Frozen belongs to Disney
Trigger warning: homophobia
Chapter 17
"You cut here and took a shot, but if you kept going another one or two strides, you would have more options. You can pass it back to either point, though the cross-ice pass is riskier, or you could shoot it through a screen. The defense would have to respect that, and that would give you a little bit more space," Elsa said. As she spoke, she drew with an erasable marker on the plastic wrap covered TV screen. She and Anna had taken over the common room late on Friday afternoon for a review of one of Anna's past games, and although it was initially supposed to be a quick session, the window on the far side of the room was now completely dark. Every now and then Elsa would pause the game and give Anna her thoughts. Days removed from the game, Elsa remembered minute details that escaped Anna: who was going where, if a forward was caught playing defense, or whether an opposing player was at the beginning or end of a shift.
"How does she keep it straight? And she does it all during the game, to make decisions in a split-second, when if she makes the wrong one, it could mean getting steamrolled," Anna thought.
Little by little, though, the lessons had started to sink in, and her last game, Anna tried to think ahead rather than merely react, made a few more thoughtful choices, and set Merida up with a couple of good opportunities as a result. Elsa hit play and used a paper towel to wipe away the marker as the game continued past Anna's shift. Her phone buzzed in her pocket, and she flipped it open.
"They're on their way up," Anna said. Elsa nodded and pulled the DVD out, then handed it to Anna.
"Are you sure you don't want me to drive you?" Elsa asked.
"No no, it's definitely better if I head home with Flynn and Rapunzel this time," Anna replied.
"Okay… good luck. Let me know how it goes… or if you need anything," Elsa said.
She stepped forward and Anna embraced her in a tight hug, relished the feel of pulling her in, heart-to-heart, until her phone buzzed again.
"Go, I'll clean up here," Elsa said. Anna grabbed her trusty backpack, turned at the door to wave, then walked quickly to the parking lot at the rear of the dorm. Flynn had left his headlights on and the engine running, and Anna didn't bother zipping up her jacket as she braved the cold to slide into the back seat.
"Thanks for dropping me off," she said.
"Don't mention it," Flynn replied. They headed off towards Arendelle town. He and Rapunzel chatted in the front seat, but Anna couldn't bother to pay attention to their conversation as she stared out the window. The upcoming discussion with her parents wouldn't be fun, but it had to be done. The scenery passing by grew more and more familiar, until practically before she knew it, they had arrived.
"Thanks Flynn," Anna said as she stepped down out of the SUV.
"Anytime," Flynn said as he waved. Anna closed the car door behind her, and Rapunzel gave her a thumbs up as they drove past. Anna sighed and hefted her bookbag as she trekked up the driveway to her house.
"You could always… not tell them," she thought for about the hundredth time. But she'd been over this before, at least with herself. If she waited long enough, it would get easier and easier to put it off, until the end of classes was close enough that rocking the boat by telling her parents right before Elsa went home for summer break wouldn't make sense. And she did want to tell them, not only to show Elsa that she was serious about this relationship and it wasn't just a fling or a college experiment, but also so her parents knew and understood who she was. This weekend was the perfect chance, and Anna steeled herself as she opened the front door. No one greeted her.
"That was anticlimactic," she thought.
"Hello? I'm home," she said as she traded her bookbag from one hand to the other to hang up her jacket.
"In the kitchen," her mom replied. Anna set her backpack by the hallway and followed the sound of her mom's voice. Apron still on, her mother busied herself over the sink, washing dishes. Anna picked up a hand towel and moved to help, despite there only being two plates.
"Thanks hon," her mom said.
"Where's dad?" Anna asked.
"He turned in early," her mom replied. Anna nodded. They finished washing the cutlery and put them away, then sat down at the kitchen table to talk about classes, hockey, Drama Club. The entire time, the secret squirmed around inside Anna's gut, but she didn't want to have to tell her parents separately; telling them both at the same time meant she would only have to go through the experience once.
"Do you have plans for the weekend?" her mom asked.
"I picked up shifts at the restaurant," Anna replied. "Hopefully I can get some good tips."
Her mom nodded. "I'm going to read a bit then head to bead, it's been a long day," she said.
Anna waved goodnight, then flopped down in front of the TV and channel surfed for an hour, until she finally convinced herself nothing distracting enough would magically appear, and she flicked it off and stumbled to her room to pass out. The following morning, she joined her parents around the kitchen table for breakfast before her waitressing shift started. Her heart pounded as she spooned Cheerios and milk into her mouth.
"Maybe I can wait until tomorrow?" she thought. "No. Don't be a chicken. It's now or never."
"So… I'm seeing someone," she said.
"That's wonderful," her mom said, but her tone was even, neutral.
