Chapter Text
Trees tinged with ice and a thick layer of snow danced as the aftermath from a certain white haired frostling flew dangerously quick through them. The frost spirit was out making mischief as always, creating snowstorms for the children of Burgess so they would have a snow day the next day.
The teen laughed brightly as he glided through the forest, putting himself on auto-pilot. Just taking himself wherever the wind blew. Jack had no problem with that until he found himself before the hole of a former enemy who had sought to take over the world with fear and darkness.
The frost spirit perched on top of a nearby tree, watching the hole as if something would miraculously pop out of it. Jack contemplated whether or not to go inside. He argued with himself that if he did, he would be an unwelcome guest, and the one who dwelled inside would be less than appreciative of him barging inside. Of course, Jack didn’t really care. He then remembered that the Nightmare King was practically beaten to a bloody pulp when the Guardians went up against him, and he lost almost all of his power.
The frostling concluded that it was safe to enter. Or as safe as he could be with someone who wanted to encompass the entire world with fear.
The spirit drifted down the hole, his fear lessening when he wasn't met with Nightmares or Shadowmen immediately. After a while, he couldn’t find anything. Of course, there was the globe, shining as bright as ever in the middle of the room, a lot of dusty old antiques, and some furniture clustered here and there. He found the library, the kitchen, a large bathroom, and even Pitch’s bedroom. But he still couldn’t find Pitch himself.
He sighed, “Why the hell is it this hard to find someone?”
“Looking for someone?” a voice asked behind him.
Jack shrieked and spun around. It was none other than the Nightmare King himself.
The frost spirit glared and pointed an accusatory finger at said Nightmare King, “Why is it so hard to find you? I have searched high and low and could not find you!”
Pitch studied his fingernails, flexing his fingers in front of him as if ignoring the unwanted guest in front of him, “Well, I wanted to see why you were here in the first place. This is my home after all. So that leads me to my second question. What do you want concerning me?”
The teen frostling was suddenly struck quiet as he couldn’t answer that question immediately. Pitch raised a hairless eyebrow, “You don’t even know why you’re here?”
Jack huffed, “Shut up! I was just coming here to check up on you. I wanted to make sure you weren’t planning to take over the world again…”
Pitch opened his arms wide, “Well as you can see, I’m doing nothing of the sort, so are there any other pressing matters you want to settle?”
Jack twiddled with his fingers, “Not really, no…”
The shade closed his eyes and sighed in frustration, “I’m going to regret this, do you want to stay for tea? Or maybe some coffee would better suit you, though that may not be wise.”
The teen grinned widely, “Why, thank you, Pitch. I would love some coffee. Make it extra sweet, though.”
The boogeyman rolled his eyes, “Come with me, Frost.”
The boy skipped behind him, finally enjoying himself in the Nightmare King’s lair. It didn’t seem scary anymore once the one who resided there accepted you being in their home. Jack gently touched the stone walls as Pitch and him walked through winding corridors, fascinated by their intricate beauty. The shade looked behind him and saw the frostling watch the walls of his home with wonder and chuckled internally.
The two spirits finally entered Pitch’s elaborate kitchen, and Jack sat down on one of the barstools while Pitch went to work fixing drinks for them. Jack brushed his fingers over the pristine granite countertops, admiring its beauty. The older man boiled water for the both of their drinks, leaning against the counter as he was waiting for the heat to peak.
Pitch finally was fed up of from the silence enveloping the room, “I still can’t fathom why you want to spend time with me . I’m your enemy .”
Jack shrugged nonchalantly, “But we’re not anymore. Not really. We beat you, but that doesn’t mean you should be all alone. I know how that feels, and I just don’t want that to happen to anyone. It’s a stabbing feeling that you wallow in all by yourself with no one around to help you. It’s a helpless feeling that enslaves you until you don’t know what else to do. I walked around for 300 years with only the occasional spirit fly through. And even when we had a polite talk, I could tell that they didn’t really want to be there. I hate that...And I’m rambling. Sorry…”
The boogeyman stared at Jack in astonishment. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Jack was keeping him company because he didn’t want him to be lonely.
The man blinked slowly, “That wasn’t really the answer I was expecting, but, okay then. Thank you, Jack.”
The frostling blushed softly and gazed at the counter with sudden fascination, “It’s nothing.”
The kettle finally whistled, and Pitch suddenly went back to work on making their drinks. In a few more minutes, Jack was presented with a large cup of coffee that was adorned with whipped cream, chocolate chips, and chocolate sprinkles. The frost spirit’s eyes widened in shock.
“Oh, God. Strike me down if this is not the most heavenly thing that has ever existed,” Jack breathed.
Pitch chuckled, “I’m glad you like it,” he sipped his tea and leaned over the counter, getting extremely close to the younger boy’s face.
Jack took a large sip and practically melted in bliss, “If I come here every day, can I get a coffee just like this? I would literally go through the fire of Hell just to drink this.”
Pitch hid his smile through taking another sip of his tea, “Well, you must be serious, considering your a wintery spirit. As long as you’re not bouncing all over the walls, I’ll prepare this as much as you like.”
“No promises,” Jack winked.
The Nightmare King rolled his eyes, “Anyways, I don’t think you’d appreciate being here every day. There’s nothing to do in here. You’d probably see me read a book or something, and I’m sure conversation can get a bit boring after a while.”
The frostling supplied, “Then we ought to get you out of the house. We can go and scare a few kids or something. As long as it’s not too big. We don’t need you trying to take over the world anymore. But, I do understand that you need fear to live in this world. Fear is just as necessary as wonder, hope, or fun in this world. Besides, there’s always fun that arrives after fear, so it’ll benefit me, too.”
Pitch narrowed his eyes, he didn’t know the young spirit could be so mature when he was usually playful and mischievous. It was like this was a whole new side of Jack that he’d never seen before, and he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not.
“Fine, I’ll take you up on that offer. How about tomorrow, 11 a.m.?” Pitch finally gave in.
Jack flashed a bright smile that warmed even Pitch’s stone heart, “Yes! I’m looking forward to it, Mr. Shadow Man.”
The shade smirked, “Then it’s a date.”
A bright red blush appeared on the frostling's pale face, “Y-yeah.”
Pitch snorted undignified in amusement, “I’m just teasing you, Frost. Don’t take it so seriously.”
Jack glared at the boogeyman with no heat, “Hmph! I already knew that. I was just trying to see your reaction!”
“Riiiight.”
The younger man stuck out his tongue childishly, “Whatever, I’ll see you tomorrow, Pitch.”
The Nightmare King waved the frost spirit off, “Goodbye, Jack.”
Jack flew out of the rocky hole leading to the surface and danced in the air excitedly. He quickly flew to his pond, ecstatic with his big day with Pitch. He was hoping to be able to get to know the other man some more. Ever since Antarctica, he’d been thinking about what Pitch had said.
“Nothing goes together better than cold and dark,” he muttered to himself. He then smiled softly, “We’ll see about that.”