(LONG, DESPERATE) AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi, everybody. First of all, thank you for everybody that reviewed! It means a LOT to me to get feedback, and to reassure myself that anybody's reading this. (It's been a really hard couple weeks. If you're still liking Ice Alliance, please let me know.)

I also just wanted to throw out there… yes, I know this has gotten slow in the last few chapters. The challenge of fanfic, I've found, is that you have to feel out pace a little at a time; you don't get to go back and edit the whole thing all at once, like usual. I'm a revisionist—trust me, this is fun, but I know I have a lot of improving to do as a writer. Anyways, though, regarding the pacing—after I get through another few chapters, things will pick up again, and I can promise that there won't be anything more this slow or detailed again (at least for a long while). Trust me, it's killing me, too—I'm not a romance writer; I write deep fantasy/adventure (I would have killed off a few characters and thrown everybody into mystery against the clock by now) and physics humor essays (I would have gotten you through a semester of undergraduate physics by this point). But here, it's Jelsa, and before I can really have romance, drama, or action, I need to establish THE RELAAAAAAATIONSHIP.

Ahem. So, thanks for being awesome and bearing with me, guys. There's also a separate little project for this that I'll tell you about at the end… have a fantastic day!

CONTENT WARNING: Sexual reference, some sexual innuendo.

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40: THE QUEEN'S PUPPY

"And, I think there should be a slide here," Jack said.

"Why?"

"Why not?"

Elsa laughed, shaking her head slightly as Jack grinned, flicking his hand over the scale-model ice fortress's front wall. A long slide unfurled, reaching all the way down to the floor, and he shrugged.

"Slides are faster than stairs," he declared, "And they're easier to build. And, way more fun."

"Remind me why we're designing this?"

"Because we can."

The Ice Powers Girl smiled, shyly fidgeting with her fingers and turning back to the five-foot tall ice fortress. The rush of relief swept over Jack again, seeing her expression as she stretched out her arms, biting her lip in concentration. That smile.

Anything, for that smile.

After they had helped Queen Anna back up to her room—she and King Kristoff, with Anna's pregnancy, now always turned in quite early—Jack and Elsa had gone back to the library, for another two or three hours of research before giving up for the evening. They had missed Olaf's nightly rounds (and realized it, unfortunately, long after the fact), and were now taking a break from the records. Jack had challenged Elsa, initially, to a design contest for the Most Epic Ice Fortress Ever, but it had swiftly morphed into a combined scale-model brainstorm of every childlike architectural fantasy that the two could dream up. And Elsa certainly looked like she was having fun…

At first, when they were alone again in the library, she had been acting—well, scared. Again. Nervous, to say the least; even more so than he was. After an hour or so of studying, and noticing Elsa growing increasingly uncomfortable in her seat, he'd almost hit her with a little fun magic. Just as he was about to do so, however, she had suggested a break. At which point he'd suggested building the model. At which point her face had lit up, making his heart leap.

"What do you think about a stargazing balcony?" Elsa asked suddenly.

His eyebrows lifted slightly. "Wait, you're a stargazer?"

"When I'm out in the Forest, I am."

Jack grinned, taking a step back and gesturing for her to add the piece. She walked to the side of the model, looking thoughtful as she considered where to put it, and Jack glanced down, feeling the edge of her flowing capelet on top of his foot. She moved again, stepping up to the ice castle, and it shifted, shimmering in the lamplight as it billowed across his skin. She was turned away from him…

Jack silently crouched down, picking up the end of the capelet. The fabric thing was both fascinating and frustrating to him, but there was no question that the detail, swirling, spiking snowflakes, on Elsa's clothing was beautiful. Jack had been playing with ice for over three hundred years, and he'd honestly figured that he'd done everything with the stuff that could be done with it.

Jack smiled, dropping the edge of the capelet back onto the floor and pushing himself up with his staff. The Snow Queen's clothes were made out of ice. It was possible to wear ice. Now, there was something that had never occurred to him, before he'd met her—ice that was hard, and soft, at the same time? It was fascinating, and it was incredible, and best of all, Jack thought to himself smugly, it appeared that he was the only guy in the world that had the (accidental) privilege of knowing that she was wearing ice allllllll the way down.

Glorious.

Placing her hands on the side of the model, she carefully backed up, pulling the new balcony out from the ice with the smooth, sliding sound of water rushing across glass. As he watched Elsa carefully trace its edge, a tiny railing of ice spiking up under her fingers, Jack felt a dreamy, dazed smile tugging at the edge of his mouth. She was so beautiful, when she was happy. And, she clearly was—Jack could always tell, when someone was truly having fun. The instant he'd suggested that she build something, it was like a switch was being flicked inside of her, melting all of her shyness away…

She might have been born into politics, but it was growing increasingly obvious to the Guardian of Fun that Queen Elsa was an artist at heart.

