A/N: Happy Easter!

Wow, I can't believe the end of this story is here! I would like to offer my sincere thanks to all of the reviewers, followers, and favorites. You guys rock! Thanks for boosting me up! I can honestly say that I had an amazing time updating this story. I've gotten better with some elements of writing, and learned more about being a good author.

I'd love to see all of you reading my other stories (Past, present, and future!). I am considering doing something similar to this story for mother's day, so be on the lookout for that!

I leave this final chapter to you with a smile on my face. Have a wonderful Easter!

Hope

A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.

Easter is new beginnings. New Life. Easter's about hope. – E. Aster Bunnymund

Three hundred years is a long, long, time. You see a lot, hear a lot, and learn a lot in that time.

Sadly, you lose a lot, hurt a lot, and cry a lot too.

Hope is essential for any immortal. If you don't have hope, what's the purpose of your life? If you can't look forward, what's the point of living in the present?

Loss of this type of faith has resulted in many spirits fading, choosing to move on, because they didn't have anything to live for.

Jack Frost knew what it was like to live like that. He'd done it so many times before in his life. However, something – whether it be the kids, his duties, or a heartfelt wish – always kept him trudging onward.

Some people would call him stubborn, some would say he was just too childlike, but it remained the same. The winter spirit would not fade. He knew he must have a purpose, to have been created by the moon. He didn't know what it was. He never knew if he would find it. But, he knew it, deep down, that he was needed somewhere.

Or that was what he told himself.

It was hard, living as he did. Acting as though nothing could hurt him, when all he wanted to do is collapse into someone's open arms and sob his heart out. So, he did what he could. He lost himself in his winter duties, in his fun times with children. He threw himself into pretending to be uncaring and free and snarky and uncontrollable.

Two things kept him going though.

One, as he would learn later, was his center, his being. He was the Guardian of Fun for a reason. You couldn't fear when you were having fun! That was why he so loved kids, why his snowballs and snowflakes helped people enjoy life! It was what, as North would say, "Made him a Guardian".

The other, was hope. Pure, unaltered, optimistic hope. Hope for someone to care, for his life to have a purpose, and for something to live for. He didn't have it, couldn't have it. But, he yearned for it, knew he'd get it if he tried hard enough.

And eventually, that's exactly what happened.

Those three days before he became a Guardian were the most confusing time of his entire life. The Guardians were complex, mystifying. Why, why, why would they ever try to include him, want him, and . . . care for him? He tried to lose himself then too, trying not to get too close, trying not to wish for something he couldn't have. Jack knew he was too wild, too untamable, to ever be a Guardian. His companions apparently thought otherwise, and the immortal teen found himself starting to believe it too.

But then . . . Easter happened, and the spirit found himself hopeless, empty. He fled, and knew that it was his time to fade, to never ever be seen again. Antarctica was the best place, away from anyone who could get hurt by his foolishness. He tried, so hard, to get rid of his memories, so that he could leave and fade and die. But he couldn't. Something inside them called to him.

Then Pitch had shown up. Suddenly, Jack found himself a purpose. Maybe he could get rid of this boogeyman for the Guardians so that they wouldn't hate his memory so much anymore.

Pitch had offered him something. A purpose. But, he wanted to hurt the kids, and if Jack was on his last hurrah, he wouldn't be found harming them.

But then, Baby Tooth had needed help, and the boogeyman had offered a trade. It hurt to admit it, but if Jack hadn't thought he was going to fade soon, he might not have done it. His staff had been everything to him, but where he was going, he wouldn't need it.

Suddenly, he was at the bottom of the crevasse. Nothing he did would help Baby Tooth, and the last, tiny bit of hope in him died. As he leaned against the wall of the fissure, he tried to find the part of him that would allow him to leave this Earth, to fade, and never be found again. He'd been that close to leaving.

But then, Baby Tooth had saved his life, quite literally. Those memories had instilled something strong, unwavering, back into his frozen heart, and he knew, he knew, that he had to go, go and help, and become a Guardian.

He rushed, no bolted, to try and free the fairies, but nothing he did help. Then, there was one, tiny, flickering light. Jamie.

He should have known that it would happen in Burgess, back where it all started for him. When the brown-haired boy had been pleading to his pet rabbit, Jack felt such empathy toward him. How often had he asked for a sign from the moon that would help him?

Somehow, he found himself in charge of relighting this little believer's flame. At first he had no idea what to do, and he found himself stuck outside the window, feeling weak. But then, he remembered. He remembered how he and his little sister had drawn on frosty paths, and how children were awed by his little trick. That ice bunny was the best work of art he'd done in a long, long time.

And then, something had happened. Jamie had seen him. Jamie saw him! JAMIE SAW HIM!

The events after that went by so quickly, so suddenly, that the end of the battle came sooner than he'd anticipated.

His moment had come. He accepted his Guardianship, found his place, and felt that hope beating strongly in his chest.

It was the best day of his life.

As they flew away on the sleigh, he had to suppress his feelings, in order not to do a back flip off the side and freak Bunny out. He felt so hyper, so warm, and so truly content. The others were happy, of course, but Jack . . . Jack was blissful.

