The last few days before winter break were, comparatively speaking, usually pretty tame. Too cold to do much besides loading up on carbs and catwalk cozy blankets, Jack and his friends headed to the rec room in search of some innocuous indoor fun when Violet ambushed them. The girl jumped out of nowhere and, without a single word, unceremoniously dragged him away from the rest of the group.

"Hello to you too, Violet dear…" he mumbled confused, but she just kept walking, not even glancing back at him once.

Violet shoved him under the staircase, then glared at him with crossed arms. "Remember that favor you owe me?"

Mimicking her smug stance, Jack shrugged. "Not really."

"Back when we were doing Tooth's play."

He hummed. "Yeah, that sounds vaguely familiar."

Violet's eyes narrowed. "And you were bullying my brother."

Jack tsked, rolling his shoulders back. "Right. That. What about it?"

"I know what I want you to do."

"As long as I get to keep my clothes on."

The girl snorted, shaking her head. "You thinking that I would ever be interested in your naked body makes me laugh, Frosty."

Jack smirked and folded his hands behind his head. "So what do you need from me?"

"I want you to gather the gang."

"Come again?" he asked.

"All of us. On Christmas."

Jack paused, paying her words inside his head as he tried to piece the information together. He knew Violet well enough by then to look at her request with skepticism, but he couldn't really figure out what her endgame was. Cautiously, he asked, "What are you planning, Parr?"

Violet leaned against the wall and sighed. "Look, everyone's going their separate ways next year. Is it so bad that I want to spend some quality time with my friends while I still can?"

His eyes narrowed. "That's all?"

"... And my parents want me to babysit my twerpy little brothers while they go to this fancy yacht party."

Jack laughed. "That's more like it. Alright, I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks, Jack."

He threw an arm around her shoulders so he could steer them back to the rec room.

"And then I'll be off the hook, right?"

"Yeah. Until you screw up again."

"I can't believe you're ditching me on Christmas," Anna grumbled, shifting on the bed so she could hug her knees.

"Sorry. Last-minute plans," Elsa said with a guilty smile before going back to packing. Moving around the bedroom, she added, "You could come if you wanted to, you know. It's not like you're not friends with them too."

Anna shrugged, plopping down on her side. "Nah, it's your party, Elsa. Besides, you probably don't want your baby sister butting in on all the fun—"

"What's that even supposed to mean?" Elsa scoffed.

The younger girl smiled. "Guess I'll just have to go to that boring party with Dad, huh? Maybe drowning my sorrows in the chocolate fountain will make me feel better…"

Elsa chuckled, taking a moment to stare at her sister. "You have a natural talent for drama, Anna. Ever considered pursuing an acting career?"

"Not my jam. And if there's an actress in this family, that's you, sister dearest."

At the frustrated groan her sister let out, Anna propped her head with her hands and, wiggling her eyebrows, asked, "Planning on going on stage again any time soon?"

"Not if I can help it."

Anna scoffed. "Think about your biography, Elsa. How are the journalists going to write about your stellar acting career if you only have a single school play under your belt?"

"And why, pray tell, would anyone be writing a biography about my life, Anna?" Elsa mocked with a roll of her eyes.

"Because you're awesome, and you're gonna do super awesome things with your life."

Elsa shook her head. "Of course."

Anna grinned. "So tell me more about this party. Where did it come from?"

The platinum-blonde girl sighed as she made her way back to the bed. "Something about seniors quality bonding time…"

"You don't sound too excited," Anna said, scooching closer and snuggling with her head on Elsa's lap.

"Let's just say that you never know what you're getting yourself into when it comes to Frost and his bunch of crazy friends."

Letting out a hearty laugh, Anna countered, "Say what you want, that's your bunch of crazy friends too!"

Elsa hummed as she stroked her sister's nose with her pinkie. Anna's expression immediately softened, and Elsa couldn't help but smile at her baby sister.

"Why don't you sleep in your own bed?" Elsa suggested with an arched eyebrow.

"I'm good, thanks," Anna mumbled, tapping around for a blanket and swiftly turning herself into a human cocoon.

"You're drooling on me, Anna."

"Am not…"

"Well, get off, my legs are going numb—"

Since the subtle approach didn't work, Elsa pushed her sister off her lap. What she didn't expect was that Anna, with her arms and legs restrained, and in her semi-conscious state, would lose balance and fall flat on the floor.

