Why oh why did I think university was a good idea??

Jack was not afraid to be alone.

That was the way it had always been - just him. The wind kept him company, but there was only so much help a silent breeze could offer. Night after night the sun fell from the heavens, the stars changed their track, the moon continued in its orbit, and Jack was left still alone.

No. What Jack was afraid of was to have a glimpse into what it was like to be wanted and cared for, not to be alone, and then to have it cruelly ripped away.

After all, he'd spent 300 years building up his wall brick by brick, each cut and bruise and scar proof that he had survived. So, he refused to let himself open up, lest anyone shatter his wall down.

Already, not even a week of being with the Guardians, he had begun to break his promise to himself.

Across the seats, Bunnymund held a death grip on the rails, lines creasing on his forehead as he squeezed his eyes shut. Jack chuckled, swivelling around to face the retreating landscape and allowing his legs to dangle freely over the side, revelling in the feeling of the air circling his feet. He shut his eyes and breathed deeply, the smell of freshly polished wood drifting to his nose.

"Jack?" The voice called to him from afar, a slightly worried tone to its voice.

"Mmm…" He replied, not bothering to open his eyes. The wind whipped beneath them, the pond and the children below fading to specks of dust as they soared into the air. The Boogeyman was gone; they had won. But the adrenaline from the battle was wearing off, and tiredness was now taking hold. Aches and pains, previously ignored, were drifting out of the shadows and taking their place in the light beside the afternoon's madness.

Jack didn't need to sleep like a regular human, but three days of exertion with no sleep (not counting however long he was unconscious at the bottom of the cliff) had undoubtedly taken its toll. Dark bags circled his eyes, a similar colour to the deepening bruise forming on his temple. He didn't have to look to know that other similar wounds covered his body, and still, no words could describe the feeling of the pain that wracked his thin frame when Pitch broke his staff. The throbbing ache, although dull now, was still ever-present even with his staff held in a vice in his arms, no signs of the damage.

A feathered hand gently shook his shoulder in an attempt to catch his attention. He cracked his eyes open and was greeted by Tooth's face mere inches from his own.

"Uh, hi?" He said, confused at the proximity. It wasn't until he shuffled back slightly that he noticed their surroundings – no longer were they surrounded by open air and fluffy clouds, but instead, the inside of the sleigh room stared back at him, bright lights and wooden rafters all around. A few yetis shuffled about on the sides, removing harnesses from the reindeer and checking over damaged parts of the flying vehicle. Since when had they arrived at the Pole? He was sure it was only minutes ago that they had left Burgess.

He didn't even acknowledge the fairy queen had been talking to him until he turned back to face her and found her intently staring at him as though waiting for an answer.

"What?" It sounded blunt coming out of his mouth, his speech almost slurred.

"I asked if you were okay," she replied, brow furrowing even more. Behind her, North was staring at him expectantly, while Bunny stood behind (far away from the death trap that was the sleigh) and pretended not to care. Sandy had already resumed dream-giving duty. "You fell asleep straight after Burgess and haven't moved since."

"Oh," How long had it been since they left Burgess? He looked around, running a confused hand through his hair. Everything around him looked foggier than usual. "I'm all good, just tired."

He stood, tightening his grip around his staff, which had slightly slipped out of his grasp, before floating out of the sleigh and onto the floor. To say his landing was graceful would have been an outright lie. It was like he was back three hundred years ago when he hadn't learnt to ride the wind yet – more than a few of his 'landings' were far closer to a dirt-full faceplant than the nimbleness he harnessed today.

His knees buckled beneath him, nearly giving out as he touched down. Head spinning at the sudden movement, the winter spirit had to grab a nearby wooden column to stop himself from fully toppling over. Tooth was by his side in seconds, extending her arm beneath his shoulders to provide him with some support. Inadvertently, he rested the majority of his weight onto her, and she realised just how small he was. His shoulder bones easily protruded through his jumper.

"Jack, your head's bleeding!"

That would explain the dizziness, he thought whilst clutching the column and regaining his breath. Toothiana's arm stayed strong under his own, keeping him upright.

"Jack, we take you to medbay immediately! Yetis will fix you up nice." North's booming voice shook the room, Bunnymund jumping as his oversensitive hearing was bombarded.

"I'm all right," Jack breathed, finally feeling the cold trickle down his face. The world continued spinning a bit faster than it usually did. He was seeing double, and one Bunny was plenty enough.

"Nonsense!" North echoed, clamping a large hand on Jack's shoulder. "You are injured!"

"Probably from the fall in the alley… maybe from the cliff?" Confused faces stared back at him while he pondered in thought, eyes darting lazily around the room. He shrugged them off, brushing North's hand away and using his staff for support instead. "I've had worse."

That probably wasn't the right thing to say. Immediately, the floor turned into air beneath him as North picked him up, fireman carrying him to the medical room.

"Wha-hey put me down!" Jack wriggled and squirmed, but North's grip was like a vice. Heavy oaken doors banged shut behind him while he made his way down the hall. A few yetis spared a curious sideways glance, but no one attempted to intervene. More than likely, they were assuming the winter spirit was being kicked out (not by North, but this situation had happened before).

"No," North replied stubbornly, pushing another door open in front of them to reveal yet another corridor lined with open doors leading into various other rooms. Just how big was this place? "If you do not go by choice, I make you." The sentiment was certainly there, but Jack thought the execution could do with a little upgrade. It was not dissimilar to being stuffed in a sack and thrown through a magic portal. To the winter spirit, that seemed like aeons ago. Already, so much had changed.

