This fic came about as like, just me writing shit, and then writing more. inspired by poly relationships because i think they're wonderful; kristelsanna, because i also think that's wonderful; and 'just friends' by ubertastic. dedicated punzelsanna, author of 'table for three' coz he's been totally rad. title credit goes to olofahere (and you should read their stuff too :P )

part one of three. next part will be uploaded next week sometime :)

It started, as these things often do, with a dare. The nature of a dare is to be, understandably, daring. Uncover new ground, broaden horizons. Take the recipients from their comfort zone and into a situation they wouldn't get into themselves.

By this point, it's highly likely that you'll have figured out the particular kind of dare. Oh, nothing too bad – though of course, it depends on how you define 'bad' for that to be true, too. It was nothing bad enough that doing it in front of a group of people would cause serious harm.

It was still not something Elsa had ever entertained.

For reasons she kept to herself, Elsa was not, by nature, an extroverted person. In fact, others were more likely to define her as 'anxious', 'quiet', and by her ever-present moniker, 'Ice Queen' – an unfortunate nickname borne of an even more unfortunate incident in junior high. Suffice to say, she did not have many friends.

But in cases like these, the number of friends mattered far less than the sheer willpower of those one did have.

Anna.

Anna was the best friend of our hero. Chirpy and redheaded, she was the last person anyone ever expected to be friends with someone as distant as Elsa, and yet, upon further thought, the best person for the job. It was because of Anna that Elsa was even in a position to be playing 'Truth or Dare'. Elsa was not one for parties, but a pleading look was all it really took.

So they'd arrived and had a few drinks. Elsa loosened up enough for people to think she might not be as terrible as the rumours say, and more than enough to concede to playing the childish game. After all, Anna was playing too. What could go wrong?

"I dare you to make-out with Kristoff!"

Enter the Boyfriend. Anna's boyfriend. Kristoff was the pinnacle of manhood. A true 'alpha male'. Broad-chested, with a mop of blond hair, and captain of the hockey team, he had all the makings of utter dickheadedness.

But he wasn't. He was kind. He was kind to Anna, and even though he didn't really know how to interact with Elsa most of the time, he still saw fit to extend that kindness to her anyway.

It had not been Anna to voice the dare, but when Elsa glanced at her, she didn't seem opposed to it. There was a tipsy flush to her cheeks as she watched on some kind of abject fascination.

She didn't say no.

Kissing Kristoff was... well. Elsa liked girls. That was her thing. Kinda, maybe, sort of. Didn't mean she didn't like boys, but if she had to choose one over the other, girls would always win, hands down. But Kristoff was... nice. Could be the fact that she'd had a few drinks, too, but his lips were soft and gentle and his hands stayed appropriately on his own knees.

Until Elsa leaned forward – leaned up – and suddenly he had to steady her.

When they broke apart, Anna wasn't the only one staring, mouth ajar.

And thus, it started with a dare.

The thing with catalysts is that they're usually quite minor. Easily forgettable, save for the events that follow. A forgotten loaf of bread can result in a ten-car pile up and twice as many funerals. A bouquet of flowers can make or break a relationship, on occasion. A missed bus can influence the tide of destiny, and a few months down the line, you might be invited to a wedding or baby shower that you never expected.

This kiss was one such catalyst.

In the moment, it was something pushed to the side. Elsa wakes the next day hungover, as one is wont to do after a night of drinking. She makes her coffee and her way to her part-time job. She unjams their shitty printer and speaks to angry customers. Shuffles appointments, has her lunch. And she doesn't think of the kiss.

At least, she doesn't think about it until she does, and then it is all she can think about.

She tries to convince herself it isn't worth the brainpower. What is there to think on, anyway? It was good. Pleasant. She's never really been all that interested in romantic relationships, and even less so with intimate ones, but hey, that's not to say that she's against them.

Sometimes she regrets telling Anna that part, if only because her friend can't see how she doesn't – can't? won't? – fall in love.

But, she can't change the past.

There's an unspoken rule that Anna goes to Kristoff's when they want some time together, instead of the boy coming over to their place, but Elsa knows it's wrong of her to expect them to uphold that every time. Kristoff has his own roommates, and Anna's certainly old enough to make her own decisions.

Still, she doesn't expect to come home one day to find them necking on the sofa, Anna sitting astride his lap while his hands rest on her waist.

Elsa briefly remembers how it felt to have his hands at her side, but that thought is just as swiftly pushed to the side.

When they catch sight of Elsa, Anna jumps up, leaving Kristoff to flounder for a cushion to hide his obvious hard-on. Elsa tries her best not to look.

"Hey!" Anna says, a little too loud to be natural. "Uh, we thought you'd be out longer. We only got in like, a few minutes ago..."

Elsa nods, pointedly ignoring Kristoff – who's finally succeeded in covering himself.

"That's okay," she replies. "I was, um, gonna go out and get some dinner. Be like, half an hour. You want anything?"

Anna shakes her head. "Whatever's fine. We'll uh, see you when you get back?"

They're already closing Anna's bedroom door behind them, before Elsa has even walked back out the front door.

And that's just one more thing in Anna's list of 'Things I don't understand about Elsa'. Mostly because Elsa doesn't like love (or so she thinks) and Elsa doesn't like sex (even though she's never had it). It's something Elsa's stopped trying to explain to her because Anna doesn't get it. Even Elsa doesn't understand half the time, which certainly doesn't help. Sometimes she thinks Anna's terrified Elsa will never find 'the one', but that's only a problem if one subscribes to that line of thought.

Elsa doesn't.

Anna keeps sending her odd looks. They're eating kung pao chicken and watching Juno, and Elsa can feel Anna's eyes wandering over to her. She wipes her face, but it mustn't be because she's got food all over herself because Anna doesn't seem to stop.

After the movie, she sort of stops, and she doesn't exactly continue onto the next few days, but she's still... weird. Acting strange. Elsa can't really place it, just knows that she is, and that's what matters.

So, she seeks a higher authority for guidance.

"Punz, my roommate's acting weird. What do I do?"

