A/N: You know the drill. I own neither Tangled nor Frozen. Onwards and Upwards!

Chapter 4: The Cold Never Bothered Me Anyway

Elsa's days grew even longer with the addition of the morning meditation with the captain, but it was worth it for the control she was gaining over her powers. When she got upset or frustrated, it was easier not to freeze everything. By the time the two months until Flynn's birthday were up, she felt like she knew the routine well enough to meditate by herself. She typically used her balcony. It didn't have the space that the training field did, but it was more private so she could incorporate her powers into it. She'd made constructs before, so she thought creating an ice sword to practice with would be easy, but it would take her several weeks to get the balance right. Oh well. That was the point of practice, anyway.

On Flynn's birthday, she asked for the afternoon off, and the captain, hearing that it was about Flynn, was uncharacteristically generous with time off. Elsa supposed that Captain Renard still felt respect towards Flynn for helping her that day. She walked into town, picking up her package from the bookstore on the way to see Flynn. She stopped by the circle where he usually found her, looking around. Even with her vigilance, he managed to do that thing where he popped up behind her too close for comfort.

"Hallo, Princess," he whispered in her ear.

She spun around with a smile on her face. "Flynn! Happy Birthday," she said, offering him the rectangular object covered in light blue paper and tied with a white ribbon.

He looked at the object pressed into his hands and back up at her excited face. "You got me a present? I thought the job was the present," he admitted.

"Of course not!" Elsa laughed. "Work doesn't count as a present. It's your birthday, so I got you a little something. I know how you feel about extravagant things, so it's simple and not overly opulent. I hope you like it."

"Any gift from you is a treasure, Princess," Flynn charmed with his signature smirk.

"Open it, already!" she commanded, bouncing on her toes.

Flynn carefully untied the ribbon and tucked it in his pocket, then tore through the paper that reminded him of her favorite dress and her sky-colored eyes. The package was revealed to be a book, a thicker volume than the first she'd given him, bound in green and white leather, titled in neat silvery script: The Goose Girl. Flynn flipped through the pages, glancing at the colorful illustrations. He raised an inquisitive eyebrow at Elsa.

"A princess has to outrun a coup and hide disguised as a servant in plain sight in a foreign kingdom while she works to not only stay alive, but prove that she is the true princess that was sent to marry their prince. She discovers an ability to speak to animals and wind, falls in love, and leads a group of commoners against the traitors to her country. She learns during her time as an animal worker tending the king's geese how to understand and lead the people that she wasn't born to, but ended up choosing. I always liked the story, and I thought you might, too," Elsa explained.

"It's about a princess," he informed her skeptically.

"But it has all the qualities of an interesting story: Action, magic, adventure, romance! I believe you'll like it more than you expect," Elsa insisted.

"Like I said, I like anything that comes from you. I'll give the book a chance," Flynn agreed.

"So what else would you like to do on your birthday?" Elsa asked him, rocking back on her heels.

"We haven't danced since the first time, you know. I think that would be a great way to commemorate another year of being alive," he announced, offering her an elbow.

She ignored it with a roll of her eyes and led the way, leaving Flynn loping to catch up. When he offered her a hand at the dancing circle, she had to remind herself that she was safer now before she could take it, but they had a wonderful evening spinning to the tune of the fiddle. Having Elsa in his arms for hours made for the best birthday he'd had in forever.

The next day, Flynn went to interview for a job and was placed with the blacksmith when he showed some aptitude for metalcraft. He tried carpentry, hoping to one day make shipwright, but a small accidental fire smothered any chance he had of getting that assignment. Who knew without being told how much linseed oil to shine the wood was too much? Not Flynn, apparently.

When there was no work for him at the forge, he was sent where he was needed elsewhere in the castle. It was in this manner that he picked up an abundance of assorted skills. He could make stew, fix a leaky basin, drive a nail, repair his own socks, pick out the best produce from a bushel, and a host of other bits and bobs. He liked learning new things, especially to do with his new trade, but routine made him restless at first. The only good part about the repetitive schedule was that Elsa had one, too. That meant that they always got to see each other for a guaranteed amount of time every day, plus any extra they could sneak in.

