Chapter Thirty-six

A Hard Day's Night

Pitch seemed appeased moving into step behind North. He was grateful that on the return trip, all the reindeer had been placed back into their pens, and there was no Frost in sight. The yeti had continued work in the time that North and Pitch had been gone, although not much other than a few frames had been completed in their absence. The sun had crested high into the air, and Pitch was sure to cling to the wall of the building as they walked back to the landfill site and to quickly move under the already built structure of the conveyer belt to stay clear of any further exposure. In this particular area, it was a bit difficult to remain out of direct sunlight since the conveyer's structure had several holes where the sunlight bled through like dangerous laser beams.

North put his hands on his hips as he peered down at Pitch. "Is there any job that you prefer to do?" he asked. "I will be merciful on you and let you choose job you feel you can do in shade. But it has to be something to do with rebuilding conveyor."

Pitch blinked unsure of what he could really do that would also keep his hand or himself from getting further injured. He shrugged, "Uh… I don't really know the process of what I really can do. Any suggestions?"

North looked around, reaching to grab a broom that was propped against the nearest beam. "Why don't you start by sweeping. I will talk to Dave and see what he can come up with."

Pitch's brow rose, "Sweeping? At a landfill? What am I supposed to sweep?" Pitch didn't find the task to be deemed useful at all and had to wonder as with all the other tasks he'd been made to do how it was really helping to erect the conveyor system any faster over just being a waste of time.

North pointed down at the clutter and scraps from the construction. "Just sweep it out of way so no one gets hurt." he said before walking away to find Dave.

Pitch grumbled as he began sweeping the scraps in a lethargic manner not overly committed at all to the assignment he'd been tasked with. Why couldn't the yetis just watch where they were going? This was all so pointless! Pitch fumed as he moseyed along.

After several minutes of being in deep conversation with Dave, complete with pointing and other hand gestures, North lumbered over to Pitch, "Dave says you can help paint sides of chute and also inlay screws within whole thing to secure it."

Pitch dropped the broom unceremoniously, "Well… the screws at least sound useful; I can't say the same for the painting. What does a garbage conveyor need paint for anyway? It's not like anyone cares to look at it for any form of aesthetic value… it's a garbage chute for stars sake!" Pitch crossed his arms looking disdainfully at the structure as he criticized the work he was being given.

North frowned. "That is not for you to question. You are here to do work—work that is result of your so-called accident. If I were you, I would watch how you complain. If you had not released robot, none of us would be here right now."

Pitch frowned to be reminded of the robot incident, "Fine. It doesn't matter I guess; busy work or actual work, it doesn't seem to make a difference since the things you're giving me to do are the epitome of simplicity and don't really seem to have any actual contribution to the rebuilding of the conveyor belt." Pitch stated unenthusiastically feeling like his role in the reconstruction was a farce. An imbecile or a toddler could do what he was being asked to do, and he felt insulted to say the least.

"Yeah, you would say that." said North. "When you're ready to start actual work, Dave has already set out what you need over there."

Pitch's eyes followed where North had pointed, and he moved begrudgingly towards the tools he was going to use. There was a work belt that had three compartments, and in each compartment there were screws, washers, and bolts separated for use. Pitch picked up the massive belt wrapping it around his waist, but it was apparently tailored to fit someone with much wider hips like North or a yeti. Pitch tried to get the belt to work, but after several minutes ending in frustration, Pitch buckled the belt and flung it across his chest like a slung bow looking quite ridiculous with the oversized belt draped across him awkwardly while he stormed agitated back to North. He spat angrily, "How am I supposed to even use this?"

North shook his head, sighing. "Never mind, Pitch; you do not need to have it on you to use what's inside."

"No, but it would be a lot more convenient… but that's right; we don't want anything to be convenient for me do we?" Pitch growled as he trudged off towards the structure.

North ignored Pitch's complaining as he walked over to give some nearby yetis a helping hand with the beams.

