THANK YOU. Thanks to those of you who've been reading this story all along. A big special thanks to Pinot-Noir19 and to Starry Night Sky, too. Your constant reviews and the details in them are simply incredible. I appreciate you beyond words, trust me. Another thanks to my brit buddy for helping me stick to my original plan; for the feedback; the great talks; the fangirling; everything. AND thank you to my girlfriend, who puts up with my desperate need to write at times and my random ass questions like 'how much is it to rent an SUV in new york?'

Ps. thanks to Frozen Fever too for the inspo. There's some smut in here so enjoy.


The alarm goes off at 7 a.m. on June 21st.

Elsa wakes up more easily than she fell asleep the night before and dismisses the low ringtone of her cellphone—never buzz; Anna was appalled the first time she learned this about her—before taking the first long breath of the day and stretching out as much as she can in Anna's double bed. Her mind is weary; not entirely rested. She kept buzzing with unwarranted energy last night, going over every little detail with excruciating repetitiveness, reviewing the day from start to finish. Would they be able to go through the hunt in time? Would Anna be able to guess all the riddles? Would she like the presents?

Next to her, her girlfriend remains fast asleep. Her copper hair is sticking out everywhere and her mouth is lightly agape. A tiny snore escapes her every now and then, and Elsa has to cover her mouth to keep herself from laughing.

She dares snaking her hand under Anna's tank top for the sake of feeling the girl's warm skin. Anna stirs, closes her mouth, and keeps on snoring. Baby snores, she'd call them once. Leave my baby snores alone, Elsa.

"Annaaa," she singsongs.

"Nggghh."

Elsa bites her lip and tries again. "Anna, sweetheart..."

The redhead scrunches up her nose. "Sleep," she grumbles before rolling onto her side and pulling as much of the covers as she can in the process.

Persistent, as usual. Elsa changes tactics. She spoons her, knowing that the redhead will scoot back to fit into her embrace. When she does, Elsa whispers against her cheek, "Happy birthday."

Anna smiles but her eyes remain closed.

"Happy birthday, baby," she tries with a kiss.

The girl opens one of her eyes as her smile begins to widen. "Happy biiirthdaay," she singsongs back, like a sleepy lullaby.

"To youuu," Elsa finishes. She hugs her tight, dropping feathery kisses on every part of Anna's face that she can reach.

When Anna turns to lie on her back her teal eyes finally open. They're puffy from sleep, but the happiness in them is unmistakable.

"'Tis my birthday," she mumbles.

"It is your birthday," Elsa grins. "And I have a very special day prepared for you."

It takes little after that for Anna to discard all traces of sleep.

Between hugs, wandering hands and morning kisses, they leave the bed much later than anticipated, despite Elsa insisting that they get ready right away because they have a long day ahead of them. "But what are we doing?" Anna asks her more than once with childish impatience. Elsa refuses to give her an answer. All she does is smirk as she discards her pajamas with shameless seduction and heads to the bathroom to start the shower.

She goes as far as rinsing her hair when she hears the bathroom's door open and close, and catches her girlfriend taking a peek from behind the curtain.

"Mind if I join you?"

"Do you even have to ask?" She responds, her voice low and flirty.

Elsa lets Anna step under the water as soon as she's inside while her gaze roams amidst the steam over the girl's naked body. She watches the water trickle down her breasts, her belly and her legs. She sees her naked, only inches away from her, and Elsa can't help the desire that ignites within her.

"Can I help you?" Anna teases.

Elsa's arm reaches for her waist. "You most certainly can," she murmurs, pulling her steadily away from the downpour and into her body. Their chests meet as softly as a caress, and the sensation drives Elsa to tighten her hold before she leans in.

Anna's lips are damp and warm; her tongue sleek and inviting, and Elsa takes her time kissing her with such a passion that it feels as if this were their first time. Their tongues meet languidly while their hands caress the skin of each other's backs until Anna allows her to push her against the cool tiles of the shower. Elsa can feel her center throbbing with the way she is being kissed; with how her nipples brush against Anna's; with how the girl is tugging at her hair.

She spreads her girlfriend's legs enough to rest a hand against her center. The redhead whimpers, panting out at the steam that engulfs them as she begins to tease her; a single middle finger ghosting over the bundle that makes Anna moan into her mouth. Elsa can feel nails begin to scratch her back, an action that drives her to push herself harder against Anna's body. She keeps trying to grip at the wall, to find a leverage for her insurmountable lust.

Anna's breathing is becoming erratic, her hips keep buckling, and her hands keep holding on tight to any part of Elsa that she can grasp, scratching the skin of Elsa's back until the blonde hisses when she does it a little too hard. She mutters sorry next to her ear but the word is lost in a sea of sensations.