Jack huffed but stopped wriggling. He had the right mind to blast a patch of ice in front of the Russian so he could escape, and was aiming his staff to do so when one final door pushed open, and he was plonked on a small white bed.

There was nothing special about the room – it contained only the bed, a set of wooden drawers and a small wardrobe. Jack was protesting his entrance when two yetis entered, each wearing a clean apron with a red cross displayed on the front centre. They garbled a few words to him, and after what could only be described as a game of charades, Jack eventually understood.

"Not a chance." He said as they motioned for him to take his hoodie off. Not taking no for an answer, one reached for his staff whilst the other stepped forward to wrestle with the blue jumper.

The winter spirit jumped back into the air, sending out a burst of ice from his staff in response to the sudden onslaught.

"No!" He cried, the yetis skidding and toppling below him. The second yeti's hand caught North's leg as it fell, pulling him to the floor like a domino effect. "Hoodie stays on, staff stays with me."

"Jack, they are just trying to help," North exclaimed, still in a bundle on the floor. Phil (as Jack recognised from being kicked out so often before) ran into the room to offer a helping hand to his boss but similarly slipped on the frozen floor and increased the pile-up. North grunted as he received an elbow to his stomach.

"I appreciate it North, but I've lasted three hundred years on my own just fine. I can manage a concussion."

"But you are not alone anymore," He scrambled, grabbing ahold of the bed leg to haul himself up. The ice below him caused his feet to skid as he stood. His knees wobbled with the effort, but he remained upright long enough to place a caring hand on the winter spirit's shoulder. "Let us help."

Jack sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Please, North," His voice came out weaker than he intended, almost like he was pleading. "Don't force it. Everything isn't going to change overnight. Your world and mine – they're completely different."

The Cossack looked at him, slightly taken aback. From behind the door, the other Guardians listened in.

"I hate to say it, but if you really wanted to help, you could've done it years ago. Moon knows I've been in much worse situations than this." Jack looked up at him, shrugging the large hand off his shoulder as he made for the exit. He turned to face him as he reached the door, the Russian still gripping the bedpost, a look of shock decorating his face. No words left him as he opened his mouth - he was ashamed to say he knew the boy's words were completely accurate. They were so focused on the children and their belief that they had isolated themselves from the rest of the world and neglected so many spirits that had actually needed help.

"I'm going to try, I promise," Jack whispered, not liking the feeling of opening up to someone so quickly, but he knew he had to get his point across. He would not let his wall crumble for these people he barely knew. He wanted to try, really- he finally had a chance for something he had longed for for years, but rushing into things wasn't going to help anyone. Besides, he didn't think he'd be able to open up to them just yet anyway. "But this is a lot for me, and it's going to take time to get used to it. I'm not the type to hold grudges often, but three hundred years is multiple lifetimes, and I was alone for all of them. Do you understand?"

North nodded. He hated himself as he thought that if not for Pitch, Jack would likely still be alone right now. It was a wonder he was being as kind as he was, considering everything that had happened. Outside, a silent tear slipped down Toothiana's cheek. Even Bunnymund looked taken aback. He was the Guardian of Hopee, protector of children yet here was one child in front of him who he'd completely failed. He'd never thought of Jack as more than a little brat.

If only he'd looked deeper below the surface and seen the real child under the mask.

They stepped back as Jack left, his mouth forming a small 'o' as he realised they'd heard everything. A floorboard creaked beneath his feet, the sound extenuated by the silence around them.

"I'm sorry." Tooth whispered to him, afraid if she raised her voice any more only sobs would sound. She truly was sorry for the one who had so easily slipped through her fingers, oblivious as he grappled for something to hold onto but caught only air between his fists. How hard would it have been to look away from herself for one second to notice him falling? She'd never even tried to reach out.

"It's okay." He replied, smiling back at her, though the expression didn't quite reach his eyes. The heavy bags adorning his features crinkled at the movement, and Toothiana realised how tired he looked. Not just right there in that moment, but in general. Under the bright light pouring in from the window and the lamp above, he looked wiser and older beyond his years. Something hardened shone from within his cerulean eyes, which didn't quite convey the carelessness they had so easily associated him with.

Why, after all this time, was he still so forgiving?

When no one else spoke, Jack took his cue to leave. Reaching out to his wind, he hopped up with his usual weightlessness and was off through the corridor and out the window before anyone could call him back. He was going to find a good snow bank, bury himself in it and stay there until the world stopped spinning.

Snowflakes trailed behind him as he flew, happily adding to the pile-up below as they drifted lazily down, disappearing as they settled onto the white powder. North watched out the window as the winter spirit's figure dwindled to a speck in the distance. As much as he wanted to follow and apologize for everything, he knew he needed to give Jack space. He was right: three centuries was a very long time. He couldn't change the past.

But, as the speck faded completely, he promised himself that he would do better for Jack and everyone else like him. Tooth fluttered above the yetis, who were still struggling to stabilise themselves amidst the ice, placing a hand on North's shoulder. No words were spoken - they just watched in silence as the snow fell outside, the intricate snowflakes more captivating in their beauty than they had noticed before. The word was silently agreed between the three of them, even with Bunny still taking place beside the door.

They would all do better.