NOTES: We made it to 30 chapters! This fic started as a kind of experiment for Kite and I, to see what we could come up with based on the basic premise, and it turned out pretty well I think. For those of you wondering how much longer this will go, it's only got a few chapters left; we'll be tying up a lot of loose ends soon. Thanks for reading along, we really appreciate every reader and every review so much!

CHAPTER THIRTY

"P-Punzie?" Anna blinked in confusion upon seeing her friend sitting in their cabin. "What are you doing here?"

Rapunzel stood awkwardly, looking much smaller in her oversized pink "God Loves Me" t-shirt and her squirmy expression as her flip-flop-clad feet turned inward. "Waiting for you guys. I thought… I heard your door, and then nobody was here, but it was unlocked, and I…" Her oversized front teeth dug into her bottom lip; she looked like she was going to throw up.

"Are you alright?" Elsa asked.

"FINE! I'm fine, but… well, I just really wanna talk to Anna. Snow's not in my room, or we could… take a walk?"

"We can go to your room, I guess." Anna gave her friend a reassuring grin despite her confusion before turning her attention to Elsa. "I'll be back in a bit, then," she told her sister before nodding towards Rapunzel in an indication that she was ready to go when the brunette was.

For lack of anything better, Elsa said, "Have fun" as they exited. But she looked quite concerned.

Soon enough, Rapunzel was letting Anna into her room and easing the door shut behind them. Then, unexpectedly, she locked it. The sound made a nervous shiver pass through Anna's back. She gave Rapunzel a smile, one that was subdued from nerves.

"What's the lock for?"

"Um… I don't want Snow walking in on this," she whispered quietly. "Um, you can sit with me on the bed, or if that's too weird you can take the desk chair?"

"Why would it be weird to sit with you? We're friends, Punzie." Anna walked over and sat on Rapunzel's bed, eyeing her friend and puzzling over her odd behaviour. She looked so scared… like she was expecting Anna to attack her. It made Anna worry immensely. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Squirming even more, she finally sat down, drawing one leg up as her flip flop fell to the floor, wrapping her arms around her shin. "Not really. I mean, I'm gonna be fine, and I'm not dying or anything, but right now… I'm kind of struggling with something."

Understanding dawned on Anna and she reached out to take one of Rapunzel's hands. If this was going the direction she thought it was, she had to present a calming, accepting front or she might really hurt her. "Oh Punzie," she cooed, "it's okay to be unsure about this. I understand."

"Okay," she breathed heavily, shaking a little and gripping Anna's hands. She didn't look any more certain of herself, or less nauseated, but she at least was very slightly less tense. "I've spent a couple of days trying to figure out how I'm going to do this, and I'm still not sure!"

"Take your time, don't rush," Anna continued to soothe. She gave the brunette's knuckles a couple quick strokes with her thumbs. "It will be a little weird at first, but it's only natural to feel this way."

"Well… yeah." Blinking at Anna a few times, sparing the knuckles and awkward glance, she went on, "I mean, that's what I was thinking, too. But then there's you, and you really…" Shaking her head slightly, her voice broke as she whispered, "You seem so fine with it! And I don't know how you can be! Why doesn't it bother you?"

"Being gay isn't something to be ashamed of, Punzie." Anna smiled at her friend. "I know it's strange and hard to take in now, but trust me, it gets easier. Just have to get used to thinking of things in a new way."

For a moment, Rapunzel's eyebrows furrowed as she stared at Anna, dropping her leg and turning toward her a little more. "What? I mean… I know that. Like, you told me."

Anna's brow furrowed, as well. "If you knew, then why would you ask if it would bother me? Hell, Punzie, I'm the last person you should worry about revealing your newfound sexuality to."

"My newf- wait, wait. Do you think… I'm coming out to you right now? Is that what you think this is about?"

"Well, yeah." Anna gave her a sheepish grin. "I'm… going to take it that this is… not the case?"

