I'm just going to go ahead and assume this is going to be the chapter most of you all have been waiting for. ;)

Chapter Twenty: Reprieve

"So I only need to pack two changes of clothes, right?"

"Yup!" I call, moving around my bedroom as I talk to Elsa at the same time, my phone sitting on my bed on speaker. "We'll be back by Saturday afternoon."

"And you're sure your parents are okay with me staying with you all?" is her next question.

Laughing, I sit down on my bed and pick up the phone. "Elsa, I swear, okay? They're thrilled to meet you."

I'm met with a brief silence before I hear her speak again, this time with a hint of nervousness present in her tone.

"What…have you told them?"

Rolling my eyes slightly, I place the phone back on my bed and return to the closet.

"What do you want me to tell them?" I ask back. Not really needing an answer from her, I continue, "I told them you're a friend who boxes like me. They know you're shy, so hopefully they won't hound you with questions, but I can't make any promises knowing my mom."

"Do they know about my parents?" she asks. "They weren't curious why I'm not spending the holiday with my family?"

"They asked," I tell her truthfully. "But I told them that's for you to answer, and only if you want to."

"And they accepted that without question?"

I can't help but chuckle, yet roll my eyes as well. "Yes, Elsa. I don't know what kind of people you think my parents are, but they aren't going to grill you about your past, present, or future unless you're willing. This is Thanksgiving dinner, not you asking for my hand in marriage."

"M-Marriage?!" Elsa gasps on the other line.

"It was a joke, Els," I say, though I'm slightly red in the face myself. When she doesn't say anything back, I ask, "Are you okay? Do you want me to come over, or you to come over here? Do you not want to come anymore?"

"No!" she cries immediately. "I-I mean, no, I still want to come, Anna, I promise. I just…" I hear her take a deep breath before she expels on the exhale, "I've been thinking about how to reintroduce myself to the public. Like…news-wise and all that."

"Really?!" I exclaim before I can dial down my excitement. "That's great, Elsa!"

"Wish I could say the same…" she mumbles.

"Hey," my voice softens, "it's supposed to be hard. But Elsa, I swear, you'll feel so much better after doing so. Milo's right, you know. This city loves you. They're not going to scorn you or think any less of you because you lost your arm in an accident you had no control over. And if they do, then they're losers anyway and were never your fans to begin with."

"I've just never done well with public speaking in general," she's telling me, "so having to do so and recount something so awful to mere strangers is terrifying."

"You know I'll be right there beside you the whole time, right?"

A beat.

"You will?" a quiet whisper.

"If you want me."

I can almost see the blush on Elsa's face. "Always, Anna."

XxXxX

"Anna!" my mother cries immediately upon opening the door. "It's so good to see you!"

"It's only been a few months, mom," I tell her with a laugh, extracting myself from the tangle of her hug.

"Oh, well excuse me," she jokes, "didn't know my daughter would come home a snob after only three and a half months in the Big Apple."

"I'm not a snob, mom," I grumble, although there is a smile on my face the entire time.

Good to know nothing's seemed to change.

"And this beautiful lady behind you must be Elsa?" mom's saying next, peering behind me to Elsa who's standing a few steps behind me on the front porch, eyes averted the ground, small smile budding on her face.

"Yeah!" I immediately perk up. Turning around, I smile myself, take Elsa's hand and pull her gently forward. "Mom, this is Elsa, my friend I told you about on the phone."

"You failed to mention how gorgeous she is," mom chides me, to which Elsa and I immediately flush.

"Mom!" I screech.

"Is she your gir-?"

"No!"

"Ah, but you want her to be."

Hanging my head in defeat, I huff. "Can we just come inside please? And resume teasing me at dinner? I'm sure dad's itching to get in on this as well."

"Oh yes, he's gathering all the baby pictures as we speak."

I nearly turn tail and retreat to the airport right then.

My family, ladies and gentlemen. Believe me, you learn to love them, but it can be a trying process. Try growing up with them.

Mom finally takes our bags from their spot on the porch before returning inside to tend to dinner still cooking, finally leaving me and Elsa alone. Head down in overwhelming embarrassment, I turn to face Elsa.

"So, regretting this decision yet?" I ask forlornly.

I'm surprised when I get a laugh as an answer. Looking up in surprise, I see Elsa hiding her laughter behind her hand in her signature form.

