Happy Third Anniversary of Rise of the Guardians, everyone! And what better way to celebrate than an update of one of my best Rise of the Guardians fanfics, Flicker? Though keep in mind that I'm cutting out certain bits and pieces to to the mature themes of this chapter. To those who wanted to see the uncut version, please go to the AO3 site and search for Flicker!

Chapter 20: Flower Picking

"What do you mean?"

Pitch cleared his throat as he chooses his next words carefully before giving the Russian his answer. If experience taught him something is that never underestimate the former student of the wizard Ombric AND former leader of the Cossacks. Not to mention how protective he was when children were involved. Especially when Jack was on the line…

"You know of the Rabbit's species, do you not?" he began.

"Da, of course we do," North replied. "How is the fact that the portal won't open to the Warren got to do with this?" Tooth and Sandy hovered close behind him, silently demanding answers for this situation.

Pitch took an intake of breath before exhaling out of his nose, steeling himself as he began mentally prepping up his explanation.

"The Rabbit…Bunnymund…" He corrected himself before continuing. "As you all know that he was the last of the Pooka race."

"No thanks to you…" Tooth grumbled sarcastically.

"ANYWAY…the Pooka race was known for their skills such as time travel magic and chocolate making. But does your friend ever tell you about their mating habits?"

Sandy seemed like he was about to speak up-or the closest thing to speaking- before lowering his hand down when he found out that he hadn't got a clue as he turned to his companions. It would seem that they were in the dark as well. Despite the centuries, the battles they have fought together, and all the times in Santoff Claussen, Bunny sometimes kept to himself in his Warren. He seemed to be opening up a bit more throughout the years, and it was mostly thanks to Jack.

Even learning how to have fun…but one question remained unanswered.

"I'll repeat what North had asked before…" Tooth spoke up, fluttering close to Pitch to make herself higher than his height. "HOW does the portal not opening to the Warren fit in?"

"I'm getting to that," Pitch told her, sounding a bit irritated. "And I'll assume that he was hush-hush about his mating habits. I wouldn't blame him. I would be embarrassed as well."

North crossed his thick arms over his chest as he glowered down at the boogeyman.

"Explain." His voice was firm and yet commanding, the kind that he usually used when the situation was dire.

"From what I can recall, Pookas are similar to their earthly lagomorph counterparts, only they mate once in every millennium. However, when they get into their heat cycle, their Warren would go into lockdown. And when that happens no one goes in…" Then he narrowed his eyes as he leaned in. "And no one goes OUT."

Pitch could see the mixture of horror and realization dawning upon their faces, but also a bit of hope as well. Even if the Rabbit was underneath the flower's spell, he still had command over his element.

"Then…then we'll find some way to get in!" Tooth spoke up in defiance before turning to Sandy and North. "Am I right or am I right, you guys?"

Sandy gave her two thumbs up, literally floating up in enthusiasm.

"Oh, believe me I admire your persistence…" Pitch commented dryly as he gestured to the surrounding varying towers of books. "But if by some miracle that you managed to get in, would you go up against a Pooka that is not only an expert in centuries of all forms of martial arts but also the one who INVENTED them? And believe me that wasn't the worst of it."

That seemed to have literally deflated Sandy as he sunk down a bit, North gave his oldest friend a reassuring pat before turning to Pitch.

"And what pray tell could be worse than that?" He challenged him. He was getting sick and tired of being told on what is impossible for him to do. North is a Guardian first and foremost, he could protect children AND deliver presents around the world in one night.

"Because you don't want to cross a Pooka in heat, they're known to be very, very vicious when threatened by a rival. The most common tactic was castration via teeth, followed by a vicious mauling before taking you out of your misery via a swift kick in the spine." Then he made a dramatic pause. "Specifically in that order, if my memory serves me correctly."

There was an uncomfortable thick heavy silence in the air as the three remaining guardians, as well as the yetis that were present, all stared at him blankly. After a moment, one of them finally spoke up.

"How…" North began. "How did you know all that?"

