Direct continuation from last chapter.
Anna kept replaying the whole day in her head as she sat in bumper-to-bumper traffic on her way into the San Fernando Valley. An ant line of red and white light trailed over the pass, providing little distraction to the onslaught of thoughts bombarding Anna's mind. So she found her patient attractive. What was the big deal? Elsa could be attractive and Anna could still do her job without it leading to anything. For some reason it was easier for her to write off Elsa's unintentional flirting because she was the patient and completely dependent upon Anna right now. Some of her behavior was just natural for a patient in her situation. And Anna couldn't help but admit that she herself was just a really likable person so again, she couldn't really blame Elsa.
The traffic finally broke up and Anna exited off the freeway and rolled into the apartment complex where her mom and Olaf lived. Nothing fancy but it was all Anna's mother could afford after having two kids on one income in such an expensive city for so long.
"Anna!" Olaf yelled excitedly as soon as she walked through the door, welcoming her with a hug so tight it knocked the wind out of her. "I got new a game for my DS. Come see!" yanking the poor woman's arm out of her socket in the direction of his room.
"Whoa, whoa young man. I know you have homework and that's why I'm here." Anna twirled Olaf around back towards the dining table where he usually did his homework while Anna's mom prepared dinner and decompressed from her workday.
"But Annnnna," he whined, digging his heels in as she scooted him into a chair at the table.
"Maybe after homework if there's time."
Anna helped Olaf get set up at the table and then went to say hi to her mother who was busy in the kitchen heating up some dinner for everyone. She was hardly a cook but when it came to preparing pre-cooked frozen meals she was an old pro.
"There's my special girl. Hi honey," Linette said as she gave Anna a hug. "You look a little... I don't know. Not quite you."
A forced smile slipped across Anna's lips, pushing those earlier thoughts aside as best she could. "I'm fine. I just had a long day with a new patient. Anyways, I should help Olaf. I just wanted to say hi."
"Alright. If you're hungry, dinner will be ready in five," Linette called as Anna left the kitchen.
Back at the table Olaf had his math book opened under a flurry of papers. That boy could never stay organized.
"Heard you had a new patient. How's that going?" Olaf inquired as if he were decades beyond his actual age.
"I get new patients all the time. Why are you suddenly so interested in what I do?" she asked curiously.
"Because you've never complained about your job... ever." Olaf's face was stuck in a befuddled state with his buck teeth prominently jutting out the more he inspected the blasé look etched upon her usually perky face.
"What's wrong Anna?," he frowned.
"Olaf, can I tell you a secret? Don't tell mom."
"Oh, a secret. I like the sound of that. Go on." His little brown eyes widened in anticipation and he made himself comfy in his chair to hear this very intriguing secret his big sister had.
"My patient is a woman. She's only a year older than me actually. And I think I..like her. Or she likes me. I don't know but it's very confusing. So...that's what's wrong." Russet brows pinched together as Anna buried her face in her hands. Was she seriously talking about her love troubles with her 13-year-old brother?. Perhaps she needed to get out and make more friends like her mother had suggested years ago.
"She pretty?" Olaff inquired with a growing grin.
"Extremely and that's not helping things Olaf." It wasn't helping but it sure put a gorgeous image of Elsa's long platinum hair shining in the sunlight with that infectious smile and comely figure into her head.
"She nice?"
"Very," Anna replied almost sadly. Why did Elsa have to be pretty and nice? It was proving to be a formidable combination.
"So hang out with her." As if was that simple.
"I can't Olaf. I'm not supposed to be anything other than a nurse to my patients. I can't hang out with or date them or anything like that."
"So don't be her nurse anymore. Then you can be her friend," bouncing his brows like he'd suddenly become Anna's matchmaker.
"I can't do that either because that's abandonment. I could get in trouble for that too. Besides, she needs me. She lost five years of memories and she has a fiancé waiting for her to remember him so that he can marry her. Another reason why I can't like her. And… I don't even think she likes women." Olaf had been nodding along to what she was saying but now he just looked more confused than ever. "Why am I talking to you about this? Get started on the word problems and I'll be right back." What did a guy know about a woman's problems anyways? And a prepubescent boy at that.
"M'kay," Olaf shrugged and watched Anna stalk away from the table. "Where are you going?"
"To talk to mom."
Anna moseyed back into the kitchen to get a woman's perspective, hoping she wasn't disturbing the heavy-duty cooking going on in the microwave.
