Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from 'Rise of the Guardians' and I do not in any way make a profit from this.

Warnings: Slash! Man X Man sex in later chapters.

"C'mon! Hit me!" Jack shouts, jumping from side to side. A kid stands across from him with a perfectly shaped snowball clenched in his tiny gloved hands.

"You asked for it!" The brunette child shouts, taking aim at Jack and throwing. Jack ducks to dodge it and darts forward to pick the kid up and spin him around in the air. The boy is shrieking and giggling even as Jack drops him into a pile of fluffy snow.

"Give up?" He asks, looking down at the boy with a huge grin.

"Never!" He shouts, bolting up from the snow pile. "Attack!" Before he knows it Jack is surrounded by children wielding snowballs. All at once the small group of kids pull their arms back and launch their weapons at him.

He takes each hit dramatically, holding the places he gets hit in mock pain. When the last ball hits him he drops to the ground and cries out.

"You got me!" He calls out as the kids huddle around him and laugh.

"Thanks for playing with us today, Jack!" A blonde girl cheers happily. "But I need to go home now. My mom's making spaghetti tonight!" All the other children groan at the reminder of their parents, but dutifully bid him farewell.

"Ok then! Bye guys!" He grins and waves as they all shuffle away, its then that he notices a shadow lingering in by the trees.

A frown makes its way across his face as he gets up from the ground. He doesn't think twice about making his way towards it, but as soon as he does the shadow slinks back further into the forest. Jack pauses as it retreats but races forward to catch up with it.

He's jumping over fallen branches and dodging around trees, trying his best to keep up but the shadow gets further and further ahead of him. He loses sight of it completely when he has to pass by another tree. He keeps going nevertheless, until he trips over a root and goes tumbling into a clearing.

"Ouch!" He groans, rubbing at his head as he looks around the clearing. His eyes land on a lonely looking bedframe that sits over a hole that he knows leads deep into the earth.

Immediately he moves over to the bed, only pausing for a second before jumping down. The earth is cold and hard and his feet don't make a sound as he pads down the corridor. The hall opens up into a huge cave, stalactites hanging from the ceiling along with the sharp pointed cages. Jack makes his way further inside and jumps onto one of the many beautifully crafted balconies that are carved into the walls.

"Pitch!" He calls out, looking around for the grey man. A whisper quiet movement behind him has him spinning around to see Pitch leaning against a wall.

"What can I do for you to-oof!" Pitch cries out when Jack tackles him to the ground. Jack buries his face into the black haired man's neck, nuzzling at the grey skin, arms wrapped tightly around Pitch.

"You could have joined in on the fun, instead of moping and watching from behind the trees." He mumbles into the warm skin. Pitch frowns and pushes the white haired man off.

"I didn't want to play Jack. I was merely out for a stroll and I noticed a ruckus. Shouldn't have been surprised it was you. And I wasn't moping." He snaps, giving Jack a cross look as he stands up.

"Really?" Jack asks, holding his hand out to Pitch, who stares at it for a moment before extending his own.

"Really." His tone is bored and Jack grins at him. Jack grasps Pitch's hand firmly and before Pitch could even blink, Jack had pulled himself up and climbed onto his back, finally resting his chin on Pitch's shoulder. Pitch sighs in annoyance but lets him stay wrapped around him.

"Soooo, have any plans for Friday?" Jack asks as Pitch walks them into his kitchen, which is hidden behind a large column. Pitch looks at him funny and pry's him from his back.

"Why?" Pitch opens a glossy grey cabinet to get two glasses down.

"Well I've been invited to a party and have been told to bring a date!" Jack says happily, plopping down onto one of the chairs by the table. "You have any soda?"

"No soda, only tea and water." Pitch pulls a pot off the stove top and moves to the sink to fill it up with water. "And who is the lucky girl you'll be bringing to this party?"

Jack laughs and gets up from his chair, moving over to stand next to Pitch. Pitch places the pot back on the stove and turns the front burner on.

"Do you wanna be my date?" Jack asks, taking Pitch's hand in his own. Pitch hesitates but Jack intertwines their fingers.

"Who exactly will be hosting this little get together, Jack?" At the question Jacks loving smile twitches away, making Pitch's eyes narrow.

"Nrmhmh." He mumbles quietly. "So! You wanna come with me?" Jack asks enthusiastically.

"Repeat the host's name." Pitch says blandly, staring Jack down.

"It's just at North's-"

"No."

"C'mon! Please? I won't let them do anything to you! I'll tell them I'm bringing you, I swear! They'll be super nice! Please! They don't even care about the taking over the world thing anymore!" Jack cries out frantically, clinging to Pitch's hands. Pitch glares and tries to pull away before a thought sends a bout of worry through his system.

"You haven't told them about u-"

"No! Of course not! You don't want anyone to know and I want us both to tell them! But you'll never be comfortable with them enough to let them find out and they'll never be accepting of you if I can't get you guys used to each other!" Jack finishes sadly, slumping against the counter. "I'm so tired of pretending that you aren't my boyfriend, of having to sneak around to see you. I'm not ashamed of you, I'm proud to be with you and I want everyone to know that, even if it takes years to get you comfortable with people knowing, I can wait for you."

"Jack…" Pitch says sadly, looking away when Jack looks at him with hope heavy in his eyes.

"What if I ask them first? I'll tell them we're friends now? If they say yes, will you come with me?" Jack says desperately, looking up at Pitch. Pitch falters, but he can't bring himself to say no. He doesn't want to be the one to crush Jacks crazy hopes for happiness.