#elsadashi

Nothing but the sound of the keyboard going clickety-clack and the occasional soft crackle of welding filled the room. Normally, Elsa would have found the sounds her keyboard made helpful in keeping her focus while she did the programming for Baymax, but today Tadashi decided to start creating the robot’s actuators. His welding and her typing made a strangely beautiful duet to her ears, but it was a new sound, which made it rather distracting too.

Maybe it’s time for a break, she decided after hitting delete to get rid of a typo, pushing her glasses up her nose and tucking back the lock of hair that had fallen across her forehead behind her ears. She glanced at the small clock on her screen.

9:45 PM.

Fifteen minutes. Maybe I can still squeeze in—

A loud groan interrupted her musings, prompting her to glance at her project partner. He had pushed back the protective mask from his face and was rubbing his left shoulder, rolling it around as well. Elsa watched him intently and heard him murmuring, as if he were talking to the almost-finished actuator he was working on. Her curiosity piqued, she placed her glasses on her desk and walked toward him, tapping his arm lightly to get his attention.

"Rough day?" she prompted, looking down at him with a slight smile. She gave him a quick, discreet once over, noting what he wore—a tight black t-shirt that molded to his body that if she looked hard enough, she would see the planes and contours of his chest and stomach.

Tadashi swiveled to face her, yanking the protective mask from his head and letting out a tired chuckle. “Yeah,” he sighed. “I was just telling Baymax that I’m not giving up on him even if welding’s a pain. Literally.” He grimaced and rotated his shoulder again. “My back is killing me too.”

"That’s because you’ve been hunkered down all day," she chided him.

"Look who’s talking. I can barely talk to you once you’re plugged into your computer," he retorted, his arms snaking around her waist to pull her into a hug. Elsa stiffened at first, bracing her hands against his shoulders—it had only been a few days since they had officially become a couple, and while they’re alone, there were still people outside the room and the door’s unlocked and—

"Relax, Elsa. No one’s going to walk in on us, if that’s what you’re worried about." Tadashi looked up at her, quirking an eyebrow as his thumbs traced lazy circles on her lower back. A shiver ran down her spine but the prospect of getting caught in a compromising position clashed with the pleasant sensation.

"How can you be sure? The door’s not—"

*click*

"There. Door’s locked." He smiled smugly and dangled a small remote before her. "Made it a few days ago—a universal remote for when I want to lock the door or bring down the blinds and I’m too lazy to get up. Didn’t think it’ll be this helpful, though."

"Ah." Elsa finally let herself relax, her hands creeping up his shoulders to run her fingers through his hair. "Though if you could do something about the blinds, maybe?" She motioned toward the large circular window. Doubtful as it was that anyone would see them, especially this late at night, she didn’t want to take any chances.

Tadashi grunted and and complied, reaching behind him to point the remote at the blinds. Elsa watched the blinds go down, cutting them off from the rest of the world. And she preferred it that way.

“Better?” he asked, resting his head against her stomach.

"Much."

"Good. Please keep doing that, it feels nice."

"Playing with your hair?" Not that she was complaining. Now that she was free to touch him anytime and any way she wanted, she found that she loved running her fingers through his thick, black hair. It was such a liberating thought that someone loved her hands, her touch—things that in the past forced her to isolate herself. And now, she could scarcely believe that Tadashi placed his complete trust in her by letting her play with his hair. What if she accidentally froze his head? That’s probably just as bad as freezing his heart. What if—?

"Elsa."

"Hmm?"

"Stop thinking."

She leveled a dry look at him, raising an eyebrow and setting her mouth into a firm line before answering. “Oh, so you’re a mind-reader now, huh?” she challenged him, smirking.

"No," he laughed, and she felt her heart swell with happiness over the sound. But Tadashi’s expression soon faded into a thoughtful, concerned look. "But I was holding you very closely, so I felt you tensing. Elsa," he stood up and cradled her jaw tenderly in his large, warm hands, "what’s on your mind? Did something happen to you? You’re not…afraid of me, are you?" He tilted his head, his brown eyes searching her blue ones intently, and she had to resist the urge to drop her gaze to avoid his scrutiny. A lifelong habit of closing herself off from people was a hard one to break.

"I’m not," she said neutrally. Truly, she wasn’t. She felt safe with him.

Loved.

And it had been a very long time since she had ever felt that way.

But the thing is, she was still afraid of herself, of what she was capable of doing. Though Anna and Tadashi had shown her that love was the key to controlling her powers, completely breaking the fear that she had carried most of her life was proving to be impossible.

Then again, it’s only been a few days since they admitted their feelings for each other.

It was right there she realized that the fear will always be within her, rearing its ugly head at the worst of times.

Like right now.

