So, we're all aware that I'm Jackunzel trash, right? This shouldn't be news to anyone. Not after my Cinderella AU drawings. Anyway… I saw Avengers: Age of Ultron… and I needed a Jackunzel AU. For that one certain part. You know what I mean.

Actually, this ended up feeling more like Project GUARDIAN that Avengers… but oh well.

Huge thanks to Eva Maverx for two hours of head cannoning last night.

Safe Haven

She was trying to read Pride &Prejudice. But she wasn't getting very far. She had been on page fifty-seven for a while now.

The sound of the shower mingled with the raindrops that hit the window of the bedroom. The deeper, heavier sound of the shower water hitting the plastic tub forming a harmony to the higher, more melodic sound of the rain.

Lifting her eyes from the pages of the worn paperback, Rapunzel looked over at the window. Night had fallen, overcast by the clouds that brought the rain. But she could see the branches of the birch tree in the yard. There was just enough wind to make the branches dance, and toss the leaves back and forth on their slender stems.

It wasn't much of a storm.

The one inside her head was another matter entirely.

Instead of focusing on the story of Elizabeth and Darcy, her thoughts kept returning to a different story entirely.

She asked Jack to tell her about his assignments because she wanted to know – and they had finally reached the point where he didn't try to hold back some of the darker details anymore. And she was to the point that she could usually take a deep breath, whisper a prayer of gratitude that her husband had returned safely, and push his stories aside.

It worked most of the time.

Tonight, though…

She looked over at the teddy bear he had given her when he got home – the silent sign that he had very nearly gotten himself killed this time. Again.

Rapunzel ran through the front of her hair as she looked at the bear. As soon as Jack left for his next assignment, she would have to make a knew shelf to fit all the stuffed animals and "souvenirs" in the guest room. This one would stay in their bedroom for a while. Probably until he brought her another one, which would take its place.

But that wasn't what was bothering her now.

When she had married jack, she had known what she was getting into. You didn't marry a spy without seriously considering what their job required of both them and you. Every time she looked at the collection of souvenirs, she was acutely aware of the fact that each on represented a time that Jack almost hadn't come back to her.

But other things… Did she have to accept other things too?"

"You okay?"

She looked up in surprise to see Jack in the door of their bathroom, dressed in a pair of pajama pants, with a towel around his neck. She had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed that the shower had gone suddenly quiet.

Looking over his arms and torso, Rapunzel caught a few bruises. But no new cuts. Her eyes lingered on a few of his scars. All of them were familiar to her – she probably could have listed them from memory.

Rapunzel closed Pride & Prejudice, setting it on the nightstand, next to the mango scented candle that burned inside its clear glass jar.

"Am I in trouble?" Jack asked, as she turned off the bedside lamp.

The candle was no the room's only light. Jack was mostly in shadows by the bathroom, but the warm glow was enough for her to see his expression.

"That… girl," she said slowly, choosing her words carefully. "The one you used to get the information."

He had started to turn back into the bathroom, but he paused, looking over at her. "Used" probably hadn't been the right word, she realized. He looked as though he was waiting for an accusation.

"Did you kiss her?" Rapunzel asked, trying to keep her voice level, but it broke a little at the word "kiss".

"No." Jack shook his head as he went back into the bathroom. A moment later he returned, carrying his dirty clothes, which he tossed into the laundry basket by the closet door.

"And the others," she said.

Infiltration was one of Jack's specialties – one of his values to the GUARDIANs. He was an amazing fighter, but they had plenty of fighters. What they didn't have were agents who could match the easy attitude and charisma that opened so many doors for him. Or his ability to get lost in the shadows, so that even people who walked right passed him barely noticed he was there.

But she also knew, without being told, that it wasn't chance he was often assigned to female targets.

He was her husband. Rapunzel was well aware that he was gorgeous. Face, body… and even when he wore colored contacts, to hide the vivid blue the experiments had turned his eyes, their intensity was enough to set off the butterflies in his stomach.

From the way he told his stories, he didn't seem to think anything of it.

And she didn't doubt him.

"Have you kissed any of them?" she asked.

"No," he said, raising his dark blue towel to dry his hair. The color of the towel helped hide traces of blood and flecks of temporary hair dye that he sometimes missed.

Not an indignant "how could you think that?" no.

Just a statement of fact.

And they were both aware that there was a silent "not yet" in the shadow of that no.

Rapunzel hugged her knees, her stomach tight.

For the first time, it occurred to her that maybe this was something that had been covered in his training. She had always assumed that his ability to charm anyone was natural skill – but now it occurred to her that maybe it was as much training as anything else.

He hesitated at the edge of the bed, silently asking permission. She was his wariness, and knew that he didn't know where this conversation. Maybe he was afraid that it would turn into a fight. They only had so much time together, and they both hated to waste it on a fight.

