"B-BUNNY?!"
"Yep, Bunny," Aster snarled as he placed a firm paw on Jack's shoulder and gave it a hard squeeze "why don't we go have a talk somewhere a bit quieter?"
"W-Wait! Come on Bunny, I'm not doing anything wrong," Jack stammered as he was dragged out of the crowd and towards an empty conference room "For heaven's sake, let me GO Kangaroo!"
"Nope," the rabbit spat "do you know how long I've been tailin' ya? Since ya left Pitch's cave, that's how long! Now we are gonna have ourselves a little chat, and you are goin' ta tell ol' Bunny just why yer keepin' company with our mortal enemy!"
As they reached the conference room, the winter sprite was flung into a chair, and Bunny dragged the chair directly next to it out and plopped himself down angrily. Jack crossed his arms with an unhappy pout "Don't you mean you're going to yell at me, and I'm going to listen while I get insulted and not have a chance to tell my side of the story?"
Aster opened his mouth but his voice died in his throat with a growl, his shoulders slightly deflating the rabbit leaned back and dragged a paw down his face tiredly "A'right," he finally sighed "tell me from the beginnin' why yer here at a theatre with Pitch."
"Let me warn you," Jack mumbled softly as he traced patterns on his pant leg with downcast eyes "it's gonna sound pret-ty crazy."
"I can deal with crazy if it's the truth," Aster replied as he finally felt himself calm down enough to focus on Jack's words.
Jack sent a scrutinizing glance at the rabbit and was relieved to see that Bunny's hackles had finally gone down and the Pooka looked ready to listen "Ok," he said solemnly "about a month ago I saw a nightmare enter this theatre, and I thought I should investigate so I followed it inside to see what it was up to."
"Good idea," Bunny grunted his keen gaze never leaving the boy sitting across from him.
"Thanks," Jack replied with just a hint of sarcasm "but when I got here, I ended up catching Pitch sitting in the balcony watching an opera."
Bunny raised an incredulous eyebrow "Pitch…likes opera?"
"Yeah, I know right?" Jack chuckled as he plunged back into his story "So anyways, Pitch freaked out and basically accused me of stopping him from having his version of fun during his personal time, which is of course ludicrous because I never stop anyone from having good healthy fun. I told him that I was only following his nightmare, and that's when Pitch told me that he comes here because he likes watching live productions of musicals and operas and that the one he was watching was his favorite and I'd never seen it before."
"Which one was it?" Bunny asked absently.
"Le Miserables," Jack replied "So like I was saying, I had never seen it before, so I asked if I could stay and watch it with him."
The rabbit felt his jaw drop in shock "You watched an opera entitled 'The Miserable'?"
"Bunny," Jack groaned "will you stop interrupting? I'm trying to finish my story. So anyways, I-"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Bunny suddenly barked as he struggled to control a skeptical laugh "I'm still trying to process this that YOU watched Les Miserables!"
"Hey!" Jack defended with a childlike pout "I can watch cultured stuff, just because I'm the Guardian of fun doesn't mean I can't appreciate a good Opera. If people find something fun, then I'm directly connected to it, and tons of people like musicals and operas!"
"But…But…" Bunny squeaked helplessly as his arms waved wildly "the title is called 'The MISERABLE', how does that connote fun? At all?!"
"Well for your information," the boy sniffed indignantly "the acting was amazing, and I found the music well written and the song lyrics highly enjoyable; that and the fact that Pitch surprisingly has a pretty funny sense of humor when it comes to picking apart certain scenes and the characters."
Aster stilled becoming serious as he was once again reminded of his real purpose for being there "So," he said with a wave of his paw "go on and tell me the rest o' your story."
"Oh, right!" Jack thought a minute before remembering where he had left off and went back to his tale "So I stayed, and like I said, Pitch is pretty funny, and we actually managed to get along pretty well. Unfortunately though I accidentally fell asleep, and I woke up back at my lake."
"Wait," Bunny paused as his features went slack with shock and wonder "the Boogeyman took ya home, and didn't try ta hurt ya?"
"No, he didn't," Jack emphasized the last word hoping that Bunny would understand "he had the chance to, but he didn't. He took me home, and even left a note saying he had a good time."
"Wow," Bunny whistled "so what happened next that led ya to the two o' ya ta comin' here."
