Sorry for not updating much lately, but real life had been rearing its ugly head at me lately. Not only I had the finals to worry about but I also have volunteer work. Plus, I'm laying low on this site in case of you know what. If you are interested of keeping up with the uncut version of Flicker, please go to AO3. It has all the twelve chapters and the 13th on its way.

Flicker chapter 7: Gone Boy

Sandy sat on top of one of the dormant Sentinels, observing the Warren's surroundings in thought. Bunny was still sitting on the grass next to Jack as the latter slept but the entire area looked very peaceful. There were a lot of little white eggs running around, along with butterflies and bees buzzing around the flowers. The grass was lush and healthy and the moss was glowing bright as it slowly grew upon the stone walls.

It was a beautiful sight.

But why did Sandy have such a bad feeling at the moment? Like something horrible was happening.

The Dream Spirit shook his head in doubt and floated down towards Bunny and Jack. Tooth had left hours ago to tend things at her palace after a few teeth had gotten mixed up in their containers. As Queen (and Mother), she had to sort them out, but not without a scolding.

"You think we should redress his bandages again?" Bunny asked as soon the golden man floated down next to him.

Sandy placed a hand to his chin to give it a thought before confirming with a nod of his head. He knelt down before the sleeping winter spirit and started the unwrapping of white cloth from his chest while Bunny fetched a fresh roll from the medical supplies that North had brought along with him on one of his visits. Sandy lifted the bandage of Jack's wound and peered at it carefully.

"What? How's it look?" Bunny asked, sounding anxious.

Sandy smiled up at him reassuringly before gesturing the Pooka to lean down to see for himself. And sure enough, the hole in Jack's chest was almost healed over completely, leaving only a minor gash and some purplish bruising under the skin. The sight made the two beamed at each other.

"Well, that was a lot faster than I expected," Bunny chuckled. He couldn't help but feel overjoyed at the fact that Jack was going to survive. He had no idea what would happen if a spirit was injured severely, but yet at the same time he didn't want to. Sandy smiled broadly before conjuring up an image of a small group of children above his head.

"You think it's because he has so many believers?" He asked.

Sandy nodded and then took the fresh bandages from the Pooka before carefully redress Jack's wound. When he finished, he observed Jack happily but then frowned and looked up at the Earth above him, boring his gaze into the dirt ceiling that seemed to have its own light. What is that feeling he had?

"Everything alright, Sandy?"

The Sandman blinked before turning to Bunny with a smile and nodded. The last thing he wanted was to cause his friend any more stress than necessary, that awful ordeal with Jack and Flicker was enough for him. He formed a smaller version of himself delivering dreams above his head and Bunny got the message.

"Ah, are there some kiddies taking napes during the day?" it was a rhetorical question but in a good natured kind of way.

Sandy forced a smile before conjuring up an old-fashioned biplane before he hopped into it.

"Alright, Mate, just keep a look out for Flicker while you're up there!"

Sandy nodded, taking the warning to heart as he prepared for takeoff. As soon as he was heading for the tunnels, an expression of grim seriousness adorned upon his features while flying out of the Warren. What is this bad vibe that he was feeling?

Bunny watched as the golden plane flew off through on of his tunnels that lead up to the surface before sighing and fell back against the grass with a loud yawn.

"Tired?" a soft voice asked.

"Yeah, a little, I suppose. I've been in the same position all…" Wait a minute…

Bunny trailed off before looking down to see Jack smiling up at him.

"Jack!" Bunny immediately practically hopped onto his feet and leaped over to the boy's side. "You're awake!"

Jack grinned up at him before peering into the tunnel where Sandy just disappeared, seeing the tall-tale glow of some remaining dream sand that followed after him. "Where is Sandy going?" he asked in a curious tone. The Pooka happily noted that there was more life in Jack's voice and as he moved his arms a bit, there was no sign of pain or discomfort.

"Just delivering some late dreams," He replied. Jack let out a hum before his brow furrowed as he looked around.

"What time is it anyway?"