"Thought you were going out with that Bjorgman kid," her father said as he glanced up from his newspaper.
"No. We broke up pretty quickly," Anna said.
He grunted and went back to his paper.
"You're just piling them up, aren't you," he said. Anna ignored the comment.
"Anyway, I want to invite them over for dinner," Anna said, "maybe Friday?"
"Really?" her mom said as she looked at her, as if she were trying to read her thoughts.
"Yeah, there's just one thing…" Anna said. She took a deep breath and held it while her heart thundered in her ears.
"Here goes nothing," she thought.
"I'm dating a girl. A woman," Anna said.
Her father's fork clanked as he set it down on his plate and pinned her with his gaze.
"Excuse me?" he said.
"The person I'm dating, it's a girl. I'm um… well I don't know, but it's getting pretty serious," Anna said.
Her father's lips pursed and he shook his head.
"I fuckin' knew it," he said as he pointed his fork as Anna's mother, "didn't I call it? Hanging out with those drama queers all the time."
"It has nothing to do with that," Anna said.
"Sure it doesn't. How many times have I told you, you are who you hang out with. Being around them's got you all twisted up," he said.
"Don't take the bait, stay on topic," Anna thought.
"Anyway, can you please just be polite for an hour, hour and a half for when she comes over for dinner?" Anna said.
"I'm sorry, did I miss something? Who said she's coming here for dinner?" her father said.
Anna grit her teeth.
"At least meet her, you might like her," she said.
"Absolutely not," her father said.
"Mom," Anna said, but her father interrupted.
"Don't look at your mother. As long as you live in this house, you'll live under my rules," her father said as he tapped his index finger on the table.
"Augh," Anna said as she threw her hands in the air. The chair legs scraped as she stood, bowl of cereal still half eaten.
"Get back here, I'm not done," her father said.
"I have to get to work," Anna said.
"Wait. What's her name?" her mom asked.
Anna paused at the door.
"Elsa," she replied.
"Elsa," her father said, "not Elsa Anderson, the center you were playing with at the start of the season?"
"Yeah. She's an Olympic silver medalist," Anna replied. Her father's eye twitched, and she could practically see the conflict play out on his face. On the one hand, Elsa was a girl, and being gay was 'abnormal' and 'against nature'. On the other, hockey was his life, and she was an amazing player that had set Anna up for numerous goals before the winter break. She turned her back and ignored her mother's call and the hushed voices between her parents as she stormed to her room and closed the door, then locked it. Anna flopped down on her bed and pulled out her phone.
"I told them," she texted Elsa.
"How did it go?" Elsa wrote.
"Good as can be. We'll see," Anna replied.
"3," Elsa wrote.
Anna sighed and changed for work, then went to the garage to pull her bike out, made sure her hat and gloves were secure, then headed off for her shift. She took out her frustration on the pedals and arrived ten minutes early. Even though her lungs burned with the freezing air and her legs felt like jelly as she flipped the kickstand down, the exertion actually seemed to help. Work was a hazy blur as she worried about her dad, and her tuition payment, but every time she checked her phone, there was nothing. The house was dark by the time she got home, and she took a quick shower to get the smell of restaurant and grease off of her.
"At least he didn't change the locks while I was out," she thought as she passed out into bed. The following morning, she slept in and shuffled into the kitchen with a yawn sometime around ten-thirty. Her mother stood near the stove, stirring her coffee.
"Where's dad?" Anna asked.
"Church," her mom replied.
Anna raised an eyebrow.
"Church?" she repeated. Her father usually only dragged them church twice a year. He'd never gone alone for as far back as she could remember.
"Yeap," her mom said.
Anna sat down and put her chin in her hand. A long moment passed where the only sound was the ticking of the second hand from the clock mounted on the wall.
"Do you really like her?" her mom asked. Anna looked up at her and nodded.
"Well… give him some time. I'm sure he'll come around," her mom said.
Anna snorted.
"What makes you say that?" she asked.
Her mom smirked.
"I've known him longer than you," she replied.
Anna let out a half-smirk, half-grimace at that.
"Hey," her mom said as she pulled her head into her hip in a sort-of hug, "no matter what, you're still my little girl, okay?"
"Thanks mom," Anna said. Tears sprung to her eyes and caught her somewhat by surprise, and she wrapped her arms around her mom's hips for a few seconds.
"Do we have anything other than Cheerios?" she asked.
Her mother chuckled and opened the cabinet to find something Anna hoped had either sugar or chocolate, preferably both.
Anna leaned forward over the faceoff dot and dropped her hand lower on the stick to give herself more leverage. The hostile crowd roared in support of the home team, and she tried to ignore them as she stared at the puck in the ref's hand and tensed, a trap primed to spring the instant he threw it down. Time slowed, and Anna torqued her whole body to draw the puck back as it hit the ice. The opposing center beat her clean.
