I disclaim…

Enjoy!

"How long will the happy faces last, hmm?"

Jack paused, mid-wave, as a deep voice whispered close to his ear. Confused, he searched around him for any culprit but each guardian weren't looking at him as if expecting a response. To be honest, they all looked exhausted after the previous fight, and Jack couldn't blame them – they had only just defeated the Pitch Black after all, and now, as the sleigh climbed higher in the sky and away from the Burgess children, Jack admitted to himself that he was just as tired.

After getting slammed into a glacier, falling down a crevasse, falling from the sky and on top of a dumpster, and not to mention the countless "tousles" with the Boogeyman, the spirit now just wanted to crawl into some snow and sleep. And looking around, he wasn't the only one.

Sandy had already fell asleep in mid air, head dropping on his shoulders. Tooth was unusually still, her wings hanging off her back and she lent on the side of the sleigh and Bunny couldn't even muster the energy to feel any motion sickness – instead he was curled up on the seat opposite him, eyes closing for a few seconds at a time. Jack couldn't see North's face, but at the way his shoulders were slunk he could guess that he was feeling the same.

"How long will this last?"

Jack jumped, certain that he hadn't imagined the voice. It felt so close, yet no one in the sleigh had moved. Sighing, the spirit closed his eyes, letting his fatigue override his concern. His side was hurting the most, where Pitch had slammed his nightmare sand when they were fighting in Antarctica – he had experienced worse, to be fair, but the dull ache was beginning to get on his nerves.

Jack curled up on the leathery seat, opening his eyes again. The wind breezed around him comfortingly and the spirit smiled slightly. The feelings of victory had still not left his mind, but his thoughts drifted to what would happen next.

What do guardians do when they aren't saving children? He wondered with a sinking feeling. He had hoped, for a while at least, that things would change and he would actually get to talk to someone for the next three hundred years, but now he wasn't so sure. The words Bunny had spat during Easter and the way the other guardians silently agreed still stung; he wasn't sure whether they would want to speak to him in their free time.

Suddenly, his side gave a particularly painful stab and Jack jolted slightly at the sudden feeling, feeling slightly ill.

"Ya alrigh'?"

Jack turned his head, surprised at the slight concern in Bunny's voice.

"A little bruised, I think, but nothing major." Jack let a small, convincing smile flicker on his face. "You?"

"Same." Bunny replied. Jack nodded and looked over to the scenery surrounding them, escaping the Pooka's studying stare.

"Why is he caring so suddenly? He didn't give a damn about you before."

Jack had to agree with the whispering voice about that. Bunny hadn't given a damn before, which was strange. What had changed?

His sluggish mind became confused at the simple question. Closing his eyes once more, Jack let himself go limp and relax. Now was not the time to think.

—

The sleigh came to a rest but most of the passengers didn't realise until North left his seat – Jack and Sandy were fast asleep and Tooth was heading the same way. Bunny wasn't fully awake himself if he was completely honest, but the Pooka didn't let the weakness show, vowing that he would sleep for at least a week later at his Warren.

Stretching, Bunny rose to his feet as Tooth moved over to wake Sandy.

"Oi Frosty!" The Pooka moved closer to the spirit who was curled up in the corner. He wasn't surprised to see the teen asleep – as much as he hated to admit it, Jack had been in more fights with Pitch than he had, and his bones were aching. And who knows what he was doing when he flew away at Easter.

The memory made him twitch uncomfortably. Looking back, Bunny knew that he was wrong to take his temper out on the spirit, but he was so confused…and shocked.

Still, there was a small part of him that was still suspicious of Jack. None of them knew where he had gone, and then he suddenly turned up with some children…it was still too suspicious to him.

"I think he's in a worse state than all of us." Tooth said, joining Bunny. North's voice bellowed in the distance, shouting out orders to the yeti. The Pooka let himself listen to them for a while as he thought of an answer.

"He didn't loose any believers though." He eventually settled on.

"You know, I don't think he had any before now." Bunny looked over at Tooth, who was watching the spirit sleep with darkened eyes.

"Nah – I reckon he had some. No one has no believers." He reassured, stretching again. His limbs ached. "Anyway, it's about time he got up. He ain't sleepin' in the sleigh."

"Bunny, he looks so adorable though…"

"Tough."

Bunny suddenly pushed the spirit off his seat, making Tooth gasp. Jack woke up immediately, sitting up.

"What the-" his eyes locked onto Bunny. "Oh. It's you."