"I knew it wouldn't take long before you cracked. Talk to me honey. What's on your mind that's got you all wound up?" Anna sidled up to her mom as she wrapped an arm around her girl.
"I think I like one of my patients. And the crazy thing is… I've only known her a week." At this point Anna almost sounded depressed. The more she revealed her true feelings, the more she realized just how much she really did like Elsa.
"And you're worried about your job?" Linette replied warmly. She always knew where Anna's mind was headed.
"I'm worried about my mind. My heart keeps taking it to places it doesn't want to go."
"Sweetheart, I hate to say this but you're 24 and there are plenty of fish in the sea. Nothing is worth losing your job over. Look at all you've accomplished. You graduated early from high school, got a scholarship, and are one of the best rehabilitation therapists in the city. And on top of that, you make great money and you love it. No girl is worth losing that over. If you still like her after you're done working with her then you can take a look at it but I heard you talking to Olaf and that girl has a fiancé waiting for her. You're going to break everyone's heart if you let this materialize." It was the cruel reality that Anna needed to hear. Just because she felt that way about Elsa didn't mean she needed to act on it. And her mother was right. Elsa was already engaged to Hans. She could remember that at any moment and Anna would look like a fool when that happened if she told Elsa how she felt.
"So what do I do?" Anna asked with sullen eyes. She could tell it was a crush by the amount of anguish it was causing her. It was the exact reason it was called a crush and not a build-up.
"It's okay to be friends with her but just remember to stay professional. You know how the mind works. You tell it not to do something and that's all it wants to do. So give it a direction. Something like, help my patient. Be her friend. You'll think of something." Linette patted Anna softly on the back and returned her attention to dinner as she pulled three plates from the cupboard.
"I can do that," Anna affirmed with a nod. It wasn't the easy thing to do but it probably was the right thing to do. Why couldn't the right thing ever be easy?
"I know you will honey."
Back on the other side of town Elsa was doing the exact same thing Anna was and having a heart-to-heart over dinner with her mother as well. First she started by telling Iris about the wild experience of recovering four months worth of memories, some that were still flashing in her mind like non-stop slide show. Iris was so thrilled she practically cried tears of joy in hopes that this meant Elsa could eventually regain all or at least most of her memories back. Elsa was just as excited as her mother until she brought up Hans. All Iris seemed to be concerned about was how close Elsa was getting to remembering him, counting out the number of months on her fingers and telling Elsa how she was getting so close. Which she wasn't. Four months still put Elsa more than two full years away from the time she'd met Hans. She still couldn't even remember Kristoff and she was on the verge of that point on her timeline.
She knew her mother loved her but it was like the woman was completely oblivious to the way Elsa was close to bursting into tears when she thought back to what Anna said about just being herself and finding a fulfilling life. The vision of her beautiful daughter walking down the aisle on her wedding day was a dream Iris wasn't ready to give up on because she knew how much she and Hans had wanted to get married. Or at least that's what Elsa had led her to believe before the accident. Anytime Elsa had got cold feet or had second thoughts she pushed those thoughts aside and pressed on with the wedding plans. Hans, his family, and their future together was something she knew she could never top. Their families were so close, personally and professionally, and everything between them just seemed to make perfect sense. Therefore, Elsa never let on to anyone that she may have had her doubts. If she did, she was going to take them to her grave.
"Mama, why did I love Hans?" Elsa asked while Iris replaced her half eaten dinner with a fresh slice of homemade tiramisu. It looked delicious but Elsa's mind and stomach were much too full to concern herself with dessert. Even tiramisu.
"You mean why did you love him before the accident?" Iris clarified and sat back down across from Elsa at the enormous formal dining table.
"Well I don't love him now, so obviously from before?" She still had a bad habit of sassing her mother every once in a while and tonight was no exception.
"What do you mean you don't love him now?"
"How can I love him? In my mind I've only known him four days."
"Yes but in those four days have you not come to some understanding about what your relationship with him is like?. What it means? Hans would give his life for you. You mean to tell me you don't feel anything after everything you've learned about your two years together." Iris was so impassioned that Elsa wasn't even sure whose side she was on.
"I can't fall in love with someone because of a history lesson or because someone tells me I'm supposed to. It doesn't work like that," Elsa snapped.
"Yes, it does. How did I meet your father?" Iris asked all too knowingly as she waited for Elsa to reply.
