It all started with Anna...
Epilogue
Three years later
Life had a funny way of proving people wrong. Things could easily change from one day to the other and the person who you thought you hated could easily become the person who made life what it was - worth existing. Unfortunately, things could also be the other way around. Anna often liked to think of the events that set everything in motion, and at times she wondered whether things would have ended up as they were if she'd taken different courses of action five years prior.
She had her fair number of experiences, and as much as she appreciated having gone through them, she was glad she was no longer in them, no mattered how much she had both loved and suffered through them - especially the one with Samantha. But that was over. Her relationship with Elsa was by far the longest one she'd ever had and the thought of that gave her a certain sense of pride. She smiled unconsciously at the thought of her girlfriend (yes, girlfriend but she tried not to give that term much attention, Elsa needed time to commit further) as she drove back home from the office.
The sun was setting and, thankfully, the traffic was not as bad as most days. It was Friday and she couldn't wait to be home and finally have some personal time. She tried calling Elsa earlier in an attempt to ask her about dinner plans but the blonde didn't answer and Anna dismissed any disappointment by convincing herself that Elsa was probably busy, she always was.
She got home as soon as the clock on her car hit 7:00PM, not paying much attention to her surroundings after noticing that Elsa's car wasn't parked in the garage yet. This time, the disappointment was hard to get rid of. She made her way inside regardless, not having the energy to do anything else.
She checked on their dog and found some leftovers on the fridge, which she quickly placed in the microwave. Standing there, while her food was heated up, she thought about nothing in particular. Even though work was going well, it still managed to take a toll on her. The end of the year was usually a busy time, after all. The highlight of her day would have been findg Elsa home but instead she'd have to settle for spending time with her during the weekend. That is, if Elsa had time.
Things had been a bit strange the past month or two between them and Anna couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for that. Their relationship was going almost perfect before she had brought up the topic of marriage. There wasn't a day that went by since that day that she could stop thinking about Elsa's silent, and almost distant, reaction. She tried not to think about it, too. In fact, she tried her hardest to find something else to get distracted with to avoid the terrible feeling of not being enough. Work usually helped but the feeling of doom came back almost every time she got home. Talking about it was common sense, she knew that. During the five years of their relationship, Anna had come to learn that miscommunication was the cause of all problems. But time with Elsa was a luxury as of late and talking about such matters would leave her with less time to discuss things that matter or drive them even more apart.
The sound of the front door being opened brought her back to reality. She didn't even notice when she made her way upstairs and into their room. She'd been unconsciously staring at the engagement ring she bought when the idea of proposing popped into her head. It was all she could think about two months before asking Elsa what she thought about marriage. She never expected such a negative response. Trying not to make too much noise, she put the engagement ring she'd bought a while back and put it back in the box, hiding it quietly without gaining too much attention.
"Anna?" Elsa called out and the redhead heard a set of keys being placed on one of the counters. She made herself downstairs calmly.
"I'm up here," she said as she pretended to wipe something off her button down.
"Have you eaten yet?" The blonde asked as she walked around the kitchen area, avoiding Anna's eyes.
"I put something in the microwave, haven't eaten yet though. Have you?"
"No. Haven't had time." Elsa answered coldly.
"Well, would you like some?"
"Sure, I'll set the table."
Anna remained silent for a while. It was a Friday night and they were having leftovers at home, that's what work managed to do to them. A sudden thought popped into her head. "On second thought, don't."
Elsa froze, turned around to look at her with a questioning expression on her face.
"Let's head into the movie room and watch a movie. We haven't done that in a while." Anna could have sworn there was the slightest hint of a smile on Elsa's face.
"Okay," she nodded, "I'll take some plates and some wine to set up. Got any movie in mind?"
"Umm… no just… put whatever you want on. I'll leave it to you." She wasn't sure whether she expected a response back or not but last thing she knew, Elsa was already gone.
Anna tried to shrug it off as she made her way up to the movie room. She walked slowly in there seeing as it was quite dark and she didn't want to drop the food they were about to eat, not that she even had an appetite anymore.
Not many words were exchanged as they sat back into the couch and picked at the plates on the coffee table. The only noise filling up the room was the loud sound effects coming from the speakers.
The whole thing was awkward, to say the least. They'd both seen that movie many times, neither of them liking it much. Elsa knew Anna disliked sad endings, but maybe it was just a matter of habit. Neither of them paid much attention to it, being too distracted with their own thoughts and tiredness. Anna knew Elsa wasn't watching the movie either because after about an hour the blonde took the liberty to pull out her phone and stare at it. Biting her lip, Anna fought the urge to look at whatever Elsa was doing. Curiosity got the best of her eventually and Elsa must have noticed because not long after she turned her head, Elsa's eyes were already on her.
