The Chance to Fly, Chapter Seven
A.N: Hello Everyone! Sorry this chapter has taken a bit longer than usual, thanks for sticking with me. And I know I haven't said it before, but thanks for all the reviews as well, they're very entertaining! I love that many of you are still suspicious of Hans, you've thrown out quite a few guesses as far as that particular element of the story goes... And I'm saying nothing. Anyway, thanks for sticking with me on this one. The more I think about this story, the longer it seems to get. I think it might be a bit of a long haul, I'm afraid.
I hope you enjoy this chapter, let me know what you think!
P.S, Well done StormBreeze for catching the reference in the story title. I couldn't resist!
"Anna!" Kristoff's voice boomed through the apartment. "Come on, it's already ten past seven!"
Anna was in her room, adding the final touches to her make-up. She had put quite a lot of effort into her appearance that evening – though she really hoped it didn't look that way. In her mind, Anna had decided that it was her attire earlier in the day that had made Elsa act so tense, so now she was doing her best to look good, to not look like a hung-over mess, or like she could just be dressed for a trip to the store.
Tonight, Anna was wearing a dress. She didn't often wear one, though not because of any tomboyish aversion to the garment, just because it wasn't often practical for her lifestyle. It was a green dress, with a black sculpted bodice. Anna really hoped it wasn't too much for dinner next door.
When she finally exited her bedroom after one last assessment of herself in the mirror, Anna was relieved to see that Kristoff had also made an effort. He was sporting a light blue long sleeved shirt tucked into khaki dress pants. He had even brushed his dirty blond locks a bit.
"Ready!" Anna stated, breezing past her brother.
"Finally." Kristoff grunted, following Anna out the door and along the hall.
Hans answered the door to number seven. He was dressed similarly to Kristoff, but in a red shirt and black pants. Anna thought briefly that he looked as though he was dressed to dance the tango, not eat dinner. But either way, he did look good.
"Hey guys, come on in!" Hans, eager as ever, stepped back to allow the others room to enter. He pulled Anna into a hug as she neared him.
"Anna, you look great," he said, squeezing her slightly as he spoke. "And Kristoff, good to see you!" he added, giving Kristoff's hand a manly shake. Kristoff handed Hans a bottle of red wine.
At the sound of Anna's name, Elsa looked up. She was standing on the kitchen side of the counter, preparing a salad to accompany Hans' main course. Her eyes trailed Anna's form, making the most of the fact that the redhead had not spotted her yet. Hans was right about something, Anna did look great. Before this very moment, Elsa had only been able to imagine Anna in her trademark skinnies and band tee. Well, that and the image of Anna in oversight shirt and little else that was now so firmly planted in her mind. But now, Anna was in a dress and looked as at home in that as she did in everything else that Elsa had seen her in. If Elsa was being honest with herself, she might admit that in fact Anna's outfit from earlier in the day was by far her favourite so far, but for now, Elsa was actively avoiding that kind of internal honesty.
Elsa stepped out from behind the counter, wiping her hands on a nearby cloth. She felt utterly ridiculous for the way she had been with Anna that morning now, and she was determined to make up for it.
"Hi Anna," Elsa let out, her voice sounded quieter than she had planned, and she cleared her throat, starting towards the redhead across the room.
"Elsa. How's it going?" Anna asked, and unless Elsa was much mistaken, there was a trace of trepidation in her voice. Elsa's feelings of guilt increased. She strode across to Anna and pulled her in for a hug. Judging by the slight squeak that came from Anna, she had not been expecting the move.
Elsa wrapped her arms around Anna and a moment or two later she felt the redhead relax against her. Elsa unconsciously rubbed a small circle on Anna's back and then released her. She looked Anna in the eyes, studying their mossy green quality.
"I'm sorry about earlier." Elsa heard herself say. "I…. didn't sleep all that well last night." She added. What kind of an excuse was that, Elsa? I suppose, at least it's true… Elsa was also painfully aware that in little over a week of knowing Anna, this was the second time she'd had to apologise for her own behaviour. She vowed that it would be the last.
"It's alright, Elsa. As you probably guessed I had quite a late one too! I'm sure I was looking a complete mess this morning." Anna said, half joking, half apologising for herself.
"You looked great." Elsa said bluntly. What? Elsa, you can't just… too late, you said it, just move on swiftly. "So your brother's back? You never told me you guys lived together."
"Didn't I?" Anna asked, looking truly surprised to hear that bit of news, "I guess I didn't, actually… Sorry."
"Not a problem." Elsa smiled, "I'm sure he's just as great as you." Seriously, Elsa rein in it. With that final comment, Elsa turned to where Hans and Kristoff were chatting animatedly and headed in their direction. Anna simply watched, unable to react to what Elsa had just said.
