No snowmen

Jack didn’t always look like he was paying attention to people, but he was sensitive to vibes. Appearing unobservant actually worked in his favor most of the time, although Elsa probably knew him better than that by now. He jumped down off a fallen log and returned to her side, taking her hand and squeezing lightly in reassurance. He liked to remind her he wasn’t afraid of her and never would be, power or not.

He didn’t regret much, but it was one of his biggest that he hadn’t had the chance to know Elsa as the Snow Queen. At first he’d just wanted to meet someone legendary with powers like his, but now he wished he could have helped. Even if his magic couldn’t have reversed hers, he could have been there to support her. “We don’t have to look for my staff to hang out.” He smiled. “I’m always here.” He didn’t add for you, but it was true. He couldn’t imagine a scenario where he’d ever turn her away.

Elsa blinked when he stepped back over to her and took her hand. Once upon a time, she would have jumped and ripped her hand out of his grip. Now, though, instead, she flipped her hand gently to curl her fingers between his for a gentle squeeze in return. She gave him a soft smile, appreciative of him and the gesture.

Her smile got a little brighter and she kept her gentle hold on his hand. “You know I never mind your company,” she reminded him with a little nudge of her elbow. He was one of the few people that never felt like they were invading her space or making her uncomfortable. 

“I think that’s the idea, yeah.” He nodded. It was hard to look at it objectively from his perspective, when he knew things like natural disasters (including snow and ice) sometimes weren’t as neutral as they looked. If Emily Jane got angry, she could cause a storm. If Jack wanted some fun, he could create a snow day. At least, he’d been able to before when he had his staff. He might be able to make a snow block right now, if he put everything he had into it.

Nobody had ever explicitly told him not to talk about the Guardians and, in any case, he didn’t have anything to hold back from Elsa. He trusted her not to use the information for anything evil. “My usual strategy is damage control,” he admitted with a laugh. He didn’t spend a lot of time thinking ahead about possible problems. “But in this case, it wouldn’t hurt.”

She winced a little when she thought of the snow and ice-laden landscape she’d turned her home into out of uncontrolled fear and wondered if it was the same for Emily Jane. Twining her fingers together, she tried hard to push that line of thought away because it would do her no favors to keep dwelling on it. She couldn’t even do that sort of thing anymore. It was probably for the best, really, despite whatever ideas she might let Jack put into her head. 

Elsa laughed softly and shook her head, “Damage control is important.” She couldn’t help but wonder if he would have been able to do much in Arendelle if he had been there. “So, we can look as often as you like until we find it,” she offered, her voice quiet and a little unsure, as though she was still not sure of her welcome with him which was frankly ridiculous at this point. 

“That stuff is stickier than it looks,” he chuckled. He expected ice cream to be sticky, but barbecue kind of snuck up on him. Then again, he’d been alive a long time before either were popular. “Yeah, I’m not sure you’d call her a Guardian. She’s usually more neutral than that. Good person to have at your back though.”

Jack hadn’t wanted to be a Guardian in the first place, so he assumed it didn’t matter whether he wanted to be one now. Manny had been quiet since he got here, but that was nothing unusual. The Man in the Moon was almost always silent. He was left to wing it, which was his best strategy anyway. “Yeah, that could get messy fast.”

Elsa let out a thoughtful hum before nodding in understanding. “That makes sense, I mean, if she’s Mother Nature that’s kind of the way of it, right?” Nature didn’t have preferences or play favorites. Hurricanes, blizzards, tornados, you name it. “That’s good, then, for when she chooses to get involved.”

She thought that she should spend more time asking him questions, getting to know about his time as a Guardian and the people he spent time with. That could definitely come with more time spent together and she planned on it if she could. “Probably smarter to avoid it if possible,” she decided with a nod. 

“Imagine the mess I could make with that.” He grinned, wiggling his eyebrows. Jack would totally swim in a vat of barbecue sauce, or encourage someone else to. A barbecue sauce food fight sounded like exactly his style. “Kind of. I’m not sure Emily Jane has friends, but we’re on the same side,” he chuckled. “I guess you could call her Mother Nature. She’s very powerful. And kinda scary.” He didn’t look scared; he looked cheery, as always. Poking scary things was one of his favorite pastimes. He usually knew when to back off her before he got struck by lightning.

