NOTE: Sorry about the notification problem with the last chapter; I really haven't the faintest clue why it happened. From what comments we've heard, some people DID get notified on A03 but nobody got notified on here. Oh well! Hopefully this one will go through to all of you.
Anyway, have more gay! We meant to get this chapter out sooner so it wouldn't be so much of a cliffhanger, but time makes fools of us all!
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
"Anna?" Elsa was asking softly, though Anna almost couldn't hear it. She took a deep breath but smiled reassuringly regardless. She could see Elsa was getting worried and despite her revelation, she refused to worry the winter blonde even more.
"I'm okay, just thinking."
"About what?" Her words were gentle, careful. As if she didn't want to spook a small, frightened animal. Their recently-repaired sisterhood was so fragile, and obviously Elsa realised that. Anna, with her newfound knowledge, wondered if it would be too much if she were to touch Elsa now. Would it be seen as taking advantage? But still, she lay a soft kiss on Elsa's cheek. She decided to be honest but just omit the context.
"Just thinking about how pretty you are… and how much I love you." A part of her balked at saying the words aloud but she refused to stop letting Elsa hear those words just because she meant them in a far different way.
"Oh," Elsa whispered, flushing even more deeply. The rosy skin against the rest, so light even after days in the sun, stood out in contrast. Shifting for an awkward few seconds, as if making a decision, she leaned over and returned the gesture. Lips pressed into Anna's cheek, warm and smooth, before she breathed, "I love you, too."
By some miracle, Anna managed to not smile like a lovestruck fool, though she came embarrassingly close as she noticed the enchanting blush across her cheeks and felt the soft kiss as Elsa returned the favour. "So," Anna chuckled slightly as she decided to change the subject before she said something that could potentially humiliate herself, "I never did ask why and when Mom started sending you to this camp of all places. I thought she would've wanted you closer."
With a little shrug, Elsa picked up another tart and said, "It's not so far," before taking a small bite. After chewing for a moment, she turned to look at Anna, a crumb clinging to her chin as she swallowed. "But yeah, around the time you and Dad went silent, she began to insist I come to this camp. I… guess that makes a little more sense now. At the time, I just figured she wanted me out of her hair for a few weeks every summer."
"So you've been coming here for five years?" Anna asked, genuinely curious. She took a small bite out of a turkey sandwich. "No wonder all the kids seem to know you… have you been counselling the whole time?"
"No, I started as a camper. But I've been a counsellor the last three." She tilted her head slightly to look into Anna's eyes. "Did I already ask… why you're here? I mean, what made you want to come to this camp, out of all places?"
That damn crumb was still there, persistently hanging onto Elsa's chin like a stubborn insect. It was very distracting since Anna kept imagining herself licking it off its perch and savouring the taste of what she imagined was her sister's sweet skin. She gently shook her head to clear the image and focused on Elsa's question instead.
"D-Dad actually brought it up as a summer job. Decent pay, tolerable work. I wasn't doing anything interesting so I agreed." She shrugged and smiled, reaching up to gently cup Elsa's chin, caressing the smooth flesh with her thumb until that stupid crumb was moved to it instead. Then, without a single thought, she popped her thumb into her mouth. "I don't regret it."
"Wha…" Elsa's eyes had fixated on Anna's thumb when it slid between her lips, blinking a few times, then flicked up to her eyes again once she had spoken. "What was that about?"
Anna's blushed a deep scarlet. "Sorry, it was distracting me." 'Popping my thumb into my mouth though? That probably looked weird.' "And uh… better not let even the smallest crumb go to waste, right? Isn't that what Papa always used to tell us?"
Belatedly, Elsa brushed a hand over her own chin, then laughed. "O-oh, sorry! Yeah, he did; he said the 'waste monster' would get us. He was always funny like that." Her eyes looked sad for a moment, but then she smiled up at her sister. "Do you think… I could see him again? Now that I'm talking to you."
"He would love to see you, Elsa." Anna's reply was immediate and she smiled reassuringly, her embarrassment forgotten in the wake of Elsa's uncertainty. "He misses his little winter princess a lot. There were some days where we would be looking through the photo albums and he would hold every single picture of you for almost ten minutes. I'm pretty sure nothing would make him happier than to see you again."