"Actually, I think this might be the best decision I ever made," she says with a big grin. "I'm already in love with your mom." Walking past me, she tugs me towards the door, still wide open after my mother's departure. Looking over her shoulder, her grin widens as she winks at me. "You going to introduce me to your dad or what, girlfriend?"

I swear my head implodes in a mushroom cloud with her utterance of the G-word, and I only stumble inside because I'm so shell-shocked. I know she was joking, but Elsa just called me her freaking girlfriend!

And fuck it, I loved it.

But damn it, I really need to tell her my true feelings before we get much further along. Only then will I truly be able to revel in the feeling of hearing that word flow so elegantly from her lips.

And suddenly, the perfect way to tell her comes to me. I'm going to do it tonight.

I have to. Need to.

Surprisingly, the rest of the whole "meet the parents" ordeal goes by without a hitch or much more embarrassment on my part. Dad's waiting inside for us in the living room when we finally walk inside and he welcomes Elsa into our house with open arms. The three of us make small talk for a bit before mom calls us into the dining room saying dinner is finally ready. Dad and I set the table while Elsa and mom bring out the food from the kitchen. We all sit down, mom and dad at each head of the table, Elsa and I sitting across from the other.

"So," dad begins once our plates are full, "shall we go around and say what we're thankful for in the spirit of the holiday?"

Elsa and I glance at each other before I shrug and acquiesce. Dad starts by saying he's thankful for the raise he received at his job a month ago and that I seem to be doing well on my own in New York. Mom goes next and says she's thankful "her baby" came home for the holidays and that I seem the happiest I've been in years. All eyes turn to me and I look down at my plate of food.

"Well, I'm thankful I won the rookie tournament last month," I start, to which mom interrupts with a gasp.

"You did?!" she cries. "Anna, why didn't you tell us?"

I flush and mumble, "I wanted to wait until I won the real tournament on Monday."

"You mean you're already competing again?" dad asks.

"Not just that," Elsa cuts in with a grin, "she got invited to do so by the commissioner of the tournament himself. Didn't even have to try out."

"Oh, my baby!"

"Mom…"

Elsa giggles and I shoot her a glare.

"Anyway," I stress, signaling we're getting back on track. "I'm thankful I also have the opportunity to compete on Monday and that I made such a good friend in Elsa."

This time it's Elsa's turn to blush, and I see my parents exchange knowing glances with the other as they look between my smug grin and Elsa's red cheeks as she fumbles with her hands in her lap.

"Well, um…" she trails off. "I'm… I'm thankful I met Anna." She meets my gaze and smiles as she finishes with, "I'm thankful she stuck by me and is helping me turn my life around."

There's a moment of silence as Elsa and I stare at each other, identical blushes lighting our cheeks, before we simultaneously look away to poke at our food.

"Turn your…life around?" my dad questions hesitantly, looking at Elsa curiously.

"Dad."

He looks to me. "What? If she doesn't want to answer, that's fine. You said not to push her, we can ask still, right?"

I groan and hang my head, somewhat ashamed of my parents' curiosity. Guess that's where mine comes from.

"It's alright, Anna," Elsa says softly. I look back up at her and she shrugs, though she does look a bit unnerved. "It's good practice, right?"

"I suppose," I mumble.

Now mom and dad are looking back and forth between us, fully aware there's something more going on here than we're letting on.

Clearing her throat, Elsa glances to both my mom and dad before focusing back on her lap.

"My… My parents passed away last year; that's why I'm not spending the holidays with them. The three of us were in a car wreck. I fell into a coma and…and l-lost my right arm."

When she's finished, mom's clutching at her heart with tears in her eyes and dad's looking at Elsa's right arm with a face that almost looks as though he regrets bringing it up.

"Oh, honey," my mom addresses Elsa. "I'm so sorry."

Elsa dons a lopsided smile. "It's… I'm starting to understand it's okay," she replies. Looking back at me, she blushes once more. "Anna's helped me understand that."

My dad chuckles softly. "That's our girl," he says. "Always willing to help."

"Sometimes too willing," I mumble bitterly.

And so, that's how I tell beginning to end—with some input throughout from Elsa and her point of view—how I met Elsa, pursued her, helped her, and promised her I wouldn't let her suffer through this alone.

Leaving out the part, of course, where I fell in love with her.

"And so Monday I compete in the national tournament, thanks to Elsa," I finish, the plates before the four of us long since cleared.

"And I plan to make an announcement to the media about my sudden disappearance and start working on getting a prosthetic," Elsa adds.

