Work Text:
Concept: Bunnymund, turned into a tree.
Post 68 pre Pitch fight, Bunnymund is very injured, it's mid Summer and he is fleeing from a fire spirit. He tried to put out a tiny forest fire, which pissed off the spirit responsible who's just doing her job, so she decided to fuck shit up and murder him. But the fire was threatening the newly cultivated hybrid flowers he was breeding for his paints. He wanted them to breed in their native wild, he was hopeful they would be disease resistant.
He gets caught in the forest fire, and quickly digs a tunnel to avoid being burned too badly, but he's still very hurt. The fire spirit searches for him, so he shifts into roots, entwining with the roots of other trees.
The fire spirit can no longer sense him, so it Passes on. But Bunny is too injured to shift back, he needs to heal. So he settles in to rest.
Within a day rain comes, it's heavy and soothing, he feels the magic in it. A cold summer rain. With the other trees he sends off shoots, and lets himself shift into a full tree.
He recognizes the magic, its Jack Frost.
Jack touches down in the middle of the scorched forest, it's a section of his territory, his lake is nearby, the fire came dangerously close to the houses. If not for a shift in wind it would have taken the town. He's surprised to see trees that are still green, badly scorched but alive. He doesn't know it's because Bunny is in that area, all the roots touching his roots are healing quickly. Jack just laughs, happy some of the forest survived.
He pats Bunny's tree and then flies off to bring rain to other areas. It's hard to control summer storms.
Bunny is very confused over the whole thing. Jack is a winter spirit, why is he raining on burned trees? But he's too tired, so he goes back to sleep, letting the water do its job. Jack's magic feels nice.
He wakes up later in the season, the trees around him are green again with new leaves, some underbrush has come back. The sun is hot on him, not enough leaves to shade him. Then he feels suddenly cold and sees what woke him. Jack is sleeping on the branch of a tree next to him, his own branches are being swept towards Jack by the wind.
Bunny curls his branch a little, just enough to stop touching Jack.
He watches Jack, who is resting under the thickest bunch of leaves. The trunk is frosted but melting and dripping water in the hot sun. Animals are stopping by to drink from the puddle he's made.
Jack sleeps for three days straight, Bunny is awake for it all, studying him. Jack doesn't move, doesn't breathe. The only indication he's not dead is the constant frost. The night of day 3 Jack wakes up and stretches. It's suddenly colder, the wind shifts and there's a touch of magic in the air.
Bunny realizes what it is when the trees starts shimmering with their windspun leaves. The start of fall.
Jack stands up and starts heading North, presumably to frost the farthest Canadian forests.
Bunny doesn't sleep as deeply as the last time, but he does rest, and doesn't see Jack again for weeks. Bunny is testing his strength when Jack returns, if he can shift safely to his pooka form, or even just be able to walk he could head to the pole.
So Jack returns, frosting everything, and Bunny is "HELL TO THE NO" Jack is not frosting him. But he can't shift, and gets a nice coating of glittery frost. He feels VIOLATED. They crawled all over him like icy vines. It felt like Jack was copping a really cold feel.
Aaaaaand Now his leaves are changing, gre~eat.
Leaves take on a mind of their own when they change, like stray thoughts. Sandy once said that leaves were the dreams of trees.
Jack, apparently, is really good at dealing with leaves, because as the days pass and Jack hangs around more they become attached to him, trying to break free to follow him.
Jack has taken to sleeping in Bunny's tree. Bunny is… conflicted. Sometimes he dumps Jack off the branch. Jack sleeps in many different trees, but Bunny's bent branch, the one he bent AWAY from Jack, is a favourite. Figures.
Bunny also has leaves the longest. He doesn't like that the leaves break off and follow Jack like he's the pied piper
Bunny spends most of Winter as a tree and gets saved by North at Christmas
Jack gets hurt and crawls up into Bunny's tree to rest, and it's Christmas so Bunny KNOWS North will be nearby soon, so he shifts to his pooka form and carries Jack to the nearest house with the strongest belief.
He just sits on the ground holding Jack until North spots him.
They go back to the Pole, Bunny waves North off, go finish Christmas, then passes out on the couch. Still holding Jack.
