Part three. AN to follow.

XIV. Something Big

"Wait, what?"

The remainder of the day had seen the reunion of the gang at the Whitethorne house. Despite their differing lives, which had led to drifting over the years, everyone managed to find the time to attend - even Rapunzel's boyfriend Eugene, who recently finished a six month sentence in jail.

(His crime, ironically, was petty theft.)

And Anna's vocal reaction was mirrored by the gang, upon learning the details of Jack's innocence. Six faces gaped back at Elsa, six jaws hit the floor.

Hiccup was unfazed, which struck Elsa as odd. Relaxing into Elsa's couch with his arm draped over Astrid's shoulders, he was the personification of 'saw that coming'.

"So lemme get this straight," Merida said, once her face remembered how to frown. "Hans stole and pawned tha ring, then made Jack take tha fall, just so he could get inta yer pants?"

"And my money, I suspect," Elsa added from her position of the single leather chair opposite Astrid.

"I'm gonna kill him," Anna snarled through gritted teeth, and made to rise from the second couch and march to the door.

Kristoff shot up and put himself in front of her, hands splayed open in a calming gesture. "Whoa, feistypants. There's nothing we can do about it now."

"He's right," Hiccup said. "Statute of limitations ran out two years ago. He can't be legally charged with the crime."

"Then I'll do something illegal!" Anna snapped. "He can't get away with this!"

Elsa held up a hand. "Anna, the last thing I want is for you to be arrested for something rash. Please, sit."

"But-"

"Hans is nothing to me. He does not matter anymore, and I refuse to let anyone's actions be dictated by how many pieces in which they would like to see him. Okay?"

Anna stared at her in bewilderment for a few moments, and then huffed as she - somewhat petulantly - returned to her seat. "I just hate that he's gonna get away with it," she sighed.

"He already did." Elsa scratched at her temple, and dropped her gaze. "I was stupid enough to be fooled by him, so what happened is on me."

"It's on all of us," Rapunzel chimed in, though Elsa noticed by her frowning expression she was still having issues believing it. "He managed to dupe all of us."

"And we turned our backs on Jack," added Astrid, whose forehead was supported by her left hand as she leaned on the couch's armrest. "I thought Hans would be good for you. I thought I was a good judge of character…"

"Stormfly," Hiccup said, "I love you, but you are a horrible judge of character."

Astrid gave him a ha-ha sneer. "Yes, Hiccup, thank you for reminding me how I was wrong about two people."

"You're welcome," he chuckled, before addressing the entire group, "and if it pleases the court, I would like to state for the record - I did warn you all we shouldn't jump to conclusions."

"Yes, you did," said Elsa with a solemn tone, "and I think we can all agree that, as friends, we failed Jack. I… failed him."

"We forgot the basic tenet of this country's justice system," Kristoff piped up. "Innocent until proven guilty."

Merida nodded glumly. "Ta think that if just one of us went to ta pawn shop ta find out fer sure, this'd've all been cleared up."

(Elsa would have been happily married to Jack.)

"Question is," Eugene said as he held Rapunzel into the crook of his right arm, "what're we gonna do about it?"

Elsa straightened in her chair, and lifted her chin. "Firstly, I am going to visit the court and petition for divorce."

"But Hans will be in DC tomorrow," Anna pointed out. "He could make trouble for you."

There was a sound of fabric shuffling against leather - Astrid had moved to a position where her elbows rested on her knees, and stared at Elsa with glaring resolve. "Not a problem. I have a game in DC next week. I'll serve him the respondent papers myself."

Elsa frowned, though the corners of her lips tugged into a smile. "Are you sure?"

Astrid uttered a loud scoff. "After what Hans did to you, and tricking me into accusing Jack? It would be my genuine pleasure."

Merida snorted. "Not like ye needed much convincing-"

"Yes, thank you, Red," Astrid snapped loudly, "that's not at all helpful."

"Secondly," Elsa said abruptly, hoping to avoid a fight, "I am going to try again to talk to Jack. I want him to know how sorry I am-and how much I regret everything that happened. I want-need-him to know."

A pregnant silence descended throughout the room. Biting her lower lip to keep her emotions in check, Elsa stared unblinkingly at her thumbs as she fiddled with them. There it was. Her hand had been played, her desires laid bare.

"You still love him, don't you?"

Elsa looked up at her sister. Her sky blue eyes were knowing, sympathetic, expectant. For a few seconds, her younger sister's gaze was arresting, piercing… penetrating.

"I don't think I ever stopped loving him."

There was a sigh from the vicinity of Astrid and Hiccup. The former had flopped let her head rest on the latter's shoulders whilst staring at the floor in thought, but Elsa had spent enough time around Hiccup to know when his mind was at work.

"It's gonna be tough, you know," he told her. "We basically isolated the guy whose biggest fear was being alone. He's probably got a grudge the size of Gaston's ego."

"But it can be done," Anna piped up, hope and brightness in her voice. "We just need to show him. We need something big. Tomorrow."

Elsa looked at her with curiosity. "What did you have in mind?"

Anna's lips tucked into a mischievous smirk. "Rapunzel? We need paint."

"O...kay."

"Kristoff? We need paper. Lots of it."

"Paper. Got it."

Elsa didn't miss how, with her smirk widening, Anna gave an oblivious Astrid a plotting look.

"And a costume."

XV: Crash and Burn

"Think this is gonna work?"

Elsa took a look at Astrid, who sat in the front passenger seat, scowling heartily at the synthetic pink hair she was angrily pulling at with her fingers. Part of Anna's plan involved Astrid wearing a full clown costume as part of her 'big thing'; Astrid had vehemently ixnayed the idea, refusing to look so ridiculous. Hiccup then reminded her that embarrassing herself was the point; Hans had made them all look like fools, and Jack needed to see that - especially as Astrid was the biggest proponent of his guilt.

(He then went one further and suggested the pink hair, a colour she despised, earning him squeals of, "Yes!" from Anna and Rapunzel, a glare from Astrid and probably about a year on the couch.)

From the seat directly behind Elsa, her sister threw in her hat. "It'll work."

"No, it won't," Kristoff said with all the subtlety of a runaway tank, sat beside her. "I get him. He just wants to be alone."

The harsh sound of a hand meeting fabric burst throughout the car, followed by a pained yelp. "No-one wants to be alone," Anna said briskly, "except, maybe, you."

Merida took that moment to throw her hat in. "I hafta ask-are ye doin' this fer Jack… or you?"

"For what I threw away," Elsa answered with zero hesitation, her eyes fixed on the end of the street ahead.

"One thing's for sure." Astrid then huffed, and folded her arms whilst glaring through the front windshield. "If any of you breathe a word of this, I'll hunt down and kill you."

"Sure ye will, Chuckles," Merida said amid mocking sniggers.

Astrid twisted around in her seat, and was about to undoubtedly to give Merida a severe verbal bashing - which would have been undone by her bulbous red nose - when Elsa stiffened bolt upright in her seat. Clutching the steering wheel, she felt her heart leap when she spied a dark blue car turning the corner ahead into the street.

She leaned forward and squinted, her heart thumping in her chest as she peered for a better look at the driver - and a gasp burst from her mouth. White hair. "He's here."

"Ah, crap," Astrid muttered.

Elsa felt a prodding in her shoulder. She turned to find Anna, regarding her with an encouraging smile. "Showtime, 'sis. We'll be ready."

Elsa shot her a grateful smile, before turning back. Jack was pulling in. Her moment had come. She could start to make things right. Strengthening air was inhaled through her nose and out of her pursed mouth. She could do it.

Without a second's thought, she opened the door and left the car, feeling the winter breeze bite at her cheeks, rather than the warm air of the car, and suppressed a small shiver. Unaware of her presence, Jack was in the process of getting out as she jogged to meet him, her heart thumping every step of the way, her limbs tense and sensitive with the chill, and her own tense nerves.