Pitch sighed as he looked over the framework not exactly sure where the screws were supposed to go and a little reticent to ask, so he just stood idly by awaiting instruction. He could ask he supposed, but since he didn't really feel like he was actively contributing, Pitch figured it was just as well to be doing nothing and watching the others work since it seemed the whole point was for him to be out here, and the others to fix the conveyor while he was in attendance.

Pitch observed that North seemed to be doing the most work, it was impressive to see how fast the man could move and the amount of weight he could heft as he picked up huge steal columns that were used to stage the base of much of the structure. This construction was going to be far superior to the previous conveyor that much was obvious. North was an inventor after all, so it really wasn't surprising he'd come up with all new improvements to his previous design.

Dave grunted irritably from behind Pitch.

Pitch turned toward Dave sizing him with a simple raise of his brow, "Oh, I suppose you've come to assist me?" He stated cheekily with a small smirk at the yeti's annoyance.

Dave walked over, picked up a screwdriver and a screw and demonstrated to the Boogeyman exactly what he was supposed to do. Then he shoved the screwdriver into Pitch's hand and stepped back, crossing his arms over his chest.

Pitch squinted his eyes in disdain at the yeti's bold posturing. Dave stood over him like he thought he was North or something! This irked Pitch greatly, and he sneered, "Thanks for the demonstration; I think I've got it now, so you can scamper off," he made a shooing motion with his hand.

Dave grunted, pointing from Pitch to the beam, obviously wanting to see Pitch do it before he left.

Huffing Pitch put his hands on his hips, "I've got nothing to prove to you! I think I can screw in a bloody screw without supervision!" What did he think he was incompetent? I mean really, how difficult did he think screwing in a screw could be? Pitch had only been unsure what part of the structure needed screwing not how to use the blasted tool after all.

Dave again pointed, wanting to see Pitch do the job before he left.

"Persistent aren't you?" Pitch mused humorlessly. It was grating on his nerves the way this yeti wouldn't leave, but not wishing to get North involved, Pitch finally acquiesced snatching a screw from inside one of the pouches and violently screwing it in just to vent his frustrations before turning a fuming glare back to Dave as he spat, "There; are you happy? If so, do us both a favor, leave me to my work, and go away!"

"What is matter?" North asked, turning to look at Pitch while he held a beam in place for the yetis to weld.

Pitch sobered hearing North's voice boom across the field as his eyes darted in his direction, "Oh nothing, nothing at all North. Dave was just checking out my work; he'll be heading back your way in a moment." He looked back up to give Dave a glare speaking under his breath, "Won't you… Dave," Pitch drew out the yeti's name with a hint of malice. He wanted to just be left alone now, and he hoped the yeti took the hint.

Dave gave Pitch a withering glare, then pointed from his eyes to Pitch in a silent gesture of 'I'll be watching you.' Then he walked slowly away to join North.

Pitch merely smirked lifting a brow as he chuckled, "Indeed." He watched the yeti leave with no less than a little amusement. He might have to do something extra special for Dave he decided as he went back to work casually thinking on how best he could get under the yeti's skin. Oh this was going to be fun!

When Dave stopped next to North, the two engaged in conversation a few minutes, occasionally glancing over at Pitch. One of the times, North gave Pitch a scowl before turning back to Dave.

Pitch never noticed the exchange as he'd moved to begin screwing in the bottom tier foundations. As with all the tasks he took on, Pitch plodded along halfheartedly showing no real interest in the work he was doing, but with a lack of anything else he was allowed to do, he got lost in his head as he did this mindless task. Pitch couldn't help thinking that as soon as this task was over, he could finally get back to some semblance of normalcy… at least what passed as normalcy for his life these days. It was disheartening to see how far he'd fallen, as he thought on it, it hurt deep down. He felt he was falling further and further away from the path he needed to be on, and it made him feel lost at sea because he couldn't really fathom what he needed to do to get himself back on track other than to just get through this hell he was currently suffering. That was a hard pill to swallow.

When the yetis finished welding the beam in place, they decided to take a break. So North walked over to where Pitch was, taking out his handkerchief to mop is face with.

