I thought I might let everyone know that Flicker Uncut has reached the 12th chapter mark in AO3, and next chapter would be my debut :)

edit: made a quick change on the chapter title, sorry.

Flicker Chapter 6: Fire Blossoms

Bunny sat with his back planted against the mossy egg-shaped stones while keeping watch on Jack in front of him. He kept true to his word that he wasn't going to leave his side, but he was starting to get sore from staying in the same position all night. He didn't get a decent wink of sleep as a result.

At least I have a helper. Bunny thought to himself as he looked at the little ice bird perched upon his shoulder. The creature copied Bunny and hasn't moved from Jack's side either. Keeping him in its glassy eyes, and not once it looked away from his prone body.

If Bunny's sense of timing is correct, it might be morning in his territory above ground. Sandy had left last night soon after Jack had eventually cooled down back to his normal temperature, returning to his job of bringing dreams to children around the world. Bunny assumed that he would be back within a few minutes. Tooth was near the edge of the clearing, giving orders to her mini fairies while they zipped in and out of a tunnel that he had opened up especially for them. She said that she didn't want to leave the Warren until Jack woke up, and knowing Tooth, she's a woman of her word. North was back at the North Pole, mostly to look over the latest toy designs and make sure that the shop was in order while he was gone. Though he did manage to pop in and out of the Warren to check up on Jack but the jolliness and laugher that he wielded each time was starting to get on his nerves.

He usually enjoyed the Russian's optimism, but right now he was in kind of a bad mood.

But he had to keep himself on the bright side, no time for despair since it's not part of Jack's vocabulary. And speaking of Jack, he took note that the youngest guardian looked peaceful compared to the last time. After rinsing him off, they dressed his wounds in gauze and bandages. Eventually he stopped bleeding, much to Bunny's relief. It was then that he took the time to rinse off his own fur with the bucket of water that Tooth had brought to him. Afterwards, they gently moved Jack's body to another section of grass that wasn't blood-soaked.

His trademark blue hooded sweater was folded neatly next to him, resting next to his staff. Tooth had taken the liberty to clean it off and North showed his craftsmanship with the thread and needle and mended it. Useful for not only toy making but for mending clothing and stitching up wounds as well back in the day.

Bunny's gaze fell from the boy's sleeping face down to his bandaged chest. He had never seen Jack without his sweater before. Although this wasn't the way Bunny wanted to see it, he couldn't help the sudden heat ran through his cheeks as his eyes flickered around the slim chest before him, seeing that the skin tone was back to its moonlight paleness thanks to Jack's cooling down. His eyes followed the trail of Jack's collarbone then observed the curve of his waist, the slight dip of his belly button before following the edge of each hip that were barely covered by his brown trousers.

Jack's hurt, I shouldn't be staring at him. He thought to himself. However he continued to stare nonetheless.

Tooth turned away from her fairies to look at Bunny, noticing something amiss by what she is seeing. The large rabbit-like monk was staring hard at Jack, but it wasn't the typical stare of someone who was lost in thought. He was really staring at Jack. She hadn't thought much of Bunny's decision of staying by the youth's side before. After all, he was the one who dealt with most of the aftermath from Jack's attack. She knew the Pooka had carried him here while he was bleeding and unconscious.

That had to been so hard for him. She thought as Tooth stared at him with sympathy.

Bunny had been the most critical of Jack's initiation of guardianship during the battle against Pitch. Sure, they had become close friends afterwards, but Bunny was acting as though Jack was his entire world now. H was giving the boy more attention than he gave his eggs, and that was saying something.

…Or perhaps, it was something else.

Tooth gasped softly as a peculiar thought occurred to her.

Are Bunny and Jack…?

Then she was instantly snapped out of her thoughts when Baby Tooth pecked her in the arm to get her attention, squeaking and chirping about as she gestured to her sisters who are waiting further orders. It literally took her at least a second to realize this, ruffling her feathers a bit in embarrassment. "Oh! Sorry!" she apologized before finishing up the orders to her small swarm of fairies. Once the fairies flew through into the tunnel, streams of golden sand flowed in.

