swirling_storm (swirling_storm) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2015-04-22 18:46:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !partner thread, elsa of arendelle, gale hawthorne |
Who: Elsa and Gale
When: April
Where: Elsa’s place
What: Weddings
Rating/Warnings: Low/None
Status: Complete
Elsa couldn’t help thinking she should be more excited about the wedding than she was, she wanted to marry Kate but all the arranging it wasn’t as exciting as she had thought it would be. She hoped by showing Gale some of her ideas she would build up her enthusiasm, or at least get some reassurance that as long as she wanted to marry Kate it was okay that she didn’t feel excited about the stuff around that.
She’d been to the bakery and gotten some cookies and cakes and the kettle was on ready for tea or coffee. When the bell rang she skipped to the door and opened it, “Gale, it’s good to see you. Come in, come in”
Gale knew approximately jack shit about planning a wedding, but he still wanted to help Elsa anyway. She was his friend, and friends were there for those important life milestones - if anything, he could just be a sounding board or a supportive listener, and besides, he had to bring her the gifts he had for her from South Africa. Now that he’d finally gotten mostly moved into the blue house with the yellow door, the place he was renting, and also mostly unpacked.
“Hey, how’s it going?” he flashed her a grin, stepping into the house. She had a nice place, a lot bigger than his. “Oh, um...late Christmas, late birthday? These are just pick-me-up gifts but they’re from when I had some time to look around, before I went to the airport.” In the box he gave her was a bottle of specialty liquor, and you could drink that shit straight, with something, or even use it as a body paint or whatever, he wouldn’t judge. There was also a small handmade wooden carving, an elephant with its trunk up. That was supposed to be good luck, and maybe she could use some what with the wedding planning going on.
It was basically going to be a case of the blind leading the blind since Elsa knew little about wedding planning too. She’d just done a lot of internet searching and speaking to Kate. But it would be fun anyway. She always enjoyed being around Gale, he was a good friend and appreciated whatever help he could give.
“Good, I think. In general anyway” she smiled before accepting the gifts from him. “Oh Gale, thank you” she said, “This is beautiful” she exclaimed over the elephant, a lot of work had obviously gone into it. “You are a sweetheart” she told him, giving him a hug before tugging him to the kitchen. “I got cookies and cakes, figured we’d need the sugar”
Cookies and cakes were like the magic words. His dream self didn’t like sweets very much (probably because he could never afford them) but now it was a little different. “You’re welcome,” Gale laughed, returning the hug - she was so tiny, or maybe he was just ridiculously huge - and went where his nose led him. And where Elsa led him, rather. He was glad she seemed to like the gifts - wooden carvings especially were kind of like a staple in South Africa, you couldn’t visit without picking one up. There were also the handmade baskets woven from grass, sort of a lost art form, and he’d had trouble deciding but ultimately went with the carving. It was a good decision, it seemed.
“That sounds great, sugar is definitely appreciated. Where do you want to start?” he asked. “Or I guess I should ask, what have you planned out so far? Do you have like, a special wedding folder or anything?”
Elsa was rather tiny, while she was of average height her general size was small. And it wasn’t like she didn’t eat, she loved food. She just seemed to be naturally small. Not that she minded, she was used to it now. And she wasn’t a pushover, especially not with her powers. She adored the little wooden carving, it would have pride of place on her bedroom table. She’d save the drink for a special occasion, it seemed right.
“I have clippings and print outs” Elsa nodded, switching the kettle on, “I’ve not thought too much about it if I’m honest. I’m looking forward to being married but less excited about the whole wedding thing, is that strange do you think?” she asked him worrying her bottom lip between her teeth.
Gale leaned against the counter, arms folded casually - he’d be a gentleman and wait until Elsa was situated before stuffing his face with delicious baked goods. Reminded him of the chocolate chip cookies he’d made with Peeta and, hey, they actually hadn’t turned out too bad. Not that he’d discovered a hidden talent or anything - he’d stick with the shooting range, to blow off stress.
“Not too strange,” he shrugged. “Planning a wedding is hard work. And I think people get too caught up in the details sometimes. The most important thing is that you’ll be married afterward.” So who gave a fuck about if the napkins matched the table centerpieces, really? “Have you considered eloping, and then just throwing a party when you get back?”
She smiled as he stood casually and pushed a plate towards him, “Help yourself while the kettle boils” she told him, she may not know much about men but she recognised that look from her sister. Who also happened to be a fan of baked goodies.
“I have, but I don’t want to disappoint my sister or our friends. Mostly my sister” she admitted, because eloping sounded wonderful and she thought Kate would agree but Anna would be sad if she wasn’t there. Elsa didn’t want to be the reason for her little sisters sadness.
With permission, Gale gladly stole a cookie. Starting with this one, and then he’d probably work his way over to the cake. He was a bottomless pit, so at least these sweets wouldn’t go to waste. “Yeah, it’s kind of hard, wanting please family and then wanting to also pull away and do your own thing,” he frowned, thinking, breaking off pieces of the cookie. “Maybe just something small, then? I guess, ultimately, it’s not about making everyone else happy but about what you and your fiancee want. They’re not the ones paying for the wedding, right?” he grinned crookedly.
