UNITED STATES, 2013
"We're ready for you."
A woman with countless piercings and two full sleeves of tattoos was beckoning Elsa to the back room of the parlor. She stood, already starting to feel nauseous. Why was she doing this again?
Kristoff immediately got to his feet enthusiastically - he had been most excited about Elsa's procedure.
"Um, excuse me?" the redhead that had been sitting next to him on the bench sprang up in the same instant and punched him on the shoulder.
"She's MY best friend," she continued, scowling up at the taller man.
Elsa, although weary as she always was at their bickering, felt her heart lurch as Anna fought to be beside her while she subjected herself to what she was sure would be pure agony. The woman had already disappeared behind the curtain.
"How about it Elsa?"
The blonde's attention snapped back to her friends. "What?"
"We'll let you decide," said Anna, crossing her arms over her chest.
Elsa took a moment to look between her two friends, but they both knew who she was going to pick. Defeated, Kristoff sat back down on the bench before she could even speak. Anna squealed in triumph and delight before skipping over to Elsa, taking her hand, and leading her to the back room.
Hyper-aware as she always was when Anna was touching her, she almost didn't hear the redhead ask if she was nervous.
"Naw," she managed nonchalantly. She could tell Anna saw right through her but said nothing, instead giving her hand a gentle squeeze before letting it go.
Elsa settled in the sloped chair and Anna pulled a stool up next to her so that her head was level with Elsa's chest. The blonde tried not to dwell on the proximity of the best friend that she may or may not have had a crush on, instead focusing her attention on the woman who was now preparing the needle. Elsa wasn't afraid of needles, nor was she at the moment afraid of the pain, but she was thinking heavily on the fact that this was going to be permanent and practically irreversible. She normally didn't make rash decisions.
"Where exactly did you want it, hun?"
"Uh… here," Elsa said, indicating the space behind the bump of bone on the inside of her ankle. Elsa watched calmly as the tattoo artist carefully put the symbol she would trace on the location she had pointed out. It was small and would only be a few black lines - nothing too noticeable (or expensive). It kind of looked like a swastika, but there were only three prongs and they were more curved and enclosed by a circle. It was something she had seen online in high school and had become obsessed with, finding herself drawing it on everything from her diary to her chemistry notes. Anna had finally suggested after catching Elsa lightly tracing the little circular symbol on her wrist for the umpteenth time that she get it tattooed somewhere. The blonde had stewed over the idea for almost two years before reluctantly giving in. It was mostly the guilt of not having done something "rite of passage-y" for her 18th birthday that had really drove her to it. Besides, Anna was constantly reminding her that she'd soon be 21 and thought that an act of rebellion was long overdue.
"Ready hun?" The artist glanced at her customer, needle poised ominously above Elsa's soon-to-be-tainted skin. Elsa nodded shortly and seconds later the needle met her ankle.
The blonde hissed as she inhaled sharply - it felt like a knife was being dragged tortuously slow across her skin.
"You okay?" Anna asked, the hint of a laugh perceptible in her voice.
"Ow," said Elsa, hands gripping the edge of the chair.
Anna giggled at her pain. "Here," she said, reaching out and prying the hand closest to her from its death grip on the chair's edge. Their fingers tangled together and Anna used her free hand to trace reassuring patterns on the back of the pale hand she held.
Elsa was unfortunately in too much pain to be pleased with this arrangement. Instead, she tightened her grip on her best friend's fingers as the buzzing needle drifted over a particularly tender spot of her ankle.
"Hey, remind me what it means again?"
Elsa looked over to find the redhead's chin resting on the edge of the chair, face inches away from Elsa's. She quickly looked away again and answered through gritted teeth.
"Fate and eternity." Elsa suspected that Anna had not forgotten the meaning, as the older girl had explained it plenty of times before, but that she was using the question to try and distract Elsa from the pain. Because Anna was seriously the best and would do something like that.
