So, I decided to write a crossover shipping fic between these two since it seems like a popular thing to do. Unfortunately, my angst senses kicked in.
Also, I believe in canon compliance, so prepare for a plot twist.
Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen or Rise of the Guardians.
Nine
On the day of the funeral, Jack is not there to watch them bury her under the land that she loved more than anything. He isn't there to lay flowers on her grave, or to listen to tearful eulogies chronicling every single good thing she's ever done in her life.
Instead, he makes his way up to the tallest spire of the castle and stares at the moon, wishing that he could just forget.
The moon does not answer.
The familiar, bitter sting of loneliness wells up inside of him, and, for the first time since her death, Jack cries.
Eight
He comes to see her, one last time, before she dies. Her hands are colder than his, and Jack forces himself to accept the fact that soon, they will be cold for an entirely different reason.
She smiles weakly when she sees him, the corners of her mouth turning up. He can't find it in himself to reciprocate that expression. The queen reaches out and touches his face tenderly with one wrinkled, pale hand, and Jack remembers the delicate ice that those hands used to be able to shape.
"Let me go, Jack." Her voice is a mere whisper, but he can hear her more clearly than ever. Somehow, even in her last moments, she manages to maintain the power and confidence of a ruler.
He can't. The only person who has ever treated him like an actual human being is fading away in front of his eyes, and all he can think about his how to make this last longer. He shakes his head numbly, unable to form a proper response.
"You have to."
It is a simple command that Jack simply can't obey. He'd never been very good at following the rules anyway.
Instead he leans over and presses his lips to her forehead, as an unspoken farewell. He likes to think that she understands.
Then he props open the window and lets the wind take him away from the room, away from her, without a single look back. If he had hesitated, he'd have wanted to stay, and that, more than anything, would break him.
Seven
The child runs through him, and Jack knows that the feeling of sorrow in his heart has nothing to do with the fact that he, like the rest of the world, doesn't see him and everything to do with his brown hair and eyes.
Across the room is a perfect mirror of the boy. The man lifts the child up into his arms and carries him away, both of them laughing. Jack swallows back the sour taste of jealousy that threatens to overwhelm him. Frost gathers around his feet.
"Hey," she is suddenly beside him, looking at him with concern in her eyes.
He immediately dispels the ice, ashamed of his reaction. He doesn't meet her gaze. "Hey."
"What's wrong?"
They both know what's wrong, and they know that there is nothing in the world that could ever make it right. He forgoes an answer, choosing to stare at the spot where the boy and his father previously stood.
Six
He shouldn't go, but he does anyway. Jack finds a spot in the rafters, watching from above as she walks down the aisle, her head held high and her posture confident. The beauty of it all takes his breath away, and he tries his hardest to not look at the other end of the room, where the man that is not him awaits.
A silent hush falls over the chapel, and he is reminded of how much he hates the quiet.
She reaches the end, only to freeze mid-turn as she catches sight of him. For an instant, Jack can forget the circumstances playing out in front of him, and the background melts away until all he sees is her. He wants to say something, but his voice catches in his throat.
She breaks eye contact first, looking away from him quickly, and the moment is gone.
"We are gathered here today..."
He tunes out the rest of the speech, ignoring the way her "I do" stings his heart.
"Therefore, if any man objects to this lawful union, let him speak now or else hereafter forever hold his peace." He can't bring himself to do anything, choosing to sit helplessly as she is stolen from him. The preacher continues to the very last line of the traditional speech.
They kiss, and Jack can't look away.
Much later, when the guests have left and the chapel is deserted, he is still rooted to his spot in the rafters.
"I object," he whispers to no one.
Five
She is getting married in the coming winter, to a prince of a neighboring kingdom. 'To preserve the relations between our countries,' is the only explanation he receives.. Still, he follows her to the castle grounds, prying for more answers.
"This is something that I have to do, Jack." Her voice is calm, and he wonders how she can be so indifferent to the situation. "You should know that I will always put Arendelle before anyone or anything else."
The development shouldn't have surprised him, really. He'd always known that he could never have maintained a stable relationship with a human, but still, it hurts to be replaced in this way.
