Jack has a bad flu on Christmas eve and wants to deliver snow but Bunny keeps catching him and having to return him to bed before he can leave because the others are all out and busy. Brownie points for stubborn, sick jack and grumpy but caring Bunny! BRING ON THE FLUFF lol
Jack groaned as he flew over Pennsylvania. His head was aching terribly, and he was way too hot. He had a fever and he knew it. He set off for the pole, hoping to land in a snowbank and just sleep it off like he usually did. Jack allowed his body to go on autopilot and let the wind take him where she thought best. So he was completely surprised when he saw the workshop come into view, the bright colors like a neon sign against the great expanse of white.
"Wind, no! North's busy and I can handle it myself!" Jack protested, trying to fight against the Wind. He sneezed and fell into a coughing fit that gave the Wind enough time to shove him through a window and shut it before Jack could get back out again. He weakly pounded angrily on the window, cursing at the Wind for locking him in.
"Oi, Frostbite! What's with the racket, ya gallah?" Bunny snapped as he entered the room, blinking sleep from his eyes. He did a double take when he saw how Jack looked. His normally pale skin looked almost... HEALTHY. Something was wrong.
"Um, nothing, Kangaroo. Wind is just being a jerk." Jack said, glaring at the window. Bunny stormed over to the younger spirit angrily.
"I am NOT a KANGAROO!" He growled, one paw holding onto Jack's hoodie so he couldn't run. He nose sniffed and he smelled the fever coming off of Jack. He searched Jack's eyes with a TINY, MINUSCULE hint of worry. "Frostbite, do ya have a fevah?" He asked.
"No, Kangaroo, I don't have a fever!" Jack lied trying to back away from the other. Bunny kept a firm hold on Jack's hoodie and felt his forehead. It was WARM. It almost felt as though he were touching a mortal, not the ice teen.
"One, I am not a Kangaroo, and two, ya DO have a fevah." Bunny said as he forcefully dragged Jack through the pole, dodging around Yetis getting ready for the night. It WAS Christmas Eve, after all. Bunny had hoped to be able to sleep at the Pole that day, since a certain icy teen froze his Warren in a way of Christmas Greeting that morning. Jack had looked fine then.
"Bunny! Let go of me, you crazy Kangaroo!" Jack said as he weakly struggled against the Pooka.
"Not on yer nelly, Frost." Bunny said as he continued on his way. "Yer sick and everyone else is busy, so yer stayin' in bed." Bunny declared.
"No! I have to spread snow tonight!" Jack said, his protests growing stronger. Bunny gave an irritable sigh.
"No, yer not. The whole world does not have ta be white on Christmas." Bunny said grumpily.
"You're right, it doesn't, but Burgess-" Jack started to say.
"Ya gave Burgess a whole foot of snow yesterday, I don't think it's gonna melt." Bunny said as he finally found a clear space. He tapped his foot and shoved Jack a little harder than necessary into the tunnel. He smirked as he heard Jack yell in surprise before following after him.
Bunny raced past Jack, who was now laughing, beating him to his home. "Ya freeze anything, I will throw ya in the rivah." Bunny warned and Jack nodded as he landed a little unsteadily. Half the Warren was still frozen, thawing like clockwork.
"I told you I'm fine, Cottontail!" Jack sneezed and began to cough once more, the force of it bringing him to his knees. Bunny glared at him and helped him back up.
"Ya want ta lie ta me again there, Frostbite?" Bunny plucked the struggling teen off the ground by his hood, surprised to find he weighed next to nothing. He turned and hopped through his home to his little burrow that he had. He then dragged Jack through a series of tunnels to his room. All of the Guardians had a room at the Warren if they needed it, and Jack definitely needed his.
Bunny wished that he could have left the kid at the Pole, but North was more likely to yell at Jack than help him, being so stressed just hours before he left to deliver the presents. Tooth was having one long, constant panic attack that started at Halloween about all the kids losing their teeth and them being cavity filled and unflossed. Sandy was always spreading dreams, especially tonight where he would be making sure that the children dreamed of sugar plums dancing in there heads. So he was all that was left to take care of their youngest member, much to his disappointment.