Honestly holding Jack is just habit now.
Also he has a winter coat with tufts of shed fur not yet fallen off (his leaves)
Jack reacts… not well to waking up cuddled with the Easter Bunny.
So, so confused. Not badly, just 'what the fuck just happened, how did I get here, actually p. sure I'm still unconscious- Bewildered and befuddled
But warm
Jack is all patched up and completely wrapped around Bunny, who is equally bandaged but also bedraggled and in need of a comb.
And he is very aware of how ENTANGLED they are, but as he tries to shift away he doesn't know how to move what body part without waking Bunny.
It's like untangling fishing line.
And Aster is still just clinging to him. So Jack is forced to either wake Bunny up by moving, or lay there and wait for Bunny to wake up. Both have the same outcome, pissed off Bunny, but laying there means more time being hugged. Jack's practical. And as someone who hasn't been touched outside of a fight EVER he is pretty overwhelmed by it. He just kind of, buries his face in Bunny's chest and sobs.
He has no idea how this happened, but if it's a dream he's going to doze in it a while. Jack laying there, hyper aware of the contact but also zoning out, running his hands up and down Asters back. Bunny wakes up and pulls back to look at Jack, who is now very anxious because last he saw Aster was in 68, Aster just wants to make sure Jack's okay.
Jack assures him, yep, yes, totally fine, just dandy.
Bunny nods, then tucks Jack back under his chin and goes back to sleep.
Jack's mind is completely blank.
What?
Just?
Happened?
The Easter Bunny has gone crazy.(And is also very cuddly)
Bunny has just spent several months being tended to by Jack (as a tree) he's very much attached now.
North comes in after his run to check on them. He finds Jack awake and dazed. He asks how Jack is feeling and he says fine, kind of absentmindedly, North smiles, and asks if he needs help untangling from Bunny.
Once free he gives Jack a look over, his injuries weren't serious on their own but the definitely left him vulnerable.
North asks how he and Bunny got beat up, and Jack says he doesn't know. He knows he was fighting a storm spirit who wanted to wreck christmas on the New England coast, but he went home and slept in a tree.
North is charmed Jack thought to save his holiday, instantly fond of the boy. He explains that he found Bunny with Jack and brought them back to be patched up.They'll have to wait for Bunny, who is more seriously damaged, to wake up for the whole story.
North brings Jack some soup and tells him to rest. He has his own bed, but once they were done patching Jack up Bunny crawled into it to hold onto him. North says Jack must have given Aster a scare, since he's never cuddly with anyone.
North says if Jack wants he can sleep in the second bed. Jack says no, he'll stay with Bunny. Since he obviously needs the reassurance
No other motive here, no sir. Jack is just accepting the cuddles as necessary for the emotional and physical health of one E. Aster Bunnymund. Who must heal up quickly if he is to meet his Easter deadline.
Good thing Easter is late this year
Jack still has no idea why Aster is hurt or why he wants cuddles, but as soon as he lays down Bunny blinks awake, then draws him close again.
Bunny is very concerned over Jack.
No One knows why, but Aster has just spent months sleeping next to Jack, and now Jack is hurt and he's worried.
He's already worked through the "wow Jack's actually an okay bloke" thoughts and the "oh I think I like him" panic back when he was a tree, being a tree does give you a lot of time to think.
Bunny's still stiff as a tree and barely able to move, but at least now he can properly hold Jack.
When Jack prods him, after he starts getting a little better, over why he's suddenly clingy he tells Jack he was shifted into a tree and Jack helped him after the fire.
Which makes Jack very embarrassed And very glad Bunny wasn't a tree by his lake, he BATHES there.
Jack realizing he's been sleeping with Bunny for months.
Aster asks him if this is okay (THIS being his feelings for Jack) and Jack says yes, assuming he means the cuddles.
Bunny is very happy. He says he's going to try very hard to make this work, and that he hopes Jack will feel the same, but it's okay if he doesn't, thanks for at least giving him a chance.
And Jack catches on, “whoa, wait, backup, are you asking me out?”
Yes, yes he is.
“ Oh, okay, well I… okay.”
And that's how jack got a date with the Easter Bunny.