"You fucking betrayed me!"

Elsa returned Kristoff's glare with a wicked smile. "All's fair in love and war my friend."

The atmosphere between the two was intense and Anna wasn't sure what to do. She looked between them, trying to figure out some way to diffuse the situation she found herself caught in the middle of. "Kris, if there's any way I ca-"

"You're just as much to blame for this as Elsa!" Kristoff snarled, never breaking eye contact with his unapologetic best friend.

"You brought this on yourself." The blonde rolled her eyes, completely unmoved by Kristoff's outbursts. "Crying about it isn't gonna change what happened."

Kristoff sat up straight, brows furrowed and lips pulled into a tight frown. "We had a deal. We talked about this."

"Things changed," she shrugged.

"I see how it is," he looked between the two with a shake of his head.

Anna swallowed at the way the man looked at her. She had never seen that sort of expression on his face. Was he really that upset over all this? She stumbled as she reached for her cup that sat on the table between the three. It wasn't until she saw the way her fingers trembled against the glass that she realized how nerve-wracking all of this was to her.

So much so that she was surprised when her lips were only met with the sting of ice knocking against them. When did she drain her glass? She looked at the cubes of ice in disappointment, and as if to grant her silent wish, a stream of fruit punch flowed neatly into her glass with barely a splash.

Looking over shoulder, she smiled at the brunette holding a half full pitcher of punch and wearing a knowing smile of her own. "You're a lifesaver Belle." Anna breathed contently as she hummed happily into the glass of fruity drink, the light mix of alcohol doing wonders for her nerves.

Belle laughed as she slid onto the couch next to Anna, resting the pitcher on the table after fixing herself up with a refill of her own. "Now you understand why I chose not to play."

"Seriously!" Anna agreed with a nervous laugh, looking down at the colorful cards in her hand. "I've never seen anyone get so intense over Uno. I mean, Monopoly sure! That game is a friendship killer designed by demons! But UNO!"

"They're like this with everything," the brunette huffed as she picked up the small book she left on the table. "Separated, they're sweethearts. Together, well they're a couple of asses really. Competition just makes it more obvious."

"I resent that!" Kristoff announced, finally taking the chance to pull away from his glaring match with Elsa. "No books allowed on game night."

"I told Elsa I was bringing one. She said 'fine'. Take it up with your roommate." Belle never even bothered to look at him as she spoke matter-of-factly, nose buried in her small pocket sized book.

"Elsa! The rules of game night are absolute!"

Elsa threw her hands up, careful not to accidentally flash her cards. "You said it was cool to invite Belle and you know she never leaves home without one."

Kristoff grumbled something under his breath. "Only because you let me invite Anna." He looked up at the redhead, a big goofy smile playing across his face just as she put her glass back down. "Even though she's helping you kick my ass."

She clears her throat, caught off guard to suddenly be pulled back into the conversation. "I'm just glad I was invited."

"I'm glad you accepted my invitation," he rubbed the back of his head with a grin.

"You still have three more cards to draw lover boy, don't think I missed that." Elsa patted the table next to the deck, a small smile betraying her.

It was hard for her to shake off the kiss from Anna four nights ago. When Kristoff finally got home about an hour after, he met Elsa waiting patiently for him on the couch in a dark living room, back straight and face determined. He wasn't drunk, much to Elsa's relief, even though his breath did carry the light lingering stench of cheap beer. This would make the conversation easier at least.

He plopped onto the couch, releasing the biggest sigh Elsa had probably ever heard from her friend. She noticed the droop in his eyes, even if he was avoiding eye contact with her. Instead he focused on the black television screen, hands clutched on his lap and shoulders slumped. Elsa felt a pang of guilt in her heart. Having been friends since childhood, they had weathered countless highs and lows together. They always had each other's back throughout the years. Whether it was when Kristoff broke his leg playing football, or when Elsa's parents divorced just before her exams in her junior year, they always saw each other through their darkest moments. They just always had that sort of friendship.

