It had been an hour now.
Jack thought for a few minutes before waking Elsa up. She strictly ordered him to wake her up in an hour, but why was he hesitating? Possibly because she was drop-dead captivating sleeping.
An angel that fell on Earth from Heaven.
But after realizing she'll be furious at him, he shook her gently and stroked her hair, fetching her out of sleep peacefully. "Wake up, Elsa."
She fluttered her eyes open and was astonished to see the dim light; it made it easy to wake up. "Hey."
"Hey, sweetheart, let's order some food, shall we? I didn't have breakfast today." He discreetly brought his hand out of her hair before she noticed.
Some strands had left her bun, so she again tied her hair. "Same here; oh, this reminds, Astrid gave me her hangover remedy. It works like magic. I brought an extra for you. I forgot to give it to you." She grabbed the plastic bag from her side.
As she handed him the drink, he accepted it and gagged at the green colour of the liquid. "Thanks, but I'll pass."
"I know it looks nasty, but trust me, it's not."
He immediately opened the lid. "Of course I trust you. I'll drink it."
Elsa was startled at his words but sighed in relief that his hangover would be treated. "Okay."
While drinking, his eyes opened wide because the drink was delicious. "I'm stunned that something Astrid made can be good."
"Because it's not her recipe; it's a generational Hofferson recipe, and Uncle Finn taught her, so it's precise." She explained and was entertained that even Jack knew of Astrid's killing cooking. Hiccup must've warned him.
After he finished the drink, he tossed it in the bin, and it landed perfectly. "Remind me to trust you with my life, not that I already don't, but because damn, you were right. It was delicious."
Elsa flushed at his comment and said nonchalantly, "Of course, you should trust me. I'm your wife." She mentally facepalmed herself; where did this come from?
"Oh, so you do agree now?" His voice carried mischief and relief, but it wasn't easy to tell.
Realizing that she had been caught, Elsa puffed her cheeks. "Well, we are married, aren't we?"
Again, he said with identical emotion, "I'm glad you know that, Your Majesty."
It was incoherent because why was she fond of the idea of being married to Jack, whom she had loathed at one point? "I am practising so we can be good at this pretend thing in front of my family." She fibbed.
But he didn't know she lied, so he felt a punch in the gut. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, of course, same here. I'm practising too." From miles away, Astrid would roll her eyes if she heard of this exchange, and Elsa knew
"So we'll be there in 2 hours, and I think I should inform you about all my family members before Breakfast comes." She asked, "You did order breakfast, right?"
Smiling, he nodded. "A few minutes ago from the screen. I ordered all the favourites you told me about two days ago."
Her heart skipped a beat, so he did remember, but she yanked her thoughts away. "Alright, so I'll tell you about my family; it's extremely confusing, and frankly, even I've forgotten most of them, but I'll tell you, so try to munch it in in an hour. Sorry, I'm throwing this at you at the very last moment."
Giving her the most genuine smile, he trembled his head "No worries, and I'll try my best."
"Okay, gimme a second." She pulled her notebook and a pen from her backpack and started drawing a family pyramid. "So on my Mom's side. I have grandparents, my Nana Sofia Owen and Papa William Owen. My Mom has one sibling, my Aunt Elizabeth Liam and her husband, my Uncle James Liam. They only have one son, my cousin George Liam." She gasped for air after explaining in a hurry, "And that's my Mom's side."
Shocked, his eyebrows touched his hairline. "I think I get that. So you don't get along with them?"
"Nope." The 'p' popped out very audible.
Jack offered her a sad sigh. "I'm sorry; take your time, and know you don't have to share this with me."
She nodded and appreciated. "Thank you, but I want to" She clasped her pen and began once again. "Now, on my Dad's side. As for my grandparents, my Grampa Jacob Arandelle passed away, and my Nona Elle Arandelle is still alive. My Dad has a younger brother, Uncle Mark Arandelle and his wife, my Aunt Carmen Arandelle. They have three kids Olivia, Smith and Belle. My dad's youngest brother, Uncle Noah Arandelle and his wife, my Aunt Poppy Arandelle. They have three sons, the twins, Anthony and Allan, and Jacob." She gave her darkest smile. "All my family are utter assholes, well, except my sister and my Nana."