Pitch glanced at him seemingly unimpressed as he carried on the placement of screws slowly and meticulously, "I see the renovations are coming along …swimmingly," he smirked at North letting his eyes graze over to him before turning back to his work to continue on drearily.

"As well as can be expected," North answered.

Pitch's brow rose, "And what was your expectations," Pitch asked tilting his head curious to know exactly what North had meant.

North just shrugged, stuffing the handkerchief back in one of his pockets. He waved to Pitch to carry on what he was doing.

After three hours of screwing these screws in and silently observing North and the yetis work, it had given Pitch time to simmer down and eventually reflect on his current behavior. The Cossack and the yetis had taken another break, and North not saying a word came up to sidle up next to Pitch once more.

Pitch watched North a moment before turning back to his task, his mind drifted on the reasoning behind doing this in the first place once more, the reason why any of them were out here toiling away, and he felt a pang of guilt resurface. He sighed glancing back to North, "You know…" Pitch didn't really know what to say he realized. He looked back to the structure considering a moment, "I know I haven't exactly been the most cordial lately… and… and I'm sorry." This whole punishment had gotten under his skin, and he felt like it was affecting Pitch and North's relationship negatively. He was to blame for this Pitch had realized, and as much as all of this was grating on him, he wanted to at least attempt to make amends while he was feeling amiable enough to do so. With his mood swings as of late, he never knew what state he'd find himself in from moment to moment. While he felt the urge to apologize, he wanted to go ahead and act on it.

North nodded. "I accept your apology."

Pitch was glad to hear North so readily accept his apology, but this made him somehow feel the need to explain himself further as he stared up at North imploringly, "Please understand… I'm not trying to be difficult. Honestly, I don't know why I let my anger get the best of me so often. I know this," he waved around the landfill site, "…this is all my fault. I do feel bad about having been the one to orchestrate its making, and I try to tell myself that when I feel my anger welling up inside me. Just… often times, it gets pushed down in the throes of whatever I'm feeling at the moment. I'm not saying this as an excuse for my actions… I'm just saying that I can see where I've been in the wrong. I'm trying to get better at controlling myself, but… it can be …challenging to say the least under such circumstances."

North silently listened, nodding when Pitch had finished. "I am glad you understand that this is your fault. I was beginning to wonder if you had learned anything at all from all of this. Sometimes it is hard to tell. As for anger, I have already said we will focus on this when I teach you magic. You need to learn to control temper and get control of anger. I suspect that fearlings cause your anger issues."

Pitch wished he could blame it on the fearlings, and in part he could, but through the eons of having them housed within him, they had become more of a backdrop to his own feelings over controlling him like they once had when they were a stronger entity within their own right. Since his possession though, their hold on him had been severely diminished mostly because becoming Pitch hadn't been wholly disagreeable to Kozmotis Pitchiner.

Kozmotis wasn't easily denied, and while in his grief, he had allowed the fearlings to reign over him and bury much of who he was just to let his anger run rampant as a conduit of their planned destruction. He had wanted nothing more than to just stop feeling, and the fearlings eagerly gave him this respite from his own despair using his body to enact atrocities across the galaxy while letting him hide deep down within his own subconscious watching it all as if in a dream state.

When he'd crashed to Earth so long ago and had been trapped for what felt like a thousand years, the control of the fearlings began to fade. They were a much weaker entity to the man that retained them. In time, countless years that passed, their presence had dematerialized into more of a reaction to his own impulses. When he was angry, they fueled it, when he caused fear, they thrummed enjoyment through his senses, and when he felt sorrow and desperation, they lapped against it like a wave to help him sink further. In some ways, Pitch had become a worse prison for them than the one they had broken free from to originally possess him because even though they were able to gain the devastation they had craved for, now they had been reduced to nothing more than a hormone or endorphin within their host. They did however have their own secret revenge upon him in the moments when he slept as they plucked and prodded his strings in the only way to torment the man that they could through horrendous nightmares.

