Chapter Text
Anna would be the first to tell anyone who was listening that Elsa just put up the front of being a hard-ass. In reality, Elsa was one of the most kind and caring people a person could ever meet - if that person managed to crack the wall of ice around her personality. It didn’t happen often but Kristoff had managed and so had Ryder, Kristoff’s best friend. Then there was Elsa’s faithful assistant, Gerda, and her husband Kai, who always checked in on both sisters but mainly kept an eye on Elsa while Anna traveled for work. Which meant that the number of people who truly knew Elsa and that Elsa counted as friends could be counted on one hand.
Anna couldn’t help but feel a little like it was her fault. Elsa had always been...shy. Anna knew that her sister had always tended to be rather anxious but that had never deterred Elsa from making friends or managing to get dates. But ever since the incident with Hans, Elsa had built a wall of ice around her heart and refused to let anyone in beyond those that were already in her orbit. Especially when it came to dating. It also didn’t help that Elsa was Elsa. So that meant, Anna and her guilt ridden conscience were determined to make sure Elsa was happy and she firmly believed it could be with the nurse.
Anna looked up from her work and noticed her sister, who had been napping on the couch, was now awake and rummaging about for her phone. She quietly got up and went to fetch Elsa a glass of water since it was almost time for her to take her medication. When she reached the couch she couldn’t help but poke fun at Elsa.
“You know, staring at that picture of the coffee cup isn’t going to make her text you. Especially since you didn’t have the presence of mind to give her your number,” Anna teased her sister from where she stood behind the couch, looking over her shoulder.
Elsa huffed. “I know...but I don’t even know what to say,” she whined.
“How about ‘Hi, it’s Elsa.’ for starters?”
“Anna! It’s not that simple. That’s the lamest thing ever and I’ve already embarrassed myself enough.”
Anna chuckled at her sister and moved around the couch to sit next to her. Elsa sat up and leaned into the armrest to make room for Anna but Anna quickly moved her sister’s feet so that they were in her lap and Elsa was laying down once more. Anna thought for a moment before turning to Elsa with a smug look on her face.
“We could always ask Kristoff for advice, he is a love expert.”
Elsa rolled her eyes. “No. But only because he does not need to hear yet another story of me embarrassing myself in front of a beautiful woman.”
Anna shifted where she was sitting and quickly looked away from Elsa.
“YOU TOLD HIM!”
“He’s my husband! Of course I told him! I texted him about it as I was watching it happen.”
Elsa cursed herself and her lack of any semblance of self care. If she would just listen to her body they wouldn’t be in this situation and she most definitely wouldn’t be mooning over a picture of a coffee cup.
“Fine,” Elsa sighed, “What does Kristoff think I should do?” she asked with feigned annoyance.
She knew Kristoff gave great advice and she was actually feeling up to trying to meet someone new for once. Maren seemed nice even if it was kind of her job to be nice; but she didn’t have to humor Elsa the way she had.
“He thinks you should just ask her to brunch,” she held up her hand when she saw Elsa about to protest, “She clearly didn’t realize who you were outside of just a very sick patient. That way you could get to know her without...well, you know...”
Elsa narrowed her eyes at her sister, “You just gestured to all of me. What does that even mean?”
“Elsa, you are a very intimidating person - even if you can’t function properly when you have a crush on someone -”
“I do not have a crush!”
“Sure, Jan.” Anna deadpanned. “Anyway, you can be very intimidating and you are always worried people seek you out for the wrong reasons.”
“That’s only because someone did seek me out for the wrong reasons and you got hurt because of it. I won’t let it happen again,” she replied tersely.
Anna was quiet for a moment. “Elsa, we talked about this, it wasn’t your fault. I chose to pursue him. How were either of us supposed to know he was a greedy bastard trying to take over your business? From what I saw she is nothing like that sociopath.”
“I know; I just don’t want to make a mistake. You know I’m not good with so many variables…”
“Which is exactly why Kristoff’s idea of inviting Maren to brunch is a great idea. It’s perfect because it is clearly a date but the timeframe makes it so if it’s going well you can stick around or if it is not going so great you can duck out with the excuse of having a meeting or something.”
