AN: This is a little Modern/Human!AU that my brain cooked up somehow while watching Pretty Woman. Yeah. I honestly don't even know. But anyways, this is my first foray into the fandom, so we'll see how it goes.

Chapter One

"Watch it!" Someone called as Pitch rushed past them on the street.

Late. He was so, so late.

Pitch glanced down at his pocket watch, decisively ignoring the inscription on the top. He groaned as he saw the time.

Why had he thought it would be a good idea to walk to Lokia's headquarters, instead of taking the limo?

Oh, yeah. The view.

Pitch scoffed to himself. And what a view it was: smog in the air, gray buildings towering over other gray buildings, gray sidewalks, gray streets, gray, gray, gray… and a tree.

Now that was certainly some excellent sightseeing.

He just shook his head. He should have figured that Sherri had no real reason to like this place. She had always been like that.

Pitch wanted to laugh as he thought of what she might say to him now. She'd probably say something along the lines of, "What's wrong, white rabbit, are you late for the queen?"

But she wasn't here. And she wouldn't. So he didn't laugh.

Pitch sighed. He really didn't have time for this. This meeting could really bring up the stocks for his company, and in an economy like this, that was something he desperately needed.

And he was still five blocks away from the building.

He shoved his pocket watch back into his coat as he brushed past pedestrians, walking as fast as he could. He wasn't even paying attention as a teen in a blue hoodie walked straight into his path.

Pitch was knocked off balance as he collided with the boy, causing him to stagger.

The teen muttered a quick, "Sorry," after regaining his balance, and walked off without lingering a second longer.

Pitch let out a huff of annoyance as he righted himself, dusting off invisible flecks of dirt.

"I don't have time for this," he grumbled.

He reached into his jacket to check his watch once again. It had become a bit of a nervous habit to check the time every few seconds over the years, a habit that became much harder to ignore when he was running so very, very late-

Only now, he didn't have it.

His eyes widened with panic as Pitch desperately dug into his pockets, hoping that perhaps it had just gotten swallowed in the deep folds of fabric. But there was nothing.

He whirled around, hoping to see it lying on the sidewalk. It must have fallen out of his pocket when he bumped into that boy, it must have-

Pitch's train of thought came halting in its tracks as he looked up to see the glint of a silver pocket watch.

In the hands of the boy who had run into him.

Pitch watched for moment, frozen in shock as the boy tucked the watch into his jacket pocket as he rounded the corner into a nearby alley, before a raging fury tore through him.

How dare he, Pitch seethed. How dare that little brat steal form me!

And before he could even process what he was doing, his feet were carrying him after the boy, all thoughts of the meeting gone from his mind.

All that mattered now was getting back that watch.

"Hey!" Pitch called as he rounded the corner. "You, boy, stop!"

The blue clad teen turned back to look at him, his face shrouded in shadows.

"Give me back my pocket watch!" He thundered.

The boy didn't even pause before breaking into a sprint.

"Why you-" Pitch growled, taking off after the boy. There was no way he was going to allow some petty thief to just take one of his most prized possessions.

The boy turned a corner, vaulting over a chain-link fence as Pitch followed.

The man had to stop for moment, assessing the situation, before going over to the gate and ramming against it, forcing the chain holding it to come loose (Once he got the watch back, perhaps he would come back this way and warn the neighborhood to invest in a padlock...).

And then he was back on the chase.

"I said, stop!" Pitch shouted again.

Was the boy daft? He had already seen him take the watch! He could have the police on him within the day.

Pitch grimaced. But the watch would probably be gone by then. Sold off onto some pawn broker no one bothered to keep track of. And he couldn't allow that.

Pitch followed the boy, keeping up, as he made various turns, vaulting over any fence, dodging any stray dogs or people.

He could tell that the boy was now getting anxious; he kept turning back to check and see how far behind he was. No doubt by now, he had expected Pitch to have fallen behind. Now he was beginning to gain ground on the thief, despite the boy's desperate attempts to shake him.

Finally, after turning into another alley, they came to a dead end.

The boy didn't pause for a minute before jumping up on top of a nearby dumpster, and grabbing a hold of the pull down ladder to a terrace.

Oh no, Pitch thought, you're not getting away that easily.

He picked up a nearby metal rod, it must have been a rung that had rusted off a nearby ladder, and chunked it at the child with all his might.

The rod hit its target as it connected with the boy's hands, causing him to lose his grip on the ladder and stumble back, almost falling off the dumpster. The thief's hood fell back as he tried desperately to regain his balance.

