Hello, hello.
So, I'm sorry we haven't really gotten to the Frostbunny part of A "Frostbunny" Fic
But just hang in there. Good relationships don't just happen overnight.
Love you guys (sorry for length of chapter)
"Jack! Jackie!"
"No!" Jack screamed, shooting up. Someone grabbed him, and he immediately started to struggle. The person let go, and Jack tumbled to the floor. He curled up in a ballm whimpering.
The person put a gentle hand on Jack's shoulder. "Jack, it's alright. Calm down."
Jack moved his head until he could peek out. Bunny, the real Bunny, stared back at him, worry clear on his face.
Jack jumped up, clutching him tightly, tears spilling down his face. Bunny sat him down on the couch and held him, awkwardly rubbing his back. Tooth, who had followed Bunny in, fluttered nearby, worry all over her face.
"What happened?" She asked the still sobbing Jack. Bunny motioned for her to wait. Jack buried his face in Bunny's fur, matting it with his slushy, salty tears. Slowly, he got his tears under control.
"Pitch." He sputtered, wiping at his eyes. He still clung to Bunny. "He, he k-killed you all, a-and, there was blood everywhere an-"
Jack's stomach gave a violent lurch. Tooth, seeing his face pale even more than it already was, grabbed the nearest waste basket and held it in front of him. Bunny pulled him off, but held his arm.
All the food Jack had eaten in the past few days suddenly made a reappearance (which was only bread and water). Bunny rubbed his back as he vomited.
When he was done, Tooth put a hand on his forehead.
"God, Jack, you're warm again! I'm getting the thermometer." She flew out of the room.
Bunny jumped when Jack burst into tears once more. "Oi, Jack, it's arite!"
Jack just bawled, burying his face in Bunny's chest again. Bunny just held him, wishing for something to do to help. The normal, teasing Jack he could handle easily. This Jack, not so much.
Before he could think twice about it, Bunny bent down and pressed a soft kiss to Jack's head.
They both froze.
"Bunny...?" Jack sniffed, looking up at him. There was confusion and a glimmer of something Bunny couldn't name in his eyes. A frosty blush dusted Jack's cheeks.
Before either of them could say anything, Tooth returned with the thermometer. Sandy followed this time.
Tooth placed her hand under Jack's chin and turned him to face her. He let go of Bunny and stared at her, eyes wet. She stuck the thermometer under his tongue.
She took it out when it beeped. "Oh Jack," she sighed. "79.8 degrees."
Jack frowned. "How long was I asleep?"
Sandy held up two fingers.
"Only two hours?"
Nod.
Jack sighed.
Bunny rubbed his back again. "Let's get ya in that bath. Is it ready, Tooth?"
Tooth nodded. "The yetis have been keeping it cold."
Jack stood, too quickly. The world spun, and his knees buckled. Bunny caught him before he hit the floor.
"C'mon." He said quietly, exiting, Jack in his arms. Sandy and Tooth followed.
Tooth moved to the front and lead them to the bathroom where they had made the bath. Once there, Bunny motioned for Tooth and Sandy to leave. "I'll watch him. You guys go make him something to eat. He's all skin and bones." The two left without complaint.
Bunny gently put Jack down. The little frost sprite held onto the tub for support. Bunny reached to help him, but Jack weakly swatted him away. "I got it."
Bunny turned away, torn between helping Jack, and not wanting to see him naked. When he heard Jack get into the tub, he decided to bear it.
Jack held on to both sides of the tub, eyes closed. Lucky for Bunny, the ice in the tub covered up anything private.
Bunny gently tapped Jack's cheek with one paw. "No sleepin', mate."
Jack whined, eyes still closed. "But I'm tired."
"I know, Frostbite, but ya just gotta stay awake a while. Talk to me if ya need to, just no sleepin'."
Jack pried his eyes open and blinked at Bunny. For a fleeting second, the word 'cute' flashed in Bunny's mind. He pushed it away. 'The hell's wrong with me?' He thought. 'Why am I suddenly making eyes at Jack? I barely even like the guy.' Bunny scrubbed his face hard.
"Bunny?" Jack asked.
"Yea?"
"What should I talk about?"
