"You're sure you want to do this?" Rapunzel sounded more hesitant than anything, even through the curtain of the dressing room. In truth, Rapunzel had never been particularly skilled at handling other people's negative emotions. She was more careful, cautious than Hans, and certainly more so than Anna or Kristoff. The gentleness in her voice made Anna's heart clench.

"Positive." Anna tugged at the strap of an orange dress. She was fairly certain this dress was emblematic of Hans' disapproval of this plan. "Jesus, Hans, I thought you were supposed to be fashionable."

"Don't blame the dress for your poor judgement," Hans' boredom slipped out through his drawl. "Blame your skin tone."

Anna scoffed, pulling the curtain aside to glare at him. "Blame my skin tone for my poor judgement? Clever, Westergaard."

Hans rolled his eyes from behind the magazine he held in front of his face. "You shouldn't ask my opinion if you don't actually want it."

Rapunzel swatted at him, her brow tight with tension. "Stop it, you two. You're being childish."

Anna stuck her tongue out and closed the curtain again, beginning to remove the dress. "Rapunzel, please explain to him that when you care about your friends, you go to remarkable lengths to support them. His empathy levels are so far from human right now that his sociopath is starting to show."

Hans snorted, and Anna could distantly hear him slapping the magazine down on the bench in disdain. "Oh, so that's how it is, yeah? Well Rapunzel, why don't you apologize to her on my behalf for giving a shit about how fucked up this whole shitty situation is?"

"Guys, that's enough!" Rapunzel sounded so frustrated that guilt crept past Anna's anger. "Hans, you're being an asshole and you know it. This is important to her and you're belittling her feelings. Anna, don't expect us all to just hop on board with this. You have no idea how difficult it has been to watch you torture yourself, and we're all just a little concerned about your decision-making process on this."

They were both quiet for a second, and Anna hugged her middle.

Rapunzel sighed deeply. "Apologize to one another."

Anna stuck her head past the curtain again, looking down at the patterned carpet. "I am sorry, you know. I've been pretty selfish lately. I know that."

Hans pushed his tongue into the side of his mouth, then muttered, "I'm sorry, too. I'm just trying to say that I'm worried about you jumping back into her life, but I'm not doing a very good job of articulating that."

Anna looked up, sniffling a little. "I know you guys are worried about me. And believe me, I'm scared too. I might get hurt again. I might be making a bad choice. I don't know yet. But it's my choice to make. And Elsa… Elsa isn't a bad person. She made a mistake."

Rapunzel slouched down in her chair, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Anna, no one here is accusing Elsa of being a bad person. But don't you think it's a little reckless to so willingly jump back into this whole thing so suddenly, especially after how badly she hurt you last time?"

Anna nodded, slowly. "Yes. I do think it's reckless. But that doesn't mean it's wrong."

Hans heaved a sigh so large that his shoulders, taught with tension, shifted, then turned and walked away. For a moment, Anna was worried that she had really said something wrong. She didn't want to disappoint her friends; she needed them now more than ever. And in truth, she completely understood their concerns. In another universe, if it had been either of them, she would have probably been on the other side of the fence, rolling her eyes and spitting poison.

But it wasn't another universe. It was her universe, and it was Elsa, and this was real life.

She would have to remember these moments some day when one of them was making a "bad decision."

But Hans did return, and he handed her a new dress. "I'm not good at these kinds of things," Hans mumbled, trying his best to hold Anna's eyes. "But let's call this a peace offering."

During lunch on the day of the gala, Elsa found herself even more subdued than usual. Her stomach was increasingly unsettled, and the idea of the salad on her plate was revolting, despite being one of her usual favorites.

On the other end of the spectrum, however, Frederic Arendelle was chattier than Elsa had ever seen him, jovially teasing her little brothers and booming laughter across their dining room table. Denise, though smiling softly at her husband's uncharacteristic amusement, kept tossing glances in Elsa's direction. Elsa didn't have the energy to do much more than push her spinach around in the pool of balsamic that it was wilting in.

"My darling," Frederic drawled at the tail end of a chuckle, "you haven't touched your food. Êtes-vous nerveux à propos de votre grande soirée?"

He didn't know the half of how nervous she was. It had been easy to be brave, giggling in Anna's room, her hand brushing over Anna's arm occasionally, breathing in the way her shampoo smelt. It had been easy to feel like this was an acceptable option.

