Love Thaws: Melting

With All of My Heart

Elsa pried her eyes lids open, blinking several times. Her temples throbbed, making her head ache. Her muscles felt sore and stiff. With a herculean effort, she sat up, her aching muscles protesting as she did so. The sheets and blankets were tangled and twisted around her body. Elsa pushed the blankets and wriggled her way out of them, before kicking them aside. Sunlight streamed into the room. Elsa pressed her aching head to the frigid glass of the window. She sighed, her breath fogging up the window. Someone knocked softly on the door.

"Elsa?"

She turned towards the door expectantly. "Yes?"

She saw the doorknob twist slightly before it opened a crack. Jack peered in. "Umm, you didn't eat dinner last night."

"Oh."

"So, I brought you some breakfast." He slowly walked in and set a plate on the nightstand. There were three cinnamon rolls, coated in sweet, translucent glaze. He looked at her expectantly.

"Thank you." She studied his azure eyes. He was trying.

He nodded. "You're welcome." He gestured to the plate. "Aren't you going to eat?"

Elsa walked to the edge of the bed and seated herself. She picked up a cinnamon roll, the glaze sticking to her hands. Elsa took a small bite. It tasted amazing. The cinnamon roll was soft and sweet while the glaze was creamy. She hadn't realized how hungry she was. She ate every last bite and eagerly began working on her second cinnamon roll. She felt Jack sit down beside her, the mattress sinking slightly beneath his weight. Elsa happily polished off the third cinnamon roll. She wiped her fingers clean of the sticky glaze with the napkin beside the plate. The chewing had made her headache worse, but the cinnamon rolls were too delicious to pass up. She gingerly touched her fingers to her right temple, rubbing the area that radiated pain.

"May I?" Jack held up a hand.

Elsa wasn't sure what he wanted to do, but she nodded. Jack cupped her face with each of his hands. His hands were abnormally cold, almost icy. Elsa sighed with relief as the headache ebbed.

Jack still held her face in his hands. His eyes studied her features. "Elsa, I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I am so sorry." His eyes were filled with sadness.

Elsa glanced downwards. She knew she couldn't hold anything against him. He'd never tried to hurt her. "Me too."

His thumb stroked her cheek. "For what?"

Elsa inhaled deeply. "For... pushing you away. For shutting you out."

"Does that mean you'll stop?"

Elsa glanced at Jack, her heart aching slightly. "I can try. I can't promise—"

"It's okay, Elsa. That's all I can ask." He smiled slightly and leaned forwards, giving her time to pull away. 

Elsa didn't. He brushed his warm lips against her forehead. Elsa pursed her lips, trying to suppress her disappointment. She was hoping he'd kiss her... elsewhere. 

He gently caressed her face. "Do you... want to put up Christmas decorations with me?"

"But Thanksgiving just passed."

He smiled. "Exactly. Do you?"

"Anything with you," she murmured quietly.

Jack smiled broadly and hugged her to his chest. "Great. Come on, I'll show you where the Christmas stuff is." Jack stood and tugged Elsa's wrist.

Elsa followed him to the basement, where he opened a box. It was brimming with ornaments, sparkling tinsel, and red ribbons. Jack put a red ribbon on his head and flung a glittering piece of silver tinsel around his neck.

"How do I look?" He struck a pose.

Elsa smiled, shaking her head slightly. "Fabulous."

He laughed along with her and removed the ribbon and tinsel. "So, what do you want to put where?"

Elsa held up the silver tinsel. "What if we wrap this around the stair railing? And we can put a red ribbon at the end of the railing."

He smiled. "Sounds good."

Elsa held up an ornament. "Do we have a Christmas tree?"

Jack nodded. "It's fake though," he remarked, disappointed.

"You'd prefer a real Christmas tree? Aren't they hard to clean up after?"

Jack shrugged. "It's worth it. They smell wonderful."

Elsa placed the ornament back. She picked up a few small leafy stems with white berries, tied together with a shining red ribbon. "Is this—"

Jack cleared his throat and smiled sheepishly. "Maybe..."

Elsa quirked an eyebrow.

He stared at her for a few moments.

Elsa self-consciously tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "What?"

"I'm waiting for you to explode or something."

Elsa shyly glanced downwards. "Jack, I'm sorry that I've been—" 

He rested his fingers against her lips. 

Elsa's breath hitched and she felt her lips tingle.

"Don't be. It's not your fault." His eyes flashed with sudden anger.

Elsa flinched and took a step backwards. "Jack, I really am—"

"I'm not angry at you."

"You looked angry..."

He closed the distance between them. "Just at those creeps who treated you as anything less than a human." He twirled a tendril of her hair around his finger.

Elsa inhaled deeply, completely mesmerized by him. She missed being so close to him. Elsa placed her palm on his chest. He abruptly froze. Elsa began to draw away, wondering if she'd done something wrong. He caught her hand and firmly held it to his chest. Elsa felt warmth were his hand touched hers, traveling down towards her chest. Elsa stepped closed and hesitantly rested her head against his chest. His heartbeat was steady, as always. Elsa wrapped her arms around his waist. He was her anchor in the midst of the storm, the person she count always count on to be there. Elsa glanced up at him.

"Do you really want to marry me?"

He flashed her a heart-stopping smile. He leaned down and rested his forehead against hers. "With all my heart."