author's note: hi i'm stars4redvines and i'm the one bringing you this story which is dedicated to my wonderful secret santa, mia also known as miank-libra who i like a lot. mia is so amazing and talented and this is just a small gift for christmas. i am not great at writing characters as they would act in their respective fandoms, so i apologize for the oocness of these characters. i hope you enjoy all the way home i'll be warm.
unbetaed because i've been sneaky with these presents. so, any and all mistakes are my own which i will fix once i find them.
dedicated to: my wonderful, lovely, terrific, fantastic, all other nice adjectives secret santa mia or miank-libra for christmas.
warning: spoilers for brave, how to train your dragon and tangled. sorry!
disclaimer: i do not own the worlds of brave, how to train your dragon, rise of the guardians or tangled. i also do not own any characters associated with these fandoms. i do not even own the laptop i'm using to write this story... oh well. :p
Merida yawned as her eyes fluttered open. She rubbed her eyes and stretched in her bed before rising and looking out the window. Her eyes widened as she saw the white blanket that covered the castle and the surrounding forests. She grinned and jumped out of bed, quickly dressing in her warmest clothes and furs. She ran out into the hallway and tumbled over as an over-excited Rapunzel collided with her.
"Oh Merida, I'm so sorry, I was just so excited because it's snowing and I've never actually gone out in the snow and I ju-"
"It's fine Punzie," Merida said, interrupting her friend before she ran out of breath, "I'm excited for the snow as well."
Rapunzel grinned at her before grabbing her arm and dragging her down the hall, "Then let's wake up Hiccup and play in the snow!"
Merida shook her head at her friend in amusement and merely chuckled as Rapunzel listed all the things she wanted to make and do in the snow. Rapunzel had come to the castle along with her husband, Flynn, for Rapunzel's first diplomatic visit to discuss Scotland and Corona's dealings and treaties. Merida liked the cheerful princess and her mischievous husband, especially after she had beaten him in a sword fight.
Hiccup and his father had joined them a few days later with dragons in tow. Merida had been so excited to see her childhood best friend again that she had ignored the black dragon behind him and simply hugged him. That was until the dragon had nudged and proceeded to purr like a cat while she gave a good rub. She and Hiccup had told each other about their adventures while they had been separated and they had been impressed by how much the other had grown. Hiccup was no longer the outcast of his tribe and he was much more confident in himself and his decisions while Merida was no longer the reckless girl she had once been and was now a princess who thought out her decisions and plans.
Hiccup had been embarrassed over the loss of his leg but Merida had comforted him and pointed out that he now had something in common with the Bear King. He had smiled at her and it no longer felt like they were the next leaders of their clans and tribes; it felt like they were still the little children that had pilfered cookies from the kitchen and run off into the forest after spirits. Rapunzel had quickly befriended the viking as well and the trio had bonded as leaders and as teenagers. Some days however Merida couldn't help but feel that there was something or someone missing from their group. She shook off her strange and melancholy thoughts as Rapunzel released her arm to pound on the door of Hiccup's guest room in the castle.
Merida laughed as her three brother's chased her around the courtyard. Hiccup and Rapunzel were watching with smiles as Hubert eventually caught up with his older sister and tackled into the snow. Harriss and Hamish joined in and piled on top of Merida. Rapunzel and Hiccup eventually stopped laughing at them and decided to help and lifted Hubert and Hamish off of their sister. However as Rapunzel lifted Harriss off of Merida and Hiccup leaned down to pick her up, she was suddenly in the air and shrieking at the white haired boy holding her, "Put me down you snowman with a stick!"
The boy laughed at her, "It's good to see you too Mer." She squirmed in his arms which only made him rise higher in the air and hold onto her tighter. He laughed at her discomfort and smirked at her, all the while rising higher and higher. Hubert, Harriss and Hamish were staring at Jack in astonishment and Hiccup was grinning as he watched his two friends joke around with each other.
Rapunzel's mouth was open in shock and she shakily pointed her mittened hand at Jack, "You... You're the boy who from outside my tower!"
Merida and Jack looked down at Rapunzel in surprise and Jack slowly descended from his spot in the air. He set Merida gently down on the ground but didn't release her from his arms. He studied Rapunzel for a minute and then said, "Rapunzel?" Rapunzel nodded with tears in her eyes and Jack finally let go of Merida to hug the small brunette.
