No time for words, other than an apology for the stupid fucking line breaks on this chapter. The random periods and such aren't typos-they were the only way I could get the damn lines to stay where I needed them to be, so sorry about that. I'll try again later and see if it wants to cooperate.

There is no real ending. It's just the place where you stop the story.

― Frank Herbert, in an interview February 3, 1969

Present:

They were shown off Mount Olympus by Cupid and Ganymede. They'd spent a lot of time talking about Jack's life when he was with Pitch, and the entire experience left him drained. After the discussion, Cupid had given him a word of advice.

"While it's true that Bunymund holds a piece of your heart for himself," he said, "I'd recommend holding off on anything so serious as Soul Bonding. Though," he raised his brows, "I'm beginning to think that might have never been your intention at all."

Jack looked away in chagrin, but he and Bunny agreed.

Before they left, Jack had gotten a moment to speak with Ganymede.

"Do you ever wish you'd gone to sleep with them?" he asked, aware of his own tactlessness, but too curious to curb his tongue. "Zeus is your lover, right?"

Ganymede blinked pretty eyes at him, and chuckled softly. "I used to," he admitted. "But…it has been many years, and the offer was never made in the first place. And in time, things have changed."

It wasn't until they were leaving, Cupid and Ganymede watching them go, that Jack heard their hushed conversation and understood what that meant.

"Are you going to change out of that form anytime soon? While as a child you are cute, I feel it right to hold you at your true size tonight."

Cupid chuckled. "Of course, love. Anything for you."

Ah. So, perhaps not Zeus' lover after all. Not anymore, at any rate. A glance at Bunny's face revealed similar thoughts.

They rode from Mount Olympus in North's sleigh, with Jack and Bunny in the back with Sandy between them. Bunny clutched the side with claws extended, but the gold seatbelt Sandy made for him helped keep his panic to manageable levels.

Jack found himself watching the landscape pass by below them, a strange gut feeling telling him it shouldn't have been so easy. There should have…have been more to lose. In a weird way, it almost felt like his final encounter with Pitch should have cost him more. Should have required some sort of sacrifice. Like he should have lost, or nearly lost, something precious to him. (In that moment, he had the strangest longing to see Baby Tooth.)

But soon enough the feeling passed. Just because his life had been a series of uphill battles to that point didn't mean he had to fight one when he reached the top. If anything, he admitted, revealing what Pitch had done to him had been a small war in itself.

Cutting through the genial chatter in the sleigh, Jack asked without looking at any of them, "You aren't disgusted?"

They didn't have to ask to know what he was talking about. Tooth stopped midsentence to answer, "Never." She turned in her seat, and placed a light hand on his knee. (And Jack let her do it.) "No matter what happened in the past, you are still the Jack we've come to know—the Jack we've come to care for. Nothing will change that."

"What Pitch did was disgusting," North said, voice hard. "And not your fault."

Sandy nodded along with them, his small hand reassuring on Jack's sleeve.

Jack glanced down at him and smiled, then turned his eyes to Bunny. "Bunny?"

Bunny stared straight ahead, his eyes narrowed and jaw tight. When he spoke it was tense, the low rumble of a growl in his words. "If anything, it makes me want to kill him more. But no," he finally looked at Jack, "you aren't disgusting. Not at all."

Sandy's gaze shot back and forth between them, and slowly moved so that Bunny could slide down the seat to the middle—to Jack's side. He took Bunny's previous seat, and pointedly pretended to give them privacy. Toothiana retracted her hand, and turned to face forward in her seat with a tiny grin. North shot a look at her from the corner of his eyes, expression knowing.

Jack looked away to hide his smile. "So…eternity in General Winter's cage, huh?"

"It's the least that ratbag deserves," Bunny said. He slid his hand atop Jack's on the bench. Jack turned his over so that their fingers could weave together properly. He squeezed, and Bunny squeezed back.

With the prospect of his new freedom laid out before him, it hurt to think he'd have to let go.

.

"When are you going?"

Jack tensed, his shoulder muscles tight with shock. Then he relaxed, and closed his eyes. He heard Bunny sit on the grass next to him. For a moment they were silent, Bunny looking out over the valley where his main tunnels branched out into different continents.

"How did you know?" Jack asked softly.

Bunny shrugged. "I can just tell."

Jack sighed, plucking grass with his fingers. "I don't know where I'm going. Everywhere, I guess." He pulled his knees to his chest. "Pitch is locked away. I'm free, and there's a whole world out there I haven't seen. I want to learn it."

Bunny nodded, and for a moment they were quiet. "Are you ever coming back?"

