Ice Cubes

Summary: Those times when Bunny used Hope to hurt Jack's feelings and that one time he tried to make amends.

Prompt: When Bunny and Jack argue (and even when they don't), Bunny seems to go straight for the jabs about Jack not being believed in. More than Pitch, even, who is a.) the villain and b.) knows Jack's fears. So what if, just like Pitch knows fears due to his domain, Bunny knows everyone's greatest hope?

Anon, give me Bunny knowing damn well that Jack wants someone to see him/talk to him/touch him and exploiting the hell out of it over the years to win their fights. After all, Jack Frost is just some selfish brat that ruins other spirits' holidays, so it doesn't matter, right?

+10000 Post-movie, Bunny realizes he was wrong about Jack and feels guilty as hell.
+10000000 Bunny never realized how much it meant to Jack. It's only after the fact, when he's taking a closer look at Jack's hopes, that he realizes how cruel he was being.

What He Should've Done

Past…

He knows people's hopes as well as Pitch knew people's fears.

Being the guardian of Hope and Life, it was Bunny's job to coax any small, dwindling hope into something bright and all encompassing that left his own heart feeling warm and satiated.

He built hope, he didn't destroy them.

But even so- there were days…

Days where his temper was at its shortest, days when North's friendly jabs were just plain insulting, days when the world shifts from Spring and Summer to Autumn and Winter, days when he just felt downright annoyed and angry and hurt-

Being the last of his kind- he never really got over the initial pain.

And then, that's when Jack would come in.

A small, thin, sprite with hope ranging from a flickering candle to an encompassing fire. He always had a wide grin his face, his expression snarky, eyes mischievous, hands gripping his staff ready to create a tiny snowfall-

And Bunny would just snap.

He would snap at the littlest of things the other did. It didn't matter to him if it was on accident or on purpose, Jack just always managed to get him so riled up at the smallest of things.

It's because during those days Jack would come, Bunny just couldn't take it anymore. He had enough.

He was tired and angry and annoyed, and this- this winter sprite would suddenly come in and taunt like he was so much better than Bunny-

So Bunny snapped.

And he only did so because he thought Jack needed a lesson.

The hope the sprite carried around with him was so fragile, so breakable- and even though he should be horrified, even though he should've handled the other's feelings with care like a proper guardian- he didn't.

Because he thought Jack didn't deserved to be cared for.

"The people who can't see you are so lucky." He should stop. He shouldn't say anymore, he couldn't keep talking like this- "They don't have to deal with you like I have to."

And Jack would get a shattered look in his eyes after the initial shock at the words that came from Bunny's mouth. His hands would clench against his staff as he looked away, trying to hide the hurt in his face.

But Bunny wasn't finished, "What're ya still doing here, then? Can't tell when you're not wanted anymore?" And sometimes, Jack would leave. After icing Bunny's tail for good measure, he would leave and keep away for at least a few days. But still, there were days, days he would steel himself and look at the Pooka right in the eyes- a pathetic attempt at nonchalance.

"I'm sorry." Jack would say in sarcastic tone, not sorry at all. He was floating several inches from the ground, his stance a defensive one. "Your expression hardly changes from that grumpy look that I didn't know you never wanted me here at all." He taunted.

And when that did happen, Bunny had to dig a little deeper. He had to concentrate and pull out the heart's deepest and purest hopes-

But with Jack, he didn't have to dig around too deep.

If he had taken the time to stop and think, maybe he would've noticed the pattern- the way Jack kept coming back to him despite all the hurtful words he let fly. Maybe if he'd stopped, thought, and observed, he would've seen the haunted look behind the mischievous mask, the sad sag of the shoulders as the boy quietly wished to be seen, heard, and loved.

But Bunny didn't notice.

He didn't care and didn't want to care.

He took Jack's deepest and greatest hope and set it out in the open to be trampled on.

"It's because you don't deserve to be smiled at, Frostbite." And maybe he should've stopped there, should've seen the visible flinch, but he raged on relentlessly.

Jack brought this upon himself.

"Hey-"

"You don't deserve to be seen either!" Bunny continued, his hackles rising in fury. "What?" He responded to the hope he felt dwindle with each word, "You want to be seen? To be heard? In yer dreams! Yer the way you are right now-" Unseen, unheard, unloved. "-because you deserve it!"

