Anna narrowed her eyes at the chicken on top of the kitchen island, wondering if she could already do something like grilling it. There was such a thing as grilling it too much, after all. The last thing she wanted was to serve a pile of charcoal to the blonde. For sure, Elsa would be going home tired again, and Anna was determined to cook something perfect before she arrived.

"Come on, Anna. Stop panicking. You were born for this moment." Anna lost count of how many times she already said it.

Ever since that little episode of serving a rather salty meal, Anna became afraid of touching any ingredient again when Elsa was around. She preferred to try and cook when she was alone. Besides, she wasn't terrible enough that she'd make a water explode.

In the end, Anna ate everything she cooked because she wasn't satisfied and didn't want to make Elsa eat another one of her failures. But this time, Anna was determined. Maybe if she cooked Elsa's favorite, she'd force herself more than ever just to make sure not to fail. She had enough cuts and burns, right? Maybe some mystical being behind those scars would grace her with the skill of grilling a chicken perfectly. As long as she wouldn't fail on that, the side dishes were easy.

Anna gasped when she heard the telephone ring. For a moment, she was glad for the meddlesome soul. Maybe talking to someone would ease the jitters. She just hoped in all hopes that it wouldn't be Elsa. There was a high possibility that it wouldn't be her anyway since she would always message or call Anna's phone instead.

"Hello?" Anna asked after picking up the phone.

"How's my little girl?"

The term of endearment caused Anna to cringe. "I'm not a little girl, mom." Anna picked up the wireless phone and used it as she walked back to the kitchen. "What is it? Did something happen?"

"I was just wondering how those sparkles were doing."

Anna blushed. It was back when Belle visited and her mother called to say something about Olaf's birthday invitation. Back then, Anna was already experiencing those weird jitters whenever Elsa was around. She couldn't remember when it started happening, but because she was curious, she told her mother about it.

Anna told her about how Elsa would continuously glow, how those loud jingling bells wouldn't go away, and she also asked what they all meant. Bulda ended up laughing and bluntly told her that she was jealous that Elsa's attention wasn't on her. Anna, at first, denied and insisted that it was only because they were friends. Clearly, her mother didn't believe her.

"It's doing fine." Anna turned the speaker on, deciding to do something about the chicken. For sure, her mother wouldn't stop anytime soon. Might as well multitask.

"Elsie said you've been trying to cook lately?"

"Wha—"

"I kept asking her about you, and you know that." Anna could almost see her mother roll her eyes. "I didn't tell her about your sparkles."

"Mom! Will you please stop it?" Anna groaned and covered her face. "And why didn't you ask me about it? There's no need to bother her!"

"Hon, you didn't even tell me about it. Besides, it's funny hearing things from her perspective." Bulda laughed. "So did you tell her yet? I'm excited to have her as an official daughter!"

"Oh my god, mom! That's not going to happen, okay?!" Anna hissed, ignoring the way her heart throbbed at her own statement. "Elsa only sees me as a sister. That's- It's already weird enough that I... that I l-lo... It's not going to happen!"

"How can you be so sure?"

It took everything that Anna had not to tell Bulda about her deal with Elsa. The chances of the blonde feeling the same was close to zero. Elsa repeatedly stated how childhood friends shouldn't even kiss or that going out with Anna was weird. She had said it countless times enough to be imprinted in Anna's heart and mind. Elsa practically sees her as a sister, and there was nothing she could do about that.

"I just am." Anna knew she didn't stand a chance, but Elsa was very sweet and gentle that Anna couldn't help hoping. Even if there was even the slightest bit of chance, no matter how small, she wanted to hope that there could be more to them than just friendship. She wanted to be Elsa's real girlfriend, but...

"I still want her for you. I was planning to talk to Gerda about your wedding. I'm sure she'll be just as excited!" Bulda enthusiastically informed.

"What the hell, mom?! Don't tell mama!" Anna panicked. "We're not going to get married! T-That's close to impossible and Elsa- She's sweet, but there's no way she'll fall for me. We grew up together!"

