A/N : Happy New Year! ^_^

If you want to see an illustration of this story, check out my DeviantArt-account ( name there is DolphyDolphiana ). It's in my RotG-Fanart folder. :3


North's concentration was completely fixed on the piece of paper in front of him. He was sitting in the living-room section of the Globe Room and pondering which toys he should create for next Christmas. It had only been a few weeks since the new year began but he wanted to start with the production as soo as possible. The Cossack never had been the one for wasting time, especially not when it concerned his own holiday. So far he was more than satisfied with the ideas and rough sketches he had scribbled on several sheets of paper which were scattered all over the mahagony coloured table. There were many more to come but one thing at a time, he couldn't note them down all at once. But he would surely take advantage of the sudden wave of inspiration. Another paper was filled and just as he reached out to grab an empty one the door bursted open and a very hectic yet laughing Guardian of Fun came running in. North didn't need more hints that something was up and stood up from his comfortable armchair, making a few steps towards the white-haired boy who stopped in front of him after looking back at the door in mild panic. Furious curses and stomping feet could be heard from beyond it, the volume increasing with every passing moment.

"Jack, what-"

"No time to explain!" the frost teen half-gasped half-chuckled and anxiously glanced around him.

Instead of his staff he was holding a small plastic bottle in his hand but North didn't see what exactly it was because the moment he noticed it the winter spirit jumped behind him to hide from the rampaging creature which stomped into the room mere seconds later.

"Where's that icy bastard!? I swear I'm gonna kill him!" Bunnymund snarled as he came to a halt right next to the Russian.

North just stood there and stared at the pooka with wide eyes. Jack seriously was in big trouble.


*earlier that day*

The monthly guardian meeting had scarcely started and already the argument about which holiday was better, Easter or Christmas, was in full spate between the two ancient rivals. Bunny was still kind of miffed that their Christmas celebration had turned into such a huge party that had everyone swooning about it for weeks to come while he still had to deal with snarky comments about him only painting eggs. It weren't serious attacks from North's side, just the good-natured teasing they had perfected during hundreds of years. But the anthropomorphic rabbit's mood had taken a turn for the worse lately. The fact that Easter was fastly approaching and that he worked relentlessly and without any breaks didn't help to calm his nerves. With the question whether he would try to top the Christmas feast with an egg buffet after Easter North had crossed the line and given the tiny bit of Bunnymund's remaining patience a kick out of the window. That he continued laughing about all the possible meals, including omellettes, smashed eggs, egg-salad and fried eggs, didn't exactly improve the situation either.

In the blink of an eye the harmless banter had turned into a full-blown fight, Bunny's outburst managing to shock even Santa Clause himself. The big Russian didn't give in however and shouted back, both guardians rising up from their seats while Tooth and Sandy sank down on their own chairs and hoped the battle would end without anyone getting hurt. It hadn't been the first time the two were at each other's throat and surely wouldn't be the last time. But the Australian rabbit's anger had reached a disturbing limit, so everyone crossed their fingers that nothing would be said or done which they would most likely regret later.

The sudden yells had ripped Jack from his half-asleep state, almost causing him to jump up from his chair. If someone was supposed to describe the monthly guardian meetings they wouldn't choose words like 'funny', 'exciting' or 'interesting'. 'Boring like hell' summed it up much better, at least in Jack's humble opinion. Now that the action had started he was wide awake and watched North and Bunny shouting blasphemies at each other. Never had he expected them to get this mad and the hateful and tensed athmosphere hanging in the room like a heavy cloud of hot air made him feel increasingly uncomfortable. And yet, the mischievous part of his brain wondered if he should get a camera, call an ambulance already or make a bet on who would win. It bordered on a miracle that none of the two immortals had a hoarse voice by now.

Tooth tried to reason with them and told them to stop but her pleas were unheard, just like Sandy's dreamsand symbols which were totally ignored. The little golden man let out a silent groan and emptied his mug of eggnog with a single gulp before he set it back loudly on the table, but still not loud enough for anyone to notice over all the noise echoing around the room. He really had more important things to do. When the hummingbird-fairy looked in his direction, a helpless expression written all over her face, he pointed at her, then at himself and out the window.

"Yes, we better go now. I have a feeling those two won't stop anytime soon and I have to tend to my duties again." she nodded and both of them stood up and headed for the open window not far away from them.

"Woa, woa, wait a second!" Jack, who had been quiet for a suspiciously long time, suddenly blurted out.

"You can't leave me alone with them! I mean look at them! If they continue like this blood will flow!"

The winter spirit gestured at the still fighting pooka and Cossack who screamed and glared at the other, only mere inches left between them. This wasn't a simple argument anymore, this was a soon-to-be deathmatch! The Tooth Fairy glanced back at her raging comrades before giving the white-haired boy a sympathetic smile.

