Summary: Honestly, Lance isn’t exactly sure if he wants to text Keith back or not.
On one hand, fucking hell, he sure knows what he’s talking about. Lance actually felt like he was (maybe) getting better during practice yesterday. On the other, Jesus Christ he’s a fucking know-it-all! He’s such a pretentious, emo ass, scowling ass, grumpy ass, motherfucking pain that Lance isn’t sure if the deal’s worth it. Well, he is kinda being harsh… but so was Keith when he told him he was sloppy.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
New chapter! Finishes out the major conflict. I’ve still got a lot of loose ends to tie up but I’m hoping the rest of the chapters go pretty smoothly.
"This is your last chance," Hela hissed at Hel between clenched teeth. "Tell your minions to return Alioth to me. You don't want me to break the bond I have with Alioth. Because I will find other powers, other allies, and I will come back, and that will be your doom, little pretender!"
"I don't think so," said Hel, so calm and assured in the face of Hela, millennia older than her, screaming in her face. "No. This is my queendom now. And if that means you will go, then go."
Anna rolled up her sleeves, hands on hips as she surveyed the living room. Elsa looked around - the dust was even thicker, two empty coffee mugs sat by the sink waiting to be washed, the newspaper on the table faded, thanks to the sunlight peering through the blinds. “I… I don’t know. Why don’t we start on one side and work our way over?”
Anna strolled over to the front windows, taking hold of the pullcord of the blind, “Sounds like a plan- geez!” Pulling up the blinds sent a cloud of dust into the room, causing her to dissolve into a coughing fit. Waving the dust away from her face, she grabbed the key to unlock the window, shoving it open and taking an exaggerated breath. “Maybe… we should get the vacuum out first.”
Elsa smirked slightly, “Perhaps. I think the power’s still running.” She made her way to the light switch, flicking on the lights in the room, immediately showing up every particle of dust Anna had kicked up, “Oh wow…”
“Okay, I’ll go get the vacuum, you open some more windows.” Anna passed the window key to Elsa as she walked past, jogging up the stairs. Elsa popped the key into her mouth briefly, as she hopped over to the kitchen windows, opening them up, the breeze hitting her immediately. She caught a glimpse of the inside of the coffee mugs; she hadn’t cleaned them up when she’d moved them, and she screwed up her nose at the sight. She turned away as she heard the thud-thud-thud of Anna walking the vacuum down the stairs, and continued her way to the last unopened windows.
It wasn’t long before Anna joined Elsa by the first bookcase, looking over her sister’s shoulder at the multitude of books. “How on Earth did we acquire so many books?”
“Mama liked books just for the sake of having books. Papa wasn’t much better.” Elsa reached up carefully, pulling the first book down from the top shelf, blowing the dust off the top, “Lord of the Rings… well, taste is subjective.”
“Hey, don’t judge a book by its film,” Anna pulled the book from Elsa’s hands, clutching it protectively. “This one, we keep. And if we find Harry Potter, we keep those too. Next?”
After a while the girls had swapped places; Anna was pulling books from the shelves as Elsa sat on a stool beside various boxes, sorting them into ‘Elsa’, ‘Anna’, ‘GK&K’ and ‘out’. After a day sat on the sofa, Kristoff had broached the suggestion that it might be time to sort through their old house, to try and move on and look towards the future.
“I know it’ll be hard, but we’re here to help.” Kristoff handed them both their mugs of hot chocolate, topped with cream, some vanilla syrup for Elsa, and a hint of cinnamon for Anna, “And you can’t live between two houses forever.”
Elsa sighed, looking down at the mug, “I suppose… something has to happen to the house, whether we move back there or … or we sell up.” There was a moment of silence as all three sipped at their drinks, before Elsa continued quietly, “I’m not sure I want to go back there.”
“Good.” Anna immediately realised just how horrible that sounded, and started to backtrack, “I-I mean… I’m glad to hear you say that. Not that it would be wrong if you did, I just…”
“Anna.”
“... I’m glad I’m not the only one.”
After a few more cups of hot chocolate and along with Gerda and Kai, they decided that regardless of the eventual result, the Arendelle house would benefit from some tidying, and secretly, Gerda and Kai were sure the girls would benefit from some closure.
“And last but not least…” Anna held up a thick tome, the title indecipherable. “... okay, I have no idea.”
