AN: Thanks jquackers, WaxnWane, only-looking, C A Moore, wannasalad, Gcohen, starperformer4343, Schurke, MilandaAnza, and sedryn for their wonderful comments in the last chapter. The reason why I wrote Iduna to be the "compassionate Christian" is partly because of plot reasons, but also because I want to show multiple perspectives in this issue. Agnarr is the fundamentalist, Iduna is also deeply religious but more understanding, Anna is the liberal Christian, Elsa is the atheist. Ultimately, I want to show that even people with conflicting views can learn to accept each other through dialogue. Of course, this won't be easy, in this fic or in reality. It is something I really hope could happen eventually though. As for the song in chapter 14, it referenced Frozen Heart, with the lyrics changed to be about the differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells into the common myeloid progenitor.

On another note, I've finished revising all 20 chapters I've posted thus far. It's a more major edit than the one I've done previously before posting chapter 16. Some paragraphs have been replaced with new content. There are five more chapters to this fic till we reach the end. I am so sorry for the long wait previously, but I will try to update biweekly from now on. Hopefully it will work out this time. If you notice any errors in the previous chapters or the ones I'll be posting from now on, please feel free to tell me in your reviews or PM me. I appreciate your suggestions. Thanks!

Courtship of the Grad Student

Chapter 21

Dress what you want, gifts are optional, when in doubt bring chocolate, beer and high spirits!

"It's so much like Uncle Nik and Justin to do a backyard wedding!" Anna commented after reading out the contents of their invitation. Elsa groaned from within her bedroom.

"Does that mean I can just wear my dress shirt and pants?"

"Of course not! I can't believe there was such a pretty dress in your closet. No way you're getting away with not wearing it in front of me!"

Another groan sounded behind the door, followed by rustling and frustrated grunts before everything finally fell silent.

"So you done, Els?"

"I'm not ready…"

"Not what I was asking. I'm guessing you are done, and I wouldn't mind if you weren't."

Elsa tried complaining, but before she could speak, the door slammed open and Anna rushed inside.

"I said I wasn't ready…"

Anna didn't say anything. She just ogled.

The dress was champagne-colored, sitting just beneath Elsa's collar bone. The cut was simple, the fabric tugging in under her breasts, then flowing freely down below her knees in neat folds tinted golden under the lights.

"Oh, stop staring already, Anna. I know I look weird in this..."

"If you're trying to go for the 'extraordinary' definition of weird, then yeah...you look absolutely extraordinary."

Elsa looked herself over in the mirror once again. "Do...do I?"

Anna rolled her eyes. "Don't make me say the D-U-H word."

Elsa blushed. "Do you really have to spell it out instead?"

"Your excessive beauty deserves to be spelt out, that's why." Anna winked, making Elsa's blush deepen further. Noticing that Elsa's eyes were still trained on the mirror, she noted, "You like it too, right?"

Elsa considered denying, but with Anna's encouragement, she felt like she could be true to herself. "Yeah, I guess. It's a little embarrassing though."

"How?"

"Like...I like putting on light make-up and all, but...when I dress up so...blatantly like this...I don't know, I'm just not used to it."

Elsa put her hand up to cover the exposed base of her neck. Watching her, Anna nodded. "Don't worry, I get it. Here, let me fix that."

Anna took off the necklace she was wearing and brought it around Elsa's neck instead.

"What are you doing?"

"Giving you my necklace."

"You...you can't do that!"

"I sure can."

Elsa struggled a little, prompting Anna to scold her. "Els, calm down. I can't put it on if you move around like that."

"But..."

"It's okay. I want you to have this. Look, it suits you perfectly."

It was a simple golden necklace with a cross pendant of small moissanite stones. It complemented Elsa's looks in a modest yet elegant way.

"Isn't this bringing the blatantness to an even higher level?" Elsa asked.

"Well, now people would pay more attention to the necklace than the smooth, luscious skin you have been trying to cover oh-so-unsuccessfully."

"Anna!"

Anna giggled, putting her hands on Elsa's shoulders. "But seriously, you look amazing. You should feel free to show it off."

It took a moment for Elsa to collect herself, but she did. Eventually, she smiled. "Yeah...I guess you are right."

