Memories [OUAT/Helsa]

Lies

Storybrooke
Present Day

"So, you are here."

He had just been standing by the docks, overlooking the blue water and waching as sunlight reflected on the surface, when her voice came and made him turned his attention away from the view.

"Elsa?"

"I went to Granny's but you weren't there. I had been looking all over for you." She explained as she approached him, coming into a halt to stand beside him as she looked at the horizon.

"You did?" He asked, in disbelief that she would, considering how cold she had been toward him in this strange realm. "You know you can't exhaust yourself like that, Elsa."

"I'm fine." She said, clearly dismissing his concern toward her. "We need to talk."

"You need to sit." Hans said, taking her hand, which surprisingly was not being pulled back by her, and led her to sit on one of the benches. After he was sure that she was seated comfortably, and also when she gave him a look he knew well as one where she did not want to be told what to do, did he took a seat beside her, scooting away to give her the space he knew she wanted. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I want to know what happened." She started, "As you know my memories has been tampered and you are the only person in this town that could tell me what happened back in Arendelle. Is everything alright?"

"Yes." Lies. He knew, they both were supposed to know, that he was telling a lie. He knew that nothing would be alright with his brothers lurking around, ready to lunge at given opportunity. "There's nothing to worry about. You know neither Anna nor Kristoff would let anything to happen to Arendelle."

Her brows furrowed, and for a moment he feared that she would discover his lie, no matter how smoothly he has said it. "But I have a bad feeling that something happened."

"You missed Arendelle, that is all." The auburn haired man said, looking at her. Her hands were resting on her lap, near her growing stomach that he was dying to put his hand over, just to know when their child have begin moving inside would bring him great happiness. "I bet you miss Anna, Kristoff and everyone else in the kingdom, even that reindeer, Sven."

"I do miss them." Elsa murmured as her eyes looked over at the water. "So much."

They fell into a silence then, and even at how much he wished he could wrap his arm around her, to comfort her and drive her away from the feeling of loneliness without her beloved sister, he knew he couldn't. Not yet. He had to take careful steps to make her love him again, make her realize what they share was indeed true.

"You did not wear your ring." He noted after his eyes searched for the golden band he has slid around her finger on their wedding day. "Why?"

She simply lifted her hand, taking the said ring away from her neck without turning her gaze from the blue sky, attached to a silver chain in a form of a necklace. "It's here, I didn't throw it away, don't worry."

"I'm glad you didn't. But still, why?"

"I'm not ready to talk about us yet, about the relationship you claimed we share." She answered truthfully. "I still need to think it over."

At her short explanation his brows furrowed in confusion. "You can't possibly hate me that much, do you?"

"Well it does get a little overwhelming when the man you have been trying to avoid turns out to be your husband and the Father of your child." She hissed, eyes now turned toward him, clear blue irises glaring ice cold. The wooden bench creaked as ice crawled in between it's fibers, one of her hands was now clutched into a fist in her lap while the other pressed against the surface of the bench. "I've told you that I don't want to talk about that now."

But he did not cower in fear like most people would when they witnessed her anger, no. She was not a monster, not someone people should fear, her powers were a gift bestowed to her since birth, and with her embracing it meant that she accepted herself as who she was. And he would never ruin that.

"Of course, that is entirely for you to decide." He said, taking her clenched hand in his own, fighting off the cringe caused by how hurting it was to hold her ice cold hand. "Forgive me, I should have not pressure you into anything. But you need to calm yourself, for your baby."

The hand inside his hold began to relax even when her glare was still sharp to him before it slipped out of his grasp, instead pressed flat against the bench. "You've lost your mind."

"Did I?"

"You know I could have hurt you when you take my hand." She said, face tense and jaws clenched as she turned her eyes back to the ocean. "Still you did it."

"But you didn't." He pointed out, "Because I know you don't like hurting people, no matter who they are."

"That is merely a lucky guess."

"Oh?" He raised his eyebrow, intrigued by her view on the topic. "You won't mind if I do some more 'lucky guesses' then?"

"You could try." She challenged, equally interested in the lighter topic exchanged between them. "Tell me something that not so many people know."

Hans pretended to think even when he knew almost everything about her, both from herself and also from watching her doing her daily activities. "You can write with both hands, though prefer to use your left one... Am I correct?"

"How did you...?" The clear surprise on her face was certainly something he already expected and familiar about. Eyes were wide while her lips were slightly parted, it was a very adorable look he must say.

"'Lucky guess'?" He chuckled, giving her a sincere smile. "You always wrote with your left hand, but there was one time where you went skating with your sister, teaching her how to. She slipped and crashed onto you, you both fell and your left wrist was dislocated. I offered to do the writing for you, since your hand was injured, but you told me that you can also write with your right hand. It's magnificent, really, as I never seen an ambidextrous before."

"No one was supposed to know except Anna and some members of my Council." She stated, looking at him. "And how could you be in the position where you can 'offer' me something like writing for me?"

"I was helping you and your kingdom. You wish for me to make your army, especially your Navy, to be stronger." Now that one wasn't a lie. He hated lying to her, but if it was for her own good then he will do it. "It's a great decision, if you ask me, considering the fact that I'm an Admiral."

"You are?" Elsa asked, raising an eyebrow, evidently he had just shifted her attention from a topic to another, avoiding more talk about the condition of Arendelle.

He stood up then, and with his right arm over his stomach while his left over his lower back, he bowed before her. "Admiral Prince Hans Westerguard of the Southern Isles, at your service, ma'am."

A smile graced upon her lips, one of amusement at how he just bowed at her, as the platinum blonde haired woman leaned back against the bench. "So I did make a good decision. I assume you did your duty?"

"Of course. I would never break my promise to you."

Just want to remind you that I did publish a chapter before 'Deal' and it is called 'Doubts', just in case you guys didn't see it as I published the next chapter merely a day after I did that one.