He didn’t have a lot of physical contact with people either, especially not before he’d come to Fableton. He didn’t always care for it after going so long without it, but he didn’t mind it from Elsa. She was safe, almost like home, if he even truly remembered what that felt like. “Yeah, I think it is,” he agreed, his smile softening. “Safer for everyone else, at least.” He paused, a new thought occurring to him. “I hope– I mean, I don’t think anyone else could use it if they found it first. But I’m not sure.” He grimaced briefly at the thought. He’d never let anyone else test it before, so he had no way to know. It could be very bad in the wrong hands though.

“Just thinking about it makes me want a shower,” she teased him, wrinkling her nose at the idea. She could easily see Jack being involved, even if it made her cringe some. Though, she imagined Anna would have no problems with it and be entirely amused. “On the same side is at least something,” she mused, understanding the difference. “Mother... Nature...” She had to pause at that idea, blinking a bit, but it wasn’t like she could dispute it. “That must be some acquaintance,” she thought out loud, wondering what it was like to be surrounded by the people that he was. 

She was glad that he didn’t mind the loss of magic or necessity of the Guardians. She wasn’t sure how she would be able to help soothe him if it had been otherwise, and she certainly would have tried for him. When he brought up the potential of someone else being able to use it, she couldn’t stop the instinctive wince. “I really hope not. Who knows what someone could do with that,” she shook her head at the thought of it. 

“We could have a barbecue to feed the whole town!” he laughed. Of course he would turn it into a town-wide party, even if he would have preferred not to be at the center of such a thing. Mostly, it was a pleasure to see Elsa laughing so hard she was practically in tears. It was well worth all the silliness. Not that silliness wasn’t its own excuse.

“Huh. I wonder if Emily Jane had anything to do with that.” It didn’t really sound like her style. Mother Nature didn’t have much of a sense of humor, and she tended not to bother with the huge power displays unless things were serious. “That’s a good blanket strategy.” He nodded. He worried sometimes about Pitch going after Elsa or Bigby if he ever realized they were important to Jack. (He threw a snowball at it every time he saw a shadow creeping like it shouldn’t, but he didn’t fool himself that he noticed them all. They were nosy little shits.) There wasn’t a lot of gain in hurting his friends though, and Pitch was usually more practical than he was petty.

He smiled, giving her hand a light squeeze in return. “Most of my friends don’t have the same power levels in Fableton that they had before. Maybe we’re not needed in the same way here.” He shook his head, not totally bothered by the idea. He’d loved being a Guardian once he embraced it, but the world would undoubtedly be safer if it didn’t need them.

“We would need entire vats of barbecue sauce,” she pointed out, pressing her hand into her side and shaking her head as she tried not to laugh anymore. It didn’t help that he always helped her feel relaxed and comfortable, accepted. He liked Elsa exactly the way she was, magic or no magic, and he didn’t fear the idea of her with her magic. It was comforting on a lot of levels. 

“Emily Jane?” She tipped her head in curiosity, having never asked too much about all of the people in his past. She got bits and pieces of everything, which she was okay since she had never really volunteered every bit of her story either. “Is she a friend of yours? Another Guardian?” It was strange for her to want to know so much about someone, but she had a feeling that Jack wouldn’t mind at all. 

She brushed her thumb lightly before withdrawing her hand slowly, thinking it was strange to be able to touch someone so easily but she liked it. She didn’t often touch people, the deeply ingrained fear of hurting them always rising. But, she knew that even if she had her magic, she couldn’t hurt Jack. “Maybe not, you’re right, and that’s okay I think,” she mused. 

“I mean, what would you do with it? Eat it? Ride it? Let it terrorize the village?” he laughed, trying to imagine any of those. The last seemed most likely. Far from trying to stop it, Jack would probably bring some popcorn and find a place with a good view. Watching the other Guardians try to contain a giant chicken could be the highlight of his life.

“What? Why were they flat?” He had trouble picturing it, and he’d seen some strange things himself. Two-dimensional snapping turtles was a new one though. “You’re not weird, Elsa,” he said, so simply that there was no doubt he believed it to be true. He didn’t find anything strange about her or her magic, and setting off an eternal winter was a totally understandable mistake for someone who was just getting used to her powers.

He climbed back up to level ground, brushing dirt and bits of leaf off his hands. He wasn’t discouraged by not finding anything yet. Jack didn’t really do discouraged, not for a long time. He gave a thoughtful hum at her question as they started forward again. “I guess it’s more of an amplifier than a channel. I can do a lot of things without it, but on a smaller scale. If Pitch had the power he had before, I don’t think I could stop him without it. But don’t tell him that,” he admitted with a chuckle. All the Guardians’ powers seemed limited here, so at least they were on even ground. “It might not be here at all. Maybe I’m not meant to have it anymore.”

