Burnout - Tooth has to deal with an exhausted Bunny, and convince him that he doesn't have to wear himself to the bone getting Easter back.

AN: For the Rise of the Guardians kink-meme, full prompt in my profile.

It would've been enough, Tooth thought, with a roll of her eyes, if he'd just stopped at Easter.

Not that it was her place to say how Spring should work, but even she – she who wasn't connected with any particular season – could tell that it was a losing battle. Even her fairies – who, though loyal and hard-working, weren't exceptional at independent thought – sighed at the overabundance of fresh growth and flowers around the tooth palace.

I already believe! Tooth thought indignantly.

Tooth was usually too busy to appreciate her fellow Guardians' efforts, be they snow or dreams, but this was right in her face and downright insulting really. Bunny was taking this too far and since North and Jack were likely to just get him in a rage and Sandy was really far too busy, it looked like it was up to Tooth to sort this out.

Like I haven't got enough on my plate.

With one last frustrated sigh at the plants attempting to overtake the palace, Tooth set out with a small collection of helpers in tow.

It took Tooth longer than she liked to finally pin Bunny down. Admittedly she'd made a few stops in towns on the way and had gotten a little distracted with a child who'd taken a baseball to the face and lost half his baby teeth in one go.

Even with the innate sense of teeth, both baby and adult, in the world, the search for Bunny was confusing. If he was in the warren she'd know, but he wasn't in a consistent place.

Eventually Tooth lucked out. Of course the extra delay had only strengthened her anger at Bunny. He shouldn't be that had to get ahold of so soon after they'd had so much trouble with Pitch. What if there was another situation that needed all the Guardians to deal with it?

"You'd better have a good explanation for this," Tooth said sternly, flitting down to where Bunny was resting.

Bunny twitched an ear, but otherwise didn't appear to notice Tooth there. Oh, that was it!

"Don't you ignore me!" Tooth snapped, "I've had it up to here with your Spring! And don't think I'm the only one!"

Bunny turned his head to look at Tooth. There was a long silence before he spoke and when he did each word was both oddly quick and deliberate.

"There needs to be more belief."

"You need to stop this, Bunny."

In a blink he'd vanished. Tooth hadn't seen a tunnel open or even a flash of fur as Bunny ran away. She shivered as a chill crept over her wings. Something wasn't quite right here.

Thinking about it, now her anger had calmed somewhat, Bunny had been oddly flickery. An inconsistent red or blue edging to his fur, like he wasn't really there.

That's not right, Tooth thought, even if he'd lost believers, Bunny shouldn't be fading out of existence.

Bit by bit, Tooth's fury was replaced by a niggling doubt and worry as she started her search for Bunny again. This time she focused on her fellow Guardian and her fellow Guardian alone, entrusting the collection of teeth and returning of memories to her helpers.

Tooth chased Bunny down, pushing her wings to their limit to try and keep up. She'd never be able to catch him by just following, but she could be smart about this...

Spots danced in front of Bunny's eyes as he ran. The edges of his vision keep sparking black and his breaths already coming in short gasps. He should've eaten more when he stopped earlier, but Tooth had threatened to stop him and if he took another break now, he wasn't going to get everywhere he should and that couldn't happen.

The world blurred blue as he got faster and faster. Forest, then savannah, then beach, then water, then fields. It all flew past beneath his feet. Spring right on his tail, pulling fresh life from everything his paws touched.

He had to keep going. Had to keep going. Had to keep going. Had to –

ROPE!

Bunny tripped over the rope that was suddenly pulled taut before his feet. He flew several metres, ears over tail, throwing up mud and plants everywhere until he came to a complete stop upside-down against a tree.

Bunny groaned. The world went black as something slipped over his face. His tired, tired body took advantage of the pause and darkness and lost consciousness.

"Well done girls," Tooth said, tying the top of the sack of Easter Bunny closed, "Let's get back home."

By the time Tooth reached her palace she was flagging. Carrying Bunny a quarter of the way around the world was tiring work, even with the stops she made to rest and send out more of her fairies to the children.

The palace had guest rooms for all the other Guardians – with proper dental supplies in each of course. There was even a cool, sunless one for Jack that had been included when Tooth had to rebuild the palace over the last year. Bunny's was near the ground, with a view that took in the bright plants and warm light of the outdoors – or it would if said plants hadn't been force-grown into covering the window.

