AUTHOR'S NOTE (ORIGINAL, from BEFORE I split this into 2 chapters): Hey, guys. Sorry this took so long to write—not only did I have to frantically add a scene (THANK YOU, AshandDust, for unintentionally pointing out what was almost a plot hole!), but this 10,000+ word chapter is potentially some of the most intense stuff I've ever written. This will, in the future, be split into two chapters, but because of the Author's Note I left on the end of the last one, I figured I would just give everybody both chapters at once. Because it's so dark, I also have done a lot of writing ahead (the next chapter is actually in middle-drafting stage) to hopefully post the next chapters sooner. I can't make any promises about when they'll be posted, because I Have Small Children, but I'm hoping to get the next chapter up in just a few weeks.
CONTENT WARNING: Very dark implications, and some extremely sexualized stuff. It's still all within PG-13/TV-14, but… barely. I think. I go right up to the line of what I would personally consider to be appropriate, when it comes to sexual content. All of my earlier promises still apply (no removal of clothing, no direct reference to/touching of sexual body parts, characters never actually break the law of chastity, etc.), but… yeah. I can't really give a more detailed content warning without spoilers, so I'm including both a quasi-spoiler content warning AND a flat-out plot synopsis at the BOTTOM of this chapter, so if you feel you need to be more aware of the content of this chapter before deciding if you feel comfortable reading it, you can just scroll ALL the way down to the bottom of the page find out.
Thanks for reading, and extra special to everybody who's reviewed. It truly does mean everything to me. Also, yes, I AM in the process of transferring IA over to AO3, even though I'm only doing one chapter at a time for my sanity.
Here we go.
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89: ANYTHING
He saw Elsa first.
From the chill on the wind, Jack could tell that some sort of big winter storm surely had swept through Western Europe while he was gone. Good thing. That would mean he wasn't missed—and, would probably help keep away any suspicions of what he had really been doing over the last few days, flying off to a frozen wasteland and throwing a fit like a little kid. He knew in his heart that it was sort of immature, but sometimes, a guy just needed to stop trying to do the stupid gentleman thing and let it go for a few minutes.
Lighting upon one of the outer walls of the castle, the Spirit of Winter silently touched down, hopping onto the narrow walkway and looking to her window. Now perhaps 10:00 or 11:00 at night, the castle was dark and silent, with no movement except for that of a handful of guards dutifully walking the perimeter, paying no attention to the pale, statuesque figure on the balcony. Jack bit his lip, silently gripping his staff and running along the walkway towards her, invisibly passing through a guard, not yet making his presence known.
Standing no more than twenty feet from Elsa's balcony at the end of the walkway, he came to a stop.
Wearing a deep red dress, the lovely young queen was turned away from him, leaning up against the railing, a sparkling capelet billowing to the side in the moonlight. Her long, blonde hair was unbraided, gently swaying in the wind, the loose waves glistening with ice particles and snowflakes as a few rouge flurries of snow materialized out of the air around her, catching the moonlight as they floated softly towards the ground.
Jack's heart started pounding. Oh, geez, Elsa was beautiful. Biting his lip, he stuck his hand into his pocket, feeling cold smoothness of the crystalline heart against the wool.
Now or never.
Pulling the tiny heart ornament out, he stared down at it, seeing his hours of work (anxiously altering the design over and over again) as it shimmered and glistened in the moonlight.
I wanted to give this to you, Elsa, he thought, mentally rehearsing his lines.
His fingers curled around the heart ornament's icy surface. Jack Frost then closed his eyes, drawing in a long, careful breath.
But I'm pretty sure it's already yours.
He exhaled, coming back into reality as his eyes slowly opened once again.
Would she laugh at him?
A shock of fear rippled down the back of his throat at the thought, his cheeks flushing for a moment before he really paused to consider it. No—no, Elsa wasn't the type to laugh, at that sort of thing. She was too concerned about hurting people. She might freak out, though—if he came on too strong, that was. But if he didn't come on strong enough, she might not understand his intentions. He didn't want her to freak out. He just wanted it to be perfect. Was that too much to ask? This one time, could he just pull off this one, simple, stupid thing?
He looked pleadingly up to the moon, swallowing hard. He wanted this so badly. And there she was…
Jack pulled in a deep breath, gazing longingly back to the young woman on the balcony as she started to turn in his direction, the icy evening gown falling gracefully over her hips, the flowing capelet, her soft, long hair blowing in the wind, the SWEET MOTHER OF—!
Jack's eyes bulged as he caught glimpse of Elsa's plunging neckline, her full cleavage exposed to him as she turned in his direction, nervously fidgeting with her fingers. His heart leaping into his throat, Jack involuntarily looked down to the rest of the dress, realizing that the whole gown was tighter (much tighter) than usual, pulling harshly across the curves of her body and straining against the long slits of her skirt, one on each side, which now extended—instead of to a few inches above her knee—all the way up onto her hip.
His eyes wide, the Youngest Guardian stood frozen on the end of the walkway, paralyzed in dumbfounded silence.
Oh, man.
Ooooh, man, was that not a man…
All the muscles in his body contracted at once, Jack gripped the heart ornament tighter, his cheeks flushing as he gawked. Shakily pocketing the ice heart, and then forcing himself to release it—because he was scared that he was about to shatter the fragile thing—the Youngest Guardian withdrew his hand from his pocket, shoving his fingers into his hair.
Why was she wearing that? He'd never seen Elsa ever, ever wear anything like that.
He gulped. Okay. Maybe once—but that was an accident. An honest mistake. Without question his favorite mistake he'd ever WORST! WORST mistake!
