She could feel the tree trunk ridges against her back, chips of bark sticking to her hair as his heartbeat hammered against her chest. His body pressed against hers, flush skin against flush skin, the softness of his hair under her fingertips… She should have more self-control than this, but at the moment, Elsa found herself unable to take back control. He had been eager to spend time alone with her, and she'd be lying if she said she didn't share the sentiment herself.

"I love you," he mumbled against her jaw.

"Oh my God." Elsa groaned, hiding her face on his shoulder. He had been dropping casual declarations whenever she least expected it, and they caught her breath every time. She believed part of the reason why he kept doing it was to prompt that sort of reaction from her. "Will you stop?"

His arm tightened around her waist; smirk lingered on her skin. "You could just say it back, you know? Truth will set you free and all that."

"Shut up." She reached behind her so she could unwrap the arms around her waist at the same time as she tried to guide them both away from the tree with clumsy tiny steps.

Crestfallen, Jack let out a dramatic sigh as he let her drag him back to the main building. "So… any spring break plans?"

"Catching up with my reading."

He scowled. "All you do is read. How can you be behind on that front?"

"Believe it or not, there are always unpredictable things messing up my schedule."

"Are you talking about me?" he asked, tugging on her arm.

"Figure it out on your own, Frost."

"Anything else?"

Elsa hummed in thought. "Merida and her brothers are staying with us for a couple of days."

"Sounds interesting."

"That's one way to put it." As much as she loved her little cousins, Elsa knew from experience that having the triplets over would mean disaster. They were fast, they were energetic, and they shared a hive mind prone to leave destruction in its wake. She wasn't certain her house would still be standing after their visit… "What about you?"

Jack shrugged. "Catching up with my pesky little sister."

Though he tried to act disgruntled, there was that hidden hint of affection behind his words, and she smiled fondly. "Sounds lovely. Please send her my regards."

"If I do, she won't stop asking when you're coming over again."

Elsa chuckled. "Shall we arrange a date then?"

He smirked, pulling her toward him and hovering over her, face inches apart from hers. "I knew you couldn't leave without me."

"Shut up." She rolled her eyes and resumed walking. "Did you finish packing?"

"Yep. Hiccup and I are planning to leave for the train station before the morning rush."

"Somebody is eager to leave."

He moved behind her, loosely wrapping his arms around her waist. Chin on her shoulder, he mumbled in her ear, "Hey, you know not being able to annoy you 24/7 is the only downside to this whole break thing."

She clicked her tongue, trying to shrug him off. "You're so romantic."

"Thank you."

"I was being sarcastic."

As the driver picked them up as usual and they sat together in the backseat of the car, the Arendelle sisters conversed practically nonstop—mostly due to Anna's eagerness—, smoothly mending one topic to the other almost as if they hadn't spoken at all since the new semester had started. Anna had so much she wanted to tell her sister, and in all honesty, sometimes it felt very hard to find some free time to simply catch up with Elsa while they were at school.

"… So the girls and I were thinking about doing something this break, you know, trust building and stuff like that," Anna said as the driver finally parked in front of their house.

"That's a good idea," Elsa mused unbuckling her seatbelt. "The more united the Student Council members are, the easier it is to work together."

Anna glanced at her sister from over the car's roof, an intent look in her eyes. "Tadashi basically said the same thing."

"Well, everything I know, I learned from him."

Anna hummed as she struggled to take her luggage from the trunk. "Yeah, he's awesome. Hard to see the resemblance with Hiro though—not that Hiro isn't great, it's just—they're very different," she stuttered lamely.

"I'm sure people could say the same about us, sister dear," Elsa replied, her tone a little chiding. "My personality is also very contrasting to yours, and vice-versa."

"I guess." Anna shrugged. As they stepped through the front door, she called for Kai, but received no response back, which was odd. "Anyways, we don't know what we're doing yet. Tink suggested camping, but I don't know."

"At the risk of insulting the new Student Council members," Elsa let out a long sigh, "I must admit that the idea of you three camping on your own makes me very anxious."

"You know, I should be insulted, but I kinda agree with you."

Leaving their belongings by the staircase, the girls headed toward the dining room in search of Kai, but then stumbled to a sudden stop at the sight of the man sitting at the head of the long table. Agdar Arendelle was a busy man, and Anna figured they'd have at least a few days of cold dismissal (from both, or either, sides) before they had to interact again. Anna was wrong.

