Aster's feelings start running the show as he sees the extent of the damage he's done to Jack, and how favorably Jack responds to Aster's attempts to fix it and bridge the gap between them.

(-)

What I really meant to say
Is I'm sorry for the way I am
I never meant to be so cold
Never meant to be so cold

Cold- Crossfade

Yes, this had been a bad idea. Sure, Jack was certainly acting like himself again, but that was problematic for a few reasons. It was getting hard for Aster to keep from fighting with Jack, since that seemed to be what Jack wanted.

He had behaved while they finished working, but when the cake came out of the oven, things changed. "Why don't you do more baking, Cottontail? Easter cakes would certainly make the holiday bigger and better. This is great."

Aster rolled his eyes. The compliment was nice, but Jack was trying Aster's nerves again, telling him how to run his holiday. Problem was, Aster really didn't want to fight Jack, especially since he could tell Jack's heart wasn't in it. This was Jack putting on his normal attitude as a front. He hadn't really recovered from the pond yet.

"Ya know, Frostbite, it's okay to be upset. You don't have to hide from me." It was a little more sentimental than Aster was going for, but it was still true.

Jack's grin fell, and a small bitter smile twisted his lips. "Since the Blizzard, it has been the plan when it comes to you. You told me you never wanted to see me anywhere near you again, and I've been very good at it until you came looking for me when I wasn't expecting it."

Aster flinched. He didn't remember saying that, but it sure sounded like something he might say when his blood was up. "Didn't mean it, Jack." He considered, then said, "Okay, I might have meant it then, but you realize things are different now, right?"

When Jack just shrugged and looked away, Aster sighed. He knew he was a big contributor to Jack's issues, but he hadn't realized he'd driven the boy away so thoroughly as to hurt his self-image. Because this timid uncertain creature wasn't Jack Frost. This was what Aster had done to Jack Frost.

There was silence between them for a few long moments before Aster said, "You saved my life, you know."

Jack's face snapped to meet his, eyes confused. Aster said, "That night, after Easter. Jamie said he 'started to think maybe I wasn't real'. But that wasn't true. I stopped existing on the sleigh ride to his house. Winked out of reality." Aster shivered. "Jamie didn't believe in me at all until you changed his mind."

Jack stood up. "But…you never said anything!"

Aster snorted. "The big bad Easter Bunny couldn't let on how shaken he was from the equivalent of dying for our kind for a minute. North and Toothiana were so busy trying to control the sleigh that they weren't paying attention to me. I was alive and real, so why make a fuss?"

The little spirit drooped a bit. "I'm sorry. I saw what was happening. Jamie was asking his stuffed bunny for a sign you were real. I just thought it was a shame you couldn't give him one, since he couldn't see or hear me. It wasn't till he let his bunny drop to the ground and said he knew you weren't real that my panic made me realize that even if he couldn't see me, he could see the things I could do. I should have done something sooner."

"For Easter's sake, Jack, don't apologize! I'm trying to tell you that things aren't how they used to be. You saved me from non-existence; I damn well consider you my friend now. Annoying friend I still bicker with, but definitely a friend." Aster didn't like being so up-front with his feelings but seeing what he had done to Jack made him want to fix the damage very badly. The boy shouldn't be broken the way he was.

The way Jack lit up was like spring sunshine hitting snow: brilliant and glittering. Much as Aster hated himself for thinking it, Jack was undeniably beautiful.

"You mean it?" The pure, disbelieving joy in the question made Aster think of something else.

"Of course. You realize that you're one of us now; part of our family, right?"

A full body shiver ran through Jack as his bright eyes remained fixated on Aster's. "I didn't-I mean, I knew we got along, and that I was part of the team…"

Christ, Aster was going to contact North. The big man would need to start hosting some get-togethers. They used to have them when they first joined up, but centuries later, they were all too busy. They needed to make time if they were going to show Jack that he wasn't invisible, wasn't alone anymore.

"Family, Jack. The Guardians are a family. And you're part of it."

In one graceful, if ill-mannered, leap over the table, Jack had wrapped himself around Aster, practically sitting on the rabbit's lap. He was shaking, and Aster could feel Jack's cold tears wetting his fur. It broke his heart.

It also warmed the rabbit as he wrapped his arms around the smaller spirit. A muffled "Thank you" made Aster shake his head.

"Don't thank me, Frostbite. You're important to us. Get used to it."

Jack cried harder and squeezed Aster tighter until a layer of frost iced over his fur. Jack immediately let go. "I'm sorry!"

