Title: Succumbre – Appointment #8

By: garlic

Disclaimer: Frozen and affiliated property of Disney.

Summary: It was a band-aid fix, but it would have to hold. Anna needed it to.

AN: I have to say, this was the hardest chapter to write so far, and not just because most of it was lost forcing a rewrite. But happy reading, and have a great weekend!


Anna stared down at her client, unsure whether she ought to be insulted or bemused.

Elsa snored lightly, cheek flat against the sleek black marble of the minibar. The woman was slumped over in the barstool (and how on Earth does she manage that without tipping right over?) a glass of half-drunken scotch by her tousled blond head. She was still outfitted in one of her impeccable skirt suits, though Anna noted the various creases and slight disarray that left Elsa looking just a little bit disheveled.

Well, that and the fact that she was passed out atop a bar. Before she even realized it, Anna had brought her phone to bear, snapping a quick picture of the snoozing woman.

Well, I probably shouldn't have done that, Anna privately acknowledged. She glanced down at the captured image, and bit her lip in consternation. But it was so cute! And she was betting that this was a sight no one had the privilege of ever seeing yet.

The escort neatly sidestepped the next thought with newly practiced ease. It was not that exciting of a privilege.

It was exactly that kind of thinking that was so dangerous, as this last week had proved.


Anna slumped against the wall of the shower, uncaring of the near-scalding temperature.

Too close. She was getting too close.

Against every self preserving, sensible bone her body, Anna got too close.

Anna was not a girl who got what she wanted. And that was fine, she had long since come to terms with that. It made her job...comfortable. It was easy, fulfilling the desires of others. Easy...and simple. She enjoyed it, even.

But with Elsa...

She could feel it curling in her chest. The urge for more. Like the burgeoning appetite for a new craving, never quite leaving her mind and clawing at her insides.

She had reacted badly, she knew. Giving in to that little restless voice was mistake enough, but her abrupt iciness was uncalled for. Rude. Especially since Elsa had done nothing wrong. It was Anna who had let things slide. Anna who gave in. If anything, the blonde had been gracious and understanding, leaving her to collect herself. What other client would be so generous?

...Client.

A sinking stone settled in her stomach.

That was something she couldn't forget. Something she shouldn't forget. But she had gotten too close, and it was too late to undo that. The best she could manage is to stop from falling deeper. And she would have to find the balance of being with Elsa and not being with Elsa, because she knew she wasn't going to be the one to cancel their arrangement.


Anna had spent the time preceding the next appointment both hoping for and dreading the phone call informing her that Elsa would no longer require her services. But when the confirmation for Friday came in, Anna had felt a flood of relief, followed very quickly by a rush of trepidation. How should she act?

She had mulled over the problem, mind ultimately balking at the thought of "talking it out." That was too intimate. Too familiar. And too close to a real relationship.

Perhaps it would be best to just ignore the whole thing. Yes. It would be fine. Come Friday she would just bulldoze forward, and hopefully everything would settle back to normal. Back to what she could handle.

It would be for the best.


"Ahem."

Elsa's brow furrowed as she drifted into consciousness, dream dissipating and already forgotten. She struggled to keep her grip on slumber, grasping at the comforting haze of nothingness.

"Ms. Arendelle."

Despite her best efforts, pieces of reality filtered through - the cold press of the counter against her cheek. The ache of her hunched back. The tweaked stiffness of her neck. Her mind protested, but the inexorable pull of consciousness tugged. Someone was calling her.

"Elsa."

She shot up, nearly falling out of her seat. She blinked in confusion, muscles flaring and prickling as blood rushed. Where? Her discombobulated mind strained to make sense of her surroundings, and she stiffened as that disembodied voice finally registered. A flash of red at the corner of her eye had her turning slowly.

Elsa gaped. A sat nonchalantly next to her, lounging back on the counter on a bent elbow, crossed legs swinging slightly. She brought a tumbler smoothly to her lips, taking a long sip of amber liquid.

Elsa's gaze dropped to the empty counter then back up to where teal eyes peered over the glass rim. Oh...

A russet brow arched, and the glass lowered. "Problem?"

Oh...A's voice was whisky rough, no doubt from the liquor. It struck an invisible chord in Elsa, vibrating through her body making her hair stand on end.

"No...it's just, that was mine..." Elsa trailed off as A took another swig. She watched the motion zealously.