She took a step back from the model, the elaborately delicate little balcony complete, and brushed off her hands. Jack walked up to her again, and realized that she was biting her lip.

"I think it looks fantastic," he said quietly. "What's bugging you, Snowflake?"

She sighed. "Well—I really kind of want to finish the doors from the inside," Elsa admitted as Jack silently walked around behind her, "But I can't see the inside because it's too EEK!"

Jack suddenly embraced Elsa around her waist, rocketing into the air. She squeaked in shock, and, holding her tighter around her midsection, Jack laughed and flew over the wall of the model, then hovering horizontally in the center of it with her body hanging underneath him.

"How about now?" Jack chuckled, readjusting his grip on Elsa's waist.

The Ice Powers Girl twisted her head around to face him, her hands on his forearms as her legs dangled beneath her. "Please don't let go."

"I'm not going to drop you, Snowflake."

Jack could feel the heat rushing to the back of Elsa's neck, her pale skin flushing right next to his own as her braid swung back and forth beneath them. Gathering her courage, Elsa pulled in a deep breath, letting go of his wrists and stretching out her arms towards the wall of the model.

As the sparkling ice shot out of her hands, his heart swelled, watching as she expertly finished the balcony from the inside, tiny model doors taking shape on the overhang. His arms were beginning to burn in protest to her weight—he was now sustaining her entire body, just with his arms—but Jack hardly noticed, feeling the rush of having her body against his own again and crossing his ankles in the air as he held Elsa tighter.

Holding Elsa.

"There we go!" she giggled breathlessly.

"The masterpiece complete?"

"Well, that part of it," she said. "Can you put me down now?"

Jack straightened up in the air, and the Snow Queen twisted around, flinging her arms around his neck. As he flew them up over the side of the scale model again, landing softly on the carpet and setting her down, Elsa shook her head. Straightening her dress, she then looked eagerly to Jack.

"Your turn," she laughed breathlessly.

Jack let his staff fall back onto his shoulder, sticking his hand into his pocket. "Actually," he said carefully, "I was—I was wondering if I could ask you about something."

A look of confusion swept over her face. "Um… sure?"

"What was Kristoff telling you?"

Elsa's face went pale. As she hunched over slightly, pulling her hands into her stomach, Jack felt his heart leap into his throat.

Smile gone. Why is the smile gone?

"It's—not really a big deal," she stammered, letting out a nervous little laugh. "He was just being overprotective."

"How?"

"You know what?" Elsa said quickly, "We've been taking a break for—far too long. We need to work—um—yeah, we should get back to work."

She abruptly turned away, walking for the table on the other side of the room. Jack shook his head and leapt into the air, flipping forwards and landing in front of her.

"EEP!"

"Snowflake, this is killing me," Jack begged. "What was he saying?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Then you should have no problems telling me, right?"

She bit her lip.

"Okay," she sighed, shaking her head, "I—let's just say that Kristoff doesn't understand our—friendship."

The word hit him like a punch in the stomach.

Hiding it, he drew himself up. "Like, how?" Jack asked hesitantly.

"Well," Elsa admitted, "Among other things, he said that—he thinks—oh, never mind."

She tried to turn away again, and Jack caught her wrist.

"What?" he pleaded, pulling her back, "What is it?"

She let out a nervous laugh, staring at the floor. "You'll never believe it if I tell you."

"Try me."

"Okay. Well—um—he thinks—!"

The Ice Powers Girl paused, looking down and crossing her arms over her chest. Then, laughing slightly in embarrassment, she gave her head a tiny shake, looking back up into Jack's eyes.

"He thinks you want to sleep with me," Elsa whispered.

He jolted.

"Um, HA HA HA!" Jack Frost sputtered frantically, "Wha-whatever might have given him that idea?"

"I know!" Elsa laughed, shaking her head again. "That's what I told him! Ridiculous, right?"

"Um—yeah! Ri-ridiculous!"

The Guardian of Fun swallowed hard, turning away and anxiously running his fingers through his hair.

THANKS, Kristoff.

"He did bring up something I wanted to ask you about, though."

Jack spun around again, eager for a chance to change the subject. "What is it?"

"Were you going easy on me?"

A look of confusion swept over Jack's face.

"Um… going easy on you?" he asked.

