A/N: As of 1/25/2015, Burning Low has 18.3k views. I cannot thank you all enough for all the support you give for this story. Your comments and messages never fail to put a smile on my face and make me excited to start writing the next chapter.
This one was fun to write, although I constantly had to send it to a few friends for possible revisions on a few parts to make sure I was accurate.
I also feel like my writing style has changed drastically since the first few chapters. I have no idea if it is a good change or a bad change, but, you all keep coming back with every update so I'm assuming it isn't too bad lol.
Of course, constructive criticism is always welcomed.
Enjoy!
"Elsa, what are we doing at the mall?" Anna asked as she lifted herself out of the car.
Elsa rounded the vehicle and took her girlfriend by the hand as she locked the car. "I figured it would be fun to take you clothes shopping." She answered with a grin.
"But I already have clothes." She protested lightheartedly.
Adjusting her purse strap on her shoulder, Elsa waved the redhead off and began her way toward the front entrance. "You have a lot of casual clothes, yes. But a little birdie told me you didn't bring a whole lot of nice clothes with you." Elsa explained. "Not that I'm trying to say your clothes aren't nice, but-"
"I know what you mean, silly. Rapunzel?"
"Rapunzel." The blonde admitted. In all honesty, she didn't really think Anna needed real nice clothes for her trip to London. But as they left the campus, Elsa realized that she had no idea where she was actually taking Anna. The mall seemed like a safe bet considering all the different options they had in one area. However, the more she thought about playing dress up in Anna, the more she warmed up to the idea of clothes shopping. I bet a nice low cut v neck would work really well with her long skirt she wore to the movies. Show a little bit of cleavage, but nothing provocative or overly revealing. As the two entered the building, Elsa's eyes wandered until she found herself inadvertently glancing at Anna's breasts. Honestly, any kind of low cut style would probably be extremely flattering. Her eyebrows rose as she continued to evaluate her girlfriend's breasts and what styles of clothing would work on her, completely unaware of where she was actually walking.
"Like what you see?" Anna teased, causing Elsa to immediately snap back to attention. When she noticed the slight blush amidst all the freckles on Anna's face, she couldn't stop the rush of heat that came to her own face.
"I-I wasn't sta- I was ju-" Elsa stuttered, completely embarrassed. She nearly took a step back when Anna began to walk in a more exaggerated fashion, rising on her toes on every step. The resulting bounce in her breasts caused Elsa's eyes to shoot back down as her free hand shot up to cover her mouth and as much of the increasing blush that she could. The air conditioned building suddenly seemed much more warmer than she remembered.
Anna playfully giggled and soon started to return to a normal walk. "It's okay to look, you know?" She rubbed the back of her neck and gazed off to the side. "It's only fair I guess, since I do it I so often."
Elsa blinked once. Twice. Thrice. "What?" She blankly asked. She wasn't too sure why exactly she was asking for clarification. She knew Anna stared at her; a part of her even enjoyed it. But it was strange hearing her say it out loud and so bluntly.
Coughing nervously, Anna shifted her eyes practically anywhere except Elsa, and shrugged. "We ended up on the second floor, pretty neat huh?" She tried to chuckle it off. Anna was right, the pair somehow managed to find themselves on the second floor. Being the middle of a weekday, Elsa was glad to find the mall pretty scarcely populated. Ever since she and Anna have gotten close, large crowds didn't frighten her nearly as much as they used to. She was still often uncomfortable, but she was able to overlook it most of the time. Taking a moment to catch her bearing, Elsa spotted the clothing store on the other end of the floor. It was a higher end store from what she could make out of it, and that's exactly what she was hoping for.
"Hey, Anna." Elsa stopped, and backed towards the railing overlooking the ground floor. The curious look in her girlfriend's blue-green eyes filled her with warmth that she couldn't describe, but she knew she was able to share anything with the redhead. "I don't want you to worry about any kind of expenses while we're shopping today. Okay?" She asked slightly nervously. Elsa knew how Anna seemed to crave a kind of independence, and she didn't want to impose on that.
Anna cocked an eyebrow. "I've been working, Elsa, I can pay for wha-"
"I know." Elsa cut her off curtly. "I think you should have the money you earned for whatever expenses you come across in London." She cleared her throat and shrugged. "I've told you that money really is not an issue for me. I don't want you to worr-"
"Okay." Anna muttered as she took hold of Elsa's free hand. "If that's what you want to do, I won't argue." A half smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she looked up towards the blonde. "But I'm paying for whatever comes after leaving that store." She stated, nodding towards the entrance behind her.
