I know, Pitch didn't get much face time the last two chapters my reasoning is I can see him having the patience to deal with Jack until he adjusted to being blind – other than scaring the poor kid shitless whenever he felt it fitting, such an easy target – and with Jack being so scared the first few weeks it's too tempting to be feeding on him all the time, which wouldn't be good for either of them or their friendship.
On a side note for those wanted a Jackrabbit fic while Jack's blind I'll do a side story, just let me know who's interested. If it gets enough interest I'll type up a nice little something for them. Now back to the fic! This one if just for fun and laughs.
Between Light and Dark 10
Pitch would never admit it but he was jealous of North. Yes, jealous. One of the reasons he visited Santoff Claussen so much, even before becoming a Guardians – although North didn't need to know how often he hid in the shadows and simply watched as he designed and created magnificent things Pitch could never even imagine. Even since that djinni all those centuries ago. When he had taken Jack after defeating the Guardians it was here where he found toys to distract the boy, to ease his pain. And although Jack was not a small child he was fascinated by North's creations, maybe more so than Pitch. Now that Pitch was a Guardian and more or less welcomed at Santoff Claussen he'd come to enjoy simply watching the Yetis work, although the elves drove him near insanity some days.
He leaned against the balcony deep in thought when North came up behind him. It was odd how such a large man could be so quiet. If he didn't know better he would have thought the can floated or was able to move through shadows. He had surprised Pitch more times than he cared to count. He hated showing weakness in front of anyone, least of all a former enemy. There were days when he was as jumpy as Jack.
"There you are," North said, a laugh on his rich voice. "Why have you not been visiting Jack? He's been asking for you."
He couldn't stop the small smile that tugged at his lips. It always tugged at his heart to hear that he was needed or wanted. Odd how that affected him, to not be shunned or pushed away. "I've been busy."
"Bah, spreading fear? Not good for the heart," the Russian said, waving the comment away.
"Whether you like it or not I still have my duties," he said lowly, giving the larger man a glare. "I don't have the luxury of playing with toys."
North only laughed. "You should try it."
He rolled his eyes. It wasn't the first time they had this argument or North suggested he tried making toys. He tried, while he had Jack and failed miserably. "I'll leave that to you. How is he?"
North sobered and leaned against the rail next to him. "He can see shadows now but not much more. His eyes hurt when he tries to focus. I had to cover them again."
Pitch gave a nod. He suspected as much when he felt a sudden rise in his fear again.
"Why are you avoiding him?" North asked, a large hand falling on his slim shoulder. He gave Pitch a concerned look.
Pitch's brows knotted. "I haven't, I've been busy. War in Iraq and all. Lots of frightened children."
"Good excuse."
His frown grew and he looked away. "He doesn't need me. He has the rabbit."
North hummed to himself. "They have become quite close, thanks to you, but they are brothers. He needs his father."
"He has you."
"Perhaps," He studied Pitch for a long time. "Whatever happened between you two while he was in your care I will never now, but I can tell you this, Jack Frost loves you. To him you are his father. Me, I'm more of an uncle or grandfather."
Pitch snorted. "I'm millions of years old. If anything those roles should be reversed."
He laughed. "Ah, but I have the look to go with it."
Pitch began laughing. Yes, North could easily pass for Jack's grandfather when in reality Pitch was. He turned from the working Yetis. "I don't know, North. Age wise you could be brothers, maybe father and son. Don't know how Seraphina would feel about that." He gazed out one of the large windows to the snow outside. "Besides, you've given him a better home than I could ever provide."
"He seems to like your palace."
"He likes the maze aspect of it."
North only smiled. "Go see him. He misses you." His smile grew mischievous. "Tonight we'll have a friendly game of football before a feast, dah?"
"What?"
"Yetis weekend off so they will be finishing soon," North explained. "They like a good game so we play football. I've been trying to get Guardians to play for years. Now we have enough to split up evenly."
"I don't think so," Pitch said, walking away.
"Afraid?"
"No," the Nightmare King retorted. "I simply don't want to be trampled by Yetis."