They liked the times around lunch best, when they could slip away to a corner of the castle grounds with a sack of food to share. They would enjoy each other's company in silence, or talk about things, or try to make each other laugh. Flynn won at that last task most times, but she couldn't help the lightness she felt around him.

It wasn't long after he started working there that an incident during one of their picnics led to Elsa having to endure the spotlight at royal functions many times in the future. They were reclining after a meal of cold roasted chicken, warm bread, and plums in what they thought was a secluded corner of the garden. Elsa was distracted from her sketching of a new building design when Flynn drew out a mandolin from the bushes and gave it a skillful strum.

"When did you learn to play the mandolin?" Elsa spluttered, watching his fingers wandering expertly over the strings. "Where did you even get a mandolin?"

"I borrowed it. And an old homeless man who didn't have a thing to his name other than his instrument taught me in exchange for what food I could smuggle out of the orphanage. I asked to learn because I heard somewhere that the ladies swoon for musicians. Was I right?" he flirted with a cheeky tilt of his head.

"You're incorrigible, is what you are," Elsa laughed. "Do you know any actual songs, my thief?"

"A few. My favorite is 'If You Love Me for Me,' an old Irish ballad. The Irish know a thing or two about good lyrics," he informed her in a tone like he was imparting essential wisdom.

"I know that one! I like it very much as well," Elsa confessed. "Will you play it for me?"

"Well, I'll tell you what, Princess. I'll strum if you sing. Do we have a deal?"

"You've never even heard me sing," she protested. "I could be terrible."

"I have a feeling that's not the case," he prompted, strumming the first chord to the song.

It would be easier to go ahead and give him what he wanted. Her voice was decent enough.

"Oh, all right. You win," Elsa sighed in defeat.

She took a steadying breath as Flynn played the introduction and joined her voice with that of the mandolin, shakily at first, then louder and more confident.

Once a lass met a lad... 'You're a gentle one,' said she.

In my heart, I'd be glad... if you loved me for me.

You say your love is true and I hope that it will be...

I'd be sure if I knew... that you loved me for me. (Flynn)

Here, Flynn added his voice to hers for the male parts of the duet. She was pleasantly surprised that he had a warm, rich tenor cadence that sounded quite nice to her ears. She smiled and felt herself relax as she continued.

Could I be the one you're seeking... WilI be the one you choose?

Can you tell my heart is speaking... My eyes will give you clues...

What you see may be deceiving... Truth lies underneath the skin... (Flynn)

Hope will blossom by believing... The heart that lies within...

Flynn sang alone for the next stanza.

I'll be yours...

Together, we shall always be as one...

If you love me for me...

Elsa picked up the next part and he wove the words of his refrain underneath them.

Who can say... where we'll go?

(I'll be yours...)

Who can promise what will be?

(Together... We shall always...)

But I'll stay... by your side...

(Be as one...)

They sang the final line twice in unison.

If you love me for me...

If... you... love... me... for... me...

They had barely the space of a second to appreciate the sound of the last note ringing through the air and exchange fond smiles before they were interrupted by a shout.

"Bravo, Your Highness!" a voice called from beyond the hedge. Master Preminger hurried into view, beaming. "You have an incredible voice! I never broached singing in our instruction on the ladylike arts because it requires a certain natural aptitude and you seemed to have trouble with the other subjects," he babbled. "But you truly have a gift. We will begin instruction on technique at once!"

"Does this mean I won't have to do embroidery anymore?" Elsa hazarded with a surprised blink.

"If you can hone and refine your God-given vocal ability, I swear that there will never be a need for you to attempt a single stitch ever again," her normally composed instructor gushed. "Report to the music room immediately once your lunch break is over."

Once he was out of earshot, she glared at Flynn. "Did you know he was there?"

"Of course not! I know you don't like to be the center of attention. If I had noticed him there, I would have said something to avoid you getting sucked into something like this," he swore.

"I know," she sighed. "I believe you wouldn't do something like that to me. Now I'll probably have to participate in concerts and the like. How did you not notice him, anyway? You're usually so aware of your surroundings."

