This is a special announcement: you are awesome! Been re-reading through your ficlets yet again 'cause I love them so damn much. Your longer works are great, too, but for some reason, I'm constantly drawn to your Roses ficlets. Oh, and just to let you know, part 2 of Roses isn't on your FF page, though it can still be read on your blog. No rush! You have bigger things on your plate at the moment. Good luck on all that life stuff!

A/N: Flower AUs are ♥. There’s just something about them I like revisiting.



I actually sat on this message because I felt a proper response was necessary, hence the lateness. Also I’m glad you enjoy my ficlets (especially the older ones haha.)

A present for @elsannaheadcanon and all my followers~ (i typed out flowers before correcting myself…)

Part: I | II

Prompt: Roses

Anna had never been a flower person until she’d started working at the flower shop. Sure, they were beautiful in their varieties of colors, shapes, and sizes, but she had always preferred other things for a gift. Like chocolates! Or movie tickets, a music CD, or a big hearty sandwich. Something she could share with another person. Flowers, while nice and meaningful in their own way, just…sort of sat there.

Anna glanced up and down the street, suddenly nervous. She hoped some higher power wouldn’t seek divine retribution on her just because she didn’t see the appeal in flowers.

Well, hadn’t until a few months ago.

Anna crushed the sole red rose to her chest and carefully shifted the colossal bouquet she was delivering in front of it. She scurried up the path and knocked on the oak wood doors three times. By now, all the servants knew who she was. Not even twenty seconds had passed before the door swung open and Gerda’s face appeared.

“Anna dear! Come in, come in!”

Anna giggled nervously as she was ushered in. “Thank you Gerda. Is Els—er, I mean, Miss Arendelle—”

“Out in the garden,” Gerda said. The smile on her face grew and Anna’s hands went clammy at the knowing glint in her eyes. “You go on ahead sweetheart. I’ll bring you and the Miss some tea and cakes.” In a flash, she pushed Anna towards the back doors and spun on her heel, heading towards the kitchen.

“Wait, that’s not necessary!” Anna called after her. But Gerda had already disappeared and Anna was left alone in the spacious foyer, feeling as small as the first time she had entered the manor. Anna bit her lip and glanced in the direction of the garden. She knew that Elsa would be informed of her presence within short notice. Even if it had only been Gerda who’d welcomed her in and seen her, some other servant would tell the young blonde woman she was here. Elsa’s staff seemed to know what went on in the manor without even communicating. It was the slightest bit intimidating. And strange.

So if she wanted to surprise Elsa, she had better move fast. Any second now, her feet would go. Any second…

I’m a mess.

Anna wilted, clutching the bouquet and her precious rose tight to her chest.

Oh, get a hold of yourself Anna! Be a big girl and go get her.

Sucking in a breath, she strode with purpose towards the garden. The moment she ducked through the doors and stepped onto the cobblestone path, her nose was hit with the powerful aroma of flowers. Bluebells, foxgloves, and many others she could place, but was too overwhelmed to do so. The cool air of the gardens wrapped around her thin frame and settled deep into her bones. Anna shivered, then tightened her grip around her cargo and walked up the pathway toward the gazebo .

But she’d only made it to the archway when she paused.

Someone was singing.

Anna peeked around the structure and her breath caught in her throat.

Elsa was wearing a white sundress, her hair swept into her usual French plait, but for some reason, Anna thought there was something different about her. When she could breathe again, Anna realized it was the garden pail in Elsa’s hand. The older woman was watering the flowers one by one, singing something under her breath.

Reluctantly, Anna cleared her throat.

Elsa whirled around, halting mid-verse. The surprise on her face quickly gave way to delight, a sunny smile to match the sunflowers she’d been watering. Anna blushed when her eyes darted to the bouquet in Anna’s hands.

“Anna,” Elsa’s breathy voice sent Anna’s heart hammering, “I was beginning to think something had happened to you.”

Anna shrugged, the tips of her ears burning. “I, um, got a little distracted.”

Elsa’s smile widened and the skin around her eyes crinkled. Anna swallowed her nerves and stepped forward, holding out the bouquets of mixed roses. If possible, Elsa’s expression brightened even more and she placed the garden pail down in order to take the flowers from Anna. Their hands brushed as she took them and Anna told herself she was just imagining the look Elsa sent her when they did.

“Are these for me?” Elsa asked with a hopeful voice.

Anna kept the red rose behind her back and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I wouldn’t be giving them to you if they weren’t.” She smiled shyly. “They’re from a Miss Isabella I think? It says so on the card…”

“Oh…” Elsa’s brow creased and the smile dropped off her face. The disappointment in her expression couldn’t have been clearer and Anna squirmed. She scrunched up her nose slightly and muttered, “Miss Hansen always had a flair for timing. Right before Valentine’s Day.”