And thinking about that just killed Elsa more inside. They fought a lot, and got on each other's nerves constantly. Hell, they've charmed girls away from each other so often it was almost a game to them. They kept count! But this is the first time she's done something that felt like pure betrayal.

Feelings… complicate things. And she was scared that that may have been feelings she was seeing on Kristoff's face. Feelings that she knew better than she wanted to admit. Feelings that needed to be buried, for Kristoff's sake. She had to be there for him.

Elsa wrapped an arm around the sullen man's shoulder, her thoughts driving her actions. She knew she had to make things right.

"Anna's a sweet girl, of course she would be worried about you," he reasoned just loud enough for Elsa to barely hear. "And I was being too much of a douche to realize that that's a good thing. I mean, I can't date a girl that doesn't care about my bestie as much as I do." Kristoff gave an uncertain smile, his eyes screaming out his unspoken apology.

Elsa chuckled despite herself. She wasn't sure why that simple gesture was so hard. "You're always a douche," she punched his shoulder with the arm not preoccupied with administering care just hard enough for him to feel it. "But it would be unforgivably douchey of you to not call Anna right now. I expect to hear a heartfelt apology and promises to make it up to her; promises I'm going to make sure you keep."

Kristoff rolled his eyes, the grin on his face doubling in size. "Yes mom, anything else?" He was already unpocketing his cell phone and scrolling for the number.

Elsa's smile almost matched his when she heard the phone ringing as he pulled it to his ear. "Well now that you mention it, I've been meaning to tell you about maybe dressing sharper on your dates. You dress like a lumberjack or a mountain man or something."

"We can't all be pretty." He smirked just as the other voice came over the phone.

Anna answered hesitantly, and when she heard Kristoff's soft "hey", she immediately began apologizing, speaking faster than his brain could comprehend. When he finally got her to calm down, mostly with Elsa's coaching in the background, they were able to talk things out and another date was even in the making. Details weren't solidified for another two days when Kristoff had the brilliant idea to invite Anna to their game night. Elsa was… less than enthused.

She wasn't sure if she could handle being in the same room as the girl again yet. Sure they had texted superficially over the past few days, nothing more than greetings and "how are you"s followed by the generic "I'm fine"s. But to see her, Elsa's heart picked up at the thought of it and she cursed herself for her lack of discipline.

Still, despite her apprehension, Elsa gave him the thumbs up. Of course she was fine with it. She had to be. For him. For them. With that, plans were made and Anna was due to visit that Saturday night. Glorious.

And that very same night, as Elsa sat up staring at the ceiling, trying to calm her still throbbing heart, she was blessed with a jolt of brilliance of her own. A jolt that came in the form of a text from a certain brunette she admittedly had quite an interest in. One that was completely eclipsed by her feelings for the sun that is Anna, but it was… workable at best. And there would be alcohol. That should help.

And so that was how Elsa found herself beating on Kristoff's bedroom door at three o'clock in the morning to ask if she could invite Belle and make it an even four. And of course, a groggy miffed off Kristoff was more than willing to agree if that meant he could enjoy the other half of his eight hours in peace.

"One more card Kris, I'm watching you like a hawk." Elsa teased, his mouth dropping open.

"No way, I totally drew eight! Look at all these cards!" His eyes narrowed. "Besides, you weren't supposed to use any draw four cards on me, we had a deal before the game even started."

"We agreed that it would be house versus visitors before Belle announced she wasn't playing. And to beat up on poor Anna would just be cruel." Elsa looked up at the girl unwittingly. A mistake. It was only the second time Elsa made eye contact with the redhead since Kristoff picked her up. The other time was when she actually opened the door for them. That was also when she downed her first glass of the spiked fruit punch and she decided that it wasn't strong enough. "Besides, Anna hit me with a draw four and I'm one card away from an uno. I'll cheer for you from the sidelines though." She forced a smile as she pulled her focus back to her cards and away from beautiful teal.

She didn't notice the way the already barely there smile on Anna's face fell even more. Anna tried to mask her hurt feelings behind the glass of punch, only to be bugged with the sting of ice again. Anna knew this reunion wouldn't be easy, but right now it was downright painful.

