Author's Note: Hello everyone and welcome back to another ROTG one-shot written by me, Moon! =D So, this is a random (but utterly adorable) headcanon that I came up with some time ago...I thought I'd be super-duper cute if Jack was ticklish (and I strongly stick to this headcanon because it's just too wholesome XD), so this one-shot came to be! =) Obviously Bunny's the one who finds out first because he and Jack are brothers. And brothers mess with each other all the time, ahaha. XD

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this fluffy little one-shot! =D


Ticklish

It was a calm, tranquil day in the Warren, and both Jack and Bunnymund were sitting under a large, green leafy tree. Both were in the middle of painting eggs; Jack had dropped by a bit ago and offered his help in painting the little oval googies that populated Bunny's home. The Pooka happily accepted, one being because—although he'd never admit it out loud—he needed the extra help in finishing the last thousand remaining eggs for Easter Sunday. And two being because the Pooka, quite frankly, enjoyed the winter spirit's company when he stopped for a visit.

Being the last Pooka, Bunnymund had felt the deep, harrowing feeling of loneliness. His entire race was wiped out in a flash—literally. Pitch had destroyed everything that was left of his home. His family. His tribe. There were no more Pookas, and Bunny often found himself missing his siblings and parents on occasion. The feeling was sporadic and only appeared whenever Bunny was by himself or deeply immersed in his thoughts. His mind would travel to the happy times that he and his family and friends shared. And then the cold, empty feeling of forlorn would spread through his chest, knowing that he'd never be able to experience those wonderful moments ever again.

Thankfully, the Guardians had pulled him out of his centuries of grieving, and although the four of them (at the time) were the oddest of odd, Bunny had felt a particular kinship with each one of them. North, who was always so loud and brash and the perfect example of what Bunnymund would label as "human." Toothiana, who was kind and doting upon everyone. Her bright and hyperactive personality often left Bunny wondering what would happen if she ever took a bite of sugar. Then there was Sanderson, or Sandy as everyone knew him, was the quiet, pensive one of the group. Bunny often turned to him whenever he was looking for philosophical advice. Sandy was the oldest, older than him, so Bunny trusted him with most of his deeper, inner musings and thoughts. The Sandman even provided him with dreamland whenever he had trouble sleeping, whether it was because of the traumas of the past or just on-and-off insomnia.

And then…Then there was Jack.

He was the youngest of the makeshift group that they had created and yet in many ways he acted as if he were their oldest soul. He was mischievous and playful, reckless and sometimes crazy, but the winter spirit had proven that he well-deserved his title as the Guardian of Fun. Bunny had never met a spirit so young, let alone an elemental, who were known to be the oldest of the immortal, magical world. Jack was new to the whole Guardians of Childhood ordeal, but Bunny could tell that he was trying his best to adjust, both to his new role as Guardian and to finally being seen and heard for the first time in three centuries.

The Guardians of Childhood dedicated themselves to helping children, so one could imagine the immense wave of guilt that they all felt realizing the awful mistake that they had made neglecting and ignoring Jack for so many years. Bunny knew that he could've helped the winter spirit learn to control his powers, but he had listened to the rumors and tales of the white-haired winter teen being nothing but a callous, selfish being, and he believed them. Every single one. Bunny had witnessed the blizzards that occasionally hurt—or sometimes killed—hundreds. The Blizzard of 1968 on Easter Sunday had to be the worst one. But he only thought that the sudden snowstorm destroyed his holiday. Bunny had yelled at the winter spirit, and said things to him that he wished that he could take back, but he was so blinded by the burning hate that he harbored for the winter spirit and fueled by the rumors that he had heard from the past, so the Pooka didn't even realize that the winter spirit had simply lost control of his powers, and didn't know how to reel them back in.

But now, Bunny was making an effort to make up for the past. Starting with getting himself further acquainted with the Guardian of Fun. The two's relationship had started rather rocky, but they shared a reasonable if not mutual respect. Of course, six months isn't long enough to have the perfect, amiable bond. Bunny could tell that he and the others still had work to do; Jack still had his moments where he thought he had to do everything on his own. And there were times when the winter spirit would look visibly uncomfortable around them. But Bunny knew that, with time, Jack would eventually adjust. That was what he hoped, anyway.

