Okay, so…this was supposed to be a Sandy/Jack bonding fic with Wind making a special appearance. I have no clue how Bunny wormed his way into this. I guess I can't write a RotG fic without E. Aster Bunnymund playing a role in it- he's so awesome.

MINOR BOOK SPOILER ALERT!: The idea came to me while I was reading the fourth "Guardians of Childhood" book. There's a line near the end that says that Sandy has the ability to speak to the wind. I was thinking about why he didn't communicate with the wind in the movie.

Also…MAJOR FLUFF WARNING!

Hope you enjoy! (I also noticed that each time I write a RotG fic, they seem to get longer and longer.)

Disclaimer: I do not own The Rise of the Guardians. The characters and story are the property of Dreamworks Animation and William Joyce.

Secrets in the Air

Her boy was being difficult again. Even after 300 years, he was still as stubborn as when he had first risen from the lake; just like a rebellious teenager. Wind was at her wits end; the child just wouldn't see reason. Apparently it was time to bring out the big guns.

Now, Jack Frost wasn't Wind's only companion. It had been a long time since she had confided in her old friend, but desperate times call for desperate measures. It wasn't too hard to find him. Although following the golden tendrils of Dreamsand didn't hurt.

Sanderson Mansnoozie had a peaceful, sleepy smile on his face as she drew closer and brushed through his hair and across his face in a warm greeting. The smile was quickly replaced with a frown as Wind whirled urgently around him, explaining the problem to him. He looked off into the direction that Jack seemed to be and sighed before heading off into the opposite direction. If he was going to confront the youngest Guardian about this problem, he was going to need some backup.

It was close to midnight as Jack hovered over a city in northern Massachusetts, buried in almost half a foot of snow. He yawned and tried, unsuccessfully, to wipe the exhaustion out of his eyes. Only one more week and he could take a nice, month-long nap. But first, he had a job to do.

Just as he began his trek north to the next destination, a large gale of wind pushed him eastward and dropped him in the middle of a grassy field with a soft 'thump'.

"Ouch! Hey, Wind, what was that for?" his asked, rubbing the shoulder he'd landed on. Wind curled around him in comfort and apologies. Jack let out a half-smile, "I forgive you, but why did you bring me here?" He glanced around the meadow in silent awe. The ground was covered in a thick blanket of fresh snow, no blemishes or imperfections to be found anywhere. The surrounding trees' limbs held icicles, some of them nearly reaching the ground, that shimmered in the moonlight. A low voice broke the calm and made Jack start.

"'Ello, Jack. Nice night, isn' it?"

Jack spun around and grinned, "Hey, Bunny. What's up? Isn't it a bit chilly for you around these parts?" He settled his staff straight down in the snow and jumped atop it, crouching on its crook with ease. Bunny blinked.

"Impressive move, Frost. How'd ya do tha'?"

"Years and years of practice."

A shove from Wind brought Bunny back to the task at hand, "Anyways, there's somethin' we need ta talk abou'."

Jack's back straightened and he cocked his head to the side, "This doesn't include throwing me into that red sack again, does it? That thing really needs to be washed," he asked hesitantly, suddenly eyeing Bunny with trepidation.

"Nah…" he chuckled slowly with a smirk on his face. His arms were crossed over his chest and his nose twitched in anticipation. Apparently, he knew something that Jack didn't. And Jack didn't like that…not one bit.

"Okay…so…what did you want to talk about?" Before he could get an answer, the winter sprite felt himself drifting off. A pair of furry arms caught him around the waist seconds before he could land face-first in the snow. A trio of Dreamsand dolphins began circling above his head performing flips and tricks.

"Dolphins, huh?" Bunny quipped to Sandy, who stood on a sand-cloud ten feet above his head. Sandy just shrugged in response, "Well, let's get 'im back ta the Warren. We'll get the answers outta 'im later."

It was less than two hours later when Bunny and Sandy burst into Jack's room at the Warren to find the boy tossing and turning, yelling and pleading. The sheets had been kicked to the ground, along with the pillow, and his head was thrashing back and forth. The Dreamsand above his head was no longer the bright gold it once was; the scene playing above the winter sprite's head was gray, but not quite black. The two older Guardians shuffled closer and Bunny's ears dropped at the sight of the dream.

A Sand-Bunnymund towered over Sand-Jack, a fisted paw raised in the air, ready to strike. The sand shifted, and the Sand-Bunnymund had his back turned as he walked away, Sand-Jack on his knees calling out to him. The scene changed again, this time picturing a Sand-Pitch snapping Sand-Jack's staff over his knee and Sand-Jack falling to the ground in a crumpled heap.

