Asexuality/Aromantic Statement: Sorry, but I had to say something on this, because I think it's important and highly relevant. Relationships aren't always straightforward. You don't try One Thing to please your partner, and then if that's not enough, even if they're not asking more of you but simply yearning for more on their own, you break up. What a disposable culture we've become where we throw people away so easily. You go the extra mile for someone you love, and then if you think you need to go another, you go another. There's a world of difference between perceiving them to be taking advantage of your desire to please them, and simply noting a need they have. Elsa's doing whatever she can for Anna - even sometimes far beyond what Anna asks for, and in the case of the last chapter, literally ignores her warning to stop. Anna hates the idea of Elsa pushing herself past her own comfort zone merely for her sake. Yes, it turned out for the best, and yes, Anna enjoyed every minute of it. That doesn't mean she took advantage or that she's "holding all the power". Elsa pushing past her own limits for Anna's sake was important for both of them, and most notably, it wasn't something Anna asked for or even subconsciously expected. In her mind, she had already written off getting sexual pleasure from Elsa as something that wasn't going to happen and was sticking around for her best friend in the world. That was enough for her. It was Elsa who refused to let things stand there.

As far as Elsa feeling "compelled" to allow Anna to seek other sexual partners, yes, she did. In herself. Not from Anna's end; Anna was more than reasonable and told Elsa it wasn't necessary many times. Being aro, the open arrangement sounds totally fine to her, but she knows from how most people treat romantic relationships that it's unusual, so she has to - absolutely has to - rely on cues from Elsa. And Elsa, of course wanting to please her girlfriend, tells her it's fine, so she trusts her word. I'm not saying it's the wisest idea for either of them, I'm just saying that claiming Anna's having an easier time is unfair to Anna. They are both entirely baffled by how the other person perceives relationships and are doing their best to learn, as one reviewer put it, how to "speak each other's language".

ANYWAY! With that said (hopefully didn't piss too many people off, it's just my honest perception of how aro/ace persons could and can be in relationships with either allosexual or alloromantic persons... and yes I do have some personal experience in this area), I hope you enjoy this last little bit. They worked through a lot of their problems by this point and I could have left it there, but I thought it might be fun to follow up!

Thank you so much for all the kind and often insightful reviews, even the ones who sought to critique the (perceived) power imbalance in this relationship. It's better to question and engage in discussion that will hopefully lead to a more broader understanding than to quietly sit in judgment, after all.

Until we meet again,
Jessex

~ EPILOGUE ~

"God, I love this!" Anna crowed into the air as she hung from the rigging. "Faster, faster!"

"You got it!" Rapunzel laughed as she turned up the power to the motor. Even though the sail was out and the wind was carrying them, it wasn't enough for Anna - she loved to live life on the edge, to push things to the limit. It was her way.

"Must we go faster?" Elsa asked, trying to make herself heard above the noise. She had spent most of the boat trip seated, a bottle of green tea between her knees. Even her blue swimsuit was more conservative, complete with a light and airy turquoise sarong around her waist, and a white shawl over her shoulders. "We're already doing at least five knots!"

The redhead looked down from her perch, messy braids swaying on the breeze as she shielded her eyes. "Come on, you're already dressed like an old lady! Do you have to act like one, too?!"

"Hey! I already told you I didn't appreciate all those comments about my footwear! They are actually called 'boat shoes', aren't they? Where else could they be more appropriate?!"

"Why do you even have shoes on out here?" Rapunzel laughed as she ratcheted their speed back down. "We're on the ocean, it's gonna get wet at some point!"

"Oh, you never have any shoes on anyway," Anna shot over at her with a snort. "And I'm sorry - my Elsa looks fantastic no matter what she's wearing."

Mollified for the time being, Elsa crossed her legs in the other direction. "Still would rather just let the wind do the work than push things to top speed..."

Anna watched her for a moment. The sunglasses made it hard for her to read her expression, but she decided to err on the side of caution and signalled for her cousin to cut the power to the engines entirely. As the dull roar subsided, giving way to only the whoosh of winds and splash of surf, she hopped down from the rigging and padded over to Elsa's seat.

"What?" Elsa asked. "Don't stop on my account."

"I really am sorry," she sighed, sitting next to her. "The speed makes you nervous, huh?"

"Not a lot, but enough that it's not as fun for me as it is for you two. When you said 'sailboat'..."

"Right, you were expecting something relaxing." Looping her arm behind Elsa's back, she leaned in to kiss her - and came away with a coating of sunscreen. "Bleh."

"WOW, so now kissing me is 'bleh'! I can't help it if I have sensitive skin!" When Anna only raised one eyebrow, she finally cracked a smile. "Okay, okay, I'm being a pill. Sorry, just... can we stop for now and eat? I'm starving, but I didn't want to start in on our cooler without you guys."

"Definitely, I could eat too. Punzie?"

"I can always eat," she added as she picked her way to the sail. "Help me take this down?"

Within five minutes, the sail was down and they were bobbing on the waters, unpacking various food items from a red cooler that had been packed thoughtfully by Anna's parents. They had been thrilled that Anna made a new "friend" at college that she wanted to have come visit, and readily opened their home to Elsa. Her father had expressed so much relief that she wasn't bringing a boy home and he wouldn't have to interrupt any "funny business" that the blonde eventually had to excuse herself to the restroom so she wouldn't laugh directly into his face.

Meanwhile, Elsa's parents were far less obtuse; Elsa had made no bones about telling them Anna was her current romantic partner, and after a brief, level-headed discussion, they gave their blessing for her to fly down to Georgia for a couple of weeks out of the summer. The money didn't matter to them nearly so much as their daughter's happiness - especially since they wouldn't even have to pay for hotel fees.

