I feel like you guys might be getting tired of Modern AU, I hope your not, it's fun using this kinds of settings. :))
troopper17 - thanks for the idea! :D
Rhika - here's a thank you, and an I'm sorry for waiting semi-patiently. :))
adrilabelle - I'll be using the idea you gave me tomorrow. :3 that's a great idea too.
Disclaimer: Frozen belongs to Disney.
Bowling - Modern AU
Elsa stared at the outside world longingly, wishing she could be out there instead of this godawful place—where is this godawful place, exactly? Inside a bowling alley. Elsa was naturally gifted and could be great at any thing if she tried hard enough, but there was one thing that she always managed to make a big fool out of herself of, and that was bowling.
The first time she went bowling was with Anna and her parents, that didn't end up too well, so Elsa avoided the sport like a plague. She got into college and Anna managed to persuade her to join them, that went horribly too, and the day barely passed with her dignity still intact. So after graduating, she busied herself with managing her family's law firm, and every time Anna asked her to join them, she would decline. She always had an excuse not to go bowling.
Except for this particular day.
Elsa was trying hard to wipe away the terrified expression that was surely showing on her face, and she tried to suppress an annoyed sigh. Why did I ever agree to come here? She regretted her decision the moment she got in Hans's car, but she knew she could no longer back down because her dad gave her a week off and everybody knew she had nothing better to do but stay inside her house doing, well... nothing.
And that was when Hans, a partner in the firm, decided to invite her, Anna; and Anna's boyfriend, Kristoff, to go bowling with him. Obviously, Elsa declined but Hans and the others still managed to drag her with them. Of course, the entire thing was Hans's fault, it always was. The two of them had a bit of a rivalry going on. It started way back in college, since all four of them had known each other since then. Elsa was two years advanced, which is why she ended up being in the same year as Hans was.
They fought over grades, over being president, over being representative for competitions, over being Head of a committee— they fought over everything. It always ended up as a tie, but sometimes one of them would come on top, but neither of them would ever admit it.
When they graduated, Elsa worked for her father's firm, and Hans worked for the rival firm. Cases where the two of them were on opposite stands always had high publicity, everybody wanted a piece of their action, and any judge or jury appointed in those cases knew hell would be upon them in no time.
There weren't any ties in court, one of them always came out victorious, but the number of times one was victorious over the other was generally... a tie. Until on day, Hans appears in her father's firm, and somehow he ends up as a partner there, and it seems like the only reason why he insisted being there was to torment her.
Hans, being Hans, invited her to go bowling, she would have said no but he insisted, and Hans was very persuasive, all he had to do was tell her it was a challenge, mock her for letting him win by throwing the towel before the fight even started, and Elsa was in, completely forgetting how horrible a bowler she was.
Now she would have rather allowed Hans to gloat at her instead of completely humiliating herself in front of her rival.
This was not good.
Nope.
Not at all.
This was very bad.
Very, very bad.
"Alright, darling, what's up with the long face?" Han asked, breaking her out of her reverie.
She glared at his smirk, "Nothing's wrong, darling."
"Alright Kristoff, you go first," Anna said, patting Kristoff on the arm, already used to Elsa and Hans's bickering.
Kristoff nodded and stood up, he took a 10 pound, green ball and tested the feel of it before walking and stepping in front of the lane. In a motion that lacked grace, Kristoff released the ball, they watched it go down the lane, knocking over six pins. He waited for his ball, and on his second shot, he managed to knock all remaining pins, save for one.
"That's not so bad," Anna said, kissing him on the cheek.
"You're getting rusty, Kristoff," Hans grinned at him. Hans had actually known Kristoff way back in high school
Kristoff waved his hand in the air dismissively, he used to play bowling and at least got into the top three but he was never really into playing, it was just something he did to past the time, "I haven't played since junior high, I need to warm up a little."
"Alright, my turn!" Anna volunteered excitedly, her ball was a red one. Her movements were more graceful than Kristoff's but it was still a bit clumsy, despite that, she managed to knock over most of the pins, but as luck would have it, the remaining two pins were a split.
Hans whistled lightly, "That's going to be hard."
"Just aim for one, Anna, like I taught you," Kristoff coached her.
Anna concentrated and let the ball go, the ball hit one pin, and it flew, hitting the other pin.
"Yes!" Anna screamed gleefully.
Kristoff kissed her on the lips, "Told you I'm a good teacher."