"Well," the winter spirit began to fidget uncomfortably as he struggled to find the accurate words that would describe what had happened before folding his legs up to his chest and pulling his hood over his head "I began to think that maybe Pitch wasn't as bad as we thought, that maybe he was just lonely and tired of being let down and always getting forgotten. So I thought, why not test it out, and see if I'm right. When I heard that this theatre was putting on Phantom of the Opera, I decided to go ask Pitch if he wanted to come with me, and he ended up coming. I'm sorry that I did this without telling anyone, but I just wanted to see for myself if…if maybe we were all wrong about him."
Aster sighed, suddenly feeling a stab of guilt at his worry that Jack had come here to join up with the Boogeyman. Placing both paws on Jack's shoulders the rabbit smirked down at the kid who was currently curled up in a ball waiting for the torrent of insults he thought to be coming.
"Jack," he said softly waiting for the boy to raise his face enough to peek from behind the material of his hood "ya didn't do a thing wrong."
Blue eyes went wide with shock, and Jack felt relieved tears sting his eyes "R-really?" he asked softly.
"Yeah," Bunny nodded before becoming thoughtful "well, I wouldn't say that you did everything absolutely correct either. It's one thing watching an impromptu opera with our enemy because you two just happened ta be in the same place, but I have to admit that it is completely different when you invite him out knowing how dangerous he could be."
"Are you going to tell North and then both of you yell at me?" Jack said with tear filled downcast eyes, his chin wrinkling as it trembled in both fear and guilt.
Bunny paused, his heart suddenly bursting with affection for the child who was trying so hard to be a good Guardian and a good person at the same time "Nah," he chuckled "I'm proud o' ya, yer tryin' ta do the right thing, and sometimes it takes a new pair o' eyes ta see that we haven't quite done a good job o' doin' that recently."
Jack smiled, one hand wiping his eyes and nose as he regained his composure "Thanks."
"Aw, don't thank me just yet there mate," Bunny smiled evilly "because now that ya know I'm here, I'm gonna watch the rest o' this Opera with ya."
"Wait," Jack paused "WHAT?!"
"Ya can't honestly expect me ta leave right in the middle, do ya?" Aster asked with a galvanized look "That would be downright improper, and I wanna see what happens."
"You…" the boy said slowly in shock "are going to watch an Opera, with me…and PITCH?"
"Yep," the rabbit smirked triumphantly "I said I didn't mind ya watchin' operas with him, but I didn't say anythin' about ya bein' allowed ta be alone without backup. I'm stayin' ta keep ya safe, and there's nothing' ya can do about it."
Jack stood there in shock until he finally shrugged his shoulders and shook his head "Ok," he said incredulously "but I have no idea how Pitch is gonna take this."
"If we're lucky, he'll leave."
Jack turned around and pinned the rabbit with a scolding glare, and Aster shrugged his shoulders "What? Old habits die hard ya know."
The winter sprite rolled his eyes with a smirk then turned around again "Come on Kangaroo, the intermission is almost over and we need to get back to the balcony seats."
…
Pitch sat in the chair, his fingers drumming on the armrest as he pondered a problem that had been bugging him for well over an hour. He felt like was being watched, and that was not acceptable considering he was the one who usually spied on people and made them squirm in discomfort. It was certainly not the other way around. Pitch was intent on figuring out who had been spying on him. Nevertheless the Boogeyman was just as intent on watching the rest of the show with Jack. Not because he cared about the brat, certainly not because of that, but because Jack would annoy him for the rest of eternity as revenge for escaping. Pitch shuddered at the thought, but turned when he heard footsteps coming up the stairway.
"Jack," Pitch growled "took you long enough, I thought you had lef-"
The Boogeyman stopped midsentence as his jaw dropped in shock at the sight that met his eyes "What…" he snarled menacingly "is the rabbit doing here?"
"Well…" Jack drawled with a sheepish grin "he actually had been following me without my knowledge since I left your lair. Now he wants to watch the rest of Phantom with us."
"I'm only here for the kid," Bunny grunted as he plopped down a bucket of popcorn as a peace offering "and he wants to watch the opera with ya, don't ask me why, but that's what he wants so I'm gonna stay right here and protect him."
