"Wakey, wakey! Breakfast time!"

Jack's eyes immediately flew open, and he shot straight up off the couch, panicking for a moment until he remembered where he was. "I...should I not be the one cooking?"

"Took too long. I'm an early riser. Come on, lazy bones! Hurry up before it gets cold!"

With a slight shiver, Jack pulled the blanket around his shoulders and followed the other man. "How am I supposed to pay you back for letting me stay here if you wake up too early for me to make breakfast?"

"Maybe you can do other things." Pitch looked over his shoulder and winked at the man.

"Like what?" He flopped down into a chair.

"Like...alphabetizing my movie collection or vacuuming or watering my plants." Pitch plopped a plate down in front of Jack, a large pile of eggs, bacon, and pancakes sending up warm fumes into Jack's nose. "Anything you feel like doing, really."

Jack stared at the plate with wide eyes. "Th-this is for me?"

"Of course, angel. Some for me, some for you." He sat down across from Jack, giving a small blessing before digging in.

"I am not sure I have ever had this much food in front of me even once in the past six years." He carefully picked up his fork and took a bite. "You are a good cook, sir."

Pitch looked up. "Sir?"

"Sorry...it slipped."

Pitch reached across the table and took his hand. "Don't worry about- Oh!" He jumped up, running to the cupboard, and he returned to plop a large bottle in front of Jack. "You'll need syrup."

"I am actually allowed to have syrup?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't you?"

"I...I do not know." Jack picked up the bottle, pouring only the slightest bit on his pancakes before sliding it over to Pitch. "Thank you."

"Come on, you wuss." He poured a large glob over Jack's plate before doing the same for his own. "You don't have to be ashamed of wanting something. You want syrup, you have syrup!"

"It is not that I want it. I do not really remember if I like it or not." He blushed a little and looked down at his plate.

Pitch sighed and stuck his fork into a piece of his pancake. He held it out, waving it in front of Jack's mouth. "Open up. Let's see if we can make you remember."

Jack slowly took the fork into his mouth, chewing the bite for a few seconds. "It is good."

"And there's more where that came from." Pitch licked the fork before digging back in. "If you finish that, there's seconds."

"I do not know if I could finish all of this. It is too much for me."

"Then eat what you can." He smiled and took a sip of orange juice. "Don't worry. I won't get mad if you don't." Jack nodded and set about eating his food. When he got full, he put his unfinished plate into the fridge and started to wash the dishes. Pitch came up behind him to put his dishes down on the counter, leaning in and quickly kissing Jack's cheek. "Sorry. Just felt like doing that."

"It is alright. I suppose I owe it to at least let you do that every once in a while after everything you have done for me."

"Then can I do this?" Pitch wrapped his arms around the smaller man's body, hugging him tightly.

Jack winced a little but nodded. "Yes..."

"You're a good boy, Jack. I think I like you."

"I would hope so seeing as now I am living here apparently."

"You do know you don't have to stay, right? I'm not forcing you to live with me."

"I have nowhere else to go." He shrugged slightly. "At least if I stay here, I have someone who might be able to help give me some relief from this damn device. Even if it is only a little."

"Yeah...the device..." Pitch let him go and stepped away. "I'll probably be working late tonight, so you can do whatever you want today."

"Is there anything besides organizing your movies and cleaning that you would like me to do?"

"Whatever you want to do." He smiled and swung his bag over his shoulder. "My pager number is by the phone if there's an emergency." He waved before leaving, the door unlocked. Jack nodded and returned to washing the dishes quietly.

ZZ

For the next two weeks, Pitch's schedule was much the same. He woke early and returned late, only giving a small grunt as a sign of recognition before plopping down on the couch and passing out.

"I'll be back late again." Pitch flung his back over his shoulder.

"Yes, sir." Jack nodded, sighing softly. He picked up another stack of DVD cases and went back to organizing them from where he'd left off yesterday.

"Jack...you don't miss me when I'm gone, do you?"

"How can I miss the pleasantness of company when I have not had it in years? I do not remember what it is like to be around pleasant people. I am better off on my own." He didn't turn to look at the other man, putting another case on the shelf.

"If you really think that, why do you stay?"

"Because the few minutes I do get with you are pleasant. I do not want to spend my few months of freedom continuing to search for kind people when I have already found one."

"You like my company, but you would be 'better off' on your own. What a contradiction."

"I like it for the few minutes. I do not know what I would do with myself if I spent longer with you."

