It was a Friday night. Merida, Hamish, Hubert, and Harris waved goodbye as their parents drove away. The second the car was around the corner Merida frowned at them. They were eight years old, but they sure didn't act like it.

"At least tell me what ya got planned so I can prapare meself."

They boys huddled in a circle, whispering to each other. They smirked at her, "not a chance, sis."

"Alrite then. " She held their same devious grin, "have it yer way." She walked in the living room and sat on the couch...a coconut cream pie flew across the room and splat in her face. "Oh...yer gonna pay fer dat!" Merida sprang off the couch and began chasing the triplets around the house.

° ° ° ° °

"Frost here," Jack answered his phone.

"Hello, Jackson."

"Oh hi, Mrs. DunBroch, I'll get mom."

"Actually, dear I was calling for yu. I was wonderin' if ya would help Merida watch the boys? Dey're a handful, as ya kno. I would pay ya, a course, and ya could take Emma o'er too."

"Sure, I'd be glad to help. Em and I will walk right over."

"Perfect. Thank ya, lad."

"Anytime, Mrs. DunBroch."

The call ended and Jack went into Emma's bedroom to see her boredly playing on the floor with Barbies.

"Hey, Ems, wanna go to Merida's house?"

She immediately hopped up and smiled, "yeah!"

° ° ° ° °

"Come back here, ya wee devil!" Merida shouted as she chased Hubert throughout the kitchen.

But then the doorbell rang just as she was about  to get him. She sighed and stomped over to the door. As she opened it a bucket of water as dumped over her head.

Jack cringed at Merida's angered face. She smiled through her clenched jaw, eye twitching, "What brings yu to here?"

"Your mom called me. Said you needed help."

"I can handle it." She glared, soaked through with water and pie. And right when she though it couldn't get any worse...feathers drifted on top of her.

"You sure about that?"

"Come in," She grumbled as they walked into the living room, "Dey're around here somewhere, Em. If ya find 'em, let 'em know I plan on skinning 'em alive."

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am," Emma saluted then scampered off in search for the boys.

"You can go take a shower, I'll clean this up." Jack offered.

"Jack, ya don't have ta--"

He rolled his eyes, "Mer, your parents are paying me to do this. Go take a shower--you looked like a drowned chicken."

"Gee thanks."

"Go."

"Alright, okay, I'm going! Shower police." She mumbled the last part as she walked upstairs.

"I heard that!"

"Good!"

The shower was nice and warm. But the whole time she was worrying what other traps Jack was helping the boys to set up. But maybe Emma would keep them in line. The girl did have a lot if control over Jack.

Merida unwilling crawled out of the nice hot water. Pulling on her underwear, shorts, and tank top, she pulled her hair up into a wet bun, then walked aback downstairs.

"Hey, you don't look like a chicken anymore!" Jack cheered.

"Shut it, Jack-ass." The mess was cleaned up, as he said it would be.

"Never heard that one before." He said sarcastically.

"Not even frum Elsa?" She teased. She knew that hit him hard from the near-tears look on his face. Elsa died a year ago in a car accident because she was drunk, and Jack hadn't been the same since. "I'm sorry, Jack. I shouldn't have..." Merida sat next to him on the couch.

"No." He shook his head, "It's not your fault." He was looking down at his hands, refusing to glance at her.

"I didn't mean--"

"It's my fault."

"What? Jack, she was drunk. It's not yer fault. I'm sick a hearin' ya say dat."

"But it's true." He looked into her eyes and all his pain hit her like a truck. "I was the reason she was at the party in the first place. I forced her to go. I told her to let loose and have fun for once. But she had too much fun. And told her not to drive, I swear I did," a single tear rolled down his cheek, "but she didn't listen."

Merida couldn't say anything for a long time. Jack had told her her this many times in the past nine months, and she usually got him to shut up and snap out of it. 

"Sorry, I shouldn't," He chuckled half-heartedly, "I'm supposed to be helping you."

"It's fine." Merida said. She pat him on the back then got up from the couch. They would talk about this later. "Boys!" She shouted, "if I were ya, I'd start hidin'!"

