From Nightmares to Dreams

by spankingfemfatale

It's been several years since the Guardians defeated Pitch, but they are bound to cross paths again, and when they do, the Guardians have decided that things between them have to change. WARNING! Contains non-sexual spanking! This lovely fic is a co-written piece by myself and the lovely WindChimeGhost! (Her Archive of our own account name!)

18. Reap What You Sow

Chapter Eighteen

Reap What You Sow

Bunnymund was hoping as fast as he could through the glacier and kept pace with the trotting reindeer, and as soon as they'd made it back to the stables he remarked, "I'm heading in to the fireplace; you two can put those blooming flea bags back in their barn without me!"

Pitch frowned at Bunnymund's retreating form as he dismounted and muttered, "No more a flea bag than you rabbit."

Jack slid off Vixen, allowing the reindeer to go her separate way. He marched up to Pitch, extending his hand and the reins out toward him, a frown on his face, "Pitch, you didn't have anything to do with what happened out there, did you?"

Pitch blanched being confronted with the reins. His eyes cut nervously over to Bunnymund who had almost disappeared from sight before focusing back on Frost speaking in a harsh whisper. "I… I may have played with them a little, but I didn't mean for anything bad to happen! It was just meant to be a bit of fun Jack. Honest! How was I supposed to know that ornery reindeer would become that unstable!" Pitch looked worried now, "You… you're not going to tell anyone are you?"

"You may have..." Jack rolled his eyes, trying to get himself under control. He sighed. "I should tell North, or better yet Bunny. I think he has the right to know. Pitch, Bunny could have gotten seriously hurt out there!"

Pitch cringed, "Don't you think I know that?! It was an accident Frost! I didn't mean for Bunnymund to almost get hurt, and look! He's fine! A little bit ruffled, but no worse for the wear. Please Jack, just keep this between you and I! If you tell... it's going to get me in trouble. You don't want to get me in trouble do you?" Pitch gave Jack a pitiful look in hopes the boy would feel sorry enough for him to let the incident slide.

Jack studied Pitch. "I might be an unruly rascal that holds a record for being on Santa's naughty list, Pitch, but I still have sense enough to know this is wrong. Holding something like this back is only going to snowball into something worse—for both of us. Do you want to get me in trouble, too?"

Pitch pouted, "No. I don't want you to get into trouble either, but... nothing bad actually happened. Just please can't you be my friend, and let it go this once? Bunnymund already hates me, and North was just starting to be nice to me. If they find out..." Pitch paled looking quite anxious.

Jack sighed, giving Pitch an annoyed look. Finally, he pointed a finger at him. "I'll let it go, just this once. But this better not happen again. I may be a trickster, but I'd never stoop to doing what you did. And if North or Bunny ever ask me, I can't guarantee you that I won't tell them the truth."

Pitch's face brightened, "You won't regret it! It'll never happen again I swear!" Pitch's mood lightened considerably now feeling a lot less guilty that the truth came out at least to Jack. No one else ever need be the wiser, and business could go on as usual.

"I really don't like this, Pitch." Jack shook his head, tossing the reins down on the floor. "You know that it's usually good to come clean right away instead of trying to cover something over. Otherwise it may come back to bite you later on."

Pitch's brow crinkled, "There was no harm done, and as long as the rabbit doesn't have a clue, this whole thing should blow over in a day or so. Try not to think about it too much." Pitch tried to sound reassuring although the boy's wavering convictions gave him cause for concern.

Jack gave Pitch one last hard look and said nothing more on the subject as he turned and headed back to the main part of the Pole.

Pitch watched him go as he wrung his hands. Would Jack keep their little secret? He was regretting admitting the truth to Jack now. He may have been better off just keeping that little bit to himself… no, Jack was already suspicious, and if he'd brought the reins to North's attention, Pitch most assuredly would have gotten in trouble. At least this way the chances were severely diminished.

