I would love to thank the Beta of this chapter- ThoughtlessRage- She is spectacular in every shape and form! I would also like to thank The-Raving-Cheshire-Cat for giving me the basic plot behind this awesome one-shot! I hope you all enjoy this and read it all the way through and finally review at the end~! I loved to be spoiled with complements ;)
Karma walked around the bright workshop, it brought her slight enthusiasm seeing all the toys being made. The lights glowed warmly and put her at ease. She saw the pesky elves messing about near the toys while the yetis moved the said toys when the elves got to close and attempted to abuse them. She skipped through the workshop with a small smile on her face, her eyes reflecting the lights that hung in the workshop and she twirled about. Christmas carols echoed through the magical place, the catchy melody of "Santa Clause is Coming to Town" gently moving through the halls.
She hummed the merry tune as she inspected the toys the yetis made throughout the whole year. Karma heaved a sigh in contempt; the Christmas cheer disease had expanded and dispersed its cruel little joy into her. She then turned from the current toy she was looking at to admire the small ice airplane that flew around her.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself child, no!?" North laughed, his belly moving up and down with each chuckle.
"Actually, I am. I guess the Christmas spirit is contagious around here!" She replied while grabbing a cookie from a tray that passed her. "I haven't really celebrated Christmas much, you know me being on the naughty list and all. I never really saw the point of it, that and work gets in the way," She answered in between munches of her snicker doodle cookie, the cinnamon and sugar exciting her tongue. "But since you so gladly convinced me to take a break and let my helper do it for today, I decided I might as well enjoy myself for once!"
"Zat it very good!" North smiled. "You seem like you need it, no?" She nodded zealously.
"Nothing can ruin this day!" She cried out cheerfully. As she flung her hands in the air, she had yet to notice the thumping from behind her.
"I also invited a friend to keep you company as well, while I work on the toys and check the list over again." North added.
"I would be fine on my own Clause," Karma stated, but still cheerful. "Who is it though?"
"Oi, North! What do ya want!?" With those simple words, Karma's mood took a nose dive from joyful to poisonous.
"What is he doing here!?" She demanded.
"He is your company!" North announced.
"Bu-But... We don't get along!" Karma whined.
"Please, like I wanted to be here too!" Bunnymund grumbled.
"Then why did you come!?" Karma hissed.
"Because... Because I owe North a favor." Bunnymund growled.
"And why do you owe him a favor," Karma spat. "Last time I checked you were on the nice list, so why do you need to kiss ass?"
"Ya know... I'm getting way ta use ta ya cursing." Bunnymund murmured.
"Shut up cottontail," Karma said. "Clause, why does he need to kiss up to you~?" She asked sweetly.
"North, don't cha tell 'er." Bunnymund warned the jolly man.
"Shush it," Karma hissed again. "Please North~~!" Her mood changing when she spoke to North, becoming the picture of innocence.
"Bunnymund, you left one of your boomerangs here." North said changing the subject.
"I knew it! I was lookin' for it tha' otha' day!" Bunnymund rejoiced.
"It is in my office, you can go and retrieve it. I need to talk to Karma about a serious matter and tell her how to act." North said with a serious face. Karma gulped, afraid of what was going to happen.
"Ohh, you're in trouble!" A voice from above called. They all looked above their heads to see that the charming voice belonged to the infamous Jack (Sparrow... Freak turn of events! xD lol Jk) Frost.
"No, let me go with the frozen cracker over here or even the freaking Bunny." Karma pleaded.
"Frozen cracker?..." Jack asked with an incurious tone.
"Yeah you are... like... really pale and white people are pale, so they are called crackers. So you are frozen cracker right now, until I can think of another stupid nickname!" Karma said with a smile.
They all gave her a deadpanned look.
"No you can't go with Jack. Go Bunnymund and Jack, leave before she tries to escape." North ordered the two.
"'Bout time she got a lecture!" Bunnymund said happily.
"Good luck!" Jack said with a wink and started to leave.
"I. hate. you. Both." Karma said to them in a low whisper.
"Right back at cha mite." Bunnymund replied with equal harshness.
"Awww, ya know ya love me toots!" Jack teased flying off before she could give him a lecture on not to call her toots ever again.
"Hush now, you! Bunnymund, retrieve boomerang before I give it to a child." North threatened, jokingly.