"Dammit, that's why I'm a winger," she thought.
She already had a goal, one of two against the Hartford Hawks, but Alice had let in two, and the score was tied at the start of the third and final period. Anna charged in to put pressure on their defense to try and force them into making an errant pass, but no such luck as the puck entered the neutral zone and she backchecked to try and break up the play. With the opposing center camped out in front of the goal, they fired the puck on net from a sharp angle, but Alice gobbled it up to prevent any rebound and held it in her glove to freeze play. The ref's whistle sounded, and Anna lined up for the defensive zone faceoff. This time, she won the puck back to the defense and charged ahead to get open for an outlet pass. She zigged to the right, then back to the left to get away from her defender. With some open ice in front of her, the pass came up as she crossed into the neutral zone and she deked towards center ice, then pushed to the left to gain the zone. Respecting her speed, the defense played away from her a little bit; she wouldn't be able to skate around them. Her first thought was to get a shot on net, because you never know what might happen, but suddenly the lines on the television screen in the common room came to her, and in a flash of insight, she knew where everyone was on the ice. She didn't exactly see them, more like felt their presence and instinctually understood where they were, and more importantly, where they would go. Anna let the defense stay between her and the net, then fired a hard backhand pass to Merida, who trailed behind her. It was a give-and-go, and Anna curled towards the slot. Merida cradled the pass and wound up, but instead of shooting, passed it just inside the blue line to Rapunzel on the far side of the ice as she slid down the boards. That diagonal movement opened up a seam to the middle of the ice, where Rapunzel sent a touch pass straight at the gap between Anna's skates. All alone in front, Anna went down to one knee as she leveraged her stick in a wicked one-time snap shot straight into the top corner; the goalie had no chance.
"Yes!" Anna thought as the goal light went red and the air went out of the crowd. It was a beautiful tic-tac-toe play.
"I wish Elsa was on the ice with me," Anna thought. Still, Punzie and Merida came together, and she celebrated the goal with the rest of the team, her second of the game. Although Hartford pressed in the second half of the third and pulled their goalie in the last minute of the game, Alice made sure their three goals stood up, and Arendelle came away with another win.
"Alright, we go five-hundred the rest of the way, and we're in," Merida said in the visitor's locker room, to muted cheers. Only a catastrophic collapse would keep them out of the playoffs now, and Anna was practically giddy with anticipation. She checked her phone, hoping for some acknowledgement from her father of the great play on the game winning goal, but there was nothing, as expected. It had been five days since she broke the news to him, and still no contact. A small worry threatened to grow, that he would cut her off entirely. Not that she thought he would, but it wasn't outside the realm of possibility. Anna tossed her phone on top of her bag and did her best to savor the victory. On the bus on the way home, she read through her English paper and wrote down notes where she wanted to make updates, then tried to get some sleep, which of course was impossible. It was nearly midnight by the time they arrived at the lower parking lot outside the campus rink. With the smell of diesel still in the frigid night air, Anna retrieved her equipment from the belly of the bus. As she started the hike up to her dorm, she spotted a familiar black Porsche in the final spot, and her heart skipped a beat. Elsa, wearing her favorite grey hoodie, climbed out of the driver's seat and smirked at her.
"Nice game," she said.
"You saw it?" Anna asked.
Elsa grinned and nodded.
"I watched it live on the local broadcast," she said.
"Did you drive all the way out here to give me a ride up to my room?" Anna asked.
"We could do that, or we could head to mine," Elsa said. It was like she couldn't keep the grin off her face, and it was apparently contagious, as Anna smiled in response.
"That sounds more fun anyway. You're sure you don't want me to drop this off first?" she asked as she shook her hockey bag.
"You can let it dry in the living room, it's fine," Elsa replied. Anna nodded and squeezed her bag into the car's small trunk, then settled into the low passenger seat. She buckled up as Elsa started the engine, and they cruised out towards the highway.
"That game winning goal was something else," Elsa said.
"Yeah I don't know. It was like I saw the whole zone at once, saw the whole play develop before I passed it. Guess I was lucky Merida and Punzie picked up on it too," Anna said.
"They're both really good players," Elsa said with a soft smile.
"I wish you had been there with me… You could ask her to come back," Anna thought, but she bit her lip. If Elsa wanted to play, the invitation was there, and although she wanted nothing more, it had to be Elsa's decision, alone.
They pulled up to the hotel and Anna left her sticks in the trunk. She worried about feeling out of place carrying her gigantic equipment bag with her, but at this late hour, the lobby was deserted. Elsa led the way to the elevator, then the living room of her suite, where Anna immediately spotted her nearly brand-new hockey bag set against the far wall.
