A/N: This epilogue is the last little bit of this story! My life while writing this has been pretty up and down, so I'd just like to thank y'all for sticking with me through all the long hiatuses. It's been a fun ride. I have a lot more headcanon about these two and where their lives will take them; we'll see if it ever gets written. Either way, though, I hope that you enjoyed this fic.

He'd heard that it took twenty-one days to form a new habit. Maybe that was why all this felt so strange; Jack had been waiting by the shores of a familiar old pond for six years. Of course spending Easter away from Burgess felt sort of wrong now. It was an itchiness beneath his skin, and a bone-deep longing that had very little to do with how disappointed his mother had been when he'd left for town early Sunday afternoon.

He breathed in deep and let the warm, thick air that pervaded Aster's warren soothe his nerves. This was better than Burgess. The warren was better than just about any place on earth. He could still remember the way his heart had clenched the first time he'd walked in, before relaxing with a double-beat as he took in the sheer beauty of Aster's home.

("So what d'you think?"

"Aster, it's—"

Aster blew out the breath he'd been holding and gave Jack one of those rare gentle smiles. "She's a beauty, all right.")

Of course, that back then had been when Aster had been there. This was the first time Jack had been in the warren alone, which made his heart beat fast in an entirely different way. The rock sentinels had given him sideways glances as he'd arrived through his own special entrance, but they hadn't tried to rough him up or anything.

They didn't know he was there without permission.

Sure, Aster had issued a blanket invitation once, but Jack had a feeling he hadn't meant when Jack was 100% positive he wasn't home. Plus, well, Aster said a lot of things when he was nuzzling Jack's neck like that. He probably didn't mean all of them. (Probably.)

It wasn't as if he was in there for any nefarious purposes. He just... He missed him. Aster had disappeared a good two weeks before Easter, murmuring apologies and promises against Jack's lips as he went, and it was amazing how two weeks could feel like two years after more than a month of being spoiled with almost daily visits. Besides, he remembered the way Aster looked at the end of the holiday season. It was exhaustion, tip to tail, and as endearing as Jack found his sleepy smile, he hated seeing his tired eyes.

So maybe—well, maybe this year he could do a little to help. Wanting to help wasn't a crime, was it? No, it wasn't, though the breaking and entering was a little more questionable.

Now all he had to do was wait for Aster. His Aster, he thought to himself, and was glad that no one was around to see how foolishly pleased he looked at the thought. It wouldn't be long now, most likely. Aster would probably find the note he'd left for him any minute. Jack may not have been keeping their annual date, but that didn't mean he'd forgotten for a second when it was.

Sure enough, a few minutes later Jack heard the telltale thunder of paws on dirt, and Jack couldn't help but snicker to himself at the wary look on Aster's face as he stepped out of one of the warren's many caverns. "Jack?"

Jack had a feeling that it was just the exhaustion that prevented Aster from immediately knowing where he was, but he still felt a private little moment of triumph as he peeled himself away from the tree he'd been leaning against. Twelve years later and he was finally able to get the drop on the Easter Bunny. "Yeah?"

Aster's ears flicked his way a split second before he turned. "What's the caper, Snowbird?" he asked, and Jack almost laughed at the pinch of his lips.

"Not much," he admitted, and he stepped closer so he could take Aster's paws in his hands and give them a squeeze.

"That grin of yours says otherwise," Aster grumbled, but Jack was pleased to see the wariness in his eyes go begrudgingly gentle.

Jack stood up on his toes so he could press his lips to Aster's in a quick kiss, then nuzzled his nose against the side of Aster's; he'd learned very quickly how effective nuzzling was against a pooka. "Nothing bad, anyway."

Aster sighed against his lips. "Then what is all this?" he asked even as he disentangled his fingers from Jack's so he could wrap his arms around his waist.

"You're tired," Jack said simply, stretching up so he could press a kiss just below one of Aster's eyes, and he felt Aster shudder against him. "You always are on Easter."

"Still not sure what that has to do with you being down here instead of—" He paused, but was only momentarily distracted by Jack's lips on his, and made his recovery only a few seconds later. "Instead of up there."

"I dunno," Jack said, using his newly freed arms to cling closer, one around Aster's neck and another against his chest as Jack laid his head against his shoulder. "I just thought maybe you wouldn't want to come home to an empty warren this year."

Jack felt the way Aster's chest rose as he sucked in a quick, surprised breath. "Is that what you thought?"

