Things are heating up, both figuratively and literally as Flicker invaded North's Workshop. I wanna get this out...while I love the film, the one thing that I don't like is how Jack haven't pointed out on why anyone haven't at least talk to him 300 years ago. Granted that the original novels are yet to be concluded this coming year (along with the picture book dedicated to Jack Frost), and there are some headcanon fanfics that focus on how Jack copes with three centuries of loneliness and what he does in the past. Not to mention that it left behind some questions...do the guardians look back on their actions and wondered what could have done differently? Does Jack really forgive them? Do the guardians feel guilty? We don't know.

We don't know.

Like I said, there are certain fanfics that you see in the RotG category that tried to answer those questions but even I admit that it was hard to nail down. Nevertheless, I hope that I would satisfy to these questions and look forward to further tricks of Flicker.

Warning: This chapter featured mild violence. The uncut version was featured on AO3

Flicker Chapter 11: Candle Flame to an Open Wound

"How did he get in!?" Bunny's voice was frantic as his gaze darted back and forth between Tooth and the entrance of his tunnel. Dread was washing over him like a flood. He hadn't expected Flicker to come after Jack so soon. He especially hadn't expected the fire demon to actually BREAK INTO North's workshop.

Weren't the entrances blocked?

Weren't the yetis monitoring the place?!

"I just poked my head out for a second. I saw fire shooting around everywhere!" Tooth whispered. Her feathers were practically puffing out at this point and she was shifting anxiously in mid-air.

"Crikey…" This is worse than he thought. Most likely North and the others are up against him. But there is a possibility that he came alone, so they have the numbers on their side. Not only that…

"Well, he doesn't know that Jack is here, we just need to…" then Bunny paused as he felt the wind blast against him. He recovered in time to see Jack fly under the entrance of his tunnel. Jack crouched down and ready to spring himself into the workshop.

"Stop!" Bunny shot forward and latched onto Jack's ankle before he could make it past the floor. He yanked the younger guardian back down and pinned him to the ground with his own body. "What the bloody Hell do ya think yer doin'?!" he questioned in a hushed tone, in case that Flicker above could hear them.

Jack squirmed underneath the Pooka's larger form, poking him in the side with his staff.

"Let go! North and Sandy are up there!" He made no attempt to keep his voice quiet, so Tooth quickly flew by his side and clamped her hands down on his mouth tightly.

"Jack, hush!" she breathed in a firm tone. "We can't let Flicker find you."

That made him stopped squirming as he took note of their situation and the fact that Flicker was causing havoc in the workshop. But he gazed back into Bunny's face with a forlorn look setting into his gleaming blue eyes. Tooth then gently lifted her hands away from his mouth, and he spoke immediately. This time his voice was just above a whisper.

"Please, Bunny."

The Pooka's ears dropped back as the winter spirit's saddened voice tug on his heartstrings.

"Please…I don't want anybody else to get hurt because of me," His voice was breaking and practically begging to him. Tooth's heart soften at the sight before looking worriedly at Bunny as his grip loosened on the boy a bit, giving him some leverage to bring himself back up on his knees. He lifted a furry paw to gently grip the side of Jack's face.

"Sorry, Mate, but I'm not just gonna hand you over to that lunatic."

Jack was not satisfied by the answer and looked away from him, his shoulders downfallen as he sighed in frustration. Tooth hovered down next to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders in a motherly manner while cooing into his ear, trying to ease his upset state. Bunny straightened himself when he take it as Jack accepting the situation and perked his ears up, straining to hear what was going on above the tunnel. He could faintly pick up North's battle cry as well as the obnoxious yelling of the yetis. That meant that they're still putting up a fight. Then his body jerked in surprise when he heard Flicker's muffled shouting.

He might be hearing things, but he could have sworn that Flicker have shouted "where is he?" His heart began to beat rapidly as he shot a nervous glance towards Jack.

I have to keep Flicker away from him.

Bunny got onto his feet and began walking towards the tunnel's entrance to North's workshop. He knew what needed to be done. There was no other option.

"Tooth, take Jack to the Warren." He murmured.

Jack's eyes went wide at Bunny's decision and suddenly latched onto the Pooka's leg before the latter could walk any further. Bunny tried to shake him off but Jack took a deep breath and blew ice onto the ground, effectively freezing Bunny's large feet to the dirt floor.