"So…" Elsa began and Anna felt her heartbeat pick up. She couldn't bring herself to respond. "Your birthday's coming up."
"And so is Christmas."
"Time flies."
It was sad, really. Sad that they spent their free time, which was now a luxury, sitting in silence or making small talk. The food remained untouched, appetite already gone and Anna found herself with nothing to respond to that. She wondered, at times, how much longer they could go on like that. She also wondered what Elsa made of it, or if she even paid any attention to it. The blonde had a tendency to get too wrapped up in work to mind anything else.
"Let's do something." Elsa said without looking at her and taking a sip from her drink. "For your birthday."
"We don't have to. I know you're busy." As much as she wanted to at least have the smallest chance to change the course of what their long term relationship had become, she also didn't want to be an inconvenience.
"No. No, I..." Their eyes finally connected and it was as if for the smallest fragment of a second, Elsa - the Elsa that used to get lost in her being - was back. "I think we deserve to get away. Go some place nice. I still have one week of vacation which I haven't taken."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. There's just a small detail. If we do end up traveling, we will have to leave on the day of your birthday." Elsa's expression was stoic.
"No problem with me." That was true. There had been times when they hadn't been able to even spend their birthdays together.
It was hard to believe, considering the circumstances, that in a few hours Anna would be on a trip with Elsa. She had looked forward to it for a week and the reminder that they would finally spend a week together, with hopefully little or no interruptions, had her smiling for an entire week. It was Friday and the only thing she wanted to do was drop everything she was doing, cancel all her meetings and head home. Of course she knew that patience was a virtue and that everything worth having was worth waiting for so a few more hours wouldn't kill her.
She tapped her coat and smiled to herself after confirming that the ring was still there. After a close call, she took the liberty of taking that ring everywhere with her. Even if Elsa wasn't ready for marriage, she didn't want the blonde to have the slightest clue of what her thoughts had been for the past months.
There was not one day or time when she hated her job. Anna always did love to be around people and financial consulting offered her the best opportunity to do so. But today, she wanted nothing more than to get it out of the way. Luckily for her, her assistant confirmed that her last meeting was postponed, making a very relieved Anna rush out of her office.
She called Elsa as soon as she stepped out of the building and tried to open her car. The phone was quickly answered after three rings.
"Anna?"
"Hey babe. So my day ended early and I was thinking that maybe I could pick up some of the things we forgot and meet you at home?" She spoke excitedly.
"Umm, look… I know I said I was going to leave work early but something's come up. I won't be able to make it home until late. Do you mind picking up some dinner for later instead?"
The familiar disappointment was back all of the sudden. "Oh. Yeah… yeah sure. Around what time do you think you'll be home?"
"There really is no telling… and about the trip-"
"No, no. I get it. It was too good to be true anyway." There was silence on the other end. "Anyway, I'll let you get back to work. You must be really busy."
"Hey Anna?" Elsa interrupted before either of them could hang up.
"Hmm?"
"I'm so sorry about this and happy birthday I know-"
Anna bit her lip and sighed. "Hey don't worry about it."
Surprisingly – and annoyingly for Anna – drive thru lines were busier than usual on Friday afternoons. She was in no mood to wait twenty minutes for each car to drive up. Unfortunately, she also did not have the patience to go inside and deal with all the people that would be on the way. She could easily drive somewhere else that would be slightly less crowded but she'd grown to love the place Elsa and herself frequented on some weekends. Today was definitely not her day. She decided that maybe a cupcake would make her birthday feel a little more like a birthday.
She should have known, or at least should have had an idea that something like that would happen. Maybe she shouldn't have gotten her hopes up at all. She should have known better by now. Maybe it was a sign from the universe that she needed to let the idea of marriage go. All it was doing was making her miserable and she could simply try to forget all about it and just be happy with Elsa. She tried to convince herself that their happiness didn't depend on whether their union was official or not.
Once again, as she sat in her car, parked outside their home, she found herself staring at the ring. It was a useless hope because the opportunity might never present itself, especially since Elsa wasn't very willing. She decided that was enough pondering and grabbed the food as she headed inside. The routine of eating alone on Friday nights was beginning to become a bad habit, one she really wanted to avoid. It wasn't ideal, she knew that much, but the worst thing was being alone with her thoughts.
She shook her head as she inserted the key into the door in an attempt to let her pessimistic thoughts go.
"Surprise!" The lights when on and a multitude of people sprang out from the darkness. To say Anna was shocked would be an understatement. She didn't know what her appropriate reaction would be.
Elsa! Of course!
