Elsa spent the next several days dealing with the discovery that there was a traitor lurking in her subconscious. The business in the tree was a single, solitary positive encounter and by all rights shouldn't have meant much, but it had planted a nervousness in her. The frightening parts grew less and less important while the bright spots stuck, and some of those were trouble. Now that she was safe, removed from the danger that had dominated her mind at the time, Elsa was forced to admit that she had enjoyed Anna's help more than simple gratitude could explain. The humor she teased with while hanging from the branch was endearing, part of a playfulness that Elsa wanted to see more of. And those moments spent pressed flat against the redhead fueled more than embarrassment. A guilty evening had been spent letting her mind wander down the rabbit warren of "what ifs": what if they hadn't met in a fight? What if Anna was gay too? What if she had followed Elsa to her room afterward, and Elsa's hands had the chance to follow where the tattoos she had spied led…her imagination took her down some tantalizing paths that night.

It wouldn't go anywhere, of course. The rational parts of her knew both that she didn't have the guts to follow her physical attraction, and that even if she did they were liable to end up bickering since just thinking she was cute hardly solved anything. The irrational parts of her wanted to stay mad at the girl anyway for what she'd done before. Still, despite everything, a treacherous seed of hope had sprouted through the cracks in her disdain for the redheaded terror. It enjoyed an unexpected taste of calm as well, for despite Anna's parting words she'd failed to show up at the bus stop as usual. Elsa wasn't sure if she was disappointed or relieved as the week ticked away, devoid of the braided distraction.

Thursday dawned dimly, longer nights and a thick layer of clouds combining to give her a half-lit wait at the bus stop. Elsa loved everything about fall except for the darkness invading what should have been perfectly good daylight hours. Even when she lacked any plans to use them it had been nice at least having the option, if the whim struck her, to go out. Whether it was just going for a simple run, taking her camera around for an impromptu wandering, or flopping onto a bench by the sea where she could read and daydream, the early sunset now hemmed her in. She didn't relish facing the dark by herself.

Just a few short weeks ago she had been so eager for autumn to sweep away the incessant heat, and she felt a little silly for feeling glum when it had done that so wonderfully. Best to focus on the good and enjoy the day, even if she couldn't see if clearly. She sighed, determined not to dwell on this. She already had plenty of thoughts that refused to go away.

Something touched against her head, which she absentmindedly brushed off as she remained lost in thought behind her headphones. She paid more attention when she felt it again, her hand finding something moving this time. Elsa froze. A leaf? A spider? What…she didn't finish the thought as it moved again, this time sending her squeaking to the ground as she flailed against whatever was there, losing her footing in the wet leaves and landing heavily on her butt. From Elsa's new vantage point she had a perfectly clear image of the branch that she had felt, wielded by her most obnoxious neighbor from a perch in the tree above.

"Wow, that worked even better than I thought! You are not good with surprises, are you?" She looked inordinately pleased with herself, sporting a smirk which would have been cute if it Elsa wasn't so distracted by the dampness she was now sitting in.

"Oh, for the love of…do you really have to do that? Can't you just say hello like a normal person?" Elsa scrambled to her feet, brushing leaves off and wincing at the touch of a slimy something that she hoped was no worse than mud.

Rolling her eyes Anna scoffed, "Me, normal. That doesn't sound like any fun."

"Well, do me favor and try to pretend, I'm all wet now thanks to you." The answering snicker confused her for a moment until she realized what she'd said, retorting, "Oh, can it, you know what I meant." If Anna's arboreal reappearance hadn't managed to be quite so annoying Elsa might have had something nicer to say, but, for the moment, her irrational side had the upper hand and didn't want to let go. Surely a better person would be more apologetic right now, but this girl seemed to be nothing if not proud of herself.

"Oooh, still so cold? Guess the climb didn't help get that stick out of your butt." Elsa wanted to wipe that grin off her face, but couldn't think of anything clever to say and couldn't reach her. Not that she was sure what she would do even if she could reach.

