AN: Here we have a moment like those I mentioned much earlier, where keeping track of the character's cycles gives me a nice atmospheric character moment. I keep most of them subtextual, but sometimes I think of one that works by being more overt. Someday there'll be some that actually have relevance to the scene they're in! But not yet.

Day 22

Elsa stood at her window, looking out on the kingdom and the sea, as the sun sparkled off the water. Her mind was racing, going all sorts of places as she pondered what may have been going on in town that morning.

The bedroom door opened behind her, and Merida entered, wearing a neat wide-brimmed hat and bearing a couple of shopping bags.

"Hey, honey," Elsa said absently. "Early morning trip to the store?"

"Yup."

"The pamphlets… the news… is it spreading?"

Merida shrugged. "It's six in the morning, babe. No time at all to be bombarded with news that the queen and the teenage princess she's mentoring have been rolling in the hay."

Elsa looked at her wildly. "I didn't mention that in the…"

"Figure of speech, babe."

"Oh," said Elsa, embarrassed. "Sorry." She paused. "See, we actually have rolled in hay, that's what threw me."

"Yeah, I got that."

"So… no public response yet, then?"

"Well, the pamphlets are out," said Merida, rifling through one of her bags. "I didn't see anyone with them, but I turned a few heads."

"More than usual?" Elsa said uneasily.

"…Maybe," said Merida. "Hard to say. I'll be right back."

Merida concealed herself in Elsa's walk-in closet. Elsa took a deep breath, and stepped away from the window to look at herself in her vanity mirror.

"Moment of truth today," she said to herself. "It'll be fine. They love me. They love me, they love me, they love me, they love me, they think I'm awesome, they're totally gonna support me, they love me. You don't really believe it, do you? Well, that's because you're an insufferable basket case who won't accept reality. Reality is awesome."

She put on a fierce expression and gazed deeply into her own eyes. Unconvinced by her reflection's confidence, she whimpered.

Merida emerged from the closet, her fists clenched at her sides, stomping irritably. "Well, that went well."

"What's the matter, sweetie?"

Merida sighed. "I just had my damn period all over the sexy new panties I bought. Guess you'll have to wait until after laundry day to see them. You got a pad?"

Elsa pulled open one of her dresser drawers and rifled through it.

"Heard ya talkin' to yourself," Merida said gently.

"Goddamn it."

"Babe, it's fine," Merida said soothingly, stroking Elsa's arms. "I love you. You know that, right?"

Elsa smiled, and reached out to stroke Merida's face. "I doubt a lot of things… everything, really… but not that. Knowing that word's going to spread to the whole kingdom today, that's… knowing that you're there for me no matter what they're going to say is all that keeps me from breaking."

~0~0~0~

The entire day passed.

Rapunzel made her way down the lantern-lit hallway, a vibrantly purple book under one arm and wrapped in a short, glossy bathrobe.

Reaching the door to Anna's bedroom, she lifted her hand toward the doorknob, but paused when she heard Anna singing a lively song.

"I'm not wearing underwear today," she sang.

"Oh, God," said Rapunzel, rolling her eyes.

"No, I'm not wearing underwear today," she went on. "Not that you probably care, much about my underwear…"

"Anna, my beloved cousin, you've officially gone off the rails," Rapunzel muttered, entering the room.

"Nevertheless, I've gotta say… that I'm not wearing underwear toDAAAAAY!" Anna finished as she danced around her closet, rearranging her shoes.

"Hey, Anna," said Rapunzel.

"Oh hey, Punzie," said Anna, emerging from the closet. "I wasn't sure where you were. Avoiding my singing, I suppose?"

"Not at all," said Rapunzel. "Although your choice of song is questionable."

"Heh… yeah. Well, you didn't have to avoid me for much of a period of time. The song is only thirty seconds long."

"Okay, good."

"It's from some puppet musical I saw when I was a kid," she admitted. "Probably shouldn't have watched it. Not for kids."

"No, I know the one," said Rapunzel.

"Hey, I had to learn all the bad words sometime. It's true, you know, I didn't wear underwear today. Can you tell?" She turned and struck a pose, displaying her hips.

"Yeah, I can tell."

Rapunzel got into the bed, very deliberate in her every motion: propping up a pillow, sitting atop the blanket, delicately opening her book, and, after a moment's contemplation, crossing her legs.

"Did you just have a bath?" Anna said brightly.

"Sure did," said Rapunzel.

"How was it?"

"Incredibly relaxing. Got some reading in." She tapped her book cover and returned to reading.

"…Are you gonna take off your robe?"

"No, Anna. There's been enough nudity in this bedroom for my tastes. I'm gonna give sleeping in my robe or nightgown a try. You can do the same, or not, I'm not the boss of you, doesn't really matter."

"I still tempt you," Anna sang.

"Shut up, Anna."

Anna flinched away.

Rapunzel sighed. "I'm sorry. I just… I feel like I've failed as a woman. Like I can't share a bed with someone without something happening. It's stupid."

Anna chuckled and sat down in the bed beside her. "That's absurd. Look, I really don't care anymore about… the weird thing. The making out. I feel like it's become routine… comforting… and isn't it nice to have someone who'll hold you whenever you ask to be held? Isn't it, though?"

"Of course it is, but we don't have to make out. It's a disgrace to gay women, to straight women, anyone non-incestuous really…"

"Oh, come on, you're not giving anyone a bad name," said Anna.

