"Never mind," Kristoff whispered when she didn't respond.
"Could we talk about it on Monday?" Anna could barely get the words out between fatigue and surprise at his sudden question.
"Yeah. 'Bye."
Click.
"Who was that?" Rapunzel mumbled curiously, despite her drooping eyelids, when Anna hung up the call.
"Kristoff," she admitted, too sleepy to think up a lie.
"Oh, he okay?"
Anna was quiet, but Rapunzel didn't press because they were both busy covering their mouths as yawns escaped them.
They quietly paid for the food on their trays and as soon as they were done Rapunzel took a long draught of coffee and Anna her hot chocolate. A bit more awake now with caffeine and sugar coursing through them, they rode the elevator to Ariel's floor, and found Elsa sitting outside, head tilted off one shoulder, resting lightly against the alabaster wall, fast asleep. Her bandaged hands and arms were resting lightly on her lap.
After taking in the sight of the black outfits of Ariel's bodyguards outlining the white hallway, Anna noticed Alistair eyeing her warily, unsure of what to do about his unconscious charge.
She set her tray down, and leaned over to brush a lock of platinum blonde hair out of her sister's eyes, letting her fingers rest ever so lightly on the pale skin of the blonde's forehead. Her sister's once-cold skin was burning and sweaty. Alarmed, she put a hand to Elsa's brow, and found it feverish under her palm.
"I think she has a fever," she worriedly divulged to Alistair, who motioned for a man in similar attire to locate hospital personnel.
After a couple moments, her sister had a hospital bed of her own, and, after some insistence on Anna's part, situated next to Ariel. The nurse explained that the fever was probably just natural response to having been sitting drenched on the cold floor for so long, or a possible infection from the grazes on her arms and knees. To be safe, they fixed Elsa on an intravenous drip to replenish her electrolytes, in case the cause of her fever was dehydration.
When the hospital was open to non-familial visitors, Gerda brought Anna a change of clothes, and insisted that Rapunzel return home to placate her worried parents. Convinced that Anna would be fine after Gerda's return, Rapunzel complied, allowing Anna's chauffeur to drive her home.
Feeling more refreshed after a quickly rinsing her face and removing the traces of mascara and eyeliner that had been smudged by the rain, Anna changed out of her dress and proceeded to wolf down one chocolate chip muffin for breakfast. Okay, three. And then washed them down with large cup of hot chocolate.
Sugar coursing through her veins, she was remarkably more awake than she had been an hour ago. Of course, this also meant she was back to her normal routine of being struck by her sister's beauty every time let herself rest her wandering gaze. Elsa had a precious look of peace when she was sleeping, something Anna rarely saw because the blonde always wore a mask of indifference underlaid with caution and unease.
To her dismay, Gerda had taken the liberty of bringing her homework along with her clothes, to 'help her pass the time'. Grumbling, but bored, she plopped herself on the leather armchair in the corner of the room beside Elsa's bed, where there was a gap of light streaming through the edge of the curtain, flipped open her math binder and got to work, the steady beeps of Elsa and Ariel's patient monitors echoing in the background.
She was almost done all the questions when she heard Elsa weakly mumbling something almost inaudible. She raised her head to find her sister's previous peaceful expression replaced by one of panic, brows furrowed, lower lip quivering, frantically whispering, almost as if she were… begging?
The noticeable increase in the beeping of Elsa's monitor was confirmation that she was having a nightmare. Throwing down her papers, Anna rushed over to sit on the edge of her sister's bed, and shook the unconscious blonde gently in an attempt to wake her. "Elsa," Anna whispered, not wanting to disturb Ariel, "Elsa, wake up. It's me, Anna!"
Her sister was a light sleeper to begin with, so Anna's soft pleas and movements were enough to shake her out of her nightmarish trance. Glazed blue eyes met hers, widened in fear, as if whatever was in the nightmare was still a threat, and then calmed after Anna pressed a warm hand to her sister's cheek. "Are you okay?"
To Anna's surprise, and discouragement, Elsa's only response was to roll over in the bed so that her back was facing the redhead, pulling her legs to her chest, and burying her face into the pillow. Anna wouldn't have been able to tell her sister was crying if not for the silhouette of Elsa's shoulders shaking with each stifled sob.