And on the day of the wedding, it was Anna's turn to be embarrassed.

"I told you red would look good on you."

Because Anna didn't want to return home for her luggage, Elsa opted to buy a dress for Anna as a sort of gift exchange for the necklace Anna had given her. It was a sleek, red dress that hugged her hips before splaying out in waves that reached the ground. For someone who didn't even have her measurements in hand, Elsa certainly did a great job of finding something that fit her so perfectly...except for, well, the chest area. Apparently, Elsa had assumed that their body frame was similar. True, except she neglected how her own chest was a much more...mountainous landscape compared to Anna's "Little Houses on the Prairie".

"I feel...I don't know...empty?" Anna patted her chest.

"Oh, I assure you what you have in there is plenty."

"Elsa! Did you just have to say that? And with a snicker too?"

"Revenge sure is sweet, isn't it?"

Elsa slowed her car. "Is it around here?"

"Yeah, that red brick one up front, to your left."

They turned onto the driveway leading uphill and parked on the side. Elsa got out first and went to the other side to open Anna's door for her.

"Aww...so sweet, Els!"

Elsa glanced to the side, redness rising on her face. "Well...I don't really know the way, so I have to wait for you to get out..."

"Whatevs. Like you really didn't mean to be all gentlewomanly."

Anna got out of the car with some difficulty and stumbled by Elsa's side as they made their way through the walkway to the backyard. Anna took a peek at Elsa's almost five-inch-high stiletto heels. How could she walk in those things!? Anna was having a damn hard time with her wedge heels - she couldn't even imagine walking in Elsa's shoes!

Just how many times had Elsa put those on and sauntered around her own room, secretly feeling good about herself, but at the same time feeling fearful that others wouldn't think that way of her should she wear them in public?

Oh, Elsa, the Worrywart. Anna couldn't help but grin, knowing that Elsa had changed so much that she was now confident enough to show off her looks to the world.

Just when Anna was about to tease Elsa about this, she turned around to see Elsa had abruptly come to a stop beside her, standing there, staring forward.

"I sorta knew this was a good neighbourhood, but like...this is the right place, right?"

Anna turned to look ahead as well. They had arrived at a backyard overlooking downtown Arendelle far below. Despite the cold winter day, the sun's rays reflecting off the cliff pool washed the entire backyard with a warm, wavering glow. Decorations were sparse, but the few pieces there were all chosen beautifully. At the entrance was a wire sculpture of the letters N and J, entwined with white lights. Still more strings of lights stretched from a post in the middle of the yard to the fencing on the side. The few tables within the glass-enclosed sun room each held a vase of pale colored roses. And at the center of it all was a towering, four-layered cake of strawberries, chocolate, and much, much love. Anna's face lighted up just from looking at it.

"This is amazing, right?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, who is admiring my cake here, huh?" a voice said from behind them. Turning around, Anna came to face a big man in a black tux, his ginger hair long and unruly.

"Uncle Nik!"

"Anna, I'm so glad to have you here."

The man gave Anna a big bear hug, squeezing her so tightly that Elsa was a little afraid he would crush her.

"It's been so long. I'm glad to see you too, Uncle Nik."

"Yeah, I've been busy with stuff, and you with your studies."

"Busy with seducing Justin?"

"Ah, sharp mouth you've got there, huh? Looks like you've done a fair share of wooing yourself. Care to introduce us?" Nikolas gestured towards Elsa.

"My girlfriend, Elsa Snow. Elsa, this is my uncle, Nikolas."

"It is my pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise, Elsa. So happy to have you here too." Nikolas extended his hand towards Elsa and took hers in a hearty shake. At that time, a shorter man in a matching white suit came over to join them. Nikolas quickly grabbed his hand and introduced him.

"And here is my lovely groom, Justin," he said, then turned towards Justin, "Anna you've already met. Beside her is Elsa, her girlfriend."

"Good job, Anna. You scored a good one there!"

Anna grinned. "Or maybe she's the one who scored a good one. Me!"

"Yes, yes, Anna. We all know how awesome you are," Elsa replied, making both Nikolas and Justin laugh.

"Anyway, you got that 3-in-1 leaf blower thing we got you?" Anna asked. "I don't know why you'd want that as a wedding gift though..."

