Wow guys, I'm truly, deeply, utterly sorry for the month long wait… Believe me, I never intend for this story to take so long in updating. And I already feel guilty about it so no guilt shaming in your reviews, you hear? ;)

Anyway, just please know I hate these mini-hiatuses as much as you do, and if I had the time and energy, I'd be dishing out chapters as fast as you can read them.

Good news (and bad, I guess, depending on if you're reading it and like it), Still of the Night will be over within the next two chapters, which means all of my time will be back on Sucker Punch. AND DON'T ANYONE LET ME START WRITING A NEW STORY FOR ALL THESE DAMN IDEAS IN MY HEAD, OKAY?! Seriously, if I post something, just ridicule it so bad I'm forced to take it down out of shame, okay? ;)

Note: That was a bit over the top, but please try and stop me if I act like I'm starting something else.

So, to reward you all for your patience and never once bugging me about when I'm going to update next (seriously, guys, thank you for understanding, or at least tolerating it), here's an angst-free, fluff-filled chapter. Enjoy.

Chapter 24: Water Break

It was well into December before anything else monumental happened in my and Elsa's life together. Well, I say "life together," but not in the sense you think. I mean, yeah, we were officially "girlfriends" now and we're technically "dating," but it wasn't like we were living with each other or anything like that. I mean things that affected both Elsa and me; like her big reveal a few weeks ago had.

Get it?

Well, regardless, nothing much had changed besides Elsa being much more relaxed. Sure, there were still times when she would be out in public, someone would look at her or say something to her, and her past residual fears still fought their way to the surface. But usually when I was around, I was able to talk her out of it, and all would be fine and dandy.

And I was around all the time. Well, more or less.

Neither of us had brought up moving in together yet, as I think we both felt like it was such a big, meaningful step, and we didn't really know how to approach it. I mean, it's not just casual conversation is it? It's not like Elsa and I could be sitting on one of our couch's one night and one of us just up and say, "so, ever thought about moving in?" I mean, what?

Still, we had sleepovers at least three times a week, and we tried to alternate whose apartment was used, but it usually ended up in me going over to Elsa's. I mean, hers was bigger. It was further from my work, but that was about its only downfall. Besides, it made me work to get up earlier—which had always been one of my greater faults—but everything was worth it when I would walk out and find Elsa had made me breakfast, or she wanted to go to work with me and surprise the kids.

Now that the annual boxing tournaments had come and gone, Elsa and I weren't really focused on training anymore. We still went to the gym, of course, and I did still put that boxing room to good use, but it was mainly fun and games now. I had devoted a good amount of time researching other boxing tournaments out of state, but so far hadn't found anything I could afford to go to—one tournament being all the way out in California.

So, life had essentially slowed down for the both of us. We were just taking life one day at a time, and it was great. Sure, Elsa still had nightmares along with any lingering fears, but she had come a long way and I couldn't hold anything against her. I had also kept quiet about taking the next step to getting a prosthetic and joining a group. I knew she had probably be looking forward to that even less than she had going on live TV, so I did my best to refrain from bringing it up. We all know how well it went last time I tried to push her in that direction.

Things were going so well for us, the last thing I wanted was to fuck anything up.

Even then, I couldn't help but think the latest we should start this next endeavor was the beginning of the New Year. Surely Elsa had put it off long enough? Hadn't she learned that simply getting it over with was better than the anticipation of putting it off again and again?

But nope, I'm not going to say anything.

Probably.

XxXxX

"Anna."

It was early in the morning, and if I knew anything from how tired and sluggish I was, it was early as in, like, before seven early.

"Anna…"

Still, the hour of the day didn't seem to put off the angel whispering in my ear.

"Get up," it whispers gently, and I could feel a weight roll on top of me.

"Mmmmmh, yeah?" I mumble, blearily opening my eyes.

My vision fills with ocean blue and white gold and I know it's fruitless to try and stop the grin from taking over.

Oh yeah, Elsa had also become a lot more affectionate lately, did I forget to mention that? If I did, one may be surprised to see Elsa on top of me and staring me down lovingly as she tries to rouse me from sleep.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," she says with a laugh, once she knows she has my attention.