"On a blind date," she murmured, eyes downcast and away from her mother.
"Yes but not just any blind date Elsa. It was an arrangement between our families. I barely knew your father when I agreed to marry him and I have not regretted it one day of my life. Please don't misunderstand. I wantyou to be happy."
"No, you don't."
"Yes, I do. But you don't know what you want right now. Those of us around you remember who you were, what your dreams were, and what made you happy." A beat of silence passed but Elsa refused to accept what her mother was saying. Iris looked at her and wasn't swayed by the frown on Elsa's face or the tears welling in her eyes.
"But what if all that's changed," Elsa said softly, losing the will to fight against the giant expectations too heavily placed upon her.
"It doesn't matter. It will change back," her voice more determined than ever to get her point through.
"And if it doesn't?"
"Elsa stop!" she shouted, lips trembling from the sudden outburst that made Elsa jump in her seat. "It will. I don't want to hear you say anything pessimistic about your condition. You have to keep faith that it will come back. Just keep thinking good things and they'll happen."
The following day Anna decided to start the morning with a fresh perspective on her situation. She could be nice to Elsa, friendly even, but first and foremost she was going to be a professional. No matter what flirty sexy things Elsa did. No matter how short her skirt was how or how much leg it showed.
Oh God, those legs. NO! Don't you dare mind! Help Elsa. Help Elsa. Be professional. Be professional.
Her new mantra ground its way into her brain as she exited off the freeway and turned to head into the canyon. She admitted to herself that she cared enough about Elsa to want to see her happy. That meant helping her restoring her memory and helping her make a new life. Just like she'd been telling Elsa the entire time.
Earlier that morning she had talked to Kristoff on the phone and tried to get as many details about the culinary school they had gone to as well as the details of their time there, hoping to make a quick run out to the school with Elsa and see if anything clicked for her.
Anna spent the second half of the phone call calming Kristoff's worries and assured him that Elsa was doing just fine but that she needed a little more time before she introduced another perfect stranger into her life. She was already having a hard enough time adjusting to Hans as it was but Kristoff felt better knowing that Elsa was just a few weeks or months shy from his memory and could feel like the sun was going to come out again for him.
Despite the way they had left things the night before, Elsa was relieved to see that Anna was in her usual high spirits when she came promptly at 10 and whisked her all the way to Pasadena to take a tour of the culinary school. It made it easier that Elsa was wearing pants that day, tight jeggings that showed off her amazing calves and heels that were sex on stilettos but at least she was more covered up.
Anna on the other hand was dressed in her more professional attire and slicked her hair into an intricate twist at the back of her head to keep Elsa's attention off her hair since she'd caught her staring at it several times over the past few days. She couldn't blame her to some degree. Redheads always seemed to garner a little more attention when it came to their flashy locks and she was guilty herself at ogling Elsa's fairy tale long hair as well.
Anna tried to keep the conversation light on their way and she talked about her favorite bands and video games since Elsa's musicals taste were five years behind. Every time she rattled off the name of an artist or game she liked Elsa made a mental note, especially when Anna mentioned she liked to play Just Dance with her brother a lot and said it was hands down way better than going to the gym.
Once at the school they were greeted by one of Elsa's old instructors and given a tour. They strolled through kitchens and classrooms, the instructor remarking how talented Elsa had been nearly every chance he got. Elsa didn't remember him or anything he said but just hearing what promise she had shown as a student made her smile from the depths of her soul. Somewhere inside her was a gift she never knew existed that was unrivaled by anyone else at her school. She had found a way to step out from of her family's shadow and make a name for herself all on her own. And she didn't need her father's money, like Hans did, to support herself.
Not only that but she'd made a friend, a best friend from what the instructor and Anna were telling her and that was simply amazing. As an only child Elsa spent much of her childhood in an adult world with no one to play with or talk to. She went to fancy private schools and the girls were so jealous of her good looks and money that she often found herself eating alone and avoiding school activities all together. She didn't know Kristoff but she was looking forward to hearing about the man who had supported her talent and gone into business with her.
The culinary school had been fun to tour but it did absolutely nothing for Elsa's memory. And unbeknownst to Elsa, Anna's attempt to askew Elsa's puppy dog eyes and flirting by trying to dress more professionally only ended up backfiring because it made Anna look smart and powerful, an alluring quality that kept making Elsa's stomach flip, in the best way, every time she snuck a glance at the arch of Anna's foot when she popped it out of her dressy flats to stretch. Apparently Elsa might have had a bit of a foot fetish she herself was unaware of. The tailored black pants that fit Anna like a custom glove weren't helping either. It only made Elsa more aware of what a sculpturesque backside Anna had.
