AUTHOR'S NOTE (added, June 2017, after drafting hiatus): Yeah, these were originally two separate chapters. Sorry for ALL the notes!

AUTHOR'S NOTE(original, first part of what is now one chapter): Okay, putting these at the bottom of the chapters has had an interesting effect: People are reviewing my Author's Notes, not the writing itself. So, back at the top they go! Although, honestly, I don't really get all THAT many reviews per chapter, so I should be grateful for whatever I can get. (*opens reviews for "Crazy or Evil," turns on soundtrack from Toy Story 2*) When sooooomebody loved me… eeeeverything was beautiful… (Also: HALLO, THEENA! You seemed to like the last shout-out so much that… HAVE ANUZER ONE! HALLOOO! YOU ARE NICE TO ME AND I LOVE YOU!)

(Finally, finally, FINALLY we get to start going more into Elsa's mind! This has been pretty Jack-centric so far. As the writer, I've got my long-winded reasons for doing this, if anyone wants to PM me about it, but… FINALLY. (I ADORE Elsa. So stoked!) Also: Has anybody else noticed, except for a VERY brief conversation with a guard and the flashback, that Elsa and Jack haven't actually interacted with any other characters since CHAPTER 22?! My goodness. I am REALLY long-winded. Also, I am desperately bored, sooooo… time to bring in some other voices again. ;)

AUTHOR'S NOTE (original, second part of what is now one chapter):

1. WOW! What a response! My goodness, I drop a single off-handed comment about how I wished more people would review, and you DELIVERED! You cannot know how much that means to me. Even though you "can't treat the reviews like currency," as a wise and wonderful fanfic'ing friend once told me, any writer on here will tell you the same: the reviews REALLY encourage you to keep writing. My goodneth, I luff you guyth.

2. To the guest reviewer that signed their review as "Your Biggest Fan": I just about started crying when I read that. As I've said before, part of the reason I'm writing this is because I'm going through a hard time myself. To know that it really means something to someone else is incredible, and I can't thank you enough for telling me.

3. Some of you may have noticed that the last chapter was originally called "Snow Bunnies" instead of "Winter Bunnies." So, APPARENTLY, there's an actual term "snow bunny," and it's… CURSING? (?!) Just to reassure everybody: If I am swearing in Ice Alliance, I PROMISE, it is NOT intentional! I am so sorry if anyone was offended!

4. I'm seriously considering putting up a list of references in Ice Alliance. Mostly, I want to know if they've been going unnoticed… I'm making CONSTANT references to BOTH movies (example: Anna's line "What gives? Slowpokes?" in the last chapter was one of North's lines in ROTG). I'm figuring I could stick it on my profile page, for those of you who have seen it… (basically: NONE OF YOU! HA HA!). What do you think? Let me know in the reviews!

CONTENT WARNING: INNNNNNNUENDOOOOOOOOO, LIKE USUAAAAAAAAAAAL; DON'T MIND MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE...

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34: CHAIRS

. . .

"They're got to be around here somewhere," Queen Anna's voice declared. "I'm not giving up on her yet. The stinker."

The door creaked open, and from underneath the edge of the bedskirt, Anna's feet were suddenly visible across the room on the carpet. Elsa jolted, her eyes wide. She sat up slightly, looking to Jack, who was also frozen in his place. His expression conveyed the same pleading message as her own.

Don't. Breathe.

"I'm telling you, they're not in the castle," Kristoff's voice retorted. "We shouldn't be wasting time looking for them. We need to think up another good story to cover for Elsa. And, I'm currently out of ideas."

"I guess it's just…" Anna's feet swiveled around in the doorway. Her husband must have been standing in the hall. "I feel like Elsa would have told me if they were planning on flying the coop. Again."

"Literally, in his case." From somewhere outside, Kristoff let out a hearty laugh. "And if they have, she might not have told you, anyway. Most people who disappear into the mountains want to be alone."

"Nobody wants to be alone!"

There was a silence.

"Oooooooooh," Anna's voice giggled. "You mean—alone."

"Uh-huh."

Elsa and Jack looked to each other again, both blushing furiously. Jack was visibly restraining from laughing, seeing Elsa's terrified expression.

"Well," Kristoff's voice started again, "If we don't find them in five minutes, I'm giving up. In the meantime, I'm going to go check the other bedrooms, and then go to the main conference room again."

"Alright, my love."