The redhead soon throws her head back against the tiles, gasping at the sudden movement of Elsa's fingers. She goes slow, unhurried to the point of torture, as she builds on the pleasure of being inside of her. She is half mindful of marking Anna where only she can see but she will still have to apologize later when Anna cannot wear anything with spaghetti straps.

The water is mixing with the taste of their kisses, cascading down their bodies as smoothly as if they were made of marble, and Elsa thinks, for a brief, hazy moment that if she could spend the rest of her life pleasing Anna, she would.

For so many years Elsa had known the effects that the female body could have on her. She had learned so timidly, as though it were forbidden and all she could do was glimpse with the hopes that she would never be caught. Because of this, she was never able to possess the capabilities of being in control of her own body as it fell in sync with that of another's woman.

It was this same foreign act of intimacy that Elsa knew deep down would be different with Anna from the beginning.

With her, everything made sense; every moan, every caress, every kiss. With Anna every single one of her senses became immersed to the point where she would never be able to explain the feeling of pleasure that came with being so close to her. And in the end, it was this concept the greatest source of ecstasy for her; to think that with Anna, and only Anna, she was able to build this kind of connection with. Of course, it was different each time. Some days it was slow, reverent and profound. Some others, it was erratic, like an action bare of everything but the intrinsic and erotic desire that coursed through their veins. But no matter how it unfolded, with Anna, Elsa would never be able to define it as anything other than making love.

Elsa pushes her steadily to the brink of orgasm and holds her when she comes, never once taking her eyes off her girlfriend as she finishes riding the very last wave of pleasure in her arms.

They remain suspended in the silence that follows, until Anna almost slips on wobbly legs and Elsa mutters with a laugh: "So much for showering."

In the end, it takes them almost two hours to get ready because Anna is still holding onto residual lust. Yet, Elsa doesn't have it in her to complain. Not when Anna pins her against the bed and does things to her that leave her feeling like an absolute pile of mush.

When they're done getting dressed Anna calls in sick at work. Elsa had been guilty that she'd even had to, but Anna had waved it off and told her that she could make up the hours next week.

"Maybe this will be the last time I call in sick," she says; eyes wide and hopeful, and Elsa hopes so too because she really wants Anna to get that job but also because she's always been iffy about people missing a day of work under a fake excuse.

The flu is an archaic excuse at this point so the redhead asks Elsa to give her the weirdest disease she can come up with. She writes it down on a piece of paper as the manager's phone rings. Anna lowers the tone of her voice and her expression changes to one of pain—"To get in character, silly," she'll explain later when Elsa has to ask why—. She tells her boss that she's down with mitral regurgitation. It's a crappy condition, hereditary, non-contagious. Yes, she will be okay. Yes, she will see them all next week, God willing. Yes, thank you for your concern. Bye.

"What's mitral regurgitation?" She asks after she hangs up.

"When the blood leaks backwards from the left ventricle to the left atrium."

Anna's mouth goes agape. "That doesn't sound good."

"Good thing you're young and healthy," she teases.

This works like flipping a switch on Anna's character slot machine. "No more o'that, my Queen," she gushes as she throws herself at Elsa's arms. "Oh I am o'er wrought with heavy sorrow for I am no longer a lady of youth. Shall you still love me so?"

"You are so weird."

Anna opens one eye. "That's not your line."

Elsa bites her lip. She's trying really hard not to laugh. "I shall love thee for eternity, Milady," she states theatrically before dropping a sloppy kiss on her girlfriend's mouth.

The redhead escapes her mighty hold with a squeal, claps her hands and rubs them against each other. "So... what's the plan?"

A scavenger hunt is the plan, and Anna squeals and jumps and bolts out the door as soon as Elsa announces it.

At her own ceremonious pace Elsa grabs Anna's tote bag and her own backpack. She's got the prizes hidden there and the riddles are meant for places and not items, which makes the hunt only half as accurate. But the truth is that Elsa couldn't afford placing them someplace where a stranger could find them. She'd go absolutely nuts if that happened after spending two weeks planning this. The places, the gifts, the order in which they would go. She spent nights having trouble sleeping as she thought of the best way to construct this while Anna drooled on her shoulder.

Downstairs, Elsa gives her the first riddle. They're all written in flashcards and Elsa is embarrassed to admit that she spent too much time thinking about how to phrase them. She researched synonyms, pictures and historical backgrounds to the point of exhaustion, but she still feels a pang of self-consciousness when Anna reads the riddle out loud.

A neighborhood of indulgence where red, white and green garlands fly over your head.

Filled with history that you can taste and pleasure that you can drink.

Anna is taking this dead serious. There's comfort in that.