"Can you take this seriously at all? I'm not kidding, this is not how I want to start my day. I don't have time to go change if I want to catch the bus, and I've got work after class already." Anna's smile faded at the seriousness in Elsa's voice, but the older girl didn't care. The blonde wasn't in the mood to be the literal butt of the joke. She'd be mortified if she would have to spend the day with a streak of mud down the back of her jeans, but that wasn't even the truly irritating part. This was just another game to the girl. If Anna could just take a moment out of her own amusement, hopefully spending it to consider that Elsa's opinion might actually matter, she'd be a lot more tolerable, instead of this infuriating tendency to ignore that anyone else might have a reasonable complaint.

Anna dropped to the ground, landing just as gracefully as Elsa hadn't a minute before. Her expression was unsettled, a mix of contrition, irritation, and more that couldn't be identified. It seemed like she wanted to say something, but instead spent her time glancing at Elsa, then away again. This was new. In each previous run-ins she hadn't avoided eye contact at all, but this time she seemed nervous.

No explanation came. She eventually muttered, "Ah, screw it," then wandered to her usual spot, putting on her headphones to forestall any chance at a conversation.

It was over for now, but Elsa wasn't satisfied with how it had ended. She felt a hint of remorse at having been so obviously annoyed, even if she had a fine reason to be. Something was different about Anna's bearing this time, she hadn't settled into her typical indignation when Elsa pushed back. If it meant anything then the meaning was lost to her for now.

Anna spent the rest of the wait fidgeting, occasionally looking Elsa's way but for the most part studiously focusing on her phone, all the while shifting her weight from one foot to the other. It compounded the weirdness of her earlier hesitation, making it clear that something was going on that she wasn't letting on about.

Just let it go. There's no reason to let yourself get caught up in whatever this is. Elsa didn't find herself very convincing. This was going to bother her, no matter how much she knew it shouldn't.

The puzzle stuck with her, bouncing around her head for nearly an hour until her first class finally filtered in, stealing her attention away and leaving Elsa answerless. Neither did she make any progress throughout the day, her morning concern failing to rematerialize enough for it to reach any further than the back of her mind. By the time her shift at one of the campus libraries came around the issue was pushed out entirely. Shelving books inspired calmer thoughts.

Despite having locked the library doors more than an hour ago, Elsa was only just getting the last of the books into place at the end of her shift. Light streaming through the high windows had begun to darken into orange hues while she worked. It was her favorite time to be here, watching the mere calm slip into utter stillness as everyone else filtered out. She particularly liked evenings like this, where she was the last even of the employees. The whole place felt like it became hers, free to use for whatever whim might strike her. She would occasionally strike down the silence with a song on her phone, ignoring the tinny quality to dance through the solemn air, for once not having to care how silly she might look. Mere months before it wouldn't have been possible. Hans having had a keycard as well was too unnerving a thought to have lingered then, but with him gone the morose calm was once again welcoming, just as it had been when she first wanted the job. It was while others were still there that she felt it, jumping when people rounded the corners, momentary panic that Hans' persistence had brought him back.

As it turned out, the sudden buzzing from her pocket also did the trick, sending Elsa a half-foot closer to the ceiling as her last pile of books tumbled onto the floor. Luckily, being the last here also meant no one was around to witness her embarrassment at having been frightened by her own phone. Maybe one of these days she would stop jumping at shadows, but clearly today would not be it. Grumbling, she collected the books again, purposefully ignoring the creased pages in one that had fallen just wrong. Nothing could be done about it now, other than hoping the fold would flatten out while it sat on the shelf. Or, given that the book was one of the old editions for the Intro to Economics course, hope that the undergrads using it simply wouldn't care. Gods knew they treated the books badly enough themselves.

Only once everything was at last sorted into place did Elsa check the message that had so startled her. She didn't get a lot of texts, but it was generally Meri or her parents who sent the few that did turn up. Seeing Olaf's name was a surprise; she had forgotten that they traded numbers when he first came over. What might he want?

First was a picture, containing Olaf and a huge pile of ingredients. Flour, eggs, sugar, enough butter to make her feel heavier just from seeing it, and most importantly a Costco-sized bag of chocolate chips. He was seemingly holding everything back with a wielded spatula. The caption explained, 'Making cookies tonight, need help!' His horrified expression, like the mountain of stuff was about to overwhelm him, was enough to make her giggle. Well, why not? Anywhere with that much chocolate was worth a visit. And how much could possibly go wrong around cookies?

