Once Again Rather Lengthy AUTHOR'S NOTE: Aaaaaaaurgh, I've already procrastinated posting this finished chapter for a week; clearly I just need to suck it up and post the confounded I'M SORRY IF IT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH; THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR TOLERATING MEEEEEEEEE

Ahem.

In the meantime, judging from some comments in the reviews, I feel like I need to add a little more clarification to the "how could she possibly not notice" thing, when it comes to Elsa's behavior (and my past personal experiences, cue the cringing). While there is a good amount of sheer cluelessness/naïveté involved, for a lot of people, their apparent "cluelessness" about being hit on is less a matter of stupidity than it is a self-esteem issue. In short, if you don't BELIEVE that you're worth hitting on; if you're not at least sort of EXPECTING it—then when it actually HAPPENS—you're WAY less likely to pick up on it, and not because you're not NOTICING it, but because you justify it away. When you have deep self-worth issues, it just makes way more SENSE to believe that "this is just them," or "I must be misinterpreting this," "they're not actually TRYING to flirt with me," "there must be a mistake," "I'm just projecting," "I'm imagining things," etc., rather that to believe that Yes, This Actually IS What It Looks Like. Additional factors like mental illness, bullying, and abuse obviously can play huge roles into forming this kind of mindset as well, but Let's Not Get Into That Unless We Absolutely Have To Please.

Here's the thing: With how I'm trying to write her, before Elsa is capable of accepting Jack's love, she HAS to first accept that she is, in fact, lovable. She HAS to internalize the idea that his being in love with her makes sense. If she doesn't accept this, then it almost literally won't MATTER what Jack says or does: she'll find a way to justify it away, because such a thing simply won't compute in her brain. To me, this is just a continuation of her existing character arc, as established in the movies.

In Frozen (after accepting herself and her powers), Elsa internalizes that she is worthy of family love, and being accepted by her people. In Frozen II, Elsa internalizes that she is worthy of self-love, and being accepted by her peers (the Nature Spirits). To me, it just sort of follows that in Ice Alliance—the next step, According To Me—Elsa would have to internalize that she is worthy of romantic love, and being accepted by her heroes.

And I'm definitely not foreshadowing anything at ALL. ;)

Oh... and, for the record, my version of Jack isn't done with his character arc, either. At the end of ROTG, he definitely accepts that he's one of the Guardians, but I personally don't really get the sense that Jack TRULY grasps how powerful he actually IS. Before he can truly feel confident in a relationship with Elsa, he'll need to realize that he IS enough for her, and that her actually loving him for WHO HE IS in return, makes sense as well. Oh, MAN, am I tempted to talk about it more here... But again, no foreshadowing. ;)

(Thanks for reading, a HUGE thank you to all of the WONDERFUL people who reviewed, and I hope you're all staying safe during what is apparently The Apocalypse!)

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74: Jack's Nightmare

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Jack Frost's mouth fell open in shock.

"What?" he stammered.

"I was—um," Elsa squeaked, her voice shaking with uncertainty, "I was just—I was wondering if you wanted to kiss again before we go to bed."

His eyes bulged, his face going pale. "A kiss?!" Jack balked, "But the—you—at the table, you just—!"

His voice trailed off, and he shoved his fingers into his hair, his eyes wide with horrified disbelief. Seeing it, the Fifth Spirit could practically feel her heart stop in her chest.

And, panic.

"I'm sorry!" she blurted, cringing into herself, "I didn't—nevermind!"

He jolted. "Elsa—"

"WeShouldGo!" she stammered, her eyes stinging as she whirled away from him, briskly walking towards the door, "I didn't mean it, I shouldn't have said anything; I—"

"—Elsa!"

Jack's freezing hand suddenly caught her wrist, and she gasped, jerked to a stop mid-step. Blood rushing to her face, Elsa then slowly turned back to face him, swallowing in humiliation.

Avoiding his gaze, the Fifth Spirit watched as the Guardian's pale hand slid down onto her own.

"Snowflake…" Jack choked softly.