"What's got history... that you can taste?"

"That's a rhetorical question, right?"

"Crap. You know the answer. Okay... I mean this is food right? Of course it's food. Now, what kind of pleasure? Coffee?"

Elsa makes a face that says Not really.

"Right. Then alcohol. Is it wine? Wine has been a source of pleasure since the Greek times—"

"Nerd."

"Shush. Let me think. So it's probably wine... and food. Wine and food." She rereads the riddle. Elsa has to guide her away from the middle of the sidewalk when a man strides past them with a grunt.

Anna suddenly gasps. "Oh! Jesus I'm so dumb, it's Italy! Red, white and green, those things are everywhere!"

Elsa laughs a little. She tells her that she's far from dumb and lets Anna take her by the hand towards the train station. They switch lines in Union Square while Anna buzzes with barely contained excitement. It is contagious, and Elsa soon finds herself forgetting about the cringy riddles she's still got waiting in her bag.

"Can I get my prize now?" Anna asks her somewhere between Bleecker and Spring Street.

"No? We have to get there first, Anna."

She huffs. "You know I don't have that kind of patience."

Elsa can only laugh.

It isn't until they find a small place to eat amongst the narrow streets of Little Italy that Elsa gives her the first present.

"I know we said we would do an exchange," she says as Anna unwraps the book. "But I guess I just really wanted it to be yours... If you look inside you'll see that I underlined the lines that I liked the most, and some that reminded me of you, too."

She watches Anna open the book with a faint smile. She opens it on the first page where Elsa also left a brief note that, once Anna finishes reading, makes her bring Elsa's hand up to her lips. As they wait for the food to arrive, she leafs excitedly through the book.

"The girl raised her eyes to see who was passing by the window," she reads out loud. "And that casual glance was the beginning of a cataclysm of love that still had not ended half a century later." Anna pouts. "Do they end up together?"

Elsa laughs. "Bold of you to assume they'll be together at all."

She gasps. "How dare you bring down my spirits like that."

"Just read the book, sweetheart."

Food is served a while after that and they spend the rest of their time discussing trivial matters until Anna brings up the subject of Elsa's prep week in July. The blonde has no idea what it will entail and so the details she gives are minimum. Still, she enjoys answering Anna's questions. Most of them, at least.

"Is Tracy going to be there?" She asks her at some point.

"I don't know... I hope not."

"She might. She's part of the group after all."

Elsa tries to hide her distaste with a sip of her coffee before she says: "Can we not talk about her right now?"

Anna tilts her head. "Why?"

"Cause it's your birthday. I don't want her to be in our minds during your birthday"

"Okay..."

She tries to deviate from the subject but she's interrupted by Anna's phone ringing. The redhead sees it, tells her that it's her dad and Elsa nods, enouraging her to answer it.

The phone call doesn't last long but when Anna hangs up she appears willing to change the subject herself. It is her birthday, after all. A matter as banal as Tracy shouldn't fit in the grand scheme of things.

"Mom was there too," she says.

"So I heard... How are they?"

"They're okay," she smiles. "Busy with work, you know, the usual." Elsa doesn't press further but it seems as though Anna feels the need to add: "They always call."

The blonde nods.

They ask for the check soon after and their excitement blossoms once more when Elsa gives her girlfriend the second riddle.

In a village full of colors and late nights, a corner place hides in plain sight, where you and I were meant to spend the first of many nights.

"That one sucks, I'm sorry."

Anna shushes her again. "It's good, Elsa. All of this is incredible and thoughtful and I love you beyond words now let me think." She stares into space. "Where you and I were meant to spend the first of many nights... Were we supposed to have sex here?"

Elsa widens her eyes. "No! That's not—I only meant that as spending time together."

"I wouldn't have minded, you know?"

"What? Having sex in a public place?"

Anna sniggers. "No... Although now that you mention it..."

"Anna."

"Okay, okay. I meant having sex when we first met."

"Are you serious? You wouldn't have waited?"

"Are you kidding me? Do you remember what you were wearing? I woulda climbed ya like a tree, you darn sexy lady," she drawls in a southern accent.

Elsa is glad there is no one close enough to hear her.

They begin walking down Mulberry Street, blending in with the tourists that are beginning to flock the streets searching for the Italian bakeries they found on TripAdvisor and stumbling upon cheap souvenir shops while they're at it.

"Okay, so I should focus on the you and I part," Anna muses. "And the first night..." She pauses, glances around. There is a trio of backpackers leaving a bakery. They walk past them munching on cannolis and Anna follows them with her eyes.

"Oh!" She slaps her thigh, earning a concerned look from a street vendor close by. "It's the café, isn't it? The café you took me to that was closed the night we met."