"Sounds like you both have a long road ahead of you," dad tells us. "Although, I'm sure as long as you have each other, it can't be any worse than what you both have already overcome."

"If you ever need anything, though, Elsa, please know you now have us to turn to," my mother states. "Any friend of Anna is part of this family."

Elsa smiles warmly and looks between both my parents. "Thank you both."

My mom mirrors her smile briefly before clapping her hands together. "So," she breathes, "after that heartfelt moment, who's in the mood for some pie and coffee?"

I chuckle before glancing to Elsa.

"Actually," I begin, "can you save me and Elsa a slice? I want to…talk to her."

Elsa looks to me curiously but I just send her a soft smile. Mom shrugs and dad stands to collect the dishes.

"I see," he says. "You're just trying to get out of dish duty."

"Hey!" I cry indignantly to which Elsa laughs. "So not true!"

"Just kidding, kiddo," he tells me with a wink. "You and Elsa go chat. There'll still be plenty of dessert left when you return."

Thanking them both quickly, I dash to other side of the table and take Elsa's hand, pulling her from her chair.

"Wait, Anna!" she cries. "W-What are you doing?"

"Trust me," I tell her as I lead her out the back door and to the yard. "I need to do something I should have done a long time ago."

"O-Okay."

The backyard of our house is bordered by a nature preserve. As a kid, Kristoff and I played for hours upon hours back here in its many paths, fields and groves. We'd splash in the creeks, roll down the hills, hike, and even get lost on a couple of occasions. Even when he wasn't with me, I'd disappear in it sometimes when life got too stressful. Especially after Rapunzel's death, I found myself spending consequent days back here, just thinking about anything and everything.

It was on one of those days when I discovered what I had dubbed my secret area. It became a sort of safe haven to me. I never told my parents about it, nor Kristoff. It was my treasure trove and mine alone.

But now, I wanted to share it with Elsa. It was the perfect place—the only place—where I could say what I wanted to say freely.

"What is this place?" Elsa asks as I lead her down a staircase my dad built years ago which branched the private part of the reserve—where our subdivision was built—to the public part. After I took a particularly nasty tumble down the hill as a kid, dad thought a staircase was needed.

"It's a nature preserve," I explain. "There's hiking trails and stuff. You wouldn't believe how much time Kristoff and I spent back here as kids."

"We're going hiking?" Elsa questions. "Won't it be getting dark soon?"

"It's five o' clock, Elsa," I reply with a chuckle. "We have at least an hour and a half, plus," I shrug the backpack I had grabbed hanging on my shoulder, "I have a flashlight if it does get dark, and a blanket and hoodies if we get cold."

"This couldn't wait until tomorrow?"

"No," I say sternly. "I need… I need to do this. Tonight." I squeeze her hand and look over my shoulder at her. "Just trust me, okay?"

I feel her squeeze my hand back. "Okay," she breathes.

I continue to lead her through the woods, following the paths like an expert. Elsa stays quiet as she obediently follows and I can't keep the smile off my face. I never could be anything but happy and at peace back here. It's just so…well, peaceful. Hell, I think I may have even spent a couple nights back here during my teenaged years.

Eventually however, I realize we've been walking for a while as Elsa finally speaks up again.

"How much further?" she asks, beginning to breathe heavily as we continue up a considerably steep hill.

"It's at the top of this hill, I swear," I tell her.

"You better know how to get us back, Anna," she says sternly yet with a chuckle. "I'm not too keen on spending the night out here."

"It's not as bad as you may think, spending the night here. Believe me, I've done it." Seeing the curious look she's giving me over my shoulder, I laugh. "But, you don't need to worry; I know this place like the back of my hand. I haven't gotten lost in here since I was twelve."

"Were you ever scared when you got lost?" she asks then, coming up to walk beside me rather than linger behind.

"Probably the first time," I reply honestly. "But I was probably like six at the time."

"By yourself?"

"Nah, Kristoff was there, but he was only ten. Still, I don't really remember freaking out. We just kept our heads and found a way out. We ended up in a different part of the subdivision than we lived in, but we just went to someone's door to call my parents. It all worked out in the end."

"I just…" Elsa mutters, shaking her head slightly. I see her look around. "This is all so different to me. I mean, I've been outside New York City for vacations and stuff, but never to someplace so…dense. The foliage, everything's just so new to me."

I grin and clench her hand again. "Then I'm glad I showed you something new by dragging you out here."

"Speaking of 'dragging me out here,'" she mirrors my grin, "we've reached the top of the hill. Where now?"

