NOTE: HAPPY AMERICA DAY! (As a companion to "HAPPY CANADA DAY" from Friday lol)

Guest: MORE Elsanna? I don't know what else you want from me, this is literally a 70,000+ word fanfic based on a single prompt. Maybe you should write it yourself if you have a better idea of what "level" of Elsanna you want lol

~ Chapter Thirty-Three ~

Anna paced back and forth in the upstairs hallway, her phone in her hand. She wanted to call so many people, to tell them everything! But she knew she would sound crazy. They would never believe that she had stayed up talking to Elsa for over an hour, both of them alternately coming close to flirting with each other and then pulling back shyly, neither of them passing judgement on the other for being "too afraid".

That she had spooned Elsa. Spooned her - even though she was the tall one! Her butterflies had been way too intense to allow her hands to wander anywhere besides the singer's stomach, but it had been even better than waking up with her on the couch. Despite cold feet pushing back into her shins.

Lying like that had cost them another half hour of sleep. What nervous little nerds they were!

Finally, the indecisive Anna said "fuck it" and called Kristoff. She might not be ready for her mother's reactions, but she would force herself to be ready for her best friend.

"…come again for Big Fudge?"

Pursing her lips for a moment at his superfluous pop culture references, she hissed, "All night. And she kissed my cheek good morning. I could fucking DIE, okay?!"

"You're actually serious." His voice hesitated for a moment. "Or delusional. Isn't 'island fever' something that can happen?"

"Stop it. I know it sounds crazy, I am definitely aware of that. But… I think we might really be… not just me, but both of us."

"Be what?"

Glancing at the bathroom door again, she whispered, "You know! That thing!"

"The 'love' thing?"

"That's the thing, yes! GOD!"

With a little chuckle, he asked, "Then why can't you say it? I mean, that sounds like you don't know for sure."

"I don't! Didn't you hear the word 'might' in there?! Keep up, bro!" When he only laughed harder, she sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know what to do, I mean… she's going back to the life of a big star, and I'm going home to sit around on my ass all summer until university. But I really, really like her! This is bullshit!"

"Hey, whoa, slow down. You don't even know for sure her feelings are the same as yours - I mean, despite that whole confession yesterday. Haven't you ever heard of a platonic friend crush?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. And I wanted to be platonic friends with her, so bad. I still do! Dead serious, I care about her so much, and I don't care what kind of relationship we have as long as… as long as we have one. I guess. Know what I mean?"

There was a short silence. Finally, he grunted, "You got it bad."

"Pretty bad. Maybe neither of us is in love with the other person, but I can tell you for damn sure that I love her. So much, Kristoff…"

"Okay, don't panic. You're talkin' to the love expert." When Anna only snorted, he kept going, "Hey, don't blow me off until you hear me out!"

"What do you know about love?! You're just as bad as me at dating, no use lying now."

"But I do know about you. And… I think you should tell her how you feel about her - as a person," he headed off her protests. "Not saying you haven't kinda hinted, but just drop it with no safety nets or strings. Let her figure out what you mean to her once she knows that much."

At that moment, she heard the door open. Lowering her voice even more, she whispered, "I gotta go. But yeah, we'll see."

"Good luck, you HUGE FLAMING LESBO!"

"I hate you so much." Then she hung up, rolling her eyes and trying not to smirk in spite of herself as Elsa emerged.

And boy, did she. Even though they were just going into town to do a little light shopping before lunch, Elsa's figure was being hugged gently by an off-the-shoulder minidress — in red, which she didn't see Elsa wear a lot of. Her makeup was also highly detailed, rouge and eyeshadow and lipstick making her natural features pop just enough without turning her cartoonish.

"Whoa."

"It's too much," Elsa sighed, looking down at her heels. "We're not going to a gala opening. I'll change, it's no-"

"No no no, NO!" Anna burst out, just catching her elbow before she vanished. "You look incredible, don't change now! We have to show you off!"

"Oh, I'm always being shown off. This time, I wanted to…"

When she didn't finish, Anna leaned in a little closer, taking her hand in both of her own. "Show off for me?"

"I…" Gulping, Elsa squeezed the hand up against her palm. "Yes. Hope that's alright. And, um, not too weird."

"This whole thing is weird. But it's a good weird."

Finally, Elsa smiled and let out a huge breath, trying to dispel her nerves. "Good is… is good. Alright, are you ready?"

"Not compared to you," she snorted. "But um… let me put on that sundress you got me. It's not quite couture, but at least I won't look like laundry while walking next to you."

Again, Elsa hesitated, her blue eyes flicking between Anna's face and the floor. Anna was beginning to notice that as a pattern; she wanted to say things, to test things out, but was too nervous about repercussions. So Anna gave her hand a squeeze and whispered, "Go on."

"I… was going to say that those jeans… are fine with me, because… I get to stare at your butt in them." Before Anna could respond, she pulled away and blurted, "But it's n-not important, s-so you get changed and I'll meet you downstairs!"

Then she was gone, and Anna was letting out an exasperated blast of air, face growing warmer as she stumbled toward her room.

~ o ~

"So how long have you been admiring my butt?"

Curling her lip, Elsa glanced back and forth as they walked along the street. "Will you stop it?! I… I haven't been!"

