Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This was the life.

Stories of horror. Stories if told by anyone else would be deemed too crazy to be true. Stories of food gone bad or found half eaten in the most unexpected of places. Stories involving the most menial complaints and lack of basic math skills. Stories with the motto of ‘conceal don’t feel’ coupled with a constant fake smile to seal the deal. Stories from an exclusive club that few understood and even less willingly chose for themselves.

Retail.

Also known as customer service or Retail Hell depending on who you asked.

The idea of it being a temporary job was nothing more than a distant memory, something needed to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads while struggling to find a new normal after tragedy. But the longer Elsa climbed the ranks into a position of power, the more permanent a spot she secured. Nearly everything in the store became second nature to her and there were only a select few problems that were above her capability.

An issue with the price? An item originally costing four dollars was meant to be on sale for two, for instance. Despite the screen always showing the original price followed by the savings underneath, she would still have to use a calculator in front of the customer to prove that four minus two was two and that they were, in fact, getting the sale price.

A WIC card denied, whether fully or partially? Without the register to physically tell them which item did not belong it was a matter of trial and error to figure out what was not compatible. And, when in doubt, it came down the longer method of wandering the aisles and reading each item’s tag in search of the matching acronym.

Self scan…. Well, there was always something wrong with those machines. Not accepting or giving back bills. The sensor would stop working and, therefore, cause issues with the belt. Then there was the matter of what customers did to the machines from throwing their items down the belt so scanning the stickers on produce to putting their money into the coupon slot.

Regardless, Elsa always had an idea of what to expect when she clocked in for the day.

That is, until Covid hit.

Small lines for each individual register and self scan were consolidated into one long line throughout the store, customers being called to the next available one as they opened. Social distancing was highlighted throughout the store whether it was by markers on the floor or with one-way signs in each aisle. Limits were placed on items such as paper towels, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and water. Cashiers were forbidden from using a customer’s reusable bags, only able to assist in packing if a customer was using plastic or purchasing reusable bags. Face coverings were encouraged, starting with scarves and bandanas or, for those with medical conditions, face shields, before expanding to requiring disposable or reusable masks to enter a store. Whether people abided by the rule and if stores enforced it was a different story entirely. Illnesses had been taken more seriously than ever before to the point where if anyone had even been exposed to anything they were required to quarantine at home for two weeks. The worst of the worst had been revealed in people and, if they couldn’t take it out on the few essential workers they saw, then they would rant on the internet. There was so much fear and anger in this new life and for the first time in forever the future became unknown.

Yet sadly, Elsa could not have been more grateful for that time. As stressful, unexpected, and confusing as it was it also changed her life for the better. Never had she been thanked by customers for working so much. It was a rare occurrence in which people appreciated the job that she and her coworkers did. Nor had she respected and admired her coworkers as much until Covid. She developed a closeness with them that she could have never anticipated. They understood each other. They watched out for each other. They supported each other. They meant something to her. Elsa meant something. It was more than she could have ever hoped for.

She more than Elsa could have ever hoped for.

But with the end of Covid – or so it was declared – things returned to the way they once were.

Granted, there had been a few adjustments. Instead of blaming the stores for how expensive everything was, people complained about the government and who was in charge…never mind that the economy was shit long before Covid started. Methods of payment expanded beyond cash, card, WIC, and EBT and began to include OTC cards which brought on a whole other set of issues. Like WIC and EBT, OTC could only include certain varieties of food that were a mystery to be solved after payment. And if any of the cards were paid out of order, the entire transaction had to be canceled and restarted from scratch. Plastic bags were replaced with paper and, with the exception of EBT and tax exempt orders, were not free. People no longer shopped for themselves or their family but also for work courtesy of apps such as DoorDash and Instacart. Self scan…. Was still a piece of shit.

People were free to come in maskless once again. There was no such thing as social distancing. No limits were placed on any items. Store hours returned to the norm. Getting sick was taken as liberally as it was pre-Covid. Retail workers were no longer considered essential. Once again, they were treated as less than for not having ‘real’ jobs. They were not enough. A reality that Elsa had accepted a long time ago.

For all that had changed in a year, some things stayed the same.

“Attention customers, the store is closing in five minutes. We reopen tomorrow at seven a.m. You have five minutes to bring your purchases to self scan before we release the dogs. Have a good night.”

Like Nani’s closing announcements.

Thank god Oaken was never there late enough to hear.

Elsa glanced down at her wagon. It was at full capacity, and she still had two aisles to go through. She was unsure what she hated more – how many half-eaten and perishable items she found or how many were simply thrown about. Ketchup, Oreos, and sprinkles by the potato chips; a no longer frozen burrito by the lightbulbs; potato chips with the cereal; salsa with the jars of garlic; a box of mac and cheese with the poptarts; a half-eaten granola bar stuffed in with the cards…and those were just between Produce and Aisle 4. The discarded groceries she found by the diapers and in the juice aisle were worse. There was no way in hell this was all getting put back let alone organized tonight. Even with most of the damages separated on top, there was still the matter of digging through the remains for stragglers as well as produce. Putting back said produce and emptying the coolers additionally meant at least another fifteen minutes of work.

She let go of the wagon and parked it to the side before removing her gloves. She took her phone out of her pocket though hesitated in tapping the screen to unlock, toying with the idea of sending a text.

It wasn’t that working late was unheard of. Nor that they hadn’t seen each other. But outside of work it seemed as though nearly everything had been over the phone. Even their time after work was limited. With Elsa putting in so many extra hours if there was a chance to see each other even for a half hour at night it was a lot. She almost wondered if….

“Elsa?”

Her thoughts were interrupted by Ella’s voice. Elsa immediately lowered her arm, keeping her phone tight in her grasp and against her side as if she had been guarding something precious.

“There’s one customer left. He has a…fairly large order.”

Elsa bit her tongue. She knew where this was going, and it was never favorable. “Is he on his way to self scan?”

“He will….”

Pause.

“In two minutes.”

Did customers not realize how poorly timed it was to do a full shopping trip so late? Self scan was the only thing opened at closing, typically starting anywhere from thirty to sixty minutes beforehand. Even if someone could conceivably locate everything in a half hour and reach self scan by ten, there was still the matter of scanning everything; bagging everything; and paying. Not to mention anything that could and likely would happen in between. Complaints about the prices. Issues with coupons. Scanning a bag of grapes. A missing bar code. The sensor acting up. Ignoring the constant ‘please wait, help is on the way’ and continuing to scan despite the register not picking anything up. Orders anywhere from $150 and over, at least by Elsa’s estimate, took a minimum of five minutes just to scan without any problems.

Closing at ten, her ass.

Elsa rubbed her temples and took a breath. “I’ll clock you and Nani out when I’m done with this tour.” If he would even be finished by then, that is. “If you could just make sure the produce and damages in the Crap Corner are separated while Nani deals with him…”

“Should I take yours and run them back with the rest?” Ella offered.

Elsa immediately shook her head. “I still have two aisles to go through, and you know how much people leave behind in Frozen.”

“Is there anything else I can do?” Ella asked. “If you need me to stay—”

“Ella, no,” she interrupted. “You have to be at the hotel in eight hours.”

Ella furrowed her brows. “What about you?”

Elsa smiled softly behind her mask. “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.”

Exhausted, perhaps.

But otherwise, fine.

Usually.

“Just focus on organizing everything. I’ll be up as soon as I can.”

Without giving Ella a chance to counter, Elsa put her phone away and covered her hands once more. She took the wagon and continued down the end of the bread aisle, making her way around to HBC. Like Frozen it was arguably one of the worst aisles at the end of the night, though for a very different reason. If things weren’t in the wrong location on the shelves – Cheerio Listerine, anyone? – it was an empty package of Olay or Tylenol. The number of items people stole in HBC was deplorable and it was worse how many of those items weren’t found until a later date hidden behind the depths of heavy items such as alcohol and dog food. Receiving was going to have a field day with entering all this shrink tomorrow.

As Elsa looped around the end of HBC and made her way down the Frozen aisle she peeked at self scan from the corner of her eye. The customer in question was at the final open machine, register nine, and it appeared he barely made a dent in his wagon. She thought she overheard Ella offer to pack for him while he scanned, but Elsa didn’t think too much of. If it weren’t for the burning sensation in her pocket, she would have been operating on auto pilot. How tempting it was to grab her phone, just to hear her voice for a moment.

Just a little longer, she thought. Wait for me…please?

 That is, if a little longer meant forty-five minutes.

Though it didn’t take Elsa as long to grab rejected items in the frozen aisle as she anticipated, the issue unsurprisingly arose up front. Not only was there the matter of sorting as well as bringing specific items back, but there was still the customer at self scan. When Elsa parked her wagon by the Crap Corner she could overhear him arguing with Nani over the matter of his sodas. He had three underneath and wanted to scan one of them three times rather than lifting each one. Not only was that highly discouraged as it was a matter of inventory – even if the items in question were the same brand and price, the store was still required to keep track of each individual flavor – but self scan was also having none of that. Since it wasn’t picking anything up on the sensor the belt froze, putting the machine in a loop of ‘please wait, help is on the way’. In the time that Elsa removed the drawer from the backup register at self scan, counted the till, and returned with a fresh drawer for the morning crew, the customer was still scanning. Naturally, nothing was packed in the interim. Thank god Ella at least had the produce separated and was finishing going through the damages. By the time the gentleman finished scanning and paying for his order it was already twenty after ten and, after another five minutes or so of packing, he was finally out of the store.

Without paying for ten paper bags and leaving behind a small collection of perishables.

It was another fifteen minutes before Elsa could clock herself and her coworkers out.

“You know you could’ve ditched when he left,” Nani commented while she took out her bag. “Don’t you already spend enough time at this dump?”

Elsa sighed, entering the override numbers one final time for Ella. “Nani, I’m the manager. How would it have looked if I left on time while you two fended for yourselves?”

Nani scoffed. “So I’m just the pūpū platter and you’re the main dish.”

Did she have to say it like that?

Nani approached her with her hand on her hip. “Get your head outta your ass, Elsa. You’re not the only one who has to cover for Ratcliffe. We all gotta pull some extra weight around here.”

“When is he coming back, anyway?” Ella inquired. “Is he ok?”

“Don’t waste your breath on that bastard,” Nani scoffed. “He’s been gone a month. Face it, he finally blew this joint.”

“Oaken hasn’t been able to get in touch with him. Until he does there’s no way of knowing,” Elsa said.

Ella raised an eyebrow. “Hasn’t he been sick?”

“Aye, ku’uipo,” Nani groaned. She turned around and walked backwards, leading the two of them out of the store while Elsa was at the end of the line and locked the door behind them. “I love you, Ella, but look at Ratcliffe’s track record. He doesn’t do any work, Oaken called him out, so he’s faking. Now it’s on Elsa to do all his dirty work and she doesn’t even accept our help.”

Elsa narrowed her gaze. “I told you both to clock out when he finished.”

Nani held up a hand. “No way in hell that was happening.”

“It would have been unfair to you with the way you’ve been working,” Ella added.

“You’re one to talk,” Elsa retorted lightly.

“I’m used to it,” Ella pointed out. “And you’re exhausted.”

Elsa pursed her lips. “Am not.”

“Are so.” Nani removed her mask to reveal her signature smirk. She stopped walking and leaned forward, booping the tip of Elsa’s mask that covered her nose. “Face it, Queenie. You’re stuck with us.”

Elsa narrowed her gaze. “Don’t do that again.”

“No promises.” She turned around and made her way down the parking lot, waving them off. “Aloha.”

“Good night, Nani,” Ella giggled.

Elsa shook her head. “You didn’t have to stay this late with us. What about work in the morning?”

“It’s nothing I’m not used to,” Ella promised. “After all, Jaq is a night owl. He’ll probably be on his wheel when I get home. What about you?”

“I’m fine.” She was about to walk around Ella and head towards her car, only to feel a light tap to her shoulder.

“You haven’t worked this much since Covid started,” she observed. “The hours, the effort, the people…. You’ve done more than enough for the store. For us. You really deserve a break.”

Hmph.

A break.

What a concept.

She appreciated Ella’s concern. She expected any of her coworkers, particularly on the night shift, would react the same. There was a bond between each of them that Elsa had come to accept and feel grateful for. Nani, for instance, would be the first to come to any of their defenses if they needed but wouldn’t hesitate to give something to them straight. Something that the rest of them weren’t quite as capable of for multiple reasons. On the other hand, the trust and respect Elsa had for Ella was completely different. Out of everyone, Ella came the closest to understanding her. Sometimes she was the easiest one to talk to.

But this was far from the time to have a heart to heart let alone a coherent conversation.

And not because she was tired.

“It’s just a little longer. I’ll be fine.”

Ella gave a single nod, though not entirely convincing. “Well…my mice and I are just a text away. If you change your mind.”

Always offering kindness, yet so cautious as to not overstep.

If anything, messages or videos of fur babies was the perfect compromise.

“Good night, Ella.”

She offered her a smile and then made her way to her car. Once in the driver’s seat and the car was started, Elsa took a moment to check her phone. There was a notification, a text with an accompanied picture. Sitting by the door of her apartment was her goofy little fur baby Bruni, a cat unlike any one had seen or interacted with before. Most cats were a bit more mischievous, laying down or falling asleep in the most inconvenient of places. It could have been on a laptop to prevent their owner from working or in the doorway of the bathroom so you couldn’t close the door without disturbing them. Upon closer inspection, Bruni wasn’t so much sitting by the door as he was sleeping against it. He always seemed to situate himself into what looked like the most uncomfortable of positions but was perfectly normal for him.

Hes been waiting for you 😜

When did…?

Elsa never even heard her phone go off.

So she was still there after all.

Her body immediately relaxed.

Sometimes just seeing a text from her girlfriend was enough. Elsa had come to learn that Maren was a physical person; she wanted to reach out or do things to show she cared. Elsa was the opposite, hesitant at best and uncomfortable at worst with anyone touching her. In some cases, she continued to find herself struggling to accept the smallest act of physical affection from Maren whereas most wouldn’t think twice about it. Hell, there were moments where Elsa questioned her closeness with her own sister; even if that was the person she was most connected to Elsa should never have to second guess accepting anything from Anna. But with Maren, when all else failed she did this. She sent a text. It could have been of something Elsa liked. It could have been a picture of her eating a chocolate bar. It could have been asking what Bruni was up to. It could have been an emoji. It was the smallest and simplest thing anyone could do yet it was plenty for Elsa. It was a reminder that Maren was thinking about her.

Though seeing her in person was nice as well.

Even if all they did was sit in silence.

Even if all they talked about was work.

Even if they never did anything.

She was there.

Walking into her apartment and seeing Maren sitting on the couch with Bruni curled on her lap affirmed that.

She could really get used to this.

“You’re still here.”

Bruni immediately perked up, darting his head back and forth as if to ask, ‘who? What? Me?’ When he did take notice of Elsa, he tilted his head and then stuck his tongue out, draping it over his nose with his usual unprecedented yet expected flexibility.

“Oh, I know you’re still here. You live here,” Elsa giggled.

“I told you she was coming,” Maren said.

Bruni blinked one eye.

Tilted his head.

Blinked both eyes.

And then stared blankly at Elsa.

“Mrew?”

Maren gently scooped Bruni into her arms. She walked over while Elsa removed her work vest and mask, hanging them on the nearby coat rack. She turned to Maren and held her arms out, feeling electricity in her fingertips as Maren passed him over. It was almost tempting to lean into an embrace from Maren. She always stood there, waiting for Elsa’s signal. While there had been instances in which Maren simply reacted, it was simply Maren being Maren. Unlike Elsa, who continued to question if her resistance was natural or an extension of her sexuality.

“So,” Maren’s soft voice broke the silence, “double shift and overtime. Must’ve been a shit show of a night.”

Elsa huffed. “That’s one word for it.”

“Do you want to lay down?” Maren asked.

How nice of someone to ask rather than tell.

Besides, if she did lay down then Maren would leave that much sooner.

Not craving physical affection didn’t equate to not wanting Maren nearby.

“You know I don’t sleep much anyway,” Elsa commented.

“Then maybe we can just sit and relax?” Maren suggested.

Relax? What was that?

Bruni shook his head about before slinking his body further into Elsa’s hold.

“Only because he wants to,” Elsa relented.

Maren held her hand out to Elsa. She almost always did that, offering herself before making full contact. It was difficult to oppose. Occasionally Maren would reach out automatically, whether through haste or simply reacting. But it was never out of disrespect. Elsa wouldn’t go so far as to say she felt pressured; that was the last feeling she ever got from Maren. Rather, she was still learning what she was most comfortable with and that she could trust someone so deeply. She took a small step closer, acknowledging Maren’s effort but not closing the gap enough to request full contact. Maren understood enough, lightly resting her fingertips on Elsa’s waist and waiting a moment before guiding her towards the couch. Elsa sat first, slowly releasing from Maren’s gentle hold, and she immediately felt Bruni sprawl across her lap. Maren sat beside her, allowing a little bit of space between but remaining close enough so she could pet him. Elsa watched Maren’s hand slide across Bruni’s fur, appreciative of how close it was to take while debating about grabbing it right then and there.

Elsa let out a quiet breath, resting her hand on Bruni’s head. “I know it’s been a lot,” she acknowledged apologetically.

Maren merely nodded. “Do you know how much longer?”

“At least a week,” she pursed her lips while the statement came out more as a question.

“So still no word on Ratcliffe.”

Of course she saw right through her.

“Not officially….”

She could feel Maren’s eyes on her.

There was more.

“Nani has some thoughts,” Elsa admitted, “but Oaken’s only told Cogsworth and me.”

“Am I allowed to know?” Maren asked almost too innocently.

It was difficult not to giggle. Even in some of the most stressful and darkest moments, Maren found a way to lighten the mood just enough to make Elsa feel at ease. One small thing to remind her that there was someone on the other side waiting for her.

“You didn’t hear it from me. Yet,” Elsa conceded. “But Ratcliffe’s not coming back.”

“Finally!” Maren exclaimed with relief. “What took so damn long?”

“He called out saying he was sick with Covid. Since Oaken’s still following the two-week quarantine, he said to let him know then. But he never heard back. When he finally got in touch with someone last week, he found out Ratcliffe was never sick to begin with. He was on vacation and didn’t want to use his time. And lying about an illness, especially something as serious as Covid, is automatic grounds for termination.”

“Wait, so everyone thought he’s been sick all this time but all he was doing was getting a free vacation??”

“Basically.”

“That son of a–”

“Watch it.”

“Please, you curse in front of Bruni all the time.”

“I do not!”

“The other day we were on the phone…”

“I am not talking about this.”

“I had you on speaker when Ryder walked in…”

“Maren.”

“He made that comment…”

“Maren!”

“And then you squeaked cause you sliced your finger and called him a motherfu…”

She leaned over and nudged her girlfriend, causing Maren to cut herself off and burst into laughter. Bruni’s head shot up and he seemed to fling around for a moment before rolling off Elsa’s lap and landing on the floor. He shook his body before blinking one eye and then crawled over to his food bowl, curling up inside of it.

The laughter slowly died down and all that was left was Maren’s hand hovering over Elsa’s lap where Bruni had once been. A comfortable silence fell. Elsa’s eyes fell onto Maren’s hand. She instinctively reached over and took it before Maren could consider moving it anywhere.

Stay, she thought, right here….

Maren’s hand relaxed into her hold, the only movement from it being an occasional sliding of her thumb. Elsa couldn’t help but smile at the sensation. She felt Maren slide in a little closer, not enough to fully cover the gap between them but just enough to acknowledge Elsa’s lead. To let her know that she saw. That it meant something. Maren placed a light peck to her head, Elsa’s hair being just thick enough for it to be barely noticeable. But when Elsa wanted nothing else, she could still accept that. She didn’t feel like she was pushing Maren away. If Maren knew nothing else, then at least she knew this. Or at least Elsa hoped so.

She didn’t feel that desire like most people did. She didn’t crave physical affection. Nor did she fully want it. Sometimes, perhaps, something. And never would it go past a certain limit. Most times it was feeling of brokenness. Like something was missing. Like she was missing.

But this?

She liked this.

This is good, she thought, just like this.

“So what happens now?” Maren broke the silence.

Elsa clicked her tongue. “Oaken has been looking to make more changes. Ratcliffe leaving is the perfect opportunity.”

“Like what?”

“Another manager. Or two, maybe, if he can find someone to work directly under him. He’s already looking at possible candidates.”

“What about you?”

“Cogsworth and I remain the same. Oaken does need someone to take over for Ratcliffe officially but…”

She sighed.

“If he hires another, I’m not sure where I’d stand with them. I’d have seniority but if they’re second behind Oaken….”

“That doesn’t matter. You’re our queen. We follow you.”

Hmph.

A queen.

What started as a running gag became a part of her identity.

It wasn’t merely a compliment from Maren.

It spoke to the way her coworkers viewed her.

How much they trusted and valued her.

It was a blessing and a curse.

To have these people, to have her friends, stand behind her unconditionally yet to have so much expected of her….

She could never seem to escape the latter, could she?

Unable to fiddle with her hands, Elsa loosened her grip on Maren’s hand and began to play with her fingers. She tugged one of them lightly before moving onto another finger and then gripping both. She felt another peck to her hair and Elsa instinctively leaned onto Maren’s shoulder. Had she recognized this as one of Elsa’s habits and was offering her support? Or was this an affirmation of who Elsa was, an action of encouragement, or perhaps a promise?

“So…more doubles, huh?”

The subject may have remained, but it was a small enough change to calm Elsa’s mind.

“At least another week. Maybe two. But until Oaken hires someone indefinitely.”

“I get it. He needs you. And you agreed to this.”

Pause.

“I come in at six tomorrow. I can make you some muffins to take in for a few shifts. Breakfast for dinner?”

“You don’t have to do that. We’ve only been seeing each other at work, and you check on Bruni when I can’t, by the time I get out it’s so late…”

“Because I want to.”

She adjusted her hand, tightening her grip on Elsa’s if only to get her point across.

“It’s just a little longer. And you’re working your ass off. So it’s ok.”

Another pause.

“And when things calm down, I’d really like to take you out.”

Hm.

How tempting that was.

Until this point, their dates have only consisted of coinciding breaks during the height of Covid and seeing each other after clocking out. Occasionally sharing breakfast or maybe lunch at Elsa’s depending on Maren’s schedule. Working until closing meant getting home at ten-fifteen at the earliest. And with the shifts Elsa had been working, she did not expect nor want Maren to stay so late just to see her for fifteen or thirty minutes. The closest thing they had to a real date was Maren turning the breakroom into a fake restaurant and sharing a late dinner. When had they gone out?

Then again, when did Elsa ever want to go out?

She was never a social person to begin with. It had always been on Anna to convince Elsa to go somewhere. Add on a job in retail and Elsa had even less desire or energy to socialize. Covid made everything worse in that regard. It felt so dangerous to go anywhere outside of work. Elsa was exposed to so many people, a grocery store being one of the easiest places to subject oneself to getting sick, that it was amazing she didn’t get sick that often. And nothing short of a miracle that she hadn’t contracted Covid yet. Why should she go anywhere – dinner, the movies, the mall – if she would only subject herself and therefore her sister and friends to getting sick? It wasn’t worth the risk.

But this was more than simply going out now.

This was about going out with Maren.

Her girlfriend.

Elsa spent so much of her life isolating herself; suppressing her sexuality; feeling shame and confusion for what she was. It took years for her to finally open herself to Anna and even longer for Anna to finally begin to understand. It took so much effort to come out to Nani after one incident at work despite knowing her for as long as she’d been at Oaken’s. It was terrifying to tell Maren because even if she liked women would she want one who was also asexual? Only a select few times had Elsa felt remote comfort in her sexuality. When Anna finally got it; when Nani didn’t question; when she realized and accepted her feelings for Maren. Elsa spent so much time fearing the worst – having already experienced the worst – that anything else was unheard of. Even if things were better now; even if she understood herself better; even if she had people who accepted her; even if she had good days; how could she just willingly go out in public with Maren? Would she have to act a certain way? Would people assume they were a couple or merely think them friends? Would people look at them like that? The way her father would have? Because at the end of the day, it didn’t matter that they’d never do anything. They were still out as a lesbian couple.

Well…lesbian and bisexual, technically.

But to be fully out around so many strangers?

She preferred to keep it to their small, trusted group.

Except to do that would be an insult to Maren.

It didn’t mean she never wanted to go out with her, just….

She wanted this to be a good experience for Maren, too.

She wanted to get this right for her.

“Could we take a raincheck…?”

Ugh, that didn’t sound very encouraging.

“Just…with Covid and everything….”

“Of course.”

Maren didn’t seem to give it a second thought before responding.

“The way things have been going, I don’t really want to go anywhere that’s too…”

She paused, tilting her head.

“…Peopley…either.”

Elsa narrowed her gaze. “That’s absolutely not a word.”

“You know what I mean,” Maren shook her head. “I just…. I wanna take you out on an actual date. I do. But I also wanna take you out because you deserve it.”

It was such a sweet sentiment. And it was another reminder of Maren’s promise. That she’d follow Elsa’s lead. She always had a choice to push harder. To not so easily conform to Elsa’s comfort. To leave. Every one of those times she chose Elsa. She had to know how much that meant.

Elsa tilted her head, softly kissing Maren’s cheek. “Thank you, Honey.”

But she didn’t want to leave it at that, either.

As late as it was…

Even though Maren should go home…

Hell, Elsa probably did belong in bed by now….

Selfishly, she didn’t want Maren to leave yet.

“Five more minutes? Maybe?”

Maren smiled, pulling Elsa’s hand close to her chest.

“As long as you’ll have me.”

Maybe things at work were changing.

And maybe the world was still changing.

But some things stayed the same after all.

This? Her and Maren? What they were and what they had?

She wasn’t sure she wanted things to change at all.

Chapter Text

This shouldn’t have been rocket science.

The total was $63.82.

The customer handed over $40.

Her new total was $23.82.

She gave another $3.

$20.82.

$2.

$18.82.

$1.

“Can I have my change now?”

Elsa looked at the balance.

$17.82.

“You still owe for the third cord.”

“I don’t have anything left.”

“Would you like me to void it off?”

A blank stare.

“But I need it.”

Elsa looked at the screen and then back at the customer.

“You still owe $17.82.”

Blink.

This was not rocket science.

“Take it off then.”

Elsa voided off the third power cord before taking her key to complete the override.

Yes, even managers had to override their own orders when necessary.

Before Elsa could hit the total and complete the transaction, now that the customer finally paid enough, she was interrupted.

“Wait, how much were the cords?”

“$19.99 each plus tax.”

“I thought they were $5 each.”

Pause.

Three ten-foot power cords.

For supposedly $5 each.

Which equated to $63.82.

That she didn’t question until after the order was nearly complete.

This was worse than rocket science.

“Your final total came to $42.58,” she deadpanned.

Unsurprisingly, she wasn’t getting any of the cords anymore.

It was both a blessing and a curse that had been the highlight of her day thus far. A calm before the storm, no doubt. It made the day feel that much longer, and having an already extended shift was no help. There was also the added pressure of needing to look busy as opposed to standing around and doing nothing. Oaken was never one to strictly enforce such a policy, but he had pointed out the importance completing certain tasks when time allowed. Throwbacks for one thing, which Elsa couldn’t agree more with. Leveling, on the other hand? No one wanted to do such a tedious task. Especially when it would ultimately feel pointless; no doubt that as soon as someone straightened out the cookies, they would go right back to laying unevenly and sprawled messily across the shelves. Elsa was in the small category of employees who enjoyed the lull. She savored these moments, especially when she knew what was to come. It meant there were less people to interact with and allowed everyone the chance to breathe.

The fact that she could check her phone if she desired was a bonus.

Though highly discouraged, it didn’t stop anyone. Elsa didn’t particularly mind anyone fiddling on their phones when they had no customers so long as they didn’t make it obvious. But aside from using the calculator, doing it front of a client was absolutely off limits.

She did notice Maren had texted her earlier….

Pursing her lips, Elsa tapped her screen where the notification popped up.

Is it the end of the world? 😝

Should she…?

What was the harm?

Elsa swiped up, discreetly typing with one finger.

Not yet.

Dots.

That was fast.

Guess youre not gonna need me then

Heh.

It was incredibly tempting.

Unfortunately keeping anyone late was out of the question unless there was a callout. Between the upcoming holiday and Oaken in the midst of the hiring process, he wanted to save as many hours as he could for when they really needed it. The weekend of Easter was one thing. The possibility of a second hire made it more difficult. Maren would be the last to clock in for the night, working from five to nine and taking over Fred’s register. Snow was scheduled until seven and Ella at eight-thirty. Naturally that would leave only Nani at self scan for the final hour. If the current pace continued, it should be easy enough to only have to worry about the tour and damages at the end of the night.

You wish.

Maren’s response came quickly.

I do 😉

Elsa felt a blush creep onto her cheeks.

She knew it wasn’t merely for her; the extra money was always nice.

Still, the sentiment remained the same.

She was about to conjure a response when a customer approached the desk.

“Excuse me.”

Elsa looked up and immediately straightened her posture. “What can I do for you?”

The woman set the flyer on the counter and pointed to one of the items on sale. “Could I get a raincheck for the Bubly? It says when you buy three but there’s only one of the flavor I want.”

“Of course. Let me write that out for you,” Elsa nodded. She pulled the flyer closer and then took out a slip to fill out. As she began writing she heard the voice of a young child beside the customer. From the corner of her eye, she thought she saw a head of brown hair jumping up and down.

“Mommy! Mommy! Open my egg.”

The woman gently rubbed the child’s head, attempting to calm her down. “Not now, Bonnie. When we get home.”

“The Kinder eggs?” Elsa inquired.

“I did promise her a treat if she came shopping with me,” the woman chuckled. “We’re trying to collect all the animals. Isn’t that right, Bonnie?”

Elsa leaned forward a bit to meet the big eyes of the little girl in front of the desk. As soon as she saw Elsa, however, she yipped and ducked behind her mother.

“Don’t mind Bonnie. She’s just a little shy,” the woman said.

“I understand. I was at her age as well,” Elsa sympathized. “What kind–”

“Excuse me,” a gentleman from the side interrupted.

Elsa lifted her pen, raising her finger as if to say, ‘wait your turn’. But since most customers seemed to neglect that she found herself reiterating more times than she could count.

“I’ll be right with you.”

She continued filling out the raincheck, occasionally glancing to the little girl. “What kind of toy are you getting?”

A nervous “hm” escaped the child.

“We’re getting the ones with animals, isn’t that right, Bonnie?” her mother encouraged.

“I’ll have to tell my sister,” Elsa mused. “She’s been collecting Kinder eggs since they opened the schools back up. She gives the toys to her class and keeps the chocolate for herself.”

That earned a giggle from Bonnie.

“I know. She should keep the chocolate and the toy, right?” Elsa agreed.

Bonnie nodded.

“What kind of animal are you hoping to get?” Elsa asked. “Do you have a lot?”

“Um…I have a cowboy…. And a spaceman…. And a doggy… And some dinosaurs….” Bonnie stuttered at first, then becoming a bit more comfortable with each toy that she named.