Her cousin gives a laugh. It sounds really tinny and crackly through their shit phone connection, and Elsa has to pull the phone away from her ear a little. She's never met Anna, but this isn't the first time Elsa's talked about her. And yeah, she's probably called Anna strange before. But this is different.

"I dunno. Any reason why she would be?" Rapunzel asks. Elsa gnaws on her bottom lip, fully aware that Rapunzel can't see it. There's only one thing she can think of, really. Maybe Anna's been acting odd since then, and Elsa just never picked it up.

"I kinda...made out with her boyfriend in front of her..." she says in a soft voice. There's a noise that sounds like a laugh mixed with a choke, and Elsa bites her lip again.

"What?" Rapunzel asks. "Why would you do that? I thought you were gay?"

Elsa gives a long-suffering sigh. "I'm not-straight, Punz, there's a difference," she says. "And it was part of a dare. Kristoff kissed me first!"

Rapunzel doesn't say anything for a moment, When she does, it's slow and thoughtful, maybe only because it's such an obvious answer to the problem.

"Why don't you just...ask her?" she asks.

Elsa doesn't end up answering. Isn't sure how because, yeah, she probably should have thought about that. Rapunzel seems to understand, and she lets it go, and they chat about stupid family shit for a while.

But Elsa's much more confident when she hangs up, and resolves to ask Anna next time she seems to do something strange.

Anna approaches her one day after class, a few days after her phone call with Rapunzel. This probably counts as strange, but Kristoff's with her, so Elsa's not exactly keen on voicing her concerns.

She's sitting in the university café, eating a sandwich and trying to read a very long, very boring journal article on- honestly, she can't even remember at this point. She's more than happy to put it aside to entertain her friends, at any rate. They order a coffee and sit with her and talk shit about classes and teachers, and before Elsa knows it, it's 5:30 and the staff keep sending them desperate looks to leave.

Kristoff stays for dinner, and he and Anna keep looking at each other whenever they think Elsa's distracted. She's only making pasta – it doesn't take a lot of brainpower. Certainly not enough for her to be oblivious to the looks, but she's not courageous enough to mention it. All in all, dinner's quite comfortable. Anna carries the conversation, getting spaghetti sauce everywhere.

After dinner's over, Elsa's just about to escape into her room to get some more study done when Anna calls her name.

"Hey, uh... Kristoff and I wanna ask you something..."

She's blushing bright red and Kristoff isn't looking at Elsa at all. So she sits back down and bites her lip. Tries not to let the fear creep into her voice when she asks, "what- what's up?"

Elsa takes the news of their conversation less favourably than they'd hoped, but more so than they expected.

"You want to what?" she repeats, voice incredulous. Anna's biting her lip to hold back the nervous grin that keeps trying to overtake her face, and Kristoff's biting his in a rare display of nerves.

Anna's not really one to sugarcoat her words, and this time was no different. When Kristoff had approached her with the idea, she had been rather sceptical. Now, she can't believe she hadn't thought of it herself.

"Sex. With us. We...both trust you. And like you. And like, it's just an idea. You don't have to say yes or no now. Just...wanted to ask..."

Wide-eyed, Elsa just shakes her head dumbly. "I need to- I'll let you know," she says. Kristoff gives a tight smile as Anna's drops, but at least the redhead doesn't push it again.

Elsa closes her bedroom door behind her, all thoughts of homework completely gone from her mind.

What the fuck.

Work and classes keep Elsa from seeing Anna, but she also has a vague impression that the redhead is... not avoiding her, per se. Just... giving her space to think.

Three days after the strange conversation has Elsa arriving at an answer, sort of, but she's not too sure how to actually tell Anna.

She approaches the redhead one night after dinner, when Anna's in front of the TV. Anna doesn't even notice her standing there until she gives a little cough, and then it's like she's never concentrated on a single human with such ferocity before.

Elsa's words, when she says them, come out far weaker than she would have liked.

"What...would this entail?"

Anna looks at her blankly for a second before her eyes widen and her mouth morphs into a smile. "You're agreeing?" she asks softly, likely out of sheer surprise than anything. Elsa swallows nervously and shook her head.

"N-not yet. This isn't a 'yes', or a 'we'll try it'," she says. "I wanna know what I'm getting into."

Anna's fully aware that Elsa's never done this before. That she's only got one friend, and if she started sleeping with her (plus boyfriend), it could ruin one of the only good relationships she has.

But Elsa likes to think that it won't ruin anything. That they could become physically intimate without any repercussions of a negative nature. It's not like she's going to fall in love with either of them. She can't. She doesn't work that way.

Anna shrugs. "Kris and I hadn't really thought of the logistics," she says. "Just thought, well, condoms and lube and shit. We're all clean – you haven't been with anyone, and I know where we've been."

That actually hurts a little more than Elsa's willing to let on. Sure, she hasn't ever found anyone to do the do with, and not necessarily from lack of trying. It's just... relationships are hard. Finding someone willing to try had always been harder.

But she just smiles because this is a chance she hasn't ever really had before and, well, she can always stop if she wants. If she doesn't like it or it gets too much.

So she nods her head. "I...think this could be fun," she says, and Anna just squeals and jumps up, wrapping her in a hug.

"This is going to be so much fun," she agrees.

The first time is precisely as awkward as Elsa had thought it would be. Numerous google searches, yahoo answers forums, and porn had given her some idea of what to expect.

They actually do it in Anna's room because her bed is bigger. Elsa has heard them 'going at it' on several separate occasions when they thought she wasn't home. Now, it feels absurd being in the room at the same time.

They start with top layers. Everyone shimmies down to their underwear, and Elsa's got a sinking feeling in her gut that maybe she's made some kind of terrible mistake, and would they hate her if she backed out now? It's not like they have an actual contract to uphold or anything.

But then she catches sight of Anna, wearing this awesome lace set that Elsa's only ever seen in an expensive lingerie shop window, freckles on full display. She kind of wants a hug. And that's probably weird – she isn't here for hugs – but hugs are familiar. This is not.

She gets a delicious view of Anna's ass when the redhead crawls onto the bed, and she isn't even aware of Kristoff as he steps up and touches her briefly on the arm.

"You don't have to do this if you're uncomfortable," he says softly. The words themselves are comforting, and Elsa shakes her head.

