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forkanna · 5 years

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WARNING: Elsanna. Sensual footrub. Also, copious fluffiness elsewhere.

As I said in my Queen of Temperance update, it's going to be a little slower during November due to NaNo. Also, if you want to help me avoid bankruptcy you can donate to me at: Ko-Fi dot com slash jxsleator!

CHAPTER 10

The next morning, Anna was awoken by a gentle hand in the small of her back. It took her a few minutes for the state of her life to come back to her, but eventually the details filtered into her brain. And they began to stir the most wonderful glow of happiness in the middle of her chest.

"Mmmmhhh," she moaned into the pillow, eyes still closed but lips beginning to pull into a smile. "God, sexy, let me wake up enough to go down on you first."

"Oh? Well, with an offer like that, maybe I can delete my profile."

Anna's eyes shot wide. That was definitely not Jennifer. She didn't even have to guess who it was. Gulping, she slowly rolled over onto her back, gazing up at Elsa's bemused face. She could feel the cool air of late Autumn on her bare chest and shoulders, only somewhat deterred by the heating.

"I… um…"

"Thought I was Jennifer," she finished easily for her, being kind enough to suppress her belly laugh. "Still, you might want to be more careful who you say things like that to, Anna."

"MOM! Shit, I didn't mean- holy Christ, I'm sorry! Damn… how hard did I crash that I couldn't even tell it was you?"

One of her shoulders shrugged. Now she could tell that Elsa was fully-dressed, and she normally wouldn't be on a Sunday morning – either version of her. Though occasionally that other Mom made it to church, even then she wouldn't look this nice. "Probably pretty hard after all that screaming last night."

Instantly, Anna's face heated up. She also became intimately aware that she was still naked, that her breasts were responding to the cool morning air. And Elsa hadn't looked away. She wasn't staring down Anna's boobs, but they would most definitely have been in her periphery.

Elsa seemed to become aware of it at the same moment, because she took a step back from the bed. "Just wanted to let you know that I'll be out of the house for most of the morning. I have a few errands to run but I'll be back later."

"Ugh, you couldn't have just left a message?" Anna complained, rolling over. Yep, there was Jennifer, the little spoon and still fast asleep.

"I could have, but this was more fun," Elsa laughed. Anna gave a groan and pressed her head further into Punz's back.

"Bye, Mom."

Elsa's chuckle could be heard all down the hallway. Then, there was the sound of the front door opening and closing, and finally, quiet. Anna took a breath, then sighed… and was completely shocked when Punz sat up, very obviously not asleep.

"Well… that was super awkward."

"You were awake?" Anna groaned feebly, still trying to burrow into the waistband of Punz's jeans. They had never come off, though everything else had.

"Yeah. Um… I kinda figured it would be easier if I just kept my mouth shut and waited for her to leave, instead of turning around and showing your mom my nip-nops."

"True. Like… ugh, I really thought she was you, since I fell asleep next to you… how dumb am I? I was already hugging you, that doesn't make any sense!"

Punz giggled and rolled more fully to embrace her. "Not dumb. Sleepy. It's okay, you know." Then she pressed a very gentle kiss to Anna's nose, eyes dancing with humour. "It was cute, and funny. Don't sweat it, McFly."

"Well…" There was really no point in fighting her on that. Shrugging one shoulder, she drew her girlfriend in for a long hug. "I guess even though my mom had to stare at my boobs while she teased me about screaming last night is still better than how my old mom would have reacted."

At that, she heard another sigh from Punz – this one a lot less amused. "Yeah… not that I know what she's like from personal experience, but… sounds pretty bad."

"Yeah. I'm glad I messed up the timeline thing, I guess. Weird and unhealthy as letting her go down on me was, it kind of… fixed my life. For the most part."

"It hasn't come without some problems though…" Punz commented. Anna shrugged.

"Trust me when I say that this is much better than before."

Punz merely looked at her for a second before saying, "Okay." Just like that. There was an awkward silence shared between them before it became too great, and Punz broke it. "So, breakfast? What do you feel like?"

Chuckling, Anna rolled so she could more properly look at her girlfriend. "You," she said simply before kissing her. Punz didn't have a single complaint.

~ o ~

By the time they actually got out of bed, it was no longer time for breakfast and was actually venturing past brunch and well into a full-fledged lunch. Luckily, Elsa wasn't around to further poke fun at them. Good-natured as it was, Anna preferred to avoid further embarrassment. Which was probably why she still wasn't back yet, to be fair; she could be remarkably perceptive like that.