The real Pooka felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to look into the very angry eyes of the Sandman.

"Why are ya lookin' at me like tha', mate?" he asked, shuffling uncomfortably. Sandy pointed to the sand images again and crossed his arms, lifting a brow expectantly, "Wha'? He's just havin' a nightmare." Sandy shook his head. Bunny tilted his head in confusion.

Sandy sighed. He formed a mini image of himself over his head and crossed it out with an "x".

"S'not a dream?"

Sandy shook his head again and created a picture of Pitch and crossed it out.

"S'not a nightmare, either?" Another shake, "Then wha' is it?"

The Sandman thought for a moment before forming a Sand-tooth above his head.

"A…a memory?" Sandy nodded with a glare. He pointed to the sand above Jack's head again, then back to Bunnymund, a question mark hanging over his own head.

The Pooka looked away, ashamed, "It happened on Easter last year…when we fought Pitch…" And so Bunny relayed the story of their confrontation with Jack, how he had vanished, then returned later with his teeth in hand; how they had shunned him and sent him away, and how he'd returned that night to help save their butts.

Sandy yanked on Bunny's ear, golden sand-steam fuming from his own ears. An image of Pitch glowed above his head, followed by a question mark.

Bunny looked back at Jack, his sand counterpart still collapsed on the ground, shaking, the broken pieces of his staff laying close by. Sand-Pitch was nowhere to be found.

"I…I dunno. I never knew Pitch broke 'is staff," he winced, "had I known…"

Both Guardians looked back at the sleeping boy. Sanderson floated over to him and touched the sand of his memories, turning it back to Dreamsand dolphins dancing over his head. Bunny draped the blankets over him and gently stuck the pillow under his head. A small smile graced the sprite's face as his eyes slowly fluttered open.

He let out a wide yawn and stretched, hearing various body parts crack and pop. Sitting up, he scratched the back of his head and looked around, jumping a little when he saw two figures standing over him.

"Bunny? Sandy? What's going on?" he yawned again, but paused mid-yawn at the distressed looks on their faces, "What's the matter?"

The two older Guardians glanced at one another, and Sandy made a picture of 'z's above his head.

"Frostbite, when was the last time ya slept?"

Jack was shocked at the question. 'How did they know?' The winter spirit laughed it off and shook his head, "What was I doing a few minutes ago?"

"Before tha'."

"I had a nice little catnap the other day."

Bunny groaned in irritation and Sandy still stared at him in shock.

"We're serious, Jack. When was the last time ya had a good night's sleep."

"Uh…I think it was sometime around…Thanksgiving…"

Both Bunnymund and Sandy's jaws dropped.

"Uh…Fro-frostbite…ya know it's almost March, don' ya?"

"Yeah?"

"Bloody hell, Jack! That's almos' three months!"

"So?" Jack's voice shook a little, but he shrugged it off.

Bunny was starting to get irritated with the back and forth, one word answers. Jack looked away from the overgrown rabbit and his eyes landed on a very guilty looking Sandman. The winter sprite sighed, "Don't look like that, Sandy. It's not your fault. I've just been really busy lately. Besides, you have to look after the children all over the world. It's common sense that you'd be too busy- mph"

A hand made of Dreamsand covered Jack's mouth mid-sentence. Sandy shook his head and images began appearing above him: a mini Sandman, a group of tendrils of Dreamsand circling the world, a child in a bed, an 'x', a snowflake, and a heart. Jack tilted his head to the side in confusion.

Bunnymund wrapped an arm around Jack's shoulder, his voice was somber, "He's sayin' tha' it doesn' matter how busy he is with the other children. No matter wha', he should've realized tha' ya weren' sleepin' properly and done somethin' 'bout it." Sandy smiled sadly and nodded.

The hand dissipated and Jack looked between the two of them, "Why?"

Bunny and Sandy blinked owlishly for a moment before the heart above Sandy's head tripled in size.

"'Cause, Snowflake, he loves ya. We all do."

A blank look crossed Jack's face. Love. He'd heard the word, knew the definition, but never really understood the concept.

The Guardians loved him.

They cared about him.

They worried for him.

They wanted him around.

A warm feeling spread through his body, starting in his chest. It was a fluttering feeling that made him feel lighter than he had in years. A blue tinge covered his cheeks, not out of embarrassment, but pure happiness.