“That’s a huge collection you have,” Elsa complimented. She handed the raincheck to the customer. “Would this new toy be a pet for them?”

Bonnie bounced up and down in thought. “Um…maybe…maybe a lobster for the dinosaurs.”

“A lobster for the dinosaurs?” Elsa repeated, trying not to giggle at the thought.

“Yeah. Cause, cause they’re sturdy so, so the dinosaurs can’t eat them,” Bonnie explained.

“I don’t think that’s how it works, sweetie,” the mother commented.

To that, Bonnie pouted.

“Well, I hope you get the toy you’re looking for. I can’t wait to see it next time,” Elsa said.

Bonnie’s eyes widened. “Do you have eggs, too?”

“Well…not exactly,” Elsa lamented.

She saw Bonnie’s face immediately fall. Suddenly Elsa felt like she should be taking a page out of Anna’s book and keeping something for the children that came into the store. She’d seen so many kids come in and out of the store with their parents but never gave it a second thought. Food shopping was certainly a chore, and for children like Bonnie who appeared more introverted or perhaps dealt with social anxiety it must have been more difficult. Elsa could certainly relate.

“I might have something else, though. But only if your mother says it’s alright,” she offered.

Bonnie’s eyes lit up at the prospect. “What is it?” she asked excitedly.

“Do you like m&m’s?” she wondered.

Bonnie smiled widely. She tugged at the edge of her mother’s shirt. “Mommy, can I? CanIcanIcanIcanI?” she squealed.

“You don’t have to do that,” she promised.

“It’s my pleasure,” Elsa promised. “I hope peanut m&m’s are alright.”

“Those are my favorite!” Bonnie exclaimed.

“Hang tight.” Elsa knelt to the compartment beneath the desk where she kept her wallet and car keys. In a Ziploc bag behind them was one of the chocolate chip muffins Maren made for her as well as a fun size bag of peanut m&m’s. Elsa had planned on saving the latter for a snack during a break. That is, if she took a break. It was better they go to someone who would enjoy them sooner rather than later. “Here you go.”

“What do you say, Bonnie?” the woman asked as Bonnie didn’t hesitate to grab the bag.

“Thank you!”

“You’re very welcome. Enjoy the rest of your day.”

“Bye-bye!” Bonnie waved on her way out.

Elsa had barely been able to give a light wave when she heard the voice of the gentleman before.

"That was adorable."

She straightened her posture and turned towards the sharply dressed customer. “I’m sorry for the wait.”

“Not at all. It was actually quite charming,” he complimented.

A patient and understanding patron.

Those were few and far in between.

“Was there something I could help you with?” Elsa inquired.

“Hm…? Oh, right.” He gave a bow of his head, “Hans Westergaard. I have an interview at four-fifteen.”

That explained his attire.

“One moment please.” She picked up the phone to page Oaken, her voice echoing through the speaker system. “Oaken, dial two-thirteen please. Oaken, two-thirteen.”

“Thank you.”

“Just give him a few minutes. He might be finishing a meeting.”

“Of course.”

Elsa moved a few papers out of the way and lifted the lineup on her clipboard, skimming one of the sheets beneath. A rough timeline of his candidates, to be exact. Most retail jobs, especially those looking for part-time cashiers, typically hired on the spot; but she was uncertain of how long Oaken would extend the process when it came to a management position. Would he find someone before the holiday, or would he not officially hire someone until after? If the latter were the case, then she anticipated the double shifts for a little bit longer after all. It was nothing she couldn’t handle, especially considering all that had transpired with Covid. Still, it would be nice to have a break. Anna had been pushing her to request one unavailable day….

“You know, you absolutely made that little girl’s day,” Hans commented. “I wish she could have seen how happy she made you, too. I’m sure you have a wonderful smile to match.”

Elsa held in a breath. Not this again. She heard it too many times throughout the pandemic already. How masking was an option, not a law. How the store couldn’t tell anyone what to do. How pointless masks were in the first place. How Covid wasn’t even real.

All bs.

Elsa lightly slapped the pages down and narrowed her gaze. “We wear our masks here out of solidarity. We do it to protect the people we care about and out of respect for those who are immune compromised.”

Hans held up his hands in defense. “I didn’t mean to offend you. I only meant, no one is wearing masks anymore. It’s safe to let them down. If it weren’t we’d start growing them on our faces by now.”

And that was supposed to make it better?

Or less offensive?

“Then let me simplify for you,” Elsa decided. “My body, my choice.”

Ringringring. Ringringring.

Thank god for Oaken.

“Yes?” Elsa answered.

She nodded, listening to Oaken, and made a note underneath the lineup.

“Understood. I’ll let them know.”

She hung up the phone and turned to Hans with a look not quite evoking her Snow Queen persona, but one straight enough to get her point across. “It’s going to be about ten more minutes. He’s running late.”

Hans’s brows lowered. His shoulders slumped and his eyes sunk towards one side. “I’m sorry. I’m just really nervous about this interview. It’s my first real chance at something. When you grow up around twelve older brothers…. Well, you don’t really get to prove yourself. I’m the only one who doesn’t work for my father. I want to show him that I deserve a place as well. I thought that if I could do well somewhere else…. But I’m not exactly making a good first impression of that, am I?”

Elsa felt her body lighten a little. She could sympathize with Hans’s desire. Though it had always been assumed Elsa would take over her father’s company, she still felt as though she had to prove to herself that she could handle it. She was taught that to handle herself in a corporate industry she had to conceal. Despite those days long behind her at this point, the old habits remained. While she was uncertain if she would ever fully let it go in her professional life, she continued to fight the urge personally.

“I get it. I felt the same way when I started here,” she commented. “But I would not be where I am had it not been for my coworkers. We have an open and accepting environment. It’s not the job that matters, it’s the people.”

Hans sighed lightly. “Sounds like working here is something special.”

“It is. That’s why I defend it the way I do. It may not be perfect, because no job ever will be. But this is my store and it means something to me,” she said.

“That’s exactly what I want,” Hans confessed with a small smile. “You see right through me.”

“I doubt that.” She turned and directed her attention to the cigarette display behind her. She removed one box at a time, checking to see if there were any expiration dates just to pass the time.

Hans chuckled faintly. “Do you say that to all of your coworkers?”

He asked as if it were so obvious.

“And if I did?”

“It would be nice to know that I’m in good company.”

“You haven’t had the interview yet.”

“Then I guess I can’t ask for your phone number.”

He couldn’t what now?

Elsa spun around.

He wasn’t….

Oh, shit was he being serious?

And she was supposed to just respond?

How? With what?

Ugh, if only she could access her damn Snow Queen tone.

Any time now, she urged, just do it with your mouth.

Anything to overpower the damn blaring danger siren in her head.

“Elsa?”

Ella poked her head from the other side.

“I think I may need help with the throwbacks?”

Yes! Absolutely, please yes!

Anything that wasn’t Hans.

Except she couldn’t say that out loud.

Elsa quickly straightened her posture. “I’m coming,” she cleared her throat. She barely gave Hans a glance before letting him know, “You can wait by register one. I’ll let you know when he’s ready.” She stepped out from behind the service desk and walked around him, quickly joining Ella at what had become known as the Crap Corner. “What do you need?”

“Actually…. I thought you were the one who needed something,” Ella admitted. “It just looked like you could use a save.”

Oh, thank Hera. Elsa let out a visible sigh of relief at her friend’s realization. “You have no idea. Thank you.”

“He hasn’t been here before, has he?” Ella wondered. She inched closer to the wagon she was sorting, if only to lean on it.

Elsa shook her head. “He’s interviewing today.”

Ella blinked. “Here? With us?” She let out a faint gasp. “I’m so sorry! That was wrong. I shouldn’t have…”

“You weren’t,” Elsa promised.

Ella let out a breath. “I think being here so many nights, I’ve gotten so used to it being just us that seeing anyone else…” she tried to explain. “I’m sure he’s very nice.”

Elsa folded her arms. “He seemed so.”

Until he asked me for my number, she thought.

Was that supposed to make her as uncomfortable as it did?

Enough so that she couldn’t even bring it up to Ella?

Bap.

She could feel Nani swatting her self scan card against her shoulder.

“Nani, use your words.”

“But this is so much more fun,” she replied.

Elsa narrowed her gaze.

“Aye, way to take the fun outta it,” Nani pouted. “Can you stay here a minute while I run to the lua? I need a new tampon and these are my last good jeans.”

“Bathroom or tampon on their own would have sufficed,” Elsa replied with a stone face.

“Buzzkill,” she teased, handing over her card.

“She called me that, too,” Ella said, “when she tried to tell me that she and David–”

“Can’t hear you, going through a tunnel,” Nani called as she quickly disappeared into the aisles.

Elsa rubbed her forehead in frustration. “Is it too late to go back to social distancing?”

To that, Ella giggled. “I think you like it.”

“It, or Nani?” Elsa retorted.

That garnered a harder laugh.

One that Elsa couldn’t help but go along with.

Well…. Ella wasn’t necessarily wrong.

“I think I’m a little nervous, too,” Ella admitted. “I like how everything is right now. All of us. But maybe adding someone new isn’t a bad thing. It worked out with Maren.”

Elsa couldn’t help but smile at that.

It did, didn’t it?

Actually….

It was better than she could have ever imagined.

“Oaken saw a few other people already, didn’t he?” Ella continued.

“Almost twenty so far,” Elsa nodded. “There’s a few more coming tomorrow.”

“One of them is bound to be the right fit,” Ella said. “After all, Oaken’s been wonderful to us. He hasn’t given us a reason not to trust him.”

She was right.

But it went beyond that.

Despite many hardships in her own life on top of all the shit that went down around them, Ella always seemed to have so much hope. She wasn’t just someone who was always there when it came to work; she was always available emotionally. She wanted so much to see the best in everything and everyone around her. Even at work, when things could become so easily unbearable, Ella never let it show how much it bothered her. But unlike Elsa, it was never because of concealing. It was genuinely how she was. She believed in goodness and kindness. She offered so much to everyone around her. The kind of person Ella was, was the person that Elsa wasn’t just happy to have in her life but knew she needed; and the person that allowed Elsa to believe there was good out somewhere in the world.

Because, at the end of the day, despite how much shit they all dealt with, there was still so much good in their store.

And that, in part, was because of Oaken.

If Ella believed he would make the right choice for them, then so could Elsa.

After all, this wasn’t rocket science.

Chapter Text

“Baruch Atah Ado-nai, Elo-heinu Melech Ha-olam, Asher Kid’shanu B’Mitzvatov V’tzivanu L’hadlik Ner Shel Yom Tov.”

Bruni reached his paw forward with wonder as Anna lit the two candles on the counter in front of them.

“Mrew…”

“No, no, Bruni,” Elsa pulled the cat closer to her chest and tightened her hold, “we don’t play with fire.”

Bruni stared up at his owner, blinking each eye individually before tilting his head.

“Ok, the candles are lit so now we….” Anna quickly grabbed the Haggadah and skimmed the next passage. “Sanctify the day with the Kadesh.” She turned to the table where Kristoff, Ryder, and Maren were already set. There was a large plate of matza in the middle but Kristoff, being the matza enthusiast that he was, insisted on making individual matza pizzas for everyone. Along with a bowl of matza ball soup and a plate for the matza pizzas, there was a larger plate underneath for everyone to grab what they desired. Anna and Elsa typically kept their Passovers simple; though most Jewish holidays were signified with a feast it looked more like a make your own sandwich buffet…minus the bread, of course.

“Grape juice or wine?” Kristoff asked.

“Wine.”

“Grape juice.”

The sisters’ answers came simultaneously.

“Really, Elsa?” Anna folded her arms. “You can’t hold down a drink to save your life.”

“Excuse me, it’s one sip and with the month I’ve had I could use something,” Elsa commented.

“I’m not sure how I feel about that,” the younger shook her head.

“Here’s a better idea, how about we just skip right to dessert?” Ryder piped, quickly earning him a nudge from Maren. “Hey!”

“Don’t worry, our Seders don’t take that long,” Kristoff promised. He went to the fridge and removed a bottle of wine, pouring about a shot’s worth into each glass. “We could never get through the whole thing if we tried.”

“Yeah, you don’t know I don’t have that kind of patience,” Anna joked.

Lightly rolling her eyes, Elsa knelt and propped Bruni in front of his food bowl. His head darted back and forth quickly as if to ask why his mother left him so soon. His confusion, however, was quelled when Sven sniffed up to him and began inspecting the food. The German Shephard stuck his tongue out, prepared to dig into Bruni’s dinner, which resulted in Bruni slowly moving his tongue over his nose. Sven hesitated before backing up and sitting down. He looked at the food, then at Bruni. Bruni blinked one eye before finally seeming to get the message and nibbled at his bowl.

“Ok, I totally got this one.” Anna cleared her throat before reciting, “Baruch Atah Ado-nai Elo-heinu Melech Ha-olam Boreh Pree Ha-ga-fen.”

“We really should read the next blessing before drinking the wine,” Kristoff suggested.

“Great,” Anna piped, “who wants to take it from the next ha-olam?”

Kristoff and Elsa quickly exchanged looks.

To say their Yiddish was questionable was polite.

“Amen,” the mumbled awkwardly in unison before each drinking their glass.

Maren couldn’t help but giggle. It became Elsa’s turn to nudge her as she sat down.

“I’m sorry but…isn’t there an English section right underneath?” Maren teased lightly.

“Ok, let’s skip to the matza!” Kristoff declared. “Pass me the plate.”

Maren passed the plate of matza from the center of the table towards Kristoff at the head of the table. He carefully broke the piece in half – sort of – and set the larger half back on the plate. He passed the plate back to Maren and, while she set it down, he moved the smaller piece onto a napkin and carefully folded it before moving it to the counter.

“That’s what we get to dip in chocolate later,” Anna squealed.

Ryder raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Why would you do that?”

“It’s for dessert,” Anna answered.

“I don’t get it,” Ryder shook his head.

“I think this would be a good time for the Four Questions,” Elsa suggested.

“And then do we eat?” Ryder asked.

“Not exactly,” Kristoff admitted.

To be fair, there wasn’t a rule that said they had to do the Seder. Or any part of the Seder for that matter. They could have already started eating. Elsa wouldn’t have objected to that. After the shifts she had, being able to just eat and enjoy her time off would have been nice.

But it was more than that. It was a reason to spend time with Anna and Kristoff. Growing up, everything was about the mainstream Christian holidays. Even now that was all the focus ever was at work from the decorations to the announcements to the seasonal aisle to the expected comments. ‘I can’t believe you’re open today,’ customers would say as they shop on Easter Sunday, ‘you should be at home with your family.’ But it wasn’t Easter that Elsa acknowledged anymore. It was Passover. Her Jewish side, that side that she had discovered a while ago, was the side she wanted to celebrate.

Maybe it was kindred in a way; a feeling of not belonging.

Maybe it was symbolic; a celebration of perseverance and survival.

Or maybe it was about community; coming together with the people that mattered.

It offered her a way to relate to her queer identity in a way she never had before. And while it could never bring her full comfort or erase the pain of the past, it reminded her that she could spend the day with her biggest advocate of all. And that was Anna.

Though she was more than happy Maren had taken Anna’s offer to join as well.

“Ok, Four Questions,” Anna turned to the page, “‘Why is this night different from all other nights? On all other nights we eat either bread or matza; on this night, why only matza? On all other nights we eat herbs or vegetables of any kind; on this night why bitter herbs? On all other nights we do not dip even once; on this night why do we dip twice? On all other nights we eat our meals in any manner; on this night why do we sit around the table together in a reclining position?’”

Kristoff responded with the next passage, “‘We were slaves to Pharaoh in Egypt, and God brought us out with a strong hand and an outstretched arm. And if God had not brought our ancestors out of Egypt, we and our children and our children’s children would still be subjected to Pharaoh in Egypt. Even if we were old and wise and learned in Torah, we would still be commanded to tell the story of Exodus from Egypt. And the more we talk about the Exodus from Egypt, the more praiseworthy we are.’”

“I still don’t get it,” Ryder shook his head. “What’s it mean? And why do you have to go through all this before being allowed to eat?”

“Not every night. And we don’t have to read the Haggadah in its entirety. But we still have to acknowledge where we came from and why Passover is so important,” Elsa explained. She flipped through a few pages of the Haggadah and paraphrased the story for Ryder. “The Jews were slaves to the Pharaoh in Egypt, and God chose Moses to lead them to freedom. When he demanded the Pharaoh let them go and he refused, God sent the Ten Plagues. Blood, Frogs, Vermin, Beasts, Cattle Disease, Boils, Hail, Locusts, Darkness, and Slaying of the First-Born.” From the corner of her eye, she saw Kristoff dip his finger in his glass of wine and dab it onto his plate for each plague. “After the final plague, the Pharaoh let the Jews go but they left in such a hurry that their dough didn’t have time to rise. The Pharaoh went back on his word and went after them, but they escaped through the parting of the Red Sea and the Egyptian army was drowned.”

“This is probably where we should sing Dayenu, but we kinda only know the chorus,” Anna admitted. “It’s about the gifts and the miracles that we were given.”

“It’s also why we have the symbols in the middle of the table,” Kristoff added. He pointed to each plate; to the right of the matza was a bone and to the left were the bitter herbs. “The Pesach for the tenth plague; the matza for the unleavened bread; and the herbs for bitter pain and suffering.”

Ryder nervously rubbed the back of his head. “Well…that kind of makes me feel like a doof now.”

“Maybe because you are one,” Maren commented.

“And on that note, how about we just eat?” Elsa offered.

“Fine, but I’m blessing the matza tomorrow,” Kristoff agreed.

“Elsa, can I visit you at work tomorrow for reasons not related to Kristoff’s matza obsession?” Anna asked.

“When am I not at work for you to visit?” she rolled her eyes. “Pass the turkey, please.”

“Uh, all the time,” Anna groaned. “I’m surprised you haven’t moved in yet.”

“That’s what I tell her,” Maren chuckled.

“I wouldn’t argue,” Ryder joked.

“You wish,” Maren stuck her tongue out.

“Can I have some herbs for my pizza?” Kristoff asked.

Anna grabbed the plate for Kristoff. “And then can I have my sister back?”

“This is the last week. I promise,” Elsa said.

“Another double?” Maren asked, sipping her soup.

Elsa nodded. “Oaken hired a replacement for Ratcliffe. They’re starting this week, so he’d like Cogsworth and I to become acquainted with them. There’s still the matter of the other manager, but I think he’s down to the final two.”

“So what does this mean now?” Kristoff wondered before taking a bit of his pizza.

“Oaken has been wanting to make some changes for a while. I think these new hires are part of some plan he has,” Elsa said.

“And neither of them can be as bad as Ratcliffe,” Maren added.

“You say that now,” Ryder muttered before stuffing his face.

“I hate to admit it,” Kristoff agreed, which earned a ‘hey!’ from Ryder, “but he’s got a point. You always know who you’re losing. You never know who you’re getting.”

“I’m not worried,” Maren smirked as she poked her food. “We’ve got the Queen of Retail on our side.”

Heh.

That never got old.

But there was something endearing about it coming from Maren.

“Yeah, well, you’re still my sister. I had you first,” Anna pointed out.

“What about me? Didn’t you have me, too? I’d really like some recognition and appreciation, too.”

Sven put his head on Anna’s lap and began wining, which prompted Kristoff to speak for him.

“Aw, of course you have me, too Sven,” Anna smiled as she rubbed his head.

The puppy responded by jumping on his hind legs and eagerly licking her face.

“Oh boy oh boy I’m so happy that my mommy loves me! That means she can take me for a walk!”

“Wait, what?” Anna blinked, gently prompting Sven down. “No. I took him last night. It’s your turn.”

“I took him this morning. And that was right before I started making all this food.”

“But I fed him lunch.”

“And I set up his dinner.”

“What? No you didn’t.”

“Every other night I do.”

“Ok but I can’t take him tomorrow, I have parental zoom calls.”

“Those aren’t even things anymore.”

“Yes they are, I told you all about them yesterday.”

“When was this?”

“While you were singing about puppies being better than people.”

“Because they are.”

“It doesn’t mean you go singing about puppies being better than people in front of a people.”

“I’ll take him.”

Elsa interrupted the banter between the couple and rose from her seat, making her way towards the coat rack to grab Sven’s leash.

“What? No, Elsa you’re our guest,” Anna protested.

“That’s a huge step down from sister,” Elsa mused.

Anna shook her head. “What I mean is, you were at work all day and then came here. You should be relaxing.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand this word. You must be speaking Swedish,” Elsa teased.

“Sassypants strikes again,” Kristoff boasted.

“Same path around the block?” Elsa inquired, hooking Sven’s leash to his collar while the puppy wagged his tail eagerly.

“Try the park across the street,” Kristoff suggested. “It should be pretty empty right about now. He can run around a little.”

“I’d really feel better if you stayed here,” Anna commented.

“What if someone went with her?” Maren asked, standing from her seat.

Now that was tempting.

“That depends. Are you offering?” Elsa responded coyly.

Maren shrugged. “If you’d like the company.”

“It’s so they can kiss,” Ryder whispered loudly.

Elsa felt her face heat up. That had not been…that wasn’t…she didn’t….

Fortunately, Maren reacted much quicker. “Ryder, can I borrow your hat?” Without waiting for him to answer, she pulled it off his head and tossed it behind her. It fluttered over the table and tumbled onto Kristoff’s plate, covering his pizza.

“Really?” Kristoff deadpanned. “You had to involve my matza pizza?”

Maren slipped on her shoes and grabbed her sweat jacket before opening the door for Elsa. “After you.”

Elsa wouldn’t have been able to respond if she wanted to, because Sven pulled out straight out the door and right towards where Kristoff had directed them to go. Sven sniffed a couple of the lampposts on the way and took a bit too long inspecting the tree by the crosswalk.

“Come on, Sven,” Maren encouraged him once the light turned. “Let’s go to the park.”

Sven perked his head up before catching on and led the two across the street. It was a small park, nothing more than a path or two, a couple of benches, and a gazebo in the clearing. Elsa allowed Sven to lead them down the path, sniffing along the way for a place to do his business. He became distracted, however, when he saw a squirrel run by. He began barking, though didn’t quite chase after it. He did pull, attempting to drag Elsa closer to the creature even as it ran up a tree.

“Sven, down boy,” Elsa tried.

“Sven,” Maren whistled. “How about some fetch?”

That garnered Sven’s attention. He trotted in the opposite direction towards Maren. She held up the stick out of his reach while Elsa undid his leash.

“Don’t go too far, ok?” Elsa told him.

Maren tossed the stick and Sven chased after it.

There was a lull as Sven’s panting disappeared into the nearby trees.

“Hey, um…sorry about Ryder back there,” Maren apologized. “You know, for…being Ryder.”

“It’s fine,” Elsa shook her head. “Anna’s done her fair share of teasing.”

“Not that…. Well, yes, that,” Maren replied. “But during the Seder he was kind of…being a dick.”

“He just wanted to eat,” Elsa brushed it off. She sat on the bench nearby and rolled up Sven’s leash, setting it beside her. Sven trotted back to her in the meantime with the stick in his mouth. Elsa held her hand to take it only to have Sven jerk back with a low growl. “I can’t throw it if you don’t give it to me,” she deadpanned.

“It still didn’t give him the right,” Maren continued. She grabbed the stick from Sven when he wasn’t paying attention, confusing the dog. She sat next to Elsa and waved the stick back and forth, hypnotizing Sven into sitting and waiting for her to throw it. “Tonight was a big deal. You have this important event to acknowledge and have this whole process to honor it and he kind of just shit all over it.”

“I wouldn’t go that far. We’re not obligated to do a Seder every night, although it is respectful to do something,” Elsa said. “Even so, we never follow one all the way through. We still recognize and read about Passover in the Haggadah. And if we didn’t, I think I would still rather explain that over anything else.”

“Meaning?”

Pause.

“I think you know.”

Passover was facts. Passover was tradition. Passover was a celebration. That was easy. This was how the story went; this was how everything unfolded; this is what everything signifies; this is why everything was done. It was a part of who Elsa was, a part of her family that she chose to accept and honor. A part of her that she felt comfortable with.

Elsa was complicated. She was a lesbian, so she preferred women. But she was also asexual, which meant she never wanted to do anything with women. Except with the term asexual came more questions and confusion. There was the general definition; there were all the labels that came under it and what they each meant; and there was what it meant for Elsa. With the latter came explaining her relationship. What did it look like? What did she and Maren do? How could they even have a relationship without…well, that? And none of that was anyone’s business. For so long she had to question herself. Asking how she could want something so much and yet not at all. Now that she had the answer to that it came down to defending herself. How could she do that when sometimes it still didn’t feel right? Because she just couldn’t give enough? Or that she wasn’t enough?

“I haven’t told him,” Maren admitted.

“Ruh?”

Sven’s grunt reminded Maren that she was still holding the stick. She tossed it forward and Sven wasted no time running after it.

“Ryder can think whatever he wants. It’s annoying but…. That’s not my place,” she finished.

That did help, Elsa supposed.

It was her identity. She was the only one who had a say in who knew. Maren could say none of it made a difference to her. But she was never willing to overstep that boundary. She kept things between her and Elsa just as she promised.

“I’m sorry we disrespected you guys tonight,” Maren finished.

“You did not,” Elsa promised. She turned to face her girlfriend. “You’ve been understanding and patient…you bought dessert…Anna said you made a cake….”

“Tried to make a cake,” she corrected. “It’s not exactly a looker….”

“I’m sure it’s delicious,” Elsa said.

A tap to her knee. Oh, Sven was back. At least he was handing her the stick this time. Elsa pretended to throw it to her left only to toss it in the other direction as soon as Sven’s back was turned. When he heard the plop of the stick, he ran in the original direction only to backtrack and circle around the bench before running towards the stick.

“I just really wanted to impress you tonight,” Maren confessed. “You’ve been working your ass off, it’s your first night off and it’s for this major holiday…. I wanted to do this for you.”

“You’ve done more than enough.”

It wasn’t even just tonight, it was….

Everything.

She just wished she knew how to properly convey that to Maren.

There were no words nor one strong enough action.

All Elsa could do was inch her hand closer to Maren’s. She didn’t particularly crave the closeness but…she had to know somehow. If this was the way….

Elsa’s pointer crawled over Maren’s hand. Maren tilted her hand, thumb brushing against Elsa’s finger. She repeated the motion a couple of times, allowing Elsa the chance to pull back if she desired. When she didn’t, Maren lightly took the edges of Elsa’s fingers. Elsa’s hand relaxed and steadily sunk into Maren’s hold. Once they sat in her lap completely, Maren kept her hold light on Elsa and caressed her fingers with her thumb.

“What else do you do for the Seder?” Maren wondered.

“There’s a few handwashing rituals and blessings. There’s at least four for the wine,” Elsa said.

“I think I like that one,” she chuckled.

Elsa playfully rolled her eyes. “I think, most of all, it’s about knowing where we came from. And that, as much as we have to be thankful for now, it took a lot of pain and suffering to get there. At the end of the Seder, we’re supposed to ask for peace. But if we don’t acknowledge the past then we won’t have that future.”

“It’s kind of like that section you read. The more you talk about it, the more proud of yourself you are,” Maren said. “You’re saying, ‘this is where I came from. These are my people. This is who I am.’”

“I suppose that’s one way to look at it,” Elsa mused.

“Do you ever think like that?” Maren asked.

Elsa pulled in her lips. That was a difficult question. She could talk about how she found comfort in her Jewish identity. For so long Elsa believed that people would think less of her or, worse, want to get rid of her, because she was queer. In some places, that may have been very true. But there was such a rich history behind Judaism, one that people tried time and time again to wipe out. Yet they never succeeded. The Jews survived. On the one hand, she had this side of her that overcame so much and was still there because of the sacrifices of the people that came before her. But on the other hand, there were still people that despised her. If not for one thing, then another. Her own father couldn’t even accept her.

Maybe that was why Elsa tried to embrace her Jewish heritage. Why she wanted to explore and celebrate something that had otherwise been disregarded. It did not have to be as obvious as the parallels to her queerness. It could have been as simple as saying ‘fuck you’ to Agnarr.

“I’m not sure I’ve ever been proud of myself,” Elsa admitted.

Thwap.

Sven pressed the stick to Elsa’s leg, begging for her to take it again. Shaking her head, Elsa tugged the stick from Sven’s mouth and swung it back and forth momentarily before throwing it behind her.

Maren squeezed Elsa’s hand. “Can I be proud enough for the both of us?”

How tempting it must have been to fight that. Maren was outspoken and unafraid to hide any part of herself. Not once had she ever questioned anything about Elsa, even now. She could have argued. She could have mentioned how much time Elsa spent at the store; how much she’d done for her coworkers and how much she cared about them. She could have talked about Bruni and the lengths Elsa went for him. She could have said exactly what being asexual meant for Elsa; how she had her own way of caring. Then Maren would probably go into Elsa’s artistic ability and say how much that meant to her because she knew Elsa would only put that kind of time into making something for someone she truly cared about. Instead, she asked that.

“Maren, I….”

She looked down at their hands. She felt herself melting into the warmth of the hold, unable to help but squeeze back.

“I love that you came tonight.”

“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” she promised. “And I love learning everything.”

She’d been more than receptive, hadn’t she? She even wanted a longer Seder for the fuller experience.

“Well, I hope that when it’s your holiday I can return the favor.”

Maren chuckled faintly. “I don’t think so.” She quickly shook her head. “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“What is it then?” Elsa raised an eyebrow.

“It’s just….” She noticed Sven came back, sitting in front of them and wagging his tail. Maren arched forward, attempting to grab the stick. Sven jerked back, sticking his butt up in the air. Shrugging her shoulders, Maren leaned back on the bench. “There’s not really much to tell.”

That didn’t make any sense. With how easily Maren opened about herself, how could this be one thing she kept sealed so tight?

“I’m not sure I understand.”

Sven booped the stick against Maren once again. He did it a couple of times while Maren remained exactly as she was. “It’s just not anything I really want a part of. I gave it up a long time ago.”

Elsa didn’t want to ask too many questions. It wasn’t her place to pry. But when Maren was taking such an interest in her religion it felt wrong that Elsa couldn’t return the favor. Maren hadn’t mentioned much about it before; only that it was spiritual and she was Indigenous. Those were pretty broad terms.

“One question,” Elsa treaded cautiously, “did something happen?”

She did not need to give an explanation. She didn’t even need to say anything beyond yes or no. But if this was one of the things that bothered Maren…if it was anything like her ex had been…the last thing Elsa wanted to do was force Maren to relive any of it.

Maren pulled the stick from Sven’s mouth, which caught the puppy off guard. He tilted his head and then lifted his paw only to set it back down.

“My mom left.”

She threw the stick.

Oh….

“It was a pretty big deal to her. So after….”

“You don’t have to talk about it.”

“It’s ok. You asked.”

“I didn’t mean to make you…”

“You’re not.”

A squeeze of the hand.

Pause.

Maren furrowed her brows and pulled in her lips. Her eyes slinked in Sven’s direction, who was busy digging the stick out of a bush.

