Anna taps her fingers against the table's lacquered wood, trying not to fidget too much. She's early for once, which would surprise Kristoff if he were here. It's not like she tried to be late for all the other blind dates he'd set her up with in the past few months—weird things just always seemed to happen to her when she was heading to a date.

Take the time she got mugged in the subway on her way to some coffee shop she truthfully couldn't afford. The mugger had snatched her purse but paused only ten feet from her. Shooting her a look, he opened it only to find nothing but two dollars and some gum wrappers inside. The guy returned the purse, actually apologizing to her before he went off to find another, wealthier victim. Talk about a crushing blow to someone's self-esteem.

Then there was the instance where she somehow ended up delivering a pregnant woman's baby in the back of a car while in route to the movies. As a PA student coincidentally going through her OB/GYN rotation at the time, she was more capable of helping than the average person, though at the expense of her date. It was cool though—the new mom promised that her baby girl's middle name would be 'Anna'.

To be honest, the only other date she's been punctual to was...

Anna's expression darkens. Well, not a good date. Whatever. Hopefully this one will at least be interesting.

Her eyes wander to the restaurant's door and she spots a flash of white-blonde hair. She straightens in her seat—Kristoff had said something about how light her date's hair would be. Smiling, Anna waves to the woman to get her attention.

The woman turns, and yes—her pale skin, too-blue eyes, and 'ridiculously attractive everything' is exactly as Kristoff described. But the woman's eyebrows furrow as she walks over to Anna, until a flicker of recognition registers on her face just as she reaches their table.

A similar sensation goes through Anna, causing the smile to slide right off her face. This couldn't be the same woman…

"You," her date says flatly. Her full, pink lips purse slightly as she looks Anna up and down. "Again."

"And you..." Anna glowers at her, suddenly glad that she ordered a fruity, alcohol-soaked drink. "Eleanor."

One of the woman's eyes twitches. "It's Elsa," she nearly growls. "Elsa Norling. And we already did this three months ago."

"I remember. It sucked a whole bunch," Anna retorts, "How did Kristoff screw this up?"

Elsa stays standing. "Rapunzel messed up too," she says under her breath. "I'm pretty sure all she heard me say was 'redhead' and she thought I meant 'I want to date a redhead'."

"Yeah? What did you mean instead?" Anna asks sarcastically, knowing what the answer will probably be.

"I said 'I never want to date a redhead again after the last one'," Elsa says pointedly. "You were what 'the last one' I was referring to."

Anna snorts despite herself. She certainly doesn't remember the woman being so fiery last time they met. "I'm flattered. And sorry that I ruined you for all the women with awesome hair out there. You don't know what you're missing." The line is dangerously close to flirtatious, but flirting is the last thing on Anna's mind. Dead last, like...really behind everything else.

Yeah.

A brush of pink comes over Elsa's cheeks, but it's probably just residual, righteous anger making its way to her brain. "You're right, you did ruin me. Our date was the worst thing that I've ever been subjected to. Just looking at a redhead makes me remember that horrible time."

Okay, that kind of hurts. Before any other sharp remarks can be thrown around, Anna's waitress comes back. "Would you like anything to drink?" she asks Elsa, clearly choosing to ignore the tension between the two of them.

"I'm not staying," Elsa says tightly.

I'm so going to regret this. "Wait," Anna sighs. She gestures to the empty seat across from her. "Let's just get this out of our system, okay? It'll be cathartic or something." That seems to be true enough—snarking with Elsa has already improved Anna's mood somewhat. Who knew she had so many pent-up emotions about the blonde?

Elsa stiffens, torn between wanting to walk out and giving in to Anna's request. The internal battle probably makes her pull a muscle, but she eventually take the seat, crossing her arms over her chest like a petulant child. It's kinda cute, in a stupid sort of way.

"I'll have a water with a slice of lemon," Elsa belatedly tells the waitress in a clipped voice, who nods and scurries off to get their drinks.

They lapse into silence, unsure if they should keep sniping at each other. "So…" Anna draws out the word as she toys with her silverware, "is there anything else you want to say?"

"Actually, yes," Elsa says with a surprising amount of certainty. "I want you to apologize to me."

"Wha—" Anna sputters, not expecting such a weird answer. "You want me to apologize for what happened three months ago? That's like...a whole business quarter ago! A season has passed since then!"

"Your point?" One of Elsa's infuriatingly perfect eyebrow lifts up in amusement. "I wasn't lying when I said it was terrible."

"I agree that it sucked, but it wasn't apology worthy," Anna protests. Maybe Elsa just had a low tolerance for everything 'Anna'.

Elsa's amusement fades, replaced by a scowl. Ahh, I remember that look from our last date. "You were the worst date in the world. I mean, I didn't have a lot to compare it to at the time, but—"

"You weren't a walk in the park yourself," Anna shoots back. "We both had a miserable time."

"And here are your drinks!" their chirpy waitress says from left field. "One water with lemon for you," she slides Elsa her drink, "and a strawberry-coconut daiquiri for you." Anna grabs at her drink with much enthusiasm; she'll need it for this not-date.

As the first drops of cold, blended alcohol touch her tongue, she sees Elsa looking at her with a stern look of disapproval. "What?" Anna asks defensively. If Elsa wanted a daiquiri, too bad. She could get her own.

"This," Elsa motions to Anna's beverage, "is exactly what happened last time. You were drunk almost as soon as the date started."

Shit, that was true enough...though it's not like Anna would admit it. "And you obviously didn't want to be there; you answered all my questions with sullen, one-word answers and barely looked at me. No wonder I started drinking." Anna hadn't even wanted to go on that date in the first place and thought alcohol would get her through it.

