Hey everyone! Sorry that I forgot to leave an Authors note last time, I've been really busy x_x
Thanks to everyone who's reviewed, faved, followed and PMed! Please continue to let me know what you think of the oneshots, and let me know if you have any ideas for a future oneshot!
Also, Jack and Bunny might seem OOC in this oneshot, but keep in mind that this has Jack having a panic attack, and I have had experience with those so I know what I'm writing! Also, Bunny is OOC because seeing Jack in such a state makes him go into 'daddy/brother Bunny mode'! So keep that in mind please!
Disclaimer's on my prof.!
Sorry for any spelling errors!
Enjoy reading!
Despite Jack having been a guardian for over a year and a half, now and then there was a misunderstanding in which the Yeti didn't remember he was allowed in the North Pole and tossed him out. Jack didn't mind it, he'd just find another way in and let Phil know that there was some confusion going on concerning him with one of the other Yeti so that the head of security could handle the problem.
But this had never happened.
Jack wriggled about as the Yeti that held him by his hoodie stalked along.
"Hey! C'mon, cut it out!" Jack whined. "Look, I know you're new here, talk to Phil! Or North! They'll tell you the same thing I am, I'm allowed in here!"
There was muffled grumbling and, despite being a bit rusty when it came to Yetish, Jack got the gist of it and groaned.
"Look, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to crash into your work station! It was an honest accident!"
By now, Jack was getting considerably more nervous. He didn't recognize where they were, this part of the workshop he had never been in. It was not as well lit as the work floor levels and there were only a few elves tottering about, no one who could clear up this little mess. They finally reached a heavy door which was tugged open, and Jack's heart got lodged in his throat when he found that beyond the door was a small, dark room with only a tiny window up a the top of the far wall, not even big enough for an elf to crawl through. If he had to guess, Jack would suppose this was an old storage room.
"W-w-wait, h-hold on! W-what're you doing?!"
The Yeti grumbled something about keeping him away from the toys while he asked North what was to be done with him for intruding and destroying his work. Jack felt fear begin to claw at his chest and somewhere, he was sure Pitch was having a good laugh over his terror, but the Winter spirit was to afraid to care. The Yeti had taken his staff, without it he couldn't call the Wind for help or direct his powers correctly to escape the room without causing harm to someone. He could feel the heat of the room even from where he was, and this made him already unbearably uncomfortable.
"C-come on, please, c-can't we work this out? I-"
Jack yelped as he was dropped into the room, and he scrambled to stand-
The door shut with a heavy thud, and there was the clunk of a deadbolt locking. Jack hurried forward, slamming his fists against the heavy wood, his eye alight with panic.
"Let me out! Let me out of here! Please!"
There was no reply, and Jack turned to the rest of the room, gaze darting about wildly. The walls were closing in on him, it was so dark and he couldn't feel the cold touch of the Wind or see the sky, it was so warm, he was suffocating..!
Jack's breathing became quick and short as his heart raced, his whole form shaking fiercely. He needed to get out of here! He needed the sky, the Wind!
"P-Please!" He tried again, voice cracking in his throat. "P-please! I'll leave! I w-won't come back! Just l-let me out o-of here, please!"
Despite his desperate pleas and the painful promise of never returning to the workshop, nothing worked. The door remained locked.
Jack turned, scrambling over to the tiny window at the top of the back wall. He reached up, trying desperately to reach the sealed window, but he was too short to reach. His trembling fingers scrabled all the same in hopes of touching the cold glass.
Big blue eyes stung with tears as the boy's knees gave out and he curled up on the ground, face buried in his knees and hands covering his head as sobs wracked his lithe form.
"P-please..." He whispered, voice hitching with each sob. "I c-can't be stuck i-in here...I d-don't want t-to be alone a-again..."
In this room, with the breath leaving his lungs and chest burning with panic...
It was like he was drowning all over again.
It wasn't often that Phil lost his temper. Usually, the Yeti would simply grumble and shake his head in disapproval before moving on.
So North was surprised when he heard yelling from outside his office. He recognized Phil's voice, as well as the voice of Maurice, the newest addition to the security force. Frowning to himself, North stood from his desk and opened the door, finding Phil and Maurice on the other side.
"Phil! Vhat is problem?"
The large Yeti turned to him, gesturing wildly as he garbled out words in Yetish, and North's brow furrowed.
"Phil- Phil, please, slow down." More grunts and jumbled sounds. "Jack? Vhat about him, is he-" Angry yells, and North's eyes widened in shock and horror. "He's where?! Why iz he down there?!"
Phil shoved Maurice's shoulder roughly in reply, and the smaller Yeti had the decency to look ashamed. North didn't even ask any more, hurrying past the two Yeti and towards the elevator.