So yes, the fearlings were somewhat to be blamed for their encouragement, but Pitch was for the most part in full control of his actions these days especially having been deprived of much of his sustained power sources. Pitch stared up at North warily as he considered his statement only remarking, "They don't help the way I feel," he looked away after saying as much feeling slightly shamed in his half-truth more so because he knew how truly at fault he really was. Pitch was unsure how truthful he wished to be concerning the fearlings to North since they did make for a rather convenient scape goat.

North regarded Pitch a moment. "Either way, we still need to work on reining in that anger of yours."

Pitch hesitated a moment before nodding lightly in agreement, "Uh… yes," he said sheepishly looking around at their progress before continuing, "From what we've accomplished today, how much longer do you see these repairs taking?"

North glanced over everything. "Is hard to say. We've got to finish with new frame, then paint and put siding on, then repair damages to conveyor belt, not to mention other minor details. How fast we get it done depends on how fast we work and how much we get done in day's time."

"Do… do you think it'll run past Saturday?" Pitch tried to question offhandedly, but his concern that they wouldn't leaked through in his tone.

North lifted an eyebrow. "I certainly hope not."

"Oh…" Pitch replied regrettably before going quiet as he thought on the fact that he most likely would not be able to have that dinner with Toothiana then.

"I would like to get it done as soon as possible. I am losing valuable time I could spend on my normal work." North continued.

"Well… maybe I can help you catch up with some of the work you've fallen behind on… uh… just to get you caught up as soon as we finish the conveyor system?" Pitch was hoping that he could worm a few more days of work out of North to keep him from having to start the grounding before Saturday, so he might still be able to eek by spending that evening with Toothiana, and if he played his cards right, he might even be able to tend to the reindeer during that time. This was of course hopeful thinking on his part he knew.

"I appreciate offer, but no. You have grounding to start as soon as we finish with this, remember?" said North.

Pitch grimaced, of course he remembered… how could he forget? He swallowed, "I… I know, I was just thinking that I might help you first… for a couple days, and then I could commence with the grounding… to you know… get you back up to speed and all."

"No, Pitch," North shook his head.

Pitch sighed feeling defeated by the flat no, but he knew better than to push any further, "Okay then… can't say I didn't offer." He turned back to the structure a dismal look plastering his features now as he silently went back to working. Several of the yeti had switched out during the course of the day, and Dave had left for a couple hours in the afternoon to presumably eat lunch. Now the sun was waning in the sky, and Pitch had to ask, "When are we going to be done for the day?"

"We can be done now if you have finished work Dave gave you to do."

Pitch looked down the line, he hadn't exactly been working at any sort of diligent pace, "Well… the job he gave me is going to take days to complete since the whole structure hasn't even been built yet." Pitch failed to mention the fact that he could have kept pace with what had been built, but as of now he was several hours behind them.

"I wasn't referring to all of it. I was talking about what has been built today. The part of structure that has been rebuilt in today's time is your job right now."

Pitch pouted, "But that's still hours of work! Why can't I just do it tomorrow when everyone else comes back to work," Pitch pointed at all the yetis finishing up putting their tools away while others were already trudging back to the entrance. Pitch scowled now thinking that if North did make him stay, that he would also have to stay, and Pitch could make the chore take much longer out of spite. The fact that his naughty list was locked away in his room would at least ensure he'd get away with it this time.

North scowled. "So? It is not my fault if you didn't keep up with pace of others and got behind. No, you will not do it tomorrow. You were expected to do it today! You will have more to do tomorrow. Right now, you will stay later and get it caught up." he pointed a finger at Pitch, "And if you even think of dragging it out longer than it needs to be for vindictiveness like you did reindeer, we will have discussion when you get back to room."

North must have gotten some inkling of what Pitch had planned from the smug look that had crossed his face thinking on the deed, but that smirk fell quickly away at the promise of impending punishment. Pitch scowled angrily spinning back to his task as he fumed visibly. He snatched screws from the bag violently (or as violently as on can snatch something diminutive from a pouch) and ground the screws into their respective holes. His fury helped him to work faster for the first ten minutes, but as it simmered, Pitch just preformed the work with a tight lipped frown. Pitch hated that North seemed to threaten him with ominous trips to his room quite regularly now. It was unnerving, and it always sent an immediate flush of embarrassment to hear those words coupled by the instantaneous gut reaction to behave or 'else.' Even if he really didn't want to cooperate, Pitch knew that he would do as he was told in order to avoid North's painful promise that would come to call if he didn't.

