Hey guys! Did you miss me as much as I did you? I'm sorry for the wait... I must say I could have finished this and updated sooner but I got a dreadful cold and between making sure I wouldn't die from it and not being able to miss a day of work, I took what felt like forever. As my own act of repentance though, this will be a double update so make sure you read this and move on to ch 17 whenever you get the time. They are significantly shorter (hence the double update) but that's because I'm trying to move forward with the story. And before you ask, I'm sending Elsa off soon (*cough* ch 20 *cough*)... I just have a few more things to cover first. Anyways, enjoy! And pretty please, let me know your thoughts. They mean a lot to me.

Also, disclaimer: the "crisis" mentioned below is in no way a form of mockery. Hope you guys can see it as it is: a silly, desperate and improvised measure to get out of an awkward situation.


"Sir, follow that car!"

"That was supposed to be my line!"

"You snooze, you lose, blondie boy."

"Will you guys stop calling me that," Kristoff bemoans.

Elsa smiles with slight amusement at the window of the taxicab, watching as it distances itself from the sidewalk swarming with people in order to crawl into the stream of Manhattan's traffic. It trails, like a sluggish afterthought, behind the taxi Anna and her parents have taken. She sees her through the glass of the windshield, but instead of finding herself comforted by this, Elsa feels uneasy; frustrated at the powerless sensation nagging at the back of her mind.

Still, Elsa tries to avert her thoughts, accepting that this is what Anna wanted.

She observes the throng of strangers striding to and fro as the car weaves through, making its slow way down Sixth Avenue. Countless of windows reflect the afternoon sun upon the street while skyscrapers tower on both sides, as magnificent and imposing as everything that's ever been man-made strives to be. Elsa sees all of this, lost in thought, until her eyes are no longer taking in anything at all. Building entrances start to become identical; strangers are duplicating, crossing the same streets, heading the same way back and forth. She can hear her cousin's voice, then Kristoff's, but her mind registers none of their words. She is not paying attention. She is falling deep into the realm of her memories.

Elsa was beginning to doze off. Her breathing was evening out and her mind was going blank the way it always does when the first traces of sleep take a hold of her. Then, a single finger lightly tapping at her nose.

"I have another one."

Elsa frowned, stirred and forced her eyes open. The light was out but the room was not dark enough that she couldn't see the person disturbing her sleep. After all, Elsa was lying with an arm wrapped around her waist.

"What's that?"

"Another question."

She inhaled and exhaled, trying to brush her sleepiness aside. Her hand moved across the warm, soft skin of Anna's belly. It made the girl giggle. "Shoot," Elsa said.

"I'll let you sleep after this one, I promise." Elsa didn't need to see her to know she was smiling. "What's one of your biggest fears?"

Elsa frowned at the unexpected seriousness of this question. Hadn't the last one been what her dream vacation would be like? Still, she forced herself to think. Part of her wanted to joke with Anna. Mumble something like Spiders, pull her body close against her and kiss her until they could both fall asleep. But the redhead was restless, Elsa knew this in the way that is felt rather than seen, like an imperceptible vibration; like an energy bouncing back and forth between their bodies. So she thought and thought, went around in circles, even if she knew the answer the moment Anna had asked.

"One of my biggest fears is losing the people I love," she murmured.

Anna's arm around her tightened. Recognizing the gesture, Elsa explained further. "Not just... you know, death. But just in general. Sometimes I'm afraid that I will do something so bad it will drive people away from me."

"What could possibly be so bad that you'd make them do that?"

Elsa has finally gone from dozy to awake, enough that she will have to go through the process of lulling herself to sleep once more. It was one of those nights, she knew this now. Those late nights where they spoke to each other about things that the darkness made easier to admit out loud.

"No idea," she said, the warmth of her breath expanding over Anna's neck and back to her. "I can distance myself a lot. Like a defense mechanism, I guess... Similar to what happened the other day where I just shut myself off and didn't want to talk. It's like flipping a switch... Sometimes I feel like I shut myself so completely it's almost cruel to the people I love."

Anna remained silent for a few seconds. "The people you love, love you back too, you know?"

She nodded, her cheek grazing Anna's shoulder.

"And I doubt you will ever shut off long enough for any one of us to walk away." The redhead's lips ghosted over her forehead before they dropped a sloppy kiss on it. It drew a smile out of her. "Plus, I've yet to really see that side of you."