"Really?" she breathed softly, blinking rapidly again and pressing the hand to her mouth. This time, it stayed there as she tried to wrestle her emotions under control. "Anna… I've missed both of you so much, I was so angry… but if it wasn't your fault, then I… oh, I hope I can, I hope there's time after camp and b-before classes start up again!"
Anna opened her arms for Elsa, patiently waiting to see if the distraught blonde would accept the comfort. "I'm sure there will be," she soothed, not bringing up the obvious point that their mother would go berserk if Elsa did go without her permission… nor would the woman give it if Elsa asked. "O-Or maybe me and Dad could visit you."
Those words did put a damper on Elsa's mood, but not entirely. She was too overjoyed about the prospect of seeing her father again. "That's probably a bad idea for now. But I'll work on Mama. She's still convinced you two are going to drag me to Hell, kicking and screaming." As she slid into Anna's arms, a little delayed due to her perpetual nervousness, she whispered, "But if you came to my campus… she doesn't have to know…"
Anna didn't know how she felt about lying and going behind their mother's back, but she knew the chances were high that Idunn would do anything and everything in her power to keep Anna and their Papa away otherwise.
"We'll think of something." She smiled and cuddled Elsa close. "Either way, you and Papa will have a nice reunion soon."
"Yes," she whispered back, pressing her lips into Anna's hair. "And for now… oh, this is better than I had dreamed! My Anna, back in my life… I feel like never letting you go!" The arms wrapped around Anna tightened for emphasis, fingertips clutching at her shoulders and back.
The use of 'my Anna', followed by the tightening of Elsa's arms around her, made Anna's chest feel tight with emotion. Would Elsa still hold her like this and call her that if she knew? But even as she thought that, she gripped Elsa just as tightly back and nuzzled her face into Elsa's neck.
"I'm so happy you're back, too," she whispered reverently. "I- I missed this. I missed holding you… And you holding me. Promise me you won't leave me?" 'Even if you find out about the truth about this…?'
Elsa's head turned to one side so she could kiss Anna's neck before redoubling their embrace. "Never! God, Anna, I'm so sorry I left you thinking I didn't care about you anymore, I… I'll try as hard as I can to make it up to you, I swear!"
The kiss to the neck was so soft and brief that it barely felt like it had been laid, yet the touch set her on ablaze all over again. She moaned very softly, trying hard to muffle the sound against Elsa as she shivers. "You already made it up to me, Elsa," she choked out. "I'm so sorry I didn't try harder to see you again… or contact you."
"No," Elsa breathed, shaking her head back and forth. "You got nothing from me for five years. Wh-what clue did you have that it wasn't me who…" Suddenly, the hands on the back of Anna's shirt clenched into fists. "Why is she like this?! I don't care if y-you have sex with women! You're my sister!"
Anna rubbed Elsa's back. The winter blonde sounded so close to tears and it made Anna ache at the pain in her voice. She wanted so badly to erase it.
"S-she doesn't understand, that's all," she tried her best to concede. "I- maybe one day she'll come around?" She doubted it herself, but she was willing to say anything to ease Elsa.
"I don't care! Anna, I… Anna!"
Then the blonde clutched at her, pulling her so close that she could feel the erratic heart beating against her own and her voice so close to her ear that it felt like the smooth, silvery sound was the only thing she could hear. The sheer conviction and power behind her words brought tears to her own eyes and she couldn't resist. She placed her lips on Elsa's, pouring every bit of love and gratitude into the swift action before pulling away as fast as she had done it. Her heart sang while her mind recoiled at the action.
"Thank you," she breathed.
This time, Elsa was completely wide-eyed, just as she had been the last time Anna did something so forward. Of course, that had been a dare; this was voluntary. The angry tears from a moment before still clung to her lashes as she gazed down at Anna, completely speechless in her shock.