Elsa could only nod and smile. She led Anna through the entrance of the store, and was immediately assaulted by an insane amount of scents. Some sweet, others nauseating. Doing her best to take sparse breaths, she eventually managed to find her way out of the pungent cloud of perfumes that lingered near the entrance. Lucky for her, she ended up right in the women's section. Racks of assorted clothing in front of her, in a plethora of different colors and styles. One of the first things Elsa laid eyes on was an unbelievably thin crop top. She didn't even realize Anna had walked off as she rubbed the fabric between her fingers. I'm almost certain notebook paper is thicker than this. Checking the tag in the back, Elsa's eyebrows shot up when she read the size: large. She took the clothes hanger off of the rack and pressed it against her own body, sizing it. If this is a large, I'd hate to see what a small looked like. Her face grew distasteful as she placed it back on the rack and turned to look at a different shirt. This one much more conservative. It was just a simple orange top with a slight v-neck and poofy sleeves. Elsa wasn't too impressed with it though, Anna didn't exactly seem the poofy sleeved kinda girl.
"Hey, Anna, what do you think of thi-" Elsa turned her head over her shoulder, surprised to find herself alone amidst the racks of clothing. Her pulse quickened when she turned the other direction, with still no indication of where the redhead may have gotten off to. The last time she was left alone in a store in the mall, she nearly had a panic attack when an employee offered to help her retrieve a pillow off of a shelf. She had nearly forgotten about that instance, but now that she did, she could already feel pressure building up behind her eyes. As she continued to work her way around different clothing racks, she became increasingly worried. Eventually she decided to stop where she stood. She took a deep breath and held it, attempting to calm herself. Reaching into her back pocket, she grabbed her phone and began to search for Anna's number. Bringing the phone up to her ear and her hand up to her mouth, she shut her eyes and prayed for Anna to pick up. She tried her best to ignore whatever cacophonous pop music was playing over the speakers as the phone continued to ring. Though her eyes were closed, she could feel the tears welling behind her closed eyelids. She hated this feeling. She hated not knowing. It reminded her of too many restless nights she spent alone in her room while her father would drink himself into a reckless stupor. He'd get angry and she'd hear things crashing and glass breaking in the other rooms while she huddled on her bed, afraid he'd come after her next. Too afraid to defend herself, but nowhere else to go.
"Don't call me gaga." Came a well known voice.
Elsa's eyelids shot open as she nearly dropped her phone to wrap Anna in a close embrace. A few tears managed to fall out of the corners of her eyes as she nuzzled her nose into Anna's shoulder. As if by magic, every little fear that had been growing inside of her suddenly dissipated when she realized Anna was okay and in front of her.
"I've never seen one like that before." Anna stated, grabbing a nearby shirt and playing with the fabric between her fingers.
Confused, Elsa took a step back and held Anna by her shoulder's at arms distance. She sniffled, but soon started to giggle when she noticed the riciculously large black sunglasses adorned on Anna's face. They had large rhinestones across the rim, and Elsa could only shake her head as she laughed again.
Anna reached up and pulled on the sunglasses until her eyes were just visible over the rim. A large grin grew across her face. "Don't look at me like that."
Elsa took that as a challenge, scrunching her eyebrows and puckering her lips to make a funny face.
"You amaze me." Anna said as she stole a quick kiss from her girlfriend, catching her unaware as she smiled again. There was a certain kind of innocence in her smile that had a calming effect for Elsa. She started realizing it after she found her collapsed on her bedroom floor and the two really started to open up with each other.
"You had me worried, you know." Elsa declared, trying to sound stern enough to make her point, but not enough to have any negative effect with Anna. She wiped a tear from the corner of her eye and sighed. "I didn't know where you went, I looked behind me and you were just gone."
Anna took off the ridiculous sunglasses and placed them on a nearby rack before pulling Elsa toward her by the hips and held her in a loose hug. "You looked pretty interested in that shirt and the store is practically empty , though." Elsa felt her bring her hand up to the back of her neck and start twirling the tiny hairs underneath her braid.
"Rationally, I know." Elsa started, completely unsure on how to explain herself. Anna knew about her childhood, not any of the minute details, but she knew enough to hopefully understand why Elsa acts the way she does.
