I know it's been awhile, but here is the edited version of Rekindling Warmth. Due to the drastic shift in the nature of the original Black and Red, this story has been entirely reworked. There is much more character development and a longer, more extensive plot. Please enjoy!
Jack strode through the cemetery toward Oogie's treehouse, a bounce in his step. He was excited at the chance to meet with Oogie. Sally would be along in a while with a wonderful dessert that would come after the snake and spider stew. She had insisted he head out, that she would be there shortly when she was done with the nightshade berry cake. Jack hadn't put up much of a fight. With a kiss on Sally's cheek, he'd hurried out of Dr. Finkelstein's kitchen and out into the crisp fall air.
The Jack-o'-lantern sun was setting and the chilly breeze rippled across his tall, thin form. His white bones shone, smooth and perfect and whole. Well, most were whole. His right arm was still tender from the break he'd suffered the month before. Healing breaks was particularly irksome for Jack Skellington. As a bone man infused with magic, it was dreadfully hard for his bones to break under most circumstances. Unfortunately for him, between Dr. Finkelstein and Oogie, the perfect situation for a broken bone had arisen.
He strode right up to the door and knocked twice then entered. As soon as he'd stepped forward, a surprisingly loud crash sounded out right behind him. Jack turned to see a cauldron full of a strange liquid sitting on the doorstep. The yellowish-green fluid bubbled as it began eating away at the dirt. He clicked his tongue, shut the door, then headed down into the depths of the treehouse. He found Oogie Boogie in the kitchen, industriously cooking their meal.
"Jack! Was that you clanging the bells?" Oogie asked, tossing some spices into the stew.
"No. I knocked," Jack said.
He walked over to the liquor cabinet and pulled out a bottle of absinthe. As he prepared the drink with sugar, he spoke casually.
"How are Lock, Shock, and Barrel taking the news that we're friends again?"
Oogie shook his head, stirring the stew. "Not too badly, all things considering."
"Mm."
The Bogeyman paused and turned. "What did they do?"
Jack sipped the absinthe. "I assume they tried to dump a cauldron full of acid on me. It's currently eating away at the dirt at your front door."
Pinpricks of fire appeared in his eyeholes. "Watch the stew for a moment."
The Pumpkin King nodded and stood up. After a minute of silence, there was an almighty crash down in the depths of the treehouse and screams of fright from the three children. Jack tasted the food and thought for a moment before turning to grab some of the blackthorn leaves to crush and sprinkle into the bubbling stew. There was the scramble of little feet, and Oogie bellowed at them.
"And if it gets to the roots, you'll be even sorrier! Now clean it up!"
Oogie strode back into the kitchen, the fire more pronounced in his eyeholes. "Sorry about that, Jack," he grumbled.
Jack shrugged. "It's nothing I can't handle. And it's a big change for them, Oogie. They've considered me an enemy for a long time."
"I don't know why," Oogie muttered. "I certainly never thought of you as an enemy."
"Perhaps they think it's loyal to you. You've no doubt mentioned that you weren't happy with me. And your actions haven't been clear to them. You were angry for a long time."
"Still, I don't see why they can't change their minds now that we're talking again."
Jack laughed and handed the spoon back over. "Did you ever consider that they gravitate toward you because you're the opposite of me?"
Oogie narrowed his eyeholes as the fire went out. "Explain."
"They died as young, mischievous children. They have a natural need to be watched by a more mature individual, but also proclivities that incline them to more rule-breaking and underhanded activities. So they accepted you as a leader because you're older, but also because you fought against the order I maintained in town."
Oogie nodded. "So both needs are met at the same time. You always were better at those subtleties, Jack." He tasted the stew and paused. "What did you add?"
"Blackthorn leaves for spice."
Oogie tasted again, smacking his lips. "Delicious. That was just what it needed." He set the spoon aside and turned to fix his gaze on Jack. "Where's the rag doll? Did the doc convince her not to show up?"
"Sally's baking a real treat, Crawly," Jack said, grinning. "Nightshade berry cake."
"Sounds good. I don't do much baking."
"Too precise?"
