This was heavily inspired by WritLarge's crossover piece "Lonely Heart", which I highly recommend reading, and takes place after "Time and Space" (on Fanfiction and AO3) and "Kipona Aloha" (on AO3).

Also contains some references to my ROTG multi-shot "Unseen Colors".

I own neither Mr. Peabody and Sherman nor Rise of the Guardians. Also don't own any of the mythological figures mentioned here.

Only my own characters.

A seven-foot tall blue-white Pooka sat down on the polished wood floor and leaned his sinewy back against the comfy blue couch arm, exhausted to the bone.

Already he could feel the excitement from North's birthday celebration for the Spirit of Halloween flowing out of him. Normally, the introvert Pooka would not have bothered with his holiday rival's festivities, but Hally O. Ween was a good longtime friend of his. It would have been rude to skip out on the dame on her special day.

Besides, Jack and Tooth could be very convincing, because teaming the ice spirt and dental sprite together? Dangerous, even more than Pitch Black himself.

And that wasn't even touching upon the reason they 'suggested' him to take a load off here of all places. God, Bunny cursed his inner softness.

'Irony's got it out for me. I know bloody well she does.' He rubbed his clawed fingers to his head in consternation. 'Crickey, I swear those two are gonna be the death of me.'

Clinking echoed to the left of Bunny, drawing him out of his half-serious ruing and to a tall umbrellaed glass of red: an Einstein on the Beach. No need to guess who left it there. The tiny white feet next to it gave hint enough. With a grateful smile, the Guardian of Hope undid his temple-rubbing, took up the glass, and proceeded to drain the crimson elixir.

Ah, the cool tangy alcohol felt fantastic running down his parched throat.

"Are you alright, my friend? You seem rather farklempt."

Pulling his lips away with a hearty outbreath, Bunny gazed down at the bipedal ivory beagle looking up at him through worried bespectacled eyes. Though the rabbit shook his head with a worn-out sigh at being fussed over, he knew the canine could not help it. Mr. Peabody did not have that many friends to fuss over to begin with.

"Eh, I'm alright, mate. Just need a spell to wrap my mind around things."

Mr. Peabody shifted his head sideways knowingly, green eyes twinkling. "Specifically him, correct?"

Like usual, the prodigy catches on in record time. While Bunny knew better than to go digging up bad vibes, especially where his friends are concerned, it's hard being invited to a friend's home only to be reminded...well, let's just say the lapine did not react well to seeing a certain volatile pig god again. Or at least someone who smelled like him.

When Peabody's boy, Sherman, and Jack Frost introduced the Aussie to the younger boy's parents since the rabbit sounded interest in meeting a kindred spirit in Peabody, Bunny needed to hold back the urge to whip out his boomerangs the instant his nose caught it. That stench that filled his mind with memories of raging bellows, cloven fists smashing into his ribcage and face, waves intent on drowning him, and the near loss of an eye to a Hawaiian war club.

His unexpected angry scowl proved enough to make both dogs tense in case of attack and Sherman and Jack glance to and fro in concern.

At first, he swore Kama Pua'a was right here lurking somewhere in some form to avenge his pride, not unprecedented since spirits with his personality tried that before. Bunny was beside himself the moment he realized (or thought) that Kama was nowhere here despite his smell being everywhere.

And what disturbed him the most? That nothing reeked more of the hog spirit than Sherman and his fathers.

Just how long had that maniac been haunting this house? And without harming its inhabitants?

Imagine the alien lapine's shock when the aloha-shirt-wearing terrier next to Peabody pointed to himself and casually replied, "Sorry, it's my natural musk. Shower-proof."

Thus was the end of that. Well, sort of.

Despite the tense intros, Bunny and Peabody predictably proved fast friends, their respective strengths in certain fields making for interesting in-depth conversations. Matters of the temporal variety, in particular, frequented their discussions quite often due to Bunny being a retired time traveler.

All the same, the Aussie could tell the prodigy still regarded him with some caution, not that Bunny could blame him. He would have been the same with anyone who viewed his fellow Guardians as a threat.

And for Peabody and Sherman, it all boiled down to one dog.

That's what Bunny could not figure out.

He'd already known of Keanu before since the ebony canine used to be one of the Guardian of Hope's strongest believers. Heck, the blighter remained one of the few adults who still believed in figures such as Aster. Combine that with Sherman's own persistent belief and it was no wonder someone as scientifically minded as Peabody accepted the existence of mythological creatures so easily.