"You got your equipment back," Anna said.
"My skates were there," Elsa replied.
"Of course, duh. Don't get your hopes up," Anna thought.
"You can let it dry on the floor," Elsa said as she crossed the room to the window and cracked it open. Freezing outside air almost immediately drifted over Anna's ankles, and she quickly scattered her equipment about to air out. She followed Elsa to the bedroom and closed the door behind her. When she turned around, the blonde was there, right in front of her, wrapping her arms around her neck, pressing her back against the door, locking lips with her. Anna moaned into her mouth; the thought of this girl, this woman, desiring her so completely lit a fire in her belly and she spun Elsa around to press her back against the wood instead. They broke for a second, long enough for Elsa to attack her ear lobe with kisses and nibbles, and Anna's legs went weak.
"I couldn't wait to get you back here," Elsa whispered.
"I was thinking about you all game," Anna said as she trailed kisses down Elsa's neck, to her pulse point. Her own heart pounded, and the skin of her entire body felt ablaze with desire; she desperately wanted to be free of her damp clothing, to have Elsa's naked body pressed against hers. She tugged at the blonde's sweatshirt, and Elsa complied by lifting it over her head to reveal she was wearing nothing beneath.
"Oh my God," Anna breathed as she took in the sight of pink nipples, already erect with arousal. Elsa unbuttoned the top of her jeans and unzipped them to reveal the top of her panties. That sent another wave of desire through Anna, and she all but ripped her shirt up and over head. While she reached behind her back to unclasp her bra, Elsa undid her jeans button and tugged at her pants. Anna's bra fell to her wrists, and she grabbed it with one hand to toss it near the foot of the bed. Elsa had dipped a finger, cold as ice from the wintry air and the steering wheel, to the line of her panties, and Anna held her breath in anticipation of her hand plunging below the elastic. The blonde hesitated, then pulled her hand back, worry in her eyes.
"I'm sorry," she said.
"It's okay," Anna said as she pulled Elsa in for a topless embrace. With Elsa's hands again balled into fists, Anna held tight enough for both of them, relished the sensation of Elsa's stomach, Elsa's breasts, warm against her own. A nibble at her ear brought her back to the present.
"You played a good game. Are you ready for your reward?" Elsa asked.
"If I score again tonight, does that make it a hat trick?" Anna asked.
Elsa paused, then rolled her eyes.
"Lie back, take off your pants," she said. Anna grinned and pulled her jeans and underwear down, then sat back on the bed and grabbed the heel of her socks through her pant legs so everything came off at once. Elsa actually licked her lips at the sight of her, and Anna stifled a giggle; the blonde leaned forward to adjust her knees, to get her into the right position so she could go down on her.
"Wait. I want to see you naked first," Anna said. Elsa paused again, and Anna thought for a second that she might ignore her request in the interest of tasting her as soon as possible, but instead, she stepped back and ran her thumbs around the outside edge of her jeans before slowly tugging them down over her hips, exposing the fair, cream-colored skin of her thighs, then completely off. She repeated the action with her white panties, running her thumbs around the elastic band, then letting her hands drift up to her waist, to cross between her breasts, then around her neck to undo her braid and pull her mane of white-gold hair free. Then she let her hands drift their way back down while Anna stared, unblinking, as they descended over her stomach, over her navel.
"No trouble touching herself," Anna thought. Her own hands wanted to mimic the motion, or dive straight between her legs to relieve the growing ache there, but she resisted, let Elsa tease her. Finally, Elsa slid her panties down in one smooth motion as she bent at the waist, and when she stood up, she held her underwear in front of her, denying Anna for a few seconds longer, before letting them drop from one hand and setting them on the ledge beneath the TV. She ran both hands down her stomach again and over her mound, while Anna swallowed, then Elsa knelt down between her legs. At last, her warm tongue pressed against skin, and Anna sighed in relief. She'd been wanting to get back to this place all week, and her body responded accordingly as she reached down to caress Elsa's head while her tongue worked its way around her folds, swirled her entrance, and up towards her most sensitive spot. Then she made contact, which drew a soft involuntary sigh from Anna, and she practically felt Elsa smile into her. Of course, this turned her on even more, and she decided to help the next one along. Elsa moaned into her sex, and the vibration elicited even more pleasure, to which Anna gave more urgent vocalization to. Her climax approached, almost too fast, after days of anticipation, and Anna didn't want it to be over so quickly, but Elsa was relentless, and drove her over the edge as Anna's passionate sighs turned to needy cries and reached their crescendo. She lay back, gasping as her thighs quivered with aftershocks, then forced herself up to her elbows.
