A/N: I haven't proof read this as many times as I normally do, but I think it's ready for being released. Also, I just finished a 10 hour shift after traveling all day yesterday and staying up most of the night editing, but it was worth it :)

Enjoy, and thank you all.

Once she actually managed to fall asleep, Elsa found it to be some of the most rejuvenating rest she'd had in years. This whole sleeping next to Anna thing had many upsides, all as shiny as the many faces of a diamond. She stretched her arms up serendipitously like a refreshed feline and yawned.

"Anna," she whispered, shaking softly the shoulder of her sister. It was a nice feeling, having the duty of waking her Anna up and not having a fit because of it.

The red head rolled and smacked her lips, groaning softly in the process.

Shaking harder now, Elsa repeated "Anna, it's time to get up." in a more assertive voice.

She mumbled something incoherently before rolling over and grunting "fine I'm up, I'm up."

"Finally," Elsa playfully grouched.

Anna just grinned and struggled to hold open her eyes. "Watch it, you."

Elsa giggled. "Now, get ready for class."

Rolling her eyes, the younger sister whined "yes, mom," as she gyrated out of bed to the shower. Elsa noticed immediately how much larger and less inviting her bed felt without her sister. She had almost forgotten what being it in without Anna was like.

But that was okay, because it was temporary. She spent her time alone in the room envisioning Anna in the shower, imagining every inch of the soft, smooth, luscious skin she desired so much. Her exiguity to stop herself from getting lost in her mind was blatant, synergistic with her wanton love of Anna.

She almost didn't notice when her sister walked back through the door in nothing but a towel. Elsa's mouth dried like salt, gulping down a flabbergasted heart. She tried to bully her extant arousal into running away, as it was just too much to see Anna so exposed. It was the first time Anna had done such a thing. The towel hung loosely on her bust, coming down only to her upper thighs, showcasing every curve and muscle the younger girl had down there.

Elsa realized Anna had said something, but it was too late to hear it, so she blurted "I-I'm gonna go sh-shower." She darted out like a frightened cat. She took a slightly cool shower, the water almost sizzling and evaporating when it touched her flaming red skin. It gave her time to collect herself, though, which was good.

She dressed in a towel, just like Anna, and gathered her nerves. If Anna did it, it was okay for Elsa to, and it would be thrilling. She shuffled back to their room.

And Anna was sitting on the bed, waiting. This time, however, Elsa was ready for it. She was able to focus more on the thrill of being so close to naked in front of her sister and ignore the embarrassment. The tension from it slithered down her spine, a plodding sensation, staunchly growing in her nether regions in any such situation, making her knees wobble.

"Welcome back, Blondie" Anna said, and it must have been the filter in Elsa's ears that made her hear it with a slightly lewd undertone.

Elsa shook her head. She heard wrong, right? "Thank you," she replied, trying not to sound seductive. Her sister wore blue jeans and a long sleeved, blue shirt. Elsa liked that color on her, it made her heart flutter like an Autumn butterfly.

In the subsequent silence, Elsa imagined Anna's eyes roaming every inch of her skin. It made her shiver and feel exposed yet comforted at the same time. "Well um, I- I'm gonna go change."

She caught it when Anna very briefly chewed on her own lower lip. "and I'm gonna- gonna go eat breakfast."

Elsa smiled. "Okay."

Nodding quickly, the red head chimed, "okay, d-don't be long."

Anna vanished and Elsa walked into their closet. She put on some jeans and a long sleeve white shirt. She wore green panties. They weren't Anna's, Elsa had owned them before because green always reminded her of her sister, for obvious reasons.

She didn't have to wear long pants or sleeves, but she wanted to dress as if she'd go outside because, well, it felt just a little less like she was stuck in this house against her will. It gave the illusion of choice. With a smile plastered on her face, she went downstairs to see her sister before classes.

They sat down and ate a simple breakfast together. It was quiet, but a good quiet. A comfortable silence that didn't need breaking.

That's not to say that Elsa was upset when Anna spoke. "You know," she started, twirling her foot restlessly.

Elsa raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"

The rosy paint on her sister's cheeks made the elder feel warm inside. "You don't have to wear that, right?"

Elsa's heart stopped. She really tried to fend off the heat of her blush, but it melted her like fire on ice, eradicating any solidity her body once had and making her entire being wobble. "W-what?"

