Disclaimer: I do not own "Rise of the Guardians" nor any of the characters who appear in "Rise of the Guardians," I just like to play with 'em every once in a while. Bunny and all "Rise of the Guardians" characters belong to William Joyce and Dreamworks Animation.

Chapter One: A Father, an Aunt, an Uncle and a Bunny

In which the investigation begins and Jack Frost is the lucky beneficiary of a happy coincidence

Being a Guardian had its perks.

For the first time in three hundred years Jack Frost knew exactly who he was and exactly what he was meant to do.

To top it off, he'd acquired a handful of honest to goodness believers and even more exciting; he'd found a family.

In North he'd found a father; strong and as patient as he was kind. It was to him that Jack went when he felt anxious and overwhelmed by his new duties and it was North who would clap him on the shoulder and declare that all would be well, he would see and then he'd steer Jack into his workshop and regale him with tales of his own steep learning curve until Jack smiled and realized that yeah, he was a Guardian.

In Tooth he'd found a dizzy aunt; indulgent, lovely and far wiser than she let on. It was to her that he went when he felt lonely and sad, when he missed his sister and yearned to see her once more. On these occasions, Tooth would stroke his cheek sadly and sit with him while he watched memories of him and his sister float by.

Jack would smile then and though he would miss her forever, he would never regret the sacrifice he had made for her.

Constance was his center and though North had led him to find her, it was Tooth who was the Guardian of her memory and as such, the Guardian of his center and for this, Jack was forever grateful.

And if Tooth was his beloved aunt, then Sandy was a cherished uncle.

Ever ready with a kind smile or a calming touch, Sandy was peace personified. A few moments in his presence and all of Jack's coiled energy seemed to loosen and settle into a languid tranquility. It was Sandy who knew his dreams and it was Sandy who protected them. And while the tiny Guardian didn't look like much, Jack knew from experience that he was as formidable of a protector as any other and this understated strength made Jack love him even more.

In his more introspective moments, Jack would even admit his desire to be more like the golden little sprite.

And then there was Bunny, who was something else entirely.

Jack wasn't exactly sure what role Bunny filled in his strange new family.

Of the four, Bunny was the one with whom he'd spent the least amount of time since he had become a Guardian. But it was not because Bunny had been unkind or unwelcoming.

In fact, since the day they'd defeated Pitch, Bunny had seemed to go out of his way to be kind to the newest Guardian. He never made snide comments about Jack's lack of believers, didn't call him out on his inexperience and even seemed to make an extra effort to reign in his temper when Jack insisted on provoking him.

And for the most part, he and Bunny were getting along fine. There was the odd disagreement or two (or three or four, or ten, but who was counting?) but to be fair they were mostly the result of Jack's incessant provocations and though Jack would still claim that Bunny needed to work on his sense of humor; on most days he was more than willing to admit that he deserved the brunt of the blame in those situations.

Bunny never instigated the fights, but he could hardly be blamed if he occasionally lost his patience when Jack pushed things just a little too far (which, to be honest, he often did).

But to Jack it was all in good fun and at any rate Bunny never seemed to hold a grudge.

To be sure, he was never as effusive as Toothy or North or even Sandy when Jack appeared at meetings, but he would throw a crooked little half-smile or nod in Jack's direction and Jack would grin back, happy to be seen and happy to be acknowledged.

And though Bunny never asked Jack to visit the warren or to help in the preparations for Easter, Jack took no offense. Because really, Bunny didn't invite anyone to do any of those things

At the end of every meeting as the rest of them were chatting aimlessly, Bunny would simply stretch his long legs, decline North's standing invitation to stay the night, shoot the room a lazy salute and a quick "Hooroo," and be on his way.

At first Jack had thought that Bunny was being aloof, but when the other Guardians didn't seem to take any offense, he decided that perhaps it was just Bunny's way.

And yet as months passed Jack found that his lack of relationship with Bunnymund had became a point of increasing frustration.

Whereas slowly but surely Jack was learning more and more about his fellow Guardians, Bunnymund remained a mystery.

Not only did Jack wonder about what place Bunny might hold within his strange and fledgling family but truth be told he also wondered about what role Bunny played as a Guardian as well.

Sure, he was a great warrior, but weren't they all?

There had to be something more than that.

After all, North brought the children of the world both wonder and joy. He instilled these feelings deep within them with the gift of their first miraculous present and then he nurtured those feelings every year that he returned.

Tooth protected their memories; the good and the bad, the happy and the sad, each and every one of them, preserved for all time until the moment the child needed them most.

And Sandy; well that one was pretty obvious. He watched over them in sleep, he brought them peace and sprang their dreams to life each and every night.

And Jack, well Jack's contribution was even more obvious. He brought them snow and ice, cancelled classes and carefree days filled with mischief and hot cocoa. He nurtured in children their love of play, delight and most of all, fun.

But Bunny…..

Bunny brought them eggs.

Well, eggs and chocolates, which Jack had to admit, were pretty incredible but still…..