“That’s why it meant so much to be here tonight,” Maren finally spoke. “I wanted to have something to look forward to. Something to celebrate. I don’t…. I don’t really do that anymore. What I do…. That’s all out of respect for Yelena. But it’s not something I’m proud of or something I want to do like you. It’s just another tie to her. And I don’t want that.”

Suddenly everything made sense. Elsa had only hoped that one day she could show the same enthusiasm for Maren’s life that Maren had been for Elsa. She may have only been able to give so much in their relationship but if there was anything else she could do…. She wanted to show Maren in every other way how much she cared. That she wanted to try, too.

But in a way, Elsa could relate. The holidays had always been such a big deal for her family growing up and now…. Well, sometimes they could be a sore spot. Christmas, especially. It was a reminder of how much they missed out on. But as much as Elsa missed those things with them…how much she missed the way things were…sometimes she didn’t particularly want those ties to them, either. Her relationship with them, especially towards the end, was complicated at best and strained at worst. That was one of the reasons it was so easy to throw herself into her Jewish side. Those ties didn’t exist there. She could focus on what she wanted to. And the people she wanted. Without any pain or guilt.

It was Elsa’s turn to squeeze her hand. “Are you going to be ok?”

Maren didn’t seem to give it a second thought. “I am. I’m doing Passover with you.” She lifted their hands, fiddling lightly with the edges of Elsa’s fingers. “I know this is gonna sound corny but…. I just wanna make new memories.”

In so few words, Maren revealed much to Elsa.

Maren spoke highly of her family. About Ryder and Yelena and how much they meant to her. But she mentioned in the past that she lost her parents young; the passing of her father hit everyone hard. Worst of all, her mother. Leaving could mean multiple things; but for all the love and respect Maren had for her family, that was the one dark cloud that hovered.

At the end of the day, Maren didn’t want to dwell on that. She wanted the same thing Elsa did. That was why Elsa started observing the Jewish holidays with Anna.

To make new memories.

Pause.

Oh….

Make new memories.

And Maren wanted that….

With Elsa.

Elsa felt a blush rise to her cheeks as she connected the dots. When she finally did, she realized Maren was moving their hands closer to her lips. She stopped just short of them, allowing Elsa the chance to pull back if it was too much. Elsa loosened one of her fingers, pulling it out to push against Maren’s lips. Except it wasn’t to pull away.

This night might have meant something to Maren.

But Maren meant so much more to Elsa.

She wanted her to know that.

“How’s this for a memory?”

Then she lowered her hand, leaned in to close the space, and kissed her.

Chapter Text

Closing at self scan was both a blessing and a curse.

On the one hand most nights it could get slow and boring quickly. One hour before closing could feel like three. It was difficult to find ways to keep busy that didn’t involve a phone. Sometimes it was nice to have such an easy shift, getting paid to primarily stand around and put in little effort. Especially after what felt like the end of the world, it could be a very welcome change of pace. Other times it would be nice to not look at the clock every five minutes and wonder why it was going so damn slow.

On the other hand, self scan could be a pain in the ass. Aside from the typical reasons – constantly being pulled to two machines at once, having to do things for customers despite it being called self scan, constant comments like “I’m using self scan so I guess I work here now, do I get a discount?” just to name a few – being the only machines open made everything worse. Not only did it mean dealing with the complaints and people who didn’t know how to use self scan let alone who didn’t want to learn, it also meant there was no backup. If Maren was at self scan and Nani or Elsa was in the cash office? She’d either have to deal with the situation alone or tell the customer to wait for the manager. If something wasn’t ringing up the correct price, there was no one else in the store to check it. If there was an issue with one of the machines right when a line of people decided to materialize from out of nowhere, they were all screwed. To add insult to injury, closing at self scan meant not being able to leave until the last customer was finished paying, bagging, and exited the store. If they didn’t get to the checkout until ten, Maren sure as hell wasn’t getting out on time.

In case it wasn’t obvious, this night was leaning towards the latter.

Sure, there were plenty of slow moments in the mix. On a weeknight, especially at eight- or nine-something at night most people were too tired from working their ‘normal’ and ‘real’ nine to five jobs to want to do their full shopping trip. A few expected issues in between like one register needing a reboot after it froze was natural.

But when it got bad at self scan, it got bad.

Shortly after clocking in and starting her shift, there was a customer who was questioning the price of the sugar. It was a large bag that was supposed to be on sale for $2.99. Maren immediately doubted, knowing full well that the largest pack of sugar would never be that cheap; the smallest bag would make much more sense for that price. She asked if she should void it off, to which the customer said not to worry about it. She paid for everything, sugar included, only to leave it behind.

Another customer wanted to just buy a gift card but didn’t want to wait on the lines and Nani had been busy helping someone at customer service. Maren acquiesced and agreed to ring them up on the spare register, despite not being comfortable with her back turned to the machines. She attempted to put the gift card through for $500 as the customer requested, but as soon as they attempted their Apple Pay the register froze completely. Not only was that customer annoyed they had to end up waiting anyway, but it also meant she couldn’t use that machine’s gun to ring heavy items at any of the self scans even if she wanted to. There were several customers with multiple packs of soda or 35-packs of water that were pissed.

There were customers who cut through the lines at self scan just to ask Maren where something was. The answers were either obvious – did no one read the signs above the aisles? It very clearly said Bread above Aisle 13 – or not good enough. Maren could tell them exactly where the item in question was, the Oreos for instance, and the customer would argue that the specific flavor they were looking for wasn’t there. What part of ‘if it’s not on the shelf it’s not in stock’ was not understandable? Displeased with Maren’s response, they’d head to a different coworker and ask them the exact same thing.

Of course no shift would be complete without multiple people questioning the prices. Asking when the sale for the potato chips would come off – it was at the end if they just hit the green button at the bottom of the screen. Questioning why their order was so expensive – when they were buying meat, cold cuts, spices, and anything with a bottle deposit. Another demanding to be given the two for five sale on the 24-pack of Poland Spring…when the sale price was for the 6-pack.

And the number of customers that bypassed the paper bag question completely and took however many bags they wanted. Maren was certain she saw one customer double bagging everything and only paid for one bag.

She should start putting a penny in a jar for every time customers refused to pay for paper bags.

The nail in the coffin came in the last fifteen minutes. It wasn’t necessarily bad for Maren; at least the gentleman asked if he could pay with his OTC card at self scan. Maren was unable to guarantee that, as the machines could be hit or miss with such cards. Despite having taken in the tills from the other registers for the night, Nani had to put one of them back in Ella’s register and it was on her to ring the order. What was only supposed to be maybe five minutes on register turned into at least ten, since someone with a large order decided to hop on right behind him. As a result, Nani became too preoccupied with the customers to make the closing announcements. She had done the half hour mark but was unable to do anything beyond that. Ella returned shortly after that, having already started her break and opting to grab some cheese for her mice.

“Did you happen to see anyone else in your travels?” Maren asked.

Ella finished bagging her items and shook her head. “Just a family of three. I think they were near the cookies.”

Maren glanced at the other machines, where a pair of customers just arrived to scan their orders. “We close in less than ten minutes and there hasn’t been an announcement. I really hope that’s it,” Maren thought aloud. She turned her attention back to Ella, “I know you’re on your break but is there any way I can bug you to watch here for two minutes while I do the tour?”

“You should stay here in case they need help,” Ella replied. “I don’t mind doing the tour. It’s no trouble at all.”

“Ok. Let me just make an announcement so they’re not thrown off when you remind them,” Maren agreed. She stepped towards the service desk and picked up the phone, her voice echoing through the loudspeaker. “Attention customers, the time is now….” She paused to look at her watch, “Nine fifty-four. We are closing in six minutes. Please make your way to self scan. We close in six minutes.” She hung up the phone and gave Ella a nod, who took that as her cue to travel around the store.

“Please wait, help is on the way.”

Damn self scan, Maren thought. It really couldn’t have been a smooth end of the night, could it?

Oh, thank god it was just a bag of grapes.

“The bar code on the bag doesn’t scan,” she explained while swiping her card. “You can use Product Lookup and search for the item or you can type in the four digits on the bag.”

“Where’s that?” the lady asked.

Maren tilted the bag to see where the code was hiding, only for self scan to read the bar code once again.

“Please wait, help is on the way.”

“I know,” Maren groaned. Rolling her eyes, she scanned her card once more before lifting the bag and turning it a couple of times before she found the small numbers in a purple circle at one of the corners. “There it is. 4023. Just type that in where it says Enter Item Number and let it weigh before you send it down.”

The customer thanked her and Maren returned to her post. She glanced in both directions, keeping an eye out for Ella as well as the remaining customers. Damn it, there was another one by the bread aisle. She was about to step forward and inform him they were about to close, but thankfully he found what he was looking for quickly and approached the machines. Sighing with relief, Maren noticed Ella returning from the corner of her eye. She only stopped to turn around, likely to lock the door before returning to Maren.

“I told them they have three minutes. They just wanted to know where the creamer and milk were,” she explained.

Maren tried to hide her disappointment. “I was kinda hoping you’d send them over.”

“I think that was all they were looking for. They should be right up,” Ella said.

She was apologetic in her statement, but more than anything she was trying to remain positive. After all, Ella never minded if she had to stick around late for any given reason. With how much time she spent at both the store and the hotel, working non-stop seemed to be in her blood. Though, even being around so many people, Ella was never one to be confrontational. Her warmhearted nature made it very difficult to be annoyed with her.

“Finally!” Nani groaned. She made her way towards the spare register with one till on her. “Maren I’m taking your money and going to the cash office. I’ll bring out a fresh till after I count, just make the closing announcement. Anyone else in this dump?”

“Just the three we’re waiting on in Dairy,” Maren answered.

“Then tell them to get their asses here pronto so we can blow this joint,” Nani said.

“Got it,” she nodded. “Ella, make the closing announcement while I bring them over. Just hit the bottom button on the phone.”

“And don’t be afraid to really give it to them,” Nani added as she walked away. “If you have to threaten to release the dogs, do it.”

“Isn’t that a bit excessive?” she inquired.

“It’s Nani we’re talking about,” Maren said. “She could’ve told you to say we’ll be hunting them for sport.”

Though that didn’t sound like a bad idea at this point.

Once the final customer bid them good-night, Maren made her way towards the Dairy department in the back of the store. She could hear Ella’s demure voice through the sound system, just loud enough to make out the announcement.

“Attention customers, the store is now closed. Please bring your purchases to self scan. We open our regular time tomorrow morning. The time is now ten and we are closed. Thank you for shopping at Oaken’s.”

Now where the hell were these customers? Maren looked back and forth but didn’t spot anyone. Ella said they had come from the cookie aisle and were heading down Dairy…they must have been making their way to the other side of the store. She headed past Aisle 13, glanced down HBC in Aisle 14, bringing her to the final aisle that was Frozen…. Bingo. Adjusting her mask, she approached the small family.

“Store’s closed, guys. You gotta go to self scan now,” she told them.

“We can’t go yet, I’m looking for the bread,” the lady argued.

Maren narrowed her gaze. “Bread is in Aisle 13.”

“The frozen bread!” she corrected.

“It has to wait another time. We’re closed now,” Maren repeated.

“Don’t tell me what to do, we’re just trying to shop,” she snapped.

“And I need to close the self scans. Now,” Maren stood her ground.

“We’ll get them another time,” the older gentleman promised while he attempted to handle their fidgety child. Who even shopped with a kid this late? “Let’s go, dear.”

“Well, we’re certainly not coming back here,” she huffed, reluctantly following.

Fine by me, Maren thought. She began walking ahead of them to let Ella and Nani know, only to be stopped by the gentleman’s voice.

“Now which register is open?”

Did they not hear her say self scan?

“Only self scan. No registers this late,” she replied.

“What kind of store is this? No registers?” the lady demanded.

“We closed the last register at nine,” Maren explained.

“We don’t use self scan. We use actual cashiers,” she huffed.

If there was any hope of getting out, that went out the window. With how much stuff they somehow piled into their wagon in ten minutes, Maren would be lucky if she could clock out by ten-fifteen.

“I’ll ring it up for you at self scan,” she gave in.

“We have coupons,” the man piped, “can we use those?”

“Yes, you can use coupons,” Maren sighed.

“And gift cards?”

“You can pay with gift cards, yes.”

She arrived at self scan first, where Nani was putting the till for the morning in with Ella was patiently waiting beside her. “Nani, I gotta ring them at self scan.”

Nani scoffed. “They can’t do it themselves?”

“They don’t know how to use self scan,” Maren sighed.

“Son of a….” Nani slammed the drawer shut. “I’ll take care of those lōlōs. Get the hell outta here.”

“Are you sure about that?” Maren asked.

“No, but if you know what’s good for you you’ll get a move on before I change my mind,” she answered.

That sounded about right.

Maren and Ella clocked out, reluctantly leaving Nani behind. While Maren did feel partially guilty for doing so, she was more than happy to be done for the night. She felt such relief being in her car literally locked away from people.

That is, except for the contacts in her phone.

There were still some people she wanted to be around.

No wonder you hate people so much

She sent the message and leaned back in her seat. Moments later her phone vibrated with a response from Elsa.

I prefer the term people-averse.

Sure she did.

Same difference

Dots.

You must be exhausted.

Maren wouldn’t go so far as to say that yet. Though she was sure when she got home, she would either feel the exhaustion fully hit her or she’d find her second wind and stay up for at least three hours binging on She-Ra or Avatar the Last Airbender. Again.

What makes you say that?

Typing.

Your lack of emojis.

Maren wrinkled her nose. There was no way she….

Then again, maybe she did.

The further up she scrolled, the more emojis she found.

Huh.

There was only one way to respond to that.

🤣😛😈👀🏳️‍🌈🍰🥊🐱😉

She was totally expecting a mischievous ‘I hate you’ text.

Elsa was surprisingly a bit of a tease.

The dots indicating her response lasted much longer than Maren anticipated.

You thought Nani was joking when she told you to watch self scan and you proceeded to tease her which she was not thrilled with and resulted in the retail dictator card, someone noticed your not-so-subtle pride pins, you saw a customer buying multiple cake mixes and tried and failed to convince them to sneak you out with them so you could help them by licking the bowl, and you wanted to punch multiple customers but felt better when you saw someone with a cat despite the fact that animals are prohibited from the store so you struck a conversation with them which may or may not have involved a certain cat you know that should be the supreme overlord so when Nani confronted you on the matter you played innocent in stating you were only providing excellent customer service by politely conversing?

She got all of that from a random sequence of emojis?

Its like you were there 😝

Though Elsa’s version was better than the reality.

Rough night?

Amazing i even got out on time. I hate self scan

Pause.

And people

Another pause.

And self scan

You said self scan twice.

Thats how much i hate it 🔥

You sound just like Nani.

I hate you 😉

If only she knew how untrue that was.

How tempting it was to say otherwise.

Sometimes these messages outweighed everything else.

The little things from Elsa were all that really mattered.

Got any plans before work tomorrow?

Dots.

I might be confined to the couch until then.

Maren chuckled.

Kings orders?

Bruni says hello.

Youre gonna need someone to bring you lunch 😇

What did you have in mind?

Ladys choice

The dots disappeared as quickly as they came. She didn’t think that would be the comment that’d throw Elsa off. Was she trying to figure out how to decline? Try to convince Maren that she didn’t have to? Or was she, for once, considering the offer and debating on what to have?

You don’t have to.

She could practically hear Elsa sighing on the other end.

Even with the simplest things it seemed like Elsa would always give Maren an out.

As if, sooner or later, she expected her to take one.

But that couldn’t have been further from the case.

When would she finally allow herself to accept it?

Hell, Maren would spend all night in her car if it meant texting Elsa.

When she said she’d take every little thing, she meant every little thing.

Because every little thing from Elsa was not without intention.

They meant something.

So they meant something to Maren.

I want to

Her fingers hovered over the keypad.

I love you

Except she couldn’t say that.

As soon as she typed it, she deleted it.

So she settled for the next best thing.

💜

Even if it wasn’t the same; even if Elsa didn’t know; it was just enough to emphasize her statement.

That she wanted to.

That she wanted her.

The response didn’t come as quickly that time. There wasn’t even a brief indication of dots to show that Elsa had been considering what to say. Maren almost wondered if she should just start driving. That maybe she’d see a text by the time she got home. Except she couldn’t bring herself to do that. She wanted to reply as soon as she saw the text. So Elsa would know she was still there.

She was unsure how much time passed. Maybe it was five minutes or maybe it was fifteen.

When she finally saw the notification, it came with equal parts relief and understanding.

I want you to, too.

It may as well have been a silent confession, yet it spoke volumes.

How much effort did it take to say that?

Elsa admitted her first instinct was to run.

How hard was she fighting that urge right now?

Or worse, a panic attack?

Because she was also waiting for Maren to run?

She wouldn’t go so far as to say one text confirmed her suspicions.

But she was sure as hell going to do whatever she could to help Elsa get out of her head.

Im here. Im coming

She wasn’t going to go so far as to invite herself over or even inside. If that meant parking her car around the corner and staying there until Elsa said otherwise, if she wanted or needed someone there physically then Maren would be there.

As soon as she backed out of her parking spot and waited at the red light to turn out of the lot, she dialed Elsa.

She wasn’t going to let her fight this alone anymore.

“Hi Angel.”

Chapter Text

“Here are your forms. And what did you say you needed a raincheck for?”

“The Campbell soups. I’d get them for myself right now but…”

“House orders come first. I understand. Give me two minutes and I’ll bring the raincheck to the register for you.”

The customer nodded and returned to Snow on register five, who had just finished ringing the grocery items and still had an order of non-edibles for the customer. Elsa, in the meantime, flipped through the flyer to double check the sale for the week and proceeded to write out the desired raincheck. She leaned over the desk to garner Nani’s attention at self scan.

“Nani, which register did you say needed singles?”

“Eight. And seven is gonna need tens soon.”

“I’ll be right there. If you see anyone approach the desk, tell them to give me five minutes please.”

Elsa made her way into the cash office to retrieve the money. She set the raincheck to the side while she unlocked the drawer, separating the necessary bills into a container for each machine. After double checking her count, she made sure everything was locked and then grabbed the containers and raincheck. Almost as soon as she left the cash office she nearly came face-to-face with a customer.

“Hello, again,” he greeted.

Did she know him?

“I’ll be right with you,” she answered. As she passed register six, she heard Snow pipe her name. The blonde nodded knowingly. “Give me one minute please, Snow? I have to take care of self scan first.”

Despite her being closer to register five and an override would take much quicker, any money on her person took priority.

Unfortunately that was not always the easiest task. Register eight was accepting the money just fine, allowing the next customer to use it without a problem. Register seven was proving to be more difficult. It wasn’t letting her put the bills in at all. And, as soon as Elsa closed the machine, it began excessively beeping and saying quickly, “please wait, help is on the way” in a faster tone than usual. The machine was silenced once Elsa scanned her manager card, allowing her to access the cash maintenance option. Immediately it was showing an issue with the bill dispenser. No wonder it was having problems with the money. However now was not the time to fiddle with it. She disabled the cash option and returned to Nani.

“So what’s the verdict, Doc? We have to pull the plug, don’t we?” Nani joked.

“You wish,” Elsa clicked her tongue. “For now, if you could just put up a sign that says no cash and no cash back on seven.”

Nani rolled her eyes. “As if anyone even reads those.”

Accurate.

Though it would be unprofessional for Elsa to agree with her.

Out loud.

“See how it is in an hour,” Elsa suggested.

Nani groaned. “Fine, but the first customer that wants money back, I’m shutting it down.”

“With or without a baseball bat?”

“I’d prefer a chain saw.”

“That would be against company policy.”

“Baseball bat it is.”

But….

Never mind.

Shaking her head, Elsa returned to Snow. She removed the key from her pocket and turned it in the keyhole. It was a minor but necessary annoyance when a tax exempt order exceeded a certain amount. While the register printed out the receipt, Elsa handed the raincheck to the customer.

“Thank you for your patience.”

“You’re on top of everything today, Elsa,” Snow complimented.

“You make it easy for me,” Elsa smiled behind her mask.

“Aw, even me?” Nani teased from self scan.

Elsa pursed her lips in thought. “Sometimes you, Nani.”

“Guess I’m not doing my job enough,” she toyed.

“Then why are you appointed the queen of self scan?” Elsa inquired coolly.

She could feel Nani’s gaze piercing through her spine. “I hate you.”

“I think she loves you,” Snow giggled.

Shaking her head, Elsa gave Snow a gentle nudge before she returned to the desk. “Sorry for the wait,” she addressed the customer.

“I don’t mind at all,” he replied politely.

Elsa straightened her posture and folded her hands on the desktop. “What can I do for you?”

“I’m here to see Oaken,” he said.

Elsa blinked. A customer asking for the manager was generally not a good thing. “Is everything alright?”

“Hm?” he raised an eyebrow, followed by a light chuckle. “Oh, more than fine. I must not have made a memorable impression.”

“I’m sorry, I’m confused. Do I know you?” Elsa asked.

“I interviewed for the new manager position. I’m Hans. Hans Westergaard. It’s my first day,” he said.

So this was who Oaken ended up choosing.

He did have a charm about him which would certainly work well with the customers. In theory that could prove to be a good foil to Elsa’s Snow Queen persona when necessary. Though she was uncomfortable with it turning into the trope of good cop/bad cop. Most of all, she was still uncertain how she felt with anyone else being thrown into their dynamic. Everyone they had at the store, particularly the night crew, balanced each other out perfectly as it was. They got along. They knew what jobs they had to do and how to get shit done. They supported each other. To throw anyone else in who was unfamiliar with their group could easily throw it off.

However, Elsa had to acknowledge that Oaken was looking for someone else for a reason. Selfish as she was in her comfort with how everything was, that did not mean she should allow her insecurities to take over. At one point she had not been fully comfortable with Nani or Ella, either. She had to be open to the possibility of letting someone else in. It worked wonders with Maren; who was to say it couldn’t work again? Everyone deserved a chance.

“Congratulations. You must be excited,” she commented.

Hans chuckled faintly. “I think nervous is more like it.”

“As we all were at one point,” Elsa acknowledged. “One moment.” She picked up the phone and paged Oaken, “Oaken to customer service please. Oaken to customer service.” Once she hung up, she returned her attention to Hans. As if she had anything else to do for the moment. “Do you know if you will primarily be working mornings or evenings?”

“I’m not sure yet,” he replied.

“Well, as far as the night crew is considered we may seem small in stature, but we are diligent and thrive as a team. You will be in good hands here,” she promised.

His shoulders rose and a smile grew across his face. “Does that include you?”

When didn’t it include Elsa?

“Six nights a week,” she shrugged.

“I’d love to hear all about it.”

“You will see for yourself soon enough.”

“And if I have any questions?”

“That is what Oaken is here for.”

“What about you?”

Pause.

Technically she supposed that was why she was there as well.

“I am here until ten six nights a week.”

“Maybe I could get your number after all.”

Wait, what?

Was that supposed to rub her the wrong way?

It wasn’t until recently that Elsa had been comfortable sharing her phone number with her coworkers. Even before then, the only one she had was Nani and that was specifically for the purposes of the store. Especially considering she was Elsa’s backup. Pre-Covid, Elsa would have never considered sharing her number with anyone for personal reasons let alone for work. It just…never sat right with her. If she had to call someone in, she always did so from the desk rather than her phone. Her professional and private lives were completely different entities. The line was much more blurred now, however, and only a select few had been able to cross and make that possible. Hans had not yet earned that right.

Elsa fully straightened her posture as if it enabled her to speak with more authority and certainty.

Sort of.

“I don’t give out my number.”

“You’re right,” he realized, “that was way too forward.”

Thank you, she thought with relief.

“I should take you out first. We can talk about the job over dinner,” he said.

“Excuse me?” she raised an eyebrow.

Where did he get an idea like that?

Why would he even…?

“I meant like a date.”

Elsa took a sharp breath. Her shoulders stiffened. Her body tensed. She felt completely frozen in place save for her heart dropping. It was like a car trying to screech to a stop only to fail and crash into a window…and the window was on fire.

No.

No, no, no, no, no.

Hell. Fucking. No.

If she really were the Snow Queen, she would love to freeze him, turn him into snow, crumble that snow to the ground, and sweep it into the garbage…and maybe take a page out of Nani’s book with that chain saw.

Except that didn’t happen in the real world.

Get it together, Elsa.

“I…”

She cleared her throat, struggling to find any hint of her inner Snow Queen.

The one that actually existed.

“I’m afraid I’m spoken for.”

Hans’ face fell. “Oh…. You have a boyfriend?”

There were so many ways she could have responded.

That she should have responded.

The simple, ‘I have a girlfriend.’

The sassy, ‘I don’t think my girlfriend would like that.’

The obvious, without fully outing herself, ‘I don’t like boys.’

Or the simplest, no explanation needed, ‘No.’

If only she could have willed herself to say any of those.

Anything.

Instead, all she could focus on were the sirens going off in her head.

“Get your own work wife.”

Thank you, Nani!!

Hans lowered his brows, nearly gritting his teeth. “What?”

Nani waved her hand as if she were trying to shoo him away. “You heard me. I called dibs on Elsa ages ago. She’s mine.”

Not thank you, Nani.

Fortunately, before Hans could counter, Oaken walked up from behind. He placed his hand on Hans’ shoulder, greeted with a laugh that sounded almost like a ‘hoohooo’, and spoke in his signature thick accent with the stretching of his o’s and sound of heavy v’s compared to soft w’s. “Hans! Welcome to my store. So glad you could join us here.”

It took Hans a moment to clear his throat and fix his stance. “The pleasure is all mine.”

Almost with a flick of a switch, he sounded much calmer and back to his charming disposition. It was as if he hadn’t been fazed by the last minute at all. Or, perhaps, he had a way of concealing that was not too different from Elsa’s.

“Come, come,” Oaken encouraged. “Let’s finish the paperwork in my office. Then I walk you through everything. We get started now.”

Even with the two of them disappearing towards the other side of the store and into the back, Elsa couldn’t shake the shivers that continued to creep across her body. She struggled to recall the last time she felt so easily disturbed; let alone by someone she was meant to work with.

She only felt slightly relieved when Nani poked her nose. Elsa quickly flinched back, adjusting the nosepiece so her mask wouldn’t slide down again. Even while doing that, Nani kept minimal distance with her finger pointed centimeters away from Elsa.

“You owe me, Queenie.”

Elsa let out the breath she’d been holding in, lowering her shoulders as the support from her friend took over. “How much of that did you hear?”

“Only all of it,” Nani scoffed. “You really gonna let that ass get to you? If this is the guy we gotta work with…”

“You’re right,” Elsa conceded. “I’m sorry.”

Nani sighed and folded her arms. “Look, I got no problem backing you up. I’ll do what I gotta do. But you gotta do your part, too. You’re not the Snow Queen for nothing. Don’t be afraid to tell him off next time he pulls something.”

“Easier said than done,” Elsa murmured.

“I’ll say,” Nani clicked her tongue, “you were never this bad when Maren was flirting with you.”

Elsa blinked. She didn’t remember it like that in the beginning. “When was Maren flirting with me?”

Blink.

Blink.

Facepalm.

Followed by some muttering in Hawaiian.

Did she even want to know what Nani was saying?

“Maybe it was a little less obvious with Maren,” Snow suggested from behind her register. “She wasn’t trying to push or get in your face. He didn’t give you the space like she did.”

Elsa groaned. Snow’s comment didn’t distract Elsa the way she intended. Instead, it only brought Elsa’s mind in one direction. “You saw that, too?”

Snow shrugged her shoulders, unable to help but look but as a child caught just short of eating candy too close to dinner. “Sorry…?”

Not helping.

Elsa narrowed her gaze. She never liked her love life – or lack thereof – on display, not even with Anna. Regardless of if she knew someone was flirting with her or not, it was no one’s business. The fact that both Nani and Snow were fully aware of it probably meant the customers at their respective registers overheard as well. Even if they didn’t think anything of it, it still felt like Elsa was front and center in the worst possible way. She didn’t feel comfortable enough yet to be fully out and open with Maren, so why the hell would she want that with a man? Let alone one she didn’t know?

“Anyone in here who didn’t see?” she questioned sarcastically.

“I did,” she heard Fred call from register two.

Son of a….

Well, fuck her.

Figuratively.

Chapter Text

“Your total is $18.33. Will that be cash or card?”

“That can’t be right. The water’s supposed to be $10.88.”

Here they go again.

“It is.” Maren pointed to the screen, specifically the three lines of savings on the bottom. “Those are the sales from the water.”

“Then why is it so much? I should only be paying $10.88.”

“Bottle deposit and taxes.”

“That’s too much. Cancel it and ring them again.”

“It’s not gonna ring any different.”

“Then maybe try ringing it right this time.”

It was the age-old battle when it came to the waters, one that Maren seemed destined to lose time and time again.

This week the twenty-four packs of Poland Spring were on sale for $10.88 with the purchase of three. Individually, they rang up $6.49 each complete with the bottle deposits. As per the system, any sales involving free items or a specific number of items – in this case, three waters – came off at the end when it was totaled. Hence the savings of $2.82 that came up three times at the bottom of the screen. Add on the bottle deposit of $1.20 each, that left the difference in taxes. Neither of which any customer could get away from. Yet, for some reason, most seemed to believe that if the sale was $10.88 for three waters, they were meant to only pay $10.88.

Maren did not have the patience for this.

Again.

“Ma’am, I can’t make taxes or deposits disappear.”

Though she’d like to make something else disappear right about now.

“So what am I supposed to do? I’m not paying more than $10.88,” she demanded.

This just got significantly easier.

“If you don’t want the waters I can cancel the transaction.”

“Then do that! I don’t have time to argue with you.”

Rolling her eyes and scoffing, the customer stormed out of the store and left the wagon of waters behind in the middle of the register lane.

The lady was barely out of sight before Maren groaned and leaned forward, burying her face in her hands and fighting the urge to hit her head on the register.

“Rough night?”

That was one word for it.

Though they obviously had seen worse.

Other times all it took was one customer.

Maren inched her head up; hearing Elsa remove the till from the register behind her. “No wonder you talk to Bruni.”

“At least I don’t talk for Bruni like Kristoff does. Or have you made a habit of it?” Elsa countered.

Maren hid a smirk behind her mask. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

She could feel Elsa’s gaze pierce through her skull. “Something you’d like to share?”

Checkmate, Maren thought mischievously. “I’m not the one who hates people.”

Pause.

The sound of the drawer closing was followed by a receipt printing, signaling Elsa had signed out of the register.

“You’re not wrong.”

No surprise.

Maren folded her arms across the scale. She saw Elsa move to the register in front of her, keeping the till perched between her arm and hip while she removed the coupons, bottle slips, and the like with her free hand. She set down the till on top of the scale and turned her back to Maren, moving the papers into the small accordion folder on top. She then lifted her hand, fingers gliding across the screen as she hit every necessary button in a matter of milliseconds. Nearly everything in the store seemed second nature to her, it was no surprise she earned the title Queen of Retail. Despite her antisocial – or rather, aversion to people, she claimed – Elsa was completely in her element when she was at work. From the most annoying of customers to the more menial tasks.

