Chapter Five:
"I can't believe I'm letting you do this." Toothiana said as she straightened her back against the chair.
"Come on, sheila. Just relax, " Bunny replied as he balanced his sketch pad on his knee. Tooth sighed and let her shoulders loosen up. She tilted her chin just barely to the side, catching the light on the side of her face. "Don't move!" Bunny said suddenly, holding out a hand to still her.
Tooth froze, and then took a deep breath. This should be nothing. She had people watching her perform all the time -doing very dangerous feats- but somehow, just sitting in a chair, letting Aster sketch her was causing a small drop of sweat to trail down her back, even though she'd taken off her coat.
Her hands were placed neatly on her lap as she stared straight at a little chip in the paint on the opposing wall. She heard the faint scratches of charcoal on parchment as the minutes ticked by, followed by the gentle hush of Bunnymund's breath as he concentrated; scanning her body with his green eyes, sliding over every curve in her figure, every curl that had slipped out of her up-do, and the soft smile that seemed to always be present when she was with him.
Just as her shoulders began to stiffen up, she heard Bunny clear his throat and set down the pencil. "Er- thanks, Toothy." Aster said, quickly closing his sketchpad and setting it down on his bed.
"Hey!" Tooth jumped up and reached across him, not noticing the flush that instantly stained his cheeks as she did so, and grabbed the leather-bound book. "At least let me see it, Aster!"
"Oi!" Bunnymund shouted, snapping out of his stupor and snatching the sketchbook from her grasp just as quickly as she had swiped it from the bed. "That's private." He said quietly giving her a teasing look.
Tooth raised an eyebrow at him and held out her hand palm-up, as if she was a teacher and he were a student refusing to hand over a secret note. "Come on, at least let me see the drawing of me."
Bunnymund sighed, and then opened up the notebook, flipping through the pages, giving Tooth a few suspicious glances, just in case she tried to peak at the other pages. Finally, he handed the book to her.
Tooth's smile widened as soon as she saw the thin black strokes that curled across the page, spreading like little spindly branches. "This…" Tooth sighed as she looked up at him with bright mauve eyes. "This is beautiful."
Aster rubbed the back of his head nervously as Tooth gently grazed the line that formed her back with her finger. She looked up at him with a soft, sincere smile. "You're amazing."
Bunny's cheeks flushed as he quickly cleared his throat before quickly plucking the sketchbook from her hands and pushing it under his pillow.
Tooth tried to hide her smile. She'd figured out his secret: no matter how much he wanted to be a big tough guy, he was really just a big softie.
Awwwww. Tooth thought as she put a hand over her heart. Bunny's eyes flitted over to her before he quickly stood up, gently pulling her up with him.
Tooth met his gaze, raising an eyebrow at him. What is it? She inwardly asked. Bunny's mouth barely opened before he quickly clamped it shut.
Then, he quickly added, "You wanna go see Soph, sheila?"
Tooth's face instantly brightened at the mention of the small girl's name. The young woman began to bounce excitedly on the balls of her feet. "Of course!" she chirped excitedly as she laughed with glee. "I'd love to see her!"
Aster smiled before leading her out the door, neither of the pair noticing that Bunny hadn't let go of her hand.
TTT
Rapunzel sighed and crossed her arms before finally looking back up at Jack. "Yes, it was me." She glanced up at him almost shamefully.
"Hey, I'm not mad or anything." Jack assured as he stepped around her, looking at all the intricate paintings that covered the walls. "Did you do all this?" He asked, somewhat awestruck.
He'd seen Bunny's paintings before, but Rapunzel's were somehow… different. Almost like they had some sort of hidden meaning; as if it were puzzle that needed to be solved.
He heard her feet patter after him, when he turned to look at her he saw a shy smile on her face as she shrugged and replied. "Yes."
"You probably have a lot of free time then, huh?" Jack raised an eyebrow at Rapunzel as she suddenly grew quiet.
"You could say that." She muttered as she played with a strand of her golden hair.
Jack turned to walk towards the closed window when he felt something snag around his ankle. With a grunt he pitched forward. Jack tried to catch himself, but only managed to get his arms wound up in some strange, smooth… rope? No it couldn't be rope, but it wasn't a fabric either.
