Sorry for the delay, but now New Years is over and I'm back to work, so don't get to spend my days penning fanfiction anymore. This was going to be a handful of smaller chapters, but figured if you were gonna have to wait anyway, might as well make you wait a little bit longer and get a really long chapter instead.

Jack grimaced as the egg herd began drifting apart again. How on earth did Bunny herd these little guys? He'd made it look so easy. But every time Jack thought he had them going in the right direction, one would get distracted and wander off, and then a bunch would follow and within seconds Jack had 3 different groups of eggs waddling in all the wrong directions.

Perhaps he'd been too overconfident about this. Since he'd watched and helped out last year, he'd figured doing it again would be a piece of cake. So when Bunnymund had told him to herd batches of eggs into the meadow to get their base coats, and asked if he wanted some pointers, Jack had waved him off and said he could handle it.

By this point, he'd been at this three hours and still hadn't gotten his first set through. He was positive the eggs were laughing at him.

They were fast too. You had to be constantly paying attention or they'd vanish from right under your nose. There were actually a few that had gotten lost and ended up waddling along the higher ledges of his route. He didn't think he'd used his ears and nose so much in years. Which...was probably why Bunny had him on corral duty, the schemer. The other Pooka was on the other side of the meadow, his much larger collection moving perfectly in sync without issue.

The frost sprite sighed, pulling his hand over his ears. It wouldn't have been so bad if he'd been able to fly and get a bird's eye view of them. But the eggs were in the heart of the warren, where the plant life was at its heaviest, and Bunny had insisted his staff be left in his room just in case.

Jack understood the logic, but he felt the loss keenly. That staff was as much part of him as his ears and tail, whether Bunny realised it or not. In the end, they'd compromised, and the staff was left leaning against a rock near the clearing the eggs were meant to be heading towards.

How was Bunny doing it? There had to be something he was missing, a trick to get the stupid things to listen. But watching the Easter spirit hop around, he couldn't really see anything Bunny was doing differen...

Wait.

Jack blinked as he watched the other Pooka hop towards a handful of eggs breaking away from the herd, and pounding his foot on the ground. For once, no hole appeared, but the eggs instantly turned from their incorrect direction and headed towards him. Bunnymund the hopped on all fours to the next batch trying to make a break for it and repeated the action.

Slowly, Jack turned to his group of eggs and cocked his head. He'd been trying to herd them along, assuming they could see where they were going...but what if they couldn't? Technically, they didn't have eyes, or ears, or in fact, any real way of seeing the world. Just a pair of legs and a fragile body...

The frost sprite slapped his forehead and groaned. Vibrations. They were following the vibrations. The warren was a mass of tunnels, sound and movement travelled perfectly in here, and the eggs would follow the sounds. The ripples of the river, the movements of the plants...and when Bunny needed them to go somewhere specific...

The eggs were beginning to scatter again, so taking a chance, Jack ran to the front, and repeating Bunnymund's action, tapped the ground 3 times.

The reaction was instantaneous. Every egg suddenly turned forward and finally, finally, started moving in the right direction.

The frost sprite punched the air in success. "Yes!"

Oh wait; there was a couple on the other side edging out of the pack. Jack frowned, looking over the masses of eggs, and took a running jump to get to the other side. He hit the round with a hard thud and turned, face falling.

Now all the eggs were facing this way!

"Oh come on!"

A deep chuckle echoed from the other side. "Need a hand Frostbite?"

"No!" Jack was quick to reply. "I got this."

No he didn't.

He darted back to the front of the line and repeated the foot thumping, getting the eggs back on track. A few further down were pausing, and patting his foot from here wasn't getting their attention...but if he just ran over or jumped the vibrations would get the attention of all of them.

Biting his lip, he stole a glance over to Bunny again. He was positive the Pooka knew he was staring, but was choosing to be smug and not mention it. But now that he was paying attention, Bunny was hopping to the stragglers, not jumping.

Jack frowned, and experimentally bent his knees, hands scratching the dirt. He hadn't run like this since...well, since the first time he met Bunny after becoming a spirit ironically. The first few hops were awkward, clumsy things, but the eggs didn't appear to notice. Perhaps running on all fours spread his weight out enough that the eggs didn't recognise the vibrations. Or maybe a certain Pooka had trained them to ignore these specifically. That seemed likely. Gods, why didn't the rabbit just let him fly and leave no vibrations whatsoever?

Either way, he managed to stumble his way to the lost eggs, tapping the ground with one foot and getting them back. Hopping was definitely the only way to get around them without bother, and he sighed in relief and stood as the first of the eggs finally made their way into the clearing. Now if he just backtracked and picked up the stragglers...

Something tickled his shoulders and Jack froze. He quickly turned his head to find an egg waddling along his shoulder blades. Moments later, he saw another one land to join it. Perking his head up, he realised they were the straggling eggs, who, now that they knew where to go, where taking the direct route by jumping off the suddenly-looking-for-too-high-ledges.