Pitch sighed. "I...I think it's time you found your own place."

Jack frowned and looked down. "I-if that is what you wish, sir."

"It isn't, but I think it's for the best. And don't call me 'sir.' We're not in the army."

"Yes, s-" He stopped himself. "Yes. May I finish organizing before I leave, or would you like me out immediately?"

"Whatever you want. You are your own person, Jack."

"Thank you...Pitch."

"It was a pleasure, Jack." He put a hand to the doorknob but stopped. "Please smile for me. Only once."

Jack looked at him with a small smile. "It was nice meeting such a kind person."

"I'm not kind."

"Yes, you are. In six years I have only come across one other kind person."

"Don't you understand? I like you."

"And I...I like you." He picked up a new stack of DVDs.

"I mean that I like like you. A lot."

"You hardly know me."

"It's been a few weeks! Besides...I can't argue with love at first sight."

"I am sorry. I do not remember how to love."

"I know. That's why I think it's best that you go. Otherwise..."

"I understand. I will be out soon. Thank you for your hospitality."

"I know who you're running from."

"H-how could you know that?" He froze.

"He came in yesterday, looking for you. I didn't realize that it was you until he showed me the pornographic dream he purchased. I recognized the white hair and blue eyes."

Jack frowned. "You...you saw that?"

"I saw enough. The chains...the ropes...the whips..."

"I told you he was a bastard." He took a shaky breath, slowly putting more DVDs away.

"In that moment, I realized how much I loved you."

"Why? Because you got to see me in porn? I am sorry, but that is not love."

"I turned away the moment I realized who I was looking at. I meant...in that moment, I wanted to kill him. I wanted to pull you into my arms and hold you close. I wanted...I wanted to kiss you and have you look at me with love."

"He is a cruel man. Even more reason for me to leave. If he finds me here, he will do everything he can to hurt you."

"He can do no more to me than you already have." Pitch looked at him with a sad smile. "There is no greater pain than a love that is unrequited." He opened the door, closing it gently behind him.

"Goodbye, Pitch." Jack felt a tear escape down his cheek. Not too long later, an annoying crackling started up in his head. Blue eyes widened in fear when he heard a familiar broken voice coming through.

"...Ja...lmost thr...whe...ind you...won't be..." Jack couldn't understand half of what was coming through, but then the voice continued. "You're mine."

"No..." He could hear the soft whirring of the machinery in his head, followed by the terrifying silence. Jack's body crumpled to the ground, the DVDs falling from his hand and scattering across the floor. His blank blue eyes stared unseeing at the wall.

ZZ

"Jack? Jack, what happened?" Warm fingers caressed his face, and golden eyes looked concerned.

Jack woke with a gasp after Pitch restarted the machinery. He clutched at the man's arms, his breathing heavy and erratic. "He...h-he is trying...to reconnect."

Pitch held his arms open, slowly pulling him closer. "Hush...it's alright. I'm here now. You're safe."

"He c-can still control me." Jack shook in his arms

"Do you really have so little faith in me?" He leaned back, looking deep into Jack's eyes. "Trust me?"

"I...I do."

Pitch leaned down. "Then he has already lost you." He closed his eyes and gently kissed him, his hands lightly cupping Jack's face but giving him the choice of pulling away.

Jack took a deep breath, clenching his eyes shut as he pressed further into the kiss. He is not Bunnymund. He is gentle and kind and loving. He would not do such things to me. He loves me.

Pitch ran his fingers through Jack's hair. "Be mine, Jack. Run away with me."

"I cannot run. He will see me."

"If I could promise that he wouldn't, would you come with me?" Jack slowly nodded, leaning in for another kiss. "I love you." Pitch angled his head slightly and deepened their kiss. "I love you so much, Jack."

"You...you taste...nice." He blushed, quickly looking away.

Pitch laughed and turned Jack's face back. "Do I? That was really cute."

"You do. You do not taste of cigars and alcohol. You do not taste bitter."

"What do I taste like?"

"Like...you."

"That isn't very specific."

"I do not know how to describe it."

"I can describe what you taste like. Would you like me to tell you?" Jack shrugged, looking up at him. "You taste like vanilla and strawberries. I just want to taste you again and again."

Pale lips curled into a small smile before Jack's arms wrapped around the man's neck. "You are too kind to me."

"Would you mind if I...be kind to you again?" He leaned close, his eyes looking deeply into Jack's.

"Only a little. I must get back to cleaning the mess I have made."