Trying to work away his nerves, Pitch loaded Vixen into her stall and cleaned up the area more than necessary before moving back to his room for sanctuary. Once there he settled on to his bed picking up the ghost story book North had handed him when he'd brought Pitch to the library. Pitch ran his hands over the cover settling back to try to read some of them, but he found his mind was too distracted to get into it. Instead, Pitch just sat against the headboard hugging the book to his chest as he played the day's events back over in his mind. Wishing wholeheartedly that he'd never tampered with those reins.

Jack leisurely walked into the room where Bunny was busy warming himself by the fire, appearing to be lost in his thoughts. A pang of guilt welled up inside him when his eyes landed on the rabbit.

Bunnymund sat on an ottoman with his feet propped up towards the fire, but his hand held an icepack to his ribs as he breathed laboriously. He glanced over to Jack, his ears had been laid low, but seeing the winter sprite one twitched upward as the rabbit gave him a tired smile, "Hey there bucko."

"Hey," Jack pointed at the ice pack, "Are you okay?"

Bunnymund winced as he turned to speak to Jack, "Aw yeah, yeah. Just a bit sore is all. That bloomin' deer did a number on me ribs. Nothings broke, so no needs ta worry."

Jack had a pained, guilty look on his face at hearing Bunny had gotten bruised up quite a bit. He turned to stare at the fire, thinking over everything that had taken place. Was it right for him to keep what Pitch did a secret? Or should he tell someone? Pitch wasn't exactly on the right path yet, so he had to watch that he didn't get dragged into his schemes. He didn't want North coming down on him like he had done to Pitch lately. Jack winced at the thought of getting spanked by the big man. Unlike Pitch, he had the other Guardians' trust. Keeping this from them might damage that trust, which would be far more painful than a spanking.

"Y'all right there sprite?" Bunnymund saw the look of consternation on the boy's face. It looked odd on the usually playful and happy face.

Jack sighed, hesitating. "Bunny," he started, walking closer to the fireplace, "what would you do if something bad happened as a result of something someone did, and you found out about it, but the person begged you not to tell anyone?"

Bunnymund's brow drew down thinking of only one person Jack's question could pertain to, but playing along, he answered ambiguously, "If it was something bad, I would advise against listening to that person since they are already in the wrong."

Jack nodded. "Yeah," he answered, sounding preoccupied.

Bunnymund planned to get to the bottom of this, and unlike the other guardian's, he took the kid gloves off quickly, "What did he do Jack, that sneaky snake in the grass! Don't protect him! He sure don't deserve it I'm sure." He was becoming angry at the thought of Pitch manipulating their boy. Jack was three hundred years old, but he still had a naivety about him that worried the rabbit especially when it came to dealing with Pitch Black.

Jack nervously ran his hands up and down his staff. "H—he tampered with the reins of your deer." he turned to Bunny. "But he said what happened out there was an accident. He didn't mean for it all to happen that way, and he never meant for you to get hurt." Jack sighed. "I found out about it when I picked up the reins as we were returning to the stables. I noticed they had been tampered with, and I confronted Pitch on it. He begged me not to tell anyone because he didn't want to get in trouble with North. But I feel guilty about it all. I don't want to be dragged into his mess and get in trouble, too."

Bunnymund was practically seething now as he hoped up throwing the icepack down, "He did what! Yeah, I'm bloody sure he didn't mean for me ta get hurt! Wait till I get my hands on that wiry no good wisp! He shouldn't worry about getting in trouble with North, after I'm done with him, North can pick up the scraps!" Bunnymund was bristling now obviously ready for a fight.

"Look, Bunny," Jack sighed again, "I know I would have done wrong by not saying anything about this, but I still feel like a tattletale. If you go doing anything to Pitch, he's going to know I told on him, after I told him I would let it slide just this once."

Bunnymund pointed angrily at Jack as he spoke, "That's not tattling Jack, Pitch is using you to cover for him, and I'm not gonna let him sway ya like that. I'm sick of everyone around here getting' wrapped around his finger; first Tooth, then North, now you? He's bad news, and if it were up ta me we'd bury him back in that hole and never let him see the light a day again."

"I guess you're right about the tattling part, but I still feel uneasy. Maybe we should just… go talk to North about all of this, see what he says."

