Chapter twenty

Love bites

"Anna," Elsa said, panting heavily. "Please…"

Anna looked at Elsa. Her face was red, and she seemed to be having a hard time keeping up. "Sorry," she said, slowing her pace accordingly. "Let's take a break."

Thankful for the reprieve, Elsa slowed to a halt, leaning against a nearby tree. "Christ, Anna," she said between deep gulps of air. "Not everyone's a track star, you know."

Anna chuckled, looking off into the lake. "You could've said something earlier," she said.

Elsa looked at her, pulling her eyes away from Anna's track shorts. "I was…enjoying the view," she said, a little sheepishly.

"Really," Anna said, chuckling. "Well, my view was all the worse for it."

"Yeah?" Elsa said, grinning. "Well, I know how to fix that." She took Anna's hand in her own, clasping it firmly. "There, now we both have the same pace, and the same view."

The tingles shot up Anna's arm. "That works," she managed.

The girls resumed their walk, a good deal slower this time. Elsa oscillated between staring lovingly at Anna and at the beautiful park that surrounded them, bathed in the evening glow. Anna didn't bother much with the latter. She'd jogged around this footpath more times than she could count, in the morning's glow rather than the evening's, which wasn't much of a difference. But that was just about the only thing familiar about this situation.

My first real date with Elsa. No more pretending, no more caveats – a real, genuine date with Elsa Arendelle.

For all that her fake dates had taught her, she didn't feel any less nervous on this one. Was she just supposed to do exactly the same thing as she had on the fake dates? Obviously not – something was clearly different. So should she lean more towards her dates with Hans? That didn't sound right either. Should she talk about more intimate things than they had already been discussing, or would that be weird?

She turned to look at Elsa for guidance. Without saying a word, she received it.

Elsa's eyes were half-closed. Her breathing, just now heavy and irregular, had slowed. Noticing Anna's glance, she looked at her and smiled encouragingly. She didn't appear to be embroiled in any crisis, she was just walking.

Maybe I should just do that.

She slowed her mind to a halt. All the plans, the anticipated conversations, everything was shut off, save for the essentials: breathing, walking, and holding Elsa's hand. She closed her eyes, trusting her sister and her memory to steer her true. Her heart rate slowed to resting, and she felt peaceful.

Boy, Elsa knows how to relax, doesn't she?

That was one of many things she envied about her sister. Elsa was always better at slowing down. She knew how to stop and smell the roses. Meanwhile, one of the main reasons Anna had gotten into track was that she just couldn't stand still.

Maybe Elsa can teach me how. After all, we'll be together for quite a long while. It wouldn't do for me to-

Her foot stepped off the path. She stumbled for a moment, but Elsa's grip caught her. She opened her eyes and looked at Elsa, who had a guilty smile on her face.

"Did you just guide me off the path?" Anna asked.

"Sorry," Elsa said, chuckling. "Saw your eyes were closed, just couldn't resist."

"You asshole," Anna said, playfully slugging her on the shoulder.

"Yep, that's me," Elsa chuckled. Her laughter was so melodious and cute, it washed away any feeble attempt Anna made to stay angry.

"So is that sister shenanigans, or girlfriend shenanigans?" Anna asked.

"Pfft, you kidding? Girlfriend shenanigans don't start until the third or fourth date, at least," Elsa said.

"Heh, lucky me, then, I guess," Anna said.

Elsa threw an arm around Anna and kissed the top of her head. "Yeah," she said softly. "Lucky you."

Elsa rubbed her hand up and down Anna's side, and it felt amazing. And Anna didn't have to ask whether this one was as a sister or a girlfriend.

xxxxxxx

At the halfway point around the lake, a familiar bench came into view. Anna nudged Elsa. "You wanna take a break?" she asked.

Elsa, red-faced again, hopped onto the bench. "Thought you'd never ask," she said, panting.

Anna raised her eyebrows. "We were just walking that time," she said.

"Didn't I tell you?" Elsa said to her. "I'm fat."

Anna sat down next to her, smiling. "I told you, you're not fat," she said, placing her hand atop Elsa's.

"Well, I'm not you, either," she said, her breathing returning to normal.

"Yeah, I know," Anna said. "More's the pity."

Elsa chuckled. "Indeed."