"N-no, I want to try," she says. "Just...don't know how..."

A vicious rumour in senior year about frigid pussies and frozen dicks had pretty much guaranteed no one wanted to sleep with her, even if she had wanted to sleep with them. It had bothered her at the time (if 'bothered' could accurately describe how she felt about it) but it was yet another thing that had shaped who she was today.

Kristoff looks a bit surprised, like he can't believe she's never had a dick in her before, before Anna calls them over. She's completely topless and looking pretty much like she's ready to go, waiting impatiently for them. Suddenly, Elsa feels like she could do this. Like it isn't as weird as it is.

She's actually not wrong.

What is kinda weird is how everything else changes. Kristoff comes over more often, and Elsa actually starts getting used to hanging out with him without sleeping together.

But it's not weird, which is what she expected it to be. It's odd, perhaps, but they don't become awkward or uncomfortable together. Even Anna's all cool with it. Elsa has a distinct impression that maybe she's been with a girl before, but if she has, she keeps quiet about it.

They've only really been friends for a few years – since second semester first year, actually – but this is all new ground. Even though Anna's always been giving with her touches, it still seems to increase ten-fold. Hugs are given freely, as are pecks to the cheek (though to a lesser degree).

Her relationship with Kristoff improves ten-thousand-fold. He takes her ice-fishing one day and they have an absolute blast. Anna had refused to go, so it became a them thing. His old Nintendo 64 finds its way to their apartment and they play Mario Party 3 for eight hours one Saturday while procrastinating three assignments and a lab report.

After all, they don't sleep together every single night. Sometimes Kristoff comes around and they'll have a nice meal and watch a movie before falling asleep on the couch. He's doing a similar degree to her, so they meet up and exchange notes and work on assignments together, too. Elsa finds she actually likes hanging out with him. He's calm and collected (more so than Anna). He doesn't smile as much, and is definitely more cynical, but Elsa gets a warm feeling in her chest when she does coax a grin out of him.

Of course, some nights they do have sex. Anna usually initiates it – Elsa has a feeling that threesomes don't usually happen as often as hers seem to be, but she's not going to complain. She's never- she's not a sex-oriented person, but she can't say she doesn't enjoy it. Now she's got another person she can call 'good friend', and she can finally understand all that hoo-rah that revolves around sex without having to muddle her way through a relationship.

The whole arrangement continues well into the semester. Elsa's pretty glad that she and Anna live in a real apartment, because she's heard some horror stories about RAs and being walked in on.

Sometimes they'll drink beforehand. There's always more fumbling and giggling those nights, but they're always more fun, too. Less expectation on finishing and more on just being together.

"I wanna try something different tonight," Anna starts, as soon as they've had dessert and Kristoff's putting away leftovers.

Both he and Elsa send each other a look, mostly because this isn't the first time Anna's 'wanted to try something different'. Elsa's had to ban cream from the bedroom after Anna got too excited and ate so much of it she almost puked. And that's only the first instance.

But they file dutifully into the bedroom, and Anna calls out from the kitchen, "Okay! Get naked!" Elsa rolls her eyes, and then rolls them again at the, "But don't start without me," that follows soon after.

Getting naked isn't the same anxiety-riddled affair that it once was. Elsa's pretty confident with herself now, knows Kristoff and Anna like it. Maybe coz she doesn't bother doing anything with what she's got. She's lucky if she remembers to shave her legs most days, let alone down there.

Kristoff isn't a hairy guy either. He's got a few patches on his chest that Elsa likes to run her hands through sometimes, but he's not like, the Ape Man. His hair is blond, too, which is a much nicer aesthetic.

So they fold their clothes up and sit on the edge of the bed and wait. Anna curses from out in the living room somewhere, and there's a loud fwoomp, but she covers it with a cough and an, "I'm fine! You guys ready?"

"Yeah," Kristoff calls back. There's an apprehension in his voice, and Elsa has to mask a grin because that's the sort of thing Anna inspires.

It, and any remnant of it, drops from her face when Anna walks into the room.

She's naked, which isn't unusual, but god has she always looked that... sexy? It's not really a word Elsa's all that familiar with, mostly because no one had ever really inspired a feeling of 'fuck me I need to push you against a wall and have my way with you' before. Anna had never inspired that before. Well, before now.

Her legs seem longer, skin creamier. She carries a bit of fat around her thighs and stomach, and Elsa has a vague notion to sink her teeth into it at some point because god those thighs look good. Elsa's nipped them before. She's kissed and sucked and squeezed before, and she's aware enough of her body to know it's having a reaction. A slight movement next to her let her know Kristoff was having the same one. Though, he'd always seen Anna's thighs. He doesn't go hard at the first sign of nudity.

No, it's probably the strap-on, jutting from Anna's body, that's doing it for him.

Elsa swallows thickly, and when she tries not to stare, she only succeeds in catching Anna's eye, who just so happens to be looking straight at Elsa. With a salacious wink, she steps forward, further into the room.

She winks at Kristoff too, but otherwise ignores him as she steps in front of Elsa. It doesn't take much before Elsa's lying on her back, legs dangling over the edge of the bed, eyes staring into Anna's as the other girl crawls on top of her.

Swallowing again, Elsa's eyes flicker down the length of her body. She can feel, more than see, the strap-on, nudging the top of her leg. When Anna's hand comes up to cup her cheek, her eyes rush up again.

"So..." she starts, but a thumb over her lips shushes her. Anna leans further forward, until their bodies are almost touching, and her lips nudge at Elsa's ear. She takes the soft skin into her teeth and pulls gently, eliciting a hum from Elsa.

"So," she whispers. Elsa's not sure if Kristoff can hear her, but that thought flies out the window at Anna's next words anyway. "I really want to fuck you."

With a gentle nudge, Anna encourages Elsa to crawl backwards up the bed. Kristoff's still sitting in the same place, eyes wide and dick leaking already. Elsa can't blame him because she can't ever remember being this turned on. She's pretty sure, if she looked, she'd notice a dark spot under where she'd been sitting, but Anna takes over again before she has a chance.

