#doublemint oreo

Later, when everyone had fallen asleep in a pile, Jack crawled up to the front seat to join North. The old man hadn’t been kidding when he said he was taking a detour. Jack supposed it made sense, since his trip had originally been meant to last a week.

North just took one look at Jack from the side of his eye, and his eyes crinkled the way they always did when he detected a secret about to be shared. “So, what is it you have come to ask me that is so very hush hush?”

“You were once mortal, right North?” Jack asked, looking down below at the cities all lit up under the night sky. He had definitely missed the view from way up high. Maybe he should ask North for lifts more often, now that the cat was out of the bag about all of them. “Do you still happen to know the friend that helped you out with that?”

North nodded after a moment, with a serious look on his face. “Da. I am thinking what you want is something that will make all of us very sad,” North began, and Jack saw the way he visibly deflated. Every now and then, North’s age really showed, and this was one of those moments. “But I am also thinking,” he continued, “That this is something that will make you very happy. Let us consider this a very early Christmas gift, and as a bonus, you get a longer ride in the sleigh.”

Jack smiled brightly, with a light in his eyes shining that had nothing to do with his hunger. “Merry Christmas North,” Jack whispered, and pecked him on the cheek.

---

A week later, and North dropped Jack off in front of his house in his bright red truck. Jack waved him off, and North honked as he left. North would probably be calling him later to confirm their plans for coffee and toy making that weekend, as well to check how Jack was feeling after giving up six hundred to seven hundred years of his life, give or take, for a much shorter and more human fifty to sixty.

Give or take.

He had told himself a dozen times on the way here, that he didn’t regret his choice. It just meant that he had to cram a lot more, into a lot less time. It was what he had been expecting from life up until a week ago, so really, he shouldn’t worry about the change at all.

It didn’t make breathing any easier to tell himself that.

He had barely put his key in the lock, when the door slammed open, and Jack was scooped up into two pairs of arms, and squeezed tightly between them. Jack’s feet couldn’t even touch the ground, and he laughed, thinking it felt just a tiny bit like flying.

“You’re back!”

“Never leave us again.”

“We missed you.”

"Thank you guys for coming with me," Jack repeated for the umpteenth time during the whole trip.

Mostly he said it at this point because everyone else was being suspiciously quiet. Usually between Tooth's continual chatter, North's stories and Bunny and Jack arguing, they were a pretty rowdy group. Instead, Tooth was almost silent, and North just muttered that he shouldn't tell stories and drive at the same time. Even Bunny wasn't rising to the bait of arguing, and Jack had even played Tropic Thunder as loudly as his phone would go. Bunny just told Jack to turn it off, and had nothing to say after that. Sandy had signed to him for a bit until his narcolepsy got the better of him, and Jack was left with a quiet car again.

So he thanked them again and again, because that got him at least a few words out of the other passengers. It worked less and less as time passed, and eventually Jack just decided to nod off.

The car jerked to a stop the second Jack closed his eyes. It must have been longer, because when he lurched forward with the momentum of the car, he saw through the windows that he was home. "Holy shit North!" Jack shouted, rubbing what would probably be a bruised chest later. "Lighter on the breaks! Ow." He took off his seat belt, and crawled over Bunny to open the door, much to the older man's chagrin.

Everyone else followed him out, but while Jack took nervous steps towards his family home, the rest of them hung back, in the same awkward silence that had permeated the ride here. As Jack got closer, he saw, with confusion just how derelict his house had become. It didn't even look neglected, so much as it looked abandoned. It was dark inside, and he stopped, and wondered if maybe his family had moved and had just failed to mention it. It certainly looked like they had left the place a long time ago, so they could have forgotten Jack didn't know the new address. But then, why did no one move in? He knocked on the dusty door, just in case, but his fears were confirmed by no one answering. It was late enough now that both his parents should be home.

He ran a hand through his hair, and turned, calling back to his companions, "Hey guys, I'm sorry! I think my family-" Just as he turned all the way, he saw everyone, plus North's truck were gone. "What?" Jack asked himself out loud. It was physically impossible for North, or his truck to move quietly. There was no way the others could have ditched him. Even if they could, what was the point? "Guys?" he shouted, suspecting some kind of prank. "Guys, this isn't funny! I don't think my parents are here and my phone's in your truck North! I kind of need that if you want me to find out where we're actually meant to be going!" It felt a little ridiculous to be shouting to the air, but then again, his friends should be used to his ridiculous antics by now.

"I'm sorry Jack."

Jack was startled by the sound of Tooth's voice from behind him. Just as he turned back to find her, he felt a pressure along his jaw, and it felt like an ice pick was being driven through his skull. The force drove him to his knees, but the feeling of hands cupping his face never left.

Images, scents, sounds, tastes, sensations, everything battered against his brain at once. He tried to clutch his head, to keep it from exploding, but he could feel more hands holding his arms still at his sides.

No, not hands. Paws. But that was impossible. Despite the impossibility of giant paws holding him steady, his brain was quite insistent that they were, in fact, paws. Another ice pick drove its way into his brain and he screamed.

