Prompt 3: Relaxing in the intense sun

It was noon when Elsa came back from Ahtohallan, to do a brief check on the glacier. The place, of course, was still as hostile and as empty as the last time she was there. And since she had nothing else to do, the Fifth Spirit decided to ride back to the village. She was expecting Hans to be inside her hut or in the stables with Sitron, but when she arrived, she was surprised to find her hut empty.

"Hans is out with Bruni. I think he went to the river bank." Honeymaren told her, and after muttering a quick thank you, she took off.

Arriving in her favourite spot, Elsa saw no sign of the Admiral. That was until she heard a familiar laughter. Turning her head, she caught a glimpse of a tall man standing next to a big rock on the riverside, a little farther from her spot. Under the intense sun, his auburn hair gave her the impression that his head was on fire.

"Oh yes, yes, Elsa is definitely gonna like that."

When her name was mentioned, the blonde tilted her head in curiosity. Who is he talking to? Silently, Elsa took a few steps forward and hid behind a tree. Once she was sure that she remained unnoticed, Elsa took a peek.

Hans exhaled, still standing with his back facing her direction. "Sometimes, I feel like I'm dreaming." He paused, before turning to face the river, causing Elsa to quickly hide. "I've done bad things before. I was causing her pain. And yet, she's still giving me a second chance." He sighed. "She is too good to be true."

A smile formed on her face, as Elsa stood there, leaning against the tree.

"I love her." He confessed. "So very much. I'd never known love until I knew her. And I'm grateful to have her in my life." Chuckling, Hans then added. "Elsa was right, you really are a good listener. Thanks buddy."

Smiling, Elsa braved herself to take another peek at the Admiral. He was still there, with a salamander nesting on the top of his auburn head. He was grinning, probably because of the fire spirit's antics.

"The weather is nice, don't you think? Maybe I can try to relax as I wait for Elsa. Do you think it's a good idea?" Hans looked up slightly, asking for Bruni's approval. When the creature squeaked, the former prince beamed. "Of course it is."

Elsa wondered if it was time for her to come out of her hiding, but what he did next refrained her from doing so.

Bruni hopped off as Hans unbuckled his boots. Once the leather pair was settled on the grass ground, he began to undo his dark blue waistcoat and let the material hit the ground just beside his boots. His cotton shirt came off next, and as it was carelessly thrown towards his pile of clothing, the blonde found herself digging her nails into the wooden branch she held onto. Her blue eyes widened as his bare muscular back came to the view. Indeed, it was nothing she hadn't seen, for they had spent some nights together. Elsa knew she shouldn't sneakily spy on someone, but she couldn't help it, she was curious. At least, that was her defence.

And yet, a certain spirit decided to ruin her fun.

"Nokk!" She gasped once she noticed the water spirit standing on the river right beside her. "What are you doing?"

But the horse kept nodding at Hans' direction, as if trying to tell her to go to him. Upon the gesture, Elsa shook her head. She swore she saw the Nokk smirked, before the creature trotted away.

"Nokk, come back!" In a slight panic, the blonde yelped and reached out towards the spirit, revealing herself in the process.

She stumbled along the way, only to see the Nokk dived into the water. Her little commotion did catch the Admiral's attention. From his seat on the big rock, with his feet dangling over the edge, Hans watched her in shock.

"Oh, Elsa!" He greeted, raising an eyebrow. "Have you been there long?"

Oh, dear. She thought. There is no turning back now. She had been played by the sneaky water horse—yes, she would gladly use that term for now—and she got caught. Her face grew hotter, as she got back on to her feet, and Elsa swore it wasn't the heat.

Biting her lower lip nervously, she approached him. "Um, no?" Deep down, she wanted to slap herself in the face for sounding unsure.

Hans seemed to understand. Then again, her flushing cheeks proved that she was just caught red handed doing whatever it was. Had she been watching him? Strangely, he found her adorable.

"Come!" Hans patted a spot beside him on the rock. "The weather is too nice to be missed."

She smiled sheepishly. "Nah, I'm fine."

He rolled his eyes. "We can sit here for a few minutes, then we can go back to the village."

"But it's too sunny!" Elsa didn't want to sound whiny, but this kind weather was never a good friend of hers.

"It's not too sunny, it's perfect." Sighing, the Admiral decided to hop off the stone, and walked over. "Besides, you can use a little relaxation."

He grabbed her shoulders, and Elsa tried to focus her gaze on his eyes, instead of the sweat that slowly trailed down his chest. Did he really mean that she could relax under this intense sun? He must be crazy. Then again, this was Hans, and he could come up with the craziest idea if he wanted to just because he loved crazy. But those eyes, could she really resist them?

"Fine." She finally caved in, ignoring the grin on his face.

Hans took her hand and led them both towards the giant rock. He helped her up, before settling down next to her. For a while, the two of them were sitting in silence. Nature engulfed them with serenity, and Elsa found herself thinking in the midst of it. The way Hans talked about her, his confession, she couldn't just brush it off like it was nothing. The sincerity in his words, Elsa could sense it, and flames burned inside her upon the thought.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Realising that they hadn't said anything ever since she agreed to his plan, Elsa quickly recovered from her daydream.

"Nothing that would interest you." A lie. But she couldn't just tell him she had been watching him from afar, before she was tricked by the Nokk. "I see that you're bonding with Bruni."

The tiny blue salamander crawled onto her lap, looking up at her with its tongue out. Knowing what the creature needed, Elsa waved her hand and made a snowflake rain above it, in which Bruni excitedly breamed. in response.

"Adorable creature, that little one is." Hans commented, as he stared at the blue salamander. "But also deadly. Sitron doesn't like Bruni, I think. For some reason, it scared him."

Elsa let out a chuckle, letting Bruni hop on to her open palm. "I agree." She gently stroked it's small head, and the salamander squeaked.

As the minute passed, the hotter the air got. Elsa felt like she would melt any second now, yet she resisted the urge to conjure a small cloud to help them cool off. No, that would ruin what Hans referred to as the perfect weather.

"Alright, I think that's enough sun for me." Elsa smiled, as the fire spirit crawled up to her shoulder.

But when she moved to climb down, a hand stopped her. "Wait, where are you going?" His eyebrows knitted, and his free hand moved to wipe the sweat off his forehead, a gesture her own hand wanted to mirror.

"Hans, you mean well, but I can't really stand the heat." Elsa reassured. "I'm gonna sit over there under the shade to cool off, and you may stay here."

The former prince frowned slightly, his shoulders slumped. Gazing into the water, he noticed a pair of eyes observing him. An idea popped into his head, and it was too good to miss. Looking up, he flashed her a smile.

"You said you need to cool off, right?"

Elsa narrowed her eyes as she eyed him with suspicion. "Uh, yes?"

The next thing she knew, Elsa was surrounded by the cold water. The river wasn't that deep, and she quickly swam. Once she came out of the water, she glared at the Admiral who was still seated on the rock.

"What was that for?" She scoffed.

Hans smirked. "Revenge is sweet, Kaere."

But her frown only got deeper. "Fine then." Turning to the water surrounding her, Elsa caught a pair of glowing eyes, and smirked. "Nokk, get him!"

The blonde noticed how the look on his face changed, and with a splash, Hans finally joined her in.