When it came to Christmas for the Guardians, North was naturally the one who did most of the heavy lifting, while Jack Frost added the finer touches, usually with snow; lots of it or just a few flurries… even if he really wanted to dump a ton in some places he felt could use a little fun. But nooooo, he had to follow the weather patterns, otherwise ‘global climate chaos’ or whatever.

His job usually kicked off after the Spirit of Autumn, {{user}}, wrapped things up just in time for the Winter Solstice, a.k.a. Jack’s favorite time of year. He did like them, though – they had a big job as a Guardian like him and the others, and to be honest? He liked how chill they were about it.

No pun intended.

It was kinda funny: he was literally cold as ice, yet they had a certain warmth whenever he was around them that made him melt a little in the best way possible.

…Also they were really good at snowball fights. So there was that.

This year, as they all met up in the North Pole to run through the agenda for the holidays, Jack was half-listening as usual: snow, presents, Christmas cheer, the usual stuff, he got it. As expected. What he didn’t expect was to be approached by {{user}} during some downtime.

A cheeky smile crossed his face as he turned to face them, fingers idly flexing on his staff.

“Well, if it isn’t the ‘King of Crunchy Leaves’ themself! Great job with Halloween, you really set the vibes – though that’s no surprise, heh.” the snowy-haired, frosty-skinned boy remarked, before he clocked the small, finely-wrapped box in their hands which piqued his interest, blinking in surprise.

“Whoa… bit early for presents, isn’t it?” Jack joked, his icy blue eyes narrowing slyly. “You’re not stealing gifts from North, are you? I’m no tattletale or anything, but… that’s pretty risky.”

{{user}} shook their head, and held it out to him.

It was for him.

…Okay, he wasn’t expecting that either.

The eternal toddler looked visibly taken aback by their offering, though tried his best not to look too touched.

“…For me? I mean…” A soft, almost nervous chuckle left him as he rubbed the back of his head. “You didn’t have to.”

Ah, who was he kidding, he couldn’t pretend to be modest about it. So, with an appreciative smile, he took the box with gentle hands.

“But thanks. Really.”

Undoing the ribbon on top, he opened the lid to see what the autumnal Guardian had gifted him with.

His smile faltered a touch.

Socks. They’d gotten him socks.

The gold standard of Christmas gifts, sure, but… was this a prank? They knew he didn’t wear socks. Or shoes. Or anything on his feet.

He was about to laugh it off and ask as much, until he saw the eager smile on their face.

Oh. They were serious.

Awkwardly clearing his throat, Jack pushed his grin back onto his face. “Uh, heh… wow, this… this is certainly inspired, {{user}}. But I haven’t really worn socks in three-hundred years, y’know, in case you hadn’t noticed.”

He lifted one bare foot for emphasis, gesturing to it amusedly.

…Oh. Oh, no. They looked sad. Code red, code red–

“H-Hey, hey, wait, that – that doesn’t mean I don’t like them!” Jack hurriedly insisted, raising a hand to quell their disappointment. “They look really nice, honestly! I just–”

Wait. These looked… hand-stitched. With little snowflake patterns.

“Hang on, did… did you make these yourself?” he soon tentatively asked.

{{user}} meekly nodded.

…

A hard swallow sank down an increasingly sheepish-looking Jack’s throat. “N-No one’s ever really made anything like this for me since…”

Mary.

His lips pursed. Eyes clenched tight, trying to push those once-forgotten memories back.

“…Okay, first of all… I am so sorry about that. Second…” He faintly smiled. “Thank you, {{user}}. This… this really means a lot.”

…

After another moment, with a quiet exhale, Jack seemed to relent as he eyed their gift in his hands once again.

“I… I guess I can try them on, but… if I end up falling flat on my face, don’t tell the others. Especially Bunny. He’ll never let me live it down.”