'Here it comes as it overwhelms me

I want to let it go...'

By the time Olaf gave a rough idea about how to use her new device, whatever lingering thoughts of being forced into Cindy's persona Elsa worried about faded. It didn't, however, make it any easier. She was glad to have a camera to call her own, but receiving it from her parents bothered and left her wanting to ask questions.

"Are you alright?" Anna asked.

They were the only ones outside the restaurant while everyone did their last-minute touch-ups inside before leaving for the day. Elsa praised herself for not running away during the entire celebration, though she briefly wondered if her discomfort was the reason why everyone decided to call it a day as soon as the sun had set.

"Mhm." She did her best to smile, but the look Anna gave her told her it wasn't convincing. "Confused, but I'll manage. It's just," She sighed and showed the box she had been staring at for the last few minutes, "they usually discourage it when I involve myself with anything not related to school."

"Do you like it?"

"Part of me does, but another part of me... I don't know." She paused. "Do I even deserve it?"

"Elsa..."

"Sorry. I didn't mean to sound gloomy."

They held each other's gazes and it was then that Elsa was reminded of who she was talking to and what she was to her. The smile on her lips slipped as another set of worry clouded her brain. Everything that happened for the last few hours and her own realization a few days ago hit her hard.

"Here." Anna's voice broke down Elsa's growing defenses, holding out a box wrapped clumsily with a white and gold wrapper.

Elsa didn't reach out right away. She wasn't stupid. She knew what it was, but she didn't expect Anna to get her a gift. "Ann—"

"It's fine," the redhead insisted. "Birthdays are important to me, Elsa. I told you, it's the only occasion I ever celebrate with my family."

"You and Ariel already helped out with—"

"I want to give you something you can use for a long time, not something that's only available for a day. Please."

Anna was blushing prettily and her hair was a strong vibrant shade of red under the orange light of the lamp outside the restaurant. It was quite an endearing sight. Elsa had known from the very beginning that Anna was beautiful, but the girl's fidgeting and nervous shuffling right now made her ten times more adorable.

"When is your birthday?" Elsa asked.

Anna gave her a quizzical look. "June 21."

"I see."

"Why?"

"I was hoping to return the favor."

Rolling her eyes with an accompanying grin, Anna grabbed Elsa's free hand with her own and placed the box on it. "You don't have to return any favor, Elsa. I wanted to give you thi—"

Elsa cocked her head as the words came to an abrupt halt. "Anna?"

Anna gently tugged her hand and used her free hand to gently push back the sleeve of her coat. Realizing a little too late what could've caught the redhead's attention, a blush bloomed on Elsa's cheeks.

"You're wearing it." Anna's voice came as a whisper.

"Y-Yeah. When Vanessa and Jasmine... called me behind the old school building, the strap broke." She fiddled with the musical note pendant as much as her occupied hands would allow her, firmly settling her eyes on it when the hand holding her wrist tightened. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For not taking care of it."

"It's not your fault. If anything, I'm glad you didn't throw it away." Rubbing the pendant with her thumb, Anna eyed her worryingly. "Isn't it uncomfortable? It's supposed to be a necklace."

"Most stores I went to said I needed to replace the strap."

"Why didn't you?"

Shaking her head, Elsa mumbled something incoherent even to her. When there was no reaction from Anna, she braced herself and repeated in a clearer and louder voice, "If I did, it wouldn't be the same necklace you gave me."

"What...?" Anna trailed off as her eyes shone with understanding. "Oh." Surprised, Anna unknowingly loosened her grip which gave Elsa the chance to pull her hand back. "You didn't mind? Back then, I didn't know that music wa—"

"I did," she said. "I didn't wear it, remember? But when you told me why you bought it- that you thought I liked it... I was scared and... and relieved that you saw right through me."

"O-Oh?"

"It's hard to admit, but it's still a part of me." Elsa pulled the gifts closer to herself in an awkward hug. "I denied myself then, but I know better now."

Anna reached up to one of her braids, an action Elsa hadn't seen her make before. The reddening of freckled cheeks made her think that she probably said something to make the girl embarrassed.

A nervous habit?

"I- I'll try not to break this," Elsa referred to the gift.

Anna smiled. "Good," she said. "I wouldn't want you freezing to death. Arendelle winters are harsher than the ones here."

Curiosity picking up, Elsa looked at the box, then back at the girl. Understanding her plight, Anna took the box containing the camera from her parents and gestured to the remaining one in her possession. Taking that as a sign, Elsa gingerly removed the tape holding the wrapper together. Normally, she would've already torn the wrapper up as she did with her parents' gift, but with Anna there—

A hunter green blanket scarf thicker than the one she was wearing was what greeted Elsa the moment she opened the lid. The texture was soft underneath her fingertips, and when she placed her hand in between the folds, she could easily tell it was warm to wear.

"It's not going to replace jackets and coats, but it helps."

"It's warm." Elsa rubbed her thumb on the cloth, the heat the scarf provided on her hand already making her want to wear it. "Thank you, Anna."

The redhead opened her mouth to speak, but she quickly dismissed it with a shake of her own head and smiled. They stood there for a couple more minutes until the door opened behind them. "Alright! Time to go home," Charlotte announced as everyone stepped out.