The snow sprite yelped as one jumped, and bolted towards it, catching the white egg in his left hand. Unfortunately, the movement jostled the two on his shoulder, and he found himself down on three fours to reduce the fall. The two eggs however, recovered, and instead took the opportunity to waddle along his back with surprising grace.

Jack sighed, and after eyeing up the egg in his hand, simply dropped it on his shoulder and slowly, very slowly, hopped after his egg herd.

Bunny watched with amusement as Jacked coaxed the last of his straggling eggs off his back. Once free of his passengers, the frost sprite stood and walked over to his staff, choosing to slump and lean his weight entirely on it.

"I'm exhausted. How do you do this every day?"

Bunnymund chuckled. "To be fair, its only this kind of number the last few months before Easter. And if you'd just asked you'd have known how to move them from the start. Now that you know what you're doing, it'll be easier for the next lot."

He grinned when the younger Pooka groaned at the realisation that this was not the only batch.

"That's it; I'm going to Russia for an ice break. Be back after I cause a blizzard in St. Petersburg. That always perks me up."

"Fine" Bunnymund replied. "But only for an hour. Still have to paint these googie's before I can rest up tonight."

Jack gives a distracted nod and flies off, heading for the Warren's exit. Bunnymund waits for a few minutes, and grins as he realises the frost sprite isn't returning.

He wonders how long it'll take the Guardian to realise he's left without donning his cloak.

Jack does return within the hour, but he won't meet Bunny's eyes and hid body language is tense. Apparently he'd remembered he wasn't wearing his disguise a little too late.

Bunnymund isn't sure if he should bring it up. At the end of the day, Jack not wearing that stupid thing is the end goal, but it's all pointless if Jack doesn't make the actual decision.

Instead, he doesn't – pretends he doesn't spot the problem and continues with his preparations. Ruffles Jack's fur and calls him silly nicknames, the silent 'I won't bring it up if you don't' hanging in the air.

Jack still has a few batches of eggs to bring through, and Bunny busies himself with getting the ones he hasn't done in the previous hour coated with flower dye. The colours are soft and pale, and perfect for coating the more intricate and bright dye and decorations upon. Unfortunately, the way of the flowers also means that a lot of the dye gets in the air. By now Bunny is more than used to it sticking to his fur – its dark enough that it's never too noticeable, though it does itch a tad. However Jack...

The Easter spirit has to bite his lip to keep back the snicker. The Guardian of Fun has not managed to escape the clearing unscathed. By now a good chunk of him is coloured pastel, and looking an awful lot like a child's easel board. When the last of today's eggs are finally through, he grabs his staff once again and slumps to the ground, legs crossed and wincing as his spare hand rubs his feet.

"I am so tired..."

"Puckered out already huh?"

"I didn't even know I could get this tired..."

Bunny chuckled. "Welcome to the world of hard work and deadlines Frostbite. Holidays don't just happen overnight, some of us don't just get to work on impulse."

Jack blushed and looked away. "I still don't know how you do it. My feet are about ready to fall off. And my fur is all...sticky!"

He threw his hands up in frustration, as if just noticing the kaleidoscope of colours littering his person. Bunny did laugh then, the young Pooka's face a call back to his early days. He'd been ready to smash his little googie's on more than one occasion back then.

"Give it time kit. Your feet hurt cause those clodhoppers haven't done you any favours. As for the fur, you'd be surprised how good a proper grooming can make you feel. It almost makes it worth it."

Jack sniffed. "Can't believe you gripe about my clothes but deal with this on a regular basis. Surprised you're not dressed in overalls every day."

"Nuts to that" Bunny snorted, quick to shoot down the idea. "Fabric that close to fur is just plain uncomfortable. I'm not going to replace one annoyance with another."

He stood up, mindful of the eggs surrounding him, and held out a hand to help Jack up. "Come on. Time to see how good you are with a brush."

As it turned out, when it came to painting, Jack had no talent whatsoever.

Oh give him a staff and a cold snap and he'd create some pretty spectacular natural artworks, but it came to painting intricate patterns on eggs you might as well ask him to do it with a broom. Fact of the matter, was that the eggs were having more luck painting him, than he was them.

Jack grimaced and scratched at his face for the fifth time in about ten minutes. While trying to hold them still, eggs would break free and end up running up his arms and crashing into his cheeks, leaving a sticky, itchy mess on the side of his face. Dammit, what was with these eggs and this annoyingly sticky paint? It just got everywhere. Worse than the flea infestations he'd get when he was a kid in summer.

