Author's Note: This is going to be a short note as it's one o'clock while I write this and I have work at nine. Sorry I took so long to post this but I've been busy, I'll try to be better about it in the future. The views that appeared for the last chapter have given me a lot of inspiration and hope for this fic and the reviews have given me even more, those really show how much you people actually like what I write and show me that I am a good writer. My ultimate goal is to have this popular enough that people get some fanart going; that's the sign that you're really starting to make it, but that's a right I have to earn. As always, please leave some reviews as they are a writer's lifeblood and we thrive off of them. If any of you have any ideas, go ahead and PM them to me. I have a general idea of where I want this to go, but filler and fluff is never a bad thing if it's done tastefully! Hobey-Ho!
Dinner And a Moving In
Elsa's nervousness was growing by exponential portions as she made the final turn into the parking lot of the apartment complex that Anna had been staying at. Other than the collapsed roof and the yet-to-be-cleared debris that littered portions of the parking lot nearest the building, it actually seemed like a rather nice place to live. She slowed to a stop and let a few people carrying cardboard boxes from the building to their vehicles pass before continuing on to the back of the building where Anna had texted to meet her. Finding the singular gray metal door Anna had described, she shifted into reverse and backed into the parking space directly in front of the door. Using her rearview camera, she made sure she was as close to the door as she could possibly get while still being able to open the rear door before shifting into park and grabbing her phone to text Anna that she was outside.
Quickly typing out the message, her finger hovered over the 'Send' button. It was a small hesitation, but it was enough for her to rethink the entire message and delete it in its entirety on impulse. The unpleasant feeling of millions of butterflies having a party in her stomach forced her to put her phone back down and she leaned her head back on the headrest. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply and slowly; using the methods she had been taught years ago to fight past her dilemma. Most people counted to ten, or imagined 'cool' colors, or thought of relaxing music. For her the solutions were structure, logic, and reasoning; the formation of a list of concrete facts that would provide her reasons to be stronger than the social anxiety that she had developed. Facts like without her Anna would be temporarily homeless or that if she backed out now she would lose the only new friend she had made in a very long time.
After a few moments of this quiet reflections she steeled her nerves and swiped her phone back up, retyping the message in a blur and sending it without a second thought. She then pressed the button to open her rear door and stepped out of her warm SUV and into the cold winter air. Just as she closed her door, the buildings door flew open to reveal a heavily-clothed Anna.
"Took you long enough!" Anna exclaimed happily upon spotting Elsa standing there. "I was beginning to think you'd been frozen into a human popsicle!"
"Anna," Elsa sighed, a small smile playing across her face. "When was the last time you watched The Day After Tomorrow?"
"Doesn't matter." Anna said hastily, her small blush betraying the fact that it had been quite recently. "What does matter is the fact that the temperature's barely in the double digits and you're out her in nothing but jeans and a polo! I mean, how is it that you're not shivering up an earthquake right now?"
"I was just never bothered by the cold." Elsa said with a shrug. "But that's not important. What is important is getting your stuff over to my place so you can get settled all settled in at a decent time."
"Believe me," Anna scoffed playfully. "You have absolutely no reason to worry about that at all." Elsa quirked an eyebrow at her questioningly and, in response, Anna stepped aside and held the door open to reveal to her three mid-size cardboard boxes, a stuffed duffel bag, and a forty-two inch television.
"Is that it?" Elsa asked worriedly, hoping that Anna was playing a bad joke on her.
"Yep." Anna replied, a small amount of dejecting in her voice. "Anything that wasn't in my bedroom or bathroom too ruined for me to salvage."
"I'm so sorry, Anna." Elsa said, stepping up next to her friend. It truly was a depressingly small amount of items for someone to consider everything they owned, they probably wouldn't even have to lower her back seats to make it all fit.
"It's not all bad, though." Anna said, any hint of sadness disappearing from her voice. "I had enough sense to get everything covered under a pretty good renter's insurance policy so I'll eventually be able to replace everything I lost. Besides, all the stuff I did lose was, like, ten years old and need replacing anyway."