He looked up just as he closed the driver door, clutching a worn red backpack, and rolled his eyes almost as soon as they rested upon her.

"I thought I was pretty clear yesterday, Elsa," he said, his pale face radiating 'unimpressed'. Even void of smiles and eyes made of ice, he was still as handsome as the day they met.

"I know," she replied, holding up her hands as a placating gesture. "I know-but please, I want you to see something."

"Elsa…"

"Please."

He gazed at her for a few long, long moments, before an exasperated sigh rang out. "Fine," he said wearily, rubbing lines into his forehead. "But make it quick, I've got to prepare for my class tomorrow."

Elsa's lips tugged into a smile. Turning her head towards her car, and Merida's emerald green vehicle behind it, she gave them a thumbs up as a signal, and turned back to Jack.

Regaled by the sounds of several car doors opening and closing, and the footsteps of seven people as they quickly maneuvered into position, Elsa watched Jack's face like a hawk. She wanted to see every tic, every muscle, every way his eyes could change - see if she even had a chance.

"What do you think?" she asked, once the shuffling of footsteps and urgent hissed whispers ceased.

He tilted his head an inch, whilst a bemused frown crossed his face. His left eyebrow arched. "I think you guys need to attend my elementary class."

Elsa furrowed her brow, confused by the obscurity of his reply. With a dip of his head and a pointed gesture of his eyes, she was directed to the gang.

Seven pairs of eyes gazing back at them, seven pairs of hands holding up nine large posters with a long apology painted in vivid blue - except, Rapunzel was holding her two posters in the wrong order.

WE'RE SRORY

Elsa's eyed widened to their limit. Of all the things to go wrong, it had to be a case of spelling errors! Hissing through clenched teeth, she issued a series of wild, frustrated gesticulations to Rapunzel - who looked back in bewilderment and then down at her posters.

She heard a hiss of, "Crap!", and the shuffling of paper. The lightest of chuckles from his throat could be picked up, but they felt half-hearted, spiritless.

"Why are you here?" he said, his words riding on a sigh. "Was this supposed to make me feel better? 'Cause...well, it's not."

And just that, her hope began to evaporate. Her smile slowly fell, and a dull ache pulsed through her heart, stronger and stronger with each beat. Left hand crossing her chest to clutch at her upper right arm, she said with a sorrowful, glum voice, "I...we...just wanted to show you we know how much we screwed up… and that we're sorry."

"And you think-" Jack began in a harsh snap, but his gaze - and his face - seemed to soften. "-and you think having a bunch of my ex-friends in a line with some posters is gonna make it right?"

"It's a start… I just wanted a chance for us-" She hesitated. She did want another chance with him. She wanted to hold and kiss him, to heal the damage she wrought. That much was clear. "-a chance for us to talk."

It was the truth, but one of many.

Stars above, it was so hard to look him in the eyes, to see five years of pain and confusion break through his mask of stubborn composure. He stared at her, his shoulders rising and falling like a stormy sea with each breath he took.

"Do you know what happened to me after you broke up with me?"

Elsa wore a guilty cringe, and her strength waned to the point she could not stop her gaze from falling. "We abandoned you."

Jack shook his head. "Yeah, but it got worse. Rumours spread around college that I stole your ring. People started avoiding me, giving me the stinkeye, whispering behind my back. 'There's Jack. Make sure he doesn't steal your wallet like he stole Elsa's ring'. Something went missing in college, I was the first one everyone suspected. No-one helped me with my work. Everyone judged me for something I didn't do… Elsa, I was invisible. I was alone, and no-one could tell me why, 'cause no-one would talk to me."

"I had no idea," Elsa murmured weakly.

"No, you didn't." He rolled his shoulder back to adjust the strap, and then leaned down just as he did the day before. "How was your wedding?"

"Hollow," she responded almost instantly as she looked up at him, emphasis in her voice despite its wavering strength. "Full of lies. A mistake I wish I could undo."

"So do I," he said - and then a cringe crossed his sculpted features. The kind of cringe one does when something is let slip. Taking a deep, quiet breath, he tilted his head and tried to adopt a more composed expression. "I only ask, 'cause I wasn't invited. When you celebrated your graduation with a party, with all your friends, I celebrated mine with Chinese takeout, soda and reruns of Law and Order. Five years of birthdays and Christmases, it was just my sister and I."

Her voice was pleading, hopeful. Her left hand clenched into a loose fist. She took a step forward, and gazed into his eyes through her own shimmering blues. "I know. I know I hurt you. I did a horrible thing, and I'm sorry. Please give me a chance to make this right. Please."

He snorted quietly, but when he spoke - despite his words turning her heart into a pulsing organ of agony - it was as though his own heart was breaking. "Look, you get points for Astrid's getup - and if I wasn't so tired, I'd laugh… but, you see, what annoys me is you've got Eugene there who's done time for stealing-" he threw an exasperated hand in the direction of the blue 'Y' "-and you were all happy to forgive him and trust him, but me? Just because I played a few pranks every now and then? Did you honestly think that little of me?"

His brow peaked, like he was pleading for understanding, to make sense of all that had happened. Elsa's heart clenched like it was in a vice when he whispered, full of what sounded like despair, "Did you even love me?"

The precision of his words robbing her of the ability to speak, Elsa remained quiet. Sure, the group had more than a few choice words for Eugene's behaviour, and Astrid had threatened to bury him if he ever put Rapunzel through such stress and heartache again… but she couldn't deny the hypocrisy.

And she couldn't deny her love.

Jack exhaled a breath. He looked wide awake, vibrant and alert, but there was a weariness behind his eyes for all of one second before they were clamped shut whilst he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm sorry, Elsa, but this isn't something you can make right with human bunting and a clown costume. You said it yourself, in your house-"

"Don't say it, Jack. I need another chance. I miss you so-"

"We're over, Elsa."

XVI. Not Giving Up

The mood in Elsa's house was deflated and downtrodden. Barely holding it in during the drive home, the first thing Elsa had done was rush up to her room and descend into a numb trance, his words going around and around her mind. With a pillow clutched to her chest like she was back in high school, and her knees drawn up for good measure, she stared at the framed 'selfie' of her and Jack at a beach in California. She remembered it well; she wore an ice blue bikini and he had navy blue shorts, they posed for a selfie and Jack, with his trademark mischievous smirk, popped two fingers behind her head.

Happy times, laid low.

So, was that truly it, then? Had the sun set on the romance of the 'childish, immature, chaotic' Jack Frost and the 'mature, regal, adult' Elsa Whitethorne?

(The less she referred to herself as Westergard, the less she wanted to spent an hour in the shower with bleach and a scourer.)

Maybe it was what she deserved. After all, any attempt by him to talk to her was met by a locked door, a brush off or a threat to call the authorities. Maybe too much damage had been done, it was too little, five years too late. Jack had moved on, and she was left behind with the guilt, and the what-might-have-been.

But his face, his expression when the cold composure slipped for a few seconds - it was like her own desires and hopes were mirrored in his eyes. The spark was still there, it had to be, but something was holding him back.

(It had to be.)

A quick, jovial set of knocks emanated from the bedroom door, a second before it opened to reveal Anna - clutching two round tubs of ice cream stacked in her left hand, and two spoons in the other, a sympathetic expression on her youthful, rosy features.

"Hey," she said softly. "Thought you could use some comfort food."

"Did I mention I love you, Anna?" said Elsa as she tossed aside the pillow, and pulled herself up to sit cross-legged against the headboard.

"You're gonna love me even more." Anna clambered onto the luxuriously soft bed, mirroring Elsa's position, and passed her one of the tubs. Elsa read the label. She was right. Chocolate ice cream with caramel rippling.

"Toothiana may have a thing or two to say about this," she said as she pried off the lid. Not that she cared.

"Meh." Anna was already digging in, her spoon already on its way for a second scoop. "I think, after today, any dentist would give you a free pass."

