Sleep

Elsa missed her sister in the thirteen years they were apart. She missed her smile, her hugs, the pure radiance that seemed to emanate from her very being.

What she did not miss was her ungodly snoring. The queen is getting used to the harsh, grating sounds that come from the princess when she's deeply ensconced in sleep, but it's still not ideal. Thankfully, both sisters are still awake, and Elsa has time to fall asleep first.

Snuggled up to the redhead's side, Elsa hardly hears what Anna is talking about, only that she is talking, filling the air with her come-what-may thoughts and sunny laughter. The elder sister loves to hear Anna laugh, and often, she will join it without realizing it. This time, however, Elsa responds to her sister's ramblings with a soft yawn.

"Am I keeping you awake?" that half-sarcastic, half sincere tone that Anna has mastered forces a smile on Elsa's face.

"Just a little."

"I'm sorry, I'll shut up."

Elsa glares up with reproachful eyes.

"Anna, that's not what I meant," she chides. "I'd rather not listen to you saw logs at three in the morning, but if you have more to say, please do."

"Hah, I always have more to say, sis," Anna squeezes her elder sister. "But something tells me you're not too keen on going to sleep."

"What do you mean?"

Anna heaves a soft sigh, stroking the bridge of Elsa's nose.

"Hey, quit it," Elsa laughs at the affectionate gesture. "You know that doesn't work."

"Elsa, I'm being serious. You're stalling," there's nothing accusatory in Anna's observation, it's a plain fact.

The queen falls silent. She should have expected that.

"I know you've been having nightmares a lot more lately," the younger sister glides her fingertips across Elsa's cheek. "And I don't have some magical way to get rid of them."

"You know you being here helps. Don't worry about me."

"Yeah, not a chance," Anna assures with a wry grin.

"I figured that. I just wish they didn't seem so real," the queen gives a light shiver. "Or that I remembered them so well. I don't need twenty-twenty vision in my sleep."

"Okay, that was pretty good," Anna admits with a chuckle. Elsa flushes lightly at the success. "Elsa, you know I'll be right here the whole time, right? I mean, unless I have to go to the bathroom, obviously."

"Obviously," Elsa repeats, poking Anna's nose.

"Don't," Anna gives a swift, sharp response.

The queen scrunches her face in confusion, until she remembers a not too distant...episode the princess had while shaking off the remnants of the flu. She tilts her head with a disapproving hum when Anna starts shrinking back.

"Anna, c'mon," the queen brings herself upright, yanking her younger sister into a tight hug. "We already agreed we wouldn't talk about that anymore. It was an accident, and you were sick."

The princess tucks her reddening face in Elsa's shoulder.

"It's so embarrassing."

"It's okay," the queen kisses the top of Anna's head. She was so abashed she refused to sleep in the same bed as Elsa for over a week, despite the elder sister's reassurance and eventually, pleas to come back. "It's over. Now, back on topic."

"Yes, please. I will be here the whole time," Anna re-iterates. "I'll wake you up if it looks like you're having a bad dream."

Elsa nods with a gentle exhale.

"You haven't had any in a while," the queen remarks, replicating Anna's gesture of tracing the bridge of her nose. "That's good."

"Don't jinx it," Anna makes a 'zip it' motion with her hand in front of Elsa's mouth.

"Sorry. I'll be here if you do. Goodnight, Anna."

With that silly, half-smile of hers, Anna leans up to kiss Elsa's cheek.

"Goodnight, Elsa."

The queen's smile broadens. Both sisters settle into their respective sides of the bed, with Anna burrowing herself into the blankets like some kind of heat-seeking insect. Elsa is content with the covers pulled as far as her chest. As it is, her sister is a human furnace, exuding more heat than what could be considered normal. Before she can stop herself, the queen gives a heavy sigh.

"Elsa..."

"I'm fine, Anna."

"Uh-huh. Get your butt over here," the princess pats her side of the bed.

There's no arguing with Anna when she uses that tone. Resigned, Elsa snuggles closer, tucking her head beneath Anna's chin.

"I have an idea," the princess declares.

"For what?"

"For helping you get to sleep," Anna gives Elsa's nose a soft tap. "I'll just keep talking. So...I'll bore you to sleep."

Elsa chuckles.

"You can never bore me, Anna," she can't even fathom the idea of being bored in the redhead's presence. "Let's call it quiet time for now, okay?"

"Hmm...okay," a reluctant Anna agrees. She plays with Elsa's hair, twirling the locks around her fingers. Seeing as the elder sister doesn't object, Anna takes this as an acceptable part of 'quiet time.'

For several minutes, the sisters are silent. In the stillness of the room, only their breathing can be heard. Anna yawns, prompting Elsa to as well.

"Stop that," Elsa speaks towards the end of her yawn.

"Excuse me, who called quiet time?" Anna pretends to be offended.

The queen smirks with a quiet exhalation. She doesn't want to be a hypocrite, so rather than fashion some smug response, she draws her limbs into her body, filling the concavity Anna creates with her own body. The redhead's eyes are shut, but it's doubtful that sleep has already taken her. Elsa allows her own eyes to close, cuddling herself close to Anna's heart. The sudden, stuttered inhalation from the princess tells Elsa that she is touched by the gesture.

"I love you," Anna whispers, clearly breaking the rules of quiet time. It's the fluttery, adoring way she says it that makes Elsa let it slide. The warm, certain hand perched on the queen's shoulder doesn't hurt, either.

"Love you, too."

The queen will never leave a declaration of love unanswered, quiet time or not.