“Keep that for Kai. That’s Old Norse, he loves that sort of thing.”
“Old, old, old Norse,” Anna flicked through a few of the pages, grinning slightly at some of the images, “Hey, this has cute little goblin gnome things in it.”
“They’re trolls, Anna.” Elsa smirked, tapping the box for Gerda, Kai and Kristoff. Anna carefully laid the book inside, standing back to look at the empty bookcase.
“Wow… I don’t think I’ve ever seen this bit of the wall. Have you?” Elsa shook her head. They both looked towards the box of books to get rid of and Elsa felt a tinge of sadness at how many there were. Anna wandered over, rearranging the books slightly so she could get the lid on top, “So… what shall we do with these? Do we have a uh… a yard sale or something?”
Elsa looked at the box for a moment, lost in thought. Selling the books, selling parts of the house seemed so... unfeeling, as if there was no sentiment attached to any of it. Then it hit her - her mother would buy most of the books from charity shops, fundraising events; many of them were decades old, well worn and much loved. “No,” Elsa finally replied, looking up towards Anna, “We should donate them. To a shop, or a library.”
Anna gave a firm nod, grabbing the marker from the table and scribbling ‘DONATE’ on the box. “Alright then. Where to now?”
Despite their best efforts, it was difficult to maintain their enthusiasm as the shelves began to empty and the walls became bare. Both girls began to realise that piece by piece, they were saying goodbye to their old lives; neither of them were looking forward to the day they started upstairs. As such, there was a shared sense of relief as they were forced to take a day off from their spring clean, to attend Elsa’s first prosthetic fitting.
“Years ago, we’d have you stood in a pot of liquid plaster and watched you squirm. Nowadays, we can scan a residual limb in a few minutes; hopefully you’ll walk out of here on your new leg.” The prosthetist, Kristin, clapped her hands together, pushing herself up from the chair. “Okay Elsa, come and stand here for me.”
With a hand from Anna, Elsa hopped over to a pair of beams, allowing them to support her weight. Kristin set up a small scanning device around her residual limb and set it to work, “Try not to move too much, alright?”
Elsa nodded, her gaze following the woman as she collected a small box from the desk, and brought it back to the sisters. “So, while that’s cooking, let’s discuss a few things. What do you want to be able to do when you’ve got your final prosthetic?” She looked between the pair, and after a few moments of silence, decided to get the ball rolling, “Do you like going for walks, or jogging? Are you sporty, not sporty?”
That got Anna started, “Definitely the sporty type.”
“Oh?” Kristin looked at Elsa curiously, “Which sports?”
“Uhm… winter sports. Ice skating, that sort of thing.”
Anna faux swatted her on the arm, aware that Elsa wasn’t allowed to move much, “What-ever. Multi-Olympic gold medallist speed-skater here.”
Kristin grinned, clearly impressed, which just made Elsa look down in embarrassment, “Oh really? Well, I don’t know if we can get you ready for the next Olympics, but getting back to sports is certainly a goal you can work towards.” She started rummaging through the box she had brought over, pulling out various materials and design specifications. Anna smirked mischievously at Elsa, who simply scowled back.
“So, your first prosthetic is temporary. It’s made of lower quality materials, but it’s still strong enough to get you through your first several months of physiotherapy, and get you used to walking again. You’ll need check ups, so we can make sure it still fits properly over the course of a few months whilst your residual limb matures. Then if all goes well, we’ll sort your definitive prosthesis out, and that’s when we can tailor it to the sorts of activities you want to do. Alright?”
“Several months…?” Elsa sank a little; the past several weeks had passed by so slowly, how long would several months feel like?
“It sounds like a long while, I know. But you need to develop good habits now, so you don’t have problems in the future.” There was a quiet beeping from the scanner, and Kristin freed Elsa from the device, pulling the seat over for her.
“What’s the process like?” Anna stood next to Elsa, leaning against a support pole. “I mean… sure, it might be several months before Elsa’s kicking my ass on the snow again, but how long until we can go for a stroll?”
“That’s up to you two, how much effort you put in.” Kristin tapped a few buttons on a nearby computer screen, hooked up to a 3D printer. Anna caught a glimpse of Elsa’s scan appear on the screen, before a few selection boxes appeared. Kristin turned back to them. “You want to get back onto the ice, right?
