Chapter Text
He thought it wouldn't get out of hand,He thought it was just a phase,a mere though that came to his mind while painting eggs with him. But when Jack was ever right about anything? He made a mess whever he goes.
After Jack became a Guardian the others tried to hang out with each other more,noticing how distant they were before the events with Pitch. North made it his mission to plan group meetings every two weeks,though they mostly ended with all of them drinking and laughing about anything and everything,but they were in contact with each other nonetheless.
Aside from the group meetings,Jack always tried to visit his friends,he doesn't have a routine mission like the other guardians have,or a residence like they do. He moved with the wind,visiting every corner of the world like the snowflakes he conjures up. So he always put it in the corner of his mind to visit his friends often,and often he did. They never complained though,they always welcomed him with a smile whenever he visited them,trying to make time for him always. It sometimes made him feel guilty but they tried to make him think otherwise.
He didn't notice the feelings until it was too late.
He was always visiting others but he was found in the Warren the most. Bunny was the person he saw everyday almost, Bunny would always grump and scold him for freezing his color rivers but he would enjoy Jacks company,it was clear on his face when they would lay together under a willow tree and rest,not caring about anything in the world,it was the peace that drew Jack to there everytime. The comfort that cuddled to him when he breathed in the air,it made him want to cry with something he couldn't name back then,but he could now,and that was what made Jack want to cry harder.
The first time it happened,they were painting
eggs,as they often did because Bunny insisted. They were sitting on top of a foothill,the air was a bit chilly because of Autumn slowly coming. Jack was humming a song he heard on a radio,something from the late 90's,the rhythm was pretty catchy and he always liked pop music anyway. "What kind of song even is that?" Bunny said after a while,chuckling while still painting the little wiggling egg, Jack made a question sound and looked away from his egg,still half painted a scene of a wintery hillside. Bunny met Jacks gaze and a smirk grew into his face,"The song you're hummin', it sounds kinda old even for a larrikin like you mate" Jacks reaction must've been something he was expecting because he bursted out laughing and even dropping the little egg,it ran away after being freed but Bunny didn't even try to grab him back. "I'm not that old Bunny,I travel around the world for MiM's sake!" Jack grumbled while turning back to his egg,still murmuring about "rude rabbits" and "treating guests right".
After a while Bunny's laughter died down and Jack pushed down the part of him that mourned the sound,he looked at Bunny again,a little devilish smirk now on his face. "I think you should worry about your eggs running away instead of laughing at me,because they're scattering away with the one escaped from you" Bunny's face fell and he looked left and right only to find the place around him completely empty,he saw his eggs running away from a distance and bolted to catch up to them while Jack was laughing like a maniac. The laugh soon turned into coughing and he felt like something was trying to come out of his throat, after a bit of coughing and gagging he found a little flower inside his palm. A blue larkspur. The petals were a bit torn because of the rough coughing but it was beautiful nonetheless,Jack looked at it curiously for a while as millions of thoughts ran over his mind,why did he suddenly coughed out a flower? Was this normal? He's a winter spirit this shouldn't be normal. He started to fell nervous and anxious as the time grew,his sudden emotions accidently froze half of the flowers petals,he put the flower in his hoodie pocket when he heard Bunny coming near,and their day continued with their chatting,and if Jack was a little off nobody mentioned it.
The second time he was alone,flying over Nebraska. The air was cold in human terms,but to Jack it was nothing but a little stinging in his skin. The wind was swirling around him in a form of comfort,she was always the first to notice when his mood was down,probably Ellie's* work,she always tried to keep an eye on him despite his denies,she treated him like a little child needed comfort,like he was still the naive winter spirit he was when they first met. But they were in the past now. Now his mind was occupied with something else,or rather someone else.
After the flower incident Jack was away from the Warren for a while,he didn't know what to do about it,should he tell Bunny? He was all about spring and flowers after all,but Jack immediately pushed the thought down,telling Bunny meant spending more time with him,and Jack was still feeling weird about Bunny,his cheeks tinged with a slight purple at the thought of the overgrown rabbit. His rough looking but soft fur,his emerald green eyes,his broad shoulders,his firm arms an- okay,this train of though was getting out of hand and Jack was not gonna think about anything lustful right now.