Soon enough (or too soon?) the artist was finished and was wiping away the last droplets of blood from the fresh tattoo. The whole thing had only taken probably fifteen minutes but had felt like ages. Anna stood, letting Elsa's hand drop. Covering her displeasure at the lack of contact with her relief that the pricking of her skin was over, Elsa looked down to survey the new permanent mark on her left ankle. The ink still glistened slightly and the skin all around it was a puffy, angry red. But there it was, in all its glory.
"Now you're inked!" said Anna, golf-clapping. "You're now ten times cooler just for that."
"I feel the same," Elsa responded, but she grinned at the compliment anyway.
Elsa only half listened to the artist's tattoo care lecture because Anna had placed a hand on the other side of Elsa's head and was leaning over the blonde as she sat rigid in the chair. She found she often forgot to breathe around Anna and decided it probably wasn't healthy but conceded that there was really nothing to be done about it.
Kristoff cheered loudly when the pair emerged from the back room.
"Lemme see, lemme see!"
Elsa, rolling her eyes, pulled up her pant leg to show him the gauze that had been taped over the tattoo.
"Sorry, not sorry," she said as he pouted.
"Well, at least you didn't cry," he continued, inspecting her face for any sign of tears.
"No, she took it like a champ!" said Anna, flashing her a broad smile that made Elsa's heart clench painfully.
"How's your hand?" Elsa asked, remembering the pressure she had placed upon it in the heat of battle.
"Not broken!" she said brightly. "But you needed it, so it's okay."
Elsa paid for her mistake in cold hard cash and soon the trio was sitting on stools around a counter in Anna's kitchen. Her parents never cared how loud they were or how late they stayed, so it was always the place the friends congregated. Anna was sliding around the kitchen (stocking-ed feet on hardwood floors), throwing chips and cookies onto the counter for her friends to demolish. She also began to make a cup of Tension Tamer for Elsa without even being asked; she just knew her friend that well.
"It can't have hurt that bad," Kristoff said for the third time through a mouthful of Oreo.
Elsa fixed him with a glare, not bothering to answer. After a few silent seconds of unbroken eye contact, she began to chew her own mouthful in an exaggeratedly slow fashion, like a cow, and Kristoff bust up in laughter.
"What did I miss?" Anna said, sliding over from tending the kettle on the stove and bumping straight into Elsa, almost landing on top on her.
"Can't you stay upright for five seconds?" Kristoff teased Anna as she laughed, leaning into Elsa and practically sitting on her lap. Elsa froze, resisting the urge to pull the redhead closer.
Then the weight was gone and Elsa released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
"Sorry, Elsa!" Anna said, still giggling, not aware of what she had done to her friend. The kettle began to whistle and the redhead slid over to retrieve it.
"We should hot tub!" Kristoff said.
Elsa groaned. "I can't! My tattoo!" She cursed herself again for the mark; she loved hot tubing, especially at night, and especially when Anna was involved.
"Can't you, like, wrap it up in a plastic bag or something? I saw them do it on TV… I think…" Anna suggested, sliding over to place a mug next to Elsa and slopping a bit of steaming tea on the counter in the process.
"Thanks - what if it leaks though?"
"Just keep your foot out," Kristoff said. "You'll look like an awkward model posing for Sports Illustrated's swimsuit edition, but I won't judge."
"I will!" Anna piped up and teasingly pulled at the end of the platinum blonde braid that loosely down Elsa's back. She closed her eyes, trying to keep her heart rate steady as a smile spread across her face.
"Okay, fine."
Ten minutes later, Elsa was carefully lowering herself into the heated water, making sure to keep her left foot propped on the ledge and safely dry. As always when Anna was near her in a bathing suit, Elsa battled with the urge to gawk and instead stole furtive glances to drink up her fill of Anna's scantily-clad figure, distorted though it was through the water.
Being in a bathing suit gave Elsa a strange sort of confidence instead of insecurity. She knew her body wasn't perfect but she also knew she wasn't unattractive by any means, but mostly she hoped secretly that Anna was stealing glances at her too.
