Café Liégeois

Title: Café Liégeois

Author: 4mation

Type: Series

Rating: K+

Genre: AU, Friendship, Romance, Fluff

Warnings: fem!Slash

Pairing: Elsanna

Characters: Elsa, Anna

Summary: So a blind woman walks into a coffee shop…

Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. All names mentioned do not represent the true persons. All brand names do not belong to the author. No copyright laws or personal privacy laws are intended to be infringed.

A/N: My first Elsanna fic which isn't incest, but I hope that that doesn't put anyone off. For the sake of the scenario, it just had to be done. I just got this idea this morning for some reason, but it was so cute that I had to write something about it. Hope you guys enjoy J

When Anna first told her parents that she wanted to get a part-time job in college, they were amused but accommodating. When she then told them that she intended to become a barista, they were terribly confused and appropriately horrified.

Anna had been banned from the kitchen at home for very good reason; every time she entered, insisting that she could help, something was bound to go wrong. Her very touch brought about the dinner apocalypse. The pot on the stove would boil over, the bread would first burn and then inexplicably catch on fire, the chicken would be roasted to a crispy sooty black, the meat would always come out rare no matter how long it was left in the oven, the cake crumbled in on itself into a mess of rock-hard chunks and her father was still traumatised badly enough by her 'Fruit Sundae of Epic Awesomeness' that, four years later, he still couldn't look at pineapples and corkscrews in the same way. They were lucky that Anna's mother had forbidden her from attempting to slice and dice vegetables, or their beloved but hopelessly clumsy daughter would be short a few fingers.

Given all of these prior experiences, it was understandable that her parents were very unwilling to let Anna take on a job which not only involved the kitchen, but also multiple kettles filled with boiling water, lots of hot milk, skilled and graceful hands, and meticulous care. It took most of her first semester, endless wheedling and whining, about fifteen guilt trips, and an outstanding report before her parents finally caved in, praying that Anna would see the folly of her fantasy after only a few small burns.

They needn't have worried. Despite her almost supernatural clumsiness and outstandingly terrible cooking skills, Anna did surprisingly well as a barista. Maybe it was because she was an A+ student in her college Art major course or maybe it was just that Anna wasn't responsible for actually taking the coffee to the customers, but Anna was soon the darling of the campus Starbucks, and her peppy attitude and cheerful, all-loving nature soon won over her co-workers and manager enough that no one complained too much at the occasional shattered saucer.

All in all, Anna was happy. She loved her job, she enjoyed the company of her fellow staff, and she often found inspiration for her next artwork while tracing delicate flowers and hearts into the creamy foam atop lattes and cappuccinos. She was content and at peace, and she was convinced that she had never been happier.

Then, she walked in.

It was a warm summer's day when a young woman opened the door. The bell jingled merrily at her entrance, and Anna looked up from her freshly completed café mocha to see who it was, hoping that it was her lunch. Julia had been gone for forty minutes now, and Anna was famished.

All thoughts of her sandwich fled from her mind when she laid eyes on the goddess that had just entered.

She was tall but slim (willowy was the word that popped into Anna's mind), and her skin was a snowy white. She wore a light blue blouse and comfy shorts, leaving bare long expanses of pale legs (which Anna was definitely not admiring). Her platinum blonde hair was tied into a neat plait which was draped over her shoulder. But the most immediately noticeable feature of this woman was the large pair of darkened sunglasses that covered her face and the cane with which she gently probed her surroundings.

Irma hurriedly rushed to the blind woman's aid, welcoming her warmly to Starbucks and offering to help her to a seat. The blonde smiled in thanks and nodded her acquiescence, allowing herself to be led to a comfortable seat by the window. Her hair glowed brightly in the sunlight as she gently lowered herself onto the chair, resting her cane on the seat next to hers. Irma pulled out pen and notepad to take the woman's order, who smiled slightly as she requested an iced coffee.

At the sight of the blonde's smile, Anna melted. It was such a small thing, really just a slight upwards curve of the corner of her lips, but it remained one of the most beautiful things she had ever witnessed. In fact, Anna was so enraptured that it wasn't until her fellow barista Tiana cuffed her gently on the back of her head with the list of orders that she realised she had been staring. Suddenly embarrassed, Anna ducked her gaze and tried to distract herself by warming up the chocolate sauce, blushing as she felt Tiana grin knowingly at her.

Oblivious to her red-haired admirer, the woman reached into her satchel and withdrew a book. Tracing her finger lightly across the braille, she read in silence, unaware that she had acquired a certain barista's affections.

