Chapter 8

It had been four days since Jack discovered he had feelings for Pitch, and he was doing his best to try and push the man out of his mind. It wasn't easy however, because he kept having strange dreams revolving around the Nightmare King. The dreams weren't nightmares, they were simply his mind fulfilling the fantasies he so desired. The poor boy was so conflicted, he felt guilty for loving Pitch, but he also longed to see the Boogeyman again. "What am I gonna do?"

As the sun began to set on the fifth day, Pitch was frustrated and annoyed. He knew Jack was at odds with how he felt, but he expected the boy would have come back by now. The Nightmare King was slightly offended by the fact the frost elf had stayed away. "Think you can just leave and never come back, hmm?" Pitch thought aloud. A cloud of sand whipped around the boogeyman, and when it settled down, Pitch was gone.

Jack was walking along the street through the middle of Burgess, when suddenly the street lights began to go out. "Uh oh." The snow spirit began to walk in the other direction, but the lights began to go out from both sides. Without warning arms were wrapped around the guardian, and he was quickly transported to Pitch's lair.

Jack landed hard on a black sofa, with Pitch sitting down beside him laughing. "You shouldn't be walking alone after dark, Jack. You could easily get kidnapped."

The boy scooted away to the edge of the couch. "L-leave me alone." Jack's body was trembling, but not from fear. It was from holding himself back, despite how much he longed for the man to hold him.

The Nightmare King flashed a sinister smile. "You wish for me to keep my distance?" Jack nodded his head vigorously. All of a sudden the Boogeyman disappeared, and reformed under Jack, the end result being the boy sitting on Pitch's lap. "You are a horrible liar, Frost."

The frost elf said nothing, but wrapped his arms around Pitch's neck and hid his face in the man's robe. "That's my good boy." Pitch said, and kissed the boy's forehead. The guardian couldn't hold in his feelings anymore, he leaned in and kissed the man. The Nightmare King's grip on the snow spirit tightened, as he slipped his hand under Jack's sweatshirt and rubbed his back. Not expecting this Jack's eyes got large, but he realized he enjoyed the feeling.

Pitch began to caress the inside of Jack's thigh, causing the frost elf to moan slightly and sink his fingers ever so deep into the man's hair. The guardian couldn't believe what he was doing. Not only was he doing "things" with Pitch, but he was loving it. The boy was angry with himself; had he forgotten Pitch tried to rule the world? Had he forgotten Pitch threw him into an iceberg? Had he forgotten Pitch turned him into a love slave?

The answer was no he hadn't forgotten. Jack hated the things that Pitch did, but when captured he had seen the man had a better side, a side he liked tremendously. Not giving the Boogeyman a warning, Jack quickly pulled his lips away, panting deeply. Pitch grinned down at the bewildered guardian sitting in his lap, as a matter of fact the boy look like a shocked deer in headlights. "Not very used to this are we?"

Jack shook his head, but dared not utter a word. That's when Pitch noticed the bags under Jack's eyes. The snow spirit had not slept much the past few days from guilt. Pitch picked up Jack bridal style and carried him out of the room. "W-where are we going? P-put me down."

"Hush," Pitch replied. He laid Jack down on the bed, and pulled the covers up to his neck. "Go to sleep, you need it."

"N-no," Jack refused. "I can't stay here, I should go." The guardian of fun began to sit up, but Pitch pushed him back down.

"You're exhausted, if you try to fly you'll crash into something." The Nightmare King pulled the covers back up, and wrapped his arms around the boy.

"No, I need to, I need to-" But Jack was unable to finish his sentence because he had already fallen asleep.

Pitch smirked, holding in a laugh. The man caressed the frost elf's cheek. "I told you that you would return," Pitch whispered.

Meanwhile Sandy was doing his job delivering dreams to the children, when he discovered something odd. For the moment Sandman was in Burgess, and most of the time he'd see Jack fly past, but he was nowhere to be seen. Sandy pushed the thought out of his mind, believing the boy was out causing mischief.

Eventually morning came, and Jack woke up to see Pitch's arms loosely wrapped around him. The Boogeyman was asleep, and Jack knew that although he wanted to stay he needed to leave. The snow spirit tried to slowly slip out of Pitch's arms, but the man woke up and pinned Jack down. "And just where do you think you're going?"

"Um, uh, well," Jack stuttered. The guardian was unable to think straight with Pitch glaring down at him. Finally he was able to form words, they were simple, but words none the less. "Need to go."

"Oh really," the Nightmare King stated. "And what makes you think I'll let you go?"

"Cause if you don't, I'll make your lair an ice palace!" Jack shouted, flustered and annoyed.

"You dare to threaten me?" Pitch shouted back, causing Jack to lose his confidence. Suddenly Pitch's mood changed and he found himself laughing. "You got a lot of nerve, Frost. But if I let you leave what's in it for me?"

"Because, because.." Jack could only think of one reason that he hoped Pitch would find worthy enough to let him go, but if he said it, he wouldn't be able to take it back. "Because if you let me go, I won't hide from you anymore."

"Is that so?" Jack nodded his head, a deep blush on his face. The Nightmare King leaned in and kissed the boy once more. "I bid you farewell, Jack." All of a sudden black sand swirled around the boy, and when he opened his eyes he was outside.

The guardian looked back at the bed frame, he wanted to stay with Pitch, but he needed some space and time to think. Jack took off into the sky, planning to get Bunny back, hoping that it might ease his stressed nerves.

Bunnymund was resting in his warren when all of a sudden a large pile of snow fell on him. Bunny screamed and did his best to shake off all the snow. A mischievous laughter was heard from above him. There Jack laid upon one of his stone warriors.

"Oh, you shoulda seen the look on your face. Oh, that was priceless." Bunnymund glared up at Jack, not amused in the slightest. "What? I told you I'd get you back." The guardian of hope threw a boomerang at the boy, knocking him to the ground. "A little harsh don't you think?"

"Just be happy I don't shove ya in a sack again," Bunnymund replied with a smile.

"Don't even joke about that. You have no idea how awful that is."

"Couldn't a been worse than being controlled by Pitch." Jack suddenly looked away, unable to look his friend in the eye.

"Yeah," the boy said in a monotone voice.

Bunny suddenly realized what he just said. "I'm sorry mate. Shouldn't of said that."

Jack smiled slightly. "No it's cool. I just gotta move on." The two talked for awhile, (Jack occasionally froze one of the wandering eggs to Bunnymund's annoyance) but Jack soon left saying he had things to do.

The guardian flew to Russia and froze over sidewalks, drain pipes, and windows. When he had finished, he looked down at his masterpiece; the whole town looked like a winter wonderland. "I wonder if Pitch would find this neat looking." As soon as he said it, the frost elf held his head in his hand. "Oh, this isn't going to end well."

To be continued.