It all started innocently enough, with a baby reindeer. The little guy had quickly become attached to Elsa, and she'd often wake up to find him snuggled in against her. Or she'd be at the campfire and he'd be laying with his head in her lap.
His fur was thick and soft and she loved to pet it while thinking, or talking with Honeymaren or Ryder. Elsa had gotten close to the twins over the past few weeks, spending most of her time among the Northuldra with them.
Ryder reminded her enough of Kristoff to feel really comfortable with him, but there was something about Honeymaren that just clicked for her. She enjoyed watching her, and sketching her, and just being near her.
Maren would often sit next to her, stroking the little reindeer while they talked. Often it was Elsa talking while Honeymaren listened, a rapt expression on her face, but many nights it would be reversed, with Elsa listening to Honeymaren's silky voice long into the night.
The first time their fingers brushed, Elsa had felt a surge unlike anything she'd ever personally experienced. It was like being struck by lightning and yet warmed by a fire all at once. She'd stared at their hands before realizing that Honeymaren had kept speaking. It had confused her at first; had Maren not felt that? And did it mean anything that Elsa had?
Anna had talked about a zing once, that she felt whenever she and Kristoff held hands, and Elsa thought back to the first time she'd met Honeymaren and the pleasant feeling of their fingers interlocked. If that was a 'zing' then she really, really liked it.
It happened again, on another night, leaving a tingling sensation running up her arm. Then a third night, and a fourth, until Elsa wanted to feel Honeymaren's hand in hers on a nearly constant basis. She couldn't even escape Honeymaren in her dreams, some of which had left very interesting snow figurines next to her bed.
And yet she wondered at that feeling, at what it could mean. So Elsa decided to apply the scientific method.
Question. Is she attracted to Honeymaren?
Hypothesis. Touching Honeymaren's hand evokes both a physical and emotional response.
Prediction. If she were to touch Honeymaren's hand longer, it would evoke a stronger response.
Testing. She needed to find a way to touch Honeymaren's hand again, for a longer period of time in order to test this hypothesis.
In a notebook Anna had given her, she wrote down her plans and observations, starting first with the accidental touches, leaving space for the planned testing, and then also writing down her control.
Brushing hands with Ryder produced a different response, closer to that I've felt with Anna or Kristoff or Olaf. There was no 'zing' to use Anna's terminology.
After all, it was only science if she wrote it down.
The easiest way to test her theory would be to employ the reindeer, or perhaps Bruni, in order to get their hands close enough for contact. Elsa could, in theory, simply walk up to Honeymaren and grab her hand, but she needed to replicate her past experiences as closely as possible or else the whole experiment would be for naught.
As night approached, she coaxed the reindeer into her goahti, knowing that Honeymaren would likely come looking and find them together. Unexpectedly, she felt like a nervous wreck, her hands clammy, her stomach twisting itself into knots.
She wrote that down too.
I'm nervous. The more I think about it the more ridiculous this idea seems. But the more I think about it, the more I want her touch. In some ways that
"There he is."
Honeymaren's voice startled Elsa, and she quickly closed her notebook and shoved it under her pillow. She turned and smiled at Honeymaren, some of her nerves calming just at the sight of her. "I might have kidnapped him for pets."
"Mm, can't say I blame you." Honeymaren came in and sat next to her and for the first time Elsa realized that this part of her plan had never been in doubt. She'd known that Honeymaren would choose to sit close to her.
Honeymaren always chose to sit next to her.
New hypothesis. Honeymaren felt it too.
She chewed on her lip, stroking the reindeer's fur. Maren absently reached over and started petting him too. Their fingers brushed, and Elsa felt that flood of electricity and warmth but she didn't pull her hand away.
Instead, she stroked her pinky finger along the side of Honeymaren's hand, prolonging the contact. Her eyes flicked up to Honeymaren's face, and the blush that stained her cheeks.