He could've stopped when he saw the wide blue eyes darkening with his words. He could've stopped when he saw the subtle shaking and the opening and closing of Jack's mouth as he tried to think of a reply.

He could've stopped.

But he didn't.

And so, it went on.

"You want to have a home? A family you can come home to, a family to care for?" He called out Jack's hopes, pointing at their flaws and sneering at them, "Well open your eyes! Look around you!" Bunny wildly gestured to their surroundings. "There's no one there! No one to see you or hear you or want you! You think someone out there will want someone like you?" He let out a rough laugh. "Keep dreaming!"

And Jack visibly deflated as Bunny stepped towards him, green eyes steely as he growled with pure dislike.

"You make a bloody mess wherever ya go." He said as he prodded Jack in the chest with every word. It was pathetic, the way Jack's body was easily pushed back with every prod. "No one will ever believe in you, no one will ever want to be friend with ya. Yer all alone and you'll forever be alone. And that won't change." He looked down at blank blue eyes, "Not in a hundred years, not even in a thousand-"

BAM!

His cheek was stinging, the pain barely registering in his mind as he looked at the Ice imp in shock.

Jack's fist was still raised and shaking, Bunny's paw went to his boomerang, ready to get into a fight- but it didn't look like Jack was going to hit him again.

The young elemental's face was one of horror, his breathing just as shaky as his raised fist. His blue eyes were wide and unbelieving, traces of tears already forming but the young spirit seemed unaware. They look so haunted and so hopeless…

And Bunny flinched at that.

Jack didn't say anything as silently placed his hand down and turned his back on Bunny. His shoulders were raised in a defensive manner as though he was expecting the guardian of Hope to attack him while he had his back turned.

"Well," The voice was hoarse and forced and- to Bunny's utter horror- thick with held back tears. "I know when I'm not wanted. I-I'll be leaving then." And Jack raised his hood to cover his face from the light as he pursed his lips. "Don't worry, I- I won't be coming back, anymore."

And Bunny should've apologized then and there. He should've reached out a hand and grabbed the sprite back to set things right. It should've been the usual meaningless banter with only a few heated words, but then it got out of hand.

Bunny had crushed someone's hope.

He had crushed the light he swore to protect.

And even though in the inside, he felt a sick sense of satisfaction at having the power to degrade an opponent like that, there was also a gut-wrenching feeling churning in his stomach.

Jack flew onto the air, the shards of his remaining hope cutting Bunny to the core as the Pooka fell unto a kneel heaving.

He was the guardian of Hope.

He grew hope in places where there was none. He built them, he didn't destroy them.

And yet he did.

And Bunny never saw Jack again after that.

Not until the Blizzard of '68.

Present…

It was the first time Bunny had felt such a warm weight against his chest, so comforting and buzzing with contentment that he had to pause and sigh in comfort.

It was the familiar sense of someone hoping and being happy. Only stronger.

But as suddenly as it came about, it was quickly crushed. Like a blossoming flower stepped on by heavy footfalls.

His head snapped to the side in reflex action.

Where did it come from? That sudden burst of hope? So warm and pure, it encompassed the rabbit like a gentle flame. What caused that hope to be crushed so suddenly just like that?

Around Bunny was the usual crowd of people or rather, creatures, none looking like they recently had their hopes crushed in any way. The yetis were about, bringing them cookies, others painting even while they cleaned the room. The elves were running amok with the cookies in their hands, giggling and letting out squeals of delight whenever the yetis tried to step on them.

None of them looked like their Hope died recently.

Aside from the yetis and the elves, Bunny's fellow guardians were there as well. They had been scheduling their next get-together by helping Tooth with her nightly rounds again before they drifted into lazy conversation and eventually into comfortable silence.

The fire was warm and it gave their room a familial glow. North was eating cookies as he patted his belly and asked for more sweets. Tooth was not far, directing her fairies as usual, but she kept throwing frowns and glares at North's way. Her violet eyes narrowed in clear disapproval. Sandy, meanwhile, was drifting about, a mug of eggnog on his hand, but his face was downturned, eyes closed as one of the female yetis attempted to get him to lie on the nearest sofa.

Only one guardian was not part of this strangely familial scene.

And that certain guardian was lounging against the coldest place in the room. By the windows.