"Around noon, I suppose." Bunny responded. "You're a fast healer, by the way." He added, gesturing to Jack's bandages. Jack looked down at himself but instead of focusing on his dressed wounds, he was shocked at the sight of his bare chest.

"Wh-where's my…" then he paused and looked around while bringing his arms up to cover his naked chest. Bunny observed Jack's actions with genuine interest, mentally noted that the younger guardian was almost reacting like he was underdressed.

Was Jack self-conscious? Bunny smiled at the thought. It was both funny and-dare he say it- adorable in a way. Jack finally located his mended sweater and brought it over his arms to slip it on, but Bunny stopped him midway.

"We still need to keep an eye on your wound, so you can put it on later." The tone in Bunny's voice was gentle but there was a hint of amusement that he was trying his best to hide. Jack frowned and settled the sweater on top like a blanket, covering his chest entirely. Much to Bunny's disappointment…

"You don't have to be embarrassed, you know, it's just me. And since you're in the Warren, the only people here are eggs." Bunny stated,

Jack simply looked away from the Pooka, unconsciously bringing the sweater closer to him. "It's not that I'm embarrassed. I just…I've never taken it off before…" It was true, as long as he could remember, Jack had always used his hooded sweater to isolate himself from the outside world while hiding his hands in his pockets or covering his face with his hood. It gave him a warm, protective cocoon-like sensation. Without it, he felt vulnerable and exposed.

Bunny took in what Jack had said and was about to add something insightful to his words when the boy was looking around again with frantic eyes. "Where's Tooth and North?" he asked.

"Palace and the Pole," Bunny answered simply, placing the boy at ease. "They have been in and out of here constantly while you were sleeping, though." Jack nodded before looking down and grew quiet. After a moment of silence, one of them finally broke it.

"Bunny…" Jack spoke up softly. The Pooka leaned in closer, taking note of slight meekness in Jack's voice. "Thanks for saving me…I mean…I remember hearing your voice." Then his face was contorted, obviously troubled by the memory of what happened. Bunny smiled softly in understanding before placing a gentle paw upon the boy's arm.

"Of course, Mate, you would have done the same for me." The look on Jack's face didn't change, letting Bunny settled himself closer to the winter sprite before letting his paw rest upon the blanketed shoulder. "Tell me what happened."

Jack gave a half-hearted smile, which seemed bitter in Bunny's eyes. "I shouldn't have left Jamie's house…" he began, repeating Bunny's words from earlier.

"Why did you leave Jamie's house?" The Pooka asked, urging Jack to explain. He needed to know what happened.

"Some of my Icelings…have a lot more power than others." Jack brought his hands up in front of him to try and help him explain. Bunny remained silent, but nodded, urging him to speak further. "And Flicker…well he broke a weaker one first so that I would go to the woods. It turned out to be a trap."

Bunny nodded as he let out a soft hum. It would seem Sandy's theory about Flicker breaking the Icelings had been right.

"But even then, I would have been strong enough to take him on."

Bunny's brow furrowed at this. He was saying that even if some of his Icelings have been broken, he could still fight with his full strength? If so that is the case…'Then how could he…?"

"He found another," Jack continued. "And that one happened to be the strongest one I've ever created." He let out a sigh and grimaced. "It was the owl that I kept outside of Jamie's window…I shouldn't have sent it out into the forest for so long…man, it hurt so bad when it broke." Jack closed his eyes and took deep breaths in order to calm himself.

Bunny stared at him in sympathy, even though he could never fully understand the experience that Jack had encountered. Seeing his eggs destroyed was one thing, but he couldn't grasp of the sensation of a creation that is literally a part of you destroyed. "So, that's when he hurt you…right after the owl?"

Jack nodded as he absent mindedly laid a hand over his wound. Bunny let out a sigh but playfully ruffled the boy's white hair, causing him to grin. "Well, there's no way he can break them anymore, right?" he pointed out as he reached over and held up the small glass snowflake for him to see.

