A/N: So here we are. 10 chapters in and Elsanna is here in all its glory. You're welcome. :) Lots of fluff and some feelz await so you've been warned. May require some edits later for continuity reasons but let's give this a try. Here we go... :)
"You two go get some sleep, I'll make sure she's okay."
After bringing Anna back to her room, the trio had sprang to work making sure Anna was as comfortable as possible. Rapunzel wasn't there when they arrived, probably out with Flynn on some spontaneous adventure or other. Elsa hadn't left Anna's side all night, guilt keeping her alert and attentive to the redhead's every move and groan.
Kristoff and Red, looking worn out from their long night looked from Elsa to Anna and back to Elsa before nodding silently and shuffling sleepily out of the room. Turning back to the still sleeping Anna, Elsa sent out a silent prayer to no one in particular she had answered her phone. 'I'm so sorry Anna. This is all my fault.' Elsa thought, suddenly emotional due to the lack of sleep and worry she was feeling, Elsa felt tears spring to her eyes. Closing her burning, itchy eyes, Elsa felt two tears escape from her crystal blue eyes.
Hearing a stirring from the bed, Elsa's eyes snapped open and she let out a relieved sigh when she saw Anna stir, eyes struggling to open under their own weight. Blinking away the sleep and grogginess that filled her head, Anna attempted to sit up, only to find herself being pushed back onto the pillow by an unknown force. Anna turned her head slowly and seeing Elsa next to her bed, Anna's eyes lit up.
"Elsa! I…oh god. Why does blinking make my head hurt?"
Elsa looked down at her Little, ice blue eyes filled with concern and love. The younger had obviously never been drunk before, the sensation of a hangover a foreign concept to her. Elsa smiled as confidently as she could and hushed the hungover redhead comfortingly. "It's okay, you went to a party last night and had too much to drink."
Anna stared at the blonde blankly, obviously having trouble remembering the events Elsa was describing. Elsa's heartbeat quickened, suddenly afraid Anna had been drugged by one of the IXO jerks. But all thoughts of drugs vanished when Anna finally spoke. "That's right," she groaned, the events of the previous evening slowly but surely returning. "I was with Red in the dining hall when Hans showed up and invited us to some party with him and some of his friends. Red made it clear she wasn't interested but I talked her into it. Next thing I knew we were at the IXO house, Hans was gone and drinks were begin shoved in my face faster than I could get them down. I vaguely remember Kristoff getting there and he and Red trying to get me to leave but I didn't want to go. I was having fun, I thought I was anyway.'' Teal eyes locked onto ice blue. "I remember you showing up and taking on the IXO guys. You realize you took on half of the meanest, nastiest fraternity on campus right?"
Elsa stared blankly at the girl. "When we first met you stood up for me. Hell you did it twice! I wasn't going to leave you with those jerks any longer than I had to." Elsa turned her face away and took a deep breath before continuing. "Anna, I am so sorry. If I hadn't ignored your texts this never…" Elsa was silenced when she felt a warm hand on her cheek. Following the guiding force it provided, Elsa's eyes met Anna's teal orbs that seemed to dance with something Elsa couldn't identify.
"My White Knight"
Elsa felt Anna's hand slide from her cheek to the back of the neck, pulling the older girl in closer. Elsa could barely process what was happening before feeling Anna's warm lips press forcefully against her own. The kiss was sweet but cautious, Anna trying to gauge Elsa's reaction to her sudden movement. Sitting frozen on the bed, Elsa tried to fully process what was happening. 'She's kissing you. Really kissing you!'
The sudden realization of what was happening hit Elsa like an electric shock and she pulled away, leaving Anna visibly disappointed. Trying desperately to recover from her sudden movement, Elsa stammered out her excuse. "Anna, you're still drunk. You don't know what you're doing. We can't do this."
"Why not? Drunk or not I know my feelings. I like you Elsa, really like you. And you seemed to be enjoying yourself there too for a minute." Elsa blushed and looked away. She had enjoyed the kiss, it had been everything she had ever imagined and more. What she hadn't enjoyed were the memories the kiss had reawakened from the deep recesses of her mind. Anna could see the battle raging in Elsa's mind because she slipped her hand in the blonde's comfortingly.