She set out while sending back, 'Only if you're fine with some of those chips not making it into the cookies! Be there in 40 minutes.' Shortly after she was out the door a second picture came back, showing Olaf on the floor while pretending to fend off the bag of chocolate. The message said simply, 'Hurry!' Her grin at just how much of a dork he was lasted all the way to the bus stop, and inspired her to choose music with a bit more swing to it for the ride back. If she were still alone in the library she might well have been dancing, surprised at how bright her mood was now. Olaf had a talent for lightheartedness, or maybe it was just the promise of chocolate. Either way Elsa was humming to herself as she hopped off the bus, eager to drop her bag off and head over.

The front porch was much less imposing now, and this time held no one waiting to ambush her. Orange lights flanked the door, new additions that arrived alongside October. Someone was ready for the holidays to begin. Halloween had never been Elsa's favorite; despite enjoying the aesthetic, the actual day always left her feeling left out; worse, it was her own fault that she was. Two years away from home hadn't managed to break that routine, despite telling herself each time that this year would be different. Maybe it would be, but she didn't have a lot of faith in herself to make the change.

Stop it, this isn't the time for that. Just knock, dummy. No sense getting down over nothing, at least not in the face of imminent chocolate! This time she heard Olaf respond immediately, yelling, "Come in!" loud enough to be heard over the music that was playing. Without the crowd of people from last time the room was rather serene, giving Elsa a chance to look around while she slipped off her shoes, leaving them in the small pile at the foot of the stairs. The living room was surprisingly clean, at least compared to what Elsa had expected to find. The wood floor was worn with age rather than mistreatment, and the couches inside were similarly battered through nothing more than long use. Now that she thought about it there hadn't been any particular reason to have expected a mess when she got here, it was a bit rude to have assumed that. All told, the place looked really quite comfortable.

"The kitchen's back here!" Olaf's voice echoed down the hallway alongside the clatter of a metal tray. Elsa was pretty sure that the Ricky Martin currently playing was his doing, given that neither Kristoff nor Anna seemed likely culprits. For Olaf, though, it was a good fit. When she reached the end of the hallway a grin broke out at how she found him. Yes, definitely a good fit, given that he was dancing while measuring out flour when she came out of the hallway.

"I see Ricky beat me here. Are you two serious, or is it just a fling?" Her tone was teasing as she rolled up her sleeves, ready to dive in to help as soon as she got directions.

"Oh, woe is me, my love has gone unrequited! Ricky, Enrique, they toy with my heart so cruelly, driving me to bake to drown my sorrow..." He sighed with such heartbreak that Elsa giggled at how well he sold it. "Enough about me, though, how have you been?"

"Better, now that it's finally stopped being so hot. What should I do to help?" She was hesitant to just dive right in, people could be very particular about their recipes. Better to play it safe.

"You can start the snickerdoodles! Find the recipe over there," he shrugged towards a box holding a couple dozen notecards, "and measure out everything. If you can't find anything just ask, it'll be buried somewhere around here." Elsa nodded and set to it.

Curiosity got the better of her as Elsa wondered aloud, "This is a nice place. I guess I was worried since I only saw it during the party before, so I expected it to be a little different. How long have you been here?"

Olaf had pulled out a hand mixer and set to beating the cookie dough into shape. He answered through the rhythmic clicking of the beaters as they spun, musing, "I guess you really don't know much about here, do you? Well, I've been here the longest, four years now. Gerda's kind of adopted us, we wouldn't let anything happen to her house so we take pretty good care of it. Sven moved in two years ago, and then Kristoff and Anna a year after him, though Kristoff was friends with Sven since way before that."

That inspired a slew of additional questions. Elsa didn't let it slow her too much from her task, but Olaf's answer hadn't been what she expected. Four years was a long time for him to have lived here, and unless he was older than he looked that would mean he'd been here since high school. She decided not to pry too directly, Olaf could elaborate on that if he wanted. Instead she remarked, "I don't think I've met Sven or Gerda yet."

"Well, I suppose you wouldn't have had a chance to meet Gerda, but she's just the sweetest lady you'll ever meet. I think she owns a couple of houses, but she's always made sure this house was open to kids like us. I don't know what we would have done without her. I'll have to let you know the next time she's here, she'll like you. Sven, well, he's nice, but he's pretty quiet, doesn't meet people very well. Poor guy nearly went into hibernation when Anna first showed up, though her being a friend of Kristoff helped get him survive it."