"Don't worry, Jack, they would never actually injure each other. Give them a few hours and they'll calm down."

"A few hours? Gheez, if you really think the workshop will be in one piece by then, fine." the frost teen snorted.

He still didn't believe this would end without any damage but Tooth and Sandy assured him once more that it would be alright and bid their goodbyes a little too hasty. As if they couldn't stand to witness this display of male rivalry issues for one more moment and had to flee while no one paid attention to them. Jack couldn't blame them. It felt like being stuck in a cage with two fighting lions.

"If Easter really was as important as you say then you wouldn't be so touchy about people saying Christmas is better! What it is!" North yelled and Jack swore Bunny's irises turned red.

"Ye're such a full-blown show-off, at least my googies are masterpieces, unique artworks and not mass-production like yer primitive toys! Few days after christmas they lie in a corner and no one gives a damn anymore!"

"Masterpieces? They are freaking eggs and all look the same! And they don't even last a few days because children eat them right away or let them rot until they start to smell and land in the garbage! Great ending for your so-called artworks!"

'Ouch.' was all that Jack could think.

Bunny was standing on his toes to make himself as tall and intimidating as the big Russian in front of him as he glared him right in the eyes and threw insults at him. What exactly he was saying, Jack had no idea because the sentences were stuffed full with Australian slang words. But it didn't sound like a love song. When they were so close their noses almost touched, the pooka's furry fists balled while North pulled up his sleeves, the winter teen knew he had to do something. He hadn't defeated Pitch to prevent him from destroying the guardians to allow them to kill each other now. But how was he supposed to do that? Even though he didn't like to admit it, he couldn't compete with them physically. With their strenght they could snap him like a twig. Not that they would hurt him on purpose but if he jumped between them while they were fighting accidents could happen. Freezing them…hhm, could work but catching a cold wouldn't improve their mood, especially not the kangaroo's. Suddenly a thought crossed Jack's mind and it was like a brightly shining lightbulb appeared over his head. Neither the Russian Santa nor the Easter Bunny noticed the winter spirit dashing out of the room, heck, they probably weren't even aware of the fact everyone had left by now.

Only a few moments later he was back and flew right towards the two opponents. Even when he was hovering above their heads they didn't acknowledge his presence. Just as Bunnymund raised his fist in anger and frustration after another nerve-hitting remark from the Cossack he halted in his tracks for a second and suddenly dropped to the floor like a boneless pile of fur. North dumbfoundedly stared at the peacefully snoring rabbit and caught glimpse of a few remains of golden glittering sand floating through the air in front of him. He glanced up and was faced with a sheepishly grinning Jack Frost, who held his staff in one and a small bag with golden snowflake ornaments in the other. The dreamsand Sandy had given him for Christmas. Before he had the chance to react more sand was sprinkled out of the bag and landed in his face. Jack watched the Guardian of Wonder landing next to Bunny on the ground and hoped that once they woke up they would be rational enough and realize it was the only way to keep them from strangling each other.

It was the first time he had used dreamsand so he wasn't sure how long their forced nap would last. The position on the stoney ground didn't look very comfortable so he asked three yetis who were strolling around the hallways to please take Bunny to the guest room and North to his own quartes. The furry creatures raised their eyebrows at the sight of their master and the Easter Bunny snoring on the floor, while there were a fully intact sofa and armchairs mere feet away from them. Jack explained the guardian meeting had been very exhausting and stressful and felt a little unfairly treated when they crossed their arms and looked at him with suspiciousness. Once their gaze landed on the golden bag in his hand he quickly hid it behind his back and gave them the most innocent smile he could muster. They didn't buy it. Instead they grumbled and motioned for him to get out of there. Jack muttered his dissapproval under his breath and flew out of sight while the yetis carried the two ancient guardians to their rooms.


Apparently only a slightly higher dose of dreamsand could cause someone to sleep for hours longer than someone who was knocked out with just a tiny bit less. So it was North who woke up first. What happened? How had he gotten to his room? How much time had passed? Then he remembered. Bunny. Jack. Dreamsand.

The Cossack groaned, rolled out of his bed and wandered through the workshop, asking the yetis about the whereabouts of his comrades. Most of them shrugged and continued focusing on their work but eventually he had found one of those who had brought him to his quarters. After he had been told that Bunnymund was still sleeping in one of the guest rooms North decided he would let the matter rest for now and do something productive instead. Of course he needed to pay a visit to the kitchen first. He had almost reached it when the door swung open and a certain winter spirit barely avoided crashing into him. North eyed the white-haired teen, the slice of fruit-cake in his hands, the clearly not amused elves which were running after him and then the teen himself again.

"Oh, hey North…had a good sleep?" Jack asked innocently and gave him an anxious smile.