"What is this stuff?" Jack exclaimed as he attempted to wriggle out of his confines. This only seemed to tangle him up even more.
"Hold still, hold still!" Rapunzel shouted as she rushed to his side, kneeling down next to him and wrapping her fingers around the strange material that was looped around his arms and legs.
Jack yanked his arm to the left, trying to rip through the bonds.
"Ouch!" Rapunzel yelped as her head jerked in the direction of his arm.
"I didn't touch you!" Jack shouted as he suddenly stilled, maybe he actually might have somehow hit her with his wild movements. Once he'd calmed down, Jack took a moment to actually look at what he'd caught himself up in.
"Is this… hair?" Jack asked as he saw the bright golden locks that interlaced his arms and tied his legs together. He saw Rapunzel wince as she continued to untwist the tangles and knots.
"No," Jack gaped, "No way! This cannot be your hair!"
Rapunzel laughed nervously as she continued to work out the knots. "It-" She sighed, "It is."
Jack's head fell back against the floor as he felt Rapunzel work. He wasn't trying to be rude, but he needed a minute to take it all in. He was literally trying to get out of someone's hair.
As his blue eyes scanned the room, he realized that Rapunzel's hair was draped along the floor and the walls, where it was held up above the ground by hooks. I'm, an idiot. He thought, how could he have missed something as obvious as 70 feet of hair covering the room.
"I'm really sorry about this." Rapunzel apologized as she accidentally tugged too tightly on a lock of hair, causing Jack's wrist to twist painfully.
"That's alright, Punz." Jack grunted in pain. "I've been in worse situations…" He thought of his days on the streets, his home life…
Jack shook his head quickly, banishing the thoughts from his mind. He didn't want to think about that now.
"You know, we could just cut it-" Jack suggested.
"No!" Rapunzel snapped, her green eyes widening as she leaped away from him. Jack thought he saw her reach for her frying pan when he shouted,
"Alright, alright, we won't cut it!" Jack quickly shouted, trying to calm the blonde girl down. He noted her quick breathing and partially out stretched arm. Now was not the time to make a stupid mistake.
"I'm sorry." Jack said softly, sitting up to look at her the best that he could. "I didn't mean to upset you…" Jack would have run his fingers through his hair if his arms weren't tied to his body. "Look," Jack said gently, "We won't even think about cutting your hair. I just need you to help me get untangled." Rapunzel paused, looking at Jack as if he were some sort of mythical creature she had never seen before.
Then, she slowly pattered back over and kneeled next to him, unwinding the thick curtain's of hair that he was twisted up in.
"I'm- I'm sorry about acting so strange," Rapunzel tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's just…" She hesitated and quickly looked down.
"Just what?" Jack asked, wishing that he could put a comforting arm on her shoulder; she seemed pretty upset.
Rapunzel looked up to the ceiling as if she were pondering why on earth she was telling him this, if that was what she was thinking, Jack couldn't blame her, after all; they had just met.
Her gaze shifted to his and she sighed in defeat, pushing her hair out of her eyes she softly said, "You're the first person that I've met from outside my tower."
Jack's eyes widened and he felt as though all the air had been stolen from his lungs. He hadn't realized that his mouth had dropped open until he exclaimed, "What?"
TTT
"Pretty!" Sophie exclaimed as she grabbed onto the fringe of Toothiana's dress, the pink, beaded, fabric clutched in her tiny fists.
"Hello, little one!" Toothiana gushed, swooping the little girl up in her arms and spinning her around, her heart soaring with the joyful giggle the little girl let out.
"Hey there, ankle biter." Bunny smiled, rubbing the little girl's head.
"Bun-Bun!" She cheered, clapping her hands together excitedly.
"Bunny!" A new voice shouted. Toothiana turned around; Sophie still nestled comfortably on her hip. A boy-maybe nine years old- jumped up from his place on a bed, leaving an open book of the rumpled sheets as he ran to Aster.
"Lookit!" He hooked a finger in the corner of his cheek and pulled, revealing a row of perfectly white teeth, well, minus one. "I lost a tooth!" he exclaimed.
"Blimey, that's great Jamie!" Bunny clapped the boy on the shoulder, giving him a crooked grin.