Suddenly he choked on his own breath and started coughing non stop,the first time it was just a bit of a sting,but this time it felt like his throat was burning,the wind put him down while he was struggling to get the thing he assumed were flowers out,when he managed his throat was still burning but at least it was over,he looked at his hands and sure enough,there was a new flower. Red Camellias. He didn't know why it was a different flower this time,and he wasn't sure what their meaning was but he figured the meaning was important. When he became aware of his surroundings he noticed the leafs twirlwirl around him did he notice the wind going crazy,at this point she was howling around him. Fuck,Ellie was probably gonna ask him about this because of course she's gonna know about it.
The call came when he was with Tooth,they were talking about some gossip about the spirit world while drinking tea,and suddenly an orange and brownish looking leaf fell in front of Jacks cup. Jack looked at it for a little while with a tingle of nervousness,Tooth probably noticed it,"Are you okay Jack? You seem a bit off" She said with her sweet smile,Jack looked at her as he took the leaf and put it in his pocket. "I'm certainly wonderful! Just a bit peachy because of how intense I'm travelling around these days, the wind likes a bit of a challange" he tried to chuckle but Tooth didn't look convienced, Jack stood up and grabbed his staff,"Anyways! I gotta go,the wind is calling and there's still places that needs snow and winter. See you later Tooth!" He didn't even give her the time to respond as he bolted out of the balcony and let the wind take him to his friend.
.•♫•♬• 𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒚 •♬•♫•.
Spain was peaceful at this time of year,Autumn was always good in here,that's why Jack stick to Spain often in Winter and Fall. The wind put him down in front of a large crown shaped palace,there was many windows and a little bit battared walls but Jack knew the palace was strong,he'd seen it in many different shapes after all. The air shifted and little snowflakes started to drift around him as he stepped inside,despite being there for centuries,the beauty of the palace always took his breath away. As he walked to the center of the main room a figure came towards him,he recognized her quickly.
She was a few inches taller than her,her hair a chesnut color and a little above her shoulders,half of it was tied behind her hair in a little tail and her clothing reminded him of deer hunters,though it sounded ironic to him considering his friends past. Her right eye was covered with a leaf and there was a stone look on her face. "Jackson" Eliana's tone was firm,the wind carrying it like rustling leafs,the Autumns air dancing around them. "How are you doing this enthusiastic afternoon? You haven't visited me in weeks,it is quite a pleasure to see you" She smiled fondly,it didn't reach her eyes but most of her smiles were like that,so Jack didn't put much thought to it.
He swinged his staff around while walking alone side her to what he guessed was the dining room "Oh you know,painting the leafs and looking around to see if someplace needed snow and if it was enough or not,nothing much really,you know me" They finally reached the dining room and as he guessed,there was a fine dinner table,with most of his favourites. "Wow,you really went out of your way to cook all of my favourites,if I didn't know you I'd think you were trying to get answers out of me" He chuckled to himself and sat down. "I wouldn't need an appreciative dinner to get answer out of you Jackson,you know that" She sat in the opposite seat of his and they quitely began eating their dinner,the comfortable silence flew around them,a relaxing afternoon was a common thing between them,after some time Eliana broke the silence.
"So,I'm pretty sure you know that I know about that incident a few days before,though I would be surprised if you didn't" She didn't look up from her dinner as she talked,she didn't need to look at him know his nervousness. Jack cringed a bit and swallowed his bite. "Yeah...I don't think we really need to talk about that do we? I mean it wasn't a big deal,I'm sure we can just let it past and act like it didn't even happen,right?" He tried to excuse it but she clearly didn't buy it,what would you expect from someone who worked with emotions,she was clearly a walking lie detector. "Jackson" She sighed "You literally coughed up a flower,and by what my wind has told me,it was not a first time experience." The dinner was forgotten by now,the air shifted into something jittery,like it was moving with their conversation.
"But I'm okay now! It's nothing to worry about,and I can assure you it wont happen again!"