Elsa giggled in spite of her heartache, and proceeded to avail herself of the heavenly, chocolate and caramel flavoured comfort. The sisters ate in reflective quiet, and little by little, Elsa's dull ache subsided.

She glanced up at Anna, whose strawberry blonde braids rested happily on her shoulders as she ate, staring in thought at one of the myriad snowflakes embroidered on the comforter. "What are you thinking about, Anna?" she asked.

Anna looked up, and the left corner of her lips curled into a smile made wry by the look in her eyes. "I was just thinking that this has happened before, five years ago, about the same guy. You hiding in your room, and me bringing you chocolate and caramel ice cream."

Elsa winced. "Deja vu, huh?" She popped another spoonful onto her tongue, savouring the deliciously sweet taste before swallowing, and asked, "Is everyone okay? I really should have been a more attentive host."

Anna shrugged, and waved her spoon hand as if to say 'forget about it'. "They're fine. They left about ten minutes ago, figuring you needed space. Pretty sure Eugene's on the couch for a year, though."

Elsa frowned, and tilted her head as a silent request for explanation.

"Astrid was fuming that she went to all that effort of looking like a clown, only for us to crash and burn. So Eugene tried to make a joke that she could wear it in bed with Hiccup."

Elsa winced. "I'm sure such an inappropriate remark went down well."

Anna hummed in pained agreement. "Like the Hindenburg. Astrid threatened to kill him, and Rapunzel perfected her famous Gibbs head slap." She swallowed another obscenely large spoonful. "How 'bout you?"

Elsa's mouth tugged into an awkward, self-effacing smile. "The day Jack and I started talking."

Anna's eyebrows rose and she shuffled forward, peering with bright, inquisitive eyes. It felt like Elsa was the storyteller, famed for her tales of romance, adventure and intrigue, and Anna was her audience.

"We were in high school. Our teacher was delayed for an hour, and the class was becoming restless - and when that happened, things were broken. So Jack decided to entertain them the only way he knew how: with fun. He borrowed two pool noodles from the gym, commandeered two office chairs from the classroom, and used them to joust with Hawkins."

"Sir Jack the School Knight?" Anna sniggered.

Elsa smiled widely in reflective warmth. "Precisely - he lost most jousts, but every time it happened, the entire class laughed and cheered, and he would always look at me with this lopsided grin… like it wasn't for the class… it was for me. I began to wonder, what does he see in me, that he wants to impress me so?"

"Beautiful, intelligent, confident on the outside but wracked with projectable self-doubt over being Daddy's perfect girl so you can make him proud, even in death, by going into the family architecture firm," Anna said with the epitome of dry nonchalance, her expression barely above deadpan. "I could go on."

Elsa narrowed her eyes with a sneer. "Ha-ha. I tried to ignore it, but his persistence was… intriguing. So, once his subsequent and well-deserved detention was over, I resolved to find out why he was so tenaciously intent on impressing me, and he said, 'Every time I was knocked on my ass, you smiled. So I purposely lost every time, just to see you smile again'. I think that was the moment I felt the spark between us."

Anna stared at her with wide eyes, her puffed cheeks blushing as red as Elsa's, and a cute 'awww' emanated from behind the spoon in her lips.

Smiling bashfully, Elsa dipped her head in a daft attempt to conceal it. "We quickly became friends, and as we grew closer, I decided that as he went to such lengths to get my attention, it was only fair that I should be the one to make the first move. So I asked him out on our first date."

"Equality for the win," Anna said, beaming. "His persistence paid off."

Nodding, Elsa said, "Yes, it did." As her mind sifted through the happy memories, her heart felt the ache pulse within it once more, clawing at her chest and soul like a pernicious, painful chill. Her recollections turned into ones of anger, darkness and defeated expressions. Her smile slowly became a line, and her voice became hollow. "Every day for a month, he was at my door, knocking, just for a chance to talk. Even when it was raining, or thundering, he was there for hours at a time. He never gave up on me even when I gave up on him, until I threatened him with legal action."

It then hit her, like a bolt of lightning that burst through her window and into her heart, what she needed to do. "It's only fair…" she murmured, frowning as the seeds of a silly idea began to root.

"Wait. I know that look."

Elsa looked up through her eyebrows at her sister. "Do you know why I despise romantic comedies?"

Anna shrugged, and scoffed another spoonful. "Um, 'cause they're unoriginal, derivative and awesome?"

"No." Elsa shook her head as she slid to the edge of the bed. "It's because nine times out of ten, it's the man that makes the mistake. It's the man that has to run to the airport, sing at a high school football practice, beg for forgiveness. We make mistakes, too - and I intend to fix mine."

A spoon was pointed in her direction as a warning. "Heyheyhey! You leave Ten Things I Hate About You out of this!"

"It's an entertaining movie-" Elsa held up a placating hand as she stood, "-but the point is; you're right, this has happened before. I spent so much time holed up in this room, I allowed happiness and the love of my life to pass me by when I could have done something about it. Not again. I'm not giving up on him."

Anna darted over to pick up the precariously vertical tub Elsa had absent-mindedly left on the bed. The chocolate stain would have been murder. "Why don't you try and move on?"

Elsa didn't even look back as she marched to the huge wardrobe opposite the bed. "I tried that once, Anna, and it got me five years of unhappiness with a liar. No, I'm going to knock on his door, and I won't stop until he caves."

"He could call the cops," Anna said as she dug several gouges into her ice cream.

"Then they'll have to drag me away-" Elsa pulled her jacket out of the closet and pulled it on, "-and I'll just come straight back. I refuse to give up."

"That's my sister," Anna said, full of pride.

Elsa felt a smile tug at her lips. Once a few jerks of the jacket had rectified the momentary discomfort, she strode over to clamber on the bed, and pulled Anna into a tight, grateful hug. "Thank you, Anna, for being my sister. Even when I was screwing up, you always looked out for me."

Once she pulled back, Anna gave her an incredulous frown coupled marvellously with a teasing smirk. "What did you think I was going to do? Wait, don't answer that." She made a shooing gesture with her spoon. "Now, scoot! Go get your man!"

Elsa didn't need telling twice.

XVII. Fear

For the next week, Elsa was at his door, her knuckles announcing a rhythm. When it was her lunch break, she would knock to speak to Emma. When she finished work, she would be there, knocking.

Even when she received nothing but silence, or an annoyed yell of, "Go away!" she stayed, undeterred. Her mind would implore her to give up.

He's not interested, it would say. Just save yourself the pain.

She ignored it every time. She listened to her heart, which beseeched her to stay. Which told her it would be worth it, in the end.

So, for that week, whenever she had free time - she knocked. Sometimes she stayed outside his door for a few hours, waiting. Jack sometimes annoyed her into submission - it was only fair that she annoyed him… and on the seventh day, everything changed.

Having finished her thirty-fourth set of knocks at seven in the evening, with the sky darkening overhead, Elsa took two steps away from the door and parked herself on the little step that led to the house, where the path met paving stone. She had done this before; knock a few times, and then sit and wait, watching the world go by. Work she took home was done on that step, as were fifteen levels of a hidden object game on her phone.

As she browsed her Facebook app, noting the trending posts supporting the Arendelle City Banshees women's football team in their upcoming game against Burgess Raiders - Astrid, being a Banshee, was likely responsible for stirring up the support - she heard footsteps approaching along the sidewalk to the left. That was nothing special - at seven, there was a regular-as-clockwork elderly couple that walked their dog… who consistently held each other's hands.

"You really don't give up, do you?"

Except, that was not the voice of the elderly couple, the man or the woman. Startled, Elsa looked up from her phone - straight into the eyes of Emma, standing at the bottom of their path whilst clutching a paper bag of groceries in her left arm. Elsa felt a flash of uncertainty in her spine that spread through to her limbs and paralysed her - the last meeting they had ended in a threat to 'knock her ass on the sidewalk'. Who knew what was going through Emma's mind, as she stared into Elsa's ice blues with… an amused expression?