"And I suggest that you take time to do job right, otherwise you will be here longer to redo it." North said, seeing the manner in which Pitch was ramming screws into the structure. "I will tell you that if this structure falls due to your shoddy work, you will be rebuilding it on your own."

"It's a blasted screw for star's sake!" Pitch hissed in a barely contained rage, "I couldn't mess this job up if I tried, but that was the point of giving this task to me wasn't it! We both know you don't trust me to do anything else... or should I say, foreman Dave doesn't," Pitch rolled his eyes as he quoted the yeti's name spitting it out in clear disgust.

Despite the tone Pitch was using, North stood perfectly still, his temper calm. "Pitch, if I didn't trust you, you would not be putting screws in structure and you would not be taking care of reindeer. And you would not have freedom to wander about my home as you do. When you are given job, whether that job is pleasant or unpleasant, it is your responsibility and duty to do it right and do it with care. All jobs have potential to be messed up. It may be just screw to you, but it helps to insure this structure does not fall! And you are putting screws in it because you cannot handle being in sun. I have shown you small mercy by finding work that you can easily do that will keep you as far away from sun as possible! Regardless of the amount of whining and protesting you do, you are going to help rebuild that which you destroyed!" North's voice rose a little. "You just got through saying a few hours ago that you do not try to be difficult, and I accepted your apology. Don't contradict yourself and prove your own words wrong. Your anger is flaring again, and if you don't work to get it under control, you will find yourself in very bad predicament."

There it was again, and just as every other time he'd been given a warning that he was approaching a point of no return, his anger quelled and retreated to fester deep down. His jaw worked with his contained fury, but he knew better than to release the bitter insults and snappy retorts that clawed across his mind to yell at the top of his lungs. A mental image of hurling the screwdriver and belt pack into the landfill site was all the venting he granted himself as a twinge of remembered pain flared across his backside that still wore the remnants of the strapping he'd received two days prior and the hand spanking he'd received on top of it yesterday afternoon. It was enough for him to know it was best to shut his mouth now.

Instead, he let out a small mewl of unhappiness and a wavering, "I... I'll do it right!" His frustrations were becoming so great, it was hard to contain his emotions, he was on the verge of tears just to find an outlet to how badly he wanted to rage, and his lip worked up and down displaying how close he was to losing himself as he pushed himself now to just fall into the work in front of him and not burst out screaming.

North nodded. "Glad to hear it," he put a hand on the structure and patted it. "If you have hard time dedicating yourself to task, just think of it as reindeer. Think of it as living thing that needs caring for. You would not half do your job with deer. No. You care too much for them. Instead, you take your time and you make sure you do everything right. Why can't you do same with this?"

Pitch found it hard to speak now as he listened to North just taking in long breaths to ebb the vexations he was still feeling. He ground out carefully so as not to let his anger take hold as he spoke, but there was a definite hardness to his words, and the longer he spoke, the more venom tinged his words, "I like the reindeer; they are worth my attentions. This?" He pointed viciously at the structure, "Is something I'm being made to do. I'll do it because I do want to make it up to you for what I've done, but make no mistake that I in no way am dedicated outside of getting this done and over with! This in no way compares to working with the reindeer, so of course I'm not going to view it as the same! It's ridiculous to even think I could," Pitch grumbled finishing his tangent going back to fastening the screws in roughly as a point that he was still quite upset with the conversation.