…

Board games, chips, and pretzels alone make for a dull game night. But once you throw a few mandatory drinking games in the mix with four college aged young adults, you get the exact scene that was playing out right now.

The first game, Belle's suggestion, claimed the first victim for the night: "Drink while you think". Anna barely got one answer out before the second can of beer had her head swimming so strong, she actually rolled off the couch when she reached over for the next one. She was mercifully excused. Elsa took it upon herself to suggest that Kristoff grab her a blanket to lay on and rest. Instead of vacating the couch, as Elsa assumed would go without saying, Kristoff laid the girl back on the floor, at least decent enough to bring a pillow. Kristoff polished off about four cans himself but barely seemed bothered. Belle and Elsa mutually barely touched their first cans.

A couple rounds of poker followed although after Kristoff finished another glass of rum punch and started demanding that they play strip poker and considering that he was pretty much the only one winning, both Elsa and Belle threw down their cards and left him to fume alone. Elsa couldn't stop herself from looking down in concern at the still resting redhead. And ripping her eyes away from the girl was proving to be just as difficult.

What did eventually steal her attention from Anna was the soft peck pressed on her turned neck. Elsa's neck snapped back so quickly she thought she may had cracked it. Belle was looking up at her and Elsa wondered when they reached the fridge.

"Distracted?" Belle used a tone that made shivers shoot down Elsa's spine. She had only ever heard that tone once before, and about an hour later it was calling her name between the cracks of a leather whip.

Elsa cleared her throat, trying to pull her mind back from that memory. "Umm, a little."

"Why'd you really invite me?" Belle placed a hand on Elsa's bicep, eyes half-lidded and a smile that read of deeper intentions. A tongue swiped out across her lips, leaving a glistening sheen over the bright pink lips. "We both know it wasn't just to play cards."

Elsa's nerves trembled at the feeling of familiar fingers ghosting down her arm. Yes, this was exactly what she was hoping for. That her body would react to Belle the way it always had. Physical attraction may not have been much compared to what she felt for a certain redhead, but with the liquor pumping through her veins, it was enough to at least keep her mind out of dangerous territory.

Finger tips played across the creamy skin of Elsa's neck, reaching up into a mess of platinum blonde. Elsa's breathing shallowed. Her arms reached out for a familiar slender waist, wrapping themselves around the brunette and pulling her in. The space between them closed in a heartbeat, Elsa looking down into Belle's eyes with a predatory smirk, one that Belle returned easily, if not haughtily. The darkness forming in their eyes was unmistakable.

A few quiet moments passed with them paused like this, as if they were locked in a mental battle, daring the other to make the first move. Elsa was the first to break. "Would you be disappointed if I said it was just for cards?"

"I would be." Belle replied smoothly, as if this was simply a rehearsal between them. "And we both know how much you hate to disappoint."

Elsa allowed a chuckle. This was a game for them really. They both pretty much knew how this conversation would go. She guided Belle by her waist, hands slipping under the thin white blouse and petting at heated flesh. With a grunt, she lifted the woman just onto the edge of the kitchen counter, a hand reaching up quickly to tug at brunette locks, roughly pulling her head to a tilt. "Well I better fix that then."

Lips crashed together in a bruising kiss. Elsa's hands pawed and toyed along the hot skin under the brunette's shirt. Belle's hands lost themselves in messy blonde tresses. There were no more theatrics between them, both girls shedding the inconvenience of pre-game pleasantries. Witty banter devolved into hot panting and low moaning. Eyes screwed shut as Elsa's lips began to stray down an inviting neck line.

Elsa smirked at the rumble against her tongue, a throaty moan filling her ears. She drew her head up to marvel at her work. Shallow breaths. Flushed skin. Dazed teals.

No, what? Hazel.

Elsa cursed under her breath, dragging her nails across the girl's back, soliciting another moan. Belle's hands dove down to the edge of the counter as she anchored herself, legs pulling Elsa in like a snake wrangling its all too willing prey. She met Elsa's darkened gaze with a mischievous grin.

