Frozen belongs to Disney.

Chapter Warnings: Sexual content. NSFW.

It's gotta be here somewhere…

Anna's fingers traveled over the rough brick of the Castle pantry's back wall. She wasn't sure exactly what she was looking for, but was certain she would know when she found it. A loud clang from the other side of the pantry door made her start. It was followed by muffled cursing, and then the distinctive aroma of klippfisk and leeks reached her nose.

Anna pressed herself into the shadows next to the old hearth as the pantry door swung open. A mop sloshed back and forth across the floor a couple of times, accompanied by more swearing, then the door slammed shut again.

Anna let out a breath of relief. She'd nearly been caught once already during her search for a literal back door into Elsa's apartments.

The archival storage space in the basement had been a wine cellar once upon a time, with a dumbwaiter used to send bottles up to the kitchen. Thrilled to find exactly what she was looking for, Anna had barely managed to pull her feet into the chute when one of the archivists, an attractive auburn-haired woman who looked vaguely familiar, walked between the storage cabinets nearest the dumbwaiter.

Anna had discovered the old wine cellar and dumbwaiter while doing some research for Agdar in the Royal Archives and immediately seen the possibilities it presented. She supposed she should feel guilty about taking advantage of Idunn, the Chief Archivist, who had given her almost unlimited access to the manuscripts, journals, maps, drawings, and other documents that told the history of Arendelle.

But she didn't. She liked Idunn, and certainly didn't want to get her into trouble, but Anna's motives overrode her guilt about that.

I want to see Elsa when I want to see Elsa. Not when Skeletor lets me see Elsa.

Besides, even if she got caught, she figured Elsa would protect Idunn from being splashed by any crap caused by Anna's recklessness.

Once she was in the dumbwaiter, it was just a matter of spider-climbing the chute until she reached the kitchen. The rusty hinges on the kitchen access door had screeched when she pushed it open, making her jump and nearly sending her plunging headfirst back down the chute. Luckily, this particular pantry seemed to be rarely used.

Anna moved away from the hearth, fingers traveling over the wall again. Then she felt it – a small grooved recess, the brick set further into the wall than the others. It gave a bit under her fingers, and she pressed it harder. There was a soft click, and a narrow section of the wall swung open.

Whoa…it really is a secret passage!

The passage had no lighting. Once Anna stepped into it and found the recessed brick that closed the door, she was left in pitch darkness. She dug her cell phone out of her pocket and switched on the flashlight, panning it around. The passageway was barely three feet wide, with maybe a nine or ten-foot ceiling.

She pulled up a picture of the old sketch she'd found in the archives, trying to orient herself. The passageway led toward the fjord in one direction, and toward the Royal apartments in the other. It had once served as an escape route for the royal family. From some of the entries she'd read in old journals, Anna suspected that young princes and princesses had once also used it to sneak into the kitchens to steal treats.

That's kind of what I'm doing too. She grinned to herself.

She turned in the direction that she thought led toward Elsa's apartments, sweeping her phone's flashlight back and forth across the passage. She figured she'd chosen correctly when she reached a flight of stairs leading upward. Elsa's office and residence were three levels up from the kitchen.

The wood floors and stairs were in better condition than their age would suggest. Anna wondered how long it had been since anyone had walked through the passage. The documents she'd read suggested that it had been closed up during a massive modernization of the Castle after World War Two.

She reached the top of the stairs, huffing a bit. Her light showed the passage stretching away from her, continuing beyond the range of the beam. There were no signs of any windows or doorways. The sketch didn't show the exact location of the passageway within the Castle. Was it along the outer wall? That seemed unlikely, since there were no windows. An interior wall, maybe parallel to a hallway? Anna wondered if she would have to feel along the entire length of the stone walls to find a place to exit.

She crept down the passage, panning the light up and down along the walls. Finally she saw what looked like an nook set high in the wall, a couple of feet over her head. Stowing her phone in her pocket, she placed her hands on the lower edge of the nook and boosted herself up.

"Ow! Shit!" She slouched over the lip of the nook and rubbed her head. She dug her phone out again and shined the light around the nook. It looked like it extended fairly deep into the wall, but it wasn't tall enough for her to stand up in it. She would have to stay on her hands and knees.