She stared out ahead at the beautiful panorama before them. The setting sun bathed both the sky and its reflection in a beautiful peach-colored tint.

"So beautiful," Elsa breathed. "You sure know how to pick 'em, sis."

Anna smiled. She placed a hand on Elsa's cheek and turned her head to face her. "I sure do," she said warmly.

She looked around nervously. "Look, Elsa, I know what we said about PDAs, but…there's nobody else around here, and-"

Elsa didn't even bother answering. Not with words, anyway.

The kiss was, once again, long and sweet, though this time the sweetness was tempered by the salty tang of the rivulets of sweat pouring down Elsa's face. But that was no deterrent – even without any lipstick, the taste of Elsa was like ambrosia.

And yet, she wanted more. Though her apprehension of going beyond the milestones she had previously reached had held her in check so far, her hunger for Elsa was growing stronger every day. It seemed clear that Elsa would be comfortable with whatever step she took next, but that only served to put a greater onus on her, to figure out what she would be comfortable with before she did it. And it wasn't like she had a roadmap for any of this – trying to look into incest online usually just turned up porn with hokey acting. She was flying blind.

So she took a leap.

She broke off from the kiss, then moved her head down towards Elsa's neck. Finding a soft spot, she placed her mouth upon it.

Elsa gasped, and for a moment, Anna was worried she'd done it wrong, but her subsequent moan of pleasure reassured her. Anna sucked, using her teeth to apply the slightest of pressure.

Her skin tingled. She'd never done anything like this before, never even considered it until a few days ago. When she had first looked into it, she had no clue why anyone would do such a thing. Now, being here and listening to the noises she was teasing out of Elsa, she understood.

Elsa's arms reached, grabbed, embraced. She drew Anna's trembling body in closer, trying to do what she could to rebalance the asymmetric display of affection, yet not daring to surpass it. "Anna," she moaned. "Anna."

Anna blushed. Hearing Elsa's low and primal voice heightened her own arousal. She felt her center stirring, in a way that suggested anticipation for more to come. Knowing she could go no further at this time and place, she quelled her excitement, feeling intense disappointment at her own restraint.

Eventually, Anna pulled away, if only to quell her rising embarrassment. She looked up at her sister, a tentative smile on her own face and a broad smile on Elsa's. Elsa was breathing more heavily than she had at any point in her walk.

"Did I…do well?" she asked.

Elsa laughed. "You did great."

Anna let out a relieved chuckle, feeling stupid for even asking.

She looked down at Elsa's collarbone, where a red spot was already forming. "You can…probably…cover that with your braid," she mumbled.

Elsa chortled. She tossed her braid over to her other shoulder, as far from the hickey as possible.

"Well, I'm not gonna."

xxxxxxx

Anna plucked a bottle of water from the fridge. She gulped about a third of the bottle down, sighing in relief. She turned around. "Hey, Elsa, want some…"

She trailed off. Elsa was at the sink, drinking directly from the faucet. Upon hearing her name, she stopped drinking and turned to face her. "What'd you say?" she asked, wiping a hand across her mouth.

"Oh, nothing," Anna said. The two returned to their chosen methods of hydration.

After drinking her fill, Elsa turned away from the sink again, leaning against the counter. "That was a lot of fun," she said to Anna. "Great idea."

"Thanks," Anna said. "I wanted to make it unique. It isn't every day you get to have your second first date with someone."

"Very true," Elsa said. "Though, for future reference, that wouldn't be a good actual first date. Not a lot of opportunities to talk."

Anna raised an eyebrow. "Future reference? You got a third persona you're planning on pulling out?"

"No, just…" She shrugged. "I don't know. I'm still in teacher mode, I guess."

"Fair enough," Anna said.

Elsa yawned. "Man, I am beat! I think I might hit the rack soon."

"I could, too," Anna said, checking her watch. "You wanna sleep with me?"

Elsa raised an eyebrow.

"I mean!" Anna said, backpedaling hastily, "Just in the same bed, you know? Not like, in that way, just…just…" She struggled for the right words.

"I get it," Elsa said, throwing her a lifeline. "There are other connotations to that word than the obvious, and I would be happy to sleep with you."

"Great," Anna said, taking another drink of water.

"So, do you want to be the big spoon or the little spoon?"

Anna spat out her drink.