Icy Shadows

Summary: After visiting Jamie, Jack finds some fearlings attacking someone. He rescues the person only to find out its...a injured teenage Pitch? How did that happen? Jack/Pitch

I'm always going to be apologising in this A/N aren't I? Yeah...anyway sorry that this again took so long to write. What makes it so annoying is that I knew the basics of what I needed to write but I just couldn't form words. Plus with assignments, applying to unis (unsure if I'll actually go to universty but better to apply anyway then want to go when its too late), trying to write an actual story novel (which seeing as I'm a: have too many idea syndrome making it impossible to stick to one story for an amount of time and b: am used to fanfic writing is quite hard) whenever I had time to do it, if it wasn't writer blocks stopping me it was just pure 'I don't want to write I want to sleep or watch cat videos'. God I'm such a prostrastinator. And I can't even spell that word. Go figure.

Anyway chapter is a little short but I kinda thought I've got all that was needed to be in this chapter said and anything thing else would be better off being saved to the next chapter. Hope you enjoy :)

Edit: I've corrected some errors I made at the beginning. Really sorry about those, I write some of the chapter on my tablet and I thought I had corrected the mistakes. Apparently I didn't proof read the first part.

Chapter 8

Pitch had quickly fallen asleep. After staying up until midnight and then panicking over Jack, Sandy's sand had knocked him out instantly before the grey teen had time to swat it away and he had fallen into the land of sleep and golden dreams.

He was dreaming about Jack. If Pitch had been awake he would have had a go at his brain for conjuring up this image (Sandy might give people the sand that made the dreams, but the brain hep conjure up the images that suited the dreamer) but he was not.

He and Jack were outside in the snow just outside the workshop. In his dream, Pitch was no longer in a wheelchair nor was his arm broken. He was still a teenager though.

They were both making snowmen while the reindeer played about in the snow and Ruldoph watched them shyly and the one named Blitzen was sneakily munching the carrots Jack and Pitch were trying to use for noses for their snowmen.

Jack flittered about, adding perfect details to his snowman wtih ease, what with being a winter spirit after all. Pitch was having a much harder time with his snowman. To be honest, this was probably the first time he had actually made a snowman. Which probably explain why he was having a hard time making it. It was beginning to look less like a snowman and ore like a blob the more time he spent on making it.

While Pitch was concertraing hard on trying to make his snowman look right, he failed to notice Jack sneaking over, nor did he notice the snowball appearing in Jack's hand. Thst is, until Jack threw it right at Pitch's back, the cold snow going right down Pitch's neck.

Pitch shot a glare at Jack as Jack bellowed with laughter. He then smirked and swooped down to gather some snow. Jack was too busy laughing to notice, until he got a snowball in his face.

The two immedietely started a snowbal fight, laughing as they dodged each other throws and tried to hit the other back with their snowballs. The snowmen ended up being pelted by snow as the two teens used them as shields agsint each other.

As Pitch chased after Jack, he suddenly tripped and ending up flying knocking into Jack as he did. The two ended up rolling in the snow still laughing. Eventually they came to the stop, with Jack landing on top of Pitch.

Pitch felt his breath catch in his throat as he stared up at Jack. Jack was giggling, saying something that Pitch coudn,t hear. He was so close to him. Those ice blue comfortng eyes were looking at him. That bright infectious smile was spread across the boy's lips. And those lips, while slightly blue and a little chapped, look so soft. Almost inviting, really.

Pitch didn't realise what he was doing, he just acted on instinct. He reached up and kissed Jack.

As he pulled away Jack looked surprised to say the least.

Then a scowl cross his face,

With a growl, Jack pushed himself off Pitch. Pitch got up to his feet, backing away a little in surprise.

Jack let out a laugh. Only it wasn't the joyous laugh that usually came from him. This was a mocking laugh, a humourless laugh of disbelie and pity.

"As if I would ever love the likes of you."

With that he gave Pitch a massive shove. Pitch wobbled as he suddenly felt himself teethering on a ledge, before he fell down with a shriek, down, down into a hole.

He crashed landed to the floor below, the breath being kicked right out of him. He tried to get up but suddenly pain shot right through him, from his leg and arm and he found he couldn't move.

Then he heard the sound of a horse's whicker.

Fear surging through him from his very core, Pitch looked up just to see several fearlings jumped down and land right in front of him, all staring at him with wicked smiles and hunger in their eyes. Besides them, Jack was there too, sneering at him.

Just as the fearlings lunged, Pitch noticed Jack's eyes were red.

"Ahh!"

Pitch bolted into a sitting poistion. His breathing came out in rushed pants and gasped, his chest heaving as he shuddered. His shaking didn't help his broken arm or leg as he felt them throb in retalation.

"You alright, Pitch?"

Pitch almost screamed again. Thankfully he didn't. He just gave a startled jump, not helping his broken limbs at all.

He turned to look at the bed next him. There, still lying down, the white bandage somehow unusually contrasting with his white locks, was Jack looking at him with concern.

"Yeah..." Pitch replied, takin a deep breath to calm himself, "Just a bad dream."