Elsa didn't respond to this. No, Anna had yet to see it, but Elsa hoped it would always stay that way.

"Your turn."

Anna wiggled about under her arm and Elsa couldn't help thinking this must be her attempt at finding a position that would help her think better. The position was about the same, the only difference was that Anna's left arm was bent so that her hand could rest under her head. The rest of her nearly naked body remained preoccupied with touching as much of the blonde as it could.

"I guess, since we're talking about loved ones... I'll say that one of my biggest fears is not being able to protect the people I love."

"Protect them from what?" Her voice was nothing but a whisper.

"I don't know. From anything. From bad circumstances, from sickness, from them making stupid decisions that'll put them in dangerous situations... like running into fire, you know what I mean?"

"Why would anyone run into fire?"

"People do crazy stuff sometimes, Elsa."

In the darkness, Elsa smiled. She had not a trace of doubt that Anna would do everything in her power to protect the ones she loved. Then again, there was something her father always used to say. That the most selfless of people were sometimes so busy looking after others that they forgot to look after themselves.

"But what about you?" She asked.

"What about me?"

Elsa propped herself up on the heel of her palm. She needed to see Anna for this, even if her face remained washed in moonlight and her eyes were dimmed by darkness. Even if doubt could still be hidden in the shadows.

"Do you feel protected?"

There followed a long pause in which the two regarded each other silently. Anna shifted under her gaze only once, enough so that she could tuck a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear. Elsa breathed, waiting for an answer that would tug at her heart and make it soar.

"When I'm with you, I do."

"Elsa..."

Anna wrapped her up in her arms—

"Elsa..."

And Elsa kissed her—

"Elsa, my dude."

Her attention snaps back to the present. The car is slowing to a halt.

"Were you tripping?" Rapunzel asks her from Kristoff's other side.

"Something like that," she mumbles.

As the driver steers the taxi towards the sidewalk, Elsa sees her girlfriend exit the car in front of her in a rush. Her face is set in a tormented frown that makes Elsa open the car's door before it has come to a complete stop.

"Anna!"

The redhead turns to look at the source of her name and her expression is washed in relief. In three strides, Anna steps into her open arms.

Elsa catches the girl's parents watching them, their faces somber with contemplation. There is a hint of remorse that hadn't been in their eyes before. It makes her tighten her arms around Anna a little more.

She holds her for a few seconds until Anna decides it's time to take a few steps back. There are no tears threatening to fall from her eyes anymore but those that did have left tainted trails down her freckled cheeks. Elsa's hands go up to cradle them, her thumbs gently brushing the tender skin under her eyes.

Kristoff and Rapunzel have approached them by now, and a few meters away from where they stand Elsa catches Eugene getting off a taxi followed by his parents.

"Ahh, I look like crap, don't I?" Anna mutters, her voice small and hoarse.

"You still look like a princess," Elsa smiles.

"For real dude, I wish I looked like that when I cried."

Anna lets out a watery chuckle. It clears the mood a little and Elsa gives her cousin a grateful smile.

Kristoff places his hand over his best friend's shoulder before he asks: "What happened?"

Anna turns to look at him, sheepish. "Let's just say that I've put them in a very awkward situation."


The restaurant chosen by Eugene and Anna's parents is at the heart of Greenwich Village. At this time of the day, being too late for lunch and too early for dinner, the place is scarce of patrons. The hostess sits them at a large, rustic table near the back. Anna sits to her mother's left without much thought but makes sure to have Elsa sit on the other side of her. Across from the blonde is Kristoff, and next to him sit Rapunzel and Eugene.

Because ignorance is bliss, the only ones invested in this celebratory outing are Eugene's parents. Anna's own are cordial but outside of answering the couple's questions, they remain pensive, clearly affected by what Anna has told them on the way over here. The rest of the group sits, sipping on ice waters and munching on garlic rolls, ready to make an exit if Anna so wishes.

Elsa keeps glancing at the girl sitting next to her. Her eyes are downcast. Her hands—the same hands that dance every time she speaks—remain limp over her lap. Elsa reaches for them and watches as they separate to intertwine with hers.

"Anna."

The redhead turns to look at her.

She tilts her head close so that nobody can hear her except for her girlfriend. "What can I do to make you feel better?"

