Chapter VIII

By the time they reached Elsa's apartment complex, it was nearing eleven o' clock and the slight chill in the air had cooled down to hover just above freezing. Elsa huffed to herself as she got out of the car; what else could happen tonight, the power would be out in her apartment? Elsa shuddered slightly, remembering the condition of the other girl in her car; that was the last thing she needed.

"Anna," Elsa whispered as she opened the passenger door. "We're here."

Anna groaned and her one good eye fluttered open. She looked completely disoriented and lost although Elsa could hardly blame her.

"W-Where are we?" she asked, her voice hoarse. "Elsa?"

Elsa placed her hand on Anna's shoulder and smiled kindly at the girl. "We're at my place," she said. "You got really hurt and I said I'd help you out, remember?"

"O-Okay…"

"Can you walk if I help support you?"

Anna slowly turned in the seat to put her feet on the pavement outside the car. Elsa reached down to grab her good hand before helping her to her feet. Anna immediately nearly collapsed, but Elsa had the girl's arm wrapped around her shoulder before she could do so completely.

"My apartment is right there," Elsa said, trying to keep Anna from falling unconscious again. "Can you see the door? It says 101 D right there."

Anna nodded. "101…D," she mumbled. "I see it."

Elsa smiled. "Good; we're almost there."

They made it to the door with little trouble. Elsa fished around in her pocket for the key while trying to keep Anna upright at the same time. That task was a little more difficult, but soon enough the cool metal figure was in her grasp and then in the lock. Elsa kicked the door open and pulled Anna inside.

Once the door was locked and secure, Elsa led Anna over to her couch, gently laying the girl down on it before running to the thermostat and turning the heat up. Elsa may not have minded the coolness of her place, but being cold was the last thing Anna needed at this moment. Quickly going back to the couch, Elsa saw Anna's eye was closed again.

"Anna…?"

"I…I'm awake," the redhead whispered. "It just hurts to keep my eye open."

Elsa breathed out a silent breath of relief. "Okay, you can keep your eyes shut, but try to stay with me, alright? I'm going to clean you up and then you can sleep all you want. Sound good?"

Anna just nodded with a small whimper.

Running between the kitchen and the bathroom, Elsa gathered everything she thought she would possibly need to tend to her friend. She came back to the couch and placed everything on the floor before observing her patient. She prayed she had made the right decision in bringing Anna here rather than the hospital. Elsa just had the sinking feeling that if Anna had wound up at the hospital the Royals would have come looking for her there. No one knew where she lived—to the best of her knowledge—so she assumed they were safest here. There was no one to question Anna's state, no one to ask who the girl was. It was just her and Anna.

Quickly realizing she missed something, Elsa ran back to the kitchen, returning with a Ziploc baggie of ice.

"Anna?" she started, to which the younger turn her head in Elsa's direction. "Can you hold this bag against your swollen eye? It will help with the swelling while I take care of the rest of you."

Anna just nodded again as Elsa placed the baggie against the girl's eye before taking her good hand to keep it in its place. Anna's face contorted at its touch.

"It's c-cold."

"It's supposed to be," Elsa told her. "It'll help, I promise. You won't even know it's there soon."

When Anna didn't complain, Elsa continued on. She reached for a damp rag before bringing it to Anna's face to clean up the dried blood and dirt. She carefully dabbed at her lip which was now also considerably swollen. Elsa tried to ignore the small whimpers that escaped her friend as she went about her work, but found the task to be increasingly painful with each gasp or cry that escaped.

"You're doing great, Anna," Elsa continuously whispered. "I'm almost done, okay?"

Next, Elsa moved to Anna's injured hand. She grimaced as she prepared to treat the bloody knuckles with antiseptic, bracing herself for what was to come.

Sure enough, Anna didn't take to the discomfort well.

"Aaugh!"

Elsa flinched. "I'm sorry, Anna!" she cried. "It… It has to be done, okay?"

"It…hurts s-so much, Elsa!"

Continuously whispering "I'm sorry" to the girl, Elsa drove herself to continue. Once each of her knuckles had been treated and cleaned, Anna was taking in rapid breaths, and Elsa's heart shattered when she saw tears maneuvering their way past the freckles.