Elsa grinned, then leaned forward to let her hot sex press against Anna's hip, and kissed her deeply, the tang of Anna's own fluids still on her lips. Anna shifted slightly to grind against Elsa's thigh, and the juices that had cooled, quickly warmed again.
"Wait. I want to do you now," Anna said. Elsa paused, then sat up with a somewhat pensive expression.
"Do you want to try something a little different?" she asked. Anna nodded.
Elsa moved to the night table and opened it, shifted a few items around, then emerged with a pink rod.
"This is how I usually get off," she said.
It took Anna a second to realize it was a vibrator.
"I thought they were supposed to be thicker than that," she thought.
"You want me to use it on you?" Anna asked.
"If you don't mind," Elsa replied. Anna hesitated, and Elsa continued, "or… I could use it and you could watch-"
Anna grabbed the vibrator from Elsa's hand.
"Nope," she said. She turned it over and found a switch at the bottom, with three settings. Anna took a second to situate herself, and nudged Elsa's knee out so she could straddle her leg, then gently pressed her other knee out so the blonde lay spread wide before her.
Elsa placed her hands over her head to grip the bars of the headboard, which also lifted her breasts slightly, and an involuntary shudder went through the redhead. Elsa was opening herself up to her, making herself completely vulnerable, and Anna swallowed. She leaned over slightly and caressed one breast, barely a mound with Elsa on her back, then ran her fingers over the still-hard nipple. Elsa exhaled and closed her eyes as Anna ran her palm over one nipple, then the other, then slid her had down over her stomach, to her waistline and the small indentation from her panties, then skimmed her soft pubic hair. She brought the vibrator in close and flipped it to the lowest setting, then touched it against Elsa's outer folds. Another sigh, and a smile from Elsa, and Anna used her other hand to spread her lips to gain better access. The 'unh' sound Elsa made had Anna tingling all over again.
"Another round after this, for sure," she thought, but for the time being, she focused on Elsa.
"Faster," Elsa whispered, and Anna flipped to the second setting as she settled on the right spot. She switched hands to keep the tip of the vibrator on Elsa's clit, then used her middle finger to swirl around her entrance, slick and open with arousal. Anna first dipped one finger in, up to the second knuckle, then withdrew and added a second.
"Yes, more," Elsa said, and Anna pressed deeper. The vibration bled through into her hand, and she bit her lip in concentration. Elsa's breaths became more insistent and Anna flipped to the third setting.
"Unh… up," Elsa said.
"Up?" Anna said, but Elsa could only nod in between moans and pants.
"Up…" Anna thought, and then she figured it out, at least she thought she figured it out. She pressed her two fingers in deeper, then curled them against Elsa's front wall, towards the vibrator. The effect was immediate, as Elsa let out a passionate cry, with heavy pants coming now at every breath. Anna applied just a little bit more pressure from both inside and out, and let the vibration take over. Elsa's head whipped from one side to the other as her entire body tensed and she held her breath for a few seconds.
"I will never, ever get tired of seeing her lose control," she thought. Then Anna felt her convulse around her fingers as Elsa's internal muscles gripped them tightly, and a splat of warm liquid hit her palm. Her limbs quaked and trembled, and Anna removed the vibrator and switched it off as Elsa opened her eyes.
"Oh Anna," she said between breaths, then gave her a small smile. She glanced up at the bars as she let go of the headboard, then looked back to Anna with a wide smile. Anna gave her one more come-hither with her fingers and Elsa squirmed and wrinkled her nose, then Anna slipped them out. On a whim, she put both fingers in her mouth and sucked them clean. Elsa swallowed.
"Maybe we could do that again," she said. Anna grinned, then grew serious.
"Actually, do you think you could use it on me?" she asked as she picked up the fallen toy and handed it to the blonde.
"Uh. It's pretty wet… do you care?" Elsa asked. Anna shook her head. Elsa smiled softly at that, then nodded. They switched positions, with Anna lying on her back and Elsa straddling her leg. Elsa flicked the vibrator on to the lowest setting then looked to Anna and paused. Anna nodded in response. She watched as Elsa concentrated on her task, and the vibrator touched her sensitive skin for the first time. A tickling sensation caused her to want to squeeze her thighs, but she forced them to stay open, then, with a jolt, the tip of the pink toy touched her clit. After the initial shock, the tickling sensation bloomed into a pulsing, flowing wave of pleasure that spread across the entire area, and Anna let her head fall back onto the pillow as she lost herself in the experience. Her groin, which had grown cool while she brought Elsa to her climax, reignited with a vengeance and she became vaguely aware of her thighs quaking. She needed more, and ran her hands over stomach before moving to her breasts, to squeeze and twist her nipples.