Taking a deep breath, Elsa spoke, "Anna, I like you too. A lot actually. More than I would like to admit. But the last time I let someone in I got my heart broken so badly it almost destroyed me. I would love nothing more than to jump into this, to be with you. But I can't risk being hurt like that again. It nearly broke me Anna."
Feeling tears spring to her eyes, Anna removed her hand from Elsa's and draped a loving arm around the blonde's thin shoulders, gently pulling the elder close. Platinum locks mixing with strawberry blonde on Anna's shoulder. Slipping the other arm around Elsa and hugging her close, the two sat in silence for a few minutes, letting the words settle around them like a fog. After what felt like an eternity, Anna let go and turned to face Elsa directly. Seeing the ice blue orbs surrounded by a ring of red, Anna couldn't understand how someone could hurt such a sweet, caring girl like Elsa. Taking her face in her hand, Anna wiped away a stray tear streaming down Elsa's face. "Elsa. I care about you. So much. And if you're uncomfortable with something I want you to tell me. You mean way too much to me to rush something and make you feel uncomfortable. So if you want to wait, I'll wait as long as it takes for you to be ready."
Elsa couldn't believe it. This woman. This beautiful, kind, caring person was more than Elsa ever imagined. And so much more than she thought she deserved. "Why are you doing this Anna? Why are you so intent that this work?"
Taking a deep breath, Anna thought carefully as she spoke, being sure to choose the right words. "Elsa, I've had people around me all my life. Friends, family, and yeah the occasional romantic relationship. I thought I knew what it was like to be happy with another person, but until I met you, I never knew what true happiness was. When I'm with you, I feel happy, complete even. I can't imagine my life without you in it. I don't want to."
Elsa couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had done nothing but push the girl out only to realize said girl held Elsa on a golden pedestal. Fresh tears sprang to both girls eyes as Elsa leaned in and kissed Anna. The kiss was soft, softer than the first, both girls knowing exactly what it meant. This time Anna broke the kiss and stared into the watery orbs opposite her own. The blonde smiled and wiped away Anna's tears. "Okay, we'll take this nice and slow."
"I don't understand how it's already so cold in October!" Rapunzel cried as the group walked towards the skating rink. The winter chill had come unseasonably early that year and Rapunzel, Anna and Olaf, being from the sunny land of Corona were having a hard time adjusting to the near freezing temperatures. Kristoff, though originally from Corona had adjusted to the cold thanks to his many years of ice hockey in near record time. Red came from a far away land called Scotland where it rarely got very cold, but the rain seemed to never stop. Only Elsa, Flynn and Sven were original Arendellinans, so the cold never bothered them.
Kristoff looked over his shoulder at the younger blonde and chuckled. "I don't know how you can be cold, you've got about 10 layers on. Hell I'm surprised you can even move!" Either of you!" Anna and Rapunze had bundled themselves so tight they were indeed having a difficult time walking. Anna stuck her tongue out at her friend but had to laugh at herself. 'Maybe I did overdress. I mean, it's just ice skating.'
Arriving at the rink for their scheduled time, the small group found a place to leave their belongings while they skated. As a part of LIG and ADT's partnership, each year they co-hosted a skating day for the student body of the university. Being members of both ADT and LIG, the group had convinced Belle to let them have a private skating session before the rest of the members arrived. Going to the table to claim their rental skates, a familiar, though not entirely welcome face greeted the group. Hans stood behind the table distributing skates with a plastered grin that faltered ever so slightly when he saw the group approach.
"Hey guys, great day for skating huh?" No one spoke. Red and Kristoff had told the rest of the group about Anna's experience at the party and how Hans had abandoned her at the IXO house. From that moment on, an unspoken distrust and dislike for the man was formed and seeing him so soon after the incident was hard for everyone, no one more so than Anna and Elsa.
Plastering his own fake smile, Kristoff stepped towards the table. "Yeah great day. How 'bout 7 skates huh? I brought my ice hockey skates so I'm good."
"Actually I'm good. I brought my own too." Elsa spoke, causing everyone to stare in confusion. Elsa sighed, as if the words she was about to speak were painful. "When I was little my parents forced me into figure skating. I hated it but I was actually pretty good. But school keeps me busy so I don't get the chance to practice much anymore." Now everyone really stared. Figure skating was such an individualized sport and Elsa hated being in the spotlight, though her physical appearance did resemble a figure skater.
