Chapter 2

"Hey, boss?"

Elsa looked up from being hunched over her desk. She rubbed her eyes and put her glasses on, realising she had dozed off while doing her drawings at work. She groaned and looked up at the dark-haired woman leaning over her, smiling.

It was Cass, one of the senior animators at the studio and who served as one of the producers of Olaf The Happy Snowman along with Elsa, who was the main Showrunner. She tended to consider Cass one of the best friends she had here and in a way, thought of her like a second in command.

If it hadn't been for Cass taking a lot of the workload due to Elsa's current depression, the second season of Olaf probably wouldn't have been finished.

"Yeah, Cass?" Elsa groaned, rubbing her eyes again. "Something up?"

"How's it going?" Cass wondered. "That's the second time this week I've seen you doze off on your shift."

"It's going...actually it's not."

The brunette walked up and put a hand on her shoulder. She gave her a reassuring smile, hoping to cheer her friend up. "Got a block?"

"Got a block, got a depression, got a deep sense of emptiness in my heart," Elsa admitted. "And got a massive case of exhaustion."

"Yeah, I think we all have that," Cass chuckled. "It would explain why Raps is driving me crazy lately, with her drawings and stuff."

"My apologies. I know it's hard when girlfriends work together."

Cass smirked. "Yeah, don't make sure you have the same job as your girlfriend, Elsa."

"I wouldn't know, I've been single for eight months," Elsa remarked. She rubbed her eyes. "Jeez... I thought working at our own pace wouldn't mean we get crunch like this."

"It's the holidays, Elsa," Cass replied. "Everyone gets a bit stressed and tired. They'd all rather just be cosy in bed with hot cocoa listening to old holiday songs." She grinned. "And look on the bright side. Be glad the network didn't ask for a Christmas special."

Elsa laughed but sighed. "Maybe that would get me in the holiday spirit."

"Hey, why don't you go get a cup of tea? I can look at the sketches here with Punzie and the others."

"No, the tea here always tastes like pee," Elsa groaned.

Rapunzel then walked into the room. Rapunzel was the concept artist for the show, always drawing up new character designs. She and Cass had actually met while working at the studio and Elsa was very glad when they started dating. They just worked so well together.

Heck, everyone in the studio was working at their best. They had about thirty or so people, yet they were working like a well-oiled machine, except for Elsa.

"Hey Cass," the brunette said. "Honeymaren wants you to take a look at this render she made."

"I'll be right there!" Cass said. "Could you take care of the boss? She's having one of her seasonal depression spells."

"I'm not... okay maybe I am," Elsa groaned. "Christ, today has been rough for me."

Rapunzel petted Elsa's poofy blonde hair. "Come on, Snow Queen. You need to get out of the office. I know this perfect little bistro near here that'll really relax you."

"Really?"

"Really, really."

Thinking a moment, Elsa figured she could use some time to relax. After all, it was the holidays, she needed to rest and take it slowly, despite her workaholism. And a cup of tea at a nice bistro... sounded like the perfect way to spend the afternoon.

"You know what... I think I'll do that. Cass, I think I'm gonna take the afternoon off. Can you hold down the fort here?"

Cass grinned. "You got it, Queenie."

Elsa rolled her eyes. "I wish you wouldn't call me that."

"Hey, you based the Snow Queen on yourself," Cass reminded her.

"I'm slowly starting to regret it."

xXx

A little later, Elsa stood in the line at the coffee shop, waiting to be served. The place was very quiet, with only a few people in the Queue. Elsa was surprised she hadn't learned of this place sooner. She'd have probably taken some work to do here at one point.

But no, her goal here was to get away from work, get away from the stresses of her life. She was just here to get a cup of tea and maybe a few light snacks and just unwind. She wondered how many sugars she'd have with her tea, not too many she hoped.

As the queue slowly moved forward, Elsa looked down and took her phone from her pocket. She checked her phone to see if there were messages. There were none and honestly, Elsa didn't want there to be. This place was meant to be an escape. Nothing was going to drag her back to work.

Then something jostled into her legs making her nearly fall over. Elsa stumbled a little, but thankfully, she had the shelf of the bar to balance herself on.

"Oops! I'm sorry, she wasn't looking. Jessie, say you're sorry."

Elsa turned around and her eyes widened. She couldn't believe who it was. "You."

"You!"