"Jackson,you and I both know that it is not the future omens what I am worried about,what I'm worried about is why and how it had happened,and if there's a way to cease it,because it is hurting you in plain sight." He knew he should probably tell her,and it was probably for the best,but it wasn't easy. He was still figuring out what this was,why it's happening,why him? And most importantly his feelings for Bunny. He was still so busy with the thoughts inside his mind that he didn't notice Eliana's face soften. "Ah,fervency and passion for someone,what a gracious thing to desire,though I would be happy to talk about such thing with you,but I'm afraid we have much more urgent things to discuss,yes?" She smiled softly to him again,and Jack willed up the courage to talk about the events of the past two and a half weeks. "Okay,so you know there's flowers coming out of my throat,whoa, it's pretty weird wording it like that" He giggled quietly to himself "I don't know anything about why it's happening,and how I can end it,and I don't know how long it will last for. So I don't really have any answer that may help us deal with it" It wasn't an answer that one might think it's smart but that was all what Jack has got.
"When does it happen? I mean,is there something that triggers it? Maybe it has started because of something you may have done or thought about." As they stood up from their dinner to her library,some of her helpers started to clean up the table. She quickly sent a breif 'thank you' as they dissappeared from the large dining room together. Jack thought about her question and she didn't rush him for an answer,she just looked ahead with her arms folded behind her back and waited for his answer. There wasn't anything that might've triggered it right? He hadn't angered any flower Nymphs,or Spring spirits,and he was sure he didn't touch any sealed item as far as he knew. Maybe he should try asking some of the Spring spirits about it,but wouldn't they know it by now? They mostly worked with flowers after all. Maybe it was because of his believers getting much more and more by the day? Could it be tied to his feelings? Might be some emotio- Oh MiM. Bunny. It first happened when he first started crushing on Bunny. Did that started it? What can he do now? Maybe it's not because of his feelings-but-not-so-feelings for Bunny? Maybe it was just a coincidince, he didn't notice Eliana suddenly looking at him. "Do you...have feelings for The Easter Bunny?"
The question hang in the air and Jack didn't even notice them stop walking for the last 6 minutes. He looked everywhere but her as his cheeks were tinged with a lilac purple and some frost. "Jackson" her tone was clearly not giving Jack an escape nor was it giving him comfort. He looked at her and started fiddling with his staff, "I'm not sure I would call it being in love bu-"
"But you are in love"
He fixed his words "Okay,yes,I am in love! But what of it? It doesn't matter right now with our situation! It doesn't affect what I am going through right now and we must focus on that ri-!" His words were interrupted by rough coughing,harder than the last one,Eliana quickly started patting his back and ordered a glass of water from her helpers,by the time she was holding it for him the flower was already in his hands,many petals fallen but still recognizable.
A Forget-me-not.
His questions were voiced by Eliana,"A Forget-me-not? Was it not Red Camellias last time? Do they come different everytime?" He looked up at her and furrowed his brows. "I don't know if they have a meaning but yes,they come differently everytime,I dont know why though." She was lost in thought for a minute,then her eyes widened a bit in realization,and met his eyes. "Okay,so you're coughing up flowers-" He rolled his eyes "Yeah that's pretty much obvious" She glares at him "Do not interrupt me. Anyways,and these flowers come in specific times,if what the information I've been told is anything to go by,and there's these emotions you feel towards a certain ground game-" "Don't call Bunny a ground game,it feels weird." She sighed "Again Jackson,please do not interrupt me. I am suspecting this might be some long forgotten magic or spell,that might've been triggered by your feelings for The Easter Bunny" They finally entered the library and Eliana guided them to the 'Love spells and magics' section,she waited for his response as she looked through the books.
