The last two weeks had been horrible for Elsa. She had felt sick and exhausted from the moment she woke up to the moment she fell asleep. Her sleep had been plagued with nightmares of her being a prisoner in a hospital. She could barely rest with the terror she felt in her dreams, being tied in a bed and poked with needles. Gosh, how much Elsa hated hospitals.

Of course her misery might have been also related to the fact that her kidneys didn't properly work, and she had been anemic. Besides, her leg's pain had been pure suffering for her. She had almost considered just cutting it off, altogether. But the fear of phantom pains had kept her in bay with the kitchen's meat knife. It didn't really help her agony, that it had took a solid week for them to find the accurate medication to balance her kidneys back up. Now she was doing just fine. Though she had had a proper scare. Was her life really worth living for? If it wasn't, why was the prospect of dying scaring her so greatly?

Anna was taking her to the school, it was her second day after having some sick leave the first week of school. Usually Kristoff would help her around the campus, but Kristoff had a work shift at the time of her classes today. Normally, she wouldn't go there at all, if Kristoff wasn't there to help her through it, so depended she was. It had nothing to do with her moving with crutches, and everything to do with her being terrified in such a crowded places. Today, however, Anna had promised to help Elsa around and escort her to her classrooms.

Elsa would have felt embarrassed, but it helped that Anna thought it had more to do with her moving limitations, and less about her being a socially failed human being. She probably should tell Anna about her intense fear of people, and her traumatic childhood, to avoid awkward situations, like the ones they had had back at home, but she wasn't ready for that. Luckily, she had at least told Anna something about her past, because if her mother had revealed that Elsa was adopted before Elsa had a change, she would have already dug her own grave and buried herself alive in her own embarrassment.

"Oh hello, professor," Anna said suddenly with an awkward tone. Elsa's head shot up and she saw that they were already in front of the classroom. The door was open and her professor Gerda was sitting there. "Is it okay we come in already? I know we're really early, but Elsa here has some problems with moving around," Anna said conversationally and gestured Elsa's leg.

"Yes, yes of course. Come in," Gerda ushered. "What happened to you, my dear?" She asked with bewilderment.

"Uh, a car hit my bike," Elsa blurted out while she sat down. She wasn't good at talking with professors, or to anyone in that matter. She really liked Gerda though, she was always so good to Elsa, which was the reason she was able to say anything at all. Usually when she was asked something by professor, she froze and wasn't able to force any words out. It was miracle she had been able to survive in that school for so long, probably had something to do with her amazing success with testes and essays.

"For heaven's sake," Gerda gasped. "But wait, I don't think I've ever seen you before," Gerda then said to Anna, before turning her eyes back to Elsa. "Where is that darling brother of yours, doesn't he usually escort you to the classes?"

Anna frowned her brows in confusion, she probably wondered why would Kristoff escort her, but didn't say anything about it. She just plastered a smile on her face and waved a little. "Hi, I'm Anna! This is my first year here. I'm studying engineering though, not architecture like Elsa. I moved from England and Elsa is my neighbor and a darling friend. I promised to help her around, since Kristoff had to go to work."

"That's very sweet of you," Gerda smiled.

Anna just answered with a wide smile. Then she turned to Elsa and softly kissed her on the cheek. "I have to go to my own lecture now, it's like the other side of the campus. I'll see you after the class, okay?"

"Okay, bye," Elsa waved softly. Her cheeks were tinting pink because of a slight blush from the display of affection.

After Anna was gone, Gerda commented: "That's a sprightly girl."

"She is," Elsa agreed.

"I didn't except to see you here today. You know this lecture isn't mandatory, right?" Gerda frowned with slight confusion.

"Yeah, I—um—I decided to try to—you know—try to attend a little more this year," Elsa mumbled, feeling insecure about herself.

"Oh but that's a great thing to hear!" Gerda exclaimed. "I'd love to see you more around here, you're such a bright student, Elsa. The best student I have, if I may say."

"T-t-t-thank you," Elsa managed to stutter out. Her whole face was glowing crimson red, and she felt like her ears were on fire.

Anna was waiting for Elsa to finish her lecture. Anna's one had ended a little early, so Elsa didn't have to wait for her to run to her. She was really content of the situation, until she felt familiar bang in her lower abdomen. It made so much sense, considering the last two days. But they were almost a week early, damn it!

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," Anna cursed and rummaged through her backpack. Her hand came out empty. "Fucking hell!" she hissed.

"Hey, are you okay," Elsa's gentle voice pulled her from her misery.

"Oh Elsa! My saving angel! Please tell me you have a tampon or anything with you," Anna pleaded theatrically.

But Elsa's reaction wasn't what she had expected. Elsa just pursed her lips and her whole body went frigid. "No, I really have to go now," her tone was so cold that she might as well have dropped a bucket of ice water on Anna. She was just like—just like she had been at first.