"Like I said on the invitation, I just wanted everybody to bring beer and chocolate. But people like you kept hounding us for gift ideas, so we made a list of what we need, and hell yeah that 3-in-1 leaf blower topped the list 'cause it didn't just blow leaves, it blew minds. Gosh, Justin here had been obsessed with that thing since it got shipped to us three days ago, and look at how clean the yard is!"

"Justin here is a landscape contractor. He's really into this kind of stuff," Anna explained.

"And he makes a lot of money. He's my sugar daddy." Nikolas loudly whispered to Elsa, making Justin roll his eyes.

"Right. As though the profits of your three cake shops didn't go towards buying this house either," Justin replied.

"You're a cake baker?" Elsa asked, a little surprised. If she were to guess, she would've thought the lean, sweet-looking Justin was the baker and the big Nikolas was the landscaper.

Perhaps guessing what was in Elsa's mind, Justin answered, "Oh, baking cakes can require a whole lot of physical strength. I mean, look at that giant we have there. If I were the one trying to carry that onto the display table, we wouldn't be having any cake tonight."

"You've got to admit that thing is beautiful. Best I've made. Even better when you eat it," Nikolas bragged. Anna nodded excitedly.

"I can't wait!"

After a bit more idle chatter, Nikolas and Justin took their leave to start getting ready for the ceremony. At first, Anna was enthusiastic about showing Elsa around, but that enthusiasm soon wore out to what appeared as tiredness.

"You okay, Anna?" Elsa asked.

"Yeah, I guess."

"You seem to be deep in your thoughts."

"Just a little." Anna hesitated, but knowing she couldn't hide her feelings from Elsa's empathetic superpowers, she laughed off her initial reservations. "I just can't help but compare this wedding to my cousin's, you know? Like, this is lovely, but...at my cousin's wedding? Everybody came. All our relatives, everybody who grew up in our town. Here, I don't know anybody."

"Oh..."

That was right. In the end, Agnarr and Iduna didn't come, neither did anybody else from Anna's extended family.

"Maybe it's for the best though," Elsa answered.

"Yeah, if they did come, they'd just spoil everything..." Anna grumbled.

Elsa didn't know how to soothe the hurt in Anna's heart. All she could do was to hold Anna's hand.

"I mean, even though there aren't a lot of people here, the ones who are here are the ones who truly matter. They are happy for your uncle. They accept him for who he is. And look, none of them even mentioned anything about us being together. They just accept it. They don't question why people of the same sex can love each other. Even though we don't know anybody else here aside the hosts, everybody has been friendly and welcoming. I would rather have a crowd like that at my wedding than one just there for some kind of familial obligation."

"I...guess you are right."

"And if you need anymore convincing, look ahead. The ceremony is starting."

All the guests returned to their seats as a slow, serene song started playing. Although there weren't many of them and they only managed to form a single row on the yard, their attention was undivided. Basked in their good wishes, Nikolas and his party started filing in, all dressed in dark attire, followed by Justin's in lighter hues. The music started developing and they all recognized it as Pachelbel's Canon; Justin walked down the aisle with its long notes playing behind him.

They came to the officiant whose solemn words sounded upon the final ring of the music.

"We are gathered here today to witness the formal joining of Nikolas Summers and Justin Meadows in the legal state of matrimony. You are to be married according to the orders, customs, and the authority granted by the government of the State of Arendelle.

Matrimony, as understood by us, is a state enriched by a long and honorable tradition of devotion. According to the law each participant is equal and supports the common rights of one another to the marriage.

Marriage is not just a ceremony here today. It is a commitment for life. Therefore, it is not to be entered into thoughtlessly, or irresponsibly.

There must be a desire for lifelong companionship. Couples will support and comfort each other through the changing experiences of life. May you laugh together in joy, grieve together in sorrow, and grow together in love.

Marriage means caring as much about the welfare and happiness of your marriage partner as about your own well-being. Marriage also means working together to create and sustain a home in which the marriage may flourish. With this understanding, Nikolas and Justin wish to be joined in marriage.

Therefore, if any persons can show just and sufficient reason why these two persons may not be joined in matrimony, let them now declare reasons, or else from this time forward, keep their peace. I now call upon you both in the presence of these witnesses, to repeat after me..."