It was Anna, wearing a rather beautiful looking purple jacket and black trousers. Down by her legs, was a little girl with long red hair the same shade as her mother's. That had to be Jessie alright. Elsa was taken aback by the sheer coincidence that Anna was here.

"Sorry!" the little girl chirped.

Composing herself, Elsa merely giggled. "It's fine, just watch where you're going in future, okay?"

"Okay!" The little girl smiled up at her. "I'm Jessie!"

"Well, hi, Jessie. I'm Elsa."

"You look really pretty!" She grinned. "Are you an angel?"

Elsa blushed. "I... I don't think so. I mean I'd know if I was. I'd have really big wings after all."

Anna blushed too. What stars had to align for her to meet Elsa here of all places? She looked quite tired too. How much sleep had she gotten the night before? But she was amazed that Elsa was just... even here. She thought it would be an age before she saw her again.

Clearly, fate had wanted them to be together like this, the red strings that surrounded them both had clearly not wanted them to part for long. Anna was a little nervous as she and Elsa just stared awkwardly in the Queue as they waited to be served.

"I... I didn't expect to see you here," Anna then spoke up.

"Likewise," Elsa admitted. "I guess... we can finally get that coffee together that I offered."

"Hey, you want to join us?" Anna wondered. "I just got off work and wanted to take Jessie out for some fun."

"If I'm not imposing on anything. "

"Oh, not at all! We could use the company."

Jessie piped up. "After this, we're going to get our Christmas tree!"

"Hey, what a coincidence! I don't have mine yet."

"Mommy, can she come with us?"

Anna grinned. "I mean... if he wants to."

The blonde nodded. This afternoon seemed to be getting better by the moment. "Sure... I needed something to do this afternoon anyway."

After they got their drinks (tea for Elsa, coffee for Anna and hot chocolate for Jessie), they went to a window seat. Elsa liked to sit somewhere with a view and the streets covered in snow was quite a view indeed. It reminded her of the snowy plains she'd drawn for an episode of Olaf.

Anna sat Jessie on a chair next to her, ruffling her little girl's hair as she sipped her hot chocolate through a straw, as well as helped herself to some biscuits she'd begged her mother to buy. She seemed to be quite a messy eater, although Anna didn't seem to mind.

"So Jessie, how old are you?" Elsa asked.

"Five!" She chirped.

"Oooh you're a big girl, aren't you," Elsa giggled. "You off school now I take it?"

"Yeah. My birthday is in February!"

"Really? So is mine."

Anna smiled at how well her crush was getting on with her little girl. Obviously, Elsa had some experience with kids. As Elsa kept chatting to Jessie, Anna then saw the sketchbook sticking out of the bag Elsa carried. She couldn't make out what was on it, but it seemed very good quality.

"You're an artist Elsa?"

"Oh... I suppose you could say that," Elsa admitted.

"Cool, I wanted to be an artist too," Anna stated. "But then this little bundle of joy ended up in my life." She petted her daughter's head and Jessie beamed.

"That's interesting. Do you wanna be an artist one day too, Jessie?"

"I dunno what I wanna be yet," the girl merely said, swinging her legs from side to side.

Elsa chuckled. "Well, you've got time. I'm sure you have a big long life ahead of you, and no matter what people say, you can do whatever you want."

"That's what Uncle Kristoff says!"

Anna laughed. "He does, indeed."

"Uncle Kristoff must be very wise," Elsa noted. "So what do you do, Anna? Since you obviously didn't take up being an artist."

"Oh, I work at City Hall," Anna explained. "I'm the associate manager for parks and recreation."

"Mommy does all the Christmas displays."

That reminded Elsa of something from the previous Christmas. Something when her parents were last in town. "Wait, did you do that Blue Christmas themed display they had in the city square? With the animatronic Elvis singing all those old love songs?"

"Yeah, that was me!" Anna chirped. "My mom got me into old music when I was little. It was a pain in the ass to get it all together though, but it was so worth it."

"Well, I loved that display. So did my father and mother when they were here last Christmas."

Anna frowned. "They couldn't come this year?"

"Nope. This year's the tour around the world. They were in Turkey last time we spoke."

Jessie then said, "Did you know that St. Nicholas is from Turkey?"

Elsa gasped. "Really? I didn't know that!"

"Yeah, maybe your folks will run into him!"