“What are you doing tonight?” Maren couldn’t help but ask.

Elsa’s faint hum was overpowered by the drawer popping open. “I was thinking of m&m’s.”

Maren grinned. “What a coincidence. I have a bag of peanut butter in my car.”

The drawer slid closed. “Is that an invitation?”

“Depends how much you still hate people,” Maren pointed out.

Elsa sat the tills on top of each other. She turned her head just enough to meet Maren’s gaze. “Not this one.”

Heh.

How lucky Maren was to be one of a select few that Elsa wanted to have around.

“Oh…” Elsa cleared her throat. Her eyes darted towards her right, then back at Maren. “Maren. The waters, please?”

Hm?

Oh, right.

“I’m on it.”

Maren pushed herself away from the register and turned off her light before walking around to grab the wagon. She drove it towards Aisle 8, where the water was located. She then lifted each pack out of the wagon and set it back on the shelf where it belonged. On her way back to parking the cart by the Crap Corner, she took notice of Oaken coming around the bend with a half-full cart. Great. The store tour, one of the most dreaded parts of the night. As if the Crap Corner wasn’t overflowing enough. But for Oaken to be in this late to do that? Let alone with someone? Who was that, anyway? Definitely not one of the overnight packers. No one who loaded and unloaded boxes of food would be dressed that nice. Furrowing her brows, Maren returned to the registers and caught Elsa taking the last of the drawers.

“Hey,” she lightly tapped her on the shoulder just enough to get her attention without causing her to take her eyes off the money. “Who’s the suit?”

Elsa briefly turned her head in the direction of the aisles, keeping an arm over the tills as a shield from any passersby. “That’s Hans,” she answered with distaste, “one of the new managers.”

Maren raised an eyebrow. “I thought we were only getting one.”

“Oaken opted for two after all,” she replied.

Didn’t she sound thrilled at the aspect.

It didn’t exactly give Maren the feeling of rainbows and gumdrops, either.

Elsa shook her head. “I’m sorry, I thought I told you.”

“I probably forgot,” she shrugged it off. “Does that mean he’s closing with us now?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted.

Maren pursed her lips. “Is there a verdict yet?”

Pause.

“Not on the clock there isn’t.”

Ouch.

That was not a welcoming response if Elsa wasn’t comfortable discussing at work.

There had to have been a story there.

Before Maren could ask, Elsa picked up the till. “I should get these into the cash office.”

Though she didn’t exactly get far, either, before Oaken caught sight of her.

“Ah, Elsa. Do you have a minute?”

Elsa glanced towards Oaken as he approached with Hans, then at the tills. “Uh…”

“I got it,” Maren offered.

Elsa nodded, no doubt smiling behind her mask. She set the tills on the empty register and, as soon as she did, Maren leaned over it. She propped her arms on both sides to act as a barrier. Though she intended to keep her eyes primarily on the money to make sure everything remained intact, she couldn’t help but occasionally glance up during the conversation.

“Are you free one day next week to come in early?” Oaken asked.

“Monday or Wednesday preferably. I have an appointment for my first vaccine on Thursday, so I requested off,” Elsa replied. “Is everything alright?”

Oaken nodded. “Quite so. I was hoping to have all the managers together. I would like for everyone to be on the same page and make the transition as simple as possible. Hans also has some ideas he would like to pitch to the group.”

“So soon? How…. Impressive.”

She sure didn’t sound impressed.

And who could blame her? Hans just started and he already thought he could offer suggestions on how to change the way things were done. What gave him the right? Just because he was hired as a manager didn’t mean he automatically had power over them…did it?

Though Hans couldn’t seem prouder of himself, arms folded behind his back and chest puffed out like had already accomplished so much. He seemed like a bit of a prick.

“Thank you,” he grinned.

Ugh, even his answer sounded stuck up.

“You remember Elsa, Hans? Ja?” Oaken inquired.

“How could I forget?” he batted his eyes as though he were trying to win her over.

Not that he was wrong. Maren had been just as swept away after her first meeting with her, if not more so.

Oaken nodded to Maren in acknowledgement. “And this is Maren. Maren, this is Hans. He will be acting as the assistant store manager once his training his complete.”

“Hello, Hans,” she greeted as politely as she could muster.

Hans raised an eyebrow. “And what is it you do around here?”

Maren held back a sneer. Did he have to ask her like that?

“Maren is a triple threat,” Elsa answered immediately. “Cashier, self scan, and throwbacks. Any job you give her, she gives it her all. She is absolutely invaluable to us.”

Thankfully Maren’s mask concealed her blush. It was still surreal to hear Elsa speak highly of her, even if she were only speaking from a professional standpoint. Maren highly doubted she did that much. Confident as she presented, Maren fought her own demons and insecurities daily. Still, she would be lying if she said she didn’t feel a little pride in showing Hans up like that. His charm was ineffective on Elsa.

“Good to know,” he nodded simply.

Yeah, nice to meet you, too, Maren thought sarcastically, not.

“How does Wednesday sound?” Oaken asked, redirecting the conversation. “We could have Nani come in early to cover the desk for the duration. I’d be willing to send her home two hours earlier in return.”

Elsa shook her head. “Nani is unavailable in the mornings. And, with all due respect, if this is a meeting between management, I believe Nani should have the opportunity to sit in as well. If she is capable of covering me then it is only fair she is kept in the loop as well.”

While Oaken rubbed his mustache, at least seeming to consider the thought, Hans was less convinced. “Wouldn’t it be easier to simply talk to her? I’d hate to throw anyone off schedule on my account.”

Something about Hans’ statement sounded fake, though Maren couldn’t quite put her finger on what or why. Either way, Maren wasn’t buying it.

Ultimately, neither was Elsa. “Nani has been appointed her position for a reason. I trust her and value her opinion. If this affects me, it also affects her. She deserves to know what is going on firsthand.”

“I am open to suggestions,” Oaken offered. “Have you one?”

“Yes. If Cogsworth is willing to cover the service desk for half of the meeting, I will switch with him for the second half. Nani can join in via FaceTime for the duration. She will inform me of everything that night, as I’m sure you would Cogsworth upon his joining,” Elsa said.

“Or I could tell you everything over dinner,” Hans ever-so-graciously suggested.

Excuse her?

He sounded like he was willing to jump at any chance to get together with Elsa, so much so that he would go out of his way. As if Elsa would ever agree. If she would not let Maren take her out yet, why the hell would she let Hans?

Elsa maintained her stance, giving it to him as straight as she possibly could. “As I already told you, dinner is off the table. And I trust Nani.”

Take that, Hans!

Wait, already?

As in, he tried this before?

“Very well,” Oaken concluded. “Find out from Nani tomorrow if Wednesday works for her so I can adjust the schedule.”

“Will do, sir,” Elsa agreed.

“Have a good evening, ladies.” Oaken patted Hans on the shoulder. “Come, my boy. Let’s finish the tour before you clock out.”

Hans bowed his head, crossing his arm over his chest like he was some nobility. He may have been in the presence of royalty, but that didn’t mean he had to act like he was, too. “Until next time.”

He just couldn’t wait or contain it, could he? Pretentious jerk.

“I think I see what you mean,” Maren muttered once they were out of earshot.

Though she did have some follow-up questions.

Elsa let out a sigh. “I should get these away.” She quickly turned around, though not realizing how close she had ended up to Maren in the process. She jerked back, pulling her hands into her chest as they contacted Maren’s rather than the tills. She took a slow breath, briefly running one hand over the other before lowering them. “Sorry.”

Something about Hans must have really thrown her off.

She got like this when someone was too close to comfort.

That’s what Hans was doing, wasn’t he?

Or…what else would it be?

But this wasn’t the time or place to question.

“Do you want me to work on the throwbacks?”

Elsa’s shoulders lowered. “Yes, please. If you could just separate the produce and damages, I will take care of those after Oaken finishes the tour. Get done what you can but please make sure to include the coolers.”

That was more like it.

When all else failed, it was best to focus on the job at hand. It wasn’t quite the same as helping her come down from a panic attack nor was there any comparison. But Maren knew Elsa well enough that, when on the clock, everything came back to work. Her personal and private feelings were kept separate. If Elsa didn’t what that line crossed, then Maren had to make it possible. She gave Elsa space for the remainder of her shift, only stopping to let her know when she was starting her final wagon before it was time to clock out. There was still a half hour until the store closed, so Maren sat on top of the trunk of her car with the bag of m&m’s by her side, occasionally glancing up to see when Elsa would show herself. Not long after ten, she caught notice of Elsa and Ella leaving the store together. Ella went in one direction and, after Elsa bid her good night, began in the opposite direction. She stopped a few parking spots short of Maren’s car, folding her arms. Her oceanic eyes pierced through the dark lot enough for Maren to read her wordless expression.

Really?

With her mask lowered, Maren was able to reveal a light crooked smile. “I believe peanut butter m&m’s were on the table?” she shrugged, holding up the open bag.

Elsa shook her head, though did not oppose. She approached Maren’s car and climbed onto the back. Maren held out the bag, offering the candy. Elsa nodded a quiet “thank you” before lowering her mask and taking a few pieces.

A somewhat awkward lull followed. The only sounds were the few cars on the road and the crunching of m&m’s. Maren opened her mouth to speak but immediately closed it. It was so difficult not to address the elephant in the room.

Despite awkward silences being a common occurrence, they were surprisingly comfortable. Elsa and Maren were still learning about each other and what they liked. Maren craved physical connections. Elsa did not. That was still something they were both learning to navigate. In the end, they found a way to let the other know that they wanted to be there. That this wasn’t just another fantasy Maren conjured.

She just couldn’t get Hans out of her head, which was likely what made this silence different. But how could she bring him up to Elsa? It felt wrong to just outright ask. Would it be better to ease into that conversation? Or should she let Elsa speak when she was ready?

It was a delicate balance that Maren was also learning. Elsa admitted that her first instinct was often to run. Maren didn’t want to make Elsa run from her. She wanted Elsa to run to her.

Maren reached for another handful of m&m’s only to pull her hand away when Elsa reached at the same time. Pulling in her lips, Maren folded her arms into her lap and averted her gaze. A faint rustling of candy followed, if only for a moment.

“Who do you think came up with the colors for these things anyway?”

That was what she came up with?

Of all the things to pull out of her ass.

Absolutely fucking brilliant.

“What do you mean?” Elsa asked.

That was an excellent question.

“I mean…. We’ve got red, orange, yellow, green, blue. What about purple?” She pulled a brown m&m out of the bag. “What’s this? Not purple. So why brown instead?”

Elsa shrugged. “Maybe so we’d know it was chocolate?”

“But we already knew that. The bag even says it’s chocolate,” Maren pointed out. “So why didn’t we get purple? Or even indigo? And we only get specific colors during specific times of the year. But what if I wanted a whole bag of indigo m&m’s right now? We can’t have that because some idiot decided to be the color authority at the m&m factory and say, ‘what if someone thinks a purple m&m is really a grape, we should use brown instead’. Who even thinks like that?”

“I wonder that all the time,” Elsa giggled.

This was more like it.

The aura that Hans had brought about in a mere few minutes was a thought of the past. There was no longer a dark cloud of sideburns hovering over them. It was replaced by something lighthearted, funny, and something they could both easily agree on…even if it had been accidental. The gentle nature of Elsa had returned, something that Maren could only describe as feeling like a warm hug. That was what Maren wanted. And for Elsa to be comfortable enough to share that was all that mattered.

“Ok,” Maren pulled herself on the trunk completely and crossed her legs, allowing her to fully face Elsa. “You get to choose any colors you want for one bag of m&m’s. What would they be?”

Elsa pursed her lips. “I think it depends on how I’m feeling. Colors are meat to provoke emotion. To have a bag of colors I want to eat when I really don’t feels contradictory.”

“Only you could turn this into some kind of analysis,” Maren teased.

“So which would you choose, then?” Elsa challenged.

That was easy.

Blue.

A very specific blue.

The oceanic blue of Elsa’s eyes.

“Tell me the different shades of blue,” she answered instead.

“All of them?” Elsa snickered with disbelief.

“As many as you can think of.”

“Well…. There’s softer blues like periwinkle and sky; muted from mixing with white. There’s bright blues that pop like aqua or cyan because they’re so saturated. If you were looking for a deeper, darker shade, there’s colors like midnight, navy, or royal blue. There are blue gemstones like lapis or sapphire, each with their own meanings and symbolism outside of the actual color. But when you mix blue with purple or green in different increments it opens a whole new array of shades. Teal and turquoise, for instance, come in varying mixtures of blues and greens. Indigo is a combination of blue and purple, serving as a perfect gradient from blue to violet. Even though blue is most often associated with depression, it’s also a very soothing color. It’s meant to relax you. But if you throw in green or purple, it not only alters the appearance of the color but also affects your psyche. Though, I wouldn’t recommend an entire bag of blue m&m’s. It’s not a natural color you find in foods, and studies have indicated that it suppresses the appetite. Which is also why it’s recommended not to paint your kitchen blue.”

It was Elsa in her other natural element – art and logistics.

Queen Elsa of Retail was focused. She knew exactly what had to get done and how to do it. She could opt to delegate or take on more responsibilities herself. Once she got started, it was very difficult to stop. Her front as the Snow Queen went up, separating her job and herself from everything else.

This Elsa? She knew exactly what she was talking about. She was enthralling and passionate. She was relaxed and free. Completely lost and cut off from her happenings and surroundings because she wanted to be, not because she needed to be. She captivated Maren in a completely different way.

At work, Elsa was powerful and admirable. But she was so quick to put everything and everyone else before herself. When Elsa spoke about art? Or Bruni or Anna? There was every care in the best possible way. Maren never had to worry about stopping Elsa when she spoke like that. Rather, Maren could listen to her talk for hours.

“Are you not going to call me a nerd?” Elsa asked expectedly.

Maren smirked playfully. “Because you are a nerd.”

You’re my nerd, she thought helplessly.

But would saying that overwhelm her? Or would it be better to just…? That is, if Elsa would let her. Maren inched her body closer, tilting her head in slightly. She searched Elsa’s expression for some kind of lead. If not her lips, then her cheek? Her forehead? Her nose, even? All Maren caught was her eyes widening, as if Elsa hadn’t been expecting anything. It was a bit sudden, wasn’t it? Maybe her hair? Maren tilted her head up, inching closer to Elsa’s hairline. When Maren softly pressed her lips to the edge of Elsa’s hair, she thought she heard a sigh. Maren moved her head down only to quickly feel Elsa’s pressed against hers. Their lips were so close…how tempting it was to close the gap. She thought Elsa might want to. They could almost…her breath was warm on her skin…but all it resulted in was the faintest huff. Maren gave a single nod. She would take anything Elsa was willing, even if it was only this.

“I want to go out with you.”

It was hoarse, enough to get drowned out had a car drove by on the road behind them.

Maren’s brows furrowed in confusion. Where had that come from?

“I know.”

Even if it wasn’t right now; even if it wasn’t out out; she knew enough.

“No. I mean….”

She took a breath.

“I want to go out. With you.”

Was Maren missing something?

Elsa must have caught on.

“Hans asked me out.”

Pause.

“I know. I was just there.”

Elsa puffed.

“Not now. Before.”

Maren was more confused now. Before…?

Wait, Elsa did say something….

“When…?” she started to ask, only to be cut off by Elsa.

“His first day.”

Yet he tried to pull it again.

He didn’t take no for an answer, did he?

That is, if he was told no.

“And you said…?”

Elsa averted her gaze.

“I didn’t.”

Maren’s eyes darted back and forth, attempting to connect the dots. Like Elsa was trying to say something without saying something.

“Didn’t…? Or couldn’t…?”

Another pause.

Her response came quieter and with a hint of shame.

“Couldn’t….”

Couldn’t….

So even if she did tell him no….

She didn’t tell him why.

If Maren understood, it all made sense.

She shook her head. “That doesn’t matter,” she promised.

“Yes it does,” Elsa began to pull away. “It’s not fair to you.”

Maren wasn’t going to let her run that easily. She moved her head forward, trying to meet Elsa’s gaze. “It has to be fair to you first.”

Elsa tried to jerk her head in the other direction, but Maren wasn’t having that.

“You don’t owe Hans anything. He hasn’t earned that right. Even if he did, he doesn’t deserve it,” she continued. “You choose the narrative. Not him or me or anyone else.”

“At what cost, Maren?” Elsa groaned and lowered her brows, bringing her eyes to Maren’s. “For you to seem like some dirty secret? That’s not you, I don’t want that for you, I don’t want you to feel like that again.”

It was Maren’s turn to pull back. She twisted her body so her profile faced Elsa and her legs dangled off the trunk. She knew Elsa didn’t mean it like that but….

It was difficult to break out of old habits. Because that’s exactly what Maren was before. A dirty little secret. Good enough for someone to mess around with. Experiment with. But not good enough to be out and open with. Not good enough to be something. Not even good enough to mean something.

“Maren, I—” Elsa started softly.

“I know.”

She didn’t mean to cut her off. But Elsa didn’t need to apologize. She wasn’t like Attina, not that way. Elsa still had her own conflicts about her identity. She still had trauma to overcome. Those weren’t things that changed overnight or magically healed because they were girlfriends. Maren didn’t expect anything different nor did she want Elsa to feel obligated about anything. She didn’t owe Maren anything anymore than she owed Hans.

Still, Maren would be lying if once in a while, those feelings didn’t resurface. That she didn’t feel good enough. That she didn’t feel worth it. She messed things up so miserably with Attina, who was to say those mistakes wouldn’t repeat somehow with Elsa? Because sooner or later, that’s what Maren did. She screwed everything up.

Even if her fears and feelings were valid, so were Elsa’s. She needed time. And she needed support. Both of which Maren were willing to give her. And, to an extent, Maren knew she needed that time for herself as well. To deal with her self-loathing. To overcome her trauma. To break the cycle.

In the interim, Elsa had gone above and beyond to show she cared. She was open to Anna. To her friends. She said and did things to show Maren that she meant something. She put in effort. She never once talked down to Maren nor made Maren feel like she was being led on.

Had Maren done the same for Elsa after all, she couldn’t help but wonder?

How had her open flirting been any different from Hans’?

What if, in the beginning, she had been like him?

“Did I ever make you feel the way Hans did?”

“You are nothing like him,” she promised. Her fingertips hovered under Maren’s chin, lightly trying to guide her back. “Maren…everything I feel about you inside of me is good. When I’m with you, it feels awkward because you let me show myself, because I don’t have anything to hide behind. I get nervous around you because I haven’t been this close to anyone before, I haven’t wanted to get this close to anyone before. When I’m around you it feels like there’s these bubbles boiling inside of me but that’s not my anxiety. That’s excitement because of you. You make me feel good. Everything else? The way I am? That’s on me. My fears. My doubts. My insecurities. Those have nothing to do with you. But you choose to stay in spite of them.”

She had no idea how wrong she was, did she?

Maren’s hand slinked up towards Elsa’s. She brushed her fingers against the back of Elsa’s hand, causing it to retreat slightly. But it wasn’t out of hesitation. Rather, she turned her hand so her pointer wrapped around one of Maren’s fingers. It was loose at first but steadily became tighter. Had she the same sensation that Maren did?

That this was too good to be true?

And she didn’t want it to be?

“It’s never in spite of. It’s because of.”

Soft as Maren’s voice was when she spoke, there was an authoritative tone to it. She had to get her point across. That if she was certain of anything, it was this.

Yes, they were perhaps Elsa’s most prominent flaws. And they were just as beautiful as she was.

Her fears? Despite the pedestal she was on, they were a reminder that Elsa was just a regular person.

Her doubts? Her logical nature speaking, weighing every possible outcome and always asking, ‘what if’.

Her insecurities? Acknowledged because she wanted to be a better person, same as Maren, not just for herself but also those around her.

Maren squeezed her hand, hoping to make herself as clear as possible.

“And you are nothing like her. There’s no comparison.”

Pause.

“I don’t want you to feel that way because of me,” Elsa admitted softly.

If only it were that simple.

But it took effort to keep her mind off that path.

To confess that to Elsa implied she should do something different.

Ultimately, it was a weight Maren’s shoulders had to bear.

She was not going to have Elsa wrongly believe it was on her.

Elsa’s identity and acceptance were on Elsa’s timeline.

And so their relationship was on Elsa’s timeline.

It was purely out of necessity and understanding.

Not secrecy and malice as Maren experienced.

For those reasons, Maren could handle it.

“You don’t know if you can trust Hans. So why would you tell him,” Maren concluded. “I don’t care if Hans knows about me. I can handle it. I’ve handled worse. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to avoid that. So Hans having this power now…I get it.”

“What do I do then?” Elsa couldn’t help but ask.

Maren gave her a reassuring squeeze. “You keep being the badass Snow Queen. I don’t care what title Hans has. We follow you.”

Her words seemed to put Elsa at ease, at least for a moment.

“I just can’t shake this feeling about him. It’s…. Not right, somehow.”

“That’s because you’re the Snow Queen of Retail.”

Stone face.

“I hate you.”

She was beyond unamused.

Though Maren couldn’t contain her laughter even as Elsa hopped off the car and began making her way across the lot. Sometimes it was entertaining to push Elsa’s buttons. It brought out a bit of a tease in Elsa, though it never seemed to last long. Even now, as Maren’s laughter died down Elsa couldn’t seem to help but turn around.

“Maren?”

Maren slid off the trunk in curiosity. “What is it?”

Elsa walked back over, a coolness in her voice and a certain look in her eye that Maren couldn’t quite pinpoint. “Promise you’ll tell me if you feel some type of way?”

Oh….

Was she talking about…?

It was easier said than done.

Elsa had to keep a front up for so long. She said she grew up with the mantra of ‘conceal, don’t feel’. Hiding herself…hiding her shame and her fears…shutting people out as a result…. Maren didn’t want to be a part of that. If she ever did feel those emotions rise again…if she started to believe what Attina told her…if she listened to those intrusive voices in her head…what would the cost be? How much guilt would Elsa carry as a result? How far would she go to change? What would it do to them? Was Maren willing to put Elsa at risk for her own comfort?

Maren held her hands out, which Elsa didn’t hesitate to grab. It spoke to how readily Elsa accepted Maren’s touch and how she felt in this moment. That this meant something to her. That she meant something to her.

Which was exactly why Maren couldn’t tell her.

She dealt with it this long on her own.

She could manage a little longer.

“I promise.”

Chapter Text

Ugh. Chips left by the bread again. That was going to be another trip to Aisle 2…as if she didn’t wander back and forth through the store multiple times already. Where else did she have to go…? Chips, cookies, cereal, opened box of oatmeal, water…. Though she supposed the bright side was that she never had to worry about her steps. Who needed a gym when retail took care of that?

Maren turned out of the aisle, glancing at the coolers while she passed. She didn’t think she’d find anything, having done them only fifteen minutes ago. But with her shift nearly done, it didn’t hurt to look.

Oh…that wagon was still there.

She saw it during her first go around, when she took care of the produce. And again ten minutes back. It was an unattended cart with chips, butter, produce, and a piece of paper. It wasn’t much in the grand scheme of things, but the last thing anyone needed in the last hour was to find a discarded wagon and have to put everything back.

I’ll give it another ten, Maren decided. That should be enough time for her to finish the current wagon and devote a few minutes before putting back the refrigerated items. So long as they were still cold, of course. The less work for Nani and Ella, the better.

Unless Hans did a tour.

She didn’t necessarily have a problem when Elsa did it; it was frustrating, but at least she tried to keep things organized. Most of the damages would be at the top. She’d try to situate everything so the delicates weren’t buried. She’d apologize for bringing extra work. Of course, when did she not apologize?

Now that Hans started doing them? Nothing was sorted. Everything was piled on top of each other. Bread would be crushed under a pack of Gatorade. Grapes would be at the bottom in the back corner, impossible to get to without digging everything else out. There’d be way too much cardboard. Hans gave no shits.

Maren completed her trip to the other side of the store, briefly wandering through Produce to see if she wanted to pick up anything. A salad might do her some good, compared to eating cereal or chocolate after ten at night. There was a chicken Caesar salad, but she wasn’t really tasting chicken. Maybe just some grapes? That had to count for something. She put the bag at the top of the cart and then made her way towards the Crap Corner.

And, apparently, that wagon.

It must have been over twenty minutes now and still nothing. It couldn’t continue to sit there.

Poking her head down one of the lanes, she saw Snow cleaning her register for the night, also about to take her leave.

“Hey, Sis? You see anyone ditch a wagon?”

Snow stopped wiping the belt and turned to face Maren. “I don’t think so. Where is it?”

Maren gestured behind her. “This next register. It’s been sitting here for a while. Do you think anyone’s coming back for it?”

“I’m not sure,” she shook her head apologetically. “I’m sorry.”

That was enough for Maren. “That’s ok. I’ll add it to the collection.”

She moved her wagon to the other side of self scan, sitting it by the Crap Corner. After setting her grapes on register six, where the rest of Maren’s items sat beneath, she wandered back to the unattended wagon. How much could she get done in five minutes…? There were five bags of chips, which would take up the entirety of the Aisle 2 bin. The butter felt a bit warm to the touch so that was best added to the damages. That just left the produce. She had enough time to run those back, though the tomatoes and berries didn’t necessarily need to be refrigerated; the peppers and mushrooms were more important. She set everything in their proper placements, prepared to run the produce back before clocking out.

“Hey!”

Or not.

She turned her head, seeing Hans approach her. Beside him was a man with a wallet and notebook in his hand. Neither of them looked particularly pleased. Then again, she was starting to wonder if there was always something up Hans’ ass. It had only been a week since his arrival and not only did he walk around inspecting every little thing, as if he always had some sort of comment or problem, but he also brought this unsettling vibe. Granted, Maren could have been biased because he hit on her girlfriend multiple times despite her disinterest. However, knowing Elsa also had some inkling about him made Maren even more cautious.

“What’s up?” Maren asked with as straight a face as she could muster.

“Have you seen a wagon with a list?” he questioned.

Maren’s eyes darted towards the garbage. Was that what was on the paper she threw out? Not that she was about to dig through the trash to confirm.

“Did it have chips and produce?”

“Yeah, that was my wagon,” the customer snapped.

Hans narrowed his gaze. “What did you do with his order? He’s been looking for it.”

Been?

She barely had it for a couple of minutes.

Paying no mind, Maren removed the chips from the bin to add to the produce. “I was just about to put everything back. The wagon was there for about a half hour, so I figured someone left it behind.”

“You went through my stuff??” the customer demanded. “I left a note there for a reason!”

If by note, he meant shopping list?

Which people left behind all the time?

“We get a lot of people at night who leave their wagons and don’t come back. So if we see one for too long, especially if it has perishables, we have to put them away.”

“I just went home to get my wallet,” he replied. “That’s not an excuse to dump my stuff.”

“What were you thinking?” Hans interrogated.

Maren bit her tongue. I was thinking I didn’t want anything to go bad, she thought. But apparently that was a mistake.

“I asked Snow if she saw anything and she said no,” Maren said simply. She took the butter out of the damaged wagon. “I think this is the last of it.”

The customer grabbed the wagon back and inspected everything. “Wait a minute! I had a tomato in here. Where’d you put it?” Immediately, he began looking through the wagon of damages to find his item. “Are these things people leave behind??” he gasped before Maren could respond. “There’s a frozen cucumber in here!”

That’s why they’re called damages, Maren thought.

But she wasn’t going to tell him that.

Not to mention, she’s found worse things than cucumber ice cream.

Gillette yogurt, anyone?

Fortunately, all she had to do was lift one of the bags of chips in his wagon to reveal the vegetable.

“This it?”

“Oh, good,” he sighed with relief, “now I can get back on track. I’d better have enough time to shop.”

“I will personally make sure you have enough time, even if we have to keep the store open an extra ten minutes,” Hans offered.

Excuse her?

“Let me add on a gift card free of charge. A token of my apologies for the mix-up.”

Wait, what??

Sure, the guy was visibly annoyed with the situation. But he was still one of the least angry customers Maren had dealt with – and that was saying something. He absolutely didn’t need anything to placate him, yet Hans was rewarding him with a gift card? Plus extra shopping time which meant Nani and Ella would have to stay? When this had been one of the easiest fixes? Who the hell gave him that kind of authority? Just because he had some higher position, Hans thought he was in complete control? Like he owned the store? It’s only been a fucking week!

That arrogant, pretentious, motherfucking son of a….

GAH!

She wished Elsa was there. She’d know exactly how to calm her down and get her mind off that dick. Why did she have to put in, again?

Oh, right.

Covid vaccine.

It gave Maren the chills just thinking about it.

Though the vaccines had been out for a couple of months, primarily to essential workers, Elsa had purposefully been waiting for it to calm down before signing up for hers. Or so she claimed. More likely, she wouldn’t want to take a spot away from someone who needed it more than her. She did ask Maren if she wanted to go with her but….

Maren’s shoulders slumped.

She couldn’t do it.

Not even for her girlfriend.

Nor on the day Elsa would need the most support.

It was selfish and cowardly.

But she couldn’t.

Would she even want to talk to her?

If she called to ask how she was doing?

The question plagued her until she got to her car, when her finger hovered over Elsa’s name.

It was so tempting just to hear her voice for a minute.

Maybe it was better just to text.

Then Elsa could respond with as much or little as she desired.

Miss you 💜

Maren prepared to put her car into drive when her phone rang. Why was Elsa calling her? It was so unlike her to call out of nowhere, especially with an unprompted text.

Maren hesitated a moment before answering. “Hello…?”

“Oh, I miss you, too, honey. That was so sweet of you to think about me.”

Maren rolled her eyes.

It did not sound right to hear ‘honey’ from anyone except Elsa.

“Really, Anna?”

“I had to. I’m never gonna get the chance to do that again.”

She should have known.

“Here, let me put you on speaker. Elsa, say hi to Maren!”

There was a moment of static while the call connected to Maren’s car. She backed out of her spot in the interim. “Elsa?”

“Where…?” Elsa slurred.

“In the phone, silly,” Anna giggled.

“Ugghhhhh too loud,” she groaned.

A mere fraction of Anna’s pitch was too loud?

Was she feverish or drunk?

“Here, eat this while I get your Tylenol.”

“Late dinner?” Maren asked.

“Kind of. She hasn’t had much today,” Anna answered.

Or ever, Maren thought.

Elsa wasn’t necessarily a good eater.

Or, thanks to retail, much of a healthy one.

Maren slowed as she approached the light at the corner, debating whether to get over a lane or not. “Do you want me to come over?”

“You just got off of work,” Anna said. “Don’t worry about us. We’re fine.”

“Ah…Anna?” Elsa mumbled in the background, “why’s Abe Lincoln a cracker?”

Wait, what?

“That’s a gorilla,” Anna laughed.

Why could she imagine Elsa blinking one eye and then the other, not unlike Bruni?

“When’d we have a monkey president?”

Maren bit her tongue, struggling to hold back a laugh.

What the hell was she listening to?

“Eat your animal crackers, Elsa,” Anna insisted.

Pause.

“Is…isn’t this unlegal?”

“It’s a cracker. And you’re not a cannibal.”

Another pause.

“Yet.”

Encouraging.

“You can eat Maren tomorrow.”

