Hello and Welcome!

This is my first story, and it is a Rise of the Guardians Fanfic between Jack Frost and Pitch Black! (OTP) This story takes place before the events in the movie. It is rated M for mature content, but there will also be some emotional points in the story. You have been warned.

This chapter is later than previous uploads because I had lots of family-outing days this week, volunteer work to take care of, and school to prepare for (starts next week!). I didn't get a lot of sleep, but nevertheless, I managed to survive! Btw, titles are always hard to come up with.

Thank you and Enjoy the Show!

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Chapter 7: Dreams into Reality (Part 1)

Ebony had grown annoyed with Pitch's recent behavior. He skipped doing his job as the Boogeyman last night; she was not going to let him skip it a second time! All he did was spend "quality time" with that kid (which even she had to admit, he was really good looking). The last time she saw them, Jack was in Pitch's arms and Pitch teleported them to their room via shadows. She hated not being able to go in her own room for two days. She had actually gone to Onyx, the crafty, deceiving creature she was, to see what they two men were doing, and whether or not it was safe to go in.

As Pitch explained earlier, Ebony was not an animal made of sand, so she had to walk; unlike her two shadowy roommates that didn't have to work a muscle to get where they needed.

Nevertheless, she's grateful to Pitch for giving her a home when no one else would and spoiling her.

After climbing the countless steps up from the downstairs living space, she made it to the small corridor of rooms. Two bathrooms, one was adjoined to Pitch's chambers, two bedrooms, again Pitch's, and a large exercise room. The man spent his whole nights running, why did he need a room for working out?

The only perk of the black-matted room was that there was a window that overlooked the entire lair. It seemed so peaceful, almost bottomless, and stretched for who knows how long. To her, it was the perfect playhouse.

She pranced to the end of the hallway to Pitch's room and pushed open the solid black door. To her delight, the abnormally white boy was not in bed with Pitch. Her tail perked up and she ran to the relaxing bed. She crouched before leaping into an open space. She purred happily, thankful that the boy left her spot. Pitch was sleeping on his stomach with a pool of drool on the surface of the pillowcase.

Oh well. Ebony walked straight up to the sleeping man and stood on his flat back, kneading into his head. Her claws dug into his hair. He needed to take a shower before his normally soft hair got all greasy. Pitch squirmed under her and she hopped off, staring at him with her sharp green eyes.

"Morning, Ebony," Pitch groaned sleepily, not opening his eyes. She used her scratchy tongue and licked his forehead, hoping to at least make him sit up. Instead, a large black hand stroked her back and rubbed behind her ears. She liked that a lot. She sat down next to him and purred soothingly.

Now Pitch opened his eyes. He wiped his cheek from the damp pillow he'd have to wash later and propped himself on his forearms, stretching his spine. He heard, and felt, a loud crack, and overall felt more relaxed. Ebony stood up, expecting him to get up and get dressed for the evening's work.

Pitch massaged his scalp and stared out the balcony door. The evening light shone through small holes in the layer of Earth above him and through the door.

'Another day in paradise,' Pitch thought almost sarcastically. Ebony mewed quietly at him, asking for more attention behind her ear. He looked to his side at her and only saw her on the bed beside him. It was easier to wake up this time than this morning. Pitch started panicking.

'Where was Jack?' he thought, scanning the perimeter of his room. 'He couldn't have left without Onyx knowing.' He called his mare down and she appeared before him. Ebony growled shortly and leapt off the bed.

"Where is Jack? Did he leave?" Onyx neighed calmly, signaling that she didn't know. Pitch stood up and hurriedly ran towards the bathroom towards the back of his chambers. He opened the door and found the tub, shower, sink, and toilet completely empty and frost-free. He left the washroom. Onyx came to him holding Jack's signature blue hoodie in her mouth. Pitch sighed in relief.

'At least he didn't leave.' Pitch returned to the bathroom and retrieved a pair of black underwear from his dresser, putting them on with ease. He was surprised to see that Ebony had managed to balance herself on the top of the thin baseboard on her hind legs. She was motionless and starring straight up at the ceiling.

'Probably another spider,' Pitch thought. He looked up to see what had caught her attention.

Jack!

Somehow Jack had managed to float up to the ceiling with his stomach and face against the wood, his bare back facing the other occupants. His arms and legs loosely hung loosely and low snoring could be heard. Pitch had to admit, it was pretty cute and funny to watch.

"How?" Pitch asked his animal companions through a snicker. Both gave him a look that said they didn't know.

Onyx nudged Pitch with her nose. He peeked at her out of the corner of his eye and saw that she was gesturing to his discarded robe from earlier. Inside the inner pocket, a white light was glistening brightly.

'The dream catcher!' Pitch rushed to the trinket in his pocket and held it in his hands. The light was almost blinding, but also had that intriguing glare to it. If Jack was asleep now, then the light must be recording his current dream. Pitch wondered if invading Jack's privacy was worth the effort.

