Disclaimer: Nope, not owning anything. Just lil ol' me, writing fanfiction because I can, not making a penny off it. Promise.
The practice room at the Martial Arts Academy was quiet and filled with stale air, slowly becoming warmer with every movement of the occupants. Kristoff was on the verge of complaining about the lack of air conditioning; Anna was too focused on her opponent.
"Are you ready?" Mulan raised a brow, completely at ease in her stance, the quarterstaff held firmly in her hands. Unlike the uniform issued to students at the Academy that more closely resembled the popularized black and white Kung Fu shirt and pants, Mulan's light green outfit was based on a design passed down through her family, secured at the waist with a darker green belt that matched the trim of the shirt. She had her hair up, tied with a matching ribbon to keep the short cut from her eyes.
Anna, weaponless at her own request and decked out in her standard mission gear, merely nodded.
Mulan circled the redhead, keeping her distance.
"Remember, Miss Anna," Mr. Fa said, watching from a chair to the side of the practice mat. "Your opponent will exploit your weakness. You must appear strong even where you are weak."
Anna nodded again, earning a swipe from Mulan's staff. The redhead ducked the attack and jumped away from the follow up, bringing her fists up once more to defend her face.
"That was a warning," Mulan said, face serious despite slight teasing in her words.
"G-good to know." Anna shifted her weight as Mulan reversed, circling the other way.
"Your heart is strong, Miss Anna; allow your words to prove it." Mr. Fa chided. "You must be able to communicate, with your allies as well as your enemies. Say whatever comes to mind and you will learn to say what you mean."
"I'm not scared of a stick." Anna grumbled, ducking a wide sweep of the quarterstaff and launching into a forward roll, pushing off the ground to tackle Mulan.
The other girl was too quick, dodging the tackle and bringing her quarterstaff around and up, knocking Anna's thigh just before the redhead hit the ground and rolled away. Anna scrambled to her feet, wincing at the throbbing pain in her thigh. The hit wasn't hard but solid, and right on her nerve to boot.
Concern flashed in Mulan's eyes. "Anna, maybe we should take a break."
The redhead opened her mouth to protest but Mr. Fa cut her off. "Yes, a break will serve both of you well. Mr. Kristoff, please take the mat."
"Oh, great." Kristoff mumbled, getting up from his spot in the corner. He waited until Anna and Mulan bowed to each other and left the mat before walking on himself, facing the older man. In one hand he held a tonfa, weilding it by the point so it more closely resembled his pick ax. Mr. Fa was using a tai chi sword, drawing it from its scabbard with little ceremony.
As they bowed and Mr. Fa called for the match to begin, Anna and Mulan grabbed some water. The redhead glanced at the clock on the far wall and frowned. They'd started the lessons about four hours ago- with the past hour dedicated to combat practice- and Anna felt like she hadn't made any progress.
Mulan tapped her shoulder, offering a sympathetic smile. "How's your thigh?"
"Just stings a bit. I'll be fine." Anna winced as Mr. Fa's blade sliced through the air, forcing Kristoff to duck. "Sorry I'm-"
"Would you stop that?" Mulan laughed, lightly hitting her shoulder. "You're doing great! Not many people can go in unarmed against an armed opponent and come out with just a sore thigh."
"I just can't get the talking thing down." Anna complained, crossing her arms over her chest. "It just... takes so much concentration."
Mulan remained silent for a moment, watching as Kristoff met a few of her father's attacks. Both of them thought it was weird when the teens requested such... specific practical training but attributed it to their rather unique hobby. After they helped rebuild the Academy three years ago when wildfires tore through the northern end of town, the entire Fa family was all too happy to help Anna and Kristoff whenever they could. Speaking of which, her mother would probably appear with lunch at any moment, if she wasn't busy getting onto grandmother for spoiling Sven. "Anna... is there a reason you want to be able to, uh, 'talk smack' and fight?"
Anna felt a little ridiculous about her word choice- especially since Mulan used air quotes- but focused on acting completely nonchalant regarding her answer. "Well, it's like your dad said, about turning weaknesses into strengths. I just... need to work on my intimidation skills. I'm not very intimidating, that's all."
Mulan raised a brow, obviously not buying the excuse. Given the slight blush tinting the redhead's cheeks, she made an educated guess. "Does it have anything to do with the crush Merida mentioned?"
"She told you?" Anna cringed and hid her face in her hands as a blush crept into her cheeks. "It's nothing, really, just me being silly."
"It's not silly!" Kristoff oh-so-helpfully added, parrying another of Mr. Fa's strikes. "Crushing is a totally okay thing to do!"
The redhead groaned, retreating further into her hands as Mulan rubbed her shoulder soothingly.
"It's okay to have a crush, Anna." Mulan visibly withheld a giggle. "But I don't see how exactly..." She blinked as Anna's shoulder hiked up to her ears. "... oh. You're crushing on one of your enemies, aren't you?"
"And she's totally hot!" Kristoff, again, helpfully added, ducking a swipe and getting a bit of distance.
Mr. Fa brought his sword to his side and bowed to Kristoff, the boy jerkily returning the gesture. "I think I need to... check on how lunch is coming."
