Chapter Seven: Warm Money

By the end of association, Bunnymund and Jack had realised three things.

One, Groundhog was a complete asshole and ought to be ground into dust.

Two, they wanted to be in the same cell together (out of friendship obviously).

Three, they had to bribe the guards better than Groundhog, or at least figure out what they were competing with.

Once the two had to be separated for dinner in their individual cells. Jack was pondering over the bribing, making every waking moment an excuse for fear and anxiety. Pitch almost seemed amused by him.

"Not much money to be honest, it doesn't take much to convince some guards to stop two cell mates from being together who clearly love each other to death" he smirked, lying with his arm under his head on the bed, reading. Jack rolled his eyes, hiding his blush. He was more than a little used to the teasing he gained regarding his relationship with the Australian.

"Which means we could probably overthrow them with our own bribes, Groundhog doesn't take things slow, he won't bother doing some bidding game between us and himself so we can get that covered as soon as we know how much he is paying them" Jack elucidated.

Pitch snickered and Jack gave him a strange look.

"What?"

"Well, I've been in here four years, I know someone who can figure anything out for you, want me to talk to him?"

Jack blinked twice before leaning on the desk with a wry smile.

"If I didn't know any better Pitch, I would reckon you are trying to get out of here"

Pitch raised a brow, not a trace of laughter upon his stony face as he continued reading.

"As if I would want anything like that"

Jack laughed before pausing and cocking his head to the side.

"Hey Pitch...why did you steal from that museum, you seem too refined to bother with such a petty crime"

The dark, older man stopped reading and his face turned sour, he took in a deep breath and looked away as he replied.

"I had a daughter, a beautiful, precious thing to me...but she was taken away when I couldn't make enough money to keep her with me as her mother died a long time ago and we were being targeted by the government for my jobs lacking pay...I had to do something to get her back...but...well, now I'm in here, that is all there is to it"

Pitch didn't tell Jack that he was so mindless with fear and anger that he didn't make any effort in keeping the burglary a secret, he simply rampaged, smashed everything, stole every priceless item and ended up battering a few other guards.

Bunnymund was in laundry again and this time Leprechaun was actually helping out, taking things out of the tumble dryer into the basket. He had heard about Bunnymund's situation and not a single insult or tease came out which surprised the Australian as Leprechaun was tough and outward with just about everyone. Just as he was starting to feel pretty proud with being ranked high by the Irish guy, Leprechaun pulled him aside and Bunnymund realised Groundhog had entered.

"Damn, must be missing your little ice lolly, Aussie"

"Not nearly as much as you hog" Bunnymund shot back, not even turning back from his folding. By this point everyone turned round and it was nothing new to have something considerably violent ensue with these two in the room.

"Nice little comeback there, Bunny, but…maybe I was harsh on you"

Leprechaun made a sound and took a swig of his beverage set aside muttering.

"Bullshit"

Bunnymund had very similar thoughts and cracked his head to the side, turning round and leaning against the surface.

"Oh?" he challenged with widened eyes, risen brows, cocking his head to the left.

"Yeah" Groundhog smirked, walking closer, his buddies staying behind. "In fact, I'm going to lay off the both of you, even the cute ice cube, you could say I'm…bored of this game" Groundhog could have even sounded sincere as his voice lowered, soft as though this was something just between him and the Aussie.

Bunnymund blinked slowly and sullenly.

"Yeah, right, okay" he went back but Groundhog grabbed his wrist, naturally Bunnymund ripped his limb away from the older man with unhidden disgust and stepped back.

"Look, I don't care how fucking friendly your tone is getting, you don't touch me, got that mate?"

Groundhog smiled and raised his hands in a defensive gesture.

"Sure, whatever you say" and with that he left to his own duties across the room.

There was a tense feeling of disappointment from everyone but Bunnymund gave Leprechaun a peculiar look that was returned with just as much surprise, he shrugged and swigged.

Pitch approached Bunnymund and Jack during association time the following day, Jack had slept uneasy, more nightmares. But Pitch never consoled him, hell; he hardly even woke at the sounds of the younger man's muffled yells and tears; the cold sweat that consumed his trembling frame as he was haunted by his reckless crime.

The weather was dull again. Jack and Bunnymund were playing a game of 'Cheat' with a deck of cards lent by some slightly unscrewed guy called Jester, Pitch came over with a cocky smile on his face and a new prisoner by his side.

"This is Manny, nicknamed Man in Moon because he knows just about everything" the dark haired character gestured and Bunnymund and Jack nodded politely to the older man, he looked middle aged with hair like the sky at midnight, a velvety, black-blue that made his remarkably silvery-lilac grey eyes shine like stars, he nodded in response to the two prisoners.

