Blue eyes fluttered open, the smell of fresh grass and chocolate wafting into a perky nose. Jack stretched in the nest he was sleeping in, sunlight entering through the round windows. For the last few weeks the guardian of fun had been visiting the Warren practically every day and Aster had just blurted out he might as well move in. Jack took it seriously and that day he refused to leave, the Pooka opting for giving him one of his spare rooms so he wouldn't stay sulking under a tree about him not keeping up his own offers or some bluff like that, not because he was worried about him being comfortable or anything, of course not.

Even though he had nothing to do, Jack realized how late it was by the position of the sun—how did the sunlight get to this underground place he never knew—so he got up and out of the room into the garden. He remembered how the Warren had drastically changed from a deep slumbering state to a lively plethora of colors and noises in the short span of a week; when he made his surprise known to Aster, he had just flattened his ears and told him to not worry about it.

Bypassing a few sentinels on his way, he caught sight of a big pair of grey eyes…surrounded by smaller ones. Jack hid himself behind one of the stone eggs, stifling a laugh at the sight of Aster curled on his side on the ground, every inch of his frame being cuddled by the little copies, a few curling over him in what seemed like some sort of weird family moment, like when kids got into their parents bed the weekend morning to spend some time cuddled up together. Changing for a softer grin, the guardian of fun decided to give them their alone time, taking off to see if some region of the globe needed a few snowflakes; all this under the attentive green eyes of a certain little helper.

Turning around, Dottie moved from his spot at the feet of a tree nearby Aster and made his way over him, butting his head against the larger bunny's, getting his attention. Sitting up, Bunny let the others go their own way and focused on the one in front of him. "What the matter, mate"

The other didn't move a muscle.

"…Okay, okay, 'Dottie' (What a stupid name, seriously), something happening or what" Aster short temper seemed to be getting shorter by the minute.

The mini-him started twitching his nose and whiskers, squeaking every now and then and tapping his little paw on the floor. Aster felt one of his ears falling, the other standing even straighter, his jaw dropping a little.

"Jack!?" he almost shouted. "What do you mean Frostbite saw me!?"

The other looked at him with an expression that said 'that's exactly what I meant, ya dill'. Bunny dragged his paws down his face, cursing silently. Now the Snowflake knew his weakness for sure, he'd been close before, but now…

"Dammit!" Bunny muttered between teeth, getting up with a jump. "I have to make sure he isn't planning something against me with what he saw, you watch over the place for me understood?"

Dottie gave a curt nod in response, watching as Aster followed the freshest trail left by Jack through one of the tunnels. His tail wagged lightly, expecting his…uh…boss to be able to come to terms with himself.

…..

It didn't take Bunny long to find Jack. The trail led him to the highest points of the Andes, not really freezing anything but rather looking over the vast expanse of land visible from that point down. Thanking the fact it was also Spring there and the only coldness was the wind, Aster walked over to the winter spirit, sitting on his haunches next to the rock was crouching in. At catching sight of the Pooka, Jack broke into snickering, Bunny frowning at him.

"I'm missing the joke, Frost" the furry guardian said, his eyes half-closing into a suspicious glare. "care to share so I can laugh too?"

Jack continued grinning, still not looking at Bunny. "Oh, it's nothing really, just thinking that you must be cold up here"

"And that seems funny to you? Such a good sense of humor" a snort at the end of the sentence didn't hide the shiver running up his furry back. It WAS awfully cold anyway.

"…You don't have to stay, you know, don't even know why you're here in the first place" Jack somehow managed to conceal he tint of concern in his voice behind an indifferent tone.

"Of course you do, and I wanted to make sure you…didn't have the wrong impression, or anything" Aster cleared his throat before continuing. "I know that you saw me this morning…um…"

"Cuddling to the fur balls like a mother cat to her kittens, yeah, but it's okay with me, always knew you were a big softy under the great mightiness of the Easter Bunny" a moment of silence followed the winter sprite. "But is it really that important to you?"

"Of course it is! I just…" Aster sighed, running a paw over his eyes. "I just can't let anyone know how weak I really am; you were right, y'know, one of the reasons I made them was to keep me company; I've been feeling so…lonely, and I don't even know why"

Jack didn't know how to answer that. How do you comfort someone who suffers loneliness when you yourself have known no other thing for over three centuries? But he was also the Guardian of Fun, it was his duty to make things better and chase away any fear, not only for kids, but for anyone who needed him, even a fellow guardian.