"Kristoff was quite easygoing when I talked to him. Is that why he's able to put up with Anna?" A bit more frustration than she had intended crept into that question.

Olaf fretted briefly before answering, "Anna's really not bad, she's just intense. You two have had just the worst luck meeting each other."

Elsa took a break to pop a handful of chocolate chips into her mouth, chewing them to buy some time to figure what to say next. The direct route was probably best. "That hasn't been my experience with her. It's seemed like she is intent on keeping this stupid fight going, and I haven't a clue why."

"Well...yeah, she can really dig her teeth into things and get stubborn about them, but that's usually a good thing! It's how she got through school, and with her parents…err, nevermind about them. Just, um, be patient with her, ok? She's had a lot enemies, which is sad because she's really fun. She's just had too many people hurt her, so new people get judged pretty fast." Olaf's concern was plain to see. As good as he was at creating emotion, he was absolutely awful at hiding it. Elsa decided to let it go rather than press the issue. He wasn't wrong, it was a bit rude to talk behind Anna's back like this, so she held back while he continued. "I am sorry about the party. I hadn't thought she'd do that." Olaf was dividing dough onto a cookie sheet, while Elsa was only part way done with the eggs for hers.

"Don't worry, Olaf. She's been better since." The bar had been set low enough that she'd have had a hard time failing to meet it now anyway. Elsa decided to change the subject, urging him, "Tell me some more about your band, I haven't heard much at all about it. I've noticed that you've been practicing earlier."

Olaf perked up at the new line of conversation, beaming, "We're doing pretty well, actually! This weekend is our first real show, we've got a gig at Red Down on Saturday. We've just played for friends and that sort until now. Hey, would you want to come?"

Elsa wasn't sure what to say. She wasn't even sure where a band like theirs would play. Bars and clubs weren't really a good fit for her, and the few she had gone to were some of the ones near campus with her friends. None of those were the sort where she would expect to see them. "I'm not sure – I don't know if that's my type of thing. I mean, I know you're good, but would I fit in?"

"You don't have to fit in, that's half the point! It would actually help us out a bit too, the more people that show up the better."

"Well…it would be an adventure, I suppose. I'll have to think about it." A thought struck her, bringing a wry smile to her face as she accused Olaf, "You didn't bring me here to bribe me with cookies, did you?"

"What? I would never…! I guess…hmm, yeah, it totally does sound like that now that you mention it. But still!" Brandishing his spatula, Olaf waved it at Elsa to emphasize his point, insisting, "Cookies are a very serious thing, Elsa Arendal. You don't use cookies to trick people, that would be rude." His indignation was at first quite real, but it tapered into humor as he realized she wasn't serious.

Popping a handful of chocolate chips into her mouth, Elsa mused, "With enough chocolate it would probably work. It's my one weakness."

Olaf's eyes lit up at that and he exclaimed, "Anna's exactly the same! It is really just a shame you haven't gotten along, I should be a better friend and fix that."

Elsa sighed. "I wouldn't worry about trying too hard, things will sort themselves out eventually. Speaking of which, where is everyone else? It's getting late."

Olaf answered while carefully portioning out the last of this batch of dough onto a cookie sheet. "Well, Kristoff had a date, Sven's probably visiting his parents, and I'll bet that Anna got stuck at work since we aren't practicing tonight. She might be back soon, though."

Later Elsa would wonder why she jumped to the conclusion that she did. It was a momentary lapse of judgment of the sort that was becoming more and more common since she had moved in, and it led her to demand, "Olaf, you didn't."

His confusion was clear as he asked back, "Didn't what?" It was enough for the realization to snap into place, leaving Elsa backpedalling.

"Oh, umm, I just meant because you had said you should fix it, it's really nothing." Olaf had started smiling, prompting more verbal flailing. "Really! I didn't mean anything, it was a silly question, don't read too much into it."

Olaf wasn't letting go after Elsa had accidentally dangled such a fun piece of bait before him. His eyes sparkled with humor as he promised all-too-innocently, "Well, I'll only read the right amount into it then." He let Elsa have some silence while he slid another tray into the over, then commented, "She likes girls, you know." Elsa froze, directing a mental kick at the part of her that thrilled at the confirmation, and then another again for having led her into this.