Closing the box and holding it with care, Elsa stepped aside to give everyone space. None of them made a single noise out of courtesy for Alice's sleeping form in her father's arms. As silent as it was, the tension from the very beginning had thankfully gone down to a significant level.

Elsa fumbled with the pocket of her coat and tapped Olaf's shoulder, offering his keys back the moment his eyes met hers. The surprise was evident on his face. Having expected him to simply take his keys back, Elsa squeaked when he gave her a headlock, ruffling her hair the same way he always did when they were children.

"O-Olaf!" She whined, trying to push herself away from her cousin's grip. "Olaf, please!"

Olaf obliged and, instead of letting go, pulled her closer and nuzzled their temples together with a giggle before whispering in her ear. "I'm proud of you, Chelsea."

The not-so-unexpected praise sent a fluttery feeling inside Elsa's chest and a lodge at the back of her throat, rendering her speechless. She closed her eyes as they began to water. If she was being honest, she was happy with her accomplishment, but the effort it took to achieve it was nearly suffocating.

Elsa wasn't confident that she could do it again.

Every year, it had been a tradition for the Bjorgmann's to decorate only when it was Christmas Eve. The time had arrived and after prepping herself up for the day, Elsa didn't waste any time organizing the flowers delivered from Aurora's shop on an early winter morning.

"I wanna put the star!" Alice reached for the star on Elsa's hand.

The older blonde craned her neck and wondered if she could lift Alice high enough to put the star on the tip of the tree.

"Eek!" Alice squeaked when Olaf lifted her up onto his shoulders. "Yay! Elsie, hurry!"

A vein protruded from her cousin's temple due to the strain of keeping the little girl balanced and Elsa was amused with the way his face turned red.

"Elsa!" Olaf growled when she didn't move.

Unable to fight back a bubbling laugh, he gave her a glare which she blatantly ignored. Consider it payback for not telling me about Mom and Dad. Satisfied that he had suffered enough, Elsa offered the star to her excited niece who was more than happy to take it.

"Closer!" Alice demanded.

Kristoff entered the living room with a garland wrapped around his neck. "What the? Olaf, that's wrong!"

"Why did you have to buy a tall Christmas tree this year?!" Olaf grumbled.

Satisfied that even Olaf—who was only an inch or two taller than her—couldn't put Alice up at the right height, Elsa looked at the white tree again. It was huge and different from the green one they had been using throughout these years. Gerda must be trying out a new look. Needless to say, they hadn't thrown their old tree away and it would be placed on the porch later.

"It looks nice." Kristoff picked his daughter up and carried her high enough to get the job done.

Olaf stuck out his tongue. "You just want to flaunt your height."

"Owaf, coronian!"

"Oh, right," Olaf spoke with their own accent. "I keep forgetting that."

Alice beamed and grabbed as many Christmas balls as she could from one of the baskets, placing them randomly on the tree. Elsa watched the girl in a way a proud older sister would and fixed the decorations whenever Alice wasn't looking.

"Here, Elsa. Can you put this over there?" Kristoff pointed to a small hook on top of the archway that divided the living room from the front steps. "You can step on that an—"

"Wait!"

Everyone's head snapped to the staircase in time to see Rapunzel sliding down the banister. Their jaws dropped and Alice dropped a bauble. Before Elsa made sense of what happened, she noticed two bodies walking down the stairs cautiously, wearing expressions similar to them.

"Oww," Rapunzel groaned when her hip met the edge, wincing and jumping on the ground to rub it.

Olaf snorted. "I could watch that all day."

Rapunzel ignored the photographer's comment and narrowed her eyes at Kristoff. "Why don't you do it?"

One of his thick eyebrows rose. "Because it's only fair? Olaf needs to assemble the other tree outside and I'm the only one tall enough to decorate the top of this even with a ladder. Unless it's Alice, of course. I can carry her."

"Graaaaaaah!" Olaf growled.

Kristoff ignored his brother's pointed look and threw the piece of decoration to the female blonde who was still stuck in a daze. Seeing the little motion from the corner of her eyes, Elsa snapped from her trance and caught the piece on time, eyebrow twitching at the sight of a mistletoe.

"Thanks!" Kristoff cheered.

As she placed the ladder below the archway, Elsa pressed her lips and mentally calculated how high that was above ground. Thoughts of an accident easily entered her imagination and every minuscule sound from the background was replaced by a ringing noise. Her muscles tensed up, sweat rolled down the side of her head, and her chest tightened as memories of a few years back made themselves known.

A hand stole the mistletoe and the worries along with it from her.

"I'll do it." Anna climbed the ladder, leaving Elsa hastily grabbing it for support.

"Hey!" Rapunzel's voice boomed as soon as Anna was safely secured to the ground again. "You know the tradition when under a mistletoe, right?"

Both girls flushed and fidgeted uncomfortably.

It had been a while since Rapunzel teased them and it wasn't doing any favors. Anna might be serious about her feelings, but she never showed any actual interest in being more than friends. And even if Elsa was starting to accept that she felt the same way, she wasn't ready for a romantic relationship either.