Anna's eyes widened in shock. "No no- I- I mean, um, I mean, you d-don't have to wear j-jeans, not y-you don't have to wear c-clothes uh, I- you c-can wear something else, r-right?"

Mentally, the older girl was fanning herself furiously. "I-I suppose s-so."

This made the red head smile awkwardly, still trying not to fumble because of her earlier comment. "Th-then you c-could wear a d-dress? Sorry, it's just 'cause- I just like it when you wear dresses."

Elsa just about did a back flip. "Y-yes, of course. Which one should I wear?"

Anna stood tall and inflated like a helium balloon. "Surprise me."

Dainty fingers hid red lips as Elsa giggled. "Okay." They hugged goodbye, Anna planting a sure kiss on Elsa's cheek, summoning the scintillating feeling of butterflies in her stomach and toasting the room. As Anna left, Elsa stood a little closer to the open door than normal.

Okay, Elsa thought as she entered her room, what would Anna like? She looked around their closet, inundated with colors of dresses galore. She was still giddy from her sister's blatant admission a few minutes prior. She bit her lip. She wanted to pick the perfect thing to wear.

The new, green dress she ordered with Anna hung and she had a staring contest with it as she decided whether or not it was the proper time to galvanize it. It felt like she was staring at a conscious being for a few seconds. "No," she whispered, as if explaining herself to the garment, "I'll wear you later."

But she still wanted to look especially good for her sister, considering the specific request. It flooded Elsa with joviality and bolstered her confidence to a daring level. She felt special. After narrowing her eyes and analyzing the room as if she was trying to scare Sparticus into admitting who he was, her eyes lit up. Elsa changed into a dress and looked in the mirror to make sure she was exhilarated with her choice.

She wore a full length, white dress with a baby blue snowflake pattern dancing across it, just like the flakes were softly falling from the sky. At mid thigh height, the skirt transitioned into the same cyan that the snow flakes were, but here the color was solid, not just a simple pattern, like the ground the snow was landing on. The fabric was thick, Elsa imagined it'd be quite comfortable to go outside in the dress, which fulfilled her desire to dress normally and Anna's wishes.

Okay, well, maybe the dress wasn't completely warm, as the bodice was cut relatively low and there were no sleeves, just thin straps over the shoulders. Elsa had a complimentary coat for the gown, but she preferred to not use that part. Her cleavage was poking out enough that one could appreciate how full her chest was, but not enough to be considered overtly revealing. She blushed as she thought about how Anna would hopefully notice that. It made her stomach shake like a jackhammer.

For now, though, she needed to read her power points. After all, exams were coming up and she didn't want to be unprepared. She pulled up her coursework and quickly learned that focusing was going to be a chore that day.

Elsa freshened up in the mirror, ensuring that she looked her absolute best for her sister. She applied make up in temperance, using it to only accent her natural skin. Soon enough, Anna was pulling in to the driveway and Elsa was checking herself over one last time. She smiled and went downstairs.

"Elsa," Anna hollered as she walked in, which just so happened to be right when Elsa was arriving at the bottom of the stairs.

She grinned a little timidly as she made her appearance. "How was class?"

There was a pause in time while Elsa watched Anna look her up and down. Elsa could feel her sister's eyes roaming her and it made her shiver in delight. It was as if it tickled her everywhere that Anna looked, and she had the time to examine how Anna's bottom lip was retracted underneath her teeth. It was mind-numbing. Elsa blushed deeply.

"It was- It was good- Elsa wow, that dress looks- looks amazing!"

This only served to feed the billowing flames across the elder's face and chest. She hid her eyes on the ground. "I hoped you'd like it."

"Like it? I love it!" There was a moment of silence, and Elsa could feel her sister's wry grin. "It's sexier on you than your other dresses."

Elsa froze. No, that wasn't right, she was boiling, stiff as stone, melting in a pot. She noticed my chest. Good lord it was like a sudden fire split her from the middle and was ripping her insides and tearing her apart. The shock of arousal was dangerously powerful, demanding, and starved. "I- uh, y-yeah, th-thank you- I-"

Anna giggled, hiding her teeth with her fingers as she did. "You're cute when you're flustered."