"…Let's just say that I have seen worse throughout my years."

As soon as Jack went through the portal and finally entered the Warren, he immediately took off further into the air while attempting to pick up Mach speed. He ignored the fact that his stomach was doing somersaults as he pushed on further, keeping in mind that he had one last snow globe left in his hoodie pocket. Jack looked back to see if Bunny was still behind him. And sure enough, Bunny leapt out of the portal as soon as it closed and continued the chase.

Alright, he fully got his attention…so the question is…

"What now?" Jack asked himself before lightly tapping his head. "Think, Jack. Think!"

Ok, he Mission Impossible himself out of the room, snuck around the Workshop (rather successfully) for the snow globes, made a diversion to get Bunny alone, and finally opened the Portal to Bunny's turf.

That much he got down.

And as always, he was drawing a blank for the third time in a row. Well, that wasn't really true. He had some idea and that was just placing as some distance between him and Bunny as much as possible. And for the rest, he would just wing it.

"Alright…that's a plus then," he said to himself as he scanned his surroundings.

Jack had to make sure that he should keep up his speed. Not only Bunny was more experienced than him but he was also really fast on his feet. That and he was currently on his turf, meaning that the Pooka have the home field advantage.

…Ok, that was a minor setback now that he thought about it.

But still, improvisation never failed me back then, so it won't fail me now!

Then he looked over his shoulder and found out that he couldn't see Bunny anymore. Probably meant that either he was in the clear or he had gained some distance while strategizing. For now, that is. However, that doesn't mean he should let his guard down even though the Warren was clear…

…wait a minute, clear?

Jack blinked before glancing down a bit before deciding to make a landing in a clearing. As soon as his bare feet touched the ground, he walked around a bit all the while keeping his eyes peeled and ears open. Sure enough, the Warren was clear. And by clear, he meant void of any sign of life. For starters, there were no signs of the candy eggs anywhere. Not even the pitter-patter sound of their tiny feet against the stone. Jack then walked up to one of the Sentinels and gently tapped it, to see if he could get a reaction out of the stone egg. He narrowed his blue eyes as he tapped it again with a bit more force to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

"They're not moving?" he spoke to himself.

This was unusual.

Normally the Sentinels were out and about guarding their smaller counterparts as they designed themselves with the decorative flowers and take a dip in the painting rivers. But now, it was almost as if they were asleep…or hibernation if he had to be technical. He had never seen this happen before and the only one who knew this place like the back of his hand (or paw in this case) was probably going to ambush him at any moment.

Gotta keep moving, he thought to himself before taking off into the air once more.

He searched throughout the oasis with a bird's eye view, and everywhere he looked was void of any form of activity. The painting rivers were still flowing as ever and the flowers were still blooming due to the eternal seasonal spring magic despite the underground location. Jack wasn't able to see any signs of the candy eggs while the Sentinels remained immobile like actual statues. Their old and moss covered appearance can be easily mistaken from the ruins that surrounded the Warren. He wasn't able to tell the two apart unless he was up close to know the difference. But as much as he wanted to, he cannot take the risk and make himself a sitting duck.

And what is worse that he couldn't come up any further ideas.

"Come on, Frost, you got yourself in a jam," he reassured himself, picking up more speed despite feeling a bit fatigued. "This is no different!"

However, as much as he told himself the positive things, deep down that he was just fooling himself and only holding back the inevitable.

The only way to cure Bunny was…actually go at it like rabbits so to speak.

Jack's heart skipped a beat at the thought of it, almost breaking his concentration of keeping in the air. He was getting the hands-on experience when it comes with intimacy nowadays. And he was usually on the receiving end. With Jamie, he finally got somewhat of an idea and gave him his consent to give him his first kiss (as well as receiving his). With Flicker…ughh…Flicker.

Just thinking about him made his skin crawl, even more so than Pitch.

But in some strange way, he get where he was coming from. While their circumstances are different, Flicker just wanted someone to love. Just in a wrong direction.