A huge grin spread unexpectedly across her face. Elsa emerged forward from the crowd and stepped towards her, wide smile on her face. She looked as beautiful as ever, if not more. And of course only Elsa would be convincing enough to fool Anna.
"Happy birthday, love." Elsa's arms enveloped her. Logically, Anna's reaction was delayed but soon enough she was hugging the blonde back. She felt a pair of lips pressed against her cheek and suddenly Elsa was whispering in her ear. "Surprise."
"Wow, Elsa!" She took a step back to take a view. "You did all of this? For me?"
"Of course I did, silly. I wouldn't miss this day for anything and-" she held up her finger to make a point, "I remember very well that you told me you had always wanted to be received like this when you were little."
If there was one thing that would define Anna, it would be the jump of excitement she did every time something fascinating occurred. Her birthday surprise was no exception. "I can't believe you remembered that, it was a long time ago."
"I find everything you tell me hard to forget."
Unfortunately, Anna thought as she remembered the ring on her pocket.
The forgotten crowd quickly made themselves aware and began to congratulate the redhead. It was a wonderful surprise, Anna had to admit. But what was even more mind blowing was Elsa's change in attitude. It was as if something drastically changed in the matter of a few hours. Was she just pretending to be her old self for the sake of keeping up appearances or did she genuinely express her feelings tonight?
In a sense, she felt she, too, was pretending to be a different self. The thought about her and Elsa's relationship didn't leave her mind all night, and although she was happy, she was also doubting the whole thing. For the sake of the guests, it was necessary to pretend everything was alright. Fortunately, throughout the night no one seemed to have noticed anything and despite wanting to have a talk with Elsa about all of it, the opportunity never presented itself. The meeting of their eyes every now and then and the smiles they were throwing at each other made everything all the more confusing for Anna. Why would Elsa decide to send her mixed signals now?
The last of the guests, one of Anna's coworkers, took a while longer to leave while she waited for her cab. Anna's parents were to stay the weekend what with not having seen their daughter in a long time. Anna would have loved to spend much more time with them but she had found herself distracted throughout most of it and her mom and dad decided to retire early into one of the guest rooms. It had been a long night, a little fun even. Just during the occurrences that she managed to let her worries and assumptions slip by.
Her coworker left not long after and Anna found herself wanting to yawn even before she waved goodbye and closed the front door. She leaned against the door after shutting it. It was evident, by the amount of cups everywhere, that people had enjoyed the party. Leaving the mess for another day, the redhead made her way to the kitchen in an attempt to look for Elsa who was nowhere to be found.
Strange.
"Elsa?" She tried not to call too loudly, aware of her parents' presence upstairs.
"I'm out here," the blonde called from the patio, leaning on one of the wooden fences.
As Anna made her way outside, she noticed that Elsa's earlier mood had disappeared. And yet... There was something different. A hint of anxiousness or nervousness. Anna had learned to read Elsa like the back of her hand. She wasn't sure whether to press further on that or not.
"It's a little cold, don't you think?" Anna started.
"It is." A shrug was Elsa's response.
"Thank you for the party. I wasn't expecting it at all."
Elsa took a gulp of her drink and one quick glance at her. "Well, did you like it?"
"Of course I did. A little hint would have been nice though. I'm sure I was the only one in office attire."
Elsa giggled, "that's true."
They remained silent for a while. Each staring at the sky, the stars, the moon, or nothing in particular. That did not stop them, however, from sensing each other's moods and Anna was still definitely aware of Elsa's awkwardness.
"Listen, I think we need to talk." As if on cue, Elsa broke the silence and Anna found herself with nothing to say so she only half nodded. For some reason her throat all of the sudden decided to go dry. She knew this conversation would happen eventually. They would have to talk about the issues of their relationship and who knows how it would end? Anna tried to be optimistic, she really did but it was proving to be quite difficult while staring at Elsa's apologetic face.
"The past few months haven't been ideal." Another nod from Anna. "And I think we've both tried to change that and it has failed. I don't see another way to go about this." The redhead could feel her eyes beginning to get watery. "It's time to...just... change it."
"Elsa, please..." Anna tried to plead.
"Let me finish." She held up her hand. "There is one reason why our efforts have failed and I'm the one to blame. I have deliberately done everything in my power to make you believe that we're not what we were. Because of me there is more distance between us."
Anna wasn't sure in exactly how many pieces her heart had just broken.
"You don't really need to tell me all this, Elsa. I don't deserve it."
"I do. I do need to tell you. This all started two months ago. That night when you brought up marriage." Tears began to fall Anna's face and apparently that's all it took for Elsa to show some sympathy. "No, no. Anna, don't do this. Not yet."