"Whoops, I didn't mean to change yours." Jack apologized, smiling. He brought one of his hands up and touched the snowflake with a fingertip, causing the ice to shift and suddenly revert back to its bird form. Bunny smiled as the little thing chirped cheerfully and flew onto his shoulder.

"Hey, welcome back, Little Jack!" Bunny greeted in a singsong tone.

Jack frowned as violet dusted his pale cheeks. "Little Jack?" he questioned.

"What?" Bunny stated with a grin as he stroked the frozen bird's feathered breast. "These things are basically you, just in a smaller package."

Jack laughed softly at this new interpretation of his Icelings. Honestly, he had never thought of that. They sat in silence for a while, listening to the pitter patter of tiny egg feet as Jack stared up at the ground above him. He hated being stuck in one place. He wanted to move, feel the Wind carry him around in the air as he felt the comforting chill upon his skin. But in his current situation…it would seem that he had to wait for a while.

He hated waiting.

"Hey, Bunny?" Jack spoke up.

"Eh?" Bunny currently had a line of eggs waiting in front of him as he picked each one and examined them for cracks. Busy as always, but he managed to make the time for a chat.

"Can I talk to you about…something?"

Bunny looked away from his eggs. There was something off about the tone in Jack's voice. "About?" he urged.

"Jamie." It was a simple but yet usual response to which Bunny always smiled at.

"Oh, of course, Mate." Jack often came to Bunny for advice about Jamie, especially since the anklebiter had hit puberty. "What's up? Is he having one of those mood swings again?" Bunny asked as he returned to his eggs, which were currently kicking at him to get his attention.

"Not really…he had me play some weird game with him." Jack replied as his gaze ventured around the Warren.

"Oh? What kind of game?" Bunny was starting to lose interest as he continued to tend to his eggs.

"A game where you touch each other..." It was quiet, but he could pick it up with his sensitive ears. This caused Bunny to pause and began to choke a bit before turning himself around to look at Jack with wide eyes.

"What?!"

Jack smiled sheepishly. "I mean, I didn't really think much of it at first. I was tickling him to death the whole time…but when it was his turn to touch me…"

"Wait a second, wait a second," Bunny held a paw up with his eyes closed. His expression was contorted into a mixture of confusion and disbelief. "What kind of bloody game is this?!"

Jack chuckled a bit and scratched his head. "Jamie called it Nervous, it sounded innocent enough…" he then trailed off at the end.

"Innocent?!" Bunny looked appalled as he gathered his bearings. "What kind of innocent game has a name like that!?" He placed a paw to his forehead to calm himself when he realized that he was shouting. He had been worried about something like this happening with Jamie!

That little devilish teenager!

Jack observed the Pooka, wondering why he was overreacting so much. It wasn't like Bunny was the one who had been touched strangely.

"Ok…ok…" Bunny took a deep breath and exhaled, regaining his composure. "So, what happened when Jamie touched you?" he asked slowly.

Jack looked around the Warren, pretending it was hard for him to remember but in actuality, it was still fresh in his mind. "Nothing really…it was just…the way he was touching me was kind of Weird. And my body kept getting colder, I couldn't control my temperature."

Bunny looked thoughtful at the last part. Jack can't control his temperature when he is being touched?

An image of Jack arching on the ground with a pleasure-filled face and frost collecting his features entered the Pooka's mind. He shook his head wildly to try and find off the image.

What's so attractive about Jack not being able to control his powers?

"Ok…" Bunny spoke carefully. "So, where did he touch you exactly?" He noticed Jack's cheeks getting a darker shade of violet before the winter sprite laughed and looked away from him.

"Oh just here…" He held his hand up and pointed down at his chest.

"…And here…" he pointed to his stomach.

"And….here…" Jack's voice became quiet before quickly pointing towards his hips for a split second and snatched his hand back to the side. Bunny barely caught the last motion but he knew what he meant.

"He WHAT?!" Bunny's mouth dropped open in shock. He hadn't expected Jamie to go THAT far.