"I...I know." He looks at the ground, having run out of words to say.
Her eyes soften at that. "I'm sorry, Jack." She can't offer anything else.
He's tempted to reach out and kiss her, one last time, but he knows that it wouldn't be proper, that they can't have this, whatever it was between them, anymore. Instead, he gives her a sad smile.
"Just don't forget me, all right?"
Four
Her birthday is today.
The palace is adorned with colorful decorations, and party guests bustle about, laughing and cheering, but all he can pay attention to is the fact that yet another year has passed, and he still looks exactly the same while she never stops growing.
She waves him over when she sees him, ignoring Anna and Kristoff's twin looks of confusion.
"So, how old is the birthday girl today?" He forces himself to keep his tone light, trying to block out the feeling of dread in the bottom of his heart that makes him not want to hear the answer.
She is twenty three now, and Jack wonders where the years have gone. He spends the rest of the party snatching food from the plates of strangers that pass through him, avoiding her.
Later, when the celebration is over, he pops open her window, mostly to apologize for his behavior during her birthday. She interrupts his stammered explanation with the press of her lips against his own.
He wonders if it's wrong to be ticking off the years in his head, measuring how much time they have left together.
Three
"I think I might be in love with you."
He pauses in shock, turning to stare at her incredulously. "What?" He doesn't think that he's heard her correctly.
She blushes and looks away from his gaze, but she doesn't take back her words. Jack isn't sure how to respond, and remains in his position, his mind completely blank.
"Well? Aren't you going to say anything?" She looks somewhat impatient, but he can see the insecurity behind her shallow exasperation. She's worried that he'll reject her, and Jack finds that somewhat ironic that she, a queen, is a afraid of an unseen winter spirit's dismissal.
It isn't the first time that Jack has thought of her from a romantic perspective, but he never assumed that she felt the same way. On top of that, there had always been the issue of his immortality. For a moment, he's hesitant to accept her advance, knowing that only pain would lie in his future. Then he recalls all of it, the snowball fights, the late night visits where they stayed up talking until the sun peeked over the horizon; her sparkling smile whenever they were together.
She looks more uncertain now, and prepares to leave. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said-."
He catches her arm before she can go.
Two
It's still a new concept to him, being able to be seen, and he isn't quite sure what to do with it. For a week after their first meeting, Jack follows her around, sticking to her side like glue; afraid that if he leaves her side for an instant, she'll forget him again.
"So, everyone else just passes through you?" She looks upset at the thought.
He nods, swallowing back the feeling that accompanies all mention of his invisibility.
"And you've been alone all this time?"
Another nod.
She bites her lip, then puts a reassuring hand on his arm. "You won't have to be anymore. I'll make sure of it."
One
'She can see me,' is his first thought, and the sheer shock of it hits him like a train. Finally, after years and years of being ignored and walked through and invisible, someone can see him.
"Y-you-!" He hasn't ever carried out a real conversation with someone, and his words come out awkward and forced. "You can see me? You can hear me?"
She frowns, uncomprehending. "Yes, why wouldn't I be able to?"
He struggles to find an answer that will make sense to her, still reveling in the novelty of it all. "Well, usually, no one can see me. People just act like I'm not there." As if to emphasize his point, he is walked through at that very moment.
Her eyes widen as she watches one of her citizens pass right through him. "Who are you?" Her voice is quiet and awed.
"Jack Frost."
Zero
She smiles at him, holding her hand out. "Hey, I haven't seen you around here before. Are you just visiting? I'm Queen Elsa. What's your name?"
:
:
On the day of the funeral, he stares up at the moon who never replies, and asks him for a favor, a blessing, just this once. He waits, half-hopeful and half-knowing that the moon will not answer.
Until it does.
And then it all goes white.
:
:
Just don't forget me, all right?
:
:
reverse
Ten
There is a man with brown hair and brown eyes laying flowers on a grave. Behind him awaits a procession of people, all planning to do the same. Curious as to who could be so important as to garner so much respect, Jack lands in front the headstone, reading the inscription on it.
'Queen Elsa of Arendelle'
Elsa.
He would have liked to have known her.