Rapunzel let go of her knees, shifting her position so she sat cross-legged on the bed. At the same time, she reached out to take his hand.

Jack sat down slowly, though she wasn't sure if that was the result of sore muscles or wariness. He didn't take his eye from their hands. She cradled his in both of hers. Tracing her fingertips over the scarred and calloused skin.

"What's wrong?" he asked, voice little more than a whisper.

"I know…" she couldn't lift her eyes from his hands, which she continued to examine. The way the candle light cast shadows over the skin, revealing his scars. "I try not to ask too much of you – I'm proud of the good you and the GUARDIANs do."

Taking a deep breath she pressed the back of his hand over her heart, and lifted her eyes to meet his.

"But will you promise me one thing?"

She tried not to ask for promises. But right now, she needed one.

His eyes searched her face, waiting for her to clarify the exact promise she wanted from him.

"I need to know that there's a line you won't cross," she said.

"There is a line," he said.

"I know," she said. "But I need the line to be here. I can't share you like that. I don't care what the circumstances are I just… I can't."

"Do you trust me?" Jack asked cautiously. Still trying to figure out exactly what this conversation was.

She wasn't doing a very good job of explaining herself.

"Of course I do," she said. "I know that, if you did, it wouldn't mean anything to you. I trust you in that. But I…" she hesitated. "Do you remember out first kiss?"

His expression softened, and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

Rapunzel returned the half smile, letting herself get momentarily lost in the memory. The way he had pushed her hair off her face, calloused fingers caressing her cheek. His deep voice low and gentle as he told her that he loved her. Her heart had soared in her chest at the words. Words she had wanted so badly to hear – which she still loved to hear.

And then he had leaned in, his nose brushing against hers.

"Can I…?" He had asked, with more hesitation than she had ever heard from him.

By that time, she had already seen him fight. She knew the strength and power in his lean frame. And, later, she had learned what it was like to be kissed the way he fought.

But that kiss – their first kiss – was the exact opposite. Until that moment, she hadn't known he was capable of such tenderness. Despite the rough callouses on his hands, they cupped her face gently as his lips brushed over hers. Feather light, almost reverent, and more than a little scared.

It was what every girl wanted her first kiss to be.

That was the first time she had seen Jack Frost completely fall away – the attitude, the training, the strength, and the protective walls – and she had seen Jackson Overland.

"How could I forget?" he asked. With his freehand, he brushed her hair off her face – the same way he had then.

She turned her face into the hand that now rested against the side of her face, kissing his calloused palm.

"I know a lot of people try to say that a kiss is no big deal," she said. "But it's not for me. I mean, it is a big deal. When you kissed me that say, I felt as if I had found a part of myself I didn't know was missing. I still feel that way every time we kiss. And I can't bear the thought of anyone else…"

Her throat tightened, and she couldn't finish.

"Rapunzel." He leaned forward, touching his forehead to hers.

"Promise me," she whispered, reaching up to wrap her hand around the back of his neck.

The kiss was coming. And the moment it did, she would lose the ability to think about anything but him. And she wanted it. Oh, how she wanted that kiss.

But she needed the promise more.

"Please, Jack. Promise me."

"I promise," he said, his voice raw as he pulled back enough to meet her eyes. His gaze was steady, and she found the earnest sincerity she needed to find there. "I promise, you're the only one I'll ever kiss. You're the only one I love. And you're the only one I want."

She closed the space between them, pressing her lips to his.

It wasn't as tender as their first. It was raw, and a little rough around the edges… But it was exactly the kind of kiss she needed at that moment.

Her hands found their way into his hair, threading her fingers through the white strands. She wriggled her body, trying to close the space between them.

Jack seemed to understand, pulling her into his lap without breaking the kiss. His hands ran up and down her back, soothing the muscles there.

Rapunzel sighed, leaning in deeper and shifting her position as her body relaxed.

Jack groaned, the sound resonating through both their ribcages. She registered the disappointment in the sound just before he broke the kiss.

"I would love to finish this conversation," he said, breathless. "But I only got a couple hours sleep on the jet, and I'm exhausted."

Rapunzel nodded, understanding. It was usually the case when he first got home.

She blew out the candle while he pushed back the blankets so they could crawl und them. And she surrendered happily when he pulled her into his arms. She had slept alone for weeks, and was glad to once more be wrapped up in the safety of his hold.

"I love you," he whispered.

"I love you, too." She closed her eyes, settling in to let his heartbeat lull her to sleep.

She was just on the cusp when jack spoke.

"Rapunzel?"

"Hmm." It was all she could manage.

"You know how you said you felt complete the first time we kissed?"

"Mm-hmm."

"I felt the same way." He kissed the top of her head. "I still do."