The Snow Queen's breath caught, her heart whump-ing at the raw desperation in his voice. Hesitantly looking up into his gaze, Elsa realized that the Spirit of Winter was staring into her eyes as well, his piercing blue ones glassy with emotion as he struggled—in apparent agony—with a combination of both reluctance and longing that she couldn't quite understand.

Snowflakes falling softly around them in the stillness of the room, Jack suddenly let out a bitter sob of a laugh. Its breathy, anguished sound echoing through the silence, he then shook his head, sucking in a ragged breath almost like he was struggling not to cry.

Stepping up to her and closing the space between them, Elsa's mouth fell open in surprise as Jack Frost suddenly threaded his fingers into her hair, his other arm wrapping around her waist.

"I am never going to understand women," the Guardian whimpered.

And he was kissing her.

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.

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"You see what I mean?" Queen Anna chuckled bitterly.

Walking down the grand hallway, now safely out of earshot of the main parlor where they'd been doing their puzzle, the group of four—Anna and Kristoff, now with Rapunzel and Eugene as well—paused. Princess Rapunzel grimaced, chewing on the edge of her lip as she glanced back towards where they had left Jack Frost and Elsa, presumably to continue drowning in their own desperation and angst.

"I think so," Rapunzel choked. "I mean, that was just—just—!"

Anna and Kristoff exchanged glances. Rapunzel pulled in her breath, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Wow," she breathed.

"Wow," Kristoff nodded in agreement, folding his arms over his chest.

"WOW," Eugene guffawed.

"I just—I—!" Rapunzel squeaked under her breath, her hands flying to her face, "I don't even know what I just saw. I don't even know what that was."

"I'LL tell you what that was," Eugene laughed, "What that was, was AMAZING. I mean, puzzles are great and everything, but—dinner, AND a show!? What else have you guys got planned for us here?"

Queen Anna and King Kristoff laughed in spite of themselves, looking to each other. If it weren't so concerning…

"I'm confused, though," Rapunzel admitted, her brow furrowing in confusion, "I thought that Elsa was really smart? I mean, from her political things—"

"—Oh, my sister is smart," Anna insisted. "The smartest. But—well, I've never seen her like this, before. She's never been like this. She's never BLUSHED like this."

Her husband shook his head. "I just don't understand how two people… who are so smart," Kristoff groaned, "Can be… so… DUMB."

"Well, it makes for a good show," Eugene said cheerily/, clapping Kristoff on the back. "Brief intermission for some shut-eye, right?"

Anna watched as the Commoner King shot Eugene an indiscernible expression, like he couldn't decide whether to laugh or to glare. Kneading his eyebrows, Kristoff then sighed.

"Right," he muttered. "That's for the best. Should we show you guys where your room is?"

"That would be perfect," Rapunzel said with a smile. "I'm exhausted."

"I'll join you in a minute," Eugene declared. "That guard over there has been staring at me this whole time. I think I need to go and talk to him… or her."

Anna's eyebrows lifted. "I don't think you're going to have much luck," she told him, "That's a—"

"—Not have luck? MOI?" Eugene laughed, "Why, dear cousin! So little FAITH! And, clearly," he said, leaning in and waggling his eyebrows at Rapunzel, "She hasn't seen… the Smolder."

The girls both laughed, and Anna and Rapunzel exchanged looks. "Alright," Rapunzel giggled, "You go talk to that guard."

"I shall." Eugene bowed dramatically, his hair sweeping into his face. "Don't wait up!"

And he spun around, marching towards the suit of armor.

Kristoff shook his head, chuckling under his breath. "Tell me how long it takes him to figure it out," he said. "I need to go put Sven and Olaf to bed."

"That's fine," Anna nodded.

"Anna and I have plenty of talking to do," Rapunzel added with a grin.

"Oh, yes," Anna said. "Lots of… cold things. To discuss."

King Kristoff snorted and rolled his eyes as Rapunzel laughed, Anna drawing herself up in an attempt to keep a straight face.

"Okay, okay," he conceded, backing up with his hands in the air. "As long as you're not making plans for getting involved."

Queen Anna smiled sweetly. "Of course not! It's my sister we're talking about here! Why would we get involved?"

