After Dark

Chapter Twenty Two

Chapter Twenty Two

The Canadian held him tightly waiting for the medication to kick in. It was the longest fifteen minutes of his life. He hated watching Jack suffer without being able to help.

After a while his breathing returned to normal and he slowly stopped shaking. Jack moved his hands from where they were fisted in his coat to hug him back. He let out a long sigh.

Matthew wanted to ask him if he was okay, but didn't want to let go of him to get his notebook. He felt awful for not thinking about his action. He knew he should have at least left a note.

"Where'd you go, Birdie?" The Guardian asked. His voice was strained. He pulled back and looked up at him.

The Canadian hesitated. He still didn't want to let go. Jack noticed his expression. He reached behind them and took his notebook from the bedside table. He handed it to him. He turned around and pressed his back to his chest waiting for him to write.

'i couldnt sleep and went to watch the yetis. i was talking with north for a bit.' Matthew wrote. 'after i really needed to stretch my wings. i got distracted by souls and lost track of time.'

"I thought I finally woke up from the dream and you were gone. Or you finally left." The winter spirit sighed. Matthew's eyebrows furrowed as he shook his head. Jack smiled reaching back cupping his jaw and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I'm sorry for doubting you."

'im sorry. i should have left a note or woke you or something.' The Reaper bit his lip. He felt guilty. He knew he was the cause of the panic attack. He realized it was the first time Jack had been awake and he wasn't there.

"I shouldn't have over reacted." The Guardian shrugged. Matthew wanted to argue, but didn't have the energy. "I think it's good you're getting back to normal. It might get me back to more normal too?" The Canadian just shrugged. Jack smiled before bursting into a yawn. "Those pills work pretty well, huh?"

'i think theyre supposed to make you tired.' Matthew wrote. The Guardian just nodded and leaned back resting his head on his chest.

"I think I'm going to go back to sleep now." Jack said through another yawn. "Sleep too?" He asked.

The Reaper smiled and nodded. He laid them back into the bed. The Guardian let out a content sigh rolling over and there curling up on his chest. He almost instantly fell asleep. Matthew stayed awake for a little while to watch for any allergic reaction from Jack. He stared at the ceiling while gently playing with the Guardian's hair. After a while he finally closed his eyes as well. He found sleep quickly.

—-❄️"I can't wait to claim the whole world, and tell everybody to hippity hoppity get off my property."❄️—-

A month later...

Matthew watched Jack curiously from where he was laying in a snow drift.

The Guardian was working on his powers. He was getting better. His powers were still mostly ruled by his emotions, but He was almost able to control them with concentration. He didn't have much force behind his attacks. He kept trying though, he was determined.

The Canadian was just sticking close to him for moral support. He'd been going out to get souls that were close by lately. Jack had been improving and hadn't had a panic attack in over a week. He insisted that the Reaper go and get back to work. Matthew reluctantly agreed. He missed traveling, but wanted to stay close. His lungs had improved a bit and he thought doing harder things might help.

They both kept with the therapy sessions. The winter spirit finally worked up enough courage to tell North what had happened. The older Guardian had already known, but acted like it was new information. He wasn't the best actor, but Jack didn't notice.

Matthew yawned and stretched. He rolled on to his stomach and rested his head on his forearms. He let his wings relax as he closed his eyes. He was a bit tired and very comfortable in the snow. It didn't take too long before he fell asleep.

The Canadian didn't sleep too long. When he woke up, he was covered in a thin layer of snow. Jack was still working with his powers. He looked over and smiled noticing he was awake.

"Good morning Birdie!" The winter spirit smiled brightly. "How was your nap?"

Matthew just smiled sleepily and gave a thumbs up. Jack laughed and walked over to him. The Canadian rolled over and opened his arms for him. The winter spirit happily flopping down into them. He hummed curling into his side.

"You're covered in snow." Jack commented. "You'll have to change. Don't want to get sick!"

The Canadian smiled and nodded. They were quiet for awhile. He was just watching the snowflakes fly. It was peaceful, quiet and cold. He almost wanted to fall back asleep, but it was too pretty to sleep through.

"I don't know if I'm ready to see the others." Jack sighed. The Reaper looked over and raised an eyebrow. "I'm nervous. What if something happens? What if I..." he trailed off. "I'm not ready to tell them yet."

Matthew's eyebrows furrowed. There was a Guardian meeting in a few hours. They had been happening less and less over the decades. They didn't need to meet as often and discuss Pitch. The Canadian could just tell them when he was gaining power. The meetings were just to visit and socialize. Bunny didn't bother showing up most of the time.

"I know I'll be fine since you'll be there." Jack smiled then sighed. "But I'm still nervous."

The Canadian smiled and wrapped his arms around him. He pulled him to his chest and pressed a kiss to his jaw. He didn't bring his note book and couldn't exactly answer him. He tried to be reassuring. Jack laughed and turned over in his arms.

"Thanks, Birdie." The winter spirit hummed stretching up to kiss him. "I love you."

Matthew smiled hearing the words. He pressed kisses all over Jack's face. He was laughing and squirming. He finally kissed him properly. They broke apart only for breath and both laughed.

"Why go to a boring old meeting when I could stay here with you?" The winter spirit hummed kissing him again.

After another hour they were both still laying in the snow bank. More snow had accumulated on top of them, but neither mind. Jack was curled into his chest. The Canadian had his arms around his waist with his wings spread out behind him. It was actually pretty warm under the snow.

Matthew huffed sitting up with Jack in his lap. He knew it was getting close to when the other Guardians would arrive. The winter spirit whined as he sat up. The Canadian smiled and pointed towards the Pole.

"Fine." Jack groaned exasperatedly.

The Reaper laughed silently watching him stand. He offered a hand to Matthew and helped him up. He shook out his clothes and flapped his wings trying to get the snow off. Jack just laughed watching him. He smirked and lightly hit him with his wing. He smiled innocently watching him stumble slightly.

"Birdie!" The Guardian laughed. "You're mean."

Matthew just rolled his eyes. He offered his hand and Jack immediately took it. The pair started the short walk back to the pole. He was only slightly out of breath by the time they reached the doors. He pointed towards a shadow and Jack nodded.

The pair had been through a pulls lot of shadows together. The winter spirit was nervous the first time. He didn't know what it was going to be like. Matthew did his best to explain, but he didn't know if it would be different for Jack. After the first time he knew it was fine and didn't mind. Matthew always kept their jumps short knowing longer ones would make him feel sick.

The pair reappeared in their room. The Canadian quickly got changed. He grumbled seeing his wings were still wet and had snow stuck to them. He went into the bathroom and tried to get more of the snow out. Jack followed him and teased, but helped. They managed to get most of the snow, but his wings were still wet.

"We can sit by the fireplace?" The winter spirit said and he shrugged. He knew they'd dry out eventually. "Lets go! They'll be here soon!"

Matthew smiled and nodded. He was happy to see Jack excited. He was humming as he took the Reaper's hand. The pair started to walk towards the meeting area. Kumakuro found them along the way and followed.

AN: Almost done, one more chapter!