Jack & Elsa ✓

At Midnight

I was nearly asleep when a rap on my window jolted me awake. I sat up groggily, pushing my tangle of hair out my face. Slipping out of my bed, my bare feet soft against the cold floor of my room, I pushed the curtains aside to meet the blue-eyed gaze of the magical boy that I loved.

Even though I was tired and knew I had a day full of council meetings ahead, I couldn't stop my pulse from racing or the smile on my face at the allure of even just a few minutes with Jack. When had our friendship changed into this burning heat that flared through me at the slightest thought of him?

I unlatched the window and he drifted into the room, landing lightly next to me with a gust of snow-laden wind that sent the hem of my nightgown fluttering about my ankles and my hair into my face. Snowflakes dotted his hair and lay on the shoulders of his blue jacket, crisp and sparkling. I latched the window again and he gave me a smile that made the fire in my stomach burn ever so much brighter.

"I couldn't stay away," he whispered, setting his staff down and pulling me into his arms. "What are you doing to me, Elsa?"

I laughed softly as I leaned against him, inhaling his minty winter scent. "You're gone always too long for me," I replied, my words soft and bold.

We never really spoke much of the feelings that tangled between us, both of us hesitant and unsure of this new, fragile thing that we'd become, scared that the slightest misstep would shatter it completely.

"For me, I'm both terrified to be here and desperate when I'm not," Jack said with a short laugh, pulling away to look me in the eyes. He bit uncertainly at his bottom lip, the emotions in his eyes a dark tangle of confusion, want, and fear. "I'm scared, Elsa. This has never happened to me before. Is love supposed to be like this? Like I can't breathe at times because of all I feel?"

"I don't know," I said slowly, resting my head on his shoulder. My eyes slipped shut. "Jack...are we doing the right thing...feeling this way?"

"Don't say that," he snapped, stepping back and glaring at me. My heart skipped under the intensity of his gaze and the ferocity of his tone. "I'm not saying that, Elsa. I never will. I just" - he broke off and sighed, running a hand through his crackling, frost-laced hair - "for once in my life, I don't have a clue about this and how it all works."

"Are you willing to learn together?" I said quietly, wrapping my arms around myself. "I...I need you, Jack."

My cheeks blazed with that confession, but it was true. My whole life, he'd been there. I couldn't imagine it without him. He was the one, fixed point for me that kept me going - showed me that the power of winter wasn't a curse, but a beautiful thing.

At my words, Jack's expression turned soft, vulnerable almost. Words swarmed at the corners of his mouth, but didn't come out as he hesitated, searching for something say. Finally, he gave in to silence and simply reached out and touched his fingers to the side of my jaw, gently tracing the curve of it.

"I need you too," he murmured. "That's what scares me the most, this consuming need to be with you, when it's an impossible want."

"Jack, no," I said, stepping close again, reaching up to brush his bangs away from his forehead. I searched his gaze, terribly bold things churning in my mind. "It's not impossible. I'm not going away. I'm right here, right now. I..." - I paused, hesitating over daring emotions that threatened to overwhelm me - "I want so much, Jack. It...it doesn't have to be impossible."

I could never see Jack as King of Arendelle, but I could see him as mine, a person I could spend the rest of my years with, and I wasn't afraid to tell him that. He needed to know how much I had discovered over the years that I loved him.