She had first met him the wedding.
After 3 years of tears, joy, struggles and obstacles, Anna and Kristoff were finally getting the wedding they'd dreamed of (well, that Anna had dreamed of) and Elsa couldn't have been more happy for the couple. Anna wasn't able to sit still at lunch one afternoon, and Elsa and Kristoff exchanged exasperated looks, both of them giggling softly at the bubbling strawberry blonde who tied them all together, who was the solid rock in their lives.
"Kristoff, I'm not hearing this again! You're wearing that suit and that's final!"
"It makes me look like an adult baby who can't afford proper clothes, and it's so uncomfortable!"
Anna promptly slid his bowl of pudding toward herself and shoved a spoonful into her mouth. Wiping her chin clumsily, she said "Lay off on the sweets then, big guy!"
Kristoff was about to retort when Elsa butted in, "Anna's right. It's the perfect suit, and you can always get it altered, we even have more cloth for it."
"Yeah, egjhactly" Anna said thickly through the pudding. "Not takin' no fo' an anshher"
Kristoff glared at his fiancee, then at her sister's guilt ridden face, and huffed dramatically. "Fine, I'll wear the damned thing. As long as I still get to marry this freak show." He tweaked one of Anna's braids as he spoke, and Elsa watched on as they fooled around like children (which ended with pudding smeared on Kristoff's cheek) and her smile faded into the shadows the longer she observed them.
The reception party was in full swing by the time Elsa returned from the restroom. Anna was attempting to dance with the best man, Sven, Kristoff's great dane. He had his paws placed up and scrambling at Anna's chest to maintain balance and licked at her face, Anna laughing throughout, not minding the mess he was making of her silk gown one bit. Kristoff had gone off to the side to speak to some guests, and Rapunzel, Anna's childhood friend from second grade was dancing rather vigorously with her boyfriend Eugene. People were trying their best to keep away from the pair.
Elsa bit her lip, suddenly very aware of how single and alone she was. Without thinking, she headed for the bar and plopped down hastily on one of the high stools. The bartender, a handsome, freckled, auburn haired man came up to her behind the glass table. "And what can I get for the lovely maid of honour?" he asked smoothly, leaning forward on his arms, eyes dancing as her looked her over. Elsa twidled her thumbs togther and gulped.
"It's Elsa. My name is Elsa. Elsa Albertsen. I'm the sister of the bride, Anna" she blurted out. She looked beyond the man at the wall stacked with bottles, not really able to focus her gaze on anything. The bartender blinked once, posture unmoving. "I know, I heard your speech a few minutes ago. That's a pretty name, by the way."
Elsa looked back at him and realized that he was waiting for her to order something.
"Oh! Um, a scotch please" she mumbled loud enough for him to hear. If he was puzzled, he did an excellent job of hiding it. He procured a short, wide glass and poured the golden liguid into it with something close to refined grace. Elsa's brow furrowed, taking slow sips as she watched the man converse with other guests and mix their drinks. She caught herself staring, admiring his fluid movements, the strong lines of his jaw and neck, veins poking through the lightly tanned skin of his arms. Elsa's stomach did a back flip when she heard him give a hearty laugh. She hadn't known that something so deep and guttural could sound so soothing and pleasurable.
She knew. This was lust, she wasn't stupid. She had been alone and lonely for so long, but she hadn't fully registered how desperate and needy she was until that moment. So she allowed herself to appreciate his physical attributes, to feel the slow burn ignite in the deep confines of her abdomen. There was no use in denying it any longer, like some shy thirteen year old. What was the point in deluding herself, anyway?
"Everything alright?" the bartender asked, breaking through her mental musings. She clutched her glass tightly and gave him a strained smile. "Yes, the scotch is great" She made a show of taking a sip and smiled meekly. He grinned easily. "It's our finest, plus nothing but the best for our most wonderful customers", he almost crooned. He was back to his previous posture, resting his weight on his arms and leaning forward. Elsa wondered if he was this way with every girl he talked to.
"Thank you very much. I'm guessing you've been in this business for long?" Elsa asked. She needed to keep talking or else she feared she might down her drink too fast out of sheer nerves. The bartender took the cloth hanging from his belt and absently wiped at a dusty wine glass. "I can't say I have been, ma'am. I started probably two years ago." He was slow and careful, and Elsa assumed, almost as alert as she was.
"Well, I must say you're very good at what you do" said a voice lowly, almost seductively. Elsa would never have recognized the voice as her own.