"So…" Elsa queried, rubbing the back of her head. "What you're saying is that your roof collapsing was a blessing in disguise?"
"It's better than thinking of it as a total catastrophe." Anna said simply, turning to smile up at Elsa. "If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that life is wholly the perspective you have on it."
"Calm down there, Aristotle." Elsa laughed. "Let's just focus on getting you moved in before we try and tackle the perplexities of self-awareness."
"Right!" Anna exclaimed, turning back around and walking to her belongings. "The boxes are lighter than my duffel and TV, so you can take those."
"If I didn't know better, I'd say you just indirectly called me weak." Elsa said as she watched Anna heft her bag up onto her shoulder before picking up the TV as well.
"I wouldn't say that I called you weak," Anna said slyly. "So much as saying that you're just not as strong as me."
"Whatever." Elsa said, rolling her eyes as she let Anna past her. Watching her go for a second, she shook her head and stacked the boxes on top of each other so she could carry them. Satisfied that they wouldn't fall over the second she tried to move them, she grabbed the bottom one by the cutout handles on its sides and lifted them up. A small grunt escaped her lips at the surprising amount of effort if took her to lift the boxes
'Maybe Anna was right to give me the lighter load.' Elsa thought to herself as she carried boxes to her car. She would never let Anna know this though, she had a feeling that the redhead was one to hold things like this over other people's heads. Her thoughts were interrupted though, as she just so happened to step out of the door the second and random gust of wind blew through the parking lot. The gust was enough to unbalance her enough the stacked boxes lost the equilibrium they had been holding and began to topple over.
"Whoa!" Anna exclaimed, appearing next to Elsa out of nowhere and quickly steadying the stack of boxes before they completely fell over. Both women stood there, frozen in place and staring at the boxes as they waited to see if cardboard cubes tried to escape Elsa's grasp again. After a few seconds of nothing happening, the two of them relaxed and breathed a sigh of relief.
"That was almost a disaster!" Anna laughed, her eyes closed as she smiled and rubbed the back of her head.
"Yeah…sorry." Elsa apologized, her cheeks turning pink from embarrassment at her near miss.
"No harm, no foul." Anna said, reaching up to grab the top box from Elsa's grasp. "Let's get these loaded up before another gust tries to destroy them."
"Yeah." Elsa agreed, the weight in her arms dropping as Anna lifted the box away from her and turned to place it in her trunk. She almost sighed at the feeling of the load lightening in her arms. The tops of her shoulders were beginning to ache slightly and the cutouts she was using as handle were starting to dig into the crooks of her fingers. She wondered what Anna could possibly have in the boxes she was carrying that would make them this weighty and she was finding it hard to resist the temptation to try and take a peek into the box that was currently under her chin. Anna delivered her from the curiosity though, as grabbing the box from her before she tried.
"And we are good to go!" She exclaimed as she grabbed the last box from Elsa's grasp and situated it with the others. "Now let's get out of here! My nose is beginning to freeze and I am not attractive with snotsicles!" Elsa couldn't help but smile at the redhead's declaration as she shut the rear door. After hearng the click of the door shutting properly, she made her way to the front and climbed into her seat. Anna was already in the passanger seat, sighing in satisfaction as she held her now glove-free hands up to the heaters.
"Buckle up." Elsa chimed, pulling her own seatbelt across her body and locking it into the buckle. Hearing Anna's buckle lock into place a second after hers, she shifted into Drive and drove around to the front of the building. She stopped once again to let the same box-carrying people from before pass. Anna waved to them with a large smile and they returned the gesture as best they could with boxes in their hands before continuing to their car.
"You know them?" Elsa asked as she pulled forward to the exit of the parking lot.
"Yeah." Anna said warmly. "That's Tiana and Naveen. They lived on the other side of the floor."
"Really?" Elsa asked, her eyes widening in surprise. "That much of the roof collapsed?"