Bunnymund twitched his nose in obvious disdain wanting to just give Pitch what for himself, but knowing he'd likely go overboard because of his dislike for the dark man, he acquiesced to Jack's request. Shaking his head he sighed, "Okay Jack. We'll go see North."

The two made their way through the globe room and down the hall to a lounge that North often sat in a comfy plush chair surrounded by his many gadgets and other things the Cossack found to make him relax.

"You or me?" Jack asked as he stared at North.

Bunnymund folded his arms replying tartly, "Well that depends on how much trouble you want your boyo ta be in cause if I tell em' you can best believe it ain't gonna be pretty."

Jack gave a smirk as he walked forward. "Uh… North?"

North turned to face them, a smile appearing when his eyes landed on the two. "Ah! What pleasant surprise. Come, sit." he waved to the empty chairs around him.

"So how did the inventory go?" Jack asked, seating himself in one of the chairs. Bunny took the other one.

"It went pretty well," North nodded. "Had few arguments with yetis, but it otherwise went smooth."

"That's good," said Jack.

"How did riding go?" North asked.

Jack cleared his throat, throwing a glance over at Bunny.

Bunnymund huffed folding his arms and displayed a very disgruntled expression, "Not as well as you'd have liked I can tell ya, but nothing less than I expected!"

Jack moved restlessly in his seat as North looked from Bunny back to him.

"What is problem?" North asked.

"Well, Pitch, for some reason or another, tampered with Bunny's reins, which led to other problems once we got out there."

North's face turned into a scowl, not liking where this was leading. "Go on," he said.

"The reindeer he gave Bunny to ride went out of control. Bunny lost the reins and nearly got himself killed in the process. Okay, the reins fell off the deer."

North turned to Bunny, concern in his voice. "Is this true?"

Bunnymund was scowling now digging his nails into the chair, "Oh yeah, the bugger was laughing so hard when he rode up, I wanted to kick him in the face! He even had the nerve to act like he was concerned when he couldn't stop the reindeer. He made out like he wanted to help me, but that was probably just ta get me ta fall offa that thing! I'm sure he was finding the whole thing so amusing! I told ya this was a bad idea North! Nothing good is gonna come having him here! He's even corrupting Jack!"

Jack's eyes widened. "Bunny, I wouldn't go that far. I did tell you about everything that happened. And Pitch might have been sincere about helping you. He seemed like he was telling the truth when he told me he didn't mean for you to get hurt. He seemed shaken up."

Bunnymund huffed rolling his eyes, "Yeah, I'm bloody sure the Boogeyman really cares so much about any of our wellbeing especially mine. He's nothing but a shifty little liar Jack. It ain't no secret there's more bad blood between us than any of the rest of you. Who's ta say it wasn't an attempt on me life?" Bunnymund was working himself up now assuming the worst.

"I know he's a liar, but he's changed a little bit since he's been here. Tooth was right about that. And since we're all here to help him, I'm not about to accuse him of anything until I know for certain." Jack sighed, shaking his head. "I think he's just trying to fit in, but doesn't know how. So he's doing it in his own ways, not understanding that his ways are sometimes harmful. I guess he thought tampering with the reins would be his idea of a joke in order to please me, since I'm a... trickster... and all."

Bunnymund seemed undeterred, "I don't buy it; but nothing I say matters when it comes ta Pitch, so I'm gonna let ya all play house with him. I'm outta here." Bunnymund hopped to his feet thumping a hole in the floor and jumping into one of his many tunnels.

Jack sighed. That could have gone better than he had hoped. He turned back to North, who had been silently listening and regarding everything, his fingers steepled in front of him.

"So now you know." Jack said. "Pitch begged me not to tell anyone because he didn't want to get into trouble. I must confess that I went along with it at first. I told him I would let it slide just this once. But... I just couldn't keep quiet, especially after seeing that Bunny was nursing his side when I came in here. Keeping something like this a secret just felt wrong. So I told Bunny. I suggested talking to you about it because Bunny was about to go pound on Pitch himself, and I know that would have not turned out good."

A small smile formed on North's mouth. He nodded. "I appreciate your honesty, Jack. And I appreciate you telling me. You are right. It would have been wrong of you to do."

