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"There's someone waiting for you."
Jack Frost could only stare at Jamie Bennett. Or rather, the humanoid-bird creature that had once been Jamie Bennett. The Moon had smiled upon him after his death and created a phoenix. An Immortal representation of Faith. It had been one hundred years since he had seen him. He thought Jamie Bennett had died for good in his old age. Not that Jamie didn't hope and search, but the search proved fruitless. Instead, Jamie had found him.
Jack could not describe the happiness he held in this moment. His best friend was back. When he died an old man so long ago, Jack was sure that was the end. He was left heartbroken, but he was expecting it. It hurt much less that way. And it was alright, because Jack knew he lived a full and happy life. The hurt from Jamie's death was a speedy recovery, lasting no more than a few years. Of course he never forgot the man, but the pain healed.
Unlike Jamie's sister, Sophie. The girl had suffered a young and unexpected death. A car crash. This one left Jack with more then heartbreak. There was a permanent wound left with her death that Jack had never been able to recover from. She was only eighteen. And he didn't have enough time with her. No, not nearly enough time. Then again, he didn't think he ever could have had enough. She was special. It was difficult to be without her. His longing brought a terrible pain to his chest. Jack Frost missed her more than anything.
And when Jamie found him and told him someone was waiting for him, Jack could not help but think of Sophie. He did his best not to get his hopes up. He had trained himself well in that. When anything came to Sophie, he couldn't hope. It would only end in more hurt.
Jamie didn't wait for Jack's response. He picked up Jack's staff, putting it in his hand and grabbed Jack by the elbow, lifting him into the air. The flight was more than thrilling. They flew at impossible speeds, fire de-pressurizing the wind speed in front of them. To someone watching, they would have looked like a comet. The happiness of having his best friend back and the excitement of Jamie's way of travel was amazing. He whooped and laughed.
The two of them landed in front of a performing arts school. Jack was laughing and leaned against Jamie. "We gotta do that again."
"I thought you might like that." Jamie smirked. "Now, wait here. Let me get her." Jamie held up his hands to stop Jack from following him and darted towards the school.
Jack furrowed his brow, confused, and watched him go. Jack was waiting for several minutes, in which he spent toeing the cracks in the path to the school, making ice spread between them.
Then, something happened. A flash of colors sprouted from the ground, images of dancers, animals, technology, and more flitted in the light and spouted out. Two figured emerged. Jamie and a smaller figure Jack had not had time to examine. He was suddenly tackled to the ground, arms wrapped tightly around him, a familiar voice calling his name.
Jack went numb and looked up at Jamie. Jamie wore the brightest expression Jack had seen him in since they reunited. "Jack Frost, this is Muse."
Jack looked down, hardly able to breathe. A mess of blonde hair had beads and feathers woven into the pixie cut. The girl wore a shimmering shirt that had shifting watercolors moving throughout. She wore a pair of tight shorts that came to just above the knee. She didn't wear shoes, but instead had a woven anklet on her left ankle.
The girl finally pulled back and he got a look at her face. She had small rounded features and big green eyes that were shining. She wore a watery smile and touched his face. "It's really you, Jack."
"S-Sophie?" His voice was caught in his throat. He felt himself choking. It was her. She was here. He could have had all this time with her but they had missed each other. He had looked and looked for years and here she was. She had been chosen by the moon. He gave her another chance.
"I missed you." she said softly and wiped the tear that traveled down her face. "I was looking for you for so long…"
"Sophie, it's you." He hesitantly reached up to take her face in his hands. "It's really you." His voice broke. He was so happy. It was impossible to contain it. Suddenly, all of his grief and longing was gone. "You're here."
He pulled her into his arms again, holding her tightly. "Please, don't let this be a dream." Jack whispered. He had experienced dreams like this when Sandman had found him in his worst states. Sometimes, Jack would just break down. Sandman took pity on him and fed him sweet dreams, but sometimes, they weren't what Jack needed. It wasn't Sandman's fault. It was Jack's. What he considered a good dream was having his friends back.
But this was too perfect. Jack would never have imagined this. Never would have dreamed something this perfect. The Jamie and Sophie in his dreams were just as he remembered them. Both varying in age; Sophie from two to eighteen and Jamie eight to eighty. He could never imagine them as Immortals.