Now, her stomach clenched at the idea of being in the spotlight. She didn't want to do any of this. She wanted to curl up in a ball under her covers and re-read Pride and Prejudice, and only surface to greet Anna when she inevitably brought her milk, and cookies, and forced her to watch trashy rom-coms.

Elsa had never particularly thought she had an overactive imagination, but this was getting out of hand.

"Perhaps a little, father," Elsa conceded.

"I can't believe you have a boyfriend," Olaf snorted around a mouthful of chicken tenders, "I thought me and Marshmallow were the only boys you liked."

Elsa tried not to vomit on the dining room table.

Marcus elbowed his brother, scowling. "You're being impolite. You should be thankful. We never get invited to any parties."

Olaf's eyes lit up a little at that. "Oooooh, do you think the snacks will be good? Do you think I can wear a bow tie? Do you think any famous people will be here? Oh my God, what if Taylor Swift comes?"

That helped ease the tension in Elsa's shoulder a little. Even if, at the end of this whole mess, her father forsook her, she had a feeling Olaf and Marcus would not. "Why would Taylor Swift be here? I only met her that one time."

"What about that girl who brought you that Christmas present?" Olaf cheerfully flung a spoonful of mac-and-cheese at his brother, seemingly oblivious to the way he had nearly made Elsa's heart stop. "The pretty one with the red braids and the freckles?"

Frederic narrowed his eyes a bit. "Who are you speaking of, son? Is this a new friend of yours, Elsa?"

You could certainly fucking say that. "Uh, yes, father. We met on the mountain over the break. Remember? She's very kind."

Of all of the ways she had allowed herself to fantasize about bringing Anna up to her family, preparing them to meet her, gushing over her kind heart and her silly mannerisms and her beautiful face, this, somehow, was not how she imagined it happening.

"Oh? Well, did you invite her? I don't recall any replies to my invitations that I did not recognize. She would have been capable of making a donation to the foundation, no?"

Elsa swallowed, trying by sheer force of will to stop her entire face from bursting into flames. "Yes, I believe so. She and her brother donated, Anna and Kris Summers?"

Her father pulled out his phone, mouthing at the end of his cigar as he pondered the guest list. "Oui, I do see them here. Summers. I am not familiar with the name. What do their parents do for a living? This is quite a sizable sum."

Elsa had begged the Bjorgman siblings from making too large of a donation, but when their father had arrived home from work, he had simply rolled his eyes at their pleading and laughed as he handed them his credit card.

"All in the name of charity, hmm? Please, Elsa, was it? Tell your father I said hello."

She certainly had not done that, no matter how kindly the man had been to her.

"I'm not sure, father. It isn't exactly something that often comes up in casual conversation."

Denise had the decency to attempt to muffle her snort into her coffee, eyeing Elsa carefully as Frederic laughed, apparently not put off by his daughter's snark.

"Uh, if you will all excuse me, I seem to have a benefit to prepare for."

Elsa stood, pushing away her ruined plate of food, and hastened towards the doorway, suddenly aware of how little oxygen there was in the dining room. As she climbed the staircase, Denise called her back from the landing.

"Everything okay in there, cupcake?"

Elsa swallowed around a lie. "Yes, of course. Or, it will be."

Denise hummed, tapping her fingers on the oak bannister. "Let me know if you need anything from me, sweetheart."

Belle arrived, a full-on duffle filled to burst with makeup and various hair products in her hands. When questioned, she shrugged. "Might as well look like a heartbreaker if you're going to be one, the way I see it." Elsa tried not to choke on her own breath.

Belle filled the space around them with that soft, comforting chatter that she always employed when she could see that Elsa was anxious. "Have you taken your medicine today?" Her voice was soft as she patted a brush coated in silver eyeshadow onto Elsa's eyelid.

"No. I didn't think it would mix well with the champagne."

Belle pulled away, raising an inquisitive brow. "Are you sure that's a good idea after… ?"

Elsa brought a glass of water to her lips. "I'm not sure that a few weeks of poor judgement is an excuse to never imbibe for the rest of my life, all things considered."

Belle rolled her eyes, returning to her work. "Far be it for me to prevent a nervous breakdown."

Elsa would have smacked her hands away if it wouldn't have ruined the better part of an hour's work. "I did my exercises, don't worry. I'm going to be fine. I'm nervous, and more than a little nauseous, but I'll be fine. I'm fine. Totally cool."

Belle smirked, setting down the brush and turning Elsa around in the chair in front of her vanity. "Well, I wouldn't say cool, but you're certainly fine."