'I'm a guardian of dreams, I have the right to invade them if I so desire!'

He traced his finger around the threaded circle and poked into the light. In an instant, the white light enclosed itself around the dark grey man, sucking him in to Jack's dream.

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Pitch fell face first into pure white snow in broad daylight. The soft blanket was freezing against his cold skin. He was only in his thin underwear, and covered in goosebumps. Usually, dreams aren't this realistic. He looked around at his surroundings and saw the same trees by the entrance of his lair. There was the frozen pond nearby, and a little hill behind it that looked perfectly untouched.

In the distance, he picked up the sound of a dozen footsteps racing through the snow towards him. Pitch ducked behind a tree, not wanting to be seen in his undergarments – it would be shameful if anyone saw him.

He peeked out and witnessed six children all in snow gear scooping and throwing little handfuls of snow at each other. The main town was a little ways off – why were the kids so far out? He decided to stay back and let Jack's dream play out.

'Speak of the devil,' Pitch thought upon seeing a fully clothed Jack Frost zip over the hill to the children. With his staff over his shoulder and his hair all chaotic, Pitch felt himself falling for Jack all over again.

"Jack! Be careful!" one of the taller girls cried, seeing him skate barefoot across the icy lake. He jumped and landed safely on the slush unharmed. The girl calling to Dream Jack caught his attention: straight brown hair, big eyes that matched her hair, and a smile that was missing a tooth or two. All the other Dream children Pitch couldn't make out, but something inside him told him she was important; to Jack especially.

'Emma,' Pitch realized that she was always with Jack when he was alive. His sister? She had to be; and the poor boy didn't even know who she was. Did Jack wish to know about his family? Pitch inhaled slowly then sighed. He couldn't just tell him; learning about his past is something Jack had to do himself. Plus, after Jack fell into the lake, Pitch knew nothing of what happened to Jack's family.

Pitch shivered violently from the unexplainably cold dream snow. He wrapped his arms tightly around himself, trying to maintain a suitable temperature. He didn't know how long he'd been stuck in Jack's dream, but he had to get out before the boy woke up and he was imprisoned. He looked at Dream Jack to see that the Dream children were gone, and only Dream Jack remained standing in the blanket of white.

Dream Jack excitedly jumped up to the top of the closest tree. Pitch tried to find the boy through the thick leaves and branches and found him crouched on the top end of his curved staff. He smiled smugly at a dark figure – it was Pitch. Dream Pitch extended a hand out to the fair-skinned teenager who was almost taller on his staff that the man was standing.

Dream Jack took the gesture and hugged Dream Pitch snugly. Dream Pitch acknowledged Dream Jack's actions and hugged the boy just as snugly. No sound was given off from either male, but Pitch could feel their connection and how much they actually loved each other. After all, what belonged together better than cold and dark?

'Oh, that's good. I'll have to remember that,' Pitch thought and smiled wide, finally having his feeling returned to him for the first time in almost 275 years!

Pitch's grin faded away slower than Dream Pitch disintegrated from Dream Jack's arms into black sand. Dream Jack frowned unhappily, accepting the fact that Dream Pitch had left. He took his staff and flew off over the hill.

As if on cue, Pitch was scooped out of the dream and back into his dark-colored bedroom.

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Pitch opened his eyes and saw that his Jack was still floating on the ceiling, and the dream catcher was still glowing.

'He must get so carried away with his fantasies that he literally drifts off,' Pitch chuckled at his own joke.

Pitch's room was much warmer compared to the dream snow, and returned to normal quickly. The robe that previously held the dream catcher was still clean from this morning; he slipped his arms through the sleeves and smoothed out the sides. He studied himself in one of the mirrors. He almost seemed like a more relaxed person. He wasn't tense all the time, worrying if he would be so weak from children not being afraid that the next day he wouldn't be able to get out of bed.

Was it because Jack was now in his life as his friend and lover? Pitch figured he'd treat the boy to a night in town to show his appreciation for him.

Pitch spun a strand of sand up to the ceiling and coiled itself around the frail body. Like a string on a balloon, he gently pulled the boy to his eye level.

"Jack," Pitch said softly, collecting Jack in his arms. Jack began to grow heavier in Pitch's arms, showing that he was slowly waking up. He shook the boy to full consciousness. Jack's eyes flickered open, the icy blue irises clouded from sleep. "Wake up, Jack. You need to get dressed." Jack looked confused at the man holding him. "I'm taking you to work with me tonight."

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Hello Again! ^u^

I do hope you enjoyed it!

Another laid-back chapter, BUT important information was revealed! *gasp*

It was fun writing Pitch watch Jack's dream . . . very cute.

Thank you to everyone writing reviews and their encouragement!

Guest Sun's Eye: I type my stories on WordDoc and save it as a file, then upload the file as part of the story. Signing up is free, and I highly suggest using the computer, not a smartphone or tablet.

Update will be whenever I get the chance!

Thanks a Bunches!