watch out cause everyone knows

[rediscover]

Who| Anna and Elsa
What| Having an Important Talk about Hans
Where| The Tribute Center's rooftop
When| 7/11
Warnings/Notes| Death mentions, Frozen spoilers.



It's been over a week since her run-in with Hans, and though Anna's been trying her hardest to act normal around her sister, around everyone, it's clear that something is bothering her in a big way. Finally, she can't hold off anymore. Things are too weird, knowing what she does about the previous version of herself being here and the nature of her sister's relationship with her murderous ex-fiance.

She sends Elsa a message asking to meet her up on the rooftop garden after dinner, and at the appointed time, Anna's sitting on a bench surrounded by beautiful rosebushes, wrapped in a sweater to keep away the cool night chill.

Comments

[frozenfractalsallaround]

Elsa can barely hear her- it's like trying to hear through a blizzard. Her heart is pounding in her ears, and she can feel tears coming on. It's rare for Elsa to cry- she hasn't done it much since she's gotten here. It takes a lot to push her over that edge, but this feels like one of those things that will make her, regardless of how much she tries not to.

"I-I-" she tries to get out, knowing she can't just ignore Anna. She got the gist of what her sister is saying, and she wants her to know that she does believe her. "I believe you."

Her voice is small, and it's after she says that that the tears finally spill over and she buries her face in her hands. Because she does believe Anna, as hard as it is to face that truth. Anna wouldn't lie to her. There have been small, subtle signs that it's true- like how Hans had acted in the mini arena. Vicious and selfish. All for a victory. She'd seen hints of it then, but had allowed him to talk her down from it.

Elsa lets out a sob, trying to choke it off, not wanting to cry in front of Anna, but she can't help it. She takes a few wobbly steps forward, trying to remain upright. "Please g-go," she gets out, though her voice isn't mean. Just upset and full of pain, and she doesn't want Anna to have to witness it.

[rediscover]

It's getting harder and harder to remain optimistic about all this, and any words Anna might have had to tell Elsa that, besides all of this, she knows what happened in the Arena between them die in her throat. She can't do it; not now. It'll have to wait. But what she isn't expecting is for her sister, her strong, confident, amazing older sister, to start crying.

"Elsa, please," she begins weakly. "I just...I want to be here for you. Like I couldn't be before. I don't want to leave you by yourself." Her hands are white, pressed against the seat of the bench in a death grip. She's shaking, she realizes, shaking from the effort of watching her sister go through all this emotional distress.

And all she can think of now is how angry she is at Hans for putting them both through this.

[frozenfractalsallaround]

Elsa knows that Anna is only trying to help, but she can't help feeling annoyed when Anna seems to want to stay around- but she's forcing herself not to snap at Anna. She's been there and done that too many times, she knows what it leads to and she doesn't want Hans of all people to be the one to cause a permanent rift. So it's because of that, that Elsa doesn't say anything.

All she can do is force a nod to let Anna know that she hears what she said, but she can't bring herself to anything. It's a few moments later that another sob is let out and she can't stop it, nor does she try. Her face is buried in her hands and she begins crying openly, hunched in on herself as if she could make herself disappear if she tried hard enough.

[rediscover]

To say that Anna feels terrible is a complete understatement. She's never seen her sister like this before; never seen her so upset and broken-down, and it kills her to watch her cry like that. And even though Elsa asked her to leave, and even though she isn't responding to Anna's vows to stay nearby, Anna still can't just go and leave her like this. So she just does what seems natural, what seems right, and moves closer to wrap her arms around her sister's hunched and sobbing frame.

"I'm so sorry, Else," she whispers. "I'm so sorry."

[frozenfractalsallaround]

Elsa barely registers Anna at that point, but a small part of her feels comforted as arms find their way around her. She leans into Anna's arms without thinking about it, and just stays there for an indeterminate amount of time, not able to reply to Anna's words.

But eventually, she pulls herself together, the tears run out, and she quiets down and is left feeling empty.

"Anna..." she says, her voice raspy. "We should... we should go inside."

[rediscover]

Anna's not sure what she can do to help her sister besides hug her, but it seems to help, at least, so she stays that way as long as Elsa seems to want her to, rubbing at Elsa's back in what she hopes is a comforting and grounding way. She can't help but feel guilty still, even though she knows it's not her fault; she wasn't quite expecting Elsa to break down like this, and it kills her.

But when Elsa finally seems to pull herself together, Anna's a bit relieved. She squeezes her sister's hand and gives her a weak smile. "Yeah. You're right. Come on."

[frozenfractalsallaround]

It takes a lot more effort to pull herself up than she expected it to. Her legs feel like stone and her body feels as if it's been run over by something. She has to lean on Anna more than she wants to, but she gets to her feet and the two of them manage to make it to the elevator.

"Will you stay with me?" she asks, feeling bad that she has to burden Anna with watching over her. The truth is, though, her sister's presence has been more comforting than she thought it would be and she just doesn't want to be alone.

[rediscover]

Anna helps Elsa up as best she can, her grip firm and steady, letting her sister lean on her as much as she needs to. She's worried, terrified that Elsa's going to relapse on herself and go back to the old Elsa. And maybe she won't want to see Anna anymore. But she can't let herself think about that for right now, instead giving Elsa a weak smile.

"Of course I will, Els. Always."