"You go to classes and everything on your own, though."
"It takes a lot of effort most days, Anna." Elsa wrapped her arms around Anna's side and pulled her closer until they were cheek to cheek. She was warm. She was always warm, and it never failed to cause something in Elsa's heart to spark up. Every little thing about her girlfriend seemed to comfort her in one way or another without even realizing it.
"I didn't go far, but I understand I guess." Anna said as she broke the hug and took Elsa by the hand. She nodded toward a clothing rack a few feet away. "We came here to shop, didn't we?"
Elsa nodded curtly as she was directed to the clothing rack. She couldn't keep too focused on clothes though, she kept periodically looking up at Anna on the opposite side. A small smile still graced her face as she went through assorted clothes of different styles and colors. Whenever she found something she liked, she'd drape it over her arm and continued looking for more. Despite how understanding Anna proved to be, Elsa just couldn't shake a nagging feeling. How clingy must I look to her? She continued to go through clothes, but she wasn't paying attention. She was just going through the motions. She wasn't even gone but a couple minutes and I start to freak out over it? Elsa was brought back from her thoughts when she found a shirt that interested her. She took it off of the rack to look at it a little better. It was a black shortsleeved blouse with a slightly lowcut, ruffled neckline. The middle of the blouse seemed to be somewhat elastic, so it would hopefully be form fitting enough to accentuate curves no matter how slight. With a nice pair of jeans, Elsa thought Anna would look adorable – maybe even sexy in it. Or she could pair it with a nice pair of khakis for a more professional look. The more she looked at it, the more Elsa liked it. She rounded the clothing rack and grabbed Anna by the hand, dragging her towards the dressing rooms, determined to have her try it on.
"I found this pair of pants back there with a really cute butterfly design thing on the butt." Anna cheerfully stated when Elsa stopped in front of the dressing rooms. She placed the pile of clothing she had across her arm on a nearby chair and picked up the pants from the small pile. She handed them to Elsa as she found the tag in the waistband and smiled to herself.
"You know these are skinny jeans, right?" Elsa said, and chuckled to herself when she turned them over to look at the butterfly design on the back. "Is this your way of asking me to stare at your butt?"
Anna let out a small giggle and shrugged. "I don't go clothes shopping a lot, I just thought they were cute and hoped they would fit me." Elsa passed them back, along with the black blouse, and gestured toward the dressing room. Anna nodded as she entered the room and closed the door behind her.
"Rapunzel never took you clothes shopping? She seems like the type to enjoy it." Elsa asked as she picked up the small pile of clothing and placed them on her lap as she sat on the chair outside of the dressing room. She heard the ruffling of clothes as Anna began to change.
"Oh, she definitely is. But it wasn't something we did all too often."
Elsa started to go through the small pile of clothes in her lap and was actually surprised to see all of the really nice clothes Anna had found. Some of them she enjoyed, others she didn't think too highly of. But overall, they were cute and practical. "Why not?" Elsa asked, continuing the conversation as Anna changed.
"After I moved in, money was kind of tight for her parents. The only time we'd really go out clothes shopping was when we were buying school clothes." Anna explained as she grunted, which Elsa assumed was from trying to put on the skinny jeans. "I mean, you've seen how I dress. I just wear what fits and is comfortable." She grunted again. "Are these supposed to make you feel like they'll burst at the seams at any moment?" Anna asked, sounded frustrated. Elsa could only giggle, which only seemed to cause Anna to grow more frustrated. "Aha!" She finally shouted, as it seemed she conquered the pants.
"Do they fit alright?" Elsa asked when Anna grew silent and she didn't hear anymore ruffling of clothes.
"Uh, do you mind coming in here for a moment? Don't worry, I'm fully dressed." Anna asked, her voice sounding slightly worried.
Elsa sat up and placed the pile of clothes back on the chair as she turned to open the door. The moment she closed the door, she turned around to face Anna sitting on the bench with a large grin on her face. The ruffles on the blouse seemed to outline her collarbone perfectly from what she could see standing above her. "Stand up?" Elsa asked, and Anna stood up. The elastic fabric in the center of the blouse did both accentuate her curves, and draw a slight attention to her breasts. Her eyes traveled down, and was pleased to find the pants fit her fairly well from what she could see. As she continued to look her girlfriend up and down, she realized that she has yet to say a word. "Ann-" Before she knew it, Anna nearly had her full weight on her against the door. Their faces were close enough that Elsa could feel the tip of Anna's nose grazing against her own. Elsa was drawn towards her large eyes, and the glossy sheen that covered them.