After Rapunzel and Jack had caught up and Merida and Hiccup had heard her story, it was quickly decided that they should have a snow tournament to diffuse the tension. They quickly split into teams with Hiccup and Merida against Jack and Rapunzel.
The first competition was building a snowman. Hiccup sculpted the snowdragon while Merida ran around gathering materials to decorate him with. Jack smirked as he watched Merida running around and iced the path in front of her. She went flying and he grabbed her before she hit the icy path. "Hi Princess," he smiled at her, "It looks like you finally fell for me."
He maintained that punching him in the face disqualified them from the contest but he was outvoted three to one.
The ice skating competition ended up with Hiccup accidentally hitting Jack in the stomach as he swerved on the ice. Merida and Rapunzel hadn't been able to hold back their giggles and even Toothless had chuckled as he watched the four teenagers compete together.
The ice sculpting contest went better with Rapunzel and Jack winning after he had insisted that Toothless melting the ice for Hiccup and Merida was cheating. Toothless had knocked him into a nearby snow bank for that and Jack decided that if he survived this tournament he was going to freeze Berk and Scotland until he got apologies for his multiple injuries. As he looked at Merida's smiling face, rosy from the cold and snow sticking to her eyelashes, he thought that sticking around would be a good idea anyway.
Hiccup flopped down beside Rapunzel into the snow and began moving his arms and legs to make a snow angel. He looked over at her and she grinned back at him. "They don't see it do they?" Hiccup asked, nodding to where Merida and Jack were lying side by side. Rapunzel glanced at her two friends and saw them laughing quietly by themselves.
She smiled at Hiccup and shook her head, "No."
Hiccup sighed, "That's what I was worried about."
Rapunzel quirked and eyebrow at him but he just stared up at the cloud laden sky above them. She shot one more look at Merida and Jack who were lying still in the snow. If she had sat up and looked at them, she would have seen that they were tentatively holding each other's hands.
The snowball fight was the final event in their tournament. The two teams were tied and they all wanted to win. Hiccup and Merida nodded to each other as they gathered up their snowballs; Jack grinned at Rapunzel who was creating snowballs with a determined glint in her eyes. He flew up into the air and called out, "Ready?"
Merida shouted back, "We were born ready Frost!" And with that the greatest snowball fight in Dunbroch's history commenced.
Snowballs went soaring through the air as Merida ran across the courtyard and Jack darted after her. Hiccup and Rapunzel stayed behind their respective snowbanks and focused on making ammunition for their partners. Jack flew after Merida, growling as she danced away from his snowballs and threw him a cheeky smile over her shoulder. He urged the wind to carry him faster and he eventually caught up to Merida. He took aim to hit her in the back but she saw him and ducked as he flew over her. She laughed as Jack cursed and continued to chase her around the courtyard.
Hiccup and Rapunzel peeked out from behind their snowbanks and watched as Jack followed Merida around the snowy courtyard. Hiccup rolled his eyes at his friends while Rapunzel giggled at them. They saw Merida slip on a patch and Jack rush to help her. He caught her in his arms and he grinned a sly grin as he deposited her back on to the ground. Merida watched him through guarded eyes and slowly backed away from him.
She said in a low voice, "Alright Frosty, now don't do anything you'll regre-"
"Ha!" Jack laughed, triumphant as his snowball struck Merida right in the face. As she coughed and wiped the snow off her face, Jack danced in the air and celebrated, "And the winners are... Jack and Rapunzel. Thank you, thank you!"
Hiccup and Rapunzel headed back into the castle to warm up with some mulled wine and mince pies while Merida shouted at Jack. Merida finally stopped shouting at him and growled in frustration before quickly hitting him in the shoulder. "What was that for?" Jack demanded, rubbing his shoulder.
"That was for hitting me in the head with a snowball." She looked at him and saw him frowning at her.
She sighed, pulled him down towards her and pecked him on the cheek. "And that," she murmured, standing up, her face flushing bright red, "Was for everything else."
author's note: mia, i hope you enjoyed this and that i didn't ruin jarida for you. reviews and constructive criticism are welcome and will be given virtual night furies while flames will be put out with a fire extinguisher. thanks for reading.
-stars4redvines