A/N: Just a heads up, I've officially caught up to myself in terms of writing ahead, so I do not yet have the next chapter completed. School is over now, so hopefully it won't matter, but just in case, be prepared for my schedule to get a little off.

Disclaimer: I do not own Frozen. Disney does, although to be fair, what don't they own?

For some reason, it felt more awkward than ever before to knock on Elsa's door. Maybe because he didn't know what to expect anymore. Johan stood waiting for just a moment, as he heard thumping footsteps running toward the door. Elsa opened the door and smiled apologetically.

"Sorry, I was going to wait for you at the door," she said. "I lost track of the time."

Johan smiled as he walked in, despite the pit in his stomach. She shut the door behind him and made for the window.

"Come see this!" she said, motioning him over. He walked around the bed and looked over her shoulder as he sat next to her on the window seat. To the right side of the windowsill, there was a birds nest, with a mother golden eagle feeding her three young chicks.

"Aren't they cute?" Elsa said. "I've been watching the nest for a while. The eggs hatched a few months ago, and this afternoon I saw the chicks try to fly for the first time."

Johan smiled. "Well, go birds!" he chuckled. Elsa turned and looked at him, blushing.

"It's stupid, I know-"

"No!" Johan interrupted. "Not at all."

She smiled and looked back at the birds' nest. "Sometimes I wish I could be like that," she said. "To fly away."

"I know the feeling," Johan replied.

Elsa turned toward him and gave him a soft smile. Johan noticed her struggling for words and smirked at her. Her smile broadened, and they both started laughing.

Johan adjusted himself so his back was to the window and his feet were on the floor. She did the same, folding her hands into her lap and staring at the floor. He waited to see if she was going to say something, but when she didn't, he figured he might as well start with the elephant in the room.

"I was surprised to see you in the library today," he said.

She looked up at him guiltily and sighed. "I'm sorry I couldn't stay," she replied.

"Why not?"

"What?"

"Why couldn't you stay?"

She paused and stared out into her room, her expression blank. "It's complicated."

Johan hesitated to push the topic, but he had so many questions.

"Does it have to do with your sister?" he asked.

Elsa glanced at him briefly before responding. "Sort of," she replied. "But it has more to do with me."

Johan sighed. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to pry into things that are none of my business-"

"It's alright," she said. "I'd be asking questions, too."

A long pause filled the air. Johan thought through his words carefully.

"She loves you, you know. Your sister."

"I know," Elsa replied. "I love her, too."

"Really?" he said. He cringed as soon as the word came out of my mouth, and Elsa gave him a sideways glance. "Sorry, that came out wrong!"

"No, it's okay. I know what it looks like," she said. "I'm sorry you had to see that today. And I wish I could answer your questions, but I can't."

Johan reaches up and put his hand on her shoulder, but pulled it back when she flinched.

"Sorry," they both said at the same time. They laughed, and Johan placed his hand on the bench.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," he said.

"No, you don't have anything to be sorry for," she replied.

"Elsa..."

She shook her head and smiled, twirling her finger through her braid.

"What about you?" she asked.

"What about me?"

"You have siblings too, don't you?"

"Oh. Yeah. An older sister and a younger sister."

"What are they like?"

Johan smiled. "Well my younger sister, Julie, is lot like Anna. A little ball of energy that can't be contained. She'll be thirteen in a couple weeks."

"Are you close to her?"

He nodded. "Yes, we've always been close."

Elsa smiled. "And what about your older sister?"

"Leah is twenty. She's always been the most responsible of the three of us, but she has just as much of a stubborn side as me and Julie do. She just started courting a prince from Haugen."

"Have you met him?"

"Oh, yeah. Nice guy!"

"My father has been to Haugen before, with his father when he was quite young. Said King Nikolaas and Queen Patricia kept sneaking him candy when my grandfather wasn't looking. It was before they had any children."

"Having met them, I would absolutely believe it. They are an uncommonly kind family, the whole lot of them. And they like to have some fun!"

Elsa chuckled. "Are you saying your family doesn't like to have fun?"

"Oh, my family has plenty of fun, but I probably try to have more fun than is good for me!" he admitted.

"How so?"

Johan rubbed the back of his neck. "Let's just say I have a certain talent for trouble!"

"I could imagine," Elsa said.

"Yeah..."

"Is that why you joined the military? I noticed you were wearing a uniform yesterday."

"Well.." he stuttered, "that was one reason. It's pretty typical for men in my family to join the military. But it also was a way to get me back on my feet after... after my mother passed last year."