Elsa imagined for a moment, that she was back doing what she loved, speeding around a rink at ridiculous speed, skating on the central lake when it froze over in winter… sailing down a mountainside, strapped to a board- No.
“No?” Anna’s quiet voice brought her to her senses, and Elsa realised she’d spoken aloud.
“I… I don’t know.” She felt a tightness in her chest at the thought of it - whether “it” meant being back on the ice, or being away from it, she couldn’t tell. At times, she’d be able to visualise herself flying around the rink, taking turns so quickly she was almost lying flat. Other times, she’d look out the window at the fallen snow and break out in a cold sweat, shoulders tense, hands trembling.
Kristin’s voice derailed her train of thought, “That’s alright. You’ve got plenty of time to think this sort of stuff over.” She paused briefly, a quiet, thoughtful “Hmm…” breaking the silence. She flicked through some of the materials in her head, before looking through the options on the screen beside her. “I tell you what. It’ll be a bit heavier, but we’ll go with the stronger material. Then you’ll have a bit of a head start if you do decide that’s what you want to get back to. Sound good?”
Elsa nodded, grateful for the option, but she couldn’t help but feel ashamed in her hesitance to return to her previous passion. Kristin excused herself momentarily, squaring up to the computer and entering additional information, starting up the printer. Anna crouched down beside Elsa, still keeping a grip on the support bar. “Everything alright?”
“Yeah, of course.”
“Sure?” Anna scooted closer, her voice low, “When you said ‘no’... you don’t want to do any winter sports again?”
“I… I don’t know. I miss it, but… I…” Elsa sighed, “I don’t know.”
Anna held her forearm and gave it a light squeeze, “It’s alright. Let’s… let’s just focus on getting you back on your feet, huh?”
Elsa nodded, giving her sister a wan smile. “Small steps, Elsa,” Ms. Solberg reminded her, a matronly expression on her face, even after a tearful Elsa had punched a pillow out of frustration, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”
Her attention was drawn back to Kristin and her printer, as she slowly watched a clear plastic shape appeared, one that looked suspiciously like her stump.
“Now that is cool.” Anna watched as the socket began to take shape. It took only a few minutes before the process was complete, and after a bit of jiggling, Kristin had removed it from the printer. She pushed herself across the room on her swivel chair, collecting various bits and pieces before making her way back to the girls.
“Okay. There’re a few steps to this. I’ll explain it, then talk you through, then you keep doing it until you’re happy. Alright?” When Elsa nodded, her curiosity growing by the second, Kristin handed a leaflet to Anna so she could follow along, before she explained all the various socks, pins and other attachments that she had gathered in her lap. There was certainly a lot to take in, but it didn’t take long before Elsa was fairly confident in what she was doing.
“So… the gel sock goes o- damn, air bubble, hold on… gah, this feels weird. Okay, gel sock on… then this one… and then the socket?”
“Right,” Kristin grinned, holding the clear plastic socket in front of her, “this is just a test, to make sure the shape’s okay. If all goes well, you can go grab a coffee or something while I get the final thing sorted.”
Anna started wriggling in her chair, unable to contain her excitement any longer, “Let’s go, come on! Plug her in!”
“I’m not a robot, Anna.” Elsa smirked, holding onto the seat of the chair as Kristin pushed the socket onto her leg.
“How does it feel?”
“... bizarre. A bit snug, but… sorta comfy too.” Elsa flexed her knee a bit, testing the weight, surprised at how quickly she had gotten used to carrying less weight around.
“All normal, don’t worry,” Kristin took a closer look at the fit, testing various bits, before removing the socket. There was some to-and-fro’ing, as she make slight tweaks here and there, but it wasn’t long before Elsa and Anna were waiting in the café, the latter brimming with excitement.
“Just think - soon you’ll be able to ditch the crutches and do all the stuff you were doing before!” Anna pushed the handle of her coffee mug from side to side, grinning at Elsa with a thin milk moustache. Elsa was somewhat more cautious in her optimism.
“I don’t know about that,” she replied, passing Anna a napkin. Elsa paused briefly, before her voice took on a hint of optimism, “But… if I could start using just one crutch, that’d be nice.” Anna’s grin grew, upper lip wiped clean. It was obvious to Anna that her sister still had her doubts, still worried about the future, but she’d been trying to remain as upbeat as she could, and that was enough for Anna. Their luck was changing; she could feel it in her bones. Or maybe it was the receding winter cold. Who could say?
