[route_29 IC Inbox/Voicemail]

[defyingfrigidity]

["I'm terribly sorry, but Elsa isn't here right now! Feel free to leave a message, and I'll do my best to respond in a timely manner."]

Comments

video, 5/27

[paishodown]

Hey, Elsa?

I was just calling to see how you were doing. Since we haven't really spoken in a bit.

[defyingfrigidity]

Oh! Um...

[Gee, she feels kind of bad now. It has been a while since they last talked... and isn't checking in like this things you're SUPPOSED to do as a friend? Elsa didn't even think to do that...]

Things have been well. [There's a pause as she looks around, making sure she's out of earshot of a certain someone.] I've been working on Anna's birthday present, so I've been a bit scarce on the network lately.

[paishodown]

[A small smile curves Asami's lips.]

What is it?

[defyingfrigidity]

[A smile crosses Elsa's face as well, full of fondness.]

When we were younger, we had matching handmade dolls, all done up in the dresses we liked the most. I thought... Anna might like a new pair, to reflect what we look like now instead of how we looked as children.

[She laughs, holding up the hand not holding the gear, showing off quite a few bandages on her fingers.] Unfortunately, I'm not the best at sewing, so I've had to practice quite a bit before I made something worthy of a birthday present.

[paishodown]

[Asami blinks, a bit startled by Elsa's bandaged fingers.]

Doing something so intricate is bound to get tricky if you don't have much experience. That's a really thoughtful gift, though.

[defyingfrigidity]

I hope so. I really had to make it count. [Her smile fades a bit, absentmindedly rubbing two of her bandaged fingers together.] This is the first time Anna's been able to celebrate her own birthday with me not hiding away in my room. I had to do something that really counts.

[paishodown]

[Asami's face softens. Poor Elsa. It's like everything remotely personal in her life has been colored by... that.]

I'm sure she's going to love what you give her no matter what it is. I've only talked to her once, and it was obvious how much she loves you.

[defyingfrigidity]

Oh, I know that. I could probably just give her a box of nice chocolate and she'd love it....

But even so. Anna deserves something wonderful after all I put her through.

[paishodown]

You're putting yourself into this, and she'll see that.

[Elsa's choice of phrasing grates on Asami, but she doesn't bring it up. Not when she... has something else she wants to talk about.]

She texted me a while ago, actually.

[defyingfrigidity]

[...Uh oh. That can be either really good, or really bad.]

Did she now...? Is there a reason why?

[Not that she really expects a reason why her sister contacted one of her friends. Anna can talk to anyone she likes, after all! But the way Asami brought it up makes her think something is up here...]

[paishodown]

Yeah, she was... asking me about your personal life, which... I don't want to start anything, but she told me something happened at the dream ball, and... She asked me if I instigated it.

[VAAAAGGGUUUE]

And I guess I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I felt badly talking to Anna about it behind your back.

[defyingfrigidity]

[... Oh.

Oh. Oh geez. This is bad. Just how much did Anna get into this issue...]

It's nothing. Just... an incident I handled rather badly.

[Yep. Still blaming herself there.]

[paishodown]

Everyone handles that kind of thing badly when it's just sprung on them like that.

[Asami hopes her voice is reassuring, but from what she's learned, she can't help but be a little bit irritated.]

[defyingfrigidity]

... Anna told you the whole thing?

[...Oh no....]

Is... everything okay?

[paishodown]

Of course everything's okay. I just meant... Strong emotions are difficult to deal with for anyone.

And... Yeah, Anna told me all of that. Just not the "who," because she was wondering if it had been me.

[defyingfrigidity]

They are difficult to deal with, yes. But I only ask because you sound... a bit upset.

[Elsa can't help but bury her face in her free hand. Ohhhh noooo...]

I'm terribly sorry if she accused you or anything. Despite being my younger sister, Anna can be... a bit overprotective, sometimes.

[paishodown]

I'm not upset. Really.

[She pauses. She doesn't want to out and out say 'you're a little unstable and sudden love confessions are extremely tactless,' but...]

I just know that something like this might be kind of new to you, and I didn't want you getting hurt because of it.

And don't worry, she didn't accuse me of anything. She didn't know.

[defyingfrigidity]

[Still... not too sure that she's fine, but she's not budging, so... time to drop it, Elsa supposes.]

I think I hurt the other person more, actually...

[paishodown]

That happens to all of us, too.

I know it doesn't mean a whole lot right now, but... these things do smooth out, no matter how badly you feel about it right now.

[defyingfrigidity]

I don't know about that...

I... I think I made things worse, the last time we tried to talk.

[paishodown]

That... happens a lot, too.

I've... done my fair share of fumbling around and messing up in this department, and I know how much it can hurt, or how easy it can be to only make things worse when you only mean the best.

[defyingfrigidity]

So then... do you know how to patch things up?

[Because she honestly has no idea what to do at this point.]

[paishodown]

That isn't really something I can know the answer to, not being part of the situation.

But the first step is being open and honest when you talk to them. Lying only makes things uglier and harder to fix in the long run.

[defyingfrigidity]

Oh, that much I know. However I feel about this situation, I still like this person... the last thing I want to do is upset her or anger her more than I already have.

[Elsa hesitates, then. She says she doesn't want to upset Lightning anymore, but with how Lightning was the last time they talked, Elsa's sure she already failed at that...]

[paishodown]

Of course. And... I think if you continue to be earnest in that, you're doing the best you can. Things like this can be hard, because... even when we have the best intentions, we can still end up hurting people. And it always gets messy when you're trying to sort through other internal emotions at the same time.