Elsa stepped closer and took Anna into her arms. "You still need to hear the rest of this. Since that day, I've purposely and strategically sabotaged our relationship so that you would think I couldn't care less about marriage." She stepped back to place a kiss on Anna's forehead. "Don't you realize? I wanted you not to have the slightest clue about what I had planned."
"What do you mean?"
Elsa stepped back even farther, although close enough to touch Anna. "When I planned all of this, I honestly didn't picture it this way. It seems far too tragic." Anna could have sworn her head was beginning to spin as she saw Elsa get in one knee before her. "Anna Aldridge. I want nothing more than to spend eternity with you, and even being together forever will not be enough. Will you marry me?"
She could have grabbed Elsa by her collar, pull her up and kissed her immediately. If she was being honest, that's all she really wanted to do but she became aware that Elsa was still kneeling, holding her hand and a ring on the other, waiting for her answer. "How can I say not to you even after this?"
An excited squeal escaped Elsa's mouth. She quickly put the ring on Anna's finger, stood back up and hugged her tighter than she ever had before. The extreme joy was suddenly interrupted by a light punch in her upper arm.
"What was that for?" Elsa protested.
"That's because I can't believe you did all of that just so you could propose. Ever heard of romance?"
"Like I said, it's not ideal but romance would have been expected. I am really, really sorry though!" Elsa pouted and tried to hide a smile at the same time.
"You're lucky I love you as much as I do. I can't believe you had me go through that!" Anna shook her head jokingly. "Which reminds me!" She ran back inside, leaving a very confused fiancé waiting.
A very desperate Anna could be seen through the large glass windows, running from place to place and looking for something hurriedly. It wasn't after moments later, when she finally found her coat, that she joined Elsa back outside.
"What was that all about?" Elsa asked.
Anna walked with her hands behind her back and asked her to close her eyes, which she did.
"Stick out your hands." Anna ordered and again the blonde obeyed. "Seems like neither of us planned for this well enough," she chuckled as she placed her secret ring on Elsa's finger. The blonde smiled as soon as she figured what Anna was up to. "So?"
Elsa giggled. "How can I say not after you've already said yes?"
They both snuggled back in bed as if the past two months didn't happen at all. It was nice, better than nice. Anna replayed everything in her head and still couldn't believe it. Everything Elsa had said and done finally made sense.
"Where are we doing after we get married?" Elsa asked sleepily, her body almost completely hugging Anna.
"Say that again, the last part."
Elsa lifted herself up to look at Anna. "After we get married?" Anna smiled, wrapped her hands around Elsa's neck and pulled her down for a kiss.
"I just love the way that sounds coming out of your mouth."
"I know. I can't believe we're going to be married." Elsa replied.
They laid back together again, cuddling this time.
"We can move to Europe. You've made North Aim a Fortune 500 company so that wouldn't be a problem." Anna lightly poked the tip of Elsa's nose.
"Or we can travel for a few years."
"We can adopt, start a family."
"Quit our jobs, start a business."
They both laughed as they continued to offer possibilities. Eventually, they settled back down and stared at each other. The redhead grabbed Elsa's hand and neither of them could help but stare at the interaction. "I think we're getting ahead of ourselves, love."
"How so?" To Anna, Elsa's confused expression was entirely too cute.
"What I mean is, we first have a wedding to plan."
Elsa smiled into her pillow. "True, but-" she turned on the bed, "just for the record. I'm willing to do all of those things with you."
"Let's face it Elsa, what wouldn't you do for me?" The blonde lightly poked Anna on her ribs.
"You're right. I'll go above and beyond."
Tiredness eventually made them stay quiet, that is until Anna spoke again. "Should I tell my parents now?"
Elsa, who had almost fallen asleep, stirred in bed before responding. "You can't stop thinking about it, hmm? Hard to believe, I know. But why not? Do let them know." She reached for Anna's hand and placed a soft kiss on her knuckles.
That night she dreamed of an altar in some beach. Anna, along with two small kids, coming to hug her with a smile on their faces. She could have swore the way the sun hit Anna's face had never made her freckles and her teal eyes look any more beautiful.
AN: Well, here it is. It took a little longer than a month for the final chapter to be up, but it's up!
It's been a wonderful ride and you guys have been so wonderful, whether offering critique or complimenting my work. I told myself I would finish this fic last September/October but it took a few months longer. I really hope you all liked this chapter. The ending is always as hard to write as the beginning.
If you have any questions/want to know more about anything in particular, just go to my tumblr siri-ias and ask away, I'm just a click away!
***Update: Some of you have convinced me to keep writing one shots as a follow up to this story. Of course I will but they might be slow to publish since I am quite busy. Also, I'll be answering any plot questions you might have on tumblr, be it prior to their engagement or after siri-ias. Link is in my bio.***