"Oh no!" Quickly understanding what Elsa had assumed. "It was only my side that collapsed. They've been planning to move out of here and into a building they bought for a while now. They were waiting for the bottom floor renovations to be complete before moving but, under the circumstances, they figured now was probably the best time to do it."
"I guess." Elsa said as she pulled out of the parking lot and into the empty streets, confusion still in her voice. "But why would they have the top floor renovated before the bottom floor?"
"The top floor was done first because that's where they're actually going to live." Anna explained. "The bottom floor is being turned into their own Cajun restaurant."
"Well now," Elsa said, smiling at the thought of delicious shrimp dishes. "That's good for them."
"Yeah." Anna said wistfully, also imagining the spicy meals. "They're going to have a live blues band playing on the stage too."
"That's sounds wonderful." Elsa remarked as she turned onto a different street. "I'll have to stop by there when it's finished. What's it called going to be called?"
"They're naming it 'Tiana's Palace' and they plan to have it open in May." Elsa giggled at that and Anna glared at her. "It may sound ridiculous to you, but there's a legit reason why they chose that name."
"And that would be?"
"It would be the fact that Naveen is the prince of Maldonia."
"No way!" Elsa said in an astonishment.
"Yep." Anna said smugly. "A true-to-life, modern-day prince."
"So what's he doing here in Corona?"
"According to him, his parents disowned him from the family riches because he was too lazy and too into the party scene."
"And now he's opening a restaurant?" Elsa asked disbelievingly.
"Tiana set him straight when they met. According to her, his personality when they first met was, and I quote, 'As attractive as a frog's'." Elsa couldn't help but let out a bark of laughter at that. Anna joined her in her laughter, the two women taking a few moments to compose themselves before she continued. "Anyway, it took Naveen getting conned and having his identity stolen by one of those phony voodoo doctors to get him to learn that there's no easy way into money. Tiana helped him catch the dude before he could do too much damage and somewhere along the line in that story they developed some pretty heavy feelings for each other."
"Thank god for happy endings." Elsa said, slowing to a stop at the behest of a couple of National Guard soldiers standing at an intersection. As soon as they came to a rest a large convoy of military transports rolled down the street perpendicular to them. While the backs of the vehicles were covered by canvas, neither she nor Anna failed to see that there were full of civilians heading towards the stadium. At least a dozen of these vehicles passed by before the convoy ended and the soldiers that stopped them waved them forward. Now the atmosphere between the two darkened considerably at the very real, and almost ironic, reminder that not everybody gets a happily ever after. They both remained silent for the rest of the ride, keeping their thoughts to themselves as Elsa navigated the empty city streets and eventually pulled into her parking spot at her condo complex. Elsa sat there for a moment, trying to find something to say that would lighten the mood. Not finding anything, she turned her car off and pulled the keys out.
"Elsa." Anna said quietly, stopping as she reached for the door handle. Elsa turned to see Anna looking down at her knees, fingers interwoven on her lap as she twiddled her thumbs. "I-I just wanted to say thank you for doing this. For taking me in and letting me stay with you. I know it must've been really tough."
"Anna," Elsa said in the same quiet tone. "It's not that big of a deal."
"But it is." Anna replied, now meeting Elsa's gaze as her voice gained strength. "If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have had anywhere to go. I'd be another one of those people on those transports we saw being taken to live in a cot in a stadium."
"That's not true, Anna." Elsa said firmly, placing a hand on Anna's shoulder. "I'm sure Kristoff would've taken you in faster than I did."
"I don't know about faster," Anna said with a light chuckle. "But even if he did I wouldn't have accepted."
"Why not?"
"Because," Anna sighed. "Because he's already done that for me, back when I first moved here a year and a half ago. I know that doesn't make any sense, but it's a personal rule I have that I never take the same favor from someone twice. If I do I just end up feeling like a freeloader and not my own person, you know?"
"I do." Elsa said, giving her a small smile. "But your roof caving in from a freak blizzard should probably be an exception to that rule."
"Probably." Anna laughed. "Besides, Kristoff only has one bedroom and I would feel super horrible about making him sleep on the couch."
