PROMPT: how about an early visit that doesn't go very well? perhaps the second or third. and anna, being her typical self, accidentally grabs elsa's hand or just gets too excited for elsa to handle

Goin back in time for this one! Like my other fic, these prompts won't really follow a timeline BUT they will build a story and most of them will be in order but I really like this prompt so we're goin back a little bit, this is like the sixth visit or so? something fairly early but not right after they've met.

The anniversary of her parents death was never something Elsa looked forward to. In truth, every day she went without hearing her father tell her she'd be fine or her mother just knowing when she needed her favorite movie on while they had some comfort food was a hardship. This, though, was much worse. She'd woken up feeling incredibly off. Her body felt heavy, head hazy, and her motivation to do anything had dwindled down to nothing.

Still, Elsa got out of bed and did something Kristoff had told her to do anytime she felt empty. She congratulated herself for every single thing she did. Good job Elsa for getting out of bed. Hot damn look at all that breathing that's happening. Is that food? Good job, Elsa, for remembering to eat.

Every single thing she did she tried to treat like an accomplishment in her mind and though it dulled the pain a little, her body still felt hollow even as her heart ached worse than it usually did.

This year would be a little different. Anna was supposed to come over for a few hours to check on her and, on Kristoff's orders, to make sure she remembered to eat more than once. Mostly, Elsa knew he just wanted someone to keep an eye on her to make sure she didn't hurt herself. Sighing softly, she curled her legs up under her while gazing out the window to the woods surrounding her home.

Clothed in an oversized hoodie that went down to her knees and a pair of worn shorts, Elsa knew she wasn't at her best for Anna's arrival. Their friendship still new, Elsa did her best to not look as messed up as she felt around the redhead. Once comfortable, she wouldn't really care what Anna saw her dressed in but she didn't want to chase her off in anyway. Today, Elsa couldn't find it in herself to care much about that.

Hood pulled up over her head, she had zoned out the world, only seeing what part of the window wasn't blocked from her view. The door opening was a bit of a surprise when Anna walked in, causing her to jump a little as the hood slid back on her head a bit.

"Oh, Elsa! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." Anna's smile was warm, steps still a little wary though as she got a bit closer. "I thought you'd be watching for me." Elsa could see the way Anna's eyes scanned her appearance, the corners of her mouth twitching down slightly when she got to the dark circles under the blonde's eyes. "Are you alright? I know what today is, Kristoff called me yesterday to tell me."

That had Elsa sighing softly though she couldn't stop the gentle smile that formed at that. Kristoff was always looking out for her. "N-No. I mean, yea. I'm.. i'm fine, I was just looking outside." Blinking rapidly for a moment, she lifted her fists to rub at her eyes. The sleeves of her hoodie slid down slightly and Anna's eyes went immediately to the bandages.

Stepping forward, the redhead was surprised when Elsa flinched slightly at the close quarters. She'd been able to get closer than this before but this was a different kind of day.

"Have you checked them today?" The pale skin around Elsa's bandages seemed tight, like they were pressed a little too close. Elsa nodded slowly, picking at the right one. "I think you tightened them a little much, Snowflake." The little nickname earned Anna an actual smile, Elsa ducking her just a little to hide her pink cheeks. When Anna discovered how excited Elsa got when it snowed, how eager she was to sit in the window and watch it cover the ground, she'd given her that nickname. It was one of the things that usually got Elsa talking or at least made her a little bit happier.

Blinking down at her arm, Elsa registered that her skin was a bit off color around where she had wrapped. She swallowed and looked between Anna and her arm. It was such a small thing, a little detail that she could fix in a moment, but it set her off. The whole day she'd felt so hollow and one moment of concern from Anna had her flooded with so many emotions at once she didn't know how to handle it.

Anna had never experienced a full out breakdown from Elsa before. One minute the blonde seemed distant, a slightly broken expression on her face, and the next she seemed to be experiencing every possible thing she could. Eyes wide, Elsa's lip trembled as tears streamed down her cheeks, hands rubbing almost frantically at her legs. The bandages were getting pulled and rolled as she rocked, breath starting to come in pants.

"Elsa! I need you to try to breathe for me, okay? Snowflake, you need to calm down. It'll be okay, we just need to loosen the wraps and it'll all be okay." Anna was starting to panic, she didn't know what to do here. Elsa was usually fairly contained when it came to these types of things, their meetings so far had never gone to this.

