The FINAL conclusion!
Please note: I do not own the song lyrics!
"Mmm…"
He wrinkles his nose. "You still 'making love' to that thing?"
"What? You mean my French vanilla and chocolate cheesecake?" An innocent smile. "Damn right, I am."
He scoffs in disgust. "Ugh. You women and your desserts."
She chuckles. "You know that's just a stereotype, right?"
He cocks a brow. "Is it?"
"Absolutely." A cheeky smile as she happily digs her fork to cut another piece of cake. "And besides," she sticks her fork into her mouth and moans at the rich taste, "we women love food in general."
"Yea, I'll say." He rolls his eyes. "Does that include food from Apollino's?"
"Awww, are you still mad about losing that bet?"
A scoff. "Please, I am not mad." He huffs, his brows merge to a frown. "Those assholes…"
This time she throws her head and giggles. "What? You didn't think your mates would choose my side?"
Another huff. "…Who the hell chooses Love Island UK over Big Brother?"
She hums, cuts another piece of cake and scoops into her mouth. "Everyone."
He squints his eyes, staring at the white stars glittering about in the night sky. It's cold outside, but he doesn't care. Thankfully, neither does she. Especially since it's minus five degrees right now and they have both their asses parked on the same bench they sat while on their first date.
"But, if I'm being honest," she begins and he realizes that she's moving closer to him, their thighs are touching, "thank you, for everything."
A small chuckle. "Don't mention it."
"Seriously, Jack." She rests her hand on his forearm. "Thank you for dinner and dessert. It was really sweet of you and…I really appreciate it."
Suddenly, the frown lifts itself from his features and his stomach flutters at the contact of her hand gently squeezing his arm. Yea, it sucked that he lost the bet but if Jack Overland is being completely honest with himself, it's that he would lose a million bets if it meant he got to keep taking Elsa Andersen out on many dates.
'The things she does to me…'
He turns to look at her, and she was easily the most gorgeous young woman he's ever laid eyes on. Her smile is genuine as always and he can make out the rosy pink tint that situates itself on her cheek bones.
"You're welcome, Elsa."
A chuckle. "So… what do you say? No hard feelings?"
A grin forms on his lips. He looks down at the Styrofoam container cradled in her hand. Then he looks at her.
"…Only if you give me a piece of your cake?"
She squints. "…Do I have to?"
"Only if you don't want there to be any hard feelings between us?"
She looks down at her half-eaten cake, realizing that she still had loads more to go. And after all, this cake was not going to allow her to fit into her beautiful dress for the dance. She looks at him with squinted eyes.
Her lips curl into a smile.
"Deal."
"Merci, Madame!"
She giggles and shakes her head as he eagerly takes her fork.
"I'm glad we had this talk."
He tells her with a warm smile later on that evening, presenting her with a steaming cup of Chai tea in her favorite winter mug. She smiles as she eagerly accepts it and cradles it in her hands.
"I am too." She lightly blows over the clouded steam. "I just… feel so relieved."
"Me too." He sits next to her at the foot of the bed. He sighs, "Turns out that… we both had a lot of stuff we needed to get off our chests, huh."
"Hm." She hums thoughtfully. Holding her cup in her hands, she lightly blows over the blanket of steam. "Yea. I guess we did." She turns to look at him, smiling. "But I'm happy we both took that step together."
"Same here." He rests his hand against her thigh. "I feel so much closer to you."
She rests her hand against his. "I feel closer to you too, babe." She kisses his lips. "Jack?"
"Yea babe?"
"Let's promise to be more open with each other."
Suddenly, the hallelujah chorus rang in his head. He laces their fingers together and kisses her forehead. "Of course. I think that's a pretty awesome idea."
A soft giggle from her, and Jack's heart immediately flutters at the beautiful sound he's missed. He stares at her and his smile is slowly falling. There's still a small part of him that needs to ask this question. He takes a deep breath, and opens his mouth to speak.
"Elsa?"
"Yes?"
He sighs. "…Were you ever gonna tell me about Hans?" He studies her. "…Or about your father?"
Her smile is still present, but it's tighter. Her eyes become watery again, and she quickly turns away from him. She stares at her cup that's warm against her hands and uses her thumb to trace over the handle. Truth is, she knew that question was going to come sooner rather than later. And she knew that she needs to be honest.