Bewildered and concerned, Anna reached out with a hand to gently stroke her sister's back, but the gesture only evoked a shudder from the blonde's contorted form, and she quickly withdrew it. "Elsa," she begged, "What's wrong?"
There was a long moment of silence, save for quiet whimpering and beeping, before Elsa responded with a shaky breath, "I'm okay. I'm sorry you had to see that."
"No—why are you apologizing? It's normal to have nightmares." Anna looked away, fiddling with her hands. She had only just recently learned of how her sister would comfort her whenever she had a nightmare in their childhood, so she had been determined to return the favour, but Elsa's rejection had caused deep-seated feelings of inadequacy to bubble from within her. Was she really that unreliable?
By now, Elsa had wiped away her tears with her sleeve and rolled over on her back, turning her head to face her sister. Registering the hurt in Anna's eyes, she grabbed her sister's hand with a vigor that surprised the redhead, and murmured, "I'm used to dealing with it on my own like this."
"You shouldn't," Anna returned the blonde's apologetic gaze with a determined one, "You shouldn't have to deal with it by yourself. You always made sure I didn't."
Elsa smiled, affection turning her eyes a warm cobalt. "Then give me a kiss on the forehead and make me feel better," she half-joked.
Anna beamed back at her, and leaned forward to brush her lips against the blonde's forehead, but she misjudged the distance in the faint light, bumping her knee on the mattress. She jerked forward with a hushed noise of surprise, and the kiss that was meant for her sister's forehead fell on the soft curve of her sister's lips instead.
The feeling was overwhelming, electric, a thousand times better than what she'd felt in her dreams. Every molecule in her body was burning and screaming at her to move her mouth, to really feel Elsa's lips, to taste her. She had to struggle to stay still, having completely lost the will to pull away.
She was shaken from her reverie when she felt Elsa's hand tighten around hers. Abruptly, she tore herself away, and found herself staring into the glowing light blue of her sister's irises in the faint light. Oh god, what was—what am—what was I doing?!
She fervently hoped the darkness would cover up the deep red blush that she no doubt wore at this moment. "S-sorry! I tripped! It's dark and the mattress was there—I mean it's always there, but it was more there than I thought—" she stammered, trying not to sound as enamored as she felt.
She hadn't noticed the quickened beeping of the heart rate monitor attached to her sister until the older girl suddenly pulled the leads off and the monitor flat-lined. "This thing is broken," Elsa grumbled shakily. "It's fine, Anna, I was just surprised."
"O-oh, okay," Anna replied quickly, not registering the implications of the heart rate monitor.
There was an awkward silence until a frantic nurse poked her head into the room. "Is everything all right, dear?" Noting the girl's detached leads, she added, "Those need to stay on."
"Yes, fine, I'm fine, everything's fine," Elsa replied, regaining her composure, despite the throbbing of her ribcage.
The woman crossed the room and checked her chart, "It seems you're almost done ready to go, anyway." Turning to Anna, she said, "Do you mind coming with me to fill out discharge papers?"
Anna nodded, grateful for the opportunity to not embarrass herself any further.
As soon as her sister left the room, Elsa let out a sigh of relief. Her hand involuntarily came up to touch her lips as she relived the feeling of Anna's soft mouth pressing against hers, her heart breaking into a sprint again. And the way the redhead had blushed after. God, that was adorable.
The blasted heart rate monitor had almost given her away. It was a good thing that her sister was too flustered by her accident to notice, or she probably could have guessed that Elsa's reaction was too positive.
It had taken all of her self-control to keep herself from tangling her hand in her sister's gorgeous strawberry blonde hair and turn the accident into a deliberate kiss.
A snicker interrupted her thoughts, and she sat up in alarm, squinting her eyes to make out Ariel grinning smugly at her a few feet away.
"Y-you were awake?" Elsa sputtered. "How long?"
"Long enough." A smile was in Ariel's reply. And then, "Ow."
"Do you want me to up your morphine?" Elsa slid off the bed, sticking her feet in the hospital slippers.
"No. The physical pain helps combat the… other one. Also, I want to be angry with you like you deserve," Ariel parroted.