Even Elsa felt a little breathless upon seeing herself. Her hair fell in soft waves around her face, and her cheeks stood out against the paleness of her skin. Her makeup was soft, sparkling, not quite inviting but certainly stunning. Her features were sharp, and her eyes seemed even bluer than usual. "You've outdone yourself, B."

Satisfied with her work, Belle stood to pour them both a glass of champagne. Downstairs, the caterers and decorators were putting the finishing touches on the evening's event, and down the hall she could hear Denise chastising the boys for wrinkling their tuxes. "Do you have a game plan for this whole break up yet?"

Elsa was becoming so accustomed to the tension in her shoulders that she could hardly remember what it felt like to be relaxed. "Vaguely. I'm just going to be honest. Tell him that I was drunk, and that it was a mistake, and that he's been an exceeding gentleman that simply isn't for me."

It was true. Jared Brunswick likely would have been a phenomenal boyfriend, in another life. When she saw his name cross her phone screen in the aftermath of the tabloid's leak of their "relationship," she had felt as though she may fling herself off Mile High Stadium. To her remarkable surprise, however, he had firstly apologized and taken ownership of the whole ordeal. He had called her, and in a soft voice asked how she was, if there was anything he could do for her, and admitted that he too thought this whole benefit was frivolous.

It almost saddened her that she wasn't attracted to him.

"Well, just know I have your back, okay? And so does Anna, I imagine." Belle handed the glass to her, then fondly ran her hand through Elsa's bangs. It always calmed Elsa's restless heart.

"I really like her," Elsa's voice was soft, gentle. She wanted to say those words out loud, even if she hadn't been able to bring herself to say them to Anna quite yet. "I like her so much."

"Yeah, I know you do, babe," Belle stroked the crown of her head, affectionate. "We'll figure it out."

Elsa was suddenly overwhelmed with the thought of a distant future, of a world where she could spend her days watching Belle and Anna laugh, and tease her, and keep her warm and safe together. She imagined complaining to Belle about all of the little annoying but wonderful things Anna did, and maybe asking Belle for dating advice. She imagined the three of them curled up on the couch, watching movies late into the evening, with Belle's feet in her lap and Anna's head on her shoulder.

It reminded her what it felt like to be relaxed.

Anna simply could not sit still in the front seat of Kristoff's car. She bounced up and down, fully popping off the leather interior. Her mouth was running about a million miles per hour. "So like, what do you think about this dress? Do I look okay? Or is too slutty? I told fucking Hans it was too slutty but he said I looked hot and I'm such a sucker for being told I look hot and he so rarely compliments me so I thought, what the hell, I'll buy the damn thing but then I realized I'll probably meet Elsa's parents I mean not like meet them meet them like not as her girlfriend or anything oh my god how wild would that be like if she broke up with Brunswick and then bam! 'By the way guys I'm gay as fuck this is my slutty girlfriend' no way that would never happen oh my god but what if it did—"

"Alright," Kristoff finally interrupted, turning down the radio that had hardly even muffled her voice, which had been steadily rising in pitch for the last thirty seconds. "You're over-Anna-lyzing it."

Anna stopped her rambling, eyes narrowing and her lips curving into a scowl. "I mean, I'd love to tell you that wasn't funny, but it kind of was. Well done, fat head."

Kristoff grinned over at her. "Thank you, I've been working on it for a while. But seriously, you have got to chill. You yourself said you couldn't push Elsa on this one."

Anna groaned, crossing her arms. "I know, I know, and I'm fucking trying, but it's hard. My brain won't fuck off."

"You only cuss when you're nervous."

"No shit, I'm nervous! You always say that and I'm never NOT nervous."

Kristoff chuckled. "One step at a time, kiddo. Elsa needs a friend tonight. Just… be her friend. Don't rush into this again."

Kristoff was, annoyingly, right, of course. He almost always was. If Anna pushed Elsa into a relationship again, she may never get her back.

But it was hard.

"Jesus, Belle wasn't kidding about the armed guard thing, huh?" Kristoff stirred her reverie as they pulled down the long drive to the Arendelle estate. Bouncers with heavy frowns and burly arms stood watch at the front door as valets accepted keys to cars worth more than the average civilians' house.

Anna swallowed hard. "Odds they have a register of pop's plates and snipe us before we come within a hundred feet of the front door?"

Kristoff shrugged. "1 in 50, I'd reckon. Try not to think about it. But also, try not to hit on Elsa too hard. If what Belle said about Arendelle Sr. is right, I think you may be shot regardless of who our dad is."

