Disclaimer: I do not own Rise of the Guardians, obviously. This is just for fun. :D

Jack skipped lightly through North's workshop, trying hard to stay on his best behavior even though just about everything he laid eyes on gave him a fantastic prank idea. Today was December first, and with the arrival of the twelfth month came the annual last-minute toy making spree. The big man and his yeti assistants were really outdoing themselves this year, filling the workshop fit to bursting with wonderful inventions and shiny new toys that would soon be delivered to the children of the world. The temptation to try them all was nearly overwhelming, but the frost spirit was determined to keep his promise not to interfere with the other Guardians' holidays.

He wasn't prepared to face the consequences of that more than once. He liked mischief, but things like that just weren't funny. He was really lucky Bunny had been willing to forgive him after what had happened.

Sailing through the globe room on a gentle gust of wind, Jack thought he heard giggling. He paused, hanging suspended in the air as he listened intently, straining to hear the sound again. When he finally did, there was no doubt in his mind that there was a child at the Pole.

Great. Looks like North lost one of his snow globes again.

Dropping lightly to the floor, Jack searched the room, peering under every piece of furniture and into every nook and cranny he could find. It took a few minutes, but he finally spotted the child crouched down in the shadows towards the back of the room, wrapped from head to toe in a dark purple blanket.

"Hey there," Jack called amicably. Squatting low so he would've been at eye-level with the kid had their back not been turned, he encouraged, "Come on outta there."

"Shh!" the child whispered loudly. "I'm hiding!"

"Oohhh," he said, completely understanding. His own voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper as he asked, "Who are you hiding from?"

"Shh!" the child repeated, and burst into a fit of giggles that she tried to smother with her hands.

Jack chuckled quietly. Based upon the voice, it was most definitely a girl, and whoever she was she sure liked to play. My kind of kid.

"Can I hide too?" he asked. He liked hide-and-seek; it was one of his favorite games.

Before the mysterious little girl could give him an answer one way or the other, a nearby candle sputtered, sending the shadows along the wall flickering wildly. She squealed with sheer delight, startling Jack a little, and took off across the room, only to trip on the dragging hem of her blanket and fall flat on her face a few steps later. The young Guardian moved to help her, but stopped when he caught sight of Phil the yeti standing frozen in the doorway, a stack of red boxes balanced in his arms. He stared at the sprawled child, hairy jaw sagging a little so that his mouth hung open in shock.

"Go get North," Jack suggested. The yeti nodded mutely and left, apparently too stunned by the unexpected arrival to even cast blame upon the frost spirit.

Still giggling in spite of the hard fall, the girl sat up. Her blanket slipped down around her shoulders, revealing a truly stupendous mass of wild black curls. She brushed them out of her face with both hands, but one tickled her nose, causing her to sneeze. A tiny wisp of black sand appeared, and Jack's heart skipped wildly at the sight of it. As the girl wiped her nose on her sleeve, excitement coursed through him as he realized precisely whom this child belonged to.

"Are you okay?" he asked, taking a few steps closer.

She turned her head to beam at him over one shoulder. "Yeah!" she informed him happily. "I'm okay!"

Jack's head tilted ever so slightly. This was most certainly Pitch and Starfire's daughter—save for the curls in her hair and the green of her eyes, she was the spitting image of the former Nightmare King—and yet she wasn't anything like Jack had imagined. For the past four years, the newest member of the spirit world had been a true enigma; with the exception of the Eileithyiae, who had helped Starfire give birth, nobody, not even the Guardians, had ever seen her. But that didn't stop the gossip from going around, and the young frost spirit had heard more than his fair share of stories. He hadn't believed any of them, for he'd been fairly secure in his own ideas of what the child would be like, but "giggly" certainly hadn't been included among them.

Not that he minded, of course.

Pounding footsteps signaled North's impending arrival. The big man dashed into the room, declaring as he ran, "I count every snow globe, Jack! Would never let same thing happen twi—"

He broke off at the very same moment he stopped short, staring down at the little girl sitting on his workshop floor. She beamed back up at him, one thin arm lifting to wave energetically.

"Hi Santa!"

North's open mouth snapped shut as his bright blue eyes filled with joyful tears. "You know me?" The words were hardly more than a squeak.

"Yes! You are Nicholas St. North, Guardian of Wonder!" Both Guardians stood in dumbfounded silence as the girl then turned to point assuredly at Jack. "And you're Jack Frost, Guardian of Fun!"