"Jack!" He hissed out, shuddering as chills ran up his spine.

Jack gave him a smirk as he floated back up to his feet. "No way, Kangaroo, if I can't go, then neither can you." Then he looked at Tooth while Bunny cursed and tried to break the ice away with one of his boomerangs. Although, he could only chip them since Jack made it thick enough not to break easily.

"We need a plan…" Jack spoke, eager to help out his fellow guardians. "Is there any way we can send a signal to North and Sandy without Flicker seeing it?"

Tooth blinked and looked up to the entrance, wincing when she heard one of North's swords clash with something hard. "They sound pretty busy." She mouthed to him.

"Jack! Unfreeze me, right now!" Bunny growled at Jack.

But both Jack and Tooth ignored him when they heard a loud vibration tremble through the ground above. Bunny's eyes met with Jack's in a panic before they all froze in place. A heavy moment of eerie silence fell around them. Bunny held his breath and Tooth met his gaze, her purple eyes were wide with anxiety as she unconsciously hovered off of the ground. Jack's eyes searched at the end of the tunnel. He had no idea why but he had a bad feeling…

Then Bunny saw it. The air became a blur in front of them as the tunnel warmed up with searing heat.

"Watch out!"

He struggled against the ice containing his feet when he saw fire flash before his eyes. Jack was quick to react, he grabbed Tooth and pulled the two of them next to Bunny just before flicking his staff and created a barrier of ice to circle around them. Tooth yelped in surprise as the fire surrounded them, and Jack held his staff upwards, trying desperately to keep his shield from melting. Bunny ducked down a bit and kicked away the remaining ice that quickly melted from his feet. Tooth was clinging to the both of them, with one hand clutching Jack's sweater and the other around Bunny's arm. She stared upwards, her eyes were wide with horror as nothing but burning flames filled her vision. Then just as soon as it had started, the fire ceased and Jack relaxed with a sigh as smoke filled up the tunnel. He turned around to face his friends in concern.

"Are you guys-"

A flaming arm appeared out of a cloud of smoke and clamped down on Jack's hood before yanking him back towards the entrance.

"Jack!" Bunny exclaimed, reaching out to him before he disappeared into the entrance with a startled cry. He growled lowly in his throat before letting out an angry war cry, charging into the workshop without any hesitation, leaving a shell-shocked Tooth frozen in place behind him. He leaped out of the hole in the center of the Globe Floor but immediately jumped back as a familiar giant stone soldier charged passed him.

Bunny's gaze shifted around the room wildly as he tried to take in all that was happening before his eyes.

Flicker had somehow gotten all of his glowing statues inside of the building and they were fighting with the yetis, trampling through tables and chairs and cracking the ground with their massive weight. The yetis were giving the soldiers all that they have, from their bare fists, their ancient star dust forged weapons, even random furniture. They were equally matched in strength but the yetis were much faster than the statues.

The elves were scurrying around all over the place like jingling rats, trying to avoid balls of fire as they grouped together in stable hiding places. Several of them were working together and carrying large buckets of water in an attempt to put some of the fire that was littering the floor. Despite that it was proven impossible due to their short stature but they managed to place most of the fire out. Bunny saw Sandy in the air towards his left. The small man's body was stained black from what seemed to be burns, but that didn't seem to slow him down as he summoned giant waves of sand to engulf a line of soldiers, sending them crashing to the floor with loud thumps. North was on the other side of the globe, holding off three giant soldiers while slashing at them with his swords. The bottom of his coat was ripped and it appeared to be tarnished from the fire. Red walls of flames toward upwards, trailing across the floor and reflecting off of the giant globe they surrounded, practically swallowing it.

Then Bunny saw Flicker.

The demon was floating above the globe while holding Jack in the air by the throat. There was a wicked smile on his face and his body was completely ignited in flames like a living candle.

He's stronger. Bunny realized, his ears shooting backwards defensively.

"It took me a while to find you. You're such a tease, Jack!" Flicker stated in a merry tone as he licked his lips, squeezing the other spirit's neck tighter.

Jack struggled in the demon's grip, unable to strike him due to the fact that his staff had fallen to the floor. He clawed at Flicker's flaming hands they burned into the skin around his throat, ignoring that he was burning his hands as well. He kicked his legs desperately, shooting out bursts of ice every time he did so. Bunny was about to call out his name before he felt the back of his fur stand up when Tooth flew up from behind him.