A nervous smile inched the corner of Jack's mouth up. "If you… approach Pitch on this, please don't tell him that I told you. I don't want to be a part of this anymore."

North smiled. "I do have one question."

Jack looked at him.

"How did you find out? About Pitch tampering with reins, I mean."

"I found the reins lying in the snow on our way back to the stables, where Bunny's deer dropped them. I picked them up to take with me and saw something wasn't right. I asked Pitch about it when we got back to the stable."

North nodded. "I will speak to Pitch about it later, once things simmer down. I will get his side of story."

Jack got up from his chair. He turned a serious look to North, "North,"

"Hm?"

"I just want you to know that…" he shook his head, "Never mind. I'll stick around here for awhile in case you need me." Jack walked away, pulling the hood of his hoodie up over his head.

It had been over two hours since they'd finished up at the stables, and Pitch was just finally starting to be able to relax thinking that everything was going to smooth out until he heard a knock at his door.

Pitch's eyes traveled to the door now raising hackles on the back of his neck. Be cool; Pitch told himself taking in a deep breath and pretending to go back to reading he said, "Come in."

The door opened and North slowly walked in. He lifted an eyebrow when his eyes landed on Pitch. Gently, he pushed the door closed. Moving his hands to clasp behind his back, he walked forward, toward the bed, "Did you have good time with reindeer today?" he asked.

Pitch gulped that guilty feeling coming back over him as he stared up at North willing his face not to emit the apprehension he was feeling having North coming up to stand next to him, "Uh… sure. We… we had a bit of a mishap, but otherwise everything went well."

"A mishap?" North raised both eyebrows, faking his shock over hearing the news. "What sort of mishap?"

Pitch visibly relaxed seeing North's reaction and assuming he had no clue, "When we were out on the track, Bunnymund lost control of his mount. But nothing bad happened," Pitch was quick to reassure although he couldn't keep eye contact anymore.

"I see," North mused, sitting down on the edge of Pitch's bed. "But from what I understand, Bunny got hurt a little."

"Hurt?" Pitch's head shot up in surprise as he shook his head no, "Frost and I made sure he didn't fall off of Blitzen, and he didn't say he was hurt to us." His face denoted concern towards North's words though as another pang of guilt rode up his spine. Why did he care so much? Who was Bunnymund to him other than a cranky guardian? He didn't care much for the rabbit, but he really had no intentions of him getting hurt during his prank, and more so the thought of upsetting North was weighing heavily on Pitch. He really didn't want to take steps backwards after they seemed to be doing so well.

North studied Pitch, noting his obvious nervous state. "Is there something you wish to tell me, Pitch?" he said, calmly.

North had chosen his words carefully Pitch realized. He already knew, Pitch was almost sure, but some part of him wrestled with the fact that maybe he didn't know the full truth. Glancing up though and looking into North's eyes reaffirmed the wily man was on to him. Pitch's stomach felt like it was lined in led now so sick he felt with these emotions. North wanted Pitch to admit fault, it wasn't hard for Pitch to understand this, but coming to terms with it and actually admitting it out loud was easier thought than said, "Um… well…" his heart was racing now as a mix of emotions from fear to uncertainty warred within him. It had felt good to get the truth off his chest when he'd told Frost, but with North there was the very real indication that the truth would not just be freeing but also condemning in the way of consequences for his actions.

Pitch didn't want to be punished for his prank. It was just a joke gone awry after all not malicious intent! But would North believe that? Would it matter? Pitch didn't want to find out, but he had to tell the big man something. He swallowed hard, "There isn't much to tell… Blitzen… he…" Pitch paused closing his eyes as he let out a deep sigh. Who was he fooling? Lying to North now wasn't going to do him any favors, and trying to lie was just making him feel worse because he knew the act itself was just working to estrange himself further from the guardians. Pitch lowered his head pulling his knees to his chest as he spoke softly in an almost defeated tone, "I… I didn't mean for this to happen. It was just supposed to be funny… I… I even made sure the reindeer made it into the glacier safely, but I didn't think Blitzen was that unruly. I'm… I'm sorry." Pitch had buried his head into his arms now not wanting to see North's look of disappointment he surely held.

