It wasn't often that Pitch received a direct invitation to the North Pole, and certainly not in the way he had just gotten it. He had just been minding his own business, really, spreading some small nightmares and what have you, when what was without a doubt a globe portal opened, and an elf came scurrying out. How they knew how to find Pitch was anyone's guess, but then North's globes could be oddly specific if they wanted to.
As it was, the elf had an envelope and bounced on the spot until Pitch took it. The note in the envelope was short and to the point, and when the Nightmare King finished reading, he pinched the bridge of his nose with a disgruntled sigh. He then grabbed the elf, and as the portal had already closed behind it, he yanked it with him into the deepest shadows he could find.
Moments later, Pitch reappeared in Santoff Claussen, where he calmly dropped the elf to the floor. Said elf was only stunned from its quick trip through the darkness, and quickly recovered, scurrying off to do who knows what elves do, while Pitch himself headed into the workshop itself. Once there, he was instantly approached by one of the massive yeti, who garbled something in its yeti language, mainly how things were very much an emergency.
"Yes, thank you, I could gather that much from the note." Pitch said as calmly as he could. "How long has he been stuck like this?"
The yeti grumbled something, shrugging helplessly. At this, the Nightmare King lifted a hairless brow.
"Three days, and you're first summoning me now?" He grimaced. "Alright then… I assume he's in his office?"
When the Yeti gave a confirming grunt, the other nodded.
"I think I know what to do. I'm going in."
When it came to his work as not just the Guardian of Wonder, but also as an inventor and toymaker, there was only one thing that Nicholas St. North truly feared. And that which he feared, was something he was suffering horribly from right this moment:
Artist's block.
No matter how hard he tried at the moment, North just couldn't get any ideas whatsoever. This made him irritable, and therefore not very pleasant to be around, so he had retreated to his office in an attempt, to not only try and work his way out of this artist's block, but if failing that, to simply have himself a good, long sulk. He couldn't even properly enjoy cookies, he found out irritably, and it wasn't just because he could taste that some of the elves had been licking them again.
No, he thought with a grumble, as he glowered at a block of ice that was currently melting on his work table, he needed a jump-start of some kind to the creative part of his mind. He just wished that he knew what it was that he needed.
So occupied was he by these thoughts, that he didn't notice when the darker shadows by his door grew thicker, and slowly merged up to take the form of a man.
"Nicholas…" A dark, velvety voice purred behind North.
The Cossack raised a brow at the voice, but before he could say or do anything, his chair was spun around so he was suddenly facing Pitch Black. The Nightmare King stopped the chair's movements by grabbing it, so that North was practically trapped between his arms, with the Guardian blinking owlishly at him in surprise.
"So, Nicholas St. North." Pitch said in his velvety tone of voice. "I hear you have been a dull boy."
That… was not what North expected the other to say. "What?" He asked dumbly.
Pitch rolled his eyes. "All work and no play makes Jack, or in this case, North, a dull boy." He said calmly. "You worked yourself into an artist's block. Again."
"Ah… yes." North muttered, avoiding the other mans gaze. "That."
"Yes, that." The other said with a slight snort. "Honestly, North. What ever am I going to do with you?"
At this, North glanced up at Pitch with a mischievous look. "Well… I am open for suggestions."
"Good. In that case, get up and get ready." Pitch said, before he straightened up and began to walk towards the office door, leaving North to blink in surprise.
"Eh? Ready for what?" The Cossack asked, though he still got up from the chair, and followed the Nightmare King.
"Some fresh air will do you good," Pitch said undisturbed. "The yetis went to get the sleigh ready while I talked to you."
North felt a bit perturbed at that, but still followed the other as they made their way to the ramp area, while he put on his coat and hat. "I have tried taking sleigh for ride. It did not work."
"Of course it didn't, you haven't had anyone with you to try out one of the newer functions you told me about." Pitch replied calmly. While he climbed up in the sleigh, North frowned in thought.
"Newer functions…?" He said slowly.
The Nightmare King smirked. "Come on now, North. After all that talk we've had about a certain… high club?"
You could practically hear the gears grinding, as North obviously struggled to decipher what it was that Pitch was trying to say. But when things snapped into place, his expression was completely priceless.
Several hours of flight later proved, that the sleigh could fly just fine while its passengers were otherwise occupied. And while it needed a few adjustments (it got really damn cold, and the seats in the back didn't exactly have too comfortable padding), both North and Pitch felt it was well worth it. For experiments sake, of course.
A/N: This story was originally written for Pitchmas week on tumblr. The prompt was "In the workshop and/or sleigh".