Once they had dug up some cereal and fixed themselves a couple of bowls, they took turns showering quickly – still a little shy of each other to jump right into sharing a bath like that. Elsa came back while Punz was still finishing in the bathroom, and Anna was seated in the living room watching TV, to give her space. She had a couple of bags of things, and Anna popped up to help her.

"Thank you," she said with a slight smile as they got the bags onto the kitchen counter. "Whoo… sometimes I want to sign up for one of those delivery services, but it just seems like such a waste of money."

"Yeah, I guess." Elsa McFly, even just contemplating not doing something for herself, sounded very odd to her ears.

"How did you two get along while I was gone? Sleep in a bit more?"

"Um, yeah. A little. Then we ate breakf- uhhh, brunch, and Punz is just finishing her shower."

The coy smile was back. She knew it wouldn't stay away for long. "Surprised you didn't join her."

"We thought about it. But… I dunno, we're… taking our time, kind of. Spacing out the big events or whatever."

"I get you." After putting away a loaf of sweet brioche, which Anna didn't even know what that was much less expect her mother to get one, she turned and cupped her cheek. "Please don't feel weird about any of this. I just want you two to feel comfortable here. Safe, accepted."

Anna's eyes fell down. She appreciated the sentiment, and couldn't help the smile that formed when Elsa leaned forward to kiss her softly on the forehead. "Thanks, Mom," she said. "I mean, I don't think we'll be able to talk Mrs Punzel into being this cool. Though I think we'll wait for you to uh… not be here next time."

"Perhaps that would be for the best." The shower stopped running, and Elsa dropped her hands. Giving a smile, she returned to the other side of the counter. "Now, why don't you help your poor old mother put away the groceries?" she asked. Anna snorted.

"Please, Mom, you're not that old. And even if you are, like… daaaaamn."

Instead of admonishing her for cursing, Elsa just winked.

~ o ~

Ten minutes later saw Punz join them, hair damp but drying, wearing a cute outfit that the other version of Jennifer Punzel would never have been caught dead in. There was flannel. It was hot.

"Where'd you get that?" she asked with a slight grin as Elsa brewed them some tea. Punz dropped into a chair at the dinner table with a grin.

"From your closet, dumbass. Why, do you like it?" When Anna nodded, her grin got even wider. "I'm glad."

"It suits you," Elsa said from the kitchen. Punz started a little. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you."

But Jennifer shook her head. "N-nah, it's your house. I just jumped since you were gone when I woke up."

Letting out a soft, contented sigh, Anna reached across the table and took up both of her girlfriend's hands, squeezing them and staring into her eyes. It didn't take very long to see her relax. Then she said, "I should have warned you; that's on me."

"I said it's fine, God!" But she was smiling again. "Anyway, what did I miss?"

"Not much," Elsa called out to them. "Groceries. And you two don't have to feel like you need to hang around here all day just to keep me company; I'd love to entertain you, but I could just as easily get some work around the house done while you're out."

With a light shrug, she asked, "What do you think, Punz?"

Once more, Punz started, though this was more from surprise than shock. It wasn't until Elsa stood in the door to the kitchen, a tea towel in one hand and a wet glass in the other that she started to answer.

"I uh, well," she began. "I don't really- I was thinking… you're cooler than I thought you'd be."

The final few words were said in such a rush that Anna almost missed it. Elsa did not. Her cheeks pinked, a very faint colour that gave away just how pleased she was at the compliment, and her hands stilled. Punz had blushed a little, as well – she probably hadn't meant to tell Elsa at all, but out it came.

Luckily, Anna was there to at least attempt to dispel the awkwardness with a, "So, I guess the 'hang with Mom' votes have it." She gave a grin that tried to be cheeky but was slightly closer to 'uneasy'. It was a combination of the conversation this morning and the way Elsa had held her before that was the cause.

"Well, then," Elsa said, returning to the glass. It was absolutely dry by now, but no one wanted to mention it. "Why don't I finish what I'm doing and you girls can think of something for us to do?"

She didn't wait for a response, instead simply turning on her heel and retreating out of sight. In a much quieter voice, Anna whispered, "You really wanna hang out with my mom? I mean… I'm game for it if you are, but you don't have to just for me. Seriously."