Oogie snickered. "A little." He shook his head. "That and I'm just not good at it."
"Your cooking skills more than make up for it," Jack assured him.
Jack handed over a glass of absinthe and took his own, sitting down at the table. He sipped the drink, watching Oogie check the contents of an old-fashioned oven.
"What are we having with the stew?"
Oogie closed the door, gave the stew another stir, then sat down across from Jack, swirling the cloudy green liquid in his glass so that the ice cubes clinked together.
"Got an appetizer of baked bat wings and a side of pumpkin casserole. Just waiting for them to finish."
He took in a mouthful of absinthe then set his glass aside. Jack could tell he wanted to say something, but he was holding back.
"Is it about Sally?" he asked shrewdly.
Oogie started then looked embarrassed. "I can't hide anything from you, Jack. Yes, in a way it is. The doc won't like Sally coming over here. And he'll probe her with all sorts of questions and throw barbs out when she comes home to try and make her hate me. I'm worried for her."
Jack smiled. He understood what Oogie meant, and he knew without a doubt that he was right. The doctor wasn't taking too kindly to their renewed friendship, and he was starting to tighten his grip on Sally again. Jack was aware of the manipulation tactics Dr. Finkelstein used, and even he had trouble avoiding them. But Sally was in a different position.
"I think that you'll find that Sally is safer from his, ahem, tactics than I am."
Oogie leaned back. "What do you mean? She's soft and pliable. An easy target."
"Soft and pliable, maybe," Jack replied, shrugging his free shoulder. "But she is tougher than most of the folks here in town. You should know this."
"Really?" Oogie asked. He was curious about where this was going.
"She became human in order to help search for me," Jack said. "She learned how to survive outside of Halloween Town. She traveled the globe with people from very different backgrounds and learned to acclimate. And she listened to you when you revealed where I was and traveled to an isolated forest in Scotland by herself, uncaring of the danger, just to find me."
"Okay then. She's tough. But what about the doctor? She's his daughter and should be easy prey for his tricks."
Jack shook his head. "You've already listed the reason she's not so easy to manipulate. She's his daughter. His tactics have never worked on her, or at least not for a long time. She's got a rebellious streak, and she knows him very well. For crying out loud, Crawly, she poisoned him with Deadly Nightshade over a hundred times throughout her life for some freedom, no matter the trouble she's gotten into. So I wouldn't go worrying about him poisoning her mind and feelings toward you."
"She's quite a woman, now that you put it that way," Oogie mused.
"I know. And I have plans."
Before they could continue, Lock, Shock, and Barrel filed into the room. They stood together.
"Sally is here," Shock said docilely.
Sally walked in, carefully carrying a cake frosted blue with red berries for decoration; they wouldn't be eating those, as they were too potent without being diluted, a fact which, as Jack had pointed out mere moments before, that Sally had used against her father quite often. The children looked at the cake longingly, but they didn't say anything. They knew they had to eat dinner first, and they'd already been scolded once that day.
Jack fixed Sally a drink then poured punch for the children. They took the cups, but they glared at him. Oogie's presence sealed their lips shut about complaints, but they thanked Jack.
"I hope I'm not too late," Sally said apologetically. "I was… held up."
Both Jack and Oogie knew that it was Dr. Finkelstein trying to keep Sally home that had delayed her.
"No problem, rag doll," Oogie said. "Let me check the casserole and the bat wings. They should be about done."
Jack went over to stir the stew and give it a taste. He reached over on the counter and grabbed a pinch of dried lake scum and sprinkled it in. The children were astonished.
"Hey!" Lock exclaimed. "Boss, Jack's added something to the stew!"
Oogie removed the bat wings from the oven, setting them beside the steaming pumpkin casserole. He rubbed his points against his sides and lumbered over to taste the main course.
"Perfect," he said.
"But he added something," Lock argued.
"Your point?"
"Why can't we make it?" Shock whined.
"You always scare us away when we try," Barrel complained.
"Because you don't know what you're doing," Oogie replied, crossing his arms. "I have offered to teach you how to cook, but you never want to learn. Until you learn, you'll just be wasting ingredients. Why learn the hard way when I can teach you the basics? Once you learn the basics, then you can experiment. Until then, you're not touching my stew."