The pair sat in comfortable silence, watching the others in the caféteria as time slowly crept by. It was another half an hour before Anna saw Kristin over Elsa’s shoulder.
“Come on you two; moment of truth!”
“Need a hand?” Kristoff glanced over at Elsa in the passenger seat, as she opened her door.
“No, I’m al-... alright,” She gave him a bemused frown as he quickly rounded the front of the car, hand extended. “I just gotta sort myself out.” Kristoff nodded, lowering his hand but hesitating to leave the door until she was out of the car and steady on her crutches. He continued to the boot, pulling out the small duffel and meeting up with Anna on the other side of the car.
“Got everything from the car? I gotta get to work, so-”
“Go, go!” Anna grinned, chucking her arms around his neck and pulling him down for a kiss, “Call me on aaaall your breaks.”
Kristoff kissed Anna once more, lingering somewhat, before coming up with a goofy look on his face, “I will. Have a good weekend. You too, Long John Silver.” He gave the roof of his car a slap, throwing a cheeky wink at Elsa.
“Hey! Don’t make me come over there.”
“Sorry Els’, don’t have enough time to wait,” he teased, hopping into the car and starting it up again. He lowered the passenger side window, leaning down to meet Elsa’s narrowed eyes. “You know you love me really.”
“Shut up.”
Kristoff kept eye contact with her, fluttering his eyes until he saw the corner of Elsa’s lip finally give in and rise into a quirky smile. He shouted his farewells from the car window, pulling away from the side of the road and driving to work. Anna looked over at her sister from the side of the street, and couldn’t help but grin at her stood in the road, eyes still narrowed.
Two feet on the ground.
“You gonna stand there and scowl at him until he gets back, or are you going to come inside?” She shouldered the duffel bag, walking alongside her sister up the path to the house.
The driveway was empty; Gerda and Kai had helped the girls to clear the Arendelle kitchen, and had volunteered to take almost half the living room and kitchen to the local charity shops. Kai had also gone through the study with a trusted work colleague of their father’s, emptying the small room of all but Agdar’s personal possessions and documents relating to the house. Subsequently, the bedrooms were the only rooms left to conquer, but Anna had suggested taking a few days off before hitting all three head on; Elsa had happily agreed.
There was a thud, followed by a flump, as Anna dropped the duffel on the living room floor and fell backwards onto the sofa. She looked at her sister, upside down, feet swinging in time to the clock on the wall, “... so what shall we do?”
“I dunno,” Elsa flopped slightly more gracefully - but not by much - into the armchair, “what d’you wanna do?”
“I dunno, what do you want to do?”
“I du- never mind. Uhm…” Elsa’s eyebrows furrowed as she pondered what they might do with their afternoon. She was tired, but strangely energized, and as quaint and lovely as the house was she’d seen enough of it to last a lifetime. She felt like she should do something, now that she could, but what?
“We could go into town, I guess. There must be something to do there.”
Anna absently nodded, her brow furrowed. Despite her best efforts, she could only think of the things they used to do when they found themselves with a free afternoon. They might go for walks in the hills behind the house - Anna refused to even entertain that idea anymore. Or they’d go to the mountains, wave the logo on their sporting kit and enjoy a free day in the snow. If they were lucky, Mama would be able to join them. If they were very lucky, Papa would too.
Anna was so deep in thought that she had to ask Elsa to repeat her suggestion.
“We could go to the fjord; we can get lunch on the way.” Elsa gave her a small shrug, “Not sure when Kai and Gerda and getting back though, if we’re going to ask them to take us.”
Anna’s furrowed brow slowly smoothed out, the corners of her lips following in a huge, rather mischievous grin, “Oh. We don’t need to wait for them.”
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this.”
Anna let out a disbelieving noise, locking the shed door and wandering back into the house to replace the key, “This is payback! That’s what this is!”
“Payback?” Elsa muttered to herself, casting a wary eye over Anna’s bicycle, the bright, almost luminous green glowing in the snow. She frowned, wondering what on Earth she had done to warrant such payback; Anna happily filled her in as she shoved a helmet into Elsa’s stomach.
“Yes. Payback. For you chucking us down a hill in a wheelchair.”
“...oh.”