Tooth smiled as the short golden man descended into the Warren. "Oh, good, Sandy, you're back!" she chimed as the latter greeted her with a cheery salute. However his face fell when he looked over to Jack, finding that the boy was still sleeping. He peered up at Tooth as the sand formed into a shape of a clock and a question mark above his head.

"He's been out this whole time, hasn't opened his eyes once," She responded in a hushed tone.

Sandy looked at Bunny before turning back to Tooth again. Even without his sand, she already knew what his next question was as she shook her head. "No, Bunny hasn't moved either…" then she leaned in a bit, lowering her voice so Bunny wouldn't pick up with his sensitive ears. "I'm worried about him, Sandy, he hasn't slept all night."

Sandy nodded in understanding before hovering over to sit around Jack. The dream weaver plopped himself next to Bunny while Tooth gently hovered down on her knees across from them. The Pooka took note of the oldest guardian's presence the moment he took his seat next to as the ice bird started chirping a bit.

"Ah, Sandy, you're back." He greeted, sounding a bit groggy. The golden man smiled up at him, silently returning the greeting before turning his attention to Jack. Tooth ran a soothing hand through Jack's hair and sighed. She would be lying if she only paid attention to Jack was because of his beautiful teeth (which she still held in regard to this day), but over time, even before he became their newest recruit, Tooth was beginning to see that there is more to Jack than just pretty teeth. She started to see him as her little brother…almost like a son.

"He looks so peaceful," she spoke up. "Maybe it's best if he sleeps until he was healed up."

Bunny nodded absentmindedly as he looked up to her. "How long do ya think it will take him to heal?"

Tooth placed a slim hand to her chin, murmuring herself thoughtfully. "I don't know, most spirits were fast healers…" she spoke. "But I can't remember a time when any of us were injured this badly. Aside from Sandy, but his body works differently than ours." The fairy queen looked at said golden man, and he nodded in understanding. His body was primarily made of dream sand, given to his former life as a star, so bleeding wasn't much of an issue for him.

Bunny grumbled but seemed neutral about the answer that he was given. It was rather vague, but there was some reassurance that Jack will be ok. Sandy let out a silent sigh before noticing the frozen bird, still sitting on Bunny's shoulder. It seemed to sense him staring at it, turning its head and stared back at him in curiosity. Then the dream spirit was hit with a sudden realization.

Of course! Why didn't he think of it sooner?

Tooth took note of the dream weaver standing up and rapidly formed sandy shapes above his head. "What is it, Sandy?" she asked as she tried to make sense of what he is trying to communicate but they were too fast. From what she could pick up, they were images of an ice cube, some sort of animal, a flame, and a figure of Jack. But other than that, Tooth was unable to get what Sandy is trying to say.

Thankfully, Bunny took the words right out of her mouth. "Hey, slow down, Mate! We can't understand what you're trying to say!"

Sandy made what seemed like a silent huff as he rolled his eyes, deciding to relay on physical charades. He started by pointing a small finger to the bird that never left its perch on Bunny's shoulder. The Pooka blinked as he followed his gesture.

"What? This little guy?" he asked, picking up the bird in his left paw. "What about 'im?"

An image of sand formed above Sandy's wild hair before hovering it above the frozen bird as though to crush it.

"You want to break it!?" Bunny then shielded the little creature with his other hand, appalled at what the dream weaver was suggesting. Honestly, what was he thinking!?

All Sandy could do at the moment was to facepalm himself, shaking his head in frustration as he let out a silent breath. It was at least millennia, and they STILL don't get what he was trying to say.

"Could this have anything to do with Flicker breaking Jack's Icelings?" Tooth spoke up.

Sandy nodded in response to her question. Finally! Someone who gets it!