"Yep," Kristoff said, surveying her. "Far cry from Sports Illustrated."
"Shut up," Elsa said, splashing at him. The trio then settled into a comfortable silence. They had been friends for so long that they often didn't need to say anything at all to enjoy each other's company. From her half laying down position, Elsa was primed for stargazing, so she did just that.
A brisk October breeze drifted around them, ruffling Kristoff's bangs and jostling Anna's braids. The redhead sighed in contentment and stretched out, resting her feet on the one thigh of Elsa's that was submerged in the water. If Anna had done this by accident, she didn't correct her position and Elsa was left struggling to ignore the touch.
Elsa didn't get to see her best friends very often. Just random weekends or nights like this were all they could make time for. Anna was a senior in high school, so she had classes, homework, and (depending on the season) tennis practice to keep her busy. Elsa also had class and went to University in the next town over. Kristoff graduated high school in May, but decided to work instead of continue his education. He was a barista at a coffee shop near Elsa's campus and served as a rock climbing instructor on other random days. The trio didn't have a lot of time for each other but the days they did have were spent in laughter and good times.
Elsa couldn't pinpoint the exact moment she had fallen for her best friend. It sounded so cliche when she really thought about it - falling for her best friend. What a lark. But Anna had saved her. It had been Elsa's senior year, she had just ditched her old alcohol-abusing, chain-smoking group of friends and was eating lunch alone like a loser.
"Can I sit here?" she had asked, smiling brightly like she does. She was a freshman, but she was sunshine on a rainy day. After that first lunch the two had become inseparable. Kristoff, who Anna met in her math class, joined their little group shortly after. Anna had this kind of magnetism to her, like gravity - when she pulled someone into her orbit, they were stuck. Her endless enthusiasm and optimism was what Elsa loved most about her - Anna was always excited about something. Not to mention, she was one of those touchy-feely people who hugged everyone all the time and encouraged physical affection. Elsa, not used to such notions, quickly became dependent on these little doses of happiness. She knew that she deluded herself into thinking these pieces of affection were special to herself, but she couldn't help it.
There was a problem though: Anna was most likely straight as a board and Kristoff liked her too. He never said, but Elsa could just tell. She wasn't really jealous - if Anna wanted to date him, fine, whatever made her happy. Unluckily for either of them, Anna showed no interest in her two friends beyond the platonic. On the other hand, Elsa had also never perceived in their years of friendship any interest in a romantic relationship with anyone else either. This opened the door for hope.
So the trio's delicate balance of friendship made them as thick as thieves - as long as the boat wasn't rocked. And as long as Elsa capped her desire, it wouldn't be. But it became a little harder to do every time she saw Anna, because distance, instead of diminishing it, somehow made her attachment to the redhead stronger.
Staring unseeing at the sky as it clouded over, she wondered vaguely if she should confide in Kristoff her feelings for Anna to see how he himself coped. Maybe someday.
Anna's toe prodded Elsa's thigh in the water. "How's the tat holding up?"
"It kind of tingles," Elsa noted. "And my foot's really cold." She blushed as Anna came forward to rub some heat into her foot, avoiding the gauze on her ankle. Elsa was glad it was dark.
The next day was Halloween. Although Kristoff and Elsa were out of high school, Anna always managed to persuade them to dress up and go trick-or-treating in her neighborhood. The two friends had long since given up on any protests - Anna was too stubborn. Every holiday was her favorite holiday. There was always a theme to their costumes too and this year's theme was Peter Pan. Anna herself was the eponymous character, Elsa was stuffed into a skimpy Tinker Bell outfit (because she "was the blonde!") and Kristoff donned a hideous wig and beard to be Captain Hook.