Elsa placed a chaste kiss on Anna's cheek. "You're doing great, Anna," she repeated.

Looking back to Anna's hand, Elsa realized that she would have to take Anna to a doctor about her hand. At least two fingers were out of place, and Elsa knew little to nothing about realigning them. Even if she did, she doubted she would be able to will herself to do it. She was already putting Anna through so much; she didn't want any more tears to fall on her account.

Opting to just do what she could at the present, Elsa carefully wrapped the hand in a tight bandage, hoping to keep the fingers in place and from causing further damage. She also cleaned Anna's good hand as it had been scraped up with all the falls the girl had suffered. Elsa's next mission was Anna's knees, also equally scraped up from falling. Slightly relieved, Elsa found Anna only whimpering quietly as the antiseptic rag was placed on each knee. She placed Band-Aids on the worst of the scrapes to keep them dry and with that, sighed in relief when she realized the worst was over.

"Anna, I'm finished," she announced. "It's all over."

"Can I sleep n-now?" the girl stammered.

Elsa fought to hold back her tears at the girl's pitiful, broken tone.

"Yes," the elder whispered, as her thumb stroked Anna's cheek lovingly. "You can sleep now. You can sleep as long as you want."

Elsa saw Anna open her one eye and look around uncertainly before focusing on Elsa.

"Will… Will you stay out here with me?" she asked. "Just until I fall asleep?"

Knowing it wouldn't take long, Elsa instantly nodded.

"Of course," she answered. "Let me just grab you a blanket and I'll be right back, okay?"

Elsa was graced with a smile from Anna before she took off to her bedroom. Taking a blanket from the foot of her bed and pulling the comforter off as well, Elsa returned to the place on the floor beside the couch. She removed Anna's one shoe before draping the blanket atop her. Elsa then took the bag of ice from Anna and set it on the coffee table. She watched with a smile as Anna settled into the couch, humming pleasantly.

"Good night, Anna," Elsa said, kissing the girl's cheek once more.

"T-Thank you, Elsa," Anna whispered back.

"Don't mention it. Just sleep; you'll feel better when you wake up."

Nodding, Anna shut her eye again and was out before she knew it. Elsa couldn't keep the smile hidden at the girl's light snoring. It was a great change from the whimpers she had been emitting in the car.

Elsa was content to watch Anna sleep—while trying to convince herself it wasn't creepy to do so as she was just worried for her friend—but soon realized she was just as exhausted. Caring for the girl had taken more out of Elsa than she had thought possible. She carefully took the other couch pillow out from under Anna's feet as she placed it on the floor for herself. Wrapping herself in her large comforter, Elsa relaxed into the warmth and safety it brought.

Suddenly realizing she had class tomorrow, Elsa pulled her phone from her pocket, bringing up Kristoff's name.

Kristoff, I'm not going to make it to class tomorrow, Elsa texted. I'll tell you more tomorrow, but can you please just take my notes in criminal profiling and social psych? You're the best. – Elsa

Elsa pressed send and without waiting for a response, fell into a peaceful sleep.

XxXxX

She had been sitting at her kitchen counter attempting to make up for missing class today when she heard Anna moan from the couch.

"Ugh… Son of a bitch."

Elsa let a small grin pass at the profanity, before walking over to lean over the couch.

"Hey," she said, looking down at Anna. "How are you feeling?"

"Like a convoy of Mack trucks ran me over, thanks for asking," Anna grumbled with a grimace.

"Well at least you're cracking jokes," the blonde answered with a laugh. "That's some progress from last night."

Anna cringed at the mention of last night. Looking away from Elsa, she bit her lip.

"Elsa," she started, "did I…do anything weird last night?"

Elsa raised a delicate eyebrow at the question. "No," she replied. "Weird in what way?"

A great look of relief took over Anna's face. "Oh thank god!" she exclaimed. "It was only a dream."

"Don't think I'm just gonna let that slide, Anna," Elsa quipped. "I may be above pestering an injured person, but I am not above bringing it up once you're healed."