She leans down to kiss my lips and I sigh in bliss as her hand comes to rest at my side, gently trailing upwards underneath my shirt.

"Good morning to you too," I whisper back, breaking the kiss. "Why are you getting me up so early though? I don't have work today."

Her hand stops right beneath my breast and I inhale sharply as her nails now skim back down and rake across my stomach. Meanwhile, she looks at me and I'll never understand how she can make hooded eyes look so innocent. Like she doesn't have a hand under my shirt and is doing indescribable things to my body, despite it still being in the process of waking up.

"I know," she replies, her hand now cupping my cheek as she kisses the opposite one. "But I was getting bored."

"So you decide to start a make out session at seven in the morning?"

The small chuckle I release quickly turns into a hitch of my breath as Elsa traces my left earlobe with her tongue.

"Are you complaining?" she murmurs in a sultry voice.

A playful bite before she moves to suckle at my neck.

"Nngh," I gasp. "No, no definitely not."

I feel her smile against my skin before she switches sides and kisses the opposite ear and leaves a bruising hickey on the other side of my neck. Meanwhile, I'm tempted to just fall back asleep, because Elsa has me feeling so relaxed and I know she'll continue her onslaught until I'm awake once more.

Finished and content with her work, she pulls back, and I crack an eye open to look up at her. She grins.

"Now get up," she states.

I groan. "God, Elsa, you're such a tease."

Still, I push myself up on my elbows before kissing her lips again. We're both grinning like idiots as I mumble, "But I wouldn't have you any other way."

So yeah, Elsa's methods for waking me up lately have really improved, and more often than not I'm immediately showering to cool down, because damn can this girl turn me on.

But I'm not complaining!

One last kiss and Elsa rolls off me and gets out of bed, leaving me in a giant puddle of hot desire.

"Seriously, get up," she tells me, though her voice is light. "I have some surprises for you today."

I'm instantly upright at her words and I look to her, catching her gaze in the mirror above her dresser.

"Wait, surprises? As in, more than one?"

Turning back to look at me, she winks before casually strolling out the door.

"You'll have to get out of bed to find out!" I hear her jest from her living room.

I get dressed and ready in record timing that day.

An hour later, we're getting off the subway on the southwest side of Central Park, close to my apartment—Elsa lives on the southeast side. We turn several corners before Elsa has us stopped in front of a familiar restaurant front.

"This is…!"

"The diner we came to the first time I asked you out," Elsa finishes, a proud undertone lacing her voice even with the slight blush that has taken over her face.

Sure enough, it is. The night Elsa treated me to a meal at one-thirty in the morning after her weeks-long ignorance of me many months ago. This was the start to it all, and now we're back and I get the feeling that's significant somehow.

"Soooo… Why are we here?" I question.

Elsa laughs as she pulls me inside. "To eat, silly."

"I mean why here?"

Grinning like the sly little bitch she is—hey, I mean it in jest!—she just sits down in a vacant booth before hiding behind her menu.

I don't bring it up the rest of the time.

After breakfast—which was another split stack of pancakes that Elsa again fought me tooth and nail to pay for, because that really brought home the nostalgia of it all—Elsa takes my hand as we bypass the subway station in favor to walk through the park.

A couple weeks into December in New York means it's pretty damn cold. Usually this would bother me, but somehow simply having my hand in Elsa's, the snow crunching beneath our shoes, my body brushing up against hers every step we take, makes everything manageable. No, not even simply "manageable;" warm.

"So, now what?" I can't help asking, and Elsa should know by now how insatiable my curiosity is.

"Now, we're taking a walk," she answers once again in a cocky manner and I have half a mind to smack the grin off her face.

"You're really not going to make this easy for me, huh?"

With a wink, she replies, "Nope."

Yes, audiences of all ages, even I'm surprised sometimes with how much Elsa's changed.