Flicker chuckled as his little winter sprite squirmed between his fingers. He loved to see that pale skin redden beneath his touch. He squeezed his throat tighter and grinned as Jack let out a lovely gasp, his ability to breathe escaping him. A delightful shiver ran up and down the demon's spine and he leaned over to plant a burning kiss on the boy's face. Suddenly something sliced through his shoulder, making him to jerk back and growl in pain. He looked above him to see the Tooth Fairy posed threateningly above his head, iridescent green feathers ruffled and a pair of lavender eyes glaring into his own.

"Let him go!" Tooth shouted as she zipped to the side of Flicker and spun in circles, causing her wings to slice through him just before her foot collided with the side of his head.

Flicker screeched as he released Jack and fell hard onto the surface of the globe. Jack gasped for air but was slow to recover and his body fell limply towards the floor. Bunny leaped forward and managed to catch him before he hit the ground. The Pooka immediately cradled Jack in one of his arms, keeping him propped up before stepping over him as he reached for one of his boomerangs with the other.

Jack looked around as he sucked in air greedily with deep breaths. He spotted his staff on the floor and reached out to it, silently commanding the wind to bring it to him. It rolled over to him before flipping out so that he could snatch it in one hand and point it outwards in defense. Tooth was patting the feathers on her leg to brush away the flames from kicking Flicker. Then she eyes the fallen demon warily and lowered herself so that she was hovering above Jack and Bunny, ready to defend them if the fire spirit went after Jack a second time. Bunny heard North call out their names as the large man pushed a statue out of his way and raced towards them with duel swords outstretched.

"Are you and Jack alright?" he asked as calmly as he could, taking an offensive stance and shifted to face Flicker.

"Fine" Jack croaked out a reply, trying to answer for the both of them as he massaged the sore skin on his neck.

Bunny could see Sandy float over to them on his left. The Sandman looked them over with a worried expression before shifting his gaze to glare at Flicker. The yetis had defeated all of his stone warriors, which were lying across the floor in masses of broken ruble. Though the yetis appeared to have used up all their strength and most of them were resting on the floor, exhausted from their efforts.

Flicker shook his head at his fallen army with disappointment. What useless idiots.

The fire spirit skipped a few times with a smug grin before slowly pacing around the top off the globe in circles, his eyes were moving to stare at the guardians who stood defensively in front of him.

"I see that the peacock has joined the party." He chimed as his gaze wandered over Tooth who shot him a glare. He ran a hand over the side of his face where he had been kicked and grimaced at the dull pain. The Tooth Fairy was a lot stronger than he had anticipated. Then his eyes met with Bunny's green ones and his gaze darkened.

"Oh…and the animal is here as well."

That damn rabbit was standing over his winter spirit. He growled threateningly and blew smoke out of his nose. Bunny's eyes narrowed as his grip on Jack's waist unconsciously tightened. North stepped in front of Jack and Bunny while taking notice of how the demon's feet were leaving behind black scorch marks on the elaborate script and designs of the globe. He filed it back in his mind for later as he pointed his sword at Flicker's face.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked, surprisingly calm and passive for once.

Normally he would bellow out his demands, this is a new change.

The demon only let out a chuckle and crouched down on the center of the globe, facing the guardians in a casual manner with his chin resting in his upturned palm.

"I think we all know the answer to that question." He snorted. His bright yellow eyes were lowered to examine Jack as the latter pushed himself out of Bunny's arms and took a fighting stance next to North with his staff pointing forward. Flicker cocked his head to the side and licked his lips as his gaze ran up and down Jack's body.

"Stop looking at him like that!" Tooth snapped as her feathers were puffing out in anger. She glared daggers into the demon as he turned to look at her with a listless smile.

'Yeah, go find somebody else to harass, ya bloody freak!" Bunny growled out.

Sandy floated closer to them and showed his support as well him challenging the fire demon to try and take them all on by punching his tiny fist into his palm as his golden face glowered at him.

"Well…aren't you all just cute," Flicker mused, his gaze ran across the five of them with a wicked smile. "All the guardians working together to protect their newest protégé…" Then he paused dramatically. "Despite the fact that you all used to hate him."

Jack's eyes widened in surprise while Tooth fluttered forward, her brows furrowing.

"That's not true! We love Jack more than anyone!" She barked.

"Don't bait to him, Tooth." Bunny whispered to her underneath his breath.