"Great," Anna muttered, pouting in a way that Elsa could only describe at cute.

Remembering what time it was, Elsa pulled her phone from her pocket.

"Are you hungry?" she asked. "It's almost five-thirty in the afternoon. You've literally be asleep since midnight."

At the mention of food, Anna's stomach rumbled—and rather loudly at that.

"I'll take that as a yes," Elsa laughed again.

"Please," Anna added with a small smile.

"Pizza good?"

"Pizza's great!"

Elsa went into the kitchen to get the number off the fridge. While she was away, Anna managed to pull herself into a sitting position. It was then she realized the state her clothes were in.

Not to mention she didn't think she smelled too good.

Elsa walked back into the living room with a small smile on her face.

"Pizza will be here in thirty minutes. I just got half cheese and half pepperoni."

"That's fine," Anna replied. When Elsa made to turn away, she called out. "Hey Elsa?"

"Yeah?"

"Would it be okay if I took a shower?"

Elsa came back to the couch and looked down at Anna. "Do you think you can?" Realizing how that sounded, she quickly shook her head. "Crap, I didn't mean it like that. I mean, how's your pain?"

Anna smiled. "I knew what you meant. My ribs are still really sore as well as my hand, but I think I can manage it. Oh yeah, and I still can't see out of one eye, obviously." Elsa looked to see that her swollen eye had turned into a dark purple overnight. Then she saw Anna's coy smile. "I'll take a bath instead if it will make you feel better, mom."

Elsa found herself blushing for some reason at her words. Opting not to attempt to reply to that, she made instead to walk to her room.

"Let me find you a change of clothes and I can help you to the bathroom if you need it," she mumbled instead.

Anna just remained on the couch with a small look of triumph. She heard Elsa stop by the bathroom and turn the water on before coming back out to the main room.

"Do you need help?"

Slowly, yet with little difficulty surprisingly, Anna made it to her feet on her own. Letting out a groan as she stretched, she realized she felt loads better—despite the constant throbbing of her ribs.

Elsa couldn't help but stare at the small expanse of Anna's stomach as her shirt rode up with her stretch. She caught herself before Anna noticed and thanked her lucky stars.

"I feel pretty good, but I wouldn't mind some help," the younger girl finally said.

An awkward smile was plastered on Elsa's face as Anna swung her arm around her shoulder. The younger girl walked with a slight limp to the bathroom, but they made it without any complaints from Anna.

"If you need anything," Elsa said, releasing Anna in the middle of the bathroom, "I'll be right outside in the living room."

"Like if I need your help washing?"

Both girls froze and turned bright red at the jab.

"Y-Yeah…" Elsa mumbled. "Like that."

Then she fled the bathroom. Anna remained standing there, internally smacking herself.

What the fuck was that?! I'm not even on any drugs!

Elsa meanwhile was just outside the bathroom, leaning against the wall.

What the hell, Anna?

Even though Elsa tried to be annoyed with Anna's—flirting? joking?—words, she couldn't keep the warm blush off her face.

The pizza arrived while Anna was still in the bathroom, so Elsa simply put it in the oven to keep it warm. Slowly, and with butterflies furiously fluttering in her stomach, she walked back to the bathroom door.

"Anna?" she knocked softly. "Pizza's here."

The door opened to reveal Anna—thankfully fully dressed, Elsa determined with a breath—dressed in a spare pair of sweats and a t-shirt, her still-wet hair cascading over her shoulders. Elsa couldn't help but realize that this was the first time she had seen Anna's hair free of its braids. She liked it down. A lot.

Elsa internally shook her head to get herself back on track.

"Great! I'm starving!"

Again, Elsa sighed a breath of relief as their exchange in the bathroom seemed to have been swept under the carpet. She followed the younger girl back out into the living room, Anna going back to her place on the couch and Elsa into the kitchen to get the pizza.

"What do you want to drink?" she called from the kitchen.

"Will you promise not to judge me if I ask for a beer?" she heard Anna question.

Elsa chuckled. "Why would I judge you for that?" she asked, grabbing two cans from the fridge. "Beer goes great with pizza!"