They could hear loud clanking from different sides of the large house.

° ° ° ° °

It took a while--finding her brothers and punnishing them by belting them to chairs and forcing the three to watch their parents wedding tape--but it got done. Not long after that it was time for the wee devils to go to bed.

Emma asked to watch a movie, Merida didn't mind so she agreed. Twenty minutes into UP she was fast asleep, snuggled comfortably between Merida and Jack on the couch. 

"Out with it."

"Huh?"

"The gears have been turnin' in yer head since Hamish sprayed ya with da hose. Dat...and ya nearly started cryin' after Ellie died." She rolled her eyes, gesturing to the movie. 

"I'm fine, Mer." Jack gently picked Emma up, layed her down on the other couch, and draped a thin blanket over her.

"I don't buy dat."

He sat next to her on the couch again, "You don't look like you when your hair is up."

Merida took her hair out of its sloppy bun, "Don't think yer gettin' off that easy, Frost."

"I don't have a choice in this, do I?"

"A course ya do...make da wrong one and I shoot ya in da eye with an arrow."

"Well isn't that comforting." He deadpanned.

She scooted closer to him and pulled his face down to look at her. "Jack, look, I...care...about ya. And I want ta make sure yer not gonna kill yerself because yer girlfriend decided ta be stupid."

"But wh--?"

"No, Jack. It's not yer fault. Elsa's bad choices lead her down that path. It was her fate."

"Merida..." He to her hands that were still on his face.

She immediately drew them away. "Sorry, didn't--I mean to do--I um."

He smiled sweetly at her, "What would I do without you?"

"Yeah, dat doesn't make me think yer gettin' better." Jack's arms wrapped around Merida's waist. "I'm not gonna be yer cheap rebound girl." She glared.

He chuckled, "I already had one of those, trust me, it didn't work."

"Who?"

"Rapunzel."

"Elsa's cousin?" Merida practically screamed.

"We were both really upset and it just, I don't know, happened." She could tell he was ashamed of himself. "But you're not like that Merida. You're not some "cheap rebound girl" that I'm using to make myself forget." 

"Den what am I?" She knew where he was going with this, but she liked playing dumb.

"You're the person that I can come to when I need someone to talk with. You'll tell me to shut up and stop being a dumb-ass, which is exactly what I need." He looked deeply into her eyes, "Merida, you're the person that I've been thinking about every night for the past three months." They were so close to each other now. There chests were crushed together and their lips were so close. "I need you, Merida."

"About damn time."

Their lips met, ever so carefully testing the new grounds they were on. But they were both ready--had been for a while now. So their mouths opened wider, allowing their tongues to fight a great battle. Jack ended up laying on his back with Merida on top of him. Their session died down almost too soon.

Her head rested on his chest and he leaned against the armrest of the couch.

"When are your parents going to be home?" Jack yawned.

Merida yawned as well, snuggling closer to his chest. "No clue."

° ° ° ° °

She opened her eyes and realized she wasn't in her room. Something moved underneath her, startling her.

Jack looked up at her with his wide brown eyes, "What time is it?"

"Nine in da mornin'."

Jack and Merida jumped off the couch.

"Oh hi, mum. Uh..."

_____________________________________________________

I absolutely adore the picture for this one! Sorry, this one was all over the place. I wasn't even planning on mentioning Elsa but I just sorta did and then decided not to delete it. Love it? Hate it? Tell me what you think and comment below for what you want me to write next (captinswan, snowing, outlaw queen, cindai, wolflet, thress, wincin, everlark, fourtris, eugunzel, hiccelsa, jarida, jelsa, kristanna, merricup, clintasha, captain widow, pepperony... You can tell me others and I will do them if I know who they are). I have a Lunar Chronicles, Mericcup, Wincin, Hiccelsa, Eugunzel, Clintasha, PotC Jelsa, Captain Swan, and Avengers meet RotBFTD crossover in that order coming up next. I can't promise quick updates on this book since I have other stories to write.

Keep Reading,
PrinsessSelene04