"Frostbite, ya feelin' okay?" Bunnymund and Sanderson were starting to become concerned. Jack's face was flushed and he looked like he was in some kind of daze, "Ya ain't comin' down with somethin', are ya?" Bunny pulled away to get a better look at him.

Jack shook his head and smiled, a genuine, happy smile, "No, I'm fine. Better than fine actually."

Sandy and Bunny's responding smiles were short-lived, however, as Wind let out a huge gust, bringing them back to the issue at hand.

"Jack, why haven' ya slept in the last three months?

The winter sprite shifted uncomfortably, "I told you, I've been really busy with-mph" He was cut off again, by Bunny's paw this time.

"Don' gimme tha' cock an' bull story, Frostbite. We all know yer not tha' busy."

"And how do you know that?" Wind swirled around him and ruffled his hair affectionately, "Traitor," he mumbled.

"Don' change the subject, Jack. I went ta visit Sophie the other day, an' Jamie asked me where ya were. Said he hasn' seen ya in weeks." Jack refused to talk. Bunnymund sighed, "Jack, we saw the dream."

Jack's head snapped up and he looked back and forth between the two Guardians, a look of pure horror on his face, "You…you what?"

Bunny huffed and turned away, "S'not like we planned to or anythin'. We heard ya screamin' an' wanted ta make sure ya were okay. So, when did it happen?" He said, obviously skipping over the Easter fiasco and going straight to Jack's confrontation with Pitch.

Sandy floated over and smacked Bunny on the back of the head.

"Oi, what was tha' for?" Jack chuckled behind his hand. Sandy used Dreamsand images to reenact the confrontation between Bunny and Jack from the memory, a frown marring his normally joyful face. Bunnymund's ears flattened against the back of his skull, "Oh, righ', tha'. Listen, Jack, about the whole Easter thing-"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"But-"

"I don't wanna talk about it, okay? It's over and done with. Let's just forget it ever happened, alright?" He suddenly felt a small hand on his shoulder and looked over to see the Sandman staring back at him, shaking his head, his eyes sad.

"We can't do tha', Frostbite. That'll just make it worse. Look, I'm sorry for the way I acted. It was wrong of me ta assume tha' ya betrayed us like tha'. I shoulda tried ta hear what ya had ta say."

Jack looked back at Bunny, shocked, "But…but I ruined Easter."

Bunny shook his head, "No ya didn', Pitch ruined Easter. I see tha' now."

"But I-"

"No, Jack. It was all Pitch's fault. No more blamin' yerself. Now, about Pitch…wha' happened with yer staff?"

Jack hesitated. He didn't want to tell them…tell them the offer Pitch had made to him…how he'd actually thought about it. It was only for a few seconds, but he had considered joining Pitch.

But, no matter how much he didn't want to, he knew they'd never let the subject drop; he had to tell them, so he did.

He wasn't expecting their reactions, though.

For once, E. Aster Bunnymund was speechless. He just sat there, mouth agape like a fish out of water. Sandy, on the other hand, threw himself at the white-haired boy, wrapping his short arms as far around his neck as he could.

Jack hugged him back awkwardly, still not used to such intimate physical contact, "Guys, it's alright. I'm fine, now. My staff is in one piece and working just fine, and Pitch is powerless and not a threat. Everything's good."

Bunny finally found his voice and sighed, "But ya shouldn' have had ta go through tha' in the firs' place, Jack. 'Specially not by yerself. An' I'm sorry for tha'."

"I'll forgive you, if you forgive me for messing up Easter."

"Frostbite, there's nothin' ta forgive ya for."

"And I don't think I need to forgive you for anything, either. It was a misunderstanding."

"But-"

"No."

"Jack-"

"No."

Sandy shook his head,, his lips twitching as he tried to hold back an amused smile. They just couldn't stop squabbling for a few minutes, could they? Wind, irritated that they were getting off topic again, pushed a cold blast of air between the two bickering Guardians, knocking them off balance and away from each other. Sandy took it upon himself to intervene then, before another spat could begin. He floated in front of the two and held his arms out.

"Fine, let's just agree to disagree, then."

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Okay."

"Good."

Sanderson face-palmed before waving his hands in the air to get their attention. He made images of a snowflake and 'z's, followed by an 'x'.

Bunny nodded and looked back at Jack, "Frostbite, ya shoulda told us tha' ya were havin' trouble sleepin'. Why didn' ya?"