Kristoff, already a few steps away, turned back around. His smile faded. "Do not get involved," he repeated sternly, pointing to her.

Anna batted her eyelashes.

As her husband walked away from them, the pregnant young queen glanced over and saw that Eugene was still attempting to charm the suit of armor. Looking back down the hall, the Commoner King was almost to the doors, leading out to the Royal Stables.

Deciding that he was out of earshot, Queen Anna leaned in close to Rapunzel's face.

"We are obviously getting involved," she muttered under her breath. "Right?"

"Of course we are," Rapunzel agreed. "They need help."

"It's settled, then. We'll talk to Elsa first."

CLANG!

The two looked up, seeing that Eugene—now holding the arm of the suit of armor in his hands—was standing, frozen, his eyes wide with shock. Clearing his throat, he awkwardly tried to stick the arm back into the suit, jostling it against the metal.

Rapunzel smiled, looking down and clearly restraining from a laugh. She shook her head. "But how are we going to get Elsa alone?" she asked.

"We have to deliver the last invitations to the Arendellian schoolchildren for the Christmas Party in the morning," Anna declared, "And, that gives us the entire carriage ride, both ways, to grill her about the situation. We'll do it tomorrow."

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It had started out as Jack's greatest dream ever.

The Snow Queen, a little ways away from him, was fidgeting weakly with her fingers. Seeing her expression of worry, Jack was just starting to watch himself walk towards her, when he realized that she wasn't fiddling with her fingers, but—a ring.

In the haze of the dream, he was suddenly beside her. Elsa looked up, making his breath catch as her incredible eyes locked with his own. Looking down, Jack noticed for the first time that she was wearing some sort of loose, white nightgown, draped over a very distinct roundness on her stomach.

His heart leapt. As he reached out for her, Jack saw a glint of a ring on his own hand. Awash in joy and relief, he looked back up into the Ice Powers Girl's beautiful, sad eyes.

Sad?

Snowflake?

She didn't answer, closing her eyes. Gathering her into his arms, Jack pulled her close to him.

What's wrong? Jack asked, his voice lost and strangely distant in the dream, Are you okay? What's going on?

The Fifth Spirit said nothing, but swallowed hard, giving her head a little shake. Forcing a smile, she looked up to something in front of them, and Jack noticed for the first time that they were standing in front of a mirror.

And he was Prince Frederik.

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Jack's eyes flew open with a start.

Gasping for breath, the Spirit of Winter shot upright in his bed, his heart pounding. Before he could fully adjust to his surroundings, the haunting sound of a horse's whinny echoed from down somewhere in the art gallery, and Jack jolted, whipping his head around.

The nightmare leapt out of the shadows, whinnying again in triumph and darting out of the open balcony doors into the night. Flinging off the ice blanket, Jack scrambled from his bed, snatching his staff and leaping into the air after it.

BANG!

The door to the balcony crashed open again as his wind ripped through it, the Guardian shooting out into the night. It was here. How could it have been here? Off and on, since the previous spring, the nightmares occasionally were able to track him down, but—

A rush of wind from the enormous courtyard below.

Looking down from the balcony, his heart pounding, Jack frantically glanced over the columns and fountains. Seeing a shadow darting past the final fountain, slipping through the open gates to the bridge, he launched himself from the balcony after it.

Sweeping over the outer castle walls, the wind shrieking in his ears, Jack's mind raced as he flew. It had been in the room. In. Elsa's. ROOM. Coincidence? It'd better have been.

Was it because of him?

Below him, the nightmare dove into a narrow alleyway between two buildings edging the town square. It slipped into the shadows, reemerging a second later on the next street over.

Jack dove.

Sweeping past the buildings outside the square, he flew for the street, squinting his eyes against the speed. Flipping onto a low-hanging roof, he caught glimpse of the creature, a burst of hot wind tearing through his hair.

"YA!" Jack yelled.

CRACK!

A blast of ice shot out of the staff as he punched it forward, smashing into the cobblestones as the nightmare dodged it, leaping to the side. An instant later, it darted into another alleyway and out of sight. Setting his jaw, Jack launched himself off of the rooftop, whipping around the corner to dart after it the blur of black sand that was galloping through the darkness once again.

