A Little Laughter Left In Me... (Laughing Jack x Reader)

~Departure and Planning~

Your stepfather told you to wake up bright and early as you got ready for bed, and since Jack was going to be staying at your house with Miles, he spent the night.

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You felt your shoulder gently being pushed, and you rubbed one sleepy eye to look over at the clown lying beside you, a smile was on his face but you could tell he was trying to hide his sadness.

 "Wakey-wakey, gumdrop..." He chuckled faintly.

You smiled back and grasped his hand on your shoulder, noticing his smile widen a bit.

"Good morning, Jack." You replied, yawning afterwards.

As much as you wanted to stay like this, you knew you had to hurry up and get ready to go, your stepfather would probably be awake soon, if he wasn't already, and he'd come check up on you to make sure you weren't being lazy.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

After cleaning yourself and getting dressed for the freezing weather, you sat with Jack on your bed. You'd first talked about what the plan for the trip was, but then you ran out of things to say, although Jack didn't seem to mind.

After a few moments of just looking at each-other, Jack pouted and mumbled: "I really wish you didn't have to go..." And his gaze fell to the floor.

You sighed and leaned over, pulling him into a hug by his shoulders. You could feel him smiling against your skin as he hugged back, his head resting in the crook of your neck, then he moved his head so that his mouth was next to your ear. You shivered a little and blushed when you felt his chilling breaths against your earlobe as he whispered:

"But... as long as you come back... I'll wait as long as I have to." And his grip ever so slightly tightened around you.

After about five minutes, you pulled away as you heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." You called to the door, and your stepfather walked in. He was already wearing his puffy, grey coat and wooly brown gloves.

"You ready to go?" He asked excitedly.

Jack was still beside you, but he was invisible to your father. He looked at you as you answered.

"As ready as I'll ever be." You nodded, smiling a bit.

"Great! I'll take our bags to the car and we'll grab some breakfast on the way, don't forget to say bye to your mother." And with that, he grabbed your briefcase and left the room, heading down the stairs.

Jack stretched his arm over to push the door shut, then pulled it back and looked at you sadly.

"So... this is it then..." He said quietly.

You stood up and he did the same, and without another word you were in one last tight embrace, and you tried not to cry. You reminded yourself that it would only be a week, and besides, maybe in that time you could find a way to help Jack have a good Christmas!

"I'll be back soon, I promise." You told him, your voice muffled slightly by his shirt. You felt his clawed fingers grip the fabric of your coat tighter afterwards, then he responded, saying: 

"I know you will."

After you pulled away he gripped your hand as if his life depended on it all the way up until you forced yourself to exit your room, and you gave him one last smile before you shut the door, knowing that if you prolonged this any longer you'd start crying.