Clothing and looks aside, what she loved most about being with Anna was how she unconditionally cared for her without making her feel inadequate. Hans tended to treat Elsa like a baby, some fragile egg he had to handle with care for fear he would break her. Anna always handled everything, arranging the outings, planning their schedule, but she always included Elsa in the process and didn't use her authority to thwart her. It was a delicate balance that Anna achieved with the minimalist amount of effort. It was painful to see how well they worked together. How easily they opened up to each other. All the makings of a great relationship but in all the wrong circumstances.
Anna's mantra gave out midway through the drive home when it started to get dark and everything in the car looked somewhat romantic with just the glow of the dash lights illuminating the small cabin space.
Elsa's eyes were glued to the GPS screen like a moth to a flame as the little car icon inched its way down the tiny strip of freeway on the electronic grid.
"I'm sorry nothing came back to you today. That doesn't mean we didn't plant some seeds that may grow into something later though," Anna lilted with an optimistic rise of her voice, keeping her eyes fixed on the trail of red lights in front of her for fear that a wandering eye would only cause her to feel that heavy beating of her heart every time she looked at Elsa.
"Don't apologize. I had a great time if nothing else. Yesterday was fun too." Elsa pulled herself away from the screen and snuggled into the seat.
Anna's car felt like a home away from home. It reminded Elsa so much of Anna that she actually felt more comfortable in the car than she did at home. And it was filled with all kinds of little trinkets that were likes clues about Anna's life. Citrus flavored gum in the center console. An emerald-green sweater in the back seat. A yoga mat rolled up on the floor. All things that reminded Elsa that Anna was her own person with a life outside of her patients. Outside of her.
"Anna, I don't know what happened just before you left yesterday but I can only guess it was because I hugged you… and I feel like I should apologize for overstepping my boundaries. You're my nurse and… you mean a lot to me right now. I would really hate for things to be awkward between us. So please accept my apology and know I'll try to keep it more professional in the future."
Anna let out a small puff of air that was the soft beginning of a chuckle as she stole a glance at a timid Elsa curled up in the seat next to her.
"It's funny that you say that because… I think it has something to do with the fact that I've never worked with anyone close to my age before but… this is the most I've enjoyed working with a patient. And we do get along so well that I scared myself when I thought I was losing my boundaries last night. But I thought about it more today and I think I just have to be easier on ourselves. There's nothing in my ethics book that says you can't hug a patient. You see nurses hug patients all the time so don't apologize. We can talk about personal things as long as all of this doesn't hurt you or interfere with your treatment."
Perfectly arched blonde brows furrowed and Elsa swallowed thickly. "If it's okay that nurses hug their patients, why did your mood change so quickly after we did?"
Anna paused and lightly drummed her slender fingertips against the steering wheel as she gave the question some thought.
"Because I personally have never hugged a patient. And when you did… I liked it. And it scared me because I didn't know what that meant."
"There are moments where you scare me too," Elsa confessed.
"Scare you how?"
"Scare me because I don't know if I'm idolizing you because you're my nurse or because… " Anna had been so honest and bold in her reply that it spurred Elsa on but her bravery dissipated just as she was about to tell how she really felt. How Anna had become the reason why she got out of bed in the morning. How she'd become her endless source of happiness. How she was the most beautiful woman she'd ever come to know. But how could she say that?
"Elsa, just be honest. We can clear this up a lot faster if we just get it out in the open and talk about it," urging not only Elsa but herself as well.
"Because I really like you... as a friend." Oh, how she mentally smacked herself for lying after being to told to just be honest. It was her chance and she took the easy way out.
"I like you too." As a patient. Why didn't I say as a patient? Now it sounds weird if I say it after so long.
Silence was the only thing they found comfort in for the rest of the ride home. Their brains and mouths refused to work together in cadence so to spare themselves any more humiliation, they just didn't say anything.
But words weren't needed to keep that glorious heat between them burning and building like a sea of flames. They could feel it every time they were near each other now. Highly aware of the way their hearts beat a little faster. Their palms grew clammier. And that intoxicating surge of fear and euphoria mixed together formed an exhilarating concoction of raw, unbridled desire.