Turning to his right, Bunny glanced at Jack, who was sitting cross-legged on the soft grass. The winter spirit's tongue was stuck out in concentration as he orchestrated swirled, and gentle patterns on the egg that he was painting. Like frost, Jack allowed his hand to twist and curl the tipped brush around the surface of the egg. Once he was done, he placed it next to the group of eggs that he had painted, which shockingly turned out to be fifty-two.

"Wow, mate," remarked Bunny, pausing his painting to admire the work that Jack had done in two hours. "I didn't think ya'd get so many done in such a short amount of time."

Jack shrugged, wiping his sleeve against his forehead. The winter spirit didn't notice the bright streak of blue that he left on it. Bunny bit back a snicker. "Well, you said that these eggs need to be done by Easter, right? And that's in a couple of weeks. So the hustle is kind of necessary."

"Ya don't need ta rush 'em," Bunny said, turning back to his egg and continuing to paint. "We want them ta look at least somewhat presentable fer the ankle-biters when the holiday arrives."

Jack nodded and turned to his group of eggs. "Do you want me to start over…?"

"Naw, it's fine mate," said Bunny. "They look fine."

Jack allowed a smile to play onto his face, and, like all of the Guardians felt when they saw it, the Pooka felt as bright as the sun. There was something about Jack's smile that affected everyone…One side always lifted slightly higher than the other, so his grins always turned out lopsided. But there was also a childish touch to it that made the winter spirit look more like a young boy than the 317-year-old winter spirit that the Guardian of Hope had grown to know.

Looking back at the eggs Jack had painted again, Bunny noticed that a majority of them—no, all of them—were blue. Bright blue with hints of dark blue. Dark blue with hints of light blue. Sky blues, cerulean blues…pastel blues, and peacock blues…There was so much blue. Not any other color of the rainbow was present in Jack's group of eggs.

"Oi, mate…Ya might want ta tone it down on the blue," Bunny said. "Ya gotta have at least some variety in the eggs."

"But blue's an Easter color," argued Jack, a playful glint shimmering in his eyes. "And the best one, might I add. I don't see a lot of blue eggs in your batch."

"That's because ya've been hogging all the blue paint cans," Bunny stated bluntly, gesturing to the almost empty blue buckets of paint that populated Jack's side of the tree.

Jack blinked. "Oh…Well, you still could've asked to use them."

Bunny scoffed and turned back to his bright orange egg. "It's my paint. I shouldn't have ta ask ta use it."

Jack seemed momentarily surprised, but his expression turned into a smirk. "Oh, so now you're drawing the sass card? Seriously, Bunny? I thought you'd be more mature than that."

"Speak fer yerself," Bunny said, looking up at the winter spirit again. A smirk lined his face as well. "I'm not the one who consumed an entire jar of cookies in one sitting minutes after they were pulled out of the oven."

"No one else said that they wanted any!" Jack exclaimed. "They were just sitting there! The alluring cookie aroma was floating through the entire kitchen, and no one made a move to take them. I didn't want them to go to waste!"

"Go to waste? We were waitin' for them to cool off!" Bunny shot back. "How did ya eat 'em anyway? They were hotter than coals!"

Jack rubbed the back of his neck, a light blue blush crawling onto his cheeks. "I…uh…froze them over….And then I ate them."

Bunny blinked. Then he blinked again. Then, the Pooka started to laugh. "Ya froze them? Seriously?!"

"As you said, they were hot!" Jack snapped. "And I really wanted some cookies; I wasn't going to wait fifteen minutes for them to cool down!"

"Ah, whatever, mate," Bunny said, turning back to his egg again. "Anyway, back ta the paint topic…Ya need ta use less blue."

"I don't want to," said Jack blatantly. "I like blue."

"But if you use too much of it, the ankle-biters will get bored of the eggs," prompted Bunny. "It's like I said before, ya need variety."

"I do have variety!" Jack said. "I didn't use just blue. I used cerulean, sapphire, light, and peacock—"

"Blue," Bunny interrupted. "They're all blue. Come on, mate, just use another color. It ain't that hard."

