Leaving the House Where We Grew Up

by inter-outre

Why write this? I want to transcend the taboo associated with Elsanna. The love, the innocence, the unbreakable bond...that's the magic of it. That's what we see herein as they begin a journey into adult life, enrolled in a US university, still unaware of what the fates have in store for them. NOTE: Icest, Elsanna, language, adult themes. CHECK PROFILE FOR PROGRESS UPDATES!

3. Living

III

"Wake up."

'What?'

"Wake up."

The voice was unarguably feminine, but any further analysis came to nothing. The finer details were ensnared in the murk of deep slumber. Wading through the mire, only the barest of contact could be made.

"Hmmm?" Anna replied, hoping that a response from the shores of her semi-conscienceness would clear a path for the signal and ease communication.

"Wake up, cutie," the voice softly implored, much less muddled.

'Oh, I know that voice,' Anna beamed inwardly before responding to the lyrical timbre:

"No. Why don't you fall back asleep with me?"

Anna played the stubborn role so perfectly, Elsa knew it was futile to challenge. From an early age, the elder learned the best way to goad her sleepier half was to provide an enticement to rise.

"If we fall back asleep, I won't be able to snuggle you...or kiss you..." Elsa sexily breathed, leaning within an inch of Anna's ear, drizzling the honied vowels into her audial canal and allowing the balance to spill down that sun-kissed neck.

"...or tease me...?" Anna cooed, already melting into the fluffy cotton sheets that entwined their forms together. The two angels wove their way through a cloud of the purest while, their every move an extension of grace and beauty. Amongst bountiful waves of linen, vision at times was obscured, yet they never lost sight of each other.

The redhead licked her lips, her skin positively itching with heat and anticipation. She felt the sheet being tugged down along her person, like a swept-aside curtain on a summers' morn. A tendril of pale gold hair fell from Elsa's braid and trailed down Anna's stomach, making her almost quiver in response. The junior's eyes remained closed, allowing each sensation to grow and infill the muted sense, fanning the embers of her raging libido.

"...or follow through on those teases," the elder temptress replied to the captivated princess laying naked before her: delicate, vulnerable, and awash with passion. Sitting up on her knees, she faintly brushed her fingertips along her sister's skin, never breaking contact, taking in every glorious detail. Underneath that touch, Anna was gasping, head turned to the side, hands grasping and gathering the sheets.

"I think someone likes being teased," Elsa mewed gleefully, drawing her digits further down, before tracing playful circles around a navel she knew all too well.

"Mmmm..." Anna moaned happily, the action tickling somewhat, though in a very intimate and longing manner. She could literally feel the surging of endorphins charge into her every extremity, fueling the now-towering inferno within.

"You always had a ticklish belly button," Elsa recalled with a light chuckle.

"And you always loved getting a reaction out of me," Anna countered with a wistful grin, her eyes remaining shut to the outside world.

"I still do." Elsa's reply was wrapped in a wicked grin of mischievous intent, one that likely would have made Anna come at the mere sight. Unable to play that card, the blonde merrily continued with the next possible play.

Lifting her right hand from Anna's stomach drew a whine of disappointment. Before an official complaint could be lodged, Elsa charted a new course, running her fingers up the length of the redhead's thighs, from knee to waist. The move was not expected and Anna's pleasantly surprised hips bucked every time she felt those loving, urging strokes run within mere microns of her labia.

Savoring the sight and feeling her own desires swell with every twitch and fidget, Elsa stopped the fingerprint journey at Anna's knees. With a knowing push that received no resistance, they were separated, thrown on either side of the faintly shaking tomboy, her center on display in all its glory. Taking her time, knowing each second would only fuel the monstrous crash that was to come, the mistress crawled in between those soccer-toned gams and breathed in deeply.

"I love you, my princess," she smokily whispered to Anna, watching the letters tumble along the rapidly undulating stomach, rolling at full boil.

"I love you too, my queen," the hostage warbled, scarcely composed enough to manipulate her lips around the response.

She knew what was coming next and yet, at feeling the fiery exhalations against her dripping core, had no intention to fortifying a defense. The shield had been tossed aside, left to rust against a gate flung wide-open, welcoming an invading horde.

She was Elsa's and, with tears nesting in the corners of her eyes, opened her mouth to lustfully scream it to the heavens.

"Anna!"

"WHAT?!"

She looked up at Emily in frightful angst. Truth be told, for the next few seconds, Anna had no clue who she was scowling at. It was a simple primal response that drove her vision towards the source that had snapped her out of a trance she had been blissfully lost in.

'Fucking hell. What time is it?' Anna immediately began pawing around the desk blankly in search of her phone to verify that she hadn't run too far over her scheduled break.

"It's 12:17, you ditz. You're fine," the still-stunned supervisor quipped who now took to leaning against a nearby countertop.

"Wow...I'm sorry, Em. I wasn't...I swear I wasn't...and I'm not now...upset, with you or anyone."

"I know. I scared you a bit," the nurse apologized mildly, "but were you ever out of it. I called your name like four times. You feeling okay? There is that crap going around..."

"We're in a hospital. Tell me a time when there isn't something 'going around' here," Anna snarked, happy to sound much more like herself. "But yes, I'm fine. Just a lot on my mind."

"Happy thoughts, I assume?"

"Uh...yeah. Why?" A pit instantly materialized in the dreamer's stomach.

'God help me if I said anything out loud.'

It was a well-founded fear. In her younger years, she had a propensity to chatter away entire sentences in her sleep. At that age, it was humorous, as Elsa would wake up next to her and listen to the silly, innocent pablum, recounting the jabbering after waking the next morning.

'Did anything I dream come within shouting distance of appropriate, let alone "innocent"? Oh, fuck! I didn't say her name did I?'

"You just had a goofy smile on your face. Consider it a wild stab in the dark," the brunette night shift nurse described, already having turned back to the foreboding stack of patient files on the formica-topped counter.

"Oh...yeah. It was good," Anna spacily replied.

"All right. If you start coughing, you're heading home. I can cover the desk tonight all by my big self. Between those glassy eyes and that cold sweat I see on you, consider me concerned," Emily replied, scooping up the pile and preparing to head down to the records department.

'Can I go home now?' the impertinent intern yawned as her superior strolled away.

Emily was a nice enough gal and a good boss, too. As the buxom lead nurse of the department, it was her job to take starry-eyed interns under her wings and set them on the right track. Considering the plethora of university students that had come her way over the years, nothing fazed her steady, yet folksy demeanor. To see one her charges spacing out on a break was nothing new; a bit of razzing and it wouldn't turn into a bigger issue.

Staring down the hallway, Anna listened to the lonely echo of sneaker-accented footsteps shrink away into the silence of collective sleep. The solitude drew a lengthy sigh from the redhead who took to staring down at her feet, swaying in a gentle arc, swiveling the chair to and fro. Her pigtails aped the motion, tapping her shoulder blades in-time with the rhythm.

Resolutely, she hopped to her feet and straightened out her scrubs. They were dark blue and splashed with a Care Bear-theme, purchased at the gentle insistence of her sister. The two had ducked into a nursing supply shop downtown the week prior in preparation of Anna's first day working at the University Hospital. After considering and rejecting dozens of candidates, Elsa found a pair she knew would look sweet on her sister, while also bringing a smile out of the younger patients.

Anna stepped around the corner of the nurses' station and grinned whimsically while gazing down at the pattern. While that eternally youthful side of her soul enjoyed the playful print, the gesture of Elsa picking it out meant even more. In truth, the act was only one of the many exchanges of closeness they had shared as of late.

Since that night of sensible inebriation, Elsa appeared more willing to let her guard down and relapse back into what made their relationship magical in the first place. What had been relegated to cordial texts had now become late night giggle-sessions and sisterly all-nighters. When a particularly rough day of exams and soccer practice had dragged Anna's spirit down, Steven passed on word of her mood to Elsa, who then promptly left her paper grading in Professor Krupp's office and hurried home with flowers and a rom-com for them to relax and let go in front of.

A wave of unbridled joy rolled through the intern's body as she strode within a valley of glass and steel, machines diligently whirring, lights dimmed. Involuntarily, she hummed in modest elation, giddy that the campaign for reconquest and completeness perhaps wasn't waged in vain. This had become a regular tic over the past few weeks, as if the sprouting buds of happiness were far too enchanting to be cloistered within garden walls, but rather needed to be protested of to passersby.

Mornings of waking up in Elsa's arms, or vice versa, had continued, both girls safely tucked away in that comfortably chaotic room. Accompanying each of these instantaneous escapes was a measure of fear that it could disappear as quick as it arrived; their history clearly justified such concern. Yet, nearly every evening the pigtailed miss settled into her bed, her blonde companion would appear in the doorway to the bathroom, the soft glow of incandescent light crowning her in an angelic corona. She would exhale soothingly, brushing a golden mane, letting slip a content sigh, capping a long day in the company of the one she loved.

Unfortunately, Anna's interning position was cutting into such opportunities, although not frequently enough to cause her undue strain. The rekindled sisterhood was a blessing born into fruition and she was determined to savor every moment. If it meant coming home at four in the morning every now and then, and slipping into her empty bed, in the long run, it was a fee she could remunerate.

They had at last returned to that peaceful stasis. For the first time in years, Anna felt a serenity she had almost resigned as lost forever; the pieces were at last falling into place. Be that as it may, even with the sketches up to snuff, the color remained stowed in untouched oils and acrylics. They had clawed back to where they bookmarked their collective lives; the redhead was yearning to see what laid in the following chapters.

It all felt so teasingly akin to a genuine adult relationship, but without the ability to truly recognize each other as girlfriends, as lovers. Anyone on the outside who saw their day-to-day connections might assume they were partners on face value: they woke together, ate together, played together, struggled together, fought together. The sands that constitute lifelong marital bliss were clustered in her freckled hands, but upon whispering their recognition, they risked slipping through even the steadiest of grasps.

Although the thought of pushing too hard and losing her spoils terrified the patient freshman, Anna also knew this equilibrium couldn't last forever. Sooner or later, she would need to step over the line and pray that her beloved would follow after; otherwise, any progress made up to that day would be for naught. The dilemma was more a matter of 'when' than 'if'.

Luckily, the hospital gig provided her many hours of quiet reflection on such matters. As she had been warned ahead of time when Professor Krupp phoned with the offer, her schedule was often unpredictable. Sometimes, she was needed early in the morning before classes began, and other weeks it was a string of graveyard shifts. It made for even worse sleeping habits than usual, and while she enjoyed the work, she also accepted it wasn't exactly in her area of study.

The University Hospital didn't have any available internships in the sports medicine department and, the ones that typically were, didn't offer any compensation. The meager stipend was something that Anna was most grateful for, as it leant the ability to distance herself further from relying on her parents. On the other hand, it meant taking on the odd jobs that nursing assistants either couldn't get to or didn't want to address.

'Just think of getting home and hopping into bed with Elsa...just keep thinking of that...' she thought to herself while spreading out freshly-laundered bedsheets upon a recently vacated bed. The night was already grinding her will to a nub and, even if she clocked-out on-time, at best she'd be able to squeeze in a few hours of slumber.