"Where's it at, though?"

Anna rolls her eyes. "The East Village. It's not like I don't spend half of my time there now."

On their way over and surrounded by a dense pack of subway commuters, Anna whispers: "You know, technically speaking, you could have meant sex. You live in the East Village after all."

Elsa blushes.

The chocolate cake that started it all is Anna's dessert, and her second present as well. It is perhaps silly to think of it as a present at all, but to both Elsa and Anna the cake has a meaning behind it. Like an inside joke, it's something only they can understand.

Besides, it tastes incredible.

As they share a slice, Anna asks her to read out loud the third riddle. So she does. "Two mighty beasts protect the gates of a temple where time has been engraved by ink and paper." This one she personally likes. It is brief and it rhymes too. Plus, it doesn't make her cringe.

"Wait what?"

Elsa stares at her. There's a tiny smudge of chocolate on the corner of the redhead's lips that she wipes away with her thumb. Anna pays little attention to this.

"Two mighty beasts? Is it the zoo?"

She giggles. "No."

Anna makes a face of pure tragedy. The drama this girl can pull off in a single expression is astounding.

"Okay. Let's think. Time is engraved by ink and paper... Time. Is this... wait..." She's thinking so hard Elsa wants to laugh. "Ink and paper. Oh my God is it the Times? It has to be the Times!"

Elsa shakes her head slowly.

The redhead brings her hands up to her face and pushes them against her cheeks, puckering her lips in the process. She then takes another bite off the cake as if this would make her think better.

"I could have sworn it was the Times," she mumbles.

"That would have actually fit rather well."

"But it doesn't because you like to tease me endlessly."

"Mea culpa."

They finish the rest while Anna asks for hints that Elsa is not willing to give. So, grumpily, she continues to go through her thinking process out loud until she finally pauses, widens her eyes and proclaims, "I know."

Elsa arches her eyebrow when the girl points the spoon up at the ceiling, waving it to accentuate every word she says. "I cannot believe I didn't guess this one sooner."

"What's your guess?"

"The lions! It's the Public Library!" She exclaims with satisfaction. The spoon almost flees from her hand.

The blonde grins. "Which one?"

"The big one, Elsa!"

And off they go. The clock is close to striking 2 p.m. by the time they make it to Bryant Park's station on 42nd Street. Elsa sends a text to Kristoff and Rapunzel, quickly checking in with them before she tucks it inside the back pocket of her jeans. Upon arriving at the bottom of the Library's steps Anna turns to look at her with eyes full of anticipation. The blonde chuckles, but it isn't until she's guided her inside and to a bench on the second floor—for the sake of privacy—that she gives her the third present: a letter.

It is a single page covered almost entirely on both sides by Elsa's handwriting.

My sweet, freckled feisty pants,

I think we can both agree by now that I am not as good with words as you are, but you must know that every word in this letter is as sincere and full of meaning as every kiss and every hug I'll ever give you.

I've spent a lot of time trying to come up with the right thing to say but I feel like nothing could ever do justice to the way you make me feel. I used to think that this kind of love was only real in fairy tales, that only some people were meant for it, and that I would never be part of the lucky ones to experience it. Then you stormed into my life one day with your cute rants and gorgeous smile, and well... you know the rest. You've taught me things I never knew about love (true love!), you've made me laugh until my belly hurts, you've given me comfort when I needed it most. You've simply made me happier than I have ever been before and for that I have to thank you, just as I thank the universe every day for having brought you to this earth and allowed us to exist at the same time, in the same place.

When I tell you that I am one lucky girl, I don't say it lightly. To be able to call you my girlfriend, my best friend... to be able to know you at all is the greatest of gifts. You're incredible, Anna - the smartest, bravest and most loving person I know, and you deserve all the best that this world can give.

I can't read the future (I'm not that smart... yet - wink wink) but I really hope that whatever is in store for us, we will be able to share many more birthdays together.

I adore you with my whole heart.

Yours always,

Elsa.

When Anna finishes reading the letter she turns to look at the blonde. Her expressive blue eyes shimmer under the sunlight that seeps through the windows and Elsa is reminded once more of her luck, and of the affection she constantly feels emitting straight from her heart and onto the girl that sits beside her.

The hug Anna gives her doesn't come as a surprise but the depth it conveys still manages to have an effect on her.

"I love you so much," Anna breathes.

Her eyes close at these words as she smiles. "I love you," she breathes back.

They take advantage of this impromptu visit to take a walk around the library. They marvel at the monumental reading hall and stroll around the research rooms with as much pause as if they were in a museum. It all feels new to Elsa, and it suddenly hits her that in a way, it is. Because she's taken this city for granted and she's forgotten what it feels like to simply go out there and discover.