Ripping his fingers from his hair, Jack turned away from her, rubbing his eye sockets with the heels of his hands while still holding the staff. Elsa was so beautiful. She was SO beautiful. A sweet and sexy ice powers fantasy, a million times better than any dream that the Sandman could whip up. He had to have her. He HAD to. But—!
But he—!
He couldn't do this.
Jack Frost stumbled away from the edge of the walkway, coming to the stone of the castle's outer wall. Turning around as his legs shook, he then limply sank down against it, pulling up his hood over his head and letting his shepherd's crook slide from his shoulder onto the walkway beside him with a clunk.
The immortal, 319-year-old Guardian of Fun sat for a long, silent moment, alone, in an overwhelming and terrified despair.
Curled up into a ball, hugging his knees to his chest against the wooden planks, Jack Frost once again shoved his fingers into his hair. He looked up pleadingly at the Moon.
Why is this so hard?
He was practically hyperventilating. Manny… this was terrifying. He'd fallen through ice, literally leapt from mountain cliffs while learning to fly, and had even singlehandedly faced off with the Boogeyman himself, and yet, this was worse than all of that other stuff combined. What if he messed up? What if he—ruined everything, trying as hard as he could to explain to the beautiful Snow Queen that everything was exactly what he wanted from her?
He glanced downwards, staring at the courtyard below.
What if Prince Wonderful got a commitment from Elsa first?
Fear shot down his spine, and Jack Frost straightened from his curled-up position on the wooden planks. He pulled his hood back off, the freezing pre-Christmas wind catching his hair and filling him with resolve. He had to do this. If his calculations were correct, then it was late at night, on December 23rd. Which meant it was now or never.
Now. Or. Never.
He could still throw up afterwards, though.
His fear of losing her to Frederik overpowering his fear of losing her on his own, Jack pulled himself up, forcing his legs to stand. Practically in a haze, the Spirit of Winter then watched himself march down along the wooden walkway, then gripping the staff and leaping off of the planks.
In a gust of freezing air, mere moments later, Jack silently landed next to Elsa—actually, a little behind her—on her balcony. Still turned away from him, and not yet noticing his presence, the Ice Powers Girl was leaning onto the balcony rail, the curve of her tiny waist and full hips accentuated by the position, sparking snowflakes on the back on her skirt glinting up at him in the moonlight.
Jack swallowed a lump in his throat.
Geuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh.
"Queen Elsa?"
Elsa startled, jumping back from the railing and whipping around. Her face flushing—and then going pale—she gulped as well.
The Snow Queen pulled herself up the best she could, clasping her hands together in front of her tight, double-slitted skirt.
"Mr. Frost," she choked.
A wave of befuddlement swept over Jack's face.
"Mr. Frost?" he repeated, not bothering to hide his confusion.
"Mr. Fros—um, Jack."
They stared at each other for a long, tense moment.
In the too-tight dress—perfectly matched to her deep crimson lipstick—Queen Elsa stood frozen in her place, looking intensely uncomfortable. Adjusting his grip on the staff, the Youngest Guardian then shifted on his feet.
He cleared his throat.
"Hi," Jack choked.
Elsa jumped again, her facade of royal calm shattering. Unclasping her hands, she then began nervously twisting her fingers against each other.
"H-hello," she shook.
As he struggled not to glance down at her body, Jack gulped, the silvery moonlight pouring down around them on the balcony. Letting out a nervous laugh, he reached up with his free hand and started to rub the back of his neck.
"Do you—um, do you want to go inside?" he tried again awkwardly, glancing away from her, "You look—cold."
Jack hand slowed to a stop as he looked back, sneaking another peek at her dress.
And HOT.
The Ice Powers Girl stiffened again, as if she could hear his thoughts. "Oh. Um, yes. Of course."
As Elsa turned around and started to walk past him, Jack sharply sucked in his breath, his eyes practically bulging out of his skull.
When she moved, the front of the Snow Queen's double-slit skirt no longer hung like a normal skirt at all, but was suddenly nothing more than a pathetic scrap of ice fabric flapping between her long, beautiful legs.
He froze, all of his muscles contracted, his mouth falling open in shock. As she quickly hurried past him, Jack suddenly realized that Elsa's skirt was not only suction-tight and basically open in the front, but was also peppered with snowflake-shaped cutouts, rendering the fragile fabric to be nearly see-through down by her ankles, and then strategically closing up into something more like satin around her thighs. And as for her capelet, also elaborate with countless frosty, etch-like snowflake designs, it wasn't actually all the way attached to her dress, but was instead connected in only two places somewhere around the armpit, with its top edge hanging down in a low drape to the small of her back. Like everything about Elsa's suction-tight, deep crimson ice dress, it looked to Jack like nothing more than a soft yank would detach that capelet and send it billowing down to the ground. The Snow Queen's design was stunning.
And effective.
Realizing that his mouth was still hanging open, Jack snapped it shut, blushing and giving his head a quick shake. Squeezing his eyes shut, he then forced himself to pull in a slow, controlled breath. He had to focus. He HAD to focus.
And not be creepy.
The gauzy fabric of the Fifth Spirit's beautiful capelet was whisking in through the door as she disappeared into her art gallery. Letting his breath back out, Jack nodded to himself and followed, then turning back to close the doors after them.
Click.
The Fifth Guardian lingered at the doors for a long moment, hesitating to turn away from them. Gripping the handles—a fine layer of frost blossoming over the metal—he breathed in, and then out again, looking up at the Moon outside.
Sealed inside her private chambers in Arendelle's castle, he and the Snow Queen were—once again—completely alone.
Jack Frost closed his eyes.
He gathered his courage. Still holding the staff with his left hand, he then reached into his pocket with his right. He grasped the icy heart ornament, and—
"So!" Elsa blurted suddenly.
He turned, seeing her standing a little ways into the room, next to her desk. She drew herself up, trying again.