"Alright, ya drongo. Yer stayin' here until yer not sick anymore, got it?" Bunny said as he set Jack on the nest that was made for him. Jack didn't answer and Bunny turned to see that he was already asleep, curled up around his staff like a child would hold a teddy bear. Bunny shook his head and set to work making some medicine to cure Jack's cold. Or was it a hot, since he was already cold?
He set the medicine by the bedside table, and sat in a chair, dozing off in the process. That is how Jack woke, head still aching and still overly hot, but his chest seemed to have less pressure and his nose wasn't itching so much. He quietly got up, stumbling a bit as he did, his balance messed up a bit. He made it halfway out the tunnel entrance before he was dragged back to the nest by a very annoyed Bunny.
"I said that yer stayin'. But since yer awake ya can take yer medicine." Bunny said as he forced Jack to sit down. Jack took one look at the stuff and flew to the ceiling, a good two feet above Bunny's ears. Bunny sighed and stood in front of the door so Jack couldn't fly out.
"No way am I taking that, Kangaroo!" Jack snapped angrily. Bunny glared at the stubborn teen and slowly set the medicine back on the table.
"Is that so, Frostbite?" Bunny said, a challenge to be accepted.
"It is!" Jack said. Challenge accepted. Bunny leapt up and snatched Jack's ankle, forcing him to go down as gravity took hold of Bunny. Jack struggled to kick his foot out to break free, but Bunny had an almost bruising hold on him. Bunny pulled him further down, snatching his staff out of weak hands. Jack hovered for a moment before falling to the ground in a heap, not very good at controlling his powers without his staff. Jack groaned and looked up at Bunny angrily.
"Take the medicine and I MIGHT give ya yer staff back." Bunny said, holding it high out of Jack's reach. Jack glared and shook his head. Bunny took a step back and twirled the now frostless staff in his paws as though he didn't have a care in the world. "If ya don't take the medicine by the count of three, I won't let you have it back for a week." Jack looked at him as though he didn't believe him.
"One." Jack jumped a bit, but stubbornly stayed were he was. "Two." Jack looked slightly worried now, but still refused to move. "Three."
"Fine!" Jack said before obediently taking the medicine, gagging at the taste. Then he held his hand out for his staff.
"Uh uh, Frostbite. I said that if ya hadn't taken it by the count of three ya wouldn't have it back for a week, and I said three." Before Jack could protest, Bunny opened a tunnel and sent the staff to a room that you could only get in through tunnel.
"But!" Jack protested.
"Now buts, Frost, now back in bed." Bunny said. Jack glared but climbed back into the nest, falling asleep almost instantly. Bunny hopped back to his chair and dozed off again, waking up every once in a while to drag Jack back to his nest, until the by finally stopped fighting him and stayed. He slept through the night without a sound, though he did have to tell himself that Sandy was messing with him when he heard sleigh bells ringing.
You could hear the shout of rage on the surface when Bunny saw that North had redecorated his home in Christmas style and left presents under a big pine tree that was decorated in silver and gold. Jack, hearing the yell and feeling perfectly fine, darted out to see who was attacking.
He began to laugh as he saw what was the problem, then gasped as he saw that Bunny's ears were covered by antler earmuffs. He was howling in laughter and it took Bunny a while to realize the reason. He knocked them off and glared at the teen before joining in his laughter.
"Alright, Frostbite. Knock it off or I'll make ya wait longer ta open yer presents." Bunny said. Jack stopped laughing instantly and stared at Bunny in shock.
"I've got presents!?" Jack asked.
"Yeah." Bunny said nodding. Jack hesitantly crept over to the tree and his eyes lit up with Joy as he saw a present with his name in it. He also gave a little chuckle as he saw that North had hung up stockings for both of them.
"Can I open it?" Jack asked, looking at Bunny. Bunny nodded and Jack tore open the paper, staring at the sketchbook and pencils that were revealed beneath it. "YES!" Jack shouted, hovering in the air unknowingly in Joy. Bunny laughed and ruffled the kids hair. Maybe taking care of the kid wasn't so bad after all.