"You're the only thing keeping me going," she sighed heavily, staring up at drab ceiling tiles, imagining they were instead those charming sapphire eyes.

"Well, I supposed I should be flattered then."

Anna froze at hearing the response. Her eyes shot open, dilating in fright, and each shoulder craned towards the sky, conspiring to shield the interloper's neck from harm. Looking around the room, she couldn't determine the origin of the gravely, rasping words. As if to tease her senses further, an earthy chuckle trotted on after the sentence, allowing the flummoxed student a fleeting chance to zero in.

Turning away from the bed, she took hold of the drawn curtain that separated the room into halves and whipped it aside, revealing a very amused, African-American gentleman.

"Ya caught me," he laughed again, raising his aged palms in jest.

"Oh! I'm so sorry. I thought this room was empty. You were so quiet and...I'm sorry." Anna blushed deeply and stammered while taking a respectful step back from his bedside.

"I like to keep a low profile. If the nurses forget I'm here, maybe they'll forget to draw my blood, too," he smiled, seeming to enjoy the interaction.

"Well, I'm not allowed to draw blood...or deal with any of that. Just an intern." She said the words with a cheery nod, hoping her vow of pacifism would atone for the trespass.

"Good to hear. The name's Gary," he introduced himself.

"Anna," she warmly replied, reciprocating in the handshake over the bed-railing.

"Nice to meet you. I thought I'd pipe up since you appeared deep in thought. Didn't want you to spill the mental beans to a stranger."

The comment's intent was clearly innocent and Anna sincerely appreciated the gesture. Conversely, she cursed these flighty streams of consciousness. It was difficult enough to focus on mundane tasks with Elsa's enchanting mannerisms inhabiting her thoughts; the need to steal away every tell made the task infinitely more arduous.

"Just...talkin' out loud about nothing," she fibbed, hoping to whisk any possible curiosity promptly under the carpet.

"We all do that. Especially when you have no one else to talk to," he replied, no doubt in reference to his oft solitary exile to a sterile room in a sterile building.

"Yeah." Anna nodded in understanding, not knowing where else to take the conversation.

The drab elements adorning every inch of the room exuded dull lifelessness and uniformity. The gentle hum of florescent lighting was barely detectible, although she surmised that those unlucky enough to spend day upon day in their shadow knew the background din with sickening familiarity. Each of the walls encasing the room bore a distinctly utilitarian shade of grey emptiness, sown into the wallpaper that was textured in an corrugated pattern.

"So, an intern, hmm? I assume you're a student at U-dub?"

"Yup," she relaxed, veering into more casual territory. "My first year. Studying sports medicine right now."

"All right, all right. Sounds intense," he related.

"Can be. I'm already getting my ass kicked," she bemoaned, before catching her language a bit too late. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. By my age, you've heard everything." He chuckled again while rising into a seated position with a collection of pillows providing back support.

'Wanna bet?' Anna laughed silently, feeling rather ribald.

"And I'm guessing you're doing a stint in here to get some experience under your belt. At least, I hope that's the case. I wouldn't want to meet someone who empties bedpans for fun," the gentleman smirked congenially.

"No, not fun for me, but it does get me closer to patients and doctors, gives me a feel for what kind of environment I might end up working in someday. It helps pay some of the bills, too."

"Always have to watch out for those," was the commiserative reply as he tucked two stocky arms behind his head.

"Have you been in the hospital long?" she asked.

"Awhile," he imparted dolefully. "Everything you could ever want to know about how broken-down I am is on that clipboard."

His tone had turned mildly bitter as he poked at the air towards the foot of his bed where the referenced documents were affixed to the furnishing. While Anna wasn't technically allowed to peruse through patient files, every intern she had worked with or run into would take the occasional peek. Anything to pass the long stretches of boredom.

In this case, though, his confident demeanor and wizened manner were far more entertaining.

"I'd rather hear it from you," she replied, her mind made-up.

"Fair enough," the patient replied, visibly refreshed over the humanistic approach.

"Been in here for about a month now. Not my first visit, though. I've hopped in and outta here for about a year. I'm surprised I have any blood or urine left." The words were followed by another guffaw, though more reflective and far less jovial. "Gettin' pretty sick of this bed to be honest."

"Well, you'll be out of it eventually," she quickly replied in her typical overly-optimistic manner, perhaps forgetting where she stood.

"Nah. Not me. At least not under my own power." His slightly feisty mood shifted into that of sombre contemplation, his eyes falling down to roam about the blankets. The thoughts engendered by the admission made it difficult to converse with someone so young and full of promise.

"Pretty bad?" the redhead inquired, suddenly very quiet, clinging to the rail, as if it was the only thing keeping her upright.

"Yeah," he answered, his speech slow and morose. "Small-call lung cancer."

A listener needn't have a medical license to grasp the seriousness of the diagnosis. One of Anna's classes began a foray into oncology and that very type of cancer had been discussed thoroughly. Depressingly, the lecture ended with the recognition that such an ailment equated to a death sentence.

"None of the treatments helped?"

"They tried, I'll give 'em credit. But no, nothing's worked. By the time we started planning for a second round of chemo, it had metastasized."

The simmering knell of life-giving machines stoically wafted back into the rift between the two. Anna took her turn at breaking the gaze, settling instead upon a forgotten vase of plastic flowers, left to wither away on the window sill. Their leaves, unsuited to capture sunlight, instead harvested dust particles; the petals were lifeless, drained of any color or vibrancy they once possessed.

"I'm sorry ab-"

"Nah. Nope. Don't wanna hear it," he interrupted, holding up a hand bluntly. "Not trying to be rude. I've just heard people say that way too much. Doesn't mean anything anymore. It didn't mean anything in the first place," he spat before softening his temper.

"It's not your fault; it's my own bullheaded fault. I smoked too much when I was younger - don't start smoking by the way," Gary commanded with mentor-like resoluteness, garnering a nod from Anna, "but yeah, three packs a day will eventually catch up with you. I didn't listen to my doctor or the wife or my kids."

"Where are they?"

"Not too sure. We got divorced 'bout five years ago. She's remarried. The kids stayed with her."

"Do they visit?"

"If they knew, they probably would," he confessed sheepishly, reaching up to scratch a cheek out of anxiousness.

"Why wouldn't you tell them?" Anna was stunned and it was evidenced in her oddly stern posture, suddenly filling the role of a doting, nosey nurse perfectly.

"So I can guilt them into visiting their old man? It's not like I was close with them before."

"Isn't that all the more reason to get in touch?" She almost tacked on mention of the precious few days he likely had left, but decided against it.

'I don't need to tell the poor guy what he already knows.'

"Are you close with your family?" he asked pointedly.

"Uh..." Anna froze, once more needing to remind herself to keep her cool, "I mean. Not my parents. My sister and I are pretty close."

"If you were in my position, and you only had so much time left, would you want to spend it awkwardly trying to build an entire relationship with someone you barely know anymore?"

Anna considered the elderly man's thoughts carefully. She imagined her aged body stretched out on the mattress, the weight of a few blankets compressing withering muscle mass, providing cold comfort in view of the journey she'd soon be compelled to take. The thought of her parents...

'Wait, wouldn't they be dead?'

'Humor me...er...you.'

The thought of her parents flying to the other end of the country to waste their time sitting around, watching her die, made her innards clench tight and the muscles lining her spinal column grew stiff with misery. Inevitably, they would arrive and pay their respects; after all, what would the other parishioners think if they slighted their progeny? Regardless, the act would be an obligation and any fawning or expressed empathy would simply be conveyed through custom, not sincerity.

In truth, that wouldn't matter, though, for if the days were numbered, she wouldn't have time for anyone else other than Elsa. Anna wouldn't even have to ask for her presence; she'd be camped out at bed's side already.

Anna looked down at the standard issue, vinyl-cocooned chair angled toward Gary's bed, backed against the wall.

'Just as she had before...'

"I get your point," Anna admitted, not wanting to press the patient any further. She also remembered there were dozens of beds to strip and make up before Jennifer came through to verify the handiwork.

"Sorry to bring you down. Despite my whining, I'm glad you came by to chat. Most of the medical types barely say a word."

"Well, luckily I'm not one of those types," Anna responded, a grin returning to her lips.

"At least not yet," he laughed heartily, leaping right back into his initial disposition.

"Not yet," she winked, while bending down to ball up the soiled sheets she had yanked away and callously tossed to the floor. "Next shift, I'll come visit. I promise."

"You know where I'll be," Gary merrily accepted as the pigtailed miss waved upon exiting the room.

'And I know where I wish I was,' Anna thought, reentering the twilight corridor.

The conversation had hardened her determination to not simply have some tawdry fling with a certain blonde bombshell, but to forge a lifelong partnership, one that would withstand any intimidating foe or bloodthirsty horde. She knew how difficult it was for a typical plain-Jane couple to navigate tumultuous times; the onslaughts she and Elsa would likely face rendered those hurdles laughable.

Finding the peace she desired to share with Elsa for an eternity wouldn't be easy, but there wasn't anything she wanted more. No matter what anyone could possibly say or do to them in the future, having each other to hold and protect and cherish outweighed any consequence; it would be an unshakable power that not a single soul could deprive them of.

Elsa had her hands firmly shoved into her coat pockets. The black patent leather jacket had always been a cherished item ever since she arrived in Seattle. The soft, supple fabric lining the hood was permanently infused with the smell of campfires, a pleasant reminder of those long nights by the lake with Anna. On the right breast-pocket, there was a small stain, left from when an errant, uncapped lipstick had been accidentally ground into the fabric during a sleepover.

The antsy blonde did her best to look fashionably bored while leaning back against a crane game situated in a small arcade to the right and beyond the bowling alley's front desk. She was able to spot Ollie, continuing to harangue the clerk who had informed them that their reserved lane had been given away to another group. From the welcome they had received upon inquiry, she suspected the punk teenager simply didn't care and was likely getting a fair amount of joy from the admonishment dealt out by a thickly-accented Briton.

'There it is,' she thought, seeing a smart-alecky mug creep to the pock-marked face.

"Son of a bitch! I had it!"

Looking to the left, she observed a scheming Steven, palm menacingly pressed against the glass.

"See that toy? I had it and the claw opened just enough so it slipped out right as I was moving it over the chute!"

The French-braided bystander peered into the glass-enclosed pit and ran through the variety of stuffed creatures available for retrieval. Most of them were of poor quality, with some Care Bears and Mickey Mouses possessing unabashed knock-off attributes. Eventually, she zeroed in on the eastern Washingtonian's object of desire.

"Pikachu? Aren't you a little old for Pokemon?" Elsa concluded with an entertained giggle.

"I don't give a shit about Pokemon!"

"Can you please watch your language?!"

The sharp and pointed command originated from over Steven's shoulder. Both he and Elsa gawked further into the arcade to see a mother, crouching down to cover her young son's ears. A look of displeasure and naked anger painted on her face, she shot daggers into the miscreant with stinging accuracy.