Anna cried in pain, rolling on the floor to untangle herself. "Why would you do that?"

Elsa's big sister instincts kicked in, and a wave of panic washed over her. "Are you hurt?"

"Yeah," Anna said, clutching one of her arms to her chest.

"Want me to go get you some ice?"

"Nah."

"Then get up and go back to your room. I still have things to pack, and you're in the way," Elsa said as she made her way around the girl on the floor.

"I'm injured. I'm in pain. And you're leaving me," Anna huffed. "You could at least be nice to me."

"You speak as if you falling on your face was my fault."

"It so was! You shouldn't have made me sleepy in the first place," Anna countered. "And now you shall suffer the consequences."

"You're being dramatic again, sister of mine—"

Elsa's face burned with the impact of a sudden pillow attack. Her eyes stung as the cushion slipped to the floor, and she spotted her sister grinning like a maniac with another cushion already prepared in her arms.

"Weren't expecting that one, were you?" Anna beamed.

Exhaling slowly, Elsa bent down to retrieve the fallen pillow. Jaw clenching and grip tightening with determination, their eyes met.

"Oh, you are so on, Anna."

Jack trying to gather everyone for a Christmas celebration was very touching, and Andy really shouldn't fault him for things not working out as expected. They had spent a little bit too much time with logistics, and as it turned out, Wilbur and Hiro already had family obligations of their own and were unable to attend the party.

The rest of the gang regrouped in the Frost household, and Jack, always the altruistic leader, played the part of the party host down to a T. Having gotten rid of the adult supervision and making sure that Cassie was well-entertained with their collaboratively prepared basket of miscellaneous trinkets, the teens proceeded to their Secret Santa gifts exchange.

Halfway through the game, it was Elsa's turn to open her present.

"Oh, wow." The blonde rolled her eyes as she held an edition of Baking for Dummies in her hands. "How considerate."

The dumbass responsible for that present winked at her. "You know me, Your Majesty. The consideratest guy to ever walk on Earth."

"Wait, doesn't Elsa already know how to bake?" Hiccup argued. "I thought she was, like, our baking person."

"Oh, she sure is," Jack replied with a snort.

"What are you implying, Jack?" Violet asked with suspicion.

The silverhead leaned back, wiggling his eyebrows. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Elsa scoffed, "My baking skills have improved quite a lot, thank you very much."

"Yeah, I'll be the judge of that," Jack smirked.

"Name the time and place, Frost."

Crossing his arms, Andy pressed his lips together as he looked from one friend to the other.

"Are the rest of us invited to this little baking adventure you two are planning?" he asked, and the way Jack and Elsa shifted away from each other almost made him laugh out loud.

Sending an intimidating glare in his direction, Elsa mumbled, "Nobody is panning anything—"

"Alright, who's next?" The silverhead added, making ushering gestures with his arms to resume the Secret Santa exchange.

With little fanfare, Elsa hurriedly thrust her gift into Andy's arms. She had given him a Second War aircraft model kit, which he could not wait to get to. In his turn, he presented Astrid with new hockey gear and immediately felt a tense hand gripping his shoulder.

"Why, in the name of all Santa's flying reindeers, are you giving my girlfriend a weapon, Davis?" Hiccup asked, free arm flying toward the shiny hockey stick Astrid tossed from one hand to the other.

"She said she was into hockey again," Andy replied with a shrug.

"Thanks, Andrew. I've been meaning to go back to practicing," Astrid said whilst still playing with her present, and her eyes narrowed as she looked in her boyfriend's direction.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Hiccup asked, squirming to put some more distance between Astrid and himself.

The blonde shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Jack snapped his fingers twice and pointed at the blonde. "Stop threatening my boy, Hofferson. You'll have to go over me first if you're planning on using Hiccup as your shooting target."

"Was that supposed to be a challenge?" Astrid laughed.

Jack was smirking, but he still tried to look discontent as he said, "It's Christmas, would you mind toning down your psycho vibes, you crazy hockey stick murderer?"

"Who are you calling a psycho, asshole?!"

Astrid made a cushion fly in Jack's direction, but the guy managed to dodge it, letting the flying object hit an unaware Violet instead.

"HEY!" Violet cried, already picking the cushion up and getting ready to shoot it back. "The fuck did I do?"

