.:18:.
Jack smiled up at the sky as the wind whispered invitingly against his face. They hadn't been in the Warren very long, and the sun was still shining over Burgess. He was sitting on top of the fence around the backyard of the Bennet house, and Bunnymund leaned against the wooden planks beside his feet. Sophie was apparently cleaning the kitchen at the moment, and Jack was surprised that Bunnymund was actually willing to wait for her with him.
"How often do you visit Sophie?" Jack asked curiously. The heavy silence between them was getting to him, and he tapped his heels against the fence a little impatiently.
Bunny was inspecting the edge of his boomerang, and a deep laugh rumbled in his chest. He didn't look up, just grinned to himself.
"Maybe once every couple months." He said almost mysteriously.
"Really? What do you guys do?" Jack asked, leaning forward and peering down at his companion.
"Well, sometimes we sit around and talk, sometimes we paint stuff. Every once in a while I take her to the Warren and let her take pictures." Bunny glanced up at the house, then back to his boomerang when Sophie didn't appear.
"Does she ever talk about me?" Jack asked quietly.
"No, mate. Not even once." Bunny chuckled in dark amusement.
Jack scowled down at him, then slid down from the fence and headed toward the house. Bunny watched him go, but made no move to follow him. The back door lead right into the kitchen, and Jack eased it open carefully and peeked inside.
Sophie was standing in front of the sink with her back to the door, humming a little to herself as she rinsed a pan. Jack stepped inside and silently eased the door closed. He set the end of his staff gently on the tiles, then watched Sophie carefully as ice began creeping along the kitchen floor.
It didn't take long before the floor was covered. Sophie finished rinsing the pan, then turned to grab a towel. As she moved her foot to lean forward it slipped across the ice, sending her jolting to the side in surprise. She inhaled sharply, then Jack had her by the arm as he spun her gracefully across the kitchen. He stopped abruptly, holding her close as her feet tried to slide out from under her again. She was panting in shock, clinging to his hoodie as she stared up at him with eyes the size of dinner plates. Jack laughed softly at the look on her face, then kissed the tip of her nose affectionately.
"I'm bored, and Harvey's still waiting out there for you." Jack said with a grin.
"Harvey?" Sophie asked in confusion. Jack sighed sadly.
"I guess that movie was a bit before your time…" He muttered as he braced his arm against her back and swung her around. He set her gently on the welcome mat in front of the back door.
"Go on, go visit with your bunny-rabbit." He said teasingly.
Sophie rolled her eyes, but didn't complain when he leaned down to kiss her. She wound her arms around his neck and sighed happily as she leaned against him. A yell of surprise and a loud thump shattered their moment, and the two looked over to see Jamie sprawled on the floor. Jack immediately burst into laughter, and Jamie scowled darkly at him as he propped himself up on his elbows.
"You suck." The young man growled. Sophie hid a grin behind her hand and turned toward the door.
"Walk much?" Jack laughed, then smacked Jamie's shoe with his staff. Frost started spreading across his foot, and Jamie wrenched his shoe off and hurled it at Jack.
"Who covers a kitchen floor in ice? Were you trying to kill someone?" Jamie tried to sound angry, but he couldn't hide his grin.
"You should look where you're going." Jack said pointedly. Jamie's jaw dropped in disbelief.
"This is my house! I shouldn't have to walk around watching for patches of ice!" He shot back. "Besides, I was distracted. I came down here looking for a snack, and instead I find the Lord of Snowflakes mackin' on my poor baby sister."
Sophie cleared her throat and tugged gently at Jack's sleeve. "I'll see you tonight?" She asked softly.
"Yea, I'll be here. Have fun doing… whatever it is you do with a giant rabbit." He said sweetly. Sophie smiled and gave him a hug before ducking out the back door.
"Bunnymund's here? Pfft. He never invites me to hang out with them." Jamie muttered as he got to his feet and retrieved his shoe.
Jack looked out the window to watch as Sophie rushed to give Bunnymund a hug. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen the Pooka so happy. Sophie appeared to be talking excitedly, and Bunny focused all of his attention on her, even as he tapped his foot and opened a tunnel.
"Yea, that's probably my fault. I think you remind him too much of me." Jack mumbled with a grin as he watched Sophie enthusiastically jump into the hole Bunny had opened. He glanced back over to Jamie when he heard him snort in amusement. He had moved forward and was watching out the window, and he elbowed Jack teasingly.
"A giant rabbit just ran off with your girlfriend." Jamie laughed and headed back toward the stairs. Jack chuckled to himself and shook his head at his friend's comment.
"I don't wanna talk about it." Jack said jokingly.
Jamie's feet slid a little on the icy floor, and he paused at the doorway to admire the kitchen.
"When's your mom get home?" Jack asked curiously. Jamie grinned.
"She stopped in to shower and change. She's got a date tonight. She might not be home til morning." Jamie turned to waggle his eyebrows at him and Jack cringed.
"She just leaves you guys here all alone?" He asked. Jamie snorted and stopped halfway up the stairs to give him a flat look.
"Unlike certain people, I actually made it past my eighteenth birthday." Jamie said with a smirk. Jack narrowed his eyes, but laughed at the jab anyway.
"Ooh, ouch." He said in amusement.
He followed Jamie up to his room, watching somewhat curiously as the young man headed straight for his computer. He flopped down into his chair, thought for a moment, then turned slowly to stare dramatically at Jack.
"You haven't been bothering to hang out with me since you realized my little sister is a teenaged girl." Jamie said almost accusingly.
Jack leaned against his staff with a guilty look on his face. Jamie leaned back in his chair, clicked on his computer idly with one hand, then slowly leveled his gaze on Jack again.
"Feel like makin' it up to me?" He asked with a mischievous grin.
"What are you up to?" Jack narrowed his eyes suspiciously as Jamie pulled a set of keys from his pocket and held them up for him to see.
"My mom got picked up, she said I can use her car tonight." Jamie said mysteriously.
"And you're planning on taking me where..?" Jack suddenly wasn't sure he was comfortable with whatever Jamie had in mind.
"There's an old building outside of town, it used to be a mill but it was closed down a long time ago. Supposedly it's haunted, and I was hoping you would go investigate it with me. I'm willing to bet you can see a lot of things I can't." Jamie said seriously.
Jack couldn't think of a good excuse not to, and he reluctantly nodded.
"Alright, I guess I do owe you. Don't get your hopes up, though." Jack sighed heavily and a vicious grin spread across Jamie's face.
A/n: For those of you that don't know, "Harvey" is a movie from 1950 about a man and his best friend, an invisible six foot tall rabbit named Harvey. Bunnymund makes me think of that movie.