Braided Together
Chapter 3: Blooming Bonds
Summery: What if a K-pop idol falls in love with a Broadway singer who has a secret of her own?
Warning/Triggers: No proof reader, mentions of SH
Notes: You know when you make up a ship as a joke…and then you start shipping it genuinely? Yeah, that's how this fic was born. That and also spite towards Jelsa and Rujinu. Nothing wrong if you love those ships! Ship away, I just want to throw my hat into the ring and contribute to making some more WLW ships, especially with Elsa.
Never did Elsa think she'd miss the days of Cassandra demanding 30 laps around a musky gym, but she did at the moment. Mainly due to the humidity she was definitely not used to it making her clothing cling to her skin, her hair felt like a built-in heater. Though it wasn't all bad, the compound was gorgeous, and when it wasn't too hot to think she enjoyed being outside. Celine was firm but fair if a little distant in her training, and she made sure that the sisters were understanding what they were doing. Elsa was working on perfecting her agility and parkour skills, jumping and climbing on the trees and rocks around them, though her abilities will never compare to her rambunctious sister. She preferred to keep her distance when fighting, and had found a way to use her powers without losing control or having anyone finding out why exactly she can do them and not many other hunters. Though she didn't use them often, fearing that Celine would suspect her.
Currently she's cleaning up, finishing training for the day as she unraveled her wraps to put on some long gloves when she saw a notification on her phone. Picking it up to see a message from Rumi, the two had been texting a week after the conference, mainly just to say hi and ask how each other’s day went.
Rumi: Hi! How did training go today?
Elsa: Exhausting but good! Me and Anna will become masters in no time.
Rumi: I believe in you! Me and the girls were gonna go get some dinner, we were wondering if you’d both like to join us?
Elsa smiles, the socially anxious side of her was a little hesitant to say yes. But she knew Anna would drag her anyway.
Elsa: I'd be honored to, I'll be sure to tell Anna and Celine
Rumi: Great! We'll pick you up in 30 minutes, hang tight until then.
Elsa: Will do, thank you Rumi.
She smiles, excited to have a change of pace from the past few days. “Anna, Rumi and the girls are taking us out for dinner!” She half yells.
“Fuck yeah!” The young girl shouts, earning a soft laugh from her sister.
The sisters were brought to the trio's favorite Korean barbeque, with the kpop girls requesting a secluded booth to prevent any unwanted attention, though they still went ‘undercover’. Thankfully the Andersons were able to make it a little bit easier by ordering for them to draw away any suspicions.
“We definitely need to take you two for our nights out more often.” Mira mumbles out as she stuffs her face. “If it’s for meat this good I’d do it in a heart beat” Anna states as she also stuffs her face with more food, with Zoey very tempted to make a joke but refraining. Rumi smiles, “I’m glad that my cooking skills are still as sharp as ever.” She had been manning the grill since they started, giving everyone their share of food.
“You should eat Rumi, I’ll take over for you.” Elsa suggests as she starts preparing a second batch.
“You sure? You are our guest.” “Yes, but you need to eat as well, enjoy yourself.” Elsa offers sweetly. “Unless you want me or Mira to take over” Zoey declares with a smirk Rumi raises an eyebrow “Is that a threat?”
“Maaaaaybe~” Zoey says in a cute way, emphasizing her former statement. “Ugh ok, I’ll allow it” She gives Elsa the tools, watching her work the grill.
“Thats our workaholic for you, she can’t relax even when she’s eating out.” Mira states in her dry matter, earning an annoyed groan from Rumi and soft snort from Zoey and Anna who picked up the double meaning. Elsa and Rumi choose to ignore it.
“Pfft man that sounds familiar~” Anna quips, earning a straw wrapper to be blown at her face by her sister, which took her by surprise. Though not unwelcomed, considering the blonde is rarely this childish. “Hush you, you don’t see me judging you for your poor choices.” This causes Rumi to snort before taking a drink. “Hey now, when did you get so sassy sis?” Anna glares, a sense of playfulness fills her eyes. “You’re not a demon in disguise are you?” Normally a comment like this would send Elsa in a anxiety spiral, but her confidence was soaring high. Her muscles are sore but relaxed, and her belly full of good food so she’s just rolling with it.
“I’m just fighting fire with fire sis. Speaking of which, hush before I burn your ribs.”
“Fiiiine, though it’s nice to see you jab back.” Anna states as she drinks her water.
“Agree, it’s nice seeing you being sassy versus the ‘polite professional’ we met weeks ago.” Rumi assures, with nodding agreement from her bandmates, all while picking up her plate to receive some well cooked bok choy and kobe from Elsa. “I guess that means I feel more comfortable around you all.” she adds softly, receiving an audible awe from Zoey. “That's great to hear! You’re honestly too sweet.” Causing the taller women to blush.