Jack turned his nose into Aster's coat and breathed in the scent of him, dye and flowers and warm sunshine, for just a moment before pulling away just enough to look him in the eye. "Was I wrong?" he asked.

Aster's eyes were as soft as Jack had ever seen them, years of walls and self-protection finally being swept away like so many cobwebs. His embrace didn't falter, and within it, Jack shivered.

Then, finally, "Nah." Aster leaned down so he could press his forehead against Jack's, and not even their stupid height difference could make the moment awkward. "You've got everyone fooled, don't you?"

Jack smiled, and he didn't even care that he probably looked a bit brainless at the moment. "Yep. What are you talking about?"

Aster sniggered, and Jack grinned a little wider at the sheer dweebiness of it. "All those humans out there, they see the way you skate and the way you smile for the cameras, and they think you're some kind of daredevil," he said.

Jack snorted. "Yeah, like the kind that might fall into a pond or something," he threw in.

"If only they knew, eh?" Aster said. "What would they say if they saw the famous Jack Frost hiding behind trees so he could play nursemaid to an old rabbit?"

Jack quirked an eyebrow. "Um, 'aaaah, the Easter Bunny is real'?" And huge and dangerous and sweet and dorky and almost unbearably hot, for that matter.

Aster blinked at him for a second, and then lowered his head so his brow rested against Jack's shoulder as he shook with silent laughter. "Cheek."

Jack ran his fingers through the fur on Aster's back, grinning when he heard the beginnings of a purr in Aster's chest in response. "And you love it."

Aster raised his head again, and Jack could see the laughter in his eyes. It looked good on him. "So help me, I do," he said, shaking his head.

A part of Jack wanted to ask then, wanted to ask if there was anything more than that Aster loved, but he wisely kept his mouth shut. Wouldn't want his boyfriend to rabbit or anything. Instead he pulled Aster in for another kiss, then another. "You know," he said as casually as he could against Aster's mouth, "No one's expecting me topside until tomorrow evening."

It was true. As far as his family was concerned, Jack was already most of the way home. He hadn't exactly told his teammates the same thing, though, and the weekend bag he currently had stashed in Aster's kitchen spoke to that.

Aster stiffened against him, then pulled him even closer. "That so, Snowbird?" he asked, and Jack couldn't help but laugh at the practiced casualness of it.

"Mmhmm. So I thought maybe I could have dinner with my boyfriend," he said, shoving down the little bubble of happiness that seemed to expand every time he said that dumb word out loud, "And maybe tuck him into bed."

"Because he's so tired," Aster said archly.

Jack buried his fingers into Aster's fur and beamed at him. "Exactly."

Truthfully, Aster had been tired. By the time Jack had gotten some food into him and they'd made their way to the bedroom, he was half asleep on his feet. He'd roused himself just enough for sleepy makeouts, but he'd drifted off to sleep with his mouth still pressed up against Jack's collar. Not that Jack minded. Aster liked to go slowly, and he supposed that with a few millennia under his belt, that made sense. And in the meantime, Jack got to wake up pressed all up against Aster for the first time.

It was sort of like having the softest, warmest blanket in the world wrapped up all around you. A breathing blanket. That Jack was totally gone for. He shook his head at his own drowsy thoughts and stayed there, curled up beneath one of Aster's arms until he got too stir crazy to stay there for even a minute longer.

Aster slept for a long time, and admittedly, it wasn't too surprising. What was it that Aster had told him once? 190 countries and two billion children?

Jack let him sleep.

It was midday by the time Aster finally stumbled out of his bedroom and into the kitchen where Jack sat playing with his phone. It wasn't as if he could get reception down here (go figure) but that didn't mean he couldn't play mindless games to pass the time.

"Jack?"

Jack grinned. He sounded cute like that, all heavy with sleep. "Right here."

Aster perked up a little after a cup of tea or two. Strong tea. He started to look a little more sentient, at least.

When Aster finally started to look mostly conscious, Jack cleared his throat.

Aster just looked at him, brow raised.

"You know," Jack said. "Yesterday was Easter."

The look Aster gave him was distinctly unimpressed. "Yes, Jack, I had noticed that."

"Don't you give out eggs or something on Easter?" Jack asked, playfully bumping Aster's ankles with one of his feet beneath the table.

Aster stilled. "Bloody hell, I almost forgot—" he said, and started to scoot his chair back from the table.