"Do you know how fucking hot you look when Kristoff fucks you?" she asks, and he's gotta be able to hear it.

There's a sharp intake of breath that Elsa's pretty sure isn't hers, mostly because she can't seem to catch it in the first place. Her heart is beating a samba in her chest, and Anna's not doing a thing about it.

"So how about it?" she says. "Can I fuck you while Kristoff watches?"

Elsa's pretty sure all but the vital functions of her brain have shut down. Anna's eyes bore into hers and she can't look away. She manages a whimper, but that's about it. Anna moves slightly, spreads Elsa's legs and slides between them. Leans forward and takes Elsa's bottom lip between her teeth.

"C'mon, Elsa. Use your words," she urges, a wicked gleam in her eyes. Elsa throws her head back when a hand – no idea whose at this point – brushes her breast, and the cock between Anna's legs nudges at her core.

"Oh god fuck yes," she finally manages, the words choked and breathless. The smirk on Anna's face, if possible, widens, and she bites her lip in a way that was most definitely supposed to be seductive.

"I was hoping you'd say that..."

Kristoff invites them both to his place for Thanksgiving. His family's large enough as it is; two more mouths are nothing.

They roadtrip it halfway across the country, with Anna choosing terrible music and Elsa trying not to throw up. They alternate driving, with Elsa doing the early morning stints because she likes the peace, and is less likely to get car sick.

She almost jumps out of her skin when she feels Anna's hand on hers.

"Hey," she says softly, trying not to wake Kristoff. He's slumbering in the backseat, and Elsa doesn't think he'll wake for anything. "Want me to drive for a bit?"

Elsa shakes her head. "Nah. I'm good. Go to sleep, Anna."

The redhead pouts, but Elsa can't help the little giggle that bubbles up when she's interrupted by a yawn.

"Fine," Anna grumbles. "But if you start feeling tired..."

Elsa nods. "I know."

She doesn't notice until Anna's completely out and snoring, but the girl never moved her hand.

Kristoff's family is super nice and they all hug Elsa when they first meet her (all eighteen adults and thirty-four children). And then they say that this is only half the family because everyone else lives abroad, and Kristoff gives an odd little chuckle.

But hey, they don't say anything about the fact that he's brought his girlfriend's friend, because even now, it's the easiest way to define their relationship. They just smile and pass her the potato salad and ask about classes her classes.

She gets a little sad towards the end of it because...well, there's a reason she didn't go to her own home for the holiday. When she'd rung her mother to let her know she was going somewhere else, the old woman hadn't even seemed that upset. She likes Kristoff's family. She just wishes her own could be so happy.

She realises, just as they're preparing for exam season, that it's exam season, and therefore almost the end of the year, and therefore, almost Christmas.

And Christmas means presents and what the fuck is she supposed to get them?

It actually sends her off into a minor panic because she doesn't know what to get them – doesn't know what's appropriate to get them. Last year, she got Anna a four-pound chunk of Belgian chocolate. This year it needs to be something a bit more...meaningful. Maybe something they can all do together – an experience, as it were.

Before she goes to bed that night, she checks her emails. It's mostly junk, but there's one that catches her eye. A holiday, of sorts. It's a little far away, but flights aren't that expensive, and it would be a nice escape.

She flags the email and sets herself a reminder for the weekend. This warrants looking into.

There's a snazzy new Chinese restaurant in town that Anna's desperate to try out. She books a reservation for Sunday night and doesn't tell Kristoff or Elsa until about an hour beforehand. They rush to have showers and get ready, and Elsa hasn't even put her hair up when Anna's pushing her out the door.

"Keep it out," she says. "Looks better that way."

Elsa has to bite her lip to stop the smile from exploding over her face.

The restaurant is new. Elsa's pretty sure that there used to be a different one here, but that it blew up or something. There was an article in the local paper – something about roach bombs – and it just looks like an insurance job.

But the meal probably only comes to twenty bucks a head, plus drinks, so she's not exactly going to complain. The dumplings and Sichuan chicken is absolutely awesome, and watching Kristoff struggle with chopsticks is hilarious for the entire meal, if only because he refuses to ask for a fork.

But they share the food and Anna steals a sip of Elsa's wine. She's got this look on her face, like she's being all flirty, but also not because this is just what Anna's like. And Elsa maybe wants dinner to hurry up because she has a feeling that they won't be doing much actual sleeping tonight and she's 110% okay with that.

She's right, of course. Elsa ends up being pretty grateful that Anna convinced her to leave her hair down, because it kind of feels awesome when it's being tugged on. Anna buries her hands in Elsa's hair while Elsa eats her out, and she doesn't even know where Kristoff is. At least, not until he pulls her hips up and slides into her from behind

Elsa can't honestly say she lasts long in that position. It's not really a bad thing. She gets sensitive, but that just means she can play with Anna's boobs while Kristoff fucks her. Can move behind him and run her nails along his chest and lightly scratch his nipples. Press her own breasts into him and kiss his neck because he likes it.

It's nice.

She wakes up sometime in the wee hours of the morning. She's falling off the edge of the bed, and it's only because there's a cool draft beneath the blanket that she even woke up at all. She tries to manoeuvre herself into a warmer, more comfortable position, and she tries to do it as quietly as possible, but then she rolls over and comes face-to-face with Anna. It's only by the light of a streetlamp that she even notices Anna's awake, and it's only from that light that she sees a little grin, cocked on her face.

"Cold?" Anna asks – whispers, more like. It's gotta be stupidly early Monday morning, and Elsa's pretty sure Kristoff has work in a few hours.

She huffs out a silent laugh. "Why? You steal my blankets?"

Anna shrugs and bites her lip. "Maybe I just want you to snuggle me, you freezer."

And it kinds feels like Elsa's heart has beaten right out of her chest, and she can't quite figure out why. So she rolls on top of Anna and buries her head in Anna's neck.

"Mmm you are warm," she says. This time, Anna laughs, but it's more like a bark of air. Elsa lifts her head to look at her. They're so close, less than an inch and they'd be kissing.

"Feel better?" Anna asks instead, and Elsa can't tell whether she's looking at her eyes or her lips.

