Summary: Jack traces the image of an Easter egg and made the rabbit on the window come to life and fly around the room for Jamie. But what if Bunny and the other guardians saw him make the last light believe again?
Set for the prompt: Bunny sees Jack convince Jamie that he was real.
Actual Prompt: "okay so that scene where Jack traced the image of an easter egg and made the rabbit on the window come to life and fly around the room? Can someone PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE write a fic where Bunnymund actually witnessed that too? It doesn't matter if the other Guardians are there or not, maybe they got to Jamie first but he couldn't see any of them until Jack showed him the "sign" or whatever, but yeah, whoever writes this i will love you forever."
And so here it is. My fill for the prompt!
Convince Me
He was at his weakest state. Losing Easter and his believers had really taken a hard blow on him. He wasn't incapacitated from walking like North, nor was he unable to fly like Tooth. No, his punishment for losing Easter and Hope was much worse than the two.
He had shrunk.
Not just in size but also in power. He was nothing more than a harmless little bunny who could only cower as nightmares tried to attack the sleigh. With his diminished strength, North could hardly control the reindeers and Bunny, already at his limit, couldn't afford to be scared of heights and of crashing.
The last light was their only hope. Pitch had gone to snuff out the brightest and last light and they couldn't afford that! They had to protect the children! As long as one child believed in them, they would do everything- everything in their power to protect that child.
But what about that other child you abandoned? What about Jack Frost?
Bunny raised a small paw to hit his head in annoyance, trying to get rid of the guilty conscience speaking at the back of his mind. He didn't care for that winter spirit that caused the blizzard of '68, endangering the children who wanted to go egg hunting. He didn't care for that traitor who had gone to take back his memories rather than help them out with Pitch.
He didn't care.
So why, why couldn't he stop thinking about it?
However, the shrunk pooka was rudely awoken from his thoughts when the sleigh suddenly crash landed on the pavement of Burgess. He heard Tooth let out a startled cry at the rough landing while North called out desperately to the reindeers who had freed themselves from the reigns and escaped. Bunny had covered his ears, shaking in fright as he felt the harsh rattling and falling apart of the once sturdy mode of transportation.
Bunny could hear North let out a muffled curse in Russian and the small pooka looked up with big green eyes. He turned to see if Tooth was alright, and the queen of fairies seemed to be fine, only panting a bit at what had happened.
"Da, it does not matter. Let reindeers go! We are in front of the last light's house! Jamie Bennett!" North said and with a groan he hobbled towards Bunny, his sword acting as his crutches. "You okay, Bunnymund?"
"Not as good as before, but I can handle anythin', mate." The Easter Bunny said as he raised his paws in defense, however this was ruined when the pooka sneeze and shiver, looking strangely vulnerable.
North's blue eyes widened and suddenly reflected helplessness when he saw the vulnerable state the pooka was in. And for a moment the hope in the eyes of wonder dimmed.
The young rabbit felt his breath being taken away at the dark void of helplessness in North's mind. He could sense a person's loss of hope like a punch to the gut. Anyone close to him losing hope was very dangerous for him, and North seemed to have conveniently forgotten that.
Placing a hand to his small chest, the Easter bunny curled onto himself, shaking and trying to breathe. He felt like he was drowning in a black lake, trying to keep his head afloat, trying to grab unto something, anything-
"Bunny!" North shouted in concern as he pulled back the helpless feeling when he saw green eyes widen and the guardian of Hope choke in his own breath. "I am sorry! I did not know what I was thinking I-!"
"I-It's all good mate." Bunny muttered as he coughed and inhaled deeply, slowly regaining himself. North locking up his feelings, helped. "It can't be help, what with our situation an' all..."
"No! No, no excuses! We have chance to win! With the last light we can still turn the tide! We can't let Pitch-!" North began but then a startled gasp from Toothiana made the old Santa turn to her cautiously. "Tooth! Is something wrong?"
Tooth shook her head, amethyst eyes pointing at something not far. North and Bunny's eyes followed what she was pointing at. They let out a synchronized cursed breath when they saw the black clouds in the sky.
"We 'ave no time!" North lifted Bunny who let out a wail of protest. "Tooth let us go!" The jolly man hobbled into the house quietly with the queen of fairies behind him, trying to walk without relying on her useless wings.
Sneaking into the house was easier than they thought. It was either because Jamie's parents were heavy sleepers or because they were nothing but fictional characters in adults' minds-that they were able to go up to the bedroom on the right at the second floor without much fuss. They slowly opened the door with many strange markings that could only belong to one very imaginative boy.
He was there… the last light-Jamie Bennett, on his bed, kneeling as he looked at a stuffed rabbit with a determined expression. Tooth and Santa exchanged worried looks at the sight of the boy while Bunny felt the coldness of a slowly diminishing belief in him. He shivered, trying to calm himself.
