Cold and alone ✔️

Are you okay? - 21

     Slight trigger warning - starts here
        —-~eating disorder recovery~-—

   After Bunny had gotten Jack to calm down, they did eventually talk about eating and realized that Jack did indeed have an eating disorder. They explained the situation to the rest of the Guardians and they were all very heartbroken over it. It was partially their fault Jack had suffered for all those years and quickly took turns introducing Jack to their favorite soups as his stomach was much too small to handle any solid foods.

   At first, Jack could only eat a few spoonfuls before he felt he would burst but he was making progress. He had cried in front of all of them multiple times, feeling miserable over the fact they were trying so hard to help him, yet he couldn't handle more than a few bites. He hated wasting food but they all comforted him as it would take time, and it did. It had taken them two weeks but he built himself up to half a bowl with simpler soups. If the soup was rather rich, he still couldn't eat too much but it was great progress. It wasn't much to Jack, but the Guardians made sure he knew how proud they were with how far he had come, both physically and mentally.

~ eating disorder recovery ends here ~

As Jack continued to heal, the Guardians grew closer with one another and hang out as much as possible. They never grew tired of each other and were currently in the middle of a very intense card game of BS. Jack and Sandy were in the lead as a team because Jack had never played before, with only three cards left with Tooth having seven. Bunny and North on the other hand were constantly calling bs on each other and both held around half the deck. Two rounds later, Jack and Sandy won and they all called it a night.

The happy group of five all went to their separate rooms build for them by North so they could drop by any time they wanted or needed. Each room was decorated specifically for them and Jack's room l was no different. Even though North didn't know Jack before rescuing him, his room was painted a frosty blue and had a window beside his bed so he could open it at night if he got too hot. His bed was quite comfortable and had a beautiful snowlike pattern for the comforter but he preferred to sleep on his hammock. Jack had spent most of his life climbing and sleeping in trees and when North learned this, he built Jack a tree like sculpture for the corner of his room and attached a hammock up above it just for him. Jack truly loved his room and appreciated all the guardians had done for him but he couldn't sleep in it.

After spending so many nights alone and those two years never knowing when Pitch would attack him with nightmares, Jack was afraid to sleep by himself. Ever since Jack had spent those few days with Bunny and felt saver than ever before in his arms, he couldn't sleep. He knew Pitch was gone and couldn't hurt him anymore but he had become a light sleeper and any little nano noice would wake him up unless he knew he had someone with him to protect him. Seeing that he wouldn't be able to sleep yet another night, Jack got up out of his hammock and wondered outside to enjoy the snow.

While Jack walked around making sure not to go too far from the workshop, he looked up and starred at the moon. The moon was the reason he was here in the first place and the reason he had been saved. But if it hadn't been for the moon, he never would have been kidnapped by Pitch either. Jack was so lost in thought that he didn't hear North's loud footsteps like he normally would until North was right behind him.

North had gone a few moments earlier to Jack's room to check up on him before going to bed himself only to find the room empty. He saw that the window was wide open and could see Jack gazing up at the stars and moon.

"Jack? Vat are you doing out 'ere?" "I don't know..." He said with a shrug, "couldn't sleep I guess." North looked down on Jack with saddened eyes and gave him a hug. "Jack, ve are 'ere for you da? Ve care for you, don't forget that! Now come on! Some hot chocolate for me and chocolate ice cream for you and ve can talk if you vant?"

Much later that night, Jack finally goes back to bed and his last thought before drifting off into a good dream is this. 'I think I may become okay after all'

Edited October 22, 2022