[rd][fic][Rise of the Guardians] Hierogamy 3/?

[sakon76]

Hierogamy, part 3: Shifting Perceptions
by K. Stonham
first released 27th January 2013

Four Years Later

Jamie ran his hand through his hair, frustrated with his assignment, and decided to take a break. Maybe some fresh air would give him some inspiration, he thought, shrugging on his coat. If not... well, his boss wouldn't be happy in the morning, but Jamie's neck wasn't exactly on the chopping block either.

He ignored the rickety elevator in favor of walking down the stairs to the apartment building's ground floor. It was almost midnight, and the elevator was noisy; his neighbors wouldn't have been best pleased with him using it. Besides, he needed to move some, to get his blood flowing again.

It was cold and dark out, he noted as he hit the street. Not quite freezing yet, but hovering within a few degrees of it. He smiled, wondering if there would be snowfall by morning, and if so, how much. Closing his eyes, he reached inward, looking for that sense of Jack Frost, looking to find out if his partner was in town. Or even in the hemisphere.

Jamie's brown eyes opened, a little surprised. And a lot delighted. Not only was Jack pretty close, but Jamie even had a sense of in what direction. Odds were that he was either checking in on the sleeping kids in Jamie's old neighborhood, or spending some time at his pond.

Enjoying the silence of the empty streets, Jamie strolled in that direction.

It wasn't too much later that he entered the woods, not yet having found Jack. The night and the trees cast everything into darkness, but Jamie had been walking these paths all his life, and knew where he was going. It was practically a hop, skip, and jump to find the clearing where Jack's pond lay.

Jamie's mouth went dry as he stepped out from the trees.

The midnight water was ink-black, and the clearing was utterly quiet. The only motion was that of the naked teenager, sleek as a seal, swimming in the pond, his hair and skin glowing white in the light of the full moon.

Jamie must have made some sound, because Jack stopped and looked at him. A luminous smile broke out on the winter spirit's face; he beckoned to his lover. Jamie smiled, obliging, sitting down on the shoreline log that held Jack's clothing and staff. Jack swam closer. "You look happy," Jamie said.

"One last swim before I freeze it over." Jack splashed a little water toward Jamie. "Come in, the water's fine."

Jamie laughed. "The water's just above freezing, you mean. No thank you."

Jack tilted his head to one side, still treading water. "I won't let you freeze," he said, his voice soft and serious. "Come swim with me, Jamie."

Jamie hesitated a moment, then lifted a hand to his neck, unwinding his scarf.

Jack's grin could have lit the sky as he watched Jamie strip down.

"Ick!" Bare, Jamie wiggled his toes for a moment in the icy mud at the pond's edge, then waded forward. He took careful breaths, trying futilely to make himself adjust to the cold-cold-toogoddamncold water. When it was to his waist, and he couldn't feel anything below that, he steeled himself and ducked all the way under, swimming blindly forward. Surfacing, he was sure he was going to regret this. Regret giving in to Jack's request the way he always did. But he was an absolute sucker for the winter spirit, and could never say no. "I'm going to get pneumonia," Jamie announced through chattering teeth. "I'm going to get s-sick again, and you're going to have to f-fuck the fever out of me. I c-can feel it already." He shuddered, feeling the ice cold of the water sink into him, into his bones.

Jack was only an arm's length away. He swam forward, until they were almost chest-to-chest, and rested one pale, fine-boned hand on Jamie's chest.

Heat flushed through Jamie, keeping the cold at bay. Or at least tolerable. He took an appreciative, relieved breath.

"Better?" asked Jack.

"Yes. Thanks."

Jack grinned at him. Jamie grinned back. "Tag, you're it!" he announced, and splashed water at the winter spirit, diving away.

Jack's laughter rang across the clearing. "Oh, you're on!" He gave chase.

Half an hour or maybe half the night later, they were both tired, breathing heavy, and holding on to one of the rocks that jutted from the pond's center like an island. Well, Jamie was holding on to the rock. Jack was holding onto Jamie.

With their faces so close to one another, legs already tangled underwater, the kiss came as natural as breathing.

"Mmm," said Jamie in appreciation, his eyes sliding closed.

"Mmm," said Jack in appreciation, pressing closer, his hand reaching out to touch the water.

Ice formed under them, spreading and displacing water, rising, floating.

As the sheet of ice bore them to the surface, Jamie's hand fell away from the rock, coming to rest instead on the small of Jack's back.