"Okay, look." Jamie said pointedly and seriously. "You and I are obviously at what they call a 'crossroad'. So, here's what's gonna happen..."
Bunny watched with growing helplessness as the young boy talked with a stuffed rabbit, wondering if Jamie- like every other child- was going to stop believing in him. The thought that the last light sustaining Bunny was soon gonna be put out made the small pooka shiver in dread at the thought of losing his center. His hope.
The fear was like claws, death was like a chill running down the pookas spine, calling out to him, telling him that his disappearance was inevitable, that he, like Sandy was going to cease to exist.
However, a gasp from Tooth once again roused the tiny rabbit from his dark thoughts. And one word came out of those tired lips as a slim finger pointed at the window while Jamie continued to talk to his stuffed rabbit that would never respond. "Jack." Toothiana said with relief and hope.
Jack.
Jack Frost.
What did the troublemaker want now?
"...prove it, like right now." The desperation in Jamie's voice made Bunny's ears twitch towards the boy. He could see sad and desperate brown eyes looking at the stuffed toy. Beside him, North was breathing slowly, quietly muttering if they should show themselves now to prove to the boy their existence.
But Bunny wasn't listening.
His eyes had gone back to look at a certain winter sprite's face. Blue eyes looking over at Jamie, unknowing that the guardians were there at Jamie's room, watching what was happening with him. Blue eyes, usually so light when playing pranks, when laughing had significantly dimmed, and all Bunny could think of at the moment was his guilt at being the one to cause the grief and sadness and loneliness in Jack's eyes.
A loneliness and grief Bunny had felt when a boy had walked through him.
He had barely been able to handle that once. What did it feel like for Jack who had handled it for three hundred years?
A twinge of pain entered his heart. He claimed he had wanted to save this Bennett kid from Pitch. But how can he save the little ankle biter when he wasn't even able to save someone like Jack who had been around for three hundred years?
Jamie pursed his lips and his next words made Bunny turn back to him. "I believed in you for a long time, okay? My whole life in fact." Jamie sat up straight bringing the stuffed bunny near his face."So you kind of owe me now." There was a little hope in his voice as he continued to talk. "You don't have to do much! Just a little sign so I know..." Bunny turned to Jack who had a sad and regretful look on his face.
"Anything, anything at all..." The voice was barely a whisper from Jamie Bennett and Bunny felt the anticipation of hope warming him. Teary and light brown eyes looking at the rabbit with so much trust and so much admiration that it took the pooka's breath away. North was nudging him in urgency now, asking Bunny what they should do. The kid was asking for him, and yet...
Bunny didn't move.
There was a cold silence. Even Jack seemed to freeze by his spot in the window sill. He didn't have to hide like the guardians, since he was practically invisible to everyone... And that thought hurt Bunny more than it was supposed to.
"I knew it." Three words sent a stab of cold and pain into the pooka's heart. The last hope among children was slowly diminishing and he- the guardian of hope!- couldn't do anything about it!
Nothing!
He couldn't do anything at all!
"Bunny!" Tooth and North exclaimed in hushed voices when the rabbit fell back onto North's chest just as Jamie's stuffed bunny fell to the floor.
Green eyes looked around wildly, darkness threatening to take him and yet, for the last time he found himself looking at the boy by the window.
Jack's eyes had gone wide in uncertainty. The spirit was looking at the stuffed bunny on the floor, looking torn at wanting to reach out and also at wanting to leave, because he knew that even if he called out...
No one would hear him
And Bunny, for the life of him, felt sad because of that. He felt sad for the winter sprite, for leaving him behind and for not listening to what he had to say before he accused him. He felt sad for all the times he told Jack that he was unimportant and made him feel worthless...
But most of all, Bunny felt sad that he never got to apologize for anything. How ironic it was, that only in his last moments was Bunny able to feel true regret for everything he had ever done and said.
And because of those regrets, Bunny couldn't help but feel- as he stared at the moon- that he deserved the fact that his existence was slowly dying away.
He, North, and Tooth had come to Jamie's house to save the last light's belief.
But in the end, hadn't they come to ensure their own existence in the world, rather than to fight for the last sliver of hope?
Because of this, Bunnymund realized that he was worse than Pitch.
Much, much worse.
And now, he was getting what he deserved.
"Jack!" Tooth exclaimed once more and Bunny's tired green eyes turned to see Jack enter Jamie's room. He tilted his head in confusion. What was Jack going to do? He was invisible wasn't he? Was he going to convince Jamie that the guardians were real?
The idea seemed ludicrous though, especially since Bunny didn't see why Jack would ever do that for him.