She inclined her head toward the step. "Scootch over, or do I have to ask to sit on my own step?"

Elsa's mouth opened and closed like a goldfish, before her brain reminded her she was actually in the real world, and not a parallel universe. "Oh-sorry," she stammered, and shuffled a few inches to the right. Emma chuckled quietly to herself as she walked over to the step, and with a tired sigh, plonked herself down beside her and rested the paper bag at her feet. "Chocolate?" she asked, offering Elsa an already opened packet once it was plucked from inside the bag.

"Oh… thank you," Elsa said, her voice wavering in surprise. She took one of the chocolates and instantly popped it into her mouth, anxious not to antagonise the seriously protective sister. The entire left side of her body was already tensed for physical violence, thank you very much.

Hershey's Kiss. Huh.

"I love chocolate," Emma said to no-one in particular, her right cheek bulging slightly as she tossed the packet back into its previous place of safety. "Almost as much as I love my brother."

"I understand," Elsa said softly, "though I am not sure who would win if it came to my sister versus chocolate and caramel ice cream."

Emma scrunched her nose. "Your sister, definitely. Hate chocolate and caramel. Give me mint choc chip any day."

The silence of the street that descended upon them, broken only by the occasional car passing though, meant that every breath Emma took through her nose sounded like a howling wind. Silence she broke, in the strangest way.

"Three days ago, Jack and I had an argument." Elsa looked at her, and was met with searching, assessing hazel eyes. "I wanted to take a restraining order out against you." Elsa's gaze fell, and the punch her heart administered to her ribcage was wholly unnecessary. "But Jack convinced me not to. He said that you were only doing what he was doing. I admired his stubborn persistence when you two broke up… so by that logic, as much as I hate to admit it, I admire yours. Many people would have given up on the second day - here you are, on the seventh."

Elsa smiled to herself. "My father taught me that you have to grab what makes you happy and never let go, and if it does slip through your fingers, stop at nothing until you get it back."

"S'good advice," Emma said with a casual air. Her eyes fell to the left, and her brows furrowed in thought. Elsa watched her, sensing the presence of two conflicting thoughts in Emma's mind, like she was at war with herself over how to proceed.

"Look," she said, breaking the silence abruptly enough to make Elsa flinch, "any other day, I would have told you to go to hell-but you've been here for how long?"

"Three hours," Elsa answered without hesitation.

Emma looked at her like she'd grown a second head. "Damn." She blinked, and shook away the surprise. "Okay, you've been here, on and off, for a week. So I'd say you've earned the chance to understand some things. You ready?"

Elsa shuffled around to face Emma more clearly, and gazed unblinkingly at her, intent on not missing a word. "Yes. Please, tell me."

Lips quirking to the right, the debate raged on in Emma's mind. Elsa's heart stilled in her chest, as though even the sound of her pulse could make her miss something critical. She stared at her, impatiently awaiting the moment it could all make sense.

"I think my brother still loves you," Emma said, finally breaking the silence with words that made Elsa's heart leap for joy in her chest - almost bursting in the process. A ragged sigh of relief rang out from her mouth. "I don't think he ever stopped," Emma continued, "and I know it, because he doesn't talk about you. Whenever your name comes up, he changes the subject. If there's something that reminds him of you, he pretends it's not there. I can see it in his eyes. He wants you back."

"He still loves me," Elsa whispered. It sounded too good to be true. Her right hand went up to rest over her heart as she looked away, whether it was to calm her heart or simply feel it beat, she didn't know. What she was aware of was the position of the corner of her lips near her ears.

"But-" Emma held up a hand, and her voice was a crack of thunder that jarred Elsa out of her elated trance, "-he's scared. He's not gonna admit it - probably some manly thing - but he's absolutely terrified. My brother cares very much what people - what you - think of him, so when you broke up with him in front of everyone, you didn't just hurt him - you humiliated him. In front of his friends, and then the college. Jack would rather feel the pain of missing and loving you now, than risk feeling the pain of being alone and unloved all over again."

The joy of hearing his true feelings had been beaten and cast aside by a ten ton iron weight of guilt in her stomach, and a yearning compulsion to kick his door down, pull him into her arms and heal the pain. Her eyes went to the blue door, ignoring the inconveniently timed lump in her throat, and briefly debated the best place to apply her foot.

"Hey," Emma softly called, drawing Elsa's attention right back to her. "I know what you're trying to do, and I'll give you props for not giving up… but knocking ain't gonna cut it. If you want him to listen to what you have to say, you need to get his attention."

Elsa leaned forward, hanging on every word like it was sorely needed ammunition for a war. "How do I do that?"

Shrugging, Emma pushed herself to her feet with one hand, and picked up the paper bag with the other. "What do I look like, a glorified plot device to give the main character exactly what they need? All I know is, you gotta go big-"

"-or go home." Elsa smiled to herself as a quiet, gentle snort burst from her nose. "His motto."

"Bingo. Just…" Emma trailed off, as though her words - and indeed, the topic of conversation in its entirety - were physically aching her. She looked tired, ready for the day to be over. "Just...my brother puts on a brave face, but in his heart, he feels alone. Show him he's not."

With little more than a quiet, "Good luck," Emma left Elsa on the step. Staring at the path, Elsa heard the door open and close, as well as the wholly unnecessary slide of the lock. She wasn't going to knock again tonight - she had too much to think about.

"Something big, to show him he's not alone," Elsa murmured to herself. "Something big. Something-"

Her body stiffened bolt upright. Her eyes widened to their limit, and a loud gasp tore its way into the air. An idea… an idea so ridiculous, so embarrassing, so big… it just might work. It would get his attention, and he'd have no choice but to listen.

Neither would the city of Arendelle, of course, but that mattered little in Elsa's mind. She had a plan.

Quickly scrolling through the contacts on her phone as she rose from the step, she tapped on Astrid's contact details as she strode to her car, feeling the cold night air bite at her cheeks and ears. The cold seldom annoyed her, and it had no chance today. Yanking open her driver side door, she slid into the car just as Astrid answered the phone.

"Hello, Astrid? Yes, it's me. Well, firstly I want to apologise for my poor hosting skills last week and… okay, thanks. The other thing is… are the Banshees are playing the Raiders at home or away? Home-are you sure? Excellent. Now, I'd like to ask a big, big favour…"

XVIII. Something Bigger

Elsa would be lying if she said she didn't expect that kind of turnout for the Banshees vs Raiders game, but the roar of the stadium chanting, "Banshees!" and hammering the seats three times over and over again in an unbreakable rousing rhythm filled her heart and body with tense anxiety. Shaking, sweat-covered hands were wrapped around the microphone as she clutched it against her chest, and she twisted it in her palms not unlike a Chinese burn. Her heart thumped in her chest hard enough to bruise her ribcage, and her limbs were void of strength.

Still, she wanted this. One whole week of planning, of cajoling officials and pleading for time-

(Astrid had made a deal with the top organiser that, to allow what was about to happen, she had to drop by his daughter's birthday party next year, as she was her hero. Astrid said she would be there for five of them.)

-and it all came down to the moment where Elsa was stood in the tunnel where the players would be jogging through in fifteen minutes time. She paced a horizontal line across the tunnel, chanting a mantra to herself. She could do this. She had to. Focusing on her upcoming stunt, she tried to block out the sound of the crowd - it could all go horribly wrong.

They could bray and clamour, jeer and howl. She could rise and fly, or crash and burn in a heap of humiliation and embarrassment… but then again, the risk was the whole point.

Footsteps echoed through the tunnel. Hypersensitive to the sound, Elsa's head whipped up to the source - Anna, striding toward her with a proud grin cutting her lips, wearing a white and blue Banshees top, with black leggings and dark blue sneakers. A direct contrast to Elsa's more sedate leather jacket, ice-blue top and black pants.

"He's here," Anna announced once she was within earshot. "Kristoff just called to say he spied him. Twelve o'clock high from the tunnel."