As the older man left the room, Kristoff approached the two girls with slumped shoulders. "Your dad's scary quick with that sword, Mulan."
"You should see him when he's actually trying to test you," she replied with a smile, turning her attention back to the blushing redhead. "So, about this crush."
"Both of you are terrible." Anna mumbled, leaning her head back and sighing. After rehashing the last mission against Ice Queen- and providing a condensed version of their interactions leading up to it and verbal torrent at lunch the other day- Anna turned a wary eye to her friends. She hadn't noticed at what point someone had brought them lunch, Mulan and Kristoff halfway through their plates before Anna noticed the one on the ground in front of her.
As she started eating, Mulan and Kristoff exchanged a look.
"I take it you are okay with this?" Mulan set aside her empty rice bowl, focusing on the remnants of her shrimp dumpling soup.
Wiping his mouth on the back of his hand, Kristoff pointed his spoon to accentuate his point. While he and Anna tried learning how to use chop sticks a few years back, Mr. and Mrs. Fa tended to keep a few sets of regular cutlery on hand in case the teens visited. "Look, I know how it sounds, but trust me on this; Ice Queen is capable of a lot more than she dishes out when we rush in to stop The Prince. But when they're in the zone, fighting each other? Poetry in motion!" He swallowed another mouthful of rice. "But let's, for just a few minutes, look at this like 'normal' people-"
"Since when are we not normal?" Anna scrunched up her nose.
"Not even dignifying that with a response besides this: normalcy is overrated," Kristoff said. "Anyway; we see it all the time in movies and stuff, the dashing hero swaying the beautiful evil sidekick into changing her ways. I mean, if Ice Queen seriously goes along with The Prince's plans for any reason other than she wants him to succeed- which I really doubt, 'cause then she wouldn't bother holding back- then maybe Feisty Pants over here can, I dunno, give her proper motivation to do something else with her life."
"Weren't you just saying the other day how she's just evil?" Anna immediately wished she'd kept her mouth shut; why was she playing the devil's advocate here?
Kristoff smiled as the redhead realized- all too late- that he'd set her up. "Maybe she is, but Grandpabbie always says-"
"Oh no, Kris, no, do not drop the L word, no no, we are not starting this argument again."
"I believe I'm missing something," Mulan said with a bemused smile, obviously finding their exchange entertaining.
The blond shrugged. "When we were kids, Anna and I got into this really big argument about True Love-"
"I can almost hear the capitals in that sentence, Kris."
"-and, even after all these years, we refuse to see eye-to-eye about it."
"You believe it exists and she doesn't?" Mulan raised a brow, more confused than she was before the explanation.
He shook his head with a laugh. "Other way around, actually, but not quite. I think love is something that's built over time. That love at first sight type stuff? That doesn't exist. You mighthate the person initially; it takes time to let them into your heart and to get into theirs."
"And you think...?" Mulan watched Anna until the redhead relented.
"Love is instantaneous. From the moment you meet someone, your heart knows where to stand, but your head gets in the way." Anna bit her lip. "It's like, I dunno- oh!" She smiled. "Remember when we played on that co-ed baseball team a few summers ago?"
"Of course," Mulan replied, leaving out that that summer was when the two became friends instead of just classmates.
"Remember how long it took us to get that breaking ball down? How many times did we have to practice my slider?"
"Hundreds!" Mulan shook her head. "I just kept over-thinking it."
"Exactly!" Anna set aside her empty bowls, her right hand curling as if she was holding a ball. "But it wasn't about you becoming a better catcher or me becoming a better pitcher. It was about us reading each other and you letting your muscles react instead of your head. Our head messes us up when it comes to love too but our heart knows it because it's muscle memory. That's what the heart does! Love!"
"So, if I get this straight-" Mulan began, pointing at Kristoff with her chopsticks "-you think love is something people work for over time-" she shifted to Anna "-and you think love is instantaneous and it's our heads that make things difficult."
The best friends nodded.
"Perhaps... it is a bit of both." Mr. Fa chimed in, carrying a tray of tea. Mulan instantly got up, her friends following suit and the four settled down once more, with Kristoff and Anna helping Mr. Fa join them on the floor while Mulan set about pouring the tea. "I forget, sometimes, what it's like to be young. A young person questions what their elder has already accepted."
Anna sighed. "I guess I don't really know anything about love."
"Who does?" Kristoff reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. "My entire family professes to be love experts but I don't know any better than you do. We're both single, after all."
"And we both have crushes." The redhead threw in, hoping to distract her friends.
At Mulan's questioning look, Kristoff merely shrugged. "Don't listen to her; she's trying to trick us."
Mr. Fa laughed, eyes crinkling at the corners as he smiled. "If the opinion of an old man means anything to you, here is what I believe." He cleared his throat, back straightening as it often did when he recited a proverb or relayed critiques during training lessons. "Love is like a river- it can be calm and easy to cross or a raging rapid that destroys what is before it, it can cut through or around any obstacle or be stymied by a dam, and even those who have tread its waters many times may never know all its secrets. It never starts; it never stops. It simply is." His eyes fell on Anna. "When you come to the river, you may not be sure whether you want to wade into the waters. You may find yourself waist deep before you even realize it. After entering the river, you may find yourself on dry land once more. Studying the river is not important." He inclined his head slightly, lifting his tea cup. "Enjoying the water is."
