r9kEiS Chapter 24

So Anna has been gone for a week now?"

 

"Eight days. And four hours. Exactly."

 

“Okay." A pause. "How are you handling it?"

 

The rustling of a shirt as shoulders shrugged. "I dunno. After we left the airport I kind of just…I went numb and it hasn't really gone away."

 

 

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Elsa felt Anna's hand slip in to hers as the older girl stared out the car window, watching the bitumen of the road speed by, the black surface seemingly reflecting in the dark clouds above. She turned to her sister, seeing her grin with excitement. The girl squeezed her hand gently.

 

Elsa forced herself to smile back.

 

Somehow the two of them had managed to avoid discussing Anna's indiscretion, not from lack of curiosity on Elsa's part, but when Anna had greeted her the next day with bright eyes and a cheerful 'Morning, Elsa!', the older girl found herself unwilling to drag her sister's mood down again, and had waited for Anna herself to bring it up. She never did.

 

"Looks like there's a storm brewing," her father's voice came from the driver's seat, as he leaned forward to peer up at the sky through the front windshield. "Hope your flight isn't delayed, kiddo." He chuckled. "Mostly because I already feel sorry for the poor bugger that has to sit next to you. Wouldn't want him to have to spend an extra hour or two on the tarmac with you."

 

"Da-ad!" Anna groaned, playfully, meeting his gaze in the rear-vision mirror. "I'm not that horrible to travel with!" She turned to her mother. "Am I?"

 

"No honey, of course not," the woman replied. "Your father is just trying to hide how upset he is behind his ridiculous sense of humour. He's going to miss you more than he wants to admit." The girls' mother sighed heavily. "We all will."

 

Silence fell over the foursome, unbroken until they reached the airport parking lot.

 

"I'll get your bags," their father said in a thick voice, as he clambered out of the car, followed closely by his wife, who said nothing.

 

Elsa couldn't bring herself to let go of Anna's hand. Her heart clenched painfully at the notion that she wouldn't feel this warmth for another six months. Please don't go.

 

"Elsa," her sister whispered, barely loud enough to be heard over the man rummaging in the trunk. "We should…" she trailed off, not really sure of exactly what they should and shouldn't do. It seemed the line between the two had been all but obliterated over the last few weeks.

 

Elsa nodded anyway, letting the younger girl untangle their hands, before Anna unbuckled the seatbelt and climbed out of the car, shutting the door behind her. And then there was one.

 

Elsa closed her eyes briefly, inhaling deeply, scraping together the last of her courage and joining the rest of her family at the rear of the car. Her father had a tight grasp on the handle of Anna's suitcase, his knuckles turning white, and her mother was already fiddling with a packet of tissues, fingers shaking imperceptibly.

 

"Time to check in, kiddo," her father said, shooting Anna a grin and starting towards the imposing monolith that was the terminal. The girl moved to follow him, but not before taking Elsa's hand once again.

 

The younger girl remained silent until their parents were far enough ahead. Then she leaned over to whisper in Elsa's ear.

 

"Sorry I'm leaving you to deal with these two on your own," she quipped. "It's like they don't know how to handle this."

 

Neither do I.

 

Elsa couldn't bring herself to respond, so she just gave her sister a half-hearted smirk, hoping it would be enough.

 

It was, and Anna winked at her, tugging her towards the automatic doors of the building and over to the screen that matched destinations with designated check-in desks. Elsa watched as her sister squinted at the numbers, muttering to herself in an incredibly endearing way, before her face brightened when she found the correct flight.

 

"Desk thirty-two," she declared, turning to find her parents. "Desk thirty-two, Dad!" she called, dragging Elsa over to the couple. The older girl was starting to feel a little like a marionette. Fitting. She already motivates everything you do.

 

The queue for the desks was reasonably short, and Elsa lamented the loss of Anna's warmth once again when the girl needed both her hands to fish around in her back for her passport. She found herself glaring unnecessarily at the woman behind the desk, as if she were somehow responsible for severing the connection.