With a slow shake of her head, she snorted, "NO! I mean, geez Louise, I really don't think so!" Then she chuckled a little. Her cheeks were still pink, but that could still have been from preexisting anxiety, not from being mistaken for a member of Anna's community.

"Okay, my bad," she giggled. "So you're definitely not coming out to me."

"No, no I'm not, but thanks for your support." She laughed a little more before her expression began to grow more bittersweet. "Oh… maybe this is none of my business. You're such a good friend, and… I dunno, I feel bad for even bringing it up."

Anna gripped her hands again. "What's wrong?" But Rapunzel only looked guiltier and guiltier. She frowned in concern. "Punzie?"

"Snow… has been telling me some things. About you and Elsa. And like, I know how rumours go and all that, but… I can't pretend I didn't hear them, y'know?"

Anna didn't like the sound of that. She bit her lip and regarded her friend. "What did she say exactly?" she asked hesitantly.

"That… she caught you two kissing. Like, maybe she was trying to start something; I know Aurora's not a bad person, but sometimes she can kind of… be un-nice without meaning to."

"Ah." Anna felt her heart stutter in panic, her mind reeling. Rapunzel was the only one of the girls who knew of her real relationship to Elsa, and now… She had to approach this as carefully as she could. "Do you think it's true?"

"It couldn't be! At least… that's what I thought, at first. That she saw it wrong, or something." Swallowing hard, she stared down at her bedspread as she went on, "But then I started really watching how you two are together… and like… I didn't think for sure it was true, ever, I promise. Just… the way you were spooning that time I stopped by…"

"Sisters cuddle all the time," Anna pointed out. She felt bad for the half-truth but she figured it would be better in the end if she could throw off Rapunzel's suspicions.

"Y-yeah. I'm…" The poor girl nodded, looking like she was hating herself for every word. "I'm sorry. I know you're right, that you and Elsa… y-you wouldn't be like that. It's a sin. Even more of a sin than the other sin! But… I don't know, I wanted to ask instead of just… believing her, or not believing her, or…" Another sigh. Anna had to consciously keep herself from gripping the sheets underneath her, noticing Rapunzel's discomfort and not wanting to make her feel worse. "But you really do look at each other in, like, a boyfriend-girlfriend way."

"We're really close, yeah," Anna said, and even she knew how weak that sounded.

Again, Rapunzel looked up at her. This time, she looked a lot more stricken. "If… it is true, though… I'm sorry. I really don't have any right to ask you about any of this. Y-you can go back to your room, or… whatever…" But even as she said it, Anna couldn't help feel that leaving now would just make herself look worse. Instead, she looked down at the hand still caught between hers and started puzzling over how to respond.

"Anna?" When she still didn't answer, Rapunzel leaned closer. "It's… it's true… isn't it?"

Anna's lip trembled. She wanted to deny it and tell Rapunzel that it wasn't, but her heart was at war with her brain, telling her to be honest. That she and Elsa's relationship didn't deserve to be treated like a dirty secret — and that Punzie deserved the truth no matter how painful or risky that was.

The word was out before Anna could stop it. "Yes."

"Oh." Rapunzel looked away. It seemed like she was trying to keep from reacting, even though her face was pale and she was shivering a little. "You… and she? But…" She stopped herself and swallowed. "Well, that's great! I mean… y-you were so worried you wouldn't be able to get along with her anymore, and now… n-now you're really getting along!"

"You don't have to pretend to be okay with this, Rapunzel," Anna said softly, her face burning with a guilt she realistically knew she had no reason to feel. Except that she did; society made sure she did.

"It's not my business! I told you, I… well, I just w-wanted to make sure I wasn't… believing… I wanted to give you a chance to tell me I was wrong, I guess." She sounded close to tears. "B-but don't worry, I, um… the others don't know you're sisters, a-and I'm sure as heck not gonna tell them now."

