Chapter Twenty

The next morning, the pair went and saw Lizzy. It was Jack's last real check up and he was getting his cast removed. He was excited about having his leg back to mostly normal. He still had a bit more physical recovery ahead of him, but the worst was over, Matthew still had many check ups to go. Lizzy checked his lungs every few days. They were healing very slowly. He hadn't noticed a difference yet.

After, the winter spirit shyly asked about a therapist. Matthew was surprised he asked on his own, but was proud Jack was taking the first steps. Lizzy didn't ask any questions and just told them where they could find Edward, the therapist. They went directly to him after the doctors.

Edward, or Ed as the yeti told them to call him, was a huge hulking light brown yeti. He looked intimidating, but his demeanour was the exact opposite. He was very attentive and genuinely wanted to help whoever he could. Matthew decided he liked him right away. Jack wasn't so sure. They made small talk for a little while. Or rather, Ed talked and the Reaper wrote it down for the Guardian to read. They set up the first appointment for a few days later.

Over those few days, Jack tried his best to act normal. The Canadian could easily see through the act. Especially when his panic attacks came on. The Canadian knew the winter spirit was trying to convince him and himself he was fine. He knew getting the Guardian to go to the first appointment was going to be a battle.

—-❄️"There are 2 ways to get to the top: 1, self-improvement. 2, sabotaging literally the entire community. I've made my choice."❄️—-

Matthew huffed to himself looking up to Jack. The Guardian was sitting up in the rafters ignoring him.

The Reaper would fly up to him, but being in an enclosed space made it hard. He couldn't open his wings as far and would have to work a lot harder to get there. He wasn't sure if his lungs would let him make it. He couldn't step through a shadow up since the Guardian was sitting right under a light. He didn't think he wanted him up there anyways.

Jack was annoyed at him. Today was the day of their first appointment. He was refusing to go. Matthew had only reminded him briefly and he started yelling at him. The Canadian was surprised at his outburst, but knew he was nervous. The Guardian said he wasn't going and there was no way he could make him. He quickly ran off after.

Matthew followed him. Jack was moving quickly, but slow enough for him to keep up. The Reaper thought he was doing it intentionally. He kept looking back to make sure he was following. He got to the main area of the pole and flew to where he was now. He was pretending to ignore Matthew, but kept looking down to make sure he was there. He knew jack was still nervous to go far from him.

The Canadian hopped up onto the railing and sat. It was clear the winter spirit wasn't coming down for a while. He was stubborn and needed to cool off. Matthew could wait. He knew there were ways to get him to come down, but they were dirty. He could just start walking away or even pretend to pass out, he didn't want to, he didn't think it was right. He'd wait for him to come down on his own.

It took almost four hours before Jack came down. He landed next to him on the railing. He hugged him and Matthew hugged him back.

"I'm sorry for yelling at you." The winter spirit said. His voice was strained. He was trying not to cry.

The Canadian pulled back and took his hands. He slipped off of the railing and Jack followed him. He lead him through a shadow back to their room. Matthew hugged him tightly pulling him to sit on the bed.

"I'm going to go." The Guardian said slowly. He hid his face in the crook of the Reaper's neck. "I know I need to go and I will, but I'm scared." He sighed shakily. "Thank you for staying. I love you."

Matthew gave him a reassuring smile. He pressed a gentle kiss to his temple. A smile spread across the winter spirit's face.

—-❄️"I never thought I would find love in the hunger games, and I much less thought it would be with President Lincoln, but the love calculator does not lie. We were meant to be."❄️—-

The appointment itself wasn't bad. Ed had just talked to them about how he worked. He told them nothing either one of them said would leave the room. Not even to North or Lizzy. The yeti also said not to worry about opening up right away. He told them it would take time and it was okay.

It had been slow. Jack didn't fully understand yeti yet. It was good practice for him, but he didn't know quite a few words. Matthew would write down what the yeti said for the Guardian to read.

Ed asked a few questions about how they felt. The Reaper answered honestly, but Jack was holding back. He did admit to having panic attacks, but didn't go into details. Ed listened and recommended some medication to help stop them as they came. Matthew could tell he wasn't interested in the pills, but accepted them to be polite.

After the first appointment, their next was two days later. It wasn't as much of a fight to get Jack to go. He knew more of what to expect, but was still nervous. He did try to act fine like before, but it was easy to see through. Matthew was patient with him and got him to go. The next few appointments were better.

They had decided to go every other day. Progress was slow, but neither were expecting for him to just suddenly get better. The Canadian was just happy Jack was going in the first place.

—-❄️"The moral of this story is if you see a murder being committed, you should immediately call them a boomer."❄️—-

Matthew blinked awake and groaned. Another death flashed across his mind. It was the middle of a wave and souls kept waking him. He wasn't able to rest long before the next startled him. He still wasn't going to get them, but Pitch hadn't taken a single one.

The Reaper was laying in bed with Jack. The Guardian was dead asleep beside him. He looked relaxed and adorable. He had been having less nightmares over the last few days. The Canadian smiled tiredly. He leaned over and pressed a kiss to his forehead. He didn't stir. Matthew slowly and carefully untangled himself from Jack. He wasn't going to sleep and didn't want to wake him with his constant shifting.

Matthew slowly stood and stretched. Kumakuro looked up at him and hopped off the bed as well. The bear went to the door and waited. The Canadian went over to him and opened the door. Kumakuro waited for him and took his usual place at his side. The pair walked towards the main area of the pole. He wanted to watch the yetis to keep his mind occupied.

The Reaper sighed leaning against the railing to watch. Kumakuro stood on his hind legs next to him and copied his action. He laughed silently giving the bear a pet. Kumakuro growled and tried to bite his fingers playfully. Matthew smiled booping his nose. The bear snorted and sneezed blinking. He smiled and ran a hand through his fur turning his attention back to the yetis.

AN:Eyyy actually posted on the right day! Sorry, been super obsessed with flight rising again lmao