"Please," Pitch sighed with disdain "if I wanted to hurt him in any way, I would surely have done so by now."
"A valid point," Bunny nodded as he sat down next to Jack "but I would rather err on the side o' caution."
"So," Jack said brightly trying to stop the fight before it broke out "what does everyone think of the show so far?"
"I heartily approve," Pitch drawled his angry yellow gaze still locked on the Pooka "it is a masterpiece that proves that art can be beautiful even with a touch of darkness and does not need to be solely designated to eggs."
"Yeah," Aster growled his emerald eyes boring holes into the nemesis sitting on the other side of Jack "the Phantom kind o' reminds me o' someone I know, what with his cowardly skulkin' in the shadows and constant whinin' when things don't go his way."
"The Phantom is a metaphor for people who hold greatness, but are not given the opportunity to develop it due to societal views," the Boogeyman sneered making Jack turn his head to look at him with dread building in his cerulean gaze "but maybe that is too much depth for a garden animal."
"I can see the platitudes just fine," Bunny spat the winter spirit looking over to cast his eyes on the Pooka "he's a narcissistic, socially awkward, vengeful old man who likes ta pick on people who are just tryin' ta live their lives!"
"And what about his life?!" Jack looked back over at Pitch as the man seethed at the rabbit "he was treated like a monster for the way he had been born, and was unable to help the fact that that was the way he was. But no, he wasn't allowed the opportunity or the gift to live a life as he chose, unable to allow others to see the gifts hidden inside of him, because everyone was too busy shunning him for things he had no control over!"
Bunny felt his arguments die in his throat and plummet to the floor along with his dignity. Hadn't he just congratulated Jack for treating Pitch as a friend and seeing a part of him that the Guardians chose not to see? And now here he was picking a fight and openly insulting Pitch just like he had always done. A spear of guilt punched him in the stomach, and Bunny sighed "True enough," he grumbled "true enough."
Pitch reeled back in shock, had Bunny actually just refrained from continuing their fight and agreed with him? The boogeyman felt his jaw drop as he struggled to comprehend what had just taken place, and Jack looked back and forth between the two, wincing at the awkward silence being drawn out before finally clearing his throat garnering the two warring spirit's attention.
"So," Jack chuckled nervously "anyone want some popcorn?"
"Sure," Bunny grunted grabbing a paw full of the popped salted kernels and stuffing them in his mouth "these're good."
Jack offered the bucket to Pitch, a smile on his face entreating the man to cheer up and try to make do despite the situation. The Boogeyman rolled his eyes, knowing that by doing this was a sure sign he was going soft, and grabbed a hand of popcorn. "Fine," he hissed.
"Oh," Jack jumped "I forgot!"
The two watched Jack dig in the pocket of his hoodie struggling to pull something out until he pulled out a glittering Phantom's mask, which the winter spirit proudly presented to the Boogeyman "Here," he smiled "you sang the Phantom's part so well, I thought you should have a souvenir from the Opera."
Pitch gingerly picked it up, his face unreadable as he held it between delicate fingertips. He was once again speechless by the sheer amount of generosity and kindness that the boy was showing without any sign of an ulterior motive. It was utterly incomprehensible, the man was unable to wrap his mind around this strange boy known as Jack Frost, and he was unsure if trying to was worth the consequences that would inevitably occur should he allow himself to become friends with the boy and give him a chance. Finally he turned to Jack and nodded.
"Thank you Jack," he practically whispered "it's beautiful."
Bunny pursed his lips thoughtfully at Pitch's reaction to Jack's gift before shaking his head and giving a smirk "I like it," he chuckled "it'll look really nice for next time he sings."
Pitch felt pure undiluted horror clench his stomach "Y-You," he stammered "You…heard?"
"Yep," the rabbit nodded "it was pretty good, the guy down there would be put out o' a job if anyone could hear ya."
Pitch snarled at the Pooka "You don't have to remind me of my lack of believers and mock me in the same breath you know."
"I wasn't" Bunny raised his paws defensively "I didn't mean ta talk about yer believers, 'cuz I don't have too many in this crowd either…and I was bein' serious about ya havin' a good voice, I wasn't bein' sarcastic."
