Epilogue.
"Elsa! Elsa, are you ready yet?" Kai's voice sounds through the house. The large house I bought for them. At first they didn't want to accept it, of course, but I insisted that they deserved it and that I didn't want to live alone. The later was the reason why they finally accepted. But that was a year ago, when we came back from Norway; now, I've finally graduated from high school and am starting college in a few weeks (architecture, of course).
"Yeah, just… one minute." I answer as I desperately search for my favorite pencil before finally finding it, putting it with the rest of my belongings before descending, carrying two suitcases with great difficulty.
"Elsa, you should have called me to carry them for you." Kai chastises me when he sees me descending the stairs and rushes to take one of my suitcases from my hands.
"At New York there won't be anyone to carry things for me." I protest, but still let him help me.
"I'm sure Anna will be more than happy to do just that." Gerda points out, and I groan knowing she's right; Anna can be very gentlemanly when she wants to.
"I still can't believe her parents let her go with you though. Especially since she doesn't want to attend college just yet." Kai comments as he opens the door.
"Me neither. It did take a lot of convincing." I say, smiling as I remember how Anna practically threw a tantrum until they relented. I also helped a little, reasoning with them that maybe a year of self-discovery was all Anna needed before deciding what she wanted to do with her life, and that the best way to do so was to get away from her birth place and be more independent. I also promised I wouldn't let her get into trouble… which I bet will be quite difficult.
Just then I notice I'm now in front of the car, so I open the trunk and put in my suitcase as Kai does the same with the other. Then I close it and turn to look at my adoptive parents (because let's be honest, after almost five years taking care of me, they deserve that title), who are looking at me with bittersweet smiles. Gerda is actually about to cry, and I think I might too; for the first time in my life, I had a place I could call home, and now I'm going to go far away…
I bet my new residence will be good enough, and Anna's company will help, but… I'll miss this place, and I'll miss them.
"I-I.. I should go now." I say, noticing that my voice is trembling like I'm about to cry.
"Oh, don't cry, dear." Gerda says as she steps closer to me and wipes a tear I didn't know had fallen from my eye. "We'll see each other soon enough." I nod, trying to contain my tears, but I can't and soon I'm hugging the woman, trying to be closer to her before I go away.
"Yeah, you'll come visit us at thanksgiving, right? And Christmas?" Kai asks, and all I can do is nod, realizing it's true, but… those dates seem very far away. I let go of Gerda to then hug Kai, wishing I didn't have to go.
"Thank you." I say. "Both of you… for everything." At this he pats my back soothingly and separates from me, looking at my eyes.
"You're welcome." He smiles at me. "Now, I think there's a girl waiting for you, and I bet you don't want to arrive late."
"Of course." I say, wiping my tears. "I'm gonna miss you." I look at both of them, wanting them to see that I mean it, that I'm truly going to miss them both and think of them every day.
"And so will we." Gerda smiles and Kai nods, confirming her words. Honestly, I want to stay longer, to say something more, but… I know if I don't go now, it'll be more difficult later.
"Goodbye. I'll come back soon." I answer hesitantly before getting into my car and, as I wave to the couple, swallow my tears and drive away towards Anna's house.
Anna's house is only fifteen minutes from mine, but I still have time to compose myself and gather a smile before arriving to the door and pressing the doorbell. I wait for a few seconds, expecting the butler to open up, but instead the door suddenly swings open and I'm surrounded by a pair of strong arms that belong to an overexcited redhead.
"Elsa!" She exclaims, making me wince because she just screamed in my ear. "I'm so glad you're here! Should we get going?" She now separates from me and looks me in the eye with an excited expression that makes me chuckle.
"Hold on, Anna." Anna's mother voice sounds from the door and we both turn to see her. "Have you already packed all you need? Your toothbrush? Your sweaters? Your acne cream?"
"Mom!" Anna blushes embarrassed. "I don't use acne cream." She mumbles.
"I know." She chuckles. "I was just teasing you."
"Anna, care to help me with your stuff?" Her father appears behind her mother, carrying like five different suitcases.
"Uh… do you really need that many things?" I ask, doubting they'll all fit into my truck.
