It's only been a few days since the last time I had dinner with Esmeralda. Why does this time feel so different? Okay, stupid question. All right, hair? In pigtails. Nails? Short and green, really glad I looked stuff up, I would not have thought to trim my nails this short otherwise. Not because I'm gonna do anything, obviously, just would rather her impression of me not be that I'd stab her insides. I really wish I hadn't had to change out of that green dress I'd picked out, but I didn't have time to clean the stain off after lunch with Olaf. Hopefully she'll like the red one anyway. She checked her reflection in her car's vanity mirror. No smears on my makeup, my eyes pop, I almost look good. Olaf is safely at Giselle's, I texted Kristoff that I was going to be out, everything should be good. She stared at the restaurant. I just need to get out of the car. She gulped. It was already 7:35 and they were supposed to meet at 7:30. Esmeralda was likely to be late, but Anna didn't want to be even later.

After a few minutes of breathing and trying to calm herself, Anna finally managed to open the door of her car. She climbed out of the Kia, struggling a little bit with her high heels on the gravel, but managed to actually take a step before freezing up again. If I get too scared I can just tell her. Everything will be okay. I really like her. She took another deep breath, gathered all of her strength, and made it to the door.

Esmeralda was sitting inside, just past the entrance, waiting for her. She was wearing biker pants and boots, with a grey peasant top under a leather jacket. Anna could not help but notice that the pants were very snug and showed off her features quite well. "Hey," Esmeralda announced, standing to greet her date, with a giant grin plastered on her face. "It was too late notice to manage a reservation, but they said a table would be ready for us in like thirty minutes. That was about ten minutes ago too, so it's hopefully just twenty now. Are you all right with waiting?" She asked nervously.

Anna nodded, equally nervous. "Yeah, that's fine. It smells amazing in here. You know the best restaurants, I'd heard of this place before but I'd never been."

"It's not my usual sort of place, but Nostrana is really good. I used to know a girl that worked here, she's the one that turned me on to it," the raven-haired beauty explained. "I probably should have dressed up a bit more, but one of my roommates needed the car, and I was not wearing a dress on a motorcycle."

"I didn't know you had roommates. And I am definitely not complaining about the outfit, you look amazing," Anna checked her out admiringly. I am at least 80% sure this is attraction and not wanting to be her.

"Oh, yeah, I live in a bit of a commune. It keeps the rent down but lets me have a big enough yard for my goats. I wasn't going to just abandon Djali and Porridge so I could move into the city."

"Porridge?" Anna asked, laughing.

"He already had the name when he was given to me and he won't respond to anything else, so his name is Porridge."

"That makes sense. How did you end up with goats? That's not exactly a normal animal Can you even have goats in the city? Legally I mean."

"They're pygmy goats, so yes, you can have up to three without a license, though chickens and other farm animals count to that number too, which almost caused some issues when I moved in. Fortunately the guy that owned all but one of the chickens was moving, so we were only breaking the law for a few weeks. And hey! What's wrong with goats as pets? Djali and Porridge are little angels."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to upset you, I've just never met anyone else who had goats. Can I meet them?"

"Trying to go back to my place already?" Esmeralda teased.

Anna blushed a bright red, matching her hair and dress, "I didn't mean like that. I mean I'm not sure! I've just never met a goat before."

"Djali would love to meet you, I'm not sure about Porridge, he's generally pretty skittish with new people."

"Well I'd love to meet Djali too, and I'll do my best to win over Porridge," Anna said with a grin. "No animal can resist my charms."

"I certainly can't," Esmeralda agreed, causing the redhead's blush to reignite.

"I just have a dog, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to lose him in the divorce. His name's Sven, he's a mutt and he's really sweet. He loves Olaf."

"I'm sorry he'll lose that," Esmeralda said sadly.

"Yeah," Anna agreed guiltily. "At least he'll still be able to see him, or I don't know maybe we'll split custody of the dog too, we haven't really discussed anything yet."

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Esmeralda asked, worry clear in her voice.