He also looked around while talking,"I don't think it might be because of the feelings. I mean,it's a pretty low chance" at her raised brow he cleared his still sore throat. "Not that low,but still! It feels like a ridicilous idea,how could some teenage crush might 'Cause this?" He was still looking through the books when he heard her answer, "Many things are powerful in the spirit world Jackson,especially emotions. Do you not remember the Blizzard Of '68? Three hundred years and you still learned nothing I see." Jack cringed at the mention of his most known outburst and put the book he was currently holding back into his place. "Okay first of all,we agreed to never talk about that. And second,I learned something in my three hundred years of spirit existence,you dont get to scold me just because I don't think about other options" She suddenly gasped and he turned around to look at her. "What happene-" She was holding a book that was open wide to a certain page. "Have I not thought about this? How foolish of me to forget such a deathly sorcery." She then looked at him, "Jackson,I think I might know what have been happening to you"
.•♫•♬• 𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒚 •♬•♫•.
"Hanahaki disease?" Jack asked after an explanation of what this all nonsense was. It still sounded weird to him,how could a few emotions cause such a big action? "Yes,and I must say Jackson,it is such a powerful spell that it can be very hurtful to you,I am sorry I did not notice it sooner." Jack excused the apology and asked the question that's been on his mind for days. "Is there a cure for it?" Eliana looked at him for a long time,taking in his desperation and sadness. "I'm afraid not...as I've said,this is a powerful sorcery that feasts from your emotions,mainly from love and reflects it through flowers,that grows from your lungs."
"How long will it continue for?"
At this question,Eliana looked away and fixed her scarf stressfully,huh,it was a rare time he could tell what she was feeling. "That's what I was worried about,there is no end to it but confessing,or getting your feelings requited,and if not,the spell will continue growing flowers in your lung until you can not breathe anymore and eventually die." Jack shuddered at the mention of death,the feeling of underwater came to him again,the ones in his nightmares,his lungs full of water that he can't even scream. "I can't confess to Bunny,even if I did, it's pretty possible he doesn't feel the same." It hurt to admit but it was true,he may laugh and have fun with Bunny,but he didn't feel the same as Jack did. Jack saw his eyes,they weren't shining as Jacks eyes do when he looks at him,his smile didn't widen at his frosty entrances. So,no. Bunny didn't feel the same towards him.
"You can not know if you do not try,emotions and feelings are no such thing to be judged by appearence."
Jack groaned and leaned back in his chair, "But you don't know him like I do! You don't see how he acts around me! Like I'm some sort of obstacle between him and his life work! Like I'm some sort of useless sprite whenever I try to help! You don't see how he acts around me." "Then why did you fall in love with him if he treats you so low?" The question pulled the air out of his lungs,hang in the air as the two sat there silently. Jack looked at his hands,at the staff he had put aside,and pulled out the flowers from before out of his hoodie pocket. "I....don't know.... He's so gentle. He handles everything he cares about with care,he smiles so fondly at his eggs while painting them,he looks so happy when he watches the kids on egg hunts,he speaks so highly about the things he cares about. When he loves something,he loves with everthing he has,from the little paint brushes he has to the Warren." He didn't know when tears started to fall,but they mostly froze and fell to the ground in little solid drops. He felt a hand cup the side of his face and he looked up at Eliana to see her smiling fondly at him, "If you talk about him so fondly,then why do you doubt his affection?" He didn't really have an answer to that,she wouldn't understand what he tried to say,so he didn't answer and she didn't push him. He left shortly after that,and she let him.
.•♫•♬• 𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒚 •♬•♫•.
He knew he probably shouldn't avoid his friends,his own problems with his inner self shouldn't mess with his visits with the other Guardians,but he was so caught up with trying to find a solution that he didn't notice how much time had passed since he last saw his friends. They were probably worried. He should go and say hi to them sometime later probably.
The Norht Pole is busy and loud as always,with how much people in it and the work they do,it's pretty much normal and a daily routine. He flies around toyd and yetis,trying to find the big jolly man. After a while the person he tried to find finds him instead, "Ah,Jack! How are you my boy!" North pats him on the shoulder so hard that Jack wonders how he didn't drop his staff. North looks at him with the familiar shining in his eyes then chuckles loudly. "It's been a while since your last visit,no? Come,come! Let's talk in my office with some cookies." He leads them to his office with the chatter of the workshop behind them,the feeling so familiar it makes Jack forget how much he hates loud places,they arrive at North's office and Jack takes a deep breath.