"Later. You can do it later." Pitch kissed him again, his arms scooping Jack up. "I have something else in mind for you to do."

"And what would that be?"

"I'd like to take you into my bed and hold you close." Pitch carried Jack into his bedroom and laid him down on the bed. "I won't do anything. I promise." Jack slowly nodded his head, curling against the other man and enjoying his warmth. Pitch laid down softly on top of him. "You're so soft. Like a kitten." Long fingers roamed over Jack's body, feeling every revealed inch of the pale skin. He pulled his shirt up to reveal that pale chest.

"And you are warm. It is very nice." He shivered slightly and pulled the covers up over them.

"Why are you shivering?" Pitch leaned down, kissing over one scar on his chest.

"I am cold. I am always cold."

"Still?" He moved down, kissing over another scar.

"Always."

"I don't want you to be cold anymore." Long fingers moved over the waistband of Jack's pants. "I want you to be warm, and I want you to smile."

Jack quickly reached down to stop those hands with wide eyes. "Please, no..."

"Shh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Pitch moved his hands back up, caressing over the old scars. "I promised no naughty business."

"I know, but...I do not want you to see that."

"See what? You don't have anything I don't either."

"There is far more than you think."

"Trust me, Jack. There is nothing you could show me that would send me away."

"Perhaps not send you away...but it would only make you pity me further."

"You think I pity you?"

Jack nodded slightly. "Everyone does."

"Well, I don't. I see these scars, and I see you. I see the skin I love."

"Regardless...I do not want you to see."

"Then I suppose I will just have to wait for you to trust me enough." Pitch leaned down, nibbling and sucking along Jack's neck.

"It is not a matter of trusting you."

"What is it a matter of?"

"Me being willing to relive my own pain."

"Was it him again?"

"Every mark on my body is from him."

"Not this one." Pitch sucked over one nipple, working on the skin. "This one is mine."

Jack blushed. "Except that one."

"And this one." He moved over, doing the same on the other nipple.

"A-and that."

"And this." He moved down, circling Jack's belly button with his tongue.

"Yes..." Jack's head lolled to the side as he slowly fell asleep to the man's gentle touches.

Pitch sighed and leaned his head on a hand. He smiled, rubbing the man's nose with a finger. "I want to protect you forever."

ZZ

Soft lips pressed down on Jack's. "Wakey, wakey."

He slowly stirred, looking up at Pitch with the smallest of smiles. "Why must you always wake up so early?"

"Habit, sir." Pitch smiled, leaning down to kiss him again.

"I will assume you are going to work soon?"

"Not today. Today, I want to stay with you."

"But you have a company to run."

"Do you want me to go?" He frowned, looking down sadly.

"No. I just...a company is more important than me. The one time I have been there it seemed to be a very busy and complicated operation. Granted, I did not see very much of it, but still."

"Right now, there is nothing more important to me than you. There are plenty of employees to work my factory. There is only one you."

Jack gave a soft smile and curled up against him. "Tell me how it works. When I was here, all I did was get taken into a room to get filmed and then I left. How do you give dreams to people?"

"Hmm..." Pitch moved the other man so that he was lying on his stomach. His long fingers roamed over his back, massaging the muscles. "It's a bit complicated. Long story short, we take the recordings and turn them into dreams. We then put the dreams into the person's head."

"How do you put them into peoples' heads?"

"We surgically put them in. Right...here." He leaned down to kiss Jack's temple.

"No wonder they are so expensive then." Jack smiled and relaxed under Pitch's touch.

"Would you like one? I can make you one."

His smile immediately slipped away. "No, thank you."

"It would be a good dream. Maybe one that involves me." He sucked on Jack's ear, taking it between his teeth for a quick nibble.

"No." Jack slowly pulled away and got out of the bed, slipping his hoodie back over his head. "I don't want one."

"I'm sorry. Don't go." Pitch stood up and wrapped his arms around Jack's body. "I'm sorry. I'll never ask again."

"I am sorry...for acting like this. It is not your fault."

"Then come back to me. Come on." Pitch pulled him back, his long fingers tugging Jack's hoodie back off. "Come on..."

"Only for a little while. I still have cleaning to do." He let Pitch pull him back onto the bed.

"Not now. Come here." Pitch pulled Jack under him, his lips and fingers moving over the pale skin.

"You are a very touch-oriented person. Did you know that?"

"Am I? I didn't realize." Pitch smiled, nibbling on a pink nipple.