The night was pretty chilly for what Elsa was wearing, but to keep Anna's spirits up she bit back any complaints. She was rewarded, however, when Anna herself became cold and slipped an arm through Elsa's, pressing close to her side. Kristoff trailed behind them as they walked down the middle of the suburb's winding streets, trying to scare the small children that passed by brandishing his hook at them.
"Stop being mean, Kristoff," Anna reprimanded him after yet another child gave the trio a wide berth, ready to run if the tall teenager lunged at him. The redhead strained to look over her shoulder at him, but held tight to Elsa's arm, which the blonde didn't fail to notice.
"What? It's Halloween, kids love being scared!"
"He's right," Elsa agreed. "I can't believe I'm twenty and still trick-or-treating." She didn't really mind; any excuse to hang out with Anna was always a welcome excursion.
"But guys! FREE CANDY." Her usual argument. Really anything that had to do with chocolate was made Anna's priority. She suddenly unlinked herself from Elsa and skipped ahead, spinning in tight circles with her arms spread jovially, doing her best Peter Pan crow. "I wish I could fly!" The twin braids that poked out from underneath her feathered green hat were pulled horizontal as she spun. "I wish I could give you the fairy dust to do just that!" Elsa and Kristoff had stopped side-by-side to watch their friend, shaking their heads at her energy but amused all the same. She probably didn't need any sugar tonight, but who could ever say no to Anna?
Half an hour later, when Anna was satisfied with the weight of her pillowcase, the trio found themselves back at Anna's as usual, counting and sorting their spoils. Elsa collected all of her Reese's, KitKats, and Snickers and pushed them into Anna's pile. Her eyes grew wide at the gift. "Are you sure? Those are your favorite!"
"Yours too! Besides, I don't wanna get fat." Elsa was pleased at the reaction she'd elicited.
"Like you could ever!" Anna scoffed, throwing a Snickers bar back at her. Kristoff quickly snatched it up. "If you don't want it…"
Soon the gang had settled into another comfortable silence. Elsa was curled up at one end of the couch, paging through a giant illustrated Disney encyclopedia that she had found on the end table. Kristoff was dozing (5am barista shifts took their toll) - he laid flat on his back on the carpeted floor, fake beard askew and hook discarded a foot away. Anna was also sitting on the ground, back against the couch. Her legs, which were still clad in green tights, were spread out wide and her candy was in a pile between them. She was still sorting it, but eating a lot of it too. When it seemed she was full, she packed it away and got up to turn on the electric fireplace.
"What'cha reading?" she asked, hopping onto the couch next to Elsa. The blonde showed her the cover in answer.
"Someone gave that to me in middle school, but I've never looked through the whole thing."
"It's really cool," Elsa said, feeling Anna lean into her and rest her head on the older girl's shoulder. Elsa continued to turn the pages of the thick volume at regular intervals, making the occasional remark at random, trying not to be overcome by Anna's proximity. When they reached the index, Elsa shut the book with a thud. Anna yawned hugely, but did not move.
"Thanks for trick-or-treating with me," she said, nuzzling further into Elsa's side. Elsa's breath caught but she calmly slipped an arm around Anna's shoulders and squeezed affectionately. "Any time. I know you love it."
"You know what else I love? You!"
She was always surprising Elsa with adorable remarks like that. How Elsa was even alive after being smote with so much cute all the time was beyond her comprehension.
"I won't be able to see you again until your birthday," Anna continued, frowning. "That's a long time."
It was only a month, but Elsa agreed that it would be a long month. Before the the two friends left Anna's that night, the redhead gave both of them giant hugs, but Elsa was pleased to note that hers was a hair longer (and she'd like to think tighter too) than Kristoff's.
The next few weeks passed in a haze of classes and homework. She visited Kristoff when she was able, as the coffee shop was near campus and only slightly out of the way, but because Anna was thirty minutes away, seeing her was not an option. The random "I miss you!" texts sustained Elsa through the separation.