"Fine, ya old date." Bunnymund sighed, hopping off to North's office.
North turned to Karma with a serious face, she glanced at the hopping Pooka to see a grin on that furry face if his. The atmosphere around her was tense and she began to stiffen up. Karma stared at the ground and shuffled her feet. She didn't know why, but she felt intimidated by North's presence. Maybe it was because his power was at its best during Christmas? Whatever it was... it was awkward for her because she wasn't intimidated by anybody! So she wasn't going to let North get the best of her!
Karma tore her gaze from the wooden floor and into North's eyes, there was a stern gaze in his normally jolly blue orbs, but when Bunnymund's hop couldn't be heard anymore the seriousness was gone within a millisecond.
"Haha, don't worry child," North chuckled. "I am not going to lecture you."
"Then why did you get all serious?" she asked confused.
"Because I can't have Bunny hear me tell why he owes me." he winked. Karma's mouth formed an 'o' from surprise.
"Yay~!" Karma clapped excitedly, she couldn't wait to get the dirt on Bunnymund.
"Ze only reason why I am tell you zis is because you are a Guardian, yes?" North stated his Russian accent thick. Karma nodded feverishly for him to continue. "Well," North whispered in her ear with a hand to her head. "When Pitch threatened ze children 100 years ago, ze children stopped believing in Easter Bunny on Easter Day. So when he hoppity-hop around to deliver ze Easter eggs to ze children...they could not see him," North confessed with a small touch of sadness in his voice. "He was so devastated.. He turned to regular sized bunny, yes! Oh, he was so adorable!" North laughed in her ear, she didn't mind that much though, she only cared for the image North gave her. "He was so small! About foot tall," He laughed while moving his hand low to the ground. "His tail was so big also! And his head was too!"
The image of the Pooka as an adorable, regular sized bunny rabbit made Karma chuckle softly as to not alert the Easter Bunny.
"And don't get me start in ze attitude! Even when he was so small, he was full of ze hot air!" North laughed louder.
At this point Karma lost it. She let out a small, but loud, spurt of laughter and quickly covered her mouth. She heard thumps coming from the office and the Pooka that they were talking about entered the room. She took one look into his keen green eyes and exploded in laughter.
"Oi, mite. Why are ya laughing?!" Bunnymund demanded. When he talked she lost control of her laughter and began to snort a little. She didn't care though; the image in her head would be forever engraved in her devilish mind. When her laughing wouldn't stop Bunnymunds face shifted from confusion and annoyance to realization.
"Ya TOLD 'ER?!" He bellowed at North.
"... If I say yes... What would happen to me?" North asked, with smiling eyes.
"Too bad you didn't take a picture.. I would have paid big for it." Karma wheezed between guffaws.
"Sorry, we don't allow ze blackmail." North commented.
"No, no, not for that! For my entertainment," She hiccupped. "So that way when I feel down I would just look at the photo and be all happy." Karma said while whipping away a small tear.
"Awww, I make ya happy?" Bunnymund teased with a smirk. The laughter died in her throat and Karma's eyes widen in realization as a small blush crept along her cheeks.
"Wha-What?! No!" she exclaimed while looking away.
"Don't deny it," Bunnymund smiled. "Ya just love me." Karma let out a laugh.
"Ha! In your dreams cottontail."
The teasing between the two soon grew into bickering and from that a fight broke out. Karma lunged at him and attempted to pin him to the ground like she did when they first met, but Bunnymund was ready this time. He stiffened his legs and braced himself for the attack. Although she was in her human form Karma still packed a punch. He stumbled a bit, but didn't fall over. She stuck to wrapping her legs around his midsection and began to tug at his fur.
"Ow that HURTS!" Bunnymund complained, trying to wrench her away.
"Good!" Karma yelled back, an iron grip in his fur.
Bunnymund began to move around in vain to get the crazy girl off of him. This little fiasco went on for a few more seconds before they ran into a shelf of toys and were pulled away by a by not so happy North. Whoops.
/-/-
After North nagged at them on how Christmas was so close and how they didn't need to be messing up his workshop, he assigned them a duty that both dreaded- Sleigh Cleaning. Two yetis from behind North jumped in joy, they were obviously going to do it from the bucket that one held in his hand and the other held two red rags.
