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The Warren was quiet, no different from how it usually was. Not dead silent though; there was always the ring of wind chimes on trees, the buzz of bees and the flutter of butterflies, and the rustle of the bushes. Those noises weren't obnoxious and loud. That was how Aster liked it.
He enjoyed being surrounded by as little noise as possible—he valued the peaceful quiet more than his own life. Noises set him on edge and they made him antsy. How could they not? Having excellent hearing was a gift and a curse. Everything around him was always so loud.
That's why he liked isolating himself in the warren. He could talk to the flowers around him, he could hum without people poking and prodding into his business, and he could enjoy the silence to the fullest. He loved being alone more than anything. He could simply exist without an audience.
But alas, the silence in the warren could only last so long, because there was always that stupid Jack Frost. Always there to bug him, always there to nip at his nose, always there to cause trouble, always there to be as loud as humanly possible.
Bunny could always sense him—wherever Jack went, the cool winter breeze seemed to follow. It was obnoxious if anything; Aster hated anything even remotely cold. Being cooped up in the warren for so long made it harder to adjust to winter's dark, biting chill. So, it wasn't hard to imagine that whenever Jack was around, Bunny could immediately detect the subtle shift in the temperature and the change of the air currents.
With a twitch of the ear, Aster acknowledged the cold breeze that wrestled his fur with a rough blink. Turning his head up from the egg he was painting, a long groan escaped him.
"Oh goody." He grumbled under his breath. He didn't even need to look behind him to know that Jack Frost was tumbling through the air towards him. He wasn't all that good about being quiet about it.
"Hey! Kangaroo! Hi!" Jack Frost hollered at the top of his lungs, and Aster's ears instinctively pinned back behind his head with a wince. Jack's voice was loud enough to shatter glass—or, more likely, Bunny's eardrums. If being the most obnoxious guardian was a contest, Jack would've won a thousand times over. The guy simply could never shut up.
"Frost." Bunny replied with a huff, turning back to the egg in his hands and dragging his paintbrush along the white canvas. He swirled a bright lavender across the fragile object with ease.
He tried his best to continue on with his work, but his attention quickly caught onto Jack, who practically threw himself onto the ground next to him and rolled into the flowerbed a few patches up. All the while did he have that stupid smug grin on his face.
Aster sat up at that, his gaze darkening into a sharp glare.
Oh, that would not slide.
"Dammit, Frostbite! How many times must ya tumble over my flowers?!" The rabbit snarled, lowering his paint brush and baring his teeth irritably. Jack's gaze was challenging, his own smile widening into a sly grin.
"Oh, these flowers?" He laughed, "Whoops, didn't see 'em."
Bunny really had to dig his feet into the dirt to keep the petty banter going. He had to force himself to stay on track. It was difficult; he could feel his threatening gaze soften at Jack's laugh alone, it never failed to leave the rabbit as a blushing wreck. The way Jack threw his head back, the way he'd cover his face with a trembling hand, the way his eyes squeezed shut as a bubbling laugh escaped his lips—it all left Aster simply in awe.
No. He couldn't let this happen. He needed to keep up the bickering. He needed to get his fucking head in the game.
Sharpening his glare once more, the rabbit sneered back at the frost spirit, that same threatening glint behind his eyes, "Get the 'ell off of 'em! I'm gonna clobber ya if you keep that up!"
And Jack just laughed.
God, his laugh.
Aster had to turn back to the egg he was painting to get his mind on something else. To get his eyes on something else. Another second of staring at Jack would lead to his face going as red as a rose.
Switching the paint on his paintbrush, Bunny subconsciously picked blue of all things. Before he could register that, he was already painting colorful zigzags onto the egg. The moment he realized, it made his face heat up even more in humiliation.
He should've picked green or something. Of all things, he picked blue. He hated blue. Blue was a specific someone's signature color. He would not have it. He wouldn't have any of that. Head in the game.
Snapping himself out of his thoughts, he was surprised to see Jack actually listening to his demands and rolling off the bed of flowers in his peripheral vision. With a few wavering bounces, Jack walked up to him, his hands fiddling with his staff in boredom.
As a long sigh escaped him, Frost leaned over the rabbit and hummed to himself. He didn't crack a joke in the moment, no remark or nothing, he just calmly... observed. Most likely because he had nothing else to do, but it still made Bunny's chest tighten and his shoulders tense.
He didn't like people watching him paint. He didn't like people period. Jack was no exception—if anything, he was worse. He always had this unknown superpower of making Aster's hands clammy and his mind short-circuit.