And then, things got even better, if that was even possible. He'd gotten medical help for his injuries, eaten humongous amounts of food, and found . . . a . . . family. He was incredibly hesitant to call them that, but no one could ignore the fact that they'd become unbelievably close over the past few days.

He'd ended up going to the Warren to help clean up ("I-it's my fault. I need to help." "It's not, ya' fault, an' ya' know it. It's ours, for bein' so stupid." "I still want to help." "Well, come on then."), and went to the Tooth Palace to return his memory box and assist in the fairies attempts to organize everything. North had claimed his company after that, and Jack helped the yetis and elves do repairs on the areas Pitch had ruined in his little temper tantrum, after the last light wouldn't go out. Sandy invited the boy on a round trip, and found out just how imaginative and creative he could be.

After that, Jack went back to Burgess, and found, to his delight, that Jamie was there, waiting with his friends for someone to come and confirm that the events of a few days ago weren't just dreams.

He ended up staying and playing with them for hours, until the sun went down. Exhausted, he returned to his lake and stared up at the moon, feeling that same, burning, hope in his chest. With a whispered, "thank you" he flew up into a tree and closed his eyes in delight. Because, when you have hope, what else do you need?

"Frostbite! Get yar' sorry butt back here!"

"Not a chance, Kangaroo!"

Jack positively cackled, shooting a beam of ice at the grassy floor of the Warren. There was a loud yelp as the Pooka went down, shooting off on the accidental slide. The winter spirit's mouth opened slightly, and he dove down to fly alongside the speeding rabbit.

"Whoahoahahaha!"

"Come on Cottontail, keep up!" He yelled, ice frosting over the grass as he led Bunny on a crazy ride.

"AHH!"

The scene starting to seem familiar to Jack, he looked ahead, noticing the large lake of dye right ahead of them. His eyes widened, and he turned, ending up on a small cliff just above the paint. Aster launched off, limbs flapping.

The immortal teen zoomed by him, grasping onto his bandoleer, giving him that extra lift to clear the lake. The two of them rolled over each other, little cries of annoyance being heard at each bounce.

They slid to a stop in a familiar field, Jack flung on top of Aster. Both of them blinked, breathing hard.

The Pooka spoke, voice shaky, "N-never again. Never."

The boy started to giggle uncontrollably, adrenaline draining, leaving a worried mess of winter spirit behind.

Once he started, Aster found himself laughing too, more out of relief than anything else.

The duo stayed like that for a while, chuckles proving too strong to stop. Finally, after what seemed like hours, they calmed, and Bunny shoved the spirit off of him, stretching. Jack glared at him, smile still in place, before standing and popping his neck.

"Geez, it's been years since I've done something like that."

"And it'll be eternity before ya' do it again!" The Pooka griped, crouching.

"Ah, ah, I dunno about that! Eternity's quite a long time, ya' know!"

"Oh, believe me, I do!" And with that, Bunny tackled the boy - out of annoyance, of course. It was in no way Aster's way to make sure he was alright, nope, nope, nope.

Jack flailed, blue eyes wide with surprise. He landed gently on the ground, and found the Pooka standing over him, mischievous smile on his face.

"Now, it's 'bout time someone taught ya' a lesson 'bout respectin' ya' elders, don'tcha think?"

With these words, Bunny began his torture of the winter spirit.

"AHHHHH!N-no! STOP!" Jack rolled around, shoving at Bunny's wrists. "S-t-t-top!"

"Ah, looks like someone's ticklish, maybe we should up the ante!"

"NO!" Jack squealed as he wriggled with laughter. Giggle, snort, "St-t-top Kangaroo! Giggle, shove.

" Well, Frosty," Bunny started, still poking and prodding the spirit's side, "First, ya' gotta say 'I will never ever take Bunny on another ride like that'!"

"NEVER!" Giggle, giggle.

"Well then, face my wrath!" This scene was so familiar to Aster . . .

"Aster! Aster! Stop! No!" Ev snorted as he twisted and turned, trying to get away from the so-called 'tickle monster'.

"Rawr! Ya' gotta promise no more pranks first!"

"O-o-okay! No m-m-more!"

"O-o-okay! I'll – giggle, snort – never do i-i-it again!"

"Now say Easter's better than Christmas!"

"Easter – giggle – is – giggle – better than – snort – Christmas!" Snort, giggle.

Aster finally released the boy, leaving him gasping for breath once again.

Jack mustered up as much energy as he could in order to glare at the Pooka.

"Noo fair . . ." he whined.

Bunny just smiled, looking out over his Warren. The sun, provided by the magic of the underground dwelling, was setting, casting a rosy glow over everything. Jack sat up, staff laying haphazardly a few feet away.

This type of thing wasn't new to the winter spirit. Over the past few years, time spent with Bunny became quite common. Sighing with recollection, he remembered back to the early years of his Guardianship.

He'd been incredibly flighty, scared to interact with the Guardians, and scared of what they would think of him. At first, he pranked, he caused distress, and he tested boundaries. He'd been scared of everything then, scared of his new family. Everything he did was somehow centered around getting their attention, or finding out how long it'd take for them to kick him out.

