hold on when you get love

[frozenfractals]

Despite the late hour, Elsa is reluctant to let Jessica go, but she knows she must. Jessica has to get home before Miles realizes she's still gone and worries, and Elsa needs sleep. She's so glad suddenly that she thought to ask for the day off when she knew they'd be going to the lab. She's weary to the bone, but sleep seems impossible just now.

She watches her go, heart fluttering, and she can't stop smiling as she steps back inside, closing the door gently. Anna is waiting, she knows. She's a little — not embarrassed, exactly. Embarrassment requires shame. Bashful. Blushing and bashful and still half floating, she locks the door and turns around.

"I'm sorry. I hope the waffles aren't too cold."

Comments

[anopendoor]

"I mean, I didn't know, but I kind of thought, maybe..." Anna trails off, shoulders lifting in a shrug, though she still has a noticeable smile. When it comes to Elsa and romance, she wouldn't have wanted to make any assumptions, not least because it hasn't seemed to be something her sister has been all that interested in. Still, she'd thought there might be something. Even if she hadn't, this wouldn't be any less exciting. "So what happened? Tell me everything."

[frozenfractals]

It's a curious feeling that rises in Elsa's gut, a desire to tell all and to keep it to herself, something private and beautiful to be treasured, something she wants to tell everyone, even for all her accustomed reticence. She hardly knows where to begin, a nervous flutter of a girl as she makes her way to the kitchen so she can make tea.

"Oh, well, I — I hardly know," she says. "We went to the lab and it was... more than we were expecting, but it all worked out in the end. And then Jess and I were walking home, and..." It's all a bit of a blur now, but she wants to remember it just right and forever. "And she said something about having good ideas once in a while, and how most of hers about me had paid out, so naturally I wanted to know which ones hadn't."

[anopendoor]

"And then I guess it turned out that it did after all?" Anna asks, watching as Elsa moves around the kitchen, still nothing less than utterly delighted. Her cheeks are starting to hurt from wearing such a wide smile for so long, and she doesn't care. Life in Darrow has been pretty good, all things considered, the two of them having managed alright for themselves even in the face of such a drastic change, but she doesn't think anything — not any of the big festivals or parties, none of it — has been this exciting.

[frozenfractals]

Elsa isn't sure she's stopped blushing since she set foot in the apartment, if not before that. "It did," she says, every word feeling strange in her mouth. She's not sure when it'll begin to feel entirely real and not just like some hopeful dream, but she doesn't mind it. It's just too wonderful to fathom yet. "And she kissed me — or I kissed her, or — Apparently she's liked me for a long time." She'd had no idea, honestly. She'd hoped once or twice, certainly, but there'd been nothing to make her believe it was possible.

[anopendoor]

That doesn't surprise Anna in the very slightest, and it's almost enough to make her wish she'd done something about it herself, when it first crossed her mind as something that might be the case. This has all worked out too well, though, for it to be anything more than an idle thought. The important thing is that they both know now, that they've finally done something about it, that this has made Elsa so happy. That much is impossible to miss, and as far as Anna is concerned, nothing matters more. "And you've liked her," she says, half a question. "And now you both know about it. Are you gonna go out? What's the deal?"

[frozenfractals]

Elsa can hardly remember what she came into the kitchen to do, and it takes her a few fumbling moments to put on the water for the tea, looking for the tea bags in an effort just to keep her hands busy. It only makes her think, though, of a night long ago when Jessica came over and had tea for the first time.

"Yes," she says. "We're going to go on dates." Lots of them, Jessica said. Lots. "I don't even know what people do on dates, honestly."

[anopendoor]

"I'd tell you if I knew," Anna says, shaking her head a little. Just the idea of Elsa and Jessica on an honest to goodness date is pretty exciting in itself, though, in spite of that fact. She doesn't need to know a lot about how dating works to know that it's kind of a big deal, at least sometimes, and definitely, whatever it entails, for Elsa. "But you guys are gonna have to figure that out together."

[frozenfractals]

"I didn't think I'd ever date," Elsa admits. Checking again that the kettle's on, she starts rummaging through their tea collection. At this hour, she probably shouldn't have anything that's going to keep her up. Though she's positively humming with energy, she's exhausted, too, and she needs her rest. She's not sure how she'll ever achieve it, though, with memories of the walk home in her head. "Or court anyone. Or be courted, I guess, by anyone interesting."

[anopendoor]

"And everything is so different here," Anna says, warmth in her voice. Strange as it might have been at first, it's one of the things she likes most about this place, how much the rules have changed regarding relationships and people who can be together. Their prospects would have been so limited back home. Here, it's a whole new world. "I'm really happy. For both of you."

Elsa deserves the best person possible, not to mention someone who knows about what she can do and won't think any less of her for it. Anna can't think of anyone more fitting than Jessica.

[frozenfractals]

Her people, Elsa is sure, are much more accepting than many in surrounding kingdoms, but even they might have balked at the idea of a queen who would marry another woman. She might have gotten away with quite a lot, if she were so inclined at home, rather than simply afraid, but there were lines for her even there.

Besides, Jessica wasn't there, and that makes all the difference.

"Thank you," she says, still a bit embarrassed by the whole ordeal. "It hardly seems real to me. Would you like some tea?"

[anopendoor]

"Tea sounds great," Anna says, nodding, though she has a feeling that she'd say yes to just about anything right now. It will go well with her waffles and ice cream when she has them, though, and with the way the night has gone, she's in no hurry to head to bed or anything like that. She's far too excited for that. "God, if I can hardly believe it, I can only imagine how you must feel."

[frozenfractals]

Like she could fly away, Elsa thinks. Like she wants to share everything and hoard every detail for herself all at once. Bewildered and brilliant and relieved. "I hardly even know," she says, shaking her head. "It's... it's very new." That's hardly the whole of it, but it's part of it. It's so sudden and fresh that she's not yet certain it's even happened. "And I'm so fond of her."

[anopendoor]

"I can’t think of anyone better for you," Anna says, shaking her head. Jessica has been a friend to them since they both got here, and encouraged Elsa to use her abilities in ways that make her feel good about them. That, she’s come to find, is the sort of thing that matters most: someone who can show their affection, their loyalty, in such a way that it’s clearly real. "I’m sure she must be so fond of you, too."