Jamie laughed before turning to look at Tootiana and Sophie. "Look Soph!" He pulled back his cheek farther.
"Wow!" The little girl gasped, completely awestruck. Toothiana herself could hardly contain her excitement.
"You have amazingly, beautiful teeth!" She chirped, bouncing Sophie from side to side on her hip. Jamie laughed happily.
"Thanks!"
"Oi, Jamie." Bunny suddenly interrupted.
"Yeah?" The smaller boy asked, turning to face Aster with undivided attention.
"Where are North and Sandy? And the rest of the crew?" his brows furrowed. Tooth, suddenly realizing that the ship had become far quieter than when she'd first arrived, turned to Jamie, eager to know where everyone had gone.
"They went to go help set up the circus grounds, North said he wanted to make a little money while we were here. He was going to ask you for help, but Ralph said not to bother because you brought a lady to your room." Jamie's brows furrowed like he was trying to place to puzzle pieces together that just didn't fit. "What did he mean by that?"
Tooth felt her cheeks flush red and she heard Bunny mumble, "Oh crikey…"
She quickly cleared her throat and gave Sophie a kiss on the cheek before setting her down on the ground. When she turned to face Bunny she could see his face was red with embarrassment. She placed a sympathetic hand on his shoulder and gave him a sweet smile.
"Don't worry about it, Aster." She assured. Glancing quickly at a clock on the wall, Tooth realized she should probably be leaving soon. She had –again- lost track of time. "I think I should be going."
"Alright, sheila." Bunny said, smiling at her. She could hear the masked disappointment in his voice: he'd wanted to spend more time with her, and she'd be lying if she said she didn't want to spend more time with him…
But after what Jamie had said, about being in Bunny's room, Tooth began to wonder if what she was doing was all right. She was a married woman, after all. She could always ask herself what Pitch would think if he knew, but she already knew the answer.
To put it plainly, he wouldn't be pleased.
Tooth began to walk towards the doorway, her brows still creased in thought. If there was nothing going on between them, then was it all right? Would it matter what other people thought of them if it wasn't the truth?
Toothiana truly loved spending time with Aster, as well as Sophie and Jamie, so was it fair for her to give up something she enjoyed just because of how someone might react? She couldn't imagine Pitch getting upset about the children, but she knew he'd be furious if he knew about Bunny…
I'll just tell him about Bunny! Tooth inwardly exclaimed, abruptly stopping in the middle of the doorway. Pitch wouldn't have anything to worry about if she was honest with him, and if he didn't want her spending time with Bunny then… well she'd be convince him to let her, somehow…
"Would you like to come over for breakfast, tomorrow?" Tooth asked, suddenly turning around and placing a hand on the doorframe.
Bunny looked slightly caught off guard. His eyes widened slightly and he had been in the middle of picking up Sophie, whom had just demanded 'up!'. "If that's alright with you, Toothy."
Tooth nodded, smiling brightly. She quickly grabbed a pen and a scrap of paper out of her purse and scribbled down her address. "Be there by ten." She pressed the paper into Bunny's hand before turning to go. She quickly waved over her shoulder and darted down the hall, and up the stairs, out into the sunlight.
TTT
Rapunzel finished removing the last of her hair from Jack's body and helped the lanky boy to his feet, brushing off her dress as she waited for him to respond. She had just told him an awful lot. Well, it was only partially the truth, but it was still quite a bit to take in.
"So, you're mother owns this restaurant?" Jack asked as he crossed the room, picking up his staff and letting it fall against his shoulder.
"Yeah." Rapunzel followed him, bunching up part of her dress in her fist.
"And she's never let you outside because your father left you and she doesn't want you to be hurt…" He began to pace around the room, looking at the objects on her desk and paging through one of her books.
Rapunzel just nodded. Her father was a touchy subject, and her mother always seemed to get very upset whenever he was mentioned.
Jack gave her a strange look, as if he didn't believe her. "It's the truth!" Rapunzel exclaimed, exasperatedly stamping her foot.
The white-haired boy simply smirked at her and placed a soothing hand on her shoulder. "It's not you that I don't believe… it's…" He shook his head and let his hand fall from her shoulder.
