Heehee. I actually got a personal Message request to update this one. :)

EXCELLENT. Sometimes I forget that I'm not just writing for me… Occasionally I see review notices and go, "Wait, other people read my crap?" Hahaha. Always brings a smile to my face.

Breathing in the Snowflakes –Ten

Jack moaned softly as Pitch massaged his shoulders. Apparently they were incredibly stiff from painting so high up with no arm support. It was nice to have someone paying attention to him.

"You know, you're going to have to tell the others, Jack," Pitch whispered, rotating his thumbs into the base of Jack's shoulder blades. The smaller male sighed at the pop sound they made.

But Jack quickly pouted. "Would you stop?" he grumbled, "I don't wanna think about that right now…"

"You have to think about it," Pitch said more sternly, pressing deep into Jack's shoulders, "Just because you've been hiding it doesn't mean you can keep hiding it…"

The blue eyed male groaned, pushing himself away from Pitch and walking over to another spot in his apartment. He faced away from the funeral director, scowling down the hallway toward his kitchen. Pitch couldn't see it, but tears dangled at the corners of Jack's eyes. It hurt him to have to lie to his friends. He wanted to tell them, he was just so scared…

"Jack…" Pitch whispered his name, coming up behind him and rubbing his shoulders again.

Letting out a tense breath, Jack asked, "What happened… when you told your friends…? How did they react…?"

Resting his chin on the boy's shoulder, Pitch hummed softly. "Well, at first they were disappointed in me… But they had known… I told you, remember…? They were the ones who told me that I hurt myself while I was on a high…"

Jack didn't speak. He just stood there, tears continually hanging in his vision. "What happened…?" he whispered.

Pitch sighed. "I saw a doctor…" he said, "I got professional help… And my friends supported me through it…" He could tell Jack still didn't really want to talk about this. Kissing his neck, he whispered, "I'm not saying you have to tell them tonight… Just… Soon…"

Jack nodded, lifting his sleeve up to wipe the tears away. The two simply stood that way for a while- and Jack was grateful for it. Pitch pushed him, but he never pushed too hard… Lies were difficult for him. He just… needed to think of how to go about telling Tia and Sandy…

Pitch took hold of one of Jack's hands. He tugged on it, pulling the younger toward the front door. He smiled at Jack's confused pout.

"Come on, sad sack," he said, "How 'bout we go somewhere…?" Jack frowned and began dragging his feet. They squeaked on his wood floor. Sighing, Pitch came up and hugged Jack.

"How 'bout that restaurant?" he asked, ruffling the white locks of hair, "You liked that place right?"

Jack blushed. He had really liked that place… It had been so warm there… Glancing up at Pitch, he grumbled, "Okay, but only if we get the same booth…" Pitch grinned down at him and they walked out together.

Jack sighed in his seat. Not the exact booth, but there was a heating vent right above him again.

"Happy?" Pitch asked, watching Jack snuggled into the cushion.

Peeking one eye open, Jack said, "It's not the same booth…"

"I'm not a miracle worker, Jack," Pitch said, smirking at him across the table.

"So you lied to me," Jack said, chuckling at Pitch's unhappy pout. "You're adorable when you're mad… You look like an angry puppy…"

Pitch rolled his eyes. They ate, Jack happily stuffing his face again. He didn't even mind when Pitch laughed at his messy face. He was just really happy to be there.

Once they had left, Jack remembered something he had bought that was in his apartment. "Can we go back and get it?" he asked.

"Get what?" Pitch asked. Jack only laughed and pranced over to the car. Pitch looked confused, but he drove them back anyway. Jack told him to wait in the car.

"Why? What's going on?" he asked, laughing at how happy Jack seemed. Jack only hummed and hurried inside. He came back out with a little teddy bear.

"Drive," Jack ordered, waving his hands toward the window, "C'mon, drive the car!"

Pitch laughed. "Jack, what is that? What's this all about?" Jack only grinned and told him to drive again. Pitch gave up, shaking his head and driving the car out of the lot. Jack pointed to streets, telling him when and where to turn, laughing whenever Pitch asked where they were going.

They parked in front of a large red house. Pitch was really confused now.

Turning toward him, Jack said in a whisper, completely serious now, "Okay, this is really important to me… I'm giving a sick little girl a present… Alright…?"

"You… wha…?" Pitch didn't understand.

"Can you just walk with me and try not to stare?" Pitch nodded slowly, and Jack smiled at him. He even kissed his nose. Pitch really wished he knew what was going on right now.

They walked to the front door, Jack rang the doorbell. An older woman with brown hair came to the door. She smiled at Jack when she saw him and then called to Jamie. She nodded silently at Pitch, who nodded back, and then a shorter brown haired boy came to the door. He looked to be in his early teens. He grinned when he saw Jack and hugged him tight.

Walking inside, Pitch smiled at an old looking greyhound sitting on the couch. She glanced up at him and then snuggled down to sleep. Jack and Pitch walked with Jamie to a room with a brown door. They pushed it open and Pitch blinked seeing a small girl with a few straggly tufts of blonde hair sitting in a bed by herself. She smiled up at them, giggling seeing Jack.

"Jackie!" she said. Jack hurried to the bedside, greeting her with a hug and showing her the bear. She smiled brightly at it and took it into her arms.

"Thanks, Jack," she said, smiling up at him. Jack smiled back.

Pitch glanced nervously about the room, smiling when he noticed the pirate ship painted on the wall. Jack's handiwork, no doubt.

Pitch turned his attention back to the conversation Jack and the girl were having.

"Am I gonna get better, Jack?" she asked.

Jack swallowed, but quickly rubbed her shoulders. "Yeah," he replied, "Yeah, of course you are… You've got your mom and Jamie here to take care of you, Soph… You're gonna be fine…" Pitch smiled hearing the tender voice Jack gave her.

They remained there for a while longer before Jack kissed her forehead and left with Pitch. When they got back to the car, Pitch said, "That was very brave of you, Jack…"

Wiping away tears, Jack whispered, "Every time I see her she looks worse… Every time… I… She's going to die, Pitch… I can feel it… Every time I think about her… I see her lying in a casket…"

Now he was sobbing, wiping the bottoms of his palms across his eyes. Pitch quickly jumped forward and pulled Jack into his arms, lulling him and hushing him. "It's alright, Jack, it's alright… There's nothing you can do…" he whispered, stroking the top of his head, "This is something she has to fight through on her own…"

Sniffling softly, Jack whimpered, "You talkin about Sophie or me?" Pitch smiled and kissed his head. He held him close, just waiting until Jack calmed down. He could wait. He had to be patient with Jack. He could wait…