Familiar. Somehow the paws, and the hands were familiar. Everything was familiar. The voices rushing by his ears. The sounds. The flashing images. The feel of feathered wings-

Jack sat up quickly, and gulped in huge lungfuls of air. As his brain processed all the new information as old and familiar, everything he had known slowly dissolved. It was still there in particles, but they were insignificant in comparison to everything else, which he was finally remembering the word for.

Memories. He was remembering everything, and with all these new memories, his brain could finally process that what he had presumed to be his memories of the past seven years, for the last decade or so, were fake. He continued to drag in air, even as the pain that came with each new wave of memories receded.

His eyes began to clear, now that the pain wasn't making it impossible to see. He blinked a couple of times, and oh, all those colours could only belong to Tooth. He smiled up at her, seeing her properly for the first time in far too long. She was beautiful, and how could he have forgotten everything about her that made her really shine?

Her hands still held his face, and in response to his smile, Tooth gave a shaky one of her own. Jack tried to lift a hand to her own face, but found his arms were still held down. He turned his head, and there was Bunny, in all his six foot, rabbit-esque glory. He was frowning, clearly concerned, neither of which was really new, and Jack smiled, knowing that that had never changed. Bunny's features visibly softened at the smile, and he released Jack's arms, only to pin him in what Jack thought of as a very uncharacteristic hug.

He didn't have much time to think about it when Tooth launched herself into the hug as well. Jack felt another impact in his side that felt like being hit by a soft and grainy medicine ball. Last of all, all of them were scooped up off the ground by wide arms and laughter, and Jack laughed along, because that definitely was not out of character for North.

"It's been a while guys," Jack laughed, and held onto Bunny and Sandy to stay up. He was torn between adding 'It's good to see you' and 'I missed you' when his mind began to catch up on what was missing, and a feeling that was there that shouldn't be. He looked around for the source of wrongness.

It smacked him in the face, before he realised what was missing. One of Tooth's wings, literally was shoved in his face in the hug, and that's what was missing. His wings were gone! Stolen from him, and never returning. The age old panic, that came with his revelation was familiar too. He began to feel it fill his lungs, and crawl up his throat, when suddenly, it just stopped.

Instead, he felt the ghosts of hands on his back, and lips, kissing, whispering, and worshipping his hideous scars. Those memories kept him grounded, and he must have started crying, because everything was blurry again, and North had put them down, and everyone was hovering around him in an attempt to calm him down, and all he could whisper was "Thank you." He kept repeating it like a mantra, not even certain who he was thanking, and what for, only that it needed saying.

His recent memories may have been based on lies, but he was a fool to think they were insignificant for even a second.

"Jack?" Jack looked up, when he realised that Tooth had probably been calling his name for a while now. Even frowning, and frightened, she was magnificent in all her feathers, and a small part of him felt ashamed at ever having begrudged her, her gorgeous wings. After another moment of taking her in, he hugged her close. Her large wings fluttered, and flapped close, as if they wanted to wrap themselves around the two of them as well, but Tooth was hesitating.

"Jack?" Her head was tucked into his neck, so her voice came out as a muffled squeak, but this close, Jack could still understand her. They had been inseparable for too long to not be able to understand each other. "Can you- How can you-?" she kept cutting herself.

Jack just smiled, and ran a hand along one of her grand, multicolored wings. In response to his touch, they folded in closer. "I'm sorry Tooth. You must have been so lonely," he whispered. "Can you forgive me?"

At that, she pushed back and held him at arms length in shock. "For what?" she screeched. "I'm the one meant to be asking that Jack! I went into your head! I rearranged all your memories! I've done everything I was never meant to do, and it's all because I'm so selfish!"

"Everything you did was to help me, wasn't it?" Jack asked gently, and pet her wing again to help Tooth relax. She could be a little high strung at times. "So thank you." They relaxed into each other again, and matched their breathing. One thought did nag at the back of Jack's mind though. He only pulled back a little to ask, "Why did you give me my memories back now? What happened to make you change your mind?"

Tooth didn't answer. She only held on tighter and refused to look at him. Instead, Sandy floated up to their eye level, and waved, volunteering.

Being twenty years out of practice, and never very good at interpreting Sandy's mode of speech in the first place made it near impossible to guess at what the flying sand was meant to mean. After about ten minutes of failed attempts at conveying the message, North took pity on Jack and stepped in.

"He is saying it is because of your nature with the dreaming. Pitch had been telling you about how you were whispering Koz good dreams, and you were not remembering. What does that sound like to you?" North leaned against one of the columns of the porch, and let Jack take in the new information. That combined with the strange image Sandy had made of a person with wings falling, then falling without wings made more sense.

"You were afraid I was going to dive in all the way with no way out?" Jack looked around at the four others. Were they really so afraid Jack wouldn't be able to get out of a dream. Surely Sandy knew that he'd be thrust out whether he wanted to or not once the dream ended.

