Chapter 17
The second Anna stepped inside Big Papa's, she realized, "I am so overdressed."
It was definitely a step-up from some cheap restaurant chain, but it wasn't some fine-dining pizza place like she was imagining. She didn't want to make any assumptions with a name like Big Papa's, but she definitely should have at least checked out some pictures first.
It had a spacious floor plan with checkered-patterned tables scattered throughout. Stereotypical Italian knick-knacks adorned the walls, and typical overhead lighting was replaced with long strings of lightbulbs. If "outside, but actually inside" was the look they were going for, they certainly nailed it. Near the kitchen entrance was the brick oven, with a comically-large neon sign of who Anna assumed was "Big Papa".
A waiter standing behind a podium, smiled at her, "Hi, welcome to Big Papa's. Just one?"
Anna blinked and shook her head, "M-me? Oh sorry, uh...no, I-I'm meeting someone, so I'm just waiting. Is that okay?"
"Of course!" He replied, "Would you like to look at the menu while you wait?"
The residual nerves from being on this date in the first place were already affecting Anna. She found herself tongue-tied over such a basic question. No, she didn't need a menu yet, because she didn't want to seem like she was in a hurry. But she also didn't want to wait for Dr. Maren with nothing to preoccupy herself with. And it would be good to not seem so indecisive, maybe Dr. Maren liked someone who knew what she wanted.
What did she want? And oh dear, how long has she been standing here without an answer? And was her sweat seeping through her cotton shirt?
"There you are!"
That voice could only belong to one person: her savior. Or, at least, someone who sounded exactly like her and maybe mistook Anna for someone else. Regardless, she turned around.
And had to keep her jaw from dropping onto the floor.
Never in her life did she expect to see Dr. Maren look so...casual. She had on a black and gray raglan shirt with the sleeves folded up to the elbows, jeans with a tattered hole at the left knee, and black high-tops that, ironically, made Anna realize that she was taller than the doctor. Her hair was still in that thick braid she was so accustomed to seeing.
It made Anna realize two things: Dr. Maren could look good in anything, and that she was definitely overdressed for this.
"I wanted to get here early, just to save time, you know?" Anna replied, finding her voice faster than she thought she would.
"To save time?" Dr. Maren shook her head, amused, and now right in front of the flustered redhead. "Do you have another date after this or something?"
"No! I-I wouldn't do that, it's just you today. I made sure that I didn't have anything else-"
Dr. Maren chuckled, "Relax, Anna, I'm joking." She patted her arm, and then ran both her hands along Anna's sleeves. "You look nice, by the way. I love this color."
"Thank you?" Oh come on, Anna, that wasn't supposed to be a question.
"Now come on, let's sit down," Dr. Maren replied, winking at her again. "I know a good spot."
Because they got here after the lunch rush, they had a better selection of tables to sit at. Dr. Maren picked a spot by the windows, overlooking the busy downtown intersections.
"It looks much better at night," Dr. Maren explained, "That's when all the lights go on, and everything feels way more alive."
"I can imagine," Anna says, not knowing where to look. She felt a weird pressure to look outside and take in the view, at Dr. Maren so it didn't look like she was ignoring her, at her menu so she didn't get tripped up when ordering, and at the restaurant so that Dr. Maren knew she liked the place she chose. All at the same time. She chose to look at the doctor with a strained smile, ignoring the flames of panic in her mind.
Of course the ever-observant doctor could tell something was up. Her eyes narrowed, and she frowned. "Are you okay?" she asked.
Anna opened her mouth to say that everything was fine but thought better of it at the last second. What good would lying accomplish when she wanted to impress her date and, above else, enjoy it? She sighed, "I'm sorry, it's just that I'm nervous. N-not of you, just with this date and everything. It's been a while, and I-I like you so that makes me doubly nervous. I just don't wanna mess things up."
Dr. Maren's posture relaxes, Anna didn't even know she was tense. She smiles sweetly, "What things? You're doing great. Heck, if anything, I think I'm messing things up somehow."
Anna blinked, "You? What? How? Why?"