"... Hey, Dad." She scowled, instinctively putting herself between Elsa and her father. The last time they had been home, things didn't go very well between them, and if their father thought that Anna would let him act like a total dictator trying to intimidate his own daughters with his stupid billionaire CEO voice, he had another thing coming.

The man slowly lowered his newspaper, folding it carefully and placing it on the table. "Good afternoon, Anna." A nod. "Elsa."

"Good afternoon, Father."

"Would you like to join me for tea? Kai just brewed a fresh pot."

Anna blinked, jaw on the floor. Was her father inviting them for TEA? Like they were the kind of family who casually did that sort of thing all the time?

"Uh…" she exchanged confused glances with her sister. For once, Elsa seemed just as lost as her.

"And perhaps you could tell me about school and how you've been doing?"

Anna snorted, looking around for the hidden cameras. Nudging her sister, she whispered, "You think this is a trap?"

"Shh," Elsa hissed, reprimanding.

"It is not, though I can see why you would think that way." Agdar folded his hands on the table, and though his expression was blasé, his mustache twitched slightly. "I admit that I have failed you as a parent, and I apologize."

"Okay, this is definitely some sort of trap—"

"Forgive me for asking, Father, but what has brought this on now?"

"You two have given me a long-overdue wake-up call, as they call it." He chuckled as if amused. As if all of a sudden, a switch in his brain had been flicked and the once frigid, stone-faced man Anna and Elsa had for a father was capable of expressing human emotion again. "I had plenty to think about since, and if not too late, I would like to make amends." The man's eyes softened in that lonely and vulnerable way that Anna recognized as being genetic. "And Kai has suggested that a good cup of tea could be a good way to start a conversation."

"Kai better keep the tea coming, then."

"Anna." Straightening up and keeping her trembling hands tightly clasped together, Elsa locked eyes with their father, serious and to the point. "What about your work?"

"I have cleared my schedule so I could welcome my daughters home. Which is something I should have done for years."

"Better late than never, I guess—"

"I'm afraid tea will have to wait, seeing as we have bags to unpack," Elsa hurriedly said, pointedly pulling Anna back.

Anna nodded. "We do. Loads. Upstairs."

"Yes, of course." Adgar's chair scratched tunelessly as he stood up and awkwardly smoothed the length of his tie. "I'll be here. Waiting."

"... Sure."

Scurrying out of the room, Anna managed to climb two steps before unavoidably snapping, "Did we just jump into an alternate reality? What the hell was that?!"

"Anna, he can hear you!" Elsa hissed, glowering at her.

"No, he can't!"

"For the sake of honesty and open communication," their father's voice reached them from the other room, "I believe I should inform you girls that I can indeed hear you!"

"Oh. Crap."

"I also heard that, young lady!"

Brightly shining sun, white clouds forming shapes of magic animals in the sky, a chorus of merrily singing birds, and the spring breeze bringing scents of flowers, happiness, and hope…In one word, idyllic. Amidst, all of the idyll, Jack sat on the backyard swing, hunched forward, ignoring the beauty and all of the goodness in the world, attention all directed toward the buzzing device in his hands.

"Who are you texting?"

Distracted as he was—or deeply focused, depending on who was asked, Jack hadn't heard his mom parking the car, let alone heard the tiny human that had dashed straight to him flinging her backpack, almost too heavy for her little arms with all the new acquisitions from the trip to the library, like an improvised weapon.

"No one," he grumbled as he watched his sister taking the vacant spot on the swingset.

"Gotta be someone," Cassie pressed on matter-of-factly, her eyes sparkling with uncontained young curiosity.

"It's none of your business, monkey."

"Jaaack," Cassie whined, legs pushing her back and forth as the chains creaked loudly.

"I'm texting Hiccup."

Cassie's shoes scratched against the gravel as she forced the swing to stop. "You're lying."

"I'm not lying."

"Yes, you are!" Cassie hunched forward, trying to reach his phone, but luckily, Jack was nimbler. "You have that funny look on your face every time you get a new text."

Jack frowned, one arm wrapping around his sister's waist to hold her still and the other stretched out to keep his phone away from her reach. "What look?!"

"Mom says it means you're in love," she grumbled, too busy trying to climb onto his lap.

"What?!" Glaring at the kitchen window, he shouted, "Mom, stop telling your daughter weird stuff!"

Cassie giggled and held his cheeks sandwiched between her hands so he had no choice but to look at her. "It's Elsa, isn't it?"

"Wait—How do you know that?"

