A/N:

(For those of you who just found me and this fic, welcome! This is an Elsa/OC pairing that I introduced in my other fic, Life After Happily Ever After. You might want to read about them there before coming to this, just for clarity's sake. It's chapter 28 if you're interested. But, the rest of the fic isn't so bad, if I do say so myself.)

Anyways...

Word From The Wise: When you have multiple ongoing stories, one of which still needs to be wrapped up, and you're also busy juggling real-life commitments, it may not be the best idea to create a whole new fanfic...but hey, I'm doing it anyway.

I've gotten a few requests at this point about a new fanfic just for Georg and Elsa and to those people, I say...here you go! Because I'll admit it, the couple had occupied much of my brain space and so I started writing a few one-shots. Was going to wait to publish them, at least until my other story gets wrapped up, but then I thought, eh, why not just put it out there?

I have yet to find out if I will regret this choice, but in the meantime, please enjoy this little one-shot.

I will say though that main events in their relationship, aka engagement, wedding etc, will not be in this fic. Only because I plan to write those moments into my other stories, which goodness knows when I'll get to them, but that's the plan.

This fic will be for other moments, small and big, and will be set from any point during their courtship, up to and including post-marriage life. I'll try to be vague about it, only because I don't want to mess up my overall plans for them.

That being said, I did write a few...spicy moments with them that I'm rather hoping? to share with you all, but I wanted to start with some hurt/comfort and fluff first.

Alright, enough of that. Please enjoy!

The Ice Palace

It had been six months since Georg's arrival to Arendelle, but while Elsa and an increasingly enthusiastic Anna had shown him just about every sight worth seeing in the entire kingdom, there was one thing he hadn't seen yet.

Elsa's ice palace.

It was all he'd longed to lay eyes on since he'd first heard about her palace. Back home, he been regaled with tales about its magnificence, but after having met Elsa and seen her powers up close, he could only imagine how much more fantastic the palace really was to behold in person.

But Elsa never seemed to bring it up herself. And all Georg could do was wonder why.

Because it seemed to the Hanoverian prince that Elsa was still hesitating around him, even though they'd been courting for six months - longer if you counted the months of exchanging letters.

Of course, she was more free with him now then she had been during his first visit, but it still felt like she was holding so much back from him, like she didn't quite trust him….

Like she just didn't want to share that part of her life with him.

Georg didn't want to jump to conclusions or anything, but he wasn't quite sure how to broach the subject either….so he just decided to ask….and hope for the best.

It was a quiet evening in the castle. Anna and Kristoff were off doing only they knew what, which meant Elsa and Georg were home for the night.

It had quickly become a common practice for them to spend their evenings quietly cuddled up before a warm fireplace. Early on, when Elsa had expressed just how much she enjoyed these quiet moments, Georg had wondered if he was rubbing off on Elsa in that sense, but she'd been quick to assure him otherwise.

It seemed they were the same in that sense, both preferring a quiet, peaceful moment spent with those they cherished.

And so, there they were, wrapped in a blanket, Elsa leaning against Georg's shoulder as he leaned back against the couch.

Georg tickled Elsa before bending down to kiss her hair. Elsa hummed in response and curled closer to him.

He figured it was time to ask and so, "I was wondering…" When he trailed off, suddenly hesitant about his question, Elsa glanced up at him, a small knowing smile on her face. "What about?"

Georg didn't reply right away. But curiosity soon overtook him, "I was wondering if maybe…we could go see your ice palace sometime soon?"

As soon as she registered his words, the small smile fell from Elsa's face. She turned away, conflict clear in her cerulean eyes.

Georg was quick to catch on, "It's okay, Elsa. It was just a thought. We don't have to if you'd rather not go."

Elsa glanced down into her lap, her voice barely a whisper. "No, no, it's not that…I…I do."

He frowned, "You do?"

Elsa glanced up at him, "I do want to take you…but-" She held her tongue, her brows furrowed deeply as if there was something more.

He watched her close her eyes and take a deep breath. When she opened them, the conflict was gone. "I'll take you. Maybe this weekend?"

Georg nodded slowly, not sure what else to say. But he couldn't pretend he hadn't noticed the hesitation, or the conflict.

"I-I don't want to be a bother, Elsa. If there's some reason you don't want to take me…it's really not a problem."

Elsa simply shook her head, "It's nothing. Just an oversight, I guess. Anna mentioned I should take you, but it slipped my mind…" She attempted a casual shrug, but even that read with an undertone of tension, "I've been forgetting so much lately."

The weak attempt to dismiss and laugh off her fears as though they were unimporant made Georg sigh with understanding.

He reached out a reassuring hand to clasp hers, his brown chocolate eyes filled with understanding. "You're worried about what I'll think of it, aren't you?"

Her eyes shone with surprise. "You-how did you know?"

He smiled softly, "You're an open book, Elsa." He gestured to her eyes, "You got a little crinkle right there between your eyes when you were thinking just now, and your eyes were swirling with doubt."

Elsa could only stare at him, her cerulean eyes wide with disbelief. She had never considered herself to be an open book, and she wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to be thought of in that manner, especially when she'd spent her whole life learning how to conceal her every emotion.

In fact, if anything, she was supposed to be the opposite. A wall of impenetrable, imperceivable neutrality.