That definitely did not settle Anna's stomach, but she didn't have much of a chance to ponder her potential assassination any further as Kristoff pulled up in the queue, idling the car and turning to face her. "You got this, champ."

Anna nodded, still staring at the front door. What the fuck am I doing here?

"Earth to Banana? Banana, come in." Anna turned to face him, and the warmth of her smile momentarily made her forget how afraid she felt. "You got this."

Anna nodded again, more resolute this time. It wasn't like she was alone. Belle would be here, and Adam, and all of Elsa's other friends that she had met on New Year's Eve. Elsa needed her. She could do this. "I got this."

"That's my girl. Now get the fuck out of my car and go get the girl."

Elsa, somehow, saw Anna before anyone else. It wasn't like Anna was the first person there. On the contrary, guests had been arriving for the last half hour, mingling on the first floor while Elsa paced around her bedroom. Her father had always taught her that the guest of honor at any event should always be fashionably late. It was a convenient lesson, because Elsa so often needed an additional half hour into a party at the Arendelle estate to consider fleeing the country and finding a way into a new identity.

When she received the knock on the door from Gerda, accompanied by a soft, "It's time, miss," Elsa had steeled herself around a heavy swallow of champagne. She opened her door, and tugged gently at her gloves, if only to stop her hands from trembling as she treaded down the corridor in Gerda's shadow, breathing in deeply before stepping out onto the stairwell.

And there she had been. It had been hard to breath, honestly, when she saw Anna, a lowball glass held delicately in her hand, her hair braided back into an impeccably elegant bun that almost felt out of character. She had stood there at the bottom of the stairs, a light blush covering her cheeks as she guffawed at something that Adam had said. The whole world seemed to be moving in slow motion as Elsa traced the curve of her delicate neck with her eyes, unable to stop thinking about how it would feel to kiss her way up her shoulders all the way to the line of her jaw. She could hardly even think straight, which, in hindsight, was the ultimate irony.

And when Anna looked up, meeting her eyes, that perfect mouth falling into a sweet "O", Elsa could almost hear the way her lips would pop and her breathing would stutter. There were other people in the room, and they may have even been clapping, may have even been raising their glasses to her, but all Elsa could think about was the way Anna seemed captivated by her every move.

Elsa was pretty sure she couldn't have stopped herself from falling in love with Anna if her life depended on it.

"Elsa?" Reality, like a massive, inconvenient freight train, slammed back into her chest. She whipped her head around, eyes finding Jared Brunswick as he stood just a few stairs below her, his mouth twisted into a charming, toothy smile. "Are you ready?"

Elsa couldn't help but glance back down the stairs in Anna's direction. Seemingly recovered from her momentary shock, Anna gave a sheepish grin, bumping her elbows into Belle and Adam, before flashing two big thumbs up. Adam and Belle followed suit, both sporting matching encouraging looks.

It really was incredible how Anna could make her feel so light and brave.

"Yes," her voice came out soft, but strong. "I'm ready."

Anna could hardly focus as a man with a strong French accent introduced Elsa and a man who she knew to be Jared after an embarrassing number of hours of internet stalking. He was handsome.

Anna couldn't help but notice that he looked a little bit like her.

She could vaguely hear the guy, was aware that there were moments in which she was meant to clap, or raise a glass, but mostly she just wanted to stare at Elsa. Elsa didn't even try to hide the way she searched for Anna's eyes, and Anna was reminded over and over again exactly why she was here. It was that smile, and those eyes, and the way she kept tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. It was the way she could see her chest tighten when their eyes met.

Anna was more than a little in love with her by then, anyway.

The only thing that shook their eye contact was a strong thrust of Belle's elbow into her ribs. Well, that and the accompanying sudden look of horror on Elsa's face.

"Miss Derosier, it's a pleasure to see you this evening." The gentleman who had spoken earlier had approached them, a cool smile on his chiseled jaw. "Who is your friend?"

Belle all but curtsied. "Good evening, Mr. Arendelle. This is a lovely event. Thank you so much for having us."

When was the last time Anna had breathed? Her knuckles were white on her glass.

"Mr. Arendelle, you must be Elsa's dad. I mean, father," Anna was distantly aware that she was very suddenly sweaty. "I'm uh, Anna. Anna Summers. What a party, right?"

Anna had never wanted to die more in her entire life.

Elsa's father smiled good-naturedly. "Anna Summers. It's a pleasure. My daughter speaks very highly of you. Though not quite as highly as my young son, Olaf, speaks of you."

