Work Text:
Bunny sniffed the air, following the scent of winter's chill. Cold and cranberries and something Bunny couldn't quite name---Jack was here.
Blighter had snuck into his Warren again. Bunny growled at the thought---Jack was likely freezing his golems and creating puddles of ice, cackling while the googies slipped and slid across it.
He followed the scent until it got thicker, ignoring how it made his stomach do flips. Now was not the time for his attraction to the Guardian of Joy to make itself known, lord knew he'd been trying to ignore it since '68.
He emerged onto grassy hills near the regular river (he didn't just have dye running through his Warren, that would be ridiculous), and what he found made him pause.
Jack was curled up in a tree, his hoodie rolled and tucked at the base of the trunk next to his staff. The sprite lounged where the branch met the trunk, one arm over his eyes and the other on his pale stomach.
Bunny's ear lifted as he registered the sound of quiet snoring, and he couldn't hold back his huff. The sprite decided to take a kip after messing up his Warren?
It was the height of cheek.
Bounding up the tree took him no effort, and then he was on a thick branch near Jack, staring down at his sleeping face.
He was beautiful all the time (Bunny was an artist, he couldn't ignore it), but especially now. The sprite looked so content, it took everything in Bunny to keep himself from lying down and joining him.
Maybe pulling the sprite to him, chinning him like he should've been doing all this time, marking him as his...
No. Bunny shook off the thoughts, crouching down and examining Jack's face. He reached out a paw, poking Jack's cheek and marveling at how Jack stirred briefly, dark eyelashes fluttering before he relaxed again.
Well, Bunny couldn't resist. He was ninety percent sure the sprite had done something to deserve what was about to come. Besides, the Wind would catch him. She was reliable like that.
Grinning, he leaned close to Jack's ear, letting his breath ghost over it before speaking.
"Boo."
Jack yelped, startling hard and falling straight off the branch.
Bunny laughed as the Wind lifted him, Jack taking a brief moment to thank her before sending a fierce glare Bunny's way.
"What gives?", he demanded, cheeks crackled over with frost.
"Payback", Bunny replied, rolling his shoulders.
"Yeah?", Jack said, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "I'll show you payback."
Bunny couldn't bring himself to regret it.
Not when Jack looked so joyful, flicking up frozen balls of paint and lobbing them at him from across the Color River, giggling all the while.
Bunny hadn't had this much fun in a while. Creating Easter brought him its own special kind of joy, but just messing around...
He hadn't done it since he was a kit, watching other Pooka playing at dancing to impress their crushes. Jumping around, showing off your speed, grace...
Well. What Jack didn't know about Pookan courting couldn't hurt him.
He dodged the paint nimbly, thumping his foot when Jack touched down on the grass and laughing as the sprite tumbled into the tunnel he created.
Bunny bounded over to it, grinning down at Jack's affronted expression.
His grin was promptly wiped off his face as the sprite planted a well-hidden ball of paint on his muzzle, and Bunny sputtered.
Jack laughed, diving out of the tunnel and flying straight into Bunny. He knocked the Pooka back into the Earth, settling on his waist and giggling, his hands fisted in Bunny's fur.
Bunny couldn't help the purr that left him, and playfully swiped at Jack's head, ruffling his hair. "Right, ye've made yer point. Get off, ye terror."
Jack grinned down at him mischievously, his fingers tightening in Bunny's fur. "Or what?"
"Or ye get to help me with spring cleaning", Bunny said dryly, bucking his hips up.
Jack's grin widened, if that was even possible, and he stayed right where he was. "That doesn't sound so bad. Not like I have anything better to do, and your Warren does need two sets of hands. Seriously, it's a mess in here."
"Oi!", Bunny protested.
Jack giggled, putting his hands up. "Don't freak out, but I thought you'd be more organized."
"I am organized", Bunny growled, flipping them and hovering over the sprite.
Jack didn't even flinch, just crossed his arms behind his head and smirked up at the Pooka. "Yeah? Tell that to the literal dust bunnies in your burrow. I think I saw a couple forming a union, you'd better watch your back."
"When did ye get into my burrow?", Bunny demanded.
Jack was suddenly all innocence, batting his eyelashes up at Bunny. "What, like it's hard?"
"...Right, that's it. Yer helping me weed the googies."
"Wh---hey!"
Jack stared down at the sapphire, cradling it like it would break any second. "Why?"