But Flicker let out a loud and cruel cackle as he leaned back and made himself comfortable upon the globe.

"Yeah, you do now…but not years before," he pointed out. His gaze met with Jack's, grinning at the sight of distress in his blue eyes. "I know for that as fact. The Sun told me so."

He let out a snicker when he see North and Sandy exchange each other confused looks, to which the Sandman simply shrugged, showing that he had no idea. Flicker smirked viciously at this, they honestly don't know? This is going to be fun…

"Poor, poor Jack…" he sang in emphasis. "Wandering the world all alone with no memories, no family…nobody to love you."

Jack swallowed as a familiar feeling came over to him in waves. The pain he used to feel before he became guardian was something that he hadn't thought of for a long time, and it made his heart felt like someone just reached into his chest and squeezed it as he remembered.

How did Flicker know?

The demon smiled and felt that same wonderful shudder ran up his spine as Jack's beautiful face softened and his staff lowering a bit. He knew that he was remembering parts of his past…so why not help him to remind the others as well?

After all…this is long overdue and these so-called Guardians needed a wakeup call.

"For three hundred years, you tried so hard to be seen, to be noticed. But you were invisible to humans and the Guardians? These so-called protectors of children, "naughty or nice"? They didn't care."

Then Flicker's face darkened and his voice was lowered before he continued.

"Even if you reached out to them by making a blizzard on their oh-so special holiday," he glanced over to Bunny, seeing the guilt clearly on his fuzzy face as his ears fell back limply.

It was working…

"Do you remember how much pain you felt when children could see ALL of the Guardians…but not you, Jack?

Jack was looking at the ground now. His staff was lowered, almost touching the floor.

"How about the days you spent crying?"

"Stop it." Tooth's voice interrupted him. She looked like she was about to cry herself as she involuntarily hovered down a few inches.

Jack raised his head and looked around at his friends. They were still staring at Flicker but there was guilt written in all of their faces. They were afraid to look back at him to see what kind of expression that he held. Looking back, each one thought what they could have done differently if they at least give a slightest bit attention?

Would North maybe just see him more than the naughtiest child in existence?

Would Tooth get to know Jack for real liking him for his teeth?

Would Sandy perhaps find some time to speak with him, despite never uttered a word for eons?

And Bunny…he out of all of them held the most guilt.

As he listened to Flicker, he thought back every single insult since that fateful blizzard back in '68. And since then, he had been placing put-downs, even downright told him that he doesn't even exist in his face without thought or even why he acts like he does…or if that is really his true personality at all. And when he gets the same treatment when a child walked through him the first time, the first thing that he did was to nearly hit Jack. Even said that they shouldn't have trusted him…

He asked himself why Jack would forgive them after all those years of ignoring him, always thought that they knew everything about him but in reality they didn't. All they saw was an annoying little prankster with no responsibility…not a sad little boy who was literally lost in the world.

But when given these factors by the very mouth of something that might have crawled out of the darkest infernal pit of Hell…it was too much to bear. And each word he spoke is like a dull nail pounding into his chest, harder and harder until it was unbearable.

"Oh, but NOW …you all want to be his friend!" Flicker leaned forward, his eyes glowing like embers as they bore into the Guardians like flames.

"You want to protect him…just after the damn Moon told you to!"

"SHUT UP!"

Bunny jerked back in surprise at Jack's outburst as Flicker's smile faded. Jack's eyes lit with rage before slamming the bottom of his staff to the floor, releasing a hue gust of icy wind to blow around the globe, putting out all the fire and dimming the room, leaving Flicker as its sole source of light. He pointed his staff at Flicker, giving him a glare that would chill him to the bone.

"Don't talk to my friends-my family- like that." He spoke in a dark tone, promising any future pain when attempted again.

North was the first to recover and smiled brightly at him before raising his swords once more, standing even straighter and bolder.

"Da, we fight as one. If you want Jack, you have to go through all of us!" he boasted.

Sandy nodded as Tooth and Bunny exchanged confident glances, all thanks to Jack and his faith in them. They shouldn't worry about what-ifs or the past, what is important is now. They shifted closer to Jack, as though to support North's statements with their actions.

Flicker blinked at the sudden boost of morale in the Guardians before drooping his head and let out a dramatic sigh.

Huh, that didn't go well.

