Chapter 28.

Today was the grand day, the day when Anna and Elsa would be opening their ice cream shop. As it was the inauguration, they'd be making a 50% discount, but since Elsa's powers were the ones to cool down the treats, Anna hoped they'd still make a little profit. They opened around midday, as Anna figured no one would buy ice cream early in the morning (also she couldn't have woken up before ten, even if she had tried).

Elsa was very nervous, since she'd never before interacted with strangers and now she'd have to do it all day long, but at least she felt a little better knowing that, even if her ice powers got a little out of control, no one would deem odd to feel a little chill inside an ice cream shop (or so Anna had told her). She was also a little worried about Anna, because, even though the redhead had assured her that she was feeling a lot better thanks to her, she still seemed to be a little off that day, sad and less energetic than usual. But Elsa figured it'd take some time; even she, who hadn't known Rapunzel and Eugene for more than a few weeks, missed them a lot and thought about them constantly.

But they really didn't have time to worry, since their first client soon came in; a little boy, probably no more than six years old, dragging his grandmother into the shop. Instantly, Elsa tensed and the temperature lowered.

"Look, look!" He exclaimed. "A new ice-cream shop!"

"I know, I know. Calm down." The woman said. "I know you want some ice-cream, but your mother told me not to buy you treats." At this the boy pouted and looked at the old lady with puppy dog eyes until she finally sighed and turned to Anna. "Hello." She said.

"Hi." Anna answered cheerfully, glad to finally have a client.

"My grandson here wants an ice-cream. Only one ball, please." She added, though the kid protested.

"Okay, cone or cup?"

"Cone!" The boy screamed making Anna smile and laugh. "Chocolate, please." He added.

"Alright, a ball of chocolate ice-cream in a cone coming." She turned to look at Elsa and make sure she was listening, to which the blonde nodded and proceeded to prepare the ice-cream while Anna received the payment. However, Elsa's hands were trembling and ice kept spreading through the scoop, making her feel even more anxious. She tried to calm herself down, to convince herself that there was really nothing to be afraid of… but she just couldn't; her body reacted badly to the other people's closeness even if she didn't want it to, and it only became worse when she realized they were staring at her, probably judging her for taking so long.

At one point, the trembling became so bad that the scoop slipped from her hands and fell to the ground, but when Elsa tried to reach for it, her feet slipped in the ice she had unwillingly created and she fell.

"Elsa!" Anna gasped and rushed to help her stand up. "Are you okay?" Elsa nodded, her cheeks burning red from embarrassment.

"I just got nervous." She whispered so quietly Anna practically had to read her lips to understand what she was saying. The redhead was about to say that she'd handle this and send her to sit and calm down, when the boy spoke.

"Hey! I want my ice-cream." He whined. "Now!"

"I-I'm sorry." Anna answered, feeling a little anxious, now that it was quite obvious the boy was going to cry fi she didn't give him an ice-cream soon. "I'll give it to you in a minute." At this, she let go of Elsa, went to pick another scoop and prepare the treat. However, as she did so, she couldn't stop talking; her mouth moved without her being able to control it. "I-it's just that she's never work a day in her life… not that she's lazy, or useless; she is actually always trying to find a way to help me, but she has been lock…"

"Uhm… H-here's your ice-cream." Elsa interrupted her, practically taking said ice-cream from Anna's hands and shoving it to the woman's hands before retreating as far away of them as she could. This simple action had took all the courage she had, and even then, she was now still trembling slightly, but she knew it had been necessary. It's not like she thought these two particular people where associated with Weaseltown, but she knew they had to take precautions; no one should know about her real story.

"Thank you." The woman said eying her like she was crazy before giving the ice-cream to her grandson and exciting the shop. Elsa let out the breath she was holding as soon as she saw them walk through the doors. Then, she turned to look at Anna, who had an ashamed expression on her face.

"Sorry." She said. "I always talk a lot when I get nervous."

"You're nervous?" Elsa asked in disbelief, since she'd never seen Anna nervous before.

"Uhm… yes?" Anna answered, her cheeks turning bright red in embarrassment. "It always happens when I really want someone to like me and I'm afraid I'm going to screw it all up."

"But… why did you want them to like you so much?"

"Because they are potential clients. Our survival depends on their opinion about us."

"I'm sure anyone would like you if you only showed them your true self, like you did with me." Elsa assured her as she approached to her and gave her a hug, one that she really needed too, since she was still feeling a little anxious.

"You think so?" Anna asked, relishing at the warmth of Elsa's body, and pulling her even closer.

