Well, this is it. Already, I know. And this time, this is really it. There's no sequel in store, no more of this fanfic. Although I can promise you all that I will be writing more JackRabbit in the future. Honestly, I don't know how I wouldn't considering my insane addiction to it.
And who knows? You guys, the readers, are a major part of my writing. Don't be shy to ask me to write something for this fandom if you really want to see it happen. I'm pretty easygoing when it comes to stuff like that.
So, for the last time, enjoy, read, review. And thank you all for your support and amazing feedback.
Warning: There is a lot angst and hurt in this fic.
Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians.
Summary: He had always been alone. Now he's struggling to find his place with the Guardians. Sequel to What's Left of Me.
o-o-o-o
By the time that Bunnymund and Jack made it back to the North Pole, Sandy was pacing around with a scowl on his features, Tooth was glaring at North, and said Russian himself was pointedly ignoring anything and everything as he loosely hacked away at a chunk of ice.
"Do Ah wanna ask what's goin' on, or should we just leave?" Bunnymund asked a little hesitantly as Sandman caught a glimpse of them. A bright grin lit of his face as he noticed the proximity between the two Guardians that had just arrived, and he winked at the Pooka knowingly before turning and waving to get Toothiana's attention.
"Oh! Jack! Aster ! You're back!" she sighed in relief as she flitted over. "I am so sorry for anything that Nicholas said to you. Sandman and I had thought that we all agreed to let you two sort out whatever was going on in your own time, but of course, he got impatient."
Jack blinked, moving closer to Bunnymund as the excited fairy came a little too close to his comfort zone, and it wasn't something that went unnoticed by anyone in the room. However, the remaining Guardians sensed that it probably wouldn't do much good for them to comment on it, only to have Bunnymund and Jack push each other away again.
"I sorry." North made a face behind Tooth as he lowered the chainsaw. "Is not my fault. Blame mother for that one."
"Your mother is a wonderful woman, Nicholas St. North, and don't you dare say otherwise!" Tooth snapped back, feathers ruffling threateningly as the two began another round of arguing. Sandy shrugged at Jack, as if to say, What can I do? They don't even listen to me when they're getting along!
Jack, however, after a long day of stress and relief, finally allowed a small smile to cross his features as he realized that he really wasn't in this alone. He had Sandy and North and Tooth and Bunnymund to help him every step of the way.
He knew it would be a long time, if ever, that he would manage to come back from killing someone and even getting over all the traumatic events that had happened to him in the last three hundred years, but in the meantime, the Winter Spirit would try his damn hardest to make it for everyone around him.
"Thanks, Kangaroo." The Winter Spirit whispered into his newfound partner's ear before going back to acting as if nothing had happened.
Bunnymund looked down in shock at the smirking Guardian before looking at Sandy, who once again had the knowing grin plastered all over his face. Cheekily, he blew a kiss to the pair before retreating to higher ground to attempt to keep Toothiana from ripping North a new one.
"Anytime, Frostbite." Bunnymund replied, feeling a soft smile of his own crossing his face.
"Anytime."
o-o-o-o
100 years later
"Oi! Jack! Where've all the googies gone this time!" an irritated Pooka yelled across his Warren, long grey ears plastered to the back of his head threateningly as he scented the air, hoping to catch the slightest whiff of the Winter Spirit he knew was behind all of this. "If Ah find out you sent them to North's again, there's gonna be hell to pay, mate!"
"I don't think you're yelling loud enough, Kangaroo. I think there are still a couple folks in Canada who didn't hear you." A light voice taunted by his ear before Bunnymund whirled to face a grinning Jack Frost.
"Where. Are. My. Googies." The Pooka growled, making a swipe for Jack's neck. If he could get the idiot in a headlock then it meant that he would have a higher chance of making sure that there would be minimal teleportation confusion like last time. Bunnymund had ended up in New Zealand rather than China, and it had not been a pleasant experience to go through as Jack led him on a merry little game of tag.
Sensing that he wasn't in the mood to play, Jack rolled his eyes, sticking out his bottom lip as he remained suspended in the air by the thin cloud of frost that now accompanied him everywhere. It was a rather nifty trick that the younger Guardian had figured out after he accidentally teleported himself into the sky rather than to the top of a building, and since then he was rarely seen without the damned thing.
"They're already in the tunnels, if you really want to know." Jack muttered, blue eyes flickering to said tunnels to emphasize his point. "I thought we went over this last year."
"Ah'm not mad at ya, Frostbite. Ah was just concerned about what might've happened to all of them. Ever since-"
"Don't say it, Aster." Jack warned.
"Ah hardly think Ah need to tell you what Ah'm talkin' about anyway." The Pooka snorted before drawing the reluctant teen into his arms. Almost immediately, there was a distinct change in the slightly stiff shoulders that Jack had, and then he relaxed into the warm fur that was very similar to a blanket. "But Ah do have a point."
"Yeah yeah."
"Hey. Frostbite. Look at me." Bunnymund rolled his eyes before tilting up Jack's chin so that their eyes met. There was still a slightly haunted look to the glittering sapphire, though the Winter Spirit tried his hardest to keep it from showing, and Bunnymund raised a brow.
"Ah love ya."
"I know."
The Pooka let out a bark of laughter before he snickered at Jack. "That's it? No, Ah love ya too? Just Ah know? You wound me, Frostbite."
"I love you, Kangaroo." The teen finally smirked back, going on the tips of his toes to place a peck on the Pooka's lips. "So can we go now?"
"Whatever you say, Frostbite." Bunnymund chortled, though he allowed the smaller Guardian to have his freedom as he began moving towards the tunnels. "But Ah'm still the best at hidin' the googies."
"You're on, Kangaroo!"
o-o-o-o
It's still hard.
I know that everything stems from one thing, but really, I don't care about that anymore. It's just the simple realization that there's all of this pain and suffering that's still lurking somewhere in the back of my mind, and I don't know what's going to happen because of it.
But I have Aster.
Sure, he's a pain in the ass sometimes, but he's a good guy. Pooka. Guardian. Whatever he is. And he's been right beside me every step of the way.
He's helped me realize that I'm not the only one who goes through shit like this, and he's really helped me realize that none of what happened was my fault.
Of course, the whole Tooth vs. North thing that's been going on for the last hundred years or so was kind of my fault, even if I didn't mean for it to be. But how was I supposed to know that they'd all agreed to let me and the Kangaroo sort it out?
Mischief Night's appeared a couple of times since then when I'm in Paris, and it always seems to be at the Eiffel Tower. He's not all that bad, when he's not being a complete ass about telling you what you want to know. And trust me, that shit can get pretty bad.
Other than that, Aster and I are getting closer every year. I live here in the Warren now, and he actually trusts me enough to help him with Easter now. Hard to believe, considering the rocky start that we had concerning said holiday, but who am I to judge?
My name is Jack Frost.
I've lived through not just one, but two wars.
I was alone for three hundred years.
I am hopelessly head over heels for the Easter Bunny.
This is the end of my chapter.
But the beginning of a new story.