"It's not." Jamie assured him, crouching next to them. Jack's eyes blurred and he held the girl in his arms tighter. She returned the pressure and he buried his face into her hair. She smelled just as he remembered she did. A hint of peppermint and a strong scent of acrylic.
"We're not going anywhere, Jack." Sophie promised. "Now that we've found you… We aren't going to let you get away so easy."
"Damn right we aren't." Jamie said and wrapped his arms and folded his wings around the both of them. Jack gripped Jamie's arm with one hand and held Sophie tight with the other.
"I'm not letting you go." Jack sniffed. "Never again. Neither of you. I can't do this without you." It began to gently snow, Jack's overwhelming happiness unable to contain itself.
"Well, we all do have jobs to do." Sophie giggled a bit, her voice thick with emotion.
"Not right now." Jack kissed the top of her head. "I just want to stay like this."
"Okay, then, let's go home." Sophie suggested. Jack was about to make a comment about how he wasn't going to move and they couldn't make him when a warm light engulfed them. They were surrounded with colors and dancing shapes and the three of them were transported to a very familiar setting. Jack's pond. Jack couldn't bring himself back to Burgess after Jamie's death. He hadn't been here in one hundred years. Sure, he would fly over to make sure the kids got snow and some fun, but he would never stay long.
Jack released his friends and looked from one to the other. "How had we missed each other all of these years?"
"I'd say it's 'cause we're all very elusive." Jamie decided, nodding. "The world is a lot bigger than we thought. We were needed in several places at once. You needed to bring snow and fun, I needed to bring faith and belief, and Sophie was doing her thing."
"Hey! You act like what I do isn't important! I made your career, jerk!" Sophie said indignantly, punching his arm.
Jack wiped his face, looking at the girl that sat up and away from him. "Sophie, what exactly is it that you do?" he asked.
She turned to him with the brightest smile. "I'm Muse. I bring forth creativity and help people find their inspiration. It could be anything! Music, objects, television shows, movies, people. I inspire them to create."
"Like like an art teacher, huh?" She looked so happy with her chosen role. Jack would not have wanted it any other way for her. He remembered how she wanted to be an elementary school art teacher and this, well, it wasn't far from her dream career. She wanted children to create and this is what she did.
"Even better!" She clasped her hands together. "Because I inspire everyone! Not just children. I helped Jamie find his inspiration when he was writing. Of course, you guys were his first inspiration. The Guardians. But when he needed a little push during a writers block—"
"Not another word, Sophie!" Jamie exclaimed, pulled her to him and clamping a hand over her mouth. She struggled against him. They were both laughing and Jack couldn't help but smile with them. Sophie pulled Jamie's hand away and pointed to herself.
"Me!" she pipped out.
"You?" Jack looked upon the siblings fondly. "So you were there the whole time?"
"Well, not the whole time…" Sophie admitted, holding on to Jamie's arm. "I couldn't be. Once I figured out what I could do, I wanted to spread it. Yeah, there were times I sat with Jamie and waited for you, Jack. But I guess we missed each other."
"The universe didn't want us to find each other for a while, huh?" Jamie rolled his eyes. "Took me thirty years to find Sophie."
"And you were so cute! You were this tiny little boy and so adorable!" Sophie squealed. "Didn't look more than five."
"What?" Jack made a face, very confused.
Jamie rubbed his temple. "I age." he explained. "Very slowly, but I do."
"Wait, but then—" Jack was afraid once more. He'd lose Jamie again?
"But I'm a phoenix. When I die, I'll burst into flame and be reborn again." Jamie finished quickly, noticing the alarm on Jack's face.
Jack took a deep breath and looked between the siblings. They smiled at him, so bright and full of light. He felt lost. Now that they had found each other, what were they going to do? His brain had seemed to lose all function.
Sophie's smile fell a little. "Jack… You've never let go of us, have you?"
"I love you guys. How could I?" He met Sophie's eyes. They were just as vivid as he remembered. Springtime green. Her eyes had become his favorite color. She crawled towards him and touched his face, wiping away tear residue. She hushed him and held his head to her collar. He closed his eyes and gripped her shirt. "I missed you. So much."
"It's okay, Jack. We're here now. We have forever together."