Always You

xxiii. Reunited

Elsa

The girl stood behind me, a young woman whose fear and youth made me think so much of Anna, and I had a fierce desire to protect her. I barely knew her, but I could tell her relationship with her mother was far from healthy and I couldn't let her get hurt. 

"So, still not one for confrontation, huh?" Tooth spoke from behind the girl's mother, poison in her voice. She made her way to face the woman, Bunny in her wake. I got the sense that this small woman was the enemy we were all against. I knew very little of this situation, and I vaguely wondered what I had gotten into. Jack walked over to me, looping his arm around my forearm. He gave me a look that clearly told me to stay out of it. I reluctantly admitted he was right.

"Oh, please, like I have much to worry about from you." The woman spat, and Tooth nodded in irritated silence.

"Let's not forget who got Pitch Black's tooth with her own fist." Tooth stated coldly.

"Alright, ladies, take it down a peg or two. Let's all talk like adults, okay?" Bunny asked, uncharacteristically playing the mediator. "Now, where is North?" The woman laughed, her head falling back in glee.

"Where is he? Please, you'll never find out." She recovered enough to speak. Suddenly, the girl behind me screamed and launched herself at the woman.

"Tell them! Quit acting like a greedy child! Get out of my house!" Holly screamed, the walls shaking as she lost control of her temper. I realized then that she was causing an earthquake. Her mother was Mother Nature, Holly was controlling the weather. Everything seemed to be a little clearer then, but I still didn't realize what North had to do with anything.

"Jack, what is-" He shushed me. Irritated, I yanked my arm out of his grip. As Holly and her mother yelled, Tooth and Bunny started talking and Jack tried to calm everyone down. It become quickly out of hand, everyone talking and yelling at one time. The noise was deafening, and rain was falling hard outside. I knew I had to put a stop to this... For someone who wasn't even close to a Guardian, I was doing a hell of a lot of guarding today.

"HEY!" I screamed, blasting ice at the angry group in front of me. "Stop. This is insane. What is even happening?" I asked. You would think a villain would handle things a little better. I got the sense that Mother Nature was something of a child in mentality, unsure of how to plan things. If you really thought about it, that made a lot of sense.

"Nothing," Spoke a deep voice from behind us all. North stood there, his belly somewhat smaller and his clothes dirty. He looked bad, but anger flared in his eyes. "I'm taking care of it." Mother Nature paled, the shaking and raining stopping abruptly.

"Dad," Holly spoke, relief in her voice even as she looked around the room.

"North!" Cried out the other Guardians in unison. Meanwhile, I sat off to the side slightly awkwardly. I still barely knew most of the people sitting in this room with me, and I was suddenly feeling very strange about coming here.

Jack

 When North was settling the chaos, I realized how strange it was for us to have dealt with Mother Nature this way. Pitch had tantalized and taunted us, teasing us with our own fear as if we were his playthings. Mother Nature simply brought us all together and screamed. A lot. She wasn't the smartest criminal, I knew. Finally, though, Holly was getting settled back in her position and reconnecting with her Dad. Elsa stood off to the side, daydreaming as she stared into space.

"So, hey," I spoke softly, walking up to her. She snapped out of her daze to meet my eyes.

"Hey," She replied, still hurt from my abrupt disappearance and the fact that I basically told her I didn't want her here.

"You were great out there," I truthfully admitted, reached for her hand. She entwined her slender fingers with mine, letting out sparkles of ice as we made contact.

"Why didn't you tell me why you were leaving?" She asked, hurt obvious in her ice blue irises.

"I couldn't," I told her. "I wanted to, so badly, but I just couldn't." She shook her head slightly.

"Sure." She answered gently, her tone soft but I could tell she was angry. I didn't blame her, honestly. I had been kind of a jerk to her lately, and I didn't mean to be. I couldn't believe how rude my leaving her like that must have seemed. She was so vulnerable then and I just left her, pretty much slapping her in the face with the trust she was so reluctant to give. I felt awful. I moved to kiss her, to let my lips speak an apology against hers, but she moved away. "Not right now," She told me, her voice still soft but those eyes still betraying the emotions she tried to pretend weren't there. I sighed, giving her a small nod of understanding.

We joined the others, finally getting ready to depart. I wondered if I would be able to return to Arendelle with Elsa, if she would allow me to accompany her. Before I could ask, North had summoned his sleigh and was hustling the five of us into it. Bunny was, as always, squeamish about the ride, and Elsa had no idea what to expect. As the death trap took off, Elsa buried her face in my shoulder and gripped my arm in fear. I held her close, glad to know she wasn't too mad to still trust me. North stopped in Arendelle first, letting Elsa off.

"Are you coming?" She asked me, her eyes hopeful and expectant. I looked to North, who nodded at me with a small smile. I gave him a small hug before hopping off the sleigh. I watched as it took off again, turning back to my snowy haired love. "You missed the wedding." She told me, her words holding no emotion and her eyes not meeting mine.

"I'm sorry," I told her, apologizing for everything that had happened and hoping she knew that. I knew how big of a toll this whole ordeal had taken on her and I wanted her to know that I was genuinely remorseful about it. She seemed to accept it and lead me into the castle. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks and whipped around to me urgently. As if she hadn't thought to do it before now, she wrapped her arms tight around my neck and pressed her lips to mine. She kissed me with a fervent passion, too many unspoken emotions and words passing between us with every sigh and small moan either of us made. I felt wet tears on my face and realized they weren't mine, but I let her kiss me until she pulled away.

"Jack," She cried, burying her face in my shirt as she sobbed. I couldn't imagine what had made her cry like this, but I let her emotions spill into a dark spot on my shirt and didn't question her.