A/N: Hi! A fellow Magisterium fan, The Nova 6, asked me if I could write a story with "...some hurt/comforting Winterhunt? Jasper comforting Call of course. After Aaron's death." I don't know if I developed the Winterhunt as much as they would have liked it, but I developed it as much as I felt was right considering the story, and I like how it turned out.
I also published this fic on AO3 (username: MidnightHalo27)
This fic is canon compliant with The Bronze Key, so there are spoilers for those who haven't read it.
Disclaimer: The Magisterium book series belongs to Cassandra Clare and Holly Black, not me.
I hope you like it! Reviews, kudos, etc are great! Constructive criticism is very welcome, but flames will be used to roast marshmallows.
Here's to Hoping (Tomorrow Will be Kinder)
by: GakuenAlicefan27
"Are you planning on bringing him back?" Jasper asked, coming up from behind Call and startling him.
Call looked at him with weary eyes. "What?"
Jasper sighed. "You know what I'm talking about." He said, sitting down beside Call on the stairs leading to the porch of the latest hideout they were staying in – a farm house in a small town in the middle of Texas. "And you don't have to look at me like that." He added, looking at Call with a surprisingly understanding expression. "I won't make you talk about it if you don't want to. I just…figured somebody had to."
"Somebody had to?" Call echoed.
Jasper shrugged. "It's been nearly a year already, and I know you and Tamara have been walking around eggshells when it comes to that topic; know you and your father have been avoiding this conversation like the plague, too."
Call looked at him with wide eyes, trying to compute that apparently, yes, Jasper was offering to have this talk with Call if he wanted to.
He wondered, not for the first time, how it was that things had turned out this way. How he had gone from a blissfully ignorant boy who failed at failing a test to a reincarnated evil overlord on the run. How Tamara had changed from being a stiff, self-conscious girl to someone who had helped Anastasia break Call out of the panopticon; someone who had run away from the Magisterium with Jasper when the Assembly started being suspicious of how much they truly knew about Call being Constantine. How Jasper had changed from being a self-righteous prick to someone who actually cared enough to sit down with Call, offer a friendly ear and really mean it.
How Aaron had gone from being a bright, brilliant boy to not being at all.
Call shook his head, covering his eyes with his hands. "I know Tamara wants me to try, but she won't ask me outright; and I know Alastair doesn't want me to try, but he will let me make the decision myself."
Jasper nodded. "And what do you want?"
Call looked at him. "Of course I want to try." He fisted his hands. "But isn't that how this whole mess began in the first place? With Constantine and Jericho? Look at how many people he hurt. Look at how many people died."
Jasper bit his lip; a nervous habit he picked up after leaving the Magisterium. Call turned to him, only in that moment realizing that he didn't know Jasper's opinion on that matter.
"What about you?" He asked.
Jasper shook his head. "I'm not sure." He admitted. "I miss him, of course I do; but still…I don't know if I'm comfortable with this thing of bringing back the dead. It sounds too much like…playing God, I guess." He looked at Call. "It's up to you, though."
Call lowered his gaze to the floor. "Even if I decided to try, it's not that simple."
Jasper laughed dryly. "It's not that simple sums it up pretty well."
Call ran a hand through his hair. If he focused enough, he could hear Tamara playing with Havoc in the backyard and the metallic sound of Alastair tinkering with something inside the house. Their noises made him calmer.
"Constantine tried it for years." He said. "Years. And he didn't find a way. He only destroyed other people's lives." He exhaled, shakily. "I'm fifteen. I don't have the slightest idea how I could do it. I don't have his experience, and I don't even have Aaron's body. It's like…like all these movies in which the protagonist decides to bring back a dead person and everybody in the movie theater screams "DON'T DO IT!" because they just know it's going to end badly - what if I end up screwing with Aaron's soul? What if I bring him back but he doesn't come back right?"
"Doesn't…come back right? How?" Jasper asked.
"Just…not right, you know? What if he isn't the same Aaron he was before? What if his memories are gone? What if he doesn't remember who he was like I don't remember being Constantine?"
Jasper put his hand on his shoulder, and Call realized that he had started hyperventilating. He focused on his breathing, trying to calm himself down, and Jasper's grip on his shoulder tightened.
"Listen…" Jasper began, when it seemed that Call was breathing normally again. "I don't know if this helps or not, but…even if you get everything right, even if you find a safe way to bring Aaron back…I don't think he'll be the same, Call. He…" Jasper swallowed. "He died. Death is bound to change people. It sure changes the ones who stay, so it must change the ones who go."
"We sure changed." Call whispered, once again thinking of all the things he had thought earlier. He held back a sob. "I should have died." He said. "I should have died in The Cold Massacre."
"Call!"
"I should've!" He gritted his teeth. "None of this would have happened! Aaron would still be alive…"
"Look at me."
"You know he would…"
"Look at me!" Jasper said, grabbing Call's chin so he could meet his eyes. His eyes were dark. "That was not your fault! Do you understand? Drew brought his death upon himself! Alex made the decision to kill all on his own! It's not your fault!"
Call stared at him, speechless, until he noticed the tremor in the hand holding his chin.
"You…you're shaking." He said.
"Of course I'm shaking! I'm fucking angry! Damn it, Call! He was your best friend! Of course it was not your fault! You shouldn't…! I wanna punch Alex in the face!" He nearly yelled.
"Jasper…" Call began, but he didn't know what to say. His heart was beating so fast all the blood was rushing to his ears.
Before he knew what he was doing, he leaped at Jasper, hugging him. Then, he started sobbing like he hadn't sobbed since the first days following Aaron's death. Jasper didn't let go of him.
Later, Tamara found them in that same position. Call having cried himself to sleep; head resting on Jasper's shoulder. Jasper looked at her and brought a finger to his mouth, silently saying: "Shhh, don't wake him up." Tamara smiled and mouthed a "Thank you."
A/N: Thank you for reading!
I always love to discuss anything Magisterium related! You can find me on tumblr as agarotado27dejunho