I don't own Frozen. Stolen Ice and its characters belong to Aesla.
Jane slid into bed, feeling unusually achy after her pre-sleep routine. A wasn't the only one affected by the Scotland weather, apparently. She rubbed her temples gently, looking at the tablet in front of her, still vainly trying to counteract the disturbance of the giant magnet in the science building below. It was starting to wear on her nerves to the point of feeling raw, and even A couldn't quite tend to her carefully enough to avoid the barbs.
Sliding her eyes over to A's sleeping form, Jane studied her friend quietly. She was curled up, facing away from Jane, clinging to a pillow. The bandage from A's "banana bruise" was drifting half unpeeled, so Jane carefully touched A's forehead and pulled it off as gently as she could manage and was relieved that A didn't stir too much as the adhesive came free. There was no mark underneath- A had been right that the mark was temporary. Jane sighed softly. There was something calming about seeing it for herself, knowing with her own eyes that the moment- when A had yelled "Damnit, Jane!" her heart had stopped- that the moment had passed, that the wound was truly healed.
She paused, realizing that she was still touching A's forehead, fingertips lightly passing over where the mark had been. Adjusting A's hair in her sleep. Almost grooming her. Her hand snapped back and she cringed, annoyed with herself. Shucking her shirt, she slid under the covers and rest her head on the pillows, grateful for the space between her and A at the moment. A would no doubt, inevitably, adjust herself to touch and hold Jane again. Probably even drool on her again, disgustingly.
"...mm... Jane?" A mumbled.
"Yeah, A?" Jane replied quietly, focused on her tablet.
"...Hans..." That name made Jane twitch, and she looked over at A, whose fingers were digging into the pillow she held. "I want out..."
"We are out." Jane assured A.
"Can't live like this anymore... too many people staring at me, not even knowing me, the way they look at me, the way you look at me..." A exhaled with the softest, inaudible whine in her voice.
"No one's going to look at you that way again, A. Ever." Jane was surprised by the steel in her own voice.
"When we're alone... Like you don't even know me..." A whispered.
"Well, who does, A?" Jane muttered, exasperated, but was unable to focus on her screen. She wondered if she should be hearing this. Memories... A should have the choice to tell her about them or not, not unwittingly reveal them in her sleep.
"Thought you did, Hans..." A said quietly.
Jane had never felt so violent so suddenly. She wanted to strangle Hans and she wasn't sure if it was for herself or A. She exhaled like she was breathing fire, a burning sensation wretching itself from inside her chest and escaping hot and raw from her throat, a strangled noise emitted as the flames roared past her vocal chords. Every lightbulb in the concievable vicinity flickered dangerously or died, casting them into the dim light of her tablet screen.
Startled, distant murmurs from above and down the hall of the hotel filtered through the door cracks. It took her a moment to regain her composure.
What just happened?
"Hans... Who'm I?" A mumbled, sniffling. Through the faint ambiance of her tablet Jane could see the outline of a tear trailing down A's cheek. Jane could feel another blast welling up inside of her, but this time she kept it down, squeezing her hands into fists. She set aside her tablet and leaned over A and waited for a moment for herself to cool down before touching the girl's cheek with the back of gloved fingers.
"Ssh. Ssh. It's okay." Jane whispered, remembering the words A had whispered to her to calm her down. "Whatever it is, I'm sure it's okay." A calmed immediately, but her cheeks remained wet and she kept sniffling.
"No it's not..."
"It doesn't matter what Hans thinks. It matters what you think." Jane tried to sound as soothing as possible.
"I don't know what I think..."
"Well, that's something you can find out." Jane said. "...with me, if you want." She added, unable to stop herself. She mentally cursed herself. At least A was asleep and wouldn't remember that slip. She wasn't ready to admit these things yet, even to herself. What was it about talking with A at night that brought these things out of her? It was like her somniloquy was infectious. Maybe it was that she couldn't hold anything A said against her. There was no banter or remarks or mistakes. She was just genuinely being A. That resonated in Jane and made her want to be... genuine, too.
"'Of course with you," A muttered. "Don't want to be alone anymore..." She sighed unhappily, rubbing her cheek into the pillow.
"...you don't have to be anymore, A. Please, calm down. Sssh." Jane rest her hand on A's shoulder. A blindly fumbled in her sleep and grasped it, and Jane squeezed. smiling. Why was falling in care with A just so damn easy?
"...A, do you remember the songs from Sound of Music?" Jane asked suddenly and softly, and A did not respond, eyes squeezing in her sleep. "Sing with me. Doe, rey, mi.." She sang softly, waiting for A, unsure if this would even work.
"...me..." A replied quietly.
"Yes, that's it." Jane encouraged. "Me, fa, so-la-ti-do..."
"So lah tee doe.."
"Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do..."
"Doe...me..so lah..tee doe.."
A's sniffling had stopped. When Jane began again, A's voice, sleepy, mumbled, and distant as it was, joined hers.
"Do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do..."
"Do re mi fa so la ti do..."
Together they sang the scale, a simple harmony of A's tired, sweet, easy voice underneath Jane's amateur harmony. Slowly but surely, A's voice began to fade, until it was only Jane singing.
Jane hummed softly, stroking A's cheek to clear it of tears. A quieted and stilled, rolling onto her back, breathing easy. Jane had succeeded in protecting A. Jane sighed with satisfaction. Another emotion that A made too easy to feel.
The sound of music lingered in the air, but the name Hans rested like poison in Jane's mind. She rolled onto her side, studying A in her sleep, wondering what A had been dreaming. If A would tell her about her experiences sometime soon. She would like that.
"...Jane...?" A murmured quietly. Hans name was erased from Jane's mind as she turned to look at A, who looked like she might be stirring awake, yawning and eyelids squeezing.
Jane leaned over and parted her lips, A's forehead just below her, but stopped before contact. She wanted to wait. So instead she lowered her own head gently until her forehead gently tapped against A's. "Sleep." She commanded.
A obeyed.
At some point during the night Jane stirred at a strange sensation in her cheeks. She looked to the side, opening her eyes slowly. A was awake and studying her. She had the 'Chocolate Face'. Jane grinned sleepily, grasped A's hand and slid their fingers together, interlaced. She let their hands rest upon her belly, looked up at the ceiling, and closed her eyes lazily.
Happy.