“Can you imagine the size of those chicken legs?!” Her eyes went a little wide at the very idea of it before she burst into more laughter. Her side hurt from laughing far more than she had in a very long time and she had to wipe at her eyes. 

“I have no idea. Weird things used to happen here in town all the time, and that was one of them. It came with this strange lightening storm that took out power and all kinds of things,” she shrugged. She’d simply stayed in her apartment and watched the insanity from the safety of her window. A soft smile spread over her face at his statement. It was such a solid, stable statement of belief out of him that she struggled not to believe him. She wanted to believe him. 

She looked him over just to make sure he got all the bits of forest off of him and gave a quick nod of approval that he had. “That makes sense,” she mused, thinking of the implications of it. “I won’t tell Pitch a thing,” she said with a shake of her head, instinctively acquiescing even if she wasn’t entirely familiar with the name or his relationship to it. She only paused for a second before reaching over to touch his arm, “If you’re here, I bet it is too.”

“That sounds terrifying. And awesome.” He cackled over the idea. It was a very good thing that Jack had none of Emily Jane’s powers. He could have created some mighty weird things as Mother Nature. “Weirdest thing you saw in Arendelle, weirdest thing you’ve seen in Fableton. Go!” He was just making conversation. He was enjoying their silly banter and wanted to continue it.

Elsa seemed happier and more at ease out here, and he wished she could feel that way all the time. He understood what she’d been through, probably better than most, but they handled it in very different ways. She deserved to find happiness here whatever that looked like. He wasn’t the Guardian of happy, but he would do what he could. He jumped into a gully to investigate a stick that might have been a staff but turned out not to be. He tossed it aside with a hmph, but the disappointment was fleeting. He wasn’t expecting to find it as soon as he started looking for it.

“You would absolutely think an oversized chicken is awesome and terrifying,” she couldn’t help but laugh along with him. It made her wonder just what he would get up to if his powers were any different, but she figured it was probably best that they never found out. His sheer ridiculousness would lend itself to insane things, as he already had the ideas at times. 

She had to pause to think about his question, “In Fableton? There were these very strange flat turtles that were like a sheet of paper but they walked and bit and made noises.” She shook her head about it as she thought back over it. “Arendelle... I think I was the cause of all of the weird there, so I don’t know if it really counts,” she decided with a slight shrug. 

She watched him jump down, her eyebrow quirking as she leaned to watch, just in case. She didn’t believe it could be that easy to find it, as much as she wished it could for his sake. Elsa found herself curious about his staff and she pondered for a moment, putting her thoughts together before voicing them. “Do you have to have your staff for your powers to really... channel properly?” It was the only way she could think to phrase her question. 

“Good, I don’t like sharing.” He smiled merrily. He knew Arendelle didn’t belong to him. They still had Christmas because Kristoff’s girlfriend had been VERY excited to learn that Father Christmas was real, but he liked having a special connection to Elsa and the colder climates that the Bunny couldn’t claim.

“Ha! An Easter chicken!” Jack laughed out loud at the mental image. Oh, he was definitely going to have to tell Bunnymund about that one. Assuming he ever saw him again. He hadn’t seen a hair of the cottontail since he arrived, but they still had Easter in Fableton.

Elsa laughed and shook her head at him playfully. “I would never ask you to,” she reassured him playfully. Something about his statement made her feel warm and happy but she wasn’t going to look into it. Instead, she wanted to just enjoy it for once. She could let herself, probably.

She beamed at his laughter, happy to be the one to cause it. It didn’t matter that Jack’s laughter came easy and free far more often than not. “Yes, chickens. But not one kangaroo sized, I fear.” Her eyes danced with mischief when she looked his way.

Jack didn’t usually spend the whole day with anyone either. After centuries of being invisible, he found crowds hard to take after a while. Don’t get him wrong, he loved being believed in, but in Fableton everyone could see him whether they believed or not. Everyone. All the time. Sometimes it was too much for him. Elsa was an easy sort of person to be around though. Her company didn’t have the same mental and emotional cost as everyone else’s, even some of the other guardians.

“He looks like a kangaroo,” he snorted. “No Easter Bunny in Arendelle?” It was hard for him to keep track of all the places he’d been. He’d found a stick, and he was clicking it along the tree trunks as he walked, hopping up onto fallen logs whenever he came across them and balancing his way along the top. Jack never just walked anywhere in a straight line. Maybe if he found his staff, he’d be able to fly again.