"Jack plays."
He paused. "He can't see."
North only laughed as he headed to the lift. "That hasn't stopped him from pelting people with snowballs. Besides, it was his idea."
Football? Out of all the Guardians the only ones he could see kicking around a ball was Jack and Bunny. Why would Yetis be interested in such a sport? Shaking his head he moved through the shadows until he was in Jack's room. The child was in his pajama bottoms, searching through his closet for something to wear. Pitch grinned, wondering if maybe this time he could make the boy wear something other than jeans.
Jack's eyes were covered but his head tilted to the side, a smile pulling at his lips. "Hiya Pitch," he said in a sing-song manner. "Did you hear the good news? I can see again. Well, not quite. I'm still legally blind, if I was human but it's coming back. Cool huh?"
"Yes, very cool," Pitch answered. He still couldn't understand how Jack heard him. It was as if he could hear shadows now. Of course it didn't help that the shadow beings always shot out ahead of him to caress the child's bare feet.
He reached into the closet and pulled out a pair slacks to hand Jack. The moment Jack's fingers touched the fabric he frowned. "Ha ha, nice try but I'm not wearing dress pants. It don't matter how much you threaten me." He took the hanger and put it back in the closet.
Pitch smoothed it in place to avoid wrinkling it, even if Jack didn't care. He watched in amazement as the boy's fingers danced over the many fabrics – half of which he never wore – until he found a pair jeans. He grabbed that and threw it to the bed, his aim perfect, then continued. Pitch rolled his eyes. A hoodie, of course. That went to the bed too and then he continued on until he found an oversize jersey.
"Yes! Phil said he'd get it for me." He held up the jersey for Pitch to see. "It's the Steelers jersey. We watch a lot of football in the winter when we're not working. Phil got everyone hooked. I have no idea why but it's a lot of fun. You've got to see how crazy the Yetis get." He giggled as he moved to his bed and started getting changed. "This is their last weekend off until after Christmas so North makes it a big to-do. Big dinner, a friendly game of football and then Sunday everyone's watching the playoffs in the game room. Last year they were celebrating for a week when the Steelers won. That's why Phil got me the jersey. Steelers lost but they're my team so I support them either way."
"Wait, wait," Pitch said, trying to catch up. "We're talking American football not European?"
Jack's head turned to him. "Yeah. You thought North meant soccer?"
"He's Russian."
The boy laughed. "So? The only time we play soccer is at the Warren. The valley's perfect. Here? We tend to loss the ball in the snow." He gave a shrug. "It's fun though. You ever play?"
"No."
He clucked his tongue. "You should. I play both with Jamie and the kids whenever I can. Mine you I usually end up at the bottom of a dog pile with them. I swear they do it on purpose just to make sure I'm real." He pulled up his jeans and laced his belt through, the only thing left of his original clothes.
Pitch took the hoodie and pulled it over Jack's head, making the boy laugh as he took it away and finished dressing himself. "You've made some good friends," Pitch said, watching the child carefully. "It must be hard not hanging out with them right now."
He shrugged. "Not really. I don't get a chance to stay in Burgess long, even when I lived there. You know, spreading snow around the world and then the warm seasons. I might get a few weeks max. This year…" He sighed. "But another few weeks and everything should be back to normal. I might take a swing by on Monday, give them a snow day."
He struggled with the jersey, trying to pull it over the hoodie. Pitch gave him a hand and pulled it down than fixed the hood. He stepped back to inspect the boy. Oh good MiM! The child's sense of fashion somehow sky dived during his time with North. Dark blue jeans, a grey hoodie and black and yellow jersey. It should be a crime to dress so badly. Worse, North's jersey wasn't much better. The fact that he was wearing a jersey nearly made Pitch trip as he followed Jack to the games room. He was tempted to abandon this foolishness and was so happy to see that none of the other Guardians had lost their senses. Or so he thought until North shoved a black and yellow jersey into Pitch's hands.
"What is this?" he snapped, looking at the other man in confusion.
