Early-April

A long sigh echoed through the silence of the tunnel. Tired feet hopped slowly along, leaving small bursts of red poppies here and there. Aster was on the return trip to the Warren, having just finished delivering the last of his googies to the last of the egg hunts. He'd saved Burgess for last, leaving his prettiest little eggs for Jamie and his friends, knowing that they more than deserved it for their help last year. Easter had gone off without a hitch. He could feel the hope and laughter of the children singing through his veins and making him warm from his center. This was the part of Easter he loved the most.

This year had been one of the best, especially once Bunny saw that Jack wanted to help. The boy was in the eternal spring day in and day out for a little over two months now, only delivering snow storms and flurries at night. Jack helped paint eggs a few times, but his main jobs were those that Aster was too busy for during this season; he watered and tended the immense garden near Bunny's cottage, ushered eggs out of the tunnels and vines to go and get painted, and even washed the pooka's brushes when they needed it.

And not a single prank had been played. The winter child had been on perfect behavior the entire time he'd helped the rabbit. He joked and jibbed a few times, but nothing beyond the usual jokes and nicknames. He was eager to learn, listen, and obey whatever Bunny told him. It was almost unnerving. Bunny could see the sharp desperation and desire to please, to be accepted, in those blue eyes every time Jack stood in front of him and it pulled at Aster's heart. The spirit had been left alone for so long that he was desperate to be of use and be needed. So, despite the youngest of the guardians being slightly overbearing, Aster was extremely careful not to snap at the boy or tease too hard. Jack was finally getting comfortable and Aster refused to ruin that.

During the long, warm days in the Warren, Bunny had seen past the carefree prankster they had all assumed Jack was. Aster got a glimpse at the kind, quiet, gentle child who just wanted a little bit of attention, a little bit of love. Aster saw the child Jack had been when he had died, the child that he would always be, and he saw that three hundred years of solitude had made him grow up entirely too quickly. Yes, the boy loved to play a prank and have fun, but what kid doesn't? And in Jack's case, more often than not, the pranks were meant for attention, something he had been so deprived of that he was willing to do anything to get it. Anything to be acknowledged, seen, and spoken to.

Once Jack had started to receive that from all the guardians, in large quantities, the group noticed a change in their youngest. His pranks were almost… Gentler. They were no longer extreme. No more blizzards in the Warren, no ice rinks in North's shop. He had perfect attendance at meetings and he was less argumentative. Almost as if, now that he had the attention he so craved, he was desperate to keep it. Yes, pranks were still played, but they were received with smiles and laughs instead of fists and harsh words. The more they laughed and smiled at him, the more relaxed he became, the more comfortable he became. Still, though, the fear and wariness shone in his eyes anytime one of them address him directly, anytime one of them talked to him. And the minute he thought he was in danger of being abandoned, the shields went up full force and for a few days, he wore the mask of fake smiles, forced laughs, and harsh jokes. Aster wondered if that fear would ever go away. Sometimes, he feared that it wouldn't.

Shaking his head with another sigh, Bunny attempted to dislodge the winter child from his mind. Jack had been plaguing his thoughts so much lately, even when he wasn't with the boy. Turning his mind to more pressing issues, he thought about the mess he'd left behind in his rush to leave this morning.

Jack had gone with him to him the egglets down the tunnels, waving enthusiastically after them.

"Good luck, little guys! Make the kids happy!" the white haired youth had called happily after them.

Aster had assumed that once the googies and he had left, that Jack would leave too. Most likely to dust a few cities with light flurries and frost some windows. He had no fear that the boy would cause anything major. That meant, however, that the Warren was empty and a mess.

That, the mess waiting for him, was his least favorite part of Easter. In the last minute rush to get the googies out, about, and hidden, Bunny hardly had a chance to eat, let alone clean up after himself. Brushes covered in paint scattered everywhere. Cans of paints and dyes lying around, some not closed and some missing lids. Half batches of chocolate in pots, stacked on the counter in a hazardous, dangerously leaning tower. Images of it flash through the pooka's mind and he felt exhausted by the mere thoughts. With another sigh, he reached the end of the tunnel and the entrance of the Warren.