He waits for her next answer, noting that she was taking a bit longer than usual. But he doesn't care. He'll wait days, or weeks if he had to.
She hesitates, takes a deep breath, and says, "…I was hoping I wouldn't have to."
He frowns, slightly offended. "Why?"
She bites down on her lip. "Because, I…I guess I was just scared."
"Scared for what, Elsa?" Then he sighs. "Of being ashamed?"
She winces. "No…"
"Then what were you so scared of?"
Another breath, then, "…being vulnerable…"
"What?"
"…I was scared to be vulnerable around you."
Realization hits him and his eyes widen at the confession. It all made sense, and truth be told, given her history, he doesn't blame her one bit.
"You've never really been vulnerable around anyone." He says. "Have you?"
She shakes her head. "…I've never been able to."
He wraps an arm around her and pulls her close. He kisses her temple and uses his thumb to stroke her thigh.
"You were scared that I would see you as being 'weak'?"
She hesitates, and then nods. "…I always convinced myself that vulnerability was a sign of weakness." She sighs. "Especially when people hurt you… you can't let them see it. Because… they know they've won the battle." A pause. "Conceal, don't feel. Don't let it show. Don't let them know."
He frowns. There was something about her words that left an unsettling feeling in his stomach. Conceal, don't feel must've been her mantra from the time she was brought into this world. And truth be told, he doesn't like it. Mainly because it reminds him of himself. And it would explain why she feels as though she needs to close herself off from the world whenever she was faced with a challenge.
To him, she was saying 'suffer alone, and no one will ever have to know'.
He lets out a sigh, and says, "you're wrong, babe. About everything."
She looks at him.
"Vulnerability isn't a sign of weakness." He tells her. "If you ask me, being vulnerable, especially with the person you love, it's a sign of strength and trust."
"You're right."
"Yea?"
A nod. "My therapist always tells me that."
His brows raise. "You're seeing a therapist?"
"On and off." A small shrug. "I started seeing her after Hans dumped me." A light chuckle. "Turns out that I've been suffering from anxiety and PTSD. I guess those things stem from my fear of abandonment."
"Don't be ashamed of those things, babe. I'm glad that you've been getting help." He says. "But… your therapist is right."
"I know." A smile. "So… let me ask you this." He waits patiently. "…Were you ever going to tell me about your father?"
A flush creeps across his face and he swallows. He hadn't been expecting his own words to be thrown back at him so casually. He dips his chin down, because he knows damn well that he looks like a bit of a hypocrite.
And mainly, it's because he hadn't realized that her mantra had subconsciously stuck with him all these years without him fully knowing.
"You were afraid to be vulnerable with me too." She says. "Weren't you?"
Busted.
He sighs. "…Yea. Yea, I was."
She kisses his jaw and rests her nose against his cheek. He holds her closer and kisses her temple again.
"I guess that's what relationships are all about."
"Being able to be vulnerable with each other." She says. "…It's almost like being naked together."
A chuckle. "I'll say." A pause, then a thought. "Being naked is easier though."
She giggles. "I can concur with that." She sighs. "Thank you, Jack."
"For what, babe?"
"For being you." She pulls away to smile at him. "For… allowing me to share the most intimate and tragic parts of my past with you. And…for loving me just the way that I am. Even though I'm not perfect."
He smiles. "That's what I'm here for, babe. And I meant every word I said." He looks into her eyes. "I love you. All of you. I always have, and I always will, no matter what."
"And I love you." She kisses his nose. "All of you. Forever and always."
"Thank you, Elsa." He says softly. "For loving me unconditionally, and for always believing in me, even though parts of my own past were ugly. Thank you for allowing me to open up to you about everything."
She kisses his lips. "That's what I'm here for, baby."
They share another kiss. He holds her close, feeling an odd sense of comfort as he watches her sip on her tea that has now gone a bit warmer than expected. But that didn't matter. The important thing is that now, in this moment, they had established something new together. It's okay to be vulnerable, especially with the person you love to the most.
For them, this was the start of a beautiful and healthier relationship that seemed to be promising.