"You must be Kristoff," Elsa said politely, holding out a hand. "I'm Elsa."
"Elsa, hi. Nice to meet you." Kristoff offered, taking a hold of Elsa's hand and shaking it gently.
A look of thinly disguised pride leaked onto Hans' face as he wrapped an arm around Elsa's waist. Anna watched mutely as Hans' thumb swiped softly up and down on Elsa's hip.
"Right." Hans practically barked, "I hope everyone's hungry!"
A short while later all four of them were seated around the table that had been cleared of flowers and records and pulled out into the area behind the living room couch. Kristoff had seated himself next to Elsa and Hans had gladly taken the spot next to Anna once he had served everyone a healthy portion of handmade pasta with freshly made sauce. They were all happily tucking into their meals when the conversation turned to Kristoff's occupation.
"So, Kristoff," Hans started, "you're a professional climber, is that right?"
"Yeah. Well, it's only the last year or so that I've turned fully pro. It takes a while to gain the right sponsors and support, but I love it. I can't see myself doing anything else. Plus I get to travel." Kristoff explained. Anna knew that once he was on the topic of climbing, Kristoff could talk for hours to anyone who would listen. By the look of unadulterated interest on Hans' face, the pair looked set to hit it off.
Anna's attention, however, was almost immediately lost. She had heard the whole lot before, and as much as she loved her brother, the topic was getting a little old. Instead Anna found herself sneaking sly glances at the woman opposite her. Elsa seemed to be paying attention to Kristoff, she would nod in all the right places, and asked a couple of well-placed questions whenever a gap in the conversation appeared. She pushed her food around the plate daintily and seemed to be pecking at the pasta more than actually consuming very much of it.
"Anyway, someone in the family has to do something exciting…" Anna heard her brother say. She looked up as Hans laughed and caught Kristoff offering a teasing smile.
"Oh right, yeah. The old 'barmaid verses the adventurer' thing…" Anna sighed playfully and rolled her eyes at her brother. This was a dig that Kristoff often made towards Anna, though she knew it was in jest it did occasionally rub her the wrong way.
"How was work last night?" Elsa asked quietly. The question fell so naturally from Elsa's lips it was as though it was something she asked Anna after every shift. It seemed as though the question was meant solely for Anna's ears, but Hans turned to look at Anna as well. Anna paused as she thought back over the previous evening. She was just about to respond when Kristoff beat her to it.
"Yeah, Anna? Is smooching Magnus part of your job description now?" He asked, the teasing grin widening.
Elsa's fork had been idly shuffling her food about even whilst her eyes were on Anna, awaiting a response, but when that remark had leapt from Kristoff's mouth, she dropped the utensil to her plate with a clatter. Elsa watched the progression of the blush that had immediately taken up residence across the redhead's cheeks. To Elsa it was testament enough to the truth behind Kristoff's words. The knot in the blonde's stomach tightened with a painful jolt and she looked back down at her plate. Frozen in place.
"No!" Anna shrieked, aiming a kick at Kristoff under the table, and being immediately thankful that her aim had been true. It would have horrifying if she had missed and hit Elsa instead. "We were just messing about!" Anna knew her voice had risen to a horribly teenage pitch, but she just couldn't help the indignance that flooded her.
"What's this?" Hans cut in, "Who's Magnus? Is he the guy from the other night? The one you work with?"
"Yeah," Anna replied, "But I'm not kissing him! I mean, I did. But we were just joking. And he kissed me really, I was just… there… and…" Her voice faded out. Anna tried desperately to catch Elsa's eye, though she had no idea why she felt the need to. She wanted Elsa to believe that her and Magnus were just friends. But Elsa didn't look at her, wouldn't look at her, her face remained turned down towards the food that she had barely touched.
"Ah, Anna, you're blushing!" Kristoff laughed. He was really enjoying this.
"Kristoff!" Anna felt like they were kids again, she couldn't believe Kristoff was pulling this kind of stunt, especially in front of Elsa. Come on Anna. That shouldn't matter. Elsa doesn't care. You're sitting next to her boyfriend for crying out loud.
"Sorry, sorry." Kristoff finally conceded, raising his large hands in defeat.
"Whatever, Kristoff. You know Magnus is not exactly… my type." Anna finished awkwardly, instantly regretting her chosen line of defence. She chanced another look at the blonde opposite her as she spoke and this time was graced with a flash of arctic blue as Elsa glanced up at her, her eyebrows knitted together, a questioning look in her eyes.
