Once morning arrived, the sunlight basked into the room, caressing her bare shoulders. Anna couldn't fall back asleep, eyeing the woman that was fast asleep beside her. The warmth that she was feeling… under the cover, feeling legs and arms holding her, the love and care that was given to her that night… separated her from all the misery and fear that she felt hours before. She had let all of it out, needing to be raw and honest to Meg - to Elsa… and God, it just felt so good. How could doing something that she had always been against doing, feel so good when it was done?

And everything just happened so quickly once Anna agreed that a nice sleep would do her well. Everything happened so quickly… when Anna kissed her. Stripped her clothes off. And numbed herself with the pleasure she felt that night, the songs made from moans and whimpers escaping out of their lips that night too.

She swallowed, looking at Meg's lips. And as much as she wanted to take her arms away from their hold around Meg's slim waist… she couldn't do it. She almost felt addicted… hypnotized, because the remaining train of thoughts left was just… 'wow, I did that'.

And as if Meg could hear that from her… she stirred in bed, groaning at the light moving to shine on her eyes.

Shit… do I move? It wasn't like Anna hadn't done this before, but… it really felt more than just new. Different. It was different. And strange, raw, and she should've been disgusted with herself, but Anna wasn't.

Just a few moments of silence passed, and finally, Meg laid on her back, groaning, eyes blinking open… and she turned. Even more silence passed, but Anna was brave enough to keep her eyes on Meg's until their eyes met.

"Oh…"

Anna nearly laughed. Well, I guess that's one way you're supposed to react. "Good morning?"

Meg looked more serious than ever, though. "I… good morning. Uh, are you… alright?"

She nodded. "Thank you."

Baffled, the brunette raised an eyebrow. "Thank me for what?"

Right… for what? Even Anna didn't understand all that much. "For… being so patient with me. And I know… I know I forced you to -"

"You didn't force me to do anything." Meg sighed, lifting a hand from under the cover and caressed the redhead's freckles with the back of her knuckles. "If you did force me to do something, and I didn't like it… I would've told you off. I teach my kids that."

"Maybe I am a kid."

She rolled her eyes. "You are… the most adult-looking adult I've ever met, Anna."

That had to be a joke right?

Anna didn't move from laying on her side, but… she didn't know what else to say either. Honestly, she didn't even know how to feel with Meg just as bare as her, sleeping beside her. Looking at her with such earnestness. She wished Meg wouldn't look at her like almost felt guilty, but… all she could feel was the overwhelming love Meg had provided her.

She smiled tightly. "I… I wanted to make an effort to forget about this."

Meg nodded, but it just sounded a bit wrong.

"I meant it like… well, I want to move on. With you. And I know it seems like… I wanted to numb the pain by sleeping with you. I swear I was all sober yesterday. I swear I wasn't using you. I -" Before Anna could even finish her sentence, foreign, warm… beautiful lips ate all of her words as they pressed against Anna's. A hand came to caress Anna's cheek, and all the redhead could do was freeze in her touch… only to slowly melt when she realized she had to shut up.

Just from one kiss, just one… kept her from thinking about anything else, but how Meg felt against her body. She sighed… letting her eyes close, and before she knew it - needing to whine - Meg pulled away.

"I swear if you try to explain yourself one more time, I'm going to kick you out." The woman laughed, eyeing Anna lovingly.

And even if it wasn't the moment to joke, Anna couldn't help but giggle alongside her… which only stopped when her heart and breath were taken away by the sight of Meg's body uncovered from the blanket.

Sitting up, the woman stretched… and the sunlight did incredible to paint on her pale skin. Anna… just stayed back to watch. She couldn't help it. That flawless back, flat stomach… rounded breasts… they were all so alluring. And those marks.

I… I did that.

Meg seemed to have noticed her staring, seeing how she smirked with intent, eyes glistening darkly. "What, first time seeing a woman?"

Oh. Anna didn't know how to react. Meg could be bold… but she didn't think Meg would be that bold, especially, after sleeping a night with her. Those marks that kept Anna's eyes entranced to her made her cheeks grow red and hot out of embarrassment. That's right, she was completely sober, knowing what she had done to that body. And… she didn't hate it. With how alluring Meg looked this morning, with how Anna just kept glancing at her flawless skin, picturing all the things they had done in her mind… she couldn't help herself anymore.

She wanted to move on… and this had to be the first step. There was a slight pride inside of her, though, seeing how all this time… she hadn't even thought about that woman.

And unbeknownst to Anna, her smile stretched wonderfully… almost seductively. "No, but it's the first time seeing you?"

