Bunny remembers the day his mate shared his biggest secret with him.

it was a warm day in the Warren, all the guardians were hanging out, most playing in one of the small lakes. Bunny and Jack sat on the land, as far away from the water as they could be and still both hear and see their friends when it happens.

"why aren't ya playing with'em? waters cool enough, won't hurt ya." Bunny says, leaning back against the tree behind him. Jacks leaned against his side. he immediately stiffens and shakes his head.

"no way." Jack mutters. Bunny frowns.

"we all know how ya became a guardian Jack, we wouldn' let it happen again." Bunny assures.

"its not that..." Jack trails. Bunny looks over.

"then what is it? the water may not be the cleanest, but won' hurt ya." Bunny assures.

"s'not that either." Jack mumbles. "I was just a kid when I died and something weren't important to teach kids back then." Jack mumbles. Bunny looks confused.

"what do ya mean?" Bunny asks.

"I, um... Aster, I can't swim." Jack admits, hesitantly. Bunny shifts and looks down at him, tightening his hold on the smaller carefully.

"thats alright Snowflake." Bunny assures.

"how come you're not out there?" Jack asks. Bunny scoffs.

"I don't swim. that water does stuff t' me fur. takes weeks t' get out and make it soft again. nothing is worth that struggle." Bunny mutters. Jack chuckles softly, running his fingers through the fur on the arm around him.

"I like it better this way anyway. you'd look like a wet rat if you got in." Jack laughs.

Bunny can't remember the name of the summer spirit they're fighting, some larkin who wants to put an end to winter forever,

none of the guardians look to good. its summer so the spirit is stronger.

Bunny should've been paying more attention to his mate. he lost track of Jack, they all did, until he screamed.

Bunny jerks around to look at him. the spirit is holding Jack by his throat, staff broken in half, holding him in the air.

"let him go!" Bunny snaps. Jack is desperately pulling at the hand around his throat.

"no problem." the man grins dropping Jack.

"Jack!" Tooth screams. Bunny barely has time to watch Jack disappear over the cliff, before he drops down on all foor and takes off running. the spirit throws Jacks broken staff after Jack with a laugh.

"JACK!" Bunny shouts. he full force pounces off the sprites head and over the edge, flinging himself down towards the water below, and Jack.

"Bunny! no!" North shouts, running after him.

"Aster!" Jack shouts, trying to grab at his staff. its out of his reach, closer to Bunnys. the Pooka easily grabs it, stuffing the pieces into the back of his sash with his boomerangs, before reaching for Jack. Jack lets go of his injured side to reach back at his mate with both hands.

"I've got'cha! don' worry! I got'cha!" Bunny shouts, reaching towards Jack. his fingers brush Jacks briefly. "c'mon wind! c'mon! help him!" Bunny snaps. the wind picks up around them, attempting to push them together, at least a little.

with luck, Bunny manages to snag hold of Jacks hand, yanking him into his chest.

"Jack, I've got'cha mate.s'okay Snowdrop. I got'cha." Bunny murmurs softly, as his mate wraps his arms and legs around him as tightly as he can.

"I can't swim! I can't swim!" Jack shouts clinging to him. Bunny holds him tightly.

"I know Jackie, don't let go. just hang onto me, don't let go." Bunny murmurs, rolling them in the air. he wants to hit the water first. "just hold onto me. don't let go Jack. don't struggle or you'll drag us both down." Bunny murmurs, holding him tightly.

"I can't swim Aster!" Jack cries.

"I knwo Snowflake, I know, just hold on. don' let go. don' let go okay? jus' hang on t'me." Bunny murmurs, holding tighter.

they hit the water hard. the shock of the cold immediately losens Bunnys grip and knocks the air from his lungs, but the firm tug of Jacks hand in his fur, brings him back around. he immediately tightens his hold with one arm. it takes a moment to get his barings, righting them in the water so he can get them to safety. he shifts Jack gently and swims them towards the surface. Jack doesn't let go, he's keeping as still as he can, gripping Bunnys fur hard, like a lifeline.

the moment they break the surface both are gasping. Jacks almost hysterical, sobbing and clinging to him, but he doesn't struggle. he listens to Bunnys warnings.

"don't let go of me." Jack whimpers. Bunny holds tighter.

"m'not gonna let ye go. s'alright. s'okay Jack, I got'cha. okay?" Bunny asks.

"I can't swim." Jack whimpers. Bunny squeezes tighter.

"Jack, its okay, s'alright." Bunny assures, carefully treading the deep icy water. "s'okay, just calm down a little, okay?" Bunny asks softly.

"okay?! its not okay! we're gonna drown!" Jack cries. Bunny rolls his eyes.

"no we aren't ya derro. c'mon. get on me back. don' let go, can' swim properly with ya on my front like this." Bunny murmurs gently. it takes more gentle encouraging, but Bunny does get Jack on his back carefully. Jacks arms aren't too tight around his neck, but his legs have a crushing grip on his torso. "s'apples Snowflake. jus' relax." Bunny assures gently. Jacks grip tightens. "that is the opposite of relax." Bunny snorts. Jack whimpers softly, trembling against Bunny.

the cold chill of the water is biting through his fur, dulling his senses and stinging his skin, but he can still feel the winter spirit shiver on his back some. the water is freezing, he'd be lucky to get out of this without a cold.

"how are we gonna get on the dock?" Jack mumbles. Bunny frowns, looking a head of them.

"don't worry. I'll figure it out when we get there." Bunny assures gently. "I'll get us out of this, just hang on, I'm not gonna let ya drown Jack, everythin's gonna be apples." Bunny promises.