Horror slowly dawned on Anna, the warm love and relief that had prompted her to kiss her having frozen at the look on Elsa's face. 'God, what did I do?!' she screamed internally. She let go of Elsa, not wanting to dirty her more than she already had as she tensed to take off in the other direction. "I-I'm so sorry!" She wanted to beg Elsa for forgiveness, her legs shaking too much to support her, no matter how hard she was trying.
"No, wait!" Elsa half-yelped when she saw Anna struggling to stand, diving forward and pinning her to the blanket with a gentle thump!
Then she was poised above the redhead, cheeks flushed and mouth slightly open, body pressing down into hers.
'Thankfully the food had been moved out of the way,' Anna thought in a daze, staring up into those mystifying eyes as they hovered a mere foot above her face. The blanket felt soft against the bare skin of her back, her shirt having ridden up slightly when Elsa knocked her down.
Elsa's weight was warm and comfortable on her stomach, that beautiful mouth open and Anna found herself focused on her tongue as it darted out to wet them. 'Stop thinking about her that way!'
"E-Elsa?"
"I…" She swallowed, trying to find her voice. "I didn't want you to run away, j-just because…"
The sentence trailed off. Elsa didn't seem to know where she had been going with that, and spent a few seconds struggling to elaborate before she gave up and simply leaned down to grace Anna's lips with hers, fleeting and hesitant and earnest. Anna tried not to focus so hard on the lips that grazed hers. Her whole body stiffened, fighting off the feelings threatening to overwhelm her. She couldn't move with Elsa's weight on top of her and she couldn't move her head away because Elsa's hands had come up on either side to keep it in place. Her heart felt ready to beat itself out of her chest.
"B-because that," she added in a whisper, the air caressing Anna's chin from her ragged panting.
"E-Elsa, this isn't…" She couldn't finish that sentence. What would she finish it with, anyway? 'This isn't normal'? 'This isn't okay for two sisters to do'? She stared into those gorgeous eyes instead, getting lost in their depths. Did this mean…? "Elsa, what was that for?"
After a few seconds, the blonde blinked, eyebrows knitting in the middle. "I… don't know." Then she pushed off of Anna, rolling enough so that she was sitting by her side instead of pressing down into her. "You tell me, you… you did it the first time. Didn't you?"
"Y-Yes because… I was just so grateful…" Anna blushed and looked down. A little white lie? "I-I was aiming for your cheek and missed." Slowly she started to sit up. "H-Hey, it's okay. We're sisters, it… doesn't mean anything, right?" Even though Anna's stomach twisted into knots and her heart ached over the thought of Elsa saying no.
"Of course it means something." Elsa's hand fell to rest on Anna's thigh as she leaned in to add, "I… I felt so much through that, um… kiss." After saying that word, she shivered, but pushed ahead. "Maybe it's a little strange, on the lips like that — but that doesn't make it bad, or worthless! I… I'm happy. You being so grateful, the way I am… that we're willing to fight to be together… it means the world."
Anna wondered if Elsa felt what she felt, the electricity in her veins whenever their lips touched and the fire that burned every nerve when she got close. Her soft words made her relax but still she fidgeted. She felt guilty for kissing her even though Elsa didn't seem to mind.
"I'm glad you're happy," she breathed. "I'm happy, too."
But Elsa noticed the fidgeting. Her eyes flicked down, and then she removed her hand from Anna's thigh, dipping her head in embarrassment. "O-oh, sorry! I didn't mean to put my- that was… sorry."
Anna looked surprised briefly. "N-No! It's fine! I swear!" She bit her lip and cursed herself for making the sweet moment awkward. She placed a hand on Elsa's shoulder and gave her a soft smile to ease the tension.
"Okay." After a few seconds, she reached up and patted Anna's hand, smiling a little more contentedly than she had been before. "I'm… okay, whew. It's really intense figuring out how to hang out with each other again, isn't it?"
"It is." Anna enjoyed the feeling of Elsa's hand over hers. "But soon enough we'll figure it out and we'll be just as close as when we were kids."
But to herself, she couldn't help but add an ominous thought: 'And hopefully when that happens, these feelings will go back to being platonic.'
To Be Continued...