A/N : It's late at night and I don't know what to say, except that depression sucks. So here ya go with the story.


"Where's Jack? Late as usual, eh?" Bunny snorted right after he had arrived and hurried to the fireplace to warm himself up.

He glanced at North and the other two guardians who had shown up only a few minutes ago as well. They all awaited an answer from the Christmas spirit, he could feel their expectant eyes on him. It was certain that however he phrased it, there would be concern. But there was no other option.

„I told him about guardian meeting..." he began and recalled the hooded teenager sitting on the windowsill and nodding absent-mindedly, the plate of cookies seemingly untouched after all this time.

„...but he's not feeling well lately. I guess we should hold meeting without him for once."

Like he had foreseen everyone stared at him with worried and inquisitive expressions. There was no way he would get away with the scarce information he had provided.

„What's wrong with him?" Tooth asked impatiently, her apprehension getting the better of her.

„To be honest, I don't know." North admitted.

Bunny, who suddenly didn't care about the delightful proximity of the fireplace anymore, marched straight up to him.

„What do ya mean, ya don't know? Hasn't he been here at all?"

„As matter of fact he has been here for a whole week. In his room. He has only left two times to release his powers, but didn't stray far away."

„Did ya try ta talk ta him?"

„Of course I did!" the Russian snapped at the anthropomorphic rabbit and crossed his arms, his gaze drifting off.

„Whenever I was visiting him he seemed...distant, not saying much or refusing to reply at all. He didn't even eat."

While everyone processed the news Sandy floated up in front of them, with a determined expression on his face, and pointed in the direction where Jack's room was located before he gestured for them to follow him.

„Not sure if this is good idea-" North muttered but Bunnymund cut him off.

„Whatever, we gotta find out what's going on and we will."


Jack flinched when he heard knocks on the door. Not again, why was it so much to be asked for to be left in peace? He didn't need to answer, the door was opened nevertheless, letting the light from the hallway blind him for a moment. A barely audible groan left his throat at the realization that the whole group of guardians was invading his room and he knew pretty well what was going to happen. Needless to mention he wasn't in the mood for this at all. Bunny switched on the light and once more he cringed, since his eyes had gotten used to the darkness and protested against the sudden brightness.

"Anything wrong?" Jack asked as casually as possible and tried to act as if he didn't have a clue why everyone was staring at him with those dreaded concerned looks on their faces.

"Ya didn't show up to the meetin', mate."

The pooka crossed his arms and it was clearly noticeable in his eyes that he wasn't going to buy any lame excuse or lie, just the very truth. It made Jack increasingly uncomfortable. With every passing second he literally felt driven into a corner even more as he remained sitting on the windowsill with his back being pressed against the icy glass.

"Yeah, well, sorry about that. Can't you hold it without me? Just this once?" he suggested and loathed how it sounded too much like begging.

"Why should we? Unless ya can tell us a very good reason."

"What Bunny is trying to say," Tooth chimed in, "is that we'd like to know if anything is troubling you. North told us you have spent almost the whole week in here."

"Yeah, am I not allowed to take a week off now?" the frost teen snapped back, aggravation quickly rising inside of him.

The other guardians were surprised about the sudden change of mood and the annoyed tone of his voice but it didn't help to silence the Easter Bunny.

"Not if it leads ta neglectin' yer duties."

North, Tooth and Sandy held their breaths, three pairs of eyes darting between the anthropomorphic rabbit and the winter spirit. They feared what was yet to come and they should end up being right.

"You didn't care about me neglecting my duties whenever I was helping you paint eggs!"

For a brief moment Bunnymund was at a loss at what to say. It was undeniable that Jack had gotten a point, but he was too livid to simply give in.

"Don't act like ya were forced ta do it, at least ya were doin' somethin' useful for a change!"

"Of course, because boiled eggs are the most important things of the world and woosh, everyone believes in you!"

"Oh, so that's what this is about. Maybe ya shouldn't wail in self-pity and buckle down ta work instead."

An ominous silence filled the room as Jack stood up to glare at the furry guardian and chuckled bitterly.

"Look who's talking. The one who broke down because someonewalked through him one time and who transformed into a fluffball right after children stopped believing. After what, half a day? And you blame me for getting fed up with trying to gain people's belief for over 300 freaking years? Would you have painted and hidden eggs for centuries if no one ever paid any attention to you?"

Jack was furious. All the frustration he had endured and tried to ignore came rushing back to the surface, making him erupt like an emotional volcano. He expected the Guardian of Hope to immediately shot back an aggravated answer but he had to swallow what had just been thrown at him. The tension in the air had increased furthermore, causing Tooth to at least try to defuse the situation.

"But Jamie, Sophie and their friends believe in you, don't they?" she noted in a soft voice.

"Yeah...they do. But they're growing up. They won't believe in me forever. And call me greedy but I'd like to have more than just a handful of believers."

"Hhm, we could try making more winter-related toys that clearly show your influence..." North thought aloud, not intending to set off a bomb.

"Sure, let me help creating christmas toys again and in the end you'll get all the praise as usual, sounds wonderful!"

"Stop blamin' everyone for yer own failure, Frostbite! All ya do is spread ice and cold, no wonder nobody wants ta believe in ya!"

"Bunny! That's enough!" Tooth yelled but it was too late.

The pooka regretted the words as soon as they had left his mouth and he saw the unsuccessfully stifled tears in the boy's eyes. He knew he had hit a nerve, a very painful one. How much he wished he hadn't. Arguments between them weren't uncommon and Jack wasn't innocent about causing this one, but he had never wanted to hurt him like this. Using one of his biggest fears and worries against him. And yet he had. The teen's chest heaved and sank visibly with each shaky breath, the chaotic mess of emotions and self-loathing tightening their grasp on him.