Elsa grimaces. "That's...there was a reason for that." She actually looks uncomfortable, which is all kinds of interesting.

"Really?" Anna takes an exaggerated sip of her drink. "I'd love to hear it."

Her gaze goes down to the table, and it seems like she's a moment away from picking up Anna's fiddling habit. "I...that was my first date. I-I mean, not my very first date, but just...the first one since high school. I didn't have a lot of time to socialize in undergrad, and even less so in grad school. Rapunzel's been trying to get me dating for years, but..." her words fade away and she shrugs.

"Oh." Anna suddenly feels like an ass. There's an easy joke to make about being Elsa's 'first', but it seems like they're finally getting somewhere and joking would set them back. She shifts slightly, propping an elbow on the table. "Well, you weren't entirely blameless."

"I know that," is Elsa's tart, expected reply.

The fact that she already knows how Elsa is going to react makes Anna smirk for a second. The expression throws Elsa off—she's looking at her like she's expecting some sort of trap. Instead, Anna decides to be truthful. "I should've told Kristoff I wasn't ready to go on a date."

Elsa examines her carefully. "Why was that?"

Anna bites at her bottom lip until she settles on an answer. "My boyfriend and I had just broken up like, a week before that date. We had been together for almost two years before the stress of school and money got to us. The breakup was mutual but it doesn't mean it was a happy decision. Kristoff, for some reason, thought a date cheer me up and I was too miserable to tell him otherwise."

Another silence settles between them, which is when their waitress appears with some menus. She talks excitedly about the specials, with Elsa and Anna nodding along like good patrons.

When she leaves again, Anna can't help but follow Elsa's finger as it traces along the menu's edge. "So you weren't a jerk," Elsa muses out loud, sounding as if this revelation completely changes her world view. "You were just a heartbroken idiot."

"Hey now," Anna starts hotly. Right when she thought they were reaching some sort of understanding, Elsa just had to—

But Elsa gives her a gentle smile. "I'm glad," she says softly. "I'd rather you be the latter."

Anna doesn't know what to say to that, so she asks a question of her own. "I noticed that you seem a lot more...assured since the last time we met. What's changed?"

The gentle smile on her face widens. "I've gone on a lot more dates since. Rapunzel even gets me to go dancing every now and then, even though I'm horrible at it. And lately school has been more manageable, so I'm a lot less stressed than I used to be."

"Wow," Anna nods, impressed, "sounds like a big turnaround."

"And what about you?" Elsa asks, eyes settling on Anna's, "Didn't you say you were in medical school?"

If Anna's not mistaken, Elsa actually seems interested. "I'm not in medical school," she lightly corrects Elsa. "Physician assistant school. I only have two semesters left."

The two of them begin to talk about their programs—she had forgotten Elsa was studying international relations—and eventually shift to other topics as the evening wears on.

By the time their food arrives, they're in the middle of talking about other blind dates Rapunzel and Kristoff had set them up on. Elsa seems pleased to hear that she's the only date Anna's ever been punctual for, and in return Anna relishes telling her about the whole 'delivering a baby on the street' ordeal.

Throughout the meal, Anna can't help but smile. She hasn't had such a connection to any of her previous dates; none of easy back-and-forth, lingering looks, or concentrated interest were ever present before.

When the check comes, Anna offers to pay since, while she won't apologize for their previous date, she at least realizes she was more at fault for how it turned out. But Elsa touches her hand when she takes the checkbook.

"I'd like to pay for my own," Elsa says simply. There's no combativeness in her tone, nor any indication that this is a secret test she's subjecting Anna to (which has sadly happened more than once). Anna nods and reaches for her wallet, glad it's fuller than the last time she was mugged.

The air outside is cool, and Anna takes a deep breath of it. She tastes the city on her tongue; the car exhaust, cigarette smoke, hint of snow to come...and Elsa's perfume.

"I'm glad you asked me to stay," Elsa says suddenly. Anna turns to her, wondering if she'll say anything else. "I...had a really good time." Her cheeks flush, and Anna hopes it's not because of the cold. "After our last date, I didn't think..."

"The timing was fucked," Anna says honestly. "I definitely shouldn't have been on that date. And besides, you would've just been a rebound if we dated back then."

Elsa's lips curl into a playful smile. "What would I be now?"

"I...what?" Anna is caught off guard by the remark.

Elsa takes a step closer to Anna. "I mean, would I still be a rebound?"

Anna's mouth goes dry. "No. Actually, with you this close…" Elsa takes another meaningful step towards her, "I can't even remember my ex's name."

"That's good," Elsa murmurs. Her hands come up and gently tug on the lapels of Anna's jacket, bringing her closer. "You know, on our last date...there was another reason why I barely looked at you."

"Really?" Anna whispers. She's about to go cross-eyed from staring at Elsa's lips, and so she looks into Elsa's eyes instead.

"Really," Elsa affirms, breath ghosting across Anna's face. "It's because, even though you acted horrible, you were still the most beautiful person I'd ever seen."

Anna can't take it anymore—she closes the last inch between them, her lips catching against Elsa's. Her arms wrap around Elsa's waist, clutching at the back of her jacket.

There's a soft, pleased sound in Elsa's throat as their lips move together, and it doesn't take long for Elsa to sweep her tongue across Anna's bottom lip. Their kiss deepens, tongues gently exploring each other's mouths.

Unfortunately, the need to breathe becomes overwhelming, though Anna has no problem with suffering from a mild case of hypoxia.

"That was...umm," she says between breaths. "I'd like to do this again."

Elsa steps away from her with a smirk, hand trailing down Anna's arm until their hands are touching. As they make their way to the subway, her fingers curl against the back of Anna's hand. "It's a date."