"Wait a second…" Bunny stated as his green eyes widen with realization. The time when Jack was explaining about Flicker at the Work Shop…

"That's how Jack got hurt!" Tooth looked at him in surprise while Sandy was practically grinning as he nodded more viciously. "Jack is too strong for some crazy bloke too hurt him so easily…Flicker had to have crushed his Icelings and then ambushed him when he was in pain!" As soon as the words left his mouth, Bunny took the moment to think over what he said as his face darkened in anger.

"That dirty bastard!" he cursed out in a growling tone.

Sandy jumped a bit at the Pooka's loud and harsh voice, not used to see him angry. From the way he looked, Bunny resembled what a feral rabbit could have looked like, with his lips pulled back in a snarl and bared his teeth. But this is considered a normal level of anger compared to the past.

"Wait, guys," Tooth piped up, sounding scared. "Jack still has Icelings all over the world, doesn't he?"

Silence hung over them like a cloud as they all stare at each other, the only sounds that can be heard was the occasional pitter patter footsteps off the Easter eggs.

"Uh-oh…" Bunny was the first one to break the silence, with only a whisper.

"We have to go up and hide them!" Tooth exclaimed, hovering off of the ground a bit. She looked like she would take off any moment but it would be like going down a creek without a paddle. There was no telling how MANY Icelings were out there.

And it might be more than Tooth's fairies…seven continents and probably around tens of thousands of kids this year. Bunny then looked down at the little bird, now cupping it in his hands as he swallowed dryly. "Do you think you could help Tooth and Sandy search for your friends?" He knew that the creature couldn't speak but it was worth a chance.

All the bird's glass-like face stared back blankly, providing him no answer. However, what they received was the sound of a soft moan from the still body before them.

"Jack!" Bunny exclaimed as he leaned over the youth. His eyes fluttered a bit and his brow furrowed in confusion.

"Jack, can you hear us?" Tooth cooed softly while setting her hand gently upon his shoulder.

That seemed to cause a reaction in him as Jack's eyes suddenly went wide, gasping for air as memories from previous events flooded back into him. His fingers gripped at the grass beneath him and frost bloomed out from his hands, freezing the area around him to which caused the three veteran guardians to step back reluctantly. He was taking deep breaths but he soon gritted his teeth as he squeezed his eyes shut when he felt the pain in his chest. Bunny wasted no time returning to Jack's side, feeling the soothing cold against his burnt feet before kneeling down by his side. He was quickly followed by Sandy and Tooth as they gathered around him.

"Jack, calm down…it's alright, mate," Bunny spoke in a slow and soothing tone. "You're safe, we're all here."

His voice seemed to calm him down a bit as Jack relaxed against the ground beneath him, causing the ice to slowly disappear into snowflakes. He released the grass from his death grip and his face softened. He looked around blankly, trying to make sense of his surroundings. He could since his friends' presence around him but he was having a hard time seeing. His foggy eyes locked onto a familiar bright gold form at his left and he squinted, trying to regain his visual focus.

"S-Sandy?" Jack's voice was quiet and hoarse, a result from experiencing pain and screaming out his lungs.

The Sandman nodded softly while looking at Jack with sad eyes. He placed his small hand upon the frost sprite's arm to reassure him that he is here with him. Jack's face contorted with pain again, bringing a shaky head up and almost placed it on his would before Tooth gently grabbed hold of it between her hands instead.

"You're wounded, Jack," she spoke gently to him. "We dressed it up in bandages, so try not to touch them."

Jack tried to squeeze one of Tooth's hands but his fingers merely twitched before going limp. He made an attempt to speak in his deep breaths. "Tooth…Tooth's here…" he turned his head to try and look at her, but she could tell that his foggy blue eyes couldn't picture things very well at the moment. Jack turned his head slowly from side to side, looking all around them. "W-where…" his voice was barely above a whisper.

"You're in the Warren, mate," Bunny stated in a reassuring tone. "Don't worry about that flaming bugger, you're safe with us."