And it wasn't there.

Lighting down onto the street over—gripping his staff—Jack looked around himself, suddenly realizing that it could have taken off in any direction, from this part of the town. In the wee hours of the morning, this particular intersection of Arendellian pathways and buildings was a labyrinth of shadows, providing a near-infinite number of escapes. The heat was gone, and the Guardian suddenly knew that the nightmare was, as well.

Jack clenched his teeth against the frustration. Tossing his staff into his opposite hand, he then crouched down, an instant later vaulting off of cobblestone street and shooting straight upwards into the darkness of the night.

Hovering over Arendelle Proper, with the castle behind him and the dark forest ahead, Jack Frost surveyed the town, glancing over all of the alleyways and buildings as the gentle December wind ruffled his hair. He didn't see it. Blasted thing. Usually, the little devils would resurface after a few THERE YOU ARE!

Jack gasped, jolting. Shifting his grip on the staff, he shot after the nightmare, seeing its elegant shape galloping into the forest and away from the town. Flying over the trees, Jack could see the creature's slender shape shooting through the forest below, gracefully leaping in and out of the shadows as if it were nothing more than a shadow itself. This one was fast. He'd have to corner it. With most things, this would be easy—but nightmares were corrupted Dreamsand. They wouldn't be barred by stone, earth, or wood. Anything that created a shadow would give a nightmare an escape. But, Jack Frost wasn't intending to create shadows.

Fresh snow always glistened—and flawless ice always gleamed.

The wind shrieking in his ears, The Guardian dove for the trees, darting through the branches with the skill of three hundred years' practice. His heart pounding, he finally shot past the nightmare, dropping into its path.

FWOOSH! Jack spun back and swept his staff to the side, a cloud of snowflakes erupting from the end of the shepherd's crook. As the new, pure blanket of snow floated down over the older slush and ice from the day before, the nightmare whinnied, rearing back in horror. It veered to the side.

But Jack was already there.

CRACK!

A wall of ice erupted out of the ground, its glistening crystals catching and reflecting pure moonlight back into the darkness. The nightmare whinnied again, and Jack jumped forward and flipped in front of it, sweeping one last sparkling snowdrift behind him and closing off its path. Touching onto the ground, Jack's eyes narrowed as he whipped his staff around his back and walked towards the beast.

Seeing that it was trapped, the nightmare cantered back and forth nervously on its hooves, searching the surrounding trees for a shadow, a divot, a way out. Turning back to Jack, it flared its nostrils, its dark haunches tensing as the Guardian shifted into fighting stance and aimed his staff.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—

The two froze.

Hearing a distinct rushing of air, the Spirit of Winter paused, listening.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh WHOOSH WHOOSH WHOOSH—

Jack gasped, spinning and dropping to his knee in one fluid movement.

FWOOM!

The boomerang shot over his hair just as he dropped his head forward, a gust of wind brushing against its tips before—

PFF!

The boomerang hit square into the nightmare's chest, the black sand exploding on contact. Still staring at the ground, Jack Frost shook his head, feeling his mouth involuntarily twitch into a bitter smile.

Seriously?

Still kneeling, Jack waited as the boomerang flew back around, sailing over him once again.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh WHOOSH WHOOSH whoosh whoosh WHAP.

He heard it hit into a soft, pad-like surface somewhere behind him.

Letting out his breath, he scoffed, placing his hand onto his thigh and pushing himself up onto his feet.

"You know," Jack declared to the silence. "I had that one."

From behind a shrub, the boomerang was being held aloft in the pad of an enormous rabbit paw. A few moments later, it then was moving upwards as the Guardian of Hope stood from the bushes, six feet and one inch of muscle and thick gray fur unfurling to its full height.

"An' I belave tha' makes… one hundreh an' twenty-threa," Bunnymund stated, stepping out of the shadows. "While you were a'… nine'y-seven? Was ih?"

Jack Frost scoffed. "That was my ninety-eighth," he gritted, gesturing with his staff.

They had a tally.