Hearing the skates clatter on the table, everyone grabbed a pair and scampered back to their corner where their belongings awaited. Changing out of their normal foot ware and into more appropriate shoes, the group made their way onto the ice with varying levels of confidence and skill. Kristoff took a confident lap around the rink once before returning to the side for Red, who was having a difficult time getting herself started. Sven and Olaf were more graceful on the ice, though not nearly as confident as Kristoff. Slipping and sliding around the rink a few times, the boys eventually found their strides and started zooming around the rink, obviously enjoying the friendly competition they found in each other. Rapunzel and Flynn were obviously beginners and struggled to keep themselves upright. Neither seemed to mind much, and the pair found themselves rolling around on the ice laughing at each other and themselves more than staying upright.
Anna had never been skating in her life and it clearly showed by her even greater lack of coordination, her many layers of clothing restricting her movements even more. Inching along the wall closest to the benches, Anna saw Elsa finish lacing up the most beautiful pair of skates Anna had ever seen. Pure white skates were decorated with intricate blue and purple designs, blades shining brightly, obviously well cared for. Elsa stood up and bounced a few times to allow herself to settle into the skates.
'Just like riding a bike.' Stepping onto the ice, years of training flashed through Elsa's mind and almost subconsciously, Elsa took off across the smooth sheet of ice with all the speed and grace of a fully trained figure skater. Feeling freer than she had in years, Elsa sped around the rink, passing Olaf and Sven who lost interest in their own skating and stopped to watch Elsa. Rapunzel and Flynn had also noticed the blonde woman speeding around the rink and ceased their attempts at righting themselves and looked on in awe. Catching up to Kristoff and Red, Elsa smirked at the boy as she flew past him. "Catch me if you can in those dinosaurs you call skates" Elsa taunted completing her lap and returning to Anna, who could only stare in awe and admiration at Elsa's show of talent.
'She's amazing. She's smart, funny, beautiful and apparently a killer skater. What else don't you know about her?' Anna was snapped from her thought by hands grabbing her own and felt herself being pulled out onto the ice. Elsa was skating backwards, holding the wobbly Anna up like it was the easiest thing in the world. "Elsa I'm really not much good at this. Maybe I shouldn't…"
"Oh come on Anna! You can do it! Just move one foot in front of the other…that's it! You're doing great! Try to keep your head up, don't look at your feet. Keep your eyes on me." 'Don't mind if I do' Anna thought as she tried to follow Elsa's instructions, which was easier said than done. Many slips and near falls later, Anna was feeling confident enough to let go of Elsa's hands and try skating on her own, though she insisted Elsa stay in front of her just in case she started feeling unsteady. Making it successfully around half the rink, Anna was feeling great, even attempting to go faster. Obviously not as steady as she thought, Anna felt herself falling forward and before Elsa could brace for impact, both girls found themselves sprawled on the ice. Everything happened so fast Elsa couldn't understand how she had ended up on her back, but one look into the teal eyes looking down at her told her everything she needed to know. "Hi" Anna whispered and smiled as a soft shade of pink spread across Elsa's cheeks. Leaning down, Anna placed a soft kiss on Elsa's nose, causing the older woman to blush an even deeper shade of pink. "Sorry I knocked you over."
"Don't worry about it," Elsa said with a sly smile. "This is one time I don't mind falling." Now it was Anna's turn to blush, causing Elsa to giggle.
"Woah that was some fall. You two okay?" Kristoff asked sliding to a stop next to the fallen girls. Trying to detangle themselves, the girls looked at each other and smiled, nodding their answers. "Good, because I think someone needs to be taught a lesson for her comment about my skates. How bout it blondie? Wanna see who the better skater is?"
Elsa smiled, this would be a piece of cake. "Oh you are so on." And with that they took off, leaving Anna staring after the two people she loved most in the world.
"What are we gonna do with those two?" Anna chuckled as Red shakily made her way towards Anna. Looking at the two skaters zipping around the rink trying to out do the other, Anna smiled to herself. She had never seen Elsa so happy. So free. It was as if she didn't have a care in the world. She was having the time of her life, finally letting her shields down.
"Hold onto them with everything we have. And never let them go."