“Okay, okay. I see your point but not a word to Kristoff. I don’t want him to get his hopes up. You know how he loves love.”
Anna’s cheeks quickly tinged with pink and the tips of her ears turned a bright scarlet.
“You’ve been texting him this whole time, haven’t you, Anna.” Elsa said with a roll of her eyes. It wasn’t a question, she could tell by the way her sister looked like she wanted to bolt that it was true.
“Sorry, we just want to help.” she replied sheepishly.
Maren quickly got up, her stiff joints protesting as she did, and strode to the car when she heard the horn and familiar backfire of her brother’s car.
“Ryder, you’re late,” she said as she slid into the passenger seat of the beat up hatchback. The tension of the double she just pulled quickly giving way to exhaustion as soon as she was settled in the well-worn seat.
“Sorry, sis,” he said with a sheepish chuckle, “Kristoff and I got distracted at work making sure the new calf’s were settled in their habitat.”
“You have pictures of cute baby reindeer for me to look at as payment?”
“Of course,” Ryder replied with a smile. He pulled out his phone and scrolled through his pictures until he found the series he took of the new calfs for the sanctuary’s website.
Maren giggled as she scrolled through the pictures. “They’re so cute,” she cooed as she slipped her brother’s phone into the cupholder between their seats.
“They really are,” Ryder chuckled as he pulled onto the main road in the direction of Maren’s apartment. “Speaking of cute...any word from your feisty patient?”
Maren sank back in her seat. She was a little disappointed she hadn’t heard from Elsa yet, but she knew that the woman would most definitely still be on the mend for at least another day.
“Not yet, but I’m sure she’s still recovering. Her sister seemed like she would be basically holding her hostage until she was better. Maybe she’s waiting until she’s back on her own.”
Ryder quickly glanced over at his sister. It had been a while since she had shown interest in someone and when she had told him the story of the fragile woman who wanted to fight her, he couldn’t help but hope that something would come of it.
“Well, if you never hear from her, Kristoff’s offer to introduce you to his wife’s sister still stands.”
Maren let out an exasperated sigh, “I don’t need you and Kristoff to set me up on a blind date. I’ll find someone when I’m ready.”
The drive continued in silence; Maren gazed at the window. She was looking forward to the three days she had off. She had just about dozed off when she was jolted back to reality by the vibration of her phone.
Unknown Contact (8:15 pm): Hey Maren. It’s Elsa.
Maren couldn’t help the small giggle that escaped her.
“What happened?”
“Nothing,” Maren said, trying to feign innocence.
“Let me guess...she just sent you a message.” Ryder said as he pulled over outside of Maren’s building.
“Maybe,” Maren said with a lilt in her voice as she began to gather the few things she had brought with her. “Thanks for the ride. I promise my car will be fixed soon.”
“It’s no problem, Honey. Let me know if you get a date.”
Maren rolled her eyes at her brother as she got out of the car. “Yeah, yeah. You’re ridiculous.”
“Text her back and get some sleep. Call me if you need a ride to work Friday,” he called as he sped off, leaving his sister on the curb.
Maren trapsed up the stairs to her fifth floor apartment mentally reminding herself to move since the elevator was always out of commission and she could finally afford a nicer place. When she reached the top of the stairs, she was breathless and the tiredness she had been feeling on the ride home overtook as soon as she unlocked her door.
She slipped off her shoes, threw her keys in the bowl and laid on the couch to rest her eyes for just a moment before she made herself dinner.
Elsa sighed as she looked at the number of emails she needed to go through now that she was back at work. 1,256. About 300 for each day she was out - she really needed to better monitor her health because she was certain she wouldn’t get to any of the reports stacked in her inbox today and that just meant falling further behind. She could always delegate but she liked to be more hands on with the decision making process than most CEOs.
She had managed to shift through approximately half of the emails when Gerda’s voice rang through the intercom on her desk.
“Ms. Andersen, Mrs. Larsen is here to see you.”
Elsa sighed. She’d been at work for three hours and Anna was already checking up on her. She reached over and pressed the intercom button to respond, “Send her in.”
Anna marched through the door like she always did and was unfazed when she took in the sight of her sister intently focused on her computer. Her nimble fingers flying over the keys and back to her usual immaculate clothing - a far cry from the disheveled woman who had stayed with her for the last four days.