"No, I'm not at all sure, but I'm not ready to stop either."

"Esmeralda?" A voice asked. They both turned to look at the speaker. It was the hostess. "Your table's ready."

"Oh, great, thank you," Esmeralda replied as they followed the hostess to their table.

"What do you recommend?" Anna asked Esmeralda, to continue the conversation.

"The lamb's really good and their steak is amazing, honestly you can't go wrong."

"You eat lamb?!" Anna cried.

"Yes? Why wouldn't I?" Esmeralda asked, flummoxed.

"But that's like a baby Djali or Porridge!"

"Goats and sheep aren't the same thing."

"Oh. I guess I knew that. It still seems weird."

"Then I suppose we should get the steaks to make sure you don't get too confused and eat my goats when you meet them," Esmeralda laughed. "Though they may also try to eat you, or at least your braids."

"I'll eat them first," Anna growled. "I am almost certain I can take two pygmy goats in a fight. I mean they're called pygmy, how big could they be?"

"Well Djali is about 60 pounds and Porridge is 70. I'm not saying you'd lose, but it would be quite a fight."

"Seventy pounds? That's supposed to be pygmy? I was expecting like a little teacup goat that I could hold in my hand."

"You can try if you'd like, but I don't think it'd be great for your wrist."

"I guess I'm not fighting your goats then."

"That's probably for the best. Just don't let them eat your hair and everything will be fine. They taste everything, it's what goats do," Esmeralda explained.

"I will sit them down and explain to them calmly that I would rather they not eat my hair, and that I brought them some nice bread from this restaurant as a reward for them not eating me," Anna decided, taking a bite out of a stiff piece of bread with some olive oil.

"They'll likely listen to you, while tasting your hair."

"Should I just put my hair up? Would that help?"

"They are slightly less likely to climb your entire body to reach your hair, yes. They do climb, but it would at least help."

"All right, I'll put it up when we leave," Anna established, reminding Esmeralda of the fact that she was going back to her place. "So steak? Which one?"

"They're all good, we could split the giant ribeye, their flank steak is really good-"

"Wow, you've been here a lot."

"I was friends with that waitress for a few months, I would often eat here before she got off."

"Were you friends like," Anna fumbled with her words. "Like how we're friends?"

"And just what are you implying we are?" Esmeralda asked of an incredibly embarrassed Anna. "Yes, I was sleeping with her, we were never exactly dating though, so at the moment I suppose that would be the exact opposite of us."

"Oh," Anna replied, hesitantly. She was unsure how to process this information; she hadn't realized relationships and sex were so complicated.

Their waitress arrived while Anna was still attempting to wrap her head around everything. "You ladies ready?" she asked.

Esmeralda looked questioningly at Anna, who responded "Yeah, I'll have the flank steak and a glass of this red wine,"she indicated her choice on the wine menu.

"I'll have the same thing," Esmeralda added, "That sounds perfect."

"I don't think I've ever seen goat cheese on a menu before," Anna announced as the waitress took their menus.

"Well don't expect it from my boys," Esmeralda laughed.

"Right, I was going to ask if you milked them or anything, I did not think about that."

"Yeah, that has somewhat of a different effect on male goats, you might get some liquid, but definitely don't drink it."

Anna couldn't help but laugh at that. "Duly noted. No milking the boy goats. How did you end up as a teacher anyway, if you don't mind my asking? It seems kind of an odd fit for you."

"I love music, I have a degree in music theory, with a minor in history, and as much as I love traveling, it sounded nice to not be scraping by paycheck to paycheck and couch surfing for at least a little while. I'm not sure I'll stick with it, but it's a nice change of pace, this is just my second year."

"Oh, wow, this is my, what, seventh? Eighth? What did you do before?"

"Mostly just odd jobs while I traveled the world. My mother had left me a little bit, but not enough to survive or anything. I've busked, I've done manual labor, I've taught English as a foreign language, I've stripped, I've worked as a waitress a few times, that was the worst, done some online freelancing from time to time. Honestly teaching is probably the most fun I've had working, aside from busking, but that doesn't earn much of a steady paycheck. What made you decide to become a teacher?"