Meg rolled her eyes, a hand ruffling her own unkempt hair, another throwing a pillow at Anna's face. "Big liar."

Anna chuckled a little. "I'm not calling myself a truther. It's the first time seeing you, sober."

"Alright, alright. But I'm betting you're hungry." Meg looked at the time and hummed. "Luckily, it's the weekend today. What do you want to eat?"

"Oh, you're cooking?" Anna held the blanket tightly around her chest as she watched Meg get up - fuck, she's beautiful -, grabbing herself a robe from the closet. It wasn't until the brunette cleared her throat when she neared the door that Anna snapped out of her stupid hypnotized stare.

"You can lay around here all day if you want, or you can go wash up. I asked you a question, by the way." Meg raised an eyebrow.

"Uh… I'm craving pancakes? And bacon." Honestly, do I even have an appetite right now?

"Got it." She got out of the room. "You haven't even tried my wonderful pancakes yet!"

Anna sighed to herself, sitting herself up from her position. The marks on her own body… didn't even faze her. Slowly, she traced one that looked all bruised up on top of her chest, gulping.

"You really want to move on this much, huh, Anna…?" she asked herself, and while nobody was there to answer her, only her heart knew… this was good for her.

With that thought in mind, Anna managed to get out of bed, shower… and come out with a fresh, joyful expression on her face. She wasn't even sure when was the last time she had enjoyed herself with someone else's company.

Wearing just a shirt and underwear, she came out of the bathroom, loving the smell of pancakes and bacon being made. But she didn't go to Meg right away - almost like she was scared to even go to her in the first place.

Meg seemed to notice her presence though. "You took a long shower. Breakfast will be ready… soon… so…" Silence.

Anna tilted her head, realizing how Meg was staring at her - well, not at her, but what was bare below. Bare legs with just a shirt barely covering her… and Meg was just ogling at her. Oh. She nearly smirked. Look at her get all flustered. "What, first time seeing a woman?" she mocked, only to earn a scoff.

"Hm, you got me. Breakfast will be ready soon, so just hang around."

"Right." Anna wasn't sure what had come to her when she walked up to Meg, who's back faced towards her. She didn't know what she was doing until she was just a breath away… eyes gazing longingly for someone to continue holding her. Reassuring her.

She stared at her neck, her hair running over her shoulder… and God, it was so kissable - and she could just easily take that robe off - but it wasn't lust that she was after now. She breathed in, licking her lips. Her arms gently around Meg's waist, her head placed right on her shoulder. And everything had stopped. Silenced. She swallowed, knowing that if she ever escaped this embrace… she'd only feel regret for everything that they had done. I don't want to go back to that anymore. I don't need this heartbreak.

"Anna…" A worried whisper sounded.

"I just…" It's morning. Don't you dare cry. Anna immediately shut her eyes tight to stop those escaping tears. "I just wanna say thank you. I… I know you won't accept it… but it's the best I could do."

And though, Anna didn't expect the silence… didn't expect such a heavy sigh, she could at least let her heart open for someone else.

"Where's your ring, Anna?"

The redhead picked her head up. Still, she couldn't see Meg's expression. "It's… it's in my pocket."

"Okay."

"What is it?" Anna tilted her head, chin propped on her shoulder.

She turned around, cutting the stove off. And… while she noticed the worried expression on Meg's face, how… she put her arms around Anna's waist, Anna didn't react. Perhaps, she was more comfortable with Meg now - more than usual, at least - and she must have been crazy to enjoy this… but she had to enjoy something with someone… if it wasn't going to be Elsa.

Did she resent her ex-wife? No. There was only disappointment in her and herself. Disappointed that someone she always loved… would turn into someone unrecognizable. Disappointed that… she hadn't realized how fucked up she was all these months for wanting Elsa back.

Meg… was nothing like her. She looked so sincere, so worried… so lovingly. And as much as it was overwhelming and unfamiliar, she wanted it all.

"Meg… what is it? What about the ring?" she repeated, much quieter this time.

"Did you take it off because of me?"

She raised her eyebrow. What? "Of… of course not. I… Meg, I was delusional, but I didn't realize. I didn't take it off because of you. I took it off for the sake of my wellbeing. My realization. I…" She looked away, sighing, teeth clenching together. "I took it off because that ring had burdened me for so many months, and I don't want that anymore. I wanted to be free from my delusion. You helped me."

Meg could only smile, listening intently. And Anna knew… she knew how doubtful Meg could be, and… perhaps, right now, was the time that Anna reassured her in return.

"Okay." The brunette nodded. "I just worry, you know?"