The sound of muted voices reached her ears. Anna froze, legs still dangling in the passageway. She strained to hear. The voices remained indistinct, and she couldn't even tell if they were male or female.

Either way, I think I'm in the right place. Mostly.

She pulled herself all the way into the nook and started crawling. The floor was solid plaster instead of wood. The voices seemed to be getting closer. Anna crawled faster. Maybe there was a trapdoor she could get through and –

Suddenly the floor buckled beneath her. Anna let out a scream as she broke through the plaster and plunged into the space below.

There was a loud yelp as her body crashed into someone else's. Anna bounced off the other person and hit the floor hard, her breath leaving her with a whoosh when she landed flat on her back. She heard the muffled thump of another body hitting the floor.

Forcing her eyes open, she found herself looking into the shocked face of Kristoff Bjorgman.

Then she did a double-take. Kristoff lay on his back, his pants around his knees, his man parts hanging out. Anna's face lit up faster than dry brush soaked in gasoline. Her eyes darted around, wanting to look anywhere but at Kristoff, and she realized she had fallen into –

Oh my God, I fell through a bathroom ceiling! She let her head drop back against the tile floor. Fuuuuuck….

Kristoff had just managed to stand and pull his pants up when the door flew open. Colonel Markus Gunnarsen stormed in with his sidearm drawn. He took in the scene, then holstered his weapon and scowled.

"What the hell happened in here, Bjorgman?" he demanded. Before Kristoff could answer, he turned on Anna. "And where did you come from?"

Anna saw Elsa's wide blue eyes peeking over Gunnarsen's shoulder, and wanted to sink into her own private pit of embarrassment and rage. She had fantasies of emerging from the passageway into Elsa's bedroom, not dropping in – literally – on Kristoff in the bathroom.

"Where does it look like I came from?" she retorted. "Genius…" she added under her breath as she sat up.

"Anna, what on earth…?" Elsa said. Anna swore she heard a delicate snort of laughter before Elsa's hand flew to her mouth. "You…you fell through the bathroom ceiling?"

Anna felt her face heat up even more, and she wondered if it was possible for her head to actually explode. It was probably nothing, though, compared to Kristoff's cherry-red face as he fumbled for his zipper. A hiss of pain and a grimace told her that…something…had gotten caught where it shouldn't.

Poor Kristoff. Literally caught with his pants down in front of his Queen and his boss.

Elsa might have been amused, but Gunnarsen was not. "What are you doing here? How the hell did you get in there? You're not on the visitor's roster for today."

Anna's temper flared. "I am not a stranger or a foreigner or a bureaucrat who wants to toady up to the Queen! Why do I have to be on a roster to see her?!"

"We've discussed this," Gunnarsen said. "All visitors have to be - "

"No, we did not discuss it!" Anna snapped. "You transmitted. I chose not to receive." She saw Elsa's eyes pinging back and forth between the two of them, and suppressed a sigh. She hadn't intended to drag Elsa into her little war with Skeletor over her access to Elsa's office and apartments. She got to her feet, shaking plaster dust from her hair and T-shirt. "Can we do this somewhere besides the bathroom with the caved-in ceiling?"

"And whose fault is that?" Gunnarsen growled as she brushed by him. The vein in his temple had made an appearance, she noted with some satisfaction. "All you had to do was pick up the phone and - "

" – and ask you to add me to the roster? Beg for your permission? Yeah, no." She looked around as Gunnarsen fumed. Elsa's secretary, a pleasant-looking woman named Marta, stared at her. Why couldn't I have at least fallen into Elsa's private bathroom instead of the one in the outer office?

"Roster? What are you two talking about?" Elsa asked.

"The visitors' roster, Your Majesty. Miss Aarndahl was not on it for today, nor did she call to – "

"Wait, wait, wait. You mean to tell me that you've been putting Anna on the visitor's roster?"

"Yes, Your Majesty. It's standard procedure and…" Gunnarsen trailed off as the room's temperature dropped.

Elsa opened and closed her mouth a few times, then said, "In my office. Both of you." She spun on her heel and marched into her office.