"He wishes he was." Kristoff mumbled, but not quietly enough to go unheard. Anna shot a glare at her brother. They had had this conversation before. Kristoff was convinced that Magnus had more than colleague-y feelings for Anna. Anna disagreed, refusing to see the lovable giant as anything more than a good friend. Elsa's eyes had flitted to consider the blond next to her when Kristoff had let out his risky remark. This time, Anna was going to let it slide, if only in the hopes of shuffling the conversation away from this particular topic.
"So you're not with Magnus then?" Hans cut in, distracting Anna from the curious expression on Elsa's face, and looking thoroughly confused by the whole business.
"No." Anna stated calmly, "We work together. He's a friend." She emphasised the word 'friend' and raised her eyebrows threateningly at Kristoff before continuing, "Last night we were just messing around, doing a duet after the bar closed and Magnus thought it would be funny to plant one on me. My sneak of a brother here saw the whole thing and is now making me pay for it." She explained.
"Ah, I see." Hans nodded. "Are you with anybody though? There's a couple of good guys at my office I'm sure I could—"
Hans' words were interrupted by a loud bark of a laugh from Kristoff. All eyes turned to the bulky blond; a chocolate brown pair widened with surprise, a glacial blue pair laced with suspicious interest, and a mossy green set strained in utter mortification. Kristoff coughed and shoved a forkful of pasta into his mouth. Glancing apologetically at his little sister.
Hans turned back to Anna as if nothing had happened.
"Uh… No thanks, Hans. I'm… fine, on that front. Thanks." Anna stuttered. She was used to finding herself in awkward situations. It was part of the territory of being a class A klutz with a tendency to put her foot in her mouth. But this was a whole new level of discomfort. She had to find a way out of it.
"Elsa." Anna said suddenly, "How is Kai? Is he better now? I know he was sick and everything the other night and…" Anna, that was about a week ago now… Why are you bringing this up?
Elsa seemed conscious of Anna's uneasiness though, and despite her earlier refusal to even look at the redhead, she was willing to help her out.
"Oh, he's a lot better now, thank-you Anna. I think he found it hard to settle into the apartment. He was off his food, so I took him to the vet but they didn't find anything. And, like I said, he seems fine again now." Elsa spoke slowly and clearly, and directly to Anna, all the while offering her a reassuring smile. Anna nodded along with her words and then noticed a look of bewilderment on her brother's face.
"Kai is Elsa's cat." Anna told Kristoff pointedly. As she did so she looked to Elsa and shot her a knowing grin. Elsa laughed quietly.
Good move, Anna! We have a private joke now! Maybe years down the line we can be all, 'Remember when I thought your cat was your child?' Oh, we'll laugh! And…. Alright, calm down.
Kristoff continued to look puzzled, unsure of what humour there was to be found in Anna's statement. He looked to Hans for an explanation, but the other man simply shrugged.
After the incident – which Anna was determined to have her revenge on Kristoff for – the rest of dinner passed pleasantly. For the most part, conversation consisted of Kristoff and Hans having what Anna deemed 'man-chat', though she was able to interject every now and then, and Hans would frequently ask for her opinion on whatever their chosen topic was at that moment. Elsa was by far the quietest presence at the table, for all intents and purposes she did appear to be listening and interested in the talk going on around her, but she ventured few of her own comments, and Anna caught a look on her face several times which suggested that Elsa's mind was perhaps elsewhere. By this time though, Anna was just happy that the focus was not on her own love life, or lack thereof. She was also happy to be able to spend a whole evening in Elsa's company. Anna wasn't sure what it was, but Elsa made her feel calm. The blonde's cool presence had a tranquilising effect on the redhead, it was not a sensation that graced Anna often, and she found that she relished it.
Elsa found that she too was enjoying the evening. It was not in her nature to flourish in groups of people. In the past when Elsa had been obliged to attend business dinners and the like with her father or Hans, she had been unable to shake the tension that pulled her shoulder blades together and tightened her chest painfully. In those instances Elsa had often found herself bombarded with questions and locked into intense conversations with whichever suited man she had been placed beside. The reason for the interest in the blonde had been explained to Elsa in two ways. Her father had always told her it was because she was a composed and beautiful young lady. Hans had once informed her that it was, "Because you're so mysterious, babe. And hot. Don't forget hot!" Neither explanation had made Elsa feel any more comfortable in formal situations.
But tonight, Kristoff seemed happy to let Elsa be. He was clearly making the most of having Hans to talk to about climbing and cars and… whatever else they had been talking about. Hans was just pleased that Elsa had agreed to host a dinner for their neighbours at all, and would occasionally display that pleasure with glances that seemed to Elsa to say, "I told you it would be fine." And then there was Anna. Elsa had to school herself to not simply spend the evening observing the redhead seated across from her. Anna's expressions were entertaining, to say the least. The girl was one of the most animated human beings Elsa had ever come across and it was nothing short of endearing on every level.