"You're a living proof that it's not impossible to fall for a childhood friend," her mother noted. "And since when did the word 'impossible' enter your dictionary? You did many nearly impossible things before, Anna."

"And you got mad because of it."

"True, but aren't you glad I'm not angry about this one? If you're going to be gay, I'm glad it was for Elsie. I know her like I know you, hon, and I like her for you."

"It doesn't matter, mom. Elsa doesn't feel the same way," Anna said softly and decided to start grilling the damn chicken. She hoped that this bitterness inside of her wouldn't spread to the meal she was about to cook for her mother's preferred daughter-in-law.

Elsa and Belle sighed. Their surprisingly calm demeanor always managed to fool the other students who study the same course.

"At least we've gotten that off the way." Belle leaned on the wall. "I can't believe I survived this semester with him as my professor."

"You sound like we're done. We still have the final papers to submit. I need to finish those."

"Elsa, those won't be submitted in a month. I know he gave it to us early in the semester, but don't tell me you've been working on it every day?"

"Nearly." Elsa shrugged, ignoring the stunned look on the brunette's face. "I want to submit it early. I was hoping to go home for the birthday of Anna's little brother."

"Speaking of Anna. Are you done with that yet?"

Sighing, Elsa looked at the paper bag she was holding, hearing the tiny jingles from within. Ever since Anna tried to cook for her, she had this urge to do something for the redhead too. Something that was a little out of her comfort zone. She was already used to doing things for Anna, but never this... stuff.

"Made five terrible attempts," Elsa bitterly admitted.

"I hope you didn't throw them away. You can still use them." Belle narrowed her eyes at the bag. "I can help you out again if you want. Show me those five pieces and I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you, but I want to do it myself."

Belle rolled her eyes. "I didn't say I'll do it. I said I'll see what I can do. By help, I mean I can give you pieces of advice and tell you what you did wrong. Unless you don't want other people seeing your mistakes, fine."

Elsa thought about the offer. She didn't have any issue with failing in front of someone, and she was the one who came up to Belle and asked if she had any idea how to make anything handmade. The girl was surprisingly artistic and was more than happy to help.

"Can you help now?" Elsa asked,

"Now? As in now?" Belle wondered, and Elsa nodded. "In case you don't remember, we have ourselves some free time. You're really giving this your all, huh? Excited to give it to her?"

"I don't want to waste any more materials."

"Won't Anna get jealous? I mean it's your choice whether you want to do it in your apartment, mine, or somewhere else. We can do it in yours, but then it wouldn't surprise her anymore, right? Unless we do it in your room."

"Jealous..." Elsa repeated, still reluctant to believe it.

It was true she could notice some of Anna's actions lately, but do they mean anything? Those blushes and stuttering, those were things Anna never did around her before. Sure, it led her to think that maybe Anna could be jealous if she was with Belle, but there was also a big chance that she wasn't. What if Anna only felt embarrassed because she couldn't cook right? What if she only stuttered because she was feeling insecure about being a 'burden'?

Elsa frowned. It felt like something stabbed her when she casually made herself believe that it was the latter, but she didn't care. She disliked it when Anna would think of such absurdity. It didn't matter if she didn't feel the same way; Elsa wouldn't have any of Anna's insecurities. It was misplaced. Wrong.

"I swear if you keep being in denial, I'll shove those materials inside your mouth," Belle threatened. "I don't know what kind of excuse you'll come up with, but you have to tell her something."

Elsa pressed her lips together and, after thinking about it for some time, nervously picked up her phone and dialed Anna's number. A few rings later and there was an audible click.

"Hello?"

Hearing Anna's voice brought a smile to Elsa's lips. "Hi."

"Hey, what's up?"

"Are you cooking?"

"W-What? What kind of sorcery is this?!"

"I don't know. I get the feeling." Elsa furrowed her brows when there were loud clattering of utensils from the other end. "You didn't cut yourself, did you?"

