A/N: So I wrote this several months ago for drgreenragemonster for the Jackrabbit V-Day exchange. Just trying to get everything crossposted before I post anything new to AO3.
For as long as Jack could remember, things had been cold. Winters huddled around a fire with too little fuel had given way to decades, and then centuries, surrounded by ice and snow. It wasn't a bad life, and it was the only one Jack had ever known. He loved the harsh bite of good autumn snap and the intricate designs snowflakes painted across the night sky, but there were moments, quiet moments, solitary moments, that he'd wished in the past for something a bit warmer. Perhaps that was initially what had drawn him inexorably towards Aster-that glorious warmth. It was sun-warmed dust lighting on soft, downy fur and a heated twinkle in bright green eyes. It was the hopeful sigh of a warm breeze on the first day of spring. It was warm, lazy days in the warren reclining in the grass with his head cozy and secure in Aster's lap, blunt claws tracing careful designs in his hair. In other words, it was days like today.
Jack opened his eyes, forced to squint in the evening light, and regarded his-his whatever-he-was. Aster, to his credit, just quirked an eyebrow in question, and waited patiently for Jack to remember how to form words with his mouth. When Jack finally blurted something out, it was half-thoughts and secret wonderings given form. "We should go on a date."
Aster frowned, and his paws stilled their movement, which caused Jack to whine in protest. "A date?"
Jack butted his head against Aster's paw hopefully, but the petting did not recommence. He sighed and gave up, resigning himself to his cruelly pettingless fate. "Yeah, a date. You know, what normal couples do? You go out and spend time with your-your whatever, and you have a good time," he said slowly, as if explaining a simple idea to a small child. Then something occurred to him and he sat bolt upright out of Aster's lap, causing the rabbit to start against the tree under which they'd been resting. "You have been on a date, right?"
Aster's frown only deepened and one of his ears flicked in irritation. "We spend loads of time together, Frostbite."
The way Aster neatly side-stepped the question did not escape Jack's notice, but he only rolled his eyes in reply. "Yeah, but we never go out and do anything together," he said, giving Aster's side a light push.
Aster gave him a shove in return, but it was half-hearted at best. Instead, he looked pensive. "But what the devil would we even do on this..." His nose wrinkled as if something unknown had been placed underneath it. "Date?"
Yep. His Aster, the old, experienced, and occasionally stuffy, had definitely never been on a real date before. It made sense, he guessed, considering Aster didn't date humans and didn't even take much notice of them over a certain age. By the time humans grew old enough for their first awkward dates and fumbling kisses, he'd already turned his attentions to their younger cousins.
But if this was really Aster's first date, it had to be something really good. Romantic, interesting, and definitely fun. They couldn't do anything too public in case a child saw them (Children could see them now! Both of them!), so that put a lot of ideas right out. Still, what if...
Jack grinned and sat up on his knees so he could press a peck to Aster's wrinkled nose. "I have just the thing."
It had taken some covert investigation and eavesdropping on whispers carried by the wind, but Jack had finally found the perfect occasion. There was a little park in Georgia that, like some other parks, had outdoor movies open to all once every few weeks. They typically had a quite a few children, but this particular screening was a midnight showing, and children were unlikely to be there. Jack figured they could just sneak their way into the back and no one would be the wiser. He'd seen more than one movie that way, and he was happy to introduce Aster to the activity. And if they happened to engage in a little bit of movie-going's sister activity, making out like randy teenagers in the back row, Jack wouldn't be against it.
When Jack had explained his idea to Aster, he had admitted with a subtle reddening under his fur that he had never seen a movie before, which just convinced Jack all the more that this was the perfect idea. And they were playing Star Wars this week, a classic. Awesome action scenes for Jack, weird aliens for Aster (aliens were into aliens, right?), and enough visual effects to give a movie virgin an aneurysm.
It had been a good idea. The two of them found a dry patch of grass near the back and off to the side, and Jack curled up against Aster's side, the warmth of his companion taking the edge off the cool evening breeze. Not that Jack had much to worry about from the cold-but it made for a great excuse for cuddling. Aster had packed them some food for the show after Jack told him that snacks were traditional, and Jack enjoyed eating everything as lasciviously as humanly possible, laughing when Aster rolled his eyes and pulled him close. Everything went absolutely swimmingly until the movie itself started. It was only then that Jack was forced to admit that perhaps his idea had worked a little too well.
Aster didn't just like the movie; he loved it. He was absolutely transfixed by it. He leaned forward, tense and watchful, during all the suspenseful bits, and he could only watch wide-eyed as lush panoramas scrolled across the screen. He laughed at all the jokes and glanced off to the side, lashes low, at the romantic parts. (Watching Aster attempt to hide any traces of squishy feelings inside him was so amusing that Jack didn't have the heart to tell him about the twist.) He watched the movie play out, rapt, and barely took his eyes from the screen. In short, he was a perfect movie-goer. Jack was about to scream from frustration.
As far as he knew, dates were supposed to be about spending time with someone you loved and the wheres and whys were largely incidental. It was about bonding and having fun together. Keyword: together. Aster hadn't paid him one whit of attention since the prologue had started rolling, though, and Jack had been as obnoxious as possible. He'd whispered commentary only to be shushed dramatically. He'd tried snuggling up against Aster, even going so far as to sit half in his lap and tucking his head under his chin, and had only gotten an absent pat on the back in return. He'd even tried some tried and true seduction techniques like artful rearrangement of clothing and accidentally-on-purpose groping. He'd been batted away. Batted away. It was enough to drive a man mad.
Eventually, Jack was forced to give up on his halcyon dreams of discreet PDA. (In his not-so-humble opinion, anything they did, no matter how lewd, was discreet. It was one of the few benefits of being invisible.) Instead, he leaned back on the grass and watched the movie. Or, to be more exact, he watched Aster watch the movie. When he wasn't trying to distract him into something a bit more fun, Aster's single-mindedness started to seem cute instead of annoying. He could catch details he'd initially missed, like the way Aster chewed on his bottom lip during chase scenes and the intricate dance his ears seemed to do whenever something particularly emotional played out on the screen. (His ears lay back flat against his skull at the destruction of Alderaan and Jack couldn't help but slide his hand into Aster's, and he hummed comfortingly when Aster squeezed.) Jack caught on to the muffled gasps pretty quickly, and he had to muffle his own snickers when he noticed the way Aster went a little wide-eyed whenever someone did something particularly heroic. Honestly, it was a lot more interesting than the movie was.
Jack settled in, running a hand through thick fur just to see the way Aster shivered in response, and resigned himself to an evening without makeouts. As Aster's face lit up at some new wonder, however, he had to admit that as far as makeoutless evenings went, this one really wasn't so bad. Maybe they could even come back next month to see Ghostbusters.
A/N: Later that night, after they returned home and Aster proved to Jack exactly how much he'd enjoyed himself, Jack decided that yes, they would definitely go back next month. And possibly every month after that.