Jack's eyes were still searching. "M-my…my staff…"

"It was right here, Jack, right next to you." Tooth answered quickly. Bunny had accidentally left the boy's staff back in the tunnel when he had escaped from Flicker the night before, but Tooth had been kind enough to go and retrieve it. They all knew how important it was to Jack after all…

Jack's hand slipped out of Tooth's grasp and shakily began blindly searching the ground next to him for his staff. Tooth picked it up and set it in his palm, assuming that he wanted to feel it. Jack felt the safest when he was holding it in his hands, even though he could use his powers without it now that he had so many believers. Jack squeezed the staff in his hand then sighed deeply with relief.

"Guys…" he breathed out.

"What is it, Jack?" Bunny asked, vocally speaking for Sandy and Tooth.

Jack gave a sheepish smile, even though the pain was still evident in his face. "I-I gotta do something real quick," he spoke quickly. He brought his shaking arm up and held his staff to his chest, right next to his injury.

"Uh…" Bunny sounded worried as he stared at him with uneasiness. "Just…what do you have to do, Jack?"

"Maybe it should wait until you're all better." Tooth suggested. Sandy nodded in agreement, conjuring up images of a bed and a clock.

Jack shook his head at their suggestions. "It can't." he then shut his eyes and brought his other hand to grip his staff as well, holding it firmly to his chest. "But it's gonna take all of my energy." He added before taking a deep breath and adopting a focused expression as he meditated.

Bunny panicked, he didn't know what that means but he knew that he doesn't like the implication behind it. His eyes flickered between Tooth and Sandy before leaning over Jack and setting a paw firmly on the boy's own. "Jack, please…"

But he was cut off as soon as the winter spirit was already glowing bright blue.

They all shielded their eyes as Jack's staff started shining brightly; making Bunny quickly lifted his paw away. Soon Jack's entire body was glowing and waves of blue light began dancing off of him in intricate patterns. They pass through all three guardians before stretching off into the darkness of the Warren's tunnels and disappearing.

"What's he doing?" Tooth questioned, still shielding her eyes.

"I don't know," Bunny responded. "I've never seen him do this!" It wasn't a lie, aside from creating Icelings. This is definitely a new ability to witness. As soon it wasn't bright enough, Tooth and Bunny noticed that Sandy was waving his arms madly, taking note at the fact that he was pointing to the frozen bird on the Pooka's shoulder. They both turned and stared at what was happening in awe. The small creature was glowing bright blue, just as Jack was, and as Bunny looked closer he could see its form began to change. Its body shook and it was shrinking rapidly, the bird fluttered its wings in protest before its body changed completely and morphed into a form of a tiny snowflake. Bunny managed to hold out his paw and caught the glass fragment before it fluttered into the grass. It was small, but he managed to make out the intricate details upon the surface as it sat upon his padded palm.

"He turned his Icelings into snowflakes." Tooth stared in awe.

"So that Flicker can't find them." Bunny added. He was a bit saddened by the loss of his little ice friend, holding the glass snowflake to his chest protectively

Jack's body continued to glow and send out blue waves for another thirty minutes, all while the other three guardians watched him in amazement. When the light finally disappeared, his body went limp and his head fell to the side along with his arms. His staff slid off of his body and Tooth quickly caught it before it grazed his wound. It would seem that he became unconscious once again, this time he was more peaceful as his breathing was even.

"Oh, mate…why ya have to go and wear yourself out?" The Pooka spoke softly, placing his paw upon Jack's thigh. Sandy gazed at their youngest member sadly before flickering a stream of sand above the boy's head, causing golden snowflakes to circle over him as the Sandman controlled his dreams. Tooth shifted Jack's head so that it could rest on her lap while she soothingly ran her fingers through his hair.

"He's so responsible…protecting his Icelings even when he's this badly hurt." Tooth smiled down at him fondly. There was a hint of maternal pride in her tone as she continued to stroke his hair.