"Did your parents tell you about us?" Jack inquired. Somehow he just couldn't picture Pitch or Starfire ever sharing stories of the Guardians with their daughter, let alone enough for her to recognize them upon first meeting.

She happily confirmed his suspicions. "Nope! I just know."

Her attention shifted to something behind Jack, and with an ear-splitting squeal of delight she scrambled to her feet. Her blanket dragged along the floor as she tried to escape the shadow that was now looming high above her, but she was laughing too hard to get very far. Within moments, she was caught up in the arms of the newly-materialized former Nightmare King.

"What did I tell you about teleporting?" he huffed as he hoisted his daughter into the air.

"You cheated too, daddy!" she giggled, wiggling incessantly in his grasp.

"I did not!"

"You lie, you lie!" she sang around peals of laughter.

"It wasn't cheating!" he denied.

"We said no help, that means no help!" She didn't seem to care one bit that when her father tucked her under his arm, he'd left her facing the wrong way, so she had to lean back until she was upside-down to see the rest of the room. Black curls dangled in all directions as she informed him, "You asked Onyx to help, so I get to teleport!"

Pitch grinned. "That's because you're too good at hiding."

"No, you're just bad at looking."

Jack didn't know if he was more shocked, amused or bewildered by the banter going on between those two. Were Pitch Black, the former Nightmare King, and his daughter really having a debate over who cheated first in a game of hide-and-seek?

Okay, maybe it was more amusing than anything.

Jack choked on a laugh, and it was only then that Pitch seemed to realize there were other spirits in the room. He looked up, immediately catching Jack's eye, and the frost spirit couldn't smother the grin on his face in time so he didn't bother to try. Pitch looked irritated at the sight of his amusement, but as he was still trying to maintain hold of a wriggling, upside-down toddler there wasn't much he could do about it.

"Welcome, Pitch," North greeted cheerfully. His massive hands extended in a friendly gesture, but apart from that he made no move to approach the pair. Normally this would be the point where he swooped in for a bone-crushing hug, but it seemed the big man knew better than to try such a thing in this situation. If Pitch was even half as protective of his daughter as he was of Starfire, he wouldn't take kindly to other spirits accosting them, no matter how benign the intent.

So instead of approaching them, the Russian beamed at the little girl and offered a friendly invitation. "Want to see Pole?"

"Yes!" she cried at once, excitement written all over her face. She moved to get down, but Pitch's grip on her didn't ease.

"We need to get home," he informed her quietly.

"Please, daddy?" she begged. "I wanna see!"

"Some other night, perhaps." Not on a million years, judging from the look on his face. "You know you weren't supposed to even leave home. What will your mother say?"

"I'm sure she won't mind," Jack said with a smile, earning himself a glare from the former Nightmare King.

The little girl, however, pressed her hands to her mouth, both to hide a smile and to smother a fresh wave of giggles.

"Guardians lie too," she told her father in a loud whisper.

"Indeed," he replied, fixing Jack with a dark smirk.

Jack's jaw sagged a bit. Wait… His mind hastily went back over everything that had been said since the girl arrived. Could she…could Starfire and Pitch's daughter tell when a spirit was lying?

He stared, dumbfounded, at her cute, innocent face. What kind of spirit did that make her, then?

He honestly had no idea.

Apparently oblivious to the stunning conclusion Jack had just reached, North offered in his usual rumbling voice, "No matter, save tour for later! But! Still have time for present, yes?"

The girl nodded eagerly while her father groaned.

"Spare us your ridiculous contraptions, North."

"Oh please, daddy, please? Can I have one?"

Pitch's golden eyes turned to the ceiling as if silently praying for patience…or help.

"Pleeease?" the girl begged. "I won't get a loud one or a flashy one, promise!"

Trying to be helpful, North offered, "Think of it as early birthday present!"

Pitch glared at him, but it was obvious to everyone in the room that he was going to give in. He was so clearly wrapped around his daughter's little finger, Jack wanted to laugh. The big bad Boogeyman was actually a big softie who spoiled his daughter and played hide-and-seek. Who would've ever thought?

"Fine, fine," he relented. "Just make it quick."

"Okay!"

Finally escaping her father's grasp, the girl skipped across the room. Then, almost like an afterthought, she abruptly changed course and darted back to Pitch.

"Here, daddy," she said, stuffing her blanket into his hands. She then returned to North, taking the big man's hand trustingly so he could lead the way. Jack could see that North looked both enormously pleased and tremendously proud as he directed the little spirit towards the toy room.