North knew of Jack's loathing of small enclosed spaces. That was why all the Guardian meetings were held in the large, open globe room with its big windows and open space. And if he'd been locked up in one of the old storage rooms...
North's pace quickened.
He quickly reached the lowest level of the Pole, and hurried along the darkened hall. And then, reaching the end of the corridor, he could hear...Crying?
North forced the door to the last storage room open.
"Jack?" He called, stepping in. "Jack, are you-..."
Large eyes that were usually filled with wonder suddenly filled with shock at what the Cossack found.
In the far left corner, Jack was curled up, nothing more than a bundle of blue and white. The boy was shaking fiercely, sobs wracking his frame.
North approached, dropping to his knees beside the younger spirit, large hands hovering over Jack, too afraid that if he touched him he might send the boy into a full panic.
"Jack? Jack, it iz alright, please, look at me."
The boy didn't move, or even seem to hear him. He was too terrified, North realized. A sound at the door made North look up. Seeing Phil there, North grimaced.
"Phil, contact Bunny. Tell him iz urgent." Blue eyes returned to the terrified Winter Spirit in the corner. "Tell him it iz about Jack."
Considering Phil had only left to tell Bunny something had happened to Jack only half an hour before, the Pooka had made impressive time getting to the Pole, not even pausing to curse at how cold the snow was on his feet. To be fair, though, whenever "ugrent" and "Jack" were in the same sentence, one couldn't help but worry, especially someone who was as protective as his friends as Bunny was.
Not waiting to be led to North and Jack, Aster followed the scents of his fellow Guardians. His concern steadily grew as the scent led him to the bottom level of the workshop. The area was rarely, if ever, used. With the dark lighting and stale, heavy, warm air thanks to the machinery that fed down to this level, it was a very un-ideal place for anyone, especially a Winter Spirit like Jack, to occupy.
Bunny finally found North in one of the last storage rooms. The large Cossack was murmuring comforts to something or someone in his native tongue, but whoever he was speaking to was obscured by North's large form.
"North, Phil said somethin' happened t' Jack, what's goin' on?"
At the Pooka's voice, North turned to his friend, gesturing for him to lower his voice.
"We must be quiet, my friend. This iz delicate matter."
Aster frowned, becoming slightly irritated.
"What is a delicate matter?"
North grimaced (an expression that was so foreign to see on the large Guardian's face that it made Aster's stomach lurch with fear), and he shifted aside to let the Pooka see what he had been blocking.
Bunny felt his heart all but stop and his blood turn to ice in his veins.
There, curled up and shaking, was Jack. He was obviously terrified, and appeared oblivious to what was going on around him. Aster had never seen the boy so terrified.
And that made everything worse.
Bunnymund looked to North, who was staying close to their youngest friend.
"He will not speak to me, iz too terrified. I was hoping you could try, you are his best friend, after all."
Aster couldn't help but pause for a split second at that. Him? Jack's best friend? He'd never heard Jack refer to him as that, and while their relationship had gone from grudging acquaintances to friends in the past year and a half, Bunny had simply believed that the title of best friend was reserved for North, maybe even Sandy.
But him? He'd never heard that.
Shaking off his surprise, Bunny nodded, moving forward to take North's place beside the traumatized Winter Spirit while North himself stood, muttering something about having a good, long talk with Maurice and that the medical ward would be ready if Jack really needed it. Aster didn't stop the Guardian of Wonder, knowing that seeing Jack like this had to be near unbearable, especially since Jack looked so much like a child...
But Aster was no stranger to seeing pain. He'd seen so many of his kind die, he could handle this better than any of the other Guardians for sure.
Slowly, Bunny reached forward. Jack gave a start when he was the paw, lurching back and head snapping up to stare at the Pooka before him with a painful mix of shock, confusion and terror. The teen's face was flushed, and tears had frozen halfway down his cheeks. His big blue eyes, those wonderfully expressive orbs that Bunny had grown so fond of seeing in his day-to-day life since Jack had moved into his den, were now filled with such pure fear that for a long moment, Aster felt he couldn't breathe.
The Pooka gently touched Jack's hair, the strands damp with sweat. It was too warm down here, and without his staff, Jack couldn't regulate his temperature, Bunny realized. The poor young spirit had to be sweltering with his hoodie and an undershirt, and that no doubt helped contribute to his only half-aware state. He could've left long before, made it outside, but his fear and the heat were a potent mix to keep him scared and rooted to the spot.