"You wouldn't sleep on the couch?" Elsa asked, quirking an eyebrow at her.
"I would never!" Anna exclaimed, holding a hand to her chest in mock indignation. "Elsa, a treasure such as myself needs to sleep in a bed. Sleeping on a couch is something only the common rabble participate in."
"Sure." Elsa said, rolling her eyes and opening her door. "C'mon, Ms. Treasure. Let's get your stuff upstairs before you decide you want your own suite."
"That sounds great!" Anna said as she got out herself and taking her first real look at the complex in front of her. Her mouth dropped open in surprise and proceeded to open further and further the higher eyes traveled. She slowly began backing up until she was at the back the SUV where Elsa was unloading her luggage. "On second thought, I think I'll just crash with you."
"Good idea." Elsa replied, closing the rear door and picking up the boxes once again. "I'm sure you'll find my place is accommodating enough for your luxurious needs." With that, she turned and began walking towards the entrance of the impossibly tall building. Anna watched her for a second, subconsciously glad that Elsa's indifference to the cold allowed her to wear clothes that showed off her curves, before looping her duffel strap over her shoulder and grabbing her TV. Those thoughts were driven away before they could surface yet again as a freezing shock hit her palms and she released her TV immediately. Looking down in surprise, she realized she had forgotten to put on her gloves in her eagerness to see where Elsa lived.
"Shit." She muttered, looking over and seeing that Elsa was already almost at the door. Not wanting to hold her up, she decided to forgo her gloves and swiftly pulled the TV into her arms. The half-metal, half-plastic frame of the television sent another frosty shock into her palms. 'Cold, cold, cold, cold, cold.' She thought to herself as she rushed over to the door where Elsa was waiting, her hands and fingers already beginning to turn numb.
"Are you alright?" Elsa asked as she approached the door, noticing the distressed look now adorning her face.
"Peachy!" Anna said a little too quickly and with too big a smile before grabbing the door handle. Her numb hand turned even more numb as it made contact with the all-metal door handle that had been outside much longer than her TV. 'COLD!' She shouted in her mind as she wrenched the door open and rushed inside, forgetting to hold it open for Elsa; who was forced to quickly place her foot in between the door and the wall to prevent it from closing. Wincing at the slight pain, she forced the door back open with said foot and walked inside to see Anna had already made it to the elevator and pressed the button to call it. Her television was on the floor at her feet and she was furiously rubbing her hands together for warmth, an embarrassed and apologetic look on her face.
"Sorry." She said, as Elsa came up next to her and set the boxes down. "I'm not really fond of cold weather."
"I never would've guessed." Elsa said joking. Anna opened her mouth to say something, probably another apology, but the elevator announced its arrival with a small 'Ding' and stopped her. The two women picked up their separate loads and stepped into the surprisingly spacious square compartment.
"What floor do you live on?" Anna asked, placing her TV on the floor and turning to the multitude of buttons that lined the panel. A quick inspection revealed to her that the complex had thirty-six different floors.
"Twenty-eight." Elsa said, setting her boxes down on the floor in front of her as well.
"Twenty-eight!?" Anna said loudly, her surprise very evident.
"Yep." Elsa said simply, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
"Jesus." Anna muttered under her breath as she pressed the button. The doors slid closed and the elevator gave the same small jolt that every elevator gives before starting its steady climb upwards. The jolt caused her television to wobble slightly on the floor and she quickly reached down to steady it. She had saved for a long time to be able to afford this beauty and she had just finished paying off the payments on her credit card for it. It would've been a crying shame to have it survive her apartment avalanche only to break in an elevator.
"So," Anna began, drawing Elsa's attention as she stood back up. "Not to be rude or anything, but…does being a store manager actually pay enough to be able to afford a twenty-eighth floor condo?"
"Not really, no." Elsa said, wondering where the question had come from. "I can afford this due to some…good investments I made when I was younger." She failed to mention that the chief investment responsible for most of her money was being born into it, but that wasn't something she was comfortable with discussing.