That didn't help the situation. Elsa's vision was spinning around and she had to focus to keep her balance. Anna had her on the verge of swooning. "I, you- I-"

With more snickering, the younger sibling put her arm in her elder's. "Come on, we've both gotta study for exams."

And as she was led to the couch, all Elsa could think about was how glad she was that she'd be able to sit down. "Y-yes, exams."

They perched on the sofa, so close together that they were practically morphing in to one another. For a while, Anna seemed perfectly content with life to hum and read her notes while Elsa had to try to survive with a heart beating faster than a hummingbird's wings.

It had been a couple hours, a wonderful couple of hours. The girls sat in relative silence, but what their mouths didn't say, their actions did. Anna would brush her arm against Elsa's rather frequently, making the elder shiver inside and out. In retaliation, Elsa would purr and lean her head on Anna's.

At one point, Elsa managed to focus on her studies to such a point that she became oblivious to her body's actions. Her hand gained a mind of its own and the disobedient little bugger started softly brushing back and forth on Anna's thigh. Had Elsa been drinking tea, she would have spat it out when she realized what she was doing. She snapped her arm away faster than a mousetrap. The air felt like peanut butter.

Please let Anna have not noticed- what am I even saying? Of course she noticed! I was stroking her leg! Whoa, that was a joltingly pleasant thought. I was stroking Anna's leg.

"Elsa."

The voice brought her out of her little spurt of imagination and thrust her against the hard wall of reality. Anna probably found that really weird. "Y-yes?"

There was a slight pause. Elsa held her breath like it was a castle of cards.

"Why'd you stop?"

Elsa looked at those big, pretty, loving teal eyes. Her face said playful, but something deep in the younger girl's eyes whispered about confusion and loss. That made Elsa's heart race. "I- um- b-because I- I thought you'd get a-annoyed."

Anna hugged her from the side. "I could never get annoyed at you," she stated matter-of-factly, nuzzling her cheek into Elsa's deltoid. "Plus, it felt nice."

Elsa choked on how dry her mouth went. "I- well- wait, it did?"

"mm-hm," the red head nodded and reached towards her elder's leg. "See?" Okay, Elsa definitely heard something flirtatious in the tenor of her sister's voice, something in it that sounded suggestive, she wasn't going crazy! Or am I?

She didn't have time to think about such musings as a tingle erupted from her thigh. She tried to prevent herself from arching and her hair from standing on end like a scared cat's, but she couldn't. She couldn't think over her vociferous heartbeat, her struggling breath, her demanding throb. She'd need to excuse herself and change her underpants if she wasn't careful, because this was the most deliciously tactile sensation she'd ever felt.

It was a series of delightful waves following Anna's hand traversing her body, like the wake of a ship. Elsa stifled a moan. "Y-yeah." Her eyes slid shut seamlessly as she leaned back and absorbed everything.

She felt Anna's head rest once more against her arm. She was easily able to slip in to thinking this was a date, and she didn't want to climb out of her delusion, it was too inviting. She let the silence sift between them.

"So," Anna said after a few minutes, getting Elsa to look at her. The scratching stopped, to Elsa's dismay, and her sister withdrew a little bit. As if to offset these negatives, the elder rested her hand on Anna's thigh.

"So what?" Elsa was nervous because Anna was nervous.

"I've been- I've been thinking and I know you're- you like women."

Elsa furrowed her brow, heart stopping dead and stomach churning over. Those were not butterflies. That fact had never been a secret from Anna, at least not since Elsa figured it out herself, but it was a weird thing to bring up, wasn't it? Why was she bringing it up? Oh no, is Anna gonna try to set me up with someone again? Elsa went in to instant panic mode. "Y-yes?"

"But I- I don't really know your type." Anna was making an insanely adorable almost puppy-dog face at Elsa and it partially melted away the elder's internal struggle. There still was, however, the distinct possibility that Anna was trying to set her up with someone else, and Elsa loathed that idea.

"M-my t-type?"

"Yeah, you know," Anna said, bobbing her head back and forth, "what kind of women do you like?"

"W-what w-women?" Elsa understood the question, but she just couldn't solve the disconnect between her mind and her mouth.