"I did, though it wasn't planned. But you know that." the big Russian stated matter-of-factly, crossed his beefy arms and glared him down.

The Guardian of Fun gulped nervously and took a step back.

"Uh, look, I'm sorry about that. But you know, desperate times call for desperate measures. I didn't want Bunny and you beating each other up so I thought knocking you both out would be a good idea. And hey, you got a nap and pleasant dreams, that's great, right?"

Hopeful blue orbs glanced at serious ones and Jack pondered over fleeing as long as he was still able to do so. The Russian looked like he was going to rip his head off any moment, Lean shoulders winced in shock when North threw his arms up in the air and a hearty laugh echoed through the hallway.

"You are so easy to fool, my boy!" he shouted and laughed even more as he saw the startled expression on the winter spirit's face.

"You're not mad?" Jack asked insecurely and raised an eyebrow.

"Nah, and like you said, nap was good. But I got to assure you, no matter how much Bunny and me argue, we would never harm each other. I admit that last argument got a…little bit out of hand but there's nothing you or the others have to worry about."

"Yeah, Sandy and Tooth said the same."

"Speaking of which, where are they?" North suddenly wanted to know.

"They left shortly after you guys started fighting." Jack explained non-chalantly and took a bite of the fruit-cake.

"Oh…"

"Uhu." The frost teen replied while munching on his snack.

"Well, I'll be in Globe Room. Please tell Bunny in case you see him."

"He'll probably want to kill me once he wakes up."

"I think he rather wants to kill me. So don't worry," North winked and dissappeared into the kitchen to get a sugary snack himself.


That dreamsand surely lasted a long time. Either that and Bunny was still sleeping or he had taken off to the Warren already. But Jack couldn't imagine the kangaroo just leaving without telling him his disgruntlement about the turn of events first. The frost teen shrugged and wandered down the halls, looking for something to do or at least a kind of entertainment. He almost stumbled over a group of elves who were running past his feet and holding different kinds of christmas decorations over their heads. Glitter balls, stockings, bows, bells, four of them even carried a big wreath together. Jack sneakily followed them as they hurried upstairs. Wherever they were going and what they were planning to do with all that stuff, he wanted to know. Soon later he watched them entering one of the many rooms which all looked the same from the outside. All had mahagony coloured wooden doors and even though the engravements were intricate and detailed they looked the same at first glance. It wasn't the frost teen's virtue but he waited patiently and to his relief the elves left the room only seconds after they had enterted it. Judging by their empty hands they had just dumped the stuff there and were going back to get more. When they had vanished Jack walked towards the room, looked around himself to make sure no one was there, and curiously opened the door and closed it behind him. He wasn't sure what he had expected but what he saw made his jaw drop. The whole room was stuffed full with colourful boxes, reaching all the way from the ground to the ceiling, each one filled to the brink with christmas decorations. Actually there were only about three square meters in the middle of the room, where he was currently standing, which weren't occupied by boxes. This had to be one of Santoff Clausen's storage rooms. No way North or the yetis would be able to dig through the heaps of items, they were far too big. Most likely that's why it was the elves' job to transport all those things from the storage to the place in the workshop where they were needed and back. For Jack it wasn't a problem either. He could easily squeeze himself through the narrow spaces between the boxes or fly up to the ones on top of the piles. There was so much to dig through and examine. He felt like a child in a candy store. After a while he had figured out the system behind what appeared like pure chaos at first glance. At the right side of the room were boxes with natural ornaments, meaning items which were made from wood, hay, stone and gemstones as well as dried wreaths, mistletoes, holly and flowers. On the left side the glittery, metallic and plastic stuff was stowed while the heap of boxes between those two contained everything that was made from fabric, mainly stockings and bows in all sizes and colours. Jack wondered what was in the other storage rooms. He sneaked into the room right next to it and was faced with pretty much the same sight, just that it was handicraft-equipment this time instead of finished Christmas decoration. Paper, scissors, glitter, glass pearls, glue, ribbons and so much more. And that's when the wheels in Jack's head started turning and a devilish smile formed on his face. If Bunny was mad at him then he at least wouldn't be mad at North anymore. And it would be fun…


*back in the present*

Bunnymund was angry. No, angry didn't cover it. He was furious, pissed off, blazing with hatred. This time the icy brat had gone too far, he would pay dearly for this!

North was still staring at his comrade like a deer that got caught in the headlights, not sure what to do which resulted in him standing there and waiting for something to happen. He didn't dare to laugh, too much was he worried about the frost teen's well-being, who was still hiding behind his massive back. The Russian briefly wondered why the pooka didn't smell Jack, he had the best nose of them all but he was probably too furious to concentrate. The winter spirit tried hard not to reveal his presence but it wasn't easy to hold back the chuckles which forced their way out of his lips. One hand covered his mouth while the other one clutched the small plastic bottle which had 'GLUE' written in bold letters on it.