"Jamie," Jack whispered against his lips, "I want you."

Jamie's eyes, earth-brown, opened, looking up into Jack's glowing winter-blue ones. Rather than speak, he opened his mouth again and pulled Jack down for another kiss.

---

Sophie stomped through the woods, still mad and not bothering to hide it. Becca was such a freaking idiot, and a liar to boot! She was going to ask, no, beg to get assigned a different partner for this project. She'd solo it, if she had to, rather than work with that back-stabbing, two-faced witch!

Her mother would be mad that she hadn't stayed the night like planned. She'd probably be even more upset about Sophie walking back herself rather than calling for a ride. But it was only a mile, and she'd been walking these woods all her life. Nothing was going to happen.

She frowned as she pushed back a whip-thin branch, deciding to take the shortcut that led right past Jack's pond. The moon was full tonight; the clearing should be well-lit.

It took a moment for the noises to penetrate through Sophie's haze of fury. When they did, she paused. She didn't know what animal was making them, it could be wolves, or a bear--

Then a distinctly human "Oh, God!" came through, and her panic dissolved. Blinking, and more than a little curious, she snuck forward. She knew the cleanup crews found discarded used condoms during the summer months, but it was too late in the year, she reasoned, too cold for anyone to be having sex in the forest.

Except, she saw, apparently not.

She froze between two trees at the edge of the clearing. There were two people in the middle of the pond, lying on a... was that an ice floe?!

Her confusion became somewhat less opaque as the figure on top lifted his head. No one else on Earth, and certainly no one in Burgess, had the same hair, the same grin as Jack Frost. "Ready?" he asked the other person.

"I was ready twenty minutes ago," the other person said, and Sophie about had a heart attack as she recognized the voice.

"Pushy, pushy," Jack teased, and wiggled up from between his partner's legs and repositioned himself atop Jamie.

Sophie looked away, absolutely could not watch, refused to watch, as her brother fucked Jack Frost. Since when was Jamie gay? Since when was he together with Jack? She clapped her hands to her ears as intertwined moans echoed across the clearing.

That water had to be freezing, she thought. Jack wouldn't have a problem with it, but how the hell was Jamie handling the temperature? She glared up at the moon, fancying that it (he) seemed entirely too pleased with the situation.

Her eyes caught on the tableau below again, the pair of them all silver and black, like a manga line art drawing, or one of those doujinshi her friend Candace liked. Sophie's hands drifted away from her ears.

"Yes! There!" Jack demanded.

"Oh, God, Jack." Jamie was thrusting up, his hands on Jack's hips.

"Jamie!" Jack Frost's voice nearly broke. "Please!"

Sophie whirled, and bolted.

She ran all the way home. She was panting by the time she got there, and had a stitch in her side. She fished her key out of her backpack and snuck in, trying to control her breathing. Toeing off her shoes, she crept up the stairs, sticking to the quiet spots, the non-creaky boards route she and Jamie had practiced for years, sneaking downstairs to see North on Christmas Eve.

Sophie made it to her bedroom safe and sound and shut the door behind herself. She set her backpack on the floor and hurriedly stripped, pulling on her pajamas before ducking under her cold sheets.

Icy, she thought, wondering what it felt like to her brother to have Jack touch him like... that. Because Jack was cold. But Jamie hadn't seemed to mind. The thought brought a flush to her cheeks. She clamped her legs together. She wasn't used to thinking of any of the Guardians like that. They weren't supposed to be sexual! They were supposed to be these pure, loving figures who watched over children and kept them safe, made them happy.

Except, obviously Jamie didn't think of them that way. Didn't think of Jack Frost that way! There was no way this had been some kind of first time.

But surely even Jamie didn't think of the others like that. North was like, well, it would be like thinking of someone's grandpa as sexy! That was just wrong. And Sandy was all kinds of cuddly, like a plushie. Sophie couldn't think of him that way either. Tooth... well, Tooth was pretty in a fashion Sophie could only sigh about, but she was half bird, so Sophie didn't know if she even had the same kind of anatomy as humans did. Let alone Bunny....

Sophie's thoughts paused. What was Bunny? Tooth at least looked half human, but Bunny was something else, anthropomorphic, that was the word. He definitely wasn't the same species Sophie was. Were there lady rabbits like him? Or was he the only one?

Her hand unconsciously drifted down to the junction of her thighs, seeking the warmth there.

