AUTHOR'S NOTE: HELLO, everybody! I LIVE! And I'd like to give a shout-out to everybody who reviewed—and especially to Da-Awesome-One and House of Dympostor over on the Jelsahaven discord, because I was honestly super discouraged, and… welp. They helped me get it together to write this next chapter. Which honestly needs a lot more drafting, but I'm sick of drafting at the moment, so *POST THAT BABY AND HOPE FOR THE BEST.* ;)
This is Completely Unrelated to Anything, But: Can I just say that the sheer AMOUNT of anti-marriage, anti-children rhetoric being increasingly promoted by both mainstream and amateur media is becoming completely insane? Because if even an ancient old thirty-something such as I feels like she's being literally BOMBARDED with this stuff, I can't imagine how bad it must be for the younger generations (and especially those who would prefer to look to their futures with, you know, the tiniest shred of actual hope). Therefore, for all my adorable young whippersnapper friends reading this, I'd like to go ahead and offer you THIS counter-perspective, taken from both my life experience and from current academic research/observation on the subject:
Me: Healthy marriages are REALLY important.
The Internet, Currently: But marriage is so TERRIBLE! Look at this example of a person who felt trapped and miserable, all because they were married to an awful, abusive spouse!
Me: (*pulling up old Mean Girls meme template*) So… you agree? You think that healthy marriages are REALLY important?
Speaking here as somebody who officially has more than a decade of matrimony under their belt (EEK! I'M OLD!), I honestly think that my marriage is about the best thing that's ever happened to me. Has it required teamwork, patience, and sacrifice? Yep. Has everything always been perfect? BAHAHAHAHA, no. But that's how real life relationships are supposed to work: You love each other, do your best, and get through your challenges TOGETHER. And, yes: you can absolutely "Find Yourself," while still having someone who loves you by your side. The idea that you *have to be single* to be able to work on improving yourself as a person is flat-out ridiculous. (Oh no! You wouldn't want to have—you know—some legitimate EMOTIONAL SUPPORT through that growing process; what an INCREDIBLY TERRIBLE thing, to HAVE somebody…)
Anyway. Rant (temporarily) over. Thanks everybody, for involuntarily indulging me—and thanks again for reading; it truly means everything to me! Keep being awesome, and have a fantabulous day! ~NNT:)
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101: SNOW ANGEL
The flight back to Arendelle was easily the most fun flight of Jack's LIFE.
After dropping the World's Most Combustable Salamander back off in the Enchanted Forest, the Guardian had turned back towards Arendelle, seriously tempted to fly in the wrong direction so that he could keep the beautiful Fifth Spirit in his arms for as much time as possible. Granted, if he had offered it, she probably would have eagerly agreed… which made it all the more tempting.
Jack had never seen Elsa like this before. Gone was the scared kitten from their previous dates and afternoons, now replaced by some sort of lioness, grabbing at his shirt and kissing his face and altogether making it really, REALLY hard to fly. Which he loved, at the moment. It was like a switch had been flipped. The Ice Powers Girl kept smiling, and giggling, and happily sighing as she snuggled into his shoulder, glowing, and completely unable to keep her hands off of him.
It was awesome.
Now that he was all paranoid about trying to not be a creep, he wasn't probably going to dare say the phrase "winter vixen" out loud again, but oooooh, he was going to think it. All that time he'd spent, thinking she wasn't interested, that he wasn't good enough, and to then find out that her apparent disinterest had actually been restraint… because Elsa had been scared of loving him too much? Ugh, it was amazing. The relief alone would have been amazing, but this? Unbelievable. He didn't really know how to describe how he felt, but he had never felt like his heart was soaring along with his body to THIS degree.
All too soon, the castle was in sight, the shadows of its characteristic silhouette falling across the Christmas snow. Giving his Snow Queen a squeeze, Jack shifted his grip on the staff and altered their trajectory as they soared down towards the inky darkness of the fjord.
Flying over Arendelle Proper and then the castle walls, Jack lit onto the railing of Elsa's balcony, then hopping down onto the balcony itself. Elsa didn't speak as he walked them across to the doors, giving the handles a gentle push and watching as they swung open. Anna must have had them unlocked. Guardian Angel over Elsa that she was.
Twisting, Jack carried Elsa through the doorframe as she snuggled into him, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder as the door swung shut again.
Click.
