The elevator platform stopped, allowing the pair to enter the North Pole's toy shop.
"Keep close," Katherine instructed, "Santa Claus does not like anyone to mess with his work."
Jack immediately started falling behind as he followed her through the many workstations, "Hang on! I've been trying to bust in here for years! I want a good look!" he called out, momentarily distracted by the colorful spectacle before him.
"That explains why everyone here seems to know you," Katherine replied, raising a hand in greeting a particularly large yeti, "Hello, Phil."
Phil noticed Jack and pounded a fist into his palm in warning.
Jack shot Phil a grin and avoided being run over by another yeti carrying an armload of toys, "I always thought the elves made the toys!"
Katherine leaned closer, whispering behind her hand, "North lets them think they do."
They both looked at the elves hook up one of their own to a series of lights in a failed attempt and shared a giggle.
"Just some advice, North will probably want those red," Katherine warned a yeti stacking a row of blue robots.
The yeti protested, looking at the countless robots he'd already painted blue.
"You seem to know a lot about this place," Jack observed, once more interested in how his friend seemed to know things.
Katherine shot him a secretive grin, tapping a finger to her nose, "Every spirit has a power, Jack. You may control the winter, but I rule the words of the written world. I have records to all of North's lists."
"Even the-"
"-Even the naughty list."
Katherine stopped in front of the massive door to North's office. She glanced over her shoulder at Jack, ensuring she had his full attention.
"But that's the least of my powers as a Guardian, just like how your control over ice is only part of what you are capable of," she accepted a teacup from a serving elf and offered it to Jack, "Tea?"
He shook his head.
Katherine returned the cup to the elves (she still didn't trust serving elves), nodding at them to go.
Jack leaned on his staff, tapping his finger awkwardly as they were left alone, "So... yeah..." he didn't want to ask, but deep down, he had to know.
How much of their relationship was a lie? Was any of it a lie? Was it all him? How could he ask any of these questions of the only friend he'd depended on for years?
Katherine removed her hat, placing it on the table so her entire face was visible. The light from the window behind her illuminated her figure, reminding Jack of the time they met.
"Are you mad?"
Those three words brought a lot of conflicting feelings to the surface. Jack honestly didn't know how he felt.
"Can I be mad?"
Katherine didn't falter, deciding to be completely honest, just as she'd always been between them, "Technically, no. If you wanted to know about me, you only needed to ask."
Jack ran a hand through his hair, letting out an embarrassed chuckle, "I knew that. I never did ask, did I?"
"Even timeless spirits need to accept change, Jack," Katherine stated, addressing the flaw in their relationship.
With his endless future of not being seen or believed in, Jack had been afraid of affecting his only source of stability. In an act of weakness, he'd never made an effort for them to grow closer. He'd share his pain but never wanted to know about her secrets. Katherine was equally guilty of letting their relationship continue as it was. They both knew what had gone wrong but had never been forced to address it until now.
Jack let out a shaky breath, "I guess... I don't know where to begin."
Katherine's expression softened, "Then ask me something. Anything," she said encouragingly, gently guiding him along.
"What's our friendship to you?"
Wow... plunging the knife right in.
Katherine reached out, clasping one of Jack's hands between her own, "Honestly, the best thing that happened since I became a Guardian... maybe even in my entire existence," her grey eyes met his blue ones, "Jack, you are a very important person to me. I'm sorry I didn't try to tell you before."
Jack's expression relaxed, reaching up and interlocking their fingers as he gently smiled, "Hey, there's nothing to apologize for. We both messed up a little. Maybe change isn't so bad."
Katherine stroked the back of his hand with her thumb, admiring the pale smoothness of his skin, "Just one step at a time."
The two of them suddenly became self-aware and pulled away, each hiding a blush.
"So... about this Guardian thing..." Jack quickly changed the subject.
Katherine cleared her throat, "Yes. What do you want to know?"
Jack leaned against the wall, staring up at the ceiling, "I don't know. It's just... All this time of asking the Moon what I'm here for, and after three hundred years, this is his answer? To spend eternity like all of you, cooped up in some hideout, thinking of new ways to bribe kids? I really don't see that in for me."
Katherine placed a hand on the table, giving Jack a look, "That's not fair to us, Jack. You spend a lot of time thinking of ways to find believers too. In your words, you are doing exactly the same thing on the daily."
Jack was struck silent, and for a moment, Katherine was afraid she'd gone too far.
To her surprise, Jack suddenly doubled over in laughter.
Katherine stared at him, confused, "What's so funny?"
Jack raised his head, his ribs aching as he gasped for breath, "S-sorry..." he gasped, "You-you're right," he took a deep breath, sending her a rueful grin, "I had that coming, sorry. You know you're the only person who's been able to talk to me like this," he paused, "That also applies in a literal sense."
Katherine blew out an amused sigh, turning away as she felt the heat climb up her neck, "You don't live as long as I do without learning a few things."