The situation instantly deteriorated as they heard the front door open, which was probably the second worst timing for an entrance that Elsa had ever encountered. Olaf started giggling as it closed, and Elsa began a doomed campaign to stop blushing. The music was too loud to hear which way those footsteps were going, but a familiar voice echoed down the hallway to let Elsa know she wasn't getting out of this.

"You'd better not be done yet! If tonight ends without any cookie dough in me then we've got a problem!"

Olaf flat-out smirked at Elsa before shouting back, "Don't worry, we've still got plenty here for you to enjoy!" She would have to get revenge for this sometime, but not now. Now was a time to brace herself.

"We?" Two thuds sounded as the song changed, sounding like she'd kicked her shoes off. I hope you mean Sven, because if Kristoff is back there then that date can't have gone well. Oooh, it's a Ricky night!" Her footsteps were irregular, matching the beat as she started dancing, and her voice approached the corner, singing along. "She'll make you take your clothes off," floated into the kitchen, followed by the singer herself backing into the room, pulling off her jacket. "And go dancing in the…rain..." Her face went from smile to shock when she turned to find Elsa watching, one hand covering her own grin.

"Hi." Elsa was sure of it now. Olaf was trouble when he wanted to be. Whether that was a good or bad thing wasn't clear right now.

"Hi - hi me?" She gestured to herself with the hand still holding her jacket, just in case there was any confusion. Elsa decided that she preferred Anna like this, off her guard. Her surprise was actually kind of endearing, and it helped wonderfully in getting Elsa past her own embarrassment from before.

"Will you be joining us?" Elsa wasn't sure if yes or no would be the easier answer to hear. Either would provide their own complications.

She seemed to find a bit of her resolve, finding something to do with her jacket by hanging it on the nearest doorknob. "As long as there's chocolate in here you're stuck with me." Olaf obliged the decision by tossing a chocolate chip at Anna, who tried catching it in her mouth. She missed, the morsel bouncing off her forehead to the floor, though it didn't remain there long as she reclaimed it to eat. "I gotta get better at that. We should practice later."

"You just want more." Again it was more teasing than it was a rebuke.

Anna rolled her eyes as she dug into the pile of bowls and ingredients, apparently knowing already what she'd need. Elsa couldn't help but notice that her sleeveless top left quite a bit of her arms visible, including the clearest look yet at the patterns inked onto her. There were two tattoos that Elsa could see, both remarkably well crafted. The first was of a skeletal chameleon climbing her arm, with great hollow eyes and gaping mouth twisted into a fleshless grin. A long tail wound down, ending in a loop encircling her just below the elbow. Elsa carefully avoided staring, but the detail on the bones was impressive enough that she really wanted to be able to study it more closely.

The other arm was simpler, but no less impressive. It held a silhouette depiction of Snow White pieced together with black, red, and empty space. Her hair and clothes were pure black cutouts, while a bold red marked her bow and lips. The rest was left out for the imagination to fill in. The bit that put the red back into Elsa's cheeks was that the clothing was not her usual dress, but instead was a much smaller outfit with a collar attached to a scanty corset, black laces crisscrossing down. To cap it all off she held a coiled whip, thin black loops gathered in gloved hands. The whole thing was distractingly well made and clearly sexual, so much so that Elsa could feel herself blushing. She couldn't imagine getting anything like that.

"Kristoff's pretty good, isn't he?" Anna had caught the gaze. Hopefully she had missed the reaction.

Elsa tried to cover. "I'm impressed, he did that? I didn't know he was a tattoo artist." Best to move the conversation along to get away from the fact that she had been caught looking. Not that she could even explain to herself why she so wanted to hide it.

"Yeah! It's his job, he's been doing them forever. He says he used to get in trouble with his parents for trying to give them to himself and his friends when he was a kid." Elsa got the sense that Anna wasn't quite saying what was on her mind either.

Olaf piped up, "You should see his, he's got a million of them! You could ask next Saturday if you get there early, he likes having an excuse to show them off. Just don't let him explain too long, we need him to actually play at some point in the night."

Elsa didn't get a chance to respond as Anna sputtered, "Wait, what? What do you mean early ..." Confusion gave way to surprise as she processed what that meant, with alarm following closely behind. She only remembered to close her mouth when she turned on Olaf to demand, "You told her?!"

"Yeah, why?" His face was exaggeratedly innocent.