"You are not weak. The need for company or…affection only proves how alive you are, that you have a heart beating inside your chest. If only, it makes you stronger, it makes you want for more, makes you develop yourself as a person…or rabbit, in your case. I won't think any less of you, so you can start being more honest with yourself and your emotions"

Aster was dumbfounded. He certainly didn't expect the insufferable eternal teenager Jack Frost to speak with such words; then again, he was quite an expert in the subject of unexpressed feelings, wandering alone all his life. Taking his words in again, Bunny turned his head to the other side, trying to hide the twitch of the corners of his mouth. He suddenly felt so relieved.

"Speaking of you and all that jazz, what did Dottie tell you the other day? You seemed quite angry" Jack smirked again, his staff patting against the rock, creating a frost pattern in the form of a fluffy bunny.

Aster laughed despite himself; it seemed so stupid now, getting angry at being faced with his own denied feelings and now discovering that the little helper was right. " He told me 'stop being such and idiot and be honest with him and yourself, or I'm gonna shove the biggest egg I can find up your furry arse', 'Twas quite shocking, you must have rubbed off on him, I didn't teach him that vocabulary"

Turning again, this time to face Jack, Bunny though in what words could he use next, but Jack beat him to it. "Hey, if you, uh, want me to leave, I'll do it, I kind of broke into your place anyway so…"

"What? Oh no, no no no, it's not that, mate, I just…it's actually nice to have you around, y'know, you're quite noisy and a constant thorn on my side but, it feels like it should be like that, a place full of life and activity and-well, I don't even know where I'm trying to get with this"

Jack looked at him with an odd expression, and when he spoke, it was with a strange tone, like slowly realizing something. "It's like…having a family, knowing that there's somewhere you can go and there will always be someone waiting for you, someone you can turn to when you need help, or just to be there and make you feel…loved"

"…Yeah…yeah, that must be it; it's been so long, since I had a family, since I felt like I belonged…MiM, I sound like some kind of 14 year old gal with emotional issues, damn" he laughed softly, wiping an invisible tear from his eye.

Jack laughed as well, draping his entire body over the rock, turning his gaze on the fluffy clouds above. There was a moment of silence between the two; it was a comfortable and companionable one…until Bunny sneezed.

"Dammit! Stupid wind, could it be any colder!?" in response, the current turned around him, effectively a few degrees colder. "Frost! Stop it, I'm serious!"

"Not my doing, Roo, she does as she pleases" the teen grinned at him, taking off and hovering above the older guardian, watching at how he tried to escape from the wind, turning himself into a ball and shivering, cursing loudly. "Ok, ok, Wind, let him be already"

The wind stopped as soon as it has started, but Aster kept shivering, the cold feeling lingering on his fur. Jack got closer, still laughing loudly, and wrapped his shaking arms around his waist, hiding his face in the fluffy chest in front of him, trembling from the giggles that threatened to escape his mouth. Apparently it was quite contagious, and Bunny started laughing as well, his head coming to rest on top of the teen's, arms returning the shaky hug, if only to try and get some of the scarce warmth the kid provided. Both laughed and laughed for what seemed like hours, until the lack of breath (probably from the high temperature), forced them to stop, both sitting down on the ground, taking deep breaths, a smile lingering in their faces.

"Whoa, ok, no more fun so high up, not used to it" Bunny said, massaging his aching cheeks, trying to get the feeling back.

"Pff, you've seen nothing, Cottontail, try at the Himalayas, now that's some fun!" Jack was out of breath as well, but still in better condition that the spring spirit. After some time, the peaceful atmosphere was back, this time broken by the winter sprite voice. "So….can I stay? For the little ones, at least?"

Aster smirked a little, scratching his head. "Well, I guess it'd be a pity to leave them alone when I'm not there, they seem awfully keen on biting your toes off lately, and who am I to deny them some fun, after all?"

Jack smirked back. "Tunnels?"

"You bet, mate"

Aster then tapped the ground, both falling into the opening, quickly starting a race to the Warren, laughing as they did.

Meanwhile, down there in the Australian underground, a big fluffy Dottie huffed proudly, turning back to his soon-to-be-interrupted-by-two-guardians nap.

Ok, so, this is the last chapter, and sorry if it took so long to post something so short but I'm just…what's the word I'm looking for…ah yes: lazy. As fuck. I know some were expecting something more…uh…jackrabbit-like, but this was mostly focused on the bunnies and such, dunno why people liked it so much, it was supposed to be a one-shot, but whatever. I might do some kind of jackrabbit sequel, tho, if I have time or inspiration, what with college starting next week and all.

So yeah, thanks for all the reviews and follows and all, have a nice day and prepare yourself for Aster to come around next month! (you can send me some chocolate, I don't mind, really)