Pitch gaped in bewilderment, as shock white hair, pale skin, and blue eyes were revealed. The boy honestly didn't look like he could be much older than sixteen years of age.

That was certainly… unusual.

Both Pitch and the boy were frozen, staring uncertainly at one another.

Finally, after a few moments, the child seemed to be the first one to snap out of the shock, and turned to start climbing back up the ladder.

Pitch snapped out of his startled daze in an instant as he remembered why he was here to begin with.

"Stop, right there!" He said, picking up another discarded piece of material, this time a loose board.

The boy froze in place, and turned to look at him warily.

"You took something of mine. Give it back," he demanded, holding his hand out.

"Yeah…" the boy said, speaking for the first time. "How about, no."

Pitch couldn't help but notice for the first time that the child was barefoot. That threw him for a loop.

What was a kid doing out in the freezing cold, without shoes?

Pitch shook his head. But he couldn't dwell on that now. Now, he had other things to take care of.

"Let me rephrase that," Pitch droned, crossing his arms. "Either you give me back my pocket watch, or I will call the police."

The boy snorted. "Do you honestly believe the police will waste their time looking for some random kid, in a city full of random kids? They'd never be able to catch me."

"Are you so willing to bet on that?" Pitch challenged. "I doubt it'd be that hard. You hardly blend into a crowd with hair like that."

The kid just rolled his eyes. "Why do you want this thing back so bad, anyway?" He asked, holding up the pocket watch. Pitch made a step forward, almost as if to grab for it, but the boy just held it out of reach. He examined Pitch with a critical eye. "From the looks of it you could probably easily afford another one. Who knows, maybe this time you could buy one that's solid gold," he mocked.

Pitch grit his teeth as the boy fiddled with the pocket watch; his pocket watch. "I can't replace it," he growled. "It was a gift from my daughter. Now give it back!"

Just then, the latch to the pocket watch sprung open, causing Pitch to take another step forward.

But the boy just paused, no doubt staring at the inscription on the inner lid of the silver watch. He looked back up at the pale man, expression seeming almost raw, then glanced back down at the object in his hands.

Finally, the boy made a noise of disgust, before tossing the watch in Pitch's general direction.

Pitch darted forward, catching his pocket watch just in time to prevent it from falling to the concrete ground.

"Fine," the boy said, clearly exasperated. "If the stupid little watch means that much to you, just take it. It's not worth it."

Pitch glanced up just in time to see the boy already making his way up the pull down ladder, bare feet curling around the freezing metal rungs.

He felt genuinely confused. He honestly hadn't believed it would be so easy to get the boy to give the watch up.

"Wait, where are going?" Pitch asked, confused (though he wasn't sure why. Shouldn't he want the boy gone?).

The child just grinned down at him. "I have places to be. I'd say nice meeting you, but that'd be a lie." The kid shrugged. "So, see you later, Mr. Stockbroker. Or, you know, not."

Pitch just watched as the boy disappeared up onto the roof of the building.

That was certainly an odd encounter…

He sighed as he looked down at the pocket watch in his hands. He was glad that he had it back. If he had ever lost it… well, he didn't know what he'd do.

Eventually, after a moment longer of standing there, he turned back, and began heading on his way. The Lokia building was now more than five blocks away, but he wasn't in any rush at the moment. They could wait for a while longer, while he just enjoyed a stroll.

And as he rounded the bend, coming out of the alleyway, Pitch couldn't help but noticed that it had now lightly begun to snow.

AN: Sorry! I forgot to put any Author's Note up when I posted this last night. In my defense, it was late, and our internet is crap. So.

I loved Rise of the Guardians, and I haven't been able to get the movie out of my head since I saw it. I especially loved the dynamic between Pitch and Jack, and I've loved some of the fics about their relationship. Though honestly, I can't say I'm much of a BlackIce fan. I really only see Pitch as being a mentor, or fatherly figure to Jack. See, I really do believe Pitch meant it when he said he wanted Jack to be a part of his family. Especially after learning about his past (sobs). I think that whether he remembers it or not, a part of him still feels like a father, and he still wants that relationship with someone. And of course, Jack is an adorable little shit who just really needs some parental love. Anyways, with that said, I'm pretty sure I came up with this idea while watching Pretty Woman, though I'm not sure how, considering this isn't really a romance story at all. I guess businessman!Pitch just sort of spoke to me. But I this is more or less my first story here, so we'll see how it goes. Hopefully I'll keep up with it. Luckily though, I already have a few chapters written. Yay! Concrit is always appreciated. I shall hopefully have the next chapter posted by the end of this week. See you then!