Because damn. Weddings were expensive as hell. Sure, Elsa and Kate had the money, but he could just not fathom, sometimes, how much it cost to ‘tie the knot.’
Elsa had assumed as much so there were plenty of cookies and cake and she had a well stocked tea and coffee cupboard. “Something small sounds nicer. Family and close friends” she nodded thoughtfully, that sounded nicer. Manageable. “You’re right I know” she added with a smile. It was about her and Kate, everybody else was a nice bonus really. Yes, that’s how she needed to look at it.
It really was expensive, Elsa and Kate hadn’t really considered that part since money wasn’t really a consideration.
He’d finished the first cookie, and he went for a second - actually, went for two, one in each hand. Double fisting cookies, but that was just the hungry boy in him. “Try to please everyone, and you never will,” Gale said, and unfortunately, it was a fact of not only planning a wedding but also life. Sometimes you just wouldn’t. Sometimes there was just no ‘right’ choice, and sometimes you just had to do what was best for yourself, even. “The ones who mean the most to you, I think they’d understand that you want your wedding to be your dream day, not theirs. And if they don’t, then that’s on them.”
Dusting off his hands, he asked, “Show me what you’ve got? The clippings and things?”
Elsa smiled as he ate the cookies, it was good to see him enjoying them so much. She knew they had been a good idea. “That is very sound advice” she said, “I knew getting your help with all this was a great idea. Best friend ever” she declared just as the kettle boiled.
“Okay, clippings and coffee? Or tea?” she asked with a grin. Suddenly it didn’t all seem so daunting anymore.
“Coffee, please,” Gale responded politely, razor-sharp posture and the behavior of a good soldier. Except for the double-fisting cookies part. He wasn’t really a fan of tea - probably because it didn’t have enough caffeine for him to get through long nights of work at the shipping company. “And I’m glad to help even if I really don’t know much about weddings. But I guess knowing the details doesn’t matter so much. I’m here to help you keep your eye on the prize,” he quipped.
Elsa set about making the coffee and smiled over at Gale, “Believe me it’s very much appreciated. I can’t imagine doing all this without you now, you can keep me focused”
At least he was good for something. Napkins and the menu for the reception? No. Helping a friend keep her level head and focused? Sure, he could do that. When the coffee was all set, he wrapped his hands around the mug, no need for cream or sugar or anything. Gale would drink it black as a gargoyle’s gaze, thank you.
“Did you set a date? Like an official one?” He settled at the table, prepared to go through whatever ideas Elsa had put together. “I can’t remember you mentioning it, so I thought I’d ask.”
“Middle of August” Elsa said after adding plenty of cream and sugar to her own coffee, she always found it too bitter otherwise. “We have a couple of venues in mind but we’re waiting for date responses from them” She set out the clippings and things she had gathered. “The only things we know for sure is outside and a light dusting of snow and ice sculptures but I can take care of those of course”
“The snow will be nice, especially in the summer. Help combat the heat a little,” Gale said, sipping on his coffee. And it’s not like it’d be an avalanche or anything, but as Elsa said, a light dusting. “August isn’t so far away though. You might need to start lighting some fires under asses.” And he was including himself in that. Whatever she needed, he’d assist with. That went without saying, because she already knew.
Elsa nodded, “Kate wanted that. She likes my abilities” she smiled warmly, “I know. I keep thinking it’s ages away but May is already looming and it will go much faster than I think it will” she admitted, but now that she felt better about a small intimate gathering she was finding her enthusiasm.
Magic and extra powers, the idea of that was still kind of hard to wrap his head around but Gale was mostly just interested in the mechanics. How it could be possible here, and lie dormant everywhere else. But generating cold and snow was a handy thing. “Could have used some of that in the desert,” he chuckled. “It’ll definitely go faster than you think, but...hm...how about we make a list of what else needs to get done, and then you can check things off as you do them?”
Having it written down might help too. Make it more real, in a way. Plus, organization guaranteed that nothing essential got left behind during the planning stages.
Elsa was so used to the strange occurrences now that she didn’t really question it anymore. One of the side effects of being here for so long she guessed. “I bet. I’d have been pretty popular out there I imagine” she grinned.
“Okay, I like that. Like working to a deadline, it helps keep that all important focus right?” she pulled out a pen and a clean sheet of paper. “Okay, so venue, clothes and invites?” she said as she began to write.
“Yep, all of those are probably required things,” he returned the grin, fingers tapping on the side of his coffee mug. What other wedding-oriented requirements could a soldier come up with, hmm? “Time of day, so you know what to put on the menu for the reception. If it’s going to be a lunch or dinner thing.“ Or ‘brunch,’ whatever the hell that was. Something fancy. “Music, flowers, um...other decorations. Ordering the cake...oh, I’ll recommend Peeta’s bakery for that one.” Because Gale would help a bro out, that was just what they did for each other.
Shit, there was a lot. And speaking of cake, he took a slice then, to munch on, while they listed more things. The sugar helped, or maybe he was just better at this than he thought.