Day 57: In Which Plumbing Problems Arise

Jack wiped a hand across his forehead with a long sigh. His neck hurt from his crouched position, and he could feel sweat running down his skin and damping his shirt. He pulled back, hitting his head on the sink, and an immediate wave of pain made his skull throb.

"God-fucking-dammit!" he hissed, trying to keep his voice down.

"You okay?" Hiccup's voice asked in his ear.

Jack sat down and stretched his legs on the floor. The mask covering his face made his breath stuffy and heavy. Filling his lungs, he sighed, "Yeah. Are you sure there's nothing else to do?"

"The leak stopped, right?"

"Yeah…" he grumbled again as the ache in his bones was replaced by a flow of anxiety. From his spot on the floor, he could see that ridiculous polaroid picture on the fridge, and the sight of it made his skin crawl—for a multitude of reasons he'd rather not look too deep into whilst standing in that place.

"Then my job is done," Hiccup said with a patronizing tone.

"Thanks for the help, Third."

"Anytime, buddy. Now suck it up and go get your girl—"

He hurriedly ended the call before he could hear the rest of Hiccup's words. Opening and closing his fists to calm himself, he pushed his body up on his feet with a final sigh and quietly made his way to the living room. There, his neighbor sat on the couch with her back to him, getting up as soon as she sensed him approaching. His breath caught in his throat, and he froze, unable to take another step. Tentatively, he glanced at her, and he felt his vision blurring. But not because he had to contain some urge to throw his arms around her, hold her close to his chest and never let go— although the desire was probably there somewhere... What unnerved him was how frightened she looked.

Simply put, Elsa looked like she was about to lose it: she stood completely straight with her eyes glued to the wall behind him; her lips were pressed tightly into a thin line; her shoulders were shaking; she kept rubbing her fingers together, and she looked like she was waiting for the tiniest of signals to bolt out of there and never be seen again.

Not entirely sure of what to do, Jack sheepishly cleared his throat as he busied himself with disinfecting his hands. "The tap is fixed, but it's kind of a mess in there. Can I borrow something to wipe the floor?"

She shook her head vehemently. "D-don't worry, I'll clean it up later."

He tried to laugh to lighten the mood, but instead of the desired husky, mysterious chuckle, his laugh made it sound like he had a moth stuck inside his lungs.

"Are you okay?" There was concern in her voice, but she still looked like prey on guard.

"Yeah, I—" He groaned, throwing his head back. "Actually, no. I get the situation, but you're kinda hurting my feelings here, Elsa."

"Sorry." She forced her arms to stay still on the sides of her body and took a deep breath. "I think I'm a little nervous… and not for global pandemic reasons…"

"You're saying that meeting me face to face for the first time inflicts greater mental distress on you than the threat of a deadly virus yet without a cure?"

"In a way… yes."

"I should be flattered, really."

"I'm sorry."

"Stop apologizing. At least you're being honest." He exhaled tiredly. "This is so not how I planned things to happen."

She attempted a shy smile at him. "You thought about how our first encounter would play out?"

Jack shrugged. "Didn't you?"

"I suppose…" She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, loosening some of the tension on her shoulders as she moved. "So what did you have in mind?"

Managing to find his usual voice tone, he suggested, "For starters? Me not stinking of sludge. Maybe candles, a nice dinner... I could wear a tux."

Elsa covered a chuckle with her hand. "You do remember you were naked when we first met, right?"

"Uh, I was semi-naked, mind you," he protested with a cross of his arms. Slowly, he felt the tightness in his chest diminishing. "Big difference."

She looked up, and when her eyes met his, he made sure to put on his best innocent look, which only made her glare at him harder.

With a click of her tongue, Elsa grumbled, "Right. My mistake."

Smirking, he took a step forward and stretched a hand out.

"Hi. I'm Jack. It's a pleasure to officially meet you."

She looked at his hand and then back at him.

"Hi, Jack. I'm Elsa. And the pleasure is all mine."


Bet you didn't see that one coming.