The man stopped his cleaning and set the glass down, tossing the cloth over his shoulder. He leaned in closer and Elsa was entranced by the specks of yellow that dully glistened in his light green eyes. His voice came out like molten velvet, "I haven't even introduced myself properly, how very inconsiderate of me. My name is H-"
"ELSA! ELSA ELSA ELSA!" Anna pushed through the crowd and grabbed her sister's arm, nearly yanking her off the stool. "C'mon let's dance!" Elsa laughed and let herself be pulled away. She managed to sneak a last glance at the bar. The bartender looked at her with a hard, blazing look, one she wasn't able to decipher. He continued staring in her direction long after her apologetic face had vanished into the growing throng of people.
"Don't miss me too much okay?" Anna whispered, half laughing through the tears. She hugged her big sister tightly and Elsa was afraid of the moment she'd have to let go. "Not making any promises" Elsa replied, wiping her eyes with the back of her palm. The two sisters laughed, clutching each other, until Anna moved to say the rest of her goodbyes. Elsa stood on tip-toe to hug her new brother-in-law. "Take care of her, and yourself, please" she whispered into his chest. Kristoff smiled and stroked her hair, and Elsa was reassured.
They had to leave all too soon.
The long, black car decorated with red and white carnations pulled away down the curb and Elsa's heart stung. Her flat was going to feel so empty with Anna's cheerful presence gone. She was going to feel so empty.
She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned to find Eugene and Rapunzel. "We'll be taking our leave now. The party was great!"
Elsa grinned "I'm so glad you all could make it. Anna loved every second of it!"
"Do you need a ride home? I know Anna's gone so maybe I could stay with you for a night" Rapunzel offered. Elsa's heart warmed. "Thanks Punzie, but I'll be fine. I've got some stuff to take care of people to see off. We should meet up for coffee this week, though!"
She hugged Rapunzel and saw her and Eugene off, then proceeded to thank the other guests and make sure they got home safe. Once she was sure that everyone had left, she went back inside the hall to collect her coat and handbag. She searched the bar and saw that no was around, unable to find her belongings.
"Looking for these?" she whirled around and found herself looking at the bartender from before, holding up her things. A hot flush crept up her neck.
"Oh, thank you so much! It was so careless of me to leave them lying around" Elsa blubbered fast, shoving her arms through her coat. She noticed that the man himself had a coat on, and he was playing with a pair of keys in one hand, the other stuffed into the pocket of his trousers. Elsa couldn't help but glance at his tall, lean frame. They walked out of the hall together, and Elsa paused awkwardly at the doorway.
"How will you be heading home?" he asked, turning to her, the chilly breeze messing up his short-cropped bangs. "I'll be walking home, I live just a few blocks away from here" Elsa said, shrugging. "Well, thanks for the help, goodbye" she mumbled abrubtly and walked away, fast. She desperately tried to stop the wild tumping of her heart as she shuffled her feet. You're a grown ass woman, she reminded herself. Get it under control, there's no Anna to run to this time. Isn't this what you're best at? Running away?
"I'm sorry, I can't let you walk alone, Elsa" the man had caught up to her and started walking alongside her. "It's well past midnight and these streets aren't safe"
Neither am I, she thought grimly. She smiled up gratefully, surprised at how easily he fell into step with her. Most people (basically anyone who wasn't Anna) would sense her discomfort and drift away. No one was permanent. She readily welcomed the change this time. She held her purse close to her chest and said, "You never really told me about your work before this"
He smirked and raised an eyebrow, causing Elsa's legs to tremble involuntarily. His keys jingled rhythymically in his palm as he spoke.
"My father's a wealthy businessman, he owns a long line of hotels. Well, he's an old man now and has given off all the property and most of the shares to his sons. All of my brothers have their own businesses on the side as well." His jaw was set firmly and Elsa noticed his fingers tighten into a fist. "All your brothers, but not you?" she asked tentatively. He scoffed, "Pretty much. Twleve hotels spread across twelve different countries all over the world, perfect to pass on to twelve sons..." he paused. "...until you have the unexpected, unlucky thirteenth son." He now made no effort to hide his displeasure as he walked.
"Wait, wait, you have twelve older brothers?" Elsa questioned, stumped. He merely nodded and glanced at her. Then it hit her.
"The Westergaard Chain! Of course! Whoa, your father is Westergaard himself? The Amandus Westergaard? Wow..." Elsa was amazed. But what was the son of this man doing catering at a reception party?!
He seemed to read her mind. "Like I said, I was an unplanned child. My father was never meant to have more than twleve sons. When he found out that my mother was expecting again, he was furious. If he had his way, he'd have thrown my mother out for good, but of course she was needed to "care" and "provide for" his more worthy children. Disgusting bastard" he spat. "I ran away from home when I was sixteen. My brothers had taunted and bullied me all my life, my father never gave a fuck about me. They never let me forget that I was never meant to exist, that I was a mistake, that I'd suffer my whole life." He sighed. "I've managed to secure a studio apartment and I've been shifting jobs ever since. Part time jobs, mostly. I bartender by night and work in shippments by day."
