A/N : Thanks to everyone who reviewed! Please, guys, when you read this and like it let me know, otherwise I think no one really cares about these stories anymore. ^^"
Frozenjaqulinefrost : Hope you enjoy this, had fun writing it. :D
*set after "Raging Rabbit" and "Tipsy Mishap"*
„You've never tasted lemon soda?!"
Jamie stared in shock at his best friend who felt somewhat uncomfortable about the horror in the 10-year-old's voice. They had come back to the Bennett's house after an afternoon of playing in the snow outside. While Jamie's mother was picking Sophie up from daycare they had taken the opportunity to chill in the living-room until she came back. Jack was crouching on the backrest of the sofa, watching the brunette boy strolling towards the kitchen and looking for something to drink for the both of them. After the incident with North's fruit liquor the frost teen had gotten rather reluctant about drinking stuff he didn't know, so when he was offered a glass of soda and eyed it suspiciously, asking if it was any good, all he got was that dumbfounded reaction. And Jamie was still staring at him.
"Eh, no, I haven't. Is that bad?" Jack eventually replied.
"No, just...unusual. I thought everyone has drunk soda at least once in their life."
"Well, not me. Until now, that is." the young immortal stated and looked at the glass in his hand.
"Don't glare at it like that, it's nothing poisonous." Jamie chuckled.
This was pretty amusing. And now the Guardian of Fun was even sniffing at the bubbly yellow fluid.
"I take your word for it." he finally complied and took a small swig.
It was the first time he drank a carbonated beverage. And he had to admit it wasn't that bad. Actuall it tasted really good. With sudden euphoria he emptied the whole glass in one gulp. Jamie grinned at him satisfied.
"You want one more?"
"Yeah, please." Jack said sheepishly and felt stupid for being so doubtful.
The brown-haired boy brought the bottle of lemon soda to where the winter spirit was sitting and filled his glass before pouring the sparkling drink into his own glass as well.
"Cheers!"
After visiting his first believer Jack flew back to the North Pole, ready to have some more fun by annoying the yetis or freaking out the elves. Freezing the little buggers always proved to be a good kind of entertainment, at least for him. He loved doing that. The elves, not so much. His stomach felt a little strange after four glasses of soda but it was nothing he couldn't handle and was far from the horror the liquor incident made him go through. Now, where were those pointy-hatted fellows...
"Hey Jack!"
The winter spirit glanced at the other side of the Globe Room where the Russian accented voice was coming from. What was it with North always being around when he came back, did he have a sensor or something? Shaking his head slightly and chuckling at his own thought he floated towards the bulky man and gracefully landed right in front of him.
"Hey, what's up?" Jack asked nonchalantly and twirled his staff before letting it rest on his shoulder.
"There is someone who would like to talk to you."
The frost teen raised a curious eyebrow at the statement, but at the same time he had a sense of foreboding about it. Turned out he was right when North took a step aside and revealed a certain Easter Bunny who had been hidden behind his massive form.
"Hello, mate."
The words sounded cold as ice, colder than Jack could ever be. Oh the irony. He had kept away from the Australian rabbit since he had glued christmas equipment all over him. It had been a few weeks by now and he hoped his comrade had calmed down in the meantime. Apparently not. The glare directed at him was enough to make him gulp nervously and grip his staff tighter. At least until he took a closer look at the pooka's fur. It seemed to be shorter and thinner at several spots, exactly where he had glued the christmas stuff on.
"Don't ya stare at me like that! This is all yer doin' so Manny help ya if ya even so much as think about a snarky comment!"
Jack turned to North with an innocent and quizzical expression, silently waiting for further explanations.
"You see, glue you used was very hard to remove. So we had to use force and cut off fur to get ornaments off of him. Fortunately most of it has grown back already."
And there it was. The mental image of the Easter Bunny with bald spots everywhere, looking like a terribly deformed and unstylish poodle on two legs. Jack's facial features tensed, trying with all his might to suppress the impending laugh attack and almost choking in the process.
"Don't ya dare to-"
"Bwuahahahahahaa!" the winter spirit suddenly burst out and bent forward to grab his stomach.
"GAH, ya lil' scumbag! Stop laughin'!" Bunnymund commanded.