"I really appreciate that, Punzie." Anna kept her voice as sweet as she could. "Thank you so much for being such a… wonderful friend." She swallowed the hard lump in her throat and fought to keep tears down herself. "D-Do you… want me to leave?"

At first, Rapunzel didn't respond. Then she glanced up at Anna's face and away. "I… I don't know, Anna. This is harder than the other thing. I mean… all I can think about is deformed babies, b-but you two can't have babies, anyway, so it's… I don't really…" She swallowed hard as if she were trying to keep her lunch down.

"I get it." Anna bit her lip, sympathetic to the clear struggle Rapunzel was going through. "What me and Elsa share… it's taboo. To most people, it's immoral and disgusting and we're terrible for doing it… but if I'm honest, Punzie, I don't care what those people think because… what we have is something really special. We love each other so much… and even if it's more than God or whoever says we should, I personally don't see anything wrong with it because I believe there is nothing wrong with true love."

That seemed to throw Rapunzel for even more of a loop. She sputtered for a few seconds, then simply went quiet as she tried to absorb what Anna was telling her.

"Punz?"

"True love? With your sister? But… I…"

Anna gave Rapunzel a tiny smile. "People always say that your heart would never tell you a lie when it comes to love. And my heart definitely knows that I've never loved anyone more than I love Elsa. Blood or no blood."

"Well, yeah, but not love this way. Of course you love her! I just… a-are you going to do…" Her face turned a little pale as she contemplated how to phrase things for Anna, and she wound up giving up with a little groan of uneasiness.

"Don't think about that if it makes you uncomfortable." The redhead sighed heavily. "Just… think about what you and Flynn have and apply it me and Elsa. Voila. Same thing."

Her meek voice asked, "You really feel that strongly? Like, for reals?" When Anna nodded, her eyes went a lot rounder. "Jeepers… but… okay, I need to stop asking the same questions over and over. Sorry. Just… I don't know if I can handle this, b-but I won't tell anyone. So… don't worry about that part."

"We really appreciate it, and… I hope that this doesn't ruin our friendship completely… I- I really like having you as a friend." Anna stood up. "I should go."

Nodding, Rapunzel didn't move or get up. But when Anna reached the door, she said, "Hey… I, um… it's not right, what Aurora and her friends did to you. Or tried to do, or whatever. Just… y-yeah, even if I'm not completely cool with the situation, I think they were jerks."

"Thanks." Anna gave the other girl a weak grin. "Nice to know that not everyone is willing to condone that kind of jerkishness." She shuffled her feet slightly. "Anyway… have a good night, Punzie."

"Goodnight." But she sounded very small, and very defeated as she whispered it.

~ o ~

"Well… how did she take it?"

"About as well as you would expect." Anna paced restlessly and her face was overwhelmed with sadness. The thought of losing someone who had so quickly become such a treasured friend was crushing. "She promised she wouldn't tell on us and even said that what the others did was wrong, but… God, Snowflake, she looked ready to be sick any minute…"

Elsa swallowed hard, looking down at how her hands were fidgeting with each other. "Well… I guess we shouldn't have hoped any differently. We are… defying the laws of nature."

"We aren't defying nature. We're defying societal standards." Anna huffed and ran her hand through her bangs. "M-Maybe she'll come around to it? To this just being how we are together, and it's not hurting anybody?"

"Maybe. After all, I didn't think I would, either, and yet here we are…" After a brief shrug, she flashed a wan smile up at her sister. "And… I guess you're right. Obviously, it can't be completely unnatural if it happened. It's not like either of us woke up one morning and decided we would really spit in God's eye by doing this."

"Exactly." The redhead flopped down onto the bed beside Elsa with a soft grunt and covered her eyes with her arm. "I'm just… sad. I really like Punzie, and knowing she probably hates me for this is…"

Getting up to cross the room, Elsa sat on her bedside and took Anna's hand. A calmer, less overtly romantic gesture. "She'll come around. I don't know her very well, since I don't talk to the other counselors too often, but… she seems like a very decent person, just from those few times the three of us have hung out together. I can't see her being too unreasonable for too long."

