It was snowing.
For the first time in forever, Elsa was able to appreciate the snow rather than despise it. In the months between the coronation –and subsequently, the Thaw– Anna had somehow managed to convince her that the snow, ice, and cold wasn't as horrible as she thought. Winter had turned into her least favorite season while she was locked away, because it had reminded her of herself; dangerous, cold, and uncontrollable.
But after the Thaw, Anna had refused to let her keep believing it. Every time Elsa retreated into herself, Anna was right there drawing her back out. Every time she offhandedly dismissed her powers, or openly hated on them, Anna was there defending them, coaxing her to "do the magic" again.
Every time –every single time– the queen called her powers ugly, the princess had grabbed her hands, kissed each palm gently, and replied, "They're beautiful."
It was finally snowing outside, and that could only mean one thing.
It was time to build a snowman.
Anna hadn't mentioned it, but the queen knew she was dying to build a snowman. She loved Olaf like a son, but it wasn't the same. Elsa had built Olaf on her own, without any help. It was one of the first things she did once she was out of Arendelle, because she had wanted so much to give in to Anna's pleas and go play with her, go build a snowman. She still wasn't sure how he, of all her creations, ended up being animated. Real. Living. The same went for Marshmallow, and she hadn't been able to produce anything like either of them since the Thaw.
But today, they were going to build a snowman. Together. Like they had all those years ago.
She just had to ask.
Standing in front of her baby sister's door, the blonde suddenly realized how daunting it was to knock, and she felt a surge of respect for the feisty redhead. Anna hadn't just come to her door once, she had kept coming… even when Elsa never replied. The amount of courage and determination the girl had was overwhelming.
The queen exhaled deeply, straightening her posture a bit. You can do this. It's just Anna. She'll probably be thrilled, she thought.
Still, Elsa made no move to knock on the door. "But what if she's not?" she wondered softly. "What if she's sick of me? What if she never wants to build a snowman again?" A thought occurred to her, and she bit her lip, looking down. "What if it's too painful?" She hadn't put any thought into how it would be from Anna's perspective. The younger girl had asked her for years if she wanted to build a snowman, and she had never done so. Maybe using the same phrase now was just cruel.
Before she could walk away, though, the door swung open and a pair of blue eyes stared up at her. As soon as Anna realized who was at her door, she grinned. "Hi, Elsa!"
The blonde swallowed. "Oh. Um. Hi," she murmured.
Immediately, her red-haired sibling sensed that something was wrong. "You feeling okay?" she asked, moving to feel Elsa's forehead with her hand.
Before she lost the guts, the queen took a deep breath and blurted, "D-do you wanna snow a buildman?"
There was a beat of total silence as the two stared at each other, and Elsa realized that something was very, very wrong with her choice of words. A blush crept up her cheeks, and the usually poised woman swallowed.
"I-I mean, do you want to? Build one? A snowman, not a buildman. I'm not even sure what a buildman is. But it's finally snowing, and I just thought—"
Great job. You sound like a bumbling idiot.
The temperature dropped in the hall, and the queen folded her arms across her midsection in a protective gesture. "I – never mind. I shouldn't have asked. It was insensitive – all those years of asking me, and then I turn the phrase back around and expect—"
The weight of her younger sister crashing into her nearly knocked her to the ground, but she managed to catch herself and wrapped her arms around Anna. "A-Anna? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to—"
A light peck on the lips stopped her from saying any more, and she nearly wept in relief when Anna beamed at her.
"Of course I want to build a snowman, silly."