"Oh, you're so beautiful," Elsa whispered. Anna opened her eyes to see Elsa's eyes fixated at on her chest as she touched herself. The sight of Elsa's hand drifting down between her thighs, the shift of her leg to allow her better access, the knowledge that fondling herself was enough to make Elsa lose control, sent her spiraling towards a second orgasm. Her breaths came faster as she ground her hips against the vibrator with desperate need.
"El-… almos…" she said between gasps as words began to fail her. Elsa switched to the second setting, and an explosive shockwave ripped through Anna as she arched her back off the bed, mouth open in a silent scream. After what seemed like an hour, she collapsed back onto the bedspread, legs akimbo, and the vibrator switched off, then landed somewhere on the far side of the bed. A warm body pressed against her, breasts brushed against her chest, long hair ghosted over her shoulder, and soft lips found hers. Anna forced her arm to move, to cradle Elsa's head, to come back to the world. She stared up into Elsa's face, at her expression of pure compassionate affection and bliss, and an almost overwhelming sense of possession and adoration filled her chest with a physical ache.
"I don't ever want to give this up… and I hope… I want her to feel the same way," Anna thought.
She pulled Elsa down and managed to straighten her legs enough so they could lie together atop the covers. Anna wanted more contact, and the fact that it just wasn't physically possible mildly frustrated her.
"I love her," Anna thought. The words were on her lips, but she kept them sealed as Elsa snuggled into her. "What's wrong with me? It's too soon."
She couldn't deny it though; she already felt closer to Elsa than she had ever felt about anyone in her entire life.
"She's here though, she's right next to you and you just had sex. Really really good sex. And she likes you, a lot," she thought. Anna adjusted herself slightly so she could turn her head and her lips found Elsa's. The blonde accepted her without question, kissing her back softly, without urgency, and Anna let herself enjoy the moment. Her phone rang, and at first, she was determined to ignore it, to let it go to voicemail, then she sat up in alarm.
"Sorry, it might be my parents," she said as she clambered off the bed and found her jeans. The rings stopped by the time she fished her phone out of her pocket, but she had a missed call from her house line, and called it back.
"Hello," her mom said.
"Hi Mom, it's me," she said.
"Oh hi," her mom said, "sorry to call so late; I hope I didn't wake you. I figured you'd still be awake after the game. I just wanted to let you know your father's agreed to have Elsa over for dinner, this Friday evening, if that works for you."
Anna's heart skipped a beat.
"Umm.." she put her hand over the speaker and looked up at Elsa, who had pushed herself up against the headboard and sat with her legs crossed at the ankle, hands folded on her stomach. Not a stitch of clothing covered her, from the soles of her feet to the top of her somewhat disheveled hair, and she looked very, very relaxed and content. She gave Anna a reassuring smile and a small wave.
"I love you," Anna thought, then she realized she was staring and shook her head.
"Friday, dinner with my parents?" Anna whispered. Elsa thought for a second, then nodded.
"Okay," Anna said.
"…Great, see you both then," her mom said.
"Love you mom," Anna said.
"…love you too, sweetie," her mom said, then the line clicked dead. It was only after the call ended that it dawned on Anna that her mom must have realized she was in the room with Elsa. At nearly two in the morning. On a weeknight.
"Crap," she said.
"What?" Elsa asked.
"I think my mom figured out we're sleeping together," Anna said.
Elsa blinked.
"You're bringing me to meet them, I'm pretty sure she's figured that out already," she said.
"No, I mean, I think she figured out we're sleeping together right now," Anna said.
"Oh," Elsa said, and then it looked like she started to say something and stopped herself two or three times, then eventually gave up, shrugged helplessly, and chuckled. "Come back to bed."
Anna grinned, left her phone on the night table, threw back the covers, and invited Elsa to join her within.
Elsa pulled to a stop at the curb in front of Anna's driveway and pulled the keys from the engine, which rumbled to a stop and left them in relative silence.
"Are you ready?" Elsa asked.
Anna wrung her hands in her lap, but she nodded and folded the script up and tucked it into her patched-up backpack.
"Remember, nothing they can say will change the way I feel about you. Whether it goes well or not, I'll see you on Monday, okay?" Elsa said.
Anna put a brave smile on her face.
"Honestly, how bad could it be?" she said, though Elsa detected a definite undertone of worry and concern.
Elsa climbed out of the car and into the frosty evening air then picked up the bottle of wine from the back seat. She wore a light green cardigan over a plain white shirt and jeans, to appear as innocuous and harmless as possible. She still wore her earrings and a touch of makeup though; it was a dinner to meet Anna's parents, after all. Anna had worn the hockey stick earrings, which to Elsa felt like an inside symbol of solidarity, and she smiled. They walked up the driveway to the front stoop, which sloped slightly to one side, and Anna pushed her way through the front door.
