#and while he might be a genocidal maniac he’s not such a monster that he’d disturb catoru’s beauty sleep

[seriouslyineedhelp]

Au where Gojo is a cat. Just this giant fucking meter-long white cat with sunglasses. He isn’t even a sentient cat or anything, he can’t speak or use telepathy to communicate, he’s just a intelligent house cat with Six Eyes, Limitless, and the lifespan of a normal human being

[ghostmartyr]

SnK 131 Thoughts

Eren what the fuck.

Like.

What in the actual fuck, my dude.

There are parts of this that make sense.

Then there are the parts that absolutely do not, and it’s all wrapped up in this chapter where, as previous chapter posts predicted, people are screaming and dying.

Since that’s pretty much the majority of the content, I guess we have the luxury of a short post that almost entirely focuses on Eren.

With added Annie and Armin. They can go at the start, I guess. They exist, they are cute if you’re into that, they’re also dumb and mopey if you’re into that, Paths make for a great radio, and just generally

WHAT THE FUCK, EREN.

Did I already talk about Rebellion? Is that a thing I did in these past few months? -checks- Damn it. Not that the well can’t be visited again, since it’s very obviously appropriate, but twice in two months starts to look like the laziness that is indeed threatening to take me.

-spins the wheel-

Okay then, let’s talk about Anakin Skywalker.

Cool dude. Rad kid. Born into slavery. Freed from slavery by a dude with magical plot magic who immediately dies. Inherits dude’s desire for him to follow the leanings of the religious sect responsible for plot magic. Has hormones and has a meltdown over having hormones, and also feelings, and proceeds to protect everything he loves so hard that it burns to the ground while someone he eventually throws into a pit laughs maniacally in the background.

It’s mainly that last part that is arguably relevant to today.

Anakin is terrified of losing his wife in childbirth. Instead of contacting a doctor, he decides that it’s best to rely on himself. Plus shady mentor. His fear turns into a longing for a power to destroy that fear, and the combination drives him to the Dark Side. When he starts demolishing the very things he wanted to protect, he digs in deeper. For twenty years, he kills, and kills, and kills, because he can’t admit he was wrong.

(Clone Wars is a good show, if anyone is interested. It fleshes the emotional weight of the script out, and makes the horror and tragedy stab you in the heart.)

I can’t say that I entirely hate this for Eren. I don’t particularly like how it’s been presented, but that might just be the part of me that looks at the “GENOCIDE IS THE ONLY OPTION” button lit up on his forehead and finds it so fundamentally disagreeable that I haven’t been looking at it even when the plot tells me that’s what it is.

Here’s the thing: Genocide is presented as a feasible course of action all throughout this series. From Zeke, from Marley, from Paradis; whoever’s pitch you want to listen to, a conclusion everyone always comes to is that it would be easier if all of these people causing problems would just die.

They can make that happen. They have the technology.

Marley is a cesspit. The moral cost means nothing to them.

Zeke is abused, traumatized, and molded into thinking death is a mercy.

Floch survives, and teaches himself that the evil he lives through needs to be repaid in full.

Kill, kill, kill. If something stands in your way, murder it.

This is a concept of horror to the characters who are establishing the moral center of the tale. They’ve killed people. They’ve fought to the death against people who would gladly see them die. The titans are their victimized kin, and all they can do for the greater good is put them down.

They’re tiny humans trapped in a cage, and they’re just trying to get out. Whenever they try, their jailers try to eat them. That is forever what Paradis is attempting, and whenever they do try to lessen the amount of violence in their tactics, they get fucked over by the plot. As much as the story can, it’s thrown the main Paradis cast into the light of being innocent victims who are just trying to defend themselves.

The whole series is a study in the damage genocide has caused.

Nothing excuses it.

There is no motive that justifies this scale of premeditated violence.

There is the fear that one day the people who belong to you will be victims, and the only way to stop them from being victims is to make victims of everyone else. Kill or be killed.

In self-defense.

Defending from an attack that might never come.

Genocide is not an option that has ever deserved a seat at the table.

Why don’t we just kill everyone off?

Why not erase everyone’s memories of it?

Why not continue to use this power to herd everyone into our vision of what the world should be like?

Why not say that we deserve life so much more than any other living creature on the planet?

The entire story tells us why.

From the very first chapter, we’re exposed to the violence and terror of an uncaring world devouring anyone unfortunate enough to be on the outskirts of what supposedly greater people have decided is most important. Eren’s entire home is destroyed because some children kick down a wall. The people in the core of those same walls are disturbed, but send out their lesser to be fed to the monsters so that they can continue living.

Karl Fritz locks everyone away on an island and tells them the world has ended.

Anyone who is too curious, or too interested in beginning a new world, is killed. They’re robbed of their memories or their life. The remaining Ackermans are alive because they were too far away from the true history of the world to actually know anything.

Marley, the whipping boy of the Eldian Empire, finds its escape through Karl’s mercy, and immediately mimics the way of life that has caused them so much pain. Titans continue to run rampant in the world, simply with different reins. They redefine what’s acceptable based on who’s pulling the trigger.

Every single major plot point comes back to the ruin that perpetrating genocide has conceived.

Nothing is fixed by saving Marley from Eldia. Marley chooses to renew the evil.

Nothing is fixed by Karl walking away from the world. He just picks on smaller targets.

Nothing is fixed by pretending this is a solution.

The series’ history is a cycle of people grabbing power and tormenting their enemies with it. It shows no sign of stopping. It takes Paradis a hundred years, but they go from a blank slate of a starting point to producing someone ready to destroy the world.

Nothing suggests that another hundred years won’t do the same.

We have seen this all before. The only difference is that Eren is trying to commit to a large enough scale that no one alive will have the kind of grudges that will produce this fuckery.

It is vile.

This is not a defensible course of action. Some things are simply wrong, and even without morality coming into play, we’ve spent years reading an object lesson in the consequences of this behavior.

This horror is where Eren comes from.

Eren is not special.

He is a normal human born into this world.

His actions are ones that any other person could duplicate.

Not easily, and not without a great deal of coincidence, but nothing about Eren makes this a choice that only he can make. His power is borrowed, and no matter how he dies, that death means there will be a next person in line.

He isn’t ending a fucking thing. He’s become a cog in the machine that broke him.

So that’s the starting point. Even if killing younglings did have a logical undercurrent, no. No, no, a million times no. Eren chooses this. Eren causes this. Eren picks genocide without anyone putting a gun to his head. Eren picks genocide when he has access to a power that could easily discourage anyone from attacking his home for years.

He chooses to murder people.

Because he’s afraid, and because he can.

Then we get to what I find infinitely more interesting:

Eren doesn’t want this.

In the present day, we have an Eren who no longer has a body, and what amounts to a hallucination of his younger self, dreaming of a world hidden away in a book. His physical self has its eyes closed, and his younger self looks more alive than Eren has in ages. He isn’t looking at the damage he causes, just the open sky.

In the past, we have Eren bawling apologies to a boy he meets once. We have an Eren who realizes that this world is one that has let him down, and that, completely outside protecting his home, is what makes him want it gone.

This doesn’t just happen.

Eren wants it to happen.

Eren looks at this world that wants him and everyone like him dead, and he wants it to be like the book. No mention of other people -- other people aren’t in the outside world anymore. Just beautiful scenery, and the freedom to enjoy it.

He can’t have that, and it hurts. He’s been through Annie, Reiner, and Bertolt. He’s lost friends and seen even more people die protecting him. He’s lost limbs and sleep and sanity to see a world beyond the walls.

It’s a world that wants nothing to do with him.

And Eren, who has rejected that line of thinking since he was a child, rejects the entire world.

He can’t dress it up.

Deep down, he doesn’t like the world he’s going to destroy.

He’s known for four years that he’s going to end countless lives.

He walks off Paradis’ ship knowing that.

But when he sees this world, he does want it gone.

Knowing what he’s going to do is one thing; seeing the beginning of a reason for it is what drives him to his knees. It isn’t some strange inevitability of the future. He’s the one who does this, and behind every bit of love for his friends and Paradis, there’s the knowledge that this world, where so many people live lives just like his, is one he’d liked better in a dream where none of them existed.

And that is where the plot thread loses me.

Not because any of this is something that I find particularly outlandish. There’s a plain, hysterical logic to it, and a small fraction of identifying with that logic has Eren in tears.

Eren does this.

There is no evidence of him wanting it.

He sees the shadow of want in himself, and he freaks out.

Eren of the present is dissociating so hard I don’t view his childhood hallucinations as a stable mind choosing something.

Eren of the past is continually horrified that this is going to happen.

If I had a tablet, this is where there would be a bad drawing of present Eren and past Eren, linked by an unstable line of red question marks.

I don’t have a tablet.

I do have Paint.

In the immortal words of an angry fictional nine-year-old, “If you don’t fight, we can’t win.”

In the immortal words of a very sad fictional nineteen-year-old, “I don’t know when in the future it will happen... But I... am going to kill every one of these people...”

Eren going full villain is a choice, I guess. It’s not a very interesting one. As previously stated, we know what happens in this world when people do a genocide. We also know what happens when the walls go marching. We are now watching a genocide as the walls go marching. There are no revelations here. There’s death and gloom.

I mean this as sincerely as I can: This, on its face, is boring.

Eren is just the latest person killing people for Reasons.

There is very little reason to be invested in that as a plot. As a character drama, there are tears to be shed and hearts to be torn asunder, but as a basic plot??? This has nothing in it.

I don’t personally believe we’ve come this far for nothing, so I apply my magnifying glass where I choose, and where I choose is the part where I believe this all slips:

Eren takes his visions as an inevitability.

He has the conversation with himself, counting out the lives. Paradis versus the world. In a simple game of numbers, the world should win, and he knows that.

Presenting our problem.

Eren can’t accept a future where Paradis, and Eldians, are sacrificed for the world. Paradis is his home, and he’s spent his life fighting for Eldians to be free, even if he doesn’t know them by that name for most of it. In the case of Paradis v World, Paradis wins out. It’s wrong and it’s terrible, and Zeke’s plan means less dead bodies, but he can’t let go of Paradis.

A binary is presented. Paradis can live, or the rest of the world can. Pick one.

Except that’s stupid.

Following this, Eren leans so far into that choice that he does what he can to manufacture an impossibility of any other results. He makes Paradis a priority. He makes Paradis an international concern, not simply a Marley one. He has the power to knock back any assault on the island they can make, but he still goes on offense.

Paradis dies

World dies

That is not the choice. It is the choice Eren locks himself into, but frankly, he doesn’t even try before he jumps at the genocide route.

As a story thing, whatever. Valid, I guess. Let the protagonist’s own misconceptions break him.

As an Eren thing, it falls short of working.

He’s clearly being torn apart by what he’s going to do.

He’s a protagonist who enters the story yelling about people never winning if they don’t enter the ring.

Eren sees a vision of him destroying the world, thinks on it, and effectively goes, “seems legit,” and cries himself to sleep feeling sad about it.

Eren.

You can have your characters fail. You can have them drop their principles one by one until there’s nothing left. You can have their character development be entirely negative. You do not have to have your hero be a Hero.

Eren is appalled by his own feelings, and walking around the world like a zombie. He sees himself ending the world, and plays it back over and over again, never questioning that this is exactly what he’s going to do.

But when he finally starts, there’s not even a trace of this conflict. His eyes light up at the amazing sight he believes is waiting for him. He spits his defiance at Zeke for even suggesting the sterilization plan. He’s still a zombie in every human interaction that happens with his flesh body, but he goes about his plan with an unconcerned ruthlessness that is disconnected from the humanity Eren has spent the whole story personifying.

Arguably, Sasha dying is the tipping point, and that’s where he fully commits, and blah blah blah stuff.

Only defiance, and not bending to anyone else’s will, is the key trait of the Attack Titan. It’s the key trait of Eren. To keep fighting well beyond sense.

This plan’s inception comes from Eren yielding to the inevitable.

He’s going to kill these people.

There is no choice to it, it’s simply what’s going to happen.

Eren has always had a choice. He might not like the options, or know what’s right, but he has always, always known that the decisions he makes are his.

The story is making the case that Eren buys into inevitability so completely that he denies himself freedom.

That isn’t uninteresting, but we don’t see that. We don’t see what convinces Eren that it’s no use fighting. He chooses to save a boy, and his memories of the boy don’t change. Big deal. That’s one kid in four years of choices. As a proof of concept, it’s weak, and it’s weaker still because Eren makes the choice to save him.

None of this was inevitable, but we approach Eren’s actions from the perspective of there being no way out. Maybe if we had even more flashbacks to him trying to change things, and a play-by-play of him slowly realizing that nothing he does changes what he sees --

But even then, if Eren doesn’t want to kill people, he’s allowed not to. He’s allowed to continue working with his friends. He could have told any of them, at any point, that this was an upcoming problem. He’s always trusted Armin’s mind.

Eren hides himself away with his problems and tells himself he can’t fight this.

Bullshit.

I’ve made this argument before, about Historia and Ymir:

If you’re going to have a character renege on a core of their personal identity so completely, you need to put in the legwork of showing how it happens. Otherwise there’s no reason to trust anything the story tells you, and the grand illusion falls to pieces.

The character work in this series has always been solid, even when everything down to the art hasn’t.

This doesn’t quite work.

There’s a compelling case. There’s a viewable logic that pretends to be believable.

The internal consistency is still off. Something’s wrong here, and if it turns out to be the character ball being dropped in the final inning... really, that’s just such a waste. Personal preference colors all of this, obviously, but if this is the whole truth of the matter, it’s boring.

“I still want to believe... that there’s still a world we don’t know about yet out there... past the walls.”

C’mon, Armin. Earn your fandom hatred. Be right one more time.

We’re not done yet.

[centeris2]

Isn’t It Odd pt. 4

Carth is suspicious of Varana, the smuggler he must work with to save Bastila and escape Taris. As “coincidences” keep piling up he digs into her past, trying to find out who she is. 

Varana was many things, oblivious was not one of them. She didn’t miss that Carth decided to watch her training with Bastila, or that he brought T3. She also didn’t miss that later that day Carth asked to spar, chalking it up to him being bored and needing a work out, and that T3 again was present. Carth (and T3) continued to watch when Canderous took over, excited to finally get his blood moving. She was acutely aware that Carth kept T3 around him, the droid always watching as they talked and sparred.

So it did not take long for her to deduce that Carth enjoyed watching her. It was a bit creepy, but the droid didn’t follow her into more private settings, so she didn’t feel like a line had been crossed. If anything, he was probably spying for Bastila when the Jedi wasn’t around.

When Varana found T3 with Carth out of sight, she took the opportunity to talk to the droid.

“Hey, bud,” she said, sitting on the ground next to the droid, giving it an affectionate pat, “I don’t mind you and Carth watching, but let me know what you’re doing with all those recordings, okay?”

The droid beeped in confirmation.

“And one more thing, why don’t you take some shots?” Varana grinned and winked, making funny faces and poses for the droid until she heard someone coming and scampered off, back to her lessons. Carth missed her running out of the room, running his hand through his freshly cleaned hair, wondering if he had imagined hearing someone in the room.

T3 wasn’t able to find anything, all the news files and Republic files Carth could think of searching had brought up nothing helpful. He worried that whoever she was, she had been exceptionally thorough in hiding her identity.

“She’s either brilliant or a Sith,” Carth muttered. That had to be why she wasn’t showing up in any sort of Republic records anywhere. He grumbled to himself as he searched through the list of databases T3 was using. Carth knew there were more he could look through, but that would involve hacking into high security databases, and he didn’t know how much time he’d have to do that before he’d get locked out. There was also the issue of getting caught. He had avoided asking T3 to break into the Jedi classified files for that reason, he knew he’d be lucky to get away with it once.

“Think we could get anything else to try to identify her with?” Carth asked the droid, not expecting an answer.

T3 beeped a negative.

“I wish we could know before…” Carth didn’t want to say it out loud, didn’t want anyone to hear what he was thinking.

“‘I don’t mind you and Carth watching,’” her voice surprised Carth, and he looked at the holoprojection T3 created, “‘why don’t you take some shots?’”

Carth blushed when she grinned and winked at T3’s camera, at him, feeling like a naughty school boy as he realized how ridiculous this seemed… except for the fact that Varana should have died years ago with her parents, and the woman using that name was pretending.

“Turn it off!” Carth hissed when Varana stuck out her tongue and pulled down her robe, exposing shoulder and chest. The droid merely paused it, and highlighted a strip of skin.

“Is that a scar?” Carth guessed, “you can scan for scars that were removed?”

T3 chirped, somehow appearing happy at the praise and affectionate pat Carth gave it.

“Alright, let’s do something really stupid.”

Carth paced a bit, making sure there was no one around while T3 hacked into the Jedi secure files. He knew it wouldn’t be quick, even for a droid it would take time. But this was a droid specifically made to hack into top level security computers. When Carth passed by the terminal he saw files being pulled up and rushed to sit down, eager to see what T3 had found.

Revan. She was young and scrawny and making faces at the camera. Carth had seen Varana make those faces at him when she wanted him to smile, when she was being silly. Revan was arguing with the masters about something, her voice the same, the debate about slavery. Hadn’t Varana been complaining about that just the other day to him? It was the same passion, the same righteous fury, the same hurt for all those people in suffering, the same arguments. The hitch in Revan’s voice when she grew frustrated and close to tears was the same he had heard just a few nights ago. The scar was part of Revan’s admission files, a bright red slash that was described as a ‘laceration’, with no other details on how such a little girl had such an injury. Revan fought with the same ferocity and cunning in the video files as he had seen on Taris.

But… Revan had died. The Jedi… Bastila had killed her. Yet here he was, looking at files of a young Revan with a young Malak, her grade reports as a child, her training and growing up and being so very human. The Council… they had to know. They must have known. Or were they so sure that Bastila had killed her…

“Look up Revan’s death,” Carth muttered. When T3 brought up nothing, Carth tried looking for her capture, for files of her body, where she was buried, her mask, anything. Instead he found a purposeful hole in the files. The security files shortly after Revan’s supposed death were missing, chunks of video gone. Bastila’s return was mysteriously absent, instead Bastila was suddenly there and the security videos were back to normal without gaps.

Revan was alive, and the Jedi knew it. They were letting a genocidal maniac walk around free, pretending to be a simple smuggler.

“We need to go,” Carth hissed, not wanting to see anymore. T3 disconnected from the terminal, following Carth dutifully back to the Ebon Hawk. Carth didn’t know what to do, he was burning with anger and hate. Revan had been the greatest of the Republic, of the Jedi, and then she had betrayed them, tried to destroyed them, and now the Jedi were just letting her waltz around the enclave?

Revan was lucky she wasn’t on the Ebon Hawk, she should still be in training for the day. Carth knew if he saw her he was going to shoot her before she realized he had figured out her trick. But what was he going to do? She was powerful, how was he going to kill her? Shooting her in her sleep wasn’t the most satisfying idea, but it might be the most effective to make sure he’d live to still get his revenge on Saul.

“Someone’s in a bad mood,” Bastila’s voice cut through his planning and he jumped, startled.

“Yeah he’s been glaring at the table for the past ten minutes, didn’t even notice me!” Mission complained. Carth looked at Mission in embarrassment. He hadn’t noticed anyone else in the room, if Revan had come in and gotten the drop on him…

“Bastila!” he decided on a course of action. He had to know.

“Yes? I was-” Bastila pointed to the women’s bunk unable to finish her sentence as Carth grabbed her arm and hauled her off the ship.

“Onasi! What-”

“We need to talk.”

“I was sent to get-”

“Now.”

“Master Zhar wants Varana’s datapad- would you let go of me? What has gotten into you?” Bastila demanded, not appreciating being dragged through the halls of the enclave.

“If you wanted to talk, outside is not a very private place,” she hissed.

“Need to talk to the Council too,” he snarled.

“For Force’s sake, Onasi!” Bastila put her foot down and stopped, yelping and protesting quite loudly when he simply picked her up and carried her over his shoulder for the last few feet into the council chambers.

“Have you lost your mind!” she demanded, humiliated by the looks and chuckles of those in the enclave who had seen the display, her only relief coming from the door closing behind them.

Only two of the Masters were in the council chamber, Vrook and Vandar, who looked at Carth and Bastila in mild curiosity as Carth dropped Bastila back on the ground.

“Forgive the intrusion, I have no-” Bastila tried to apologize but Carth cut her off.

“I know what you did!”

“We have no reason to entertain this outburst,” Master Vrook dismissed.

“Varana is Revan.” Bastila looked shocked, pale, and a bit green. Vrook said nothing.

“Revan is dead.” Master Vandar corrected calmly.

“So you just had a clone of Revan sitting around that happens to have the same scars?” Carth demanded.

“Carth,” Bastila swallowed, sighing when he turned on her, glaring at her and waiting for answers, ���Revan is dead.”

“Bullshit, you can hide scars and get rid of fingerprints all you want but Varana is Revan. Now I want to know why-”

“Revan’s mind is dead,” Bastila clarified, “my mission was to capture Revan, to get information. But Revan was too injured, her mind too far gone, she couldn’t tell us anything.”

“Her… mind? Then what is Varana?”

“Varana is a personality we created, in the hopes that while Revan was dead some of her memories might still linger and provide information,” Master Vandar spoke up. “The brain and mind are complex, and even with all our study it is difficult to understand. It is possible with the right guidance and triggers Varana will uncover information that will help us win the war.”

Carth realized he wasn’t breathing and forced himself to take a gulp, trying to process everything.

“So all this was… planned?”

“You mean the Endar Spire and Taris? Force no,” Bastila groaned, sounding exhausted.

“I meant the Jedi training,” Carth explained, noticing the scowl on Master Vrook’s face.

“That’s a no,” Carth muttered, looking directly at Vrook.

“Her connection to the Force was severed,” Bastila explained, knowing Vrook would be reticent.

“So you guys are just, flying blind? Hoping none of the wrong triggers come along that make her suddenly go evil?” Carth demanded, not liking this plan at all. It was a terrible plan.

“The Force works in its own ways, and she still has a part to play,” Master Vandar said as if that made it better somehow.

“And the fact that she’s a murderer? A monster? We’re just forgetting about all the countless lives that have been lost because of her? I thought the Jedi stood for justice!”

“We aren’t forgetting,” Master Vrook finally spoke, “and she will-”

“She will atone for her past,” Master Vandar interjected, putting an annoying amount of emphasis on ‘atone’ that Carth didn’t like.

“So, what, she remembers a few things and that makes it better?” Carth demanded.

“What justice could be found if the Republic and Jedi fall?” Bastila pointed out, making Carth grumble but he didn’t have any argument. If she could be useful, if she could help them win the war, then they needed to get every bit of usefulness out of her. Then she could be brought to justice, once the Republic was safe again.

“And how can she ‘atone’ for things she doesn’t remember?” Carth asked.

“Carth, she doesn’t know, she can’t know,” Bastila begged, “imagine the shock of finding out you’re… it could kill her.”

[creative-type]

The Problem with Ichigo Kurosaki

Back when Bleach’s final chapter came out, the one thing that perplexed me most about the omnishambles that was the last arc was that Ichigo had taken over the Kurosaki clinic. 

I’d long-since given up on a satisfying end to the series and was following out of morbid fascination more than any sort of interest. I’m not a shipper and the glacial pacing and empty pages killed any spectacle that might  have been entertaining enough to cover the massive flaws of the series. I entered the Quincy arc with no expectations and still managed to be surprised by how little thought and effort Kubo put into his product. There was no personal investment left, so I didn’t care enough to get upset over how things ended up.

But Ichigo taking over his father’s clinic...that was a surprise. And through that I came to a startling realization that after almost 700 chapters and 15 years I still knew nothing about Ichigo as a character.

I want to be careful when writing this, firstly because as a self-admitted filthy casual I’m not nearly as familiar with Bleach as I am with most other things I write about. Secondly, while it’s a nice bonus I don’t think that every story necessarily requires a deep, super nuanced character driving it. 

I’m gonna use One Piece as an example here because I think it fits well. Luffy isn’t a complicated dude. He’s well-rounded with clearly defined dreams and goals, but ultimately he’s your basic Shonen power fantasy. What sets One Piece apart from almost every other manga in existence is its world building, and by creating Luffy the way he is, Oda has made a main character that facilitates the exploration of his world.

Ichigo starts off well enough for the protagonist of a monster of the week-style battle manga. I think it’s pretty apparent that Kubo wrote Bleach by the seat of his pants, because a lot of early details don’t match what we see later in the series.

...

...

...

And, again, this type of writing can be done, but it has to be done carefully because without forethought it’s really easy for plots and characterization become a muddled mess. 

Early Ichigo stood out from other mainstream manga protagonists. There’s a mature edginess to early Bleach, and a strong aesthetic that highlights one of Kubo’s greatest strengths as an artist: drawing really cool shit. Ichigo isn’t a hyperactive goofball, in fact he gets pretty good grades and is generally regarded as being a reliable - if grumpy - guy. His backstory isn’t exactly groundbreaking, but again, having a main character that’s hellbent on protecting others is exactly the sort of protagonist that can drive a monster of the week-style story.

More importantly, at this point in the story Ichigo has agency as a character. In chapter 2 of the series, Rukia demands that Ichigo fulfill her duties as a soul reaper while she’s out of commission. He initially says no, but quickly changes his mind when he sees a cute kid almost get eaten. Ichigo agrees to help, but on his own terms. In his own words, he’s only paying off a debt. 

Fast forward to chapter 25. Ichigo has survived his encounter with Grand Fisher and had a nice little heart to heart with his dad. He makes the above declaration, effectively choosing to continue on as a soul reaper even after Rukia regains her powers and his “debt” is paid. 

What makes the Grand Fisher fight effective is that it highlights how much growth Ichigo needs to undergo, not as a fighter but as a character. It is vitally important for a battle manga not to have fights for the sake of fights, or even because they’re demanded by the plot. A good fight conveys story and develops characterization - a clash of ideals as much as swords. 

The problem is that this doesn’t really go anywhere. Ichigo’s gotta protect them all nature suits shorter, one-off arcs but isn’t suited for the long, sprawling epic Bleach would become. The scope of Bleach’s world and story expanded, but Ichigo stayed the same. Or rather, he devolved into something lesser. 

Ichigo’s goal to protect those he cares about is problematic in two ways:1) it requires someone to need protecting, and 2) it’s reactionary. This limits how much influence Ichigo has on the plot as a whole. It’s no wonder that the Arrancar saga is copied wholesale from the Soul Society arc because rescuing people from danger is literally the only thing Ichigo ever shows interest in doing.

Instead of taking the time to develop Ichigo as a person, Kubo instead has to create increasingly-ridiculous ways for him to play a part in the plot. This has the unfortunate side effect of making Ichigo literally everybody’s pawn to be used and manipulated in whatever way it takes for the story to get from Point A to Point B. I would think by the time Yhwach comes around he’d be sick of it, but all Ichigo is capable of doing is react, react, react, often looking very surprised when someone plays him like a fiddle yet again.

And maybe to compensate Kubo gives Ichigo a mishmash of powers and abilities, but ironically the more things that are added to Ichigo’s moveset the less unique and special each one becomes. 

It’s kind of like mixing colors. Red and blue together make purple but if you add yellow and green and orange along with it, in the end all you’re going to have is a brownish sludge. Ichigo starts the series as a human-shinigami hybrid. For the sake of brevity, I’ll call this version of Ichigo a humigami. As a humigami he has basic swordsmanship, immense spiritual power, and the ability to follow spirit ribbon thingies to find people. So far so good.

But with the introduction of the Soul Society and the massive influx of characters, Ichigo is no longer The Special. Kubo has two choices here: further develop Ichigo’s shinigami powers or add something new into the mix. Kubo elects to do both, and Ichigo gains his hollow masks AND learns bankai in a matter of days. 

Now a human-shinigami-hollow (humagollow for short), Ichigo saves the day only to get curb-stomped by Aizen. The post-Soul Society chapters would have been a good place to do some old-fashioned character development, but while there is some nice closure chapters nothing really changes before the next major arc kicks in.

Put yourself in Ichigo’s shoes here. You’ve gone through the gauntlet to save a friend from her execution, witnessed the slums of the afterlife, fought several life or death battles against an organization who keeps, among other things, genocidal maniacs in their employ. You’ve seen corruption, you’ve seen conspiracy, you’ve seen a totalitarian regime that insists on following the letter of the law over common sense and justice. You’ve lived your entire life striving to protect those weaker than yourself and the last several months sending spirits to what you thought was a peaceful, idyllic afterlife.

Would you leave the Soul Society in good terms? Would you consider them allies and fight their wars? Would you be okay with leaving your friend, who you risked life and limb to save, in the very environment that wanted her dead just days before? Would you not have questions and demand answers?

Apparently not, if you’re Ichigo Kurosaki.

Fast forward again to the introduction of the arrancar and visored. It’s about this time where Ichigo loses everything that made him unique as a character. A whole host of characters are introduced that have a mix of shinigami and hollow powers (which, despite ostensibly being antithetical to one another are functionally identical) and it’s revealed that Ichigo isn’t even the only shinigami in his family. 

Isshin’s fight verses Grand Fisher becomes especially egregious when we the audience get this little tidbit about how all high-level shinigami compress their sword’s spiritual power into a smaller form

because back when Ichigo first showed off his bankai one of the notable things about it was that it was kind of tiny - a direct contrast to how most releases worked. 

It’s the same for all of Ichigo’s other attacks. His bankai is supposed to boost his speed to incredible levels, but he’s constantly out maneuvered by enemies, the surprise attack from behind being a Kubo specialty. His main ability is nothing but a giant energy slash, easily replicated by a shinigami’s kido or a hollow’s cero.

By having Isshin steal the Grand Fisher fight from Ichigo, Kubo robs his main character of a chance to show off how he’s changed since the early part of the series and robs him of his uniqueness as a fighter. The fight itself is not good, memorable, or fun enough to counterbalance how much the author is crapping on its protagonist, a trend that unfortunately gets worse as time goes on.

Anyway, through training Ichigo becomes a human visored (hisored) and goes off to Hueco Mundo to kick ass and get his ass kicked in about equal measure, and once again questions are brought up, if not explicitly than implicitly through the course of the narrative, that are never even addressed.

1) If it weren’t already obvious, the Soul Society cements itself as being absolutely terrible by its treatment of the visoreds. Are they really the good guys here, and why is no one trying to reform their more archaic and barbaric practices?

Unfortunate Implication: Ichigo is willing to ally with complete assholes to accomplish his goals. The whole “protecting those who can’t protect themselves” schtick only applies when people he cares about are in danger.

Conclusion: Ichigo is kind of an asshole, or at least apathetic to the plight of others, a direct contrast to his characterization thus far

2) If hollows are impure spirits, and high-level hollows spirits who have evolved by consuming countless others, would it not be in the best interest of Nel and other “good” arrancar to be purified? Is it even appropriate to think of hollows who have evolved as individuals or a conglomeration of all the souls that have been consumed? Are hollows inherently evil, or has the Soul Society’s understanding of the hollow/non-hollow spirit dynamic been flawed this entire time?

Unfortunate Implication: Either Ichigo doesn’t think through the logical conclusion of having hollows as allies enough to question what he’s been taught about hollows thus far, or he’s okay with leaving countless spirits in an impure state and damning them to a miserable existence of insatiable hunger and denying them access to the proper afterlife/reincarnation cycle

Conclusion: Ichigo isn’t as smart as he’s presented to be, or he’s okay with making friends with the very monsters he’s sworn to destroy...as long as they’re cute and helpful

This is what I mean when Ichigo devolves as a character. By the time the Fullbringer arc rolls around (for those keeping score at home, Ichigo has gone from hisored to fullbringer back to humigami) Kubo has built a world full of shades of grey, but continues time and time again to have Ichigo play it as if it were black and white. The reveal that Ichigo is, in fact, a quincigami is just the icing on the cake, stealing the one thing that made Ishida unique only for it to go absolutely nowhere and confuse an already muddled backstory.

All of these changes in power and the complete disregard for the moral quandaries brought up by the story mean that any change in Ichigo is superficial, like a skin change in a video game. He might look cool and give his attacks spiffy names, but it’s all an excuse for Kubo to draw him in different outfits because once again, all Kubo really cares about is drawing really cool shit. Everything else is secondary. Nothing has to make sense. Who cares about Ichigo’s hopes and dreams and desires when he can have two swords that he’ll never use in battle. Oh, it’s the epilogue and Ichigo needs to be a grown up doing grown up stuff...might as well make him a doctor. It was good enough for his old man, right? It wasn’t as if he said anything against taking over his father’s clinic some day.

Then again, Ichigo never said that’s what he’d like to do either. Almost 700 chapters and 15 years went by and Ichigo never once said what he wanted to do with his life when he grew up.

And that, my friends, is a problem.

[kalijah-addict]

Loving the Fall

So, after the shock regarding Katherine in TVD (which I only know via tumblr because screw watching that train wreck, I couldn’t resist writing this.)

Elijah Mikaelson couldn’t even begin to try containing his shock. 

Not when, in a room full of previously alive beings, the one who should have been dead was helping herself to a rather expensive bottle of champagne.

“Katerina?” he whispers her name and begins making his way through the corpses towards her. She’s perched on a stool, leaning back against the bar and raises her eyebrows in greeting, “‘Lijah, long time not one single thought of me,” she purrs, 

“Hope this...” she gestures vaguely to the bodies, “Didn’t ruin your plans.” 

He doesn’t spare them a glance, it is definitely her, not Elena in some bizarre and sickening impersonation, “Actually,” he slips his hands into his pockets so he wouldn’t grab her, 

“These were all enemies of my family, so you’ve rather done us a favor, but don’t worry,” he adds with a quick smirk, “I won’t tell Niklaus.” 

She makes a face at that and finishes the champagne before reaching for another one, “Mistakes were made.” she intones, before popping the cork. 

He searches for the polite and proper wording of the question before giving up, “Might I ask how you are here?” he inquires, “When I heard rumors of your death, I rang Mystic Falls and was told by a rather...jubilant Damon Salvatore that you had been dragged into Hell.”

And for that he had purposefully neglected to warn them about the rather large movement of witches towards their town. 

Katherine rolled her eyes, “God he is such a petty little f***-boy,” 

“Well, I was dragged into hell,” she admits, “Fortunately, if there is one thing we can count on, it’s that the Mystic Falls maniacs will always do something extraordinarily stupid and catastrophic while claiming to be on the side of good or ‘doing the right thing’, or ‘just protecting their loved ones’.”

“Did they commit another genocide?” Elijah interrupted, 

“Decide third time lucky in that regard?” 

Katherine snorted, “Worse” 

He moved around the bar and ran his finger over the bottles until he found a twenty-five year old scotch, “They already destroyed the Other Side,” he muses, “And various other worlds,” 

He pauses and thinks, “Does it have to do with the cure, white oak stake, or some other ancient curse?” 

She hasn’t turned around to face him, her beautiful brunette curls are brushing against the bar and he wants to wrap his hand around them, 

“Nope,” she answers, and his tongue darts out to taste his lips before he rolls the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows, “Is my family in immediate danger?” 

He can hear her smirk, “No more so than anyone else.” 

He pours himself a scotch on the rocks and hesitates before making it a triple, it seemed the situation called for it. “Forgive me for failing to play along, but if I could have the explanation?” he prompts and she sighs, 

“Short answer,” Katherine began, “They set off a chain of events that led to freeing the Devil from Hell.”  

He had been in the middle of raising the glass to his lips before setting it in the sink and taking hold of the bottle instead, 

“I beg your pardon?” he asked, hoping he’d misheard, 

“They raised the Devil himself,” Katherine repeats and he swears silently under his breath before pressing the bottle of scotch to his lips and taking a long pull. 

When he comes up for air, Katherine tilts her head backwards in an impressive display of the flexibility he’d so enjoyed and spins around to face him, 

“And if you think at that point they stopped screwing up, boy are you wrong.”

“Naturally,” Elijah rolled his eyes, “Why would raising the literal Devil be any reason to question their life choices?” 

“Yeah, then they killed him,” Katherine added and Elijah closed his eyes, 

Whilst many would consider killing the Devil- whom he hadn’t even realized was a real being- a good thing, he understood kingdoms, hierarchies and power structures in general enough to know that at best they had just created a power vacuum, “And?” he prompts, feeling a migraine right between his eyes. 

When he opens them, Katherine shrugs, “And...well...with Cade dead, the throne was empty and just sitting there, looking all comfortable and fun...”

What. 

“Ekaterina,” Elijah began, “Did you take over Hell?” 

She giggles and smiles flirtatiously, “Oh yeah. Demons, damned and all.” 

“That’s why I’m here actually,” she spreads her hands wide, “One of the main jobs of being Queen of the damned is to kill and feed on the souls of those pesky little evil maniacs, and what better place to do that than New Orleans.”

She leans forward and despite the rather shocking news that his entire family- whom, let’s be honest, fitted the description of Katherine’s new diet, rather perfectly- he couldn’t stop his eyes from darting down to admire the cleavage exposed by her low cut top, 

“Don’t worry ‘Lijah,” she purred, and he wonders if the direction of his blood flow alone is enough to fast track him past Purgatory, 

“You and your bizarre excuse for a family are safe,” she leans back and he finally raises his eyes, “After all, if there’s one thing you monsters do better than prop up the local economy through excessive high-functioning alcoholism, it’s attracting the dark and deadly to pick fights with you.” 

She hops off the stool, strutting to the door, “Honestly, being here is going to be like pulling up a chair to an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet, but like a fancy one where the waiters bring the food to you.” 

He’d forgotten how magnificent she looked in skin tight jeans. She turns back and rests a hand on the doorjamb, “By the way,” she adds, her gaze flickering over his bare arms, “I’m staying at the Saint Hotel on Canal St, in the Lucifer suite.” 

He ducks his head quickly, turning away to try and hide his amusement. 

“I couldn’t resist.” she admits, walking out into the cold night air. 

For decencies sake, he manages to keep himself away for an hour before reaching the private entrance to her room and when she opens the door wearing eight inch scarlet heels and nothing else, he thinks that being damned has never felt so good. 

“You’re late.” she pouts, closing the door before he takes her by the hips and hoists her up so she can wrap her arms around her shoulders and her legs around his waist, 

“Let me make it up to you,” he suggests and she grins as he makes his way to the bedroom. 

[sumchick-blog1]

Married With Kits

Chapter 1: Kidnapping is bad

The Guardians… of course the idiot Guardians!

They had ignored Jack for three hundred years (except Bunny, who on occasion was more than happy to exchange a few insults with him here and there) and now the Man in the Moon told them he was going to be a Guardian too! He didn’t want to be a Guardian! He had his own plans for his life and they had very little to do with hanging out with these four weirdos, although admittedly Sandy was kinda cool. The rest were just… ‘Out of touch’ with the rest of the world.

Which is probably why they think that kidnapping a guy and then trying to force him to become a Guardian was a normal thing to do. Little did they know, said kidnappee, was also married. To an ancient incredibly powerful spirit with possessive tendencies and some overly protective instincts. Said kidnappee also happened to be pregnant, and his husband had become even more possessive and protective in wake of this.

When Pitch caught up to the Guardians things were going to get… dark. And nightmare-y.

Jack was pretty sure they had no idea about his relationship with the Nightmare King. Likely because they’d never asked. He wouldn’t have lied to them if they did but he might have started some very creative truth telling. They were all standing around a glowing globe going on about kids and lights and how much of a threat his husband was and Jack was starting to get the idea that he was in more of a dangerous situation then he’d thought he was.

The Guardians were trying to get him to join their group to fight against his husband. Only they had no idea that Pitch and Jack were married. They also had no idea that Jack was pregnant. He wasn’t really starting to show yet, he was only two months in. This situation could turn very dangerous for him, very fast. He fought the urge to put a protective hand on his stomach.

Jack knew a couple of things for sure. He needed to get out of this situation NOW, and Pitch wasn’t trying to take over the world no matter what their precious moon told them.

Pitch was too busy looking after Jack and preparing for their growing family to have time to take over the world. Yes, he’d made a couple NightMares from Sandy’s dreams but he was the Nightmare King so what did they expect him to do? He had no choice. He lived off fear. He hadn’t been able to go out and do his job himself because the Nightmare King had been too preoccupied taking care of his pregnant spouse. People needed fear, especially children. There would be no sense of self-preservation if there was no fear of the consequences. Speaking of self-preservation Jack was feeling it right now. He needed to get out of here.

Of course before he even had chance, Bunny almost made him cry (stupid pregnant hormones), North bundled him along and cornered him alone in a room (cool to see the workshop but if Pitch heard that North locked Jack alone in a room with him…) and he was stuffed into a sleigh headed to the Tooth Palace. The only reason he decided to go was because it was likely Pitch trying to find him.

Jack was not disappointed.

The others rushed to comfort Toothianna and Jack was finally left alone. The shadows around him darkened and he let out a long relieved breath and finally placed a calming hand on his stomach.

“Jack!” And then he was in his husband’s arms.

“Pitch.” Jack breathed in deeply, Pitch always smelled like ash and smoke but Jack loved it. To him, Pitch smelled like home. The sheer mind numbing relief of being in his husband’s arms almost overwhelmed him and he could feel tears pooling in his eyes. “Pitch.” He says again but his voice is deeper, strained with emotion and need. Jack didn’t realize how frightened he was until now.

Pitch pulls back and grabbing Jack’s chin gently he looks Jack over, checking for injuries, “Did they hurt you Jack? Are you alright?” When their eyes finally meet and Pitch notices Jack’s tears the Nightmare King snarls and glares up at the Guardians who are all standing shocked on a platform above them. “How dare you.” The entire castle darkens and Pitch’s shadow grows incredibly large. The temperature drops and there’s menace in the air.

“How dare we?” Bunnymund steps forward before leaping down to their level. “How dare we? Jack are you out of your bleeding mind?!”

Jack flinches back when Bunny yells, seeking comfort behind his husband, enough to feel secure but not enough to block his view of the Guardians. If he wasn’t pregnant, he wouldn’t seek protection so shamelessly but it wasn’t just himself he was protecting. Their child would always come first.

“You’re with the enemy! The guy who’s trying to harm all the children in the entire world! The man who singlehandedly destroyed my entire race! There couldn’t be a more evil-?!” Bunny’s practically screaming but is soon interrupted by Pitch.

“You call me evil? You are the ones who kidnapped my pregnant wife! I made no move against you, it is you who have sought out confrontation with me!”

“Jack’s pregnant!?”

“You’re married!?”

“Not possible!”

“That’s right! Some Guardians you are! Do you even know what that kind of stress could do to him?!” Pitch is absolutely livid. Jack hasn’t seen Pitch this furious since Easter of 1968. “Kidnapping the fairies wasn’t nearly enough, I should kill you all for what you’ve done to him!”

Now that might be going just a little too far. Jack takes a step back from his husband and crosses his arms across his chest. Pitch finally looks back at his wife. “Pitch.” Pitch’s undivided attention is now on Jack. He knows this tone of voice and even the Nightmare King can’t help but swallow slightly nervously when his wife’s voice drops down to such an icy level. “Return the fairies. Now.”

Pitch opens his mouth to argue. He really wants to argue but the look in Jack’s eyes stops him in his tracks. His wife was formidable at the best of times but now that he was pregnant… well… Pitch was a strong eternal spirit who had a healthy respect for his own well-being. He would not argue with his pregnant wife if he could avoid it. “Fine.” He spat. Throwing it a grumpy glare that they both knew he didn’t mean.

He snapped his fingers and the shadows around them rose quickly before falling away, revealing all of the tooth fairies, dazed but otherwise unharmed.

“My fairies!” Toothiana was with them in an instant and the little fairies cooed cutely when they saw their mother. All except one. The little fairy dubbed ‘Baby-Tooth’ whom Jack had saved from a Nightmare.

She was older than her siblings. When Jack had first brought her back she had immediately flown to her mother’s side but now, after hearing everything that had transpired she once more flew over to Jack. She didn’t understand everything that was going on, but it seemed quite clear to Baby-Tooth that her mother and her friends had done something very wrong. Kidnapping was wrong. Pitch had every right to be mad at the Guardians.

Baby-Tooth flew over to Jack who seemed surprised but happy that she came over. She twittered and gestured down to his stomach.

Jack laughed. “Yes, Pitch and I are going to have a baby.” The love in his eyes and the happiness in his voice… Baby-Tooth made up her mind as she decided to stay by Jack’s side.

Even Pitch graced them both with a tight smile. “Finally someone in this menagerie sees sense.” He muttered. His expression seemed grim to everyone else but Jack could tell that Pitch was actually quite surprised by the little fairy, and in a good way.

Toothianna looked over at her eldest daughter, "Little one?” but Baby-Tooth shook her head.

No mother. I am Baby-Tooth, and you were wrong. You kidnapped a pregnant person. That is wrong. The little fairy chirped at her mother before settling down on Jack’s shoulder with her tiny arms crossed.

The Tooth fairy had the decency to look guilty. Sandy was signing his apologies and North may have been blushing under his beard. The Easter Bunny, however, was not going to let this slide quite so easily.

“What is wrong with you people?! This is Pitch we’re talking to!” He stepped up to Jack’s husband. “The Nightmare King! The Space Pirate! The traitor who turned on the royal family! The monster who slaughtered millions of my people just because he could! He’s a genocidal maniac who doesn’t deserve a family!” By the end Bunny was screaming, his eyes like green fire as he glared at the man he hated more than any other. The many who had taken his people, his family, his wife… his child.

Pitch glanced at Jack. His face was as impassive as always, drawn up in one of his trademark sneers. But Jack recognized it at once for what it was. Pitch was hurt by Bunny’s words and more than just a little. His husband’s past was no secret to Jack. Pitch had been having nightmares for years as he slowly came to his senses and remembered what he had done. What the Nightmare King had done. He remembered who he was as Kozmotis Pitchiner, he remembered the family he too had lost, but he also remembered the countless lives lost at his hands. He was no longer Kozmotis but neither was he entirely the Nightmare King. While he drew up his haughty indifference like a cloak to fool the Guardians, Jack could see right through him. See the way Bunny’s words cut him right to the core.

“Enough!” Jack screamed as he slammed his staff to the ground, icicles bristling out of the ground around him. The Wind picked up in her acknowledgement of Jack’s fury. He turned his iced over glare to Bunnymund. “You! How dare you?!” He spat at the Pooka, echoing his husband’s earlier words as well as his earlier fury. He stepped around his husband and right into Bunny’s personal space.

He had to look up at the taller male but with his eyes and staff glowing menacingly it was Bunny who took an involuntary step back.

“You accuse him of betrayal but the way I see it you all betrayed <i>him!</i>” Bunny scoffed and opened his mouth but Jack froze his mouth shut with a twitch of his staff. “No don’t you dare. I had to listen to you scream at my husband, I had to put up with you insulting me back at the Pole, I had to put up with being scared out of my mind while being kidnapped by you lunatics, now <i>you</i> will listen to <i>me</i>.” Jack was no longer yelling. His voice was quite but steady. Calm but colder than the ice that had formed around him as he spoke. The tooth palace was always warm and it was currently summer here, but Jack’s ice was not melting. “The idiot Lunanoffs left Kozmotis to guard the shadows, alone. Kozmotis stayed loyal and true for hundreds of years as the shadows tormented him, alone. Hundreds of years while they threatened him and whispered in his mind while the rest of you forgot him. ‘Oh Kozmotis is the greatest knight guarding the greatest prisoner, lets never think about them again’ while he was enduring intense psychological trauma. All. On. His. Own. He didn’t break for hundreds of years but he was there without a moment of rest and the one thing that finally broke him was something that would break any man, even yourself.” Jack floated off the ground slightly so he met Bunny at eye level. “They threatened his daughter. They imitated her screams.” Pitch flinches slightly behind Jack, remembering. “He did what any father would do. He tried to save her.”

Bunny rips the ice off of his mouth and glares back down at Jack. “So that excuses him for wiping out my entire race? I am the only one left because of him-?!” Jack cuts him off with a fingertip lightly touching his lips.

Jack smiles sweetly but his eyes are still cold. “Not the only one.” A light shines brightly and Jacks skin seems to stretch and change. His hands grow larger but his fingers become shorter. His ears grow longer and move further up his head while his face seems to become longer. His snow white hair seems to spread down his body and with a ripping down his pants fall to pieces. In a manner of seconds, a pure white bunny stands tall in front of Bunnymund. A slender frost Pooka from a long extinct race.

Chapter 2: Minor Complications

Jack stood tall and proud. He hadn’t shown anyone his true self besides Pitch. He’d been scared and even though he’d thought about telling Bunny once upon a time, Easter of ’68 changed that. Pitch is the only person Jack had ever trusted.