He felt the tight pull on his fur and growled. His body was choosing to combat the problem by trying to freeze the problem off, which was just hardening it faster. Wonderful. Maybe Bunny wouldn't mind if he took a break and washed his face. Except the other Pooka was covered in paint as well, and not nearly as bothered. Every now and then he'd stop whatever he was working on and give the offending area a good scratch with his hind leg and continue his business within a few moments.

The frost sprite sighed, put down his egg and pulled again, trying to claw the paint out, barely aware that Bunnymund had stopped his own decorating and was watching him. This was intolerable!

"You know, it's a lot less hassle to do this-"

Jack paused in his movements, watching as Bunny once again crouched and scratched with his hind leg for a few seconds. He blushed and looked away. Truth was, he used to do that very act all the time when he was much younger. But when he'd started growing, it was one of the few things the Overland's hadn't been wholly accepting of. Right up there with crouching on chairs instead of sitting and knawing on the furniture. To be fair, their primary reason had probably been that his sister would immediately try to imitate him, but he'd just gotten used to making sure he didn't do it now.

He admitted as such to Bunnymund, who gave him a sympathetic smile.

"I think they'd understand. Nobody here to be a bad influence on, unless you count my googie's. And if I haven't corrupted them yet I don't think you'll succeed with one little scratch."

The younger Pooka hesitated, but when he felt that ever annoying itch, he tentatively lifted his hind foot, and in a move old but surprisingly familiar, scratched.

It was, in a word, bliss.

No more than a few minutes hop from Bunnymund's living quarters was one of the few fresh water rivers than ran through the warren. Attached to it was a waterfall, which was where the water crashed in. Once upon a time this had been where Bunnymund had washed regularly. Then North and the 21st century had come crashing in and he'd found his home fitted with hot water pipes. How he'd ever lived without hot showers, Bunny honestly didn't remember. However, it was one luxury Jack really didn't appreciate. One good thing about having a snow Pooka come to stay, was that they really didn't care if you used all the hot water. As such, once the day's scheduled eggs had been prepared, Bunnymund found himself taking Jack to the river to wash, and barely held back the shudder as the frost spirit left his staff to the side and jumped straight onto the rocks underneath the rushing water, not even flinching at the temperature.

"Better?" Bunny called.

"Little warm, but otherwise great!" Jack hollered back.

Warm. The water in this river was just a few degrees above freezing and it was 'too warm'. Winter spirits...

Jack poked his head out, cocking his head. "You coming in?"

Bunnymund laughed and stepped back, hands raised. "Not on your nelly. I'm going for back to my modern comforts. See you back at the house."

Jack snickered, and really by this point, Bunny admitted he should have known better.

He took one step...and immediately slipped onto the icy path and straight into the river. He leapt up, spluttering at the cold and shock, while Jack just laughed. He jumped out of the waterfall and landed on the water's surface, the river automatically freezing under his feet, much to Bunnymund's surprise. He hadn't thought Jack could use his abilities without his staff.

Jack crouched down, coming eye level with Bunny and smiling. "Oh don't look at me that way Kangaroo, a cold shock is the best way to get your energy back."

Bunnymund's eyes narrowed as he recovered. "Kangaroo?"

"Well you were right about rabbit not really being that-gah!"

The older Pooka took his chance as Jack began to ramble, grabbing the snow white fur around the other Guardian's neck and yanking him down into the water. Seconds later Jack burst to the surface, spluttering with all the grace of a drowned cat. Bunnymund laughed, and not seconds later, Jack found himself joining in.

What followed was probably the most one sided water fight in history. Bunnymund quickly learned that although ice and snow were Jack's specialist subjects, he'd been around enough thaws to have pretty good tactics in water too. Especially since the kit had the ability to freeze the surface and run circles around his elder. Literally. Then he'd stumbled upon the soap, and used the river and his staff created a frozen bubble maze to thoroughly drench both of them.

However, Jack had perked up, and his fur was definitely cleaner, so Bunny considered the whole thing a success. Course, his fur was still a matted mess, so now came the tricky part.

The two of them returned to the home, and while Jack remained outside to brush off the few water remnants that had frozen to his fur, Bunnymund entered, and quickly returned carrying a bag. Jack was sitting the ground, and as quiet as he could, the Easter spirit crouched behind him, plucked one of many brushes from the bag and grabbed one fluffy shoulder.

Jack jerked at the action, and Bunny wasted no time, setting the brush to work on the long tangled fur on the kit's back.

"Hey! What are youooooooh..."

Bunnymund smirked as the expected anger trailed off into approving moans. It had been a long time since he'd had his own fur attended to by another, but he remembered just how good it felt - there were places you just couldn't get on your own. Bunnymund knew from personal experience that being a spirit would no doubt make it worse – they weren't bound to the seasons and didn't shed coats anymore, so without care, fur became a nightmare.

"Your parents, they ever brush you?"