"H-he is?" Elsa said, breathless from nerves. "H-how did you manage to get him here?"

"Oh, I didn't." Anna grasped her hand, and held it tightly. The shaking slowly ceased with her sister's comfort. "Emma did. We had a nice sister-to-sister chat, about how we were both watching our elder siblings mope around in pain, and that it was our duty as annoying younger sisters to knock their heads together. Needless to say, we were on the same page."

Elsa bit her lip to hold back the welling of tears in the lower lids of her icy blues - so much so, that she almost tasted blood with how much pressure it took. She made an adorably cute, faint squeak, and threw her arms around Anna. "Thank you," she whispered, squeezing so tight that Anna's next words were wheezed.

"No… problem…"

"Hey!"

Both women released each other, and turned their attention to the mouth of the tunnel where a rotund man stood, wearing a black baseball cap under a microphone headset, gesturing for her to approach. "Get ready, they're about to call you on."

Anna gave her a beam and a wink. "I'm gonna go find my seat. Knock 'em dead, 'sis."

She gave Elsa a quick pat on the back and a quicker peck on the cheek before disappearing into the darkness of the tunnel. Staring out at the blindingly bright lights and vibrant green field, Elsa took several deep breaths to steel herself. In, out. In, out.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, Raiders and Banshees fans! Welcome to a night of action, passion and - the most important thing - great football!"

The crowd roared with deafening delight. Elsa felt the ground shake beneath her feet… it didn't help her nerves.

"Now, I know you wanna get right to the game, and see the Banshees show us why they're the best… but we have a fan in the tunnels, who has a message for a special someone in the stadium. I guarantee you - this is gonna be something."

"Time to shine," Elsa murmured to herself.

"Please give a warm, Arendelle City welcome to Elsa Whitethorne!"

The stadium cheered and howled, loud enough for Elsa to wonder if her eardrums would ever work to their full potential again. Her expression like a startled deer, she glanced at the portly man, who was busy waving her on with obvious frustration. Another breath. In, out.

She took the first step. The second. The third. The tunnel in her peripheral vision was pulled aside like a curtain to reveal beaming lights and a host of colours, and before she knew it, she was halfway across the artificial field toward the small blue mat in the middle. She looked up and around at the seats - the stadium was full. Poster and signs dotted the carpet of spectators, with a sea of blue and a small patch of red.

Slowly, the crowd fell silent. Her heart beat a vicious wardrum, and were she not as tense as a violin string, she might have fainted. With a weak, shaking hand, she raised the microphone to her lips.

"H-hello…" she said faintly. "My name is… E-elsa Whitethorne…"

It hit her, when her small voice radiated from every speaker in the stadium, what she was about to do. Everyone could hear her speak. Everyone would hear her bare her soul, see her open herself up. She had no privacy. She was exposed.

Fear became her enemy.

It couldn't be happening. Her strength was failing her, abandoning her to the potentially vicious crowd for the tunnels from whence she came. Her throat closed up on her, and her mind went blank. She was losing her bottle, right there, in front of thousands of people. She couldn't speak.

However, Anna could… and did. Hypersensitive to her sister's voice, she heard her cry, "Elsa!" at the top of her voice.

Again.

And again.

Over and over again.

A male voice joined her. Then another. Then another. Soon, it was a small crowd of voices - then, a bigger crowd. Soon after that, the entire stadium was roaring her name over and over again.

It was like her mind was re-engaging herself, with two thoughts sharing first place. One, a mental reminder to buy Anna a week's worth of chocolate in thanks… and the second - was Jack calling her name, too? Her heart jumped back into rhythm, and the strength of a city began to flow through her veins. Arendelle was on her side. She straightened up, rolled her shoulders back, and gave it her best shot.

"Those of you who know me, know that potentially making an ass of myself in such a public place as a football stadium is the last thing I'd do. You'd be right. I'm terrified, I'm freaking out inside, and I'm close to running off the field and hiding for the rest of my life."

She let the microphone fall from her lips, taking a moment to run the tip of her tongue over them and dip them in and out of her mouth. The crowd remained silent as the grave, hanging on her every word. Twelve o'clock high.

"But I'm not going to do that," she continued. "There is someone here who is very special to me, who understandably hasn't given me a chance to explain, and I am desperate for him to know how much he means to me. So I stand here, tonight, to tell you all about a mistake I made that cost me dearly."

"Five years ago, I accused the man I loved of stealing something very precious to me. I doubted his innocence, believing he was the culprit. In my misguided rage, I ended our relationship, shut him out and never wanted to see him again. I even threatened him with a restraining order, when all he wanted was a chance to talk."

Even with the pin-drop silence, Elsa's strength built and built. Her breathing was deep, but controlled. Her heart thumping, but calm.

"A few weeks ago, I found out this man was innocent, and that I ruined his life. My friends and I had turned our backs on him, and I blindly married the very person who framed him. As you can imagine, I am divorcing this person, and he is persona non grata to me."

Then came the moment she had been waiting weeks for, that she had knocked on his door for. He couldn't avoid it this time. He had no choice but to look and listen - especially since the huge television fixed high above her was blasting out her face in glorious high definition.

It even showed the tear sliding down her left cheek in astounding detail - if exposing herself in front of people was what she had to do, she was certainly doing it.

And her voice was certainly breaking. "I am here, now, to tell this man-this wonderful man-I am sorry. I ruined your life. I hurt you so, so much. I let my doubts over myself and you rule my mind, and accused you of a crime you did not commit. I took your love for me, took your heart, and tore it to shreds. I will forever bear the guilt and responsibility. I regret everything I said, everything I did, and you deserved better. You deserve better."

She took a deep breath; it was time for the money shot, the Hail Mary. She looked up, twelve o'clock high - she couldn't see him, but he could see her. That was enough. "If you still want to hate me, that's fine. It's no more than I deserve… but I want you to know that if there is forgiveness in your heart, I will do all I can to earn it."

The stadium was still. Neither the Banshees nor Raiders fans dared say a word, so rapt were they. Much like Anna in her bedroom.

"Finally, I just want you to know that no matter what, even if you despise me, I will always love you."

"And I am so, so sorry." Smiling awkwardly, she gave a nervous wave and prepared to hold herself back from sprinting off the field. "Uh… thank you, everyone. Go Banshees!"

The crowd erupted into roars of glee and support that shook the ground and deafened her ears, whilst igniting fires of hope in her heart. She had done her part. Now it was up to him.

XIX. Trending

The mood of the group as they all walked out of the stadium's main doors was nothing short of elated - which wasn't surprising since the Banshees had mercilessly dominated the Raiders. An early point lead had stretched to a score chasm, and by the end of the game, it was like the Raiders had given up. Such buoyant delight kept Elsa's spirits firmly in space, especially since she was still riding high on the adrenaline of the game - and from her speech.

(When she had taken her seat, a young teenage boy had whispered his hopes it would work out for her.)

"Did you see Astrid's last touchdown?!" Anna squealed, grasping at Kristoff's denim jacket and tugging him towards her in her exuberant delight. "It was amazing!"

"Hell yeah," Merida said, a grin alighting her face like Christmas morning. She made a gesture as though her left hand was taking off. "She just ploughed through Cupcake like she wasn't even there."

"Don't forget Seventy-Two and Seventy-Three!" Rapunzel chimed in.

Merida clicked her fingers and pointed with both hands in her direction. "Cannae forget that. Hangin' onto her like lionesses on a gazelle, and Astrid's like, 'nope, I'm still a freight train'."

"Choo-freaking-choo," Kristoff chuckled.

Elsa's smile could be seen from space. Such a fun night had by all, with deafening cheers and chants of Astrid's name. Amusingly, though Hiccup was the epitome of chilled and casual outside of the game, he was a vocal demon as a spectator. There were times where Elsa had to fight off the urge to cover Anna's ears. Images raced through her head as she walked with her hands in her jacket pockets, smiling from ear to ear. All it would take was for one more thing to happen, and the night would be perfect.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna go get a hot dog," Eugene said, a little too loudly for it to be considered anything but pointed. Elsa only barely noticed. "Punzie, you coming?"