Jack stared at his toes. "Yes. If you want me to."

"I do." He paused, seemingly thinking hard about something. "Jack?"

"Yes?"

"Do you love me?"

Jack's breath caught on his inhale. He considered his words carefully. "No. But I do like you. I mean," he grew flustered, "I'm attracted to you, and I know that I could fall in love with you." He refused to look away from his feet.

"That's good." Jack almost jolted when Bunny pressed his forehead to his shoulder. "I feel the same way."

"Oh," he said softly. When he turned his body, Bunny lifted his face, and Jack took the opportunity to press a quick, courageous kiss to his whiskers. The smile the act earned him made his chest ache.

"I'll miss you," Bunny murmured.

And Jack replied, "Me too."

The next morning, Jack was gone.

Future:

Gold sand streamed through the night in bright ribbons. Directing it atop his cloud was Sandy, his smile serene as ever. He was coaxing a particularly good dream to life when he felt it—almost a tug on his sand, an indication that some was being splintered off from the rest. Not an unusual feeling, he was always spider-webbing his sand streams to reach different children. But those had all intentional—this sand was being pulled by something else and separating from the whole.

Sandy followed the tug, curious, and what he found made him light up excitedly.

On a flat rooftop a glittering dream dolphin swam in the air around Jack Frost. Jack's face was soft in the gold light, his eyes calm. He reached out, skimming his fingers over the dolphin. He leaned on his staff as he turned his attention to Sandy.

"Hey Sandy," he said. "It's been a while."

Alone at his workbench, Phil carved small details into the handle of a wooden spoon. It was to be a gift, and he wanted the design to be perfect. He softly blew away some small shavings, nodding in satisfaction at what was revealed.

"What are you making?"

The voice was at once familiar, and new. Phil looked up, and Jack stood in the doorway. But it was Jack as he'd never seen him. He still wore the same hoodie, the same pants, but it was the way he carried himself that made him different. There was a casualness in his posture, an easy, natural kind of confidence that made him seem comfortable in his surroundings.

Phil stood from his workbench, crossed the room, and swept Jack up into a strong, but gentle hug.

Jack hugged him back, and it was that action that really made Phil want to cry. Jack had always been so hesitant with touch. Something like this was more than he'd ever hoped for.

"Missed you," Jack said.

Phil nodded, burying his face in Jack's hair. (And if a few tears slipped out, well, it was only natural.)

.

North was sketching out a design for a new train set when the door of his office opened.

"I am a bit busy—," he made to reprimand, but stopped when he saw just who it was.

Jack walked in with Phil trailing behind, easy as could be. "Hey North. I haven't missed anything exciting, have I?"

"Jack!" North stood with his arms spread wide, and circled around his desk to take the boy into his arms as Phil had. "Has been too long! The only ones who have seen you were the Burgess children."

"I know. Sorry I stayed away so long. I was a bit busy." Jack grinned up at him crookedly, and squeezed back before pulling away.

"I have heard. New believers popping up across the globe, a decrease in malevolent spirit activity during winter…Jack, you have been a busy man."

Jack waved away the praise. "It's nothing…" But the way he looked down with a tiny smile showed how much the comment meant to him, and how pleased he was with himself.

Phil laid a hand on Jack's shoulder and nodded agreement.

"Whatever you have been doing," North decided, "it is nice to see you again."

And Jack agreed.

.

Baby Tooth was on patrol when she heard his voice.

"Baby Tooth!" He dipped in the air in front of her, and she nearly dropped the tooth she'd just collected.

He laughed at her startled squawk. "Sorry, sorry."

Once she was on control of herself once more she realized the significance of the situation, and let out a plaintive chirp before diving into his chest. Jack cupped his palms around her, and curled his knees to his chest, tucking his chin down. It was the closest he could get to hugging her.

Jack held her until she squirmed a bit, and he opened his palms. From his chest she looked up at him, her eyes wet and making tiny sniffles. Jack smiled at her. "I know, Baby Tooth. I missed you too." He leaned down, and nuzzled his cheek against the soft feathers atop her head.

She poked him with her beak in gentle reprimand, but immediately followed it a soft touch of her tiny hand. Jack used his pinky finger to carefully wipe the tears from her eyes.

"It's good to be back," he said. Then, he chuckled. "Hey, did you know Phil's seeing a yeti named Debbie?"

.

It was a loud call of, "Tooooooth!" that alerted her to Jack's presence.

She looked up from her main work station where she directed the fairies, seeing Jack Frost careen through the air and come to an almost recklessly graceful landing in front of her.

