Set after the movie.
He could fix it. Pitch knew that, Jack knew that. The winter spirit had no idea why the Nightmare King insisted on breaking his staff. It lay in two pieces on both sides of him. He could fix it, just not right now. Everything hurt right now, he just needed a rest.
The fight had been intense. Jack had been in a desert, giving a light night time frost. Dawn broke as he had chased the Moon across the horizon, and the sun chased him in return.
The next thing he knew, Pitch was on him, drowning him in black sand. He had fought; the vast structure of frozen sand he leaned against was a testament. It was melting so fast now, the sand burning away in the sunlight.
Jack watched it with a sense of misplaced foreboding. He could not place why it worried him that his ice was melting. It melted all the time. He even intended for this ice to melt. Ice did not last long in the desert. Only at night, when the air was so delightfully cold.
Then it struck him as a funny thought. He'd never really stuck around to watch his ice melt. It was fascinating how the sun bore holes into it, how it tumbled and collapsed. He laughed, because what else could he do? He found it sad, so he laughed harder. That was what Jack always did. He laughed when he felt like crying.
He felt like he had been put into an oven, and he laughed at that too. He found it ironic because he was always so cold. He was finally warm now and he could not get comfortable.
He wished Bunny was here. Bunny would slap him and tell him to stop doing all the crazy things he had always done to ease the silence. He would tell him that Jack did not have to do them anymore, because he would never be alone again. The silence now was deafening and heavy.
He wished North was here. North would be flipping his lid like a father of a newborn. Unsure of what to do, but wanting to help anyway he could. Jack would tell him that he could take care of himself, and that he did not have to worry. North would tell him that he was silly to think that he would ever not worry about their newest little Guardian.
He wished that Sandy was here. Sandy knew how to make the silence fun. He would never say a word, and yet his voice could never be ignored. Sandy knew quiet, and he always made Jack feel better, even when he dreamed of darkness and drowning.
He wished Tooth was here. She would flit around like a doting mother. Asking a million questions and urging him to speak. Jack would tell her of all the things he found funny. Sometimes she would laugh, other times she covered her mouth and held back tears. Jack always took back whatever he had said then, and asked her to play in the wind with him. Tooth was always happy to go flying with him, laughing as she let the wind carry her, too.
There was a shadow over him, blocking out the sun. At first he thought it was Pitch and he glared up at him. Daring him to kill him, even though he knew he could not fight anymore. But the shadow was too big, too round.
He found himself laughing again, and this time it was not forced from his chest. It fluttered out uncontrollably because he knew that North worried for him, and had come to look for him.
He was picked up into arms like tight cords of muscle wrapped in velvet. He ran a finger over the fabric, liking the way it felt beneath pale fingers. "Hold on, Jack. We'll get you home."
He laughed at that too. What was home? The little gest room with the frozen yeti in the window? Yes, yes it was. That was his room now, that was his home. As well as the half frozen lake in Bunny's warren, and the room in the highest tower in Tooth's palace, and the whole north wing of Sandy's castle.
"North, my staff." He felt like he had been choked. His throat hurt like someone had shoved a fire down it.
"It's okay, Jack. We'll get you a new one."
Like a distant memory that flittered across his mind. Here, son. This is yours. Take good care of it.
He could not stop the tears that prickled in his eyes, even when he tried to laugh them off. "I can fix it," he told North.
The last thing he remembered was that terrible feeling of swirling through a portal, and the blessedly cool air on his skin, and North's voice, telling him everything was going to be alright.
Afterword: I've been wanting to do this one since I saw the movie. I know some people requested vulnerable Jack or Hurt Jack. So here you go. This one is a two parter. I had been listening to Trifonic but this one was inspired a little by "Slow Me Down" by Emmy Rossum. Great song, thought it fit a little. Thank you to everyone that's reviewed so far. I mean, wow! Someone said I should be a professional writer and you really have no idea how much that tickled me pink. My roommate thought I was high, I was grinning so much. So thank you to everyone for all the kind words. You guys really make it all worth it. Also, I spelled Rudolph wrong in his chapter. Thank you for pointing that out, I thought it looked wrong. I'll fix that as well as the myriad of other typos.