"Jack! Bunny!" North shouts from the dock. both look up, Bunny smiles a little, the boost of hope he and Jack both feel giving him a small boost of strength. the temperature of the water is really draining him.

"see? everything works out. keep a little hope Jack." Bunny says.

"your fur is gonna take forever to get back to normal." Jack mumbles. "I'm sorry." he adds.

"sorry? Jack ya didn't throw yerself over the cliff, why are ya so worried bout me fur?" Bunny asks.

"you said nothing was worth having to fix your fur up." Jack mumbles. Bunny shakes his head a little.

"yer worth it love. ye'll always be worth it. a couple weeks of bad hair days ain' nothin' when it comes t' savin' ya." Bunny assures gently. he swims up to the dock and grabs hold of one of the posts with one arm. "c'mon love, climb up." Bunny murmurs. he helps Jack around, locking his leg in a bent position so Jack can climb up onto the dock. Jacks almost up when two hands reach down and yank him up.

Jack yelps, shivering and looking up at North. North looks relieved.

"Jack you're alright!" Tooth shouts. Jack nods shakily.

"thanks." he mutters. North nods and pushes him back gently to stand with Tooth and Sandy. Tooth immediately hugs him tightly.

"oh honey! you're okay!" Tooth cries. Jack shakily wraps an arm around her, gaze not turning from the dock. his mate is still in the freezing water after all.

Bunny grunts, shakily gripping the dock with his claws carefully, attempting to pull himself up. he nearly loses his grip, claws dragging across the old wooden plank, the cold is making it hard to get his muscles to work properly.

"don't let him fall back in!" Jack shouts. Tooth holds him tightly.

"its alright." Tooth soothes. Bunnys claws slip again, but North is quick to grab onto him, by the scruff of his neck much to Bunnys displeasure, and pull him up. the Pooka stumbles against the Russian, shivering.

"thanks mate." Bunny mutters, shaking the water out of this fur the best he can. he wants to be as dry as he can be. his shake is interupted when Jack latches onto him, shaking with more than just the cold water. in his weakened state, his mate almost knocks them both back into the water, but North pushes them gently away from the edge. "didja win?" Bunny asks, wrapping his arms tightly around Jack, not taking his gaze off of North and the others.

"no they flew off, we'll get them later." Tooth says. "we were more worried about you two! Bunny that was a stupid thing you did!" Tooth glares.

"I wasn't jus' gonna leave'em!" Bunny snaps. a Pookas loyalties to their mate came before anything else.

"we should get you both back to Pole." North interupts. Bunny growls in Tooths direction. it wasn't her fault, she doesn't know Jack can't swim, but the knowledge doesn't stop Bunnys annoyance.

"no thanks we're going back t' me Warren." Bunny says.

"he'd be a Bunny popsicle with the cold air." Jack mutters against Bunnys chest. Bunny rubs his back soothingly.

"you two get back to the Warren." Tooth says gently, her and Sandy moving so they can get to hard land for Bunny to make a tunnel.

"we will let you know if anything happens." North assures, eyes never leaving Jack. Sandy shoots Bunny a small smile and gives him a thumbs up.

"c'mon Jackie." Bunny murmurs as he scoops Jack up and heads to the land, making himself a tunnel. he looks at the other three guardians, before nodding once, and jumping into the tunnel.

"I thought a wet rabbit was a dead rabbit?" Jack asks hesitantly.

"for Earthly rabbits yes, I'm a Pooka. a warm shower and I'll be apples, ya know that." Bunny assures, carrying Jack into their den. "are you alright?" Bunny asks.

"yeah I'm good, the water was freezing..." Jack mumbles, cuddling into him. Bunnys fur is drying out and is getting stiff, matted, and brittle. "are you alright?" Jack asks, when Bunny finally puts him down.

"I'll be fine. jus' gonna be rough for a few weeks." Bunny assures, brushing some water off the fur on his arm. "go get ya a shower, warm up." Bunny murmurs.

"no. no more water." Jack says quickly, shaking his head. Bunny frowns.

"okay, come on, we'll hop in together." Bunny murmurs. "won' let ya drown in a shower." Bunny smiles. Jack looks at him hesitantly. "no jokes, no teasin'. I didn't jus' jump off a cliff t' save ya, jus' so I could tease ya a little." Bunny assures, heading for the washroom.

"you shouldn't have done that." Jack mumbles, following him.

they shower, taking their time, before getting out together. Bunny carefully wraps Jack in his housecoat, a gift from North a few hundred years ago, and sits down with a brush to get to work on the matts in his fur. Jack watches him for a few minutes.

"what can I do to help you?" Jack asks, hesitantly. Bunny looks over at him. Jacks staring at him. he wants so bad to help.

"wanna get m'back?" Bunny asks. Jack looks immediately relieved to be allowed to help. he jumps up, Bunnys oversize housecoat pooling around his ankles, as he makes his way over.

"I won't hurt you?" Jack asks.

"nah, warm shower takes out the brittle. s'just matted." Bunny assures, letting his mate brush his back out carefully.

its takes them two hours to brush out all of the matts, but Bunnys fur doesn't return to its soft state. Jack cuddles into him in their nest anyway, not caring it feels like curling up with a cactus, he wants Bunny near him. it takes Bunny several hours to get Jack to sleep, but he stays awake watching his mate for hints of nightmares.

Bunny pauses watching a golden sand trail make its way into their den, over to the next and straight towards Jack, Sandy was showing his worry too. Bunny chuckles and, knowing his mate is in good hands, lets himself fall asleep.