"I'm not really hungry…"

"Nope. You're coming. As are you, you and you," he said, pointing to Merida, Anna and Kristoff in turn. "My treat. C'mon."

Anna looked bemused. "What about Els-"

"She's not hungry!" Rapunzel had seemingly become infected with whatever urgency was overwhelming her boyfriend, and there was a blur across Elsa's bewildered vision as the small brunette darted across and practically dragged Anna away. Kristoff followed suit, and as he walked across Elsa's path with his head down and his shoulders up, he murmured a quick, "Good luck," as he followed the gang toward the hot dog truck. Had they moved any faster, they would be ticketed.

Blankly she stared after them, her mouth parted in bemused surprise, her hands akimbo as she wondered what the hell just happened. First, they were chatting animatedly about the game, and then all seemed to be struck with hunger at the same time. Shaking her head, she made toward the car - and found out why she was suddenly left alone.

Jack was leaning on her hood, his feet crossed as he perused something on his phone.

Her heart leaped into her throat. He was actually there. It had worked. There was only one reason he could be waiting at her car. Could it be he wanted to talk? Maybe it was to further reinforce his desire to be alone. Maybe it was that he was about to put a stop to her tenacity, a final warning that the authorities would be notified if she continued… not that it would work, but still.

Then again, what if it was for a positive outcome? What if her speech had struck a chord, and he was ready to talk?

There was only one way to find out.

He didn't look up when she approached and stopped a few feet away from him, and it wasn't like her footsteps were in any way quiet. In fact, she had intentionally made her approach as loud as possible, short of Riverdance.

"You're here," she said in a spectacular assessment of the obvious… or an affirmation of the hopeful truth, and not a mirage.

He leaned back slightly, his eyes still wrapped up in whatever it was on his phone's screen, and then pushed himself upright. He turned to look at her - and there was no trace of anger, sadness or exasperation on his face. No, there was a twinkle in his eyes, visible even in the dark, and the gentle curl of a smile.

"And you're trending."

He lifted the phone and turned the screen toward her. Frowning, she glanced at the screen in curiosity - and her eyes widened to their limit.

MOVING SPEECH AT FOOTBALL GAME

WOMAN OPENS GAME WITH DECLARATION OF LOVE

BANSHEES DOMINATE RAIDERS

(Fan delays game for speech)

There were a few other news headlines, notably one that would have infuriated Elsa, as it questioned her empowerment and strength as a woman by giving such a speech to a man - she made a mental note to write a strongly-worded complaint to Huffington Post - and each one reinforced the shock that froze her entire body. Her speech had gone viral - not something she had anticipated. It wasn't just thousands of witnesses… it could be hundreds of thousands.

Tomorrow? Millions.

She hadn't just bared her soul to a stadium… but to the entire Internet.

(The part of her that valued privacy and reservedness immediately packed its bags and stormed out of the metaphorical door, taking the time to throw her the middle finger in the process.)

"Not just that-" Jack turned the phone back to scroll and then tap on something with his thumb, before facing it back to her "-but you're on Youtube."

Sure enough, there she was. The camera quality left a lot to be desired, and the stability felt like the person recording her was sat on a washing machine, but even with the distorted sound she could pick out every word she said. With a shaking hand, she lifted a finger to scroll up - and noted the counter below the video.

"Two hundred thousand hits?" she said, her voice weak with surprise and a growing onset of panic. She had been immortalised on the internet. People from all over the world would see her… and there was nothing she could do about it.

It was a notion that granted a sort of peace within her. The choice had been taken away, the situation was out of her hands. It was the kind of acceptance one feels when they've done all they can, and it was up to everyone else, the world, or God. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, and straightened herself upright. No sense worrying about it now - besides, it might work out in her favour. "I'm insulted," she continued, "I expected at least four hundred thousand."

Jack snorted. He pocketed his phone and stared at her for a few moments - even in the horrid artificial lights of the parking lot, his cheeks were still a vivid red - and the snow that began to fall in a lazy, absent-minded way was as white as his hair. "So," he said, abruptly enough to cause her a gentle start - the snowfall had more of her attention than she thought. "Enjoy the game?"

Elsa smiled, and awkwardly turned to glance over her shoulder at the stadium. "Yes, it was entertaining. How about you?"

"Nope." He pouted with a light scoff. "Raiders fan."

Elsa leaned her head back with an, "ah," of comprehension. He got to watch his favourite team be demolished by hers. Seconds passed with her enduring a complete lack of speech, and Jack seemingly unable to form words of any kind either. Eye contact was marginal, though it sang more of nervousness than contempt. Her heart beat a slow, hard rhythm, and her fingers played with each other as she held them together in front of her. It was like the day she asked him on a date all over again.

"Listen, I-"
"Listen, I-"

Even down to the spontaneous blurting of words crashing into each other. Elsa's awkward titters mixed with his equally embarrassed chuckle, and she gestured for him to go first. Jack shook his head. "No, you go first."

"Please," she said, holding his eyes for longer than four seconds. New record. "I insist. You first."

"Okay," he sighed, and his right hand reached up to scratch the nape of his neck. He paced a few steps back and forth, before words rushed out of his mouth like a waterfall. "I gotta ask - what possessed you to do that?"

Her lower lip found its way between her teeth, and a strange ache crept up her throat. She looked to the side. "You always said 'go big or go home'," she said. "I humiliated you in front of our friends, so I put myself in an embarrassing position in front of thousands." She lamely gestured toward his sweater pocket. "Hundreds of thousands."

He gazed at her, lips parted, eyes searching her for an answer. "But why?"

She looked away to the right and up a few inches, her classic method of holding back a tell-tale moisture in her eyes. It wasn't working, and neither was the pressure of her teeth bearing down on her lower lip.

"Because I love you. I was desperate for us to talk." Her thumb went up to wipe away a tear before it had a chance to slip away. "You wouldn't let me. I just wanted to tell you how I would kill to turn the clocks back and change what happened." She sniffed - it was becoming harder to hold back the tide of her emotions. "I spent years asking myself whether I had done the right thing, whether I was in love with… him… or whether I was still in love with you. And by the time I realised I was so, so wrong… it was five years too late. I had wasted precious time, precious love, on a lie. And that is something I can never get back. I regret that so, so much."

Quiet fell between them. Though her eyes were fixed on a point just above a red sedan in the distance, she could feel his gaze burning into her. God, it hurt so much to speak - but it was a good pain. The kind of pain that occurs when something is removed from the body in the knowledge that, given time, it will heal.

"What do you want, Elsa?" he asked those same words as he had done outside of the house - but they were void of anger, or exasperation. He seemed to really want to know. "And don't hold back."

Her gaze whipped toward him, and though she had utterly failed in her attempt to stymie the tears, she smiled almost sadly at him. "Isn't it obvious?" she said, her voice cracked like a shattered vase. "Us. Together. I know-" she held up a hand when his mouth opened, "-I don't deserve it… but… I can hope."

"I don't know…" he sighed, dipping his head and turning away.

No. She was so close, so close! His eyes, the look in his eyes when the wall of ice was cracking under the weight of his hidden emotions - it was all there. His fear was holding him back, she just knew it. She just had to convince him it was worth the risk - that she would never hurt him like that again. Stepping forward, she reached for him, hovering her right hand over the pocket of his sweater.

"I'm not a queen that can do no wrong, Jack," she blurted. "I'm no figurehead whose face is under the dictionary definition of 'perfect'. I'm only human - I make mistakes… and when I do, I try to fix them. I just want a chance to fix one I made five years ago."

He stared down at her, his eyes an equal mess of liquid and red to hers. "Please," she pressed.

His lips dipped in and out of his mouth. His brow dipped and rose a micron.

"Okay."

