.:17:.
Jack landed softly in the packed dirt, then planted his staff and leaned heavily on it. A moment later he heard Bunnymund land behind him. Jack gazed around lazily at the Warren, then slowly turned to face the angry Pooka. Bunny stood there with his arms crossed, glaring menacingly at Jack.
"Why is it, whenever I start to like ya, you do something stupid to remind me that I hate you?" Bunny asked bitterly.
Jack was actually caught a little off-guard. He'd been expecting screaming and yelling or for Bunny to at least hit him, he hadn't been prepared for him to be calm. He scuffed at the dirt with his bare toes and gritted his teeth as he felt anger rising up inside him.
"What exactly did I do that was so stupid?" Jack asked slowly, narrowing his eyes at the oversized rabbit.
Bunny scoffed at his question, his eyes widening in disbelief.
"Are you serious? I come up on you makin' eyes at my sweet little ankle-biter and you don't know what you did to piss me off?" Bunny growled harshly, moving forward to poke Jack in the chest.
The winter spirit took a few steps back, then circled around the Pooka with his staff at his side. He was practically bristling with anger, and frost began creeping along his staff from his clenched fingers.
"Oh, come on! You didn't happen across us, you were waiting there to see if what Tooth said was true!" Jack snapped.
Bunny narrowed his own eyes, his hand tightening into a fist. Jack let out a snort when Bunny didn't deny it. Jack had known Tooth would spread the word the night she'd found him in Sophie's room, and he was actually thankful he hadn't had to tell Bunnymund himself.
"You got no business with my Sophie." Bunnymund ground out.
"Sophie's not a kid anymore, she's a young woman and she can make her own decisions." Jack shot back.
"She's a teenager going through a rough spot and she needs direction!" Bunnymund took a threatening step forward.
"You're not her father, Cottontail! It's not your place to decide what's best for her!" Jack nearly shouted, quickly losing his temper with the overprotective rabbit.
Bunny sighed and held his hands up more or less in surrender.
"You're right, mate. I'm not her dad, but she doesn't have one and every kid needs somebody lookin' out for them." Bunny said quietly. His shoulders slumped a little and Jack relaxed a bit.
"I can look out for her just fine. She's safe and she's happy, why are you so upset over this?" Jack asked, still eyeing the Pooka wearily.
"She might be happy now, Jack. But what about in ten years? What about twenty? Are you gonna be there with her when she's old, acting like everything's fine?" Bunny asked a little accusingly.
"Why not? If that's what she wants, why shouldn't I stay with her?" Jack asked sharply. Bunny's ears drooped a little and his gaze softened with sadness.
"Because it's not right. She's supposed to grow up, forget about us, and have a normal, human life. I know ya love her, so do I, but we need to give her space. Think about it, Jack. If she's attached to you, she's not going to get married, or have kids. People will treat her differently, she'll be the weird girl in the corner that talks to nothing." Bunny looked at Jack with misery in his eyes, as if he could already see a future in which Sophie was reclusive and unwanted.
"The longer she's with you, the better the chance she's going to think about things she shouldn't. There are things that she just doesn't need to realize exist, but with you and your magic everywhere sooner or later she's going to catch on. Adults were never meant to believe, it's dangerous." Bunnymund sighed heavily, and Jack felt his own shoulders slump a little in defeat.
"I know… I'm just so tired or being alone, and I never thought I could be with a girl… And she seems so happy…" Jack groaned and rubbed his temple, then flashed Bunny a miserable, somewhat irritated look. "What do you want me to do?" He asked in exasperation.
"Look, mate. I'm not saying ya can't be together… I'm just worried about my ankle-biter, and I don't see how this could end well. For either of you. It's your decision, I could bark all I want but you're not gonna listen. I just want you to know what you're getting into." Bunnymund said gently.