“Yes, oh. C’mon.” Anna smirked, her chin jutted out as she clipped on her own helmet, making her smirk that much more self-satisfied. She picked the bike up and took the lead, walking along the side of the house, “You’ve got your bag?”
Elsa nodded; she and Anna had found an old hiking rucksack with walking pole loops just big enough that they could stash Elsa’s crutches away, leaving her hands free to hold onto either Anna or the bike as they careened along the road. They’d also packed pretty much everything that the physio had given them, as well as snacks in case they ran out of time and needed to bypass lunch to catch sunset at the fjord.
Anna set the bike back down on the ground on the other side of the fence, holding onto the handlebars and grinning at her sister, “On y’hop.”
Elsa frowned before cautiously - albeit rather awkwardly - slingling her right leg over the seat, wincing as her sparkly-new prosthetic kicked the fence. Anna snorted, biting her lip, before adjusting the bike slightly to try and help. Elsa finally got herself seated on the bike, holding onto the fence as Anna stored the crutches. “Right!” Anna grinned, carefully hopping over the bike frame and onto the pedals, “Let’s go!”
Anna pumped her legs hard, steering them onto the road, which was thankfully clear of snow. Elsa squealed, unable to push herself clear of the seat as the bike made its way over the edge of the pavement with a thud. Anna shouted back an apology, but couldn’t help but laugh, the adrenaline suddenly pumping through her veins making her feel giddy with excitement. She cycled hard and fast, her sister’s grip on her waist a distant memory. The bite of the cold air against her face, whistling past her ears… the sense of freedom she had easily overrode the burning in her thighs, already aching from exertion.
It was only when she found herself freewheeling that she remembered that they lived on a hill.
Her grin faltered when she realised Elsa’s previously light grip had become a death grip; her face was no longer peeking over her shoulder, rather buried into the fur lining of Anna’s hood. Gently, Anna worked the back brake to slow them down, carefully navigating the few remaining lumps of snow in the road, timing the descent perfectly so that she came out of the road long after the traffic had passed, before braking to a somewhat graceful stop on the main road.
Unwilling to let go of the handlebars lest the bike topple over and ruin such a perfect landing, Anna leaned back slightly, turning to look over her shoulder, “Elsa? We’re down.” Not feeling any movement behind her, she carefully released on of the bar and reached around to cover one of Elsa’s hands, giving it a squeeze. “Hey, it’s alright, come on,” She felt Elsa’s grip loosening slightly, and Anna managed to extricate her coat from her sister’s hand, replacing it with her own. “You’re safe, don’t worry,” she began softly, “I won’t go so fast again, I promise.”
Anna felt a nod against her back and smiled, taking control of the handlebars again, “It’s pretty flat from here on out. You happy to get going again?” Another nod, although Anna noted the slight hesitation. “Alright. Off we go.”
After a few miles - at a far more comfortable pace - Anna came to yet another perfect stop outside a small sandwich shop in town, drawn to it by the smell of freshly baked bread. Elsa’s head had popped back up from her hideaway after a couple of minutes on flat terrain, and both she and Anna took a deep breath in as they sat outside.
“Lunch?”
“Lunch.”
Anna grinned, pedalling a few feet more so that they could use a nearby lamppost as a support, Elsa slipping off the back of the bike first, Anna hopping off with a groan and a chuckle, “Ooooh boy… maybe we can get a cab back. My knees are done.” She laughed as Elsa held out a crutch to her, swatting it away, “Thanks, but I’d rather not be responsible for you tripping up over yourself.”
“Why don’t you go in and grab some sandwiches, I’ll stay here with the bike. Besides, I need to stretch out the cramp in my butt.”
“I hold no responsibility for you being unable to sit down for the next week!” Anna grinned sweetly, before heading inside the bakery. The scent of fresh bread exploded out of the bakery door, and Elsa couldn’t help but close her eyes for a moment as she inhaled. She looked through the window; through the glass, Elsa could see Anna practically drooling at the array of meats and fillings in the shop’s display, wildly pointing at the various items to make a sandwich fit for a king. Elsa’s stomach rumbled in response, eliciting a chuckle. Glancing further up the street, she reacquainted herself with the variety of small businesses - cafés, a ridiculous number of fishmongers surrounding a single bait shop, a bookshop, and-
“Oh my.”
Slowly wheeling the bike further down the street, Elsa came to a halt in front of a shop that she was sure used to be a café; her eyes widened as she peered in through the window at the perfectly laid out displays containing their delicacies, inhaling deeply as the door opened to allow a customer leave.