 

It took all of three minutes for Anna to get her boarding pass – probably a new record for any airline on earth. Elsa couldn't help but wonder if the universe was actively trying to minimise the time that she had left with her sister.

 

All too soon they were standing outside the entrance to customs, hugging couples and ugly sobbing surrounding them. Elsa felt a lump forming in her throat. This is it.

 

Anna's face suddenly grew anxious, as her eyes flitted between Elsa and her parents, hands wringing the strap of her bag. It appeared that the enormity of what lay beyond the gate was finally making itself known to her.

 

Their father was the first to move, sweeping his youngest daughter up in a bear hug. "You behave over there, kiddo," he said, trying to keep the mood light. "I don't want any letters from Dumbledore, or whoever your principal ends up being, alright?"

 

Anna pressed her lips together, nodding, looking up at her father with slightly wet eyes as he pulled back, before burying herself in to her mother's arms.

 

"Bye mom," she managed to choke out, fighting hard to hold back tears. "I'll be back soon."

 

Elsa watched the exchange, already feeling her senses dulling as she forced the tumult of emotions into a deep corner of her mind. She'd deal with those later. Once she was alone. Once Anna's gone.

 

She almost let it all back out again when her sister looked at her, vulnerability and apprehension shining in her teal eyes. Elsa didn't move, simply staring as Anna stood inches in front of her, forcing a smile and trying to cover up her fear.

 

Then it hit Elsa like a freight train. She's waiting. Waiting for you to say something to make her feel better. To be her big sister. And so the older girl said the first thing that came to her mind.

 

"You're not alone," she whispered.

 

And suddenly Anna was throwing her arms around Elsa's neck, burying her face into her shoulder, trembling with the effort of holding it together. Glancing at her parents, Elsa noticed they were gazing at the girls with loving eyes, obviously ecstatic their eldest daughter was finally acting like a human being.

 

The older girl found herself growing nervous, worried that any physical affection on her part would give everything away.

 

But Anna needed her. Just fucking hold the girl. Forget about what the rest of the world thinks. It never bothered you anyway.

 

So she did. Wrapping her arms around her sister's waist, Elsa pulled Anna into a proper embrace, closing her eyes and reveling in the comfort that was the girl's soft body pressed against her, chest gently rising and falling under her hands.

 

The words bubbled up of their own accord. "Remember, it's okay to be scared. Sometimes superheroes cry." She frowned. "Well, except maybe Cyborg. I'm pretty sure his tear ducts got replaced by data cables or something." She felt Anna grip the back of her shirt and give a watery chuckle against her neck.

 

"I'll miss you," came the tiny voice from next to her ear. Elsa was almost crushed under the wave of love and despair that washed over her with the statement. She wasn't worth missing. Wasn't worth the already growing pang of longing that was undoubtedly spurring Anna to make the confession. She didn't know how to explain any of it to her sister, so she said the only thing that came close.

 

"I'll miss you too," she breathed. "So much." Then, a tentative utterance, like she was worried it would be misinterpreted. "I love you, Anna."

 

The arms around her neck tightened, and Elsa felt a soft kiss against her cheek before Anna pulled back. The younger girl was biting her lip, clearly not trusting her voice, but her eyes implored Elsa to understand the unspoken words hanging in the silence.

 

She loves you too. Even if it's in a way she's not ready to admit.

 

Anna turned away, breaking their gaze, taking the handle of her suitcase and getting ready to leave. Elsa felt the hole in her chest expanding rapidly, and she fought to contain it, at least until Anna could no longer see her.

 

Blowing a kiss to her parents, the younger girl moved towards the gate, trying to refrain from glancing at Elsa one last time. She was almost out of sight when she succumbed, shooting a look full of promises and apologies towards the older girl.

 

Elsa simply gave her a small smile, lifting a hand in farewell.

 

And then Anna was gone.