He leaped onto his feet suddenly, causing the Guardians to jolt in apprehension. However, the flaming man simply stood in place and stared at Jack blankly.

"Aren't you being a little selfish, Jack?" he asked with a frown.

Jack didn't move, but his brow furrowed as he gripped his staff tighter. Just what is he up to now?

"You're going to let your family get hurt just because of you?"

Flicker licked his hips and watched Jack's eyes nervously glance at the large rabbit creature at his side. Good, it's working…

"If you come with me, I'll leave them alone, you know." He whispered.

Inside, he was shivering with excitement. Any moment now that Jack would think over the situation, tell the Guardians to back off…and then, he would be his…

It was only a matter of time.

However, before Jack even had time to consider the request, Bunny was the first to act. He immediately chucked both of his boomerangs towards him with a growl, sending them swirling in the air around the globe before each of them met at the center at the same time, slicing through Flicker's chest. However, rather than wounding him, Flicker instantly disappeared into a cloud of smoke. A deep chuckle echoed from nowhere in the building as the room darkened around them.

This made the Guardians shift in defense mode. Sandy hovered over to take a protective stance behind Jack while Bunny and North moved closer to him with their respective weapons were drawn. Tooth took the higher ground as she shift back and forth anxiously in the air like a dragonfly above Jack's head.

"Be careful, he can appear anywhere." North warned them.

Jack tried looking around but his friends' larger bodies were blocking most of his field of vision.

He didn't like this, he knew he was the prize and the way Bunny and North stood in front of him caused images of one of them getting struck by a blast of fire to flash through his mind. He didn't even want to know how Sandy and Tooth would look like when burned severely. They would all be injured or worse because of him.

And speak of the Devil, Flicker materialized out of nowhere, his face melting away in the center of a giant ball of fire that was headed straight for Tooth. The fairy queen clenched her fists, ready to fight back but Jack was quick to act and leaped into the air, riding a gust of wind right above her feathered head. Flicker's bright eyes followed him and his fire turned away from Tooth, just before it swallowed her. Instead, it raced through the interior of the building, following closely behind Jack as he shot towards the ceiling, directing Flicker away from his friends.

"Jack!" Tooth called out to him, flying immediately after him with Sandy following close behind on what looked like a hover car.

Bunny and North started running towards the other side of the workshop, their eyes looking upwards the whole time. The mass of fire was hot on Jack's heels and almost engulfed him before Tooth managed to chip the side of it with her wings before she zipped backwards to hover next to Sandy.

The fireball suddenly halted in place, then after a while, it started to ripple and expand with shudders. Jack paused in the air to look back at it. He blinked in confusion as the fire morph and swell, almost like a twisted balloon. Just what is Flicker up to now?

It was Sandy that realized what the fire demon was doing as his eyes widened before summoning a shield of dream sand to cover himself and Tooth just before the flames burst into an explosion, sending both guardians flying backwards from the force of the blow. The pressure hit Jack as well, and his body was slammed hard into the nearest wall. He groaned in pain and could have sworn that he felt the wood crack behind him. He was about to fly down but Flicker's menacing grin appeared in front of him. A flaming hand grabbed hold of the front of his sweater and ripped off the wall before launching him towards the ground below. Jack's body met the floor and the back of his head thumped hard against the pavement, causing stars to dance in his eyes.

Meanwhile, Bunny and North looked around wildly, searching the air for Jack and the others as smoke from the explosion fogged up the air into complete black. Bunny finally spotted Jack on the floor but felt his stomach backflip when he saw Flicker hovering above him, holding something small and red in his fist.

The second flower…

Bunny felt his heart racing inside of his chest to a ten horsepower. He had to do something, and fast! There was only one thing that he could do…

Flicker straddled Jack's waist, pinning him to the ground by his neck. He lifted his arm back and squeezed the poor red petals between his fingers, ready to shove the blossom down Jack's throat.

"Open up." He whispered, licking his lips.

Jack's mind was spinning, he was having a hard time making out what was happening while his head throbbed and his air supply was being cut off, not to mention feeling his skin burning once more. His eyes were focused on the red flower that Flicker, currently on top of him, was now holding above his head, ready to ram it into his mouth.

Just as he stopped struggling, ready to accept defeat, the weight on top of him suddenly disappeared. He greedily breathed in air as his body fluttered downwards. His back pressed against something soft, reaching a hand down to feel it.

…Grass…?

