Jack was curled up in his bed, sleeping soundly as the door quietly creaked open. Two figures snuck in, eyes trained on the sleeping spirit, bits of snow having fallen on the bed from Jack's own personal weather system. Both spirits grinned and nodded, raising their hands holding small canisters as the lowered themselves on each side of the bed.
"3…2…1…"
Jack screamed as the sound of air horns blared in his ears, thrashing about in a panic while the sound of Russian curses, a female squeak and a loud curse came from the other rooms. Hallow and Fool were doubled over in laughter, Jack having tangled himself in the covers and fallen in a heap on the floor, frosting over and freezing the covers in place. North, Sandy, Tooth and Bunny burst in, ready for a fight. When they found the two spirits rolling on the floor in hysterical laughter and a frozen blanket burrito rolling around on the ground, all stopped and stared. Tooth was the first to laugh, quickly followed by North and Sandy rolling around while his sand made unintelligible shapes in the air. Bunny seemed to be the only one not finding any par of this amusing. He cracked some of the ice and lifted the blanket, revealing Jack with a down right adorable little pout on his face.
"Ya'll right Frostbite?" asked the Pooka, helping him break the ice and squirm out of his prison.
"Hot DAMN you should have seen the look on your face!" laughed Fool, Hallow clutching his sides and wiping a tear from his eye. Hallow pulled out a camera, grinning.
"And oh he will." Snickered Hallow. Jack couldn't help but giggle. He had to admit, they got him good. Aster whacked the now empty blanket shell and broke the ice, leaving the waterproof material in it's former blanket state and tossing it on the bed. Then he rounded on the two pranksters.
"That wasn't funny." Huffed Aster.
"Of course it was!" cackled North. "Bunny must light up, ja? Even Jack laugh, and he ice burrito moments ago!" Aster rolled his eyes and huffed as Hallow and Fool put their arms around Jack, smiling innocently.
"Yeah, lighten up Roo." Snickered Hallow. Fool chuckled, Aster growling with his eyes narrowed. Jack, seeing him reach for his boomerangs, quickly intervened.
"What's going on?" whispered Cupid, startling Tooth as Jack pulled away from the pranksters.
"Relax Bun-Bun." Said Jack, smiling, lightly pushing on the Pooka' shoulders. "I have to admit, they got me. And I probably would have laughed if I did it. No harm done. Thanks for getting me out of that by the way, and running to my 'rescue'." Cupid grinned, seeing both sides of the red string glow. He could see the color of Hallow's heart change, a look of realization strong on his face, as well as a small twinge of pain. Heartbreak was never fun, but it would soon fade.
"Oi, we only dragged ourselves over cause ya were screaming bloody murder." Huffed Aster, ears flat against his head. "It sounded like Pitch was back and trying to drag ya down to his ruddy little pit of misery." Jack laughed, tugging on one ear with an impish grin. The guardians all rolled their eyes, knowing full well what was coming.
"Awe, my knight in furry armor." Said Jack in a sing-song voice, making even North do a double take as Aster sputtered. Cupid felt like slapping both of them. It was so freaking OBVIOUS! But, he was heartened by the glowing of the string. He crossed his fingers behind his back, praying to Manny that Jack would figure it out, when IT happened.
"Uh…am I interrupting anything?" All heads turned as a ghost stood in the door, holding a large bundle of pure white and blue roses. Tooth looked like she wanted to rip her feathers out, Fool actually giving her a sympathetic look.
"No." said North simply. The ghost strode in and presented the bouquet to Jack, who immediately flushed. Whether it was from the flowers or the fact he had just received a bouquet, in his pajamas in front of his Father figure from a secret admirer.
"From the gentleman you danced with last night." he said formally before taking his leave, Jack a little shell shocked.
"Wasn't me." Said Hallow as heads turned in his direction. Aster bristled a bit, Jack looking at the small card and blushing. Cupid barely restrained from pulling out his hair and screaming, regretting the dosage he shot into the Groundhog. Jack looked up from the flowers and glared at all of them.
"…not that I don't enjoy the company, but can I get dressed now?" Tooth chirped, remembering the itinerary for the day.