When Jack showed no intention of following the order he made a jump towards him but the teen evaded the attack by flying out of the way and landing on the Globe of Belief instead. In pure anger Bunny stomped his foot on the ground before rushing to the globe as well. Furious green eyes glarred daggers at the white-haired boy who was sitting on top of the big sphere and laughing like a maniac.
"Frost! That's yer last chance, either ya come down on yer own or I'm gonna drag yer skinny ass down from there myself!"
"Hahahaha, oh I'm already shaking with fear!" Jack continued to fuel the pooka's rage but really didn't seem to care about signing is own death sentence anymore.
"That's it, ya had it comin'!" the Guardian of Hope exclaimed and pulled his boomerang out of its holster, ready to knock the teen off the globe.
"Bunny, stop it!" North shouted and took hold of his furry arm to prevent him from going ahead with his attack.
"Let go, mate, this is between the frosty brat and me, none of yer business!"
"Still won't allow any kind of violence in workshop. You two talk it out like rational people."
"Rational?! Are ya kiddin' me, as if he was capable of bein' even remotely rational!" the pooka objected and pointed at the bawling figure on top of the globe.
"Hey, I can be rational, it's just no fun. I just wish I had stayed there when North freed you from the ornaments, but the mental image alone is worth dying for." Jack chuckled.
"Oh Moon, the one and only Easter Bunny with bald spots, someone should have taken a picture of-HIC!"
There was a sudden silence where everyone was just staring at the youngest guardian in bewilderment.
"HIC! What the hell is-HIC-happening here!?"
Now it was Bunnymund's turn to burst out in laughter.
"This-HIC-isn't funny!"
"Hahaha, oh it is! Karma is a bitch, eh, mate?"
"What's going-HIC-on!?"
"You never had it before? It's a hiccup." North explained.
"HIC-No, I didn't! Why now, I-oh, that-HIC- freaking soda, I-HIC-should have known!" Jack cursed, letting out a groan which was immediately swallowed by another 'HIC'.
"Isn't there any-HIC-thing I can do to stop-HIC-it!?"
"Well, you could-"
"Shush, North! It'd be a shame if this was over too soon!" Bunny requested while wiping a tear of laughter out of his eye.
"Oh, haha-HIC! You're really enjoying this, kanga-HIC-roo, yeah I get it! Why are you even-HIC-here, don't you have to paint some-HIC-eggs or something?"
"Actually, that's why I dropped by. Ya didn't think ya'd get away with that prank ya pulled on me, did ya?"
Jack attempted to look as innocent and charming as possible but the incessant hiccup ruined his plan. This had to be one of the most embarassing situations in his whole life. And with every 'HIC' his throat and midriff hurt more.
"Well, I hope ya practiced with the paints ye got for Christmas 'cause ya'll help me with the eggs for the next three weeks. And just so ya know, if ya freeze anythin' in my warren I'm gonna tie ya to a rock in the desert and leave ya ta melt there."
The tone in the Australian's voice made it clear that he was completely serious and this time Jack had no doubt that he would act on his threats. To be honest he was relieved that his punishment only consisted of having to paint eggs. He liked painting and had already helped Bunny in the past, although that had been for just a few hours at once. Doing the same thing for three weeks in a row would probably get tiring but it was still better than the kangaroo trying to murder him. Which had been more like what he had expected as payback.
"So, ya agree or what?"
"HIC-Yeah, okay, okay, I'll help ya and-HIC-promise to not cause any trouble but-HIC-would you guys please tell me-HIC-how to get rid of this!?" Jack begged with increasing desperation.
"Do we have to?" Bunny turned to North who sent a sympathetic smile in the white-haired teen's direction.
"Have mercy, old friend. Is enough punishment for him."
"Oh, I'm not so sure 'bout that."
"I-HIC-am!" Jack blurted out and sent an icy glare down at his so-called 'friends' who were obviously amused by his suffering.
"Dunno, mate..."
"HIC-ugh, fine, then I'll just wait until it's-HIC-over, can't last that long...can it?"
"Well, usually only takes some minutes, but can also last for hours. You will see, I guess." North explained, much to Jack's dismay.
Hours? Holy Moon, he was sick of this after five minutes already!
"Okay-HIC-I can't believe I'm-HIC-doing this but you've won. -HIC-I apologize for turning you into a-HIC-walking christmas statue, that was-HIC-mean and disrespectful. I didn't know the-HIC-glue was so strong and promise I won't-HIC-do it again. But please help me!"