“Thank you.” the blonde says shyly as she curls into herself.
“Careful Zoey, she might implode. She’s one of those lesbians that get super flustered when a girl compliments her.” Anna muses as she grabs more food to plop on her plate. Elsa gasps “I do not! Din lille dritt.” she growls softly at Anna who’s acting like she didn’t do anything, while the other women were taken a little aback in surprise. “Woah where did that come from?” Mira asks in shock that another language was whipped out so casually.
“When I need to make a point or emphasize something to my brat of a sister.” Elsa playfully snears at a smug Anna who’s sticking her tongue out. “It’s Norwegian, she called me a little shit. And I’m proud of it~” “You speak it?” Rumi questions the blonde next to her.
“I do, though not as often I should. Anna as well, our mother was from Norway. She came to the states for school through an exchange program and met our dad.”
“Aw that's cute, sounds similar to how my parents met.” Zoey adds, though not as cheery as before.
Which only Mira notices, trying to derail to another choice of topic slowly “Have you ever been to Norway?” “Forturnately we have, many times…though we’ve been meaning to back since their passing.” Elsa says sadly, which resulted in Rumi and Anna reaching over and placing a reassuring hand on her arm and hand, which causes Elsa to slightly stiffen, fearing they would be hurt. But when nothing happened, she started to relax. Rumi was the first to speak “I’m so sorry for your loss, it’s…never easy…” she asserts, looking at the two sisters momentarily grieving. Elsa gives her a faint if pained smile. “Thank you Rumi…it thankfully hurts a little less overtime. And all we can do now is to ensure their memory lives on, and live how they’d want us to.” “Heck yeah, performing our hearts out and protecting people from the filthy demons that threaten them!” Anna declares proudly, holding her cup up. Earning a soft but confident cheer from everyone at the table who raised their glass, though no one noticed a flicker of unknown emotions in the eyes of the single braided women. “Now, something more fun to talk about…” Anna mutters “Where would you all like to travel to in the future?” “Japan.” the three pop stars say in unison, earning a laugh from the sisters. “Was this a group discussion oooor?” Anna questions teasingly
“Happy accident, surprisingly.” Rumi assures with a grin “I wanted to visit because I love their cinema and music. Plus I’ve never been outside of Korea, and the idea of a different country just a small flight over is intriguing.” “Have been to Japan, but I wanna go there again to make better memories.” Mira states short and sweet, not really caring to elaborate for personal reasons. Causing her to receive more food from Elsa who made sure to give her a little extra of her favorite meats. Eyes falling to Zoey to finish the question “I have wanted to go since I was a kid, I was andmaybestillamatotallynormal fan of anime. So naturally I HAVE to go.”
“Why do I have a feeling you were the type to Naruto run to class Zoey?” Anna teases, earning a huff.
“You can’t prove anything, Miss Anderson!” she says pointing a finger at the fellow freckled girl.
The group of women laugh, enjoying the remainder of their calm day before the busy weeks to come.
Busy was an understatement to describe the few days after the barbecue, with long grueling rehearsals, training and trip planning. The resistant bathhouse enjoyers dedicated to go visit, but had their invite turned down once again by their leader. Rumi felt bad turning them down so often, especially with their first big world tour just around the corner. So she made an off-handed suggestion in inviting their new friends Elsa and Anna to join. If push comes to shove it could help nullify the fact that Rumi turned them down. Little did she know that this comment turned into a whole thing, because not only did they actually take Anna to the bathhouse with them (much to her surprise that Anna said yes.). But Elsa had turned down the invite and had been bribed into hanging out with purple haired women. So now Rumi and Elsa are standing in the Huntrix’s apartment, awkwardly thinking of what to say without their resistant mottermouths.
“So…you were basically kidnapped to babysit me?” Rumi inquires playfully, trying to break the awkward tension and set the blonde at ease. Which thankfully worked as a soft laugh came from Elsa.
“I guess so. They mentioned how you’ve been working a lot and should try and get some form of relaxation while they do what they usually prefer. Now that being said you are a grown woman, and you should do what you want. I can go for a walk or something and let you work.” Offering Rumi a way out of this interaction, but she didn’t take it.
“Na, they have a point, I should probably take a break…at least for a few minutes”
Elsa could only laugh at the mention of work, Mira and Zoey weren’t joking about Rumi and her relation to it. Though she knows damn well she cannot judge, she was just as bad. “Understandable, what are you thinking?”
Rumi gets an idea as she starts walking to the door “Have you had a chance to explore the city in full yet?”