Bunny shifted, his eyes towards the other.

A gentle light shone through the windows. The moon graced Jack with his presence, the young guardian's hood was up again as he leaned his head against the cool glass, blue eyes staring at the scene Bunny had been gazing at momentarily before.

A small smile played on Jack's lips as his eyes roamed the room, and Bunny felt the beginning of that warmth in his chest again-

-But then Jack saw Bunny staring at him and the growing hope was crushed, as the winter spirit gave him a forced smile and a wave.

Bunny let out a hiss of pain as he turned his eyes away from Jack quickly. He dropped the egg he had been painting, catching the guardians' attention.

"Bunny?" North said, getting up as he finally put down the cookie he had been eating. The old warrior looked up and caught a glimpse of worry in the Cossack's face. "Is something the matter, friend?"

The Pooka raised a hand, waving it slightly as he saw Tooth hovering nearby, clearly worried. Sandy had woken up from his sleep with a jolt, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Even Jack had jumped down from where he was sitting, hood still up, but his face was set in an expression of worry as well.

"'M fine." Bunny tried not to wheeze as he bent down to pick up his egg. "Just feeling a little stuffy. Think I should go an' take a walk." He mumbled as he winced and placed the egg on a nearby table.

"Do you want us to come with you?" Tooth asked, not even questioning why Bunny would like to take a 'walk' when it's so cold outside.

"Nah," Bunny started to say but then he caught a flash of blue from the corner of his eyes and he quickly amended his statement, "But I don't mind Frostbite coming with me."

Jack who had turned to go back to his little corner, turned abruptly in surprise. "What?" He wasn't the only one surprised.

"Ya don't have to come if ya don't want to." Bunny said with a casual shrug as he got up. But just as he was about to hop forward, his limbs froze, as in literally froze since Jack pointed his crook at the other's legs, freezing his movements.

"I didn't say I wasn't coming." The guardian of Fun grumbled and Bunny shivered as the ice melted as quickly as it came. He shot the other a dark look as he rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation.

Well, Bunny brought this upon himself. No use complaining.

"Let's get going then." Bunny grumbled as he and Jack went out of the doors. Leaving the guardians behind, wondering if they should follow or not.

It wasn't the most comfortable of silences.

There was a tension in the air, Bunny never noticed before existed. Jack was walking behind him, in a surprisingly slow manner, his hood still up, and his shoulders hunched up as he looked around, trying not to look at Bunny, trying not to initiate a conversation.

Whatever faint flicker of hope that was there before had been crushed by Bunny's invitation, the void and hopelessness Jack felt was like a punch in the gut. Which is why, it wasn't really surprising that Bunny was leaning against a nearby pillar before he was aware of what he was doing.

"Bunny?" And the voice was worried even though Bunny knew deep inside him that he deserved not an ounce of it.

Wide blue eyes were looking at him, panic across the young features and Bunny suddenly remembered an event so long ago, an event that always nagged at the back of his mind begging for his attention, begging for him to make things right- but he ignored.

"I'm not really good at this." The old Pooka suddenly started saying in an awkward tone. Jack's eyes widened, he was probably thinking that the old warrior was going crazy- spouting strange things all of a sudden. The guardian of Hope amended, "I'm not- It's just- I'm not good with getting along with winter elementals, what with being the opposite of what I protect and live for."

If the winter spirit was stunned before, right now he was just simply slack-jawed, his eyes were gazing at the Pooka with honest confusion- but there was something else there too. A small panic in the blue eyes as Jack looked around.

"We should get back inside. It's getting colder-"

"Jack." And the young spirit quieted when the older guardian used his name. He refused to look at the other, his hands fiddling with the old staff in his hands. The pooka shifted uncomfortably, his ears back as he held in a breath before letting it all out in an exasperated sigh. "I'm sorry."

Silence.

"What?" Jack said in a breathless tone, clearly thinking he had not heard right.

Bunny frowned but he kept his eyes trained to the ground. He never liked admitting his mistakes, he was also never the one to apologize, since he was always confident that he was always in the side of right. But there were exceptions, times when he'd realized he'd gone too far.

He was the guardian of Hope, and it was time to do his job.