"I- ah, was distracted. I was having too much fun singing with you," he admitted sheepishly.

"Oh. I see," she coughed, blushing. "Well, since that cat is out of the proverbial bag, why don't we enjoy another tune before I get dragged off to singing class?"

"With pleasure, Princess," he agreed, already picking out the beginnings of the next ditty.

A few months in, after he'd already established himself as a hard worker and a good kid, he would "rescue" her from boring lessons to go participate in some harebrained scheme he'd cooked up. There was the horse race that ended up with them both in the pond and sent to bed with colds to recover for over a week. They missed each other terribly during the time of quarantine. Then there was the time that an attempt to get fresh apples left Flynn with dozens of bee stings and Elsa without one half of her favorite pair of slippers. They got the apples, though. The time when they tried to tame and train the birds from the falconry involved more running than any of the others combined. They sledded down the stairs on shields, turned all of the tongues of Elsa's tutors green without them noticing by tampering with the tea, dressed a statue of a general in a gown and tiara, painted all the pigs with blue polka-dots, and everything else you could think of and some things you couldn't in the next three years together.

The two made the perfect team, were utterly inseparable, and trusted each other entirely. Flynn was the only one in Corona who knew about Elsa's ice powers. How that came about was on Flynn's fourteenth birthday, when he said all he wanted was for Elsa to try running the rooftops with him. He assured her that it was perfectly safe over and over, finally getting her to agree to go as long as she could wear her sword training uniform. Skirts were not the best for climbing in.

Elsa had made a lot of progress with swordsmanship in that year. She had yet to defeat Captain Renard, but she had bested a few of the other, less experienced men. Hand-to hand combat had been added to her regimen, and she was picking up boxing decently well. Anna had actually beat her to the punch in developing that skill by going around the guard and just asking some village boys how to street brawl. She taught some tricks to Flynn so he could defend himself when he would inevitably get in trouble someday. His sharp tongue was all but a guarantee that he'd need to be able to handle himself in a fight.

She had finally been permitted to ride Max and took advantage of that as often as possible. They had an almost telepathic connection in how well they worked together. She missed her faithful steed sorely at the moment she was balanced on the eaves of the palace roof.

"This is an awful idea," she admonished for the tenth time.

"No, I promise it will be fun. Just let me have this on my birthday," Flynn pleaded, giving her that pout she always gave in to.

"I don't understand why you'd rather have this than a new book, or a better pair of boots, or..."

"Those are just things," Flynn dismissed. "Time with you is infinitely more valuable, Princess."

"Alright," she sighed, hiding a blush. "Here goes everything."

The two started slowly, Flynn calling encouragement and advice to Elsa from just behind her, hands always inches from grabbing her if she should slip. Once she had the hang of it, they moved faster and faster, increasing the pace until they were flying over the shingles with excited whoops. Flynn drew even with Elsa, peeking at her expression of wonder and thrilling excitement. The beauty of her face in that moment of pure childhood adrenalin rush, not worrying for two seconds about behaving like a future queen, took his breath away and made him miss a step.

He made a strangled noise and flailed his arms, trying desperately to catch his balance. Elsa heard his distress and spotted the cause, face going white as a sheet. She scrambled towards him, stretching her hands out for him frantically.

"Flynn!" she choked.

Her fingers just missed the collar of his shirt and he felt his feet leave the roof. The only thing under his back was empty air, and above him he could see Elsa leaning over the edge, clinging to the gutter and reaching one arm towards him, a look of pure terror consuming her features. If the last thing he saw was his best friend in the world, that wasn't a bad way to go. Suddenly, a streak of blue light shot from Elsa's fingertips and past him at the ground. He scarcely had the time to be confused or startled before he slammed into the hard ground... or what should have been the hard ground. Instead of the sharp crack of bones snapping on stone, there was a soft whump as he was engulfed in a pile of fluffy coldness.

Snow?

He blinked the stars from his eyes. He wasn't hurt. Was he dead? He could just make out Elsa, framed against a patch of sky, pouring ice from her hands into a slide from the roof to the ground. The second her feet hit the earth, the slide collapsed into no more than a bucket's worth of water. His snow pile vanished similarly, leaving his clothes slightly damp. He lay there, utterly bewildered for what felt like ages before Elsa's worried, tear-moistened face loomed over him.