"Roll with it." Anna whispered as she winked and bit the corner of her bottom lip.
Elsa could feel Anna's hands on her wrists as they were brought up over her head and pressed against the door. And at that moment, it seemed as if every nerve in her body was lit up. She suddenly became extremely aware of everything in her immediate vicinity. Her clothing was rough and abrasive, and felt constrictive. She noticed just how cool the door behind her was, specifically on the backs of her hands. Anna's warmth was a stark contrast, and as she felt her take a deep breath, she pushed herself harder onto Elsa. When Anna leaned in and kissed her, nothing seemed to bother her. In fact, she wanted more of it. Once the initial shock wore off, her eyelids fluttered shut. She absolutely adored the feeling of her girlfriend's lips on her own, and when she felt Anna's tongue tease against her bottom lip, she did her best to hold back a small smile. When she noticed Anna retracted her tongue, it was her turn. With the tip of her tongue, she grazed it against Anna's upper lip and quickly took her bottom lip in between her teeth. She didn't need to bite too hard before Anna took a sharp breath and pushed her thigh perfectly between Elsa's legs. A groan escaped from the back of her throat as every nerve in her body lit back up, but it was different this time. It centered between her legs and shot through her body from her toes to her fingertips. She felt Anna smile against her lips as she pressed her thigh into Elsa again, causing her to nearly fall as she tore her arms from Anna's grip and wrapped them around her neck to catch herself.
A breathy giggle escaped Anna as she helped Elsa back up onto her feet. "Did I hit a soft spot, there?" She asked in a sultry sort of tone, knowing damn well what she did.
Elsa shook her head to regain her senses before letting go of Anna's neck to look her in the eyes. "Sorry?" She started, not completely sure as to what had just happened. When Anna laughed again, an unsure smile stretched across her lips. "Was that supposed to happen?" Elsa asked under her breath, worried that someone passing by might hear her. "That's never happened before."
"What's never happened before?" Anna asked with the unchanging grin as she brought her hand up and tenderly laid it on her girlfriend's neck.
Straightening her posture, Elsa brought her hand up and placed it on top of Anna's. "You pressed your thigh into me and I nearly fell." She explained. "I don't know, like…" She turned to the side and laid her chin on her hand, nearly certain she was blushing. "…I'm embarrassed."
Anna removed her hand from under Elsa's and used it to softly turn her head back. "Are you telling me you've neverrr…" Her eyes were shifting between Elsa's hand and some point underneath her.
Now she was definitely certain she was blushing. She didn't have to feel her cheeks to know they were burning up. "I guess I skipped that part of puberty?" She nervously tried to play off. Elsa was new to many things in this relationship. She had to default to Anna's experience when it came to most things. Even things as simple as holding hands, seeing as how many different ways two people could hold hands. But anything sexual? She couldn't just default to Anna for that kind of thing. The mere thought of it made her nervous. And yet, at the same time, it excited her.
"But haven't you ever been so horny to the point that you just wanted to rip the clothes off of anyone who came within a two foot distance of you and have your way with them!?" Anna nearly shouted in disbelief. Realizing how loud she was, she coughed nervously and toned down her voice. "Or am I just weird? Cause that happens to me more times than I'd like to admit sometimes."
"Anyone?" Elsa inquired with a nervous chuckle, trying her best to do away with the slight awkwardness between them at the moment.
Anna shrugged. "Okay, not anyone. Recently it's just been yo-" She cut herself off before she was able to finish her thought, mouth agape with a slight blush quickly overcoming her cheeks.
"Aleks would tend to go on and on about different guys she found attractive in high school." Elsa started as she slid past Anna and sat down on the small bench inside the dressing room. "Some of them were quite handsome, sure. But I never wanted to have sex with any of them."
Anna grinned and opened her mouth to speak, but didn't get very far.
"Not with any of the women, either." Elsa answered her question before she could even ask it, effectively popping the redhead's bubble. "But you're different." She admitted as she looked up at Anna. "With you, the idea doesn't completely disinterest me." Elsa explained the best she could, trying not to sound insulting in any way.