So, she sucks her bottom lip into her mouth and shuffles a little bit. "Much better." And that was probably a little over the line and way too flirty for a purely physical relationship, but Elsa kind of wants to kiss Anna, but she also kind of wants the redhead to make the first move. It feels better that way.

And Anna doesn't disappoint. She closes the distance, with one hand coming up to press the back of Elsa's head, and the other trailing down her back to cup her ass.

Or course, Elsa fights back. And, she's actually gotten pretty good at fighting dirty. She uses both hands to deepen the kiss, pressing back as hard as she can. Once she's satisfied with Anna's complete lack of breath, she uses one hand to guide Anna's thigh, wrapping her leg below Elsa's butt. She grinds down, which is when Anna pulls away.

"Elsa!" she hisses under her breath. "Wha- we can't do this. Kristoff has work tomorrow!"

They both glance over to the slumbering man. He hasn't moved an inch, aside from the steady up and down of his shoulders as he breaths in and out. The corner of Elsa's lips twitch up, and she nips at Anna's cheeks.

"Well, you better be quiet," she says softly. Anna only answers by fusing their lips together again.

She's too late, when she finally goes back to purchase that present, for Christmas. The holiday is only a few short weeks away – two weeks of exams, and then holidays until mid-January. Elsa's going home (not that she wants to) but she still loves her parents. Needs to go and show how she's grateful and shit.

So, she's too late for Christmas, but they still have spots open for February, and, well. Valentine's Day. She's never ever participated, but it would be nice for once.

A coupla hundred bucks later, and she has a hotel booking and three seats to see The Wonderful Wizard of Oz on stage because it's Kristoff's childhood film and she loves it, and Anna's never seen it anyway but she loves doing that sort of stuff.

Elsa prints out the receipt and stuffs it in her desk, and she realises that she has no idea how she'll last until February. Especially if she wants to keep it a secret.

It's so going to be worth it.

"When are you coming up?"

Elsa's mother's voice is quiet through the landline connection, and Elsa's not sure what she wants as an answer. Does she want Elsa to just make the perfunctory 'hi family' visit, or does she actually want to spend some time with her daughter? She doesn't know. She...wants to see her dad. And her cousin. Aunt Gerda makes the best stained glass biscuits and Uncle Kai always comes out Christmas light looking with her.

So she does the best she can, and tries to make it easy. "Few days before Christmas, maybe," she says. "Got some assignments to finish."

Which is, of course, a complete lie, but her mother doesn't know that.

"Are you bringing a boy with you?" she asks, and Elsa pinches the bridge of her nose.

"No, Mom, I'm not bringing anyone."

There's a sigh through the line that rattles in Elsa's head. "I wish you would just try, Elsa. We won't be around forever. I'm sure your father would like to know his only daughter's being looked after.'"

Elsa has to actually bite her lip to cut off the sharp retort. She mostly succeeds, but the blunt, "I'll see you at Christmas, Mom," echoes down the line for all of two seconds before she's ended the call.

It's not like she can exactly tell her mother she's boning her roommate's boyfriend. Never mind the fact that she's also sleeping with her roommate, and usually at the same time as each other.

The memory of Anna taking her while Kristoff watched is seared into her mind, and Elsa briefly entertains the idea of asking them to Christmas lunch. She let out a little laugh at her mental image of her mom, who probably wouldn't appreciate it.

Still, it would be nice. Maybe she'll invite them after exams are over. The last road-trip was nice. This one could be even better.

Elsa's chopping lettuce for tacos when Anna storms her way into the kitchen. She's been out for most of the day, and though Elsa's pretty happy she's home, she wasn't really expecting her to be back so early.

Neither was she expecting her to be in such a mood, either.

Anna's bedroom door slams shut behind her, and it's only the muffled scream that echoes from beneath the wood that has Elsa approaching. She usually just lets Anna ride it out, whatever's made her upset, kind of because she doesn't want to feel the redhead's wrath, but mostly because she never really knows what to say.

But not this time. She gently knocks on the door, and without a protest from Anna, pushes it open.

Anna's lying on her bed, sniffling into the pillow. She doesn't react when Elsa sits on the edge of her bed, but she does shuffle closer when Elsa begins stroking her hair.

"Wanna talk about it?" she asks. Anna shakes her head.

"No," she says, but it's muffled and she's still moving. Her face is pressed to Elsa's stomach when she speaks again. "My dick ex is back in town. Ran into him at the supermarket."

Elsa coos softly. She's never met the ex, and she doesn't know what when down, but she's never known Anna to actually hate another person, aside from him.

"Want me to ring Kristoff?" This time, Anna offers a half-hearted shrug.

So she pulls herself away and returns to the kitchen. Her phone's charging next to the microwave, and as she goes through her contacts, she wonders to herself briefly why Kristoff isn't on speed-dial. Or at least in her favourites. His picture is of him and Elsa – a selfie when they caught a fish during one of their trips. She's wearing his beanie, and bright red from the sun. He doesn't look very amused by the picture, but Elsa knows he likes it. She's pretty sure it's his picture for her on his phone, too.

She's so engrossed in the picture that she forgets for a moment what she's doing. Before she can resume, however, there's a pair of hands on her hips and a warm breath brushing over her neck.

When she turns around, Anna's blushing and biting her bottom lip. "Kinda...thought of something better," she says softly. Her hands are still on Elsa's hips, and she can feel Anna's fingers digging into her skin through her pants. She puts the phone down and grins, her own hands coming up to rest on Anna's waist.

"Oh yeah?"

She says it more to say something, because Anna's the least subtle person around and the way her eyes keep darting to Elsa's lips, and how she bites her own, it's pretty obvious what her 'better' idea was.

So Elsa isn't unprepared when Anna leans in and kisses her. Her butt's pushed against the counter by Anna's own hips, and it's actually kinda amazing how turned on she's getting just by making out with Anna.

"Yeah," Anna says into her mouth. It's wet and messy, and Elsa gets the impression Anna wants to make it even more so by the way her tongue drags over Elsa's lips, not even trying to find its way inside because, with the way Elsa's trying to catch it, it honestly wouldn't be that difficult.