"Sorry," Steven meekly apologized as mother and son slipped by them, the elder's jaw held taut.

"It's the principle," he continued to Elsa in a hushed and very cautionary manner. "This game is about beating the system; it has nothing to do with the prizes!"

Elsa stared out into the lobby to check on the trans-Atlantic spat and saw Anna, clumsily hopping around on one foot, trying on her rental shoes to ensure a proper fit. Despite a lengthy exposition of pogoing, each attempt resulted in a failure to affix the left shoe properly. After nearly taking out an elderly couple who chanced walking behind her at the wrong moment, the klutzy girl grabbed an open seat on a bench and completed the job in quick order.

'Oh Anna...you sweet, goofy girl. You're so naturally beautiful and you don't even see it.'

"Chris! Tell me you have a spare dollar on you!"

"You still haven't snagged that thing?" the approaching gentleman jibbed before taking a long pull from his oversized soda obtained at the snack bar.

Elsa rolled her eyes, but refused to break line-of-sight with the accident-prone redhead. A few moments later, the younger Arendelle waved, signaling someone in the distance. The throng surrounding the check-in desk blocked her from seeing the recipient until she was seated next to Anna.

The short, spunky dark-haired girl was dressed in a knee-length, dark brown skirt and green-on-white striped leggings. Without further ado, the two broke into happy chatter, Anna fidgeting with her legs, rolling her heels back and forth. The visitor took to craning her neck about the lobby, obliquely signifying her newness to the archaic haunt.

'So, in walks Penny,' Elsa mused, deciding it was time to approach and introduce herself before distance could be taken as coldness.

"YES! Got it!" Steven boomed, snapping the blonde out of her contemplations.

"Geez..." Elsa laughed over her shoulder at her roommate's enthusiasm, to which she was returned an apologetic shrugging of shoulders.

"I didn't think it was worth the yellow card at all. He clearly had control...Oh, Elsa! This is Penny," the effervescent miss shifted from sports to introductions.

"Elsa! Heard so much about you!" the pipsqueak chirped, beaming up in great earnest.

"Uh oh," Elsa replied comically, attempting to keep her modestly inflated ego in check.

"Yup. Anna never shuts up about ya!"

The redhead ramped up her distracted wiggling and bouncing of legs, tilting her angle of vision away from the conversation at-hand just enough to disguise blushing cheeks.

"Sorry about that. She was always the family chatterbox," Elsa explained, hoping to garner a reaction from the cornered prey.

Anna only responded by whipping her head back to the gossiping young lady and sticking a tongue out. Her two cohorts giggled heartily, although Elsa hid the act behind a dainty palm, keeping her ladylike composure out of habit.

"Thank you!" Ollie sarcastically finished, closing the argument swiftly. The exasperated fellow then turned to the trio of female companions behind him.

"Lanes seven and eight. Hurry before they give those away, too," he quipped, loud enough so as to be heard by the flaky clerk over the endless cacophony. Elsa gawked long enough to observe a flippant smirk before another group of victims took their place at the service desk.

Gathering the sextet together, at last, properly-sized shoes were rented and affixed to socked feet down in the pit that bracketed the hardwood. Elsa slipped into the footwear directly behind her sibling and was treated to the sight of the beauty bending over, her pert backside enshrouded in dark blue denim, begging to be squeezed. However, to the disappointment of her surging hormones, all the flushed ogler could do was sigh deeply and maintain a becoming composure.

"These shoes are revolting. I don't know how you bullied me into doing this," Ollie whined in the distance, seated next to his verbal sparring buddy.

"You said you wanted to get out and do something 'quarterly American'," the jocular yokel poked, knowing the reaction it would undoubtedly recieve.

"No, I said 'quintessentially American' and there are many other, cleaner things we could have done." The ornery Brit winced while speaking, cramming his wide foot into a narrow gauge.

"You've been bowling, I assume?" Chris asked from across the ball-return channels to the feminine trio seated in the opposing seats.

"Oh yeah," Anna replied casually, "our Dad was in a league. Penny probably has, I assume?"

"Yup. Used to play a ton up when I lived in Everett," she validated.

"Everett...that's to the n- Oh, come on!" Elsa began and then broke off, staring incredulously at the overhead monitors.

Both Anna and Penny quickly traced the origin of their elder's shock and burst into fits of laughter.

"'CockChap'? Really, Steven?" Chris guffawed, attempting to smooth over the raging ire of the unamused foreigner.

"I wanted to type 'CockneyFellow' but that's too many letter," the prankster unbelievably explained, hardly able to contain his pride and self-satisfaction. Ollie looked to be on the edge of walking out, something the offender astutely noted and sought to correct immediately.

"Okay, okay. Can I put 'Govnuh'? At least grant me that," he negotiated.

"Thank you. That I can do," Ollie sighed, miffed but very much the good sport.

The herd of cats was soon focused enough to finalize the list of favorited bowling monikers. Anna went with 'Fireball', while Elsa selected the contrasting 'Niceice'. The remaining slots were filled in with equally apt titles: the overly-confident 'TuffStuf' of Chris, a playful 'Pennysher', and 'DJHick' for the unabashed emcee of revelry. Colorful globes of various weights and hole-sizes were yanked from shelves spread along the seating areas and piled into the return chutes. Once Chris had returned from the bar, having ordered three pitchers of beer, the game finally kicked into gear.

Elsa had been randomly assigned to lane seven, while Anna was on eight's roster. Not that any of this mattered too much; the seating area was shared, as were the nachos once they arrived. It actually worked out nicely, as their placement in their respective orders usually resulted in them throwing side-by-side.

By the fifth frame, Anna had given up on putting any effort into racking up a respectable score; to her, there was only game she cared about 'scoring' in.

'Oh, sheesh that was cheesy. Please never say that out loud,' Anna's cynical side cursed.

'Fine, but you tell me that sight doesn't make you wanna say - and do - stupid things,' she countered, stopping mid-step after chucking her second shot and eyeing her sister without any thought for her surroundings.

Eleven-pounds of mayhem held to her ample chest, Elsa gracefully lunged forward, stepping lithely, nimbly. In an almost primal environment of blunt objects hurdling towards reticent statues, amidst copious amounts of cheap booze and blaring music, the porcelain-skinned blonde gamboled fluidly, like a flock of nightingales taking to the skies as a singular entity. She almost floated above the hardwood, her unmatched serenity and impeccable beauty free of any constraints.

Elsa's ball tumbled into the pins with remarkable force, especially for someone as svelte as she. Although the shot had the makings of a strike, it resulted in only eight falling over and making contact with the waxed surface. With an overwrought sigh and a slumping of shoulders, she spun around to deliver her assessment to Anna: a disappointed tongue dangling to the side of her slightly upturned mouth.

The sight of the highly-prized braid twirling around and flipping onto those dainty shoulders nearly forced Anna's knees to quiver. That silly grin didn't help matters either, as it served to stoke her embers and fan the flames of passion and unquenchable lust.

"It's okay," Anna consoled casually, as her crush stalked back to the seating area, her turn now complete.

'What's that stupid phrase? "I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave"?' the captivated girl wondered, gawking as those pleasantly broad hips and toned posterior strode away.

"Yo, space cadet? Anna?!" Penny called out, waving her arms from the threshold of the lane, fighting for recognition.

"Uh...y-yeah?" the pigtailed voyeur sputtered, looking bizarrely dazed.

"Your turn's over. Stop eye-humping the guy in lane six and move it," the brash pixie hollered.

The comment earned uproarious laughter, both from their group, as well as the referenced gathering of men to their left. Obviously to Anna, they were a non-factor: she hadn't noticed their presence at any point during the expedition. Yet, in order to lay her conspicuous behavior cleanly to rest, she shyly waved to the middle-aged herd of stags.

"Sorry," was the toothless apology she offered while rushing headlong into the protective circle of well-known acquaintances.

"'s'alright, sweetheart," one of the men flirted innocently amongst the resonating guffaws. Thankfully, they had arrived mainly to play competitively, not socialize with the younger crowds that often populated the bowling center on weekends.

Anna wanted to collapse into herself and slip away someplace far removed from her current locale. She knew her cheeks were burning fuchsia red; this was all too common for the young miss. What made it worse was the stupidity of what she was blushing over. Vaguely, she heard pins falling in the distance, but it could very well have been her heart pounding furiously in her ears.

'I wanna blush over her,' Anna weeped internally upon meeting the eyes of her crush.

Elsa gave her a sad, muted look of understanding and compassion. Her light-lemonade braid stood boldly against the black jacket and flared blue jeans. Even with her unusually casual presentation, she still looked dashing and elegant. The silent exchange gave Anna enough strength to slink into a vacant seat and allow the attention to be passed onto the next bowler.

"Can I have bumpers?" Chris asked pleadingly as the second game kicked-off before taking his first shot, hoping to edge the frenetic mood even closer to all-out silliness. His score had been embarrassingly low in the initial game, registering a paltry 102. Rather than risk playing the role of a has-been jock, he felt turning the evening into anything other than a serious atmosphere would benefit his image.

"If he gets them, we all do," Anna demanded, thinking such a handicap could make for a rather pleasantly and irreverent match.

"Yeah, and then we shatter 'em and get tossed by the time Steven's on his fourth beer," Ollie posited hilariously, stationed behind the control panel, unable to choke back his own laugh. The comment was followed up with a few utterances of 'true' and 'I can see that happening'.

"That's pretty unfair, mister. Where do you get the...uh...gall to say I'm gonna have that much?" Steven was already two sheets to the wind and plowing full-steam ahead into the next thanks to a freshly topped-off pint in his right mitt.

"Probably because you're on your third already." The sober-headed ex-pat nodded to well-used glass and earned a giggle from the gals sitting adjacent to him.

"Oh...well, shit." And the debate was concluded.

Spares and strikes were traded back and forth. While it was Ollie's first venture into the American tradition of getting drunk and smashing things - all in good fun, of course - he performed admirably, scoring over a hundred in their second of three games. Penny took top honors, edging out a humbled Steven who seemed to be taking a shine to the short and sassy gal. Regardless of final standings, the party as a whole had an enjoyable time and eventually gathered in the facility's lounge.

"You seemed to enjoy yourself, mister," Chris encouraged Ollie, slapping a firm, but friendly hand upon the subject's shoulder.

"I can see the enchantment of the game," he mellowly replied.

"I don't think anyone has ever attached such a sophisticated word to anything bowling-related, but I find it appropriate," Elsa quipped, feeling rather tipsy herself and suddenly wearing her 'professor of all subjects' mortarboard.

"What I think Know-it-all Elsa is trying to elude to is that few things can beat good times, good friends, and good booze," Steven slurred lightly, raising his fifth pint up above the table, sloshing out a tiny amount, and waiting to be joined in the cheers.

"Here, here," Ollie happily agreed, clanking his glass against the initiator, which the others speedily aped.