Anna shot a glance at Kristoff, who was brushing at the plaster dust on his suit as he took up his position next to Elsa's door. He would likely take the brunt of Skeletor's wrath. If there was anything left of Skeletor when Elsa got done with him.

Sorry, she mouthed at him. He shrugged and gave her a wink as she followed Elsa into the office. Elsa waved her hand and a gust of icy wind blew the office door shut. Anna cringed; Elsa rarely used her powers like that. She's pissed.

Elsa whirled on Gunnarsen. "Explain."

"Your Majesty?"

"Colonel, you did a background check on Anna, did you not?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I did."

Well, that explains why he's never trusted me, Anna thought. He's the commander of Her Majesty's Own; my juvie record isn't sealed from someone like him.

"I understand that Anna's past is a bit…colorful. But she does not need to be put through the security screening process every time she comes here, nor does she need your permission to visit me. I thought you would have realized by now that Anna is not just an acquaintance, someone I just happened to know…before."

"Your Majesty, I am responsible for your safety. I understand that Miss Aarndahl is your friend, but she is undermining your security. In fact, she makes a good part of her living undermining other people's security and invading their privacy. This is not the first time she has snuck around the Castle, been in places that she has no business – "

"Well, that says more about your security arrangements than it does about me, doesn't it?" Anna countered. She crossed her arms and smirked as the vein in his temple pulsed like a purple neon light.

Gunnarsen glowered at her. " – and her background is more than a bit 'colorful,' as you put it. While I appreciate your feelings, I cannot allow sentiment to dictate – "

"You think it was mere sentiment that made Anna risk her life for me? She is my friend…more than my friend, honestly. Far more than a friend." The temperature fell and light snowflakes began to swirl around Elsa, even as a faint blush rose in her cheeks. "You took an oath to protect me with your life. Anna was willing to die for me after knowing me only a few days, and having no idea who I really was."

"I understand, Your Majesty, but I – "

"I'm not going to discuss this right now, Colonel. Please ensure that Anna has unrestricted access to my office and residence from now on."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Gunnarsen schooled his features into a neutral expression. "With your permission?"

Elsa waved a hand in dismissal. Gunnarsen gave her a slight bow, and shot a glare at Anna. She stuck her tongue out at him as he backed out of the office.

"He's like a hen with only one chick," Anna commented with a little laugh.

Elsa spun towards her, exasperation all over her face. "You're not helping matters, Anna! What in the world were you thinking? How did you end up falling through the bathroom ceiling?!"

"Wait, what? I was thinking that I wanted to see my girlfriend, you know, like a normal person. I'm a grown woman and so are you. I want to see you without having to ask for Skeletor's permission, like he's some kind of overprotective dad. Who has a whole arsenal instead of just a shotgun."

"Skeletor? Why do you call him – never mind, I don't want to know. He's just doing his job, Anna, there's no need to antagonize him. This will be a lot easier if he's on our side."

"What was he doing here, anyway? Usually Kristoff is the only one in your office."

"He was briefing me on the preliminary security arrangements for the coronation. And don't change the subject. How did you end up in the bathroom ceiling?"

Anna told her about the dumbwaiter in the archives, and the secret passage from the kitchen.

A cloud seemed to pass over Elsa's face. "So instead of coming to me about what was going on, you decided to take advantage of Idunn's trust to sneak in. And apparently not for the first time. Now I have relationships to repair with my guard commander and my chief archivist, and a broken bathroom ceiling that defies explanation."

"I…I just wanted to see you," Anna said lamely.

Elsa let out a long sigh as Marta's voice buzzed through the phone, announcing that it was time for her next meeting. She rounded her massive desk and sat down, propping her head in her hands. "I can't talk about this right now. Why don't you go ahead to the apartments, and I'll see you there in a bit?"

Anna started to protest, but the look on Elsa's face – along with the snow swirling around – stopped her. "Okay."

She left the office through the side door, which led to a hallway that connected Elsa's office to her home. The residence itself was several suites joined by alcoves that allowed movement from room to room without going into the public hallway. The only access to them was through the guarded public hallway entrance, or from Elsa's office.