And the both of them knew deep down in their hearts, that they had picked the right person.
"So, babe, there's something else I feel I should tell you." He says to her around 7:05pm that evening.
They're curled up on her bed. His arm is wrapped securely around her waist and she's resting her head against his chest. She takes her head off his chest and cranes her neck to look up at him.
"Oh?"
"Yea."
"Hm." She rests her head on his chest again, her fingertips are lightly running over the fabric of his hoodie. "What do you wanna tell me, babe?"
He keeps his gaze centered on the ceiling. Though his mind is wandering elsewhere. Turns out that they're not so bad with communication after all. So, in the end, what did he really have to lose?
"Well," He begins, "…I'm not really sure how to tell you this but-"
She takes her head off his chest again and looks up at him. Brows creased with worry. "-is everything okay?" She cuts him off.
He looks down at her. He smiles. "Don't worry, things are fine." He drags his fingers through the soft strands of her hair. "So… this might sound weird, but…"
"What is it, Jack?"
"Well, I'm starting to realize something."
"Okay…" She furrows his brows. "…And, what exactly is this something?"
He chomps on his lower lip, and then gently eases her off of him so they're both sitting up straight. He runs his fingers through his hair and lets out a sigh. "Can I ask you a question?"
She crosses her arms over her chest and leans back against her headboard. "Okay…"
He takes another breath, and then asks, "…how much do we really know about each other?"
She cocks a brow. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, how much do you and I really know about each other?" There it is. Out in the open. He turns to look at her.
She tilts her head to the side. "I'm not quite following you, babe."
'For fuck sakes! Do I have to spell it out for her?!'
Another sigh, and then he says, "Babe, what do we really know about each other? You know?" He gestures between them. "About us? You and me?"
"Like…what exactly?"
"Stuff, Elsa. Like what my favourite colour is? What your favourite food is? That kind of stuff."
"…What?"
He throws his head back and lets out a groan.
"Jack, what… where is this coming from?" She shakes her head. "Why do I need to know what your favourite color is?"
He looks at her with a confused frown and squinted eyes. A look that asks 'are you being serious right now?' "…Really babe?"
She can't help but chuckle. "I'm sorry, babe. But I'm not really seeing where you're getting at?"
His eyes widen. "You have got be to kidding me."
"Well…" She lifts up her hands, shrugs her shoulders and then chuckles again, "I don't know then."
"Huh." He studies her. "Alright then." He sits up straighter and clasps his hands together. "Enlighten me; what's my favourite colour?"
She looks at him. "…blue?"
'Damn her'. He squints his eyes. "Lucky guess." Then a smirk. "…What shade of blue?"
"What?"
"What shade of blue is my favourite?"
She tilts her head with furrowed brows. "You have a favourite shade of blue?"
"Of course I do."
"…You actually pay attention that?"
A scoff. "Well, your favourite is cerulean."
"Yes, okay." She nods slowly. "But…I didn't know you had a favourite shade of blue too."
"Well, I do." He crosses his arms over his chest. A pointed look with a raised brow. "Now, tell me. What is it?"
She stares at him with narrowed eyes. Wondering just what the hell he's up to. But it was clear to both of them, that she hadn't a damn clue as to what the right answer was.
"I'll give a hint." He leans in closer. "…What colour are my eyes?"
A smirk. "Cobalt."
'Damn her…again!' "Alright then." He was just getting started. "Why is cobalt my favourite shade of blue?"
She frowns. "…How should I know that, Jack?"
"I don't know." He shrugs. "You tell me."
She sighs and shakes her head. "Why do you like cobalt, Jack?"
"Um, excuse me…I asked you first."
"Jaaaack…." She groans and flops herself against her pillow. She covers her face with her palm. "What does any of this have to do with us?"
He chuckles and rolls his eyes. "Because, babe, I'm trying to prove a point here."
Another groan. "…And what point is that?"
He sighs. "So… I hate to say this, but…"
"But…"
"Elsa, has it ever occurred to you that… you and I know nothing about each other?"
She furrows her brows at him through the cracks of her fingers. "What are you talking about?"
"Elsa," He sighs as he lifts himself up from her bed, "Babe, I'm just being honest here, okay?"
She stares at him.