The words incited another burn of shame despite the underlying humour. "So, are you?"
Ariel blinked at her. "Surprisingly, no. Maybe I'm more benevolent than I thought." Another chuckle. "Also, watching you dance awkwardly around her is hilarious. It's so rare to see you flustered."
Elsa flushed again. "I'm so glad I could entertain you." There was a hint of sarcasm, accompanied by the relief of her friend's reply.
"So when are you gonna tell her?"
"I see being drugged had nothing to do with your poor judgement," Elsa exhaled heavily, seating herself on the edge of Ariel's bed.
The girl pouted. "Just because I think falling in love with someone is natural and can't be controlled, doesn't mean I have poor judgement. You, on the other hand, need to grow a pair and just tell her."
"I told you, it's wrong! It's sick! Sisters don't fall in love!"
"You don't really think that."
"Yes, I do!"
"If you did, then how did you fall in love with her in the first place?"
Elsa bit her lip.
"See, even you don't believe yourself." Ariel laughed again, and then clutched at her side with her unhurt hand. "Ow. I should really stop doing that. Go home, go shower, and clear your head. Maybe then you'll see sense."
"I am not leaving you here alone," Elsa protested.
"I'll be fine. I could use some time without you. Also, I need you to cover all the work I'll be missing," The redhead grinned again.
Elsa groaned irritably at the thought of the piles and piles of papers that would be waiting for her when she returned to the office the next day. It was a good thing that her mother was not in town, she thought, or she would have already been viciously rebuked for missing today.
She sighed again in defeat, gave Ariel's hand a squeeze, and then turned to exit the room when Anna burst back in, almost bumping into her.
It was impossible to miss the delicious blush that crept onto the redhead's cheeks when she registered the sight of Elsa, standing so close.
The blonde felt dizzy from the rush of blood to her face again.
Unfortunately, Anna missed the pink colouring on Elsa's pale cheeks when she quickly ducked away, embarrassed at the rash manner in which she entered, and noticed that Ariel was conscious. "H-hey, Ariel! How are you feeling?"
"Everything is sore, but I'm okay," Elsa could tell, just from the amusement in Ariel's voice, that the girl was trying very hard to not burst out laughing again. "Elsa was just leaving."
"Oh." Anna's eyes darted from Ariel to Elsa, and back. "Can I stay?"
"Oh, I would love that!" Ariel exclaimed, her grin stretching from ear to ear as she glanced at Elsa, the alarm in the blonde's eyes making her smile even wider.
"Anna, you shouldn't disturb Ariel if she wants to sleep," Elsa replied, shooting her ex-girlfriend a glance that said I'll kill you if you tell her. Ariel rolled her eyes in response.
"Don't worry, Elsa, I won't tell her about the time you had to Google 'lol' at Oxford. Oops," Ariel raised her hand to cover her mouth mockingly. Anna was trying to hide a smile now, too.
Elsa's blush almost reached her ears. "You better not," She grumbled, as she slammed the door behind her.
A shower, as it turned out, was extremely welcome, Elsa realized as she let the water wash away the grime, dirt, and memories of last night. She tried, once again, to futilely wash away the unbearably pleasant feeling of Anna's kiss along with it, and once again, failed to do so. If she thought the intensity of her affection for her sister was growing exponentially before, then they were off the charts now.
She slammed her head into the marble wall of the shower as she involuntarily thought about how unacceptably attractive the redhead looked with a blush dusting the freckles on her heart-shaped face. And how endearing her little sister's rambling always was.
What was wrong with her?
I'm in love with my baby sister.
No, I'm not. I can't be.
Ariel's words returned to her.
Even you don't believe you.
Groaning as her logic lost the fight against her emotions, she dejectedly turned off the water and stepped out to dry off, pulling on her clothes before looking in the mirror to dry her hair.
By the time she was done, she realized that visiting hours at the hospital were over, and exhaustion finally caught up with her. She was asleep before her head hit the pillow.
Anna rested her head against the cool glass of the window as her driver pulled the car over in the drop off zone of Arendelle High. Kristoff was waiting for her, like he always did, at the front of the school. This time though, she was dreading the prospect of approaching him.
