Disclaimer: I'm only saying this once. I, unfortunately, do NOT own the Rise of the Guardians 2012 movie nor do I own the Guardians of Childhood books written by William Joyce.

'Losing Easter took its toll upon all of us. Bunny most of all.'

North's words echoed in Jack's head as he flew toward the North Pole. It'd been a few days since that fatal Easter Incident. A few days since Jack had become a Guardian. That was possibly the greatest day of the Winter Spirit's immortal life. And the most emotionally draining.

After they left Burgess, Jack started to fill Sandy in on all of the things that had happened while he was...dead, I suppose. He did leave a few things out. Like what happened after the Nightmares attacked the Warren. And how Pitch broke his staff in Antarctica. Just little things like that.

He tried to ignore the guilty expressions on his new friends' faces. That didn't stop Jack's heart from wrenching when he glanced at Bunny's face. The older Guardian looked a lot better—and more importantly, wasn't a tiny bunny anymore—but his eyes made Jack want to either fly away from him or console the guy.

So he turned away and kept talking. It was obvious that Sandy knew the teen wasn't telling him everything if his concerned expression told Jack anything.

But it was too soon. His emotions and memories were still raw from earlier. After practically blackmailing Jack into helping them in exchange for his memory box, after helping collect the teeth, after trying to save Sandy (and belief), the Guardians still thought he had betrayed them.

Not that he could blame them. Especially Bunny. The rabbit had held a grudge against the immortal teen since the unintentional blizzard of '68. It was only logical that he'd be wary to trust Jack. That didn't ease the sting as much as Jack had hoped it would.

Even so, Jack was determined to make it up to Bunny. Somehow. So he headed to North's, shoving aside the feeling of joy and pride that he was finally allowed in on a regular basis. Once he finally reached North's place, he flew in through an open window and raced to find the Russian.

He found him washing the sleigh and talking to a few yetis. The man's eyes lit up when he saw Jack and grabbed the boy in a bone-crushing hug. "Jack! It is so good to see you again!"

"Didn't you just see me a couple of days ago?" Jack asked as he recovered his voice after nearly being crushed under the weight of North's arms.

"True, true. But if that is the case, why have you come to see me? Not that I'm not excited to see you," North winked at Jack as he picked up a rag and began to wash the sleigh once more.

"I was kind of wondering if I could borrow a snowglobe? I wanted to talk to Bunny but I don't know where exactly the entrance to the Warren is so…." Jack trailed off, running a hand through his hair nervously. North's smile grew bigger if that was even possible, and he pulled a snowglobe out of his coat.

"Of course you can! Might I inquire as to what the nature of your visit is?"

"I wanted to help clean up. The eggshells, I mean," Jack whispered that last part, avoiding eye contact with North. He still wasn't one-hundred percent comfortable talking about how he let them down.

Fortunately for him, the ex-bandit seemed to understand and just handed Jack the globe. "I'm sure Bunny will appreciate that. I would say have fun, but you do that anyway."

Jack clutched the globe nervously before he whispered as North had done. A few colored eggs appeared inside the globe. After North gave him a reassuring look, Jack threw it and a portal appeared. "Wish me luck!"

And with that, Jack was gone.

Bunny hadn't gotten around to cleaning up all of the broken googies when Jack showed up. He meant to, of course, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Not yet, anyway. Besides, he had other things on his mind.

After Jack was initiated, something the boy more than deserved, they headed back to the Pole to recuperate for a few hours or so before going their separate ways. It was different than the last time the Big Four had been together, mostly because North had suggested that they start having monthly meetings to keep tabs on one another.

An idea that was without a doubt inspired by the presence of Jack. He'd had an impact on all of them, giving the older beings a kick in the tail so to speak about how isolated they'd been for the last few centuries. He definitely proved himself to be Guardian material. Knowing that only succeeded in making the Pooka feel even guiltier than before.

That was the only thing that Bunny could think about since returning to the Warren. He debated for an hour or so on whether he should try to track down Jack when he sensed someone entering through one of his tunnels. After Easter, Bunny was understandably a little on edge. So when Jack saw the rabbit charging towards his vicinity with boomerangs on hand and the egg golems not far behind, he wasn't as surprised as one might have expected.