But seeing Bunny seemed to help, or at least Aster hoped so as Jack lurched forward and buried his head in the Pooka's furry chest, his long, pale fingers latching onto the fur of Bunnymund's back. The Pookan Warrior didn't even hesitate as he wrapped his arms around the boy in return, long dormant instincts from his days helping care for his clan's kits returning in full swing. He purred soothingly, the sound rumbling in his chest and throat, and he gently and insistently nudged his nose against the boy's brow sweaty brow and snowy locks. Once reigning in his instincts, Bunny spoke softly to the trembling little Winter spirit in his arms.
"It's alrigh', kit. It's alrigh'. I'm here now, I ain' gonna let any'ne hurt'cha, yer safe."
Jack sniffled slightly, a shivering breath leaving him.
"...D-don't like i-it here..." He whispered. "D-don't want t-to be alone..."
"I'm righ' here, kit." Aster reassured, nuzzling the boy's hair soothingly. "An' if ya don' like it here, th' door's wide open. I can help ya get outside righ' now. I'll even find ya a nice snowdrift t' lay in."
Usually, the promise of a nice snowdrift was capable of making Jack's sadness turn to joy and restlessness into peace, but right now it only seemed to make Jack cling to Bunny tighter. Grimacing, the Pooka rubbed the teen's back gently in hopes of helping alleviate his fear.
"It's gonna be okay, kit. I've got'cha, yer not alone."
When Jack's trembling lessened somewhat, Bunny caught on to the fact that it seemed his voice was what was calming the boy down. A little surprising, but if it helped his little nest brother, then talk he would.
Settling into a more comfortable position, Bunny pulled the little spirit into his lap, letting the boy keep his head buried in his chest (strewth, how this kid sometimes acted so much like a kit). Once sure the teen was comfortable as well, Bunny gently pet Jack's hair, whispering softly to him. Aster wasn't sure how long they sat there, and he didn't really care. He was more than willing to sit there and comfort Jack for as long as he needed to.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Jack stopped shaking and his choked sobs became nothing more than the occasional hiccup. Waiting until he was sure the boy had mostly regained full awareness of his surroundings and had a grasp of what happened (the way the teen was blushing embarrassedly and wriggling uncomfortably was a good indicator of this in Bunny's book), Bunny finally spoke at a normal volume.
"Let's go find yer staff, alrigh'? That'll help ya get yer temperature back up. Then we can go find'ja a snowdrift, alrigh'?"
Jack hesitantly nodded, but seemed reluctant to let go of his tight grip on Aster's fur.
"I...Sorry." Jack softly apologized, eyes down cast. "I always cause trouble...This must be really embarrassing for you..."
Bunny shook his head.
"Trouble? Jackie, fear's jus' one of those unfortunate lil' things tha's a part o' life. Tha's why Pitch always has at least a lil' bit o' power on his side. But bein' afraid doesn' make ya trouble. I'm a lil' surprised I'm th' only one who could calm ya down, but I don' think yer causin' any trouble."
Big blue eyes looked up at him cautiously.
"But...I made you have to come here from the Warren..."
Bunny snorted, waving off the worry with a paw.
"So? Kid, yer part o' th' Guardians, part o' our crazy lil' family. If North hadn't sent Phil an' I found out this happened later? Strewth, me an' North would be havin' words."
Jack frowned, shaking his head.
"No, no, it isn't his fault, it...It was a misunderstanding."
"I know. But ya shouldn'a been tossed back here, tha' was a big mistake."
Jack ducked his head, rubbing at his eyes.
"He...He's a new guy, I don't...I don't blame him, not really. He didn't know..."
Bunny scoffed.
"Yeah, well, North's handling him, an' I'm gonna be talkin' t' North 'bout his security issues. Now, c'mon. On yer feet. We need t' get you outta here b'fore ya melt."
Jack scowled as he stood on shaky legs.
"Yeah, haha, real funny."
Aster frowned when the boy's voice wavered.
"Jack? Wha's wrong?"
The Winter spirit grimaced, shaking his head.
"No, I...I'm fine. Just...This room..." He shook his head again. "Nevermind, I'm acting stupid-"
"Yer not. Yer a Seasonal, an' with how close ya are with th' Wind? Nah, it makes sense. I might only be indirectly connected t' Spring, but even I can't stand bein' indoors more th'n I absolutely have t'. It ain' stupid, Frostbite, its natural." He ruffled Jack's hair. "Now c'mon. This heat down here's no good fer ya, wouldn' do fer ya t' get a fever."
Jack nodded, following Bunny towards the door. Aster was surprised when the boy shyly leaned against his arm.
"Thanks, Bunny. For everything."
Bunnymund, blinked, taken aback, then chuckled, slinging an arm over the teen's thin shoulders.
"After all ya've done fer all o' us? There ain' nothin' t' thank me fer."