"I—" Elsa stammered, "Um—"
Her voice faded off. The Ice Powers Girl started anxiously rubbing her hand over her opposite elbow, drawing his attention and making Jack realize that her long, tight sleeves—just like the capelet—weren't actually all the way attached to the rest of the dress, but instead faded off into a sparkle of snowflakes on her upper arm like a pair of deep crimson opera gloves. Manny… her whole dress looked broken.
Like it had been designed to look broken.
Jack's eyebrows lifted, his heart pounding as he waited for her to continue. Queen Elsa shifted nervously on her feet.
"I was hoping we could—talk," she squeaked.
He nodded.
"Yeah," he choked out.
Jack Frost felt like his stomach was a cage of tooth fairies, all fluttering to escape. He swallowed, unable to wrench his gaze from the impossibly beautiful Snow Queen standing before him.
I love you, Elsa, he thought.
He shifted on his feet. The Spirit of Winter then rubbed his thumb over the ornament, still concealed inside his hoodie pocket.
I LOVE YOU.
"You look different," Jack blurted.
She jolted slightly, snapping her gaze to his. Realizing how forcefully the statement had come out, Jack blushed, withdrawing his hand from his pocket and placing it on the staff.
"It's a good different!" he corrected quickly, "I mean—Elsa! You just look—you look—"
Restraining from glancing down, Jack Frost squeezed his eyes shut.
Edible.
"GREAT," he decided, a little too loudly as his voice shook. "Like—good. You look really good."
For a few moments, the statement sat on the air between them.
Then—fidgeting with her fingers—the Fifth Spirit gulped, giving him a little nod.
"Thank you," she whispered.
There was a very faint sparkle from above.
Looking up, Jack caught sight of a few snowflakes beginning to materialize over the Ice Powers Girl out of the air.
Seeing him staring upwards, Elsa glanced up as well. Her breath caught as she saw the snowflakes, and she gave her head a tiny, frantic shake.
The snowflakes faded from existence.
"Uh… so!" Jack tried again, gesturing to her, "Did—was this for a date tonight, or something? Were you and Prince—"
"—NO! No! I—I haven't seen Prince Frederik today. I've just been—waiting."
His quick shot of relief was immediately tempered by confusion. Jack's eyes narrowed a bit.
"Waiting?" he asked.
"Yes. For—um."
Looking down, Elsa fidgeted with her fingers, a couple of stray snowflakes bursting from her skin as she did so.
After a few moments, she stopped fidgeting, balling her hands into fists at her sides.
"For—you," Elsa choked.
Jack glanced to the side. He then looked back to her.
"For—me?" Jack repeated on a disbelieving breath.
She gave him a tiny, frantic nod.
Jack didn't move, his gaze flicking down to the dress again, lingering for a long moment before looking back up into her eyes.
Am I dreaming right now?
Looking intensely uncomfortable as she tried to stand up straight, the Ice Powers Girl shifted her tightly-clamped legs against one another, her hands balled into fists like she was struggling to keep them at her sides. Finally, she crumbled, quickly folding her arms over her stomach and hunching into them as she spun away from him, hurrying towards her currently-closed bedroom door.
Watching her, Jack's gaze involuntarily fell to her hips again, mesmerized by the hypnotic sway of the Ice Powers Girl's gait. He loved how Elsa walked in heels. LOVED it. Ugh, he could watch that forever. Would she let him? If he just—grabbed a chair, and she would wear that dress, and walk back and forth in front of him a whole bunch of times and—
Suddenly, Jack realized what color the dress reminded him of.
His breath caught. He'd seen it in the workshop a million times—being stirring in enormous vats, poured into forms, and then wrapped in clear, shimmering wrappers, so like the barely-visible capelet that swished past the tight sheen of Elsa's deep red dress beneath.
The Ice Powers Girl looked like candy.
Jack's mouth went dry.
Scoffing at himself, he gave his head a quick shake, then jumping and jogging after her. He was not going to be creepy. He was NOT going to be creepy. NOT today. Not now.
There was too much at stake.
She stopped walking. As Queen Elsa grasped the handle of her closed bedroom door, opening it with a soft click, Jack followed, once again tearing his gaze from her and blinking back into reality. Coming into the bedroom—which suddenly looked much brighter than usual—the Guardian stopped.
"Uh…" Jack laughed in surprise. "Wow."
Elsa stiffened. "Wow… what?" she shook.
He gestured, his eyebrows lifting as she blushed. All of the walls—with the exception of the one right around the door leading into her art gallery—were completely covered with a thick, impenetrable layer of snow, and then ice, giving the Snow Queen's entire bedroom a strange, frozen gleam.
Soundproofing.
Swallowing, the Ice Powers Girl nervously twisted her fingers together, avoiding eye contact. "I just didn't—um," she squeaked, "I didn't want anyone to—hear?"
Jack stared at her in confusion.
"Anything?" she added on a whisper.
Jack's eyes narrowed slightly as he analyzed the statement. Thinking of the heart ornament in his pocket, he swallowed.
Jack nodded slowly.
"Probably a good idea," he muttered.
Elsa flinched.
His confusion mounting, Jack studied her face. Manny… the beautiful Snow Queen looked just as nervous as he was. Maybe even more so. But why? It wasn't like she was the one about to put her heart out on the line and risk it getting stiletto-punctured by an ice-heel, or anything. It wasn't li—
"I'm sorry," Elsa said suddenly.
Jack mentally burst back into the present, and the gorgeous Snow Queen standing before him.
"Huh?" he blurted.
"I'm sorry, because I—I was wrong," Elsa stammered, gripping her hands together in front of her skirt. "I—you can touch me all you want. It's fine."
"Snowflake, I—"
"I'm sorry! I am—so—sorry!"