North sat quietly, thinking. It was hard knowing what to do in this situation, "You gave Blitzen to Bunny?" he finally said, leaning forward.

Pitch peeked out from behind his arm wearing a grimace. Of course North knew the temperament of his reindeer well enough to know Blitzen was the worst behaved of them far better than even Pitch had known. But enough to know that Pitch should have known better than to give that particular reindeer to anyone. He tittered nervously, "Uh... yes. To my credit, I didn't realize the extent of how stubborn he was." He smiled sheepishly at North.

"You said it was supposed to be funny. What was supposed to be funny? You giving Bunny unruly deer?" North questioned.

Pitch found it harder to speak now as he decided to just nod omitting anything else as he was unsure just how much North was actually aware of, and he didn't wish to add more grease to the fire.

"And what made you think giving unruly deer to Bunny would be funny?"

Pitch frowned, he couldn't tell North it was mostly so he and Frost could ditch Bunnymund to go have actual fun without admitting he was attempting to blatantly undermine North's decree to have the rabbit along in the first place. That would not go over well at all. He answered delicately, "I was just wanting to give Bunnymund a hard time since he wasn't much of a rider," this was a half truth at least as Pitch did also want to give the rabbit a hard time just for the fun of harassing him.

North raised an eyebrow, sensing Pitch wasn't telling the whole truth.

Pitch glanced at North now wondering what the Cossack was fishing for, but he sure wasn't planning to tell on himself any more than what he had an inkling that North was already aware of. Did Frost betray him? He said he might say something if asked, but Pitch sorely hoped he didn't.

"Pitch," North heaved a big sigh, "I will tell you now that you only make matters worse by not telling full truth."

Growing frustrated Pitch deduced Jack must have told on him for North to be grilling him like this, "Alright fine. I… I tampered with the reins, so Bunnymund would fall behind. I just wanted to race with Jack… I didn't think Blitzen would become so obstinate. I just thought Blitzen would stop on the tracks, or if he did run, that we could easily stop him. I didn't mean Bunnymund any harm; I swear it!"

North remained silent, nodding when Pitch finally confessed. "Why would you not want Bunny to race with you?"

Pitch blushed as he sat back against the headboard, "He's… he's kind of a stick in the mud," Pitch admitted without adding the fact that the last thing he wanted was a babysitter. Jack was fun, and although he was technically a chaperone as well, Jack never made Pitch feel as such. Bunny on the other hand was very much a reminder that he was still a prisoner here, and Pitch had wanted to spurn him just because of that fact. It hadn't helped that he and Bunnymund had had it out at the party the last time they'd spoken.

"I see," North nodded his head. He continued to think while stroking his beard, not knowing how to approach Pitch on this.

"You… you're not mad at me are you?" Pitch peered at North anxiously. This whole conversation had him on edge, and with how calm North was approaching him, he was unsure exactly what North planned to do now.

"No, I am not mad." North shook his head. "Disappointed, yes,"

Pitch grimaced looking away as he stated softly, "I… I'm sorry; I really didn't mean for this to get so blown out of proportion. I can assure you that I'll take better care in the future to be less… reckless." He hoped his heartfelt apology and promise to do better would be enough to assuage North's disappointment.

"I accept your apology, Pitch, and I believe you are sincere. But you still will be punished." North finally said.

Pitch's face fell not liking the sound of that at all. Maybe there was a chance that he could at least avoid a spanking though he thought as he suggested, "Perhaps I could do extra chores to make up for it this time?"

"Actually, I was thinking that very thing." North nodded.

Pitch breathed a sigh of relief, "Excellent! I'm glad we could sort this all out," Pitch now smiled feeling much better that North had agreed to take his suggestion.

"After you spend some time over my knee," North added.

"Wha-what?" Pitch paled, "But… but we just…" Pitch was stunned at a loss for words. Did he just manage to talk himself into more than just a spanking? This wasn't fair at all!

"We will discuss extra chores later. Although I will say that it will be something for Bunny, not me. But right now, we are going to deal with you. Don't you think you deserve spanking for what you did?" North said, seriously, staring intensely at the Boogeyman.

