Holy Water Can't Help you Now

IV

Tucked into his favorite armchair beside a toasty fire, North plucks the cork from his stash of Vodka and pours himself a shot and downs it. Exhaling as his belly warms and his throat and mouth tickles, he turns his attention to Jack and Pitch. They sit in the chair opposite; both of their eyes are wide with wondrous emotions. Picking up the plate of sugar cookies an elf had brought him only ten minutes before, he holds it out for the boys. "Cookie?" he asks and Jack, with eyes alight, greedily grabs up three. North clears his throat and lets his gaze travel between Jack and Pitch. The teenager slows in exuberance and squints briefly as he deciphers Santa's thoughts. His face then flickers to one of understanding and with a giant smile, he presses one of his cookies into Pitch's hands.

"Here! Take one!" Jack says and with a little uncertainty, Pitch takes the treat.

North chuckles and settles back in his chair with a mug of steaming hot chocolate in hand. Pitch nibbles at the edges of the cookie as Jack takes a generous bite from his own. 'How different they are,' North muses, yet, even so, they both take the time to look about the room and at him with disbelief, as if they can't trust their eyes.

Brushing the crumbs from his fingers, Jack smiles at North with all his pearly white teeth as he tells him, "I don't think I ever had cookies until I became a Guardian!" Then, with a happy laugh, he corrects, "I don't think I ever had any sweets before you gave me some, North!"

North hides his guilty-pain with a cheery grin as he secretively pours another thumb-full of Vodka to put in his cocoa. He had wondered. Even voiced it, once.

"It's strange, don't you think? How quick Jack took to us, how eagerly, how easily. Like a puppy to its first master."

He struggles to hold his smile as his eyes move to the tiny Pitch. Pitch's golden eyes are large and his tiny face soiled with remnants of green and red sugar crystals and crumbs. But it's the way he stares at the cookie that makes North feel more and more like the Guardians failed not only Jack. Part of him wonders if they hadn't given the Nightmare King a chance, would he have felt so resentful? He knows he and the other Guardians show disproval of what he does, but is he truly the one to blame? He is fear. How much was nature? How much was malicious intent? North isn't very sure any longer.

Gentle and quiet, North asks, "What of you, Pitch?"

The little boy raises his gaze, staring at North in a confounded way.

Patiently, North elaborates, "When last did someone give you a treat?"

Pitch's face morphs between a number of emotions before settling on something decidedly desolate. "Never," he says, "not until now."

North can't help the tears that well in his eyes, but he can help them from falling. Sucking in a silent breath, he blinks his eyes rapidly for a moment, evading the tears for a later time. Reaching across the empty space between him and the boys, North settles a hand on Jack's knee and with his other, runs his hand through Pitch's hair.

They stare at North with weariness. As if a kind touch is not something to expect (though, perhaps, always a prayer unanswered).

"You boys," he whispers. "I want you to know, if you ever want something, a place to visit, a place to rest, a place to stay, a place to belong, my home's always open to you."

Jack giggles and Pitch pulls away, frowning. North knows they don't believe him, not now. But he plans to prove, however long they'll stay here, that he means it. Sighing tiredly, North stands and offers a hand to Jack. "It's late," he says, "shall I show you to a room?"

Grabbing onto the hand and freezing it to the touch, Jack nods. "Yeah, I guess we can spend the night."

Pitch wriggles in Jack's arms, fussing in a silent way. North chuckles as Jack simply holds him closer.

"Come, I show you my guest room!" North booms, waving in the direction of the stairs. Taking them up the winding steps, he leads them to the neglected room he's only recently begun to give life to again. Opening the door, he shows them the sparse area with a proud smile. "I carved all the furniture," he tells them.

Jack grins. "Looks great, North!" he says, taking a step in to the room. He runs a searching finger over the surface of the tiny desk near the door. "You even keep it dusted." The teenager smirks.

North chuckles. "Yes, I always be ready for impish guests," he teases.

Jack shares in his joke and snickers. For his part, little Pitch yawns. Jack blinks at the sound, then, with eyes a tinge warmer than before he mutters quietly, "Guess we should hit the sack, huh?"

Leaning against the door, North smiles. "Yes, we can talk more in morning," he agrees.

"G'night, then, I guess," Jack says, falling down on the bed with Pitch still tucked in his arms.

Stepping back, North slowly begins to close the door, watching silently as Jack and Pitch rearrange themselves to suit the bed. "Good night, Jack and Pitch," North whispers, closing the door with little more than a creak.

North returns to his study. He sits at his desk and contemplates contacting the other Guardians. However, he decides against it. He has yet to think of a way to break it to them that would not bring them crashing down his door and stealing Pitch away in the night for his final end. Restless, North gets to his feet for a third time within the hour and figures he will not think of something tonight or on his own. Choosing next to go to bed, he plods up the stairs and stops at the guest room to peer in on the boys. He gasps at the sight that awaits him.

A woman slight as she is tall, with hair the color of fertile ground and skin, white and pure as snow, sits beside young Jack and Pitch. Her body is leaned over as she drops a butterfly kiss upon Pitch's brow as her green-tinged fingers pull the purple blanket he arrived with further up Pitch's shoulders.

Opening the door further, North thoroughly shocked, breathes, "Mother Nature?"

Her body shifts, beetle-black eyes training on him as her jaw clenches. "North," she replies in a cool tone.

Thank you; El, Splitpea202, Cyber-Akitsu, Breezyfeather and AliceUndergroundWorks, for taking the time to review the last chapter!

As always, I appreciate everyone taking the time to read this and ask you to review. How is it so far? Good? Bad? In need of improvement? Let me know with a review!

EDITED: 3/19/16