Mulan smiled at the stunned silence hanging between Kristoff and Anna. "Be true to your heart, Anna. If you feel like there may be something there, you should at least test the waters... so to speak."
"Oh, I know exactly how to do it, too," she said with feigned enthusiasm. "Next time I'm ducking a beam of ice, I'll ask if she wants to grab coffee or something. That'll work!" Anna let the facade fall and put her face in her hands, groaning quietly.
"By the way, Mr. Fa, you're being really cool about this," Kristoff said, hoping some time out of the spotlight might help the redhead recapture her composure. It was a long shot but it was worth a try. Except, now he had to find a way to continue without unintentionally insulting the man. "You seem very... traditional..."
Snorting, Mr. Fa raised a brow at the blond. "I suppose that is accurate enough. I might not... understand... homosexuality... but I have known both of you for several years. You both have kinds hearts and that counts for something in my book."
Kristoff and Mulan cringed and tried to preempt the response they knew was coming. They weren't quite quick enough though.
"I'm not a homosexual." Anna massaged her temple, completely unaware of the surprise registering on Mr. Fa's face. "I'm pansexual, and yes, it's totally a legitimate sexuality, and no, it's not the same as being bisexual, I don't get why-" Anna opened her eyes, suddenly remembering her audience.
Total. Space case.
Mr. Fa, in the silence that settled on the group, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I... think I'll go pray."
With help from Kristoff, the older man got up and hobbled away, leaving the Academy though the back door to where the house was. Anna was pale from slight horror and Kristoff was just too stunned to say anything. Once the door closed behind her father, though, Mulan jarred both of them out of their shock with a loud, rolling laugh.
"Now I feel like we missed something." Kristoff drawled.
Anna was busy cursing her inability to shut up.
When Mulan had finally recovered enough to speak, she was shaking her head. "Don't worry about Papa; he says he's going to pray any time he finds himself in an awkward situation. It's just his way of not being rude. Come on, Anna, most of town knows you're into girls as much as guys. They just..."
"Don't openly talk about it." Kristoff supplied, a small smile working its way on his lips. "Come on, Feisty Pants, after everything you've done for this town, I'm pretty sure you could waltz down Main right now with nothing but a sombrero and a bottle of Jim Bean and no one would say anything."
"Thank you, Kristoff," Mulan said, massaging her forehead with one hand. "Thank you for that mental image."
Kristoff blinked before he actually thought about what he said, shuddering violently. "Great, now I'm picturing it."
"I don't know whether to be offended or happy that the idea of me mostly naked is inducing this kind of reaction from my friends." Anna rolled her eyes though she was smiling. Her friends were nutcases sometimes. "Maybe we should all try walking down Main like that, see how many different reactions we get."
Kristoff and Mulan looked at each other then; the boy blushed while the girl tried to hold back her laughter.
"And what are you laughing about, exactly?" He crossed his arms over his chest. Both girls busted out laughing at his scowl, stammering apologies until he shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Should we get back to fighting or whatever?"
"Oh no, I am not fighting either of you with those mental images still lingering in my subconscious." Mulan held up her hands in surrender. "Seriously though; both of you have made significant progress. Let's just call it a day."
Anna and Kristoff nodded, helping Mulan gather up the dirty dishes and taking them to the house out back. Anna was careful to avoid meeting Mrs. Fa's gaze as she helped set the dishes in the sink despite getting the distinct impression the older woman was highly amused.
In the end, her mild embarrassment was forgotten almost completely as she and Kristoff fought to pry Sven away from Grandma Fa and her basket of giant carrots. If she hadn't cut her hand on his saddle- which nearly prompted an emotional breakdown on Sven's part, seeing as he was only being difficult to have fun and didn't mean for her to get hurt- they might never have left!
Anna stopped at her front door, uninjured hand on the knob, and tried to plan the conversation in her head. It... probably wouldn't be too bad on the mortification scale; her parents took the news of her various crushes over the years pretty well.
She just didn't know how they'd handle this one and it made her feel a little childish on top of that. It wasn't that she needed her parents' permission- it was just a crush, and maybe some flirting if she could bring herself to actually flirt without making a fool of herself- but they deserved to know from the source rather than hearing it through the grapevine.
The downside of living in a small town: secrets were nearly impossible to keep.
Opening the door and stepping through, Anna opened her mouth to announce her arrival when her mother appeared with a plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies and two glasses of chocolate milk on a tray.
"Perfect timing!" Her mother laughed, indicating for Anna to take the tray. "Rapunzel came by and I told her you would be home soon. She's waiting up in your room, sweetheart. It's been so long since she's dropped by; you should really invite her over more often."
"Uh, okay, but-"
"She seemed... very excited to speak with you, dear." Her mother turned concerned eyes towards her daughter. "Is there something going on at school?"
Well, it wasn't how she imagined she'd start the conversation, but it was an opening. "She overheard Kris and I talking about, um, me having a crush on someone."