Bright laughter spilled out of her as they walked through the trees, shaking her head at the very ridiculousness of the image in her head. “No, no Easter Bunny in Arendelle,” she admitted with a little shrug, “We did eggs, but chickens were the important animal.” Her first introduction to the Easter Bunny had been Fableton and she thought it was adorable. 

Elsa watched him dancing around her and could easily see how he could be with all of his magic. She kept herself on the ground, carefully weaving around any roots that popped up or trees that had fallen. A few she had to step onto to go over and she was proud of managing to be steady enough on her feet. 

Jack Frost would walk into hell with a smile on his face, especially if it had frozen over. He was the guardian of fun, after all. If he wasn’t having any, how could he convince anyone else to? “Sounds like a plan.” He grinned. His day had just filled up with things to do and pleasant company, and he hadn’t even had to throw any snowballs. If she seemed tired of his company by the time they returned, he could always duck out before the movie.

When they’d finished their cocoa and washed up their cups, he started toward Sherwood Forest. It was sprawling and big and things didn’t always stay in the same places, but he spent a lot of time there when he needed to get away from people. He still preferred sleeping in trees to having an apartment of his own, even in the dead of winter. Cold never bothered him, not even here with a fraction of his powers. It wasn’t exactly warm out, but it was obvious winter was fading, and he sighed as the reached the edges of the trees. “Soon the Easter Kangaroo will be out in force. Goodbye, winter.”

The idea of spending the whole day with Jack was a comfortable one, even if they were going to spend part of the day out of the house. However, the forest wasn’t surrounded by other people so it was okay. She simply smiled into her cocoa so they could finish and get going when Jack was ready. The cold still didn’t really bother her and she more wore her soft sweaters for comfort than anything else.

She followed him, being mostly familiar with the location of the forest but still not comfortable leading anyone there. Her face tipped to the gentle sunlight and enjoyed the cool breeze. She looked over at Jack with a raised eyebrow. “Easter... Kangaroo?” It sounded absolutely ridiculous to her, honestly.

“And you can be the steady one with the plan. It’s perfect,” he chuckled. Jack knew what his shortcomings were. He just didn’t care that much. He could worry about all the little flaws in his character, or he could embrace it and be himself. He’d pretty much always chosen the latter. The trouble had been back when he didn’t know who that was.

He couldn’t help the cheery smile that broke over his face when she said that. She was scared of her power, he could see that, but he also thought she maybe did want it back, on her own terms. It was encouraging, but not something he needed to press right now. “I’m free all day, if you feel like going out. If not, we could watch that ice movie again. The one with the monster.” Jack was very fond of The Thing (1982). The special effects were gross (bonus), and the Antarctica setting was a whole mood.

Elsa couldn’t stop herself from enjoying Jack’s smile, and it made a part of her warm to know that she had contributed to it. In her adult life, she could count on her two hands when she had been responsible for making someone smile, s it was almost precious to her. 

She considered it, weighing her mental state with everything else she was feeling before nodding slowly. “We can go ahead and to today to start looking,” she agreed. She’d managed to retain most of her energy and been away from the outside world long enough that the idea of going out wasn’t overwhelming just then. She gave him a small smile before shrugging, “And we can always come back and watch The Thing after we search.” She didn’t choose to spend all day with someone, ever, but she kind of looked forward to the idea of it with Jack. 

He shrugged, not bothered. “I’m good at winging it.” Really, the fact that he had even the start of a plan was a big deal for Jack. It spoke a little to how important this was to him, even if he didn’t say much about it. He’d asked Elsa mostly for her company, not her expertise.

“I think it recognizes you.” He laughed at the snowflakes too because he hadn’t been trying to make that happen. He’d never had a learning curve where he learned to “control” his powers. They were just something that happened, and he could focus it, but sometimes the best things came spontaneously. He nodded, making a mental note not to bring it up again until she did or they found his staff. Jack could be tactful. He preferred not to, on the whole, but he could when it mattered.

“That’s good, one of us has to be,” she teased lightly, knowing it wasn’t her. She was normally good at having a plan even if it didn’t necessarily go the way she hoped. Or, she just made it work as she went if she was really forced into it, but it made her anxious to no end. 

She couldn’t figure out the small burst of warmth in her chest at his words, having been scared of her powers for so long. “That’s a nice thought,” she admitted with a small smile that she refused to let look hopeful. He always reminded her of when her magic was young and sometimes she wanted to give into it. “When do you want to start?”