As his mind wandered, Aster's attention snapped back to Jack once more, who sat himself on the grass and stretched himself out on his stomach next to him, watching the rabbit work with either genuine interest or raging boredom. Aster couldn't tell which was more likely—he guessed the latter.
He really, really tried his best to ignore Jack. Bunny's gaze was hardened onto painting those little blue details onto that stupid fucking egg and to not look at Jack Frost. If he did, it would only throw off his concentration. It would only make him even more antsy. It would only make his skin crawl.
It was getting harder and harder to focus on painting when he realized just how close Jack was to him. For once, not 'close to him' as in he was playfully shoving him or they were exchanging competitive punches, but as in he was just being a causal bystander instead of an obnoxious bastard. 'Close' as in he was just harmlessly watching. It was hard to focus when he could feel Jack's cold breath rustle the fur clinging to his neck.
And then, throwing all the tension and peace into the pit, Jack's lips stretched out into a grin. "Watcha doin'?" He asked, merely to be annoying. That destroyed the entire tower of overwhelming thoughts Aster had been building up prior. He switched right back into defense mode.
"What d'sit look like?" The rabbit immediately snapped, though he kept his eyes glued to the egg and he refused to spare Jack a glance. He guessed the guy wanted to start something (as usual) and he wouldn't give him the attention he was seeking. He refused.
Jack kept prying though, like he always did. "Painting another lame egg, huh? You got any other hobbies?"
Rolling his eyes, Bunny's focus was scrambling as he switched his colors from blue to yellow as quickly as he could. "Right, like bein' obnoxious is a good hobby to have. You seem'ta have that down pat."
"Touché." Jack countered simply, and Bunny expected him to crack another petty insult to rile him up. Instead? Frost merely peeked his head over Aster's elbow and rested his chin on the rabbit's arm.
Like that was casual.
The flinch that came from Aster probably didn't go unnoticed, but neither of them acknowledged it. Instead, Jack shot him that same cocky smirk. "Loving the pastels. It’s funny how a six-foot scary looking rabbit like you could ever like something as cute as a soft pallet."
That only made the shock of the physical contact double. The embarrassment that came along with it tripled.
Large ears pinned behind Aster's head immediately at the comment. His ears betrayed him more often than not; unlike the controlled grasp he had on his body language, his ears were always a dead giveaway to his genuine feelings. They'd droop and twitch and bend when it was most inconvenient. And if his ears weren't enough of an indicator of his utter embarrassment, the heat in his cheeks definitely were. Shit, he was probably blushing so bad.
Jack fully got the message—of course—and his smile widened in victorious joy. He was apparently satisfied with the reaction his quip had earned.
"Shut up." Was all Aster could grumble out, turning back to the egg he was painting immediately to zone out of the utterly humiliating conversation he found himself in. That only got an amused wheeze out of the frost spirit beside him.
"Really though, why are you so into this?" Jack asked with a teasing smile, his shit eating smirk still on full display. The only reaction Bunny gave him with a side eyed glare.
Frost continued, "I get that your whole thing is Easter and stuff, but you paint eggs all the time. Kids are just gonna smash them at the end of the day, right? All your hard work—poof. Gone. Might as well save all that work for... you know, work?"
"It ain't about smashing 'em," Bunny countered through gritted teeth, "It's about the magic that comes before that. It's about the excitement and anticipation of findin' them. Bloody 'ell, I'd rather do this for fun than any of your ridiculous bullshit. You wouldn't understand the beauty within paintin' eggs, ya frozen twig."
Jack hummed at that. "Frozen twig? Is that the best you've got?"
Bunny finally turned his head to him, a sly grin on his own face. "Nah, I've got better. Just don't wanna hurt yer fragile little ego."
And then Jack's eyes darkened, his lips pressing into a thin line as his grin stretched almost in an uncanny way. There was that familiar glint of mischief behind his eyes, the glimmer of destruction that would light up his features whenever he was moments from starting downright trouble. Bunny was familiar with this blaring alarm, but before he could say anything, Jack spoke first. "Oh, it's on, rabbit."
With the flick of a pale finger, the egg that Aster had been painting turned to ice on a dime.
For a moment, Bunny just stared at the frozen egg in his hands.
All that hard work. A mere ice cube now.
Sharply turning his head, Aster's voice spiked into a challenged yell as he snapped, "You are practically askin' for it, frost!"
But Jack was already gone.
Turning behind him sharply, Aster saw the white haired man actively running for his life, stumbling on his feet and tumbling through the air like a confused pigeon.
And without hesitation, Aster bolted after him, quick to give chase and even faster to deliver justice to his art’s unfortunate fate.