Bunnymund loved this. Jack Frost begging and apologizing, he never thought he would witness such a rare event. As much as he was entertained by the snow teen's struggle he also felt the slightest bit of pity in the back of his mind.
"Alright, we're gonna help ya. But first ya gotta come down from there."
Jack raised a suspicious eyebrow at his furry comrade, not completely believing yet that he had seriously forgiven him and agreed to help.
"Oh, don't be such a wuss, I won't kill ya, so chill." the pooka reassured him.
Hesitant and still with a doubtful expression written all over his face the winter spirit left his safe spot on top of the globe and floated down to join his friends at the bottom. As his feet gently touched the ground he cast an alerted glance at the Guardian of Hope, expecting him to take the opportunity and attack any moment. He was relieved when nothing of the sort happened.
"So ya never had the hiccups before, eh?"
Jack resisted the urge to reply with a sarcastic remark and just shook his head grumpily.
"Well, then let's see what we can do against it."
This was humiliating beyond imagination. He had tried holding his breath followed by drinking a glass of water at one go, breathing slowly, breathing quickly, tensing and relaxing his stomach muscles, swallowing a teaspoon of sugar and eating a dry piece of bread. After nothing of the supposed remedies had worked Bunny suggested something else. First Jack had been convinced he was kidding him but North convinced him it really was an established way to get rid of a hiccup. And here he was, floating in the air, upside down.
"You-HIC-sure that all of my blood-HIC-flowing into my head will solve the-HIC-problem?" the white-haired teen asked sceptically.
He already felt dizzy from the inconvenient position and thought he looked like a fish someone had just dragged out of the ocean and hung up to take a throphy picture of it.
"Pretty much." North nodded.
"I-HIC-don't know...if I-HIC-pass out then I blame you guys-HIC-for it."
"Don't worry, will be fine." the Russian guardian assured him.
"-HIC-I hate this! -HIC-I hate this! -HIC-I hate this!"
This obviously wasn't going to work. Suddenly Bunny had an idea. Walking out of the frost teen's range of vision he put his finger on his mouth, signaling North to not give him away. Jack's senses continued to become blurry, he wasn't sure how much longer he would manage to stay in this pose. His reflexes also suffered from the light-headed feeling. He realized that when his staff was abruptly ripped out of his loosening grasp and he crash-landed on the hard floor below. At least there was a carpet under him, though it didn't make the impact any more pleasant. The boy yelled in shock and pain as he hit the ground and just lay there for a moment, trying to register what just happened. His eyes darted around the room until he caught sight of Bunny standing next to him with a smirk and the winter spirit's staff in his paws.
"What the hell was that for!?" Jack yelled and got up in a frenzy.
"Just wanted ta try somethin' out, mate." the Australian rabbit grinned mischievously.
"Glad you get some fun out of this." the young guardian remarked cynically as he rubbed his hurting head and glared daggers at his comrade.
"Oh, I do, mate, I do."
"Now that this is settled, give me back my staff." Jack ordered with annoyance radiating from him.
"Not so fast, don't ya wanna thank me first?"
"Thank you? For what, the concussion I just got?"
North stepped closer towards the bickering duo and put a soothing hand on the teen's shoulder.
"Bunny helped you. Measure was drastic but worked."
Jack shot questioning looks at both of them before he realized he wasn't hiccuping anymore.
"It's gone!" he exclaimed overjoyed, jumped into the air and made a looping backwards.
"Woohoo!"
"Sooo, still waitin', mate."
Blue eyes glanced at green ones, a sincere smile showing on the young man's face. The back of his head still hurt but he was it was more important that the torturous hiccup wasn't bothering him anymore.
"Thank you. But...why did that work anyway?"
"It's 'bout distractin' ya from yer hiccup. By scarin' ya the shock made it dissappear." Bunny explained.
"I wasn't scared." Jack insisted.
"Suuure, then let's say ya were taken by surprise, does that sound better ta ya?"
"Yeah, can live with that."
The wooden staff was thrown in his direction which he skillfully caught in midair. The Guardian of Hope tapped his foot on the ground and one second later a big hole appeared right next to him.
"Fine, now come on, we got eggs ta paint."
A/N : Jack...just doesn't have any luck when it comes to new drinks. XD