Plus, Bunny was all too aware of the struggles the poor bloke had to endure, especially as a puppy. In a way, you could say he was once Bunny's 'Sophie' before Jack joined the Guardians, although the term was loose at best considering their first encounter had been a total accident...

XXXXXXXXX

'This doesn't look right.'

Bunny scanned the area for the third time that afternoon. Here was where he tracked the last of his lights. How he overlooked this one, he had no idea considering its strength.

Only question was where here? He could list every single child at this dog shelter, seen and unseen, and instantly check them off. They'd gotten their eggs already. The adults were an automatic 'out of the question' and there was no way any of the dogs could qualify as one of the missing candidates.

Well, except for one—since that one couldn't partake in chocolate, Bunny improvised with an egg capable of reciting Socrates and other philosophers, including the lesser known ones. Unorthodox, yes. Successful, even more so. The Pooka inwardly chuckled at the memory of those curious green eyes not unlike his own observing the mobile egglette. Something told the Pooka that one would be going places someday.

An abrupt tug on the cotton tail broke the warrior out of his reverie. Swiveling around, Bunny expected another child gawking up at him with eyes full of wonder.

He wasn't wrong...in general anyway.

If one ignored the black fur and snout and wagging tail, the little one standing before him could pass as a child, no sweat. Those huge orange eyes helped a little, though they also drew attention to his pointed ears. To clear the air of awkwardness, Bunny attempted his best 'in-control' tone as he squatted down to be face to face.

He'd seen stranger and he's already met the other puppy. No need to be surprised.

"G'day there, anklebiter. Keanu, right? I take it you didn't get anything from me yet, did ya?'

The tiny terrier shook his head no, still mesmerized by the larger mammal—or more specifically by the adornments about Bunny's person, a fact the rabbit felt justified his rush to give the little one his gift. Not that Bunny felt uncomfortable around Keanu but the puppy still counted as a child, which meant letting him get a hand on the weapons would bode anything but well, a fact Bunny knew from experience.

In the midst of the Pooka summoning a tunnel for another customized egg, this time Keanu pulled on the rabbit's nearest hand (the right) to grab his attention again.

"Are you half kangaroo?"

Well, that couldn't have sounded more innocuous.

Bunny's lower left eyelid twitched. There'd be no escaping questions like that, would there? Keeping a lid on his temper, he took a deep breath as his gift hopped out of the hole and marched towards the terrier. Keanu gladly accepted it, a soft nostalgic 'wow' at the realistic depiction of Oahu's beautiful beaches and oceans, yet his expectant eyes returned to Aster with no less force.

"Nah, I'm all rabbit, sport." Whoever gave this little one that misinformation must have been a real—wait. A thought occurred to Bunny, ears perking up and face scrunching in irritating realization. "You wouldn't happen to know who Jack Frost is. Would you?"

Somehow Keanu's already massive grin increased in size. "Yeah, I saw him last week during a snow day. We had an awesome snowball fight! Nobody stood a chance against us!" His face grew puzzled. "He also said to keep an eye out for a big grumpy kangaroo 'cept I haven't seen one yet."

Making a mental note to give Jack a proper bop on the head the next time they met, Bunny half-smiled and tousled the puppy's wavy 'hair' to show no hard feelings. Kid didn't know any better; no sense in upsetting him over someone else's actions.

When the Pooka turned to leave, however, Keanu called out, "Wait!" The young dog waited for Bunny to return his attention to him, which the rabbit did. "How do I get as big and strong as you?"

Now there was another question Bunny did not anticipate, though it served as a better alternative than its predecessor. With a chuckle, he tossed a smirk over his burly shoulder before beckoning a hole to return him to the Warren.

"Start with the easy stuff. Then work your way up."

Bunny and Keanu crossed paths a few more times in the following years, though the mindset of 'having no time for children' still gripped the Guardian of Hope like a ball-and-chain and supposedly served as a perfect excuse to keep himself away.

Too bad accidents have a way of stringing the unlikely together...and none of them reached the pleasantness of the first either.

The first was after Keanu's diagnosis for mixed bipolar disorder.

The second happened the day Peabody left overseas to broaden his horizons.

And the third (and most recent) came just a few days before the court trial that would decide Sherman's fate.

Each time, Aster could not bring himself to comfort the silent and inconsolable Hawaiian, afraid any attempt to would result in him phasing through the dog in vain. Being a victim of the massacre, the Pooka knew from experience the influence mental illnesses could have on one's way of thinking. There was no way someone living through such strife would have enough belief to see him.

So he left behind the only thing he could: eggs, each the same design and color as the first. Perhaps a way of reaching out to the bright happy child he once met long ago...