"M-maybe we should – ah – should go to the bedroom?" Elsa asks, right when Anna slips her leg between Elsa's. She rolls her eyes but pulls away, and Elsa has a vague notion that she probably looks even more ruffled than Anna. And Anna's looking pretty ruffled.

She presses one more hard, telling kiss to Elsa's mouth before backing off completely, but they don't actually end up making it to the bedroom anyway because halfway down the hall, Elsa has an idea.

Anna's completely unprepared for Elsa to push her roughly against the wall, but the way she moans into her mouth when Elsa seals them together negates any bad feelings. Elsa slides her hands down the back of Anna's pants, scratching the soft skin of her ass before pulling them out. Anna gives a sad little moan that turns into an incredibly needy one when Elsa scoops her up by the thighs and wraps them around her own waist.

They've never had sex against a wall, but Anna seems to know precisely what she wants to do, and how she should go about doing it. Elsa wouldn't be surprised if she'd fantasised about this before. Anna likes certain things. Spontaneity is one. She likes leaving marks and scratches, and she loves being in control.

Not today, it seems, because Elsa doesn't even really have to touch her before she's arching off the wall. Her shirt's been thrown somewhere down the hall, and Elsa's scraping her teeth along the outside of Anna's bra. It's lacy, which is awesome, and she's fully aware that Anna's way too sensitive for her to do this completely nude.

Her hand is down Anna's pants, but their position, and the fact that Anna's even wearing pants, makes it really hard. Elsa's hand is cramping and her hair is sticking to her face uncomfortably, and it's only the way that Anna keeps keening out her name that encourages her to keep going.

She's just about to ask if she can put Anna down to take her pants off when the redhead lets out a particularly needy groan and a, "oh my fuck don't stop fuck." And that's a sign that she's probably really, really close because she's not a huge swearer unless she's really turned on.

So Elsa makes sure she's got as many fingers inside Anna as will fit (there's like, three at this point), and she flickers her thumb as best she can over Anna's clit.

And then Anna's screaming into her shoulder, hips grinding like mad as she makes the most of her orgasm. They're both panting and sweating, and even though it wasn't hers Elsa thinks that's probably the most rewarding orgasm she's ever witnessed.

Slowly, she pulls her fingers from Anna, who hasn't moved at all. Her legs are still wrapped around Elsa's waist, and her arms hang loosely over Elsa's shoulders. Elsa knows they'll need to have a shower anyway so she just uses her Anna-hand to stroke the back of her head.

"Feeling better?" she asks softly. It's kinda amazing how fast the heated atmosphere has changed to something a little softer. Anna gives a shaky nod into her shoulder, and when she lifts her head, Elsa's surprised to note that her eyes are a little red, a little damp.

But she doesn't ask about it because then Anna's placing a soft kiss on her lips. "That was amazing," she says. "You're amazing, Els."

And it's probably just a post-orgasm haze, but Elsa can't help the little swell in her chest at the praise. So she returns the kiss and slowly lowers Anna to the ground.

"Go have a shower," she says. "Dinner'll be ready in fifteen minutes." Anna pokes her tongue out, but her lips are still grinning. She walks – well, wobbles, rather – to her room, and Elsa's almost at the kitchen when she hears Anna's voice float down the hallway.

"Make sure you wash your hands, you grub!"

Biting her lip to suppress her grin, Elsa doesn't reply. Can't find her voice if she tried, and she's too busy replaying the last half-hour to do so anyway.

For some reason, Anna's exams and assignments start about two weeks after Kristoff and Elsa's. It means that while they're slaving away, looking through journal articles and cursing their calculators, she's watching with a chocolate bar in her hand and her brother's old DS in the other. She's not helping. Anna's actually waiting for someone to come pick her up for a movie-date-thing, and if Elsa's honest with herself, she kinda can't wait for her to leave. Not because of her, but because of Kristoff.

Elsa can see him struggling. He's smart, but not like, academia smart. He works hard and tries his best, but sometimes that isn't enough and things go wrong. He doesn't miss classes but Elsa can already tell, as he struggles to write a report on the laws of Mendelian inheritance.

He's been working on the same punnet square for over an hour, trying to find the pattern, and she can tell his patience is wearing thin. Elsa's already mostly finished, but she's slowed right down so Kristoff doesn't feel left behind. He still does, she thinks, but he doesn't say anything.

Suddenly, the doorbell rings. Anna jumps up, and whatever glimmer of concentration Kristoff had was shattered.

"Later!" Anna calls as she heads for the door. There's a muffled conversation as she greets her friend, and then she's gone. Elsa's silent for a few moments as she watches Kristoff stare forlornly at his work.

"Everything okay?" she eventually asks. His head shoots up and he tries to smile.

"I'm awesome," he lies.

Elsa doesn't know what compels her to do it, but she's just surprised as Kristoff is when her hand finds its way on top of his, and she squeezes his fingers softly. "You can talk to me, you know?" she says. His eyes widen briefly, and his mouth falls slack. This is the second time she's managed to surprise him, and she doesn't really know why.

He mumbles something, and it takes her mind a few seconds to catch up. "I'm just stupid," are his soft words, and Elsa feels her heart sink a little, chest growing cold.

"I'm sure you're not-"

He interrupts her with a self-deprecating laugh. "Anna's here on scholarship. You've already finished the assignment – don't lie and say you haven't. And I'm still working on the first fucking square." His voice cracks on the final word, and Elsa's not even going to bother pretending that she didn't hear it.

Instead she slides her chair closer and holds his hand a little tighter. "You're not stupid, Kristoff," she says, voice firmer than before. "Anna's got a good memory – doesn't make her smart. Just means she's good at winging things. You try so hard, and that's what matters."

He gives another laugh, but this time it's just watery. "Trying hard doesn't mean you'll pass," he says, and Elsa has to concede that no, it doesn't.

"I've done this before," she says instead. "It's why I'm good at it." Kristoff looks at her, a little confused about what she's saying, but he doesn't interrupt. "I...had no friends in high school. At all. No one to talk to or to spend recess with. So I'd do my homework and assignments. And then independent research because I thought that maybe if I had lots of things to talk about, I'd find someone who'd listen."

