It had been a blessing that the others had taken Elsa away when they had. Jack had been struggling to keep himself in control from the moment Bunny walked in, not a hint of remorse on his smug face. That control began to unravel quickly, and by the time the door clicked shut behind the others, it had finally snapped completely.

"You son of a..." Jack snarled as he moved towards Bunny, staff raised threateningly. He wanted to tear into the oversized rodent, wanted to freeze him where he stood.

The rabbit moved obscenely fast, drawing boomerang and he crouched into a defensive pose. "You don't wanna do this mate." He interrupted.

"Oh, trust me, I do. In fact, I want to do a whole lot worse." Jack growled. "How could you? Everything I've done to keep her safe...and you've ruined it!" Jack shot an icy blast at the rabbit, who ducked out of its path just in time.

Bunny raised his weapon, but didn't throw. "I didn't ruin a bloody thing. If someone didn't step in, Manny would have."

"And then I would have talked to him. This wasn't up to you, damn it! Risking her life wasn't your job!" Another frozen blast went Bunny's way, clipping him despite his attempt to roll from the assault. Jack ducked as a boomerang whizzed past his head, but he didn't see the other in time to get out of the way. It met its mark in the middle of his back, drawing a colorful curse from him as the pain drove him to his knees.

Bunny caught the other in its return, favoring his shoulder. Ice crystals still clung to his fur, and it was obvious by thee way he held it that Jack had found his mark. "It's not your job to protect her! Your job is to protect the children, at any cost! That was the deal! That was the bloody promise!"

Jack was on his feet again, staff in hand. "My life! I vowed to protect them with my life, not hers!" He yelled, the fury in his voice echoing in the cavernous room.

"How were you gonna make good on that promise, holed up like a ghost in the room of woman who even couldn't see you?" Bunny's green eyes were blazing, his remaining boomerang held in front of him. "If I hadn't fixed it, you'd still be there mourning after her, ignoring what was happening in the world."

"It was none of your business. It wasn't anyone's business, except for Manny's!" Jack raged.

"You made it my business when you refused to listen!" Bunny ranted. "You would barely even talk to us, Frost! You shut everyone out while the world started to go to hell. You think she would have survived if she'd stayed blind to you? There would have been nothing you could do to keep her safe. I gave her a chance...which was more than you were willin' to do."

Jack yelled in fury, swinging his staff at the rabbit. "You gift wrapped her for Manny, that's what you did! It wasn't about her, or me...you had ulterior motives! She could die because of what you've done!"

Bunny evaded each swing with agile leaps, though the last nearly connected with him. The staff's hook caught on the curve of the boomerang, tangling with the weapon.

"I gift wrapped her for you, goddamnit! I gave you what you refused to give to yourself!" Bunny grunted as Jack twisted the staff, trying to disengage it from the boomerang. The weapon was freezing cold to the touch as frost began to creep around it. "I wasn't gonna let you put yourself through what happened five years all over again!"

Jack glared at him from the other end of the staff, his breaths coming in heavy bursts from the exertion of their struggle. "Don't lie to me. You're too damn self centered to care about anything but yourself."

Bunny pushed forward with a sudden burst of strength. Caught off guard, Jack stumbled backward...and tripped right over an elf that had drawn just a little to close to watch the drama unfold. He was in his back in the next instant, his staff clattering to the floor at his side. He reached for it, but Bunny kicked it out of the way. "Don't. We're gonna settle this without toys. Once and for all." He tossed his boomerang to join the other on the floor a few feet away.

Jack glared up at him, pushing himself up on his elbows. His stare was long hard, but Bunny's gaze didn't waver. Both of them were struggling to catch their breath, and each was aching from the wrath of the other. Jack's white-hot fury had cooled slightly with his fall, but the content he felt the rabbit was still overwhelming. "She doesn't have a chance against Grim. Don't you get that?"

Bunny visibly relaxed when he realized Jack wasn't going to struggle for his weapon. "Not alone she doesn't. But together, I think we can conquer this."

Jack shook his head, exasperated.

"I could handle losing her if it meant I had to walk away. So long as she was safe...safe and alive...but if we lose? If Elsa dies because of this? Bunny, I can't handle that..."

"Mate, if we lost, she'd be dead anyway. Grim's only getting started. Do you really think Manny would enlist a human if he didn't think she was worthy? Have some faith in her. She's a strong lass." Bunny told him.

That overwhelming sense of helplessness consumed him again, and Jack hung his head as the fight left him completely. "Bunny...you don't know what you've done..."

"Yeah I do. Frost, when Manny has determined a path, he means to have it followed. You of all people should know that. I mean, look how he got his hands on you." Bunny reminded him.

Jack's icy gaze shot up to meet with that of green. "He wouldn't dare..."

"Like bloody hell he wouldn't, and you know it." The rabbit sighed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Believe what you want. I didn't talk to her just because Manny wanted her, Frost. I know we've never been good mates, but when you became a guardian you became a brother, too. Not just a frosty pain in my ass, like it or not for both of us. And I couldn't very well sit back and watch a brother make the biggest mistake of his life. What I told North was true. She is lovely. Andyou'd have been a damn fool to let her go all over again."

Jack stared up at him from where he'd landed on the floor. Bunny was a lot of things-stubborn, egotistical, and gruff to name a few. But Jack had never known the rabbit to hold anything back...bluntly speaking his mind whether a person wanted to hear it or not. Honest to a fault, North often said. Bunny hadn't denied what he'd done...but the foundation of intents was at least half admirable.

Jack sighed heavily. "I was a fool the first time. This time...this time was different." He said softly.

"No, mate. This time would have meant forever. You weren't ready for that, and you know it." The rabbit extended his paw to help Jack up.

Jack took it, wincing as he got slowly to his feet. "I won't ever be."

Bunny moved to collect his boomerangs, putting them back in their holster with a wince of pain of his own. He then grabbed Jack's staff, tossing it to him. "Then fight, damn it. And teach her to as well. Once Pitch and Grim get put in the ground, we can all breathe a little easier."

Jack caught his staff, comforted by the feel of its weight in his hand again. "Let's just see if she still agrees after she learns the details."

Bunny smirked. "I've known the gal less than a day and I can tell ya she will."

Jack frowned. "I know. And it scares the hell out of me." Elsa wasn't going to be deterred, and he knew it. She was nothing if not fiercely loyal, and with her people in jeopardy, nothing would stop her from helping in any way she could. A small part of Jack recognized that in the end, Bunny had done him a favor by acting before Manny stepped in...but it wasn't something he was ready to voice yet.

"This time we're all a little scared, I think." Bunny admitted. "So, are we done now? Hatchet buried and all that?"

Jack offered him a small, tired grin. "I guess. I don't think I can handle another boomerang."

The rabbit rubbed his shoulder, frowning. "Better than frostbite." He muttered.

Jack tried to look apologetic. "Sorry about that."

Bunny raised a brow, smirking. "Bout as sorry as I am about the boomerang, I bet." He said sarcastically.

Jack rolled his eyes, though his grin didn't fade. "Ok. It's been a long time coming for both of us."

"Yep. Got it out of our systems." Bunny motioned toward the door. "Bet they're waitin' on us. North's gonna be pissed if we keep him waitin' on his cookies."

"Or his fruitcake." Jack shuddered at the thought of the disgusting seasonal item.

Sometimes forgiveness is a silent thing, an quiet acknowledgment between two people who have finally reached a common ground. Such was the case for Bunny and Jack-neither asked, neither granted it out loud. But they both understood that it was there...and for them, it was good enough.