There was silence from Anna as she simply gripped the hand holding hers tightly. She took in the comforting gesture, eyes still closed, before she tugged the hand up to press it to her lips. "Thank you," she whispered.

"Anytime. And… even if…" She sighed, as if unsure about continuing. Anna blinked and gave her a comforting smile.

"If?" she prompted.

"Even… if we wind up not being able to stay in this relationship, after all. Because of the… familial part." But she rushed onward, "I made a choice that loving you and doing what's best for you comes first. So if we wind up having to 'break up' to stay sisters and friends, then I will. I hope we don't have to, but I wanted you to know how important that part is to me."

"Okay." Anna nodded and gave Elsa a watery smile. She looked down at their hands and gripped Elsa a little tighter, gently placing their joined hands to her heart. "I can accept that so long as you are still with me as a sister."

"Always." Then she raised the paired hands up to press her lips against them, to show Anna some affection. "But… I have a very strong feeling we won't have to worry."

Anna beamed at that before leaning in to press her lips directly to Elsa's, pouring all the love into it that she could. Humming, Elsa fell into the contact, pushing into her sister's mouth, wrapping her arms around her back. Contented, Anna rested her hands on Elsa's stomach, a sigh of bliss escaping between their lips as she fluttered her eyes closed.

"You're perfect," she murmured.

"No, you," Elsa whispered back, running fingertips through the back of Anna's hair as they laid there.

"Let's not get into this argument," Anna laughed, placing a kiss on her nose. "Otherwise, it will never end."

Grinning, the elder sister kissed the corner of the younger's mouth. "True." Then another, and a longer, sweeter one. Anna enjoyed the domesticity of their actions. The flirting, the kisses, the sweet talks… all of it helped to chase away the darkness that had taken root over the last few days and cemented the truth in Anna's mind. That she and Elsa were doing nothing wrong in their love for one another. That they were each other's True Loves.

That thought sent warmth through Anna's entire being. Her happiness exploded in a burst of heavy tears, which resulted in embracing Elsa and clutching her tightly to her chest while littering her face with kisses.

"Anna?" The kisses seemed to help keep Elsa from being truly concerned. "Aww… you alright down there?"

"I- I…" She couldn't tell Elsa just how happy she made her or how much she loved her, not with her throat so tight. How she wanted to give Elsa the world, the stars, the moon and the sky if it meant seeing her smile just a second longer. Instead, Anna let out a choked sob and pressed their foreheads together. There was so much that Anna wanted to say, yet nothing seemed enough to express her sentiments. She buried her face into her sister's hair and just basked in her scent and the security and warmth that Elsa's mere presence offered her.

And Elsa was there, warm, comforting, petting over her hair as she let Anna cry herself out in her hair. After a minute or so, she whispered, "I love you, Anna. I promise, it's never going to change again; I… won't let myself be deceived anymore about what kind of person you are. My beautiful, perfect sister…"

"I l-love you, too," Anna managed to choke out, clinging like a baby koala at her words.

"Are you sure you're alright?" she whispered against her forehead as she pushed her back to kiss it gently.

"F-fine." She closed her eyes. "I'm just...really happy right now." All Elsa did in response was to hold her closer, caressing over her hair and kissing tenderly. Being there for her.

It took awhile before Anna reluctantly pulled herself away from her older sister. Her tears had long since dried and she had calmed down significantly, but she didn't leave the security of Elsa's embrace until she felt the familiar tickle in her abdomen that indicated that nature called. She pouted a little when she finally stood up. "I'll be right back."

"Okay," Elsa said with a pleasant smile, reaching up to caress Anna's face before it was out of reach. "You'd better be; I miss you when you're gone." Anna blushed and gave her a shy, little grin. She nuzzled into Elsa's hand, placing a sweet kiss on her palm before she straightened up and made her way to the bathroom to relieve herself.