"That was…. passionate," Belle began with a slickness, her words slow and calculated and her knowing smile accenting the features of her freckled face - Fuck Elsa no, Belle does not have freckles. "I can only imagine how good it would be if you were actually here and not off in space somewhere."

Elsa's mouth hung open as Belle loosened the grip her legs had around the blonde. "I… I wasn't…" Elsa struggled to hammer out a denial. She was disgusted with herself to say the least. She invited Belle over - this was precisely why she invited Belle over - and yet all she could think about was...

Elsa growled in frustration as she pounded a fist against the counter, avoiding Belle's steady gaze. "I can't lie to you." More like it was futile to lie to Belle, and Elsa knew that from experience.

A gentle hand reeled Elsa's face back in. "You know I don't care if you're trying to use me to forget something or someone-" Belle flashed a brilliant smile as Elsa groaned guiltily. "-but, Elsa Arendelle, next time you will tell me beforehand, instead of insulting my intelligence."

"I'm sorry." Elsa apologized immediately.

The brunette slid herself off the counter, Elsa stepping back to give her room as she stood to her feet, smoothing the wrinkles in the hems of her blouse. "Well, now that that mood is dead-"

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine Elsa." And with her soft reassuring smile, that was actually believable. "But now,

you're going to have to find a new way to entertain me." Belle winked.

…

There's a moment between wake and sleep where consciousness begins to slowly seep its way back into your mind. A moment where despite being otherwise blissfully unaware, our senses begin to take in their surroundings once more. It was in this exact moment, that the worst odor to ever assault Anna's nose wafted past her nostrils.

"Ughhh!" Anna's voice was somewhere between a high pitched yelp and a zombie-like groan. Once the stench finally tickled her brain she shot up, blankets falling off her body and hair sticking to drool all over her face and cheeks. How her hair always managed to loose itself from its braids were one thing, but the absolute bird's nest lion's mane thing it did was far beyond what can rightfully be called bed head.

Her head snapped to the right where she was finally able to make out her assailant, a flat almost pear shaped foot with the odor of the unwashed backside of a reindeer. The foot hung off the edge of the sofa, dangling just above her sleeping form. Anna's first instinct was to slap the offensive limb away, but when the thoughts of what could have led to that kind of stink and how that could accidentally stick to her, she decided it was probably better to leave it be.

The redhead scrambled to her feet, stretching with a satisfactory pop of her back as her nose drew in another scent. One that drew her into the kitchen with a hum. Anna almost jumped for joy when she finally found the source.

Chocolate! Hot chocolate!

A steaming pot of hot chocolate sat on the counter, a small note with the most elegant handwriting she had ever seen stuck to the glass with a small bite of tape. Of course, the chocolate captured her attention far stronger than the little piece of paper.

Pouring out a cup of steaming hot comfort, Anna smiled as she inhaled the aroma like a drug. Allowing the liquid to caress her tongue, Anna looked up at the clock, finally taking in the nuances of a new morning. She heard the bear-like snoring before she saw Kristoff knocked out on the couch.

But where's Elsa…

Anna hummed over the thought as she took in another mouthful of hot chocolate. Suddenly, her bright eyes went dull and her brows furrowed against the mug. The events of last night washed over her, bringing with them a renewed feeling of depression. She knew things between her and Elsa would be awkward, that much she was prepared for. But Elsa had practically tried to ignore Anna's existence. Not that I blame her though…

Her eyes wandered back over to the note and she finally took the time to find out what it said.

"Elsa, consider this your reward for last night, it was very entertaining! Hope we can do it again -Belle"

There's even a winking face!

Anna growled as she slammed the mug onto the counter, spilling what little remained to the bottom. It took a few seconds before the implications of her reaction started to sink in with Anna and she grimaced.

Jealous? I should not be jealous… Elsa could've told me she had a girlfriend though…

Her eyes blinked back over to the pot. Would the brew be missed if she poured it down the sink right now?