She can do what now?

“I already have a Maren.”

A snort.

“She’s not a cracker, Elsa.”

Gee, thanks, Anna.

“So Maren, how was…. Hold on. Elsa, don’t put that there!”

There was shuffling, followed by what almost sounded like a snap.

Did she want to know?

Probably not.

“So,” Anna chirped, “how was work?”

Maren scoffed. “I work for an asshole.”

“She’s talking about you,” Elsa whispered not-so-quietly to Anna.

“Excuse me, I’m not the one acting like a Loony Tune,” she retorted.

Elsa grunted, “You’re the tuney loon.”

Maren’s grip tightened on the steering wheel and she bit her tongue, forcing back a laugh.

Was this supposed to be entertaining?

“Is she ok?” she managed to ask after a snort.

“Oh yeah, this is Fever Elsa kicking in. She’s just like Drunk Elsa but without the alcohol and throwing up,” Anna answered. She could practically hear her smirking, “Just a small window into what you’re signing up for. Just so you know, it’s not too late to back out. I mean, I’d still throw you into the Dead Sea and feed you to mutant sharks if you’re prepared to take that risk. So just keep that in mind.”

She didn’t remember mutant sharks being part of the deal.

But that wasn’t going to deter her.

Maren said she wanted to get to know every side of Elsa.

If this was the sick – and drunk – side to her, it was going to take more than that to convince Maren to leave.

No matter how many times Elsa gave her that option.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

The sound of movement mixed with the blinker of Maren’s signal while she shifted to the left lane. She could still hear Elsa slurring – or gurgling? – in the background, though it had become faint. Anna must have moved across the room. If this was implying a private conversation, it could only mean that Anna was serious. And Maren knew Anna well enough to know that she was not a serious person. If Anna wanted to talk to Maren one-on-one, especially about Elsa, something must have been up.

“I want to believe you.”

Anna’s next response came almost immediately after her original, as if she were correcting herself.

“It’s not that I don’t. It’s just that…”

Pause.

“Elsa’s never been this invested in someone. I haven’t seen her this happy in a long time. You make her happy. And I’m thrilled you do that for her, I’m beyond excited for her because this is Elsa we’re talking about but…”

Sigh.

“I don’t think she’s used to people staying. Or…or that she expects them to. So for her to accept this…. To accept you…”

A final pause.

“I know how she gets. And I don’t want it to happen again.”

Maren felt a weight in her chest.

Anna didn’t have to say much. And why would she want to? To say it was a sensitive topic was a severe understatement. Maren saw how it affected Elsa firsthand. Though it was nothing like Anna’s experience with her nor could Maren ever remotely compare the two; but they both know how much it broke Elsa.

She shut down.

She pushed people away.

Worst of all, she blamed herself.

No, Anna never knew of the latter.

Nor would she ever.

But she did know how Elsa buried herself into anything to distract herself. Nowadays it was work; she hyper focused on the store and would rather consume her thoughts with Retail Hell than her pain. Back then it was all about Anna. All that mattered was they stayed together. Whether or not Anna knew the extent of it was a moot point; but she knew enough that Elsa would throw herself into anything if it meant running away from the pain.

Maren wanted to say that she was nothing like Iduna and Agnarr. She wanted to listen to and support Elsa’s feelings, not undermine them. She didn’t want to walk away when things got difficult only to never bring them up again or, worse, never come back. Most of all, she didn’t want Elsa to believe she was wrong. Or broken. Never again.

But to do so would reveal everything. Anna would put the pieces together. She’d confront Elsa about it. She’d start to question everything she knew about her parents. And, worst of all, Anna would find a way to blame herself. That would not only betray Elsa but destroy Anna as well.

Maren pulled into the nearest parking lot she could find. She couldn’t bring herself to think about driving, even if for a few more minutes. Her only focus was on Anna. She had to know how serious she was. How much Elsa meant to her. Once situated in the space, Maren shifted the gear to park and sat her hands in her lap. She tried to keep her voice as steady as she could, but she’d by lying if she said she didn’t feel something. Anna was speaking from a place of hurt and fear. Maren may not have been able to protect her from that but….

She still had to know somehow.

“I said that Elsa’s our queen. That we follow her. I meant it then, and I mean it now.”

Her fingers clenched, gripping onto the wrinkles of her khakis.

She’s my queen, she wanted to say.

But she couldn’t.

“I’ll follow her. Through anything. Because she is a queen. And she deserves it.”

“That’s all I want for her,” Anna sniffed.

I would do anything for Angel, Maren thought.

Except she didn’t.

Or else she would have done something.

But she couldn’t even show up today.

Maren sighed in defeat. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there.”

“I’m sorry I snapped at you,” Anna choked.

“You didn’t,” she assured her.

In fact, that was the last thing Anna did. She wasn’t insulting or berating Maren. She never spoke with a hint of animosity in her voice. She….

She was just trying to protect Elsa.

The same way Elsa always did for her.

Now it was hitting Anna just how much that meant.

Elsa may have been too loopy to realize what was going on.

Or even what day it was.

But Anna knew.

She spent the whole day with Elsa focusing on and prepping for the vaccine and its side effects.

Once those kicked in, Anna was able to embrace and enable this side of Elsa; this unexpectedly goofy and entertaining side that almost never showed itself.

Now that Anna was alone with her thoughts; now that they had a way of escaping; everything was kicking in. And she felt it full throttle.

“Anna…?”

She spoke tentatively over Anna’s soft sobs. She knew this was going to be a dangerous question. Quite possibly one of the worst to ask in this situation; because she knew what the answer was going to be. But she didn’t know what else to do.

“Are you ok…?”

Her answer came surprisingly quick if not muffled by her emotions.

“Not really.”

Of course she wasn’t.

And there wasn’t a damn thing Maren could do about it.

The only possible solution was to let Anna ride out her feelings.

She had to let everything out, however long that would take.

If only Maren could have helped her somehow.

She may not have been there for Elsa, but she could still support Anna.

“I’m here,” she promised. “What do you need?”

She let Anna take as much time as she needed before she could choke out an answer.

It took everything she had not to race over until she heard Anna’s plea.

“Can you come over?”

Chapter Text

Five fifty-five. Maren clocked in and was immediately sent to self scan to cover Nani while she ran to the restroom. Less than a minute after the switch, Maren heard a slam on the belt followed by “please wait, help is on the way”. Maren picked up the bag of frozen chicken from the middle of the belt, bringing it back to the scanner to make sure it went through. Sure enough, the screen was red and indicated there was an issue with the sensor because it didn’t detect the chicken. The customer’s reason?

“It’s so much more fun to throw things.”

Six-twelve. Not long after relocating to her register for the night Maren had her first large order. It was well over $200 and, as to be expected, the customer didn’t bring in enough bags. Maren was to only help pack if she ran out of reusable bags. Once she reached the delicate items – eggs, bread, tomatoes, and cookies – at the end of the order, she set up a paper bag for them. Cookies went at the bottom to create a steady surface, followed by the eggs and cherub tomatoes, finished with the bread on top. As Maren added the bag onto the order, the customer removed everything from inside. She placed the eggs back in, rolled the top of the bag, and took a second paper bag from the register behind her.

She couldn’t have just told Maren she wanted her eggs separate?

Six-twenty. When the time came to pay for the large order the lady licked her finger and used it to count multiple bills in her hand. Maren understood why Elsa almost exclusively wore gloves at work; she didn’t realize until working in retail how many people licked their fingers before touching things. Once she was handed the money, Maren put each one through the bill checker. “They should be fine,” the customer commented, “I just printed them this morning.”

That joke was not as funny as people thought it was.

Six forty-two. A woman with a toddler in her wagon handed Maren a crushed pack of bread. She claimed she took it not because she needed bread, but to give it to her child to keep him occupied during the trip.

Seven-seventeen. There was a decent lull with only a few small orders in between. That was, until a customer approached Maren’s register asking if she was open. As if her standing behind the register with her light on wasn’t indication enough.

Seven forty-five. Maren returned to self scan to give Nani her break. A customer at the end of one of the machines was bagging the last of their order when another had just scanned the first item. They sent it down the belt only for the first customer to throw it back, sending the machine into a frenzy of “please wait, help is on the way”. As soon as Maren cleared it, the customer put the first item back on the belt and scanned the next item. When the sensor detected both items, it sent them back and repeated, “please wait, help is on the way”. Maren explained that only one item could be on the belt at a time. Rolling their eyes, the customer left the two items beside them and sent the third item down. Despite having just packed their final item, the first customer took it upon themselves to yell, “Do you mind?? Wait till I’m done packing, will you?” They then turned to Maren, throwing their hand in exasperation, “Aren’t you going to do something about this??”

She didn’t get paid enough for this shit.

Seven forty-seven. The damn produce at self scan. Asparagus scanned. “Please wait, help is on the way.” Explanation followed. Product lookup. Search for and select asparagus. Asparagus weighed. Placed on belt.

“How do I do the onions?”

Did Maren not just show them how it worked??

Two minutes after eight. Nani returned to reclaim the kingdom of self scan. “Don’t call it that,” she had warned. Just before Maren could return to her register, a customer called from the opposite end of the machines.

“What aisle is the Shake and Bake?”

“Aisle six,” Maren called back.

“Ten?”

“Six!”

“Seven?”

“Six!”

Maren even held up six fingers for reference.

Somehow he was even more confused.

“Seven?”

Nani groaned, unable to take it any longer. She had significantly less patience than Maren.

“She said six, dammit!”

Eight-thirty. Maren opened at her register after taking her break. She began ringing up a small order, half of which was meat. Stuffed into one plastic bag from the meat department were four packs of chicken breasts. Maren hated it when people did that. She took one pack out of the bag, scanned it, and then set it to her left. When she did the same with the second pack, she was met with disdain from the customer. She didn’t want them to be removed from the bags at all; that’s why she put them there in the first place. Maren explained that they had to be treated as individual items; their weights varied and, as a result, so did their prices. Which meant they had to be scanned one by one. As if that weren’t enough, the customer proceeded to grow annoyed when she learned how expensive her order was. Maren’s first thought was because of the meat, but she didn’t dare comment. The customer decided she didn’t want any of the chickens after all and tried to claim she didn’t want them in the first place but had forgot to mention it.

Logic.

Nine on the dot. Thank god she could get off register and focus on throwbacks for the last hour of her shift. To say that went so much more smoothly would be a severe understatement.

“Good evening customers, the time is now ten. Oaken’s is closed for the night and will re-open and seven a.m. Please bring your items to self scan, the store is now closed. Thank you and have a good night.”

What a change hearing Elsa’s polite tone over the speaker as opposed to Nani’s wishful threats.

After finishing the tour, Maren double-checked that the door was locked and then made her way back to self scan. “That’s it. We’re done.”

“Finally,” Nani groaned. She shut down two of machines. “Let’s blow this joint and get this crap outta the way.”

“I thought you loved family meetings,” Maren teased.

Nani poked Maren’s nose with a glare. “You’re pushing it, Casanova.”

“In rare form tonight, I see, Nani,” Elsa commented as she clocked out.

“That goes for you, too, Queenie,” Nani warned.

“She’s in a good mood,” Maren joked while Nani walked out ahead of them. After clocking out, she lowered her mask and removed her phone from her pocket. “Let me call Snow and get her in on this.”

“It’s a little late, isn’t it?” Elsa asked. “I don’t want to bother her if she has homework.”

“She should be in on this.” Shrugging her shoulders, Maren began typing. “I’ll text her and see if she’s up for it.”

You awake? We got dirt

“That’s what you’re calling it?” Elsa raised an eyebrow.

Maren chuckled and gave Elsa a light nudge. “Eavesdropping much?”

Once outside, they gathered into a pseudo-circle. Nani leaned up against the brick wall beside the door, mask long gone, while Ella was to her left and facing away from the parking lot.

“Thank you for waiting for us, Ella,” Elsa greeted. “I know you have an early day tomorrow.”

“I’ll be fine,” she promised. “This sounded pretty serious.”

“It might be,” Elsa replied.

Nani scoffed. “Don’t sugarcoat it, Queenie. You know we got some dirt on Hans.”

“Called it,” Maren teased.

For a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down

The medicine go down

The medicine go down

“The hell did your phone just play?” Nani judged.

Maren silenced the ringtone and shrugged her shoulders. “I thought it fit Snow.”

“Did you customize ring tones for everyone?” Elsa inquired.

Maren hesitated. “Maybe…”

“I like it,” Ella complimented. “Could you send that to me?”

Nani scoffed. “And you wonder why I ignore calls.”

“Really, Nani?”

“Don’t act so surprised.”

“You set tones for us, too, didn’t you?”

“Elsa’s is Ice Ice Baby.”

“You son of a–”

“Hey Sis. You’re on speaker. We’re outside the store.”

“How did it go tonight?”

“We hate people.”

“And self scan.”

“And Nani.”

“He aha??”

“Nani and Elsa were about to tell us how it went with Hans the other day,” Ella intervened.

“You mean the asshole,” Nani muttered.

“Is it that bad?” Snow asked with surprise.

Elsa held up a hand. “We don’t know yet. The good news is, Hans is not the only new manager. We were also formally introduced to Belle. She’s taking over for Ratcliffe.”

“Oh, I think she’s the one I met last week,” Snow chirped. “She seemed very nice.”

“She does. And she’s very detail oriented. She was a double major in literature and web design. Oaken plans to utilize those strengths of hers. Starting with her training to help his partner with bookkeeping and perhaps expanding the technological side.”

“Which is when his royal assness comes in,” Nani chided.

“You really have it in for him,” Ella observed.

“I don’t like him,” she answered stubbornly.

“I’m not particularly fond of him either,” Elsa admitted. “But this is still the person that Oaken chose. We can’t let our personal biases affect our work.”

“Speak for yourself,” Maren couldn’t help but mutter. Elsa already commented she didn’t have a very welcoming feeling about Hans. Coupled with the fact that he asked her out multiple times despite receiving a no, it only hindered Maren’s perception of him. Though she did understand why Elsa was uncomfortable speaking to him and being honest about her relationship, it didn’t give Hans the right to intervene. Maren’s reaction may have been from protectiveness – and quite possibly jealousy – but if he was willing to disregard Elsa’s opinions and comfort, where was the line for everything else?

“I’m with Maren on this,” Nani agreed.

That was a first.

“We all started on the same level. He gets to start at the top. Hand power to someone on a silver platter and he’ll start expecting everything else. He has it easy. He doesn’t know the shit we deal with and could care less.”

“Is it possible he’s nervous or stressed about starting a new job? Especially one with so much say?” Ella suggested.

“He did mention wanting to prove himself,” Elsa thought aloud, though she didn’t sound entirely convinced.

Nani groaned. “Don’t start second-guessing your gut now, Queenie. He already thinks he can throw ideas out how to ‘improve the store’ when we’re doing just fine without his so-called help.”

Maren raised an eyebrow. “Like what?”

“A rewards program, for one. Specifically connected to a website where you can earn exclusive sales and offers,” Elsa started. “From a financial standpoint, it is a good idea. It can help us better compete with larger corporations and bring in more customers. Which will mean more money for the store and, hopefully, more hours and income for us. It aligns perfectly with some of the changes Oaken wants to make; ways to bring in more revenue. The fact that Hans has a leg to stand on with in Belle, having the experience with technology that she does, works in his favor.”

“So he thinks he can just charm anyone?” Maren wrinkled her nose.

“That, and it can make work even harder for us,” Nani added. She pushed herself away from the wall and folded her arms. “Look at what self scan did for us. It didn’t make anything easier. Just put more pressure on us not to screw up. And took away three perfectly good working registers to put in pieces of shit that crap out on a weekly basis.”

“Slight exaggeration,” Elsa countered.

Nani rolled her eyes. “The point is, they cut hours and people so they could have one person man three machines. People become so dependent on the tech that if any of us do the smallest thing wrong, they get pissed. And we’re the ones who hear about it.”

“They already get mad when they don’t see sales come off right away. What are they gonna be like when there’s an issue with the site or we can’t find the ‘exclusive’ deal,” Maren said.

“My point exactly,” Nani nodded confidently.

“So Oaken is really considering this?” Ella asked.

“As well as updating self scan,” Elsa answered.

Maren furrowed her brows. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He wants to ‘modernize’ self scan. Tries to claim he heard so many people complain about it and wants to do something about it like he’s playing the hero,” Nani groaned.

“What, like use the ones at Target or something?” Maren replied.

“But those have much less space,” Ella noted, “and aren’t those more machines to watch?”

“At least six machines per attendant, if not more,” Elsa confirmed. “It embeds the false belief that we need more machines rather than actual employees, and that with less people to hire the more money the company will save. But it becomes a double-edged sword. Technology is only as good as the people who are in control of it. If you have the right ratio of humans to machines, it can be effective. Put one in charge of too many and not only will it cause more impatience and entitlement when someone can’t be helped right away, but it can result in more shrink as well. Turn your back for a moment or spend too long at one machine, and you have no way of knowing if the discarded order at another went to a cashier or if it was a walkout.”

“Which means if one of us messes up, we all mess up,” Nani snarled, “cause we’ll be expected to retrain each other with the new self scans.”

“And despite the inconsistencies of our current machines, we know what is wrong when something happens, what to expect, and how to go about it. It may not come as easy with new ones,” Elsa added. “Still, though the designs of our self scan may be considered almost obsolete, they are not that old. There may not be the grounds to discard them just yet.”

“We have enough shit to worry about as it is. We don’t need to add that on top of it,” Nani finished. “I don’t know about you all, but I’m not letting Hans dictate my job, my time, or my life without a fight.”

“Can he do that?” Maren asked.

Elsa sighed. “With Hans’ final proposition, he might. Everyone has one day that contends their availability. In Nani and Ella’s cases, that would mean choosing one day to have an early shift.”

Ella’s eyes widened as she visibly flinched. “Wait, what?”

“That’s bull!” Maren snapped.

Nani scoffed. “He thinks it’ll even the playing field or something. So everyone gets to see what we all deal with. You know what it really does? Makes it worse for us. He doesn’t think we have lives outside of this dump. But we do. You really think Ella and I can just let our other jobs know, ‘oh hey just so you know next week I can’t work my normal shift on Tuesday, they made me change my availability at my other place, but I can still come in for a night shift. What’s what, you don’t need me then? That’s ok, I didn’t need the cash anyway.’ Bull. Fucking. Shit.”

“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that,” Ella confessed. “I don’t think Lady…erm…Miss…Tremaine will understand.”

“Which is exactly why that’s the change we’re going to fight,” Elsa assured her, lightly placing a hand on Ella’s shoulder. “If he wants to push it, let him. But everyone has their hours for a reason. So if any of us are given a form to fill out our availability, don’t change anything. Keep it exactly as it is. I’ve worked doubles in the past; I can come in early once in a while if needed. That does not mean you’re obligated to do the same. Everything else, we’ll deal with it as it comes.”

Nani clicked her tongue. “I don’t agree with your logic. And I really don’t like that you’d put me in a position to have to answer to Hans.” She let out a sigh, “But if it means I can keep my hours and keep it straight for Lilo, I can respect that.”

“Even if we do have new self scans installed, I’ll watch as many as they ask me. As long as it keeps our hours intact,” Ella agreed.

“We’ve gone this long. We’re in this together. And we will continue to do this together,” Elsa promised.

Spoken like a true queen.

Elsa had everyone’s best interests at heart. Hard as she worked and much as she cared about the store, the people were the ones that mattered most. A company was only as good as its employees. Maren couldn’t say how it was in the morning; but at night everyone had their routine. They knew what had to get done, how to do it, and they worked together to make it possible. Retail Hell was the way it was because of the customers. But when everyone was together? When they helped each other? When they were a team? It made Retail Hell just a little bit less hellish.

Hans cared about the company. About the customers and about the money. While it may have been fair and just as necessary as the people who worked there, that didn’t mean it should be prioritized. It didn’t give him the right to treat everyone like worker monkeys who had no lives or were less than like customers did. From a logical standpoint, Maren could see where most of his ideas weren’t terrible. But why should the rest of them have to sacrifice for him?

Maren didn’t feel the ease that she expected to.

Something still felt off.

“Hey, Snow? You’ve been kind of quiet. What do you think?”

There was a pause.

“I’m not sure I should say.”

“You can tell us. This is a safe space,” Elsa encouraged. “Most of us, anyway.”

To that, Nani stuck her tongue out.

“I’m not there nearly as much as you. Or as late. I don’t think I have the right,” Snow said.

“Yes, you do. That’s why we called you. Your voice matters, too,” Maren insisted.

Pause.

“Well….”

A faint breath.

“I think I kind of agree with Ella.”

“Can you expand?” Elsa inquired.

“Just that…. Maybe she has a point,” Snow started. “We were all nervous when we started. And Hans is higher than us. So there’s a lot more pressure on him. Maybe he’s trying to make a good impression. All these ideas are his way of doing that, so he doesn’t realize it might make things harder for us instead.”

“I’m not buying it,” Nani answered stubbornly.

Neither was Maren.

But it wouldn’t be fair to Snow if she shut her down because of her personal bias.

Snow hoped for the best in people, much like Ella.

She was just trying to vocalize that.

“Because we don’t know him. It took all of us a while to get to know each other. Maybe we’re not comfortable around him yet because he doesn’t know what our boundaries are. You gave me that chance. Even if I’m still learning. He deserves it, too,” Snow pointed out.

She wasn’t wrong.

Despite her age and naivety, Snow could be a lot more mature than most adults in the store.

Nani, however, remained strong in her opposition.

“Snow, you’re a kid. We know you’re learning and some things you don’t know better yet. That’s an experience thing, not just a commonsense thing. Hans is a grown-ass man. He doesn’t get that kind of leeway. He has no excuses.”

“And as far as we know, he’s a straight white man. His voice carries more weight than ours. He can…. Get away with a lot of things,” Maren lamented.

“That’s why we have to keep our guard up.” Nani’s voice softened, a surprising tone from how aggressive she’d been in her stance the whole conversation. “You’re good kanaka, Snow. But sooner or later, you gotta accept reality. This is it.”

Elsa lowered her brows. “Ella, if you don’t mind my asking, how do you handle your boss at the hotel?”

Ella hummed for a moment. “Do what she says. Don’t pick a fight. It’s not worth it. It’s hard sometimes…. Or…. A lot of the time. But it’s more important to keep the peace. And the job.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do here,” Elsa decided. “We will keep an open mind and give him a chance. Until then, we do our jobs. Same as always. If Hans has any issues, he can take it up with me. And I will speak to Oaken so that, moving forward, we can all be on the same page.”

“Are you sure about this?” Maren asked.

She didn’t doubt Elsa; she just didn’t want to give Hans any opening.

If this was any indication, things were about to change again.

They didn’t need Hans to add onto the difficulty of their jobs.

Even if Snow’s point was valid, it didn’t cleanse the sour taste he left in Maren’s mouth.

“For now, yes. Time will take care of the rest,” Elsa said. “In the meantime, go home and get some sleep.”

“I’m holding you to that, Queenie.”

“Good night, everyone.”

“See you tomorrow.”

The group disbanded, leaving the couple remaining. Maren felt the weight of the night beginning to hit her, from the craziness of the first couple hours of her shift to the realizations of what was to come, and she let out a yawn.

“Are you ok?” Elsa asked.

Maren nodded and put her phone in her pocket. “Just tired. It was busier than I thought. I should probably head out. But I’ll text before I crash for the night.”

She was about to head towards her car when she felt Elsa take her hand. Instinctively, Maren returned the hold and turned to face Elsa.

“Do you have one more minute?” Elsa asked.

Maren’s body relaxed.

Any other time, she would be the one asking Elsa. If not directly, then with a text or perhaps a small conversation. She wanted to spend more time with Elsa outside of work, though not at the cost of her comfort. To hear that Elsa wanted the same, to just have a little more time with Maren, meant that it was just as important to her. And reminded Maren that she meant something to her. For that, she would give Elsa all the minutes she had.

“Of course.”

Elsa’s grip remained. “I didn’t get the chance to say thank you.”

Maren raised an eyebrow. “What for?”

Elsa seemed like she was going to respond, though there was a lapse between her original reaction and her given answer. “The other night. Anna told me what you did.”

“It wasn’t a big deal,” she brushed it off.

“Yes, it was.” Elsa took a step closer. “You didn’t have to come over or spend any time with Anna. But you did. And it meant a lot to her.”

Pause.

“It…it meant a lot to me.”

It was kind of a beautiful thing to hear.

Maren didn’t think too much of it.

It wasn’t as if she did something so profound. Or that she’d been there long. She heard how distressed and upset Anna was and….

She just…. Reacted.

The way anyone should have.

To just be there.

That was what grief did. When it hit, it hit hard. Elsa may have claimed she wanted solitude in those moments, even if it wasn’t the right time. But that wasn’t Anna. Anna and alone were two words that were incompatible.

Even if she sat in silence; even if all she did was cry or vent; even if she let out every emotion she was feeling until she was too damn exhausted to anymore; Anna was not meant to do any of that without someone by her side.

Maybe it was to make it up to Elsa. Because she’d never want Anna to suffer like that. Maren couldn’t stand by and let that happen. If Elsa couldn’t be there – or, in this case, had been completely out of it – then the very least Maren could do was step in for her.

It was nothing, Maren claimed.

Nothing except perhaps selfish.

But to Anna?

To Elsa?

It meant everything.

And maybe she was finally doing something right.

“I couldn’t leave her like that. I know what that day is for you.”

Pause.

Her face fell.

“But I wasn’t there for you. Even when you asked, I….”

A breath.

“So I thought, if I couldn’t for you, at least I could for her.”

She moved her eyes up to meet Elsa’s, melting into the sapphiric pools. Even if she couldn’t decipher what was going on behind them, she hoped Elsa could read hers. And that she knew Maren would do anything for her. So if that meant protecting Anna, then Maren would do it a thousand times over.

She had to have known that or else she wouldn’t have kissed Maren the way she did.

It wasn’t necessarily as gentle as Maren had come to expect. There was often this delicacy, almost tentativeness to Elsa’s kisses. But there was always intention. When something was said or done that clearly meant something to Elsa. In those moments that mattered most, she wanted to do the same for Maren.

This? It came almost unexpectedly. Like there was this urgency behind it, something Elsa couldn’t quite control. As if any other answer wasn’t enough, that this was the only possible response.

Except for the piece of fabric between them.

Elsa pulled back almost immediately, hands a few mere centimeters away from Maren’s cheeks where they had landed in the midst of the hasty kiss. If Maren didn’t know any better, she could swear she saw some color spreading from under Elsa’s mask.

“Shit, I…. I’m sorry…. NOT…. Not sorry…. I did…. I just…. I….”

She was struggling more than usual to get any words out.

Elsa was always more than apologetic.

In fact, she just straight-up blabbed.

Without fail, it was adorable every time.

Something about this was different.

How tempting it was to pull down her mask.

To promise her that it was fine.

To kiss her again.

But that wasn’t Elsa.

She didn’t need to do a damn thing different.

Without thinking, Maren lifted her mask up.

“May I?”

Elsa took a breath. There was a pause as Maren’s hands fluttered over Elsa’s, lightly guiding them back to her cheeks. She thought she saw Elsa slowly inch in again. Maren didn’t make any other movements. There was no pressure. If this was as far as they got, or even if they just rested their foreheads against each other, that was fine. As much as Maren wanted this again…even though sometimes she did want more…it didn’t mean she deserved it. Whatever Elsa was willing to give, Maren would take that time and time again.

Their noses brushed against each other, the fabric of Elsa’s mask just meeting with the nosepiece of Maren’s. She thought contact followed; she could have sworn she felt the fabric press fully against her lips. Barely any time had passed before she felt Elsa shift. Maren’s brows furrowed in confusion, watching one of Elsa’s hands flutter up to her mask.

“Elsa…?”

“I’m fine,” she responded almost immediately.

She slowly lowered her mask before bringing her eyes to Maren’s.

“But I think I prefer without.”

Then she moved her hand towards Maren’s mask. She leaned in slightly before pausing, almost as if realization was hitting her. Maren gave a single nod, patiently waiting for Elsa’s lead. Finally, she pulled down Maren’s mask, almost authoritatively, and kissed her once more.

And this time it lasted a little bit longer.

Chapter Text

Working retail as an introvert was shit.

Though Elsa would rarely admit it out loud with such terminology.

Despite everyone insisting she had a foul mouth.

Elsa didn’t curse that much.

But you also didn’t need to be an introvert to know that retail was shit.

Some days were worse than others. Typically those came in the forms of holidays, storms, and major sporting events though that was not always the case. Other days, Elsa just didn’t want to deal with most people. This happened to be one of those days. The fact that Fred called out made it more unbearable. While Maren would be coming in an hour early per her availability to cover a portion of his shift, it still left them understaffed in the interim. Until her arrival Elsa would have to alternate between the safety of customer service and the front lines of register when the crowds became too much for Snow and Ella. Now if only Hans would step up when Elsa paged him to cover the desk. Switching between the two without any backup was not only less than ideal, but it also drained Elsa’s social meter that much quicker.

Elsa couldn’t tell how long she’d been doing this for let alone keep up with what time it currently was. It wasn’t until she saw the time hit three-thirty that she realized she had to get back on track. Why the hell had it been so crowded on a weekday anyway? She finished up with a patron at customer service before looking to the teen on register five.

“Snow. Shut your light and take your break.”

Snow turned her head towards Elsa. She glanced behind her briefly to be sure there were no customers approaching before she stepped towards the desk. “I can wait a little longer. I don’t mind.”

Elsa sighed. Sometimes she couldn’t help but wonder if this came from Snow’s natural desire to work or if Elsa’s workaholic tendencies were beginning to rub off on her. “Snow, I appreciate that. But you turned down your break once already. You go home in an hour, and I have to calculate everyone else’s breaks. Please go while it’s not busy.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to wait until the end of my shift?” she asked. “I don’t mind. Really.”

“I can’t guarantee it will work out that way,” Elsa shook her head. “And I would rather not take that chance. So I’m telling you: go. Now.”

Snow relented and obeyed Elsa’s command which turned out to be for the best. Within five minutes of her leaving the crowds returned. Ella had been left on register two to manage and Nani’s line at self scan was seeping deep into the aisle. Elsa had no choice but to leave customer service once more, effectively closing it for the time being unless Hans decided to finally show himself. She claimed register four once more and had only reached to grab her closed sign when someone asked if she was opening. Elsa didn’t even turn her light on; she confirmed the customer could come to her and, as soon as he stepped into her lane others followed suit. And with them came the barrage of questions that every cashier dreaded.

‘Can I get the sale price for this item?’

‘Do I have to buy two to get the deal?’

‘The item’s not ringing up, does that mean it’s free?’

‘Can you check the price of this?’

‘Why aren’t there more registers opened?’

The customers who wanted assistance at the desk or would have to go to the desk did little to help. They needed a raincheck. They wanted a refund on something they just bought. They wanted to sign up for a rewards card.

Hans just couldn’t wait to enact that one, could he?

It had barely been announced that reward cards and special deals were coming and now people wanted them before they were even live.

Dammit Hans.

“Are you open?”