After all, what had Bunnymund ever done for Jack?
Nothing but scorn and turn him away.
Jamie was still at his bed, head bowed down, looking like the world had disappointed him in the worst way possible. Meanwhile Jack tapped the glass pane of the boy's window allowing fern-like frost to spread.
"Look..." Tooth gasped as her amethyst eyes watched Jack's slim finger draw on the glass. A crude drawing of an easter egg became the result and Bunny felt the spark of hope returning in his system.
"H-He is making the boy believe again..." North said in awe, and Bunny couldn't help but feel awe.
W-What? How? Why?
Why?
The Bennett boy had heard the crackling of ice and had turned. Brown eyes were wide when he saw the drawing come out of thin air. He was staring at the window and alternating his brown eyes to staring at the bunny on the floor and then at the crude drawing of an egg. He seemed shock and unbelieving, but Bunny could feel the hope wanting to spark the belief back into the ten-year-old.
Jamie had stood up now, nearing the window, still unable to see the frost boy creating the miracle in his room. "He's real." He muttered in a shocked tone.
Jack smiled sadly at the boy, knowing that Jamie was thinking of the Easter Bunny not him, but nonetheless the winter spirit continued to sew back the precious belief and hope into the last light.
Another frost fern-like pattern spread onto another glass pane. Jack began to draw a rabbit this time. Bunny's heart pounded when he saw the simple smile on Jack's face as he looked at Jamie.
That was the smile of a person who cared deeply for children. That was a smile of a true guardian.
The winter spirit was unmindful of brown eyes staring past him, as Jack closed his eyes and focused on the frost drawing on the window. He moved his hands, as though willing his creation to life.
Four startled breaths were taken when the rabbit on the frosted window jumped out and into existence. And Bunny felt strength return to him completely when Jack gave a blinding smile at the young Bennett who whooped and laughed in joy at the sudden miracle.
It was beautiful.
The frost rabbit pranced around the room, leaving frosty trails in its wake. Beside the Easter Bunny, Tooth was giggling and wiping tears from her eyes at the display while North tried to hold back his jolly laughter, feeling energetic as he felt the burning wonder from the last light in the world.
Jack, the blessed boy who saved Bunny from disappearing was also laughing as well. Although his laughter was a bit sad as he watched his own creation make Jamie happy.
Jamie who was never going to see Jack.
And in that moment, watching Jack interact with the kid and adore Jamie despite being invisible, Bunny had never wished for anything harder in his life than for Jack to be seen and believed in by this Jamie kid as well.
And as though to answer to his prayer, the snow bunny exploded into snow, showering Jamie with its glowing brightness, shocking him. "Snow?" Jamie said in confusion.
One particular snowflake, however, landed on Jamie's nose and a look of worsened confusion before dawning realization suddenly entered the child's face.
"Jack Frost." Tooth, North, and Bunny gasped simultaneously at the surprising development. The sudden calling of his name made Jack freeze as he stared at the boy on the bed.
"Did you just say-?"
Jamie looked around, hearing the faint voice. "Jack Frost?"
Jack let out a startled breath. "He said it again!" The winter sprite was practically jumping with glee. Bunny watched with bated breath as Jamie turned at the sound of the sprite's voice. "He said-! You said-!" Jack's blue eyes were trained at the boy in concentration. But Bunny flinched when he saw the untrusting look in Jack's face, as though daring himself not to hope.
The pooka watched as brown eyes turned and widened in shock when it caught sight of the immortal teen, Jamie was openly gapping at the other one now. "Jack Frost."
"That's right!" Jack gasped, looking totally mind blown as he stepped back. "B-But that's me! Jack Frost! That's my name!" And it Tooth let out a sad 'oh' as Jack looked at the kid with wonder and disbelief mixed with unrivaled happiness. "You said my name!"
North let out a sympathetic noise of happiness and sadness at the fact that this was the first time Jack was seen by a kid. Bunny's ears folded into his head in shame and guilt.
"W-Wait, c-can you hear me?" Jack said refusing to believe, but a nod from Jamie made blue eyes widen and Bunny swore he could see tears. "C-Can you...? C-Can you see me?" Another nod and Jack's happiness couldn't be contained.
Bunny watched the glee and mirth in the other's face as he realized he could be seen. Jack let out a breathe he didn't know he was holding. "H-He sees me! He sees me!" The tone breaks just a little bit at the end but it was enough to let Bunny know that Jack, annoying, mischievous, troublemakerJack, had wanted this for a long time. A very, very long time... However he had long since lost hope of being seen by the kids he so wanted to protect. But unconsciously he had continued to hope.
And that knowledge, made Bunny shiver in sadness and undeniable guilt once more.