Bunny had told him once that Easter represented hope and new life and while Jack had to admit that watching the big kangaroo prepare Easter had been pretty impressive, he was still a little unclear on how exactly giving kids a basketful of eggs and candies could bring them hope.

The mystery of Bunnymund was like an itch he couldn't scratch and it gnawed at him with every passing day.

Every dry rejoinder from the bunny, every lopsided half-smile and every vague reference to a job he needed to get back to made Jack increasingly determined to figure out just what exactly Bunny was, both as a Guardian and otherwise.

So, he started his investigation as discreetly as possible, by asking around.

Here and there he dropped innocent little questions to his fellow Guardians, eager to discover what they might know about the mysterious Bunnymund and for his efforts he was rewarded with a variety of interesting (if somewhat mundane) little morsels about their resident bunny.

For starters, his full name was E. Aster Bunnymund (adorable!) he had been a Guardian for a very long time (okay), he was a great artist (figures!), he loved carrots (duh!) and he was a master chocolatier (also duh!).

Some of the more interesting facts were that Bunny was; officially the Guardian of Hope (still didn't make complete sense to Jack), a master of several martial arts (cool!), a brilliant inventor (really?) and a Pooka (huh?).

The last little tidbit had come from North and something about the way he'd looked slightly shocked after he'd said it and then quickly changed the subject told Jack that he was on to something important.

A few weeks later, when Jack asked the normally loquacious Tooth what a Pooka was and she had replied that Bunny was a Pooka and had left it at that, Jack knew that he was definitely onto something good.

Unfortunately, when he'd tried to bring it up with Sandy, not only was he met with absolute silence, but a day later he was summoned by North for a little chat.

Apparently both Toothy and Sandy had made mention of Jack's sudden interest in the topic of Pookas and North, for some reason, had decided to put an end to it.

In kind but firm words North had told Jack that while he could understand and even appreciate Jack's interest in getting to know Bunny, there were simply some things which were not another's place to tell and that if he possessed a genuine interest in getting to know his fellow Guardian then it was better that he simply go to the source and get to know Bunnymund the old fashioned way; by getting to know him.

Jack had thrown his hands into the air with exasperation and exclaimed that he had tried and that all his efforts were getting him nowhere!

Rubbing his temples tiredly North had told Jack that while he himself quite enjoyed Jack's playful nature Bunny was a bit of a different breed. Jack's constant teasing and pranks and poking rubbed the bunny the wrong way and, he'd added pointedly, it didn't help one bit that Jack seemed to delight in harassing Bunny above all others. Jack had smiled, shrugged helplessly and declared that it was hardly his fault that the big kangaroo was the most fun to rile up.

North frowned at that and suggested that if Jack was really serious about getting to know the big Pooka then perhaps he might try to cut back on constantly antagonizing him.

Jack had pouted and argued that it was all in good fun and that he didn't mean anything by it and North had patted him comfortingly on the back and said that he understood that but that maybe he should try to see it all from Bunny's perspective.

He had explained as gently as possible that Bunny was both serious and proud, he didn't back down from a challenge and he was long accustomed to his solitude. He told Jack that perhaps these things had made Bunny aloof in the same way they had made Jack gregarious.

Jack had frowned in confusion (solitude? hadn't Bunny always had the other Guardians?) but could see the logic in North's analysis and had promised to do his very best to tone down the fun where Bunny was concerned.

North had smiled proudly, wished him luck and then, suddenly grave and serious, had warned him to tread lightly around the things he asked of Bunny and to remember that true friends respected one another and their wishes.

Confused by the sudden turn of the conversation, Jack had nodded almost without even thinking.

And North, not at all satisfied with this response, had placed a heavy hand on Jack's shoulder, looked him deep in the eyes and said, "Jack, you are my friend and I want to help you with this problem. But Bunny, gruff and silent though he can be, is my friend too. You must promise me that you will respect him."

Exponentially more intrigued than ever before, Jack had promised as solemnly as he'd known how and not a week later a rather perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with Bunny conveniently presented itself; Bunny needed some help around the warren and he asked Jack if he wouldn't mind coming down for a visit.

Jack had leapt at the chance and agreed even before the words had left Bunny's mouth.

Pleased as he was by his sudden luck Jack had seen neither the grateful smile North had thrown Bunny's way nor the acknowledging tilt of Bunny's head in response.

If he'd had, he'd have likely been furious, or at least embarrassed that North had told Bunny that Jack wanted to spend time with him, but as it was, he missed it all and remained blissfully unaware of North's helping hand.

And so, two days after Bunny's most gracious invitation, Jack Frost, Guardian of Fun and Master of Winter, found himself being led down the rabbit hole to Bunny's personal paradise, the land of eternal spring and the very birthplace of Easter; the Warren

There you go my lovelies! Thank you so very much for reading, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter! There's more to come soon so leave a review and tell me what you think! Chapter Two: A Favor for North (or Bunny finds himself on the receiving end of North's really big eyes!)