Elsa twisted her heel into the carpet, her face flushing slightly. Biting her lip, she then looked up, meeting his gaze again.

"Earlier today. When we had our snowball fight," she said quietly. "I said that we tied, and Kristoff said you were—well, he said you being gentle with me. Were you?"

Jack froze.

Letting out a nervous laugh, he shrugged, swinging his staff behind his back and catching it with his other hand. "Daw, not any more than you were going easy on me," he chuckled, avoiding eye contact.

There was a moment of silence.

Jack looked up, and realized that the Snow Queen had fallen quiet, fidgeting anxiously with her fingers. Taking a hesitant step towards her, he pulled in a deep breath.

"Wait," Jack said quietly. "Were you going easy on me?"

She was blushing harder now, rubbing her hand over her opposite elbow.

"I—um," Elsa admitted, "I'd already made you fall. And it looked like it hurt."

"You were going easy on me?!"

"I didn't want—but, hey!" she countered, her head snapping up, "How about you? You never actually answered if you were going easy on me."

To this, Jack swallowed hard again. Letting out another nervous laugh, he turned away from Elsa and began to pace.

"I guess I—um," he stammered, "I didn't—if North thought I wasn't behaving, or something—?"

Jack exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck as he walked back and forth, his staff on his shoulder. Elsa now began to pace as well, her capelet trailing behind her.

"Jack, it's not like I didn't think you could take it," Elsa stammered, her hands clasped behind her back, "It's just—"

"And I don't care what North thinks," Jack blurted, kicking at the carpet as he walked, "I just figured, if it could be avoided—"

"I thought that, if I struck you—"

"But I didn't want you to slip, or—"

"And I'd already made you fall—"

"You were wearing a dress, and—"

"I suppose I just didn't want to—"

"It's that I couldn't—"

"Risk hurting you," they finished simultaneously.

Jack and Elsa froze, whipping around and staring at each other in shock.

His heart in his throat, Jack Frost looked across the room at the young queen, her wide, deep eyes staring into his own with disbelief. After a few moments, he let out a nervous laugh, stepping towards her.

"Wait—you—?" he started hesitantly, his hand slightly lifted in front of him, "You were scared of—hurting me?"

Elsa grasped her left arm with her right hand, her pale cheeks flushing slightly again. She looked down, twisting her heel in the carpet, and nodded, giving a tiny shrug.

"I've hurt people before," she choked.

Jack's eyes widened.

After a brief moment of hesitation, he took another quick pace towards her, leaping into the air and flying across the room to her side. As he touched down, Elsa gaped and jolted slightly, her icy gown sparkling in the light as she moved.

"I guess I—um," Elsa stammered, fidgeting with her fingers, "I—I was scared. I mean—what if I froze your heart? When I struck Anna—"

"—I'm not Anna."

Jack stepped up to her, taking the Fifth Spirit's hand in his own. Just like he had earlier that day, he then placed in on his chest.

Elsa stiffened for a moment. Then, feeling his heartbeat, Jack watched as her face relaxed, her fingers sinking into the cloth of his hoodie. A reassuring smile tugged at the edge of his mouth, and he leaned in close to her face.

"See?" Jack whispered. "It's fine."

She hesitantly looked up into his eyes. He raised his eyebrows, giving her hand a tiny squeeze, and she smiled weakly.

"I'm a lot tougher than you think, Snowflake," Jack chuckled. "If a little bit of ice was enough to kill me, I would have been dead a long time ago."

She paused, biting her lip. "But—um—"

"—Like, permanently dead."

To this, Elsa laughed, her smile widening a bit. Jack's heart leapt.

Oooooh, that smile.

He abruptly broke eye contact and stared at his feet, trying to hide the heat rushing to his face. On the ground in front of his toes, about two inches away, was the hem of the Ice Powers Girl's dress, the delicate swirls of frost shimmering in the faint light.

Frost.

"So…"

Jack snapped back into focus, looking up into Elsa's face again. Now, her eyes expectant, and she pulled her hand back off of his chest.

"What is it?" Jack asked.

"So, you were going easy on me, too?"

He sheepishly looked down, sticking his hand into his pocket and running his thumb along its edge. As heat rose to his face, Jack hesitantly looked back up into Elsa's eyes, giving her a tiny nod.

"I—yeah," he admitted softly. "I was."

"Why?" Elsa prodded. "I mean, I appreciate your concern, but I can handle—"

"—I know! I—it's just—I couldn't do anything that—you're—!"

He abruptly cut himself off, kicking at the carpet again.