"Oh? And who might this lucky suitor be?" Anna's father appeared around the corner, the morning paper held in one hand.
"Uh..." Anna blinked, tempted to laugh and pretend she was kidding while absconding to her room. Very, very tempted. "Remember how I've told you about Ice Queen?" Both of her parents nodded but either didn't grasp the implication or intentionally feigned ignorance. "Well... her. I like her. I think."
Her father frowned. "Isn't she the one with the ice powers?"
"She works with that Prince fellow, right?" Her mother's brows drew together. "Sweetheart, I seem to recall you saying they were, uh, together."
"I don't know that; I just thought that."
"You also don't know her name or much about her at all." Her father pointed out, concern flashing in his eyes.
Anna winced. "Working on the name thing, Dad."
"We're just-" Her mother stopped, exchanging a glance with her husband before they both rested their gazes on their daughter. "We don't mind you having a crush, Sweetheart, even if it's on your arch nemesis."
"We just want to be sure you're aware of the... possible ramifications."
"Ramifications?" The redhead scrunched up her nose in confusion. "Like what?"
"Like you forget Valentine's Day and she freezes you solid." Her father bluntly stated and Anna snorted.
"In my defense, I didn't forget Valentine's Day; I was in the Amazon. Also, Gaston was a jerk, so, point invalid."
"Or miss a birthday." Her mother continued.
"Jasmine forgave me for that."
"Stand up your date."
"School bus in Brazil, Dad; think of the children!"
"Fall asleep during a movie."
"Mom, that wasn't even romantic; Aladdin and I were just hanging out."
"But do you see our point, Anna?" Her father sighed. "You live a very active lifestyle. You need- let me rephrase, you're only sixteen and you should... moderately... try dating in order to find... a suitable... partner who understands what they're getting into it."
Anna raised a brow, crossing her arms over her chest. Sometimes, she was utterly amused by her father's struggle between being protective of his only daughter and being supportive of her. Sometimes.
"What your father is trying to say is this, Anna," her mother said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Just because this girl wields ice doesn't mean you can't get burned."
"I'm not planning on eloping with her," Anna said, stepping forward to pull her parents into a hug. "I just wanna... I guess, flirt, and, uh, maybe learn a bit about her. Really... get to know her. Try to, anyway."
Kai and Gerda exchanged a look above their daughter's head.
As the three parted, her father gave her a warm smile. "Just... be careful, Anna. I don't want to see my baby girl getting her heart broken by a super villain."
Anna smiled, kissing her parents' cheeks before heading upstairs. She couldn't promise she wouldn't get her heartbroken but she'd be cautious.
She'd try to be.
She'd consider it, anyway.
Who was she kidding?
"Anna!" Rapunzel's voice broke through her train of though, the redhead accepting the blonde's tackle-hug with a laugh. By some miracle, she didn't drop the tray or spill the cups of chocolate milk.
"You should've told me you were coming over!"
They walked into Anna's room, which could only be termed as a disaster zone. Clothes were overflowing from the laundry basket, the desk was cluttered with various homework assignments, and the floor had paths cleared to the bed, door, and closet with various items- spurs, ropes, bats, softballs, gloves, and various knick-nacks she'd received as thank you gifts from people across the world- stacked in heaps.
She needed to at least make an attempt at tidying up today.
Rapunzel plopped into Anna's desk chair while the redhead set the tray on the desk, then sprawled on her bed, sighing deeply as her muscles began to relax. Maybe she'd gotten more out of her lessons with Mulan and Mr. Fa than she thought.
"So..." The blonde began, brown eyes landing on Anna expectingly.
The redhead cringed. "How many times am I going to go over this? It's just a crush!"
"Stop pretending like crushes aren't a big deal," Rapunzel replied, waving off the annoyance in Anna's voice. "It's a cardinal rule of high school to fall in love at least once! This could be your chance!"
"I seem to recall a certain someone mooning over a boy not too long ago," Anna said, pleased that her attempt at redirecting the conversation appeared to work. The blonde was sporting the beginning of a blush as she flashed a nervous smile. "How're things going with Flynn?"
"Uh, about that..." Rapunzel nervously flipped her gigantic braid over one shoulder, running her fingers along the strands. "Actually, can we, uh... talk? About that?"
"Of course, Goldilocks," Anna replied, sitting up slightly to regard her friend. Geez, they hadn't talked for a while, now that Anna thought about it; she couldn't remember the last time she'd used Rapunzel's old nickname! She needed to schedule more time for her friends. "You know I'm always here for you. What's going on?"
Rapunzel sighed, playing with her braid for lack of something to do. "His name's Eugene Fitzherbert."
"Okay. That doesn't sound familiar, so I'm guessing another one of your pen pals?" Anna offered, noticing the wince that briefly passed over the blonde's face.
"No, I mean Flynn, Flynn Rider, the boy from Texas I've been, uh, talking to, his real name is Eugene."
Anna nodded slowly. "Okay... well, I guess that makes sense, using a fake name. I mean, the internet's a scary place."
"Yeah."
Anna waited a minute for the blonde to continue. When the silence continued, she tried prompting Rapunzel. "So... he told you his real name because...?"
