Archive of Our Own

Jack didn't like the Overworld.

Don't get him wrong- he liked the amount of space, the variety of colors and foods, and even- though he'd never admit it- the other origins he lived with. Really, there was only one issue.

It was too cold.

Jack, as a netherborn creature- a blazeborn, made from literal fire and born in the equivalent of hell- ran naturally warm, and he loved the heat. Dipping into his small lava baths was a good way to simulate being in the nether as well, but... well, the Overworld was simply colder than the Nether ever was. There was no way around it- even on the hottest days, the temperatures only barely brushed the heat he was comfortable with. And don't even get him started on the rain!

But despite all of that, it was still better than the Nether. He would never forget the years and years of being trapped in there, the way he'd not seen a real person in almost eighteen years before Tommy found him. He never wanted to risk that kind of solitude again.

So he could suck it up, deal with a bit cooler temperatures. Besides, he still had lava and stuff, so he'd be fine, right?

Right.

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A couple weeks into what Tommy called 'winter', which was steadily becoming Jack's least favorite concept, he had to run over to Niki's lake- to get, uh... water, of course. Not to check on Niki and make sure she was okay or anything.

He was on his way over to her lake when it started... raining? Kind of? Jack wasn't sure. Normally rain wasn't white and it came down a lot faster and was a bit more painful, but this wasn't as bad. It was really cold, though.

Oh! This is what Tommy said snow was, wasn't it?

Huh. Jack had imagined it would be worse than this, but it was actually kind of cool. It was still really cold, though, so he should probably get a move on.

However, as he walked, the snow started to fall more and more, coating the ground in white and hissing where it met Jack's skin. In maybe six or seven minutes, it had already reached his ankles, and his feet felt numb.

It was even worse that he'd forgotten his jacket today, leaving him in only his blue and black t-shirt and his jeans, both of which were beginning to get soaked as the snow melted in them. His legs and arms began to sting from the water, and he let out a hiss of pain.

It was then that he realized that he couldn't see the path to Niki's pond anymore, and he'd been blindly wandering for a few minutes.

He let out a huff of annoyance, looking up and rubbing his arms frustratedly as he tried to spot where the Pub was from here. He had expected to be at Niki's pond by now, and he hadn't brought his communicator because of how short he though the trip would be. Terrible decision on his part, really.

On the plus side, though, the cold didn't feel as bad anymore. He didn't feel the sting of the water anymore, either; he was really just... numb.

He blinked, and suddenly he was on his side in the snow. Maybe laying in the really cold ice-rain-snow-stuff was a bad idea, but Jack wasn't sure he could get up even if he tried. His vision blurred, and he felt his eyes slip closed. Niki would be fine if he was a bit late to checking on her, surely.

It'd be fine when he woke up.

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Phil stared out from the Pub, frowning at the expanse of snow beating down outside. He hadn't realized the blizzard was approaching this quickly, and he had called everyone to the Pub as soon as he saw the first sign of snow.

He glanced behind him, looking over everyone. Tommy and Tubbo were both on the couch, curled into both of Ranboo's sides comfortably. Sneeg and Charlie were huddled together in one of Sneeg's wall-crack-tunnel things. Wilbur was standing in front of Niki's tank, which they had sealed off from the ground until the snow stopped, and Fundy and Scott were both curled under some blankets by the fire.

The only ones not there were Techno, who had told Phil he'd be in the Nether until the storm was over, and Jack, who nobody had since before the snow.

"He's probably gonna stay in his volcano, you know how he is about the cold." Niki had said. However, Phil couldn't shake the instinct that something was wrong. He'd messaged Jack a few times in the last fifteen minutes, but to no avail.

"I'm going to go check on him. Just- I'll be back, okay?" The winged man called out, getting a chorus of 'be careful' and 'don't be long' in return. He nodded, opening the window and stepping onto the porch before spreading his wings and taking off.

The blizzard was much worse outside, and Phil could barely see in front of himself. Still, he kept flying in the direction of the volcano Jack lived in. It wasn't that far away, thankfully, so Phil landed there soon.

Immediately, he could tell something was wrong. The building was silent, and the entrance was half-hidden behind a pile of snow. Once Phil managed to shove his way in, he called out for the blazeborn.

"Jack?"

He got no answer, and Phil began to feel a sense of panic as he searched the home. Eventually, his search ended with him finding himself back at the entrance, having only found one trace of Jack: his communicator, which had been sitting alone atop a barrel. This meant one, frankly terrifying, thing.

Jack wasn't here.

