Cracked Ice (Rise of the Guardians) [COMPLETE]

Chapter 13

Jack snuggled closer to the warmth next to him. He felt a strong arm settle around his midsection, pulling him closer. The winter spirit cracked an eye open, only to be greeted by a mound of fur. 

"Bunny..."

"Hm?"

"I have to go to the bathroom."

"And?"

"And I need you to let go of me." The pooka only tightened his grip in response.

"Seriously."

"Never." Jack managed to push the other off of him. He hastily stood up ad stretched. 

"Are you excited about tonight, Frostbite?"

Jack thought for a moment and responded, "Yeah. I think it'll be a nice change of pace for everyone. A party is just what we need. No more problems--at least for a little while." Jack had surprised himself by how close Bunny and him had gotten. They told each other everything. It was nice... it was comforting.

"It's in a couple of hours, so we should probably go ahead and get ready." That's what they did. The first part was just washing up while the second was making sure the warren would be safe while they were gone. They took a joined bath in one of the warren's lakes, then Bunny checked all of the warren's entrances while Jack got dressed. Once they were ready, they moved through the tunnel that lead to the North Pole.

Jack couldn't help but smile. He had truly missed this place. He missed the smell of gingerbread and the sound of jingle bells in the air. He saw the outline of Tooth flying around with Sandy while North was yelling at one of the yeti to change the color of a bouncy ball. The three of them of them stopped what they were doing and joined them once they noticed Jack and Bunny. Everyone took their time embracing each other. Out of instinct, Tooth looked at Jack's teeth to make sure he was taking care of them. When she realized what she was doing, she removed her hand and apologized. 

Jack grabbed her hand. "Tooth, you don't have to apologize. It's alright. In fact, I'm glad. You haven't done that in so long, I'm glad that things are finally starting to return to normal."

Tooth smiled. "Of course, Jack. You're right. C'mon, isn't this supposed to be a party?"

And party they did.

They ate and danced and played games. Jack never stopped smiling because he was spending time with the ones he loved. It had only been a few days since he left Pitch, but so much had happened since then. The guardians were astonished when Jack told them that he had regained some of his sight. He had gone over his training with Pitch and his new abilities, which had taken a long time. Jack had been apprehensive about how the others--especially Bunny--would react when he told them that he had given a child a nightmare.

To his surprise, everyone was extremely supportive, especially North. He explained that every parent had to scold their child at some point. Jack giving a child a nightmare was no different then Santa Claus giving coal to a child on the naughty list. There was nothing to be ashamed of.  To say that Jack was relieved would be an understatement.

Jack also learned that he could somewhat communicate with Sandy. He could sense dream sand, even though he couldn't control it, and could therefore sense Sandman's thoughts. Sandy was made of the stuff after all, and Jack had nightmare sand inside of him as well. A sort of telekinesis, if you would. They would often have silent conversations, and Jack had come to enjoy them. Yes, everything was starting to fall back into place. Well, except for a few things.

Like Pitch Black, but they would deal with him as well. After the party had ended, Jack and Bunny decided to spend the night at the Pole, as did everyone else. North was happy to have the extra company. In the morning, after a delightful breakfast, they had a conversation about said man.