Pitch was tired of being struck dumb from shock, and for once thanked all that was holy because the show started up again, saving him from having to answer the rabbit. Once more the plot began to unfold as the actors reclaimed their roles, depicting the masquerade ball where they discovered that Christine and Raoul were engaged, and then the Phantom came on the scene throwing out his challenge to the managers to put on his opera he had written Don Juan Triumphant. The opera troupe knew better than to question the Phantom for he had already made his point clear through the hanging of one of the stage workers, and they were too afraid to try and cross him. But Raoul convinced the managers and Christine to go along with the Phantom's demands so they may capture him at the premier of his work, and thereby end their troubles.
Jack watched in slack jawed wonder as he listened to the Ballet instructor tell Raoul how the Phantom came to be. The horror filled tale how the Phantom had lived with a troupe of gypsies and had been displayed as freak in a dingy cage, labeled as the Devil's child. The ballet instructor, a young child then, had freed him almost being caught by the gypsy keeping him prisoner but the Phantom had killed the man. Both of them ran, and the girl had hid him below the Opera house where he grew up listening to the Operas being put on and used the considerable resources of the theatre to study architecture, music, design, and the art of illusion. His genius, in the solitude of the catacombs below the opera house, had slowly become madness, madness so deep that it sucked in the opera house and all its inhabitants in a dark hole with no hope of escape.
The scene changed to Christine going to the cemetery to visit the grave of her father, walking amongst gravestone that rose from trap doors in the middle of the stage while thick mist roiled along the floor. Finally monument rolled onstage, and Christine stopped in front of it, falling to her knees, clutching the rose to her chest and casting desperate eyes to the tombstone marking her father's final resting place. Opening her mouth, she began to sing, her eyes closing as she poured out her sorrows on the cold steps of her father's grave.
You were once my one companion,
You were all that mattered
You were once a friend and father
Then my world was shattered
Wishing you were somehow here again
Wishing you were somehow near
Sometimes it seemed if I just dreamed
Somehow you would be here
Wishing I could hear your voice again
Knowing that I never would
Dreaming of you won't help to do
All that you dreamed I could
Bunny felt his whiskers twitch as he bowed his head in grief, visions of the countless dead whom were still buried on his home planet floating through his thoughts. Clasping his paws together, the rabbit rested his forehead against them, trying to ward off the unwanted feelings that the song was awakening within him.
Passing bells and sculpted angels
Cold and monumental
Seem for you the wrong companions
You were warm and gentle
Pitch felt the fear and sorrow rolling off the rabbit in palpable waves, his lips pursing as an uncomfortable and entirely unwelcome feeling of concern flashed through his heart. He watched as Bunny bit his bottom lip, covering his face with his paws, his shoulders jerking as he struggled to holding in the violent sobs being held within his shaking frame.
Too many years fighting back tears
Why can't the past just DIE?!
Wishing you were somehow here again!
Knowing we must say goodbye
Try to forgive
Teach me to live
Give me the strength to try!
No more memories!
No more silent tears
No more gazing across the wasted years
Help me say goodbye
Help me say goodbye
As the last note faded away into the darkness, the rabbit suddenly stood, wiping his nose and walking to the back of the balcony with a rough cough his face dark with the sorrows of the past grieving his heart. Jack looked at the Pooka, one eyebrow raised with confusion, and then turned to Pitch "I think that song may have been too much for him." He whispered worriedly.
Pitch nodded, then stood after patting Jack on the shoulder "Watch the sword fight," he whispered "I'll see if I can convince the rabbit to come back."
Jack felt torn, he wanted to comfort Bunny, but Pitch seemed to want that honor instead, which was beyond surprising entering into the realm of making his brain explode from the sheer shock of it. But finally he just nodded, and turned back to the show, his teeth worrying his bottom lip. Pitch walked away, seeking out the Pooka, finding him standing in the darkened stairway his eyes glittering with tears and his shoulders shaking as he fought the sobs that caused his shoulders to jerk and shudder. "
"Bunny," Pitch spoke softly causing the Pooka to jump.
"Leave me alone," Aster said in a strangled whisper "I don't wanna talk, and you don't wanna hear me whine about the past, so do us both a favor and just go back ta the show."
"Does Jack know," the man persisted ignoring Bunny's plea for solitude "about what happened to your kind."
"Yeah," the Pooka sighed "I told him three years ago."