Or from whatever secret passages are still around here, Anna thought, thrusting her hands into her pockets as she walked down the hallway.

She let herself into Elsa's suite. Crossing the sitting room, she opened the cabinet beside the window to examine the array of bottles in it. Her eyes alit on the bottle of Brennevin, and her stomach turned over. Never again…

Finally she settled for a glass of wine from the open bottle of red in the cooler, pacing restlessly around the room as she sipped at it. Elsa was obviously pissed about her sneaking around the Castle, and her inability to get along with Skeletor. But she and Gunnarsen just seemed to have an ingrained ability – almost a need – to push each other's buttons.

He's been like that since the beginning. He wouldn't even let me see her in the fucking hospital! Anna wasn't sure she would ever be able to forgive him for that, for whisking Elsa away in secret, for those horrible moments at the hospital when she thought Elsa was dead. When the bastard let her believe Elsa was dead.

But she hadn't wanted to add to Elsa's stress, so instead of going to see her about it, Anna had pushed back at Gunnarsen. Figured out ways to get around his security. Used the Castle's own architecture against him, with the same skill she used when testing her corporate clients' security. She had a knack for finding the dead spaces, the hidden angles, the cracks and crannies in the Castle's design that were overlooked or long forgotten.

I did him a favor. I found the holes that he didn't know about.

She understood Gunnarsen's need to protect Elsa. He'd been a young officer when Prince Kristen was killed, and he was determined that nothing would happen to his Queen, that Arendelle's future would not be put in that kind of danger again. But he couldn't, or wouldn't, see that Anna shared the same need: an unrelenting desire to surround Elsa with armor, shields, and bubble wrap, to make sure that no one could take her away from Anna ever again.

Anna closed her eyes against the image that popped into her head, unbidden and unwelcome, of Elsa in the hospital. The flatlined heart monitor. Elsa's body jerking under the defibrillator. Elsa lost in a mass of tubes and wires and fluid bags as she clung to life.

Try as she might, she could never stop reliving it.

She poured herself another glass of wine and went into Elsa's bedroom. Flopping down on the bed, she stared up at the high ceiling. Usually, the muted blues and purples of the room's décor soothed her, but not this evening. With a groan, she flicked on the TV, then dug around in the nightstand for the video game controllers. Maybe Ratchet and Clank could take her mind off things for a bit.

She had played her way through several levels before Elsa came into the bedroom. Anna turned off the game and tossed the controller back in the nightstand. "Hi," she said softly

Elsa didn't say anything, just stood in the middle of the room, twisting her hands together.

"Elsa, I'm sorry about earlier."

Elsa didn't reply, just kept looking at down at her wringing hands, her face impassive. The face of the Queen. Anna pushed herself off the bed.

"I know I should've told you what was going on, but I kept thinking that maybe he'd eventually get it, you know, and then I just got mad, because he didn't, and you're already stressed out and I didn't want to add to that so I just started working around him, and then it kind of became a game, at least for me, to see if I could sneak past him, and now you're even more stressed out, and…I'm sorry."

Elsa still didn't say anything. Anna pushed a strand of copper-colored hair behind her ear. "Should…should I go?"

"No…please don't." Elsa's voice sounded a little thick, and when she looked up, Anna saw tears on her cheeks. The Queen was gone now, and it was just Elsa standing there, shoulders hunched in, hugging herself.

"Elsa, what's wrong?" Anna went to her and cradled her face, wiping the tears away with her thumbs. Elsa just closed her eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. Anna pulled her into hug. Elsa's tears were wet on her neck, but at least there was no snow. She stroked Elsa's back. "Tell me."

Elsa's hands twisted in Anna's t-shirt. "I…I don't know how to do this," she said, her voice muffled by Anna's shoulder. "I...it's all so much."

Was she talking about being the Queen? Or being with Anna? A little ball of ice seemed to form in Anna's belly. She loved Elsa, but the security, the secrecy, just...all of it. She'd known, in her mind, that she would never have all of Elsa. That she would have to share Elsa with Arendelle. But the difference between knowing it, and actually having to live with it…

Elsa lifted her tear-stained face, and Anna felt like a giant hand had just squeezed her heart.