"Oh, alright." Anna said, rubbing her arm embarrassingly. Elsa continued to look at her though, trying to figure out why Anna would ask such a question.
"Can I ask why you're interested?" Elsa asked after an awkward pause, not being able to figure it out herself.
"Well, it's just…" Anna started nervously. "I'm getting to the point where I need to start making some real money in my life, and I can't do that as a department manager. Eventually I was planning on leaving, but seeing you living in a place like this made me wonder if sticking it out and climbing up the ladder was worth it. But, like you said, it's not." Elsa was slightly taken aback by Anna's sudden confession. Sure, employees left all the time; in fact, people mostly used retail jobs to hold them over until what they really wanted to do opened up. But this was the first time Elsa had ever entertained the notion that Anna would leave for something else, mostly because she found the idea of not seeing Anna very displeasing.
"Oh," Elsa said, fighting past the slightly bitter taste in her mouth. "That makes sense." Anna's ears perked at that. She swore she could've heard a slightly hurt tone in Elsa's response. Before she could ponder too far into the meaning of her tone, the elevator signaled that they had reached their desired floor and gave another one of its signature jolts before the doors began to slide open. Both she and Elsa grabbed her luggage and stepped out of the elevator before the doors to close on them.
"So which room is yours?" Anna asked, taking her first look down a hallway that had to at least be seventy meters. The fact that such a long hallway contained only a few doors told her what she had already guessed, that whatever space lay behind them was particularly large.
"Twenty-Eight Zero Seven." Elsa said, stepping forward and taking the lead down the hall. Anna eagerly followed on her heels, growing more and more excited to see her new and temporary home. As they walked, Anna admired the multiple framed portraits that lined the walls in between the doors. Some were paintings that offered vivid and beautiful depictions of nature while others were photographs of animals and people alike. She was so enraptured by them that she failed to notice that Elsa had stopped and stepped up to one of the doors, proceeding to walk right past her without so much as a second glance.
"Anna!" Elsa called, seeing the redhead walking further down the hall out of the corner of her eye as she set the boxes down. This jolted her to a stop and she turned around, her confusion abundantly clear as to why she had to turn around to look at Elsa. "Where are you going, Anna?"
"To…your place?" Anna said haltingly, not particularly sure if her answer was correct in this situation
"My condo is right here, Anna." Elsa said simply. Anna arched her eyebrow, before stepping closer and finding the numbers Elsa had told her not moments ago on the door.
"Oh…my bad." Anna said softly, dipping her head down as her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
"I'll say." Elsa giggled lightly as she fetched her keys out of her pockets. The airy sound of her giggle sent a minute shiver down Anna's spine. She briefly wondered where it had come from before dismissing it to the aftereffects of the temperature outside as she heard the door open.
"Welcome to my humble abode." Elsa said, as she grabbed the boxes and walked inside. Anna followed right after her, only to stop and gasp the second she set foot inside the condo. Her first thought was that she needed to get Elsa a dictionary, because this place was nowhere near humble. The living room and kitchen were larger than her entire apartment and were filled to the brim and were filled to the brim with expensive-looking appliances and furniture that just screamed brand new. The entire layout of the two rooms was color-coded to a blend of white and a shade of blue that could only be defined that, to Anna, were the very definition of winter themselves.
To the left lie the kitchen, filled with appliances boasting pristine stainless steel exteriors. It was semicircular in shape, the counters and appliances surrounding a large island in the middles. On the far-left was a beautifully inlaid wooden pantry and right next to it was a French-door refrigerator with two bottom drawers and a water/ice dispenser. Most of what was next consisted of counter containing the same wooden inlay as the pantry, all topped with marble that matched the color scheme of the entire condo. The only thing on these was a large Kuerig coffee machine resting on a small K-Cup drawer. Then, finally, came the sink with a hand-free faucet and a dishwashing machine. Above all of these was a line of cupboards, most likely containing all of Elsa's cooking equipment, and under the counters were drawer that probably contained eating utensils and dinnerware. The island that lay at the center of it all was topped with the same marble as the counters and surrounded at least eight tall, cushioned chairs. A convection stove with six spaces for cooking and three racks for baking lay in the center, facing the kitchen so only the reflective black top was visible from the door.