Dropping her hand, I move to stand behind her, smiling the entire time at her confused expression.

"Take ten steps forward," I tell her.

She stares at me a second longer before turning and complying. I watch her take her ten tentative steps forward. I hear her gasp and see her lean forward ever so slightly.

"Wow."

Chuckling, I walk up to her side. "Right?"

Before us is a large drop off to the subdivision and beyond below us. The sun's setting in front of us, stars are beginning to come out, and lights are turning on in the houses below us. It truly is a spectacular sight. Especially for a city girl, I add with another laugh.

"Where's your house?" Elsa asks, her eyes furiously scanning the structures below us.

"It's over to the left. See the one with the big yard on the edge? The smoke coming from the black roof? That's me."

Elsa spots it and her eyes light up in childlike mirth. "I see it!"

"And that," I point out to a large building sitting on the outskirts of the neighborhood, of which the sun will soon disappear behind, "is my old elementary school. Nothing but open fields beyond that for miles."

"This is amazing, Anna," she whispers. "Everything's so…open. Even the subdivision doesn't seem crowded or pushed together; it's still natural. So different from New York."

"That's Kentucky for you," I sigh. "Even Downtown Louisville is pretty open compared to New York. You'd probably laugh and be like 'this is a city?'"

Elsa spends another few minutes taking in the scene before her before she spins back around to face me.

"So, what did you want to tell me?"

Red immediately colors my face, and I thank my lucky stars the dusk quickly settling in is helping to not make it as obvious.

"Right," I whimper. "Uh, why don't we sit down?"

I drop the backpack from my shoulder and pull out a large quilt, quickly spreading it on the rocky ledge we stand on. I sit down and let my legs dangle off the edge, how I always like to sit when I come here. Elsa sits next to me and crosses her legs, leaning in to show she's really interested in what I have to say.

I just hope she'll still be once I'm finished.

"So, I…wanted to bring you here because this place is really special to me," I begin, finding it easier to look at the ground between us than in her expectant blue orbs. "It's off the main paths, as I'm sure you noticed, pushing all those branches aside and the tall grass and all that. Anyway, um," I clear my throat, "it's special to me and you're special to me, so I…wanted to, you know, share it with you."

Chancing a look up, I see Elsa smiling softly at me. Scooting closer, she lays her hand on top of mine.

"You're special to me, too, Anna," she whispers.

"But that's not all," I quickly say, pulling my hand away and looking back out over the cliff. "I… Damn it, I-I really like you, Elsa, and I wanted to tell you in such a way that you'd truly understand, but now I'm thinking it might be coming off as cheesy or clichéd and I don't really want that, 'cause then you'll know how many chick flicks I watch and that's gonna seem lame, but…"

I manage to stop my rant before it really gets out of hand. Closing my eyes, I sigh heavily. Fuck, this is harder than I thought it'd be.

Elsa's laughing softly beside me. "Anna, you don't-."

"No, please," I tell her, turning to look at her, now sitting cross-legged before her. "I need to say this. Ever since I met you, Elsa, you just…pulled me in or something. That first night I found you in the boxing room, you wouldn't leave my mind after, and you barely said ten words to me. I wanted to approach you without scaring you off 'cause I knew you were hiding something, and then we went to that little diner for breakfast and you offered to train me, and then you told me about your arm and…things just…evolved, I guess. My feelings evolved."

Gritting my teeth, I force myself to look back at her. She gives me another smile, and I can see her eyes shining with tears. My heart leaps to my throat at all the implications those shimmering eyes could mean.

"I… I-I've fallen in love with you, Elsa," I admit in a whisper. "I've fallen so hard, and I just needed you to know. I'm not leaving your side because I promised I wouldn't; I'm not leaving your side because I don't want to. I love you, Elsa; so much."

"Anna…"

"A-And I know it's bad to eavesdrop, but I did overhear you that day in the cemetery when you told your parents you think you're in love with someone. A 'her' someone, and I really, really hope it's me. That's why I asked you out; to prove to you that if it wasn't me you were falling for, it should be. 'Cause, damn it, Elsa, I just love you so much, and I promise to never leave you. I mean, we've seen each other at our worst and came back from it, we can handle anything else life throws at us, right? 'Cause I don't think I could just let you up and leave me without a fight, and I know I'm starting to ramble, but you're just so beautiful and amazing, and people like that make me do this and-."

"Anna!"