Telling the story doesn't hurt as much as it used to. There's not really much left to say, either. Obviously it didn't work. She'd entered those hellish years alone, and she'd left them like that, too.

But instead of dwelling, she smiles up at him. "So, if you like, I want to help.."

The smile that appears on his face is only small, but Elsa returns it. She doesn't see him smile nearly often enough.

He ends up passing. Almost does as good as Elsa, but he doesn't care because he passed.

"That's the best I've ever done in a class," he tells her when he gets the results back. She just smiles because all he really needed was someone to go through it and be patient.

So they've finished their assessment just as Anna's starting, and yeah, she wasn't much help to them but they still care. So Kristoff makes a tuna casserole and Elsa buys a nice wine. They set the table for a six o'clock meal, but by 6:30, Anna's messaged them a be home later! sorry xx.

Elsa's already uncorked the wine, so she just goes ahead and pours it anyway. It's a bit more potent than she first realised, but it's sweet and dry, and goes really well with the casserole.

They eat in front of the TV because there's a documentary on arctic ecosystems that they're both interested in. The wine gets to Elsa's head a little, not really surprising, but it could also be Kristoff's warmth when he's pressed against her. He smells like soap and lilac, and his arm finds its way around Elsa's shoulders when she snuggles in further.

She's not really sure when it changes from snuggling to kissing. She's not even sure who made the first move before suddenly she's on his lap with her hands in his hair. His hands are on her waist, thumbs rubbing circles into her skin.

He's soft. And it's not like Elsa's never made out with him before, because she totally has, but this time it's different, too. His lips are insistent against hers – not needy, not rough. Her tongue swipes at his bottom lip, and she nibbles it a little, eliciting a small sigh.

And then he's pulling away. His hands leave her sides only to clench between them.

"I- we can't do this," he says. He doesn't look at her, and with a start, Elsa scrambles from his lap. He remains on the lounge, and even though he's sitting down, she feels so much smaller than him.

"Oh god," Elsa says. "I'm so- sorry."

"It's fine," he says. "Just, uh..."

And her body knows what he's going to say before her mind catches up, but that's not the point. She doesn't want to hear him say it, but of course, he does anyway.

"This is a three-thing, yeah? You're part of it but like...I'm dating Anna..."

And she doesn't understand, not really. Because it wasn't just a 'three-thing'. It didn't feel like a 'them and me'. A 'two-plus-one'. But Kristoff is looking at her, his eyes wide and pleading for her to understand. So, she nods her head. "I'm sorry," she says again. Her gaze falls to the floor and Kristoff stands up, but he doesn't touch her.

"I better... better go," he says, and if Elsa could lie to herself, she might think he sounded regretful that he was leaving. Might be able to fool herself that it wasn't regret of their actions.

She doesn't know what Anna would do if she found out. Surely nothing...bad. She'd done worse with the girl. A harmless make-out session was just that.

"Can you not tell Anna?" she says softly as he's walking out the door. "Please?"

As if that isn't a great huge sign that there's something more, but he just looks at her and nods. Probably doesn't even realise.

"I won't lie to her," he says, and well. Elsa doesn't know what to make of that.

She lets him go without saying another word, and spends the rest of the night trying to muddle her way through thoughts and feelings she'd really rather not.

Somehow, Anna figured out. Or Kristoff went ahead and told her anyway. Elsa hasn't seen him in over a week, and she knows Anna's going over to his place.

Just as easily as they included her, they've excluded her, too.

He was right. Just because she was part of their weird sex-tryst thing didn't mean that they cared for her beyond that. She was a good lay – good enough, at least. And then she had to go and do something stupid like kiss her best friend's boyfriend.

And the stupid thing is, them breaking it off hurts. Not because the sex, though that was nice. But...because breaking it off seems to include every facet. The N64 disappears one day when she's not looking. Kristoff posts another ice-fishing trip on Facebook, but never invited her. Even Anna... Elsa comes home to an empty house and TV dinners, because there's no point in cooking food if it's just for herself. There's no one for her to talk to.

It's probably better that they stop whatever this is before it gets out of hand. While she can still lie and tell herself that it's the oxytocin and orgasms.

So, even when Anna starts coming home more often, Elsa makes it her mission to be scarce. She'll stay at the library until it's shut, or picks up extra shifts at work. She doesn't get actual confirmation that whatever they've been doing is no more until after the end of exams, about two days before she leaves for home. Packing's done, so there's really nothing for her to do, and Anna actually manages to catch her at home.

She's just finishing in the bathroom when she hears the redhead come in. Elsa pulls the towel around herself a little tighter, aware of how the water from her hair runs in little rivulets across her shoulders, and aware that Anna's looking.

"I, uh." Anna starts speaking, but doesn't get very far. Elsa tries to believe it's because she's only wrapped in a towel, but Anna's always been the more articulate of the two (against everyone's expectations). "Can we talk?"

Elsa already knows exactly where this is going, but she nods anyway. Anna takes a seat on the end of her bed and averts her eyes as Elsa quickly changes.

"I heard about the kiss," she starts. Elsa makes the decision not to speak until she has to. "I don't really- I don't get why it happened. It kinda sucks, when you find out your boyfriend kissed another girl."

Elsa's heart sinks. Anna's making excuses, trying to justify it in her own mind. It hurts. It really hurts because it's not like she hasn't already kissed Kristoff. For the last six-months-or-so, she'd kiss him at least once a week, usually more. She made out with Anna when he wasn't there – on several occasions! What was different?

But she doesn't have the courage to say any of that, so she just stays silent.

"We were uh, talking," Anna continues. Her voice is thick, like she's actually upset at having to talk about this. Maybe she is. "And we...think that maybe we should stop. Like, don't get me wrong, it was fun and all. Just... don't really wanna keep doing it. Hey, at least you got practise in for when you get your own partner," she tries to joke, but it just hurts because that...was all it ever was to them. Sex. Anna's trying to justify her own reasons, and that stings too because Elsa knows she fucked up. Broke a rule they didn't even have. And now she's paying for it.

She wants to say something, but she knows now that if she tries to speak she won't be able to.

Instead she just nods and tries to smile. Anna isn't expecting a real one anyway.