Pitch's lip quivered as he croaked, "No! It's humiliating! I'm not a child North; you should reconsider your methods to be more befitting the fact I'm centuries old! Besides, I already told you that I didn't mean to cause anyone any harm. Doesn't that count at all?"

North sighed wearily, "We have already been down this tired old road too many times, Pitch. You may be centuries old, but you act like child. This is why I have chosen spanking." he glared back at Pitch. "I would advise that you do not push yourself. And you might not have meant anyone any harm, but you still put Bunny in danger. For this I cannot let you get away with. What you did was reckless and irresponsible. For someone who has dealt with equine creatures as much as you have, you should have known better than to give untrained rider an ornery deer. In doing what you did, you did mean harm to Bunny."

Pitch shrank as North rattled off his offenses until he couldn't even look at North any longer his eyes falling to his hands as his mouth twisted into a deep seeded frown. He couldn't argue with North's logic. He really did know better, it was the reason he'd felt so guilty after it had all went down. "I'm sorry… I wasn't thinking…" Pitch whined now knowing it likely didn't matter what he said at this point, he was going to be spanked and that was that.

"That is why you get spanked. It is incentive to make you think next time you are tempted to do something foolish."

North's comment offended Pitch's sensibilities, and he crossed his arms responding defiantly, "I already feel bad about it; you don't have to rub it in you know."

"I am not rubbing in. I am explaining to make sure you understand." North's face relaxed. "I know you feel bad. That is good. You need to feel bad. But I need to do this to accompany it to make lesson stick."

"I really wish you wouldn't. I can say with all certainty that the lesson has already stuck," Pitch pouted sullenly.

North sighed, shaking his head. "Believe me, I do not wish to do it, but I must, because you leave me no choice. It is your own doing." He patted his lap. "Now, come. Let us get this over with."

There was no running away from this, but Pitch still wanted to with all his will. He just stared in indecision now at North's lap already feeling on the verge of tears from the emotions all of this was bringing on. North was sitting right next to him, but the distance was yawning to willingly submit to. He pushed himself forward on the bed bringing his knees down onto the mattress where he was kneeling next to North's thigh. All he had to do was lean over to fulfill the Cossack's request, but actually doing it was like a knife to his pride cutting it to ribbons. Pitch bleated, "I can't… Please don't make me do this!"

"Yes, you can, and you will." North said. "If I have to wait here all day and all night, I will."

Pitch slumped there for long minutes before finally taking the plunge and extending his long form across North's lap. The act caused him to choke back a sob as a part of his dignity shattered to actually submit to North in this way. His whole body stiffened as he grabbed the corner of the mattress. North's lap was wide enough, and his frame was slight enough that Pitch's whole body was still draped across the bed this time verse dangling off the side. This lent for no distraction Pitch noted almost as an afterthought that he would be comfortable in every other manner except his soon to be sore posterior.

North grabbed hold of Pitch and pulled him forward, positioning him over his left knee. "I look forward to day when we no longer have to have these… discussions." North said, pulling Pitch's robe back.

Pitch whimpered in reply his whole body beginning to tremble as North shifted him and moved his robe. He was starting to breath heavier as his anticipation of what was soon to follow overrode all of his senses.

Eager to get the spanking over with, North wasted no time pulling Pitch's pants down with one yank and bringing his palm down in a swift blow.

Pitch yipped as the smarting palm connected arching his back dramatically more from the anticipation than from the pain of it. He hated that North felt the need to pull his pants down as if the spanking wasn't enough, coupled with it being on his bare flesh only made it that much more personal and shaming.

North brought his hand down in swift fast blows harder than previous swats he remembered causing Pitch to start jerking with every connecting swat. Pitch clenched his teeth doing his best to ride through the slaps, but he really had no tolerance for this concentrated pain and found himself howling out disgracing himself further, but he just couldn't help himself. Of course he had to further embarrass himself as he actively worked to block North's efforts now throwing his feet and his hands back in a desperate attempt to protect his rear from any further barrage, "No, no, no! It hurts too much! Please! No more!" Pitch pleaded frantically.