"No, no, sit," Jack said, pushing his own chair back. "I'm sure whatever insanely beautiful thing you spent the past two weeks on can wait."

"Oh?" Aster asked, voice instantly going slow and a little suspicious.

Jack grinned his most beatific and obnoxious smile. "Yep. Because this year, I made something for you."

To Jack's great satisfaction, Aster's mouth actually dropped open. "Excuse me?"

"I made you an egg," Jack said, getting up so he could dig through the duffel bag he'd laid against the wall. "I mean, you make millions of eggs every year, but how often do you get them?"

"Never," Aster said. "But—"

"Exactly," Jack said, cutting him off and straightening up with his prize in his hands. "And the way I see it, I owe you... like a lot of eggs by now."

"Jack," Aster said quietly.

"Especially because, I mean, let's be real. I'm not exactly Picasso. You're not going to get any magic eggs out of me," Jack continued even as he came back to the table.

"Jack."

Jack swallowed. "Yeah?"

"Give me the egg."

Jack looked down at his cupped hands. All jokes aside, it really was an ugly little egg. He'd looked up how to hollow out an egg the way Aster had online, but the holes on his eggs had all come out huge and jagged, not almost invisible like Aster's had been. The paint, too, was gloppy and inexpertly applied. But Jack had gone through an entire carton of eggs, and the result was...

He swallowed, and dropped the egg in Aster's waiting paws. "Like I said, it's kind of... I mean, it's—"

"Is this a rabbit?" Aster asked as he squinted at the egg and turned it over in his paws.

"Uh. It was supposed to be?"

This had seemed like a very romantic gesture in Jack's head. Now that it was playing out, though, he realized how it must seem, giving an egg to the goddamn Easter Bunny. "I know it's ugly, but—"

"It's perfect."

The relief that rushed through Jack was dizzying, tempered as it was with disbelief. Maybe that was why he said it. "God, love really is blind, isn't it?"

To his surprise, Aster laughed. It wasn't one of his little sniggers, or even the chuckles that Jack had gotten used to. It was a belly laugh, deep and rich and delightful, and Jack felt himself flush. "Maybe it is," Aster said, and then as if he hadn't said anything that made Jack's heart beat in double time and the floor open up beneath his feet, "But I still like it."

Jack supposed he must have looked sort of stunned, because the next thing he knew, Aster was grinning at him and nudging his own foot against Jack's. "You'll get better with practice."

Jack felt the answering grin on his face before he even realized it was coming, and he reached out so he could take Aster's paw across the table. "Well, like I said. I have a lot of eggs to make up for," he said, and then, letting a sly edge into his voice, "It might take years."

He saw something flicker in Aster's eyes, and for a moment Jack thought that maybe he'd gone too far, pushed too hard, but then Aster squeezed his hand in an almost bruising grip. "I dunno, mate. With googs at this level, it might take a lifetime," he said. He said it lightly, but Jack was no stranger to Aster's voice. After all, he'd been dreaming about it for over a decade. He heard the infinitesimal tremble.

They hadn't spoken about lifetimes, not since that day when they'd first gotten together. Jack had skirted around the subject, knowing it was a sore spot for Aster. But did Aster seriously think Jack would say no to an offer like that? Jack didn't know exactly how long his life was going to be, but he knew that he wanted to devote every bit of the rest of it to Aster. He'd been gone from the minute strong limbs had pulled him from icy water, and from the moment, five years later, when Aster's green eyes had met his.

He ran his thumb along Aster's knuckles, and breathed a little easier as the death grip gentled. "Guess there's no help for it, huh? I'll just have to keep showing up here for as long as I can." He shot Aster a brief smile. "You'll probably get sick of me."

Aster looked down at the clumsy little egg in his other paw, twirling it between his fingers and gazing at it like it contained the secret to the universe. "Not much chance of that, I'm afraid. I think you're stuck with me, Snowbird."

Jack could see it. He could see a dozen Easters, a lifetime of Easters, stretching out in front of them. He could see beautiful eggs and amateurish ones, sleepless nights and morning kisses, smiles and tears and an emotion that he could only call love. The sight was enough to make the back of his eyes sting and his throat grow thick.

This was the first morning of the rest of their lives, and there would be a thousand more to come.

When Jack finally smiled back at Aster, and it was far gentler, far more real than he thought a smile even could be. "Good."