The Ice Powers Girl looked desperate, her brilliant blue eyes wide with pleading as she took a tiny step towards him. Seeing it, Jack's heart whumped.
"Elsa!" he laughed nervously, thinking of the ice heart in his pocket, "I—everything's fine! You don't have to keep apologizing. And I'm—sorry, too."
Her breath caught.
"You are?" she quavered.
"Yeah. After we last talked, I kinda—um," Jack stammered, his voice dropping to a whisper. He looked down, twisting the staff in his fingers. "Freaked out."
The Snow Queen paused. Her fingers trembling, she then clasped her hands together again, allowing them to rest on the icy fabric of her candy red, high-slit skirt.
"I know," she choked weakly.
The two stood in silence for a long, tense moment.
"But that's why I'm—we need to talk," Elsa choked at last, shattering the quiet, "Still. About this. I mean, about—Kingsley."
Jack's throat tightened with shock at the word.
"I knew that you were really upset," she began again frantically, "But—well, that's just it. There's the timing, but—I'm not sure that it sounds like you…!"
The Guardian could hardly hear her, the rush of seething hatred sweeping through his mind. Struggling to control himself, he swallowed, trying to hide his reaction. He and Elsa were still—after everything, after the fight, after the separation, and the pain, and here they were, back together, and she STILL wanted to talk about—!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAURGH!
Jack pressed his hands together, still holding the staff, and touched the tips of his tented fingers to the bridge of his nose.
"So I don't want to jump to conclusions," the Ice Powers Girl was stammering, "But—if it was Kingsley, then I need to know what you think I can do to—"
"—ELSA."
She jolted to stop talking, obediently snapping her mouth shut. Struggling to keep his voice even, Jack pulled in a long, careful breath.
"I don't. Want. To talk. About. KINGSLEY," he enunciated, an unhideable tremor of frustration on the edge of his words. "It doesn't matter. Okay?"
The Snow Queen's eyes bulged.
"What?" she gasped.
"Look, I don't know how you've convinced yourself that Kingsley is so important to Arendelle," Jack bristled, pulling his hands down, "But it's NOT. Alright?"
"But there are people there!" Elsa stammered, her eyes shining with genuine horror, "How could it not matter? How could—!"
She cut herself off, giving her head a quick shake. Squeezing her eyes shut for a long moment, she then timidly tried to straighten her spine again, carefully choosing her words.
"Jack… I know that you hate Frederik," Queen Elsa shook, "And—I won't see him anymore. If you don't think I should."
Jack's eyes widened. He looked at her with suspicion, and then narrowed them again, lifting a single eyebrow in her direction.
"Uh…" he said slowly. "…Okay?"
Weird?
"I—I know you're really powerful, and I—I'm lucky," she continued, twisting her fingers against each other as a few flurries of snow began to sparkle into existence around her. "I'm really lucky to have you—um, with—me."
"What do my powers have to do with this?"
"Nothing! I mean—I—!"
Her voice trailed off, and the Fifth Spirit blushed furiously, looking down. Her pale skin flushing—the beautiful, creamy skin that was currently on full display for him in that suction-tight ice dress—she chewed nervously her bottom lip, making Jack's heart whump again in a pained confusion.
This woman was going to be the death of him.
His staff falling back against his shoulder, Jack kneaded his eyebrows, looking down at his feet. He sighed. Opening his mouth to speak, he started to look up again, to—
"It's just that I'll—I'll give you anything you want," Elsa choked, "I'll—um, I'll do—anything you want."
Jack's eyes widened at the statement.
She forced an anxious smile, shifting uncomfortably on her feet while the Youngest Guardian studied her in confusion. The ice particles in her hair, her lipstick, that dress—the Snow Queen looked amazing. But—so nervous. Even though HE was the one confessing. It was almost like she was planning on—
Wait.
Jack's breath caught, a rush of hope shooting through him. Was Elsa trying to—was that dress because she—?
His breath caught. Heart pounding, Jack took a tiny step towards her.
"Elsa…" Jack realized suddenly, his voice growing soft. "I—are you—trying to flirt with me?"
A hopeful smile beginning to pull at the side of his mouth, Jack couldn't resist another glance down at her dress. Looking back up into her eyes, he saw her shoot him another forced, scared little smile, a few more flurries materializing out of the air.
"Yeah. I mean—yes. If you like," Elsa stammered quickly.
His eyes widened even further.
His heart started pounding again. She was hitting on him? She WANTED him? Like he wanted her? Elsa was—the Snow Queen was—!
Jack's heart leapt, the rush of joy and relief shooting through him all at once. His eyes starting to sting, he gave his head a vigorous shake, then quickly spinning and walking a few paces from her to hide his expression before any tears could form.
Elsa was trying to confess. Elsa, with her sweet smile, and her brilliant eyes, her sparkling ice, those CURVES…!
Overcome with emotion, Jack bit his fist, smiling uncontrollably. Then—hardly able to contain his excitement—he turned to look back to her. The beautiful young queen was still standing frozen in her place, watching him with anxiety. Here he was, all nervous about confessing his feelings, and he'd come back to Elsa trying to do exactly the same thing. And she looked GORGEOUS. Everything made perfect sense now.
And it was awesome.
Huffing a laugh, Jack Frost bit his fist again. He shook his head, unable to restrain from his wide grin as the rush of relief swept over him, his eyes watering.
"I've missed you, Snowflake," he choked.
Queen Elsa blushed, looking down at her feet as he walked towards her. A few moments later, Jack was holding out his arms and gathering the beautiful Ice Powers Girl into an embrace, the end of his staff, still held in his left hand, brushing past their feet. After the first few seconds—frozen in her place—Elsa jolted slightly, lifting her arms and stiffly hugging him back.