“Mmmmm…. chocolate.”
“Elsa?”
She tore her gaze from the shop front, expecting to see Anna. Instead, she saw nothing but empty street. She heard her name again, and turned around to face the opposite direction, and a face she definitely hadn’t expected to see. “Mikkel?”
“It is you! Holy crap, how are you?” The burly 20-something dropped his backpack and pulled her into a bear hug, almost lifting her off the floor, “Still got your cute little wonky grin?”
Elsa’s raised eyebrow was firmly in place by the time Mikkel put her back down, hands on her upper arms, grinning. She couldn’t keep her serious face for too long, as she answered his question in more than one way, “It’s not cute.”
Mikkel chuckled as the “not cute” grin surfaced, “Uh huh. I told you it might make your eyebrow thing less potent though.” He cast his gaze over Elsa as she rolled her eyes, “How are you? It’s been so long since we saw you… your friend’s house, after you got home, right? That was the last time?”
Elsa gave him a small shrug, “Yeah. I’ve… I’ve not really seen anyone since then.”
“How have you been? What have you been up to?” Elsa swallowed slightly, her gaze dipping towards the ground. Mikkel’s hands fell slightly from her arms, and he tilted his head curiously, “Elsa?”
“I’ve… I’ve been okay, y’know? Just… busy, doing stuff. Hospital appointments, and physio, and… stuff.” She could never tell him- any of them just how close she’d come to never seeing any of them again. She couldn’t burden anyone else with her screw up; she was better now, up and about, and that’s what they needed to see. That’s what they had to see.
Mikkel’s warm smile was tinged with concern, but he didn’t press her further, “Well, I’m really glad to see you out of hospital. And walking! When did this happen?”
“Last week,” came Anna’s voice from behind them, as she slung her free arm around Mikkel’s neck in a semi-hug, holding the sandwiches out of harm’s way.
“Anna!” Mikkel clapped her on the back, grinning widely, “I come to this quaint little place to visit my folks and I run into both of you?”
“That answers my question,” Anna grinned, pulling back from the hug and standing by her sister, “How have you been? How’s everyone been? It’s been ages since we saw you.”
“I’m alright, competitions are slowing down now, just a bit of quiet time before training starts up again. Are you guys coming back? Please say you’ll be coming back.” Mikkel cringed slightly, “I… I know we’ve not kept in touch. And I’m really sorry about that. A few of us, we thought maybe you needed some time, you know, to recover, get yourself sorted out, but… I dunno, how much time is long enough, y’know?”
The girls looked between each other. Neither of them had been any good at looking for support, and both were even worse when it came to asking for it. They couldn’t really blame their teammates for not offering their help at some point, but… the dozens of people who had welcomed them back to Norway had all but disappeared a few days later. Sure, they didn’t all live next door, but there hadn’t been a phone call, a video message.... Anna couldn’t help but feel slightly hurt by that. Elsa merely shrugged, which told Anna all she needed to know about how her older sister felt.
“It’s okay, don’t worry about it.” Elsa’s gaze dipped again, and Anna took her hand as a distraction.
“Listen Mikkel, we uh… we’re heading off to eat lunch, soo…”
“Oh! Of course, I’m sorry, don’t let me hold you up. I tell you what,” he suddenly thrust forward a bag, filled with chocolates from the shop Elsa had been drooling over, “go and enjoy your lunch, I’ll let Henning know to keep you updated with the training schedules and stuff, and you call me if you need anything. My number’s still the same.” He didn’t let the bag drop until Elsa took hold of it, despite her protestations, before pulling them both back into a bear hug again, “It’s really good to see you guys.”
“You too, Mikkel. Thanks for the chocolates.” Elsa smiled as the hug broke up, politely declining Mikkel’s many offers to help them with their bags while they were in town, painfully aware of The Look Mikkel was casting over her and her crutches.
Anna finally managed to send him on his way, before zipping the sandwiches and chocolate into Elsa’s backpack. “If we hurry, we can still catch sunset,” Anna picked up the bike, steering it back onto the road and up against the lamppost, patting the seat, “Still up to it?”
Elsa nodded, putting her crutches away and hopping up onto the seat, “Sure. If you’ve recovered from the first leg of this journey, that is.”
