[WARNING: Slightly nsfw.]

REPLIES: Obsessive Imaginings: The generally-accepted shortening of "asexual" is to "ace".

Spooths: Oh be quiet _

~ Chapter Three ~

It took a week for Elsa to find her way back to Anna's dorm room and apologise. When Anna pressed for a more detailed explanation for her behaviour, she began to look so distressed that Anna backpedaled at lightspeed. It could wait; she just wanted her friend back. Kisses and more-than-kisses were secondary.

But over the next couple of weeks, she only became more confused. They went to the movies and Elsa wanted to hold her hand, was eager to do so. Bought her a parka of her own, one exactly like Elsa's except that it was made of faux-fur. Refused to ever let Anna pay for dinner. Told her how beautifully tempting her new lip gloss made what it was painted across.

These things made Anna more uncomfortable than she could admit, because they sent a clear message: they were dating. Anna didn't do dating, she didn't understand gestures like those. They felt nice because they made it clear that Elsa really cared about her, but it also confused her because she didn't know how to return them, or even show the proper amount of gratitude. Why couldn't they just play Halo and hang out like normal friends? Just because they would occasionally find their mouths intersecting didn't mean the rest of their relationship had to change.

Then there was also one other problem. Much though she cared about Elsa's feelings, she really needed to get laid. Taking care of herself was no longer quite enough after all those months since her last "mattress decathlon". And, of course, after Elsa's reaction the last time she tried to move past the kisses-and-cuddles stage, she didn't dare return to that topic again. Even hinting that she wanted to visit an adult store and pick up "something that makes noise, and makes me make noise" caused Elsa to turn beet red and begin stuttering, so Anna dropped that, as well.

Calc finals came and went, and they did as well as could be expected. The B-plus range was way better than Anna thought she'd land, so she took that and ran with it. The rest of their marks were much better, though they didn't share many of the same classes. Another week and Anna would be going home for the Winter holidays - to warm weather, a blessed change. Only a few more days and she'd have got off scot free.

"Hey," Elsa whispered into Anna's ear.

"Hmmhh?" she grumbled as she rolled over, blinking blearily up at the pale cheeks and blonde hair above her. "Whazzat?"

"Good morning." Pink lips pressed down into Anna's temple, and she hummed contentedly. Not that she wanted to admit it, because it was a little weird, but that felt more comforting than sexy. Her mother used to do it up until she was in kindergarten. "How'd you sleep?"

Struggling to roll over more properly, Anna grinned a sleepy grin and pulled Elsa down for a light kiss. Then she let her go and rubbed her face. "What time is it?"

"Five-thirty."

"Ohhh, Elsa," she groaned. "Whyyyy? You know I hate getting up early!"

"I know, but… this is your last day. I wanted to spend all of it with you."

Sighing, Anna looked up at her like she was wearing a pineapple for a hat. "You're kidding, right? I mean… we're going to talk on Facetime and shit. You won't even have time to miss me before three weeks will be over and done with."

"So? It won't be the same! And how dare you say I won't miss you - of course I will! Every day, you're going to b-"

"Okay, okay, whatever." But she couldn't really look too displeased. It was nice to have someone like Elsa that would genuinely care that she wasn't there. "Tell me what's on the itinerary."

"Well," Elsa began, obviously bursting to tell her everything. "First, breakfast at the Roc's Egg - I know you love their pancakes. Then we can go ice skating, if you feel like it; I know you're more about hockey, but if you don't mind not getting beaten up while we skate-"

"If you don't mind me asking, how long is this last day going to go? I mean, I'm flying out at four, and I still have to pack."

"No you don't."

"What?"

"You don't," Elsa repeated with a small smile. "I packed for you."

Anna merely stared at her for a minute, then sat up. The staring only continued afterward. "Dude… why would you do that? I don't even want to pack for myself, I can't imagine doing it for somebody else!"

"Don't worry," she sidestepped. "A complete outfit is already laid out for today, so you're not gonna have to go back into the luggage."

"But WHY?!"

"I couldn't sleep last night, okay? And besides, I thought this might make the last day more fun and less work for you."

"Stop saying 'last day' like I'm off to fight in a war!" Anna half-laughed. "I am coming back, I promise!" But Elsa looked so much like a pleading little puppy that she merely shook her head and sighed. "Fine, fine. What comes after the skating? Hang-gliding? Space-walking?"

Elsa pursed her lips, but it barely made a dent in her giant smile. "You'll see."

"OhhhHHhhh," Anna purred, sneaking a finger forward to thread through one of Elsa's beltloops. "It's that kind of surprise." As expected, Elsa went completely rigid, so she let go. "Or not. Do you want to help me get dressed, at least?"

"I would if I thought you wouldn't tackle me while you do," she grumbled. But Anna poked her in the stomach, and she snorted. "I'll let you wake up more and then we'll go, okay? I need to grab my boots, anyway."

Yawning, she kicked off the sheets and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. "Alright, see you in a few."

But Elsa didn't move. She had seemingly turned to stone, just because Anna got out of bed. What was the big deal? Then Anna followed her gaze to her own bare legs. And then upward to see it wasn't just her legs that were bare.

