Disclaimer: I do not own "Rise of the Guardians" nor any of the characters who appear in "Rise of the Guardians," I just like to play with 'em every once in a while. Bunny and all "Rise of the Guardians" characters belong to William Joyce and DreamWorks Animation.

The Chocolate Room

In which Jack Frost makes ugly chocolates and E. Aster Bunnymund behaves like a child

"Actually, truth be told, he destroyed this entire wing of the tunnels. Had to dig 'em out and rebuild 'em all before I could even start on the chocolate room, but it came together pretty quickly once I got going and now," he said as he pushed open a conspicuously golden door, "I've almost got the chocolate room running back up to snuff."

He held the door open, stepped aside and gestured towards the open doorway.

"See for yourself."

Jack beamed and stepped over the threshold.

And stopped.

And stared.

It. Was. Incredible!

At almost ten times the size of any other room that he'd seen so far, the chocolate room was a sight to behold. Instead of the cozy wooden edifices of the rest of the cottage, the chocolate room was resplendent in glittering gold and luminous marble.

The high, vaulted ceiling that soared far above even Bunny's head was a brilliant fresco of spring and life; luscious, green vines chased each other across the vast canvas of the ceiling and brilliant, vibrant flowers of every conceivable color burst upon it like fireworks. They were so lifelike and perfect that Jack would have sworn that he could smell their fragrance from where he stood. Even the shimmering golden vines that suspended lights from the ceiling were so exquisitely perfect that had it not been for their unnatural color, Jack would have thought them to be real as well.

And then there were the walls; where great swaths of color danced and splashed upon the purest marble to create magnificent scenes of burgeoning life and glorious vivacity.

Here a hummingbird sipped delicately from a ruby flower and there, a crystalline brook bubbled and spilled itself across glistening, polished stones. Reaching a hand out to trace the petals of a particularly splendid flower, Jack gasped in surprise when he realized that the images weren't just painted upon the marble, but that they had been carved right into it.

Jack traced the fibrous limbs of a blossom laden magnolia tree and shook his head in amazement.

Throughout all the years in which he'd known Bunny, he never could have imagined that the short tempered Guardian could be capable of creating something so…..beautiful…so perfect.

But now, now he didn't know what to think and as he swept his gaze over the rest of the room, he felt more overwhelmed than ever.

And as if the incredible décor of the room wasn't enough, it was also absolutely littered with fantastic machinery and fascinating little contraptions. Gigantic drums and magnificent golden cauldrons of every imaginable shape and size were situated amongst a complicated apparatus of conveyor belts, ovens and massive wheeled cooling racks.

And in the farthest corner of the great room was snuggled an enormous worktable replete with tiny scales and intriguing little tools, and it was to there that Bunny led Jack.

"Here Frostbite, let me show you how we make the chocolates 'round here."

Jack nodded excitedly as visions of confections danced in his head and Bunny began to explain exactly how he created his little treats.

And then he kept explaining.

And then he explained some more.

And then still more yet.

And then after too short a time, Jack (who was far more interested in eating chocolates than learning about their chemical compositions) found that he was totally and irrevocably bored by the entire conversation.

Unfortunately for Jack, who just wanted the lecture to end, Bunny seemed to be just getting started and his usual gruff composure had been completely replaced with what could only have been described as giddy enthusiasm. His eyes were wide and bright with excitement and his fuzzy paws gestured wildly as he elaborated on each and every tiny little detail.

It was singularly bizarre and a total departure from his usual brusque demeanor but it was also literally the only thing keeping Jack's attention. He'd never seen Bunny like this before; all excited and happy.

In a way it reminded him a bit of when Bunny had taken little Sophie for a romp around the Warren and yet, it was still something completely different.

With Sophie, there had been a kind of peaceful calm about him; every word he'd said had been soft and careful and every movement, delicate and gentle.

But here, standing in his chocolate room going on about who even knew what anymore, he was practically vibrating with energy. Seemingly without his awareness, his voice rose in pitch and volume and his gestures became increasingly wild and emphatic. Jack kept expecting that at any moment his frenetic enthusiasm would begin to wane but much to his amusement, it seemed that the longer Bunny talked about the intricacies of chocolatiering, the more excited he became! And before too long the big bunny was bouncing back and forth on the balls of his feet and Jack had to bite the inside of his cheek to suppress the giggles when he realized that even Bunny's little cottontail was waggling like mad.

Desperately trying to control his snickers, Jack marveled at how absolutely bizarre it all seemed.

Who could have known that the big kangaroo could be so…excitable?