Instead, he just dropped his staff to placate his fellow Guardian and held his hands up in surrender. "Woah there, Cottontail! I swear I come in peace."

Bunny's ears flopped down with relief as he lowered his weapons and shooed the Golems away, though they stopped to eye the supposed intruder for a few seconds before leaving the area. "Sorry, mate. Wasn't expecting you."

"No kidding. I know you don't get out often, but if that's how you treat all your guest then I can kind of see why no one ever visits," Jack quipped. Despite the huff of annoyance, the playful look in Bunny's eyes told Jack that he wasn't offended by the teasing.

"Only act like that with uninvited guests who tend to bring trouble with 'em like yourself," Bunny had always been fun to banter with, at least during the few times he actually contributed to the conversation without an irritated tone in his voice.

"Ouch! And here I was coming to help you," Jack grabbed his heart dramatically, smirking as Bunny rolled his eyes and smiled in amusement. It was such a rare event to see the taller being smile, especially when Jack was around. If his heartbeat sped up a tiny bit, he paid no attention to it.

"You want to help me?"

"You don't have to sound so surprised. I figured you'd need help cleaning up after, well, you know. It's the least I can do, all things considered." Jack tried to sound nonchalant, but looking at Bunny's face told him he wasn't buying it. Bunny's smile grew dimmer, replaced with an expression of concern and...guilt? That couldn't be right. Jack had to be imagining things.

"Fr- Jack, it wasn't your fault if that's what you're thinking," Bunny stated. Jack opened his mouth to argue or change the topic when Bunny started talking again. "I'm not done yet. North, Tooth, and I all talked it over after ya left the park. We let our emotions, 'specially me and my anger, get the best of us. Looking back, it was obvious that ya weren't sure about how ya got there in the first place, and that ya were confused about how you got the memory box. I should' a noticed how unsettled ya were before I got all worked up. I'm sorry, mate."

Jack let Bunny's words sink, too stunned to anything. He'd been worrying for days, afraid that his apology would be scoffed at and ignored but here Bunny was, beating him to the punch.

So he did the first thing that came to mind; gave the rabbit an explanation. Jack intended to be vague when he finally told one of the Guardians what happened after he left to take Sophie home, but ended up spilling the entire story about the memory box, Pitch and his taunting, and the fairies locked in those horrible cages. It took everything he had not to let the edge of emotion turn into a raging flood of tears. Bunny wanted to wrap the boy in a hug, but he wasn't sure how the teen would take it. So he chose a different response, one that wouldn't scare off the flighty spirit.

"What do ya say we just put Easter in the past and forget 'bout it?"

Jack nodded eagerly. If it meant ending the awkward silence and helping his new whatever (acquaintance? friend? co-worker?), then he was more than happy to shake Bunny's paw in agreement.

"Water under the bridge," Jack replied. It was like a giant burden had been lifted from his shoulders. All the guilt he'd let build-up, even if it was for less than a week, had been weighing him down. And now he was free.

He and Bunny didn't talk much as they worked, just a random remark here and there. Normally Jack would be itching to talk, to fill up the silence, or just move around like the bundle of energy he was. But strangely enough, he didn't feel that overwhelming need to make jokes or try to gain attention from someone. Anyone. Jack just felt...content.

They finished a few hours after the sun had set and parted ways, Bunny heading back to his burrow and Jack flying through the tunnel that the main resident had told him would lead to Burgess. As he flew through, Jack couldn't help but feel relieved and even happy that Bunny had forgiven him. It was funny; he'd set out to the Warren feeling bad about everything but left later that day feeling good about, well, everything

AN (Kitkat): Yes, I wrote a Jackrabbit story. I'm a complicated person so I tend to ship people who probably shouldn't be shipped. I have no regrets. This takes place right after the ROTG movie. This will be a sixteen-chapter story so you have been warned. I hope you enjoy! Get it? Hope? Like the story's title? Bunny's center? Yeah, not my best pun...but there will be more!

Bunny: Oh Moon, please no.

Jack: Manny, don't let her torture us like this!

Kitkat: Hey! I can do better. Wait for the next chapter and you'll see.

Bunny: Clickbait much?

Kitkat:...no…..

- Kitkat Out!