To the left was living room, containing a three-person couch, two-person couch, and a comfy-looking chair; once again, all of these matching the color-scheme. These all surrounded a large frosted glass coffee table that contained a neat stack of magazines and a trio of remotes whose tops were perfectly aligned with each other and were evenly space apart. All of these sat in front of a impressively large sixty-two inch television that was mounted on the wall. Flanking the television was a media center containing a DirecTV box, a DVD player, and a Bose sound bar. On either side of the media center were two large basses and when Anna looked up at the ceiling she spied four speakers for surround sound. Two bookshelves were situated both sides of the entertainment ensemble containing rustic-looking classical novels like Moby Dick, Dr. Zhivago, To Kill a Mocking Bird, Ben Hur, Paradise Lost, and many others.
And finally, to top it all off, the opposite wall from where they were standing was a floor-to-ceiling window that gave a majestic view of the now snow-covered Corona City. Anna had to admit, even though the snow was currently causing plenty of sorrow and worry, it made the city look like a winter kingdom out of a fairytale. The rest of the walls contained various small paintings similar to the ones in the hallway.
"Wow." Anna said after taking a minute of taking it all in.
"Thanks." Elsa said, now rather nervous at the size of the place. It was pretty over-the-top for one person and she was now suddenly worried that Anna might think of her as a flaunting snob. In truth, this was the condo her family kept on permanent rent for their visits to the city.
"This…is...AMAZING!" Anna shouted, causing Elsa to jump like a frightened kitten at the sudden outburst. "Oh my god! I'm gonna' feel like a freaking princess in here! What's the bathroom like!? Where is the bathroom!? Where's my room!? Does it look this nice!? Are those 3D glasses!? Is that a 3D TV!?" The questions fired out of Anna like a runaway machine-gun, getting progressively louder and more excited until Elsa was forced to give her a kick in the shin to get her attention, causing her yelp and look at her a little aggressively.
"Calm down there motor mouth." Elsa said with a smile, causing Anna to blush at the realization of what she had just been doing.
"Sorry." Anna mumbled as she tried to hide her face.
"Don't worry about it." Elsa reassured her, getting her to look back up. "I get it, and to answer your questions; yes, the TV is 3D, the bathroom amazing, your room is pretty nice, and they're both this way."
With that Elsa lead Anna around the living room furniture and to the right where there was a spacious hallway that she had failed to notice due to being so enamored by the living room and kitchen. Down it were four doors, three on the left and one on the right. Due to the fact that the one on the left was a sliding glass door that was currently letting in sunlight, she guessed that it led to an outside balcony.
"This is your room." Elsa said, stopping at the door and setting the boxes down to grab the handle. "The one next to it is the bathroom and the one at the end is my room."
"Good to know." Anna said with a smirk. "Now open it up so I can move in!" Elsa smiled at her anxiousness before turning the knob and walking in. Anna was right behind and was pleasantly surprised with the level of her accommodation. It was nothing compared to the living room and kitchen and probably nowhere near as nice as Elsa's room, but she wasn't expecting that since this was a guest room. What she was greeted with was a full-size bed, its headboard flush with the wall opposite them, complete with a really warm-looking sheet set and fluffy pillows. On either side of it were two nightstands with fancy lamps that could be easily reached from the bed and a digital alarm clock, also easily accessible. On the left wall was a desk with six different drawers and a nice leather chair. Completely opposite her bed was a dresser with a menagerie of drawers for her clothes and beside it was a mini-fridge for her snacking pleasure. There were plenty of shelves on the walls for her personal possessions and the wall opposite the desk housed a sliding door mirror that led to a mid-size closet.
"Perfect." Anna said with a satisfied huff as she stepped farther into the room, unaware that she was calming Elsa's anxiety that it she wouldn't like it.