Jack realized his mistake far too late. There was no taking back the words that slipped through his lips, just as there was no stopping the surge of exhilaration that overtook his little sister.

"It really IS Elsa!"

Cassie squealed, climbing him like an uncoordinate monkey, the sudden shift in his center of gravity making him unbalanced. He reached for the chains, but unprepared for the assault, he missed them, sending both him and his sister to the ground.

"Goddamit Cassie!" Jack groaned, arms instinctively wrapped around her small frame in an attempt to protect her from the fall. Still sprawled on the floor, with pebbles and sticks poking his skin, he patted her around, checking her face for any sign of pain, and finding no harm, he exhaled, relieved. "What the hell were you thinking? You could've hurt yourself!"

Ignoring his chiding, Cassie jumped on his stomach. Gripping his shirt, she shook him, beyond excited. "You're texting Elsa!"

"Get off!"

"She's your girlfriend, isn't she?"

He gritted his teeth. "Yes, she's my girlfriend. Now get off of me before I go back to being an only child."

Cassie's incoherent cries heightened in volume and pitch, and he lost track of whatever the hell she was saying. Suddenly drained, Jack dropped his head back and closed his eyes in surrender.

He could really feel the idyll in the air.

Elsa didn't know marshmallows were dense enough to fly that high, but, she was quickly reminded, that her triplet little cousins were geniuses of innovative thinking. As pans and bowls crashed onto the floor and the beautiful wallpaper and once pristine white cabinets were covered in chocolate stains, and the cacophony of laughter and chaos rang in her ears, she felt the panic and despair rising within herself.

"Mr. Harris!" Kai, hands gripping his skull in fear, called one of the three sources of mayhem in the Arendelle family kitchen. "If you want more chocolate, all you have to do is ask!" He positioned himself under the aforementioned boy hanging from the cabinet door; worst case scenario prepared to cushion the latter's fall. "There is no need for you to climb the counter!"

"Hamish, stay away from the oven!" Anna shouted, slamming the oven door shut and glowering at the already dashing-away triplet.

"Don't put that in your mouth," Elsa chastised, taking the marshmallow away from the third brother. "It fell on the floor, Hubert!"

"Safe to say, making smores with the triplets wasn't the best of the ideas," Merida mumbled, stuffing another handful of pretzels into her mouth. Sitting on the counter, yawning with her chin propped in one hand, the girl somehow managed to look bored despite all the hell breaking loose around her. "There's a reason mother avoids giving them sugar, you know?"

Hands on her hips, Anna narrowed her eyes, fuming. "Couldn't have said that a little sooner now, could you?"

Merida shrugged. "Nobody asked. And my personal policy is to not let my opinion affect other people's impressions of my little bratty brothers."

Anna opened her mouth, but she seemed unable to come up with a good enough retort. Instead, she pointed an accusing finger at the other girl and yelled, "Are you gonna just sit there, or are you gonna stop your brothers from bringing the entire kitchen down?!"

Merida waved her off with a smirk. "Nah, you got this."

Elsa had somehow ended up on her hands and knees, picking marshmallows from the floor like some modern-day Cinderella before her big ball. "Merida, please," she exhaled, voice drained of all energy, "can't you help reign your brothers in?"

Swallowing the remnants of her crackers, Merida dusted her hands as she stood up. Bringing two fingers to her mouth, she let out a high-pitched whistle loud enough to catch everyone's attention. "Alright, listen up, you wee devils," she snarled, crossing her arms and letting her eyes slowly drift from one boy to the next. When she spoke, Merida's voice was clear and composed, "Mom and Dad were nice enough to let us stay with Elsa and Anna while they went to the Dingwall wedding. But if you so much as take another teaspoon out of its place, I'm calling Mom, and I think she will be extremely upset to have her night disturbed, wouldn't you agree?" She gave a dramatic pause to let her threat sink in, then continued, "Now chop, chop, clean up this mess before change my mind and call her anyway."

One final glare was enough for the triplets to start tidying up the room—dirty utensils went in the sink, empty packages were tossed in the trashcan, stools were put back in their original positions… and all without a single peep of complaint.

"How the hell did you do that?!" Anna shouted, looking flabbergasted at her little cousins.

Merida shrugged, going back to her seat and taking one last sip of tea. "Years of practice."

"Splendid show of authority, Miss Merida," Kai commended as he refilled her cup.

The ginger raised her drink for a toast. "Thanks, Kai."

"Kai is right. That was remarkable work, Merida," Elsa stated, taking the seat next to her cousin. "Ever considered that for a future career path?"