All thanks to the girl who sports a mischievous smile as soon as they step outside.

"You know what I've always wanted to do?" Anna asks her.

She's afraid to ask. "What?"

The redhead smirks at her, glances at the big marble lion, looks back at her, and takes off in a run.

"Anna, no!"

"Come on, Elsa!"

She is coerced, blatantly and shamelessly, to sit on one of the mighty sculptures that guard the entrance of New York's (the big one) Public Library. Elsa thinks that this has got to be prohibited on some level but no one stops them and nobody screams at them to get off.

"This is so exciting. It's like we're in Narnia, Elsa." She holds onto the sculpted lion's mane with one hand as she draws an imaginary sword with the other, pointing it out to the sky. "For Narnia!" She yells.

At which point Elsa lets go of the laughter that's been building up inside her chest is something that she will never know but when it finally leaves her, she laughs herself to the brink of tears, engraving this moment in her mind, and her heart, forever.

After they dismount—to Anna's great dismay—they set off in the direction of Bryant Park. It is here that the fourth riddle is read out loud.

Time rushes past you from where you stand on carmine steps. Around you, a thousand lights radiate day and night over the intersection where worlds collide and strangers meet.

It gives your girlfriend mild anxiety during rush hour, she also wanted to write.

"This one's the easiest one so far," the redhead smirks.

It is rush hour in Times Square, but Anna cuts through the crowds as if she's done it a hundred times before. She walks with Elsa close to her, flashing her a grin every now and then as they both glance around at the plethora of glaring billboards that surround them. It is overwhelming but at the same time, it could never be any other way than this; exuberant and imposing. A spectacle for the eyes that stands as a beacon alone for dreamers and tourists alike.

This place has always been a source of mixed feelings for Elsa. At the beginning, it carried the same symbolism as it did for everyone who moved to New York City with the intention of becoming someone. But eventually Elsa learned that it wasn't the same to visit Times Square as a newbie than as a resident. For a newbie, it all felt like magic. For a resident, it sometimes felt like a plague to avoid at all costs.

Like a satirical advertisement, she thinks as she looks around and chuckles at the tourists that are currently taking a picture with a flabby Iron Man. Does the lagging pace of everyone around you make you want to pull out your hair? Do you keep screaming (move!) in your head every time you dodge Elmo and Pikachu? If the answer is yes to any of these questions, congratulations! You've made it as a true New Yorker and your temper has dropped faster than the New Year's Ball.

They reach the red stairs and Elsa lets her girlfriend guide her all the way to the top. She nearly topples on the bench when Anna pulls her down but the redhead catches her with a laugh, and somewhere in the back of her mind Elsa makes a promise to herself never to visit Times Square if Anna isn't with her.

The girl outstretches her hands with her palms facing up before she wiggles her fingers. Elsa pulls out the second to last present of the day, expecting a gasp that never comes because Anna is too busy covering her mouth with her hand in surprise.

It's a Polaroid camera.

"To fill up a new board," she tells her sheepishly.

Anna cradles her face. "You. Are. The best. Girlfriend. Ever."

Of course, the moment must be commemorated with a picture that, when revealed, shows Times Square in the background and Anna's lips stuck lovingly to Elsa's cheek.

It takes them a while to get to the last part of the hunt when there is so much to see and so many memories to share. They each take their turn sharing anecdotes, like how Anna once saw someone dressed up as a panda, walking around with a suitcase and looking rather gloomy—"How could you tell he was gloomy?" Elsa asked. "Cause he had his head down," Anna replied— Fair enough. The blonde then recounts how she had almost slipped on ice once because she was trying to escape from a Cookie Monster that kept offering to take a picture with her. "I had a very bizarre dream that night, too," she adds.

While still on the stairs, Elsa finally gives Anna the last flashcard.

"Opened over a hundred years ago—okay, that's gonna be hard—a building where Twain, Sartre and Ginsberg once stayed... A bohemian house and a city landmark wherein its walls the secrets of the greatest artists have remained... Oh come on!"

Elsa can't help but laugh at her frustration. Especially when the riddles are butchered and only half of them make sense but Anna still reads them as though they came from Confucius himself.

"I have no clue about this one, Elsa," she pouts.

The blonde considers this. It's the last riddle, so why not? "Do you want me to give you a hint?"

Anna immediately grins. Oh, the manipulation...

"It's near Kristoff's place."

"Are you kidding me?! How is that a hint?"

"It's near a subway station, too," she grins.

"I hate you."

"No, you don't"

"I can try."

Elsa's stare defies her. She huffs.