The two yetis grumbled happily while Bunnymund grabbed the bucket with a scowl and Karma nabbed the two rags that were held out.
-/-/
Their trip to the bottom of the workshop was filled with arguing and a lot of cursing from Karma. They blamed each other for this treacherous job.
They soon arrived at the sleigh room to the speedy beat of sleigh bells was ringing throughout the room. The reindeer were off in their stables stomping their hooves, impatient for the upcoming night they were going to be out in the world again. They huffed and snorted wanting some attention.
"Ewww. It smells like manure~" Karma complained, trying to wave the smell away from her face.
"Stop whining." Bunnymund snapped in agitation. His sense of smell was stronger than the average person, he didn't know about Karma, but it hit him hard. He cursed North in his mind, didn't the man ever clean up after them? Guess he was too busy with Christmas gifts right now. The last time he was in here it didn't smell that bad. The worst part was that there were reindeers. He only thought of the horrible memories that he had with them while they pulled the sleigh North traveled in.
"I am not whining! I am complaining! You wanna hear whining!?" She started, then her voice mimicked something of a spoiled teenage brat. "This is whiiiiningggg~~~! Oh stinks in hereee! Why did you have to start a fight with me?~ How come I have to do this with you?! I don' want to~, I might break a nail!~ Why are you so mean to me~?" she whined. Bunnymund's eyebrow twitched at the annoying voice grating at his sensitive ears. "WHY DO I HAVE TO PULL IT?!"
Bunnymund shook his head and gave her a blank stare "We don't have ta pull it ya mite."
"Oh wait.. You are right." Karma smiled. "But I still thank Rarity for teaching me that! Ah good ol' MLP!" Karma chirped.
"Ya make no sense," Bunnymund rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh. "Let's get this ova with."
"For once I agree with you cottontail." Karma let out a hearty breath.
They cleaned in silence, choosing to use the saying "If you don't have anything nice to say. Don't say it at all."
Soon the calming tune of "Baby It's Cold Outside" came on, the smooth instrumental weaving its way through the stable.
Karma started to hum the girls part quietly and her hum soon escalated when the middle verse came on. Bunnymund could hear the merry tune in her voice. He didn't know why, but he felt the need to sing along.
"Mind if I move a little closer?" he whispered. She hummed again raising a curious brow his way, but he just shrugged his furry shoulders."What's the sense of hurting my pride," he started to sing, coaxing Karma from her humming. "Baby don't hold out."
"Ahh but it's cold outside~" Karma sang quietly joining him. It was an unspoken agreement that they would do this one thing without fighting.
"I simply must go." Karma started with a quiet voice, still uncertain.
"But baby it's cold outside!" Bunnymund sang a little bit stronger than her.
"The answer is no!" Karma sang her confidence building.
"But baby it's cold outside!" Bunnymund sang while dipping his rag into the bucket he placed down.
"This welcome has been~ so nice and warm~!" Karma said while wiping the dirty sleigh down with her already wet cloth.
"Look out the window at that storm!" Bunnymund sang while wringing out the towel and going to the sleigh on the opposite side of Karma.
"My sister will be suspicious!" Karma sang slyly.
"Man, your lips look so delicious..." Bunnymund whispered with an awkward blush.
"My brother will be there at the door~." Karma smirked a little.
"Waves upon a tropical shore." Bunnymund said regaining his strength.
"My maiden aunt's mind is vicious!" Karma sang.
"Gosh your lips look delicious..." Bunnymund backed down again the awkward blush back with a vengeance.
"Well maybe just a cigarette more~" Karma sang with a bright and sweet smile, her eyes half-lidded while a blush dusted her cheeks.
"Never such a blizzard before." Bunnymund sang more deeply than before while wiping.
"I've got to get home." Karma chuckled.
"But baby you'll freeze out there!" Bunnymund said while wrapping his sides and rubbing them with his arms.
"Say, lend me a coat?" Karma said while going around the sleigh and dipping her rag into the bucket near Bunnymund and giving him a happy little look.
"It's up to your knees out there!" Bunnymund said with his hand low to the ground low.
"You've really been grand." Karma lightly hit him for implying that she was short.
"I feel when you touch my hand." That blush again.
"But don't you see?" Karma sang while turning and wiping down a section of the large red sleigh.