Her soft chest pressed against his own, he could feel the Ice Powers Girl's heart pounding, her lungs expanding and contracting as she all but gasped for breath. Ugh, she felt so nice. Awash with relief, Jack deepened the hug, holding her as close as he could. Aw… she was so nervous. He could feel it. The Snow Queen was adorable. Should he… was the moment right…?
On the sudden surge of confidence, Jack started to reach into his pocket, his fingertips brushing against the icy heart ornament's surface. Feeling the Ice Powers Girl's arms still around his chest—the glistening of the snowflakes in her hair in his peripheral vision—he stopped.
Not yet.
He needed to savor this moment as much as possible.
The Spirit of Winter smiled sheepishly. He closed his eyes again, breathing her in as he withdrew his hand from his pocket, leaving the heart-shaped ice ornament in its place. Pulling back a step from the hug, he reached up, gently brushing a stray blonde hair back from Elsa's face, and out of habit, he started to look down to his feet to OH my word.
Ma'am.
Wrenching his gaze back out of her plunging neckline, Jack huffed a soft laugh, giving his head a shake. Gazing up through his eyelashes, he looked back up into her face.
"Now," Jack chuckled, flirtatiously raising an eyebrow and shooting the Fifth Spirit a knowing grin, "About that offer…"
Elsa shook her head. "Th-that wasn't just flirting. I meant it," she said quickly.
"Mmm, is that so?"
"Yes. I mean—anything," Elsa blurted. "I'll—I'll do anything you want. Just—Arendelle is safe, right?"
Jack's teasing smirk faltered.
Well.
That was a weird thing to say.
After a few moments, he shrugged it off, laughing and picking up her hand with his free one. "Well, gee, Snowflake," Jack whispered jokingly, playing with her fingers and peering up at her through his eyelashes again to try and get the mood back. "Anything, huh?"
She nodded frantically. "Yes. Anything."
"Aaaaaaanything."
"Anything!"
He dramatically let his mouth fall open in a playful disbelief. After a few moments, he then grinned slyly, a flirty smirk tugging at the edge of his mouth as he slid his eyes towards her bed.
He then suggestively met her gaze again, dropping his voice to a whisper as he brought her hand to his lips.
"Anything?" Jack whispered.
He placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles, gazing into her eyes with meaning. Elsa's face went pale.
"Are you—are you saying—?" she squeaked.
Jack let out a sharp bark of a laugh, pulling back from her as he dropped their hands, not yet letting go. "Oh, come on, Snowflake," he chuckled, swinging them back and forth twice and rolling his eyes before actually releasing her. "You can't just say stuff like that."
Elsa pressed her lips together, looking away in discomfort. Waggling his eyebrows, Jack slung his shepherd's crook across his shoulders and draped his arms over it, then leaning towards her and playfully dropping his voice by a few tones.
"I mean…" he added slyly. "If you're not planning on backing it up."
He shot her a teasing wink, thoroughly enjoying the banter. Like Elsa would ever actually offer what she said she was offering—clearly just something she'd said out of nervousness, without realizing how it would sound. Oh, Snowflake.
Can we just skip to the part where you love me?
Shaking his head with a grin, Jack Frost pulled his staff down from his shoulders and let its end drop into the carpet. Starting to lean into it, he glanced up and realized that—Elsa wasn't smiling.
Instead, she looked even more anxious than before.
"But all of this—and—" The Ice Powers Girl swallowed, trying again. "That's what you want?"
He stuck his free hand into his pocket. His flirtatious expression fading—giving the staff a few spins—Jack took a moment to gather his courage.
He looked back to the Snow Queen.
"I—thought—I'd made it pretty clear what I want," the Guardian admitted softly.
His fell silent again, watching her expression. Swallowing hard, Elsa nodded and pulled her arms down, turning away from him and stumbling to her dresser.
Leaning over her hands on its surface, her back tense, Jack noticed a few flurries of snow beginning to materialize out of the air around the beautiful Snow Queen.
"Arendelle," Elsa choked softly.
She pushed herself up, her face pale, and turned around to him again. Sucking in her breath, Elsa squeezed her eyes shut, drawing herself up in determined resolve as a wave of concern swept over Jack's face.
"Arendelle!" she sternly told herself again.
"Elsa," Jack stammered as she turned around and briskly walked towards him, "What are—are you oka—"
Elsa grabbed him by the front of his hoodie, her lips crushing against his.
The Youngest Guardian's eyes bulged, his fingers springing open in shock as he froze, dropping his staff. The shepherd's crook fell into her dresser with a clatter, and he stumbled forward, nearly tripping over his feet as the Ice Powers Girl fiercely jerked him to her, gripping the neck edge of his hoodie with both hands and pulling him towards the bed.
Before Jack knew what was happening, she yanked him around, the backs of his legs colliding with the edge of the mattress.
"OH!"
The air was knocked from his lungs in a rush as Elsa shoved him backwards, tipping him off balance, his body slamming into her bed. As Jack instinctually scrambled to push himself up, she was already climbing on top of him, throwing one of her legs over his.
"Elsa!" Jack gasped, staring up at her in shock, "Wha—"
"—I'm trying to flirt with you," she stammered, her gaze frantic as she shifted her leg up next to his hip, "I mean—that's what you wanted! Right?"
The Snow Queen leaned over him, her ice-sprinkled hair tumbling past her shoulders as everything fell forward, inches from his face. Jack's eyes bulged again, his tongue suddenly too big for his mouth.
"I—!" he squeaked, "I mean, t-technically yeah, but—!"
He was cut off as her lips crushed into his again, her leg up against his body as she shakily readjusted herself on top of him. After a few moments, Jack weakly tried to push the Ice Powers Girl off of him, only to roll them over towards the center of the bed, flurries of snow beginning to materialize from the air and swirl around them.