"Never doubted you for one second," Anna grinned, sitting down beside him.
"Is everybody here that good?" Elsa muttered darkly, glaring at the lane in front of her, wishing she could disappear. Or are they just lucky?
"Honey, if you think that's good, watch what I can do," Hans smirked at her, standing up and picking up his ball, his was black.
He can't be that good, can he?
In one fluid motion, Hans let the ball roll, his form was obviously better than Kristoff's and Anna's and his movements were graceful.
He can.
Elsa almost wanted to bury herself when she saw that bowling ball knock down all the pins.
"Psh," Kristoff waved his hand in the air, while Anna clapped beside him. "Of course you're going to hit a strike."
Elsa wanted to stand up and run away. Maybe I can still sneak out, maybe they won't no—
"Well, love, it's you're turn," Hans was standing in front of her, his figure towered over hers, covering her in his shadow, making her feel particularly smaller than she already did. She swallowed and stared at the sky blue, bowling ball Hans was giving her.
Elsa bit her lower lip, "I uhm... I'm not really feeling good, so I..." she stood up slowly, starting to walk away. "So I'm going some... where."
She smiled sheepishly and hurriedly turned around, but Hans caught her wrist and pulled her towards him.
"No running away, doll," Hans smirked at her, the grip on her wrist tightened.
"Will you stop giving me nicknames," she glared at him, trying to push down the bad feeling in her gut. "Or I'll..."
"Or you'll what?" he raised one eyebrow slowly, almost sadistically. "You'll beat me in a game of bowling?"
Elsa swallowed hard and shrank back, "No, I—" she bit her lower lip, trying to pull away from his grip.
"Wait," Hans frowned, then he broke into a grin. Of course he's quick to catch on. Elsa thought smugly just as Hans exclaimed— "You don't know how to play, do you?"
Elsa could only glare at him, she felt her cheeks heating up, and because of her paler than normal complexion, she knew her face was probably putting a tomato to shame at the moment.
"Well that's a surprise, there's finally something this perfect little lady can't do!" he exclaimed, obviously enjoying her plight.
"I'm not perfect Hans, I have my flaws," she tugged harder, freeing herself from his grip and holding her wrist to her chest, glaring murderously at the man in front of her.
"Yes, you do have flaws," he nodded, smirking even more. "But this is the first time you're actually going to show one."
At least he stopped with the nicknames. Elsa thought glumly.
"Anna, why didn't you tell me Elsa didn't know how to play?" Hans asked, the huge grin was still plastered on his face. "I would've brought a camera."
Anna shrugged, decidedly not interested, and obviously annoyed that Hans interrupted her and Kristoff, "Why don't you just use your phone?"
"Because today," Hans looked back at Elsa. "Is a very special day."
Elsa groaned again, she wanted to run away until the entire thing was over but her feet remain rooted to the groaned.
Hans reached out and took her hand in his, pulling her to the lane with him.
"We've got to remedy your little problem, highness," Hans gave her the bowling ball. "Here."
She glared at the ball but took it anyway.
Then she felt Hans pressing himself against her and wrapping his arms around her, resting his hands on top of hers.
"Try not to enjoy this too much, Westergard," she warned him darkly.
"I'm going to try, but it's really hard when you're pressed against me like this," he whispered into her ear, making her shudder. "How about you try not to enjoy this."
She managed a scoff, "The only time I'll enjoy being this close to you is in your dreams."
"Trust me, love, you're in them a lot of times," he chuckled, with their close proximity, Elsa felt his chest vibrate.
Elsa stepped on his toes, making Hans hiss in pain.
"You were saying?" Elsa asked in a sweet voice, smiling.
"Nothing," Hans muttered through gritted teeth.
"Hey, are you two going to bowl or are you just going to stand there and cuddle all day?" Anna asked loudly, making some people within earshot turn to look at them. Elsa jerked away, but Hans kept a firm grip on her, not allowing her to break free from his grasp.
"Now then, honey, shall we get this over with?" he asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"I told you, stop—"
"Giving you nicknames, I know, I know," he said dismissively. "Try and get a strike first."
"That wasn't what you said earli—"
"Oh, hush before I kiss you."
And that effectively shut her up.
Elsa was glad Hans couldn't see her face, else he would've seen how red it was.
"Ready?"
Elsa nodded stiffly.
