The door opened slowly to reveal a trembling Elsa, her entire body quivering as she sluggishly lifted her head and raised her eyes from the floor. Meeting Tadashi's eyes for the first time since she had rushed to avoid his gaze in the hallway hours before, his heart broke at the very sight of her. Left hand clenched around the doorknob still, her right arm curled tightly around her chest and shoulders hunched, she looked as though she had just journeyed though a blizzard. Which, he supposed, she more or less had. Snowflakes fell softly off of her as she quaked, descending from small piles on her shoulders and hair where they near blended in with its light color. Her hair, previously wound up in its usual tight bun for work, had clearly been brutally whipped out of the pins holding it in place; it had fallen into what closely resembled her braid, but the plaits had very nearly slipped completely out of their bindings and the snowy, silvery strands held little modicum of order.
Tadashi held back the powerful urge to run to her, to grab her by the arms so tightly it left bruises and pull her in close. He resisted, just barely, knowing that having released the storm of emotions, the pain and frustration from those feelings were still fresh and oozing- deep, emotional wounds no less painful than their physical counterparts. Sudden movements, physical contact- those were what he must keep inside now. Her gift -there was that word again- prevented her from acting on what she felt, and yet somehow that same gift –gah, the same curse, call it what it is, goddammit,- placed its own differing restrictions on him as the unaffected party as well.
So instead he stood calmly a good distance away, arms and palms up but close to his body still, with a gentle but pointed look towards the woman he loved. She hesitated, gaze flitting and unsure, but after a moment's pause her left hand released its grip on the knob and curled in to meet the arm snug around herself on the right, as if she were trying to conserve the little warmth she had left.
After she took only a few bumbling steps away from the door, Tadashi moved to meet her halfway and she immediately fell into his now outstretched arms, shaking like a leaf. Silent sobs wracked her lithe frame, and he removed one arm from her back to wipe at her tear stained cheeks before realizing that the streaks had frozen on her face. He rubbed his fingers over the icy bands but they remained solid and unyielding. Catching a glint in the corner of her eye, he very carefully scratched at the crystalline tear that had formed but never gotten the chance to fall.
Shifting the trembling girl in his grasp so that she was supported by one of his arms, he removed the other from her back and reached up to gently tuck a strand of hair that had fallen into her eyes behind her ear. He stroked the side of her face, smooth and compassionate, and let it rest to cup her cheek. He guided her head so that she was looking up at him, though upon making eye contact her face clenched in shame and she turned quickly away, her arms still held tightly against herself.
"Hey," he whispered softly. "It'll be alright."
She whimpered, biting her lower lip, and shook her head back and forth.
"Hey," he continued, still stroking the side of her cheek. "Hey. Ssshhh now."
He brought her head up once more, but this time brought his own down to meet her soft lips. She gave a faint gasp against his mouth but didn't pull away. He deepened the kiss, tucking her in close while his lips brushed lightly against hers and she responded with ministrations of her own, delicate albeit hesitant. He let his tongue part her lips with a gentle touch and she complied, arms at last releasing their iron-like grip around her torso and sliding up to rest against his neck and shoulders. He felt her fingers crawl up the back of his neck and curl in a fist around his hair and he gave an involuntary shiver; it felt as though an ice cube had slid up his neck but it somehow intensified the pleasure. She didn't notice the twitch, mind full of too many other things to compute any more than was necessary, and he watched her lids and lashes flutter, she caught up in the physical for the first time in hours rather than the emotional.
He noticed the light little freckles peppered across her nose and cheeks and broke apart from her lips to trace featherlike kisses among them. She drew in a breath and scrunched her nose at the surprise, then let out a hushed mew when he let his lips continue the trail across her cheek to just below her ear. Her legs, already struggling to bear her weight after her exertion in The Room, gave a strong quaver when her knees buckled. Tadashi felt the weight shift and immediately dropped low to catch her up in a scoop with one arm behind her knees while another supported her back. Her hands were latched tightly onto his forearms in an attempt to stop herself from falling, and she gave a relieved puff of a breath as he bounced her up in the air before holding her cradled to his torso.
She rested her head against his chest, making his stomach drop and his heart flutter. Despite the chilled bundle in his arms, he suddenly felt very warm. Elsa gazed up at him, finally initiating eye contact, and he gave her a wide grin. She responded with a slight tilt upwards of her lips, a tiny smile, but it was shadowed by a sadness in her eyes. He leaned down to kiss her on the tip of her nose, then took off towards their bedroom with a swift leap, startling her into releasing a small shriek as her fingers tightened around his arms with an icy film.
He bounded through their bedroom door, depositing her with a gentle toss onto the bed. She squealed as she bounced slightly on the mattress, her eyes finally alight. As she maneuvered herself so her back was propped up against the pillows, Tadashi bounded up onto the bed and positioned himself straddled over her.
He leaned forward and joined his lips to hers once more. She responded in turn, allowing the kiss; little licks and nibbles, soft caresses and light breaths. His face felt wet, and he pulled apart to realize that the streaks of tears that had frozen to her cheeks were now melting. He brushed their noses together, foreheads touching, and used his thumb to wipe the wetness away with delicate strokes, her eyes now closed.
That done, his fingers danced by her neck as he began to deftly unbutton her silky shirt that she had worn to work. She released a breath at the realization, eyes wide as she watched his actions. He parted the collar at the top as he worked on the remaining buttons, her chest rising and falling sharply still from the exertion of her release, full breasts cupped in black silk and lace. Tadashi freed the remaining button, pulling the fabric away from her arms to reveal her smooth skin. She attempted to pull herself forward and reach back to unclasp its hold on her, but fell back with a noise of frustration as her weakened state took hold.
"Here," Tadashi said, pulling her forward into his chest as he undid the hooks and pulled it away, her face resting in the crook of his neck. Feeling the warmth of the air against her now-exposed skin, she tilted her face up to press kisses along her love's jawline. He wrapped his arms around her and lowered them both back into the pillows. Removing his own shirt, he pressed his bare chest against hers and slid down, smooth skin lending a gliding caress.
He stopped when his face reached her chest to enclose her nipple in his mouth, tongue swirling around the tip as she moaned, hands fisting in the sheets. Tongue and lips still working, he raised one hand to caress the other breast, fingers swirling around, alternatively stroking and kneading. As his tongue flicked a peak again, she gave a throaty moan, hips arching of the bed to ask for more. Her fingers obsessively plucked and released the sheets, never ceasing in their movement as they held back her urges for something deep and burning within her core.
Mouth still on her, he raised his eyes to watch her glazed expression as he removed his hand and slid it tantalizingly down her abdomen and under her knee-length skirt, leaving tingles in its wake and heat suffusing her entire being. He touched –only just- in her exact spot, and the smoldering burn in response was so great she gave an involuntary twitch and let loose a harsh whimper.
He dragged his finger down, slick in her wetness, when she released a startled cry. Eager to make her pleading persist, he flicked his tongue against her still, fingers moving beneath her rhythmically. Her cries continued, but their intensity grew in their harshness and she sharply, suddenly, pushed herself away from his loving, her back pressed so hard against the headboard that the boards dug into her spine.
He sat up, confused- was he being too rough? - But her expression was no longer glazed, her eyes no longer closed in ecstasy or even looking at the man pleasuring her. They were wide, wider than he had seen them in a long time, and focused intensely on her hands half-buried in sheets. Something was wet around them, the light blue of the sheets now a rich navy, and it was dripping onto the floor.