"Aha...I...it's been a while since anyone's asked me out," she replied with a hopeless-sounding chuckle, "And like...whenever I get nervous, I tend to be really loud and talkative. Which, I guess, might be one of the reasons I don't get asked out much. Among other things people probably say behind my back. Aaaaaand there I go again, talking too much."
To say that this unexpected blurb humanized Dr. Maren more would be an understatement. For the first time, she was seeing her as more than just her coworker that kind of intimidated her but in a cute and romantic way.
Finding her voice again, Anna replied, "I think it's cute. I mean I like hearing you talk, and say words."
And this was definitely the best spot they could have sat in. Anywhere else, and they wouldn't have the right lighting for Anna to see the lovely blush on the brunette's darker skin. Dr. Maren made a gesture like she was waving away a fly, "Anyway, uh, how about we start over?"
Anna tilted her head, "What do you mean?"
The doctor held out her hand and smiled, "Hi, I'm Honeymaren Nattura."
For the first time in...like twenty-four hours, Anna was speechless. She didn't even have to ask for Dr. Maren's first name, and it was far from anything she was expecting. All her guesses felt too plain and uninspired against the reality of Dr. Ma- Honeymaren's full name. Not wanting to look like a twit, Anna shook her hand and replied, "Hi, I'm Anna Muenster. And your name is beautiful!"
Honeymaren pulled her hand back and said, "You really think so? I...in my culture it's kind of plain and uninspired."
Anna scoffed, "My last name is a type of cheese!"
Honeymaren gasped, eyes widened, "That's why it sounded so familiar!"
"Yeah, so...you know. Your name sounds like you should be some warrior princess or something."
She shrugged, "I did want to live in the forest when I was a kid."
And just like that, any air of uncertainty and panic went right out the newly-cleaned window. No longer were they a veterinarian and a janitor eating a pitifully awkward lunch together. Now they were two equally as awkward women going on their first dates in a very long time, about to eat what was supposed to be really good pizza.
Anna let out an obvious sigh of relief, "Well, it's nice to finally meet you, Honeymaren Nattura."
"Likewise, Anna Muenster."
Deciding against deciding for herself, Anna let the expert decide on what they would be eating. The expert being Honeymaren.
After a respectable amount of time for pizza to be baked at, their personal pizzas finally arrived: chicken pesto for Honeymaren, and pepperoni for Anna. She always judged the quality of pizza places on how well they could make the basics.
"Well, it already smells amazing," Anna said, picking up one of the cheesier slices.
"It's gonna taste even better," Honeymaren said, already one bite into her first slice.
"How many times have you been here anyway?"
Honeymaren, caught mid-bite, put a napkin over her mouth, "Enough to be on Big Papa's 'Wall of Fame'." She pointed to a wall near the entrance that Anna somehow missed. On it were pictures of celebrities and slightly familiar people she'd seen around Arendelle, posing with a rotund man in a greasy apron. She guessed that had to be Big Papa himself.
"So, they noticed you came here a lot and you got a picture with Big Papa?" Anna asked as she prepared herself for her first bite.
"That, and I also ate a sixteen-inch pizza by myself in under thirty minutes."
Anna put down her slice, "What?!"
Honeymaren shrugged, "I like pizza, sue me."
"You're insane."
"Yeah, well you're the one on a date with me, so what does that say about you?"
Anna opened her mouth, realized she had no comeback for that, and picked up her pizza once more. "Fair point," she said, finally taking her first bite.
It tasted like heaven. Greasy, cheesy heaven with a slight kick.
Long after they had cleaned their plates and paid the bill (Honeymaren got to it before she could, and she used her "Wall of Fame" discount too), the two were still sitting at their now cleaned table. It wasn't as if they were disrupting anyone, and the restaurant wasn't packed, so they could stay for now.
Anna was concerned, though, didn't Honeymaren say she had business down here? When did she have to leave? She hoped that she wasn't keeping her from something important.
Honeymaren, meanwhile, looked like she couldn't care less about any prior commitments. She hadn't checked her phone once or so much as glanced at a clock, all her focus was either on the food or, now, Anna. She looked so at ease with her head propped up by her hand and her smile never leaving.
And it felt nice having someone be so interested in her again.