"Whoa, look at that; I lost my panties somewhere." A weak laugh did nothing to break the spell, so she waved her hand in front of Elsa's face. "Hellooo?"

"Hm? Oh - oh, sorry!" Elsa cried, turning away. But her cheeks were not nearly as pink as Anna would have expected them to be, having seen what she just saw. "You were- I didn't m-mean to stare!"

"Hey, stare all you want," Anna teased, but kept up talking. She already knew the teasing would make Elsa more uncomfortable if she lingered upon it. "Sorry, I just had to, uh, let off some steam before I went to sleep last night, and I guess I forgot to put them back on. I'd have warned you if I remembered I was bottomless."

Elsa nodded very slowly. "Okay. That's… that's fine."

She was still staring. At first, Anna had merely been embarrassed beyond belief, and remorseful that she had put her friend through this. It was clear Elsa was uncomfortable with anything sexual - at least, so far as it involved her. However, now she was just staring at her nude lap. Sure, nothing but skin and a small strip of coppery hair was visible from that vantage point. Sure, they were both girls, so it didn't have to mean anything. Not the way it would if one of them was a guy.

However, the longer this went on, the less either of them seemed to be able to say something that would make the situation improve. And, however gradually, the more turned on Anna began to feel by having her friend's eyes upon her that way.

"Elsa," Anna finally breathed.

"Huh?" That was it. Nothing more coherent, and no movement of her head or eyes.

"Elsa, do you… want to see more?" That question sounded so ridiculous, so flat. But if she tried to ask it another way, in a flippant or off-colour fashion full of winks and nudges, it would send the message that she wasn't serious. That she didn't take Elsa's well-being seriously.

The answer, after a few more seconds, was "No." But Elsa didn't stop staring. Couldn't. Finally, feeling thoroughly confused, Anna pulled the blanket back over her lap, just to see what happened - and it was like a spell being broken. "Sorry," Elsa sighed, running a hand over her face. "I spaced. What were we talking about?"

"That's… are you kidding me?" When Elsa merely furrowed her eyebrows, Anna spluttered for a second before she was able to articulate her frustration. "You're gonna pretend that didn't just happen? That you didn't… whatever, glare a hole through my vajayjay?"

"I didn't see your-"

"You were staring right at it, even if it wasn't in the open! I don't get you sometimes, what… I mean, were you expecting me to have a dick or something?"

"NO!" Elsa burst out immediately! "I mean, you never said you had one, so why on Earth would I expect that?!"

"Well, I don't know, okay?! All I know is, you just spent a few minutes locked in a staring contest with my pubes, and now you're trying to act like it never happened!"

Finally, Elsa's shoulders slumped and she buried her face in her hands. "I know, I know, I just… that's not what I was expecting to see today. It caught me off guard. I promise I wasn't thinking anything weird, okay? This is just the first time I've ever seen… someone undressed. Besides myself, or my mother when I was tiny. You know what I mean."

"That's fine," Anna sighed in frustration. "And it would have been okay if you were thinking something 'weird'. I swear it would have."

"Well, I wasn't."

"Why not?" Scooting forward, but making sure the blanket was still firmly in place, she asked, "Why don't you see me that way? Am I… is it the 'two girls' thing? Because other than this, you sure as hell seem to be comfortable holding hands and making out in public."

"Those aren't the same thing," Elsa protested. "Just because I want to be with you and for the world to know we're together doesn't mean that I want- that I'm r-ready for- it's… they are two different topics, okay?"

"Yeah, but I don't understand, and you won't talk about the topics! I just… I'm really frustrated! And I mean that in every sense!" To punctuate this point, she shook the sheets hiding her half-nakedness.

"You mean you didn't take out your 'frustrations' last night while you were making your underwear disappear?"

Anna decided she had had enough of pussy-footing around - even though she had been asking questions here and there. "No, I didn't. I just hit the 'snooze' button on my body. And now the alarm is ringing again." Swallowing hard, she tried to catch Elsa's eyes, but couldn't. "I want you, okay? Really, really bad. You made me come right out and say it, and now I feel stupid because apparently, you don't want me. But that's fine, I guess. I'll just keep doing what I did last night, and feeling stupid."

"But that isn't… it's more complicated than that."

"Why?! Why are you complicating something that's not-"

"Because I am NOT YOU, Zielinski!" Elsa burst out angrily, standing and shouting down at Anna. Then, when Anna shrank back from the outburst, bewildered, she pinched the bridge of her nose. "This… is a hard conversation, and I'm too hungry to keep doing it. Can we please just go to breakfast?"

Standing up, Anna reached for Elsa, but she heard a squeak of fright and watched her turn around. That quickly, she had already forgotten she was bottomless, so she looked around until she found the clothes that had been laid out and snatched the pair of boyshorts from on top. "Listen," she grunted as she struggled into them. "I can't lie, I'm super worried and I don't know if I can even eat right now, but if that's what you want, that's what we'll do, okay?"

"Good. I'll go let you get dressed. I… need a minute, to be honest. Knock on my door when you're ready?"

Then she was gone, leaving Anna alone with her whirlwind of thoughts and wondering where the previous night's panties really were, anyway. As she would find out three weeks later, they had somehow ended up inside her pillowcase.

~ TO BE CONTINUED ~