"We were afraid ya wouldn't make the landing in the first place mate," Bunny said plainly. Sandy tugged on his sleeve, and demonstrated with images, while Bunny explained what Sandy had already told them. "However you choose to manipulate dreams, diving into dreams is just what you Incubi do. Apparently you can even do it unconsciously Jack." Sandy showed a little winged figure folding its wings and diving straight down. "Most Incubi will stop their fall by opening their wings at the last minute, and fly the rest of the way down." Sandy's little figure did just that, and landed gently on the porch at everyone's feet.

Jack reached around to his back, not liking where this was going. He might have been free from the panic overwhelming him now, but this conversation was beginning to make his stomach rise into his throat. Bunny continued regardless. "Without yer wings, you would just dive head in. Guess what that would do ta ya?" Sandy didn't demonstrate that particular scenario. They all knew exactly what it would look like.

"That would be traumatizing for Koz," Jack whispered, horrified that he could have done that to either of the twins.

"You could have died Jack!" Bunny shouted, always the first to turn a conversation into a confrontation. Jack took a step back, but couldn't get any farther, with Tooth blocking him. "Forget about your human playmates for one second and think it through! That kind of crash landing would have killed you! There is no coming back from that dive Jack!"

Somewhere in his mind, Jack knew Bunny's anger was fueled by concern, but all Jack saw was the fight Bunny always wanted. Bunny didn't give him a chance to respond. "We needed to get you out of there, because you were dangerously close to killing yourself. Sure Sandy gave the soldier dream sand to stave off any nightmares, but who knows what horrors lie in the mind of that writer that you might try to unconsciously soothe?"

Jack bristled at the flippant way Bunny was referring to Pitch and Koz. They were more than just human playthings! They were more than just a soldier and a writer, but Bunny most likely didn't care. He'd never been fond of humans higher than three feet. Tooth kept him calm though, by holding onto his shoulders and brushing her wings along his arms. Despite what Bunny said and thought, Jack really was more concerned about how him crashing and dying would affect the twins. He knew the crash would be traumatizing enough, but he had no idea what it would look like outside the realm of dreaming. Would he disappear entirely? Would his physical body be alive while his mind rotted like the brain dead vegetable humans on television, or would he just be dead through and through? Regardless of the end result, he knew it would be too much for either twin to handle.

One thought didn't let him take all this lying down however.

"Out?" Jack whispered through gritted teeth. He was pretty sure he'd never agreed to that. "And what about my parents? Or was that just a ruse?" Jack wanted to lash out and be angry. Bunny probably wanted that too. Fighting was what they did, and having all these others around made it more difficult for either of them to get what they wanted.

"Laaaaaaaaaate!" Jack turned to the sound of the hollering, and laughed. Trust his mother to hit a cue and disperse a tense situation at the same time. All his friends backed off quickly, well familiar with Katherine's landings and greetings.

Once she was low enough, Jack launched himself off the porch to meet her part way. She could carry him well enough, but a little part of Jack now hurt, knowing he'd never have flying with his parents again. They lowered to the ground gently enough, and his mom clutched him like she never wanted to let go. He hugged her back, pet her feathers, and for her own pride, he pretended he couldn't feel the tears soaking into his shoulder.

"Where's dad?" he asked when he was sure his mom could look at him.

Sure enough, when Katherine lifted her head, her eyes were clear, and her smile was as bright as it had ever been. "He just had some business to finish up with." She glanced over Jack's shoulder, and called to North, "How much have you guys told him?"

Told him? Told him about what?

"Nothing concerning Incubi policy and politics. We have been leaving that to you," North shouted back.

Strangely enough, this seemed to please his mom. His mom had hated politics when he was young. What had changed in twenty-

Oh.

"Could I have some time alone with my son? Thank you all for taking care of him for me." The others nodded, and it was amusing watching them shuffle shyly to North's sleigh, and fly away. Despite being some of the oldest spirits on the planet, Jack always laughed at the deference they showed to his mother.

"So, should I ask questions, like how you got into the dreaded politics, or should I let you tell me a story until dad gets here?" Despite asking it as a question, Jack pulled her down so he could rest his head on her lap anyway.

Her hand hovered around Jack's back, as if to pet his wings like she had when her son was growing up, but hesitated, and put her hands to his head instead, and ran her fingers through his hair. "How much do you remember about the war?" she asked quietly.

Jack didn't reply for a minute or two. He knew if he said anything right away, it would be hurtful and bitter, and his mom didn't deserve that. She hadn't been the one behind his capture, his torture, and later his abandonment. "I remember being locked up." He had to sift through the rest, because some of what had happened after was layered with the fake memories Tooth had given him. "Tooth got me out. I didn't react well." It was easier to mutter through them, as if he was just reading them off a page he had been meant to memorize. It was much less personal, and it certainly hurt less. "I didn't get better."

He remembered North coming in on him screaming, and bleeding where he tried to claw wings back out. He remembered Bunny trying to teach him meditation and relaxation techniques. Sandy had only tried giving him dreams of flying once, when the next morning he woke feeling more grounded than ever, and threatened to fly out the window. He remembered hating Tooth with his entire being. He remembered rejecting her, and screaming at her to leave. How was it fair that she still had her wings? How could she still be beautiful, strong, and able to fly, while he was left as this grotesque, disfigured thing. He remembered everything he said to hurt her, and how she still came back that final time. The memories were most blurred there, which probably meant this was when Tooth had gone in his head.