Jack certainly hadn't and it was taking every ounce of willpower that he possessed to refrain from laughing out loud at the sight of the increasingly unhinged Bunny.

Unfortunately for Jack, the lecture just didn't stop and by the time Bunny finally got around to showing him how he carved the chocolates, Jack was legitimately concerned that he wasn't going to be able to contain the laughter much longer.

Fortunately, the technique for carving the chocolates was infinitely more interesting than the rest of the process and Jack was able to focus on something other than Bunny's hilarious over excitement. And after explaining the process (in incredible, excruciating detail) Bunny finally even offered to let Jack try his hand at making a few.

It didn't go at all smoothly and the mess that resulted from Jack's efforts was quite impressive, but Bunny was patient and Jack was enthusiastic so over all, it went rather well.

Afterwards, Bunny had offered Jack a tall glass of icy milk and the pair of them had settled down to enjoy the fruits of their labors. Bunny's chocolates were perfect and exquisite and Jack's were deformed and as ugly as any chocolates had ever been but as he sat there with Bunny, eating ugly (but delicious!) chocolates, he couldn't help but think that this was exactly what he'd been hoping to find with Bunny; an understanding, camaraderie, maybe even friendship. Because as much as he'd always liked to torture the big Pooka, he'd never really intended it be malicious; in fact he'd always rather liked the overgrown carrot-muncher, well mostly.

It was just that he was so fun to wind up; always so serious, always so self-important, and always so preoccupied with his deadlines and responsibilities that honestly, how could Jack not mess with him? And if the grumpy bunny couldn't take a joke, well that was his problem, after all, it wasn't like Jack cared about what other people thought.

But now….

Now was different.

Now they were both Guardians. They were part of a family and Jack, newly reunited with the memories of his birth family, desperately needed to feel that closeness again. Because now that he could remember what having a family was like, there wasn't anything in the entire world that he wanted more.

For three hundred long years he'd been alone and adrift; angry and confused with a vague sense of longing for a thing that he no longer remembered even having. But now he remembered just what he'd lost and he was determined to have it again.

So determined in fact that he was even willing to try and curb his more mischievous impulses if it meant the chance at creating a real relationship with the big kangaroo. Especially because the more Jack got to know him, the more worth knowing Bunny seemed to be.

Before the return of Pitch, Jack had thought he'd had Bunny pegged, but then during their struggle, he'd realized that Bunny was so much more; he was brave and steadfast and loyal to both his friends and his charges. And in one morning at the Warren, Jack had learned that Bunny could be patient, forgiving, and even playful when he wasn't constantly being provoked.

Heck, he'd been downright kind.

So kind in fact, that before Jack had even finished his funny little creations, Bunny had patted him on the back and assured him that as a first effort, his confections were actually quite good and when Jack had smiled goofily up at him in thanks, Bunny had laughed and rushed into his store room to find other, less mutilated samples of his work for Jack to try.

And although it was a bit absurd seeing the big, tough warrior bunny excitedly digging through his stores like some goofy kid showing off his toys, Jack forced himself not to laugh because honestly, seeing Bunny so excited and happy was a revelation.

For years Jack had wondered how the snappish, impatient Bunny that he knew could be the same being as the gentle, benevolent Easter Bunny of legend, but seeing Bunnymund with little Sophie had forced him to admit that maybe there really was more to the crabby bunny than he'd first imagined.

But then he'd become a Guardian and while Bunny had been decidedly more amicable to him, he'd still essentially been the same old serious, stand-offish Bunny who prickled easily when teased and couldn't take a joke to save his life. If anything, the more time passed, the less agreeable Bunny had become and after a couple of spectacular clashes, Jack had begun to wonder if maybe that day in the Warren hadn't all been some kind of snowflake induced fluke.

But as Jack watched Bunny giddily dart about his chocolate room, he realized that Bunny's kindness with Sophie wasn't a fluke, it was who he really was, or at least a part of who he really was; it just took a bit more of an effort to get to see it. And now that he'd seen it; this softer, happier side of Bunny, it was hard to ignore, and even harder to dislike. So in lieu of laughing at Bunny's somewhat ridiculous antics, Jack stood patiently just behind Bunny, holding a marvelous golden tray and awaiting his selections.

Occasionally, Bunny would ask Jack about a flavor preference and then based upon his answer; he'd zip about the room selecting another couple of chocolates and placing them on the tray.

He'd become so immersed in his task that any and all attempts to engage him in a non-chocolate related conversation were met with a distracted 'uh-huh' or a silence that indicated that Bunny hadn't heard one word of what Jack had even said.