"Fine, have your way then," said North, waving a hand, obviously done with Pitch's negative attitude. "You are doing this as part of punishment, Pitch, and also to teach you responsibility. You broke it through unruly actions, so you are being made to correct it. I am glad that you at least want to make it up to me. But I also hope that you learn something through it, too, and not just stand there and stew in anger and dwell on how to get even with everyone around you. One of these days, and I hope it is soon, you will suddenly wake up to realize that everything you have been made to suffer has been brought down on your head by yourself. You can be bitter toward me or Dave or whoever else all you want, but in end, you are hurting no one but yourself."

Pitch scowled as deeply as he could muster listening to North's words and squinting his eyes hatefully at the scaffolding as a new level of wrath built within him. North was on his high and mighty horse again, and Pitch quickly tuned him out not wanting to hear his words of wisdom as they only served to raise his ire even further than he possibly thought he could contain. The last thing Pitch wanted to hear was that he'd brought this on himself mostly because he knew it was true, and he hated to be reminded of the fact. He was actively baring his teeth now from the aggravation he was holding in. He wasn't bitter at North or even Dave! They just continued to nettle him! They were egging him on for star's sake! Pitch continued to seethe letting his rage out through his task now as he jammed the screws into their fittings ferociously tightening them as he worked to finish as quickly as he possibly could if only to escape North's self-righteous speeches.

North sighed wearily and turned away from Pitch. He could only hope some of what he said stuck in between Pitch's ears and didn't go in one side and out the other. He was tired of lecturing the man, but he didn't know what else to do aside from taking him outback and wearing him out until he couldn't sit for a month. North didn't like the thought of doing that. There was such a thing as overdoing spanking, and he definitely didn't want that to happen. What's more, he couldn't force Pitch to change. He could try his best to see that Pitch did change and even encourage good behavior, but it was going to be Pitch's choice and his choice alone to commit himself fully to change. North could only do so much on his end. The rest was Pitch's responsibility.

Pitch worked as fast as he could, and after an hour's time he'd managed to, for the most part, work off the pent up irritations he'd been feeling on and off through the day. It didn't help that he was deliriously tired from lack of sleep, the work, and the burn that constantly chafed and itched.

At some point, Pitch finally found some semblance of inner peace as he worked in silence just moving from point to point along the structure. Sometimes he just needed to be alone with his thoughts to sort through the rash of emotions he was feeling. What did North expect from him? Pitch understood that this was punishment, and he knew what he needed to do make it right. This all sounded easy in his head, and he was even agreeable to doing so, but as he went through actively having to face these consequences things became warped and twisted. He wasn't exactly a team player to begin with, but North expected him to face these punishments with an air of optimism that he simply didn't have. He was moody and self-serving, and as much as he wanted to be what North expected him to be, he didn't know how to emotionally bring himself there. It was definitely a work in progress.

Once the anger had died away, the last hour of his work he was melancholy. Sinking into a depressed state, Pitch ruminated that no matter what he did, he just didn't seem to be able to get it right. He sighed tiredly as he finally turned the last screw. The sun had gone down an hour ago, and Pitch was drained both physically and emotionally. With slumped shoulders depicting just how dragged out Pitch felt, he glanced up to North before looking back down despondently stating, "Everything is done now… you can check my work if you wish. I didn't mess up your framework with my horrible workmanship I promise." His tone was sullen and defeated now with no trace of the anger that had previously dominated their conversation.

North nodded. "No, I am not going to check it out. I trust that you did job well. Besides, that is for Dave to do." he waved Pitch to follow. "Come, we will go back to Pole."

Pitch didn't lift his head and only nodded wearily as he trudged behind North.

North led Pitch back to the Pole and eventually to his bedroom. "I will have some food brought to you if you wish." he said, opening the door for Pitch to enter.

Pitch turned to North as he entered looking at him pitifully like a condemned man. Pitch knew he was about to be closed in his room for the remainder of the night. It was only around 7PM, and he was primarily a night owl. He was exhausted and truly needed rest, but he didn't want to just go to sleep after having spent the entire day toiling away. The thought of that being his entire day was rather dismal. He just stared wordlessly at North unsure what to say since saying, 'I don't want to be left here all alone for the rest of the night,' just sounded juvenile even if it was how he was feeling. He looked away then shaking his head, "Uh… no. I don't need any food," he said softly.