She hadn't seen Elsa since her sister went home from the hospital on Saturday afternoon, and she had spent the rest of the afternoon laughing with Ariel about the nurses, doctors, and listening to the older girl's anecdotes about mischiefs at Oxford.
There was something about the way Ariel told them that was different from how she had spoken about Elsa before; there was only friendship now, the hint of proprietorship that had been underlying the older girl's speech during the time they went dress shopping was gone. Anna wasn't sure if that was because Ariel was in pain or if it had something to do with her accident on Friday, but she didn't want to push the girl into divulging. To her surprise, she actually liked Ariel; they had a lot in common, from their fiery hair to their wicked sense of humour.
With a heavy heart, she stepped out of the car and slowly made her way toward Kristoff, who was still smiling at her, despite the way she'd treated him.
"Hey… uh… how's… everything?" He asked slowly, when she stopped in front of him.
"Kristoff… I'm sorry about… prom…" She started, unable to look him in the eye. She focused on one of the metal beams behind him instead. Bad idea. It reminded her of the time Elsa defended her from Hans, shoving him into the beam after he tripped her. The thought of Elsa now only brought the sting of unrequited love, not to mention violent self-inflicted rebuke, for the wrongful feelings she had. She involuntarily grimaced.
Kristoff was looking at her though, and he hadn't missed her expression. Awkwardly, he brought a hand up to rub his head. "Look, I feel like—I don't know. Ever since you asked me about how you know if you're in love with someone… it got me thinking, you know? And then the way you kissed me back when we were dancing. It was like…" He took a deep breath. "Like you weren't kissing me. Don't ask me how I know. I just kinda felt it. Like that kiss wasn't meant for me. I thought it was the atmosphere at first, that made you kiss me back like that—but then you looked at me like you didn't expect it to be me…"
"Kristoff…"
"It's hard for me, too, okay? But if there's someone else…"
He didn't deserve this. He had only been kind to her, loved her, comforted her. He was there for her when Elsa couldn't be. He deserved someone who actually loved him the way he loved her. Anna stared at the ground as she realized how she shouldn't have led him on like this. Well, there had always been a voice telling her what she was doing was wrong. But she'd selfishly ignored it. She should have been the one to bring this up, not him. He didn't deserve this.
And she certainly didn't deserve him. He deserved the truth, at least. And so she nodded, still not meeting his gaze. She could feel his chocolate brown eyes, which have only ever held warmth and affection when they met hers, now burning a hole at the top of her head as he looked down at her. "I'm sorry, Kristoff. I should've told you earlier."
If you can't give him genuine love, at least give him a sincere apology. Look him in the eyes and say it.
She glanced up at him, and the lack of anger in the depths of his liquid bronze eyes pierced through her like a spear. "I'm sorry, Kristoff," She said again, biting back tears, returning his still-warm gaze with a remorseful expression of her own.
"I know you're too kind to hurt me on purpose, Anna," He whispered. "It's one of the things I love about you." With that, he pulled her into one last hug before turning around and disappearing through the double glass doors of the school, leaving his girlfriend in the most painless way possible.
Anna stepped through the door to Ariel's hospital room, and found that the older girl was awake. The large plasma screen television that President del Rey had brought in for her was the most likely cause. The large sixty-inch screen was alive with colour, but Anna could barely make out the shapes through the blur of the tears that were already building in her eyes.
Ariel was surprised to see the younger girl enter her room, considering the latter should have been at school. Her eyes widened at the tears in Anna's eyes, and exclaimed, "Anna! What happened? Are you okay? Should I call Elsa?"
Anna could only shake her head. Ariel patted the bed with her uninjured hand and the girl sat down, tears streaming down her face now.
"Why aren't you at school? Did someone hurt you?"
Again, she could only shake her head. "I broke up with Kristoff," She whispered through sniffles.
"Wait a sec, okay? I'll call Elsa." Ariel reached for her phone.
"No! I—I don't want her to know."
Ariel's brows knitted together in confusion, but conceded, grabbing a tissue instead. Handing it to the dejected girl, she inquired carefully, "Why not? I mean—she's your sister. She's the one you always go to when you need someone right? You need her right now."