And Kristoff's boots were clomping away down the hall. Elsa bit her lip as Anna's feet turned in their direction, a light being twisted on.

"Elsa? Elsa, are you in here?"

She was walking towards them. After a few moments, Anna's shoes were positioned right outside the bed. Elsa held her breath, and suddenly realized with horror that Anna was bending over, grunting slightly with her pregnant stomach.

"Is this…?"

A long object suddenly moved on the carpet, the shadow lifting. Elsa's heart leapt into her throat as she frantically looked around on the floor under the bed, realizing what had been missing.

Jack had left his staff on the floor by her nightstand.

Her eyes wide with horror, heart pounding, and she threw a betrayed glare at him, pushing herself up a bit. He grimaced, swallowing hard.

All of a sudden, the end of the shepherd's crook hooked around the bottom of the bedskirt. Jack's eyes widened, and just before the cloth was yanked up, he shoved Elsa off of him.

Anna's gaze locked with her own, staring down at them as she stood back from the side of the bed.

Elsa's face drained of color as she watched her sister's eyes bulge. Anna's mouth fell slightly open, and a long, painful silence fell as the three, frozen, stared at each other in shock.

Finally, Jack pressed his hands together, touching his fingertips to the bridge of his nose. He squeezed his eyes shut, then opening them again, and stared determinately up at the bedframe for a long moment. Biting his lip, he glanced to Elsa—and then back to the bedframe—and then back to Elsa again—before hesitantly looking up into Anna's face.

He gulped.

"Hi," Jack choked.

Queen Anna raised her eyebrows. Then, after a few moments, her face twisted into a smirk.

"I'm sorry," she drawled, "Am I—interrupting something?"

"—Kind of—"

"—NO—!"

Elsa and Jack looked to each other in shock at their simultaneous statements. Blushing furiously, Elsa pulled in a deep breath, looking back to her sister.

"Um—no," she repeated, throwing a dark glare at Jack. "Anna—I know this looks bad—"

"—No," Anna chuckled, "What would look bad would be for the Acting Queen to miss two meals in one day. I covered for you at lunch, but if you aren't at dinner in ten minutes, the head cook said she's calling the royal doctors."

Elsa's eyes widened. Lunch. It must have been hours ago. It hadn't even crossed her mind.

Anna laughed again, dropping the bedskirt back into place and straightening up, grunting slightly.

"As much as I hate to break the moment," she laughed, stepping away from the bed, "You two have been: busted. Time to come out from under there for dinner. Chop chop!"

Alone again in the darkness, Jack and Elsa looked to each other in embarrassment. Jack swallowed hard, and then nodded, rolling out from underneath the bed. Elsa, feeling the heat in her face, sheepishly followed him, rolling out onto the carpet at her sister's feet.

Coming out and blinking slightly in the lamplight, Elsa took Jack's outstretched hand. He gently pulled her up, and she brushed herself off before turning back around to Anna.

"I—I'm sorry about missing lunch," Elsa stammered, "And—making you come find us. I didn't realize that the—"

"—It's okay," Anna laughed, the slight smirk on the edge of her lips again. "Just tell somebody when you're going to magically disappear into thin air next time, okay?"

Elsa bit her lip, looking down and twisting her spike heel in the carpet. Anna held out the staff to Jack, and he took it, muttering a sheepish thank you before Anna turned and paced from the room.

The door swung almost completely shut after her, leaving the two standing in the center of Elsa's childhood bedroom.

With the faint lamplight falling across the carpet and casting their long shadows onto the wall behind it, it was only then that Elsa saw exactly how much time had passed. It was completely dark outside of her window, now.

Looking back, she realized that Jack Frost was staring at her.

After a brief moment of hesitation, he reached forward, gingerly grasping her hand. Letting out a nervous laugh, Jack then shifted on his feet, looking into her eyes. In the lamplight, she saw that his own were still slightly swollen. When she had hugged him, she'd noticed, but… well, she'd pretended not to. It would probably have embarrassed him further.

Elsa had never seen anyone react to a hug like that before.

"So… um," Jack stammered, letting out another nervous laugh, "That was… really awkward."

"Yeah."

He looked down again, blushing slightly and giving her hand a squeeze. He wasn't letting go.

Elsa shakily drew herself up.

"Um… Jack?" she choked.

"Yeah?"

She looked nervously down to her hand, and then back into his eyes.