Flicker froze in place, staring down into the hole that had just appeared in the floor and swallowed up Jack in one gulp. One minute he was on straddling him, ready to make him eat the flower, and the next, he had to jump back as soon as a hole appeared just beneath him, only to forget to grab Jack. He furrowed his brow in confusion just as he felt something dash behind him. He looked up in shock when he realized the flower was no longer in his hand.

"Dammit!" He growled and breathed fire out of his mouth as he looked around wildly, trying to find his flower. He can't afford to lose that one. Where was it? Who could have…?

Then his eyes locked onto the Easter Bunny, who stood on top of the globe…holding the flower above his head with a cocky grin.

"Loose something?" he taunted.

North held up a sword and cheered for his friend from where he stood on the other side of the building. Sandy and Tooth looked down at Bunny as they slowly recovered from the ceiling beams. The explosion had knocked the wind out of them, physically exhausted from the ordeal.

Flicker stared before his face twisted into a snarl, his eyes literally caught on fire as he glared at the Pooka on the globe. He leaped into the air on a trail of fire and a giant wave of flames shot out of his hands and circled around the globe, surrounding Bunny in a cage of fire.

Bunny held the little flower tightly in his fist, as its petals started moving to try and crawl out of his grasp.

At the moment, he didn't really care that Flicker went crazy and currently hovering in front of him like an actual demon. Nor did he care about the giant wall of flames engulfing him and denying him any form of escape. What is important was the fact that Jack was safe inside that tunnel and he was holding the second flower in his own hands.

He was the one in control.

Flicker's face and hair branched out into a burst of flames as he hovered closer to the Pooka with his burning hand outstretched. He growled and opened his mouth to reveal two rows of sharp gleaming teeth. He spat fire out with each word he spoke.

"GIVE IT TO ME!"

The demon's voice was so loud that it filled the entire building and shook the walls. To those who heard it, flinched and covered their ears as they felt the vibrations rocked their entire bodies. Bunny, on the other hand, stood his ground and simply smiled back at the monster. Then he lifted the flower above his head…and dropped it down his throat.

"BUNNY!"

He could hear a combination of his friends' voices call out his name, just before the demon in front of him screeched and crashed into his body, sending him flying backwards through the wall of flames.

"No!" Jack screamed as he shot himself out of the hole and searched frantically for Bunny's location. He prayed to the Moon that Bunny hasn't been roasted alive. The last thing he wanted was to see his best friend dead…and unlike Sandy, he doesn't know if he could be revived by belief alone.

While he was looking, the flaming mass of fire spotted Jack with glowing eyes and darted after him with a loud roar. However, Sandy got in the way and snapped his whips in the creature's face before he could go any further. The demon's flames extinguished around him instantly and his body fell to the concrete with a thud. Flicker tried to push himself up as he gazed down at his own body in confusion.

He felt weak all of the sudden. Normally he would just take that walking pile of gravel on and brush his attacks off easily, but the pain on his cheek said otherwise. He winced as he gingerly touched his face, mentally note that it would leave a mark. That is until he finally realized that he was aching all over…

Why…?

Then Flicker looked out of the workshop windows and realized why.

There far beyond the icy mountains, he saw the sun setting against the horizon.

He frowned before spitting out an ember. "Bad timing, Sunny…"

Then his head snapped up in surprise just as North leaped right in front of him with his swords pointed forward. The large man let out a fierce battle cry as he waved both his swords over his head and brought them down to cut through his body. Flicker used the last amount of his energy to disperse into a puff of smoke as the metal made contact before reappearing over the Russian's head and began flying towards the window to make his escape. The damned Tooth Fairy flew by and clipped him in the side before he could make it. He growled in pain and clutched the wound as it bled against his shirt, mentally cursing while forcing himself to keep going.

Tooth flew down to hover near North and Sandy as they watch Flicker flee towards the window. He looked back at them with a menacing glare before searching around for Jack. He spotted him flying towards the fallen animal and he blew smoke out of his nose in frustration.

Pissed is not even the close of a word to describe what he was feeling now.

But he knew he couldn't continue fighting now, not in this state. After all, he had to live another day. Flicker broke through the window with his fist, causing the glass to shatter and fell to the ground below. He flew off into the cold wind and disappeared within the snow.