The younger girl swallowed. "I—she can't know. She gets sad when she sees me sad and that makes me sadder and I c—I don't—"
The familiar statement got a chuckle out of Ariel. "I think it makes her sadder if you bottle everything up."
"Well, she does it all the time!" Anna suddenly cried, with an intensity that she didn't expect from herself. "I'm sorry," She said, when she caught Ariel's perplexed expression, "I guess I'm thinking about when she—" her voice cracked when she thought about Elsa's nightmare and what had accidentally transpired after it.
Ariel caught the blush on the girl's face and everything clicked into place. Trying to hide a smirk, she breathed, "Anna, do you have a different answer to the question I asked you?"
Inexplicably, Anna knew exactly which question the older girl was referring to. She felt her cheeks burn and she debated lying again. This was her sister's girlfriend, after all. How would Ariel respond if she knew Anna was in love with Elsa?
But lying had never come naturally to Anna. "Yeah," she confessed. "Does it bother you?—Oh, I mean of course it bothers you—I guess what I'm asking is—does it make you angry at me? Could we still be friends? I mean I get it if you don't want to but I kinda like being friends with you, Ariel, and I'm blubbering like a complete idiot right now…"
Ariel shook her head. "It's okay. We, uh, we broke up, actually."
Anna's eyes widened. "Are you okay? Oh, my god, Ariel, I'm so sorry—"
She was a little more than surprised when Ariel merely laughed. "You know, I always thought I was completely smitten with Elsa. Like seeing her made me really excited. But when I woke up in this bed, like really woke up, I realized that what I wanted from her was something that she was going to give me all along: unwavering friendship. I was just so alone that I thought I was more in love with her than loving her as a friend. I think I was so ecstatic to finally have a friend that my dad wouldn't drive away that I might have mixed that up with infatuation. I was so insecure about our friendship that I wanted to tie her to me with something more. That, and she's really attractive to begin with." Another peal of laughter. "I'm rambling now too, aren't I?"
Anna could only smile back her, rubbing her eyes with the tissue, "Are you really okay?"
Ariel sighed, and Anna could make out an unmistakable hint of disappointment in the older girl's turquoise orbs. "I think I was jealous, too. Because she had you, and I didn't have anyone else when I was growing up. I always knew it would be hard to come between you two. I mean, the way Elsa talks about you, the way her eyes light up when you walk into the room. I should have expected it."
"The way she talks about me?"
Ariel stared at Anna like the latter had spontaneously sprouted antennae. "You don't know?"
Anna blinked. "Know what? I know we're sisters, and I really shouldn't have these feelings for her."
Ariel grinned again, as if she were enjoying some sort of joke with herself. "You love who you love, Anna. As long as you're sure you're in love."
That, Anna could be sure of. The feelings she had for Elsa were confusing; she didn't know where sisterly love ended and the romantic one started, but she knew they were definitely two distinct feelings. The love she felt for her sister five years ago was undoubtedly different from the kind that sprang into her throat and spurred her heartbeat now whenever Elsa was in the room. "So, wanna help me woo her?" she joked.
A playfully evil expression danced across Ariel's features as she smirked, "Definitely."
Elsa rubbed her temples as she exited the seventh conference of her day. With her mother away on business, she was expected to make decisions about the allocation of resources for their contract with Falk Industries. She'd spent basically the half the meetings that day listening to the heads of departments arguing about whether more money should be spent on extraction, refinement, distribution, or marketing and when to set the deadline for each, and the other half listening to her accountants and financial advisors trying to discredit anything the department heads were reporting.
Thoroughly irritated with her day, she had Mark and Ivan transcribe each meeting so she could read through the arguments more carefully before making a decision. To be honest, she wasn't entirely confident of her abilities to oversee a project as big as this, despite having been in charge of the European branch of Arendelle Corp for almost a year. Admittedly, the European branch was much smaller than the North American one, but the responsibilities were still the same. But her arrangements here made much more of an impact of the potential success of the company, so naturally, the pressure was higher as well.
She was halfway through when there was a knock on her door, to which she absentminded said, "Enter," and raised her head to see Hans Falk entering her office with Alistair following close behind, eyeing him cautiously.