Bunny nodded in agreement and held the glass snowflake to his eye, observing the blue glow from within its center. Frostbite was really something…there was a possibility that the bird was still with him, even in that form. Sandy observed Bunny before grinning widely as he thought up a perfect idea to lighten the mood before twisting the dream sand a bit.

This is going to be fun…

Bunny blinked and turned away from gazing at the snowflake when he heard Tooth stared giggling. She was covering her mouth to keep her laughter contained but failed.

"What's so funny…?" Then Bunny choked when he saw the current golden image that was hovering over Jack's head. It was an image of Bunny, except he was dancing around in a ridiculous manner while flashing a top hat and a cane. "Oi! Sandy, don't make him dream about me!"

Sandy laughed silently as he hovered away quickly when Bunny tried to tackle him. He hopped up another feet before shooting another stream of sand over Jack's head, changing the dream a bit. It now took form of Bunny wearing a tutu, balancing on his toes like a ballerina. The look on the Hope Guardian was priceless as he gawked at the image, completely embarrassed.

"…I'm gonna kill ya, Sandy!"

Bunny leapt after the little golden man, only to miss since the latter escaped on a cloud of golden sand. Sandy taunted him further by giving him a silent raspberry, making Bunny more frustrated. Tooth couldn't help but laugh harder as she watched the two, feeling a bit lighter. However she was silenced as soon as she saw the dream slowly changing.

It was Bunny as his normal self…but this time, he was in front of the little golden version of Jack. And he was being held close in Bunny's arms, his face nuzzling against the latter's chest.

Tooth placed a hand over her mouth before looking over to see Sandy still fleeing from Bunny's wrath.

Did Sandy make that happen? She wondered silently.

She looked down to see Jack, who was still asleep upon her lap as a makeshift pillow. His face had a peaceful and serene look. However, there was a shade of violet across his pale cheeks…

Flicker stretched out his flaming arms and yawned loudly as wisps of smoke escaped his open mouth.

Finally, it's morning!

He was standing at the top of a high building, the highest one he could find in his current location.

What was this town called anyway? Burgeress? Bergin, maybe?

He peered up to the skies as the Sun revealed itself, unbothered by the harsh light blazing into his eyes.

"Good morning, Milord." He greeted, bowing in respect.

The Sun continued to shine brightly, piercing through the surrounding clouds. Flicker sighed in appreciation as he felt the Sun's heat burn into him. His entire body ignited for a moment, rejuvenating his strength and healing the damage he had received earlier from the ice and cold.

"Ok, I have good news and bad news." Flicker began as he crouch down into a comfortable seat on the top of the tower as his flames grew, fueling him with energy. "The good news is- get ready, you're gonna be so proud of me, Sunny!" he trailed off, beaming at the sky above him.

The Sun continued to blaze, in a sort of language that only he could understand.

"I found the one I've been looking for, the one who can balance my soul!" He placed a hand over his flaming chest to emphasize his point. The Sun seemed to dim for a moment, and then shine even brighter than before. "I mean, it did take me a while to find him," Flicker shrugged a bit before looking back up to his Lord. "But I know for a fact that he is the one. There's no mistaking it." He puffed his chest out proudly and grinned.

Then he looked down and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "And as for the bad news…" he spoke quietly. The Sun dimmed a bit as a result, making Flicker hold his hands out in front of him in defense. "Now before you say anything, you should know I fought with all my might for his, Sunny!"

The sky didn't change, and Flicker lowered his arms.

"You see…my little soul mate is a lot stronger than I thought he would be, and he has a lot of friends protecting him who are just as strong as he is." He sighed heavily as Flicker looked down, his shoulders slumping down in defeat. "And well, there's no way I can fight against them on my own."