By that point Elsa’s light was on and she had not moved from behind her register. Was that not indicative that she was indeed open? It was almost tempting to be a smartass and say that no, she wasn’t open, she was standing there for her health; didn’t everyone’s doctor tell them to stand in front of a register once a day? But some people might not take well to that and respond with an argument. Or, at the very least, start a conversation over it. Elsa’s patience was running too low for either.

“Yes, I can take you.”

She turned on the belt, eyes on the screen as she prepared to start scanning his order.

“Do you need any bags today?”

No response.

“Do you have bags?”

Still nothing.

Elsa may not have wanted to socialize, but the least he could do was answer a simple yes or no.

Especially when the number of people who said they didn’t need bags went about their whole transaction before asking if they could have bags was deplorable.

The only voice she heard came from the child that had apparently entered with him.

“Ohohohohoh Kenai! Can I get candy?”

“No.”

At least he was capable of saying something to someone.

“Can I?”

“No.”

“Can I?”

“No.”

“Can I?”

“Fine.”

“Wohoo! I’m getting these ones!”

“What? No! You get one.”

“Please?”

“No, Koda.”

“But I want both.”

“Yeah, well, I want both girlfriends but I only get one. So you do, too.”

“No fair! Chocolate’s better than girls.”

Depended on who you ask.

Not that Elsa was eavesdropping.

“You get one or none.”

“Kenai!”

“Koda.”

A grunt.

“Fine.”

She briefly heard him hemming and hawing over which candy to get before begrudgingly choosing one and slamming it on the belt with authority.

“I choose this one. That’s it, it’s on here, that’s mine, it’s final.”

“Snickers,” Elsa commented. She picked up the candy and scanned it before offering it to him. “Good choice.”

That seemed to get Koda’s attention. “You like chocolate, too?”

“I love chocolate,” Elsa nodded.

Koda’s eyes lit up. He excitedly jumped up and down, swinging his candy as if Elsa hadn’t seen it already.  “Do you like these ones?”

“I do like those,” Elsa replied. “I also like Reese’s, KitKats, Hershey’s…”

Koda poked his face around the pinpad. He pursed his lips and narrowed his gaze, as if he were trying to be serious. “But what’s your most favoritest chocolate? Like you could only eat one chocolate for the whole rest of your life ever again?”

“Koda, move up.” Kenai pushed his wagon forward, seeming to bump it against Koda. He must have finished loading the belt and wanted to start packing.

Oh, there were his bags at the bottom of the wagon.

He couldn’t have said that before?

“Oh.” Koda ran around to the other end of the register, trying to prop himself up on the bag stand. He sat at just below Elsa’s eye level and leaned forward with assertiveness. “Your most favoritest chocolate out all the chocolates that ever existed in the world ever!” he reminded her.

Now this was socialization that Elsa could tolerate.

“I’d have to say m&m’s.”

“Oooooo which ones?” he asked eagerly. “There’s all kinds of m&m’s. I like the red bags best. But there’s also blue bags and brown bags and purple bags and I think there’s an orange bag or maybe it’s a yellow bag but I don’t remember. My friend Bucky can’t have the red ones like me though, cause it makes his tongue swell up so if he eats any, like if he even eats just one red m&m, his tongue gets all poofy and funny so then…” he stuck his tongue out while he finished talking, “he hat ta talk nike dith all ta tine.”

Elsa couldn’t help but giggle. He was so animated and full of life. Not even just about chocolate, when he was also talking about his friend. It was almost enough to make her job tolerable. In a world where customers were constantly impatient, entitled, and just plain rude, it was so nice to have someone genuinely happy to be there and have such a positive demeanor. Though confirmed ages ago, this was further proof that children had far better attitudes than adults. And – for the most part – behaved better.

“I don’t think he should be eating any of those then,” Elsa said.

“Nope! Bucky gets in sooooooooo much trouble when he does,” he shook his head. “But it’s hard cause he really likes them. Like he super duper likes them but he’s really not allowed. I try to sneak him one sometimes but uh…” he lowered his voice, “it doesn’t always work.”

Elsa scanned the bags of chips and moved them to the side, careful not to crush them courtesy of the upcoming bottles. “Can’t imagine why.”

“Ok now you tell me yours!” Koda piped.

She had to pick just one?

“What if I like all of the m&m’s?” she shrugged.

Koda’s jaw dropped. “But that’s like all the m&m’s in the entire planet!”

Well, that might have been a mild exaggeration.

While Elsa would gladly hoard all the m&m’s – if such a thing were possible – there were still a few flavors she was not particularly fond of. But she wasn’t going to get into that. Especially when Koda didn’t seem to know about the monstrosity that were candy corn m&m’s.

Koda pursed his lips. “I dunno, that kinda sounds like cheating….”

They couldn’t have that, could they?

“Well if I could only choose one flavor of m&m’s….” She hummed in thought while she scanned the last couple of items. She had to bite her tongue at realizing what that meant. How m&m’s were more than just a candy for her. They were the thing that helped her connect with Anna; to finally make her understand. And with that came what one particular flavor meant for her. Who it reminded her of. “I think I’d have to go with peanut.”

“Ooooo that’s a good one,” the boy nodded approvingly. “I like those ones, too. Do you also like gum?” He huffed when Kenai reached in front of him to grab some of the items to pack. Koda moved his head back and forth behind and over his arm so he could keep his eyes on Elsa. “Cause I like gum. But only the minty kind. Bucky says I’m weird cause I don’t like bubblegum and he says that everyone has to like bubblegum gum, specially if they’re a kid. But I just think it’s too bubblegummy, y’know? Like, I like a little bubblegum flavor but not a whole big ton of bubblegum flavor punching me in the face.”

“I know what you mean,” Elsa nodded. “I never enjoyed gum, either. My sister loves bubblegum and blows huge bubbles with them all the time. Not everyone can do that. I think she just likes to show off. Especially in front of my girlfriend. One time it made her so jealous that she just had to have a piece and ended up complaining after.”

It wasn’t until after Elsa spoke that she realized she uttered the word ‘girlfriend’ to someone she didn’t know. It was a rare enough occurrence with her small circle of friends or even Anna. She didn’t have to think twice about it then. They knew them. So it didn’t matter.

But now?

To a random customer?

Just…. Out of nowhere?

What if she drew attention to herself?

What if they reacted negatively?

Elsa wasn’t fully out for a reason. And it was wrong, so incredibly wrong, to admit that. To make matters worse, it was an insult to Maren who was completely out and unapologetic about who she was.

Though they both dealt with their share of criticism, Elsa could argue that hers had been worse. Because it came from people she was supposed to trust. Who were supposed to love and accept her no matter what.

A random person knowing could never be as bad as that and yet….

Elsa didn’t want to deal with it again.

She couldn’t deal with it again.

She could only hope that, as a child, it would go over Koda’s head. And that if anything, he’d have heard it as girl friend instead.

“She doesn’t sound very smart. Why’s she eating gum if it hurts her teeth? I bet she gets in sooooo much trouble with the dentist. Does she have a lotta cavities? I think gum might be the reason cavities exist. That might be why I never had any, cause Kenai doesn’t let me get gum that much. And even when I do eat gum, it’s just the minty kind and ONLY the minty kind. But it doesn’t taste minty for very long so I spit it out before it can hurt my teeth. Now that’s a smart thing to do. Cause I’m smart. Maybe she should try that instead.”

Elsa let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding.

It was so minor…and somewhat insulting…but also natural.

It was almost as if he didn’t care. He just responded the way any other child would. It didn’t matter that Elsa said ‘girlfriend’. It mattered that Maren was being careless.

Which could be accurate sometimes.

Not that she’d say that to her face.

“It isn’t very smart, is it?” Elsa realized.

Maybe she wasn’t being very smart, either.

Maybe once in a while it was ok to stop being so guarded.

Because a little kid didn’t care if she was gay or straight.

They just cared if she was nice to them.

And maybe talked to them about chocolate and candy.

Elsa leaned forward, lowering her voice as if she were trying to whisper, “Just don’t tell her I said that, ok?”

“Oh, ok! I promise I won’t ever tell nobody ever!” Koda nodded.

Elsa smiled behind her mask. “Good job,” she complimented.

Unfortunately, that still left the matter of the elder. Letting out a quiet breath, Elsa glanced towards him as he moved one of the filled bags to his wagon. “Do you need any help packing the rest?”

“I’m fine,” he answered flatly, grabbing his credit card from his pocket and shoving it into the pinpad. “We have to get going anyway.”

“But I wasn’t done talking to my new friend,” Koda pouted.

“Well, you can help me pack at the car instead. We have to go. Now,” Kenai insisted.

Koda puffed his cheeks and folded his arms. “You’re such a meanie.”

He kind of was, wasn’t he?

Did any of that have to do with Elsa?

What she said?

Then again, he hadn’t been very talkative that whole time.

It was such a benign thing in the grand scheme of things; it wasn’t worth overthinking.

Especially when, moments ago, she inadvertently came out to Koda and he was completely fine.

But with another customer approaching her register, there was hardly any time to get in her head.

She had a job to do, after all.

Once Kenai finished the prompts on the pinpad and the receipt printed, Elsa offered it to Koda. “Would you like to hold onto the receipt?”

“Oh yeah, that’s mine!” Koda declared, happily grabbing it. He looked up at Elsa and tilted his head. “You have a really pretty mask.”

Elsa felt a light blush rise to her cheeks, forgetting that she had switched from a disposable mask to reusable one. With one small comment her nerves disintegrated almost entirety. Even as they were finishing, Koda didn’t lose his spark and remained happy to continue to interact with Elsa until the last possible moment. “Thank you.”

“Where’d you get it? I like all the colors,” he asked.

“Koda,” Kenai groaned, pushing the wagon out of the lane.

“It was a gift,” Elsa answered. “My cousin made it.”

Koda’s eyes widened. “And colored it, too?”

“Not exactly,” Elsa giggled. “She sewed fabrics together to make it look like a painting.”

“Koda,” Kenai repeated.

“And she did that all by herself?” he gasped.

“She did,” Elsa nodded.

“She’s gotta be really, really, really, really, REALLY smart to make that.”

“Koda! I’m gonna leave you hear forever,” Kenai threatened.

Koda groaned. “I’m coming.”

Followed by what almost sounded like a mumbled, “Fun sucker.”

Koda hopped down and then climbed onto the end of the wagon so he could ride out of the store with the groceries. Kenai didn’t waste any time pushing them out of the store. Even then, Koda couldn’t help but seem to call after Elsa, “Bye, new friend! Don’t eat too much gum, it’ll hurt your teeth! Have a good rest of work!”

Easier said than done.

Retail was shit, especially for an introvert.

But if she could have just one customer that was anything like him, it might not be so hard.

It could last for an entire transaction, or it could be for just a minute.

But sometimes it was enough to make the job less shitty.

Probably not enough to convince Elsa to enjoy her job.

But it could come pretty damn close.

A good rest of work sounded like a great idea.

Chapter Text

“Maaaaaaaren! I’m cold!”

“Maaaaaaaren it’s too hot!”

“Maaaaaaaren I have to pee!”

“Maaaaaaren! Where’s my Scooby blanket?”

“Maaaaaaren my arm hurts! What do I do?”

“Maaaaaaren more blankets!”

“Maaaaaaren my tummy!”

“Maaaaaaren where are you?”

“Maaaaaaren!”

Ughhhhh she wished he would shut the fuck up already!

It was the same things over and over again.

And it didn’t help that he sounded like some decaying zombie mule.

But as much as she wanted to blame him, she couldn’t. This was how it always was. Every time they’d get a shot Ryder would be fine as long as he was distracted. It was when the side effects kicked in that he became a problem. Maren, on the other hand, couldn’t be a bigger coward before even stepping into the same room as a needle. Everything from the ride there to the appointment to the treat after. There was nothing in the universe that could quell Maren’s fear.

When she and Ryder went to get the chicken pox vaccine, their mother had promised them a new toy and anything they wanted for dinner. Even if she was true to her promise, it meant nothing to Maren. She still had to go through with the vaccine. She was screaming before stepping foot into the doctor’s office. Hell, she was even screaming at the lollipop she was offered. Before getting the shot.

When she went in for bloodwork, she would always be hysterical. Yelena chalked it up to the sight of blood; a perfectly normal thing to feel queasy over. She completely disregarded Maren’s terror, basically telling her to get over it. If that didn’t send her over the edge, getting pricked five times trying to locate the vein made it ten times worse.

When they got the HPV vaccine in high school, Maren’s anxiety skyrocketed so much that she passed out before seeing the nurse. Instead of feeling relief that it had been over and done with while she was out cold, she felt violated for having that thing in her arm.

Logically, Maren knew these were necessary. Just as this Covid vaccine was. If she wanted this to be over for good, she should do her part and get the damn shot. She just couldn’t bring herself to go through with it. Not for herself. Not for Ryder. Not even for….

Bzzzz bzzzz

Maren shifted her attention to her phone. A message from Elsa flashed on her screen.

How are you holding up?

She should be asking her that. Maren was the one who left her high and dry, after all, calling out last minute because Ryder claimed he needed her. But she knew Elsa was going to downplay it. Maren had no chance of winning that argument.

Little late for your break isnt it 😼

There seemed to be a slight hesitation in her response.

Bold of you to assume I’m on my break.

Did Elsa know how much of a tease she could be?

ARE you on your break? 🤔

That is not your concern.

Which meant no.

As horrible as Elsa was with her breaks, it was worse on busy nights.

Maren didn’t have to ask how bad it was there; she already knew.

Im sorry 🥺

Her response came without hesitation.

Don’t be. If it was Anna, I would have done the same.

Bet Anna wouldntve been whining like a baby all night

Pause.

Debatable.

How is Ryder?

Being a whiny baby 🍼

It sounds like you could use some m&m’s.

Heh…when didn’t she need m&m’s?

But as tempting as they were – and the person bringing them – Maren couldn’t bring herself to give in. It was the week of Mother’s Day so if tonight was bad, it was only going to get worse leading to the day of. As much as Maren would have liked to spend more time with Elsa outside of work, the end of the world was not the time to do it. She should get home and rest.

A novel concept, she knew.

Cant. Max capacity. Wouldnt wanna get arrested for hoarding m&ms 😇

Didn’t realize you were such a bad girl.

Did some pretty hard time for chocolate theft with Yelena 😝

Wanted in one whole house.

Probably 2. Ate the last of Ryders ice cream last week

From your own brother, too?

Im bad news 😉

Good thing I like bad girls.

She was flirtier in texts.

Not that Elsa would call it flirting.

It was obviously normal banter.

Bet Id do double time for cereal 👀

Worse offense: Cocoa Puffs or Oreo O’s?

Surprise me 😉

“Maaaaaaaaren!”

OH COME ON!

She spent the next twenty minutes with him in the bathroom. Then he wanted another blanket. As if he weren’t hoarding all the blankets in the apartment already. Maren had to improvise and get him a towel. Then his back was hurting. Then he had to go to the bathroom again only to cough up nothing. It was another hour before she could convince him to take something to help him sleep. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been sprawled out on the couch for when her phone buzzed.

I hope I’m not intruding.

Elsa? Intrude? Never.

Knock knock knockknockknock knock.

Unable to hold back a smile, Maren got up to answer the door. “If it isn’t my partner in crime.”

Elsa held up the box of cereal. “The heist was a success.”

“Good,” Maren grinned, “now the cereal’s all mine.”

She took the box from Elsa only to discard it to the side. It was never the chocolate that Maren wanted. Much as she thought Elsa should go straight home, she was glad she came.

She held out her hand, “And so are you.”

Elsa scoffed lightly and shook her head, though she seemed to take Maren’s hand without a second thought. “So that was your master plan all along.”

“Guilty,” Maren confessed before placing a light kiss to Elsa’s hairline. “How was work?”

Elsa shook her head. “We don’t have to talk about it.”

“Yes, we do. I wanna hear about it.” She led Elsa to the couch, both sitting on opposite ends yet close enough to keep a hold of each other’s’ hand. “What’d I miss tonight?”

“It wasn’t that bad,” she brushed it off.

Maren tilted her head. She wasn’t letting Elsa off the hook that easily. “No, really. How bad was it?”

Elsa took a breath. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.”

Pause.

“But it was bad.”

That sounded more like it.

She did feel bad about putting Elsa in the position she did. But that didn’t mean Elsa had to sugar coat anything. Maren knew it was going to be a busy week; she could handle it. She just wanted Elsa to feel comfortable talking about her day. Regardless of the circumstance, Maren would always want to hear about her day.

“Spill the tea,” Maren encouraged.

Elsa pulled in her lips. “Someone wanted to use a raincheck at self scan. He didn’t believe Nani when she said she couldn’t put it through. If it weren’t for the other machines, you’d think she was trying to pin him off on me.”

“Classic.”

“It was starting to pick up, so for the sake of time I was going to put it through as a store coupon.”

“Was…?” she raised an eyebrow.

“Something was off. It didn't look right. But the only thing I could think of was that he photocopied a raincheck.”

“People do that?”

“He claimed I was calling him an idiot.”

“If the shoe fits.”

“I called Oaken up front and he took the raincheck into the cash office. While he did that, I rang a few customers on register six. The whole time the customer was complaining about it taking too long. He refused to let Nani suspend his order so someone else could use self scan.”

Maren scoffed. “Forget idiot, he sounds like a real douchebag.”

“After about ten minutes, he decided he didn’t want to wait any longer. He left everything at self scan. Including at least ten yogurts. Neither of us had a chance to put them away let alone move them to the coolers. They had to get added to the damages.”

“And people wonder why shit’s so damn expensive,” Maren muttered.

“Naturally we had an abundance of gift cards,” Elsa continued. “I made consistent announcements for them to be rung up at customer service. One customer wanted to put $500 on a gift card. They were using Apple Pay which would have been fine if the register hadn’t crashed mid-transaction. We had to reset the register and effectively close the desk until it was back up.”

“Where was Hans in all of this?”

“Appeasing impatient clients by writing out rainchecks for $25 off their next purchase. He claimed it was easier than ringing multiple gift cards.”

“What is he, allergic to registers or something?”

“I’m starting to wonder if he’s allergic to work.”

“Burn.”

“Another customer tried to claim I wasn’t doing it properly; that I wasn’t supposed to rip the back of it and instead scan the barcode on the back. I told her that code doesn’t work to deter scammers. She asked if I was really sure.”

“You’re the Queen of Retail. Of course you’re sure.”

“I was also asked if I worked there…. While standing behind the desk.”

“Yes, they let everyone back there now,” Maren commented sarcastically.

“Ten minutes before closing someone came to self scan with a small order which included a twenty-five-pound bag of dog food. He claimed he saw it on sale for $20.”

“Maybe if it was half empty.”

“I started the tour to see if anyone was left midway through his order. I ran into him on the other side of the store shortly after. He looked like he was looking for something.”

“Let me guess…his brain?”

“I asked Nani what he was doing. She said he was down four cents and had to look for loose change around the store because he didn’t have any more money.”

“And he really thought we have coins just sitting on the shelves next to the marshmallows?”

“More like, he expected us to open the register and give him the four cents.”

Maren’s eyes widened. “The fucking hell??”

“Fortunately, the tills were already taken in for the night so Nani couldn’t have opened hers if she wanted to. But he said it was the least we could do for ‘treating him like shit’.”

“The fuck crawled up that douche’s ass?”

“He came back with a fifteen-pound bag of dog food, saying he wanted that instead of the larger bag. The whole time he was complaining about missing out on $10 and that, quote, ‘if it weren’t for guys like me, you’d only be getting paid $1 an hour so you should be grateful you even work at all.’”

Maren’s eyes widened. She heard some pretty backwards and disrespectful comments, but as far as Retail Hell went that had to be one of the worst. She couldn’t help but give Elsa’s hand a squeeze. “Please tell me you went Snow Queen on his ass.”

“Nani had that covered. She told him we were the ones constantly working overtime without the ‘help’ of guys like him. And that, tonight, his precious $10 was ours to gain.”

“And she calls you sassy.”

“I am n–” Elsa pulled her hand back and held it up as if to block Maren. “Whatever.”

Maren couldn’t help but chuckle. It was the most reaction she exhibited the whole time.

It was somehow equal parts entertaining and hauntingly beautiful. The way she told these stories so simply and as-a-matter-of-factly. Because to her they were just that: stories. Told with no hesitations or seconds thoughts; spoken as if she were reciting something; nothing more than an everyday conversation. Logically, Maren knew how Elsa could do that: conceal, don’t feel. It made it difficult to know what was bothering her. She could keep things wrapped up so tightly that it was hard to know where the Snow Queen ended and Elsa began.

“Anyway,” Elsa finished, “he decided last minute to switch back to the original twenty-five-pound bag. It turned out he had an extra $10 the entire time; he would rather have gotten something out of us than break it instead. Hence, another ten minutes of overtime and my late arrival.” She shrugged her shoulders and pulled in her lips. “Those were my stories tonight.”

Except they weren’t just her stories anymore.

Well…maybe technically, tonight, they were.

Maren wanted her to share these stories.

She wanted Elsa to feel comfortable talking to her.

“You know….”

Maren slid in a little closer, just enough to try to get her point across without invading Elsa’s personal space.

“You don’t have to deal with these alone anymore.”

Elsa tilted her head. She had this…not quite blank but rather…. Inquisitive stare, almost. Like it hadn’t fully hit her. And why should it? She still seemed hesitant at times to accept that everyone else was there for her, too. That they were in this together. After so long of dealing with things alone, it must have been one hell of a habit to break. How else would she respond but to study Maren? Looking for any signs that it was perhaps too good to be true? Or maybe another reminder that it was real? That she wasn’t imagining this. Them. The same way Maren might wait for the other shoe to drop; for the day that she’d screw up so bad that Elsa would leave. Or decide that she was too much.

But that was Maren’s inner voice questioning. Elsa’s primarily came from the exterior, examining every possibility. So she went beyond just studying Maren’s face. She lifted her hand up, tilting the brim of Maren’s hat so she could reach the bangs underneath. Her finger brushed the tip of Maren’s hair, sliding from one side to the other. It traced down the side of her face, over her hairline, past her ear, and down her cheek. Her touch was so light it was almost akin to an itch. But Maren resisted moving her hand to take Elsa’s. She wanted to give her the chance to process; to accept her statement as the truth. Elsa’s finger found the start of Maren’s braid under her ear, slowly adding another finger until her she could fully hold a lump of hair. She guided Maren’s braid from off her shoulder towards her back before transitioning her touch to her shoulder completely. She leaned in slightly as if to get a closer examination. Her eyes darted, searching Maren’s face. Finally, she closed the gap and pecked Maren’s lips. It was so light, much more tentative than usual. Almost like this final confirmation; that this was really Maren in front of her promising this rather than something Elsa conjured for herself. She pulled back, though leaving what felt like no space between them, meeting Maren’s eyes. Finally, she brought her lips to hers once more. Though the contact remained delicate it was long enough for Maren to return the kiss; and for Maren to know it was ok to respond. That this was something Elsa wanted in the moment.

And yet a wave of guilt swatted Maren.

Here she was encouraging Elsa to talk to her. To open up about her day to her. To stop hiding from her. To accept the support and commitment that Maren wanted to give her. And what the hell was Maren doing other than being a damn hypocrite? She couldn’t talk to her about the damn vaccine. She could be open with just about anything else but when it came to her fear of needles…. How was that kosher? Expecting Elsa to do what Maren couldn’t? Even if there were some things neither wanted to discuss…the way Elsa didn’t expect Maren to divulge everything about her parents or religion…this didn’t qualify. This wasn’t something to hide. Covid had been such an unnecessary debate among the public; how seriously it should be taken; how high the cases really were; how dangerous it really was; if anything really needed to be done; if the shots were effective. It divided people the same way politics did. Something that was considered a dealbreaker. If Maren refusing the shot qualified as such, Elsa had the right to know.

Reluctantly, Maren pulled back. The space was still minimal between them, enough to still feel Elsa’s breath on her lips. “I need to tell you something,” she forced out.

“Ok….”

The concern in Elsa’s voice should have made her feel better, but it didn’t. She could already feel chills running down her body in the worst way. Her body stiffened; her heart slammed against her chest; she couldn’t move her eyes anywhere but down; a lump in her throat that would result in either a scream or gag. She had no idea how to tell her let alone anticipate the disappointment or anger that was sure to follow.

“A…about the… Shot….”

She had to force herself to say it, the way she had to force herself to cough up something jammed in her throat. Except this was worse. There was no relief when it even started to be in the open; instead, she felt like she was going to throw up. Immediately she was a terrified child in the doctor’s office again. Watching him turn around to offer a lollipop. Yet knowing what else was on the other side. And all she wanted to do was let out an ear-piercing scream.

Suddenly she felt her heart vibrate through her body. It was moving so hard and fast that she physically felt herself shaking to keep up with it lest that she’d collapse. Her breathing echoed the movement, echoing harder and faster. How could talking about it…just thinking about it…feel as bad as experiencing it? So much so that she couldn’t be honest with her girlfriend? Even if this were a dealbreaker, surely it couldn’t be as bad as explaining it to a doctor. Elsa would understand at least on some level…. Wouldn’t she?

But if she didn’t….

If this changed the way she looked at Maren….

If this was the thing that broke her trust….

If this was what cost her….

Gravity was increasing on her, pulling, dragging, practically punching. It was quicksand without physically swallowing her. The earth around her shook, jagged rocks jumping and landing with such force it only added to the weight. Everything in her body was rough firewood hitting each other, creating this uncomfortable burning inside. Her breaths quickened further, struggling to breathe in some of the wind that was slapping her across her face. If there were any hope of getting up, water pulverized her into the ground. Every force of nature seemed to be against her. It didn’t matter that it should be something to do. It didn’t matter she should talk about it. It didn’t matter that, sooner or later, Maren should get over this fear. Because it was a stupid, childish fear. She was such an idiot.

“Honey….”

A sharp breath.

A wave of warmth fluttered underneath her.

Like the rough pounding of water shifted to a gentle push and pull.

Her breathing slowed slightly, though it was still hard.

“Honey…”

How could one sound…one word…do that?

Make her feel infinitely lighter?

She still couldn’t find the energy to get up.

But at least she was there because she wanted to be.

No longer laying because she was weak and helpless but rather because she was floating on air.

And Elsa’s melodic echoing of her name was enough to bring her there.

An embrace of heat circled her body while another patch of warmth was on her cheek.

It slid gently back and forth, silently encouraging her to follow it.

With every sweep of that finger, a breath began to hum until it slowed to the same pace.

One.

Two.

Three.

One…

Two…

Three…

One….

Two….

Three….

The rocks became couch pillows and cushions.

The wind was hot breath on Maren’s face.

The gravelly sand melted into the comfort of Elsa’s body against Maren’s.

Reality fully hit her: she had collapsed after all, straight into Elsa’s arms. One arm holding her in place; her thumb brushing against Maren’s cheek in the same pace; and Maren’s head rested on her shoulder.

She was, in every sense of the word, dominating Elsa’s space.

How much was Elsa tolerating this?

Tolerating Maren?

She should move…she had to move…if only she had the damn strength to….

“Honey…. I’m here.”

A final breath of relief.

Those three words said it all.

She knew.

Maren relinquished all control to Elsa, even if that only meant letting her hold her.

For a while they remained just like that, sitting on the couch tangled in each other with the only indication of sound being their breathing in near harmony. Maren was uncertain how much time passed before Elsa broke the silence.

“Why didn’t you say anything before?”

Because she was a selfish coward?

“Your anxiety…” she settled on instead, “the same.”

Maren exhaled, feeling more disappointed than stupid.

“I didn’t want you to know,” she confessed softly.

“You’re scared,” she finished knowingly.

That was one word for it.

“Maren, you are one of the strongest, bravest, most resilient, protective people I know,” she promised. “This doesn’t change a thing.”

She tightened her grip around Maren.

“This will never change a damn thing.”

Of course it wouldn’t.

Shit, Maren should have known better.

Elsa would have never assumed Maren was avoiding the shot because she didn’t trust it.

She knew Maren was nothing like the Covid deniers or anti-vaxxers.

Because Elsa always knew there was a reason.

She didn’t doubt Maren for a second.

“And if you decide to try, I’ll be there,” she insisted.

“Elsa, I can’t—” she started.

“Not when. If,” she clarified.

She didn’t expect a damn thing.

She just offered her support freely.

The same way Maren always did for her.

“You don’t know what you’d be getting into,” Maren said. “I can’t let you do that.”

“I want to.”

It wasn’t just that she validated Maren’s fears; there was no questioning or prying at all.

It was that she was giving Maren an option. No matter how necessary or even logical it was to eventually get the vaccine, Maren still had the right to say no. And she could change her mind whenever she wanted – which she should.

On top of that, any research she had done prior might as well have been thrown out the window. Even if it informed or solidified her personal decision to get the shot, it all meant nothing if it hurt Maren somehow. She was choosing Maren.

She was continuing to choose Maren.

It was more than Maren could have ever hoped for.

This angel…her angel…was more than she could have ever hoped for.

“So,” Elsa encouraged, “spill the tea.”

Chapter Text

“I need six eggs!”

Maren had barely stepped back into the store from her break when she was met with the demand. Was it too much for someone to just ask ‘where are the eggs?’

She supposed she should give the benefit of the doubt; the lady was wrangling five kids, one of which was pushing and pulling the wagon back and forth and three in a stroller.

Still, it would be nice to anticipate someone not yelling at her during her shift.

Maren pointed to the left. “That way, at the end of Frozen. They’re in one of the refrigerators just past the milk.”

The woman barely nodded a thank you before attempting to maneuver her kids in that direction. Naturally followed by her yelling at her other child to ‘put back the damn Gogurt’.

The sad thing was that was the most action she got all day.

Typically Sundays were synonymous with the end of the world. Most people who worked ‘normal’ nine to five jobs would use the day to catch up on their errands and take care of grocery shopping for the week. The influx of customers made it significantly more difficult and tiring for the employees, causing everything to feel heightened between trying to ring them up quickly and struggling to get anything done. This was one of the rare Sundays that, while there were still a handful of wagons in the Crap Corner to take care of, was for the most part under control. Maren could only attribute that to it being Mother’s Day. Most people had scrambled to get last minute cards, gift cards, and desserts in the last couple of days. Now that the day was nearly over with, everyone was either in the middle of their dinner celebrations or had already done something. Honestly, it was a welcome change. And it made it significantly easier to handle self scan. The only downside was that when Maren did have to assist someone, they took it as permission to ask her why she was working and not doing anything with her mother.

As if it was any of their damn business.

If they wanted to talk to her about today, they should be talking about the injustice that was selling chocolate covered strawberries.

Why the hell were they only sold on Valentines Day and Mother’s Day? They were perfectly good all year round.

There was one saving grace, however. And she was standing at self scan covering Maren’s break.

Specifically, leaning onto the spare register with a pen in her hand.

As Maren approached, she could see Elsa sketching in a small notebook. She propped her arms on the side of the register, watching as Elsa’s hand slanted up and down on the page creating lines upon lines in an almost cross-hatching manner. How Elsa was able to conjure something on a blank page was beyond Maren. What amazed her even more was that even in the hell that was retail, Elsa could find something beautiful in it.