Well, it's his own fault, Tooth decided. Nevertheless she asked a few fairies to try and tackle the vines, so the sun could shine in when it was bright in the sky.

"Now, listen girls," Tooth called, a small swarm of fairies fluttered over to hear what she had to say, "Bunny is not allowed to leave this room, understood? The minute he wakes up I want to know."

There was a collection of nodding and humming from the fairies, before they flittered around the room, taking up guard posts to watch over their captive.

Despite how tired she was, Tooth pushed herself on. There were still teeth to collect and things to sort out for her friend.

Tooth was taking a short nap when a fairy flew up to her in a hurry, squeaking loudly. Tooth sighed at her interrupted sleep and followed the fairy down to Bunny's room. She heard the other Guardian before she saw him.

"Look, just – ow! Stop it! Just let me out and – ow! Right, I've had it!"

Tooth fluttered into the room to see Bunny swiping at her fairies. The fairies were mostly hanging back, but whenever Bunny tried to advance, they drove him back with lots of pecking of their sharp little beaks.

Good girls.

"You're awake," Tooth said.

Bunny turned to look at her, surprised; he hadn't noticed her come in. He was usually more observant than that.

"Can you tell your sheilas to leave me alone?" Bunny asked, trying to take a step, but being driven back with a flurry of feathers and beaks, "Stop it, you bloody –"

"Bunny," Tooth interrupted before he could curse her fairies further, "They're only trying to make sure you get some rest."

"I don't need rest," Bunny snapped, keeping a wary eye on the fairy guard, "I need to be out there."

"You're not leaving until you calm down and get some rest," Tooth said forcefully.

Bunny took a step back, eyes wide. "Crikey, no need to get mad as a cut snake, Tooth"

"No need?" Tooth asked, balling her fists, "Look what's happened to my palace!"

Bunny looked at the vines twisting over the window and winced. "Might've gone a bit overboard there. Sorry, Tooth."

"It's not just my place," Tooth said, folding her arms to keep herself from grabbing and shaking Bunny, "It's all over the world. We could let it go on Easter, but that was a week ago!"

"Really?" Bunny asked, sounding a little too pleased, "Thought it was longer than that. Must've been going at quite a pace."

"Is that all you have to say for yourself?" Tooth snapped.

Bunny flinched again, which wasn't right. Tooth moved forward and put her hand on his chest. His heart was beating quickly, quicker than it should, and she could feel his ribs too well through fur that had seen better days.

"Get some rest," Tooth ordered, pushing Bunny back toward the bed, "And if I find you took so much as one step out of bed, you'll be sorry."

Bunny settled down into the soft earth and grasses that made up his bed in the corner. Tooth watched him carefully, he'd acquiesced to that far too easily.

"If you need anything, like food or blankets, my fairies can provide it for you," Tooth said, "And once you're feeling better, we can talk."

"I'm feelin' fine," Bunny grumbled.

Tooth gave him a hard look. "Don't make me bring Sandy into this," she warned.

"I'm restin', I'm restin'," Bunny sighed, curling up further in the earth.

"Bring him what he needs," Tooth told her fairies, "But don't let him out of the room."

There was a mutter from Bunny as Tooth left the room, but she ignored it to focus on the teeth that had to be collected.

A niggling feeling caused Tooth to check back on Bunny an hour later, only to find several distressed fairies flittering about and squeaking despondently. Most of them were clutching carrots or other vegetables, and three had a blanket held between them.

And there was no sign of Bunny except a few pieces of leftover carrot.

He's going to be the death of me.

"Girls! What happened?" Tooth asked.

Piece by piece, Tooth got the whole story. Bunny had sent off the fairies a few at a time to get him food, until they were all out searching for something. Then he'd obviously slipped out the window and ran off.

"Alright, girls, it's not your fault," Tooth said, soothing the more hysterical ones, "I should have been more specific. Don't worry, we'll find him."

We will find him.

It was easy enough to follow the trail of fresh growth, even if Tooth would've had no chance whatsoever at pushing through it herself. It left a bright smear on the landscape beneath as she flew over.

Tooth was following it as fast as her wings could carry her when the trail suddenly stopped somewhere in the South American jungles. Praying that Bunny hadn't decided to return to the warren, Tooth fluttered down to ground level.

Bunny was still on the surface, but that wasn't a good thing.

He was barely visible under the thick grasses and flowering plants that had grown around him while unconscious. Considering the way he was lying, it was far more likely that he'd passed out while running than actively chosen to stop here.

