This is not the promised continuation of Day 3 – that's next. For today, though…

What's Jackunzel Week without a super hero AU? For that matter, am I capable of doing a drabble collection without a superhero AU? I have more superhero AUs than anything else!

Interrupted Declaration of Love

"It's your own fault."

"Thanks for that, Merida," Jack muttered, raising a forearm to block the punch she had thrown at his face.

"You're welcome." Taking advantage of his momentary distraction, Merida jerked her knee up, towards his gut.

Jack noticed just in time to smack her knee down with his palm.

But failed to notice her fist. She stopped just short of her knuckles slamming into the side of his head.

"Yer dead."

In more ways than one.

Exhaling all the air from his lungs, Jack took a step back. Silently admitting his defeat.

"Another round?" Merida asked, adjusting the wristband of her fingerless gloves as she stood up straight.

"No thanks," Jack said, letting himself fall back onto the mats of the training room. "Three times in one go is all my ego can take."

"Yer off your game," Merida said – as if they weren't all aware of it.

"I know."

How could he not. He and Merida had been sparring since they were teenagers – since they had first started this whole super hero vendetta. And he almost always won. His parkour skills, combined with his knowledge of her limitations, and Merida's lack of subtlety, made it a fairly simple workout.

She had gotten better. That was undeniable. She had come into her own, especially in the past couple years. Eret's arrival had challenged her in a way no one had expected, and she had risen to the challenge. None of them had realized just how much Merida had allowed herself to relax in the fact she had always been athletic, and that, as an archer, she didn't spend as much time in hand to hand combat. But the difference was visibly evident. The muscles of her arms and stomach were more clearly defined, her movements more controlled.

Yet Jack still had the advantage. Beating her ninety percent of the time – if not more.

So the fact she had been beating him solidly for almost a week was more than enough to make it very clear: Jack was off his game.

"If you had told her—"

"What good would it have done?" Jack asked.

Merida braced a hand on her hip. "She woulda said yes. And she wouldn't be off with Eugene What's-'is-face."

Covering his face with his hands, Jack inhaled deeply.

"Instead, you kept yer mouth shut."

"I know."

"It's your own fault."

"Shut up."

"You know I'm right."

Jack wasn't sure which was worse: that Merida DunBroch was giving him romantic advice, or that it was actually sound romantic advice.

He had loved Rapunzel from the moment he had seen her for the first time. Not in an "oh, wow, she's hot" kind of way. But his eyes had landed on her, and it had been like something in his head or heart had clicked. Some part of his brain had lit up, the thought that's her resounding through his head, along with the realization that he had been waiting for her his entire life without realizing it.

Never mind that he had been twelve. He had been in love with Rapunzel from that moment.

And he had told her so, back then. Rather, he had asked her to marry him.

The problem was, no one believed a twelve year old boy when he said he was in love with a girl, and that he was going to marry her. He had stopped saying it, simply because he got tired of adults laughing, or saying he was cute. It was not cute, darn it. It was serious.

Somewhere along the way… he still wasn't sure what had gone wrong. He and Rapunzel had hit their teenage years, and then their twenties. Somewhere along the way, Jack had turned into a complete, cowardly idiot. Maybe he had just gotten too into the habit of not talking about it.

Had he ever asked her out on an official date? Had he told her any of this in the past ten years?

No.

So when Eugene had shown up, suave and debonair, with an eye on each girl on the team, until he found out almost of them were paired off. Jack had been forced to watch as he set his sights on Rapunzel, and when Rapunzel had said yes when he asked her out.

Now, here he was. Laying on the mats in the workout room, because he was a complete loser, who was losing the love of his life to his own stupidity, and a sleazy guy who seemed to have learned his vocabulary from a book of lines.

And Merida was beating him again, and again, and again.

She wasn't even gloating anymore.

"What are you going to do when we have an actual fight?" Merida asked.

"I don't know." He scowled. "Why did we even let him on the team?"