Laughter like wind chimes flutters to my ears and I clamp my mouth shut. I'm back to looking at the ground now, and absolutely refuse to look back up. I had been doing an okay job, before that train wreck of a ramble at the end.

The soft hand beneath my chin, however, says otherwise and suddenly I'm looking back up at the angel in front of me. Tears have now spilled over and have trailed down Elsa's face, but her eyes are big and wide and full of utter elation.

Wait… Elation?

"It was you I was talking about to my parents," she tells me softly. "It's always been you, Anna. Ever since you approached me that second time in the locker room, it was you. Even after I had been a complete bitch to you the night before, you still tried to be friends. Even after I continued holding my walls up out of fear, you still fought to bring them down. Even after our fight and me throwing you out of my apartment—threatening to hurt you—you returned and apologized even though you weren't solely in the wrong. You've always been there, Anna, even when I didn't know I needed you. It's because of you I'm turning my life around, truly. Had we never met…I think I'd still be hiding in my past. Wasting away, as you once put it. But you've made me see the light; you're helping me right the wrongs; you've showed me to let it go."

Expelling a watery laugh, tears of my own race down my cheeks. Elsa leans forward and touches our foreheads together, her hand coming to rest upon my cheek.

"You're amazing, Anna," she tells me, "and I love you, too."

Pulling away, I look at her briefly before glancing back down at the ground, an intense blush on my face.

"Can I…? Can I kiss you?" I ask.

Elsa giggles once more. "I'd kind of be insulted if you didn't."

That being the only invitation I need, I lean forward and kiss her lips gently. Immediately, my heart surges and begins to beat overtime as a shiver wracks my body. I feel like I'm being electrocuted, but fuck if it isn't the best feeling ever.

I'm kissing Elsa. Finally kissing Elsa.

She loves me. She said it, and I know I'm not dreaming this time.

And now she's kissing me back.

Before I let myself get carried away in bliss—or lose myself and just tackle her to the ground in a surge of passion—I pull away with a dreamy sigh. Elsa's as red as me as she takes my hand again, inching even closer until she's basically in my lap. I accept her advance and wrap her up, spreading my legs and settling her between them.

"I think I'm in heaven," she breathes.

Laughing, I hug her hard, my nose nuzzling her neck until she's laughing as well.

"Me too," I whisper.

The sun sets in front of us and we stay to watch, the perfect end to a perfect night. Once dark, I regrettably make to stand, pulling Elsa up as well as I pack up the blanket. Handing her a hoodie, as the temperature will surely begin to drop without the sun, I pull on the spare. We take the other's hand before I can't help myself and crash my lips back to hers in a much more passionate kiss. Testing the limits, I run my tongue along her bottom lip. Elsa shudders in my arms before her mouth is opening, her own tongue emerging to tangle with mine. I think we both let out matching moans as our hands begin to wander. Hers come to wrap around my neck, hand tangling in my hair, as mine settle on her hip, one bold one dipping lower to cup her ass.

Elsa lets out the fucking sexiest groan imaginable as I pull back again, taking time to take her lower lip between mine and suck gently.

"Anna…"

"Elsa."

"I love you," we say at the same time before breaking out into laughter.

We walk back hand in hand, and the journey takes longer than the one coming as we can't help stopping every now and then to kiss each other senseless. We keep to each other's lips the entire time, however, both of us not really sure when it's okay to advance further, yet neither really wanting to at this moment either. This is bliss, and I'm perfectly content.

When we return home and I'm in the kitchen cutting myself and Elsa a slice of pie, mom leans in and whispers, "Congratulations, honey."

I don't even blush and refute her, just smile broadly before exiting the kitchen to cuddle up next to Elsa on the couch and eat our pie. I couldn't be any happier with my life right now. I got the girl of my dreams resting against me, and my parents just accept that for what it's worth. There's no discussion on sexuality, not even what this means for the both of us, just acceptance. I mean, I told my parents long ago that I was gay, but still, they don't seemed unnerved by Elsa and me touching and kissing in front of them. Not that we're trying to flaunt it or anything, but damn, this girl is just too kissable!

Elsa doesn't even bother with the guest room that night, and crawls in right next to me.

"Thank you for tonight, Anna," she tells me. "For inviting me to dinner, for showing me the overlook, for telling me what you did, for everything."

"Anything for you, Els," I say back, giving her one final kiss on her forehead.

As she curls up against me, she whispers something that has me awake fighting back tears for the next hour.

"I'm so happy."