Anna leans into her in order to rest her chin on her shoulder. The hand on top of Anna's lap is squeezed.

"You being with me is enough," she whispers back to her. Then she adds as an afterthought: "But you could also take me out of here."

"I'll sweep you away like your knight in shining armor," she teases in a murmur, drawing an endearing smile out of the redhead. She doesn't rule it out completely. She's beginning to think of ways to get her out of here until she receives a hard kick under the table. What the

She looks across from her and glares at Kristoff. The boy is halfway through putting another garlic roll inside his mouth.

"Oops, sorry," Rapunzel says before she shifts in her seat and kicks Anna this time.

Anna looks at her baffled, but the brunette only responds by pointing at her cellphone. She goes to check it, allowing Elsa to look in on it as well. There's a text from her cousin that says: Eugene says that if u wanna get out of here just cough.

Both girls look at the brunette in confusion. The girl rolls her eyes before she starts typing something else on her phone. At the head of the table, the parents are discussing business. Eugene seems engaged in it but at this point Elsa doesn't believe he really is.

In other words.. if ure not comfortable here we can ditch the parents. U look gloomy af

Elsa reprimands her cousin with her eyes for her poor choice of words. Or lack thereof. She types like such a high-schooler sometimes.

How would we ditch them? That wouldn't be very nice, Anna replies.

She hears Rapunzel snort before another message comes: Just cough. Leave the rest to me

But Anna doesn't cough. Not yet. She absentmindedly takes her lower lip between her teeth but catches herself before she applies any pressure on it. She sits, thinking, while the blonde observes her. Elsa knows that whatever her cousin and Eugene must be planning has got to be dubious at best and downright sketchy at worst. However, she can tell that Anna is not comfortable sitting here.

"It's okay to be a little selfish sometimes," she mutters close to her ear. "If you want to walk out of here, I'll be walking right next to you."

Anna gazes at her, nods thoughtfully and glances around the table; looking but not seeing. Elsa can tell by the way she doesn't even giggle when Kristoff goes to put a garlic roll in his mouth and somehow drops it, making a face that is pure petulance.

Minutes go by and Elsa can't postpone using the restroom anymore. She lets this know directly to Anna before she makes a signal to the rest of the group.

She goes to the restroom wondering just what on earth Rapunzel and Eugene could be plotting right under everyone's noses.

When she steps out of the stall, Anna's mother is entering the bathroom. Elsa pauses on her way over to the sink, gives her a polite smile that is barely reciprocated, and continues walking. It is when she begins washing her hands that a sensation of unease looms, for the woman doesn't move towards the empty stalls but towards where she stands.

"I wanted to speak with you," Elizabeth says. It carries no bite but the statement is firm. It leaves no room for objection, which makes Elsa think that she must be ruthless as a lawyer.

"Mrs. Summers, I—"

"Look, Elsa," she softens slightly, taking a step closer. "I'm not here to argue, or to condemn you for that matter."

"I didn't think you were here to argue—"

"Please, just... let me finish." Elizabeth steps closer once more, enough to place her hand on top of the marble counter. "I'm sure you know already that Anna has told us... many things that have made me realize just how much we've failed her as parents. She has changed a lot since she moved here. Some aspects are... good... I mean, she has certainly improved. But others..." She sighs, gathering her thoughts. "I still don't condone your relationship. Don't take it personal. I'm sure you're a nice, young lady. But Anna has set her own goals pretty high. We can both agree at least on that. To have someone distract her from it can be a crucial mistake, and I don't want her to look back on her life and realize this when it is too late."

Elsa regards her for a prolonged, silent moment. She sees the hard-set eyes behind her glasses; the tight-lipped mouth that can only hide so much distress; the stiff, defying posture of her shoulders. All of this combined with her words make Elsa realize that she must be speaking from experience. This she can come to understand. Yet, Elsa knows better than to lower her head in defeat and accept a presage that is based on a life that is not Anna's.

"Mrs. Summers," she begins, "I hope you may forgive me in time for what I'm about to say, but I also hope that this, you do take personal. You don't know your daughter." Elizabeth is taken aback but Elsa isn't deterred. "And frankly you don't know what she's capable of, either. You don't seem to know her talent nor her ambition, and you don't know how tightly she will hold onto the things that make her happy. Writing makes her happy... We can both agree at least on that, right? And for the record, you're very mistaken if you think that I would ever be willing to be an obstacle in your daughter's future. It may be hard for you to accept this, but I care about Anna more than you could probably ever imagine, and for as long as she allows me to be in her life, I will do everything in my power to ensure that she can make her dreams come true."