The tone was conversational, but Jack could definitely pick up the burning curiosity. It wasn't often Bunny asked about his time with the Overland's – Jack was pretty sure Bunny didn't like being reminded he had been raised without Pooka guidance, even if Jack personally thought the Overland's had done a damn fine job all things considered.

"Uh...my mother sometimes, especially when I shedding coats. To be honest, my sister would do most of it."

"Oh?"

"Yup. I was better than any doll. She was more interested in its upkeep than I was. Especially when I had my winter coat."

Bunnymund smiled, his own mind remembering a certain female child that had found her way into the warren. He could definitely picture little girls devoting hours to brushing a friendly bundle of fluff.

"Judging from the mess, I'd say you haven't been groomed in a while" he continued. "I'm going with decades, or did that cloak of yours hide enough that you've been avoiding it centuries?"

Jack lifted his head slightly, allowing the brush tickle the fur on his neck. "Uh...decades. I didn't really have a place to keep brushes, and it was hard to do on my own...I'd leave it until it got intolerable and then..."

"Go at it with your fingers and spit and hope for the best?" Bunnymund finished, chuckling. The old ways weren't exactly ineffective, just long winded and not nearly so satisfying.

"...Actually, I'd usually try and find clippers or scissors and hack off the worst of it. I'd usually end up nearly hairless."

He winced as the hand on his shoulder tightened. "What?"

Bunnymund's voice was colder than Jack could ever make his, so he quickly continued.

"It's not really that big a deal. Don't you know how fast this stuff grows back? I was back to normal in like, 3 days. Besides, it not like anybody could see."

The Easter spirit sighed, forcing the guilt and anger down. He'd deal with that later, right now, finish the kits first proper grooming.

He deftly pulled the instrument through the longer fur on the shoulders and back, noting the worst of the tangles that would have to be snipped out, before exchanging the brush for one more suited for the shorter fur on the Pooka's chest and arms. Feeling the change, Jack offered no resistance and all but collapsed to the ground as Bunnymund moved in front of him, continuing the fluid motions. After a few minutes, the Easter spirit grinned as his ears picked up the sound of solid purring from the younger Pooka.

It took the better part of an hour – the kit really had no idea how to take care of his fur, and next bath time, Bunnymund would make sure Jack was paying attention so he could handle the upkeep himself. As it was, the kit hadn't even been able to stay awake through Bunny's attention, and the Guardian of Hope had ended up propping the younger Pooka against his chest to attend to his face, the kit still purring as he dozed.

Once the brushing was done, Bunny quickly replaced the brush with scissors and comb, and quickly set about making the kit's shoulder and chest fur look less like a sheepskin rug wrapped around his neck. Much to his dismay, he found himself chopping off a lot more than he'd have liked, but if Jack was telling the truth, it wouldn't take long to get it back to respectable density. Perhaps he'd had a point about hacking it off when he was on his own...though it would a hot, scorching day in Jack's world before Bunnymund let him do it again.

With the young buck finished, Bunny was ready to groom himself...only to find Jack didn't seem to want to leave his side. A brief shake of the frost spirits shoulders just got sleepy moans of complaint.

"Come on mate, still got to do myself here" Bunnymund said. "Time to get up and into your own bed."

Jack didn't appear to hear him. Instead, his head rubbed into Bunnymund's chest, smiling contentedly in his sleep.

"...Jack?"

He tried pulling the frost sprite away. The younger Pooka gave no resistance, but made plaintive moans at the loss. Bunnymund sighed, but couldn't help the smile as he returned the kit to his original position and stroked his forehead.

"Well, look whose all docile and affectionate when they're sleepy and prettied up" he joked. "Well, you might be used to sleeping on the ground and trees, but there's a bed in there for you now and you're gonna use it kit."

Carefully curling one hand around the Pooka's chest, and another beneath the winter spirits knees, Bunnymund carefully lifted the Guardian up and cradled him close to his chest, taking care not to jostle him.

The jump necessary to get to Jack's floor had been irritatingly rough, but his passenger had just nuzzled into his neck, forcing Bunnymund to stop and collect himself. Jack was asleep, not even remotely aware of what he was doing. Even as touch starved as he was - awake he'd never be so comfortable being this affectionate.

Though that didn't make it any easier to ignore the kits complaints as he pried off the boy's grip and lay him in his bed. Or help him leave when he saw ears twitch and one hand reach out. In the end, he found himself crouching by the bed, stroking the younger Pooka's forehead and wishing, for the countless time, that he'd been able to be there sooner.

In the morning, Jack woke up in his room, and couldn't remember how he got there.

Then he spotted Bunnymund, head in his hands as he snored, half on the bed and half collapsed on the ground, and decided it might be better if he didn't.

He wasn't sure he could handle the embarrassment.

Got held back by about 2 hours as I couldn't decide how to finish it up. This chapter had about 5 different endings before I settled on this one. Hope you enjoyed.