Author's Note: And here we go again! This is kind of a flashback I guess. I wanted to write the part where Jack tells the Guardians about Bunny and Rachel. A little cute, a little funny. Enjoy!
Tattle Tale
Jack grins as he runs his hand through the glowing gold tendrils that float through the night sky. At his touch they burst into shapes and figures, manta rays and dolphins dancing around him. He had wanted so badly to spend the night with Sarah, but she had stressed that she really needed to study for her midterms, and despite his hardest effort to get her to set aside just thirty minutes, she had quickly shooed him out of her room and told him to come back that weekend. He had been quite disappointed, but knew better than to test her patience.
Sandy just smiles as he continues his job of creating dreams to keep the children's wonder alive. He didn't mind when Jack tagged along. It was actually kind of nice to have the company. They continued to float amongst the golden strands, Sandy mostly focusing on his job while Jack just fooled around. Jack flies around lazily, making frost on electrical lines and windows as he goes. He wasn't really paying much attention until he passed a window that had a similar silhouette moving in the darkness.
He pauses and moves closer to the window, balancing on the sill. His eyes widen as he takes in the sight of two figures moving together on top of the bed. One is most definitely a woman, but the other is larger and lean with protrusions that were incredibly familiar and obviously not human. Jack's mouth drops open as the two figures meld into one sensual shape, completely unaware of their audience. Oh my God! His shock soon turns into amusement and he laughs outright, gaining the attention of Sandy.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Jack exclaims. "He gave me a hard time and he's got his own side action!" He immediately creates a snowball in his hand and moves to throw it at the couple when Sandy grabs the hood of his sweatshirt and pulls him away from the window. Jack flounders for a moment before he turns to look at the Sandman, who has a slightly worried but completely stern look on his face. He shakes his head and glares at Jack, who just gawks at the smaller man. "But Sandy, Bunny's in there and he's-" He breaks off when Sandy just continues to shake his head and eventually moves onto forcibly removing Jack from the apartment window. "Aw, come on!" He then notices that Sandy is looking somewhat guilty, and he stares at him before his eyes widen once more. "You knew about this?" The smaller man just continues to push Jack away with unyielding force, but the damage has been done. "No way! Do the others know?" Sandy's eyes are now begging Jack and he raises a finger to his lips to create a "shush" motion, and Jack just shakes his head and grins. "Uh uh. He's given me enough grief since I joined you guys. It's payback time!" He takes off toward the Pole with Sandy in hot pursuit, grinning to himself. While he had kept Bunny from telling the others about Sarah, it hadn't stopped the knowing smirks and hidden threats. He had been getting tired of Bunny's attitude since they first met all of those years ago, and he finally had a way to get back at him. When he gets to the Pole he immediately finds North, who is ordering around some elves. The older man sees Jack come in and smiles widely.
"Ah, Jack. Long time no see."
"Hey North. So guess what I just saw-" Jack is cut off by Sandy knocking him clear out of the air and tackling him to the ground, shaking his shoulders roughly with a glare.
"Sandy! What is going on?" North shouts with a confused frown. He moves to pull him off of Jack, but Sandy continues to warn Jack silently to keep his mouth shut with angry sand figures above his head. "Jack?" The white haired boy sits up once he is able and feels a moment of hesitation at Sandy's truly angry expression. He had obviously known, and had been keeping the secret for Bunny's sake. Jack briefly wondered how long he had known about it, and if he should just keep his mouth shut. But the devil on his shoulders was shouting at him to just say it. Still… maybe it wouldn't be right. Bunny's smirking face pops into his head, the way he was mocking him when he had caught Jack that night, and he grins and stands before looking to North.
"Guess where Bunny is tonight?" He asks wryly, and the older man just continues to watch him in confusion, trying to keep Sandy from escaping his grasp and pummeling Jack. "He's with a woman. In a very non-Guardian way. We saw him, didn't we Sandy?" North's eyes widen and in his shock he lets go of Sandy, but the golden man just continues to glare at Jack, sand steam shooting out of his ears.
"He is with a woman?" North echoes, and Jack nods, feeling on top of the world. "Who is she?"
"I have no idea. But they looked pretty friendly if you know what I mean." Jack says with a smirk.
"Bunny has been acting strange lately. He seems almost… happier." North says aloud to himself. He brings a hand up to stroke his beard for a moment, trying to imagine if Jack's words were true. It certainly made sense. If the couple had been together long enough to be intimate, then Bunny had been keeping them all in the dark for quite a while. It was amazing to think of the rabbit as having the capacity to love someone that much, but it was even more amazing to consider that he had an adult believer. That thought makes North pause in his musing and he stores that little bit of information away before turning back to Jack. "This is good for him. He deserves to find love. As long as it does not interfere with his duties, we will not step in. That means you, Jack." He points a finger directly at the boy who pouts with a groan but nods in compliance. While North wasn't officially the boss, he certainly acted like it, and Jack knew better than to argue with him.
Sandy sighs and crosses his arms over his chest, still not happy with Jack for outing Bunny. He had promised the rabbit that he would keep his secret. It hadn't even occurred to him that Jack would see them while they were out that night. He felt somewhat responsible but was thankful that North was being so reasonable about it.
"We will not say anything to Bunny. He will tell us when he is ready." North says pointedly, and Jack feels as if it is for his benefit. Obviously there is something not being said; that Jack shouldn't have even said anything. He feels a moment of shame before North is smiling again. "I have to say it is very surprising. But good, very good in fact." He has a small twinkle in his eye and turns to look at the moon through the skylight. His smile widens and he seems to share a secret with Manny before turning again to Jack. "Now go on along, Jack. People need ice." Feeling abruptly dismissed, the boy twirls his staff in his hand before taking off. North watches him leave before turning to Sandy, who just sighs. "Sandy?" The smaller man glances up at him curiously, and North winks at him. "You knew about this?" Sandy nods which just makes North laugh. "And?" Sandy pauses before creating a heart above his head with his sand, and a grin slowly appears on his face. North just nods and moves over to the globe, inspecting the lights. "Bunny is lucky, indeed. An adult believer…" He moves around the globe and focuses on a particular light, and he stares at it for a moment before chuckling. "I wonder how she managed to do it." Sandy stares at North in confusion before just shaking his head and beginning to float off into the sky to continue weaving his dreams. "Goodnight, Sandy."
North continues to smile as he watches her light flicker. Ahh, Bunny. She always was a special one. However… His eyes dart down to another light very close to Rachel's, glowing just as brightly. Don't get too comfortable, Jack. Bunny isn't the only one with a secret…