A cocky grin came across Anna's face as she placed her hand on her hip. "So, you're Anna-sexual?"
There was no hope of holding back the laugh that escaped Elsa, much to Anna's delight as it seemed to feed her ego. After Elsa regained control of herself, she cleared her throat and shrugged. "I just can't see myself becoming sexually involved with someone that I don't have feelings for."
Anna smiled softly as she slowly eased herself onto Elsa's lap and loosely wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's neck. "That makes sense, I suppose." She leaned in and kissed Elsa, soft and tender.
Looking up into Anna's eyes, she felt a growing warmth from her core as she smiled at her. "How did I manage to find someone so understanding and caring?"
"Just by being yourself, of course." Anna replied.
These were the moments that made Elsa believe everything in her life were worth it. Although she hadn't been with Anna for very long, she felt like she had known her entire life. Elsa felt completely and utterly safe around her. "I have read a few romance novels in my life, though, and there is something I'd like to try." Elsa asked, trying her best to copy that same sultry tone that came so easily to Anna.
Anna cocked an eyebrow. "What's that?"
Elsa snuck her hands in between Anna's arms and behind her neck, bringing her braided pigtails forward. She wrapped each on her hands and firmly gripped before looking back up toward Anna. Her face showed unsure anticipation as she looked down at Elsa's hands, and Elsa could see her breaths coming a little quicker. Her eyes widened as she looked over towards Elsa's grinning face.
"Roll with it."
When she pulled, Anna immediately let out an audible moan that anyone throughout the store would have to be deaf to not hear. She felt Anna's hands rise up underneath her braid as she desperately held on to two handfuls of Elsa's blonde hair. She had no time to react to the initial shock of pain as Anna fell forward into the crook of Elsa's neck. Despite wearing a hoodie, a shiver ran down her spine when she felt Anna biting down. She could feel Anna's heavy breaths against her neck and she craved more of it. Every nerve in her body began to spark again when Anna moved one of her hands from the back of Elsa's head and desperately tugged on the collar of her hoodie to expose the bare skin underneath. Shutting her eyelids tight, she tugged on her braids again as she felt Anna squirm in her lap. When Anna bit onto her shoulder, she gasped and let go of her braids. She had no time to catch her breath as Anna pulled her head to the side and started to trail open mouthed kisses towards her jaw. She felt Anna's breath against her neck, and she teased the tender skin with her tongue with every kiss. Elsa had no clue it were even possible to feel this way, although the kissing was on her neck, she felt remnants of it everywhere. Most of it centered between her legs where she could feel her walls clenching together, bringing new waves of pleasure across her body every time.
Elsa's eyes suddenly shot open when she heard the ruffling of footsteps outside of the door. Her heart now had a different reason to be beating so quickly as she gently pushed Anna's face off of her neck. The redhead whimpered and tried to push herself back, but stopped when Elsa worriedly glared at her."Somebody is out there." She whispered and wiped off her neck.
Anna whipped her head around and eyed the door. "I don't hear or see anything, Elsa." She commented as she turned back around to find Elsa hurriedly redoing her hair and doing her best to brush back any frizz.
"I heard footsteps." She explained as she did her best to fix her hoodie with Anna in her lap.
"That's kind of hot, huh?" Anna asked with a small grin, much to Elsa's confusion. "The risk of getting caught. You don't think so?"
In this case, Elsa could see the appeal of it and why Anna thought it was exciting. But she didn't share that particular view. It was a certainly rush that made everything feel that much more urgent. Taking the risk of entering the dressing room with Anna was daring enough for Elsa, she didn't need the extra threat of potentially being caught. She looked up at Anna and gave a small shrug. "You look really good in that outfit, by the way." She stated as she nudged Anna to stand up so that she could exit the dressing room. "Get changed and let's checkout. We should get back to campus and start figuring out what we'll do for dinner."
"I know what I want for dinner." Anna muttered under her breath as she stood up and leaned against the door.
Elsa stood up and finished readjusting her hoodie. "What was that?"
Anna waved her off. "Oh, nothing." She cleared her throat. "What's the female equivalent of blue balls?"
Elsa's eyebrows came together as she stared blankly at Anna, who refused to make eye contact with her. "…what?"
Anna smiled and pushed herself off of the door, clearing a path for Elsa to exit. "I'll explain later."