"I was wrong." And his chest still hurt because Jack's hopelessness was so obvious, and then with a drop to his stomach he realized he caused that. "Thought you were a no good nuisance that always got in everybody's way. I got mad at ya' and took out my annoyance at ya- I- Ya didn't deserve the way I treated you."

Jack's eyes were wide now, his breathing quick as though he didn't believe that this was actually happening.

"I shouldn't have said the things I said. Shouldn't have crushed out yer hopes like that. I should've done what I always did and let yer hope grow and maybe even help yer hope become a reality." There were many things he should've done, times when he should've stopped, or times when he should've said different things. But that didn't matter now, now he was making amends for all his mistakes. And he only hoped that Jack would find it in his heart to forgive him.

But then again, three hundred years is a long time.

When Jack continued to say nothing, his face shadowed by his hood, Bunny continued to speak, quicker this time, trying to get in all his regrets out before Jack iced him-

-Or punched him again.

"Yer a great person, and a great guardian. Ya care about the kids and ya know how to get along with them. Ya taught us guardians what we have forgotten so long ago. That we protect children because we care about them." Bunny said in a soft tone. "And all the things I said before, about not having home and a family to care for- I didn't mean it. Any person would be lucky to have ya as their family, least of all their friend. And about the home thing, I'm sure ya can see that yer welcome at North's any time. And yer welcome at mine."

Silence.

"I-" And the voice was shaking and hoarse but Bunny caught the words anyway. "But you were right about me Bunny. I make a mess wherever I go and right now, even after three hundred years I still don't-" Jack suck in a quick breath as he shook his head, white bangs falling over blue eyes, hiding them from view. "-still don't have a family. Not even a friend."

And honestly, Bunny could've whacked him with a boomerang with all the nonsense the other spouted.

But he didn't whack Jack with his weapon. He didn't even roll his eyes or sigh in exasperation, instead he did what he always thought the sprite needed.

He stepped forward and gave the other a hug.

He could feel the reacting coldness to his sudden action. He tried not to wince as the frost spread through his warm fur and he shivered as Jack jumped slightly. His teeth chattered but he pushed down his discomfort and spoke. "North is yer friend, Sandy and Tooth too. I'm yer friend- no," Bunny amended. "We're a family now, Frostbite."

And it hurt just a little inside, when Jack let out a cry of disbelief. It made his heart ache when Jack clung to him unsurely, grip loosening a few times before strengthening as the other buried his cold face on Bunny's shoulder.

The warmth before blossomed in Bunny's chest, the hope of a forgotten Frost child regrowing, albeit very slowly. And the old Pooka shushed the young winter spirit as he murmured his apologies and assurances.

"I'm sorry. It's going to be alright, yer fine, yer not alone anymore." The guardian of Hope assured as Jack's hood came down, while the young guardian held onto him tighter, shaking slightly. And the Easter rabbit's ears pressed back against his skull as he said in a quiet tone once more, "I'm sorry."

And Jack's only reply was to press closer into the warmth he had long gone without.

And for now, that was enough for Bunny.

It would take time, he knew, to be forgiven by someone he hurt more that words could ever express. But he was prepared to make amends, to spend the rest of eternity doing what he can to show the young sprite that yes-

He was seen, heard, and loved.

And yes-

Jack had a home now, complete with family and friends that care for him.

Author's notes: Thank you for the wonderful reviews as always everyone! My exams have ended recently and I went to writing quickly! Man, it's good to be back (albeit temporarily)! I have so many prompts to go through (everyone cames making a request and I'm confused now)! I'm ver happy with yer requests though, still- it will take a long time to go through them.

And there's still Book fan girl'sbirthday fic.

*sulks in a corner* I'm a horrible friend! I've repeated that fic seven times and the angle still isn't good enough! I'll do better I swear!

To those who reviewed, thank you! I'll get to you via pm, I have a lot of stuff going on today so I'll reply to you soon hopefully!

So this thing is one of my headcanon's for why Jack did Blizzard of '68. I have a lot of opinions for that thing but I hope this is good enough to warrant everyone's attention!

Additonal notes for the feels: The sad thing was, when Bunny ranted on Jack being alone and having no family, he was also sort of referring to himself. He was also telling himself to look around, to realize that he had no family to come home to anymore.

SO THANKS AGAIN! I'LL DEFINITELY UPDATE SOME TIME THIS WEEK!

CIAO FOR NOW!