And then finally it was Elsa's 21st birthday. It fell the day before Thanksgiving so her roommate was gone, Anna was on break, and Kristoff had requested the night off. They were going to get wasted. Anna had offered to invite tons of people and make a cake - but Elsa wanted the shindig to be small. She wouldn't object to cake, though.
So the two showed up at Elsa's at eight on the twenty-seventh, bearing handfuls of cheap 21st birthday merchandise (shot glass, etc), all with humorous sayings on them.
"Happy birthday!" Anna squealed, lunging onto Elsa as soon as the blonde had opened the door. Then just as suddenly, she bustled past her friend and into the tiny kitchen.
Kristoff tugged Elsa into a hug as well, enveloping her slight frame in his bulky one and squeezing a little tighter than usual.
"Happy birthday, blondie," he said when they had pulled apart. He dropped his gifts on the tiny kitchen table."Shall we?"
"Anna, are you okay staying here while we go to the liquor store?" Elsa called to the redhead who was peering intently at the back of the box of cake mix, lip between her teeth.
"Yeah, yeah," she said vaguely, waving her hand at them without looking up.
Somewhat worried that her apartment might be in flames by the time they got back, she climbed into Kristoff's Honda and they set off.
"Kristoff?" Elsa said tentatively after they had finished jamming out and singing obnoxiously to Wrecking Ball and the radio station turned to commercial. She hesitated, not knowing how to broach the subject. He cocked his head inquisitively at her while still keeping his eyes locked on the road.
"Have you ever… liked Anna?"
There was a moment of silence, then he glanced over and burst out laughing. "It took you this long to notice?"
Elsa scowled, annoyed. "Well, I didn't want to assume anything!"
Kristoff continued to laugh, but it wasn't unkind. "I'm guessing you're about to tell me that you're in love with her too."
"How did you-"
"Elsa," he said, very seriously. "You're my best friend. We know each other better than we know ourselves. It's Anna's fault that she hasn't realized that her friends both have crushes on her."
"You make it sound awful," Elsa said, cringing. "Like we're trapped in the love triangle of a bad romantic comedy."
"Well, you see, if she doesn't ever love me back I can move on and she'd still be my friend. But I'm worried that you wouldn't be able to do that."
"What do you mean?" she asked sharply, but he cut her off. "BUT, I don't think you have to worry about that happening at all."
Elsa stared at his profile in disbelief, trying to make sense of this unusually deep conversation. He looked over at her, smiling gently.
"We're here."
Shaking herself of the conversation, she asked, "what should I get?"
"Just grab some vodka and we'll make mixed drinks."
She felt weird in the store, as though she didn't belong. Checking out made her nervous even though she knew she was of age and wouldn't be denied purchase. After peering at her ID suspiciously, the shopkeeper smiled and said, "happy birthday," then threw two free shots in the bag and with a wink told her to "have fun tonight."
"Cool!" Kristoff said as she climbed back in the passenger seat feeling oddly triumphant. They jammed out to pop music the whole trip back and everything between them seemed back to normal, but right before they entered the apartment, Kristoff stopped her.
"Hey, if anything happens tonight to either of us, no hard feelings. Deal?"
"Deal." Elsa was suddenly nervous but she loved Kristoff and appreciated his comradery a great deal.
Anna had the cake in the oven and was dancing to a playlist of club music when they returned.
"Yes, alcohol!" she said, extracting the paper bag from Elsa's arms and dancing it over to the table.
Anna suggested her and the birthday girl take the free shots first, and they did so with Kristoff tipping back a shot of the vodka. Elsa felt the warmth settle in her stomach as Kristoff hurried off to start mixing. She had drank a few times before, but had never been out of control, and tonight she had decided to let it go, come what may.
Six shots later and she couldn't even stand up she was so dizzy. Anna had matched her all night and was just as much of a lightweight. She was standing though - dancing lazily to a Lady Gaga song while Kristoff head-banged from the couch. As usual, Anna suddenly lost her balance and collapsed onto Kristoff's lap. Elsa, who was laying spread eagle on the ground threw back her head and laughed heartily but it died abruptly in her throat when she looked back and found her two best friends making out ferociously.