"What is tradition under mistletoe?" Alice asked after a minute of awkward squirming.

"Well, that's when you ki—"

"Alice, you know what this is, right?" Kristoff smoothly explained, stopping the brunette before she said something a child shouldn't hear. "It's a mistletoe."

"Ahuh."

"Legend says," he began dramatically, "that under this similar ornament, a life was once saved. It was blessed by a Goddess in order to bring two people—strangers, friends, or family—to share a deep bond." Alice ooed and leaned closer. "It became a symbol of true and unconditional love. The plant was—"

Kristoff continued on.

After managing to calm down and praising her cousin's protectiveness, extreme doting, and desire to keep his daughter's innocence intact—he cried when Alice read her first fairy tale that included a Prince Charming—Elsa discreetly looked at the girl who shared the same spotlight as hers a minute ago. Anna was hunched forward while listening to Kristoff. Elsa couldn't tell if she was taking it seriously or was only trying to distract herself.

As Elsa opened her mouth to ask for a confirmation, her throat clamped up. A shudder ran down her spine when she remembered Rapunzel's suggestion about the mistletoe and she immediately shook her head, face warming up as she tightened her hold on cold metal.

"You okay?"

With a jolt, Elsa squeaked, "Y-Yes."

Anna looked at the ladder and the blonde. "You're seriously afraid of heights, huh?"

Elsa brushed off her embarrassment with a breathy laugh. "You already know that."

"I do," the redhead agreed. They exchanged fond smiles before helping each other with the ladder and placing it somewhere it wouldn't hurt anyone. Kristoff was still narrating about the forgotten legend, cleverly wording his sentences without giving away the meaning of what standing under a mistletoe meant nowadays.

"Elsa, can yo- You're at it again?" Charlotte's appearance made her husband groan. She snorted and faced Elsa again. "Mammie wants you to help out in the kitchen."

Elsa ignored the way Kristoff's jaw dropped and answered with little confidence. "Okay, I'll be there."

"Can I come too?" Rapunzel asked.

"As much as I'd love to have you there," Senya appeared from behind Charlotte, "I don't think that would be wise. You can't even wipe that frown off your face."

"What frown?" Rapunzel's mouth twitched when she tried to smile.

"No, Rapz," Senya stated firmly.

Knowing not to prolong her own agony, Elsa smoothed out her clothes. In spite of the reality that she'd see her mother in the kitchen, she didn't have the heart to deny Gerda the help she was asking for.

"I brought her along!" Charlotte announced. "What is she going to do?"

Elsa made careful precautions not to meet her mother's eyes, knowing full well that she was being stared at. Despite their initial talk going as well as their situation would permit, she didn't know if she was ready for another confrontation. A night's rest wasn't enough to take the nerves off.

"Breakfast, please. We were busy cutting the ingredients for later and forgot about it," Gerda explained.

"Okay. What do you want?" Elsa asked.

"Whatever you want, dear. Surprise me. Or better yet, surprise Anna."

Gerda didn't budge even when Elsa's eyes widened and the color drained from her cheeks, only smiling as though she said nothing out of the ordinary. Elsa nervously glanced at her mother who was busy chopping down vegetables, seemingly unperturbed by the innuendo.

"That's a great idea!" Charlotte clapped her hands. "Why don't you make something that Anna likes? I'm sure she'll love it even more if you cooked it for her!"

"Would be nice to know more about her," Senya noted. "She visited the studio multiple times and Rapz talks a lot about her and Ariel."

"Oh," came Elsa's breathless whisper. When she noticed her mother wasn't looking, she allowed herself to blush—intensifying at the knowing smirks of the other occupants in the kitchen. She knew that Gerda knew how she felt about the redhead; it didn't surprise her that Charlotte and Senya found out about it.

"They say that a way to a person's heart is through their stomach," her mother's gentle voice chimed in. "Charlotte is right. Anna will love it if you cooked for her."

Elsa's heart jumpstarted at her mother's insistence, unsure how to take it. Did she know? Had Gerda told her? By some off chance, had she noticed it herself? Elsa badly wanted to say she didn't care if her mother didn't approve, but that would be a wholesome lie.

"So," Charlotte drawled. "Do you have any idea?"

Cupping her chin and drilling a hole in the floor with a piercing gaze, Elsa filed away that odd behavior for later and focused on visualizing something that would catch a certain redhead's attention. She was slowly coming to a realization that, no, she didn't know what Anna's favorite dish was. Even if she tried to remember what the girl always ate every lunchtime in school, there wasn't anything that stood out.

"Elsa, time is moving." Charlotte's voice pulled her away from her inner stupor. "I don't know why you're worried, but believe me when I say that everything you cook tastes good. No one will be able to resist it."

Pulling out a hair tie from the pocket of her sweater and tying her hair neatly into a low side ponytail, Elsa decided. She ignored the satisfied looks on everyone's faces and the subtle twitch on her mother's lips and concentrated on breakfast instead. Focusing intently on something that could be considered as a habit seemed silly, but after everything Anna did for her, she wanted to return the favor even in non-obvious ways. It was the least she could do.

Review/Fav/Follow