The whole thing was too absurd to be offensive so Jack simply rolled his eyes in fond amusement and deciding to give up on conversation for the time being, amused himself by admiring Bunny's impressive storeroom.

It was located through an inconspicuous little door attached to the chocolate room, but it was anything but inconspicuous. It was decorated similarly to the chocolate room outside but its walls were lined with shelves that stretched so high that Jack couldn't see their tops and so wide that they covered the walls of a room that was five times the size of the chocolate room.

On every shelf, the chocolates were housed on vast trays of perfect, golden boxes that rolled on little wheels so that Bunny could access those in the back. There were no labels on anything and so Jack had to assume that somehow Bunny knew where everything was by heart. At present, only a tiny fraction of the shelves were occupied and Bunny explained that these were simply prototypes, practice chocolates to ensure that when the time came, the ankle-biters would have naught but his finest and freshest offerings for their big day.

In spite of himself, Jack was impressed.

"Oi!," Bunny's deep voice cut through Jack's ruminations, "Frostbite! You there, mate?"

Jack turned inquisitively towards Bunny.

"Yeah?"

"Crunchy or creamy?"

Having absolutely no idea what Bunny was talking about, Jack simply frowned and repeated the question back to him, "Crunch or creamy?"

Bunny huffed and stared at him as if the answer was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah, crunchy or creamy peanut butter, mate. Which one do you like?"

Oh.

Jack smiled.

"Uh, crunchy…I guess."

Bunny stared at him for a second longer then nodded his head repeatedly and turned back to his trays, muttering softly, "Crunchy, yeah, shoulda' known."

Jack didn't even know what that meant, so he simply shook his head in bewilderment and turned his attention back to the storeroom.

And that was when he spotted the workbench pressed into the corner of the room and not a second later, the box that sat upon the workbench. It was many times the size of any of the other boxes in the room and instead of being constructed solely of gold; it was a dazzling arrangement of purples, oranges, blues, greens, golds and pinks.

Unable to resist, Jack moved to examine it closer and discovered that it was even more stunning up close. Not only did the brilliant colors form the shapes of exotic flowers and tropical plants but embedded inside their patterns were tiny precious stones, each one sparkling and perfect.

It was certainly the most impressive chocolate box Jack had ever seen and if the box was anything to go by, the chocolates inside must be ridiculous.

Maybe Bunny would let him try one.

"Hey, Bunny are these your special chocolates?"

Bunny didn't even look up from his sorting.

"Yeah, mate they're all special."

Jack rolled his eyes at the distracted tone.

"Well, these must be super special 'cause I've never seen a chocolate box with rubies on it before."

Bunny nodded and was halfway through saying, 'yeah rubies,' when his head whipped around and his ears which had been flattened against his skull in concentration suddenly shot to attention.

"Wait-what?"

Jack looked nonplussed and jerked a thumb in the direction of the box.

"This box, it's covered in jewels. Does that mean they're your special reserves or something?"

Bunny's ears twitched and he shifted from one foot to another.

"Aah, no mate, those aren't special. Oh, well, they are special, or they will be they're just not mine. They're for Tooth, I-."

He realized his mistake a half second too late as a sharp, wolfish grin began to spread across Jack's features.

"You're making chocolates for Tooth? Why Bunny I had no idea you were so rom-."

Raising himself to his full intimidating height Bunnymund crossed his arms and scowled.

"Oh ha, ha mate, very funny."

Jack's toes were practically curling with glee as he cooed, "Aww, come on Bunny, I didn't mean to tease. I think it's cute."

Bunny's scowl darkened a shade or two and then suddenly a thought seemed to occur to him and the scowl was replaced with a smug smile.

"You better watch it, mate. You're about to make a fool of yerself."

The winter sprite laughed loudly and his eyebrows shot into his hairline with incredulity.

"I'm about to make a fool of myself? How do you figure that? I'm not the one making Valentines for the Tooth Fairy!"

The smug smile only got wider.

"Yeah, well I'm not either, mate. I make chocolates for all the Guardians, every year. Just like North makes presents. It's just a tradition."

The grin fell from Jack's face and a pout replaced it.

"Really, you make chocolates for North and Sandy too?"

Bunny nodded, "'Fraid so, mate; Guardian tradition."

Jack's pout intensified then suddenly broke into a grin.

"Then where are their boxes?"

Bunny didn't miss a beat, he simply stepped over to the workbench in one long stride, pulled open a drawer and gestured pointedly to the contents within.

"In progress mate."