If Jack had known Elsa back then, he would have made sure she learned to enjoy her power. It was only a burden if she made it one, and since Jack wasn’t all that concerned with the responsibilities of snow and ice and magic, it had never been a burden to him. Not even when he became a guardian. He was still put-out he’d never managed to meet the Snow Queen at the height of her powers, but it was easy to love Elsa the way she was now, magic or not.

“Do you have any ideas?” He was open to suggestions about where to look. He’d wandered all over Fableton and could navigate it easily, and he’d never come across any sign of his staff, but he’d never actively searched for it either. When her fingertip touched his, he sent a little extra push of his magic that way, as if testing to see if it liked her. “No pressure,” he said, and from Jack it was perfectly sincere. He wouldn’t push her on it, or anything else.

Elsa tapped her chin as she considered his question and sighed softly when nothing much came to her, “Not that I can think of yet, but I promise to keep thinking.” She offered him a soft smile, feeling a little bad that she couldn’t think of any other locations to check. But, she also didn’t make a habit of exploring Fableton very much either so she didn’t think she could be of much help that way. 

At the connection of their fingertips, she felt the extra push and laughed softly as small snowflakes piled up where their fingers were connected. “I know,” she acknowledged softly. It was part of what made him so comfortable to be around. “If we find your staff... we will see what happens,” she decided, bringing her hand back to her cup and curling it around her cup. 

“Yeah, it looks kind of like this?” He drew a rough sketch of the staff on the counter in frost. (Not in ice that might crack it. He wasn’t a total barbarian.) He’d had it from the moment he woke up as Jack Frost, and it was strange to be somewhere without it. There hadn’t been any serious threats in Fableton so far where he might need it, but given the option, he’d prefer to be prepared. For once.

He burst out laughing at her question, shaking his head. “I have a first place! Can we give me that?” His plan hadn’t extended beyond that at all. Jack was much more likely to just make things up as he went along. “My offer still stands, by the way, if you ever want to try to jumpstart your powers.” He wiggled frost-tipped fingers at her. He wasn’t sure it would work, but he was willing to try. Her magic was a part of her, even if it wasn’t a part she’d totally embraced. It had to be hard to be without it.

Elsa looked down as he sketched in interest, a soft smile tugging at her lips at the ease of his magic. The fun. A brief moment of wondering if it could have been like that for her crashed through her but she was used to it and let it keep flowing right past. “Alright, that helps me know what to look for,” she lifted her head up to look at him again, knowing this was important too him. 

He settled back in his chair and sipped his cocoa, which was always perfect. If anyone knew her winter treats, it was the Snow Queen. He wasn’t surprised that she didn’t want to get into too much mischief with him though. Not her style, and Jack could respect that. There were lots of ways to have fun. He hummed thoughtfully over his cup, fishing out a marshmallow and popping it into his mouth.

“Actually, there is something. I’m looking for something I had before I got here. My staff. It helps kind of… amplify and focus my power. Now that the barrier is down, I might have a chance of finding it. Would you want to help me look? I thought I’d start in the woods.” He smiled. He wouldn’t be offended if she declined; it was just an idea to get her out of her apartment a little more often and give them something to do. He’d looked for it off and on before but never seriously, and Elsa was maybe the only person he felt comfortable talking to about it. He didn’t like admitting to the other guardians that he wasn’t at full power.

Elsa picked up her own mug and curled up in her seat, tucking her feet under her as she looked at him over the rim of her cup with a small smile. Sipping on the cocoa, she let out a content hum and waited patiently because it genuinely looked like he was putting thought into her question. It made her wonder what was on his mind, though she was sure it wouldn’t take him long to say it. 

“Your staff?” She tipped her head and looked at the top of her cocoa as she considered his request. That tug of understanding she always felt with him pulled hard. Unlike her, Jack loved what the did and everything his magic came with. The fact that he was missing an important part of that made her hurt for him a little (lot). “I’d be happy to help you,” she decided with a slight nod. It was Jack, after all, and he’d never pushed her further than she was able or willing to deal with in terms of people. “The woods is a good choice. What’s your second spot?”

“Well, no,” he admitted, not losing his grin. “But I’m sure I could if you wanted to.” He could think of much less fun things to be an expert in.

Elsa shook her head at him, her lips twitching and she lifted a hand to hide her mouth. “No, no, I think I am quite alright. Is there anything else you would like to do, though?”