"I didn't realize your mom had died, I'm sorry. What's busking?" Anna asked.

"Street performing – it's playing music and hoping people give you money. Yes she did, but I never knew her. Why did you decide to be a teacher?" Esmeralda repeated herself, not wanting the entire conversation to be about her.

"Oh, my mom died too, when I was fifteen. Sorry you never knew her. To answer your question though, I just always wanted to be a teacher, but an elementary school teacher. I love children, I actually rather enjoyed school when I was young, I like learning, I'm patient enough that I enjoy teaching, I just never wanted it to be like this. I worked at my old school for six years before it was shut down, our school is terrible."

"I don't mind it too much myself, but I can definitely see how it would be a big change."

"My students are assholes. I'm used to my kids liking me, and instead I had a student trying to bully me the other day."

"Seriously?" Esmeralda looked protective. That's really sweet. "What happened?"

"It was nothing, she'd overheard my telling you that I was getting a divorce and decided to make a show of it in front of the class. I overreacted more than anything, I just want to let it go."

"The little bitch. Teenagers are the worst. What business is it of hers what you're going through?"

"Exactly!" Anna almost shouted. "Ugh, she just drives me crazy, but she's one of my best students. I hadn't told anyone else at school because I don't want to make anything of it. Please don't tell anyone."

"I won't, but if she keeps causing you trouble I'm pretty sure I could convince one of my students to beat her up," Esmeralda offered conspiratorially.

Anna giggled. "I'll let you know."

Their food arrived, the smell of the steak mixed with the rosemary and olive oil intoxicating both women. Anna immediately tried a bit and let out a soft moan, prompting a raised eyebrow from her date. "This is the best steak I've ever had."

"Told you it was good," Esmeralda agreed, having a bite.

"Like seriously," Anna continued, "It's amazing."

Esmeralda laughed. "I'm glad you like it. It's a pretty nice place, I thought it was a good choice for our first date." That word. Anna choked on her food. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just still getting used to the idea of dating someone new. Dating you. It's nice, but it's still really scary and new," Anna explained after her coughs died down.

"Like I said before, you can back out at any point."

"No, I don't want to," Anna insisted. "I'm having a great time, and I think I might really like you."

Esmeralda's face flushed. "I really like you too."

"Good then, glad I bought dental dams – I did not just say that."

Esmeralda laughed, her face turning even redder. "Someone's been doing their research. I noticed the nails too, sounds like you might actually know what to expect."

"No!" Anna cried, matching her date's complexion, "I don't know at all, it's why I had to look everything up, but I was talking to Elsa about you and she insisted I buy dental dams, just in case."

"That's very responsible of her," Esmeralda said approvingly. "So what are you telling your sister about me? I didn't know we were to that point."

"I just needed advice on our first date, it had been a long time since I've last gone on a real date, and I'd never gone on one with a girl, I didn't know what to expect, and I figured that she was the best person to ask, I don't know any other queer people. I can say that word right?" Anna added worriedly.

"From where I sit, you seem plenty queer to me," Esmeralda chuckled, "I'd say it's safe to say. I'm flattered that you went to all that trouble for me."

"You're worth it," Anna grinned, shoving another bite of steak into her mouth. "Do you date often?" She asked nervously, unsure if it was even an acceptable question.

"Not really. I mean probably more than I act like I do, since I was dating that last girl, but normally I'm more the type to just have a few friends with benefits. It takes someone really special for me to want to date them."

Anna understood the implication and almost spilled her wine. "I'm nothing special," she insisted.

"You are. I feel really comfortable with you, you're the first person I've hung out with in a long while who doesn't judge me so much, and that was even true when you thought you were straight. I like you, Anna, I'm not ashamed to admit that. I've liked you since we first met."