Elsa shook her head and waved her off. As she reached for the door handle, an idea came to her mind. She acted on complete impulse as she turned around and immediately pressed Anna onto the wall with a surprised grunt. Before she could say anything, Elsa slowly placed an open mouthed kiss on her lips. It was as slow as she could make it, appreciating every second of the closeness. Elsa decided to take a risk and grabbed one of her breasts. When she heard a soft mewl from the back of Anna's throat, she smiled to herself and slowly removed her hand, dragging it across Anna's breast and teased the nipple as she whirled around to leave the dressing room. Before she shut the door, she giggled at the dumbfounded face Anna had and winked.
"I take it you're finished violating my cousin?"
Elsa's eyes widened as she turned her head to find a slender figure seated on the small chair outside of the dressing room. "Rapunzel?" She asked in disbelief at the smiling woman in the seat who waved at her.
"I assume that's my name. It's what everyone has been calling me my entire life." She joked as she stood up from the chair and greeted Elsa with a brief hug.
Her first instinct was still to step back, but she was able to ignore it to return the hug.
"How did you-"
"Jasmine and I were on our way to get ice cream and we heard Anna when we passed by the store." Rapunzel answered before Elsa could finish her question.
At that moment, Anna came fumbling out of the dressing room. Hurriedly shutting the door behind her, she tossed the clothes down with the rest of the button as she quickly tried to zip up her pants. Flustered, once she finished with her pants, she frantically tried to brush back any fly aways in her hair. "Punz! I'm sorry! I just thought I'd pull Elsa in there to play around a little bit cause you know, I don't have a lot of time before I leave for London and I wanted to enjoy every moment and it was great at first but then she pulled my hair-" She cut herself off to gaze over at Elsa and give her a quick wink and an awkward thumbs up. "And I couldn't stop what happened next, but oh man, I have to tell you how great that wa-"
"Anna!" Rapunzel butted in with a chuckle. "Spare me the details, I just wanted to make sure you were alright."
"Do you know if anyone else heard?" Elsa asked, embarrassed as she worriedly rubbed her hands together and looked around to gain a bearing on her surroundings. The store was still practically desolate save a couple sales clerks in a distant corner.
Rapunzel waved her off. "I doubt it. The mall is still pretty empty, but not for much longer probably." She reached into her pocket and casually checked the time on her phone. "But, I should get back to Jasmine. I'll see you two around?"
"Of course."
"Sure thing."
Rapunzel waved to the pair and smiled before turning to leave. "And I heard that comment about dinner, you nasty!" She shouted back as she left, leaving Anna beet red in the face.
"She seems happy, Hans. Has a girlfriend, even." Aleks chuckled to herself. "Always knew my sister was gay as shit, guess she just needed to meet the right person to make her realize that."
"Yeah, your sister is a faggot. Cool." Hans replied, leaning forward on the couch, completely engrossed in the game he was playing.
Aleks rolled her eyes and sighed. This is practically how every night ended up. "Never would have guessed it would be Anna, though."
"Wasn't she the one you punched in the face?" Hans asked as he turned his head to look at his girlfriend before quickly turning back to the television.
"Yeah." Aleks muttered, remembering the entire situation. In a way, it wasn't totally her fault. She was already twitchy enough, but when Anna popped out from under the counter, she reacted. Although she still felt kind of bad about it, despite apologizing to her. From what Elsa had told her, she took it pretty hard.
Hans cursed at the game and tossed the controller onto the recliner adjacent to the couch. He leaned back and rubbed his temples. "That high dragon was complete bullshit." He muttered before laying down onto the couch, head on Aleks' lap.
"I told you to bring Blackwall instead of Iron Bull. His champion specialization is tougher than Bull's reaver." Aleks said in a condescending tone and grabbed the remote on the arm of the couch and changing the channel.
"Whatever. I was speaking with Gaston earlie-"
"That dude is shady as fuck, I don't understand why you hang around him." Aleks butted in with a distasteful tone. "And he's always bragging about how many eggs he can eat."
"He has to get those sick gains. But, whatever. I didn't ask you. He's throwing a party here in a few weeks and he's invited us."
Aleks sighed and shook her head. "What if I don't want to go?"
Hans shut his eyes and placed his hands over his chest. A cocky grin grew across his face. "You know damn well."