We continue walking for a while, hand in hand, with me making continuous prompts for Elsa to clue me in to where we're going. Our playful banter of, "Tell me." "No." "Tell me!" "No!" "I'll take you to the ground and kiss it out of you." "Anna!" continues for a solid ten minutes, before I actually take the time to observe my surroundings and recognize what area of the park we're in.

And what this area usually holds this time of year, when the park is covered in snow and there's a particular bite to the air.

My stomach drops and I grind to a halt, stopping Elsa with me.

"Elsa, we're not…"

"Finally catching on, are we?"

"You're expecting me to ice skate?"

Elsa shrugs. "It snows and gets cold in Kentucky, right?"

"That doesn't mean I automatically know how to skate!"

Elsa manages to get me walking again and we soon round a large tree and come face to face with an ice skating rink. In the middle of Central Park. With hundreds of people around.

"Look, I'll teach you, okay?" Elsa reassures me while rubbing my shoulders. "It's like riding a bike." Looking down at me with a grin, she jabs, "You do know how to ride a bike?"

Chuckling and batting her hand away, I reply in the affirmative.

Of course, I don't know what Elsa was thinking, because riding a bike and ice skating are two completely different concepts. I mean, sure, I guess they do both incorporate balance, but one has you on wheels and the other you're on your feet!

And Elsa should know how I am on my feet, what with all the times I've tripped over nothing or walked smack into a wall or doorframe—and yes, I've done all of this stone-cold sober. Still though, she's dragging me to the rental booth and ordering me a pair of skates despite my claims.

"Just be glad I didn't take you to Rockefeller Center," she tells me as she ties my skates for me, somehow managing to get hers on in, like, a minute. "The people that skate there are really good; professionals, even. The park here is for beginners and people just having fun."

I watch a kid fall flat on his back and I wince. I can't help but question Elsa's definition of fun as the kid begins to cry.

"You'll be okay," Elsa tells me as she pulls me unsteadily to my feet—and we're not even on the rink yet. "And if you do get hurt, I'll kiss any boo-boos better tonight."

Damn, now she's just being flirty like it's nothing.

"Now I'm just going to be falling over the place," I quip with a grin before I become more serious as we approach the ice. "You do know I'm going to make a fool of myself, right?"

"Well, then you'll just be my fool."

I can't take it anymore and spin—somehow in my skates—to face her.

"What is with you today?" I balk. "I mean, not that I'm opposed to waking up to you kissing me or this…flirty side of you, but it just came out of nowhere!"

And suddenly, like that, the playful smirk that has been present in Elsa's eyes all day vanishes, replaced by uncertainty and—I start to hate myself—a bit of fear.

"I was just trying to make this day all about you," she explains. "I wanted to show you how grateful I am for all you've done and who you've become to me. I never feel like I show you how much I love you." Then in a mumble, she adds, "And I thought you'd like the flirty-ness."

I laugh as I cup her right cheek, lifting her head so she's looking at me.

"I didn't mean it in a bad way," I tell her honestly. "I was just surprised, is all."

"Do I not pull it off well?" she asks next.

"What, flirting?" She nods and I scoff playfully. "Not at all. You suck."

My reward for that jab is a swift punch to the arm, and I'm shying away from any more hits as we both continue to laugh.

"Really though, Elsa," I say, "you don't have to change anything about you just to show me you love me. I can tell. I know without you even trying."

"So I should just leave the flirting to you?" she asks meekly.

"Now I didn't say that!" I exclaim with a wink.

"Sorry, Anna," she mumbles, smiling abashedly. "Just let me finish this day out, and I'll tone things down."

"Deal," I quip. "Now, I believe you were about to teach me how to skate?"

Elsa immediately regains the gleam to her eyes, but this time I notice the lack of flirtatiousness present; just love. Unconditional, unbridled love.

And that makes me blush harder than any of her earlier teasing could possibly.

XxXxX

"Where are we going now?" I ask as Elsa guides me through the streets of Manhattan while covering my eyes. "It better not be the rink at Rockefeller 'cause I already made enough of a fool of myself, thank you!"

Elsa chuckles in my ear and replies, "It's not Rockefeller. We wouldn't be walking there."

"Then where?"

"It's a surp-."