"Nope. I can handle it fine now," Anna said with surprisingly cheerful voice. "It didn't turn out well, though."

"Oh? What did you make?"

"Charcoal." Anna replied, and before Elsa could ask her to elaborate, she continued, "Anyway, they're just a pile of charcoal now. Sorry, but it looks like you need to settle on sandwiches for dinner."

Elsa felt a shadow looming over her. There was a side of her that wanted to go home and cheer Anna up for another failure, but then she also wanted to do something about her gift for the girl. Both choices were for Anna's sake, and she couldn't choose.

"I can come up with something." Elsa tried to remember if they had sufficient ingredients in the fridge. There was a variety of them, and she hoped that Anna didn't try to mix them all over... something she was cooking. "And I was thinking... Can Belle come over?" she asked, ignoring the surprise that appeared on Belle's face.

"Wha...?" Anna paused. "Why?"

"Our professor told us that what we submitted earlier was the last prompt report," Elsa explained in half-truth. "We could celebrate together? Or would it be better if we go somewhere else?"

The moment the words fell out of her mouth, Elsa held her breath. Anna remained silent and the suspense was killing her. She tried to listen to any subtle sound, but there was none, not even a breathing noise. She didn't know what expression Anna wore, and that set her on edge.

"I don't think it's appropriate for me to celebrate with you, Elsa," Anna said after some time. "I'm not a part of your report, plus the kitchen is a mess right now. I can come up with something to eat for myself."

"I can clean it up," Elsa offered.

"I can't depend on you forever. It's a mess I made myself. I have to clean it up," Anna insisted. "I can at least do this much. You should go celebrate now. Enjoy, but don't go home late, okay? You're still a girl."

"Okay," Elsa relented. "Don't stay up late. It's bad for the skin and you'll look like a zombie." Elsa mentally frowned. Why couldn't she just be completely honest?

"Says the one who always stays up late."

"It's why I'm warning you. I know what it feels like, and it's not nice. I'll... I'll try to come home early. Don't tire yourself out, okay?"

"Yes, mom," Anna said mockingly. "Don't stay out too late. I know you have a car, but it's still not safe for two girls to roam around!"

Elsa swore she melted after hearing the clear sound of worry and care in Anna's voice. "I know. I'll see you later... or tomorrow, in case you're sleeping when I come home."

"Okay." A moment of silence fell upon them, with no one daring to end the call. The truth was that Elsa didn't want it to end. She was hoping that Anna would be the one to do it because she knew she couldn't end it. "End the call, Elsa!" Anna whined, giggling when they let the silence loom for longer than necessary.

"You end it. I don't want to." Elsa blushed when she saw Belle's face turning red, shoulders shaking violently as she tried to stifle her laughter.

"You're paying for it, you know? You were the one who called."

Elsa cringed. Stupid bills. "Fine," Elsa sighed. "I'll... see you, Anna."

"Later."

Anna's phone was still pressed against her ear, listening to nothing because the beeping sound died a few seconds (maybe even minutes) ago. She nibbled on her lower lip, trying her damnedest to convince herself that she did the right thing. That even when it freaking hurts, it was still the right thing.

"Have fun..." Anna whispered, but it sounded too loud for her liking.

Here, in the huge apartment that she and Elsa lived in, she was alone. In front of the dining table with two grilled chickens on top of it, she was alone. Maybe it wasn't a nice step to tell Elsa that she failed again, but then she was also relieved. It would be awkward for Belle to come with only two chickens in place. But now, she was alone and doomed to eat these all by herself fast enough so Elsa wouldn't see them. Maybe she should really burn them so they'd practically be charcoal like how she described it to Elsa. But of course, it was only a fleeting thought. Anna didn't have the heart to throw away good food.

Anna smiled sadly and took a slice of the chicken. She slowly, shakily closed the distance between the fork and her quivering lips. Then, as she took the meat inside her mouth, a single tear fell, followed by many others.

How can something so delicious taste so bitter now?