Despite her agreement with Kristoff at the beginning of the night, her heart fell into her stomach at the sight and she became queasy with jealousy. She got up as quickly as her intoxication would allow and bolted unsteadily for the front door.
"Excuse me," she called to the room at large and stumbled out onto the balcony just beyond the door. It was cold and had started to snow but Elsa didn't feel it. Actually, it was rather comforting.
She leaned on the railing, staring into the white night, heart pounding, trying not to puke.
A minute after her escape, the door behind her opened and closed again. There were footsteps and then Anna had joined her at the railing.
"It was hot in there," said Elsa before Anna could speak. She tried to get her voice to sound normal but it came out strangled.
"Elsa…" The blonde said nothing. "I'm sorry about that. I don't know what happened. He was there and then we were kissing…"
Elsa remained silent, watching the snow fall.
"I don't like Kristoff like that."
"It wouldn't matter to me if you did," Elsa finally spoke up, turning away.
"But I can tell that it does."
Anna's tone was earnest, genuine, affectionate. That was Anna in a nutshell. Elsa was beyond lucky to have her as a friend.
"Elsa," she said again, reaching over to take the blonde's cold hands. She tugged on them to get Elsa to turn back around and face her. Their eyes met and Anna's roamed her best friend's pale face, searching. "I don't like Kristoff like that because I like you like that. It sucks that I had to be drunk to dig up enough courage to tell you, but... now you know."
Elsa could only stare at her in shock.
"Well? Say something. Tell me to shut up, go away, something, anything-"
"Anna," Elsa finally said. "I've always liked you like that. How could I not?" She realized she was crying and she could see tears sparkling in Anna's eyes as well. The redhead laughed shakily in relief, then reached up to cup her best friend's cheek and leaned in to kiss her gently - nothing like the kiss Elsa just witnessed. It was a perfect, tender first kiss in the snow that was interrupted too soon when Kristoff emerged from the apartment.
"Get a room, you two. Preferably inside, where it's warm."
The girls broke apart and laughed but didn't let go of each other's hands as they moved to go back inside. The rest of the night consisted of dancing, cake eating, and a crazy drunken game of Apples to Apples. They finished off the night by putting in a movie during which the girls fell asleep on the floor tangled up in blankets and each other's limbs. Elsa's Thanksgiving Day hangover was well worth it.
They remained casual for a while, as they still couldn't see each other regularly. However, every day of Anna's winter break was spent together. One day, a few before Christmas, the girls stopped in to buy coffee from and talk for a while with Kristoff, to distract him from a holiday rush (at his request). When his manager had yelled at him for being away from the counter for too long they meandered hand-in-hand into the snowstorm that was raging outside. Snow had always been Elsa's favorite kind of weather; she loved the way one could get lost in it. But now with Anna by her side acting as her anchor in the storm, Elsa didn't need to get lost... nor did she have the desire to anymore.
She could trust that Anna would keep her safely in orbit.
A/N
Some fun facts:
1. Almost every aspect of this chapter is based on experiences I've had with my crushes (on straight girls, I might add) over the years, except for the "actually getting together" part. I even have a tattoo on my left ankle but it's the Deathly Hallows symbol. Ha.
2. Speaking of, that symbol is a real thing. Google "World Triad". I was really bad at describing it so take a look if you want.
3. I had known from the beginning that I wanted to name this chapter 'Sweater Weather' but changed it at the last minute.
4. I toyed with the idea of having them as sisters in this chapter but didn't feel like dealing with the complications it would have brought up (cough-r9kelsa-cough)
5. I made Modern!Elsa's birthday November 27th, which is the day Frozen came out in the US!
Well, that was the last original. We're past the halfway mark! Hope you liked the fluff because not all of the other stories have happy endings (as I'm sure you guessed). Thanks again for coming with me on this journey through time!