Pausing for a moment, he enjoyed the warm breeze in the air and the calming smell. The post-Easter peace and quiet of the Warren always served to calm his nerves and relax him. Only after closing his eyes and taking a deep breath through his nose did he notice the slight shift in the Warren's smell. A slight waft of crisp air cut the sweet smell of the eternal spring, bringing with it the smell of frosts leaves and ice. Opening his eyes to glance around, Bunny slowly began to make his way toward his cottage.

Perhaps it was left over from Jack spending the time in the Warren? No, it smelled too strong for that. The closer Aster got to his home, the stronger the smell got. He could smell mint and snowdrops too, a distinctly Jack smell. The air was slightly cooler as well. Rounding the last bend on the path to his home, Aster paused in wonder.

The mess he'd left in the grass was gone, as if it had never happened. On a plain towel, his brushes had been washed and laid out to air dry in the gentle sunlight. His cans, jars, and bottles of dyes were all lidded, wiped clean, and stacked outside the doorway to the burrow. Inside the home, he could hear the sound of someone humming.

Hopping forward to stand in the doorway, Bunny looked inside. Jack was seated with his back turned away. He was seated on a low footstool that he generally used as a step stool. (He often complained about everything being too high up in the Warren and when asked why he didn't just fly to it, he quipped that it took too much energy and everything should be lower anyway. The next day, Bunny had a small step stool waiting for him. Nothing was said about the change, but the appreciation was understood by both.)

His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and from what Bunny could tell, his legs were spread to accommodate something between them on the floor.

"Snowflake?"

Jack jumped with a yelp, startled by the sudden presence of another person. (The pooka noticed he did that often; he jumped when he was addressed or surprised, as if he had forgotten that people could see him and talk to him.) Whatever he had been holding was dropped with a splash back into the basin sitting at his feet.

"Oh! You're back. How did it go, Cottontail? I could feel the joy of the first child to find an egg today!" There was a hint of pride and awe in the snow child's voice as he bent down to retrieve the pot that he had dropped into the water. Taking his place back on his stool, Jack stared at Bunny expectantly as he scrubbed at a stubborn clump of dried chocolate.

Aster could only gape at the scene before him. Jack was cleaning his disaster of a kitchen. He had already sorted and cleaned all the tools and paints. Half the pots that he had used were drying on a towel and half was sitting off to the side, waiting to be dunked into the sudsy water.

"W-wha' are ya doin', Jackie?"

Jack looked at him with a confused expression. "I'm washing a pot?"

"Well, yah. I know. I thought you were leaving this morning though?"

Bunny watched as Jack seemed to wilt under that statement, his eyes flashing hurt before he closed up and his face went blank. The youngest guardians' shields were going up. The Guardian of Hope scrambled for words to express that he didn't want Jack to leave, he was just confused.

"Not, it ain't like that. I just mean, why are ya cleanin'? I would 'ave thought you'd be spreadin' snow today. You know, for the ankle biters?"

Jack relaxed fractionally at the reassurance, his shoulders dropping from their tense before he shrugged. He concentrated on the pot as he spoke.

"Yeah. I left for a few hours after you left to spread a little bit of snow and some frost. Nothing major!" He quickly blurted out the ending. Frost crept across his face at the outburst and he scrubbed harder. "Once I was done with that, I came back and started cleaning. I can't imagine how tiring it must be to hide all the eggs and travel so much. So, I wanted to help a little bit."

'A little bit,' Aster thought with a small smile. This was just Jack being Jack. Being kind and selfless and so ready to please. Shaking his head, he plopped down next to the tub and grabbed another pot and sponge. Jack opened his mouth to protest, worry in his eyes replacing the hard, cold edge they had taken. Bunny beat him to it.

"I did it every year before this without ya. And you already did most of tha' work anyway. Let me at least help with this."

Jack blinked for a moment before a wide, bright, pure smile spread over his face and he nodded enthusiastically. The two worked happily, chatting about how the eggs hunts had come along and where Bunny had thought to hide them this year. And the whole time, Aster couldn't help but think that he wouldn't mind Jack staying in the Warren.