The setting sun came down to the edge of the cliff pool, rendering the two men as slender shadows in its light. Nikolas smiled when Justin came to face the officiant and repeated the words after him...

"I do solemnly declare that I do not know of any lawful impediment why I, Justin Meadows, may not be joined in matrimony to Nikolas Summers."

"And Nikolas?"

Nikolas' lips parted. He glanced at Justin one last time before facing the officiant. "I do solemnly declare..."

"Agnarr, please don't do this."

If only Iduna knew this was what Agnarr intended to do, she would have rather he stayed out of this altogether.

Agnarr shook his head and got out of the car. Behind him, a couple of the friends and relatives who regularly attended his church also stepped out onto the driveway.

"This isn't something I can decide on my own. This isn't something any of us can decide. God decided that his actions are sin, and we are here to remind Nikolas of that."

"He knows what you want to say, and it isn't going to change his mind."

"Then we must appeal to the other man he claims to love so much. If Nikolas truly loves him so, then he should give up that wretched lust of his towards the good man so he would not be turned away from the gates of heaven. And if the man does love Nik, he should do the same."

Iduna understood Agnarr's logic, but she just could not wrap it around her head why he would think Nikolas and his groom would accept it.

"I know you are trying to help, but do you really, really think that you can accomplish anything by picketing their wedding?"

"Now, now, Iduna. I should not need to remind you that this is no wedding."

Agnarr was leaving. Iduna grabbed his hand.

"Agnarr..."

"If you cannot handle this, then stay here."

He slipped out of her grasp. Iduna sighed, her eyebrows knit in conflict. When Agnarr's group finally vanished within the gates, Iduna came to the decision that she had to do something before it was too late.

She made a phone call.

"I do solemnly declare that I do not know of any lawful impediment why I, Nikolas Summers may not be joined in matrimony to Justin Meadows."

"Lies!"

The audience was shocked. This was no movie. They had expected no interruption, much less from a member of the clergy who had suddenly appeared on the property, along with half a dozen of his followers holding signs that read "Gay is sin".

But Nikolas remained calm. "I have not lied, Agnarr. Which law impedes on my marriage to Justin?"

"God's law."

Following Agnarr's lead, the others in his group also lashed out.

"Marriage is between a man and a woman."

"A man cannot lie with another man as he lies with a woman. This is sin!"

"If you don't repent, you will burn in hell for an eternity."

Anna did not react at first - she did not know how to react. The wedding ceremony had been beautiful and even eased some of the discomfort she had felt previously, but seeing those familiar faces with such hateful expressions on the other side, all those wonderful feelings fled in an instant. Before anything else, she just felt sad. She could not understand why the people she loved would do this to Nikolas, Justin, and their guests. Then came shame, so much shame for having a man like that as her father, and from that came anger.

"That's quite enough, Pa," Anna shouted above the noise. This caught Agnarr's attention, and his glare intensified when he noticed Anna clutching Elsa's hand.

"What is the meaning of this?" he asked his daughter.

"That should be my question to you. Do you even realize what you are doing?"

"I am trying to save my brother," he said, then shook his head vigorously, tears welling in his eyes. "But it looks like not only my brother needs salvation. My daughter...Anna...you..."

"I have my salvation here, right by my side. When I was alone, she kept me company. When I didn't know what to do with my life, she taught me. I'm sure that's the same for Uncle Nik and Justin. Nothing is coincidence to you, right? Everything is God's plan, right? Then it must be God's plan to give us such wonderful partners in life. That's why we love them. Sex and gender have nothing to do with it. Never have."

The other guests were clapping, but that didn't make Anna feel any better. Agnarr was now close to madness, trying to lunge forward but stopped by Nik's best man.

"You're wrong, Anna! You're wrong! You will regret this! By then it will be too late!"

"Shut up, Agnarr. This is my wedding and Anna is my honored guest and I won't have you shouting your bigoted bullshit at her!" Nik finally lost his temper, grabbing Agnarr by his collar. Agnarr likewise had his hands on Nik, about to shove him.

"I won't forgive you for corrupting my daughter, ya dirty sodomite! It just isn't enough for ya to go to hell yourself that you have to drag my daughter along, huh? She was my good girl and now...now...she's a perverted lesbian!?"

