on his big belly as he listened to the story. Tooth dozed off next to him, stealing one of the pillows yet keeping an arm around Jack's waist and hugging him. Sandy curled up like a golden cat against his legs and fell asleep as well. Once Bunny was done with the fire he slipped back in behind Jack and continued the back rub until he too began to drift off to sleep. Jack held back a giggle at all the snoring happening around him and North gave him a smirk as he glanced at their little family. Three out of the Big Four were already asleep trying to put Jack to sleep. Nonetheless North kept reading. Soon Jack's eyes drooped as well and he snuggled into North more, adjust his position so that his face was in the crook between the large man's arm and chest. He gave a large yawn and closed his eyes.

Bunny mumbled something in his sleep, his chin falling on Jack's shoulder and making the boy grin. North chuckled softly but Jack barely heard him as his body slumped and sleep pulled at his mind.

"Sandy," North said gently, shaking the little dreamweaver gently.

The Sandman blinked blurry eyes at the Guardian of wonder than smiled sleepily at the sight of Jack tittering on the edge of sleep. One large dose of dreamsand was all it took to knock him over the edge and the boy's body went limp in North's arms. Gently he laid Jack back next to Tooth and Bunny. Then he went back to reading aloud as he waited to see if Jack would awaken or finally go into hibernation. Within half an hour he got his answer. As everyone slept Jack's body hardened as it always did the first few weeks of his hibernation, taking on that death like appearance that always made North stomach churn with anxiety. Nonetheless, North laid back against the pillows and finished to story, even if only for himself.

Later, as Jack's powers grew he would no longer need to hibernate as he learned to control them. The next year Jack spent his first spring and summer awake and while it was not the most exciting time of the year for him North was more than happy to never have to see his child in a death like sleep ever again. He thrilled in teaching Jack ways to spend his time without causing chaos or snowstorms…but that would be another story or another time.

This is just my little explanation for the unseasonal weather this year. It's pretty much what I told my son when he asked why we still had snow. Of course when I was a kid we always had snow for Easter and had indoor hunts which were great fun. Kids are so spoiled these days XD