She didn't keep in the soft giggles, feeling only a little embarrassed that she was on the toilet by herself while she did so. However, the happiness she felt refused to be contained. Despite everything, she really felt that things would work out for the two of them. That she and Elsa would live happily together soon enough. As she finished and washed her hands, she had to bite her lip to keep her smile from hurting her cheeks. She emerged feeling so giddy that she was bouncing slightly.

"Hey, Elsa!" she cheered happily. "Did you miss me?"

"No," Elsa said sarcastically with a little laugh. "It's not like I just told you I miss you. Now, come here." Anna grinned, jogging lightly towards the bed before leaping into it, making Elsa jump a little when she landed so that she was facing her sister.

"Hiya!" she teased. It earned her a kiss on the tip of her nose, even though Elsa was rolling her eyes. Anna laughed and kissed her nose back with twinkling eyes. "What's a beauty like you doing in my bed, anyway?"

After a moment of blinking, Elsa snorted and bumped their foreheads together. "I was about to ask you the same thing. Since this is my bed, silly." Anna was struck momentarily baffled before casting what she hoped was a subtle glance down at the bedsheets to confirm. Blue sheets, definitely not green.

However, Anna decided to turn the screw-up to her advantage. With a flirtatious smile and a wink, she purred, "What's the difference?"

Elsa's smile was just as mischievous. "I suppose you're right at this point." Her hand came to rest on Anna's waist as she pulled her in closer. Anna's heart fluttered with nerves. Elsa had been getting bolder and less insecure with their flirting and it did wonders for Anna's libido to see her sister like this. It reminded her slightly of when they were kids, and how despite Elsa's calmer and more mature demeanor, she was just as, if not more, playful and mischievous than Anna when no one was looking. Only now that playfulness was more mature in nature and it made Anna's cheeks hot.

"Something the matter?" Elsa whispered, scooting a little closer still and kissing one of said hot cheeks. Anna gripped at Elsa's shoulders, slipping under the shirt so that she could feel the smooth skin and strong muscle under her hands, stared into those big glacial eyes that peered into her own. She felt naked under her gaze and it sent a glorious rush through the redhead as she started to caress Elsa lightly.

"Nothing at all," she whispered back, leaning in to brush her lips lightly over Elsa's own cheek. "Everything is just perfect."

So Elsa kissed her again, and this time the kiss stretched on for minutes. She was enticing, and kept up the pressure and attention as she began to roll slightly so that she was atop Anna, tongue searching for its mate. Anna shuddered beneath her older sister and eagerly met her tongue, fighting to keep her eyes from closing just so she could admire the serenity on Elsa's face. But when Elsa noticed, she drew back and blinked down at her.

"What is it?" she asked this time instead, her voice a bit sultrier. Anna's mouth went dry as she admired the body hovering over her own. Another soft shudder passed and she blinked slowly.

"W-why do you have to be so sexy without even trying?" she husked back.

That prompted a few blinks from the blonde, but she then smiled wickedly and pressed her lips against Anna's neck, just below her ear. "Because… you bring it out in me. Not like I know what I'm doing."

Anna moaned at the tremendous jolt that fired through her as a result of that kiss, turning a brilliant shade of scarlet at the loudness of her own voice. The sensitivity of the area Elsa currently had her lips to made her quiver with hot desire with every breath the winter blonde took. She gripped Elsa tightly.

"God, Elsa!" she whimpered as a hand began to trail up and down her side, barely even doing anything. "You drive my body crazy and you don't even try!" It kind of scared Anna just how easily Elsa could play her. How easy it was for her to make her emotions and physical being go haywire in both the best and worst ways possible.

And right now, with Elsa so close and her touches so light and teasing… it felt like the fires of hell and the warm bliss of heaven all at once.

"Is your body… really going that crazy?" Elsa asked in a slightly less self-assured voice. "Because if it is, then maybe… maybe I could do something about that."

To Be Continued…