"About our show?!"

"Yeah, why?"

Her voice fell flat as she realized Olaf was teasing her. "You're having some fun with me, aren't you?"

"Yeah, why?" He let himself smirk now that she had noticed.

Anna seemed to take that poorly. "Oh, you sneaky bitch. You…" Her eyes flicked to Elsa, at which point she thought better of whatever she had been intending to say. Instead she moved on to their guest to state bluntly, "You're not going to the show."

Elsa was on Olaf's side about having fun with this, enjoying that for once she didn't seem to be the one losing control over the situation. Just as innocently as Olaf she replied, "I don't know, it sounds like fun."

"There's no way you'll fit in."

"That's half the point, isn't it?" Olaf flashed her a thumbs up, which Anna noticed with a scowl.

"Oh, I get it now. Fine, I won't fight it right now, but I'm not going to lose to some, some… cookie conspiracy." She went back to her bowl, whisking more vigorously than was probably necessary.

"Well, if you are so certain I won't like it, why not sing one for me now to prove it?" Truthfully, Elsa was curious. She was leaning much more towards going to the show, if only because it looked like it would bother Anna (at least, that what she told herself), but she also genuinely wanted to hear more of her.

Not looking up from the dough Anna retorted, "They don't really work that well by themselves. How about you sing something for us?" She set it out as a challenge, apparently certain that Elsa would decline. Elsa was more than happy to prove her wrong. She didn't have to be in practice to put on a show.

Elsa went to the stereo and cut the volume. She gave Anna a few moments to stew in the silence, giving time for surprise and anticipation to set the stage. Once the moment struck just right, she began, choosing one of her favorites.

"Am I blue? Am I blue?

Aren't these tears

In these eyes telling you?"

She'd always liked this song, and she enjoyed Annette Hanshaw's voice even more. But the original version wouldn't convey quite what she wanted this to. It needed to borrow a bit from elsewhere.

"Am I blue? You'll be too

If your schemes, like your dreams

All fall through"

There were a few versions of the song, and Elsa chose this part deliberately. Hopefully Anna couldn't miss the stress Elsa had placed on "schemes", drawing it out like a line in the sand. One way or another, Elsa just needed things to stop being so weird between them. If that could happen they might even get to be friends, but only if Anna could figure out what she wanted out of her.

"Was a time, I was her only one

Now I am the sad and lonely one

Was I gay 'til today?

Now she's gone and we're through

Am I blue?"

Maybe Olaf was right, and they had simply got off to a poor start. Anna probably would be a lot of fun if she wasn't trying so hard to be a pain in the ass, and Elsa was tired of hiding from the possibility of something new. She was also self-aware enough to realize that there was another part of the equation: it helped that the girl was attractive. Really, unreasonably attractive at that. But it was the grin on Anna's face while hanging upside down from a pine tree, and the breathless excitement she'd had when she'd first opened that door to meet her grumpy neighbor, that had wormed into Elsa's head. Those scenes were ones she found herself remembering these past weeks whenever she started daydreaming, all wrapped up in a pile of uncertainty about where she stood in Anna's eyes now. Those were the scenes that made Elsa want to like her.

The blush spreading through her freckles now didn't hurt, either.

"Wow, umm, I guess I deserved that. Maybe not so much a stage performer-" Elsa huffed at that "-but not bad!" She sounded exactly as Elsa had hoped, as though she'd just had her feet taken out from under her. A bit of fair payback.

"Just not bad? That was wonderful! Where'd you learn to sing? You'd better not be able to do that without any practice, I'll be awfully jealous." Olaf was just plain excited. Elsa still felt like he'd been plotting something tonight, but this response sounded totally genuine, a normal example of Olaffian joy.

"Well, I did practice, a lot, when I was younger. I've had lessons since I was little." And I wish I kept them up since coming here, she thought to herself.

"Lessons...well that makes sense. You did look prim and proper, like you were always taught the 'right' way to sing." Anna struck an exaggerated pose to demonstrate what she meant, back ramrod straight and hands held gracefully before her.

"Please, you make me sound like I'm some sort of aristocrat. I'm not that stiff." Elsa wasn't really admonishing her, she wanted to make it clear that she could take a joke.

"Well, you're high-class, at least. Is it my turn, then? I think I owe you a song after that little surprise." She sounded eager this time, like she already had something in mind.