That's something I'd love to get used to. She smiled bashfully. "I know. I promise I won't do anything else reckless anymore."

"I know you won't, you silly goose. I don't want you hurt." Meg chuckled, flicking her finger against Anna's forehead.

The redhead pouted. "You're just mothering me now."

"Good, I should be. Just sit tight now, I'll bring breakfast out soon."

"Finally. I'm starving."

"Olaf, say hi to Tiana."

"Hello! My name's Olaf and I like warm hugs!" He opened one arm, another preoccupied with his teddy bear. "This is Marshmallow. He likes to be around me sometimes."

By the door, Tiana's smile radiated with joy as she got down to Olaf's level. "Oh my gosh, really? You're such a cute little buddy, you. And that doesn't seem right. Marshmallow should loveee to be with you all the time."

Olaf's expression brightened even more, his smile widening. "That's… That's what I told him!"

Tiana laughed, knowing that Olaf's waiting to hug her so she opened her arms. "Come give me one of your famous warm hugs~"

Elsa only smiled gracefully at the sight of those two interacting with each other. It was refreshing to see her son smile like this after all this time of suffering from all the heartaches. It hadn't been long since she had first met Tiana during the school play, but… in all honesty, she felt like she had known her for quite a long time. Being comfortable with someone, knowing they would listen and give advice… really bring people closer together. Having only met Tiana for a month or two, listening to her talk about her life through phone calls or text messages, and vice versa… finally, Elsa was asked if she wanted to come over to talk and have some lunch together.

Of course… troublesome times were also troublesome, so before she was asked that - before she could even say yes - she had vented about Hans' and Anna's behavior during that night. Should she have? Probably not. If there were anyone else to tell her what she should do… the first person that came to mind was Tiana.

Back then, she thought she did no wrong. Now… it just sounded absolutely ridiculous.

"Elsa, hello?"

The blonde broke out of her little trance by Tiana's snapping fingers. "Sorry. You two looks very cute together."

The woman scoffed, letting Olaf into her apartment first. "Girl, I will keep him as my own if you keep standing here. Come on in, I'll get you guys something to drink. Tea?" she asked, heading back inside to the kitchen.

"Yes, that'd be very nice." Elsa smiled as she stepped in right after her, looking around.

The apartment gave quite a comfortable feel to it. There were family pictures everywhere, photos of her handing out muffins to her customers, the furniture were quite colorful as well. On the background, the television was on, showing the latest episode of The Bachelor.

"Make yourself at home, honey," Tiana said from the kitchen. "Olaf, sweetie, what would you like to drink?!"

Elsa finally managed to sit down on the couch with a coffee table in front of her. From afar, the toilet flushed and Olaf's sweet humming sounded, including the little skipping of his footsteps. She raised an eyebrow. "Olaf, you went to the bathroom?"

"Uh-huh!"

"With Marshmallow?"

Confused, Olaf tilted his head. "I washed my hands squeaky clean!" He immediately turned to Tiana. "May I have juice please?"

"You don't want any soda?" The woman opened up her fridge.

Elsa didn't even grimace when Olaf turned back to look at her with pleading, cute puppy eyes. Oh, Elsa hardly ever gave her son any carbonated drinks, but surely… Anna must've snuck some to him. I'll really need to have a talk with her. She ran a gentle hand through Olaf's hair and motioned him to sit next to her. "Tiana, just give him a little bit please?"

"What a careful Mom you are, Elsa." She laughed, coming out with a silver tray of sandwiches and beverages, placing them on the coffee table. "Sorry about the mess of my home. Business has been so busy I couldn't get the chance to clean up this week. God, imagine just coming home to sleep and then walking out again for work? It's a tortured cycle." A roll of Tiana's playful eyes as she poured her a cup of tea had Elsa chuckling.

"Seriously, thank you for inviting me. I'd hate to be stuck at home, working on these blueprints." Elsa mirrored this smile she had with gratitude.

"Oh, no problem, girl. My home is your home, so treat it as it is. Olaf, come on, eat a sandwich." She sat down right beside the blonde, watching the child giggle as he grabbed two sandwiches, placing them on a plate.

"Mom, may I watch cartoon?"

Elsa shrugged. "I don't know, Olaf. Why don't you ask Tiana."

"Tianaaaa, pleaseeee?" He whined, a proud smile on his face emerged.

The woman immediately turned to Elsa with a serious expression, grabbing the remote. Cartoon Network turned on after a few seconds, and with a gasp, Olaf decided to go sit on the floor for a better look. "I swear, I will get pregnant again just to have a baby that's just as cute as Olaf. Or I could just kidnap him for myself."