"Let me tell you our story," she began in her magical voice which Jack had always known to be the best storyteller voice in the world. "Your father and I were also fighting in the war. We all were, whether we wanted to be or not. The Cupids were relentless, and at that point, wanted nothing short of genocide." Jack nodded, and his mother's hand paused on his head, not sure what to do. This wasn't how she was used to showing affection. Jack put his hand on hers, and continued the motion of petting his hair for her.

Once they were both comfortable again, she continued. "They took you, and your father and I begged those in charge of negotiations to come up with something, if only to bring you home. They refused, even when more of us were taken prisoner. Then," his mother paused again, and Jack turned his head up to see his mother looking at his back. She took a shuddering breath and a gulp, and continued on. "Then word got out that the Cupids were ripping the wings of those they had captured. It was around that time that everyone stopped paying attention to what our leaders had to say. The Cupids had declared war, and the time for peace talks was done. Your dad and I led many into battle, and with the help of outsiders, also sick of the constant fighting, we finally beat the Cupids into asking us for peace."

Even though she was smiling, Jack had to lift a hand to wipe away tears from his mother's face. He knew something had to have happened afterwards, or this conversation would have happened over a decade ago. She leaned into his hand, and laughed, and it shocked Jack that his mom could make such a bitter sound. "We beat them into a peace that has lasted since the time of its being written, but they still managed to create their own clauses. One was that we could not induce lust for another human. We must ensure that the lust in our dreams were directed only at us." Jack could already see where this was going, given his new found memory of Koz fretting over a dream of his brother, even if Jack hadn't been the one at fault for that. There were certainly enough of Pitch's dreams with Koz for blame to follow. "They also demanded that we leave love to love's domain, and not interfere, which fell to the first clause anyway. They named several conditions despite being on the receiving end of the peace, but they all sounded like reasonable demands at the time. Most of what they asked are things that we teach our children in the first place.

"What ended up driving the nail in the coffin was the demand that this new law be applied to all previous cases. Of course no investigations were actually made on free Incubi, and any suspected weren't handed over, but with those they already had imprisoned, they refused to release them. They planned it well, as you were the only prisoner they had that met any of their criteria." Jack couldn't stop his mother's tears anymore, they were pouring down her face so fast. She curled around him, and he could only hold her tightly, and whisper calming sounds to her.

"They had no army left! They had no rights to pick fights with us. Even if anyone of us broke the rules now, they wouldn't have the power to do anything about it! They still won though! They won by taking you away! They hid you and we couldn't search for you! I'm sorry Jack! I'm so so sorry."

Jack was literally stuck at this point. He understood the situation itself was incredibly sad, but he couldn't help chuckling a little. "That's a sad story mom," he mock complained. "Can I give it a happy ending?" Katherine could only stare at her son in shock. She was so sure he would hate her. What kind of mom just left her child to fend for himself and did nothing to save him? "First off, love is definitely not just their domain," Jack held a finger up with a mischievous grin. She sat up, to give Jack more room to tell his story. "You may not believe it, but I found two humans. Actually, they were the two humans in my charge before the Cupids got me. Twin boys, and they fell in love mom! I like to think I had something to do with that. So I guess that means I broke more than one rule," Jack laughed, and Katherine couldn't help laughing with him. Her son's laughter had always been contagious. "I found them, and they love me too. It's pretty much love all around." Katherine smiled at Jack, understanding what he meant right away.

'Now I get what North meant when he said I'd managed to do what others thought was impossible,' Jack thought to himself. Even between Incubi, other creatures always had some level of doubt of their ability to feel more than lust for their partners.

"I've spent so many years thinking you and dad hated me, and you've spent the last forever thinking the same thing. If you're cool with it, I think I'd like to move past it, and say there's nothing that needs forgiving."

The smile on his mom's face was worth even more than the feeling of relief at letting the last of his bitterness go. Blotchy faced, and red eyed, his mom was still the most gorgeous woman on the planet. "Yes. Yes I'd like that very much," she nodded, and scrubbed away at the tears in her eyes. "What on Earth would you think we hated you for though?"

Jack blushed a little, having forgotten that his fear had been based on a fake memory. How many of those would he have to sift through now from the past two years especially? "Did Tooth explain about how she poked at my memory?" Katherine nodded, but something in the set of her jaw, and the look in her eyes said that she was less forgiving on this matter than Jack had been. "It was really good for my recovery," Jack attempted to defend Tooth before continuing on. "But yeah, I guess it was important for me to not want to go home, given, y'know, how I thought I was human, and you and dad, very much are not." He tried laughing again to lighten the mood, but it was forced and they both knew it. So instead, Jack reached up to pet his mother's wings. "I thought I had a sister," he mumbled, even now memories of a little face smiling, and dancing, and calling to him filled his mind. Her screams and the sound of a car crunching in the ice still lingered at the back of his mind.