Jack looked like he was about to say somethCing but stopped short, eyes widening.

"Your hands are glowering black."

Confused, Pitch looked down at his hands. His eyes widened as he realised Jack was right.

Around his hands there was a strange black glow surronding it. What that stunned Pitch though, as he turned his hands around slowly, the darkest of the orb following his palms, was not the glow itself but how famililar it was.

"Pitch?" Jack called out, sitting up and rubbing his head.

"It's my powers."

"What?"

Not looking away from his hands, he explained to Jack, "Remember how Sandy had acted shock about the nightmare sand? I only recenly harnessed dreamsand; it had been a part of Sandy's sand until I was able to change it to nightmare sand." He looked up at Jack, "Before that I had used...well this."

"Oh yeah, was gonna ask. I couldn't see what your dream was about." Jack said, "It sounded like a bad one from your scream though."

Pitch felt his cheeks darkened as he remember what happened earlier in his dream before the nightmare started, "I…I don't really want to talk about." He said.

He thought Jack would question him but when he looked up he saw understanding in his eyes.

"Fearlings right?"

"Yeah," Pitch said. The blush vanished as he remembered the fearlings attacking him and Jack watching, his eyes just as red as the fearlings…

"So you have your powers back now?" Jack asked, glancing at the black orbs hovering around Pitch's hands and snapping Pitch out of his thoughts.

Pitch looked back down at the glowing appendages, "Not all of it." He said, "It doesn't feel like I have all my powers back...it hardly feels like I have even a fraction of them. But...they're there. Some of them at least."

Slowly he clenched closed his hands - and the black glow disappeared. It took Pitch a few minutes longer to finally stop staring at his hands.

"How's your head?" Pitch asked, looking back up.

Jack shrugged with one shoulder, "It's pounding a little bit." He said, rubbing the side of his head, either forgetting or ignoring the fact the Guardians had told him not to touch his wound, "I hate concussion."

"You should be resting." Pitch said in concern, as Jack stopped rubbing his head only to start rubbing his eyes. It appeared that although Pitch had gotten some sleep, Jack had still been wide awake since the Guardians had left.

"You sound like the Guardians." Jack muttered, "And the Yetis."

Pitch smirked, "Well, probably because they have a point." He said as Jack let out a yawn.

Jack shot Pitch a glare, though there wasn't really any anger behind it, "It's not my fault I can't sleep."

"And why can't you sleep?" Pitch asked. You would think someone with concussion would have plunked out long ago.

Jack groaned, wriggling slightly on his bed. It was then that Pitch noticed that the covers the Guardians had placed over Jack where no longer on him. Instead they lay sprawled out on the floor, as though Jack had kicked them off. He then remembered Jack's room with the ice all over the place and the snow covering the bed.

"Too warm?" He asked.

Jack looked back up at him and smiled weakly, "Yeah. I've been trying to get up for the last half an hour to go and open a window but every time I try to stand I get dizzy. And Kangaroo, the annoying mother hen he secretly is, didn't want me to fly off – which I was not planning to do, but he never listens – so he placed my staff right over there where I can't reach it, so I can't get the Wind to open the windows or bring any snow in for me."

Jack pointed to the far side of the room. The crooked shepherd staff was leaning against the wall, the frost pattern usually on it dulled with it no longer being in its owner grasp. To Jack, it looked like it was mocking him. Pitch could tell from the way the winter spirit was glaring at it.

Pitch glanced around, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion, "Where are the Yetis?"

"The elves got themselves stuck when they decided they wanted to put up Christmas Lights up on top the globe and all the Yetis had to go try and get them down. At least that's what I think Phil said. Hard to tell when they only speak in grumbles."

Pitch thought about it. The Globe was rather large and placed quite high up. Unless you could fly or had sand to perched yourself upon, it would be very hard to reached the top of it. He wondered just how those tiny elves had managed to climb themselves up on there and how exactly were the Yetis going to get them down again.

"I wanted to go and see, but the Yetis told me I had to rest. Sandy's orders." Jack grumbled, rubbing his head again "I hate concussion."

Jack moaned and flopped back down on the bed, shutting his eyes, wanting to go to sleep. But then his face screwed up and he opened his eyes again before rolling over and looking up at Pitch.

"Can't you turn the temperature down seeing as you've got your powers back?"

"Um…no….?" Pitch said, staring at Jack, "My powers about fear, remember? I don't control the temperature."

"You don't?"

Now Pitch was pretty sure his face had turned to a 'what the hell' expression, "No Jack…how hard did you exactly hit your head?"

Jack shrugged, "I don't remember."

"Right…" Pitch said, sighing. It was probably the tiredness and the concussion combined that was making Jack act slightly crazy. Pitch wondered how long it was going to be before either the Guardians or one of the Yetis came back.

Pitch wondered about opening the windows for Jack himself but as he glanced about, he blew up at his spikes in frustration, "I think Sandy had the same idea as Bunny about making sure we weren't up and moving about."

