Bunnymund sighed irritably as he readjusted the squirming bundle in his arms, trapped somewhere between amusement and worry as he trudged through the snow towards North's castle. There was really no way to tell whether the boy in his arms was in any danger, though. He was cold, sending a subtle chill through Bunny's fur. But then again, this was nothing unusual. Jack Frost was the spirit of winter, after all.

What was more concerning at the moment was the state of delirium Jack seemed to be blissfully lounging in. Bunny had found him reclining dazedly against a walrus's blubbery stomach, the tusked animal sprawled lazily in the midday sun, along with the rest of the herd. He'd been fiddling with the walrus's whiskers, a childish grin on his face as he danced his fingertips through the hairs, laughing dumbly every time the creature sneezed in response. After several of Bunny's attempts at coherent conversation that had merely ended with Jack staring at him, head cocked to the side with heavily dilated eyes and a sloppy grin, a purple welt just below his hairline, Bunnymund had simply sighed, bent down on one knee, and scooped the young spirit into his arms. Jack hadn't resisted; he'd only whooped cheerfully and let his head fall back, dangling limply in Bunny's arms, whistling and chortling as he pleased. He waved goodbye to the walrus, promising to visit "Abbot" as soon as he got his shots.

Bunny didn't know how hard Jack had hit his head, but it had been enough to make him go completely silly.

Bunny glanced down for about the hundredth time since he'd started his trek (being afraid that using his tunnels would be medically irresponsible for him to put Jack through in his current state).

Jack was staring upward at the sky, a broad smile splitting his face. His white hair shimmered in the light from the sun. He seemed a little paler than normal, if that was even possible.

"I can see the big dipper," he crowed with wonder. Bunny's lips twitched, unable to decide on a smirk or a frown,

"It's daytime, snowflake," he responded, gut nagging with a small bit of concern. Jack took a moment to respond, seeming to not have heard Bunny, but then floppily lolled his head upward and gazed at Bunny with an expression that was almost comically indignant,

"I'm not a fluffy spec!" he slurred. Bunny snickered,

"Nah, 'course not," he drawled. Jack narrowed his glazed over eyes suspiciously, but soon got bored with his scrutiny, and returned to wriggling and rolling his gaze about curiously, as if everything were worthy of a lifetime's study. Suddenly, he gasped and tried to straighten in his cradled position, and Bunny felt his heart leap into his throat,

"That's it!" Jack exclaimed, face jerking to stare at Bunny with open-eyed astonishment and realization. Bunny raised an eyebrow as his lip curled, feeling coupled relief and irritation at seeing the boy hadn't just experienced some kind of seizure or internal rupture. Jack jabbed a finger onto Bunny's nose, mouth hanging open as if he had just discovered a long-hidden secret of the universe, "That's what you are!" he cried happily, face beaming with joy. Bunny picked up his pace a bit, even as he eyed the boy warily,

"Am what?" he asked. Jack threw his hands up in the air as if to say "booyah!" and explained,

"A fluffy spec!"

Bunny spluttered and snorted incredulously,

"I am no spec!" he denied, hefting Jack higher in his arms. The boy giggled at the movement and threw his head back again, arms dangling limply behind his head as his throat bobbed, hands flapping on loose wrists in time with Bunny's steps,

"It's a big planet," he said, as if that explained everything. There was silence a bit longer, where the castle in the distance was rapidly getting bigger in the sky. Soon, they would be beneath its shadow. Several minutes passed where Bunny assumed Jack had fallen into some kind of foolish stupor. Then, Jack unexpectedly raised his head and peered at Bunny with an intense, questioning stare.

"What?" Bunny relented after awhile. Jack continued to pierce him with his pale gaze,

"Have you ever considered the conjugal awareness of potatoes?" he asked philosophically, face utterly grave. Bunny felt the pressure of the ridiculous question, like his answer was a matter of life and death. He opened his mouth, but was stopped as Jack randomly slapped his cheek,

"Haha! Joke's on you," he cackled, "Potatoes aren't alive, dummy."

Bunny grimaced in annoyance,

"That was a dirty trick," he grumbled. Jack's face lit up as he reached up and snatched both of Bunny's ears,

"Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids!" he cried gleefully. Bunny was starting to get irritated. He shook off Jack's grasp and folded his ears by his head,

"Ah, knock it off, ya little bugger," he groused, glaring at Jack as he continued to walk. Jack returned the look with equal measure, bottom lip protruding into a ludicrous pout that was definitely not cute. His eyes were unfocused and glassy, almost like he were half asleep. He didn't look good. The lump on his head had only gotten bigger, his skin had taken on a grayish tinge. He was shivering. Jack Frost shivering? Not a good sign.

Bunny felt a lump of unease grow in his stomach, and he pulled Jack closer to him, transitioning from a brisk walk into a jog.

Jack was silent, staring unseeingly into the distance until they entered the shadow of North's castle. Then his eyelids began to droop, and his face took on a contented tiredness. He curled up into Bunny's fur and buried half his face in his chest, so that only one slitted eye was visible, pale blue peeking out from beneath dark lashes. His hands fisted around tufts of Bunny's fur. It was a strange and rare show of childishness that made Bunny feel at once very uncomfortable and oddly…warm.

"M'tired," Jack mumbled sleepily. Bunny was reluctant to let him fall asleep,

"Hey, kiddo, try and keep your eyes open, kay?"

Jack just grunted quietly in response, but obediently kept his eye open slightly as Bunny made his way to North's essential "back door". Jack's breaths evened out and deepened. They entered into the castle through the small wooden door, and when Jack's eyes finally slipped closed, Bunny didn't have the heart to wake him. Somehow, he didn't think that this wound was severe enough to cause much damage, especially to an immortal.

Bunny felt an odd heat in his cheeks as the boy continued to practically snuggle him. Normally, this would have been mortifying, and it still was to some degree, but Jack wasn't exactly himself at the moment, so Bunny could hardly tease him about it.

Maybe, later.

But as Jack sighed contentedly in his sleep and nuzzled his nose deeper into Bunny's chest, sniffling as if from a cold and hand tightening around his precious fistful of soft fur, the pooka unconsciously pulled the young spirit a little closer, feeling an odd surge of generosity.

Well, maybe not.

...

A/N: Well, after writing so much angst, I decided to do some good old-fashioned fluff. :3 In my opinion, this might just be a bit too cutesy, but then again, this isn't my normal area of expertise. Hope you enjoyed!