"Jack, stay here with me," Elsa pleaded. "You could have a room to yourself. Lord knows we have plenty to spare."
Jack shook his head and sat up in the bed. "I can't, Elsa. You know that," he said softly.
Elsa reached for him and pulled him back down to their previous snuggling position. Sheets did not matter to either of them. The cold would never leave his skin and the cold did not bother her anyway. "Please stay," she repeated her request.
He took her hand and held it to his face, kissing it tenderly. "I promise. I will be back just before autumn ends. I always have and always will."
This time, it was her turn to sit up. "Take me with you," she suggested hopefully.
He shook his head again. "You know I can't do that either," he said sorrowfully. "I would if I could."
Elsa pouted, sticking her bottom lip out ever so slightly. "I don't see why you can't," she grumbled.
Jack sighed. "Your place is here. I don't necessarily belong anywhere. I go where the seasons and winds take me."
"Jack," Elsa said, squeezing his hand tightly, "you could belong here. Anna and Kristoff would love to have you here." She crossed her legs and put her night gown under her to cover her lap. "Even the kingdom would be more than happy to welcome you."
"Elsa," he replied gently, sitting up once more to face her. He caressed her face with his frosty hands. "Even now, you are aging. Growing older. I am not able to do that. Forever, unless the Moon takes me away, I am going to look as you see me now."
Tears rimmed Elsa's eyes. "But there has to be someway…"
"Someway to what? Keep you from dying?" He shakes his head once again. "No magic like that exists." He kissed her affectionately, holding her face in both of his hands. "I want to stay so badly," he whispered against her rose colored lips. "I want to be with you forever."
Elsa ran her hands through his soft white hair. "Right now will have to do," she whispered back, leaning in to kiss him.
Suddenly, the wind blew the window open, letting in a strong gust of air that seemed to draw Jack away from her. "I'm sorry, Elsa!" Jack yells before he is completely pulled out of the window and into the empty early morning sky. "I'll be back next autumn, I promise!" Then he disappeared, his last image of Elsa jumping from the bed and running to try and catch him.
Jack opened his eyes and blinked blankly at his surroundings. He remembered the dream he had. Only, he knew it was not just a dream. It had happened to him in real life. The thought of Elsa made his heart ache. He wanted to feel her warm touch upon his own icy skin. He wanted to see her blue eyes stare lovingly at his own. He wanted to run his fingers through her soft blonde hair as she had done so many times with his own white hair. He could still feel his lips abuzz with the kiss he had given to her in the dream.
"Jack?" Santa stood over him. "Are you alright?" he asked, looking down at him with curiosity bursting in his sky blue eyes.
Jack nodded in reply. "Yeah," he said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Just fell asleep."
"You looked as if you were dreaming something," Santa told him.
"It was only a dream," Jack replies under his breath. He stood, adjusted his hoodie, and went to reach for his staff. "Nothing huge."
Santa crossed his arms, displaying the "naughty" and "nice" tattoos on his arms. "Was it her again?" he asked gently.
Jack stopped in his tracks, but quickly resumed reaching for his staff. "Yeah," he muttered, knowing Santa would know if he was lying. "It's always the same," Jack started turning to look at the burly man. "We're lying on the bed talking. She's begging me to stay, but I continuously tell her I must go. After I kiss her, I'm pulled away by the wind and dragged out of the room. I tell her I will return the next Autumn before I'm too far gone." Jack rubbed his nose. "I couldn't return that year… The wind was pulling me away every time. It was years before I could return to her… Years…" His eyes are filling up with tears and fall as droplets of ice off his face.
Santa put his hands on Jack's shoulders. "You cannot change the past, Jack. The fact that you returned to her at all probably meant more to her than anything."
"She was dying! She was on her deathbed! Don't tell me I couldn't have done anything to come back sooner than I did! Believe me, I tried so hard to get back." His hands gripped his staff tightly, turning his knuckles whiter than they were already.
Santa sighed heavily. "Come with me. I think I have something for you to use. The Yetis have been working on it for some time now." He turned and walked out of the room, heading towards the work station.
Hesitantly, Jack followed after him, his grip loosening on his staff. "Santa, you just said I can't change the past. How can you possibly help me now?"
Santa laughed heartily. "I had forgotten about it until few moments ago!" he chortled. "Trust me! You will like!" Jack was taken aback at his sudden switch in moods, but shrugged it off. "Bring me the thing!" Santa demanded cheerfully. A large fuzzy creature with small beady eyes and a pink button nose handed the jolly man what looked like a small gray disk. "Thank you." He turned to Jack. "Now, hold out your hand." Jack did as he was told and Santa placed the disk in his hand.
Jack stood waiting for an explanation. "What is it?" he asked finally.
"This, Jack, is a time-machine! It'll take you wherever you wish to go!" Santa said poking Jack in his chest. "Even to Elsa."
"How does it work?" he asked quickly. Now he was excited.
Santa laughed heartily again. "Just tell it where you want to go and the town will form upon the disk and once you confirm it is where you want to go, you will be whisked away to the very place you want!"
"Are you serious?" Jack asked eagerly. "Wow," he breathed examining the disk up close. "That is so amazing."
"I must warn you," Santa said, once again turning serious. "You cannot stay there longer than a day at a time. Everything will turn messy if you do."
Jack nodded. "I understand." He held up the disk in his hand. "Arendelle," he told the disk. A familiar kingdom formed itself in a three dimensional view upon the disk. Before he forgot, he added the year he wanted to go, and it too shown upon the disk. Jack confirmed the request and a burst of green light shone around him, wrapping around him, making his body feel constricted and burning hot. As soon as it was there, it was gone. He had not noticed he was holding his breath.
"Jack…?" The beautifully, silky voice reached his ears.
Jack turned around to see Elsa standing in a teal dress that fell down to the floor. Her hair was longer and flowed down to her waist. Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him. "Elsa," he breathed, seemingly astonished by how radiant she looked.
"Jack!" Elsa said running to him and tightly wrapping her arms around him. "You came back!" she cried happily.
Jack returned the embrace. "I told you I would," he said softly. "I've been away for a long time…"
I hope you enjoyed this little one shot. After rewatching Rise of the Guardians, I needed to make this. It's my first Jelsa fic so don't be too harsh when you're reviewing! Tell me what you thought and what I could change to this. I'm open to that sort of thing. In the meantime, feel free to check out my profile and look at my other stories. Thanks for reading!