Aster chuckled at the chill that actually felt quite nice. The Warren quickly warmed the frost until the rabbit was just a little damp. "Not a problem. We do need to work on adjusting you to your higher power level." Plans started to form in Aster's mind until a thought hit him. "Where do you usually stay, Jack? I know you're a bit of a nomad, and you made fun of us for being cooped up in hideouts, but I always thought you had a little arctic cave or some other place to hang your hat."

Jack shrugged and shifted a bit, and Aster knew that the spirit's continued presence on his lap was quickly becoming an issue. It felt too nice, the weight and chill of him.

"I have a favorite tree by my pond. When it isn't winter in Burgess, I have some rooftops in Russia and other Eastern European countries that I like to stay at. If I really get depressed, I go to Antarctica."

A tree and rooftops and the most barren and lifeless place on the planet. Crickey. Aster knew it was a bad idea, but… "Stay with me for a few days. We'll see if we can't get those powers of yours under control."

North would have been jealous, because Jack looked like a kid on Christmas, and he was going to be staying in the Warren, not the Pole. "Really? You don't mind?"

Oh, Aster was minding it a lot, but not in a bad way. "You're welcome here, kid. We can settle you in for the night now, if you like."

Another squeeze frosted Aster over as a fervent litany of "thankyouthankyouthankyou" permeated the air. Jack didn't let go this time, and the Warren melting the frost just made it more deeply sunk into his wet fur when Jack's grip refroze it. There was a sharp sting growing, a pleasant pang to his senses, but Aster really really hoped that he wasn't getting a cold fetish. That would be incredibly bad.

Jack kept getting deeper under Aster's fur, and worse, was seeping under his skin. Before today it had just been an uncomfortable background sense of affection; today it was becoming much more prominent and stronger. Aster had a bad feeling that things would get awkward in the near future between Jack and the rabbit if Aster wasn't careful. With this in mind, he stood up and slid Jack off of his lap.

"C'mon, ya gumbie. I'll show you where you can sleep."

Contrary to what he just decided about caution, Aster led Jack to his own room. For some reason he just couldn't help it; he felt compelled to have Jack as comfortable and welcome in the Warren, in Aster's Burrow, as he could. The traitorous voice that whispered that his nest would smell like Jack for ages if Jack slept there long enough was summarily ignored.

The egg-shaped nest carved into the floor was full of lots of cushions and pillows and blankets. The room was otherwise less decadent. A desk, a bookshelf, and a plain chair were the primary furnishings, save for a weapon rack made for function, not form.

"This doesn't look like a guest room," Jack said, looking nervous.

"Nah, it's my room. Most comfortable in the whole house, with my nest. But I usually conk out on the couch anyway, so you might as well use it." Lie. Aster loved sleeping in his nest, but he liked the idea of Jack sleeping there more. And he couldn't have both, so Jack's comfort (and Aster's secret pleasure) came first.

"You want me to sleep in your nest?" Jack's cheeks gained a lovely purple-tinged frost.

Don't put it that way, Jackie-boy; Aster needed to keep control. "Like I said, most comfortable, and I don't use it anyway. It's just for a few days; don't worry about it." Hopefully he didn't sound too eager and reassuring. But he really wanted Jack in his nest.

When Jack stood there, just blushing and looking unsure, Aster had to convince him. "C'mon, you'll make a poor host of me if I don't keep my guest as comfortable as possible. You trying to make me look bad, Frostbite?"

"No, of course not!" The earnest innocence on Jack's face when he met Aster's eyes was so damn endearing.

"Then take the nest. Do you want a glass of lemonade before we settle in for the evening?"

Jack nodded. He was bouncing slightly the whole way to the kitchen and then into the den. Aster was glad the boy didn't spill his drink. Aster settled on the comfortable, ancient overstuffed sofa he'd be sleeping on, and Jack took a worn, overstuffed armchair.

Jack realized his movements and stilled, looking embarrassed. Aster just smiled, unable to keep his amusement to himself. "You okay there, Frostbite?"

Jack shrugged, taking a sip of lemonade. "I've just never stayed over at anyone's house before…never slept in a bed, let alone a nest before."

Given where Jack had listed off as his favorite spots to settle down, that shouldn't have surprised Aster, but it did. "You never slept in an empty hotel room, or at the home of someone who was on vacation or something?"

That brought a frown to Jack's face. "That wouldn't be my bed to sleep in. I'm not usually a trespasser."

