Multifandom Oneshots

the tangerine bear ~ depression (hurt/comfort) ~ tangie/jack

A/N : Takes place post movie

Tangie had definitely gotten better over time. His frantic want to be sold left when Mr. Winkle denied him to a customer, and he then realized that he didn't need to be sold to find a family- He already had one. That was a great improvement to his mindset that made his constant anxiety loosen its grip. He may have been a little exasperated with the old man in that moment, but he later found himself thanking him (though not in person obviously).

However, just because his fear of not being good enough for a family had evaporated didn't mean that his low points completely went away.

He wondered if his depression was a result of his mouth being sewn upside down. That's what he told himself at least because then there was some sort of source to it that he could point to. It was much easier than saying that he just had an issue resulting from his trauma, or worse... That there was no reason to it at all. No, that wouldn't do. That would drive the poor bear mad. So he blamed his mental illness on his deformity.

But it didn't particularly matter either way, as he soon realized. Theodore may have given him a reprimand if he'd seen how pessimistic he was and Louie may have tried to help him mask it like he had before, but his new family wasn't like that at all. Mr. Winkle didn't seem to take offense (though the two never really talked), Virgil had learned not to take it too personally, Bird could actually relate, and Jack loved him to death regardless. It was nice (or well- The illness itself sucked but it was nice that he didn't have to worry about letting anyone down)

Tangie found himself having one of his depressive episodes one winter, and everyone could sense it. His usual edge of sarcasm and personality had been dulled, and he began interacting with the others less and less. None of them took offense of course, but they were still worried about him. It'd been a while since they saw him sitting sadly in the front of the window display.

"Hey, Tangie!" Jack said cheerily, hopping over to his boyfriend. The bear glanced at him briefly, his eyes glazed over, and then returned his gaze to the streets outside. Jack frowned and lowered himself slightly so he wasn't too tall to properly talk to the depressed man sitting next to him. "Are ya doing okay?" he asked more gently. "You've been sorta isolating yourself from the rest of us. We're worried"

"Sorry, Jack" Tangie apologized, his voice solemn and empty. "I didn't mean to worry you guys" he added, to which the Jack-in-the-box shook his head, a jingle noise coming from the bells on his hat (that still brought him joy after having defective bells for so long, but he brushed that away because he knew he'd grow too distracted by them if he paid attention to the noise). "Don't apologize, buddy" Jack told him softly. "We care about you. I care about you. We just wanna make sure you're doing okay"

Tangie sighed and then leaned against Jack's box. "I'm just really tired, Jack" he admitted with an exhausted tone to his voice. Jack had to resist the urge to lean down and pull him into a tight hug because he knew that might stress him out. Instead, he just place a hand on the bear's shoulder. Tangie reached up his own paw to hold the hand, and it provided some comfort to him even if he still felt incredibly numb and tired. The two fell quiet, just looking out on the snowy streets.

"It's getting closer to Christmas" Jack broke the silence softly. Tangie gave a small sound of acknowledgement. "Do you think Lorelei is doing okay with that biker guy?" the bear asked, causing Jack to chuckle. "I'll admit, I didn't find him very cute but he was definitely her type" he joked, eliciting a small laugh from his boyfriend. He took this as a small victory. "And I might miss her lots, but she hit on us way too much. I'm just glad she has her own home now"

"I'm glad we did too" Tangie replied gently, though his expression still seemed a bit tired. Jack smiled. "I love you, Tangie" he muttered. He hadn't actually dropped the L word yet, but it just felt right. To his surprise, the bear nodded and smiled. "I love you too, Jack" he said. "And I'm lucky to have you in my life, even if I can be a pain sometimes with..." he gestured to his forehead, referring to his depression. "You're not a pain" Jack said gently.

Mr. Winkle watched the two from the top of the stairs and smiled knowingly before going into his room.