The white snow Pooka stood confidently in front of Bunnymund. He was shorter than Bunny and slimmer. Jack’s fur was impossibly soft looking with a pale blue snowflake patterned on his forehead. The tips of his ears, feet and paws were also the same shade of baby blue. His nose was dark grey and his eyes were the same in this form than the other, bright, intelligent blue. He was still wearing his hoodie which fit this form well where it’d been a little large on Jack when he looked human. Aster could tell from Jack’s scent that he was a male doe. Not unheard of but certainly rare. They were males with the reproductive systems of females. His appearance was altogether more bunny-like than Aster’s anthropomorphized form. When he’d assimilated to the planet years ago his form had altered to show the change. He was a shape shifter and could change his form at will but was always more comfortable with his base self.

Bunnymund’s brain couldn’t seem to compute all that he’d learned today. Pitch was married to Jack. Jack was pregnant. Jack was a Pooka. Pitch was married to a Pooka.

The Nightmare King who’d destroyed the entire Pooka race was married to a Pooka.

Jack was a ridiculously attractive doe.

Aster’s eye twitched.

Pitch moved closer to his wife. “Are you alright?” His voice was low and concerned. Pitch knew Jack was afraid of revealing his true self to people. Whenever he left their home Jack had always chosen to do so as a young man rather than as himself.

Jack smiled and stepped back into his husband’s arms. “You’re here. I’m fine.” He nuzzled under Pitch’s chin. Pitch smiled slightly at the warmth ringing through Jack’s voice.

Baby Tooth cooed.

Toothiana gasped.

North sputtered.

Sanderson shrugged.

Aster gagged.

Pitch glared at the Easter Bunny.

Jack stepped forward.

“We… Oh?!” Jack stumbled. Whatever he was about to say cut off abruptly as he curled in on himself and wrapped his arms around his stomach. His staff fell to the ground. “Pitch… I…” The white Pooka panted and his husband was supporting him instantly.

“Jack? What’s wrong? Tell me what’s happening?!” Pitch couldn’t hide the worry in his voice, the <i>fear</i> in his tone.

“It… hurts…!” Jack managed to rasp out.

Pitch’s mind briefly flashed back to the only other time Jack had uttered those words. His wife’s unnaturally cold body, the blood in the snow, the storm raging around them. But now was not the time to think of the past so with Jack in his arms he looked to the only one who might be able to help them. He swallowed his pride.

“Aster, please. Help him.” He looked at the elder Pooka with as much humility as he could muster. “Please.”

The Easter Bunny hesitated no longer than a second before giving a rough nod. “Right. We’ll be needing the warren then. And Jack shouldn’t be walking.”

Pitch whispers to his wife, “We’re going with Bunnymund. He will help, I’m going to lift you now.” But Jack had closed his eyes. His breathing was fast paced and his heartbeat was similarly rapid. As gently as he could Pitch lifted his Snow Pooka into his arms. “We’ll be alright, my darling, we’ll be alright.” Pitch reassures even though he’s not sure if Jack can still hear him.

***

Jack woke with a soft whimper.

“Shh, it’s alright.” A soft kiss was placed on his forehead. “I’m here.”

“Pitch?” Jack sniffled.

“Yes, yes it’s ok. You’re alright. The kits are alright.” Pitch soothes gently. “I’m here.” He repeats knowing Jack hated waking in strange places.

Jack opens his eyes to blearily focus on his husband. He has to blink rapidly to clear the tears but they still flow freely despite his efforts. “Pitch… I…” He can’t hold it in any longer and a sob shudders through him.

Jack is in a nest in spare room in the warren. And even though he feels slightly undignified doing it Pitch crawls awkwardly into the soft bowl to curl around his distressed wife. With Jack in his arms Pitch whispers comforts and assurances gently in his ears while Jack sobs. Clearly overwhelmed by all that has happened and Pitch had witnessed firsthand the hormonal effects pregnancy had on Jack. It doesn’t take long for him to calm while Pitch stroked his back comfortingly.

“Sorry.” Jack sniffles.

“It’s alright. You’ve had a trying day; you need never apologize for your tears.” Pitch runs a hand up and down Jack’s back, his hoodie had to be removed so Aster could check his stomach. Pitch had almost killed the Pooka for touching his wife but had somehow restrained himself. He wasn’t the man he once was. He wasn’t Kozmotis Pitchiner, he wasn’t the Nightmare King, he was Pitch Black. And he was defined by the love and care of his wife, Jack Frost.

“What happened?” Jack had calmed somewhat being surrounded by his husband and his scent. The part he hated the most about waking up somewhere new was how it never smelled of home. Of Pitch.

“The rabbit informed me that you suffered a complication due to shapeshifting so late in the pregnancy. It was only mild and he managed to use his gifts to settle things again, the kits are fine. Both of them.” Pitch smiled fondly at his wife. They had suspected more than one but it was nice to know for sure. “We’re having twins.”

Jack smiled so brilliantly it outshone the sun. “Twins? And they’re healthy? That’s amazing!” He threw his arms around his husband and curled as close to Pitch as he could, burrowing his head into Pitch’s collar. “Oh Pitch that’s so amazing. I love you. You’re amazing.”

“I love you too, my lovely wife. You should rest. We can talk more later.”

Jack hummed his agreement and snuggled into his husband, enjoying Pitch’s warmth. Pitch was here. The kits – twins! – were going to be ok. Everything was going to be ok. Jack fell asleep quickly, tired after a long and stressful day.

Pitch did not sleep. He would not allow himself to rest in unfamiliar surroundings while he had to watch over his wife. Still, Jack’s slow breathing and gentle sleep-purring lulled him gently. He did not sleep but he relaxed enough to enjoy the feel of Jack in his arms. Jack would not be able to shift his form again until the end of the pregnancy. Jack had been aware that he wouldn’t be able to keep it up much longer. That day was meant to be his last until after the kits were born. He had headed out in the morning for one more day of snowball fights and mischief before resigning to ‘house arrest’ until the kits were born. Pitch hadn’t followed, allowing Jack his freedom, preparing the house as best he could for his lovers return. He knew Jack didn’t want to be confined and that it grated on the younger man’s free spirited personality but without Jack revealing himself as he truly looked there wasn’t anything else for it. Perhaps it would be different now? Pitch hoped so. A trapped Jack was not a happy Jack.

If the Guardian’s hadn’t interfered Jack wouldn’t have held his human form so long that it had almost damaged the pregnancy.

A quiet knock roused Pitch from his introspective thoughts. “Enter, but quietly. My wife is sleeping.”

Toothianna flew silently into the room, landing in a chair close to the foot of the bed. “Are you both alright? Bunny told me the pregnancy is safe.”

Pitch carefully sat up and Jack latched on around his waist so Pitch was sitting up with Jack’s head in his lap. Pitch smiled down at his clingy wife and stroked the fur of his ears gently. Jack purred a little louder. “Yes. We are both well.”

Tooth smiled at Pitch’s show of affection. “Good, that’s good. I’m sorry about everything. If I had known… I didn’t realize when North said he’d take care of it that it meant…” Tooth shook her head. “No. No it was my fault as much as theirs. I’m sorry.”

Pitch accepted the apology with good grace. “I apologize as well. I should not have taken your fairies. I was… not myself in the wake of Jack’s… disappearance.”

Tooth smiled and reaching over to pat Pitch on the foot she spoke softly, “There is no need. No harm no foul. They were a little frightened but it all turned out in the end.” She looked at Jack. “How long have you been married?” She was genuinely curious. Wondering if Jack was the reason they hadn’t heard from Pitch in so many years.

“We met two hundred years ago. After a year of getting to know each other I courted him and he agreed to marry me a year after that. He was so hesitant at first… he thought I was going to abandon him. It is a fear that still lingers.” Pitch admitted with a small frown.

“So about two hundred years? That’s amazing! Is this your first pregnancy?”

Pitch’s expression became guarded. “No.”

“Oh! So you have more kids? Er, kits?”

Pitch’s face became still and cold as stone. “No.”

Tooth’s eyes widened and she felt pain lance straight through her heart. “Oh my, I’m… I’m so sorry.” She now understood Pitch’s rage and the couple’s fear. “If I may… what happened? You don’t have to answer but… it could help to talk about it.”

Pitch sneered. “You want to know what happened. Ask your precious rabbit.”

“Bunny? Why?”

“Easter, 1968.”

Chapter 3: Easter Sunday, 1968

Toothiana walked back into the sitting room. Bunny’s warren had a smaller den burrowed into one of the hills in the fields. It was cooler than the rest of the warren and filled with wooden furniture which was all hand carved by the Easter Bunny himself. All the blankets and quilts were similarly made by the old Pooka as well as the paintings and tapestries that lined the walls. When entering Aster’s home Tooth had always felt so comforted because to enter his home it almost felt like she was entering a part of Bunny’s mind. A sanctuary that reflected the Pooka’s naturally protective and caring nature. Now as she walked instead of flying through to the sitting room where the other Guardians waited she just felt… cold.

The others knew immediately that there was something wrong when Tooth walked in with her head bowed and her wings hanging limply behind her.

Bunny was the first up. “What did that wanker do to you?!” He was instantly on the defensive.

Tooth wrapped her arms around herself in some vain attempt to keep the warmth in. “No, Bunny, what did <i>you</i> do?” She spoke quietly with a little shiver as she finally raised her eyes to look at one of her oldest friends. With tears welling up in her eyes she couldn’t help but shiver slightly and hold herself a little tighter even though she knew it wouldn’t help. She was cold on the inside.

Her words were met with stunned silence as North and Sandy turned to Bunny. Bunny was the only one… the only one who understood what it was like to be the last of a kind. Tooth had always felt a certain kinship with him. She was the last Sister of Flight and he was the last Pooka, at least he had thought he was. But now…

“E. Aster Bunnymund.” Three heads snapped back around to Toothiana as she spoke with cold authority. “Easter Sunday, 1968, you met Jack Frost. What did you do?”

Bunny scoffed and crossed his arms while thumping one of his feet absently. “You know what. I’ve told this story enough times.”

“Tell me again.” It wasn’t a request.

Bunny frowned at Tooth but started the story nonetheless. “It started snowing during my rounds, not a big deal, winter sometimes carries over so I didn’t think much on it. But then the snow seemed to follow me. It didn’t matter where I left the eggs there were piles of snow even where there really shouldn’t have been. I realized I was being followed and it didn’t take me long to pin down the blasted spirit who’d caused me grief. It was Jack Frost; I knew the little blighter had a penchant for causing trouble so I tried to put him in his place. We scuffled, the storm got out of control and then I left. No one had any trouble from Jack Frost for a few years after that so I figured I must have knocked some sense into him. Then in 1973 he was back causing mischief just like before.” Bunny shook his head. “Some spirits never learn.”

Sandy looked contemplative but North was nodding along to Bunny’s words. He had trouble with Jack before as well. North was agreeing with Bunny and it made Toothiana sick. It was worse because before today she would have been agreeing with them… She shook her head.

“You fought?” She asked.

“Well yeah, that’s what I just said.”

“Where did you hit him?”

“How should I know? It was years ago and-?!”

“NO!!” Toothiana interrupted Bunnymund. “You don’t get to forget! You are not <i>allowed</i> to forget the day you ruined Jack’s life!” She hissed, her words laced with venom. Self-loathing coursing through her system and her hands curled into fists at her sides. “Where. Did. You. Hit. Him?!” She annunciated every word clearly and even Sandy backed off a step in the face of the warrior queen’s fury.

Bunny’s ears were flat against the back of his neck and he raised his hands as if to placate the Tooth Fairy. “I dunno, we wrestled a little but I got in a few good blows…”

“Did you hit him in the stomach?”

“Yeah, maybe… I…” Bunny’s eyes widened as he suddenly realized where this was going. “No… You’re not...? They weren’t...?”

“YES!” Toothiana screeched as she finally took to the air. “Jack tried to get your attention! He needed your help! And instead you…” She had to take a breath as her tears finally fell. “You murdered their unborn child.”

***Easter Sunday, 1968***

“Are you sure you should go alone? Maybe I should follow you and-?”

Jack kissed Pitch sweetly on the lips. “No. If he sees you he’ll instantly be on the defensive. He’d attack rather than listen, Bunny’s temper is legendary.” Jack snorted. He was in his human form. He was about a month and a half pregnant and he knew that he shouldn’t hold this form for long. He just needed to speak to Bunny first and then hopefully he’d have someone to help him through this. Jack wasn’t sure how this was going to go, he hadn’t even thought he could get pregnant until a bit over a month ago when he felt the life spark inside him. He rested a hand on his stomach and Pitch placed his hand on top of Jack’s.

“I know. I just… promise me you will be careful? Please.”

Jack wrapped his arms around his husband and Pitch stroked his back soothingly. “Yeah I promise. You don’t need to worry. If things get bad, I’ll just fly back home and we’ll think of something else.”

“Alright. Be safe. I love you.” Pitch pulled away from Jack so he could look down into his wife’s beautiful eyes. Eyes that didn’t change no matter what form he took. Jack was so beautiful, whether as a human or as a Pooka. Every day with Jack made Pitch feel blessed and now… they were having a child. He had never thought he would have the chance to be a father again and it warmed his heart in ways he never thought he’d feel again. Jack was changing Pitch for the better and Pitch loved every minute of it.

Jack graced Pitch with another quick kiss. “Love you too. Back soon.” And then a breeze swept through and took Jack away.

Pitch smiled at the light snowfall left in Jack’s wake before he turned back to the hole that led to his lair. He headed towards the nursery, intending to fix it up a bit more, humming lullabies quietly.

Jack flew quickly over North America tracking the Easter Bunny’s movements. Holy hell he was fast!

Spurring the wind to move faster and faster he finally managed to catch up to the Pooka. He tried to call out and when that didn’t work he threw a couple of snowballs but was met with similar results. Then he had an idea. On more than one occasion Bunny had argued with Jack about having snow days during Easter, it wasn’t exactly the way he wanted to get attention but if the Pooka wasn’t going to listen to him any other way…

Easter Sunday was the only guaranteed day that Bunny came out of the warren. If Jack didn’t talk to him now, then it could be a whole year until he saw Bunny again. If Jack didn’t catch Bunny today, then he’d have to go through his pregnancy alone. Jack didn’t know enough about Pookas or how they gave birth. He didn’t know anything about how this was supposed to work, right now he needed someone or he’d have to figure out with Pitch and it scared him. He didn’t want his child to suffer because he didn’t ask for help. So steeling his resolve and preparing for Bunny’s usual tongue lashing he started to spread snow throughout the Northern Hemisphere, blanketing areas where he knew Bunny would travel to next.

He might have been slightly overzealous but he really needed Bunny to pay attention.

After laying his ‘welcome’ down for Bunny, Jack settled down at his lake to wait. Burgess was one of the final stops, hopefully by the time he got here he would have gotten the message and then Jack could call off the snow. It was a little heavier where Jack was, the storm naturally radiating towards the spirit who created it. Jack smiled a little and caught a snowflake on his tongue. Should lead Bunny straight to him.

A few minutes later and Jack felt the tell-tale rumble of one of Bunny’s tunnels opening out in the field just beyond the lake.

Bunny’s ears poked out first, twisting every which way to sense the surrounds.

“Hey Bunny. I’m here.” Jack smiled as the ears swiveled around to face him.

The ancient Pookan warrior leapt forth from his tunnel with his weapons ready, landing in an aggressive crouch facing Jack.

Jack raised his hands. “I don’t want any trouble; I just want to talk.”

Bunny sneered as he rose, keeping his weapons in his hands. His posture was tight and stiff; he was still definitely aggressive. Jack fought the urge to curl around his stomach and his instincts screamed at him to run to his mate. He wished then that he’d brought Pitch with him.

“Talk?! You go out of your way to ruin Easter so we can talk?!” Aster growled with his ears pinned back.

Jack started breathing heavier as his instincts started going into overdrive. It was part ‘run home and hide’ and part ‘submit to the buck’… Bunny was strong and clearly an Alpha but Jack would not be cowed. He was mated and loved and right now he needed to ask Bunny for help. Maybe if he just spat it out then the Pooka would calm down?

“I need your help-?”

“So you disappoint thousands of children because <i>you</i> need help?! How selfish can you get mate?!” Bunny was yelling now and he took a hostile step forward. Jack could see now that a confrontation was inevitable if he stayed and was fighting the urge to just curl up on the ground and beg forgiveness. This was bad. Nothing was working. He had to get out of here now.

The wind picked up and Jack leapt into its embrace gratefully. Pitch’s lair wasn’t fair from here; it was how they met in the first place. He just had to get to Pitch.

A sharp pain in his back made him lose the wind and plummet to the ground. He looked up when he hit the earth to see Bunny catching his boomerang and stalking towards him. No! This isn’t… too late. Bunny was on him. Staff in hand Jack rose to defend himself. He was no slouch in a fight but Bunny had millions of years on him and was easily twice his size.

“Please just listen-?” He started again as he rose and started to back away with his staff raised defensively.

“Nah mate, it’s about time someone taught you a lesson.”

He wasn’t listening? Why wouldn’t he just listen? Jack didn’t have long to think about it as Bunny put away his boomerangs and threw a punch.

Jack twirled around and avoided it but it was close. He was flexible and fast so he just played avoidance and tried to lead the fight back to the entrance to Pitch’s lair. If he could just get close enough, then his husband would be able to save him.

Pitch felt Jack’s fear, a sickly sweet scent that he had come to loathe over the years. It was so strong that for a moment Pitch felt suffocated and had to concentrate just to try and breathe. Jack was in trouble. Pitch sank into the shadows, he had to get to his wife.

After successfully dodging most of the blows Jack felt Pitch, he was close, he was coming, it was going to be ok. He had a split lip and a couple of bruises but nothing too serious. It had barely been five minutes but Jack was fighting a losing battle and he knew it. He just need to hold out a little more, then a sharp pain shot through his stomach and pelvis. He’d been moving too much and human for too long. Jack stumbled, Bunny struck.

One solid blow to his stomach and Jack’s eyes widened and he groaned. Dropping his staff, he curled around his stomach. The storm began to grow.

“Don’t mess with people’s holidays.” Bunny spat, before tapping open a tunnel, then he was gone. He didn’t stick around long enough to see the blood pooling between Jack’s thighs. He didn’t stay long enough to hear Jack’s ear splitting scream. He didn’t stay long enough to see Jack collapse on the ground in the fetal position as tears started streaming from his eyes.

The storm roared as Jack let his control slip. The wind howled and screamed with cold fury in response to Jack’s pain.

Pitch found Jack two minutes after Bunny had left. The first thing he noticed was the blood in the snow. It stopped him short. It felt as though his whole world broke as he saw the quickly deepening pool around Jack. He was on the ground, curled around his stomach protectively but the blood told the story. It was already too late.

“Jack!” He cried out as he knelt down at his wife’s side.

Jack looked up at his husband with tears streaming down his face. “It hurts.”

Chapter 4: A Sandman’s Oath

“As entertaining as your looks of stunned horror are, and believe me I quite enjoy them, could you please keep it down in here? My wife is exhausted.” Pitch stated calmly from the entrance to the sitting room.

Tooth had been arguing with Bunny, North had been intervening loudly and Sanderson had been flailing his fat little arms to try and get anyone’s attention. The silence after Pitch spoke was a thing of beauty and Pitch gave them a toothy smile and the shadows in the room flickered menacingly.

“You’ve done enough damage; don’t you think?” The Nightmare King asked rhetorically while savoring the fear lingering in the air. He delighted in the guilt that permeated the scent of fear when he mentioned the damage. He was bitter, angry and dearly wanted the Guardians to suffer… but Jack didn’t want that at all. He would have skinned Bunny alive if Jack hadn’t stopped him. Like it or not they needed him, especially now. Maybe Jack would finally let Pitch destroy him after the pregnancy was over? Doubtful but the Nightmare King was allowed to… dream.

“Sorry, Pitch, I just lost my temper.” Toothiana looked ashamed of herself. “Did we wake Jack?”

“No, but he is restless. I have had to take the nightmares from him three times but they keep coming.” Pitch glanced over at the Sandman. “I don’t suppose I could ask for your help in this?”

Sanderson nodded so hard it was almost comical. Pitch turned to leave with the little man of sand behind him.

“Wait!” Bunnymund stopped him.

Pitch turned to face the Pooka with a neutral expression, though his eyes were dark and cold.

“I… I didn’t know… I’m…” the Pooka’s ears were flat against the back of his head and he looked to Pitch with shame in his eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

Clenching his hands tightly at his side, standing tall and rigid, Pitch concentrated on thoughts of Jack to keep himself from flying across the room and tearing Bunnymund to shreds with his bare hands. He didn’t usually like to get messy but Pitch seriously contemplated making Bunnymund the exception to that rule.

“Do not speak to me, rabbit, not about this. Not ever.” Pitch snarled and the Guardians shrank back as the room darkened. “If it wasn’t for Jack I would slaughter you in a heartbeat. Jack begged for your life and it is the <i>only</i> reason you still live. Do not test my resolve in this because you <i>will</i> find it lacking.” Smirking cruelly Pitch added, “I’ve enough Pookan blood on my hands don’t you think? Then again, as of 1968, so do you.” Before turning and stalking out of the room with Sandy close behind.

He could hear Bunnymund’s horrified gasp and felt a moment of twisted triumph. He hoped it hurt, Pitch thought viciously. He was naturally cruel spirit and even though his perverted heart had slowly been healing with Jack by his side, Bunnymund had managed to rip it open anew. Leaving it gaping, bleeding and raw. Bunnymund had killed Pitch’s unborn, Pookan child or children. Pitch and Jack never even had the chance to meet them.

The elder spirit attempted to rid himself of his morbid thoughts as he entered the room where Jack lay. His wife needed him now and that was all that mattered.

When they entered the room Jack’s brow was already furrowed in his sleep, the first indication he was having a nightmare. He whimpered quietly and Sandy rushed over to his side to begin spinning a dream for him.

Stepping up, Pitch took a seat at the head of the bed and couldn’t help but let out a little smile as Jack curled towards him instinctively. Gently he traced his fingers through the wrinkled snowflake on Jack’s forehead, the light blue pattern smoothing out as Jack’s frown relaxed. Pitch pulled his fingers away and pulled a newly made nightmare with them. It wasn’t like the ones he made out of the dreamsand, this one was smoky and insubstantial. It was a natural nightmare. Something the Nightmare King himself had very little control over. He crushed it in his hands without a second thought. It was the fourth nightmare he’d destroyed this evening. If there was one thing Pitch hated above all others, it was Jack’s fear. Anything that caused Jack to be afraid deserved to die.

Sanderson patiently spun a dream with kids and snowballs dancing around in golden sand. He sent it to Jack who smiled in his sleep and let out a happy sigh. Pitch stroked Jacks forehead down to his ears, gently, over and over. “Thank you Sanderson.”

The Sandman smiled and gave Pitch two chubby ‘thumbs up’ with a little tick above his head.

The golden man then had the good sense to leave the married couple alone. Looking back only once, seeing an expression on Pitch’s face that he’d never thought he’d ever see on the boogeyman. A small smile, with soft eyes, a look that could only be described as ‘loving’. It was clear then to the Sandman that Pitch truly cared for Jack. This was not some farce, sham or plot. This was real. Nodding to himself as he left the room Sandy made himself a little oath.

A great wrong had been done to Jack and Pitch. They had lost their child. It was a pain that Sanderson would never know, never <i>could</i> know. It didn’t stop him from feeling the pain of others.

The Sandman vowed that he would do all in his power to protect Jack, Pitch and their children, and to make sure they always had good dreams.

With or without the help of the other Guardians.

Returning to the sitting room he looked around at his friends. They were… defeated. Slumped shoulders, tears flowing, deadened eyes.

Sandy knocked lightly on the wood of the open door and they all turned to him.

<i>No more.</i> He signed to them with little pictograms above his head. They’d all known him for hundreds of years and could easily interpret what he was saying. <i>Self-pity, anger, guilt and regret, none of that matters now. They need us. Their children need us. We have all wronged them. But we can’t let that stop us now, we can’t be buried under our own selfish pain. It is not a time for pain right now. We need to be happy, there are two new lives coming into the world. Two new </i>Pookan<i> lives for us to help birth, and hopefully with their parents’ permission, cherish for the rest of their lives. We have to do better by them, both Pitch and Jack deserve better from us.</i> Sandy couldn’t help a little yawn after he had finished his declaration. He was tired. It had been a long day.

What had the MiM been thinking when he sent them to get Jack to fight Pitch? Not to mention becoming a Guardian while pregnant was just a bad idea, there was no way they could let Jack fight for kids while there were unborn lives at stake! There was a lot that wasn’t adding up but for now they had to focus on what was right in front of them.

Two soon to be parents with twins waiting to be born.

Aster took a deep, shuddering breath and squared his shoulders. “You’re right.” His voice was tired but firm. “I’ve done wrong by them. I can’t fix it but I can do right by them now. They’ll need my help birthing the kits, with male does there’s always a heightened risk of complications. But if we all put in,” He looked to the other Guardians. “I think we can do it.”

Wiping her eyes on her feathers Tooth looked Bunny in the eyes. “I… I can’t just forget what happened. I know you didn’t mean it but… This… I’ll help you, to help them. I don’t know how I’ll feel about you when this is all over.” She spoke calmly and honestly. A slight break in her voice towards the end was the only indication that she was upset by her declaration.

His shoulders slumped slightly at Tooth’s words but Bunnymund nodded. “Yeah… Yeah I deserve that.”

North stepped forward and crossed his arms. “I am as much to blame. So long with my clouded views… We all need to fix this. Together.” He clapped a hand to Bunny’s shoulder in a show of solidarity. “No matter what Manny thinks of us for doing so.”

The Guardians were in agreement. Regardless of what the MiM wanted from them, their first priority was now the expecting couple.

Chapter 5: Yeti speak

Jack slept right through until the midday the next day. Pitch remained loyally by his side, relieved when Jack’s nightmares stayed away due to Sandy’s dreamsand. He was stroking Jack’s ears softly when he finally started to stir. Pitch kept brushing Jack’s ears with his fingertips. He was once again marveling at the snowy white changing into baby blue at the tips. He ran the tips of his fingers lightly over the snowflake on Jack’s forehead and his brow wrinkled slightly.

Jack mumbled incoherently.

Pitch chuckled warmly. “Sorry, my lovely wife, but I’m not sure you just spoke any recognizable language. Except maybe Yettish.”

“I am not a yeti.”

“But you have lots of fur.”

“...”

“And you grumble nonsense all the time.”

“…”

“You also have a fondness for snow. In fact-”

“Pitch if you call me a yeti one more time I am going to bite you. Hard.”

“Kinky, not really motivation for me to stop… my dear yeti wife. OUCH!” Pitch yelped when Jack followed through on his threat. “Oh so my little yeti wants to play does he?” Pitch teased as he rolled over to pin Jack beneath him, careful not to put any weight on Jack’s stomach.

Jack pulled half-heartedly at his wrists where Pitch was holding them down with one hand. His husband’s other hand was trailing lightly up through the Jack’s chest ruff.

“Of course you’re not a yeti, you’re much too soft,” Pitch kissed Jack’s neck lightly while his fingers traced patterns in Jack’s fur, “Much too beautiful,” Another kiss, just left of Jack’s mouth. “And you smell significantly better.” Pitch finished with a smile and a chaste kiss to Jack’s lips while the Pooka himself giggled.

“Way to kill the mood.”

“It’s what I live for.” Pitch rolled off of his wife and pulled Jack into his arms enjoying the coolness of Jack’s fur. He was not fond of the warmth in the warren and he doubted Jack was either.

“You know what I live for?” Jack didn’t give Pitch time to answer as he crawled halfway onto Pitch’s chest. “Pancakes! Oh, covered in gravy!” Jack’s ears were twitching back and forth; the younger spirit was practically vibrating in his skin. “I want them so bad.” He whined down at his husband.

Pitch raised his eyebrows but knew better than to question Jack’s… unique taste in food. They had dealt with cravings during their last pregnancy so Pitch was prepared. “Of course. You should stay in bed; I will bring brunch to you when it is ready.”

Jack’s ears drooped as his husband rose out of bed. “But Pitch…” Jack used his biggest, saddest, puppy dog eyes, “It’s boring in bed on my own… There’s nothing to do…” He sulked.

Pitch shook his head and didn’t bother turning to see the look he knew Jack was giving him. “No. You need to rest, for our kits.”

Jack huffed. “No fair, pulling the ‘for the kits’ card.” He grumbled.

“If it works,” He shrugged before kneeling down to give his wife a kiss on the forehead. “I love you. I’ll bring you back breakfast and spend the rest of the day with you, alright?”

Jack smiled, “Love you too, that sounds perfect. Now, bring me my gravy smothered pancakes wench!”

Chuckling Pitch left the room. “Yes sir.”

As soon as the King of Fear left the room the smile fell from his face and the shadows around him grew. For his precious Jack he was a loving husband and soon to be a devoted father. For everyone else he was the fearsome Nightmare King. Pitch couldn’t imagine himself any other way, it still surprised him sometimes that he had managed to open up to Jack.

The first time they’d met had been… enlightening… to say the least.

<i>Pitch had been working around a campsite, scaring a family around the fire by adding embellishments to the shadows as the ghost stories needed it, when he’d heard a scream. He felt fear, human fear, but something else as well. There was another type of fear with the human’s. A fear so sweet it drew him in, he was curious to see what else had the humans so frightened in the camp. Pitch didn’t need to be the cause of fear to feed from it, he just… preferred to be the cause. Whatever was frightening them now was stealing his job, he took that rather personally.

The human fear vanished as a couple of the young women walked towards Pitch, heading for the camp fire.

“Sorry I screamed like that, I just slipped on a patch of ice.”

“Ice? How strange.”

“Isn’t it just? It did frighten me so.”

Pitch overheard as they walked passed him. The sweet fear he was following had changed. It had become thick like molasses and was so intense it had Pitch salivating. It was no longer simply fear, now it was mortal terror. Whoever it was, they were afraid for their life. Pitch used the shadows to move faster and soon found himself in a small clearing just outside the camp. What he saw stopped him in his tracks and for once Pitch had no idea what to do.

Before him in the clearing there was a single figure surrounded by five Wendigoes. The foul beasts that were once human cannibals were covered in rotten flesh and fur. Once human shapes had twisted and distorted to look like something vaguely resembling a wolf, they were huge and Pitch knew from experience that their emancipated appearance had little impact on their physical strength. Ordinary humans stood no chance against these foul beasts. It was likely their intention to devour the group at the camp, a group with at least three children. Pitch was a monster, he freely admitted it, but he needed children </i>alive<i> to feed off of their fear. Dead children were of no use to him, so usually when he came across something like this he would leap in, scythe swinging, and kill the threat.

What stopped him this time was the creature standing up to the wendigoes. It simply was not possible. That creature should not be here. There was only one of those things left and it lived underground. Pitch would recognize Aster from a mile away, they’d fought enough times. This thing was not Aster.

How on earth could a Pooka be here?!

The Pooka in question didn’t seem to have the same hesitation about its own existence, or whether or not it was supposed to be in a camp fighting off wendigoes. There was no time. The Pooka was white with blue tips on its feet, ears and hands. It’s markings where also light blue but Pitch was too far away to see them clearly. It appeared to be wielding a staff and Pitch could see ice spraying from the curve as the Pooka fought. That would explain what the women were talking about then.

It was fighting viciously for its life, it’s body was slim and extremely flexible, but when a wendigo moved too close to one of the Pooka’s hind legs it found just how powerful they were with a kick strong enough to shatter bone. The Pooka was fighting roughly, it’s style undefined, acting on instinct rather than trained skill. It moved like an animal rather than a Pooka. Pitch knew from experience that Pooka’s were not just beasts without reasoning or higher intellect.

The snow Pooka twirled and weaved between slashing talons and gaping maws. It wielded its staff like an extension of its body and the ice spread quickly, shards and spikes flaring out when it struck out with its staff. It was doing well, it managed to finish one off but there were four left and it was starting to wear down. As Pitch watched the largest of the wendigoes managed to get in a good slash with its claws, blood stained white fur but the Pooka didn’t hesitate. It was scared out of its mind but it kept fighting. To give in would mean death and it hadn’t given up yet.

Pitch leapt into the fray. His black scythe cutting through flesh as smoothly as it swung through air. Two seconds in to the fight and Pitch had managed to slice one of the wendigoes in two. That left three against the two of them. It didn’t take long for Pitch to beat them with the mysterious Pooka fighting by his side. They fought well together, Pitch was surprised to note. He’d expected to be the one carrying the fight from the moment he entered it but the Pooka held its own admirably.

When the battle was won Pitch turned to the Pooka with the intention of talking to it, maybe figuring out who or what it was and where it came from. He highly doubted Aster knew about it or there was no chance the old bastard would have let it out of his sight. Or anywhere near Pitch for that matter.

He was met with a face full of snow and a wind strong enough that it knocked him off of his feet.

“Don’t tell anyone about me.” A young, male voice spoke softly.

By the time Pitch had wiped the snow from his eyes the white Pooka was gone. Only the ice littering the clearing showed that he was ever here at all.

Pitch sat in a field of snow and rotting wendigo bodies.

He had to admit. That young Pooka… he had a really nice voice…</i>

Pitch repressed a smile. That was a long time ago. Back then he’d had no idea how much Jack would come to mean to him. That one night changed everything and he hadn’t even realized it at the time. Now, over two hundred years later, he was searching for the kitchen. In Bunnymund’s warren. To make pancakes… with gravy….

There was no way he could have predicted this is where he would have ended up after the events of that night.

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

Chapter 6: Familial Markings

Pitch found the kitchen easily enough and was not surprised to see both the rabbit and the fairy already there. Even though he had no intention of asking (honestly he did not care) Toothiana informed him that the other two Guardians had headed back to their respective jobs while Bunnymund and Toothiana were going to remain here, with Baby Tooth hovering around of course. The rabbit was going to be busy with Easter in a few days but after that was over he intended to devote his time to helping with Jack’s pregnancy. It made Pitch want to throw up or kill something, or perhaps both, but he swallowed down his nauseatingly homicidal feelings due to the necessity. Jack needed the geriatric rabbit and Pitch would always do what was best for Jack.

Toothiana was staying because she was a woman and felt that she could best understand what Jack was going through, being a mother herself. Pitch wasn’t sure cloning herself into little fairies about a million times counted but to each their own. Baby-Tooth referred to her as ‘mother’ anyway. Pitch guessed that it counted in some trivial fashion.

“I need to make pancakes with gravy.” Pitch announced rather than giving them any kind of greeting. He did not care for pleasantries, specially not with Guardians.

“Oh! Is he having cravings?” Toothiana looked far too excited.

“Evidently.”

Aster rose from his seat. “There’s actually some gravy leftover from last night as well as some other things if you’re hungry. I can get you some ingredients for the pancakes.” He didn’t offer to make them, likely because he knew that Pitch would turn him down.

It didn’t take long for the rabbit to prepare the gravy. It took Pitch longer to make the pancakes. Aster left the gravy over a low heat on the stove and turned to Pitch.

“I should probably give him a checkup before I start my Easter prep. I could go in while you’re preparing breakfast?” Aster questioned cautiously.

The wooden spoon Pitch had been using snapped in half as his grip tightened, the shadows darkened briefly. “Enter that room without me rabbit and you will be leaving without your ears.” The Nightmare King stated calmly as he found a new spoon and resumed his cooking.

Toothiana coughed slightly and tried sink further into her seat, clearly uncomfortable.

Baby-Tooth didn’t share her mother’s reservations and buzzed straight up to Pitch’s face while he was cooking, twittering away happily.

“Yes, he’s fine.” She twittered a little more, “He did sleep well once the nightmares were taken care of.” “He does cuddle when he’s sleeping.” Pitch continued to answer Baby-Tooth’s questions almost absentmindedly while he was cooking. “Not yet, but I believe he would be happy if you would see him later.”

Aster and Toothiana exchanged a look and the Pooka took a long bitter swallow of his now cold tea. Life was getting infinitely stranger. The Boogeyman was in his kitchen, talking to a tooth fairy. Aster was not sure how much more he could take before he lost his somewhat fragile hold of his sanity. He had a feeling that he’d only just scraped the tip of the ‘strangeness’ iceberg.

Once the cooking was done and Pitch had a mountain of pancakes piled on a plate, he took the gravy from the stove and poured it liberally over the pancakes. Jack did say, ‘covered’ in gravy.

“You coming?” Pitch spat out the question to the old rabbit as though it tasted foul on his tongue.

Aster nodded and followed Pitch back to the guest bedroom, his shoulders slumped for a moment but he shook himself and squared them. He had done something horrible, beating himself up over it now wouldn’t do any good. Jack and the kits needed him. More Pookas were on the way… something Aster had never thought would be possible.

When they arrived back at the entrance to the guest room, the door was locked. There were scratching and breaking noises coming from inside.

“Jack?!” Pitch shoved the plate at Aster and vanished into the shadows.

Barely catching the plate in time Aster tilted a curious ear in the direction of the door, he was pretty sure he knew what was happening but Pitch hadn’t given him a chance to explain. He could tell the exact moment Pitch entered the room because Jack started growling. He heard Pitch try to reason with Jack, followed by more growling and smashing. Aster gave his poor guest room a quick, silent apology, but he knew that whatever was going on in there, Jack was more important.

Some more crashing followed and then hissing, it was a territorial sound and Aster did not envy the Boogeyman at the moment. A few seconds later the door burst open, Pitch came flying out and the door slammed shut.

Stunned, Pitch stared at the closed door in disbelief. His hair was a mess and if his clothes weren’t made of shadows they would have been torn. He had a few scratches on his arms but they were hidden under his clothes.

“He’s nesting. It’s normal, a little early, but normal.” Aster shrugged. “It’s probably because he’s here instead of home, the scents are confusing him while he’s vulnerable so he’s likely tearing the place apart to spread his scent as far as possible. Instincts have taken over and he’ll be trying to make the space he’s in as safe as possible for the kits. It doesn’t make sense but instincts are a tricky thing with pregnant does.” It was at that moment that Aster truly registered what he’d just seen. Jack had just thrown the Nightmare King out of the room and slammed the door in his face… And the look on Pitch’s face right after…

Pitch straightened his hair and stood tall. “Not one word rabbit.”

Aster tried very hard not to smile. He really did. Although judging by the intensity of Pitch’s glare he must have failed.

The door opened again, this time with Jack standing there. His fur was sticking on odd ends and there was dust smeared over his arms and stomach.

“Pitch! Oh honey, I’m so sorry,” Jack knelt down on all fours as he approached his husband, his ears folded back against his head. It was a typical submissive display between a doe and their buck. It still made Aster slightly ill to see Jack being submissive to Pitch. “I didn’t hurt you did I? I wasn’t thinking… I just… It smelled so wrong and then there was someone else and I didn’t even realize it was you…” His words were hurried as he cautiously approached his husband with his head bowed and ears back.

With a sigh Pitch sank to his knees, “It’s fine, I am unharmed. You need not cower before me, please, you are my equal and you know I would never hurt you.” Jack nuzzled under Pitch’s chin as the boogeyman helped him to rise.

Aster watched silently as he was afforded a brief window into Pitch and Jack’s marriage. Jack was behaving normally for a doe, submitting was a natural instinct but Pitch wasn’t taking advantage of Jack at all. He was treating Jack as an equal even when he was willingly submitting. The older Pooka did not want to acknowledge it but this pointed to Pitch being a good husband… And didn’t that just make his fur stand on end?

“I know but I’m still sorry. I just… I love you.” Jack smiled as he rubbed his chin along Pitch’s shoulders, spreading more of his scent.

“And I you, my darling.”

Jack hummed and leant back a little, pressing his mouth against Pitch’s in a quick, chaste kiss. He turned back to Aster, “Sorry for all of that. Oh, you have my pancakes!” Jack took the plate happily, the entire ‘nesting’ issue completely forgotten in wake of his craving for gravy covered pancakes finally being sated. His ears sprang back up in joy.

“You could sit down to eat.” Pitch felt obligated to inform his wife even though Jack was already shoveling pancakes into his mouth.

“They’re still warm!” Jack moaned in delight and completely ignored Pitch. To be honest, the Nightmare King had kind of expected that.

Aster’s sharp intake of breath drew their attention however. He was looking at Jack, or rather, Jack’s arms. He looked back up at their faces quickly and began to stammer. “Uh, sorry… I just remembered something… If you’re nesting instincts have kicked in, then everything is going fine now. I can feel the life in you and it’s strong… I should go… Easter is close and… I’m busy-really busy so…” Aster took off without another word.

Pitch and Jack exchanged a look. Jack shrugged and wandered back into the messy guest room, stuffing pancakes into his face on the way, getting gravy in his whiskers.

Pitch glanced in the direction the rabbit had left… Then he turned and followed Jack into the room. He had promised to spend the day with his wife and that’s what he intended to do.

Pitch and Jack spent the day trying to satisfy Jack’s nesting instinct, even though they wouldn’t be in the warren for much longer. Jack’s instincts didn’t seem to understand that, so together they spent hours arranging and rearranging the room until it suited Jack. After Jack had eaten again (a banana and strawberry jam sandwich this time) he fell asleep and Pitch was free to pursue Aster and find out about his reaction earlier in the day. Something that had Aster radiating with so much fear could not be a good thing. Whatever it was, it had something to do with Jack. He could feel the way the rabbit’s fear revolved around the younger Pooka. Usually Pitch was much better at finding out a person’s fears but Aster’s were deep and convoluted. It made it difficult for Pitch to see the real fear among the fears Aster hid behind.

He found the rabbit out in one of his fields, painting eggs. This would have been normal, Easter was a day away, but he was sitting next to a pile of plain, red eggs while absently slathering more red paint on another in his hands.

“A little on the ‘Christmas’ side of colors.” Pitch commented idly as he stood in front of the old rabbit.

Aster startled slightly and looked down at the eggs he’d painted as though seeing them for the first time. “Bugger me! I’m going to have to repaint them all. Maybe blue…”

“I didn’t come here to speak of eggs.” Pitch interrupted. “I came here to talk about Jack.”

Aster gave a full bodied twitch. He wanted to run, but he couldn’t run, not now. “Heh.” Aster huffed and looked up at Pitch. “What about Jack?” He asked with a broken smile on his face. When the rabbit finally looked up at him Pitch frowned slightly. There were deep tear tracks running down through his fur. His eyes were red around the edges and where they usually shone with the green of life, they were now dull, flat and empty. Even when he’d learned the truth about Easter of ’68 he had not looked so… shattered.

Pitch wanted to feel happy about the mess the rabbit had found himself in but he knew it had something to do with Jack.

“Is Jack alright? Are the kits alright?” Pitch asked quickly with narrowed eyes. He did not have the time nor the patience to deal with Aster’s emotional breakdown. As soon as he found out the problem he fully intended to dump the old rabbit on the Tooth Fairy and let her sort it out. Like it or not he still needed the old fool.

“Both Jack and the kits are in perfect health, and barring no complications, should arrive anywhere between 6-7 months from now. Pookan pregnancies are slightly shorter than humans but it’s hard to give an exact date.” Aster answered in monotone, almost like he’d been practicing saying it until it was just routine. It should have comforted Pitch but there was something else going on here and the old Pooka was terrified.

“If you do not tell me what your problem is rabbit I will rip out your teeth, one by one, until you do. I can tell you’re afraid. You cannot hide that from me.” Pitch wasn’t asking nicely because he wasn’t asking to be nice. His wife and children were hanging in the balance and Aster had already stolen his children once.

“Afraid isn’t even the word for it mate.” Aster crumbled in on himself. “How much do you know about Pookas? And their markings?”

Pitch fought an eye twitch of frustration. He didn’t want a lecture he just wanted an answer. “About as much as Jack does, so not a lot. I didn’t exactly stop to ask the Pookas about their marks while I was slaughtering them.” A low blow but Pitch enjoyed any pain he was ‘permitted’ to give Aster. Jack would, of course, give him hell about that little comment if he were here.

“They’re familial. The forehead markings are usually indicative of the power or affinity a Pooka would possess. Jack’s is obviously ice. The markings on the arms are clan markings and usually inherited from the father.” Aster’s shoulders dropped and he sort of crumbled in on himself as he spoke.

Pitch glanced at the markings on Aster’s upper arms, they were the same as Jack’s. Although Jack’s were light blue. “You didn’t notice them yesterday?”

Aster shook his head. “I was too busy with the magic and the kits, I haven’t had to do anything like that since my own kit was born. You kicked me out of the room as soon as I was done.”

Pitch bristled. “No. You said they were clan markings. There’s no chance that Jack is-”

“I was the only member of my clan left after the war.” Aster interrupted. “I was the only one left and I had one child, a child I thought died when I left to fight you and my people were slaughtered. He was a male doe but only days old when I left, he hadn’t even colored yet. He was still pink. I had no choice but to fight, leaving him with my wife. Snowbell was a beautiful frost Pooka I met during the war. She was white, pure white, apart from her markings.”

“Spare me your nostalgia rabbit!” Pitch hissed. “What exactly are you trying to say?!”

Aster laughed, a hollow and broken sound, “Oh I don’t know Pitch? That my son survived only to marry the man who <i>slaughtered</i> our entire race? Or that I <i>murdered</i> my own <i>grandchildren</i>?!” Aster was practically screaming by the end.

Pitch started forward, fully intent on wringing Aster’s neck, “You-!!”

“What did you just say?”

The both turned to see Jack, standing nervously a few feet away, his ears drawn back and his eyes wide.

Aster leant back with a high keen of distress, his ears flat and his crouch submissive.

Pitch took a step towards Jack with his hands outstretched.

Jack took a step back, shaking his head as tears welled up in his eyes.

“Jack, my darling, please-” Pitch took another step forward.

Jack turned and ran.

Chapter 7: Baby Love

Jack ran. Using his keen sense of smell, he quickly found a tunnel that smelled like snow. It must lead to the surface. If he can get to the surface, he can get away. Away from Pitch, who murdered his people and away from Bunny, who murdered his child. He couldn’t believe what he’d heard from Bunny. What he said just couldn’t be true and it was just too frightening if it was. Jack had spent years having nightmares about Bunny coming to kill is children. Over and over again. Like a twisted horror movie stuck on repeat. Even as he ran it was playing through his head now. Bunny was coming. He had to get away. The kits weren’t safe!

If Bunny had been telling the truth, if Bunny really was who he claimed to be, then Jack feared he would never be able to get away.

His breath was shuddering in and out in panicked gasps that made his lungs ache and even though he was running through Spring, sharp ice crackled at his feet. His legs were throbbing because he was pushing them so hard. Worst of all was the pain in his hips and lower abdomen. He knew, logically, that he should be pushing himself this hard after the scare he’d had with the kits. But his rational side was buried under a thick layer of fear. The sort of fear that led to panic and penetrated deep.

Jack was, however, married to the King of Fear.

Pitch rose out of the shadows in the tunnel, right in front of Jack. Jack was running full speed but Pitch used his shadows to help slow Jack down as he wrapped his arms securely around his wife. At first Jack struggled, hissing, growling and biting at Pitch but even though it hurt Pitch remained silent and still. Ice crawled up his skin but he paid it no mind. He held his wife and waited for Jack to calm down. It took a while but finally Jack was reduced to whimpers and heavy breathing. Then he started to cry.

“Pitch, he’s going to take them! He’s going to take our kits away! There’s nothing I can do, I’m scared, he’s going to take them! I don’t want him to take them, Pitch I’m scared!” Jack sobbed uncontrollably, whining and keening in distress. If Bunny was the kits’ grandfather than he could take them away. Jack didn’t want him to take them away, Jack didn’t want anything to do with him.

Pitch gently lowered them both to the ground and rocked them back and forth slowly, singing ‘Baby Love’ to him quietly. Jack let out a breath as he allowed himself to calm. Pitch had sung ‘Baby Love’ to Jack for the first time on their anniversary in 1965, they’d been together for a long time by that point and some of the romance had faded – without meaning to they’d been drifting apart. Jack had been so scared that their marriage was failing but hearing the fearsome Nightmare King singing so sweetly… It had made Jack fall in love with him all over again. Three years after that Jack had become pregnant. Pitch wasn’t the monster from some war in space. This was his husband, his mate, his warmth, his safety, his <i>home</i>. Jack buried his face in Pitch’s neck, inhaling his scent deeply. He was still hiccupping a little and his tears hadn’t stopped but he had calmed down.

“I will never let anyone hurt you or our kits. Never again. You’re safe and I will kill that rabbit before he gets the chance to change that. And I’ll die before I let anyone take our children from us.” Pitch assured him with the shadows around them swirling menacingly enough to tell Jack that his Boogeyman was thinking of doing just that.

