Disclaimer: I do not own either Rise of the Guardians (property of Dreamworks) or Tangled (property of Disney).
"Jack?"
The winter spirit breaks his gaze to the moon and turns to the blonde. "Yeah, Punz?"
Rapunzel, sitting across him on her balcony, takes one final look at the last page of her book, then closes it. She stares at the cover. "In stories, there are happy endings. The villain is vanquished, the princess gets her prince, and everything falls into place," she chuckles. It trails off. "But I was wondering…"
"Yeah?"
"Do they really exist? Happily ever-afters?" A crestfallen tone hints at her voice. "I've never been outside the tower, but you have. You know what life really is like. But from your stories… it seems as if life can't handle a happy ending." She looks up at the albino with a hopeful glint in her leafy orbs. "Do you believe in them, Jack?"
Jack is at a loss of words. His lips tighten and he proceeds to stare at the moon again.
Indeed, Jack had seen many things. There were too many things that he saw during his 200 years of isolation. They were simply the same events repeated over and over again—love, laughter, joy, fun, sadness, grief, disappointment, war, life, death. This entire time—from when Jack emerged from the lake to now—Jack wanted to be optimistic. He tried to bring fun into woeful lives, even if it meant that he would be reminded of how alone he was. If he couldn't be happy, then the people around him should at least be.
But then he met Rapunzel. When he first saw the tower, he couldn't help but let his curiosity take over him. The winter spirit expected a dusty old tower, a new place he could explore, a place he could rest in—what he didn't expect was it to be completely spotless, cleaned by a person whose story he could listen to, who could listen to his stories, and could call home.
It took 200 years. But Jack didn't care. She happened anyway.
Did Jack believe in happy endings? He didn't know. He wanted to. But he believed Rapunzel was right, it probably was too much for life. But do endings have to be sad, then? The white-haired boy asked himself. He returns to Rapunzel, and sees that she has fallen asleep; head tilted to the wall for support, book still in hand, and mouth slightly open.
He stares at her; gentle cerulean eyes gape at the human being before them, who beholds so much beauty within her—her naivety and innocence, so pure and young. But it has yet to be exploited by what the rest of life has for her. That's when Jack realizes that he sometimes hated the world and its cruelty.
Yet it allowed beautiful people like Rapunzel to exist.
And if anything, he'd want Rapunzel to have a happy ending.
"No," he finally answers to her question, but receiving no response. "It's not that I just don't believe in happy endings. I don't believe in endings, period." Jack sighs after saying this, running his hand through his hair, slightly ruffling it. He stands and lifts Rapunzel in his arms, and quietly carries her back to her bed. He leaves her in her room, then returns with all her long gold hair clumped up in his arms before settling it on the floor. Jack places Rapunzel's book on her bedside.
Before Jack exits her room for one last time this day, he smiles at her peaceful figure. I don't believe in endings. He assures. I just believe in you, and me. And now. No ending needed.