Bunny shrugged, turning away. "Thought ye'd like it. If ye don't, feel free to chuck it somewhere."
Jack held the sapphire closer to his chest, looking offended. "I'm not going to chuck it---I meant why are you giving this to me?"
Bunny stared at him. "See previous answer."
Jack switched between glaring at him and looking embarrassed, that frosty blush appearing again.
Bunny watched with interest as it crackled its way up his neck, and allowed himself a moment to wonder how far down it went. Before mentally dumping ice water on himself.
When it didn't seem like Jack would be opening his gob again, Bunny shrugged and turned to the wall of the Workshop, thumping his foot to open a tunnel.
Before he hopped down, he heard Jack murmur something softly.
"Thanks, Bunny."
Bunny woke up to a face full of winter sprite.
"Gah!", he yelped, scrambling back into his nest.
The blankets tangled in his feet, and he kicked them away before staring at Jack in horror.
The sprite bent double with his laughter, leaning heavily on his staff, and Bunny's shock turned quickly into irritation.
"Right, that's it. I'm dumping ye in the Sahara, mate", he snarled, starting towards Jack.
To his chagrin, Jack only laughed harder, and Bunny suddenly felt his mind tug itself in two directions.
One: Do everything in his power to keep Jack laughing like that, happy, full of joy.
Two: Pick up the sprite and dump him in the Color River.
The longer Jack laughed, the more obvious the choice became. Bunny bent at the knees and slung the sprite over his shoulder, and Jack quickly shut up. Before running his gob again.
"Hey!", Jack protested, squirming in Bunny's hold. "Hang on, hang on! Put me down, Bunny, I brought you something!"
"A massive headache?", Bunny guessed.
"No, you overgrown kangaroo", Jack quipped, lightly smacking Bunny in the shoulder with his staff. "Put me down and you can see!"
"A likely story", Bunny huffed. "I'm dumping ye in the river first. Yer hair needs a splash of color, I think."
"Bunny!", Jack giggled as he started walking again. "No, no, come on! Don't be like that, you did the same thing in the tree!"
He started wriggling more heavily, and Bunny finally had to put him down for fear of his staff knocking a few of his braincells out.
With a flourish, Jack pulled something green out of his hoodie pocket. "Ta-da!"
Bunny peered at it, admiring the way the gem was cut. "An emerald, eh?"
"And there's more where that came from", Jack promised, winking at him. "Just give me a few weeks."
He shoved the emerald into Bunny's paw and made to fly away, but Bunny yanked him back by his hood. "Just a mo', Snowdrop. Why're ye giving me rocks?"
"You started it!", Jack protested. "I'm just returning the favor!"
At Bunny's expression, he puffed his cheeks. "Jeez. If you don't like it, 'feel free to chuck it somewhere'."
He absolutely murdered Bunny's accent, and the Pooka couldn't help laughing. "Don't ye ever try that again, mate."
Jack stuck out his tongue at him, and flew away. "You might want to update your alarm system, Roo", he called over his shoulder. "Make it interesting!"
Within a month, Bunny had a collection of jade, emeralds, and peridot littering his shelves.
And if he made a special shelf in his bedroom to display them (after updating his wards to keep out a certain snow sprite), that was nobody's business.
Over the next few months, Bunny found himself giving into a particular instinct more and more.
To be fair, it couldn't be helped. Jack needed someone to do it, after all.
He grumbled as the sprite stumbled over to him, sitting down heavily on the couch by his side. "Bunny!"
North and his damn parties. There weren't enough holidays in the world to justify celebrating every week, the Cossack just wanted an excuse to drink.
Jack leaned into him, the frost back on his cheeks from the alcohol. "Whatcha doin'?"
Bunny rolled his eyes and ignored how easily his arm wound around the sprite's shoulders. "Just warmin' up a bit, Frostbite. Ye oughta go to bed."
"Don't wanna", Jack protested, cutting himself off with a massive yawn. "You're comfy."
He curled into Bunny's chest, winding his arms around the Pooka's waist. Bunny sighed, and eyed the mess of Jack's white hair.
...Well, Jack hadn't complained before.
Before he could come up with several reasons not to, Bunny ran his chin across the soft hair, smoothing it out and layering his own scent on top of Jack's.
Jack sighed, his arms tightening around Bunny. "Love it when you do that", he mumbled.