Elsa's smile fell. "Oh," she said. "I'm sorry-"

"It's okay," he said, not wanting to dwell on that. "But I joined the navy in particular because I like to sail. But the boys and I certainly like to crash at the pub when we can."

Elsa shook her head with a smirk. Johan simply shrugged.

"So, you're good friends with your unit?"

"Oh, yeah. All of them."

"What about your other friends? I remember you telling me about one before."

"Noah," he said.

"How is he?" she asked.

"He's doing well," he replied. "He recently joined the castle guard. I tend to go to him when I need the inside scoop."

"Anything else?" she asked. He looked at her curiously, wondering what she was getting at. "No girl for you?"

"Oh," he said, blushing. "No, not right now."

She raised her eyebrows, curious.

"W-Well, I had a girl I was with for a few months about a year and a half ago, but it didn't really work out," he explained.

"I see," she said, amused. "Can I ask what happened?"

Johan rolled his eyes. "I realized she only wanted me for two things," he said. "My title, and... *ahem* my bed."

He looked at Elsa, who shut her eyes and grimaced, though still somewhat amused.

"Sorry, that was probably too much information."

"A little," she admitted.

Johan chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry," he said. "But anyway, the other thing was that she demanded my constant attention, and she didn't exactly like it when I was spending more time with my mother after she got sick."

"That's terrible," Elsa said.

"Yeah, that ended things pretty quickly," he replied, looking at the floor. "I'm glad I spent that time with my mother though. I miss her."

Elsa gazed at him sadly. "I'm so sorry, Johan."

"Thank you," he whispered.

She paused, trying to think of the next right thing to say. "What's her name? Your mother, I mean."

He turned to look at her. "Ingrid."

Elsa smiled, leaning back on her hands. "That's one of my middle names!"

"Really?"

"Mm-hmm," she said. "Elsa Rita Ingrid Annelise."

Johan smiled. "It's a beautiful name," he said.

"Thank you," she replied. "All my names are family names, but Rita in particular was my grandmothers name."

"What about Anna?"

"Anna's full name is Anna Miriam Rebekka Josefine."

"Also a beautiful name."

"And what about you?"

"Johan Markus Adrian Georg."

Elsa chuckled, her hand covering her mouth. "Georg."

"What?" he asked, smiling. "What's wrong with Georg?"

"Nothing," she replied, smirking. "I think it's cute."

He shook his head, smirking. Elsa leaned back on the windowsill, her hands sliding along the bench. She stopped when she felt her fingers slip over his. Both of them glanced at their overlapping hands, frozen in place. Elsa felt her heart stop, but she didn't dare move.

"There's no door there anymore," Johan whispered.

She looked up and met his eyes, warm and inviting. They were chocolate brown in color, a very similar shade to his hair. He smiled at her, and she let out a shaky breath as she smiled back.

Before Johan could say anything else, something caught his eye. Elsa's left hand rested in her lap, and her three-quarter sleeved dress left a portion of her forearm exposed. On the inside of her arm was a long scar that started at her wrist and went up her arm, under her sleeve where he couldn't see. It looked new, like she had just gotten stitches out.

"What happened to your arm?" he asked.

Elsa slapped her other hand over her wrist, trying to hide her arm. Her face went red, and she broke her apprehensive eyes from his.

"I-I tripped getting up from my desk, and I... slashed my arm on the corner," she said.

Johan looked at her desk, which was up against the wall. From here, the front corners looked round, but the lacquer had been worn off.

"My father had the corners sanded down so it wouldn't happen again," Elsa explained. He looked at her, and then back to her arm.

"Does it hurt?"

She shook her head. "Not anymore."

Johan looked into her eyes worriedly. She smiled and took his hand.

"I'm fine, Johan. Don't worry about it."

He sighed. "Alright," he said. "I hate to see scars on such beautiful skin."

She blushed. "Well I'm sure you've got plenty of scars. What's that on your hand?"

Johan chuckled, looking at the dull scar running down his palm. "Ah, this was from an exercise with the boys. Kind of a long story."

"Tell me," Elsa said. Her eyes were lit up like a child on Christmas.

Johan smiled. "Alright."

He spent the rest of their time together that night telling her stories of some of his adventures with his unit. She listened intently, interested in every word. Johan thought of when he would talk to her through the door, barely knowing that she was there.

Wow, he thought. She really was listening.

Happy Mother's Day!

Read on, write on, dream on. -bandgeek63