I did a thing, guys. I didn't mean too, Heart(h) was meant to be a one-shot, which became a chaptered fic once I realized that I needed far more than a couple pages to tell everything that my Aster-muse was feeding me. Of course, no sooner had a posted the epilogue and silenced the Aster-voice in my brain then the Jack-voice started up, complaining about how I'd been ignoring him, and inquiring minds wanted to hear his side of things, and why won't I just start writing already?

So, here it is, Jack's entire thoughts on the matter. This is shaping up to be a verse in my head now, with a possible third part if the muses keep being as noisy as they are. So, without further ado, please enjoy!

"Is Bunny ok?" The question came somewhat out of left field, making Jack blink a bit, peering quizzically at Jamie across the math homework Jack was currently helping him with. Jack didn't know when school got so complicated for kids so young, but he was glad that he'd had nothing better to do for three hundred years of nights he didn't need to sleep and summers where he was unneeded by most of the population and he decided that educating himself was a top priority. Well actually, it had snowballed from deciding that learning to read would be beneficial since there was no one who could see him to read to him, and society seemed to be becoming more and more dependent on written words for organization on functionality. Once he could read there was nothing stopping him from looking up anything he felt like; not like the locked doors of a closed library could stop someone who couldn't be seen picking them. After that things had just snowballed, his natural inquisitiveness taking over until he found himself crashing university lectures and losing entire weeks hiding out in the back corner of a library after hours, devouring subject after subject in a never-ending quest to know why. Jack didn't consider himself brilliant or anything, just particularly well read on a long list of diverse and eclectic subjects that Jack found fascinating.

Long division though, well, Jack and long division had a long-standing mutual animosity, and he had no clue why any nine-year old would conceivably need to know it.

"Jack, are you listening?" Jack blinked abruptly brought back into the present from his mental tangent. This was getting to be a problem, despite having been a guardian for six months he still occasionally found his mind wandering off, often in the middle of a conversation. Jack knew that it would take time yet to retrain himself away from habits formed during three centuries of no one caring if he spaced out, but his inability to hold up his end of a discussion was getting a bit ridiculous. And if Jamie's concerned look was any indication, he was dangerously close to doing it for the second time in as many minutes. Gathering his thoughts and rewinding back to the original question, Jack was forced to admit that he didn't think he could answer the question with a confident yes. Not wanting to alarm the rather sensitive boy, Jack decided that obfuscating the issue was the best immediate solution.

"Gee Jamie, why would you ask?" Jamie scowled at Jack with such force that Jack was surprised and suddenly defensive, feeling like he should be expecting an accusation any time now.

"Because last time he came over to see Sophie he looked like my mom after three weeks on nights?" Ah, that. Jack mentally cursed, he sometimes forgot that Jamie was sharp as a tack and scarily observant, the kid missed nothing, seriously. It was undeniably true, too, Lately at the last couple 'Guardian Gatherings' as North had taken to calling them, Bunny had looked more and more worn down, although he'd denied it to any who'd asked, at one point snapping at a well-meaning Tooth so fiercely she'd cried after he'd stomped away. Jack had been furious and well-prepared to give him a piece of his mind, but the strained look on North's face as he and Sandy had comforted their feathered friend had stopped him. I was obvious North was concerned to, and Jack had to admit the feeling was mutual. Bunny had a temper yes, but it only got truly nasty and uncalled for when he was already feeling stressed and needed a convenient, if inappropriate outlet. Because heaven forbid Bunny actually talked about his feelings like a normal individual. Well, for a given value of normal at least, considering that a six foot tall Rabbity-looking creature from outer space was perhaps one of the less-strange immortals Jack had ever stumbled over in his existence. And Jamie was giving him that look again; Jack really needed to learn some focus, like, yesterday. Now, where was he? Right, dodging the question.

"They had your mom on nights again? Dude, bummer." Jack felt genuine sympathy, Jamie's mom was a nurse at the local emergency clinic, being on nights meant she barely saw her children and husband, and, as Jack had seen firsthand, was usually so exhausted from the 12 hours shifts that she was a practical Zombie. Not like Jack was a Zombie in the reanimated-corpse way, more like a really-tired-person-in-need-of-more-sleep Zombie.

Conversation with Jamie, right. Focus Jack, focus.

"You're not saying you haven't noticed?" Jamie seems slightly accusatory, like Jack's failing as a friend and fellow Guardian by not dropping everything to immediately rectify the problem. Jack couldn't blame the kid for feeling that way, not when Jack agreed that he probably was a shitty friend for having let it go so long. Admittedly though, Bunny was difficult to get along with on his good days, on his bad it was nearly impossible, and Jack and Bunny had never been on good terms exactly. Oh sure, things were loads better now that Easter '68 was forgiven and forgotten, but Bunny, like Jack, and well, all the Guardians really, was an intense personality and took just the right touch to handle properly, and Jack didn't think he yet had that down to a fine science yet, despite the time they'd spent together. Turns out, Bunny had as large a love of obscure trivia as Jack did, and they often spent time trying to outdo each other in a friendly know-it-all competition. It was amazing how Jack's usually nonexistent attention span could be held by one person for several hours without him drifting off, Jack had blamed it on a combination of the mental stimulation, and the fact that Bunny was just such a larger-than-life person that he was impossible for Jack to ignore even for a moment inadvertently.

Well, at least they had been spending time together, until bit by bit Bunny had slowly been more and more absorbed in his Easter preparations, the last couple times Jack had dropped by the Warren Bunny had barely stopped to grunt a hello before turning back to whatever he'd been doing when Jack had arrived. Come to think about it, that was when everyone had begun to notice a decline in Bunny's wellbeing...

Aw hell. Jack was way too clever to be this damn stupid.

"You're right Jamie." The boy blinked at Jack's statement, clearly expecting to be told he was wrong and to mind his own business.

"I am?"

"Yeah kid, you are. Now, let's get this math stuff done before dinner so I can go check up on tall, dark and furry." Jamie cracked a smile at the amusing moniker, turning his attention back to his homework again, carefully working out the equation, tongue poking out in concentration. Jack watched him fondly as he worked, while mentally he was pondering his options. If Bunny was stressing out of this coming Easter, then the best way to ease his friend's burden would be to offer to help.

An offer the Bunny, with all his numerous pride issues, would never accept. Not that Jack would be much help with Easter preparations anyways, not really within the scope of his particular talents. No matter, he'd just show up and find a way to be useful. Jack was a fairly competent individual; growing up a Colonial kid had pretty much forced it on him. Jack would bet serious money that if he looked hard enough, he could probably find something to do to give Bunny a chance to ease off a bit, and if Bunny didn't want him there? Well, too bad. Now that Jack had made up his mind to help, there wasn't a force on Earth that could stop him. Some called it stubbornness; Jack preferred to call it dedication. He'd see that damn Rabbit sit still, eat a full meal and get some proper sleep if he had to hold the moody bastard down and force him too.

Now that he thought about it, a good meal was probably the perfect place to start. Plan of action decided, Jack turned his attentions back to the numbers on the page. Bunny wouldn't know what hit him, and Jack figured there was a fairly low margin of error if he treads carefully enough on Bunny's fragile ego.

After all, he was only going to make Bunny a meal, what could possibly be wrong with that?