"Hello? We're here," she said. Warm, indoor air washed over Elsa and brought with it the smell of some kind of sizzling meat and spices. The one-story house appeared cozy and clean, not quite cramped, but definitely not spacious. Anna led her through the living room to the dining table, and to the kitchen.
"You made turkey?" Anna asked.
"Just a small one," her mother replied. "Hello, you must be Elsa."
"Yes. Pleasure to meet you finally," Elsa said. She cleared her throat.
Anna's mother was practically the spitting image of her, but twenty-five years older and a bit heavier. Crow's-feet marked the corners of her eyes, and her hair was still mostly fiery red, only streaked with a little bit of grey. She turned off the water in the sink, then wiped her hands on her apron. Elsa practically shoved the wine bottle into them.
"It's a white, should be refrigerated," Elsa said.
"Thank you," Anna's mother said as she cleared some space in the fridge.
"Anna told me the mint chocolate cookies were your recipe," Elsa said. "They were delicious, some of the best I've ever had."
"Oh, well, she did most of the work," Anna's mother said as she set the bottle in and closed the refrigerator door.
"Where's dad?" Anna asked.
"Changing," her mother replied, "why don't you two have a seat, and we'll be out in a minute."
They moved to the dining table and sat next to one another. Garlic bread had already been laid out, and Anna grabbed a piece to take a bite. Mr. Christiansen, a slightly overweight but clean-shaven middle-aged man, emerged from the hallway wearing slacks and a blue and white polo shirt, and Elsa reflexively stood up. He paused and looked her up and down, then walked over slowly, with a noticeable limp, and extended a hand to shake.
"Welcome to our home," he said.
"Thank you for having me," Elsa replied.
"Keep it down, don't let it out," Elsa thought as his large hand enveloped hers. She let him shake her hand and made sure to maintain eye contact. He squeezed firmly, almost hard enough to hurt, and Elsa consciously kept her expression neutral. Then he turned around and sat down across from them as Elsa flexed her fingers. Anna nudged an elbow into her hip in encouragement as she sat.
"So far so good," Elsa thought as she glanced her way with a smile.
"So, what are you studying?" Anna's father asked.
"Logistics and Transportation," Elsa replied. He nodded.
The conversation proceeded from there and Anna's mother joined after a few minutes, carrying the turkey with her. As they ate, they covered most of the standard questions such as how did you two meet, what are your plans for after school, do you have any hobbies, etc. At some point as Anna reached to spoon herself more mashed potatoes, Elsa noticed the hairband around her wrist was the one she'd taken the first time they slept together; apparently it had become somewhat of a keepsake for her, and pride swelled in her.
"How did you start playing hockey?" Anna's father asked.
"Oh, my father. He started me when I was young, and I took to it quickly," Elsa replied.
"I see. How does he feel about… this," Anna's father said with a vague wave of his hand.
Anna winced, but to Elsa it almost sounded like it was a prepared question.
"He knows. Still, act like you don't suspect anything," she thought
"My father passed away last month," Elsa replied, "but when he was alive, he…"
"He didn't care about my love life," Elsa thought.
"He never discouraged me from dating whomever I wished," she said.
"Sorry to hear that. I would have liked to have met him," Anna's father said.
She felt a soft pressure against her shoe, warm, and realized Anna had slipped her foot out and let it rest against hers in a gesture of support. Elsa nodded to Mr. Christiansen with a polite smile.
"Excuse me," she said as she used the napkin to wipe the corners of her mouth and stood. "Where is the toilet?"
"Down the hallway, to the right," Anna said. Elsa walked to the bathroom as a whispered conversation erupted behind her, no doubt Anna admonishing her father for bringing up her parents.
"What the hell, dad?" Anna asked.
He shrugged.
"It's a legitimate question," he said. "If you want to know who someone is, you need to know where they come from."
All at once, Anna understood. Her father had googled or otherwise looked up Elsa's family, and come to the realization she was extremely wealthy. That was why he was being so polite. With a sickening feeling, she realized Elsa understood it too, although she would never let her emotions betray her.
"How about some wine," her mother said as she stood up and walked to the kitchen. The sound of a cork opening reached them just as Elsa returned to the table, and Anna's mom poured four glasses.
"Cheers," Anna's father said, and they clinked glasses. It was a fruity wine, and Anna didn't much mind the taste as it settled next to the turkey and warmed her belly.
"Keep your mouth shut, just get through dinner," she thought. Conversation continued around her, but she couldn't pay attention.
"Would anyone care for dessert?" Anna's mother asked.
All eyes turned to Elsa.
"I… have some studying to get done… unless you have some more of those delicious chocolate mint cookies?" she asked.
Anna's mother smiled and shook her head.