"Good idea," she finally ends up saying. She manages to wait until Anna's left her room before breaking down into silent sobs.

Perhaps the worst thing about all this is that she has no one to talk to. She doesn't – can't – go fishing with Kristoff anymore. Anna avoids their apartment like the plague. The lease is up soon, and she wouldn't be surprised it Anna decides to move in with Kristoff.

Suddenly she's back in high school after someone had caught her kissing Belle D'Amboise behind the art building. She wasn't branded a leper – the French do things differently, naturally. But Elsa? No one wanted to be friends with a carpet-muncher.

She can't even call her family. Ma doesn't approve and Papa doesn't remember. Early Onset Alzheimer's is a bitch. He was the only one who accepted her, and he barely even remembers her name now.

Maybe if she could just apologise again. Blame a lapse in judgement. They'd never actually made a rule against kissing outside of the bedroom, after all.

But she can already picture Anna's sad eyes. Can imagine how she looked when she found out her best friend had made a move on her boyfriend.

And all she wants is a hug from them, telling her they still love her.

Christmas rolls around gracelessly, and Elsa finds herself back home, under the disapproving gaze of her mother, and somewhat hollow look of her father. He smiles when she first arrives there, calls him his little snowflake and gives her a hug. God he feels so frail in her arms, though. He's in a wheelchair, and he can't even push himself around. It makes Elsa feel like crying.

But really, that's all she's felt like doing since she'd left. Since Anna and Kristoff had pulled away. She'd managed to gather her courage and give them their gift before she left. As an apology, she said.

I'm sorry for falling for you, is what she didn't say.

But Anna was happy, if a bit tentative, and for the first time since they began, Kristoff had a look in his eye that she hadn't been able to decipher.

She hadn't been able to get a refund on her ticket, so she'd locked it safely away in her desk. Maybe she'd get lucky and be invited along. Maybe they'd forget her transgressions and welcome her back.

Her mother leads her to her old room, but she doesn't really say anything. She only speaks to offer a curt, "Dinner's in an hour. Make sure you wash up," before leaving Elsa to her own devices. Talking on the phone was always easier – they were able to lie and pretend. Not so much in person.

It's going to be a long week.

Rapunzel arrives two days later, the day before Christmas Eve. Elsa doubts she's ever looked forward so much, to seeing a friendly face. It's the first time since exams she's hugged anyone other than her father, and Elsa finds herself melting into the embrace.

Dinner is much less awkward with the Corona's added to the mix. Elsa swears her mother cracked a smile at one of her Uncle's horrid jokes.

But then her mother asks her cousin what her dating life is like, and Elsa's heart runs off like a spooked horse because she knows this will mean she'll be asked herself. Luckily, Rapunzel is very loud and thorough of all the good things about her beau – a man named Flynn, apparently, although that was his middle name, the way she explained it – and how they met, and how wonderful he was. Elsa's stomach had curdled in on itself by the time her cousin had finished, and she wasn't really in any state to answer such questions about herself.

Which was why, when she was asked, her answer was, "I was seeing a guy."

And the look of pure joy on her mother's face is enough to make her feel even worse, but everyone's attention is on her now so she can't escape.

"'Was'?" her mother asks. "Elsa-"

"Kristoff broke it off. Not me!" she says, pre-empting any complaint. And then she catches her cousin's eye and fuck because Rapunzel knew Kristoff only as the boyfriend of her roommate.

Just. Fuck.

"So. Boning your roommate's boyfriend. No wonder he broke it off."

Elsa's disappeared to the local park for some peace and quiet. She's not really surprised Rapunzel followed her, but this is honestly the last thing she wants to deal with right now, so she doesn't say anything.

"Pfft, c'mon, Els. Not like I'm gonna judge. Just surprised is all. Didn't think anyone would ever catch your eye like that. Spose I shoulda realised, what with how you spoke 'bout him on the phone."

Swallowing, Elsa stares down at her shoes. They're covered in little flakes of frost and she can already predict the fight when she forgets and leaves wet tracks through the house.

"Did she find out or-"

"She knew," Elsa interrupts. "I was- they asked me and I... I agreed."

She feels the bench shift a little, signifying that Rapunzel had sat down. "What? She knew you were sleeping with her boyfriend, and she let you?"

Elsa shakes her head. "Why am I such a loser, Punz?" she asks softly. "I thought, hey, this is probably my only chance to do something like this, because no one's ever been interested. Didn't wanna have to try a relationship because I just...don't work that way. That love shit? Or walking into a bar and just wanting to- to fuck someone because of their butt or their boobs or their jaw? It never worked before. And that was fine, I guess..."

"...'Before'?" Rapunzel asks. Elsa lets out a dry laugh that is in very real danger of becoming a watery one.

"They were so wonderful, Punz. Not even in bed, just like... as people. And they liked me back. You know, I'd used to go ice-fishing with Kristoff. See?" She pulls out her phone and shows Rapunzel the picture of her and Kristoff and the fish. And yeah there are definitely tears in her eyes because she can barely see the phone in her hand. "And then I fucked it up because I kissed Kristoff when Anna wasn't there."

She wipes at her eyes, and now, without the tears, she can see Rapunzel worrying her bottom lip between her teeth. "So you broke the rules?" she asks, and Elsa shakes her head.

"Yes? No? I don't- we didn't have rules. I'd... sex with Anna, it wasn't always with Kristoff. She-" here, Elsa chokes. "W-we fucked in the hallway b-but I could-couldn't even k-kiss Kristoff?" she questions, not really to anyone. And then Rapunzel's next to her, holding her in a hug and rubbing her back.

"What did I do wrong?" she asks when she's finally settled down a little. Rapunzel just shakes her head.

"You fell in love," she says.

Elsa shakes her head. "Can't," she says. There's another attempt at a laugh, but it's even sadder than the last. "Robot Elsa isn't programmed that way."

At those words, Rapunzel backs away a little. "Stop it," she says. "You're not a robot. And you know, not everyone feels romantic love, and that's okay. But this, Elsa? It sounds... it sounds like heartbreak."

And all Elsa can do is nod because Rapunzel is right.

She's heartbroken.