"I think it might have been an accident though! Yeah, it must have been!" Jack let out a nervous laugh, shrugging it off. Bunny shook his head and sighed deeply. Clearly, Jack didn't understand the extent of Jamie's feelings.

"Jack, I think the fact that Jamie wanted to play that game with you says something."

Jack gave him a curious look. "Says what?" he asked, feeling a bit nervous on what the older guardian meant.

"It says that Jamie has feelings for you…feelings that go deeper than friendship."

Jack fell silent as his eyes widened in realization. Some of Jamie's behavior suddenly made sense to him. All those times he would blush or nuzzle closer to his body…all those compliments and shy touches that Jack thought nothing off…

Did Jamie actually…love him?

Bunny observed the way Jack's lit up in thought, knowing that the boy understood.

"Jamie…loves me." He spoke softly, mostly to himself. His expression suddenly turned somber and Bunny frowned at this, assuming that Jack was against the idea of Jamie liking him.

"Yeah, well…" Bunny started as he turned back to his eggs, which one of them is tapping rather impatiently. "Jamie is a human and you're a spirit, after all, so you don't have to worry about those feelings. Something like that would never…"

Bunny was cut off when he felt Jack hit him rather roughly on the leg. He let out a sharp yelp and then looked down at Jack with wide eyes. "What was that for…?" He paused when he saw Jack's face clearly. The boy was giving him a rather icy glare that is enough to chill him to the bone (no pun intended) and he looked completely offended.

"Don't you dare say something like that, Bunny! I would never turn down Jamie's feelings just because we're different!" His tone was harsh and angry, he hadn't expected for Jack to react this badly.

I really need to think about what I say before I say it. He thought. He instantly had a brief flashback when Jack was recruited for guardianship. He still hasn't forgotten how the boy looked when he said that he doesn't exist for 300 years. Looking back, he looked like he was about to cry, and within an instant, he felt the dull sensation of despair in his heart.

"Sorry! I-I didn't…I mean, I thought…" the way he stumble around his words was pathetic, even when he was genuinely about to apologize.

Jack's glare then softened as he let out a heavy sigh. "I mean…love is love. It doesn't matter how different you are." He spoke quietly.

Bunny instantly closed his mouth shut and froze in surprise as his mind registered what Jack had said.

Love is love? Bunny mentally repeated the words. Jack really doesn't care if someone who loves him is different? He would…love them back?

A smile slowly inched its way onto Bunny's face, until he remembered that it was Jamie that they were talking about. He couldn't help but feel crestfallen at this information.

"So do you…" Bunny began, trying to hide the worry in his tone. Jack peered up at him curiously, making him swallow before speaking further. "Do you…love Jamie then?"

Jack sighed and looked down, brought his knees up to his chest. There was a pained expression upon his face. Again, reminding him of the words that he shouldn't have said.

"I have would have tried to love him back," he admitted. "But…Jamie keeps getting older. He's going to die one day and I'll still be here. So having a relationship like that with him would just hurt too much."

Bunny understood his sorrow of Jamie getting older each year. They all feared the day when one of their beloved children would end up buried in the grave, which is considered worse than no longer believing in them. However the Pooka couldn't help but feel relieved- and yet hopeful- about Jack's feelings.

"Jack." He spoke softly. Jack turned his head but shifted back a bit when he saw Bunny's face a few inches from his own. "I'll never die, ya know…"

Jack smiled and nodded, but there was something about the rabbit-like creature's tone that made the violet blood rush to Jack's cheeks. It was almost as if he just made an unbreakable vow just now. "Yeah, you better not!" he chuckled, trying to hide his embarrassment.

Bunny remained close to Jack, debating in his head whether or not to take action. After a while, he decided to throw all caution to the wind as he moved his face closer to the latter's. His nose twitched as it picked up Jack's unique scent of winter air, pine, and mint. He sighed deeply and moved closer to breathe in more.