"Oh! We're getting shore time!" she exclaimed, zipping back to her room. She came back with a bag and yanked out a blue and white Hawaiian print shirt and a large sun hand paired with sunglasses. "C'mon! Gotta look the part! We're playing tourist!" Tooth somehow managed to shove everyone out while cornering Jack, the flowers being used as some kind of shield. The others stared a moment while a few crashes and yells came from the room before, with a yell and a covering of frost, Tooth was ejected and the door slammed.
"Fine, I'll wear it but OUT!" The small crowd merely stared at each other for a moment before returning to their own rooms, preparing for their trip to the island of Kauai.
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"Wow…" said Jack, holding the wide brimmed hat down as the tropical breeze blew at his face. Aster smiled, seeing Jack's blue eyes wide with awe as they docked and readied for their day ashore. And, come Hell or high water, he would make sure he enjoyed it. He was thankful nobody noticed (and if they had, they had the tact not to mention it) his rising temper from this morning. That greasy little dag Groundhog was trying to woo Jack, and no way in Hell was he letting THAT nightmare happen. He knew Pitch (And more than likely Tooth) would have a field day with this, and he could then kiss any chance of a good night's sleep goodbye. And the prank from this morning didn't help. He was on his guard and ready to fight off ANYBODY who tried anything with his Jack. Bunny shook his head.
Shut up you possessive bastard. He didn't notice Jack was looking at him until he felt a cool hand on his arm.
"Hey, you okay Bunny?" he was never more relieved by the fact he had fur, as if he didn't Jack would be seeing his blush, but cursed his luck as his ears went flat against his skull.
"I'm fine Frostbite." He said. "Just annoyed with the bloody arses."
"It's fine." Said Jack, smiling. "It was just a little prank. Nobody got hurt, it just gave everyone a shock. They promised not to do it again." Aster smiled a bit, mostly at Jack's smile and partially at the fact the winter spirit was holding his arm. Meanwhile, Tooth and Cupid were watching with wide grins, Cupid actually doing a small fist pump.
"Have to admit, those flowers this morning had me worried." Said Cupid. Tooth nodded in a agreement.
"I know." she said, smiling. "But, now we can go track down Mother Nature and have that little issue removed." She chirped happily, pulling out a camera. She snuck up on the two, camera ready to capture a perfect moment. She snapped a picture, Jack laughing and Bunny smiling softly as they reached the beach, Jack fluttering about but remaining anchored to Bunny. She and the others reached the beach, and were about to call out to them before someone beat them to it.
"Hello Jack." Aster's eyes narrowed at the Groundhog, said oversized animal having eyes only for Jack. "I didn't know you had a pet bunny."
"Hello to ya too, ya bloody dag." Snorted Aster. Jack flinched at the intense tension between the two as Hallow and Fool approached.
"What the Hell?" asked Hallow, looking on in confusion with the Guardians, Fool scratching his head.
"Damn it!" huffed Cupid. "And things were going so well!"
"What's going on? You sound pretty upset Cupid." All heads turned as a red head with flowers blooming in her hair walked over, a small trail of hibiscus flowers ground behind her.
"Mother Nature!" North swore in Russian, formally bowing towards one of the world's most powerful spirit, the only spirit who had refused guardianship (SUCCESSFULLY) in favor of caring for every being on Earth, human, animal or plant. Also, probably the wisest next to MiM himself. She took one look at the exchange between Jack, Bunny and Groundhog, quickly doing the math.
"Cupid…" she began. "You forgot about the Immortal Effect again, didn't you? Tell me, why exactly is this so important you broke your own mandate not to interfere in the love lives of fellow spirits, especially with those potent little drugs you have to affect their poor minds, and which one did you shoot?"
"Groundhog." Sighed Cupid. "It was a micro dose, but…"
"Ah, that explains it." she said, snickering. "Trying to get Bunnymund jealous enough to swallow his pride. Excellent plan. Lucky for you we are in Kauai, and this place has a reputation for romance. I say we ditch Frosty and Buns in a botanical garden for a few hours and see where it goes."
"That's…that's actually not bad…" said Cupid. Mother Nature clapped, going into general mode.
"Good!" she said. "Now, let us go! Theres shaved ice to be had, gardens to be seen and lovers to unite!" Mother Nature walked purposely forward towards the trio and pointedly shoved her way between Jack and the ground hog, shoving Jack closer to Bunny.