"Okay. I'll give you a real hint but I'll change the game as well. You have to guess, but instead of giving me the answer you'll have to take me there. Which means you only have one chance to get it right."

"Why do I only get one chance?"

"For my own amusement."

"You're cruel."

Elsa laughs softly. "I wouldn't change the rules if I didn't think you'd guess this right."

Anna crosses her arms and narrows her eyes, waiting.

"This is a place you once told me you wish you had lived in..."

The redhead looks at her as if she had suddenly gone mad. The hint is vague, but attached to the riddle it should make sense. Elsa has faith in her.

She lets Anna ponder in silence while she takes the liberty of watching her do so. Her freckled cheeks are red from the sun that just now Elsa's remembered they needed protection from. Her eyes are roaming about as though they're trying to catch the answer in the air.

Without noticing, the sight draws a tender smile out of the blonde.

Anna takes her to the subway station. They hop on the 1 South Ferry-bound and she thinks that so far, so good. Sandwiched by commuters, Elsa holds onto the grab bar above her and lets Anna lean on her before she drapes an arm over her shoulder. Her lips linger on the redhead's forehead. All that excitement's got her tired, she thinks amusedly, knowing that the exhaustion won't last too long.

When the train screeches to a halt on 23rd Street and Anna makes a move to exit, Elsa knows she's guessed right.

The Chelsea Hotel is a historical building she knew nothing about until Anna went off one day about how writers like Arthur Miller and Mark Twain had stayed there at some point during their lives. She told her how she wished she had stayed there during those Golden Age days, daydreaming about meeting some of the artists she would eventually stumble upon and be inspired by during her time in college. "Imagine," she'd mused as they both lay in bed looking up at the ceiling. "Anna Summers wrote her first book while she stayed at the Chelsea Hotel."

Inside the lobby is where Elsa gives her the last prize of the hunt; an easy one to come up with but the hardest one to attain.

Anna opens the long, thin case while Elsa carefully watches her reaction. What she finds inside is a single ivory-colored fountain pen.

"For autographs," Elsa says as an explanation.

Anna is shaking her head slowly. "You didn't have to..."

"But I wanted to." She lifts up her chin. "I know this isn't the same as staying at the hotel but I hope it symbolizes something similar for you."

"It means more to me than you could imagine."

She grins, says "Good," and leans in for a searing kiss.

At long last the scavenger hunt is over. Elsa checks her phone as they exit the hotel, finding there a couple of messages that signify a green light.

"Come on," she tells Anna, tugging at her hand.

"Is the hunt not over?" She asks excitedly.

"It is, sweetheart, but Kristoff's place is close by, remember?"

Anna widens her eyes momentarily then frowns. "He didn't call to wish me a happy birthday."

"Maybe he was busy... You'll see him in a bit though, so we can both lecture him about that. He asked me if we could stop by."

"What for?"

"To say hi? Or maybe just to go over tomorrow's plans."

Anna hums, not satisfied with the answer but unable to place any fault in it.

They walk the few blocks to Kristoff's apartment talking about the day's events. Anna keeps going on excitedly about how much fun her birthday turned out to be and Elsa keeps smiling, taking pleasure in her obliviousness.

At the entrance of the building, she calls Kristoff through the intercom. The boy answers after the fourth ring.

"Hellow?"

"Kristoff? It's us. Can you let us in?"

"Yes, cap."

The door buzzes before them, they walk in and head for the elevator. Once inside, Elsa turns to the eyes that keep looking at her with dubious curiosity.

"What?"

"Nothing."

She gives Anna her own questioning look as the bell chimes on the 5th floor.

The door to Kristoff's apartment is two to the left. Elsa knows this because she's visited it three times before. Two with Anna and one by herself, five days ago. Upon knocking, the sound of Sven's excited, heavy paws hitting the hardwood floor are heard for a few seconds before they're gone. Kristoff opens the door moments later but has no time to greet them because Anna is already swiveling past Elsa to punch him in the arm.

He stares at her horrified. "Ouch? What was that for?"

"You didn't wish me a happy birthday today," she fumes. Elsa bites her lip, choosing to steer away from her girlfriend's left hook.

Kristoff laughs. "Come here, feisty pants," he exclaims before wrapping her up in a bear hug.

Anna soon leads the way inside, grinning now, looking for Sven. "What did you do to him, Kristoff? And why is everything so freaking dark—"

The lights of the living room go on all at once revealing, where they stand in the living room, all of Anna's friends.

"Surprise!"

From next to her, Elsa gives her a peck on the cheek. "Happy birthday, baby," she whispers.