Did Bunny's kind rut like bunnies? She tried to picture it. He was always so polite and civilized around her, but there was something raw and dangerous to him, too. She liked it. He had always made her feel safe.

Sophie's hand pressed firmer.

What would touching him feel like? He had the softest fur, and the gentlest hands.

Her hips rocked forward.

He was probably as old as forever, she reasoned. And wouldn't be interested in a skinny furless human like her.

But if he had been....

Her hand snuck into her pajama bottoms, and under her panties.

He could lay her out on the warm soft grass of the Warren, and nibble at her mouth. His soft fur would brush over her nipples, and his thick, gentle artist's fingers would creep between her legs and....

Sophie gasped, staring at the white ceiling of her room as a sudden orgasm washed over her, rocking her body like a small wave.

She... wasn't allowed to think of Bunny like that, was she? Sure, he was tall and buff and exotic, especially with that Australian accent, but... he was a Guardian.

Her special Guardian.

Like Jack was Jamie's.

Thoughts whirling, she stared at the ceiling for a long time before falling asleep.

---

Sophie managed to hold her questions in until Jamie came over for breakfast that Saturday, the way their mother had insisted he do every week since he'd graduated and moved back to Burgess. She waited until their mother had taken her mug of tea into the living room, leaving Sophie and Jamie scraping and rinsing dishes and loading the dishwasher. She fit her words together carefully. She'd been considering how to go about this for nearly an entire week.

"So," she said, handing her brother a plate, "you and Jack?"

Jamie froze for a second, then took the plate from her. "Yeah, he's back in town," he said lightly. "You've seen him?"

"I saw him," Sophie said blithely, rinsing a cup. "I also saw you. In the forest on Tuesday night."

Color drained from his face. "You saw?"

"Mm-hmm." Sophie handed him the cup. Thrust it at him when he failed to take it, until Jamie's hands actually closed around it. "You know I don't care if you're gay."

Jamie's mouth moved soundlessly for a minute. He slowly put the cup on the upper rack of the washer. "Thanks," he said quietly.

Sophie stopped. Turned to look at him. "Did someone give you shit for it?" she demanded. "Because, you know, I know Bunny, and I know North, and I'm pretty sure the two of them would be happy to deal out a world of pain--"

"No!" Jamie's blazing eyes met hers. "It wasn't me," he said. His eyes slid away, his mouth in a line. "It was someone I knew in college. The rest of us talked him into pressing charges. It went to court, and it was ugly, but the jackasses got what they deserved. Eventually."

It took a minute for her to find what she wanted to say. "You didn't tell us."

Jamie sighed. "I wasn't ready for you to know." His gaze flitted back to her in alarm. "You haven't told Mom, have you?"

"No. I'm not that kind of sister."

Jamie breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Sophie."

She nodded and turned back to the sink. "So," she said after a minute. "Jack?"

Jamie had a small smile. "Yeah. Jack."

"I thought you stopped believing."

Jamie's smile faded. "I did. But sophomore year I came down with a really bad flu right after winter break. He managed to break my fever, and I've been able to see him again ever since."

"Mmm." Sophie handed him the waffle platter. "So is he any good?"

Jamie choked. "Sophie!"

She smirked at his flush. "I guess he must be. You certainly seemed to be enjoying yourself the other night." Her brother flushed deeper. "I am curious, though... that water had to be almost freezing. And that was an iceberg you guys were on. Naked. In winter."

Jamie stopped, then cast a wary look at the door to the living room. Not seeing their mother, he unfastened the top few buttons of his green dress shirt, then pulled his undershirt low, revealing what looked like a white scar on his chest.

Sophie blinked, and leaned closer. The scar looked like a snowflake. When she touched the mark, it felt cool. She looked back up at her brother. "What is that?"

Jamie started buttoning his shirt back up. "It's a little bit of his power," Jamie said. "It makes me immune to the cold he makes, and he can use it to make me immune to natural cold. It also kind of marks me as his, in case any spirits get any ideas."

Sophie blinked. Marked Jamie as Jack's...? "You're engaged?" she hissed.

"No!"

"You're married?!"

"What? No!"

"And you didn't invite me!"

Jamie flushed white then red, neither of which were a good look on him. "It's not like that!" he hissed back. "It's not married. It's...." His voice trailed off.

Sophie knew embarrassment when she saw it. "It's what?"