"Are you sure?" Elsa asked, more than willing to any accommodation necessary for the redhead.
"Absolutely." Anna said, offering a large smile. "I don't have much stuff to move in with, so a big extravagant room would just feel too empty. This room just what I need."
"Well, that's great then!" Elsa said, offering her own smile. "If you need any help moving in I'll be glad to help. If not, then I can get started on some dinner."
"Nah." Anna said, giving her a dismissing wave. "I can get this stuff set up on my own and the sooner dinner is, the sooner my stomach stops holding a civil war against me."
"Well then, I better get started." Elsa said with a laugh, lingering for a second before backing out of the room and heading to the kitchen. Anna stared at the spot where Elsa disappeared for a few seconds before getting to work. She immediately set her TV down on the dresser and dropped her duffel at the foot of it. She unzipped it and began placing her various clothing articles in the different drawers. Once it was open she took off her jacket and the hoodie under it and went to hang them in the closet. Once they were hung she grabbed the boxes sitting outside her door where Elsa had left them and brought them in. Opening the top one, she began pulling out framed photos of family and friends and began spreading them around the room where she deemed necessary. Next came the variety of souveneirs she had collected over the years throughout her time as a Venture scout. Once those were spread out to her satisfaction she grabbed the now empty box and placed it in a corner of the closet. The next box contained her sensitive information; documents like her social security card, birth certificate, various insurance policies, a copy of her car registration, her Bachelor of Music degree, and various bills and loans she owed. Lifting them out of the box carefully, she placed them in one of the six desk drawers. After the events of this week though, she was definitely investing in a fireproof and waterproof safe to put them in. Opening the last box, she pulled out her laptop, its power cable, and a pair of Bluetooth speakers. She set them up on the desk and plugged them into the outlet right next to it. She then pulled out her the carrying box for her Xbox One and retrieved it to place it next to the TV.
She then spent the next few minutes connecting the various wires that would combine her Xbox and the small DirecTV box into one system. It was a bit confusing and she had to reference the instruction pamphlet a few times, but she made her way through it and came out of the endeavor with success. She then placed the various games and DVDs that she had brought with her into one of the unoccupied dresser drawers and moved the now empty boxes into the closet with the first one. Closing the mirrored door, she looked around and had to admit that the room looked so much better with stuff to actually personalize it. She still had her original sheets to deal with and her hygiene bag, but that could wait, Right now she could smell a delicious aroma wafting in through her open door.
Stepping out, she noticed that Elsa had closed the curtains on the balcony door while she had been decorating. Despite this the hallway was still lit as bright as when sunlight had been coming in. Looking around, she found that the source of the light was cleverly hidden LED bulbs in the junction where the walls met the ceiling. Smiling at the ingenious design, she made her way to the living room to find Elsa had done the same thing with the window and turned on the lights. Looking to the kitchen, she saw Elsa standing up from behind the island with an amazingly delicious-looking tray of lasagna in her gloved hands.
"Just in time." Elsa called out, setting the tray down and closing the stove door. "I was about to come and get you. I hope you like lasagna."
"Who doesn't?" Anna replied, walking up to grab a seat as Elsa grabbed two plates from the cupboards and silverware from their drawers.
"People with no taste, that's who." Elsa said, setting a plate in front of Anna and handing her the silverware. She set down her own plate and utensils before walking to the fridge and grabbing two glasses from the cupboard next to it. "What would you like to drink? I've got orange juice, milk, almond milk, vanilla almond milk, root beer, and water."
"Water will be just fine." Anna said after pondering for a few seconds.
"Are you sure?" Elsa asked teasingly, pulling out a yellow carton and shaking it. "The vanilla almond milk is pretty good."
"Tomorrow." Anna said with a laugh. "Right now I just need some good 'ol H2O…no ice please."
"Got it." Elsa said as she poured the almond milk in her glass. "No frozen H2O in your H2O." That warranted a genuine laugh from that and Elsa silently congratulated herself in being able to pull one from the girl as she filled her glass with water from the dispenser.