“I know, I do, I know, but… I’m so scared.” Jack cried, trying to hold it in but wanting to let it out and shaking with the need to do both. He was a mess right now.

Stroking Jack’s ears lovingly with one hand while holding him tightly with the other Pitch hums his agreement. “It’s alright, my lovely wife, your fears are not strangers to me. Fear is healthy so long as you don’t let it consume you.” Pitch folded his legs underneath himself and lifted Jack up to rest more comfortably in his lap. “However, you will never have to face your fears alone.”

Sighing Jack curled up comfortably in his husband’s arms. “I know. Sorry… for running like that… I just…”

Pitch frowned a little. “Yes. This is quite a mess, but you have done nothing wrong.”

“He was telling the truth then? Bunny is really my… he… sired me?” It was the closest Jack could bring himself to say it. He just couldn’t say out loud that Bunny was his… It just… It would make it more real and Jack was still vainly clinging to the hope that it wasn’t.

“It doesn’t change anything.” Pitch spoke calmly. He didn’t deny it and that was confirmation enough. “He won’t be able to take the kits away, but we do still need him.”

Jack sniffled a little more and Pitch ran soothing hands through the fur on his back.

If Jack hadn’t arrived when he did Pitch would have killed Bunnymund. Pitch knows it, he had wanted so badly in that moment to kill that rabbit that everything else had faded away in his rage. Like always Jack had been the one to pull him out of it. Jack was all Pitch had, Jack and their kits. Their family. He wouldn’t let the rabbit ruin his family again. Unfortunately said rabbit was still the only one who could help them. Looking at Jack, however, Pitch wondered if being here was a good thing or not.

Would the emotional trauma to Jack and the kits be enough to outweigh the benefits of having the rabbit take care of them?

Thinking about it, it was the rabbits fault all of this had happened in the first place. The first miscarriage, Jack’s kidnapping and the resulting stress on the kits, and now this.

Pitch rose smoothly from the ground with Jack till curled in his arms. Standing up with unnatural fluidity Pitch started to walk down the tunnel and back towards the warren. Jack was still upset but after this panic attack he was also tired, he was trying to hide it but they’d been married for a little over two centuries so Pitch could tell. Right now Jack needed to rest and then Pitch was going to have some words with the Easter Bunny. Internally Pitch sighed. He was getting awfully tired of ‘speaking’ to the Guardians.

He hated them all… Except perhaps Sanderson. Baby Tooth was acceptable company as well.

“I… I’m so scared of so much… But I do need help Pitch. I don’t know if I can do this, birth our kits safely… we need him. But after… I don’t want anything to do with him. This doesn’t change anything.”

“My darling… I understand. I will try to make things easier for you, however I can.”

“Thanks Night.”

“Always Little Frost.”

Jack couldn’t help but smile a little as they used their old names for each other. When they’d first met there hadn’t been a lot of talking. Jack had been too scared, that fight with the wendigoes had almost killed him. He’d been forced to take his original form rather than the human shape he usually wore. And then someone had actually seen him. It had been an overwhelming night. But when they met a few days after…

<I>In human form Jack followed the man. It was the same man who had saved him the other night, he had caught a glimpse of him entirely accidentally from the air. Without really thinking about it Jack had landed in some tree branches and proceeded to leap/fly/run after the elusive shadow man. Jack was curious about the stranger who had saved his life. Jack also figured that since he looked human now the strange man probably wouldn’t recognize him. So what was the harm in a little game of cat and mouse? Even if the mouse didn’t realize he was playing.

Of course about a minute later Jack lost his mouse in a clearing. Landing on the leaf strewn forest floor Jack looked around warily with his staff held high. Odd. Where had his mouse gone?

Then the shadows around him darkened and with dawning fear Jack realized that he was, in fact, the mouse. A silly little mouse who’d been following a cat all along.

“Now, now, there is no need to fear.” A wicked, white smile was the first thing Jack saw in the shadows. The smile quickly solidified along with silver eyes, grey skin and a black robe. The shadow man, standing at least a full head taller than Jack in his human form. “I’m not going to hurt you little rabbit.”

</i> Said the cat to the mouse. <i> Jack thought morbidly. “I’m not a rabbit.” He said defiantly, even as a shiver crawled up his spine.

The shadow man raised an eyebrow. “So you go around taking staves off of wayward rabbits then? Not very nice of you.” Was his dry retort.

Jack then realized he’d made a rather stupid mistake. Of course the shadow man would recognize the staff! He’d seen the shadow man fight and he wasn’t sure he’d be able to survive if it came to that. His only chance would be to run but all around them the shadows were dark and thick. It made the forest beyond the clearing look impenetrable. A quick glance at the sky told him that at least that way was clear, but having the wind reach him here would not be easy.

“Calm yourself, I truly mean no harm, although I am curious as to why you were following me.” The shadow man spoke calmly while raising his hands. He was unarmed… for now. Jack still didn’t trust it. The only other creatures he had ever run into seemed intent on causing him harm. He wasn’t stupid enough to think it would be different now… No matter how lonely he was.

Jack lowered his staff but was still tense and ready to move at a moment’s notice if he needed to. “I’m just… I was curious about you too. You saved my life the other night.” There was no point pretending, he could tell the shadow man already knew who he was.

“Hm.” The shadow man acknowledged. “I was wondering about that as well. I don’t often act on whims.”

Jack’s mouth fell open in shock. “A whim? You killed a bunch of those… wolf-monster things on a whim?”

The shadow man shrugged with a sinister, toothy smile, “It’s not like it was hard. I do a lot of dark things for fun.”

Jack tilted his head as he looked at the shadow man. The man was trying to sound… cocky? Sure of himself? Confident? Deranged? He did look all that and more. But then… why did his smile look so broken? Jack looked at him, for the first time, really just looked at him.

His skin was grey, ashen and smooth. Almost impossibly so. His shoulders were broad but his frame was thin almost wiry but Jack could see that through the layers of his robe he was actually quite well built. Judging from the way he moved when he fought he was probably quite flexible as well, Jack held back a smirk, probably not as flexible as he was though. He was tall, so tall Jack had to look up into his eyes. His face was angular, long nose but perfectly proportioned. His mouth was thin but his lips looked soft and his eyes… They were quicksilver but every so often they seemed to flash golden. His teeth were slightly pointed and similarly grey, like his skin. His black hair was slicked back and matched the color of his robes, which only enhanced the grey pallor of his skin. Jack’s sense of smell in this form wasn’t as great as it was when he wore his other shape, but he could still smell a faint ashen scent clinging to the air. Like old smoke mixed with a kind of musk. There were instincts in Jack that tried to claw their way to the surface.

He wanted a man. A strong man, and this man’s scent was… appealing.

Like always Jack pushed his instincts down as he continued to observe the shadow man.

The shadow man brought a hand up to his mouth and coughed, almost nervously, having noticed Jack’s observation. Jack realized he’d let the silence drag on too long. He wasn’t really used to conversation.

“What’s your name?” Jack asked quickly, suddenly desperate for anything other than silence between them.

The shadow man raised an eyebrow. “You do not know the Boogeyman? Nightmare King? King of Fear?”

“Nightmare King? Nope. Should I? I’m Jack Frost by the way.”

“How odd that you of all people would not recognize the name of the Nightmare King, you are an oddity Little Frost.” Pitch seemed genuinely curious.

Annoyed, Jack gave a little huff, “I’m not ‘little’ anything. Your names’ are too long and you have too many of them ‘Night’.” He put extra emphasis on the ‘Night’.

Night looked delightfully affronted at the abbreviation of his name. Jack couldn’t help but smile widely at the look on his face.

“Just because you were a helpless maiden in need of rescuing, Little Frost, does not make me your Knight.”

Jack snorted. “No, Night, like the start of your name. I can tell you’re no knight. Knight’s don’t kill things for fun. At least not noble ones.” But Jack did not deny that he’d needed rescuing. Without Night he would have died.

If anything Jack’s explanation made Night even more frustrated.

“I should go.” Jack spoke up as he felt the wind caress his neck gently.

Night sniffed rather dramatically. “Very well, Little Frost. Try not to get eaten.”

Leaping up into the loving embrace of the wind Jack turned a little to look at Night, “Can’t help it that I’m delicious. See you later Night.” He sniped over his shoulder as he let the wind speed him away.

He was pretty sure it wouldn’t be the last time he saw the Nightmare King. Judging by Night’s little smile as Jack flew away, he was pretty sure the feeling was returned. </i>

Jack startled awake as Pitch lowered him into the nest, it wasn’t home but it carried enough of their scent that he managed to relax. Jack was about to ask Pitch to stay with him when the Nightmare King crawled in after him before he’d even had a chance to open his mouth. Curling into the arms of his husband Jack allowed himself to drift back off to sleep with fond dreams of their past.

With Pitch singing ‘Baby Love’ quietly.

‘Cause baby love, my baby love Been missing ya, miss kissing ya Instead of breaking up Let's do some kissing and making up Don't throw our love away In my arms, why don't you stay?

Need ya, need ya Baby love, ooh, baby love’

Jack slept peacefully, having good dreams even without Sandy’s aid.

Chapter 8: Eggward and Eggwina

Pitch watched as Jack slowly became restless, twitching and mumbling until he finally opened his eyes. Jack looked around for a moment before his baby-blues settled on his husband and they his face split into a smile that was so bright it almost hurt.

“Morning Night.”

“Good morning, my darling.”

Jack touched his nose lightly to Pitch’s, twitching it slightly before backing off and laying his head down on Pitch’s chest with a yawn. “Is it even morning? It’s always light down here. I don’t like it.”

Pitch hummed. He too found the constant light quite disturbing. They were both used to the lair. There were a lot of shadows in the lair but a lot of natural light filtered in too and in the deeper rooms the light was… gentler than the light of the warren. Jack was not a creature of the darkness like Pitch was so they had found the perfect mix of light and darkness to suit them both. Pitch had even found a way to have the lights emulate day and night cycles, still allowing enough light at night for Jack to be comfortable while allowing it to be dark enough for them to sleep easily.

“Also? This whole nest business is ridiculous. I feel like the bed is trying to eat me. How on earth are pregnant does meant to handle things like this? I can barely get out of it now, there’s no way I’d be able to wobble my way out of it when my stomach is the size of a house.” Jack grumbled as he tried to wriggle his way out of the bed. After a few minutes of struggling that wound up with Jack being even more tangled in the blankets he gave up with a huff and rested his head on Pitch’s chest. “Thanks for the help dear husband. I can see why I married you.”

Watching Jack struggle and flail in the blankets had been quite entertaining. “Oh so you wanted my help? Well you should have said ‘please’. We need to use our manners and set good examples for the children.”

“Fuck you.”

“I love you too.”

Using his big blue eyes to his advantage he looked up at his husband’s face with his cutest puppy dog look. “Pi~itch!” Jack whined pitifully.

With an indulgent chuckle Pitch helped untangle his wife and himself from the bowl like bed. “Come, let us find some breakfast and see if there is anywhere in this green hole where we may bathe.”

They made their way to the kitchen to find a very harried looking Easter Bunny with Toothiana and several of her fairies, sitting at the kitchen table, painting eggs furiously. Pitch and Jack glanced at the table and then at each other before shrugging and looking for food.

“What would you like? I can cook if you’d like.” Pitch asked his wife as he rummaged through the cupboards, paying no heed to what would be considered polite under normal circumstances. He didn’t give a damn what Aster thought of him and the old rabbit owed them a lot more than a few meals.

Jack shrugged. “I don’t know. Something sweet maybe?”

“There’s fresh jam on the bench.” Aster piped up gruffly. His voice was scratchy and hoarse. Both Pitch and Jack chose to ignore it.

“Oh, jam?” Jack flicked his ears in interest. “Is it the one from yesterday?”

“Yes.” Pitch answered before Bunnymund could. He really didn’t want to hear the old Pooka’s voice. He was trying his hardest to pretend that Aster didn’t exist and that he didn’t want to strangle Aster to death with his own entrails.

“Then I want another jam and banana sandwich, can I have another jamanana sandwich Pitch? Pretty please?” Jack batted his eyes at his husband.

Huffing Pitch kissed Jack’s nose softly. “Anything for you, my darling.”

“Thanks Night.” Jack took a seat at the table, eyeing the mountain of unpainted eggs with legs sitting patiently and waiting to be painted. When they had finished being painted they were placed on the floor and scampered out into the hall and out into the yard. “Why are you painting the eggs? Don’t you have a paint river or something?”

Aster spared a quick glance up at Jack but forced himself to look back down at the egg in his hands. He wouldn’t acknowledge what happened yesterday unless Jack did. Jack was now the most important person in Aster’s life and he would make sure not to do anything to risk the kits again. He should have kept his temper yesterday but it had been a very emotional couple of days for him, even so, he knew it had to have been worse for Jack.

Aster thought about it for a moment before he answered. “The eggs I paint myself are more closely tied to my center, Hope, which is what Easter is all about. The more eggs I paint the stronger the Hope I send out becomes. Tooth is good for helping because with her center, Memories, she can also trigger Hope. I’ve been a bit pressed for time this year so I haven’t painted as much as I would have liked to.”

“Huh.” Jack eyed the eggs curiously. “So would any center do? Or do you need ones that ring true with your own?”

“Fear probably wouldn’t be good but I’ve only ever tried Memories and Dreams, so I can’t be sure.”

“What about Fun?”

Pitch took his seat at the table, offering Jack the prepared ‘jamanana’ sandwich. It was going to become a ‘thing’, Pitch could feel it. Once Jack named something it was usually around to stay.

Aster looked up at the young Snow Pooka. “Your center?” He asked tentatively, unsure whether or not he was allowed.

“Yeah. Snow days, laughter, fun. That’s me.”

“I think Joy would be more accurate. You bring Joy.” Pitch corrected with a gentle smile at his wife before turning his cold eyes back to Bunnymund. He didn’t even try to pretend he wasn’t disemboweling the Pooka with his eyes.

“Aw, thanks Night, anyway, Bunny do you think Joy would help?”

“Ah,” It took a few moments for Bunnymund to break himself free of Pitch’s unnerving gaze to meet Jack’s earnest stare. “I honestly can’t think of something that would go better with Hope then Joy. If you want to paint some eggs than go for it mate, they’re all yours.” Jack clapped his hands delightedly as some eggs and paints were handed to him.

“Oh, pass the baby blue and the white please? And maybe the dark blue too.”

“Ice themed then?” Toothiana asked with a gentle smile.

Jack grinned, “Of course.”

Aster huffed. “Still bringing Winter into Spring.” He muttered without thinking before clenching his teeth together tightly with wide eyes.

The temperature of the room literally dropped several degrees but soon returned to normal. Jack forced a smile and tried to alleviate the tension. “Don’t be jealous Kangaroo, just because the kids will like my snowflakes better than your flowers…”

“Sure mate, whatever you need to tell yourself.” Aster’s voice was shaky and quiet but Jack appreciated his effort anyway.

They painted the rest of the morning away with Jack carefully avoiding any serious talks. He wasn’t ready to go over everything just yet, he needed this. A quiet, pointless morning. It was fun and calming. Baby Tooth was delighted with Jack’s egg painting skills and quickly joined his side of the table. Pitch was even roped into painting a couple, although Jack decided to keep them. The black twisting patterns he’d painted on the eggs belonged in horror movies, not kids play parks.

Jack named them Eggward and Eggwina and Aster enchanted them with enough spring magic to keep them alive and running around on their little legs for years. Jack had always wanted a pet. Now he had two. They didn’t even need to be fed or anything. He played with them for an hour before deciding that he really needed a bath of some kind. On top of the past few days’ worth of grime he now had paint in his fur.

Aster scratched his chin, mindless of the pink paint he was spreading through his fur. Jack hid his smile carefully and Toothiana hid her giggle behind a cough. “Well there’s the hot springs further in but you’re Winter so there’s an icy lake not far.”

“No.” Jack turned it down quickly. Both Tooth and Bunny looked at him curiously, Baby Tooth was off playing with the Evil Egg Twins. “Ah, I don’t really like cold water?” It came out sounding more like a question and Jack hunched over slightly defensively.

“It is for my benefit. We prefer to bathe together, something lukewarm or cool suits us both.” Pitch interjected smoothly with a comforting hand on Jack’s lower back.

“Alright then, I know just the place.”

It didn’t take long for them to bathe and Tooth packed up a picnic lunch for them in the fields, where they’d be able to help more readily with Bunny’s Easter preparations. It would be about ten more hours until Bunny had to begin his rounds. As many bad memories as Easter brought up for the expecting couple Jack pushed them down and Pitch focused on his wife rather than the past. So along with Toothiana, Jack poured his center into Easter, giving Joy to the Hope of the holiday.

The conversation was stilted and awkward. Pitch’s constant glaring wasn’t helping any but he seemed distracted so Jack wasn’t going to call him on it. It had been a rough few days for Pitch as well.

Tooth coughed a little and attempted to start a conversation, “So, uh, how did the two of you meet?” She asked curiously. She did really want to know; the idea of the Boogeyman being happily married for two hundred years was such a foreign concept to her. She hadn’t had a lot to do with Pitch in the old days, she’d helped the others drive him out but she had been a very young spirit when that had happened. Back then he’d seemed so far gone that there couldn’t have possibly been any hope for him, but now, seeing the tender looks he sent Jack when the younger spirit wasn’t looking and Pitch’s fierce protectiveness… It was obvious that she’d underestimated Pitch all those years ago. Then again maybe she hadn’t. Maybe it had taken Jack to bring the Nightmare King out of the darkness?

Jack smiled cheekily, “He cut a wendigo in half right in front of me.”

“Oh, uh,” Toothiana was a warrior queen and no stranger to battle, although the answer threw her for a moment. “That’s nice?”

Jack laughed. “Yeah, I woulda been wendigo chow if Pitch hadn’t showed up when he did.”

Aster hummed but didn’t look up from his egg. “Wendigoes can scent us despite the forms we take. They seem to think we smell like prey, unfortunately they don’t realize that Pookas are in fact apex predators.”

Jack nodded his agreement, “Yeah, it would’ve been fine if it had been one or two but I was surrounded by five and I was very young. Pitch saved me.”

“So you met when he saved your life? Oh how romantic!” Tooth looked delighted.

Pitched huffed. “Yes, a face full of snow and a threat as a thank you. It was wonderful.”

“Shut up, you loved it.” Jack playfully hit Pitch’s arm.

Pitch rolled his eyes but didn’t deny it.

“So you threatened him after he saved you? Why?” Toothiana fluffed up the pillow she’d been sitting on and lay down on her stomach facing the couple. This was the most interesting gossip she’d heard in years! With a bunch of male teammates, she didn’t often get to indulge in conversations like these.

“Well look at him! I was terrified!”

“But clearly not terrified enough.” Pitch pulled his wife a little closer to himself, resting his hand on Jack’s waist.

“Yeah but back then, I didn’t know who I was or what I was. There were only three things I knew for sure, my name, that the moon is an ass and that everything that could see me wanted to kill me. I’d been around for about a hundred years by that point and I’d almost been killed a bunch of times. In the early days I didn’t have anyone to protect me. I knew I could change my shape and I stayed human for the most part because being a giant rabbit was dangerous, it seemed to lure more dangerous predators. I got so used to hiding that when Pitch saw me as myself, and I knew he was stronger than I was, I was terrified.”

Aster’s ears were facing them indicating that he was listening intently even as his hands flew over the eggs he was painting. Jack and Tooth were painting again as well but they weren’t as fast as Aster and while they were talking they were even slower.

“And you Pitch? What did you think of Jack?”

“I was surprised that there was another survivor from the war, I was… relieved.”

Jack nodded and forgoing his painting completely he curled close to his husband. “Apparently my waking coincided with Kozmotis’s awakening. Pitch started to remember things, by the time I met him, he wasn’t the Nightmare King anymore. Although Night does like throwing around the title.”

“I do not.”

“‘How can you not know of the fearsome Nightmare King?’” Jack quoted in his best Pitch impression.

“You’re a Pooka, I was genuinely surprised that you did not.” Pitch sniffed as he defended himself and Toothiana giggled.

“Of course dear husband, of course.” Jack patted Pitch’s arm in mock understanding.

“You ‘woke up’ here Jack? What do you mean? I mean if you’re Bunny’s…” She trailed off at the three glares she received so Tooth cleared her throat and tried again, “If you’re related to the Pookas then how could you just wake up here, what, 300 odd years ago? The Pookas have been gone for millions of years.”

This conversation was skirting into dangerous territory; Pitch could feel his wife tensing beside him. This was uncomfortable for Jack to talk about and it had taken many years for him to talk to Pitch about it. He was about to interrupt or change the subject but much to his surprise Jack chose to answer them.

“I was frozen.” He answered simply. It was vague and not even half of the truth, the truth that he had only ever told Pitch, but it would do. “I don’t really want to talk about this anymore. I’m tired. I think I’ll go have a nap.”

Pitch rose first and helped Jack to his feet.

“I’m sorry I didn’t mean to-”

“Tooth, it’s fine.” Jack smiled at her. “It’s not easy for me to talk about but you didn’t know. Just, please, don’t bring it up again. It’s hard to think about… knowing how long I must have been in the ice.”

“Of course Jack. Rest well.” Jack nodded and left with Pitch.

As they left Aster let out a long breath and stilled his shaking hands. Tooth gave him a sympathetic look but Aster shook his head and continued his work. No time. Easter would start in a few hours. He would try and deal with all this other stuff later.

Jack and Pitch walked back to their room but Jack wouldn’t hold Pitch’s hand or touch him in any way. Pitch knew what was coming so he was not at all surprised when Jack stopped suddenly and grabbed at the nearest wall to support himself. Thick ice quickly coated its surface. Even without his staff Jack had become quite formidable with his ice powers. Pitch had made sure of that.

“Sorry, I just, need a minute.” He let out a breath and looked up at his husband with wide eyes.

Pitch understood. Pitch knew.

“Take all the time you need.”

The reason it was so hard for Jack to talk about, all those years in the ice… Jack had been aware while he was frozen. His body may not have been able to move, he may not have been able to open his eyes, but his mind had been awake and aware.

For millions of years.

Alone.

Frozen at the bottom of his lake.

Chapter 9: I hate you

Nicholas St. North was a big and strong man. He was jolly and kind, he loved all the children of the world and spread the Wonder he felt among them generously. Even when he had been a bandit he had never harmed children and would protect them when it was needed. He had been a Guardian long before he had become spirit.

He had told the others that he had some work to do at the Workshop. But in truth Christmas was not for some time yet and the clean up from last year was long since over. It’s not that work ever stopped at the Workshop, it’s just there were times in the year when North himself was not as busy with preparations and around Easter was usually that time. He could have been helping out Aster and Jack. He had wanted to. But unlike Aster he had noticed straight away the resemblance between the Pookas. He wasn’t certain but Aster was his oldest friend and he had learned a great deal about Aster’s past over the years. He had a feeling in his belly, and the feeling was that Jack was closer to Aster then he first appeared to be.

With this feeling plaguing him, North had sought knowledge in the deep wells of magic hidden below his Workshop. There were many who often forgot that North was not just a powerful Russian swordsman, he was also an ancient sorcerer of great power and wisdom. He used that power now. Looking into the deep light of one of his most powerful wells he sought out the truth of Jack and his origins.

Nicholas St. North was a big and strong man.

The truth he learned that day left him feeling weak and sick.

“Oh Manny. How could you do this?”

***

By silent agreement both Pitch and Jack decided not to bother Aster until after Easter. They had a lot to talk about. A lot of issues that needed airing. Jack lay awake a during Easter thinking about what he wanted to say to Bunny. They needed to talk but… Jack wanted to do this alone. He needed to do this alone. He didn’t want to be afraid anymore. He wasn’t some pushover and he wasn’t weak. He was much stronger than he was back in ’68. And now… Yes. He needed to talk to Bunny without Pitch. There were some things he wanted to say to the elder Pooka that he didn’t want his husband to hear.

“You are thinking about something.” It was a statement. Not a question.

Jack looked up from his usual place on Pitch’s chest. He searched his husband’s eyes for a moment before speaking. “I want to talk to Bunny tomorrow, alone. There are a lot of things I want to say and I need to do it on my own.” It wasn’t a request; Jack wasn’t asking permission.

Pitch knew Jack and so understood why he wanted to do this. He also understood that there was no way he could stop his wife from doing this. That didn’t stop his feelings to surge protectively and his bloodlust to bubble like lava beneath his skin. “Very well.” Pitch replied curtly. “But I will be near and if you are afraid for even a moment I will rip him to pieces.”

With a wicked little smile Jack crawled on top of his husband and straddled his waist. “You’re sexy when you’re overprotective.”

“And you’re obvious when you’re trying to distract me.”

Jack just hummed and traced his claws lightly down Pitch’s chest. He rolled his hips slightly. “Do you not want the distraction?” Jack asked with wide, innocent eyes, even though the way he was moving his body was anything but. “We could cuddle instead…”

Pitch rolled them so that Jack was underneath him with Pitch resting between his thighs. “Jack, I love you. I love you and our kits so much it hurts but I’m not strong enough.”

“Pitch?”

“I can’t lose them again. I can’t have fatherhood torn away again and I can’t almost lose you again. You almost died that winter and it almost killed me. If anything happens please don’t be brave, don’t hide your fear. If anything happens be afraid and I will come to you because I’m not strong enough to survive losing everything again.”

Jack wrapped his arms around his husband and nuzzled into his neck affectionately. “I know. This is our last chance for a family because I know I won’t survive losing our kits again. I’m not strong enough either, so we’ll fight with all we have. And we’ll make it. I know we will. Our kits are depending on us and this time I know we won’t let them down. I love you Night, you saved me back when we met and every day after. I would have died in ’68 if it wasn’t for you.” Jack guided one of Pitch’s hands down to his stomach. “We can do this Pitch; I know we can.”

With his hand on Jack’s stomach and eyes drowning in Jack’s he could almost feel it. His family here, with him. He wasn’t going to give up on them. Not now, not ever. He would fight until he died to save them and he would fight against his fear. Pitch kissed Jack softly, sweetly. His wife and their kits were right here. Alive. Jack was breathing and safe and their kits were growing inside of him.

“I believe you.” Pitch smiled down at his wife.

“And I believe in you.” Jack replied before pulling Pitch down for another kiss.

They made love slowly and gently, Pitch reverently worshipping every inch of Jack and always being painstakingly careful of his stomach.

Jack basked in the affection and loved every minute being surrounded by his husband’s touch and scent.

They spent the day together. Toothiana had gone back to her palace with a reluctant Baby Tooth in tow. Eggward and Eggwina toddled along behind them with their frightening paint jobs and tiny legs. Jack waited until the next morning to confront Bunny about everything. Giving him time to finish Easter and rest for a few hours.

If Jack were in a more charitable mood he would have waited longer, but his patience was stretched thin as it was. North and Sandy were meant to coming along later so Jack left Pitch to wait for them with the Evil Egg Twins while he ventured to find E. Aster Bunnymund.

It didn’t take him long to locate Bunny’s bedroom door. He could scent the Easter Bunny from a mile away and could tell that he was in there. Jack knocked tentatively, “Bunny, we need to talk.” And waited.

Jack didn’t have to wait long.

Bunny opened the door and gestured for Jack to enter. Jack did so and took an offered seat on a lounge next to a bookcase. Bunny’s room was sparse but nicely furnished. Everything was wooden but solidly built and well worn. The lounge was wooden as well but covered in soft green cushions. Aster sat on his bed. Jack watched him. His grey fur was limp and lifeless, his usually bright eyes dull and his shoulders slumped. He looked tired and… old. The spirit that represented Life was not supposed to look so old.

Jack traced his eyes over the pattern on Aster’s shoulder, the same pattern that Jack was graced with. Streaked across his white fur in pale blue, a three-point flower with two arrows pointing down. Bunny’s patterns were much easier to see on him than Jack’s, the grey contrasted better than Jack’s blue. Jack closed his eyes and took a breath. The patterns really were the same.

If what Bunny said was true that meant that… Bunnymund was his father.

Strangely it didn’t hurt as much to think about it now that he had calmed down.

“None of this,” Jack gestured between himself and Bunny, “Changes anything. I don’t care if we share the same blood. I don’t care if you care about it. I am no different to the person I was yesterday, or the day before that or the year before that. I am still Jack Frost… And you are still the man who killed my unborn child.” Bunny flinched. “And almost killed me. You beat up a teenaged boy and left him in the snow. I could have died that day, and I would have, had Pitch not found me in time. Even then it was close. It took me seven years to leave the lair after that day. I was so afraid.” Jack closed his eyes again, remembering the paralyzing fear that had stopped him leaving his home. The way his mind had broken, the way his fur had dulled. Free spirits were not meant for captivity.

Aster let out a broken sound, halfway between a gasp and a sob and opened his mouth but Jack spoke before he had the chance to.

“Don’t apologize.” Bunny snapped his mouth shut. “I will never be able to forgive you. It’s not something I think that any mother could forgive.” Jack opened his eyes and looked squarely at Bunnymund. “But now, I don’t have to be afraid anymore, do I?”

Aster shook his head, “No! No of course not! I wouldn’t-?”

Jack scoffed. “Of course you wouldn’t. I’m your son.” Bunny flinched again, startling so violently that he almost fell off of his bed. “And I’m carrying your grandchildren.” Jack continued with calm, cold ice in his eyes. “You wouldn’t do anything to harm me. In fact, I bet with all that guilt you’re carrying, you’d let me get away with whatever I wanted.” Jack mused with a tilt of his head, his eyes still wide and staring unnervingly into Bunny’s. “Wouldn’t you?”

Aster looked like a deer caught in the headlights, watching his impending doom and being unable to avoid it. Jack looked eerily calm. With tears welling in his eyes Aster nodded once.

“I could kill you if I wanted, couldn’t I? You wouldn’t even fight me.”

Aster nodded again, his mouth turning down at the corners in a sick grimace. “No.” He croaked before clearing his throat and trying again. “No. I wouldn’t.” He felt like his tongue was sandpaper in his mouth and his back itched as though expecting to be attacked at any moment. Jack turned away for a moment and Aster felt like he could breathe again.

“I won’t forgive you Bunny, I can’t. I won’t kill you either. I’m not interested in revenge. But I need your help. I don’t want to risk my kits safety by trying to birth them without someone who knows what they’re doing. You do, don’t you?”

“Yes. I helped birth my younger siblings when my Da passed. I also helped Snowbell birth our kit. It’s a father’s duty.”

Snowbell… That was his mother’s name? Jack inhaled deeply. It didn’t matter. She was long gone, along with the rest of the Pookas. Millions of years ago. “You will teach Pitch and assist us with our pregnancy. After this is over though… I don’t want anything to do with you. As for the kits, I will keep them away from you as well until they are old enough to judge you for themselves.”

Aster took a shaking breath but nodded his head. There wasn’t a thing in the world he would deny Jack now.

Jack watched coldly as Bunny shrunk in on himself, hunching his shoulders with his head hanging low and his ears pinned back. Jack knew he should feel guilty for hurting someone this way, and a small part of him did, but the rest of him… All Jack had to do was think of that horrible moment when they fought, when Bunny’s fist had connected with his stomach and had taken away his Hope, taken away his first child. Jack took a breath to steady himself as he rose to leave.

“I hate you, so much. For what you’ve taken from me. For how you’ve treated Pitch over the years. For kidnapping me and straining this pregnancy as well. But right now? I think I hate you most of all for being my father.” Jack opened the door and as he was about to leave turned back for a moment to see Bunny shaking with his head in his hands. “I’ll let you rest. We’ll talk more then, before Pitch and I head home. We’ll have to see about regular visits or something to keep an eye on the pregnancy until the birth. I need you right now, so do my kits. But if you take my children away from me again I will kill you Bun-bun, and I’ll laugh as the world burns because of it.” Bunny was the embodiment of life itself on the planet. Spring, Hope and Life all rolled into one. If Bunny died the planet could very well die with him. It was why Jack stopped Pitch from killing him in the first place. Jack stepped out and closed the door gently behind him.

The look of shocked horror on Bunny’s face had certainly been worth his final comments.

What did the Kangaroo expect?

Jack was married to the Nightmare King.

Seeking out his husband he found him in the kitchen cooking bacon and eggs. Jack smiled and purred as he plastered himself to his husband’s back.

“You’re happy. Things went well?” Jack nodded and Pitch noticeably relaxed. His body had been wound ridiculously tight.

“We need to talk to him together, I don’t want to stay here any longer and I’d rather the kits be born in the lair.”

“I suppose that means the rabbit will have to have access to our home then.” Pitch didn’t sound pleased but he didn’t argue.

Jack kissed his back softly. “I know. I don’t like it either.”

“Are you alright?”

Jack felt something twist in him and after a moment too long of silence Pitch turned to face him. “I… I don’t know. I said some things… I threatened him Pitch. And I <i>meant</i> it.”

“Oh Jack…” Pitch held onto his wife. Comforting Jack with his warmth and scent. Jack turned his head to press his ear against Pitch’s chest and listen to the rhythmic beating of his heart. “I… I don’t think I can make this better but… I will always support you. If things get out of hand I can kill the rabbit for you.”

Jack let out a little huff. Pitch was missing the point on purpose. “Ok.”

“Ok?”

“Ok.”

Pitch rubbed Jack’s back soothingly. He understood what Jack was saying, he really did. His wife had lost his innocence during that terrible Easter. Aster had been the one to take it from him. Jack was meant to be a spirit of childhood; he wasn’t meant to know pain like he had suffered. But after the miscarriage and all those years in the ice… Jack had matured in darkness and could not be blamed if some of all that darkness had stayed with him. It didn’t matter to Pitch. He would always love his wife.

In Pitch’s eyes Jack would always be perfect.

“Ah! Young Jack! I was hoping I might speak with you?” North’s loud voice boomed across the tiny kitchen, completely ruining the moment. How they didn't hear the giant Cossack coming was a mystery.

Jack sighed a little in frustration and Pitch gently tilted his face up so their eyes met. “Do you want me to kill him too?”

Chapter 10: What would Bunny have done?

Aster held himself so tightly he could barely breathe. His claws kept unsheathing and sheathing. Unsheathing and then sheathing. He could feel them digging into his skin but he didn’t move or stop, he didn’t feel the pain. He didn’t notice the blood. His ears were low and his eyes were blank. His tears formed thick trails down his face.

How could he have ruined things so badly? He was meant to be hope and… Why had he even attacked Jack? Looking it back on it now it just didn’t feel… Why would he even do something like that?

He never does things like that. Not to children. Never to children. He blustered and yelled and grumped… but… violence?

So why? What had he been thinking? His mind felt fogged, thick, unsure. Something felt wrong inside and he couldn’t quite put his figure out what it was. His claws cut into him and then they were gone. Unsheathing and sinking into his skin and sheathing again. The back of his upper arms were bleeding quite badly but he didn’t notice. He just stared blankly ahead and tried to figure out what could possibly have made him so angry and so blind that he would have attacked his own son. It didn’t make sense because once Aster had realized who Jack was, the younger Pooka’s scent was so obviously familial that he couldn’t figure out how he hadn’t noticed before. Jack had always smelled that way, so why was he only noticing now?

He could sense the life in Jack so strongly, the life of the kits shone so brightly, but why hadn’t he before Jack mentioned it? He was the spirit of Life! He didn’t notice when he kidnapped Jack and he didn’t notice over forty years ago.

Nothing made sense.

He was a monster.

He murdered his grandkit and had almost killed his son.

Oh by the moon! His son was alive!

Aster began to laugh, and sob, at the same time uncontrollably.

Still his claws unsheathed and sheathed. Cut and then not cut. He didn’t notice the pain.

He didn’t notice the blood.

***

Jack looked up at North with a look of pure horror, even Pitch had to sit down to control his nausea.

“That can’t be… You can’t be…” Jack whispered breathlessly.

North shook his head with big sad eyes. “I am afraid so. I am unsure whether it was planned by Man in Moon or whether he has lost his mind. One thing has become clear; it was not Bunny’s fault. He has not been in complete control of himself for some time.”

Jack took a breath, trying to calm himself. “Ok, what about now? Is he in control of himself now?”

North nodded, “Yes. Learning of the first pregnancy started breaking the bindings, but learning you are his son, broke them completely. For the first time in thousands of years Bunny is himself in his own mind.”

“I just… I don’t understand? Why me? Why all of this? What could the Man in the Moon possibly have to gain? I, I,” Jack started to hyperventilate. This… this was unreal… This didn’t make any sense. Bunny had hurt him. He hated Bunny, Bunny was bad but… If what North said was true, then it wasn’t Bunny’s fault at all.

Pitch pulled Jack onto his lap and held him tightly, Jack nuzzled into his neck, instinctively seeking the comforting scent of his mate. Pitch was here. It would be ok.

“I do not know, but it seems that something happened 300 years ago, something that Manny could not predict. Something I cannot see. This ‘something’ caused you to gain your freedom from the ice. You were attacked relentlessly; it is a miracle you survived. I saw this, and when you met Pitch you became stronger.”

“You’re telling me that all happened because the Man in the Moon wanted to, what, kill me?”

North let out a long, troubled sigh. He sat down with enough force to make his chair creak dangerously beneath him and the room shake slightly. Eggward toppled over on the table and Eggwina would have fallen off if Pitch hadn’t caught her with his shadows. He deposited her safely on the table beside her brother with a glare at North. He did not go to the trouble of painting Jack eggs so they could be ruined by a fat idiot in a red coat.

“It would appear so my friend.”

Jack shook his head and snuggled further into Pitch. He closed his eyes and let this new information sink in. Suddenly, there were some things that started to make sense. Things that Jack had missed due to his anger, fear and grief.

Bunny was the spirit of Hope, he could sense Hope in others, but he had never sensed Jack. Aster could sense all life, but he’d never sensed Jack’s pregnancies, either of them. Aster was always in his Pookan form, his sense of smell should have been extraordinary and Jack knew even in human form he still smelled Pookan. It was why the wendigoes kept attacking him. If nothing else, he should have easily been able to scent Pitch on Jack but he hadn’t. They were little things but they started to add up and paint a horrifying picture. Then there was the fact that before that Easter neither Jack nor Pitch would have even thought Bunny capable of attacking someone in cold blood. They both knew he could rant, yell and occasionally threaten but… Pitch would never have let Jack go to meet Bunny alone if there had been a chance of serious harm coming to his wife.

Jack didn’t know how to handle all of this, so he closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath. His husband’s scent was the strongest but apart from the usual scents in the warren there was something… off. Something… metallic and sharp… Jack’s ears shot up as his eyes shot open and his entire body stiffened for a moment. Then he took off faster than Pitch could call out his name.

Almost tearing the door off its hinges Jack burst into Bunnymund’s room.

There was Bunny, in the same position he’d been in when Jack left. Sitting on his bed with his head bowed low and his arms wrapped around himself. He was sobbing and Jack could see the blood dripping from behind his arms. He twitched his ears slightly and focused, he could hear Bunny’s claws coming in and out of their sheaths. Taking a few tentative steps forward so as not to scare the older Pooka who hadn’t seemed to have noticed him yet, Jack reached out and touched Bunny’s shoulder.

There was no reaction. He didn’t jump, he didn’t look up. Bunny remained curled over. His only movements were the way his body shuddered as he sobbed and his claws and their incessant extending and retracting.

Very, very gently, being mindful of Bunny’s claws, Jack took Bunny’s hands in his own and slowly lowered them away from his arms. He brought them around to the front and held them both together in his hands. Bunnymund finally looked up.

Green eyes stained with grief.

The scent of blood….

<i>Blue eyes stained with grief. Tears kept falling, turning into snow. Blood on white fur, soothing scents. “Your father will be back for you ---- I promise----”

Cold. It was always cold.

Cold for the first time. Bright for the first time. Everything new.

Being held, strong arms. Comforting scents.

“Snowbell… He’s beautiful.”

“What should we call him?” </i>

“Jack!”

Jack gasped and quickly took in his surroundings. He was in Bunny’s room, holding Bunny’s hands. Bunny was looking at him but this time he was focused and worried. But it hadn’t been his voice Jack had heard.

“Jack, talk to me.” Pitch. It was Pitch, now that Jack was paying attention he could feel one of Pitch’s hands on his back and another on his shoulder. Supporting him, Pitch always supported him.

“I…” Jack trailed off and shook his head. He wasn’t sure what had just happened. He glanced back at Bunny, their hands were still entwined. He held on a little tighter for a moment. Bunny looked confused but didn’t pull away. After a few more moments Jack let go and looked down at his hands. Blood…

<i>Blood on white fur, soothing scents. “Your father will be back for you ---- I promise----” </i>

Jack’s mind was so confused that it was easy to let his instincts take over. It just… felt right. He knelt down on the ground and with his ears pinned back he lowered his head to Bunny, watching, waiting, he wasn’t quite sure what for.

Aster recognized Jack’s behavior instantly. He was being submissive, showing deference to the Patriarch of his clan. Aster wasn’t sure what was going on but he knelt on the floor in front of Jack and offered his neck, baring is throat.

Slowly, Jack crept forward on all fours. There were only a few other times Pitch had ever seen Jack act like this. Pitch closed his eyes briefly before opening them to watch his wife intently. He understood. Jack, when his sanity was in danger, would revert to his instincts. He had been through a lot, and by the looks of things, it wouldn’t be getting any easier any time soon. No matter how much Pitch wanted to make it so… Lunanoff was involved and that complicated everything.

So very timidly, as though afraid of repercussions, Jack pressed his nose into the fur at Aster’s neck and inhaled.

<i>Cold for the first time. Bright for the first time. Everything new.

Being held, strong arms. Comforting scents.

“Snowbell… He’s beautiful.”

“What should we call him?” </i>

“Your scent, it’s familiar.” Jack spoke quietly as he pulled away. But his voice was blank and oddly monotone. Carrying none of his usual exuberance. He walked back over to Pitch on all fours and nuzzled into his thigh before circling him. Pitch offered a hand and Jack nuzzled into it as well.

“Come, I did not finish preparing you breakfast. North is speaking with Sanderson and we have sent for the Tooth Fairy. I believe we should all speak, but preferably somewhere a little more comfortable.” Pitch spoke as he eyed Aster’s room disdainfully. Jack didn’t give Pitch a reply but Pitch wasn’t really expecting one.

Glancing back at Aster Pitch sneered, “Clean yourself up and join us rabbit. As much as I loathe to admit it, Jack needs you now. Pull yourself together.”

Bunny gaped for a moment. “I… I don’t…”

Pitch turned and began to walk away, but left one last parting comment. “As much as I hate you Aster, just remember, I hate Lunanoff more. And I love Jack more than I hate either of you.”

***

“I suppose now that we are gathered, I should tell you what I have learned.” North announced somberly at the gathered Guardians, Pitch and Jack.

They were in Bunny’s living room sitting around in comfortable lounges quite similarly to how they were the night they’d first brought Jack back. Pitch had chosen to sit on the floor because in Jack’s current state of mind he wasn’t interested in the furniture. Jack had been quite pleased when Pitch took his seat on the floor and had curled up in his husband’s lap with a soft purr. Pitch stroked his fur absentmindedly while paying attention to the Guardians. Jack would want to know what was said later, after some rest and time to decompress from all that had happened. Pitch really needed to get Jack back to the lair, where it was safe and familiar. Pitch spared a glance and Aster, who was watching Jack intently, Pitch wasn’t entirely sure it was a good idea to separate the two of them yet.

Whatever had happened to Jack, he had sought out Bunnymund after. Pitch was secure enough in their marriage not to feel petty jealousy over something so simple, but it was nagging at him. For now, he would listen to North. Perhaps hearing this again would give him new insight.

“I apologize for my deception… I did not have work to do, I left to gaze deep into the mystery our dear young Jack presented. Another Pooka… It is wonderful but should not have been possible. What I found was…

<i>North gazed deep into the pool of light at the base of his deepest well. An untainted light that reflected wisdom in its purest form. They could show, what was, what is, what will be and what could have been. Knowledge without restraints or limits, unconfined to the bindings of reality. It took a great deal of concentration to tame the flow of the water to find the knowledge that was sought. North had hundreds of years of experience doing just that, taming, shaping, creating these pools of wisdom that he may use them if needed.

He knew he would eventually need them. He had felt it, in his belly.

North focused his thoughts on Jack Frost and asked a simple question ‘What would Bunny have done during the Easter of 1968?’

The water rippled and the light faded slightly and as the surface changed it presented North with a vision which confirmed his suspicions.

Jack was waiting by his lake, there was a snowstorm in the air and Jack caught a snowflake on his tongue with a little nervous smile.

One of Bunnymund’s tunnels opened up nearby.

Aster’s ears popped up first, twitching this way and that.

“Hey Bunny. I’m here.” Jack called out with a smile as the ears twisted around to face him.

The ancient Pookan warrior leapt from his tunnel with his boomerangs in his hands and faced Jack. He was clearly angry, but not aggressive.

Jack raised his hands. “I don’t want any trouble; I just want to talk.”

Bunny took an agitated step forward. “What could be so important that…” He trailed off and looked down at Jack’s stomach and back up at his face. “Oh…” Then Bunny inhaled deeply, his nose twitching as he scented the air, and scented Jack. “Oh.”

“Ok, I, uh… Well, I’m pregnant and I’m… well… a Pooka. Like you.” Jack stuttered even though he was sure Aster had already figured out most of that on his own. “Bunny, I’m sorry about Easter, I didn’t know how else to get your attention and I need help. I… I didn’t know I could get pregnant and I don’t know what to do now. I’m scared. I just… want my kit to be safe. Please help me.”

Aster’s eyes were wide and he was breathing quickly. “Show me.” He said quickly. “Show me your true self.”

Jack’s eyes flew wide. This was it. He knew he’d have to do it, he did. He also knew that he couldn’t hold this form for long but letting it go… Jack was scared. “But I’ll be attacked out here, things always try to kill me when I’m… me.” Pitch was coming, Jack could feel it. He’d been too afraid so his husband was worried. It would only take him a minute or two to get here from the lair.

“It’s alright mate, I won’t let anyone hurt you. I will never let anyone hurt you. You are carrying the future of our entire race inside you and you’re my… You’re… please let me see you Jack.” Bunny was pleading, he’d put away his weapons and had raised his hands to show he was now unarmed. Pitch was coming soon. Jack was safe and he needed to change soon or risk harming the baby.

Jack allowed his form to alter and shift, his white hair rippling and spreading across his body, his ears growing and shifting to the top of his head. The tickling whiskers sprouting across his face. His pants tore as his legs thickened (there was no way he was taking his pants off while he was human in front of anyone other than his husband) but his hoodie remained on, fitting him better when he did finally take his full Pookan form.

Aster took a step closer but stopped when Jack tensed and took a step back. He had to be careful, considering how hard this was for him Bunny knew this must be hard for Jack as well.

Aster took in Jack’s appearance. Taller than he was as a human but still shorter than Aster himself and nowhere near as broad. His fur was pure white and brighter than fresh snow. His eyes were the same ice blue as his other form and the tips of his ears and feet were pale blue. There was a pale blue snowflake pattern on his forehead. He was slim, his shoulders narrow and his hips were wider, his legs thicker than his arms and strong, sturdy. He looked built for speed. He looked closer to an actual rabbit than Aster did but that was to be expected, Aster’s form had changed greatly when he had become the source of Life for the planet. Jack’s jumper was hiding his upper arms, hiding the clan markings that Aster desperately wanted to see. Though, judging by Jack’s scent, seeing the markings would only confirm what he already knew.

“On your arms, your markings, do they look like mine?” Bunny asked softly, turning slightly to give Jack a better view of his patterns. “But I would guess yours would be a light blue, like your snowflake.”

Jack glanced down at Aster’s patterns quickly before looking up at his face. “Yes? Is that… is that normal?”

Bunny let out a breath and took another step towards Jack, and another so he could put his hands gently on the younger Pooka’s shoulders. Tears were welling in his eyes and he didn’t bother hiding them or trying to hold them back. “Only for members of the same clan, the marks are familial… Like scents.”

Jack searched Bunny’s eyes, his own were growing misty as well. “You… who are you?” Jack whispered but there was something in him calling, pulling him towards Bunny so when the older Pooka wrapped Jack in a furred embrace Jack didn’t fight it. He saw the shadows darken somewhere out of the corner of his eye and knew that Pitch had come, but right now he was focused on Bunny.

“You’re alive… Oh by the moon! You’re alive!” Bunny held Jack a little tighter, not tight enough to hurt, but he wasn’t ready to let go.

Without really understanding why, Jack nuzzled his nose into Bunny’s neck and inhaled. “Your scent… it’s familiar…” He whispered.

