Crack shipping ahead: Blackice (Pitch x Jack)

It was probably the sixth time Jack had come slinking into my lair when I finally snapped. He seemed to always be retreating back into the darkness of the lair whenever the Guardians did something to upset the boy. Which was often, because many things upset him I discovered, and it saddened me in a way I didn't know I could still feel.

Now, when they actually hurt him, physically, I felt an emotion I'd been well acquainted with since the end of the Golden Age. Jack always swore they didn't mean, that it had been an accident, a slip up, a loss of temper that he'd caused to happen in the first place, but with each bruise I felt my rage bubbling up in a stew I knew was to spill over some time or another.

And that time finally came when the boy stepped out of the shadows with a particularly nasty looking, dark purple bruise on his left cheek, quite obvious against his porcelain skin I might add; the young spirit had the nerve to try and hide it from me, keeping his hood up as I approached him. In one sharp movement, I pushed the hood down and brought my eyes down to be level with his, taking in the entire injury before my vision turned red and I dropped into darkness, ignoring Jack's yell for me to come back.

Seal off the entrances and exits. I commanded my nightmares as I formed in the rafters above the Globe Room at the pole. I did not need the boy to come and disturb my warning to his so called companions.

I could see them, the other four Guardians all down on one of the many platforms surrounding the giant globe, And I'm the one with a big ego. They were standing in front of a fireplace, and by the Pooka's pressed down ears, I was sure they were all lecturing Aster for hitting Jack. Of course it was the overgrown rabbit. My favorite.

I leapt down onto the globe, commanding my dark sand to swirl around me to gather the Guardian's attention. "ASTER!" I bellowed, letting the swirling mass form into whatever my rage felt like as the Guardians turned heel to face me. They wasted no time in rushing forward for assault, Sandy and Tooth taking to the air full speed with whips and wings at the ready.

I was faster.

With a flick of my wrist, a wall of Nightmares and sand halted them immediately, surrounding them in a cloud of black I knew would hold them long enough for what I'd come to do. I dropped into shadows again and reappeared behind the banisters to the Pooka's back.

"Bunny! Watch out-" I cut North off with another wall of sand, pushing him away from the two of us as I grabbed the aggravated Pooka by the shoulders. I threw him against the banister behind me, pressing his entire frame hard against the wood with only one hand while the other formed my scythe out of blackness. Pressing it against his throat, I looked into his eyes and growled with as much malicious as I could, leaning in to whisper into one of his ears,

"You think you're so tall and mighty, that it's perfectly fine to bully any of those you deem beneath you, don't you rabbit? You think you have all the right in the world to beat on whoever needs a lesson, no matter who it is. That it's always their fault, they should've known better to mess with the last of Pooka kind? Well that stops now."

I pressed the scythe harder against his throat, earning a delightful, soft whimper Aster must've been fighting with all his might to contain, and felt a flutter of enjoyment at the other Guardian's cries as they attempted to get to their precious Hope-bringing member. They certainly didn't come after Jack that way.

"If you ever lay another paw on Frost, I will make sure to end your pathetic existence on this Earth then and there. If you ever even think of hurting him again, I will make sure fear crushes every bit of hope you have thriving in your soul. Do you understand that, Aster?"

A kick to my shin and a defiant glare from Bunnymund made me press the scythe even harder, sinking into skin now, and I let myself flash a toothy grin at the trickle of blood that ran along the blade of dark metal.

"I said, do you understand?" I repeated, my eyes narrowing and teeth clenching. And then Bunnymund nodded, a sharp quick movement that had I blinked I would've missed.

"Good," I hissed and let him go, falling into my own shadow this time before moving to atop the globe once more. Tooth rushed to the Pooka's side, helping him regain his footing while North and Sandy looked up to me with wide eyes. Snapping my fingers, the black sand dispersed from around the workshop, leaving startled Yetis and terrified elves and the entire factory in chaos. But none of that matter, none of it.

The only thing that mattered was the pure fear radiating off the Guardians, and I had to fight a grin at how delicious it was before glaring down at the lot of them.

"Heed my warning, Guardians," I spat with venom in my voice, "Hurt the Frost boy one more time, and I'll be sure to be the one to make each and every one of you regret it."

And then I dropped back into darkness.

. . .
o
. . .

"Jack?" I called out into the darkness, letting my voice bounce off the cave walls throughout the entire lair, traveling from shadow to shadow in search of the white haired boy. For a moment, I wondered if he had left for the arctic like he had in the past; cold atmospheres always helped him calm his nerves.

But then I found him in what he had deemed as "his personal cave," and couldn't find it in myself to smile.

Leg's folded and knees up to his chest, Jack sat on the ground with his head down and a hand on his injured cheek. By the faint glow of blue and white, I could see him running his fingers up and down the discolored skin, icing it over with swirls of frost and snowflakes. He did not make a sound, and that worried me more than the fact he was sitting comfortably in the dark.

I approached him slowly, not yet sure if he had picked up on my presence. I was a foot away when I spoke,

"If the Pooka has any brains in that furry head of his, he won't be hitting you again anytime soon."

Apparently, he hadn't been aware, and I startled him so much that he actually yelped and jumped out of his huddled position, successfully hitting the back of his head against the wall behind him.

"Ow! Dammit, Pitch!" He cursed, placing a hand against the tender spot immediately and I could hear the ice layering over what would soon be a lovely bump on his skull. "Stop sn-"

"Stop what? Sneaking up on you?" I cut him off, only partially relieved he was speaking now. "Has the bump on your skull caused you to forget just who you were talking to?"

Jack glared up at me, his eyes almost like daggers in my own. Almost. His lips, that were currently fighting the urge to curl upwards in a smile, always seemed to give him away. However, he was just as stubborn as I was, and he was going to try his hardest not to let that smile I'd grown to enjoy show. He stood up, perhaps a bit shakily and I instantly offered an arm for support which he took gratefully, before leaning onto his staff and rubbing at his head again. "So what'd you do to them?"

I flashed him the toothy grin I knew he'd come to both love and fear. "I merely gave them a little warning."

"Pitch-"

"Oh it was only a little trickle of blood for Tsar's sake. The Pooka had it coming. Had he just cooperated with me, there wouldn't have been any at all! Such a proud, fowl creature he is."

Jack rolled his eyes, but let it go as he gave up trying to fight the smile that appeared on his lips. "You know, you're going to get me in some serious trouble one day. Maybe even get me killed."

"Oh my oh my, we can't have that." I said with a gasp, using my shadows to push him closer until he was against my chest. I wrapped my arms around him, tilting my head down until my forehead almost touched his. "Only I'm allowed to kill you."

Jack laughed, rolling his eyes once again and leaned up onto his toes until our foreheads could finally meet. He jumped on the wind for only a moment, only long enough to successfully "nip" my nose as he annoyingly called it before settling back on the balls of his feet. He nuzzled his head then underneath mine, wrapping his arms around my back before smiling contently.

"I know."

Help I've fallen into the blackice ship and can't find a light out.

Actually no don't help me I really love this. I'm proud of this one, even if it's a little short. I adore this ship as much as Hijack, which you might've noticed I've removed all oneshots around from this piece of work to their own titled We're the Misfits. Go check it out! :)

Curiosity Changed the Jack part four is coming along nicely, and I already have another Guardians-only piece finished for next weekend. I'm hoping to upload one weekly now as I've begun to write them during freewrites in my creative writing and English classes. That's all for now guys, please review! They really help to motivate me.