thecapitol | (no subject)

Entry tags:

✘ elsa,
✘ hans

(no subject)

Who| Elsa and Hans
What| Elsa visits Hans
Where| Hans' room, then she invites him out
When| Present day
Warnings/Notes| N/A

It's funny, how a little freedom is enough to make you feel better than you have in years. Ever since she'd finally caved and went up to the roof that one night, she'd felt a burning desire to get out and explore. Maybe it was because the world around her was enough to distract her from the upsetting thoughts that plagued her, so she craved it more than she should have. It definitely made her want to avoid people less, and along with that she'd come to realize that at her lowest, she had been rather rude to some people.

Hans is one of them. He's also the source of a lot of conflicting emotions. On one hand, his and Anna's insistence that they are engaged is still something that rubs her the wrong way, if because it had lead to Elsa having to run away after her fight with Anna. But on the other, he had proven invaluable in their time here in this strange new world. She had no choice but to trust him and Anna seemed no less infatuated with him.

After giving it some thought, she figured it's time that she talk to him. He's not going away any time soon and the longer she allows him to protect Anna, the more she knows the two are going to fall in love. It's time to get to know the man who seems so intent on burying himself in their lives. Above that, she feels she owes him an apology, at the very least. She had disregarded him when he had offered help and that wasn't fair.

So, donning a recent purchase, she makes her way to his room. It's weird- she can interact with complete strangers without feeling nervous, but somehow meeting with him is making her feel a little nervous. As she approaches the door, she squares her shoulders and stands up straight. Slowly, she reaches out to his door and knocks a couple of times.

Clearing her throat, she calls out, "Prince Hans-? It's me, Elsa. Are you in today?"

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"Now, now! Don't get too cocky! This technology might freeze things faster than even you can." He'll give her a sly look and a friendly nudge so that she knows he's joking. He figures he might test the waters with a joke, wanting her to feel as casual as he is. Of course, he wouldn't be surprised if the Queen of isolation and frigidity didn't appreciate the humor, but he'll never know if he doesn't lay down hints.

He follows hot on her heels as she begins the discreet trail toward the supposed kingdom of coffee. Don't think he isn't taking note of how far removed they are from the possibility of seeing anyone. He's not sure if it's endearing or sad, but Elsa has always been a mix of both.

"I have no choice but to solemnly accept my duty, then." He chuckles, sidestepping her as he sees her acknowledge the cafe a short difference away, for once he can open the door for her. As dramatically as possible, of course, complete with a dip into a bow. "Your majesty."

Elsa can tell he's joking, and she might laugh if she weren't caught off guard by the nudge. She tries not to look too surprised, but she does take a small step away, if only because she doesn't know how to react to it. Close contact is just something she's unused to. But she won't make a big deal out of it, recovering as quickly as possible.

"As a Prince should," she says, trying to put as much humor in her tone to compensate for the little physical contact snafu. When he slips forward to open the door, she gives him a small bow as well. "Thank you very much, Prince Hans," she says, putting on her best queenly tone. With how little their royalty means here, it's becoming increasingly hard to make light jokes about it.

She steps into the coffee shop and breathes in the smell of coffee, letting it out into a content sigh. Coffee smells so lovely and she's already relaxing from the smell of it. "All jokes of chivalry aside, would you allow me to pay for your coffee?" she asks, turning back to face him. She feels it's the least she can do, after what happened in the arena.

Whoops. Perhaps he moved a little too far into the casual direction, perhaps it was just too soon. He won't let it be awkward, though he looks a little surprised at first. He's Hans, he's accepting of her flaws and her fears, it wouldn't be gentlemanly of him to hold something so subtle against her.

"Well, I do have a lot of time on my hands now. There aren't nearly so many royals to dote on." He gives her a sly smile so she knows he's totally joking and not at all sincere. Though truthfully he has been winning the hearts of commoners all over by keeping his manners in check. Any one of them could be a sponsor or someone liable to come at him in the arena.

Hans lets his eyes trail over the coffee shop curiously. It doesn't look nearly as lavish and high-class as some of the places he'd seen, but he can't be surprised that Elsa is the humble sort. His eyes linger on the sweets in the cabinet before he turns his attention back to her, sighing dramatically. "If you insist. I'm sure I couldn't stop you if I tried." He lets out a small laugh, looking up to the board before back down to her. "A white chocolate mocha, if you'd be so kind."

"I can imagine so," she says, raising her eyebrows. She's found she has nothing but time here, which is pretty nice- or rather, she's been used to having time, but nothing to fill it with. Here, she has so many things to fill it with, which means she's never bored. It's good for keeping her thoughts distracted from all of the horrible things she could be thinking about.

Elsa's expression brightens at his agreement. She always expects people to argue, so when they agree to let her buy, she's always happy. So she nods at his request. "Of course," she says with a nod. "Please, feel free to go sit down." She gestures to her usual table, before approaching the counter to make their orders.

She'll approach said table a few moments later, harrying their two coffees in one arm and a plate of croissants and other various coffee shop treats in the other. She can't resist indulging in the sweets here, after all. She sits across from him, setting the plate in the middle of the table before sliding his coffee towards him.