"It will be okay, I'm right here." Anna kissed her tenderly. "Why don't you change? I'll make you some tea and we can relax. Okay?"

Elsa nodded. Anna gave her another kiss, then went to the residence's kitchen, the one room in the whole place that Elsa had insisted be renovated and updated, where she then proceeded to commit the crime of cooking for herself, horrifying the Castle staff. Anna found the kettle and Elsa's favorite herbal tea.

She made mugs for them both and returned to the bedroom. Elsa's jacket was hanging neatly on a side chair. She had kicked off her heels and pulled off her hose, but still wore her skirt and silk blouse from the office. She sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing her temples.

"Headache?" Anna asked. Elsa looked up at her and nodded. Her eyes were still a bit red, but she had stopped crying. Anna handed her a mug of tea, then went to the bathroom, returning with a small bottle. "Here." She put a couple of aspirin in Elsa's palm.

Elsa swallowed the aspirin and sipped her tea. Anna sat down next to her, sipping at her own tea. When Elsa was finished, Anna took the mug and put it on the nightstand. "Better?" she asked.

"A little," Elsa said.

"Let me try something." Anna stood in front of Elsa and placed her hands gently on the sides of her face. Using the pads of her thumbs, she massaged Elsa's forehead, working in small circles from between her brows all the way out to her temples. Elsa's eyes fluttered closed and a quiet moan escaped her.

The sound set off a little spark deep in Anna's belly.

She tried to ignore it as she slipped her thumbs down to the bridge of Elsa's nose and continued the massage, circling gently under her eyes and out along her cheekbones. Elsa let out a long sensual mmmm that sent all of Anna's blood rushing south. She clamped her thighs together, her head spinning. It was all she could do not to push Elsa back on the bed and crawl on top of her.

They hadn't made love since those beautiful few days at Elsa's mountain house. Before Weselton's thugs caught up with them. Before Elsa almost died. Before the heartbreak and the nightmares and the long, lonely months when she tried to forget about the woman who would be Queen.

In the two months since their reunion, they'd had other concerns.

Like Elsa's health. Even now, Elsa's body seemed like that of a fine porcelain doll – beautiful but so fragile, needing delicate handling to keep from shattering. Anna had kept a tight lid on her desires, terrified of hurting Elsa if things got out of hand. They had limited their physicality to hugs, snuggling in front of the TV, and relatively chaste kisses. Sleeping together had been just that – sleeping.

And they had to figure out if they had anything beyond their intoxicating physical connection. To see if the bond they'd formed during those intense days on the run could survive the mundane and routine, much less the stresses, the limitations, the outright concealment of their relationship that came with Elsa's title.

The jury was still out on that one.

Anna finished the massage, then slid her hands around to release Elsa's hair from its tight bun. She threaded her fingers through the thick blonde strands, sending it tumbling down Elsa's back. Elsa leaned forward to let her forehead nestle against Anna's throat. She let out a contented sigh as Anna rubbed her scalp, a sound that did absolutely nothing to douse the ember flickering in Anna's belly.

"Feel better?" she asked.

"Mm-hmm," Elsa hummed. Her arms looped around Anna's waist. Anna could not quite suppress a shudder as warm breath ghosted across the skin of her neck. She swallowed hard as she combed her fingers through Elsa's hair.

"Do you…" Anna took a shaky breath, "do you want to talk about it?"

Elsa shook her head and buried her face in Anna's neck. Anna felt light kisses along her throat, and then there were hands sliding under her t-shirt and cool fingers stroking over her back and suddenly she wasn't sure if her knees could keep supporting her.

"Elsa…" she breathed, her fingers tightening in Elsa's hair she swayed on her feet. "I'm not sure – " She sucked in a sharp breath at the slight scrape of teeth against her pulse point.

"I need you, Anna." Elsa's lips nudged at her own, and Anna gave in with a groan, losing herself in the scents of pine and mint, in a taste that managed to be sharp and cold, yet warm and comfortable all at the same time.

Oh, God… Every one of Anna's pent-up feelings roared to the surface – months of anger and fear and loneliness and frustration, combining with her love, and yes, her lust for this woman to leave her simmering in a hot stew of emotion. She fisted her hands in Elsa's hair, kissing her hungrily, breaking off only when she heard an aggravated grunt and felt a sharp tug at her shoulders.

