Cinderella– Modern College AU, Helsa, Mature language: in which Hans is a gentleman. This is the end, everyone, but depending on responses there may be an epilogue. Thank you so much for all of your kind words, please enjoy! - marth

"I have to hand it to you, I didn't think you could pull it off. I'm impressed, your majesty."

"If you call me that one more time, I'll make you regret it, Westergard."

Hans grinned. "Talk is cheap, Elsa."

She scowled, but soon relaxed and rested her hands on her hips. The rented hall looked absolutely incredible; the winter wonderland theme had been pulled off magnificently under Elsa's direction. Crystalline snow flakes hung from the ceiling, tinsel and glitter stuck to everything, and the dj's light setup made the decoration gleam like real ice. An ice sculpture of the school's mascot, the Raging Reindeer, was situated to the side with a buffet. The sound system was taken care of, the food in place, and all that was needed were the party goers. The homecoming dance was sure to be a hit.

He wasn't technically on the homecoming committee, but had volunteered to help. Elsa had been so busy with this stupid dance that she hadn't been able to concentrate on studying; of course, his teasing probably wasn't conducive to learning, either. So, in order for her to have more free time, and thus more time to spend with him, Hans had informally joined the committee and led the planning when Elsa had more important things to do. She had relinquished the power begrudgingly; it was only a small bit of power at that, but it still went to his head a bit as he surveyed the beautiful room.

"Two hours until the dance starts," Elsa murmured, and he looked over to her. No matter how much he helped, worry lines still marred her brow. He frowned. Over a few months, their once a week tutoring sessions had turned into late night chats about family, school, and their pasts. This was the most work he had ever put into a relationship, but it was worth it. The ice queen was warming up to him; the sneers had morphed into smiles, and her glares were almost playful now. His heart soared whenever she smiled, because it was for him and no one else.

"Don't you have to get dressed or something?" he asked. The tshirt and yoga pants she was currently wearing were not very good for dancing, as much as he enjoyed the view.

Elsa groaned. "Yes, Anna is waiting to attack my hair once I go back to the dorms." She stretched and popped her back. "I might as well get going, there's not a whole lot left to do here." They walked over to where their respective bags had been placed, and Hans lifted her's for her. She took it graciously, but then bit her lip and looked away. "You better be here on time, Westergard. Don't make me regret taking you as my date."

Hans chuckled as she practically ran from the room. Getting her to agree to that had been no easy feat, but in the end he hadn't even needed to blackmail her for a yes. She was so stubborn about admitting to any sort of feelings for him, but he was getting close; he could sense it. If he played his cards right, perhaps tonight would be the night that she allowed him to be more than an acquaintance held at arms length.

"Westergard!" He turned at the sound of his name, a stiff smile plastered on his face. Spending so much time helping a certain blonde had seriously cut into his sleep schedule, and he didn't particularly feel like acting right now. A group of older men were walking towards him; he recognized them as some of the graduate program directors. One of the men, Dr. Gilmore was possibly his name, pushed to the front of the group. "We understand that you plan on attending the college's school of electrical engineering, is that right?"

"Yes, professor, that's correct."

The older man smiled. "Excellent! You've shown promise, from what we've seen."

A plump man, one of the advanced chemistry teachers, spoke up. "Striking out from the rest of your brothers, good for you."

Hans tried not to grimace. "Well, we can't all be chemists."

Dr. Gilmore clapped him on the shoulder. "Very true. We were wondering if you would like to review some of the projects we've been developing, see if you're interested. It would be a good opportunity to familiarize yourself with our department."

Auburn eyebrows raised slightly. This could be the chance he needed to gain some recognition and cement his place in the highly competitive program. He clenched his jaw; Elsa would kill him if he was late. But she was ambitious, she would understand. It couldn't possibly take that long, he probably wouldn't even be late. Hans smiled. "Thank you, professors. I would love to."


Good lord, could those old bags of wind talk! Hans was practically running to get to the dance hall. He hadn't been able to get out of the research department until almost three hours later. At this point, a wrinkled suit was the last of his worries, knowing how Elsa could be about punctuality. He arrived well after the party had begun. Bodies draped in sequins and silk crushed in against each other, dancing to the beat of the painfully loud electronic music. Hans maneuvered through the crowd, searching for that unnaturally pale shade of blonde that he knew so well. Elsa was no where to be found, so he tried his next best bet.

He found Anna dancing with a bulky man, a sophomore from the looks of it. "Anna, where is your sister?" Hans yelled over the music.