He was speechless, absolutely speechless "I do not have the words...I'm so sorry. As someone who comes from a very loving family, I'm very, very sorry."
"It's not your fault" A tear escaped her glistening eyes.
Hesitantly gripping her hand, he pledged, "Elsa, you're my wife now, and maybe to you, it's fake, but it's as real as it could be to me. Until we're back, I will give you so much love and show you the respect you deserve. I promise to protect you, stand by you and care for you as long as I live. Wife or not, that's an oath."
This time she was tight-lipped and couldn't utter a word, but she did. "Thank you." She slanted forward and pecked his cheek
"You're my wife."
Elsa felt uncomfortable with the affection and joked, "Wow, if we keep talking like this, we'll fool our family perfectly that we are in love." She assumed he was pretending and practicing, but unknown to her, he wasn't.
In the gloom, he muttered under his breath, "Right."
A knock interrupted their conversation. "Breakfast!" Jack slid the door open, and a rolling table with breakfast was placed in front of them.
The married couple said simultaneously as the Air-hostess left, giving a genuine smile. "Thank you!"
Once again, it was only Jack and Elsa, but now, after their talk, the temperature in the room was likable, and they felt normal in each other's presence.
Elsa fetched an egg and bread for herself and glimpsed the ring on her finger as she was doing so. The weight on her hand felt light, and the ring was as if it belonged there.
A calm voice brought her out of the train of thought. "Are you ok? You haven't begun eating." Jack was worried because it was Elsa who was hungry, not him.
"Yeah, I am."
He sliced his pancake with the knife and fork. "If you don't mind me asking, why is it that your family doesn't like you? I mean, I know a few bits but not so much in detail...Again only if you want to."
Elsa knew his question was sincere, so she answered with a heavy heart, "I'm honestly not quite sure myself. It's been that way since I was born. They used to tease me for my hair which I know sounds very stupid, and I'm not so much affected by it." She sighed. "I was too skinny because of my ED, so they bullied me for that. I had depression, and they called me cold-hearted since I would spend time alone. Once I started working, I was called a workaholic. I think...I was an unwanted child, and my parents hated me for ruining their careers. I never got any affection from anyone, so I get weird if I get any now." She stared at her breakfast, pausing. "I know it's nothing compared to what people go through, but it was a lot for me."
The silent tension in the air was sharp as a blade. "I'm sorry. You know, my mom always says that 'somewhere in this world, someone has it worse than you, but that doesn't mean your pain isn't hurtful enough.' It made me feel blessed and understood. So I'll say the same to you, and I hope it makes you feel better." Jack had no words to make her feel at comfort but only his mother's words.
"That's perfect, Jack and I'd like to meet your mother one day. She sounds remarkable." She nudged him and beamed.
There was no more ravishing smile than hers, he felt. "I'm glad her words helped. I think she'd love to meet you too." He clasped her hand. "You're very strong for making it this far, and I'm proud of you."
Hearing these words meant a lot to Elsa. "Thanks, Jackson."
Jack poked her rib and cracked a joke. "So you'll call me Jackson when you're not mad at me too?"
She said the words from her heart and meant it "Whenever I feel any kind of profound emotion towards you, I will say that, husband."
His cheeks were the darkest colour of red that existed. "Okay, then, let's make up the story of how we met." He swallowed a bite of his pancake.
"Let's keep it as real as possible."
As Jack was done eating, he leaned back on his seat and started making up. "Ok, so we met at The Haddock's house, and my coworker/best friend set me up with his girlfriend's best friend, you. I fell in love head over heels at first sight with you. We dated for six months and then got married last month." This was as real as it could be because Jack did fall in love with her.
Does love happen this fast?
Elsa drank her strawberry milkshake and nodded. "Great, we'll stick with that."
Doing a double take, he asked, "Just like that?" He personally thought the story, even though it was quite true, sounded like a lie.
"I mean, it's easy to remember because that's how we met and all" She dinged the button on her hand rest and the air hostess showed up and took away the table.
Once again, their cabin was clean, and Elsa yawned as the sleep left her body. "Our plane should be landing in 20 minutes. Are you ready?"