"How can you do this to me?" Bunnymund sang while dipping his own rag into the bucket again and wringing it out.
"There's bound to be talk tomorrow!" Karma smiled while she looked over at Bunnymund.
"Think of my life long sorrow!" Bunnymund chuckled while gripping his chest where his heart would be.
"At least there'll be plenty of implied" Karma sang, wiggling her eyebrows at Bunnymund.
"If you caught pneumonia and died." He rolled his eyes.
"I really can't stay." Karma sang while shrugging her shoulders.
"Get over that old out," Bunnymund sang while pointing to the exit that led to the snow covered land.
"Ooooooooh!" Karma sang with a strength and flung her arms out.
"Ahhh but it's cold...Outside~!" They both finished with a hushed tone with a harmony that would make angel's cry.
-/-/
It was a beautiful moment and they both looked at each other when they sang that last note, something sparked and their eyes held longer than they should. A blush crept along Karma's cheeks, hypnotized by those strong emerald eyes. Bunny's nose twitched slightly, it was adorable and pulled her deeper into the trance she was in. What was this? Why this emotion? She hadn't felt it for so long, not ever since that night. Could she really be falling for this... Bunny?
-/-/
Bunnymund couldn't help but notice the soft, sweet blush on her cheeks. He thought that it went perfectly with her sun kissed skin and her enchanting silver eyes. A blush crept under his own skin as he was put into a trance by those exquisite eyes. He felt a tight pull at his heart and twitched his nose in confusion. What was happening to him? This emotion felt so strange. It hurt him yet it also made him feel a welcomed warmth. What was this girl doing to him? Was he falling for this... Spirit?
-/-/
The song finished and changed into the upbeat song, "Jingle Bell Rock". The bouncy rhythm brought them both out of their trances
"Ha, you are pretty good.. for a bunny." Karma said with a teasing smile, but soft eyes.
"Yer pretty good too... for an old hag." Bunnymund jested. She threw a glare at him, but threw her head back with a laugh.
"That one was pretty good, I will give you that." Karma giggled... She giggled!? She doesn't giggle!? The brave and stubborn Karma giggled... He really did have an effect on her.
-:-:-
Her giggle was as beautiful as children laughing on Easter Day. She was ... Urg.. How could he think anything of liking her!? They fought all the time, but right now was a perfect moment between them and for some reason he felt at peace with her.
"Good because you are going to need to catch this upcoming one." Bunnymund chuckled.
"What do you mea-" Karma started to turn to head to the Pooka but her face was met with a wet rag. It slid off her face slowly to reveal a peeved look. Bunnymund hopped through the room to avoid her dangerous hands.
-/-/
The time that they spent chasing one another was filled with laughter from the both of them. From the room above, one could hear the laughter and giggles from their fun. North gazed below his feet and gave a soft chuckled as if he could see the scene himself, he smiled fondly. He soon went on his way around the workshop to check in the preparations, the smile never leaving his lips. How perfect those two were for each other, but how those two were so stubborn.
-/-/
"You know... for a Bunny.. You are alright." Karma said while breathing heavily on her back.
"Right back at 'cha, except minus the Bunny thing. Plus I am a Pooka if ya want ta get technical." Bunnymund said a foot away from her, he was also in his back breathing heavily.
"Sorry." Karma sighed.
"'Bout what?" Bunnymund asked.
"About this!" She said while getting on her knees and flicking him in the nose. She was going to say something else, but that could be saved for a different day.
"I'm gonna get cha!" Bunnymund announced while starting up another game of chase.
Their game went on until they were kicked out by the yetis for making even a bigger mess in the room than there originally was.
-/-/
"You should have cleaned more." Karma stated.
"What are ya talkin about? I cleaned more than ya!" Bunnymund said.
"What chu talkin 'bout fool," Karma argued, while placing a hand on her hip and waving a finger on the other one. "I did more than you!"
And so ended their bonding moment and their usual habits of despising one another surfaced again. Although the moment ended there, they knew that there was a new connection between them. A bond was formed that day that will not be forgotten. Their fighting may have looked the same to most other but each word they threw at each other was friendlier than their other fights.
Yes the two matched up perfectly, but their pride and egos were/are still too big to fit in the same room and their stubbornness was still as powerful. Too bad, too bad.
Again would love to thank my lovely beta and Cheshire for being so awesome for me :D