17Easter went off without a hitch, unlike the year before. The Guardians all chipped in, and not a single Nightmare showed it's face. The children were happy. And if a certain group of kids in Burgess found more eggs than the others, especially a certain hyperactive blonde, nobody said anything.
Bunny couldn't believe it'd been a year since Jack became a Guardian. A year since the two of them had gotten close. A year since everything in his life had changed.
"Babe? Bunny? Hello? Aster, are you even listening to me?"
A year since Bunny had to start putting up with Jack's annoying traits on a daily basis. He sighed to himself as he glanced up at Jack, who had stopped pacing back and forth to glare at Bunny, who had sat down and leaned against a tree to stay in the shade. "Sorry, must've zoned out. What were ya saying, Jackie?"
"I was saying that Phil had told me something interesting," Jack replied as he sat down and laid his staff on the ground. Bunny was in the process of making a holder, one that Jack could strap onto his hoodie (which Jack wasn't currently wearing because it was hot that day) and another one for whenever Jack came by to the Warren.
Which was every day without fail. Even if Jack had to leave early, or could only stay for a little while, he always made sure to visit. Jack had really missed being in the Warren and took the time to enjoy every second he spent there. He knew the layout like the back of his hand. Every tunnel, every inch of Bunny's cottage, every river, every forest, every- well, you get the point.
The Warren was like a second home to him, a place where he spent a majority of his nights (in his own separate room. No minds in the gutters here, reader). Sure, Jack still stayed at North's, but the Warren had something that Santoff Claussen didn't have; Bunny. It had nothing to do with North, since Jack had gotten the chance to have a nice long talk with North to sort things out. Apparently, Bunny had talked to the older Guardian too, but neither North nor Bunny ever told Jack what they had talked about. Not that he would complain; from the way North's face would turn pale and slightly panicked whenever Jack brought the subject of Bunny and North talking, Jack had the feeling that whatever had happened was something that the Winter teen just did not need to know.
"And what did Phil say?" Bunny asked as he entwined his hand with Jack's. Jack shook himself out of thoughts and leaned against Bunny's shoulder.
"He said that Tooth and Sandy have a running bet with North. And get this...the bet has to do with us. And you should've heard what the stakes were," Jack chuckled as he remembered the exasperated look on Phil's face, who clearly thought the bet was a waste of time. "North's gotta give up cookies of he loses, Tooth has to quit making teeth-related remarks whenever one of us eats something that's not healthy, and Sandy has to quit ringing a bell every time he wants our attention. And all for two months, depending on who loses."
"Hold on, what exactly is the bet?" Bunny ran his free paw through Jack's hair absently. He had a bad feeling about whatever his fellow Guardians were gambling on and the mischievous smile on his boyfriend's face pretty much confirmed his feelings.
"They're betting on when we're going to get together. I mean, North already knows but I think the bet is more of when we're going to announce that we're together."
"Guess we ought to do that soon, then, I guess. When exactly did each of 'em say it would happen?" Bunny wasn't keen on telling his friends just yet. It'd been a couple of months, but Bunny liked having Jack all to himself. And frankly, it was a lot easier to get alone time without everyone knowing about the two Guardians' new relationship.
"Sandy said before two weeks from today has passed, Tooth said three, and North said a month. North actually asked me while I was there when we planned on coming out," Jack glanced up at Bunny, who didn't look annoyed but wasn't entirely happy either. "What's wrong?"
"I just don't want them to go overboard or anything," Bunny admitted. "Like, I don't want it to be some big spectacle or whatever."
"I doubt they'd make a big deal out of it. Well, maybe Tooth, but that's just how she is. I'd be more worried about telling the Burgess Bunch," Jack had taken to calling his first set of believers the 'Burgess Bunch', kind of like the Brady Bunch. Thanks to Bunny, and the other Guardians, Jack had a bunch more believers now, but Jamie and his friends would always hold a special place in Jack's heart.
"Crikey, I hadn't thought of that," Bunny muttered. For Pookas, being with someone of the same gender was no big deal. It was quite a common occurrence, actually. And most spirits and immortal beings had no problems with it either. But for a group of young, impressionable kids that had different upbringings...well, he wasn't quite sure how that conversation would go. "How do ya tell little anklebiters that the Easter Bunny is dating the Spirit of Winter?"
"Dunno. I'm sure Sophie would be happy for us," Jack smirked and took on a more playful tone. "And if she's happy, you're happy, right? The kid has you wrapped around her fingers. If she says 'Easter Bunny, hop, hop, hop' I'm positive you'd go jumping around her room. You're going soft."
"I am not going soft!" Bunny protested. Jack moved so he could be face-to-face with Bunny, mostly so he could see the embarrassed look on the Pooka's face as Jack continued to egg him on.
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Are too!"
"Keep this up and I'll throw ya back in the river."
"Not if you can't catch me!" Jack exclaimed before he grabbed his staff and took off running. Bunny huffed in fake annoyance before a grin broke out on his face. The rabbit raced through the Warren, sniffing the air for the faint scent of snow that always followed the Winter teen around.
Once he finally found Jack by his cottage, the guy took off again, which led to a long (and tiring) chase. Both parties involved laughed the entire time, and would even slow down to let the other catch up, only to speed back up again.
After who knows how long, Jack made the mistake of flying too close to the ground. That, of course, gave Bunny an opening to pounce into the air and bring Jack down with him. They rolled around for a bit until Bunny was able to pin the struggling Winter Spirit.
"That...was fun…" Jack panted heavily as he tried to catch his breath. When he tried to get up, Bunny's hold on his wrists tightened, an evil smile on the Pooka's face. "Are you really going to throw me in the river again?"
Bunny shook his head, then leaned so his and Jack's face were scant inches away from each other. "Not today, Snowflake."
"Then what are you doing?" Jack's body tensed up as Bunny maneuvered Jack's arms so that the older Guardian could pin both of them with his left paw, using his right to crawl up and down Jack's chest (his hoodie was off, remember? "Aster?"
"Jack, sweetheart?"
"Yeah?"
"Shut up," Bunny's words held no malice in them, so Jack saw no reason to reply. The fact that Bunny was kissing him, therefore making it near impossible to respond, had nothing to do with that whatsoever. Not that Jack would ever complain about that.
AN (Kitkat): Okay, these jokes have been freezing awesome, right?
Jack: That one doesn't even make sense!
Bunny: Don't engage her. She'll never stop. Just let her dig her own grave.
Kitkat: Hey- wait. Is it sad that I've been having conversations with fictional characters throughout this entire fanfic?
Bunny: What do ya mean?
Kitkat: Thanks for reading this story. I'm planning to maybe do a one-shot series that's kind of a sequel to both Autumn's Orphan and Bunny's Spring flower. Let me know if you'd like that.
Jack: Wait, you didn't answer his question.
Kitkat:...Bye!
- Kitkat Out!