Bunny thought about it, sitting next to the tub. "Anything ya want, I guess."
Jack nodded. He talked about Jamie, his first believer and one of his best friends, and how much fun he had playing with the little boy. He spoke of Baby Tooth, and how she smothered him in kisses whenever they saw each other.
What he talked about next slightly shocked Bunny.
Jack talked about the guardians, and his feelings about all of them. He spoke of how he looked up to North like a father. He spoke of his love for Tooth's motherly nature, and how Sandy made him feel better when he was sad. Bunny didn't think Jack was aware he was confessing so much. Jack's eyes were half open, but his blinks were long and slow. This Jack, fever strung and sleepy, was so different from the normal, snowstorms and teases Jack. This Jack was so open, so trusting. He'd never talked to Bunny like this.
Then again, Bunny had never shown him enough kindness for him to think he could. Bunny's heart clenched.
Suddenly, Jack stopped talking. "Bunny?" He mumbled.
"Hmm?"
"Do you still think I'm not fit to be a guardian?"
Bunny 's eyes widened. The question caught him completely off guard. Jack watched, eyes fully open. Bunny scratched his head.
"Well, ya got a lot ta learn, that much is true. But..." Jack sat up a little more in the tub.
"But...?"
Bunny reached over and ran a paw through Jack's hair. "I think ya got what it takes."
Jack smiled. A big, bright, pearly white smile that made Bunny's heart stutter.
They sat there in silence for a while, Jack splashing around, Bunny just watching him. Every once in a while, Bunny would reach forward and caress Jack's hair.
"Bunny?"
Bunny grunted, still running a paw through Jack's hair.
"What happened after I got hurt?"
Bunny froze.
Jack waited patiently for Bunny to say something. The rabbit let out a breath and rubbed his face.
"Not much. I lost it and tried ta beat the tar outta Pitch. North had to pick me up by the scruff a my neck so we could get you to the Pole..." Bunny began to caress Jack's hair again. "Luckily the scratches weren't that deep, there were just so many." Jack gently took Bunny's paw in his hands. It was shaking. "Ya bled a lot... I panicked quite a bit." Jack could hear Bunny get choked up. He cleared his throat.
Jack held Bunny's hand tightly in his own. Bunny leaned over, and pressed his nose to Jack's cheek. He was slightly shocked when Jack leaned in a bit. His face was still warm, just not as much as before. Bunny smiled against his will.
A knock on the door startled them. They jumped apart.
"Are you guys ok in there? Can I come in?" It was Tooth.
"Yeah, we're fine. Come in."
Slowly the door opened, and Tooth flew in. She closed it behind her and came over. She carried a bundle in her arms. "Hey Sweet Tooth." She said, smiling brightly at Jack. She sat beside Bunny on the ground. "I brought you some clothes. Whenever you feel like getting out, they'll be right here." She set the bundle down. "Also, I have a question."
"What?" Jack said. Both Bunny and Tooth could hear the wariness laced in his voice.
"We want to make a room for you here in the Pole. We want to make it like your home, but we've never seen it. Can you describe it to me?" Jack saw Bunny 's ear prick up in curiosity.
"You guys don't have to do that for me." He said in typical Jack manner, avoiding the question. Bunny didn't like it.
"You need a place to rest Jack. We can't just leave you on the couch until you get better. Even if we do, you still need a room. We all have rooms here, why not you too?" Tooth gave Jack a hard stare. "Jack, where do you sleep?"
Jack stared down at the water, lips pressed together tightly. Tooth and Bunny stared at him, waiting for his answer.
"I don't sleep much, but when I do, it's in a tree or something like that. Little resting spots. Sometimes I just lay out in the snow. Just to rest." Jack didn't look at them when he said it, and his trademark smirk rested on his lips. Bunny and Tooth started at him, disbelieving.
"Trees?" Tooth squeaked. "He Sleeps in trees?" Bunny said nothing, just stared at Jack.
"It's not so bad." Jack insisted, turning to them. They shook their heads.
"Jack, trees ain't a home. Don't ya got a place you can really rest, relax? Somewhere you can go when things seemed to just pile up on ya?" Bunny asked.
Jack shook his head, an action that broke Bunny's heart.
