Secret of Frost and Moon

Dumb Logic Gets Dumber

Alaia Skyhawk: For those who were a bit confused about why Jack would wear a disguise, it's aimed purely at Jamie. Jamie won't learn who his 'Uncle Jack' really is, until after he turns six :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians, the Guardians of Childhood, or any related characters etc. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes.

~(-)~

Chapter 50: Dumb Logic Gets Dumber

He'd agreed to the disguise, and he completely agreed with the reasoning behind it. For two years, every time he'd entered the Bennett Household he'd endured the wig, wearing the extra pair of trousers over his usual ones, and he'd even grudgingly accepted wearing the socks. But this? This was crossing the line...

"Jack, put on the shoes."

"No."

"Put them on!"

"No!"

"Jack, if you don't put them on, I won't let you take Jamie outside to build his first ever snow-fort."

Jack stared at Laura, mouth agape, before his expression turning pleading.

"Aw, now that's not fair! That's blackmail!"

Laura waved the offending pair of shoes in front of his nose.

"And Jamie is at the age where he's going to start copying what he sees other people doing. If you don't wear shoes outside when there's snow on the ground, or it's wet, then a day will come when he will start asking why he has to when you don't."

The two of them continued to stare at each other, the seconds ticking by with him under the intense scrutiny of Laura's stubborn frown, before Jack looked away and sighed in defeat. Avoiding the shoes was not worth being unable to build the snow-fort with Jamie.

"...fine."

Laura shoved the footwear into his grasp and headed for the stairs.

"Then put them on while I get Jamie into his coat and shoes."

Jack watched her go, resisting the urge to make a face at her retreating back, before he sighed again and eyed up what she'd given him. It was a pair of winter boots, the kind that had no laces or buckles and were instead just pulled on. The inside was lined with fluffy synthetic fleece, and he could already tell they'd be slightly too big. Laura had played it safe in making sure they wouldn't be too small, since it would be easy enough to wear a second pair of socks if they were too large.

Jack grimaced, muttering under his breath as he stalked down into the basement room where everything from his disguise was kept when he wasn't wearing it. There were several pairs of spare socks in the box up on the top shelf, and he sat on the stool in the corner to put on a second pair and then... the dreaded boots.

Once they were on, Jack got up and stood there wearing the same expression of utter disgust as someone would if they'd stepped on something foul and slimy while barefoot. Even before he'd become immortal, he'd almost never worn shoes, and even those he had worn had been mostly restricted to threadbare shoes or sandals. Never in his life had he worn footwear as study as this, or as restrictive, and he wasn't enjoying it one bit.

He trudged towards the stairs back up to the kitchen and, after listening to confirm Laura was still up in Jamie's room, rebelliously flew up them even though it did take a lot more effort than when he had his staff. He then went straight outside, crunching through the snow that coated the backyard, and tried not to cringe at how unnatural it felt for him to have a barrier between him and the crisp white snow.

He waited a couple more minutes, scuffing his booted feet through the snow, until he heard the back door open and he turned to face it.

Laura was smiling as she urged Jamie outside, the two-year-old wrapped up in coat, gloves, and hat. The little boy then grinned when he saw Jack, and began to charge towards him.