Tooth sighed. What are we going to do with you?

She frowned as she looked closer. Bunny was shivering despite the humidity of the rainforest, a fine tremor that kept his fur on end and was too strong for anyone who wasn't stood next to Jack when he was in a playful mood.

A panicked squeaking came from the fairies that had followed Tooth. She looked up quickly to see a jaguar cub on a branch, batting at one of the fairies. There was a scrape and Tooth turned to see another cub clawing its way up a tree, obviously intent on going after the fairies too.

"Get out of here, girls," Tooth ordered, "I'll be right along."

The cubs whined as their playthings flittered up above the tree canopy. Tooth sighed then froze as a low growl sounded from behind her.

Tooth turned slowly, hoping against hope it was something friendly. She found herself face to face with a much larger jaguar, its teeth bared in a hostile snarl at Tooth.

"You're probably the mother," Tooth said with an awkward smile, trying to keep her voice soothing, "Your canines are wonderfully sharp."

Apparently not a fan of compliments, the jaguar pounced at Tooth, who quickly flew out of immediate reach. Given the relatively dense trees in the rainforest, the jaguar could probably get up to Tooth's level without much difficulty, but at least she'd get some warning.

The jaguar didn't look to be that interested in following Tooth, however. Instead it gave a growl that had its cubs scrambling back. It was probably trying to teach them to hunt and had only interceded when a larger threat had presented itself.

The jaguar appeared to lose interest in Tooth and nudged its cubs toward Bunny's sprawled form.

"Oh no you don't!" Tooth said sharply. She glanced around for a weapon and saw a thick branch on the forest floor. Not perfect, but it would do for now.

Not for the first time since putting the blades away, Tooth wished she'd kept her swords on hand. However the image of the Tooth Fairy was more and more becoming an exceptionally benevolent one. She would really have to look into a dagger of some kind when this mess was sorted out, something that wasn't immediately visible or the children that caught sight of her wouldn't believe she really was the Tooth Fairy.

Tooth darted down and hefted the branch off the leaf-littered ground. Unwieldy and a little slimy, but she'd worked with worse.

The first cub to pounce was batted away by Tooth. It gave a whimper, but it was still moving, so Tooth assumed it was fine, if a little stunned. Though truthfully, if it came down to it she'd keep Bunny alive over any wild animal to cross her path.

The second cub, the smaller of the two, backed up against its mother, who snarled at Tooth, displaying a full set of wickedly sharp fangs. Tooth held the branch back, ready to swing when the jaguar made a move rather than flailing wildly with it, which would just get both her and Bunny dead.

The jaguar coiled up, took a moment to decide the most vulnerable part of Tooth, then pounced in a powerfully fluid movement.

As quick as it was, it was still laughably slow compared to what Tooth had been hunting recently. The branch caught the jaguar squarely in the left shoulder, deflecting its pounce into a skittered landing on the forest floor. It snarled, but wasn't putting its full weight on its left forepaw anymore.

With one last growl at Tooth, the jaguar slunk off, its cubs scrambling clumsily after it.

Phew, Tooth let out a sigh and lowered the branch. Bunny still slumbered on, oblivious to how close he'd come to becoming dinner just now.

"You're going to make far more trouble than you're worth one of these days," Tooth scolded her unconscious friend, "Looks like I'm going to have to do something a smidge more drastic when we get back to the palace."

With one last sigh at the mess, Tooth dropped the branch and picked up Bunny. She already knew he was far lighter than he should be, but the feeling of bones through his thinning fur was still worrying.

Tooth set off to her palace as fast as she could fly.

Tooth was building tooth-boxes when a muffled noise told her Bunny had woken up. She put the pieces down and turned to face him.

"Tooth?" Bunny said groggily.

He stood up and tried to move. His eyes shot open as his foot encountered resistance.

"What's the bloody idea, Tooth?" Bunny snapped, tugging at the chain around his ankle.

"You need rest," Tooth said.

"I need to get back out there," Bunny insisted.

Tooth shoved Bunny and he went down. He stared at her in surprise.

"Stop it," Tooth said, "Now, since you tricked my fairies, I'm going to be keeping an eye on you."

"How long are you gonna keep me here?" Bunny demanded.

"Until you're better," Tooth replied, getting back to work on her tooth-boxes.

"I'm –"

There was a thump. Tooth glanced back to see Bunny unconscious again.

"This might be more serious than I thought," she muttered as she shifted him back onto the bed.