The young girl seemed confused for a moment, then shook her head. Hans turned from her and continued his search. Finally, he found her off to the side of the dance hall, speaking with a group of teachers. Dr. Wesel, the government professor, was speaking quite animatedly to her. It took the redhead a moment to realize that the teacher was yelling at her. Hans was still too far away to hear the conversation when he caught Elsa's eye; something was very, very wrong.

He broke through the mass of dancers and made his way to Elsa as quickly as possible. "Elsa! I've been looking for you everywhere." He turned to Dr. Wesel, resisting the urge to throttle him. "Excuse me, professor, but I've been waiting all night to dance with my gorgeous date. You won't mind if I steal her away from you, will you?" Without waiting for an answer, Hans took the panicky blond by the arm and gently led her out of the dance hall.

Once they broke free of the crowd, Elsa took the lead and dragged him through the building until they made it outside. They were at the back of the building, their only company a dumpster and the cars of the servers. Now he had a chance to actually look at her. The woman in front of him had truly been transformed into an Ice Queen; her floor length gown glittered with thousands of powder blue crystals, her hair was beautifully arranged. Every detail was perfect, except for the abject fear in her eyes.

Hans felt anger rise up within him. "Elsa, what happened? Did someone upset you? What's wrong?" It must have been that pathetic little excuse for a teacher, or maybe someone had said something bad about the decorations.

The shaking blond hugged herself tightly and slowly met his eyes. "You're late." Before he could make any excuse, she stepped towards him and tucked her head into his shoulder. Elsa was touching him. Elsa was touching him voluntarily; she was so close, he could smell her perfume, he could hear her shuddering breaths. Hans instinctively folded his arms around her and held her, her head tucked under his chin. His hands stroked her back comfortingly while his mind raced frantically as he tried to decipher what had happened to upset her so.

Eventually she pulled away, her breathing normal but her eyes still strained. "Thank you." She was starting to draw back into herself; Hans took her face into his hands, his thumbs removing all trace of tears. He waited patiently for her to explain, his heart pounding. Something about this moment felt like they were standing on the edge of a knife, and moving too quickly would destroy them.

"Whenever I'm overwhelmed, or stressed, or sometimes for no reason at all," her eyes begged him for understanding, for acceptance, "I have panic attacks. That's why I've tried so hard to stay alone, it's why I see Dr. Finch. It's been getting worse recently, I haven't been able to control it as well." She was talking faster now, winding herself up again. "I've gotten used to you being around, and then you weren't, and Dr. Wesel started chewing me out for the stupidest, most insignificant thing, and you," her hands clenched the fabric of his tuxedo, "you weren't here."

Understanding broke over him like cold water; had she really said that she was used to him? That he helped control her anxiety? She needed him. She wanted him. Without thinking, he crushed her to him and kissed the top of her hair. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I'm sorry for being late, I'm sorry for not realizing sooner."

"It's not your fault. I've been this way since I was a kid. This college has been my first time in place with so many people, and I was doing well until this year. Maybe it was Anna being here, and I was afraid of her finding out how messed up I am." He could feel her breath on his neck; it was all he could do to focus on her words and not how close she was. "Then you had to start antagonizing me, and I just couldn't stand you. I was mean to you because I thought you deserved it, I thought you could handle it. You really are an asshole, you know."

He laughed darkly. "My most charming feature, I would say. I think you enjoy my pestering as much as I do, not that you don't give as good as you get."

Elsa looked up and him and sniffled. "Are you still mad that I got president over you?" she asked, a teasing lilt to her voice.

"Are you still mad that I flirted with your sister to get your attention?" he retorted.

"Wait, what?" Her brows shot up into her hair, and she nearly sneered but Hans caught her chin and smirked.

"Well, being the best looking guy on campus, and the smartest, wasn't enough. Drastic measures were called for."

She sighed and her mouth that he desperately wanted to kiss relaxed. "You're positively evil, sometimes."

"An evil Prince Charming for an Ice Queen seems fitting, don't you think?"

They stood in comfortable silence for a few minutes before Elsa pushed away, her cheeks slightly red. "Then, as queen, don't make me wait again, Westergard. I won't tolerate it." Her face was serious for a heartbeat, before they both broke out into laughter.

"I'll do my best, your highness." He watched her for a moment, just to make sure she was really alright. "Do you want to go back inside?" When she hesitated, Hans grinned. "Actually, I think I want you all to myself tonight."

She scowled, but seemed pleased. He looked her up and down once more; she looked stunning. With a flourish, he bowed and extended his hand. "Now, may I have this dance?"

Elsa allowed herself a small smile. "You may." And when he kissed her this time, she didn't run.