The car pulled along the curb and to the right all the lights in the house were turned on. Elsa could see Hans on the top floor glancing out the window as he checked to make sure it was Elsa before returning back to his office to finish up some work.
"I won't see you until after the weekend and it's your first one on your own with Hans. So just remember what I said about being you. Take some time to make yourself happy and enjoy life until I see you again on Monday. Alright?" Anna smiled brightly but softer than usual, like they'd reached a new level of comfort that was showing in the warmth of her freckles features.
"Okay," Elsa breathed with an uneasy sigh. "I don't know if it's because I did yesterday or because we just talked about it but I really want to give you a hug again. What you're doing for me, it's what's keeping me going right now."
"I think after talking about it, a hug is fine."
"You're sure?"
"I'm more than sure. Believe or not I like hugs a lot and I owe you for yesterday."
Elsa unbuckled her seat belt and Anna did the same, giving themselves more freedom to meet at the center console and let this hug they'd been talking about on the entire way home finally happen.
As soon as Elsa leaned in, Anna followed and relaxed into Elsa's gentle hold. What had started as the causal/professional hug they talked about earlier, flew out the window when their chests pressed together and Anna became suddenly aware that her cheek was against the slender column of Elsa's neck, her pulse thrumming just below the powder white skin. There was no time to wonder if this had been a bad idea because Anna's heart was already pounding against Elsa's breasts and the blonde was being consumed by a heavenly sweet smell she could only describe as Anna. Elsa was so impossibly close that Anna could feel the rise and fall of her shallow breathing, pressing into her each and every time the air shuttered on its way out.
Anna bit her lip and the sound of her moving mouth tickled Elsa's ear, the image of that pink tongue darting out, flooding her mind and sending the most wonderful surge of electricity branching and creeping out through every firing nerve in her body. The temperature soared and it had only been a matter of seconds. Torrid air scorched their tender exposed skin. Burned by a passion they could not yet comprehend.
The appropriate time for a hug to end had long passed and it wasn't until Hans abruptly knocked on the window that they ripped themselves away from each other with a yelp.
"God! He's always doing that!" Elsa turned and gave a disinterested wave to Hans who was repeatedly trying to open the door even though it was obviously locked.
"You better go. I'll see you Monday," Anna managed, swallowing back the adrenaline from Hans' scare and their strangely erotic hug.
"Yeah, Monday. Have a good weekend."
Hans led Elsa into the house and began to ask her about her day as she tried to act remotely interested.
Anna let out a breath so heavy that her back arched away from the seat and she slumped over the steering wheel in defeat, admitting to herself that an unprofessional, hot as hell hug just happened. It happened and sheliked it. A lot. And she was in deeper trouble than originally thought because it was mutual. There was no denying it. This was awful. And wonderful. It was downright confusing is what it was because while her mother's voice was echoing in her head, her loins were on fire and begging for attention in the worst way as she recalled the feeling of Elsa's warm breath rushing against her prickling skin. Those lips. That laugh. That wasn't howfriends, or whatever they were, thought about each other.
Just when she finally collected herself enough to drive home she looked up and saw Elsa standing at the window smiling down at her and mouthing go home while shooing her with her hands. Anna laughed to herself, slightly embarrassed and wondering how long Elsa had been standing there and gave a small wave back. Elsa smiled again except this time she playfully blew Anna a sassy kiss and disappeared back into the dice shaped home. And it was in that moment Anna knew she was powerless against whatever force kept drawing them together. It was beautiful and heart shattering at the same time.
Elsa spent most of the weekend trying to avoid Hans, which was pretty easy considering he was gone most of the day Saturday working, again. When he eventually staggered through the door just after four he found Elsa in the living room wearing nothing but a sports bra and tight workout pants while dancing to something on TV.
"What are you doing?" he asked and set his briefcase down next to the couch.
"Playing a game." Hans looked back at the screen where the silhouette of a woman in a sparkly navy dress dancing rather lasciviously to ABBA's Gimmie, Gimmie, Gimmie in what looked like a club filled with the same silhouetted people.
"It looks like you're dancing. And quite...provocatively I might add." Hans stood back and took in the way Elsa popped her hips in syncopated time to the beat and undulated her body in way he'd never seen before but was extremely happy to be witnessing now.
"It's a dance game. For X-Box 360," she huffed breathlessly between rhythmic side steps and sultry shoulder rolls.