Bunny laughed a little and backed off so he could look Jack in the eyes. “That would be because I’m your Da, mate.”

“Da?”

“Yes Jack… you’re my son. I can’t believe… You’re alive, ha, you’re alive!” Bunny laughed a little as happy tears streamed down his face.

Jack lost control of his legs and sank to the ground in shock.

“Jack!” Two voices called out at once.

Pitch had come out of the shadows.

Bunny snarled when he noticed the Nightmare King and drawing his weapons he placed himself between his son and the threat, although now that Pitch was here he could scent the man all over Jack. If he had hurt Jack…

“Step away from my wife rabbit.” Pitch spat darkly and the shadows around him grew and swirled menacingly.

Aster’s first thought was that Pitch was a threat but then he reevaluated. Pitch could have just attacked them but he hadn’t. Pitch had referred to Jack as his wife. Jack was pregnant. Jack smelled mated and the mated scent belonged to Pitch.

Despite any personal grievances he had with this man Jack was clearly alive, healthy and safe. If he was mated to Pitch than the Boogeyman must have been doing an acceptable job as a husband.

He lowered his weapons but chose not to move. Pitch took a step closer, “Jack, are you alright?”

“I don’t know!” Jack yelled out hysterically, “He says he’s my father… I don’t understand…” His voice sounded so lost that Aster turned away from the Boogeyman and back to his son.

Pitch chose that moment of distraction of find his way next to Jack and he pulled the frost spirit into his arms. “It’s alright my darling, I am here.”

Jack pressed his nose into Pitch’s neck, like he had done with Bunny no more than a few minutes ago. As he basked in his husband’s scent he began to calm down. Pitch stroked his ears lovingly and Jack let out a breath.

“Better?”

“Better. Thank you.” Jack smiled up at his husband. Aster could see the love between them, and if this moment was any indication, their marriage seemed to be a happy one.

Aster just tried his best not to think about who Jack had married. He would sort out his feelings on the matter later but right now he just… wanted to feel happy. He was happy. His son… Aster had only known him so briefly before he had been called to war… And he was still alive!

The three of them stood together, Jack still unwilling to part from Pitch’s arms. Aster was about to speak, they had a lot to talk about, but the storm had calmed and the clouds were clearing. The moon shone brightly in the sky, directly above them. Aster glanced up at it, why was Manny watching?

They were out in the open and as the moon’s light was cast over them Jack cried out in pain, there was a blinding flash that forced both Bunny and Pitch back a few steps and all of a sudden Jack was thrown away from them. He landed roughly on the ice of the lake and the momentum carried him sliding out a few feet until he was practically at the center of the lake. His staff had landed too far away for him to reach, sliding over the opposite side of the lake.

Jack groaned and Pitch seemed to be temporarily blinded by the light that had struck them. “Jack?!” He called for his wife.

Aster looked out to Jack who was just sitting up, out on the ice. “He’s on the lake, he looks alright.” But Aster quickly choked on his words as he heard a sound that made his blood run cold, a deep croaking groan coming from the ice. The moon shone brightly above them and Aster watched on in disbelief as Jack looked up with pure terror in his eyes. Large cracks snaked across the ice, starting from all sides of the shore and spider webbing across towards the center of the lake, towards Jack. It happened so quickly that Bunny barely had the time to scream out Jack’s name as Jack was plunged into the freezing water.

There was no thought as Bunny leapt forward only to find the ice had already frozen back over. Aster ran to the center of the lake and taking out his boomerangs he beat at the ice, but it was thick and all he was doing was scratching the surface. “No! No no no no!” Aster screamed and when his boomerangs broke after bashing them too hard into the ice he resorted to his claws. He was roaring at the ice, digging until his fingers were bleeding and still not making a dent in the cold surface.

“Back away, now!” Pitch barked from beside him. Aster looked up to see Pitch standing with his arms stretched out wide, two giant scythes that were larger than the man himself were suspended in front of his outstretched hands, his eyes were red and bleeding but his golden irises were clear. Aster moved and Pitch twisted his hands. His scythes started spinning faster and faster, moving like saws and he cut deep holes in the ice, but as he cut the ice was starting to close over again. Pitch growled and raise his hands in the air. The ground rumbled and tremored and Aster looked on in horror as a horde of black horses with fire in their eyes stampeded out of the trees. They ran across the lake towards them, their hooves beating heavily across the ice and deepening Pitch’s cracks. As the horses reached them Pitch made a slicing motion and all the horses who came near exploded into black sand while the others remained on the sides of the lake stamping their hooves with angry whinnies.

Pitch raised his hands again and the black sand rose in a wave so thick it blocked out the moonlight, and then he brought his hands down quickly and the sand came crashing down. As Aster watched the sand found its way into the cuts that Pitch had made with this scythe’s and the cracks the horses hooves had opened. More sand than Aster thought possible worked its way into the ice, Pitch brought his hands together as though he was holding something between them and then pulled them apart slowly as though he was ripping something apart. Once more the sound of cracking ice assaulted Aster’s ears as Pitch used his black sand to literally rip the ice apart.

As the ice was forcibly spread and held there by the black sand, which was solidifying like glass in an effort to keep the ice apart, more black sand bubbled to the surface of the now exposed water. Rising with the sand was Jack, being held in place by the constantly shifting black granules making their way to the surface. He appeared to be unconscious.

“Grab him. I cannot keep this up.” Pitch grunted out quickly, the effort of fighting the ice obviously taking its toll on him.

Aster wasted no time and quickly pulled his son into his arms. Jack’s body was cold, wet and completely still. He was heavier than usual with his fur weighed down with water but he was still light enough that Aster lifted him easily into his arms. He took a few steps back, cradling Jack’s body close.

There was another flash of bright light but this time before it could do any damage one of Pitch’s horses leapt in the way and exploded into golden sand as the light hit it.

“Get him to the shadows!” Pitch screamed. “Away from the moonlight!”

Aster took off for the tree line as another flash erupted above him but again one of those frightening horses leapt into it instead and turned into a cloud of golden sand. The horses had stopped cracking the ice but the ice started to shift again beneath Aster’s feet, cracking like it had right before Jack had fallen.

Nightmare sand poured up through the cracks and it was then that Bunny noticed that Pitch wasn’t following them. He spared a glance over his shoulder, Pitch was now pulling the ice together underneath them to try and help them make it across. As he watched the moonlight shone brightly and another horse leapt up to take the blow for Pitch. That was when Aster realized what the shining light was, and why Pitch was glaring up at the moon. The lights that kept attacking them were moonbeams. The Man in the Moon was doing this, but Aster had no time to try and figure out why as another horse had to leap in front of him to shield him from another blow, exploding into golden sand as it did so. It was dreamsand, Aster quickly realized as he ran.

As Aster finally managed to get off the ice and continue his mad dash for the trees, several of the horses broke off of the group and surrounded him, guarding him as he ran. No, not him, Pitch was protecting Jack. They soon cleared the tree line. As soon as they were safe from the moonlight Aster lowered Jack gently to the ground and using his powers probed Jack’s life force, and that of the kit’s.

He let out an involuntary sobbing kind of exhale when he realized that Jack’s life was fading, and it was much too late for the kit. Its tiny spark had already fizzled out and died. Male does were more prone to complications with pregnancies, and with the stress of almost drowning… There was nothing Aster could do. But be damned by El-Ahrairah if he was going to let his son die when he had just found him again. Leaning forward he pressed his forehead to Jack’s and let the life giving magic of spring fill him and pour into his son. He ignited Jack’s spark with his own, steadying his son’s heart, mind and body while cleansing it from the child he had lost. He wouldn’t leave that for Jack to deal with later, with the inevitable grief at least Aster could spare him from this pain.

Pitch finally made it to them, appearing out of the shadows and collapsing at Jack’s side. Aster parted from Jack as the younger Pooka finally started to breathe on his own. He looked to Pitch, he was covered in burns from the moonlight and his eyes were still bleeding but he had already started to heal.

“Is Jack alright?” Pitch asked quickly. Aster nodded once. “And our child?” With tears in his eyes Aster gave a minute shake of his head.

“No…” Pitch whispered and all his usual attitude melted from his body, leaving him slumped over looking old and lost. “Oh Jack…”

“I’m sorry…”

North watched as Jack woke slowly with his father and his husband. North watched as Jack learned the fate of his unborn child. North watched as Jack screamed his pain and grief out to the night.

North turned away. </i>

“It became clear to me that if <i>Bunny</i> had acted that night then this is what would have happened. I looked again for reasons to explain what I had seen, to compare it to what actually happened… The Man in Moon had been using Bunny for some time. There were moments when he was himself but then there were times when he was not… It was a dark and insidious magic designed to hide itself and leave its host feeling normal. No doubt Bunny truly believed he would do these things, but looking into the well showed me this was false. I then looked and saw more, Manny had not intended for Jack to thaw from the lake. When Jack woke he tried to have him killed, luring large predators to hunt the young Pooka, believing it would be easy to end his life while he was still innocent. Jack proved stronger. Then Jack met Pitch and became stronger still.”

“So in other words,” Pitch decided to sum things up, having long since grown tired of North’s voice. “Lunanoff wants Jack dead, and regardless of what scenario actually played out in 1968 we would have lost our child. Lunanoff is to blame, if the rabbit had been himself he would not have attacked a pregnant person.” He looked the rabbit in the eyes. “I always thought that you had known, your surprise when you learned of our current pregnancy was in turn a surprise to me.”

Aster shook his head in disbelief. “I would never have… I hate you Pitch. I really do, but I would not take it out on your children.”

Pitch rose with Jack in his arms, the young frost spirit had fallen asleep some time ago. “I am going to take Jack home now. He needs rest, and time away from all of this. If you learn anything else…” A little black rabbit with glowing red eyes suddenly appeared in the room with them. It was no bigger than one of Pitch’s hands. “Then this Nightmare will guide you to the lair. Aster, I expect you to visit in a few days to check on Jack. Make sure you have pulled yourself together before then.”

Before any of them could say anything or object the shadows in the room darkened and swallowed Jack, Pitch and their two little eggs.

Toothiana looked up from her lounge across from Bunny. She leant forward with tears in her eyes and placed a hand on Aster’s, “Oh Aster… I am so sorry… I… I doubted you and I shouldn’t have.”

Sandy was quiet, but this time he had no pictures to share. North was grim and seemed lost in thought as well.

Aster turned to Tooth. “Don’t apologize… if this is all true then you had plenty of reason to doubt me. I… I’m doubting myself. It would be so easy to accept North’s words, to shed myself of the blame but… Whether or not I was in control doesn’t matter does it? I killed my first grandkit and I almost killed my son. I’ve done nothing but be cruel to him for over forty years. Regardless of the Man in the Moon’s influence that kind of pain isn’t going to go away. Right now… I’m just going to focus on trying to make things right, and I intend to protect Jack and the Kits against anything that threatens them. Even from Manny, and if he orders you to hurt Jack, I will protect my son from you too.”

Chapter 11: What Jack wants

Jack woke quietly to the familiar scents of the lair. Home. He was home. He drifted in and out of consciousness for some time, not really ready to wake up properly but not really willing to go back to sleep. His mind was delightfully fogged with sleep and he felt wonderful, like there was nothing to worry about, no pain to feel. He knew it wouldn’t last but he could scent that Pitch was close by and that they were home and for now that was enough.

Sleep couldn’t hold onto Jack forever, however, and Jack soon opened his eyes with a tired sigh. Running one of his hands over his head and ears, smoothing back his fur, Jack took note of his surroundings. He closed his eyes for a moment. It had been a long time since Jack had woken up here.

He opened his eyes and looked around the nursery. The old nursery. Unchanged from the day Jack had left to talk to Bunny back in ‘68. The only difference was the single bed that Pitch had moved in here for Jack when he had refused to leave the room. He had spent months in this room after he had lost his first child. He hadn’t spoken, eaten or slept… His grief had almost killed him. His fur had dulled; he’d lost so much weight that he’d been nothing but bones in his fur. It was only Pitch, coming in every day to clean up after him. Bathing him, preparing him fresh food even if he did not eat and taking the old food away. Brushing his fur every day, talking to him every day, reading him stories and singing to him every single day. Pitch had done everything for Jack even though he had been grieving himself. Jack could still remember the look of utter relief on Pitch’s face when Jack had first started to eat again, like Jack having a spoonful of broth was the best thing that he had ever seen.

Pitch.

Jack looked down and sitting on the floor with his shoulders and head resting on the bed at Jack’s feet was Pitch. His arms were crossed under his head and he was asleep. He must have really needed it. Jack smiled. “I knew you weren’t sleeping while we were at the warren.” Jack chided gently as he brushed his husband’s sleep mussed hair out of his face. Even Nightmare Kings needed their rest. “Silly old man.”

“Your affection fills me with warmth my darling.” Pitch grumbled with his eyes still closed.

“Love you too, good morning.” At least Jack could actually tell it was morning down here. He rose and leant over to give his husband a peck on the top of his head.

“Good morning. How are you feeling?” Pitch lifted his head and looked up at his wife. To anyone else he would look calm but Jack could see the concern in his eyes and the slight twist of his mouth. He was worried. Probably because Jack had come back to this room.

Pitch hated this room. It wasn’t what the room was, or that they had left the nursery intact after their loss, or even that the nursery reminded him of the pain of losing his child. No, he hated this room because of the months he’d spent in it looking after his wife. This room, to him, symbolized Jack almost losing himself to grief. Jack had episodes every so often where he would revert to instincts, it had been happening all through the time Pitch had known him. It was a side effect of the trauma from Jack’s earlier years, both in and out of the ice. But those first months after the miscarriage were different. Jack had been practically catatonic. Pitch had never been so frightened in his life. For the second time in his life he had lost a child… he wouldn’t have survived losing Jack too.

Jack knew all of this. There were no secrets between them, they’d been together too long for that. When Jack had recovered Pitch had confessed all of his feelings about this old nursery and why he felt them. Pitch never came in here willingly, not anymore. He must have been really worried about Jack to venture in here at all.

“I’m… better. I just… I’m not…” Jack shook his head and looked Pitch in the eyes. “I think I might have remembered something from before… before the ice.”

Pitch’s eyes widened and Jack shook his head again.

“I’m not sure what it was but Bunny… his scent just…” Jack let out a breath. “I don’t know. I just don’t know.” He was frustrated. Jack didn’t know how to articulate all of the things he was feeling. It was all so confusing and overwhelming and Jack himself wasn’t even sure he knew what he was feeling. Pitch, as ever, was patient. Waiting for Jack to gather himself enough to speak his mind. Looking at his husband, who was still sitting on the floor and leaning on the bed, Jack finally found what he wanted to say. “I know we would have lost our child either way… maybe it was meant to happen but… I kind of wish the story North told us was true. That Bunny had noticed and tried to protect me. I… kind of want…” Jack trailed off with a sniffle. “I don’t know what I want!” He sighed in frustration. He rubbed at his eyes as Pitch rose and drew Jack into his arms.

“You do. You just don’t want to say it.” Pitch sat on the bed and rocked back and forth with Jack in his arms. “Don’t hide it from me, my darling, you know I will always support you.”

Jack rubbed his face into Pitch’s chest, enjoying the feeling of being encircled in the strong arms of his husband. The soothing rocking motion calming him slightly. “I want…” Jack trailed off and took a breath before continuing in a rough whisper, “I want what North said to be true. I want Bunny to be blameless because… I want him to be my father. His scent Pitch… it was so comforting. I think it was one of the first scents I ever breathed. I remembered it Pitch and I wanted it so badly. But…” Jack started as he held onto Pitch a little tighter. “It didn’t happen that way. What North said was just a story and even if it wasn’t Bunny’s fault… he’s still…”

“The source of your nightmares.” Pitch finished quietly.

“It’s Bunny’s face I see when I’m afraid. I’ve hated him for so long… if I want anything else from him then I have to find a way to let it go… And there’s a large part of me that doesn’t want to.”

***

Four days after Jack and Pitch had left the warren Bunny asked the Nightmare Rabbit to take him to the lair. It led him to Jack’s lake and Bunny had to repress a shudder at the memories that surrounded it. The Nightmare ventured further than the lake, deep into the woods. There was a rickety wooden bed frame and underneath it a dark hole.

“Under a bed, of course.” Aster muttered to himself, hitching up his satchel as he made his way down into the darkness.

Wandering through seemingly endless tunnels Bunny sincerely hoped that the little Nightmare would not get him lost. The earth here was… different than up top. He wasn’t sure he’d be able to make a tunnel here if he needed to. After a few minutes of walking the tunnels changed, there were some pictures hanging on the walls and some carpet along the stone at his feet. Aster seemed to be heading to a part of the lair that was lived in. He looked around curiously. Every so often he could see ice woven into the dark stone of the walls. Signs of Jack, even in the foundations of Pitch’s lair.

Aster found Jack lazing around in the dining room, sitting in a chair and leaning onto an antique wooden table. Pitch was in the adjoining kitchen, baking something if the delicious scents wafting through the air were any indication. The space was large and wide and only a few counters separated the two rooms so Pitch could clearly see everything in the dining room, although he hadn’t bothered to turn around to see their visitor.

Jack looked despondent and he was staring vacantly into space as Eggward and Eggwina ran around on what looked like a little park made of ice on the table. There was a little slide, a tunnel and even a maze that both of the eggs seemed to enjoy tumbling through. Bunny couldn’t help but a let out a little chuckle as the sinister little eggs rolled around in Jack’s creation. Jack twitched an ear in his direction but otherwise did not move. Pitch glanced at his wife from the kitchen but continued what he was doing.

Feeling awkward and not quite sure what to do with himself Bunny lowered his satchel and took a seat next to Jack at the table. “Did you make this?” Aster asked pointing at the icy, egg-sized wonderland on the table.

Jack gave Bunny a flat eyed look that said ‘obviously’ before turning back to his eggs.

Jack’s cheerlessness was worrying but Bunny pressed on regardless. “That’s adorable mate. Maybe you could do something like that in warren sometime? Maybe for Easter? The little egglets get so excited before the big day it can be a challenge to get them all to stay in one place.” Aster poked at the one he was pretty sure was Eggwina and she tumbled down the slide and through the tunnel. Eggward happily leapt after her. “Wonder how big you could make something like this…”

Jack scoffed.

“Nah, really. Bet you wouldn’t be able to make one to fit me.” Jack rolled his eyes. “Or Pitch.” Jack raised an eyebrow. “North! Now if you could make something like this that would fit that old blowhard I would be impressed. Then again it might be more fun if it wasn’t quite big enough. Could see him and his red coat stuck in an ice tunnel. Prolly melt it with all that bluster he carries with him.”

Jack snickered. It was quiet and barely there but when Aster looked up Jack had a small smile on his face. Aster glanced to Pitch who had stopped cooking to smile down at Jack. Pitch’s smile faded as he turned to Aster and he gave the older Pooka a brief nod before turning back to his duties. Aster tried his best not to question the odd feeling of pride he felt from Pitch’s approval, although he was ridiculously pleased with himself for coaxing a smile out of Jack.

“What’s in the bag?” Jack asked as he sat up, nodding down to the satchel at Aster’s feet. His ears were still drooping but at least he was talking, this was good.

Bunny flicked his ears as he leant down to pick it up. “Some salves and ointments that will be helpful for you during your pregnancy, stuff for back aches and foot aches, a few concoctions for nausea and some supplements I made that might help keep you both healthy. You don’t have to take them, of course, or use any of the other things. I just thought I’d bring them in case you wanted to.” He handed the bag to Jack who quickly upended it on the table and looked curiously through the contents.

He noted that all of them were made by Bunny, in little glass jars with handwritten labels attached. Clear instructions listed along with the dates they were made and the dates they should be used by. Jack was surprised to find that most of them had been made in the last few days. Bunny must have worked his tail off to bring this many things here in time.

Jack picked up some vitamins and was reading through Bunny’s label. “I don’t have to take these but… will they help?”

Aster leant a little closer to read the label and Jack could smell him suddenly, it was much stronger than before and almost overwhelming. “Yes. Those are the ones. They should help keep you balanced during the pregnancy.” He leant back just as quickly, seeming not to notice the effect his proximity had been having on Jack.

Jack could feel himself sinking into his mind. Familiar scents… families… He was going to be a mother soon. What did family really mean to him?

The sound of a plate being put on the table drew Jack out of his mind. Pitch was there, placing a plate in front of Jack, then Bunny before returning to the kitchen to continue his baking. Jack looked down at his plate. He just… he didn’t know what he was meant to do now.

Aster poked his food. “Um… what is this?” He asked cautiously. Aster knew what the food was, he was asking in a more general sense, wondering why the Nightmare King was giving him food. Jack blinked a little and focused on his meal. When he actually realized what it was he let out a little smile.

“Pitch’s version of a jamanana sandwich. Banana bread with jam is not the same Pitch!” There was a huff from the kitchen and Jack’s smile became just a little bit brighter. Jack took a large bite of his sandwich, ignoring the crumbs in his fur. Pitch’s banana bread was always delicious. And it tasted pretty good with jam.

Following Jack’s example Aster tucked in to his sandwich as well. He hadn’t really expected lunch and was half convinced that Pitch was trying to poison him but seeing Jack smile at him as he ate made it worth it. What was a little poison compared to Jack’s happiness? Checking on the kits could wait until after lunch.

***

As Aster was leaving the lair the shadows around the entrance darkened and he was suddenly faced with his oldest enemy… Who had apparently been his son-in-law for two hundred odd years. That wasn’t insanity inducing at all. “The kits are fine, both healthy and seem to be developing normally. I’ll be back next week and probably once a week thereafter until the end of the pregnancy with Jack’s permission. Losing the first pregnancy could result in complications with this one so I want to keep a close eye on Jack,” Aster told Pitch before he had a chance to speak. “You have those eggs I enchanted, if anything happens in the meantime you should be able to use them to call me.”

Pitch listened impassively and waited for the rabbit to finish. He wasn’t all that interested, he may not have been able to be seen but he had listened in on Aster the entire time he’d been in the lair. There was no chance Pitch would leave him alone with Jack again. Not after what happened last time.

“What does Jack mean to you?” Pitch asked tonelessly once Aster had finished.

Aster didn’t have to think long before he answered. “He’s my son.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“Yes, it really does. You were a father once Kozmotis. You know what it means.”

Pitch closed his eyes for a moment. “I suppose so.”

“Why ask me? Why now?”

Pitch looked down at Aster with his even, golden stare. “Because if there is anything in this universe Jack wants I will find a way to give it to him.” He answered cryptically.

Aster tilted his head to the side with his arms crossed over his chest, one of his ears flopping downward with the motion while the other was still tall and aimed at Pitch. He looked at the man his son had chosen and for once he tried to see Pitch impartially. Not as the monster that was the Nightmare King, not as the man who had murdered his entire race… He tried to see Pitch as Jack saw him.

Aster saw a man who wasn’t inherently good, but tried to be for Jack. Aster saw a man without morals, who only cared for the good of one person, Jack. This man was still a monster, he was still frightening and powerful and a threat to every being on the planet, but he was only interested in doing what was best for Jack. It wasn’t healthy, the way Pitch had tied his sense of self to Jack but it worked for them and Aster wasn’t going to complain. Pitch had been the one who had supported Jack for all these years, had protected Jack and showered him with love. He’d been there for Aster’s son when Aster hadn’t been.

When he looked at Pitch he saw a vicious and wild animal who would only protect and obey its master and would gladly kill anyone else. Aster wondered if Jack had any idea the power he had over Pitch?

“The other Guardians and I think that Lunanoff only wanted Jack to be a Guardian so that he could kill him with lack of belief. I think that he was trying to trick me into murdering my son. I believe that was what he had intended for ’68 as well… I haven’t told anyone this but back then… I wanted to kill Jack.” Pitch noticeably tensed and Aster continued quickly. “But something in me held me back... Made me question for a moment… I don’t know what it was but I think that Jack’s storm helped, he covered the moon.”

Pitch forcibly swallowed the bile in his throat. So close… one day and he’d been so close to losing everything. “Why are you telling me this?” He managed to hiss while holding his hands tightly behind his back, afraid that if he let go for even a moment he would be ripping apart Jack’s father. Jack, he reminded himself, he wasn’t killing the rabbit - for Jack.

Aster sighed and tugged one of his ears in frustration, something Pitch had seen Jack do on several occasions. “I don’t know. I didn’t want to add to Jack’s stress but I think you should know. There might be a war coming.” Aster looked up and met Pitch’s slightly homicidal gaze with his deep, green eyes. “I will be on Jack’s side. There isn’t a thing in this world I would deny him. The moment I learned the truth he became more important than <i>everything</i>. To me Jack Frost <i>is</i> Hope.”

Chapter 12: Letting go

<i>Pitch brought Jack’s meal to the nursery like always. Jack had lost so much weight and eaten so little that Pitch had switched to basic broths instead of solids, he didn’t want to cause Jack any discomfort… When he did finally eat. Each and every day Pitch prayed to whatever Gods were out there that Jack would finally eat, or say something. Anything at all to give Pitch a sign that his wife was still in there and he wasn’t just catering to an empty shell.

When he entered the nursery he noticed that Jack was laying on the floor with his back to the door. Pitch placed the food down on a bedside table, it wasn’t the first time Jack had passed out from exhaustion. He knelt down to help his wife but as he touched Jack’s arm he noticed that it was cold, but not as cold as Jack usually was. He grabbed Jack’s arm quickly but it was unnaturally stiff.

“J-Jack?!” Pitch whispered, turning over his wife but it was too late.

Jack’s mouth was slightly open and his eyes were wide and glazed over. His expression was pained and his body was stiff. Jack was dead.</i>

Pitch screamed. He sat up and wrapping his arms around himself he tried to hold himself together but he couldn’t stop screaming. Jack was dead. Jack was gone. Jack, anyone but his beloved Jack… He could feel the Nightmare King inside him rising to the surface, ready to make him a mindless monster once more. The fear… the <i>terror</i> clawing inside him that was so familiar it almost felt like home. Cracks were spreading under his skin and the darkness was seeping through.

Cool hands touched him gently. Smoothing down his hair, rubbing his back and his arms. It was the frost crawling across his skin that finally snapped Pitch back to reality. “Jack?” He whispered, his voice hoarse from his episode.

“I’m here Pitch. I’m still here.” Jack soothed, pulling Pitch into his arms. Pitch fell freely, putting his head in Jack’s lap and curving around his wife with his arms securely around Jack’s waist.

“Jack.” Pitch’s voice broke as he uttered Jack’s name, filling the word with grief, pain, relief and love all at once. He was shaking badly, the muscles in his back were so tight they were aching and he was tense all over.

“Oh honey I know, but I’m here.” Jack leant over so he could kiss the top of Pitch’s head. “And I’m not going anywhere.” Jack reassured as he continued to run his hands up and down Pitch’s back, using the tips of his fingers to leave his fern frost patterns on his husband’s bare skin.

The sharp cold against his warm skin grounded Pitch, giving him something to hold onto. Jack was real and here and home.

Jack continued his whispered assurances as he continued to soothe away his husband’s pain.

It took Pitch a long time to calm down. The image of Jack’s glazed over eyes still haunting him whenever he dared to close his. It was not the first time Pitch had been plagued by such a horrific nightmare.

When Pitch had calmed down to occasional shudders rather than full bodied shaking Jack tapped his shoulder. “Come on, we could use a shower.” Gently Jack helped them both out of bed, making sure that he had some form of physical contact with Pitch the entire time. He led him quietly into the adjoining bathroom and started the shower. Both Pitch and Jack had slept naked so they didn’t need to worry about removing clothes. They had a stool in the shower and Jack moved it under the spray so Pitch could sit down.

Like most of their home their bathroom was cast entirely in stone. The plumbing throughout the entire lair drew on a well deep underground and there was some complicated magic involved in making it all work properly. Jack didn’t question it too much as magical theory was incredibly headache inducing. The shower cubicle itself was easily large enough for the two of them while still giving them room to move around. With his hand on Pitch’s shoulder Jack set the temperature and pressure of the spray. He then proceeded to wash Pitch gently with Pitch’s favored herbal soaps. Gently massaging his back, arms and legs until Pitch had stopped feeling so tense.

Under his wife’s tender care Pitch’s muscles relaxed one by one until he felt practically boneless where he sat. He leant forward with his head in his hands while Jack carefully washed his hair as well.

When Jack was done he carefully circled around to his husband’s front, still keeping physical contact while he did so with a hand that trailed over Pitch’s shoulder and then down his torso as he knelt in front of his husband. “Look at me Pitch.”

Pitch raised his head and met his wife’s brilliant blue eyes, eyes that never failed to take his breath away. How could he ever live if he never saw those eyes again?

“Hey, my Night, there you are.” Jack rested his head in Pitch’s lap, mindless of his husband’s nudity. There wasn’t anything sexual about this moment, it was just a moment of shared intimacy between a couple who had been married for a long time.

Pitch lifted a hand to stroke Jack’s ears. His fur was still soft even when wet.

“I know you’re scared Pitch, but we’re gonna get through this the same way we always have. Together.”

Pitch hummed but his eyes were a lifeless silver without any sparks of gold.

Jack let out a long breath and nuzzled into Pitch’s stomach. “It was a nightmare about the nursery wasn’t it.”

Pitch didn’t say anything but Jack knew. It wasn’t the first time he’d had nightmares about that room and those months of torture looking after Jack. It wasn’t caring for Jack that was the problem, it was the fear that had followed him every day. He’d been watching his wife, his soul mate, fade before his eyes and there hadn’t been anything he could do about it. There were no doctors to call in the spirit realm. None that could have helped Jack. The only spirits with healing capabilities were those of Spring and under the authority of one E. Aster Bunnymund. How could Pitch have gotten help from any of them?

So he hadn’t. He’d taken care of Jack by himself and for months he’d had no idea if Jack was going to survive… or if he was going to fail his wife again and lose everything at the same time.

“Let’s get dressed. There’s something I want you to do for me.” Jack rose and turned off the shower. He wrapped a towel around himself but as Pitch stood to grab one for himself Jack took the towel instead and proceeded to dry his husband. “It’s alright Night, I’ve got you.” Jack gave his husband a smile that Pitch returned half-heartedly.

“I love you.” Pitch murmured quietly, trying his best to pull himself together. His wife was still here, right here, taking care of him. Jack said he wanted him to do something, regardless of how he felt he would do whatever it took to please Jack.

“Hm,” Jack pressed a gentle kiss to Pitch’s lips as he dried his husband’s hair. “I love you too. Come on.” Once Jack had finished Pitch summoned his shadowy robe and followed his wife.

Jack dried himself on the way as he led his husband down through the familiar tunnels of the lair. Heading to the one place that Pitch did not want to be. They arrived outside the door that led to the old nursery. Pitch was once more tense and taut, wound so tightly that his back and shoulders started to ache again.

Jack reached out and took Pitch’s hand in his. “You know…” He started quietly, “I think I finally understand how you felt before ’65. Do you remember how long it took you to get rid of the guilt after we’d worked everything out?”

Pitch nodded stiffly.

“Well I think I feel the same about this room as you did about your study.” Jack reached out and touched the faded yellow doors lovingly. He wasn’t letting go of the child he lost, that was a pain that would stay with him forever. Jack would always love his first kit, even if he never had the chance to meet them. But this room had become something else over the years and it was cruel to leave it here to hurt Pitch. Jack was carrying a lot of guilt about the way he’d been after he’d lost the kit. Guilt… for the pain Pitch had suffered because of him. “This room means different things for both of us but… I think I’m finally ready to let it go. Do you remember what you did to your old study?”

“I erased the doors. The study is still there but I can no longer access it freely.”

Jack took his hand away from the door and snuggled into his husband’s side. “Do you think you could do the same thing to these doors? Leave the room and its memories as they are but… I don’t need to go in there anymore.” With his head on Pitch’s shoulder he sighed, “And neither do you.”

Pitch took a shuddering breath, “Jack… are you sure? Don’t do this for me, my darling, not if you still need this.”

“I’m not Pitch. I’m doing this for me. Please.”

Pitch watched his wife, Jack’s head was leaning on him but he was facing the doors. His towel had been slung over his shoulder and his fur was still mostly wet. He couldn’t see Jack’s expression clearly but his body language was easy and relaxed. Pitch turned back to the doors that led to the room filled with his personal nightmares. He held Jack tightly with one arm and lifted up the other, shadows rose to envelop the doors.

***

“There is only so much I can do, without knowing what questions need to be asked.” North stroked his bead contemplatively while staring at the fire crackling in his sitting room. He was referring to his wells. It took a great deal of energy to use them and even with all of his power North could only ask a few questions at a time. He had not been able to get any concrete answers, only confusing clues pointing to a larger picture.

For the first time in hundreds of years the Workshops was on lockdown. The huge skylight in the globe room was closed and all windows had been covered. The moonlight was no longer welcome here. All the yetis were on lookout for anything that spoke of the moon’s influence. The Guardian’s would not be taken by surprise again. They would not be used by anyone. Their goals had not changed, they would still safeguard children, but they didn’t need the Man in the Moon for that. The Sandman had taken to orchestrating his dreams from the Workshop, opening some of the windows while staying safely inside while he spread his net of dreams. Toothiana had taken up residence in the Workshop as well, commandeering most of one of the sublevel floors so she could use the Workshop as her base of operations. The Tooth Palace was too open and exposed. None of them could risk what had happened to Bunny happening to them.

Sandy was holding a large mug of hot chocolate while sitting on a little golden cloud and floating around the room. He was lost in thought. Both Sandy and Bunny had known the MiM the longest, except perhaps Pitch, and they couldn’t seem to figure out why he would do something like this. It was bothering Sanderson to no end. The Man in the Moon had always been mysterious but he had always acted in the best interests of the children so… what had changed? Jack was still in many ways a child, a Pookan child but a child nonetheless. He would never grow out of being a teenager and just because he was hundreds of years old didn’t negate the fact that he should still be taken care of, or at least still be watched after.

But Jack wasn’t hundreds of years old was he? Sandy thought to himself with a glance at Aster who was sitting quietly on one of the soft lounges facing the fire. He was Bunny’s son so really he was millions of years old just like Sanderson himself, Bunny, Pitch and the MiM. What did all of this mean?

Tooth’s wings twitched in agitation, actually lifting her a few centimeters off of her chair before she managed to settle down in her favored armchair. “We all know Jack can be mischievous but what could he possibly have done that would make the Man in the Moon want to kill him so badly? It doesn’t make any sense! He’s only been awake for 300 years!”

Aster sat up a little straighter and his eyes sprung up to attention. “But Jack isn’t only 300 years old.” Suddenly unable to sit still Bunny sprang up and crossed his arms across his chest and began to pace restlessly. “Jack is much older than that, he told us he’d been frozen and he woke up 300 years ago.” Bunny rubbed at his chin absentmindedly. He had the Guardian’s complete attention. “I’d bet my fur that Jack was frozen in Burgess lake, which is open and in near constant sight of Manny, if he chooses to look at any time he’d have a clear view of the lake.”

<i>What are you saying?</i> Sandy signed with his little pictures. <i>That the Man in the Moon knew Jack was there?</i>

“Oh I’m saying more than that mate,” Aster looked his little golden friend in the eye. “How did <i>we</i> get here Sandy? Neither of us would have made it to Earth without Manny’s help. And the odds of Jack ending up on Earth accidentally?” He shook his head with a bitter smile that was no more than a twist of his lips, “And I don’t think Jack would have frozen himself, do you?”

Toothiana thought back on the conversation in the warren, when she’d asked Jack about waking up. He’d been scared, and hiding something. “Not on purpose. He definitely didn’t want to be there…” She mused.

“Exactly.” Aster snapped his fingers, “North, do you know anything about Jack waking up? Did you ask the wells?”

“Yes, they showed me that Manny did not want Jack to wake, he was furious when Jack gained his freedom.” North sat forward, watching Bunny intently as some of the pieces of Jack’s mystery finally started coming together.

“Did you get anything on how Jack woke up? Or why?” Aster continued quickly, his mind whirring faster and faster as things finally started clicking in his mind.

“No. At least… All the wells showed me, no matter how I asked, was a single blue snowflake, shining brightly.”

Aster turned about face and paced back and forth a few times, he flicked one of his ears. “I can ask Jack about the blue snowflake, perhaps he knows. Winter and ice are his specialties not mine but one thing has become clear, Manny didn’t want Jack dead. At least, not at the beginning.”

Tooth tried to follow Bunny’s thinking and failed. “How-?”

Aster answered before she had the chance to finish the question. “Manny knew where Jack was. Manny brought Jack here. If he wanted Jack dead, he could have left him behind with the other Pookas or killed him over the millions of years Jack was likely frozen in that lake. He has had plenty of opportunity to kill my son but he didn’t bother trying until Jack woke on his own. Whatever he wanted Jack for, originally he needed Jack alive for it.”

Tooth looked horrified but both Sandy and North were nodding.

“This, I can use this to ask more from the wells… after I have had some time to rest.” North announced with a pat to his belly.

“But why?” Aster mumbled to himself as he kept pacing. “Why use me? Why try to get me to kill Jack? Why try to kill Jack at all?”

North rose and placed a large hand on Bunny’s shoulder. “We will figure this out my friend. But first and foremost we will protect Jack and his young ones, even if we never learn the true intentions of Man in Moon, at least we can stop him.”

Bunny stopped his agitated prowling and forced his tense shoulders to relax. “Yeah mate, you’re right.”

Sandy come up to stand in front of Bunny. <i>We will all be together, you won’t have to do this alone.</i>

Tooth came up to him as well and gently wrapped Bunny in a hug, it took Bunny a moment but he wrapped his hands around her as well. He nuzzled into her crest feathers. She didn’t say anything but she didn’t need to. They were a team and throughout the years they had stood united. They had fought together and laughed together.

They could do this.

Aster parted from his friends with a gruff clearing of his throat, and if his eyes were a little glassy no one mentioned it. “I’m going to go, it’s about time to check on Jack again and I want to ask him about the blue snowflake.”

As he turned to leave Tooth grabbed his hand and for just a moment they looked at each other. Her eyes were soft and pink almost mirroring the light blush dusting her cheek bones. Her lovely green and yellow feathers framed her face and for a moment Aster raised his other hand, almost reaching out before he lowered it back to his side. Tooth let go of his hand. He turned away.

Chapter 13: Proverbial pig-tails

Aster looked at himself in the mirror. It was an old full length mirror that he kept in his studio. It was just tall enough that Bunny could see his entire body in the reflection. He looked himself up and down. His now grey fur that had once been brown. The darker grey patterns on his forehead and arms that were still the same but had once been cast in dark brown rather than dark grey. And his eyes… The only part of him that truly hadn’t changed. Deep and green and… alien.

Looking at himself in the mirror Aster felt like he was looking at a stranger. His body didn’t seem to fit right anymore. His face didn’t feel like it belonged to him and every time he moved slightly it was almost a surprise to see his reflection move with him. Closing his eyes for a moment he concentrated on changing his shape. It had been a long time since he had bothered being anything but himself. When he opened his eyes again Aster looked in the mirror he saw… Jack’s father. The brown Pooka with an affinity for Life and Spring who had met a Frost Pooka and fallen in love. He tilted his now brown head and twitched his ears curiously as he took in his appearance. It felt… wrong. This wasn’t who he was anymore but… He wasn’t sure <i>who</i> he was anymore.

He allowed himself to shift back to normal and stood once more in his grey fur. It didn’t matter what form he took.

When he looked in the mirror it never felt like it was him looking back.

Aster had never felt like such a stranger in his own body.

Turning away from the mirror Bunny gathered his satchel. It was time to see Jack.

He smiled a little, he was going to go and visit his son. Hope swelled in his chest and he looked back at the mirror before he left. There… he looked a little more like himself now.

He ventured out into the hallway and down through to the kitchen, where the little Nightmare Bunny was sitting on the kitchen table.

“Come on, time to see Jack.”

The black rabbit blinked its fiery red eyes slowly, once, twice, then it hopped off of the table. Aster followed behind it closely. He knew the way to the rickety bed in the woods but he made sure to follow the Nightmare anyway. Who knows what sort of nasty surprises Pitch would have set up in his lair for uninvited guests?

It led him through a tunnel he was starting to use much more frequently – the tunnel that led to Burgess. It was only once Bunny had cleared the tunnel and leapt up to the surface that he realized it was night time in this part of the world. He looked up and was not surprised to see the moon shining brightly. He narrowed his eyes but turned away to follow the Nightmare. He needed to go see Jack.

He was running past Jack’s lake, the waters were calm, when a bright light flashed and the Nightmare Rabbit burst into dreamsand. Aster halted suddenly and turned to snarl up at the moon. He had to get into the shadows, quickly, but he was right in front of Jack’s lake and the tree line, while not far, was still not close enough.

Aster felt a flash of fear and then his mind went blank.

Down in the lair, Pitch was sitting with Jack in their living room. They were just settling down to watch a movie together when Pitch stiffened.

Jack noticed right away. “What is it?”

“I’m not sure.” Pitch rose, Bunny was meant to be coming to see them today… but that flash of fear...

Aster was walking forwards as he stared up at the moon. His mind was empty. One foot and then the other. He felt oddly numb, like his whole body was wrapped in cotton. Full thoughts wouldn’t form; he didn’t even think of asking for help. One foot and then the other, heading towards the lake.

Pitch and Jack arrived quickly, Pitch had brought a few of his Nightmares and Jack had brought his staff.

“Bunny?” Jack called out but Aster didn’t stop. “He’s walking to the lake? What’s going on? BUNNY!!” Jack yelled but Aster didn’t so much as twitch an ear in his direction. Jack made as if to step forward but Pitch held him back.

“The moonlight.” Pitch said quietly. They were at the tree line and in the shadows, but Aster was staring up at the moon as he walked closer to the lake.

Jack looked up at the moon as well and then down to Bunny. “Pitch we have to do something.”

Pitch nodded and all at once his Nightmares raced out of the shadows towards Bunny but as soon as they crossed into the moonlight there was a bright flash and they were turned into golden sand.

Bunny kept walking to the lake.

“Pitch we have to do something!!” Jack repeated looking for anything, any way to help. He couldn’t risk the kits lives but there had to be something he could do. A reflected shine caught his eye, the water! Jack raised his staff high above his head and brought it down to the ground as Aster was lifting his foot for the final step that would lead him into the water. Ice spread out from Jack’s staff, flowing along the ground and he desperately directed it towards the lake, hoping he could freeze it in time.

One of Aster’s feet touched the cold ice.

The shock of cold made Aster look down and for a moment he was confused. What was he doing? Why was the lake iced over?

Then it all came rushing back. Whipping his head back up he growled at the moon with his ears pinned back. He could feel it, like a cloud slowly flowing over into his mind. Suffocating who he was and replacing it with something else but it was subtle. There was a voice in his head that sounded just like him, so much so that for a moment he believed the whispers were his own thoughts. Telling him to walk into the lake. Telling him he wanted to walk into the lake. But now that he knew what was going on it was easier to separate them from his real thoughts. He shook his head.

“Not on your bloody life ya wanker!” He yelled up at the moon. “I won’t let you use me again! <i>And I won’t let you hurt my son</i>!!!” The ancient Pookan warrior roared. Aster could not remember being this pissed off in his entire life. His eyes began to glow green, as did his markings. First the pattern on his forehead and then spreading down to the patterns on his arms.

The earth around them rumbled and from Aster’s feet along the ground swirling patterns in glowing green spread, stretching out along the ground in all directions and around the lake. Soon all the ground around the lake and right to the edge of the tree line was covered in glowing green. Both Pitch and Jack took a cautious step back but the light didn’t seem at all threatening. Jack watched it spread and if anything it felt… calming.

Aster lowered to his knees and placed a hand on the ground, sinking his claws into the earth while still glaring his defiance up to the moon.

Slowly, almost sluggishly, little saplings began to unfurl from the ground. It only stayed slow for a few moments however because as the tiny sprouts cleared the earth they suddenly shot up and started thickening. The ground rumbled deeply as the trees grew, all so close together that as their branches sprung from their trunks they were practically touching one another. Taller and taller and Aster watched with a smile as his view of the moon was covered over.

The rumbling stopped as suddenly as it had started and Aster stood and dusted himself off as the glow faded. The entire lake was now cast in shadow with trees now standing tall and proud all around the lake. The canopy cast the entire lake in shadow.

“And I’ll cover the whole world in trees if I have to! Everywhere will be in shadow and you won’t see a thing ya prick!” Aster cried up at where he knew the moon was looking. His anger burnt out quickly and he let out a long breath and sat down in a heap. “I am too old for this.” He grumbled, panting. “Need to work out… I’m really out of shape.” He breathed in deeply and looked around at his handiwork. Not bad but he really needed to practice more if something as simple as this tired him out. Particularly if they were going up against the Man in the Moon. He wanted a nap.

Instead he stretched out and making sure his satchel was still secure got up. “No rest for the wicked, have to make sure Jack’s alright.” He muttered to himself and made as if to head off when he realized he had a problem.

He wandered over and poked a pile of gold sand on the ground. The sand that had once been the Nightmare Rabbit. “Well now what?” He grumbled.

What a great day this was shaping up to be.

“Bunny.” Aster broke out into a smile as he saw Jack walking towards him, with Pitch at his side of course.

“Jack!” Bunny called out but quickly looked around to make sure the canopy was secure.

“Fear not, the shadows are my domain. Lunanoff cannot touch us here.” Pitch reassured, although he was looking around sharply as well.

Aster was about to ask them what they were doing here when he noticed the dreamsand behind them. Lots of it, all over the ground. Far too much for one little Nightmare. With Sandy nowhere in sight, probably still back at the Workshop, it led Aster to one conclusion. Pitch had used his Nightmares… to help him? One of Aster’s ears twitched as he crossed his arms and looked out to the lake. It was frozen solid. All the pieces fell into place and Aster’s hands fell to his sides as he looked back at the couple.

“You both… Pitch your Nightmares and Jack… You froze the lake.” His voice is filled with incredulous wonder and his eyes are filled with hope.

It made something in Jack ache, “We were here and you… you were walking to the lake so I…” Jack has trouble talking. His chest felt tight and his throat felt dry and he didn’t understand why.

“So you froze the lake for me? Jack, thank you.” Aster said with every ounce of sincerity he could muster. “You saved my life.”

Words were tumbling through Jack’s head as he took a step forward, the image of Bunny screaming up at the moon, roaring that he wouldn’t let Jack be hurt playing on repeat in his mind. Bunny had called Jack his son. Without meaning to Jack found himself reaching out to Aster and the older Pooka pulled him gently into his arms. Jack didn’t fight it.

Aster’s arms were stronger than Jack’s and his fur smelled like earth and flowers. Jack rubbed his face in Aster’s chest ruff and inhaled deeply. Pitch smelled like home… Aster smelled like… devotion. Aster was devoted to Jack, as a father. It had been a few weeks since Jack had learned the truth about Aster and about the Man in the Moon. This wasn’t the same man who had hurt him… he didn’t even smell the same.

Aster looked up at Pitch as he held his son. His heart was full to bursting with joy and hope but it was lined with worry. Was Jack ok?

Pitch stared on impassively. This… was working better than he’d hoped. He would never complain about Jack having another protector. For too long Pitch had been the only one to look after Jack and while he was happy to do it and would continue to do so… it was relieving to know there was someone to rely on in case he failed. If this is what Jack wanted than this is what Pitch would do his best to give him.

Jack parted from Bunny abruptly, as though only just noticing what he was doing. He looked back at his husband and then back to Bunny. “I’m…” He started and then stopped. Sighing grumpily Jack brushed his ears back with one hand, the other still firmly on his staff. Several emotions played across his face in quick succession before a frown finally settled on his face. “We should get back to the lair.” He finished lamely.

“Alright.” Bunny agreed readily, deciding not to pry.

It didn’t take them long to get to the clearing with the old bed frame. Aster looked up at the sky with mistrust.

“Lunanoff can’t see us here.” Pitch spoke quietly. “This close to our home, I am much more powerful than he is.” It was a bold claim but Pitch didn’t sound full of himself or smug… he just sounded tired.

Aster spared a moment to think about how hard this must be for Pitch as well. He’d lost a child and his pregnant wife was in danger. There was a small part of him that wanted to be happy that Pitch was in pain but Aster recognized it for what it was… that voice in him. The voice that was him but not him at the same time, it was still there in the back of his mind. He glanced at Jack who also seemed to be lost in his thoughts. He looked back at Pitch who had turned to eye Aster curiously.

Aster gave Pitch a serious look and twitched an ear in Jack’s direction. He needed to tell Pitch some things but he didn’t want Jack to hear. Pitch nodded slightly, understanding. It hurt Aster to hide things from Jack but right now the only thing the younger Pooka should be focused on was his pregnancy. Jack’s well-being was top priority. Even if it did damage their budding relationship.