"Jack!" She rushed forward to hug him, and hesitated.

Jack, however, did not. He wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her into a hug. "Hiya, Tooth."

Tooth bit her lip and slid her hands around his shoulders, closing her eyes. "It's nice to see you, Jack."

"You too." He pulled away, and Tooth noticed the spark of curiosity in his eyes that had always been dampened before, but now shone bright in his wintery gaze. "Actually, there was something I was wanting to ask you about…"

.

For Bunny, it was a breeze. Ever since Jack had left, he'd kept his wards tuned to Jack Frost to grant him access to the Warren whenever he wished to return. In a way, he'd left the door unlocked and the kitchen light on for Jack to always find his way back.

And on that day, it paid off.

Bunny went still, trowel in hand and knees in the dirt of a flower bed beneath his cottage's kitchen window. A cool breeze ruffled the hair at his nape, and his ears twitched as barely there footsteps crinkled the grass. He set the trowel down.

"Been a long time," he murmured.

"Hey, Bun."

Bunny stood up, brushing dirt from his knees, and turned around. Jack was watching him with a soft look, cheek pressed against his staff as he leaned heavily on it. Aster took a few steps closer, but kept a significant gap between them.

"What have you been up to?" he asked.

Jack shrugged, mouth turning up at one corner. "Seeing the world, meeting people, spreading fun. Doing a lot of thinking."

Bunny observed his posture. He remembered when Jack had first come to stay with him. Quiet, faded. Like if you took your eye off of him for a second he'd have evaporated in the time it took to look back.

But it was different, now. He had a sense of content. A baseline happiness, where before there had been nothing.

Aster was glad to see the person Jack Frost had discovered himself to be.

"What kind of thinking?" Bunny asked.

"Well, my memories for one." Jack swayed a bit, rocking side to side on his feet. "I was kind of hoping they'd come back naturally, but so far I've only had vague impressions of something being familiar." His hand strayed into his hoodie pocket, clutching something kept there. "So I went to Tooth. I was someone before I was Jack Frost, I know it. I just have to find out who. Tooth said she'd suspected as much, and agreed to help me find my tooth box. She said she could use them to restore my memories." He stopped swaying, and rolled his staff between his palms in a show of slight nerves. "We have a few ideas for starting points, like early 1700s, but it'll probably still take a while."

"Is there something specific you want to know?" Bunny crept a little closer.

Jack shrugged, and pulled a small, carved figure from his hoodie pocket of a young girl. "This." Jack showed it to Bunny. "She's—she's important for some reason, but I don't know who she is. I think, I know, my memories could tell me why."

Bunny nodded. "You staying with Tooth while the search goes on?"

"Well, that's just it." Jack put the figure away, and watched Aster from under his eyelashes. "You're the last person I've been to see. I kind of was wondering if I could stay with you."

Bunny waited, and rather than answer, he tilted his head and asked, "Jack, do you love me?"

"You know, I've had ten years to think about that," Jack said softly. He shook his head. "I don't think I do yet, but that's the thing. If I got to know you a bit more, in a context that wasn't as urgent as before, I could, very easily." He looked Bunny in the eye. "I…want to, fall in love with you."

In the ten years Jack had been traveling, that was something he'd figured out pretty early on. He'd needed those ten years to fix himself, to rediscover who Jack Frost was and could be—to learn that happiness and pain both existed outside of his former life as the Consort of the Nightmare King. They had passed swiftly for him, carried away on streams of laughter and joy. But he never forgot about Bunny.

Aster took a deep breath, and impulsively reached out to cup Jack's cheek in his palm. "Me, too."

Jack leaned into the touch, and when Bunny leaned forward to press their lips together, made a little awkward by the differences in their faces, he leaned into that, too. It wasn't a long kiss, or particularly earth-shattering. But it was warm, and chaste, and natural in a way that was exactly what Jack had wanted.

Bunny bent so he could hug Jack to him properly, almost lifting the other off his feet. "You can stay as long as you want," he said. "And you should probably start calling me Aster. It's what the A stands for."

"What about the E?" Jack asked, his arms coming around Bunny's back and his chin resting on his shoulder.

"I'll tell you about that in a couple centuries."

Jack chuckled, and squeezed closer. Over Bunny's shoulder, he saw a reflection of himself in the glass of the kitchen window. He blinked at it.

Then, he smiled.

I feel I procrastinated in putting this one out, because I was kind of sad to see it end. Sorry if it's not everything you wanted or expected, but this felt like the place to stop. Sorry again for the stupid line formatting shit.