Rise of the Guardians 2: Return of the Nightmare King

Cleaning Up Santa's Workshop

                                                                                 Tooth's P.O.V

 "There we go," I finished wrapping the last of Jack's bandages around his torso, "good as new. I just hope you don't jostle the wound too much or the stitches will come loose again. Also, Phil said the wound is healing very well and you should be better very soon!" I stopped myself from rambling and found Jack smiling at me. "What?" I felt a blush rise to my cheeks.

"Nothing, it's just that you look so cute when you're rambling like that," Jack smirked at me. I swatted him playfully on the arm while he just laughed. I sat next to him on the edge of the hospital bed and crossed my arms in a mock pout. I wasn't about to let his sweet talk make me blush. It was embarrassing. He chuckled and wrapped one arm around me to pull me into a side hug.

"So are we a thing now?" I asked.

"Do you want to be 'a thing' as you call it?" Jack asked with a shrug of his shoulders. I nodded a bit too quickly to his question.

"Y-yeah! I mean, sure. I mean...I guess," I cringed and covered my face with my hands. I had never been in a relationship before, so my communication skills needed some work. I felt Jack's chuckle against me and blushed.

"Well then, I guess we are a couple," he grinned at me and held out a hand. It took me a moment to figure out what he was implying, but I caught on. I entwined my fingers with his and smiled. It felt nice, even if I was tense with nerves. I had had a crush on Jack for a long time now. The fact that he not only returned my feelings, but had said he loved me was beyond anything I had ever dreamed.

"I guess we should head for the snow-globe section," I suggested.

"Yeah, or else North will make us do more chores," Jack chuckled. As we headed for the snow-globe storage room, I began to think about the future. If we managed to replenish our realms, would the kids truly believe in us again? I would love to fly around the world again, collecting teeth from small children. I missed Baby Tooth and all of my fairies. I didn't even know if they existed anymore. I mean, if I'm still alive I guess my fairies would be alive as well. Then there's my palace. It's probably lost most of its color and some of the terraces are probably crumbling. It would be a hard job to get it back in shape.

"Tooth, are you okay?" Jack stopped walking and faced me, his face full of worry.

"I was just thinking," I bit my lip, "I'm unsure of what will happen if we get our realms back to their former glory. I have a feeling it might be a long road to recovery and I don't know if we have that kind of time. Pitch has destroyed this world, so how can we make a difference?" I hated the words I was saying, but it was true. There was no way that, after we defeat Pitch, our realms will go back to normal in a snap.

"Tooth, I know you worry about these things a lot," Jack started, "and so do I. I wish I could tell you that everything will be fine and our lives will go back to normal. But I think you're right. When we defeat Pitch, it's gonna take a lot to clean up his mess. But I also know that we can do it. Besides, with Angela's help I think it'll go smoothly."

"That's another thing," I said, "how do we defeat Pitch without enough believers? I mean look at us, we're not exactly guardian material at the moment."

"We will defeat Pitch, Tooth," Jack furrowed his brows, "and I think I have an idea on how to do that."

I widened my eyes in surprise, "well what is it?"

"You'll find out," Jack smirked at me, "besides, we need to focus on the mission at hand." I nodded my head and tightened my grip on his hand.