“I like your Bruni.”

Elsa immediately flinched back. “Son of a….”

Maren couldn’t help but giggle. Even when Elsa glared at her, Maren continued to smile behind her mask.

“I hate when you do that,” Elsa grumbled.

“More than Nani booping you?” Maren teased.

“She did not earn that right.”

“Right, I forgot the boop is owned and copywritten by Elsa Arendelle.”

“That is not entirely true.”

“How was self scan?”

“Uneventful. Truthfully, I prefer it over the desk today.”

Maren’s face fell. She mentally scolded herself for not realizing. She had still not fully grasped the concept of choosing her moments. As a result, she was so caught up in the teasing that she’d forgotten Elsa must have struggled more with today than she did. Maren was far more detached from the concept and didn’t think anything of it beyond being a normal day. Elsa, by comparison, must have experienced more conflicting feelings. And having people go to customer service when they were only buying cards and gift cards, and specifically for their mothers, did little to help.

Maren let out a breath. “I’m sorry. How are you holding up?”

Elsa picked up her book and gently closed it, holding it in front of her. “I’ve been better. But I’ve also been worse.”

Maren shifted back and forth on her feet. “Would chocolate covered strawberries help? I have a pack at home…. You know, if Ryder didn’t already get his paws on them.”

At least it garnered faint giggle. “Tempting. And appreciated.”

“It’s either that or I hand over the kingdom of self scan to you,” Maren added innocently.

“Oh, I’m sure you’d love that.”

“Then I guess I’ll just leave you to it.”

“Except I have to clock out for my break.”

“I’m sorry, what? You? Break? Who are you and what have you done with Elsa?”

“Hans’ orders.”

“And you’re gonna take that from him?”

“I have to. Technically, he is above me.”

“So you’ll listen to him but not the rest of us.”

“When you’re Queen of Retail you can dictate the breaks.”

“Did you just call Hans a queen?”

“Ugh, you’re right. He’d look terrible in a tiara.”

“And a dress. As if he’d willingly wear one.”

“Maren!”

Elsa had to cover her mouth to quiet her laughter.

That was more like it.

“So…. Chocolate tonight?” Maren asked hopefully.

Elsa moved her notebook up her chest. “Chocolate sounds wonderful.”

Maren’s eyes darted down. “And maybe you can show me what else you have in there?”

Elsa scoffed lightly. “I have other sketchbooks for that.”

“Good.”

Elsa tilted her head.

“That means there’s more.”

And Maren wanted to see them all.

Elsa shook her head. “I should go. But I’ll see you in thirty?”

“I’ll sneak you a text,” she winked.

“I wouldn’t condone that.” Elsa started towards the time clock. Once she finished entering her numbers she briefly glanced back towards Maren. “Just don’t let Hans catch you.”

As if she gave two shits what Hans thought.

Maren eyed the printer at the backup register. Pursing her lips, she took a step closer and ripped out a small piece of scrap paper for herself. Maren could draw something to pass the time, too…. Just nowhere near as intricate or beautiful as anything Elsa could conjure. Removing a pen from her sweat jacket pocket, Maren began to doodle a stick figure with noticeable sideburns…though they might have just looked like really big ears instead…and what she hoped looked like a sparkling tiara. Once her questionable doodle was complete, she took a picture of it on her phone and texted it to Elsa complete with a caption underneath.

look at me, i’m Hans in my shiny tiara i’m so pretty and better than all of you🤣

“Maren.”

Maren had barely sent the text when she heard Hans behind her. She scattered to put her phone back in her pocket and out of sight before turning to him, hoping he hadn’t seen her message.

“It wasn’t me!”

To that, Hans raised an eyebrow.

Pause.

This wasn’t suspicious.

Maren cleared her throat. “So…what’s up?”

“I need you to do me a favor,” Hans declared. Before giving Maren a chance to ask, he continued. “There’s a woman shopping with her kids. Five of them, to be exact.”

“I saw them when I was coming back from my break,” she commented.

“Do you know where they went?”

“She was looking for the eggs.”

Hans looked in the direction of the Frozen aisle. “They should be up here soon, then,” he thought aloud. Giving a nod, he turned back to Maren with a decisive look. “I need you to close self scan immediately.”

Maren blinked. That was a suggestion she never heard before.

Not that she was completely opposed to it. If it meant she didn’t have to watch the machines or listen to the damn “please wait, help is on the way”, she was more than happy to do it. Nor was it like they couldn’t afford to close the machines down. Up to this point, for the majority of Maren’s shift, it had been mostly calm. Still, it didn’t leave her with a warm feeling in her gut. Aside from the fact that it was Sunday, things could change at a moment’s notice within an hour of closing. The amount of people who came in last minute to shop bordered on despicable. They’d proceed to complain how only self scan was open or, if there was one register open that the line was too long. And the odds of getting out on time, while not impossible, would plummet.

“Why? Did something happen?”

Hans rubbed his chin in deliberation. “I don’t want to put you on the spot….”

Why did she not fully believe that?

“But we have reason to believe she’s been stealing. And that her kids are in on it.”

‘We’ as in, Hans and Oaken? Or ‘we’ as in Hans being a judgmental prick?

He’d only been at the store for a month. That wasn’t enough time to get to know anyone, whether it was the employees or regular customers – as if he’d care about the former anyway. From what Maren knew, Oaken had never mentioned the need to watch anyone specific before; and certainly nothing to the extent of accusing a customer of stealing. If he hadn’t said anything to the cashiers, why would he suddenly mention it to Hans?

Sure, occasionally Maren did recognize a frustrating customer. Those, however, she knew how to handle. A customer with a thick French accent, for one. Maren first encountered him when she began working at the store. He was giving Snow a hard time about the price of some cookies. Apparently, that was the norm for him; every instance since, he was always trying to get a sale on something. He thought that if he complained enough, he would finally get his way. The worst she ever had to do was get Elsa involved. It never got to the point of having to punish someone. Not that Maren had such authority, anyway. But there were quite a few customers that she would have loved to ban from the store if she were given the chance.

Maren folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Did she steal anything?” she challenged.

“Not that we know of,” he responded, clearly on the defense now. However, his posture remained straight and his eyes stoic. “But I do know she has a wagon full of groceries and five kids. That’s a lot of mouths for one person to feed. And the children are at an impressionable age. It’s not farfetched to believe they could be taught to steal and get away with it. Self scan is the perfect training ground. Shrink is higher here.”

“Shrink?” she repeated. That was not a term Maren was familiar with.

Hans narrowed his gaze. “That should have been covered in your training.”

“Refresh my memory,” she said simply.

“Very well,” he conceded. “I assume you’re familiar with BOB. Or do you need to be reminded of that as well?”

Condescending douche.

“Bottom of the basket,” she confirmed.

A single nod. “And shrink is one of the reasons we push BOB so heavily. We don’t check BOB, they don’t tell us they have an item, they don’t pay, we lose money. Shrink is already particularly high in sections like cleaning and HBC. We can’t afford to lose more money on top of that. So we do what we must to prevent it. Especially at self scan, where walkouts happen on a daily basis. People find various ways to cheat the system. It’s very easy for someone to claim they scanned something when they didn’t. And, especially when there are multiple people to watch at once, I don’t blame you for letting them get away with it.”

Excuse her?

It was one thing to accuse someone of potentially stealing based off assumptions.

It was another thing to talk down to Maren about something she didn’t remember.

But to assume she knew people were getting away with shit and just let them?

Insinuating that she was the problem?

Maren was not having any of that.

She could admit that there were multiple instances where she believed she was the problem.

But this was not one of them.

“That is not how it works here,” she scowled.

Hans merely shrugged. “Fine. Prove me wrong then. Leave the self scans opened. If you have that much confidence in your abilities – and this much faith in the public – then I’m sure we won’t have anything come up missing and your job will remain secure.”

Maren gritted her teeth.

Put her on the spot, her ass.

Her faith in humanity may have staggered since Covid started, but that was primarily based off their attitudes, not because of theft.

Hans was a perfect example of that.

She knew she should take his comments about her job with a grain of salt.

That Maren didn’t have to worry about her job as he claimed.

That, despite his power, Oaken was still the one in charge.

But his attitude? His assumptions? His…Hans-ness?

She fucking hated this.

Maren clenched her fists, mentally reminding herself to conceal. It was not her strong suit; and even Elsa admitted it was a poor mantra. But, for the moment, it was a necessary one. Conceal, don’t feel. Conceal, don’t feel.

“I’ll shut down two of the machines,” she caved, “leave one open to help cover Ella.”

It was difficult to read Hans’ expression before he turned away.

“Let’s hope it works in your favor.”

‘Works in your favor’?

He really didn’t think she could do this, did he?

He had so little faith in what Maren was capable of….

Over the possibility of someone maybe getting away with something….

When he didn’t even have any concrete evidence….

She shouldn’t believe him.

She knew she shouldn’t.

But it was so damn difficult for him not to get into her head.

There was just something about him that when he opened his mouth….

The worst part about it was, it took little to no effort.

As if it didn’t even faze him.

And it was only a matter of time.

Before something happened.

Before Hans found a reason.

Before she screwed up again.

Thanks, Hans, she thought sarcastically.

Thank you so damn motherfucking much.

Chapter Text

“I hate self scan.”

She barely noticed her sudden entrance startled Bruni, causing him to jump off Elsa’s lap.

“We established that.”

“And I hate Hans.”

“Confirmed the other night.”

That was an understatement.

After Hans talked to her on Sunday and Maren gathered herself enough, she shut down one of the self scans and started to clean it. She monitored the other two for a few minutes and then closed another. Not long after, the lady Hans ‘warned’ her about came to start her order. She had scanned only one item before the machine was sent into a frenzy of “please wait, help is on the way”. When Maren scanned her card, the screen turned red and informed her the terminal was transferred. She had no idea when that happened or if it had somehow been timed to go off at a certain point. She had to pull some bs excuse out of her ass about how there was an issue with the system which was why the other two self scans were shut down. Luckily the lady wrangled her children back into the aisles, claiming she had forgotten something. Maren took it upon herself to work on the throwbacks, if for no other reason to keep herself occupied.

When Elsa came back from her break, she asked what happened only for Maren to respond coldly, “ask Hans.” She knew she had been wrong and was acting out of self-defense, but it was still uncalled for to take it out on Elsa. Elsa ended up opening on register to assist Ella with the lines and had Maren ping pong between throwbacks and taking customers with only a couple of items to self scan’s spare register. It took over an hour for Hans to inform Maren that she could reopen self scan and, to add insult to injury, she later found out from Elsa that Hans transferred the terminal himself after buying a soda. He wanted to make sure that Maren’s response to the customer’s confusion was ‘genuine’ and ‘believable’.

Which was to say that Maren’s thoughts from earlier that night were confirmed.

Hans didn’t trust her judgment.

Maren found herself hastily pacing across Elsa’s apartment. She barely set anything down, only removing her hat if for no other reason than to dig her fingers into her hair. Something was bubbling inside of her; it felt like the only way to remotely control it was to just do something or else she was going to explode.

“What happened?”

Maren’s erratic pacing continued, only noticing from the corner of her eye that Elsa remained on the couch. She didn’t fully register her soft, level voice or even take a second to meet her gaze. Any rational person would likely sit down and merely talk about their day. But Maren was far too wound up from work to that. Even with a shift in between to break up the unexpectedness of Sunday and the agitation of tonight, it didn’t feel like enough of a breather. As if her mind and body hadn’t slowed and were still going over sixty. As she began recounting her shift there were few breaths in between. Maren’s pitch was a roller coaster and, in the moments she felt most – annoyed? Attacked? Insulted? UGH, something – were when it went most off the rails. She barely adjusted her voice when she quoted Hans because she didn’t have the damn energy or care to.

“What happened was we were drowning in throwbacks. AGAIN. You’d think that after some major holiday we’d have it under control. Except we didn’t! There were damages, there was fruit, there was cardboard…. We had it! We had it yesterday. It was going so damn well. We got it down to one wagon. There were five wagons when I clocked in. Nothing was sorted; nothing was in the right bins…. Hans had all day to send someone to do them and what’d he do? Absolutely fucking NOTHING! He had Snow clean the registers instead. Not even on the registers. Under them! Who cleans under the registers?? Nani had me on self scan for like an hour just so Ella could start making some sense of that mess. Fine, I get it. She’s the best at sorting. Let Ella do the sorting. I don’t give a fuck. But when she had us switch off…. Ask me how long I was even doing throwbacks for. Ten minutes. I barely got any of the produce away because Hans wanted me back at self scan. And it wasn’t even cause it was busy. He wanted to observe me. Why? Why? He’s the one who told me to shut self scan on Sunday. He’s the one who wouldn’t let me keep one fucking register open. Well maybe if he let me like I suggested, he could’ve observed me then. He could’ve observed me after. Hell, he could’ve even observed me last night when I gave Nani her break. Or for that first hour today. Did he? No! And it wasn’t even to give Ella a break, he sent her on register to do nothing! There wasn’t even a point to me being at self scan! What’d he tell me? ‘You didn’t take the empty baskets back.’ So he’d rather have a customer walk out with an order than have some handbaskets laying around? ‘You didn’t utilize the hand gun at your register.’ With who? There was one person who had a heavy item! He scanned it before I could even think to ask! I’m not a fucking psychic! ‘Have you thought about organizing the throwbacks while you’re just standing there?’ The fuck was Ella doing twenty minutes ago?? Why even divide and conquer like that when I can just slump around the store doing throwbacks and somehow magically watch self scan at the same time! ‘I noticed you didn’t meet and greet.’ To do what? Personally walk a customer to the empty self scan right in their face? Have my back turned to the machines? Does he want me to close my eyes while I work, too?? What’s the point of having me at self scan if he doesn’t even want me watching self scan?? And after all that, Snow was still cleaning under the registers. It’s like Hans doesn’t trust any of us to do a damn fucking thing. And I’m tired of it, I’m tired of these changes, I’m tired of walking on eggshells, and I’m tired of him!”

She let out a single heavy breath before allowing herself to lean on the counter. She didn’t realize how much she let out – or how angry she sounded – until it was all out in the open. Mentally scolding herself, Maren ran her fingers through her hair once more, trying and failing to push the bangs out of her face.

“I’m sorry…. That…that was a lot.”

She wished she had better words. Or that she could bring herself to say more. It was a half-assed apology at best. And though part of her knew that Elsa wouldn’t take offense to any of it, another part couldn’t help but wonder how much Elsa was willing to take. Maren was not great at concealing. Hell, concealing was probably one of the worst things she could do. It may have been Elsa’s mantra, albeit one she highly discouraged, but to an extent it worked for her. Elsa had years of experience of keeping things bottled up. Maren had a limit. And it was clear that, particularly in the case of Hans and what having him around meant for the store, her gauge was far lower than she anticipated.

With a light touch to her shoulder came an airy exhale. Maren didn’t need to look up to know that Elsa was there beside her; her presence was enough reassurance. What she didn’t anticipate, however, was finding herself wrapped in an embrace. A pair of elegant arms loosely enveloping her. Their bodies almost fully pressed against each other. Thick hair grazing her cheek. The faint scent of a winter’s day combined with specks of Bruni’s fur. Immediately Maren’s body relaxed. Her chest was lighter. The boiling in her stomach settled. Her head found support in the form of Elsa’s shoulder. But it was beyond comfort; it was…

Something Maren never quite knew she needed.

Every time Elsa reached out to her it was a reminder of how cautious Elsa was. She naturally kept to herself but there were reasons or experiences that only heightened that instinct. Yet despite that she put in that effort with Maren. No matter how small of an action, Elsa made herself available to her. Suddenly reassuring didn’t sound like it did her justice.

“Do you want me to talk to Hans? Or Oaken?”

Maren sort of appreciated the inquiry. It was better than being asked if she was ok, which clearly, she was not if she had just been storming around Elsa’s apartment like a raging lunatic.

“I don’t want to start anything. Or put you in the middle.”

Although Maren probably should talk to Oaken about Sunday, she didn’t want to take that chance. Even if he heard her out and had a logical explanation, it would be less about Hans having preconceived notions about a customer and more about Maren’s personal feelings. Because she’d have to be convinced that she wasn’t being undermined. Because she could be perceived as going against a superior’s orders. Because it could end with her being stereotyped. It shouldn’t have to get to any of those. Nor should it reach the point of Maren having to defend herself especially when she was starting to question.

The truth was, unless Hans did something otherwise, or if Oaken somehow came to realize he wasn’t a good fit, they were stuck with him.

If questioning or standing up to Hans somehow equated to risking her job, it wasn’t worth it.

It felt like a stretch to say this was the one thing she was good at. It was retail; theoretically anyone could do it. But would it be farfetched to say that it felt like she belonged there? That when she said she lived there, it was less of a joke and more of the truth? To have that threatened was a really shitty feeling.

Maren pressed her face into Elsa’s shoulder. She relished this. This feeling. This closeness. Elsa.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized again softly.

One of Elsa’s hands crawled up Maren’s back, finding its way towards her skull and burrowing its fingers into her hair. It started with a slow stroke, almost as if they were navigating through her curls. Maren felt herself melting into the sensation, completely overcome by the warmth that was taking over her. The strokes evolved into a pattern, one that Maren was almost certain she could count with each movement.

Elsa’s fingers glided through strands Maren’s hair.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Back up, glide again.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Up.

Glide.

Up.

Glide.

With each stroke, Maren’s breathing matched.

She could stay like this forever.

There was a shift beside her. Elsa’s head tilted, and for a passing moment Maren could swear she felt something against her head. It was soft, barely noticeable, yet something that seemed to linger. Almost familiar.

Was Elsa kissing her hair?

Because that was what Maren did?

When Elsa may not have wanted anything else?

Was she trying to do what Maren did for her?

Maren found herself lifting her head, her nose suddenly brushing against Elsa’s.

It was so damn tempting.

Would it be too much if…?

Maren couldn’t help but lean into the desire. She lightly brushed her lips against Elsa’s, pulling away ever so slightly after a second. A fog of warm breath covered her mouth before the gap was closed once more. It was such a delicate engulfing and yet….

Maren felt more connected than she ever had with Elsa.

It was a different kind of intimacy from what she experienced before.

Maybe it was the little moments leading up to the kiss that made it feel that more special.

But this was how Maren could stay forever.

She had no idea what she did to deserve this angel.

Except….

Did she really?

What had Maren done?

She stormed into Elsa’s apartment. Every other time she would text first and then knock. Even if they had planned it, even if Maren had an open invitation, she never wanted to invade Elsa’s space. Tonight, she completely disregarded that.

She immediately began stomping around, complaining about Hans and her shift. In her own space, Maren would do that without a second thought. Ryder wouldn’t give a shit; he’d let her vent all she wanted. But this wasn’t her home. It was Elsa’s. And Maren didn’t even think or care to ask how Elsa’s day was, let alone give her a chance to rebut anything. She just went on and on. She wasn’t considerate or respectful to Elsa.

She didn’t give Elsa a choice. She didn’t sit on the couch and let Elsa decide how close she wanted to be. She didn’t offer her hand for Elsa to take or even acknowledge. She let herself succumb to selfishness and melt into Elsa. What if Elsa hadn’t wanted that tonight? What if she would’ve rather done something else to comfort Maren? Instead, she did what she thought – and correctly guessed – that Maren wanted. It was out of obligation and necessity, not because of Elsa’s preference.

She didn’t earn this. Not tonight.

No matter how much she wanted it.

She broke the kiss cautiously and took a final moment of selfishness, resting her forehead against Elsa’s.

“I should go.”

Her voice came softly and reluctantly.

It took more effort than she realized to say it.

But it was the right thing to do.

“Are you sure?”

No.

But she couldn’t give in.

“It’s late. I don’t wanna put you up.”

“You wouldn’t be,” Elsa promised. “You’re stressed and tired. You could stay. I can set up the couch. Or if you’d prefer my bed….”

Her voice faded, almost as if she knew Maren would turn her down.

Maren couldn’t help but tighten her grip around Elsa. She hoped she knew how much it meant to hear that. That she was even willing to offer.

“You’re sweet. And….”

There was so much she could say.

That she wanted to say.

I want to take you out.

I want to stay here with you.

There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.

You mean so much to me.

I love you.

I’ve been in love with you.

“And I’ll be ok. But thank you. For all of this.”

Pause.

She couldn’t resist.

“And I want that raincheck in writing.”

Elsa rolled her eyes playfully. “You would.”

Another pause.

“Text me when you get home?”

She wouldn’t have it any other way.

Maren leaned up, placing a light peck on Elsa’s hairline.

Good night, Angel, she thought. I’ll be better next time. I promise.

Chapter Text

So what’s the game plan?

Did you stock up on more Tylenol?

I’m bringing animal crackers

I have sooooo many cheesy romcoms we can watch

Can’t wait to hear your drunk commentary 🤣

It was only a small segment of Anna’s spam texts.

She had no idea why Anna enjoyed this so much.

Could she go back to trash talking over DMs in Words With Friends?

You won’t. I’ll be working.

There was hardly a hesitation before a series of ellipses followed.

….

….

….

….

….

….

….

There was no way that many were warranted.

….

….

….

Dhdjabdvaiakndnsk chaisnc kskdnsks dkdkdbdjdk

She took that well.

If Elsa used emojis, she would absolutely utilize the expressionless one.

ARE YOU NUTS???

What is wrong with you??

I don’t approve of this

Why didn’t you request off??

This has bad idea written all over it

Dishonor on you! Dishonor on your cat!

Scratch that, Bruni has more sense than you

Did you even SEE yourself last time?

Anna was blowing this completely out of proportion.

Regardless of the first time, there was no guarantee she’d experience the same symptoms with every shot. Elsa was completely aware of every possible side effect. But in her mind, the potential outcome wasn’t worth missing a shift.

If she was being honest, she didn’t request off the first time because of the vaccine. It was because of the date. After how it went last year, Elsa learned that for the sake of her mental and emotional health that it was the one day she should not work at all.

Whether she would follow through the next year would be a different story entirely.

But the vaccine was the perfect way around it. She wouldn’t go to work under the guise of not knowing how her body would react. And if it happened to – which, according to Anna, it did – then Elsa wouldn’t have to think about the day.

There was no cover or excuse now. Nor was she going to look for one. Whatever the result would be, Elsa was prepared to deal with it.

I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.

You turned Single Ladies into Pringle Babies 😑

I don’t remember that.

Because you were punch drunk!

Pause.

But it was really catchy

How reassuring.

We are not discussing this.

You called me a tuney loon

That sounds appropriate.

Bet you wouldn’t call Maren a tuney loon 😜

ANNA!

“Congratulate me.”

Elsa forced her blush away while slamming her phone face down onto the desk.

What did Hans want now?

“For trimming your sideburns?”

“No but thank you for noticing.”

Charming.

And unfamiliar with the language of sarcasm.

With a huge grin on his face, Hans leaned forward onto the desk with his free hand on his hip. “I got Oaken to agree to launch our rewards site. It starts the first week of June.”

Elsa blinked. That was less than a month away. “So soon?”

Hans shrugged. “Well, I have been working hard on it.”

Somehow Elsa doubted that.

“I’d say this calls for a celebration, wouldn’t you? What do you like to drink?”

“I’ll celebrate once it settles down,” she responded cooly.

Hans pursed his lips, almost as if he were in displeasure. He tilted his head back and forth, quite possibly an attempt to cover it up. “You know what, you’re right. It’s a big change and everyone has to get used to it. I’m sure the first week will just be a trial period. We can go to dinner after that.”

That wasn’t what she meant.

“I doubt the dust will settle that quickly. There are two things I’ve learned in my time here. One is that people are resistant to change. The other is that people do not read.”

“That’s a little harsh, don’t you think?”

“It’s merely an observation. The paper bag rule is enough to support the former. The latter has multiple factors, though a constant is the fine print. I hope that won’t be an issue once the site goes live.”

“I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about. Why don’t I show you the progress myself? Ease your nerves. Prove how much work I put into this.”

Hard pass.

Though Elsa had been an art student, web design was never her forte. She would be of no use beyond analyzing the colors. Not that it made much of a difference; she was certain Hans would be unopen to a critique.

Even if he weren’t, no doubt he would project onto Belle. Elsa was willing to bet that she was the one doing most of the work. Hans may have had a charm and charisma when it came to customers, but in the case of their coworkers he was far from hands on. In fact, it was bordering on alarming. The way he dismissed Maren and then went behind her back was enough to raise Elsa’s guard. Had he said or done anything with anyone else that Elsa didn’t know about? Maren said not to bring anything up to Oaken but….

Elsa shook her head. She didn’t want to deal with Hans more than necessary.

“Was that all you came here for?”

“Actually, no. I wanted to talk to you about Maren.”

Elsa bit her tongue. It was difficult to not shift her Snow Queen mode into overdrive. This was the first time that Hans mentioned Maren by name let alone took any interest in her. Her first instinct was to go on the defensive; whatever so-called issue Hans had; Elsa was going to fight him on it. Not just as her girlfriend but also knowing as her supervisor what Maren was capable of. But to defend her so vehemently, Elsa would have to be careful not to out herself. She maintained from the beginning that she wanted to keep her work and personal lives separate. To an extent, she was successful. However, dating her coworker meant that, sooner or later, lines would become crossed in some way. She was going to have to choose her words carefully.

“Explain.”

Hans straightened his position. “You seem close with her. I assume you know her pretty well.”

Considering she was her girlfriend she’d better be close with her.

It was so damn tempting to call him out.

She just couldn’t bring herself to.

Elsa held in a breath. “As you may have noticed, we have a small evening crew. I’d like to think that I have a good relationship with each of them.”

For once, Hans appeared serious and focused on his objective.

“For the purposes of this conversation, let’s focus on Maren. What can you tell me about her?”

Where should she start?

How Maren had this magnetic presence that brought them together in the first place?

How she didn’t hesitate to stand up for anyone regardless of what it meant for her?

How she could be simultaneously unapologetic about who she was yet so considerate and adaptable to others?

How she had the kindest, most hypnotizing eyes that looked like you could dip the richest chocolate into?

How she could make anyone feel safe simply by standing there?

How Elsa could fill sketchbook after sketchbook with her?

How she was nothing less than an absolute dream?

Her breath almost hitched when she realized she couldn’t say any of that to Hans.

Almost none of it could translate professionally.

It had to be Elsa, Queen of Retail talking and not Elsa, Maren’s girlfriend.

Was that supposed to feel as disappointing as it did?

Elsa nearly shook her head to snap herself out of it.

There had to be a way to protect herself without letting Hans get to Maren.

She was not going to let that happen.

“If this is about Sunday–”

“It is.”

Elsa’s body immediately stiffened.

“I noticed she was doing quite a bit of running around. Between self scan, throwbacks and…what was she doing in registers five and six?”

“Candy, I imagine.”

“Candy?”

He wasn’t familiar with candy duty at all, was he?

“We closed at eight during the pandemic. We focused primarily on cleaning and throwbacks during that time. For those of us only available at night, that was what a portion of our hours were dedicated to. And every once in a while we’d have the opportunity to go through candy at the registers. We’d check the dates and rotate them accordingly, adding anything expired to the damaged groceries. Since those are rarely touched and we always have an abundance to add, it made sense to look through them while we had the chance.”

Hans hummed curiously. “So she’s familiar with rotating.”

“Not since our hours returned to normal,” Elsa admitted, “but yes, she is aware.”

“So would you say she’s meticulous?”

Hardly.

Between the two of them, Elsa would consider herself more detail oriented. However, that was in Elsa’s nature as a perfectionist. Her work was no exception. With all her training – between her father’s company, Oaken’s, as well as art school – she had to be. It was not an insult to Maren, who showed her attention to detail in a different way.

Particularly when it came to Elsa.

And it was not without appreciation.

“I’d prefer focused.”

“And she can multitask.”

“You have to be to work here. Maren takes her job very seriously. She puts in as much effort as the rest of us and will not hesitate to assist if someone is in need, even if it takes away from her for a moment.”

“You speak very highly of her.”

Because she’s my girlfriend, she thought as-a-matter-of-factly.

“As I would of any of my coworkers.”

“Myself included?”

Back to that again?

“I thought we were focusing on Maren.”

A faint scoff.

“So we were.”

Elsa folded her arms. “And what does any of this have to do with her watching self scan on Sunday?”

There had to be an ulterior motive. Why was Hans suddenly so interested in Maren?

Not that she could blame him; Elsa’s interest had piqued early as well. But what was his game plan? Surely he wouldn’t be considering trying to get rid of her. Aside from only Oaken having the power to hire and fire, after what Elsa said there was hardly a reason for him to try. Not that Maren should need it when her rapport spoke for itself. The only other explanation was a chance at expanding Maren’s hours. As much as Elsa would love to see that happen, she doubted Hans would be generous enough to share any time or power. There had to be something else.

Whether he had somehow gotten into Elsa’s thoughts or felt generous enough to share, Hans answered quicker than Elsa anticipated.

“It would seem I’ve been underestimating her.”

Damn straight you were, she thought.

Hans placed his hands behind his back. “I gave her a very difficult task last week. I didn’t expect her to react the way she did. She came across as cocky, and so I doubted her. For a hot minute, I wasn’t even sure if she was still capable of handling self scan. But knowing what else she does around here, she’s more useful than I gave her credit for. You’ve given me a lot to think about when it comes to our employees.”

Elsa narrowed her gaze.

She was not going to let Hans get away with that tone.

“Coworkers,” she corrected through grit teeth. “They are not beneath us because they are part time. Or because we have more responsibilities. On paper, even if we are deemed above, in here we are all on the same level. We work up front. We handle self scan. We manage throwbacks. We deal with customers. We are all in this together. Just because we have any power does not mean we use it to control. Nor does it make us better.”

The way he smiled at her rebuttal was far from encouraging. It was almost as if he were…entertained? Did he enjoy getting a rise from Elsa? Or did he buy into his warped reality? That maybe he was wearing her down? Getting closer to her? What was he thinking?

His response only made her more uncomfortable.

“I like you, Elsa. And I look forward to our next walkthrough which I hope will be in a more intimate setting.”

I don’t, she thought as he walked away.

Hell would freeze over before she said yes to him.

His interest and finesse in the business side was one thing. To an extent that should be expected from someone of Hans’ level. His desire to do well and prove himself was more than understandable; it was commendable. And certainly, he did not hesitate to milk his charm. While Elsa did not agree with his methods, those were not where her issues lied.

His condescending attitude was beyond unbearable. That was not the kind of person Elsa wanted to work or associate with. It was sad that, in a way, it made her long for the days of Ratcliffe. He was insufferable in his own right and avoided his duties far more than Hans did. However, Elsa always knew what to expect with him. And it wasn’t to talk down to their coworkers the way Hans did. Brush them off or ignore them, admittedly so. But to speak of anyone the way Hans did of Maren? Never.

Though, not having to constantly cover with a work spouse was a nice bonus.

“What was that about?”

Now this was an interaction Elsa could handle.

And would gladly do so more than allowed had it not been for them being on the clock.

“How you need to meet and greet and help your customers bag when Hans is around.”

“Why do that when I can be here?”

Now that was how to charm someone.