Phil rushed out of Jack's home, looking around desperately.

"Jack!" He called, voice nearly drowned out by the howling of the wind. His panic began to grow, and he spread his wings, launching into the air and beginning to search for Jack.

He flew for a while, calling the other's name, before he spotted something. There, a few yards away from Niki's pond, was a small speck of blue and black and a bit of orange.

Jack.

Phil dropped to the ground, landing roughly and sprinting over. Indeed, it was the blazeborn, laying face down and unconscious in the snow. Phil could see water-burns all over his exposed skin, and he immediately pulled the smaller boy out of the snow and into his lap.

"Jack? Can you hear me?"

No response. Phil pressed a hand against Jack's cheek, hissing at how cold the other's skin was. He patted Jack's cheek lightly, trying to wake the smaller man up. He noted, in some logical part of his mind that had been shoved out of the way by his emotions, that Jack's lips and fingers were a pale blue, a clear sign of hypothermia.

"Come on, Jack, please."

A low groan came from the blazeborn, his head rolling weakly as his eyelids fluttered. The younger hybrid managed to open his eyes a little, his glassy red and blue irises finding Phil.

"...Ph'l? Wha's hap'ning?"

"You're okay, Jack, I'm here. What're you doin' out here alone, mate?" Phil asked, wrapping his wings tightly around Jack to try and warm the smaller man up. He shrugged off his coat, bundling the blazeborn in it immediately.

"...h'd t' check 'n Niki. M'ke sure she's 'kay... 's she okay?" Jack's voice was weak and slurred, and Phil knew he couldn't waste time answering the question.

"Niki's fine, mate. I'm going to pick you up now, okay? You need to go to the Pub."

"'M'kay." Jack hummed, allowing himself to be lifted and tucked into Phil's chest. He was limp and weak, and Phil could feel him shivering slightly as the smaller's face rested against his collarbone.

"Just keep your eyes open, mate. I've got you." Phil said, spreading his wings and taking off again. He made sure his grip on the smaller was tight, making sure Jack was secure as he flew back to the Pub.

When he got there, he practically burst in, shouting something about Jack that he didn't really remember.

Thankfully, everybody was already outside. When they saw Phil carrying the injured blazeborn, a chorus of gasps rang out. Phil landed, and someone ran past him to slam the door shut.

"Oh fuck, Jack." Tommy hissed, running forwards and tugging his own coat off, handing it to Phil and taking the blazeborn into his own arms.

"We need to get him inside, and I'll need towels and blankets. And a regen potion, if we have one." Phil instructed, and the group dispersed to retrieve the requested items. Tommy carefully carried Jack to the living room, setting the other down on the couch.

"He's not waking up, why isn't he waking up?" Tommy's voice was close to hysterical, and Ranboo appeared behind him, wrapping the avian in a tight hug.

"I know, it's okay. We'll take care of him." The taller soothed, holding the panicked blond close. Phil stalked back into the room, towels and blankets piled high in his arms. Niki had retrieved the potion, and she was also in the room.

Phil laid the towels and blankets on the floor, moving to pull off Jack's soaked shirt. Ranboo hissed at the sight of the water-burns, eyes scanning over Jack pityingly. As the only other person to get those types of burns, Ranboo knew how they felt firsthand.

Phil grabbed a towel, dabbing it into the potion and carefully rubbing the liquid onto Jack's burns. After a few minutes, the burns were gone, and Phil handed the bottle to Niki. The merling had thrown on her respiration helmet, wanting to help Jack as best she could.

"Make him drink a little, I'm hoping it'll help get his temperature back up." He instructed, and the mermaid nodded, gently pulling Jack into her arms.

She propped him up against her, pressing the rim of the bottle to his lips and coaxing the liquid into his mouth. He swallowed it in tiny sips, and his eyes cracked open slightly as he drank it.

"Niki? Y'r 'kay?"

"I'm fine, Jack, I'm right here. How're you feeling?" She asked. The blazeborn seemed to have a difficult time processing the question.

"'m f'ne. Wh're...?"

"We're in the Pub, mate. Everyone's okay, don't worry." Phil answered, and Jack's gaze drifted towards him, his expression relaxing.

"...m'kay."

Tommy was sitting cross-legged on the floor next to the pile of blankets, and the moment he realized Jack was coherent enough to understand what was going on, he surged forwards, wrapping the blazeborn in a hug.

"Don't scare me like that, bitch."

"'m s'rry, Toms."

"You should be, you dickhead! You were passed out, half-frozen in the snow! You could've-" Tommy's voice broke. "You could've died."