"But blue's the best color," said Jack. He gestured to his group of eggs. "And I put as much variation between these shades of blue as I could. Come on, Bunny, admit it. My eggs are great."

Bunny deadpanned. "They're fine, sure, but they all almost look the same. Mine on the other hand…" The Pooka gestured to his eggs. "Range over more than just one color."

Jack waved his hand dismissively. "Well mine are much more creative." he drawled. "Yours are just…" Jack thought for a moment as he picked up a new egg and equipped his hand with a larger paintbrush. "Old school."

"Oi, old school?!" Bunny exclaimed. Jack snickered. For revenge, Bunny poked him sharply in the side with his paintbrush. "Apologize right now!"

But instead of receiving the apology he so dramatically demanded, the moment his paintbrush jabbed the area under Jack's elbow, the winter spirit's eyes suddenly widened, and an unexpected, loud laugh burst past his lips. Confused, Bunny stared at the Guardian of Fun; he hadn't expected such a reaction. Jack quickly caught himself, and he clamped his mouth shut. The winter spirit appeared to be…embarrassed.

A few moments of awkward silence passed, the echo of Jack's impetuous laughter still ringing through the glades of the Warren. The eggs shifted where they stood, sensing the peculiar waves of embarrassment from Jack, and the inquisitive and confused emotions coming from Bunny.

Curiously, Bunny asked, "Ah…what was that?"

Jack glanced at Bunny, but quickly averted his eyes away from the Pooka. He looked down at the white egg in his hand and began to paint it. "Nothing," he replied quickly. A little too quickly for Bunny's curiosity. "Just forget it."

Forget what? Bunny watched as Jack tensely worked on his egg, and pretended to be engrossed in the artistic process, but his expression betrayed him. The Guardian of Fun appeared to be chiding himself. Silently of course, but Bunny could still tell.

But what was he chastising himself for? Bunny had a guess sitting in his mind, but he wanted Jack to confirm it. So, while the winter spirit wasn't looking, Bunny slowly inched his furry paw holding the paintbrush toward the same spot he had poked Jack in before. With one quick thrust, the Pooka pressed his paintbrush against it again. This time being much lighter. Jack tensed and he giggled, but his face turned pale and he quickly sucked in a breath, snapping his head in Bunny's direction, eyes bright with blatant indignance and embarrassment.

"Will you stop that?" he snapped. Bunny pulled away his paintbrush and twirled it between his fingers.

"Yer ticklish, aren't ya?" the Pooka stated. Jack pursed his lips and his eyes narrowed. Bunny stared back at him with a questioning look. Finally, Jack let out a sigh. Bunny didn't miss the light blue blush crawling onto the winter spirit's cheeks.

"Alright, fine," Jack conceded. "I'm…" he cringed. "Ticklish." He spat the word out as if it were the vilest thing to ever touch his tongue.

Bunny, although he had guessed exactly what Jack had said, still was a bit surprised. "Huh…out of all people I didn't think that ya would be ticklish."

Jack averted his gaze from Bunny, his embarrassment boiling like a pot of water. "Well, I am," he said. The winter spirit fiddled with his hoodie strings, a habit that the Guardians noticed that he did whenever he was feeling flustered. "I didn't know until recently actually…" he murmured.

With his keen sense of hearing, Bunny caught what Jack had said despite his low tone of voice. "How could ya not know ya're ticklish, mate? That's something that everyone is aware of."

Jack rubbed his arm. "Yeah, well…I didn't even know I had a past life until I found my memories," he said solemnly. Bunny softened. "It was one of the oldest memories of my life…Something that I knew I wouldn't remember unless I had access to my tooth box. My dad…he's the reason why I'm so ticklish. He found that tickle spot...He'd mess with me whenever he got the chance. I can't remember the last time I ever laughed so hard that I cried…"

Jack shifted where he sat, finding it a little strange that such a personal tale was flowing from his mouth as he spoke. He didn't talk about his memories much with the other Guardians…He knew that eventually when he was ready, he'd tell them what happened in his past life and the details of how he became a winter spirit. Of course, after only six months, Jack wasn't ready just yet to tell the Guardians about his death in the very lake that he lived at…He'd rather wait a little longer until the right moment revealed itself.