XXXXXXXXX

"Aster?"

Bunny jolted back into the present, gasping and turning his head to discover Peabody's worried eyes regarding him. While hesitant to share memories of his passivity towards a believer's suffering, the Pooka knew hiding the truth from Peabody would do no good in the long run.

"It ain't Jameson I got a problem with." At Peabody's skeptical face, he pursed his lips in second thought. "Okay, it is, but I've seen the way he is with Sherman and how nice he's treated me an' the others. The bloke doesn't mean any harm, I realize that. It's just..."

His eyelids clinched shut. "That smell of his brings back bad memories and I can't for the bloody life of me get past how he and Kama are the same person."

The situation with Jack, that was understandable. All that changed were the spirit's body and (until recently) his memories. What happened to Keanu and Kama—something about it kept escaping Bunny's understanding. Their personalities diametrically differed, their existences aligned on different planes, and most of all Kama had nothing to offer in terms of being a Guardian...yet Manny revived him regardless and let him mingle in the mortal realm again.

'Don't know what bothers me more: that or the fact I've been dealing with him all these years without knowing it.'

So mired in his frustration, Bunny did not notice Peabody's eyes widen in realization and understanding.

"Ah, as Keanu warned me: it would seem Kama's past is catching up, and in the wrong life at that." Peabody took a seat on the couch, seated at eye level with his lapine friend. "We already informed you and Jack of the circumstances surrounding Kama after we first met."

How could Bunny forget? It was the only way Peabody and Sherman could prevent the Aussie from plowing through the rattled terrier like a truck.

"Tell me, what transgression did Kama commit to warrant such hostility towards him?"

Rising bile fought at the back of Bunny's throat as he tried to dredge up the memories of raging oceans, of fear and pain and rage, only to have a warm friendly grin pierce through it all like sunburst. He ran a hand over his mohawk in exasperation.

'Damn it, this'll involve some explaining.'

"First thing you gotta know, Peabody: we Guardians are a relatively new concept. Before Manny came along, all those gods and goddesses and other spirts humans talk about and worship? No different from unsupervised and overpowered anklebiters. They all did their own thing, no limits, no obligations, no rules...As you can imagine, that caused a ton of problems, for mortals in particular. Some got selfish and wanted to keep their powers for themselves, others like the Greek ones got too big for their britches and started doin' whatever they pleased while some like Kama just wanted to be left alone."

Peabody nodded, following along so far. "If that was the case, what led to your and Kama's tense relationship?"

Darkness slipped into Aster's eyes, which stared into space as if gazing back into the distant past. "At one point, these two fairies called Oberon and Titania took advantage of the chaos, promised spirits they'd lead them to a new 'Golden Age.' Said this bull about being the ones destined for this world and all its spoils."

"In the end, they proved no better than Hitler and Mussolini."

Bunny nodded in affirmation. "Right, and while some spirits didn't join them, there were those who took advantage of the damage caused by the wars. Pitch Black was one of 'em. Humans started seeing the casualties since the fighting worsened so much. It rattled them, and so made them perfect targets."

The Pooka turned to his friend. "Kama protected not only the pigs of Kohala; he helped watch over the natives, kept 'em safe from the likes of Pitch and others. Some spirits must had already been there to cause trouble because he took one look at me and charged, yelling and screaming at me to take my 'brand of death' somewhere else."

The Australian stroked a thumb against his leather strap, wincing inside at the recalled battle. "Sad thing is I was just waltzin' through. I was part of a small rebel group alongside North and Tooth; we were charged with protectin' the children. There was many others like us out there, our leader the Man in the Moon. He wanted ta end the fighting and unite spirits under a better system. One of my messenger routes went through Oahu. If I'd known beforehand—"

A minute hand on his bicep halted his lament as did a pair of stern yet sympathetic emerald eyes.

"But you did not," Peabody insisted, "Neither you nor Kama could have known each other's true intentions. It was all a mere misunderstanding."

A sad understanding smile crossed the Guardian's face. He looked back on that incident with as much regret as he did with his former treatment of Jack.

"A few days after that, I heard he and Pele perished together fighting off an invasion. Took down the whole force with 'em. Wish I could've gotten to know him." With a bittersweet chuckle, the rabbit rubbed the side of his face that he sometimes swore still throbbed from Kama's well-placed haymaker. "Nobody's ever clocked me as good as that brumby."

Before the Guardian of Hope could continue, the sound of plates meeting wood and smell of sweetened meat snapped both rabbit and dog to attention at the black terrier standing in front of them, smile gentle and hands akimbo as faint singing of Daft Punk's "Face to Face" streamed out of the blue headphones around his neck.

