Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or realities (unless otherwise stated). I do not make money off of this.
The prompt for this come from profilore on rotg-kink dreamwidth and this first chapter is only slightly changed by me but mostly profilore's work (the person implicitly stated that a writer could use their first chapter). This chapter and any possible other ones are mine, thank you very much.
This is not betaed. If you see any mistakes, I would love for you to kindly point them out.
Jack smiled emptily (not that they noticed) at the guardians, watching them wave back as he left their continuing reparations and preparations for more believers. The Tooth Palace was already repaired, tooth cases replaced back where they were and mural repainted (the floating buildings were fixed with more belief.) North's yeti couldn't help much with anything else, preparing billions of toys for the next Christmas.
Unfortunately winter was starting, and it would be prudent for him to go to the southern hemisphere. It would also be better for his own well being if he separated himself from the guardians. Then there wouldn't be any problems with him disappearing for the winters of both the northern and southern hemisphere. And he would no longer experience torture during fall and spring.
It was a nice thought to think before he became one with winter.
Bunny was a little worried at the smile Jack Frost gave them as he flew away. It looked empty and fragile at the same time. But it also looked strong, even if it seemed like a not-jack-frost-type strong. But it didn't seem like that big of a deal, so Bunnymund put it on the back burner as the guardians (excluding Sandy during the nights) helped him clean out the broken eggs (as much as it pained him) and put a note to visit him some time later on when the googies were planted and growing.
Maybe Jack'd even stop by, prancing around like the little show pony he was.
With that gotten over with, he started a conversation with North, and soon enough it devolved into an argument of which was better, Easter or Christmas.
Soon enough the thought of Jack Frost disappeared from his mind.
It was sometime in the middle of July that Bunny remembered his figurative promise to visit Jack. And, finishing painting the googie he had and then setting it on the soft grass he was sitting on, he packed up his paints, put them away and hopped into a tunnel to the southern hemisphere.
And immediately found him. Sitting against a tree, looking off into the distance, staff hidden somewhere. Unmoving. He didn't even shift as Bunny walked up and there was only a slight breeze wafting around him.
Sitting down in front of Jack, Bunny looked at him, spotting the glazed over eyes, and completely catatonic body. Catatonic body.
"Jack, no, no, no nononononononono." He pulled the rigid body to his own, not minding the light winter snow around him and attempted to hug him, but the body would not move. It wasn't dead, which was a great relief to Bunny, because even though spirits are hard to kill, they are not impervious to everything.
Keeping Jack close to him, he sent messenger googie to North's Workshop, telling them that he would be arriving with Jack soon and to set up a bed for him because something is wrong, something he didn't have enough expertise about. Pookas didn't go catatonic, at least not often, and only if they were sickly before. Jack wasn't, he knew from his instincts. Then why was he so unmoving?
Thumping his foot twice against the ground, he opened a tunnel - dislodging some snow - and, clutching Jack against his body with one hand (quite uncomfortably) he raced down the tunnels, popping out the other end without stopping, racing to the Workshop as quickly as he could. As soon as he got there, Tooth and Sandy were already there and worried sick. North was busying himself with fluffing the pillows and fixing the beds, the elves having already recognized the fact that this was really serious. There was no playing around with this.
As soon as Bunny slammed through the door, all three of the other guardians rushed over to him, North gently taking Jack from his now-cold hands and setting him on the bed, Tooth softly cooing over his body and attempting to make him relax with her precise fingers, Sandy attempting to find a way to have him fall asleep.
When the yetis started to separate them from the patient, Tooth and Sandy were frowning. Tooth because no matter what technique she did (and she learned from the best because she knew she overworked herself) Jack would not relax. And Sandy was frowning because Jack's own magic was preventing him from falling asleep.
About an hour into the yetis trying and failing to retrieve Jack from his catatonic state they shrieked something. The Guardians rushed to see what was going on to see that Jack had gotten a little see through and could not be touched. And then a strong gust of wind banged through the window, bringing with it a freezing torrent and Jack was solid and awake again, eyes wide open, staff tight in his grip, magic thrumming in the air.
"What are you doing?!" He was defensive and protective against himself, backing up against the open window, unwilling to fight against them but more than willing to run away. Bunny felt something stab at his heart.
"Bunny found you in catatonic state, what was going on?" North did not step forward, even though he looked like he really wanted to, wanted to run up to the boy and wrap him up in his enormous arms. But he knew that it would only make him run away.
"I was spreading winter." came the quiet response from Jack. "Like I do twice a year, once for the northern hemisphere, once for the south." He was still gripping his staff with alabaster pale hands like there was no tomorrow.
"But… why were you in a catatonic state?" Tooth ventured, Sandy expressing the same question with his golden sand. Jack flinched a little and took a baby step back. His lips pressed together and his shoulders tightened. Bunnymund had to hold back the strong urge to hold the winter spirit until everything was better and Jack was happy, but he knew it would only make it worse.
Suddenly Jack dropped his shoulders in defeat and said, "Because it's easier to do my job without feeling anything. I become the wind and the cold and winter has no need for sadness or loneliness. It just is."
Tooth gasped and Jack bolted, spinning on the Wind like he was a part of it. He probably was, the amount of times he became winter itself.
But at the moment, Bunny could only look on as a piece of his heart fled with Jack. Maybe they'd make it better for him, maybe they never would. But at the moment… North pulled everybody together, nobody willing or able to push away his crushing grip.
It was heartbreaking.
To be lonely enough to push away all feeling just to do the job he was put on earth for.
Bunny, the great Pooka scholarly warrior, cried.