She stepped back in surprise, and the hand that was hovering over his pocket went up to cover her mouth. Wide-eyed, she stared at him. Did he say that? Did he truly say 'okay'? It was too good to be true, after five years of doubt and three weeks of heartache. Was it true? She searched his eyes for lies, for deceit and falsehood.

(And then she remembered his words: "I never lied to you before. I'm not about to start now.")

"Really?" she whispered.

Jack did a quiet snort, and as his lips tugged into a mildly bigger smile, he nodded. Gasping, her own smile turned into a blinding, lens-shattering beam as she surged forward and threw her around around him. She held him tight enough to kill - after five years, being in his arms, having her arms around him, burying her face in his neck as she gently wept? Felt like the most beautiful thing on earth. He held her close, one hand on her upper back while the other stroked the back of her head - the very sensation weakened her legs with shocking tingles. After so long, she had forgotten what it felt like to be embraced in such a way.

"There's gonna be a condition."

They pulled apart - though, she didn't want to. Still, the wide grin on her face was probably going to be a permanent fixture - especially as he was still holding her right hand in his fingertips. "Of course. Anything. Yes. Oh, my God, you said okay. Yes." She stared at him… and forgot what he'd said. She burst into nervous laughter. "What were we talking about?"

"A condition. If we're gonna be together again, there's gotta be a condition."

"Name it," Elsa said, without hesitation. She'd knock on his door in a clown costume every day, if that was his condition, such was her desire.

"We do this the right way - from the bottom up. That means friends-" his left hand flattened out and sliced to an abrupt stop in the air.

"-dating-"

The hand moved up a few inches.

"-relationship-"

Another few.

"-and then…" he trailed off as, under his gaze, the hand ascended another level. If he was thinking what she was thinking - the logical next step in a human romantic relationship - then the implication was clear. He had optimistic hope.

"I understand," she said softly. "We need to get to know each other all over again."

Jack shrugged as he pocketed his hand, and his left eye narrowed the way it does when something isn't as bad as it seems. "Eh, I'm sure it'll happen faster than we think."

"I hope so," Elsa said.

There was a moment of silence as they gazed at each other, punctuated by the jingle of keys in his pocket. Her eyes inadvertently glanced down at his lips and back up, and she was sure his did the same. A pregnant quiet that held wants and desires within it, but also nerves and fear.

"I-uh-need to get back to the car. Emma's waiting for me," he said, voice soft but awkward.

Though she wouldn't admit it - not now, at least - Elsa felt the faintest disappointment. "O-of course. Give her my regards."

Jack said that he would, and after a lingering look at her lips, he forced himself away and began to walk away from her. Elsa had just barely delved a hand into her jacket for her own keys, when she heard the words:

"Ah, screw it."

-and turned just in time to see Jack marching towards her. "Jack, what-"

His lips found hers. Bewildered by the sudden action, her hands hovering uselessly at her sides Elsa was bereft of the ability to react as she felt him press his lips against hers - until it hit her. He was kissing her.

She melted. Closing her eyes, she gave into the bliss spreading from her heart, moving her mouth in perfect synchronicity with his. Her left arm looped around his neck and her right hand entwined itself with his white hair, little bites of snow nipping at her skin where they had landed. She felt him pull her against him by her waist, and moaned into the kiss - God, how it felt so good. Her mind was blank and lightheaded, her heart doing somersaults, her legs were in danger of giving way… but she was in heaven. She missed it so much - the feeling of being kissed by someone she loved. She was intoxicated by the sensations, the taste, the smell. She couldn't get enough.

Slowly, as though the very idea was anathema, he pulled away from her, remaining just within kissing reach. His lips were reddened, his cheeks a delightful crimson. Try as she might, her brain refused to re-engage. Slipping her hands down to rest on his chest, she felt his heart thump under her fingertips, and his chest rose and fell as quickly - and deeply - as hers.

"I thought… we were…" she began, wondering why she bothered even trying to speak.

"Sorry," Jack murmured shakily, "I've been waiting for five years to do that. I just… didn't want to wait any longer."

"That-" she took a moment to calm herself the heck down, "-is okay with me. It means I have another thing to look forward to"

Jack made a noise that suspiciously sounded like 'phew'. "Good. Prosecution rests."

Elsa smiled widely. He hadn't let go of her waist - could it mean something? It might be worth a chance. "Does this mean you forgive me?"

Smirking, Jack chuckled. His eyes went off to the side and back again. "I'd say so."

She sighed with released, pent-up emotion and hope. Her fingertips pinched at the fabric of his sweater. "Motion to skip the 'friends' stage?" she joked, pouting a little and swaying on her feet, as though the display would help.

Jack's chest bounced with his silent laughter. "Don't push it. Defendant is on probation." His smile slowly fell, and Elsa felt a stroking sensation up and down her left side. "I've still got a lot to work through, a lot of stuff to let go. Rebuild the trust. But after that little stunt, I'd say you might not have to wait for long."

"I hope not," she murmured. "But I'll wait for as long as it takes."

Jack moved his hands away from her and stepped back. His hands dove into the sweater pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper which he slipped into her left hand. "Gimme a call so I have your number," he said, before they exchanged their goodbyes and parted company.

Elsa watched his back as he pulled up his hood, and sauntered down to the set of cars at the far end of the lot. He seemed to have a spring in his step - she would too, had the distance between her and her car not amounted to little more than three feet.

Still, none could deny the uplifting warmth inside her heart - nor the tingling sensation on her lips as she brushed against them with her fingers.

A piercing whistle rang out in the air. Turning her head with a start - so engrossed was she in imagining the next time they kissed - she caught sight of Anna, her hand thrust into the air, waving like a maniac. Every single member of the group, sans Hiccup and Astrid, wore blinding beams and clapped with gloved fingers.

They'd likely want the details.

Elsa wanted to keep them for herself a little longer.

Oh well - there was no reason they had to know right now, that against all odds, it looked like Jack and Elsa were about to fall in love all over again.

XX. Epilogue

"I still can't believe you did that, Mama."

Selene's hazel eyes stared up at her in disbelief, which was adorable yet odd as Elsa had lost count of how many times that story had been told to her, and her twin brother Isaac. Sat cross-legged on the floor, the eight-year old girl watched her mother with inquisitive eyes. "When you stood up in the stadium like that…"

"It's so romantic," Isaac sighed.

Selene shot her brother a dirty look. "No it's not! It's sappy and icky and girly."

Isaac scowled and stuck out his tongue.

"Hey, hey." Jack frowned. "What's wrong with being romantic?"

"Heard it at school."

"From who?"

"Whom, Papa," Elsa corrected him.

Jack squinted and mimicked Isaac's tongue-sticking, causing childish giggles to break out from their children. "Gwen said so, Papa." Selene fidgeted in place.

Elsa leaned back on the couch; now it made sense. Gwen was Astrid and Hiccup's daughter, and a chip off the old block.

"Well," Elsa said in a hushed tone, leaning in, "don't tell her I told you this, but Aunty Astrid wanted pink roses for her wedding bouquet."

"Don't forget the bridesmaids had to be in pink," Jack said.

Isaac gasped. "Really?"

"Yes," Elsa said, nodding, "it's true."

"Point is-" Jack patted his lap, and Isaac immediately darted up for a cuddle, "-Boys can be tough, but also romantic."

"And girls can be romantic and tough," added Elsa. Catching her husband's eye, they shared a knowing smile. On the same page, as always.

"Don't let anyone tell you what to believe or feel, no matter who they are or where they come from," Jack said.

"And don't forget: it's okay to believe in love and happy endings. After all," Elsa said, blushing, "I found mine."

Isaac let out a cavernous yawn, and proceeded to rub his left eye. Chuckling, Jack ruffled his messy platinum blonde hair and gently moved him to stand on the floor. "C'mon, you two," he said softly, "give Mama a kiss goodnight."

Elsa's lips curled into a loving, toothy smile as the twins surged into her arms. Stroking Selene's silky white hair, and holding Isaac's little body, she received a kiss on both cheeks. "Goodnight, Mama," they said in sleepy unison.