Elizabeth is shaking her head in disbelief. "How do you sound so sure when you've known her for a few months at the most?"

She smiles sadly at her. "Because I've spent hours and days getting to know everything I can about her. That is why it's so easy for me to tell you that I'm in love with your daughter, whether you condone it or not... Anna's mind is a wonderful thing, Mrs. Summers, but you've spent very little time trying to discover it."

The woman closes her eyes and, for the first time since Elsa has met her, the facade breaks to reveal exhaustion and weariness. Elsa sees decades of hard-work, of clawing her way to the top. It mustn't have been easy, she figures, and she knows then, with sympathy laced in her thoughts, that Anna's mother is just a person whose opinions have been shaped by the circumstances of her own life.

"I would never wish to insult you, much less disrespect you," says Elsa. "But I do hope that whatever Anna has chosen to tell you guys stays with you long enough that you realize how much you've missed out on." Elsa watches her sigh but the look of defeat gives her no satisfaction. She wishes more than anything that this conversation didn't have to happen at all. "I'm daring to speak for Anna here, but it's never too late, Mrs. Summers. Just... don't waste any more time."

She walks out solemnly after this, with her head down and without taking a second look at Anna's mother. Elsa has nothing else to say.

When she comes back from the restroom the party she's left only minutes ago is wreaking havoc. At the center of it all is— unsurprisingly—Rapunzel. Anna and Eugene are standing by each side of her chair, comforting her. Elsa takes the last few steps in a hurry.

"What happened?"

Anna turns to look at her, wide-eyed. "I don't know, we were just talking and all of the sudden she started panting—"

"Oh my sweet clapping Jesus," Rapunzel says, nestling her head in her hands.

"She's having a crisis," Eugene sates.

Elsa stares at him. Of all things, a goddamn crisis.

"What's going on?" Anna's mother asks as she joins the table.

"She's having a... crisis," Eugene's father responds.

Rapunzel is shaking off her hands, clawing at her chest, panting and mumbling random words. Elsa stares at her in disbelief and mildly disturbed. What a performance.

"Is she going to be okay?"

"She will be," Eugene states. He sounds like a preacher. "All we gotta do is take her home and sing Kumbaya. Right, darling?"

Oh Christ.

The brunette nods.

Her boyfriend then turns to Elsa, Anna and Kristoff. "We're gonna need you guys to join us, you know how this goes, right?"

No they do not. Elsa has not a clue but of course, she nods. Anna is glancing at her confused and guilty, and Kristoff is lost and panicky himself, holding onto a garlic roll as if he were the one having the crisis and that piece of dough were his lifeline.

"Do you need us to come with you?" His mother asks genuinely worried. A pang of guilt hits Elsa.

"No, no, no. It's, uh, a youth thing."

"Oh my Barbara Streisand, I can't breathe," Rapunzel moans again, covering her face with her hands.

"Right, I think we should get going."

Elsa doesn't know whether to laugh at the absurdity of this ordeal or simply cry of relief because everyone's parents are standing up, serious and concerned, ready to let the youth go back home and sing Kumbaya so that the girl who's now muttering about a holy cheese on a stick doesn't have a total meltdown in the middle of the restaurant. Eugene is hard set on taking care of his now frail girlfriend, Elsa is gathering everyone's belongings and Anna is by the other side of the table speaking lowly to her parents and giving them both a brief, parting hug. Kristoff is even more clueless than Eugene's parents have been this whole afternoon and more confused than the waiter who's just arrived to take their orders, but he follows the rest of the youth, no questions asked.

Standing outside Elsa waves at Anna's parents and tells them it was nice to finally meet them. It is all so precipitated, so hasty and awkward that she is sure to smother Rapunzel for this—before or after thanking her, she's not sure yet—.

Eugene stops a taxicab with the brunette holding onto him for dear life. If he told the driver that his girlfriend was giving birth and needs a ride right now, Elsa wouldn't even bat an eye, but all he asks is: "Can you fit five of us in there?"

In a low and thick Russian accent that reminds her of a mafioso, he says: "If you tip well, I take you."