"Nah, it's cool. I mean, she's always seemed like a good mom to you and that kind of thing, but I never… well, she's old. OldER! She's so much older that I didn't expect to enjoy hanging out with her more than with my own mom, I guess."

By that point, Anna was trying not to burst out laughing in her face. Deciding to be productive instead of making Punz feel any worse, she leaned in and kissed her cheek. "It's a good thing. So what do you think? Maybe we all go out to dinner, or… I dunno, bowling? What do you do with your suddenly-not-terrible mom and your girlfriend?"

"Um, you got me. Another movie? But at a theater this time? What did your mom like to do in the 80s?"

'Me,' Anna thought with slight skip over a heartbeat. But she decided that was better left unsaid. "Well, I don't think she'd be interested in another house party. Let's start with going out for lunch and figure it out from there?"

~ o ~

So that's precisely what they did. Simple food at Applebee's, then they ended up popping into a Goodwill for an hour or so. Both Elsa and her daughter could better appreciate some of the 80s styles and artefacts, and Jennifer laughed to watch them with this new shared interest. She sneakily got them an old Bangles vinyl, and they both gushed over it enough to make it clear it had been a good choice.

Anna felt a lot of mixed feelings when her girlfriend emerged from the dressing room wearing a tube top and a leather miniskirt. All she could think of was Elsa, and in the wrong ways. Of course, Elsa's only reaction was to laugh and clap, then remark that the look suited her; she didn't seem to hold those same feelings that it was too reminiscent of their 'affair' from the past. Which only made sense, given those fashion choices had simply been a part of life for her all the time, not specifically tied to a week-long affair.

Then they settled on a bowling alley to cap off their night. As it turned out, Elsa and Kristoff had spent a lot of evenings this way, and she wiped the floor with the younger girls. Maybe she wasn't good enough to go professional, but it was enough to discourage them slightly.

"I'm sorry," the woman was laughing at their dejected faces as they picked at the pizza they had ordered sent to their lane. "Best of five?"

The girls didn't do any better than before, but after the first game neither were actually trying to win. It was all just about having fun – and they did. When Anna slipped on the waxed floor, crashing onto her butt and just sitting there afterward, both Elsa and Punz simply looked at each other for a second before breaking into laughter. Anna had acted affronted, but really she was just grateful that her mother and her girlfriend were getting along as well as they were.

It certainly made the pain in her backside worth it – doubly so when she hobbled over to them, grumbling, and they both tried to make her feel better with hugs and a few light cheek-kisses. It certainly worked.

In the end, Elsa completely annihilated them, but there were no hard feelings whatsoever. Seeing Elsa so full of life wasn't so strange anymore – seeing her actually living was, a bit.

"I kinda wanna do this every weekend," Anna said as they sat down to pull their shoes off.

"Perhaps not every weekend," her mother said with a pleasant smile, taking a moment to rub one of her feet before she slipped her own shoes back on, setting the bowling shoes in the seat next to her. "But now and then, I think it makes for a wonderful change of pace."

Nodding vigorously, Jennifer paused to take a long drink of her soda. "Like, might get boring if we did it all the time. But we could do other stuff! Of course, Merida and Jane might start to get jelly. Or we could invite them along…"

"I don't think that'd work the same way, Punz," Anna laughed.

"Why not?"

"Because… I mean, they don't know about the, um…"

She glanced at Elsa, who was gazing back at her with a knowing gleam. It made her want to kiss her. Even after everything they had been through that weekend, she still felt that slight pull… probably always would. But she could resist. That was what she was learning, thanks to her mother's years of expertise: knowing they wanted to do things, but also knowing it wasn't required.

"Ah… good point," Punz was saying as she finished pulling on her sneakers and standing up. "But hey, they don't know what they're missing."

"Well, thank you very much, Jennifer," Elsa said, and Anna could tell she meant it. The small, sweet smile gave it away. "Now then, I think we should drop you off and head home. Or…"

"Or?"

"Or we could drop by a frozen yoghurt stand before we call it a night?"

There was no complaint from either girl. The cheeky smile on Elsa's face was infectious, and only a little unexpected now. It seemed that Punz wasn't the only one surprising Anna. If she has to guess, she'd say that Elsa also enjoyed spending time with Jennifer.

