Chapter Text
Bunnymund wasn't the kind of spirit that could easily admit that he had been wrong, nor was he the kind of spirit that could admit he had taken things too far, that he had been too callous or harsh, but that didn't mean he wasn't aware of it when he was.
He remembered that Easter Sunday, two years ago, when he and the other guardians, sans Jack and Sandy, had failed to stop Pitch's nightmares from destroying the Easter eggs. He remembered watching helplessly from the bushes as the children looked everywhere for the eggs only to be disappointed when they couldn't find a single one.
It had been absolutely heartbreaking.
And he remembered how one of the children walked straight through him like...like he didn't even exist. It hurt both, mentally and physically. Immediately, Bunny felt his strong belief dwindle, leaving him feeling weak and exhausted as his believers stopped believing in him and all the hope inside them slowly disappeared.
At the time, Bunny didn't even try to hold back his anger towards Jack for not being where he was supposed to. It enraged the gray pooka to hear that the white-haired teen had been with Pitch Black, instead of where he belonged; with them. It enraged him that Jack had chosen to go after his memories instead of helping the guardians fight off Pitch's nightmares, even though North promised the boy that after Pitch's defeat, they would get his memories back for him.
Bunny had been so angry because he had been so hurt. He was hurt by what Jack did, and just when he was starting to like the annoying little show-off!
Bunny never liked getting hurt, regardless if it was physical or emotional, and because of that, he didn't always handle certain situations like he should. In fact, Bunny was the most insensitive spirit of them all. He didn't have Tooth's loving personality, or North's optimistic outlook on life, or even Sandy's sense of understanding. He was impatient and hot-tempered. That was just the way he was.
Looking back on that day, Bunny already realized that he had been too hard on the kid. Jack had made a mistake, albeit a huge mistake, but the winter spirit certainly hadn't meant for things to turn out the way they did. He was distracted and tricked by the infamous Nightmare King after all. Manipulation and mind games were Pitch's forte.
Bunny's reaction and anger had been completely justifiable, but to be perfectly honest, Jack's betrayal wasn't what pushed Bunny so far as to almost lash out physically against the boy. Truthfully, the more pessimistic side of Bunny always expected Jack's carelessness to cause something like that. So even though he was still greatly disappointed, Bunny remained shamefully unsurprised.
But when that young boy walked through him like he wasn't even there, something inside Bunny's mind broke and he was thrown back through the years, back to the last time a child phased through him because they didn't believe anymore.
Memories of a horrible night, that he had worked so hard to bury, came flooding out all at once and Bunny's biggest failure and regret flashed in front of his eyes like strobe light. He felt a horrible wave of Deja Vu wash over him and crush his lungs as he curled closer into his chest and sat heartbroken on the freshly cut, green grass, and not even the comforting touch of Tooth's hand on his shoulder could ease the Easter Bunny's pain.
'They don't see me...they don't see me...'
Just like that cold November night when she didn't see him.