From further up ahead, Jack turned his head and winked, "Haha! Always up for a chase! You never cease to amuse me, kangaroo!"
Aster's glare sharpened as he shot right back, "You little prick! You're dead!"
Sure, Jack may have gotten a head start, but Bunny was fast. Faster than a speeding car.
In a flash, the two were playing a game of keep away, with Jack zipping through the air like a stingray cutting through a body of water, and Aster racing after him with murder on his mind and ready to tackle the other.
Though he was fast on his feet, Jack matched his speed, keeping just barely out of reach. A jump alone wouldn't be enough to take down Jack Frost, no no, he was too slick for that. Times like these was when Aster had to get creative with taking down his cocky dumb rival.
This game of chase went on for a while, with Jack shooting him remarks and Aster shouting death threats right back at him. As the rabbit skidded around bushes and bounced over flowers, he eyed the tree coming into view and grinned.
That was it. The game changer.
Conveniently, Jack was oblivious to the tree, and like an absolute moron, his cockiness got the better of him. With a swift turn, he flew through the air while facing the rabbit with a smug grin.
"That the best you got, cotton tail?" Frost called with a laugh, and just as he did, he slammed directly into the tree and toppled face first into a patch of flowers, dropping his staff along with him.
With a laugh of pure satisfaction and amusement, Aster skidded to a stop and lunged at him, full on tackling the pale man while Jack fully screamed in response.
"Wait—Hold on, I wasn't ready! I was distracted! I call cheat!" Frost shouted, flailing in a not so victorious attempt to fend off the rabbit. Aster only grinned, countering, "Ha! Victory!" As the two tumbled and wrestled in the flowerbed, leaving crushed petals in their wake.
As skinny and flimsy as Jack was, he was much stronger than Aster gave him credit for. Trying to pin him down in the middle of the field was a lot harder than it looked, and Jack was already flexible and slick, so it was kind of like wrestling a stick of butter.
After a few moments of grappling in the dirt, with their limbs tangled and the two of them covered in dirt and sweat, Aster thought he finally had the upper hand. With a swift twist, he managed to maneuver Jack into what he thought was an inescapable position. The winning side was right in front of him.
But just as that thought came, the quicker it went as Jack slipped free from his grasp like a serpent in a tidal wave. His movements were so slick and well crafted that Aster found that he must've planned this. He read the rabbit's movements like he was predictable. It wasn't the most jaw dropping thought, as they wrestled quite often and fought every other day, but he didn't know that Jack actually came prepared this time.
Before Aster could react, Jack struck back at him with an outrageous play. Like a dirty cheater, with that same mischievous glint behind his eyes, the frost spirit latched onto both of the rabbit's ears and pulled.
Aster practically went limp.
He abruptly stopped struggling for dominance, his body going rigid and stiff as if frozen in time.
An unbearable heat crept up his neck and found itself at the end of his continuously twitching ears. His stomach twisted in a way that would've resembled between panic and something else he couldn't quite name—something that made his instincts scream at him to pull away and to stay perfectly still all at once.
He was left completely frozen and vulnerable as a helpless breath escaped his lips. Everything was blank.
Of course, Jack was oblivious to just what he did. Aster couldn't blame him though. Nobody knew, and he would never willingly tell anybody, but his ears were quite literally his only weakness. Not only were they sensitive to sounds, but they were incredibly vulnerable to touch.
A tug of an ear and it was like his entire body would shut off, go lifeless. Not only that, but it sent heated shivers down his spine and it made his fur prickle with too many overwhelming emotions.
What were they? Fear? Dread? Lust? Maybe all three of those? He never could really tell, because just as his body would, his mind would just turn off.
But all of those intense feelings didn't register to the man wrestling with him. Taking complete advantage of his frozen state, Jack rolled himself on top of him and slammed his hands into the rabbit's chest, pinning him to the ground as he threw his legs on either side of his torso. With quick movements, the frost spirit had his hands gripping onto the rabbit's wrists and pressing them into the grass beneath them.
And then they both went still.
Breathing heavily and wiping the dirt that covered his face with a cheeky laugh, Jack leaned into Aster's face with a smug grin. Aster didn't know what his own face must've looked like at the moment, but whatever was displayed, he didn't want to know.
"Victory, huh?" Jack sneered simply. "Who's laughing now, Roo? I win.”
And holy shit, Aster didn't know if he wanted to melt into the ground, or disappear from the face of the earth, or shove the barrel of a gun down his throat, or passionately make out with this man instantly.
His words caught in his throat, and all Bunny could do was let out a few wobbly breaths of shock. It was hard to wrap his head around just what was happening when he had a smug asshole straddling him in a field of flowers, covered in dirt and sweat and panting like a dog.