Not saying a word, North moved Pitch forward on his knee and pinned Pitch's legs between his own. He then reached to pull Pitch's hands to the small of his back and held them in place there. When Pitch was properly restrained, he continued the spanking. "It is supposed to hurt, Pitch."

Pitch struggled like a wild animal as he felt North attempting to restrain him. He screamed and bucked in his panic, but North subdued him anyway. Once he had no recourse but a slight wiggle as North resumed spanking him Pitch wailed out, "No! Ow! Ow!" He wrenched at his arms violently, but he didn't budge. He panted as his exertion only proved to leave him lying flat on the bed outside his bottom which was prostrated at just the right angle that all of North's swats were aimed on the cleft of his cheeks and the bottom of his thighs guaranteeing that where he was most sore would be the area of his butt he sat on the most. The irony was not lost on Pitch as he couldn't help but glance back and cringe at the sight he saw. North was thorough in his work as his bottom was well coated in his hand prints. The sight alone was enough to break him as the tears he'd worked so desperately to hold back burst like a dam, and Pitch openly cried now.

"Do you understand why you are getting this spanking?" North suddenly asked, not letting up but laying down harder swats on Pitch's underside.

He sobbed, "Yes! Yes!" Pitch had gone rigid as the barrage of swats hit very tender flesh burning the feeling into his mind. His body shook now as he cried his guilt and sorrow for what he'd done pouring out from him now, "I… I… could have hurt Bunnymund! I'm so sorry! Mercy!"

North nodded but didn't stop. He continued bringing his hand down at a steady pace. "I accept apology. However, the one you should be apologizing to is Bunny. You will do this after the spanking."

"Yes! Of course! Just please stop!" Pitch wailed pitifully. He'd agree to just about anything at this point, but the thought of apologizing to Bunnymund right after getting spanked sent another pang of humiliation through Pitch. He imagined North telling Bunnymund how Pitch had been well spanked on Bunnymund's behalf for his crimes against the rabbit, or even worse he'd make Pitch tell the rabbit what he'd earned himself just like North had made him willingly bend over his knee to further break his inflated ego. Pitch imagined Bunnymund would likely be wearing that smug smile he hated so much.

These thoughts mixed with the incessant sting being applied by North's heavy calloused hand to his very sore backside sent Pitch into uncontrollable weeping. Pitch was lost in his own self-pity, brought this low by not only the guardians but even more so his own bad choices. This was all his fault he knew, and it could have been avoided if he'd just exercised a little restraint. Never again! Pitch solemnly vowed to himself that he'd never be so foolish as to find himself in this position again, but this made him wail even harder as he knew how very unlikely it would be that he would actually be able to keep that vow.

Feeling that Pitch had been broken, North applied ten final swats and ended the spanking. He let Pitch lay across his knee a few minutes to regain his composure, then he gently pulled the Boogeyman's pants up and allowed him to stand.

When North had finished the spanking and released his hands, Pitch quickly covered his face heaving sorrowful tears into them. He had cried that way for several moments before he felt the fabric of his pants covering his exposed and very swollen and tender bottom moved gently back into place. The act of covering him worked to send another wave of fresh sobs to escape his throat as the sheer reminder of the level of humiliation he'd just endured was renewed within him.

He hadn't realized exactly when North had lifted him to standing, but he found even as he stood there between the legs of the sitting Cossack, the tears wouldn't stop cascading down his angled cheeks. His breath hitched and his frame shook as he fiercely wiped at his eyes. It seemed the more he fought to regain control over himself the further away from attaining it he was. Pitch couldn't bring himself to look at North now as he spoke in a hoarse broken voice, "I'm sorry I... I disappointed you. I'm ...I'm trying to do better; I'm just not very good at this." Pitch's face had contorted into a picture of agony as he said this feeling like an utter failure.

He couldn't even manage to make it more than a whole week before ending back up in this situation, and Pitch had to wonder if he couldn't get it together how long it would take for even Santa to throw in the towel concerning him and abandon this mission and in turn his hope in Pitch. The thought of North giving up on him or any of the guardians now made his chest feel tight as even he hadn't realized how much he'd longed to have anyone simply just care about him in any capacity. The thought of being all alone again threatened to break him in a way he'd long since forgotten he'd already endured centuries ago and didn't think his psyche could handle a repeat of.