"She loves that woman and you need to get over it! Get your head out of your pile of horseshit!"

Anna's hand trembled atop Elsa's. Elsa could feel the tempest of emotions within Anna, the hurt, the pain, the anger, the sadness. But it was the guilt that hit her hardest. No matter how much Anna tried to logically reason out of it, she was blaming herself for what was happening. She knew her love for Elsa was not wrong. Neither was Uncle Nik's love for Justin. But their love was what tore their family apart. That sickened her. It wasn't fair!

And Elsa felt the same. The guilt. She knew she wasn't actually guilty, but neither did she want their love to be the cause of all this.

However, Elsa would not let that guilt consume her.

She had run away too many times. This time, she was staying here, standing firm.

Here, by Anna's side. No matter what happened, she would keep loving Anna. If that didn't sit well with Agnarr, then so be it. She was confident they could work out their differences, but that would not involve her giving up her love for Anna.

And just when a fight was about to break out between Agnarr's group and the wedding attendees, a police car pulled into the driveway and an officer arrived on scene.

"Hey, what's going on there!" the officer shouted, stopping all of them in their tracks. "I got a call for trespassing. Which one of you shouldn't be here?"

"This is my property," Nikolas said, pointing at Agnarr's group. "They are the trespassers."

"I am your brother!"

"And your brother doesn't want you here, Sir." The officer cut him off. "This is private property. If he doesn't want you on his property, you will remove yourself from his property. Is that clear?"

"He took my daughter!"

Anna stepped up and gave a sarcastic laugh. "I'm here to attend my uncle's wedding. I'm not kidnapped. And I'm 21, I can damn well go where I want without his permission."

"Is that correct, Sir?" The officer turned back to Agnarr for confirmation. He gritted his teeth.

"She's being brainwashed by his sodomite beliefs. I can't just leave her like this."

"Sir, I am asking you, are you here to stop an illegal action from taking place? If not, I must ask you to leave."

Agnarr was silent. The officer looked him in the eyes for two more seconds before continuing, "I take that as a no. In that case, you and your followers will take your belongings and leave this place immediately, or I will have to take you back to the station."

"Fine, we will leave."

Agnarr started gathering the signs, slowly, all the while glaring at Nikolas.

"Sir, I asked that you take your belongings and leave. You are making this more difficult than it needs to be," the officer said.

"I am leaving. I need to pack up first."

"No, you will take those belongings to the sidewalk off this property and pack up there. The time that you are wasting now are taxpayer dollars. While I am here supervising you, I could be elsewhere stopping crime. This is a waste of police resources, do you understand?"

"Understood," Agnarr grumbled.

With that, the officer quickly escorted them off the property and the ceremony resumed. Night had fallen and the lights in the yard were turned on, dotting the grounds with colors. Amidst this beautiful atmosphere, the couple said their vows, exchanged rings, and after a lovely kiss was declared husband and husband. Retreating into the warmth of the glass-enclosed deck, dinner started, wine flowed, music played.

All was merry, but it couldn't be helped that perhaps all the guests still vividly remembered what happened that afternoon. Anna, in particular, was reluctant to taking to the dance floor, sitting there with her face on her palm, her other hand held against her wine glass, rubbing its brim for a crystalline sound.

"I got you some cake, Anna," Elsa said, sitting down once again by Anna's side.

"Thanks."

Anna brought a piece of cake from her fork to her mouth and tried to savor it as best as she could. The strawberry was sweet, but not sickeningly so, with a bit of tartness to round it off, complementing the bitter dark chocolate well. The texture was soft and smooth, sponge cake layered with generous servings of fresh cream. There was no other word to describe it - delicious. Yes, it was very delicious, but Anna didn't have the appetite for a second bite.

Elsa noticed this. "Had too much to eat for dinner and now you can't finish you cake? Let's share it then."

"Okay."

With Elsa by her side, everything felt just a tad better. Anna told herself that her dad was a jackass and she should just ignore him, but the scene from that afternoon still kept playing in her head. She didn't care for her father's approval. She didn't need it! She was happy with Elsa and she was happy for Uncle Nik and Justin. Her father shouldn't even be part of this whole equation!