A peaceful stillness fell over the winter spirits as they stood in the Snow Queen's crystalline art gallery, moonlight spilling through the glass and refracting through the hundreds and hundreds of ice figurines that lined the sparkling shelves. Still holding Elsa in his arms, Jack looked down. At some point, he expecting her to move.
She didn't.
"Uh…" Jack started, his arms beginning to strain. "We're… here."
She felt the edge of his collar, gently rubbing the fabric in-between her fingers.
"Mm-hmm," Elsa murmured.
She made no motion to leave him, but instead placed a quick kiss on his cheek and then snuggled into Jack's chest again, tightening her grip around him. He smiled sheepishly and squeezed her back, despite his muscles starting to feel like they were losing a bit of strength.
"I think you should… um," Jack tried again, "Go to bed?"
She let out a happy sigh, finally pulling back to look into his face and making his heart skip a beat at the vision of her smile. "Why would I do that?"
"Because you're loopy, Elsa."
"No, I'm not."
"Yeah, you are."
"No, I'm not," Elsa insisted, batting her thick eyelashes and pulling down a free hand to sweep it through the air. "You're thinking spiky. If I were loopy, I'd be like this."
SHINNNG!
Clunk-Clunk-Clunk.
Jack nearly stumbled as three crystalline hoops of ice, each as wide as an end table, materialized and fell from the air to land on his shoulders like he was a target nail in a game of horseshoes. Jack snorted, then bending down and setting a reluctant Elsa onto her feet before he straightened and started to reach for them.
"Okay," the Guardian of Fun laughed, shrugging out two of the hoops and letting them each fall to the ground as he rolled his eyes, "You're proving my point, Snowflake. You have got to go to bed."
The hoops each hit the carpet with their own muffled clunk as he pulled the third one off over his head, letting it fall as well. Elsa swung her arms back and clasped her hands together behind her, leaning forward an inch with a flirtatious giggle.
"Aaaaaaand, what if I don't want to go to bed yet?" she whispered.
"Uh, that doesn't change whether or not you should."
"Make me!"
Jack paused, his eyebrows rising.
Elsa clapped her hands over her mouth, her face draining of all its color as she realized what she had just said. Her eyes bulging with horror, the Ice Powers Girl's cheeks flushed crimson.
"I'm sorry," she stammered as a mischievous glint lit up in Jack's eyes, "I—that's not what I meant; I never would have—"
"—Too late!"
"EEP!"
Elsa let out a tiny shriek of shock as Jack bent down and scooped her up, dropping his staff to the ground and tossing her over his shoulder. Jack laughed, holding onto her legs with one arm and kicking the shepherd's crook back up into his opposite hand as she struggled, giggling breathlessly.
"JACK!" Elsa exclaimed as he started to walk.
"Yessssss?"
"What do you think you're DOING?"
"Just following orders, ma'am," Jack replied, restraining from a chuckle as he twisted, taking them through the art gallery door and into Elsa's room. "One Snow-Queen-to-bed Delivery Service, par her majesty's request, and—"
"—Jack Frost, you put me down this INSTANT!"
"Nope!"
He could feel himself grinning as Elsa pushed herself up against him, her elbows digging into his shoulder blades. Now halfway across her bedroom, Jack simply kept walking, tossing his staff onto the floor as he went.
"So help me," she laughed, exasperated, "If you don't put me down, I will have you execut-ED!"
The end of the word came out in a rush as Jack unceremoniously dropped the Snow Queen onto her covers with a FWUMP. Elsa let out a giggle of shock and blushed furiously as she scrambled to right herself, and Jack took a step back, placing his hands on his hips. Looking down at her—her hair and beautiful ice dress disheveled, the glistening, navy-blue fabric thrown around her on the bedspread as she stared up at him with those enormous, innocent blue eyes—Jack's heart swelled.
A smile spread across his features.
"No, you won't," Jack said quietly.
She blushed, her lips parting slightly. Then, with a self-conscious little huff, the Ice Powers Girl shyly smiled back up at him.
"No," Elsa whispered. "I won't."
An awe-filled quiet fell as the two winter spirits stared into each others' eyes, the silence settling over them like a blanket of snow.
Elsa pushed herself up a bit more, scooting towards the edge of her bed. She chewed on her bottom lip, and Jack watched as her gaze dropped from his eyes to his mouth, then hesitantly moving back up to his eyes. Her message was unspoken, but as clear as day.