"Off," Elsa growled, yanking at Anna's t-shirt.

Anna raised her arms and the t-shirt was stripped away, then Elsa's fingers were traveling down her torso, leaving thin trails of frost in their wake. They traced her abdomen and navel with lines of icy fire that left her knees quivering and heat racing through her body.

Her hands dropped to the hem of Elsa's skirt and dragged it up as she wedged herself between Elsa's knees. She let her eyes and hands roam over those perfect legs, which trembled when she drew random patterns over the silky, moon-pale skin. Her fingers slipped under Elsa's panties and traced the curve of her hips, earning her a series of hitching breaths that sent jolts along her spine.

Then Elsa's mouth was on hers, hot and demanding. Cool fingers tangled in her hair and long legs wrapped around her hips. Anna snaked an arm around Elsa and lifted her further onto the bed, sprawling her body over Elsa's as their teeth clashed in a hard kiss.

"Want you…" Anna groaned as she broke away from Elsa's mouth to trail open-mouthed kisses along her jaw.

"Yes," Elsa panted. She grabbed Anna's hand and pressed it to her breast, and Anna shuddered at the sharp gasp she got when she teased a painfully erect nipple through Elsa's blouse and bra.

She fumbled with the blouse's buttons, desperate to feel Elsa's skin against her own. Losing patience, she shoved the garments up over Elsa's head, sighing with satisfaction when her hand found a bare breast and Elsa arched against her with a whimper. Anna mouthed at the curve of that breast. Elsa's wintry scent, along with the hint of musk in the air, tickled her nose and sent a fresh rush of heat straight through her body. Her hand slid from Elsa's breast, moving down and away until her fingers brushed –

Anna jerked her head up, staring at the thin ropy scar that started just under the side of Elsa's breast and curved around her back.

Oh, Elsa… Her hand lingered over the scar for a moment before withdrawing. Tears stung her eyes as they found another scar. This one ran down the center of Elsa's abdomen to disappear beneath the waistband of her skirt, a pinkish obscenity marring the pale perfection of Elsa's body. It was like someone had taken a knife to a priceless work of art.

"A-Anna…?"

Elsa blinked up at her, eyes cloudy with desire. Anna let her hand hover over Elsa's body, looking for a safe place to touch. She finally settled for resting it on Elsa's hip, still thankfully covered by her skirt.

"I…" Anna swallowed hard and sat up. "I think we should stop."

"What? Why?" Elsa pushed herself up on her elbows, confusion and hurt flashing across her face.

"You…you just seem so...so…" Anna kept her eyes down, fingers picking at the rosmaling embroidered in the bedcovers.

A long silence. Then cool fingers slipped under Anna's chin, forcing her to look up into those crystal-blue eyes. "Anna. It will be fine." Elsa took Anna's hand and guided it down to her belly. "You're not going to break me."

Anna let her fingers dust over the scar, trying to ignore the way Elsa's muscles quivered under her touch.

Elsa's eyes fluttered closed, and her throat bobbed. "I won't say that I don't still have nightmares," she said, her voice a bit raspy. "I do. But not when you're here. Never when you're here."

She moved Anna's hand up over her heart.

The strong tha-thump beneath her palm was soothing, but Anna still felt a lump in her throat at the sight of the round welted scar just under Elsa's collarbone, marking the place where the bullet had struck her. The other scars were jolting, but they came from the efforts that saved Elsa's life. This one seemed to mock her, to remind her how close she'd come to losing Elsa forever.

"I need you, Anna," Elsa breathed as she pressed her lips to Anna's.

Anna sighed into the kiss as she guided Elsa down onto the pillows. Elsa's arms slid around her, pulling their bodies flush as the kiss grew more intense, lips and tongues and teeth moving against each other until Anna had to break away just to catch her breath.

She trailed her lips down Elsa's neck and over her collarbone, pausing when she felt the oddly mottled skin of the bullet wound. Elsa shuddered a little, and Anna kissed the mark gently. She kept her eyes on Elsa's as she moved down, laying kisses along the other scars.