Rapunzel felt her heart clench. He seemed so sad, and yet very confused. "Jack?" She asked, trying to turn her head to meet his gaze.
When he finally faced her, he opened his mouth as though he were about to say something. Then, there was the sound of footsteps coming up the stairwell. "Hide!" Rapunzel shouted, pushing Jack towards a large wardrobe on the other side of the room.
"Ouch! Hey! Careful, Punz!" Jack griped as she forced him into the wardrobe.
"Shhh!" Rapunzel put a finger to her lips and whispered, "If my mother sees you… just don't let her see you, alright?" Jack paused and looked as though he might actually say 'no'. Actually, the more she looked at him, the more he seemed to look cold and angry. However, Jack huffed and nodded before crossing his legs, allowing the closet doors to shut.
"Thank you." Rapunzel whispered closing the door, just as Mother Gothel burst inside, announcing that she had a wonderful surprise.
TTT
Toothiana pushed open the door to the Theatre, which was full of bustling activity; performers were scurrying left and right, carrying large crates of what appeared to be fish. Why on earth would they be doing that? Toothiana wondered as she walked to the stairwell leading to upper seating: That was where Pitch would always watch the acts rehearse, it always gave him a good vantage point and helped him spot inconspicuous errors in the performances.
As soon as she reached the top, she saw her husband. He was wearing his black suit, but his usually neatly combed back hair was looking a little… frazzled.
Toothiana hid a smile as she crept up behind him. She really had missed seeing him over the past few days.
Slipping her arms around his waist, she pulled him closer to her, breathing in his musky scent. "Guess who?" She whispered against his back.
She felt him chuckle as he turned around to face her, slinking his arms around her waist. "The light of my life," he whispered, turning down to kiss her. Tooth rose up onto her tiptoes, placing her hands on his shoulders for better leverage.
He held onto her tightly, as if he were trying find a way to be even closer to her. He had missed her too. Tooth smiled against his lips and deepened the kiss, gently tugging at the hair at the nape of his neck.
When they finally broke apart, Tooth pulled him into a hug, it was soothing to feel his frame against hers. "How is the Night Fury?" She asked, looking up into his amber eyes.
Pitch smirked, "Well, it seems the young dragon trainer knew how to handle him. By this rate the show should go on as planned."
"That's wonderful, darling!" Tooth bounced on her feet happily, winning an amused chuckle from Pitch. Then, he suddenly grew quiet. Tooth stilled ad slipped her small hand into his.
"What is it?" She asked, lifting her other hand to his face.
"You do know that every time I leave you, there is as big a hole in my heart as there is in yours, don't you?" He looked sadly down at her. Tooth gave him a gentle, reassuring smile.
"Yes, I know."
He smiled, "You always do, don't you?" He tucked a strand of hair that had slipped out of her up-do behind her ear.
"Only when it comes to you." She whispered, giving him a quick peck. He sighed and pulled her to him again, Toothiana closed her eyes, content to be wrapped in his warmth.
He sighed, "you can not fathom how I've missed you, Toothiana."
Tooth buried her head in his chest, and opened her mouth to mention Bunny. Pitch was in a relatively good mood; there would be no better moment to mention it then now.
"Sir?" She heard Pitch sigh again, resting his forehead against hers for a moment, then he straightened. He seemed so tired…
"What is it?" He asked, regarding the worker with his usual cool composure.
"The boy says the Night Fury won't allow anyone but him to ride it…"
Tooth saw Pitch's fist clench, but he remained calm, taking a deep breath before saying through gritted teeth, "I'll be down in a moment."
The guard nodded and disappeared down the stairwell. Pitch rubbed his eyes before he sighed once more. Toothiana felt a wave of sorrow for her husband. He really did need more rest-
"I think you should go home now, Toothiana." He gave her a gentle look, but his tone was commanding. "I'll be home soon, I assure you."
Tooth looked at him pleadingly, knowing that he wouldn't be home soon at all. He winced as though her gaze had physically burned him.
"I'm truly sorry, love. I promise I'll be home as quickly-"
"No." Toothiana interrupted, stepping away from him. She quickly smoothed out her dress and forced a reassuring smile on her face, "I know you have to work, I'll just… go home and eat dinner." She caught his gaze, seeing the guilt he felt, she instantly felt the desire to comfort him.