Katherine blushed now and turned her head away, and this intrigued Jack's curious mind too much to say the next part where he'd killed her. "You may not be wrong," she muttered, and Jack's face lit up brightly. He turned to the stomach that he was already lying next to, and reached his hand to feel for something.

"Seriously?" Jack was vibrating with excitement, even though he couldn't find anything to indicate that what his mom was saying had any truth to it.

"We don't know what they'll be yet, but yes. You'll get to be a big brother." This day was just full of ups and downs and all kinds of surprises.

Jack had to shake his head to clear out the question asking why she hadn't said 'again'. He'd been an only child. He had to start remembering that more clearly. "This is great! If it's a she, can we name her Emma?" He wanted that chance to be the big brother he'd remembered being, and he wanted to give Emma a chance to actually exist.

"Emma sounds like a wonderful name. She'll be the cutest fledgling around with that name." Katherine looked to the sky after saying this, and her smile brightened even more than when Jack had forgiven her. Jack looked up too, and waved, well aware that his dad only had eyes on his mom. Really, who could look at these two and think that Incubi couldn't love?

Jack moved over, so his mom and dad could fly to each other. He clamped down on his jealousy as best as he could, and decided to just be happy for the two of them. For a while, they just floated in the air, and Jack decided to send a quick text to Tooth.

-Mom and dad are giving each other goopy lovey-dovey eyes. If they keep this up, I may need saving.-

-Lol K We can come back, and pick everybody up.-

Jack stared in confusion at that for a while. Maybe they were going to stay somewhere a little less rundown for his week visit?

-kk. Btw, why'd you give me a sister in my memories?-

There was no harm in asking Tooth now. All was said and done, so he might as well ask about it.

-You did that. I can't fix memories as specifically as your brain can. I just told it 'you can't go home' and your brain went and gave you more trauma to work through.-

Jack could only stare in shock for a minute or two. So Emma...his sister, and her smile and everything had been all him? He couldn't help but smile down at his phone. Well at least now he wouldn't have to bother asking Tooth permission about using his sister's name.

Before he could reply, pale fingers snatched the phone away, and Jack laughed at his dad attempting to chastise him while upside down. He jumped up to take it back, but was taunted as Nightlight held it just out of reach.

"Hey, c'mon dad!" Jack laughed, and jumped for the phone, even knowing his dad could fly out of reach. Instead, his dad surprised him by flying down closer, until he was on the ground with Jack. Of course, he still held the phone out of reach, but he used his free arm to pull Jack into a long missed, one-armed hug. With his face smothered into his father's shoulder, Jack slumped, and gave in with a mumbled, "I missed you too dad." He wrapped both his arms properly around his dad, and enjoyed the feeling of feathers on his arms again.

"Let him go Nightlight. You'll suffocate him if you keep him like that much longer." Jack felt his mom thwap his dad on the shoulder. Reluctantly, Nightlight gave Jack enough space to breathe, but didn't let him much farther than that. He wrapped his other arm around Jack as well, and hugged him properly this time. Jack laughed when he felt his mom hug him from behind, effectively pinning him between the two of them.

He couldn't help thinking how he was used to this in a much different context and laughed even harder. "What was that about being able to breathe mom?" Jack asked through his laughter, and turned his head to peck her on the cheek.

"Hush. I'm your mother. It's my job to squish you." They all laughed at that, flopping to the ground again, and Jack was content to lie there between them. "Now tell us more about these twins of yours," his mother insisted, tracing some not so subtle love bites along the back of his neck. Jack laughed, like his lungs were full of bubbles. Only his parents or other Incubi would be okay with him taking part in an incestuous threesome. 'More humans should have Incubi standards,' he thought, before regaling them with the full story.

And both parents insisted on the FULL story. TMI was not something they were familiar with. Plus, as Katherine justified, they needed to make sure that whoever Jack was happy with was treating him well in ALL aspects of his life. Nightlight only nodded at his wife's sagely wisdom, and gestured for Jack to continue his story about their first anniversary, and the time they'd house sat for the would-be in laws, and how they'd all agreed Sex on the Beach was better in a glass than in practice.

The telltale jingle of bells alerted everyone to the return of Jack's friends. They waved, but didn't bother to stand up from their pile on the ground. Jack was perfectly comfortable lying between two warm bodies, and besides, it had been far, FAR too long since he’d gotten to see his parents, so he was content to just stay where he was.

Eventually though, all things had to come to an end, and their moment ended when the sleigh landed. “Is everyone ready to go?” Tooth called to their pile with a bright smile that radiated with her magic.

“Go where?” Jack finally asked, and sat up, pulling his parents up with him.

Katherine whispered in Jack’s ear, and caught his attention. “We were thinking you might like to come home, but now that we’ve heard everything, I’m beginning to think you already know where home is.” She played with Jack’s hair, a mother’s knowing smile on her lips, and Nightlight nodded his agreement.

“Then why do you look so sad?” Jack whispered back seeing the real expressions they were hiding behind smiles.

At first they said nothing, until Katherine finally replied with a quiet sigh. “It’s like losing you all over again. We just got you back, only to realize you’ve grown up so much without us.”