"But Jack—" Lock began.
"Knows how to cook," Oogie said firmly. "Now wash up and sit down. Dinner's ready."
Lock, Shock, and Barrel grumbled and stomped off the wash their hands. Sally took one of Oogie's dry cloth cleaning wipes to wipe down her hands, and Jack strode over to the sink to wash his usable hand.
"These are so useful," Sally exclaimed, handing the wipe to Oogie.
He grinned. "Nice to finally have somebody appreciate it. Not many cloth people around here, so nobody gets to use them but me."
"You're inventive," Sally surmised.
"Yep. Invented a lot of things in my time. Along with Jack."
"And my father?" Sally asked.
Jack turned around, leaning against the sink as he awkwardly dried his hand. He pressed his thin lips together and watched Oogie and Sally. He'd never seen them interact like this before, and he was both wary and curious.
Oogie thought about this for a moment then conceded. "Your father is a very smart individual. He's inventive in many different ways." He paused. "But he's not perfect."
Sally laughed, picking up her glass of absinthe. "I know he's not perfect. He has a sharp tongue and a wicked temper when provoked. But he's my father, and I love him."
Oogie nodded and the three mischief makers came into the kitchen. Their eyes fell on the cake again, but they obediently walked over to the table and sat down at their places. Oogie and Jack carried the hot dishes over to the table, and Jack ladled out stew for each of the children then for Sally and Oogie while Oogie cut slabs of the pumpkin casserole and set a few of the bat wings on each plate.
The children stayed silent throughout the meal, eyeing Jack with a level of distaste that belied their young physical ages. Jack noticed this and wondered what had happened in their pasts to have made them so suspicious of him. As he spooned stew into his mouth and watched them out of the sides of his eyeholes, half listening to Sally and Oogie laugh and talk about the idiosyncrasies of the other Holiday leaders, he decided that he wanted to find out. He knew they would be wary, but it was time that they set aside their differences and became friends. He just didn't know how.
After the meal was done, Sally served up large slices of her nightshade berry cream cake. The children dove in as soon as their slices were set in front of them. Jack took his plate from Sally and kept his eyes on her. He had mentioned that he'd had plans to Oogie, and he did. But as to when he would act on them was another matter entirely.
As Oogie and Sally continued to chat, Jack studied them. Somehow, Sally had seen past Oogie's rough, sometimes crude exterior into the good soul that Jack knew lay inside. This was in spite of her father's hatred of Oogie and everything he represented. His darling was wise and brilliant and kind and everything he'd ever hoped for, and even more, she was friends with Oogie. In a split second he decided to act.
Snapping his plate down, Oogie and Sally looked at him in surprise.
"Sally, would you marry me?" he asked, a thrill of excitement running up his spine at his daring.
Sally froze, her mouth slightly open at the abrupt transition of conversation. Her soul fluttered in her, like a heart that she didn't possess. She gazed at Jack, tall, handsome, terrifying in so many good ways, and she smiled.
"Yes."
Jack relaxed and beamed, but before he could say anything, Oogie chortled.
"Plans, eh? Didn't realize exactly what you meant."
Jack grew embarrassed and shrugged. "It seemed to be the right time."
Sally reached over and entwined their fingers. "What about father?"
"I asked him a while ago, and he gave me his blessing," Jack said, but he sounded wary.
"But?" Oogie prompted.
"But you weren't in the picture then."
"I'm sure we can figure out how to mention it to him gently," Sally said.
"I don't know. Riker can be difficult," Jack said.
"He's not going to like that I heard about it first," Oogie said.
"May we be excused?" Shock said sweetly from the table.
Oogie nodded absently, and the three children put their plates in the sink and dashed out of the room. None of the adults noticed the wicked gleam in their eyes as they headed up to their shared room. They were not happy about Jack, and they were angry at Oogie. That combination boded ill for the two old friends. They did regret that Sally would be in the middle of it all, but that didn't deter them as they sat down and began to plot.