Aster wasn't sure what he expected for an answer, but it wasn't that. Sounded like Jack was actually respectful, despite the fact that for three hundred years he could do whatever he wanted and look wherever he wanted without any fear of being seen. Of course, if he was against running around people's homes… "How often do you even go indoors, Jack?"

He took a moment to consider, then Jack said, "Three times a year, maybe? Occasionally some public building or event will catch my eye, so I'll investigate. Besides, I'm not exactly 'indoor-friendly' now, am I?"

"I suppose not. Natural power leaks off ya, huh? You are colder to be around since you've gotten believers."

Jack hugged himself as if that would keep the chill to himself. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. Not like I didn't notice before now. And once you stabilize, you should get back to more normal temperatures. Do you like being warm ever?"

Jack sipped his lemonade that, yes, was now frosted over. "Warm, yes. Hot, no. I didn't really know until recently though. Being in the Pole, here in the Warren…it's nice. And I never knew…"

When Jack bit his lip and didn't finish, Aster said, "Never knew what?"

Those blue eyes met his, shining slightly from a glaze of tears. "How nice it is to be touched. Hugs, nudges, a hand on my shoulder…people are warm."

And if that didn't just break Aster's heart. How cold a world Jack had been living in for as long as he could remember. He kept getting more insight into how horrible and lonely Jack's life had been for the last three hundred years. Given similar treatment, Aster wasn't sure he wouldn't have gone mad.

"Good thing about family. Plenty of physical contact to go around. It won't be such a novelty forever, Jack."

A sniff from the boy had Aster panicking internally. Don't cry, Snowflake, Aster was horrible at comforting crying people. Luckily, Jack calmed himself, because when his blue eyes met Aster's next, they were clear of any tears.

"That sounds incredible. Right now, the smallest touches make me tingle."

Uh-oh. Aster needed to steer this conversation elsewhere; statements like that invited trouble. "What are your best memories in three hundred years?"

That brought a deep purple frost to Jack's cheeks. "Um…when I first met you."

Crap, that didn't work. But it was also interesting. "Why then? I've never been friendly."

Jack held Aster's gaze for an uncomfortably long time before he said, "You were the first person to ever see me. First person to ever touch me."

This was going horribly wrong at the same time things kept getting better. "How is that?"

Jack's shy smile tore at Aster's control, and he was hanging on by a precious few threads. "It was Easter, of course. I was walking through the park when I saw you. Giant rabbit. I approached you, and you turned and looked right at me."

Aster knew this part. "And I said, 'Who the hell are you?'"

Nodding, Jack said, "And I told you my name. Then you said, 'Well, Jack Frost, I'm the Easter Bunny, so get out of my way.' Then you took your paw and…just pushed my shoulder to move me aside."

With the starstruck look Jack was wearing, you'dve thought that Aster had kissed the boy till he swooned instead of being rude and impatient. "I thought you were just impressed about meeting the Easter Bunny. I didn't think you'd never been seen or touched before."

Jack shrugged with that shy smile and said, "That was the first time you saw me. The first time you touched me."

Aster needed to shut Jack up, because he kept saying things that were appropriate while being entirely inappropriate to Aster's ears. "Glad I'm a good memory, and not only bad ones."

"You're a great memory. Especially now."

Nope. None of that. Aster stood up and picked up his empty lemonade glass and Jack's frosted empty one. "I'm ready to settle in for the night. Go ahead and get to sleep, I've got some dishes to do. Sleep well, Frostbite."

Jack seemed a little surprised at the abrupt shift, but obediently turned to go down the hall to Aster's nest. Then he turned back. "Um, Bunny?" When Aster turned to look, Jack said, "Thanks for letting me stay, and for being so nice to me. Even if it's because you feel guilty, I really appreciate it."

Just him saying that made Aster feel guilty. "It's not just guilt, Frostbite. You're one of us; you're my friend now. Remember? Get used to it."

Jack grinned at him. "Goodnight."

Aster listened to Jack gingerly climbing into the nest, then grabbing a blanket and snuggling in with a contented sigh. Aster himself just leaned against the sink. What had he gotten himself into?

(-)

Officially not a one-shot now. I'd love to hear what you think of it. Not much action in this chapter, but quite a few revelations and getting closer to each other, so hopefully you enjoyed it.

Also, I said at the beginning of the first chapter that Aster almost disappeared. Not quite true but wasn't sure how to phrase that with no spoilers. Because I hope my theory interested you.

OH! I keep forgetting to mention that I have an update status list on my profile; I try to say how far I am on what update for what fic.