"A surprise, I know," I grumble.

Elsa laughs once more. "Patience, dear Anna."

So, ice skating wasn't as much of a disaster as I had thought it would be. Yeah, I fell a few hundred times, and even managed to pull Elsa down with me a few, but in the end we just laughed it all off. I'm also proud to say that I wasn't the only adult falling out there as there was one guy doing almost worse than me.

And that's saying something.

Elsa led me around the rink a few times by pulling me with her before leaving me clinging to a wall so she could skate freely. And show off, the…well, show off. Seriously, if she hadn't gone to the Olympics for boxing, she could have for ice skating. She could spin, jump and land perfectly; she seemed to have been born on the ice. Maybe if she couldn't compete in boxing anymore, she could take up skating.

I'll have to remember to mention that.

Now, however, I'm left to simply wander blindly with Elsa as my only guide.

"Are we almost there at least?" I finally ask again.

"Yes," Elsa answers. "We're…here!"

At that, she removes her hands from my eyes and I look around. Nothing immediately stands out, the corner of 57th and 5th meaning nothing to me.

"I don't get it," I lamely tell her, glancing to her basically bouncing up and down while waiting for me to catch on.

"Look across the street."

I do, and a bit diagonal from where we're standing currently is a large building with a bunch of Christmas lights. I blink.

"Still nothing."

Elsa huffs and shoves me. "What a girl you are," she mumbles. Taking my hand, she all but drags me across the street until we're standing right outside the door. Gesturing to the name above the door, I look up. "Get it now?"

Oh.

Ohhhhh.

"T-Tiffany's?!"

I'm staring her with my mouth hanging open and she just has this smug look on her face like she takes girls to Tiffany's all the time.

"I want to show you something," she tells me, blushing for only the second time today despite all the coquettish remarks she's spilled thus far.

"Elsa…" I'm lost for words. "You didn't…"

Her blush darkens as she mumbles, "I might have…"

Without saying anything else, she leads me into the store.

Even though I may have been a tomboy growing up, and even now didn't have much interest in jewelry, I realize what a big deal Tiffany's is, and Tiffany's in New York City…

All of a sudden I'm beginning to fear Elsa is going to ask to marry me.

Not that that's necessarily a bad thing! But, it is awfully early.

The more rational side of me sighs and casts off my worry, used to my over reactive brain. Of course it's not a wedding ring.

Still, as we pass by all these cases full of expensive jewelry, I can't imagine what we're doing here.

"Hi," Elsa speaks to one of the workers, still not having let go of my hand. "I'm here to pick up a special order. The name's Arendelle?"

'Special order?' God, that's almost worse than a wedding ring! Elsa doesn't have to be doing any of this!

"Elsa," I tug at her sleeve, "seriously, w-what are you doing?"

Perhaps because she too is questioning her motives here, as she refuses to look my way or answer. When the clerk comes back with a signature blue box—bigger than a ring box, I sigh with relief—my heart begins to pound so loud I'm sure the entire store can hear.

Elsa peeks in the box as I respectfully look away before she's pulling me up next to her.

"I know I didn't have to," she begins, "but I wanted to, okay? I know this probably seems like too much to you, Anna, but to me, you deserve all of this and more so…"

She passes me the box and I numbly take it, acting mainly on autopilot. Her blush still hasn't diminished in the slightest and she bites her lip and looks to the floor.

"I hope you like it," she whispers.

Carefully opening the box, I'm met with the most beautiful necklace I've ever seen. Sitting on the black felt is a pendant of two silver boxing gloves bumping fists, a gold heart encasing them. The chain looks like its made from freaking diamonds, but I'm assuming it's most likely silver as well. My mouth falls open once more as I pull the necklace from the box.

"Elsa…" I utter, my voice wavering heavily.

"Do you like it?" she asks; a hopeful, yet desperate undertone to her voice. "Is it too over the top? Is the heart too corny?"

I let out a wet chuckle, turning the gloves and heart over in my hand. She's beginning to sound like me when she frets.

And it's fucking adorable.

She's fucking adorable.