Tooth rose to her feet. "That isn't right. Not at all." Jack opened his mouth to argue, but tooth held up a hand. "Don't, Jack! You can't justify this! Sleeping in trees?! You aren't an animal, Jack, you shouldn't live like one!" Her wings fluttered crazily, buy she stayed grounded.
"Tooth!" Bunny barked. "Get a hold a yerself!"
Jack watched as Tooth visibly deflated, covering her mouth with one hand. She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry." She mumbled.
Bunny turned to Jack. He was curled up in the tub, thankfully covering any private areas that were previously covered by now melted ice. His expression was carefully blank, but Bunny could see the shame and hurt in his big blue eyes. He reached out and held the boy's cheek in his paw. Jack stiffened. "It ain't nothing to be ashamed about, Jackie. We just wish we woulda known so we could help ya. Trees ain't no place for a kid to sleep at night." Jack pushed his hand away and turned his back to him.
Bunny couldn't stop his ears from pinning themselves to the back of his head.
Tooth put a hand on Jack's shoulder, but he shrugged it off. She stepped back, hurt in her eyes. "Don't worry, Jack. We're going to make you a home here. A good one too. Just you wait." She flew out.
Bunny glared at Jack's back. "Ya hurt her feelings, ya know." Jack merely shrugged.
"Can you please turn around?" Bunny sighed. Jack did. His expression was still blank, but his eyes shone with unshed tears. Bunny made a sound of sympathy.
"Hey, hey, no tears. It's a'right." Jack's heart thumped at the tenderness in Bunny's eyes and voice. A frosty blue blush appeared on his cheeks when Bunny lightly dabbled his eyes with a towel. Jack blinked up at him.
"Why?" He whispered.
"Why, what?"
"Why do you care?" Asked Jack. His eyes well again. "After so long..."
Bunny went cold. His ears, which had just risen back to full height, came back down and stayed there. Jack watched him, ignoring the tears in his eyes.
"Jack..." Bunny started. "I know... I know... God, I'm so sorry." Before his mind could tell him no, he wrapped his arms around the boy, not caring that he was naked.
So many years. So many YEARS they had left this boy alone, fending for himself. For bunny, it was even worse. Jack had been his friend and roomate for many of those years. Jack had made a home in the Warren. They'd almost been family.
Then, Easter of '68 happened.
Bunny had lost his temper at Jack's snowstorm, yelling at him to get lost and never come back to the Warren. He'd watched with a broken heart as Jack flew away to MiM knows where.
And Jack never had never come back.
After the initial battle with Pitch, Bunny had tried to get Jack to come back and stay with him, just like before. He'd felt so terrible about his behavior. But Jack had politely but firmly declined, and Bunny realized that Jack had shut himself off from his past friend, and to add insult to injury, everyone else.
It hurt.
"We shouldn't ave left ya alone all those years like we did. We'll never be able to make up for it, we know. But Jack, ya don't know how sorry we are. We know we can't make up for it, but it won't stop us from trying. Ya wanna know why we care now? Cause we know how wrong we were. 'Specially me." Jack had slowly snaked his arms around Bunny, burying his face in his chest. He was crying once more, and it made Bunny's eyes mist over too.
Bunny pulled Jack out of the tub, and helped him stand. Before the boy could complain, Bunny draped a towel around him. Jack pulled it tight.
"Get dressed, and we'll go get you something to eat. Then we'll see about that room." He gave Jack a pat on the shoulder. "Ya deserve a home Jack. And we're gonna give ya one." Bunny got up and started to leave.
"Bunny?"
Bunny stopped, and turned around. "Yeah?"
Jack stared at him, eyes still glistening. "I don't want my home to be here... I want..."
Bunny waited.
"I want to come back to the Warren." Jack rushed out. Bunny's eyes widened.
"Ya mean it?"
Jack nodded. Bunny smiled.
"Then a room's waiting you whenever you want it." Bunny couldn't stop the chuckle that came at Jack's expression. Jack's eyes were so bright it almost hurt to look, and the relief was clear.
"Hurry up and dress." Bunny murmured, and left.
"Thank MiM." He heared Jack say as the door shut.