Penny relaxed into her chair, looking ever bit a member of their little clan. Her goofy, relaxed personality was working its was into everyone's heart and any initial awkwardness typically reserved for those 'first impressions' never materialized. Plainly put, it was as though she had been their petite and pugnacious comrade for years.

Chris downed half his pint in one go, quite the thirsty type when it came to the barley. While he wasn't the usual shotgunning, keg-standing, black-out type of frat boy, he enjoyed a quaff every now and then. After all, it was a leisurely Saturday night at the bowling alley with Thanksgiving break arriving the next week; now was the time for everyone to let their hair down and loosen up.

"You can certainly hold your own," Penny observed, having barely taken a dent out of her portion by comparison.

"That sounds rather rude," Ollie hiccuped cunningly, his comment setting off a spate of ribald laughter.

The libations, as with most get-togethers, turned the volume and boisterousness up measurably. The low lighting and muted televisions mounted on the walls accentuated their inebriated carousing further. Luckily, at the moment, they had the twenty-one and over section to themselves, the lackluster affair even pushing the bartender to find more exciting interaction in the restaurant portion.

"Wow, Ollie...that may be the most uncouth thing you've ever said in our presence!" Elsa beamed at the refined gentleman, pleased to witness a slightly less tightly-wound Briton at their table.

"That's saying something," Anna winked, to which both Steven and Elsa nodded.

"Oh, please, we all have an unpolished beast within," the amicable hillbilly opined, sounding oddly sophisticated considering the setting. "Some just do a better job of taming it."

"Unlike you, right?" Penny accused coyly, beaming rather coquettishly.

"Me, I'm an open book. What you see is what you get," he promised, clapping against the top of the table with an open palm for emphasis.

"It's the quieter ones you have to wonder about," he waxed, tossing a raised eyebrow in Chris' direction.

"Why you calling me out?" he quietly answered challenge.

"Without fail, you frat boy-types have some sorted tale that you wish would stay sealed in a case file downtown." Steven was now doing his best to impersonate a gritty detective, leering in contemplation, slipping softly into the shadows cast by the lamp hanging over their reclusive niche.

"Yeah, that's why I'm not one, pal. Trust me: between you and your insane brothers, you're far more of a fraternity representative than I," the stout defendant replied, cooly flipping the words in the investigator's direction.

"Well played, well played," Steven admitted, continuing to ham it up, fueled by a smorgasbord of giggles and chuckles. "Perhaps then you would care to answer a few questions, Miss Elsa, from the House of Arendelle."

"There is nothing interesting about me. I'm quiet because I'm boring." Elsa replied pleasantly, grinning and somewhat caught up in the gregarious mood. She had spoken in a steady, even tone that didn't waver or shake, accessorized by a pacifying wave of the hand. That said, any eye contact she maintained prior vanished and a subtle flushing sprouted at catching Anna's entertained smirk in her peripheral vision.

"Fair enough; I'll buy that. But Anna...we haven't had a chance to shake you down for info," Steven realized with a menacing grin.

"Maybe the elder Arendelle family representative would care to dish on the topic?" Chris pried in the face of displeased rabbling over the subject matter.

"Wait, no! Nuh-uh!" Anna decried, hoping to shade harsh disapproval behind a smile of bashfulness. "What about Penny?"

The newest member looked anything but agog, feeling the wheels of the bus she had been carelessly stashed under grind into her ribcage.

"Hey! Unfair deflection!" she growled.

"Easy, easy, killer," Steven cooed, leaning forward to separate the two, as though a ruthless tickle-fight could break out at any minute.

"She is newer, but, correct me if I'm wrong, you haven't been run through the proverbial wringer yet, have you?" Ollie quipped, drunk enough to merrily partake in the rites of passage.

"Come on, Els: does she have any tattoos?" Penny asked, goading the matter along, thoroughly enjoying the sight of a flustered teammate.

"Actually, no. I always expected her to come home with a tramp stamp, just to piss off Dad," the blonde giggled in between sips of the pale ale.

"As if!" Anna recoiled, ready to strike, "You had the cliched, pained adolescent role down. Between the constant Radiohead and an entire wardrobe of black clothing, I had no opportunity to take you on in the brooding teen department."

"That's right. I remember that. That was right around when you finally stopped wetting the bed," Elsa attacked ruthlessly, delivering a right hook to a freckled left jaw.

"Ouch. How old were you? Six, seven?" Steven inquired.

"Nine," Anna quietly admitted before diving back into her pint, wanting nothing more than to disappear.

'Els, you bitch,' she fumed, though knowing this was all part of the game.

"Yeah, well, at least I wasn't the one with a crush on Robert Smith." Anna quickly cobbled together any ammunition she could collect, deflecting the pitying eyes towards another soul.

"Ahhh. That crucial 'pre-lesbian' phase," Chris laughed while snatching the pitcher to freshen each glass around the table.

"It was Robert Smith. That should have been a hint of what you thought about guys," the suddenly wordy redhead chided.

"Yet, I still had more boyfriends than you in high school," her sister shot back, inspiring a few 'ooos' and hollars of enjoyment.

"Ha! Don't make me laugh. You flirted with a few guys while you were figuring things out," Anna shot-down the thought, taking the pause as a chance to pour the alcoholic dregs into her half-empty glass. "Therefore, your efforts don't count. Conversely, men can't help but gravitate towards me, a la the next lane over."

"She's got a point," Steven agreed, recalling the earlier incident, chin resting on his fist, looking like the most sloshed detective to ever be assigned such a serious case.

"Exactly. In case you didn't know, I actually like men," the satisfied counselor finished, feeling her case had won the court's favor.

"That's not what you said at tryouts."

Penny regretted the words the moment they dive-bombed the well-worn formica-topped table. It was as though her mind knew the course to be foolish, but acted a split-second too late, and only managed to bury the imp face-first into a beer in retreat.

"What?" Elsa asked, turning an ashen shade of white, lips parted to take a sip, but the glass only making it halfway to her mouth.

"Yeah, what?" was the much more curious and ambitious press from Steven.

Anna's gullet roiled fiercely and her shoulders slumped under immense strain. Every inch of her skin took on a ghostly tint, much like her sister's; the mere exception were her ever-rosy cheeks, which she tried to hide by staring down at the table, suddenly finding the artificial wood grain spellbinding. The silence surrounding her was palatable, every reverberation in the lounge having ground to a halt, giving the mortified redhead the headlining act.

'Penny, you fucking moron.'

"Oh God," Penny finally summoned from within. "I'm so sorry. I thought this was common knowledge by now. I thought you would have... I mean, talked to... Wow. I'm so sorry. I...I'm gonna go hide in the bathroom. I'm..."

The surface of the blabbermouth's drink hadn't even leveled before the offender dashed out of the bar in search of somewhere to skulk. While the sudden depopulation had been carried out with great pomp and circumstance, the amassed witnesses were far more intrigued by the now outed young lady whom was slumped down, head dipped forward.

Anna had dreamed of saying such things while looking straight into her sibling's eyes, returning the gesture imparted during that Christmas break years ago. She wanted it to be said when the time was right and the lighting perfect and the mood ideal. It would be an important step towards forging the relationship she had always yearned for.

That milestone, though, had been carried out unannounced and unplanned, through a third party...

'...and at a bowling alley,' Anna mourned, panicking over how the miscue would jeopardize her heart's desires and her soul's plans for the future.

"Anna, is it...true?" Elsa gently goaded her junior to respond, for some validation.

The subject took a long breath before replying, flaring her nostrils, capturing as much oxygen as possible to aide in a journey through the vacuum she had been unwittingly confined to.

"Yeah."

"Whoa, Anna! Nice," Steven childishly celebrated, even providing a thumbs-up to hammer home the assessment.

"Shut up, you dick!" Chris boomed, punching the heckler's shoulder with enough force to almost eject Steven from his chair. The repercussions looked painful and were easy to read on his face, but the punished decided it wiser to shut up, and duly noted the nasty paper cut he had received from pushing the envelope too far.

The bruiser looked as though he wanted to smack the miscreant again, and perhaps everyone else in the room for that matter. It also was painfully evident that Chris' ire wasn't spurred by his roommate's poorly chosen catcall alone.

"So, are we talking no more guys at all or...?" Ollie asked delicately, keeping a close eye on Chris while speaking.

"No. I still like guys. I'm just finding myself attracted to women, too," Anna revealed, speaking dimly in a monotone fashion. The usually lively lass remained lifeless, nose hovering above indelible stains from God knows when.

The youngest Arendelle was dreading the inevitable need to look up from her hiding spot in the open. She didn't want to see empathetic looks of contrived understanding. Not did she desire the steely sheen of lust culled in masculine eyes.

Above all, though, she didn't want to initiate eye contact with her unrequited love. Even though Anna had spent hours losing herself in those shimmering sapphires, for once, she was frighted over the prospect. Indulging in the carnal lust that had always simmered under the surface was the freckled maiden's only wish, but, with every step that brought her closer to that taboo'd line in the sand, the consequences became weightier and more realized.

'The only way I can have a chance to succeed is to risk failure,' Anna thought, recalling the words she had taken to heart throughout the campaign.

At milestones such as this - after a giant leap forward - a judgement would be rendered by the reaction of her sister. Through it, Anna would either receive approval and forge on, or face admonishment and the need to abandon ship.

'And then what?'

'Then you move on. Remember the whole point of finding out who you are, of realizing your gender orientation?'

'Gay, straight, bisexual, asexual...none of it matters because I don't want to date and propose to and marry a "classification". I want Elsa, period.'

A convoluted string of consciousness wound through Anna's grey matter, unbeknownst to the ring of onlookers, each not knowing how to carry on the festivities from such an intimate and unexpected tete-a-tete. Rising to the occasion was the judge herself.

"Anna," the flaxen-haired angel spoke soothingly, reaching to her left in order to wrap an arm around her troubled sister, "it's okay. Do you really think any of us are going to think any differently of you, especially me?"

'Well, I was kind of hoping on that second bit...' Anna mused silently.

"No," the subject demurred, sinking comfortably into a heavenly embrace, its medicine already bringing down her blood pressure and easing her shorted-out mental status.

"Yeah, come on. We give you a hard time, but that's how families are. We all give each other a hard time," Steven inadvertently apologized, to which Ollie nodded in understanding.

"Like Steven alludes to, you're part of our family now and we stick by each other," Ollie rattled on, conveying an emotional side rarely seen. "We support you the whole way, Anna."

"I'll drink to that!" Steven summarized the sentiment, raising his glass to initiate a tender - albeit drunken - toast, though Chris' efforts lagged.

With the ceasing of clicks and clanks, Steven waded a bit deeper into the newly discovered waters:

"So, I gotta ask..."

"Yes?" Anna replied, finally feeling comfortable enough to lift her head.

"Since you have come to this realization, that likely means a certain lady caught your eye and initiated said self-discovery."

The sleuth was remarkably sharp despite his lack of sobriety; perhaps a little too keen for Anna's comfort. She tensed up instantly and the gulp of room temperature beer caught halfway down her esophagus, setting off a sequence of desperate coughs. Elsa noticed and looked on in concern.