They descended into the darkness. Pitch used his shadows to simply step into the tunnels and with his staff Jack was as nimble and flighty as ever, he landed lightly without even breaking his stride. Aster leapt down much like he had the first time, he would have landed neatly on his feet but he slipped over on an ice patch that had appeared suddenly, landing straight on his tail.

With a muffled curse Bunny rose and shot a look at Jack who was laughing, “Couldn’t resist Bun-bun!” And with that Jack kept walking, still laughing, heading into his home.

Pitch raised an eyebrow at Bunny. “Well this is a surprise. Jack likes you.”

“Making me fall on my ass a sign of affection these days?”

Pitch hummed with a small smile. “For Jack, yes. Prepare to have your proverbial pig-tails pulled.” And with that the Nightmare King followed after his wife looking far too pleased with himself.

With another little grumble Aster brushed himself off and followed the couple deeper into their lair. But as much as he tried to act put-off he couldn’t help the bright smile that had broken out over his face.

Chapter 14: When a Mummy and Daddy love each other very much…

“Are you seriously giving me the sex talk?!” Jack cried out in disbelief as he rose to put more distance between himself and Bunny. “That can’t be what’s happening right now.”

Aster leant back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Sit down Jack. Look I know you and Pitch have obviously done the deed but there hasn’t been anyone sit down and explain this all to you. You’re young you should-”

“Young?! I’m over 300 years old! I do <i>not</i> need the sex talk!”

Pitch appeared in the living room with a tea set. “I happen to think this is all rather informative.” He looked down at Aster. “Tea?”

“Yes, thank you.” Aster replied, taking a cup gratefully. It was nice to have something warm in his hands. The lair was a little on the cool side.

Jack pointed an accusing finger at his husband. “You! You don’t get to team up with him! You’re meant to be on my side!”

Huffing with a roll of his eyes Pitch took a seat next to Bunnymund on the sofa. “Don’t be such a child Jack and listen to your father.” He hid his smirk behind a perfectly timed sip of tea.

Jack glared cold ice at his husband.

Bunny started again, “So when a Doe and Buck-”

“Love each other very much,” Jack interrupted with a smirk of his own and mischief dancing in his eyes. “Sometimes the Buck will push the Doe up against the shower wall, spread their legs, lift them up and-”

“No!” Aster cried in horror and tried to shield his ears.

Pitch almost choked on his tea with the force it took to stop himself from laughing as Jack very explicitly recited what they’d done in the shower earlier in the day.

“Please, please stop! I get it! No sex talks!” Aster pleaded. There were some things he did not need to know about his son. Unfortunately, he felt that this particular conversation would be forever seared into his brain.

“But I was just getting to the good bit…” Jack mumbled as he finally took his seat across from Pitch and Aster. He leant his staff against the side of his chair.

Aster waited for a little while longer and when no one spoke he cleared his throat, “So you’re done?” He questioned, ready to start trying to explain why this was important, <i>again</i>.

Jack looked thoughtful and then smiled sweetly at his father, he leant forward with his hands resting on his hands and his elbows supporting him on his knees. “I also give amazing blow jobs.”

Aster dropped his tea cup. It shattered.

“I suppose you have had more than enough practice.” Pitch added, more than happy to jump on the ‘Let’s Make Bunny As Uncomfortable As Possible’ bandwagon. He absentmindedly swept away Aster’s mess with his shadows and offered the Pooka a fresh cup. Aster took the cup numbly but held it in his lap.

Thrilled that his husband was now joining in Jack couldn’t help but push it just a step further. “It was difficult in this form, with the shape of my mouth and everything, but we figured it out.”

“Repetition is the mother of skill.”

“Enough!” Bunny yelled with wide eyes and his ears pinned back. He looked terrified. “Please mate, my sanity is fragile enough as it is.” He took the brief silence after his outburst as consent and, after placing his teacup down gently on the table, pulled up his satchel. “Look I don’t want to talk about this either but you need to know about this stuff, you’re going to give birth soon Jack. If you don’t want to listen, I made some diagrams and wrote everything down so you could read it if you wanted to. You read it and if you have any questions you can ask me later.” He pulled out a small book from his satchel and held it out for Jack.

Jack took the offered book from Bunny. It looked like a leather bound journal and Jack flicked absentmindedly through the pages. It was handwritten, he spied a very detailed diagram, and hand drawn. “Aw Bunny, you made me a sex book. You shouldn’t have! I didn’t even get you anything!” Jack said coyly, mostly just toying with Bunny but there was a small thread of truth to his statement. He hadn’t given Bunny anything, and in the few weeks that they’d been working together Bunny had done a lot for him.

This book was new and Bunny had made it for Jack, they’d only seen each other a week ago. It was like the salves and ointments he’d made before. He must have worked himself hard to get these things ready for Jack. Then there was Eggward and Eggwina – they were off playing in a mouse cage Pitch had bought for them. They loved running on the wheel.

All Jack had done was be cruel to him and at first it had felt justified, but now… Watching MiM lead Bunny into the lake was horrifying but it helped prove North’s story. The way Aster had raged at the moon afterwards had also been very telling. Aster had lost his entire people and then inadvertently caused the death of his first grandchild… Jack couldn’t even imagine how much that must hurt. Now that Bunny was free from the moon’s influence it must be eating at him. It didn’t erase Jack’s pain but the younger Pooka knew that nothing ever would. It would dull with time but it would never fade completely.

Jack hummed as he rested the book on his armrest. “I should really pay you back.” He tilted his head to the side thinking about what he could possibly give to the older Pooka.

“Nah Frostbite, I owe you this, many times over. I’ve failed you since the day you were born.” Aster sighed sadly with his ears drooping and his shoulders sagging. “I’m just doing what any Da would do for his Kit… what I should have been doing millions of years ago.” That irritating voice in his head rose again, telling him that he’d done nothing wrong. It was trying to shift the blame to Pitch, whispering in his mind that Pitch could have told him. His son had been alive all this time and Pitch had kept Aster away from him, the Nightmare King had taken everything from him again and again.

Aster pushed those thoughts down. A man possessed by the shadows had killed the Pookas and while Pitch was almost the same person he wasn’t the insane monster from the Golden Age. Pitch’s relationship with Jack proved that.

Jack snorted. “Too bad. I’m giving you something anyway.” Jeeze did Bunny really have to be such a killjoy all the time? Then it hit Jack, the perfect gift for Aster. A gift only he could give. With a little smile Jack raised his hand and performing a little twirling motion a blue snowflake appeared and he allowed it to dance on his fingers for a moment, letting the Joy build up inside.

“A blue snowflake…” Aster watched wide eyed but before he had the chance to ask questions said snowflake touched his nose. Bunny jerked back involuntarily at the sudden cold feeling and he blinked as blue sparkles erupted in his vision. Then he fell completely quiet for a few moments.

The voice in his head, the one that sounded like Aster but was not Aster, was finally quiet. Bunny’s mind felt clear and open in a way it hadn’t in years. It was like he’d had a headache for years and grown so accustomed to it that he no longer noticed the pain but now that it was gone he could see the strain he had been living with… and it felt so good without it.

“I think I broke him.” Jack looked on, wide eyed as Bunny sat tall, stiff and disturbingly silent.

Pitch was still calmly drinking his tea. “And Pookas are so rare.”

Pitch’s statement was met with a snowball to the face. He spluttered, Jack giggled and then Bunny began to laugh. A full bellied laughing fit that had him doubling over and tears pooling in his eyes. It was infectious and soon Jack was laughing too. Pitch glared at them both but the effect was ruined as some of the snow fell off of his face and landed in his teacup with a little splash. It was still suspended as Pitch had been about to take another sip.

“Cute.” Pitch muttered as he wiped his face and carefully placed down his teacup. He liked this set and didn’t want to have to replace it. One broken cup was bad enough. Of course with Jack’s mood improving Pitch had expected a snowball sooner or later. It was immensely relieving to see his wife so relaxed.

The laughter eventually tapered off to giggles and heavy breathing with both Jack and Aster trying to regain some semblance of composure.

“I haven’t laughed that much in years.” Aster admitted with a smile. “That’s some gift you’ve got there.”

Jack shrugged a little self-consciously. “It just makes people have fun for a little while, it’s not that special.”

“Not that – Jack are you kidding?” Aster looked up at Jack and his son looked back with a confused tilt to his ears. “You really don’t know, do you?” How could someone hold such power without realizing it? “Jack I could feel the Man in the Moon’s influence in my mind ever since I broke free of it, even though he wasn’t controlling me anymore I could feel these thoughts in my mind that didn’t belong to me. The moment your snowflake touched me my mind cleared in a way it hadn’t for… I don’t even know how long. Decades. Centuries even.”

Both Pitch and Jack were looking at Bunny in shock.

“They can’t… I mean… They’re just happy-flakes… They make sad kids have fun.”

Aster was back to normal now, without the voice in his head but not delirious with Joy, and he noticed that something had changed. “I’m not… sad anymore.” Aster said quietly.

More pieces shifted together in his mind. Bit by bit the puzzle was coming together.

Bunny’s ears flicked up and alert. “That’s how he got me, that’s how you freed me. Jack… your gift is amazing. A content and happy mind is hard to grasp but when someone is sad, or angry or scared, it’s that much easier for dark magic to take hold. Not just mind controlling but curses and hexes as well. Manny knew me and knew how to get me. He understood my grief. You just erased the sadness in me Jack and in doing so you freed my mind.” Bunny hadn’t felt this good in many centuries. After the death of his people there had always been a lingering sadness in him that he couldn’t shake. But now Jack was here and for the first time in a long time Aster felt like Hope was <i>for</i> him instead of just being a <i>part of</i> him.

It took a long time for Jack to respond. There were so many things he wanted to say but at the same time there were so many things he wanted to hold back. He didn’t quite know where he stood with Bunny. He didn’t know how much blame he still harbored for the rabbit over ’68. Logically Jack knew that Bunny was not at fault at all and seeing the Moon so easily guiding Bunny to the lake proved that MiM was capable of making Bunny do things completely against his will, but… it was so hard to let go of the negative feelings he’d been holding onto for so long. “I’m glad that my gift was a good one then.” Is what Jack settled with because he was. He was glad that he’d helped Bunny overcome MiM’s magic… Even though he had absolutely no idea he could do that before tonight.

“You didn’t know…” Aster trailed off with a small frown on his face. “Can I ask you something Jack? You mentioned being uncomfortable with it back in the Warren but I want to ask you about waking up from the ice.” Jack gasped and his eyes widened a fraction, he grabbed his staff and held it to his chest. Aster wouldn’t push if Jack didn’t want to answer. “It might help me figure out some of Manny’s motives.” He explained quickly sensing the sudden tense atmosphere.

Pitch answered first, steering the conversation away from Jack and giving him a chance to recover and think about whether or not he wanted to answer Bunny’s question. “What do you know about Jack’s awakening? I imagine North has consulted his wells.”

Aster nodded, “Yeah.” He hadn’t exactly wanted to bring this all up in front of Jack but it was out now. “But it didn’t tell us much. Only that Manny did not want Jack to wake up and was furious when he did, and as for the awakening itself? It only showed North a single image. A blue snowflake.”

Jack frowned, his old fears were trembling under his skin but he kept them concealed for now, “A happy flake? What does that have to do with anything?” He knew he wasn’t fooling his husband but Pitch could help soothe his fears after Aster had left.

Turning back to his son Aster rolled his shoulders, “I’m not sure. That’s why I was asking. Do you… remember anything?” He questioned tentatively. “About when you woke up and what might have caused it?”

Jack glanced at Pitch and taking the hint Pitch rose and stood next to Jack with a hand on his shoulder. It was obvious that Jack needed the support.

“Sorry, you don’t have to answer. I don’t want to upset you.” Bunny backed off.

“It’s alright.” But Jack answered anyway. “The only things I can remember are noises. There was some banging on the ice, it sounded heavy and dull. Like someone was hitting something against the surface and then there was a groaning… almost like the ice was stretching? That was followed by more banging before finally the ice cracked. The cracking ice is how I got out but I don’t know what caused it.” He didn’t want to talk about it but that was one moment in the ice he could never forget. It was the day he gained his freedom. “The moon was really big and bright, when I got to the surface it whispered two words to me and it hasn’t spoken to me since. Those two words became my name and that’s all I know about it.” He rubbed a hand over his ears. “I don’t really know what a happy flake has to do with it.”

Pitch gave Jack’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. This was good. Jack opening up about his past was a good thing, maybe if he shared this with someone besides Pitch he’d find a way to finally let it go. If nothing else this was definitely a sign that Jack was healing.

Aster let out a long breath that shuddered a little at the end and caused the others to look at him curiously, “You… heard the ice breaking? Jack you were awake in there?”

Jack’s eyes flew wide open as he realized that he’d given away too much. Sudden frost spread through the room and the temperature dropped so swiftly that the tea froze in the pot. Millions of years of darkness. The madness of solitude had overtaken him completely as he screamed in his own mind. He wasn’t sure who he was before the ice because his mind had been broken and remade so many times while he was frozen. He didn’t notice the way Pitch pulled his hand from Jack’s shoulder, breaking the ice that had held him there. He didn’t notice Bunny yelling out for him. He was cold inside and sometimes when the memories pulled at him it spilled to the outside as well.

It was cold and it was dark.

So many years. The emptiness, the loneliness, after time he’d forgotten who he was and only the feeling of loss stayed with him. He knew there was meant to be someone. Anyone. But he was alone and there was no one. Sometimes he would dream only to wake still frozen and his sanity would shatter just a little bit more. Sometimes he wondered if he’d ever actually left the ice. Maybe this was all just a dream too? How would he be able to tell? Would he wake tomorrow only to be stuck back in the darkness?

Jack couldn’t move, he couldn’t breathe! His lungs were burning but it didn’t matter because there was no air. There was nothing! Maybe he was all there was, maybe there was nothing else, it hurt. Everything hurt and he was so cold.

“Jack listen to me. You can breathe. You’re not in the ice. Breathe with me.” Calm voice, warm arms… Pitch. With herculean effort Jack forced himself to focus on the worried golden eyes of his husband. “Breathe with me Jack. In… and out…” Pitch inhaled and exhaled and Jack copied him.

Warm hands were on his face and it helped ground him as Jack slowly took in breath. In and out. His husband’s comforting scent filled him. Ash and smoke. His warmth, safety and home.

“That’s good Jack, you’re doing well. Keep going.” Pitch encouraged smiling as he praised Jack for breathing. It was hard for him to force a smile when he was practically being suffocated by Jack’s fear. Sweet and cloying like molasses. As beautiful as it tasted it always left a bitter aftertaste. Pitch hated Jack’s fear.

There was another warm hand on his arm and Jack looked over. Another scent, familiar and haunting at the same time.

“We’re here Jack. You’re ok. Just keep breathing.” Aster’s fur was streaked with ice and sticking up at odd angles but he was still standing by Jack’s side offering whatever comfort he could.

It took some time and encouragement for Jack to calm down enough to speak. “Hurt… anyone…?” He panted roughly as he tried to let the ice around them melt. The temperature was rising slowly but he still wasn’t in complete control.

“We’re both fine.” Pitch responded quickly, stroking Jack’s ears comfortingly.

“So are the kits.” Aster added quickly, his eyes flashing brighter for a moment. “Everything’s fine.” He added to try to reassure Jack.

Jack made as if to move only to find that he’d frozen himself to his chair. His entire waist down was covered in ice and his staff was frozen to his hands. He took another panicked breath, the ice, he was trapped!

Pitch gently tilted Jack’s head so they were looking into each other’s eyes. “Jack you are not trapped. I will never allow you to be trapped again. You are home. You are safe. You are not alone.”

Aster tried to back away, sensing he wasn’t needed but as soon as his hand left Jack’s arm the younger Pooka started breathing heavier and gave Bunny a panicked look. He put his hand back quickly and rubbed the frost out of Jack’s fur along his arm. Aster was absolutely freezing his tail off and he wasn’t sure he could feel his feet anymore but if being near Jack helped then right now this is where he wanted to be. “I’m not going anywhere.” Aster reassured and Jack calmed somewhat and turned back to Pitch.

“It’s alright my darling, you’re alright.”

Jack closed his eyes and shook his head. He managed to shake himself free of his ice, it cracked and fell easily. Jack dropped his staff and reached up for his husband.

Pitch lifted Jack easily into his arms and the frost Pooka buried his face in Pitch’s neck.

Pitch turned to Bunnymund. “Jack needs to rest. I will speak with you when he settles.”

Aster nodded and briefly stroking Jack’s ears back he whispered, “Sleep well Frostbite.” Then he watched Pitch carry his son away.

By the time Pitch returned Aster had moved to the dining room. He was still cold but the living room had been starting to drip as the ice melted.

Wordlessly Pitch handed Aster a towel and sat across from him at the dining table.

“Thank you.” Aster took the towel and started drying off his fur gratefully. When he got back to the Warren he was going straight to the hot springs. Maybe spend the next week in there. His whole body ached, it had been one long day.

“I cannot speak for long. Jack needs me.”

“Of course.”

“Lunanoff seems to be… more desperate than before.” Pitch noted.

Aster nodded. “Trying to drown me is… a big move. One that would have damaged the entire planet. There isn’t another Spring spirit strong enough to take my place as the Guardian of Hope and the Personification of Life. The Decay would have started if I’d died.”

Pitch didn’t look shocked or overly concerned over the near miss, he just looked thoughtful. “Jack couldn’t replace you?”

“No… well… Maybe he could have, once.” Aster thought about it for a moment. “He was born from Winter and Spring but whatever made him a spirit cancelled out the Spring. I imagine he always leant towards Winter and now he is completely Winter.” Aster shrugged. “He has a greater chance of replacing the Snow Queen than he does of replacing me.”

“So he was willing to end it all then… Perhaps this too was a way to harm Jack. He is too tied to the planet, if Earth were destroyed I imagine it would kill Jack as well.” Pitch mused.

Aster growled in frustration. “More bloody questions than answers.” He then proceeded to tell Pitch about what the Guardians had learned from the wells and their theories.

“I had surmised so as well. If Lunanoff had wanted Jack dead, he could have done it at any time.” Pitch agreed. “It still does not help us figure out what he wants now.”

“We will, even if I have to find a way to the moon and rip it out of him myself.” Bunny said with narrowed eyes and his arms crossed over his chest.

Pitch looked surprised for a moment before he nodded in approval. He rose. “If that is all then I shall go to my wife, I can feel his nightmares from here.”

Aster nodded and after letting Pitch know he’d be back in a week he headed off. Pitch had assured him that now he was welcome in the Lair he should be able to find his way through the maze without a Nightmare to guide him. Aster left with his head full of thoughts about his son.

Jack had been awake in the ice.

On his own, in the dark.

For how long?

Aster hated the Man in the Moon a bit more after that.

Chapter 15: Sleepy little Sweepy

Aster felt like his body had just hit the nest when a tickle at the back of his neck woke him up again. After seeing Pitch and Jack he had run straight to the North Pole to tell the other Guardians about what had happened. If they’d still had any lingering doubts about the Man in the Moon’s intentions, they didn’t now. He didn’t tell them about Jack being awake in the ice though. Seeing the pain in Jack when he’d accidentally revealed it… It was clearly personal and painful. Bunny would not tell anyone unless Jack asked him to.

Millions of years… was he awake all that time? Was he frozen for all that time? Too many questions and judging by what he’d picked up from Jack, both Jack’s words and his reactions, the young frost spirit wasn’t too sure of the answers either.

Aster thought about rolling over and sleeping anyway when the tingling feeling started again. Tickling the fur at the back of his neck and all the way down his spine this time.

It took a second for his tired mind to figure out what it was and when he did he launched himself out of his bed much faster then he’d thrown himself into it earlier. Sleep was all but forgotten as he took off through the Warren, only stopping just long enough to arm himself, before heading to the surface. Jack needed him. Either Jack or Pitch had used one of the Evil Egg Twins to call him. He would have scoffed a little at the name if he wasn’t in such a hurry.

<i>Please let Jack be ok.</i> The thought ran through his head on repeat.

He couldn’t lose his son again. Aster was a proud Pookan warrior, but as strong as he was there was no chance he’d be strong enough for that.

Aster made it to Burgess in record time.

He leapt from his tunnel with his ‘rangs at the ready and his heart pumping fast, expecting the worst.

There was Jack, sitting by his lake under the shade of the new trees. He looked safe but frightened. Jack’s eyes were wide and his ears pinned back with his mouth gaping, his breathing was short and rapid. One of his Egg Twins was running around Jack. Bunny looked around to try and find the threat.

“Please put them away.” Jack’s voice was small and scared. He turned away from Bunny and closed his eyes. He held himself tightly. Pitch was near. Pitch was watching. Bunny wouldn’t hurt him. It was alright.

Pitch was watching very closely, from the shadows of a nearby tree. With this much darkness close to his Lair his powers in Burgess and surrounds had increased rather dramatically. Seeing Jack upset made Pitch want to interfere straight away but he’d promised Jack he wouldn’t. He knew Jack needed to talk things out with Bunny but… Jack was afraid again and Pitch was really getting tired of things frightening his wife.

It took a moment for Aster to realize what was going on before he dropped his boomerangs. His mind played through the events that had played out almost fifty years ago at this very lake. He began to shake. He had… Oh sweet El Ahrairah… His son… His grandkit…

“Calm down Bunny, I really need you to just… Calm down?” Jack was still timid and it came out sounding like a question. As Jack moved closer to his father, Aster let out a long, mournful keen. “I just wanted to talk to you.” Those words, so close to what Jack had spoken years ago finally broke the Buck.

“I’m sorry!” Bunnymund cried as he knelt on the ground and lowered his head. “I’m so sorry Jack, I didn’t know… I don’t know how I could have… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Aster sobbed his apologies. The force of his sudden grief completely taking him by surprise. Since he’d learned the truth he’d pushed it all down, as deep as he could, inside him. Knowing that right now he needed to be strong for Jack. But Jack had looked so frightened and Bunny knew it was all his fault.

His hands fisted the dirt as tears pooled in his eyes and fell. Gentle drops of spring fell from his eyes and landed in the dirt by his hands, tiny grass shoots springing up from the earth as they touched the ground. The essence of Life was so strong in him but still Aster hadn’t been able to see… See the seed of life inside his own son. It was so bright and so beautiful and he hadn’t even noticed when he’d cruelly cut it down.

Jack watched Bunny for a moment. Kneeling in the dirt and weeping helplessly at the loss… at <i>Jack’s</i> loss. Jack grit his teeth and let out a low growl. “Don’t you dare Bunny. Don’t you fucken’ dare!” Jack was beyond angry, it was hot and vicious and it hit him so suddenly it took his breath away. He felt his sudden rage like a punch to the stomach and wasn’t that just the perfect metaphor for this moment? Jack was <i>pissed</i>.

“Sorry, I’m so sorry,” Aster continued to weep his apologies with his head bowed.

Jack’s growl became a snarl and he launched himself at his father. With a full body tackle he managed to pin Aster to the ground with his hands fisted in the fur on Aster’s chest and his body sitting on Aster’s stomach. “NO!” He yelled at Aster as he shook him roughly. “You don’t get to cry! You don’t get to grieve or feel bad or… <i>You just don’t get to!!</i>”

Aster didn’t fight. If Jack wanted to hurt him then it was more than deserved. Ice blue eyes glared at him full of rage and hurt.

“<i>You</i> did this! You took <i>everything</i> away from me and all I wanted was to <i>ask</i> you for <i>help</i>!!!” Jack shook Bunny savagely with every word.

It hurt Aster where his fur pulled but he still lay limp and awaited whatever punishment Jack deemed fit to give him. Every word out of Jack’s mouth was like a knife straight to his heart. Aster closed his eyes, unable to bear the look in Jack’s eyes any longer.

“And you <i>don’t</i> get to feel bad about it! Because…” Jack took a deep breath and released his death grip on Bunny’s fur. He buried his face in Aster’s chest ruff. “It wasn’t your fault.” He whispered.

Aster’s eyes sprung open and he looked down to see his son curled over with his snout in Aster’s fur. There was silence for a few moments as Aster’s mind tried to process what had just happened.

Jack raised his head and looked Bunny in the eyes. They were deep green and charged with life. These weren’t the eyes that had haunted him for decades. Jack remembered every detail from that day in painful clarity. Every moment seared into his memories, scarring so badly that it would never fade. On that day Bunny’s eyes had not been as vibrant and green as they were now. His scent hadn’t been as earthen as it was now. His voice hadn’t been as sincere as it was now.

Bunny didn’t hurt him. Bunny would never hurt him.

“Jack… I…”

“I forgive you.” Jack felt the weight of his anger lift from his shoulders as he finally let it go. A lesson he had long since learned with his husband. Aster’s breath caught in his throat for a moment before the sobs started again. This Pookan Buck, sobbing on the ground beneath him, was not the same man who hurt him. Aster never could be.

Jack crawled off of Aster and helped him sit up, his sudden anger leaving as quickly as it came.

Aster looked up at Jack, searching his eyes for a moment before he was overcome with a fresh wave of tears. “I’m sorry!” Bunny wailed as he bowed his head again and Jack took his father into his arms.

“Shh, Bunny. I’m here.” Jack stroked long trails down Bunny’s ears and the back of his neck as he comforted the older Pooka. Pitch did this for him sometimes so he hoped it was helping Bunny too. He shushed Bunny gently through the whispered apologies. He couldn’t say ‘it would be alright’ because it wouldn’t be. They’d already lost the pregnancy and they’d never have the chance to save the kit that was lost. He couldn’t say ‘it will get better’ because it wouldn’t. Nothing could undo this pain or take it away, even if the edges eventually dulled with time. Still, Jack held his father through his tears and hoped that it would be enough.

Aster’s tears this time were healthy tears. Every shuddery breath felt like it scraped him raw and every tear rubbed salt in the wounds but… they were cleansing him instead of causing more pain. He felt raw and open like a freshly healed cut… but he also felt better than before. It hurt but it was meant to hurt and Aster was glad he was finally feeling it. He put his arms around his son as he cried himself out, touched that Jack was trying to soothe him instead of trying to hurt him as he felt he deserved. Aster vowed to himself that he would make the Man in the Moon pay for what he had done to Jack.

After some time, Aster calmed but they stayed together on the ground with Jack stroking his ears for a long time before they parted.

When Aster finally sat up on his own and looked at Jack the younger Pooka let out a little smile as he saw the deep tear tracks down Aster’s face. He held up a hand and being mindful of his claws, used a thumb to gently wipe some of the moisture away. “Are you… feeling better?” Jack asked gently. They were still sitting together on the ground in front of Jack’s lake.

“Yeah… I think I needed that.” Aster brushed himself off and wiped his eyes, a little embarrassed about his outburst but not regretting it in the slightest.

“So did I…” Jack admitted quietly, his eyes darting out to the lake and back. “I’m sorry if I hurt you… I didn’t mean to lose my temper.”

“Nah mate… I kinda deserved that.” Jack tried to argue but Bunny raised on of his hands. “It’s fine Frostbite, really. MiM has a lot to answer for.”

Jack hummed and looked up at the canopy. “And I have a lot to thank <i>you</i> for.”

“Frostbite?”

“Look what you’ve done for me,” Jack gestured around with his arms wide. “Do you even realize how amazing this is? I don’t have to give up <i>my</i> place now. Because of you I can still come here freely where I couldn’t before. You have no idea how much that means to me.”

Aster was stunned into silence. He didn’t know what to say. He was saved from having to respond at all by a small ‘plonk’ that sounded suspiciously like an egg falling into the lake.

Jack’s ear twitched, he’d heard it too. He sighed and rose. “Give me a minute.” He wandered over to the lake where there was a little pair of flailing legs stirring up the surface – the rest of the egg appeared to be submerged.

Jack wandered over to the edge of the lake and scooped up the little egg, quickly righting it in his hands. “How do you keep doing this? I mean I know you have no eyes but that’s just no excuse Eggwina.” Jack scolded the egg gently. Thankfully the paint was enchanted along with the longevity of the egg so it wasn’t damaged by the water.

The egg actually looked a little ashamed of itself, it rubbed its ‘face’ against Jack’s hand.

Jack petted the top of the egg affectionately. “Fine, you cutie, but I think it’s time for you to go home before you get into any more trouble. You wanna see your brother?” The egg perked up and managed to clumsily run up Jack’s arm until it was hopping excitedly on Jack’s shoulder. “Alright. Alright!” Jack giggled at the little egg’s antics. “Pitch!”

The Boogeyman appeared directly in front of Jack, rising out of the shadows smoothly. “Yes my lovely wife?”

Jack leant up and gave his husband a soft kiss, making Pitch smile, “Would you mind taking Eggwina home for me, please? She keeps falling into the lake and I don’t want to lose her.”

Pitch took the egg carefully from Jack’s shoulder and it rubbed itself on Pitch’s hand as well. “Of course, I believe Eggward has been missing her.”

“Hm, remind me to spend some time with him later to make up for it ok?”

“Yes my darling, I will return momentarily.” He threw a look at Aster and the Pooka was a little surprised at how well Pitch could convey ‘menace’ with little to no expression. It was quite frightening.

Aster watched the whole exchange and felt an odd surge of pride in his son. Just the way Jack treated the egg and how caring he really was… Jack was going to be an amazing mother. The image of Jack standing tall with an egg balanced on his shoulder would be one he’d treasure. And as for Pitch… if Jack had chosen anyone else to be his partner Aster knew it would have been unlikely that Jack would have survived all of this. Only Pitch could stand up to the power of the Tsars. Even in the Golden Age the royalty had feared their Golden General’s power. A lot of things had changed since then but Pitch was still one of the most powerful spirits on Earth.

Jack stepped lightly back over to Aster and sat back down in the grass now growing around the older Pooka. “I’m sorry I used Eggwina to call you, I just wanted to talk to you and I didn’t know how else to get your attention.”

“It’s fine Frostbite. I didn’t mean to startle you when I showed up. I was worried something had happened.” He shuffled around a bit, sitting more comfortably in the grass. Usually Aster didn’t do things like generate an entire forest overnight and he wondered how the humans would react when they found out. It still seemed to be quite early in the morning so maybe no one had noticed yet? Mother Nature was probably going to have a few words with him about it but Aster was the head of Spring, Life and Hope. He was above even her authority.

“We spend a lot of time apologizing to each other.” Jack noted idly, stretching out on the soft grass. It was a nice cool morning and he loved the new trees around the lake.

Bunny hummed his agreement. “Something on your mind? Or just deadset on seeing me early?” He was tired but not too tired for his son, although he couldn’t help but let out a little yawn.

“Tired?”

“Not too tired for you Jackie.”

Jack took a deep breath and Bunny waited. Jack seemed to be trying to work himself up to say something. His ears were twitching nervously and his eyes were downcast, he used a light blue paw to scratch his cheeks absentmindedly and Aster took this rare quiet moment to properly look at Jack’s coloring.

Jack’s white fur was so bright it looked like fresh snow in sunlight and it practically shone in the shadows. Yet another sign that Pitch was a good mate to Jack – a Pooka’s fur growing dull is a sign of unhappiness. The tips of his ears, his hands and feet, were all pale blue. As were his markings. The blue was so pale that at times it was hard to actually tell where the blue and white changed over and his patterns were difficult to see. His nose was dark grey but small and cutely curved and his eyes were the same piercing blue… “You look so much like your mother.” He blurted without thinking. Aster inwardly cringed, worried that he’d set Jack off again.

Jack surprised him by smiling. “Really?”

“Fair dinkum… I can’t believe I didn’t see it straight away.” Bunny glanced upwards again even though he couldn’t see the sky. Damn the Man in the Moon and his betrayal.

“Actually… She’s kind of what I wanted to ask you about.”

“You want to know more about your mother?”

Jack looked a little embarrassed. “Yeah.” He shuffled around a little uncomfortably. “I don’t actually remember her… I can kind of remember your scent, I mean it’s familiar but… Her name was Snowbell right?”

“You know my scent because when you were born I was the first to scent mark you, your mother was second. Newborn kits have their eyes open but they can’t see very well, they’re sense of smell his much greater so parents use that to help them bond. As for your mother-” Bunny let out a long, wistful sigh. It had been so long since he had spoken of his wife. “Her name was Snowbell Cottontail – until we married. She was a Frost Pooka like yourself and her affinity was with the wind. She was pure white apart from her patterns which were soft grey, her arms bore frost patterns like her clan and her forehead had long sweeping lines that were associated with the wind. But her eyes… she had ice in her eyes Jack. Just like you. Her eyes could freeze me in a heartbeat but her heart was so warm... Strewth she was beautiful.”

Jack was holding his breath, he let it out in a rush. “She used the wind?”

Aster nodded. “Almost as well as you do.”

“Tell me more. Please… uh how did you meet?”

Aster smiled and closed his eyes, remembering. “It was during the war… The first Fearling War, your mother and I were in different units. We were both very young, too young, but the war raged on and it needed soldiers. Both of our ships had crashed and stranded us on some remote planet, a little removed from the front lines but still enemy territory…

<i>Aster groaned as he tore himself out of the wreckage. The crew of the Highsail had been small, only ten… but Aster was the only one who’d made it. He searched for anyone who might still be alive but it was pointless. It turned his stomach but he raided the wreckage and the bodies for anything that might be useful. He wasn’t sure how long he’d be on this planet but a crashed ship was a sure target. He had faith in his combat abilities but he wasn’t going to tempt fate. Every ship had a small homing beacon that could be activated in case of a crash like this, but Aster knew it would be better to get it to higher ground and await rescue there. The smoke from the wreck was likely drawing attention even as he was raiding it. He had to be quick. So focused was Aster on his task that he didn’t notice a group of three fearlings closing in behind him.

At least not until it was too late. Aster turned in time to see one of them launch at him and there was no chance he’d be able to draw a weapon in time.

Something white and fast leapt in front of him on a strong gust of wind. It took Aster a second to notice that it was another Pooka and even then it took another second for Aster to comprehend what he was seeing. She was like white fury, cutting down the three fearlings so fast it gave Aster whiplash. It was over in a manner of minutes and Aster realized that he hadn’t even helped her fight – he’d been so captivated by her strength and grace that he’d just gaped at her like an idiot.

Apparently she had similar feelings because once she was finished she walked right up to Aster and punched him in the face.</i>

“…I would never have made it off of that rock if it wasn’t for her. She knocked me flat on my ass and my heart was hers ever since.”

Jack laughed, “Wow, we sure know how to pick them don’t we?” He giggled merrily.

“Takes a tough mate to handle a Bunnymund… or a Frost as the case may be.” Aster grinned as well.

Jack looked at Aster thoughtfully for a moment, weighing his next question in his mind. “What was my name?” He asked curiously. “I’m guessing you didn’t name me ‘Jack Frost’, with everything else I don’t think MiM would have given me my birth name when I woke from the ice.”

Aster took a breath. “It’s been a long time since I’ve spoken your birth name mate…”

There was pain in his voice and Jack… understood. For millions of years Aster had thought he’d lost his son. He didn’t even have his wife to help him through it, at least Jack had Pitch.

“Sweetpea. Your Ma named you Sweetpea.” Aster huffed a little laugh. “She used to call you Sweepy. Her sleepy little Sweepy.”

Jack closed his eyes for a moment…

<i>”Sweepy run! Just run! Just go!”

Blue eyes stained with grief. Tears kept falling, turning into snow. Blood on white fur, soothing scents.

“Your father will be back for you Sweetpea, I promise he’ll save you!”</i>

“Sweetpea…” Jack repeated with his eyes half closed and glazed over. He blinked a couple of times to try and clear his head. “Like the flower? Why are we all named after flowers?”

“You’ve got it backwards there mate, when I arrived on Earth I created the flowers, and the plants and pretty much all the Life there is. I named the flowers after you, your mother, and our people.”

Jack twitched his ears at Bunny’s admission. “What about the language of flowers and their meanings and stuff? Was that you too?”

Aster nodded, “Although the humans did take their own spin on things. The meanings of flowers where essentially epitaphs for the ones I’d named them after.”

“What does my… Mother’s name mean?”

“Hope, purity and ice. She was a beautiful mix of all three.”

“…And my name?”

“Sweetpea means… departure, sudden goodbye, my life won't be the same without you and…” Aster took a shuddering breath, “It was a joy to know you.”

***

Night had fallen over Burgess. The town had been in an uproar all day, trying to figure out where all the trees had come from. Theories were ranging far and wide, some claiming it to be some kind of well executed prank while others were crying ‘Aliens!’ at the top of their lungs. There were still a large group of people crowded around the new trees well into the night.

However, none of them noticed the moon shining just a bit brighter. None of them noticed how the moonbeams seemed to kiss the tops of the leaves. And none of them saw the spectral boy who stepped lightly off of the moonbeams as he touched down on Earth for the first time in many decades.

His armored boot touched the tops of the leaves without so much as a dip in the canopy. He was as weightless as the light he was made of and even though he glowed brightly not a single soul below noticed him. He twirled his staff absentmindedly as he watched the hubbub beneath him, the light catching prettily on the crystal tip of his pike. His armor was old fashioned and would have been black but the boy’s natural glow made it shine as well.

With a face that could easily be the twin of Jack’s human form, the ghostly boy looked out upon the canopy. He couldn’t help but raise a pale eyebrow. Well. Aster had been busy hadn’t he? The boy could feel the power of the shadows beneath the trees – they practically stank of the Boogeyman. It wouldn’t be safe for him to venture down there on his own just yet. Perhaps in the daylight.

Nightlight looked up at the moon and smiled brightly. His green eyes glowed with mirth. <i>Don’t worry my Tsar, I will fix this for you.</i> His words were soundless but he was sure the Man in the Moon would hear him anyway.

A moonbeam gently kissed his cheek and Nightlight glowed just a little bit brighter.

<i>I’ll deal with Jack Frost and set the Guardians straight again.</i>

Chapter 16: Overnight Forest

Jack woke in his bed with a contented yawn. He stretched out languidly and reached out for Pitch, only to find his side of the bed was empty. Grabbing Pitch’s pillow and pulling it close, Jack inhaled deeply. His scent was still deep and fresh so he mustn’t have been gone long. He was probably making breakfast or something.

Since Jack had become pregnant Pitch had become extra vigilant in making sure Jack ate regular, healthy meals. Jack was not complaining; Pitch was an amazing cook.

Still, he would have preferred to have woken up next to his husband. Sleepy morning cuddles were the best cuddles. Jack rolled over with Pitch’s pillow still firmly in his grasp. He cuddled it for a moment longer before sighing and getting up. It just wasn’t the same. He was going to hunt Pitch down and demand cuddles!

With this goal in mind Jack got out of bed with a yawn and put the pillow back in its place. He made the bed quickly and shook out his fur instead of brushing it. Cuddles first.

For the first time in weeks Jack was having a good morning. He was happy.

He opted not to put any clothes on, sometimes he felt like dressing while he was a Pooka, and other times he didn’t. His fur covered everything anyway and judging from Bunny’s usual state of dress (or lack thereof) it was normal.

He was just leaving the bedroom when something cold and wet hit his face. Jack spluttered in shock as his husband’s maniacal cackle rang out through the hallway, Pitch had already taken off through the shadows.

Jack wiped the snow off of his face. Pitch had just thrown a snowball at him.

…

Challenge accepted!

It was so on! Laughing, Jack took off after his husband. There was no way Jack Frost would allow himself to be beaten in a snowball fight!

Pitch taunted Jack as he ran down the corridors after his husband. It didn’t take Jack long to realize that he was only chasing shadows. Pitch was leading him somewhere.

Just little hints, a laugh echoing at the end of the hall, a glimpse of shadow that didn’t belong, all leading Jack somewhere and Jack was loving the game. His laugh was high and free spirited as he reveled in the chase. Pitch led him into a deep part of the Lair that wasn’t often used and even though Jack was curious he was too caught up in the joy of the game to really question it.

He'd find out soon enough.

Pitch led him on a merry chase but the end seemed to be near. Tall, wide, double doors stood in front of Jack, leading to a part of the lair he had never been to. Which was impossible because Jack had explored every inch of the Lair many times over since he’d moved in over 200 years ago. Which meant that whatever was behind these doors was new. Both Jack and Pitch lived in the Lair but only Pitch had the skills necessary to make fundamental changes to it, like adding rooms. Jack could do minor things, alter the composition of the walls so they held more ice, create ice sculptures and fixtures that never melted, change the temperatures of certain rooms to below freezing level (they had a huge freezer thanks to Jack) but no more than that. He couldn’t change the foundations. Not like Pitch could. It didn’t bother Jack, besides it led to interesting surprises like this.

Jack opened the doors and was instantly met with a freezing breeze.

And immediately had to duck another snowball aimed at his face. Pitch smirked and tossed a snowball up in the air and caught it while looking at his wife.

“What do you think?”

Jack looked around and he couldn’t help but smile. The room looked exactly like a forest, a winter forest. Tall pine trees covered in snow and at least a foot of powder on top of compacted snow beneath. The room was massive, with mounds and dips and even an iced over section that looked suspiciously like a lake. It looked just like one of the many forests Jack frequented during winter. The room was huge and so tall that it actually looked like there was a night sky above them rather than a ceiling.

“It’s amazing Pitch, how-?”

“It’s a copy of a place above ground. This room and the forest I took this from are linked so we are kind of in the forest right now, but in the Lair at the same time. It is old magic, something like displacement… I haven’t done anything like this for many centuries.” Pitch’s expression turned thoughtful for a moment as he looked around.

Jack saw an opportunity and he took it. One snowball throw later and it was Pitch spluttering and wiping the snow off of his face. Jack laughed and Pitch threw his other snowball, which Jack dodged easily. The snowball fight began, with both Pitch and Jack running back and forth and throwing clumps of snow at each other. Jack didn’t bring his staff but he wasn’t helpless without it and he had an endless supply of snowballs ready for the calling. He made some for Pitch too so the game would be fair.

If only the Guardians could see the fearsome Nightmare King now, Jack giggled at the thought. Pitch was running around with snow in his hair and a snowball in each hand, stalking his wife. But this was Jack’s playground. Jack’s natural coloring allowed him to blend in with the snow, even the blue parts worked to his advantage. Pitch walked right past Jack without even seeing him lying in the snow. Jack waited for the perfect moment and as Pitch walked past Jack used his strong legs to kick the tree Pitch had just walked under.

The snow fell from the branches and buried the Boogeyman. Jack was rolling around in the snow laughing. “The Abominable Snoogeyman!” He cackled with glee.

Pitch was covered in snow while holding his arms out at his sides, as though holding them away from his body would somehow help. He raised an eyebrow at Jack. “Snoogeyman?”

“Yeah, Snowman, Boogeyman, Snoogeyman.”

“I see.” Pitch looked down at himself and then back at Jack. “And what, pray tell, would a Snoogeyman do?”

Jack rose to his feet with a cheeky grin, “Well I imagine they’d stomp a lot and chase people. Maybe even roar a bit. Kind of a scarier version of Abominable Snowpeople.”

“Abominable Snowpeople?”

“It’s politically correct Pitch, don’t be sexist.”

Pitch chuckled. “But there is only one Snoogeyman?”

“Of course.”

“And he is fearsome? And terrifying? A force to be feared and reckoned with?”

Jack laughed, “He wouldn’t be the Snoogeyman otherwise.”

“Well then…” Pitch raised his hands and shadows rose from all around him and swirled around his body. The shadows plunged into the snow covering Pitch and the white snow turned into dark ice. When the shadows finally fell from Pitch he was covered in spikes of black ice, all over his shoulders and spiking up from his hair, even his hands were tipped with claws made of black ice. “I am the Snoogeyman!” Pitch declared proudly.

Jack giggled.

Pitch tilted his head as he looked at Jack. “You dare have fun in my presence?” Pitch lunged for Jack.

Jack dodged with a shriek and more giggles as he ran from his husband.

“You cannot run from me!” Pitch chased Jack while stomping along dramatically, it looked ridiculous with his long legs but he made an effort. And judging from the way Jack was squealing and laughing it was working. As old as Jack was, there were parts of him that would forever remain childlike. Jack loved to play and spread mischief. He loved snowball fights and games, it was all just part of Jack’s charm and Pitch was more than willing to indulge his wife.

Jack giggled, ran and laughed, feeling more lighthearted then he had in a long time. “Oh no! Someone help!” His pleas for help may have been more believable if he could stop himself from laughing.

“No one will come for you! You are my victim now Little Frost!”

“Nooooo!” Jack cried as he dodged another lunge from the Snoogeyman.

“You are mine!” Pitch declared as he managed to grab Jack and pull him into his arms. Jack squirmed and overbalanced them and they tumbled together in the snow.

They rolled and tussled for a bit but eventually it was Pitch who ended up on top. He pinned Jack’s hands above his head with his black ice claws and rested his hips between Jack’s legs.

“You are at my mercy now Little Frost. Whatever shall I do with you?” Pitch asked as he trailed the claws of his free hand along the side of Jack’s face. Touching just enough for it to tickle through Jack’s fur.

Jack hummed. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea Mister Snoogeyman, my husband isn’t really the sharing type.”

“Oh? And what threat could this ‘husband’ possibly pose to a fearsome Snoogeyman like myself?”

Unable to completely hold in his giggles Jack tried to be serious as he answered. “Well, my husband is tall and incredibly handsome. His eyes are like liquid silver until he looks at me and then they’re molten gold. He loves me unconditionally and he’s fiercely protective of me. The shadows are a part of him as much as ice is a part of me but he is so much more than just the shadows. He is fear itself and the most powerful person I have ever met. There is nowhere safer than in his arms. He protects me and he cares for me and I know he would kill anyone without hesitation if it meant protecting me.”

Pitch looked into Jack’s eyes while he shook himself, letting the dark ice fall from his hands, hair and shoulders. “I love you, my darling.”

“I love you too Pitch, so much.” Jack leant up to nuzzle Pitch’s chin. “It hasn’t changed. All these years we’ve been married and I still feel lucky to wake up next to you in the morning. My heart still skips a beat when you look at me… just like that Pitch. When you look at me like that.”

Pitch’s eyes were sunset gold and hungry as he eyed his wife beneath him. “Jack… I have never in all my incredibly long life felt this way about anyone but you.” It was true. He had been married once before, as Kozmotis Pitchiner, but it had been a political marriage. He had cared for his wife and at the time believed he loved her. Although those feelings could not hold a candle to the all-consuming desire and obsession he felt for Jack. “You are <i>everything</i> Jack.”

A simple sentence but it took Jack’s breath away.

“My Night.” Jack whispered as he pulled his husband down for a kiss. At first it was simple and sweet, just lips touching and undemanding. But Jack was hungry and so was Pitch.

Pitch licked at the seam of Jack’s mouth and Jack parted his lips eagerly. Pitch wasted no time, plundering Jack’s mouth greedily with his tongue. Jack’s mouth was always cold, there was always fresh frost playing on his tongue, and Pitch loved to chase it all with his own tongue.

Pitch was so hot Jack was always surprised that he didn’t melt. The heat of his body… his tongue... Jack moaned wantonly as Pitch pulled Jack so they rested more closely together, chest to chest, he wrapped his legs around Pitch’s waist and rolled his hips.

Pitch’s breath hitched and he parted to look down at Jack, he opened his mouth and… Jack’s stomach let out a loud rumble.

There was silence for a few moments before the married couple burst out laughing.

“Perhaps we shall postpone until after breakfast?” Pitch rose and held out a hand to Jack. “I made pastries this morning.”

“I love your pastries.” Taking Pitch’s hand Jack shot his husband a joyful smile. “Can we come back to this room?”

“Whatever you want Jack, you know I will do whatever you want.”

***

Jamie Bennet was excited. Ridiculously excited. He was ten years old and missing a tooth from an epic sled ride he’d had a few days before Easter. He brushed his floppy brown hair out of his equally as brown eyes. He could barely stand still, leaning against his back fence and looking out where the view of the lake should have been. Instead there were trees, a lot of trees. Now trees usually wouldn’t get Jamie all flustered but this was different.

All of these trees had sprung up overnight.

The whole of Burgess was talking about it and the entire park had been closed while the trees had been investigated. Science teams and news crews had showed up from all over the country to investigate the mysterious Overnight Forest. There were no witnesses to this odd miracle in Burgess. The town woke up one morning and the trees were there. They were tall and strong and covered the entire lake. It was amazing!

“Come on Jamie, we can’t stare at the trees all day!” One of his friends insisted, trying to drag Jamie away. “Let’s go to the arcade!”

Jamie shook them off. “You go on ahead.” He didn’t want to leave this mystery behind, not yet.