He didn't need to be told twice.
Jack stepped up to the edge of her bed, taking her cheek in his hand as Elsa leaned into it, tilting her face up towards his. Her expression was pleading. Taking a deep breath, Jack bent forward and pressed his lips against hers.
The instant their mouths touched, Elsa threw her arms around his neck, yanking him closer and nearly pulling him off balance. Jack barely caught himself, throwing his palm forward onto the blanket next to her hip as he pushed back for more, needing to have more, deepening the kiss. Elsa's skin was a perfect temperature on his, her hands moving to grip his collar as she held onto him, and (trying to be as smooth as he could), Jack quickly broke away to sidestep the Ice Powers Girl and sit down on the edge of her bed. He reached for her, and within seconds she was back in his arms, her mouth on his and her hands grasping at the fabric of his shirt like she couldn't resist.
Suddenly, Jack could feel Elsa break away from the kiss, panting for breath. He could feel his own chest heaving for air as well, and unexpectedly realized that he actually needed a quick recovery moment himself.
"Snowflake," Jack gasped, his face still right next to hers as he shook his head. "I—I don't think this is helping you get to bed."
"I'm on my bed," Elsa snapped.
Before Jack could respond, she yanked him forward by his shirt and was kissing him again.
The Guardian's head felt light as he relaxed into it, his heart pounding as he let the Snow Queen pull him closer, kissing him as hard as she could like she craved his touch more than anything else in the world. His spirit soaring as they broke for another quick breath, Jack then captured her lips again with his, his hands finding her sides and pulling her close to anchor her beside him on her bed.
Elsa broke away for the second time, gasping for breath and pulling back from him by a few inches. Jack smiled at her, saying nothing as she looked up, then startling back with her eyes wide.
"Oh!" she blurted, "You—um, my makeup—!"
She grimaced, pointing to his face and blushing. Jack restrained from a laugh, seeing how much Elsa's lipstick was all smudged and messed up, as well.
"We've been having fun," he laughed.
"It's worse than before."
"We're having more fun than before."
"I—!"
She cut herself off. Swallowing hard, Elsa then bit the edge of her lip, reaching up and pushing back a strand of her hair as she hunched over in embarrassment.
"I like you," she whispered.
Jack's heart leapt. He glanced down for a second, rubbing his thumbs over her waist where his hands were still resting the icy, navy blue fabric of her dress.
"I've been picking up on that," Jack replied, his voice barely masking a chuckle as he flirtatiously peered up at her through his eyelashes.
She shrank back by the tiniest bit, her face going a deeper red as her smile faded. Noticing with silent alarm, Jack cleared his throat.
"I like you, too," he added, raising his eyebrows. "Obviously."
She immediately relaxed again, her muscles untensing as she smiled. As Elsa looked back up into his eyes, Jack noted that her cheeks were still pink, but that her expression was once again that adorable combination of shy and embarrassed and worshipfully adoring.
That was more like it.
With hesitance, the Fifth Spirit of the Enchanted Forest quietly leaned forward, touching her forehead to his and letting the contented silence speak for itself. The Guardian pressed his forehead back against hers in response, taking her hands in his own and giving them a squeeze as they held onto one another, face to face, just listening to each other breathe.
As his heart rate started to slow, Jack closed his eyes, feeling her skin against his. Elsa's hands were warmer than his own—but not by much. Even though the Ice Powers Girl felt warm to him, he could only imagine how cold she felt to everyone else, who all felt scorching to the Spirit of Winter. Every time someone walked through him, it felt like a wave of burning heat, or a rogue gust of wind from a desert. But not Elsa. Elsa, just a tiny bit warmer than he was, all soft and sweet and real… she was perfect. She FELT perfect, to him.
From somewhere above them, in his peripheral vision, Jack could see the sparkles of tiny snowflakes blossoming into existence, falling silently around them…
"I should—heh," Elsa whispered, waking Jack back up into the moment, "Probably—get changed."
She straightened, gently pulling her hands back from his. Jack's eyebrows lifted, and he looked up.
"Oh," he realized, glancing towards the door before turning his gaze back to her, "Do you—uh—I can leave, if—"
"—It's okay."
Standing from the edge of the bed and turning back to face him, Elsa froze. She fidgeted with her fingers for a moment, a few snowflakes bursting from her skin as she pulled her hands into her stomach, before then—gathering her courage—she gave him a little shrug.