"...Nevermind."

She fidgeted. Stared at the floor. Took a daring peek up at A.

Well, this is awkward.

Anna grimaced, taking another sip to mask her expression. The scotch burned pleasantly, distracting from the uneasy atmosphere.

"Didn't make it back home again, huh?" Anna offered, desperate to brush past the stilted ambience. She frowned as Elsa stared back blankly, cerulean gaze a bit distant and unfocused.

She snapped her fingers sharply in front of her face, and the blonde jerked back into awareness.

"Sorry, I'm just a little...tired."

Teal eyes surveyed the blonde. She did look tired, face drawn and a shade paler than usual. The hint of dark smudged below her eyes and the slump of her shoulders added to the general air of exhaustion that hung about her slim form, and Anna had to consciously stop herself from reaching out to run fingers through wild platinum cowlicks. Instead she turned the twitch of her hand into a jerky sweep of the other woman's body.

"Is it...work?" Or had she been tossing in her bed at night, kept awake by the racing thoughts in her mind?

Elsa blinked, surprised at the question.

"Um, yes. We're on the verge of losing a client to another firm and everyone is scrambling." She ran a hand through her hair, wearily pushing errant bangs out of her face.

The redhead hummed in sympathy. "Well, we can always resched-"

"NO!"

Anna jumped in surprise at Elsa's panicked shout. The other woman seemed taken aback by her own yell, eyes wide and round.

"I-I'm fine! We can still...I mean you could, uh..." the blonde flustered, red beginning to tint her pallor. "I'm-I'm good!" She finally stammered out.

An uneasy silence settled, and Elsa's shoulders slumped, defeated. "I'm sorry, I just-I didn't want to cancel." Contrite blue eyes peeked up at her. "I didn't want you to think that I...that I...was going to cancel," she trailed off lamely.

Anna could feel her spine stiffen - this was the closest either of them had come to addressing their awkward parting the session before. She closed her eyes briefly. Just bulldoze through.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't."

She winced when Elsa noticeably brightened. Rein it in a bit, Anna.

"C'mon, let's move somewhere more comfortable. My back hurt just looking at you slumped over that counter."

Elsa slid off the stool gingerly, biting her lip as bones creaked. A watched silently off to one side, not offering any assistance, but only turning to head to the bedroom when Elsa looked steady on her feet. The blonde felt a little ball of giddiness bounce in her chest at that.

She didn't want me to cancel either.


"...Elsa?"

"Mmmph?"

Anna squirmed, barely holding in a ticklish giggle at the sensation of Elsa's lips on her abdomen. It would have been sexy, if the blonde hadn't just basically face-planted in the middle of kissing her way down her body.

"All right, come on." She rolled her eyes, urging her clearly exhausted client up and back on the pillows. Elsa crawled up obediently, reluctantly nestling on her side.

Blue eyes gazed at her sheepishly, drowsy and hooded.

"Sorry, I-" A yawn interrupted her, wide and sudden. A laughed softly at that, and Elsa could feel a blush erupt all the way to the roots of her hair.

"I think your body is trying to tell you something," A cajoled wryly. Elsa shook her head in denial, and just to spite her, Elsa's stomach rumbled loudly. She let out an embarrassed whine, burying her head into the pillows. A chuckle caressed her heated ears.

"I'll order some room service."

Elsa whimpered in agreement, then groaned when her belly emitted another gurgle. She screwed her eyes shut in mortification, trying to burrow further into the cushions. Another laugh drifted through the air, a hand coming down to pat consolingly at the back of her head, fingers briefly scratching along her scalp. The bed creaked and the mattress bounced as the escort got up, and Elsa's ears perked at the soft pat of delicate footsteps. Then her head popped up to peer back over a shoulder as dulcet tones began to order a truly prodigious amount of food.

A stood nonchalantly at the phone, hip cocked (and Elsa took the time to appreciate the view - long stretches of freckled skin interrupted by a few straps of lacy fabric) and one finger tracing down the booklet laid flat on the table in front of her.

Was she ordering the entire menu? Elsa boggled.

She must have still had that expression on her face when A hung up, because she raised a challenging eyebrow when she turned and caught her client's astonished stare.

The redhead shrugged. "Well, it would be rude to just sit there and watch someone eat. Besides, you're picking up the tab."