"You okay?" she asked, worried.

"Yeah..." Anna squeaked, reaching forward to pluck her water glass up and take a sip.

"Well, if that's not confirmation, I don't know what is," Ollie slyly opined.

"Shut...*cough*...shut up!"

"Seriously, though: who is it?" Steven pried intensely, leaning in closer along with his British cohort, as if they were about to receive a long sought-after secret.

Anna sat gloomily in her chair, worn down, and beyond any ability to put up a fight. Her careful maneuverings and calculated gestures had been shot full of holes and it only took a pitcher of crappy beer and five minutes. All she wished to do was hide in her comforter and cry, waiting for Elsa to appear and make everything right as rain.

'Oh Elsa,' she whimpered internally, looking slightly to the right, hoping the gents wouldn't pick up on the motion.

'What do I do? Whenever I'm in situations like this - under pressure, out of my depth - I turn to you, but this is the one thing you can't fix,' she continued to ponder, barely meeting her sister's gaze of unrelenting want.

The blonde bit her lip, pausing after to chew on a corner, every bit the wallflower. At her core, the auburn-topped girl melted at the sight, knowing this was the first time that pained look of unfulfilled cravings had been so apparent, so tangible. Without speaking, Anna believed her elder sibling was praying that her name would be the next word spoken at the table, despite every worry and objection she had hid behind in the past.

'I see it, Elsa. I know you want me. You're scared and I am, too, but we can make it. Just say the-'

"It's Penny, isn't it?" Steven guessed, eyebrow already cocked in mystique, referencing the still-awol member of their party.

"Uh...uh...well," Anna stammered, swept away from her love and back into the fracas.

"I knew it! Ever since you met her, there's been a hitch in your step," the folksy yokel assessed, rewarding his effort with an impressive swig.

"A...a hitch?" Anna was only beginning to turn her attention back to the conversation carrying on with her prescience, but without her sentience. The already fragmented ordeal was now out of control; her only option was to ride with the current until calmer waters were happened upon.

"Yup. You think I didn't know what you were up to, young lady?" Steven bragged, nodding to both Ollie and Chris: the former playing the part of a shocked onlooker, while the latter moped behind crossed arms and a sullen expression.

"Yeah," she begrudgingly replied, the word almost hissed in remorse, "you got me."

Anna ruefully looked back towards her sister. The usually confident and self-assured madame had been replaced by a shattered child, lost and wandering through a world she thought she understood. Her wispy, blonde hair enshrouded her tilted head, hiding the crestfallen appearance, shielding grief from the world.

"I'll be back," Elsa quietly excused herself, rising to her feet before anyone could protest or inquire.

Anna opened her mouth to plead with the fleeing girl in a black jacket, but nothing came to her as apropos. There was no hope in rescuing the situation now; perhaps, at least for the moment, sleeping dogs had to remain lain. Staring at the vacant doorway leading back to the cacophonous hall, through which the skittish soulmate had escaped, was the only available recourse.

'I'm so sorry, Els.'

The unspoken vigil was quickly drowned out by the hearty banter of a country boy and a British lad, covering whatever truly vexing topic they had diverted towards after the revelation's wake passed through. It only served as white noise, backing the utter mess of emotion the day had spun into.

The remainder of November crept by agonizingly slow. That's saying something considering it had always been the Arendelle sisters' favorite time of the year: the shift into cozier homes, tastier feasts, and holidays of merriment. It was a happy compromise between the winters of Elsa's enchantment and the summers of Anna's daydreams.

This year, however, there was very little reveling in the moments. Rather, it was slow trudge through stilted conversation and awkward moments; not only amongst the sisters, but with their housemates, as well.

Ollie and Steven remained ever themselves and, perhaps, more than anyone else, were enjoying the tinting of foliage and shorter, cooler days; other than that, though, the typically jovial home was downright dour. Chris was nowhere to be seen most days, only stopping by occasionally to make something to eat or print a report out. Penny had become a regular fixture, but most of her time was spent upstairs with Steven, as the two had grown quite fond of each other.

'And I'm totally fine with that,' Anna concluded once the visitations became habit. Following the disaster at the bowling alley, the firebrand forced vows of silence from the three men that they would never reveal to anyone Anna's perceived affections for her teammate. She hated having to force the matter, to live a lie; however, she couldn't risk anymore snafus, not when there were far more pressing matters of the heart in play.

Unfortunately, that side of the coin wasn't getting any easier, either. Elsa seemed to be avoiding her junior like the plague. Despite Anna's best efforts to create a chance encounter and an opportunity for discussion, the lithe vixen dodged her every parry, thusly keeping interaction to a minimum.

Elsa wasn't angry; recalling years past, it was always very evident when that was the case. On the rare chance that Anna caught sight of the blonde goddess, she saw expressions bathed in regret and sadness. A weak smile would materialize and those aquamarine irises would light up a touch, but then it would vanish a moment before she could duck into another room and out of Anna's grasp.

The endless veil of reclusiveness made Thanksgiving a sombre affair. Although they had planned on having it at the house instead of heading all the way back to Michigan, Anna almost phoned her parents to see if they would fly her back to the midwest, if only to escape the dreariness both in and outside the house. The consideration was only fleeting, though, as she knew that running from the situation wouldn't fix it.

'Everything is so fucking complicated', Anna fussed at work the night after the turkey that Ollie had expertly cooked was carved and the trimmings shared around the dining room table. Looking back on the scene, the distraught intern's sole memory was of her sibling sitting at the other end of the table, as far as possible.

'Here I thought it was going to be tough to get her to admit her feelings to me; now, on top of that, she thinks I like Penny. Fuck my life,' she seethed in deep frustration, beginning her stroll around the wing, mind in the thunderclouds.

Cardboard cutouts of turkeys and tanned leaves decorated the typically bland walls, giving a bit of life that was cherished by patients old and young alike. It was a homey touch that harkened back to better days, long before they were ill, long before they were checked into a place they might never leave.

"Well, it sounds better than what I had here," Gary chuckled in reply to Anna's rundown of her holiday troubles.

As the weeks passed, she continued to grow closer to the wizened gentleman. He exhibited that uncanny ability to deal astute advise while also knowing how to listen actively. Sometimes, they wouldn't say much at all; Anna would sink into that bedside chair and absorb the gentle hum of electricity surging through grounded wires and radiant bulbs.

Regardless of the mood, they could always expect each others' company once her break time rolled around and both were grateful for the opportunity. Even with the flourishing friendship, Anna knew that opening up about her greatest secret would never come to pass. Someday, it would probably slip out unintentionally and that would likely be the end of their bond.

Still, venting to the bedridden patient did lift Anna's spirits, sanitized as the tale may have been. Her shoulders loosened up enough to avoid the tension headache that had been dogging her since being kicked out of the closet. Her mental state was improved further upon Emily sending her home early with a smile.

"We're good here for now, Anna. It's been a pleasantly quiet holiday week. Head home and get some sleep."

Sneaking in through the back door a few moments after the clock struck two in the morning, Anna sighed heavily, slipping out of a weighty backpack and kicking off a pair of sensible work shoes. Upon determining that her appetite wasn't bold enough to demand a peek in the fridge, she silently plodded into the family room to see if anyone had stayed up to greet Saturday morning. The flickering light of an unattended television welcomed her cheerfully, to which she responded with depressing the remote's power button and tossing the controller onto the couch.

Pack dangling from her right hand, the weary freshman quietly ascended to the second floor landing. She saw the telltale line of bedside light escaping under Elsa's door. The luminescence revived the tension in Anna's shoulders as she passed by and entered her own room, softly shutting the portal behind her. Working her way between a sloppy stack of reference tomes and a modest pile of clean laundry, she piled every article gracing her form onto the bed, wishing for nothing more than hot water contacting skin.

Flipping the switch, the duel-braided student bathed in pale light, reaching up and grabbing a sore left shoulder. Her naked toes digging into the thick-pile rug splayed out midway between the opposing doors that led to their private quarters, Anna paused the self-administered shoulder massage.

'I hope this doesn't affect my game,' she worried, digging into the knot below her clavicle. A crucial showdown was set-up for tomorrow afternoon: her second-place crew was to face the top team in their division, fronted by none other than Chris.

The nude young woman lost herself in the stagnation of the moment, staring helplessly into her sister's door, that faint glow still evident along the threshold. Anna fruitlessly commanded the barrier to be flung aside, clearing the path so they might unite, for nothing - be it time, or space, or clothing - to separate them, for the progress they had lost to be reclaimed.

The attempt at telepathy coming to nada, she turned to the left and reached down to turn on the tap. The buxom striker was unfortunately unaware that a similarly naked Elsa was poised on the edge of her own bed, stare affixed to the same door. The slow, deliberate movements coming from the bathroom hinted at a weary and worn-down Anna. There was no hummed-out tune to be heard and no klutzy clamor to wistfully shake her head at.

For her part, the senior was far too productive for a Black Friday. It wasn't as though she was the type to sprint to the department stores at three in the morning to pick-up a fire sale item; if she truly needed something, the global marketplace was a mere click away. Rather, needing to go into campus and rendezvous with Professor Krupp - a quick meeting which digressed into a forty-five minute discussion - colored the Friday as less than the respite she desired.

The cozy, silken blanket she was wrapped up in provided some warmth, but couldn't chase away the morose din that had clouded her every waking moment since their recreational sojourn the prior week. It was a blow she hadn't foreseen especially as this was the route she had always taken in dealing with her feelings for Anna. Unfortunately, avoidance was now nearly impossible; the distance she had relied on before was now but a figment. This meant that any defenses would need to be drawn through determination, but yielded a pitiful Potemkin village, a burg obliterated upon the mere sight of those dark blue eyes.

Elsa's burning desires only grew stronger as the societal web they inhabited grew more complicated. Krupp was clearly oblivious to her orientation and seemed to be making a move to garner her affections. In her sister's realm, although Anna couldn't date her clearly hetero and spoken-for teammate, it was only a matter of time before another fetching lass was ensnared in her interests.

'Anna, you need to know how I feel...before I lose you forever.'

The forlorn student rolled onto her back, burrowing into the expansive throw, feeling as though the unlit bedroom was too bright. Panic surged through every artery and along each nerve, balancing her on a precipice she had reluctantly believed existed, but never prepared for. Rather than permit the tension rule the day and trust the future to settle the matter, time was now a luxury she didn't have; the die had been cast and her hand forced.

"If there was ever a moment to act, it's now," she whispered to the air while listening to the gentle splashing of water upon ivory skin in the distance.

To her wonder and amazement, the blonde managed to fall asleep soon after. It was as though her conscience had reached a cornerstone and could now rest in bated anticipation. At long last, a decision had finally been made and there was no turning back. While victory was by no means assured, the path certainly was.

Once the silent hours of early morning slipped into the past, Elsa awoke feeling oddly refreshed. She stretched skyward and breathed deeply, letting the chilly air inhabiting her hideaway snap her senses to attention. Silence gobbled up the remaining space, its existence making the madame check her alarm clock.