"I suppose it is." What was she planning? At the very least this ought to be interesting. From the little she'd heard before she knew that the girl had plenty of talent, and she seemed to have taken Elsa's song as a challenge. Which it sort of had been, now that she thought about it.

Anna's fingers led the way, snapping a beat to lead her into the lyrics. It wasn't familiar to Elsa, an upbeat tune bouncing between syllables and running the pitch up and down through every line. It was catchy, whatever it was.

"She keeps Moët et Chandon

In her pretty cabinet

'Let them eat cake,' she says

Just like Marie Antoinette!

A built-in remedy

For Kruschev and Kennedy

At anytime an invitation

You can't decline!"

She was into it now, whole body stepping into each line, face lit up at once with the sheer joy of singing and with a hint of a smoldering more. Elsa nearly felt the need to gulp, and she was certain she was both blushing and staring. Damn it. Gods damn it all, the girl was good, and the way she was moving just wasn't fair.

"Caviar and cigarettes

Well versed in etiquette

Extraordinarily nice

She's a Killer Queen

Gunpowder, gelatine

Dynamite with a laser beam

Guaranteed to blow your mind!"

As she sang that line she shot Elsa through with a look, one that could be a promise just as easily as a warning. Why couldn't this have been how they met? Without the small mountain of annoyances they'd accumulated between them - or, maybe, the little molehill of them - things could be so different. A beautiful woman singing to her - and there was no mistaking it, this song was directed squarely at Elsa - was so much better than their first fight had been.

Just...

This just isn't fair. Why does she have to be so stupidly hot right now? Gods below, Elsa wanted to let it all go and make a very bad decision right now, but getting sucked in by a pretty voice just had to be horribly short-sighted. She was overreacting. It was just that she was very talented, that was all. That was a much safer answer than the sway of her as she stepped into each bolded syllable.

Never mind that the fierce confidence in her demeanor was reminding Elsa of how nonchalantly she'd scampered through those branches. Of the forceful fluidity when she'd dropped to earth.

Of the glimpse of skin Elsa had caught beneath that perfectly too-short top at the party. Of all the other corners of ink she'd spied during their various encounters.

Of her infuriating desire to follow those tattoos under the clothes hiding them.

Girl, you've got it bad.

And she kept going.

"Recommended at the price

Insatiable an appetite

Wanna try?"

The song didn't let up. Maybe the original didn't stretch out the question so teasingly, and maybe just by itself it wouldn't have suggested so much, but now, with the dare lurking in Anna's eyes, Elsa knew what she was being told. This was one hell of an olive branch. Was she daring Elsa to rebuff her, forcing Elsa to be the one to push back? It might also be a hint that Elsa's confusion about where she stood was mutual. Not so long ago Elsa wouldn't have had any patience for this sort of playing around; now, she found that she didn't want her to stop. Though hell if Elsa knew what came next.

Elsa had never flirted in her life, but she was pretty sure that was what was happening now. If she had any wisdom she'd refuse to join in to avoid assuredly making a fool of herself eventually, but she didn't feel very wise at all right now. How was she even supposed to react here? She prided herself on always having a calm response, but she didn't have any footing here, no experience to inform what one might even look like. Half of her wanted to scream at Anna to stop messing with her, and the other half wanted to drag her to somewhere private and order her to keep going. After a lifetime keeping people at arm's length, a distance inspired by a formless fear of all that might go wrong, this was flying dangerously close to the sun.

Olaf evidently knew the song and was giggling helplessly as Anna danced deeper.

"Drop of a hat she's as willing as

Playful as a pussy cat

Then momentarily out of action

Temporarily out of gas

To absolutely drive you wild...

She's all out to get you!"

Elsa was done, just absolutely done. She was perilously near cracking as she pieced together enough calm to painstaking comment, "It appears I have to concede to you, that was spectacular! What song was that?" Asking about the music was the safest direction that came to mind. Certainly safer than thinking more about the way the air filled Anna's chest, or the glorious dance of her lips forming the tune. Yes, best to stick to the song, the only part of what was happening that she had any notion how to handle.

Incredulous eyebrows lifted as she answered with her own question, demanding, "What, don't you know Queen?" Apparently Elsa had poked the hive.