So they all chip in. They make Elsa take shotgun for being the eldest—an idiotic argument—and the rest of the group climbs like sardines in the back. Elsa still can't believe what just happened, nor their luck at that. Of course, Rapunzel stops with her shenanigans as soon as the car starts away from the sidewalk. The blonde is too embarrassed to even look back and see whether the real adults have left so she stares forward, waiting for one of them to break the silence.

Eventually, Anna does.

"I'm hungry."

Elsa cranes her neck to look at Anna and sees Kristoff pull out a bundled up napkin out of the pocket of his pants, slowly tugging at the corners to reveal a single garlic roll. Silently, he offers it to Anna. The girl takes it, Eugene snorts and Rapunzel does, too. Anna begins to giggle and Kristoff grins. Elsa looks at the ridiculous lot of them, a laugh bubbling in her throat.

Soon enough, they all join her.


After dropping gowns and diplomas at Elsa's apartment they end up on the Lower East Side, at a speakeasy bar that looks like a hole in the wall from the outside but plays 90's rock, has two pool tables and a full service bar on the inside.

They cheer to the graduates as soon as they get their hands each on an alcoholic beverage. No one asks Anna any questions she is not ready to answer but their support is palpable as they all take turns to cheer her up. Elsa sits by her side, drawing smiles out of her in ways only she knows while she sips her white wine slowly, conscious now that she's the eldest of the group and accepting a responsibility that nobody assigned but one she can't help assuming. Besides, at the pace everyone is going, somebody has to stay sober.

Between the second and third round, the girls manage to find some time alone as they sit by the bar, waiting to be tended. Their priorities are not set on buying drinks, however, but on each other. At this point Anna has started to remove what little boundaries she has in public around Elsa.

"Finally alone," she wiggles her eyebrows as she wraps her arm around the blonde's waist.

Elsa grins. "Far from it. Keep your hands where I can see them."

"You're no fun."

"We both know that's not true," she says before placing her hand behind Anna's neck and pulling her in for a slow and deep kiss. Elsa lets herself be pulled closer to Anna's body, relishing the warmth that engulfs her for a few sweet seconds.

After a last peck, she finally asks her, "How are you?"

Anna puts her elbow on top of the bar to prop her chin up as she contemplates her answer. "I'm rather torn between liberated and anxious," she says, "though more relieved than anything else because I've finally said it, you know? I don't have to pretend like I'm okay all the time and I also don't have to pretend like it doesn't affect me that they've spent years barely making an effort... Am I rambling? I'm sorry if I am... it's just that I feel so much... lighter. I don't know what their reactions will be but they can't be bad can they?"

Elsa shakes her head slowly. "They have no reason to be upset at your honesty."

"Exactly my thought ," Anna agrees easily. "But also, I am upset. Especially at my mom because she's acting like you're gonna be my downfall or something."

The bartender approaches them and asks what the ladies want. They order a glass of pinot grigio for Elsa and a mojito for Anna. "Coming up," the bartender exclaims.

"We spoke," she tells Anna when he leaves.

Realization dawns on her. "When you went to the restroom."

Elsa nods.

"What did she say? Oh God please don't tell me she yelled at you or I'm gonna be so mad."

"She didn't," she reassures her. "But she said... that she couldn't condone our relationship because she doesn't want you to be distracted from your goals and regret it when it's too late."

Anna stares into space for a few seconds, processing this.

"That doesn't make any sense."

"She may have her reasons," Elsa tries.

"But still. If there's anyone in my life who would do the opposite of that is you."

The bartender comes back with their drinks and asks if they want the tab open or closed. Closed, they say, and pay.

Elsa turns to look at Anna. "How are you so sure?" She asks her with genuine curiosity.

"Because," she flares up. "Elsa, I've never felt this way before. I've never felt so sure about anyone, ever. I can feel it in my heart, and I know that one way or another you'll be there for me no matter what."

Anna doesn't wait for the blonde to open up her arms, she throws her own around Elsa's shoulders and holds on tight. "You inspire me to be better, Elsa. There's no way in hell my mother could ever be right."

Elsa tightens her arms around the girl's waist as she closes her eyes. This moment feels like a promise; one she silently makes to Anna and to herself, to never be the reason that could hold her girlfriend back.

"She's not," she whispers in her ear.

