Kristoff was tired.

Tired of green and pastel and invitations and even cake. Oh god, he was sick of cake. Why were there so many different types of cake that all tasted the same? At least Sven was happy; he smuggled the last few taste tastings his way.

At least the wine tasting was nice. None for Sven that time.

Memory was a bit hazy, but he was pretty sure he nodded and smiled at several things before dozing off somewhere.

When Anna had asked him to help out with the party, their engagement party, he had been happy to say yes. On one hand, the man could appreciate the attention to detail. There were good and fun things to plan. He thought Anna's ice sculpture idea was splendid, and the queen had been very accommodating to the many ideas that they came up with. Nothing nearly as grand as the castle, but the delicate reindeer, swans, and whatever else was conjured were damn beautiful. He almost cried again and absently heard Anna asking her sister about a ice-inspired wedding dress for the future.

Though there were now several large puddles in the courtyard, that day had been one of the more better ones. What he couldn't understand was the need for distinctions between different table clothes and napkins and flowers. He heard the coronation party had been nice. Couldn't they just go with what had been decided for that?

No. No, they couldn't. It was apparently such a terrible suggestion that even Olaf gave an aghast gasp of horror.

Anna did, however, give an understanding smile and whispered that she was getting tired of decisions, too. But then she said it was necessary to make these sort of choices – appearance was a major thing for royalty and parties and so on. And it was, at the very least, practice for future event planning. Anna then went into her Super Serious Mode and determinedly went on about her role as a princess and helping her sister by taking on some real responsibilities. Then she had slipped momentarily, given him a quick kiss, and gently sent to him to the library. He would have tried to sneak in a few more kisses if the queen hadn't been standing three feet away.

He was now poring over several books on the fish industry, and he wasn't quite sure why. He even had to write a summary for Anna to read later. His reading was a bit... out of practice since he hadn't needed to use it much, but he would do his best. At least his eyes weren't trying to tell the differences in nuances of color in random cuts of fabric anymore.

Once more, Kristoff was reminded that his fiancee was indeed, a princess. Royalty came with many, many strings, and most of the other ones didn't have the added ice powers shtick. If he had to read about fish and pretend to care about this candlestick design over the other, then so be it.

It was still better than those lonesome days with just him and Sven.

He reached a paragraph about the rich history of Arendelle's fishing industry, starting out with the different types of fish and how boat construction gradually changed over time. The pages seemed to stare at him mockingly with their tiny, fine print.

...Well, most of the time, it was better.

While Anna fussed over the final touches on the menu for the party, Elsa started making a checklist of tasks that needed to be done. Some were for the party, some were not. By the end, there were several pages scattered around.

With a sigh, she wondered if making an ice person to help was a good idea. Perhaps someone taller than Olaf. And with limbs that weren't sticks. The queen shuffled that idea aside for later, and instead added "Hire more servants" to one of the lists. Still, it was progress, and having a record made everything seem less overwhelming.

She heard Anna flop on the sofa with a dramatic sigh. "Done! The food is now decided. We should eat. Is it time for dinner yet? Elsa, you hungry?"

Elsa glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner. "Almost. Gerda will probably call for dinner soon. You should probably go get Kristoff."

"Mm, don't want to move."

The queen smiled a little and quirked an eyebrow at the way her sister was sprawled on the furniture. "Is that even comfortable? That couch was always lumpy."

There was some loud shuffling. "It's great. Lovely. How many of those lists are for the party?"

"Just one, actually. The rest are to make sure we don't forget anything when it's time to actually have the party. Not too much more planning."

"Oh, thank god. I don't know about you, Elsa, but I think we can hold off on having another formal party for a while. Those ice-skating parties were a lot more fun. Just a tap of your foot, and the ice rink is all ready to go."

"And the hot chocolate is always so good."

"Yeah..."

There was a moment of peaceful content before someone knocked on the door. "Your Majesty? It is time for dinner. Is Princess Anna in there as well?"

"I'm here! We'll be there soon." With a sigh, Anna rose and stretched. "I guess I'll go get Kristoff. He might have fallen asleep from trying to read about fish."

"Maybe the ice fishing parts will keep him interested."

Anna laughed as she headed towards the library.

Olaf wandered in town, cheerfully greeting the citizens. He looked up at the gray skies and wondered if today would be the day that Jack came back to Arendelle.

He gave a little disappointed sigh when it started getting dark.

Maybe tomorrow then.

It was still dark when Elsa woke up.

She ran her hand through her hair, grumbling under her breathe about the time. It had to be the middle of the night still. Why had she woken up? Sleep was a precious commodity these days. Blearily, she tried to look around, adjusting to the dark room.