"You look pretty respectable, why you here?" Bunnymund asked.

Manny smirked.

"Drug selling, made people believe in what they wanted to believe, but...got caught" he shrugged. His tone was flat, soft and it was rather hard to hear him if you didn't focus.

"He knows that Groundhog is only giving the guards £50*"

"That isn't much" Jack considered.

"That's something I can challenge, mate" Bunnymund nudged him with his bulky shoulder with a wink. Everyone turned to him.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I worked in an expensive sweets company, that isn't a cheap business, I've got some cash, let's say" he grinned and Jack involuntary lit up.

"Just hand it over then, get back!"

He realised how rude he was being to Pitch and faced his current cell-mate with apology in his eyes.

"Sorry Pitch" he muttered, biting his lip and the dark haired man laughed.

"Please, I get my own cell if I get hauled out" he shrugged with a toothy smile and he and Manny eventually wandered off.

Manny quickly jogged back though to talk to Bunnymund.

"Give me the money later, I know how to bribe, Jack will be back by sundown"

Bunnymund blinked and Jack shuffled closer to overhear, but by then Bunnymund had told Manny where to meet and this time the moonlit eyed man carried on his way with Pitch.

It was dinner time and Jack was writing a letter to Jamie at the desk. Yawning, he looked up out of the window and sighed. It was a moonless, starless night with a few faded clouds drifting over the canvas like lost souls. Oh how poetic, he ought to write that down, might make Jamie chuckle.

He heard a chuckle at the door and he turned to see Bunnymund with a big rucksack on his shoulder and an even bigger smile on his face.

"Surprise, honey" he joked and Jack paused everything.

"It worked?!" he exclaimed, standing up with a growing beam.

"Manny is pretty damn good at what he does" Bunnymund hauled his stuff on to the bottom bed. Now that Jack thought about it, the cell did seem empty when he came back from his lessons and he now realised all of Pitch's stuff had gone, he let out a sigh of relief.

"Is Pitch alright?"

"Yeah, in with Manny actually" Bunnymund undid all his stuff and pushed Jack's work aside to place his own files down with a snigger.

"What the hell man!" Jack yelled playfully and reached over to the left to collect his stuff when he felt a warm arm around his waist, Jack stopped grinning and gasped.

He didn't move but he didn't have to. He was pulled back to have his own back pressed against a heated, solid chest but there wasn't an ounce of fear in Jack as he let the feeling sink and he pressed his fluffy white hair back onto a broad shoulder with a faint smile.

This is why he had wanted the Australian back. He doubted they would ever have anything between them due to prison regulations but these quiet, hidden moments were something he could hold on to and hope for.

Little did he know that his now fellow prison mate: Bunnymund felt the exact same way, holding the younger, white haired man in his arms was; despite feeling like being buried in snow, there was a wondrous sensation of comfort and the ability to protect.

The scent of peppermint, vanilla icing and cool spice was enticing and Bunnymund didn't stop himself from inhaling the fragrance from the younger man's pale hair.

"Are you smelling my hair?"

"You are the freshest thing in this place, snowflake, I can't help it"

Jack giggled and it made something in Bunnymund's chest lurch with a soft excitement that caused a smile to frame his expression and if possible, hold his prison mate closer.

"Well, what do you smell like?" Jack suddenly piped and he had vanished from the Australian's arms before the older man had realised it and jumped onto the chair to lean over Bunnymund, catching his ears and moving them out the way as he dove his nose into the short, velvety hair.

Bunnymund started laughing as Jack moved away and crouched on the desk like some kind of pixie and made an expression of adorable confusion as he pondered over what he had discovered, Bunnymund's ears were twitching slightly from the chilled contact. Chocolate, freshly cut grass, rich spice and…a sweetened, aqua scent that overall reminded the younger prisoner of a stunning meadow. Oh look, more potential poetry to send to Jamie.

But thoughts of his former neighbour left Jack's mind as felt something soft and slightly warm press onto his forehead, it took him a few, shell-shocked seconds to realise it was the older man's lips. Jack gulped and he felt the blush heat up his face with an unbearable heat.

"W-What you doing, Kangaroo?"

"I missed you"

That changed things, Jack snapped his mouth shut and felt himself fall from his crouched position to a slouched sitting position on the desk with his legs hanging over the edge as Bunnymund drew his stupidly lovely mouth over temples and stay there with tender passion that caused Jack's heartbeat to race and his breathing to turn laboured somewhat.

"I missed you too, damn rabbit" he attempted to joke but it came out with a cracked voice as his eyes were closed by lips, then his cheeks were peppered with the affectionate motion and all Jack could think of was the content feeling of protection and love radiate from the Aussie. Love? Don't be so silly…it was just…a really comfortable alliance.