"You're the best human being I've ever known." Elsa nodded, closing her eyes and inhaling Anna's intoxicating scent while feeling her perfect curves under her fingers. She was really becoming addict to her. "You've made me feel whole again, and happy. You sure can make people want to come back for some ice-cream." Anna nodded and hummed happily as she enjoyed the wonderful sensation of being so close to the one she loved. She just wanted to stay in her arms all day long. She really liked Elsa's new attitude, like she was trying to take care of her, just like she had always done for the blonde; it made their relationship feel more equal.

"Maybe you're right." Anna agreed. "But I'll need you at my side to remind me of this. If you promise me you'll try stay calm, I promise I won't try too hard to be liked by them."

"I promise." Elsa said. At this, Anna separated a little from her and kissed her tenderly on the lips, to which the blonde hummed in delight before kissing her more hungrily. Anna moaned and pressed her tongue against Elsa's lips so she opened them for her, and when she did, they both felt light-headed from the intense pleasure they were experiencing. Then, Anna's instincts took over and she pushed Elsa against the wall, before starting to caress her perfect hips. The blonde gasped at the unexpected contact, but couldn't say anything because soon Anna's lips were passionately kissing her neck, making her shudder and yearn for more. Encouraged by this reaction, Anna lifted the hem of Elsa's shirt and gently touched her bare skin, which was almost as smooth as silk. But she still needed more and, without thinking, she let her hand ascend until she felt Elsa's bra and, without pausing, shoved her hand behind it to feel Elsa's hardened nipple. That's when she was pushed back and fell on her rear.

"Ow! Elsa, what the hell?!" She angrily glared at her girlfriend, who was now hugging herself with a fearful expression and looking down at the ice quickly spreading from her feet as the temperature dropped.

"S-sorry." Elsa squeaked. "I-It's just… that… uh… it felt… strange." Anna only glared at her.

Really? I make out with her and she just says it felt strange? She seemed to be enjoying herself quite a lot… that is, until I touched her breasts.

"Strange?" Anna tried to inquire, though she still was a little hurt and it came more rudely than she had intended.

"No one has ever… well, touched me there before. Not like that." Anna gave her a questioning look, encouraging her to continue. "Of course, when my father beat me, he sometimes hit my…" she pointed to her chest, clearly embarrassed to talk about this. "As well as the rest of my body, but it always hurt more here. I-I guess that's why I freaked out." She looked at the ground with a sad expression. "I-I'm sorry."

Seeing this, Anna's expression softened considerably as she got up and walked towards Elsa, who was now clearly fighting to contain her tears, obviously remembering those horrible times. Sometimes it was easy for Anna to forget what Elsa had gone through, specially lately, since Elsa had been acting more or less like a normal (though shy) human being, and this had make her yell at the blonde for something that was not really her fault.

"No, I'm sorry." Anna said with a sad tone as she caressed Elsa's cheek. "I shouldn't have yelled at you. It's just… sometimes it's easy to forget you're still recovering, and that I'm the first one to touch you with love in a long time." She sighed. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Elsa said. "Do you ever wish I was more… normal? You know, that I wasn't so… broken?"

"I've wished you hadn't gone through all those years of solitude and torture, yes. But only because it pains me to know you had to endure so much pain, not because I want you to be "normal". I love you just as you are." Elsa looked at Anna's eyes with gratefulness and then hugged her closely, letting out a few bittersweet tears made from her memories as well as the relief to have Anna's acceptance. Anna smiled at her actions, but then another thought entered her mind. "How do you think you would have been if you hadn't had powers?"

"I-I…" Elsa blinked, not really knowing what to say, as she separated herself from Anna to look her in the eyes. "I guess I had never thought about it. Maybe I'd be similar to my mother?"

"You mean only physically or…?"

"No, but I was really close to her when I was young, so…" She paused a question came to her mind. "Do you think we would've met sooner?"

"Of course! We would've probably grew up together." Anna answered happily as she thought about the possibility. "And then we would've fall in love, but your parents wouldn't have approved, and we would've run away like in the romantic movies!" Elsa chuckled at Anna's imagination, but still found herself imagining such a life, her heart warming at the thought. "And then we would've made our own family and your parents would've come to accept us and everyone would have lived happily ever after!"

"What a wonderful story." Elsa giggled and Anna did so too. "Fit for a romance novel. It's a shame my powers got in the way." Elsa had intended to say it as a joke, but it sounded much sadder than she meant it, and instantly, both girl's laughter died. However, Anna just put her arms around Elsa's neck and pressed her foreheads together.

"No." She said shaking her head. "It's a shame your parents got in the way; the story would've been the same if they hadn't thought you were a monster." Elsa only answered sighing and closing her eyes.

"Can you blame them though?" She asked.