"I trust you," Elsa blurted.
Before Jack could respond, the Ice Powers Girl then leaned forward and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, making him freeze. Backing away a few paces, Elsa smiled nervously, her complexion flushing that pretty pink color again.
"Just don't look?" she begged.
Saying nothing, Jack nodded, a sheepish smile starting to creep back across his features as he watched her nod in return and spin away, a spring in her hip-swinging step as she walked from him. Jack started to reach for his hood out of habit, only then remembering that his new shirt didn't have one.
Covering his eyes with his hand, he squeezed his eyelids shut.
"Loopy!" giggled Elsa's voice from across the room.
Shinngg!
CLUNK.
With a gust of cold air, a brand new ice hoop fell around his shoulders, and Jack startled, glancing down to it with a laugh. Suddenly remembering that he wasn't supposed to be looking, he then quickly squeezed his eyes shut again, lifting the hoop off over his head and letting it fall to the carpet with another muffled clunk before clapping his hand back over his face.
There was a long moment of silence.
Whoosh.
His pulse quickened, but Jack didn't move as another little gust of cold air swept past him, sending a shiver down his spine that had nothing to do with the cold. The temperature was just slightly colder as Elsa used her ice powers again, and he could only imagine the innocent nightgown swirling into being around her as she made her stunning, frosty creations.
"Okay," Elsa's voice said. "You can look now."
Getting up from her bed and onto his feet, Jack Frost dropped his hand, turning to face her just as she reached his side. Elsa stepped up to him, not fully embracing him, but stopping directly in front of him with her chest barely a few inches from his own. After a moment of hesitation, the Ice Powers Girl then shyly put her head onto his shoulder, sort of leaning against him with her hands pulled into her stomach, almost like she was waiting for his permission to make it into a full-body embrace. Which was SO granted.
Jack wrapped his arms around her, gathering her to him, and he felt Elsa's muscles relax. She melted against him, and a moment later, Jack felt her arms encircling his middle, embracing him completely and making his heart leap. For a few moments, they simply stood together, holding onto each other in the perfect, beautiful quiet.
Finally, moving one of his hands up to her hair, Jack huffed a soft laugh under his breath.
"You know," he whispered, "I'm not trying to keep you up all night…"
Hardly even considering the action, he kissed her head, then watching in shock as a faint blue sparkle of magic accidentally settled into her scalp. Oops. But he could hardly even think about it, stroking her hair. Wow, Elsa's braid was so soft.
So beautiful.
The Ice Powers Girl mumbled something under her breath, shaking her head against him. Jack restrained from a laugh.
"What was that, Snowflake?" he chuckled.
She made the disgruntled sound again.
"Don't—need sleep," Elsa muttered.
He snorted, grinning in spite of himself. "Are you going to make me pull rank?"
She pulled back a bit. Jack felt a pang of guilt, seeing how bloodshot the Ice Powers Girl's eyes were. "Excuse me?" Elsa laughed, raising an eyebrow. She pointed to herself. "Queen. Mister."
"Guardian."
"Fifth Spirit."
"Winter Spirit."
"Technically, I'm a winter spirit, too."
"And winter spirits need sleep."
"You don't seem to need much."
"I do sometimes," Jack retorted, raising his eyebrows in return. "But besides. I know a guy who'd agree with me. And he's a sleep expert."
This gave her pause. Then, Elsa shrugged, a smile tugging at the edge of her mouth. "I know the Sandman, too," she retorted.
"But I've known him for a lot longer," Jack fired back. "And he'd have my head, if he knew how late I've kept you up. Go to bed."
Admittedly, Jack thought to himself, he still needed to murder Sandy over the whole dreams thing. But it was a good excuse, to try and convince Elsa to bed. As much as he was enjoying this loopy, aggressively playful, and definitely not acting-a-bit-drunk version of the Snow Queen of Arendelle, he knew that she did legitimately need sleep. Maybe not as much as an ordinary person, but—well, she seemed to need more than he did. Elsa was a bit of a wild card. And if she were still legitimately mortal, then she definitely—
He shoved the thought from his mind.
Jack gulped. There was no real reason to worry about that, yet. If ever. For one thing, they didn't even technically know if Elsa could die in the first place. Or if she already technically had. She could be immortal already. It certainly wasn't impossible, to think that this adorable, incredible ice lady had been given a fate similar to his own.