He shoves his hands into the pockets of his hoodie. He studies her with a guilty smile. "I know what you're thinking."
"Oh?" She peels her fingers from her face and frowns at him. "What am I thinking then?"
"You're thinking that I'm going crazy. Am I right?"
"Well… I wouldn't exactly say crazy…"
He smirks. "But you totally are."
She sighs and flips herself over so that's laying on her side. She rests her head against her palm. "…Maybe a little bit."
He chuckles. "See?"
Another sigh. "But I'm not understanding what you're saying, Jack. How can you say that we… that you and I… don't know anything about each other?"
"Because we don't."
"We do."
"Do we?"
She studies him with squinted eyes. Almost as though she wants to keep challenging the subject. "We do."
"Yea?" She nods. He shakes his head. "Then… how come you couldn't answer my question?"
"I did answer it." She says almost defensively. "I told you; your favourite colour is blue. What shade of blue? Cobalt." She searches him. "See?"
"Yea." A light chuckle. "But… you didn't answer my other question?"
"And what question was that?"
He takes a deep breath. "Why?"
She cocks a brow.
"Why is cobalt my favourite shade?"
"And like I said before… how am I supposed to know that?"
He stares at her with a guilty expression. A small smile, and it's only then when he sees that her eyes widen and her jaw drops lower. Realization has finally hit her. She slowly lifts herself upward, crosses her legs and drops her gaze.
"You see?"
She lets out a sigh. A long one. One that was full of regret. Regret for having been so oblivious to everything. She pinches the bridge of her nose and shakes her head.
"…I'm such an idiot." She whispers. "…How did I…how did I not see…"
"It's not your fault, babe." He lowers himself back onto the bed. He places his hand on her knee. "Sadly… we both didn't see this."
"No." She shakes her head. "No, we didn't." She lifts her head to meet his gaze. "Jack, we've been together for a year and a half."
He nods. "I know."
"How do we…" A sad sigh, "how do we know…so little about each other?"
"Because…" He rubs his thumb against her kneecap, "we never really communicated with each other, babe."'
She places her hand over his. "We didn't, did we?"
He solemnly shakes his head.
"…I'm sorry, babe." She confesses.
"Hey," He pinches her chin between his thumb and forefinger and tilts her head to look up at him, "this isn't on you."
She presses her lips in a thin line.
"Remember, babe," A smile, "it takes two to tango, right?"
A light chuckle. "I guess so." She gently grabs onto his hand. "…But, it's not too late to maybe…"
"Star over?"
She nods with a smile.
"You know what?" He lightly kisses her lips. "…I think that's a pretty fucking awesome idea."
She giggles and gives him another kiss.
"As a matter of fact," He pulls away and lifts himself off the bed, "let's play a game."
She cocks a brow. "A game?"
"Yup." A brilliant smile. "20 questions." He lifts his hands. "What do you say?"
She chuckles and shakes her head. "Why not?" She grins at him. "You go first."
"Oh…" He scratches his head, "Uh… you want me to go now?"
"That is how the game goes, babe."
"Huh. Alright. I'll go." He nods, then his eyes crease with a grin. "But first…"
She furrows her brow as she watches him retrieve his phone from the back pocket of his jeans. He holds up his IPhone with a wide grin on his features. She lifts a brow.
"Hm, not sure what you plan to do with that, babe."
"We are going to play 20 questions, " He says as he taps the 'home' button on his phone.
He uses his thumb to scroll through his 'romantic music' playlist. He looks around her room, then beams when he catches sight of her speaker. Immediately, he connects his Bluetooth to the speaker and goes back to scrolling through his playlist. As soon as his eyes land on the exact song he wanted, he hits the 'play' button.
She jumps as the beautiful undertones of the melody fills her room. He smiles at her, places his phone on her bed and reaches out a hand to her.
"Jack…" Her brows are raised in confusion, but her heart is fluttering, "what are you…" She gasps, "aren't we playing…"
"Yes." He nods as the background music plays. "We are." A smile. "While we slow dance."
She blinks rapidly. "S-slow dance?"
He nods. "Yes."
"Jack…" She sighs happily and places a hand to her mouth. "I…I don't know how to dance."
"It's okay. I'll guide you."