Sven is the first one to reach her. He's a behemoth of a dog—all love and sloppy kisses. He jumps on his hind legs as if he knew that today was Anna's birthday, joining in on the excitement while everyone takes turns wishing Anna a happy birthday. All of the boys are there, Eric, Aladdin, Shang and Eugene, hugging her and ruffling her hair with boyish affection. Meanwhile Elsa is laughing at her cousin who, for a reason unbeknownst to everyone, had been hiding behind a lamp when the lights went on. The brunette is jumping up and down with Anna's hands in hers.

Anna is baffled still, but her eyes are brimming with tears when she finally turns to look at Elsa. They fall into an earnest embrace in which the girl says nothing. There is no need; Elsa can feel it.

They're soon engulfed in a celebration that is encouraged by beer, loud conversations and bad jokes. Anna keeps peeking at the presents that are on the table but she stops and smiles sheepishly when Elsa catches her. The blonde offers to get her another beer and she readily agrees.

Kristoff is already in the kitchen. He's refilling a bowl of chips that will be emptied almost as fast as it was filled.

When he sees her he asks: "You excited about tomorrow?"

Elsa is getting two Stella's out of the fridge. She opens them with some difficulty; beer has never been a personal preference. "I am, yes... But I also fear for my safety. You guys are all nuts," she jokes.

"Yeah okay, look who's talking."

She grins against the mouth of her bottle before she takes a sip. It runs smoothly down her throat, she'll give Anna that.

Kristoff leans next to her on the counter. They both look over at the redhead, currently sandwiched between Sven and Rapunzel, snapping pictures on her new Polaroid camera as if her life depended on it.

"You know, when I was growing up I didn't have a lot of friends," he tells her. "But when I got to college and met Anna... it's like she became all of them at once," he chuckles. "We were all busy with classes and girls and whatever, but she was always around with a new idea for us to try out. Like the time she made us go to the Met for Valentine's day, did she tell you about that?"

"Eugene did," she says with a smile.

"Yeah... That was quite something. But it's always been like that. She's the glue of the group. She kept all of us in check, too."

"She's feisty."

"A scary little thing," he finishes, grinning. He lifts up his beer and tilts it in the blonde's direction. Elsa clinks their bottles together.

They cheer to Anna.


It is a four hour drive from the city to Kristoff's place in Ithaca.

A mess of a four hour drive that began soon after leaving Manhattan when Elsa started to feel uncharacteristically carsick. Everyone had attributed it to the fact that she had stopped being used to being in a car at all, but no one was able to explain why she was the only one suffering the symptoms. The only thing she knew for a fact was that she wanted to jump out of here and crawl all the way back to the city.

"Just look out the window, sweetheart," Anna had told her. Which is what she's been doing for an hour, with her head resting on her girlfriend's neck pillow and her eyes staring back at her sick-looking self on the window.

She can hear the squeaky sound of Sven's toy coming from behind her and Eugene playing whatever Pokémon game is on his Switch. She keeps thinking that if she focuses on these diminutive sounds instead of the music coming from the speakers of the car, her nausea will be kept at bay.

Anna is sitting right next to her, holding her limp hand with distracted care. She's scooted all the way to the front of the seat so that she can chat with Kristoff—the driver—and Rapunzel who, by some divine intervention, drew the shortest straw and now gets to be shotgun and the designated DJ by default. A mistake in the order of the universe if there ever was one, because she's already played Wannabe twice in a row and by now Elsa is sure she's not the only one who wants to snatch that phone out of her cousin's hands.

"Rapunzel I swear to God if you play Spice Girls one more time—"

"What'chu gonna do?!"

Wannabe starts playing again.

A communal groan ensues followed by Anna gently taking the phone out of the brunette's hands. By majority of vote—Elsa doesn't participate—she plays AC/DC. Lowly, so that the music doesn't throb against Elsa's skull and makes her spew out her breakfast all over this rented SUV's carpet.

She continues to stare out the window, watching as the trees blend in and pass by in a rush. Minutes turn into another hour. They switch AC/DC for Guns n' Roses. Elsa is beginning to lull herself to sleep with Axl Rose's voice when there is a pause in Eugene's relentless noise-maker.

"You guys, I think Sven just farted."

They veer to the side of the road to get fresh air. Elsa nearly sprints out the door.

Back inside the car Anna says, "Okay, let's play a game—"

"I'm hungry."

"We'll stop by Taco Bell," Kristoff says.

Not Taco Bell, please! Elsa wants to scream.

Anna ignores all of this. "If you could have any super power, what would it be?"

"The power to pass this stupid level," Eugene mutters.

"To be able to talk to animals."

"What would you need that for? You already talk to Sven all the time."

Anna turns to the blonde.

"Ice powers," she mumbles. "No. Scratch that. The power to prevent carsickness."

"That's lame," Rapunzel says.