But hearing Georg say that about her, knowing that perhaps he was one of the only people in the world who could truly see her every emotion clearly…

Despite years of training that suggested otherwise, the thought of finally being seen for who she truly was made her smile.

"I don't think I can keep anything from you, can I?"

He shook his head with a smile, "I'm afraid I'm a lot more obtuse than I let on in most other matters….but when it comes to you, I guess I can be fairly observant." He reached up to clasp her face in one hand, "In any case, I want you to feel free with me, Elsa. I want you to trust me. I want you to feel as though you can tell me absolutely anything, because I care about you and I will never do anything to make you feel less than you are."

He sighed and admitted, "I know it's easier said than done, and I know trust must be earned. But I hope to show you with my actions that I can be trusted, and then maybe, you won't need to keep your guard up anymore."

It was with gratitude in her heart that she replied, "I do trust you, Georg. Even in this short time, I've come to see you as one of the few people I can trust with everything I have." But then she sighed and turned away, "And it is that trust I'm afraid to lose."

Georg didn't understand, "What do you mean, Elsa?"

She stood up, her back to him, her arms coming to wrap around her waist.

"I-I created my ice palace in a frenzy, Georg. It took only a few hours to create the whole thing from the foundation up. The architecture…the design…it all came from something deep inside me. Something I'm not always conscious of….something I don't really have control over."

She turned her head to glace over at him, "Thirteen years of pent-up magical frustration and fear manifested itself in my palace…and while I am so immensely proud of it and what it allowed me to understand about my abilities and the freedom I deserve to have…it's also a threat."

She bowed her head, "People become cowed by the sight of it. Simply put, it's overwhelming…so much so that most people cannot believe I built in in the few hours between twilight and dawn. And, as for those who have seen it…their behavior towards me changes afterwards."

She swallowed a lump in her throat, "They become hesitant, weary of my seemingly god-like powers…once they see what my magic is truly capable of, they-they fear me. Not quite in a practical, realistic sense, but more in a metaphysical sense."

Elsa turned to face him, but her gaze didn't quite connect with his yet. "I-I didn't want you to feel the same way." She shook her head, "I didn't want you to feel overwhelmed by the manifestation of my uncontrollable abilities and then rethink our relationship because you grew to fear me…"

She looked up at him as she admitted, "I like you, Georg. I care about you…and I want us to work…to truly be happy with each other. And in my mind, the only way we could accomplish that was if you never experienced the full extent of my powers….so I tried to hide the palace from you."

All Georg could do was gape at her, but Elsa took his silence as rejection.

She hung her head, "I'm sorry…I know that decision was never mine to make, and I was being unbelivably selfish by keeping you in the dark about this for so long…but-"

"It's okay, Elsa."

She glanced up, "What?"

Georg stood up and drew her into a hug, "I should thank you for trusting me with this. I know this isn't easy for you at all, but you still told me… and I can only commend you for that."

"But…"

"If you don't want to show me your palace, I understand. But the reason I asked to see it is because I wanted to understand you better." He smiled softly, "I want to know just how much the place means to you, how it helped you understand your magic…how it made you who you are today."

He drew back and looked into her disbelieving face, "And as for your worries regarding our future, I can promise you right now that I won't run away and I most certainly won't think any differently of you."

But Elsa couldn't believe him, "How can you be so sure?"

He clasped her face in warm hands, "I can be sure because I love you, Elsa. I will always love you, and nothing I see will make me change my mind. Absolutely nothing."

Cerulean eyes widened with surprise as a pink blush spread through her cheeks, "You-you love me?"

A similarly blushing Georg could only nod, the importance of the moment only now catching up to him. But when he saw the hesitation in her eyes, he added, "You don't have to say it back now. I'm fine with waiting, I promise."

A relieved Elsa responded with a slow nod, "Maybe we can go tomorrow."

He smiled softly and leaned in to give her a gentle kiss, "I'd love that."

It wasn't until she saw Georg's wide eyes and beaming smile as he took in her magical creation that she truly felt herself relax.

All her worries had been for naught.

Perhaps she shouldn't have been so worried to begin with, especially because she knew just how caring Georg was in general, but even so, his calm understanding of her fears and his concern for her mental well-being above all else had only proved to her something she'd been slowly realizing all along.

Georg cared about her. He loved her for who she truly was, without inhibition, reserve, fear, or worry…

Georg loves me.

The very simple thought warmed her heart. She had spent much of her life believing she could never be loved, especially not by someone who knew her true nature.

But after the Thaw, she had quickly been disabused of that notion by her sister…and now by Georg as well. It was rather hard to wrap her mind around if she was being quite honest. Because Georg had been a complete stranger to her just two years ago, but now…he was someone she couldn't imagine ever living without.

When he turned to her, eyes wide with pure child-like admiration for what she'd been able to accomplish, she smiled shyly, "Well? What do you think?"

"I-I…this-this is incredible!" He looked back at her and then at the palace, "I'm not sure I even have the words to describe what I'm feeling right now!"

But Elsa did. After months of searching her emotions and learning how to be true to herself, she finally had the words to describe her feelings.

"I love you, Georg."

He turned back to her in surprise, but his smile was soft and true, "And I love you, Elsa."

And if Elsa ever had any doubt about his true nature, all she needed to do was look into his eyes to know that he meant every word.