The thought made sure her smile didn't vanish, and it remained on her face all the way to the local froyo place. It was new – at least, it hadn't existed in the other McFly timeline. It was a cute place, too; kitsch and cozy, It was also quite empty. The only other person around was a bored, bespectacled teenager who frankly seemed a little too excited that they finally had customers.

Punz chose a seat close to the window – not that much could be seen. The sun had set and Anna hadn't realised how late it had become. The time had flown by so effortlessly while she'd been surrounded by her girlfriend and her mother. It was nice. Really, it was better than she had dared to dream.

The good feeling followed them both all the way back to the Punzel house, and was only very slightly marred by Anna having to say goodbye to her for the day. Tomorrow, they would be in class together.

On the way home, Anna leaned her head on Elsa's shoulder and she wasn't pushed away. She felt her mother tense for a moment, but then relaxed easily enough, even leaning over to press a gentle kiss into the top of her head. The perfect weekend.

Back at the house, Elsa immediately went for the bedroom, and Anna understood. This was pretty late for both of them given how early they needed to be up. She wanted to ask if they could snuggle for a while, but they both knew what that could lead to. Maybe it was best that they not.

Still, her head was filled with memories of how good Punz had made her feel as she got ready and slipped into her own sheets. Ones she was going to cherish forever.

~ o ~

"Okay, be honest. Now that we're alone… you really had fun?"

Punz rolled her eyes as they made their way down the hall. "I said I did, didn't I? Your mom's pretty great. She was before, but like, she also did that mom thing where they act like you're 'too young' to hang out with them. But I think… this was how she would be all along. The Elsa McFly I know, anyway; couldn't say anything about the one you grew up with.

Anna couldn't say much about that version, either. But, it seemed as though Punz wanted something, and how could Anna refuse her? The mere fact that Punz was accepting all of this as true was a miracle unto itself; providing details was the least she could do.

"She was…nice. When she was sober, which wasn't often. I think- well, it felt like she blamed me for how crummy her life had been, but I think now she just hated herself…"

A memory surfaced: walking out the front door on a cold Saturday, Elsa crying, watching her go. Anna had said she'd be back, had promised. She hoped that version of Elsa no longer existed. That she wasn't part of a sad alternate timeline. She hadn't been a great mom, or even a really great person. But maybe she still deserved a bit of peace…

"Do you think it would be weird for me to say… that I feel more like my real mom died, and this is like, her aunt? Like an aunt that acts a lot like my mom, because they grew up together, but isn't my mom?"

Punz was staring at Anna with wide eyes. As a few kids passed them in the hall, she steered Anna over to the water fountain and lowered her voice. "Maybe weird. But the situation is weird, so like, I don't think any worse of you for feeling that way. She's not the woman who raised you; I mean, she is, but she's not. Crazy."

"Yeah, pretty crazy."

"Not that you're crazy, or she is. Just the situation. You got that part, right?"

Smiling, Anna caught up her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Yeah. Hear you loud and clear. So you really want to hang out with us again next weekend? Not just say 'hi' to her and then we go do our own thing?"

"Well… I would like to do our own thing. Especially if that means me doing you." The huge grin made Anna dip her head slightly and fight to suppress a giggle. "But maybe we can kinda do what we did this weekend; hang out with her but have time to ourselves in there somewhere."

"I like that plan. And we'll have to figure out what else we can do besides bowling. I mean, stuff that a pushing-fifty mom would be okay doing, so probably not hitting the club."

"We can't even hit the club," she snorted. "Not without wearing the 'I'm a baby' marks on the backs of our hands to keep us from boozing it."

"Would that be so bad?" Anna asked. Punz's smile dropped just a fraction.

"Oh… oh yeah… wow, I'm sorry, I didn't mean t-"

"But!" Anna interrupted her, just as the first bell rang, "we can still do things like… ice skating and movies and stuff. And clubbing, if that's something you want to do without boozing?"

The sudden mass of students tramping through the hall meant that Punz couldn't answer properly. And besides, Mr Weselton was suddenly very interested in the bubbler and was most definitely not keeping an eye on the two girls standing next to it. One red-haired devil in particular.

Punz didn't seem to notice him, and gave an easy smile instead. Glancing at the toupeéd teacher, Anna cleared her throat. She would have loved to keep chatting, but another detention wasn't worth it.

"I'll see you later?" Anna asked, opening her arms and leaning forward. The hug was completely circumvented when Punz managed to duck her arms and instead plant a kiss on her cheek.

