A/N :

TalkingLollipop : Glad to hear that!

Q-A the Authoress : Gotta cut the poor guy some slack, I'm throwing enough angst at him.

Firenze Fox : Hhm, guess not, Sandy knows that Manny has reasons for everything. But maybe I'll write something about Manny's point of view someday.

Anniewaterbabyc : If it was possible, Jack would get one huge group hug after the other from all of us!

SaiyanPrincess : I hoped that it would sound believable. For some reason I couldn't imagine them all talking aloud about how horrible it must have been for Jack so I decided to mainly focus on what's going on in their minds.

Breyannia : Same here, I love to write about them!

Anie6142 : Bunny is silently waiting for his turn, hehe.

LBIGreyhound13 : "AWWWW" is what I wanted to hear. ;D

Stygian Sparrow : Everyone loves angst, especially me, so I write it again and again and...again. *lol*

Xion5 : Angsty stories need to have a happy ending. I read a few fanfictions which didn't end well and it...destroyed a part of my soul. Dramatically speaking. :P

Moira Colleen : That probably hurts just as much. XD

Guest : Thank you! I'm sorry, but I read those stories quite a while ago and don't remember the titles anymore.

PippaFrost : I'm eeeeevil! Mwuahaha!

Auua Ytjoml : Whoops, fixed now.

Krowley : Wow, thank you for all the praise! It's always so nice to hear how much people like this collection of oneshots. Yeah, I know what you mean. The amount of pairings and romantic stories in this fandom is insane. But it was one of the reasons why I decided to write and upload my own stuff, because I think RotG has such awesome characters and so much more potential than Jack being paired up with everyone and their mother. :P

"Pooka" is what Bunny's species is called. It wasn't mentioned in the movie, but in the books. Have to admit I haven't read them yet, got that information from other fanfictions.

SpottedOwl88 : Omg, I'm making people addicted! So happy that you like my writing!

Also thanks to Peppapig11, Shamangirl1, WRATH77 and Natalie!


Unlike the rest of them Bunnymund remained sitting where he was, watching the scene from afar and not moving a single muscle to join the group hug. It wasn't because sappy displays of affection weren't his thing, and they seriously weren't, but because he deemed himself unworthy of consoling Jack. After all, he had been responsible for his trauma, for old almost forgotten wounds being ripped open again. And yet, he couldn't just pretend it had never happened. He had to push his foolish pride aside and apologize. It was the least he owed the kid. But he prefered to talk to him alone, no one else had to hear what he would to say. It was going to be awkward enough already, even without an audience. Later, when the other guardians were gone, he would approach to the winter spirit.

Jack had immediately noticed that only three people were hugging him. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of the Australian rabbit who showed no sign of bothering to come any closer and looked as uncomfortable as he himself had felt mere moments ago. Despite his own state of mind it caused worry about his furry comrade. Why did he look so utterly uneasy? Had the story about Jack's past really disturbed him that much? He couldn't believe that was the reason. So it had to be something else, but what? Bunny rarely showed this kind of expression and he had to know what was bugging him.

Several thoughts ran through the teen's mind until he suddenly started to feel guilty for the way he had treated his friend all the time. Just then, he made a decision. He had to talk to him in private.

"Thanks, guys...really." he muttered gratefully.

After he had let go of North and the other two guardians had removed their arms from around his lean frame as well he sighed at ease and leaned back against the soft backrest of the couch.

"You're welcome, Jack." the Russian smiled softly.

"We're there for you when you need us." Tooth assured him.

A golden infinity sign formed over the Sandman's head.

"Forever."

"Do you want to talk about it further?" North asked hesitantly.

He already knew the answer and was proven right when the frost teen shook his head.

"No, there's nothing more to say I think. I'll be fine. Ill weeds grow apace, right?" he winked, causing the Guardian of Wonder to roll his eyes and give out a hearty laugh at the same time.

"Is true. But seriously, we'll always be here if you need a sympathetic ear."

"I know. Thank you."

Tooth and Sandy stayed for a while longer and tried to lighten the mood by chit-chatting about funnier and more entertaining topics until they had to bid their goodbyes. Their daily, or rather nightly, duties didn't tend to themselves. When they were gone North had to be convinced by Jack himself that it was no problem if he left him alone to check up on the toy production. Still, he repeated several times that the boy should immediately come to him in case something was wrong or if he felt the sudden urge to have another conversation. Chuckling at his overprotectiveness the teen assured him he would be alright and waited patiently until the Russian Santa exited the room as well.

Now the only people in the living quarters were the Guardian of Fun and the Guardian of Hope. Quick glances were shot at each other while they pondered their next steps.

And then they blurted it out, simultaneously :

"We need to talk."

Both males stared at each other dumbfoundedly for a moment and then continued in unison :

"You first."

Bunnymund rubbed his face and groaned mildly frustrated.

"Crikey, that's kinda awkward, don't ya think?"

"Totally." Jack nodded in agreement and grabbed the chance. "May I start?"

"Be my guest."

"Alright. Well, I...I just wanted to apologize."