Anna was so flabbergasted, that she didn't even get to react when Elsa started hoisting herself away hurriedly. "But you still have one class," Anna all but whispered after Elsa was only a distant figure faraway.

Anna didn't understand what had she done to upset Elsa so greatly. Of course Elsa was kind of prude about certain subjects, and she might've been a little embarrassed around the subject of periods, but Anna thought that her reaction had been overdone anyway. It wasn't like Anna had wanted to talk about the monthly bleedings, she just wanted a tampon. Wasn't it like a girl code number one to always loan a tampon for a fellow girl?

Sometimes Anna thought that they should have grew up in each other's households. Anna loved the openness in Bjorgman's family, where no discussion was out of the table. Elsa, however, reminded her so much of her own parents. She was a shutoff and refused to talk about uncomfortable subjects, and thought that bringing them up in a dinner table was improper, just like Anna's parents. Anna kind of wished she had born in the Bjorgman's family, instead. The love and warmness in the air in that house was so thick she could touch it. While she had never doubted her parent's love for her, they weren't that good of showing it, especially after she wasn't a child anymore. But then Anna realized, that if she was a Bjorgman, Kristoff would be her brother. The thought was so disturbing that she decided to drop the subject altogether.

She knew she probably should have followed Elsa and talk about things, but Elsa had been so cold. It always hurt when Elsa rejected her, though it didn't seem to happen too often anymore. Anna was still licking her wounds from the first time she had tried to hug Elsa, and the girl had all but slapped her straight on the face and refused to see her almost for a whole week. Besides, she was on her period, crying in the school hallway didn't seem too appealing to her. Let Elsa try and get home, Anna would go to her classes, and they would talk about it after they had both calmed down. The plan sounded reasonable and good, but why was there now an openly flooding waterfall running down her cheeks?

Anna came home after spending the evening in a café with her new friends. It was so nice to have other people around her, besides Kristoff and Elsa, she thrived on social interactions. It was all she had ever wanted while being locked up in that glorified prison she had called home. But it was hard to enjoy things when the non-argument with Elsa was weighting her down. She wanted to apologize and make things up, but she wasn't sure how because she didn't know what she had done wrong.

She was pondering whether she should go to Kristoff and Elsa's apartment and try to talk things out or just open her own door and try tomorrow, when Kristoff strode down the stairs with Sven and a bag of thrash. She immediately turned around to see him better and Kristoff halted after recognizing her too.

"Hey Anna, fancy meeting you here," Kristoff grinned.

"Uh, hey." Anna didn't waste time going where she wanted with that conversation: "Umm, is Elsa home?"

Kristoff narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Yeah, she is. Tell me, did something happen in the school?"

"Why? Did she say something?" Anna probed rapidly.

"No, she didn't. But she wanted me to get her early, she refused to talk in the car, and she has been sulking in her room since then. So yeah, I'm pretty sure something happened. You know something about it?" Kristoff prompted.

"We'll, I really don't. I was just waiting for her in front of her classroom, minding my own business. Then I felt that familiar pinch, you know—you know?" Kristoff looked confused and Anna's cheeks flushed a little. It was so different to talk about such things with her friends, and completely different to talk about them with her kind-off-new boyfriend. "I mean, I um—I really needed you know—some tampons or something, Uh, yeah, anyway."

Kristoff's face flushed, but Anna tried her best to ignore it. "So when Elsa came, I naturally asked if she had some. And she just completely freaked out and left without saying anything more than 'no'. I don't get her problem! I mean, she's a girl, I'm a girl, it's completely normal to talk about such things. Every girl has periods, no need to be so prude about it!" Anna exclaimed, getting frustrated with Elsa's behavior.

"Yeah, everyone else but Elsa," Kristoff snapped a little harsher than he had intended to.

"Wait what?" Anna tilted her head in confusion.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap. You didn't know, I shouldn't even talk about Elsa's things like that," Kristoff apologized.

"Elsa doesn't have periods?" Anna knew she should leave it for Elsa to tell, but she couldn't help herself.

Kristoff sighed and rubbed his neck: "I really shouldn't tell you, but maybe it would be easier for you to understand her behavior if you knew. You remember I told you that Elsa was really sickly child, right?"

"Yeah, you mentioned it the first time we talked, you know, without you yelling at me. I didn't really think it too much, not before I saw those home videos where Elsa looked so ill," Anna recalled.

"Well, because of her sickness, she has problems most don't at her age. You know about her intolerance of alcohol and her troubles with her kidneys, but the biggest one might be that her body doesn't really function like a normal young woman's body should. She doesn't get her periods and she can't really have her own children, like ever. Of course Elsa has never talked about her worries with me that much, but I know that her lack of normal women's bodily functions bothers her. You talking about periods so casually, reminds her of her own abnormality. It's still a little sore subject for Elsa, even though she has had plenty of time accepting it," Kristoff explained.

