Night
A soft whisper of cold and a faint ticklish feeling brought a tall, blonde woman from dreamless slumber to the brink of consciousness. Instant panic lashed through her brain - ice! Her heart began to beat painfully fast. It was only as she tried to open her eyes to see what damage her power had wrought that Elsa belatedly realized that what she had felt falling across her face and brushing her ear was neither snow nor ice, but rather a strand of her sister's hair. Panic gave way to confusion as full consciousness crept upon her and she realized there was no evidence that her power had manifested at all. She registered the sensation of weight against her side, the warmth of a body next to hers, an arm draped over her waist and the steady whisper of another pair of lungs breathing in and out.
Only then did she remember that her beloved Anna had refused to let her out of her sight, to the point of snuggling her to sleep. That hold was so reassuring, made her feel so safe. She'd fallen asleep almost immediately. And Anna was still there, still holding her. The redhead remained fast asleep despite Elsa's moment of fear, and now the queen of Arendelle felt like laughing with pure joy, seeing Anna drooling on the pillow in her slack-jawed slumber. Not wanting to wake her sister, Elsa chose to instead nestle a little closer to her. No immunity from cold was going to stop her from basking in the simultaneously intense and gentle warmth of Anna's presence.
Unable to fall asleep again quite so easily even in this perfect place, her head resting on Anna's shoulder, Elsa allowed herself a moment to actually stop and think about everything that'd happened. For so many years, she'd lived in fear of letting herself feel anything at all. Now that she'd realized it was that very fear which had caused all the trouble, the sheer relief and the sense of freedom was like being able to breathe for the first time. And Anna! Anna saved my life... It was all my fault, and she almost- She couldn't even finish the thought. She buried her face in Anna's shoulder, holding back tears. How could she ever have shut Anna out? Her stubbornly loyal, faithful Anna. But even the guilt and the shame lasted only a fleeting moment, overwhelmed by pure happiness. Elsa had her sister back at last. She couldn't even feel foolish for not realizing before that this was how it always should have been. All that mattered was she knew it now. Everything was going to be alright.
Basking in Anna's closeness, Elsa began to drift off again. She sighed softly, and her breath, gently cold as a single snowflake, drifted along the skin of Anna's neck. At this tiny sensation, Anna shifted in her sleep. Elsa abruptly found herself being held tighter than she would've thought possible - Anna was stronger than she looked! Elsa couldn't complain, though. Having Anna keeping her here, not letting her run in fear again, was a blessing. It felt pretty wonderful, too. Anna's arms were crossed over each other, her hands clasped together just under Elsa's breasts. Her legs were tangled up in Elsa's, literally - Anna's toes had gotten caught in holes in the pattern of Elsa's nightgown. If Elsa tried to stand up now, she'd end up in a very awkward state indeed, but this was the last thing on her mind. She could hear Anna's very much un-frozen heart beating steadily. The sound thrummed through her entire body, deeply soothing. Her breathing slowed to match it, and her eyes slowly closed. Soon, the queen was asleep again, content for the first time in many years.
Unaware that her sister had been awake only minutes before, Anna had no idea what had taken her from the realm of a strange dream about the fireplace she'd laid freezing before only hours ago. Hans wasn't in the dream, or Olaf; it was just her and the fire, and she couldn't help staring into it. Something about the dancing flames was capturing her attention in a way she couldn't quite escape. But something had shaken her awake at last. She opened her eyes to find she had Elsa all but crushed up against her, the young woman's platinum blonde hair draped over Anna's back, head resting on her shoulder and a tiny smile on her perfect lips.
Anna clearly remembered insisting that Elsa stay with her tonight, secretly terrified that her sister's fear would overcome all the day's discoveries and leave her with nothing but a door once again closed in her face. She remembered Elsa putting up very little resistance. She remembered the swiftness with which her sister had fallen asleep in her arms. In those moments, Anna was immediately lost in old memories of happy times and waking skies, though she was sure something was missing. Then she'd fallen asleep too, acutely aware of the soft coolness of Elsa's body against her own. It was just wonderful. No other word fit the sensation.
Now, Elsa wasn't just close, she was as close as close could be - Anna was holding her so tightly that she was delightfully conscious of every inch of her sister's form. Her hands trembled ever so slightly as she realized they were folded just under Elsa's bosom. Her legs were tingling with the feeling of skin on skin. It was all simply heavenly. And this was real, not just another lonely dream. This was Elsa physically here, all snuggled up in bed with her! From the moment she realized where Elsa's fear had come from, it had never again occurred to Anna to resent being turned away for so long. All she could feel was wild joy at being with Elsa again. Even the nagging worry that Elsa would try to run couldn't get to her. It was everything she'd ever dreamed of - answers! And Elsa. Mostly Elsa. The loneliness had gotten to her more than she'd realized.
Looking at it all again now, with Elsa having willingly given herself over to Anna's desperate clinging, she had to admit the truth to herself. It wasn't fear that Elsa would shut her out again that had led her to demand this shared bed. It was so much simpler than that. She wanted to be near Elsa. She wanted it so badly she couldn't bear it. There was no way the few hours of skating and laughter and chocolate they'd had could even begin to make up for so many years apart. Seeing Elsa in her arms now, feeling this impossibly intense closeness, she knew she couldn't make herself let go if she tried. She didn't know whether to laugh, or cry, or bury her face in Elsa's beautiful hair and just sob with sheer happiness. It would have been more than worth being forever frozen just to know that Elsa would be safe, and instead she had Elsa back. She had Elsa back. I have Elsa back. The thought kept running over and over through her head and she didn't tire of it for a second.
Then Anna noticed the smile on Elsa's lips, and a whole new thrill of delight ran from the top of her head to the tips of her toes. Elsa was happy too. Nothing else could have made it better, but there it was. The princess hugged Elsa even tighter, a faint whimper of sheer feeling escaping her lips. It wasn't quite like her to be so still; usually she'd have so much energy that just being awake at all would be an excuse to run around every which way and get into every bit of mischief imaginable. Especially now that she had Elsa again. She could go sledding with Kristoff, play games with Olaf, even draw Hans' face on something so she could punch it again. But something about being here with her sister, just like this, was even more fulfilling. Try as she might, Anna couldn't want anything but to stay right where she was. She nuzzled at her sister gently. Every tiny motion, each fleeting touch, made the happiness more intense, until she felt so much joy inside that she thought she might burst.
She untangled her hand from its place and threaded her fingers through Elsa's beautiful hair. Everything about Elsa was so beautiful. What had she ever seen in that Hans? This was so different, and so much better. Being so close to Elsa should have been stiflingly hot, but Elsa's body was just the right amount of cold. Even the air around her smelled like snow, like Olaf but with less carrot and more- well, more Elsa! It was so soothing, and in a strange way it felt as elegant as Elsa herself. Anna's eyes started to shut again. It actually felt safe to sleep. Elsa wasn't getting out of this snuggle any time soon, that was for darn sure. All the questions Anna still had could wait, and Elsa would still be there, and just that was almost as good by itself as all the rest. The redhead rested her head against Elsa's with a grin and a soft "mm" sound. She was asleep again not long after.