Anna let out a weak laugh. “Well, I think she wanted to outdo the competition.” She shuffled her feet. “You have a lot of admirers after all,” she mumbled. Anna’s boss kept a personal tally for the number of times Elsa received flowers as a “gift.”

Elsa just hummed in reply. Her eyes were still on the flowers and the corner of her mouth was tugged down in a frown. Anna cleared her throat. Elsa glanced up at her, blinking a few times.

“Did you want me to recite the monogram?” She gestured to the pink card in the bouquet. “It is part of the job, you know?”

“Oh.” Elsa’s expression fell again and Anna wasn’t sure how a short, simple sound could contain such disappointment not only once, but twice. How had everything gone wrong so fast? “You’re here on a delivery?”

Anna fiddled with the flower behind her back. “Yes.”

Elsa’s lips pursed together and she spun on her heel towards the gazebo. “Well then, I wouldn’t want to keep you busy. Thank you for the gift.”

Anna squeaked and rushed after her. “Elsa!” Her hand caught a slender, pale wrist without thinking. Her skin buzzed when those blue eyes caught hers again. In the cool shadow of the gazebo and brisk morning air, Anna’s body burned with a longing she couldn’t hide. And when Elsa caught sight of the rose in her other hand, the pink that flooded her cheeks and hid her freckles made Anna dizzy.

“Oh,” Elsa said again. Her lips quivered.

Anna reluctantly let go of Elsa’s wrist and held up the flower more prominently, a shy smile on her face. “I thought you’d appreciate having only one to look after this time.”

Elsa let out a soft noise. She put the bouquet on the center table and reached towards Anna’s rose, hands shaking. Anna watched as Elsa’s fingers grasped the stem, brushing her skin, and stayed there. Anna gulped as a slow smile spread across Elsa’s face. Her eyes crinkled once more and Anna found it impossible to look away from the vibrant red of her lipstick.

“Would you like to have dinner with me?”

Elsa froze. Anna froze.

A heartbeat passed by and she wanted to snatch the words right back. At the very least, she had hoped to say them gracefully. Well, at least she hadn’t stumbled over her words.

“I can’t.”

Anna’s heart came crashing down. “You can’t?” she echoed. She felt a squeeze in her chest at the possibility that she had been misreading everything.

Elsa clasped her hands, blue eyes pleading. “No, no, Anna that’s not what I meant! I don’t,” she gestured weakly to the gardens, “go out much. I can’t really. I get tired and—” Anna stared in confusion and Elsa groaned, covering her face with one hand. “This is going all wrong…”

Anna’s face scrunched up and she giggled once, reaching over to gently pry Elsa’s hand from her face. She tried not to grin like a fool at the adorable blush on Elsa’s face, but didn’t succeed. She’d never seen the older woman look so awkward before.

“I think I’m rubbing off on you. Usually it’s me who can’t keep her words straight,” Anna said. Elsa stared at a spot on her shirt, refusing to meet her eyes. Anna faltered. She didn’t know where to go from here. Elsa, however reasonable and polite, had rejected her date invitation. “Um, Elsa—”

“Would you join me for dinner here tomorrow night?”

Elsa’s quiet request cut through Anna’s nervous haze like a freight train.

“I’d love to,” Anna said, voice shrill. Her skin was so hot she was certain Elsa could feel the heat radiating from her, standing less than a foot away. Elsa gave her a small smile and Anna curled her toes in her work shoes at the bliss in her eyes. Taking a chance, she leaned forward and pressed the rose behind Elsa’s ear. She didn’t have to lean forward, but it made the act of kissing Elsa’s flushed cheek that much easier.

When she pulled back, Elsa was grinning. Anna tapped her knuckles together, resisting the urge to shower her face with more kisses.

“Would you like Kai to pick you up and escort you here at seven?”

Anna laughed, a little too high-pitched, and shook her head. “That’s not necessary. I’d like to surprise you tomorrow.” And she was positive that if one of Elsa’s servants picked her up, then she would somehow know what Anna would be wearing and bringing tomorrow.

Elsa bit her lip sweetly and nodded. Anna pressed another kiss against Elsa’s cheek and the older woman let out a sigh. The lingering smell of primroses tickled Anna’s nose. Slender fingers tangled themselves in one of her braids, running through the strawberry-blonde strands gently, keeping her close.

“I should really get back to work,” Anna said. Still, she didn’t move. Elsa laughed softly. Anna grinned and pressed their foreheads together. In response, Elsa closed the last centimeter with a kiss.

All thought banished from Anna’s mind

Work could wait a few more minutes.