A really, really wrong direction…

Then again, harassing his friends as well as straight up attacking them and kidnapping his first believer didn't exactly give him any brownie points for a date. That is a definite and absolute no to any chance of him being Flicker's soulmate!

With Bunny…well…

He could be lying that he would say that he hated when Bunny touched him. Sure, he caught him off guard (twice) but after learning about Bunny's feelings about him got him thinking. Looking back, the way he spoke to him…the time when he watched over him after his first attack from Flicker…

That one time when he was recuperating in the Warren, Bunny was ACTUALLY going to kiss him if it weren't for the untimely entrance of North.

Jack could barely register that he was losing altitude and had to make a run away slowdown to the ground in order to keep his balance. As soon as his feet touched the grass, he braced himself against a rock (or was it a sleeping Sentinel? He couldn't tell) before letting out a groan and ran his hand through his hair.

How could he be that dense? He should have known that Bunny had been in love with him before all this Flicker fiasco. However, Jack could understand a little bit on why Bunny kept his feelings to himself. He shouldn't worry like that, after all Jack is a lot of things, judgmental were not one of them.

But what does it say about him?

He has the way to cure Bunny…but does he really felt the same for him? If so, does he really want to go through with it?

Jack could feel his stomach twisting up into a tightening knot as his heart was beating into a rapid pace, making it hard to breathe. The memory of Bunny slamming his lips onto his and the sensation of his rough paws over his body flashed back into his mind, making him to clench the fabric of his hoodie. Already he was having second thoughts about this, is this what it felt like when you're about to do it for the first time?

He had been hearing about how much it hurts the first time when they get into it. He lost count on how many times that he had heard how the other bled during the copulation and waking up sore in the morning or unable to walk properly from the conversations that he had overheard while flying from one city to another. At first, he thought it was concerning those "times of the month" thing that he had been hearing about, that is until he heard the same thing from the guys as well. To be fair, Jack was more concerned about bringing the usual snowballs and fun times to the children.

However, he did get some of the cliff notes from a certain personification of love itself. He had only run into him once in a while in the past due to his busy schedule and family life, but whenever they managed to meet up, Eros was a really good company to be around aside from Sandy. He was like the Sandman in a way, a good listener except he still maintained his ability to talk.

He remembered how embarrassed he felt whenever Eros casually just mention some certain stories that are more…adult, in a way. However the elder being understood his plight and didn't make fun of him for being so naïve when it comes with these topics. Even gave him food for thought from time to time.

"Love is love, Kid. Not everyone knew it-or accept it- but appearances don't really matter in the end. And don't worry about rushing into things. There's no time limit or anything, just move at your own pace."

The first part, he understands. He held on that part to this day, and it helped him to ease Jamie's fears when he revealed to him his sexual orientation. It was the second part that he had trouble understanding. Honestly he was confused on what he meant by it for a while. But thanks to recent events, Jack finally got the picture.

A heavy sigh escaped from his lips as he reached into his pocket and finger around the smooth glass curvature of the snow globe. For a moment, an idea of him opening up the portal and get back to the workshop sounded like a plan. Then he shook his head feverishly as he squashed it at the back of his mind.

No…He thought, clutching the snow globe in his pocket. I can't abandon him. Not like this.

"I just…can't…"

Then a sound of rustling leaves reached his ears, prompting Jack to shoot his head up in high alert. He inwardly cursed himself for being distracted for a moment, and whipped his head around as he cautiously moved further into the open.

Damn it…I forgot that I should keep myself moving! He mentally panicked as Jack tried to make sure that he covered all bases. However he remembered Bunny's speed and thought back on the first day that he was picked as Guardian. Jack knows that he was pretty much fast himself, but not that fast as Bunny.

"Crapcrapcrapcrapcrapcrap! Where is he?!" He questioned himself out loud as Jack looked around frantically and trying to pick up even the quietest of sounds, subconsciously pulling out the snow globe. Whether to take it out for reassurance or see if he could still leave…he had no idea.