Just then, the words of the song play out.
"I've waited a hundred years. But I'd wait a million more for yooouu. Nothing prepared me for, What the privilege of being yours would doooo…"
She knows this song. The words. The voice. The music. The feeling.
Her heart flutters and her gaze becomes watery. "…Sleeping at Last?"
He nods with a smile. "Yea. He's one of my favourites."
A happy laugh. "He's mine too."
"Really?"
She nods. An eager smile situated on her features.
"Elsa Andersen," He whispers, "may I have this dance?"
She stifles a laugh and a small sob.
"Yes." She nods and reaches out to place her hand in his. A jolt of electricity ignites between them, and it was the same feeling they felt on their first date.
He gently guides her off the bed and she's standing in front of him. Then he pulls her closer so that their bodies are touching. He circles his arm securely around her waist and guides her to prop her hand against his shoulder. Their fingers are laced together. He kisses her lips and he slowly begins to move their bodies to the music.
She buries her face in the nape of his neck. And soon, she wraps her arms around his neck and holds her close. Their bodies swaying gracefully to the music as they danced together. He rests his chin against the crown of her head.
"Who's your favourite singer?" He murmurs.
She chuckles. "That's hard." She murmurs back. "But, if I had to pick, it would probably be Lana Del Rey and Sleeping at Last."
"Yea?"
"Mhm." She sighs. "Lana's got this edge to her that I really like. She's old fashioned in a way, and her music reflects that. I almost feel like I relate to her." She says. "And then…Sleeping at Last, his music is always so comforting, makes me feel like I'm not alone. He can sing about anything. Love. Emotions. Space…"
"Yea." He chuckles. "His music always keeps me calm, and he inspires me to keep writing. And then as you know, I love my Lewis Capaldi."
A snort. "Of course, how could I forget?"
"He's awesome." A deep laugh. "His music always does the talking for me whenever I can't."
"Hmm…"
"Your turn." He grins.
She chuckles. "What's your least favourite subject?"
"Math." He wrinkles his nose as he sways her gently. "I can't stand all those equations. And who the hell said it was okay to add letters into math? Math is only supposed to be about numbers."
She laughs. "I wish I knew the answer to that, babe."
"I'm sure everyone does." He rolls his eyes and smiles. "My turn."
"Alright. Shoot."
"Cake or pie?"
She snorts again. "Cake obviously."
"Cake?" He questions. "You would seriously choose cake over pie?"
"Absolutely." She chuckles. "They don't make cheese pies, do they."
"Of course." He kisses her head. "You and your cheesecakes." He shakes his head with a grin. "Your turn."
"Hm… any allergies?"
He lets out a guffaw. "Believe it or not, blueberries."
"Blueberries?" She lifts her head and looks up at him. "Really?"
"Yup." He pops the 'p'. "Trust me, it's not a sight you wanna see."
She wrinkles her nose. "Let me guess; your lips swell up like balloons?"
A deadpan expression. "…How'd you know?"
She grins innocently. "Because the same thing will happen to me."
"Wait a second," He narrows his eyes while slowly swaying their bodies to the music, "you're allergic to blueberries too?"
"…Sadly yes." A light chuckle. "It sucks when you get a craving for blueberry cheesecake once in a while."
He wrinkles his nose. "Nah, I could do without blueberries, so I couldn't care less."
She chuckles and places a kiss to his cheek. "You never really liked fruit much to begin with."
"Nope." He says confidently. "Not a chance."
She laughs, a deep laugh and she rests her head against his shoulder. "Oh my baby, what am I going to do with you?"
"Ooooh I can think of a lot of things you can do with me." A mischievous grin.
"Hm, we'll see about that."
"You bet we will."
She laughs and he joins in with her. Their bodies are moving to the music that's playing, and it was in that moment where neither of them wanted to be anywhere else but with each other.
Now that the heavy burden of unpleasant baggage had been lifted off their shoulders, their questions had eventually turned into conversation. They manage to shuffle between various topics, changing from one subject to the next like flipping through channels on television as if a toddler had gained control over the remote.