"Jack, I-" Bunnymund started but was cut short right away.

"You think I chose this!? That I had any kind of choice concerning all of this!?" the youth shouted out loud, hurt and frustration emanating from his voice, cerulean eyes glazed by tears.

Before anyone could answer he grabbed his staff, which had been leaning against the wall beside him, and pushed open the window. The Australian guardian reacted fast and grabbed his arm just when he attempted to leave.

"Let go of me!" Jack snarled and tried to break free from his grip.

"No, you stay here and we talk." Bunny said firmly yet with a gentle undertone.

But the winter spirit wasn't in a condition for more discussions. Panic rose in him, he wasn't even sure why, all he wanted was to get out of there.

"Let GO!" he shouted once more and simultaneously slammed his staff on the ground, causing a freezing wind and ice spreading on the ground so the human-sized rabbit was forced to release him.

"Leave me alone." Jack spoke with such a both hurt yet cold voice that it gave them chills.

All they were able to do was watching as he jumped out of the window. Right after he was gone Tooth darted into the very same direction to hurry after him but the Sandman blocked her way.

"Sandy, what are you doing? We have to go after him!" the fairy admonished him to move aside.

The little golden man shook his head and pointed at his comrades, then at the ground before he pointed at himself and out of the window.

"Why do ya expect us ta stay here while ye're runnin' after Jack?" Bunny blurted out, unable to mask his concern.

A raised eyebrow and crossed arms of the Guardian of Dreams and was answer enough. For sure the frost teen would refuse to get involved in even more lectures.

"Sandy is right." North agreed eventually. "Jack needs someone who will listen, not talk."

Before Bunny and Tooth could protest any further the Sandman had already set off. With a feeling of defeat they gazed after the quickly vanishing golden shape as he rushed in the general direction the teen had eloped to.

Minutes later he spotted him a few miles ahead of him and just when he was certain about being able to catch up the white-haired boy gained speed and increased the distance between them. Sandy sighed inaudibly. He had noticed that he was following him.


A low groan escaped Jack's lungs as he glanced around him to make sure no one was tracking him and saw the familiar golden glow of the Sandman not too far behind. Of course did he like Sandy, he liked all of the guardians, but right now the vision of being confronted once more drove him sick. So he urged the wind to take him away at an even more rapid pace. Soon the yellow light was out of sight but he refused to move slower again, he was convinced that Sandy wouldn't give up that easily. Guilt creeped up inside of him, reminding him how immature it was to run away like this. But he wasn't in the condition to deal with anyone right now. All he longed for was being left in peace so he had the chance to clear his mind.

Where was he supposed to go? To Burgess? No, too many memories were connected to that place. He gazed at the scenery below him, he was still in the Northern hemisphere so everything was covered in snow. Usually he loved this view, of trees, mountains, fields, everything resting under a glittering white blanket. Now all he could think about were Bunny's words.

"All ya do is spread ice and cold, no wonder nobody wants ta believe in ya!"

He closed his eyes and shook his head in a feeble attempt to get rid of the accusation. However, the moment he opened them again and was faced with the white landscape he couldn't help but feel that dreaded self-hate once more. The rabbit was right, how could coldness compete against painted eggs, gifts, coins and pleasant dreams? He couldn't stand the sight of his own element anymore. Wherever he would go, it had to be an area winter hadn't reached. As he flew over the USA he suddenly got an idea of a convenient destination.


Sandy aimlessly floated over the Atlantic ocean. He had lost Jack. The first place he had seeked was Burgess but there was not a trace of the young guardian. On the contrary, his lack of presence had led to the snow beginning to melt, it was obvious that no new one had fallen during the week he had spent at the North Pole. The teenager could be anywhere on the globe by now. But he only had to be patient for an hour or two. The sun was already setting, soon it would be time for him so spread his dreamsand around the world. Jack had looked rather tired so he hoped he would fall asleep soon. Through his magic sand he could connect with the dreams of people and that's how he planned to detect the youth.

Like expected it didn't take long until the night approached, stars shone on a clear dark blue sky and golden swirls of sand traveled through the brisk air. Further and further they wandered and Sandy had to concentrate to filter out millions of dreams and pick out the one which would direct him to his friend.

When he thought he had finally found him he had to double check because he couldn't believe it.


Jack leaned against one of the many palmtrees and gazed at the sheer infinite ocean, at the waves breaking at the beach and the sun disappearing behind the horizon. The Caribbean island he had chosen to land on was deserted and small, probably no one even knew it existed. If he hadn't been in such a downcast mood he would have chuckled at the thought of having something in common with a tropical place like this. Despite the daylight fading and temperatures dropping it was still warmer than he preferred, but he did have a reason for coming here. It was quiet, peaceful, lonely...and visually the complete opposite of his icy element. Countless kinds of plants were growing everywhere he looked, everything from tiny colourful flowers to exotic fruits and gigantic palmtrees. The lush flora formed such a drastic contrast to the monochrome sceneries of white he created. It was just what he needed right now. To be somewhere without being reminded of his season.

Fatigue crept up on him. He didn't know why he felt so exhausted, after all he hadn't done anything too strength-consuming the past week, despite releasing his pent-up powers two times. Weary blue eyes tried to keep their focus on the moon's shimmering reflection on the sea, though the more he attempted to stay awake the more tired he got. Sleeping without worries and negative thougths didn't sound bad, he had to admit, and without further resistance he gave in and fell into a deep slumber.


A/N : I know, I know, Bunny didn't live up to his role as Guardian of Hope at all, but don't worry, he will in the next chapter. For now, I needed tension, drama, angst, because...reasons. :P