Scientists and news people hadn’t figured out what had happened but with a child’s determination and wonder Jamie was sure he could solve the mystery of the Overnight Forest. So he waited by the back of his fence as his friends left to play. The Overnight Forest had been sectioned off by the authorities until it could be deemed safe… but Jamie had been watching the forest for a week now. He’d noticed that right in front of his house, around lunch time, the people ‘guarding’ the border would leave. It was only for a few minutes, but it was enough.

Jamie waited and at lunch time, a week after the Overnight Forest had appeared, he saw his opportunity. Hitching his backpack higher on his shoulders Jamie darted across the road, under the barrier, and into the Overnight Forest.

Jamie had a hunch that whatever had happened here had started at the lake, so that was where he headed.

Jamie had been walking to the lake for years so finding his way through the Overnight Forest wasn’t hard at all. Still, he passed the trees with wide eyes and a gaping mouth as he looked around at what had been clear ground a week ago. It was amazing! He touched some of the trees as he passed and even though they were just normal trees he couldn’t help but feel an excited buzz when he touched them. This was so cool!

He laughed a little as he spotted a squirrel climbing one of the trees.

There were birds twittering through the canopy and even ten-year-old Jamie could feel the abundance of life in the trees. It felt magical.

It didn’t take him long to reach the lake. It was still cool and clear like always, just surrounded by trees. He sat down in front of the lake and rummaged through his bag for his notepad and pen. A good investigator always documents their findings. As he was pulling out his homemade Detective Kit a rustling in the bushes drew his attention. Looking over quickly he thought he caught a glimpse of something but the bushes were still once more. He left his things on the ground and took a couple of steps towards the bush but then a rustling from behind him made him turn around.

There! Something really fast just moved through the bushes!

It was too big to be a squirrel, or a rabbit, or any other creature Jamie could think of. And it had been impossibly fast, he’d only seen it for a moment, just long enough to make out a grey blur. Jamie was a little nervous, but his curiosity was stronger, so he cautiously approached the bush where he’d seen the grey blur.

Aster watched silently from the branches of a tree behind the boy. He’d been on his way to see Jack when he’d come across the little one. The boy was a believer and Aster had almost been seen. Of course, Pookas were fast and he’d managed to turn and bounce up into the trees in time. The boy may have seen a little, but definitely not enough to identify Aster as the Easter Bunny. Now he was stuck. He could continue on his way, have his regular time with his son – he still felt absolutely blown away that he could actually go and <i>see his son</i>. Or he could help the boy. He could be lost and as a Guardian of Childhood there was no way Bunny could leave a boy lost and alone in a forest. He gave a frustrated little sigh. He was looking forward to seeing Jack so the sooner he got this over with the sooner he could see his son.

Aster leapt down from his tree and landed behind the boy.

Jamie couldn’t help but jump a little as he heard something land behind him. Tentatively he turned around. He was a little scared but Jamie was smart enough to know that being brave wasn’t about not being afraid, but not letting fear stop you. So he bravely turned to face whatever it was that landed behind him.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw.

It was tall, with long ears and grey fur. It’s stomach and chest was white and it had sharp green eyes. Jamie looked it up and down a few times with a gaping mouth before exclaiming loudly, “You’re the Easter Bunny!”

The giant rabbit chuckled. “That I am mate. What’s your name?”

“I’m Jamie! This is so cool! I knew you were real!” Jamie was practically vibrating in his skin. “And you’re Australian!” Jamie recognized the accent from TV.

It was oddly refreshing to meet one of his believers. Still as much fun as this was, Aster had places to be. “You lost?”

Jamie grinned, showing off the gap in his teeth proudly. “Nope. I’m here investigating.”

“Investigating?” Now Aster was curious. “What are you investigating?”

“The mystery of the Overnight Forest of course!” Jamie spread his arms wide excitedly as the Easter Bunny blinked in surprise.

“The… Overnight Forest?”

“Yeah! They keep saying it’s a prank or aliens or something but I think it was magic. Say, do you know what made the Overnight Forest? I mean you’re the Easter Bunny, you’d have to know about stuff like this!”

Bunny was actually a little too shocked to answer straight away. He didn’t exactly know what to tell the kid and even what he should tell the kid.

“Of course he knows, he’s the one who did it.” A calm British voice spoke from the shadows. Jamie turned around in time to see a man solidify from the shadows. “Boo.” The shadow man raised his hands towards Jamie and the boy took a step back, instinctively frightened of the man. “Clever boy.”

“Really Pitch? Scaring a kid?” The Easter Bunny scoffed as he crossed his arms.

“Well I am the Boogeyman, is it not my job to scare children?”

“The Boogeyman! And the Easter Bunny! This is the best day ever!”

Both of the elder spirits looked rather baffled at Jamie’s enthusiasm. Pitch was particularly uncertain; Jamie’s reaction was not the typical reaction he received from children. Both Pitch and Bunny glanced behind Pitch as something. Bunny smiled brightly and Pitch gave a small smile as well. Jamie turned to look but he couldn’t see anything, although he could feel a cool breeze even though there didn’t seem to be any wind here.

“So you know him then?” Aster asked while Jamie was still looking around curiously. He glanced up at the Easter Bunny but he didn’t seem to be talking to Pitch. He looked back around but there was nobody there.

“Oh my darling, I know, I could scare him a little if you like? That could be fun?” Pitch turned back to Jamie and as Jamie watched he seemed to grow and the shadows around him seemed to lengthen. His hands twisted into claws and his eyes burned an evil golden while his smile was sharpened with cruel fangs.

Jamie was terrified. He tried to take a few steps backwards but fell, even the shadows on the ground seemed to be reaching for him, catching his clothes and making him trip. He tried to crawl backwards but the Boogeyman kept growing larger, taking up more space and making Jamie’s get away useless. He was breathing in and out quickly and his heart was pounding in his chest so hard it hurt. He didn’t want to look at the Boogeyman because he was so frightening, but at the same time he couldn’t tear his eyes away.

“Give it a rest ya drongo.” Bunny stood beside Jamie and offered him a paw up, his accent coming through stronger with his frustration.

Pitch wasn’t listening. His shadow was still growing and Jamie was still terrified. “So what do you think Jamie? Do you believe in the Boogey-?!” Pitch was cut off suddenly by what appeared to be a snowball slamming into his face. He shrank back to normal and shot a grumpy look over his shoulder while he wiped of the snow.

Jamie couldn’t help but let out a little giggle. “That was snow! Where did it come from?” But neither the Boogeyman nor the Easter Bunny were paying attention to him. They were both looking over at that spot again.

“Ha, told you. He’s on my side.” Bunny spoke up again but he didn’t seem to be referring to Jamie. He looked incredibly smug until another snowball came flying out of nowhere and hit him in the face as well. This time Jamie noticed that it came from the direction the two spirits kept looking.

Jamie frowned and turned back around to watch the Easter Bunny wipe the quickly melting snow off of his face. Snow… and then there was the cold patch… and the fact that both the Boogeyman and the Easter Bunny seemed to be talking to someone Jamie couldn’t see… “Jack Frost.” Jamie whispered as the pieces fell into place.

“Did he just say-?” A third voice spoke quietly and Jamie’s eyes widened.

“Jack Frost?” Jamie questioned as he started to turn around.

Jack let out a breath, barely daring to hope, barely daring to <i>believe</i> that this could be happening. “He said it again… He said…” He took a step closer to the boy, “You said…”

Jamie finally turned all the way around and came eye to eye with a tall white bunny with blue patterns that made Jamie think of frost, particularly the snowflake on his forehead. “Jack Frost!” Jamie repeated, awed. He had not expected Jack Frost to look like this but as the rabbit stood tall in front of him with his staff in one hand it just felt right. This was Jack Frost. And Jamie believed in him.

“That’s right! But that’s me! Jack Frost! That’s my name!” Jack took another tentative step towards the boy. “You said my name!” That was the moment Jack noticed Jamie’s eyes were focused directly on him. “Wait. Can you hear me?” Jamie nodded and Jack’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Can you… Can you see me?” When Jamie nodded again Jack leapt back and launched himself into the air briefly. He wanted to backflip and tumble with his excitement but he settled for a quick spin before settling on the ground. Kits first, always. “He sees me!” Jack crowed gleefully. “He sees me! Pitch he sees me!” He launched himself at his husband who caught Jack easily in his arms. Jack laughed and Pitch spun him around once before settling him back down on the ground.

“That’s amazing Jackie.” Bunny added and Jack shot him a look filled with such Joy that it raised Bunny’s spirits as well. When Jack looked this happy Bunnymund forgot what sadness was.

“You just made snowballs out of nothing!” Jamie exclaimed at Jack who leapt over to Jamie and crouched on all fours to be at his level.

“I know!” Jack laughed.

“You nailed The Boogeyman in the face with a snowball!”

“I know!”

Pitch huffed and rolled his eyes. He highly doubted this child would ever be afraid of him again… but it was a small price to pay for Jack’s happiness.

“You’re real!” Jamie cried happily.

“Yeah, of course I am! Who do you think brings you all the blizzards, and the snow days? And you remember when you went flying on the sled the other day?” Jack was too excited to sit still while he was talking so he bounced all around Jamie like an excited bunny.

“That was you?”

“That was me!”

“Cool!”

“Right?” Jack laughed freely. “My first believer… You’re my first believer.”

Pitch hummed as he walked up behind Jack and placed a hand on his wife’s shoulder. “Your first light.”

Jack smiled up at Pitch.

“So wait, no offense, but why are you a bunny? Are you related to the Easter Bunny?” Jamie asked with his arms crossed, looking back and forth between the two. There wasn’t a great deal of resemblance apart from the fact that they were both bunnies.

“Yes actually.” Jack answered happily, “The Easter Bunny is my dad.”

Aster felt his chest swell with pride as he heard Jack so casually tell Jamie that he was Jack’s father. It made something in him settle. He wanted to purr, and he may have indulged if there weren’t so many people around.

“That is so cool!” Jamie was bouncing around now too. He couldn’t sit still either and he was jumping around after Jack.

“This is the best day ever!” Jack exclaimed happily, his eyes filled with joy.

Chapter 17: Frostbite

Nightlight had watched the boy enter the forest. He was just a human child and he had managed to just walk right in with his little backpack like there was nothing at all wrong with this place. Nightlight had been watching this forest for days and still he had not been able to penetrate the darkness within. He could feel the Boogeyman’s presence all over the town. It was odd though, none of the people living here seemed overly afraid. The Nightmare King’s presence was so strong that it was suffocating but the people weren’t living in little fearful huddles. They were smiling, laughing and going about their day like nothing was out of the ordinary. It was baffling. Nightlight hadn’t taken a too active role in driving Pitch out during the Dark Ages but he had seen what the Boogeyman’s influence was capable of and this town just wasn’t dark enough for the aura he was feeling.

Then there was the little boy. He had just darted into the forest as though it were no trouble at all, completely disregarding the fact that Nightlight had been trying to get in for the better part of a week. Even during midday, when the Boogeyman’s powers should be at their weakest, Nightlight hadn’t been able to pierce the canopy.

Nightlight stabbed at the tree line with his lance in frustration but the pointed, crystal tip couldn’t even penetrate the shadows.

With few options available, Nightlight had to admit defeat. He wasn’t getting in to Pitch or Jack.

Nightlight smiled in a sinister way that was all teeth.

He would have to draw them out.

He calmed himself as he watched the little boy from earlier dart out from behind the trees. For a moment Nightlight saw something grey and fast moving dart through the trees but it was gone as quickly as it came and the little boy happily wandered home. Aster… what on Earth did that Guardian think he was doing? Being openly seen by a child was against the rules. Seemed as though the old Pooka had finally gone senile.

Troubled, Nightlight watched the boy for a moment. He seemed fine. It was now late in the afternoon and the shadows from the forest were stretching out towards Nightlight like vicious claws reaching for prey. Nightlight had no choice but to leave the edge of the forest for now and he decided to follow the boy.

Apparently he lived quite close to the forest and Nightlight watched as the boy darted under a loose board in his fence into his backyard.

Nightlight bounced up and landed lightly on the top of the fence. Walking around it while watching the boy, he rested his lance across his shoulders absentmindedly. Resting his arms on it similarly to how milkmaids used to carry full pails with large sticks across their backs, both of his wrists resting lightly on the top with his hands hanging over.

The boy had barely been home for a moment, putting his backpack down on a table outside while rummaging through it for something, when the board in the fence was pushed aside by a smaller boy with blonde hair and glasses.

“Jamie!”

The brunette boy turned around. “Oh hey Monty.”

So the boy who braved the forest was called Jamie? Nightlight sat down on the fence and rested his lance on the ground, lifting his feet up absentmindedly to rest against the wood.

“Where have you been all day?” Monty asked while pushing his glasses up his nose. Technically Pippa was Monty’s best friend but Jamie always made sure that Monty was included in their games and the two boys were rather close.

Jamie smiled brilliantly. “I was kind of hoping you’d ask me that!” Jamie then excitedly launched into a story about the real reason for the ‘Overnight Forest’.

Nightlight listened intently and smiled his malicious, toothy smile. Oh this was good. Jack had a little believer. He could use this… but first, it was high time Nightlight visited the other Guardians. Aster was clearly a lost cause but the others may yet be saved.

Off to the North Pole then.

***

Pitch dropped everything, literally dropping the plates he’d been about to set at the table, when Jack let out a screaming sound from the bathroom. He’d vanished through the shadows before they even hit the ground. He arrived in the bathroom in seconds and there was Jack, looking perfectly fine and fluffy, standing in front on the mirror. Jack was not afraid, Pitch noted to himself idly as he glanced quickly around the room.

“Pitch! Pitch look!” Jack turned so that Pitch was viewing him in profile and then tried to flatten the fur on his stomach.

It took Pitch a moment but when he noticed not even the Boogeyman could hold back his delighted smile.

“I have a baby bump Pitch! We have a baby bump!” Jack squealed excitedly and it was at that point that Pitch realized he’d mistook Jack’s excitement earlier for fear or pain.

As if in a trance Pitch stepped closer to his wife and reached out a hand but he hesitated, almost afraid to touch. Jack huffed and grabbed his hand and pressed it to his stomach. Pitch’s breath hitched and he had to swallow a lump that had formed in his throat.  He rubbed his hand slowly over Jack’s stomach, tracing the slight enlargement that was physical evidence of the kits growing inside Jack.

Pitch’s kits.

“Jack…” Pitch didn’t know what to say. Pitch didn’t know what he could say… there were no words for this moment.

“I know Night. I know.” Jack pulled Pitch into his arms, leaving enough room for Pitch to keep his hand on Jack’s bump.

Pitch laughed and wrapped both of his arms around his wife and he could still feel the little bump against his body as Jack held him back. “I love you my darling, you are so amazing.” If his eyes became a little watery neither Pitch nor Jack commented on it.

This was amazing but also a little frightening. They had officially crossed into uncharted territory. Their previous pregnancy hadn’t had the chance to get this far.

Jack nuzzled into Pitch’s chest. “I love you too. This is… We’re going to be parents Pitch. I don’t know if I really believed it before now. But I know now. With you and the Guardians on our side I know we can do this. I <i>believe</i> we can do this. You are going to be such an amazing father.” Jack parted a little so he could rest his hands on his bump. “I can’t wait to meet you both.” He smiled, hoping his children could hear him.

Pitch lowered himself to his knees and pressed a light kiss to Jack’s hands. Jack moved his hands to the sides of his stomach. Bemused, he watched his husband, wondering what Pitch was doing.

Pitch trailed gentle kisses all over the new baby bump before parting a little and looking at it with a soft smile. “I love you both. I will always do my best to protect you both and I will raise you with the love and care you deserve. Your mother and I are looking forward to meeting you.” He nuzzled into the fur on Jack’s belly. “You are both loved and always will be.”

“You know what we have to do now?” Jack was almost bouncing with his excitement. “We have to go tell Bunny!”

Try as he might Pitch couldn’t even get Jack to settle long enough to have breakfast before they left for the Warren. Jack was just too excited to sit still. During Bunny’s previous visit he had granted Jack unrestricted access to the Warren, giving the younger Pooka the ability to access the millions of tunnels all around the Earth that led to the Easter Bunny’s home. It was the ultimate sign of trust – and Jack intended to take advantage of it shamelessly. Barely giving time for his husband to catch up, Jack made his way above ground and tapped the earth with his foot like Bunny had shown him.

He gave Pitch a smile and with a roll of his husband’s eyes they both made their way down into the Warren.

Bunny was enjoying a rare quiet day. So much had been happening lately that he’d only just finished cleaning up after Easter and he was spending a quiet morning testing some of his new paints and coming up with new patterns for his eggs next Easter. His thoughts were idle and he was happy, mostly he was thinking about his son. As much pain as there was between them and in the past Aster was really happy now. There would be trying times ahead but he would whether any storm to have Jack in his life. His little Sweetpea was still alive.

He twitched his ear slightly at the sound of one of his tunnels opening. Aster couldn’t fight back his smile. It was turning into a great day. He stood up and brushed himself off, mindless of the paint he was smearing in his fur.

“Bunny! Bunny! Bunny!” Jack was chanting his father’s name excitedly as he bounded out of the tunnel and out to the fields where Bunny was waiting. He practically tackled his father with a hug when he reached him.

Aster laughed as he caught the overexcited young Pooka before he could hurt himself. “Jack! What brings you here?” They’d last seen each other three days ago when they’d met Jamie, so it was a little early for their usual weekly visit. Not that he was complaining, any extra time with Jack felt like a gift.

With joy lighting his smile Jack happily showed off his little baby bump while Pitch stood close by and watched his wife with a slightly exasperated, but amused, expression. Jack was happy and Aster was growing into his role as Jack’s father. This was good and it made Pitch incredibly content. This is what Jack needed, this is what Jack had wanted and now Jack was happy. Pitch would do anything to make Jack happy.

When Aster realized that neither Jack nor Pitch had eaten he decided to prepare an early lunch and they enjoyed some time together, eating near one of the clear water springs.

They were chatting idly and enjoying some fresh fruit that Bunny had grown when the elder Pooka’s ear twitched again, someone else had opened one of his tunnels. The only others who could access the Warren so freely were the other Guardians. He wasn’t expecting anyone but wasn’t actually surprised when Toothiana flitted out to join them in the fields.

“Oh Bunny! Jack and Pitch! You’re all here!” She seemed a little out of breath but full of excitement. “This is great! You all have to come to the North Pole, it’s just amazing!” She fluttered around restlessly as she gestured with her hands wildly.

“Settle down, what’s at the North Pole?” Aster asked while he tried to calm his exuberant friend.

“Oh you just have to see for yourself! I promised I’d keep the surprise but it’s going to be wonderful!” She was flitting to and fro so quickly it was making Bunny dizzy just watching her. “You have to come! All of you!” And with that she darted off back the way she came.

Jack swallowed the mouthful of apple he’d been chewing on. “So… the North Pole then?” Tooth had come and gone so quickly that Jack almost felt like he had whiplash. She was definitely excited about something and Jack was curious and a little excited as well. He also kind of wanted to show off his baby bump to more people. It was really a novelty that he had more people to talk to now, even with everything else going on Jack was grateful for the change. Although he would always prefer Pitch’s company to that of others. Even with his father… Pitch was the most important person in his life and as happy as he was to have other people to talk to Pitch was the only one he needed. If things went back to the how they were before Jack would be sad but it wouldn’t break him.

“If you wish.” Pitch sniffed disdainfully.

Jack poked his husband playfully in the side. “Yes I do.” Mostly to cause some mischief. He had only been in the Workshop once; he couldn’t wait to have the opportunity to explore it a little more. One little look had not been enough. At least this time he wouldn’t have been kidnapped so hopefully he’d have a little more freedom.

“Right then, one of the permanent tunnels opens up at the Pole. Good thing neither of you minds the cold because it’s a bit of a walk to the Workshop.” Aster rose and after helping him clean up lunch the three made their way to Santa’s Workshop.

Jack enjoyed the walk from the tunnel opening to the Workshop, the cold felt wonderful after being in the Warren. He was bounding happily through the snow while Pitch and Bunny walked together discussing tunnels. Bunny couldn’t open a tunnel inside the Workshop from the outside, the magic protecting the Workshop was too strong for outside forces to penetrate its barriers. But he could open tunnels up inside that led outside. It was all very confusing and there were long winded explanations which Pitch seemed to enjoy but Jack took very little notice of. Bunny couldn’t get them in with a tunnel but he could get them out. He filed that away as information that may become useful. With everything that had happened recently Jack was learning to be cautious. Thankfully it was bright out and the moon didn’t make any kind of appearance on their way to see whatever Tooth had been excited about.

During the walk Pitch made sure to keep an eye out for Lunanoff, prepared to act in an instant should Jack be in any danger. He was pleased to note that Bunnymund was similarly alert.

They entered the Workshop and Pitch couldn’t help but feel a little odd being welcomed here after all that had transpired between himself and the Guardians. Still, the past was the past, and now these four were the best hope Pitch had of protecting Jack while still allowing his wife limited freedom. Pitch did not want to trap Jack, unfortunately for Jack’s own safety he couldn’t be allowed the freedom he’d had previously. Jack understood but Pitch could sense it grating on the younger spirits nature.

They were greeted by yetis when they arrived and led to the globe room where they could hear North’s booming voice and laughter.

Pitch couldn’t help but let out a long, pained breath. He was not looking forward to being subjected to North’s good mood.

Jack caught Pitch’s eye with a little smile, he knew exactly what his husband was thinking.

Aster missed the exchange and they entered the globe room together.

North noticed their entrance straight away and turned to greet them with a laugh. Sandy and Tooth turned to them as well, all were standing together near the globe. “Welcome friends! Young Jack, it is good to see you! I have someone for you to meet-!” The rest of his speech was cut off as Pitch hissed and placed himself between Jack and the globe.

There, sitting on the globe, was a boy who looked like Jack when he took human form. The teenaged looking boy was sitting on top of the globe, balancing carelessly with a staff resting against one of his shoulders. He was armored but it was hard to tell the color of his armor or his skin because he glowed. His hair was pale white though, and his eyes were green. His eyes locked with Jack’s immediately and Jack felt strange.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” Pitch snarled at North, his eyes darting around the room quickly. This wasn’t safe, Jack wasn’t safe. He had to get them out of here.

“Now I know you have had differences in the past, but so have all of us, Nightlight means no harm.” North tried to placate the agitated Boogeyman.

Jack felt himself grow colder and with him the room’s temperature plummeted as well. He couldn’t tear his eyes away and Nightlight, the glowing boy, met his stare evenly. “I know you.” Jack whispered but his words were swept away as Pitch yelled at North.

“Are you daft?! You ignorant fat fool!” Pitch spat. “The boy is Lunanoff’s <i>lover</i>!!!” The shadows around him were darkening and his scythe appeared in his hand but he made sure to keep himself between Jack and the threat. He cast a glance at Aster to find the Pooka similarly ready, with his weapons in hand, at Jack’s back. Jack had his staff with him as well.

“What?” Tooth flitted forward. “That can’t be true… can it?” She turned back to Nightlight but he wasn’t even looking at her, he only had eyes for Jack and even though his expression was blank the intensity of Nightlight’s stare bothered the Tooth Fairy.

“But he is Guardian.” North frowned and patted his belly.

Pitch was seconds away from ending Christmas permanently but Bunny spoke up instead. “So are we… That didn’t stop me from almost killing my son. You know how dangerous things are right now. How could you risk Jack like this?” Aster was furious. “North I know you don’t usually like to think things through but this was just...” He couldn’t even finish. He lifted his foot, ready to make a tunnel and get Jack out of there.

“Please, my friends, let us talk.” North tried to calm the quickly rising tension.

“There is nothing to talk about. Lunanoff has been fucking your precious little Nightlight for hundreds of years and I doubt he will change his loyalties over a conversation. We are leaving.” Pitch drew himself up, and holding his scythe ready, began to walk backwards, herding Jack back towards Bunny.

“Jealousy is an ugly thing.” Nightlight smiled, but his eyes didn’t leave Jack’s. “Or didn’t your Boogeyman tell you?”

“Tell me what?” Jack asked breathlessly. He didn’t want to ask but he almost felt compelled to, he knew that Nightlight was goading him but he felt powerless to resist. All the while he could feel the recognition in his mind, he knew Nightlight. He could almost remember him but the harder Jack tried to think of it the further the thought skittered away.

“That we were lovers, a few million years ago… He was devastated when I ended things. Of course he was known as General Pitchiner back then.” Nightlight smiled, “Has anyone ever told you how much we look alike? At least when you are human anyway. Strange that my ex-lover would seek someone who looked so much like me… a replacement perhaps?”

Silence spread through the workshop at Nightlight’s words… Until Jack snorted. He couldn’t help but giggle at the startled faces of the Guardians. “Sorry.” He apologized as he looked around with a sheepish smile, finally breaking eye contact with Nightlight. “It’s just… Pitch and I have been married for hundreds of years. I think I’m a bit more than just a ‘replacement’. And when we met, I looked like this,” Jack gestured at his Pookan form, “Except a bit less pregnant. I know Pitch loves me and wants me for who I am. My appearance has very little, if anything, to do with it.”

Pitch glanced back at his wife but chose to keep his eyes on the threat before them. “I do love your eyes… they are my favored shade of blue. Although it only became my favorite shade when I fell for you.” What was Nightlight saying? Pitch didn’t remember everything from his life as the Golden General Kozmotiz Pitchiner, many of his memories had simply been lost to time. He remembered important things, his wedding, his wife, his daughter but Nightlight… he didn’t remember at all.

“Awww!” Tooth couldn’t help but coo at Pitch’s sweet words. Before quickly drawing back with a whispered, “Sorry!” At the looks she’d received from both sides. Now wasn’t really the time, although Jack shot her a smile which made her feel better.

Sanderson Mansnoozie was hanging back, watching, waiting. He wasn’t sure where this was going but he had tried to warn the Guardians that bringing Jack here might not have been the best idea. He hadn’t realized Nightlight’s involvement with MiM but he’d suspected that Nightlight’s loyalties might lie away from the Guardians. He already knew which side he would be on if this turned into a fight. So he watched, and waited, ready to act if he needed to. People always ignored the quiet little man and he was quite happy to use that to his advantage.

North was trying to reason with both sides, he’d known Nightlight for years and he wanted to have faith in his young friend. Loyalty was very important to North but he wouldn’t let old loyalties cloud his judgement. He needed to get to the truth.

“Incredibly sweet Pitchiner, but you used to whisper honeyed words to me as well. My favorite was ‘Your smile shines with a light that rivals the stars and my love for you burns even brighter’. It was really quite romantic.” Nightlight snickered as he leant idly on one of his elbows, watching the chaos spread from his words.

The words sparked a memory in Pitch, and Jack felt something in him tug painfully at his heart. Pitch shook his head. Even if they really had something once it was millions of years in the past and couldn’t hold a candle to his marriage to Jack. Nightlight was fishing, trying to find something, some level of friction that he could take advantage enough but Pitch was secure enough in his marriage to know that it was pointless. While both he and Jack had their problems they were both better together and trusted each other completely.

Jack was silently thinking along the same vein as Pitch. Nightlight was trying to make them fight but it wouldn’t work because neither Jack nor Pitch would rise to the bait.

Sensing this Nightlight switched tactics. “But enough reminiscing with my ex, how are you Jack? I haven’t seen you for… well millions of years. It’s hard to keep track of time when it’s been so long isn’t it?”

Jack narrowed his eyes. “Why don’t you refresh my memory?”

“Of course, how silly of me. After the millions of years of madness you endured in the lake it’s no wonder your memory is a little sketchy.” Nightlight commiserated with mock sincerity, bringing a hand up to his heart. “The last time we saw each other,” He slowly began to unbuckle the armored glove on his left hand, “You gave me this.” He drew off his glove and held up his left hand so they could all see it clearly. Nightlight’s left hand didn’t shine like the rest of him. It was dull and black. He still seemed to have limited mobility but it seemed weakened and sluggish.

“Frostbite.” Jack murmured. He could feel something in his mind stirring. A memory right on the edge… if he could only…

“That’s right.” Nightlight confirmed flippantly as he pulled his glove back on. “Although to be fair I had just killed your mother in front of you.”

Aster swore and Jack gasped. His memory pulled him under.

<i>”Sweepy run! Just run! Just go!”

Blue eyes stained with grief. Tears kept falling, turning into snow. Blood on white fur, soothing scents.

“Your father will be back for you Sweetpea, I promise he’ll save you!”

“Mother!” Sweatpea screamed as he watched his mother fall, cut down cruelly by a crystal tipped spear. Her body fell lifelessly to the ground, she blended in so well that only her blood seperated her from the snow. Her eyes, blank and glassy, ice blue that were mirrored in his own as he watched the last of her life fade before him. He was too late.

He looked up at the boy who had stolen his mother from him. The glowing one giggled and twirled his staff. “You should see your face. Pookas are so ugly, why did he ever want you?”</i>

Jack looked back up at Nightlight. He wanted Nightlight to die but… He placed a protective hand on his stomach. Kits first. Always.

“Nightmare King.”  Jack’s voice rang out through the Workshop, hard and cold. Pitch responded immediately.

Pitch’s whole body seemed to shudder and he closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them Toothiana let out a horrified gasp. He turned back to look at his wife with a cruel smile that showed his pointed teeth. The whites of his eyes were now completely black with only his golden irises shining clear. “Yes Beloved?”

Jack didn’t bother looking at his husband. He didn’t need to. He jutted out his chin at Nightlight. “Kill him.” He ordered simply.

Jack’s husband chuckled and disappearing for a moment he rose out of Jack’s shadow.

Aster gasped with horror and he took and involuntary step back at the specter that had risen behind Jack. It wasn’t Pitch anymore, at least, not entirely. It was darker and the shadows dripped from it like oil. He was taller, hunched over but pointed and exaggerated. The last few weeks Aster had almost forgotten who Pitch was. He’d just seen Jack’s loyal husband and not the monster behind the façade. Now, he was forcefully reminded of a being who had the power to wipe out entire civilizations. This was the monster he’d been afraid of. This was the monster who had destroyed the Pookan race.

The Nightmare King rested his claws lightly on Jack’s shoulders, “With pleasure.” He purred in Jack’s ear seductively, making his wife shiver.

Then the Workshop was plunged into darkness.

Chapter 18: Burdens of guilt

Quickened breaths and panicked gasps. The Guardians were terrified. The dark was all consuming and seemed to swallow the sound around them. No one could see. The dark was so oppressive they felt as though they could barely breathe. They tried to call out but words became lost somewhere inside and all they could do was struggle to breathe while trying not to be overwhelmed. They were terrified and their fear fueled the Nightmare King.

Only Jack was unafraid. He had nothing to fear, not in this darkness. In this darkness Jack felt only safety and comfort. Pitch would always be willing to die for him but the Nightmare King was willing to kill for him. Right now that was exactly what Jack wanted.

Nightlight had found that spot in Jack, the coldest place of the young Pookas heart, a place that knew only death. It was a part of him that Jack ignored most of the time. His center was Joy but as a spirit of Winter he could find all kinds of Joy in some of the darkest places. Jack was a free spirit, unfettered by responsibilities and duties. He was ruled by his instincts and his passions and sometimes when someone hurt him in just the right way he could find Joy in death.

This dark place hadn’t always existed in Jack but millions of years of madness followed by the loss of his first child? That would break anyone.

Nightlight had hit upon that darkness in Jack and if he hadn’t had been pregnant Jack would have taken matters into his own hands.

Although having the Nightmare King take care of it would be equally as satisfying. Jack was rage and passion, the Nightmare King was cold calculation and deadly precision.

Jack was content to wait out the storm, having complete faith in his husband that he would be safe here, but a hand on his shoulder distracted him. Jack almost attacked but the scent of fresh grass and chocolate calmed him. He reached back and grabbing Bunny’s hand he pulled the older Pooka into his arms. They held each other in the darkness, comforting each other as best they could. Bunny’s grip was tight and protective, his whole body was tense and Jack could hear his heart beating furiously in his chest. His father was afraid, but he was still trying to protect Jack.

“Sandy! We have to get to Jack!” Tooth’s voice rang out through the darkness and startled Jack.

“Tooth?! Sandy?! Find a way to Jack! We will protect him!” North’s voice boomed from a slightly different direction.

“North!” Tooth called again. “I can’t see anything, I have Sandy, we have to keep Jack safe, we have to!”

Jack let out a long breath, he couldn’t believe it. The Guardians were trying to get to him to keep him safe?

“On ya mates!” Bunny called out and nuzzled Jack’s forehead with his nose. “We’re here for you Jackie. Don’t ever doubt it.”

Jack gasped out a noise that was half a sob and half a laugh. “Dad!” He held onto Bunny just a little bit tighter.

Aster smiled widely in the darkness. This was the first time Jack had ever called him Dad, he’d referred to Bunny as his father but this was the first time Jack had ever addressed him as such. His heart filled with warmth, love and joy. Even in the darkness he couldn’t help the way Jack made him feel.

“Bunny! Bunny are you with Jack?” Tooth called again.

“We’re here.” Jack answered quietly. A soft glow started, it took Aster a moment to place it but he soon realized that Jack’s staff was glowing. A blue glow that slowly spread out to Jack’s hands, lighting up the blue on his paws, and up his arms along his patterns. The tips of his ears and the blue on his feet also started to glow. It was dull at first, barely piercing the darkness, but it quickly brightened. Soon Jack was lit up like a beacon in the darkness, all of his blue patterns glowing so brightly that the other Guardians could see it easily and they made their way to the only bright point left in the Workshop. Jack’s eyes were closed as the light spread but when he opened them his eyes were shining like his patterns.

“Oh Jack…” Aster breathed out as he looked into his son’s brilliant eyes. Snowflakes like diamonds sparkled in Jack’s eyes, reflecting the light around him and making it shine that much brighter.

Tooth was the first to reach them and she put herself at Jack’s back protectively, she didn’t have a weapon but only a fool would ever underestimate the former warrior queen. Sandy was next, taking Jack’s left side with his whips out and ready. North arrived last and took position at Jack’s right, with a nod to the Tooth Fairy he tossed her one of his sabers. They had their backs to Jack, facing out to the darkness. They couldn’t see beyond the circle of light Jack had created but on the off chance Nightlight got past the Nightmare King he would never make it to Jack. Not while he was being protected by the Guardians.

Jack was overwhelmed. He didn’t think… The Guardians had known Nightlight for a lot longer then they’d known Jack. He thought for sure that they would have sided with their fellow Guardian over him. Bunny he’d expected but the others? He was touched beyond words. A few tears slid down his cheeks, turning into little ice crystals on the way down.

“Can the Nightmare King handle this on his own? Do we need to be here?” Aster asked Jack.

Jack shook his head, unable to get a word out around the lump in his throat.

“Then let’s get out of here.” Bunny smirked over at North who had turned to see what Bunny was doing. “Buckle up.” Was the only warning they got as Bunny tapped the ground with his foot and a tunnel opened beneath them.

“Shostakovich!” Came North’s whispered exclamation as the earth swallowed them whole.

Aster quickly closed the tunnel behind them. The tunnel was steep; Aster had opted for the most direct route to the Warren. It was wide enough for all of them but so steep that they had to slide down. Jack and Aster had an easier time than the others, they were made for it.

Aster and Jack leapt out of the tunnel and into the Warren neatly. North landed in an undignified heap, Tooth and Sandy were dizzy but handled it with far more grace than the largest Guardian.

“’Buckle up’. Is very funny.” North said drily as he sat up.

Ignoring him Aster stood in front of Jack. “You right there Jackie?” He gave his son a quick look over and for a second Aster’s eyes flared a brighter green as he used his powers. Both Jack and the kits were fine. The tumble down the tunnel hadn’t hurt any of them. But it wasn’t just Jack’s physical well-being he was checking.

Jack shrugged and looked up into Aster’s eyes. “Are you?” He responded simply.

“Heh,” Aster seemed frozen, his expression caught in what could have been a smile but seemed to have twisted into a strange grimace. “How could I be?” He took a step back from Jack and rubbed a hand back over his ears. “Nightlight fought in the final war of the Golden Age. We fought side by side to kill the Nightmare King… Nightlight sacrificed himself to finally purge the darkness. He should have died… we all thought it was a miracle when we found out that he was alive. I’ve known him for so long and… all this time…” He trailed off as his face twisted into a pained expression and his eyes flashed with rage. “I thought the Nightmare King killed my wife. I watched him slaughter the rest of my people, I thought that Snowbell and Sweetpea were just among the casualties of the war but… All this time he was the one who killed Snowbell. All this time my son was alive… I…” Aster growled and then picked up a boulder that had been lying on the ground and threw it at a nearby tree. The tree practically shattered under the strength of the blow. “All these years I thought he was my friend!” He roared. “Why?! Why does Lunanoff have to keep screwing me over like this?! How much of my past is a lie?! Why Snowbell?! Why Jack?! Why me?!” Bunny raged, pacing back and forth. “How much did Nightlight know?! He’s spent years by my side knowing that he’s the one who took her from me! Snowbell… my precious Snowbell…”

While the others watched morosely as Bunny aired his anger, Tooth approached him quietly. She turned him with a gentle hand on his shoulder and using her wings to give her the necessary lift she pulled him into her arms. She rested his head on her breast feathers. With his head resting on her chest she stroked the back of his head and neck softly.

Aster had to force himself to calm down. He didn’t want to accidentally hurt Tooth in his rage. He was still shaking with pent up anger and energy but he lifted his arms and wrapped them gently around her waist. “I miss her so much!” Bunny whispered out through gritted teeth. It hurt and left him feeling raw and wounded. He hadn’t thought about it all for years but now he couldn’t think about anything else.

“I know; she sounds like a wonderful person. I wish I could have met her.” Toothiana soothed as she continued her ministrations. She was telling the truth. She couldn’t say she didn’t have feelings for Bunny, because in her heart of hearts she knew it would be a lie. But she cared so much for him that she wished he could have had the happily ever after he deserved, instead of all of this.

“How could he do that? How could he take her away?”

“It was because of me.” Jack answered Bunny quietly. “He killed her because of me…”

Tooth parted from Bunny enough so that they could turn to face Jack, but she kept a hand on Bunny’s shoulder.

“Jack?” Aster couldn’t ask the whole question but he didn’t need to. Jack understood what he meant.

Jack curled in on himself, wrapping his arms tightly around his body with one hand gripping his staff so tightly that if it were ordinary wood it surely would have shattered. “I don’t remember all of it but… bits and pieces have been coming back. Things from before…” Jack took a deep, fortifying breath, “From before the ice.” He shook his head; his eyes were welling up with tears. “I was there! Dad I was there! I didn’t get there in time! I knew he was going after her and I tried, you have to believe me I tried so hard… I didn’t make it in time. I didn’t… and her blood… he cut her down right in front of me and I was too late. Oh stars! I was too late…” He was breathing in short, rapid breaths. “Her last words… She yelled for me to run. She was trying to save me even though she was dying… she told me to run and that you would come for me. I don’t know what happened after that, there was just… ice so much ice… but the blood. The blood in the snow… Dad I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

Jack fell into silence as Aster pulled him into his arms. The older Pooka rocked his son gently and hushed him with soothing noises. “It’s not your fault.” He said quietly. “It’s not my fault.” Although he would admit to himself that he didn’t entirely believe that was true. “And if Nightlight survives the Nightmare King a second time I’m going to kill him myself.” He snarled the last so that only Jack could hear. He knew the others had taken Jack’s side back at the Workshop but he couldn’t be sure that would always be the case. After all, it was their ignorance that had started this mess in the first place. But Aster wasn’t going to waste time trying to cast blame. It wouldn’t get them anywhere.

Jack pressed his nose into Aster’s throat and inhaled deeply. The comforting scent of his father washed through him and helped calm him down.

Aster spent a few minutes calming Jack down with his scent and murmured encouragements.

“I want to go home.” Jack mumbled miserably. He looked up at his father. “Can you please take me home? When Pitch regains his… senses he’ll come for me and I’d like to be home when he does.”

Aster acquiesced easily and after a brief discussion with the other Guardians, opted to leave them in the Warren. They’d be safe there and when Pitch finally turned up they could head back to the North Pole. They’d visited the Warren enough over the years to be able to make themselves at home there. North set off almost instantly for some hot chocolate with Sandy not far behind.

Tooth gave both Jack and Bunny a hug before she joined the others. She shared a lingering look with Aster before smiling sadly and turning to head after the others.

Jack noticed but decided not to say anything. He had too many things on his mind as it was.

It didn’t take them long to head through the tunnel that led to Burgess. Both of them were rather familiar with it now.

Jack didn’t even spare his lake a glance as he led the way to the Lair with his father close behind him. Jack felt practically dead on his feet as he stumbled into the living room. He curled up in Pitch’s favorite armchair. It was an old, vintage leather chair that always made funny squeaking noises whenever it was sat on. It was crinkly but comfortable and more importantly it smelled like Pitch. Jack knew that the Nightmare King wouldn’t have any trouble fighting Nightlight but still… Jack wanted his husband home. He probably shouldn’t have left the Workshop, then again he probably shouldn’t have called to the Nightmare King but…

<i>”Although to be fair I had just killed your mother in front of you.”</i>

A shard of anger stabbed through Jack. He viciously hoped that the Nightmare King would bring Nightlight back in <i>pieces!!</i>

Jack tried to calm down when he noticed that Bunny had been speaking to him. “Pardon?”

“You hungry? I know where your kitchen is, I could rustle up some of those jamanana sangas you like?”

Jack hummed noncommittally, he knew his father was only trying to help but food was the last thing on Jack’s mind.

“Right then.” Aster nodded before heading off to the kitchen, clearly taking Jack’s hum for assent. Jack didn’t mind. He wasn’t really up for company right now either but he felt safer having Bunny near. How times changed.

Aster made some sandwiches and a pot of tea for them both, he wasn’t entirely comfortable in Pitch’s kitchen but he figured the Nightmare King would want his wife looked after. He brought a tray back to Jack and set it on the coffee table that he’d used last time he was here. He sat on the same loveseat he’d used last time, as close to Jack as he could without feeling like he was smothering him. Jack took a cup of tea but nursed it without taking a sip. Aster was much the same as they waited in silence for the Boogeyman.

Minutes passed like hours and hours felt like days. It was almost as if time itself had slowed down to taunt them. Aster had felt this way many years ago when he’d waited for news on his wife and child. He’d been away for so many years… First the Fearling War and the subsequent clean-up, which led directly into the second war with the Nightmare King. He’d left his wife and newborn for so many years… His excuse at the time was that he’d wanted to make the universe safe for them. It was part of the truth but not in its entirety. He’d been afraid. He’d missed years of his son’s life and he’d been so afraid that he’d missed out on too much. That his son would reject him when they did finally meet. He’d had the chance to return home right before the Nightmare King had risen to power and he’d put it off too long. Then the Nightmare King killed his entire race and he’d thought he’d missed his chance. Now… Snowbell wasn’t killed by the Nightmare King at all and his son was still alive and they were reconciling.

Jack was lost in thoughts of his mother’s final moments. He couldn’t remember anything else. Just those final moments. He couldn’t help but wonder why it was happening now? He’d been out of the ice for over three hundred years so why were his memories coming back now? Was it Nightlight? Was seeing someone from his past triggering his long buried memories? If that was true, then why did Bunny trigger the same memory? From what little he’d learned he hadn’t even really known his father back in the Golden Age. Things weren’t adding up. What did Nightlight mean? After he killed Snowbell… he said <i>‘Why did he ever want you?’</i>

Was he talking about Pitch? Could Pitch and Jack have known each other back in the Golden Age? If so… wouldn’t one of them remember it? Or was he talking about someone else? And if so, who?

There were too many unanswered questions but Jack would much rather his mother’s murderer put to rest than have the answers. Jack felt sick with the need to see Nightlight dead for what he did. Judging by the frostbite on Nightlight’s left hand it probably wasn’t the first time he had felt that way. He didn’t feel bad for telling the Nightmare King to kill Nightlight, but he did feel guilty for using his husband like that.

He shouldn’t have lost his temper in front of the Guardians either.

Four hours after they’d entered the Lair and both Aster and Jack twitched their ears at a sudden sound. Jack was up and off faster than Aster but his father wasn’t far behind. They made it out the hallway near the kitchen before running into a slightly worse for wear Boogeyman.

His eyes were back to normal as was the rest of his appearance, he now looked like Pitch instead of the Nightmare King. Although he was covered in what looked to be burns and his left eye was red and bleeding.

“Lunanoff.” Pitch spat coldly before they could ask. “Nightlight, the coward, opened the skylight before I had the chance to kill him and Lunanoff intervened.” His injuries were annoying but only superficial. Lunanoff could burn Pitch but from that distance he couldn’t do any lasting damage. Pitch was too powerful for that. “And this?” Pitch raised his hand to show that he had taken Nightlight’s lance. “It’s fake.” He tossed the lance on the ground. “He couldn’t even scratch me with it.” Pitch was furious. He felt unsatisfied with the fight. He’d wanted to kill Nightlight so badly, he’d wanted to present Nightlight’s head mounted on his own lance as proof of his victory and instead all he had was a useless fake spear. He could feel the Nightmare King itching just below his skin, the madness threatening to overwhelm him again.

Jack touched his arm lightly and Pitch was able to pull himself back from the precipice he was dancing on.

“Fake? Are you sure?” Aster asked while looking down at the staff.

Pitch sneered. “I would know the real lance anywhere rabbit! I remember the feel of it as it felled me in the battle that heralded the end of the Golden Age. I remember being sealed, aware but bound unmoving with the spear lodged in my heart. I remember the taste of it seeping through my skin and the smell of it permeating through the scent of my own blood. Yes, Aster, I am sure. I spent decades with the damned thing skewered through my chest, I can tell a fake easily enough.”

“It’s alright, he was only asking.” Jack soothed, rubbing a hand gently up and down Pitch’s arm. It was normal for Pitch to be a little unstable and to suffer from mood swings after an episode with the Nightmare King. “Why don’t we go sit down so I can ice those burns for you?”

Pitch waved Jack off. “I’m fine.”

Jack drew away from his husband slightly and crossed his arms over his chest. “You will let me ice your burns.” Jack repeated. His tone was mild but Pitch knew better than to take it at face value.

After two hundred odd years of marriage Pitch knew when to pick his battles. “Yes my darling. Shall we retire to the lounge then?”

Aster fetched the tea set he’d used and the stale sandwiches and told the couple he’d make some more tea. Pitch just nodded tiredly as Jack led him over to his leather armchair.

“Take off your shirt.” Jack ordered and Pitch let his robe dissolve into the shadows, leaving him in long black pants and nothing else. Jack pushed Pitch down into his armchair gently and knelt down in front of him. He began to gently trace his hands over the worst of the burns, they were already healing but Pitch couldn’t help but let out a little sigh of relief as Jack cast the frost across his skin. It felt good against the burns and soothed away the pain.

“Thank you.” He breathed out as Jack was slowly icing over the burns on his neck and the side of his face.

Jack hummed, “Oh look at your eye…” Jack ran a cool hand down the side of Pitch’s face. When Pitch closed his eyes Jack ran one of his thumbs lightly over Pitch’s left eyelid, leaving gentle frost in its wake. He couldn’t do much more for his husband and he doubted that Pitch would let Bunny heal him.

Pitch opened his eyes and looked down at his wife. “It will heal.” He assured as he took Jack’s hands in his own. “I am sorry Jack… I failed you. I couldn’t kill Nightlight.” Pitch’s voice shuddered slightly, guilt weighing him down for a moment as he spoke but he did not ask Jack for forgiveness as he felt it was not his right.

Letting out a breath Jack kissed Pitch’s hands softly. “It’s not your fault, you do not need my forgiveness because you haven’t done anything wrong. I’m sorry I used you like that but I…”

“You’d do it again wouldn’t you?”

“Yes.”

“You desire Nightlight’s death so badly?”

“Yes.” It was wrong and Jack knew it, but he would do it again. He needed Nightlight to die. It was frightening how quickly it was taking over his mind.

Pitch used one of his hands to tilt Jack’s face up so their eyes met. “You need not apologize. I gave you this… control years ago, to ease my own burden of guilt. I will always do as you ask, my lovely wife, and you need never feel bad for using me this way as I am yours to use.” He leant over and kissed Jack’s lips softly. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” Jack kissed Pitch again. In sync their mouths opened and Jack gently explored his husband’s mouth with his tongue, tracing behind Pitch’s sharp teeth and the roof of his mouth. It was familiar territory, comforting but hot. Pitch was always so hot. He accidentally let go of his control and he could taste his frost melting in Pitch’s mouth.