'Almost ten; Anna's off practicing before the game. Time to get ready,' she thought and, without hesitation, whipped back the comforter. Swinging her feet to the side, she stepped into a pair of fuzzy pink slippers her parents had given her years ago one Christmas.

'In the "before" time,' she hummed with a smirk, realizing how that chapter read in such stark contrast to the one she penned thus far in college. She chewed on the inside of her cheek softly while poised before the open bureau, carefully weighing the options before selecting the perfect outfit for the occasion, an ensemble that Anna would be powerless in the face of.

'Well, time to write the next one.'

With every hair in its place and that much-loved French braid in immaculate order, Elsa hopped down the stairs with a noticeable breeziness.

"Someone is far too awake," Ollie grumped upon seeing Elsa slip into the kitchen.

"Yes, and much cheerier than she's has been in the past few weeks. Excited to watch Anna and Penny take on Chris and his 'brahs' today?" Steven inquired, careful to tweak the penultimate word to convey an accompanying air of stoner-dom.

"Who wouldn't be?" Elsa sincerely agreed while moving for the nearly-empty coffee pot. "A little house rivalry is a good thing."

"Hey! I had dibs on...aww, dammit, Elsa!" Steven whined from the breakfast nook, watching the lady of the house drain the last few drips into a mug. Much to her advantage, the romeo had been too occupied in texting mushy love notes to Penny who was already at the fields with Anna.

"Relax there, Rob Roy! I'm making a new pot," she swore, already reaching for the bag of beans tucked away in the cupboard to her right.

"Never had the pleasure of grinding it out with your sister?" Ollie asked, leaning on the island, taking a deep dip into his coffee cup.

The question, though obvious in its intent, teased Elsa into a cold sweat while the room's thermostat was nudged up a few degrees. The mere stringing together of such words in one sentence whet the blonde's center, requiring her to inhale deeply and collect her thoughts before answering.

"No. Anna was always the athletic tomboy. She loved any sport, but especially ones she could take on guys head-to-head. You know...show them up, make their jaws drop."

"We're likely to see that today with any luck," Ollie added as the sound of boiling water contacting crushed beans emanated from the coffee maker. "She's been great so far this season."

Elsa concurred without reservation. The half-dozen games had each exhibited a strong performance on her sister's part, racking up a total of eight goals, including a hat trick. The coffee thief relished every opportunity to drink in the scorching will and determination the redhead put on display every time she had the ball. Her aptitude for sports, especially soccer, were impressive, and was a quality Elsa found quite attractive.

"Yeah, Els, we're finally going to be able to drink in the heartbreak on Chris' face now that he has to interact with Anna," Steven added with wry cruelness. "You Arendelle girls will be the end of him."

'Let's hope that's the only heartbreak on the field today,' the madame pled mentally.

"One shouldn't pray for Schadenfreude," Ollie retorted, tutting his junior while hunting for a suitable beverage conveyance.

"First of all, don't call me names," was Steven's tongue-in-cheek return that managed to even squeeze a chuckle from the Brit , "and second, you laughed your ass off yesterday when you saw that couch debacle in the middle of 15th."

"That was out-and-out slapstick, I assure you. Gargoyles would have cracked a smile. Hardly dark or obtuse humor," the lad explained while grabbing a large thermos in preparation of the opaque brew.

Ding!

"Wait...what?" Elsa begged for pardon.

"Gonna throw it in the thermos? We should probably take off for the game if we want good seats," Steven advised Ollie upon rising and snatching his jacket from a hook next to the back door.

"That's the plan," the Briton assured while pouring the steaming liquid into the sturdy vessel with great care.

"Yesterday, Steven and I were walking back from Suzzalo and there, in the middle of 15th..."

The mirthful story continued through the gathering of scarves and their hurried steps down the alley. In truth, it was simply another tale of the shenanigans that seem to occur on any college campus on any given day. Regardless, it make Elsa giggle and loosen up a bit en route to the playing field down on the flats alongside Lake Washington.

"I can't believe you're wearing that to the game, Els," Steven remarked to the girl who was leading the pack a few paces ahead of the gentlemen. "It's too chilly for a skirt."

"And the fact that you know this disturbs me," Ollie sharply cracked, a bon mot that segued into an inevitably hilarious argument:

"Girl, if you saw how I rocked a set of pumps in a knee-length skirt, you'd shut your stupid little mouth. Don't make me..."

Elsa drowned out the nattering, stowing it in the back of her mind; her attention was grabbed by the beautiful scene spread out below as they descended to lake-level. The sun was brilliantly radiant, unencumbered by any cumulous foes, a rare feat in November. It helped to cut into the frost that greeted the dawn, enticing recluses out of their dens and into the world.

"Yeah," Ollie said to Elsa, now that the boys had tidied up their digression, "I meant to ask: why the Catholic School uniform? Some sort of tradition between you and Anna? Can't say I've ever seen you wear it."

"Haven't felt the need to," she flushed modestly, though subtly enough in the sunshine to keep Ollie from noticing, "but something about the air today and how big this game is going to be for her... Nostalgia, I suppose, picked it out this morning."

The incognito temptress hoped to figuratively throw her housemates off the path and the innocuous explanation appeared to do the trick. She smiled to herself, knowing the actual effect she was shooting for would soon be in play, much like the battered soccer ball that was being booted off the dewed grass that very instant.

"All right, e'ryone. Look sharp, eh?" Merida shouted in her Irish lilt from the sidelines, already setting to pacing back and forth.

"You okay with the right side?" Anna called out to Penny, her fellow striker, as they watched the first few passes of the game at the far end of the pitch.

"Yup," was the abnormally short reply, an affirmation cut short by a swiftly approaching storm front charging up the field.

Their curly-maned coach had decided to shift Anna into the left striker position, as her weak shooting foot worked comparably to Penny's stronger half. Their fearless leader figured the change could throw the seasoned and well-tested opponents for a loop. While the modification made the pigtailed competitor feel a touch out of sync, the logic was sound and every bit of cunning would be required to clinch victory.

The temperature hovered in the high forties that final Saturday of November, though, between the golden rays and roaring metabolisms, the players were comfortable in their shorts and long-sleeves. Atop the latter, each player bore a maroon-on-white jersey, a color scheme personally chosen by Merida. Anna was the team captain and, as such, was assigned the number '10', proudly stamped on her back.

"All right, get ready for Cooper to feed it," she barked to Penny while cutting wide of the goal in hopes of setting up a crossover.

Their right center galloped along, the stocky gentleman checking over his shoulder to get an idea of how contested his breakaway run was. Much to his chagrin, at that moment, a faster pair of fraternal legs slipped the ball away from Cooper's dribble and the tide was turned. Anna waved the configuration off and the two came back together, walking closer to the epicenter of the field.

"They seem determined to not give up any easy grabs," Penny remarked idly after a dozen or so minutes had expired with nothing to show for it.

"Yeah. I was hoping they hit it hard last night and would have hangovers for the game, but so much for that," Anna replied disappointedly.

"Woulda been nice. Oh...they made it," the hyperactive dark-haired companion nodded towards the stands, having caught sight of some very familiar attendees. The act caused Anna to wheel around, upon which she immediately spotted her housemates sitting in the stands; they had been there for some time by the looks of their concession stand goodies.

'Yup and...wow. Els, are you...teasing me?' she thought, spellbound at the sight of their old high school uniform gracing those luscious curves. Even from fifty-odd feet away, the apparition grabbed Anna by the throat, catching her mid-swallow, and forcing an enormous cough.

"Anna, you okay?" Penny wondered, slapping the redhead's back gently while keeping a watchful eye downfield.

"Yup, I'm...good," was the gasping reply, muttered out of embarrassment.

"Heads up, Anna," she advised upon seeing the momentum shift back to their squat downfield.

The star striker spotted the reversal of fortune and rose upright, clearing her throat. Following a quick nod, she took a deep breath and swung across center field to initiate a play on their end. With the hiccup in the past, the freckled forward was now more determined to outplay their opposing collection of brawlers; she simply couldn't look into the stands for the game's duration.

'Okay, that was certainly a reaction,' Elsa silently and gleefully thought, a crooked smile twisted around her lips.

"What happened there?" Steven asked, semi-concerned.

"Oh, dunno. She looks all right," Elsa innocently theorized, relishing the event immensely.

Keeping her mind switched-on and in the game, Anna turned over the intent behind uniform's reappearance. The mere presentation instantly brought back memories of those formative years. She could recall chasing that skirt freshman year in high school; to everyone else, it was simply the younger Arendelle child trying to keep up with the older.

The sight of the flaxen-haired beauty in that outfit, though, drove Anna wild. The scamp was always on the lookout for the fringe of Elsa's slip to playfully reveal itself. Maybe on the right day, a blouse was tugged tightly enough to remove any doubt in her sister's ample cup size. Driven by an unstoppable collisions of hormones and passion, that sole year the sisters shared in Catholic school sentenced Anna to crave her own sibling in ways she never thought she would towards anyone, fanning the first tongues of fire into a five-alarm inferno.

The yearning never waned, merely growing and maturing over time and tide, questioning and clarifying with every emotional nibble of forbidden fruit. New fascinations and fetishes were tacked onto Anna's secret list of turn-ons, as with any blossoming adult, but none rivaled that first outfit that broke the barrier and made resistance impossible.

'What I would do to-'

"Anna! Wake up!" Penny bellowed while pivoting towards the goal and initiating forward momentum in search of the game's opening goal.

The daydreamer's head swiveled left and right, quickly assessing the current scene that was shifting from simmer to boil. Her squad - named the Celts in honor of their coach's proud heritage - had initiated an all-out offensive push and sent the fraternity-built squat reeling. The ball was punted over the centerline and landed at Penny's feet; it was their time to shine, but that meant her frontline companion needed to return post-haste.

More than happy to counter the pressure, the officially-dubbed Frat Pack zeroed in on the two forwards and attacked. Their right-midfield was Chris' territory, one that he had commanded since joining the squad freshman year, eventually earning him the rank of captain. His muscular physique made the chap a reliable defender, important when it came to halting a slippery opponent attempting to venture along the sideline. Additionally, his speed allowed the sandy blonde to cover long distances with ease and fill in any gaps in coverage.

"Chris does look pissed," Steven commented, spotting the brawny athlete sprinting in parallel with the attendees' seating.

"You can't even see his face," Ollie dryly replied, stating an inarguable fact.

"It's in his movement, not his face," the analytical spectator explained, to which the Briton could only bother to serve up a comical eye-roll.

"What...you mean like running after the ball?" Elsa giggled.

"No. It's...like...just-just shut up! Watch the game, okay? You'll see!" Steven grumped hilariously, turning back to intensely psychoanalyzing the match.

Anna spotted the put-out and currently aloof roommate, making a mental note to reach out and attempt to repair their faltering friendship. Immediately after, she blindly lunged to her left and started sweeping wide, venturing away with respect to the bleachers. Penny maneuvered the ball with a level of dexterity that surprised the pigtailed competitor, the raven-maned girl forcing her coverage to nimbly hop back and forth, desperately holding the ground between ball and goal.