Hans was once again wearing a suit, something Elsa was still not used to seeing, his copper hair parted on one side. She watched emotionlessly as he approached her desk, and narrowed her eyes when he set a bouquet of cosmos in a colourful array of orange, white, and pink in front of her.
"To the success of this contract," he declared in a steady voice, returning her hostile gaze with a smile.
Fighting the urge to have Alistair throw him out, she decided to be civilized instead, and replied evenly, "Thank you. You may leave."
He feigned hurt, "Elsa, I know you have misgivings, but you could at least give me a chance. After all, we will need to work together when we take over our respective companies."
"Maybe you should have thought about that before you tried to make my life hell," she spat.
"I did apologize for that," he said, stuffing his gloved hands in his pockets, "I was hoping we could start over. I admit my approach to getting your attention in high school may not have been… the most mature way of doing it."
She contemplated his words, missing the most obvious meaning, and acknowledged that it would be beneficial to have Falk Industries as a potential partner in the future. "All right, I accept your apology. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."
He smiled craftily at her again, "Of course. Thank you for your time." Alistair shut the door behind him as they exited the room.
For some reason, Elsa was unable to shake the feeling of ominous forebode that accompanied their conversation. Already fatigued by the vast expanse of dialogue that was on the documents before her, she settled by attributing it to her habitual response to anything to do with Hans Falk, reaching over and throwing the flowers into the garbage.
Flowers reminded her of Anna, and she refused to let this correlation be tainted by any trace of Hans Falk. The thought of Anna once again brought a flood of welcome but unwelcome memories, the most glaring of which was their accidental kiss. Her face burned as the feeling of her sister's lips upon her own overwhelmed her again, and she found herself thoroughly distracted from the blocks of text before her.
She had been careful to avoid Anna the day before, and, thankfully, her little sister had school today, so the feat was easier to accomplish than yesterday. She wasn't sure if she had the willpower to restrain herself in her sister's presence yet, caught between Ariel's badgering and the craving that she had suppressed for so long.
She dropped her head into her hands as she repeatedly considered the consequences if she were to act on her desire to court her sister, which were the only thing deterring her from confessing her feelings.
First of all, there was the tremendous damage that her proclamation would undeniably do to their sisterly dynamic, something Elsa valued above all else. She practically lived for her sister's faith and trust; and this would be destroyed if she were to divulge her secret. Undoubtedly. Irrevocably. Assuredly.
Second of all, despite Ariel's assertion that there was nothing wrong, Elsa could not help but consider the social wrath that would be brought upon them, if, somehow, Anna returned her feelings. She had already caused her little sister to be harmed more than once; that was enough, wasn't it?
She had to protect Anna. Even from herself.
Which is why she always made sure that Anna had gone home before she went to visit Ariel.
"Elsa, you really need to stop avoiding your sister," Ariel chided as the blonde snuck into the room, closing the door behind her.
"Can we not talk about that? I'd much rather talk about how I had to Google 'lol'," Elsa teased, "And the other embarrassing things you told her while I was absent."
"Oh, well, I definitely didn't tell her about that time you went to the washroom and had to text me to bring you toilet paper," Ariel snickered. "Or that time you tried to make spaghetti and it ended up as a huge clump of black crap on the bottom of the pot."
"It sounds like you two had a lot of fun making fun of me," Elsa growled crossly, with a hint of amusement.
"Also, she broke up with Kristoff."
Elsa's expression abruptly changed, "What?"
"Yeah. She spent the entire day in here today and didn't go to school. It was only when Rapunzel called to tell her that there was an assignment due that she went home."
"She—what?" Elsa blubbered. "She spent the day here? Not at school?"
"You would've known this if you weren't avoiding her like she has a deadly virus, Elsa. You can't do this forever."
A sigh. "I know. I just need to figure out how to hide this from her."
"Here's an idea! Don't!"
"Ariel—"
"Don't Ariel me. Elsa, don't you want to know how she feels? What if she feels the same way? You must feel something from her."
The blonde shut her eyes. "No. I don't want to know. Not that."
"You are killing me here! It's obvious you two need each other!"
"I can't do that to her!"
"Do what to her?! Make her happy? Jesus, do you even hear yourself? You're so caught up in trying to protect her you don't even know what she wants!"