"This is enough." North had said in a surprisingly gentle tone when he noticed Bunny's shiver. "We must leave. I do not think Jack will appreciate seeing such a private moment."
Tooth nodded, and her pale features looked healthier ever since Jamie's belief came back. "We should... give them some time..." Her amethyst eyes looked at Jack in longing, wanting to barge into the room and hug the sad and lonely boy of three hundred years.
"Aye, mate. His first believer..." Bunny said in a hoarse tone. "He deserves some time to be happy."
The three guardians exchanged nods as Santa reached out to close the door, the excited voices of Jamie and Jack echoing throughout the house. Bunny wondered if Jamie's parents would wake up.
"But what about the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy! I mean who do-"
"REAL! Real! Real! Everyone of us," Jack said in a heartfelt tone that made Bunny's heart skip. "...is real."
And that was all Bunny could take as North closed the door. He looked up, his green eyes teary but he refused to believe it was because he felt emotional, it was the damn baby bunny form he was in that made him so teary that's all!
But North smiled at the small Easter rabbit in understanding and Tooth giggled as she scratched the back of Bunny's ears. The pooka groaned in annoyance.
"I KNEW IT!" Jamie's loud voice made them jump and for a second the sound of the door opening made the three guardians freeze.
"Jamie, who are you talking to?"
The guardians exchanged a look, but then Jamie answered uncertainly, "Uhm Jack Frost?"
The woman, Jamie's mom, laughed. "Okay."
The guardians smiled as they heard laughters coming from the last light's room. North, Tooth, and Bunny waited for the sound of the door to the adults' room to close before they headed out of the house, a smile lifting their faces with their hopes renewed.
But this time, it wasn't Bunnymund, the guardian of Hope, that inspired this. They smiled and hoped because of a winter spirit that made a certain light believe again.
And the guardians knew, that Jack was someone worthy to be believed in.
Bunny will remember later, the gratitude he feels towards Jack Frost, a being he once thought caused nothing but trouble. But in the end, he had saved them all.
He will remember the unselfish actions of a boy who wasn't believed in for three hundred years as he made the last light believe in E. Aster Bunnymund, the pooka who did nothing but spite the young spirit of winter ever since h met him.
Bunny will remember the beautiful frost bunny that hopped in Jamie Bennett's room, the crude drawing of an Easter egg, and the fight that helped return the guardians' centers and powers to them.
But most of all, Bunny would remember the fact that he owed the guardian of Fun something more than his life. He will remember the promise he made that day when he heard the winter spirit's laughter of glee at being seen. He will do anything to make it up to the boy who had done everything to catch someone, anyone's attention. And yet selflessly flung himself in the path of danger for four people who barely talked to him in his three hundred years of solitude.
Bunny will remember this and never, ever forget…
Jack Frost is someone more than worthy to be believed in.
He was the person who befitted the title 'guardian of childhood' the most.
And Bunny, was more than okay with that.
IMPORTANT:With regards to the next chapter. I was planning to update Hydrophobia or Trauma an arc for Weird Habits. But there are a few people who wanted the next arc for Rain. And now some would like to read about the Hibernation chapter, an arc for Open Window.
SO! Since I am unable to decide, I've put up a poll to make the readers vote between the three! The poll will be closed on wednesday or friday, depending on when I'm free. So please vote on what chapter you'd like next before my next update!
Notes: Whoah, another long one! *slams head* I really am enjoying updating this story! I knew a collection of oneshots or drabbles was perfect for me, what with my random ideas popping in my head all the time! Came up with two new ideas again! That brings my ideas for one-shots to nearly forty! I'm thrilled! Thanks everyone for liking the chapter before! I sorta expected a few reactions and there's one thing I have to say- NO, Jack did not die. Okay? XD
So yes, let's see to the review replies:
Dragowolf: Thanks again for worrying about me! And you have to wait for the explanation about Jack! With regard to global warming thing, Im gonna do a chapter about that- since I'm a total green freak and I like love nature and all those hippy things. Though I am no hippy. Just a president of an environmental society :D And the hope thing, I wish I have more time. Qualifications and finals are my top priorities but I'll somehow squeeze my passion in.
winterwiccan: I'll let you know if I do write it or someone else writes it! And thank you for your wonderful review!
Sleepery: Thanks for the cookie! :D
Night-Fury1: A slash bunnyfrost for you. Not relationship thing cause I suck at romance, sorry. But I hope you like the feels and the fluff!
FrosBitten SnowDrift: Your review was the first one I saw and I bursted out laughing (your review was that amazing) XD No Jack DID NOT die! Thanks for the review!
Thanks for all those who reviewed the last chapter! I see you guys really loved that chappie and it makes me confused on what to update next!