Peering inside the drawer, Jack saw that sure enough there were three boxes in various states of completion; one in a vibrant, beautiful red, one of shimmering gold and one, a swirling mixture of the purest silver and the most dazzling shade of midnight blue.

He paused, frozen in delight. Was that…for him?

Looking up at Bunny's triumphant smirk, Jack hesitated, maybe it was supposed to be a surprise, maybe he shouldn't say anything about it….

He pointed into the drawer.

"Is that one mine?"

The smug grin fell into a frown and Bunny could have smacked himself; he'd forgotten Jack's was in there too.

Oh well, he thought, he was gonna find out about it sooner or later anyway and at least it would get him off the subject of Toothiana and Valentines.

"Course it is, ya gumby, you're a Guardian ain't ya'?"

Jack was overwhelmed. He was speechless.

"Y-yeah, I'm a Guardian." Well, almost speechless.

"Well then, there ya' go," Bunny replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world, "It's tradition, I give each Guardian one of these every Easter, only I couldn't give any to the other guys this Easter, cause the ones I'd originally made were destroyed when Pitch threw his little temper tantrum. So, I made new ones," he canted his head slightly in Jack's direction, "and since we have a new Guardian, I made one more."

Jack still didn't know what to say. All the teasing, all the pranks, the blizzard of '68, the disaster of last Easter and here, Bunny had made this special thing for him. This perfect, beautiful box that he only made for Guardians and Jack, he just-he didn't know what to say.

Luckily, Bunny didn't seem interested in turning the revelation into some kind of a moment and he slid the drawer shut and waved Jack back towards the door.

"So, now that you've eaten crow, why don't we get going on trying some of those chocolates. I guarantee you that they taste a lot better than the humble pie you just swallered."

"You don't have to rub it in ya' know," Jack responded, with a jokingly sour expression.

Bunny gave him a pointed little grin and replied, "Oh, of course I don't have to, I just like to, it's fun. You know about fun, don't ya' Jackie-boy?"

The big kangaroo was really rubbing it in good but for the life of him, Jack just couldn't bring himself to care, because now he knew about the little silver box. He'd seen how perfect it was, even in its half-completed state, and he'd heard it straight from the bunny's mouth that it was for him and only him and he was in awe.

So instead of losing his cool, Jack smiled good-naturedly and let Bunny hustle him back into the main room where he immediately plunked his tray onto the nearest flat surface, pulled up a stool and dug in.

Behind him, Bunny took one last look at Toothiana's gift, sighed heavily in relief, then dimmed the lights to the storeroom and closed the door with a click.

Back with Jack in the chocolate room, Bunny pulled a stool up beside Jack's and selected a handful of chocolates for himself. Jack mostly ignored him, being far too busy stuffing his mouth with as many chocolates as would fit to notice that Bunny had returned.

That was fine with Bunny, he was still a little shaky from that close call and he didn't mind having those couple of minutes to compose himself. After a few minutes of silence however, Jack looked up from his massive pile of chocolates and through a mouthful of what smelled like peanut butter and dark chocolate he asked, "Hey, isn't it weird that the Tooth Fairy likes candy? Isn't that like, against her code or something?"

Bunny shrugged half-heartedly, "Yeah, I guess the Tooth Fairy eating candy does seem a little counter-intuitive," he admitted, "but that's just 'cause ya' don't realize that Tooth's people, they're kinda like hummingbirds, ya' know; they love their sweets. I mean they can't get enough of 'em. They're insatiable! I tell ya', if I let a couple of Tooth's little cuties in here they'd eat me outta house and home in a minute flat."

Jack's eyebrows rose in amazement. "Really!?"

Bunny plucked another chocolate from the pile (blueberry truffle, yum) and nodded his head emphatically, "Oh, yeah, they're real terrors, they absolutely lose their minds, but Toothy, well she's got a will like iron, that one."

He paused and smiled admiringly, "Yeah, she's a real tough Sheila, she is. Every bit as inclined towards the sweets as any of her people but because of her dedication to her calling and I suppose as a matter of principle, she only indulges on a very rare occasion."

He shifted excitedly on his stool and leaned forward, hands gesturing animatedly as he spoke.

"And do ya' know that for as much as she loves sweets, that one little box will last her for an entire year! Can you believe it?!" he said with a smile, obviously impressed by the fairy's self-control.

Jack was considerably less impressed and raised one shoulder in a lazy half shrug.

"Yeah, I guess that's…neat. But it doesn't sound like very much fun to me."

Bunny looked contemplative and scratched behind one of his long ears.

