Everything around him was dark. He could not open his eyes, knowing the pain that would come if he did, but he knew it would be no help. There was no light to be seen. He could feel his lungs burning. He coughed, trying to expel the liquid filling them, but there was no air for him to breathe in. He tried to move his arms and legs in a way that would propel him upward, to the surface, but he had never been a good swimmer. He would drown if he didn't get out soon.

But he wasn't afraid. Jack was laughing too much to be afraid. And that was a big part of the problem. He could have held his breath otherwise. Instead, he was now choking on paint as he flailed around helplessly to try and reach the surface. When that didn't work, he resorted to holding his staff up so the tip would break the surface and waving it around. He knew Bunny would come to investigate when he failed to get out on his own.

It did not take long before he felt someone grab the end of the staff and pull him upward. Soon, his next coughing fit brought in fresh air instead of more paint. A hand grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled him out, dropping him on the grass next to the lake. He laid there for a moment, coughing and laughing, his free hand clutching a fistful of grass as he struggle to catch his breath.

"Snowflake? You alright?"

Bunny sounded more than a little disturbed, as if he had been worried and now just didn't know what to make of the situation. It made Jack laugh even harder. He sat up once he could mostly breathe again and reached in the direction the pooka's voice came from. The paint still dripping from his hair convinced him not to try to open his eyes yet. His handed connected with something furry.

"Stop it. You're smearing paint all over me."

Jack gave him an innocent smile. A new coughing fit kept him from replying.

"What are you all happy about? You could have drowned in there."

So that was what was bothering Bunny so much. Bunny might have heard that he had died drowning, but he hadn't been thinking about that when he knocked him into the paint lake. Jack smiled brightly at him, closing his fingers around a fistful of fur to make sure Bunny wasn't going anywhere.

"Of course not. You were there to save me!"

And with that, he threw himself on Bunny, wrapping his arms tightly around him in a hug and making sure to spread as much paint over his fur as he could manage. Bunny yelled and tried to push him away but he hung on.

"Let go! Right now! Frostbite I swear if you don't stop it right now I'm throwing you back into the lake."

Jack rubbed his paint-covered hair against Bunny's shoulder affectionately.

This was a sequel to Be Careful With That, if you couldn't tell. For once, I completely ignored a chance to do something angsty. I wanted to do something short and silly before going to sleep. To the person who requested a hug: that wasn't it. I'll do that in a more serious way at some point.