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“What about over here?” Maren said, sticking her tongue out and darting around a tree.
Elsa rolled her eyes, smiling at her girlfriend’s antics. Her smile only grew wider the longer she thought about her, the more she looked at her and listened to her and spent time with her. Every day together was like they were stealing time.
They’d started a new beginning and Elsa never wanted it to end. Not her time with Honeymaren, nor the home they were building together or the life she was looking forward to.
They were about halfway between their home and the little house that Kristoff had built for himself, Ryder and Anna. So If they went much further they’d be intruding. On most days Elsa wouldn’t mind it, but today she really rather just wanted to be alone with Honeymaren.
“What about over there?” Elsa asked, following her. Maren’s head popped out from another tree nearby, and Elsa turned in that direction, “Mare!”
“I think that you need to catch me.”
Elsa’s heart suddenly beat faster, her mind racing to the more intimate parts of their life together, “What do I get if I do?”
Smiling wickedly, Maren started to jog off.
“Mare!” Elsa laughed and sprinted after her, blue sundress fluttering around her legs and her hair streaming behind her.
As she ran, a few droplets of water landed on her arms, and then her shoulder and hair. She reached Maren quickly after that, reaching out and grasping for her. Elsa managed to get ahold of her arm and tried to yank her, only for Maren to pull her in instead. Chest to chest, she gazed into Maren’s eyes.
“Looks like I’ve got you,” Maren purred, gazing at her with a storm of emotion in her dark eyes..
“So what are you going to do with me?” Elsa asked, excited to hear what the answer could be.
A few drops of water struck Maren’s hair, and then another ran down her nose. Then, as if someone had upended a bucket from the sky, the rain began to fall in thick sheets.
Elsa laughed and started to run for their home, Maren close behind her but she couldn’t tell which of them was laughing harder. They raced so fast they almost managed to outpace the rain, though the distant sound of thunder told Elsa that this was more a summer storm than a light shower.
There were flowers in this part of the forest, a whole meadow of them. They glistened from the rain and their fragrance filled Elsa’s nostrils as they ran through it. She wanted to stop, to roll around in the field with Maren in her arms heedless of the water that fell on them, but her girlfriend had passed her and was already at the edge of the meadow.
I love you Elsa thought, gazing at Maren’s back and her hair come loose from it’s braid as she ran after her. They'd met quite on accident and though it had been years she still remembered that day every time Maren smiled.
It had been raining then, too.
Their house was in sight. It was a single story building with sky-blue paint, white trim and large windows, especially on the sun facing side. As they ran towards it, sunlight filtered through the clouds and trees, creating a rainbow over the garden.
Elsa loved their garden. Besides the herbs and vegetables that they grew both for themselves and to sell in town, they had an apple tree and a variety of flowers that encircled the house. She could spend hours tending it, the only sound that of the breeze in the trees or Maren puttering around inside. But today she ran through it, careful of her step but still mostly focused on Maren’s soaked back. Instead of going in through the front door, then ran around to the back to quickly check on the goats. They’d all gathered together in the pen under shelter and seemed otherwise okay, so Elsa and Maren rushed inside.
The door slammed open and they were inside just as thunder boomed closer and the clouds closed off the sun again. Elsa pushed her hair out of her face as she laughed breathlessly, kicking her sandals off and leaning against the door.
Maren stared at her as if she were somehow radiant, even though her sundress was soaked through and clung to her like a second skin. Perhaps that was the reason for it? Elsa smiled softly, shaking her hair out and gazing at Maren from behind a curtain of gold.
Slowly, Maren approached her, cupping her face and then leaning in for a gentle kiss, “I love you.”
Elsa laughed again, her heart swelling. “So I caught you, now what?”
“Now we have lunch,” Maren announced, eyes flashing mischievously as she danced out of Elsa’s reach.
Sputtering, Elsa went after her, “You’re such a tease.”
“And we should change before we get sick,” Maren pointed out, raking her eyes up and down Elsa’s body. Elsa looked down at herself; her dress did cling to her, leaving little to the imagination.
In her defense, Maren’s clothing stuck to her skin as well; her vest and a white shirt all but transparent. She looked back up at Maren and raised her eyebrows, “Are you sure you don’t want to skip straight to dessert?”