The adorable, incredible ice lady that had moved in to embrace him again, this time having snaked her arms around his neck with her soft, curvy body pressed up against his as they stood together in the middle of her silent, moonlit bedroom.
Geuuuuuuuuuugh.
Jack's face flushed, his heart feeling like it was about to explode from the twin sensations of guilt and excitement that swept through him as he wrapped his arms around his sweet Ice Powers Girl again. She was just so amazing. She felt so amazing…
He groaned inwardly.
"You know," Jack muttered into her hair, "I'm trying here, Elsa…"
She didn't let go.
"Trying what?" Elsa murmured back.
Jack opened his mouth to speak, and then closed it again. Realizing that he could say it—that he could finally say it—!
He swallowed a lump of anxiety that had been building up in his throat.
"To be a good boyfriend," Jack whispered.
Elsa froze.
A moment later—like she was actually taking in what he had just said—the beautiful Fifth Spirit of the Enchanted Forest not only didn't let go, but instead hugged him even tighter, nuzzling her cheek into his shoulder. The scent of freshly-fallen snow in her hair felt like it was practically enveloping him; her embrace, the sparkles of her snowflakes in his vision—!
There was no way that Jack was going to voluntarily let go of this woman. After all this waiting, three hundred YEARS of it, for her… he didn't want to. He couldn't.
But—!
"Will you please just go to bed?" Jack pleaded.
His voice had come out as hardly more than a squeak. He swallowed, silently begging.
At last, Jack felt Elsa's arms relax. Feeling her starting to pull away from him, he was instantly hit by a wave of regret, wanting to reach for her once again.
"Okay," she sighed.
His girlfriend drew herself back, leaving her hands clasped at the nape of his neck as she visibly hesitated from letting go of him completely. Finally, Elsa smiled.
"But only because you asked so nicely," she chided.
Before Jack could respond, Elsa let out another giggle, quickly giving him a kiss on the nose before spinning around and practically bouncing again as she ran towards her bed. The Guardian grinned in spite of himself. Sleep-deprived. The Snow Queen of Arendelle was definitely sleep-deprived, in the extreme, after the last two evenings. And he knew that she wasn't normally this playful, but—well. Was she? Jack wasn't even sure WHAT to think, anymore. Except for the fact that his girlfriend was adorable.
Girlfriend.
FINALLY.
Jack let his head fall forward for a moment, grinning from ear to ear as he walked towards her. Elsa was already crawling into her bed, climbing under the covers and flipping herself back over to face him, sitting up and hugging her slightly-bent knees from on top of the bedspread.
Reaching her side, Jack Frost pulled in his breath.
"Well…" he started. "Goodnight… your majesty."
She flushed with joy, her cheeks pink. "Goodnight," she said back. "…Mr. Guardian."
His heart leapt. Unable to resist, the Spirit of Winter hopefully leaned forward, bending towards her and pausing a few inches from her face. Elsa tilted her head up slightly towards his again, slowly letting her eyelids close.
Aaaaand, THAT was his cue.
Jack closed the gap between them, kissing her on the lips and placing the knuckle of his first finger under her chin, tilting her face up just a tiny bit more towards his own. He could feel her kissing him back, her soft mouth on his, the perfect temperature of her skin and her breath in the silent stillness of the dark, early hours of their Christmas morning.
After a few moments they pulled away from the kiss, the connection of their lips breaking with a tiny, almost inaudible little smack of a sound in the quiet. Elsa's eyes slowly fluttered open, and Jack's heart whumped as he stared down at her. The Ice Powers Girl was practically glowing as she sat in her mussed bedcovers, snowflakes falling softly around her as her ice-sprinkled hair and nightgown caught the moonlight pouring in from the window across the room. Hardly two feet away from him, Elsa was now gripping the top of her blanket, twisting the fabric as she stared up into his eyes. Her gaze was adoring and innocent, just as it always was, but now there was more—an excited little fire in her eyes as she gazed up at him, chewing on the edge of her slightly-swollen bottom lip in anticipation.
Mother of North… Elsa really did want him.
Jack opened his mouth, then closing it again. His face flushing, the Guardian then huffed an embarrassed little laugh, pushing himself back away from her and straightening up. More than the bed, or anything she'd worn, or even anything they'd actually done…!
"I need to—uh," he mumbled, gulping as he backed away, "Probably need to—let you—sleep."
