Modern AU/ Unrelated/Oneshot; Anna owns a very small bakery in a building that Hans' family owns , but is being threatened to be shut down due to an increase in rent/because Hans is a dick. Elsa is a CEO that frequents the bakery and refuses to let this happen. [prompt by Pankite]

NOTE: This is my Elsanna Week contribution, written for a small contest being held on the Discord server. Hope you all enjoy it!

"AnnaPan"
by Jessica X

The door chime was a familiar, comforting sound to Elsa. That was the only way the owner of the bakery knew her, which was on purpose. She loved being only known as a customer… as a human. That they only knew each other by first names and a shared love of chocolate-hazelnut brioche.

So seeing the bakery was empty confused her. Where were all the customers? Usually, there were at least a few; it was a popular spot along their street, even if not having achieved citywide fame. How had she missed the "We're open!" neon sign being off, and that most of the lights were out? Though the door being unlocked was a mystery…

Then she heard the sobs from behind the counter. She stood just at the door, momentarily indecisive, until she decided to approach the counter.

"H-hello? Is everything alright back there?"

There was a thud, sounds of items falling to the floor. A moment later, a disheveled mop of red hair emerged, flour smudged across one freckled cheek and face puffy. Her aquamarine eyes squinted for a moment, then widened.

"Elsa? What… how did you get in here?"

An apologetic shrug of one shoulder accompanied her answer. "The door wasn't locked. I'm… sorry, I'm intruding, you're-"

"No, no, it's my fault," she half-laughed, half-sobbed. "Forgot to lock it when I closed up. Sorry. I, um… c-can I get you anything? We have some leftover goods, it's…" Wiping her eyes, she reached for a pair of rubber gloves to handle what bread they had left for her.

"Hey." Laying a hand on the counter, privately wishing it wasn't separating the two of them, Elsa frowned across it at her and said, "You're upset, and you're closed. Don't worry about my standing order."

"Oh… oh God, I forgot about that, too! I think we're out of brioche…" But then she saw Elsa looking at her so intently. "What?"

Biting her lip for a moment, she tried to decide if this was any of her business. It wasn't. Her lips still opened and she whispered, "What's wrong, Anna?"

The baker laughed and tried to wipe her eyes clear more effectively than she had before. "It's nothing. Just… life kicking my ass, like it's always tried to kick my ass. No big. I should expect this by now, right? I'm kinda dumb for still being surprised after all these years."

"Anna…" Then she sighed, shaking her head. "I'm sorry for prying. And for you having such a bad day. I'll show myself out, and, um… I'll see you tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure you will."

The line was seemingly innocent, but Elsa felt her heart leap into her throat and lodge there. Maybe she didn't mean anything darker by it… but if she did, she couldn't let her anxiety over dealing with someone while they were upset get in the way of doing what was right. Steeling her resolve, she lifted the hinged countertop and rounded it to stand next to the young baker. She seemed a little surprised, but Elsa didn't waste any time. Her hand came to rest on Anna's shoulder.

"What do you mean? Please, I... well, maybe this is none of my business, but if it's that bad you're not sure you'll be here tomorrow…"

"Huh?" Anna blinked a few times, then let out a small chuckle. "Oh… ugh, that sounds a lot worse now that you put it that way. Sorry, I totally didn't mean to scare you!"

"Ah. Well then, what did you mean?" When Anna's face fell again, she withdrew her hand. "S-sorry, I'm being nosy. I was just-"

"You were worried. It's okay." Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly as she scrubbed at her face, smearing the flower further. "I might have to sell my shop. Try to set up somewhere else, though I don't really have the money… I don't know, I'm just panicking. Stupid."

Frowning and wringing her hands, wishing she could pat Anna's shoulder again but feeling it would be too forward, Elsa whispered, "I'm so sorry to hear that. Why? You can't be doing poorly; I've seen how much your customers love your bread. Myself included."