"Sure thing," she said as her feet carried her down the hallway. "I'll see you at lunch!"

A dazed smile on her face, Anna waved her goodbye. She was very nearly late to class. Nearly.

~ o ~

Unfortunately, Anna had a ton of homework that evening, so she skipped hanging out with Punz right away. Ordinarily, she might have blown it off, but she felt like she owed it to this reality's Anna to keep her grades up now. Maybe it was also partly that she had enjoyed so much of her weekend that she didn't want to risk bad karma taking over.

All in all, she was satisfied when she shoved her books back into her bag. Not anything that would win an award but satisfactory for an average student. Therefore, she didn't feel bad that she was watching TV when Elsa got home.

"Oh, there she is," she sighed tiredly as she dropped her purse next to the coat rack, then walked into the kitchen. She looked very well put-together in her grey suit with its pleated skirt, but also like she was ready to not be as soon as possible.

"Here I is." The laugh from the kitchen was weak but at least it was a laugh. "How was your day, dear?"

"It was lovely, husband. Just long." The smirk from their banter was still on her face when she reappeared with a bottle of water. Anna couldn't help saying a silent prayer of thanks that it wasn't bottle of Jack.

"Come sit."

"Can't, I have to get dinner started."

"Nah," she urged, waving her hands at her mother to join her on the couch. "Just a couple minutes. I'm not super hungry."

"You might not be, but I certainly am," Elsa said. Still, she walked over and plonked next to Anna, giving a grateful groan as she kicked off her shoes. Anna grinned.

"How was your day really?" she asked again. "Full story."

Elsa didn't answer at first – she had just uncapped the bottle and was taking a long swig. The sight was making Anna feel a little thirsty. By the time she finished, half the bottle was gone. Anna didn't give her a chance to re-cap it because she simply plucked it from her mother's hands and began drinking the rest. It seemed to take Elsa a moment to gather herself before she could answer.

"O-oh, you know the drill. Paperwork. Clients." But Anna shook her head.

"I don't. What do you do? Because the other Elsa… didn't do much…"

"You mean, she didn't have a job?" Elsa clarified, and Anna gave a half-hearted shrug.

"Yeah. No job, or life. She didn't really have friends, either. She left the house for a weekly bingo game that she never won, sometimes went to church if she wasn't hung over, and to do the groceries. We had a freezer cabinet so she'd buy a tonne of frozen lasagnes and pizzas and stuff…"

"Ah… well, that's one style of parenting, I suppose." She didn't say whether or not she approved or disapproved of her alternate self's methods. Stretching out her legs with a slight groan, she propped them on the coffee table. "I work in real estate. Some of it's on the phone in the office, but I had a lot of running around today. Showed a couple of places."

"A realtor, huh?" That didn't sound much like the young Elsa she knew, but then again, this one was just as dedicated to her family as her own mother. So it was hardly surprising she kind of 'fell into' a job that suited her, rather than choosing one that was her true passion.

"Right," she groaned slowly, sagging down into the couch. "It pays the bills, and I generally like my coworkers. And my hours can be a little flexible, so it's been great for the family. Some days just feel long, that's all." After a moment, she crossed one leg closer and started rubbing at her foot. "Nhh… how was school? How's Jennifer, how's the band?"

Shrugging, she set the empty bottle down on the coffee table. A private smile blossomed on her face; it was nice for her mom to be taking an interest. Very weird still, but nice. "Not bad. Didn't see the band much, but Punz is looking forward to more Elsa-time."

"That's sweet," she laughed, genuinely amused by the thought. "I'm the Cool Mom, I guess. Weird but a good thing."

"Yeah. Um, I could do that for you."

"Do what?" It took several seconds for Elsa to switch conversational gears and realise what her daughter meant, and she laughed. "Oh, no… don't worry about it, I'll be fine. Just give it a few minutes and the aches will subside."

"It's really no big deal," Anna promised her as she reached to start kneading her thumbs into Elsa's sole.

"Mmmm…" Elsa hummed, head falling back and whole body slumping. "Wow that… feels really nice…"

Grinning, Anna didn't bother to respond verbally. Instead, all she did was dig her thumbs in a little harder, untangling the knots that had developed in the tortured appendage.