“Who’s losing who now?” Jack sounded mockingly offended in his laughter. “Please! You’re stuck with me now! Just, I’ll have to visit only once in a while, and I’ll have to think of some reason or another why the twins can’t see you-”

“What?!” Katherine screeched in horror. “You mean we can’t meet the precious human boys you’ve told us so much about?”

Well, at least she was no longer upset about the idea of not seeing each other. Although, she did bring up an interesting point. “Unless you can come up with a less painful, and much less permanent way to ditch the wings, then unfortunately not. I’ll keep you updated though. How does that sound?” Jack asked, and pet his mom’s wings again, missing their softness already.

“You’d better!” Although it was meant to sound threatening, it was hard to be scary when she pecked her son on the cheek. “You get home safely now, and text us when you need a holiday. Or, you could just call us because.” Jack was confused for a moment, until his dad flashed Jack’s phone in front of his eyes again, and held up a second in his other hand that was probably his. Jack could only laugh, and he took his phone back to find ‘Mom’ and ‘Dad’ favourited in his contacts.

“I’ll definitely call. Every week!” he promised, and his parents both smothered him in kisses and feathers. “Keep me posted about when I’m going to be a big brother!” he shouted, just as his parents began to fly away. “Remember! Her name is Emma!”

“Jack?” Tooth called, and Jack turned away from the sight of his parents flying off, hand in hand to all his friends approaching with confusion on their faces. “Aren’t you going home?” she asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Jack just blinded her with his smile the way he always did when he wanted something to go his way. “That depends on if North here will give me a lift back to the Workshop. I can probably walk my way home from there, if it’s not too much trouble Santa,” Jack winked up at North, in his sleigh and tapped the side of his nose.

North of course laughed. How like Jack. “Is no problem. We may have to take little detour with loop-di-loops, but you are liking the loop-di-loops, I know.”

“But Jack!” Tooth seemed a lot more worried about Jack’s decision and idea about what home was than either Jack or North were. “What about the dreams? What if you don’t come back? How are we supposed to see you?” Sandy was signing things at them in sand just as quickly as Tooth was speaking, and it honestly made Jack a little dizzy.

“Have a little faith Tooth,” Jack smiled, clapping her on the shoulder, and using her as leverage to push himself into the sleigh. “They do actually teach us a thing or two about preventing injury in dreams. I’ll come up with something,” he said, waving off her worries with a flap of his hand. “As for coming back, you know I’ll always come back. There’s no way I could just leave my best girl behind, and I know there’s no way you could ever forget about me. We always find each other.” He held up a pinky for her, and Tooth smiled around her tears and pulled herself up beside Jack by that same pinky.

Jack had woken up very sore the next morning, but, with no small amount of effort, he pulled himself out from between the boys and started to get ready for the day. His shower, breakfast, and even his dummy check had been keenly interrupted. Jack didn't have a moment alone until North honked the horn of his massive truck outside. Thankfully it was Koz grinding him into the kitchen table, and marking his back with even more bruises, otherwise he doubted Pitch would have let him go for a little thing called 'decency'.

Reluctantly, Koz did pull back, and he even blushed, like they'd actually been caught at something. Jack just laughed, and kissed the warmed skin, making it flare to a darker shade. "I'll be back soon," Jack repeated, and hoisted his bag onto his shoulder. "Keep Pitch well occupied when he comes home from work. If we're lucky he'll barely realise I'm gone before I get back."

Jack didn't get very far, before Koz had him pinned again, this time to kiss him thoroughly against the door. Hopefully no one was foolish enough to try and knock on it until Koz and Jack were done. Jack gasped at Koz's erection grinding into him in the front this time, and making Jack harder than he already had to deal with. Koz didn't even bother with permission to kiss his way into Jack's open mouth - Jack would have given it anyway. Concentration was difficult, and made worse by a hand wandering down the front of his pants with a clear intended destination. Jack pulled him closer for more contact.

They may have gotten farther if the horn honk hadn't startled them both into knocking teeth and bumping heads. Koz held a hand to his head, while Jack inspected his mouth for all his teeth. "I can assure you wholeheartedly Jack, that we will both be feeling the loss until you come back. The bed will certainly be too warm without you there to keep it cool."

"That's a little cheesy, dontcha think Kozzy?" Jack joked, running his tongue over his teeth for a final check.

It wasn't the first time Koz had traced the scars on his back. Jack had played with a few of Koz's own on occasion, but Koz had always seemed more fixated on this imperfection on Jack's skin. "They look almost like wings," he whispered, and his fingers followed one scar to where Jack knew it flared out. He also knew the one on the right side looked more like a line, than an entire part of his back ripped out. In the quiet morning hours though, Jack wouldn't correct Koz on plurality.

"One good part about the car crash. I got scars worthy of wicked street cred," Jack joked. They'd slowly been working their way through Jack's issues. They had found that Jack dealt best with his grief and guilt through humour, however morbid. Neither of the twins ever tried to stop him from joking about his trauma, since it got Jack to actually say something. The fact Koz was a war veteran also helped.