"Anna, please…"

Anna smiled and set about mapping Elsa's body with her hands and mouth, aching to relearn everything about it. She kissed and suckled and caressed and scratched, experimenting to discover what kind of touch provoked what kind of reaction. What made Elsa moan and arch into her. What made her hands tighten in Anna's hair. What curled her toes, made her tremble, bite her lip, clutch the sheets.

And most of all, what made her throw her head back and cry out Anna's name, her heels digging into Anna's back as she shuddered to a climax.

Afterward, they lay facing each other, naked and breathless and sweaty, exchanging light kisses and touches.

"I really am sorry about earlier," Anna said, stroking her fingers lightly along Elsa's back. "I don't mean to cause you trouble. Skeletor just…well, he just kind of pushes my buttons."

"I think that works both ways. You push his pretty hard, too," Elsa said with a little smile. "I wonder sometimes if you actually want to see his head explode."

"Well, that vein in his temple is pretty impressive. It's like a big purple disco light."

"Oh my God, you're worse than Kristoff." Elsa let out a giggle, quickly cut off. "But seriously, Anna, you're going to have to figure out a way to get along with him."

"I know." Anna snuggled closer, brushing her lips across Elsa's. Her hand slid down over the generous curve of a hip. She didn't want to talk about Skeletor; she wanted to make love again. After months of separation, her hunger for Elsa was nowhere near being sated.

"Do you?" Elsa's breath hitched when Anna's hand moved up to cup her breast.

"Do I what?" Anna kissed her a little harder. She circled Elsa's nipple with her thumb, enjoying the pebbly feel of the skin there as it stiffened under her touch.

Elsa put her own hand over Anna's, holding it to her breast to stop the caress. "Do you really know? That you're going to have to get along with him? He's not going anywhere, Anna."

Anna sighed. "I do know that. I promise I will try."

"It's not just that. There's a lot of baggage that comes with me. The secrecy. The security considerations. The…politics. It will rarely be just you and me." Elsa met her eyes. "And you chafe against all that. I can see it, Anna. And it scares me."

"What? Why?"

"Because...because I'm afraid you'll decide one day that it's not worth it. That you want your life to be…not so complicated."

Anna's heart ached, not just because of the distress on Elsa's face, but because she couldn't truthfully tell Elsa that those fears were unfounded. She took Elsa's hand and laced their fingers together. "I have to admit…sometimes I wish that I had never called Agdar. When we were up at your mountain house, I mean."

Elsa frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I wish I had never called him, that we had just run away like our original plan. Because then you never would have gotten hurt. And because I would have you for myself. Because I hate having to share you with Arendelle." She took a deep breath. "Is that selfish?"

"…Yes."

Anna bit her lip and looked down, because that stung a little.

"But…I'm selfish too. I want to keep you when I should let you go. You'll never have a – I can't offer you anything resembling a normal life...not that I really know what 'normal' is." Elsa freed her hand and held it up between them. Snowflakes danced above her palm.

"Elsa, you know I'm not afraid of that…of you."

"I know. It's…" She rolled away from Anna.

"It's what?" Anna curled her body around Elsa's, pressing her chest against Elsa's back. "Is it me and Skelet – I mean, Gunnarsen? I promise I'll – "

"It's not just that. It's…" Elsa let out a shaky breath. "My last meeting today. It was with a…dignitary from Carinthia."

Anna frowned. Why would a meeting with someone from an obscure Continental duchy upset Elsa so? "What did he want? Trade concessions?"

"No. He's not a trade representative. Or an ambassador. The meeting was arranged by the Council."

"For what?"

"He's a suitor, Anna."

Something heavy and cold crashed in Anna's belly.

"He wants to marry me."

A/N: So I finally finished a follow-on to The Once and Future Queen. I know, I know, not the satisfactory epilogue that a lot of people were looking for. *hides*

This is a definite work-in-progress; I'm not sure yet if this is a larger story, or if it will end up being a somewhat episodic series of pieces. Either way, I think I have more to write for this AU-verse.

Thanks for reading, and drop me a review (or a PM) to let me know what you think!

-Jae