"It's alright." She lied, quickly kissing him before she turned to leave, feeling even more alone than she had before.
TTT
Jack sat in the closet, waiting for Gothel to leave and for Rapunzel to let him out. At the moment, the two of them were sitting at a table together, enjoying Gothel's 'surprise', hazelnut soup.
Over their meal, Jack picked up little hints that Rapunzel dropped: hints about her birthday, which he'd guessed was the next day.
It didn't make any sense, Gothel was Rapunzel's mother, shouldn't she know what day her child's birthday is?
"I was wondering if we could see the lights…" Rapunzel said casually. Jack couldn't see anything, but he could hear the longing in her voice. He felt the sudden urge to take her to see the 'lights'. He'd never seen them, or even heard of them before, but by the sound of Rapunzel's voice… They must be amazing.
"Oh," He heard Gothel say from behind the door, "you mean the stars." He hated the way she said it, like she was speaking to a child.
He heard Rapunzel explain how she'd charted stars, and these lights were definitely not stars; he was actually impressed by her vast knowledge, she'd seen less of the world than he had, and yet she still seemed to know more about it than anyone he'd ever known.
"Rapunzel, we're done talking about it." He heard Gothel say through gritted teeth. Jack clenched his grip around his staff tightly.
"Oh, come on!" Rapunzel pleaded.
"Rapunzel, you are not leaving this tower, ever!" He heard Gothel shout. Rapunzel suddenly became quiet and Gothel muttered something about being the bad guy, but Jack didn't care about that, he was worried about Rapunzel, whom he hadn't heard speak again.
There were a few hushed words between the two and then the sound of a door closing. There was a brief silence, and then the light pattering of bare feet on the floor.
The door opened and there was a defeated looking Rapunzel, one arm draped across her middle and her eyes focused on the ground.
"She's gone, now." She said softly as Jack hopped to the ground, looking at her sympathetically. "If you leave now she won't be able to spot you…" Jack nodded and turned to leave, and then he suddenly stopped and turned around, letting his staff rest on his shoulder.
"What's your mother doing tomorrow?" He asked, the gears in his head turning as he formulated an idea.
"I guess she'll be working…"
"Late?"
"Yes, but-"
Jack quickly closed the space between them, giving Rapunzel a grin he asked, "What if I take you to see the lights?"
Rapunzel paused, as if she needed a moment to process the information, then she turned to Pascal, who nodded eagerly.
"Would you really do that?" She asked quietly, stepping closer to him.
"Sure, It'll be fun, Punz." Jack leaned down on his staff. Rapunzle hesitated, looking towards the door.
"What about my mother? She'll be-"
"She won't even know your gone, we'll be as quick as a bunny." Jack replied, making a skittering motion with his fingers.
Rapunzel giggled and looked back at Pascal, who seemed to smile and nodded again. It was clear she was conflicted, both wanting to see the lights and stay loyal to her mother, but…
"Alright." She finally sighed, a smile growing on her face. "I'll go with you." Jack tried to ignore how light on his feet he felt, he honestly believed that he could fly if he wanted to.
Jack simply smirked at her, "I'll be here at eight," He said, giving Rapunzel's hand a quick squeeze.
She gave him a nervous smile, "Alright."
He slowly slid his hand from hers and slipped towards the door. When he turned look back at her he saw her give him a half wave.
Jack raised his hand in return and disappeared down the stairwell.
A/N: Hi guys, so I tried putting dashes as page breaks in the last chapter, but they didn't show up! ARG FanFiction, why are you doing this to me?! Anyways: thank you for reading, I really appreciate the support.
Now, some people had some questions, so I'll be answering them right now.
Q: How old is Toothiana?
A: Toothiana is in her mid- twenties; she was about nineteen or twenty when she married Pitch (yes I know, that is very young)
Q: Could you put in Vanellope and Ralph?
A: I will try to give them a cameo of sorts, haha :) I actually mentioned Ralph in this chapter, but it was so brief I'm not sure it even counts ^_^;
Please Review! It means a lot to me and helps motivate me to write :)