Conceal, don't feel: Elsa hadn't let the death of her parents hit her until now...

xxx

It was an especially sunny day in the Kingdom of Arendelle, so the last thing Anna expected to see as she bounded down the hallway was her sister, in tears, staring at the covered up portrait of their parents. "Els?"

Elsa heard Anna but didn't show any signs that she had.

"Hey, are you okay?" Anna tried again, moving closer.

Elsa finally looked at her younger sister, her heart only tightening more when she saw the concerned look on her face. "Anna. I... I'm okay..."

Anna shook her head. She knew better. "No. No more hiding. Something is wrong, I can see it in your eyes."

Elsa averted her gaze. "I'm not hiding, t-there's really nothing wrong. You don't need to worry about me. Goodbye, Anna." She started to walk away, but Anna prevented her by grabbing her arm. Elsa gasped and tried to escape her grasp. "Anna! Stop, you could get hurt! Stay away from me!"

Anna didn't let her get away. "I trust that you won't hurt me. Elsa, it's okay. You're okay."

"Anna..." Although she didn't mean it to, her name came out in a whimper.

Anna carefully took Elsa's hand in her own, noticing how it was colder than normal, and kissed the back of it. As her lips touched Elsa's skin, the temperature rose back to what was normal for her sister. 'Love thaws.' "See? It's alright. You won't hurt me."

Elsa stopped struggling and bowed her head. "But I already hurt you, Anna..."

Anna carefully took Elsa by the shoulders. "Hey, I'm okay. Look at me, I'm alright. That streak in my hair isn't there anymore, we're together now." The temperature dropped once again. 'Oops. I shouldn't have mentioned that...'

Elsa jerked away. "Just go away, Anna! So I can't hurt you again. Never again."

Anna froze. Hearing Elsa tell her to go away brought her right back to childhood. A very lonely childhood.

Elsa took that as an opportunity to get away. With her hands folded to her chest, she briskly slipped past Anna and went on her way to... well, somewhere. Somewhere she could be alone with her thoughts.

Anna didn't even watch her leave. What she had said hurt too much. although she knew that probably wasn't intentional. A single tear rolled down her face as she looked up at the portrait Elsa was looking at earlier. 'I wish you knew what to do...'

xxx

It was now much later and the two sisters had been avoiding each other all day. Neither knew how to face the other. Eventually, Anna, the bravest of the two, decided to face Elsa again. Whatever was wrong, she wasn't about to let her sister go through it alone. But when she got to the door of Elsa's study, she froze again. She quickly had to push away old memories before she did her signature knock. There was a silence that followed, then a soft "Come in." Anna opened the door and found Elsa sitting at her desk, not working, but rather, distractedly doodling on a piece of blank paper. "Hey..."

Elsa dropped her pencil and sighed. "Hello... Anna, I'm-"

"You don't need to apologize," Anna cut off, knowing exactly what she was going to say.

"But-"

"No really, it's fine."

"Anna! Let me speak, please."

Anna clamped her mouth shut and gestured for her to continue.

Elsa nervously cleared her throat. "You asked me if I was okay earlier... I wasn't... I... I guess after Mama and Papa died I didn't let myself feel it because I was afraid of losing control... Now that I have you back and everything seems fine... I'm suddenly feeling a lot of, well, feelings. I'm not supposed to feel. I'm letting Papa down by not listening to his advice..."

Anna's heart began to ache. "Oh, Els... It's okay to miss them and it's okay to feel. Have you really not let yourself break down since they died?"

Elsa slowly shook her head. "Hardly... I have, not never completely. I'm afraid of what would happen..."

Anna walked up to Elsa's desk and held her hand out.

Elsa looked at Anna's hand, not sure if it would be safe to touch her at the moment.

"I trust you."

Elsa met her sister's gaze and saw nothing but fondness and trust. Just like she said. So, putting faith in 'love will thaw,' she took Anna's hand and allowed her younger sibling to pull her to her feet.

As much as she wanted to, Anna didn't hug her right away, for she wanted to see if Elsa would do it on her own.

Elsa stared at her for a moment, remembering how her parents had kept them separate for thirteen years. It wasn't fair but even still, she missed them. A lot. "Anna...," she whispered under her breath as tears traveled down her pale cheeks. "I... miss them..."

"That's okay, Els," Anna assured, gently wiping away some of Elsa's tears. Luckily for both of them, her tears were warm. "I miss them too."

Elsa suddenly wrapped her arms around Anna's waist and buried her face into her shoulder.

Anna held the back of Elsa's neck and whispered calming words into her sister's hair. "Let it out, it's alright. Feel. You're allowed to feel."

Elsa choked on all of the feelings she had repressed up until that point. "Help... me..."

Anna brought her a little closer. "I've got you, don't worry. You're okay."

Elsa completely dropped her usual queenly act and starting shaking and crying uncontrollably.

Anna looked around the room, almost expecting to see ice on the walls, saw nothing. Despite this being an emotional moment for her sister, Anna smiled a little. Elsa trusted her, and she appreciated that more than Elsa would ever know. Anna released a shaky breath against Elsa's neck as she felt Elsa relax into her arms. "Are you going to be okay?"

Elsa scarcely nodded. "Yes... Please, give me a moment..."

Anna agreed to do as such and continued to hold her for another minute.

After that, Elsa let Anna go, took a step back, straightened her back, and smiled gently. "Thank you, Anna... I'm sorry for... all of that..."

Anna waved her off. "Pish-Posh, sis. I love you, that's enough of a reason to help. I'll always be there for you."

Elsa's eyes softened with fondness. "I love you too, Anna. Always."