Heartfelt (Bunnymund x Reader)

Chapter 12 - Stories

Your attention was immediately focused on Bunny, and Bunny alone. His shoulders were haunched, and he avoided your eyes. With a movement of his head, he motioned for you to follow him. You trailed him, stepping right behind him. As a second thought, you looked over your shoulder and waved slightly, then continued in Bunny's footsteps. His attitude concerned you. Why did he seem so sad?

He led you back up to the house and slumped down on the couch. With a sigh, he turned onto his side and stared out the window.

"Give me a minute, little mate," he murmured.

You walked into the kitchen and brewed some tea. When it was finished, you set a cup of it down next to him and sat down on the floor.

After a long silence, he took a deep breath and looked down at you. "Ready?"

I stand up tall and beam at my mother, who looks more proud than I've ever seen her. She loves James more, I know, but I still love getting her attention. "Thank you, Benjamin." Her voice rings in my ears.

I'm pathetic - a sucker for praise. But I just can't help it. I love feeling like I've done something right.

"Ben, will you put me to bed?" James asks.

I smile down at him. He loves me - that's all that matters. As long as I can keep his hopes up, I know I'm doing something right. I pick the seven-year-old boy up and cradle him in my arms. As I carry him to our room, I glance out the window. The affects of the recent war have devastated our community.

"Do you think we'll be safe here?" he murmurs quietly.

"Of course I do," I reply.

As I rest him on the makeshift bed - currently a thin mat covered in straw and topped with a blanket - I think about things like destiny. It's weird to think that I'll be something more than a human. Or, that's what I'd been told in a dream, when the man in the moon had talked to me. Maybe I'm just crazy. Am I?

James is asleep before I've even given him my extra blanket. Still, I smile down at his small body and cover him up. It'll be cold tonight, anyway. I grab my torn-up jacket and sling it over my shoulders, then sit down on my less-padded bed. It's pretty much just some leaves that I've found. I reach for a new book to read and open it to the first page. Of course, I've read it about eight times already. But that's okay.

"Benjamin, come in here, please," my mom calls.

I shake the annoyance from my shoulders and walk back out into the living room, putting a smile on my face. But there are other people in the room, too. Two men. One is tall and muscled-out, the other is stocky and menacing.

"Hello," I say. "I'm Benjamin."

"We know," the shorter one says, his voice harsh and thick. "We've come to talk to you."

The other man, the tall guy, looks more sympathetic. "We need you to come and fight in the war."

I take a step back. "The... War? I thought it was over."

"Not quite, son," the tall man says. "There's still a bit more fighting. You've reached the age at which you can - they're making all boys between the ages of nineteen and twenty-one go. It's not an option."

I'm twenty. But that's not fair. "I - what? N-no, you... You can't do that."

"We were instructed to," the stocky guy cuts in before the other one can say anything. "You're coming with us."

//

Battle rages around me, turning the world red from anger and blood. I crouch and crawl towards the forest covering. I didn't ask to be here, I think angrily. The worst part is how close I am to my hometown. If I could just get past the line of fire and into the trees...