"I know, it sounds like torture! Honestly, I don't know how she does it, mate. I bet I've eaten more chocolate in one month than Toothy's eaten in her entire life."

Jack grimaced in distaste, because as much as he loved chocolate, even he thought that sounded excessive.

"Eww, Bunny that's disgusting. How are you not like a million pounds?"

Stopping mid scratch and looking positively scandalized, Bunny exclaimed, "It's not disgusting, it's my job! I gotta make sure everything's perfect for the little ankle-biters' big day and it's a delicate process, mate, involves a lot of trial and error. Besides," he said as he grinned wickedly, "It's not my fault I gotta inspect every batch. Quality control and all that ya' know."

Jack tried to keep a straight face; he really did, but Bunny and his paper-thin justification for stuffing himself silly with chocolates was just too ridiculous.

"Yeah, I bet it's a real sacrifice," he said with a playful roll of his eyes.

Bunny gave a solemn nod of his head and pressed a hand to his chest.

"You've no idea what kind of hardships I endure in the name of duty."

This time Jack laughed loudly and shook his head as he sifted through the remaining chocolates.

"Yeah whatever, Cottontail. Come on; help me finish these before I get all teary-eyed over your heroic sacrifice."

Bunny tilted his head back and chuckled sarcastically.

"Oh ha, ha, mate. You know for someone going on about how disgusting I am; you sure are putting away a pretty number of chocolates yourself."

Jack continued chewing his latest sweet and replied without missing a beat, "Yeah, I am and I don't regret it for a second. These things are freaking delicious."

Bunny smiled proudly.

"But you're still disgusting."

Bunny's smile twisted into a pout and Jack positively exploded with laughter.

Above ground, the stone golems tilted themselves curiously towards the bright peals of Jack's laughter and when Bunny's own staccato baritone joined them a moment later, each and every one of them swiveled their faces to happiness and bobbled on their spindly little legs with unparalleled delight.

A/N: Well, that's the chocolate room, my friends! I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Thanks to all who've left reviews, I truly appreciate them and love you for taking the time to write them. Y'all really are the sweetest things! Please don't hesitate to let me know what you thought of the latest chapter and remember to stay tuned, things are about to take a slightly darker turn and the next chapter should be up soon!

Thanks again for reading!

Nek0Nek0- I'm so glad! Thanks so much for reading!

Kitty132383-Thank you so much, I'm delighted that you enjoyed it! And thanks for letting me know that you dug Bunny's accent, accents can be so difficult to write sometimes (especially when you have a rather pronounced one of your own!) so I'm glad I'm not butchering ole Bunnymund's.

Carmen Veiga- Thanks for reviewing, I hope Bunny's behavior lived up to your expectations!

Avatar Aang- Thank you kindly, truly, it means a great deal to know people are enjoying this little fic. It's so very encouraging and it just makes my day!

Princess of Las Noches- You are so sweet! Thank you a million times! It's very exciting to learn that you're enjoying the way the story is going and especially that you're enjoying the boys' more introspective moments. I thought it was important to show just how much of an effort they're both making. Thanks again for reviewing and I hope Bunny lived up to your expectations!

Tenshira- LOL- I too would like to visit the chocolate room but I doubt Bunny would appreciate the damage I would inevitably cause. I'm glad I'm doing a good job with the characters because I really love them both and would hate to do them injustice. I'm so pleased that you're enjoying their interactions, I know it's a slow build but I really wanted to show how much of an effort they're both making and where they're both coming from. Rest assured that while it may get a little bumpy here soon, there are going to be plenty of family moments for the boys further on down the road.

TheJoyousCrosser- Yay! I'm glad you're digging their interactions! That part is so crucial and I'm positively over the moon that it's landing! Thank you a million times for your kind words, I'm so psyched that you dug the cottage/burrow idea!

axellichouchou- Well, now that you've seen Bunny acting a bit silly, did you like it? I hope so! Also, it has been so important to me that the boys' relationship develop naturally, so I'm impossibly pleased that you're enjoying it! Thanks for reading!

TheGodlessAngelOfDarkness- You're so sweet! Thanks! Also, I do not blame you!

Every1'sBeta-LOL! You're too cute! I had heard that about chocolates, I guess that's why they're so popular for Valentine's Day! Sorry you didn't get sugar high Jack, but I hope you still enjoyed the chapter! Thanks again for reading!

Rubypearl-Thanks for the review and believe you me, I'm having loads of fun writing this one and reviews like yours are no small part of it, but thanks for the preemptive warding against the dreaded block! Good juju is always appreciated! Thanks again for reading!