Left alone with the former Nightmare King, Jack took the opportunity to tease him a bit.

"Awwww…"

Pitch's reaction didn't fail to disappoint. He looked positively enraged as he hissed, "Be silent!"

"Aw, come on, Pitch," he said playfully, twirling his staff through the air. "You have to admit it's funny."

"What is?!"

"Seeing you be so cute."

Golden eyes flashed dangerously, but it was impossible to take the unspoken threat seriously when he was clutching a child's blanket. A purple child's blanket.

Then Pitch's expression shifted until he too was smiling.

"Do you know what else is funny?" he inquired of Jack.

"What?" Jack asked earnestly. His curiosity wavered somewhat when a sinister chuckle rumbled deep within Pitch's chest.

"Imagining you with your head cleaved off."

As the former Nightmare King continued to enjoy a dark laugh at the frost spirit's expense, Jack wisely closed his mouth and pushed every last joke from his brain. Apparently fatherhood was not a humorous subject with Pitch.

Duly noted.

An awkward silence filled the room after that. With nothing better (or safer) to do, Jack occupied himself by casting a bit of frost across the floor and sending a few snowflakes drifting lazily through the air. With each second that ticked by, he silently begged North to hurry up. It was extremely uncomfortable being in the same room as Pitch when the other spirit was in such a bad mood.

What did I even do? he wondered. Starfire's called him cute before, so why can't I find it funny that he's such a sweet daddy?

The thought almost made him laugh unexpectedly, but he smothered it just in time.

After what felt like forever, though it was probably just a matter of minutes, North and his companion returned. Pitch's daughter clutched a simple, soft-bodied doll to her chest, and Jack couldn't help but notice just how enormously pleased she appeared with her gift. North looked happy, too, and very close to tears again, though the young Guardian couldn't imagine why.

"Bye North," the girl said to the big man, waving a little as she skipped back to her father. As she passed by Jack, she waved to him, too. "Bye-bye."

"Bye," Jack said, regaining some of his usual cheerfulness in the face of the little girl's obvious happiness.

Pitch caught his daughter and smoothly lifted her up onto his hip. It was the strangest of sights, seeing the spirit of fear and shadow holding a child in such a way, and yet they looked so perfect together it just seemed right somehow. Jack smiled warmly at the sight of them. He waved, but Pitch just curled his lip as he turned and disappeared into the shadows with his daughter.

The moment they were gone, the young Guardian heard North whisper, "Zamechatel'no!"

He wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but he shared the sentiment anyway.

Once they were back home, Pitch set Layla down on her bed and crossed his arms. "What have I said about teleporting?"

Large olive eyes stared up at him innocently. "You mean when we're playing?"

"In general, Layla. What is the rule about teleporting?"

"Not to go to other spirits' realms," she said on a long sigh. It sounded like she was repeating a mantra from memory, because she was, to an extent.

"So why did you go there, hmm? Why did you go to that stupid Pole if you know better?"

"I didn't mean to," she told him. "Onyx was looking for me, because you cheated—" (She just couldn't let that go, could she?) "—so I tried to get away so she wouldn't find me. I didn't mean to go so far, it just happened."

Pitch stared at her for a moment before heaving a long sigh. He believed her. Not because he was soft or gullible, but because he knew, as Lilly did, that their daughter was incapable of telling lies.

It was one of the few downsides of her being the new spirit of judgment.

"Where were you trying to go?"

"My room." She looked a little sheepish. "Guess I went a little too far."

Pitch snorted. That was the understatement of a lifetime. 'A little too far'? She overshot her intended target by more than two thousand miles.

Plus she made it past North's protective magic as of it wasn't even there.

He shook his head at the thought. Her power really was something else. If only they could get it under control…

"Sorry daddy…"

Realizing Layla had mistaken his amazement for disappointment, Pitch told her honestly, "You didn't do anything wrong. It was an accident. But we really need to get that power of yours under control."

She groaned. "More practice?"

"Yes, more practice. What would've happened if you'd wound up in some wraith's tomb instead of at the Pole?"

Her expression fell, but she said nothing to counter his remarks. She understood precisely what he meant.

"You're powerful," he acknowledged gently, "but you're also young. It'll be at least a few more years before you're in complete control of your magic. Until then, keep in mind what your mother always tells you."

"'Be bold but not stupid.'" Layla brightened once more, grinning up at him as she bounced in place on her bed. "Does that mean I can go visit the other Guardians?"