"Flynn? Are you alright? I'm so, so sorry! I never should have said yes... I so was scared I was going to lose you," she sniffled, looking like an emotional wreck.

She scrubbed the tears from her face and they clinked when they hit the ground. They were frozen solid. How? Was he hallucinating?

"Hey, it's okay, Princess. I'm fine," he groaned, sitting up.

He reached for her to comfort her, but she shook her head, biting her lip. "I can't. It's just too dangerous when I'm worked up like this. I could accidentally turn you into an ice sculpture," she admitted.

"So, the snow that saved me, that really was you?" She nodded. "You saved my life. What exactly are you apologizing for?"

"I did something to make you fall. I must have for someone who's done this as many times as you to slip. Maybe I got too excited and iced the roof," she speculated.

Flynn's cheeks heated, remembering what had made him fall. "Elsa. You didn't do a thing wrong," he assured her. "Without you, I'd be a smear on the pavement right now. Thank you."

"So you're not... freaking out about my magic?" she asked timidly.

"Well, maybe a little. This is totally new and unexpected, so I'll need a minute to process. But I think your powers are amazing. They make you special."

"I can't control them very well. They get all tangled up in my emotions. I- I got sent away because I hurt my sister with my powers by accident when we were playing," she confessed, deeply ashamed.

"Well, you just need a little practice. Have you actually practiced or have you been doing that thing you do where you pretend to be fine when you're not?" Flynn accused.

"I meditate in the mornings using an ice sword. That counts, right?" Elsa huffed defensively.

"You can clearly do much more than ice swords, but skills take practice. In my apprenticeship at the blacksmith's, I had to try ten times before I got a piece of metal hammered straight. Then it took me eight tries to hammer a piece of metal into a curve, and so on. The more you work one of your powers, the easier it will get to progress to the next one to learn. I could help, if you want. I'm good at finding hiding spots where no one will see," he offered.

"You'd do that, for me? I'm dangerous. I almost killed my sister. It wouldn't be safe..." she protested.

"Since when have I ever cared about safe?" Flynn scoffed. "I just almost fell to my death running across a rooftop and I'd do it again anyway if I thought you'd still come with me."

"Thank you, Flynn. I don't know what I'd do without you," she thanked him with a hesitant smile.

"You're welcome, Snowflake," he accepted with a grin.

"Snowflake?"

"It's your new nickname. I think it suits you," Flynn reflected innocently.

"You're not calling me that," Elsa growled.

"We'll see about that... Snowflake," he taunted

He sprinted quickly away from the angry little princess and the snowballs she was launching with devastating accuracy at the back of his head.

"I can't believe I actually convinced my aunt and uncle to let me go into the woods with you completely unsupervised," Elsa commented from her seat on Maximus's back.

Flynn walked beside her, eyeing the horse distrustfully because he was convinced it didn't like him. "It must have been my irresistible charm and devastating good looks," he quipped.

"I'm just glad we don't have an escort to try and work around. It would be difficult to explain to the guards why I needed them to wait somewhere they couldn't see us," Elsa huffed. "What are we going to be doing, exactly?"

"Well, since I don't know the limits of your powers, I'm going to assume they are nonexistent, so I'll ask you to try something without the restrictions of what you think you can and can't do," he explained. "I have no expectations, so the possibilities are endless."

They stopped in a clearing far off the path. Elsa dismounted and tied Max to a tree.

"Okay, so what first?" Elsa asked nervously.

"Have you ever made anything more complicated than a sword or an ice slide?"

"No," she admitted.

"Well... you're always drawing buildings. Why not try to make a tiny version of one of your designs? I like the floating house the best."

"Alright. Here goes," Elsa mumbled, shaping the magic with her fingers.

She struggled to get the proportions right, undoing and redoing sections repeatedly. The finished product was lopsided and missing the porch and part of one wall.

"It's hopeless," she sighed, glaring at the hideous slab of ice. She shattered the offending object with a flick of her wrist.