"Goodnight and sweet dreams," she replied, and kissed them each on the cheek.

Jack took them upstairs moments later. Relaxing into the couch, Elsa let out a contented sigh, and traced her eyes over the mantelpiece ahead of her, gazing at the framed photographs whilst her mind took a trip down Memory Lane.

Three years of friendship, dating and a relationship were made far easier by a night of tears and embraces, where confessions were made of projected self-doubt and wanting to be Daddy's perfect girl, along with admittances that sometimes, just sometimes, one's pranking has to be reined in. It was made even simpler than that as, despite Elsa being relatively more loosened up than in college, and Jack being a lot more responsible than he used to be - though his mischief and pranking had not dimmed in the slightest - they seemed to settle into familiarity. Elsa still liked to be touched in the same places, and a kiss in the right spot turned Jack's entire body into a shuddering mess without fail. It almost felt like nothing had ever happened - so when they married on the fourth year, it was just a natural part of the order of things.

(Though, when she did ask what she could do to make up for what she did, Jack answered that there were many things and most of them were reserved for the relationship stage, and probably illegal. The most important thing, he said, was, "Believe in me".)

Her eyes rested on the wedding photograph, where he stood with his head dipped, resting his forehead and nose against hers. She remembered that day like it was yesterday, full of laughter and joy, smiles and tears - and Astrid, of all people, catching the bouquet.

(She did barge Rapunzel out of the way, but still…)

He wore grey, she wore a stunning white bridal dress, vows were exchanged with honesty and love, conviction and passion, and from the moment she walked the aisle to when they left in the limousine, her heart was close to bursting with joy.

This is what a wedding is supposed to be like, she remembered thinking as they left the church. No forced smiles or meaningless gestures - just pure love and companionship.

Not long after that, the Whitethorne house saw Elsa moving out to a new place she bought with Jack - she could have easily bought it on her own, but Jack insisted they do it as a team - whilst Anna and Kristoff remained. However, Jack was deeply concerned and uneasy that Emma would be alone in her place on the outskirts.

Elsa's solution? She move into the Whitethorne House.

Anna was reduced to a squealing, nuclear mess upon hearing she would be moving in. Kristoff? Not so much.

(Elsa lost count of how many times he lamented that Anna was spending more time with Emma than him.)

Then came the news that had Jack in fits of glee, and saw Elsa having to poke him down from the ceiling with a broomstick - despite his overwhelming joy being somewhat infectious - they were going to be parents. Twins, as a later scan told them. Tears, smiles, late night cravings, whispers to voluminous bellies and a hyperattentive Jack - and the occasional argument - filled the nine months, which came to an end with the birth of two healthy babies: Isaac, meaning 'he who laughs', and Selene, after the Greek goddess of the moon.

Elsa's eyes rested on the photograph, taken by Anna, of Jack laid topless with a six-week old Selene on his chest, his head in the lap of Elsa, who held Isaac up against hers. She smiled warmly at the memory, recalling just how happy she was.

A tinge of sadness crept from her heart. Why? She was still as happy as she was then - more so, considering she was getting consistently full nights of sleep. So why, then, did her heart ache?

Footsteps down the stairs caught her attention. She looked over her right shoulder just as Jack walked into the living room, flashing her a doting smile as their eyes met.

"Kids asleep?"

Jack leaned down over her from behind, and buried his face in her neck as he wrapped his arms around her. Humming with satisfaction, she closed her eyes and laced her hands around his crossed forearms. Even his breath against her exposed skin set off a legion of tingles down her entire body. "Yep. Isaac wanted me to check the closet, but it's all good." He planted a delicate kiss on the point her shoulder met her neck, and her breath hitched slightly. "Want some wine?"

"Please," she answered quickly, hoping he would move soon. Any more of that and she was liable to pull him onto the couch by his head and do things. Jack squeezed her once before slipping out of her hold, and she heard his footsteps carry him to the kitchen.

Temporarily abated by her husband's embrace, the heartache returned. She frowned, wondering why it was there in the first place. She had everything she wanted, and the advantage of having Jack as a husband, and Isaac and Selene as their children meant that there was no danger of her life becoming a case of 'familiarity breeds contempt'.

She figured it out when she noticed the two little cubes sat in the middle of the mantelpiece, each one with a number, and a thin piece of wood under them, all three coming together to denote the date: December 7th.

Her birthday was in two weeks. She was going to be forty.

A forlorn sigh escaped her lips, one she hoped was quiet enough to not alert Jack's attention.

"Hey, you okay?"

Evidently, not quietly enough. Jack circled around the couch and plonked himself by her side, and automatically she unconsciously shuffled against him. Frowning, she stared at the two cubes, whilst accepting the glass of red wine without needing to look. Jack's arm draped over her shoulders, pulling her even closer - his way of saying 'you're not getting out of this'.

She exhaled a long breath through her nose, and slowly turned her head to gaze at her husband. "What if things were different?"

Jack watched her as he took a sip. "Different… how?"

Her gaze fell and moved back to the cubes. Part of her wished she hadn't opened her mouth - even at forty himself, Jack hadn't lost the tenacity when it came to making sure Elsa was okay, and if she didn't tell him what was wrong, he wouldn't let go until she did.

Frustrating, yet comforting. Sometimes she just wanted to mope.

"If I had made a different choice that day, and not let my doubts control me… what if, instead of turning forty in two weeks-" she took a sip of wine both as a wetting and encouraging action, "-I was turning thirty five?"

She looked back at him. "I'm the happiest I've ever been," she said, her voice cracking under the weight, "but I could have had all of this five years ago. I wasted so much time."

Jack gave her a funny look and a lopsided quirk of the lips, like she was talking rubbish. He leaned over to put the glass on their coffee table - Elsa had him well-trained in ensuring the glass went on a coaster, so he only hesitated for a second - and used his newly free hand to hold hers. Almost instantly, her fingers squeezed his.

"Listen to me," he said, making sure he had her attention. It wasn't hard. "Five years ago, four, three, who cares? You have it now, right? So leave the past where it belongs - in the past."

She smiled wryly, and raised the glass to her lips. "If I had done that, I wouldn't have you," she said, bouncing her eyebrows. Sass Queen, indeed.

Jack chuckled, and leaned forward to press his lips to her forehead. "Did I mention I love you?"

"You might have mentioned it once or twice." She closed her eyes, savouring the sensation. "I could stand to hear it a little more."

Jack chuckled lightly against her skin. "I love you." He repeated it over and over as he traced a line with his lips down the side of her face to her mouth. Elsa held the back of his head to deepen the kiss, and as he gently pushed with his lips in a silent declaration of intent, she lowered herself back as an equally wordless agreement.

"My, Mr. Frost," she said in between gasping breaths, "whatever could be on your mind?"

He emitted a mischievous, throaty chuckle. "Only what's on yours, Mrs. Frost."

Years on, and she still couldn't get enough of hearing that. His kisses went on, along her neck, down her sweater-covered chest, taking care to caress the stretch marks around her abdomen from the pregnancy. When she felt, her eyes having been clamped shut out of bliss, the button of her denim pants being unfastened, she said in a husky voice, "Oh, okay… we're leading with that, are we?"

(The glasses of wine weren't touched for the better part of two hours.)

(If at all.)

(Every inch of each other's body, however, was.)

(And, as they lay in a spent, sweating heap on the floor, Elsa never felt so alive-

-nor felt so in love.)

I hope this was worthwhile. Part of me regrets this story. I'm still in two minds about whether to delete it.

I kinda needed an inspiration break from OGaV and NH, because I didn't want to burn out. You keep writing the same thing and eventually you get tired of it, and I don't want to get tired of those stories. So, this story and "Agents with Benefits" (M-rated, just so you know) is the product of that. I hope soon to get back into OGaV and Astrid's headspace.

Well, hope you enjoyed.

Furiyan.