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“Someday, somewhere, somehow
You’ll love again
You just need to find someone.”
—Steven universe
They had won. Sandy was back, he was alive, and Pitch had been driven back underground to lick his wounds. Aster almost felt like celebrating.
Almost .
Aster was still sore from the lack of belief, still torn apart from the feeling of the child walking through him ( painpainpaindoesntexistidontexisttheydontbelieve ) and he wants nothing more than to curl up in his burrow and sleep until summer.
Unfortunately, North wouldn't allow that, and Aster has instead found himself back at the workshop. It was a small party, a celebration between family (albeit a very mix-matched, slightly dysfunctional one) and a celebration of their newest member, Jack Frost.
While Aster still retained some irritation towards the winter spirit (fifty or so years of hatred towards someone is hard to break overnight), he still had a warm feeling in his chest that lingered after he learned that Jack had restored belief in the guardians—in him .
The celebration progressed deep into the night, with North engaging Jack in a drinking game (wow ok, the kid can hold his alcohol, who’d have thought?) a round of poker between Tooth, Sandy and Bunny (Sandy was cheating the whole time, Bunny was sure of it) and some Irish folk singing, courtesy of a very drunk Tooth and Jack. Before long, it was morning, with Sandy having left to continue his duties, Tooth following close behind (Punjam Hy Loo was still in shambles after all, and needed to be repaired ASAP).
Leaving Jack, Bunny and North in the workshop.
“Well, I’d best be on my way,” Aster said, sitting up and stretching his arms above his head. “Gotta clean up the warren after all.” And with that, Bunny thumped his feet against the floor twice, ignoring North’s distant cries of ‘BUT THE FLOOR’ and prepared to jump in.
Only to be stopped short of the tunnel by a soft, timid voice.
“But what about… me?” Jack asked, so quietly that if Bunny didn’t have such great hearing he doubted he would’ve caught it. Bunny groaned, stepping away from the tunnel.
“What about you, frosty?” Aster grumbled. He wasn’t in the mood for this, he had work to do damn it!
“What am… I supposed to do?” After froze at the slight crack in Jacks voice. He swiveled around to face him, eyes widening at the sight of Jack curled in on his staff, with big fearful eyes that just screamed pleasenodontnotagainnotagain .
“Go… do whatever it is you usually do, I guess,” Bunny shrugged, moving towards his tunnel once more.
It was the wrong answer.
“Was that all you needed me for?” The temperature in the workshop plummeted several degrees, thick frost crackling across the windows. Jacks voice was no more than a whisper, haunting and full of pain. “To defeat Pitch?”
“Well, yeah— ”
“So… what happens to me now? You don’t need me anymore…” Jack let out a small, breathy laugh, and he stared at Bunny with big eyes. “What’s gonna happen now?”
“I already told you,” Bunny pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. “We just continue doing what we usually do, Frost, why are you so upset over this—”
“So you’re just gonna leave me ?” Bunny couldn't breathe. How could he respond to that, such a small, broken whisper? Almost like a slap to the face, Bunny remembered how Jack had been alone for so long . And now….
“Frostbite wait— ”
“You’re just gonna… leave me alone again? Huh? You’re just gonna stop talking to me ?” Jack screamed over the now roaring wind, the workshop quickly becoming encompassed by a massive storm. “You’re going to pretend I don’t exist ? You’re gonna pretend I’m invisible ?”
“Jack no, no we won’t, come on mate calm down,” Bunny said frantically, trying to calm down the panicking winter spirit.
“You’re gonna stop believing in me ?” That sentence was the last straw for Aster.
He bounded towards Jack, grabbing his wrists roughly and knocking his staff away in the process. Jack squirmed in fear, half frozen tears brimming in his eyes. His face was scrunched up in an ugly scowl and he refused to meet Aster’s eyes.
“So. What now?” He laughed again, face twisting into an ugly grin. “You’ll throw me out? Do it, I fucking dare you .” His voice was angry, grating, mocking , but his eyes showed his true desire. His eyes said the words he really wanted to say.
Please don’t leave me alone again.
“No. I won’t,” Aster mumbled tugging Jack to his chest. The spirit flailed in protest, trying to get away from him, but Aster just held him tighter. “Not again. I promise.”
“And why the hell should I believe you!” Jack spat. “You were… you were so angry , you were ready to hit me, why would you want me around, I-I just make a mess of things… I ruined Easter, why would you want someone like me around!” Jack’s voice trailed off into sobs, and he dug his face into Aster’s fur.
“It wasn’t your fault, Jack,” He mumbled, rubbing circles on the sobbing winter spirits back.
They stood there like that for a while, Jack’s sobs eventually calming down and turning into quiet sniffles and hiccups, but Aster never let go of him, and Jack didn’t let go either.
“I’m sorry,” Aster said abruptly.
“F...for what?” Jack stared up at him in confusion.
“For everything,” the pooka sighed, his ears pinned to the back of his head. “I said some really awful things to you, things you didn’t deserve. It was never your fault, we should’ve known it was Pitch. I should have known it was Pitch.”
Jack didn’t respond, not verbally anyway. He just buried his head back into Aster’s chest.
“...you don’t have to be alone anymore, you know?” Aster murmured. “We’re not gonna leave you again, not ever.”
Jack responded by smiling against his fur.
“Today, right here, right now.
I’ll love again.
I’ve already found someone.”
—Spinel