"They aren't the problem. It's that stupid Westergard jerk who owns this building; he's raising the rent for everybody. And I live here, too, so it's like… I can't afford both my apartment and the storefront. So I either have to start sleeping on sacks of flour in the back, or I have to close the store."

"And you can't raise your prices," Elsa murmured. When Anna's eyebrows knitted as she looked up at the woman, she waved a hand. "Oh, they're reasonable enough at present, but if they went much higher you'd lose customers. Lowering them to attract new customers could work, but if the rent is being hiked that much, it wouldn't be enough to offset your rising overhead."

There was a lot more blinking of long, luxurious eyelashes. "Wow… I, um, didn't know you knew how to run a business, but you talk like you do."

"Might know a thing or two, yes." Biting her lip for a moment as she thought furiously, she tilted her head when an idea began to come to her. "How married are you to the location?"

"Very; I love it here. But if I can't afford it, I can't afford it; I'll adjust."

Nodding to herself, Elsa took out her phone and began tapping furiously. "Pretty sure you're more attached than this Westergard is. And money talks."

"Uh… sure. What are you doing?"

"Buying the building."

"WHAT?!" When Elsa didn't respond, Anna walked around to stare at the phone. Elsa was about halfway through composing an email to a contact named "Ms. Waialiki", but she turned the phone away from Anna's face instinctively when she saw her snooping.

"Excuse me!"

"What are you trying to- how can you buy a whole building?! That's crazy!"

Face seemingly unimpressed, even if her pale cheeks had become the slightest bit rosier at the accusation, Elsa told her in a mild tone, "I'm making an investment. The instant I saw it was called 'AnnaPan' I knew you were pretty savvy."

"What? I don't… what are you talking about?"

"This is a neighbourhood highly concentrated with a Latina-Latino population. I was already coming here for the incredible pupusas around the corner. You aren't Latina, but you still gave the store a Spanish-influenced name so everyone would not only instantly know it belonged to you, but that you would serve the kind of pan dulce the locals might want alongside the more European-influenced baked goods."

Anna was literally stunned. After a few seconds, she whispered, "You… noticed all that, just from the name?"

"Your cuernos are incredible. And very authentic."

"W-well…" Warming to the subject, Anna suddenly grinned and gushed, "I apprenticed at the Avalor Panaderia — you know, over on Fifth? They were trying to focus on teaching me white people bread, but I kept bothering them about the other confections they had for sale, all those gorgeous puerquitos and novias, and I just… soaked a lot of that up like a sponge, I guess. There's so much more to bread than loaves and muffins!"

Elsa stayed focused on finishing her email, though she was smiling from listening to Anna. "It shows. Your challah and brioche are better than some of the actual Kosher bakeries and pâtisseries. More than anything, I think what you've created is unique because it's such a multicultural celebration of what can be achieved with a little flour, sugar, and yeast. Simply stunning."

"Investment, huh?" Anna thought that over for a few seconds, then shook her head violently. "W-wait, wait. I can't let you do this — buying the whole building just because I'm having trouble with rent?! Come on… you barely even know me."

"I know you're the most accomplished and imaginative baker in the city, and that you deserve to be compensated. And I'll still be charging you rent," she warned with a slight smirk. "Just… no more than you were paying before now."

"You… this… I don't…" Flabbergasted, Anna pushed her hands into either side of her head. But she was smiling. "It's like you're my fairy godmother! I don't know how to…"

Apparently, not knowing how else to react meant that Anna had to fly into Elsa's arms, giving her a huge, showy kiss on the cheek as she hopped up and down with glee. Elsa dropped her phone to clutch her back, feeling her face growing hot from the sudden display of affection.

"Thank you SO MUCH! I can't believe this! You can have all the free brioche you want for the rest of your life!"

Sputtering like mad, Elsa finally managed to tell her, "Th-that's not necessary! Just… keep doing what you do!" But she couldn't help grinning like an idiot. Secretly, she had always hoped she could make Anna as happy as her bread did for her. Having that chance was worth every penny.

The End