"Yes… well, like half of it is food but…" She chuckles nervously as she takes one suitcase from her father and her mother does the same with another one.
"We don't need that much food for the trip. New York is only like six hours from here." I try to reason with her.
"Yeah, but what if we get lost? Or what if we get caught up in a hurricane or a snow storm? Or a zombie apocalypse? Or…"
"Anna." I chastise her.
"Okay, fine" She sighs. "I'll leave one of my food suitcases here, but if a tragedy happens and we don't have food it's your fault." I chuckle and so do her parents, while Anna just pouts as I help her load her other four suitcases into my truck (they barely fitted). Then we turn to her parents.
"I promise I'll take care of Anna." I say, noticing their worried expressions. "And we'll come back to visit soon." Her father just nods, but her mother gives me a hug that I soon reciprocate.
"Please remind her to call us at least once a week. She's quite forgetful." She whispers on my ear and I nod.
"Please don't get in trouble." Anna's father tells us once Miriam has let go of me.
"Trouble is my second name." Anna jokes and her father just rolls his eyes before going and hugging her.
"And please remember to eat healthy." Her mother adds as she goes hug Anna just when her father lets go of her. I'm watching their interaction with a little smile, but then I see Karl turning to look at me for a moment before also hugging me, taking me by surprise. I don't protest though; I don't want to have problems with my "in-laws".
"Just remember… if you hurt my baby I'll make you pay." He jokes.
"I don't think I could hurt her if I wanted to." I answer honestly, and he separates from me nodding approvingly.
"You are a good kid, Elsa. I hope things work out between you and Anna and that you stay together for a long time."
"I hope that too." I smile, glad that I have his approval.
"Well, now I think it's time for you to go." Miriam says, gesturing to the car. "Don't forget to call us when you get there."
"Yes, we will." Anna answers, opening the passenger side and getting inside, before peering back at me and urging me to follow her. "Come on, Elsa, New York awaits." I smile fondly at her before getting in as well and starting the engine.
"Are you ready?" I ask, not yet making the car move forward.
"I was born ready!" She says enthusiastically, making me chuckle, before we both wave her parents goodbye as the car starts driving away from Anna's home.
When we are just a few streets away however, I hear a quiet sniffle and turn to look at my side to see Anna wiping her tears. Concerned, I park where I can and gently place my hand at her shoulder.
"Are you okay?" I ask.
"I… I'm fine." She says, trying to stop crying.
"Anna, if you're not ready yet I can…"
"No!" She says hastily, looking at me with pleading eyes. "I want to go… it's just… I'm gonna miss them." She admits, her lower lip trembling slightly as more tears fall from her eyes.
"Come here." I say, opening my arms for her to lean in me, caressing her softly, hoping this will help. "It's not like you aren't going to see them again." I remind her.
"I know, but… I've never been away from home and… it's scary." I tense, hoping she doesn't regret her decision, but her next words put me at ease. "I mean… I know I'll be fine because I'm with you, and you are the person I love most in the word, but… it'll take time to get used to being away from them."
"I know. I'll help you through it." I try to comfort her.
"Really?" She asks hopeful, looking up at me with those adorable puffy red eyes of her.
"Yes, really." I say before leaning in and kissing her. I'll never get tired of the taste of her lips, and I'm glad to know that I'll have plenty of time to kiss them. I can imagine us living together during the time I go to college, then moving in on a greater house when we decide to get married, finally deciding to have kids years later, and spending the rest of our lives together. I know I'm getting a little ahead of myself, but hey, we just made the first step into the right direction. Let's just hope we don't lose our way. In the meantime, we have a great adventure ahead, and I'm planning to make it great for Anna, because as long as she's happy, so am I.
THE END.
A/N: Yep, this is the end. Finally, after more than one year of work I've finished this story, and I hope you all enjoyed just as much as I did. I know it's not the best out there, and that maybe some characters are OOC, but that's how I intended it to be, and I don't regret it… though I did cry a few times writing all Elsa was going through.
Anyways, I hope you leave a review and, if you want, you could check my other stories. I have two I'm currently updating, and they're kinda good, if I do say so myself.
Thanks for reading, I hope to see you soon. And thanks to my beta reader moonwatcher13 :)