Jamie sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. "The official title is, I'm his consort. And, trust me, you wouldn't've wanted to be there for the ceremony."

"Why not?"

"Umm...." Jamie wouldn't meet her eyes.

Sophie stared. "You got married to Jack Frost through Sex Magick? When?"

Jamie gaped at her. "How do you even--"

"I had to do a paper on alternative religions," Sophie primly informed him, turning back to the sink. "Wicca was interesting to research; Aleister Crowley, however, was kinda creepy."

"Oh."

"So," she prompted, "when?"

"Last winter." Jamie put the last plate in the dishwasher, closed its door. "On the solstice."

Sophie was silent for a minute longer, then quietly asked, "So, it's allowed?"

"What's allowed?"

"Marrying a Guardian."

"Yeah." Jamie smiled a little ruefully. "North practically treats me like a son-in-law. It's kind of funny, actually."

"Mmm. So when are you going to tell Mom?"

"What, that I'm bi? Or that I'm married to someone she can't even see?"

"Either."

Jamie's mouth was a line. "As soon as I figure out a way for her to see Jack."

---

"Huh," was Jack's reaction to finding out that Sophie knew both about Jamie's sexuality and his bonded lover.

Jamie raised an eyebrow. "My baby sister catching us in the act only rates a 'huh'?"

From his position on the sofa (horizontal with his head on Jamie's lap), Jack waved a dismissing hand. "I'm sure she's seen worse on the Internet."

"Yes, but not me and you naked!"

Jack smirked. "I certainly don't mind seeing you naked. The rest of the world, though, can rack off, as Bunny would put it." Then his expression clouded.

Jamie, sensitive to Jack's moods, paused. "What's wrong?"

Jack sighed. And pushed up, so that he was sitting upright next to Jamie. "I'm not sure I should say anything."

"Jack...."

Jack sighed again. "Look, you know Bunny's really old, right?"

Jamie shrugged. "After a certain point, I thought age stopped mattering?"

"It does, yeah. But... really old, like old pagan meanings for Easter, old. Though not as old as Sandy." Jack looked thoughtful. "Which makes me wonder... no, no, not going there."

"Jack."

"North said something, when I was stressing at him that first time after we slept together. He said Bunny was maybe starting to look for a priestess of spring, if the girl believed long enough."

Jamie thought about it. Didn't like the implications. "Are you saying--" he started dangerously.

"I'm saying, if Sophie keeps believing for a few more years, he might offer to court her." Jack examined Jamie's face. "It's not like he's going to kidnap her and force her or anything, Jamie! Bunny's not that type, you know that."

Jamie swallowed down big brother protective instincts. "So he'll, what, make her a... bride of spring or something? Jack, he's not even the same species as her!"

Jack was very quiet for a moment. "He's kind of private, and the others respect that and don't really talk about him, but... Pookas are shapeshifters, so maybe he can be human. I don't know. But I do know this." Blue eyes looked sharp into Jamie's brown. "He's the last one, Jamie. The absolute last one of his kind. Pitch slaughtered the rest of them, ages before I was even born."

Jamie swallowed. "Jesus." No wonder Bunny hated Pitch so much.

Jack nodded. "So... if he and Sophie end up making each other happy, I'm not going to object."

Jamie drew a shuddering breath. "And... if it was your sister?"

Jack grew still, eyes looking into memory. "I don't know," he admitted softly. "She was only ten when I died. I don't remember her as an adult." He breathed in, and out. "If it would have made both of them happy, though... I could've done a lot worse for a brother-in-law."

That, Jamie admitted, was true. He leaned back and considered for a while longer, watching the inane flickering images on the television screen. "You know what's going to suck the most, if he does convince her?"

"What?"

Jamie picked up the remote and shut the TV off. They hadn't been watching anything interesting anyway. "Figuring out how to tell Mom about you and him."

Jack made a face. "Egh."

Jamie smirked. "Exactly." He leaned over and kissed his partner, tongue slipping inside Jack's cool, wet mouth.

"Mmm." Jack wiggled closer in appreciation.

Jamie drew back, smiled. His hand crept up under Jack's sweatshirt. "Want to have some fun?" he asked.

Jack's grin was luminescent. "You took the words right out of my mouth, J."

---

Author's Note: Yeah, yeah, stealing the snowflake mark on Jamie from my other fic, Mark of Snow. Which, unlike this one, is totally gen and has Jamie and Jack in a best-friends relationship.