"Yeah?", Bunny asked softly, giving in and pressing a brief kiss to Jack's hair. "Good to know, mate."
Jack started snoring soon after, and Bunny hummed once all the tangles in his hair were gone. "Reckon we oughta get ye to bed, Jacko."
Jack's response was a slightly louder snore, and Bunny shook his head in amusement as he tried to lift the sprite off of him.
Jack vehemently protested, rubbing his face against Bunny's fur. Bunny sighed, gently running his claws over Jack's scalp. "Fine, ye terror. When ye wake up with a crick in yer neck, don't come cryin' to me."
They fell asleep curled up together, and when Bunny woke, he was alone, and there was a small braid in his fur, tied off at the end with an ice crystal.
Jack frowned down at the bundle Bunny deposited in front of him. "What is this?"
Bunny shrugged and took his seat next to him, waiting for North to appear and start their monthly meeting. "Needed someone to taste test the choccies."
And Jack was very skinny, almost worryingly so. Bunny wasn't sure if it was a winter thing (Jack could represent famine), but if he could provide for Jack, he would.
"You couldn't ask someone else to do it?", Jack asked, giving the bundle a dubious look.
"Well, let's see", Bunny started. "Tooth would give me a lecture, North uses it as an excuse to eat through my stores, and Sandy would get a sugar rush after five. So no, Frostbite, I couldn't."
"But if ye don't want them", Bunny continued, reaching for the bundle. "I'm sure I can work somethin' out."
"No!", Jack protested, grabbing the bundle and wrapping his arms around it. "No way, they're mine. I'll test them."
Bunny allowed the smirk to form on his face, and shrugged. "There ye go, then."
At the next party, Bunny scanned the tables of food.
This was the last straw---he'd been telling North for centuries to put a separate table for vegetarian-only dishes, but the oaf refused to listen!
Bunny scrubbed a paw over his face, and blinked as the scent of cranberries and winter's chill brushed against his nose.
"There you are!", Jack exclaimed, pushing a plate into Bunny's hands. "Wanna find somewhere to sit?"
Bunny squinted down at the plate. Three different kinds of salad, all containing apples, and a side dish of tomato soup.
"How...?", Bunny started, cutting himself off as Jack tugged him towards a couch.
"I do have eyes", Jack informed him. "And a somewhat working memory, now."
"Right", Bunny echoed. "Er, thanks, mate."
"Don't mention it", Jack laughed. "Now, who do you think will get caught under the mistletoe first? Cupid or Pan?"
"...Why is there mistletoe, it's March..."
"Shh, Bun Bun, don't question it."
Bunny bounded after his prey silently, moving through the trees with a practiced fluidity.
Jack wasn't as quiet, and Bunny could hear him giggling as he flew through the leaves, likely chilling a few as he went by.
It had started with Jack lobbing paint at him, then tweaking his tail, then brushing against Bunny's ears.
His ears were sensitive---he couldn't help tackling Jack to the ground, and then the sprite had ran. Triggering Bunny's instincts to chase, to hunt and capture.
For all that Pooka were vegetarian, they weren't foolish enough to ignore their instincts. Something fled, you followed.
Finally, they burst into a clearing, and Bunny jumped, capturing Jack in his arms as they tumbled to the ground.
Jack laughed as he was grabbed, ending up under the Pooka and grinning up at him mischievously. "Took you long enough."
Bunny huffed. "I chased ye for two minutes, and only cause ye got me with that damn snowball."
"Not what I meant", Jack whispered, before leaning up and kissing Bunny's nose.
Bunny briefly went cross-eyed, dazed at the touch of Jack's cold lips to his nose. "Ye---er---"
Jack smirked at him, and Bunny gave up on speech, diving down to capture his lips in a kiss. Jack giggled into it, winding his arms around Bunny's ruff and holding him close.
"I like you", Jack murmured between kisses. "And I think you like me too...?"
"Definitely", Bunny gasped, unable to keep from running his paws over Jack's body.
"Good", Jack breathed, "because I was starting to get impatient, and I was going to hold you hostage and make you sit through a presentation of why I would be the best boyfriend ever."
Bunny laughed against his lips. "Ye should still do that, I think I'd like to hear it."
"Whatever you want", Jack mumbled, tugging the Pooka back down.
They didn't get to talk for about an hour after that, but Bunny didn't complain.