Bunny felt bad that he caused Jack to bring up something that he wasn't even aware of until recently. Sometimes, Bunny forgot that Jack didn't have the blessing to remember his past life. He didn't remember his family, his friends…And not even the Man in the Moon granted him that knowledge. None of the Guardians knew why Manny had stayed silent all those years, but they knew that they were at fault too. They were just as guilty as MiM when it came to leaving Jack alone for 300 years.

Jack subconsciously rubbed his tickle spot, clearing his throat to pull himself out of the somber mood that he had put himself in. "A-Anyway…You can't tell anyone. Not even the others."

Bunny was struck with bemusement. "What? Why?"

"Because it's stupid and dumb," Jack replied emphatically. He turned back to the egg that he had started painting. This time, he was using yellow as the base color, but he had a bucket of bright blue paint to use for the decorations. "I mean, hello? I'm Jack Frost! Spirit of Winter And Guardian of Fun. Does anything in those two titles mention that I'm ticklish? I'm supposed to be strong, brave, and cool—

Bunny raised an eyebrow.

"...No pun intended," said Jack, catching his unintentional jest. He shook his head. "It's just embarrassing. And I wasn't planning on telling anyone until you decided to stab me with your paintbrush."

"Hey, ya criticized my eggs. I was standing up for them," Bunny said.

Standing up for…Moon above—- Jack sighed. "Whatever…Just don't tell anybody, alright? I'd die if anyone else found out that I'm ticklish."

"Alright, mate," said Bunny. "I won't tell anyone, promise."

Jack softened. "Thank you."

But as sincere the moment was, that promise only lasted three weeks.

Whether it was because Easter had just ended and he was incredibly tired or because of the long walk he had to take through the brisk terrains of the North Pole, Bunny was grumpy. Incredibly grumpy.

The Pooka knew that the Guardians often described him to have such a grouchy mood whenever he was caught up in his work or annoyed, but Bunny never thought of himself that way. Sure, he had a shorter temper compared to the others, and he hated it when he was pulled away from his work, but that didn't mean he was grumpy, did it?

…Well, perhaps it did.

But those weren't the thoughts running through Bunny's mind as he entered the wonderful (and warm) world of Santoff Claussen. Right now, all Bunny wanted to do was huddle next to the fireplace and cool his numb feet and ears before they fell off.

The Pooka quickly hopped through the halls, reaching the Globe Room in good time. He was pleased to see that there was an active fire flickering in the hearth, and the other Guardians were there as well. Tooth was in the middle of sending her fairies to different areas of the world, but her voice was drowned out by the loud, booming laughter of North, who was laughing at something that Sandy had "said."

Jack wasn't around, and Bunny hadn't expected the winter spirit to arrive any earlier. Jack was often late to their gatherings, but none of them scolded him for it. Jack was still adjusting, and he usually had a good reason as to why he was late to their meetings. Whether it was because of an extended snowball fight or a sudden blizzard needing redirecting, Jack always made it to the Guardian meetings. Better late than never, Bunny deemed.

As Bunny entered the Globe Room, North was the first to spot and greet him. The ex-Cossack smiled and boomed, "Ah, Bunny! Glad you could make it!"

North was about to pat the Pooka's shoulder but Bunny slipped right past him and plunked next to the fireplace. Sweet warmth spread through his shivering bones, and the Pooka let out a sigh of contentment.

"I have no idea how ya live out here, North," the Easter Bunny said. "No idea at all."

North laughed in amusement. "You get used to it after some time."

"And it's not that cold when you think about it," Tooth chimed in. She fluttered into the little circle that the group had unknowingly created. "And we spend most of our time inside anyway. We don't venture outside much."

Bunny scoffed. "I just wish that I had a tunnel leadin' ta the bloody Globe Room. I have no idea how I missed this place…"

"Well, you did tunnel hundreds of other tunnels around in a short amount of time. Perhaps it just slipped your mind," said Sandy, using his golden dreamsand images to get his message through.

Bunny huffed. "I guess."