"I—um, I kinda need my hand bac—"

"—Oh!"

He jolted, releasing it and jumping a few inches into the air. Elsa's eyebrows lifted slightly in surprise. Usually, she was the shy one. Where was sudden nervousness coming from?

Could it…?

Elsa bit down hard on her lip, willing the thought from her mind, and flicked her hands behind her.

Don't flatter yourself.

Shimmering ice shot out of the back of her dress, and Jack took a step away, watching longingly as an elegant new capelet rolled down her back and out onto the floor at his feet. She turned around to face him, and just as she was about to open her mouth to say something, the door swung open again.

"What gives? Slowpokes?" Anna teased, sticking her head back into the room. "Now, come on. You can be lovey-dovey again after dinner."

Elsa jolted. "Anna, we were not being—"

But her sister was already gone. Jack glanced to the door, and Elsa nodded, her mind still racing, trying to analyze what had just happened. There was surely a logical explanation for Jack's nervousness, and it surely had nothing to do with her.

As he lunged forward to grab the door, pulling it open, she drew herself up, thanking him and stepping out into the hallway. Maybe he was acting like this because she'd made him bring up his past. Goodness, that was dark… and telling anyone about that would probably make a person get shy. Uncomfortable, at least. Maybe she really was a horrible friend. Maybe she shouldn't have pressured him into telling her about—

As Elsa turned around to pick up her capelet and yank in through the door, she jolted again.

It wasn't there.

Wait. I could have SWORN that I just—! Elsa thought frantically, her face going pale. Whirling around, she jerked her head up, and—

Jack Frost had suddenly materialized on the other side of her in the hallway, holding the capelet in his hands. Their eyes met, and he froze, blushing furiously.

What the…? Elsa's eyes widened in confusion.

Jack gulped, shifting uncomfortably on his feet. "Sorry," he stammered, "The fabric—thing—I—I just don't get it—it's like, it's hard—and soft—at the same time—um—" He bit his lip. "Here."

Jack awkwardly shoved the capelet into her arms, pushing past her and bursting into the room to retrieve his staff.

Elsa stumbled back a step in shock, looking down at the icy fabric. Tossing it back onto the floor, she pulled in a long, shaky breath, closing her eyes and struggling to keep her breathing even. Jack was scared out of his wits. He was acting—um, yes, scared. She had just been trying to be nice. But now, it was like he was traumatized.

Maybe she shouldn't have hugged him? Maybe hugs scared him. Maybe he didn't like hugs. Maybe he just didn't like her, and then she'd gone and touched him (stupid girl!), because she'd assumed that physical touch would be good, but maybe she shouldn't have assumed, no, that was wrong to do, and she should never assume anything like that ever again, because she… she…!

Elsa fidgeted with her fingers, nervously looking to the door.

She was really bad at this.

She wasn't used to this. Actually, she'd—well, actually, she'd never really done the whole 'best friend' thing before; not with anybody that she wasn't directly related to. She was usually alone now with the Spirits, or she was back being The Queen, and being The Queen, all this confounded social nonsense was very simple. I am the Queen. You are the subject. It was scripted. Comfortable. Nothing like this. She had just hugged him. It wasn't a big deal. Or, at least, it wasn't supposed to be a big deal. Oooooooooh, this was hard. And a hug that lasted for forty-five minutes was still just a hug… right?

Right?

Maybe he was offended? Maybe he was angry. Maybe he hated her now. Well! Wonderful! Good job, Elsa! You're given the once-in-a-lifetime chance to be friends with Jack Frost, and he's handsome and charming and sweet and incredible and brilliant, and what do you do? You immediately proceed to ruin everything! You and you stupid lack of social skills! You and your stupid—ooooooh, WHY?

She'd messed up already. Maybe she should have stuck to the spirits. How on earth did Anna do this?

Elsa bit her lip, staring at the ground as Jack sheepishly came back out of the room with his staff and looked up into her face again.

Their eyes met.

After a split-second, Jack looked down. He blushed slightly, letting out a nervous laugh and shifting his feet on the floor before turning slightly away.

Oh, no.

She really had ruined everything. Elsa's heart leapt into her throat.

I am the worst friend ever.

Quickly sucking in her breath, Elsa turned and paced down the hallway after her sister. Before she could go for two steps, though, she saw a quick flash of ice in her peripheral vision.

After she hadn't done it, Jack had quietly frozen the lock behind them.