"This is the problem with you and Anna! You're both so shortsighted! It'd be easier for both of us if these feelings never manifested! Don't you see how it could ruin both our lives?"
"I also see how it could make you two incredibly happy," Ariel retorted.
They glowered at each other until Elsa let out a heavy exhale. "I can't," she finally whispered.
"I am so done with you. If you don't tell her, I will."
"That would accomplish nothing! I would just vehemently deny it, and it would end up hurting us more than helping!"
The red-haired girl growled in exasperation. "I'll just have to make you see sense."
Elsa wasn't sure if she wanted to.
"Wow, you look great!" Ariel beamed as Anna emerged from behind the makeshift curtain she had installed in the corner of the hospital room.
"A-are you sure about this?" Anna stammered, crossing her arms over the exposed skin of her stomach.
Elsa had been avoiding Anna for an entire week now, and Ariel was getting increasingly sick of it. After their argument failing to persuade the obstinate blonde, the heir to Neptune Corp decided that she needed to do something extreme, something that would clue in Anna to Elsa's feelings, and something that would force Elsa to be unable to deny her feelings any longer.
So she'd called up her fashion designer, who had taken the time to arrange an entire rack of provocative clothing and delivered it to Ariel's hospital room within the week.
"Trust me, Elsa will love it. Even if she says she doesn't. Remember to pose when she comes in," Ariel winked at the younger girl, who was dressed in a creamy pink tube top and celadon miniskirt, complete with a pair of silver platform heels. Her auburn hair was down, draped across her shoulders, wavy and curled around her face, accentuated with green satin ribbons and a white bow.
"She doesn't know I'm here, does she?"
"Nope," Ariel grinned. "She should be here any second now."
As if on cue, the platinum blonde opened the door, looking at her phone, muttering, "Really, Ariel, if you neede—" Her exasperated sentiment was completely lost as she took in the sight of her sister dressed in a tube top that exposed her collarbones and mid-drift, and a miniskirt so high that one could almost see the curve of her rear. And that pose. She choked on her last words, unable to breathe, and after the briefest pause, abruptly turned and slammed the door behind her, but not before both Ariel and Anna could discern the fervent blush spreading across the blonde's fair skin.
"Um, what now?" Awkwardly, Anna shifted her weight from one leg onto another.
"Don't worry, I got this." Ariel was grinning from ear to ear, peering at her phone. Elsa had just texted her.
Elsa: WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT ARIEL
Ariel: makin you see sense
Elsa: ARIEL SO HELP ME
Ariel: elsa pls you know you enjoyed it k
Elsa: ARIEL YOU ARE SO DEAD MAKE HER CHANGE NOW
Ariel: yknow, Anna's tryin on bikinis next, so if youre interested, come back
Elsa: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD ARIEL
The amused smile Ariel was sporting was almost too big to fit on her face. "Was that a clear indication of how your sister feels?"
Anna blushed a deep pink, matching the colour of her top. She let out a nervous laugh, "Oh yeah, definitely."
Ariel's phone buzzed again.
Elsa: IM GOING HOME AND YOU BETTER MAKE HER CHANGE OUT OF THAT… THAT… THING. ARIEL. I. AM. GOING. TO. KILL. YOU.
Ariel showed Anna the text. "Well, the rest is up to you," she grinned.
Anna beamed back at her and pulled the girl into a tight hug. "Thanks so much!"
"Ow. Ribs. I might be healthy enough to half-stand but I am by no means fully recovered," the older girl winced playfully.
Anna released her and smiled again, slipping off her heels to change back into her sneakers so she could comfortably chase her sister. And tugged the miniskirt slightly lower.
She was halfway out the door when Ariel called out, "Oh, and Anna?"
"Hm?"
"If talking fails, just kiss her."
The redhead gave Ariel a toothy grin. "It would be my pleasure."
Frecklesfrecklesfrecklesfrecklesfrecklesfrecklesfrecklesfrecklesfrecklesfrecklesfrecklesfrecklesfrecklesfrecklesfrecklesfrecklesfrecklesfreckles…
… those damn tantalizing freckles, Elsa thought as she raced through the halls of the hospital as fast as her feet could carry her (her bewildered bodyguards struggling to keep up), covering the lower half of her face with one hand so that curious nurses wouldn't see the humiliating shade of red that she had turned when she saw her gorgeous sister looking so… so… tempting.