Jack's chest constricted at the weight of Bunny's words. It was all the things he hadn't wanted to think about, everything he'd been trying to ignore for weeks. He got the impression that Bunnymund was speaking from experience, and he wondered if the Pooka had gone through the same thing he was now facing. He set the end of his staff back into the dirt and leaned against it, pressing his cheek to the comfortingly cold wood.
"Just… Keep her safe. Alright?" Bunny said sternly, then moved forward to clap a hand against his shoulder a little awkwardly.
Jack gave him a weak smile of reassurance, too lost in his own thoughts to continue the argument.
"And remember." Bunny paused to whip out a boomerang, taking a long, dramatic moment to run a thumb over the edge. "If I catch you tryin' anything naughty with my little ankle-biter, you'll be wearin' this home as a tail. I don't have to like what you're up to, but I don't have to just sit back and watch, either." Bunnymund said threateningly, drawing some satisfaction from the cringe on Jack's face.
An urgent chirping caught their attention, and Jack watched in surprise as Baby Tooth zoomed into view and flew right into Bunnymund's face. She chirped angrily, one tiny hand on her hip and the other pointing accusingly at the boomerang in his hand.
"Oh my goodness, there you are! I thought we'd be too late!" Toothiana breathed with relief as she flitted up next to them.
Jack looked behind her and saw North emerging from one of his portals. He raised his arms in greeting as he saw the winter spirit.
"Ah! Tooth said you would be fighting." He said with amusement. In a few long strides he was beside Jack, wrapping one large arm around him more or less in a hug.
"Well, Bunny took off so abruptly, I thought he was going to pick a fight about Sophie… I'm sorry, I didn't think he'd be upset. It was good news to me…" Tooth looked guilty and gazed sadly at Jack.
"Nah, we were just havin' a friendly conversation." Bunny said nonchalantly. He slowly slid his boomerang back into its holster and flashed Tooth a charming smile.
"Really?" Tooth asked with doubt. She glanced at Jack for confirmation and he shrugged.
"Yea, actually, he was being quite civilized." Jack gave Bunny a snarky grin, and the Pooka bristled in anger as North let out booming laughter.
"No need to fight! This is good news! Sophie is special girl to all of us. Who knows, maybe Manny will decide to make her Guardian!" North said excitedly, nearly choking Jack who was still trapped under his arm.
"Whoa, whoa! Let's not jump to conclusions! We don't get to pick who becomes a Guardian." Bunnymund said furiously. North wrapped his other arm around the Pooka and lifted him from the ground, apparently not hearing his complaints.
"Oh! That would be wonderful! Our sweet little Sophie!" Tooth clapped excitedly and Baby Tooth chirped her approval.
"He's not gonna make Sophie a Guardian! It was bad enough he chose Frostbite here." Bunnymund said harshly.
"I thought you're supposed to be the Guardian of Hope." Tooth chided teasingly.
"You're talkin' about false hope, it's different." Bunnymund ground out, finally clawing himself free of North's grasp and brushing his fur back into place.
"Oh, come on, Bunny. Don't you-" Tooth started, but Jack cut her off.
"No, he's right. Just because we all got close to her and care about her doesn't mean she's ever going to be one of us. We shouldn't psych ourselves up for something that's not gonna happen." Jack said a little bitterly. He shrugged out from under North's arm and started to walk away.
"Hold up, mate. I'm comin' with you." Bunny called out. Jack turned and gestured to say 'be my guest', and the Pooka bounded up alongside him.
Tooth watched them go, landing softly on the ground and letting her wings droop sadly. She clasped her hands together and turned to look up at North. The two of them exchanged sad, worried glances, then North patted her gently on the back.
A/n: I'm sorry, this took forever to write and I'm still not exactly happy with it. But this week has been an absolute ordeal and this is the best I can do right now.
Somebody asked what Baby Tooth said to embarrass Tooth in chapter 15. When I wrote it I imagined her saying "When he takes off his shirt, is it hot or cold?" And then Tooth was horrified that Baby Tooth would suggest the two were shedding clothing together.