Tiny Little Treasures

Shelter me oh so generous words

Chapter Text

Trust men and they will be true to you.

--Ralph Waldo Emerson, Prudence in Essays: First Series, 1841

* * * * *

Jack's self-promised visit to the Warren came in July. He arrived in the morning like a slip on the breeze, twisting his way through the fields and around the sentinels with uncanny grace. Bunny found him sitting on one such sentinel, poking it in the face with his staff to see if he could get it to change expressions.

"You tormenting things this early?" Bunny gave Jack the deadpan look to end all deadpan looks.

"I'm not tormenting," Jack replied. "I'm playing. You should try it some time."

"I know how to enjoy myself!"

"Uh-huh." Jack shot a glance across the field to a large tree. He smirked, and took off toward it. "Race you to that tree!"

"That's cheating!" Bunny was after him like a shot, all motion blur and speed.

Jack laughed, a sound on the wind, and flew faster. He reached out as he got closer, ready to brush his hand against the bark, when he was grabbed around the waist and brought back to earth in Bunny's grip. They hit the ground and rolled, until Bunny ended up with his back against the tree, and Jack in his lap. They panted, catching their breath.

"I win," Bunny said.

"You cheated," Jack rebutted. He shifted his hands along his staff, frowning petulantly.

"No more than you did, I reckon."

Jack snorted. "I issued the challenge. It's not my fault you couldn't catch up to me, Cottontail."

Bunny flicked Jack's ear, making him yelp. "Tell yourself that, Frostbite."

Jack scowled, and turned his head to reply, but stopped when his nose brushed Bunny's jaw. Oh, but they were very close together now, weren't they? Bunny hadn't moved his hands from around Jack's waist, and they sent sparks through him like livewires. The chest at his back was warm, and sturdy under all that soft fur.

Bunny seemed to have come to a similar realization as Jack had, because he was staring down at him too now. Scant inches separated them, and Jack was struck by the crazy urge to cover that ground and do something stupid. He fought it back and pulled himself from Bunny's hold. He stood up, yoking his staff across his shoulders. The empty places on his waist where Bunny's hands had been were like hot brands on his mind, and he was hyper aware of their absence.

He wandered away slowly, spinning on the balls of his feet playfully. "Come on, Bun-Bun. Let's go find something else to do."

Bunny laughed, and it was a nice sound. "Alright Jackie. Let's see what mischief I can keep you out of."

* * * * *

Aster had been a mess.

For ten years he'd had time to get used to Jack Frost. The little shite had wormed himself in the Warren so effectively that there was a noticeable gap when he was gone. There was less laughter, less giggles and sudden spots of mischief that brightened and excited Bunny's normal routine. Jack made the days seem different and new in a way they hadn't been for centuries. He was used to passing years like weeks and centuries like months. Jack, with his joy and motion, made time slow down so that he felt each day distinctively, and simultaneously made the hours pass too quickly as he enjoyed himself. Since when had he started wishing that he days were longer when Jack was around?