She didn't expect to find herself being oh so slightly attracted to the boy when he first blew into their lives. Feminine adoration wasn't something she was known for. Having a maternal side, yes, but conforming to the typical youthful-girl style crush? As confused as she was by the matter, it was true, but she brushed it off as a side effect to a sudden change in their lifestyles, all of their lifestyles, and carried on.
She didn't expect him to act the way he did around her. Her very presence seemed to soften him, to open some kind of distant curiosity in him that she couldn't quite label. Towards the other Guardians, he was one hundred percent carefree and jovial. But whenever he was in direct communication with her, he listened more intensely. He looked more thoughtful. He was more careful with his words. He seemed to be quietly admiring her whenever she caught him observing her, as if he was struggling to figure her out. When they would converse, he was an entirely different person than he was when around the other guardians or even the children. His shenanagins ceased (for the most part) and a more caring side of his character surfaced. After some contemplation on her part, she deemed this due to her being the only female in the group. Although she couldn't help but consider herself lucky to be the only one to be familiar with this aspect of the winter spirit.
She didn't expect the affections she held for him refuse to be silenced even in her own thoughts. She couldn't help but be in awe of him, no matter what he was doing. She tried wholeheartedly to hide this from both the Guardians and herself, but most importantly him. And try she did- although her success was minimal. She found herself leaning to close, appearing too eager to talk with him, blushing or giggling at the most inconvenient times, and absentmindedly putting a hand on him all too often. She didn't want him to get any impression from this, correct or otherwise. But he did. After some time she came to the realization that he had in fact taken notice of her opinions on him and was well aware of the slight crush she had developed. To her utter shock, she also realized that his reaction was not at all what she had subconsciously expected. Instead of a confusion that may distanced them, he was humbled yet satisfied by her affections and his curiosity for her deepened. Suddenly they were talking more often and were on subjects deeper than their current tasks.
After the defeat of Pitch, the lives of the guardians slowly shifted back into normality. That is, for most of them. Jack found himself increasingly often paying visits to the tooth palace and assisting her in her duties in any way he could. This was something she didn't quite know how to go about, although she made no effort to stop it. After the day's work was done, they'd end up casually talking while lounging on a tree branch or taking a leisurely evening flight. He found a sense of accomplishment in making her laugh, which wasn't a difficult task. He did so as often as possible.
She didn't expect for the air between them to grow into a romance. Or at least not as quickly as it did. Over the span of a few months, their chats grew into discussions about hardships and joys of life, which lasted for hours and sometimes were finalized by a period of sitting in comfortable, companionable silence. In these times the dangerous thought of initiating physical contact entered her mind. Simply resting her heavy head on his shoulder couldn't do much harm, right? But she feared scaring him off, so she held back and let things play their course until she was sure that what they were building was what she thought it was. She only wished she knew what was running through his head. That information was something she desperately craved for months.
She didn't expect him to make the first move. Although she also didn't expect herself to have the boldness to do so if he hadn't, so she was grateful that he had. It happened on a warm summer evening as they sat on the earth ledge surrounding her mural grotto. She was mentally reflecting on the conversation they had just finished, which had revolved around where both of their lives may be if Jack had never been called to join them. Previously they had neared the point of some form of romantic contact, whether it be his hand cautiously grazing hers as it passed by or her latching onto his arm in a moment of her typical giddiness, but they had never actually come out and done anything that could have been labeled as affectionate. She was just thinking about how comfortably close together they were perched on their seat, intimately close, and perhaps he had intended to sit so near to her, when he suddenly broke her train of thought when he put a hand behind her shoulder and pulled her closer to gently kiss her with an amount of tenderness she wasn't prepared for. As soon as they made contact, she involuntarily gasped and pulled back. When she met his eye, she immediately regretted it. Never before had she seen such poorly-masked hurt shock expressed on his usually smiling face. It killed her. The spirit of Joy should never look that remorseful. It was against every law of nature. He avoided making eye contact with her as she watched him realize that he had completely misinterpreted what they had been developing over the past few months, and that in a moment of boldness he'd ruined them. "I, I'm sorry, that was wrong of me, I-" He began his rushed apology before she interrupted.
"No no no, It's not that," She clumsily corrected him. "I just… just didn't expect your lips to be so cold." She said shyly. At this, he tried to hide his blush by suddenly becoming very interested in the ground below him as he nervously brushed a few strands of hair behind his ear and let out a single, quiet chuckle.
"Oh, heh..." After a beat of silence, she gingerly placed a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to meet her gaze.
"It's, something I could get used to." At this his mood immediately lightened, and he matched her hopeful grin. With a look of permission from her, he leaned forward once again, this time meeting a set of ready lips. She tensed at first when she felt the frigid contact, but soon relaxed into the moment when she found his hand on her neck, gently pulling her closer. He could feel her smile slightly below his lips as she placed her shy arms around him. In the weeks to come afterwards, she learned to expect surprises from him.
Would anyone be interested if I were to begin a oneshot collection for these two?