That short sentence completely took the anthropomorphic rabbit by surprise. He had expected much, but this clearly wasn't any of it.

"What the heck are ya apologizin' for?" he interrupted the teen, seriously not having a clue about his motives.

"For mocking you because of your fear of heights. It seemed funny but then I fell into the ocean and...well, if you're only remotely as scared of flying as I am of water then there's seriously nothing funny about it. I'm sorry, I won't do it again."

No matter how much sense that explanation made, the Australian was still taken aback. Usually he would have been impressed by the kid admitting that he had done something wrong and promising that he would change for the better, but regarding the circumstances Bunny was more shocked than delighted.

"Are ya freakin' kiddin' me?" he asked bluntly, maybe a little too miffed than he had intended, and sighed when the winter spirit sent a confused look in his direction.

"There's nothin' ya have ta be sorry for. This was all my fault. I shouldn't have taken yer staff away from ya. Nothin' of this would have happened if I had kept calm. We almost lost ya and I...blimey, I dunno how I could have lived with the fact that I'm responsible for..ya know..."

He stopped for a second only to remember that moment in the sleigh, when the realization that the boy was drowning had hit him full force. The eternity it had taken to pull him out of the icy water. And above all, the frightened expression in his face and the general state of shock after they had rescued him. The memory sent cold shivers up and down his spine.

"I'm sorry, Jack. I really am."

It was the young guardian's turn to be surprised now. The Easter Bunny being so rueful and deeply ashamed wasn't something one saw often. Oddly enough it had been far from Jack's train of thought to even consider blaming his friend for the occurrences of that night. To him it was just the usual brotherly banter in combination with bad luck which caused the accident. Well, that and his own carelessness. He sort of had it coming.

"I can't blame you for being mad at me in the sleigh. I would have been, too, if you had ridiculed me for my fears. But what happened was an accident, alright? It wasn't your fault. By the way, Sandy and you saved me and I'm very grateful for that, so stop running yourself down."

That kid never ceased to catch him off guard. Sometimes the Australian was convinced he wasn't even able to be serious or rational and only thought about the mischief and fun he could spread or which new prank he could pull on people. And then there were times when he suddenly showed how empathic, understanding and, dare he say it, wise he was.

Roles were reversed, with the immortal teen comforting the ancient guardian. It should have been the other way around and Bunny was awell aware of it. Eventually all the pooka managed to do was snort about the strangeness of the situation.

"Ye're really somethin', Frostbite."

"I know." Jack retorted casually while taking a sip of his chocolate cinnamon milk.

"Yer sister would be proud of ya."

The winter spirit almost choked on his drink. Someone else mentioning his beloved sibling, in a compliment directed at him, and that compliment coming from Bunnymund who had loathed his very existence only a few years ago. That was all a little too much for him to handle. It made him happy, though, overwhelmed but happy.

"Guess it's a bad time ta ask, but...d'ya want us ta teach ya how ta swim? Might be useful in case ya'll ever have an unplanned encounter with the wet element again."

A short silence followed in which he could literally hear the gears turning in the winter spirit's head.

"Thanks for the offer but...not in the near future. Maybe someday later. I just...don't feel ready for it right now." the Guardian of Fun muttered and wished he didn't sound so insecure.

He had to admit that, from a logical point of view, learning how to swim and getting rid of his fear while doing so was a good idea. And yet, the mere thought about being submerged in water made him shudder.

"No problem, mate, just let us know when ya are."

Blue eyes met green ones as Jack nodded in approval, a grateful smile accompanying the gesture. Slowly getting up from the couch he stretched his arms and gazed around, trying to look as casual as possible while pondering what he was supposed to do next.

Bunnymund could sense the inner turmoil of the boy, who tried to fight against his own weaknesses with all his might. He always wanted to show them that he was strong and could handle everything on his own. Sometimes it seemed like he still felt the need to prove them that he was worthy of being a guardian, of deserving to be in their selected group. Deep down he had the suspicion that Jack even worried about being cast out once more if he caused too much trouble. Probably it was this thought, combined with everything that had happened in the preceding hours, which motivated the pooka to stand up and get over with it before he would change his mind.

Jack was completely caught off-guard. Two furry arms embraced him and he was pressed against an equally furry chest. His shoulders were squeezed softly but before he even had a chance to return the hug he was released and gently pushed back already. Bunny still thought this had been the right thing to do, he didn't regret it and yet, he felt really, really awkward. After all, he had a reputation to lose.

"Alright, this never happened, ya hear me?"

"Sure thing." the frost teen promised but couldn't suppress the smile on his face.

"Well, gotta go now, Easter's approachin' and there are still several million eggs ta paint. See ya later, mate." he stated, stomping his foot on the ground where a big hole appeared only a second later.

"See ya...oh, and Bunny?" Jack said, stopping him from immediately jumping into the tunnel.

"I knew you cared."

The Australian rabbit rolled his eyes in fake annoyance and snorted, but returned the cheeky grin after all.

"Course I do."

And with that he dissappeared together with the hole in the floor, only leaving a bright red flower behind.


A/N : Bunny, you're a big softie, and we all know it. ;)