Feeling a sharp pang of embarrassment hit her in the chest, Elsa bit down hard on her lip again, straightening herself up and pacing faster down the hallway after Anna. In a few moments, Jack caught up, walking close beside her and matching her stride.

Very. Close. Beside her.

Why is he walking so close to me?

Queen Anna was already most of the way down the hallway, opening bedroom doors and sticking her head inside them, one by one. At the very last—

"Hey! Kristoff!" Anna laughed, "I found them! You can stop looking!"

In a few moments, Elsa saw her brother-in-law step out of the bedroom. Looking to them, Kristoff grinned. He then glanced back to Anna.

"And to where, exactly, did the blizzard bunnies get off this time?" he asked.

"Blizzard bunnies?" Elsa sputtered.

Anna shrugged. "Oh, you know," she deadpanned, "Just in Elsa's old room. In the dark. Hiding under the bed."

"Hiding under the…?"

King Kristoff's voice trailed off. After a few moments, he looked to Jack, raising his eyebrows as his eyes went wide.

"Well, that didn't take you very long," he breathed.

"Kristoff!" Elsa gasped.

"No, I'm actually sort of creepily impressed."

Jack was buckled over with laughter, leaning into his staff with his hand over his mouth. Elsa set her jaw, fighting the blood rushing to her face. After a few moments, Jack drew himself up, taking a step towards Kristoff.

"I—we weren't—no," Jack stammered, smiling and blushing furiously, "Kristoff—I swear—there wasn't any—"

"—Uh-huh. Suuuure, Frost," Kristoff laughed, pulling open the door to the private dining room. "But whatever you were doing, I'm just glad we found you. The Snow Queen can only go missing for so many hours before people start noticing."

.

.

Elsa couldn't help but stare at him.

Absent-mindedly cutting into a slice of ham on her plate, she snuck another glance at Jack, her mind racing. Three hundred years of torture. Three hundred years, and yet, here he was, with all his passion and laughter and those big, kind eyes. All he really wanted in life was to help other people have fun—that much was obvious. He breathtakingly handsome and flirtatious, but apparently, he wasn't trying to make the Fifth Spirit of the Enchanted Forest his thousandth casual girlfriend, like she'd originally suspected. He was brilliant, and kind, and wonderful, and now—as she had recently decided—he was the strongest person she'd ever met.

Everything about Jack Frost was beautiful.

And there were other things, too, naturally. He couldn't simply stop there; no, he just had to also know how to dance, and have that protective streak, and be a Guardian of Children, and—

"ELSA!"

She snapped back into focus, looking up. Anna raised her eyebrows.

"That pig is already dead, Elsa," she chuckled. "You don't need to keep killing it."

Elsa sheepishly put down the knife, switching her fork into her other hand and taking a bite of the now-pulverized cut of meat. Swallowing it, hardly tasting a thing, she looked back to her sister.

"I—I'm sorry," she stammered, "You were—um, you were saying something?"

Queen Anna smirked slightly, glancing between Elsa and Jack. Then, giving her head a little shake, she looked back to her sister.

"I was saying," Anna started again, "That I'm sure you're hungry, but that you need to save some room. We have the dessert sampling after this!"

"The what, now?" Jack asked.

"Oh. Um—right," Elsa said, looking to him. "Anna and I are doing final checks of the desserts that are going to be served at the—"

"—Christmas Eve Ball!" Queen Anna suddenly squealed.

Seeing her enthusiasm, the others laughed. Kristoff grinned, raising his glass to take a drink and shrugging in his wife's direction. "She might be a little excited," he chuckled.

Anna beamed, picking up a roll. "How could I not be?"

Jack leaned over in his chair, gently placing his hand on Elsa's arm. She jolted, and he leaned in close to her ear.

"I still have no idea what anybody is talking about," Jack stage-whispered.

She let out a nervous laugh, looking down to her arm. Jack sat up slightly, but didn't take his hand off, subtlety beginning to slide it down towards her wrist. Her heart leapt into her throat.

What the—?

"Um—there's an old tradition," Elsa stammered, frozen as she looked frantically from his eyes, to her arm, and back into his eyes. "We're—we're starting it up again. Before—um—before the accident—you know, the accident when I was six—there was an annual ball on Christmas Eve."

"That's in—"

"—A week and a half. Right."