But, it had never happened, and slowly he'd calmed, showing a new side – the part of him with a heart of gold, and a loving attitude. It had stuck around.

Things were different now, everywhere. He was no longer shunned, but cared for! He wasn't alone, he had lots of people to talk to.

His nightmares were less frequent now, especially when he was somewhere near one of the Guardians. Somehow, just their presence mad things better.

He and Bunny fought less, well, less about really important stuff. Their fights never escalated, and usually ended up with Aster trying to comfort a crying Jack . . . not that either of them would tell anyone that.

Those two had become closer than brothers, sharing so much with one another. Like the music, and their love of painting, and their loneliness. All of the Guardians were family, but Jack and Bunny were inseparable.

So much had changed. So much was better. So much had happened. The Guardians didn't care, they were family now. They shared homes, and food; friends and activities.

They were all quirky, unique, and they didn't mind each other's oddities. Bunny and Jack understood each other, accepted one another's abnormalities, and often conformed to them. The winter spirit could often find the Warren cooled down, just when his visits were anticipated, or his little trails of frost were ignored in favor of some other interesting egg or chocolate. In return, he didn't say anything about Aster's more . . . rabbit-like tendencies.

Hanging out with Bunny was always interesting, but there was another reason he did it . . .

"Oi, Frostbite."

"Huh? What?"

"Nothin'. Jus' wonderin' whatcha thinkin' 'bout."

Jack sighed, twisting around so that he could lean up against Aster's back.

"Oh just the usual . . . Ya' know."

And the Pooka did know, having seen the look in his eyes. The spirit was probably thinking about life before his Guardianship, and whatnot.

Bunny shook his head, wanting to get the boy out of that train of thought. It generally lead to a depressed winter spirit.

"Come on now Frosty, let's catch some shut-eye."

"Aww, but I'm not tired!"

Aster gave him 'the glare', and Jack shut up, scrambling back to grasp his staff.

"Okay, okay. Geez, I'm coming."

The Pooka smirked before starting the race toward the housing area. The two tumbled inside, Jack leading the way toward his room. The teen leaned his staff against the wall as Aster stood in the doorway to make sure he actually used his bed. After the boy settled down, he made to go to his own room, when a tiny voice stopped him.

"Bunny?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you . . . Do you think you could stay here tonight?" Jack hid his face underneath the blanket, face burning with embarrassment.

Aster shook his head, rolling his eyes, before moving toward the nest. The boy perked up as he felt the weight settle on his bed, but yelped as he was pulled close to the Pooka. That was not what he had in mind.

"Shh, go ta' sleep Frosty," Bunny murmured as he nudged the teen's temple.

"Hey Aster?" Bly asked quietly as the four siblings curled up in the nest, mother and father gone for the evening.

"Yes?" The older Pooka whispered, not wanting to wake the younger two.

"You're . . . You're always going to be my big brother, right?"

Aster smiled softly, "Yeah, I am. Now get some sleep, you'll need it tomorrow, if you want to do well in that tournament."

Bly smiled back, nuzzling into his older brother's fur.

"Bunny?"

"Yeah?"

Jack blinked the warmth away for a moment, "You'll . . . You'll always be there for me, right?"

"Of course. There's no way I'm gonna let ya' get away with any pranks without me there ta' photograph them."

The boy gave a little giggle, snuggling closer to the Pooka.

"Aster?"

"Yes Kalli?"

"I love you!" The little girl declared as she wrapped her little arms around her brother's legs.

"Heh, love ya' too, kit."

Sleep clouded Jack's brain as he started to slur his words, "Love you, Bunny."

Aster was pretty sure his heart had stopped beating for a moment. That was the first time the boy had actually admitted it out loud.

"Love you too Jackie."

"Aster?"

"Yeah, what's up Ev?"

The younger male shuffled his feet bashfully.

"Come on, I won't laugh."

"Well . . . today in school, the teacher asked us to write a letter to someone we care about."

"And?"

"Iwroteminetoyou." The Pooka gasped out.

Aster raised a dark eyebrow, "Well then, you'd better read it to me, hmm?"

Ev nodded slowly, bringing a paper up to his face and putting on his glasses, "Dear Aster, I think you are an amazing brother. I love the way you inspire everyone. I want to be just like you when I grow up, because you give everyone hope. Love Everard.

"Bunny?" Jack spoke with the air of someone already mostly asleep.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For . . ." the boy trailed off into a yawn, "giving . . . giving me hope."

Aster felt a true smile on his face as he brushed his paw through Jack's white hair, "You're welcome Jack."

The spirit sighed once more before going completely still in sleep.

"You're welcome kit," Bunny murmured before he let dreams and memories take him off to dreamland.

Easter's a lot of things.

It's a time for chocolate and eggs. For baskets and chicks and peeps.

It's also a time for family. A time to meet together and love each other.

But, most of all, it's a time for hope.

A time to renew your faith in all of the little things.

Remember that.

And remember the wonder, dreams, memories, fun, and hope.

Fin.