"Oh, uh, see, that's the thing I kinda wanna talk about."
Anna waited. Rapunzel wasn't usually this shy. She could ramble just as much as Anna could, in the right circumstances. She just needed some prodding, it seemed. Anna reached over to grab her favorite plush reindeer- a gift from Kristoff for her seventh birthday- and threw it at Rapunzel.
"Hey!"
"Start talking or I'm throwing another one." Anna already had a plush woolly mammoth poised, ready to strike.
"Okay, okay, so, he's moving soon, and he wants us to be honest with each other, so he told me his real name and how he's kind of a geek and how most of those stories he told me were actually from his favorite book." Rapunzel sighed, putting her face in her hands. "Now he wants me to be honest with him and I'm not even honest with my friends but I really like him and I want this to work but I'm so scared Anna!" The blonde sighed, leaning back in the desk chair. "Besides, my parents would kill me if they found out I told someone. But I hate hiding it."
"Hiding what?" Anna tilted her head to the side, the plush falling from her hand. That's when the blonde noticed the bandage covering her palm.
"What happened to your hand?"
"You're changing the subject."
"I'm kinda not." The blonde cringed and Anna decided to humor her, peeling the bandage away.
"It's nothing; cut my hand earlier." Anna blinked as Rapunzel joined her on her bed. "What are you doing?"
"Just... watch." Brown eyes flickered between Anna's hands and her eyes. "And please don't freak out?"
The redhead nodded, allowing her hand to be carefully worked into the blonde's braid. It was a little weird- now that she thought about it, she never really touched anyone's hair before- but remained silent as Rapunzel closed her eyes and began to sing.
She recognized the words instantly but not the melody; the words were embroidered on a piece of needlework in Rapunzel's bedroom, a cute little poem that Anna could never find in any published work. However, as the song continued, Rapunzel's hair began to glow, turning legitimately golden starting at the roots and travelling down the length of the strands.
In her head, Anna was gently reminding herself not to freak out; on her face, she could only convey her absolute shock.
There was a tingling in her palm as the shimmering strands reached her hand, a not entirely unpleasant feeling though it was vaguely ticklish. When the song stopped, so did the glowing, and Rapunzel removed Anna's hand to show not even a trace of the former wound.
Anna stared at her newly healed hand for a moment before looking to Rapunzel.
"So... your hair is magical, huh?"
Rapunzel blinked at the redhead. "Yeah."
"Does it do anything else? Besides healing wounds, I mean." Anna smiled reassuringly and quietly thanked anyone and everyone for making friends with Kristoff in Pre-K. One thing she learned from his family above all else: just roll with it.
"It glows?"
"I saw that," Anna replied, gently putting a hand on Rapunzel's shoulder. "I think it's pretty cool. Is this what you meant when you said magic totally exists?"
"Yeah. I mean, it's nice to hear about someone else with magic powers and stuff. My parents and I..." Rapunzel sighed. "Well, they've always told me how special it is but... if anyone found out..."
Anna pulled her friend into a hug as conflicting emotions fought within the blonde. "Hey, don't feel bad about this, Rapunzel. Your parents are right; if people found out about your hair, they would use you."
"But I could help so many people! Like you do!"
"Whoa, hey, hold up." Anna pulled back, frowning. "Rapunzel! Just because I do what I do doesn't mean you should ever feel bad about keeping your power a secret! I choose to do all that! If you revealed your powers and someone forced you to use them, it's not the same thing!"
"But every movie and book in the history of ever says that-"
"Rapunzel." Anna was a little surprised by the seriousness in her voice. "I'm being serious here! You notice how superheroes always have an alias? Someone they can be to, ya know, live life? Magic healing hair doesn't exactly lend to a quiet alter ego. You shouldn't be forced to give up your freedom just because you have magical powers! No one should!" She glanced around the room. "You do a lot of great things just being you, without your magical hair. Not saying you don't have it- what I mean is, you can help people without using your magic. Like when you saved the bake sale last year, or when you finished the entire wardrobe for the theatre in one night last spring, or when you saved that baby iguana- how is Pascal doing, anyway? You don't bring him to school anymore."
"Ms. Mode is super strict about the whole 'no pets' at school thing." Rapunzel explained, a breaking laugh causing a few tears to slip through. "He's doing great, though. He misses you coming over."
Anna bit her lip. "We kinda stopped hanging out as much a year or two ago, didn't we? Is it because I made you feel bad?"
"It's kinda petty in hindsight. It's not like you knew..." She shook her head. "But every time you ran off, I felt so... selfish."
"Goldi-"
"I know, okay? I just... it made me feel guilty so I tried avoiding you. But..."
"You can't avoid anyone in Arendelle." Anna laughed, Rapunzel joining her a moment later. "So... you want to tell Fly- Eugene about your magic hair."
"It's going to come up eventually." The blonde replied, heaving a heavy sigh, a smile touching her lips the moment after. "It's nice to tell someone... I'm just scared."
"Your secret is safe with me, Rapunzel." Anna's face lit up. "Hey, I have an idea! Maybe I can talk to my mom and see if you can volunteer at the hospital! I know it's pretty small but you could start there. Once you're comfortable with it, maybe talk it over with your parents?"
