Ugh there are so many linebreaks in this one. Oh well.
So this is a conglomeration of one of the ideas from my list and a request from SonYukiGoku'sSister (whom you can thank for the bath scene :P). Sorry it took so long! I've been lazy :I
Disclaimer: IDORotG
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Denial and Deadlines
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"Achoo!"
Bunny sniffled, turning his attention back to the egg he'd been trying to paint, only to frown in frustration when he realised his sneeze had made him paint a thick blue line across the delicate shell. Again.
"I'm not crook," he told the cluster of eggs watching him (well, as close as they could get without eyes or faces) firmly. He couldn't afford to be sick; not with Easter only a week away. And there was still so much to do!
"You'll just have to be an abstract one," he told the googie in his paw, trying to find a way to incorporate his accident into a new design.
A blast of cold air swept through the Warren and Bunny withheld an irritated sigh. Jack should know better than to come annoy him when he was so busy. And his natural chill would do nothing to help prevent him from getting sick. Not that he had a cold, mind you.
"Hey, Bunny," Jack greeted, casually plonking himself down beside the Pooka.
"What're ya doin' here, Frostbite?" Bunny asked, making no effort to withhold the annoyance colouring his tone or looking up from his painting.
"Just came to see how you were doing," Jack replied. If he noticed Bunny's animosity he ignored it. "Last time we were dealing with Easter you guys got mad at me for not being here and now that I'm here you want me to leave?"
"Well this time we don't have to worry about a hoard of Nightmares."
"True," Jack leaned sideways to look over his shoulder. "That's… not your finest piece of work."
Bunny glared at him. "Don't you think I–ACHOO!"
Jack flinched at the sudden noise, the movement the only thing that saved him from being sprayed in sneeze. Bunny returned to painting like nothing had happened, ignoring the new blue streak that had messed up whatever pattern he'd been working on. Actually, now that he looked closely, Jack noticed there were multiple similar marks that Bunny had obviously tried to fix.
"You feeling okay, Cottontail?"
"'m fine," Bunny grumbled.
Jack exchanged a glance with the cluster of eggs nearby. "Um, no, I don't think you are. Sounds like you're getting a cold."
"Then maybe you should scram before I actually do."
Jack held up his hands in a placating manner. "Okay, okay, keep your tail on," he said, getting to his feet via aid of his staff. "Don't work too hard." And with a gust of wind he was gone.
That had been too easy, Bunny knew. This was far from over.
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"Hey, Bunny, wake up," Jack called to the Pooka sleeping in a huddle exactly where he'd left him. There were paint stains splattered across his fur, probably from knocking over a container of paint if the scene around him was anything to go by.
Bunny murmured groggily, slowly opening one eye. "Thought I told ya to scram," he mumbled.
"And I did. But now I'm back."
"Why?"
Jack looked mock offended. "What? I'm not allowed to worry about you?"
Bunny narrowed his gaze and attempted to sit upright.
"I think we should get you into bed," Jack decided. "But first it looks like you could use a bath."
Bunny, of course, protested, but it did nothing to stop Jack from grabbing him under the arms and trying to get him upright.
"A little help here?" his voice was strained from the effort.
"I don't need to sleep and I definitely don't need ya to bathe me," Bunny snapped.
"Bunny, you have a fever. I can feel it even through all that fur."
"I've got too much to do. Don't have time to be sick."
"I don't think your cold cares," Jack sighed, using all the strength he could muster in getting the overgrown rabbit upright. But without Bunny's cooperation it wasn't going to happen. "Look, a nap isn't gonna hurt, right? You'll feel better in no time and then you can get back to painting, deal?"
Bunny grunted noncommittally but Jack suddenly found it much easier to drag his weight over to one of the rivers that actually contained fresh water instead of dye.
"Okay, you just wait here," Jack said, settling the Pooka on the grass by the bank.
"Where are ya goin'?" Bunny called after him as the winter spirit started walking away.
"To find a few things. I don't think you're overly inclined to want a cold bath, right?" Jack took his lack of response as a yes and carried on.
Bunny grumbled and muttered under his breath as he watched the winter spirit go. He wasn't sick. The fact that he felt a sneeze oncoming and that he was rather inclined to curl up in the light and go to sleep didn't mean anything. Besides, if he didn't keep working he wouldn't be ready for Easter when it finally came. And the last thing any of them needed was a repeat of the Pitch fiasco.
