"She's going to lose, you know." Bunnymund mentioned. For some reason he was always around one of the two lovebirds. "She loves you, she's human, and she obviously can't keep her lips to herself-"
"Hey!" Jack yelled. Bunnymund shrugged and ate another carrot quickly. He'd been hungrier than Jack had ever seen him since they returned to the Pole. It was odd but Jack wasn't about to make a fuss. He had to admit to bingeing on a few dozen cookies now and then. He really couldn't help himself sometimes. Lounging back against the arm-chair again he sighed heavily, "She's not like that. It's only been me and him, right? And then, I've only heard about one other. I'm not even sure if they kissed-"
"Jack, think about the times we're livin in now. If she had a boyfriend they at least kissed. Maybe went further, I don't know. That's not my business anyway, but you might find it worth asking about. Just be careful what fights you start; you don't have the option of shutting her up like you usually do-"
"You don't know what I usually do, Bunnymund. Now that I think about it, I don't either. I just move. WIthout thought or logic- I can't help it. She pulls me towards her and I don't try to fight it." he sighed like he was remembering a certain happy memory. Bunnymund huffed, irritated. Ignoring the rather unpleasant company he was keeping, Jack continued, "I don't know how she does it. She's stubborn and a pain and- Well, I could name a few negative things but still I love her! That's why she's going to win. It's a stupid game to have challenged her to."
"Naah, mate. It's great game. Keep your head about you and you've got this. She has no chance-"
"She's going to win. You should have seen her determined face. Like I said, she's stubborn. She's tough. She knows how to close herself off. I'm not as good at that as she is."
The over sized rabbit-slash-kangaroo turned his full attention on the spirit and mocked, "Your love can not be contained."
Jack nodded and, with a smile, agreed, "That's exactly how it is. I've been a jerk for a while now so this break will help me think of ways to start making up for that. I need a clear head to plot."
"From what I saw of your first attempts to finish the game early, you won't have much of a clear head to plot with. Skyla's... obviously good. Your game won't last long as long as she holds the upper hand. Which she currently has. You ran away. That's showing weakness, mate. You have to make her equally as weak."
"Why are you cheering me on and not her? Why are you helping me?"
"I'm not helping you yet, Jack. But I will. You need flowers to give her. Chocolates. That's where I come in. Why would I help her, anyway. I've known you longer, and she's a bit of a pain-"
"Hey!" Jack yelled again.
"You said it first" Bunnymund pointed out. "I'm on your side. Everyone will be divided in this and I want you to know where I stand early on. Draw this out. You'll gain more and more supporters and-"
"You make it sound like I'm running for president. This is just a game. The only rule is no kissing. I might have a chance, but she has a better chance. I already feel bad about starting it. Do you really think I'll have supporters? Who's going to be divided? Who would really care about this?"
"A lot of people, believe it or not. We've all been taking bets about what'll happen to you since you first left to that city you found her in. You were after Lauren at the time of course and no one imagined this would be the outcome. Well..."
"Well what?" Jack asked impatiently. He turned his head to stare at the kangaroo -who's really a rabbit but no one cares. The two stared at each other for a while before Bunnymund eventually looked away. The Winter Spirit questioned jokingly, "Come on, kangaroo. Did someone predict I would meet Skyla?"
"Not... exactly. Tooth was sure you wouldn't really fall in love with Lauren. That seeing Lauren was just Manny's idea for getting you out of the way. I can't say the thought didn't cross my mind, but if that was all he wanted why not send you back to Burgess? That doesn't make sense. I shouldn't tell you this, but... I think Tooth likes you. If nothing else, she definitely loves your teeth. Her fairies approve of you which is a huge deal for her-"
"Why are you telling me this?" Jack let out a shaky laugh, "So what if Tooth likes me like that. I don't like her that way, and the only one I have eyes for is Skyla. If Tooth wants to be in denial that my attentions can be -and are- elsewhere, then let her be. Back to the situation at hand-"
"I have to stop you for a minute there, Jack. I know this isn't something you want to talk about again, but are you certain Sky would be as loyal to you. She already hasn't been and you say it yourself. She won't forget about him. Ever. It's not fair to you."
"You mean Brandon." Jack started calmly, "Of course she won't forget him. It's stupid of me to ask her to, no matter how badly I need that to happen. She's going to stop thinking about him so much though. Eventually. I'm seeing to it now, actually. I have no worries anymore. I trust her. She's mine, and I'm hers. Brandon is an old friend or an ex boyfriend only."
"You've agreed to let her see him though."
"Yeah, whatever. I'll be with them the whole time. And it's not happening any time soon. Back to the problem-"
"Yeah, back to that. You're going to win. I'll help you make sure of that. Like I said, we'll have flowers. And chocolates. And you'll just be your usual adorable self. She won't be able to resist."