Pitch had actually pouted about it once, although he preferred the term 'glowered'. "You both have your traumas, and you both help each other out, and I'm left out in the cold!"

Jack had only stared at him in confusion for a while, before he figured Pitch wasn't going to elaborate.

"Koz helps me out with tricks his therapist taught him, but other than whining about my tragisad back story to you guys, what am I doing?"

"You help with the nightmares." Pitch stared at him as if it was the most obvious explanation in the world. Jack gave Pitch an expression that even Pitch could read as not understanding a word he was talking about. "When Koz has nightmares, you curl around him and whisper things." Jack's eyes widened at that. He had no recollection of ever doing such a thing. Was talking in his sleep a thing now? "He used to just shake until I could wake him up,  but now whenever he has one of his nightmares, I feel you slip over to him, and I've heard you whispering, like you're right there in the dream, making everything better, and reminding him he's not there anymore."

Jack had thought it was awesome and hilarious. He'd passed it on to North, who had told Bunny, who inevitably told Tooth. Surprisingly enough, it was Sandy who had come to him first about it. Tooth had translated and explained to them that Sandy used to work in psychology and had been a sort of expert on dreams. He had convinced Koz to come see him about his PTSD, and had given him sleeping pills.

After that, Koz had slept much better, but Jack's friends hadn't stopped fretting over Jack.

"Think Pitch will come back to bed if I put the corset on for him?" Jack asked over his shoulder. He smirked at the way Koz's hands twitched along his back at the mention of both boys' favourite piece of Jack's wardrobe. Pitch had been working nonstop the last few nights, since Tooth announced they were taking Jack on a road trip.

He was pouting, like Jack going away for a week was the worst thing that could possibly happen. More likely, he was probably upset that it was Jack's self proclaimed 'guardians' taking Jack, and not them. Koz had put his foot down on Pitch's drama though when given the reason for Jack's sudden trip.

They were taking Jack to see his parents.

"Mm, maybe," Koz replied thoughtfully into Jack's mangled shoulder. Although, I get the feeling he'll come tonight regardless. I'm pretty sure he wants to cover you in multiple bites and scratches from head to toe, so you'll remember who you're coming back to." Koz lined up behind him, and Jack laughed at the clothed hard on pressing into his thigh. "And just what you have to look forward to when you return."

"Is it Pitch, or you that wants to hickey me all over?" Jack asked coyly, and looked at Koz behind him knowingly.

"Both. We've been thinking about it all day." Jack just laughed again at the twinlepathy thing his boys did. "Although, I would not be at all opposed to you using the corset."

"I'll be back soon." Jack hopped off the bed, and grabbed his favourite seduction tactic from the drawer. Koz couldn't read Jack's mind, the same way he could read his brother's thoughts, but as he watched Jack get dressed from the bed, he couldn't help thinking Jack may have meant something else as well.

He smiled when Jack swayed out of the room, and had Pitch eagerly kissing and pushing him onto the bed seconds later. Both twins agreed, they couldn't let Jack leave without a proper send off.

To explain the car crash trauma

A text about commissioning cover art had turned into meetings. Meetings had turned into flirting. Flirting turned into an invitation to dinner with Pitch and his twin brother. Dinner had turned into complicated feelings for two, which had thankfully been resolved by the fact that the twins were already together and wanted him to join them. From there, it quickly turned to making out, and plenty of new experiences in bed.

Despite minimum prior experience in sex, Jack was quite pleased that he was able to take what the boys could give him, and give plenty more in return. He quickly gained confidence, and despite sleeping less, there was an extra bounce in his step, and he felt more energetic nowadays.

Jack didn't remember a time where he hadn't looked half starved, but even North had noticed Jack was filling out. "You are looking much healthier," North had declared one day, awkwardly catching Jack in the act of sneaking in. Trust North to know when he'd been naughty. "Much better to have meat on your bones, and a glow in your eyes." Jack hadn't noticed anything until North said it, but he was surprised to find the old man was right. He did seem a little brighter overall. The thought made him smile, and that night he'd asked Koz if he was sure they couldn't do anything in the kitchen to celebrate.

Of course between the three of them, they came up with something.

Jack's friends had all been delighted to hear Jack was seeing someone. He left out details, but only Bunny ever seemed to mind the TMI details Jack didn't leave out. Things only came to a head, when he'd told North he was moving in with the twins. North had been watching out for him ever since he moved here, so that had explained the sad expression on the old man's face.

What didn't make sense was Bunny, Tooth, and Sandy coming right in the middle of packing, and asking he stay. They came up with all kinds of reasons. What if they never saw each other anymore? What if his boyfriend was overly possessive and never let him leave? What if North had a health condition or an accident and there was no one around? What if? What if? What if?

"Guys. Stop!" Jack huffed in annoyance. "None of that stuff is going to happen. I spend most of my time there anyway, and nothing's happened yet, right? This is just making things official and more convenient. If it makes everyone feel better though, I can pop into the store once a week or something to check on North. Okay?"

Everyone had shamefacedly nodded, and Jack was able to persuade Bunny to help carry boxes to the moving truck outside. Tooth and Sandy helped pack things, while Jack went down the hall.