Elsa sunk back down to the mattress, nabbing a pillow to hug to her chest. "That's fair," she mumbled, more into the pillow than to A.

They stared at each other, the awkwardness from earlier returning with a vengeance to hang heavily in the air. A faltered first, turning away.

"I'll get us some robes."

Elsa watched as A disappeared into the bathroom before raising the pillow and mashing it to her face. Why am I such a bumbling idiot?!


Why am I such an idiot?! Anna groaned internally, slapping a hand to her forehead.

She yanked a robe viciously from it's hanger, wooden arms clattering against the wall loudly. The terrycloth was soft and fuzzy, and somehow made her feel worse when she roughly jerked it over her shoulders.

Really, what was she thinking? She had just established that she needed to stay aloof, keep her distance. Staying and having dinner is exactly the opposite of that.

Anna was there for sex. If they weren't going to have any, she should leave. She chewed her bottom lip, agitated with herself. No, instead she ordered every type of food off the menu just to make sure there would be a dish Elsa would enjoy. She sighed, reaching out to tug the other robe down, much more gently than before. She draped it over her arm, briefly resting her head against the wall.

Well, you make your bed, you lie in it. Just...keep things...light.

Elsa was still trying to inhale her pillow when Anna returned to the bedroom, and the escort couldn't resist a quick leer at the other woman where she lay supine on the bed.

For all her shy awkwardness, Elsa had excellent taste in lingerie.

Anna walked closer, purposefully draping the robe to cover the tantalizing sight. The blonde twitched slightly at that, fingers clenching at the edges of the pillow. Anna could hear a muffled whimper, and bit back a smile. Why did she have to be so cute?

"C'mon, you don't want to catch a cold," she coaxed.

A mumble issued.

"Can you even breathe under there?"

The pillow pressed down harder.

"I'm going to tickle you."

That finally got Elsa to react, peeking blue eyes over the edge of the pillow.

"...I'm not ticklish."

Anna raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You're such a liar."

Elsa stubbornly shook her head, but Anna noted she pulled her legs up under the robe, curling up into a protective ball.

A sharp knock interrupted Anna from commenting further, and after a measured look Anna turned to stride towards the door.

Elsa sat up as A passed through the doorway, dropping her fluffy shield to clamber into her robe. She could hear A's authoritative voice in the other room, and was in the middle of hastily tying her belt when the redhead reappeared, wheeling a tray of crowded metal domes.

"That's actually less than I thought," Elsa murmured, nervously tugging on her lapels. A little thrill shot through her - A would joining her for this meal. Don't say anything stupid, she commanded herself.

A brought the cart to halt by the bed. "The other carts are in the living room."

"...Carts?" The blonde gaped. "Plural?"

"I ordered desserts too."

"Desserts? Also plural?" Came the weak echo.

"Yup." The escort briefly disappeared out the doorway, once again returning with another cart in tow. Elsa just continued to watch in slack-jawed awe as the action was repeated one more time, lining up a shining row of silver.

"...Um..." Elsa fidgeted. "I don't think we can eat all this."

A shrugged carelessly, plopping down next to her and lifting one of the lids with a flourish. "Just as long as you get something in that grumbling monster you call a stomach."

Elsa blushed anew, and her stomach burbled in agreement.

Red brows lifted in amusement. "So let's see what we have here." More domes whipped off, and the air filled with steam and delicious aromas.

"And remember to save room for dessert."


Anna gazed impassively at Elsa's slumbering figure. Despite some...questionable decisions, tonight had been a relative success - conversation had been kept light and superficial, both women apparently eager to steamroll their way past any awkwardness that cropped up by ignoring the hell out of it.

And it worked. Anna could be satisfied with that.

She reached down to tuck a blanket over the other woman, smoothing out the sheets and brushing back unruly bangs.

This could work, just like this. No deep connections, no overwhelming emotions. Nothing personal. She stared for one more long moment, tracing the high edge of a pale cheek to the incongruously cute button nose down to soft lips, parted slightly with steady, even breaths.

Nothing personal.

The room plunged into darkness as she flicked the light off and left.


AN: I realize I promised cuddling and failed to deliver, but Anna and Elsa just weren't cooperating at all. There was fluffy banter and awkward cuteness (and cute awkwardness) though, so that'll have to do! And thanks to all the readers and reviewers, you guys have all been sweethearts.