Before Anna could make good on the thought however, she heard a door open and slow heavy footsteps made their way down the stairs. The blonde announced her presence with a yawn as she reached the bottom of the staircase. A sharp inhale and Elsa was drawn to the kitchen just the same as the victim before her. Once she rounded the corner however, Elsa stopped dead in her tracks, eyes taking in the girl that had been haunting her subconscious from even before she started dreaming.

"Anna," she finally breathed, realizing how weird she must have looked staring bug eyed at the redhead. "Did you…" Did you have fun last night? Did you sleep well? Did you dream of me? "Hot chocolate?" Forget a mental slap, Elsa mentally rammed her head into the wall. She could've at least formed a half decent sentence! Did you hot chocolate!? What the fucking hell brain!? I'm seriously starting to question the integrity of my own English scores!

"Belle made it." Anna finally answered, voice quiet. "She spent the night?"

"Hm, yeah." It was clear Elsa's mind was somewhere else entirely, though Anna's assumption of where exactly that was may not have been entirely accurate. When the blonde reached over for the pot, Anna was still tempted to dump it in the sink. Sometimes perpetual clumsiness had its perks. "I'm guessing I just missed her then?"

Anna shrugged, eying the mug that Elsa was filling with more disdain than any dish deserved. "I just got up a minute ago and she wasn't here, just the note." She handed Elsa the piece of paper and gauged the other girl's reaction… or in this case, lack thereof, as Elsa acknowledged the words without so much as a shrug. "I guess I should get going now."

Elsa's eyes widened at that and she hissed when the scolding hot liquid made unwelcomed contact with her lips. She watched in shock as Anna walked out to the living area grabbing up the pillow and blankets and looking around as if trying to find the right place to put them. She followed the girl. "I understand if you have to leave now but shouldn't you let Kristoff take you?"

The sound of oafish snoring reminded her how impossible that would be right now. "I'll be fine. I can catch the bus." Anna dismissed Elsa's suggestion. She felt like it was better this way anyway. Maybe she expected things to go horribly today, but what she uncovered… Anna needed time to process.

"I'll take you then."

Elsa's offer came as a surprise to both of them and they both stared at each other wearing that surprise on their faces. But before Elsa could back out of it, she forced herself to grab her car keys off the rack near the staircase, returning to the living area with eyes determined and mouth pinned uneasily. There were so many different ways of rejecting this offer that came to Anna's head but when she allowed herself to dive into the seriousness in those icy blues, she weakly nodded.

The walk to the car was quiet, as was most of the ride save for the pop music that played from the radio of Elsa's silver Prius. Neither of them liked this station, but both decided it was better than accidentally starting a conversation. Instead, they would stick to suffering through the assault on their ears, the only relief being the brief moments Anna had to take to give occasional directions.

That is, until a particularly dreadful bit of popular pop trash rang through the speakers and Anna dove to cut the radio before the second line of the awfully repetitive song could make it out. And unfortunately, the moment they were both dreading came to past. Anna, being the one to break the short lived quiet, finally asked what had been on her mind the whole ride.

"So, Kristoff slept on the couch. And I kinda blacked out on the floor. You were in your room. Where'd Belle sleep?"

"In my room." Anna didn't like the way Elsa made it sound like that was so obvious and normal. And it probably showed, because Elsa stuttered to amend her words as soon as she looked over at Anna's face. Before she could come up with anything though, Anna had already cut her off.

"Take this right coming up." Elsa did as she was told, responsibly signalling despite the empty road around them, however the pause from Anna was making her more uncomfortable than she allowed herself to show. "I didn't know you two were dating."

The fact that she didn't swerve her car off the road was a testament in an of itself. "Me and - No! Belle and I aren't dating." Elsa tried her best to sound as disgusted at the prospect as she could manage, trying to hide the fact that at some point she had actually considered it for a bit longer than a few seconds. Of course, that was long before she met Anna. "And we never were," she added for good measure.

Anna raised an eyebrow, thoroughly unconvinced. "You shared a bed." She wasn't sure how true that was, but Elsa's lack of denial was as good an answer as any.