"You would never guess where I learned that cupcake recipe." Anna said in a cheery tone as she sat down on the side of Elsa's bed, small cupcake in hand. "Eugene works with this guy named Attila, and it turns out he's really good at baking." She unwrapped the sugary delight before trying to fit as much of the frosting in her mouth as she could.
Elsa giggled as she leaned over and wiped off frosting off the corner of Anna's mouth and licked it off of her finger before taking a bite of her own cupcake. "I expected nothing less from a bar called the Snuggly Ducking."
Anna swallowed her bite and shrugged. "A guy named Bruiser once taught Rapunzel how to knit. She got pretty good at it too." She commented as she crumpled up the cupcake wrapper and stuck it in her pocket.
"I'm happy for her." Elsa commented as she finished her own cupcake. "That proposal at the fair was adorable."
Adjusting herself so that she was leaning against the wall, Anna crossed her legs at the knee and nodded. "Eugene had that planned out for a long while. He was waiting specifically for the fair to do it."
Elsa moved to the other side of Anna and took her hand in both of hers before laying her head on her shoulder. "He seems like a good guy from what you two have told me of him."
"He is, I can't imagine anyone else better suited for Rapunzel." Anna confirmed.
Snuggling up a little closer, Elsa hummed contently as she shut her eyes. It wasn't long before a comfortable silence had taken over the pair, and Elsa couldn't help but have a slight smile. The hustle and bustle of the day was great, Elsa genuinely enjoyed her classes and all of the people she has met because of them. But when the day was over and everything has calmed down, when she had Anna all to herself, that's when she was happiest. There was just a certain stillness and certainty about the world which comforted her. Eventually, she opened her eyes and looked up to find Anna drifting between sleep and consciousness. Her eyes shifted down to her hands, both wrapped around one of Anna's. She held on a little tighter and started to rub the back of Anna's hand with her thumb. Her hands were always warm, despite the weather becoming cooler by the day. She felt her heart sink when she looked down a little further at her thigh, knowing very well what laid underneath her clothing. Scars from her own personal battles. She remembered how she felt when she opened her door and found Anna sprawled out across the floor, and how she initially started to cry from shock and fear. Then she was crying for a whole new reason when she had opened her eyes and reassured her that she was okay. Elsa found herself rubbing her thigh as she was lost in her memories. She should have opened the door sooner, hell, she never should have even shut Anna out in the first place. I'm sorry, Anna. Feeling tears begin to collect in the corners of her eyes, she tried her best to blink them away. She didn't want to move too much and wake her girlfriend up. Elsa almost jumped when she felt Anna move and place her free hand over Elsa's.
"That's not your fault." Anna reassured softly as she intertwined her fingers with Elsa's when she stopped rubbing her thigh. "It never should have happened."
"But if I just hadn't shut you out…" Elsa started as she blinked again, causing a small stream of tears to fall down her face and onto Anna's shoulder.
"It all worked out for the best, didn't it?" Anna stated calmly.
Despite Anna's positivity and reassurance, Elsa still felt like she failed her. She felt like she could have, should have done something. Anything. All she could do though was deal with the aftermath. But she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that she could have stopped Anna from doing what she did. Instead, she just sat in her room, nervous and terrified. Just like she did every night after the death of her mother. She couldn't do anything then, and she couldn't do anything for Anna. There was no stopping the steady stream of tears that collected on Anna's shoulder.
"Elsa." Anna said as she turned over onto her side so that she could look her girlfriend in the eyes. "I'm okay. You're okay. We're okay." She reassured over and over again as she wiped the tears off of Elsa's face. "It was just a moment of weakness, and it won't ever happen again." She placed a kiss on Elsa's forehead and wrapped her arms around her as she pulled her closer.
Slowly but surely, Elsa began to calm down. The tears stopped coming, and her heart eventually returned to the right place in her chest instead of her stomach. She couldn't stand the feeling of helplessness, it tore at her and consumed her relentlessly whenever it came over her.
"I'll tell you what. How about we get our showers, we'll watch some television, then how about you stay with me in my room for the night?" Anna asked. "And I don't mean that in a sexual sense. I won't let you be alone tonight." She finished as she looked at Elsa and smiled.
It took her a moment, but eventually, Elsa returned the smile and nodded. "I'd love to."
Anna leaned forward and kissed her. Then kissed her again before sliding off of the bed and dashed out of the room. "Dibs on the first shower!" She called from down the hall.
Elsa wiped any remaining tears from the side of her face and smiled.