Shit.
The two simply sat like that for a few moments, the silence between them filled with hoarse breathing and intense eye contact.
When neither of them spoke, Jack blinked at him thoughtfully, as if he were actually taking in how intimate their current position felt and looked. All Aster could do was swallow roughly as the man above him loosened his grip around his wrists. Jack's eyes widened slightly like the situation just now registered, his expression shifting as he leaned back just a fraction.
Even through this sudden realization, his gaze never left Bunny's. The rabbit noticed how Jack's hold on one of his wrists softened further, one of his pale hands releasing his wrist to smooth the ruffled fur where his iron grip had once been.
The shock that Jack Frost had fully displayed on his face was gone in a flash, and what replaced it was... hard to pinpoint.
In breathy silence, Jack lifted a hand up to the rabbit's ears and hesitated for a moment, breaking the silence slowly, "You there, bunny? You kind of just... froze. You okay? Did I hurt you or something?”
And it took Aster all his will power to not kiss him.
The fact that Jack was so casual about it—so accepting about the situation. He didn't look disgusted with the predicament they both were in, he didn't look like he wanted to backtrack, he didn't look like he wanted to get away. He just looked... full of wonder. Curious. Worried, even.
Before he could force any words out, Aster abruptly flinched as Jack reached his hand out further, his fingertips coming in contact with the rabbit's folded down ears. Very slowly did he trace his fingers along the fur covering them, and his eyes just scanned him for a few seconds. “I dunno if I pulled too hard, so that’s my bad.”
Aster had to bite back a full on whimper at the touch. He would never live down how he squirmed at the simple physical contact.
"Woah." Jack whispered to himself, his eyes widening with some sort of emotion Aster couldn't detect, "Your ears are cool."
His slightly parted mouth then twisted into a grin, "‘I’ve never, like… seen them up close. They’re cute.”
God.
God.
The touched burned, but not necessarily in a bad way. All the warning signs were going off in his head, all the alarms that shouted at Aster to run. He could not stand feeling so powerless and caught up in his emotions in front of someone like Jack Frost. He simply couldn't handle it.
But the touch was also... welcome. Fiery, nervous, hesitant, but… willing?
No. This could not be happening.
"Jack—" the rabbit breathed far quieter than he intended, and Jack looked at him with genuine wonder. The words caught in his throat, but he forced them out, "Jack... don't."
The frost spirit's gaze flicked from his ears to his eyes, and like he just now realized that he was probably crossing a boundary, his eyes went completely big and he leaned back, holding his hands up in surrender. "Wait, are you—? Is this making you, like—uncomfortable? In, um... like..."
He fumbled with his words as his face burned a rosy red, and Aster simply could not handle that look on Jack's face.
That was when his defence persona took over, because Aster's face flushed even hotter as his gaze sharpened. "I—What do you think?!"
Jack kind of just stared at him for a minute or two, mentally piecing together the puzzle until a knowing look washed over his eyes.
"Oh. Ohhhh. Oops."
He tried piecing his words together awkwardly, "Is touching your ears... like, touching... uhm... so they're like a... weak spot or something...?"
All Aster could do was breathe out an unbelievable laugh. "I swear to god, Frost."
Maybe Aster would've expected Jack to get off of him immediately. Maybe he would've expected him to be embarrassed or humiliated like most people would—hell, Aster himself was feeling those things on an inhuman level.
But oh, Jack was not most people. If he ever found himself in an awkward situation, his immediate solution was to make light of it.
"Shit, I am so sorry." Was all he mumbled for a moment, then he hummed thoughtfully. “Huh, you mean to tell me that all these years we've been fighting, your ears are your only weakness? How come I haven't thought of that sooner? It was so obvious."
Aster let out a wobbling breath. "I promise ya, Frost. You're dead."
And that made Jack lean into his face with a sly smirk, "As long as you can catch me next time. We'll see."
And with that, before Aster could even process it, Jack released the grip on his other wrist and sprung up, tripping over himself on the way but regaining his balance. With that, he took his staff and bolted.
It all happened so fast that all Bunny could do was lay there. His breath still came out heavy and faint. His ears were still uncontrollably twitching and folding against his head defensively. His heart still pounded against his ribcage.
Jack's freezing touch lingered all over him. Around his chest, his wrists, his waist, and especially his drooping ears, flattened out and pinned against the sides of his face like a beaten puppy.
With a groan of defeat, Aster grabbed at his large ears and pulled them over his eyes in utter humiliation.
He didn't think he'd be able to sleep tonight.