She saw Anna was smiling as she sat before the coffee table, tossing Anna a beer.

"I don't know," the redhead said, "just because I'm injured and asking for alcohol."

"You're injured, Anna, not sick. There's no need for you to strictly drink water and orange juice," Elsa replied, matching Anna's smile.

"I'm also underage."

This time Elsa rolled her eyes. "Guess I'll just have to arrest you then," she joked.

Anna laughed, but quickly stopped as a jolt of pain shot through her ribs. Elsa saw her look of pain and stood up quickly.

"Where are you going?"

"To get you some Ibuprofen," the elder girl responded.

She came back with two blue pills and placed them on the table. "There's really nothing else you can do for broken ribs, but this should numb the pain at least," she explained, sitting back down on the floor. "Do you want a glass of water for them?"

Anna grinned and just cracked opened her beer before picking up the pills.

"Where's the fun in that?" she quipped before downing them with a swig of the alcohol.

Elsa just smiled as she opened her own beer.

After dinner, Elsa confined Anna to the couch as she cleaned up their plates and whatnot. Anna had tried to offer to help, but Elsa didn't give in the slightest, threatening to ask Anna what she had meant earlier by acting weird. That quickly shut Anna up and Elsa went about cleaning up in silence.

When she finished, she walked back to the living room with two more cans of beer, passing another off to Anna.

"Movie?" she asked.

Anna smiled. "Movie's good."

Elsa settled herself back on the floor before reaching for her PS3 controller to turn on Netflix. Anna watched her in silence, debating on whether to ask what had been circling her head ever since the beginning of dinner. Taking a sip of her beer in hopes to get some liquid courage, Anna cleared her throat.

"Elsa?"

Elsa craned her head slightly.

"You… You can sit up on the couch with me if you want," she said. "I can sit up and make room."

"You sure?"

Anna nodded and smiled again. "Please?"

Elsa just grinned as Anna made to sit up. The blonde picked herself up and plopped down on the couch. They picked out a movie and began to watch it in silence, both girls stealing silent glances at each other for the better half of it.

Near the end, Anna swallowed more courage and moved to scoot closer to Elsa, resting her head on the other girl's shoulder and intertwining their hands. Elsa smiled at the action before resting her head on Anna's. She felt Anna shift into a more comfortable position, relieved she wasn't being pushed away.

"Elsa?"

"Hmm."

Anna squeezed her hand. "Thanks for all of this. I… I hope I'm not being a burden."

The younger girl blushed when she felt Elsa's thumb begin to stroke the top of her hand.

"You could never be a burden, Anna," Elsa whispered. "I'm glad to help."

"You're too good to me," Anna mumbled into Elsa's shoulder.

She felt her chin being lifted and found herself staring into Elsa's eyes, her irises swimming with such a passion it made Anna's stomach churn.

"You deserve all of it," she said in all seriousness. "Don't ever doubt that, okay?"

Before Anna knew it, she found herself mere inches from Elsa's face, her eyes—eye—focused solely on the blonde's lips. She was pleasantly surprised when it was Elsa who made the final move to close the gap between them. Anna's heart did flips inside her broken ribcage at the feel of Elsa's soft lips against her own.

Elsa, on the other hand, felt like her heart was about to burst with how fast it was beating. She was kissing Anna. She was kissing Anna. Elsa thought it was going to sound weird and that it would turn her off—she had always assumed she was straight as a line—but now that it was happening, it was leagues different than she had assumed. Maybe it was just because this was Anna, as Elsa had admitted to Kristoff only days before that she found herself attracted to the girl. Now it seemed her mere attraction had dug deeper than a simple, innocent crush.

As she felt Anna's tongue gently sweep across her lower lip, Elsa shivered.

Yep, she decided then and there, she had it bad for Anna.

Aaaaaaaand they finally kiss! Hope that wasn't too strained. Again, I'm new to writing same-sex couples, so I hope nothing seems forced. I thought it would be easy to write for them since I love the ship so much and read fan fics almost every day, but I had a hard time with this chapter actually. Still, fluff is fluff regardless of gender, right? Right?!