“You’re looking well,” Anna said as she sat down in the plush chair opposite her sister.
“Hmmmm…”
“Elsa.”
“One sec. I’m...almost done.” Elsa said as she quickly reread her email before hitting send. “Anna, I’m fine. You made sure of that by keeping me with you for an extra day. You really didn’t have to come all the way down here.”
“I know. I just worry and I wanted to see what Maren said after you finally texted her last night.”
Elsa’s face fell at the mention of the nurse’s name and though she tried to mask it, Anna knew her too well.
“Elsa?”
“She didn’t respond.” Elsa said as she turned her attention back to the screen in front of her. Anna could practically hear the shield of ice sliding back in place over her sister’s heart. She really didn’t want to talk about it.
“She could be working. Nurses work almost as much as you do.” Anna teased. Her attempt at levity falling flat based on Elsa’s tight frown and incessant clicking. “Really, Elsa. I’m sure she’s just working but if she doesn’t get back to you Kristoff -”
“Don’t even finish that sentence. I do not need my brother-in-law to set me up with someone. I’m fine on my own.”
“Okay, but the option is always there. Now, don’t work too hard. I told Gerda that she is to force you out of the office by 6 at the latest,” Anna shot her sister her most serious glare, knowing she was about to argue, “Elsa you are still technically recovering so you need to go home at a decent hour and get a proper night’s sleep.”
Elsa knew she was right so she relented before gently kicking her younger sister out of her office with the promise of coming over for dinner Thursday night.
She was nearly finished climbing her metaphorical email mountain when her phone buzzed and skittered along the glass surface of her desk.
Maren (2:23 pm): hi Elsa i'm so glad you reached out. sorry this is so late i kind of passed out when i got home from work
Maren (2:23 pm): i hope you weren’t too worried about me 😜
Elsa smiled at her phone as she read the two rapid fire messages but she was suddenly feeling very out of her depth as to how to respond. She thought for a moment before the rumble of her stomach gained her attention - right, food is important. She snatched up her phone and purse and slipped out of her office, letting Gerda know she was headed to the little cafe across the street for some lunch.
As she waited for her sandwich she repeatedly typed and erased several different messages, worried she would come across as stiff before she finally decided to just bite the bullet and take Anna and Kristoff’s advice.
The minutes seemed to tick by slowly after Maren hit send on her second, more flirty message to Elsa and she was beginning to have regrets. She busied herself with cleaning her kitchen and sorting her laundry and by the time she was done with those tasks she wasn’t feeling any better. Finally, she talked herself down by reasoning that it was the middle of the day on a Tuesday and Elsa was probably working.
Which made her wonder what Elsa did for a living. She didn’t know anything about the woman beyond the fact that in the last week she had had bronchitis which had caused her to collapse from dehydration, that she had a sister named Anna, and she was adorable when she was extremely tired and slightly high on cough medicine. The memory of Elsa buried under the mountain of pillows and blankets brought a laugh to her lips that almost made her miss the sound of her phone chirping on the coffee table.
Elsa (3:06 pm): It’s okay. I know you probably work just as much as I do. I was wondering if you would be free for brunch tomorrow? I have a free window around 10:30 if that works for you.
Maren would be lying if she wasn’t a little uneasy because of the formality of Elsa’s text but she had noticed that once Elsa had fully regained her faculties in the hospital she seemed quite shy.
(3:08 pm): brunch sounds perfect. do you have a place in mind?
Elsa (3:09 pm): Have you ever been to Oaken’s Bistro? It’s one of my favorite places; they have the best pastries.
Maren’s eyes widen at the suggestion. She did a quick search and pulled up the menu which didn’t even have prices listed. When she clicked on the online reservation tool it indicated that there was a three month wait for a table.There was no way Maren could get a table there and she might be able to afford a meal but it would probably mean toughing it out with the food from the hospital cafeteria for a few days to balance the expense out. Really, it just added to the mystery of Elsa.
(3:12 pm): i’ve never been but 10:30 works for me
Elsa (3:13 pm): Perfect. It’s a date.
(3:13 pm) ☺️