“Sadly no.” “Would you like to? We can go for a walk around the city, and pick up some food. I do want to work on some stuff, but a little treat wouldn’t hurt.” She smiles, waiting for her answer, and receiving it in the form of a smile.
“I like that idea.”
The two start walking around the town, with Rumi being a perfect guide in teaching Elsa about her culture and home, along with showcasing the place’s quirks. With the quiet blonde absorbing everything she could, even buying some trinkets and charms to give to her sister and friends back home. Both ended the walking venture splurging on street food and snacks as they talked about their lives, which both admitted to neglecting when they weren't too focused on work. “Yeah, I know I should be ‘making time for myself’…but I don’t really know what ‘time for myself’ would really entail…outside of relaxing on the couch.” Rumi rambles as she presses the door to her place open with her shoulder, for her arms were full of bags. Holding the door to allow the blonde to follow suit. “In your defense, being a kpop star is basically a 24/7 job. It’s kinda hard to not be on the clock. Though I am assuming there are ways, being hard on yourself probably doesn’t help.” She says softly, hitting the elevator as the two ride to the apartment. “Yeah. I’m sure I’ll figure it out…eventually.” The shorter woman mumbled out as she started to put away her haul of snacks “Feel free to sit and relax, I’ll just be a second.” “I can help if you want. As a guest I should at least offer my assistance.” Elsa states as she watches Rumi struggle to put something away on the higher shelf. “...if you want that is” she says with a hint of amusement in her voice.
Rumi huffs in annoyance “Yes please, damn you and Mira for your height. Save some for the rest of us won’t ya.” which only causes the taller women to chuckle, helping her.
“It can’t be helped~” she smirks back at Rumi, who playfully glares back.
“Now, we got our snacks. Anything you wanna do?”
Elsa shrugs “I’m down for whatever.”
Rumi starts to think “Hm…”
Mira, Zoey and Anna arrive at the apartment basking in their freshly cleaned bodies and relaxed muscles. Once inside, all they see is their respective braid wearers sitting on the couch with tons of writing pads, sheet music and a guitar.
“What are you two doing?” Rumi and Elsa look at each other “Uh, having fun?” “By working?” Anna groans.
“In our defense! This is just a chill creative session. Nothing too serious, we have the tv on and everything.” Rumi defended, justifying the fact she was clearly not taking it easy.
“Plus I wanted to get into writing music, I figured now would be a good time to try. Rumi was teaching me!” Elsa says with stars in her eyes.
The trio chuckled in defeat, knowing they can never get their braided loved ones to fully relax.
“Well, at least you’re having fun” Mira sighs
This became the new routine for the women. Alternating their days from just work to working and then hanging out, or even training together. It worked really well, and both groups seemed to really enjoy the company of each other.
Rumi was currently playing guitar on her apartment's balcony, trying to get her mind off the tour that was only weeks away. She was already writing another song, or at the very least attempting to. She normally doesn't write a song without Zoey, but she felt especially driven in the moment. Her friends had gone to the bathhouse, and she was alone in the apartment. Her mind was racing, thinking about the future traveling for the tour, trying to keep on top of the charts, and worst of all thinking back to the morning and seeing her patterns were starting to crawl further across her skin. It had become harder to hide. She started to feel like she was drowning, but she'd never state it or show it to anyone if she could help it, so she kept it in. Using work as an outlet to try and keep her distracted and afloat. She softly strums the guitar, hoping to spark some ideas when she hears the door to her balcony open, turning to see the new yet familiar face that had come over, guess she wasn't entirely alone.
"Care for some company?" a soft voice asks from the doorway.
Rumi was greeted by a casual cloth wearing Elsa, which was kind of a first since she got here. Though still wearing gloves, how many pairs does she have? And in her hands she held two cups of iced tea, one of them being clearly her favorite flavor. She smiles brightly "Yeah, make yourself comfortable"
The blonde walks over, setting the drink next to Rumi "Mira ordered them for us before heading to the bathhouse with the other girls. I offered to pay but she refused. I swear she's as stubborn as Anna sometimes." Elsa huffs as she slouches in the chair across to the brown eyed women.
Rumi softly chuckles "Oh believe me she's MUCH worse. Anna doesn't chuck your wallet across the restaurant, forcing you to run after it." setting her guitar down to pick up her tea, sipping it. "hm~" humming happily as she took another sip.
A soft hum comes from the blonde "I hope I never have to experience that.”