Slowly, Honeymaren moved her hand, pressing the side of it against Elsa's and then trailing her fingers up over her knuckles and back again. Just as slowly, Elsa turned her hand over, looking down and staring at Honeymaren's fingers as they traced the lines in her palm.
She moved her hand slowly as Honeymaren's fingers caressed hers in turn. Delicately. Gently. A ghost of a touch whispering across her skin. Honeymaren touched a spot on Elsa's wrist so sensitive that it felt like every inch of her body suddenly caught flame.
Smiling, Honeymaren stroked there again, leaning in closer with an enamoured expression on her face. Her fingers stroked back and forth, up her wrist and back down to her palm, and then in a smattering of patterns and runes. It felt like Honeymaren was casting a spell on her, one that Elsa was willing to be enchanted by.
Elsa turned towards her, scooting closer and barely noticing when the reindeer got fed up with their games and hopped down to find a spot to nap. She was too busy running her free hand up Honeymaren's arm, moving in nervous fits and eager jerks.
For one brief second, Elsa had the utterly ridiculous objection that this would ruin her experiment because it had gone far out of bounds of the original hypothesis. But then their lips touched.
Digging her fingers into her arm, Elsa exhaled, eyelids fluttering as Honeymaren's lips pressed harder into hers. It wasn't just her hand, or her fingers or her arm; it was all of Honeymaren.
It was the sound of her voice, dripping like her namesake as they lay next to each other stargazing. It was her presence, steady and calm but just a little adventurous. It was her laughter and her tears and it was her warmth, right here and right now, her body a furnace against Elsa's.
Strong arms encircled her, though Elsa got the impression she could escape if she wanted to. But she didn't and she wouldn't. Instead, she pushed Maren back onto the bed, kissing fervently and touching her cheeks reverently. Maren laid herself out next to Elsa and Elsa finally broke the kiss. "Can we stay like this?"
"Yes," Maren replied, voice barely above a whisper. She turned over, facing her, arm looping over her waist, "I'll hold you as long as you like."
Elsa smiled, curling in against her, murmuring, "My hypothesis was right…"
"What?"
"Nothing." With a loving caress, she ran her hand down Maren's arm to her elbow and back up again. "Maybe we can kiss a bit more?" After all, the other part of science was testing over and over again.
"I've been wanting this forever." Honeymaren said, sliding her hand up Elsa's back and pulling her closer. Elsa marveled at how comforting this was, and how easily she had let herself give into touching Honeymaren once she'd made the decision to do so.
And now that she had she didn't much like to imagine her life without her touch, "Sorry. I'm still learning things about myself."
Maren twirled some locks of hair in her fingers, "Did you learn anything today?"
"Women are beautiful," Elsa replied, leaning her forehead against Honeymaren's. "A specific woman especially."
"Where is she, I'll have some words."
Elsa laughed, catching Honeymaren's hand in her hair and bringing her fingers to her lips. "She has amazing fingers, too."
Honeymaren's face turned an interesting shade of red and Elsa's eyes widened as she realized how she might have taken it.
"I didn't mean it like that!"
"I'm sorry, my mind just kind of went there." Honeymaren tried to pull away, but Elsa held her fast, and gazed at her patiently. She fidgeted, then settled back in against her, "You're kind and wonderful and you're so beautiful Elsa. I can't help it. Every time our hands touch it's like … it's like I lose my mind."
"I don't think I'm ready for more than this just yet," Elsa admitted. It sounded really nice and her body responded to the thought of what Honeymaren's fingers might be capable of, but she didn't want to rush into things. She worried at her lip, running her eyes across Honeymaren's face for a moment before she said, "But that's not a no."
"I can wait as long as you need me to," Maren assured her and maybe, in that moment, Elsa might have fallen a little more in love with her.
But as Elsa pulled her in to kiss her again she thought that maybe Honeymaren wouldn't have to wait too long.
She was already coming up with a hypothesis...