Anna rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, Elsa, you know, like do you prefer blondes or brunettes," the girl counted off on her own fingers as she spoke and paused for just a moment, as if hesitating, "or maybe redheads?" Anna was biting her lip and Elsa was having a heart attack.

I prefer you, just... you. She, unfortunately, had to hold that thought with an iron grip so it didn't get free. "I guess I... I," you have to answer her, come on, say something, but not too much! Elsa was sweating bullets, resisting a powerful need to fan herself off.

"Fine, fine, I'll go first," the younger said, to Elsa's sweet relief. "I," Anna said, looking a little self-conscious from what Elsa could tell, "have always preferred blondes." Her cheeks were more red than her hair, her head tilted slightly down as if to let any judgment slide off.

And Elsa choked on the air she was already struggling to breathe. For a moment, her vision evanesced and she had to stop the room from running circles around her. Her heart thumped like a kick drum. It was all so distracting. She hid the intense red on her cheeks, but did nothing about the pulsating heat thriving upon her entire body. "B-blondes," Elsa whispered, still sluggishly processing that she was the kind of girl that Anna liked. "Women?"

Anna looked like she might be blushing harder than Elsa now. The elder already knew that her sister was bisexual. She just had to be sure she heard the hair color correctly, because she didn't believe what she had just heard. She just... hoped, deep down, that she was right. "Y-yeah, women, too."

"Blonde women," Elsa reiterated under her breath, looking off to the side and focusing on nothing, because she was describing herself. Elsa's body was lost in chaotic tremors. "Like me." She didn't even realize it slipped out until Anna's overly-loud voice commandingly shifted the focus of their discussion.

"Your turn, what color hair do you like on a girl? Blonde, too? I bet it's blonde, I mean, that'd just be too funny: you and me, liking the same girls, right? But- but that's not important, just- just what hair color do you like?"

Elsa wished she didn't have to answer, it'd be so much easier to just pretend this all wasn't happening and shut herself off like an oyster savoring a pearl. And although it was nearly a minute before she was able to make any vocal utterance, she had to speak. Trying her best to stay afloat in the wild waters of her mind, she muttered "I- I um, I l-like-" and cut herself off. She could lie, lead Anna astray and not risk her gleaning the truth. No, I'm done lying to her. "uh, I- I like blondes, too," She said, trying to ease herself into honesty.

She didn't look at Anna during the short, subsequent silence because she was busy taking a deep breath and readying herself to finish what felt like a heinous confession. She whispered before Anna responded. "B-but I prefer r-redheads."

"It's almost like we're meant to be," Anna joked after just a few seconds being quiet, punctuating it with a light punch to Elsa's shoulder, making the fact that it was facetious crystal clear.

Elsa nearly keeled over. "A-almost." You're perfect for me.

Anna responded to this with what Elsa could only describe as a depthless smile. Her eyes carried dejectedness like a burden of torture. Everything Elsa was feeling before phased out and the age of concern set in upon her.

"What's wrong, Anna?"

Anna shook her head like she was a dog and her bout of sadness was water. She forced her smile wider, but it looked languid. "Nothing," she said, her voice counter-indicating her point.

Nibbling her lip and creasing her brow in concern, the elder rubbed her sibling's upper arm soothingly and begged "please tell me," in a whisper.

Anna looked appreciatively back, but her face was still bogged down by an unknown assailant that Elsa wanted nothing more than to get rid of. "R-really, it's nothing."

"Anna-"

"Elsa, I just- I'm fine, don't worry."

Anxiety finagled its way through Elsa's heart and stomach like a viper, it must have bit her lungs because breathing wasn't easy. Elsa didn't like this, Anna was keeping something from her, and it had been a while since that happened. She wanted to press on, to explore and learn about her sister's feelings and what's wrong, but remembered what she had told herself when she almost lost Anna. I can't be too nosy, I have to give her the space she deserves. Anna will confide in me when she's ready.

Elsa forced a smile and squeezed her sister's hands in her own. "Okay."

Though the younger girl was visibly thankful, she didn't say anything. Instead, she smiled and leaned in to Elsa like before. At least Elsa knew that she was somehow helping, even if she didn't know what she was fighting.

Getting back to studying proved to be a task of biblical proportions, and Elsa was able to absorb very little information for the rest of the evening as focus came with a struggle.