Jack stood up and walked away from the cot, his arms wrapped tightly around himself. He stopped in the center of the room, refusing to face them, "Because, it wasn't your problem, it was mine. I couldn't burden you with my problems, you all have jobs to do. Sandy, you and Tooth work every night protecting children's dreams and memories. North is still cleaning up the workshop after Christmas. And Bunny, you have Easter coming up, you've been preparing for weeks," he turned and gave them a smirk, "Besides, I'm a big boy. I can take care of myself." he finished, crossing his arms over his chest.

Sandy and Bunny frowned at each other. The Sandman drifted toward Jack and gave him a sad smile, a Dreamsand heart twice the size of the first was beating above his head.

Bunnymund padded over as well and put a paw on the young boy's shoulder. He sighed, "It's not 'bout bein' able ta take care of yerself. We know ya can do tha'. We saw ya hand Pitch's arse right back ta him. It's abou' the fact tha' we care for ya, Snowflake. We don' wanna see ya upset or hurt or anythin'. Ya gotta tell us these types of things so we can help. Tha's wha' a family does. They take care of one another."

"Family? We're a…family?"

Bunny smirked, "Yeah, we're a family. And yer the little larrikin runt who's always causin' mischief," he pulled Jack into a headlock and ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Lemme go, stupid Kangaroo!" Jack grunted, trying to pull himself free, but to no avail. Sandy laughed jovially, his belly shaking almost a much as North's. After a few more minutes of struggling, Bunny let Jack go, giving him a small shove. The teen ran a hand through his hair, making it even more disheveled.

"So, ya gonna start comin' ta us if ya have problems?"

Jack shrugged noncommittally, "I guess." Wind gave him a not-so-gentle push. He glared over his shoulder at the empty space, "Yes, yes, alright. If I need help, I'll come to one of you guys, okay?"

Sanderson nodded enthusiastically, almost comically, making the winter sprite laugh. Sandy smiled, glad to see Jack in a happy mood.

Bunny also gave a nod of approval, "Good. And ya know ya can come ta us fer anything, not jus' if yer havin' trouble, righ'? We're here for ya, mate."

"I know."

The three Guardians moved back over to the bed and began chatting about anything and everything.

"So, Frostbite, wha's with the dolphins?"

Jack grinned, "It's nothing, really. I was on my way to Antarctica a few years back, and I saw some dolphins playing in the water. I didn't know what they were, so I dove down to get a closer look. I got a real shock when one of them swam right up to me and sprayed me in the face with water from its blowhole. It started laughing at me, and I couldn't help but laugh along with it.

"We played for hours. Pretty soon I saw some kids riding dolphins about fifty or so feet away. Since then, I've always loved dolphins and how playful they are."

The two older Guardians laughed, "Got a taste of yer own medicine, eh Frostbite?"

"Oh, shut up Cottontail. Unless you want me to have a little visit to your Warren? I think the sentinels need a little cooling off, don't you?" Jack teased, nudging Bunny in the side with his shoulder.

Bunny gave him a half-hearted glare, "Don' even think abou' it, ya dill. Unless ya wan' a knuckle sandwich," Bunny joked back, pulling the teen into another headlock and giving him a noogie.

Jack was able to yank himself free, only to be knocked over by Sandy, who immediately began tickling him senseless; the little man didn't want to be left out of the fun. Jack tried to reach up and retaliate, but was stopped as Bunny reached around, grabbing his wrists and locking them above his head with one paw. It not only left him defenseless against Sandy's merciless attack, but left him wide open for Bunny to use his free hand to join in the tickle war.

"Kn-knock...knock it off...you...you guys. St-stop it!" he gasped out through his laughter, "I...I give...Uncle...UNCLE!"

Bunny and Sandy chuckled as they released their prisoner, all three of them falling onto their backs on the bed.

"You...guys...are...horrible..." the winter sprite wheezed, still laughing.

"I guess yer rubbin' off on us, mate." Bunny smirked. Sandy nodded, still chuckling silently. He tossed a handful of Dreamsand above their heads, sending all of them into their own fantasy worlds.

Bunny dreamt of relaxing in his Warren as Jack animatedly told him of his adventures around the world, grinning wildly.

Sandy dreamt of Jack sleeping peacefully on a dream-cloud, a content smile on his face as Sandy sat next to him, watching over him protectively.

Jack dreamt of swimming with dolphins, Sandy and Bunny at his sides.

As for Wind, she was finally content to know that her boy was safe, happy, and in good hands.

So, what did you think? I loved the tickle fight…so cute! Go Sandy! Go Bunny! Tag team!

I also thought the whole dolphin thing was a good idea. I think I'm going to put "swimming with dolphins" on my bucket list!

See ya later

*SB*