Her face fell, and Jack felt a pang of guilt.
Get it together, he told himself sternly.
Elsa's lips twitched to the side in a half-frown. "I really don't need as much sleep as you seem to think I do," she mumbled sheepishly, rubbing her thumb against the blanket's edge again.
He didn't respond, walking out into the middle of her room and bending down to pick up his shepherd's crook from where he had discarded it earlier on the floor.
"Jack?"
He paused. Turning around, he looked to her again to realize that the Fifth Spirit was visibly struggling, gathering her courage.
"It's Christmas," Elsa said quickly.
A look of confusion swept over Jack's face. He shifted his fingers of the staff.
"Uh…" he stammered. "…Yeah? Why wou—"
Creak!
The soft sound of ice forming drew his attention, and he stopped talking. Looking up, he realized that a soft sparkle of frost was falling over Elsa, a newly-formed ice sculpture growing down towards her from the ceiling above.
Mistletoe.
Jack felt his face crack into a smile, heat rushing to his cheeks and ears again. Exhaling in a whoosh, he reached up and rubbed the back of his neck.
He LOVED this woman.
"It is Christmas," Jack replied at length.
Elsa's eyes lit up. Dropping his head forward, Jack could feel himself blushing, his smile so wide that his cheeks were already a bit sore from it. Drumming his fingers on the shepherd's crook, he walked back over to her, then leaning it up against her nightstand. Turning around, he sat on the edge of her bed next to her.
Jack looked to the Fifth Spirit, momentarily drowning in her eyes, her gaze eager and shy at the same time. Pulling in his breath, he then glanced upwards at the crystalline mistletoe above them—paused—and looked back down into his Ice Powers Girl's beautiful face, reaching for her cheek with his hand.
He had hardly started to lean towards her when Elsa lunged forward, grabbing the sides of his face and kissing him as hard as she could.
Jack's eyes bulged. Hardly a moment later, and without giving another thought to what he was doing, he suddenly found himself kissing her back with every bit as much passion as she was giving to him. He shifted towards her on the mattress, placing his free hand next to her hip to steady himself as he slipped his hand back into her hair, anchoring her head and passionately taking her mouth with his own. His heart leaping, Jack gasped for breath, then immediately kissing her again as he heard his Elsa let out a whimper. His heart leapt as she grabbed at him, arching towards him and twisting her fingers in his hair, pulling him closer like she was begging for more. And he obliged.
After another quick, blissful little eternity, Jack finally pulled back from her, his chest heaving as he struggled to catch his breath. His heart was pounding, his head light as his world practically spun around him, all centered on the beautiful, adorable, passionately affectionate winter spirit girl sitting in front of him on her now snowflake-dusted bed.
His girlfriend.
"You're amazing," Jack gasped.
Elsa looked up, her cheeks flushed with joy. Seeing it—the eagerness in her eyes, her relief, the way she was lighting up at his approval—his heart leapt again.
"Really," he added, smiling uncontrollably. "You are."
Queen Elsa huffed an embarrassed little laugh, looking down to her lap and blushing. But her smile was undeniable.
"Thanks," she whispered. "You—you are too."
Jack hardly even knew how to respond.
His breathing starting to slow, the Youngest Guardian said nothing, scooting himself towards her again and gently leaning his head against her own. His face was starting to hurt from his grin, flurries of snow sparkling as they fell around him in his vision, but he didn't care. Elsa was his girlfriend. She was his.
Their foreheads pressed together, they said nothing, both still struggling a bit to catch their breath as their heartbeats calmed in the beautiful, peaceful silence.
Finally, Jack Frost heard the Ice Powers Girl pull in a long, steadying breath.
"The wall," Elsa whispered, "You'll—um—you'll put it back up?"
He nodded. "Of course."
"And you won't cross it?"
Pulling back, Jack looked up at her through his eyelashes. Elsa was blushing slightly, suddenly studying her fingers and avoiding his gaze. As a thin layer of ice crinkled out onto the fabric from where she was twisting the bedspread's edge, the unspoken confession was as clear as though the Snow Queen had said it out loud:
She didn't want the wall, either.
With a sigh, Jack reached forward, touching her closest hand. Curling his fingers around it, he nodded once again.
"You have my word," he promised.