And suddenly he was on top of her.
"Mother of—!" Jack gasped, pulling himself back from the kiss and trying to catch his breath, "ELSA! If this is what you think flirting looks like—"
"—Promise you'll leave Arendelle alone!"
"Wait, wha—"
"—P-Promise!"
She jerked him back down again, harshly kissing him as he collapsed on top of her.
Jack's head was spinning, his heart pounding as he desperately struggled to catch up to what was going on. He was on top of her. He was ON TOP OF HER. And she—they—!
Three hundred years.
He couldn't think. As the Ice Powers Girl shifted beneath him, she pulled away from their kiss, letting her head fall back onto her pillow as she gasped for breath. Her chest rising up and down rapidly as she did so, squeezing her eyes shut, Jack shakily propped himself up onto an elbow and glanced downwards for a moment, the ice fabric of her dress pulled tight and straining over her form.
He couldn't.
But—
He looked back up. The beautiful Fifth Spirit was still struggling for air, breathless beneath him as she lay on her back in the covers. Her eyes were still squeezed shut, like she was avoiding his gaze, her makeup smeared and lips already a little swollen. But he wanted—if SHE wanted—?
Jack could feel the jagged cracks and fissures fracturing across the thin glass surface of his resolve, centuries of loneliness and pain threatening to explode through at once despite his every soul-breaking, struggling effort to hold them all back.
Three. Hundred. YEARS.
And he shattered.
Letting his supporting elbow give out, Jack suddenly grabbed the Ice Powers Girl and kissed her as hard as he could, his mouth fiercely smashing against hers. In an instant, he was seizing her left wrist and slamming it down into the bedspread, then grasping for her other. His heart pounding, he could hardly think, hardly breathe as he shifted his palm down her side, grabbing her hip and yanking it up against his own, kissing her more fervently.
He was done being alone.
He broke from the kiss, taking a quick gasp for breath before frantically reaching for her again. Hardly taking a second to think, Jack found himself capturing her mouth with his own, his grip tightening on her wrists.
He was DONE being alone!
He moved his hands to her waist, falling to the side and pulling the Ice Powers Girl on top of him with a groan. She gave a tiny squeak of shock, and then they were kissing again, tangled up in her long capelet as the wind tore at its icy fabric.
What was he doing? What was—but she—Elsa—!
He gripped her head to his, his fingers in her thick blonde hair as he kissed her, every inch of her beautiful weight on top of his body.
This feels wrong.
But she—!
Jack shifted beneath her, feeling the jolt of electricity sweep through his body again. This—it—this was amazing, and—and, she was so soft, and—
SOMETHING'S. WRONG.
Gasp for breath.
He could hardly restrain from another groan as their lips met again, taunting him, pulling him in for more. She was made for him. This girl had been MADE for him. And he was tired of waiting. He was TIRED of waiting! After three hundred and nineteen years, he was DONE!
Jack's mouth was taking hers again, possessively, his head spinning as he gripped her body to his , the Ice Powers Girl was twisting her fingers in his hair, shaking uncontrollably as—
Shaking.
Jack froze, his breath catching. His eyes widened.
Elsa. Was. Shaking.
He jolted to pull back from the kiss, his eyes shifting into focus as he checked to see Elsa's expression. To his horror, Jack realized that the beautiful Fifth Spirit was hiding her face from him, gasping for air like she was expecting to be grabbed again and avoiding his gaze. He was trembling, but—not like she was. She was shaking like her muscles were screaming to bolt, but that she was forcing herself to stay in her place.
Like she was trapped.
Jack's breath caught, his eyes widening.
"You're—not having fun," the Guardian realized with a gasp.
"I'm fine."
"No, you're—you're not!" he insisted, weakly trying to push himself up, "I can tell when—"
"—It doesn't matter!"
"But it does! I—"
He was cut off again as she grabbed him and kissed him again, her lips against his own. He crumbled, feeling the beautiful weight of her ladylike body on top of his, the rush of excitement sweeping through him.
The dark rush.
Jack squeezed his eyes shut.
Gathering every ounce of willpower he possessed, the Spirit of Winter suddenly shoved her off. Elsa squeaked in shock, but before she could respond, Jack scrambled up onto his knees, swinging his leg over her as he grabbed her wrists.
WHAM!
He slammed her down into the covers.
"OKAY!" Jack demanded, "What the BLIZZARDS is going on?!"
Elsa froze, paralyzed, her eyes wild with terror as she stared up at him. Jack got up onto his knees, still leaning over her in the bed.
"Elsa, wha—what are you doing?" Jack stammered, shaking his head, "This—this is not like you! You're not making any sense, and then you're talking about my powers, an—are you crying?!"
Large, round tears of desperation were now rolling down the young queen's face and falling into the sheets as she pulled in a quick breath, shaking uncontrollably as Jack stared down at her in horror. Elsa squeezed her eyes shut, then opening them again.
"I'll—I'll do anything you want!" she pleaded frantically, "Just—just spare Arendelle! Promise me you'll leave Arendelle ALONE!"
"What?!"
"I took an oath!" she gritted, her chest rising up and down as she visibly struggled to stop the tears, "And I will do what's best for this kingdom! I don't care what you do to me, as long as Arendelle and its allies are SAFE!"
"Elsa, wha—"
"—Anything you want!"
Lying on her back underneath him, Jack watched, dumbfounded, as the young queen shattered completely, bursting uncontrollably into tears.
For a few long, horrified moments, the Guardian of Fun found himself staring down at her in absolute confusion. Giving himself a violent shake, he sucked in a breath.
"What—are—you—TALKING about?" Jack squeaked.