"...'m s'rry." Jack's voice was even softer than Tommy's, and his eyes slipped closed as he leaned heavily into the embrace.

"Jack? Hey, come on, buddy." Phil called, shaking the blazeborn lightly, and the boy's eyes opened once more. They were glazed over, and the older man knew Jack was fighting off the urge to sleep.

"'m t'red, Ph'l..."

"I know, bud, but you need to stay awake." Phil urged. Jack whined pitifully.

"But 'm tired. Pl'se?"

"Jack, you have hypothermia. If you go to sleep, you could stop breathing." Niki explained, and Jack's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"Wh't's hyper- hyp'th'rmia?"

"It means your body is too cold."

"...tha's a th'ng?"

"Yep, but I'm sure Phil can explain it better than I can." Niki said, looking at the older man.

"Alright, yeah. If I tell you about it, you have to stay awake, though. Okay?"

"Okay."

And so, for the next twenty minutes, Phil explained exactly what was going on with the blazeborn. He talked and talked, and when he paused in order to focus more on Jack, Niki piped up instead. She had moved back to her tank, but they were close enough that Jack could hear her well through the glass.

Eventually, though, Jack couldn't stay awake any longer. Thankfully, they'd managed to get him warm and dry, so after a few more minutes and a bit more healing potion, they were hopeful that the worst had passed.

The group moved the sick blazeborn upstairs, settling him on the couch and covering him in a nest of blankets. They also made sure the fireplace was burning bright, keeping the area warm.

The group sat around the couch for a long time, watching Jack and keeping an eye on his breathing, before they eventually drifted off one by one.

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When Jack woke up, he was still tired, and he was pretty sure his head was killing him. Also, it was warm. Very, very warm.

"Mmm."

There was a shift, and then there was a hand on his forehead.

"Hey, you awake, mate?"

"I think so."

A soft chuckle from Phil as he pulled away his hand.

"Do you remember anything?"

"I went to Niki's pond, and then... it was snowing? Right?"

"Yep, and you fell and got hypothermia."

"...oh."

"Yep."

Jack frowned, trying to wriggle out of the blanket bundle he'd been trapped in. It didn't really work, and the only thing he succeeded in was causing his head to throb slightly. Phil chuckled, and there was the sound of a lid popping off a bottle.

"Here, take this."

"What is it?"

"Potions. For your headache and the pain from the burns."

"...burns?"

"Only a few, from the water. Drink the potion."

Jack scrunched up his nose at the sickly sweet scent. "You're mean."

"Yeah, yeah. Mean old Phil, trying to make you feel better. Come on, bud, drink."

With a huff, Jack took the bottle, downing it quickly. He made a face. Regeneration potions certainly weren't the worst tasting potions, but they were definitely in his top few.

"Can I go back to sleep now?"

"You can, just wait a sec. Do you think you can handle food right now?"

"Um... maybe. Why?"

"Because I have some soup that I'd like for you to eat, and if you're feeling up to it, I can ask Scott to make some hot chocolate."

"M'kay."

Phil left the room. A few minutes later, returned with a bowl of soup and a mug of the hot drink he had mentioned.

"Scott asked me to tell you that he hopes you feel better. He would've come and said it himself, but I barely managed to get him away from that project he's been working on for long enough to have him make this." Phil gestured to the mug.

Jack sat up, and Phil placed the items on the table. He was still feeling rather exhausted, and he could feel his body begging him to just lay back down and sleep, but he forced himself to remain upright, sipping at the soup and hot chocolate.

After a while, Phil took the dishes away, and Jack was allowed to curl back under the blankets. However, this time, he wasn't alone.

A couple seconds after he'd gotten comfortable, there was a soft whoosh of air, and suddenly he had a lap full of avian.

Jack blinked, looking down at the figure in his lap groggily. Tommy grinned up at him, tired blue eyes sparkling with mischief.

"I've decided you're my pillow now, big man."

Jack groaned, flopping back against his pillow. "'m too tired for this, Tom."

"Too bad, I'm cuddling you now." Tommy said, shoving his face into the crook of Jack's neck. "I'm gonna stay right here and you can't do anything about it."

"You're insufferable."

"And you're warm and comfy. Now go back to sleep."

Jack rolled his eyes, but he could already feel himself beginning to drift off again. Tommy curled against him, and he pulled the younger boy closer, falling asleep in the warmth of the fire and the blankets and Tommy.

Jack supposed he could deal with the Overworld. It wasn't all bad, especially when there were people to stay warm with.