Pitch stifled a growl of annoyance. "Why in the name of darkness do you want to go see them?"

Still fidgeting excitedly, she explained, "They're interesting! And even though they lie, they still glimmer!"

Pitch tried to sigh, but halfway through it turned into a laugh. Despite countless questions over the years, he and Lilly still didn't have a clear understanding of what this "glimmer" was that Layla often referred to, except that it was something that helped her judge a spirit's character. It seemed the brighter a spirit glimmered, the better.

That got him thinking…

"Whose glimmer was brighter, Frost's or North's?"

Layla pressed a fingertip to her chin as she thought about it. "They're about the same," she said at last. "But Jack Frost's had more sparkle!"

"Sparkle?" he repeated, nonplussed.

"Energy," she amended. "They were both bright, but Jack's glimmer had more energy!"

Pitch shook his head again, this time in total confusion. Lilly was right: this was a system that only Layla could ever understand.

"How about this," he told his daughter. "Once you can teleport properly, you can go see the blasted Guardians whenever you want. Fair?"

White teeth flashed as she smiled broadly, and her bouncing became even more energetic. "Yes, yes! I'll practice every night, promise!"

He smiled too. "All right. Now get in bed, it's past dawn."

She obeyed at once, crawling under the covers and tucking her new toy beside her as Pitch spread her favorite purple blanket over the dark quilt. He eyed the doll with mild disgust.

"Don't let your mother see you with that," he warned.

"She won't mind as long as I don't collect any more."

Pitch paused, wondering how in the world she could possibly say that with such nonchalance, as if the fact was glaringly obvious. Ultimately he decided it was best not to ask, and stooped to kiss his daughter on the forehead. "Sleep well, my little terror."

"Sleep well daddy."

Slipping into the shadows, Pitch returned to his and Lilly's bedchambers. She was there, as expected, propped up in bed reading. As soon as Pitch emerged, one slim eyebrow lifted though her gaze didn't waver from the pages. He sighed, knowing it would be impossible to keep the truth from her. She'd undoubtedly sensed it the moment he and Layla had left the realm.

"Layla tried to teleport."

Green eyes rose to meet his golden ones, and Pitch could see there was a slight quirk to one corner of her mouth. "And she ended up all the way at the Pole?" When he frowned, confused, she smirked. "You stink."

He pulled a face as he began to shed his clothes. There was simply no escaping that wretched stench; just a few short minutes in North's stupid realm, and he was practically awash with it.

"It's really getting out of hand," he said, trying to redirect the conversation back to the original topic.

Lilly shrugged. "It's different for those born spirits," she replied, completely unconcerned. "She just has to get used to managing her power, as I did. If she practices regularly, I doubt it'll take her more than a few months to master teleporting. And even if she never succeeds at it, in a year or two she'll be powerful enough to defend herself regardless of where her missteps take her. So I wouldn't worry."

"I'm not worried!" Pitch insisted as he climbed into bed. What in the name of darkness was she trying to insinuate?

"Uh-huh."

He glared at her, though she avoided the piercing look by keeping her attention fixed on her book. It took him a moment to realize she was teasing him. When he finally did, he turned over onto his side with a grunt. "You're incorrigible."

"You know you love it."

He grunted again. There was the faint sound of movement as Lilly set aside her book and moved closer to him, laying a hand on his shoulder. A thought occurred to him then, and he grinned wickedly. "North gave Layla a present."

The hand on his shoulder tensed. For a moment there was silence, then Lilly whispered something he was fairly certain was a curse, though he didn't hear it well enough to know for sure.

"Just so we're clear, this isn't going to become a habit."

After growling out those words, she threw herself back onto her own side of the bed. Pitch's head lifted off the pillow in shock. At the very least he'd expected his Lilly to grow indignant and demand that the toy be given back, yet she was letting Layla keep the doll instead of making a point to North by returning it.

"You know," he chuckled, turning over smoothly so he could whisper in her ear. "I got accused of being cute today, but I think parenthood's made us both soft."

Her response was muffled by the heavy blankets. "You're horrible."

"You know you love it."

She swatted at him, but as she was facing the other way and couldn't see him, the blow barely grazed his hip. He laughed, the puff of warm air rustling her vivid red curls.

"Sleep well Lilly," he murmured, getting comfortable beside her and draping one arm across her waist.

The hand that had just tried to hit him slid up from the mattress to intertwine their fingers. "Sleep well, Pitch."