For a few minutes, the only sound was Elsa's contented sighs as Anna dug into the sole of her foot. Anna had been right – it was no big deal. That very thought seemed to have Elsa relaxing further, simply enjoying the relief. But then Anna began moving her hand up, working into the arch of Elsa's foot. The sound of pleasure she gave was no longer a sigh – it was a moan.

A very familiar-sounding one. Both women paused for a moment, faces red as they stared at one another. And then Anna did it again. The sound Elsa made shot straight to her core, and she almost wanted to cry out herself. She wanted to let Elsa know how it made her feel. But Elsa didn't want to know, so she said nothing. If asked, she could attribute this to not knowing – after all, Elsa wasn't exactly telling her to stop. Quite the contrary, actually.

"Anna!" Elsa gasped, and it was probably supposed to be an admonishment. It wasn't – the way Elsa's voice quivered, holding the vowels and squirming… it really wasn't.

"It's just a foot rub, Mom," Anna said softly. Perhaps the use of her title and not her name helped, because Elsa wasn't as loud for a moment. Or… maybe it was because she was the only one acting in such a way and felt too conspicuous with it pointed out.

As Anna swapped feet, not wanting to focus too much on one side, she reflected for a moment on how much of a difference it made to Elsa when she used her name as opposed to her title. And vice versa, with "Tori". She idly wondered why it mattered so much to her; was she really so hard to distinguish from Tori, the girl of her mother's dreams, the one who got away? Elsa kept saying that they could "get past this" or "get over it" but the more Anna tested her, the more it became apparent that, for Elsa at least, the opposite had been true. And now here she was, on the receiving end of an increasingly-erotic foot massage.

"Ahhh… agahgod." The moans were returning. She pressed in again, her thumb slipping right into the sensitive area under the arch of Elsa's foot. "Ohhhhh, To-"

Elsa sat bolt upright, tearing her foot out of Anna's hands, her face flush and mildly mortified. "Anna!" she said hotly. "I… we… Jennifer!" she mumbled, as if that somehow constituted an objection, an admonishment and a complete sentence.

"You're thinking about Jennifer at a time like this?" Anna quipped, to hide her sinking heart – even if it was still pounding with adrenaline. "Besides, like I said, it's only a massage. Don't get so…"

It wasn't much of a defense. They both knew how it sounded, even though it was supposed to be something purely innocent. But Elsa was already clearing her throat and taking several deep breaths, trying to get herself back under control.

"Alright… alright." Pressing a hand into her face for a moment, she then began to laugh very weakly. "Ohhhh, this is impossible. It's impossible!"

"What's impossible? Oh, here, just… stop…" Frustrated with her own inability to say what she meant, Anna just grabbed for Elsa's foot and began to knead again.

"ANNA! Stop, just… mmhhh, it's so good though…"

For a minute, she merely bit her lip and fought down making any further sounds. Anna found herself doing the same; it was really difficult. She had been hoping to prove to both of them that they could handle a simple massage, especially one somewhere as silly as a foot; it wasn't like she was massaging her back while she was nude under a towel! But somehow, her thumbs grinding into her mother's toe joints turned out just as bad. She would have thought it was a ludicrous idea if she wasn't living it at that exact moment.

"Ooh… okay, I think… I'm better," Elsa finally whimpered. By that point, she had fully turned on the couch and was reclining with her feet in Anna's lap. "I'm so sorry… overreacting, I didn't mean…"

"I know," Anna whispered with a slight smile. "Seriously… I totally get it. We're just going to have to get used to stuff like that, right? Like you were saying." Not that she fully believed that, but she was trying her best.

Elsa bit her lip and nodded. "I uh… I should probably get dinner sorted," she finally said, scrambling away. "I better- better go do that…"

Heart falling again briefly, Anna nodded back. She wasn't really hungry anymore, but realised that Elsa needed an out. Watching through the door as her mother fretted about the kitchen, it became startlingly obvious that she needed to… feel like a mother again.

God, what were they doing? And why weren't they doing more? It was fast becoming obvious that what they were doing was not working, and that really only left them with two options: give into their feelings, or see a psychiatrist. And really, only one of those options was even plausible because Elsa completely refused to entertain the thought of the other.

"Mom…" Anna began, softly. Elsa ignored her. "Mom!" she tried again, and Elsa froze for just a second. When she finally looked up, it was with incredible hesitancy.

"Yes, Anna?" Elsa said. Succeeded in not reminding Anna of her 17-year-old counterpart, so that was a plus, she supposed.