Bunnymund would have burst out laughing at the fact kissing the cell-mate was turning his lips blue but he was too busy enjoying the kissing in the first place, he had wanted to be with the lad since he had first turned up, even if it was just with selfish intentions at first regarding Jack's fair features, but it had grown into something with meaning, the desire to protect Jack and know he was in harm's way during their separation was torture and he just wanted to throw every ounce of emotion onto the man before him.

It was ridiculously quiet, whether it was just the beating of blood and heartbeats pounding in their ears that numbed the racket around them or whether everyone was feeling rather timid in the prison today, all Bunnymund could hear with his sensitive hearing were the delightful gasps and chuckles from Jack and all the latter could sense was the flesh and lips contact and the warmth that melted his icy exterior.

Just then there was a loud clatter as the guards walked past and yelled out to everyone that it was lights off, Jack took in a shuddering gasp of shock as he was brought back to grim reality. But that didn't stop Bunnymund, as soon as he had also frozen to the abrupt sound of others he looked down at Jack and gulped, the realisation of what he had down washing over him.

But Jack was smiling and reached up in the darkness to draw his fingers through cropped silky hair, causing Bunnymund to lean down and focus on the younger man's pale lips as he moved closer, pressing Jack against the bed lightly and kissing the corners of his mouth with fervours, unable to bring himself though to truly kiss the lips of the white haired prisoner who whimpered at the teasing kisses so close to his mouth but only attacking the edges of his jaw, he wound his arms around the neck of the older man and leant up, whimpering and gasping with the desire to truly be kissed.

Bunnymund paused and nuzzled into Jack's neck, ears falling onto the blue eyed man's head and arms keeping him close. Oh god. He thought.

He loved him.

A/N: *I'm British and although this prison isn't the same to that of one in Britain (or anywhere) I'm using my currency.

Well, that was something sensual and sweet to leave off on, even more hate-worthy than my last cliff-hanger! Oh grief.

How…freaking Shakespearean was this? Oh my god, that last section, it was just flowing from my fingertips like music in the air, I couldn't stop, I can't stop now! HELP ME! Save my romantic drowning soul my people!

But now to my wonderful followers, it seems I spend most of my chapter writing time talking to my precious reviewers, not that I mind!

-LAW09

To AyameKitsune: I think we all do by now, haha, thanks for the review!

To LadyMinuialwen: Well I think that's been covered ;) thanks for the review!

To I'mBelleGoose: Maybe they are, hehe, and oh you think so? We will find out, thanks for the Bunnymund-owning-Easter candy- factory-meaning-he-is-rich reminder, your review was actually the inspiration for this chapter! Thanks for the review!

To Cookie Guest: More gifts, excellent! Aww, you are too sweet, thank you so much for reviewing once again, I'm glad you liked the fluff

To spiritsong15: Thank you so much, I love being praised on my writing as well as the overall pairing, I am glad you think I am good, I want to be an author soon and it's so nice knowing I can keep all my readers reading! Bunny and Jack back together indeed and I think that is an utterly splendid idea, I will prepare a meeting immediately; make sure your beard is especially metaphorical!

To CJSakura: I believe they need all the luck they can get, thanks so much for the review!

To slyangelfox: You sound a bit like a Pitch fan, am I wrong? Well, Pitch was a kind of impulse for me to include, the others had been added and it felt odd not mentioning him a little bit, his part plays a rather interesting role in the forthcoming chapters, it will be up to you to decide if he helps or not, and Groundhog does out-villain him, doesn't he? Your giggling is wonderful and so is your review, thank you!

To Kid Darkness: WELL, this did please me seeing such an embellished review, in steps: Yes I do believe them seem to subconsciously try to do things for each other which I reckon would be really sweet, Pitch will actually be rather significant soon, no more than the actual couple but it will be up to you to decide whether he is considered helpful or not, I am glad you don't mind how I portrayed him so far. They are too manly to admit, and it's getting annoying. Ahaha, your re-pasted paragraph of mine really pleased me, I pictured that scene in my head particularly well and thought it would be awesome as a camera shot or something, I am very glad you like my style of writing and I loved your prolonged "Aww" thank you so much!

To RizReviewer: Well Pitch will become an interesting part soon so who knows, but yeah, I did tone him down a bit, I hope you didn't mind, the guards are pretty damn irritating and Groundhog was bribing them with money, but that's all sorted out now, haha, thanks for the review!

To Salvanas: A precious new reviewer! Thank you so much for the review, I am glad you like it, such words to describe it with are flattering, thank you!

And to my followers and favourites, bless you all, it is lovely to know you are enjoying this story!