"So an Elementary Education degree. How'd you decide on that?" Honeymaren asked.
Anna twirled a strand of her hair around her finger, "I, uh...didn't have a lot of friends growing up. Especially in elementary school, I was kind of weird and awkward. But my teachers, they were the best. They helped me get out of my shell, and ask about my day, and supported me in anything I wanted to do. I guess I just want to be like that for some other lonely, awkward kids."
"Awww," Honeymaren cooed, "That's really cute."
"I know it's probably not the profound explanation you were looking for, but-"
Honeymaren reached out her hand again, laying it on top of Anna's hand, "Hey, profound or not, it's what you want to do. Don't let my opinion change that. That being said, I know you'd be an excellent teacher."
Anna bit her lip, cheeks growing increasingly red. Not just because a girl was holding her hand again, but also because she was feeling this overwhelming urge to kiss said girl. Desperate to think about anything else, she continued on with her thought, "I- ahem, I'm flattered, but I don't know when I can prove that. Just my luck that I end up living in a city with the lowest turnover rate for teachers. No one's hiring right now."
The brunette gave her a sympathetic frown, "Right now. That's the keyword- well, words."
"Yeah...yeah I know. I'll keep looking until a school finally takes me in."
"You know I'm gonna miss working with you when you leave."
Now her cheeks were even redder, "Oh please, anyone can clean a toilet."
Honeymaren raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Well I've never met anyone that does it while singing pop songs and show tunes."
Anna's eyes widened, "You hear me?!"
"My office is right next to the restroom! And the walls aren't that thick."
"Oh dear…"
"Relax, you have an amazing voice. I wouldn't have mentioned it if you didn't, in fact I probably would have told you to stop."
"Oh, uh...good?"
"Yes. Good."
Good.
Things were going good, really good. You could even say that things were going great. And maybe things would continue to go great, assuming that Honeymaren wanted to keep doing this whole dating thing. Should Anna ask that now? There was a definite lull in the conversation, so if there was ever a time to ask it would definitely be now.
And that's when the nerves started kicking in again. One good date doesn't mean there's a future in this. What if Honeymaren said no? How awkward would it be for them at work tomorrow? Gosh, she'd probably have to find another job entirely. But then, she'd also have to find a new vet for Elsa.
"Oh crap! I still have to feed Elsa!"
Honeymaren jumped a little bit at the sudden outburst, "What?"
She placed both of her hands on her cheeks and groaned, "I lost track of time, I need to get home and feed her. Oh, she must be furious!" The thought of a husky that weighed less than a sack of potatoes being mad at her was...actually that was a little amusing.
"She eats dinner this early? I mean it's only…" Honeymaren pulled her phone out and gasped, "Oh crap! I'm late!"
The two hopeless women scrambled out of their chairs, Anna hid her amusement over the fact that she was right about Honeymaren losing track of time too. When they reached the entrance, they opened the doors at the same time and were both greeted by the blinding light of an Arendelle sunset.
"Shit, my mother's gonna kill me," Honeymaren muttered. "Where did you park?"
Anna pointed to the west side of the lot, resisting the urge to ask what she was meeting her mother for, "What about you?"
Honeymaren snorted, "The exact opposite side. So much for a cute, last walk to each other's cars."
Anna wanted to be coy and say that they could save that for the second date, but they were both in a hurry (Honeymaren more so) and she didn't want to bring up something that would take even longer to talk about. "Be careful when you're driving alright?" she asked instead.
"You too. And tell Elsa I said hi," Honeymaren responded.
"I will." They should be saying goodbye right now, and walking to their cars. Of course Anna didn't want to, she wanted to spend the rest of the day with Honeymaren. But they'd see each other at work tomorrow, and they both had things they had to be doing. Tossing away her disappointment, she turned to Honeymaren and said, "Well I-"
Honeymaren interrupted her with a sudden and mind-blowing peck on the lips.
As all the air escaped out of her lungs, Anna could only watch as the coy brunette took two steps back, bit her bottom lip, and said "See you tomorrow, Anna" before turning on her heels and running to her car.
A/N: How you guys liking the Annamaren so far? Don't worry, Elsa will be back in the next chapter.