Chapter Text
Eric was cold. He had never felt so cold in his life. Both body and soul had been frozen, by the words he’d heard when he left, and by the frozen snowy winter that had surrounded him. Since leaving Jack’s mansion, he had stumbled along the road where had first met Jack. He had stopped around that spot, shook his head to shake the bittersweet memories, and left the road behind, effectively leaving whatever life he possibly could have had behind.
When it had begun to snow, he had looked for a bit of shelter, but it was hard to move around on his leg, and he was left with fewer options. Finally, he came across someone’s cellar that had been left open, and he slunk down the steps to escape the snow. In the morning, he had a tough time leaving due to the snowfall, but he managed to dig his way out and move forward.
He wasn’t sure exactly where he was in relation to Jack’s mansion. He had taken a lot of turns when it was snowing, and even if he had wanted to, and he really wish he could, he couldn’t find his way back to Jack. The snow had effectively erased his tracks, and he wasn’t familiar with the area he had found himself in.
So he had kept moving. As good as he was at running away, he wasn’t someone to give up, and he knew that the weather was too cold for him to give up anyways. It wasn’t until nightfall the next day that Eric was regretting not taking any of the gifts Jack had gotten him. Like the warm clothes. As the temperature dropped, the coat he had left hanging neatly in his room kept popping into his mind.
“No, I had to leave it behind. It would be wrong of me to take advantage of Jack’s kindness while I ran from it.” He had muttered to himself, but it was tough to get the words out when his teeth kept chattering. He resolved himself to keep moving. As long as he kept moving he wouldn’t feel the cold, and moving with the crutch meant a workout
He wasn’t sure when he had stopped moving. While had managed to find shelter to sleep in during the night when he grew too tired to move, he had always gotten up in the morning to keep moving. So he wasn’t sure when he stopped moving during the day. He knew it had only been a few days since he had left Jack’s mansion, and that he was turned around enough that he wasn’t sure if he was heading for London or some other corner of England anymore, and that he hadn’t eaten anything since he’d left Jack’s, but he had no idea when his leg had stopped carrying him forward. He had no idea when his knees hit the snowy ground. He had even less of an idea of what was happening.
The last thing he remembered before he passed out was the snow falling, and feeling only the cold and misery that had followed him to where he laid.
Eric wasn’t aware he was warm until he could hear a quiet voice begging for a miracle. The next sound was a crack from a fire. He heard the distant tolling of the bells. The noises were confusing. The sounds he had heard before he had passed out had been those of nature, but the ones now were fully human. Especially the voice, which he tried to tune into, even as he struggled to open his eyes.
“...please let him open his eyes. I’ve never asked for anything as much as I am asking for this miracle right now. I never knew how much I loved him until he had left. I can’t lose him like this. Please, let there be a miracle on Christmas.” The voice was soft and familiar to Eric. He struggled to remember who it was. The words had been less than helpful, though he picked up on two things. That this someone loved him, and that it was Christmas.
Eric scrunched up his face, feeling as if his eyes were crusted shut. Blinking a couple of times as his eyelids slowly separated, he managed to see that he was in a room. The only light came from the roaring fireplace across from the bed, and out the window, he could see it was nighttime. The snow was still falling, and Eric had to wonder how he made it here.
The man who had been speaking was framed from behind by the flames, so it took some time for Eric to see his face. It took a bit longer for Eric to remember who it was. His mind was still thawing from its ordeal, and Eric took his time just letting his eyes wash over the man’s face. He had his eyes closed and his hands clasped loosely, and the prayer that he repeated over and over again seemed to whisper from his mouth subconsciously. Eric wondered how long he had been saying it.
Eric had to swallow a few times before he felt his voice would work. He looked to the man at his side and pondered what he should say. An apology? Probably. But the lines he heard from his mouth bounced around inside Eric’s mind, and he knew exactly what he should say, now that he was given a second chance.
“Jack,” His voice came out barely above a whisper, but it was loud enough that Jack’s eyes shot open. He looked at Eric with unabashed hopefulness, and Eric’s heart twinged with despair that he had caused whatever sadness Jack was going through.
“Eric, you came back to me.” Jack looked at him so softly that Eric wanted so desperately to kiss him that he struggled to move. He had only managed to push weakly at the bed with his hand before Jack was at his side, gently pushing him down. “Hey, hey slow down. It’s a miracle you were even alive at all, you know. Rest, recover.”
“Jack, I--” Eric searched Jack’s face searching for something he had already found. “I’m so sorry.”
“Shh, it’s ok. I know why you left. Rayne told me what she had said.” Jack softly reached over and stroked his head, and Eric managed to reach his hand out weakly, cupping Jack’s face. He froze under the touch, but continued to stroke Eric’s hair.
“I never wanted to leave, but I couldn’t stay… I was afraid you would believe them over me.” Eric took a shuddering breath and stroked Jack’s cheek with his thumb. His voice was barely above a whisper. “I love you.”
Jack stopped and leaned a little closer to Eric’s face, his eyes roaming, looking for something. He seemed to have found it, because he smiled softly and mirrored Eric, placing a hand to Eric’s cheek, wiping away a tear Eric hadn’t known he’d shed.
“I love you too.” He leaned even closer, and Eric eagerly met him halfway. The kiss was sweeter than anything he had ever had before, and he missed it as soon as it was gone. Jack looked lovingly at him, “Merry Christmas. Welcome home.”