Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians in any way shape or form.

The Guardians had thrown him out, they didn't even bother to let him explain what had happened and Bunny had even gone as far as to punch him. He touched his cheek upon thinking of it. He was in Antarctica, he often went there to clear his head. He tried throwing the memories away, they're what started all of his problems anyway. He just couldn't bring him self to let go of them. He looked at the box, wondering what they hid when he heard the smooth, silky voice.
"I thought this might happen." Jack immediately knew it was Pitch. Why was he here? "They never really believed in you." Pitch continued Jack was scared. Scared that what Pitch was saying was the truth. "I was only trying to show you that." Jack was getting mad. "But I understand." That was the last straw. Jack threw a stream of frost at Pitch.
"You don't understand anything!" Jack yelled at him. Pitch blocked the frost with his sand.
"No?" Pitch asked, blocking another attack from the Frost Spirit. "I don't understand what it's like to be cast out?" He summoned a great deal of Nightmare sand and Jack a lot of frost. The two substances collided, filling the air with frost and sand, blocking Jack's vision. "To not be believed in?" Pitch continued. "To long for a family."

Jack turned and looked at Pitch, his expression softening and his staff lowering. Pitch saw the blue bruise on Jacks face and swore to himself that he would kill that over sized house pet who he suspected was the cause. "All those years in the shadows I thought, no one else knows what this feels like. But now I see I was wrong." Jack looked up at Pitch and their eyes locked. Jack felt something unknown in his chest, a warmth he'd never felt before. "We don't have to be alone Jack." Pitch said, not trying to trick Jack for once. "I believe in you and I know children will too." Jack took it in.
"In me?" He asked softly.
"No, in the fucking Leprechaun. Of course in you." Pitch said, he noted how Jack winced at the swear word. "Look at what we can do!" He said, gesturing to the sculpture made of ice and Nightmare sand. "What goes together better than cold and dark?" Jack looked at the sculpture admiring it.

"We can make them believe. We'll give them a world where everything, everything is-"
"Pitch Black" Jack interrupted. Pitch realized his mistake.
"And Jack Frost too, they'll believe in both of us." Pitch said, clinging onto a thread of hope that Jack might join him. Jack thought about it. He thought about turning Pitch down but quickly dismissed that.
"Okay." He said instead. He said it weakly. Pitch didn't look like he was expecting that and an expression of surprise appeared on his face. "Okay. I'll join you." He clarified. Pitch smiled and took him into the shadows, transporting them through the darkness to his lair.

The Guardians felt terrible. Bunny most of all. He didn't mean to make actual contact with Jack's pale skin but he had and it had been a pretty hard punch. He had felt the small ray of hope inside the boy disappear. That's another thing. Jack was a boy, a child and they had failed to protect him. "He had come back." Bunny whispered. "He came back and we cast him out." The others looked at him, listening. "What does it matter that he was with Pitch before that?" He sighed, the others knew he was right.

"We weren't thinking Bunny." Tooth admitted. "We should have been there for him but I just saw him and the Teeth and Baby Tooth was gone..." Tooth let the sentence trail off.
"And by now Pitch will have asked him to join him" Bunny said, piecing it together. Bunny was now the size of a normal bunny.
"He will not say yes." North said although he wasn't too sure himself. After how they had treated him he had every right to join Pitch and it would be all their fault.

They sensed it before they it happened. A large amount of Nightmare sand started swirling from the ground and up to the globe. It dissipated, revealing the Nightmare King himself and another spirit by his side.
"Speak of the devil" Bunny whispered. Jack laughed at the sight of the miniature Bunnymund.
"Jack?" Tooth asked. Jack flinched at her voice but refused to look at her. Pitch pulled him closer, reassuring him that he was okay, his anger building.
"You know, I actually can't believe you Guardians." Pitch stated. They looked at him confused. "You can't actually think he'd return to you after what you did?" Bunny shook his head.
"No." North said although there was a hint of doubt in his voice. Pitch felt like screaming, though of course he is the esteemed Nightmare King and thus would never scream, they still didn't understand.

Jack could tell that Pitch was getting mad. "Don't" He whispered, it seemed to calm Pitch down a little but he was just containing his anger. It didn't go unnoticed by the Guardians who were staring at the pair of them. Jack muttered something that only Pitch heard. Pitch nodded and continued on what he had gone there for in the first place.

"Only six left." He said, his anger fading and excitement taking it's place. "Six children who still believe in the Guardians with all their he-" Pitch stepped on the last light in England, killing it. "Make that five." He saw as the Guardians winced and lost a fraction of their power. He stepped on another, making his way over to North America. "Four. Three!" He said, stepping on another. "Two!" He said happily as he stepped on another two. He clicked his fingers to make the last light fade but it didn't. The frustration was obvious on his face. He clicked again and it still didn't leave. "One." He said flatly.

Jack had been examining it, trying to figure out who it was as it was a part of the World he knew. Maybe he knew the child. "Jamie!" He said. The Guardians and Pitch looked at him confused.
"You know this child?" Pitch asked him. Jack flinched. "Relax Jack, I'm not going to hurt you. Or him." He said. Jack physically relaxed. "Let's go pay him a little visit." Pitch said. He looked at where the child was. Burgess. He took hold of Jack and disappeared into a shadow.