"There's no way that's true. When we met last year I was a mess, there's no reason you would want me. I was already pretty sure I was leaving Kristoff but I wasn't near ready to say it, and I was barely talking to anyone, what did I do that could have possibly made you like me then?"

"Promise not to laugh?" Esmeralda asked, seeming surprisingly serious.

"I promise."

"I saw you in a fight with another teacher, before we'd ever exchanged a single word, they had been complaining about some student and you were defending them. They were insisting that the kid was stupid and that that was why they were failing their class, while you pointed out their ADHD and dyslexia, and that it wasn't reasonable to force them to the same expectations and that when you gave them additional time and attention they were managing to ace everything. When I was in school no one ever stood up for me like that. I wasn't dyslexic, but I had plenty of issues that made me a terrible student, and it generally just resulted in detention. I had a crush on you from that moment. It was that and your eyes, they looked so sad and yet so full of hope. Plus you're pretty cute, that didn't hurt," she added in an attempt to avoid darkening the mood.

"Wow," Anna breathed. "I had no idea. I don't even remember doing that."

"You're a pretty amazing woman, Anna. That incident not being anything special to you just shows how true that is. Those assholes in your class don't deserve you, you're an amazing teacher." Esmeralda had slid her hand across the table to an inch away from Anna's, wanting to take it but unsure if she should.

Anna settled Esmeralda's internal debate by grabbing her hand. "Thank you," she said, a tear sliding down her cheek.

"Hey now," Esmeralda insisted, squeezing Anna's hand and reaching for it with her other hand, "Don't go crying. I was just trying to answer your question, no tears, we're having an awesome date, I never want to be the one to make you cry."

Anna used her free hand to wipe the tear away. "Sorry, I've just never had anyone say anything like that about me. I mean Kristoff had his moments, but never anything quite like that."

"Then he didn't appreciate you enough."

"Well you're definitely making any doubts I had go away. I'm glad I'm here. You're a pretty amazing woman yourself," Anna grinned, running her thumb along the back of Esmeralda's hand.

"As if that was ever up for debate," she joked. "But I'm glad you're here too, in case I haven't already made that clear."

"Tell me something more about you," Anna begged, hungry for more information on her strange companion.

"Like what?"

"Anything. Where were you from originally? What's your favorite place you've lived?"

Esmeralda hesitated for a moment, serious conversation and sharing were both still somewhat foreign to her. "I'm from France. My father moved me out here after my mother died. Then he died when I was twelve and I ended up in foster care. That the kind of information you wanted?" She asked defensively, immediately regretting it when she saw the hurt in Anna's eyes. "Sorry, sharing isn't easy for me."

"It's okay, I'm sorry, I had no idea that happened to you. I was fifteen when my parents died and Elsa took custody of me. You didn't have anyone?"

"I didn't. I didn't know Elsa raised you," Esmeralda responded. "Makes me extra wonder how you never knew she was gay, but what was that like? Having your sister as your mom."

"Eh, Lilo seems to handle it fine, it wasn't so bad. She was kinda strict, but I was terrible. And I didn't know because I'm really dumb, okay? I didn't know you were flirting with me or that you weren't straight either, I am just an incredibly oblivious person," Anna insisted.

"Oblivious maybe," Esmeralda allowed, "But you're miles from dumb."

"Thanks, I think," Anna laughed. "What was France like? I've never been."

"I don't really remember. I was only two when my mother died and we moved out here. What about you? Didn't you say once that you were from Norway? I spent a few weeks there once, but my timing was terrible and it was too cold for busking and I couldn't find any other work."

"My family is from there, but my parents moved to California a few months before I was born. We used to go back a lot to visit though, and I always loved it. It's just so beautiful there. You did at least manage to have someplace to sleep right? I hate to think you were just freezing on the streets of my home country."

"I found some places to crash, that part wasn't an issue. Wow, I never would have pegged you for a California girl," Esmeralda teased. "You never even say "like totally.""

"I am like totally a California girl," Anna insisted. "Lived my whole life there up until I moved up here for college. I wanted to give Elsa some space, let her actually live her life instead of always looking after me. I didn't expect her to run off to Harvard and then New York."