Right next to Jack's staff was Pitch's wheelchair, neatly folded, a dust of golden sand slightly sprinkled on the arms on the arms on the back of the chair. The wheelchair too, seemed to be staring at him mockingly, as if the object knew that the owner couldn't reach it and was quite happy about that fact. Pitch wished he hadn't tried to stay up earlier, otherwise Sandy wouldn't have felt the need to move the blasted thing.

He groaned and glared at his arm and leg. He longed for when he could finally walk again and didn't need to have that wheelchair right next to his bed whenever he wanted to get out of it

Sudden movement in the corner of his eye caught Pitch's attention and his eyes widened as he glanced over, "Jack, you're not supposed to be walking about."

"I need to open a window!" Jack said, as he wobbled on his feet, holding on the head board to keep upright. He glanced longingly at his staff, knowing if it was nearer he wouldn't even need to rely on his feet.

Pitch frowned, still concerned as Jack let of the board and started walking, "Didn't you say you get dizzy when you walk?"

"Whoa!" Pitch's statement came too late as Jack's feet started wobbling uncontrollably and the white haired teen started to fall, arms flailing about in a hopeless attempt to regain balance. Having been near Pitch's bed, he landed right on top of Pitch, on his right side.

"Ah!" Pitch hissed as Jack landed right on his broken arm.

"Sorry…" Jack apologised meekly.

He moved, allowing Pitch to extract his sore arm.

"It's okay," Pitch groaned, "You don't weigh much."

Jack giggled slightly, as he stared up at Pitch, "Guess it was a bad idea to try walking, huh?"

"Until you no longer have concussion, yeah." Pitch replied, though he couldn't help but smile as well, the throbbing in his arm subsiding a little.

"I hate concussion."

"You said that three times now."

"I did?"

Pitch shook his head, smiling wider, "Think you might be able to get back to your own bed without falling?" He asked.

When Jack didn't reply, Pitch opened his mouth to say something and suddenly froze. Jack had shifted closer to him and snuggling into him, resting his cheek on the crook of Pitch's neck.

"Your skin's cold." Jack explained sleepily, eyes drooping shut.

Pitch couldn't move. He could hardly breathe. In the back of his mind, he recalled that while his skin was not as cold as Jack's own skin, Jack was correct as his skin was a lot cooler than other spirits and mortals. It was mainly because Pitch lived in shadows and darkness and therefore his body had adapted to the cooler temperature the shadows provided. It was also why, while Pitch did notice Jack's cold skin, it didn't affect him as much as it would to someone like North or Tooth or those kids Jack had rescued when Pitch had been evil.

However, right now, he wasn't paying attention to those thoughts. All he could do was stare down at Jack, whose face was so close to his. His heart was thumping so loudly, so quickly, that Pitch was almost certain that it would burst out of his chest.

If Jack could hear Pitch's rapid heartbeat (which Pitch was almost certain he could, seeing how close the winter spirit was), he didn't appear to take much notice as his body finally allowed his eyes to shut and let him drift off into sleep, no longer too hot as he was moments ago. It wasn't long before Sandy's golden sand tendrils found him and golden dolphins and snow days appeared above his head.

Pitch wasn't sure just how long he stayed frozen in place, staring down at Jack as the winter spirit lay there, mumbling nonsense in his sleep. He had never…had anyone this close to him before. Not ever in his thousand years as a spirit. He hadn't ever been friends with anyone to ever allow them near him, let alone this close, really. Usually they never wanted to be near him and he never wanted to be near them. Until now.

He didn't notice when his heart stopped beating at a panicked rate or when he stopped holding his breath. He just lay there, glazing at Jack. The boy looked so peaceful asleep. It didn't even bother him that he was sleeping right next to the person who just months ago would have turned the golden images above his head into black nightmare sand. Even the fact that Pitch had somehow regain a little of his powers didn't seem to faze Jack; he wouldn't be sleeping so comfortably next to him if it did.

Slowly, Pitch eyes travelled down to Jack's lips. They were parted slightly, as Jack breathed in and out evenly, his sleep-talking calming as he fell into a deeper sleep. It didn't look like he would stir even if an elf was to burst into the room banging a set of drums as loud as it possibly could.

Not even aware of his actions, Pitch leaned slightly closer, his lips just a few inches from Jack's.

"As if I would ever love the likes of you,"

Pitch jerked his head back, his movement stirring Jack slightly, who frowned and started muttering in his sleep. Pitch stayed still until Jack fell quiet again before turning his head away and running a hand through his spikes.

What was he even thinking? Jack was his friend. That was it. Nothing more. What kind of friend was he to even try to take his advantage of Jack like that while he was sleeping?

Pitch sighed. His nightmare was right. As if Jack would ever love the likes of him.

Pitch why? Just why? We would have almost had our kiss moment!

Urgh. At least you two kissed in your dream. But then things went wrong and the fearlings show up. Damn fearlings and nightmares ruining everything! I need you out the picture so Pitch will finally kiss Jack, alright?

Anyway hope you readers enjoye. Please leave a review it's means a lot. ^^