The Guardians were confused by what had just transpired. "What the hell was that?" Bunny asked.
"We need to find child before Pitch." North said.
"But Pitch said he wouldn't hurt the child." Tooth told them. They nodded, they all had believed Pitch at that moment too.
"Either way, we have to make sure the bastard doesn't do anything stupid." Bunny said. They all agreed and for once Bunny didn't actually complain about the sleigh.

"Is this the child?" Pitch asked, he was in the shadows of a room with a little boy sitting on the bed, seemingly talking to a toy rabbit.
"Yeah, that's Jamie!" Jack said smiling. Pitch couldn't help but smile upon seeing Jack smile. He stayed true to his words and didn't even move towards the child. He could sense the light fading inside of him. He didn't feel right though.
"You don't have to do much, just a little sign so I know." Jamie said. Jack and Pitch watched him.
"Jack." Pitch said.
"What is it Pitch?" Jack asked.
"Anything!" Jamie begged
"I know what you want to do and I'm not going to stop you." Pitch said. He turned to leave.
"Anything at all!" Jamie said.
"Pitch wait!"
"Frost, if I were you I'd hurry before his belief is lost." There was a trace of disappointment in his voice. Jack watched as Pitch disappeared into the shadows. Jack stared at where Pitch had been, he couldn't shake the feeling that he'd betrayed Pitch.
"I knew it." Jamie let the rabbit fall to the floor as his belief faded into nothing.

"No." Jack said. "I'm not loosing you too!" He went to the window and made frost over it before tracing an egg in it. Jamie looked over and Jack drew a bunny in the window.
"He's real?" Jack smiled as he made the drawing come to life. "Woah!" The rabbit ran around Jamie's head before exploding into snow. A stray snowflake touched his nose. He remembered something his mother had told him once. "Jack Frost?" He asked. Jack's eyes widened upon hearing his name.
"Did he just say...?" Jamie stood on his bed.
"Jack Frost."
"He said it again! He said.. You said.." Jamie turned and was facing Jack.
"Jack Frost!"
"That's right! But- But that's me! Jack Frost! That's my name! You said my name!" He watched as Jamie's mouth fall open and suddenly realized why Pitch had left him. "Thank you!" He whispered happily. Then he noticed that Jamie was staring at him and not through him. "Wait, can you hear me?" Jamie nodded. "Can you.. Can you see me?" Jamie nodded again. "He sees me! He sees me!" Jack accidentally made it snow in his excitement.
"You just made it snow!"
"I know!"
"In my room!"
"I know!"

"You're real?!" Jamie asked.
"Yeah, who do you think brings you all the blizzards and snow days?!" Jack asked. He was going to have to hug Pitch when this was over. "And remember when you went flying on that sled the other day?!"
"That was you?!" Jamie asked.
"That was me!"
"Cool!" Jamie said happily.
"Right!?"
"And what about the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy I mean-"
"Real real real! Every one of us is real!"
"I knew it!" Jamie said happily.

"Jamie" His mum called. "Who are you talking to?" Jamie looked at Jack who shrugged.
"Um.. Jack Frost" Jamie said.
"..Okay" His mum said with a small chuckle. Jamie and Jack suddenly heard the sound of a Sleigh crashing from outside. Jack took that as his Que to leave. He waited for Jamie to leave the room before flying out of the window. He went to Pitch's lair.

He found Pitch in the library reading. "Thank you so much Pitch!" Jack said. He hugged Pitch who frowned.
"I'd have thought you'd prefer to rejoin the Guardians." Pitch said.
"Speaking of; aren't we meant to be attacking them?"
"No."
"No?" Jack asked.
"No" Pitch repeated.
"Why not?" Jack asked.
"It would put your only believer in danger." Pitch said simply. "And as much as I'd love to kill the Guardians I can't see it happening any time soon now."
"But you've been working on that plan for thous-"
"Stop it Frost." Pitch said. All those years were wasted, he didn't need a reminder.
"You did that for me?" Jack asked. Pitch ignored him.
"Frost. I'm still more powerful than ever before at the moment. I suggest you leave." He sighed. "Also, there's an old friend who probably wants to see you." He'd left a few stray Nightmares up top, knowing belief would be able to change them back to enough golden sand for Sandy to return. Jack nodded and turned to leave. "Oh, one more thing Frost." Jack turned back to Pitch who threw the teeth to him. Jack smiled and put them in his pocket. He hadn't remembered dropping them but was glad to have them back. He left the lair and flew back to Burgess.

He was greeted by the Guardians and Jamie. "Where did you go?" Jamie asked.
"I had something I needed to do." Jack said, he saw Sandy and smiled, understanding what Pitch had meant by an old friend.
"Where did Pitch go?" Tooth asked Jack, still wary of the fact he'd left them.
"He.. He's not going to attack.." Jack said.
"Why not?" Bunny asked. He was back to his full size again as Jamie's friends believed again now. Jack awkwardly shifted on his feet.
"He's worried." Jack said softly.
"What about?" North asked. Jack was looking more awkward. Sandy made signs over his head that everyone saw. Tell us later. Jack nodded.

