Who: Anna of Arendelle and Frank Hardy When: September 25 Where: Park What: Hanging out Rating/Warnings: Low/None Status: Complete!
It’d been a very strange few days (few weeks?) for Anna. She’d been warned that weird things were going to happen, and then they did, and she had to re-think everything. The poor girl wasn’t really all that great at thinking. She was more of a feeler than a thinker, and her feels were so all over the place, it was time to dust off her mind and get that working.
She’d been so excited to prepare for the quarter, so thrilled to go shopping for new clothes, new books, new stationary… and then her mood hit the wall. When her ex showed up, everything went topsy turvy. Somehow he was able to get into her head in ways she didn’t realize were possible. He was able to make her think things she never would have thought before. She’d been feeling so good about herself. And then?
Waiting for Frank to show up at the park, Anna sat on the swing. There weren’t any kids around, so she was free to sit and swing as long as she wanted. It helped with the thinking.
Frank had been having a tense month, overall. Ever since the Dreams had started again, it seemed as if they were determined to throw more and more curve balls at the brothers. August had been a roller coaster in more than one way, and he was had hoped that September would pass by much smoother. Of course, he should have known better.
Which was why the idea of something as blessedly normal and easy as meeting up with a friend had greatly appealed to Frank. It had been a while since he had gotten a chance to hang out with Anna and he was looking forward to it. The redhead had a way of making everything brighter. Natural optimism was rare enough these days, but coupled with her bubbly personality, Frank almost felt guilty for wanting to see her just to be around someone whose smile could cheer up even his brother on his worst days. As always, the reporter resolved to treat her to something to make up for it.
The park was well-nigh empty during the day, now that school was back in session for the younger children. The older ones would follow soon enough, if they had not already. He found her easily, like a bright red beacon leading him across a miniature soccer field to the larger swing set. “Hi, Anna.” Frank greeted the woman with a smile. “Is this seat taken?” He joked, indicating the swing next to her.
Anna looked up and broke into a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. The sparkle in them was diminished a bit, even though she was smiling. She couldn’t help but smile at handsome men--especially when they were kind to her. Even if they were her friends. She nodded. “You gotta swing with me.” Maybe doing something silly and childish would take her mind off everything. “And then jump off into the sand!”
“A small price to pay for such a good seat.” Frank laughed, sitting down on the swing. He kicked off, but the swing did not seem to go very far. Odd, considering his long legs. Or, at least it would be odd if he had been actually trying to do more than start the motion. After so many months of watching for signs in his brother, the elder Hardy had become somewhat of an expert on half-smiles and not-quite-theres. That such a thing would be seen on Anna's face was something of a surprise, but he knew that just like the rest of them, she was only human.
“So, what are we racing for?” If Anna had decided that children's games were what she wanted to do, then Frank was only too happy to indulge her. Perhaps later, after there was a buffer of pleasant memories, she would tell him what was wrong. Or maybe she would head off with a smile. Considering how often he used her as a ray of sunshine, he owed her at least that much. “I'm all out of bottle caps, but I'm sure there's a soda machine around here somewhere.”
“Longest jump gets… gets to choose what we do next. And if it's my choice? I'm going for ice cream sundaes.” Anna started to pump her legs, wondering if this incident with her ex was going to drive her to overeating. She would have to start watching what she ate and drank, watching her weight. But school was starting up, which meant very little time for eating, lots of sugar-free Red Bull, and late night study sessions, she would barely have time to eat. So that was okay.
“You’re on.” Frank finally began to use his long legs to his advantage, quickly gaining altitude. “And if I win, we’re going to skip the sundaes and go straight for coffee and pie.” Tall and lean, he had never worried about accidentally gaining weight from his black hole of a stomach, only getting out of shape. He still maintained that it simply was not fair that he had to train in karate and do road work every morning and Joe wouldstill win every race they had. Even though his brother did little other than roll out of bed and start the coffee maker every morning. At least here, now, he stood a chance to beat a college girl at jumping off of a swing. ...Or did he?
Anna couldn’t help but smile softly. Coffee and pie sounded really good, too. She started to pump her legs harder, ignoring the fact that she was wearing a skirt that liked to flicker around in the wind. The swing went higher and higher. “Agreed!” She laughed, momentarily forgetting her troubles and enjoying the wind in her hair. She was either getting ice cream or pie. Win-Win.
“All right, count of three!” She called out above the wind. “One! … Two! … Three!” And Anna jumped.
Frank watched for the moment Anna jumped, waiting until his swing was at its furthest point before jumping as well. “Oof!” He grunted softly as his legs hit the sand a bit harder than he expected. Perhaps he was getting a bit too old for jumping off of swings...Frank flexed his toes in his shoes, trying to work out the pins and needles that were climbing up his legs.
Straightening, Frank looked to see where Anna had landed. A wide grin broke on his face as he spotted her behind him. “Looks like we’re going out for pie.” Which he always preferred over mere sundaes. He was known to order a few slices a la mode, but the tall man had always been picky about what kinds of pie would go well with the treat.