"Elsa? Please talk to me. Don’t shut me out." Tadashi’s soft, cajoling voice reached her ears, triggering long-buried memories of Anna saying the same thing by her door. Tears pricked her eyes, and she clenched her fists, trying so hard to keep control.

"Elsa?"

She almost jerked away from him, forcing down the “don’t touch me” that she wanted to scream at him. But the bewildered look of confusion and hurt in Tadashi’s eyes yanked her from falling into the familiar pit of despair. Elsa swallowed hard, taking a deep breath to clear her mind, to explain, to apologize for what she had almost done.

"I…I don’t know where to start, Tadashi." She licked her lips nervously, stepping away from the comforting circle of his arms so she could pace back and forth to gather her thoughts. She flicked a glance at him—he mouthed "breathe" at her, raising his eyebrows to encourage her.

He really was a treasure. How could he be so patient with her after what she had almost done?

"You’re right, I am afraid," she began. "But not of you. I never was and will never be afraid of you. But…" she trailed off, looking down at her hands, "I guess I’m still afraid of these. I thought I wasn’t anymore, but…you know what these can be capable of. You’ve seen it for yourself." She raised her gaze back up to his, determined to lay everything out before him so he could decide if he still wanted her or not. The ball was in his court now.

Tadashi sobered. Perhaps he was reliving how she had lost control over her powers at her twenty-first birthday party back in Norway. How she had run away and froze the city, and how she had froze her sister’s heart. He had been with her throughout it all, and when they got home, secrets and suppressed feelings had finally poured out.

Or so Elsa thought. Apparently, this one hadn’t.

"You know I’m not afraid of you, right? I love you, and I’m not giving up on you. Besides me, there’s Anna. She won’t give up on you, either." Tadashi approached her slowly, giving her the space and the option to retreat.

But she didn’t, because she was so tired of running. And so, when he finally stood before her, just inches away, she closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss on top of her head. “I’m sorry,” she mumbled against him, her arms limp against her sides.

Tadashi stepped back and grasped her wrists gently, bringing her hands up to his face. “I trust you, Elsa,” he said, keeping her hands against his cheeks. He slowly brought them down over the strong column of his neck, down over his heart. She felt it beating steadily against her palm, and the heat of his skin seeped through the thin fabric of his black t-shirt. “I trust these hands too. You won’t hurt me.” He squeezed them as he said those words, his gaze fixed on hers steadily.

Elsa released the breath she held, committing every word he said to her memory. Trust. Of course she heard her parents and Anna say they loved her, but to hear someone say he trusted her was a novel experience. Of course she knew Anna trusted her too—it was part of the whole unconditional thing her sister was capable of—but the measures her father had taken to protect her and Anna from her powers that were spiraling out of control at that time caused the trust between her and her parents to crumble.

Her heart was too full to answer him with words, so she decided to show him instead.

She cradled his jaw with her hands—the hands he said he trusted—and pulled his head down to kiss him. Her lips were hesitant against his, but he let her take the lead. Her tongue traced the seam of his lips so she could coax his mouth open, and after some playful resistance, he welcomed her in. She plunged in almost greedily, loving how warm he was, and a part of her brain registered how her hands wandered all over his broad, well-muscled back, pulling his shirt from his pants so she could touch the warm skin underneath. His hands slid down her sides to settle around her waist to pull her closer against him then undid her braid, raking his hands through her hair.

For a few perfect minutes, they lost themselves in each other. But soon the need to breathe forced them apart. Elsa reluctantly broke apart from Tadashi, taking a deep breath as she opened her eyes. He was staring at her intensely, his eyes dark and sharp with want that she couldn’t look away.

But then he blinked, and the spell was broken.

"I love you, Elsa," he declared quietly, reverently.

"Why, though? I don’t get it, you could have had any girl and instead you chose me. I’m a mess."

"Heh. Because you’ve given away so much of your love, I figured I’d give some of mine to you."

This time, she raised a dubious eyebrow at him. “If you think you’re being smooth, Hamada, you are seriously mistaken. That is so corny.”

"Ah, but I know you—I bet you love it when I’m being corny." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Come on, admit it."

"Fine. And I love you too, I guess."

Tadashi nodded approvingly. “That’s what I want to—wait, what?” He gaped at her.

She made a show of glancing at her watch. “Oh, look at the time. We’d better go before we get locked up here or something.”

"Elsa!"

She caught him off-guard again, pulling him down for another quick kiss. “Take me home, Tadashi? We could continue what we were doing,” she suggested, lowering the pitch of her voice and twisting the corner of her lips into what she hoped was a naughty little grin. She never had a chance to flirt before and she hoped she didn’t look foolish in her first attempt.

Her efforts were rewarded. “Well, come on then, let’s go!” He grabbed her hand and started pulling her toward the door.