North smiled lovingly at Pitch, reaching out a large arm to wrap around the Boogeyman. He pulled the smaller man toward him and gave him a warm, tight hug.

Feeling North's arms wrap around him sent an electrifying jolt through Pitch that made his heart flutter in a slight panic as his insecurities swelled, but as quickly as they'd risen, they melted away in the strong arms' loving embrace. It made Pitch shiver before collapsing delicately against the man's chest. He needed this now, ached for the estranged touch as more unbidden tears poured from his tightly shut eyes and a small almost unnoticeable satisfied sigh escaped his throat. Pitch laid limply against the big man's chest just listening to the vibrant pounding heart within. He was afraid to pull away from this moment as North was making him feel grounded and secure, but most importantly, loved and forgiven. These feelings confused him, but he knew that he wanted to keep feeling them.

"Pitch," North finally said, "I know it has been hard for you to understand, but I want you to know that I take no pleasure in spanking you. It hurts me when you make me do it. But I do it because I care about you, and I want to see you set on right path so that you can do something useful with life than just dwelling in evil. I know it's hard. No one said it would be easy. Life is never easy. You will have bad days and good days. You will mess up and make mistakes. Even I make mistakes. Like that one year I accidentally gave cat to little allergic girl." North's face turned sad. "She is doing okay now, but she had to go to hospital. It was long time before I forgave myself. I even questioned if I was right person for job."

Pitch listened quietly disengaging from the embrace to stand next to North. It was hard to think of North spanking him because he cared about his future, but Pitch also didn't doubt the Cossack. North wasn't one to spread false words, and he appreciated that North would share a failure of his own to make the nightmare king feel better about his own lack of progress.

Pitch had stopped crying now, but his eyes had remained staring at his feet as North had spoken. As he finished, Pitch commented shyly, "You are. The right man for the job I mean. You of all people have no need to doubt the validity of your place in the world." He paused a moment before continuing, "I know it might not seem so, but ...I'm grateful that you want to help me... even if I don't always act it. Help can be hard to accept when you're as stubborn as I am," he looked up now his eyes shimmered a reflection of gold and silver that were dilated from many fallen tears contrasted now with a small quirky smile touching his lips.

North smiled, putting a hand on Pitch's shoulder. "The fact that you admit you are stubborn is sign you are moving in right direction."

Pitch dipped his head with a soft chuckle, "Yes, well if I could just recognize it better and learn to bend a bit, then I might call it progress. Until then, it tends to... make things difficult for me." His cheeks reddened slightly as he glanced up and back down again. He took a step back to give North room to stand now as he'd been in such close proximity the man likely couldn't rise from the bed. Pitch wasn't looking forward to facing Bunnymund again anytime soon, unlike North, he doubted the rabbit was going to be as forgiving.

"You rest," said North, getting up. "I will call Bunny over here later today and all three of us will talk."

Pitch grimaced shaking his head slowly in agreement of North's decree even though he was dreading the confrontation. He was happy that North planned to at least give him a reprieve long enough to rest. He felt drained now, and even though he was still quite sore, he felt better about where he and North stood regarding what he'd done. North had helped erase a lot of the guilty feelings that had been eating at him since the whole incident had occurred. He'd answered for it, and a finality to move on from the debacle had been reached… at least with North. Bunnymund on the other hand… well that was left to be seen, but for now, Pitch didn't have to contend with the rabbit, and for that he was grateful.

Pitch crawled on top of his bed now grabbing his pillow and laying down on his side gently so as to avoid the soreness radiating through his rear end, Pitch curled in to a ball. His eyes remained open not really looking at anything as his mind tried to sort out the feelings he now felt and how best to process them.

North walked to the door, looking back at Pitch one last time before leaving the room.

Pitch glanced up to watch him go, and unlike any other time where this exchange between them had occurred, Pitch didn't feel any anger towards the man. In fact, he wasn't really sure what he felt other than everything was going to be okay.