Her name was Elsa, she had only recently transferred to the University of Arendelle, she was currently taking a graduate course in Architecture, she had been blind since birth, and she was (most importantly) single.

All of this was information that Anna had uncovered through extensive research, snippets of conversations, and the books in and name tag on the blonde's satchel. Apparently, Elsa was kind of famous within the College of Architecture and Engineering; after all, who had ever heard of a blind architect?

According to Belle, Elsa was composed and reserved, quietly listening attentively from her seat at the front of the lecture hall. She was polite and gentle, but she never put much effort into building relationships with others. She never accepted nor rejected any advance or attempt at friendship, equally comfortable when sitting on her own or joined by others. She did not seek company, but company seemed to find her anyway. Being beautiful, refined, intelligent and fascinating, Elsa quickly became a common target for the affections of many hopefuls, but all of their pining was ultimately for naught; Elsa never showed any similar interest, and seemed to tolerate the attention at best.

This constant swarm of admirers was the reason Elsa had taken to spending most of her afternoons at Starbucks, Rapunzel told Anna over a shared plate of nachos at lunch. She'd been told by Eugene, who'd heard it from Eric, who'd got it from Hans that Elsa was actually a closeted lesbian, though Rapunzel confessed that she wasn't sure how much of this was fact and how much of it was rumours spread by frustrated boyfriend-wannabes. Rapunzel, knowing her friend far too well to be convinced by her feigned indifference, quirked her eyebrow in amusement when Anna tried to cover up her smile with a fistful of jalapenos, and then laughed out loud when the impromptu gag sent Anna running for the restroom, eyes watering and mouth burning.

All of this helped to give Anna an idea of who Elsa was, but it wasn't enough. She wanted to know the details, the little things, the intricacies of Elsa, the kind of thing that only friends and family would be privy to. She was so utterly fascinated by the blonde that she couldn't be content with this basic sketch, and so Anna made it her mission to become Elsa's friend.

Anna's first attempt was simple enough: on her break, she hung up her apron and strolled confidently to where Elsa was sitting in her usual spot by the window. The older woman was fully engrossed in her book, fingers flying rapidly across the letters. For a moment, Anna hesitated, not wanting to disturb the blonde, but she quickly shook away her doubt. If she was to ever become Elsa's friend, she would have to make the first move.

"Hi," Anna said brightly. "Do you mind if I sit here with you?"

Elsa's finger stopped on the page and she looked up at Anna. Or, more precisely, the general direction from where Anna's voice had come, meaning that she was staring more at a spot just over Anna's right shoulder.

"Yeah, sure," she said pleasantly. "Have a seat."

Cheering inwardly (phase one complete!) Anna smiled and sat down in the chair opposite the blonde. Elsa resumed reading, paying little attention to the redhead. It was definitely disorientating, Anna decided, to have the other woman so utterly engrossed in her book while she was still 'looking' in Anna's direction.

"Your name's Elsa, right?"

Elsa's finger stopped once more. This time, she lifted her finger completely off the page and, slotting a bookmark between the pages, she closed the book and placed it by her other notebooks and books stacked on the table between them. She smiled encouragingly at Anna.

"Yes, that's me. And you? You're Anna, right?"

"Yeah!" exclaimed Anna, surprised. "How did you know?"

"I've heard Tiana shouting at you to stop forgetting to turn the stove off enough times to recognise your voice," Elsa said, grinning.

"You know Tiana?" Anna said, the only thing she could come up with when her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment.

"She showed me around on my first day," Elsa replied. "It's thanks to her that I found out about this place."

"So you're a coffee fan?" Anna asked.

Elsa smiled.

"Not really. It's normally too bitter for me, but I like the atmosphere here. It's, I don't know, relaxing, I guess?"

"Yeah, it is," Anna agreed appreciatively, looking around. The café had a warm, cosy mood, whether it was filled with serious learners at their laptops or sickeningly sweet couples.

Elsa took a sip of her iced coffee and made a face. She groped around the table, looking for the sugar. "And what about you?"

Anna smiled. "I'm a barista, so I guess it's kind of taken for granted that I love coffee. Especially the smell. Nothing like it, especially when you're tired after morning lectures!"

Elsa's lips curved into a small grin.

"Actually, I was asking how you knew my name."