"Thanks." Anna said, as Elsa handed the glass to her. She took a small sip from it, enjoying the feeling of the cool liquid sliding down her slightly parched throat as Elsa cut their portions of the lasagna and served it. They both raised their glasses to each other before tucking into the meal in front of them. The second the first forkful of the pasta touched her tongue, her taste buds erupted in celebration at the wonderful explosion of flavor that ensued. The cheeses were like none other she had ever tasted before and the meat and veggies combined perfectly with them, no taste sensation overpowering the other and forming an even blend of flavors. As much as she wanted to savor the delicious meal, she couldn't help but find forkful after forkful entering her mouth and traveling down her throat to land in her rejoicing stomach. Before too long her plate was empty, and she found herself looking despondently over to the empty tray of lasagna. Elsa had served her entire portion in one go.
"I take it you liked it?" Elsa said teasingly, putting the last bite of her lasagna into her mouth. Anna could only nod sadly at the all-too-true statement.
"You wouldn't happen to have a second tray stashed in the oven, would you?" She asked hopefully, giving the best pair of puppy dog eyes she could muster.
"I regret to inform you that I do not." Elsa said, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "But I promise I'll make more in the near future."
"Yes please." Anna said, grabbing her glass and gulping down the rest of the water while Elsa grabbed both their plates and the tray and took them to the dishwasher. She loaded them into their slots and was pouring in some soap when an alarm from her wrist watch sounded. They both looked at it surprise, Anna simply because it was unexpected and Elsa because she hadn't realized how late it had gotten.
"What's that?" Anna queried, walking over and handing Elsa her glass to put in the dishwasher.
"I usually retire at this time." Elsa answered, grabbing the glass and placing it next to her before closing the dishwasher and turning it on. Anna pulled out her phone and was surprised to see it was only eight thirty.
"This early?" She asked.
"Yeah." Elsa said, rubbing her arm. "But if you want company I can stay up a little longer."
"Nah." Anna replied, stretching her arms and letting out a small yawn. "I'm actually kinda tired right now, so it's all good. I could use your Wifi password though."
"Sure." Elsa said with a smile as they both began walking to their rooms. "The network is Arendelle2708 and the password is IceCastle; one word with the I in ice and the C in castle capitalized."
"Thanks." Anna said, typing the password into her phone as they entered the hallway and as Elsa turned off the lights to the living room and kitchen.
"Good night, Elsa." She said as she reached her room and walked in.
"Good night, Anna." Elsa replied, making her way to her own room. Anna was about to shut the door and get on Facebook when she remembered something that she had wanted to ask.
"Wait! Elsa!" She called, about to step out into the hallway when Elsa appeared in the door frame.
"Yes?" She asked?
"Are there any house rules I should know about?" She asked sheepishly, not wanting to do anything that might anger her new roommate.
"Oh." Elsa said, realizing where Anna was coming from before thinking of a few things that Anna might need to know. "Let me think…lock the doors, flush until everything's gone, keep the volume down at night, don't burn the place down, stuff like that."
"Thanks." Anna said sarcastically, rolling her eyes and beginning to close the door.
"Wait!" Elsa said, causing Anna to stop. "One more thing."
"I won't bring a tiger home." Anna said jokingly.
"This one's serious, Anna." Elsa said.
"Alright." She said, dropping her joking attitude and paying attention. "Shoot."
"Just…" Elsa began, looking away slightly before locking their gaze. "Just don't go into my room. I like my privacy, okay?"
"No problem." Anna said calmly. "Anything else?"
"Nope." Elsa said with a smile. "Thanks, Anna."
"Sure thing." She said before watching Elsa disappear from the door frame and closing the door. She stood there for a second before walking over to her bed and flopping down on it. Elsa didn't know it, but she had silently cursed Anna. Normally she was extremely with secrets and people's privacy, but she had one glaring weakness…doors. Put a door in front those things and Anna couldn't help but to try and pry it open.