She realized she'd made a mistake when Jack slowly closed the distance between them, a mischievous look on his face, "Oh? So how old are you?"
Katherine glowered back, inched away as he stepped closer, "Never ask a lady her age, Jack.
"I'm not asking a lady," he almost purred, looking like a predator stalking its prey, "I'm asking a friend. Let me guess... four hundred years?"
She decided to play along, "Older."
"Five hundred?"
"Start multiplying."
He raised an eyebrow, "A thousand? Two thousand? You have no intention of actually telling me, are you?
Too late, he realized the tables were turned when she stood on her tiptoes, getting right in his face and giving him a smug smile, "Nope!"
"Alright~" he countered, "Mother Goose."
Jack distinctly saw a vein stand out on her forehead as she raised her voice, "Don't you start!"
He laughed, dodging a smack to the head, "Hey! It's a fun name!"
Katherine frowned, "Not my favorite title, but in the 16th century, it just stuck. Why couldn't they keep calling me Thoth or some other cool name?"
Jack chuckled, "You know, I always imagined Mother Goose to be some old, wrinkly lady who flew around on a giant goose or something."
Katherine's expression fell for a brief moment, "Yeah... the goose..."
Jack noticed her discomfort and realized it wasn't a subject they should talk about... yet... and changed the subject... again...
"I get the Guardians and their little gimmicks of attracting the kids, but what about you?"
Katherine pulled out her book, revealing the worn state of its cover, before opening it, "Even if children see me, they won't always realize it's me. To be honest, few children truly believe in me, but every time they enjoy a story, I am there. Their belief in me is the belief in stories. I protect the stories they share."
Jackk looked down at the worn pages and the ancient script that was scrawled across them, "Then what does the Moon expect of me?" he looked at his staff and then back at the book, "I have no clue how I'd fit as one of you guys."
Katherine closed the tome, giving Jack a sympathetic smile, "Jack, it's not about fitting in. Each of us embodies a part of what makes childhood," she strode over to a nearby shelf, reaching for something, "If the Man in the Moon chose you, it must mean you possess an aspect that is very special."
Jack stared wordlessly at her as she held out a Russian nesting doll that seemed to be designed after North, "What is this?"
"North came up with this analogy when the five of us were first brought together," Katherine explained, thinking fondly of the early days of her Guardianship, "You see the outer surface of the doll as you may usually see him," she handed him the doll, "Large and intimidating; but if you know him, you realize he's a very positive minded person."
"I actually noticed," Jack realized as he removed the doll's many layers.
"He really kept us going when times got hard," Katherine admitted, "Now look at the centermost doll."
Jack slid the last doll into his hand, "...There's a tiny wooden baby with big eyes..."
"Eyes full of wonder," Katherine whispered confidently, causing Jack's eyes to grow as wide as the doll's, "That is his center, Jack," she motioned around the room, bringing attention to all the prototypes and designs North was currently working on, "His innermost being is seeing the wonder of everything around him! To possess the wonder only a child can feel when looking at the world!" she opened the door to the office, showing him the many treasures of North's workshop, "It is this wonder that gave us Santa Claus and the inexplainable feelings around Christmas! It is what he protects in the children and what makes him a Guardian!"
Seeing Katherine speak so animatedly, Jack felt a heavy throb in his chest. Not wholly unpleasant, but very heavy. He suddenly saw every detail of her being, the slight displacement of hair as she moved, the warmth of her smile, the soft cloudiness of her eyes.
He was starstruck.
Katherine calmed herself, smoothing back her hair, and placed a hand on her chest, "My center is storytelling. I encompass the imagination and all the hopes, dreams, memories, and wonder in the written world," the sudden radiance and confidence exuding from her drove Jack breathless as she spoke, "That feeling they feel when they read or hear a new story, the source of their imagination growing and empowering them. That is what makes me Guardian, Jack," she held out a hand, offering him to join her, "What about you? What's your center?"
It almost felt like torture, pulling himself from the spell he was under, but Jack forced himself to answer honestly, "I-I don't know... I'm still not sure if..."
Katherine placed a finger to his lips, "It's okay. You don't have to think too hard about it right now. I think the Moon would want you to accept willingly when you are ready. If you wish to refuse, I'll support you. The others may not agree, but I'll convince them somehow. Besides," she stepped back, flexing a skinny arm, "I'm sure I'm strong enough to handle everything with Pitch."
Jack smirked mockingly at her, "What? And let you have all the glory?"
She jokingly shooed at him dismissively, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."
"In that case, I'd better prank you more often," Jack playfully threatened.
Katherine's eye squinted in amusement as she caught him in her rhyme, "All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy!"
Realizing he'd walked into her trap, Jack groaned in mental agony, "I hate you..."
"No, you love me!"
"..."
They were interrupted by the sound of running footsteps as Aster and Sandy ran up to them.
The Easter Bunny looked grim as he looked at Katherine, "We have a problem, love. Trouble at the Tooth Palace."