In hindsight, Anna really should've planned this through a bit more. It would probably have given her some time to properly think up coherent, believable, totally-not-creepy answers that explained why she had basically been stalking Elsa. As it happened, she found herself completely unprepared and, caught off-guard by the question, Anna did what she always did when she panicked: talk way, way too much.

"Uh, your name? I kinda learnt it because it was on your bag, and I was wondering what your name was, so I checked it the other day, because I really wanted to know, since you're always in here, and I wanted to get to know you better, kind of like why I was asking around about who you are, I mean, not like a stalker but more like a 'who's she' kind of way, if that makes sense. What am I talking about, that totally doesn't make sense, and ugh, I'm making a total mess of this, aren't I, and you probably think this is getting totally weird. Not that we're weird, I mean, you're weird, I mean I meant that you're not weird, I'm weird, you're gorgeous… wait, what?"

And with that, Anna buried her face into her arms, totally embarrassed and completely sure that she had not convinced Elsa that she wasn't a stalker.

To her credit, Elsa managed to deal with that deluge of way-too-much information gracefully. Her shades covered her eyes so it was hard to tell what she was thinking, but her face remained expressionless as her mouth worked to find the appropriate response. Distracting herself by pouring some sugar into her cup, Elsa wasn't entirely sure what to make of this bizarre girl, but she found herself oddly fascinated by this quirky, strangely cute barista. She'd had her fair share of admirers, and from that outburst Elsa was fairly certain this girl was an admirer, but none of them had been so candid about their fascination with her. While this was definitely awkward, Elsa couldn't help but feel that this girl deserved a chance, or at least some comfort to reassure her that she hadn't absolutely made a mess of their first meeting.

"Well, that's interesting, I guess," Elsa managed. This statement did little to relieve the awkward silence hanging in the air, and if anything the younger girl seemed to retreat further into her arms with a crinkle of fabric and a small whine. Sighing, Elsa tried again.

"Look, I'm… flattered by how much effort you've put into your… research, I guess we'll call it? And I think I know why you're doing this, but I don't want to give you any false impressions. I'm definitely a little weirded out right now, but I get a feeling that you are too, huh?"

Anna's response was an embarrassed mumble. Holding in her sigh of exasperation, Elsa reached across the table to lay a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. Well, she was aiming for the shoulder: instead, she ended up awkwardly patting the top of the barista's spine.

"Hey, come on. Not everyone's great with first meetings, okay?"

"I'm sorry," Anna said into the crook of her elbow. "You probably think I'm totally crazy right now, don't you?"

"Well, yes," Elsa admitted. She really wanted to get the girl's face out of her arms, but she'd already missed her shoulder and she didn't want to send the wrong message by groping her blindly. She rubbed the nub of bone again. "But I kind of like crazy."

At this, Anna was finally encouraged enough to peek out of her arms.

"Really?"

Elsa bit her lip in frustration. Normally she was the shy one who didn't have to make conversation. She was just not good at this.

"Yes, really. Normally people try to take care of me like I'm made of glass or something, which means that I end up listening to people trying too hard to take care of what they say to make sure they don't offend me or something. It's… refreshing, in a way? To have someone just say the whole truth and be honest about what they think without trying to mince their words."

"Sorry," Anna said meekly. She brushed her hair back, flustered and embarrassed. "I just made things super-awkward, didn't I?"

"It's fine," Elsa said, relieved that the other girl seemed to have recovered. She was terrible at this emotional stuff. "Just, don't go all turtle on me again, okay? And, if you really want to just talk, please don't get all embarrassed again."

"Sorry," Anna repeated.

An awkward silence descended on both of them as they tried to think of something to say. Anna was struggling not to reveal just how much she knew about the blonde, and Elsa was trying to figure out how to ask the barista just how much she'd researched her without the latter getting embarrassed again. The silence stretched out until Anna noticed one of Elsa's notebooks, sitting amongst the pile still stacked on the table.

"What's that?"

Elsa jumped, startled out of her thoughts by Anna's voice.

"Sorry, what?"

Anna leaned over to get a better view.

"On the back of your notebook. It looks like... doodles? Stars? Hexagons? Snowf-"

Elsa's hand slammed down on the notebook. Or, she tried to. Instead, her hand caught the lip of her cup, tipping it over and causing iced coffee to splash across the table. Anna flinched back, startled, as Elsa, ignoring the coffee, tried to desperately shove all of her books back into her satchel. However, in her panicked rush, her normal grace was replaced by a reckless flurry of limbs, throwing three of her books to the ground as they missed her bag completely. Frustrated, Elsa tossed her satchel to the ground and scrambled on the ground, trying to find her books. Her panicked flailing stopped when she felt Anna's hand resting on her shoulder. Gently, Anna pressed Elsa's books into her hands.