"I want you to breathe in and out slowly," Hans commanded in a gentle tone. "Relax, Elsa, if you don't your movements will be jerky and the ball will be more inclined to go to the gutter instead of hitting the pins."
Elsa only nodded again.
"Don't think about how horrible the outcome will be, think about what you're doing at the moment, how you want to look like when you move and after you release the ball," Hans continued to talk.
"Still cuddling!" this time it was Kristoff who shouted, Anna snickered beside him inelegantly.
This got no reaction from either persons they were teasing, it didn't look like they heard Kristoff at all.
"Looking graceful will give people something else to talk about other than how horrible the end result is," Hans chuckled behind her. "I'd know, I kept my dignity afloat with that method for over three years, took me awhile to get a hang of the damned sport so I could rub it in my brothers' faces that I finally beat them."
"Cuddling!" Kristoff shouted again, followed by Anna shouting. "Come on, you guys! We don't have all day!"
Elsa's head suddenly whipped back, staring at Hans curiously, completely ignoring Anna and Kristoff, "You mean you were bad at this before?"
"Everyone is, Elsa, you don't just become pro the first time, even the prodigies need practice," Hans smiled down at her. It was one of those moments. Elsa realized. When Hans looked like a normal human being instead of the devil personally coming to earth to torture her. "So, are you ready, darling?"
Elsa rolled her eyes and looked back at the lane, "Yes, darling, I'm ready."
She listened to Hans explain to her how she should move, the basics of what she should do instead of just walking over there and throw the ball like it doesn't matter. With his instructions and tips in mind, Elsa stepped forward, Hans let go of her completely, stepping back, and for a moment, a part of her wished he hadn't let go. She shook the thought off, went through the motions and released.
The balls reached the pins, and with a satisfying thwack, knocked them down.
Elsa turned back with a proud grin on her face, forgetting completely that Hans was the one she just rushed over to hug. Absentmindedly, like he was on autopilot, Hans hugged her back, lifting her up a few inches from the ground before kissing her softly on the cheek, the two just grinned at each other like idiots, unaware that half the people in the bowling alley had stopped bowling to watch them.
"I'd say our matchmaking was quite a success," Kristoff murmured, a hint of pride was evident in his voice.
"Good idea telling Hans to take us bowling," Anna grinned, elbowing Kristoff lightly on the ribs. "I'd almost forgotten how much Elsa hated this sport until you brought it up."
"I'm a genius, I know," Kristoff commented, wrapping his arms around Anna. "They really have good chemistry, don't they?"
"True, they make a cute couple," Anna nodded, cuddling closer.
Suddenly the couple being talked about leaped away from each other like they just got burned, they were both blushing slightly despite the smirks on their faces, Elsa punched Hans's arm non to gently, and then the two just laughed.
"They'd make a great couple," Kristoff said again, grinning slightly. "You know, once they get past potential murder."
"True, true," Anna nodded, intertwining her fingers with Kristoff while they both, like a quarter of the other people in the building, watched the Hans and Elsa together.
"I wonder what they're talking about?" Kristoff said aloud curiously.
"Probably hurling insults at each other as usual," Anna shrugged nonchalantly.
"Don't they look too happy to be insulting each other?"
"They're always happy when they're insulting each other, Kristoff."
Kristoff fell silent, "Good point."
"Hm," Anna mused curiously. "I wonder why Hans kissed her on the cheek twice though, it's a miracle Elsa didn't punched him again for that."
"Just ask them," Kristoff nodded towards at the two. "Here they come."
And what was Hans and Elsa talking about?
Elsa rushed and hugged Hans, "Did you see that?" she asked him proudly.
"That was great!" he practically shouted, catching her in his arms and kissing her on the cheek. "I knew you could do it."
"Yeah, I've got a pretty decent teacher," Elsa shrugged, her arms wrapped around his neck.
Hans winked, "Guess this means I can't give you nicknames, huh?"
"Oh, don't worry, it's not yet the end of the world," Elsa rolled her eyes. "I might allow a nickname or two when I'm in the mood."
Hans tilted his head and was about to kiss her, when suddenly Elsa pushed him back and they both simultaneously leaped away from each other.
"Hans!"
"Sorry, force of habit," Hans scratched the back of his, smiling sheepishly at her.
She shook her head and punched him arm, "Really, you should be more careful."
"So when are you telling Anna and Kristoff that their matchmaking isn't going to work?" Hans winced and rubbed his arm, half tempted to take her in his arms again. "That we're already, actually dating."