Eugene's Flynn Rider persona wasn't even that impressive. He was quick footed, and sneaky… but so was Jack. He wasn't as strong as Eret, he couldn't serve as an eye-in-the-sky the way Merida did, didn't lead as well as Hiccup, and wasn't even as good in a fight as Astrid. He was a small time hero who brought nothing to the table. Except maybe a knowledge about having really good hair…

"It's not too late, ya know. I mean, it's their first date, it's not like they're getting married. Just tell her how you feel!"

Jack lifted the forearm that had rested over his eyes, quirking a brow as he looked at Merida. "I can't believe you're telling me to talk about my feelings."

She jabbed her toe into his side. It hurt, but Jack still laughed. Though it faded quickly.

"Just tell her," Merida said.

"And if she says no?"

"Well… maybe you'll be able to move on once you say it."

#

Merida's words haunted him for the rest of the day.

"Maybe you'll be able to move on."

He didn't want to move on.

He wanted Rapunzel.

Which would never happen unless he got over his cowardice and just told her how he felt. It was so logically… but so hard to do when it actually came down to it.

The words were easy enough. He had thought about saying it hundreds of times, in a hundred different ways. It had been on the tip of his tongue time and again. Playing over and over in his head while he told himself to just say it. Only for someone to walk in, or for him to get scared and back out.

Saying it meant putting his heart out there, for her to accept or reject.

He wasn't as innocent as he had been when he was twelve. He was jaded, and more cynical, with too many mental scars, and a case of PTSD that all the others went out of their way to accommodate. Which just made him feel worse, feeling like an inconvenience to his friends.

And Rapunzel… she was still the sunbeam she had reminded him of when they were children. She deserved better than what he had become, didn't she?

Of course… wasn't he an improvement over Eugene? At least he wasn't a flirt. If his feelings for Rapunzel weren't sincere, then he didn't know what was.

Those were the thoughts he was worrying over when Rapunzel came into the kitchen.

"Hey," she said, smiling. "I feel like I barely see you anymore."

"I've been busy." Sulking, and throwing a full on pity party, counted as busy, right? Technically? Getting his butt handed to him by Merida certainly counted… right?

He watched as she went over to the kettle, checking to make sure there was water in it before turning it on. She wore a simple purple halter dress, the soft fabric billowing with her movements, her barefoot almost silent on the tiles. Her golden hair was waist length and loose at the moment.

"How was your date?" he asked, hoping she wouldn't hear the bitterness in his tone.

If he didn't know her so well, he might not have seen her expression fell. Only for a moment. Before her smile returned, even if not quite as bright as usual.

"It was good," she said.

"Just good?" Did he sound too hopeful?

Rapunzel didn't answer right away.

The kettle started to whistle, and she poured water into her mug before coming over to join him in the table.

"I had fun," she said, though her eyes were fixed on the teabag she was swirling in the hot water.

"You don't look like you had fun," Jack said. Folding his arms on the table, he rested his head on his forearms.

"You would know, wouldn't you, Jack?" she asked, one corner of her mouth pulling in a small smirk.

He loved when she smirked. It wasn't something she didn't do often, which made it that much sweeter. Especially knowing it was a quirk she had picked up from him.

"Fun is kind of my thing," he reminded.

Rapunzel mimicked his posture, chin on her forearms. "It is. Responsibility on the other hand…"

"I've gotten better. I do what needs to be done."

"Only when we make you," she said. But her smile made it clear it was teasing, not an accusation.

I love you.

The words were on his tongue. He could just say them. Right then.

With Merida's voice ringing in his ears, Jack opened his mouth to say it. To just tell her.

No. Wait. Wouldn't it be kind of sudden? They had just been talking about her date with another man. Didn't he need some kind of lead in? Or something like that?

"Hey, Rapunzel? Do you remember when we were twelve?"

"Which part?" she asked, sitting up straight again, and taking the tea bagg out of her mug.

He took a deep breath. Trying to steady himself. If he said this, there was no going back.

Good. He was done dithering.

"When I asked you to marry me," he said.

Across from him, Rapunzel stilled mid stir of her tea. Her expression, usually so open and easy to read, became indecipherable.

"I remember," she said softly.