"I'm sorry," Anna apologised. "I didn't realise it was something personal."

Realising what a spectacle she'd just made and suddenly all too aware that she was currently kneeling on the ground with her darkened sunglasses knocked lopsided, Elsa meekly took the books and pushed them into her bag. She stood up and fixed her sunglasses, trying not to show how embarrassed she was. Anna helped her to her feet and handed Elsa her cane, trying to hide her worry and confusion. Elsa let out a deep breath.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to react so… you know. I'm just not ready to share something like that. Sorry."

"No, it's nothing to apologise for," Anna assured the blonde. She raised her hands to hold the blonde's own, before rethinking it and letting her arms drop back to her sides. "I shouldn't have intruded. It was my fault."

Elsa shook her head.

"That still doesn't excuse my behaviour. I shouldn't have reacted like that. It was just, an impulse, and a bad one at that."

They both stood there, awkward once more. Anna shifted her weight from one foot the other, biting her lip, and Elsa's fingers tightened on the strap of her satchel. Finally, Anna chuckled at the sheer absurdity of the situation.

"Looks like we both made a bit of a fool of ourselves today, huh?"

At this, Elsa couldn't help but giggle weakly as well.

"I guess we're both just really bad with people."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Anna said, smiling slightly. "I think that we both learnt new things about each other, and really what more can you expect from a first meeting? I think this all went rather well."

Elsa laughed a little at that.

"Well, aren't you the optimist."

"I'd have to be," Anna replied, her smile widening. "If I wasn't, then I wouldn't be able to ask for your phone number after all this."

Elsa had to smile at the cheerfulness in Anna's voice.

"And what makes you think I'll give it to you?" Elsa asked, now teasing a little.

"Oh, I don't know," Anna said dramatically, relaxing now that she was reassured Elsa didn't think of her as a freak of nature. "Because you need someone to tell you how amazing you are and talk about how much she wants to get to know you?"

Elsa burst out laughing at that.

"When you put it that way," she said, grinning and reaching into her satchel. She felt around for the little sleeve with her notepad with the pen clipped on. Pulling it out, she slowly and awkwardly wrote down her phone number, doing her best to not accidentally overlap the numbers. She tore out the page and handed it to Anna, who did her best to disguise her ecstatic smile.

"Call me, okay?" Elsa said, amused by the joy radiating off of the other girl. She could practically feel her buzzing.

"Of course I will!" Anna exclaimed. "But, when should I do it? Are you busy later tonight? When do you do your homework? Do you even have homework? What am I talking about, you're doing an Architecture major, of course you've probably got loads of work to do. Did I just say that you're taking an Architecture major? Oh gosh, now I probably look even more like a stalker to you. Wait, what?"

Elsa laughed.

"Anna, relax. Just call me at eight tonight. I feel like we have lots to talk about." Elsa blushed, embarrassed by her sudden brazenness. "Do you really think I'm gorgeous?"

"Um," Anna stammered, looking like a very ginger goldfish as her mouth flapped for the words that her brain just wasn't sending. "Uh, well, that is-"

"I'm teasing, Anna," Elsa said with a laugh. Shifting her satchel to the other shoulder and making sure her glasses were on straight, Elsa started tapping her way back to the door, only to be pleasantly surprised when she felt Anna take her elbow and gently guide her. Elsa bit down on her lower lip to hide the stupid grin trying to form on her face, unaware that Anna was beaming unrestrainedly.

When Anna opened the door for her, Elsa placed a hand to her chest in mock surprise.

"Well, it seems that I've found my knight in shining armour. Thank you, good sir, for saving me from the tyranny of closed doors."

Anna blushed, wondering if her act of chivalry had been a bit too blatant, and the colour in her cheeks only deepened when Elsa groped about her neck to find Anna's chin. As soon as she had it securely in her grip, Elsa pulled Anna close to give her a light peck on the cheek.

"Well, talk to you later. Thanks for sitting with me today."

And then the blonde was off, her cane tapping in front of her as she slowly made her way back to her dorm, leaving Anna standing in the doorway with her face as red as her hair.

To Be Continued

A/N: This feels a little awkward, but first meetings are always tough to write. Hopefully it'll get smoother in future instalments. And yes, I'll definitely be continuing this when I have some time, but don't expect it to be any longer than four/five parts at most.