Hopping into her Benz, she floored the accelerator and drove home as fast as possible. And locked herself in her room, slowly dreading the imminent doom that would be unleashed as soon as Anna got home.
Sure enough, her sister arrived only moments after she did.
"Elsa! Open the door! Can we talk?" Anna pounded on the door.
"Anna! Leave me alone," to wallow in my self-pity.
"You promised that this door would always remain open!"
Grumbling, Elsa reluctantly turned the lock on the door, silently pleading Anna to just leave it. No such luck.
The redhead burst into the room, still wearing that unholy outfit, huffing, "Elsa, please, just talk to me."
"There's nothing to talk about!" Elsa focused intently on the patterns of the marble floor.
"You've been avoiding me like the plague the entire week! I think that's plenty to talk about!" When Elsa didn't respond, Anna continued, pleading, "It hurts, Elsa. It hurts when you shut me out. Please."
The blonde sighed in defeat. "What do you want me to say, Anna? That I'm in love with you? That I have been since I was sixteen?" The redhead's eyes widened. "We can't," Elsa feebly crossed her arms over her midsection, still not meeting Anna's gaze.
"Why do I not get a say in this?" Anna demanded, stepping closer to her sister. "I have feelings, too!"
"Please, Anna, I'm just trying to protect you," Elsa murmured, backing up slowly, still averting her eyes.
"Who says you have to protect me? I can fend for myself!"
"I don't want you to be miserable!"
"I'm already miserable! Please, Elsa! Don't you see? I love you! I don't want anyone else! I don't care what the consequences are, as long as you're happy and I'm happy!"
"Anna—"
"Stop it, Elsa. Get rid of that stupid sense of responsibility before it drives me crazy. You're not responsible for me. I am. I'm almost eighteen. I'm basically an adult. I can make my own decisions. And I have never been surer of anything than when I say I want you. I have since—Oh, I don't know! Ever since I realized how empty I am without you!"
By now Anna had Elsa backed up against a corner of her room. The blonde was biting her lip, the wild, fearful look in her eyes telling Anna that she was debating whether to stay or flee. She took a step closer.
"Please don't—"
"I want you, Elsa. So much that it hurts," Anna leaned forward, close enough that she could feel her sister's cool breath raggedly escaping from her quivering lips.
They were both furiously blushing now, and Elsa couldn't hear anything beyond the roar of blood rushing through her ears. Her self-control slipping, she let herself tilt downward slightly, so that her lips were barely touching Anna's, the pounding of her heartbeat drowning out all other voices of reason.
And suddenly Anna's arms were like iron chains around her neck, hands cupping the back of her head, but they were not the first thing she noticed as her younger sister pressed their mouths together. This time neither of them were drunk, and it was not an accident.
The overwhelming pleasure of her sister's soft mouth tugging at her bottom lip was Elsa's undoing.
Finally unleashing the emotions that she kept hidden for so long, she hastily wound one hand through the lush waterfall of Anna's silky chestnut hair, anchoring the other on the small of her back, until they were impossibly close, and returned the kiss with a ferocity that she did not know she was capable of.
Anna rolled her head back to allow her sister easier access, and opened her mouth, letting the blonde's tongue dominate her and slide inside. They tasted each other, relished the feeling of one another and finally showing the other exactly how much they had been holding back, and how much more they wanted.
There was fire everywhere, because Anna was everywhere, so close, so electric, each time her little sister's hands moved shooting waves of pleasure through Elsa's body, becoming more noticeable as they pulled away to gasp for air, panting, gazing into each other's eyes.
Anna's teal eyes were half lidded and dark with desire, and Elsa almost lost herself again. She took a deep breath, and steeled herself.
"Now tell me you didn't want that," Anna whispered, breath tickling the skin of her sister's neck as she buried herself into the curve of Elsa's clavicle, pressing them closer against the wall, listening to the throbbing of her own heart in harmony with the pounding of her older sister's.
"That's what I've been trying to tell myself for three years," Elsa murmured into Anna's hair before planting another kiss to her temple, "Obviously it didn't work."