A handful of moments later, Anna's own adversary slipped into his rightful position, cutting into an easy dash for the goal. Without needing a second glance, the redhead recognized the sneer-brandishing brother from the introductory rigamarole.

'This could get interesting,' she mentally measured, taking in his sharp, but lightning-fast footwork, locking with her every step.

"Keep her shut down, Hans!" the burly coach of the Pack shouted in their direction, thusly identifying her shadow.

The chant appeared to only work up the oaf further and he hip-checked Anna brusquely when she tried to shift to the center. Penny was volleying the ball back and forth with their mid-field, waiting for an open shot, one hopefully channeled through their fearless leader. The stalling could only last for so long, and Chris seemed to be working Sasha - Penny's one outlet - into the backfield and out of range.

'Shit. This guy is pissing me off!' Anna fumed, finally giving up and jogging back towards the center, a move that momentarily cooled the situation.

"Don't fall back further, Anna! Be ready for 'Timber'!" Merida called out, referencing the play rehearsed for just such a situation. Fortunately, the fiery Gaelic lass was well aware of the Pack's reputation and planned accordingly. Of course, as Anna knew, 'planning' and 'execution' are two separate camps.

'All right. Consider me prepared,' Anna readied mentally and waited for the cue.

"That Hans guy looks like he should front some shitty emo band," Steven spat while keeping an eye on his helplessly hemmed in girlfriend.

"Yeah, can't say I'm his biggest fan either. Elsa, you think your sister is going to prevail in the face of such adversity?" the Briton hammed casually, taking on a sports announcer's persona.

The effort was lost on the fragile blonde who was caught up in the moment, almost telepathically linked to her sibling, wishing nothing but success, yet worrying over what injuries could befall her one and only. Even with the three years of separation, memories of watching over the firebrand - praying that her rough-and-tumble nature wouldn't catch up with her - had not been lost over time. In an instant, she shifted in moods from that of a casual fan to a worried relative...

'...or wife.'

The mere thought of entering into marriage with her younger sibling sent a chill down her spine, something she knew hadn't been spurred by the crisp morning air. Rather than run from the consideration, she traced her eyes over those toned gams as the left striker sprinted back and forth, the ample chest that heaved with every thundering footstep, those jubilant eyes that instantly lit up at every opportunity to support her team or take a shot.

'The same way they light up when she sees me,' Elsa admitted, longingly.

The dam that had held back her wanton desires for so long was now at the point of catastrophic failure. She needed her sister in ways she had always been scared to face. Not that it was any easier at this point, but the need to act overrode the fear and shame. The fact is it almost felt as though they were already in a genuine adult relationship; maybe it was time to acknowledge its existence.

Not a second later, the play was initiated. The Celts' right-center midfielder, Sara, picked up a hurried lob from Penny that landed exactly on-point. The brunette charged down the center of the pitch, keeping her eyes dead on the goalkeeper, setting up the fake as three defenders folded in around her attack.

Waiting until one of the brutes was within mere feet, she stopped in her tracks, spun to her right, and flicked the ball back towards the now unencumbered Penny. The confusion caused by the sudden shift in momentums left the lurching motions of their opponents in disarray and more than a few steps behind.

"Don't crowd the center!" their lumpy coach shouted hoarsely.

'No, no. Go for it...idiots,' Penny laughed, herself now heading into the thick of the action. This time, it was Chris who closed in on the feisty sprite, hoping to intercept the inevitable pass he spied in anticipation.

"They're gonna roll to the redhead!" he called out in vain, knowing he wouldn't be able to reach the twirling sphere in time.

With impeccable timing, Penny did so, thumping the ball with stunning accuracy, reaching the target whom was now charging in along the left flank. Playing off the continued befuddlement of the Frat Pack's backfield, Anna tore in Hans' direction. Having been caught up in the melee, he'd lost sight of the mark and allowed his guard down enough to let the youngest Arendelle get a head start.

A short war was now waged between the two, the ruddy male attacking fiercely from behind. Weaving left and then right, repeating the maneuver a few times over, Anna did her best to keep the reeling punk out of rhythm. The gap between ball and goal was shrinking quickly, and the remaining defenders began to converge on their location; if there was an opportunity, it had to be taken.

"Come on, Anna!" Steven shouted through cupped hands.

"Oy! Go for it!" Ollie joined in, briefly reliving his 'football' days from back home.

'You can do this, Snowbug! Show him up!' Elsa squealed inside, fists clenched, breath held.

Holding back until the last possible second, only a foot outside the goal area, Anna finally slotted the orb, striking it with the inside of her right cleat, putting every bit of momentum into it. In the same instant, Hans initiated a sliding tackle in hopes of punting the ball away, but it was all for naught, as shot sailed beyond the sole of his reaching step. The goalkeeper had no chance of soaring towards the other end of the net in time and could only watch the ball tumble out of reach and into his sacred domain.

"A'RIGHT! YEAH!" Ollie boomed following the laser-guided strike into the bottom right corner of the goal. The unabashed enthusiasm drew looks of surprise from the surrounding attendees, most notably Elsa and Steven.

"What? I can be a 'lad', too, y'know?" he smiled in reply, looking rather sheepish, but jolly all the same.

Elsa beamed, turning from the newly-born hooligan to her pride and joy, whom was now accepting high-fives from teammates. In between a pleasant exchange, the pigtailed warrior gazed up into the stands and knowingly locked eyes with Elsa. Though the distance was great, the two shared that one victorious moment as though they were face-to-face, alone, and uninhibited.

A gentle breeze rolled across the field, twisting the tired blades of grass, and scattering a few leaves into the field. The brusque air filled Anna's soul with wonder and anticipation, while the sun cast a rich glow around her sturdy, yet still feminine form. It instantly reminded her of how the two youngest Arendelles would brave the chilly elements together - wind or rain, snow or sleet, good times or bad.

Breathing in deeply, she watched how the gust snaked its way up the bleachers with enough life to tussle Elsa's plaid skirt slightly. The mesmerized player only noticed the subtle billowing since she was looking for it, and the blonde flattened out the errant crease in a most ladylike manner, but not before spotting her younger sister's reaction. The tease was understood by them both and bashful grins were exchanged, smothered out by a sharp whistle along the sidelines.

"All right! Good work, team! Roll with this! Get back on defense!" Merida called out, hoping to capitalize on the momentum.

"Nice job, Anna!" David - the Celts' most senior back-fielder - offered before jogging ahead. She nodded and smiled in appreciation, not hearing the sulking hulk approach from over her right shoulder.

"Yeah, real nice...bitch," was short, uncouth assessment from Hans' as he hurried ahead to join Chris midfield for a quick discussion of strategy. Anna wanted to shout back, to cut down the smarmy bastard, but her spirits were too high at the moment to permit a fitting response.

The team had been prepped ahead of the match that it could get nasty, as competition among their bracket was starting to heat-up. The sixteen soccer teams were spread around campus and had been evenly split into two leagues, roughly by geography. By sheer dumb luck, the Celts were grouped in with Chris' fraternity troglodytes, meaning they would meet three times before the playoffs.

As Merida had foretold at the first practice, it appeared the two clubs would be hogging the top couple of spots for themselves this season. They had entered the game five and one, their only loss coming in a hard-fought, rain-soaked disaster two weeks ago. Meanwhile, the fraternity collective was a perfect six-and-oh, a spotless record Anna was hoping to chip away at.

'Not a bad way to get that going,' she thought with a happy shake of her braids, once more refocusing on the game and preparing mentally for whatever came next. Looking over to Penny, she was given an enthusiastic thumbs up, to which Anna aped the same gesture, overjoyed to have such an energetic and competent partner in the trenches.

The exchange was not lost on the beauty up in the stands, who upon spotting the friendly exchange felt a familiar pang of yearning in her stomach. The simple impossibility of the two strikers ever hooking-up, especially given Steven's attachment to one of them, didn't calm her frazzled nerves or quivering soul. She was resolute upon acting on her desires for the first time in her life. Before, she would yield to worry and doubt, but no longer.

'Never again.'

The score remained one-nil and the next seventy minutes passed by rather uneventfully; that is, to those in the stands. Anna was fighting an endless battle with Hans, both through his physical bullying and his verbal taunting. In the first play after halftime, the two became embroiled midfield, the Pack attempting to set-up a play very similar to Timber.

The gutsy sprite saw the elements of the attack forming and stepped promptly into Hans' path before he could dish the ball out to a teammate. Their persons slammed into each other, though both managed to stay aloft. As for the play, it fell apart and the offense quickly became the defense.

Her maneuver was clean and a referee viewing the action nearby waved it allowable as Hans turned to whine. Needless to say, the brooding ruffian was less than enthused over being bested again, not to mention by a girl. He growled in frustration before lashing out verbally.

"Stay the fuck off me or you're gonna be feeling a world of hurt," he threatened menacingly as she sprinted in search of a proper spot to lay claim to downfield. However, before falling out of sight, she looked back and flipped the indignant male the bird and accompanied the response with a broad smile.

"Damn, she's really having it out with him," Steven commentated, gluttonously shoveling into his mouth a handful of Cracker Jack's.

Ollie grabbed the box and shook it in utter disappointment. Turning it over, nothing but the prize landed in his palm.

"You ate the whole damn box?! I bought this not more than five minutes ago!"

"It's been an intense game, man! It made me hungry. Besides, you got the prize! That's the best part," he argued.

Frowning, a miffed Ollie removed the paper wrapper to reveal the promised treasure: a sticker in the shape of a conversation heart that read 'CALL ME'.

"Whoop-dee fucking doo," was the scathing assessment before the prize was tucked away in a dark, forgettable coat pocket.

"Fine! I get it! Sorry," Steven sincerely apologized, deciding absolution would have to come via purchases of his own. "I'll get another box of Cracker Jacks...but I don't know if I'll ever come back."

"That's cute. Almost endearing, Steven. You should stick to more family-friendly humor," an amused Ollie commended dryly, while taking a sip of root beer.

"Oh, shut up!" the friendly hillbilly snapped, knowing the compliment was quite tongue-in-cheek. "You want anything else? Elsa, you good?"

"Uh...yeah," she smiled, barely giving the gent the time of day before turning back to the battle below, causing the snack-rover to shrug his shoulders before making a bee-line for the snack shack.

'Stay fired up, Anna. Feed off it,' she cheered breathlessly.

The moments ticked by at a snail's pace for the Celts' as they clung to the one-goal lead; the Frat Pack, conversely, couldn't believe how quickly the seconds marched by. With each passing one, they grew more desperate, unaccustomed to playing from behind and not knowing how to bounce back. Chris, their fearless leader and seasoned guide, was underperforming and appeared more intent on shying away from any contact with Anna than on the game crumbling before him.

With only two minutes left in regulation play, the panicking club of Greeks began taking wild shots from all positions, many of which sailed wide and garnered nothing more than a weak hop from the Celts' goalie. That brave sentinel, who went by the name of Aiden, while quick stocky, was exceptionally nimble, surprising many opponents in his agility. He had already recorded three clean sheets thus far and was working on a fourth.