An hour goes by. Another round of drinks, and a third and last wine for Elsa goes, too. The spirits have lifted, the music has been turned up, and the conversations all around them have become a raucous mess. The night has fully begun for New Yorkers who can almost taste the weekend that draws nigh.

"Kristoff! Wasn't your girlfriend supposed to come today?"

"The quirky one?" Rapunzel asks.

"Is there more than one?" Elsa teases.

Another round. The last one, she makes Anna promise. If the redhead is talkative when sober, she is a verbose, word-spitting fireball when drunk. Or—she insists—only mildly buzzed. She keeps trying to explain to Rapunzel why Hercule Poirot is so much better than Holmes but the brunette is having none of it because she has never read an Agatha Christie novel and the only Holmes she can recall at the moment is Katie.

Anna gives up at some point. She asks Elsa if she can get another drink, "Pretty please?" She pouts and bats her lashes, but as hard as it is to refuse her, Elsa does. She wavers, though, and tells her that if she wants to get another drink she's gonna have to drink a glass of water first.

"Fine."

Elsa tells her to sit tight before she gets up, pushes through the crowd, takes more time than should be necessary to get a single glass of water and returns. It all takes her fifteen minutes.

Fifteen minutes in which Anna has vanished.

"Where's Anna?" She asks the group.

"Bathroom," Rapunzel tells her over the noise of the bar.

Reluctant, Elsa takes her seat. She refrains herself from going to see if Anna is okay because she doesn't want her to feel like Elsa is babying her. She looked well enough to go by herself. Drunk and a bit clumsy but well enough that she won't fall face first on her way there. Still, if she doesn't come back in a few minutes Elsa will go check in on her.

Five minutes go by, then six, then seven. The glass of water is starting to sweat, forming droplets over its surface and a ring of water underneath. Elsa gets up, announces that she'll be right back and heads for the restroom.

There are two girls standing in line outside of the bathroom. They look impatient. The first one in line tells her that it's been forever and that she's peeing herself. What is that chick doing in there anyway? She's probably passed out, the other one says. Elsa's panic flares up and swells inside her chest. She bangs the door twice with her fist and calls out Anna's name. There is a voice coming from the other side but it is so distorted by the noises of the bar and the door standing in between that Elsa isn't sure what to make of it.

"Anna sweetheart, let me in." She knocks again, softer.

The door flings open and to Elsa's dreadful surprise, it isn't Anna. The girl sneers at her, drunk out of her mind: "Fuck off dude," she slurs. Elsa swallows the apology she was about to mutter. She turns around and walks to the men's room. The door is closed but unlocked. There is no one inside.

There's panic tightening around her throat at this point. She walks around the bar and goes as far as approaching two groups with redheads in them. None of them are Anna. Deep down, Elsa knew this. She goes to tell her friends that Anna has left—"Where?" Eugene asks—"I don't know." She takes her clutch and pulls out her phone as Kristoff stands up and starts heading for the exit. Elsa stops him and tells him that it's better if they stay here in case Anna returns from wherever the hell she is right now.

She couldn't have gone far, she thinks as she exits the crowded bar.

She calls Anna and it rings until she hits the voicemail. Elsa doesn't bother with leaving a message. She scans the streets from the corner closest to the bar, her heart pounding hard. She's okay, she tells herself. She probably just got hungry (I'm gonna kill her when I find her).

She calls again and this time it rings three times before Anna picks up.

"Hello?"

Instant relief.

"Anna! Where on earth are you!?"

There's a pause, some shuffling, then Anna answers: "I'm in a park."

"What park? Can you tell me?"

"No."

"Why?"

"Cause I dunno the name," she says as though it were obvious. "I just got here."

Elsa's hand goes up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Okay... Tell me what you see around you. What's in front of the park, can you check?"

"I passed a Deen Reed," Anna mumbles.

"A Deen—you mean a Duane Reade?"

"Yah, that's what I said."

Elsa exhales her frustration through her nose. Keep it simple. She looks to the left and to the right. There's nothing down the street but she recalls having passed a pharmacy on their way here. She starts walking up north. "Okay, what else is around you? What's in front of you?"

"A bench with two guys sittin' on it. They keep lookin' at me."

That doesn't help. It doesn't help one bit.

"A store, baby," she almost begs. "What's the store across from the park?"

"Papaya King," Anna states. As if Elsa should have known all this time.

