After Dark

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

Matthew smiled at the note and handed it to a very curious Jack. The winter spirit started to smile as he read it too. He could see how relieved he was at the new news. Jack stretched up and pulled him into a tight hug. He pressed a kiss to his temple.

"What's got you two all excited?" North asked curiously.

"Birdie can't be killed by spirits anymore!" The Guardian of fun bounced excitedly. "And dreamsand won't hurt him!"

"Really?" The Russian asked. The pair both nodded. "That's amazing!" He said excitedly. "We should celebrate! What do you two think about some pancakes?"

Jack looked up at the Reaper who nodded. "Okay!" The winter spirit said for the both of them.

North stood from his desk and Kumakuro trotted over to the couple. The winter spirit climbed out of Matthew's lap. He offered him a hand and pulled him up off the love seat. Jack pressed a light kiss to his jaw. He smiled gently. He took his hand in his and stood at his side ready to go. North lead the way as the pair followed slowly behind.

As soon as they had finished eating, North insisted they go see Lizzy. He had seen how bad the Canadian's breathing had been while walking. Matthew had agreed right away, but Jack was hesitant. He eventually agreed knowing it was for the best.

Lizzy check the Reaper first. She first checked his throat and vocal cords. They were damaged pretty severely. She said it shouldn't affect his eating or drinking though. It didn't seem like his esophagus had much if any damage. She told him his trachea was very damage. She quickly ran a few tests and come to the conclusion his lungs were just functioning enough to let him move. His blood oxygen levels were very low. Matthew didn't completely understand what she was telling him, but got the gist. He'd have to take things slow for a very long time.

The yeti doctor checked Jack next. The Canadian immediately noticed how nervous he was. He looked like he was ready to bolt at any second. Especially when Lizzy reached out and touch his injured leg. Matthew sat next to him and gently put an arm around his waist. The winter spirit leaned into his side and relaxed slightly.

After both were exhausted and decided to head to bed. Both were happy to be able to sleep in a proper bed together again.

—-❄️"No matter how ridiculous the odds may seem, within us resides the power to overcome these challenges and achieve something beautiful".❄️—-

It had been a few days since the pair had returned to the pole. They hadn't gone too far away either. It was night and they were both in bed. The Guardian was asleep, but Matthew wasn't. They'd been resting a lot lately and he couldn't fall asleep. He felt exhausted, but wasn't tired.

The Reaper was also kept awake by worry. Most of Jack's physical wounds had healed, but the mental ones hadn't. He was having nightmares. They weren't caused by Pitch, they were memories. Matthew had grown to be a heavy sleeper over his years at the pole, but the winter spirit's movement still woke him. He'd wake Jack carefully and let him know he was there. Sometimes he would wake up ready to fight. As soon as he realized it was just the Canadian, he'd relax slightly. Getting him to go back to sleep or even sleep at all was difficult.

Jack had had a panic attack at least twice a day for the last few days. Matthew noticed it was yetis or any form or fur touching him that set him off. He tried to help the winter spirit avoid the triggers, but there were a lot of yetis at the pole. It hadn't worked well.

The first time Jack had panicked while at the pole, the Reaper had pulled him through a shadow to the nearest empty place. He wasn't sure how to help calm him. Before, he'd talk to distract him, but he couldn't now. He had gotten the Guardian to preen his feathers. It was something he'd taken a likening to after Matthew had been hurt years ago. It took a while to start working and distract him from the panic.

The next time, he still pulled Jack away to a quiet place. This time he had a note pad on him. North had made sure just about everyone had one. The Canadian sat down on the ground and patted for the winter spirit to sit as well. He looked confused, but did. He clung to Matthew's coat. The Reaper pulled out his note pad and started to write. Jack watched as he wrote. He wrote about anything that came to mind. It subbed in for talking and worked quicker than the preening did.

They had both managed to hide what was going on from everyone. The Canadian was able to catch them fairly early on and get Jack away. None of the yetis or North had noticed. The Reaper wasn't sure if he was actually helping him by hiding them.

Matthew sighed carefully untangling himself from the sleeping winter spirit. He wanted to go somewhere more active to watch the yetis. He knew he wasn't going to fall asleep anyways. He sat up at the edge of the bed. He quickly wrote a note on the notepad just encase Jack woke up and didn't know where he went. He didn't want to wake him and tell him. He'd never fall asleep again without him there.

The Canadian stood and went to the door. He left it open a crack just encase Kumakuro wanted out. He walked a little way to the main atrium of the pole. He leaned against the railing. It took a moment for him to catch his breath from the short walk. He looked down to watch the yetis work. His eyes wandered to the globe and the lights. He hadn't really paid much attention to it before. There was moonlight coming through one of the windows, but he couldn't see the moon himself.

"Matthew!" The Canadian jumped slightly at the sudden loudness. It was just North. He had no idea if the Russian ever actually slept, it never seemed like he did. Now that he thought about it, he'd never seen him asleep. "How are you?"

Matthew reached for his notepad, but realized he left it in their room. He used his hand to make a so-so motion. North noticed he didn't have any thing to write with and handed him his own notepad. The Reaper smiled as a thanks.

"What are you thinking about?" The Guardian asked.

'im just worried about jack.' He wrote before tilting the notepad to show North. He read it and nodded.

"I am too. Something is not right." The Russian said looking up to the globe. He sighed and looked back down to him. "Will you tell me what happened?"

Matthew bit his lip. He wanted to tell North, but Jack didn't want anyone to know what happened. He was loyal to both, but didn't want to keep everything from the older Guardian. He thought telling him would be good. He could give some advice on how to help. He nodded at North's question.

"You don't have to if you're not ready." The Russian said reassuringly.

'i will. im ok.' Matthew wrote. North nodded.

"Who did this to you?" The Guardian asked.

'pitch, missal and bunny." The Reaper wrote. He turned the notepad and showed North.

The Guardian read his message and anger flashed across his face.