After they had gotten Jamie and his friends back to their beds they went to the pole to talk about Pitch. "What was he worried about?" Tooth asked, eager for a response.
"Jamie." Jack said after a few seconds silence.
"Of course!" North said.
"I didn't think he'd go that far not to break his word." Tooth said.
"What do you mean?" Jack asked.
"He told ya he wouldn't hurt the boy didn't he?" Bunny told him. Jack nodded and then realized what was going on.
"Oh."

Jack looked at the globe and saw some lights flicker back on. "Why are they doing that?"
"Pitch released my fairies!" Tooth said happily. Sandy smiled and directed some Dream sand from the pole. Jack nodded in understanding. Pitch wasn't a bad guy, he was just misunderstood most of the time. If the fairies had served their purpose then he would have no reason to keep them trapped, they were probably giving him a headache anyway.

"So that's a victory for you guys I guess." Jack said.
"You can still become Guardian." North said.
"I already told you guys, that's not for me." Jack told them.
"Have you seen your memories yet?" Tooth asked. Jack shook his head and absently pulled the golden box from his pocket. Tooth took him into one of North's guest rooms so he could watch them in peace. She told him to touch the top so he did and then was blinded by a white light.

Jack didn't know how long he was in his memories for, it didn't seem too long but he wasn't too sure. He was stunned. He had had a sister. He had died saving her. He left the room, still in a slight daze. He made his way back to the throne room. The shock of what had happened had lessened. He gave the teeth to Tooth who he knew would put them back where they belong. He sat on a table and the other's looked at him, waiting for him to speak. "I'm a Guardian.." He said softly. The others smiled at him and Jack agreed to the Guardian oath. It was official. He was a Guardian now.

Pitch sighed. All those years wasted because of some unspoken promise!? Goddamn it Pitch! He ran a hand through his black hair. Why had he done that? He didn't care about Jack Frost or any of his stupid believers. You're lying. Okay. Maybe he cared a little bit for the boy but why? That didn't matter right now. He needed to come up with a way to defeat the Guardians.

"Hey.." Pitch turned at the sudden sound, his scythe materializing as he did and just managed to halt it before it hit Jack. "Woah there!"
"Oh." Pitch said, rather disappointed really. "It's just you." He let the scythe turn back to sand which he recalled and relaxed.
"Just me!?" Jack said, hurt. "Do you not see me as a threat then?"
"You're powerful Jack but not a threat." Pitch sighed. "Why are you here? Come to gloat about that?"
"No.." Jack said. "I came to thank you.. actually."
"Think nothing of it." Pitch said, brushing it off.
"Well.. yeah.. thanks..." Jack said. Pitch turned and started walking down a corridor, half expecting the teen to follow him.

Jack thought about it for a moment before following the shade through the corridors. "Why are you following me?" Pitch asked, no emoting showing through his voice.
"I'm curious." Jack said.
"About what?"
"About why you called off the attack.."
"I called it off because I told you I would never hurt that child. I knew he'd try to help so I couldn't risk it." Pitch said it calmly.
"Why do you care about Jamie?" Jack asked.
"It's not Jamie I care about." Pitch said, suddenly turning around. Jack only just managed to stop before he would have hit Pitch's chest.
"Then who do you care about?" Jack asked. Pitch looked at him with an amused expression. "Oh." He said softly. Pitch chuckled.
"'Oh' indeed." He said.

Pitch hadn't been expecting it when the teenager pulled him into a hug and he certainly hadn't expected it when a shepherds crook pulled his neck down. What he hadn't been expecting most of all was the kiss that followed. Jack had one hand behind Pitch's head, threaded into his hair, and the other was holding the staff that was holding Pitch's neck down. Pitch was tense and confused, he hadn't had any sort of contact for centuries, let alone this sort. Jack kissed with passion and nibbled Pitch's lip. The startled shade opened his mouth and Jack explored every crevice, freezing as much of Pitch's mouth as possible. At some point Pitch must have come out of the daze as he felt himself kissing back. He was determined to explore all of the freezing mouth, to warm all of it up.

They had to separate for air and Jack retracted the shepherds crook and his hand and stood there, looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry.." He began. Pitch put a finger on the cold spirits mouth.
"Don't be." He said. Somehow a smile found it's way on to Pitch's face. Jack smiled too at not being rejected. Pitch put his arms around Jack who returned the favor.

The rest of that night had been a blur. Jack vaguely remembered more kissing, a lot more kissing. He woke up to find he was in the Nightmare Kings arms, he looked up at Pitch's face and their eyes met. Pitch tightened his hold on Jack, wishing he would never leave him.

Truth be told, Pitch didn't want to be alone any more.

I have to say, I liked writing that. This story's length is 2, 997 words.. I really feel like adding another 3 now, just to make it a nice, even 3, 000...

Please review! All reviewers get a cookie!

Anyway, thanks for reading, you're all amazing!

Ebil