"Oh, they are an old band, aren't they? I've heard the name before." Olaf joined in to gang up on her, tsking at the response.

"I'm with Anna on this one, we're gonna have to fix this." He went to the stereo, promising the machine, "I'll see you again later, Ricky. Now we're going to be spending a night at the opera."

"A little more energy than that, more like a day at the races." Elsa was missing something here, she could tell.

"Either way, you'll like them. They've got... a kind of magic." Olaf was grinning like a total dork now, though Elsa still had no idea what the joke was that she wasn't figuring out.

"They've got the works! All sorts of music."

"A little jazz, even."

"Eddie was the Queen of the game."

"A voice made in heaven."

"Umm...Flash Gordon." Anna seemed to have run out of whatever was going on, and Olaf giggled at her concession.

"I thought you'd comment on this hot space in here after all your innuendo. I think you almost gave her a sheer heart attack!" Anna blushed when Olaf said that, and judging by his expression that had been the point.

Game or not, Elsa was blushing too as she told them, "I'm not quite sure what's happening here, but I think you two are both being giant dorks and leaving me out. So, um... what just happened?"

Olaf answered. "They're the album titles! And Anna forgot I always win at this game." Anna threw a bit of cookie dough at him, which stuck to his nose when he tried to eat it mid-air.

"You two are special." Weird, too, though Elsa kept that to herself. Definitely fun to watch in any case, which made her blush easier to bear.

Anna smiled at her, which was enough to keep Elsa's face red. "'Special' is better than 'normal' from before. I'll take it!" Her head was bobbing to a song that Elsa wasn't having much luck paying attention to. There was too much distraction already.

"Well, anyway...where did you learn to sing? Your voice is wonderful, you must have a lot of practice." Complimenting Anna's voice also seemed safe for now. Safe from what, precisely, Elsa wasn't ready to say.

"Practice is about all I've got, I never had anywhere to learn. I just really love music. I used to get in trouble for listening to the radio instead of going to sleep. So, I guess that part sorta hasn't changed." She was talking about her, Elsa realized, getting mad at their practice. Cheeky of her to slip that in, but she had to admit that she'd made it fit. It didn't bug her as much as it might have; Elsa didn't think she'd mind listening to Anna sing while she went to sleep, at this point it was maybe just the instruments that would bother her.

Anna's gaze lingered on Elsa, as though she was considering saying something but wasn't finding words for it. Eventually she went back to the stereo, announcing, "Well, I think we've confused you enough with this, I'll change it to something more like what we play. I can sing along, if you don't mind." Was that another blush? And she was asking, for once, even if it wasn't something she really had to ask about. That was new.

"I'd like that, Anna." Damn it, she was blushing too, and that answer seemed so awkward now that she'd said it. Couldn't she have thought of a better way to put it? Why did it even bother her? The whole situation had her feeling silly.

The song switched abruptly in a clamor of drums, leading into a catchy guitar hook. Anna started bopping to the beat, hair bouncing in time. Again Elsa wondered at the sheer energy that always seemed to drive her. A day in her life must be exhausting. Maybe worth it, but Elsa was pretty sure running through the day at full tilt like that would wear her out.

When the lyrics hit Anna spun around to face the kitchen, startling a smile from Elsa. Dork, she thought silently. This girl really did belong on a stage.

"Well every day I throw a little party

But if it would be more fitting, fitting!

And every time I come a little higher

Should I leap or go on living, living?"

Sure, Elsa felt out of her depth, and yes, she felt silly about the way she was worrying about the strangest little things tonight. But she was enjoying herself. It was almost a surprise, admitting that to herself: she was having fun. Maybe tonight she could let herself not sweat the small stuff? So what if she had some good reasons to be mad at this girl, they wouldn't do anything but spoil the evening. Elsa relaxed. She didn't have much practice living in the moment, but Anna seemed good enough at that for two people.

"Hear the voices venomous and thrilling

In their hair they're always calling, calling!

But I wanna gotta go the way my butt beats

So I'm not falling for the folly, folly!"

Folly? Hmm, maybe, but Elsa wasn't going to let herself care. She was going to drink this performance in without complicating it. Watching Anna's hips swing back and forth to the lines was a pleasure; it could be a guilty one some other time. But not now.

"No one here is taking notice

No outline will ever hold us

It's not a new wave, it's just you and me!"