"Calm down, Bunny, what happened?" North asked with a low voice, hoping he wouldn't burst out into laughter any moment and fuel the pooka's anger even more.

As if it hadn't been obvious. The anthropomorphic rabbit inhaled and exhaled deeply which looked more like a raging bull breathing out steam through its nostrils.

"I woke up and the first thing I saw was that frosty bastard leanin' over me and puttin' somethin' on my ears! Just when he noticed I wasn't sleeping anymore he dashed outta the room as if he was hit by lightning and then I got up and saw myself in the bloody mirror!"

'Bad timing.' followed by 'Crap!' had been Jack's immediate thoughts the moment the Australian rabbit's green eyes glared at him. He was so startled and hurried out so quickly that he had forgotten his staff in the room. It was lying on the carpet next to the bed. Definitely would have been better if it was firmly in Jack's hands right now. It also would have been handy to know how long exactly sleep caused by a sprinkle of dreamsand lasted. Sandy would need to give him a crash course about that later. In case he survived this day.

"It's not…that bad." North started carefully.

The Easter Bunny, who didn't remind anyone of his own season anymore right now, glared daggers at the Cossack. He had to be kidding him. His long furry ears were stuffed into red christmas stockings with golden bells wrapped around them, just like a small green wreath around each of them. His leathery arm braces had been replaced with red armwarmers which were rimmed with white fur. A big wreath adorned by holly berries was laid around his neck, the monstrosity covering most of his chest and shoulders. The cherry on top of the fail-cake was a dark pink bow at the center of the wreath and one on his tail.

"You look very…christmasy. I like it." Santa continued and failed to suppress a chuckle.

"Crickey, this is so typical, mate! I bet this was yer idea, is the snow-sucker yer new minion now!?"

"Snow-sucker!?" Jack blurted out before he could stop himself.

Putting his hand back over his mouth didn't have any use but he did it anyway. Maybe if he wished hard enough Bunny might think he just imagined it and-

"YOU!"

Alright, he was officially screwed.

"I…gotta go!" the Guardian of Fun let the bottle of glue fall down and stormed away, hoping he could get his staff out of the guest room before Bunny would catch him.

There was no way in hell he would manage to outrun the pooka and each of them knew it. Jack had to give it a try anyway since he didn't want to let himself be murdered without resistance. Bunnymund was getting ready to throw himself at the white-haired teen like a tiger at a gazelle. And North refused to have more fights and anger invade Santoff Clausen's otherwise jolly athmosphere anymore today. The moment Bunny jumped from his spot a strong hand grabbed the wreath around his neck and he had to take a step back to prevent himself from choking.

"Not so fast, we need to talk!"

"Damnit, mate, can't we do that after I killed the brat!?" the Australian rabbit protested.

"No killing today." North stated sternly and let go of the wreath when he was sure his comrade would stay, at least for the time being.

"Look, I...don't like how things turned out. Argument was very inappropriate and got out of hand."

Bunnymund stared at the big man as if he didn't trust his ears or thought this was some sort of weird joke.

"Are ya tryin' ta say ye're sorry?"

"Not unless you are. You weren't exactly restrained either."

"Well, I guess we both overreacted." Bunny eventually admitted. "Got kinda stressed about next Easter comin' up, still gotta prepare a lot of stuff ta ensure it will make up for last year's fiasco. My patience was running short, apparently..."

"Indeed. Some of the things I said were uncalled for and I regret provoking you. Let's try to prevent this from happening again, shall we? I think we chased off Tooth and Sandy with our fight."

"We did? Already wondered where they were off to."

"And Jack got worried, too." North added.

"Pff, yeah, right." Bunny snorted cynically.

As if on cue the winter spirit appeared in the room, staff in hand and landed on a flying buttress above them. Keeping safe distance for sure.

"Frost! Get yer icy ass down here!"

"Hhm...rather not." Jack replied after a moment of pondering.

"I swear if I catch ya we gotta find out if ye're really immortal!"

"Bunny, enough!" North interrupted the death threaths. "I think you should better go back to Warren, didn't you say you had a lot of work to do?"

There wasn't anything the pooka could respond with so he just groaned in defeat and nodded.

"Alright, but first someone help me gettin' off these ridiculous knick-knacks! I look like a blasted christmas tree!"

"Is no problem, I just need to know which glue Jack used." the Guardian of Wonder explained and picked up the almost empty plastic bottle from the floor.

The expression on his face wasn't soothing the Easter Bunny's nerves at all. He already expected the worst.

"What's the problem?"

"This is one of strongest glues I have. Haven't tried getting it off something again, yet."

Never had the North Pole heard such blatant cursing before. All that was left of the frost teen's former presence was a gust of wind as he darted out of the window, hoping he would survive the next meeting with the kangaroo.