Holding her own ground in the back, toeing the center line, Anna continued to duke it out with Hans. Every time he appeared open, signaling his desire to set-up an attack, the redhead would bolt in front of him, slamming the door of opportunity shut. His already frayed patience was now nonexistent.

A ball had finally been passed in his direction in preparation of a hurried attack and he broke to the left to intercept it away from his position and, consequently, Anna. The experienced feet of the maiden saw the maneuver coming from a mile away, though, and was on Hans' heels before he knew it. Slipping a cleat in betwixt his galloping feet, she nicked the orb away and into her control. Only steps from the back-field, nothing stood between her and an uncontested shot at the goal.

"Yeah! Go Anna!" Steven and Ollie shouted, leaping to their feet, both content over their consumption of the caramel-kissed popcorn snack. Even an emotionally-embattled Elsa stood to cheer on her sibling, refusing to miss a moment.

Seeing the clock trek beyond the final-minute threshold, the agitated has-been decided to lash out. Managing to work up enough speed to pull even with his thief, he tried to step in front of the red streak, but Anna simply outsmarted the tactic and spun to the left. Hans, formally abandoning diplomacy, lost any remaining cool and threw his weight into the opponent.

Anna tumbled toward the ground, falling forward, partially landing on the ball. The aggressiveness earned a shower of boos from the stands and the referee blew his whistle loudly while producing a red card from his shirt pocket. It was a response the lackey brute made no quarrel with, but no remorse for either.

'I'm gonna kill him,' was the single, solitary phrase settling at the front of Elsa's cerebral cortex, the other goings-on of her thought processes and logic pushed aside.

"That dick!" Ollie shouted in fury.

"That's bullshit!" Steven added, screaming the profanity with gusto.

The downed warrior wasted not a moment before bolting to her feet and stepping towards the repugnant loser.

"That was fucking out of line!" she shouted, prepared to deck her assailant, fist clenched.

"You have no business being on the field, you bitch," he snottily responded.

"You assh-"

"ANNA! Stop! Right now! Get off the field!" Merida bellowed, rushing toward the feuding duo, and managing to halt a freckled fist in mid-throw.

The wronged player paused and mulled over the pleadings of her coach before complying, but not before glaring hard at Hans once more and delivering a final barb:

"I'm gonna destroy you next game." The words managed to crack the recipient's arrogant composure for an instant, leaving him visibly shaken as she stalked towards the sidelines.

"Yeah! I'd like to see that, you stupid bitch!" he shouted after her, the best counter he could muster.

"Hans, shut up!" one of his fellow defensemen shot.

Merida wrapped an arm around the sidelined bundle of fire. Shoulder sagging, Anna looked into the gathering of stalled contestants and spotted Chris. Hoping to see something along the lines of apology, the only expression she recognized was resignation and apathy; it made the scrapes affixed to her knees burn even hotter.

"All right. Amazing game, Anna, but I need to you to cool off. Penny will take your penalty shot." Merida explained upon reaching the bench.

"What?! That asshole takes me down and I get punished?!" Anna angrily seethed.

"You're not getting punished, Anna! He's gone and there'll be a free kick in your name, but you're too fired up to concentrate and I don't need you seeking revenge on that little shit. We don't need a red-carded striker, especially if we're gonna have a damn target on our backs after today. So...hit the showers and cool off!" she ordered, pulling a thumb in the direction of the locker rooms.

Anna only growled in dissatisfaction and stomped away from the stadium, too worked up to acknowledge the cheers of approval from her teammates and fans alike. Rounding the bleachers and making for the modest building constructed for players occupying utilizing the fields, her fist remained clenched, much like her jaw, locked in raging angst.

"I'll go check on, Anna," Elsa quickly excused herself as Penny headed for the penalty box to take her first-ever goal kick.

"Good idea," Ollie nodded in understanding.

Lacking any desire to see the final kick's outcome, the ponytailed senior leapt down the steps and walked the same path her sister had moments before. Lost in a sodded no man's land dividing swelling waves of cheers and a temporarily silent cinder block building, Elsa inadvertently straightened out her navy blue sweater emblazoned with a certain high school's crest. It was in that moment that she took note of how fast her heart was beating.

'Why is my pulse racing?' she wondered upon reaching the players' entrance, firmly swinging open the door leading to the visiting team's section.

'Because everything has fallen into place.'

'What the hell is that supposed to mean?'

'I'm not saying anything else. This will unfold as it was meant to.'

'But...' she whined in reply, wanting the argument to continue, but her attention was suddenly refocused on the loud, echoing bangs soaring and bouncing along the archaic masonry walls. Using them as a North Star, she stealthily walked along a passageway lined with rows of lockers and benches, until the source had been discovered.

Anna was unaware of the intrusion, too focused on furiously throwing her cleats and shinguards into the locker, mouth pursed, eyes intense, skin taut. The battle-worn soldier stood barefoot on the cold, concrete floor, clothed only in her white and crimson jersey and her underwear, an strangely intimate scene that caused the voyeur to blush.

Much to Anna's displeasure, the shorts she had just stuffed into the cubby fell onto the utilitarian floor and she glowered quietly while bending over to pick up the errant apparel. The action provided the elder sister a clear view of her undergarments.

The response was one that couldn't be helped. Elsa was simply unable to stifle an adoring chuckle upon spying the Winnie the Pooh panties. Admittedly, it was striking to see a bloodthirsty competitor sporting such an innocent, playful print. However, as with everything else, the blonde knew her sibling better than she understood herself. The juxtaposition was one of the beautiful things about the redhead, how she could be so hard on the exterior, yet so sweet and soft on the inside.

'Just another reason why I'm standing here: waiting, wanting, willing...'

"Oh...Els! I didn't...uh...see you come in. Uh..." Anna leapt upright, turning around to spot where the amused guffaw escaped from. Without any warm-up, her checks flushed bright red and her heartbeat sped up to mirror that of her sister's.

"Sorry to surprise you. I had to come check on you, make sure you were okay," Elsa explained, hoping she sounded far more self-assured than she was in reality. Luckily, the sultry, enchanting grin she wore appeared to be holding her junior's captivations rather than her speech mannerisms.

"I'm fine. Just banged up my knees a bit, but you know how many times that's happened," she related, the anger quietly losing steam with every word to be replaced by giddiness and rabbles of butterflies.

"You played a great game," Elsa commented, keeping her arms crossed while edging a few steps closer, shoulder remaining in contact with the wall of padlocked and numbered doors. She stopped about two feet short of her sister, whom was now suddenly very caught up with reorganizing her own locker.

"Ummm...yeah. I felt good about it. Just wished that shithead could have just played. If you're gonna lose, take it...and...and move on," she gulped, refusing to show her red-hot facade to Elsa.

'What...what is going on? Is...this finally happening? No way...I can't...I look awful. And...'

The panicky words were continuing to stammer and stutter as she shut her locker, her belongings safely tucked away in preparation for a most-deserved shower; a folded towel was resting on the wooden bench. Any hope of a timely escape into an aquatic paradise was dashed when Anna relented and turned to stand face-to-face with her greatest desire.

"Els, you...uh...decided to wear the old uniform, huh?" she sputtered, cloaked in a preposterous veil of casual jargon, a shield Elsa could see right through.

'Oh my. Do I have Anna flustered?' was the schoolgirl's satisfied assessment.

"Yeah. I thought it might inspire you to play your best," Elsa flirted shamelessly; Anna gulped hard in reply.

"I remember you seemed to like it," she continued, almost whispering the words.

The blood pulsed in Anna's ears, drowning out the din of florescent lighting and the occasional drip of a leaky shower-head. A quiet roar could be heard hissing in from outside, signifying the match's conclusion. The already tropical air had turned liquid, enveloping the striker in a viscous broth, making any thought or movement nearly impossible. Her senses inundated, lightheadedness began to take hold.

'My Anna,' Elsa thought, feeling a similar onslaught, fighting it with a need to take a stand, to commit to something she should have done long ago, but never had the strength to.

"Do you Anna?" she breathlessly asked, stepping forward and closing the distance between the two, her face now mere inches from the flustered angel.

"Uhhh...I...um..." the freckled child of the summer garbled.

'That look...it's...this is happening!' Anna gasped internally, a muddled blur of emotion shifting into a broad stroke of unbridled ecstasy.

'Anna, I...God, I love you so much!' Elsa shouted wordlessly gazing deeply into her sister's blue eyes, a look so steady and even, it almost made time stand still.

'And I love you, Elsa,' Anna silently replied, their emotional visceras melting together, cohabiting the same space, the same moment, the same destiny. Lost in the storm, she gave the oft-dreamt, but never spoken command:

'Kiss me.'

Any reservation dissolved, cast alongside the road they had walked hand-in-hand, strong in the knowledge of their sisterhood, and unknowingly held together as reluctantly lovers. The moment to step into that void ruled by the latter had arrived and Elsa, after taking a hurried breath, pulled her sister by the hand over the defining line.

In one smooth motion, the blonde leaned in and pressed her lips against Anna's.

Both lost any connection with the surrounding world. Audial textures were replaced with a ringing and the atmosphere became a stifling sauna. Anna placed her hands on Elsa's luxurious hips and pulled them into her, an act Elsa happily moved in-time with. The senior brought her hands up and cupped her younger sibling's face, savoring the smoothness of lightly tanned skin.

Tongues mingled, lips conjoined, gasps inhaled, moans uttered. Elsa gently brushed her fingers through auburn locks with one hand, while Anna worked her mandibles down to a pert posterior, squeezing gently upon reaching it. The act may have appeared clumsy to onlookers, but to the sisters Arendelle, it was ballet, each act more beautiful than the last.

Everything they had ever known was forever changed; both understood this while standing in their tiny part of the universe. The world could very well tear in two, swallowing them whole, removing their recorded existence from the universal registry. It wouldn't matter to either because they were finally alive: existing not as they should, but as they wanted to.

Time eventually retook the reins and made itself known with the joyous chatter of a victorious team entering through the visitors' door. The moment they had long awaited complete, neither knew how to end it. A look of shock painted on her porcelain face and unable to utter any acknowledgement of what had transpired, Elsa could only step back and make for the exit.

Anna was momentarily left alone, right hand up against the lockers to steady her profile, listening to her sister's great escape through the throng of weary spartans.

"Hey! You're Anna's sister? She okay?" a few asked, to which no response was given. A series of hurried footsteps, followed by a slammed metal door, were the closing statements on Elsa's venture into the cavern, agonizingly anti-climactic for the shaky striker who was now seated on the bench.

Knowing her teammates would soon be surrounding her, begging for a recounting of how the game's events went down from her perspective, Anna did her best to breathe deeply and pull together what remained of her grasp on reality. The front she put up felt sickeningly artificial, especially since she had tasted true intimacy for the first time.

'When will it touch my lips again?' she wondered while inhaling deeply and working a foxy grin onto her face.