Anna couldn't do it. She couldn't demand anything of her mother, not like this. No matter how she felt herself. The timing was not at all right; the poor woman looked so fragile, as if she needed to be domestic right now to keep from drowning in self-flagellation and anxiety. Swallowing, she looked away for a second. "I just… you look really nice. Happy, I mean."

Elsa smiled, small and grateful. "Thank you, Anna," she said, and she obviously meant it. She also seemed happy that Anna hadn't said anything else. Perhaps she knew what was on her daughter's mind. Either way, she didn't mention it. Instead, she brushed straight past it, and the still-lingering awkwardness of earlier. "Now, did you want curry or stroganoff for dinner tonight?"

"Hmm…" Anna hummed, silently still amazed they weren't defrosting a handful of Lean Cuisines. "Stroganoff. Pasta sounds better than rice, I think."

"Stroganoff it is," Elsa agreed. "Now, come and give your poor mother a hand. I can't chop the onions without crying, so I'll need you to take that bullet for me."

There was an easy banter as they prepped the meal, even though the onion fume had them both sobbing into the food – at least until it was cooked. Though all the while, something was slightly different about Elsa's demeanor. She was happy, and cheerful, and joking as she always did. But in between those moments, Anna would catch a sadness in her eyes that had been gone for the past week. Only existing right after they first realised what they were to each other in the present day.

Tori and Elsa. The starcrossed lovers that could never reunite. Anna half still wanted to throw herself at her mother and worry about the consequences later, because she seemed to need her the same way she needed to be domestic a moment ago. But that would go against her wishes. It wasn't easy, but she was trying to respect those as much as she could.

Once they had eaten, Anna worked up the courage to try again. But she decided to approach it differently than the random accusation she had going to fling at her mother. It was unfair, after all, but she couldn't just stay silent.

"So…" Elsa stiffened slightly as she rinsed off the dishes to go into the dishwasher, hands slowing down to a snail's pace. "Um, I'm sorry about earlier. But I think it got to be pretty okay toward the end, right? Like… we worked past the… weirdness?"

"Of course, Anna," she said with a slight smile. "Guess I just have sensitive tootsies. It's no one's fault, really."

Nodding, her daughter took the next stack and began putting them in the dishwasher. "Right. But I liked doing that for you. Making you feel good in a…" She gave a little chuckle. "Well, I was gonna say 'non-sexual way', but maybe a less-sexual way? Um, it was…"

"It was," Elsa admitted, eyes going distant as she thought back on it. "I don't know where you learned to do that. Not from me."

"Punz gave me a footrub once. I didn't react to it the way you did, though. But like… I was just kinda guessing. I really did a good job?"

"You really did."

And Anna believed her. Because by now, her mother had taken off her suit jacket, and she could see very vague shapes standing at strong relief on her peaks through the fabric of her blouse.

Had she done it on purpose? Reason told Anna the Elsa hadn't – that she didn't realise exactly what she was giving away. But further examining of her logic said something different. Elsa had to know how her body had reacted. This wasn't something that could simply be blamed on the weather. She wondered how often Elsa thought of Tori. Had she truly reconciled the fact that Tori and Anna were one and the same? Or was she like Anna – knowing they were, but her body reacted as though they were two separate beings. Is that how Elsa had managed to move past the 'I ate out my daughter' guilt?

But… perhaps Elsa hadn't moved past it. A scenario Anna hadn't quite fully envisioned before popped into her head: Elsa knew how her body was reacting, and yet she was ignoring it. Ignoring it because if she didn't… if she acknowledged it… then she would also have to acknowledge that Anna made her feel this way. Continued to make her feel like that, despite now knowing who they were to each other. How strong this reaction proved to be, even after all her work to bury it.

Anna was tired of the games. Tired of dancing around her feelings – of not being able to even admit them – because Elsa didn't want to hear it. She had put up a wall and refused to let anything past it. It wasn't fair. She wanted… she wanted either her mother, as only her mother… or else she wanted Elsa, all of her. The problem was that she kept being given little tastes of what more they could be if they only pushed past the taboo, past their reservations.

The problem was that Elsa would never be just her mother. Not anymore.

TO BE CONTINUED…

#Fractal The Future #fruipit #forkanna writes #elsanna fanfiction #Back to the Future #elsanna #jess the writer

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