"Maybe next time," she said.
Elsa nodded with a smile, and Anna walked her to the door, and she shut it behind them as they emerged onto the front porch.
"Success? I think?" Elsa said.
"Yeah, success," Anna replied, "thanks for… being you."
Elsa smiled.
"I don't know how to be anyone else," she said.
Anna nodded and hugged her, then gave her a quick peck on the lips.
"Love you," she thought.
"I'll talk to you later, just have to sort a few things out with the parental units," Anna said.
Elsa nodded.
"I'll text you when I get back to the hotel," she said. With a spring in her step, she descended to the driveway and turned around to wave before getting into her sports car. Anna watched as she spun a U-turn, then the car accelerated off down the road, steam glowing red in the light of the tail lights. Anna shivered in the chill and went back inside. Her father stood at the entrance to the hallway.
"If she mistreats you, I reserve the right to kick her ass just like a guy," he said. Then, without waiting for a response, he proceeded to limp toward the bedrooms while Anna stood there with her mouth open. Eventually, she realized her mother was busy in the kitchen, washing dishes, so Anna closed her mouth and moved to help her clean up.
"So… the cookies were for Elsa," her mother said knowingly, and Anna smiled sheepishly.
"Yeah…" she replied.
Her mom washed and she dried, and they were silent for a minute over the sound of the faucet and soap on glass.
"All things considered, I think dinner went well," her mother said.
"Yeah. I'll be honest, I'm surprised he agreed at all; I thought he might try to cut my tuition payments, actually," Anna said.
Anna's mother smirked.
"The priest encouraged him, and he was about to, until I talked him out of it," she said. Anna blinked.
"You did? How? I mean… thank you, but what did you say that changed his mind like that?" she asked.
Her mother snorted and banged a glass a little harder on the counter than was strictly necessary.
"I told him you're practically an adult, you can make your own decisions, and if he kept being a jackass, eventually you just wouldn't come home," her mother said.
"I would never do that," Anna said.
Her mother raised an eyebrow.
"You wouldn't?" she asked.
Anna considered it for a few long seconds, of having to decide whether to keep seeing Elsa or keep her college funding, or lie to her parents and keep seeing her in secret.
"Or let Elsa pay, because you know she would offer… but that would change our relationship for sure," she thought. "Either way, I'm glad I don't have to make that choice."
"I don't know, I'm sure it would work out eventually," she said. "… thanks Mom."
"I love you sweetheart, and she seems like a wonderful young woman," her mother said, "and very pretty."
Tears sprung to Anna's eyes. Her mom was supportive. Her mom was rooting for her. She bit her lip and blinked to try and keep them from spilling over.
"But… you know your father looked her up… She is very wealthy, isn't she?" her mom asked.
Anna nodded.
Her mother grimaced and appeared to weigh whether to say anything more.
"You're sure this isn't some kind of… fling while she's studying at Arendelle? I'm not accusing her, I just don't want to see you get hurt," her mother said.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Anna said quietly. It was almost the exact same thing Elsa had said to her.
"As long as you're sure," her mom said. "Always remember that I love you, no matter what."
"I love you too," Anna said, then set the last dish down and retreated to her room before the tears fell.
She pulled out her phone and resisted calling Elsa while she was on the road. Instead, she kicked off her shoes and lay down on her bed with her phone in hand both to wait for her emotions to settle down, and to wait for it to buzz.
"I'm home," Elsa wrote.
Anna flipped her phone open and called her immediately.
"Hi," Elsa's voice said. She sounded apprehensive. "So… what do you think?"
"It went fine, better than I expected," Anna said. There was an audible sigh of relief from the other end.
"Listen, I wanted you to know… I'm pretty sure my dad looked you up," Anna said.
"Yeah, I got that impression too," Elsa said.
"I mean… on the one hand, I'm glad the dinner went well, but on the other, I'm furious that the only reason he was being polite is because you're… augh," Anna said as she huffed and flipped onto her back to smash her head into the pillow.
"Well… whatever the reason, I'm glad I'm not coming between you and your family," Elsa said.
And just like that, with a few brief words, all of the red-hot anger burning in Anna's chest evaporated and floated away like dandelion seeds in the wind. She chuckled.
"Yeah, I guess that's the important thing," she said.
"I love you," she thought, but the silence stretched.
"Well… I guess I'll see you on Monday?" Elsa asked.
"Sure thing," Anna replied.
They said their goodnights, and Anna changed for bed. As she lay beneath the old familiar covers, she counted the weeks until the end of the term, and realized she only had about a dozen left. A mild panic squeezed her heart as she considered the possibility that Elsa would return to Norway after finals. Anna took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and resolved to make the most of her time with her girlfriend before summer separated them.