"We haven't talked about it since I was eight." Rapunzel gave a humorless laugh, flashing a genuine smile at the redhead. "So... you're not freaked out by the magic hair?"
"Nope."
"And you're not mad about me kinda avoiding you for the past few years?"
"We'll make up lost time."
"And you don't think less of me for not-"
"Hey, Goldilocks, listen." Anna threw an arm around the blonde's shoulders, shaking her slightly. "I'm not mad, sad, annoyed, or any of that. I understand. We talked about it, so let's go back to being awesome friends again, okay?"
Rapunzel sighed in relief. "You're a really good friend, Anna."
The redhead shrugged. "I learned from my friends; they're the best teachers."
The two laughed before Rapunzel spoke. "So, do you think I should tell Eugene?"
"I... would tell him there's something you can't tell him about just yet, that it should wait until you've actually, ya know, met in real life."
"Oh, did I leave that part out?" Rapunzel giggled. "He's moving to Arendelle!"
"No way! Did he-"
"No! I told him I lived in Colorado but never exactly where. His dad just took a job here with the Sheriff's Department."
"I didn't think Sheriff Smollet was hiring. She and Deputy Arrow have a pretty good handle on things." Anna suddenly hoped the Sheriff and Deputy gave the new officer a full report regarding her hobby. When Deputy Arrow started at the Department, no one told him, and Anna had to explain why she was parachuting into the neighborhood at two in the morning from the wrong end of a handgun. "Still, that's pretty cool!"
"I know!" Rapunzel giggled, clapping her hands together. "You'll meet him, right? I'm kinda nervous about meeting him."
"Kristoff and I will go with you. We'll go to Mr. Oaken's place; he makes the best hot chocolate."
At the mention of chocolate, the two suddenly remembered the cookies and milk, taking their fill while catching up. After only a little teasing, Anna spilled- for the millionth time, it felt like- the information regarding Ice Queen. Of course, the blonde added her vote to Kristoff's and Mulan's, encouraging Anna to flirt.
"Why does everyone think I need encouragement on this?"
"Well, look at your choices in romantic partners," Rapunzel said, prepared to being the list before Anna stopped her, blinking rapidly in confusion.
"Wait, if that's the case, why is everyone supporting this?"
"Because this time's different." The blonde replied without missing a beat. "Not just the who and what but how you're acting. You usually go after crushes before any of us even know you have one!"
"I already agreed to do that!"
"Agree harder."
Anna groaned playfully, feigning annoyance. "My so-called friends will be the death of me."
Her communication device started going off, prompting Anna to jump off the bed and answer it. "Mr. Oaken!"
"Yoo hoo!" The burly man waved his fingers. "New mission is good ya? There is big problem in Germany, heavy rains threaten flooding and the Bundeswehr is requesting assistance."
"Oh wow, they've already activated the Bundeswehr? The rains must be really bad. Okay, can you call Kristoff? I'll be good to go in-" Anna looked down, noticing she was still in the mission clothes from earlier "-actually, I'm good to go now."
"I call Kristoff, ya, ride be there in five."
Anna put the device in her pocket, noticing the look on Rapunzel's face. "What?"
"You were hoping The Prince and Ice Queen were involved." Rapunzel let the accusation hang for a moment, giggling at the blush forming on the redhead's face. "Okay, more Ice Queen than The Prince."
"I already regret ever being honest with you people." Anna huffed, grabbing a bag and shoving a spare rope and a few other sometimes helpful items, slinging it over one shoulder.
The blonde laughed and followed her downstairs, hugging the redhead before heading down the street. She called over her shoulder. "Go save the world, Supergirl!"
By the time the trio arrived, the rain wasn't as severe but it was still pouring, adding to the raging torrents that crashed through a small German town. It was their second trip out as the helicopter was full after the third town, forcing them to return to a make-shift collection point to drop off the people they'd saved. However, as the rain had lessened, the winds picked up, and the pilot was struggling to keep their flight path level.
Anna stood at the open side door, leaning out and squinting against the wind and rain for any signs of people below. Beside her was one of the German soldiers who spoke English fairly well, searching frantically as he argued with the pilot. Kristoff, at the other door, clung desperately to a hanging strap as he inched towards the edge, his other hand firmly wrapped around Sven's harness. Unlike the saddle, the harness was specifically designed for multiple people to grab a hold, in the event the reindeer had better footing- or, in this case, was a better swimmer- than his human charges.
The German soldier growled at the pilot before turning to Anna. "We must go back."
"What?" Anna tore her gaze away from the water below.
"Weather too bad; we crash." The German soldier was obviously trying his best to speak English while reigning in his anger.
Anna nodded resolutely and pulled her backpack from her shoulders. "Kristoff!"
The blond turned, instantly regretting it once he saw the bright orange package she pulled out and threw to him. Shaking out the inflatable vest, he quickly secured it around himself. Anna did the same, pulling out a yellow package before slinging her pack on once more.
"Get ready!" Anna called out, searching the swirling waters below. It was a gamble: they might be over an empty street with ten feet of water to cushion their fall or they might land on a car and break a leg or two.