From the window above, Jack's laughter rang like wind chimes. A gust of wind blew through the Globe Room, which blew the fire that Bunny had been getting his heat from. The Pooka grumbled, but Jack didn't notice the flame that he had just put out upon entering the gathering room. The winter spirit landed, nimbly as always, on his feet and greeted the Guardians with a bright grin on his face. He slung his staff on his shoulder as he sauntered up to them.

"Hey, guys! Sorry, I'm late…Snowball fight went on a little longer than anticipated," the winter spirit said.

North smiled and he patted Jack on the back. "No worries, moy mal'chik! We were just getting started."

Tooth nodded, and her wings fluttered. "So, should we get started?"

"Da," said North. He gestured to the cushioned couch and chair that he had placed in the Globe Room. "Let us sit down and discuss."

Once the Guardians were settled, the meeting began. Bunny was sharing the couch with Jack and Tooth while Sandy and North took the separate stand-alone armchairs. Everyone else was comfortable, but Bunny was still suffering from the chill in the room. He rubbed his furry arms, trying to warm himself up but his body simply refused to return to his usual, comfortable body temperature. Bunny wished that the fire was still going, but none of the Guardians seemed to mind the absence of the flame except for him. And the Pooka didn't want to request for North to ask a yeti to relight it. Doing so would make him look weak, and Bunny didn't want to lose his reputation for being the toughest out of the Guardians.

So the Pooka bore the annoyance of the cold of the North Pole silently. Jack could tell that the Guardian of Hope was shivering, and he took this as a chance to tease him. The winter spirit smirked as he allowed his staff to grow a thin layer of frost at the tip. Then, he poked it into the Pooka's side, causing him to shiver.

Bunny snapped his head in Jack's direction, a glower tightening his features. Jack only smiled mischievously.

"Don't you have fur? You shouldn't be cold," he whispered, not wanting to interrupt North. "I thought you said you were tough."

"Yeah well not all of us here can make it through the cold with just a bloody hoodie and pants," Bunny snapped irritably.

Jack shrugged. "I'm a winter spirit. It's natural for me."

"And I'm a spring Pooka. So of course I'm going ta be cold," said Bunny.

"But you have all that fur, don't you? The cold shouldn't bother you that much," Jack stated, poking the frosted tip of his staff against Bunny again.

Bunny's brow furrowed. "Frostbite, I'm warnin' ya…"

"Come on, you need to toughen up," teased Jack. "It's just a little frost, it won't kill you."

Jack poked his freezing staff against his side again, and Bunny shivered. The Pooka stiffened and he glared at the winter spirit, his spring green eyes flashing with irritation.

"Do that one more time, and I'm gonna—"

Too late. Jack did it. Again. The winter spirit poked the Pooka with his staff one last time, and that was when the already grumpy Bunny snapped.

"THAT'S IT!" he shouted suddenly. Jack blinked, taken aback. Tooth, North, and Sandy drew out of their conversation, their gazes landing on Jack and Bunny, who had gotten into some sort of predicament. Bunny stood up from his spot, glaring down at Jack who was trying his best to look as innocent as possible.

"If yer not gonna quit pokin' me, then I might as well jus' poke ya back!" Bunny snapped.

For a moment, Jack seemed perfectly nonchalant. Then his expression turned to horror and his face turned paler than moonlight.

Jack quickly got up from the couch and flew a few feet away from the Pooka. "Bunny, you wouldn't…You promise you wouldn't!"

"Wouldn't what?" asked Tooth, blatantly bemused. She looked between the Pooka and winter spirit, hoping for an answer. Since Jack seemed rather bent on not responding, Bunny answered for him.

"Touch the spot," he growled.

This answer didn't quell Tooth's bemusement.

"The what?" parroted North, but he didn't receive a reply. Bunny was slowly advancing toward Jack, who was backing away from him as if he were one of Pitch's nightmares.

"B-Bunny…you promised! You can't—no, you won't touch me!" Jack spluttered.

"Then ya should've kept yer bloody staff ta yerself," Bunny said. Then, he lunged toward Jack and the winter spirit yelped, about to take to the air but Bunny was too quick. He pinned the winter spirit to the ground, and the other Guardians were momentarily shocked by the sudden attack that Bunny practically just launched on Jack, but their worries and concerns were trampled when they heard Jack laughing…Laughing?