Peabody regarded his husband with an arched eyebrow, not surprised Mr. Jameson had been listening this whole time. It's hard not to eavesdrop when you're cooking in the next room with only a breakfast bar in between you.

"Hate to interrupt today's Think Tank session," Keanu said in a sincere tone, "but there's a heaping hunk of chicken that's slaved in a hot oven all night long and this kau kau's gonna feel pissed if nobody partakes of their juiciness."

Hard to tell what Peabody good-naturedly huffed at: the personification or the euphemism. Either way, the beagle gladly took one of the plates and a few pieces of chicken, thankful for the interruption since his conversation with Aster had been turning wistful. The beagle's mood uplifted even higher when he felt the larger dog sit down beside him, body leaning into his.

A hum of approval emitted from the throat of the giant rabbit next to them, too, the moment his taste buds met the meat and its succulent juices.

"Mm, ace cooking, mate! Ya got the meat cooked just right and used enough pineapple juice without overpowering the taste." Peabody had taught his lover well!

Whatever reaction Aster expected to his compliment, however, it was not a look of surprise as if Keanu were noticing the rabbit for the first time. That, Aster could not help pondering over; was it that rare for the Hawaiian to receive accolade—or was he more taken back at receiving a compliment from Aster?

The latter possibility sent a pang of guilt through the rabbit.

"Indeed," Peabody commented next after dabbing his mouth with a napkin, "you didn't even require my assistance this time."

This time, Keanu smiled in heartfelt pride. Heck, he went so far as to even plant a happy kiss against the side of the beagle's head (repeatedly), Peabody chuckling at the affectionate gesture despite playfully pushing back in vain.

"Keanu please, we have a guest and Sherman and his friends could barge in any minute. You know we still have to test whether the rest of them are trustworthy or not." To the smaller dog's slight relief, Keanu stopped the kissing in favor for wrapping his arms around him. Still, Peabody sighed in exasperation. "You realize you could have simply replied with 'thank you'."

"It's not proper."

'Wait, what?' Peabody shared a befuddled look with Aster, the response certainly not what the rabbit expected either, before refocusing on the oddly solemn islander. "And why pray tell is that?"

By itself, the wording would have sounded indignant, pompous. In Peabody's soft mystified one, it carried too many emotions to be counted. Aster recognized over half of them, just as he recognized the intense yet somehow gentle gaze in Keanu's eyes. The terrier lay his cool moist nose against Peabody's, orange eyes to green.

"Cuz that's way too small to say to you."

No words could properly do the amazement on Peabody's face justice.

Same for Bunny. That sort thing he would have said to his wife if she were still alive...and perhaps Tooth. No, Tooth for sure. The thought of the iridescent fairy brought a faint grin to the rabbit's furry lips as he silently watched Peabody nuzzle Jameson in deepest thanks.

One did not need to be Cupid to see the realness in the love between the dogs.

"Hey, James—Keanu," Bunny voiced, waiting for the terrier to acknowledge him before continuing, "I acted like a downright ass when we first met. I'm sorry, mate."

Keanu merely stared, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. Bunny's ears began to droop, figuring forgiveness would not come so easily...until the Hawaiian gave a wink and generous smile. He shifted Peabody around in his lap while keeping his arms secure around the beagle so both dogs faced the rabbit.

"Hey bro, I get it," he assured in a soft tone. "Nobody ever told you what happened to Kama, which really sucks cuz he wanted to stay long enough to apologize to you, too."

Hearing that took Bunny by surprise. "He did?"

"Yeah, you remember that night Kama talked with my family and Pearl, right? That night we told you about?" Bunny nodded. "The morning after that, he saw my memories of you and told me how much he regretted that he never woke up back then," a pitying frown took form over Keanu's face, "and that he might not stay as himself long enough in this life to find you."

At seeing the Easter Bunny slump, Keanu was quick to add, "But he's not really gone. He's just...got different looks. That's all. He and I are the same; being me gives him what he's wanted for so long." His countenance became more genuine. "When you think of it that way, you guys are already making it up to each other. Just gotta keep the love goin'."

Peabody chuckled in affectionate agreement as he stroked the larger dog's arms. 'Couldn't have put it any better myself.'

Bunny did not beg to differ. The lapine smirked in response as he raised his partially finished glass. "To new beginnings then, mate?"

Lacking a drink of his own, Keanu fist-bumped the glass instead. It was the thought that counted anyway. "To new beginnings, bro."