"Yelling at my brothers?" Merida laughed. "I don't think my mother will pay me for that."

"Not quite what I was thinking," Elsa admitted with a chuckle. "What I'm trying to say is that leadership may suit you more than you think."

"You think so?"

"Of course."

"See?" A grinning Anna bumped her cousin's arm with hers, as she stole a pretzel from the latter's plate. "I keep telling you that your bossing people around attitude is one of your best traits."

"Somehow, I like Elsa's version better."

As an idea popped into her head, Elsa smirked, glancing between the other girls. "In fact, I know the perfect way for you to put those leadership and adaptability skills to test."

Merida crossed her arms and leaned back on the stool's hind legs, pensive. "I'm listening…"

"Word on the street is that there are some girls planning a camping trip for some teambuilding activities—"

"Whoa, hold it right there. Which street did that word come from exactly?"

"Isn't that what you said the other day, Anna? That the Student Council was thinking of doing something together during the break?"

"Yeah, but I guessed we'd end up just going to a food fair together or something," Anna grumbled, flailing her arms in the air.

"Yeah, 'cause that totally screams 'teambuilding', am I right?" Merida mocked.

"Oh, and you're such an expert—you know what? Fine. Let's do it. You and me, camping, baby."

"Don't forget Rapunzel and Tinkerbell," Elsa mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"Yeah, them too."

Merida laughed, rubbing her hands together. "You better be prepared to sweat, lass."

"Bring it."

"Please try not to kill anyone," Elsa mumbled while inside she raked her brain trying to come up with a way to take back her own suggestion.

"I make no promises."

"Same here."

"Aw, see? Teambuilding at its best." Anna raised her hand for a high-five, and Merida met her halfway, smug beyond words.

"I don't think that's how it works…"

"Hoo, this is gonna be fun!"

"Wanna come too, Elsa?"

"O-oh, I wouldn't want to impose," Elsa stammered, casually playing with her braid to hide her face from view. "Besides, I think I will be too busy with my schoolwork to join you girls in what I'm certain will be an adventure of a lifetime."

"Well, offer still stands if you change your mind."

"... Sure."

Bedtime stories with Cassie were always some of his favorite moments when he was back home. Instead of reading some tale as old as time out of a boring ass book, Jack usually would make up stories of his own, his sister joining in on the fun midway, and soon enough they'd be both jumping on the bed, enacting dramatic sword fights and villainous monologues. Sometimes, he'd pick fantasy, others, it would be sci-fi, creating characters and settings that vaguely resembled reality to add another layer of colors to the stories. They'd laugh, and yell, and try to outdo one another until either of their parents came to actually make Cassie go to sleep. That night, however, no one came, and the siblings managed to finish their story—about a boy who befriended the wind and flew all around the globe in search of something —without interruptions. Not entirely unprecedented, Jack didn't think much of it, so, satisfied with the ending, he tucked his sister in and turned off the lights, promising the little girl a day full of new games and fun in the morning.

Parched, he decided to hit the kitchen for something to drink before heading to his own room… but then he found his parents at the diner table, crumpled papers in front of them and matching frowning expressions on their faces.

"Everything okay here?" he asked as he reached the sink and filled himself a glass of water.

"Take a seat, son."

His father's somber voice tone immediately told him something was wrong. It was the tone he used when Jack was in trouble and had somehow disappointed him. Or the tone he used when Aunt Gerda ( "who you didn't know but was a very kind and sweet old lady" ) passed away and Jack had to be taught about death and what that word really meant. It was a useful voice tone, sure, but nothing good ever came from that tone's usage.

Making his way to the table, he kept glancing at his parents for any hints of the conversation they were about to have but got nothing of relevance. "Uh… what's going on—Mom, are—are you crying?"

"Oh, honey," his mother shrieked, leaning forward to take his hand with her clammy one. Tears unabashedly spilled from her eyes.

His father, on the other hand, was an immovable stone wall. He had his arms crossed and he stared so hard at a spot on the table that Jack wouldn't be surprised if it were to burst into flames at any moment.

Jack gulped once but otherwise remained silent, waiting.

"Apparently, some of the muscles in Cassie's heart are starting to thicken," his father said slowly.

"W-what does that mean?"

"The doctors think it will be best if she goes through a surgery called septal myectomy to fix it."

"Wait—surgery? Heart surgery?" Feeling inexplicably betrayed, Jack pulled his hand back. then immediately regretted it as he saw the hurt in his mother's eyes.