The Ice Powers Girl gasped, struggling for air through the tears. "The blizzard!"
"WHAT blizzard?!"
"The blizzard I asked you about! The blizzard that hit Kingsley!"
His eyes bulged. After a few moments—a wave of confusion sweeping his face—he looked at her again, his eyes narrowing in focus.
"There was a blizzard in Kingsley?" Jack breathed.
Elsa froze.
"Well—yeah!" she choked, "Over—over there—the paper—?"
She was weakly gesturing towards her nightstand with her fingers, unable to move her hand. Looking down, Jack suddenly realized that he was still holding onto Elsa's wrists, pinning her down on her bed as he sat on top of her.
Jack jumped to let go, throwing his hands in the air and sitting back away from her as blood rushed to his face. He awkwardly cleared his throat, leaning all the way to his left before placing his palm onto the bedspread for balance.
"Elsa—I—okay," he squeaked, carefully pulling his leg off of her body. "Wh—where did you say?"
She silently gestured again, and Jack followed the direction, glancing towards where she had indicated. Sure enough, a newspaper lay beside the bottom of the ice vase on her nightstand, strange black and lavender stains slightly crinkling a few spots on the newsprint.
Scrambling off of the bed, Jack's feet hit the ground in a sprint, running the few paces and snatching it up. As the Ice Powers Girl shakily began to push herself up, his gaze fell onto the headline.
.
Not-So-Merry Christmas: Old Man Winter Strikes Neighboring Kingdom on Winter Solstice
.
Jack's eyes bulged.
An instant later, he was frantically skimming the article, searching for the name he was already expecting, but terrified, to find. It didn't take long.
Kingsley.
He glanced through the writing, his eyes catching onto terrifying phrases like destruction and death count. His romantic rival's kingdom had been blasted by this blizzard—an unfortunate group of people who had, by no fault of their own, come up first on nature's random lottery of who would be on this week's receiving end of the full power and fury of winter. Fury that looked like…!
Jack Frost's heart turned to stone, sinking into his stomach with horror.
"You—" he squeaked, "You thought—!"
He looked back towards her, only to find that the beautiful Fifth Spirit was kneeling on top of the covers in her bed, unable to look at him, her hands drawn tightly into her stomach with her ice dress disheveled and makeup smeared over her face. Her cheeks flushed, Elsa swallowed with effort, still avoiding eye contact as the dark realization settled like a sinking cloud of silt in his mind.
You thought I was making you.
Jack felt sick.
He could distinctly feel the overwhelming wave of nausea sweep over him. The ground seemed to sway beneath his feet as the puzzle pieces mentally clicked into place, his muscles numb. Elsa hadn't wanted him. The dress, the flirting, the… the passion. It was all a front. Because… this wasn't a dream.
This was a nightmare.
Jack gulped, hesitantly looking back to her.
"Snowflake—"
Elsa winced.
Jack stopped, his cheeks flushing. The look on her face hitting him like a stab to the heart, the Guardian felt his stomach turn. His beloved Ice Powers Girl was wearing the most tragic expression he'd ever seen; not just as an emotion behind her eyes or a look on her face, but instead as something that seemed to radiate through the entirety of the room from her fragile form. It was a terrifying combination of sadness, and embarrassment, and—and fear—that it took him a moment to place.
The Snow Queen was humiliated.
At a loss for words, the Spirit of Winter looked back at the newspaper, haunting phrases seeming to stand out against the print as he skimmed over the article once again. His mouth fell open, and after a few moments, he shut it, the sick feeling nearly overpowering him as his face went pale. Swallowing, he turned back to where the beautiful young queen was kneeling on her bed.
Gathering every ounce of courage he could muster, Jack Frost pulled in his breath.
"Elsa… this wasn't me."
The Fifth Spirit snapped her head up.
"What?" she gasped.
Her eyes were bulging, like she couldn't quite believe what she had just heard. Jack shook his head.
"This wasn't me," he repeated. "I didn't do this."
"You—you didn't—"
"—No!"
The Spirit of Winter shook his head more fervently, staring directly into Queen Elsa's wide blue eyes with horror. He then shook his head yet again and snapped open the newspaper with a thwack, skimming the article.
"I mean, when even was this blizzard!?" he stammered, his voice shaking, "It was—t—two days ago?!"
She nodded as he looked back to her. Scoffing in frustration, Jack stumbled back a step, shoving his fingers into his hair with a groan.
"Elsa, I wasn't even in the Northern HEMISPHERE two days ago!" he gritted, then ripping his fingers back out from his hair again in gesture, "Let alone—let alone K-KINGSLEY!"
His fingers trembling, he angrily tossed the newspaper onto her nightstand, placing his hands on his hips and turning away. The kingdom's name tasted like vinegar. Before turning back to her, he struggled to emotionally right himself, struggling to appear calm.
"But—but after our fight," Elsa stammered, "You left. You were—"
"—Trying to get away from Arendelle as fast as I could."
She chewed on her bottom lip and fidgeted with her fingers, still cowering away from him. Seeing the snowflakes silently bursting from her palms, Jack reached up and rubbed the back of his neck. She wasn't convinced.
He squeezed his eyes shut.
"Antarctica," Jack choked.
Her breath caught. Her eyes widening again, the Fifth Spirit looked back up at him in amazement.
"Antarctica?" she breathed.
"Yeah."
Elsa's mouth fell slightly open, and she looked to the side, a spark looking remarkably like hope lighting up in her eyes. Gulping, Jack shoved his hands into his front pocket and kicked at the carpet.
"It's just—it's where I—go," Jack Frost stammered reluctantly, the words clunky in their honesty as he forced them out, "When I need to let off some steam. Okay?"
"You were in Antarctica."