"Yes." Anna answered without doubt, which really surprised the blonde; she hadn't expected such a definite answer, but she still felt relieved when hearing her words. "You were only a child, and no child can ever be a monster."

"I hope you're right." Elsa said, because a small part of her, still believed in her father's words, even if they hurt her like a thousand knives.

"I am, you'll see it in time." She assured her.

"I believe you." Elsa smiled and Anna kissed her tenderly, now taking care not to let the kiss grow more heated. Then, just as they separated, the door opened and a girl, around thirteen years old, entered to the shop, and Anna rushed to attend her, as Elsa did the same. Now, neither of them felt nervous anymore, because just these few intimate moments had made them realize that nothing really mattered as long as they had each other.

Anna's phone suddenly started ringing making her almost drop the money she was receiving from one of her clients, but fortunately she caught it on time, gave the man an apologetic smile and ran out of the store to answer as she shouted to Elsa:

"I'll be right back!" Anna watched as Elsa nervously nodded before exiting the store and looking at the screen. It was Kristoff. "Hello?" She answered nervously, desperately wanting to hear news about Rapunzel, and hoping the cop knew something.

"Anna?" Kristoff answered. "Hi, how are you?"

"I'm fine actually; I've opened an ice-cream shop with Elsa and everything is going fine. And you?"

"I'm fine, and…"

"Did Sven find out something about Rapunzel?" Anna interrupted as she noticed someone entering the shop. She didn't want to sound rude, but she knew she shouldn't leave Elsa by her own for too long. "Sorry, I'm just kinda busy."

"Oh." Kristoff said disappointed. "If you want I could call you later."

"No, it's fine." Anna rushed to say. "Just… make it quick."

"Okay." He agreed. "So… Sven just called me yesterday after going to Lyset. The good news is that there's already a group of cops and detectives working on your friend's case." He paused, as if doubting whether he should tell Anna the rest.

"And the bad ones?" Anna asked biting her lip and feeling an unpleasant sensation in her stomach.

"Well… they haven't found much." He admitted. "They originally thought it was a bunch of thugs who took advantage of the sudden snowstorm to abduct them, but of course Rapunzel's parents haven't been asked for leverage, so they fortunately discarded that, and now they think it must be some kind of criminal organization that wanted them for some reason, and their studies are now centered on finding where they took them, but unfortunately they didn't leave any clues behind, not even the ones who were killed during the storm, so… yeah." Kristoff sighed. "The worst part is that they were about to declare them dead, but thankfully Rapunzel's parents intervened and the investigation hasn't stopped, but…" He paused.

"But?" Anna prompted, afraid of what she may hear.

"But honestly I don't think they're going to find anything; Weselton is too damn good covering his traces."

"And couldn't Sven give them some clues?"

"Do you really think they'd believe him if he told them that one of the most prestigious doctors of the country abducted them because Rapunzel has magical healing powers?"

"Uh… yeah, probably not." She admitted. "But he could still tell them he suspects of Wiel Hahnssen and make up an excuse, right?"

"Without proof? It'll still be very unbelievable."

"Ugh! Then what do you suggest?!" Anna screamed exasperated.

"I-I don't know. I'm sorry, but I don't think there's anything we can do right now. We'll just have to wait and hope they find a lead." Anna tried to calm down after hearing Kristoff's afraid tone, not wanting to use him as a scape goat to let out all her frustration, so she just sighed.

"Maybe you're right. I just hope they find something, and soon."

"Yeah, me too."

"Anyways, see you later."

"Alright, see you." Kristoff hanged up and Anna turned to the store feeling like she just wanted to lay down and sleep her frustrations away, but knowing that wasn't an option, so, with a defeated posture, she entered to return to work.

Elsa watched Anna go outside and felt a sudden wave of anxiousness. She only hoped no one entered the store in that moment… unfortunately, a woman did entered and Elsa's hands started shaking noticeably at the prospect of having to talk with her, but as she gave a her a friendly smile, the blonde allowed herself to relax a little.

"Hello." The woman said. "I've never seen this place before, did you just opened?" Elsa opened her mouth to answer, but she was so nervous that no sound came out, so she just nodded instead. "Interesting, I always love to try new places, which flavor would you recommend me?" Elsa thought for a moment before pointing to the chocolate ice-cream. 2Uhm… sorry, are you mute?" She asked, obviously not wanting to sound rude but intrigued at Elsa's quietness, and when Elsa shook her head, she seemed surprised. "Really? Just shy then?" Elsa timidly nodded confirming the stranger's suspicion. "Aright then, I'll have a chocolate ice-cream… wait, can I have one double, half coffee and half chocolate? I've always liked those two flavors. Oh! And please, let it be in a cone." Again, Elsa nodded before getting a scoop to prepare the treat.