"I'm so, so, so sorry. I didn't mean to make her feel like she's not normal woman or that there's something wrong with her. I'm so sorry, I didn't know," Anna maundered, horrified of the prospect what she might have made Elsa feel like.

"It's alright. Elsa knows you didn't mean anything by it. Knowing my sister, she's not really mad at you, she's just feeling sad and she's dwelling in her own sorrows. After she's done, she'll come out of her room and apologize you for being so rude back at the campus," Kristoff shrugged Anna's apologizes off.

"She doesn't have to apologize me anything! No, it me who should beg her forgiveness," Anna said with a determined tone.

Kristoff chuckled: "Well at least you two are similar in a way that you both are more than ready to sacrifice yourselves for the burden of guilt. You know what, I'll talk with my sister, and you don't worry about it."

"Are you sure? Shouldn't I do something, since I caused this?" Anna asked, frowning.

"It's alright, Elsa just needs some time. You two will be fine," Kristoff assured.

"You'll tell her I'm sorry, right?" Anna almost pleaded.

"Of course," Kristoff smiled and kissed her girlfriend gently on the lips for farewell. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

"Elsa?" Kristoff knocked his sister's door gently.

When no answer came, he opened the door anyway. The room was dark, the curtains were in front of the windows and no lights were on. Elsa was laying on her bed, her back towards Kristoff. She was completely still, but Kristoff could tell from her tense posture, that she wasn't sleeping. He could have betted all his money that if he could see Elsa's front, she would be holding her stuffed penguin in her arms and that faded picture of her family in her hands. She always did that when she was upset, she never cried. Only times Kristoff saw Elsa crying, was when she was overwhelmingly anxious or scared. And even then, Elsa usually managed to hide elsewhere to sob.

Kristoff strolled towards the bed and sat onto it. The bed shifted under his weight and Elsa had some trouble keeping her balance. "I saw Anna, she told me what happened today," Kristoff started.

Elsa didn't move or answer, so he went on: "She wanted to tell you that she was really sorry about it."

That did the trick, Elsa turned to face him. Her eyes were pale blue, unfocused and pained. Kristoff would never get used to Elsa's eyes without her darkening contact lenses. Elsa had once told him that she had gotten laser surgery for her poor eyesight as a child, but she still needed the darkening lenses for the light, as her eyes were so sensitive. She always wore them, without them she almost looked blind with how pale her eyes truly were, it was a little unsettling. In her arms, she indeed had her stuffed animal and the picture.

"She doesn't need to be, it wasn't her fault," Elsa said firmly.

"I know," Kristoff answered surely. "But it wasn't your fault either."

Elsa pursed her lips. She had been so content with the idea of blaming herself, that she didn't know what to say to that. "It's just so hard sometimes. Knowing how different I am."

"It's not always bad thing to be different. Elsa, we all love you just the way you are," Kristoff felt so sad knowing how his sister didn't ever feel like she fit in quite right.

Elsa smiled sadly: "I know, it's just hard that I've lost a part of my future before I was even able to understand it really." Then she joked weakly: "But it's alright. I mean, I probably never want to have my own children, after all. Because you know, for that the touching other people would have to happen, and I'm not really up to that stuff."

"You know that you will always be welcomed in my family, always," Kristoff said and rested his hand softly on Elsa's blanket covered leg, just above her knee. Elsa smiled, feeling a little touched. "My children will always be your children too." Seeing Elsa's face, Kristoff knew he should have left it with the first sentence.

After that, there was a moment of awkward silence, and Elsa coughed awkwardly. The double meaning of that sentence didn't go unnoticed, and because Elsa wasn't too socially capable human being, she didn't know how to just let it go. How after all these years, it had to be so damn awkward between the two? Somehow they always managed to ruin a perfect moment.

"Uh yeah—I—I think I'll go to sleep now. Um—bye," Kristoff said, rubbed his neck, and awkwardly got up from the bed.

"Yeah, okay, good night." Elsa wished she had let it there, but then she stupidly added: "Bye." She smacked her head after Kristoff closed the door.

Tomorrow, she would apologize for her behavior to Anna anyway.

A/N I know I'm earlyyy, but I'm going to be so busy for a year after June, that I'm just trying to write this as much as I can before it. I love you guys in the comment section, you really help me with this story. And it's really nice to hear that you read my previous story too, TitaniaErin. I also like to hear about your speculations where the story is going, though I can't really answer to those, without revealing anything. See you probably in the weekend, dunno. And as always, I hoped you liked the chapter, bye!