There was a tap on the window. Then another.

Elsa paused before slipping off her bed sheets. If that was just some silly bird, Elsa was going to have the chefs prepare fowl for dinner for the next few weeks... Murderous thoughts of gleefully gnawing on chicken went through her mind. She didn't have time for this. And shouldn't most of the birds have gone south by now?

...It wasn't a bird.

Though her visitor was equally capable of flight.

Wordlessly, Elsa opened the window and stared at the floating boy in front of her. She wondered if she could discreetly pinch herself and make sure this wasn't a dream. It wouldn't be the first time.

"Aren't you going to invite me in?" There was that familiar grin on Jack's face.

Her face flushed slightly before Elsa's well-established manners and etiquette kicked in. The rest of her brain fluttered, trying to catch up. "It's the middle of the night." And it wouldn't be proper. At all. What would her parents, rest their souls, think? At least the first introduction had taken place in the evening, and the shock of it had excused things. Elsa fidgeted. Come to think of it, this was probably the first time Jack had seen her in her nightgown. Not proper at all.

And just why was she feeling so awkward? Jack was back now, and shouldn't she feel happier? Why couldn't it just have been a bird? She could have just gone back to bed and enjoyed eggs in the morning.

During her odd silence, Jack floated on into the room. "Huh. Looks a little messier. Lots of queen stuff to do lately, Elsa?"

Clearing her throat and closing the window in resignation, Elsa nodded. "Yes. Part of it was planning for Anna's party."

"Her party? What, is it her birthday or something? I gotta get a gift for that, don't I? Shoot."

Elsa chuckled, letting her shoulders relax slightly. "No, not her birthday." She walked over and rummaged around her desk to pluck up a letter. "Here. For you."

With a questioning look, Jack opened up the card and read aloud, "Jack Frost, you are cordially invited to Princess Anna's and Kristoff's engagement party-What. ...Wait, what." He stared and read the card again. "Wow. I. Well, good for them. Congrat-wait, I should be saying it to them. ...Oh, the party's in a few days. Glad I made it in time. Uh... I guess a lot has happened while I was gone?"

Elsa shrugged. "Things change. This engagement isn't that surprising, though."

"Heh. I guess not. So... I guess this mess must be from all that party planning, huh?"

"Some of it. Being a queen isn't easy, you know."

"Yeah, yeah..." Jack seemed to amuse himself by looking around the room as if trying to remember little details her and there. In fact, he seemed intensely interested in the walls, for some reason.

Elsa began fidgeting again, toying with the sleeves of her night gown. It wasn't even as revealing nor form-fitting as her other dress, and yet she felt oddly exposed. Not to mention her hair was down. One of her hands moved to fuss with a lock of hair.

Why were they just standing there? In her room. At night. In mostly darkness. Granted, he was floating, but that was beside the point.

Silence.

"...Jack?"

"...Yeah?"

"...I have to get to bed."

"...Right! I'll just. I'll see you in the morning." He turned to leave.

"...Jack, please use the door this time."

Said spirit immediately turned around and headed for the door. He grinned again, but this time, it was rather sheepish. "Right. Sorry. Good night, Elsa."

"Good night, Jack."

After the door closed, Elsa found that she wasn't very tired anymore and buried her face into her pillow in frustration. And disappointment. Her snapped open. No. No, she wasn't disappointed. Why would she be? She was glad Jack was back. Why did that rhyme; it just made it sound inane.

Elsa curled up around a pillow, feeling silly.

It was the lack of sleep, she told herself.

Yes. That was it.

Sleep would come back, any moment now...

...Eventually...

She sighed.

On the other side of the door, Jack scratched his head with a troubled expression. "Well, that was kind of... weird. Maybe I should have just waited for morning. I mean, it has been a few months, so I guess you just gotta get used to things again." He floated down the hall, muttering to himself.

"Yeah..." Jack continued to wander through the quiet castle. There was still several hours till morning to wait through. One of the perks of being a spirit was being more flexible with the need for sleep. Though it was still necessary every so often, for some reason. Magical powers needed rejuvenation as well, he supposed.

...He didn't think tonight would be one of those times, though.

His eyes kept darting to the walls, studying the designs. It was easier to pretend to scrutinize them instead of...

Elsa looked really pretty with her hair down, he thought. And her night gown was maybe too thin. In the right light, it was on par with her ice dress, maybe more so. Then again, feeling cold was never really an issue with her, so maybe that was why it was looked so thin. And maybe he should stop thinking about that. Stop. Stop it now, you idiot, he told himself.

"...Home sweet home, I guess."