"Ride's over, Frostbite." The Pooka said, tapping his foot. Jack cursed under his breath, grabbing his staff.

"You could've just told me." He answered, picking himself up with a wince.

"It wasn't my idea." Tooth said, shooting a glare at Bunny. "But I guess you're awake now."

"Yeah…" Jack muttered, wincing again. Tooth hadn't noticed.

"You coming in? Or you staying in the cold?" North's booming voice echoed over. Jack grinned slightly and Bunny twitched his ears, realising how cold he actually was.

"Course I am, ya Dill." He shouted back, stepping out of the sleigh. Tooth followed, ruffling her feathers, but Jack hung back.

"Ya comin' or are ya gonna stay there?" The Pooka asked irritably. Jack smiled, swinging his staff onto his shoulder.

"I actually like the cold, Cottontail. But I guess Kangaroos like you don't, seeing as you're used to the Outback." He laughed, stepping onto the snow. Bunny growled.

"I ain't a Kangaroo for the last time." He said through gritted teeth. The spirit didn't seem to sense his anger, however.

"You sure?" He asked innocently. "You do look like one." He laughed again, but then suddenly clutched his side, smile fading into a grimace. Bunny felt a small, tiny piece of concern for the youngest guardian, remembering the fight that resulted in the spirit plunging to the ground.

"Ya okay Frostbite?" Bunny asked, trying to sound unconcerned. Jack grinned so suddenly it was frightening.

"Asking me how I am twice in one day? Aw, you do care." The spirit answered, removing his hand off his side. Bunny snorted.

"I just don't want ya passin' out on me."

"Sure."

Bunny rolled his eyes and gestured towards the Pole's entrance.

"Ya comin'?" Jack shook his head, still smiling.

"Nope. Like I said, I like the cold." Jack said carelessly, letting himself hover in the air. Bunny cursed at the sudden cold.

"North ain't gonna be happy." The Pooka pointed out. Jack just laughed.

"I'm on the naughty list. He's never happy with me."

"Good point."

Jack grinned.

"See! I am a genius." Jack yelled triumphantly. Bunny rolled his eyes again.

"Just don't freeze up my Warren!" Bunny yelled as the spirit flew higher into the roaring wind.

"Wouldn't dream of it." Jack laughed and flew into the sky, dumping a snowball on Bunny's head as he left, cackling.

—

Jack dropped into the snow, glad no one saw the rushed landing. The white powder sprayed everywhere as the spirit skidded a few metres before stopping.

"Nice landing." The voice jeered. Gasping, he sat up, looking around for the source of the noise; like before, however, there was no one there.

"Who are you?" Jack whispered. The voice didn't reply.

Jack had fell from the sky as a particularly sharp jab of his side had blackened his vision and caused a strong bout of nausea. Sitting up, the spirit gingerly felt his side, surprised. The pain had almost left, excluding a small ache.

Strange…

The nausea had also faded, leaving his throat dry. Sighing, Jack let himself fall backwards into the snow, smiling as it cooled his skin. The wind tugged his locks and he allowed himself to close his eyes. He thought back to the guardians, and how he left Bunny in the snow.

Maybe I should've stayed…the spirit quickly dismissed the thought as soon as it came. He was sure the event would've ended badly – everything did whenever he attended for some reason – and he wouldn't know how to behave.

Maybe he would go to the Pole tomorrow, if he wasn't busy. Or if he wasn't asleep.

It was actually strange for him to be this sleepy, and it would concern him if his mind wasn't so fogged. Never in his life had he been this desperate for sleep, but then again, he had never fought a Boogeyman before. Three times.

Suddenly, a new wave of pain hit his side, making him draw his knees in quickly.

"Pretty weak, aren't you, huddled in the snow?"

"Go…away…" Jack muttered, gritting his teeth. The nausea came back with a vengeance, making the spirit whimper.

And as quick as it started, it stopped.

The pain gradually faded and his stomach stopped churning. Gasping, Jack sat up, rolling up his hoodie. What he saw made him gasp.

In his side, where Pitch had hit him hours before, there was a large, black patch that looked suspiciously like nightmare sand. It looked like a spiderweb: smaller, thinner trails of black had spread slightly from the wound and outward. A small amount of heat radiated off the mark, and the spirit quickly coated it in a layer of frost.

Jack stared at his wound for a while on her before hastily pulling his hoodie back down.

What…was that? He wondered. He knew he should've been more alarmed, but sleep was tugging at his mind. The spirit fell back into the snowbank, asleep before he hit the ground.

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