Great. Now where was he supposed to go with this? Ask her to marry him now? No. Too sudden.

He really should have planned this better.

"Why do you ask?" she prodded gently, when he had come up blank for almost a full minute.

"Well, I just… I… I mean…" Jack rubbed the back of his neck nervous. "The thing is…"

"Yes?"

"I've—"

Before he could figure out the words to use, running steps made both of them look towards the door of the kitchen, just as Eret came in. Grabbing the doorway to stop his momentum.

"Downtown," Eret said, jerking his head in that direction.

"Who is it?" Rapunzel asked.

Eret shook his head. "Hiccup just said to suit up."

The universe hated him. Jack had suspected it before. But, in that moment, he knew it. Why else would someone attack the moment he finally tried to tell Rapunzel how he felt?

"Tell me later," Rapunzel said, as they stood up from the table.

"Right," he muttered.

#

Oh, now he knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt: the universe hated him. Despised him.

Or at least found him to be the butt of a joke.

Because Pitch, Gothel, Mor'du, and Drago had decided to team up (because it's not like their last five attempts at an alliance hadn't ended in explosive failure), on the same night Jack had tried to confess to Rapunzel.

It felt like a giant slap in the face.

That's what he was thinking as he ran down the street, scattering Nightmares with frost, and freezing thugs in blocks of ice.

"I could use some backup on 115th and Division," Eret said, over their ear pieces.

"I'm on 113th and Boyer," Jack said, checking the nearest street sign. "I'll be there in a minute."

"Make it thirty seconds."

If Eret was actually asking for help, Jack suspected that meant it was really needed…

Kicking off the ground, he swept a hand through the air in a silent command for the wind to pick him up. He flew through the skyscrapers of downtown Burgess, cutting across the streets to save time.

Thirty-two seconds later, he descended on the block of 115th and Division. Where Eret was surrounded by a mix of Nightmares and thugs. Rapunzel swung onto the street, a lock of her seemingly endless hair looped around the arm of a street light. Jack took the other side of the street from where she came in. Hair already free from the lamp, lashing at Nightmares that dissipated in the glow from her hair.

Coming down on the other side, Jack sent a wave of frost radiating from him. Taking out the nightmares on the other end of the street.

Eret, fighting the thugs (his lack of powers, save for his mental defenses, rendered him pretty much useless against nightmares), called out a quick thanks, before head butting his opponent.

Jack and Rapunzel fell in with him, the three of them back to back.

Merida's voice came over their connection.

"Jack, look out."

At the same moment an arrow hissed past his cheek, and hit the shoulder of a thug who had been just about to attack Jack from behind.

"Thanks, Merida," he said. "It's so great how you give me plenty of time to react to your warnings."

"You're welcome."

Without bothering to respond to her too-chipper-answer, Jack turned his attention to the fight. Focusing on keeping his back to Rapunzel and Eret, while he took out everything in his view.

"Hey, Rapunzel?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember what we were talking about earlier?"

"Jack, I didn't mean in the middle of a fight!" Merida said.

Jack shut off his earpiece.

"Is now the right time?" Rapunzel asked.

No. Probably not.

But if he didn't say it now, he might not ever, he realized.

Blasting away a couple Nightmares, Jack turned to Rapunzel.

"Yes," he said.

And she turned to look at him as well. Whipping her hair at a thug who collapsed, without even seeming to look over.

"I'm in love with you," Jack said. "And I have been since we were twelve. And I know I should have said something sooner—"

"You're doing this now?" Eret asked, from a few feet away.

Jack ignored him.

Rapunzel did as well. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Because I was a coward," he admitted. "And I thought you'd say no. And I know you just had a date with—"

Rapunzel grabbed the collar of his jacket, pulling him down to crush his lips against hers. Jack was so stunned, he didn't know how to respond.

"I waited so long for you to say that," she said, pulling back. "I thought maybe you'd changed your mind!"

"Never," he said.

"Would you two—"

"We'll talk as soon as this is over," Rapunzel said.

"Right."

Without faltering, they both turned back to the fight.