Pitch groaned as he felt the frost in his mouth. He pulled Jack closer and into his lap. With Jack straddling him he let his hands wander through his wife’s fur as he tongue was occupied with Jack’s in his mouth. They lost themselves in each other and for a moment forgot the world around them. Pitch loved the feel of Jack’s fur against his bare skin and the frost the spread as Jack lost control in their kiss.

Aster cleared his throat loudly. “Tea’s ready.”

Pitch and Jack parted slowly and looked over at the Easter Bunny. Pitch curled into Jack and resting his head on Jack’s chest ruff shot a glare at the older Pooka for interrupting. Seeming to sense his husband’s dissatisfaction Jack was stroking his claws through Pitch’s hair gently.

“Thanks.” Jack smiled and he turned around on Pitch’s lap so that they were sitting together chastely. He wasn’t quite ready to let go of Pitch yet and Pitch appeared to feel the same as he curled his arms protectively around Jack’s waist.

Aster sat on the love seat. “So… now what?”

Pitch opened his mouth but Jack answered before he could. “We need to head back to the Warren, I think we all need to talk about what we’re going to do now. I have some things I need to tell everyone and I’m sure all of you will have questions for us.”

“I agree, although I would like to rest first.” Pitch added after Jack.

Aster nodded and taking a quick drink of his tea he rose and put down his tea cup. “I’ll leave you to rest for now and head back to the Warren. Take care of each other, I’ll see you tomorrow?”

At Pitch’s nod Aster waved and made as if to leave.

“Dad?” Aster stopped. “Thank you.” Aster smiled so wide that he felt like his face would split in two.

“Anytime Jackie.” He couldn’t trust himself to say anymore without being overcome so he left quickly. He should probably make sure North hadn’t made a mess of the Warren. That man could do a surprising amount of damage in the shortest amounts of time.

Chapter 19: Make me forget

<i> Sweetpea tore through the little village in the snow. There were bodies everywhere. This was the last outpost of his people. They were the last few who had survived the war against the Nightmare King and now they were gone. He barely paid them any mind. Bodies of all shapes, sizes and ages. There were children cut down in their parent’s arms and he barely spared them a glance. There was one person he was looking for and he couldn’t find her body. He hoped she was still alive.

These were the last of his people and although it hurt he pushed it down because right now he needed to focus. All was not lost, if he could save his mother then their race would stand a chance. He hadn’t spoken to him but Sweetpea knew his father was still alive. A familiar anger rose in him as he spared a thought for Aster, where was he now? Sweetpea’s mother was in danger, Aster’s </i>wife<i> was in danger and where was he now?!

As he darted through the empty houses; through the streets littered with Pookan dead; he reminded himself that now wasn’t the time. He’d have a chance to be pissed off at his father later but right now he needed to find his mother before…

A sound, steel against steel, a clash of weapons. Sweetpea stood tall and raised his ears to attention. It was distant but he could hear the sounds of battle and he took off like a shot, the show sprayed out behind him as he pushed himself to run at his top speed. The wind whistled in his ears as he used it to propel him along.

He sent a silent prayer, hoping beyond hope that he would get there in time to save the only person left in the universe who mattered to him. Nothing else mattered but her.

Sweetpea sped through the woods at the edge of the village growing closer and closer to the sound. He could hear her now, fighting like the warrior she was.

“Why are you doing this?!” She cried out and it echoed through the forest. He pushed himself that much faster, his legs were burning with the strain and his chest ached with the force of his breaths. The cold spread through him and he was leaving ice in his wake. He hadn’t been this out of control of his powers since he was a kit but he had to keep moving and he had no time to focus on holding himself back.

He could see light through the trees and knew there was a clearing ahead, his mother was there. He leapt out of the tree line and onto the bank of a frozen lake.

Snowbell was a fierce and talented warrior. She wielded two short swords like an extension of her own body and used the wind flawlessly to accent her fighting style. She was grace and power but as Sweetpea watched her parry and spin out of Nightlight’s attacks he realized that she was holding back. Her glowing adversary was giving no quarter and as soon as she moved out of range he would close in, using his light to flash and reflect against the ice beneath them, blinding her and burning her in equal measure. All the while slashing mercilessly with his staff, forcing her further and further towards the center of the lake.

“NIGHTLIGHT!!!” He roared, hoping to distract him long enough to get an opening as he darted towards his mother, his natural affinity for ice giving him sure footing on the slippery surface.

When Snowbell looked up at him she looked shocked for a moment and that’s when Sweetpea realized why she’d been holding back. “Fight him!” He screamed at her as he kept running. Sweetpea had no weapon save his powers and without his staff they were out of control. He didn’t know if he would be able to beat Nightlight like this. “Oh stars! Just kill him!” He was begging as he yelled.

Snowbell turned to him, “Sweepy run! Just run! Just go!” She called out to him and her wind started to push at him, trying to force him back. There were tears falling from her eyes, turning into snow as they fell from her cheeks. Her scent was caught on the wind and it was an oddly comforting juxtaposition to the sight of blood in her fur. She’d been hurt. He pushed himself against her wind, trying to force his way through it and to her side, knowing that she couldn’t win this fight. Not if she held back, and she would never fight with her full strength against Nightlight. In his effort to push against the wind Snowbell was making, Sweetpea’s powers flared further out of control and a snowstorm rose around them. “Your father will be back for you Sweetpea, I promise he’ll save you!”

He couldn’t tell if she was yelling to him or to Nightlight, but her distraction cost her greatly.

“Mother!” Sweetpea cried out as a crystal tipped spear pierced straight through her, cutting her down cruelly. Her body fell to the ice, blending in so well with the snow around them. The wind holding him back stopped suddenly and he stumbled forward before using his momentum to run to her side. Her blood contrasted violently with the white of her fur. Falling to his knees at her side, he lifted his mother’s limp body gently into his arms. Her eyes were blank and glassy, glossing over in death. They were an ice blue that was mirrored in his own eyes and he watched the last of her life fade from them. He was too late.

This was all his fault. She would never have held back if it wasn’t for him. Nightlight wouldn’t have won if it wasn’t for him. Nightlight wouldn’t even </i>exist<i> if it wasn’t for him.

Sweetpea looked up into the green eyes of his mother’s killer. The boy who had stolen his mother from him.

The glowing one giggled and twirled his bloodstained staff. “You should see your face. Pookas are so ugly, why did he ever want you?” Nightlight was taunting him but the words merely rolled off of Sweetpea.

His mother was gone and he had lost the last person that he had loved. This war… His choices… Had cost him everything. Sweetpea turned away from the glowing child and held onto his mother’s body tightly. He felt cold. For the first time in his entire life he felt cold. The storm around them stopped and silence spread around them. He held his mother close and closed his eyes.

“Really? That’s it?” Nightlight scoffed. “How boring. I was hoping to test out my new power but… Oh well.” He raised his spear, preparing to make the killing blow. “Maybe you’ll get to meet your boyfriend in the afterlife and your mother too. It’s for the best really. I was always better than you, and now my Tsar will finally know it.” His words meant nothing to Sweetpea, the young Pooka was in shock. His mother’s blood was staining his hands and nothing made sense to him anymore. Nightlight smirked, “Oh and don’t worry. We’ll keep your father safe for you.”

Nightlight swung his spear.

If Nightlight hadn’t mentioned Sweetpea’s father, his attack would have succeeded.

Rage broke through Sweetpea’s apathy. It wasn’t hot rage, fiery and passionate, but it was just as destructive. Colder than ice, pure fury spread through Sweetpea. He was cold inside and in his rage it spread to the outside too. Usually he held it in behind a wall of ice of his own making, but now cracks were spreading across the surface. He embraced the anger, the grief, the pain, and let it shatter him completely. It wasn’t even rage at Nightlight, it was the familiar pain he felt when he thought of his father. He embraced it and let it fuel the ice in him.

For the first time in his life Sweetpea allowed himself to hate.

He hated his father for abandoning him. He hated Nightlight for taking his mother from him. He hated the Tsar for the all the lies he’d told. He hated himself for being so weak, so blind, and so easily misled.

Nightlight stabbed down and his staff became imbedded in ice. “What?!” He cried in frustration as he wrenched his lance free from the ice.

Sweetpea let it out. For his whole life he’d kept tight control of his power, knowing the danger it posed. He’d been so careful, only ever using what he needed and keeping the rest inside. But there was no one here but Nightlight and Sweetpea. And Sweetpea didn’t care if they both died. The temperature plummeted and ice spread from Sweetpea, swirling outwards so quickly that Nightlight was caught in the storm. It became cold so quickly that the sap in the trees along the shore froze and the trees started to explode. They cracked and twisted with sounds like ricocheting gunfire and cruel spikes of ice rose from the ruined stumps.

Sharp icicles spread all around Sweetpea and curled around him protectively like a cage.

“What is this?!” Nightlight shrieked, enraged. “You won’t beat me with this! You. Aren’t. Strong enough!” He shone brighter, blinding white light erupted from his left hand and he aimed it at the ice around Sweetpea. The heat of the light made the ice around Sweetpea crack.

The ice around Sweetpea was nothing compared to the ice still inside. Sweetpea’s markings began to glow. First the blue on his hands, then the patterns on his arms, his forehead, the tips of his ears and finally even the blue on his feet. He opened his eyes.</i>

Jack opened his eyes. He was lying in bed with his husband. He sat up slowly, his mind was still playing his dream over in his head. Jack knew it wasn’t a dream, not really. It was a memory. He’d had pieces of it but now he remembered the moment his mother died. He remembered how it felt and what he’d been thinking at the same time. He’d tried to save her but he’d failed.

“Little Frost?” Pitch asked quietly as he sat up next to Jack.

“She held back… Why would she hold back? And why wasn’t I surprised that she did?” He questioned quietly, barely noticing that he was speaking out loud. “Why wouldn’t Nightlight have existed without me?” He whispered the last, horrified at the scenarios running through his mind.

“Jack? Talk to me please.”

Jack wasn’t listening, his mind was racing with all of the worst possibilities. “He couldn’t be… my son? Could he?” He was disgusted by the mere thought. Granted, Nightlight didn’t look like a Pooka but neither did Jack when he took human form. He started to hyperventilate, working himself into a panic as he thought about the glowing boy. His father had told him that scents were familial but he could remember catching Nightlight’s scent at the Workshop. He’d been too distracted. “Oh stars…” It would explain why Snowbell held back when she fought him and why Nightlight looked so much like Jack. He felt like he was going to be sick.

“Jack!” Pitch was kneeling in front of Jack with his hands on Jack’s shoulders. He squeezed gently and the contact grounded Jack and brought him back from what had been turning into a panic attack. “Calm down.”

“I remembered Pitch, my mother… I…” Jack told Pitch about his memory. Leaving no detail out as he repeated it all monotonously, trying not to get caught up in the feelings attached to the death of his mother. He rubbed a hand absently across his stomach as he was talking, taking comfort in his kits.

“Either way it does not tell us who Nightlight is to you. All we know for sure is that he knew you and went out of his way to hurt you by killing your mother. Don’t work yourself up without knowing all the facts first, and remember, all of this happened millions of years ago. I know it feels fresh now, because you’re just remembering this, but it was a long time ago. I’m not saying that you should forgive and forget, clearly that isn’t an option, but you shouldn’t let it consume you either.” Pitch lovingly traced the fur down Jack’s neck and to his shoulder. “We’re here now. We’re starting a family now. Unlike in the past we have each other now. We can face whatever comes, together and we will be stronger for it. I will always be by your side, my lovely wife, I will protect what is mine.” He rested his hand lightly on Jack’s stomach, right on the swell.

Jack leant forward and pressed his forehead against Pitch’s. “You’re right. Thank you… I just…”

“I know. You helped me through my memories too, remember?” Jack did remember. Pitch had been having flashbacks for a long time and he’d tried his hardest to deal with them on his own but shortly after they’d met it had become worse. Before they’d become involved romantically Jack had been a friend to the Boogeyman who had been breaking under the weight of his past. It had been during those months that Pitch had fallen for Jack.

Jack gave his husband a cheeky grin. “I can’t just give you control though can I?”

Pitch chuckled, “No, I suppose it won’t be as simple for you.”

Giving Pitch a little Eskimo kiss Jack stretched and got out of bed. “Because taming the Nightmare King was so simple.” He joked with a flick of his tail, he knew Pitch was watching.

Pitch rose fluidly and stood next to Jack, he trailed a hand down Jack’s back. “So you think me tamed then?” He pulled Jack into his arms, twisting him around so they were chest to chest. His hand dipped lower, teasing his wife’s fluffy tail before dropping further and groping Jack lewdly. Pitch always slept naked so Jack could feel his interest.

“Is that a problem, oh husband mine? I should get you a collar shouldn’t I? I’m sure the Nightmare King wouldn’t mind, would you?” Jack pressed into Pitch’s body. “Nightmare King.” Jack purred.

Pitch shuddered and he closed his eyes. When he opened them the whites of his eyes had turned black. His golden irises shone brightly but it only made the rest of him look even darker. “You play a dangerous game Beloved.” The Nightmare King whispered roughly. His voice straining with need and his mind half lost to lust already.

Jack reached up and pulled the Nightmare King down into a violent kiss. It was all sharp teeth and rough tongue and Jack could taste blood but he wasn’t even sure whose it was. Jack bit the Nightmare King’s bottom lip roughly as he pulled away. “I’m hurting.” He said simply. “Make me forget.” He commanded. It had been a long time since he’d needed the Nightmare King like this. In any other setting Jack was the one who could control his husband, but in the bedroom it was Jack who was dominated. He needed, he craved it, and there were times when Pitch couldn’t give Jack what he needed because Pitch was just too gentle. Too loving.

Pitch and the Nightmare King were one and the same but at the same time they were very different. Pitch was discipline, control and order. The Nightmare King was destruction, violence and chaos. Two halves of the same man, both the same and separate, and both in love with Jack. As rough as the Nightmare King could be Jack knew that he would never harm Jack or their children. Bruises and bite-marks aside.

The Nightmare King spent the next few hours following Jack’s order thoroughly, before Pitch retook control and gentled their lovemaking, taking care of his wife. Cleaning Jack after they were done and spending long moments brushing his fur, helping Jack relax completely.

They rested again until close to midday. Pitch rose and made them lunch. They ate together quietly. Jack was doing his best not to let the past drag him down but his thoughts kept lingering on Nightlight.

“I will use the Evil Egg Twins to call Aster here, he will likely bring the others. I don’t think either of us are up for much travel today.” Pitch rose and collected their dishes.

“You sure you want all of the Guardians in the Lair?” Jack questioned.

Grimacing, Pitch put the dishes in the sink. “Good point. We’ll meet them up at the lake.”

Pitch activated one of the eggs and they headed up to the lake. Jack made a mental note to spend more time with his pets. He didn’t know how much they felt exactly, but they were his and he refused to neglect them.

Standing by the lake the married couple waited for the Guardians to arrive. Pitch reached out and took Jack’s hand in his own. “I know that-?” He cut off as he felt a strong wave of fear. Not normal fear but deep, feral, fear. The sort of fear a person feels when someone they love is in danger.

Jack’s ears twitched as he heard a child scream somewhere beyond the Overnight Forest. “Was that… Jamie?”

Pitch breathed in deeply, tasting the fear. “Yes. He is afraid.”

The Guardians were coming and for a moment Jack thought about waiting for them but then he heard Jamie yelling. He couldn’t make out the words but he sounded panicked. Jack couldn’t abandon his first believer, he wouldn’t.

Jack took off through the trees with the Boogeyman speeding through the shadows at his side.

Chapter 20: Who is Nightlight?

Running through the trees was awkward with two staves strapped to his back. Jack had taken his shepherd’s crook as well as Nightlight’s staff. He’d intended to show the staff to the Guardians.

He was wearing a belt across his chest that he used to mount his staff when he was running and he’d managed to fit Nightlight’s lance in as well. It was similar to the belts that his father wore to hold his boomerangs but a little sturdier and black instead of brown. It curved diagonally down across his chest and belted around his torso, it wouldn’t fit for too much longer but Jack was glad for it today.

Pitch pulled back as they neared the tree line. The midday sun shone brightly beyond the shadow of the canopy. “I cannot leave the shadows.” He told Jack as his wife stopped at the tree line. It was the price he paid for using the shadows. He could handle the daylight in the early mornings and in the afternoons but not when the sun reached its zenith at midday. It was Pitch’s greatest weakness. They could hear Nightlight laughing and Jamie crying out. There was also sobbing and Jack would recognize Sophie’s voice anywhere.

“Then wait for the Guardians.” Jack turned away from his husband but Pitch grabbed his arm before he could leave the shadows.

“Jack, wait, you can’t.” Pitch pleaded. “I will kill Nightlight for you just-?”

“But you didn’t, did you?” Jack interrupted. He knew his words were cutting and cold but he couldn’t seem to hold it back. If there was one thing Pitch would fight Jack for it was for Jack’s own safety. “Nightlight is still alive.” Shock made Pitch loosen his grip and Jack pulled his arm free roughly. He leapt quickly out into the sunlight. He looked back at Pitch who was standing right on the edge of the shadows and the light.

Pitch reached for him but as his hand brushed the sunlight he had to draw it back quickly. The skin on the back of his hand was smoking and burned.

“Wait for the Guardians.” Jack repeated as he once more turned away. He drew both of the staves. There was no way he could leave children against Nightlight. Not his first believer, not any child. What sort of mother would he be if he abandoned a child in danger? That wasn’t who he was. He glanced up at the sky but thankfully the moon wasn’t visible, although Jack knew how quickly that could change.

He ran for Jamie’s back yard and leapt over the fence, using the wind to help him land gracefully. Jack’s eyes darted around the yard as he quickly took stock of the situation. There was a tree in the yard and on the tallest branches stood Nightlight with Sophie. He was holding her out, dangling her over the ground while laughing cruelly, only holding her up by one hand. Jamie was on the ground beneath them trying to convince his sister that it would be ok while preparing to catch her if she fell, or at least break her fall. Nightlight had just noticed Jack’s entrance but Jack barely paid him any mind.

Kids first, always.

Using both his staves Jack twisted his upper body and made a slashing motion in Nightlight’s direction with the glowing boy’s former lance. Ice shards burst from the tip and hit Nightlight’s right arm and upper chest. Nightlight dropped Sophie. As Jack shot off the ice he moved his shepherd’s crook in a long sweeping motion that started high and ended up running close to the ground. Ice formed a long slide underneath Sophie and Jack used his other staff to twirl around in a tight circle at the end of the ice path, creating a heap of soft snow.

Sophie screamed as she fell but she was caught on the steep slope of ice and slid down, gaining speed, she collided with Jamie who wrapped his arms around her automatically. They sped along the ice until they landed harmlessly in the pile of snow at the end.

Jack stood tall and turned back to Nightlight. Ice crackled down both of the staves, impatient to be released. The ice in Jack could sense the Snow Pooka’s fury and Jack was having a hard time keeping it in check. His dream was still fresh in his mind. He was almost sorry that it had ended when it did, what he wouldn’t give to see Nightlight’s face twisted in pain as the frostbite took hold. Although by the looks of things he would soon get his chance.

Nightlight clapped slowly with a low whistle. “Now that was just impressive. Shame you weren’t so skilled when I killed your mum.” On a stray breeze Jack attempted to get Nightlight’s scent but he didn’t seem to have one. Jack’s eyes narrowed, so far every spirit he’d encountered had some kind of scent. Why was Nightlight different?

“Jack what’s going on?” Jamie brushed the snow off of himself and his sister before he put Sophie behind him. The toddler cuddled close to the back of her brother’s legs. “Who is that guy?”

“A murderer.” Jack answered coldly. “He attacked you to draw me out. I’m sorry Jamie, this is my fault.” He shot Jamie a cheeky grin. “But don’t worry. I won’t let him hurt you.”

Jamie looked between Jack and Nightlight. He turned to Jack and met the Pooka’s eyes boldly. “I believe in you.” Four words and they filled Jack with Joy. He could feel Jamie’s belief like a spark in his chest and it felt new and powerful. Jack’s first light was shining brightly.

Jack turned back to Nightlight. “Get inside. I’ll take care of this.”

Jamie nodded and turned around to pick up his sister. He carried her up the verandah while keeping a wary eye on Nightlight. “Be careful!” He called out as he made his way inside.

“Touching.” Drawled Nightlight. “I’m not here to hurt children, I am a Guardian after all, but you really need to be put out of your misery.” From a sheath at his back that Jack hadn’t noticed at first, Nightlight drew two achingly familiar short swords.

Jack’s breath caught as the enchanted steel shone in the midday sun. He might have been gaping like a moron but he couldn’t help it.

“I decided to keep things personal. That’s how it’s always been between us, isn’t it? Personal?” Nightlight laughed as he twirled his swords. “Tell me, do you remember enough to recognize these?” How could Jack not recognize his mother’s swords? They were the same ones she’d been using the day she died. “I took them from her body after you left her there, in the ice-?!” Jack snapped.

He’d been trying to stay level headed. He’d been trying to stay focused. He’d been trying to remember that he was pregnant and he couldn’t fight with even a fraction of the rage that was inside him. Nightlight broke his resolve.

Jack used both his staves and with twice the force as he swept them both up. A wind stronger than a hurricane beat Nightlight into the air and Jack leapt up after him. His markings began to glow. The moon slowly slid across the sky and into view but Jack wouldn’t let MiM stop him now. He raised his right hand, holding his Shepherd’s crook high, his spun it around quickly. Repeating the motion over and over. At first nothing happened, Nightlight made as if to charge at Jack, riding the moonbeams in his own form of flight. Jack pushed him back with a wave of the lance and another rush of wind all the while twirling the staff above him.

Nightlight was confused for a moment; he didn’t understand what Jack was doing at first. The moon wasn’t close enough yet to attack Jack.

Then Nightlight noticed that there were clouds forming in the sky, slowly, in a circular pattern above Jack. Snowflakes started to dance madly through the sky and Nightlight realized that he had to stop Jack because if he succeeded then Nightlight would be completely on his own and if Jack blocked the sun then the Nightmare King would be able to come out as well.

“Wind!” Jack yelled to the heavens with a dark smile at the moon. “Make my storm grow! About time for a repeat of the Blizzard of ’68, don’t you think?!” He howled laughter as the wind picked up around him. It had taken longer to call the right clouds to him, they didn’t want to respond in Spring but Jack was powerful and they eventually heeded his call. Mother Nature was going to be pissed but Jack thought it was well worth it. The sky was quickly darkening and Jack felt the telltale rush of power of being in his element. Nightlight attacked Jack again, furiously swinging Snowbell’s swords.

Now using both his staves Jack parried the attack and countered. The storm was building, he didn’t need to concentrate on it anymore and as long as he continued to pour his power into it the storm would grow. The sky quickly darkened. The Man in the Moon made one valiant attempt at striking Jack with a moonbeam but Jack spun out of the way easily in the air, all the while fending off Nightlight’s attacks.

Meeting blow for blow with ease and Jack couldn’t help the smirk that had taken over his features. Pitch trained him well and with his old memories a strange kind of awareness seemed to take hold of him. Back in the Golden Age he’d been trained. He could feel it coming back to him now as he twisted in the wind, dodging Nightlight while sweeping the wind to knock the boy higher into the air. Jack’s markings glowed ever brighter and ice shone from his eyes. He held his hands out to his sides and let go of his weapons. They didn’t fall but rather stayed suspended, seemingly connected to Jack’s hands through an insubstantial blue glow. His eyes narrowed down coldly at his prey.

Jack bared his teeth in the facsimile of a smile even though it was closer to a snarl of rage, hurt, defiance.

Ice grew across the staves, curling around the wood and steel respectively and spiking out at the ends. The ice was glowing bright blue as well and it left Jack with two long, double ended scythes that were half the weapons he started with and half ice. They were oddly reminiscent of Pitch’s weapons. The sky was completely covered and the wind whipped viciously around them as the storm screamed in defiance of Spring. “I am going to kill you.” Jack announced coldly, allowing the wind to carry his voice to his opponent. “There is no Tsar to save you now.”

Nightlight began to shine even brighter, the light spreading down his arms and through Snowbell’s blades. “I’m not the one who needs saving.” Golden light erupted from the ends of the blades, making them longer and Jack could almost feel the heat from where he was. Two glowing warriors, one shining blue and the other shining golden, faced off in the sky above Burgess.

They flew at each other, Jack danced through the wind as he twirled and his weapons reacted automatically - spinning and slashing with mere flicks of his hands. Nightlight’s blades parried Jack’s and the light sliced through Jack’s ice which quickly froze over again and reformed. They sprang apart only to come back together in a flurry of blows. Every time they met the world seemed to crash around them and the sky was filled with a sound like screeching metal. Sparks flew every time their weapons meet, both blue and golden, ice and fire. Lighting ripped the sky between them as light met ice and lingered in the air for long moments afterwards. Soon the sky was littered with odd streaks of light, slowly fading testaments to the power of their blows. The sky began to resemble cracked glass.

The wind roared, reaching speeds that were normally impossible and Jack rode them effortlessly as they buffeted Nightlight around like a rag doll. The wind was roaring and howling and snow was swirling so thick in the air that it was hard to see through the sudden overwhelming white around them. Through the white out, however, Jack’s vision of Nightlight was clear. This was his storm and it would aid him and hinder his adversary. Jack was vaguely aware, in the back of his mind, that the storm would prevent anyone from coming to help him. He was too focused on the fight to give that thought the attention it probably warranted.

Nightlight launched himself at Jack once more, fury contorted his face into something twisted and ugly. Jack used the wind to launch himself high, and then higher still, until his was so far above Nightlight that the glowing boy was a mere speck beneath him. The storm hid his presence and he watched his opponent flounder. Jack lifted his left hand above his head, raising Nightlight’s fake lance above him. It wasn’t touching Jack, still connected only by the glowing light between them.

Jack allowed his rage to give the ice around the lance a different form. The scythe shattered and the whole thing was redesigned as a long, dangerous looking pike. Similar to its original design but larger and more deadly. Jack layered the ice on thickly, coat after coat, refining the shape and the feel of his weapon. It was all jagged edges and razorblade sharpness, the ice shone with Jack’s inherent power and the large pike was fearsome to behold.

“NIGHTLIGHT!!” Jack roared, making the glowing boy turn and look up at him. Jack was not coward enough to attack someone when their back was turned. The storm around them stilled completely, the sudden silence was almost deafening and it was loaded with anticipation. The wind had paused but only because it readied itself as Jack took aim.

Nightlight could see it coming and he would have moved out of the way but Jack was faster.

With a twist off his torso and all the effort he could muster, Jack threw the ice covered lance. The wind screamed as it followed Jack’s motion and reaching record breaking speeds the wind pushed the spear even faster. As the lance flew towards its target the light connecting it to Jack snapped, Jack barely noticed as he used his other staff to push the wind faster and faster.

Nightlight brought his swords up, the light intensifying in front of him as he attempted to shield himself from Jack’s onslaught. Jack’s spear found its target and Nightlight’s defenses lasted for mere seconds before it was decimated and he was crushed by the force of the blow. Snowbell’s swords shattered and Jack’s pike pierced Nightlight’s chest, only just missing the glowing boy’s heart. Ice like lightning erupted from Jack’s other staff and he sent that to hit the lance and push it deeper and harder into Nightlight.

Jack watched coldly as Nightlight’s body plummeted to the ground with Nightlight’s own spear lodged in glowing boy’s chest.

The Guardians had arrived, fully armed, at the lake minutes after Pitch and Jack had left. Bunny had been about to take them to the Lair when a panicked Boogeyman had appeared out of the shadows and stopped them, begging them to go after his wife. Aster had been faster than the others, he’d seen the moment Jack had launched Nightlight into the air and the moment Jack had followed him. He’d called out but Jack hadn’t heard him. As the fight was taken to the sky both Toothiana and Sandy prepared to go after Jack. As they rose to help the clouds had formed and the temperature had dropped quickly. When the blizzard started Tooth had lost control as her wings couldn’t handle the extreme cold and Sandy had to catch her and take her back down to the ground. Sandy had tried to go to Jack again but the wind had stopped him.

The blizzard was powerful and it emanated a pure, primal strength. The Guardians and Pitch gathered at Jack’s lake, Aster parted the trees so they could watch the skies. For better or worse Jack was on his own.

They watched the glowing boys battle, the sparks like lightning frozen in the sky, the sounds of their clashing ringing out so loudly that it was likely the whole of Burgess had heard them.

They watched as Jack launched his final attack. They watched as Jack pierced Nightlight with his spear and they watched as Nightlight fell.

Nightlight crashed down to earth and into Jack’s lake. A layer of ice had frozen over the surface but the force of Nightlight’s landing shattered it and Nightlight plunged down into the icy depths. Water sprayed up either side of him and it froze over before it could fall as Jack landed at the shore of his lake. The Guardians were frozen, watching Jack with equal measures of respect and fear. Pitch stepped forward but Jack ignored him as his attention was caught by the boy caught in the frozen grip of his lake. Jack walked calmly over to where Nightlight lay, each footstep spreading hoarfrost in his wake. He stopped at the edge of the ice, he peered down into crater created by Nightlight’s landing. The water of the lake was frozen, splashed up around where Nightlight had fallen and caught there in ice. It was both macabre and beautiful.

Nightlight himself was pinned to the ground at the bottom of the lake with the twisted, icy ruins of his lance piercing his chest. Jack spared it a glance, only the ice had survived the attack and the lance itself was ruined beyond repair. It was just a fake, Jack thought derisively, knowing that if he had used his <i>wooden</i> staff for the same job it would have survived. Jack redirected his gaze and met Nightlight’s eyes. There was defiance there, along with pain and fear.

The ice from Jack’s attack pierced Nightlight’s chest and straight through to the ground, pale blood was welling up around the wound. It was almost pink it was so light and it looked unnatural. Pitch took his place by Jack’s side and Jack looked up at him briefly. Pitch looked calm but Jack knew he was both furious and relieved all at once. They’d be having an argument later. He turned back to Nightlight as the Guardians joined them at the edge of the lake, looking down at their former companion.

“Oh Nightlight, why?” Tooth whispered sadly.

“You fools! Don’t you see what you’re protecting?!” Nightlight spat up blood as he screeched at them. “You’re all blinded by sentiment!”

“You killed my wife and attacked my pregnant son!” Aster yelled down at Nightlight furiously. He was on Jack’s other side, showing his support.

“Don’t be daft Aster!” Nightlight argued back. “What kind of children do you think your son is carrying? He’s married to the fucking Nightmare King!” He looked back up at Jack with loathing and disgust in his eyes. “You’re carrying the spawn of darkness inside you and I regret that I won’t be there to laugh when those demons claw their way out of your cold, lifeless carcass!”

Jack rubbed his ears back with a tired groan. “Is that what your precious Tsar told you?” Jack asked, more annoyed than incensed by Nightlight’s words. “Dad, being the Spirit of Life, please tell me: Am I carrying the ‘spawn of darkness’ inside me?”

Aster twitched his ears and his eyes glowed for a moment. He didn’t actually need to check right this minute because already knew the answer, but it was a good idea to check up on the kits health anyway after Jack’s fight. As well as checking up on Jack of course. “They’re healthy kits, nothing abnormal or dark about them.” So was Jack, thank the moon, if a little on the tired side and in need of a good meal.

Pitch hummed. “I am capable of siring ‘spawns of darkness’ but I have to do it with dark intent. Our kits were created with love – the antithesis of the powers I would have needed to do such a thing.”

Nightlight sneered. “You have no idea, do you Kozmotis? Everything you touch turns to darkness. You are destined to lose everything you love, over and over again. Just like your wife, just like your daughter and just like Nightlight.”

Pitch frowned, puzzled. He’d heard the same rhetoric before, from Aster as a matter of fact, so it didn’t really bother him. The way Nightlight just referred to himself in the third person did, however, and he found there was a niggling sensation in his mind. There was something important, a memory just out of reach, and Pitch had the sneaking suspicion that whatever it was had something to do with his and Nightlight’s supposed ‘relationship’. Heavens help him if he were ever stupid enough to have a romantic liaison with the idiot lying in the ditch before them.

Jack was feeling similarly to Pitch, like there was something just out of reach. Like he had almost all the pieces but the completed puzzle was still infuriatingly out of his grasp. “Who are you?” Jack asked quietly.

Nightlight laughed, coughing and spluttering through the blood. “Nobody!” He crowed maniacally. “Shouldn’t you be asking who <i>you</i> are?”

“What do you mean?” Jack questioned breathlessly but he feared he might already know the answer.

“Don’t tell me you haven’t already figured it out you glowing bastard!” Nightlight chuckled and grinned with blood on his teeth. “You <i>are</i> Nightlight!”

Chapter 21: Old memories

“You <i>are</i> Nightlight!” Nightlight’s hissed words changed something in Jack.

It was like a door inside his mind had been opened and suddenly everything started blurring together.

Nightlight. Sweetpea. Jack.

The three names repeated over and over in his head.

Nightlight. Sweetpea. Jack. Nightlight. Sweetpea. Jack. Nightlight. Sweetpea. Jack.

Nightlight.

Sweetpea.

Jack.

<i>”I can’t believe you were chosen! This is amazing! Your father would be so proud of you Sweepy.” Snowbell laughed. “Or should I call you ‘Nightlight’ now?”</i>

Jack’s mind cleared completely as the floodgates to his memories blew wide open. He remembered... He remembered <i>everything</i>!

“Yes.” Jack said quietly, looking down at the broken boy beneath him, “I am Nightlight.”

There was a mild uproar around him at his declaration. Questions that Jack chose to ignore.

He held out his staff in front of him, letting his natural light bleed through the whorls in the wood. He swung his staff out to his side and it changed as it moved. When it stopped, held aloft at Jack’s side, it was no longer a shepherd’s crook but rather in intricate spear with a pointed, crystal tip. The tip of the spear looked as though it had once been a dagger that had been melded to the long black pole that formed the bulk of the spear.

The original was so much better than the fake, Jack thought idly as he stared down at ‘Nightlight’.

Using the wind Jack leapt down into the crater and stood tall with a foot either side of the imposter’s body. Jack’s blue light was shining so brightly that it reflected off of the ice around them, rebounding and dancing around wildly, making the crater almost impossibly bright. It overpowered the green glow of the one beneath him easily. He looked down into the glowing green eyes, the glowing boy was afraid… but he wouldn’t be for much longer. “Why?” Jack asked quietly, encompassing so many questions with one word.

The boy smiled. “For my Tsar.” The only answer Jack knew he would get.

Jack closed his eyes for a moment, pain tightening his expression. “None of this… is your fault.” Jack spoke quietly, opening his eyes to look down at the boy he was about to kill.

“Oh spare me!” The thing beneath him spat at Jack, spraying Jack’s legs with his pale, pink blood. “You should have been the fake!”

Jack lifted his spear, aiming the tip at the sky. A small blue sparkle emerged from the tip and shot upwards, leaving blue snowflakes falling in its wake. As it reached the clouds, they parted in a dramatic circle, leaving a wide expanse of sky clear. The moon was there, but Jack had known that it would be.

Bunny started to use his powers to close the canopy.

“Aster don’t.” Jack called out without turning around, Bunny’s real name falling from his lips without thought. “I want him to see this. It’s only fair, since he made me kill the man I loved.” It would be the perfect revenge if he wasn’t so sure that the current Tsar didn’t actually understand love, but this was the closest Jack could get. Jack moved his arm, readying his lance for the killing blow.

The fallen one’s eyes widened as he realized that this was it, his ‘life’ was about to end. He’d had a long life, all things considered. With a final glance up at the moon the boy blinked away his sudden tears and turned back to Jack. His face held none of his earlier hate, none of his earlier resentment or disgust, now it held only fear… and acceptance.

“I only did what you told me to.” He whispered to Jack quietly as his bottom lip trembled.

Jack breathed in sharply, the words cutting directly to his heart. “I know.” He replied softly, before bringing his lance down and piercing the glowing one’s heart. Cracks spread outwards from the wound over the boy’s skin and golden light seeped through.

The dying boy opened his mouth as if to scream but no sound escaped his lips. The golden cracks could be seen on the inside of his mouth and down his throat. He was breaking apart into golden light and his body was slowly dissolving. In the final throws of death, the fallen child reached a hand up to Jack. Reaching down, Jack managed to brush his fingers against the boy’s before he dissolved completely. The light that was left seemed to climb up Jack’s arms and staff, the golden color spreading through his own blue glow and for a moment he shone golden, before his colors settled. There was nothing left of the fallen one apart from the broken, fake spear, still impaled in the cold earth at the bottom of the lake.

Jack was still glowing blue, the golden having faded from him completely, apart from in his eyes. Jack turned back up to look at the moon. His irises were still blue but were now ringed with gold, almost giving the impression that his eyes were green. “You did this.” Jack told the moon in his coldest voice.

Jack shook his head and turned, he looked up at the Guardians and his husband, his mind almost overwhelmed by the influx of new memories. Or rather, old memories. “Aster,” He looked up at the older Pooka, “No, Dad…” Two lives, both his own but both so very different… “Please close the canopy.” Old resentments had no place here and Jack was fighting to free himself from his past. None of that changed who he was now.

He watched Aster use his powers to comply with Jack’s request. The old Pooka had suffered enough and Jack refused to let old resentments cloud his current relationship with his father. A relationship that in his past Jack would have never thought possible… even though he’d always secretly hoped that it would be.

Aster was so different from the man he’d met briefly back in the Golden Age. Jack, as Nightlight and in his glowing but human form, had met the seasoned warrior in the final battle against the Nightmare King. Jack had wanted to say something but he’d known that it wasn’t the time. He’d managed to hide his scent from his father and Aster had never known that all those years ago, against the Nightmare King, he’d fought alongside his son. It turned out to be a good thing in the end, if he’d told the truth that day then Aster would have been on the colony when it was attacked. He likely wouldn’t have been able to fight against Nightlight for the same reasons that Snowbell couldn’t.

Familiar guilt welled up in Jack. It had been all his fault. There was no way that Snowbell could have killed her son. She was a gifted soldier and a talented warrior but she’d always put her role as a mother first.

Jack glanced up at his husband to find that Pitch was looking down at the lance in Jack’s hand. More guilt surged through him and suddenly disgusted with himself Jack tossed the lance on the ground. The form of the lance shuddered and changed, soon it was the shepherd’s crook lying on the ground instead of the lance tipped with a crystal dagger. A simple wooden staff instead of a mark of his eternal shame.

Pitch tore his gaze away from the staff and back to Jack’s eyes. He tried to school his face into anything but disgusted horror but not quick enough, hurt flashed through Jack’s eyes. Pitch wanted to say something, to say anything… But he didn’t have the words. Nightlight had tried to kill him with that lance, the boy had almost succeeded. Nightlight had doomed him to an eternity on one planet, Pitch had once had the freedom to roam the stars. Pitch didn’t remember much but he remembered the feeling of betrayal he felt when the crystal pierced his chest. Pitch could feel it aching deep in his heart now. Nightlight… Jack… had betrayed him and Pitch didn’t remember enough to know how or why. But the feelings that rose in him wouldn’t go away and he felt sick with the intensity of them.

Jack couldn’t look at his husband any more, eons of guilt sweeping his breath away and he put his head in his hands. “I’m sorry.” He whispered. His eyes started to leak cold tears that fell, frozen, into his fur. His light faded. The ice around him began to creak and groan. Jack couldn’t hear it through the rushing in his ears. An entire lifetime of memories clouded his mind, not just the Golden Age but memories from the time he’d been in the ice. The madness, the pain, the justice. He had deserved to be trapped. How could he have been so blind? The ice around him began to crumble. There was no point. He’d done nothing but betray Kozmotis from the moment they met. Jack curled in on himself.

“Jack!!” Aster cried and he leapt forward without concern for his own safety. His markings began to shine bright green as he tackled into Jack and curled protectively around him, the ice crashed down upon them, melting as it fell, Jack’s hold on his powers finally broken. Both Aster and Jack vanished beneath the freezing water and slush of Jack’s lake.

North was the first to react, tossing off his heavy cloak and thundering towards the lake with every intention of jumping in after the Pookas.

The lake froze over before he had the chance.

“Prokofiev!!” North bellowed in frustration. He ran across the ice anyway, stomping down with all his weight but the ice was too thick and it didn’t even crack.

Tooth flew out quickly and drawing one of North’s saber’s from his back she started to hack at the ice. “Bunny! Jack!” She cried as she slashed.

North soon drew his other saber and joined her. Sandy flew up into the air and uses his sand to create a giant saw blade, he used it to saw away at the ice as well as drawing his whips and attacking it too.

Pitch stood unmoving on the shore. There was a part of him that was screaming at him to move. His wife was in danger. He had to move.

The sick feeling rolling in his gut paralyzed him. Flashes of his old life played through his mind like a broken movie reel. Parts of his old life that had remained shadowed and blank weren’t quite filling in but he was getting enough to realize that all this time, all those places, had actually been the memories of a single person. All this time and he’d never noticed the Nightlight shaped hole in his memories.

Just tiny pieces. He could remember blue eyes, twinkling with mischief. A smile on kiss bruised lips. Whispered words of love. Bite-marks on glowing skin. Soft fur against his flesh. Broken trust. A feeling of ultimate betrayal. His heart shattering completely.

So Pitch was caught at a complete standstill, one part of his mind screaming at him to move, and another screaming at him to run away. He wasn’t sure he wanted to remember. Whatever happened… there was pain there, in those memories. Even though he couldn’t remember what had happened he could feel his heart breaking already and he knew it would be so much worse if he remembered it all. He needed to save Jack. He needed to run away.

He did neither.

Jack was Nightlight.

Pitch loved Jack. Pitch hated Nightlight.

Pitch didn’t move.

“Pitch!” Toothiana screamed, noticing him standing at the shore. “Help us!”

Pitch couldn’t hear her, caught in his own pain. The Nightmare King was writhing under his skin and Pitch didn’t know what he would do if Pitch chose to let him out. Would he save Jack? Or would he kill Nightlight?

Tooth broke Pitch’s trance by punching him solidly in the mouth with a girly little grunt. Pitch’s head snapped to the side and one of his teeth flew from his mouth. He turned back and focused on the enraged Tooth Fairy hovering in front of him.

“Your wife and children are in danger!! Have a mental crisis on your own time!” She shouted out him. “Or isn’t your <i>pregnant</i> wife worth that?!” Her voice rose in volume with every word and Pitch dumbly wondered why her shrieking didn’t shatter the ice.

Then her words sank through his apathy.

Knowing something and realizing something were two very different things. Suddenly Pitch realized that his wife could very well be dead and he was standing around uselessly. He started to step forward, feeling for the shadows around him, readying his powers to dig his wife from the ice. Instead, he stumbled backwards as the earth beneath him rumbled.

A tunnel opened with water spraying up out of it and into the air. Aster tumbled out of the hole with Jack in his arms. He landed rather ungracefully with Jack on top of him and the tunnel closed, stopping the water, a small flower springing up from the ground as the tunnel closed.

Groaning, Aster rose and rolled Jack’s still form gently off of him and to the ground. He leant over Jack and with his eyes and markings glowing green, he pressed his forehead quickly to his son’s. The other Guardians held their collective breath as they watched. Minutes passed and the tension in the air could be cut with a knife it was so thick. No one dared speak lest they break Aster’s concentration and it was clear that he was concentrating hard on his task. His face was twisted in what seemed to be pain and his muscles were tense and tight under his wet fur.

Finally, Jack opened his eyes. Aster moved back quickly as Jack rolled to his side and began to cough and vomit up the water he’d swallowed. “Kits?” He managed to croak through his spluttering.

“Fine.” Aster assured and all those present let out a collective sigh of relief. Aster was exhausted. “Remind me never to open a bloody tunnel under water again, yeah mate?” He collapsed back on his back and he was panting heavily. “I am too old for this.” He grumbled and Tooth let out a little relieved laugh with tears welling up in her eyes.

“I’m so glad you’re both ok!” She wiped her eyes and Sandy nodded his agreement emphatically, bobbing his head so hard that it looked like he was trying to shake it free of his shoulders.

“I may have Rachmaninoff’d myself, but I am glad for your safety.” North was panting too and sweating through his red shirt. He’d put all his effort into breaking the ice and his muscles ached with the strain. He would do it again in a heartbeat to save the young frost spirit and his children, as well as his fellow Guardian of course.

Jack remained curled over himself on the ground. The water in his fur was turning into frost and the cold seemed to weigh him down. He was filled with terror at his near escape from the lake. There was one thing that Jack feared more than any other and that was being at the bottom of his lake. His panic was overwhelming and he felt like he couldn’t breathe. He was trapped all over again. The water… it was too cold… all around him… He could still feel the ice freeze the water around him in his natural response to fear. He couldn’t move. The ice was too thick and he couldn’t move! He’d nearly frozen himself at the bottom of his lake, he’d lost control of his powers and he’d nearly killed himself. Too much, there was just too much… Jack couldn’t… His mind grew blank.

Aster sat up when he noticed the lack of response from Jack. “Frostbite?” He crawled over to sit near his son. “Jackie? You alright mate?”

Jack remained unresponsive.

Aster reached out but Jack backed off quickly on all fours, he growled, low in his throat. His eyes focused on Aster, they were back to their normal blue, but they seemed oddly blank and void of emotion.

Aster recognized the signs instantly and he held out his hands. “Stay back!” He called out to the others. North and Sandy had just moved off of the ice but they stopped themselves from going any further. “Jack’s reverted again, he’s running on instincts right now and I’m not sure if he’ll recognize any of us.” And with Jack’s power it was wise to err on the side of caution. Who knew the sort of damage Jack could do in this state if he felt threatened?

Aster remained on his knees and relaxed his hands down at his sides, Jack quirked his head slightly and he had stopped growling. Aster bared his throat and waited, averting his eyes, knowing that eye contact right now might be perceived as a threat. He was a little surprised that Jack didn’t instantly seek out his mate, which is what a pregnant doe’s instincts usually drove them to do.

Pitch was standing still, off to the side, watching the proceedings with a carefully blank expression.

Cautiously, without his eyes ever leaving Aster, Jack sniffed at the air. Familiar scents flowed through his consciousness and he chose the one that felt safest. He slowly approached his father. Patriarch, Sire, safety. Jack’s thoughts couldn’t form words exactly but he had the vague concepts.

Aster felt Jack nosing at his throat, taking a deep breath. His son began to shake violently and Aster, very slowly, raised his hands. When Jack didn’t move away he brought them around and gently stroked through Jack’s fur, incidentally rubbing out the frost. Jack nuzzled into Aster’s neck and curled his body as close as he could to his father’s.

Jack let out a little fearful whine. He didn’t feel safe. He didn’t understand. Something was missing. Sire was safe. Sire was here. Something was missing.

Jack’s whimpers increased in volume and Aster gathered the younger Pooka into his arms and began rocking him slowly. “Shh, it’s alright. You’re safe.” He whispered, chinning the top of Jack’s head. Spreading his scent like this was usually a thing reserved for lovers or very young kits, but right now he felt as though Jack needed the extra reassurance. He lifted his head and looked around, his green eyes landing on the Boogeyman.

He raised an eyebrow. “I think your wife needs you.” He stated calmly. He didn’t know what had happened while they’d been under the water but there was something wrong with Pitch. Aster didn’t care. Jack needed his mate right now and that was all that mattered to the older Pooka.

Pitch took a deep, fortifying breath. He stepped forward.

As he drew closer Jack’s whining increased in volume and he started to claw at Aster’s arms. Aster let him go and Jack turned to face his mate. For a moment the older Pooka thought it would be alright, but Jack started to growl intermittently with his fearful whines. He was backing away from his husband on all fours with his fur bristled and his ears pinned back. He looked terrified.

Aster’s instincts kicked in as well and he placed himself between Jack and the threat. He snarled at the Boogeyman who had stopped walking. He didn’t care what he said earlier. Pitch was now a threat. Jack was his kit. He growled but he stood tall with his ears held high. He wasn’t afraid like Jack and he showed off his physique proudly, daring the male to come near his doe-kit. It was his job as Patriarch to fend off unwanted suitors.

“Bunny!” North cried, shocked.

Aster glanced at them all and then back at Pitch. The Boogeyman looked hurt and lost but Aster had his priorities. “I was wrong.” He said quietly, surprised he could speak at all through the haze of his protective instincts. “You need to stay away from my son. I’ll be taking Jack to the Warren with me.” He could barely form coherent thought let alone words. He needed to get Jack back to the nest, keep him safe, keep the kits safe.

“You dare!” Pitch stepped forward, his indignation for the moment covering his hesitation.

Jack yelped in fear and backed off further, not willing to leave his Sire but unwilling to stand so close to the threat. He had to protect his kits.