When the subject of Magnus had arisen, it had brought with it a flood of something white hot and fluid that had soaked down Elsa's spine. It was a similar feeling to the one that had surfaced when she had seen Kristoff let himself out of what she had thought was only Anna's apartment. And yet this feeling was stronger. The idea of Anna kissing this Magnus character was painful. There was no other way to describe it. Elsa knew she was jealous. The guilt had begun to implode. Anna's description of the events surrounding said kiss did help to ease the tightened knot within Elsa, but the realisation that she was developing certain feelings towards the redhead still turned her brain into a writhing mass.
And then what was that, 'he's not my type' thing… That felt like a very loaded statement. Was Anna suggesting that Magnus alone is not her type… or maybe that men in general do not interest her? The thoughts had burst immediately into Elsa's mind, and remained there, swirling restlessly for the remainder of the night. She knew that really it made no difference. Anna could like men, Annd could like women, Anna could harbour intense feelings for reindeer for all it mattered; Elsa was with Hans. He had done so much for her, tried so hard to make her happy. She wouldn't leave him. At that realisation, Elsa looked across to where Hans was smiling, seeming genuinely happy. Elsa wished he looked like that more often, and knew deep down that she was the reason for which he did not.
Eventually, at around midnight, when dinner and dessert had been long since consumed, Anna tried and failed to stifle a yawn. Kristoff chuckled at his sister.
"I think that's our cue." He said quietly.
Anna had let all semblance of table manners fly out the window and was resting her tired head against her hand, her elbow propped up on the table.
"I'm alright." Anna let out sleepily, just about managing to hold in another yawn. Elsa laughed this time, watching the redhead with what she hoped was carefully masked affection. Hans stood up and put his hands on both of Anna's shoulders.
"It's fine Anna, I think we're all getting tired now." He smiled down at her, and Anna wondered when it was that she had gained another big brother. Her life seemed full of them sometimes. She was too tired to protest further though, and she too stood from the table.
The four of them made their way over to the door, Anna could hear Kristoff thanking Hans and suggesting they hit the nearby climbing wall together sometime. Kristoff said he would "show Hans the ropes" and they both laughed at one of the few – and most overused – climbing related jokes. Anna rolled her eyes. She heard a soft voice from behind her.
"Hey." Elsa said. Anna turned to see the taller woman behind her.
"Thanks for coming." Elsa uttered quietly. It seemed to Anna that whenever Elsa spoke, the words were meant only for her, that her comments were personal and, dare she even think it, had an intimate touch to them.
"Oh, I enjoyed it. Thanks for inviting me!" Anna said, meaning every word. Elsa stepped a bit closer. Am I going to get another Elsa-hug? Anna thought eagerly.
And she was. Once again, Elsa's thin arms came up to wrap around Anna and pull her in. Anna could feel Elsa's chin resting gently on her shoulder, she could smell the blonde hair that now tickled her nose. If snowdrops had a scent, they'd smell like this.
Anna let out a long sigh, bringing her own arms to encircle Elsa's waist. Elsa heard Anna's sigh and chuckled lightly, her stomach flexing and relaxing against Anna's. If either woman chose to think about it, they might consider the hugs that they now frequently shared as perhaps more familiar than those between by most newly acquainted neighbours. Clearly neither of them were willing to give up the moments of closeness just to adhere to social norms.
"Anna! It's been a pleasure, as always." Anna heard Hans' voice boom at her. She let go of Elsa quickly and stepped back to where she was promptly swept into a Hans-hug. They were far more crushing than Elsa's.
"Thanks for dinner, Hans. You're a great cook!" Anna said, once Hans had released her and she had regained the breath he had squeezed out of her. In the corner of her eye she could see Elsa shaking Kristoff's hand once more.
Hans looked around for his girlfriend and, finding her, pulled her in close to him, positioning her in front of him and draping his arms over her from behind.
"It's been a lovely evening." Elsa stated, offering both Anna and Kristoff a small smile.
Anna saw Hans' arms tighten a tad around Elsa and look of pride appear on his face. He leant down and planted a kiss on the side of the blonde's neck. Anna watched as Hans' lips moved as he whispered something to his girlfriend. The redhead looked away.
"Well, goodnight all!" Kristoff said happily, opening the door and pulling Anna along behind him. Anna twisted slightly in Kristoff's grip and threw a wave over her shoulder. Her last vision was of Elsa in Hans' arms as the door closed behind her.