"Or maybe even them, because we're not even being incestuous properly, we're totally half-assing it…"

"Punzie," Anna said firmly, "don't be ridiculous. Nobody's reputation or honor is at stake here. Nobody knows about this."

"I know about it!" Rapunzel said viciously. "And I feel ashamed."

"You don't have to—"

"Don't tell me how to feel, Anna!"

Anna went silent, and Rapunzel glared at her book, fuming. After a moment, Anna retreated to the closet again and returned in a nightgown, creeping to the bed as quietly as possible and getting under the covers while trying not to disturb Rapunzel's side of the bed, tucking herself in so only her head and fingertips were visible. She tried not to move for a few moments, but couldn't stop herself from staring at Rapunzel.

"This nightgown is really uncomfortable," she finally said, unable to stop herself. "I was sleeping in it like a week ago, but now I barely can. I really came to enjoy sleeping naked…"

"If you can't sleep in your nightgown, don't," Rapunzel said calmly. "I probably can't either. I'm just trying to set a tiny boundary between us."

"Okay," said Anna, looking Rapunzel over. "Well, I'll try my best. Hey… you're wearing slippers!"

"Not technically real shoes," Rapunzel said hastily, smirking. "I have some courtesy. I didn't want to track water all over your castle."

"You coulda used a towel," Anna muttered wryly.

"I like to air dry."

Anna tentatively reached out and touched Rapunzel's hair, which was damp and puffy. Rapunzel's face softened and she let out a giggle. Thrilled, Anna sat up.

"Whatcha reading?" she asked, as perky as though nothing had happened. "Have you given up on Marvel? Because Legend of Thor: Realm of Shadows wasn't any good?"

"No, I held out hope that it was a fluke," said Rapunzel. "And it was. The Ice Assassin—friggin' fantastic political thriller. The Captain is just the best character…"

"What's this, then?" said Anna, trying to read the book's spine.

"Lords of the Milky Way. It actually is the next book in the series. It's all new characters in a totally new setting, but it's still… well, sort of the same setting, I guess. It's very different, and funny, I like it a lot."

Anna leaned her head on Rapunzel's shoulder.

"…Hi, Anna," Rapunzel said affectionately.

"Have you heard anything about what people are saying about Elsa?" Anna said quietly. "You know, now that she's outed herself to everyone…"

"No, I haven't heard anything yet," said Rapunzel. "But it's only the first day. A history-making day, regardless. We'll find out soon."

Rapunzel closed the book and set it aside, turning to face Anna, who balked. The two of them simply stared into each other's eyes for several seconds.

"Hold me, Anna," Rapunzel said softly.

"What?"

"Hold me."

Anna did so, wrapping her arms around Rapunzel tenderly.

"It is nice," said Rapunzel, "to have someone who'll do that when I'm upset."

"Even if it's the person you're upset with?"

"Well, even when you're upsetting me… and even though you've changed, you haven't. You're still you."

"Eeee," Anna cooed. "My gosh, you smell so good… it's intoxicating."

Anna deeply inhaled the scent of Rapunzel's neck, before touching it with her lips and eventually, nibbling on it.

"Quit it," said Rapunzel, laughing uncontrollably.

Anna complied, immediately withdrawing.

"…Okay, don't quit it," Rapunzel submitted. "I can't quit you."

The two of them seized each other and kissed deeply. One of Rapunzel's hands instantly shot to Anna's nightgown and began unbuttoning it. Anna in response grabbed Rapunzel's robe in both hands and opened it. Gasping excitedly, Rapunzel pulled the robe all the way off.

Anna opened her eyes and caught a glimpse of Rapunzel's foot emerging from one of her slippers as Rapunzel coiled up to tightly embrace her.

Anna involuntarily threw her head back, gasping blissfully three times in quick succession before collapsing atop her pillow, eyes half-open and fluttering.

She came out of her reverie to see Rapunzel staring at her in disgust. Silence hung over them for a minute.

"Okay, we're done for tonight," said Rapunzel, returning aggressively to her book.

"I'm sorry," Anna whimpered, holding herself protectively.

Rapunzel, finding herself unable to focus on the book, scoffed and turned her eyes to the ceiling. "Please tell me you didn't seriously just have an orgasm."

"Sorry," Anna said again. "It happens sometimes, sometimes just by seeing or thinking something sexy unexpectedly. Just little, quick ones, I need direct stimulation for a real good big—well, you don't wanna hear about it."

"Nope," Rapunzel agreed.

"Nope."

Rapunzel slowly turned the page. "It sounds nice," she finally said.

"It is nice," Anna said, suddenly chipper again. "You know? I can be just walking along down the hallways, lost in thought, and then suddenly I come to my senses and realize, hey, this is the corridor with the marble statue of that really buff Greek guy, and I know that because it's unexpectedly right in front of me, and he's such a fox, and then, pop! Orgasm."

"You are a very lucky girl."

"Yup."

Rapunzel shifted nervously. "So… my foot, huh? That does it for you?"

"You have really pretty feet," Anna said sweetly.

"Goodnight, Anna," Rapunzel said pointedly, slipping underneath the covers.

Anna pouted. "Goodnight, Punzie. I love you."

Rapunzel said nothing.

~0~0~0~

~0~0~0~0~0~

AN: Seriously, I have no idea if this subplot has completely killed the story. HELP ME.