"Okay, don't hang up. I'm coming for you."

She hears a Yay coming from the speaker as she pulls the phone away from her ear to open the maps app. She types Papaya in the search bar and finds one a block up and to the right, next to a Duane Reade (how the hell did Anna get there so fast?) and a park across from it.

Her long legs take her to the park in five minutes. When she walks through the gates she sees two men sitting on a bench, talking closely together and glancing at the person across from them. The person is Anna, and relief washes over her when Elsa sees that although drunk, she is perfectly fine munching on a hot dog, lost in her thoughts. There's a jumbo size drink next to her that Elsa sets aside as she takes its place, keeping herself from tackling the redhead with a hug.

Anna's face splits into a chipmunk's smile when she sees her and gives Elsa her cheek to kiss. Elsa looks over at the two men who are now openly staring at them. She holds their gazes with cold, unwavering eyes, until one of them pats at the chest of the other and stands up to go.

A shaky breath escapes her as she watches them leave before she turns to look at the girl who's too busy finishing her hot dog to care.

"Anna, what happened? Why did you leave?"

"I got hungry."

"They had food at the bar."

"Oh." She looks down at the last of her hot dog and her face suddenly scrunches up into a pout.

"What's wrong?"

"I wanted a sandwich."

Elsa stares at her. The girl is dead serious for a second before she shoves the last piece inside her mouth, unaffected.

"Coke?" She asks through a mouthful.

"No, thanks."

Elsa lets her finish in silence. When Anna is done she takes the napkin that was on her lap and cleans herself off. It's sloppy, but it does the job.

"You scared me, Anna," Elsa tells her after a while.

Blue, glassy eyes turn to look at her. "Why?"

"Because you left without telling anyone?"

"I'm sorry," Anna pouts.

"Just promise me that you'll never do that again. Something could have happened to you. If you want to leave just tell me. I'll follow you anywhere, you know that."

"Anywhere?"

"Anywhere."

"To the ends of the world?"

"Yes."

"To infinity and beyond?"

Elsa smiles tenderly despite herself. The heart answers for her, "Always."

Anna is satisfied with the answer and gives her a sloppy kiss. She tastes like mustard and relish. Elsa scrunches up her nose.

"Can I tell you a secret?" The redhead asks.

"Of course."

"I don't think my parents are happy together anymore."

Elsa recalls the conversation they had last night, about how Anna had perceived her parent's behavior around each other. "Why do you say that?"

"Cause I saw it when we—" a burp— "had dinner. It was so obvious."

"Perhaps they're going through a rough patch," she says.

"Maybe," Anna shrugs, her current state unable to process much else. "Can I tell you another secret?"

"Yes."

"It felt really good tellin' them all that today."

"I bet it did, sweetheart." Elsa smiles at her. She takes her hand—the one that isn't holding the napkin—and squeezes it.

Anna stares openly at her. The blonde still wants to reprimand her for having disappeared in a matter of minutes but she can't bring herself to do that just yet. She's lost in those big, blue eyes of hers.

"I love you, Elsa."

"I love you too, Anna."

"No but seriously," she leans closer, demanding that Elsa holds her gaze. "I want you to promise me somethin' right here, right now. If you're ever not happy, you gotta tell me so that I can let you go."

"I'm not sure I like where this is going."

"Just promise."

"I promise."

"Same thing the other way..." Elsa gives her an inquiring look. "If I'm ever not happy, you gotta let me go."

"Why are you saying all this?"

"Cause I don't want us to spend years of our lives not bein' happy and then break up anyway."

Elsa regards her for many seconds. Will she remember this conversation tomorrow?

"This is a rather odd conversation to have right now, don't you think?"

Anna shakes her head. "It's the perfect time. We're alone."

"But you're drunk."

"Buzzed."

"Tomato, tomahto," she teases.

"Be serious."

"I am being serious, Anna. I promise you right here, right now, that I will let you go if you're ever unhappy. Your happiness means everything to me. And so does your safety, so stop disappearing when you're half drunk."

"Fine."

Elsa stands up and offers her hand to the redhead.

"Where we going?"

She grins. Anna will have a killer hangover tomorrow and that will be more than enough punishment for tonight's scare. What matters to Elsa is that she is here, safe; with her tummy full of food and her heart full of promises. It is time to call it a night.

"We're going home, my lovely princess."