"Such a mommy's girl."

"She's not my mommy," Anna grumbled.

"Such a legal guardian's girl," Esmeralda rephrased. "I never called any of my foster parent's 'mommy' either."

"It would feel so weird calling Elsa 'mommy,'" Anna laughed. "My sister being my mother sure sounds like one incestuous family."

"Nah, that's only if you sleep with her too," Esmeralda joked.

Anna threw a piece of bread at her date. "Nope, too far."

"I'm sorry, can I make it up to you with chocolate?" she grinned.

"You do know the way to my heart," Anna marveled. "Okay, let's get dessert."

Soon Anna found herself full of chocolate and following the younger woman's motorcycle down the road back to her place. Am I really doing this? I mean I'm just going to meet her goats right? Yeah, Anna, that's why you just made sure you still had the dental dams in your purse, in case you needed to give them to the goats.

Upon arriving in front of the house in the slightly less bad area around SE 80th, Anna nervously exited her car. "Wow, you live far from the school."

"It's only like half an hour," Esmeralda protested as she removed her helmet, her hair cascading out of it like she had walked out of a shampoo commercial.

"Oh, I might actually live farther then. Weird. So, let me meet Djali and Porridge!"

"Right this way," Esmeralda grinned, leading her through the house and to the back. "Djali, Porridge, I'm home! And I brought a friend!" Djali immediately came running up to them as soon as they entered the fenced in backyard, the grey creature bleating excitedly. Anna hurriedly tied her hair in a bun as she recalled what the goats were likely to do. He instead decided to try to eat her dress.

"Hey!" Anna yelped, jumping back. "That's not food."

"I don't think he's going to believe you."

"Are you just saying that to get me out of my dress?"

"I wasn't, why? Would it work?" She grinned lasciviously.

Anna glared back, "Probably!" She bent down and petted the goat's head. "Hi Djali, I'm Anna. I think your mommy is trying to get me in bed."

Esmeralda blushed. "I don't want anything you're not ready for."

Djali rubbed his head against Anna's hand, a horn lightly poking her. Porridge hesitantly joined him, offering a single bleat in a nervous greeting. "Hi Porridge," Anna replied. "It's nice to meet you, as I was just telling your brother, my name's Anna."

The black goat found his way to her and copied Djali in attempting a nibble of her dress only for her to yank it away. He leapt back, growing scared again. "It's okay, Porridge, she just doesn't want her nice dress ruined. She's not gonna hurt you," Esmeralda informed the animal. Djali was still rubbing against Anna when Porridge rejoined them. He allowed Anna to gently pet his back before running over to Esmeralda. "He's taking to you quicker than most people. I guess Porridge is a good judge of character."

Anna crouched on the ground as Djali nuzzled against her, eager to receive more petting. Soon Porridge had joined him again and started rubbing against her as well. "I am the goat whisperer!" Anna proclaimed too loudly and scared both of the goats off.

"Okay, Goat Whisperer, want to go back inside before you wake up the chicken too?"

"I don't know, I kinda want to pet a chicken."

"No, believe me, you really don't. Not this one at least. Djali and Porridge can come in if you want, though we'd have to keep an eye on them. They're fairly well behaved, most of the time, but the occasional act of destruction satisfies them even more than it does me," the black haired woman laughed at her own joke.

"So you're asking me if I want them to join us inside or if we're going to be too distracted to look after them?" Anna asked.

Flustered, Esmeralda stammered back "I didn't mean it like that, but kind of. I guess." She stared at the redhead who could make her feel this way when so few other had ever been able to.

Said redhead walked over to her, as the goats resumed circling them looking for food or attention, and kissed her soundly on the lips. Esmeralda pulled her close, kissing back savagely, savoring the taste of the woman she'd desired for the last year. When they finally separated she asked, "So does that mean we'll be too distracted to look after Djali and Porridge?"

"I think that would be accurate," Anna confirmed, kissing her again.