Maren cupped her hands behind her back. “Besides, Snow is in the middle of a house order. They didn’t want my help bagging. So I might as well wait here with you.”

She wouldn’t want it any other way.

“So how much did you hear?”

Pause.

“That he tried to ask you out again.”

Don’t remind me, Elsa thought.

“Well, before that, Hans was asking about you.”

Maren groaned. “What did I do?”

She could think of a few things.

Though none of them had to do with work.

“You tell me.”

For some reason that seemed to relax Maren.

“Must’ve been good if I’m getting Sassypants.”

“Get your own nickname.”

She could practically see the smirk behind Maren’s mask.

“Already did.”

Heh.

And a beautiful one at that.

“So…. What’d you tell him?”

Nowhere near as much as she would have liked.

And obviously not that they were girlfriends.

Even if she wished she had.

“That you are focused, hardworking, multitasking, and considerate.”

“You forgot a stubborn tease,” she joked.

How could she?

Maren shook her head. “But you don’t need to talk me up to Hans. I don’t care what he thinks of me.”

I do, Elsa thought, if it means I can keep you here.

Not that Hans could change that.

But she wasn’t willing to chance it.

Without thinking Elsa reached for Maren’s hand, which had found its way to the edge of the desk. Her fingers draped across Maren’s, keeping a loose but necessarily hold. “I think you do more than you give yourself credit for. And that any place is better with you in it.”

Maren’s fingers slipped between Elsa’s. It was the closest they’d gotten at work, let alone in the open. Yet Elsa’s first thought was how natural it was. How, despite her resistance to get close to people and how she felt about being touched, this was how it was supposed to be. How much she wanted her hand in Maren’s.

She wouldn’t go so far as to call it a need but….

She didn’t realize that something could be this satisfying.

That someone could make her feel the way that Maren did.

“Are you saying that as my boss? Or…?”

Maren remained so cognizant of Elsa. No matter how quickly she apologized or changed something when she believed she overstepped, she always tried to stay behind that line at work. Even if all it meant was avoiding one simple word.

A word that Elsa was once so terrified to use and now….

She loved calling Maren her girlfriend.

She thought about it more than she expected.

But to still struggle saying it out loud….

It left an unfamiliar sting in her body.

When did it start bothering Elsa this much?

Feeling like she didn’t have enough of Maren?

Like she somehow wanted more without wanting more?

And waiting for that one word that would never come outside of closed doors?

Even if that was what she asked for?

Elsa opened her mouth to respond.

“Elsa?”

She immediately pulled her hand back.

Shit.

Why couldn’t she just…?

It wasn’t like a customer came up to them.

Or that Hans returned.

It was just Snow.

She knew them.

And she couldn’t even….

“I just need an override before Maren takes over.”

“I’ll be right there,” she forced out.

She couldn’t bring herself to look up as Snow left.

Or meet Maren’s eyes that she could feel on her.

No matter how tempting it was.

“I should…”

“I can do it,” Maren volunteered. “I mean…I’d need your key but….”

Elsa quickly grabbed the keys she kept at her register. She almost struggled to hand them to Maren, pulling her hand away as quickly as she could so they wouldn’t dare touch again. “I changed my password to 0621. I just….”

She paused.

“I have to run to the bathroom,” she stammered, “so…tell Snow I’ll be right up to clock her out.”

She dashed out from behind the service desk, only to be stopped by a touch to her wrist. She spun around, the feel of Maren’s hand on her skin instantly vanishing and replaced by the sensation of melting into her caramel eyes.

She could never avoid them for long, could she?

“Hey, uh…. “

Pause.

“I’m low on Cocoa Puffs…. Want me to wait up?”

To say that sounded wonderful was an understatement.

And not because of the chocolate.

“I’ll see you at home.”

She didn’t realize what she said until she walked away. By then it was too late to turn around. It felt like the room was spinning. As if the floor beneath her was no longer a steady surface but rather a puffy cloud. Yet somehow she had no fear of falling. She moved in a daze, feeling an unexpected lightness in her body. Normally such a feeling would be synonymous with anxiety, and likely an impending panic attack. And while Elsa did feel the need to breathe, it wasn’t out of survival. She managed to make it to the restroom, pushing her body against the stall door to close it rather than lock it.

Breathe, she repeated.

One.

Two.

Three.

Out.

Home.

One.

Two.

Three.

In.

Where Maren would be waiting for her.

One.

Two.

Three.

Out.

Her girlfriend.

One.

Two.

Three.

Instinctively, Elsa reached for her shirt collar. From underneath she pulled out her ace ring. The one Maren had given her.

One.

Two.

Three.

It was almost funny. The ring had become such a part of her that most days she forgot she was wearing it. But it was always there. Secure around her neck. Hidden by her shirt. Close enough to imprint on her skin.

One.

Two.

Three.

How ironic that the thing Elsa struggled most with about herself, the thing she borderline hated, the thing she tried so desperately to conceal for so long, was also symbolized by one of her most precious possessions. By the thing that she never took off.

Because it wasn’t about her sexuality.

It was about Maren.

And the ultimate gift of acceptance she could have given.

Maren was indeed many things.

Yet Elsa continued to hide her…all of her…from the world.

It didn’t matter that she had her moments.

Because that was all they were.

Moments in time.

It almost implied….

Her grip on the ring tightened.

That couldn’t have been further from the truth.

Maren was so much more than some passing moment.

And yet Elsa couldn’t acknowledge her with one measly word.

Nor was she doing a fucking thing about it.

Something had to change.

After all, Honey was worth it.

Chapter Text

“Maren up front, please. Maren up front.”

I’m coming, I’m coming, Maren thought, just one more…there you are!

She had barely made a dent in the throwbacks. Produce had been taken care of easily enough, but the bread, chips, and HBC aisles were overflowing in their baskets, and Maren was finding more items that didn’t belong than what needed to be put away. Why should she want to get anything done?

“I’m coming,” she groaned before racing towards self scan. She scooted around register nine to park the wagon in the Crap Corner.

“Oh…Maren!”

She skidded to a stop, barely making it past register eight, when she heard Ella behind her.

“May I ask you something?”

“Uh…sure,” she answered, turning around. Elsa probably wouldn’t mind, especially if she saw Maren helping at self scan. Whatever this was would just have to wait. “What’s up?”

Ella held up a receipt and pointed to the bananas on the list. “I went to help someone when the belt was acting up. I noticed the last thing they rang were these bananas…. Except when I looked at the bagging area there weren’t any. It was mostly meat. What do you think I should do?”

Maren raised an eyebrow. “The fuck…?”

“I know we’re not allowed to accuse, and I wouldn’t want to assume anyway…. But do you think someone put a label for bananas on the meat and rang that barcode instead…?” she continued.

Maren huffed. “I wouldn’t be surprised if people stoop that low.” Her first instinct would have been to call the customer out on it – or at least ask them about it – but Ella would rather avoid the possible confrontation. Not that Maren could blame her; customers at self scan could be a lot shittier, not to mention sneakier, than those at registers.

“What do you think I should do?” Ella inquired. “I printed this duplicate receipt after they left, but there’s no way to prove what they did or didn’t do.”

That would’ve been a better question to ask Nani. Other than Elsa, she knew self scan better than anyone else. While Maren liked to believe she knew a thing or two about the machines as well, she didn’t want to steer Ella wrong. Especially when there was so much pressure to watch multiple machines at once.

“Show it to Elsa when you get the chance. Explain what happened and ask what to do if something happens again,” Maren decided. She added with a shrug and an encouraging smile behind her mask, “Besides, you know Elsa. She’s not gonna make a fuss over this.”

Ella’s shoulders fell, her body seeming to relax at Maren’s conclusion, and she let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

“Hey, we’re in this together, right? I got you,” Maren lightly nudged Ella’s shoulder before approaching Elsa. Rather than seeing her behind the desk as usual, she spotted her at register two with someone Maren didn’t recognize. She was shorter and had somewhat messy dark hair but with big, brown eyes full of hope which completely contrasted the dull work uniform. That could only mean one thing.

Teenage meat.

“Sorry about that. How do you feel about grape shampoo?”

“Try tuna fish Listerine instead,” she deadpanned.

“Oooo that would make it so much easier to brush my dog’s teeth,” the teen quipped chipperly.

If she had a sense of humor like that, she should fit in just fine.

Elsa shook her head. “Maren, this is Luz. She just finished her first ELMs and is going to bag for you while Snow takes her break. Try to walk her through what you can if it doesn’t get too busy.”

“With or without scarring her?” she joked.

“I can handle a little scarring,” Luz promised. “We teenagers are naturally emotionally scarred already.”

Elsa narrowed her gaze.

Her thrill was overwhelming.

“Behave yourselves.”

“I know, I know,” Maren fought the urge to roll her eyes playfully, “or it’s back to candy duty.”

Elsa paused.

“Not exactly…”

Maren raised an eyebrow.

Why didn’t that make her feel better?

“I’ll tell you later. Just….”

Elsa shook her head.

“Don’t give her any more ideas.”

Maren watched her retreat to the service desk. Not exactly candy duty…? What did she mean by that? And why did it sound…. Bad?

Not that Maren necessarily had an issue with candy duty. It was boring and tedious, absolutely. The only thing she could think of that was worse was leveling. Candy, though…that was how she and Elsa bonded. She learned more about her while they stood at the registers going through the shelves. She heard stories about Bruni, as well as Elsa’s previous cat. She wouldn’t go so far as to call it their thing but….

Elsa made it sound so wrong.

Something meant to be punishment rather than teasing.

“That’s too bad,” Luz commented, interrupting Maren’s train of thought. “I like ideas.”

Maren shook her head. This wasn’t the time to question anything. She had to properly introduce Luz to the world of Retail Hell.

“Guess you’re stuck with me then,” she shrugged with a crooked smile. “I’m Maren.”

Luz’s eyes widened when she turned to face Maren. “Your eyes sparkle like sunshine after a cloudy day!”

That…

Was new.

Maren was almost uncertain how to respond. It was so sudden and not quite like anything she was used to hearing before. “Thank you…?”

She fiddled with the brim of her hat. “So…let’s set up then.”

She walked around to the other end of register two while Luz situated herself by the bagging area. Maren removed the closed sign from the belt and proceeded to sign on. She hadn’t even touched her light to signal she was officially opening when she heard a familiar voice.

“Hi Maren! Are you opening, by any chance…?”

Maren exhaled, already feeling like she was home for the night. “Step into my office, Mrs. Robinson.”

“I try to every time,” she replied with a wink. Mrs. Robinson pulled her wagon into the lane and was about to start unloading before she noticed the teenager. “Oh! Who do we have here?”

“This is Luz,” Maren announced. “She’s gonna be training with me for a bit.”

“Well, you’re in fantastic hands with Maren! She’s one of the best,” Mrs. Robinson promised.

“You mean I get to work with a legend?” Luz gasped excitedly.

Maren felt a blush creeping onto her cheeks. “I don’t know about that.”

“Well, I do!” Luz declared.  “Ok, teacher, I’m ready. Teach me things please.”

“Oh, you don’t have to worry about much with me. I’m easy,” Mrs. Robinson bragged. “Hang on….” She loaded a few things onto the belt before kneeling and removing a pile of bags. “Pack em heavy, Luz! I can take it.”

Luz looked to Maren for confirmation. “Am I allowed?”

“As long as you’re comfortable,” she nodded. “Just make sure you ask first if they want any help bagging and what they wanna use. And if you need to use paper, try to keep track of how many. They’re five cents each so unless it’s a tax exempt, WIC, or EBT order, we have to charge them.”

“I have no idea what any of that means,” the teen shook her head.

“I’ll show you if we get any today,” Maren promised. “Just remember the most important rule of bagging – keep the eggs and bread separate.”

“So they know which bag to throw first,” Luz saluted. “Got it!”

“I like this girl,” Mrs. Robinson decided. “Oh, Maren, before you start anything else I got something for you.” She knelt down to lift a fifty-pound bag of dog food. She primarily held it in one arm, barely needing to make use of the other.

“Holy guacamole and ravioli!” Luz exclaimed, leaning onto the edge of the register. “You took that like it was nothing! How’d you get to be so dang strong??”

“Black belt in karate,” she smiled proudly. “But let me tell you, that doesn’t compare to looking after my frogs. That Frankie is one hell of an escape artist!”

Luz’s eyes lit up with wonder. “I wanna be like you when I grow up!”

“Watch it, I might just take you home with me,” she winked.

“Just connect me to your Wi-Fi and frogs, keep me away from your milk, and I’m all yours,” Luz agreed.

“Can you take my brother while you’re at it?” Maren joked, scanning the dog food. “He keeps eating my ice cream.”

“I feel the same way about my brother and sausages,” Mrs. Robinson agreed.

Maren blinked. She glanced at the items on the belt. “Where are your sausages anyway?” She leaned forward, attempting to get a look at what was left in the wagon. Mrs. Robinson was notorious for hauling at least two wagons courtesy of her large extended family. This was practically nothing.

Well, at least for the Robinsons.

“Where’s your food?”

The customer snickered. “This is just a filler to get through the week. My husband’s in the middle of a major experiment.”

“Don’t tell me…” Luz moved one of the bags and tapped her finger against her chin. “He’s doing research on the griffin and, since he knows there’s no feasible way to bring a lion and an eagle together, he’s going to merge the DNA of an owl and housecat instead!”

Mrs. Robinson twisted her lips. “Actually, it has something to do with an octopus but now I’m starting to wonder.”

Pause.

Blink.

“Octopus was my second guess.”

It was always a highlight when Mrs. Robinson came to Maren’s line. She was inviting, patient, cooperative, and always understanding with the smallest inconvenience. Maren shouldn’t have been surprised that she took to Luz the way she did. She had to admit, Luz wasn’t too bad, either. She didn’t hesitate to interact with customers or ask Maren if she needed anything.

She became particularly invested in one couple who was buying more dog food than Maren thought they carried in the store. According to the gentleman, they had fifteen Dalmatian puppies. While his wife took care of unloading the groceries – and most of the bagging – he was eagerly showing Luz pictures on his phone and describing each puppy’s personality and mannerisms. Luz was equally excited to come up with intricate backstories for each puppy she saw. It was almost too pure of an interaction, something that Maren was not particularly familiar with. But it was more than welcome. At least, until the wife had to politely urge him to finish up so they could get back to their litter.

Maren would have to find out later if Ryder was more of a Rolly or Wizzer.

Luz was more of a Patch – easily excited and, as Maren quickly learned, very devoted to her fandoms.

She was, however, a bit too eager when it came to helping some customers. It didn’t seem to fully register that one patron didn’t want any help bagging as they were very particular about what went where. Maren figured out the best way to distract Luz was to have her come around and watch Maren handle the produce. She showed Luz how to enter the items manually as well as how to look them up.

“That’s a lot of codes…” Luz commented almost nervously, as if it were finally registering how much went into working the register.

“Most of them should be under the lookup option. It just seems like a lot,” Maren promised. She added with a wink, “But I promise, once you know bananas you probably won’t even need our help.”

Luz’s eyes widened, not unlike a pair of big, brown puppy dog eyes. “Please don’t leave me.”

After dealing with a customer who, although had a small order had far too many bottle returns – Maren was almost positive that he went with the rest to Snow the second she opened back up – she saw an opportunity to shut her light with one final customer. “How about you go back to Snow? I got this last one.”

“Awe, I kinda like watching you in action. You see a mob of groceries and you’re all…” Luz waved her arms back and forth erratically, “scanscanscanscan! You see an apple and you don’t even need to know what kind of apple it is, you just type it. Someone’s about to ask you about a sale and it’s like…” she mimicked an explosion, “…you’re reading their mind.”

Maren highly doubted she was that amazing at her job. But she appreciated the vote of confidence.

Before she could even turn to the customer to ask how they were doing, they held up their hand to stop Maren from scanning anything. “Don’t go too fast. I want to make sure I get all the sales. The lettuce is two for $3. The seltzer is seventy-five cents each, I have five of them. The pineapple is a dollar off. The tuna fish is five for five. And everything else is supposed to be free with the chicken.”

And she told Maren to slow down?

Maren picked up the pineapple and typed in the code. Almost as soon as she did that, she reached for the first bottle of seltzer.

“Not yet!” the customer scolded. “I told you, I need to see the price of everything!”

“She’s in a good mood,” Luz whispered sarcastically.

Not the time.

But accurate.

Maren slowly reached for the first bottle of seltzer and scanned it. She saw the customer lean forward, watching the screen carefully.

“Scan the next one,” they insisted.

Didn’t they want Maren to go slow?

She took each of the bottles at a steadier speed, each one coming up for the given price.

“Wait a minute!” the customer snapped. “This isn’t right. Why is it almost $8?”

Maren narrowed her gaze. To say this song and dance got old real fast was an understatement.

And there were a lot of song and dances in retail that got real old real fast.

“Bottle deposits and tax.”

Pause.

The customer gave a single nod.

“Ok, keep going.”

Maren fought the urge to roll her eyes. She scanned the first can of tuna fish.

“That’s not right either!” they argued. “It’s supposed to be a dollar.”

“When you buy five.”

“I did buy five.”

“I only scanned one.”

“So why isn’t it coming off?”

“It will at the end when I total it.”

“So total it!”

She hit the total button; nothing changed.

“It’s still not right!”

“Because I only scanned one. It’ll come off at the end after I scan the rest.”

She scanned the next one.

“It’s still not right!”

They were sounding like a broken record already.

Maren went through it with each can of tuna until she totaled the amount after the fifth can. What a surprise, the sales came off just as she predicted. Five lines at the bottom of the screen, each reading ‘Strk Tna: -.25’ indicated that the cans were a dollar each. Or was Maren going to have to take out her phone and do the math of 1.25 - .25 in front of them?

The same thing happened with the remaining items. She scanned the dressing first which, of course, wasn’t going to come off until after she scanned the chicken. Still, Maren found herself totaling after each item anyway.

“Why isn’t anything else coming off?” the customer demanded.

Maren could feel Luz’s inquisitive look behind her.

“Let me double check the flyer,” Maren offered. She explained to Luz as she skimmed the first page, “If a sale doesn’t match then we have to check the flyer first. Otherwise we’d ask Elsa. She’ll usually tell us what price to put in for a coupon or tell us to redo it as a raincheck.”

“Is it that one?” Luz asked, pointing to the corner of the paper.

Buy the value pack of Perdue chicken breasts or thighs and get these items free: Ken’s salad dressing, Minute rice, and a small bag of baby carrots.

Maren checked each of the items to make sure the brand and sizes matched.

“Looks like it. Here, let me show you how we adjust it.”

“Can you hurry up so I can go home and make dinner?” the customer questioned.

Ironic how now they were in such a rush to leave.

Thank god that was her last customer.

Hopefully.

Once the transaction was finally complete and Luz was sent back to Snow, Maren approached the desk. “So am I off training duty?” she joked.

Elsa hummed in thought. “For now.”

“Does that mean we’re getting more new meat?”

“Not that I’m aware.”

“It almost sounds like you’re trying to get rid of someone.”

“Never.”

That was kind of nice to hear.

Even when Elsa was teasing, there was something sincere in her voice.

If she was having a shit shift, it was a reminder that she was doing a good job.

And that Elsa still wanted her there regardless.

That she still wanted her.

“Oh…”

Maren shook her head, pulling herself back.

“The sale with the chicken. Something was up with that.”

Elsa sighed. “The system hasn’t been processing the free items. I told Hans about it an hour ago.”

Figured.

“He’s probably too busy checking himself out.”

“Don’t let him hear you say that.”

“You’re right, he’d never shut up.”

“I don’t think you’d want that.”

“Neither would you.”

“Because I prefer chocolate.”

Was she talking about the actual chocolate?

Or who she’d share the chocolate with?

“Are you busy after work?”

Only if Elsa was involved.

She wanted nothing more than that.

It didn’t matter what they did or talked about.

They would just be together.

But she made a promise to be better.

She didn’t want to invade Elsa’s space again.

She wasn’t going to make the same mistake.

She held in a breath, forcing herself back.

“I should take care of those throwbacks.”

Pause.

“Raincheck?”

Shit.

That didn’t….

That wasn’t what….

That came out so….

“Of course.”

That should have made her feel better.

But it didn’t offer the relief she expected.

She did the right thing, didn’t she?

So why did it feel so wrong?

Chapter Text

“Am I in trouble?”

Elsa turned the chair to face Maren.

“Quite the opposite, actually.”

Though she could understand the thought behind it. Being told to go to the manager’s office was the equivalent of telling a student to go to the principal’s office.

Elsa had been dreading this interaction for a very different reason. Despite that it had been Hans’ idea – and, sadly, Elsa could see where he was coming from – she didn’t trust Hans to be completely honest or open. Sure, he’d probably tell her where the idea came from and that Elsa personally recommended her – again, sadly, he wasn’t necessarily wrong – but would he walk her through anything and help her get started? Or would he just tell her what to do and let her figure out the rest?

Maybe it was Elsa being selfish. Regardless of work life versus personal, Elsa loved having Maren in hers. She wanted that time with her. Telling and assisting her could have been Elsa’s way of procrastinating the inevitable. If Maren wasn’t going to be up front as much anymore, it was less time that Elsa would get to see her. And even though she’d still be working in the aisles, rotation was very different from throwbacks. It was its own department, in a way. Maren would have to focus her shift on that and, unless it was horribly busy, Elsa couldn’t just call Maren to open or cover a break. She wanted to be the one to tell Maren that she was wanted and needed.

On the other hand, Elsa was not the biggest fan of change. She dealt with too much of it in her life, and the past year and a half did little to appease her. If anything, it made it worse. Despite that now things were getting back to a so-called ‘normal’, it still felt like things were changing. Elsa finally found some peace with the way she was living her life and what was happening. It seemed almost every time she found remote comfort, the rug was pulled out from under her. First Ratcliffe had been replaced with Hans and now Maren was being removed from the front end indefinitely.

Or, at least for half the week.

Pushing herself off the chair, Elsa reached for a blue binder on the desk. She took a breath before holding it out to Maren. “You get to be in charge of rotations.”

Maren blinked. “Wait, what?”

“It’s like candy duty, but for the whole store,” she clarified.

Maren swung her head back. “You said I wasn’t being punished.”

Elsa pulled in her lips. It was almost difficult not to giggle at Maren’s reaction.

Admittedly, during the height of Covid, on slow nights sometimes Elsa would playfully threaten Maren with candy duty. In a way it was worse than leveling, which was just as dreaded. Leveling required pulling every item on the shelf forward and turning the labels to the front. Candy duty also involved moving items to the front…while also disposing of expired candies. It was an extra step to an already tedious and, at times, useless process. What was the point in leveling if everything was going to get destroyed in a matter of minutes?

Or, in most days, an hour.

For Elsa, candy duty had been a welcome distraction. When there was little else to do, she could focus on something else rather than her inner demons. But it became more than that. When Maren joined, that was their time to get to know each other. They developed a friendship. They bonded.

Elsa hadn’t felt that close to someone in a long time.

Before Maren, the only other person besides Anna was Kristoff.

She didn’t think she’d be able to open to anyone else besides them.

It meant more than Elsa realized.

“Just three days a week.”

Then you’re all mine, she thought.

Maren took the binder and flipped through the first couple of pages. Her eyes looked as if they would bulge out of her face. “I have to do all this? Fuck, this is a lot of shit!”

It was difficult to conceptualize how much was in a grocery store until it was laid out in front of someone. It wasn’t just the departments – Grocery, HBC, Dairy, Frozen, Produce, and Meat – but also the sections. Going through the bags and cans of cat food could look very different from going through the cake mixes and frosting or medicines. Hell, even Elsa didn’t fully realize how much candy was at the registers until she started sorting through them.

“Not all at once,” she promised. She lowered the binder, bringing Maren’s gaze toward Elsa. “But I’ll be spending the first half hour with you to get you started.”

Maren’s shoulders lowered and her look softened. “Just like old times, huh?”

It almost sounded like she missed it, too.

Maybe it meant just as much to Maren.

Elsa should have found comfort in that.

Except there was a heaviness in her chest instead.

But that’s what she got, she supposed, for bringing it on herself.

Just like almost every other change that happened in her life.

“I should have told you sooner. But I wasn’t sure when or how,” she apologized.

She took a breath.

“I gave Hans the idea. He was asking about you and he took my opinion as recommendation. You should have been asked but that decision was taken away from you. So I’m sorry.”

Maren shook her head. “You gotta stop talking me up like this.”

She said it so lightheartedly.

But that was part of her charm.

Elsa could overthink or jump to all the conclusions she wanted.

But as long as she heard that little taunt in Maren’s voice, she knew it was ok.

“But if you really think I’m good for this, I trust you.”

It was so much more than that.

Maren didn’t just prove herself at work.

She proved that Elsa could trust her with anything.

Elsa may have still been learning how to follow through, but she hoped this was a start.

They never officially had someone on rotations before, though they really should.

If there was anyone who was right for the job, it was Maren.

And this way, she could finish what she and Elsa started together.

“Where should we start then?” Elsa stood behind Maren and flipped the binder to the divider for May. She pointed towards the bracket for the current week. “Any of these sections.”

Maren hummed in thought. “Can we eat any of the candy?”

Elsa playfully rolled her eyes. “You wish.”

“Hard pass,” she shook her head.

That was fair.

Elsa would have also wanted to eat the chocolate.

Specifically, she would have wanted to eat it with Maren.

“I hate all of these so much,” Maren commented.

“Which one would you hate the least?”

“Register candy.”

“I find that ironic.”

“I don’t.”

Heh.

She was sweet.

“Which would you pick?”

“The cold never bothered me anyway.”

“Oh, so that’s why you’re the Snow Queen?”

Funny, too.

“We don’t know what Frozen or Dairy’s procedures are. Just that we pull up to three days ahead. It’d be best to confirm with someone in those departments. I’d recommend tackling Grocery first. Anything non-perishable is a thirty-day interval. That includes Grocery, HBC, and baby food and formula.”

“Juice it is.”

She said that so encouragingly.

And when they situated a step stool and empty wagon in Aisle 8, it was completely understandable.

Most of the brackets had specific sections. For example, the yogurt in Dairy depended on the sizes; one week it could be six- and eight-ounces while another could be gallons and value packs. Mac and cheese was its own separate entity from pasta. Flour and sugar wouldn’t be done at the same time as cake mixes.

Juice?

There was no difference between juice boxes, iced tea, or bottles.

Though refrigerated beverages such as orange juice was classified as Dairy.

All the juice bottles encompassed one side of Aisle 8, as well as the boxes across in the last quarter of the aisle.

Elsa knelt at the section with the juice boxes, starting with one flavor of the KoolAid on the bottom. “It’s best to remove everything and reset them starting with the newer dates in the back,” she explained. “Don’t confuse dates with lot numbers; they are not the same. If an item only has a lot number, don’t worry about pulling it. Anything that has expired or expires within a month, put it in your wagon. The cut-off is thirty days, so Hans doesn’t want anything pulled past then unless the item is damaged.” She pulled each box of KoolAid out, one at a time, checking the dates as she went. She situated them on the stool or floor based off when they expired. Once the shelf was cleared of that flavor, she put everything back with dates as far ahead as 2023 in the back and working backwards to 2022.

“And I just do this for the whole shift?” Maren asked.

She could hear the enthusiasm in her voice.

“You should leave some time at the end to scan everything out, as well as your break. Since you won’t be up front I won’t be dictating when you go,” Elsa replied.

She could see Maren smirk behind her mask. “So if I happened to take it at the same time as you….”

Tempting.

So fucking tempting.

That was the other thing Elsa missed about Covid, as horrible as it sounded.

For as unpredictable and scary as it was, in a strange sense it offered this sense of almost freedom.

When the doors closed early and customers were gone by eight, it was everyone for themselves. They knew what had to be done and could evenly divide up the work. There wasn’t as much pressure because they weren’t juggling to assist customers while watching throwbacks pile up. As long as everything got done, people were free to take their breaks when they desired. Sharing her break not only became pleasantly unexpected but also anticipated. When hours returned to normal and structure was revived, the lack of coordinating a break with Maren was disappointing.

The bubbling in her stomach returned.

She felt a lightness inside of her imagining things going back to how they used to be.

Except now it would be better because it wouldn’t just be with her coworker.

It would be with her girlfriend.

She could take her by the hand.

Lead her into the break room.

Share some chocolate with her.

And then kiss her.

Like she wanted to do now.

If only they weren’t at work.

If only they weren’t out where anyone could see them.

If only she could stop being a supervisor and just be a girlfriend.

If only she could just suck it up and let it go.

“That’s on you.”

Dammit.

“Time management,” Maren nodded simply. “Got it.”

She didn’t mean it like that.

But also, yes.

Before Elsa had too much time to dwell on her snafu, Maren continued.

“So what do you mean by scanning?”

Elsa started going through the next flavor. “The same way we have to scan out an order that someone tried to steal, we should scan out anything we pull off the shelves. It’s to help keep track of shrink. We know how much the store potentially loses out on as well as what items need to be reordered. Receiving will decide what becomes of everything; if we can sell them as clearance; if anything can be donated; or if they should be disposed of. If we don’t have a chance to scan everything, then they have to. But it will be easier for them if we do.”

There was a lull while Elsa pulled the remaining boxes.

“You really are the Queen of Retail,” Maren conceded. “I knew no one knows this place better than you but….”

She took a breath.

“You’re incredible, Elsa.”

It was difficult to fight the heat that rose to her cheeks.

She’d heard high praise from Maren plenty of times before but….

It didn’t change what it meant to hear that.

Nor did it stop surprising her.

“I can’t take all the credit,” Elsa brushed it off, clicking her tongue. “Belle did most of the research and groundwork.”

“But you never do anything half-assed. You have a plan for everything,” Maren pointed out. “You probably came up with some intricate organization and figured out how to food-Tetris everything into the wagons.”

How did she know?

Everything that Elsa did….

Every side that she showed….

Every new thing that Maren learned….

She went above and beyond accepting.

She encouraged.

It was as if nothing could deter her.

No matter how much Elsa was waiting for.

It never seemed to come.

Elsa turned to meet Maren’s gaze, unaware of how close they had gotten.

She felt the overwhelming push again, louder than it was before.

She wasn’t quite sure if it was a desire or need.

She just knew that….

She wanted to be with her.

To be close with her.

And the way that Maren’s gaze lowered….

Moving towards her mask….

Her lips….

In this moment….

Did she feel the same…?

Would she want to…?

Suddenly the acknowledgement that they were in the middle of their shifts went out the window.

Instead, only one thought could flash through her mind.

Kiss me….

“Hans to customer service. Hans to the desk ASAP.”

Shit.

Why the fuck wasn’t he at the desk?

He was supposed to have been there.

Of all the god fucking times….

That motherfucking son of a….

“You should get up there. I think I get the idea.”

Without a beat, Maren pulled away and moved up to the next shelf.

She didn’t even give Elsa another look.

And the screams inside shattered.

Suddenly it felt like something was missing.

Almost as if this was….

Wrong.

Did that mean…?

No, Elsa wasn’t wrong.

Was she…?

Then why did this bother her so much?

What was worse….

Why did it hurt?