"But we don't own an X-Box."
"We do now. I had my mom take me shopping."
"Ah ha." His mind went blank for a minute when Elsa bent her body in half and slowly circled her rear in the air, drawing a perfect S with it as a low growl rumbled in his chest. "What possessed you to buy a game console and this game in particular? You normally don't dance...like this."
"Anna told me about it. And it's really addicting. I've been playing for two hours."
"That's why you're all… sweaty." His eyes clapped onto the delicious trail of perspiration trekking between her shoulder blades. That flawless starlit skin glistening as her body continued to work itself into one compromising position after another.
"I'm going to go take a shower. Care to join me?" he said half kidding, salaciously wiping a trail of sweat from the slope of her lower spine with his forefinger.
"What?!" she snapped and whipped around to face him.
"It was a joke. Because you're all sweaty."
"I'm not laughing," she scowled.
Stranger things kept happening throughout the weekend, starting with the small makeover Elsa did to her side of the bedroom. After dinner she was still dancing around the house but this time with earphones jammed in her ears and her phone plastered to her hand.
"Elsa. Elsa!" Hans yelled over the music.
"What?" pulling a bud from her ear as music continued to pour out of it at a deafening volume.
"What are you listening to?"
"Taylor Swift," she replied innocently and showed him the open app on her phone.
"Did Anna recommend that album?" he asked liked he already knew the answer.
"Yeah, why?" A smile twinkled out of the corner of her mouth that didn't go unnoticed by him.
"Just wondering." Hans stuck the earphone back into her ear and watched with a great detail of interest as Elsa shimmied down the hall, hair swishing and flipping the entire way. Something was different with her. More than usual.
By bedtime Hans couldn't stand to be away from her another second longer and took the opportunity to talk to Elsa after they finished brushing their teeth at the vanity.
"Elsa..." he said softly, hands on either side of himself as he learned his lower back against the lip of the counter.
"Yes."
"Can I ask you a favor?"
"I suppose."
"I know you can't possibly feel the same way I feel about you and I've been very patient with the treatment and your memory. I want to respect that but at the same time... I'm suffering so much. I fell in love with this amazing woman, fearing at one point that she'd been taken from me entirely. But you're alive and you're here but... I miss you... I miss what we had, terribly. I can't tell you that I love you. I can't hold you or touch you and it's driving me crazy." His hands raised with the urge to touch her, to hold her but instead he just found himself staring at them, splayed and worthless to him anymore. He closed his eyes and his hands curled into fists, itching to just have one more feel of that chiffon like skin he cherished so.
"What is it you want from me?" That feeling of guilt crept back into her bones.
"Believe me, I hate myself for even asking but I have to. Can I kiss you?"
Her eyes sprang open and blinked rapidly in response, mouth dropping in surprise which only made that scarlet bottom lip even more irresistible to him.
"Please. Just once." Her heart broke for him. It had to be torture to have his fiancee right in front of him all the time but have to treat her like an acquaintance. So she relented for a brief moment and gave into the guilt.
"Just once," she said firmly.
With one small step Hans narrowed the distance between them, hips dangerously close to her as Elsa's breath began to pick up. Trying to ease the awkwardness of the moment and get the most out of his opportunity, Hans gently cupped his strong yet smooth hands against the sides of her angelic face as her eyes naturally fluttered closed. It was fairly dark and she waited in suspense until he pulled her close and she felt a pair of lips press against her own in a chaste kiss.
It wasn't too bad, kind of nice actually. Would have been even better if there was any hint of chemistry between them. She placed a flat hand against his chest in an attempt to break away but that just made Hans bring her even face closer, crushing their lips together as he hungrily kissed her. It was greedy and pushed way beyond her limits. It wasn't until he slipped his tongue past her lips that she pried herself off of him.
"That's taking advantage of my offer." Gelid blue eyes glared daggers into Hans as she slowly backed away, shaking with anger as he floundered with his words.
"I'm sorry. I couldn't help myself. Did it… trigger anything?" Hans asked pathetically.
"Just rage," she cut sharply as she folded her arms over her chest.
"Oh. I'm sorry." Hans held his hands up in a sign of solidarity but she now knew better. Giving Hans an inch meant giving him a mile. And he wasn't patient. He wasn't kind. He was greedy and desperate for old Elsa.
"Don't ever try anything like that with me again. I don't owe you anything. The next time you want something from me, I suggest you earn it."