"I hate you."

"I can actually see you with ice powers," Anna muses.

Elsa's doesn't have the energy to ask why.

A pit stop and an hour and a half later they make it to Kristoff's place. It is late afternoon and the sun will soon approach the horizon to give way to dusk. The house is situated on the lakefront of Cayuga Lake. It is spacious and cozy, with a big enough kitchen that they don't have to worry about who burns it first and a living room that is separated from a small deck by a pair of sliding doors. They split as soon as they walk in, heading for the rooms that Kristoff shows them to.

Elsa showers for the sake of showering, as if the water will wash away the residuals of her nausea.

There is a fire pit on the deck around which they all sit an hour or so later. The fire is not necessary in this summer night, but the breeze coming from the lake as well as the comfort it inevitably brings is what makes them set it in the first place.

"So Kristoff, time to spill the beans," Eugene says. He kicks back on the bench he's sharing with Rapunzel, momentarily breaking his cool facade when he almost topples to the side. "What happened with your girlfriend?"

"Ah, man... She broke up with me." Sven's head lifts up from where he lies next to him on the wooden floor. He senses some distress in his best friend's voice, licks the back of his hand, then rests his head back on top of his paws.

"Wait, what? Why?"

Kristoff shrugs. "She kind of wanted an open relationship, I guess? She kept telling me that she was a free spirit and needed to share her energy with more than one person—"

"Quirky," Anna whispers to Elsa. The blonde chuckles.

"She was artsy. Anyways, when I told her I could only do exclusive relationships she broke up with me."

They all stare at him.

"Man, no wonder she was a flirt," Eugene says.

Kristoff nods sourly.

"Did she flirt with you?" Rapunzel asks her boyfriend.

"Somewhat? She was a bit odd— "Artsy" —but I think she was definitely flirting with me. Like that one time outside of school, she kept winking at me like 'I burn incense,' wink. 'I do yoga on the weekends,' wink. 'Want me to read your chakras? wink."

Rapunzel snorts, takes a sip of her tea, and turns to Elsa. "Isn't that how that Tracy chick is with you?"

Not again, she thinks. "Yes."

Anna tilts her head at her but says nothing.

"She hates her," Rapunzel says to the rest of the group.

Elsa doesn't deny it.

"Why do you hate her? Don't girls feel complimented when other girls hit on them?"

"Who on earth told you that?"

"You?"

"I don't know. I don't like talking about her," Elsa responds.

There is a pause in the conversation during which she can see her cousin trying to come up with a teasing remark. It is during this time that she misses Anna's sudden change of mood.

"You know there's a very thin line between love and hate," the redhead blurts out.

Rapunzel clams her mouth shut. Kristoff, still petting Sven and hypnotized by the fire mutters, "True that," and takes an absentminded sip of his beer.

Elsa ignores this because she is too busy watching her girlfriend. There is no smile gracing Anna's lips. No chirpy afterthought. It throws Elsa off completely; it reverberates in her mind, like a poignant accusation.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She asks her softly.

Anna doesn't say anything. She gives her an expression that is both sad and reserved, and it leaves Elsa with the inability to push for an answer.

Her cousin is the first to sense a shift in the air. "Right... well, Kristoff, I'm sure you'll find somebody."

Elsa doesn't pay much attention to anything that follows. She sinks into a mutual silence with the girl sitting by her side; a monumental gap that she can't breach no matter how much she tries to draw the redhead in with her eyes.

She remains struck by Anna's words, her silence, and her own inability to comprehend the reason behind such a blatant statement. To think that her girlfriend would ever come to imagine that she could cross the line with Tracy... with anyone. It leaves her with a sharp pang of bitterness that is fueled by a strange sensation permeating her heart. Because this time, there has been no reassurance, no Let's talk later. This time there is nothing but the poisonous decision to stay silent.

There is a barrier between them that Elsa doesn't know how to cross without interrupting everyone's conversation or bursting back inside the house hoping that Anna will follow. She is deterred by her own upset, her own confused mind asking her why Anna has chosen this moment to bring out something that she has clearly thought of before.

"I'm tired," Anna suddenly announces to the group. "I think I'm gonna go to sleep."

Elsa looks at her, barely nodding in bafflement when she glances her way.

She watches her girlfriend slowly get up to leave.

Her hands crave to reach out for her. She wishes to ask, to know why she would ever say something like that, but when Anna doesn't turn to look at Elsa one last time, she doesn't get up to follow.


Do you hate me? Still sort of virtually like me? Let me know pretty please!

By the way, remember a few chapters back when I asked you guys what you thought had gone through Anna's mind when they discussed Tracy tagging along for the trip? Aight well, it's finally come out...