When the war started there was not a single person who wanted to serve more than Anna Arendelle. She ached for it, longed to join the cause and protect her country. She wanted it more than anything else. Unfortunately, the war did not want her back.
She'd lost count of how many times she'd enlisted, and subsequently how many times she'd been rejected. Her first refusal had stung the most, the looks of amusement, the comments of wouldn't she rather stay home, and 'maybe you'd be better suited for nursing'. Anna had stormed out of the enlisting station with tears in her eyes and their laughter ringing in her ears. It had gotten easier after that, until the looks and comments no longer fazed her. Of course she was still frustrated, but she never let it show, she would simply shrug it off before moving on to the next station, and the next, and the next.
Her most recent attempt had been particularly nasty. One of the men had made some crude remark about the only way she would get to the front line was if she was the after hours entertainment. He had told her that she ought to walk her 'pretty little self' back to where she'd come from since women belonged… well he'd never actually been able to educate her on where women belonged as the force of her fist connecting with his nose had effectively robbed him of the rest of his sentence. Needless to say, although most of the other people present for Anna's impressive right hook had howled with laughter, the man she'd hit did not; he'd chased the girl for almost six blocks. Lucky for her, she was quick on her feet and knew the streets of New York like the back of her hand. She was able to shake him without too much trouble before heading home to the apartment she shared with her sister.
The second she walked through the door Anna threw her jacket on a nearby chair and immediately made for the fridge. Grabbing a bag of frozen peas and a cellophane wrapped sandwich her sister had left for her, Anna kicked the door shut only to come face-to-face with a very pissed-looking blonde.
"Hey, Elsa. What's up sis?" she said brightly.
The older girl rolled her eyes and placed her hands firmly on her hips. "Don't 'what's up sis' me, young lady. Where have you been all night-," her eyes drifted down, "Anna what did you do to your hand?"
"Nothing," she said with a shrug.
"Anna."
"It's always looked like that."
"Anna."
"Alright, alright fine. I may or may not have punched some asshole in the face."
"ANNA!"
"Okay, but before you freak out you need to hear my side of the story," Anna insisted, taking a large bite of her sandwich.
Elsa closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose as if not looking at her sister would somehow make the story more bearable.
"And what is your side of the story, exactly?"
"He was being a sexist jerk," Anna said matter-of-factly, smirking when she remembered the shock on the guy's face.
Elsa, on the other hand did not look at all amused. "Let me see," she snapped holding out her hand.
Hesitantly, Anna let her sister take the injured appendage, which she grabbed a lot more roughly than was totally necessary.
"Ouch!" Anna yelped trying to yank her hand back but Elsa only held her more firmly.
The older girl examined the swollen knuckles closely, asking Anna to curl each of her fingers before trying to make a fist. When she was done Elsa, released her sister's hand with a defeated sigh. "Well it's not broken. But ," she added quickly when Anna grinned triumphantly, "you came very close to causing nerve damage."
Elsa sagged a little and her expression turned pained. "Anna you cannot keep picking fights with men like this. You are going to get yourself really hurt and I won't be here to patch you up."
Now it was Anna's turn to look upset. "I should be going with you," she said bitterly, turning away and walking into the living room.
Elsa followed.
"Anna you can come with me," Elsa said, her tone almost pleading. "If you would just stop being so stubborn-"
"No, Elsa!" Anna instantly regretted shouting at the older girl when she saw her hurt expression. "Sorry Els, it's just… I already told you, I belong on the field, not in a nurses tent."
Elsa gave her an offended look.
"Don't get me wrong," Anna said quickly. "I totally respect what you're doing. Hell, without you there would be no one to fight this war. You and the other nurses are just as important as the soldiers... maybe even more, it's just... it's just not me Els. You know me better than anyone, I thought you of all people would understand..."
Elsa sighed again and held up her hands in surrender. "Okay, fine you win, do as you please." Then she smiled. "You know, I miss the days when I could just bribe you with a bar of chocolate and you'd do anything I asked."
Anna snorted. "I was young and naïve back then. Now it takes at least six bars of chocolate and a new pair of shoes to get me to listen to you," she said giving her sister a wink.
Elsa rolled her eyes. "Brat. Now can you please go clean yourself up and get dressed. Our dinner reservation is in an hour and I don't want to spend my last night in the city eating leftovers because you made us late."
Anna laughed as she allowed Elsa to push her towards her bedroom. "So where are we going anyway?"
"Tiana's Place."
Anna froze and her eyes lit up. "Isn't there a enlisting station down the street from there?"
Elsa groaned.
Xxx
"I have a question," Anna said as Dr. Erskine sat on the cot across from her, a bottle of… something, in his hand. "Why me?"
When the Colonel had pulled her aside after her little stunt with the grenade, Anna was sure he was going to tell her to pack up her things and go back home. She'd reacted on instinct, diving for the explosive and covering it with her body so that the rest of her unit could get to cover, but it hadn't gone off. It had all been a test, one she'd passed apparently because instead of tossing her on the next bus home Colonel Philips told her she'd been chosen for something called Project Rebirth.
"The serum amplifies everything that is inside. So, good becomes great, bad become worse. This is why you were chosen, because a strong man who has know power all his life will lose respect for that power. But a weak man knows the value of strength... and knows compassion." He grinned. "Though I suppose in this case we are speaking, of course, about a woman."
I hoped you liked it, I might add more to this AU in the future just because I can never get enough of Cap!Anna :) Please review!
-Nicole