The Easter Bunny shrugged, a hint of a smirk on his lips as he walked forward into the moonlight. The Spirit of Winter stuck free his hand into his pocket.

"At the very least, I'm to ninety-eight now," Jack insisted, taking a step towards Bunnymund. "We had a deal. Whoever gets to the nightmare first gets the point."

The Guardian of Hope raised an eyebrow.

"Exac'ly," Bunnymund deadpanned.

"Uh-huh. Sure. You KNOW I was there first."

The Easter Bunny nonchalantly flipped the boomerang over in his grip, brushing a few grains of black sand off its surface with the back of his paw. He drew in his breath, slowly looking up.

"You don' wanna race a rabbit, mite," he whispered.

Jack Frost rolled his eyes.

Giving the boomerang a last once-over, the Guardian of Hope tossed it into his opposite paw. Rolling his shoulder back, he then reached up and slid the weapon into its leather sheath.

"So," he started again, "You been followin' em up hea, too?"

"Following them?" Jack asked, a wave of confusion sweeping over his face. "The nightmares? What do you mean?"

Hopping forward a step, the Easter Bunny tugged his quiver strap back into place on his chest. He nodded. "They've all been headed nahth—a' lease, this fah nahth. Thid one I've caught aroun' 'ea this week, actu'lly."

Jack's heart dropped to his feet.

Struggling to conceal his reaction, the Spirit of Winter forced a shrug, letting his staff fall back onto his shoulder. "They're congregating around here?" he choked. "You're sure?"

"Yeah. They'ah all ova, but…way, whea ah we? If—"

"—Arendelle."

There was a pause.

"Air-ren-delle?" Bunnymund enunciated carefully.

"Um—yeah." Jack swallowed, glancing away for a moment before looking back to his teammate, trying to hide the shock of fear in his expression. "It's—uh, this place is called Arendelle. And you said that's the third one up here this week?"

Bunnymund nodded. "Yeah," he confirmed. "Somethin's up. Whay'dya track this bugga dawn from?"

Jack opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again. Blood rushing to his ears, he looked down, awkwardly shifting on his feet.

The Guardian of Hope's eyebrows lifted. His gaze lighting with comprehension, he silently mouthed an oh.

Jack Frost said nothing.

The thing was... Jack loved kids. LOVED them. And now, there was Elsa, and… well, if there was even a chance…! In his dream, it had just felt so RIGHT. They were together, and it was perfect, and amazing, and then: Prince Wonderful. And Elsa was sad about it.

Jack wasn't even sure if he felt more like punching something or vomiting first.

"You knaw…" Bunnymund offered, his suddenly softer voice jolting Jack back into focus, "It's 'cos ya the new guy."

"I know."

Jack awkwardly kicked at the snow on the ground, a few more flurries bursting out from his feet as he did so. It wasn't like it was the worst nightmare he'd ever had, but…

Okay. Maybe it was.

The Guardian of Hope was scrutinizing him, a twinge of concern in his spring green eyes. Suddenly self-conscious, Jack huffed a laugh.

"It's fine," he added quickly. "I'm fine."

"Ahkay. Good. Uh—good."

The Easter Bunny took a step back with a nod. "Jis—don' leh the bloody little devils getcha dawn," he added.

Jack nodded, taking a step back himself.

Bunnymund let out his breath. Giving himself a violent shake against the cold, he then lifted his enormous left foot over a flat spot of ground on the forest floor.

Thump thump.

The earth obediently crumbled away, revealing a dark, fresh-smelling rabbit hole big enough for a human man. Rolling his shoulders back, Bunnymund paused.

"Oh—and Fros'bite?"

Having turned and started to walk away, Jack stopped. Looking back, his eyebrows lifted.

"G'work, mite," Bunnymund said.

The Spirit of Winter's heart leapt. Trying to hide the unexpected swell of pride rushing through him at the compliment, he then cleared his throat, adjusting his grip on the staff.

"Uh… thanks," Jack responded, retraining from a smile. "…Mate."

Bunnymund's expression softened. Spinning the boomerang on his paw, he then grinned wryly, giving the Guardian of Fun a curt nod before stepping back and dropping into the rabbit hole.