It’d been a long time since Anna had jumped off a swing. She landed hard on her feet, then lost her balance and fell backward onto her backside with a little yelp. That was gonna leave a bruise. But Anna laughed, anyway. She lifted her hands from the sand and dusted them off.
“All right. Pie. With ice cream.” She grinned. This was definitely picking up her spirits. The more she didn’t think about it, the more she didn’t think about it.
Laughing, Frank walked over and offered his hand to Anna to help her up. “We’ll see. I’m afraid that entirely depends on the pie.” At least he had managed to remain on his feet - thank God for those karate lessons. She was smiling, so he figured the fall had bruised more pride than anything else. “Are you alright?” He asked, looking down to make sure that the grin was a real one and not tainted with pain.
Anna didn’t think twice about taking his hand and letting him get her to her feet. She dusted her hands on her skirt again once she was standing, and then turned to walk with him toward his car. She’d walked here from her house, so he’d have to drive wherever they were headed.
“Yeah…” She said, her mind going back to the reason she was so sad. “I’m okay. I just…” She didn’t want to tell him everything, but a part of her felt like she should. He knew it all anyway, didn’t he? “I bumped into my ex not too long ago, and the way he treated me, and the way my other ex treated me… Well, you know what happened to me in my Dreams,” she wasn’t looking at him. “...it feels like that’s how things go for me in Real Life, too.”
Frank had not been expecting such an honest answer. Luckily, Anna was not looking at him so she missed the moment of confused surprise before he caught up with the conversation. Slipping his hands into his pockets, he let her continue as they walked. He was familiar with what had happened to Anna in her Dreams - it was hard to write a paper on the subject without knowing the ending - but for the first time he considered the story as it must have appeared to Anna. To her, it had not merely been a story, but a life that she had lived, just as he lived a life as a teenager every other night.
To hear that Anna had gone through a similar heartbreak in real life made Frank’s chest ache in sympathy. He was no stranger to breakups, although all of his relationships had pretty much ended in the same fashion. Even Callie… None of that was going to help Anna, though. Thoughts about what would help flittered through his mind before he finally shrugged.
“I don’t know what happened between you two, but it sounds like you’re still hurting from how he treated you. Normally, I would offer to go and give him five good reasons to stay away from you, but it’s hard to do that when I’m pitying the guy.” Frank said simply, looking forward along the small path. “I mean, he messed up his chance to be with one of the most wonderful and capable women I’ve ever known. If there’s any mercy left for him, he’ll never know just how badly he messed up. Because if he knew exactly how amazing a life he threw away by hurting you, he’d never recover. I know I sure wouldn’t.”
Anna was nothing if not honest. Sometimes to a fault. She had the world's worst poker face, too, so it was practically impossible for her to lie. And Frank--well, she trusted him. Frank had been wonderful. Her friendship with him was special--he meant a lot to her. And she knew he'd be honest with her, too.
She'd been through something similar in her real life not once but twice. Not that it was an evil suitor trying to steal her throne, more a guy who didn't know the good thing he had, and tossed it aside like trash. And it'd made Anna second-guess all of the romantic relationships (and not quite romantic relationships) she'd ever had. Every one who had ever expressed had now become suspect in her mind. Even Frank. Even Minato. Even Wash. Especially Wash.
Frank's words made her pause, though, and she turned to look at him. Mostly to try and read his expression, to figure out if he was speaking the truth, or telling her what he thought she wanted to hear. "That's... that's probably the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me."
“You’re an amazing person. You deserve to break a few hearts, Anna.” Frank shrugged. It was the truth. He remembered how much it had hurt when he had finally realized that it was over with Callie, how all of their plans together, their life together, would never actually come to pass. He would have preferred to be beaten bloody a thousand times over the pain of that revelation. That was what he would wish on anyone who had purposefully hurt his friend.
“And if your heart is the one that ends up broken, well, that’s what friends are for.” Frank wrapped an arm around Anna’s shoulders for a quick, one-armed hug. “To treat you to coffee and pie while you pick yourself up again.”
Anna was a-okay with the arm around her shoulders. She cuddled in against him for a moment, leaning her head against his shoulder, and broke into a smile. Funny how good friends made her feel better. Pretty much always. “Thanks, Frank,” she said softly. “And same goes for you, you know? Anytime you need coffee and pie, that’s what I’m here for, too.”
“Why don’t you focus on eating your pie first.” Frank chuckled. It was just like Anna to try and be there for others, even when she was the one who needed help the most. “Before you can help others, you must first help yourself.” He quoted. “Right now, that should be your only job. Just tell everyone else to wait their turn while you finish your coffee.” She was still so young and still in college...so much life ahead of her. Frank hoped she could enjoy the freedom while it lasted.
Anna nodded. “All right. Now comes the hard part. We have to decide what kind of pie.” She gave him a bright smile, and wrapped her arm around his middle in return. After a quick squeeze, she released him so they could go into the diner. For the best pie in the world.