All he knew was the fact that he was at the point where he finally accepted the fact that he was up creek without a paddle.

Another rustling sound was heard, and Jack looked over to the direction where he was hoping that it was where Bunny was located. His throat suddenly felt dry, making him to swallow a little bit of his saliva to moisten it as he inched towards to the bushes.

"Bunny? Is that you?" He called out, almost hesitant.

Jack kept his staff at the ready, even though he didn't want to, he still needed to protect himself or have a quick getaway. The snow globe was still in his other hand but he didn't' want to waste it. He need it to time it just right to activate it, otherwise…well, he didn't want to think what would happen next. As he inched towards the thicket, Jack used his staff to pull away the shrubbery and found…

…Nothing?

"…What!?" Jack raised one of his brows in confusion. He could have sworn that he heard Bunny in this location. He was sure of it! "So, where is he?" Jack looked around, as if trying to find the answer to his question.

Unfortunately, he might get his answer sooner than he thinks.

A snap was heard behind him, and Jack barely had time to react when he turned around and saw the leaping form of Bunny. It went by so fast, he felt himself being roughly tackled down, knocking the wind out of him. It also made him to release his grip on not only his staff (again) but also his only ticket out of the Warren. Jack watched helplessly as they tumble away from him.

"No!" He exclaimed, trying to crawl over to them. But he felt himself being pulled back by the waist and clenched tightly around the hips. Jack tried to anchor himself by clenching at the grass however he could only dragged his nails into the dirt thanks to the superior strength of Bunny.

This was wonderful, no that wasn't the right word to describe it. This was the experience of paradise.

Why did he wait so long for this? Why did he let those pitiful hesitations hold him back?

Thank you, MiM, for letting me to experience this at least once. He silently praised to the forces above. If this was a dream, don't wake me up.

There was just one more thing that he wanted to do.

Something that his hesitation kept his mouth shut, keeping those words that he long wanted to speak but couldn't. But now…now, he could be able to say those words as much as he could express them through action. He released his precious Doe's lips with a pop before nuzzling against the crook of his neck, leaning his lips close to the shell of Doe's ear.

"I love you."

He felt his Doe stiffened underneath him and he pushed him away a bit so that he would get a good look at him. He seemed rather baffled at this.

"Wh-what?" He exclaimed breathlessly.

Bunny couldn't help but smile at this, lovingly cupped his face as he gazed into those beautiful eyes. He couldn't blame him for being surprised. It was the first time that he said those words out loud. But if he so wished, he would say it as many times as he wanted. "I love you, Jack…" then he leaned forward and nuzzled against the same spot. "I love you so much."

"Bunny…" he heard his precious Doe whispered, before taking a sharp nip into the flesh, drawing cold blood.

Drowsiness and exhaustion was catching up to him, Jack nuzzled against the familiar fur-taking in the earthy scent and let out a soft sigh.

"…-ove…you too…"

And with that, he fell into a dreamless sleep alongside with Bunny, surrounded by a contrast of crisp wintery white upon the earthy spring-green.

As soon as Bunny finally got off of his euphoric high, he slowly succumbs to sleep, feeling exhausted yet contented. He exhaled out a sigh as he held Jack within his arms, nuzzling his chin on top of his mop of white hair. One of common Pooka behavior to scent marks his territory and mate. It also gave him the opportunity to relish the sweet natural scent. The heat that he was feeling somehow subsided, but somehow lingered internally. His heart was practically swelling in his chest at the familiar cool skin upon his fur, making him loving the contrasting temperatures between their bodies.

However, somewhere deep at the back of his mind there was doubt. He knew that he shouldn't worry but he couldn't help but feel its unsettling effects.

Certain questions that he didn't want to face slowly began to surface as soon as he closed his eyes.

Have he made a mistake?

Was he too hasty?

And also…does Jack really want to be with him?

He couldn't find the answer to that one as his world slowly became black but not before feeling his Doe caressing his fur and whispered, "...ove…you too…"

Then he fell into a deep slumber, feeling the cool air dance upon his fur.