"We have a history." Elsa finally admitted, and she nearly cried when she watched Anna's face fall even more than it already had. Still, she had to explain this or she knew she'd regret it. "She and I… we've had... sex…" She knew she had to do it, but that didn't make it easy. She wasn't even sure why she felt like she had to do it but Elsa chose not to question it. "We've had sex a few times, but we never dated. Honestly, we talked about it once. But we realize that neither of us has those kinds of feelings for the other so..." Elsa stopped herself from spewing anymore, pulling up to the home the redhead pointed out silently and pulling the car in park.

"I see.." While Anna seemed convinced, Elsa wasn't too sure she was happy with the face the normally bubbly girl was making. She wasn't even entirely sure what that face even meant. "So last night… you two…"

"No, we didn't." It was probably best to leave out that it wasn't by her own choice. "After Kristoff passed out on the couch, I stole his TV and game set from his room and she and I played Smash Bros up in my room. It was apparently the only game she was comfortable playing.." Elsa grumbled out the last part, remembering her losing streak more vividly than she would like. "At least she was entertained kicking my ass."

Anna giggled a bit at the exasperation in Elsa's voice. She surprised herself, honestly. Maybe she was just willing to grasp onto any reasonable explanation that didn't involve Belle laying nude in Elsa's bed while the blonde peppered soft kisses along her perfect unblemished skin and her hands reach down and press against her-

"Will your folks be mad? Do you want me to walk you to your door and apologize?" Elsa asked, remembering Kristoff mentioning that an only recently turned nineteen Anna was living at home with her father. Kris was… quite nervous about meeting the military man. He was so relieved to find out her father would be at work when he came to pick her up.

"It's fine." Anna blushed over, finally realizing where her thoughts were just heading. "I don't know if my dad's home yet, but it'll be fine."

"I'll do it anyway. It's our fault really and I don't want you to get in trouble for that." Elsa opened her car door first, already rounding the small vehicle to open Anna's door for her. The redhead accepted the chivalry without a sound, internally praying that her father really wasn't home to see this.

She shuffled up the walkway, Elsa barely a step behind her. When they reached the porch, Anna sighed out a puff of relief. "The porch light is still on, he hasn't been home yet."

She turned to face Elsa, not even sure when the smile returned to her face. She barely avoided flinching when the girl's hand reached out and patted down her hair, no doubt trying to smooth down the mess of bedhead Anna had forgotten about until now.

Anna reached up and pulled down as much hair as she could with her hands, reddening at the way Elsa's free hand moved up to her mouth to disguise the amusement in her face. A terrible disguise. "I'm sorry, I have terrible bedhead." Anna wasn't even sure why she was apologizing.

"It's cute."

Anna stared at her incredulously. Her morning hair has been described as many things. 'Cute' was never one of them. Soon the open-mouth gaze was replaced with a pout as Elsa was overtaken by the laughter she was trying to hide. She barely took a breath to protest before her mouth slammed shut at the feeling of warm lips pressing against her forehead.

Perhaps it was meant to be an unspoken apology, but the fire it awoke in both their bellies wasn't about to let them leave it at that. It was the fire that drove Anna to the tips of her toes, and pulled her lids shut. The same fire that drew Elsa's lids shut as well, forcing her arms to wrap themselves around the shorter girl's waist and pull her closer. The fire that made their lips come together, only to part within a few moments to allow eager tongues to meet.

They shouldn't be doing this. Elsa worked hard for this to not happen. Anna tried her best to not let this happen. And yet there they were. Elsa's hands moved lower to rest on the curve of the redhead's hips. Anna's hands wrapped themselves around Elsa's neck, pulling the blonde so close they were practically one form on the patio on that early morning.

As Elsa's heart jumped at the moan that reverberated through her, not entirely sure whether it was hers or Anna's, a small part of her brain registered the severity of what was happening right now.

But, that part was unfortunately too small to matter to her right now.

Author's Note: Sorry this took so long, I have this mostly finished so I decided to start posting the chapters now. I'm debating a schedule for chapter updates but the next chapter will be up in a week the latest. Happy holidays all, enjoy the season!