Bunny's entire body ached as he slowly tried to push himself up. His chest was sore from the impact of Flicker hitting him and his head was spinning. The last thing that he remembered that he was surrounded by fire and falling but the rest was a blur. Somehow, he managed to survive without any burns. Bunny looked around in confusion as warmth began to blossom within his stomach.

However, it wasn't a painful burning sensation. It was actually…kind of nice.

Weird but nice, like drinking a nice cup of tea…that was the closest thing that he could describe it. He tried to call out to his friends, to make sure they were alright, but he soon found that his voice didn't work. Each time he opened his mouth to speak, the only thing that came out was a soft breath.

Why can't I talk? He stood up shakily against the ground and placed a hand to his warming stomach.

"Bunny!"

His eyes twitched at attention when he heard his name and turned to see Jack running up to him, looking panicked and worried at the same time.

"Bunny! Why did you eat the flower?" His voice was frantic and seemingly out of breath, from either running or panic, he doesn't know. Jack drew closer and examined him with wide eyes, searching for any kind of injury. "Are you ok? Are you burning? Do you need me to cool you off?" Jack was asking question after question but Bunny completely ignored them. He was too busy staring at him with cloudy, wide green eyes.

The first thing that he thought was Jack was beautiful.

Bunny's mouth dropped open as he gapped at him. He was frozen in place as his eyes inspected the snow angel standing in front of him. His surroundings started to go black as he focused on every feature that he could take in, from Jack's face to his hair and lovely waist. His eyes were a deep shimmering blue that glistened and reflected everything around them. His skin was bright, smooth, and just perfect as though the Moon kissed it. His voice was soft and fragile like a lullaby to his ears. His face was unbelievable, so beautiful and flawless, like nothing that Bunny had ever seen. Green eyes lowered to take in a graceful neck, not even noticing the slight burns and scratches that marred his skin as he focused on the curves of Jack's waist and hips.

He felt his hands twitch with anticipation, having the sudden desire to touch them. Them his eyes trailed back up and examined Jack's soft-looking lips. That was when he felt the heat in his stomach branched out and engulfed his entire body, and a single command inside his brain.

You wanted him…make him yours.

"Bunny?" Jack asked worriedly when he didn't receive any response from his friend. Bunny was just standing there, staring at him with wide eyes. He looked like he had just seen something that was so amazing that it left him frozen in awe.

"Are you ok?"

Then he yelped in surprise when the Pooka stepped forward and grabbed onto his waist before pulling him against his furry chest.

"Heh, what are you doing?" Jack laughed nervously as Bunny planted his face in between his head and neck. His nose twitched as he inhaled Jack's natural sent. His body shuddered with pleasure as a result. Jack smelled amazing as a rush of heat ran down his spine towards certain sensitive areas. Jack chuckled when he felt whiskers tickling his neck.

"Bunny…cut it out."

But he ignored him and pulled him closer, pawing at Jack's chest and waist before slipping underneath the blue fabric to grope at his cold skin.

"B-Bunnny…!?" Jack was becoming startled by his actions now. Bunny licked his neck, making him shudder as he felt the rough texture that sent shivers over his skin. He was having trouble holding back his moans but managed to clamped them shut as he summoned up the will to push Bunny away but couldn't.

He needed to work out more…

"Bunny! What are you doing?!" Tooth exclaimed as she suddenly flew down towards them, her violet eyes were wide with shock and there was an interesting shade of red on her light tanned cheeks.

Bunny ignored her and continued to caress Jack's body, despite the latter trying to push him away. Thankfully a large hand wrapped around both of his ears and was roughly rugged backwards as North towered over him, examining the Pooka with confused and curious eyes.

Jack stumbled away from them, panting as if he had flown at a Mach speed. His heart was pounding ten beats per millisecond and his body temperature had dropped near zero degrees as frost bloomed out onto the floor around his feet. That was intense compared to the first (and last) kiss that he shared with Jamie. He barely noticed that Tooth had flown over to him and hugged him tightly, while whispering sweet comforting words into his ear, like a mother soothing her child after a nightmare.

Meanwhile, Sandy and North both stared at Bunny, who was at the moment trying desperately to escape from the Russian man's grasp and return to Jack. He had an odd look on his face, his eyes were half-lidded and his lips held what would be described as a stupid, dreamy smile. North looked at Sandy for any solutions, but the dream spirit responded to his silent question with a shrug, showing that he had zero clue what was happening just as him.

"This flower…is very different from the first." North commented.