This chapter is dedicated to kyuubecky, who left the 100th review for this story. I was able to figure out how to do your request earlier than I thought, since a few people wanted something that gave me a good opportunity for this...
So here is a sequel to Halloween Night.
Jack closed his eyes as he let the chocolate melt on his tongue. It was delicious. Bunny certainly knew what good chocolate was. Few of the eggs had remained, but he happily ate those that did.
It was long past midnight and the children were sleeping peacefully in their beds, lost in the dreams Sandy had sent them. Jack sat on a rooftop, observing the quiet town as he enjoyed the Easter treats. He threw the colorful wrappings back in the borrowed basket. He would need to return it to Bunny.
Caution would dictate that he takes off his long, fluffy ears and remove the pom-pom from his staff first, but caution was no fun. With a wide grin, Jack stood up.
"Wind! Let's see what Bunny thinks of my costume."
He spotted Bunny sitting in a grassy meadow dotted with flowers in his Warrens. He painted with watercolors on a large piece of white paper, trying to find new designs for the next batch of Easter eggs. Jack smiled when he saw the boomerang-wielding Guardian so engrossed in painting pretty pastel patterns. He was quite sure Bunny felt the cold draft as he landed behind him, but he didn't turn around right away.
"I think you should add more pink."
"And since when are you an artist, Frost...bite."
Bunny trailed off and gaped when he turned. Jack smiled sweetly, pretending not to notice.
"Of course I'm an artist. Frost is my medium and the world is my canvas."
He swept the tip of his staff, still disguised as a brush, over the tall blades of grass as if painting them, smiling when delicately intricate patterns of frost spread across their surface at the touch. Bunny stared at him some more, then at the staff, the frozen ground and back at him.
"Don't change the subject!"
He gave the pooka a bemused smile, thought he knew is eyes betrayed his amusement.
"I wasn't. I just answered your question."
"That's not the point! What is... what is this?"
"Oh, you mean my Halloween costume?"
"Your Halloween costume? Frostbite, when I agreed to give you treats to distribute to children, it wasn't so you could mock me!"
Bunny stood and ripped the basket from his hands. It was a struggle to avoid laughing. He pulled his featured into a perfect picture of confused innocence, broken only by the mischievous sparkle in is blue eyes.
"Mock you? Why would you think I'm mocking you?"
Bunny ignored him, grabbing Jack's fluffy white ears instead. He stared at them for a long moment, looking horrified, before throwing them in the basket. That was more than Jack could handle. He burst into peals of laughter, floating a little over the frosted grass to avoid collapsing.
The laughter stopped abruptly a moment later when he did collapse as the irritated pooka grabbed the staff from where it rested in the crook of his arm to tear off the yellow and purple ribbons holding the pom-pom in place. Jack's heart skipped a beat. It was not the rough landing as the wind suddenly stopped carrying him that bothered him. It was seeing, feeling, his precious staff in someone else's hand.
The frost covering it disappeared instantly, freeing the black pom-pom from the shape it had been held in, leaving it secured at the base of the crook with only the ribbons. Bunny looked satisfied at that. Jack forced a few deep, slow breath trough his nose. He could still remember like it was yesterday how it had felt, that day in Antarctica, when Pitch had snapped the staff in two. But this was Bunny, not Pitch. He would not willingly hurt him.
The pooka looked back at him in puzzlement and slight worry, likely wondering at his sudden silence. Bunny's eyes widened when their eyes met. Jack knew he must still look more than a little panicked. He needed to calm down. The other Guardian's eyes went repeatedly from him to the frostless staff he was now gingerly holding in his furry hands, as if it was now dawning on him that he may have gone a bit far. Jack forced a small smile on his lips.
"Be careful with that."
Bunny nodded slowly and, with almost ridiculous care, slipped the ribbons off the staff, letting the pom-pom fall into the basket with the bunny ears. The way he handled the slim piece of wood like it was made of blown glass brought a smile to Jack's lips. As vulnerable as he felt, he knew the staff was in good hand. He rose back to his feet just as Bunny held it up toward him, letting it rest lightly on his finger as if he was afraid to touch it more than he actually needed to.
Jack laughed. As the strange sensation that came with the staff being handled by anyone else stopped feeling so threatening, Bunny's overly cautious actions looked simply hilarious. The pooka glared at him and all but pushed the staff back in his hand. He was visibly relieved when Jack's finger curled back around the shaft and frost covered it once more.
Bunny made an attempt to pull himself back together. He drew himself up to his full height and planted a menacing finger on Jack's nose.
"Next time you decide to dress up for Halloween, find someone else to make fun of."
The winter spirit crossed his eyes to look at the finger on his nose before giving Bunny his most innocent look.
"I just did it for the children. They love you."
The pooka withdrew his finger with a startled smile, obviously flattered. His ears fell backward as he chuckled.
"Of course they love me. I—"
Jack interrupted him by patting him on a furry cheek with a grin."
"Of course they love you. Kids love fluffy bunnies."
He flew off with a laugh before Bunny could really process his words. Even when his laughter turned into a little shriek as a boomerang knocked him out of the air and into a small lake of paint, he decided it had been worth it.
So, kyuubecky wanted to see what would happen if Bunny took Jack's staff and several people wanted his reaction to Jack's costume, so I put the two together and here is this chapter.
Since there's still a bit of time before I have to go sleep, I'm going to try and doodle a cover for this story, supposing photoshop is willing to not crash long enough for that.