The unending light of the Warren was very enticing, though.
Ugh, fine, I'll just rest my eyes 'til Frostbite gets back, he told himself, curling up on his side and shutting his eyes.
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It had taken a little while, but Jack had managed to find a small cave-like room in a well-disguised tunnel. The interior wasn't dissimilar to what homes had looked like when he was human, but instead of a bed, in the corner was what could only be a nest. Yet, despite the fact it was made up of odds and ends, mostly dried grass and a few blankets, it was oddly inviting and he found he almost had to stop himself from going over just to test it out.
"Okay, what do I need?" Jack asked himself. "Probably a pot to boil the water in… Something big enough to use as a bath… Uh… some kind of soap? Can I use regular soap on a rabbit?"
It wasn't hard to find a big pot amidst the hand-carved cupboards, but soap of any kind besides that used for cleaning dishes and something to use as a bath were a little harder. No doubt Bunny usually just cleaned himself like a cat does, but he was too groggy and that would take too long. The bath would probably help bring down the fever a little bit, too.
"To North's then," Jack declared, leaving the pot he'd found on a round wooden table and heading out of the homey cave. It was simply a matter of choosing the right tunnel and he was off to the North Pole.
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"Hey, Phil!" Jack flagged down his favourite yeti.
Phil grunted a greeting, then pointed down a hallway with a few more nonsensical noises.
"Oh, I'm not here to see North today," Jack replied, accurately translating. He was getting better at reading the yetis' body language and tones. "I was wondering if you could help me find some stuff. I need some soap – pet soap, probably – and something I can use as a bath."
Phil raised a brow at the strange request but shrugged it off. He had learned by now that Jack Frost was a weird one and to just roll with it. He called out to another yeti, who nodded at the command and hurried off, before gesturing for Jack to follow him.
Phil led the boy to a large room in an out of the way section of the Pole. It took less than two seconds for Jack to identify it as some kind of washroom, with piles of laundry in baskets. Several yetis were scattered about the place by large wooden tubs used for hand-cleaning each piece of clothing, from the old yeti hats the elves wore as clothes to North's trousers. The workers looked up and greeted them warmly as they entered.
"Um, you guys do know about washing machines, right?" Jack asked his guide as they navigated around the side to the back of the room.
Phil's reply was lost on the winter spirit.
The large yeti pulled one of the tubs from where it was leaning against the wall and gestured to it, a question in his tone.
"Oh, yeah, that'd be perfect!" Jack grinned. "I promise to bring it back."
Phil nodded, letting Jack grab hold of it. Only to have the wooden structure fall on top of him and trap him underneath like a capsized boat.
"Um, little help here?" Jack's muffled voice reached him.
Phil restrained a chuckle and lifted the tub upright with ease.
"Thanks," Jack jumped to his feet and brushed himself off. "I think I'm going to need some help getting it to the Warren." At Phil's frown and warbled reply he added, "Bunny's got a cold and managed to cover himself in paint. I'm going to send him straight to bed as soon as he's clean."
Phil nodded until a thought occurred to him. A thought which he tried to convey.
"You're worried about Easter preparations?" Jack guessed. Phil nodded. "Don't worry, I won't let Easter be a bust."
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When the other yeti Phil had sent off earlier returned with a bottle of shampoo (which Jack suspected was yeti-grade) he led the way back to the Warren, Phil carrying the tub like it was weightless. Jack tried not to feel bad about the difference in strength.
"Thanks, Phil," Jack whispered, being mindful of Bunny who had fallen asleep where he'd been left. "I'll let you know when I'm done with it."
Phil nodded, waved, and headed back towards the Pole. Easter wasn't the only holiday that needed a great deal of preparation.
"Now comes the hard part," Jack murmured, going to collect the pot he'd found earlier.
There was a ring of stones encircling a pit not far from Bunny's room, as Jack had started mentally calling it. It was clearly the site for a fire to be started, but Jack hadn't started a fire for over 300 years. He had trouble even getting close to them. But the oldest part of him remembered the way his father had taught him to position the kindling and how to keep a fire going. Bunny needed him to do this. The Pooka would do the same for him, too.