"I wasn't sure what you might like," she says. "So I got a variety. Feel free to have whatever you want."

When someone makes an offer like that, you are presented with the path of making them feel awkward with bickering about whether or not they ought to pay that can get exhausting. You can either continue that for god knows how long or you can graciously accept the offer and the awkwardness and get the whole thing over with. Hans is glad to do so and he barely feels awkward for it.

With that aside, he'll make his way to the table she gestures to and takes a seat. Idly letting his eyes trail over the menu as he waits, watching her from the corner of his eye. He feels he ought to help her when he realises she intends to carry it by herself, but she's already at the table by the time his chair scrapes backward.

"Goodness! This all looks amazing." His eyes are lighting up like it's christmas and he's careful to pick his first treat, a chocolate filled croissant, and returns his gaze to her. "Never in my whole life would I have imagined I'd be on an outing with the Queen of Arendelle." He lets out a soft chuckle, giving her a sly smile.

Elsa finds his reaction pleasing, as well as his choice of croissant. She enjoys chocolate quite a lot, so she's glad she got more than one of the croissant he chose. She herself will pick up one of the same ones and take a bite, carefully hiding her mouth behind her hand as she chews.

Once she's swallowed, she gives him an amused chuckle. "Well, we're even," she says. "Because I never expected to find myself on an outing with a Prince from the Southern Isles, either."

A small sip of coffee, before she continues. "Did you enjoy Arendelle?" she asks, "I mean, before... You know. Everything." She sounds a little apologetic. "I can imagine the snow made it a little hard to get comfortable."

A little like Anna, Hans doesn’t seem to have many qualms with how quickly he hoes into the pastry. He generally tries to mirror whoever he’s with, but it’s important that Elsa gets the ever increasing feeling that he and Anna are made for one another. It’s the little things that give the bigger impression, so he takes care to express it when he’s able.

“I’m sure there’s a lot about this we’d never expected to happen.” Some for the better, some not so much, but it goes without saying he’s sure. At the question, he’s at his leisure to nod enthusiastically. He has no reason to hide his enthusiasm for the place, even if he’d wanted to take it for his own.

“Absolutely!” His smile doesn’t fade as she dwells on the more awkward parts of his vacation. “You’re blessed with such friendly, hard-working people. They truly adore both you and Anna, it was wonderful to witness.”

Hans is extremely good at giving that impression. With each passing day, she can truly see why the two of them clicked so well. She still doesn't approve of the spontaneous engagement on their first meeting, but given a little development, she might easily approve of their relationship. The two are so similar, it's almost unfortunate that they hadn't met before.

"I know," she says with a nod, smiling fondly. "They've always been so kind to us. I'm glad they were welcoming to you, too."

She let a small silence fall as she focused on eating for a moment, before clearing her throat. "So... tell me more about where you come from?" she asked, leaning in a little curiously. "What made you decide to come to Arendelle?"

"To be fair, Anna did leave the kingdom in my hands when you both.. had business to attend to." He gives her a wry smile, knowing damn well it was a little reckless of Anna. It shows in his face, too. A resigned fondness for the silly girl. "I took good care of it while I could. I can't help worrying for it now." He gives his shoulders a small shrug, trying to focus on the new topic.

"The Southern Isles? Well. It's not much more different. We're coastal as well, fishing is very popular. We have a lot of fairy tales about mermaids." He lets out a soft laugh. "Our festivals are very fun. If we ever make it back, I'd love for you and Anna to visit during one. There's always a lot of dancing and a lot of food." He crinkles his nose in a cheeky smile. "As for why I came? Well, with twelve older brothers it's not often I get to travel alone! Everyone had prior arrangements and, to be honest, I was very curious to see the mysterious Queen." He gives her a sly smile, raising his mug to his lips to draw a long sip from it.

Elsa notes that look in his face as he speaks of Anna. It's a look she knows pretty well- she imagines if she had been around Anna throughout their life, it would be a look she used often. As it is, she can't help closing her eyes as she sighs, remembering full well the consequences of Anna chasing after her. She won't say anything, except in regards to Arendelle. "I'm sure it will pull through," she says, trying to sound hopeful. "It's gone through worse." She means losing the King and Queen. After all, things were fine up to her coronation.

For now, she rather focus on hearing about the Southern Isles, so she listens to everything he has to say, clearly interested- especially when he gets to the mermaids. But she doesn't interrupt, allowing him to get it all out. She's about to bring up the mermaids when he says the last part, and the words are replaced by a small laugh. "Oh- well, I imagine the mystique behind it all was much more fun," she says. "Anyway!" she continues, not wanting the conversation to dwell on her. "Do you believe in mermaids yourself?"

"Most kingdoms have, I think. This one seems to have been through its own issues, too." He observes, as if that weren't already obvious. "Fortunately, the Southern Isles has about a dozen spares for such a situation. We like to plan ahead." He gives her a grin, just so she knows he's kidding around.

"You're right. It is. The mysterious is always the more interesting." He gives her a barely noticeable, knowing look. Is he talking about her? Who knows. He's moving onto the next question already. "Well, I used to be far more skeptical, but recently it's been hard to believe they couldn't exist with everything that does." Is he talking about her or here? He isn't saying! Unless she asks, of course.

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