“Thiff waff a grea’ i’ea.”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full, Anna.” She smiled slightly as her younger sister dramatically rolled her eyes, gulping down her bite of sandwich.
“I said… this was a great idea. Even if it is a bit cold.”
“Well, we can head somewhere else-”
“Yeah, but then we wouldn’t have this view.” Anna waved a hand out to the fjord, mouth once again clamped around her sandwich.
The winter chill was definitely a small price to pay for the view laid out before them. The fjord was still mostly frozen over, glistening in the low light and trapping the flotilla of fishing and pleasure boats in the harbour. The water nearest the shoreline was artificially warmed to protect their hulls, leaving a thin layer of steam laying atop the water, yellow-tinted in the glow of the setting sun. A lone plane could be seen flying into the local airport, one of only a few that flew round trips each day. Apart from the noise from the plane’s engines and the occasional crunch of lettuce in Anna’s sandwich, the harbour was fairly quiet.
“Els’?”
“Hmm?”
“... about what happened earlier. On the bike.”
“Don’t worry about it, Anna, honestly,” she brushed off, popping another chocolate into her mouth, “I can’t exactly blame you for speeding-”
“No, I meant… well, okay, I did mean that, but… I didn’t mean to scare you. I didn’t think, I just- … I dunno what I thought. I probably wasn’t thinking.”
“It… I don’t know, it just felt a bit too familiar. I guess I panicked.”
Anna frowned slightly, turning to face her, “I thought you said you couldn’t remember anything that happened? Like, that whole day.”
“Well, no, I can’t remember specific things, like I wouldn’t be able to tell you what I had for breakfast that morning, but… it felt familiar. I had this kind of… feeling of dread.”
Anna dropped her sandwich to her lap, swallowing hard, “Oh geez, Els’ I’m sorry-”
“Honestly, Anna,” Elsa smiled at her, “It’s okay. You weren’t to know. I didn’t know. Just… take it a little slower next time, alright?”
Anna reached over, hugging Elsa around the waist, “You got it. I’ve had my payback and then some.” She gave Elsa’s waist a squeeze, before shoving herself back up to sitting, shifting over to chomp her sandwich directly in her sister’s ear.
“Ew, Anna.”
“Whapf?”
“Ew.”
“Whaaaapf- oh loo’!” Anna elbowed Elsa, pointing towards the sun as it began to set in the mouth of the fjord. “If’ph fo- so awesome.”
Elsa chuckled, looking back out towards the fjord, nibbling on her own sandwich as the sun dipped below the horizon. It only took a matter of seconds before the temperature plummeted, sending a chill through Anna’s spine, “Okay… not so awesome now.”
“Time to head home?”
“Or at least somewhere warm. Coffee?”
“Sounds good.” Elsa wrapped up the remainder of her sandwich, bundling it and the rest of the chocolates into her backpack, before taking Anna’s proffered hands to pull herself up.
“D’you think Kai’ll come pick us up? I didn’t think this whole cycling thing through too well. Maybe we could find one of those old timey bikes, y’know with the two seats? Way more comfortable.”
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 9/?
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Natasha Romanov
Characters: Steve Rogers, Natasha Romanov
Additional Tags: Porn with Feelings, Porn With Plot, Eventual Relationships, Friends With Benefits, Friends to Lovers, Steve and Natasha are idiots, Post-Avengers: Age of Ultron (Movie)
Summary:
A series of connected one shots in which Natasha and Steve see how long they can maintain that they're just friends who happen to sleep together before they realize they're complete morons and might be a little bit in love with each other.
Title of series taken from the Civil Wars song, Dust to Dust.
Superheroes. America is full of them — complete with masks, nauseating pseudonyms, and neon spandex suits. There’s none of that nonsense in Britain, thank you very much…until Harry Styles’ X Factor audition takes an unexpected turn, and Britain’s first hero is born.
Also featuring Louis as a man of many masks, Zayn the rebel comic artist, Liam as Britain’s counter-attack to Justin Bieber, and Niall the trusty guitarist — not to mention super-beards, battles to save humanity, and glitter.
Volume I: Issue One - Issue Two - Issue Three - Issue Four - Issue Five - Issue Six - Issue Seven - Issue Eight
Interlude
(Volume I/III)
Gifs/edits/art by the very talented @yesitstyles! Thank you so much for all your hard work on this lovely.