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Jack cursed silently as he struck two rocks together without success. He'd managed to find some dry sticks and grass to act as kindling but actually starting the fire without a match or flint and steel was proving difficult.
"Why couldn't I have been a fire spirit?" he groaned. "No, wait, why couldn't Bunny just have a stove like everybody else?"
It took no less than 45 tries before he got a spark which promptly died without lighting anything. Jack finally gave up and went back to the Pole for matches.
"Whoa!" Jack jumped back as the grass caught aflame. "Well, at least it's going now." But he would have to keep it going. So while the little cheery blaze busied itself with the sticks he'd arranged, Jack went off to find some bigger pieces.
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By the time Jack carried the last bucket of hot water over to where he'd left Bunny and the tub, his hands were covered in burns. Getting too close to the fire had had its consequences, and that alongside having to gauge the temperature of the water (to the best of his ability – it would always feel way hotter to him than it actually was) had left his hands a bright red. His body had naturally tried to ice them over and heal them but in the face of higher temperatures it melted before it could do any good. He would just have to grin and bear it until he could go stick his hands in a pile of snow.
"I hope the water's still warm enough," he said to no one as he emptied the last pot-full into the tub. "Now time to wake up the kangaroo."
It was almost a shame to do so; Bunny looked like he was resting peacefully. But the fact remained he was covered in paint and had a fever, so he would just have to suck it up.
"Bunny," he nudged the sleeping rabbit with his foot. "Wake-y wake-y. The bath's ready."
Bunny grumbled something and rolled over. Right into the stream of very cold water. "Crikey!" he gasped, bolting upright.
"You awake now?" Jack smirked.
Bunny glared at him. "Yes."
"Good. Now get in," he pointed at the tub of water.
Bunny's gaze drifted from him to the tub and back again. "Where the heck did you get that?" Jack opened his mouth to answer but was cut off when the Pooka raised his paws. "No, never mind. I don't want to know."
"Enough chit-chat. In." And if he sounded like his mother back when he hadn't wanted a bath as a kid, then so be it. Now he knew how she felt, at least.
"I don't need a bath, mate. I'm not sick."
"Regardless of what you think, you're covered in paint and you have a fever. Plus you're also soaking wet in cold water. Now you're going to get in the tub or I'm going to make you."
Bunny crossed his arms and smiled smugly in a way that clearly read 'I'd like to see you try'. Jack narrowed his eyes.
"Oh, I wonder what Tooth will think when I tell her," he said with exaggerated curiosity, looking up at the sky as if expecting to see her swooping down at any moment. "She'll probably get all her fairies to pick you up and dump you in. And then she'll force feed you heaps of healthy food that's good for your teeth. Not to mention the medicine. She probably won't let you out of her sight and you can say buh-bye to painting eggs…"
"You wouldn't."
Jack locked eyes with him and raised a brow. Oh, wouldn't I?
"Fine," Bunny snapped, huffing. He grumbled the whole time under his breath but at least he was getting into the bath on his own.
"Was that so bad?" Jack asked as he approached the sullen Pooka. Reaching down, he picked up the bottle of shampoo he'd been given and squirted a generous amount right on top of Bunny's head.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! What do ya think you're doin'?" Bunny pulled away, ears flattening against his skull.
"What does it look like I'm doing?" Jack replied, bemused. "That paint's not going to come out on its own."
"I don't need ya to bathe me, mate," Bunny glared.
"Okay, okay," Jack surrendered the bottle. "But if you're not clean by the time I get back no complaints. Got it?" He didn't wait for a reply, turning on his heel to go see what food he could find in Bunny's room, trying to ignore the voice in his mind telling him he was acting like a mother. Stewed leeks were supposed to be good for sick people, right?
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Jack bit back a curse that Tooth would probably wash his mouth out with soap for even thinking as he wrapped a bandage around his now blistered hand. He'd tried to limit it to a single hand being close to the heat where possible, but he knew he couldn't escape the repercussions completely. He just hoped Bunny wouldn't notice that his hands were whiter than usual. And that he was trying to use them less. But considering the Pooka hadn't noticed they were red before, he figured he was safe for now.