He was nervous for sure but hid it in his anxiety box. "We've got this; don't worry, you aren't alone."
She uttered from her heart, "Because you'll be with me."
Jack whispered, "Always." From the depth of this heart.
Something happened, and they couldn't let go of the staring game but so openly this time. What was this?
They were fine a few seconds ago, but now they couldn't let go of that kick-eye hold. Sneakily and surprisingly, Elsa held Jack's hand. She had never held his hand before, at least not like this.
So concerned, Jack questioned but still held the staring. "Are you ok?"
"I think for the first time I am." She tightened her hand around his and felt his ring on her skin, but it didn't hurt a bit. It only made her feel safe.
"I'm glad."
Elsa obviously was panicked, and her chest visibly went up and down. "Can I...Can I...please hold your hand. I get nervous when the plane lands."
Jack blinked. "Of course."
She snatched his hand from his lap and held it dearly. Never in her life had she ever been this scared, but with planes, she'd always get anxious. Back then, there was no one to hold her hand. This time there was.
Her fake real husband.
Shutting her eyes tightly, Elsa brought their joined hands to her chest and dug it into it. "Thanks, Jack."
Jack undoubtedly had no idea that it would get this bad, so he took a risk and got off his seat, not caring about his own safety. "Hey, I'm here."
This was childish, so childish for Elsa, but her panic pushed away her embarrassment. "Hmm." She clenched her jaw.
It kept getting worse for Elsa, and Jack didn't care about the announcements of the plane landing soon as everyone put their seatbelt on. He only cared about Elsa, but he had no idea what to do.
"Ok, here." Jack crouched in front of Elsa's seat, which would've been impossible in economy class. "It's nothing. Take deep breaths."
She panted, "I'm sorry."
Cupping her cheek with his free hand, he smiled. "Don't be. Just a few minutes, and we'll be out of this nasty plane, ok?"
He was proud of himself when Elsa let out a small giggle. "I'm not a kid, Jackson."
"Your Majesty, I could never say that. You'd have me beheaded if I did." He poked her dimple as she smiled more.
The fear of landing wasn't forgotten but surely lost because of Jack. "Maybe I would've before, but not now that you're my husband."
This time he laughed out loud and grasped Elsa's hand that rested on her chest. "The perks that come to marrying the Queen."
Soon the plane's wheels hit the ground, and Elsa let out a big breath that she held of fear. "Not dead."
"Nope. Not dead for sure."
She released his hand in a second, and he off her cheek. "Oh," They coughed simultaneously.
The awkward silence was cracked when Elsa nudged her head towards Jack's seat. "Sit down." He seemed unsure, so she smiled and touched his face as he was in front of her. "I'm fine now. I'm sorry for the trouble."
Jack was quick to stop her from getting unsettled. "It's nothing. You should've seen me on my flight to Berk with Hiccup. I was a mess! Hiccup wanted to kick me off the plane."
They both knew he was lying, but his efforts were appreciated. "Thanks anyways, now sit down."
"As you say, Your Majesty." He got up from his spot and sat in his seat, buckling his seatbelt.
The screaming Air Hostess finally left the cabin and they didn't even notice her the past minute as they were in their bubble.
All these little things were bringing them closer minute by minute.
And they didn't know what to do about it.
He, Jackson Overland, had one goal now to make his wife, Elsa Overland, fall in love with him.
Little did he know she was half way there.
Elsa's Mom's side
Grandmother: Nana Sofia Owen
Grandfather: Papa William Owen
Aunt and her husband: Elizabeth Liam & James Liam
Elizabeth's kid: George Liam (28)
--
Elsa's Dad's side
Grandmother: Nona Ella Arandelle
Grandfather: Grampa Jacob Arandelle
First Uncle and his wife: Mark Arandelle & Carmen Arandelle.
Mark's kids: Olivia Arandelle (26), Smith Arandelle (25) and Belle Arandelle (24)
Second Uncle and his wife: Noah Arandelle & Poppy Arandelle
Noah's kids: Anthony Arandelle (22), Allan Arandelle (22) and Jacob Arandelle (18)
I know it's very complicated, but it'll be easy to follow later.