Her voice barely registered with Elsa, the blonde curling in on herself as she got even worse. Her teeth sunk into her lip as she rocked, head pressed firmly into her knees while her hands gripped at the arms of the chair. "No, no, no, no." A soft, steady chant slipped past Elsa's lips. It took Anna a moment to realize they were happening in perfect intervals, almost like Elsa were counting them in her head.

"I don't know what to do here." Anna whimpered softly. Sure, she was a nurse, but she usually worked with just helping to feed and take care of simple tasks. Elsa was a special case. Kristoff has asked for her help specifically and, even more than that, once she met Elsa she'd just known she was meant to be there. She was meant to be Elsa's friend, her rock, and she was so determined to be that. The problem was that she still didn't know how. Running into the kitchen, she grabbed a box of tissues from a cabinet and filled a glass with water. Returning to the room, she noticed Elsa hadn't moved much and her rocking seemed to be steady now.

"Elsa, please, let me help." Anna's voice was whispered, as if she thought Elsa might shatter at any loud noises. Moving closer slowly, Anna set down the things she had on the table next to Elsa's chair. "Snowflake?" The name got a tiny whimper from the blonde, hands gripping the chair harder. Without thinking, Anna reached forward, her hand barely touching Elsa's shoulder before she pulled away just as quickly.

The response was immediate and violent.

Elsa's body lurched forward, a terrified garbled noise slipping past her lips as she shot out of her seat and towards the opposing wall. She collided with a loud thud, sliding down to curl into herself once more, body squirming until she was pressed tightly into a corner. Her body trembled, rocking intensely as her chanting of no shifted into a chant of whimpered I'm sorry's.

Anna's eyes widened in horror at what she'd just done. Cursing herself in her head, she kept a fair distance while still trying to calm Elsa. Nothing seemed to be working but after a few minutes, she was able to get Elsa breathing normally. The older woman was still pressed tightly into the wall but she wasn't crying anymore, her chest rising and falling normally.

All Anna had to do was talk about the snow.

Each flake that fell outside, she explained in detail as if she could see them under a microscope. The way they hit the ground, the ones that melted immediately and the ones that stuck. She talked about the wind blowing up swirls of white that caused the trees to look almost like they were out of a fairy tale. By the time Elsa has calmed down enough to simply sit and rock, Anna was crying. Her heart ached for the girl in front of her, entire body full of remorse for what she'd done. Every muscle had screamed at her not to touch her, especially not when Elsa's emotions were so volatile, but she hadn't been able to help herself.

The need to comfort, to help, had been too intense and all she'd done was make everything worse.

"Snowflake?"

"C-Can you just.. p-please." Elsa didn't want the redhead to see her this way. She couldn't help her reaction, couldn't stop the storm ripping her apart on the inside. Anna was her friend, someone she didn't want to scare away and here she was losing it at a simple brush of a hand against her shoulder. She felt disgusting, terrified, and like her chest was being crushed by a rock. "I need to.. to be alone." Running her fingers through her hair, Elsa let her hands rest on her head as she hid even more into her legs. "L-Leave, please."

Asking even in this situation, Anna felt even worse as she watched Elsa stutter out a plea. There wasn't any anger, no venom towards her but she could tell Elsa was kicking herself. If anything, she wished the blonde would lash out at her. She also understood the need to not be near her. "Okay, Elsa." Walking slowly around the other girl, she made it to the front door before looking back at the trembling body still on the floor. "Please take care of yourself." Her words were whispered and gentle, like one of those snowflakes in the wind.

She'd almost lost hope, almost felt her entire heart shatter at the thought that she'd completely fucked this up when Elsa piped up once more. "I'll.. I'll s-see you tomorrow, Anna." Her tone was just as gentle as Anna's had been, voice a little more hoarse, but it was everything Anna needed to hear and more. Tomorrow would be a new day, she'd work to fix the damage she had done.

When she left, Elsa crawled back into her chair, watching Anna's car disappear down the road. Her eyes watched each snowflake fall from the sky, lazily covering her yard in a soft blanket. Sniffling, her hands worked almost on their own accord to ease her bandages a little bit, fixing them as she sat there. Sighing to herself, Elsa blew onto the window and shakily drew a little heart in the fog left behind. Snowflakes kissed where her finger had drawn and she couldn't stop the smile twitching her lips.

Heart slowing, mind catching up with everything that just happened, Elsa calmed enough to look back on her actions. She was embarrassed and upset but mostly, she was happy with how she dealt with it. No blood was shed, no harm met her skin, and she no longer felt hollow. Looking at the little heart on the window, Elsa had a startling realization.

The only thing she knew in that moment was that even though she needed that alone time to clear the haze in her mind, she missed Anna and the way she described the snowfall.