The blonde giggled. "Maybe."

Jessie then hugged Elsa's leg and looked up at her with big, wide blue eyes. She was very adorable and Anna was lucky to have such a wonderful girl like her. "If they do see him there... could you get them to ask him to send me an Olaf Plushie. I really want one for Christmas."

Those words moved Elsa greatly. She struggled for a few moments to think of what to say. But then she remembered how she'd helped Anna and in turn, would be helping this little girl get that wish. Only then, did she know exactly what to say.

"You know what... I think I will," Elsa said with a grin. "Do you like Olaf, Jessie? I hear he's quite a big thing this Christmas."

"Yeah, I love him! He doesn't let the fact that he's a snowman get in the way of his dreams."

Elsa nodded sagely. "Very true." She felt pride swell in her chest again. After all, she was the woman who wrote the little snowman that way.

"I also like the snow queen who made him! She's Mommy's favourite character!"

That brought a big smile onto Elsa's face. "Is that right?"

Anna grinned sheepishly, her cheeks glowing with an embarrassed blush. "Yeah, I have to admit. She's something else. Honestly, I wanna meet the woman who made her look so pretty. I wish all moms were that beautiful."

I know one mom that definitely is. Elsa had to hide her little excitement. Then her phone rang. "Oh! Uh, one sec."

"Sure," Anna replied. "We won't be going anywhere!"

Elsa quickly went to a quiet corner of the coffee shop, between the bathrooms and the janitor's closet, and took out her phone. She'd hoped someone would just text her, but not call her outright. But when she saw the number that was calling her, she sighed and realised she couldn't be angry at her.

"What is it, Punzie?" she wondered.

"Just checking up on ya!" Rapunzel's voice chirped from the other end. "You enjoying the Bistro I recommended."

"Well, uh, it;'s, uh, going okay. And the Bistro is very lovely, Rapunzel. Thanks for the recommendation. " She blushed a little. "Do you, uh, remember that girl I told you about this morning?"

"Oh! The one who needed that Olaf plushie?"

"Yeah. She's, uh, she's here."

Elsa didn't know what Rapunzel's reply would be to that. She hadn't expected the loud, very girly shriek that came out of the receiver and almost deafened her.

"Really?!"

"Ow!" Elsa exclaimed. "That was my eardrum, you know. I already have bad eyesight, I don't want to go deaf too."

"Sorry, I'm just so happy for you!"

The blonde blushed so much more. Why was Rapunzel making this so embarrassing for her? She just wanted a nice quiet afternoon... with a girl she happened to be crushing on. "W-Why?"

"It's been ages since you had a date."

Elsa blushed "I've been on dates!... okay, but not that many."

"Come on, it's been a long time since you were actually out with a girl you genuinely liked, and not some chick Cass and I tried to set you up with," Rapunzel reminded her. "Remember Belle? And how happy you were when you first met her?"

Elsa sighed. The mention of Belle's name... brought back a lot of memories. Good near the start, when they'd been dating and enjoying each other's company. But bad later on, when Elsa caught her making out with a man and the brunette just dumping her right there and then.

"Oh sorry..."

"It's... It's fine," Elsa assured Rapunzel. She was really doing her best to put that behind her.

"Well?" Rapunzel wondered, clearly wanting to know more about the date Elsa was on.

Realising the cat was out of the bag, Elsa realised she might as well tell Rapunzel everything. "We're going to go pick out a Christmas tree."

"Not bad for a first date."

"With her daughter tagging along?"

"Still counts."

"She might be married already."

"Did you see a ring?"

"Well...no, I didn't but she may have taken it off."

"Well... maybe just ask her," Rapunzel urged. Then Elsa heard someone call Rapunzel's name. "Sorry, Cass is calling me. One of us will text you later, okay?"

"I, what, wait, Rapunzel!"

Too late, her friend was gone. The blonde groaned softly. Well...guess this is a date after all. At least Anna and Jessie were good company and Elsa was very grateful to be around them. Perhaps Rapunzel was right... perhaps Anna was just the person Elsa needed to help her get her life back on track.

Putting her phone away, Elsa then sat back down with Anna, who had just gotten Jessie a cupcake from the counter. The little girl was stuffing her face full of the icing, getting crumbs everywhere. It was quite adorable to see.

"You all done?" Anna wondered.