At that moment, a high pitched squeal made Anna nearly drop the glass she was clinging to for dear life. "Anna!"

Anna turned, grinning when she saw the bounding young boy in a rumpled tux running fully speed into her. "What's up, little man? Got any warm hugs for me?"

Olaf threw his arms around Anna's middle, giggling. "Dad, isn't she just like I said? So pretty and so freckly and so warm!"

Mr. Arendelle chuckled from behind them, "All of the above, son. Now, let the poor girl alone. Off you go, find your brother."

Anna smiled, holding out her hand for a high five. Olaf smashed her hands so hard it stung, and she let out a hearty laugh. "Great kid you got there, Mr. Arendelle."

Elsa's father hummed, smiling in a way that so reminded her of Elsa. "A handful, but we do what we can. Well," he nodded in both of their directions, "Please, enjoy the event. Don't let an old man like me keep you lovely ladies from all of the handsome young men here tonight. Belle, Anna, good evening."

Belle seemed to have been holding her breath during the conversation, and whistled low and slow between her teeth. "Nice work, Bjorgman. Though Olaf really saved your ass."

"Anna," Elsa's voice felt like more like a breath than anything. "I'm so happy to see you survived my father."

Anna wheeled around, a grin already peeling across her face. Holy shit.

Elsa was almost hard to look at, she was so beautiful. Without really thinking, Anna reached forward to tuck the strand of hair that Elsa kept fiddling with behind her ear. Elsa blushed scarlet, but her smile didn't falter.

"Elsa, wow," Anna's voice sounded choked, even to her own ears. "You look amazing."

"I'm never going to get tired of hearing you say that, you know." Impossibly, Elsa's blush deepened, but Anna was so proud of Elsa for being able to speak her mind that she could hardly even see.

"Lovebirds, you're making a scene," Belle's head was ducked in a snicker, and Anna was overwhelmed with the desire to punch her in the boob for giving Elsa a reason to pull away.

"I don't have long. Jared and I have to make some speech thanking everyone for being here, and then…" Elsa brought her hands together anxiously. "I just wanted to see you first."

Anna's heart swelled. "You've got this. We've practiced this. Everything is going to be okay. And I'll be here no matter what."

Belle cleared her throat, and her smile could have stopped traffic. "For the record, so will I. Jesus, you two are adorable. Ugh, this is the happiest I've ever been in my entire life."

Adam reappeared suddenly, with fresh drinks in his hands and a stunning grin on his face. "Fucking cute, aren't they?"

Anna groaned, knowing her face was as red as Elsa's now. "Stop it, you guys. You're not being helpful." Despite her disdain, she accepted the drink with aplomb. She wasn't a monster, after all.

Elsa let out a soft laugh, taking the drink with hands that only shook a little. She downed the glass in a single gulp, her shoulders relaxing minutely.

Anna wanted to attach herself to the part of Elsa's throat that bobbed as she swallowed, but that was for later.

"Go on, make your speech. You're going to crush this."

Elsa nodded, and Anna nearly fell over in shock when she reached out to take her hand, lacing their fingers privately and squeezing.

What I wouldn't do to have those fingers—

Elsa was gone then, walking towards a small stage that had been set up in the dining room with purpose. Jared was already standing there, a glass of champagne in his hands, a smile on his face.

"Easy with the bedroom eyes, Ginger Rampage," Belle teased around her glass, bumping her shoulder against Adam's as he guffawed loud enough to draw a few passers-by attention.

"Fuck you guys," Anna muttered into her whiskey.

When Elsa ascended the stairs, Jared turned, his eyes bright. Even more than the anxiety, Elsa felt a deep sadness at the realization that she was the cause of that brightness. She had never broken up with anyone before, and she did not relish the thought of the private moment ahead of them.

Jared handed a glass to her and winked boyishly, then turned to the crowd and, in a voice that only a business man could possess, drew the attention of the masses. In the silence that followed, Elsa could only hear her heart beat.

And then she saw Anna, eyes glinting, a big, dopey smile on her face. And Belle, and Adam, and farther back Jasmine, and Aladin, and Ariel, and Pocahontas, all of them with the most encouraging looks on their faces.

And she felt brave.

A/N: Hi. Sorry I was MIA. After the Thanksgiving holiday, I had to get back to work, and I wanted to make sure anything I wrote for you guys was up to my standards.

Hope those of you who celebrate had a great Thanksgiving.

Until next time. -hero