North lifted an eyebrow, giving a curt nod. "Alright."

Pitch absently rubbed at his wounded hand, and as North answered, his eyes darted up with a surge of anxiety as he sputtered, "Will… will you be coming back?" He needed some affirmation that what he feared was true. He hated the way he sounded so desperate. It was sickening; he mentally chided himself for even asking the question at all. He doubted North wanted anything to do with him now though, and on some level, he couldn't really blame the man if he didn't. In fact he more than expected to be abandoned post haste after the day that they had shared where he gave the man nothing but problems.

"I need to catch up on my work before calling it a night." North replied. "However, you are welcome to come to office if you want. Although I do ask that you let me work this time."

Pitch seemed to visibly relax to hear this and a small smile graced his face as he nodded, "Sure. That sounds great; just give me about ten minutes to freshen up." Since his stay at North's, a few weeks back, North and his yetis had taken the back closet of his room and had turned it into a quaint bathroom with a shower and a sink with a small toothbrush holder (which was Toothiana's request and who regularly checked the condition of the brush and toothpaste levels with North to make sure Pitch had a steady supply for good hygiene.) It was a nice addition to the room and saved having to watch out for yeti hair clogs and all other sorts of awfulness of using a public bathing station at the North Pole.

North nodded, walking into the bedroom with Pitch. He sat down in the rocking chair to wait.

Pitch queried, "If you'd like, you can grab a shower as well, and just come back by to pick me up on your way to the office? I… it might take me a little longer with this," Pitch held up his bandaged hand. He assumed the big man would also likely want a shower especially since he had done a lot more physical work than he had.

"That is good idea." North said, getting up and walking to the door. "Do you want me to bring new bandages for hand?"

Pitch nodded, "That would be great; all the nurse gave me was a tube of the ointment," as Pitch said this, he dug the lotion out of his robe and placed it on the dresser.

North smiled. "I will be back then," he said as he walked through the door, closing it behind him.

Pitch was feeling much better now just to have seen North smile and to know he was coming back for him. After North departed, Pitch shed his clothes rinsing them out in the shower and ringing them out to hang on the door like a pair of pantyhose since that was about the lightness of the material.

Pitch climbed into the shower groaning as the warm water pelted his skin. As an entity of shadow, his skin wasn't porous like North or Jack, and as such, he didn't sweat like they did, but the modern conveniences of a shower was a remarkable invention, and it was just comforting to feel clean. He had to be careful with his hand and left the bandage on until right before he got out of the shower lightly cleaning the wound and discarding the bandage. It was already looking much better be was pleased to see. The warmth of the shower had relaxed him too much, and Pitch's eyes fluttered as he wrapped the fluffy robe that North had given him on.

He was feeling so tired! He sighed walking over to the bed to lay down to relax a moment, and then he would get dressed he decided. Pitch laid his head down on the pillow just taking in deep breaths and feeling the aches in his muscles before curling his knees into his chest. Maybe he'd just shut his eyes for a minute, and then he'd get dressed before North came to fetch him. These were the last thoughts Pitch remembered before passing out breathing in and out soft snores, a testament to how exhausted he was. It had been a rigorous day.

About twenty minutes later, North came back to Pitch's room to find the Boogeyman fast asleep. He hesitated, wondering whether or not he should wake him. Finally, he walked over and shook Pitch's shoulder. "Pitch," he called, softly.

Pitch sucked in a breath lifting his head, "Okay …five more minutes," he mumbled his lashes fluttered revealing glassed over eyes that lulled back in his head before he collapsed back onto the pillow mumbling something incoherent followed by more heavy intakes of breath. He had not actually awoken, his body had just reacted and synapses fired to react, but no one was piloting the aircraft it was apparent.

North shook his head and smiled. He didn't want to wake Pitch fully, knowing he was exhausted after the day's work, so he set about dressing his hand in the fresh bandages. When North finished, he pulled the covers over Pitch and tucked him in, turning out the lamp and exiting the room.