Then he looked up to the Sun once more, cautious about how his Lord would react. But almost instantly, the light before him grew incredibly brighter and an orange beam shot down and surrounded him in its luminance. A smile split Flicker's face as he gasped in awe when he saw yellow lights danced down from the beam, soon followed by a large red bud that lowered and hovered in front of him. Then the bud opened before splitting off into three different pieces, each one taking a form of a flower. Flicker smiled wider as they surrounded him, each one bearing a dancing flame in its center. One of them softly landed into his open palm, he traced one of the petals with his finger, marveling at the soft texture while at the same time, felt some power surging from it.

Now the Guardians couldn't stand a chance.

Flicker looked up and beamed at his Lord. "Thanks, Sunny, I knew I could count on you!"

The Sun finally dimmed back to its normal brightness as the fire spirit collected the rest of his newly obtained flowers, fondly peering down at them. Now it was time for phase one of his place. Which was brilliant if he do say so himself.

Don't worry, Jack. We'll be together soon.

Jamie sat at the end of the stairs as he tied his shoelaces before grabbing his book bag and throwing it over his shoulder. As soon as he stepped outside, he grimaced at how bright the sun was today.

"It's gonna be hot out this week," he spoke to himself, instantly regretting his chosen attire of a long black sleeved shirt with jeans. Honestly, what was he thinking in this type of weather?

Then he frowned when he instantly remembered what month it was. That probably meant that Jack wouldn't be around for a while. Jamie couldn't wait for winter. He honestly wouldn't mind if the white-haired guardian came and made it snow, even if it was in the middle of May.

He just…wanted to see him again.

I hope he's not too upset…Jamie thought.

He had been such an idiot to play that stupid game with him. It was a game he had heard about from one of his perverted friends in high school, a guy who did nothing but hook up with girls and do incredibly naughty things with them. How he put up with his antics up to now, he was still finding the answer to. And of course, Jack would have acted surprised; he's a spirit after all. He doesn't do intimate things, all he knew was having fun with children.

At least I think that's all he knows. Jamie pondered as he walked down the sidewalk.

He briefly wondered if spirits even could be intimate…Jack was blushing last night after all. Jamie now knew that he had some parts that a normal human boy had, but could he…well, use them? That thought alone made him stop in his tracks and blushed deeply before shaking his head and continued onwards.

I'm such a pervert, I'm lucky that Jack is still my friend after what I did.

He blushed even harder as the memory of last night and touching Jack's body. He could still remember how Jack's skin felt to the touch, it was cold but the texture was so smooth and soft…

Jamie shook his head and halted before he almost collided with a mailbox.

"Get a hold of yourself, Jamie." He told himself, placing a hand to his head as if it would will away the lewd thoughts from his mind. He could blame his hormones but it would be a sad excuse for it. The last thing he wanted was Jack to be genuinely mad at him…

Then something caught his eye. It was bright and glowing like a flame as it fluttered past him. He walked closer to the object and squint his eyes to see if his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. It looked like a snowflake…but it was red…and on fire…

"That's weird…" he whispered. Then Jamie looked all around him to see if Jack was nearby. Did Jack pick up some sort of new trick, turning ice into fire? The flaming snowflake fluttered quickly back u the sidewalk and without a thought, Jamie followed it, feeling the familiar child-like excitement inside of him. It didn't take long for him to be lead towards the forest. Maybe Jack was in the forest, trying to fend off the heat of the sun.

"Jack?" Jamie called out as the little flame flew in between the trees and disappeared out of sight.

The sense of uneasiness filled him as Jamie looked around nervously. For some reason he had a bad feeling about this. Normally whenever Jack is visiting him, he would surprise him with some snow, and that's usually when he was at home. That and the said woods was once housed one of the entrances to the Boogeyman himself. But since that was six years ago, and even though he has some weird dreams from time to time, none of them were that bad to the point of nightmarish. So far, he was in the clear, along with his friends (he still considered them as friends, despite their drifting apart).

Jamie took a deep breath and exhaled, easing his fears before taking a step forward and followed the burning glow as it traveled deeper into the darkness of the forest.

How bad can it be?