He hesitated to interrupt carving time, which he could just barely hear over the sounds of Russian classical music blasting through the door. Jack didn't even know if North would be able to hear him over the sounds of machinery and Schostakovich, but he knocked anyway. The music turned off almost instantly, and North yanked open the door with his great, powerful arm. Honestly, Jack didn't know how any of the doors in the building stayed on their hinges. North took one look down at Jack and pulled him in without a word.

North sat down in his chair, with a great whumph, and Jack could only stare in awe at the incredible towering carving behind North. There were no words, as Jack found all the details. North's cough eventually brought Jack back to the present, instead of the fantasy made into wooden reality on the desk. Turning back to North, Jack's voice caught in his throat. "I don't want to leave you," Jack managed to squeak out, after sometime opening and closing his mouth again. That made North sit up straighter and almost brought a smile to his face, but before Jack could get the old man's hopes up, he shook his head, and looked away. He needed to continue, and somehow make North understand. "I don't want to leave you, but I need to live with them," Jack tried to explain, now that his voice was at the appropriate octave. North seemed to know everything already, so Jack didn't even bother censoring his speech. "A lot of my happiest memories are here North, and I can't even tell you how grateful I am to you for- for everything. You know I'd never leave if I didn't have good reason. You're like a father to me, and after everything, you've helped me through all of it." Jack didn't even know what he was saying anymore, but the words felt true. True and necessary. "I can never repay you, but I do know I have to move out. It has nothing to do with you, and absolutely everything to do with them, and me, and how when I'm with them it feels like some missing piece is there that I can hold onto. With them, I know with total certainty that they care, and that they'd never let anything happen to me. I know it's like that with you, but with you, Tooth and everyone, it feels more like you're protecting me like some fragile flower, and I don't know, with them it's more like we protect each other equally, and-"

Jack was cut off by big arms wrapped around him, and his face was crushed into a massive chest. After so many years, Jack had become familiar with North's bone crushing hugs, and hugged back, as tight as he could. The inability to breathe didn't seem to be a problem in the face of what North's actions told him. "You are in love," North said, like he was answering a question Jack hadn't said out loud. "It is a good thing for you Jack Frost, and it proves some very cruel people wrong." Jack couldn't ask what North meant, even if he wanted to, but he figured North knew exactly what he was talking about. "They are good for you, and you are good for them. I will be happy for you all," he nodded and stepped away, still holding Jack by the shoulders. "And if they hurt you, I will cut them both into small pieces." Jack laughed nervously at that last part, but took it as permission for him to move.

Koz had joined Bunny in moving boxes, and it seemed between the two of them, all of Jack's stuff had been loaded into the truck. North led him down the stairs, still talking. "Now you will still be visiting at least once a week for cookies and fruitcake. No exceptions. I know Toothy wanted us all to go to the beach this summer, so make sure you keep in touch with her to know when we are going. Also, don't let them bully you about clothes too much. If they are thinking you need changing, you hit them hard like Russian winter." Jack laughed at that last part, and laughed harder when North picked him up effortlessly at the door, and kissed both his cheeks goodbye.

On one of his days off, Jack found himself at his usual haunt. It was a kitschy little coffee shop that seemed to be a popular place for artists of all kinds. He sometimes came here with Bunny and Tooth, but today it was just him and his sketchpad.

Nothing too inspiring came to mind. For the morning he ended up drawing the crows on the sidewalk outside. He ended up putting the most detail and effort into the wings and feathers without really thinking about it. He liked drawing wings, and he was good at it, there was no need to think further on the why.

Eventually they had flown away with the increasing foot traffic, and Jack looked inside for a new subject instead. Some tall, lanky man bent over a table and laptop, and the expression on his face was priceless. He laughed, and quickly sketched out a cartoon of the guy. His laugh must have caught the man's attention though, because the guy looked up, and looked straight at Jack.

Jack tried his best to look ashamed, but he was far too amused to stop smiling, even as he filled the page with more cartoons of tall, dark, and lanky hiding behind his computer. He glanced up at the guy every time he took another sip of his drink, and was pleased whenever he caught the guy looking away. Not that he could say anything really, given how he'd started checking out the guy after about cartoon number three. He attempted to be discrete when he looked over at the guy repeatedly to draw a semi-proper portrait. Discrete wasn't exactly in Jack's nature though. Nor was it apparently in this gentleman's, given the number of times they accidentally made eye contact.

Eventually though, the caffeine caught up, and nature called. Jack ditched his stuff at the table. He knew the ladies who worked here well enough that if someone attempted to steal his bag, they'd either wind up with a frying pan in their skull, or an inexplicable arrow to the knee. Jack still didn't know how they'd been permitted to have that in the store.

When he got back, the man purposefully looked away, and Jack could see from the new angle that he was rapidly texting someone. Usually Jack didn't do the dating thing, but there was something amusing about how shy this guy was, and his awkwardness seemed familiar. He couldn't pin down what, but something compelled Jack to scrawl his number on a napkin before he went home for the day.