It was better than giving up.
Suddenly the pilot cursed, the helicopter dipping violently as another strong wind forced them lower.
"Now!" Without a look back, Anna jumped feet first, pinning her arms to her sides, bracing herself as best she could. Once again, her luck held out, and she plunged into the water without hitting anything. She immediately reached up and pulled the cord to her flotation device, fighting the strong current as she kicked for the surface. The moment she broke through, she gasped for air, looking around as she fought to find something to anchor herself.
Sven brayed somewhere to her left and she turned, lashing her arm out and catching his antler in her grip. With a swing of his head, Anna was brought onto the relatively stable footing of a car beneath the water. With the current tugging at her hips, the redhead took a firm hold of Sven's harness with her unoccupied hand and leaned around the reindeer to find Kristoff coughing on the other side. "You okay?"
"Just a little wet!" He smiled, brows furrowing the moment after as he caught movement. Anna switched her hold from Sven's far side to his near one, allowing Kristoff to grab her other wrist and fling himself out, disappearing under the water slightly as Anna stood on the door of the car to give him the best reach. He broke beneath the surface of the water, surfacing again and pulling with all his might as another arm latched onto his. Sven and Anna pulled, heaving Kristoff back onto the car as he pulled the German soldier with him.
Anna looked to the sky but found no sign of the helicopter above them.
"They leave; I stay." The German soldier coughed, shaking himself as a steely resolution filled his eyes. "My home. I stay."
It was a little too late to argue the point so Anna set about pulling the rip cord on the yellow raft. Kristoff, initially reaching for Anna's backpack, stopped and raised a brow.
"Do you feel... like something's beating against the car under us?"
Anna looked over her shoulder at him. "I honestly hadn't noticed."
Taking a deep breath, the blond dove below the water, using Sven's legs to guide him down until he could peek into the car they were standing on through the rear window. Sure enough, two people were trapped inside, frantically beating against the vehicle's roof as the water level within rose. Coming up, Kristoff grabbed his pick ax.
"Anna! There's two people in the car beneath us!"
The redhead nodded, handing the blue cord attached to the raft to the German soldier and moving herself back, keeping a firm hold of Sven's harness.
Diving beneath the water once more, the blond tapped on the back window, garnering the attention of the trapped Germans. When they looked at him, he pushed his hand towards them and they retreated towards the front of the car. He came up and nodded to Anna, who grabbed his belt and held on as he put his entire weight into swinging the pick, breaking through the water with a splash. It took three swings as he fought the current but the glass shattered, water rushing into the car as Kristoff came back up, quickly slipped the pick through a loop on Sven's harness, and used it to hold on while Anna slipped one end of a knotted rope into his hand and dove beneath the water clutching the other end.
Fighting the current and her flotation device, Anna pulled herself below the busted window of the flooded vehicle, helping the two Germans swim through and grab the rope, which they used to guide themselves to up. Through the blurry water, Anna could see the German soldier's boots as he helped his countrymen on top of the vehicle. Using the rope herself, Anna broke the surface of the water and was hauled up all the way by Kristoff.
The immediate problem solved, Kristoff took the raft's rope from the German soldier and put it in Sven's mouth, climbing into the raft carefully to stabilize it before motioning the Germans on. Anna was the last the enter the craft, positioning herself at the front of the raft while Sven and Kristoff remained at the back.
In the distance, they could see the high ground- hills that carved up the German countryside- and decided to head for it for lack of a better plan. With slight trepidation, Sven entered the current, conserving his energy as best he could and allowing the current to take them down the street.
From her backpack, Anna pulled two extendable oars and passed one to Kristoff, the two focusing on keeping them heading straight down the middle of the town's main road.
As they entered the outskirts, Anna caught sight of a woman and two children clinging to the roof of a low house. For the most part, those in two story homes and above would be okay, but the one story house already had water lapping at the roof's corners. If the rain continued, the three would be swept away with the storm.
"Kristoff!" Anna called out, pointing towards the roof in question.
"On it!" The two worked in tandem to steer while Sven his his best to assist, pushing the raft towards the house. However, the reindeer found himself caught on a fence before they could really get close enough and brayed through his teeth, desperately fighting the current. Luckily, he fetched up against another submerged car before the current could sweep him away completely. "Anna! This is as far as we go!"
The redhead grimaced, judging a good twenty feet to the house. Okay, fine, she could work with that. Handing off her oar to the soldier, Anna dug through her pack and pulled out her rope, calling for Kristoff's pick ax. Tying the rope to the pick, Anna wound up, careful not to hit any of the raft's occupants with her swing- or puncture the raft, because that would definitely make things more difficult- and let it loose.
The metal of the pick clinked along the ceramic of the shingles, nearly making it over the crest of the roof. Unfortunately, the rope wasn't long enough and it began to slide down but one of the children ran over, grabbing the pick and looking towards Anna, his eyes wide.
"Tell him to hold onto it, tight!" She told the Soldier, shedding her backpack and flotation device, handing her end of the rope to him. "Don't let go, okay?"
"You climb across?" He asked, concern flashing through his eyes.