After a few moments, Elsa took a tiny step towards him.

"I'm just what?" she prodded.

Gripping the staff, Jack closed his eyes. Then, he pulled in a deep breath, awkwardly gesturing to her body and forcing himself to look back into her gaze.

"You're a—girl," Jack choked.

The awkward silence fell over them again. Raising her eyebrows, the Snow Queen crossed her arms over her chest, leaning in close to his face.

"I'm fully capable of taking care of myself, you know," she said softly.

"I'm sure you are," Jack responded, shifting his fingers on the staff. "But you shouldn't have to."

"Jack, I know how to defend myse—"

"—That's my job!"

Elsa's eyes widened.

Feeling a sudden wave of self-consciousness sweeping over him, Jack nervously ran his fingers through his hair. "I mean," he choked, "Like, in—you know—like, in a general, kind of—um—HeyYouKnowWhatIJustRealized?" Jack blurted quickly, backing away and gesturing to the bookshelves, "We haven't done any research in—criminal court cases! By troth! How silly of us! Do you want to do that? I think we should do that."

Leaving Elsa standing paralyzed by the table, Jack whirled around and leapt into the air, flying up to the top of the bookshelves.

Please, oh please, he thought desperately, frantically scanning the books as he floated in the air front of them, Let "criminal cases" actually be a thing—I could have SWORN I saw some of these blasted things say AH-HA!

Letting out a sigh of relief, Jack darted to the end of the magenta-colored book spines, going for the most recent edition. Finding it—the covers looked the newest, anyway—he stopped and stuck his staff down the back of his hoodie, flicking his fingers over the cloth and fusing the shepherd's crook to the fabric. He then carefully grasped the volume, pulling it out and turning around to fly back down to the table.

As he reached it, Jack realized that Elsa was almost there herself. Slamming the record down onto the wood, he bounded into the air, lunging in front of her and pulling out her chair before she reached it. Elsa startled, her ears turning slightly pink, and thanked him just before he launched himself into the air again to fetch another of the enormous books.

Touching back down on the carpet, he heaved a secondary volume to the table, dropping it with a boom at his place across from Elsa. Jack took a step back, looking at it as Elsa pulled open the cover of the volume of court records.

"Can I sit on that side of the table with you?" Jack asked suddenly.

Elsa glanced up from the court records with surprise.

"Um—of course," she said, her face filled with confusion. "Why couldn't you?"

Jack didn't respond, but tossed his staff into his hand, sweeping it across the table and blasting the second book over next to hers. Then, yanking out his chair, he nearly ran around the table to Elsa's side, dragging it across the carpet behind him.

CLUNK.

And he shoved it right up to hers, the large wooden armrests slamming together. As the Snow Queen looked up in shock, he jumped up into the air, pulling the volume of court records towards himself and scrambling into the seat.

"Don't mind me," Jack said.

Elsa looked to his chair, crammed up next to hers, and then to her book, and then back to the chair. A strange expression crossing her face, Jack's heart leapt into his throat as she stood up, shoving her book across the table. He then watched in horror and she pushed her chair back out, walking away from him to the opposite side of the table.

Wait, was this a rejection again? Had he been too forward? Maybe Elsa was uncomfortable with it. But she'd said—

It was then that Jack noticed Elsa was swirling her hands in the air, sparkling ice of some soft glinting below the table, out of his field of vision. Feeling the tiny gust of wind that accompanied such a creation on his feet, Jack swallowed hard.

"Wait, wha—what are you making?" he stammered.

Jack fell quiet as the Fifth Spirit took a step back, brushing her hands against each other. Her cheeks flushing, she looked up into his eyes again, a hesitant smile tugging at the edge of her mouth.

"Haven't you ever seen a piano bench before?" Elsa asked softly.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE (again): Anyway, something ELSE that my advisor is never going to find out about is that I've got a little background as a singer/songwriter/sound editor, even thought I haven't done all that much with it since high school (something else I basically gave up in favor of physics). I've been working on is a vocal/piano piece called "Broken, Jagged Edges" that combines the musical themes from ROTG's "Prologue" and "Jack's Memories" with Frozen's "Let It Go." I'm about making the accompaniment in Garage Band software that adds percussion, bass, strings, and a flute (because I can), and I'll eventually record the vocals, but the lyrics have been finished for a while. Let me know if anybody's interested; I'm figuring that (if people are) I'll post the full lyrics tomorrow as a "chapter," which I will then delete and replace as soon as the next real chapter is ready to post. Thanks for being awesome, and have a fantastic day!