Elsa touched his forearm hesitantly. "I'm so sorry..." she said quietly, not knowing what else to say. He looked down at her, his eyes soft. "It's alright."
They turned a corner and Elsa spoke again, "My papa knew your father. His name was Agdar Albertsen. He spoke about meeting Mr. Westergaard several times."
"The name sounds familiar, but I can't put a face to it. I couldn't help but notice you used the past tense?"
Damn. Elsa swallowed once. "Yes, he and my mother passed away when they were out at sea on a cruise for their anniversary. I was eighteen at the time"
Elsa twisted her bag. It had been so many years, when would she let it go and move on?
She stopped in front of a gate and opened it, taking a small step inside. She turned to him and smiled half-heartedly. "This is me" she said, gesturing to the building behind her. He looked up at the tall expanse and let out a low sigh. "This...this is you" he confirmed in a throaty voice.
Their eyes met and there was a sudden shift, a fuse lit, a match struck. Elsa's heart beated a jagged rhythym, leaning forward on her feet the exact moment that he did, and their lips met in a swirl of scorching inferno.
A set of keys were dropped, a purse slid to the ground with a soft thud, as hands grabbed and pulled the other flush against their bodies. Elsa couldn't think. She didn't want to. She didn't care that she was being inappropriate with a stranger, that her hands were running wildly through his hair, that his hands were holding on tightly to the small of her waist, that she didn't even know his name. She needed this. She needed him.
He pulled away first and gazed at her, still holding her in his arms. "You're going to catch a cold if you stay out here too long" she whispered, and no sooner had the words left her than she felt the warm pressure of his lips again.
They stumbled into her apartment and shrugged off their jackets hastily. She undid his waistcoat, he clipped off her necklace. She loosened his shirt buttons, he pulled down her dress zip. She slid off his trousers, he kicked off her pumps. They wrapped and unraveled effortlessley together, no words needed to fill the silence. They peeled back layer after layer until they were bare; hot, sweaty skin on skin. The slip and slide of bed sheets, the ruffled bed hair, the heart-aching moans, the sparkling touches, the moisture, the hardness, and the need which threatened to pull them under any second. They pushed and withdrew, setting up a pace, building up for an explosion, the only communication being between icy blue and golden-green eyes, with the pressure of arms atop one another. They filled each other up again and again until Elsa felt she couldn't bear it any longer. She couldn't remember the last time she had been intimate like this, touched like this, rocked like this. She soaked it all in like there was never enough oxygen in the room, like she was constantly skimming the surface of the deep waters. And he gave, oh did he give. He gave and received and she gave some back, and they went on. The lava rose up and stilled, persistently on edge, waiting, waiting...
It spilled over and Elsa screamed. Her eyes were blinded by hot tears and she cried out as her whole being was paralysed and frozen in time. She felt him slowly slide off her and roll to the side, and she waited for him to empty the space beside her, for him to leave, to feel the cool air that on normal nights would tickle the right side of her body.
It never reached her.
He wrapped his arms around her bare shoulders and tugged her head against his bare chest, resting his chin atop her hair. "Shh, Elsa, I'm here" he whispered, and she let out the sob that she had been holding in so strongly. She emptied herself on him all over again until there were no more tears left to be shed.
The tucking of a strand of hair behind her ear was the last thing she felt before she drifted off to sleep within the shelter of his arms.
She awoke alone the following morning. Her eyes fluttered open, taking time to adjust to the dim light of the room. Flipping on to her back, she pulled out her alarm clock, the time showing 7 am. She knew, expected somehow, that he would leave. No one was permanent. Anna was. No one else. She got up slowly and put on her robe, then shuffled out to the kitchen. She ignored the pain, ignored her screaming and tired heart, and set about preparing her coffee as usual. It was just a normal, ordinary morning. Nothing special, nothing out of the usual, nothing different.
And then she noticed something different.
She placed her mug on the coffee table and picked up the folded piece of paper, right next to the pen that he had used. She squinted and brought the paper closer to her face. She made a mental note to get her eyes tested that day. She skimmed through the note.
An offering.
A helping hand.
A reassurance.
A thank you.
A phone number.
A name.
"Hans", she whispered, tasting his name on her tongue, savoring the sound of it. She held the paper close to her chest and a tear of sheer joy and relief slid down her cheek as she fell back on her sofa.