They learned a lot about each other in that moment; ranging from Elsa's love of cooking to Jack's love for mowing the lawn and doing all the handy work around the house. Turns out that kickboxing was a mutual love between the two of them, and so was writing in their spare time. He likes his beers while she enjoys her glasses of white wine. She prefers Italian food while he opts for Mexican. He enjoys chocolate everything, while she too enjoys chocolate with some French Vanilla or Vanilla Bean to add to the mix. It also turns out that if they were to vacation somewhere, they both would choose a place like Iceland or somewhere that's cooler as opposed to the regular tropical places like Cuba or Hawaii. He likes his video games in his spare time, she prefers reading her books.
In the end, the similarities between them outweighed their differences. And that's what a real relationship was all about. Accepting each other for who they are, no matter what.
The music plays and their conversation becomes silent as they sway gracefully to the melody. Their eyes are closed and they can feel each other's hearts beating against one another. Because in this moment, this is where they would rather be; here with each other and no one else.
"Why is Cobalt your favourite?" Was her inevitable question, gentle and soft.
He chuckles softly and holds her close. He has to think, and he gives himself a moment to answer.
"I had this blanket that was that shade." He says. She lifts her head up from his shoulder to slowly look up at him. A twinkle in her eyes. "Yes, you know I love my blankets."
She grins. "You're adorable, you know that?"
He narrows his eyes, though there's a grin tugging at his lips. "Yea, yea, I know." A chuckle as he shakes his head. "So, yea, like I was saying, I um…" A pause, "I used to have this blanket when I was younger."
She listens. Nodding and smiling.
"It wasn't really anything special, my mom got it for me as a Christmas present one year when I was three and…I kept it up until I was about sixteen."
"Hm." She hums. "It was your favourite?"
"Yea." His grin slowly fades, and he swallows. He narrows his eyes. "It was a perfect hiding place."
She tilts her head to the side with a questioning look.
"Whenever my parents were screaming at each other, or…whenever I knew my dad was coming for me," a pause, a dark look, "…I would hide under that blanket and use it to protect myself."
Her smile fades and a saddened look appears on her face. "Oh Jack…" She places a hand on his cheek.
"It kept me safe though." A light laugh. "I swear… that thing had powers. I mean, every time my dad would barge into my room, I hid, and then once he saw I was covered in it, I would just hear his laugh… and then he would just scoff and slam my door shut." He shrugs. "It's only when I didn't have it, that I would get unlucky."
She cups both his cheeks with her hands and stares into his eyes. "I'm sorry you had to go through that."
A reassuring smile. "It's all in the past, babe. I mean, on the bright side, my father's dead. Has been for a long while now, so…I don't have to worry about him anymore."
"But… aren't you sad?"
He furrows his brow. "About him being dead? Not a chance. As a matter of fact, I'm happy that he's gone. The world is a much better and safer place without him."
She chews on her lower lip. "Yea?"
"Definitely." He says with a smile. "I mean, thanks to him, I discovered what my favourite shade of blue is. Cobalt." He sways her to the music. "For as long as I've lived, every time I come in contact with cobalt, it's kept me safe from any harm."
"Which is why you always wear your hoodie." She confirms as she places her hands on his chest. The thick fabric of his cobalt hoodies is warm against her palms.
His grows wider. "Exactly. This hoodie, and this colour, they're both my good luck charms." He cups her cheek. "Aside from you, that is."
She chuckles this time. "Well, I would hope so."
"Oh, trust me." He pulls her close and kisses her nose. "You are."
She lightly kisses his lips and wraps her arms around his neck. She props her chin on his shoulder and their bodies continue their movement to the music.
"Why is cerulean your favourite?" Came his final question, gentle and thick.
She lets out a sigh and stares at the purple and blue hues of the sky as the sun is settling back into its peak. She traces her fingertips over the back of his shoulder blade and takes a moment to answer.
"My mother has this scarf that was the shade of cerulean." She answers softly. "She gave it to me after she got sick with lymphoma."
"…She was sick?"
"Yes." A sad sigh. "I didn't find out until I was seventeen." A pause. "Turns out that she'd been for a while and… she was suffering in silence for a long time."
There's a tightness in his chest and he swallows. Because he couldn't imagine his own mother ever getting sick like that. Truth be told, he probably wouldn't have known what to do if he had ever been in that type of situation.