Jack's staff had clattered out of his grip when he hit the ground, and Bunny's furry paws found his torso and he began to tickle the winter spirit as hard as he possibly could. Jack tried to hold back his laughter, but it burst past his lips like lava blasting from a volcano. Jack laughed and laughed, trying to push Bunny's paws away, but the Pooka firmly stayed put, running his rapidly moving fingers up and down Jack's torso, hardly leaving any room for him to take a breath.

Soon, tears were spilling from the winter spirit's eyes, and he kicked and struggled against Bunny, trying to get him to stop. "Ahhahaha-! B-B-Bunny, s-stop! S-S-Stop it, AHAHA! I-I-I'm s-sorry, o-okay? I-I'm s-sorry—AHAHA! J-J-Just s-stop, s-s-stop—T-T-TICKLING ME! I c-c-can't B-B-BREATHE—HAHA!"

"Then next time ya should think before ya act!" Bunny said, thoroughly enjoying the "pain" that he was bringing the winter spirit. Jack couldn't respond; he couldn't only laugh, but the Guardian of Fun finally managed to bat away Bunny's paws and scooch away from him before he had the chance to venture a tickle attack again.

The Guardians, who were frankly amused by the entire scene, walked, floated, and flew up to the two. Jack was on the floor, breathing heavily. His cheeks glittered with the remaining tears of laughter. Though he was upset that his secret had been revealed, a faint smile still rested on his face. Either because of the tickling or the fact that he felt content.

"What…was that?" asked Tooth, a smile stretching across her face.

Bunny stood up from his crouching position. "Punishment," he replied simply. He turned to Jack, a smug smirk on his face. "Hope ya learned yer lesson mate."

"That you're a savage tickler? Heck yeah I did," the winter spirit wheezed out.

"Jack, you are ticklish?" asked North.

The Guardian of Fun nodded, and he scooped up his staff and stood up. "Y-Yeah…Long story short, Bunny accidentally found out while we were painting eggs together a few weeks back. I made him swear not to tell anybody…" Jack turned to the Pooka and glared at him. "But clearly he's really bad at keeping promises."

"Ya were the one who kept on pokin' me with yer staff!" Bunny exclaimed. "Serves ya right."

Jack rolled his eyes. "You are so immature."

Bunny crossed his arms. "If ya want immature, go look in the mirror."

"Guys…" Tooth slipped in. She placed her hands on her hips. "Come on, you were just getting along!"

Sandy nodded vehemently, dreamsand spiraling around his head like fine silk.

"Sorry," said Jack. He rubbed the back of his neck. "Anyway…Now that the secret's out, I hope I can trust you guys not to tell anyone else. It's already embarrassing enough that you guys know."

"If that is what you wish, then we will not tell anyone, my boy," said North earnestly. Tooth, Sandy, and Bunny nodded. "The fewer people who know, the better?"

Jack smiled. "Yeah…Thanks."

"Anytime, Jack!" chirped Tooth. "Now, should we get back to the meeting? My fairies reported that there's a mix-up that needs to be resolved, but I'd like to stay a little if there's anything important that I need to know."

"Of course, Toothy! Let us sit back down," said North. As he, Sandy, and Tooth headed back toward the chairs, Bunny elbowed Jack.

The winter spirit winced. "Hey, what was that for?"

Bunny smirked. "Eh, just teasin' ya."

Jack rolled his eyes, but a smile crawled onto his face, knowing that that was exactly what brothers did to each other on a daily basis.


Author's Note: 4,582 words of pure brotherly wholesomeness, haha. XD Oh, and that cookie story that Bunny and Jack were talking about isn't a reference to any of my past fanfictions...It's just something random that I came up with to make the argument even more hilarious. X) Like I said, I am prone to making up random stuff. But it seems like you guys enjoy my spontaneous bursts of creativity, so I guess I'm not stopping. XD

*Whispers* Oh, and I've officially joined the headcanon that Jack blushes blue. It's just too cute (and kinda makes sense considering he's a winter spirit and all, haha). ^u^

Anyway, thank you guys so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed this one-shot! =3

Until the next story!

~BeyondTheMoon1203