"Ugh, potato salad," Elsa grunted as she passed the plastic container to Rapunzel. "I don't understand how anyone can eat that mustardy concoction."

"What's wrong with potato salad?" she pouted. "It's our grandma's special recipe."

"It sucks," Anna agreed. "I mean, it's fine as far as potato salads go... but who wants that anyway when you can just have potatoes that don't taste like ass?"

"Thank you," Elsa laughed, grateful for the support of her tastes. "However, I will definitely be having some of those grapes."

As they passed their food around and finally had what they all wanted, Anna looked across at her girlfriend. Things hadn't been perfect over the past few months, but they had been close enough that she put the results in the "win" column. Not only had they established a semi-dependable routine for Elsa to "service" her, but also some easy signals to each other for when Anna was in the mood, and - even more importantly - when Elsa did not feel up to helping. There had been a few more conversations about whether or not Anna should just go back to taking care of herself, but at the end of them all they agreed their current arrangement was mutually beneficial.

On Elsa's half, she got the benefit of a very, very satisfied Anna. Whom, as it turned out, was all giggles and smiles, and devoid of antsiness. From her point of view, it was well worth the mild discomfort she experienced from getting her off. Even that was getting easier, now that she knew what she was doing. Though Anna had jokingly remarked that she was a bit too "clinical" in the way she did things, at least she no longer looked ill before she began. For Elsa, getting Anna off was just like massaging her shoulders, or volunteering to wash the dishes; an activity that wasn't overly burdensome, and it brought her partner pleasure. There was no true downside once she got used to it.

Other than their bedroom arrangements, life had marched on as usual. Finals were brutal, both of them studying long into the night. The neighbours across the hall held a party so raucous one night that the police were involved. One evening in May was almost entirely spent on searching through snow banks for Elsa's phone, which was eventually found to be in the pocket of one of her other jackets. The normally level-headed blonde had been so embarrassed about it that it took nearly an hour of Anna peppering her with tiny kisses and telling her stories of her own idiotic shenanigans for her to stop moping.

And now, here they were, eating together with Anna's bubbly cousin on the rolling Atlantic. It was plain to see that they'd been thick as thieves throughout their childhood, they conversed so easily, and Elsa smiled gently as she watched them, picking her way through a cup of Greek yoghurt.

"...and then we couldn't get the grass stains out!" Rapunzel was chortling, slapping the deck of their boat. Clearly, the wine coolers that she had smuggled onto the boat with them were beginning to work their dubious magic. "You've never seen my mom that pissed, oh my GOD - she was ready to smack our heads together!"

"My mom, too," Anna giggled, freckles aglow. "I mean, I have, but not at both of us!"

Patting her chest above the neckline of her bikini, she eventually recovered enough to say, "But they never did find our Pokemon cards, did they? Or did you dig those up later?"

"Nah, nah. Probably a bunch of decomposed mush by now." As she drained the rest of her bottle, she looked over at Elsa. "You sure you don't want one?"

"I'm not old enough to have one. And neither are you." When Anna's mouth opened, she raised a hand to head her off. "It's no big deal, just a personal choice; you can do what you want. It's not like you're snorting crack off my thigh."

That comment made Rapunzel choke on her own sip, and then all three of them were laughing so hard that they forgot everything else they were talking about. At the end of it, when Anna wrapped her arms around Elsa and kissed her soundly, they heard the throat-clearing from the cousin's direction grow more pronounced.

"Sorry," Anna murmured as she drew back, one eye turned to look at her bashfully.

"No, no, it's... that's what you do, right? Don't mind me."

Arms still around each other, Elsa drew back just enough to turn aside entirely to look at Rapunzel. "Does the PDA really bother you? I mean, we can stop."

"Nah." She squirmed, fiddling with the bottle between her fingers for a moment. "Okay, yeah it does, but it's my problem - I'm just not used to... you know. Not-straight people. Please don't think I'm freaking or that I don't approve - it's just new, that's all."

"Punzie," Anna sighed in disgust, but Elsa was already shaking her head at her.

"No, no, she's fine. Everybody has to have their horizons broadened at some juncture or other." A rueful smile tugged at her lips. "Not usually by watching a family member, though. I am sorry about that."

The long-haired honey blonde shook her head vigorously. "No! Dude, no way, I'm- Anna looks so happy, you have no idea! And clearly you're super sexy, and hella smart, and you're just an incredible woman, so... so if my cousin is gay, then why shouldn't she be gay with you?"

All of that caused Elsa to dip her head in slight chagrin. "Wow, you... wow, thank you. I don't know what to say."

"I do," Anna said in a mock-suspicious tone. "You hitting on my girl, Punzie?"

"What?! NO WAY! God, I wouldn't- I never- That's not how I-" When she heard the two of them laughing, she pouted. "Hey, come on - no fair, I don't know how to deal with lesbians yet!"

"You better learn! My Elsa's going to be around for a while." Then she turned her eyes to the side. "Right, Elsa?"

The pale girl's little bow mouth was smirking, the wind tossing the odd strand of white-gold that had escaped her ornate bun. Then her delicate finger raised up, hesitated, and poked its way into Anna's nostril.

"Pretty presumptuous, Zielinski. But... yeah, we'll go with that."

So they sat and laughed, and eventually got up and let Elsa have a turn trying to steer the sails. Anna's hands never left her waist for more than a few seconds, even when the sun went down and the chilly winds made them turn back for shore. Maybe it was bitterly cold in Alaska, as all her friends and family had forewarned her. That was true. They simply hadn't counted on there being something up there that would counteract the cold. Someone very different, who was also very special. Opposites really do attract.

~ THE END ~