"Children, no breaking the house, please," Andy begged with a long sigh just to have a set of pillows thrown at his face. An angry growl left his throat as his fists closed on the fabric.

"No breaking the house, Andrew…" Elsa reminded him before he could lose all sanity and hop on the pillow fight himself.

Breathing deeply in and out through his nose, Andy let his frustrations slowly subside. Letting the pillow fall on his lap, he stated, "I… am gonna go grab a snack."

"Mind if I join you?" the blonde asked.

Andy shrugged, and together, they made their way to the kitchen. Getting there, he pulled out leftover containers from the fridge and started mounting himself a sandwich.

"You seem surprisingly at home," Elsa commented as she pulled a stool and watched him looking around cabinets for plates and cutlery.

"Been around before."

"Hiccup and Andy are practically family," Jack chimed in as the rest of the group, probably prompted by the mention of food, gathered around the kitchen as well. "Mother loves them more than she loves her own son, and she doesn't even try to hide it anymore."

"That's only because we have manners and help clean the table," Hiccup argued.

"And also compliment her cooking," Andy added.

"I could do that, but after seventeen years, it just gets repetitive."

Elsa scoffed. "Aren't you just the perfect son?"

"Why, thank you, Your Majesty."

"It wasn't a compliment, Frost."

A bunch of wary teens sat around the kitchen island in complete silence, held hostage by Christmas-themed tacky mugs containing a potentially harmful, scalding hot substance. Hiccup looked at his own share of Holiday cheer, fearing that, if he gave it the chance, the blob would jump out of the mug and choke him.

"What the fuck is this supposed to be?" Violet hissed, swishing the suspicious pale-yellow froth in circles inside her mug.

"Eggnog," Astrid stated as her eyes narrowed in challenge.

After his own thorough inspection, Andy put his mug down with a scowl. "There are things floating in it."

"Are we sure this is safe to drink?" Hiccup asked, swallowing down the taste of bile he felt rising up his throat.

"Remind me why we left Astrid in charge of the stove again?" Jack mused.

"Got a problem with that, Frost?" Astrid snarled.

Jack pointed at his mug. "Uh, yeah? A whole fucking mug of it!"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Asshole."

"You know, maybe I should've gotten Astrid one of those For Dummies books too," Andy mumbled.

"We were here the whole time," Violet argued. "When the hell did you turn milk and eggs into poison—actually, scratch that, of course, you turned eggnog into a weapon—"

"I'll drink it!" Hiccup shouted as he noticed Astrid's expression growing more and more annoyed, and three shocked faces turned to stare at him.

"... You will?" Andy asked.

"Like Violet said, it's just milk and eggs. Can't be that bad, can it?"

"Aw, Hiccup, look at you being a thoughtful boyfriend," Violet cooed, propping her chin in her hands. "It'd be sweet if that gack wasn't making me wanna puke right now."

Taking his time to exhale one last time, Hiccup raised the mug to his lips. "Bottoms up!"

"Ooh, it's going down!"

"Look at his face!"

"I think I'm gonna throw up..."

His friends' voices merged together as that substance he couldn't really call a 'liquid' slowly slid down his throat. The milk had definitely curdled, and whatever the hell Astrid had put in the beverage had left it with an oddly bitter aftertaste. The taste clung to his tongue, and all he wanted to do was to set it on fire in hopes of putting an end to his agony.

"Dude, are you crying?!" Jack mocked.

With great effort, he swallowed what was left in his mouth, and ignoring his teary eyes, he put on a shaky smile. "Hmm… Never had anything like it, that's for sure."

Before he could go for round two, Astrid stole the mug from him.

"Stop. I don't wanna be charged with murder if you die," she grumbled as she took the mug to the sink.

"... We're still dating, right?"

She scoffed, and Hiccup, feeling bold after surviving her swampy concoction, took another chance and wrapped an arm around her waist. He planted a peck on her cheek just as he heard his silver-haired friend groaning.

"Hey, cut it out!" Jack shouted.

"Give me a break, I just saw my life flashing in front of my eyes!"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Gee, Hiccup. Overdramatic much?"

"As long as you are a guest in the Frost residence, you will abide by the Frost rules. And the Frost rules are that no PDA shall be partaken in under my watch."

"Wow, you're such a nerd," Violet scoffed.

"Watch it, woman, or I'm kicking you out too!" Jack grumbled, making his way to the back door.