"This whole day has been over the top," I'm muttering, still staring transfixed at the piece of jewelry, "but that doesn't mean I haven't enjoyed every minute of it, or that any of it's over the top." Finally looking to her, I beam, "I love it, Elsa."

She lets out a huge breath of relief and before she can do anything else, I have her in a bone-crushing hug.

"Thank you," I whisper. "It's beautiful."

I feel her smile into my neck before she pulls away and gently takes the necklace from me.

"Can I put it on you?" she asks.

I nod excitedly and spin so my back's facing her. With the upmost care, she fastens the piece securely around my neck, a symbol of my passion and love now hanging delicately by Rapunzel's bullet. As soon as it's on and settled, I turn back around and kiss her on the lips. Damn being in the middle of a famous, crowded jewelry store.

The best part though?

Elsa kisses back feverishly.

In public.

XxXxX

By eight o'clock, we're back at Elsa's, a large pizza on the coffee table before us, the two of us snuggled against each other and covered by a mound of blankets, and mindlessly watching Netflix.

And seriously, I mean mindlessly because neither of us are really aware as to what's playing at the moment.

Since, you know…we're making out.

"Mmh, today was amazing, Elsa," I tell her, somehow having managed to climb into her lap while still staying under the blankets. "I can't thank you enough for the necklace."

Elsa kisses up my neck until her nose is nuzzling my cheek and she whispers, "So you really like it?"

Foreheads pressed together, I finger the necklace once more; something I haven't been able to stop doing since we left Tiffany's.

"Are you kidding?" I giggle. "I haven't been able to keep my hands off it."

Elsa chuckles too and kisses me hard on the lips before taking my hand with the necklace and placing it around her neck, causing me to finally drop it.

"I know," she murmurs. "It's getting more action than I am. I'm getting jealous, honestly."

My hand around her neck moves up to tangle in her hair as I pull back in for yet another kiss, pushing the limits as I swipe my tongue across her bottom lip.

"Well," I husk against her lips, "luckily for you, the necklace can't kiss me like this."

"This is true," she agrees lightly, her hand coming to caress my cheek. She takes a moment to gaze at me with such awe and adoration I'm blushing and looking away before she speaks again. "I love you so much, you know?"

"I do," I mumble, and I hate that fact that I'm so embarrassed by her displays of affection. It's not like I haven't craved just this since meeting her. "I just… No one's ever told me that and really meant it."

"Then none of those people deserved you in the first place," Elsa tells me with conviction, her hand still stroking my cheek, her null limb resting lightly against my left side.

Beaming, I peck her on the nose and whisper, "I love you too. So much."

We stay like that a moment longer, me in her lap and us exchanging kisses everywhere there's skin exposed, before I pull back with a gasp, overcome with what I think is a great idea.

"Let's go to a club!"

"A c-club?"

"Yeah!" I'm instantly on my feet, the blankets pooling at my socks. "C'mon, it'll be fun! You need a big celebration for all you've accomplished. Something other than doting on me hand and foot. So, to repay you, I'm taking you out."

"To a club…"

For some reason Elsa just can't get past that point.

"That's what I said!"

"Where did this urge come from? We can't just…" she blushes, "kiss some more?"

"We can kiss there too!"

"But we'd be in public…"

"You kissed me back in Tiffany's today," I remind her. "Plus, it's a club, people will be making out all around us, right? I mean I wouldn't know, there aren't many clubs in Kentucky, but that's how it is in movies right?"

"Anna, I can't dance!"

Ah, so there's the truth.

Laughing, I roll my eyes before pulling Elsa to her feet.

"And I can't ice skate." When she still looks unsure, I lean in to kiss her again. "Look, I can't really dance either, okay? But no one's going to care. We're just going to go out, have some fun, maybe you can get some drinks, loosen back up, and enjoy the rest of the night, okay?" Putting on my best puppy-dog look, I add for dramatic measure, "Pleeeease? For me?"

That gets a small chuckle out of her as well as a huff before she looks back at me.

"Okay."

Oooh, also, one last thing: Smut or no smut? I feel I can work it in, but I think the story will be just fine without it as well.