Without Anna at her side, Elsa felt even more nervous than before, and that was saying something. Her hands, still shaking, were clumsy while trying to use the scoop, and frost was already appearing, but she forced herself to concentrate only in her task and ignore the stranger in front of her in order to be able to prepare the ice-cream without incident. Fortunately, this time she remembered to avoid the ice that formed under her feet, so she didn't trip, before giving the ice-cream to the woman.

"Thank you." She said as she gave Elsa the money, which she put in her pocket so she could give it to Anna when she returned. "It was nice to meet you. I may come back." Then, the woman turned to leave, and Elsa released the air she didn't know she was holding before inhaling sharply when the woman gasped and turned back at her. "Did you make this?" She asked pointing to a coin-sized snowflake that stood proudly at the ice-cream's peak. Elsa looked at it in horror, realizing she must have accidentally created it while preparing the threat, but before she could try to deny it, the woman spoke again. "This is so beautiful, so perfect… did you really craft it?" Elsa gave her a confused look, what did she mean she crafted it? She didn't think she had magical powers? And then it hit her; of course, the woman didn't know about her powers, and she was amazed by something she thought to be an artificially made snowflake, so, to prevent her from starting thinking otherwise, Elsa promptly nodded, indicating that, indeed, she had made that "ice-crafting". "Oh, it's so amazing!" The woman exclaimed. "Can you do something bigger? Like an ice sculpture?" Again, Elsa nodded. "How much time would it take you?" Now, Elsa raised one finger. "One week?" Elsa shook her head. "One month?" The woman asked, but was met again with denial.

"Ahh… A…" Elsa tried to speak, realizing she wasn't going to understand her if she just signed, but it was quite difficult for her. "A-a… a d-day." She finally uttered.

"A day?!" The woman exclaimed surprised, her amazement growing when Elsa nodded. "That's… that's… you must be really talented! I'd like to see your work someday, if you want." Elsa shrugged, trying to figure out what was the big deal. "How much would it cost an ice sculpture?" Again, Elsa shrugged, since she didn't really think it'd be fair to put a price to something she could make in the blink of an eye, but she knew they needed money, so..."Don't you sell your work?" Elsa was about to shake her head, when Anna finally returned and stood by her side.

"Hello." She said to the costumer, knowing Elsa must be really scared." May I help you?

"Yes, actually." She said. "You see, I'm making a big party next week, and I needed some ice-sculptures, and I saw the beautiful snowflake she crafted and I was wondering if she could make some sculptures for me. I'd pay well, of course." Anna looked at her confused for a moment before noticing the snowflake placed on top of her ice-cream that was too perfect and too large to have been created naturally. Then, she made a decision; they needed the money, and Elsa loved practicing with her ice powers, but she'd only agree if her girlfriend felt comfortable with it.

"Elsa, what do you say?" She said turning to the blonde, who leaned in and whispered at her ear.

"I-I wouldn't oppose." She quietly said, so Anna nodded.

"Alright, she can make the sculptures, but she'd need a sketch or something to base her designs from. And about the price…2

"I'll pay well, I swear!" The woman answered.

"The first one will be free, so you can see if you like her work. The others will be full price though." Just as she said this, Anna realized she didn't know anything about ice-sculpture's prices. "Uh… we will discuss the price once the sculptures are finished, is that alright?" The woman nodded and Anna smiled. "Great! Then we have a deal!" She said cheerily taking her hand and shaking it.

"Thank you, I'll come back tomorrow with the designs I want, alright?" Anna nodded. "Thanks, see you." She said turning around and exiting the shop. Instantly, Elsa exhaled, relieved that she was now alone with Anna again.

"Are you okay?" Anna asked caressing her tensed shoulder.

"I-I'm not sure." She answered, her body still shaking slightly. "You don't think she figured out about my powers, do you?"

"I don't know." Anna answered shrugging. "But it's very unlikely. I think she was genuinely impressed about what you did, which is a good thing because now we'll get more money."

"Really?" Elsa asked allowing herself to relax a bit more.

"Yes." Anna answered as she leaned in to kiss her at the corner of her lips, which made Elsa melt and completely forget her fears and anxieties.

"You know? I must admit it was quite… flattering to meet someone who liked my magic… even if she didn't know." Elsa said.

"She won't be the last; what you do is amazing Elsa! And one day you'll realize it too."

"Yeah... I'm starting to." Elsa smiled and looked tenderly at Anna before kissing her, glad to have her at her side, since every day with Anna was even better than the last, even if it at first seemed like it was going to be awful. Thanks to the redhead, no matter what happened, everything always turned out just fine. Elsa just hoped that this would last.