"Uh... yeah," Elsa replied. She then looked over at Jessie who was busy eating her cake. She had to admit, she still was feeling a bit peckish. "That looks good. Think I'll get one too."

Anna said with a smile "And then Christmas trees?"

"And then Christmas trees."

xXx

The rest of the afternoon was spent at the Wandering Oaken's Christmas Tree Lot. The place was massive and vast, so many trees that the entire place could practically be called a forest. With all the trees on display, of shapes and sizes, there was sure to be one that fit what Elsa and Anna respectively wanted.

Elsa was hoping to find something small and intimate. The front room in her apartment wasn't very big and the smaller it was, the less likely her cat would pull it over. Anna meanwhile, wanted something large and vast to stuff Jessie's various presents beneath.

For at least an hour, Elsa and her new companions simply wandered the lot, observing the various trees. Elsa was quite grateful to have some more time to spend with Anna. She really did feel like something was growing between them.

Jessie skipped ahead a little. "Mommy, can I go and look on my own for a bit?"

"Just don't run too far, okay? Otherwise, Elsa and I won't be able to find you."

"Okay!"

As Jessie ran ahead, Elsa decided that now was as good a time as any. After all, Anna was alone and she would be able to answer the more... intimate questions Elsa had, questions that Anna probably wouldn't have been able to answer with Jessie still around.

"Anna, if I may make an observation...I didn't see a wedding ring on your finger."

"Oh..." Anna looked down. "I'm not married."

"Oh... I'm sorry, I just assumed-"

"No it's fine," Anna chirped. "Everyone seems to ask about that." Then the strawberry blonde sighed, her cold breath turning into vapour in the chilly atmosphere. "I... I had Jessie when I was nineteen years old. Typical, teenage pregnancy you could say."

"So... you've been raising her alone?" Elsa realised. "Do you... know where her father is?"

"His name is Hans Westerguard and-"

"Wait. As in Westerguard Financial?"

"Yep, that's the one," Anna confirmed. "You know him?"

"His father owns the building next to the place where I work," Elsa explained.

Anna nodded. "Thankfully he's not too much of a jerk when it comes to child support and such, but...he always makes the excuse that he's too busy this or that and..." she took a deep breath. "Let's just say I'm glad that he's not around to actually be a father to Jessie."

Elsa nodded. "I see."

But the radiant sunlight then returned to Anna's freckled face, as she grinned. "My brother, Kristoff, pulled some strings and got me the job at City Hall and then Jessie is a great kid, so I can't complain."

Elsa smiled. "And you were willing to brave the crowds to get a plushie for her."

"Yeah. By the way, thank you for that. I got it this morning."

"That's good," Elsa agreed. "I'm... glad I could help make your daughter's Christmas."

"How were you able to manage that, anyways?"

"Um...well, I, er-" Elsa wanted to spill the beans right there and then. After all, she'd been grilling Anna on her secrets, it only seemed fair that she tell Anna everything. But she wondered how much Anna would freak out if she knew she created Olaf.

Thankfully, Elsa was spared as Jessie came running back towards them.

"Mommy! I found the perfect tree!"

Phew, saved by the kid, Elsa thought.

Anna grinned, following her young girl. "What did you find?"

"Follow me!" Jessie then rushed ahead and Elsa and Anna followed her. They turned the corner and just stared as Jessie showed them what she had found.

Jessie stood next to what had to be the greenest tree in existence. It looked vast and wide, nearly as tall as a living room. Obviously, this one was going to be Anna's. "This one!"

Elsa whistled in awe. "That's definitely a tree."

Anna grinned. "She has a good eye for this sort of thing."

"Well..." Elsa then said. "Maybe she can pick out my tree. I'm pretty bad with decision making."

"I'd love to!" Jessie chirped.

Elsa smiled as Jessie ran forward into the parking lot as she and Anna walked together. For the first time in forever... Elsa felt happy to be in someone's company again. And if she was honest... she wanted to stay with Anna for as long as she could.

Yes, Elsa admitted to herself. I think I'm in love with her.

xXx

Author's note: And here is chapter 2 of this little festive tale! I didn't expect to post this for another day or so, but I figured, why not, I got quite a good bunch of feedback on the last chapter hehe. Idk when the next four chapters will be out, but I'll do my best. I'm making them my top priority this holiday season. Anyway, see you soon!