A/N: A… long time in the making. I hope it ties up those loose ends, maybe. And doesn't open any more questions. This was hard to write for a number of reasons, but I hope I did the characters justice.

Unedited because I wanted to get this out on my birthday. Give you guys something :) enjoy~

The door to the little café swung open, the bell above it dinging cheerfully as Elsa pulled her coat tighter around her body. She'd already glanced at the menu above the counter, having decided on what she was getting about three seconds after Belle asked if she wanted to get a coffee, and was currently waiting on the brunette to make up her own mind.

"Why don't you just get what I'm getting?" she asked, shooting Belle a wonky grin. The other girl shuddered visibly.

"Because," Belle began, "You 'ave terrible taste in coffee."

Which naturally had Elsa pouting at her. "Ah, fine, fine, ma cherie," she relented. The corner of Elsa's lips curled upwards and she leaned in, pressing a chaste kiss to the brunette's lips. That finally brought a smile to Belle's face, even though she rolled her eyes when Elsa pulled away.

Only to pull the brunette in again close, pressing their mouths together more solidly for a moment.

"So needy," Belle grinned when Elsa finally pulled away. Elsa just stuck her tongue out.

"Yeah, but you love me for it," she teased.

Belle grinned. "I do," she said, colour filling her cheeks. Elsa wondered briefly when either of them would work up the courage to simply say those three little words. It wasn't like neither of them realised.

That thought was just as swiftly brushed aside. That was something for another day. The line moved forward an inch as yet another college student received their double-shot espresso (the only thing that could keep half of them awake, really). It seemed as though most students had exams, for almost all of the tables were empty, the majority of people getting take-out rather than sitting and drinking in the cozy shop.

"'Ow are your parents?" Belle asked suddenly. "Zey 'ave returned from 'oliday?"

Elsa grinned a little. "Yesterday. I'm going to see them after exams..." she trailed off, and Belle cocked her head.

"Elsa?" Belle asked just as the door swung open again, probably to let a new flock of students in. Elsa didn't feel the chill—not with Belle pressed so close against her. "Is somezing ze matter?"

Opening her mouth to reply, she felt her entire body freeze when she heard her name being called by a soft and terrifyingly familiar voice.

"Elsa?"

Whipping her head around, Elsa found herself face-to-face with... her past.

Anna, but not the Anna she knew, was standing in all her un-awkward glory, eyes wide. Her hair, if possible, was even brighter than Elsa remembered, freckled skin uncovered by makeup or clothing, and teal eyes still full of laughter. She was wearing jewellery—a necklace and a ring—and she'd had her nose pierced; a small, unassuming blue stud shining in the bright café light.

There was a blond boy standing next to her, holding her hand. He shot Elsa a smile before shuffling forward with the line, dropping Anna's hand as the two girls remained where they were standing. Vaguely, Elsa noticed Belle's own arm loosen from hers and the girl whisper something about a mocha and a table before she vanished.

"A-Anna?" Elsa stuttered. Her entire face felt slack, and she couldn't find any emotion other than shock rattling around in her head. Perhaps it was lucky that Anna had never been one for silences or awkward moments as she stepped forward.

"Wow, it's been ages," she said, still grinning, though it was softer. Not quite as surprised as when Elsa had first turned around. More natural. "How long now?"

Before Elsa could answer—before she could even begin to think of an answer—the cashier called her up. She shot Anna a look as she ordered and paid for Belle's drink, and her own, moving to let Anna order her own.

Standing to the side, Elsa couldn't help but let her eyes rake over the other woman. She'd grown, definitely, both in height and in other, less definable, ways. The freckles on her face seemed to have multiplied, and there was a bleached strand of hair above her right temple that hadn't been there the last time Elsa had seen her friend.

Were they still friends?

She remembered the last promise that Anna had made to her, and she to the red-head. And, she remembered how dismally it failed. They hadn't remained "best friends".

"Five years," Elsa croaked out. Anna jumped slightly, turning from where the cashier was painfully counting change. She hadn't been expecting Elsa to speak, it seemed, and shot the blonde a curious look. "It's been five years, or thereabouts," Elsa elaborated. "Your birthday was last month, wasn't it?"

And even though it was a question, Elsa knew the answer. And maybe Anna knew that, too, but she still nodded her head. "Yep. Had a party and went out and stuff. Kris took me to a bar and bought my first legal drink." She smiled. "What did you do for yours?"

Elsa shrugged, thinking back, before smiling softly. She'd gone to dinner with Belle before catching a late showing of a film both of them had wanted to see. It had been good, but Belle had been better.

Swiftly realising that wasn't the direction she wanted to go in, Elsa gave an awkward cough. "I uh, just... it was a small thing. Nothing too fancy. You know me."