He left the bowl of soup he'd served for the Easter Guardian on the floor next to the nest thing and went to check on his patient. He should have been well and truly clean and dry by now.
He was, it turned out; his fur no longer wet but fluffy to the point it was reminiscent more of an Angora rabbit than a Pooka. Jack had to hold back both a snicker and an insatiable desire to pet him.
"Feeling better?" he asked instead.
Bunny looked up from where he had been trying to flatten his fur, a scowl on his face. Jack didn't laugh. He didn't. Okay, yeah, he totally laughed.
"It's not funny," Bunny said darkly.
"Do you have a brush?" Jack asked around a snicker. He really wished he had a camera with him.
Bunny nodded sharply and pushed past him, heading back in the direction of his room. He paused when he noticed the bowl of steaming soup.
"You cooked?" his tone was indecipherable.
"Yes, as a matter of fact. And I expect you to eat it. Then you're going to bed."
"'S prob'ly poisoned. And I have too much work to do to sleep."
"It's not, I promise. And we had a deal. You are going to rest whether you like it or not. I will personally go get Tooth if I have to." He let a satisfied smirk fall into place on his face when Bunny complied.
Now he had some actual work to do.
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Bunny's return to consciousness wasn't a jolt of shock, nor was it particularly slow and drowsy. It was more one minute he was asleep and the next he wasn't. He was certainly feeling much better than he had the last however many times he'd woken; that clogged up feeling and the heaviness in his chest both gone.
Jack had been there almost every time with a bowl of some kind of soup (it varied) which was surprisingly good for someone who didn't know how to cook, and a large glass of water. The threat of alerting Tooth had been used repeatedly when he wouldn't comply with Jack's orders, and it had worked every time. The last thing Bunny wanted was to face a worried and overly-mothering Tooth. It was worse than angry Tooth.
Grunting at his stiff body, Bunny got up and stretched, glancing at the calendar on the wall. Only to do a double-take.
How was it suddenly the day before Easter?! He hadn't finished the preparations! It was only supposed to have been a short nap and then he'd get back to it, so how had the week disappeared out of his reach?! There was no way he would be able to make up for lost time. Not with mere hours until deadline.
Nothing short of panicked, Bunny hopped out of his room, ready to go into overdrive to get as much done as possible. All thoughts left him though when he caught sight of the scene outside.
There were eggs everywhere, most painted by the river and vines, but there were some that had that homemade feel to them. They were far from masterpieces, the painted lines shaky and unsure, but the googies seemed pleased with their coats and Bunny was sure the kids would like them, too.
It was an easy enough matter to locate the one responsible. Jack Frost was leaning against the base of a tree, a paint brush and half-painted egg in hand, fast asleep. There was paint on his hoodie, in his hair, his face, and even on his staff which lay in the grass beside him. If Bunny hadn't known better, he would have thought the googies had been painting him instead of the other way around.
Jack shifted in his sleep. His hand twitched and he winced, his pale face contorting in pain. Frowning, Bunny closed the distance between them and looked down at the kid's hands. His bandaged hands.
Now concerned, he gently scooped up one of the appendages, letting the paintbrush roll onto the grass, and started undoing the poor wrapping job, wincing whenever Jack hissed at the movement. The sight underneath made his breath catch. Jack's hand was a mess of half-healed burns and blisters. It was almost like the kid had shoved it straight into a fire–
Oh.
That bath the first day hadn't been hot, but to a winter spirit… and all that soup he'd made… plus all the pressure he'd been putting on them by painting. How had Bunny not noticed it sooner? A winter spirit couldn't do all those things – things that involved fire – and get off scot-free.
"You're an idiot," he scolded fondly.
Enough eggs had been finished that he didn't have to worry, so Bunny carefully scooped up the sleeping spirit and made a tunnel to North's place. And while he wouldn't sick Tooth on him (nobody deserved that), he would be telling North, at least that way he'd have someone making sure those hands healed while Bunny went out and delivered all those eggs the blighter had worked so hard on.
And when Jack was healed completely, Bunny would show his gratitude. But only after he'd given him a piece of his mind first.
Guest Review Responses:
Guest: Hehe glad you liked it!
WEast: Hahaha that would be so OOC I think the Guardians would stand there just staring at him for a moment before they just rolled with it XD