Struggling to fight back the blood rushing to her face, Elsa glanced up, and noticed that a few flurries of snow were beginning to materialize in the air. Shaking her head vigorously, she pulled in another breath, glancing down to her wrist as Jack's fingers curled around it.

"And—and th-then there's a ch-children's party on Christmas Day," she shook.

More flurries.

"Well, that part sounds fun," Jack replied casually, beginning to move his hand onto hers under the table.

"Um—yeah."

Elsa gulped, frozen in her seat as she stared, wide-eyed, at her hand. Jack silently interlaced his fingers with her own, peering up hopefully into her face as she looked up to her sister, and then to Kristoff, and then back to her sister. Everyone was staring at her.

Why was everyone staring at her?!

Queen Anna and King Kristoff simultaneously smirked, glancing to each other in a shared, silent joke. Elsa's heart started pounding, her mind racing in frantic desperation.

What the—? she thought, staring at her hand, What is he—wha—but I—AUGH!

Elsa abruptly sucked in her breath and reached her other hand across. As she peeled Jack's fingers off, gingerly pushing him away, she heard Kristoff draw in a long breath from across the table.

"Ouch…"

Elsa jerked her head up just in time to see Anna shoot her husband a hard glare. As Jack Frost sheepishly pulled his hand back into his lap, color rising to his cheeks, a wave of confusion swept over Elsa's face. Everyone was acting so strange. Why was everyone acting so strange?

What on earth was going on?!

Jack shifted uncomfortably in his chair, biting his lip as a few flurries of his own began to materialize in the air, falling softly onto the table. Trying to hide it, he let out a nervous laugh, reaching and picking up his fork again.

"Soooo," Jack choked, struggling to keep his voice even, "It's happening now, because—"

"—Because it's Elsa's Christmas present to me and she's the best sister ever and I love her!" Anna interrupted with a squeal of delight. "After Elsa's coronation, we revived the 'Ring in the Season' party to kick everything off, and then last year, after my coronation, we revived the Christmas Day Children's Party, as well. I wanted to introduce the last big tradition—the Christmas Eve Ball—this year, and I was really upset that I couldn't do it all myself, so Elsa's being amazing and helping me out. So, she's hosting it!"

What just happened? Elsa thought frantically, looking quickly into her lap again. What was—what was THAT? He was trying to hold my hand? Wait. Really? No. Yes. WHAT'S GOING ON?

"How'd you talk her into that one?" Jack retorted.

"Oh, come on," Anna laughed. "Elsa's as excited as I am! It is going to be great, and she is going to love it, and she is going to have fun, because she is my sister and I love her and she is going to have fun because she is going to HAVE FUN. Aren't you, Elsa?"

He was trying to hold my hand. Was he? No. He couldn't have been. But, then, what was he doing? It doesn't make sense. NONE of this is making any SENSE. Jack couldn't have been trying to hold my hand. Right? It isn't—

"—AREN'T YOU, ELSA?"

"GAUGH!" Elsa jumped, startling back from the table and abruptly flinging her fork into the air.

Anna shrieked, flinching and diving to the side. As the fork fell back onto Elsa's plate with a loud clatter, and Kristoff burst out laughing, clapping his hand over his eyes. Elsa felt blood rushing to her face, and her brother-in-law shook his head, looking up to Jack again.

"GEEZ, Frost!" Kristoff exclaimed, "What did you do to her?"

"Kristoff, I swear—"

"—SO, UM, ANNA," Elsa blurted, drawing herself up and struggling to regain her composure, "You—me—um, I'm what?"

Anna giggled, shaking her head. "I asked you if you were excited for the Ball. And you are… aren't you?"

The highly-introverted Fifth Spirit of the Enchanted Forest felt her mouth fall open in surprise at the question. After a moment, she gulped.

"Of course I'm excited for the Ball!" Elsa lied, struggling to keep her voice even.

King Kristoff's eyes narrowed, still starting at Jack. "So, you haven't got her wearing some sort of enchanted anklet, or something—"

"Like I said before—"

"—ABOUT THE BALL," Queen Anna interrupted, throwing another dark glare at her husband again, "It's about time. It was a beloved old tradition, I'm told, and I mean, come on. It's a castle. It's Christmas Eve. We have a ballroom. Okay, two ballrooms…"

Once again taking a bite of food without tasting it, Elsa suddenly found her mind wandering back to an icy, private ballroom in the forest.