Rumi watches Elsa drink, over the two weeks she's known she's picked up on a few of Elsa's habits. Like when she acts very ‘proper’ and ‘elegantly’ it's usually a front, to hide her anxiousness. While understandable why she'd act that way, she knew more so than most people. But it made Rumi sad seeing her clearly put on a front of perfection. So she decided to take it a step further and break the need to perform, she loudly slurps up her drink. Which catches the pale blonde off guard.
Elsa laughs "Pfft what was that?!"
"It's the real deal Queenie, this is how I am when I like my food and I won't be apologetic about it." Rumi loudly boasts, letting her confidence shine through, which causes Elsa to laugh more.
"Oh how very gracious of you Miss Kpop Queen." she states as she catches her breath, more at ease as she drinks like a normal person much to Rumi's delight. "So, what are you doing out here?"
"Just trying to think of some new songs" she sets her drink down and picks up her guitar again to play.
"Still? Don't you already have a world tour in like two weeks? It already sounds like a lot to handle." Elsa asks with a hint of worry for her friend.
"I like staying one step ahead." she states as she starts strumming, keeping it soft so the two can keep talking.
Elsa sighing softly "I guess I can relate to that...always feeling the need to keep moving..."
As she continues to play, Rumi starts to ponder on what Elsa said.
"Do you ever…feel the need to keep moving, not exactly out of a drive of passion...but of something else?" she looks over to the blonde who had set her drink down, hands fiddling with her braid, a nervous habit Rumi also picked up on.
"To be honest....yeah. I've always been kind of an anxious person. I want to do everything I can to be the best for this job, my career, my sister and my parent's memory...I do genuinely want to keep going because I want to. Though some days I tend to be driven by that anxiety..."
Rumi's eyes softened, feeling a sense of kinship with the quiet blonde across from her. "...I totally get it. You fight so hard to reach this level of excellence that you are put in not only by others but on yourself. Even then you feel like it's not enough, like 'if I do everything I can and pour every adam of energy and passion into it, everything will be ok.' "
Blue eyes light up and shift to look into Rumi's. "Exactly! Oh my god you hit the nail on the head." she says exasperated, catching the other women off guard slightly. "Like how much can I give to be perfect in everything I need to do cause everyone is relying on me-" But in a split second she felt her hands get colder, her powers threatening to spill out as her emotions run high, she got caught up in the moment in connecting with someone.
She recoils into herself "S-sorry I didn't mean to get to get lou-"
"Wait no, why are you apologizing? You didn't do anything wrong." Rumi states, seeing the blonde internally deal with some kind of conflict. But she doesn't push or pry at her. "From what it sounds like you've had these feelings for a while, but no one really to talk to about it?"
Elsa sighs, releasing the tightness in her chest "yeah...Anna tries so hard to understand. But that's just not how she thinks, stuff like this just rolls off her...plus I put this pressure on myself...do you do the same?"
Rumi smiles guilty, curling inward "yeaaaah...Mira and Zoey have been respectful of my boundaries...but I do need to be better about this type of stuff." she answers, recalling how she can be so mission focused she forgets that other things are important…like sleep.
A soft empathetic laugh rings from the blonde's lips "I guess that's what we get for being workaholic perfectionists huh? We make our own nightmares to live in."
"Well I wouldn't say it's all baaaaad…" Rumi mutters stubbornly "It makes us strive to be better...even if it's admittingly a bit of a toxic mindset." she says with a defeated and unamused smile, earning another chuckle from the blonde "...At the very least we have fellow crazies to keep us in check." she states smiling as she refers to Elsa.
Elsa couldn't help but feel her face flush slightly, though she couldn't pin on why that was. "I concur...now, is there anything less...intense you'd like to talk about?"
"Hmmmm" Rumi thinks, mentally checking through her 'conversation starters list'. "Are there any roles you want to play on Broadway?"
"Oh my god, where to even start!" Elsa starts to ramble on, both women talk to each other passionately about their wants and desires for their careers till the sun sank and the moon rose. They were so enamored by their conversations, they didn't notice the change until their phones lit up.
"Looks like the girls are back from the bathhouse." Rumi muses, which results in Elsa getting up.
"Which probably means I got to head out back to the training grounds. Need to wake up bright and early for another day of training." Elsa goes to pick up Rumi's empty cup to bring it inside.
"Awe thank you, I could throw it out myself though." Rumi asserts only to be met with the blonde shaking her head.
"Na, I don't want it to interrupt your creative process." She stated as she walked to the door, before pausing and turning to the sitting women "And Rumi...thank you, for the talk. It was nice" she said sweetly, eyes soft like the moonlight above, but still holding so much warmth that was felt within Rumi.
"Of course, have a good night Elsa" She watches the blonde go inside. Afterward she continues to think, about what they all said, about her friends and where they came from. She began to softly sing
"And we can be, freeeee"