"You give up too easily, Snowflake," Flynn scolded. "It wasn't bad for a first try. Maybe try something a little simpler than a house but still harder than a sword. How about... a snowman?"

Elsa smiled fondly. "Anna always wanted to build snowmen together. We made one when we were kids and named him Olaf. I remember what he looked like pretty well, so it should be easy to make him again," she assured herself.

She took a steadying breath and twirled her hand in the air, remembering what Olaf looked like the first time and calling upon the feelings she felt when she and her sister built him. He immediately took shape, twigs detaching from the trees around them for arms and hair and an icicle sprouting on his face in place of a carrot for a nose. Elsa examined her work. He was perfect, exactly like the one from her childhood. Then her work opened its eyes and blinked. Elsa smothered a scream. Flynn felt all the blood drain from his face.

"Elsa, did you see...?"

"Hi! I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!" the snowman suddenly greeted happily with a wave of his twig arm and a bright smile.

Elsa blinked back tears at her sister's words from so long ago, feeling a pang of loss. She missed Anna fiercely in that moment.

"Olaf? You're... alive?" she murmured.

"Um, I think so? It's so nice to meet you, Elsa," he giggled.

"How do you know my name?"

"You made me, remember? Of course I know who you are. Hey, is it just me, or is it a bit warm out?" he asked.

Sure enough, drops of water were rolling off his face and he was starting to sag.

"Oh! You're melting. If you stay, you'll disappear. Um, hang on, I just have to send you away... somehow," she muttered.

"But not forever, right? I want to get to know you," the little snowman insisted.

"Not forever," Elsa confirmed. "Just for a little while."

With a sweep of her arm, Olaf dissipated into snowflakes and whirled on a cold breeze out towards the ocean.

"Where did you send him?" Flynn asked quietly, still looking as freaked out as she felt.

"Arendelle's mountains. If what I was trying to do worked, it'll be like he fell asleep until I call him back someday," she explained. "Hopefully."

"So you created life," Flynn commented. "Does that make you a mother?"

"Oh, God, I hope not," Elsa told him. "I'd rather be Olaf's friend than his parent. I'm certainly not ready to be anyone's parent yet."

"Well, that happened," Flynn said, abruptly changing the subject. "How about we try making that house again, you know, something not sentient. What did you do with Olaf that was different than the house?"

"I think I just... pictured him in my head and let the magic loose, and there he was. With the house, I was trying to focus on shaping floors and supports and tiny shingles," Elsa stated.

"Try making the house again, but this time just see it in your mind like your drawing decided to come off the page," Flynn encouraged. "You can do this."

Elsa tried again, following his advice and just getting a clear picture of how she wanted the tiny house to look before she let her magic free to carry out her demands. She opened her eyes and saw her drawing in three dimensions, constructed of glittering ice. It was the boathouse in perfect miniature.

"I did it!" she yelled. Then she reined in her excitement. "I mean, I did it," she repeated more quietly.

"Yes you did, Snowflake. I knew you had it in you. Now let's see what else you can do. Show me what you've got," he challenged.

"With pleasure," Elsa retorted with a grin.

By the time they had finished "powers practice," it had devolved into a snowball fight and they were both exhausted and slightly damp. Flynn was shivering, so they called it a day and headed out with Max into the warm sunshine of the main path. Elsa finally felt like she had some idea of what she could do, some control. She looked forward to future practice sessions with Flynn with bright anticipation.

A/N: Flynn finally knows! Also, the song is the ballad from Barbie in the Princess and the Pauper. It's really pretty, and I think you should listen to it. The words just suit them so well. And the book is a fairytale that has been around for ages. I like Shannon Hale's version better than the original, though. You should also check that out because it's amazing perfection and my most favorite book in the world. You can probably find it for cheap at a used bookstore or Amazon. Sorry if it seems like time is skipping around. The next chapter is set two years after Flynn's fourteenth birthday. Just fill in that time with visions of tiny Felsa running around creating havoc and singing in the gardens, talking, or just sharing a quiet moment together. Your imagination will do the cuteness of it far better justice than any mere words. Hugs, Me