But her stomach betrayed her with a grumble and she relented, following Maren into their bedroom. Peeling wet clothing off wasn’t exactly sexy and she was shivering by the time she got her dress off. Maren whistled at her before throwing a towel at her.
Elsa quickly rolled it up and snapped it at Maren’s bare bottom. Shrieking, Maren tried to bolt out of the way and Elsa chased after her, giggling as she snapped the towel. It narrowly missed Maren’s butt every time, but then she wasn’t really trying to strike her.
Maren gave her a merry chase before she managed to get a table between herself and Elsa. She leaned her hands on it, eyes narrowed. “I offer you a towel and this is how you repay me?”
Breathlessly, Elsa unfurled the towel and draped it over herself, before flipping one corner over her shoulder imperiously, “You provided me with a weapon, what else was I supposed to do?”
“Dry yourself off?” Maren asked, water dripping from her hair and nose and other much more interesting places.
Elsa held up her hand, then started to dry herself off with the towel. Satisfied that the peace offering wasn’t a trap, Maren slipped by her in order to dry off. Cooking naked, while fun, could also be painful; they’d learned that lesson the hard way.
As she rubbed at her hair, Elsa turned on the little radio that sat on the counter. The sound was old and scratchy and it only picked up a single station and then not very well, but the music was usually pretty calming. She hummed along as she moved through the house, before hanging the towel up and pulling on a dry dress. Maren had already found clean trousers and a shirt and was laying bread out on the kitchen table.
“Sandwiches?” Elsa asked, looping her arms around Maren’s waist and pressing into her back. “Careful, we could summon my sister.”
“She really is the sandwich devil, isn’t she?” Maren hummed and leaned back against Elsa, the picture of contentment.
“I love you,” Elsa said, kissing the shell of her ear.
“For sandwiches?”
“And everything else.” She looked past Maren, gazing at the rain as it fell heavily outside. Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled over the forest. She liked this place, away from the world and yet still close enough that she didn’t feel like she’d abandoned her sister.
Her eyes fell onto the plates Maren was putting together from leftovers, and her stomach rumbled again.
“So one for you and one for me,” Maren murmured, still leaning against her and making no attempt to move. They were warm like this, and comfortable, and Elsa didn’t want to move much either.
“Mm,” Elsa said, reaching around and grabbing a plate. It took some maneuvering, but they were able to get into the next room together without breaking physical contact from each other.
From their couch, they could see the rain and lightning through the wide window. The trees shook and waved in the wind, but Elsa wasn’t afraid; it was just the weather. In fact, she found it quite beautiful.
Maren leaned her shoulder against Elsa’s for a moment, before leaning away so she could eat. Neither spoke, sitting in silence to watch nature’s display as they feasted on what was quite possibly the best sandwich Elsa had ever had.
The power flickered, so she got up to light some candles, preferring that to the electric lights this night anyway. As she moved around, she felt Maren’s golden eyes on her, glowing in the light. “What?”
“Nothing, I just... “ Maren’s face grew flushed and her throat bobbed, “You make me so happy and suddenly I want to cry which makes no sense but --”
Elsa rushed over, sliding onto Maren’s lap and stroking her face with her hands, “Sometimes tears are ones of joy. Why shouldn’t we be happy? We have each other, we have a home that we built together. Our family is nearby but not too close. You make me happy too, and I couldn’t ask for anything more.”
The power flickered again, and this time it didn’t come back.
“Reliable power?” Maren asked jokingly.
“I suppose that would be nice.” Grinning, Elsa leaned in and kissed her.
“Technically I did most of the building.” Maren’s voice was soft as her lips moved against Elsa’s. “So I deserve most of the credit.”
“Technically I designed it,” Elsa countered, leaning her cheek against Maren’s. But she remembered Honeymaren, skin glistening from exertion, and shivered.
“You can have twenty percent of the credit.” Maren turned her head, kissing the side of Elsa’s as her hand started to rub up and down her back.
Back arching, Elsa closed her eyes. Maren’s lips found her throat, kissing there, and then her neck, before she nuzzled and nibbled at her shoulder.
“Do you want to move?” Maren asked.
Taking one of Maren’s hands and placing it exactly where she wanted it to go, Elsa tangled the fingers of her other hand in her hair.
“...I’ll take that as a no then.”
Elsa laughed, the sound ringing through the house. She wanted to make love right here, and right now, bathed in candle-light and accompanied by the music of rolling thunder. This was exactly where they belonged.