The Invisible (Jelsa)

Chapter XXVI

Everyone noticed the change in Heimdall's demeanor. The problem was, it wasn't...something they could pinpoint. It wasn't exactly his habits that had changed, nor his outward personality, by all standards he seemed quite grumpy and sarcastic still. Yet there was a part of him that was so utterly changed and foreign that no one could attempt to dechiper it. Jack was the first to figure it out. Elsa was expressing worry in their bedroom.

"He's just so faraway." She sighed, putting down her book. She realized only then she'd read the same page for half an hour, never making progress past the first sentence.

"Is that any different from before?" Jack chuckled, scratching behind his neck.

"It's a different sort. I worry about him, Jack." She said, frowning.

"I know, I know. It's a mother's curse. You worry about all of them. Like Izo failing a math test, or Berlio getting bullied by his younger sister." Jack shrugged.

"No, it's different. This is Heimdall. He's our baby." Her eyebrows knit together in deep concentration. Jack whistled.

"In comparison to our triplets who are hardly over a year and actual babies, our 17 year old is more our baby. Hmm." Elsa sourly threw her book next to her.

"Jack!" She half-yelled, "I'm really worried. What if he's depressed?" She cried.

Jack scooted closer to her and put an arm around her dainty shoulders. He brought her head down to the crook of his neck, where she sighed in defeated contentment, nuzzling far into his embrace. He kissed the top of her hair, which he noted had a few streaks of gray in- which he thought only made her starlight hair more beautiful- and gave a long hard sigh.

"Heimdall's just going through a hard time." He tilted his head, and thought hard, "Actually, I think I know." He said with sudden clarity.

Elsa's head shot up. "What?"

Jack's smile was wicked. "He's in love."

"Jack be serious." Elsa frowned, returning to where her head had been resting before.

"No, no. Really. He's in love with a girl that doesn't like him back. Or, he's too surly to know how to comprehend liking a girl, and that makes him angry. I know this kid like the back of my hand, Elsa. This is it."

"Jack, you're not going to torture the poor boy if that's what it is, are you?" She asked, wincing.

"Torture? What kind of horrible father would I be if I did that?" He asked, but his eyes gleamed with the youthful glow of an opportunity that Elsa saw commonly on the faces of Anna's trouble making twins.

"I still don't understand why he's angry. Love is beautiful." Elsa crooned, and Jack rolled his eyes.

"He's a guy, honey." He said, as if that explained it all. He elaborated at her raised eyebrows, "They don't think like girls do. Love is a helluvah scary thing. I mean, if I had grown up with it, I would have been terrified. With you, it was a sort of instinctual thing." He admitted.

"I want to know who she is." Elsa said decisively, "I need to know whose caused my baby so much heartache."

"And what? Tell her to scram and she's a terrible human being?" Jack asked, and Elsa didn't reply, "Yeah, that will really help Heimdall."

"Oh shut up." Elsa batted his chest, "When one of your girls fall in love, you'll understand."

"What? No way. I'm gunna be a cool dad about it." Jack said and Elsa rolled her eyes.

Jack crept out of bed after Elsa had fallen asleep, and was not surprised to see the lights still on in Heimdall's room. He entered silently, and saw his eldest son sitting on the ledge of the window, his legs swinging in the night air.