Elsa still wasn't looking at him, a look of comprehension spreading over her features.
He couldn't take it anymore. Needing to be next to her, to comfort her, Jack stopped kicking at the carpet and walked up to the bed, stopping directly in front of where the Snow Queen was kneeling, staring down at the covers. She jumped slightly as he stepped into her vision, hesitating for a moment before anxiously looking up into his gaze.
He gleaned forward an inch, staring with intent into her eyes.
"I. Would. Never. Threaten. Arendelle," Jack choked, his voice a hoarse whisper. "I would never attack somebody's kingdom."
Elsa's cheeks flushed. Breaking off eye contact, the Ice Powers Girl looked down towards his feet, not moving back, but still cowering.
From him.
"Or you," Jack added, blood rushing to his face as the sick feeling started to return. "I'd never attack you. Or—or threaten you. In any way."
He swallowed hard, struggling not to glance down at the Ice Powers Girl's enticingly disheveled ice dress. Feeling himself blushing harder, he suddenly realized that Elsa was blushing furiously as well, still avoiding his gaze.
Visibly uncomfortable, she shifted on her knees.
"So—um," Elsa quavered, then pausing to swallow. "So—you're not going to make me—"
"—No!"
He frantically shook his head, horrified. Her shoulders relaxed slightly, but her entire form was still tense.
Unable to stand it anymore, Jack pulled his hands out of his pockets and climbed up onto her bed, kneeling in the space between Elsa and the headboard. Once again, she tensed, but didn't move away from him as he reached for her, gingerly taking her hands in his own.
She quickly blinked away some tears, struggling to breathe. Swallowing a lump in his throat, Jack shifted on his knees, leaning in an inch closer to her face.
"I would—never—hurt you, like that! I would never hurt anyone like that!" Jack stammered, shaking his head and letting out a bitter huff of a laugh, "I—I don't think I could! I couldn't ever do that, to anyone, but especially—ESPECIALLY not you!"
She sniffed, still not looking at him. "Not—me?" she squeaked.
"No!"
He shook his head again, desperate to convey the genuine level of horror and disgust that he felt at the idea. Giving her hands a squeeze, Jack then let go of one of them, reaching up and gently pushing her hair back from her face.
"No! Never you, Elsa!" he whispered, "I could never do that, to you! Because I lov—"
She sucked in her breath, her gaze snapping to his.
Jack froze.
His face flushing, the Guardian abruptly stopped talking, his hand freezing, motionless, next to her face. The young queen's entire body was rigid again, her expression wild with terror, like she was once again bracing to bolt. Unmoving, the Ice Powers Girl began visibly fighting the urge to cower, her queenly determination and self-sacrificing resolve shining through her features.
Her fear.
Jack's eyes widened, his chin quavering as it became impossible to speak. Pulling his hand away from her, he then shut his mouth, squeezing his eyes shut.
For a long moment, he said nothing. Then—pulling in a long, trembling breath—the Spirit of Winter gathered his courage, struggling to keep his voice even as he started speaking again, hardly believing the words that were coming out of his mouth.
"Because," Jack heard himself choke. "…We're friends."
He opened his eyes.
Suddenly releasing all the emotion that she'd been holding back, Queen Elsa shattered, leaping forward and throwing her arms around his neck in relief as she burst into tears. As she crumbled, sobbing, into his arms, Jack fell back off of his knees, numbly shifting himself up to lean up against the headboard as the Ice Powers Girl sank down against him, her elbow briefly pressing into his abdomen for a moment as he cradled her into his arms.
From somewhere inside the pocket of his hoodie, Jack Frost felt the crystalline heart ornament break in two with a sickening snap.
.
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CONTENT WARNING (Quasi-spoilers): Elsa is described as wearing a very immodest dress, with Jack struggling not to notice (that's still honestly far more modest than a lot of what you see on the red carpet these days), and there's some pretty intense making out/rolling around on Elsa's bed for a couple of minutes. It's very sexualized, but—as usual—no description of sexual body parts or functions, no direct touching on said body parts, no removal of clothing, and nothing that goes beyond some extremely passionate kissing. It's portrayed as dangerous/inappropriately passionate, if that makes sense, but there's no actual sex, or anything.
CONTENT WARNING (much more detailed spoilers/chapter synopsis): The first two sections of the chapter-which will become their own chapter-are Jack talking to Manny about declaring his love for Elsa, and Elsa going to Ahtohallan to see Jack having his Antarctica meltdown, which she sees out of context and thinks is Kingsley. (There's nothing questionable in those two sections; it's all g-rated.) Then, when Jack goes back to Arendelle, Elsa is described as wearing a very immodest dress, with Jack struggling not to notice (that's still honestly far more modest than a lot of what you see on the red carpet these days) and tries to talk to Jack about the Kingsley blizzard, but Jack is emotionally compromised and not really listening. He thinks she's hitting on him, makes an inappropriately flirty comment at the wrong time, and Elsa thinks he's demanding sex. In response, she grabs him, pulls him onto her bed, and starts making out with him, while Jack is shocked/trying to figure out what's going on, but extremely distracted. It's very sexualized, but—as usual—no description of sexual body parts or functions, no direct touching of said body parts, no removal of clothing, and nothing that goes beyond some extremely passionate kissing. It's portrayed as dangerous/very inappropriately passionate, if that makes sense, but there's no actual sex, or anything. Jack starts to crumble (getting too into it), suddenly figures out what's going on ("you're not having fun"), and then they Actually Communicate and he's horrified at what he's done/what Elsa thought he was doing. Chapter ends as Jack (seeing her fear) changes gears from confessing his love to reassuring Elsa that they're "friends" (to calm her down by pretending to not be sexually interested, basically), and Elsa collapses into him in relief while he thinks he's just lost everything.