It was another whole day before Bunny could stay awake long enough to do more than eat everything in sight and pass out again. Tooth kept her vigil, trying not to disturb his rest as she whispered locations of newly lost teeth in need of collecting and individuals' memories wanting to be brought back.

"You really aren't gonna give this up, are you?" Bunny asked around a mouthful of carrot.

"Manners," Tooth chided. She'd seen enough devastation in the past twenty-four hours to be put off of carrots and most other vegetables for a lifetime.

"Says the sheila who tied me up," Bunny snorted.

"You know that's not strong enough to hold you," Tooth said, "Or it couldn't if you were at full strength anyway."

Bunny gave the chain a vicious yank, but it held firm. He turned a circle, muttering, then plonked himself down on the earthen bed. He was still far too thin and Tooth had noticed more fur littering the room than usual.

"Could at least give me somethin' to do," Bunny grumbled.

He jumped when Tooth dumped a sack of pieces of tooth-boxes next to him. She dusted off her hands and gave him a satisfied look.

"There's always boxes to be made," Tooth said brightly.

Bunny peered into the sack, his nose wrinkling at the sight of metal pieces.

"You've got me mixed up with North there, Tooth," Bunny said, "I don't build things, I make 'em grow."

"And I collect," Tooth said, "We all have to do things we don't usually do to make sure our jobs run smoothly. As my guest –"

Bunny snorted.

"As my guest," Tooth repeated sharply, "It would be nice if you could help out. I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to –"

Bunny snorted again.

"– but I would like you to make an effort and put together some boxes for me," Tooth finished, taking the high-road and ignoring Bunny's interruptions.

"Maybe if you'd loosen this a bit," Bunny said, giving his foot – and by extension the chain – a shake.

Tooth rolled her eyes and turned away to start giving instructions to the fairies that had flittered into the room while she'd been talking to Bunny. Behind her, Bunny grumbled, but there was clanking as he started rummaging through the bag.

Tooth hid a smile and quickly directed her fairies out into the world.

Bunny managed to spend an hour assembling tooth-boxes before his exhaustion got the better of him and he curled up to get some more rest. Though there was evening sunlight streaming into the room, he was starting to shiver again.

"M'fine," Bunny mumbled when Tooth tried to put an extra blanket over him, "Jus' aftershocks."

"Aftershocks from what?" Tooth asked, tucking him in despite his protests.

"Speed," Bunny replied, then gave a huge yawn.

Tooth resisted the urge to put her hands in his mouth. There would be time to look at his teeth later.

"Weren't there meant to be pictures of the ankle-biters on those boxes?" Bunny asked sleepily.

"Only when the first tooth is put in," Tooth replied, "Then the memory of the child creates an image to appear on the boxes and..."

She stopped talking when a soft snore came from Bunny. With a smile, Tooth tucked the blanket around him tighter.

"Goodnight, Bunny."

"You haven't called in anyone else."

Tooth jerked out of her doze, automatically tensing up and ready for a fight. It took her a moment to place herself. Bunny's room, that's right.

Bunny was sat up, examining where the chain met the wall. One ear was swivelled around, focusing on Tooth.

"What was that?" Tooth asked, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes.

"You haven't gotten North or Sandy involved," Bunny said, not looking away from the chain, "Remind me to thank you for that."

"Why's that?" Tooth asked, moving over to hover next to Bunny, "I know you and North argue a lot, but he's got everyone's best interests at heart. And Sandy's hardly likely to make a fuss."

"All the same, I'd prefer to keep this quiet," Bunny replied, "Last time I sped like that it was Sandy who got me. He made me swear to never do it again."

"And yet here you are."

"It's an emergency," Bunny snapped, shooting Tooth a glare over his shoulder.

Tooth sighed. It could be hard to reason with Bunny when he got like this. She sat back to watch him tug at the chain futilely.

"What do you mean by 'sped'?" Tooth asked after a while, "You mentioned 'speed' wearing you out earlier too."

Bunny sat back on his haunches and gave Tooth an assessing look. Then he scratched behind his ears, delaying his answer.

"It's... difficult," Bunny said at length.

"Make it simple."

"Keep yer feathers on, I'm gettin' there," Bunny said, not looking at Tooth anymore, "Look, when I say I'm quick, I'm not just sayin' that."

Tooth waited patiently for him to continue, sensing that she was finally getting somewhere.