"The hardened muscles are blocking the blood flow," his mother explained as she wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes. "B-but her doctor assured us that it's not a high-risk procedure and that recovery—"

"This is a joke, right?" Jack shook his head. Panic was making his heart race; he was sweating; his vision began to blur.

"It's scheduled for the week after you go back to school," the father said.

"Wh—How long have you known?"

"A while."

"And you didn't think it was worth telling me?!" the bitterness in his voice surprised even himself, or it would, had Jack been able to think at the moment.

"Cassie begged us not to tell you. She wanted to have fun with you when you got home like always—"

"Bullshit," Jack laughed dryly, "I'm her brother; I have the right to know!"

"She didn't want you to worry—"

His mother's tone grew more and more pleading, but it only helped fuel Jack's misdirected anger at them. A frustrated scream threatened to leave his lungs and he swallowed the tight lump in his throat stop it. He shook his head, whatever his parents were saying, completely lost.

Without another word, he stormed out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Reaching his bedroom, he shut the door quietly—his sister waking up being the last thing he needed—then let his body collapse against it. His legs caved, entire body going limp. Hands were shaking. Skin was damp with sweat. Heartbeat pounding in his ears. He bit the inside of his mouth until he tasted copper on his tongue. Burying his head between his arms, he shut his eyes tightly, trying to wake up from that nightmare.

He didn't.

Elsa was restless, and she couldn't pinpoint where that tightness in her chest came from. Oddly enough, her family dynamics were for once not the source of her discomfort. Things had been progressing far better than they had in years—conversations with her father were still awkward at best, but at least the air had been cleared and the healing had commenced. But still, though she didn't know what, Elsa couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

Giving up on her book, Elsa got up and dragged herself to the windowsill. Knees brought to her chest, she stared at the darkness outside as the chill of the night seeped into her bones. Munching on her lower lip, she pulled out her phone, debating whether she should do what she'd been thinking of doing all day long.

At a moment of momentary courage, she quickly scrolled through her contacts, dialing Hiccup's number.

"Elsa?" the boy sounded surprised on the other side of the phone.

"Hi, Hiccup…" Elsa placed her chin on her knees, feeling smaller by the second. "H-how are you?"

"Me? Just chilling. Watching dumb videos on YouTube. I found this video of these two babies reenacting this movie scene of two sisters. Totally adorable. I'll send it to you."

Elsa chuckled, feeling some of the tension leave her shoulders. "Please do."

A pause.

"So… What's up?"

She saw her own reflection in the blackened window, and the Elsa in the window gave her a minimal nod of self-encouragement. "Have you—have you talked to Jack lately?"

"... Oh. So it's not just me?"

Elsa's eyes widened. She felt goosebumps. "You mean he's not answering you either?"

"Nope. Calls go straight to voice mail—he does seem to be reading my texts though; he's just not—"

"He's not responding."

"Exactly. The boys were supposed to come to my place this weekend for some final spring break hurrah, and we'd go back to the Academy together from here, but then Jack just bailed with no explanation and went radio silent since. What about you?"

Elsa took a deep breath. Her lips trembled. "The last text I got from him said that there was a lot going on and that he'd see me back at school. That was three days ago."

"Hmm… That's not normal Jack behavior. I thought he was just pissed at us, but maybe there's something more if even you are being ignored."

"What do you think happened?"

"Not a clue." Hiccup sighed. "Look, Elsa, there's no point in worrying. If Frost is in one of his moods, the best thing to do is to let him cool down on his own."

"And if something bad happened?"

"Then I guess we'll figure out when we go back to school. I'm not trying to be dismissive, I just really don't see how we can help when he's not even trying to let us in."

"I… can relate to that."

"Yeah…" Hiccup chuckled, but the sound was tired and void of humor. "Anyways, try not to worry too much, okay?"

Elsa closed her eyes, resting her forehead against the cool glass. "Sure."

"Hey. Knowing what a dumbass he is, Jack's probably plotting something utterly ridiculous and is not talking to anyone because he wants it to be a surprise."

A weak smile formed on her lips. "You're probably right."

"Everything will be fine, you'll see."

"Yeah. I'm sorry for bothering you, Hiccup."

"You're not a bother at all, Els. Call me if there's anything else."

"Thank you. For everything, really. I'll see you back at school."

"See ya!"

BTW, this is the video Hiccup is talking about: youtu. be /ym1Umb_mreQ