AN: Thanks to iamrotting for writing "Remember When" and giving me sad feels, which heavily inspired me to write this piece.
I love you.
Every day those three special words would spill from my lips, always reserved for the one person who mattered to me more than anything else in existence: the love of my life, Elsa.
Elsa is so amazing! She's the smartest, most beautifullest woman I've ever laid eyes on. One never would have guessed that I, a rambling, clumsy fool would somehow manage to successfully capture this incredibly perfect woman's heart. To this day it still boggles my mind that I did.
Our love has blossomed stupendously since we've been together, growing stronger with each passing day. Elsa brings overwhelming happiness to my world and I try my best to do the same for her. Truthfully, I like to think I excel in that department. I certainly hope I do, anyway. I can't recall any moments where those soft lips that paired so well with my own were turned upside down.
Well, not until now...
I love you.
Peering up at her face behind half closed lids, I see there's not a trace of a smile on my love's face. Elsa's forehead is creased with worry lines, brows knitted inward as she stares down at me with wide, blue eyes. She's breathing hard, her face unusually red. She's clearly upset with me, yet I don't have the faintest idea what I did to make that happen.
"Anna," Elsa calls out to me sharply, her voice warbled and tinged with panic. For some reason she sounds so far away, even though she's practically on top of me. I realize I'm laying down, head resting on her lap as she leans over me.
Are we in bed? I wonder foggily, trying to unsuccessfully move my head to get a glimpse of my surroundings. The ground below me is too hard, rough like concrete, informing me we were not in bed like I assumed. Beds were supposed to be soft and comfy. Am I dreaming? It would explain why everything around me is so fuzzy. It occurs to me that I may be drunk and that's why everything was so strange to me, but that didn't make sense since I never drank enough alcohol to get to that point, and I don't recall drinking anything.
Then again, I don't remember anything, period. Except, of course, Elsa. I could never forget her.
What little I can see through my peripheral doesn't look familiar. It doesn't help that it's dark out. Elsa is the only thing I can focus on clearly. Not surprising since she's all that ever mattered to me. Behind her, I see a dazzling display of sparkling blue and red lights, swirling around and around so prettily. The flashing lights were accompanied by a loud but familiar wailing sound.
I love you.
The ugly frown taking Elsa's lips hostage looks wrong on her face. I want it gone. To disappear and never come back. It didn't belong there. But I know I'm the reason it's there, even if I am unaware of how I caused it. I had to dispose of it, and I knew for sure our love for each other would take care of that problem. Love conquers all. Ours always has. If I could just get my body to obey me, bring my hands up to cup her cheeks and let those three special words flow freely…
But… the words don't come, despite my attempts to speak them. My lips part slowly and a barely audible gasp makes its way out of me. The small, strained sound I utter only deepens the disturbing frown she's wearing.
Wonderful. I've made everything worse. Now there's raw pain in her expression. The extreme anguish revealed in her blue eyes is too much for me to bear. "Anna, please ," she whispers imploringly.
What did I do? Why can't I right whatever I wronged? Why was it so hard at this crucial moment to speak those three important words? My mouth, which always had a habit of rambling on and on about nothing in particular throughout my life, was failing me when I needed it the most. It was so unfair…
Frustrated by my lack of words to cheer her up and relieve her of whatever I did to make her suffer, I try giving her a warm, healing hug. But I find I can't even do that. My arms refuse to cooperate and remain limply by my sides like dead weights.
Having no other way to express my feelings, with help from my eyes, I convey to her as best I can how sorry I am, hoping she'll forgive me. It doesn't work.
Her panic worsens and she lightly slaps at my cheeks as if trying to wake me up. "No! Anna, no! Don't... Stay with me!"
At that, I want to laugh, even though the situation was far from funny. What a silly thing for her to say. She knows I'd never leave her. Did she assume otherwise? Is that why she was looking so distraught? Once again I try to get my mouth to move, to assure her I'll always be by her side. To tell her she had nothing to worry about. I wouldn't dream of abandoning her. Never.
Once again my body fails me, proving to be useless.
"Oh, god, Anna!" Elsa's body vibrates intensely, wracked with harsh sobs. My face becomes damp as a rainfall of her tears pelts me. "No, please, no…"
It's then I know things are more serious than I thought. A seriously bad serious. Because for as long as I've known her, Elsa never once shed a tear that wasn't induced by laughter. Now they were coming down hard and fast, and there I was, unable to hold her and give her the comfort she desperately needed. I wanted to tell her that whatever was bothering her, we would work through it together. Everything was going to be okay.
It is going to be okay, isn't it?
I love you.
Sniffling, Elsa lifts me so she can cradle me closer to her chest, arms tightening around me. The heat radiating off of her body feels strangely intense. It was quite an odd sensation considering how she's normally colder than me, which I didn't mind because that left me with the awesome task of warming her up. Before I can contemplate the sudden body temperature change, my love's nose buries itself into my copper hair and she breathes me in.
Taking deep, shuddering breaths, Elsa whispers solemnly, "I love you, Anna." There's a sad finality to her words. I hate the implication behind them, and I wish she didn't sound that way. "I love you so much." My face is peppered insistently with tear stained kisses, Elsa chanting those three special words over and over to me as her hand strokes my hair gently.
Lulled into a peaceful state by her tender affections, my lips twitch into a smile using what little energy I have left and I sigh, feeling peculiarly content.
As everything starts to fade, I know it's too late to tell her one last time how much I love her. But I can see in the sad, watery smile she flashes me before my vision goes entirely black that I don't have to. Because she knows I'll always love her forever.