Anna shook her head before diving into the water. The current was strong but, with full use of her arms and legs, Anna was able to cross half the yard before breaking the surface, though she would get swept past the house if she couldn't get there soon. Pouring all her energy into swimming, Anna flung herself up and barely grasped the last shingle on the house.
Geez, that was close.
Gritting her teeth, the redhead swung herself towards the roof, fighting her own weight, the strength of the current, and every other force trying to push her back into the water in order to scramble onto the roof. Once she was there, she hurried to the other side, where the two boys and their mother waited, huddled next to the chimney.
This was going to be the tricky part and not just because of the language barrier.
Gently taking the pick from the boy, Anna motioned for the mother to take the larger son, carefully positioning the boy so he could wrap his arms around his mother's neck, legs around her body, and motioned for the woman to pull herself and her son, hand over hand, towards the raft.
Her eyes were filled with uncertainty but Anna smiled. "Trust me. You can do this."
Whether or not she understood the redhead, the woman nodded and slowly descended the roof, pulling herself across as Anna had shown her. The soldier and Anna had their respective ends wrapped around their arms, firmly holding the rope as the current fought to sweep the woman away. After an agonizing minute, the woman was within arms' reach and the soldier lunged forward to grab her, the other two Germans assisting in pulling the mother and son into the raft while Kristoff and Sven worked to prevent it from capsizing.
Anna sighed in relief and turned to the smaller boy, a gentle smile on her lips as she picked him up and held him with one arm firmly around his tiny waist. With the other, she gathered up as much slack as she could from the rope, and ran towards the edge of the roof at an angle, aiming for a spot further upstream than the raft was.
She got pretty close and quickly started pulling in as much slack from the rope as she could while she was underwater, fighting for the surface faster than she would've if it was just her. The moment she broke through, the boy in her arms began crying.
"I'm sorry, I really am," she said, pulling on the rope as the current began to take her. She couldn't risk swimming towards the raft and allowing the boy's head to fall beneath the water; she had to hold onto the rope and wait for it to grow taut, swinging her towards-
Yep, that annoying twinge would be her ankle fetching up against the fence. Now, all she had to do was- there, one foot was on top of the fence, a solid wood fence it felt like. Using the rope as a guide of sorts, Anna walked along the top of the fence, still fighting the current with every step.
"Sven, get ready!" Kristoff called, reaching forward and grabbing the soldier's shoulder. "When I say go, pull the rope in, quickly! Don't let it go slack!" Hoping the man understood him, the blond turned back to the reindeer. "Slowly!"
Sven inched out from behind the vehicle as slowly as he could, allowing the raft to ride alongside the fence line. With the line taut, Anna was able to continue advancing but there was a still good four feet between them and her arms were getting tired. The moment her eyes locked with Kristoff's, she nodded.
"Go, Sven!"
The reindeer surged out from behind the car as Anna all but jumped for the raft, protecting the child as much as she could as she fell into the adults who grabbed her and waited a few moments as the raft threatened to buckle before letting go.
The boy immediately flew to the soldier's waiting arms, tears joining the rain running down his face as he pulled the woman and the other boy to him. His eyes met Anna's as a smile came to his lips.
"Your family," she said. He nodded before burying his face in his wife's hair. Anna watched them a moment before turning to Kristoff and Sven.
"What is with us and roofs this weekend?" Kristoff joked, earning a laugh from Anna.
"I know, right?" Shaking her head, she reach out and patted Sven's head. "Thanks guys, that was perfect."
The blond playfully rolled his eyes. "Thank us when we're out of this mess."
It was nearly four in the morning by the time she made it to her door, still sopping wet and talking to Mr. Oaken.
"He really deserves it."
The man laughed, nodding along. "Okay, okay, I order the treats. Sven did good, he gets reward."
"He did better than good; I don't know what I'd do without him and Kristoff, and you. Thanks again, Mr. Oaken." Anna stepped into her house, noting the lights were off. She'd called her parents before boarding the special jet that brought her home, to ensure they weren't staying up late on her account. They both had work tomorrow and she was at least able to sleep on the plane.
"Is no trouble. Thank you, Anna. Have good night."
"You too." Pocketing the device, Anna made her way to her room and stripped off her soaked shirt and pants, heading straight for a nice, hot shower. If she got through it quick enough- which she probably wouldn't- she might even grab a nap before school!
The moment she stepped under the spray, Anna sighed in relief.
All in all, a pretty calm weekend.
Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who's followed, faved, read, and reviewed this. I hope y'all can bear with me another couple chapters for the Elsanna to start kicking in because, hey, that's what we're all here for, right? Special thanks to lauraknatt and only-looking, for giving me inspiration and putting up with my insanity respectively. A few notes: not going to lie, I had most of what's posted written prior to 25 Oct... and then Homestuck updated, my soul was crushed, and my work schedule changed which limited my free time. Writing has been a bit difficult since. Also, spending the next week in Las Vegas because my buddy decided I was going with him (yeah, I had no choice in this) on his vacation. This shouldn't disrupt the update schedule but... well, no promises and don't shoot me. Please? Thanks.
Also, you have no idea how badly I wanted to call this chapter "Sunday SUNDAY Sunday".