And Anna gave the most peculiar little smile at that. Elsa didn't know what to say. They stood in silence for a few moments, avoiding one another's gaze. Elsa could see Belle sitting at a table in the corner, talking to the blond man who had entered with Anna. She looked about as uncomfortable as Elsa felt, and she bit back a smile.

Her focus returned to Anna when the other girl sucked in a breath and Elsa was suddenly wrapped in an achingly familiar embrace. She hesitated only a second before returning it, hands wrapping around Anna as she sunk into the hug.

"I missed you," Anna said softly, and Elsa couldn't even respond because what could she say? She wasn't even sure what to think, let alone actually voicing anything. Only when Elsa's name was called did they pull apart. Not long after, Anna's name was heard, and after collecting her own drinks, the duo made their way over to the blond and brunette, sitting at a table in the corner.

The blond boy stood up, about to direct Anna to another table, when Belle uttered a small noise. "Per'aps we should share a table, no?" Though she was speaking to the boy, her eyes were on Elsa; when she gave a minute nod, Belle smiled. She sat down and indicated the seats opposite. "I am sure you 'ave much to talk about," she said, though her hand still sought out Elsa's under the table.

Of course Belle knew who it was. She'd heard Elsa utter Anna's name earlier, and she'd heard stories of the vibrant red-head before anyway. Still, she held her hand out to Anna, who had taken a seat directly opposite Elsa.

"I am Belle," she said. Anna took the proffered hand greedily before jerking her thumb at the boy next to her.

"I'm Anna. This lump is Kristoff," she said, grinning easily as he nudged her. Elsa's heart gave an uncertain lurch at the familiar interaction, but Belle's hand on hers steadied her.

Unfortunately, Elsa could do nothing about the silence that followed save for sipping slowly on her hot chocolate. She didn't know what to say—didn't know what she could say. In front of Belle, she could say anything and not be afraid. Once upon a time that had... well, almost been Anna. Now, she wasn't so sure. And that wasn't even including the boy sitting with her.

"So..." Anna's voice broke through the stifling silence, clearly just as uncomfortable with it as everyone else. The lack of general hubbub throughout the café didn't help. "Have you guys been to the build-a-snowman display next to the ice statues? In the main street? Kris and I went yesterday. Got beaten by like, twelve-year-olds." She let out a small chuckle that was only partially forced.

"A display?" Belle asked while Elsa shook her head.

"I haven't built a snowman since-" Elsa began before stopping herself. It was too late—Anna had already guessed what she was going to say, and her face had fallen. Elsa turned her own face to her lap, ears burning.

"Elsa-" Anna began, but she was interrupted by Belle, who made a small noise and gave Anna a smile to show she meant no offense. Her next words diffused all doubt that she had, anyway.

Clearing her throat, Belle turned to Kristoff. "Would you mind showing me zis display?" she asked. "My papa would carve into ze ice occasionally, 'owever he was more into carving wood, ah."

Kristoff cocked his head quizzically for a moment before his eyes widened and he beat out a hasty, "Sure!" He got to his feet, and Elsa felt, with rising trepidation, Belle's hand leave hers. "I actually did a bit of ice-carving as a kid," Kristoff was saying, "So it's always fun seeing other people's techniques..."

His voice trailed off as he and Belle exited the café, the bell dinging cheerily behind them. It was only then that Elsa noticed how quiet the shop was. The line was gone, and the only people still hanging around were the few that didn't have exams, and the barista.

"I really missed you, you know?"

Anna's voice brought Elsa's attention back to the table, and she almost cursed herself until she realised that Anna wasn't even looking at her. She was staring into her coffee, clasped between her hands, with her eyebrows furrowed. Elsa focussed on the silver ring, shining proudly. Anna kept speaking.

"And I know it was hard but it hurt when you left coz... coz I didn't expect it and you never said goodbye or anything." She let out a small sigh and looked at Elsa. "Because we made a promise to each other..."

Elsa bit her lip and looked away. She didn't know what to say.

Fortunately (or perhaps not), Anna was always the better talker. She leaned forward, eyes imploring. "Elsa," she said. "We were best friends. We took each other's virginity. I would have thought that meant I'd at least get aphone call saying you'd moved, not... not what happened..."

Elsa gave a dry choke—something between a laugh and a sob. "I tried," she began, pressing her fingernails into her palms. "I think that we both knew, though, that we couldn't stay friends. Not after that. It hurt too much, Anna." She inhaled sharply, blinking rapidly to dispel the tears that were beginning to form.. "It s-still hurts, sometimes..."

Their eyes met, a strange emotion swirling in Anna's that Elsa could barely see, let alone place.

"It does?"

It wasn't the faint hope in Anna's voice that Elsa had seen in her eyes, was it? Even if she'd wanted to ask to check, Elsa couldn't have. Her voice had caught in her throat, and all she could do was offer a shaky nod and croak out, "You were my best friend," with a small shrug. Whatever calm aura she'd attempted to give off was immediately undermined by the tremor in her jaw and redness in her eyes.