"Where are you going?" Andy asked.

"I need a break from hosting."

"You're threatening your guest, not very host-y if you ask me…" Hiccup mused.

"Call me when the s'mores are ready!" Jack shouted before slamming the door behind him.

"What a grump. We should eat his share," Violet stated, gesturing in circles with an unopened package of biscuits.

"How Christmassy of you, Vi," Hiccup replied with a laugh.

Violet shrugged. "Not my problem that he left."

"Speaking of…" Andy mumbled, looking around the room. "Where the hell is Elsa?

There was a swing in the backyard. Elsa had noticed it through the window and snuck out to check it while the rest of her friends were busy in the kitchen. She didn't bother turning any lights on, and with the clouds covering the night sky, the only illumination that reached her was the feeble light coming from the neighboring houses.

She sat there, swinging back and forth with the slightest of movements, and letting the rhythmic squeaking of the chains to fill her ears. There was paint peeling off the metal bars, the worn-out appearance of the old swing only making her appreciate it even more. She bet Cassie still played there when the weather was nice, and she wouldn't be surprised if Jack did too. The image of the siblings laughing together made Elsa smile, and despite the cold and the darkness outside, she couldn't help but somehow feel at home in that strange household.

"What are you doing sulking in the dark, Your Majesty?"

Elsa jumped, startled by his voice. She looked up and smiled as Jack approached her. "Shouldn't you be in there making sure that your kitchen stays in one piece?"

"Shouldn't you?" he threw back as he sat on the vacant seat beside hers.

"Touché." She leaned back, turning toward the sky, and closed her eyes. "I guess I just wanted to breathe some fresh air."

"I hear you. Our resident lovebirds were making me pretty sick too… That or the evil potion Astrid brew."

"I thought you were Hiccup and Astrid's biggest supporter."

Jack shrugged. "Just because I ship them, doesn't mean I wanna watch them with their tongues down each other's throats."

"You're an idiot, you know that?" she mumbled as she rolled her eyes.

He snorted in the face of her dissatisfaction, and as he pushed himself higher, he asked, "So what's on your mind, Elsa?"

"Just that it must've been fun growing up with a backyard swing set."

"Really? I thought that was pretty standard—" He suddenly dug his feet on the ground and glared at her. "Tell me this isn't the cake batter thing all over again."

"The what?"

"Your lack of vital character-building childhood experiences," he explained with a huff.

"You call eating raw cake batter 'character-building'?" She laughed, but as his dead-serious expression remained unaltered, she begrudgingly added, "You'll be happy to know that I have played on a swing before, Frost."

Jack's amused smile seemed to glisten in the dark. "Then why do you still look like this is the most magical thing you've ever done in your life?"

Elsa's eyebrows furrowed as she focused on a point on the grass. Taking a moment to choose her words, she started, "When you're a kid, the world seems so big, and there's so much you can do. I miss that freedom."

"Whoa. Deep thoughts."

She scoffed, glowering at him. "Which you wouldn't understand, being an eternal child and all…"

"I'll take that one as a compliment if you don't mind."

Rolling her eyes, Elsa continued, "As you grow up, your decisions start to have more weight. You keep making choices that push you further and further… next thing you know, you're swinging so high that you can't even see the ground anymore..."

With nothing else to add, she watched Jack wordlessly pushing his legs back, increasing momentum as he swung back and forth.

"I get where you're coming from, Elsa," he admitted. "The pressure and all that, I really get it. But, like, what's the point in worrying that much? Sometimes, you just gotta jump and see what happens..."

Jack punctuated the end of his speech with an over-the-top leap forth. That would have been a clever way of illustrating his metaphor if he hadn't slipped as soon as his feet touched the ground, losing balance and falling miserably on his rear-end.

"Oh my God, Jack!" Elsa quickly got on her feet, concern making her heart race as she rushed to his aid.

He hunched forward, groaning in pain. "Well, that was embarrassing."

Putting her hands on her hips, Elsa couldn't stop herself from huffing at him. "The ground is covered in ice, what did you think was going to happen?"

He rolled his eyes, stretching an arm in her direction. "You gonna help me or what?"

"Are you hurt?" Elsa asked as she pulled him up on his feet.

"Only my pride— crap! "

She watched him patting his pockets hastily.

"What's wrong?" Elsa asked.

Sheepishly, he produced a small package, and she noticed that its edges had been slightly hinged in the fall.