"Liar. You have, too, because you said-"

"Not really! Just… well, I noticed it before I went into the bathroom… I was trying to be funny! Unsuccessfully!"

Happy as a clam, Anna skipped ahead a few paces and turned to smile back at her. "Well, you know what they say; in every joke lies a grain of truth."

"Maybe one grain! My God…" Turning to look over her shoulder, she hissed, "Can you believe how she's acting?"

"Hey, I'm a completely innocent party," Esmé grunted with a smirk. "Just along to keep you two from getting into trouble. But Anna's butt is nice for a white girl. You could do worse."

"Seeeee?" Anna drawled out with a huge grin.

"I'm not disagreeing! Just trying to- it's not that I've spent a lot of time- OH, you two are impossible!"

They were all laughing by the time they walked past a home decor shop. Anna stared at the sign, smiling as she hefted her backpack. Then she turned to Esmé, who was wearing her hair in a ponytail and large sunglasses to hide her identity. Elsa by herself might get recognised in her nice dress and breathtaking makeup, but two members of SEEK walking along the street with each other was a much higher likelihood.

"Hey, you guys go on ahead. I have a stop to make."

"What?" Elsa asked immediately, slowing down. "You… in there? Getting any of your purchases back home would be a huge ordeal, wouldn't it?"

Luckily, Esmé had caught the scheming look in her eyes, so she grabbed her coworker and said, "Come on, let's see if we can find that gelato shop from last year. We all have phones, Anna will catch up."

Not that Elsa seemed particularly pleased, but she finally relented to Esmé dragging her off. Satisfied, Anna walked inside.

~ o ~

Once reunited, they had a fine time window-shopping and partaking of smaller fare that added up to a lunch. Sometimes Esmé would wander off for a while and let the two of them experience something akin to what an actual date was like.

Which Anna had a hard time thinking of their interactions as. "Date." They weren't doing anything different than they had been a few days ago, really. So did that mean everything was? Had their trip to the movie theater been a date? Everything was topsy turvy and weird, even while it still felt perfectly normal.

Until Elsa looked at her just right. Until they held hands for a few seconds, then pulled away in a mild panic. Anna would catch her heart pounding, or her mouth going dry — and then Elsa would ask if she had gas and they would laugh, and the oppressive worry about what they were "supposed to do" on a date would vanish. For a while, anyway.

Once back at the SEEK House, Esmé told them she was going to go see a friend of hers that she had been "visiting" the same night of the party Anna attended. They all tossed around a lot of speculation, but got zero answers from the casually cloistered woman.

"They're definitely doing more than 'visiting', I bet you," Anna laughed as they splashed through the pristine pool water. The sun was still blazing down on them, but the afternoon was late enough that occasionally shadows fell across the water from the branches of the trees surrounding the house.

"Whoever it is, it's none of our business." Paddling further away, Elsa called back, "Unless you're a snoop!"

With a theatrical gasp, she pressed a hand to her chest. "ME?! A snoop?! Why, I do declare, Miss Beauregard!" Elsa flicked water at her and she cackled, "What century are you from?!"

"STOP IT!" As Elsa swam closer, she warned her, "Stop, or I'll hold you under!"

"You will not! Come on, The Great Elsa would never do something like holding meunBLBBHH!"

It only took a few seconds of flailing around like a sea monster for Elsa to let her go, laughing so hard that she nearly took in a lungful of chlorinated water herself. Anna shoved her, and they both grappled until they ended up with Elsa pinned against the edge of the pool by her panting friend.

"You… look like a wet dog," she laughed breathlessly.

"Thanks," Anna chuckled. "And you do snore. So there."

"I know!" Elsa lamented with a little pout. "You don't have to rub it in. Maybe I just won't ever sleep with you again."

"Bullshit. You so will." Then she finally seemed to notice their positioning, and she dipped her head down shyly. "Oh… I, uh…"

Biting her lip for an instant, Elsa leaned in and whispered, "You have me, Anna Josephine Mayberry. What are you going to do with me now?"

For some reason, the stating of her full name caused the named to blush even deeper. Her head drifted a little closer, but she lost her nerve. Too much, too soon after they had discovered this scintillating new underbelly to their friendship. So instead, she merely embraced Elsa, pushing her face into the crook of her neck.

"What is-"

"I'm gonna miss you." Instantly, Elsa's hands were on her back, as well, clutching just as tight, just as dearly. "This is pretty much the only time I've hated that you're famous, 'cause it means you have to go away."

Sighing, Elsa nodded with her face up against Anna's neck. "I know. This is… it's funny. I thought bringing you here would help alleviate this feeling, when I first felt it in your car. But it's just making it so much stronger!"

"Yeah," Anna laughed wetly. "But… I wouldn't trade it for anything. Nothing at all. I'd rather miss you so bad when I'm home than have never come. You better believe that."

"I do. I feel the very same." Pulling back, she cupped Anna's soft cheek with a gentle smile. "I never want to go back to life before knowing you and having you as a friend. It was so… colourless. Unimpressive. Even with all that I've been fortunate enough to experience, I…"

Almost as if to shock herself out of the quiet sadness, Anna swam away from Elsa, purposefully splashing her in the process. Elsa giggled and chased after her.

~ To Be Continued ~