Aster growled low in his throat and his weapons were in his hands. The trees around them groaned almost menacingly. “Don’t!” He barked out through gritted teeth. “Whatever just happened broke Jack’s bonds with you. He doesn’t see you as his mate. You are not his mate! You are a threat! I will kill you if you approach my doe-kit!” Aster was growling through his whole speech, his eyes never leaving the Boogeyman’s and his eyes shining in righteous anger. “Unwanted male!” He spat the words like an insult.

Tooth raised her hands, seeing a dangerous confrontation brewing before her eyes. “Everyone please, just… wait, alright?” Both Bunny and Pitch glanced in her direction but continued to glare at each other. “Don’t fight, Jack’s frightened and pregnant and he’s already been through so much today.” All of them recognized Jack’s state as one he entered when under extreme emotional distress. They had all seen it once already.

Aster grunted as the words pierced through his consciousness. “Desired-female is right.” His mind was clearly not entirely with it and Toothiana blushed at Aster’s unwitting declaration.

“Oh um, thanks?” She coughed a little. “Look right now I think it’s best for Jack if he goes with Aster. Pitch… are you really in any frame of mind to care for Jack right now?” She was referring to his earlier hesitance and he knew it. “Or are you just fighting Bunny on principle? Because he’s trying to take what’s ‘yours’?”

Pitch turned to the Tooth Fairy.

She met his stare evenly. “You need to do what’s best for Jack, and right now that is his father. You can try and work things out later, when Jack is in the right frame of mind to hear you and answer your questions. Right now you’re only frightening him. You always gave the impression that you hated Jack’s fear, please don’t tell me that has changed.”

Jack’s fear… Pitch looked back at his trembling wife. Jack’s fear was so thick in the air it was nearly suffocating. He took a step back, realizing his mistake. He put his head in his hands. “Just go.” He said quietly. “Before I lose the strength to let you.”

Pitch taking a step back helped clear Aster’s mind a bit. He nodded even though the Boogeyman couldn’t see it. He turned and gathered Jack gently into his arms, relieved when his son didn’t struggle, but instead nestled closer to him. Tapping open a tunnel he glanced at the other Guardians.

“Go, we will be fine.” North waved him off and Sandy made little ‘shooing’ motions with his hands with a picture of an Easter egg above his head.

Tooth blushed but smiled encouragingly and Aster grew hot under his fur for a moment. Oh strewth, the thought to himself, realizing his earlier ‘confession’.

Jack curled closer to him and put his snout into Aster’s neck, bringing the older Pooka back into the moment. Everything else could wait, his son was more important. He leapt into his tunnel, heading home, with his kit in his arms.

Chapter 22: Please help me

A month. Pitch sat idly by Jack’s lake while toying with the Evil Egg Twins absentmindedly. The lake was still and no longer frozen. The shadows were gentle and the soft glow of sunlight made it through little breaks in the canopy, leaving little sparkles of gold on the surface of the lake. It was really quite peaceful. Pitch hardly noticed. He hadn’t seen Jack for an entire month. Or any of the Guardians for that matter. It was oddly surreal, being on his own like that after all this time. Should he call to Aster? Or shouldn’t he? Why hadn’t Jack come to him?

He’d gone over that day almost constantly in his mind. The truth that he’d discovered. The pain in Jack’s expression when he’d seen Pitch’s horror. Almost losing Jack under the lake. How could a simple sentence shatter everything so completely?

<i>”You </i>are<i> Nightlight!”

“Yes,” Jack said quietly with his back to his husband. Pitch would have given almost anything to see Jack’s expression. “I am Nightlight.”</i>

He’d been asking the same question over and over since that day. Did it change anything?

Over and over he’d asked himself.

Did the fact that Jack was Nightlight change anything? Kozmotis had known Nightlight and somehow he’d been betrayed by the glowing boy. Did it change anything? Nightlight was the one who defeated the Nightmare King but Pitch was almost certain that was not the entirety of the betrayal he felt. Did it change anything? Pitch had known that Nightlight and Lunanoff were lovers even back during the Golden Age, was that Jack or was that the Fake? Did it change anything? What about Nightlight’s relationship with Kozmotis? What had happened to break Pitch’s heart so deeply? Did it even matter?

The answer he kept coming to was simple: Pitch didn’t know. He didn’t know if the past made a bit of difference because he couldn’t remember the past. Not in its entirety.

He toyed with one of the eggs absently while the other ran around his legs. He hadn’t slept since that day. He still wasn’t tired. He could barely stomach the Lair, where everything just felt so wrong without Jack. The lake was hardly better but he had nowhere else to go. He hadn’t eaten, or bathed. His hair was hanging limply in his face and his eyes were pale grey. Even his grey pallor seemed unhealthier than usual.

Did it change anything?

Pitch let out a little growl, <i>how the fucking hell was he supposed to know?!</i>

Tiny little legs kicked at his hand and he realized that he’d been holding onto Eggward much too tightly. He released his grip and looked over the egg quickly, relieved to find that no damage was done. Jack would be so disappointed if his eggs broke while he was away. Pitch paused for a moment. He let out a long breath before using Eggward to call Aster. He couldn’t keep doing this, something had to change.

Or had everything already changed?

Did it matter?

Pitch only had to wait for a few minutes for the tell-tale rumble of a tunnel opening could be felt beneath him. He wondered if Jack would come too?

Aster leapt out of his tunnel on his own, it closed behind him, leaving a little flower in its wake. Pitch let out a breath he didn’t realize that he’d been holding. He didn’t feel ready to face his wife, not yet. He didn’t really know if he ever would be.

Before Aster could do anything, Pitch gestured to a wrapped bundle beside him, “I recovered them from the bottom of the lake.”

“Alright?” When no further explanation was forthcoming, Aster walked forward and looked at the bundle on the ground. There were actually two bundles, both wrapped in rough, dark cloth. One was obviously Jack’s shepherd’s crook and it was the other, smaller bundle that grabbed the Pooka’s attention. He knelt down and unwrapped it and when he saw what it was he felt glad that he was sitting down or he would have fallen over. His hands shook as he caressed the pieces of steel in front of him. Only the hilts were still intact. Snowbell’s swords, or what was left of them, gathered and wrapped up by Pitch. Aster’s breath shuddered in his throat and he had to swallow heavily before he could speak again. “How?”

Pitch looked down at the broken blades before turning back to the lake, giving Aster the semblance of privacy. “Jack told me about a dream he had, it was a flashback. He told it to me in great detail and I recognized the blades from his description. I went to the bottom of the lake for Jack’s staff and when I saw the broken swords I took them as well. I’m not sure I found all the pieces as I’m not sure they all fell into the lake.”

Wrapping up the bundle, Aster clutched the remnants of his late wife’s swords to his chest. “I gave these to her.” Aster whispered with tears in his eyes. “Right before I left for the war. It was the only way I could think to protect them when I left.” He held them a little tighter. “It wasn’t enough.” Aster lost himself in the past for a moment and Pitch waited patiently for him to recover.

Aster visibly shook himself, pulling himself together. “Thank you.” He said to Pitch, his voice filled with meaning. He’d had nothing left of his wife before today, nothing save Jack. So many years and he hadn’t even had a piece of her to keep with him. He would use these swords to make a memorial to her somewhere in the warren. Aster reached for the bindings on Jack’s staff, curious to see if there had been any changes to it since it’s miraculous transformation.

“Don’t!” Pitch cried out quickly and flinched away. Bunny looked up in shock, pausing. “Please I… I can’t stand to look at it again.” All this time the weapon he’d feared above all others had been right next to him. In the hands of his wife. Who was also one of his most loathed enemies. Pitch’s thoughts began to go in circles again and he fought to pull himself back to the present.

Aster left it alone and sat more comfortably facing the lake. “I… owe you an apology. And an explanation. For my actions a month ago.”

Pitch grunted but didn’t say anything else. He could remember all too clearly the moment he’d handed over his wife to the man who’d killed his first child. He still didn’t know if he should have done anything differently.

“My instincts went out of control I haven’t been around a panicked doe for a long time and Jack’s fear was… intense. My primal side ended up being pulled to the fore and I reacted as I felt. You have to understand he’s my son, but also a doe, and until he is mated it falls on my shoulders to protect him and incidentally any young he bears. Pregnant does release a different scent then normal, it’s meant to be appealing to keep their mates near them, and more protective, during pregnancy. Unfortunately, if an unmated doe is pregnant other males tend to be attracted to the scent as well. At the time, in my mind, you were an unwanted suitor. Being the only buck in my family I had to fend you off and protect Jack. I haven’t had to… I have had an instinctual reaction like that for thousands if not millions of years. I was unprepared, and in my… uncertainty… I couldn’t grasp the complexity of the situation. You were just a threat and Jack needed to be protected.” Breathing in and letting it out quickly Aster continued, “I’m sorry for overreacting. If it makes you feel any better, if North had approached Jack my reaction likely would have been the same.”

Pitch nodded in vague acceptance. He really hadn’t expected an apology and he’d understood that Aster hadn’t been completely himself. “You said… the bonds between Jack and I had broken. What did you mean?”

Aster tugged one of his ears. “I don’t know what happened exactly, but Jack no longer sees you as his mate. To him, you are just another male. I know what happened with you while Jack and I were in the lake, Tooth told me. It shouldn’t have changed anything between the two of you, the only one who can break the bonds between you without causing Jack any harm, would be Jack himself. I don’t know why or how. I only know that it happened.”

“You haven’t asked him?”

Aster snorted mirthlessly. “How? He can’t talk.”

Startled, Pitch looked back at the Pooka. “What do you mean?”

“He’s still… primal. Has been this whole month.” Seeing Pitch’s worry Aster hurried to reassure him. “He’s fine, perfectly healthy, and the pregnancy is progressing smoothly. He’s been nesting rather… fiercely.” Aster showed off some deep scratches on his arms, they were healing but Pitch remembered when Jack had scratched him back in the warren while he was nesting. That was a close to two months ago now. It felt like so much longer.

“That’s not possible, the longest he’s ever gone ‘primal’ has been a few days!” How much would Jack have to be hurting to remain in that state for so long? Pitch felt sick just thinking about it, he wasn’t sure if it was worry or guilt that was churning through his stomach. Perhaps it was a mix of both.

“I’ve done all I can think of to bring him out, the other Guardians think he needs to do it himself, when he’s ready. I’m not so sure. He’s four months pregnant now Pitch. He doesn’t have the luxury of time; he needs to come back to himself.” Aster was frustrated. “I wish I knew how to help him.”

“As do I.” Pitch muttered, surprising himself when he realized that he was telling the truth. His feelings for Jack were awfully convoluted at the moment but he didn’t wish his wife any harm. He still loved Jack… He just wasn’t sure it made much difference. He wasn’t sure if he could love Nightlight.

“Do you want to come back with me? To see him? I’ve left Tooth and Sandy with him. He doesn’t appear threatened by either of them but he doesn’t really like North.” Aster chuckled, “Jack actually caught that Tooth Fairy he likes and we all panicked, but all Jack did was herd her into his nest. He’s been mothering her ever since. It’s adorable.”

Pitch’s lips quirked slightly in what could have been a smile, but it quickly faded. “I’m not sure what good it would do… I’m not sure I can be around him right now either.”

Aster scoffed. “Well now’s your chance to walk away. He’s already broken from you Pitch. You could leave him, and your kits, and with his mind the way it is right now he may never even remember you’d gone.”

Pitch bristled instantly.

“Or you could be the man he believes you to be and put the past behind you.” Aster continued with a smirk before Pitch had the chance to do anything.

Deflating Pitch sighed. He’d been sighing a lot over the past month. “I don’t know if I can.” He stated wearily.

“Do you want to?”

“How am I supposed to know if I can’t even remember it?!” Pitch snapped.

They both lapsed into an awkward silence. Both were thinking hard about the problem at hand. Then, suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Aster’s head.

The Pooka snapped his fingers and Pitch looked back over at him warily. “Memories!” He exclaimed excitedly. Turning to Pitch with a slightly malicious grin Aster asked, “Don’t suppose you still have that tooth Toothiana knocked out?”

***

“Please help me.”

Tooth looked at Pitch’s outstretched hand, in it, he held a tooth. It was slightly grey and pointed, a horrid tooth by any measure, but she recognized it as Pitch’s. She was quite certain that it was the same tooth she had knocked out a month ago at Jack’s lake. They were both in the Warren, but inside Bunny’s home instead of out in the fields. Jack had claimed some fields as his own and was nesting there, he had so far shown no interest in Bunny’s home.

Bunny was out in the fields with Jack, fussing over his kit and grand-kits to be.

Sandy happened to be with Toothiana and so had heard Pitch’s request. So far he was just standing in a corner with his arms crossed across his chest. His expression was speculative as he watched Tooth and Pitch talk in front of him.

“Why?” Toothiana demanded coldly. She still hadn’t forgiven Pitch for almost letting his wife and father-in-law drown. She knew it wasn’t entirely his fault. For the past month though, she had been here, helping Aster take care of Jack. While Pitch had not even tried to call to check up on his wife. It had not won him any points in Tooth’s eyes.

“I need to let it go… But I can’t unless I remember it.” Pitch hunched over defensively but didn’t withdraw his outstretched hand. “Aster suggested that you might be the only one who can help me. I need to know what happened to me, to Jack. Who we were and why it hurts so much when I try to remember it.”

Tooth eyed him warily. “And if you find you can’t leave it behind?”

“Then I will leave him behind, with his father. I won’t hurt him… I can’t.” Pitch looked absolutely wrecked. His usual neat hair was a mess, his grey skin was alarmingly pale and so were his eyes. He looked almost lifeless. “Please.” He begged.

She’d never seen him look so broken. Admittedly they weren’t close but… She took a breath. “This must be hard on you too. I will help you, but it may take a long time to get all of your memories back.” She gently took Pitch’s tooth and looked it over critically. “Yes… I’ll be able to use this. And you,” She turned back to Pitch. “Should find a comfortable seat.”

Sandy watched Pitch sit down, Tooth was getting ready to activate her powers, and he had only a moment to come to a decision. He nodded resolutely and jumped forward, up next to Tooth to get both of their attention. When he was sure they were watching him, he began to sign, while a ‘sack’ of dreamsand appeared in his hand.

<i>These are Jack’s recent dreams. I have watched them. As a Dreamweaver I have no control over whether I see the dreams, it would be the same for Pitch and his Nightmares.</i> Sandy waited for Pitch’s nod before continuing. <i>After the first dreams I quickly realized that Jack was not dreaming at all. These are his memories of his time as Nightlight. They are… painful. Pitch,</i> Sandy turned his attention completely to the Boogeyman,<i> I saved them so that I could hopefully show them to you. You need to see these with your own memories. I can work with Tooth to weave them in seamlessly so that you will finally have the whole story. If I don’t, judging from Jack’s memories, you will likely repeat the same mistakes Kozmotis did. If you don’t know why Nightlight did the things he did, you will see them as betrayal. You need these memories otherwise you, Kozmotis or the Nightmare King will never understand. Will you accept my help as well Pitch? Or will you repeat your past mistakes and lose Jack for good this time?</i>

Chapter 23: Sharing memories

Jack sniffed the air. Someone had entered the Warren. Jack growled low in his throat and his fur puffed out in agitation. He recognized the scent. Danger was near. Fortunately, his Sire was approaching and Jack relaxed slightly. His Sire would keep him safe. His Da would protect him. He didn’t relax fully but his father’s scent helped him settle back down into his nest. His little, feathered kit chirruped at him and he nuzzled her feathers gently. Soothing her with his soft nose as he pushed her protectively into the fur around his stomach. He couldn’t let his baby go while there was the scary scent in the Warren.

If only his mate was here, he would feel much safer.

Aster paused as he approached the nest, knowing full well that approaching Jack in his current state had to be handled gently. He had deep scratches still healing on his arms from approaching too quickly. As Jack’s Sire and the dominant male of his clan it was his job to see to Jack’s comfort and pregnant Does ruled their nests. The scratches were expected and really it was more Aster’s fault than Jack’s.

Aster tilted his ears towards Jack, watching him carefully as he took a few steps closer. It was hard to see Jack like this. He was usually so talkative and energetic. Now Jack was silent apart from animalistic growls and whines depending on his needs. Still, Aster was Jack’s father and he would care for his kit as best as he could no matter the circumstance. He was just happy Jack’s mate had decided to pull his head out of his arse and do something about this whole mess.

Aster had just started to like the pompous, British-sounding spirit of fear, be a shame for Pitch to ruin that now.

Jack lowered his head and his father approached freely. Jack wanted his protector near right now. He was feeling uneasy. He didn’t like this. Whatever was happening… something felt off. He didn’t like the dark man being so close to his nest. He snuggled around his feather-kit, keeping her securely tucked into his side. She cooed happily and he purred for her, the vibrations lulling her to sleep. This pleased Jack, asleep he could keep her close. It would be easier to keep her safe if she was close to him instead of flittering around like she usually did. He loved her energetic personality but Jack had no patience for it when her safety was at risk.

It seemed, however, that the dangerous male was keeping his distance. The small man of sand and the lady of feathers were with him. Jack stayed alert and ready, just in case.

The kits in his stomach moved a little as if sensing his distress. They had started moving noticeably now. It was good that they were so strong. But where was his mate? Jack was confused about a lot of things but he knew that he had to have a mate somewhere but… Nothing made sense. He curled around his feather-kit. For now, he would keep an ear on the dangerous male in the Warren. He would try to scent out his mate later.

If only his mate weren’t missing.

***

“Do it.” Pitch barely hesitated a second. Knowing that he wasn’t the only one hurt by his shared past with Jack/Nightlight strengthened his resolve. He wanted to know the truth. All of it. Then he wanted to get his wife back and be the husband he had vowed to be. He settled back in his chair and watched as the Tooth Fairy and the Sandman turned to one another.

“We’ve done this before.” Toothiana reassured Pitch as the tooth in her hand started to glow. “Not quite on this scale, but we know how to make it work.”

“Just get on with it. I know how nightmares can align with memories, I imagine dreams work in much the same way.”

Sanderson nodded emphatically and the bag of sand in his hand became a swirling ball of gold that surrounded the glowing tooth. Both of the Guardians held their hands slightly outside of the circle, with the ball floating slightly between them. The golden shine reflected off of Pitch’s sallow skin. It made him look pale and sickly but he didn’t notice as his eyes were drawn to the center of the glowing mass. Not at his tooth, but at something else… a small spark of blue had formed and it was growing quickly.

“What is that?!” Toothiana gasped in surprised but judging by the question mark above Sandy’s head the little sandman didn’t know either. Pitch couldn’t tear his eyes away.

The glowing blue spot grew larger and without really realizing what he was doing Pitch was reaching out to it. Sanderson’s sand was warm and it tickled Pitch’s hand slightly as it swirled past, but the blue… the blue glow was so cold it was almost freezing. It warmed Pitch’s heart. The blue glow quickly took form as a small, blue snowflake. It twirled in the air slightly above Pitch’s tooth. It was one of Jack’s happy flakes.

Pitch smiled and before either the Sandman or the Tooth Fairy could stop him, he touched the blue snowflake. He saw bright blue sparkles as he closed his eyes. Pitch thought of Jack and he was pulled into their first shared memory.

<i>Fear. He cackled manically as he stalked his prey. It was </i>intoxicating<i>!

It wasn’t even that he liked it, it was just the only thing left that he could feel. And feel it he did!

Children ran from him and with his mind consumed in madness the Nightmare King gave chase, thrilling in the hunt. This was the only time he could be sure he was still alive. The pounding of his heart ringing so loudly it was deafening, almost drowning out the screams he wrought around him. The quickened gasps of shortened breaths and the tingling crawling up his spine!

The Guardians thought him defeated but in the dark of the night he reigned! He could not remember feeling more alive!

The group he was chasing ran out across a frozen lake, hoping to lose the specter on the slippery surface. The Nightmare King crooned, how sweet, poor foolish little children. They couldn’t escape him that easily! He pursued them over the ice, screeching laughter so horrible it sounded like broken glass. He very dramatically stomped across the ice, leaving small cracks in his wake. The children looked down in fear at the cracks spreading across the icy surface.

Oh their fear tasted sublime! The Nightmare King breathed in deeply while chuckling. What a great night this was turning out to be!

Deep in the ice a small, lost child woke from his slumber. He could hear banging noises coming from up above and he could feel cracks spreading through the ice. But that wasn’t what woke him. He could feel joy in people. It was the only thing that he enjoyed in the darkness of his lake. He could feel the joy of those above when they occasionally approached the lake. Even now he could feel faint traces of joy in them… but there was another. There was someone else on the ice and child couldn’t feel a single speck of Joy in them at all. They were like a blank spot, only noticeable because there was nothing to notice.

It hurt something inside the frozen boy and without really realizing what he was doing, a part of him reached out for the one who didn’t know Joy.

The Nightmare King stopped when he felt a cold, tickling feeling on his feet. Which was odd, he normally couldn’t feel any kind of physical sensation. Neither pleasure nor pain. It was new and he stopped and looked down. He barely noticed the children escaping in his distraction. Through the crack’s he’d made in the ice there was something… sparkling? Sparkling and blue?

And he could feel it. It was… pleasant. It was gently tickling the soles of his feet. It had been a very long time since the Nightmare King had felt anything </i>pleasant<i>. He lifted one of his feet curiously and watched as the sparkles seemed to float up a little, almost as though they were reaching for him. When was the last time something had reached for him? Nothing ever reached out for him. Certainly nothing so light in any case.

The Nightmare King lowered his foot over one of the cracks, waited a second, and raised it again. More blue sparkles followed him. He watched them with fascination as they twirled up, only to fade as they got further from the ice. The tickling feeling wasn’t going away now, it was spreading. Like a gentle hum through his feet and higher. It was cold but pleasantly so. The chill sent delightful shivers up the rest of his body as the tickling feeling climbed up his legs. The Nightmare King didn’t know what it was, but he wanted more of it.

He knelt down and touched the sparkles tentatively with his hand. The tingling, tickling feeling kissed his fingers gently and up close he could finally see what the little blue sparkles were. Snowflakes, tiny, shiny, blue snowflakes. They danced around his fingers, gathering around them as though drawn to him. He lifted his hand up to his face to look at them more closely and the tiny snowflakes followed, floating up higher now that he was close to them. Then blue sparkles seemed to explode in front of his eyes.

The Nightmare King paused. His mind was suddenly filled with happy memories. Memories of who he was before the Nightmare King. General Kozmotis Pitchiner, his wife and dearest friend Lady Sarah Pitchiner, and their daughter Seraphina Pitchiner. He remembered being a hero. He remembered caring for his daughter. Decades worth of happy memories assaulted the Nightmare King’s mind and he roared out loud as if in pain.

The Nightmare King reared back violently, his spine nearly bending completely in two as he smashed his head back against the ice and clawed at his face. He thrashed and struggled and beat himself relentlessly against the ice in some vain attempt to tear the memories out of himself. It wasn’t the memories themselves that were the problem, it was the guilt that was attached to them. Something the Nightmare King had never experienced before now. He couldn’t think, he couldn’t breathe. This </i>happiness<i> was destroying him!

He screamed and roared and cried and sobbed but he couldn’t get the memories to stop. He couldn’t shake the guilt. He couldn’t shake the fear. So he ran. And he kept running. He didn’t notice the deeper cracks in the ice. He didn’t notice the blue glow starting beneath the surface. He didn’t notice the moon now shining brightly overhead.

Deep in the ice the frozen child felt the vibrations from above. He could hear the ice cracking and he felt something he had not felt for a very long time… hope. He wasn’t entirely sure what he was hoping for, as he listened to the ice being beaten above him, but the lightening in his heart could not be denied. The longing was so sharp it was almost painful, but he’d been trapped in the darkness for so long he’d forgotten what exactly he was longing for. Then the cracks deepened. There was some more banging. The cracks deepened further.

There was another sound of impact against the ice.

Then a miracle happened, a tiny crack pierced the shell surrounding the frozen boy.

For the first time the boy felt a warm (at least to him) breeze. It was just a tiny rush of wind that made it through the tiny crack all the way down to him. He opened his eyes. He couldn’t see anything. It was dark. It was always so dark. But he could feel warm air on his face and for the first time in his memories he took in a small breath. His lungs had been burning for so long that the sudden relief of having air was painful. He gasped and spluttered. There wasn’t enough air getting in through that tiny little crack but now that he had tasted air again after so long his lungs didn’t want to give it up. Whatever had been hitting the ice was now gone.

But the boy had hope now. And his hope fueled his Joy, Joy for after so long – he had air. He began to glow.

Softly at first but it quickly became too bright, it hurt his eyes but he hardly cared. He’d been living with pain for so long that his burning lungs and weeping eyes were hardly noticeable compared to his Joy. He had light! It was coming from him and the more Joy he felt the greater the light shone and the lighter he made it the more Joy he felt. A continuous circuit that filled him with Hope and he felt the ice begin to move around him. He started to move.

He hadn’t moved in such a long time that his entire body seemed to scream in protest, his blood was practically frozen in his veins and as it started to flow more freely it almost felt as though it were made of shards of glass. He could feel! He stretched as much as he could and that’s when the boy noticed that he was holding something. He was curled around a long pole of some kind. He’d been holding it, frozen with it for all this time but now, he could finally SEE it! His eyes were weak and blurry but he could see it! His hands seemed to curl around the pole of their own accord and as he strengthened his incredibly weak grip the ice around began to groan continuously.

The boy didn’t just hear the ice groan; he could FEEL it!

Using his connection with the item in his hands he tried to push the ice away from himself and much to his surprise, it sluggishly obeyed. The ice started to crack and whine in protest as the boy tried to push it away from himself. But as he pushed it further away the ice began to melt. The cracks around him widened and freezing water began to pour in. His Joy quickly turned to terror as his exploration quickly became a struggle for life.

There was a distant part of his mind that knew that he couldn’t drown, not exactly. He hadn’t breathed for what was likely centuries. It had been so long that time itself had lost all meaning to the young one. But now that he had tasted air again, now that he knew how to breathe again, his body didn’t want to give it up. He struggled violently against the water that rushed in at him and pushed the ice away from himself at the same time. He couldn’t control it well yet but somehow he made it into open water and managed to struggle to the surface. He felt so weak and he was in so much pain but the ice at the top of the lake parted for him and somehow, while shaking so hard he almost slipped and fell back in, the boy pulled himself up out of the water and onto the ice. It would have been so much easier without the weight of his wet fur dragging him down.

He coughed, he spluttered, he </i>breathed<i>! And he was in so much pain that water freely flowed from his eyes, turning into snowflakes as they fell onto the hardening ice beneath him. The lake was freezing over again. But this time, the boy was on the outside.

It was so warm! The air was so fresh! Sounds were so clear! It felt overwhelming, painful, and absolutely amazing! He rolled over onto his back, exhausted but elated, and spared a glance for the object in his right hand, it was a staff of some kind. Wooden by the looks of it. Frost was creeping over its surface; the boy couldn’t see all that well but it shone a little in the moonlight. He looked up at the moon. It was so big and so bright.

It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. It was one of the only things he had ever seen. No matter what happened from this point on he would never allow himself to be locked away in the muffled darkness again. He would rather die.

He stared at the moon for a long time as his body began to calm down and the various burning pains settled to a dull ache. As he was watching it, he could almost feel it watching him. He wondered idly if the moon could actually do that.

</i>Jack Frost,<i> The moon whispered and the boy supposed that answered his unspoken question.

Jack Frost? The boy wanted to ask about it, but he hadn’t ever spoken before and only managed to splutter and drool uselessly. After an indeterminate time, he had calmed down again and the boy figured that it must be his name.

Jack Frost. He kind of liked it. As he accepted the name he felt a strange tingling settle over him for a moment before fading. It happened so quickly that he figured it must just be another ache from getting out of the lake after all of this time and he quickly forgot about it.

Jack Frost.

The boy who wasn’t frozen anymore.</i>

Pitch gasped and startled, leaping up quickly as though he were about to do something. But whatever that something was, he quickly discarded it as he tried to absorb the world around him. He was in the sitting room in Aster’s home. Toothiana and Sanderson were with him and were both giving him startled looks. There was his tooth, still glowing in the ball of sand as he had left it but… the blue snowflake was gone. Pitch sat down numbly and tried to process what he had learned. It was incredibly disorienting to feel a memory from two different perspectives. He could still feel the icy water closing in around him, weighing down his fur. He would have shuddered had he not had better self-control.

He knew about Jack being frozen but experiencing it like that was… It made his heart bleed for his wife. Whatever had happened in the past between them it was now apparent to Pitch that Jack had suffered more than enough. And he was still suffering. The ‘primal’ state Jack entered, as Aster had called it, was a direct result from his trauma because of the ice. Pitch wondered if Jack would ever stop suffering… After millions of years in frozen darkness Pitch doubted it.

What was even more surprising was the revelation that accompanied the memory. When North had looked into what had woken Jack from the lake all he had managed to see in his wells was a single, blue snowflake. A shining happy-flake that Jack often made for children. Now Pitch knew what had really happened that night, Jack had made the snowflake for him.

The young frost spirit hadn’t even known who or what Pitch was, Jack had been trapped in the ice and he had just felt someone without Joy, so he had reached out to the Nightmare King on instinct. Jack hadn’t even done it as a ploy to free himself. It had been done with the most selfless of intentions, just to give Joy to someone who had not known it. The fact that the Nightmare King had raged and broken the ice enough for Jack to gain his freedom had been entirely coincidental. Both Pitch and Jack had gained their ‘freedom’ at the same time… and it was thanks to Jack.

If the Nightmare King hadn’t been on the lake that night, if Jack hadn’t reached for him, then Pitch would have never gained back most of his memories. He would have never become more than a mindless monster. Jack would have still been frozen in the lake. The Guardians would still be unaware of Lunanoff’s deceptions.

So much had changed in that single night – because Jack had reached out to give Joy to a monster who had none.

Pitch felt guilt rise and form a lump in his throat. And what was he doing now? Sitting here, avoiding his wife, because he was afraid of some bad memories? Of things that happened millions of years ago? He felt the Nightmare King stirring in him and he finally had his answer. The Nightmare King loved Jack far more than he hated Nightlight. And so did Pitch.

“Are you alright?” Toothiana asked tentatively. She wasn’t entirely sure what had just happened. Sandy could make shapes in his sand but they were always golden. Neither she, nor the little golden star, had any idea where that blue snowflake had come from. “You were out of it for about twenty minutes, we weren’t sure what was going on but Sandy thought we should leave you.” She explained after a moment.

Pitch met her eyes. “I am better than I have been in a long time. I will return in a moment… before we continue I need to see my wife.”

She frowned. “Alright but… if you hurt him…” She didn’t need to finish and Sandy made a fist with one hand and pounded it savagely into his other palm. Pitch knew exactly what awaited him should he harm his wife and it relieved him to have so many people ready to protect Jack and their children.

Nodding, Pitch reassured her, “You need not worry. I just need to see him. It has been too long… I miss him.” He smiled. “I have been such an idiot, had Jack been in his right mind he would have thrown a snowball at me for being so obtuse.”

Toothiana blinked up at him with a slightly shocked expression. She was just a little stunned by how <i>nice</i> Pitch was being. She left the tooth with Sandy and led Pitch outside to the nest.

They approached the fields slowly, Jack had built his nest with his back to a large oak tree near one of the clean water springs. It was made out of blankets and leaves with some sticks for support. It was also surrounded by flowers which Aster seemed to be tending to while Jack looked on from the nest. At least that’s what they were doing before Pitch began his approach.

“I’ll stay back, it’s better for Jack if there aren’t too many people approaching him at once.” Tooth hovered uncertainly behind Pitch, remaining on the little hill that overlooked the field Jack was in.

As Pitch began his descent Jack’s ears perked up and he turned to face the Boogeyman, then his ears pinned themselves back flat against his neck and he began to growl. It was a low warning growl that echoed in the back of his throat, Jack didn’t want to growl too loudly and wake his little feather-kit.

Aster rose and made his way over to Pitch before the Boogeyman could get much closer. He spared a quick nod at the Tooth Fairy who waved back with a smile and pink cheeks. Then Aster gave Pitch his full attention, more curious than anything.

“He saved us.” Pitch stated by way of explanation. “Jack… if it wasn’t for Jack neither of us would have woken. I would still be a mindless Nightmare and Jack would still be frozen, Aster… I remember how I regained myself.” Pitch briefly explained the memory.

“The blue snowflake…” Aster whispered with a smile. “He’s something else, isn’t he?” The old father asked with no small amount of pride.

Pitch smiled back. “Yes. He is. I would like to try and speak with him but…” Jack was still growling.

Aster looked between the two separated mates. “Alright… if we were introducing a new male into the clan the Patriarch would scent mark him so that the others would recognize him. I could mark you with my scent and maybe… it will help Jack be less hostile.”

Pitch could hear the reluctance in Aster’s voice and Pitch couldn’t fight the sneer of disgust the broke out across his face. Scent marking was a very intimate act. There were very few people Pitch tolerated in his personal space, in fact, there was only one. The idea of letting Aster close enough to <i>mark</i> him made Pitch more than a little sick in the stomach. Still, Pitch spared a glance for his wife who was clearly very agitated by his mere presence and he rolled his eyes. “Get on with it rabbit.” He muttered and tilted his head to the side, exposing his neck.

“Right.” Aster looked about as awkward as Pitch felt. “Well… This is something I never would’ve thought I’d be doing.” Incredibly awkwardly, Aster rubbed his chin along Pitch’s neck and shoulders while the two of them tried their hardest not to make eye contact, as though by not meeting each other’s eyes it would make this moment less weird. This was far too intimate to be doing with someone they barely tolerated. Aster cleared his throat and backed off. “I think that should do it.”

Pitch was holding his arms slightly away from his body and he desperately wished he could bathe. It wouldn’t help much, he would likely smell like Aster for days. “I think I might hate you.” Pitch muttered tiredly, without much feeling.

Aster just swallowed and looked as creeped out as the Boogeyman felt. He backed away slightly so that Pitch could finally approach Jack.

Pitch approached slowly, relieved that Jack had now stopped growling and was instead looking at him with a quizzical expression. One ear high and the other low as he tilted his head to watch the Boogeyman’s approach.

Jack wasn’t entirely sure what was going on. He didn’t understand why his Sire had marked the scary man. But if the scary man was marked did that mean he wasn’t a danger anymore? His senses were confused; his father’s scent was safety but the other man’s scent was danger. They shouldn’t mix. Why was the male coming closer? Why was his Sire allowing the male to come closer??

Pitch knelt on the ground and turned his head away from Jack, exposing his throat completely and he waited. It was much like the first time he had seen Jack in this state, he knew he had to allow Jack to make the first move. Pitch was not a threat; he wouldn’t move nearer Jack without his permission.

Jack watched the powerful male offer his throat. Now the young Pooka was really confused. Why would someone so powerful submit so easily? The male was so close to Jack that Jack could dart forward and rip out his throat before he had a chance to defend himself. It lessened Jack’s fear and his natural curiosity was brought to the fore. He tilted forwards slightly in the nest, careful not to jostle his feather-kit, and sniffed at the air. He could smell his Da’s scent marking the male, he could also scent the power emanating from the male but… there was something familiar about it. Something that pushed Jack’s fear a little further back and brought his curiosity a little further forward.

Jack shifted his tiny kit around so that she was resting in the blankets in the nest, she cooed but curled up happily, still asleep. Then he turned his full attention to the male. He had to trust his Sire, his Sire wouldn’t have let anyone here that would harm him nor his kits. Gently, one paw at a time, Jack stepped out of his nest. He angled himself so that as he stepped forward his left shoulder was facing the new male. If he was attacked, his shoulder would bear the brunt better than the rest of him and he may still be able to defend himself. If it came to that.

But even as he moved closer to the male, the male didn’t move. He remained still with his jugular on display for Jack.

Even in his vulnerable position Pitch remained relaxed. He could feel Jack getting nearer. Pitch kept his breathing even and calm, trying his best to keep his heartrate steady. Pitch had faith in his wife, and their two hundred odd years of marriage.

Pitch’s faith was rewarded when a soft, wet nose tickled his neck. Jack was scenting him and it was so familiar that Pitch could have wept. He hadn’t realized how much he’d missed this. It was something so simple and even if Jack was being more cautious than usual it felt amazing.

Jack was so careful, at first. But the familiar scent was tugging on his memories and he inhaled deeply and pressed his nose right up against the male’s neck. A scent like ash and smoke, so beautiful and yet bittersweet. Haunting memories tugged at his mind and even though he didn’t feel ready, he felt his awareness melt back to normal. He wasn’t just scared, he was terrified, but his husband was here. His husband came back. His mate was right in front of him.

“Night…” Jack whispered but the name broke half way through. “Pitch…” He tried again but his voice wasn’t working properly. Nothing was working properly. He felt numb and confused. His breaths were coming out in short, quick gasps and he felt on the verge of tears.

Aster, who was observing this all from a little bit away from the couple, nearly fainted with relief when he heard Jack’s voice. If he’d realized that seeing Pitch was what Jack needed, he would have dragged Pitch down here a month ago.

“Oh Jack, my Little Frost, my darling, I am here.” Pitch slowly, so as not to startle Jack who was only just coming out of his primal state, wound his arms around his wife. “I love you and I’m here.”

Jack couldn’t hold it in anymore and he cried, tears streaming steadily and freezing in his fur. “Pitch… missing… my f-fault but… you w-were gone!” He couldn’t seem to form a whole sentence. There was so much he wanted to say but his control still wasn’t the best. Pitch understood. Even after everything Pitch always understood.

Pitch’s heart broke a little and he threw caution to the wind, settling on the ground more comfortably he pulled Jack into his arms and began to rock him back and forth. “Shh, my darling, it’s not your fault. I am sorry it took so long but I’m here now and I’m not leaving. I will never leave you. You are everything and I will never give you up. We both know I am far too selfish for that.” Pitch was nothing without his wife. He knew that. So did the Nightmare King. He could never go back to how he was before. Jack had ruined him for anything less than this bond they shared and he would not survive without it.

“I’m sorry. I’m s-so sorry!” Jack whined and curled up as close as he could to his husband. Inhaling the scent he loved so dearly as though it would be the last time. How could Pitch want to stay with him after everything? Why would he want to? His mind was clearing and his control returning and with it, the memories came back. Who he was. What he’d done. He remembered it all and he hated himself for it.

“So I take it you really do remember everything.” Pitch mused.

“You don’t?” Jack looked up and met his husband’s eyes, they were a bright silver with flecks of gold. He didn’t know whether he felt hopeful or disappointed. If Pitch didn’t remember than Jack would have to tell him and that would be so much worse.

“No… not yet. Not entirely, but Sanderson and Toothiana are going to help me get my memories back.”

Jack whimpered and pressed his face into Pitch’s chest. No, he didn’t want that. Pitch would leave and Jack didn’t want Pitch to leave. There was no forgiveness for what he’d done. The entire fall of the Golden Era could be traced back to Jack’s mistakes. He couldn’t be forgiven. So many had died. His entire people had died. Even Bunny would hate him for what he’d done. He could handle losing everyone else, it would hurt but he could handle it, but he couldn’t lose Pitch. He wouldn’t survive. “Night. Night don’t leave. I’m sorry. I’m sorry. You’ll hate me Night. I don’t want you to hate me. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it. I’ll do anything! Night please don’t leave me!”

“No Jack, no. I’m not leaving. I will never leave. Even if I learn the truth I will not leave. Remember what I told you when you dreamt of Nightlight and your mother? All of this happened millions of years ago. We are different people now. I married Jack Frost, not Sweetpea or Nightlight. Whoever you were will not change my feelings for you now. I love you, my lovely wife, and as long as you love me as well I will never leave you.”

Jack sniffled, wishing that what Pitch was saying was true but still unable to believe it. Once Pitch knew everything… there was no chance that he would be able to look past it. The warmth around him as Pitch held him, how would he survive if he never felt this warmth again?

As if reading his mind Pitch tilted Jack’s face gently up so their eyes met. “Have a little more faith in me my darling, I am not going anywhere.” He kissed Jack softly on the very tip of Jack’s nose.

Jack’s nose twitched slightly and he tilted his head a little more, silently asking for another kiss.

Pitch pressed his lips softly to Jack’s. Just a peck, lightly reassuring Jack without words of his devotion.

“I am here Jack, I am- oh?” Pitch cut off as Jack gasped, Jack’s stomach was pressing against Pitch’s and he’d felt something as Jack gasped.

“Oh… they’re… Pitch, give me your hand.” Jack took Pitch’s hand and lightly placed it on his stomach.

Pitch held his breath as they waited together, barely daring to hope and… there! Pitch smiled. He could feel them, his kits kicking against Jack’s stomach. He let out a little chuckle as he felt it again. “Well aren’t you energetic? I’m sure you will give your mother and I nothing but trouble.” Pitch’s eyes were now golden and there was a smile in his voice. “Oh Jack,” Pitch looked at his wife trying so hard to let Jack know how much he cared. “How could you ever think that I’d want to give this up?”

Jack let out a shuddering breath and shook his head. “But you don’t know! You don’t remember it Pitch… I… Oh stars! I…”

“Shh, Jack. It’s alright. I will know soon enough and I will prove to you the sincerity of my words with the sincerity of my actions. The way I always have.” Pitch hummed and pressed his forehead to his wife’s. “Tell me, do you remember more about when you gained your freedom from the ice?”

Jack tensed at the sudden change in topics. “Yes?” He answered confused as to why Pitch was bringing this up now. It wasn’t like this was something Jack enjoyed discussing at the best of times. Specially not when he’d just come out of one of his ‘instinct only’ episodes.

“Tell me what you remember, please, this will make sense in a moment.”

“Okay…” Jack hesitated but figured he might as well. He owed Pitch more than he would ever be able to repay and it wasn’t as though Pitch didn’t know anything about his time in the ice. “I woke up, there were some banging noises and shallow cracks in the ice, I felt some people on the surface. I could feel traces of Joy in most of them but one was different. This one felt… hollow. As though they’d never felt Joy in their entire lives. I didn’t really know what I was doing but I reached out for them. Trying to help them… no one should live without Joy.”

“Even though you did not know Joy? Trapped as you were in the ice?”

Jack shook his head. “No… I knew Joy. I knew how to take Joy in the tiniest of things and how important it was to hold onto. I felt other’s Joy and back then that was enough for me. That was all I had. I wanted to show this dark person that even though things could seem hopeless and horrible that Joy could be found anywhere… if you look for it.”

Pitch couldn’t help his soft smile and he nuzzled Jack’s forehead with his own, enjoying the velvet feeling of Jack’s fur against his skin. “You always give so selflessly…” Pitch knew then, without a doubt, that regardless of what had happened in the past, Jack would have been trying to do the right thing. Even if he had made mistakes and others had suffered for them Jack was just too selfless to act with any kind of malice. “Oh my darling Little Frost. It was me.”

“What?!” Jack gasped and looking up into Pitch’s golden, love-filled eyes he realized what his husband was actually saying.

“I was the one on the ice that night. I was the one who had never known Joy and you… you saved me.” Pitch laughed, “And then I chucked a tantrum and cracked the ice with my head.”

Jack couldn’t have held back the giggle that escaped from his lips. He guessed from his husband’s smile that it had been Pitch’s intention and it filled Jack with warmth. Pitch always made him smile, always went out of his way to play games with Jack even if they were silly. “You freed me… You saved me from the ice.” Jack whispered, awed.

Pitch scoffed. “Hardly. You clawed your way out on your own, I merely gave you a tiny crack to work with.”

“It was enough. It was more than I had before that but… If you knew why I was there in the first place, then…”

Pitch kissed Jack again softly. “No. Jack…” Jack yawned and Pitch smiled. “Perhaps you should rest for now.” He knew how being primal was an exhausting experience for Jack and he often slept straight away after regaining his senses.

Jack grabbed onto Pitch tightly, scrunching up Pitch’s coat in his claws. “Stay with me? Please?”

Pitch stood up fluidly, keeping Jack in his arms. “Of course.” There would be time to discuss the memories after Jack rested. Pitch wasn’t going to give up on getting his lost memories back, but he wasn’t going to give up on having Jack in his life either. Jack was his wife and he wouldn’t give that up for anything. He settled down with Jack in the nest. The little Tooth Fairy woke and looked uncertain for a minute but Jack gently pulled her close and she snuggled into his fur. Pitch raised an eyebrow but elected not to comment. If Jack wanted to adopt a Tooth Fairy, then it looked as though they now had a Tooth Fairy.

Jack snuggled into Pitch’s chest and his husband curled around him and wrapped a possessive arm around his stomach, with his hand idly tickling the fur on Jack’s back. It felt good. Baby Tooth was curled up in the crook of Jack’s shoulder and it felt right. He wasn’t entirely sure what had happened, his memories of his episodes were always a little fuzzy, but she was his now. His little feather-kit, and he hoped she would still want to be a part of his family when they woke.

Jack inhaled deeply. He could smell his father’s scent, an odd combination of fresh growth and chocolate. He could smell the scent of his feather-kit, light and minty. He could smell his mate’s scent, spicy smoke and ash. He was surrounded by his family and even though he was worried about what would happen tomorrow he fell asleep feeling more content than he had in a long time.

Aster had decided it would be best to leave the couple alone. Now that he knew there was no danger to Jack and the kits he figured that they both needed some time together. He motioned for Tooth to join him and they headed a little way away. Close enough to hear if Jack needed them, but far enough to give some privacy. It put them in a field of brightly colored flowers that Aster used to help color his paints. They weren’t like the flowers on the Earth’s surface, these were only for him and those who were privileged enough to visit the Warren.

Their shapes were somewhat ordinary, looking more like daisy’s than anything else but the colors… every color that could possibly be imagined could be found in these flowers. All the colors were also so vibrant and pure that it made the flowers look otherworldly.

“Oh Aster, these flowers are beautiful!” Tooth flitted around happily, stopping here or there to look at a particular color she fancied before moving on.

Aster simply sat and watched Toothiana with a smile on his face. He loved how energetic she was, how she would get so excitable about the smallest of things. Aster thought it was positively charming.

After a few moments Tooth seemed to realize what she was doing and quickly flew over to Aster and sat down with a little blush on her cheeks. “Sorry… I get carried away sometimes.”

Aster chuckled. “No need to apologize, it’s adorable.”

Tooth let out a little cough and blushed a deeper pink. She turned away slightly, embarrassed at the effect her friend’s words were having on her. She felt a little hot under her feathers.

Aster was smiling slightly at how cute the Tooth Fairy was being, of course he would never call her ‘cute’ to her face. As Aster was sure the Boogeyman was now aware, Toothiana may be small but she had a mean right hook. “I’ve been thinking allot about things.” Aster started, hoping his courage would hold out long enough to finish. “I mean… watching Jack and Pitch… they’ve been together for such a long time and they must have gone through some really hard things together… even now with Manny and all of those problems they’re fighting it together. It’s just… really heartwarming to see how much they love each other and… I miss that. I miss my wife. I’ll never stop loving her but… that doesn’t mean that I can’t… fall for…” Aster spared a glance at Tooth to find that he had her complete attention. Seeing the Hope shining in her beautiful fuchsia eyes gave him the courage to say what he had been afraid to say for years. “To fall for you.”

“Aster…”

“I’m sorry it took so long for me to say it but… I… um…” And there went his courage. Fizzling out faster than a birthday candle.

Tooth giggled and cuddled up close to Aster’s side. “I ‘um’ you too.” She said softly and Aster barely hesitated before putting his arms around her.

They sat together in silence just enjoying holding each other, in Aster’s field of paint flowers.

***

“So… are you ready?” Toothiana asked Pitch, who was once again sitting in a lounge in Aster’s sitting room, albeit this time with Jack by his side. Baby Tooth was perched on the mantle watching everything with curious eyes.

“Yes.” Pitch answered steadily. If anything Jack was the only one nervous about what was going to happen.

“And Jack, you understand that it’s not just Pitch’s memories, that we’ll be giving him yours as well?”

“Yes.” Jack’s voice was just as steady but his heart felt like it was trying to break its way out of his chest.

Aster was on Jack’s other side and he placed a reassuring hand on Jack’s shoulder, there was a part of Aster that still felt like celebrating the fact that he was allowed to have this sort of contact with his son. “Don’t worry. We’ll all be right here.” There wasn’t much else he could say.

Jack appreciated the attempt at comfort in any case.

“Jack.” Jack turned to meet Pitch’s eyes. “I love you.”

Jack kissed Pitch’s forehead. “I love you too. I just… please come back… to me.”

“Always.”

Tooth and Sandy got everything ready and with a last, reassuring smile at his wife, Pitch fell into their memories.