"Very much so."

"Jack...don't be afraid of me." He closed his eyes, pulling Jack's pants down and quickly covering his lower half up. "I'm sorry. You can feel my warmth much quicker now."

Jack blushed, clutching the sheet tightly. "I am not afraid of you."

"Then stop clutching."

"I-I do not want you to see."

"I won't look. It is your choice if you want to show me. I will not look otherwise." Jack slowly unclenched his fingers, letting go of the sheets. "Do you trust me?"

"I do."

Pitch closed his eyes again and slowly pulled the sheet away. He leaned down, kissing the skin and even putting a hand over his eyes. "All I can feel is your skin. Your soft, warm skin."

Jack's eyes started to tear up as he watched the other man worship his scarred and bruised skin. "You...you are too kind to me."

"I love you. An angel like you deserves kindness." Pitch peeked through his fingers and flinched slightly at what he saw. He closed his eyes again, kissing more passionately over the skin. "You taste delicious, even here."

"I told you that you are kind."

"Jack, let me look. I promise, I will not pity you."

"I...alright." He turned to look away from Pitch, not wanting to see his reaction.

Pitch opened his eyes and pulled the sheet completely away. He let his eyes wander, taking in everything that Bunnymund had done to Jack's body. "You are so beautiful. So angelic."

"I am hideous and scarred."

"You are beautiful, damn it. He's the hideous one. You...you are magnificent." He turned Jack so that he could look deep into those blue eyes. "Believe me. My heart sees only beauty when I look at you."

Jack closed his eyes with a shuddering breath, a tear running down his cheek. "He...he has turned me into nothing more than...this pathetic, reliant creature. An inhuman thing."

Pitch leaned down and licked up the salty trail. "That is not what I see. I see someone who is strong and kind and brave. I see someone who I want to hold for the rest of my life." Long arms pulled Jack flush against Pitch's chest. "Kiss me?"

"I did not used to be like this. I never wanted to be like this..." He leaned forward and gently kissed the other man with a shaky breath.

"Like what? Beautiful and sweet? Warm, tender, and soft?" Pitch held him close, cupping the back of his head. "More. Kiss me more."

"No. Reliant, needy...broken. I used to be so different."

"You are not broken." He gripped Jack's chin, forcing him to look into his eyes. "Are you listening to me? You are not broken!"

Jack looked at him through teary blue eyes. "I am..."

"What do I have to do to prove it to you? I'll do anything." Pitch rubbed his thumb under the man's eyes, wiping away those tears.

"There is nothing to be done. I am broken beyond repair. Only a shell of the man I once was." He closed his eyes with a sigh.

"You're not! Please...stop saying that." Golden eyes filled with tears of their own. "It breaks my heart."

"I am sorry..." Jack gently kissed away the other man's tears, resting their foreheads against each other. "A heart as beautiful as yours does not deserve to be bogged down by my sob story."

"Spend the night with me, Jack. Let me show you what love feels like."

"I thought that is what I did last night."

"Last night was cuddling. I'm asking you to sleep with me."

"I...I cannot. I am sorry." Jack looked away from him.

"Is it because of these?" Long fingers moved over the scars and bruises, caressing the uneven skin.

"Because even the thought of sex brings up only painful memories."

"Not all sex is bad. When done with someone who loves you...it can be wonderful."

"Not that I can remember."

Pitch reached down, wrapping his fingers around one of Jack's thighs. "Then let me be your first." He brought the leg up to rest on his shoulder as his lips moved gently over the soft inner thigh. "Let me show you." Jack covered his face with his hands, biting his lip. "Jack, look at me. I want you to see me."

"I-I do not deserve this. I do not deserve you. I do not deserve your love. I do not deserve your kindness. I have done nothing in my life worthy enough to deserve this." He broke down into sobs.

"Stop it! Stop it right now!" Pitch moved back up to take Jack's mouth in a deep kiss. "I'm not Bunnymund. I want to hear you say that you do deserve this, because you do! You do, damn it!"

"I have done nothing worthy of you..."

"You have! You were born! You saved me that day, when you could have just kept walking. Jack, why can't you understand that I adore you? Why can't you understand that it kills me to see you like this and to hear you speak this way?"

"B-because it has been forced into my mind that...that I am unworthy of anything good."

"Then I'm going to force it out of you." Pitch moved down Jack's body and took him in his mouth.

I don't deserve such kindness... He cried inside his head, but his body couldn't hold back a soft moan.