Jack Frost's First Hug

AN: So, another day, another chapter. Sorry about any complications about the last chapter. I felt that I had to re-write it to help the story flow a bit better. I promise though that this chapter will be better structured. Now let's continue, shall we?

As it turned out, they needed as much time as they could spare. Jack found it ridiculous how many other skills Rapunzel possessed. There was chess, ballet (which was even more impressive due to her hair), baking, climbing, dressmaking and even more that
/Jack could barely remember. He was too busy focusing on her to take any notice of her crafts. The way her tongue would slightly stick out when she concentrated; the way she would smile when she fitted a tiny dress on Pascal; the way she would laugh
/whenever she saw Jack's impressed look; it was music to Jack's ears and beauty to Jack's eyes. He was entranced by this woman, this woman whom he only met a few hours ago. Magic seemed to float around her, drawing him in and keeping him enthralled.

Her positivity and her grace almost made him forget about the singing and her mother, but Jack knew he would have to address it soon. That woman was taking advantage of Rapunzel and her gift and that made him angry beyond belief. Even thinking about it
/made the room temperature fall a couple of degrees. It only made it worse that Rapunzel trusted her. He knew he would breaking her heart by telling her, he didn't ever want to do that but also didn't want to sentence her to forever be the slave of
/that woman's He had to get her out of this tower.

"So, Rapunzel," Jack said after she had finished showing off her paintings in her room, "Have you ever been, you know, outside the tower?"

Rapunzel's face immediately dropped.

"Uh...well," she started awkwardly but stopped as he twiddled her thumbs. Jack immediately understood what that meant.

"You haven't, have you?" he asked although he already knew the answer. Rapunzel shook her head whilst looking at a floorboard that had suddenly become so interesting.

Jack sighed. Getting her out of the tower just became so much harder.

"Have you ever wanted to leave?" Jack asked.

"Yeah," Rapunzel said quietly, "But...mother...she kept me here for my safety..."

"For your safety?"

"Yeah," Rapunzel explained, raising her head to look at Jack, "My hair...it glows..."

"When you sing that song," Jack finished for her, "I saw it earlier."

"Well," Rapunzel continued, "When I was younger, people tried to cut it but-" she explained as she lifted her hair from her neck to reveal one small, brunette lock of hair, "Once you cut it, my hair loses its powers."

"So, what? People wanted your hair for their own line of hair-lamps?" Jack joked, which to his relief caused Rapunzel to smile.

"No, my hair, it doesn't just glow. Give me your hand."

Jack presented his hand to Rapunzel who wrapped it in her hair. Then she started to sing.

"Flower gleam and glow,

Make your power shine..."

A sensation that Jack had not felt in long time suddenly filled his entire body. It was as if the cold that been living inside of him since his creation was fleeing from his body and was replaced by a heat unlike anything he had ever felt before.

"Make the clock reverse,

Bring back what once was- oh my, god! Jack!"

Jack opened his eyes and immediately the warmth began to leave his body. He ran to a mirror and saw his hair starting to turn white again and replace the brown that had been present before.

"No, no, NO!" he cried at his reflection as the last few strands of brown hair fade to white. And as soon as it was gone, the cold returned. It took everything that Jack posses not to break down into tears. Tears of sadness or joy, Jack didn't know. He
/had just glimpsed relief he had had before his death. He had seen something he had been wanting to see for so long and this woman, this beautiful woman, had allowed him to see it.

Suddenly Jack felt a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Wh-What was that?" Rapunzel asked. Jack turned around and stared at her, unable to do anything else, frozen as he tried to figure her out. "Seriously, Jack. What happened?"

"Something...something brilliant," Jack gasped. He then proceeded to do something that any other time would be an absolutely mad idea. He hugged Rapunzel.

Rapunzel stiffened in his arms but soon circled her arms around him to comfort.

"Was that what you looked like before...you know?" Rapunzel asked.

"Yes," Jack replied once he composed himself, "But that was a long time ago."

"I didn't think my hair would do that," Rapunzel admitted.

"Don't worry, it actually felt nice," Jack said.

"You looked nice," she remarked, "With brown hair, I mean. Not saying that the white hair looks bad or whatever."

Jack chuckled.

"Thanks, I've been thinking of dyeing it, lately."

Rapunzel smiled.

"Now," Jack said as he clapped his hands together and summoned his staff, "If there's one thingI've been asking myself, and trust me there's a lot, it's this." Jack glided over to the curtain on the wall of the main room and tore them off, revealing
/Rapunzel's mural. He then pointed to the orange lights trailing through the sky and continued. "What are these?"

"Those?" Rapunzel said as her eyes opened excitedly, "I've been looking at star charts and all kinds of stuff but I can't find those lights anywhere. I don't think those are stars. And they're not! They only come around on my birthday and I've always
/wanted to see them."

"Isn't it your birthday today?" Jack asked her, remembering her conversation with her 'mother'. Rapunzel shook her head.

"No, it's tomorrow," she explained.

"You wanna go and see them up close?" Jack offered. Rapunzel looked surprised.

"What- really?" she asked.

"Yeah, why not?"

"It's just that...you know...my hair and people and-"

"I'll protect you. I promise that no one will hurt you," Jack offered as he flew to the window and opened it, "I have to go anyway. You wanna come?"

Rapunzel thought for a minute before shaking her head.

"Tomorrow," she said. "I'm a little tired to go today and I need to get ready."

"Great," Jack grinned, "I'll come back tomorrow morning at ten o'clock. Let's make a field day out of it."

"Yeah," Rapunzel said, "I just can't believe it. Are we really gonna do it?"

"You better believe it," Jack said with a cheesy wink, "Now, I'd better go. Got some winter to spread and such."

"Wait!" Rapunzel shouted before Jack could fly away. Jack was about to ask why when Rapunzel gave him a gentle hug around the neck. When Rapunzel pulled away, she giggled at Jack's confused face.

"What was that for?" Jack asked. Rapunzel shrugged.

"I don't know," she said, "For talking to me, for not attacking me, for being my first ever friend."

An annoyed growl from Pascal made her chuckled.

"Well, my first human friend," she corrected, "Thank you. Just...thank you."

"My pleasure, Rapunzel," Jack said as he began to fly away from a waving Rapunzel. As soon as he saw the window close, he flew above cloud layer and headed north.

"The guardians are gonna love this!" Jack said to himself as he headed as fast as he could towards the North Pole.