"But… it wasn't just the scarf that always makes me think of her." She says. "Cerulean was her favourite colour too, and roses were her favourite flowers. So, every year for mine and her birthdays, she and I would always go pick some cerulean roses and place them in vases." A light laugh. "…It was our special tradition, and…it's one of the many things that always kept me close with my mother."
He holds her close.
"Even after she got sick…I would bring cerulean roses to her to cheer her up… to let her know that I loved her so much and… that I was thinking of her and wanting her to get better."
He swallows.
"I couldn't lose her." Her voice trembles. "She was the only parent that loved me and Anna so much. Even though my father was still alive, emotionally… I already lost one parent. So, I couldn't bear to lose another one."
"I'm so sorry, babe."
"…It's okay." A sigh and a sniffle. "…She's in a much better place now." She holds him closer. "I miss her every day, so does Anna." Another sigh. "That's why I still have her scarf, so I can feel her presence with me whenever I need her."
There's silence that follows after that. The words of the music explained every thought he was thinking.
He's not sure what came over him. One minute, they were dancing slowly to the music. And the next, Jack finds himself pausing them from their actions. Their standing in the middle of her room, holding onto each other for dear life. He gently peels her away from him to stare into her eyes. Without a second thought, his crashes his mouth onto hers. They kiss each other with so much passion, so much love, so much hunger, but it was so sweet and gentle at the same time. His tongue finds hers and they wrestle for dominance. Moaning and whimpering as they clutch onto each other, neither of them wanting to let each other go.
They break the kiss and they rest their foreheads against one another.
The lyrics say it all.
There is nothing more important in life than love. Whoever said that "love hurts" is the biggest liar on the planet. Because in this moment, love heals. It makes people whole again, and it fills every single being with the goodness they need.
Sure, there is no "perfect lover". Yes, everyone is all flawed. Jack and Elsa both learned that. But knowing those flaws and still loving with all your heart creates perfect love. Jack knew one thing, is that he will never look further than Elsa, the love of his life. If his love was a flower waiting to bloom, Elsa's love is the only sunshine he needs.
Her love is his turning page, and he was just as eager as she is to discover what their next chapter had in store for them.
They were exactly what the other needs to survive this cruel, cruel world.
He was staying. And so is she.
He places a kiss on her forehead. He cups her cheeks in his hands and caresses her skin so gently.
"I love you so much." He whispers.
"I love you more." She breathes. She holds onto his wrists and use her thumb to stroke his chin.
"I'm never leaving you, okay?" He tells her. "We're in this together."
"We are." She lightly kisses his nose. "Forever and always."
"Forever and always." He echoes back. "And might I say this…"
"What is it?" She whispers.
A kiss to her forehead. A bright smile. "You are ridiculously comfortable…"
She can't stop the chuckle that follows. She wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him down for another kiss. "As are you."
They mean it. There was no turning back.
With nothing but the warmth that both their bodies offered one another, she rests her head against his shoulder and he circles his arms securely around her waist. They continue dancing slowly to the music, opting to embrace the silence surrounding them.
"With a whisper, we will tame the vicious seas…"
They will.
"Like a feather bringing kingdoms to their knees…"
All of their worries they each had bottled up had evaporated into the loving warmth that surrounded them.
And in that moment, they only look forward to what their future together holds.
AND... THAT'S A WRAP FOLKS!
Wow! It's been an amazing journey writing this story and bringing it to life. I won't lie, my heart is broken that I won't write another chapter for this story again. But at the same time, I'm just so grateful for all the love and support from you my awesome readers. You all have been such a major part of this and I couldn't thank y'all enough for coming along the journey with me. Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart. Thank you all sooooo much!
Major thank you to OniNoKo! Girl, you've been such a huge help and it was an honour getting to work with you on this story. You're such an inspiration and I hope to work more with you in the future on future projects. So, thank you soooo much girl! I appreciate your help, your guidance and your support! Thank you so much!
ALSO; so I guess technically this won't be my last chapter... since I have the two bonus chapters that I will be putting out very soon. But that will take a little while... so bear with me my lovelies! For now, this is the final conclusion of this saga! Thank you all again so much!
Mwah!*
~Disney-fr3ak