It was Friday, and just over a week was left until their almost-date night. Elsa wasn't thinking about that right now, though, because the doorbell just rang. That rarely happened, so it caught her off guard. Luckily, Anna was home from school already, so she was able to answer for Elsa.

Wanting to stand by her sister's side, the elder hooked her arms around herself anxiously, fidgeting slightly as she stood a few feet back. Anna had a brief conversation with a delivery man and signed for a package. The instant the door was shut, Elsa was by her sibling. "What's that?"

Anna smirked back. "That is a secret." She proudly held the box.

Elsa shot an arch expression at her sister, playing along but also trying to propitiate her curiosity. "Oh come on, Freckles, no secrets, remember?"

After guffawing at the wit, Anna bit her lip and still grinned wryly. "All I can tell you is that it's for our ball."

Elsa's heart leaped. Her more creative side took charge of the situation and got more and more hopeful with each scenario it dutifully produced. Replete with Anna in all sorts of different garbs and accessories. Maybe it was something to set the atmosphere with? The atmosphere- quiet and intimate, just the two of them. Perhaps the package was a pair of heels to go with whatever dress Anna was planning on wearing. Or maybe it was lingerie.

Elsa coughed. No, no, stop, it's not that. But how the image of her sister in black, lacy underwear invaded her mind and flanked her willpower. She could see the smooth legs and freckled skin now, every curve, almost everything revealed as Anna walked towards her with a distinctly seductive sway in her hips. She tore the image out of her mind and stifled the fire roaring between her knees as best as she could. "That just makes me more curious."

She extended her hand to Elsa's shoulder, as if comforting her. "Don't worry, you don't have much longer to wait."

Elsa sharply frowned and artificially saddened her eyes, trying to look indistinguishable from a puppy. "Please, prettiest, sweetest sister in the world?" She elongated the word to add to affect.

Anna rolled her eyes. "Puppy dog faces don't work on me, no matter how cute they are, or how flattering."

Elsa blushed ferociously, tilting her head away as if the slight obscuring of her features gave her privacy. "I guess I'll just sneak a peak when you're not expecting it."

"Oh yeah? And how do you plan on doing that?"

It was Elsa's turn for a devilish smirk. "I'll wait until you're fast asleep and open it up."

"And how," Anna questioned smugly, "do you plan on finding it?"

Lifting her chin and shrugging in mock pride at the genius of her plan, the older simply said "it's bound to be somewhere in our room."

There it was again, that flicker of despair in Anna's eyes, as transient as a flash of lightning and just as noticeable. It made Elsa's heart drop into a heavy trench in her stomach. Did I say something wrong? Why's she so protective of that box? Why's she acting distant? Maybe Elsa was blowing things out of proportion. After all, Anna had been far from distant recently, but Elsa definitely saw the early warning signs. Anna was withdrawing from her again and that terrified Elsa more than everything outside of that front door.

Anna clearly tried to keep playing along, but her tone had lost it's natural flutter. "I'll just have to hide it better."

Elsa nodded, concerned but unknowing whether or not she should bring up what she'd just noticed. Maybe she should keep giving Anna a little space and draw attention to it if she becomes more distant. I'll do that, Elsa assured herself, hoping that she was making the right decision. "I suppose so."

The conversation died down at that point, leaving both girls uncharacteristically uneasy with each other's presence. "I'm uh, I'm gonna go hide this, be right back!"

Waving a little forlornly, Elsa forced a smile and said "hurry back" in a low voice.

Luckily, by that night, Anna's odd mood and the palpable tension it surrounded Elsa with had faded. They were snuggled together under the blankets and Anna seemed to be pressing farther in to her elder than normal, if at all possible.

Elsa loved it. She cherished every single second of their closeness because she didn't know when or if a divide between them would start forming, or how rapidly. It could become a massive ravine in a matter of days, just like before, or maybe it would amount to nothing, more akin to a crack in the sidewalk.

She hoped it was the latter.

The next week brought forth copious amounts of studying, which meant lots of cuddling with Anna on the couch. They struck their normal positions and would sit there for hours trying to ready themselves for their imminent exams.

But before that was their ball, and it was coming up as rapidly and jarringly as a freight train. Elsa didn't know what to wear, or if she should put up decorations. Should I cook us dinner? Dessert? With each idea of hers, she made it sound like more of a date night than a dance. Not that that was a bad thing.

