A/N: Tumblr prompt: Elsa's never been good with babies, but somehow, without her much intending it to, everything changed.
[ElsaxOC (mentioned), KristoffxAnna (implied), K, family]
"Natural"
Elsa had never been particularly natural with babies, not since the first time after Anna was born, before anyone had quite learned to fear her touch, and her mother and father had placed baby Anna in her arms, milk-pale and freckled and my, she was fat (she'd had far too much fun teasing Anna for that, years later, when their bond had long since been mended and Anna's son crawled between them on chubby, chubby legs).
Elsa had tipped baby Anna this way and that, inspecting her carefully, and her mother had rushed forward, told her to be careful and took her away, into her own arms, and then Anna had started wailing, full-throated and deep, as the queen rocked her gently and sang to her in a soft voice and Elsa felt dreadful that she had made the baby cry, not noticing the way Anna's tiny hands unclasped from her mother's and reached for her.
She'd been no better years later, when baby Joseff had been born, so afraid to touch him for fear that she'd see ice creeping along the edges of his soft skin beneath her fingertips, and she'd avoided him entirely until the day Kristoff thrust the baby into her arms and Anna had held them both together and they'd all cried just a bit too much, except for the baby, who had smiled at her with such warmth and love that she'd cried even harder.
By the time Heidi came, Elsa had grown a bit more practiced, more natural, after a few years of Joseff toddling about and smiling his gap-toothed grin as he launched himself into her arms, clambering onto her back and telling her to do the magic, giddyap! as she skated them around the halls and didn't bother to hide her smile (his laughter sounded so much like Anna's and oh gods, he was just perfect).
Heidi was smaller than her brother, but she looked so much like Anna that the old fears returned, memories of Anna's infant wails in her ears, and it was Joseff who burst into her study and grasped her by the hand, pulling her along as fast as his little legs could carry him to show her his new baby sister and wasn't she weird-looking, Aunt Elsa?
"Well, I do think she looks just like your mother," she'd said, gently lifting Heidi out of the cradle and holding her close, grinning as Anna stuck her tongue out at her.
And it was strange, pleasantly so, just how natural Heidi felt in her arms.
But that was how things were supposed to be. Anna was the one who'd fallen in love and married (unconventionally so, perhaps, at least for a princess, but her brother-in-law was a kind, brave man who loved Anna and his children and, yes, even his somewhat aloof sister-in-law fiercely and fully, and he appreciated her magic more than perhaps anyone), and it was Anna who had borne two beautiful, bonny children, chubby-cheeked and adventurous and terribly, terribly spoiled (Anna insisted that Kristoff was the more indulgent parent, while Kristoff rolled his eyes and pointed out that Anna was the one who always let them stay up past their bedtime, and neither of them knew that there was a local toymaker who had a very generous line of credit and a standing weekly order from the queen).
And Elsa… Elsa was the Snow Queen. Untouchable. Transcendent. Perceived as distant, perhaps justifiably so, in all but her laughing, delighted interactions with her small, growing family.
At least until Eirik had joined her advising staff.
He was tall, blond, broad, and just a little awkward, excellent at diplomacy and trade negotiations, and he was completely in love with her.
Elsa had pretended not to notice.
And pretended quite successfully for three years, as he stood dutifully by her side, never pushing, never making his feelings known, forever loyal and deferential to the queen, even as he failed to keep the faint warmth from his eyes when he thought she wasn't looking.
She demonstrated her powers during a trade meeting, freezing her desk solid beneath her palms, attempting to scare him off.
He asked kindly if she was cold, offered his jacket.
She fired him twice.
He bowed deeply, thanked her for the opportunity to serve her, and hesitated, just for a moment, before making his way to the study doors.
The first time she called him back before he could reach them.
The second time she kissed him.
When they married the following winter, snowflakes catching in her hair and veil, she hadn't been sure anyone could possibly cry harder than Anna, but he certainly came close.
It wasn't how it was supposed to be. It was better.
Just like the sleeping baby in her arms, beautiful and pale as she snuffled into her blankets, cheeks rosy, tiny fists clenched, and she was almost too exhausted to cry. Almost.
Anna appeared in the doorway to her room, her hands held tight to her mouth as Kristoff stood at her side, Heidi sleeping against his shoulder, holding one of Joseff's hands.
"Can we have another one?" Anna asked, turning to her husband, eyes bright.
"Here," Kristoff said, smiling and shrugging his shoulder in a vague gesture towards their sleeping daughter. "You hold this one and then ask me."
Anna laughed and lightly smacked Kristoff on the chest before crossing over to Elsa's bedside, resting her chin on the mattress and staring at the baby.
"Hi," Elsa said quietly, shifting the baby in her arms, warm and soft and sleepy.
"She's fat," Anna said, a mischievous grin spreading across her pert features.
Elsa laughed as Anna climbed up beside her, placing an arm around her shoulders, and as Joseff ran over and climbed up between them, Eirik appearing at the open door with tears in his eyes, exchanging a firm handshake with Kristoff, her baby warm in her arms, everything felt perfectly, wonderfully natural in a way that it never had, in a way she had never dreamed it could be.