Elsa laughed heartily, sipping on her tea. "Please, go ahead. If he wanted to stay over for a week, that's fine by me. Besides… your daughter… well, where is she anyway?"

"Weekend school." She leaned back, sighing in relaxation. "Olaf would get along just fine with Ashley."

Oh, I hope so. "Your husband?"

"In the bakery, as always. He's getting closer to my recipe." Pausing, Tiana slowly sat closer to her, eyebrows scrunched. "So what about you? I want to hear what's going on with you."

When she was about to take another sip, she halted… slowly placing the cup down on the saucer, eyes gazing down on her lap. She sighed, but never… had she felt so much regret and desire for more coming out of her mouth. "God, Tiana… where should I even begin?" She picked her eyes up to see Olaf still concentrating on his cartoon. Even from the back of his head… she could just imagine the radiating smile on his face. If only he was able to spread that for his mother… for the whole family. She was lucky enough to have a child like this. And having a child like this… meant she just could never show the hurt in her own eyes to her son.

"Okay, just start slow, Elsa. It's been a hard past few days, huh, hun?" Tiana rubbed her shoulder with care.

Even with that comfort, it couldn't simply cure this heartbreak she had. "I don't know. I feel… God, there's so much guilt bottled up inside of me."

"What are you feeling guilty about?" Her words were way too soft for Elsa.

She shook her head with a broken smile. She couldn't even meet those brown eyes. "A lot of things. Last night… Hans… Hans got angry. He thought I couldn't love him because I was still stuck with Anna. He thought everything that I had ever said to him, everything that I had given him… that they were all bluff, Tiana."

"Mhm. I'm listening."

"And then, Anna called. Immediately, I knew where she was. Who she was with. She… There was so much anger in her voice when she told me she had enough. She told that she was tired of chasing me. It's like… everything that she had bottled up inside came crashing out in words. And, God, I… I only wanted her to be happy."

The woman nodded. "You know… these past few weeks, you told me a lot of things." Tiana stayed silent, looking away when she sighed. I can hear that frustration. "Elsa, I know you don't want to hear this. I want to give you some tough love right here, is that okay?"

The blonde nodded. "That's fine."

"I know you want her to be happy… and, God, I'd love to see you smile for once too. But if you didn't think you were deserving of her, you make sure that you can feel deserving of her. Throwing her away… because, what, Anna seemed robotic to you for listening to you every day? No, no, no, Elsa, you don't do that. Look…" Tiana cleared her throat, crossing her legs together. "As someone who always has little arguments with her husband every other day, I can tell you, it's not always fun. But you make the marriage work by talking. Sure, Anna may be boring… but you tell her how you really feel. You ask her not to be so soft all the time, that she should put herself up top once in a while. You tell Hans how you truly feel about him. But now… look what happened. Anna put herself up top for once, but not for you." She printed a finger on Elsa's chest. "Hans… we don't care about Hans, okay? If he's angry, it's his problem. If he's jealous, that's also his problem, because you guys aren't official family, right?"

No matter how much Elsa tried to deny anything she said… Tiana wasn't wrong. Instead of answering her with the best intentions… she stayed silent. Looking down at her lap. She knew Tiana meant well. She was someone she could trust if she needed any advice or opinion.

She shook her head, eyeing Olaf. "I just want my child to be happy…"

"Who doesn't? What kind of parent wouldn't want to see their child grow and be successful?"

Elsa didn't know what to say. It was true… she wanted Olaf to be a great person when he grows up. But at an age like this… where he was stuck between his parents' broken marriage? It should never have been this way. "He's too smart - too wise - for his own age, Tiana."

Elsa -" Before she could even finish the rest of her sentence, Elsa had gotten up, hand to her mouth, tears streaking down her cheeks as she stormed to the bathroom.

And she could hear all the commotion outside as she sat on top of the toilet cover… sobbing. No… she had too much shame, too much guilt inside to let herself cry freely.

"What happened? What happened to Mom?"

"Honey, don't worry. Your mother just feels a little intense. She'll be fine."

"But… But…"

"Shh, I'll tell you what, I'll check up on her, and you just continue watching your cartoon, alright? I'll be your second eyesight, how about that?"

"O… Okay…"

Elsa didn't know what to think. She didn't want to wallow up in misery. She didn't want her son to even witness that she was wallowing up in misery. Elsa sighed to herself, wiping her tears away. Somehow… she had to bounce back…

"Elsa?" The door knocked. "Elsa, are you alright?"

"Yes… I'm - I'm fine. I'm fine."

a/n: sorry this chapter came out so late! classes has just started, and i had a great vacation.