"I don't know," Elsa shrugged grinning, her face flushed. "It's kind of fun stringing them along like this."
"Yeah, I'm kind of enjoying this too," Hans stifled his laughter by coughing. "Imagine their reaction when they find out that we've been dating for almost two years and a half."
"When that happens, I'll be sleeping at your place," Elsa shuddered at the thought that suddenly occurred to her. "I don't want to be interrogated by Anna."
"Sure, love," he kissed her on the cheek, Elsa rolled her eyes at the nickname, but Hans has been calling her that more absentmindedly than when he uses other names just to annoy her, so she really didn't mind. The two of them walked back to their seats.
"So how come you didn't punch him the second time he kissed you?" Anna asked, and Elsa could see her sister visibly trying not to sound or look too curious.
"I figured, since this is the first I'm proud of myself for bowling, I'd let it slip,"Elsa shrugged easily.
"Does that mean if I help you get more strikes, I can kiss you again?" Hans asked her eagerly, beaming at her childishly.
"Don't push your luck, Westergard," Elsa smirked at him, waving him off.
"Maybe later," Hans just shrugged, sitting down.
"Later," Elsa repeated more quietly, taking her seat beside him.
Then two proceeded to ignore each other, and wait for their respective turns.
Kristoff and Anna looked at each other, silently communicating with their eyes.
What was that about?
Don't know.
"So how about we cuddle next, Kristoff?" Anna asked, pulling Kristoff up and towarda the lanes, dismissing the thought earlier completely.
"Your wish is my command, princess," Kristoff grinned at her as he followed her.
Hans and Elsa looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
"Do you think we're rubbing off them too much on them?" Elsa asked him. "Kristoff actually sounded like you, except sweeter and less like an asshole."
"Doesn't matter," Hans bit back a smirk as he looked at her, his emerald eyes were twinkling with pride and mischievousness, "You're my queen and you love me anyway," he smirked sardonically, "Even if you think I'm an asshole."
Anna and Kristoff had their backs turned against Elsa and Hans, so Hans took this opportunity to draw Elsa in for a kiss full on the lips, simultaneously keeping an eye on the other two and enjoying the sensation of her lips and tongue against his.
Elsa was grinning when she pulled away, "Maybe if you weren't such a great kisser, I'd be hating you just a bit more."
"Oh, love, you already hate me enough," Hans leaned against his char, smirking as he looked down on Elsa. "And plus, I'm the best kisser you'll ever find."
"Shouldn't I test that theory and kiss another?" Elsa raised an eyebrow at him teasingly, crossing her arms.
"That wasn't a theory," Hans frowned at her, growling slightly, "And you don't need anybody else."
Elsa didn't bother stifling her giggle, looking at Hans playfully. "I don't need anybody else. Probably."
"Elsa," Hans practically groaned like a little kid.
Elsa pulled him down by the collar of his shirt, kissing him on the lips, briefly teasing him with her tongue, "Yes, Hans?"
"Nothing," there was a loopy grin on her face, it's one of those smiles you'd rarely see on Hans, because only Elsa was capable of drawing out that smile of his.
They pulled away, just as Kristoff and Anna turned around and did a little victory dance together because of their strike and spare respectively.
"Elsa?" Hans whispered without looking at her.
"Yes?" she asked, keeping her eyes on her sister and Kristoff.
Hans's hands crept toward Elsa's, they intertwined their fingers together.
"Have I ever told you I love you, before?"
"I can't really remember," a small smile formed on Elsa's lips, "Do you mind saying it now?"
"Anytime," Hans hid a small smile. "Every time."
"Good."
"I love you."
Elsa smiled and leaned against Hans, she'd just make up an excuse about it with Anna and Kristoff later. Right now, she didn't care. Life was good. Maybe bowling isn't so bad after all.
So, what'd you think?
I guess I'm really just in the desperate need of an Inspiration-sucker-punch.
I really had no idea what I was talking about half the time, I played bowling with my dad and cousin before to pass the time, a few years back during school break. I was the "just let the ball roll, who cares about form" kind of player. The highest I've ever gotten in those consecutive days was probably a hundrrd and twenty something, still better than my cousin but worse than my dad on his bad day.
But it's been about two or three years, so I'm probably really horrible now.
And here's my thank you to everyone who's troubled themselves with reading this. You guys are always amazing.
Hope you enjoyed!
Cheers!