"Gift from Jack," North explained, giving the boy a wink even if he couldn't see it. "We play game then check his eyes before dinner, dah?"
Jack beamed, smiling at both. "Yep. This is going to be so cool!"
"Jack…" Pitch tried to object but North grabbed the jersey and shoved it over his head, leaving him only one of two choices; put it on and slip into the shadows and deal with Jack's disappointment. Grumbling, he slipped his arms through the sleeve and banished the shadows that formed his cloak. The jersey was three times too big. He could probably fit Tooth and Sandy in it with him.
"See, perfect fit!" North laughed, slapping him on the back. "Now when the others arrive we must pick teams. Since you are new to the game you may choose teams, Pitch."
Rolling his eyes Pitch gave in. "Alright, alright," he sighed, throwing up his hands.
Jack cheered, his smile huge. "This is going to be awesome."
"Remember, no powers, Jack," North said sternly.
Jack gave Pitch a secretive smile which made the Nightmare King grin as North explained the fundamentals of the game. No powers? Somehow that seemed unlikely, especially if Jack's growing grin was any indication.
Sandy was the first to arrive. It was a full moon and cloudless in the majority of the area asleep which meant MiM's moonbeams were giving him a little break. The little man had formed a football helmet over his head and was "talking" with Jack about the upcoming game. Tooth buzzed in with a troop of mini-fairies, all of whom wanted to see Jack and whipped around his head until he smiled at them. Bunny was last and to Pitch's suppose, also sported a jersey, this one bright green and gold. He ruffled Jack's hair and gave him a one arm hug. His injured leg was finally able to take his weight, although that didn't stop him from pouring a little magic into Jack when no one was paying attention. The others kept worrying that he was hurting himself by doing so.
The Yetis were already outside beginning their first game of football. Pitch winced as he watched them plow into each other trying to steal a strange looking ball from each other. He took a step back when he saw George and Phil tackle each other and slam into the snow. Good MiM, that's what they were going to play.
"And how many are there per team?"
"Eleven," Jack chirped, balancing on his staff.
"So three Guardians and eight Yetis… I've changed my mind," Pitch said, turning away from the window, his face a little green. He'd been nearly crushed by Yetis before. They weighed a ton and he wasn't looking forward to going through that again.
"No!" Jack cried, jumping down from his staff. "Wait…we can do three on three. The Yetis already have their own teams. Phil won't mind, would he, North?"
North winced as he watched the head of his security go tumbling down a hill with George. He gave a nod. "I'm sure he'll be fine with it."
"Whoa," Bunny said, wincing. "I'm with Pitch. No Yetis this time. Crikey! My leg just healed. If Phil throws me like…"
"Wait…what's happening?" Jack asked, ducking under his arm to see – or at least hear – what was going on.
"Last I checked this wasn't how we usually play football," Tooth added. "Is Phil and George mad at each other?"
North just chuckled. "No, just blowing steam. Let's give them more time before we start our game."
Pitch wasn't so sure about this idea any more. He was tempted to just forget the whole thing and flee to his palace. Yep, nice safe and quiet, no Yetis to trample him and he didn't need to where a silly jersey. Jack latched onto his sleeve, preventing him from leaving. He pulled Pitch back to the window then leaned against him. Sighing in defeat he wrapped an arm around the child and watched as the Yetis wrestled about in the snow. He could feel the boy practically vibrating in excitement. He gave him a gentle squeeze.
"Fine, I'll stay," he muttered.
Jack's smile grew as he wrapped an arm around Pitch's waist. Bunny shook his head and ruffled his hair. From somewhere to the left there was a flash of a camera. Pitch turned just in time to see Bunny take off after Sandy.
"Get back here, you dingo!" he yelled as Sandy sped off with a hug smile.
Pitch watched in mild amusement. He must admit, he never had so much fun than when he joined the Guardians. They were an odd, messed up family but it was better than being on his own.
Next up, Pitch's first and perhaps last football game and we'll see how Jack's eyes are. Lots of fun and feels to come. I just had to do something a little fun J