"Hello dear, I don't think we've formally met." Said Mother Nature, shaking Jack's hand. "Mother Nature. And you are the new Guardian, Jack Frost. It's a pleasure to meet you. Now, daylight is wasting and I for one want to see the beaches. Groundhog, care to accompany me? Seems they already have a full travel group, and I would just LOVE to hear a few of your stories. Have you managed to get rid of your mole problem yet?" Tooth watched slack-jawed as Mother Nature leg the Groundhog away, sending them a covert wink as Bunny and Jack stared in awkward silence after her.
"…Okay, is it just me, or is she completely off her rocker?" asked Jack.
"Awe, who cares?" said Fool. "Lets go! We have things to do, locals to prank, places to see!" Bunny couldn't help but send a smug look at Groundhog, who glanced back as he was dragged off. Mother Nature was s good spirit, polite and loving if not a bit insane. But, she was one to be taken in small doses. Normally he would sympathize with the victim, even the Hog if she captured them for the day, but he couldn't bring himself to muster the pity.
Serves the greasy little pillock right, flirting with his Jack.
Damn it brain, shut the Hell up!
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Jack was beginning to suspect something from Tooth. Well, not just Tooth. The entire group seemed to be going out of their way to have him and Bunny talk, and Hallow seemed a little distant on the subject. Not that they ditched, no, but on the bus they had the two sit together, threw them both in the water at the beach, had them sit together for lunch and occasionally seemed to make them bump into each other. It was all very confusing to the spirit. Now he was actually alone, sitting on a rock on the beach, looking at the afternoon sky as slowly the sun began to set. Suddenly he felt a nudge.
"Oi Snowflake, what's with the funk?" Jack looked up to see Bunny, holding blue and green shaved ice.
"I'm not in a funk." Said Jack. "Just relaxing." Aster looked at him a moment and handed him the blue shaved ice. Jack looked up in confusion.
"Yer favorite's raspberry." Shrugged the Pooka before crouching down next to the winter spirit. Now Jack was really confused. How did the Pooka know his favorite flavor? As if reading his mind, the Pooka smiled. "Well, it's kind of obvious with how fast North's raspberry snow cone syrup disappears since ya joined."
"Let me guess…" began Jack, laughing at the green ice for Bunny. "Either green apple or watermelon."
"Green apple." Said Aster. "How'd ya guess?"
"Because I know you like apples and you usually have watermelon when I break in." said Jack, flushing a bit. He took a bite of the ice and smiled as cool rushed through him and the flavor tickled his taste buds. The conversation eased into simple silence, the two watching as the sun began to set. Cupid, the Guardians, Hallow and Fool watched a little bit off, with their own shaved ice. Jack had long abandoned his hat, the thing making it hard to see, leaving his white hair to shimmer and sway in the breeze. If the humans could see them, they'd probably think they had gone insane. A little way off, Mother Nature was chatting the Groundhog's ear off. Said Groundhog shot a few glances at Jack and Bunny, obviously sick of Nature.
"So, you shot Groundhog to try and play match maker for Jack and Bunny." Said Hallow.
"I love messing with people, but the arrows are sacred." Said Cupid. "Only used them because hats the only magic I have that works on spirits. I considered you, but you would be too sweet on Jack, and you're not infuriating enough to make the old fur ball make a move. It's my job to make sure soul mates find each other." North choked o his pineapple shaved ice.
"Soul mates?" asked Tooth excitedly.
"The red thread never lies." Said Cupid. "And it's obvious to anyone with eyes. Bunny needs fun and happiness, and Jack needs hope and love. It's rare a true soul mate is ever found for another, but when it happens, it's my duty to make sure they find each other. I'll send Hog an explanation and a gift basket when this is over. Sometimes love needs a little help, and things seem to be going well now. Now, Tooth darling, I think Bunny has his motivation. It's time for phase two." Tooth giggled, pulling out the dinner passes to the fanciest restaurant on the ship.
"If this doesn't set the mood, nothing will." While they laughed and Jack and Bunny unconsciously leaned against each other, the Groundhog glared at the two Guardians on the beach, jealousy burning under his fur. He noticed how Aster absentmindedly touched Jack's hand and his mind was made up.
This was war.