It was Wednesday, and Elsa was in her- their- closet freaking out about what to wear in just three days' time! She had a plethora of dresses, her closet packed with limitless options of dress, but she couldn't choose. She wanted to look like a queen yet cute. She wanted to be commanding and sexy but still herself. She looked at the rainbow around her: blue, green, magenta, white, pink, it all swirled like a row of melting crayons in her vision.

"Elsa?"

"ANNA!" Elsa jumped like a startled cat and shrieked just as loud.

"Sorry," the younger girl said, wincing quite overtly. "I didn't mean to startle you."

Resting her hand atop a racing heart, the elder assured "it's- it's okay, I was just- I was..."

Raising one eyebrow, the strawberry blonde suggested "looking at all the pretty dresses?"

Elsa sighed like she was just exonerated in court. "Y-yes," she confirmed. After all, she wasn't lying, just leaving out why she was looking at the dresses. Anna would have to speculate about that on her own.

"Well, I do hate to interrupt you during such important business, but it's time to work with your goggles a little bit."

Fomented nerves began to simmer. Dread lurched down the elder's throat like a spider and bit her stomach. Elsa exhaled tactfully. "Y-yeah, okay."

Anna took her hand and led her down stairs. "Come on."

Elsa took a deep breath, feeling it stretch her lungs, and exhaled slowly and purposefully, forcing all of her disorderly nerves in line. "You can do this, I believe in you," the younger girl said. The sensation of Anna rubbing her back reassuringly sent shivers down her spine and helped her to put on her virtual reality goggles.

Elsa smiled. "Thank you," and she slid her headset on.

Just blank streets, and Elsa started moving. Her heart rate increased like the ticking of a time bomb as the seconds dripped by like molasses. She could feel the pit in her stomach opening up to release the beast of her phobia, which solely intended to ravage her will and destroy her sanity. But she fought it, she pressed it down and trudged on, focusing on the hand on her back and the love of her life at her side.

"Keep it up, Elsa, you're doing great. I'm gonna turn on cars and sounds."

Elsa gulped and nodded. "Okay," she breathed tensely.

"Don't worry," came Anna's pleasantly smooth voice, "I won't let anything happen to you."

The sentiment caused Elsa's fear to lose some ground. "I-I'm ready."

A car flew by Elsa, causing her to jump away and begin to panic. The low sound of its tires on pavement hit her like a stun gun. She squeezed her eyes shut, warring the tears slipping out.

"It's okay, Elsa!"

Do this for Anna. She opened her eyes once more, revived by the pat on her back. She trained her vision on a close point along the sidewalk and forced her leaden legs to carry her there, then moved her goal a few more feet away. She was dizzy, but she was moving, for Anna. She pretended that every step she took brought her closer to their dance, and the drive that created within her was able to pull her out of the bank of terror for a few moments.

Elsa was getting farther than she ever had before, she was walking with cars driving by her, she just had to keep her mind on Anna.

Anna's support, Anna's plan for the ball, Anna's secret box, Anna's weird mood. Elsa froze, anxiety turning her stomach to stone. Elsa wondered once again if her sister was drifting away from her, if she was going to lose her again.

This unfortunate second created a rift wide enough for a monster to scramble out of its cage within her body and torture her with anxiety. It built up and up, choking her breath away and smacking her knees out of under her. Elsa's panic attack made her life go black and she screamed as a car came her way, tears lacing her cheeks.

In an instant, she was away from the virtual city and the warm comfort of Anna's arms. She clung tightly and sobbed into the strawberry blonde locks of hair. "Shh, shh, it's okay, Sweetheart," came the insistence along with gentle circles on her back.

Elsa whimpered "d-don't leave me" without really thinking.

Anna's voice was low and intimate, truthful. "Silly, I'm not going anywhere."

Elsa gasped as the relief of her sister's words proliferated through her body. She still didn't know what had Anna acting so strange, but now she knew that she didn't have to worry about them drifting. She tightened her grip around her sibling. Whatever's making Anna sad, I will find out and I will fix it. That, she deserves. Elsa thought about the ball next.

Just a few more days until their night.

A/N: What'd ya think? I personally really loved this chapter :P