"What's that?" she asked, eyeing the package with suspicion.

"Backup."

"Backup?"

Jack shrugged, thrusting the package in her direction emphatically. "In case you didn't like the book."

"You really didn't need to do that," she tried to argue, but he just closed her hands around the gift and pulled back. Sighing, she carefully opened the package.

"Please tell me it's not broken."

She gave him a weak smile as she held a snowflake strap for him to see. "It's not. It's beautiful. Thank you."

"Anna helped me pick it out."

Elsa frowned. "She did? She never mentioned that."

"She better not, I told her to keep her mouth shut."

"Should I be worried that you and my sister are keeping secrets from me?"

Smirking, Jack took a step in her direction. He folded his hands behind his head and leaned even closer to her, and as their eyes locked together, he confided, "I told you many times, Elsa: If you want a date with me, all you gotta do is ask."

Feeling the corner of her lips curve upwards, she whispered in the same tone as his, "And I've told you just as many times, Jack: You are an idiot."

His eyes were so full of mirth that she was finding it almost unbearable to keep her gaze on his. Luckily for her, he pulled back first, chuckling quietly and running an impatient hand through his hair.

"Why, thank you, Your Majesty."

He motioned for them to go back inside, and she nodded in agreement. As she followed after him, she was surprised to notice how broad his shoulders looked, and she wondered how she had never noticed that until that point. Tucking her hair behind her ear as she continued to watch his back, she hissed under her breath, "It wasn't a compliment, you idiot."

"What the fuck was that?" Astrid hissed, her nails digging into her boyfriend's shoulder.

The four of them had somehow ended up smushed together against the kitchen window, spying on the little backyard moment Elsa and Jack were having.

"He gave her something," Hiccup said, carefully removing her claws from his flesh. His limp arms shook from the effort of supporting the girls' weight as they leaned over him in order to see outside. "What did he give her?"

"He could've given her a nuclear bomb detonator for all I care!" Violet shouted, throwing her arms in the air. "They were about to kiss!"

Andy frowned. "They were probably not…"

"Yeah, I'm with Andy on this one," Hiccup said.

"Sure, deny all you want, bastards."

Hiccup sighed. "Come on, Vi. Maybe they were just under the mistletoe or something…"

"There was no mistletoe, dumbass," Astrid snarled, slapping him across the head.

"Crap, they're coming back." Andy jumped, ushering the others away from the window. "Act natural."

The four teens scattered, busying themselves with whatever they could get their hands on as the door slid open and Jack, followed by Elsa, came inside.

"Oh, hey you guys!" Hiccup greeted them with far too much enthusiasm, making Astrid, who had her back to him, bite her tongue to stop herself from yelling.

Elsa and Jack exchanged confused glances, and really, no one could blame them for feeling out of the loop.

"Everything okay, Third?" Jack asked with a frown.

"Just dandy." Hiccup waved his concerns off and chuckled. "But, boy, you guys sure spent your sweet time outside, huh? How 'bout some eggnog to warm up?"

Amidst his panic, Hiccup sipped from one of the mugs that had been left on the counter, and not a second after the beverage had reached his mouth, the frothy gunk came spilling out everywhere. Hiccup coughed, and cried, and pinched his nose in pain as the rest of them tried to cover the mess in the most casual way possible.

"Jesus, Hiccup," Violet hissed, shoving a pile of napkins into his face.

"Uh, I think I'm good…" Jack said. It seemed like he wanted to press the matter further, but then he just shrugged and let go. "I'm gonna go check on Cassie a little bit. You kids behave in the meantime."

As he left, Elsa made her way to the cabinets.

"I'll have some," the girl said, looking for a clean mug.

"Don't." Astrid groaned, throwing another mug of the beverage in the sink.

"Andy said he'll make us hot chocolate," Violet stated, to everyone's surprise.

Elsa hummed, closing the cabinet's door. "Need help?"

"Sure. Can you get the milk?"

Elsa nodded and walked to the fridge, opening the door and looking inside for the milk carton.

As soon as Elsa could no longer see them, Astrid landed a punch on Hiccup's arm.

"Ow!" he cried, massaging his arm.

And then Violet turned on her stool and kicked him in the shin.

"Hey!" Hiccup cried again, but the girls just glared back at him with double the indignation. He sighed, leaning back and closing his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, I deserved that."