Of all the places to cry about this, it had to be in front of Anna, in public.

Blinking rapidly, she forced the tears away. "So, how has your life been? You and, uh, Christopher?" she asked, desperate to change the subject. Anna understood; there was no reason to bring up past hurts, past regrets.

Instead, her eyes lit up, and she bit her lip, and Elsa ignored the way that Anna may have been tearing up a little, too. "Kristoff," she corrected with a grin, and Elsa let a small smile slide onto her lips.

But then Anna's eyebrows furrowed. "I uh... good. After you moved, I sort of... you know, had to make other friends. I met Kristoff about six months after you moved away, and we kind of just... hit it off. He became my rock, y'know? Asked me on a date a few months later, turned him down, then I asked him on a date and he turned me down and it was this whole mess coz I liked him and he liked me." She grinned. "Finally got that date for senior prom, and made it official a few weeks later. And now we're uh... here," she finished lamely. Elsa smiled softly at Anna as the girl finished her speech, though she couldn't help but think that Anna had something else to say.

"He seems nice," she said, and Anna nodded, looking away to conceal her own grin.

"He's wonderful." And then Anna coughed, her eyes lifting to meet Elsa's, a cheeky smile filling her cheeks. "And what about you and Belle?" she asked. "She seems, hmm... cultured. What's the story?"

"She's my uh," Elsa began, taking a breath. "I met her at orientation. There was a empty seat next to her in the library. We're just, uh, just friends."

Anna let out a small snort, that same damned smile on her face. "Please, Els. You're a terrible liar, and it's soobvious there's something between you two. Roomies? Girlfriends? Friends with benefits? C'mon, spill."

All while Anna had been speaking, Elsa could feel her face falling, heart mimicking its descent. It was one thing to ask how Anna had been, but something else entirely to have the question parroted back. Elsa took a sip of her now-lukewarm drink in the hopes that it would return some colour to her cheeks, or wetness to her mouth.

It was stupid because Anna was right—there was more than just friendship between the two of them. But when Elsa opened her mouth to answer, no sound came out. She watched as Anna's eyes widened a little, her face falling. It didn't help alleviate the sick feeling in Elsa's stomach.

"Shit, Els," Anna said, the words little more than breathy whispers. "I'm- I'm sorry, that was presumptuous. God, we don't even- don't even know each other anymore..." She looked at Elsa with imploring eyes. "You don't have to answer that, I'm sorry. I just wanted- look, if you- Belle... Belle seems really nice."

Elsa swallowed thickly and nodded, unable to find any words. She just... wasn't ready.

They sat there in silence for another five minutes—until their drinks were completely cold. Elsa couldn't, and refused to, deny the fact that she had missed Anna. That she longed for that same friendship they'd once shared. But, she harboured no illusions that getting to that stage would be easy, if it were possible at all.

"I think... we should go find our friends," Elsa said. A brief look of sadness crossed Anna's features before she pushed it away. Elsa stood from her seat before Anna could say a word.

She'd almost made it out the door, actually, when Anna caught up. A hand clasped in hers forced Elsa to stop, and though Anna dropped it almost straight away, they still ended up simply looking at each other, not saying a word.

That is, until Anna broke the silence and moved, throwing her arms around Elsa.

"I really missed you, Elsa, and I want to meet up again. I want to be friends again. We were so close, and I knowwe can be like that again. You're my sister. I love you."

She broke away as soon as those words left her mouth, rubbing the back of her head in an embarrassed gesture. "Plus, I think we've broken enough promises to each other, and I distinctly remember when we were in primary school that we would be each other's bridesmaids..."

She smiled at Elsa, hand coming up to scratch at her nose and, in the process, giving Elsa a perfect view of the ring.

An engagement ring.

And Elsa couldn't help herself. She bit her lip and blinked rapidly to stem the ears that had sprung to her eyes, nodding because this was what Anna hadn't said earlier, and it was wonderful and is didn't hurt.

It didn't hurt. Anna was happy and Elsa was happy and they were happy apart. But that didn't mean they couldn't come together again.

But Anna had that same wide-eyed expression as when she'd asked about Belle. "I mean, if you want," she was saying, "because the promises of ten-year-olds aren't like, legally binding, and the wedding won't be for years because weddings are expensive, but he only asked last month and we're having a party in a few weeks and- well... if you want. I would... really like it if you did..."

She trailed off when Elsa didn't stop nodding, a tentative smile climbing both their faces.

"We need to find our significant others," Elsa began. "But... I think I could manage another coffee with you..."

She held out her arm, and Anna linked arms. They exited the café together, walking hand-in-hand to meet up with their loved ones.

And Elsa couldn't have been happier.