As she looked up to him, Jack then placed a quick kiss onto her forehead. Straightening, he gave her hand a squeeze before releasing it and stepping back to let the Ice Powers Girl sink down into her covers.
Elsa shifted twice before snuggling into her pillow. Her facial muscles visibly starting to relax, she looked back up towards him with a dreamy smile.
"Goodnight… Mr. Guardian," she whispered once again.
Jack's heart swelled. Unable to restrain from his grin, he picked up his staff from the side of her bed.
"Goodnight, Queen Elsa," Jack said softly.
Shouldering his staff, the Spirit of Winter turned and started to walk away. As he reached the edge of her room, standing by the dresser, Jack paused. He turned around.
Raising his free hand to his lips, he pulled in his breath.
Whoosh!
Jack Frost blew the snowflake off of his palm in a puff of air like he was blowing a kiss, sending the shimmering crystal dancing through the air across the Snow Queen's bedroom. Seeing it, Elsa gave a little gasp, reaching out her hand by an inch and catching it.
Bringing the snowflake to her lips, she looked back to him, her beautiful face soft in an angelic, tired smile. His heart leapt again, and Elsa closed her eyes, her head sinking into the pillow.
As he watched—within moments—the Fifth Spirit of the Enchanted Forest was sound asleep.
Jack could practically feel his heart melt through his ribcage. After a moment, he turned around to resume walking towards the art gallery again, drumming his fingers on his staff. As he started to pass Elsa's dresser, he paused, taking a few paces over to it and looking into his reflection.
That… was a lot of lipstick.
His cheeks reddened a bit, seeing the mess of Elsa's makeup that had rubbed off on his pale skin, and Jack let out a silent laugh. Shaking his head, he grinned, letting his head fall forward for a moment before looking back up into his reflection. The Ice Powers Girl had made her mark, alright. All over his face. Ah, well.
Pushing up the sleeve of his new shirt, Jack uncovered his forearm. He didn't really get dirty like normal people did (an unexpected perk of the "immortal dead guy" deal), but his personal little trophies obviously rubbed off on their own eventually. Carefully wiping Elsa's lipstick off onto his skin, he then pulled the sleeve of his new shirt back down on top of it, hoping that it wouldn't show through the white fabric.
Looking back up into his reflection, the Spirit of Winter held out his hand.
Whoosh! The soft snowball materialized into his palm, and Jack picked up a chunk of it, beginning to scrub the remaining mess off his face. He didn't think that the Ice Powers Girl really needed to wear so much makeup, but she seemed to enjoy it, so—you know. Whatever. He was just happy that she'd found something she could have fun with. He was still going to wash it off, though. Having Elsa's lipstick marks all over his face was one thing, but Jack drew the line at the sparkly purple eye stuff.
His face was clean once again. Pulling his hands down as he contemplated melting the snowball, Jack Frost looked back into the mirror, seeing Elsa's reflection in it from a distance. He smiled to himself, gingerly reaching up and touching his lips. That had been… that had been amazing. If he could do nothing but kiss her, feel her, for every second of every day for the rest of his life, it wouldn't be enough…
Jack straightened and turned around, leaning back against the edge of the dresser for a moment and looking at her. Ugh, she looked so adorable. Elsa had all but actually collapsed from exhaustion tonight, and he regretted absolutely nothing. His girlfriend… so peaceful, curled up in her bed, all tuckered out with her hair and makeup all messed up and the mess of snowflakes around her on the bedspread…
Ice wall. Right.
Chuckling silently to himself, the Spirit of Winter shook his head. Picking up his staff again, he then walked over to the door, crossing into Elsa's art gallery.
One half-wall of ice and hastily-formed bedframe later, Jack hopped up onto his mattress, his feet crunching in the fresh snow as he gazed over the wall, folding his arms on top of it and leaning into them. Elsa, sound asleep, looked nothing short of angelic, the icy cloth of her nightgown shimmering on her shoulders as she breathed softly, her chest rising up and down in the moonlight.
Now… that, Jack thought. THAT is a snow angel.
He let out a dreamy sigh, leaning against his staff and staring over the ice wall.
"Why… if it isn't Jack Frost," sneered a dark voice, making him freeze in his place. "I had no idea you had such… expensive… taste in women."
The Guardian's blood ran cold.
Fighting as hard as he could against the knot in his stomach as all of the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, Jack Frost straightened, his knuckles going white on his staff as he slowly turned around.
"Hello, Pitch."