"It's hard to go that fast without burnin' out though," Bunny explained, "Once I kick into top gear, I wear out quick. I have to keep fuelled up and sometimes..."

"Sometimes...?" Tooth prompted, when Bunny didn't say anything.

"Just leave it that there's a reason Sandy made me stop."

Bunny was looking tired, so Tooth made a note to pick it up later. For now though, she could let him rest; several fairies had reported a lack of correct currency within the palace and had to be sent out to find dropped change. That was always trickier than teeth and memories, since Tooth didn't have an innate sense for money.

"What do you know about time-travel?" Bunny asked out of the blue the next time he was awake.

Bunny was still assembling boxes and didn't look up when he spoke. Tooth, currently taking a short break, took a careful sip of her sweet tea while she mulled over the question. Eventually she shook her head.

"It's not something I'm personally familiar with," she replied, "If Sandy hadn't told me that The Traveller's story was true, I would've assumed they were only tales."

"Well that's one way about it," Bunny said, "The Traveller with his machine or Urashima Tarō and Honi Ha-Ma'agel skipping years forwards. But there's another way... If you can build up enough speed and go faster than light..."

Tooth sucked in a breath through her teeth. "That's why Sandy made you promise never to go that fast."

"He wasn't too happy with one of me running around at those speeds, let alone half a dozen," Bunny said, "Last time I was tryin' to expand the warren and prepare for Easter all at once. Which, as you've seen, is a kinda hectic time all on its own. I needed the extra help and nearly ran myself to nothin' tryin' to get it."

"And you broke your promise," Tooth said sternly.

Bunny flicked an ear irritably, but he kept his gaze down. "I wasn't goin' that fast."

"But you were getting close," Tooth said, "Swear to me that you won't wear yourself out like that again. Sandy might not be able to see everywhere, but my fairies can."

"I need to get Easter back on track," Bunny argued.

"Easter, yes," Tooth said, "The rest of Spring? You're outside your assigned days and, if anything, that's going to hurt Easter."

"Tooth..."

"Please," Tooth said, "I don't want to lose you, Bunny. It was a miracle we got Sandy back, but please don't make me go through losing another dear friend."

It had been scary, Tooth could admit that herself, with no Sandy and the rest of them reduced to barely anything without their usual belief. She could understand Bunny's fear that last Easter would happen all over again, but she wouldn't let him put himself in danger for something that would take time to fix.

There was silence. Then large warm paws covered Tooth's hands where she had them wrapped around her teacup.

"I won't let that happen, Tooth," Bunny said solemnly, "I swear by the children I won't run myself down that far again."

"Thank you," Tooth whispered.

Bunny didn't remove his paws, but he did give the chain on his ankle another shake.

"So, any chance of this bein' taken off?" he asked hopefully.

That startled a laugh out of Tooth, which made Bunny frown. His smile returned quickly enough when Tooth produced a tiny golden key from her decorative crest and unlocked the shackle.

"Ta," Bunny said, stretching out his leg and giving the place the shackle had sat a good rub.

"Remember," Tooth said, getting up herself and automatically hovering at eye level, "You're going to do a great job with Easter, just keep it within Easter-time."

"Gotcha the first time, Tooth," Bunny said with a roll of his eyes, but his tone was good-natured.

He hopped to the window slowly and leant on the sill. The freshly cut swathes of greenery that Tooth's fairies had only just finished chopping back were plain to see.

"Crikey, I really did a number on the gardens, didn't I?" Bunny muttered, loudly enough for Tooth to hear. The chain hadn't been long enough for him to reach the window and this was the first time he was seeing the full damage after completely coming down from his speed high.

Tooth fluttered over to join him. "It's fixable," she said, "But you've got a lot of cleaning up and apologising to do."

"S'pose I do," Bunny said, "Hey, Tooth... Nah, never mind."

"What?"

"Forget it."

"Tell me," Tooth ordered, "You still owe me."

"Dirty trick and it won't work forever," Bunny tutted, "Anyway, I'm not all that fussed to go back to the warren just yet, so could I stay here when I need to nap?"

"I would've thought you'd want to stay as far away from the palace as you could," Tooth said, somewhat thrown by the request.

"Is that a yes or a no?" Bunny asked, staring intently out of the window.

"Yes of course, you're always welcome here," Tooth replied.

"Thanks, Tooth."

Something had changed subtly in the air between them. Tooth wasn't sure how, but she foresaw a lot of fun figuring it out over the next few weeks.