Pitch nodded, his lips pursing in thought "Is it really so painful for you, despite how much time has passed?"
"Has it gotten easier for you?" Aster snarled with emerald eyes reflecting the dim light only helping to accentuate his grief "Being alone, all the time, and knowing that you have no one? If it weren't for the Guardians and Jack, I doubt I would still be here, I doubt I would be alive. But in the end, I still go back to an empty warren that is full of memories about my past, stuffed with relics and heirlooms that my family and kind held dear, and now I'm their keeper. I'm not worthy of being a Guardian of hope, I'm nothing more than a gardener for the dead."
Pitch sighed "You speak of loneliness, but you ask to be left alone?" the man smirked trying a different tactic to try and cheer up the rabbit "Sounds like you have things a bit mixed up in that rabbit brain of yours."
"What are ya talking about?" Bunny moaned.
"You just said that the Guardians are what keep you going," the man shrugged carelessly "but I bet you don't let them comfort you, don't let them share the burden when the pain becomes too much. So in reality, your loneliness is self made and self inflicted. The only reason you're alone, is because you do not try to reach out to others when you need them most."
"I don't deserve them!" Bunny whispered harshly "my kind is dead, and it's my fault. I'm a failure, and I couldn't save them, not even one of them, how can I reach out ta others when I know that my paws are stained with the blood o' my race?!"
"How could you have saved them?" Pitch snarled as he grabbed Bunny by the bag slung across his chest and pulled him close "your kind had an army, and they still could not defeat the monsters that destroyed them, how could you have made any difference?"
"I…!" Aster burst out before deflating his ears drooping "…I don't know…"
"Exactly my point," Pitch sighed as he rolled his eyes "you are beating yourself up to the point of self harm, and while I would normally love to watch you suffer in such a way, Jack would have my head if I did and so I must talk some sense into your thick skull despite my misgivings. So if you are quite done, can you please regain your composure, paste a semi believable smile on your idiotic face, and go back in there so that Jack will stop worrying and annoying the fire out of me."
Bunny blinked slowly as Pitch's words sunk in, but before he had the chance to speak, the Boogeyman had already turned around and stalked back to his seat. Clearing his throat and squaring his shoulders, the rabbit walked back into the theatre and took his seat next to Jack "What'd I miss?" he whispered.
"The Phantom's opera," Jack replied as he leaned towards Bunny without tearing his gaze away from the stage "apparently Christine unmasked him in front of everybody when he snuck onstage in the guise of Don Juan, and he dragged her down to the catacombs, and Raoul followed and just managed to find his way to the lair."
"Gotcha," the Pooka nodded "Sounds good."
The scene progressed and all three were on the edge of their seats as the Phantom strung up Raoul by the neck with a noose, screaming at Christine to make a choice between them. Jack pouted at the thought "Why can't she choose Raoul as the man she loves, but helps the Phantom escape the Opera and find a life of his own?"
"He's a murderer now," Pitch murmured "he cannot escape that fact, and so she must choose to either die with him, or go back up to the surface with Raoul."
"Sad, but true," Bunny nodded "he put himself in that prison, and he built the walls around himself so thick, he can no longer escape. That is what happens when ya put yerself in a self imposed exile without trying ta improve yer life yourself and not letting pothers help ya rather than dependin' on others ta the point of makin' them miserable."
Pitch smirked at the subtle way Bunny had told him that everything the Boogeyman had told him had been received and understood. Soon the curtain call came, and Jack was rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand, a wide yawn stretching his mouth. Bunny ruffled the child's head and winked at Pitch "I'll take Snowflake home he's about ta topple over."
"Indeed," Pitch sighed with a smirk "he has a terrible habit of falling asleep at the end of a perfectly good Opera."
"I do not!" Jack grumbled tiredly "And I'm not tired."
But the words were proven wrong by the fatigue written across his face, and Bunny gave a chuckle as he grabbed the protesting teen and tossed him over one shoulder. Tapping the ground, the rabbit saluted Pitch "Bye Pitch, and…uh…thanks."
The Boogeyman watched them leave, a ghost of a smile playing over his lips. Maybe coming here with Jack hadn't turned out as badly as he thought it would. That thought was quickly met by a violent slap across his face.
"I'm an idiot… who's gotten soft…GRAHH!"
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