But he was. It made her furious to admit it.

"Hey, Ladies. May I join you?"

Turning around, the two found Nikolas behind them once again.

"You sure you shouldn't be greeting the guests or something?" Anna chided with a laugh.

"Good 'ole Justin can take care of all that. I need a break."

"Sounds tough," Elsa said.

"Oh yeah. I'm glad we don't have more guests because, wow, that'd be a chore."

Nikolas gave them an exaggerated eye roll, but upon the mention of guest numbers, Anna couldn't stop her face from darkening in bitterness.

"Anna, I'm sorry things turned out like that," Nikolas said when he saw Anna's expression.

"No, I'm the one who is sorry. My dad was horrible."

"He's my brother too, ya know?"

"Fine. We agree that he was horrible."

There was silence. Nikolas wrapped an arm around Anna's shoulders while Elsa held her hand. Anna sighed.

"I feel so pathetic. Like, it's your wedding, Uncle Nik, and I brought you here to have fun, Elsa...and now look at me...both of you are sitting here trying to comfort me, like...I'm just sucking the happy out of this occasion. I'm sorry."

"You can't suck the happy out of me so easily, and neither can Agnarr," Nikolas replied. "And you are my niece, Anna, my beloved niece. I want to be here for you like this."

"Me too, Anna. I want to be here," Elsa added.

"Gosh...I..." Anna was at a loss for words. She wanted to calm down and just join the festivities again so they didn't have to worry about her anymore, but she couldn't, and soon she gave up trying.

It felt nice to just immerse herself in their unconditional love like this.

Nikolas nodded. "I get you, Anna. I get what you're thinking now. You know what? I used to be angry like you, just like that."

"I don't want to be angry. I don't want to give my dad the satisfaction!"

"Exactly. But you can't help it, right? It's frustrating? That's okay. It's okay for both Elsa and you to be angry."

"It's not productive though! It just makes me feel like shit, and like...assholes like my dad shouldn't have the right to make me feel like shit!"

"They don't. But getting frustrated by that won't lessen your anger. You should use the anger as your motivation."

"Motivation?"

"Yes. Remember the anger. Remember how Agnarr hurt you, hurt us, and become stronger because of it. Become strong enough so that you can be a role model for those who walk the same path as us. Show them that they are not alone. Don't let them be hurt in the same way Agnarr has hurt us today.

You are awesome people, Anna, Elsa. You can make a change just by doing exactly what you are doing now. Do not fear your love. Embrace it. If I saw you two when I was still back in the closet, I'd be so empowered, just seeing that my love, too, can be a wonderful thing. It's not sinful, it's not a disease, it's beautiful. Someone to have and to hold, in whatever circumstances life may hold for us, in health and in sickness, in wealth and in poverty, in youth and in old age...this someone is not limited by sex, this someone can be a man, the same as me. Seeing you lovely ladies I would've felt a lot more secure about my identity, and that's something you should be proud of.

I'm so proud of you, Anna. The way you stepped in to stop Agnarr today...that took a lot of courage. And I'm so happy for you to have found Elsa. We all saw how she comforted you through all this. To have someone like that by your side...I'm so glad to see it."

"Thanks. I really needed that..."

Nikolas wanted to stay longer, but his groomswoman was calling for him. Anna urged him to go, and Elsa assured him that she'd take care of Anna in his stead. He finally gave Anna a couple pats on the back and reluctantly left.

After Nikolas left them, they sat there awkwardly until both chuckled in desperate efforts of clearing the tension.

"Sorry, I totally ruined the mood and don't know what to say about it," Anna said.

"No, speechless Anna is actually sort of cute," Elsa answered with a light blush on her cheeks.

"Els, really? That's a stupid lie."

"Honest!"

Elsa took Anna's arm and cuddled into her warmth, leaning her head on Anna's shoulder. This gesture meant more to Anna than any words - she finally broke from the shadows of her previous rage and any remaining guilt left her.

Yes, Uncle Nik was right, she was so lucky to have found Elsa. She was so happy now.

"Anna, no matter what happens, I'll be here. You have me."

"Yeah, I know. I love you, Els."

After those words left her, Anna pressed a kiss on Elsa's forehead.

End of Chapter 21