"Bunny?" Jack grew a bit nervous when he felt whiskers upon his neck. Then a bright light appeared in the center of the Warren before swirling around into a multi-colored portal. Bunny quickly tore his body way from Jack as the younger guardian turned his head in surprise. North stepped through the said portal, carrying a rather large sack over his shoulder. When he saw Jack, he grinned widely and walked over to him.

"Jack! Awake at last! How do you feel?" North was happy to see that their charge was doing better. The color had returned to his face and there was plenty of life in those bright blue eyes. He also took note of the heavy glare that Bunny was sending him.

Did I interrupt something?

"North! I'm doing great!" Jack stated happily as he shifted a bit from where he was laying on the ground.

The Guardian of Wonder skipped over to the boy's side then flipped his sack onto the ground next to them with a loud thump. He kneeled next to Jack and observed his bandages carefully while stroking his white beard. Jack smiled and tried to sit up, but winced as there was still a bit of pain in his chest. Bunny immediately grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him back down gently.

"Easy, Mate, you shouldn't be moving around yet." He told him sternly.

Jack only laughed softly as he looked up to him with reassurance. "I'm fine, really, Bunny."

"Ah, yes, you feel fine," North added. "But when I'm done with you, you will be feeling fantastic!"

Bunny and Jack gazed up at the large man cautiously. "When…you're done with me?" Jack spoke up, trying to make sure that he wasn't hearing things. North let out his trademark bellowing laugh before pulling his sack towards them and began rummaging through its contents.

"Just a few remedies from the Yetis and the elves, they heard you were injured and they wanted to help." He explained with a smile.

Both Jack and Bunny exchanged unsure looks before turning back to North.

"I'm not really sure that's necessary." Bunny pointed out, having a feeling about these so-called remedies, if he could call them that. "Jack's wound has healed a lot, I'm not sure he…"

"Bunny, Bunny, Bunny." North spoke his name like the Rabbit was a toddler, not a creature that is as old as (or perhaps older) than time itself. "Trust me…I know what I'm doing." He let out a chuckle before pulling out the needed items. There were several candles, a box of matches, a large tome-like book, a box of cookies, a few bells, and an actual living elf (how did he survive in that sack!?) which he placed next to him before lining up the rest of the items parallel to Jack's body.

Jack and Bunny looked at each other again. Jack had a fearful look on his face while Bunny was about to burst into laughter.

"Alright, let us begin!" North stated.

Sandy was standing on his created balloon, gazing around the city thoughtfully as his dream sand swirled away from him in waves, dancing around the houses and taking note of each child's presence. His sand could do more than just shift about dreams, they can monitor and keep track of every child around the world and relay back to him, exactly like Jack's Icelings but more sophisticated.

He knew school had just ended for today, and even if the children hadn't gone straight home, his sand trails could still find them. There was one child, however, that his sand was having a lot of trouble finding. And that certain child gave Sandy an uncomfortable bubbling feeling in his stomach.

But it was possible that his sand had made a mistake.

He frowned slightly before changing the balloon into a giant fish and rode it towards Jamie's house. He leaped from his sand and gently hovered into the boy's window. What he found was an empty bedroom, no Jamie in sight.

Sandy scratched the back of his head then stepped carefully into the house and pattered down the stairs. He knew that the only ones that can see him are Sophie and their dog, Abby, but he can't alert the attention of their parents. He saw Jamie's mother on the phone, her voice sounded a bit frantic as she tried to speak as calmly as possible. He also saw Jamie's father walking around the house, calling out Jamie's name in vain. And there was Sophie, sitting on a chair at the kitchen table with a very fearful expression on her face.

This sight made him worry more. The dream spirit quickly hovered out of the house and stood atop of their roof. He had to be sure that Jamie hadn't just run from home in a rebellious fit. He had to be sure that Jamie really was missing. Sandy brought his arms above him and sent out more streams of dream sand to swivel quickly around the houses and certain areas of the city. They shot through windows and swirled around lamp posts, searching every inch of the town for Jamie's presence.

After a while, Sandy's arms fell as his eyes were wide with horrified realization.

He had searched the entire city…but Jamie was gone.