Pitch was standing in the woods licking his wounds after his defeat at the hands of the Guardians. He was near a small town, always overlooked on the map. The only reason he'd noticed it was because his globe of believers had two lights in this backwoods town, two very bright lights. He planned on visiting them and enjoying their fear. The last thing he was expecting in these darkened woods was for something to impact him hard around the middle and nearly knock him off his feet. His first thought was that the Guardians had found him and were going to finish him off. His second thought was that whatever had hit him was too small for that. He looked down to see...a young girl, maybe eight years old, hugging him tightly. Her auburn hair was pulled into little pigtails, and she wore a pink shirt and jeans. Her clothes were dirt streaked, and she held onto Pitch as if she'd never let go. A branch cracked and he looked up to see a woman lean against a tree and watch with laughter in her red eyes. He looked over her, taking in her scars, long hair the same color as the child who'd attached herself to him, and dirt streaked clothes. He was standing stiffly, unsure of what to do about either the child or who he assumed was her mother.
The woman finally spoke after a few moments of watching with silent laughter. "Sweetheart, that's not what I meant when I said embrace fear."
"I know Mommy. But he looked like he needed a hug." The little girl smiled up at Pitch. "Daddy said that hugs can cure most ills."
"Your father also said to stop hugging strangers." The mother said, as if repeating an old argument.
"Mommy! He's not a stranger! He's the boogieman!" The little girl was still hugging him as tightly as she could.
Pitch realized that these were the two bright lights who believed in him, and yet weren't scared of him. Something inside of him cracked just a little and he hugged the little girl back. It felt good to be known without fear, even if that's what he had to bring to the kids.
A/N: The characters that no one recognizes are my own. I don't own Pitch or the Guardians, but I do own Aimie (the little girl) and Krystal (her mother). A picture of the two plus the father (Clark) can be found here: earth13. deviantart art/ REQUEST-Family-Portrait-275412064 (just remove the spaces. Earth13 is an awesome artist and drew that for me!