"You'll win, Skyla. Jack is many things but he is not one to hold back." North was assuring her while working on some new ice sculpture, "This is a silly game to play, but I see why you would agree to it. Hmm, sort of. Would you mind explaining it to me again?"
Skyla sighed, "I don't know. I was caught up in the moment and interested in doing whatever I could to either end the fight or make Jack happy. Of course I was hoping for both but it doesn't always happen that way. Now that I think about it he probably only suggested it because he's pissed about Brandon again. Or, still. I guess he's always holding some negative emotions towards Brandon"
"Jack is not used to these things. He is not used to being in love. Jealousy is only natural when he doesn't know how anything will go or if what he is feeling is even right. He's trying to protect something he wishes to understand. You must also remember that he has been under the influence of that creature. Bunny told you and I will tell you again; he is already recovering much faster than we expected. It's nearly miraculous. But it's not completely over; not for him. You're by his side so I have no worries."
"Yeah... I'm not putting you in a weird position, am I? I mean, I don't want anyone taking sides or anything. Especially not in this game. If there's anything you can do to help me... I would really appreciate it." she mentioned softly, looking at the floor. She wasn't happy to be asking for help so early on but to have the game over faster would be worth the trouble she'd put him through. For one; it would get her and Jack out of his workshop a lot sooner. Probably the other Guardians as well, it seemed like they were only staying because of the interesting development.
"I will help you. It is too late to worry about anyone taking sides. Word spread quickly of your game and now even us Guardians have started taking sides. I have chosen to be your supporter. Sandy will likely choose you, too. As attached as he has become to Jack, he cannot help his amusement in watching him lose."
"So you're on my side?" she asked. North nodded and she tipped back on her stool slightly, "I really do have a chance of winning then. Even if Jack manages to get Bunny and Tooth, I know I have the stronger team."
"I can see you planning something behind your eyes." the large Russian mentioned, drawing her full attention back. "I hope it is something good."
Skyla smiled. North has a side like that, too; mischievous and willing to scheme along with her. "Oh, I have the greatest of ideas. If I really do have Sandy to count on, as well as yours, then I may have to take advantage of that. This could be over tonight; we just need a plan." she thought for a moment, tapping a finger against her chin. Suddenly her smile grew to a trouble making smirk, "And a distraction."
"distraction is easy part." he commented thoughtfully, chiseling away at the sculpture, "If that is all you need then yes this could be over tonight."
"It's not all I need, but it's going to be one of the more difficult parts. After that it should be easier than falling asleep."
"That's a good idea." Jack admitted to the would-be-kangaroo. "Took you long enough to think of it though. If we really don't have Tooth's support then we'll have to ask North-"
"Taken" Bunnymund reported shortly. "And don't bet on Sandy either. He's more competitive than any of us and he likes it best when you and I lose. Nah, he won't be on your team. But you have good standing with the elves and a few yetis-"
"Neither of us can understand them."
"We don't need to. We can ask them if they're on your side. Yes or no questions, mate. Then, when we have a good amount of supporters, we just tell them the kinds of things we need and they'll happily follow our instruction."
"So our plan is to make me irresistable? We can do that easily. We're men. We know what women want. We know what Skyla wants-"
"Yeah, Brandon."
"Are you sure you're on my side? It doesn't seem like it. It seems like you're only trying to piss me off. Maybe you're a double agent. I can't trust you, go away." The spirit ordered only half jokingly before stuffing a cookie into his mouth.
Bunnymund looked on, unimpressed. He'd already finished his carrots and was lounging in a chair opposite Jack. "Fine. We're going to turn you into a romantic all on our own? We're going to lose if that's all we've got. We need to think like them. We need to be clever."
"We can do it. Maybe we can get a spy of our own to infiltrate Skyla's base of operations- Wherever that is. If North has sided with her it's probably his office. But it won't do us any good if we can't understand what our spy is telling us."
"Yeah, that could be a problem. We'll think of something."
"You think of something. I'm going to eat cookies and wait for Skyla to come to me. The moment she approaches me she'll regret accepting the challenge and try to find a way out of it. AS soon as she realises that's not going to work, she'll end it herself."
"If you're so sure then why are you bothering with a plan at all?"
"Because it's Skyla. Things don't always go the way I wanted them to when it comes to her."
NOTES:
Okay, this is the planning stage
I don't know what I'm doing right now
But here you go!
Thanks for reading!
I wonder
How do you think these games will be won?
Who will win?
What will happen afterwards?
Hmm? HMM?
*hearts*
(sorry Bunnymund fans I don't know why but I had to pick on him a little this time)
