transgender!elsa. A prompt from elsatheicebiotic, and beta read by her and cynthash on reddit. From Anna's POV because we both share the cisgender aspect, but I did make sure that those who read it were transgender. If I have made any error at all with this, please tell me so I can fix it up.
Meet Elsa.
She's a twenty-five-year-old college graduate with a degree in architecture to her name, and that… is pretty much it. She's got a bag with a few items of clothing, a purse and a phone, with little money or contacts respectively, and that's about it. Thirty-two cents in change in her pocket, and a handwritten note.
Elsa is transgender. It's not the most important thing about her, but right now, to her, it could be the only thing about her.
She doesn't have a home. Not anymore. She's been on the ground for two days, three hours and forty-two minutes. She had some money when she landed. She doesn't anymore.
Meet Elsa, a girl who's been kicked out of her home for being a girl. A girl with no friends and no hope and… with the weapon in her bag and the ache in her heart, she doesn't have a very long future, either.
:.
Meet Anna.
She's a twenty-two-year-old psychologist-cum-social worker. She has a bag with a few items of clothing, a purse and a phone, with little money or contacts respectively, and that's about it. Marshmallow's already raided her pockets for change.
Anna is a foster mother who was once a foster kid. It's not the most important thing about her, but right now, to her, it could be the only thing about her.
She's never had a home. Not really. She's been out in the world for four years, five months, and eleven days, and she's doing everything she ever dreamed of.
Meet Anna, a girl whose family is dead so she's had to make her own. A girl with started on her own and used her sad life to help those who might have a sadder one.
There's an arcade at the pier that Anna used to hang around. They've cleaned it up since her childhood. The stoners and addicts have been shooed away to make way for expensive housing and villas. New docks and piers have sprung up, and it seems that every man and his dog has a private yacht on which to sail.
The arcade isn't really an arcade anymore. It's an awesome eat-street gourmet place that rich kids spend their petty cash. For Anna (and Olaf and his sibling, Marshmallow), it's a rare treat.
Anna gives him a fifty and tells him to spend it wisely. Olaf is one of the more responsible sixteen-year-old's she's ever taken care of, and she's going to put it down to the way he has to be a role model – an older brother – to a kid who needs one. Olaf isn't interested in chasing girls (or boys) or trying to impress them. He has a part-time job that's going towards his college fund, and Anna's already set Marshmallow up with one. They'll use it when they get a job.
Marshmallow was born with a different name that everyone who matters has purged from their memory. They're starting their first year of school in the Fall and can't wait, and neither Anna nor Olaf have any concerns that they're going to have any problems at all.
So the kids have wandered off, and Anna's engaged in her favourite pastime; people-watching. It gives her a sense of peace, watching them rush to and fro.
She's been sitting in the same spot under the shade of a tree for nearing an hour when she notices the girl. That is, notices her again. She's sitting on a bench, alone, as the people move past. They don't spare her a glance, even though she's got long blonde hair that shimmers so bright in the sunlight that it borders on blinding, and there's a bag of luggage next to her. She's not bordering a ship – this isn't that sort of pier.
Anna hasn't seen her look up once. Her hand is in her bag (where her eyes have been trained for the last half-hour at least), and Anna's up and moving towards her before she has much of chance to think about it. Gracelessly, Anna slumps next to her, pulling out her phone so the girl doesn't feel uncomfortable with being watched.
She sends Olaf a message, just letting him know where she is in case he needs to find her, before turning to the girl. Anna thinks that she's definitely made the right decision, moving.
Her hand isn't in her bag anymore. It's clenched on top, knuckles turning white. Anna's trained, of sorts; she knows what to look for. And of course it isn't fair, but as her eyes rove over the almost-invisible stubble on the girl's chin and down to her chest, she thinks that no one else passing by would know, anyway.
So she holds out her hand. "Hi!" she says. "I'm Anna. Waiting for your own sibling?" She asks the question even though it's pretty obvious this other girl isn't. When the girl turns to her, eyes wide, Anna's smile gets bigger.