"Mr. Frost…"

"MR. FROST again?" Jack had laughed. "Really?!"

"Oh—I'm sorry, I just—I don't know you all that well, so—"

"—We could fix that."

Elsa nervously smiled to herself, now restraining from a giggle. Oh, my…

"And really, I mean, come on, why have a ballroom with no balls?" Anna was saying enthusiastically. "Of course, we'll need to have soup, roast, and ice cream, and then—"

Elsa bit her lip, glancing to the pale young man beside her at the table. For all of his work trying to bring some fun into her life, he had been completely neglecting his own pain. This new vulnerability, which he'd hidden so well… until she asked him about his past.

Which was torture.

Jack's reaction to the hug was evidence enough of the damage—the decades and decades of loneliness had become an integral part of who he was. No wonder he was so desperate for attention. She knew that she was still healing from a childhood and adolescence of isolation, but her fourteen years of shame were nothing when compared to three centuries of invisibility. She could relate to it, but not comprehend it.

It certainly explained the flirting. After three hundred years alone, she'd want to be flirted with, too. It had nothing to do with her, of course. It was just that she could see him, and she was a girl. Specifically, she was a girl with ice powers—his same "species," as he'd said. With that perspective, his desperation to flirt with her was more than understandable.

After three hundred years, he was probably ready to try flirting with rocks.

"I know that I've been the Queen for a little over a year now, but I still feel like I'm learning how all these big royal events work," Anna was saying, pouring half a lake's worth of gravy onto her plate, "But Elsa said that she'd take care of the invitations. I think she sent them out a few weeks ago, and…"

Elsa snuck another glance at Jack. Suddenly, she found herself wanting nothing more than to fling herself upon him again, to squeeze him as hard as she could and tell him that she was here, and believed in him, and that everything was alright. If she could spend the rest of her life throwing continual reassurance and affection at him, it wouldn't be enough. To heal from something like that? Three hundred years?

And he had been working so hard. Trying to heal her.

He said we could be more than friends… no, Elsa thought, glancing to Jack again, He can't actually mean it. He doesn't know what he's saying, if he does. Ridiculous…

She found herself studying the ice on his hood. She hadn't really looked at it all that carefully before. Beginning at his neck, where the fabric first touched his skin, the frost webbed and spiked out in graceful, frozen fractals all around, across the worn navy blue fabric, twisting down onto his arms and gathering on the edges of his pocket. It sparkled in the faint light, just like ice always did, picking up the shine of his startlingly blue eyes as the deep color of the shirt contrasted sharply with his white hair. The overall effect was incredible.

Goodness, Jack was handsome.

"So, anyway," Anna was saying excitedly, "The whole kingdom's been invited, and the Northuldra, along with some nobles, and stuff. Like our cousin, although I don't know if she's going to show…"

Elsa glanced down to her arm, where he'd touched her a few minutes before. I wasn't rejecting you! she thought desperately, looking in his direction. It was just sort of—a shock. I reacted. I reacted BADLY. Will you try that again? No. You probably won't. I've messed everything up again. I mean, if you—well—does it—maybe—?

Without realizing it, she had shakily extended her hand a few inches towards him under the table. Jack saw it, and jumped slightly, looking up into her eyes with shock. She blushed, instantly jerking it back into her lap and staring at her napkin.

Elsa could practically feel the excited little grin spreading across Jack's face.

"…The thing about having a ball, though, is that you never really know who's going to come. I mean, that's just part of it…"

In her peripheral vision, Elsa suddenly caught glimpse of a tiny flash of ice on the floor.

Squeak.

Glancing down, she realized that Jack's chair had scooted an inch closer to hers on the wood. With Anna still talking in the background across the table, he looked up, and their eyes met. Jack raised his eyebrows in question.

There was a pause.

Elsa bit her lip, carefully putting her fork onto her plate. Silently moving her hand under the table, she then flicked her fingers towards the legs of her own chair, her own little flash of ice pushing against the sides of its feet on the floor.

Scootch.

And it was a half-an-inch closer to his.

"Anna," Kristoff chuckled, "Sweetheart—don't you think you might be putting a little, um, pressure on Elsa for this whole thing? I mean, you're so excited about it. If something goes wrong—"

"—What could go wrong?" she laughed. "It's a ball. It's going to be fun."

Sneaking another glance at Jack, and then trying to appear casual again, Elsa saw his grin widen. Under the table, he swept his hand through the air, and his chair moved towards hers again.

Scoot.

"I'm just worried that you're going to get yourself all hyped up, and then be disappointed," Kristoff said softly. "I mean, like, with inviting the Rock Trolls. You know they aren't into this type of thing. If Grandpabbi actually comes—"

"—Of course he's going to come!" Anna protested, "Don't you remember? Elsa named him the Official Arendelle Legislator of Magical Affairs."

"What? That's not a thing."

"Oh, sure it is."

Underneath the table, tiny shots of ice were blasting back and forth underneath Jack and Elsa's chairs.

Squeak.

Scoot.

Scootch.

"And besides," Anna added, "Even if he doesn't come, it's not the end of the world. The Ball is still going to be fun."

Kristoff grinned, popping a pastry into his mouth. "Alright," he said approvingly, "As long as you're going in with that perspecti—"

Scoot.

Shoonk.

"Um—that perspective—"

Scoot.

Scootch.

Shoonk.

Squeak.

Scoot.

Squeak—

"—DO WE NEED TO LOCATE YOU TWO A PIANO BENCH?!"

Jack and Elsa froze, suddenly remembering that they were not alone in the room.

Now elbow-to-elbow, their chairs crammed together, they simultaneously looked up, blushing furiously. Kristoff laughed, shaking his head.

"Those chairs cannot physically get any closer together," the king chuckled as Jack and Elsa looked at each other in embarrassment. "But, granted, neither can you two. With all your clothes on, that is."

Elsa felt more blood rushing to her face.

Anna shrugged. "I would slap him," she admitted, "But it's sort of true."

"Anna," Elsa stammered desperately, "There has been nothing—I swear—no. Everybody has been decent the whole day, okay? I promise."

"Well," Jack mumbled, a slight grin on the edge of his mouth, "Maybe not this morning, bu—OW!"

He recoiled from Elsa's sharp kick as Kristoff and Anna glanced to each other, raising their eyebrows.

"Well," Kristoff chuckled, looking to his wife again, "Whatever the Blizzard Bunnies are up to, I think it's perfectly reasonable to ask that it wait until after we're done eating."

Jack and Elsa looked to each other in embarrassment again. After a moment, they each sheepishly swept one of their hands under the table, and ice blasted across the floor.

Scoooooooooooooooot THUNK.

And the chairs fell back onto the wood in their original places.

Queen Anna grinned. "Thank you," she laughed breathily.

"We're having enough issues as it is, trying to baby-proof everything for a normal kid," Kristoff chuckled. "I don't even want to imagine what kind of havoc a toddler with ice powers would wreak on this place—"

"—Oh!" Anna exclaimed suddenly. "Elsa! It's time!"

"It's time!" Elsa agreed, grateful for anything that might let her escape the situation. She then paused, biting her lip. "For what?"

"Dessert sampling…?" Anna prodded.

"Oh! Yes. Right."

Elsa abruptly stood from the table, dropping her napkin onto her plate and picking it up to take in to the little cart on the side of the room. In interest of having Jack eat with them, Queen Anna had arranged for the butler and maid that usually served them to receive an extended, paid vacation until January. Neither had objected.

"Elsa?"

King Kristoff was suddenly standing as well, walking towards her. She put down the plate, turning around in confusion.

"Um," she said nervously, "Yes? Is everything okay?"

He finally stopped in front of her, staring into her eyes. "I just—" Kristoff's voice trailed off, and he shook his head slightly, leaning in a bit closer to his sister-in-law. "Before the sampling—I was—I was wondering if I could talk to you."

"Well, I suppose if—"

"—Alone."

A wave of confusion swept over her face. Then, Elsa fidgeted with her fingers, looking down and blushing slightly.

Oh.

Kristoff thought that—he thought that she and Jack had—oh no. Ooooooh, dear.

This was going to be a fun conversation. Time for some damage control…

"Um," Elsa choked. "Sure. Yeah."

She gulped, following her brother-in-law as he turned and started to walk from the room. As they passed the table, Jack leapt up, knocking over his staff and jumping into front of Kristoff.

"Hey—by the way," Jack said, looking into Kristoff's eyes, "Can you do me a favor?"

Kristoff paused. "Um—sure?"

Jack glanced to the side. Then, leaning into Kristoff's face, he chuckled bitterly under his breath.

"Never compare me to Bunny again," Jack begged.