"Um, Elsa…" She takes the hand as she answers, and it's just another thing that Anna categorises and files away. "And no, I just… wanted to be somewhere happy…"
Anna nods her head and bites the inside of her lip. "I love your make-up," she says, unable to think of anything else. The girl, Elsa, colours, and it gives a life to her face that Anna wasn't even sure she was aware she was missing. Her eyes sparkled for a brief second before they dimmed again, and Anna keeps talking.
"I'm terrible at make-up, always have been. My first girlfriend helped, but I've gotten better by just practising. I've had a few foster kids who needed the confidence boost, so I taught them." She smiles fondly, and internalises it just a little when Elsa takes the bait.
"You… foster kids? Whose parents… don't want them?"
Anna nods. "Yeah. I specialise in LGBT youth; kids who don't have anywhere to go because their parents can't let them be who they are. The kids are sometimes runaways, but sometimes… it's just not safe for them anymore…"
She watches Elsa swallow for a second, and doesn't say anything else. She's said her piece. Now's the time to wait for Elsa to decide whether or not she can talk.
They're silent for a few minutes. Anna goes back to watching people, though she keeps an ear out for the chance that Elsa decides to speak. She isn't unprepared when she hears a small voice next to her.
"What…" Elsa begins softly, "what do you do if…if someone doesn't know what to do? If they c-came out and thought their parents would accept them, but they didn't?"
Anna doesn't really have to think about her answer, but she stops to make sure the words are the precise ones she wants to use. Humming slightly, she frowns as she decides the best way to word it.
"I would… tell them that family can make the same mistakes as any stranger on the street. Sometimes they say they're okay with something but they don't know what 'being okay' means until they're actually faced with it. I would tell them that people make mistakes, but we can always learn from them, and maybe, in the future, they'll realise their error and how much they love them."
Elsa's facing her lap, but Anna can see beneath her lashes how fast she's blinking, trying to stem the tears that have undoubtedly begun to surface. Anna scoots a little closer and, without giving Elsa time to react, wraps her arms around her.
She feels Elsa stiffen in her arms before she relaxes, allowing Anna to hold her even tighter. "I'm sorry, Elsa," she says gently. "I'm sorry they can't see what a beautiful daughter they have." Elsa nods shakily, and the tears finally fall. Her arms reach up, and she holds Anna close as the pain of the last few days finally break her.
Anna lets her for a few minutes; she stays completely silent and just embraces her. But eventually she does speak. "Can I… have your bag?" she asks softly, hoping Elsa will understand the meaning behind the words, and not freak out about it. She's pulled away far enough to see Elsa's face – watch the girl nod again and wipe at her eyes. Anna reaches in and, feeling the hard object hidden there, pales. She uses her other hand and, through sheer memory, disassembles the small firearm.
As soon as that's done, she puts her arms back around Elsa. The world fades away until it's just the two of them, and though Elsa's voice is shaky and watery, she still finds the courage to ask, "How did you know?"
"I saw you, earlier," Anna responds softly. "I have to know, with how I live and work. But it's okay, Elsa. You're okay."
Tearfully, Elsa nods and releases Anna. She wipes at her eyes, and that's when the two realise they have an audience.
Olaf and Marshmallow are standing off to the side, watching them. He gives a smile, and Marshmallow waves, and Anna beckons them over.
"Elsa," she greets, "this is Olaf and Marshmallow. You two, this is Elsa."
Olaf doesn't bother with formalities at all. He swoops down and hugs Elsa, kissing her on her cheek. "Hi, Elsa," he says when he's released her. Marshmallow tries to mimic their brother, and it looks far cuter on a six-year-old than a sixteen-year-old.
Marshmallow stays on Elsa's lap as Olaf takes a seat next to her. He peers over to Anna and, with wide, brown eyes, asks a question that sends Elsa into another fit of tears.
"So… do I have a big sister now?"
Anna just smiles as she watches Elsa wipe away the make-up stains on her face. "I don't know. Would you like to be, Elsa?" she asks.
Elsa can't answer. Doesn't know how to respond to the kindness this group of strangers has shown her. And they don't press her. They don't try to calm her crying beyond sweet words of encouragement, and Elsa already knows that, for as long as she can, she wants to be a part of this family.